Your Perception of Jesus Affects Your Receiving

One of the most common questions that believers have today is “how do I receive from Jesus?” It’s an honest question and one that deserves an honest answer. In a previous study, we saw how the best way to receive from Jesus is to simply rest, and it is true. However many people responded with the question of how exactly to rest in Jesus.

In answer to this question, today we will be examining how to rest in Jesus, which will then enable us to receive from Him in complete confidence.

Now there are a few ways that this idea has been taught in the past, and to be perfectly honest, they are all much too complicated for such a simple concept straight from the Bible. Personally, I do not agree with making the Bible complicated or muddying the waters with limited human reasoning, so I am not going to use any steps, sections or procedures, but just plainly show you what is written in the Bible and let the scriptures be the focus of attention. So with that in mind, our first scripture is in Matthew 14:22-27:

“And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

But the ship was now in the middle of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

But straightway Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

Straightaway there are some interesting points here. The first of-which is that the disciples were focused on their problems, their pressures. It is absolutely true that this world likes to try and pressure us, and Jesus stated in John 16:33 that we will have tribulation (literally translated as pressure), but then He immediately said that we should “be of good cheer”, and why? Because Jesus has overcome the world and all of its pressures.

There are many believers who, instead of glorying in Christ Jesus, they glory instead in their pressures. I have spoken to quite a number of people who are very quick to list their problems, and when I tell them that Jesus can make them free, they quote the first part of that verse in John 16:33 as a justification for their problems. In-essence, twisting Jesus’ own words against Him. Yet what happened here in Matthew 14:22-27 is something that can not be twisted. Imagine the scenario: The disciples are in a boat, being tossed around by the raging seas, they are very frightened, and then something happens that grabs their attention away from the storms… they saw Jesus, but more than that, they saw Him walking on the water.

This is significant. Many times when we think of Jesus, we tend to think of Him as more of a man than God – after all, it helps us relate to Him. Yet in his scenario, there can be no mistaking the fact that Jesus has complete authority; so much so that He can suspend natural law and walk on a raging sea. And this is the picture of Jesus that needs to be seen, a Jesus who has complete authority over all tribulation and pressure. Whatever your problem is, Jesus is greater. Whatever pressure may come your way, Jesus has risen above it – and not only that but He enables us to do the very same.

Take note in verse 27, that although Jesus’ power was on full display here, it was not to intimidate but to comfort. Jesus was very quick to calm the fears of the disciples. His purpose for the display was to demonstrate that He has power over whatever trouble may come our way, and that we are safe when we are with Him.

He wants us to glory in Him, He wants us to rejoice in Him and be comforted by Him. Here-in is the key. We can only rest in Jesus if we recognize His God-hood and realize that He is not a mere man. There are many believers today who believe in Jesus, but do not believe on Jesus – do you understand the difference? It is totally possible to believe in Jesus without actually trusting Him or recognizing Him as LORD. Such an occurrence is actually more common than you may think and is the cause of many of the misconceptions about Christianity and God today. Believing in God but not believing on Him as LORD is what produces weak and powerless believers today. Sure they acknowledge God exists, but never trust Him enough to actually follow His advice or listen to His Word. And you will find that these same people never have any true peace.

Let’s continue reading at Matthew 14:28-33:

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you on the water.

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth you are the Son of God.”

Many people wonder what enabled Peter to walk on the water as Jesus did. Was Peter focused on himself or on his own ability to walk on water? No my friends, Peter was focused on Jesus. Peter was conscious of Jesus’ complete authority over every aspect of the situation. This fact gave Peter the confidence to step onto the water.

Yet we see in verse 30 that the moment Peter stopped focusing on Jesus and began trying to reason and understand what was happening with his own mind, that is the moment he began to sink.

The wind and the waves have nothing to do with walking on the water. Even if the wind and the seas were at a complete calm, a normal human by themselves would not be able to walk on the water. but when we forget the deity of Jesus Christ, and we start reasoning things out by our own human intelligence, then we become stupid. We start to define God by the limited experience of what we observe in life instead of the simple truths of His Word.

Observe what happens in verse 30, as Peter was sinking and cried out to the Lord, immediately Jesus reached out and rescued Peter. He did not wait, He did not let Peter sink further to teach him a lesson, nor did He condemn Peter in any way. Jesus just asked Peter a simple question: where did you doubt? where did you forget that I am God, master of everything? He wants us to have simple childlike faith and trust in Him. It is this simple childlike faith which enables us to fully rest and receive from Jesus in every area of our lives as we realize that Jesus is in-fact Master of the universe and beyond.

Jesus states this in Luke 10:15:

“Truly I say to you, Whoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”

The mind of a child is not limited and is completely free. The mind of a child is open to amazement and wonder. Children believe in things outside of the laws of physics – that people can fly, and that superheroes are real. It is only later when other people impart onto the child the “truth” about the harsh realities of life that the child is basically brainwashed into giving up those free things that they believed as a child.

What Jesus is teaching in this scripture is to return to that child-like state of thought. To believe the truth of the Bible – no-matter how far-fetched it may seem to our adult conditioned thinking. We must never limit the abilities of God based on our human reasoning or the “laws of nature,” because God is the one who created nature and those laws, and He Himself is not subject to them. They are in-fact subject to Him!

My friends, please don’t ever fall into the trap of perceiving Jesus as just a good teacher, or a mere man. Don’t ever forget that He is God. If He is just a man to you, then you will never be able to fully rely on Him or trust in Him, and certainly not for any miracle or supernatural thing. However once you truly perceive that He is God, and ruler of all creation, then your faith is strengthened and you realize how very safe and complete you are in Him… and you will be able to receive all of the divine provision that He wants to give you in every area of life.