Followers, lead without being conscious of it
Genesis 31/Matthew 27-28
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OT
31:11 Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, “Jacob!” And I replied, “Yes, I’m listening!”
NT
27:23-25 “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the crowd only roared the louder, “Crucify him!” Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. The responsibility is yours!” And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death–we and our children!”
:39-43 And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “So! You can destroy the Temple and build it again in three days, can you? Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the king of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him! He trusted God–let God show his approval by delivering him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.”’
:50-54 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him–but some of them still doubted! Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
OT Flash Points
Tests change as you surrender – especially when you prosper
When God’s plan is to move you, He will squeeze you from one place to the next
He will not force His will but will follow our surrender to Him with strong compelling
He hedges us in and squeezes us
How difficult it is for us, depends on our resistance
NT Flash Points
Many godly people rose and appeared to people in Jerusalem – those who were in the Bosom of Abraham, “Paradise”
Fountain of the Church – not only the Disciples, the converts of John the Baptist, but these who were supernaturally raised from the dead and their converts, then all who believed on the Day of Pentecost
How firm a foundation, indeed!
Perspective
Don’t strike out in the inspiration of a vision from God to accomplish it
Wait for God to accomplish what He’s proposed or there will be consequences that will take years to heal
He only shares His vision with you so you won’t freak out when He does it