Wanda Mann Inquiring Minds

Day 8. Faith Moves God's Heart.

25/4/2013

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

over & over we see Jesus responding to the cry of someone’s heart and their faith in His ability to answer their need. (Mark 1:41; Mark 2:5)
we come full circle, back to where these faith lessons started from: Your faith has made you well. (Mark 5:34)
our faith in God moves & excites Him into action on our behalf!
God’s love & compassion are moved deeply by our active trust in Him.

And the prayer of faith will save the sick & the Lord will raise him up.
And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
James 5:15

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. We'll talk about that tomorrow.

These are excerpts from 'Just Jesus'. Lessons from the book of Mark.

Click here for more.

Day 7. Faith Moves.

24/4/2013

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

To touch someone we must reach for them; this is an act of faith.
What does it mean to ‘touch’ God?
To touch God, brings salvation. The word ‘well’ in the Mark 6:56 is from the Greek word ‘Sozo’ meaning to be made whole, to be saved, and to be healed. God is thorough.

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.

Day 6. Faith Believes the Unbelievable.

23/4/2013

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:

to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away), to flee
to fear, be afraid
to be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm
of those startled by strange sights or occurrences
of those struck with amazement

Is it possible to be so amazed that we won't believe? You know the line, "that's too good to be true"? The only way to truly accept Jesus at His word is to go back to the point made on DAY 1 of these faith talks. We must know that God is God. We must believe that Jesus is God and is bigger and smarter than any of us will ever be.

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?

Day 5. Faith uses Words...

22/4/2013

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.

With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak. (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Faith has great expectation and speaks with confidence & authority. (2 Corinthians 3:12)
Our words are powerful, revealing the spirit & intent of our heart. They have the potential to release life or death. (Proverbs 18:21)

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.

Day 3. Faith will Beg.

19/4/2013

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.
Matthew 7:7-8

Day 2. Faith Worships God.

19/4/2013

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!

The guy was full (a legion) of demons
He saw God coming & ran to Him
Not only did He run to him, he bowed and worshiped Jesus
The man knew & had faith
The demons knew and shrieked - they begged and cowered for mercy
Faith worships & bows down to God's Lordship.
Faith trusts Him and runs to His safety.
Demons do not have faith in God, but they know who He is.
Jesus is moved by faith

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)
Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” Then He asked him, “What is your name?”

And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “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.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Jesus is moved by faith!

Day 1. Faith knows God is God.

17/4/2013

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
Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him ... and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

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:

She knew enough about Him to make the declaration that He would heal her.
She knew enough to touch Him & expect the answer.
She knew He was her true hope.

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.

From every Direction

28/3/2013

Excerpt from "Just Jesus" - thoughts from the book of Mark. Click here for the full lesson.

“... and they came to Him from every direction.” Mark 1:45

Jesus was becoming famous without having a personal marketing manager, website or TV sponsor. He had no newspapers or billboards to display His stuff… just people who could not contain themselves. Jesus told them not to tell but how could they not?!

He comes on to the public scene as an unknown after living a fairly quiet, unobserved life, gets baptized by John and then it all begins. There was a report that after He was baptized, the sky parted and something like a dove landed on Him. Some people even claimed that the voice of God was heard to be telling Him how pleased He was with His ‘Son’. (Mark 1:10-11) No one saw Him for over a month (Mark 1:12-13) and then there were reports of Him teaching in the synagogues and preaching that the kingdom of God was at hand. (Mark 1:14-15) He started to gather a group of men to work with Him (Mark 1:16-20) and people were being healed and set free from demons. Everywhere He went, He preached and spoke with an astounding authority. (Mark 1:21-28) Everywhere He went, people were looking for Him. His fame had spread widely throughout the region of Galilee. (Mark 1:28, 37)

It was God’s Time! Jesus was out of the box and out of the shoot (rodeo shoot, race track gate). He had finally come forward knowing that it was the right time to do so, but surprisingly (to others) nothing was happening quietly or without provoking a response. He had a job to do and declared it openly.

“And He said to them, Let us be going on into the neighboring country towns that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.” Mark 1:38