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God Empowers the Weak (3) (audio) David Eells, 9/13/26 Let me share a testimony with you. Back when I was in the world, I had a deficiency that was passed on to me from my daddy. His daddy had this really bad sinus problem. My daddy used to pack around this bottle of Neo-Synephrine. It opened up the sinuses, and he carried it year-round. Growing up, I had the same problem. My sinuses would close up, and so I used that stuff to open up my breathing, but eventually it will eat the lining right out of your nose, and then I would have to use it even more. Well, when I saw that Jesus healed me at the cross, I threw that bottle away. God healed my nose then and it hasn't stopped up to this day. That was in my low twenties when I threw that bottle out by faith. And I've had head colds since then, but my nostrils haven't stopped up. When I threw that bottle out, that honored God so much that He just took it out. I used to have a natural problem with colds and sinuses, chest congestion, and all that left. The doctors gave me so much penicillin that it no longer worked for me.  Then I caught on to vitamin C, and I started taking it, and let me tell you, it did twice the good that the drugs and Neo-Synephrine had done. I saw it worked so much better than the shots, medicine, and stuff, but when I found out what Jesus did for me, I stopped taking vitamin C and I got deliverance from the whole curse of colds, congestion and sinuses. Even though the vitamin C worked better than the drugs because my system totally just was ignoring them by that point, I threw the vitamin C out, too. When I'd get a cold back then, and we'd have orange juice in the ice box, God would say, “Don't drink any of that; just totally avoid it.” He wanted to prove to me that the deliverance I was getting was from Him; it didn't have anything to do with vitamin C. Listen, I got delivered of something I had all of my life to that point. It was so bad that the infection would get in my inner ears, then my eardrums would burst, and I had fluid draining out of my ears. When God delivered me, I threw out the Neo-Synephrine, and I threw out the drugs and the vitamin C; I got total deliverance from that. It's no longer a problem.  So, what is it to walk by faith? We can pick up parts of walking by faith by looking at one another, but we need to get an image of what God's faith is. Look at Mark 11:22. Most versions read, “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.” But in the original version, it says, “Have God's faith” and the Numeric Bible says that, too. I thought about that, and I felt like the Lord told me that God's faith is not the faith of man in God, but the faith of God inside of man. It's hard for us to work up enough faith in God, but it's our right and privilege from the Scriptures to have God's faith in us, which is what salvation is all about. (Php.2:13) For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And you know it's our right because that's what Jesus did. He made reconciliation. Reconciliation is an exchange. Jesus took our unbelief; He put it on the cross along with the curse and He gave us His faith. We have to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin (Romans 6:11). Self is the unbeliever, but your spiritual man is not able to walk in unbelief because he is born again. He's born of God. The problem is our old carnal man gets in the way. From the time we are children, our carnal man is being trained to be our savior, to be a grown-up, but Jesus taught us that we have to become as children, or we won't enter into the Kingdom with its benefits. Now, we know that we're entering into the Kingdom because Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luk.17:21) and some translations say “among you” instead of “within you.” Both are true.  So we are entering into the Kingdom, but we can't enter into the Kingdom without being a child. And that means we are weak. That's not a grown-up, right? The qualities the world calls “grown-up” are not considered to be qualities in the Kingdom of Heaven. Casting all our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7) and putting our total trust in Him to be our supplier (Genesis 17:1), our Savior (Ephesians 5:23), our Healer (Exodus 15:26) – these things please God. (Heb.11:6) Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. So what we need is what He says in Mark 11:22. We need to “have God's faith” in us.  When you get a picture of Jesus, you may get a picture of a faith that you don't have by manifestation. Let me say that you can have that faith. The Bible says, We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory…. (2Co.3:18). You have to see it as an accomplished fact. You have to see the fact that Jesus has already given you everything that He is, and that includes His faith (Romans 5:10,11). And that's the way faith works. It speaks the end from the beginning. It calleth the things that are not, as though they were (Rom.4:17).  When we look in the mirror and we are to see Jesus. The Bible promises us that for this we'll be transformed into that image, from glory to glory, so we need to get a picture of His faith because that's our faith. It is the faith of God inside of man, not the faith of man in God, because the carnal man has no ability to walk in faith. We try and try to work faith up in ourselves, and that is the faith of man in God. But the faith of God inside of man is the Father's free gift given to us by grace. It's by grace we are drawn to the Father; that's His gift to us. And He will keep us in the same faith He put in us to cause us to come to Him at the beginning, if we continue to walk in that faith. He's given us the faith that we need. He's given “us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2Pe.1:3). He's given us all things. His divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (3) and faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4). (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith…. “Have you been saved” is what it says in the original and that's what the Numeric says and that's what the Nestles Text says. I believe the Received Text says that, too. “By grace have ye been saved through faith.” Faith always looks back. Faith believes you have received. It's always past tense. Hope is future tense. Hope is looking forward to something, confident that you will receive something, a firm expectation. Strong's says the Greek word elpis, meaning “hope,” is “a favorable or confident expectation.” But faith is looking back at something, not forward to something. It's something that you have already received. It's calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17). So whatever salvation is, whatever salvation incorporates, it comes by grace through faith and it comes by looking back. And since our salvation is past tense, it makes being weak of primary importance. If you obey the Word of God, if you obey the principles of Jesus, you will be weak in yourself. You will cease from your struggling to save yourself in situations; you will enter into the sabbath and cease from your works so that God can do His.  Some time back, I ran into this one woman in Louisiana. She had been to “who's who” in the healing circuit. She had gone to everybody. She had two very large, inoperable tumors, and she gave me a list of all the people she had gone to. She said, “David, I just don't understand why I haven't been healed.” And I said, “Well, I believe the reason just came out of your mouth as to why you haven't been healed. You're looking forward to healing and the Bible teaches us to look back at healing, for by His stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Faith is always in the past. The sacrifice of Jesus was at the beginning of this Testament so that we would always look back and accept what was done there, accept it as ours, because it is past tense. If we accept it as past tense and done, then it causes us to be weak because it causes us to cease from our works and we enter into the sabbath rest. If you believe it's done, then you don't have to keep working to try to bring it to pass. If it's in the future, you'll never know what method God wants to use to bring it to pass, but since it's in the past, you can accept it as a free gift. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…. So we do have works to do; only they're not our works, they're the works of God. Whatever God's work is between here and the manifestation, our work is to believe what the Bible says, and the Bible says, “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1Pe.2:24). We should never be moved away from that for any reason that would say, “Maybe not, maybe not in this case,” because we'll never be able to have faith if we're not convinced that what the Bible says is true about our healing. See, Jesus came to reveal the Will of the Father and He did that by healing everyone who came to Him. Our problem is that we can't come to Jesus physically and touch Him, but we can all come to Him by faith. We can confess our sins that we may be healed. (Jas.5:16) Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. We have the ability to get things out of the way that would hinder healing. So we confess our sins that we may be healed, as the Bible says, and then we can “touch” Jesus by faith. He healed everyone who came to Him. He came to show us the way and to be an example. Everybody who came to Jesus was healed, so why isn't everybody healed today? The number one reason is that it's not being taught that by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). You, as a Christian, were healed. This is not something you have to look forward to. That's hope. See, that's the problem with many Christians – they're looking forward to something that they need to be looking back to. We were all healed at the cross. And we enter into that by ceasing from our own thinking and our own reasoning and saying, “God, I repent. Your Word is true.” What does it mean to “repent”? It means to “change your mind.” The Word is true. If it says by His stripes you were healed, then change your mind; you were healed.  What we need to understand here is this word “salvation,” or in Greek, sozo. The Scripture says, “for by grace have ye been saved through faith” (Eph.2:8). Now, I point out to you that faith is past tense. It's always believing for something that you've received. When you pray, Jesus said, “believe you have received and you shall have it” (Mark 11:24). That's the way that faith works. That identifies how our salvation is going to come, our sozo, our “saved,” is going to come. Grace is another thing that identifies God's method for bringing you sozo, “salvation,” “saved.” Let's look carefully at this example. (Rom.4:4) Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt. It says, if it's grace, it's not your works. If it's grace, you have to cease from your works. See, many people are seeking healing and deliverance because they have hope. But hope will not get you either. Faith will. If you have to work for it, or pay for it, if you have to earn it, it's not something that's coming through grace because “grace” is “unmerited favor.” Much of the church is caught up in their own works. They say, “You're not saved by your works,” but they believe that only refers to their soul. When the Bible talks about salvation in other areas, like “deliverance” or sozo, “saved” in other areas, it's, “Oh, well, no; now God does it this way.” So they continue in their own works. He says here, “To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.” In other words, God would owe it to you if you could work it up in yourself. But it's not grace if you have to work for it because God would owe it to you. It would be a debt. He refuses to cooperate with you in that. (Rom.4:5) But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness. Notice: “to him that worketh not…” Grace comes “to him that worketh not.” Here's another example. (Rom.11:6) But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. Whatever salvation is, salvation is very big. It's much bigger than your soul going to Heaven when you die. Salvation is here and now. Salvation covers everything that Jesus did on the cross. It covers everything having to do with the curse of sin and of death. We've been delivered from the curse of sin and of death (Romans 8:2), and that's what salvation is all about. But if any part of that salvation is by works, then that's not salvation through grace. There are salvations out there that are not God's method for His people. The world always wants to be your savior. The arm of the flesh always wants to be your savior. I.e.,“Let me do it my way, Lord. I know how to take care of myself. I'll do it.” The worldly ways of deliverance don't cause us to grow closer to God; they don't cause us to manifest Christ, nor do they cause us to grow in faith. They are salvations that are of the world. When the children of Israel were brought out into the wilderness, they wanted to run back to Egypt for their salvation (Exodus 16:3). They said, “Let's go back to the flesh-pots.” God said in effect, “No, you stay in the wilderness. Your salvation is coming out of Heaven.” But they continued to murmur. “Well, we would rather have Egypt's salvation; it's easier on the flesh; it's not so much of a trial. Let's go back to Egypt.” Every time the Israelites got into a tight spot, every time they lacked water, or food, or whatever, God put them in that spot. He brought them there, and He put them there so that they would come to the end of themselves and put their trust in Him. Instead, they kept crying, “Let's go back and get Egypt's salvation.” Egypt had a salvation. The world has a salvation for you; it has a deliverance, but it's not an eternal deliverance, and the end is always a curse. The Bible says, “Cursed is he who trusts in man, in the arm of the flesh” (Jeremiah 17:5). Maybe you don't see it, but in some way, whenever the world saves you, there's always a curse in it. Maybe you don't see it yet, but there's one there. When Christ saves you, it is eternal. It causes you to grow in faith. It causes you to grow in manifesting Him. It's an affront to Him to think that you can pay for His benefits. You remember when Peter and John were praying for people and they were receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15,17), that Simon the magician also received the Holy Spirit, but he wanted to pay Peter and John for this ability. (Act.8:20) But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money. (21) Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God. Simon wanted this gift to be able to lay hands on people to impart the Holy Spirit. That's all he wanted, but we need to see that the principle here covers much more than just this gift of imparting the Holy Spirit. Peter said, “Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money”; in other words, it's not something that you can earn or ever pay for. The gift of God doesn't come through your ability, nor does it come through your earning it. You cannot pay for it. It has to be free. Do you know what happens when you go and pay for the world's salvation and call that God? Because it's not God; it's going back to Egypt. You get an answer and you may grow, too, but you grow in the world; you don't grow in God. You see, the Lord explained something to me about the image of the beast. The image of the beast is being manifested in this world right now. I'm not going to deny what anybody else has to say about the image of the beast in the future, but the Bible says that Christ was the image of God (Hebrews 1:3) and that His Body is made up of saviors. The Bible even says, “and saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” (Oba.21). “Saviors” is plural. God's body is made up of people (1 Corinthians 12:27) whom He has gifted in different gifts (1 Corinthians 12,13,14) to enable them to do the work of Jesus in this earth, works that Jesus wanted done: of deliverance, of saving, of healing, of providing. But, you know what? First of all, God's administering these gifts through Spirit-filled believers. Don't twist the Word, as many Christians do, and say, “Well, now God administers these gifts through pagans.” No. Not so. Although God can give you many gifts through pagans, and although the Holy Spirit does not have to go through a man, these particular gifts He's talking about only come through Spirit-filled believers. None of these gifts can be bought. If you have to buy it, or pay for something that you call “God's salvation,” it's not grace and faith. Grace and faith cause you to be weak; it causes you to cease from your trusting in Egypt and in the ways of the world. God's gift is free. You can't pay for it, you can't earn it, you can't be good enough for it. It comes by faith. Faith is believing you have received. When you believe you have received, it causes you to stop seeking it. Stop and think about it. If you believe you have received healing, are you going to keep running after it? No, because faith always cuts off the works and the methods of men. When you believe you have received, you can rest; you can cease from your works; you can enter into rest. Everything can come from God that way. Everything will come from God that way. It's the most perfect way to receive from God. You say, “Well, doesn't God keep Egypt going?” Sure He does, but God wants Egypt for the Egyptians. God has planned the wilderness for Christians. Does God give strength to Egypt to keep running? Of course. (Act.17:28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being…. He gives you your very breath. The world gets its breath from God, but the world is not God's method for Christians.  God's method for Christians is receiving every salvation that comes from Christ through grace and faith. That's His method. It is offensive to God to think that you would want to buy from Him any gift that He has already given to you. He has chosen it to be a gift. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God. Note the word translated “saved” here is the word sozo. “For by grace have ye been saved,” Sozo. That word is used over and over in the Scriptures. If we can find the places where this word is used, then every place this word is used, it should come by grace through faith. That means not of your works. A free gift of God; exercising faith in God. That's what pure faith is. That is what God's faith in man is. The other is not real faith and fails us. I want to give you an example of what salvation encompasses, one probably every Christian would agree on. This was the sinful woman who anointed Jesus, and Jesus pronounced her forgiven of sins. (Luk.7:47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, [the same] loveth little. (48) And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. (49) And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? (50) And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Now I believe everybody who is a Christian would agree with me that forgiveness of sins is salvation, and it comes by grace through faith. As we look at some of the other places where the same word, sozo, is used, you may question whether that salvation still comes by grace through faith, but I can assure you, any kind of salvation that comes from God is a free gift that comes by grace through faith. Wherever this word is used, it fits into Ephesians 2:8. Everywhere it fits in there, no matter what we identify as being this salvation. I once asked a Greek man, who spoke Greek as his native language, “What does the word soteria mean to you?” Soteria is the noun of sozo in the Greek and is the word in the Scriptures for “salvation.” He said, “Well, it means to us Greeks, ‘all of your needs supplied like a little baby; all of your needs supplied.'” See, we have such a very narrow idea of what salvation is. Most of the churches that we've been raised in have taught us that salvation is only getting to go to Heaven when this life is over. But when we look at that word and identify it in the Scriptures, we find out it's very big, very broad, and that every bit of it is incorporated in these promises concerning being saved. (Eph.2:8) For by grace have ye been saved through faith…. This woman, to whom Jesus said, “thy faith hath saved thee,” was saved by grace through faith. This was where her sozo came from. All her needs were supplied like a little baby. A little baby needs all his needs supplied. We have to come to Jesus as a child, in need of our needs being supplied. Adults are used to going out and supplying their own needs; they're used to taking care of themselves, but God desires this sozo kind of relationship with us. He desires that we would keep the sabbath, cease from our works, and enter into the rest through faith in the promises of God, as the Bible says. (2Co.7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now, that's a broad promise, but salvation is very big.  Let me give you another example of this word, sozo, and let's see if “by grace have you been saved through faith” still applies. This is the story of the 10 lepers. Remember the one leper who returned and gave glory to God (Luke 17:15)? Here's what Jesus told him: (Luk.17:19) And he said unto him, Arise, and go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the word for “made thee whole” here is the word sozo, “saved.” “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” What the leper received from God can only be obtained in the wilderness, not in Egypt. Sometimes there is a salvation in Egypt, but just like the mark of the beast, there are two marks. There is a mark of the beast, and there is the mark of God. Exodus 13:16, speaks about the mark of God on the forehead and on the back of the hand, and the mark of God was to have the Word of God. The Israelites would write the Word of God, put them in these little boxes, and then they'd tie them right across their forehead and put them on the back of their hand (Deuteronomy 11:18). But, guess what? The corresponding verse in Revelation 13:16 talks about the mark of the beast. So, if it's the Word of God being manifested in your mind and in your works, that's the mark of God. In contrast, the mark of the beast can be the word of the flesh, the word of the devil, the word of the world, the thinking of the world being manifest, the mind of flesh being manifested in your mind and in your works. That might be just a spiritual revelation of it, but accept it because it's still Scriptural.  See, if we walk after our own thinking and after our own works, it's because we're trusting in our own ability. We're not walking by faith in Jesus, and your mind is not being renewed by the Word of God. You walk as a beast. I don't care if you walk in church; you still walk as a beast if you walk after the mind of the flesh and if your salvation comes from the world. So we have the image of the beast being manifested in the world, while the image of Christ is being manifested in the Church. Christ's Body is made up of people, each of whom has been given gifts to serve the rest of the Body. Do you know the world is made up the same way? Jesus said there are only two men in the earth (Matthew 24:40) – there's Christ and there's antichrist. The world works the same way. The only difference is that the saviors who make up the image of the beast want to save you from Christ's salvation, and Christ wants to save you from their salvation. His salvation is free. Theirs is not free; theirs is very costly. The Lord has a better way. He showed it to us in the Gospels. What Jesus gave in His provision was free; it didn't come through the works of man, the ability of man, or man's money. When you have to pay for it, believe me, that's not salvation by grace through faith. This leper found that out. What did he have to pay for this sozo? He received a sozo that came by grace through faith. You know, a third example can be found in the story of the blind man. (Luk.18:38) And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. (40) And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, (41) What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. (42) And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. Sozo, “saved.” “Thy faith hath saved thee.” That's what He's talking about that saves you. Salvation covers healing, and it's always covered healing, even in the Old Testament. The word right here is sozo. It's “saved.” The leper was “saved” of his leprosy. The blind man was “saved” of his blindness. See, they've translated the same word different ways. They've translated it “saved”; they've translated it “made whole,” but the original word is still only one word; it's the same word. I have the three most ancient manuscripts, and it's the word sozo. Sozo is the word in the Scriptures for “saved.” Everywhere Scripture uses the word “saved” in talking about our eternal salvation, it's the word sozo. We see now it's also used for healing, which tells us that healing is involved. Remember, Jesus came to deliver us from the curse of sin and of death (Romans 8:2). Sin brought death. What was incorporated in death? Sickness, disease, everything else was incorporated in death.  Our salvation is double; it's dual. It saves us not only from sin, but it saves us from the penalty for sin. What is the penalty for sin? The curse. In Deuteronomy 28, God expounded the penalty for sin and He gave us the curse there. When you go back and read it, you'll find out that the curse covers not only sickness, but everything detrimental that ever happened to man because of his sin. Everything that came against man from the beginning because of his sin is a part of the curse. And you know what? Jesus became accursed for us that we might have Abraham's blessings. He became a curse on that cross. Everybody who's put on a cross is accursed (Galatians 3:13). What Jesus bore was not only the sin; it was the curse for that sin. Why would God say, “I'm going to take away your sin,” but not take away the curse? So now we see this word, sozo covers all of that. It covers not only the sin, but also the curse. We've just looked at three people who were delivered of the curse of sin, and they were delivered of it because it was by grace through faith. Let me give you yet another example to show you the difference between God's salvation and the world's salvation. Let's not change the Scriptures. What we see in Jesus is still the truth. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is our Salvation. What He did, was to prove to us what He wanted to do. What He did in the Gospels, He does today to everybody who believes. The Gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). What's the Gospel? It's the Good News. It's the promises of God. And it doesn't matter if you're a “Christian.” What matters is: are you a believer? Do you believe what the Gospel says? There are Christians who are unbelieving Christians because they only believe what they want to believe. We have to believe in the Jesus of the Bible and that He really is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus still heals everybody who comes to Him. Let's not make up another Jesus. Paul talked about those who would come to you with another Jesus. No, we don't need another Jesus. We need this Jesus. The problem is not with God. People blame the problem on God. The problem is not with God because God has already healed you. It's not a matter of God deciding whom He's going to heal and whom He's not going to heal. That's not what the Bible says.  The Bible says that by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). This is your decision to make. (Rom.1:16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation (soteria) to every one that believeth…. Look, the condition is on you believing. The condition is not whether God wants to heal you. The Bible says all of the promises of God are “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Don't believe the people who say, “Sometimes it's ‘no.'” No, all the promises of God are “yes,” and through him is the Amen (2Co.1:20). That means “the so be it.” That means it will come to pass through Him. What we have to do is renew our mind and get back to the real Jesus. The real Jesus of salvation covers your body and your circumstances. Now let's look at this example. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians…. You know what? She was trying to buy salvation here. She was trying to buy sozo. The word “saved” is used in this text. She was trying to buy it. This is not God's method for you to receive it. God's method for you to receive this comes the same way as it did in the Scriptures: through the laying on of hands (Mark 16:18) and the confession of faith (Romans 10:10). That's His method. You know why? Because it excludes all of man's glorying in it. Nobody but God can take credit when you do it God's way. (Jas.5:14) Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up … This doesn't say it “would” or it “might”; this says it “shall” raise them up. The Bible says if any two of you agree as touching anything, it shall be done (Matthew 18:19), and I consider that to mean the person being prayed for and the person doing the praying. That's two, right?  Let's continue with our example. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed of any. Some of you have been there. I've been there, too, only to find out that God gave it freely when I gave up. God gave it freely. Look at this same story in Mark. (Mar.5:25) And a woman, who had an issue of blood twelve years, (26) and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse … I just wanted to point that out to you: she spent all that she had. She came to the end of herself. I've been there. You don't have to try everything but God. You can start out with God. God is faithful. He is faithful Who promised (Hebrews 10:23). He will not fail you. There is no “maybe.” You can't exercise faith if you think, “Maybe God will, maybe He won't.” The Bible doesn't say “maybe” He will, “maybe” He won't. It says He's already done it. When this woman was healed, it didn't have anything to do with Jesus' faith because she came up and touched Him, but Jesus didn't know it until after it was all over. I do want to make a point here, though. This salvation she had been looking for was not sozo because it was not grace through faith. It was not. Why? Because if it's grace, it's no more works. If it's a gift of God, you can't pay for it. And if it's faith, it's past tense. She was looking for it in the future. She sought to receive it. But if it's faith, she was looking the wrong way, just like this lady I told you about who had those two tumors. I told her, “Turn around and look the other way; you're looking the wrong way.” That's when God gave this to me, this thought of “You're looking the wrong way. Turn around and look at the cross.” When the serpent on the pole was raised up in the wilderness, everybody who got their eyes on that serpent on the pole was healed (Numbers 21:9). You had to get your eyes off the snakebite and on the serpent on the pole to be healed. I told her, “Turn around and look at the cross. That's where your healing happened. You're looking in the future.” Tomorrow never comes. Faith never works that way. Faith believes that you have received (Mark 11:24). Faith turns around and looks back at the cross because the Bible says, by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). Your healing is certain. It was accomplished at the cross. Reconciliation was accomplished (Colossians 1:20). What is that? Exchange. At the cross, Jesus gave you His healthy body and He took your old, unhealthy one. He gave you His clean, pure soul, and He took your old, unclean one. He gave you His righteousness and His blessings, and He took away your unrighteousness and your cursings. The exchange was made. This is how faith works. (2Co.5:17) Wherefore if any man is in Christ, [he is] a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. Now our old things have become new. What are we? New creations. New creatures in Christ. This is how faith works. Faith sees the end from the beginning; faith accepts it, grasps it; and faith holds on to it. That's why this particular method is God's method. You ask, “Can God do it?” Sure. God keeps all the Egyptians alive until they come to know Jesus. Do you understand that when we come out of Egypt and go into the wilderness, we still need “Egyptology” to come out of us? Yes! When we come out of Egypt and go into the wilderness, we need to be delivered of Egypt. I'm not talking Law here; I'm talking about a privilege. It is our privilege to accept our salvation in Jesus Christ as an accomplished fact and what I'm telling you is just how big the salvation is. (Luk.8:43) And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed of any, (44) came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately the issue of her blood stanched. (45) And Jesus said, Who is it that touched me? And when all denied, Peter said, and they that were with him, Master, the multitudes press thee and crush [thee]. (46) But Jesus said, Some one did touch me; for I perceived that power had gone forth from me. By the way, I know the King James says “virtue” here, but the word is “power”; it's dunamis. In fact, the King James does translate it “power” in other places in the Bible, like in Luke 10:19. The word “power” there is the word dunamis. So it was power that came out of Jesus, but if it was power that came out of Jesus, it didn't have anything to do with His faith. In this particular case, all that was necessary was for this woman to touch Him by faith. It wasn't a matter of Jesus making up His mind whether to heal this woman or not.  Jesus never turned anybody away anyway and He's not going to tell you “no.” In fact, if there's a “no,” the “no” is going to be in you; it's not going to be in Him. Our problem is we listen to the devil; we listen to the flesh. We don't listen to the Bible. Confess your sins and believe. That's all you have to do. Now, if you have willful disobedience in your life, it will come between you and healing because you won't have faith toward God. The Bible says, “if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God” (1Jn.3:21). That's why you have to confess your sins to get them out of your way. But Jesus always said, “Yes.” Do you think that there were some of those people who came to Jesus who needed something worked out in their lives? I guarantee you that all of those people who came to Jesus had something that needed working out in their lives, but that didn't stop Jesus from healing. You know what did stop Jesus from healing some? When He went to His own hometown, their unbelief stopped Him. He could not. It doesn't say He would not. (Mat.13:58) And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Now, we need to have the faith of God in us. This salvation has been accomplished. It's not a matter of you asking Him to accomplish it; “it is finished” (Joh.19:30). I have overcome the world (16:33). This is not a matter of Jesus doing something in the future. Ask Him, “Will You do it?” He'll tell you just what the Bible says. “I did it.” He won't say, “I will do it.” He never says that. The Bible doesn't say that. He's always going to agree with the Word. He won't tell you something contrary to the Word. I knew a man one time who was asking God to heal his wife of cancer, and God told him, “She's healed.” You know what? His wife died. He was sure God told him that she was healed, and he was angry with God. I said, “Bud, God told you exactly what the Bible says. He's not going to disagree with His Word. The problem is, do you agree with His Word? He's going to tell you to believe the Bible every time. He's going to tell you, ‘You are healed.' By his stripes you were healed. What else is He going to say? Are you going to ask Him to tell you something besides what the Bible says? He's only going to tell you what the Bible says.” I know calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17) appears like a lie to the world, but it's not a lie because you're in agreement with the Scriptures. You agree with God Almighty, the One Who does not dwell in time, and what He says goes. (Rom.3:4) … Let God be found true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy words, And mightest prevail when thou comest into judgment. Now, when you come under the judgment of the curse, what you need is justification. Justification is God calling you righteous. And He calls you righteous when you come under the curse, if you agree with the Bible concerning what Jesus did about the curse. Can you agree with the Bible about what Jesus did for you? He became accursed for you so that you could have the blessings of Abraham. (Isa.53:5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Do you agree with the Bible? See, if you're not agreeing with the Bible, you're going to consider, “Well, I need this.” Or “I'll have to handle it. The crucifixion of Jesus was not enough, I'll have to handle a little bit of it myself.” The worldly teachers will convince you of that, and you will be a double-minded person because you are not agreeing with God's Word. Jesus only preached to those people who had eyes to see and ears to hear (Matthew 13:9-11). He wasn't talking about the physical eyes and ears; they all had them. He meant spiritual eyes and ears. (2Pe.1:3) Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…. Do you see that? Do you see with your spiritual eyes that God has already given you everything that pertains unto life? It's not a matter of Him accomplishing it. He did that almost 2000 years ago. Now the problem is, are you going to agree with Him? Two can't walk together except they be agreed (Amos 3:3). You can't walk with Jesus except to the extent you agree with Him. Now, how are you going to agree with Him? I told Bud, “The Lord told you what the Bible says. The problem is you didn't believe in it. You were waiting to see something first. That is not the way faith works. Faith accepts it as a fact before seeing it. If you walk by faith, you'll see it, but if you walk by sight, you'll never see it because that's not the way it works. That's not faith. Faith is looking back at the cross.” So, Bud was angry at God because God didn't do what He said He was going to do. But it wasn't God's fault. See, we enter into the Covenant. The Bible says that the Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom.1:16). Listen, the power of God has already accomplished everything. What He's done is already accomplished. Your part is to enter into that Covenant by your faith. That's what brings it to pass. God's part is sure; it is finished, and it is final. Now we enter into our part of it by faith. That's our part of keeping the Covenant. When the disciples asked Jesus, “what must we do, that we may work the works of God?” (Joh.6:28), He said just one thing: “believe on him whom he hath sent” (29). All we have to do to do the works of God, whatever they are, is “believe on him whom he hath sent.” Does everybody have to die under the curse? Does everybody have to leave this life under the curse? The world has taken for granted that you're going to die of something. Do you have to die under the curse, or can you keep believing all the way up to the end, until you leave this life? Has everybody died of the curse? No, they did not. In fact, I have some books describing people who died on their deathbeds, and there was absolutely no pain in their bodies, and they couldn't find anything wrong with them; they just went to be with the Lord. This is not to condemn the ones who do die, but we have to get our sight and our vision on Jesus. You can't go somewhere that you can't see, you know. The Bible says, if you can see Jesus in the mirror, you can go there. Of course, everybody's not going to go there to the same extent. Look, one person received one talent, another two and another five (Matthew 25:14-30). Everybody doesn't get the same gift. Everybody doesn't manifest the same fruit, do they? There's 30-, 60- and 100-fold fruit (Matthew 13:8,23). Do you want to enter into only what you see other people entering into, or do you want to enter into everything that God has for you? That's the point. We're supposed to be looking at Jesus, not looking at our neighbor. Get your eyes on Jesus. He'll show you what you can enter into. God is going to do a special thing in these days. Did you know that He's going to do something He's never done before? The Bible says He's coming “to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day” (2Th.1:10). Oh, glory to God! The apostle Paul said there was a day in the future when his words would finally be believed and that Jesus would be glorified in those people in that day because they did believe that word.  You know, God gives grace for us to enter into believing just as much as we can believe. God gives grace for us to reach out to places people have never reached out to. In this day there is more grace to believe more than there's ever been. Do you understand what that verse says? He said, “in that day.” Paul was saying that they weren't believing it in his day, but that's what we're seeking right now. We don't want to stop with what religion has accepted; we want to go on and get everything God has given us. (Eph.2:8) By grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; (9) not of works, that no man should glory. That's one work. Now, here's another work: (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…. The first is talking about your work, the work of the flesh, the efforts of man, the efforts of self, the buying of God's gift, all those things. The second is talking about God's work. So let's just use healing again as a “for instance” because we're talking about it already. Do you know what? When you have faith that Jesus healed you, which is the only one that's a Scriptural faith, that faith is going to be walked out by your feet; it's going to come out of your mouth; it's going to be seen in your actions. That is a work that comes from faith. You know what the other work is? It's a work that comes before faith. Works of the flesh come before faith; works of God come after faith. When you believe, you're able to walk just like you received, and do you know what happens when you do that? You do what the 10 lepers did. Jesus said to them, “go and show yourselves unto the priests” (Luk.17:14). Well, they understood that because in the Law of Moses, when a person was healed of leprosy, he went to show himself to the priests. Then the priest inspected the person and took his turtle dove and gave his offering. But these lepers went to show themselves to the priests before their healing was manifested. Their walk was a walk of faith. But the way of the world would stand right there and say, “Well, I'm not healed.” Those lepers would look at themselves and say, “Well, I'm not healed yet. It's not the time to go show myself to the priest.” That's a carnal walk. That's walking by sight and not walking by faith. So there is a work that follows faith. Faith without works is dead. If you believe that you're healed, let me hear it come out of your mouth and let me see it in your feet. And if you believe that Jesus delivered you from sin, let's see that come out of your mouth and see it in your feet. Do you understand? When you believe something, your actions have to agree with that belief. Faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself (Jas.2:17), or it's incomplete. It's not real faith until it's put into works that agree with what the Bible says. But the world says, “I can see you're not healed,” but your feet keep on saying, “I'm healed. Look at me walk,” because your works are going to agree with faith. So if you're just healed by faith, you know you're not healed by manifestation. As long as you're healed by faith, you're believing for something that you don't yet see. That's the way faith works. And if you don't do it there, you'll never see it by manifestation. We have to repent of our worldly thinking. We have to repent of our Babylonish doctrine that's been given to us. We must change our minds, and we say, “God, You're right.” You have to say that before you can enter into it. (Rom.3:4) Let God be found true, but every man a liar…. Justification comes from agreeing with God. Agree with God; even if you're failing, agree with God. God's not going to condemn anyone. You don't condemn your child if your child is a toddler and stumbles and falls. There's no way you would condemn that child because that's the way they learn to walk. That's the way children are. They don't always get it right the first time. Now, as they get older and they're stumbling, you start asking what's wrong with them. So when we start out on a faith walk, we stumble and fall, but we get up. If you don't get up, you're not overcoming. You get up, you walk a little farther, you stumble, you walk a little farther. Every time you get up, you're walking farther, and you keep going. But if you decide, “I'm just going to sit right here because it's too dangerous to stand up,” then you're going to be an unprofitable servant (Matthew 25:30) because you've been given knowledge and you're doing nothing with it. Remember, it's God's faith inside of you; it's not your faith in Him. You'll fail as long as it's just your faith in Him. It's God's faith inside of you. Remember that God has given you His faith. Accept it as a gift. Reconciliation has given you this gift. Unbelief was taken away from you at the cross. Did you know that? All your sins were put on that cross, including the one that's at the foundation of every sin – unbelief. But that's at the cross, and you've been delivered. The Bible says, “reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin” (Rom.6:11). That means to reckon your old unbelieving self to be dead and gone. “I'm delivered from unbelief.” Do you understand? That's not a confession of faith in yourself; that's a confession of faith in God. We are new (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have been made free from sin (Romans 6:22). You're free from unbelief. Believe and accept it.  Don't get anxious when you fail God because of your unbelief, and don't let anybody put a guilt trip on you. Don't let anybody put you under the Law to do what they expect. Don't be moved by peer pressure because somebody else has faith. Don't look at any of that. Get your eyes on Jesus. He will give you the faith that you need to do these things. It's His free gift to you. You don't have to be anxious or try to work it up yourself. You can't pick yourself up off the floor by your bootstraps. It's just not possible. It has to come from the outside in. It's nothing that you can do from the inside out. So don't be condemned if you're not able to do everything that you see Jesus do or that you see others do. Don't worry about it. It's God Who started the good work in you, and it's He Who's going to finish it (Philippians 1:6). The people who put others under legalism cause a lot of people hurt. This is wrong. And I'll tell you what, they ultimately get hurt, too, because what you sow, you reap (Galatians 6:7) and you can't sow that legalistic thing without it coming back on you. You can't judge others without being judged (Romans 14:4). I'm just offering you the knowledge. I'm trying to put the picture of Jesus there in front of you. Look at Jesus and you'll be transformed into that image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). Don't look at any religion or put another Jesus up there because, believe me, you can be transformed into any Jesus. Religions do it all the time. The only Jesus we want to reflect is the One the Father sent. Look in your Bible. The only way you'll see the true Jesus is to look in this Book. Look at Him. This is Jesus. He's the same. He hasn't changed. Men try to change Him; they have made a comfortable Jesus. One that the flesh could be comfortable with, a Jesus that wouldn't bring you through any kind of a trial of your faith. It's easy to have the Jesus that religion has. Let's look at the Jesus in the Bible. I tell you the reason we're not seeing the works of Jesus on this earth; it's because they've made another Jesus and they're being transformed into that image from glory to glory. That's the problem. Let's get back to the Word and believe it. Jesus sent His disciples out to do the same things He did. How can you do the same things He did unless you agree with Him? So now let's read the rest of the story from where Jesus perceived that power, sozo, went forth from Him. I really want to get beyond healings being included in salvation because I believe a lot of people already understand that, and I want to show you how broad salvation is. And it's all going to come by grace through faith. All of it. The rest of it, let me tell you, is man's works. (Luk.8:47) And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people for what cause she touched him, and how she was healed immediately. (48) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath (my Bible says “made thee whole,” but the word there is sozo) saved thee; go in peace. He saved her. This is a part of salvation. She was saved. Remember, she sought the physicians.  The Bible clearly shows you the difference between seeking deliverance from the physicians and seeking it from Jesus. (2Ch.16:12) And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. (13) And Asa slept with his fathers…. The Scripture makes a difference between seeking the salvation that normally comes from the world and the salvation that comes from God. Now, did you know that those Jews received their healing from God for many, many years. They started being drawn away from that when Solomon brought in all of his pagan wives, who brought the physicians into Israel. Up until that time, they got their healing from God. And when they went to Babylon, they started falling into many of the things of the world that weren't Scriptural. And the word in Scripture for “healing by the use of medicine” is the word pharmakia – just what we use today. Pharmakia is the word for “sorcery” or “witchcraft,” depending on which Bible you have, and is where we get our word “pharmacy.” Jesus has a better way, and it won't cost you anything, and believe me, you'll get out of so much trouble. If you live a life of the carnal Christian, by the end of your life you will have spent a lot of money on Egypt. But I tell you, God will get you out of that; it's His free gift. Don't say, “I have to do this.” No, it is a privilege. God gives you a privilege. You don't earn it; He's given it to you freely. This is His sozo. This is a part of His deliverance.  Years ago, way back at the beginning of our Christian walk, my wife, Mary, and I were riding motorcycles up in Mississippi. And this was a real hilly area. We were on two dirt bikes, and this was new territory to us, so it was kind of crazy what we did. We were each on a bike and we came over this hill, and she turned one way, and I turned another way. Well, on her side it was almost a cliff. It just went nearly straight down. And I heard her screaming all the way to the bottom of that hill, “MOMMAAA!” And she was mashing the foot peg as hard as she could, but I don't think she ever mashed on the brake because I never saw the wheels skid or anything. I mean, she was flying when she hit the bottom of that hill. It was painful for me to watch. I saw her bounce off a few trees, and I went down in there and scraped her off those trees and put her on the back of my bike. And then I took her out of there and got her to a hospital. This was during the same time that Mary was taking some medicine to try to clear up an infection, so the doctors were talking about operating on her kidneys. But a friend of ours told us about the promises in the Scriptures about healing, and we went to this church that believed in healing. So she went down in front of the church, and they prayed over her. Well, nothing physical happened. We went home, and it was probably a week or two later when she was meditating and thinking on it all, and the Lord spoke to her. And you know what He said? He said, “If you believe that I have healed you, why are you taking all that medicine?” Because the Bible says, ‘He has healed you'. And you know what? When Mary ran into the bathroom and started pouring her medicine down the commode because of that voice of the Lord, she was instantly healed. And not only was she healed of the kidney problem from hitting the tree, but she was healed from a natural kidney deficiency that she'd had since she was a little girl. She was healed of always having infections. God did a miracle. He did it freely. The doctors were going to charge us an awful lot to do that, but God did it for free.  God will ask you the same thing one day. He says, “If you believe that I have healed you …” God expects us to believe, not because of what we see or feel, but because He expects us to believe what the Scripture says. We need no other grounds. Peter stepped out of the boat because of what Jesus said. “Bid me to come unto you, Lord” (Matthew 14:28). And when Jesus said, “Come,” that's all Peter needed to step out (Matthew 14:29). All Peter needed was the Word of God, and he stepped out on that Word and the water held him up.  If you're walking by sight, you'll never be able to walk where we're talking about walking because you're calling the things that are as though they are, instead of calling the things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). God chose the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are (1 Corinthians 1:28). Think about it again now. God chose the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are. How does He do that? What are the things that are not? The promise. “By His stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24), when you look at yourselves and say, “Well, I don't see myself healed. I still feel sick. I still look sick.” See, the things that are not, are these promises that are not manifested yet. So how do you translate that into this present physical time? It's very simple. We do it the way the Bible tells us to: by calling “the things that are not, as though they were” (Rom.4:17). Please understand. If God chose the things that “are not” to bring to nothing the things “that are,” then He did not choose the things “that are” to bring to nothing the things “that are.” Did you get that? Read it again. He chose the things that “are not” to do away with the things “that are.” What are the things “that are”? The curse. What are the things that “are not”? The promise. Don't say, “God chose this method” or “He chose that method,” when you're talking about the things that are, because the Bible says He chose the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. That's the promise. When you don't see the promise, and you say, “Well, now God chooses doctors or lawyers or bankers or going in debt,” etc., if you say that God uses or chooses the things “that are” to bring about the promise, you're contrary to the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, the men of God used faith to bring to pass everything.  Do you understand what I'm saying? The world will tell you, because it's very convenient or comfortable for them, they'll say, “Well, now God uses this method, now God uses that...” No, He doesn't use “now methods”. That's not Scriptural. He uses the things that are not. He still uses the things that are not. Jesus doesn't have to heal you because He already healed you. You can prove it for yourself. Find one place in the Scripture, find just one place, where anybody who ministered healing to anybody else stopped and prayed and asked God to heal somebody. Find it. They didn't do it, and do you know why? Because it was already an accomplished fact. You know what they did? “Be healed in the Name of Jesus.” They laid hands and they commanded them to be healed. They commanded healing in the authority of God. “As the Father sent me, so send I you,” Jesus said (John 20:21). So we do the same thing Jesus did: We command healing in the name of Jesus. The reason we can do that is that there shouldn't be any question in our mind that it's already an accomplished fact. None of the disciples in the Book of Acts ever stopped and prayed, “Lord, will You heal this person?”  Now God gave us conditions. He said, for instance, it's “the children's bread” (Matthew 15:26). That's for us. He called deliverance from demons and healing the children's bread. It's ours. Is God ever going to deny the children their bread? No. May they go hungry? They might go hungry but it won't be because He's denying them their bread. That woman who was not one of the children, she said, “Well, even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table” (Matthew 15:27). She exercised faith. She proved herself to be a believer. I'm not saying that God can't do more than what it says in the Scripture. He won't do less, but I'm not saying He can't do more.  When Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Melita (Acts 28:1), it didn't say anybody there believed him, but he prayed for the sick, and God healed them (Acts 28:8,9). He prayed for a bunch of pagans, and you have to get God's permission to do that because Jesus said it's not right to cast the children's bread to the dogs. You have to get God's permission to do that. He might give it to you. He might do it as a witness. He may do it as an evangelistic tool. He may do it for those reasons, but He doesn't have to because you can't hold Him to any Scripture for that. The Bible says it's the children's bread. You may question, “What about the mercy ships and the mercy planes that have doctors and nurses specialized in a lot of the surgeries they do for cleft palates and so on?” Well, is it using the things that are or using the things that are not? I'm sure not going to condemn them, but let's get our eyes just on Jesus and look at His perfect way and His perfect Will. Did you ever see Jesus doing that? No. Did you ever see any of His disciples doing that? No. Wasn't Luke a physician? Maybe. Did you ever see him practicing that? No. Not after he came to Christ; you don't see him practicing that. So we don't have an example; we don't have a foundation to do it that way. I'm not condemning them; I'm not going to come against them. I'm just trying to get back to the Scriptures. I'm just trying to get back to God's method, God's way. You can make a mistake trusting in man and it can be dangerous because man can surely fail you. But it's never dangerous to trust in God. He never fails. He's never failed to heal me in almost 57 years, and I've gotten in some places where I needed healing. I've had broken bones; I've had cancer and He's healed me every time. God has never failed me. It didn't matter if it was a cold or a hangnail. It doesn't make any difference. You see, it doesn't matter how big it is. Jesus knew that He had the authority of the Father to come against all the works of the devil and destroy them. And that's the very same authority He gave us.

We are ALL Peter and we must deal with our Pan.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things.Celebrating classic television and radio, as well as looking ahead to what's on the telly now and later.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things.

Father had been away in the country for three or four days. All Peter's hopes for the curing of his afflicted Engine were now fixed on his Father, for Father was most wonderfully clever with his fingers. He could mend all sorts of things.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to miss God when life feels ordinary? We pray for miracles, yet overlook the countless ways Heaven is already moving around us. We beg God for provision while standing in the middle of prayers he's already answering. We ask him to open doors, never realizing the door in front of us was opened by his hand all along. Girl, God is working in your life right now. Not someday. Not when things finally change. Not only in dramatic, jaw-dropping moments. Right now. In the ordinary conversation. In the unexpected timing. In the strength you somehow found to keep going. In the opportunity that “just happened” to appear. In the little things you almost brushed past without noticing. Because our God specializes in taking ordinary things and adding his extra. And when God adds his extra to your ordinary … it becomes extraordinary. Our God is not limited to meet needs in ordinary ways, practical ways, or expected ways. Although often times his power meets us in disguise, so we are unaware of how miraculous it truly is. We experience split second perfect timing that was orchestrated in heaven just for us, but it seems ordinary so we don’t recognize it as miraculous. We walk into divinely opened doors which only God could open for us, but because it was open when we got there and required no extra effort on our part, we failed to notice God did that. But all around you, God has been working. Every day of your life, God’s power has been on miraculous display in everything that seems ordinary. You likely never even notice … until God shows up and does something extraordinary. God is our extra. He can take our ordinary lives that seem unimpressive and normal, and he can make them radically extraordinary. You bring your ordinary, and he brings his extra. Let that be your prayer today. God, take my ordinary and make it extraordinary. I need the extra only you can offer! One of Jesus’ extraordinary miracles on earth is recorded by Matthew in a single verse. None of the other gospels mention the miracle, so it seems to be less impressive than his other miracles. But I believe this miracle is precisely what you and I need today. We need to see Jesus’ extra meeting the ordinary. Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the son of God. He has placed his faith in Jesus, committed his life to him. Then Peter is approached by tax collectors asking about Jesus’ payment of taxes. Funny, even Jesus was pestered by tax collectors. And this is what Jesus tells Peter to do in Matthew 17:27, “Go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to them for me and you.” This is what you call extraordinary. This miracle hidden in a single verse in our bible shows us so much about our Jesus! 1. God works through the ordinary. 2. Obedience unlocks provision 3. God partners with what's already in your hand. My friends, not everything miraculous looks dramatic. God works through ordinary things like a fish to do radically extraordinary things. Jesus could have avoided paying the taxes. Afterall, this was the temple tax, money collected to build the temple. Jesus was greater than the temple. He could have flexed just a bit, shown who he really was and proven he was exempt from this tax. But, he didn’t. Jesus is humble, there’s no need to flex. So, money was needed to pay the tax. A half-shekel, which was about 2 days wages. Jesus could have manifested the money in the pocket of his robe, and Peter would have never known the difference. But Jesus decided to be extra so Peter could be in on the miraculous. Gosh, I love that about our Jesus … He actually lets us be part of his extraordinary works. We're not needed … but we're wanted! All Peter had to be was obedient. Jesus didn't say, “Hey Peter, your tax bill is just going to be magically erased.” No, Jesus said, “Go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch.” Peter was being called to obedience. Action was required, and actually quite ordinary action. Isn't that what we often miss – when we need an extraordinary act of God, we overlook the very ordinary acts of obedience on our part. We want God to show up and do miraculous things without us getting our hands dirty. Girl, you still gotta put the bait on your own hook. Obedience unlocks provision. Peter still had to bait the hook and put it in the water! Sometimes the greatest miracles happen in the middle of ordinary obedience. I have to be honest with you – it's the absolute only reason I was willing to get up at 3:30 this morning to work on this devotional while at retreat on a very busy filled day. I want to see God's miracles, so I will be obedient in the ordinary things like waking up as early as needed to give God his time. Jesus didn't ask Peter to do anything insanely courageous. Nothing flashy. Not even anything exciting. No Peter, just fish. Do what you already know how to do. He uses precisely what Peter is good at … fishing. Jesus simply tells Peter to go fishing, do what he’s always done, and the money will be provided. God partners with what's already in your hand. Peter was a fisherman. He had fished nearly every day of his life. He knew how to tie a hook on. He knew how to cast that hook out. And he knew how to bring that fish in. And Jesus told him to do what was so ordinary for him, but this time it would be EXTRA. Jesus' extra on your ordinary is … extraordinary! What feels routine to you may be the very place God wants to reveal his glory. Do you want to be part of Jesus' miraculous works? Jesus will do his thing with or without you. His power will not be stopped. But you've received an invitation to be part of that work and it will be the most fulfilling and beautiful part of your entire life. Oh how I pray you won't miss it. Peter was invited into partnership to be part of this miracle, not because he was needed but because he was wanted. When Jesus invites you into a partnership with him, what is it you imagine you will need to do? Do you imagine you will need to do something big? Something really special? Something flashy? Something everyone will see? Honey, what if it will be as simple as doing what you’ve always done, but this time you just do it with Jesus working in and through you? Peter fishing wasn’t anything big and special. If anyone would have seen Peter fishing that day, they would have thought absolutely nothing of it. But, Peter was fishing in partnership with Jesus and the catch would be radically different. The difference wasn't the fishing. The difference was Jesus. JESUS IS YOUR DIFFERENCE MAKER! What if Jesus is inviting you into this miraculous partnership with him, but it’s not nearly as flashy as you imagined. It’s really quite ordinary. It’s what you’ve already been doing. It’s what you’ve been doing every day. It’s what you already know how to do. Would you do it? Really, would you show up and do what you’ve always done, but this time do it with Jesus? Peter didn't need a new calling. He needed Jesus in his current calling. Now, REALLY think about the power of God that is displayed in this single verse tucked away in a miracle no one else talked about. Of all the fish in the sea, Jesus knew precisely which fish had a coin in its mouth. He also knew exactly where that fish would need to be in order to bite Peter’s hook. God orchestrated all of that! Before Peter ever cast the hook, God had already prepared the fish. And what … you think God doesn’t care about the little details of your life? He cares where your hook lands. He directs which fish bites your hook. He orchestrates it all in such ordinary ways you may have missed it before. You miss it until he adds a little extra to it. Do you need God to add a little extra today so you know it’s really him? Do you need to see his fingerprints so you know he’s really working in the details of your life? Girl, ask him! Ask him for a glimpse of his extraordinary power today. I bet he’s done it for you before. I bet you’ve been in the right place at the right time. I bet you were enabled to speak words you didn’t know you had. I bet you had supernatural strength just when it was needed. I bet you’ve reached into your pocket and found forgotten money. How absolutely extraordinary!!!! It’s already happening for you!!!!! I wonder what else God will do for you and through you if you will keep showing up, doing the ordinary things you do, but do it as a committed partnership with him? What will he divinely align for your catch? What will he miraculously provide when you try again? God already knows what you need. Before Peter ever reached the shore, the fish was already swimming with provision in its mouth. Before you ever prayed, God was already preparing an answer. Before you knew the need was coming, Heaven was already in motion. But putting the hook in the water is still your call. Yes, get up early. Yes, show up again. Yes, you make that phone call. Yes, you do the ordinary work again. Do the ordinary thing God has placed in front of you and trust him to add his extra. Because remember this – one ordinary act of obedience with Jesus can become absolutely extraordinary. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com

All Peter wanted to was go watch a movie at the theatre late at night (it may have been a porno, I'm not quite sure). But no such luck, as The Basilisk attacks and is looking for the Omega Stone so that his power grows and he can.... destroy the world, something like that. Luckily Captain Marvel shows up (the dude, not Brie Larson) to explain what's happening and they try to stop the reptilian from completing his plan.

Talk 26    Mark 9:1-8    The Transfiguration – a Glimpse of Heaven Welcome to Talk 26 in our series on Mark's Gospel. Today we're looking at Mark 9:1-8 where we read of a truly awesome event in the life of Jesus and three of his disciples. It's what is known as the transfiguration. The chapter begins with Jesus saying: I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power. There has been much discussion about what Jesus meant by this, but in my view the explanation is almost certainly found in the following verses where we read how Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and he was transfigured before them (v2). So let's begin by reading verses 2-8: 2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. Transfiguration is not a word that's in common use today, but its basic meaning is transformation. The Greek word that's used in verse 2 is metamorpho'o from which we get our English word metamorphosis which we use to mean a change in the form of a person or thing into a completely different one, as, for example, when a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly. In the case of Jesus, Mark tells us that his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them, but in 2 Peter 1:16-18 Peter himself describes what he saw: 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. He refers to the transfiguration as the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Compare this with what Jesus said in verse 1 about the kingdom of God coming with power). He uses words like, majesty, honour, glory, and God's voice coming from the Majestic Glory. It seems clear to me that what Peter is describing is nothing less than a glimpse or foretaste of Heaven itself. Of course, the day is coming when Jesus will finally come in power and great glory, a day Jesus refers to in 8:38 when he talks about the Son of Man coming in his Father's glory with the holy angels. But that was not to happen yet. Jesus must first suffer and die and rise again (v12). The transfiguration was not the second coming, but it was certainly a prophetic foretaste of it, a revelation of Jesus in power and glory, that Peter wanted to assure his readers was not a cleverly invented story. He had seen it for himself. He knew it was true. And, as he was approaching the end of his earthly life, his hope and his faith for eternity were securely founded on the revelation of Heaven he had received on that mountain. So, with this in mind, let's look at the passage and see what we can learn about Heaven. What is Heaven like? If you know Jesus as your Saviour, you're already on your way to Heaven, but do you have any real idea what it's going to be like? My wife, Eileen, went to Heaven recently and I've been trying to imagine her there. Actually, I've found it quite hard, and I've realised how little we know about Heaven. Of course the Book of Revelation paints a certain picture for us, but it contains so much symbolism that it's hard to know whether some passages are to be taken literally or metaphorically. Even the great apostle Paul had to admit that now we know only in part (1 Corinthians 13:12) and that we cannot yet imagine the things that God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). So it looks as though we'll have to wait and see. But that does not mean that we know nothing about what Heaven is like, and today's passage gives us some clear pointers. Heaven is a place of dazzling purity and awesome majesty In verse 3 Mark tells us that Jesus' clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. In Matthew 17:1 we're told his face shone like the sun. Paul on the road to Damascus had a glimpse of that brightness. Testifying before King Agrippa he says: At midday, I saw in the way, O king, out of heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round me a light – and having fallen to the earth…I heard a voice… (Acts26:13-14). John on the Isle of Patmos saw it too: His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:14-18). Heaven is a place of dazzling purity and awesome majesty. But it's a place  where it's good to be – a place where you'll want to stay! Notice what Peter says in verse 5: Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Of course he didn't realise what he was saying. Jesus, Moses and Elijah would not have needed shelters! All Peter knew was that he wanted the experience to last. Heaven is a place where the righteous dead are still living v4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.            The Sadducees, who did not believe in life after death, once asked Jesus about a woman who had had seven different husbands because they all died one after the other. In the next life, whose wife would she be? Jesus replied that they were making a big mistake because they neither knew the power of God nor understood the Scriptures. Quoting the well-known passage in Exodus 3, he pointed out that God had revealed himself to Moses, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The point here is that God did not say, I was. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all died centuries before God said this. Yet God still said I am. He was still their God centuries after they had died, so they must be still alive! Now, in today's passage, we have another evidence of this. Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking with Jesus. They had both died centuries earlier and Moses had died well before Elijah was born. So they were still alive long after they had died. What's more, they were recognisable. We don't know how the disciples knew who they were. Perhaps they overheard them referring to each other by name – it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that in Heaven we will be able to recognise and communicate with each other, even with Christians of earlier generations whom we have never met. Furthermore, they were not only recognisable, they seem to have been still serving God. It must surely have been God who sent them to have this conversation with Jesus. The exact details and the purpose of the conversation we do not know, but Luke tells us that they were speaking about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). More of this later, but I'm glad that in the life to come it seems that God will have something for us to do! Heaven is a place where Jesus is recognised for who he is At the transfiguration God declares Jesus to be his Son (v7). The disciples are to listen to HIM. He is exalted above both Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the prophets). He fulfilled them both and supersedes them both. All authority is given to him. No wonder Peter could say that Jesus received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Heaven is a place where Jesus is recognised for who he really is, and only those who recognise it will be welcome in Heaven. In the end the disciples are left seeing no-one except Jesus (v8). In the final analysis, Jesus is all that matters. Not the Law. Not the prophets. Just Jesus. It's our response to him that will determine our final destiny. Experiencing a foretaste of Heaven I have already suggested that the disciples' experience of the transfiguration was a glimpse or foretaste of Heaven itself. But that raises the question whether it's possible for us today to have such a foretaste – obviously not an identical one, because that was unique, but is there any sense in which Christians can experience a taste of heaven today? And the answer is certainly yes. They are rarely, if ever, as dramatic as that of the disciples at the transfiguration, but Hebrews 6 tells us that as Christians we have tasted the heavenly gift and… shared in the Holy Spirit… and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age (vv4-5). In my book, Just a Taste of Heaven, I have sought to show that the supernatural healings we receive now through the power of the Spirit are best understood as a foretaste of the age to come, when we will enjoy permanent good health in the new imperishable bodies we will receive when Jesus comes again (1 Corinthians 15:52-54). But of course, healing is not the only foretaste. All the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are available, as he determines, to bring us into a new dimension beyond the natural level of our everyday lives. This is confirmed by Paul's use of Greek words like arrabon and aparche to refer to the Holy Spirit. Both these words indicate that through the Spirit now we may receive a foretaste of what Heaven will be like. But these experiences are of course just a taste! There's much much more when Jesus comes again! But for a detailed explanation you might like to take a look at the final chapter of my book, The Holy Spirit – and Introduction, or listen to podcasts 022-024. Meanwhile, as we wait for Heaven, there's a sense in which we ourselves are being transformed. The same verb as is used for Jesus being transfigured, or transformed, is used elsewhere about Christians. In Romans 12:2 Paul encourages us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And in 2 Corinthians 3:18 he tells us that  …we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. For us the transformation is gradual. The extent to which we reflect the Lord's glory will depend on how much time we spend in his presence renewing our minds. Remember, the disciples experienced the transfiguration while they were alone with Jesus (v2). What makes Heaven possible for us We said earlier that the transfiguration was a metamorphosis – a change in the form of a person into a completely different one – not a different person, but a different form. But actually this was not the first transfiguration. Jesus had changed his form before. Look for a moment at Philippians 2:5-8, which translated literally reads like this: Jesus, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself empty, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! The word I have translated as form is morphe from which is derived metamorpho'o, the word used to refer to the transfiguration in Mark 9. So the first ‘transfiguration' was the incarnation. At the incarnation he remained God but took upon himself the form of a man. At the transfiguration, he remained a man, but took again for a brief moment the form of God which he later resumed after his resurrection and ascension. Our salvation was only possible because Jesus was willing to take the form of a servant, to be made in human likeness, to appear as a man, and to humble himself to death on a cross. As we have seen, he came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, to live a sinless life in obedience to his Father, to suffer and die in our place. We mentioned earlier that Luke tells us that Elijah and Moses were speaking with Jesus about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment (or accomplish) at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). The word used for departure in this verse is exodos which means a way out. Jesus' death on the cross was to be his way out. But it was also to be ours. As God provided a way out of slavery in Egypt for the Israelites in the Book of Exodus, so Jesus has provided a way out for us from the slavery of sin and the death penalty it brings. One day we shall all be transformed into his likeness, for we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). Meanwhile let us seek to be daily transformed by the renewing of our minds and to allow the Holy Spirit to be constantly changing us from one degree of glory to another as we spend time in the glorious presence of Jesus.      

For the last week our TV has been selecting the channels we are able to watch! I turn to BBC and it says “no signal” and yet when I go through the channels Spark TV is fine….great news for Harriet, but not so wonderful news for me, whose Luganda is basic to say the least. But the other night both BBC and Spark had “no signal” and so we trawled channels which I hadn't even realised amongst our package. At last, there was a flicker on the screen and “Record TV” burst into our living room. It was showing a drama about the women who had been bleeding for many years, and had ultimately been healed through touching the cloak of Jesus…. The subject of our message today! But actually, the story on the TV was not so much about the healing from her bleeding, but rather about how this sickness had caused her to separate from her husband and be ostracized by her wider community…. Nobody wanted to associate with her! Chantal, my daughter, was transfixed and, despite it being past our 10pm bedtime… we stayed up a little longer to watch the end. We all know the healing story…. she touched the cloak of Jesus…. and was healed. BUT alongside this physical healing was also the relationship healing between herself, and her community, her family, and indeed her husband, with the drama closing with the couple hand in hand watching children playing. OK, all a bit mushy and sentimental, but I had been praying about what to share in this message… and God said…. I've shown you this story… read the passage and then talk about it… and so here I am talking to you about “Touching the Cloak of Jesus”Matthew 9 v 18 - 2618 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader's house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.If we look back in the chapter, we see that all this started as Jesus was finishing a meal at the house of Mathew – the writer of this gospel – just after he had left his tax collectors booth to follow Jesus. Of course, the associates of Mathew at that time were not the sort of people the “proper” religious people, and even the other disciples of Jesus, felt he should be mixing with:Mathew 9 v 10 - 1110 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”And Jesus gives the wonderful answer:Mathew 9 v 13b For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinnersBut this is a text for another sermon.Anyway, at the end of this nice meal a synagogue leader comes in and knelt before Jesus to ask Jesus to bring his daughter back to life, as she had just died. Quite a request, but it shows you the faith and expectancy that was already building amongst people in regard to Jesus. Jesus got up, left and went following the Rabbi, but as he was moving through the street a women came up behind him and touched his cloak. In the description of this event in Matthew, Jesus just turns around and tells the women she has been healed because of her faith. BUT, in the Luke narrative of the same event we get a little more detail of what actually happened.Let's read all the Luke narrative so that we are fully informed:Luke 8:43-4843 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”From Luke we find out that the crowd was pushing against Jesus and many people could have touched Him, but Jesus knew that one person had touched him with a purpose…. “He had felt the power go out of him”. Luke 8 v 4747 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.I think there are a few important facts to notice in this extra detail which Luke gives:The women realized that she could not go unnoticed – This was an important fact for the women because of the rule given in Leviticus 15 v 25: 25 “‘When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. This poor lady had been bleeding for 12 years and hence, by Jewish law had been unclean and untouchable for all this time. It must have been a very hard and lonely existence.And because of this law and her long isolation she was well known within the community and hence the writers of the gospel knew what problem she had. Hence both start their stories with the fact that…. “There was a women who had been suffering from bleeding for 12 years”This is also why she came with “trembling” and fell at the feet of Jesus. She had touched him, made him unclean(?), and this confession in-front of all the people. What would be the consequence?But, as always, Jesus seeks to draw in, and love, those who would normally be rejected by people. I love the way his response is stated in the Matthew passageMatthew 9 v 2222 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.To look into the face of Jesus is always such a life changing experience. However, you are feeling today…. On top of the world….or passing through the deepest valley….. close your eyes…. and in your “minds-eye” look into the face of Jesus…. You may see joy…. You may see sadness…. But you will always see LOVELuke 22 v 6161 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.All Peter could see in that face was LOVE, a love he had just denied 3 times… and he wept bitterly.This is brilliantly put in the old hymn written by Helen Lemmel over 70 years ago:Turn your eyes upon Jesus,Look full in His wonderful face,And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,In the light of His glory and graceThe lady was instantly healed, and in both passages Jesus states that it is due to her faith that she was healed.And this is where I want to close, as both people in our Mathew passage, the synagogue leader with the child who had died, and the women who had been bleeding for 12 years, both sought to contact Jesus in FAITH that He could change a hopeless situation in their lives. Both had to overcome their fears – the synagogue leader kneeling before a man who was mixing with sinners, and the women risking that she would be noticed and even attempting to touch Jesus' cloak as she was unclean.Yes, faith does require us to step out from our comfort zones at times, but as we do this with Jesus as our focus, we have nothing to fear. People may look, people may point, gossip may start….but it is our faith in JESUS CHRIST AS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR that will see us through. Matthew 9 v 24 to 25He (Jesus) said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they (the mourners) laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.Matthew 9 v 22And the woman was healed at that momentFrom Peter's message last week concerning the timing of God, we know that the workings of God in response to our requests, might not be instant, as they were in the case of the two people in our passage today. But this should not stop our FAITH FOR THE MOMENTNOW is the time to reach out and “TOUCH THE CLOAK OF JESUS”!PRAYERQuestions to ponderLet's start with the difficult one – why do you think God allows people to suffer through illness and loss? – There is not a simple answer, but thinking about the problem and sharing with others will help to clarify our thinking.How do we respond to people who have been ostracized from community life for one reason or another? Can we show love to the unlovely?Share testimonies of prayers answered in your lives – small things, big things, it doesn't matter, and what roll did faith play?Thanks and God Bless!

Peter had denied Jesus three times before he died on a cross. After the resurrection he sits at a fire with Jesus watching the fish cook and Jesus asks him three times, “Do you love me?” In the English language we miss what Jesus is really asking Peter. Jesus is trying to get Peter to realize that he will have to love him unconditionally to make it through the days ahead when persecution starts. All Peter wanted to do was focus on another disciple and Jesus tells Peter, “You don’t worry about him and follow me.” Far too often we want to look at other people when we should be looking at ourselves and focusing on what we can do for the kingdom. We need to be obedient…

In this episode of Y.E.L 2.0, your host Peter Voogd shares the story behind his first 10 million dollars. From humble beginnings himself, Peter knows what it takes to achieve success from any starting point!   Episode Highlights: After dropping out of college, Peter went against everyone’s advice and started a direct-sales business in Tacoma, WA Peter sacrificed fun times with his friends in college to build his business All Peter wanted was to have something different than the 9-5 schedules that surrounded him growing up Slowly, Peter began to realize what it took to build a business and establish an incredible leadership team Doing all the wrong things taught Peter what it took to do all the right things The most important thing is that you start; you will learn what you need to along the way You must constantly seek to expand your capacity as you are learning how to become a great leader From doing $140k over 90 hour weeks to over $800k in half the hours just 2 summers later Building the right team and becoming a master of his own time fueled Peter to take that big leap Escaping reality through drugs, alcohol, or other means will only make your reality worse Investing in people and making them feel a part of something will help you build a team that will go to war for you Don’t judge anyone by where they are from or their background because you don’t know their potential With over 20 rentals to his name now, people don’t realize that Peter lived in 6 or 7 terrible apartments during his growth Having an important purpose and mission will give you and others a reason to keep pushing Change didn’t come to Peter’s life until he was willing to take responsibility for everything in it   3 Key Points While all of his friends were partying in college and enjoying life, Peter decided to move away and build his business. Peter was willing to sacrifice weekends, holidays, and time with family to make a real impact on the world. Learning how to develop people, master his time, and be more efficient and effective allowed Peter to grow exponentially.   Tweetable Quotes: “You have to start somewhere.” - Peter Voogd “I knew nothing about leadership. I knew nothing about success. All I knew was that I wanted something different.” - Peter Voogd “The only way to expand your capacity is by taking on more than what you currently think you are capable of.” - Peter Voogd “We had such a mission here that people wanted to be a part of it.” - Peter Voogd “When you’re on purpose and off yourself, all the successful things will start coming to you.” - Peter Voogd   You can download Peter’s exclusive networking blueprint at https://gamechangersmovement.com/networking - This blueprint will give you the exact scripts Peter uses to get ahold of anybody.     Resources Mentioned: Peter Voogd’s Website Peter Voogd’s Instagram Peter Voogd’s LinkedIn Peter Voogd’s YouTube Game Changers Academy

Vanderpump Rules OG Peter Madrigal steps Behind The Rope. Back in a simpler time when everyone had their Bravo contracts in place, a mere week ago, Peter sat down with The Rope to tell it all. What does HE think about it ALL? Peter explains exactly how the show was cast way back when and it is not what was expected. Peter is kind enough to entertain the Rope's desires to talk about all of his cast mates. Who changed the most since the beginning of the show? What does he personally think of Jax's marriage? What did he think of this past season and the newbies? Does he think the future of VR should be broken into two shows? How does he feel to be one of the only OGs to actually still work at Sur? What role does he play in helping cast the show as the real manager of Sur? Whose wedding was his favorite? House? Of course we also address the season finale's breaking of the 4th wall and how it felt like a series finale with everyone going their separate ways. The future of Vanderpump Rules? All these and more questions answered in this no holds bar sit down with the OG himself, Mr. Peter Madrigal. @Peter_madrigal@behindvelvetrope@davidyontefBonus Episodes Available at - https://www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope Merch Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

4. Freak-out-Worthy Acceptance(Luke 4:38- 5:11)I wish I could go back through time and hand-deliver this book to all of the survivors I've known through the years. I'd write a personal apology in the front of each book.It would say, “I'm sorry that I tried so hard to change you. I'm sorry I didn't accept you the way Jesus would have. I apologize for not seeing the beauty and awesomeness of your life. You forever impacted my life with your strength. I'm sorry I didn't value it more when we knew each other.”See, as much as I rag on religious people in this book, a lot of my disgust is aimed at myself. I'm really good at what I call “following Jesus from a distance.” I like working on all the stuff we see on the surface. I like helping people get better jobs, have better relationships, and better morals. While these are important things to work on, they aren't the ultimate things. Fixing outward behaviors and circumstances doesn't get at the heart of our deepest needs. Jesus sees past those surface behaviors; he cares about the pain and mess in our souls.For most of my adult life, I was great at following Jesus from a distance. I liked everything Jesus was saying. I thought I believed it all. I cleaned up my life and it looked really good on the outside. I was doing a lot of great things. God was at work in my life. But I was still carrying shame around. I was still trying to feel worthy of being loved. I still wanted religious people to respect me.What I didn't understand then, and I can barely grasp now, is how completely Jesus accepts us and how completely none of us deserve his acceptance. I was so busy trying to “clean” everyone else up, because it was a twisted way for me to also “clean” myself up. But Jesus never asked me to do that. He accepted me and all my unclean, messy messiness! Then he said, “Let's start sorting this out together.” There was no measure of how clean I had to be in order to gain his acceptance; I just had to accept his acceptance!So, I'm sorry if you are one of the people I hurt along the way. I truly didn't understand how much Jesus accepted both of us as we were! I was keenly aware of how much we didn't deserve it, but missed the mark on how freely Jesus accepted us anyway!The disciple, Simon Peter, also followed Jesus from a distance for a while. His story starts right after the religious people from Jesus' hometown tried to throw him off of a cliff. Jesus shrugged off the experience and went to another town and began preaching and healing people. (Which I think is pretty amazing considering how quickly I let an insult set me back). Jesus loved people more than I can comprehend, but he didn't need their approval. It's interesting how he wasn't ever stopped by their hate.In Luke 4: 31-37 we find that all the small towns around the area began talking about how awesome Jesus was. They were amazed at his teaching and all abuzz about the miracles he was doing (which I'm guessing was a real burr in the butt of the people in his hometown!) Verse 31, tells us they were amazed because his “words had authority. This was a big deal because teachers in Israel didn't just say stuff the way we do. They had to cite their sources. They quoted and referenced important people to give authority to their words. Jesus had no need to do this. He just taught. He was fully God in the flesh and didn't need validation from other people.In Luke 4:38, the incredible story of Simon Peter begins. As you read his story, try to step back from overly romanticized versions of Peter with a holy glow about him. Imagine a real working-class man with a lot of bravado living out this story. Luke tells us, after Jesus preached in the synagogue, he went to the home of a man named Simon, who later became known by the Greek name, Peter. (It was a confusing, complicated time for names. From now on, I will call him Peter.)Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, who was suffering from a high fever. She immediately got up and began waiting on all of their guests. (Which, kudos to her, ‘cause I would have still been milking the “I was just on my deathbed” thing. Probably instant healing from Jesus gives you a different perspective though.)Verse 40 tells us, that evening, crowds of people came to Peter's house. Jesus stayed up all night healing the sick among them and casting out demons. Peter must have thought it was extremely cool to have this happening in his home. Hospitality was everything to people back then. Who you ate with and who you stayed with were “your people”. They were the people you identified with. It was a huge honor for a Rabbi to be staying in the home of a working-class man. Religious leaders strove to associate themselves with the most important people they could find. Jesus chose to stay with regular people like Peter. We don't know how long he stayed or how often, but Peter's home was a base for Jesus while he continued to preach in the area.In Chapter 5, we learn that Peter was a fisherman. Fishing was really hard work back in the ancient day. Boats were harder to navigate and equipment was bulkier. There were no fish finders, GPS navigation systems, boat motors, or elaborate gear set-up thingys. Just nets, boats, and oars. They threw the nets out, let them sink, then pulled them up to see if they caught anything. It was grueling, repetitive work.One morning, Peter was cleaning his nets after fishing all night with nothing to show for his efforts. I'm sure he was in a rotten mood. All Peter wanted to do was go home and crash in his comfy bed and sleep until it was time to get up and do it again. As Peter was working and dreaming of rest, Jesus walked up with a crowd following him. He got into one of the boats and asked Peter to push out into the water so he could preach to the crowd. Peter showed his tremendous respect for Jesus by immediately doing what he asked.After Jesus finished preaching to the crowd, he told Peter to do something which was probably even harder for him to obey: Jesus said “put, out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”Peter answered “Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything.” Then he said “But because, you say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5 (NIV)I love that Peter puts a qualifier in there, “because you say so.” Peter was acknowledging how crazy it was to go fishing again, during the day. He probably wanted everyone around to know it wasn't his idea to go back out again. This was Jesus. They'd seen him do some crazy stuff already. Still, Peter seemed to want everyone to know he thought it wouldn't work.So, Peter and some of his fellow weary fishermen rowed far out into the deep water. They threw their nets out where Jesus told them to. Then they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They had to call the other boats to come help them. All the boats were so full of fish that they struggled to row back to shore. For ancient fishermen without sophisticated equipment, this was like winning the fishing lottery. They were astonished.Peter's reaction to the huge catch of fish is really strange:… when Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.Jesus said to Peter, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” Luke 5:8 and 11 (NIV).Wait! What? Why did Peter tell Jesus to go away?Think of all the things Peter had already seen from Jesus. He'd seen him heal tons of people, including his mother-in-law. He'd seen Jesus casting demons out of people, which, seems like it would be way more awe-inspiring than telling someone where to catch fish.Peter had already heard Jesus preach. He obviously thought Jesus was a great teacher and a powerful man. Why did he react to this miracle with fear and asking Jesus to go away from him?Because of what this miracle meant. This miracle was specifically for Peter. Sure, it had been cool to see Jesus helping people and listening to him preach. Getting to serve him seemed special. It had been an honor to have a teacher like Jesus in his home and on his boat. Peter was serving Jesus which made him feel special.But the miracle of the huge catch of fish? That was directly for Peter. That was Jesus serving Peter. Jesus looked into Peter's life and saw his need and cared about it. Before Jesus called Peter to be his disciple, he provided for Peter's family through a miraculous load of fish.God was showing Peter how much he cares about our needs. Peter dramatically fell in front of Jesus, the way a peasant would fall in front of a king, in fear and recognition of how he knew he didn't deserve to be fully seen and fully cared for. Peter said, “get away from me. I'm a sinful man” (vs 8). Any pride Peter had, was thrown aside in this moment, because there was no way for him to convince himself he deserved this miracle. This man who seems to have so much bravado, fell on the ground in front of Jesus when he realized how much he cares and saw a glimpse of his power.When we truly understand what Jesus has done for us, we should freak out the way Peter did. This truth of who Jesus is and how much he cares for us is the hardest thing in the world for humans to grasp. Somehow, our pride wants to make it more complicated. But in those moments when we see it, even just a little, we, like Peter, are filled with a sense of how undeserved God's love really is. It's a natural response to want to send Jesus away from our messy lives. Like Peter, I've often felt I didn't want Jesus anywhere near the mess I was making of my life. I knew I was a train wreck. I knew I deserved the junk in my life and I knew I didn't deserve his care. I wanted to follow Jesus. I wanted to be associated with him. I wanted to clean up my life so I could deserve good things. But Jesus saw past all of that and accepted me fully. He cared about my deepest needs even as I followed from a distance. Gradually, I began to accept his love.You know how you can tell who gets this? Which people understand how little they deserve to be accepted by God? You can tell when you meet them because they are gracious in how they love and accept other people. They don't need to go around “fixing” everyone's problems so those “cleaned up” people can come to Jesus. People who have fallen at Jesus' knees and said, “Get away from me! I don't deserve your love” know that nothing we ever do can make us good enough for such undeserved grace. We simply accept it and give it to as many other people as possible.I'm truly sorry for all the times I didn't show this because I couldn't accept it myself. I pray that for the rest of my days I will do a better job at representing Jesus!I pray for you also, that you see how freak-out-worthy Jesus' acceptance of you is. He sees beneath the surface of your life and wants to walk with you anyway. He doesn't want you following from a distance, he wants to care about what is happening in your life, right now. That thing you are thinking about that you wish you could hide from him. He knows about it. He cares. He wants to help you with it. If you don't find that scary, you aren't fully comprehending it! It is also the answer to your search for peace. You are accepted as you are, even with that thing you want to hide! You can find peace when you accept his acceptance of you, no matter what happens in your life, even if you get worse. And the crazier-awesomer, un-freaking-believable thing is that Jesus wants to give you hope to actually get better and one day be free from the deepest hurt you are hiding. You and I don't deserve this hope, but he freely gives it anyway!

When we look past who Peter became and we consider where he began, we're left with the question, Why would Jesus call a nobody? Why would Jesus start a world-wide movement with a fisherman. The reason not only reveals the heart of Jesus, but it offers each of us the encouragement of knowing that God can use us too because We are All Peter.

19 May 2019 - Can anything good come out of Caesarea? Michael Kerem walks us through the story of Cornelius and its history-shifting implications. When we won't willingly cooperate with God, he sticks us in a place so we can watch him move sovereignly. So it was with Peter, who barely said anything before the Holy Spirit was poured on the household of a Roman centurion in proof that repentance that leads to life had been gifted to non-Jews, too. All Peter could say in his defense was, "Who was I that I could stand in God's way?" Readings: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 7; John 13:31-35 Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

True stories told live across the UK. We’ve seen and heard a lot at Spark - stories that have made us laugh, cringe, cry, gasp, pause for thought, rethink everything. I’d thought we’d seen it all to be honest but in January this year, Peter McCleave took to the stage and asked us to save his life. That was a first. In 2016 Peter, a thirty nine year old triathlete and father of two, was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Myeloma and given seven years to live. Two years in, he now has five. But that doesn’t have to be the case. All Peter needs is someone who is a genetic match to donate their stem cells. In fact, that’s all most people in Peter’s situation need in order to survive. Trouble is around only two percent of the UK’s population is on the stem cell donation register. So Peter is on a mission to get that number up. Getting on the register is simple, pain free and could save someone’s life, so why not register today? To find out more visit: www.10000donors.comCan’t register but still want to help? You can donate to Peter’s just giving page here: https://bit.ly/2WL9QIv See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s nothing uglier than jealousy in ministry. When two individuals who claim to be serving and following Christ begin to question why the other seems to be getting an easier path to walk or more acclaim for their efforts, it is not a pretty picture. And in the final chapter of John, chapter 21, we get a not-so-pretty look at Peter and his response to some not-so-great news from Jesus regarding how his life was going to turn out. But upon hearing this news from Jesus, Peter immediately turns his attention to John. He wants to know how HIS life is going to turn out. Peter is feeling slighted, as if he has been selected for some kind of punishment for his past sins. But Jesus will give Peter a fairly blunt response and refuse to answer his questions. All Peter needed to know is what was in store for him. Nothing else mattered. This wasn’t a competition. Peter didn’t need to compare his life with John’s or anyone else’s for that matter. But that’s what we’re prone to do. We can’t seem to help comparing our circumstances with those around us. We look at other believers and wonder why they’re more blessed than we are. We question why they seem to get all the breaks. But Jesus would simply say, “What is that to you?” Our job is to follow Him, not question Him. Our task is to keep our eyes on Him, not on those around us.

00:00 - Introduction 03:05 - Scripture Narrative (Romans 1:16-17) 08:48 - Free-for-All (Favorite Book as a Kid) 21:21 - Main Topic (A Reformation Postlude) On episode THIRTY-TWO of Let the Bird Fly! Mike and Peter welcome back Wade, who you may know from his previous role on the splendid podcast Let the Bird Fly! In a surprising move, Wade discusses Paul’s epistle to the Romans in the Scripture Narrative (demonstrating that he does know of books other than the Gospel according to St. Mark). In the Free-for-All Peter decides to strike out with another pretentious comment, that clearly was a bridge too far for Wade and Mike. They mercilessly attack him, until he’s left trying to convince them that the Mr. Men/Little Miss books were not actually part of a British literature phase he went through in grade school. As they typically do, however, the guys find their way to the main topic, which they call A Reformation Postlude. In this 500th anniversary of Lutheran Reformation (typically marked as beginning on October 31, 1517), they guys decide to discuss the ways in which the Reformation of the Church still plays out today. Far from simply a(n) historical fact, they suggest that the Church is constantly working through the questions of the Reformation, both corporately and as individual Christians maturing in their faith (and even trying to share the faith with their children). We hope you enjoy the discussion. If it sparks any thoughts, questions, comments, outrage, please let us know (well, maybe you can keep the last one to yourself). We love hearing from you! As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.  

00:00 - Introduction 04:09 - Scripture Narrative (Mark 16:9-20) 13:35 - Free-for-All (Class every student should take) 29:29 - Main Topic (A Path Strewn with Sinners)  On episode THIRTY of Let the Bird Fly! the guys abandon Peter, so he is forced to find something to talk about. He manages to dredge up some guy who recently wrote a book entitled A Path Strewn with Sinners: A Devotional Study of Mark’s Gospel & His Race to the Cross. You may have heard of the author, as it turns out he is also the host of a podcast (that happens to be extremely popular with your demographic) called Let the Bird Fly!; his name is Rev. Dr. Wade Johnston. (Peter knows this schtick is getting old...sorry, he can’t help himself.) In this episode Peter takes the reigns again to talk to Wade about his latest book. Before letting Wade talk, though, Peter demonstrates a level of humility that Wade can only dream about by taking the Scripture Narrative and discussing the Gospel according to St. Mark (even though he knows full well, there’s a much more compelling Gospel account out there). In the Free-for-All Peter and Wade play king-of-the-world (or at least king-of-the-classroom) and discuss what classes they would require for every high school student and what class for every college student, if they were given such power. But eventually Peter allows Wade to talk about his book; and who knows you might even find it interesting. As the subtitle suggests, A Path Strewn with Sinners is a devotional text, which is accessible for the layperson and structured in such a way that makes it a great fit for personal or family devotions, as well as corporate devotions. Since we’re quite sure we’ve hit our target audience with you, we’re giving away TWO copies of the book (maybe we’ll even try to get the haughty author to sign them for you...we’ll see, he’s pretty full of himself); just head over to our BOOK GIVEAWAY page for all the details. And make sure to share the podcast and the giveaway with your friends and family! As always, if you are enjoying the show, please subscribe, rate, and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or TuneIn Radio. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. And, of course, share us with a friend or two! If you’d like to contact us we can be reached at podcast@LetTheBirdFly.com, or visit our website at www.LetTheBirdFly.com. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music Used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Horses to Water” by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner “Not Drunk” by The Joy Drops is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License.  

Our scripture text really begins with Jesus teaching a multitude of people. This is the miracle of the loaves and fishes. After teaching the multitude, he fed them and sent them away. Bro. Custer observes that is how it is with some people. They come and experience God and go home. Some in the bible experienced him as part of the multitude and went home, but others sought more and desired for more. With all that God has done and how He has blessed His people, Bro. Custer declares that he does not understand how people can simply experience God as part of the multitude. We must step out and seek more. Jesus sent the disciples across the sea and told them that He would meet them on the other side. They were fishermen and were comfortable with traveling in boats. When they set out, they were comfortable with the situation. However the storm was greater than they had ever experienced. They had weathered storms before and had come through, but this time it was different. In the midst of their greatest storm, Jesus comes walking on the water. Mark says that it appeared as if He would pass them by. Peter, once he heard that it was Jesus, ask to meet Him on the water. All Peter needed to know was that it was Jesus. He didn’t’ have to understand how Jesus was walking on the water, or why He wasn’t sinking, all he needed to know was that it was Jesus. While the others chose to remain in the boat, Peter decided to step out from the multitude and to seek more.

Our scripture text really begins with Jesus teaching a multitude of people. This is the miracle of the loaves and fishes. After teaching the multitude, he fed them and sent them away. Bro. Custer observes that is how it is with some people. They come and experience God and go home. Some in the bible experienced him as part of the multitude and went home, but others sought more and desired for more. With all that God has done and how He has blessed His people, Bro. Custer declares that he does not understand how people can simply experience God as part of the multitude. We must step out and seek more. Jesus sent the disciples across the sea and told them that He would meet them on the other side. They were fishermen and were comfortable with traveling in boats. When they set out, they were comfortable with the situation. However the storm was greater than they had ever experienced. They had weathered storms before and had come through, but this time it was different. In the midst of their greatest storm, Jesus comes walking on the water. Mark says that it appeared as if He would pass them by. Peter, once he heard that it was Jesus, ask to meet Him on the water. All Peter needed to know was that it was Jesus. He didn’t’ have to understand how Jesus was walking on the water, or why He wasn’t sinking, all he needed to know was that it was Jesus. While the others chose to remain in the boat, Peter decided to step out from the multitude and to seek more.