Fear No Fear

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

Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness.
Matthew 9:35 (emphasis added)

This sounds a LOT like yesterday’s verse. It is. Jesus travelled through all the towns that He could. He used the established religious gathering places to teach. He also preached and healed. He healed EVERYTHING that was brought to Him. And His focus was on the good news of the Kingdom. Jesus was about His Father’s business (Luke 2:49). The Father wanted people FREE.

There are seventeen times that Jesus healed all the sick who were present (including casting out demons and evil spirits). Matthew 4:23-24, 8:16-17, 9:35, 12:15, 14:13 & 34-46, 15:30-31, 19:2, 21:14; Mark 1:32-34 & 39, 6:56; Luke 4:40, 6:17-19, 7:21, 9:11, and 17:12-17. There are forty-seven other times (verses) that He healed one or two people at a time. There are some overlaps of events – things told in more than one gospel, but most scholars agree that there were twenty-three individual instances of healings, over forty separate healings recorded (including of crowds), and at least thirty-seven flat out miracles Jesus performed (some of which were healings). That is a LOT of healing in three years, no matter how you slice it. Jesus never did ANYTHING that His Father hadn’t told Him to do (John 14:31). I think Jesus’ ministry is proof that it is ALWAYS Adonai’s will to heal.

Jesus TAUGHT in synagogues and PREACHED outside of them. There are forty-three times that Jesus TEACHES in the Word. There are about nineteen times He PREACHES. There are four that have Him doing both. Jesus clearly spent more time (double the time) teaching than He did preaching. This was a discipling ministry, not an outreach ministry. The disciples were sent out preaching and healing (Mark 6:7–13; Luke 9:1–2 and Luke 10:1-23), but at that time they didn’t do much teaching. They were fishers of men (Matthew 4:19), not disciplers. Not until the Holy Spirit came, anyway (Luke 24:49).

Healing is received when we are engage our trust in Elohim. We don’t have FUNCTIONAL trust until it is awakened and strengthened with the Word (Romans 10:17). If they had spent time teaching BEFORE the Holy Spirit, their successes could have been very spotty. Everything about the disciples (not just the Twelve, but they’re the best example) changed once they had the Holy Spirit. They weren’t qualified teachers before that. They COULD and DID effectively proclaim the Good News. They COULD and DID heal the sick and cast out demons. They had authority for that given by Jesus (Luke 9:2). They stayed in their lane and were effective (Mark 6:30-31).

Healing accompanied BOTH aspects to Jesus’ ministry. The preaching DREW people to Adonai. The teaching gave the people the tools to ALIGN with Adonai, or to be in TUNE with Him. You see, it does us no good to come to Adonai but not listen to Him. We have a God who knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10). He knows when we will have situations where we need help. He makes provision for us (Genesis 22:8). How do we accept the provision for our situation? By being aligned with Him. By being in tune with Him. By being in a place where we are listening to Him. If we are not truly HEARING Him, then we will miss what He has for us.

Healing can come in many ways from Adonai’s best to humanity’s best. Does Elohim want to heal you flat out in one swoop? Or does He want you to impact the lives of medical professionals by letting them assist you – giving you a chance to speak into their lives or by showing them miraculous success and recovery that is unexplainable any other way? There are so many ways things can happen. We know some truths though. It is ALWAYS the Father’s will to heal. He ALWAYS tells us what He wants us to do. We have to be HEARING Him to understand and obey. We HAVE to be aligned with Him in order to hear from Him. If we neglect being TAUGHT and only seek out PREACHING messages, we negatively impact our ability to hear. If we neglect PREACHING messages and only seek to be TAUGHT, we negatively impact our ability to hear. We need BOTH to be effective listeners. One draws our attention to issues and subjects. The other expounds on them and gets into the details of both living our lives AND abiding in Jesus.

We need to be effective hearers to walk in the healing Adonai has for us. We need to be effective hearers to walk in the Blessing Adonai has for us. We need to be effective hearers to walk in the OBEDIENCE due Adonai because of our love for Him (John 14:15-31). We need to humbly submit to Adonai because He IS Adonai. Because He is worthy of our worship, obedience, and love. As we preach the good news we need to also equip people to live it out. This is exactly what the disciples started to do once they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13).

After Holy Spirit was indwelling them, they began to do the fullness what Jesus asked them to do. They discipled. They preached to multitudes (Acts 2:14-41). They discipled those that the good news attracted (Acts 6:4). They ate together. Fellowshipped together (Acts 2:43-47). They were demonstrably different than they had been before (Acts 4:13). This is the result of abiding IN Jesus. In giving yourself over to Him. In TRUSTING Him. Jesus said we would do the works He did (John 14:12-17). The disciples did some of those works BEFORE they received the Holy Spirit. We HAVE the Holy Spirit. We should be doing at LEAST what Jesus did. We should have reports travelling about US knowing Jesus and being changed by Him. There should be reports about the works the Father is doing through US. It can happen, but only if we are HEARING.

We are called to be like Jesus. To do the things He did. Preach. Teach. Let the Father perform miracles, signs, and wonders through us. We need to be hearing from Adonai and applying what we hear. We need to be aligned to the Father’s will. It all starts with getting roots in the Word. Hearing it. Meditating on it. Applying it. The range of our ministries will vary from person to person, but the call to preach and teach doesn’t. We’re called to shine as lights for this world. Now and always.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Psalm 45:17

“I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years, then the nations will praise you forever.” Messiah would be remembered for all of time – and beyond. His name would never pass away. He would be honoured for who He was and how He lived. “This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:20-21). “but of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and a righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). Jesus is known the world over – even by those who don’t believe. EVERYONE has heard the name of Jesus. Everyone WILL hear His message. Jesus will ALWAYS be remembered. 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