Fear No Fear

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

After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the people there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him. They begged him if they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Matthew 14:34-36 (emphasis added)

They brought ALL their sick. They begged to only touch the edge of His cloak. ALL who touched were healed. These are three important points that show both the past and present ministry of Jesus. The people brought everyone who was sick in ANY way. They were so convinced that He had an anointing or ability to heal they believed they only needed to touch Him to be whole. Jesus met them where they were and let them touch Him – and it worked. Jesus is CONSISTENT. He’s the same now as He was then (Hebrews 13:8) and if we’ll engage with Him, He WILL engage with us.

This was approximately somewhere between the second and early third year of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He had done some stuff. Fed the five thousand. He’d cleansed the Temple. Taught in synagogues. Cast out a demon. He presided over His disciples baptising. News had spread about His healing people. He’d healed lepers and raised a widow’s son from the dead. Jesus was a hot topic. That isn’t even ALL Jesus did. Just some of the news that was spreading. These people had heard of Jesus and knew that people had been healed by Jesus. More than that, this was the same region where Jesus had healed the demoniac.

Back in Matthew 8, Jesus came over to heal a man (one if you read Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39; two men if you read Matthew) of demons. Demon possession is just another sickness to Adonai. Jesus came, healed Him, pigs drowned themselves rather than be demon possessed, and the man was left behind to tell others of what Jesus did. He was a totally different man and wanted to follow Jesus, but he was given the assignment to spread his witness to the region. He did a GOOD job.

Here Jesus was back, people heard He was back, and they came in a large crowd. They were hungry for healing. They brought everyone. We can think of it like this. They saw how different this man was, and if Jesus could do THAT. If Jesus could change THAT man THAT much, what they suffered from was NOTHING. Not a big deal. A no brainer. In fact, since the man was healed by Jesus’ spoken words, they didn’t need much. Not a sermon. Not a show. They didn’t even think they needed Him to pray for them. They were so impressed by the level of power they felt was required to heal the demoniac, all THEY had to do was touch Him and they’d obviously be set free too.

Their expectation was very high. They made some assumptions, but it didn’t really change their belief in Jesus. They knew He healed. They knew He had power on Him. They trusted that they could access that power through interaction with Jesus. These are all true things. Now, they didn’t have to touch Him. He could have spoken a word and healed them all. He didn’t need to see them. That’s what happened with the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10). But these people did not have the Centurion’s level of trust. They didn’t understand what trust can take hold of for you. So they weren’t looking for that. They WERE looking for a release of power. They decided they didn’t need a personal conversation with Jesus. He didn’t need to know their problem. He didn’t need to vet them. He didn’t need to categorise them. He didn’t need to anoint them. All He needed to do was let them touch Him. That’s it. And it is a spiritual truth. Healing is the AUTOMATIC response of the Ruach HaKodesh when He encounters trust in Adonai.

And yes, that means if we are not being healed we are not trusting Him. It isn’t that we need to say the words more. Or force belief. We don’t need to DO anything. It is not OUR effort that will accomplish ANYTHING. Jesus did it already. We only need to believe and not doubt. It only takes a teensy tiny but of trust (Matthew 17:20). The battle is – as always – in our mind. We need to not put so much weight on the medical profession. We’re not saying they’re wrong, we’re acknowledging they’re human. Human understanding, human knowledge, human methodology. But with Adonai, He doesn’t play by human standards. Nothing is impossible if we will do it with Him (Matthew 19:26).
It’s hard to do. Simple, but hard. Why? Because we have DECADES of learning about what’s healthy. What germs do. How our bodies work. We study it. We take tests on it. We experience the physical reality of it. We have taken medicine. We’ve caught colds. We’ve been to hospitals. We’ve been sick, reached out to the medical profession, and ended up well. Time and time again. That makes deep grooves of pattern in our thinking. It is not that it is WRONG to do it that way – thank Adonai for all the doctors that have done so many great things for humanity. It is simply that Adonai is not LIMITED to that path.

Adonai can touch us at the DNA level and alter our chemical make-up. He can regrow limbs. He can make withered things healthy. He can mend breaks. Restore cells. Fix synapses. Regrow organs. Create new brain cells. Re-map pathways. Clean up genetics. Purify mutations. He can raise the dead to life. That’s restarting organs. That’s turning back the clock of decay. That is putting back into the body the spirit and soul that have left. We have artificially been able to do some of that, but we are unable to do it in a moment – at most an hour – at will. Any day of the week. With no prior preparation, no sterile environment, and no equipment. THAT is the level that Adonai can operate on. He is not limited in ANY way but OUR belief – and He has chosen that to preserve the freewill He gave us.

If we are not experiencing the healing road He wants us to experience, we’re missing it. If we are not getting the results He says we can, we’re missing it. If we are not experiencing EXACTLY what would happen should Jesus be standing there, we’re missing it. We NEED to know who we are in Messiah Jesus in order to experience His best. Period. Full stop. That is the truth that the Word clearly proclaims.

We all should be grateful that Adonai doesn’t leave us to flounder toward that revelation. He didn’t let the crowds in His earthly day. He doesn’t now. He meets us where we are and ALWAYS starts with that. Very few of us are ready for everything that Adonai has for us. We’ll hear of a revelation that someone had, but that it took years and years to really learn and apply it. Not some esoteric revelation either, but Ruach HaKodesh commentary on what is clearly in scripture. For example, ‘do not fear’ appears in the scriptures about a hundred and fifty times as a clear command in those words, but also almost another two hundred times as a negative command (have peace) or another form of fear as a command (don’t be troubled, don’t be anxious, etc). You can read those scriptures again and again and again, but it will take time to really get them down into your heart where you KNOW it and LIVE it. It takes TIME for us to process what Adonai is keeping hidden for us (Proverbs 25:2). There is purpose in seeking, value in searching Him out, and it helps us build a foundation of relationship with Him for the NEXT thing He has for us. If we got it all at once – or even rapid fire – we would QUICKLY get overwhelmed and have issues processing it.

Adonai will meet us where we are, but He won’t leave us there. He will let us stretch our trust in Him. He will let us develop our belief. He wants us to push into Him. “But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). ““I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Malachi 3:1). “Seek the Lord and the strength he gives. Seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11). “Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Adonai rewards seeking. He rewards our willingness to put Him first over a period of time. He rewards consistency. In consistency is true trust. We don’t trust flashes in the pan, do we? Why would the One who created us value consistency any less than we do? In fact, faithfulness is a Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), so we know just how much He values it.

These people heard of Jesus. They sought Him out. They trusted in what they heard. They believed that if they touched Him, He would heal them. Jesus welcomed them. Jesus gave them permission. The Father, by the Spirit, honoured their trust. We can have the same thing today. All we need to do is hear about Jesus, trust in the Word from which we hear it, believe that He will respond to our trust, and then act on our belief that trust in Jesus is justified. No difference. The age of miracles hasn’t ended. What ended was the Age of Trust (faith). We need to activate it again by engaging ours. At every opportunity. Big or small. Important or not. Trust Him. Every chance you get. Build up those muscles. Develop that relationship. Test everything against the Word. He will reward your seeking. He will NOT disappoint your trust. Ever.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 4:2

“At that time the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight to those who remain in Israel.” The Messiah reigning upon His return will have an effect on the world. In our physical world and in our own personal selves. All across the globe. The crops grown by the seeds sown will sprout, grow strong, and have a powerful harvest. It will be a source of real Blessing. The reign of Messiah. “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”” (Luke 1:33). This was spoken by an angel to Mary, the parent of Yeshua. Angels do not lie. They do not make things up. True angels are the servants of the Most High and only deliver verbatim the messages of the Throne. Yahweh Himself declared Jesus to be the Messiah. Yahweh declared that Jesus WILL reign forever in the unending kingdom to come. 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