Last week we saw that God is able to do the unthinkable (Eph. 3:20; Lk. 1:37; Jer. 32:27). Today, we are going to focus on a question that Jesus asked: “BELIEVE YE THAT I AM ABLE TO DO THIS?”
“And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, BELIEVE YE THAT I AM ABLE TO DO THIS? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened…” (Matt. 9:27-30).
What then does it mean to believe? “To believe” something means to accept that that thing is true, especially without any absolute proof that you are right in doing so.
With what then does one believe? One believes with his “heart (spirit man).” “For with the heart man believeth…” (Rom. 10:10).
When God speaks of the human heart: He is actually talking about your spirit-man which is the very centre of your being.
What then does it mean to believe with the heart? To believe with the heart means to believe with your spirit-man, which is the unseen core of a person.
“To believe with the heart” means to believe apart from whatsoever your physical senses may be telling you.
For instance, as we look at the board over there with our physical eyes, the colour is white. Now, if God says that the colour of this same board is black, then in spite of what my physical eyes are seeing, I must accept that the colour of this board is black, because God said so, and He cannot lie (Num. 23:19).
This is why in spite of all that you are going through: God says that it is well with you. He says that you will not die but live to declare the goodness of the Lord (Ps. 118:17). He says that you are rich, even when you don’t have 10 Naira in your pocket. Let the poor say, I am rich. He says that you are strong even when your body is saying that you are weak. He says that you are healed even when your body is saying that you are sick. He says that no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isa. 54:17)
What does the outward man believe? The outward man, believes what he sees with his physical eyes, hears with his physical ears, or what his physical senses tell him – the natural faith!
What does the inward man believe? The inward man believes only what the Word of God says, regardless of what your senses are saying.
Here is the truth: You must Believe before you can Receive. In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever (1) ye desire, when ye pray, (2) believe that ye receive them, and (3) ye shall have them.”
“When ye pray” means right then – the very moment you pray.
“Believe (first) that ye receive them (your desires) and ye shall have them.” That is to say, “You’ve got to believe you’ve got it in the spirit realm before the expected result can manifest in the physical realm.”
That is to say: You must believe while you are still sick or while that trouble is still on, then the manifestation will appear.
For instance: The children of Israel shouted a shout of victory as instructed while the walls of Jericho were still standing. They acted on the Word from the LORD while the problem was still there staring at them.
And when they obeyed the instruction (Josh. 6:3-5) God gave them, God’s promise became a reality and those walls came down flat and became a bridge for them to cross over. Notice that the Bible says, “(1) Believe that ye receive them, and (2) ye shall have them.”Therefore, you must believe it first, and then you’ll have it.
Here is the truth: The very moment you believe God’s promise with your whole heart (inward man), it is settled in the realm of the spirit, and then the manifestation in the physical follows.
Examples of people that believed God’s Word abound in the Scriptures:
1. Hannah. “…18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So, the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to (in) Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her” (1 Sam. 1:9-19).
2. Virgin Mary. “…38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…” (Lk 1:26-38).
If I may now ask: “Do you believe God can heal your sickness?”
Conclusion: Therefore, no matter how extreme your problems are, GOD IS ABLE to help you.
Watch out for the next Edition of Good news from the pulpit.
Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG).
No comments:
Post a Comment