MEMORISE:
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Mark 5:28
READ: Matthew 8:5-13
8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
8:6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
8:7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
8:9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour..
MESSAGE
I am pleased to announce to you today that just one encounter with the Almighty, with whom there is no impossibility, is all that you need to make all your problems a thing of the past. Not only will your problems be dealt with through an encounter with Him, you will also receive the mother of all blessings, which is eternal life. The story of the centurion who encountered Jesus Christ is a good example of the possibilities that a divine encounter brings. Incidentally, this centurion was not a Jew. Nobody can tell how he got to know about Jesus, but suffice it to say that he was singled out for this encounter by divine arrangement. Typical of a soldier, he went straight to the point in his communication with Jesus, and the Lord offered to come to his house to grant his request. Amazingly, even though he was not a Jew, this centurion demonstrated great faith in the Messiah of the Jews. He declined Jesus' offer to come to his house, saying that the Master just needed to speak a word and his servant would be healed. He believed that whatever Jesus said would definitely come to pass. The Lord was touched by this demonstration of faith, commending it as the sort He had not seen in Israel.
Beloved, let us learn from the centurion. He was out to get healing for his servant and this led him to Jesus. This encounter produced results because he had great expectations. Whenever you come before the Lord's presence, you will be wise to come before Him with a pure heart that expects significant things from Him. Go before the Lord believing like the centurion did. You will notice that the centurion applied what he knew about authority as a soldier to connect with a profound spiritual principle. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing God to use their professional background to help them understand divine principles, some people rather allow the devil to convince them that there is no God. The reality of human efforts being futile without God is what convinced Peter, an experienced fisherman, that his catch of fish at the Lord's direction was not ordinary (Psalm 127:1, Luke 5:8). He therefore bowed to the divine supremacy of the preacher who knew more about fish than any experienced fisherman. This encounter changed Peter's life permanently, making him famous in almost all the nations of the world. The woman with the issue of blood, who declared the words of today's memory verse, also had a divine encounter with Jesus, which put an end to pain, shame and waste in her life. In order not to miss your day of visitation by the Lord, never get too familiar with His works. Always appreciate His miracles and let your heart be full of expectation of a divine encounter at all times. I pray that you will not miss your day of visitation, like the children of Israel did, in Jesus' Name (Luke 13:34-35).
PRAYER POINT:
Father, cause me to encounter You in a special way today.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Chronicles 24-25, Revelation 17:1-14
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Saviour, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
Comments
Post a Comment