Your Faith Has Made You Well
Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Mark 10:46-52
As long as God is God, which is forever, is too soon to give up on receiving your miracle through the use of your faith! Yes, miracles come through faith, not works or perspiration, although if we have faith we will have works and perspiration. Blind Bartimaeus sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" He was blind and had nothing to lose in being aggressive because he had heard what Jesus had done for others and had faith that Jesus could do the same for Him. When many warned him to be quiet he cried out all the more. He cried out so much that He made Jesus stood still and command him to be called. And when Bartimaeus had Jesus attention, Jesus asked him, throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" Bartimaeus said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight. Now since Jesus Christ is God and He is no respecter of persons and shows partiality to no one anybody who uses his or her faith can cry out to Jesus and get Him to do whatever they need be it receiving sight or any other kind of miracle. God’s word is unchanging:
Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." Exodus 15:23-26
In Christianity we have those who say that God only heals according to His sovereign will and others who teach that healing is the right of all God's children, and that we can speak creative miracles into existence. Jesus, whose anointing was unlimited, taught that healing and miracles happen in our lives in proportion to our faith or the faith of others, as well as our openness to the anointing! God’s word is unchanging:
And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it." But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country. Matthew 9:28-31
While men put all the emphasis on God and all that He can do, God put an emphasis on men and their faith level and their ability to exercise faith to believe God for things. Jesus had no problem walking on the water but doubting Peter had a hard time when he looked at the waves. The bible records:
Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." Matthew 14:25-33
Yes, we are of little faith and we do limit God as to what He cannot or will not do. But a child doesn’t stop trying to learn to walk because he falls and stumbles many times? No he will keep on trying until he is able to walk and walk for quite a while. There are times in my life where God has answered some prayers instantly and others prayers He did not answer. There have been times where God healed a sickness and diseases miraculously and other times I have had to rely on medical doctors and medicine. So just because God doesn’t heal miraculously or within our set time frame doesn’t mean that God isn’t in the healing business? And it doesn’t mean that our faith is perfect. But Jesus did say:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. James 14:12
Salvation-soteria is defined in the bible as being established in "protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance and the ministry of angels." But salvation is a personal thing. Each person must work out his or her own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:14). But due to the complexities of man each person is not always established in “protection, preservation, prosperity, promotions, provisions, soundness, healing, deliverance”. Nevertheless God is able to ensure that spirit and soul and body preserved sound and complete. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) especially as the brethren pray one for another (COL 1:9, 1THES 5:25, 2THES 3:1, HEB 13:18, JMS 5:16) and help one another (ACTS 4:34, 1COR 16:17, PHIL 2:30). Yes, the whole body of Christ has a responsibility to help and heal those in the body who are weaker in faith, spirit and body (1 Corinthians 12:12-28,1 John 3:16-19). We all are our brother’s keepers and must support each other through prayer, financial giving and encouraging works.
It is also a fact that God uses many people to heal others but for different reasons He doesn’t heal members of their families or the people He has used in the ministry of healing and miracles. We have many examples of this in prominent American ministries:
John Osteen, Word of Faith mega-church pastor in Houston - his wife, Dodie got liver cancer and through the mercy of God and medical attention survived.
John Osteen himself passed away due to several medical conditions. His church "confessed" his healing and he himself had stated that God told him he would be preaching in the pulpit in his 90's. Osteen died in his 70's.
Frederick K. Price, Word of Faith mega-church pastor in Los Angeles - his wife, Betty got cancer and was medically treated (chemo-therapy) and by the mercy of God was patched up. She wrote a book on her ordeal,
T. L. Osborn had a miracle ministry and his wife, Daisy Osborn, died of cancer a few years back.
Jamie Buckingham, Discipleship Movement & charismatic author - died of cancer.
Charles Capps, Word of Faith teacher, teaches power of our words to create reality - his wife got cancer and was medically treated.
John Wimber, Signs & Wonders Movement, author of "Power Healing," - died from cancer.
R.W. Schambach, Faith Healer - got a quadruple heart bypass
Dr. Hobart Freeman, Word of Faith teacher & pastor of Faith Assembly died due to a medically treatable disease.
Kenneth Hagin, "father" of the Word of Faith Movement - sister died of cancer
Buddy Harrison, Kenneth E. Hagin's son-in-law, died of cancer Dec. 1999.
Katherine Khulman - Faith Healer - died from heart disease and her friend Oral Roberts could not help her.
A.A. Allen – Faith Healer - died from alcohol & drug abuse.
Aimee Semple McPherson – Faith Healer - died of a barbiturate verdose.
Jack Coe – Faith Healer - died from disease.
It is a fact that only Jesus Christ was perfect and sinless and always did the will of the Father and as a result He died when people murdered Him because He healed people on the Sabbath. The bible records:
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Mark 3:1-6
But the good news is that Jesus knows our heart and He knows what we need before we even ask. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. He came full of light, grace and truth; and as we look to Him in all trust, we will receive fullness of life. In Him there is a peace that passes all understanding. There is health for soul, mind and body. There is joy in the valley because He is the Lily of the valley. God has all power and He has promised to work all things out for our good. We can rest in the knowledge that Jesus never fails, and what He has done for so many others, He will do for us. We can look up, trust the Lord and believe for God to break all bondages and bring the victory in our life. God’s word is unchanging:
As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. Psalm 18:30-35
WALTER KAMBULOW
VICTORY MINISTRIES
Gordon Williams http://gordwilliams.com/
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