Fear No Fear

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

Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
Luke 17:15 (emphasis added)

It isn’t just about broken bones repairing or sickness going away or movement being restored or anything like that. It is about what happens after and what happens before. It is about the emotions, thoughts, and behaviour surrounding the healing. If healing was only about the actual healing, every one of us would be healed always. Sadly, that is not the case. If we are able to shift our thinking and let Adonai awaken us to what He designed us for, it WOULD be the case. Healing is all about politeness.

Politeness is behaviour that is socially correct and shows understanding of and care for other people’s feelings. Spiritual politeness is behaviour that is spiritually correct and shows understanding of and care for Adonai’s point of view and feelings. We don’t think of Yahweh as capable of having His feelings hurt by us. That big, incredible, amazing deity of unimaginable power not only caring for us but emotionally affected by what we do?? It seems scandalous. But it’s true. He DOES care about us. He CAN be saddened by what we do. Yahweh is LOVE. The source of ALL love. How could He NOT have feelings about us? It’s also true that He is not dependent on us for anything. He doesn’t need us to exist. We did not create, imagine, or make Him up in ANY way. Yet He loves us and thinks on us as His beloved children. He is not always happy with our decisions. He can be saddened by our choices and what we go through – we have an empathetic God (Hebrews 4:14-16). Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, He no longer is angry at us. He loves us so much – that fact is what enables us to love each other (1 John 4:19).

When we do something for someone, it is polite for them to say thank you. Whether they mean it or not. That is human politeness. We have the ability to hide what we truly feel behind a mask of civility and ceremony. A politician who despises a group of people or a nation could smile and shake hands, waving for the camera because they can hide their feelings in what is expected. A waitress can smile and deliver food, hiding behind her job’s requirements. And a Christian can hide behind bible-speak and the motions of a church service. At least from other human beings.

Adonai is never fooled by us. “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way people do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows what we think. He knows what is in our heart. And we cannot pull the wool over His eyes. We worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24), because it is the only way to interact with Yahweh. In spirit and in truth. We need to choose to be spiritually polite when dealing with Adonai. To think about our motivations and to act according to them. To be HONEST and TRUTHFUL. After all, Adonai can change our hearts. He can help us overcome the barriers and blocks that we have raised and allowed in. We can do things we don’t ‘feel’ like doing because in our hearts we know they are the right thing to do. Instead of hiding behind politeness, our spiritual politeness can inform our lives and keep us in tune with what He deserves and expects from us.

In today’s verse, ten (10) men were healed. One of them wasn’t a Jew. Ten men, one of whom had no real right to come, had obviously heard about Jesus and come to ask for healing. “Now on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance, raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went along, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:11-14). They acted properly to Him according to social norms. They stood apart to preserve His cleanness. They gave Him respect. They acknowledged His position above theirs. They EXPECTED to be healed. They EXPECTED a miracle in some way. Jesus asked them to do something. To prove that they believed what they said they believed. It was not a TEST. It was the opportunity to SHOW that they believed. We don’t prove things thinking they will fail. We prove them, knowing they will rise to the challenge and be correct.

It was while they were in the act of walking out what they said they believed that they were healed. I think this is the same principle we see with salvation. In Acts 2:38-41, Peter asks the crowd to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and be baptised to be saved. In Romans 10:9-11, Paul exhorts us to believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead by the Father through Holy Spirit, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you will be saved. Baptism is the public acknowledgement that you believe and proclaim that. It is the WALKING OUT what we say we believe. It is the work that our faith generates. The work doesn’t save, the faith in Jesus saves and the work naturally follows.

The leper was healed when he went. Not BY the going. The Father healed him by Holy Spirit through Jesus. Through faith that Jesus would take the stripes and wounds for us. All the lepers were proper and polite in their believing. Jesus was proper and polite in His instruction. But only the one leper was polite enough in his heart to give Jesus PRAISE. Only one leper was worshipful to Jesus rightful place. It was spiritual politeness to give Him what He was due. The nine were happy to be healed. The one was WORSHIPFUL. One cared not just about health, but about how Jesus – the one who healed – would feel. One went back to SHOW Jesus what it meant, what He meant, and that He was being acknowledged for more than being a nice guy or prophet or teacher. One made the connection between Yahweh and Jesus.

We get healed when we take what He has done. When we appropriate it for ourselves with the authority that He has given us to do it. When we realise we are ALREADY healed. That Jesus did it thousands of years ago at the same time He made salvation available. When we realise that time has no meaning in the Kingdom and that the fresh blood pouring from the just now stripes is what is healing us today right now. When we see it we should be spiritually polite and give glory where it is due, honour where it is due, and be worshipful to the one who made it possible. To give Him His rightful place as our Healer, Lord, and Saviour. He deserves nothing less. If we truly believe He IS our healer and healed us, we will GIVE Him nothing less. Amen.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Psalm 23:1

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” This is the habitual and ongoing experience that is the result of Messiah being your shepherd. No lack of ANY kind. First spiritually, and then emotionally and physically – since they are attached to and informed from the spirit. The Messiah is the Good Shepherd. ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). Jesus IS our Good Shepherd. Jesus ensures we lack NOTHING. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

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

Matthew 16:16b