Concerning receiving your miracles we have looked at 9 different steps,
namely:
- See God as He really is – THE GOD OF MIRACLES!
- Take your eyes off your circumstances and fix them on Jesus (Heb. 12:2; Isa. 26:3).
- Ignore the voice of Unbelief and Ridicule.
- See your problems as opportunities for miracles.
- Realize that in every promise of God is the seed for your miracle.
- Obey Instructions.
- Place a demand on the power of God by sowing a quality seed.
- Create the right atmosphere for miracles.
- Be expectant.
Now that we have gone
through all these steps, every one of us ought to believe God enough to receive
his/her own miracle today.
And because you are now
ready to receive your miracles today, I decree and declare that “YOUR ISSUE
IS PERMANENTLY OVER!”
In Mark 5:25-34 the Bible talks about a certain woman
that had an issue in her life. One thing is certain: This woman had “an issue” in her life.
What is an issue? An
issue is something that
is contrary to the Word of God which is happening in your life.
What type of issue did she have? She had “an issue of blood” (Mk. 5:25).
There are different types of issues happening in people’s lives:
1.
Poverty is a serious issue.
2.
Sickness is an issue.
3.
Demonic bondage is an issue.
4.
Blindness to “the truth” is an issue (2 Cor. 4:4).
5.
Being bruised and battered in your marriage is an issue.
6.
Stagnation in your career is an issue.
7.
Lack of a spouse in your life is an issue.
8.
Inability to excel in life no matter how much you try is an issue.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent
Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
For how long did this woman have this
issue? She had the issue for 12 years (Mk.
5:25). But her issue came to an abrupt end on the platform of faith. Her issue
came to an immediate end when she met Jesus. Jesus is the only solution to our
problems no matter how complex they may appear to be (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5;
Jer. 32:27; Lk. 1:37). In verse 34 Jesus said
to her, "Daughter,
your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your
affliction."
Examples of different people that had different issues
in life abound in the Scriptures!
1.
Lazarus’ issue was death. It came to an
end after 4 days (Jn. 11).
2.
The man by the pool of Bethesda had an
issue of paralysis that lasted for 38 years (Jn. 5).
3.
The man born blind had the issue of
blindness for as long as he was alive (Jn. 9:1-2).
4.
Sarah had the issue of barrenness that lasted
till she was 90 years old. God fulfilled His promise concerning her (Gen. 18;
Gen. 21). But Sarah lived to be 127 years before she died (Gen. 23:1-2). She
was the only woman in the Scriptures her year of death was recorded. Do you
know why? This is to show that no matter how old you are, once God’s blessing
comes upon you, He gives you time to live just to enjoy the blessing. She lived
for another 37 years to enjoy the blessing of God. I do not know how long your
issue has lasted. One thing is certain: no matter how hopeless your issue may
appear to be, once you can touch Jesus a touch of faith, your issue will come
to an abrupt end.
5.
A certain woman had an issue of hunchback
for 18 years (Lk.13:10-13, 16).
6.
Naaman
had an issue of leprosy. When he came to the man of God, Elisha, God healed him
of his leprosy (2 Ki. 5:1-15).
Like the woman with the issue of blood, there are
definite steps you MUST take to bring your issue to an end:
·
You
must first of all hear the undiluted Word of God (Mk. 5:27; Rom. 10:13-15).
·
She
thought it. You should think
about or meditate on what you heard (Mk. 5:27).
·
The third thing you should do is to say or confess
it (Mk. 5:28).
·
You must take a step of faith (Mk. 5:27).
·
The next thing you should do is to receive it (Mk. 5:29b).
·
She
told it. The next thing you should do
is to testify of what Jesus has done for you (Mk. 5:33).
·
She
followed Jesus. The final thing you
should do is to follow Jesus by remaining in faith (Jn. 8:31).
1. You must first of all hear the undiluted Word of
God (Mk. 5:27; Rom. 10:13-15).
The woman with the issue of blood (Jn. 1:1, 14). She
knew about Jesus. She knew that He was the only solution to all issues
[problems] (Acts 4:12). The Bible said that someone had told her about Jesus. “When
she heard about Jesus…” (Mk. 5:27).
The more she heard about Jesus, the more she was
brought to the point where she decided to put her trust in Jesus also.
In Romans 10:17 the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God.”
2. You should think
about or meditate on what you heard. She thought it! She
filled her thoughts with the Words she heard. She meditated on them. These
words renewed her mind and completely changed her mind set.
The Bible says in Psalm 94:11, “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of
man.” “For as a man thinketh in his heart [subconscious mind] so is he”
(Prov. 23:7).
She was able to think about Jesus because she heard
about Him. When she had heard of all the wonderful miracles that Jesus wrought
in the life of others, and knowing that God is not partial, and that Jesus is
the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8), she was moved to speak out
what was going on in her mind. You see, the truth you know about the Word of
God will set you thinking in the right direction. The Bible says that out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
“A good man out
of the good treasure of the heart
bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth
forth evil things” (Matt. 12:34-35).
She meditated on the Word she heard long enough to be
mentally revolutionized – the day dawned and the morning star arose in her
heart.
In 2 Peter 1:19 the Bible says, “We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”
3. The third
thing you should do is to say or confess it. In Mark 5:28 the
Bible tells us that SHE SAID, “If I may touch but His clothes [the
helm of His garment], I shall be made whole.”
That was exactly the third thing she did: She said it!
In Mark 11:23 Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into
the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things
which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
Whether positive or negative, according to what you
say, that is what you’ll receive.
In Proverbs 6:2 the Bible says, “Thou art snared [taken
captive] with the words of thy mouth.”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power
of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
This woman could have made a negative confession
instead of a positive one because everything about her situation suggests that
there is no hope. She could have said, “There is no need for me to go. I’ve
suffered for so long. Twelve years I’ve been sick. All the best doctors have
given up on my case. I’ve spent all my living on physicians. I’m not better. I
have nothing to live for. I might as well die.”
Beloved if that is what the woman said, that is
exactly what she would have gotten. But she did not speak negatively. She spoke
positively. She did not say what she was seeing, but she said what she wanted
to see. For she said, “‘If I may touch His clothes, I shall be made whole.’”
And it came to pass!
If you talk about your trials, difficulties, lack of
faith, and lack of money, your faith will shrivel and dry up. But if you talk
about the Word of God, and what your heavenly Father can do, your faith will
grow big to make you a winner over you situations and circumstances. If you
talk about sickness, it will develop sickness in your system. If you talk about
your doubts and fears, it will grow stronger and become bigger. If you talk
about lack of finances, it will stop the flow from on high so the money will
stop coming in.
The word of this woman which is totally in agreement
with what God said in His Word concerning her situation was the substance
of the healing she was hoping for. FAITH is the substance of things hoped for.
This was what gave substance to her expectation. Faith is the substance of the things
we are expecting.
“For surely there is an end and the
expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off” (Prov. 23:18).
Hallelujah!
One who has not prayed in real heart faith might say, “I don’t see the
result of the thing about which I have been praying, so it hasn’t come to
pass.” Listen to me, if the thing had come to pass you wouldn’t have to believe
it; you would know it. You must take the step of believing to come to the
place of knowing. Many want to know it first from the standpoint of it’s
coming to pass. But we know it from the standpoint that God’s Word says it is
so, then it materializes.
Notice what Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “…What things soever ye desire,
when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall HAVE them.”
Now notice that the having comes
after the believing. Jesus is
saying that you’ve got to believe you have it before you get it.
Even when every symptom in your body is crying out, “You don’t have
healing after you’ve been prayed for,” simply say to your flesh, “’The Bible
says, ‘Let God be true, but every man a liar….’ So if you say I am not healed
you’re a liar. God’s Word says that I am healed. If you sit around groaning, sighing
and complaining waiting for something to happen or waiting until you can detect
that every symptom is gone and all the flesh correspond with your faith before
you start believing God, then you are out of order.
In 2 Corinthians 4:18 the Bible says, “While we do not look at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
4. You must take a step of
faith. This woman did not stop at hearing the Word
(Rom. 10:17), meditating on the Word she heard (Prov. 23:7), confessing the
Word (Mk. 5:28), but she went on to take a step of faith. She put action
behind what she believed. She did what God can see to show that she was
serious.
Beloved, do you have a faith that God can see? It is
not enough to believe the Word, confess the Word. You have to do something
definite to demonstrate your faith.
When the day dawned and the morning star arose in her
heart [spirit-man], she was convinced enough to act on the Word of God.
Therefore, she acted on the Word of God.
She demonstrated her faith by leaving where she was and going to the Healer.
She did it. She put action
behind what she believed. Your action defeats you or puts you over. According
to your action, you’ll receive or you’ll be kept from receiving.
This woman had a number of obstacles to overcome. She did
not pray that God would remove the obstacles. She got up and walked over the
top of them all. Such obstacles include:
a) Religion: In those days, a woman with an issue of
blood was regarded in the same category as a leper and was not allowed to mix
with the public, according to the teaching of her religion. But her actions
said, “Religion or no religion, I’m going to get my healing.”
b) Custom: Also, in that day, women did not have
the liberty to mingle publicly. Again her action said, “Custom
or no custom, I’m going to
get my healing.” When she got there, a multitude of people crowded between her
and Jesus.
c) Crowd: In her weakened physical condition, that
would have been enough to cause her to give up. But her actions said, “Crowd
or no crowd, I’m going to
get to Jesus to bring my issue to an end. And she elbowed her way through. This
woman’s actions showed [demonstrated] her faith. Her action was an evidence
[proof] of her faith. She took a step of faith because faith without works is dead.
James 2:20 says, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith
without works is dead?”
James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead,
so faith without works is dead also.”
In Luke 5:17 the Bible says, “And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there
were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every
town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was
present to heal them.”
The whole world is concerned about the radioactive
material that is released when nuclear bombs are exploded in the atmosphere.
This is a power that cannot be seen or felt, yet it is a power that is deadly
and dangerous. There is a power that is at work on earth today that is neither
deadly nor dangerous – a good power, a power that heals, a power that delivers,
a power that restores, a power that promotes, a power that transforms lives.
And this unseen power is everywhere because Jesus is Omnipresent and wherever
He is there is power.
If this power is there you may ask, “Why isn’t
everyone healed?” Now listen, daughter Jesus said, “THY FAITH hath made thee whole” (Mk. 5:34). When
Jesus saw her faith, He said to her, “Daughter, thy FAITH hath made thee whole”
Notice that it was her faith [not her grammar, not her connections, not her crying
ability, not her nationality, not her mini-skirt] that caused that power to
flow out to her. You can’t link up with God except through faith. Faith brings
you to the realm of the supernatural. Faith brings you to the realm of the
miraculous.
In Mark 5:30 Jesus immediately knowing in Himself that
power [virtue, ability] had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and
said, "Who touched My clothes?" And the disciples replied, “Thou seest
the multitude thronging [crowding around] thee, and sayest thou, Who touched
Me?”
Many people touched Jesus that day, some touched Him
out of curiosity, some accidentally, and some to see if something would happen.
But no power flowed from Jesus until there came a touch of faith! The minute
there was a touch of faith, the power flowed out of Jesus to destroy
the yoke upon the life of that woman. Hallelujah!
When you link up with God through faith, virtue [power]
is instantly released into your situation and surely the solution to your
problem follows. This woman knew how to tap into the healing power of God. It
is like plugging into an electric outlet. If you can learn how to plug into
this supernatural power, you can put it to work for yourself, and you can instantly
bring your issue to an end. This plugging in is possible only by faith. Faith
is acting on God’s Word. When you turn the switch of faith on, your issue will
come to an abrupt end.
5. The next
thing you should do is to receive it. “She felt in her body that
she was healed of that plague” (Mk. 5:29). Jesus said, “Virtue
has gone out of Me. Somebody has touched me or power has gone out of Me”
(Mk. 5:20).
Notice that the feeling and the healing followed the
coming and the doing. The woman said it first. She then took a step of faith by
acting on the word she spoke. Then she received, and felt in her body that she
was healed. Many people want the feeling and healing first before the saying
and the doing, but that’s not how it works.
6. The next
thing you should do is to tell it. Testimony helps you to
keep what you’ve received from the Lord.
In Mark 5:33 the Bible says, “But the woman, fearing and
trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and
told Him the whole truth.”
Not only Jesus but the whole crowd heard her. She told
Him everything she had done.
7. The final
thing you should do is to follow Jesus by remaining in faith (Jn.
8:31-32, 36). If you don’t continue in the faith, you’ll quickly lose your
healing (Matt. 12:43-45).
Beloved, tell boldly what the Lord has done for you so
that others may hear it and believe in Jesus, the Son of the living God. That’s
the main purpose of testimony.
In John 20:30-31the Bible says, “And many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: 31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
And you ask, “Is it Scriptural to go tell it?” Yes! In
Mark 5:19-20 the Bible says, “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." 20 And
he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him;
and all marvelled.”
Beloved, do you have a faith that God can see? It is
not enough to believe the Word of God, confess the Word of God. You have to do
something definite to demonstrate your faith.
A certain woman Evangelist
was ministering to four people in wheel chairs. In a very quiet voice, she
said, “Rise and walk in the Name of Jesus.” Three of these people got up and
walked. The fourth said, “I can’t walk.” The others couldn’t walk either the
Evangelist said, “But they did.” I know they did, the crippled replied, “But I
can’t. You see I have not walked in 3 years.” At that point, the Evangelist
walked away and left her sitting there in her wheelchair. What happened,
someone may ask? The other three acted their faith and reaped the results. They
acted on the words the Holy Spirit spoke through the Evangelist. Acting on your
faith, acting on the Word of God you believe will yield the result you expect.
It will bring your issue to an end.
Therefore, if
you want to bring that issue in your life to an end right now,
you must choose to follow these 7 steps. It is not praying or crying, but it is acting on
what God has spoken in His Word that brings results.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
- Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor) 06.04. 2019
Promise
of God:
This week, “… you shall be like a well-watered garden” (Isa. 58:11).
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