Saturday, March 26, 2011

According To Your Faith



While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples. When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land … As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Matthew 9:18-30



Today we will discuss one of the key principles to having the wisdom from above that was guiding
Daniel and his friends, as well as the dead girl's father, and the blind men.


“It shall be done to you according to your faith.”


The story above describes some amazing miracles in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first story is about a Jewish religious leader whose daughter had recently died. When Jesus arrived at the girl’s home, there was a noisy group that had gathered to pay their respects. Jesus told the group: “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. When Jesus took the girls hand, she was raised from the dead. Apparently these scoffers were laughing at Jesus no longer. ”This news spread throughout all that land.” We can assume that since the father was a synagogue official that there were religious leaders in the crowd. At the very least, we can assume that since the news spread everywhere that the same men who plotted the death of Jesus were either in the crowd or for certain had heard about the raising of this girl, from the dead.

How could, and why would these leaders have ignored these and many other amazing miracles? Why did they turn against the promised Messiah; attempt to discredit Him; plot His death; and ultimately deliver Him to the Romans to be crucified? From the beginning of His ministry they schemed to destroy Jesus and His ministry. “The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:6. A verse from the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead makes their motives and ignorance, in one way, easier to understand. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:47-48 ... The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. John 12:9-11. The Jewish leaders were afraid that they would lose their position of authority and their nation if they did not stop Jesus' ministry. They were even considering killing Lazarus because he was living proof of Jesus’ miraculous power. Some Jewish leaders were also motivated by pride. Their spiritual authority was being questioned and Jesus openly pointed out their hypocrisy and ungodly spiritual leadership.

The one thing that overwhelmingly stands out in the vast majority of the miracles, is the incredible faith that all those healed had, in abundance. They had unwavering faith in Jesus ability to do the miracles. The official did not ask Jesus if He could raise his daughter from the dead, but rather said; “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” The blind men answered Jesus as follows: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” Jesus asked. They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Can you imagine having this depth of faith in anyone, let alone a stranger? Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened.

“It shall be done to you according to your faith.” … also applies to all of us as well. The choice is ours. We can have unimagined miracles; or we can have doubts that lead to confusion, wrong decisions, failure, unanswered prayers, and discouragement.

What made the faith of these men so much more powerful than many of us? Well possibly they were present and witnessed previous miracles, and maybe they were there at the Sermon on the Mount, or when He fed the 5,000 with just five loaves and a couple of fish. Mark 6:41. They most certainly had heard eyewitness accounts. In order to have the faith Jesus could heal from the dead or heal their blind eyes took enormous faith. The blind men called Jesus: Lord. It is clear to me that at this point that the Jewish people, other than most of the leaders had determined that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

Where does this leave us? What can we do to have this level of faith? Well these people all had their thinking changed. Do you need to have your thinking changed? Have you been transformed by the renewing of your mind? Remember: Daniel purposed in his heart. He made up his mind. Have you made up your mind to think Biblically; and to meditate on God’s Word; and to pray for the wisdom from above? Well if the answer to these questions is no; and you are not doing these things daily as Daniel was … "according to your faith" you will not likely bring the results you desire.

Since we are not benefited by Jesus’ physical presence, the next best thing we can do is to meditate on the stories of His miracles. These testimonies will help build our faith that will transform our hearts and minds. You must resolve that the scripture is absolute truth and then begin to continually affirm His promises for you during your prayers and meditations. Read the scriptures out loud; insert yourself into the promises that God has given to all of us. Memorize God’s Word so that you can bring His promises to mind, morning, noon, and night … moment, by moment; day by day. Pray everything over to the Lord. As long as your plans are your plans; and not God’s plans, they will lack the power of God. We cannot expect God’s wisdom understanding and blessings if we have not prayed for His guidance, abundance, and blessings.
Like Daniel, the blind men and the girl’s father you can pray miracles into your life: According To Your Faith.


Here are some miracles to look up; meditate on; memorize; repeat over; morning, noon and night; and to pray over to increase your faith.

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. Luke 18:42

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." Mark 5:34

And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:52

And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19

And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. Matthew 8:13

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you: Luke 17:3-6

Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” . Matthew 14:28-31
God bless you my friends, Bob

3 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,thanks for following my blog. Awesome posts and following your blog back. :)
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  2. Hi Bob. Nice to meet you...Thanks for stopping by and following my blog. Returning the favor. Thanks for sharing anyway.
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  3. Yes! Why did you doubt?!
    Thank you for this wonderful post filled with truth and for being a light in the world! Abundant blessings to you this day!

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