Fear No Fear

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

God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Acts 19:11-12 (emphasis added)

What has happened to the trust of the Church when it comes to the extraordinary miracles that Adonai Elohim is able to and desires to perform? Are we still the trustless generation that Jesus has to put up with (Mark 9:19)? Are we still unwilling to pray and fast and rely solely on our Source (the Father – Romans 8:15-16)? When we rely on Him and pray and fast to keep our focus on Him as well as our mindfulness about our position – humbly submitting ourselves – then He is able to work with us in our submitted cooperation and do mighty acts through us. Jesus is the same at all times (Hebrews 13:8). Elohim doesn’t prefer one person to another. We are ALL able to do ALL the things ALL other people have done (Acts 10:34) – if we’re willing to do what they did so we qualify. Where has this trust gone? Why did we throw it away? We’ve garbage dumped something that wasn’t broken, was still useful, and is desperately needed in the world today.

I do not say this to shame us. I say this to challenge us to believe what Adonai says. Jesus is the ultimate authority. “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). “Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”” (Matthew 28:18). “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:15-20). Jesus is the WORD of Elohim. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it” (John 1:1-5). Ruach HaKodesh spoke to human beings and they wrote down Jesus. The bible we read is the WORD. That bible IS Jesus. If we read these verses about who Jesus is, and we know the bible is Him, shouldn’t we BELIEVE what it says? If we do, our world (personal and global) can change to be a VERY different place.

The world is an interesting place. There are marvels. There is wonder. It IS lovely. It can also be horrific. It is a fallen world. It is full of fallen people who have a heart defect. Inherited from their ancestors from their ancestors from their ancestors right back to first man and first woman. Everyone has inherited this selfish and evil heart. “For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19). If Adonai hadn’t chosen to interact with humanity, if He hadn’t chosen to remain the Light of the world, if He hadn’t chosen to continue calling us back to Him, then this world would be a VERY different place. Imagine a world where His power doesn’t move. Where His words are not spoken. Where His love is not manifested in anyone’s heart. What a bad place that would be. It almost got there once before. “But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). Jesus came here so that no matter how much people rebel, no matter how much selfishness people indulge in, no matter how much people wallow in darkness, it will NEVER get that bad again. Because JESUS is in this world having made the WAY back open to whomever wants to take it. And part of that Way, is us – those who believe in Him.

What part do we have? We’re signposts. We are not voices in the wilderness like John the Baptist was (John 1:23). We are voices in the middle of a ripe field full of harvest crying out ‘This is the BLESSING of Adonai! Come and partake!’ We are supposed to be beacons in the dark. The streetlights helping pedestrians. The lighthouses warning the ships. “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Sounds great, right? I don’t see the Church as a WHOLE doing this. Being this. I don’t always see it in my OWN life. Too often we are in that field of BLESSING, but we’re not looking at the harvest OR the people passing by. We have our heads down, looking at the ground between the rows of what’s being produced. Seeing the cracks. Seeing the little weeds. Seeing growth that isn’t quite there yet. Focusing on what ISN’T happening. Focusing on what HASN’T produced. And spending all our time and efforts calling to all of it and declaring we are waiting for it, that we’ll be excited for it, that we’re ready for it, and that we won’t stop until we see it (meant as encouragement, not a threat). We have to ask ourselves what we are doing! We aren’t seeing the harvest, but the growing season. Yes, there’s stuff that will be coming. Yes, there’s stuff that is developing. But we are in the midst of a harvest. There is SO MUCH that is NOW. We don’t have to wait until Heaven to get everything that is ours. Think of it this way. Christmas is coming. We have soooo many presents. Soooo much good food. Such a GREAT celebration coming. But you know what? It’s your birthday. Yes, the great and grand and awesome Christmas is there and then, but our birthday is here and now! We have gifts. We have cake. There are BALLOONS people!!! Eternity is knowing Elohim, having a relationship with the Father, the Son, and Ruach HaKodesh (John 17:3). We can know Him NOW. We can have a relationship with Him NOW. He can be our GOOD Father NOW. And a GOOD Father GIVES.

If we focus on what will be or what isn’t yet, we run the risk of watering down the message of BLESSING that is knowing Adonai (Matthew 5:13). This is not about getting THINGS. This is about the reality of what life is like when we are Jesus and Jesus is us. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness. Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:9-11). The life that Jesus IS and the life that Jesus BRINGS is ABUNDANT (John 10:10). It is not a single thing. It is not a single type. It is not a single category. It is not LIMITED. It is FULL of EVERYTHING that makes Him HIM. It is BLESSING in our spirits (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:3). It is BLESSING in our minds (Romans 12:2; Hebrews 8:10). It is BLESSING in our bodies (Isaiah 40:31; Matthew 8:16-17). It comes in ALL ways. It reaches ALL places of our lives. It affects EVERYTHING about who we are. It totally, utterly, and completely changes us for the better (2 Corinthians 5:17). That change is what will attract other people to Him. To give Him a chance. To give Him a listen. To believe in the possibility that He will do it for them. To believe us when we stand showing off the field of harvest shouting ‘there’s more than enough for you!’

The kind of trust that we get from having our eyes on Him is the kind of trust that produces the opportunity for extraordinary miracles. The life of the believer should be FULL of ‘ordinary’ miracles. The ‘regular’ kind that challenges our thinking because we KNOW we couldn’t do it. It was Him. We know that He met that need before we even imagined it might exist. The acceptance of the healing He released through the cross. The peace we get from seeking Him. The overcoming victories that can be a DAILY occurrence. But there is another level of trust. It’s more than a parking spot on a busy day trust. It’s more than bills paid trust. It’s more than stage four cancer trust. It is another level of trust. It is above and beyond what is conceivably possible trust. It is the trust that if I wipe my forehead with a bandana and mail it to you, you can hold it, thank Adonai, and be healed. It is the trust that doesn’t limit what His anointing can do. It is the trust that lets Him do ANYTHING that HE thinks of. No matter what OUR experience tells us. It is the trust that builds and stands on HIS experience.

There were experiences in the early church that cannot be replicated. The Twelve sat under Jesus’ teaching in person, in the flesh. There were 70 others who also sat under Him while He was here in the flesh, but didn’t have the one-on-one with the same frequency or intensity as the Twelve. That can’t be duplicated. Paul was taught by Jesus directly in visions. That CAN be replicated, but with the written Word being so available and all the teaching from it that is also available, the need for personal teaching visitations is VERY slim. It just isn’t needed. I don’t mean He doesn’t speak to us – He does. But we don’t need basic tutorials from Him to get the Word in us or to understand the Word. Beyond that, there aren’t experiences that were particular and absolutely reserved for them or the early church alone. If Elohim did it THEN, He is CAPABLE to do it today. He won’t if it doesn’t bring Him glory. He won’t if He doesn’t think it’s needed. The early church didn’t do it so they could say look what we can do. They didn’t do it so that Peter would be revered. Or Paul. Or Stephen. Or Thomas. Or Matthias. It was done when Adonai wanted it, where He wanted it, how Adonai wanted, and for His glory. When those conditions are met and if there is a human believer (male OR female) who is willing to cooperate with Him, then it could and will happen again. We should never be reading the Word and think that was great what He did. We should ALWAYS be reading the Word and thinking that at ANY time on ANY day ANYWHERE, He will do it again! Stop limiting Adonai with your thinking and start choosing to be willing to cooperate with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING He wants.

If we want to see extraordinary miracles wherever we find ourselves, we need to engage our trust in His experience. If, based on Adonai Elohim’s experience, He says that it is possible, we need to put our trust in that. We need to believe that. We need to say ‘okay, let’s do it’. When we rely on our experience in life, we have limited possibilities. When we rely on the experiences of the lives recorded in the Word, we have a lot of great and supernatural possibilities. But if we would rely on the experiences of the life of Jesus, the Father, and Ruach HaKodesh, there are no limits to the possibilities (Matthew 19:26). Engage your trust in HIS life. Engage your trust in HIS point of view. Engage your trust in what HE says is available, possible, and present – now, today – in this world and in your life. No matter what healing you need and no matter what area you need it in, it cannot hide from Adonai. You can be transformed, renewed, and stand tall and free shouting ‘Look at this BLESSING! There is MORE THAN ENOUGH for YOU, TOO!’ Make the extraordinary become commonplace in your life and the lives around you. Engage your trust and let Him move.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Jeremiah 33:14-15

“I, the Lord, affirm: ‘The time will certainly come when I will fulfill my gracious promise concerning the nations of Israel and Judah. In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David.” Messiah would be a descendant of David. Spiritually AND physically. David was a man after Elohim’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David loved Adonai and sought Him so much, David became the standard by which all other kings were measured. Messiah, who would be a king and rightful heir to David’s throne, would also be measured by that standard. He would be a physical descendant. He would seek after Elohim’s own heart. “So Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old. He was the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David” (Luke 3:23-31). “But he replied, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”” (Luke 2:49). “When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you—just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:1-4). Jesus was a physical descendant of David from the line that was NOT cut off from the throne (1 Kings 11:11-13). Jesus was a spiritual descendant of David in that He always sought His Father, His Father’s Will, and His Father’s Glory. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

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

Matthew 16:16b