Misc. Leadership Principles – Part Five
Now we move to Chapter 8 of Matthew. I have done a rather extensive group of teachings on the Law of Believing in three parts. There is no law that appears greater in the Bible than this law. It also works for saint and sinner alike. That is why a sinner may appear to prosper – because he or she has mastered this law of believing. Simply stated: What you believe is what you receive. There is a positive and a negative side. Doubt, worry, and fear is believing in reverse and brings negative results. Confidence, trust, and faith is the positive side and yields positive results. In this chapter in Matthew, we immediately see the law of believing in action.
And behold, there came a leper
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be
thou clean. And immediately his leprosy
was cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him,
See thou tell no man; -- Matthew 8: 2, 3, 4a
For this leper to be healed, he had to
BELIEVE. It was his time to be
delivered. Many of us live with
sicknesses and problems for many long years and never seem to get delivered. It is not God’s fault. We need to renew our mind to God’s Word to a
much greater extent because that is the only way we can increase our ability to
believe. Let’s look at the epistle of
Romans.
So then faith [the
believing of Jesus Christ] cometh by
hearing, and hearing [cometh] by the word of
God. – Romans 10: 17
Our believing will only build as a result
of studying and applying the Word of God – not Newsweek or the Wall Street
Journal. Apparently this leper was at
the point where he was able to believe to be healed. It appears that Jesus Christ knew this because he did not
hesitate to minister healing to the leper.
The leper said, “if thou wilt” and Jesus said “I will”. Notice how Christ said to the healed leper
to tell no man. Jesus Christ always did
God’s Will and God Almighty never wants a person to go around bragging or
boasting. God likes discretion. We should not be going around telling people
about all of our accomplishments or our degrees. I know it seems difficult, but that’s the Will of God. When you are at total peace with God, you
will not feel a need for recognition from men.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. – Isaiah 26: 3
“Stayed on thee” means rested upon – to
stay put.
Here is another example of believing that
surpasses the believing of mostly all examples. It even greatly impressed Jesus Christ.
And when Jesus was entered
into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying,
Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and
heal him. The centurion answered and
said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant
shall be healed. – Matthew 8: 5 - 7
Read verse 8.
When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that
followed, Verily I say unto you I have
not found so great faith [pistis – believing] no, not in Israel. – Matthew 8: 10
Can you imagine this? Jesus Christ himself marveled at the
believing of this centurion. He told
Jesus Christ he was not even worthy to set foot in his house, but to just speak
the Word and his servant would be healed.
And Jesus said unto the
centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so it be done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame
hour. – Matthew 8: 13
Imagine that! As Christ spoke the words that the centurion’s servant would be
healed, he was healed at that exact same moment. That should show you the importance of the great Law of
Believing. Read the three teachings I
have put together for you on the Law of Believing. These two (2) examples just skim the surface. You must master believing if you are going
to manifest the more than abundant life.
I remember a teaching by a dynamic woman of God on this subject. She said you don’t need to grunt and groan,
no need to push, sweat, and stress and strain ---- Just…………. Believe.
There are a lot of records of healing and
believing here, but there is one I would like to stress.
When the even was come, they brought
unto him many that were possessed with devils:
and he cast out the spirits with [by] his
word, and healed [attended to] all
that were sick:
How did he cast out the spirits? With his Word. Much could have taken place here that is not recorded. He may have taught these sick people the
Word of God, then they were able to believe and be healed. The enemy can’t stand the Word of God
because it always defeats him. He is
after the Word. Only God heals and God
is His Word. That’s why Jesus Christ
cast out the spirits with God’s Word. Then those who were sick were healed. They heard the Word first.
Jesus Christ then saw great multitudes
about him and decided to depart to the other side. In the process of this change in locations, a certain disciple
said something to Jesus that is often misinterpreted. Also, a principle of putting God first is also inherent in this
teaching. Let’s clear up the
misinterpretation.
And another of his disciples
said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me: and let the dead bury their dead. –
Matthew 8: 21, 22
In the first verse, the old saying means my
father is old and I do not know when he will die; let me see him buried before
I come. Jesus Christ actually did not
reply as it is written and the translation of
verse 22 is a very poor interpretation.
This is an Eastern idiom which should read:
Let the town [or city] bury
their dead. – Matthew 8: 22
This becomes even more understandable when one realizes that,
in the East, the whole town does take part in funerals. This should clear up any confusion regarding
verse 22 of Matthew. Also, at times,
when God tells you to move, you do not hesitate. God is either first or He is not.
Again, there are a great deal of teachings
on the law of believing. Read verses 23
to 25. Jesus Christ simply believed to
do these miracles, but his disciples were afraid that they would perish.
And he said unto them, Why are
ye so fearful, O ye of little faith [pistis – believing]? Then he arose
and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. – Matthew 8: 26
If you can believe big enough, you can move
a mountain. You must believe and act on
God’s Word if you are ever to see the power of God in manifestation.
Now to a situation that, I’m sure, we have all been through. For some reason, it is most aggravating. It comes from the god of this world and the true God expects us to put up with this tribulation the best way we know how. I am talking about BEING BLAMED FOR SOMETHING YOU NEVER DID AND TO FORGET ABOUT INGRATITUDE! Either one or both happens to many believers and it is one of Satan’s traps. Here is a perfect example from God’s Word and one you may have misunderstood for a long time. You will not, after this teaching – the rightly divided Word of God will be clear to you. The situation was rather severe in this example, but Jesus Christ just moved on. He got away from the situation that was apparently quite dark and even dangerous. At times, this is the best alternative. Let’s examine the record beginning in Matthew 8: 28. To add to the relevance of this teaching, it is also a record of healing. The two men possessed were set free.
And when he [Jesus
Christ] was come to the other side into the country
of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the
tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. --
Matthew 8: 28
Now watch this. Devil spirits can speak as they did in the next verse. If a person is possessed as badly as these
two people, this can happen. Here’s
what they said.
And, behold they cried out,
saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, THOU SON OF GOD? [Emphasis
added] art
thou come hither to torment us before the time? – Matthew 8: 29
This is a great teaching within
itself. Even devil spirits called Jesus
Christ the SON OF GOD, NOT GOD! They even knew that Christ was God’s
Son, and NOT God. And how many major
religions and churches still propound the trinity and teach that Jesus Christ
is God? This is all based on pagan
beliefs and religion – same thing.
These spirits said to Jesus Christ in question form: “Are you come to torment us before our
time?” In other words, are you coming
for us before your second return, still in the future?
Now watch what happened next and pay close
attention to what the devil spirits said to Jesus Christ.
And there was a good way off
from them an herd of many swine feeding.
So the devils besought him [Christ], saying, If thou cast us out, suffer [allow] us to go away into the herd of swine. –
Matthew 8: 30, 31
Now whose suggestion was this. It was said by the devil spirits of which
these two men were possessed. There
apparently were a lot more than two spirits here. In a case like this, there were many devil spirits which are
referred to as a legion. THEY wanted to
enter into and possess the herd of swine.
JESUS CHRIST NEVER SAID THIS - the devil spirits did.
And he [Jesus
Christ] said unto them, Go. [Jesus Christ did not say to go into
the herd of swine. He simply said
“Go”.] And
when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran
violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. –
Matthew 8: 32
Jesus Christ would never command such a
devastating thing to happen. The legion
of devil spirits went into the herd of swine by their own free will. But watch what happens in verse 34 and who
gets blamed for the incident. This
situation caused quite a stir as you will see.
And, behold, the whole city
came out to meet Jesus: and when they
saw him, they besought him that
he would depart out of their coasts. – Matthew 8: 34
Can
you imagine this!? Here is a situation
where Christ healed two people and the adversary perverted what he did and then
put the blame on Jesus Christ for the perishing of the herd of swine. That's why you must forget about ingratitude
but in turn, rejoice when the enemy tries to trip you up. If you were doing nothing for the true God,
you would get no pressure at all.
So
the first lesson here is to remember that you will get blamed for things you
did not do. That is what Satan does –
he accuses God’s people.
And
secondly, always remember to forget about ingratitude. Remember the record where Jesus Christ
healed the ten lepers? Only one came
back to thank him. That one leper was
not only made whole physically, but also spiritually and gained eternal life. FORGET ABOUT INGRATITUDE.
When
I worked at a State Hospital, I had much mercy and compassion on the
patients. The enemy did everything he
could to thwart and pervert my efforts.
He actually used people that were on the staff to hinder me. You stand alone with God and remember, you
and God make a majority in every situation. You must learn to rely on God and God alone. Even the nurses on the staff were not
thankful for the patients I helped. In
fact, they seemed jealous that I could establish such good communications with
patients that would not even speak to them.
I was once told to stay away from a certain patient. I decided to listen to God and continued to
work with this patient until we found a way for her to be discharged. So maybe you can understand how and why I
learned to live with ingratitude.
Little
children, keep yourselves from idols.
Amen. – I John 5: 21
The
literal translation of this verse is:
“Do not seek any help, guidance or instruction from any other source
THAN YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER.” Don't ever
go to the world or people in the world for help unless God says so. Ask God and He will help you. Remember, the
world is what gave you your problems in the first place. Work at becoming more and more dependent on
God. Say less and less; always be aware
of what you are saying. Is it
necessary?
In
chapter nine (9), Jesus did leave the coasts where the swine incident occurred
and the people brought to him a man sick of the palsy. It is a certain statement that Jesus Christ
made to this man that I would like to point out.
And behold,
they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith [pistis – believing]
said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven
thee. – Matthew 9: 2
Take note that
Jesus Christ said to this man “be of good cheer”. A more literal translation of this phrase according to usage is “have your thoughts well arranged”. This is such an interesting statement
because it means that this sick man must have believed in the power of God to
be healed. But do you remember how we
learn how to believe? It is by the
renewing of our mind to God’s Word.
I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will
of God. --
Romans 12: 1, 2
This man could be of good
cheer because his thoughts were well arranged and as a result, he was
healed. So, renew your mind to God’s
Word every day so that you will have whole thoughts, not the half thoughts that
the world will give you. Study
diligently. It is a commandment of the
Lord.
Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth. -- II Timothy 2: 15
Now watch the same patterns that the adversary uses
almost every time God’s Will is carried out.
Here is what the Scribes thought after the man was healed. It is typical of many people today who are
unbelievers and are under the control of the enemy. Were the Scribes happy for the man that was healed? No!
They actually criticized Jesus Christ after this miracle of
healing. Remember the last part of
Matthew 9: 2 above where Jesus said “thy sins be forgiven thee”. The enemy will always use your words against
you if he can. That’s why it is
important not to speak any unnecessary words.
Speak the Word of God.
And behold, certain of the
Scribes said within themselves, This man
blasphemeth. – Matthew 9: 3
The Scribes were thinking this to themselves.
And Jesus knowing their
thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? – Matthew 9: 4
How could Jesus Christ know their thoughts? By
word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and discerning of spirits. These are three of the nine manifestations
of Holy Spirit that a believer today can operate according to his or her
believing. These three (3) are known as
the eyes and ears of the Church. Word
of knowledge is information that you cannot know by the five senses. That’s how Jesus Christ knew what the
Scribes were thinking.
Isn’t
it something how God has covered every situation for us to be able to live the more
than abundant life? That’s the great
love God has for His children. Word of
wisdom is God telling us what to do with the word of knowledge we have just
received. And remember, don’t ever let
anyone tell you that these manifestations are gifts. The word gifts in the verse I am referring to in I Corinthians is
in italics which means it was added by the translators. In this case, it is erroneous. [See I Corinthians 12: verses 1 and 7] Every believer can operate all nine (9)
manifestations.
In
conclusion and in these four (4) short verses of Matthew chapter nine (9), we
learned about how to have our thoughts well-arranged (renewed mind), how the
adversary will almost always be there attempting to criticize and find fault
when the Word of God moves, and we learned about the manifestations of Holy
Spirit – how and why they are operated and why they are necessary to live the
more than abundant life. That’s three
major principles to learn and apply in only four verses. Plus what we covered in the rest of this
teaching. The Word of God is
dynamically tremendous beyond description.
What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? – Romans 8: 31
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