Jesus Should Terrify You Now and Then

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. [Matt.14]

You should find Jesus terrifying at times. This means you are moving with him from glory to glory. This means Jesus is taking you to a higher level of walking with him. This means Jesus is taking you to a new and higher dimension, like what he did with Enoch who walked with him for 300 years. 

It would be alarming if your days were monotonous all you life, without Jesus showing you new, awesome supernatural things and revealing to you his various multi-faceted glories. It would suck if all you saw was the world, and worse, the worldly church that men invented and called "born again."

Jesus could have crossed the lake using another boat, or he could have told the disciples to wait for him at the foot of the mountain or somewhere else while he talked with the Father. No, he had to make them go ahead in a boat so that winds would hinder them and stall them till evening when he could come to them walking on water. There was a purpose; it wasn't just flexing of supernatural muscles. 

Don't Be Afraid, But Fear GOD

The Israelites were trembling in fear when they saw God's mountain with deep black smoke on top plus the awesome lightning and thunder. The ground was shaking terribly, moreover. Moses told them not to be afraid. These terrible things were shown them so they'd have the fear of God always in them. You see that? Don't be afraid of God's terrifying; they're designed to keep the fear of him in you. If Jesus does not terrify you now and then, that's the time to be afraid. 

Church Today Rejects God's Terrifying Things

Church today is especially allergic to God's terrifying moves. It hates being disturbed from its comfort zones. When Jesus terrifies you, it is to wake you up and get you out of your comfort zone. The genuine Jesus move is always radical, always into something unique and strange that will earn you rejection and persecution from people of this world, especially the worldly "born again" church. Your ego or flesh can never find any safe and comfortable place in God's present move in Christ. It's got to go.

Peter got out of his comfort zone to walk on water with Jesus. I can imagine how terrifying it was to see someone walking on the lake, especially the part that is so deep, and most especially at night! Was it really necessary to walk on water? Peter could have just marveled at Jesus and applauded his stunt and tell the whole world about it. Nope, that was missing the point. Jesus walked on water precisely to challenge the disciples to do likewise. Only Peter was daring enough to be like his Master.

To Jesus, believing is not enough. You have to do it yourself. James said, be doers of the Word, not just hearers, deceiving yourselves. If you really and genuinely believe, then Jesus would show himself to you with terrifying stunts or awesome wonders, impressing deeper the fear of God in you. If he does not, then you should beware. You may already be left behind, without knowing it, from the present move of God in Christ. 

If all you have in your spiritual life in Christ are church Sunday programs and church activities and concerts, cantata, medical missions (that use expired medicine for "healing"), prayer meetings (that do nothing but pray for what the ego and flesh desire), non-stop worship (that worship more the performers than God) and things like that--no terrifying, supernatural, weird, moments with Christ now and then--then you're not in Jesus' rocking boat.

What? Jesus' "rocking" boat? I thought they said Jesus' boat never rocks? Oh yes it does! That's why they also say you have to sit down. Jesus' boat rocks and that's where the excitement in walking (or boating) with him comes. That's how you prove to yourself that where Jesus is, it's the safest place on earth!

So, how about giving up everything for starters? Give up your ministry, position, titles, degrees, accomplishments, achievements, so-called "success" trophies, your self--in fact, you life--as my Jesus did, emptying himself, making himself "nothing." Does that terrify you?

Be God's flesh on earth.