But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,

5 Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).

6 And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed one).

7 He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].  Ephesians 2:4-10 AMP

 

God has a wonderful plan for every person who has ever lived and who will ever live. Before anyone of us was born, God had a plan to bring us into relationship and fellowship with Himself. He prepared paths ahead of time for us to walk in. He prearranged the good life and made it ready for us to live. All that stood in our way was a wall of partition, created by sin.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near. 14 For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us, 15 By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.  Ephesians 2:13-15 AMP 

 

Jesus, by His crucifixion, death and resurrection, broke down and destroyed the wall of partition between God and man. All that was left was for each person to recognize what Jesus did for them and to believe in Him and to receive Him as their mediator and peace-maker.

 

Before you meet Jesus, you live a life that has no purpose and no rewards. Whether you believe in fate or in making your own destiny and no matter how hard you work at it, you never find your higher purpose. However, the moment you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you begin to live a new life – you begin to walk on the path that God has ordained for you and you begin to live the good life that He has prepared for you.

 

When you become a child of God, He begins to reveal to you His plan and purpose for your life. As you press in to His Word, He begins to show you the good life that you can live in Him. As you press in to hear His voice, your desires change to line up with God’s desires for you. You begin to walk on the path that He had planned out for you before you were born. You begin to life this wonderful life in Him that He had prepared for you even before He sent Jesus to die for you.

I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.  Deuteronomy 30:19 AMP

 

You may have been born into this earth with nothing going for you, destined for trouble and tragedy, but in Jesus, you are born again into blessing, destined for a life of love, peace, joy, fulfillment, satisfaction and the glory of God. It is your choice – so choose the good life!

Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.  Psalms 34:19 AMP

 

We live in an imperfect world. As a result of man’s sin and the devil’s influence, this earth is full of sickness, disease and death. Sickness, disease and death don’t discriminate – calamity is something that threatens everyone at different times in their lives. You will have many opportunities to be defeated by the things that go wrong in your life, and without God, you have no remedy. However, Jesus defeated the devil at Calvary, took away the keys of death, hell and the grave and then anointed the believers to walk in His authority, in His Name, on the earth! When you walk with God and call on Him out of a pure heart, He will deliver you from every situation that threatens you.

For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.  Proverbs 24:16 AMP

 

Everybody experiences challenges and opportunities to give up and be defeated. Sometimes life knocks you right down, but if God is on your side, it cannot knock you out! The wicked are overthrown and thoroughly defeated by calamities, but the righteous place their trust in God and they get back up on their feet again. The devil keeps swinging at the righteous – sometimes he misses, sometimes he lands a punch – but they just keep on getting back up and hitting him back!

 

Psalms 118:6 AMP says, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”  and Romans 8:31 AMP says, “What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] .” If you know that God is on your side, then you need have no fear. No man, no beast, no demon, no foe can successfully challenge you. God is bigger, mightier, and smarter than all of them! They have already lost before they began!

The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step]. 24 Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him. 25 I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the [uncompromisingly] righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread. 26 All day long they are merciful and deal graciously; they lend, and their offspring are blessed. 27 Depart from evil and do good; and you will dwell forever [securely]. 28 For the Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off. 29[Then] the [consistently] righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.  Psalms 37:23-29 AMP

 

The Lord is always close to the good man, who delights in God and God delights in him. Even when he stumbles, the Lord grabs his hand and helps him back to his feet. The wicked will not be around forever, but the righteous endure and are blessed now and forever.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the [uncompromisingly] righteous and His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles. 18 The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.  Psalms 34:15-18 AMP

 

Just like a loving mother carefully watches over her precious baby, the Lord is always watching over His humble, righteous ones and He hears them in the moment that they cry out to Him. When they cry for help, He hears and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles!

It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.  Psalms 118:8-9 AMP

 

Don’t put your trust in the arm of man. God is the only One Who will never let you down in your hour of need. King David faced many “giants” in his life besides Goliath and God delivered him every time because David trusted in Him.

 

This should be your faith confession and your confident declaration:

But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. 8 Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.  Micah 7:7-9 AMP

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

 

9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely-be content with your pay.”  Luke 3:7-14 NIV

 

When a change occurs in your heart, a change occurs in your mouth and in your actions. John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He commanded the people that they should, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” and he told them that, “the ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

 

John was straightforward and brutally honest with people – he called things as they were and he got people’s attention. They were either convicted of their sin and they repented, or they became really mad at John and continued in their sin. Once people repented and were baptized, they were hungry for righteousness.  They asked John questions about how they should conduct their lives from then on.

John encouraged all of them to be unselfish and to share whatever extra clothes and food that they had with those who had nothing. The tax collectors would usually take more from the people than what was owed and keep it for themselves. For this reason, they were hated and reviled by the populace. John told them to be honest concerning the taxes they collected and not to steal from the people. He told the soldiers not to use their authority to steal from, threaten, intimidate, or falsely accuse people. 

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,

13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  James 2:8-17 NIV

 

 

James writes, in his book, that, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” You may have faith, but until you put action to your words, your faith is not proven. You don’t have faith because you say you have faith – you have faith because you acted on your faith. Faith, by its very nature requires action!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Galatians 2:20-21 NIV

 

Righteousness with God is not attained through your own works, actions or efforts – it is purchased with the priceless and precious blood of Jesus. However, once you have heard the gospel – once you have realized that Jesus died for you – you must take action. If you believe then you must speak – you must believe in your heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and you must open your mouth and confess that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Otherwise you will not be saved.   

 

James encourages us to, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” As the body of Christ, we are not judged as the world is judged, but we will be judged by the Word – whether what we believe is translated out into our life and our actions. Whatever is in your heart will be heard coming out of your mouth and will be seen manifested in your actions. Your fruit will reveal your root and all that is truly in your heart.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children– 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.  Psalms 103:8-18 NIV

 

God is so good to His children. He is so compassionate, merciful, gracious, faithful and just. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. He is abounding in love – He has more than enough love to give – His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth. He heals your infirmities and forgives your iniquities. Because of His love and mercy, He does not treat you the way you deserve to be treated.

 

When your life is one big mess – He doesn’t even care how messy your messes are – He is willing to jump right in the middle of them and clean you and them up. When the world has finished with you, lost patience with you and cast you aside, God has only just begun to work with you and help you. 

 

Psalms 103:14 says that, “He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” God remembers that you are dust, and He has mercy on you, but sometimes you forget. You think that YOU are all you need and then you think to call on the Lord only when you have failed to make it on your own or when you have boxed yourself into a corner.

 

You all have natural parents who care for you until you become independent of them and you no longer need them, but as you grow spiritually, God teaches you to rely less on yourself and more and more on Him. He wants you to trust Him completely and lean on Him entirely. He wants you to lay down your own visions, dreams, and desires and yield your will to His. He knows something you don’t know – that your greatest blessing comes when you lose yourself in Him.

 

Your natural mind has a hard time understanding this. You take a huge leap of faith when you first begin to rely on Him and His wisdom instead of your own. Luke 17:33 says, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” And John 12:25-26 says, “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

 

You must lose your life in order to find it. Lose yourself in the Spirit of God and you will find out who you really are. Realize that you are nothing and He is everything and you begin to open yourself up for His blessing.

 

There is a realm in God that you will never experience until you have yielded your heart, soul, will and strength to the Father. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all you need to make it in this life. You can trust the arm of the flesh and struggle for years, or you can place your whole life in the hands of the Father and be an over-comer in every arena of your life!

 

 

 

 

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.

 

23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

 

24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

 

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

 

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

 

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

 

28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

 

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

 

30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.”

 

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

 

33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

 

34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-he and his whole family. Acts 16:22-34 NIV

 

Verse 31, in the Amplified Bible, says, “And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well.”

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, in essence, you are giving yourself up to Him and into His care. You are no longer in your own care – you are in His care.

 

You take yourself out of your keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping. From the moment you trust Him with your life, He begins to watch over you in earnest. You are now His and He takes that very seriously. He watches over those who are is – to bless them, to keep them, to protect them and to provide for them.

 

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Luke 12:22 NIV

 

31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’

 

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

 

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matthew 6:31-33 NIV

 

When you give yourself into the Father’s keeping it means that you cease to worry yourself about your own keeping and you now completely trust Him to take care of you. Before you were a believer, you spent all your energy worrying about and working to take care of your basic needs, but as a believer, God says to you, “I will watch over you and provide for you!” We tend to think that we are responsible for the basic things and God is responsible for the bigger things.

 

We want to decide when to invite God to participate in our lives, but that is our pride manifesting! He wants us to know that we can depend on Him from the smallest things to the biggest things and that we must depend on Him from the smallest things to the biggest things!

 

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

 

We are not our own. We belong to the Father, the Son – Jesus – and the Holy Spirit. We must honor God by trusting Him with our lives. By allowing Him to lead us, guide us, protect us and provide for us. We must trust His Word that says we are His and that we must “cast our cares on Him because He cares for us” (1 Peter 5:7).

 

Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus is the “Author and the Finisher of our faith” and in Philippians 1:6, Paul says that he is confident of this, “that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I can trust Him with every aspect of my life, from the smallest to the greatest, because, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” (Song of Solomon 6:3) and “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” (Song of Solomon 2:4)

 

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Luke 5:17 NKJV

 

As we study the Gospels, we find a record of the healing and miracle ministry of Jesus. Over seventy percent of His life and ministry was healing the sick and casting out devils. Modern day religion and tradition says that the day of miracles is over, however, God’s Word says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). He has not changed. What He did then – He still does now!

 

Salvation – Greek word “soteria” – is translated in the KJV as deliver, health, salvation, save, saving. It means rescue or safety (physically or morally). Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says that, “soteria” denotes deliverance, preservation, and salvation for our spirit, soul and body. “Salvation” is used in the New Testament of deliverance from everything that threatens us, whether in spirit, soul or body.

 

If we serve God, He promises to deliver us personally and also as a nation. He will deliver us from the bondage of sin and also keep us safe from all physical dangers that threaten our life, our health and our well being, including sickness and disease. He will deliver Israel at His second coming and He will save His Church from the wrath that will be poured out on the ungodly at the culmination of the ages. The Lord’s salvation includes all the blessings bestowed by God on men in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

 

When Jesus died at Calvary, He paid the price – not only for our sins, but for our sickness, too. For those who think that we are only saved from sin and nothing else – think about this: it is ridiculous to think that Jesus would save you from your sins and eternal damnation, only to make you live in hell all the way till you get to Heaven!

 

It is evident in the ministry of Jesus that He wanted to heal people and perform miracles, because He is compassionate and He is good.  That is what the Gospel is all about – Good News! Good news to the lost – you don’t have to be lost any more. Good news to the sick – you don’t have to be sick any more.

 

The healings and miracles that are recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not the only miracles that Jesus did, because the book of John 21:25 NKJV says that, “there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

 

This means that during Jesus’ three and a half years of earthly ministry, He performed miracles every day – healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out devils, forgiving and restoring people – spirit, soul and body.

 

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the father’?

 

10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

 

11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

 

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  John 14:9-12 NIV

 

Jesus did nothing on His own. His Father did the works through Him. In the same way, Jesus works through us to perform miracles to bless and help people. When He ascended, He gave the His power and ability to His disciples and to ALL who believe His Word. He said to us in Mark 16:15-18 NKJV, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

 

17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

 

18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  

 

By God’s Word and with His power, we can lay hands on the sick and see them healed. He is the Healer – we just lay our hands on the sick. Always expect something to happen when you lay hands on the sick. You and I are an extension of the healing and miracle ministry of Jesus. The healing and miracle ministry of Jesus is still alive today – in us.

 

See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him–his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness–so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.  Isaiah 52:13-15 NIV

 

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Isaiah 53:1-3 NIV

 

In their pride, men have been trying for generations to reach God their way. They look at what they can see with their eyes and understand with their minds. They imagine that they know who God is and also what He requires of us. Because of this, men have done all kinds of weird, wonderful and sometimes strange and even horrible things in their quest to please God or who or what they think of as their god. They are not aware that God has already reached down to them and provided a path into His glorious presence through Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

 

We expect a king – or the son of a king – to look, speak and behave a certain way. We judge them by their outward appearance. If we met the son of a king, knowing that he was the son of a king, we would undoubtedly treat him with great dignity and respect. However, if we did not know that this person was actually a prince, we would probably treat him like any other regular person.

 

If he did not make a very good impression on us, we possibly would not think much of him and we might treat him with even less regard than we would treat any one else. Once we found out that he was royalty, our attitude might change a great deal. We would suddenly offer this prince preferential treatment. This is rather insincere of us, but it is how people act all the time. We look at outward appearances and allow them to influence us.

 

Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. He came to heal, deliver and set us free. But when He walked on the earth, as a man, we had no idea Who He was or what He came to do for us. The Bible says that He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Even now He is despised. Despised by those who do not recognize Him for who He really is and by those whose eyes have been blinded by the enemy and also by their pride.

 

Jesus was the Son of God. He came to love, heal and forgive. He offered us a ticket to heaven – priceless and yet totally free of charge to us – all we have to do is humble our hearts to receive. And yet He was despised and rejected by men – we did not regard Him nor esteem Him. In fact, there were many who were appalled at Him–His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness.

 

They thought of Him as nothing more than a mere man – a liar and a fraud. They mocked Him, beat Him, spat on Him and crucified Him. And yet He was an offering, poured out for the very ones who despised Him. Not only that – He did it all willingly in spite of the way He was treated.

 

Because Jesus acted wisely in obeying His Father, God says that He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. “He will sprinkle many nations” – Jesus may have been despised and rejected, but through His death and resurrection He has impacted the nations of the world by His Spirit and His word. “Kings will shut their mouths because of Him” – the whole world – kings too – must bow their knee and acknowledge Him as King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

 

Something wonderful happens when our eyes are opened and we see Jesus for Who He really is. Something happens on the inside of us and we are changed. What we were not told, we will see, and what we have not heard, we will understand. You may have unknowingly despised Jesus in the past, but as you acknowledge Him and receive Him as Lord and Savior – you will see what you have not been told and understand what you have not heard and you will know the truth – that Jesus is Lord!

For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.  Mark 7:25-30

 

 

This Syrophenician woman should not have received a miracle because she did not qualify for one. According to Jesus, she was not one of the children. However, she did not know it and if she did, she did not let that stop her. Even when Jesus said that healing was the children’s bread and that the bread should not be given to dogs. She could have been offended because He called her a dog. However, instead of being offended she was bold and pled her case. She said to Jesus, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs!” And Jesus replied, “Because of this saying, you have what you requested.”

 

Now, many people would look at this woman’s example and say, “Well I will just settle for the crumbs that fall from the table.” However, you and I—as born-again children of God, washed in the blood—are not dogs. We are God’s children and therefore the loaf—not the crumbs—belongs to us. This is all because of Calvary and the finished work of the cross. Take a look at what Isaiah 53: 1-5 says in the Living Bible.

 

 

But, oh, how few believe it! Who will listen? To whom will God reveal his saving power? In God’s eyes he was like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. But in our eyes there was no attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him. We despised him and rejected him—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we didn’t care. Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins! But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed!

 

Because of Calvary, God has to honor the cross. There are different methods of healing and there are conditions to fulfill in order for us to receive our healing. However, the cross has to work! By grace, through faith, the price was paid. Who has believed our report? Who will believe? Will you believe today? You have to make the decision that you believe the report of the Lord. You are not a dog you are a child. Step up and grab a loaf of healing.

 

If this woman’s daughter could get healed under the Old Covenant, when she was not even eligible, how much more can we be healed us under our new covenant—based upon better promises—signed and sealed by the shed blood of Jesus.

 

Healing is the children’s bread. Why should we settle for the crumbs when we can have the whole loaf?

October 22, 2008 – October 24, 2008

Rodney Howard Browne will be at Love International Ministries in Phoenix Arizona Wednesday October 22, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. through Friday October 24, 2008. Saints in Arizona and across America are invited to this Holy Ghost and Fire meeting. Please, rearrange your schedule and come help us shake an entire city. Get ready to attend this special 3 day event. Speaker:

Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne
Love International Ministries
5201 N. 27th Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona 85017
United States
(602) 242-8644
(602) 285-1777

Join us at this location for 20 days of Power Evangelism October 6th-25th @ 9 AM.
All classes will be conducted in English and Spanish.

Rodney Howard Browne gave his heart to the Lord at the age of five. Rodney Howard Browne came to America with a passion burning in his heart to see souls saved and lives touched. In December 1987 he traveled to America to fulfill the call and plan and purpose of God. The Lord told him to, “Stir up the churches and tell them to get ready for the coming revival.” in order to see a great harvest of souls. Rodney Howard Browne feels that God has called him to teach the body of Christ, by example, so that the presence of God can be made welcome and so that He can touch His children as He sees fit. Rodney Howard Browne has seen mighty revivals break out in North, South and Central America, Africa (including South Africa), the United Kingdom, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Israel and run anywhere from one to four consecutive weeks. Rodney Howard Browne was called to stir up the churches and the pastors, shake them out of their complacency, fire them up to press in deeper with the Holy Spirit, and then leave them to do what God has called them to do in their city. Rodney Howard Browne and his ministry team, under the banner of Revival Ministries International, travel about 46 weeks of the year, holding weekly meetings in cities across North America and around the world. They also pastor a church in Tampa, Florida, The River at Tampa Bay, which he founded and which now has 3000 members.