Matthew 4:23–25
23Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Focused Thinking:
How long had it been since someone did the things Jesus did?
The last prophet was Malachi.
There was 400 years of silence from God before John the Baptist.
Not one living soul had ever witnessed anything like Jesus before.
What does that say about the rabbis between Malachi and John the Baptist?
There had to be a remnant, but I assume there was a consistent decline from Malachi to John the Baptist.
If you think about it in today’s context, how many different denominations would have started during that 400 years because of in-fighting.
- How many church splits would have occurred because of in-fighting?
How many truths would go misunderstood or misrepresented?
How many truths would go underemphasized or overemphasized?
The world was in desperate need of God’s forerunner and the arrival of the Messiah.
- Can you imagine the buzz created by authoritative and accurate teaching?
- Can you imagine the buzz created by someone proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom?
- Can you imagine the buzz created by someone healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people?
Now, it is easy to see why “news about Him was spreading throughout all Syria.”
They brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and HE HEALED THEM.
Don’t minimize this as the norm because it is in the Bible; it was not the norm at that day and time.
Miracles of this magnitude have never been this prevalent and consistent until the time of Jesus.
How would you respond today if someone came along healing people of these types of diseases and ailments?
Personal Application:
Far too often we minimized the truths and events of the Bible because we think they were normal in Bible times. These truths were not normal in Bible times; therefore, I need to put myself in the story and ask how I would have responded.
I need to find the TIMELESS TRUTH and find a way to APPLY IT in a TIMELY WAY.
I need to find out what was truth THEN and THERE; and find a way to obey that truth in the HERE and NOW.
We need to design a process to capture the stories of God today.
- We need to find them.
- We need to record them.
- We need to show them.
People need to see and experiences the miracles/stories of God today.
People need the hope that the miracles/stories of God provide.
Rev 12:11
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Nothing is more powerful than a “Going Public” story.
Nothing is more powerful than a “Life-Change” story.
Nothing is more powerful than a “Serving” story.
Nothing helps people BELIEVE more than seeing and experiencing God’s truth through real stories.
Nothing helps people FOLLOW more than seeing and experiencing God’s truth through real stories.
Nothing helps people SERVE more than seeing and experiencing God’s truth through real stories.
Interactive Prayer:
Father, make me a teacher who teaches with Your authority and accuracy. Make me a teacher who says what You want said, the way You want it said. Make me a teacher who teaches in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. Give me the ability to teach from a reservoir of time spend in prayer and in Your Word. Give me the ability to know Your Word and to teach it with Your anointing. I pray that Your Word will fall on good soil and produce 100-fold.
I pray that this series will move people from attendees to followers. I pray that this series will move people to repent of consumerism Christianity and commit to courageous Christianity. Father, I ask that Your Holy Spirit will fall upon us and do for us what we cannot do according to our abilities. Father, give us the ability to go from modest results to God-sized, unexplainable results. Increase the obedience of our people and You will increase Your results through Your people.
Father, give us the resources needed to increase our video team for the purpose of capturing life-change stories and using them to create more life-change. Father, give us Your vision for making Rev 12:11 true in a modern day context. Give us the ability to ignite a true movement of God by giving people the opportunity to see You through Your stories.
Father, make us a holy people. Increase our faith and faithfulness. Help us to live for You with greater love and obedience than ever before. Help us repent of our false loves and idols. Help us be a people who truly love You and love one another. Make us a church that is truly a friend of sinners. Give our people ownership of this vision so they will carry to every person in this city. Give us the ability to truly be a place of compassion without compromise. Father, bless and anoint our efforts for Your glory.
Father, give us the ability to get people connected. Help us help people build friendships and truly become the body of Christ for one another. Father, it is so needed. It is impossible to survive alone, much less thrive alone. Give us the leadership needed, the quality needed, the critical mass needed. Give us the vision to get people connected and committed.
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