Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.
Genesis 20:17 (emphasis added)

Do you think Yahweh approved of Abimelech? This was a foreign king with NO intention to believe in Yahweh, respect Yahweh, or to obey Yahweh. He had not given ANY indication before this He was going to change, and since when Abraham’s son comes across this same people (but not necessarily the same king) in Genesis 26, they are still dealing exactly the same way. No repentance recorded. No idols thrown out. A pagan people. Yahweh still healed them. He didn’t approve of them. But He healed him.

Why does this seem to foreign? I have heard a LOT about the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13 & Luke 7:1-10). I have heard it supposed that like many young men in this position to a Roman officer, that the servant was a lover. I have heard these people proclaim that since Jesus healed a gay person, Jesus approved of homosexuality. The argument goes that since homosexuality carried a penalty in Levitical Law, and since Jesus did NOT call for this penalty, that Jesus approved of the relationship. Thing is though, Levitical Law ONLY applied to Jews. The issue of the LAW had nothing to do with ANYTHING in these verses. Jesus was amazed at the man’s FAITH. Perhaps a greater faith in spite of NOT being a Jew and NOT being a believer. He STILL believed that only a WORD SPOKEN by Jesus would heal his servant.

Yahweh wants NO ONE to suffer. Not from sickness and not from sin. He wants to save us from everything. But how do you come to a place where you believe that Jesus can save your soul? By seeing Him heal your body. If He can do the one – that you can see – can’t you trust Him to save what you can’t? Jesus Himself had this opinion. “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home”” (Luke 5:23-24). Whether the men were gay or not has NOTHING to do with the healing. And in fact, perhaps they were saved because of it. I have heard it believed by some scholars that this same centurion was the SAME centurion in Acts who worshipped Yahweh and got baptised by Peter (Luke 10).

Healing is for EVERYONE. Male and female. Old and young. Believer and unbeliever. Living and dead – He DOES raise the dead and I count that as a particularly miraculous healing. You may wonder why the church is so AGAINST healing. It’s because if we EVER get it together amongst ourselves, we are going to be a BEACON to the world. They’ll line up in DROVES to get delivered. And if we tell them what the Good News is, there will be MANY who accept salvation along with their healing. Healing has ALWAYS accompanied true preaching of the Word – whether it is talked about and realised or not.

THIS the the God we serve. A God of LOVE and not of pettiness. A God of DELIVERANCE and not of bondage. Why would Yahweh keep healing from those who don’t believe when those who don’t believe are the MOST LIKELY to believe when they are HEALED, proving through supernatural action that Adonai LOVES and Adonai HEALS and can be trusted to SAVE. There are times that people are so used to shoving their conscience aside that it is only by some supernatural action that they can be SHOCKED into paying attention again. The ONLY time that Yahweh doesn’t speak to human beings about repentance and correction (where needed) is when they have been so ADAMANT about sin that He gives them what they have chosen (Romans 1:28).

Jesus taught and preached to people who were outcasts from decent society (Matthew 21:31-32). He was proclaimed as a light to EVERYONE (Luke 2:30-32). Jesus cast out demons from a gentile (Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39; Matthew 8:28-34). He brought salvation to the Samaritans (John 4:5-29). Jesus healed a Samaritan man (Luke 17:12-19). Jesus even healed a CANAANITE woman – and that is about as far from a believing, pious Jew as you can get! “After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away because she keeps on crying out after us.” So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said. “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour” (Matthew 15:21-28).

Adonai does NOT limit Himself in reference to healing. ANYONE who BELIEVES will be who RECEIVES. It ONLY takes BELIEF. Why is it that we are not letting ourselves believe? Why is it that we are near constantly mixing our faith with disbelief? It is one of the STUPIDEST things we can do – and we’ve been doing it since we fell. Even Jesus encountered it (Mark 9:23-24). If we mix faith and doubt, we will receive NOTHING. “But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-8).

If you want healing, believe it. Have faith in that belief. Look to Jesus and seek His face. Period. That’s it. Fight your doubts by standing on the Word. When a doubt rises, PUT IT DOWN! It doesn’t matter if it is a physical doubt, a mental doubt, a friend’s doubt, a doctor’s doubt, or doubt of ANY kind. Put it down with the Word you are standing on. Stand on the Word and the devil flees (James 4:7). Doubt will too.

Believe and receive. “But Jesus, paying no attention to what was said, told the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; just believe”” (Mark 5:36). If JESUS didn’t pay attention to what anyone said that wasn’t WORD-based, neither should YOU. Believe. Believe and receive. Believe and receive and do NOT doubt. ““Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). Believe Adonai. Believe Yahweh. Believe Holy Spirit. Believe Jesus. Believe your Father. Believe. Only believe.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Deuteronomy 18:15-16

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you—from your fellow Israelites; you must listen to him. This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this great fire anymore lest we die.” The Israelites pled with Moses to NOT hear the voice of the Lord. They were terrified at the power and majesty and glory that emanated from that cloud. They were DESPERATE to NOT hear from the Lord. Sadly, they treated Jesus the same way. In fact, Jesus Himself mentions it. “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what Moses wrote, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:45-47). Moses prophesied the Messiah. Jesus WAS the Messiah. The Israelites (some of them any way) were STILL fearful and did not believe. If they were TRUE worshippers of Yahweh, they WOULD have believed. Since they didn’t even believe MOSES, they did NOT believe in Messiah. Jesus was the WORD made flesh. The VOICE of Yahweh on Earth. Jesus IS Messiah.

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b