We talk about faith, we have to have faith! I laugh, because my wife used to complain that I jumped into bed. But that was an ‘act of faith’ that the bed wouldn’t collapse! We all have to use an element of faith. If you get in a car and somebody else is driving it, you need faith! Faith in its simplistic sense is part of everyday life! It’s the trust you have. You trust people, you have to trust your doctor, the police, your government – though often they fail us – they are only human. But if faith is trust, faith in God is faith in the unfailing God!
Trusting God Against the Odds – Lessons from Numbers 13 & 14
An interesting ‘window’ on faith is found in Numbers 13. Moses and the whole of Israel had halted on the borders of the Promised Land after their arduous journey. There they were, within sight of their goal, the fulfilment of all God’s promises within their grasp. Surely this was all that they could ask for, the ultimate reward for the sufferings which they had endured both in the last days in Egypt and in the travelling. This was the reason why God had performed all the outstanding miracles both in Egypt and in the crossing of the Red Sea, in order to give them deliverance and to fulfil His promise to give them this land.
Jesus Heals, Calls, and Sends
Matthew 9.18-38; 10.1-4: In the crowd there was only one woman who got what she came for. Touch Jesus today. Be the one person in the crowd who actually gets through. Or will you be at the back of the crowd and go away disappointed. The choice is yours. Of all the hundreds of people around Jesus, many touched Him but only one touched Him in faith. Where are you in that crowd today? In the back, careless, indifferent, or are you determined to reach him. Jesus wants you to touch him. He has something new he wants to put in your life.
Get Up and Walk: Faith and Forgiveness in Matthew 9
All my life I have recognised that God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. HAS POWER ON EARTH! NOT JUST IN HEAVEN! That’s why Jesus could say to the man, “Get up” and the man got up, healed. And the crowds saw this as the demonstration of the Authority and Power God has ON EARTH, and they gave God the Glory!
Faith That Heals and Forgives
This miracle in Matthew 9 started with the fact that Jesus ‘saw their faith’. We see this so many times in the four Gospels, and particularly in this chapter. We see a dead girl raised from the dead after a woman, who had been bleeding for 12 years, touched His garment and was healed. Her faith was so strong, she didn’t need Him to respond, just reaching out and secretly touching His coat would bring the miracle! She believed her touch, not His, would heal her. This was an incredible demonstration of faith.
God works miracles
Our faith is not faith until it is put to the test! Without testing, without proving it, it’s just something in the mind. Peter wrote, ‘...so that the TESTING OF YOUR FAITH, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ!’ (1 Peter 1.6-7).
The Kingdom of God in Power
'For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power... For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes,' (1 Corinthians 4.20; Romans 1.16, NIV). I have seen the power of God in an incredible way. From childhood, I wanted every day and every part of my life to be under the direction and control of the Holy Spirit. Now when I look back over 75 years of ministry I know with absolute certainty that there has been both purpose and direction in my life. God has been in control of all my days and all my experiences. Everything that has happened in my life was foreknown in His plan.
Blessed through obedience
1 Kings 17&18 Bible Study: If we obey the Word of God, what we have will not run dry until God fulfills every promise. There is a great responsibility on us to obey God; our obedience will affect unbelievers. If we as individuals, and collectively as the Church, are disobedient as King Ahab was in 1 Kings 16.33, then God's anger is roused. We are called to be 'salt and light'. Salt is a purifer and preserver; if the salt loses it's saltiness, it is of no use anymore. There is a danger today that the Church is abandoning the commands of the Lord to adjust to society; I cannot overemphasise this need to obey God's Word.
The Wonders of God
‘Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?’ (Deuteronomy 4:32-34, NIV)
Get on Fire for God!
With God, nothing is impossible! Daniel 11.32 says, ‘Those who know their God will be strong and do exploits’ – the most amazing incredible things ever seen on the earth – ‘exploits’! Bigger than anything you can imagine! You should be doing more than anybody else! Church, we’ve got to get on FIRE! If you’ve got no fire, get the Holy Ghost!