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. Matthew 9:28-30
Apostle Paul and even Jesus didn’t deny the use and the power of faith and what it could do. Jesus told us, "Have faith in God. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:22-24). And Paul told us, And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). Yes, you can move mountains by faith but whether you have love will determine if it had any value! Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
It’s interesting that faith, hope, love are not restricted by the dimensions of time and space. Faith works in all periods and dispensations of God and reaches all the way to the courts of heaven. Elisha, who received a double anointing from God and worked more miracles in his life, including raising a person from the dead, than any other man of God in the Old Testament, using his anointing and faith did some things that no religionist today would ever do. The bible records:
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren." And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' " So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 2 Kings 2:19-24
Elisha’s faith enabled him to heal the waters that there would be no more death or barrenness and they stayed healed until this day. He also pronounced a curse in the name of the LORD on youths that mocked him. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. God, who anointed and made Elisha into a man of God, never rebuked him for these two unusual miracles! So we see from the Word of God that there is quite a latitude in the principle, "According to your faith let it be to you." Yet God’s word is unchanging:
"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand Matthew 12:25
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Matthew 21:43
Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. Luke 14:31-32
King Saul fought with God’s friend and servant and anointed one, David without a cause even though the bible clearly states not to fight with a man without a cause for a kingdom divided against itself will be brought to desolation. This caused David to cry out to God and pray many prayers about victory over and the destruction of his enemies (Psalm 3,5,6, 7,9 18,25,27, 31, 41,42 54,59, 69,71,92, 102,119, 138, 139,143 ) including:
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:3
My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Psalm 31:15
He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. Psalm 54:5
Jesus told us, It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! Jesus also told us, "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" God heard and answered David’s cry for justice and vindication and victory. As a result of King Saul’s unjust war with David, woe did come to King Saul. He not only lost his kingdom but his life. God gave everything that belonged to the house of Saul including his wives and wealth to David. God’s word is true:
'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 2 Samuel 12:8
Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:1-3
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Yes, God has promised to avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them! He has promised to avenge them speedily. But the question remains when Jesus comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" God’s word is unchanging:
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." Luke 17:11-19
All the ten lepers were healed but only one of them returned and gave Jesus thanks and was made whole. And he was a Samaritan! True faith responds back to God with a grateful heart when it receives a miracle. And false faith received what it wanted and doesn’t need or want God anymore! Nevertheless Jesus warned men that He would be rejected and that just like in the days of days of Noah and Lot judgment would come upon men when the Son of Man comes. God’s word is unchanging:
"For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
"In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. "Remember Lot's wife. "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. "I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. "Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. "Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Luke 17:24-37
Apostle Paul and even Jesus didn’t deny the use and the power of faith and what it could do. Jesus told us, "Have faith in God. "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:22-24). And Paul told us, And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). Yes, you can move mountains by faith but whether you have love will determine if it had any value! Now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
It’s interesting that faith, hope, love are not restricted by the dimensions of time and space. Faith works in all periods and dispensations of God and reaches all the way to the courts of heaven. Elisha, who received a double anointing from God and worked more miracles in his life, including raising a person from the dead, than any other man of God in the Old Testament, using his anointing and faith did some things that no religionist today would ever do. The bible records:
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren." And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' " So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 2 Kings 2:19-24
Elisha’s faith enabled him to heal the waters that there would be no more death or barrenness and they stayed healed until this day. He also pronounced a curse in the name of the LORD on youths that mocked him. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. God, who anointed and made Elisha into a man of God, never rebuked him for these two unusual miracles! So we see from the Word of God that there is quite a latitude in the principle, "According to your faith let it be to you." Yet God’s word is unchanging:
"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand Matthew 12:25
Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Matthew 21:43
Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. Luke 14:31-32
King Saul fought with God’s friend and servant and anointed one, David without a cause even though the bible clearly states not to fight with a man without a cause for a kingdom divided against itself will be brought to desolation. This caused David to cry out to God and pray many prayers about victory over and the destruction of his enemies (Psalm 3,5,6, 7,9 18,25,27, 31, 41,42 54,59, 69,71,92, 102,119, 138, 139,143 ) including:
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:3
My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me. Psalm 31:15
He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth. Psalm 54:5
Jesus told us, It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! Jesus also told us, "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" God heard and answered David’s cry for justice and vindication and victory. As a result of King Saul’s unjust war with David, woe did come to King Saul. He not only lost his kingdom but his life. God gave everything that belonged to the house of Saul including his wives and wealth to David. God’s word is true:
'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 2 Samuel 12:8
Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:1-3
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Yes, God has promised to avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them! He has promised to avenge them speedily. But the question remains when Jesus comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" God’s word is unchanging:
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." Luke 17:11-19
All the ten lepers were healed but only one of them returned and gave Jesus thanks and was made whole. And he was a Samaritan! True faith responds back to God with a grateful heart when it receives a miracle. And false faith received what it wanted and doesn’t need or want God anymore! Nevertheless Jesus warned men that He would be rejected and that just like in the days of days of Noah and Lot judgment would come upon men when the Son of Man comes. God’s word is unchanging:
"For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; "but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
"In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. "Remember Lot's wife. "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. "I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. "Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. "Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Luke 17:24-37
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