Grace Assembly : Acts of Grace

“Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.” (Luke 5:3)

Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret and a multitude of people “pressed about Him to hear the word of God” (Luke 5:1). The crowds were huge and the multitudes were eager and desperate to hear what Jesus had to say. Jesus wanted them to see Him, He wanted them to hear Him, He wanted them to be healed and to be saved - He had good news for them! But Jesus was faced with a predicament. The people could not see Him or hear Him – the crowds were just too massive!

Jesus, the bearer and the source of good news, had a need. He needed a stage, a platform where He could address the multitudes so that they could see Him and hear His message. Imagine, God Almighty had a need! And so Jesus turned to Peter and He said, “Peter, can you lend me your boat?” So Peter gave Jesus his boat and He got into the boat and taught the multitudes.

The Lord comes with a need. Spreading the gospel is a need, the gospel needs to be proclaimed, printed and published. There are tools that we need, we need facilities to house the widows, orphans, homeless and destitute. We need to bring in the sick, to house those who have been cast out and thrown out. We need a place for education and the equipping of God’s people. We need food to feed the hungry – every day, we provide 2,000 meals for the poor and hungry. We need clothes and shoes to cloth the naked. The needs out there are staggering and unbelievable! God says, “I have a need. Lend me your boat.”

Simon lent Jesus his boat. Jesus used it as His platform. God needs a platform, a vehicle for His will to be done on earth. He says, “Partner with me, come work with me so that the multitudes who have not seen me will see me. The multitudes who have not heard me will hear me and those who have no hope will have hope. I want you to partner with me!” And so He took Simon Peter’s boat and He used it to preach.

Beloved, everything you and I have is meant to be used by God to be a blessing. Every tool or instrument we have is to be used as a channel of blessing and redemption, otherwise the enemy will use it to destroy us. Everything we have is to bless somebody with, otherwise it is a curse.

As Simon Peter lent Jesus his boat, lend to Jesus what you have. It could be your talent, time in prayer, tools or treasures - just lend it to the Lord for the scripture says, ‘He that giveth to the poor lendeth unto the Lord and the Lord will repay’. (Prov. 19:17)

So the Lord is asking you, “What do you have? What can you give? Can you move up in faith, and trust in me? Lend me your boat - because I can use it to meet the needs of multitudes.”