Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Mark 1:41 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5 “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” Mark 5:19
And the prayer of faith will save the sick & the Lord will raise him up. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. We'll talk about that tomorrow.
These are excerpts from 'Just Jesus'. Lessons from the book of Mark. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. James 2:26 Let's continue from yesterday... faith kept walking. Jairus did not stop Jesus from going to his house and therefore did not stand in the way of God doing an incredible miracle! Faith moves. Faith takes action. Faith touches Jesus. As many as touched (to fasten one's self to, adhere to, cling to) Him were made well. Mark 6:56
Faith declared. Faith came. Faith begged. Faith took Jesus home even though their little girl was dead. Faith carried the sick to Him. Faith moved. (Mark 5:6; 5:27-28; 5:40; 6:55; 7:25; 7:32) Faith is active trust. Don't let the astonishment of what we witness drive us to fear & unbelief. Look at Mark 5:35-36 with me: While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” Now that's a challenge!! The word ‘afraid’ here is the word ‘Phobeo’ and means:
The great thing here in this particular story is that Jairus chose to believe. They kept walking... Here's the rest of the story Mark 5:37-42. Now, click on this link to read the following: Mark 6:2; 6:51-52; 7:37; 8:14-21 What do you see here in relation to astonishment and what effect it may have on us. Have you ever been so amazed at what you see that you did not believe it? What do you see in these examples that show you the heart of God? How many times will He continue to teach us and show us grace? Put your mouth where your faith is. There is a time to be still and a time to make declaration. Faith builds in the presence of God & in the feeding of His word. But faith without action is dead. This is where we need to put our mouth where our heart is ... Say what you believe. Let your request be made known to God. (Psalm 5:3) Mark 5:23 Jairus told Jesus that if He just came and laid His hands on his daughter she would live. Mark 5:28 The woman said that she knew if she could only touch Jesus she would be healed.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Jesus says, ‘Hear Me everyone, and understand... If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.' Do you listen as well as you hear? I've just finished watching a movie with a couple of my grandkids. Unfortunately, I cannot recall most of it because I was not really listening well. I've been laying on the couch with a bit of an achy body - fighting some bug, I guess - and therefore not paying attention all that well, dozing off mid-scene... The movie still played. My ears heard it all. But my mind did not. I'll have to watch 'Cars 2' again with them sometime. :) Take time to really digest what God is saying to you through His Word. Slow down, if needs be, and read those verses again until you really hear. Ask Him to open the eyes of your understanding. Let your faith be supported and fed by what you hear. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:16-17) I know that this may sound like a strange thought. It may even sound disrespectful to some. But desperate times often result in desperate measures. Ever been there? Remember ... Faith is active trust. Jesus loves faith. I don't think He's so concerned about how we release it! To beg - entreat, pray, beseech, petition, appeal, implore, plead, urge. There are eight times in Mark that we see someone / people / even demons imploring Jesus for help. Here are three: Mark 5:22-23 - Jairus came and fell at His feet (worshiped) and begged Him (or, as the NLT Bible says 'pleaded fervently' with Him) to come & heal his daughter. (read whole story) Mark 7:26 - Jesus was trying to take a break, but this woman found Him and begged Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. (read whole story) Mark 7:32 - There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. (read whole story) “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. Mark 5:6 Faith worships God. Faith runs to meet Him - to safety. Here we see this man, who is full of unclean spirits, running to Jesus and worshiping Him!! I find this to be an incredibly stunning scenario!
Take Note… It was the man bowing to Jesus, not the demons! It is important to understand that demons know who God is, but they will not submit to Him. (see James 2:19) Read it for yourself ... Mark 5:1-20 (NKJV) Jesus is moved by faith!
For the next 14 days I will be posting excerpts about 'FAITH', taken from the book of Mark (Just Jesus). The bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Let's feed faith. This story is amazing and builds my faith. Humanly speaking, the woman had nothing left. Her only option was God. She knew that Jesus could do it for her. All she had to do was touch Him. Imagine this scene as you read. A multitude of people (that's a lot) pressing on Jesus, following Him, hoping for something. Mark 5:21, 24-34 Faith knows God is God. When she heard about Jesus, she came … and touched His garment. This woman had heard about Jesus and knew who He was:
QUESTION? How does this impact you? Is there a situation in your own life that needs to realize that God is truly the only answer to it? Remember: Faith is active trust. It is sure of what it hopes for and feeds on the very word and presence of the living God. “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Mark 5:34 What is faith? Well, I know that the dictionary doesn’t say this, but I will venture to say that faith is a verb. It is not static. It runs to and hears and knows God; declares & acts on His purposes and links our humanity with His endless possibilities. Faith is active trust. It is an act of the will. Jesus loves faith! In fact, He rejoiced over the faith that those who followed Him displayed. (see Luke 10:17-24) God loves faith and moves to action when He sees & hears it in action. So much hinges on our faith. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve made it sound so mystical that it has lost its substance (Hebrews 11:1). Scripture tells us that faith can be seen, that you can hear it and be moved by it. Jesus often remarks that He was moved to act on someone’s behalf because of “their faith”. My faith is not reliant on someone else' faith. It may be encouraged & spurred on by someone else, but it will always be accountable to me. Jesus was always mentoring, teaching and prodding His followers to learn. They would ask Him to feed the crowd and He would ask them what they had to contribute (Mark 6:37). He said that faith was like a mustard seed in Mark 4:30-32, that when it was planted it would grow into something others could benefit from. So, was faith the seed or was faith in the knowing of what the seed could become? The seed was just a seed but faith saw the potential of that tiny seed and planted it in the ground! Faith is active trust. It is not passive, but it does not need attention. It is sure of what it hopes for and feeds on the very Word and presence of God, growing into maturity. |
Inquiring MINDS
Please inquire for the word of the LORD today. 1 Kings 22:5
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