According to Your Faith

© 05-08 Born-Again-Christian.info
Part I of II

God came from Heaven and taught that our faith in Him sets the limit on what He can do for us. The divine principle is:

Without faith it is impossible to please God. According to your faith will it be done to you. Mtt. 9:30a, Heb. 11:6a Holy Bible NIV

Here's an example of this in practice:

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out,
'Have mercy on us, Son of David!'
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them,
'Do you believe that I am able to do this?'
'Yes, Lord', they replied.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
'According to your faith will it be done to you'; and their sight was restored. Mtt. 9:27-30a

Jesus Christ: The Real Thing

Don't you adore the three great chapters, Matthew 8, 9, and 10, that follow the Sermon on the Mount? Crowds came to hear Christ preach on the mountainside, and God spoke with people face to face. In that address He tore the heart out of their corrupt understanding of His Law, and drew the line that led Him to Calvary, Glory, and Pentecost. It was revolutionary. A stunning message that none of His followers understood at the time.

The Preacher then descended from the mountain and put into practice what He preached. Chapters 8 and 9 record a torrent of supernatural miracles that teach us far more than words. Blind eyes were opened, demons cast out, paralytics cured, the dumb made to speak, the dead raised, all manner of sickness healed, and a violent storm subdued with a word.

No wonder crowds followed Him. They were tired of religious phonies and hypocrites. This Bloke was the Real Thing. He looked them in the eye like no one else, and He fixed whatever was wrong. He wants to do the same for you right now.

They sought Jesus just as they were, weary, helpless, troubled, and sick. Hardly the cream of Israeli society, they were a wild bunch in a mess, unholy and unrighteous. Just the kind He came from Heaven to redeem.

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners. Mtt. 9:13b

Is that you?

Which Ones Did He Heal?

God tells us:When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. Mtt. 8:16

Notice how there were no exceptions. He healed ALL the sick. So often we observe the word 'all' applies to 'healed' in the New Covenant. Do a personal Bible study and see. That's because Christ's healing is for all that believe in Him.

He hasn't changed. He will heal you now if you dare to take Him at His Word. But if you listen to false teachers muttering, 'the age of miracles has passed, the Lord wants you to suffer this sickness to teach you something', Satan will use their lies to rob you of God's Blood-bought blessings.

What God Says on Healing

Instead, listen to God the Holy Spirit, who says:

This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases. Mtt. 8:17

Christ healed all the sick, because on the Cross He bore our infirmities and carried our diseases.

Why? So believers don't have to bear infirmities or have diseases. Doubters do: believers don't.

Isn't that obvious? Everything you get from God comes by grace, through faith in The LORD Jesus Christ: Forgiveness, eternal life, salvation, healing, deliverance, power, and so on. You can't get them any other way than by grace through faith in Christ as your Saviour.

Jesus and the Leper

The first in line when The Preacher came down from His hillside 'pulpit' was a man suffering a terrible skin disease, probably Leprosy. There are no proud lepers; they are utterly broken in heart. Spurned by relatives and filled with fear; leprosy victims waste away in seclusion and misery. But this leper heard the Good News from Christ and was determined to speak with Him.

Kenyon on Healing

Listening to the Beatitudes, something switched on inside his heart: he knew that Jesus could heal him. Wide-eyed onlookers gasped and made way for him as he hobbled forward. No doubt holding their noses, and swatting the fly swarm while he limped by.

God's Law banned lepers from villages, synagogues, and The Temple. They were outcasts: unclean spiritually and physically. So it is understandable that this valiant leper had a profound question for The Prophet in his midst.

Hardly daring to look at Jesus he put the question millions want answered,

Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.

Is God willing to heal you? Countless sinners and believers remain in pain and disease because they are unsure of God's answer to this basic question. Christ answered it for the leper, for you, and for everyone who comes to Him.

Continue reading Part II here...