God Responds to Faith

Scripture
Mother to a sick daughter: “But come and put Your hand on her and she will live.” (Matt 9:18 NIV)
Woman with bleeding problem : “ If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” (Matt 9:21 NIV)
Jesus asked two blind men who asked for sight : “ Do you believe that I am able to do this (healing)? Yes Lord “they replied”, then He touched their eyes and said “According to your faith will it be done to you.” (Matt 9:28 NIV)

Observation
We know God’s character through his words and promises. However what can ‘knowing things’ do good to me unless I experience it. Throughout matthew 9, Matthew keeps on highlighting the importance of FAITH in experiencing the power of God, and more importantly experiencing HIS Character (in this case: Jehovah Raphah - God is my healer”). Faith is simply believing what Gad says who He is. Believe the truth of his character. Just like a cable conducts electricity from the power source to a HD LCD TV, faith conducted power/God’s character from Himself to me. Without Him I can not function!

Application:
To be able to know His character, I must become a faithful student of His word, hence the Holy Spirit who lives in me will reveal God’s character to me, and in result I will know him more and more. Holy Spirit will give me RHEMA and based on that RHEMA (revelation), I believe (Faith comes), and that Faith is the conductor for me to experience God’s character, His power, in my life. It makes sense. Faith comes from hearing, hearing of the Rhema of God.

Prayer:
You are marvelous! How deep are your thoughts oh God. I could not comprehend them. I want to know you more, Jesus. The more I study about your word, the more I realize how I want to know and experience you more; and the more I realize how little and limited my understanding about You. Help me to be quick to learn, quick to say AMEN to your promises and walk in your ways, for I know your hands are upon me all the days of my life. AMEN.


Only yesterday I was having a conversation with a lovely lady, she voluntarily clean our church property once a week as part of her ministry to God. She’s a very humble lady. She gave me her testimony about her life, she grew up in West Java, Indonesia, brought up in a moslem family; migrate to Australia 12 years ago ; and came to know Jesus in 2005, gave herself to Jesus and be baptized. She came back to Indonesia in Feb 2009 (just two months ago), to visit her parents and her relatives in Bandung. One day she and her husband visit her sister’s house in Bandung. Her sister’s husband had a stroke a while ago, and caused him lost his memory. He could not remember most people whom he knew before the stroke. This lady ask her sister’s husband, “ do you still remember me?”, he said “no”. In her heart she prayed, “Jesus, you made blind men recover their sight, lame men walk, mute can talk again, surely you can make my brother in law recovers from his stroke, and start to regain his memory. May your name be glorified.”
She told her brother in law, “You know Prophet Isa (Jesus is known as Prophet Isa in book of Quran), don’t you, brother? He can heal you and he can make you whole, believe in him. Because he loves you and care for you. You can be healed.” Her brother in law responded “yes I want to be healed, Prophet Isa please heal me.” She lays her hands upon this man’s head and prayed for his healing. Soon after she finished prayed, she asked him again, “do you remember who I am?”, He paused for a while, and then he said, “ are you ‘enceu’ (big sister in sundanese), you’re ‘enceu’ from Australia, aren’t you?”. This lady was so filled with Joy that Jesus has started the recovery in her brother in law’s memory. Her sister was so happy.

During her same visit to Bandung, she also went to her parents house. Her mother was already old and had not been able to walk for months. The mother just laid in bed most of the time. This lady told me, that often time she came to her mother’s bed and whisper in her mother’s ear, “mom, Prophet Isa loves you and she can heal you. He is God, believe in him, and you will walk again.” She keeps praying for her mom. This lady told me, just before she and her husband left to perth again, she took and accompany her mom walking around the frontyard of the house. She starts walking again.’
Praise God!

God responds to FAITH. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 5 year old boy, or 89 year old man. It doesn’t matter whether you have been a believer for 30 years, or you just became believer yesterday. Your faith in Christ is the one that saved you. Your faith is the conductor of God’s saving grace to be applied into your life. You’re saved by grace. the salvation, the forgiveness, the right standing before God is given to you. Yes, it is GIVEN to you through faith. just Simply believe....
The lady who shared her testimony let God to move through her to bring live and healing to her family members who don’t know Jesus. If only we are letting God use us and not hesitating to proclaim Jesus, wow.... we are going to be amazed with what God will do to people around us. Just like the testimony she shared.

These signs will accompany those who believe: they will cast out demons in My name, and they will speak new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them. (Mark 16:17-18)