Walking on Water...SPLASH!

So there I was, teaching. If the pastors took anything away from our time together, I wanted them to have a firm conviction that “God’s Word is powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.” I wanted them to leave motivated to share God’s Word and not their own thoughts because His thoughts are so much higher and grander than our thoughts. If they left this week long training knowing that they needed to hide the Message of our Creator deep within their hearts, then I would be greatly satisfied. The reason being is because our mouths speak from the overflow of our hearts. That which we think about often is the very thing that is treasured in our hearts. If we give our mind over continually to news events or sports or the latest gossip, then that is exactly what we will talk about with our friends. But should those things always be the topic of our conversations? Shouldn’t the topics we get excited about be the very oracles of the Living God?     

 To drive this point home I decided to take our topic (Jesus’ first miracle) and read it directly from scripture, then “story” it. When I say “story it” I mean that I use my own words to tell the event while staying faithful to scripture. No additions. No embellishments. No subtractions. My story is to be as close to the original scriptures as possible. So after one of the students read it I said “This is a story from God’s word….” Then I proceeded to story Jesus’ first miracle. When I finished they applauded…WHAT!? They could not believe I was able to quote so much of scripture without looking at it. For the record the scripture for Jesus’ first miracle is only 12 verses long. So, in reality it was not that great of a feat. But I got proud. I thought to myself, “Man I told that story pretty good, complete with motions and everything!”

So, I told the story again. The goal is to tell the story at least two times. After that I would lead the students in retelling this event of scripture. The ultimate product is that each person will be able to retell the story when they leave after an hour or so of practice and discussion. As I was telling the story the second time I saw the pastors’ faces. Their eyes were as big as saucers and they were hanging onto every word I was saying. I thought “I’m a really good story teller…their enamored with me.”

Then I thought about the story of Peter walking on water: “Oh no!! I’m taking my eyes off Jesus…I remember what happened when Peter stopped looking at His Lord… SPLASH...I’m thinking about myself and not the One I’m serving. Uh!! I’m such a prideful sinner.”

As you can imagine, with those many thoughts going through my head my mind went totally blank. I completely forgot what came next in the event.

So there I was, trying to teach. I didn’t say anything. I just looked at the students. They knew something was wrong. “Help me!” I said, “I can’t remember what happens next.” The students chuckled and graciously helped me. I was then able to finish the story.

Anyway, when we become proud of our works (even when they are good works), that is when we fall. We need to keep our eyes focused on the author and finisher of our faith: Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we can be sure that the task will be in vain, no matter how righteous the deed. I want to serve my Creator, but in order to do so I have to remember that I must _decrease and He must ^increase.

I should never think that people rejoice at the way Josh tells a story. I’m sure you’re well aware that the only reason the pastors were hanging onto every word that came out of my mouth was because I was quoting the very WORDS of the Living GOD…AWESOME!!

Pastor's Training School