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Bring your problem to
Jesus
Recently I have been reading and re-reading the New
Testament book of Matthew. As I have been working my way
through it I have come across a few interesting things.
One that I want to share
today comes from Matthew chapters 8 & 9.
As we read through the following passages we will see that
Jesus performed a number of amazing miracles. One thing
that really stood out to me was that when someone had a
problem they took it to Jesus. It didn't matter what it
was, if they took it to Him, He dealt with it. Here are a
few examples.
The man with leprosy
Matthew 8:1-4 NLT - Large crowds followed Jesus as He came
down the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy
approached Him and knelt before Him. "Lord," the man said,
"if You are willing,
You can heal me and make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out
and touched him. "I am willing," He said. "Be healed!" And
instantly the leprosy disappeared. 4 Then Jesus said to
him, "Don't tell
anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him
examine you. Take along the offering required in the law
of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This
will be a public
testimony that you have been cleansed."
He knelt before Jesus and said if you are willing I will
be healed. Jesus was willing and healed him. Now the
reason why Jesus said to not tell anyone and go and show
the Priest is because
Lepers were outcastes from society. A Priest declared them
unclean with Leprosy and only a Priest could declare them
clean and re-admit them to society.
The Centurion's slave
Matthew 8:5-13 NLT - When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a
Roman officer came and pleaded with Him, 6 "Lord, my young
servant lies in bed, paralysed and in terrible pain." 7
Jesus said, "I
will come and heal him." 8 But the officer said, "Lord, I
am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the
word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. 9
I know this
because I am under the authority of my superior officers,
and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say,
'Go,' and they go, or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say
to my slaves, 'Do
this,' they do it." 10 When Jesus heard this, He was
amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said,
"I tell you the truth, I haven't seen faith like this in
all Israel! 11 And I
tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over
the world--from east and west--and sit down with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12
But many
Israelites--those for whom the Kingdom was prepared--will
be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth." 13 Then Jesus said to the Roman
officer, "Go back
home. Because you believed, it has happened." And the
young servant was healed that same hour.
He asked Jesus to "say the word" and his servant would be
healed from a distance. Jesus said the word and he was
healed. The Centurion understood authority because he was
a committed soldier. He understood orders and authority.
He knew Jesus had the authority and power of heaven and
Jesus just needed to give the order and it would be done.
The calming of the storm
Matthew 8:23-27 NLT - Then Jesus got into the boat and
started across the lake with His disciples. 24 Suddenly, a
fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the
boat. But Jesus was
sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting,
"Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" 26 Jesus responded,
"Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!" Then He
got up and
rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great
calm. 27 The disciples were amazed. "Who is this man?"
they asked. "Even the winds and waves obey Him!"
The disciples were terrified as the storm on the lake
threatened their lives. They called to Jesus and He
stilled the storm. In the preceding miracles Jesus healed
peoples bodies. This one is a
powerful nature miracle. It was so powerful that even the
Disciples looked at Jesus differently.
The Paralytic man
Matthew 9:1-8 NLT Jesus climbed into a boat and went back
across the lake to His own town. 2 Some people brought to
Him a paralysed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus
said to the
paralysed man, "Be encouraged, My child! Your sins are
forgiven." 3 But some of the teachers of religious law
said to themselves, "That's blasphemy! Does He think He's
God?" 4 Jesus knew
what they were thinking, so He asked them, "Why do you
have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to
say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up and walk'? 6 So
I will prove to
you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to
forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralysed man and
said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" 7 And the
man jumped up and
went home! 8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this
happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such
great authority.
Some friends brought the paralytic man to Jesus in faith
that He could heal him. Jesus told him to pick up his mat
and go home. He got up and walked. I like that the man
could not come to Jesus
on his own, he needed his friends to bring him. I wonder
who I can bring to Jesus? How about you too?
The Dead Girl
Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 NLT - As Jesus was saying this, the
leader of a synagogue came and knelt before Him. "My
daughter has just died," he said, "but You can bring her
back to life again if You
just come and lay Your hand on her." 19 So Jesus and His
disciples got up and went with Him.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official's home, He saw the
noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. 24 "Get out!" He
told them. "The girl isn't dead; she's only asleep." But
the crowd laughed
at Him. 25 After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus
went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!
26 The report of this miracle swept through the entire
countryside.
A man came to Jesus and told of his dead daughter. He said
if you touch her, she will live. To me this is amazing
faith. Like the Roman Centurion, the father knew Jesus had
the power and
authority. Jesus touched her and she lived. Jesus had the
power over death.
The Sick Woman
Matthew 9:20-22 NLT Just then a woman who had suffered for
twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind Him.
She touched the fringe of His robe, 21 for she thought,
"If I can just touch
His robe, I will be healed." 22 Jesus turned around, and
when He saw her He said, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your
faith has made you well." And the woman was healed at that
moment.
The woman who had been bleeding non stop for 12 years came
to Jesus. She knew if she could touch His cloak she would
be healed. She did and she was healed. Like the Centurion
and the father we have previously read about, she knew
where the power for healing came from. It was from
Jesus...even in the midst of a pressing crowd.
The Two Blind Men
Matthew 9:27-31 NLT - After Jesus left the girl's home,
two blind men followed along behind Him, shouting, "Son of
David, have mercy on us!" 28 They went right into the
house where He was
staying, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can make
you see?" "Yes, Lord," they told Him, "we do." 29 Then He
touched their eyes and said, "Because of your faith, it
will happen." 30
Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus
sternly warned them, "Don't tell anyone about this." 31
But instead, they went out and spread His fame all over
the region.
Two blind men came asked Jesus to have mercy on them. He
asked if they believed He could heal them. They said yes
and they were healed. By addressing Jesus as the Son of
David the men recognised His royal lineage back to David.
It was prophesised that the Messiah would come from the
line of David. So they not only came in faith, but knew
Jesus was the Messiah.
The Mute Man
Matthew 9:32-33 NLT When they left, a demon-possessed man
who couldn't speak was brought to Jesus. 33 So Jesus cast
out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds
were amazed. "Nothing like this has ever happened in
Israel!" they exclaimed.
A man was brought to Jesus who was demon possessed and
could not speak as a result. The demon was driven out and
he was healed. This is another example of someone bringing
a friend or relative to Jesus. Sometimes we are the life
line or conduit that brings people to God. In this case we
see Jesus had authority over the unseen demonic world.
Closing
In all of these cases the people brought their problem to
Jesus. They came in faith or their friends brought them in
faith, and Jesus dealt with their problem and restored the
situation. Nothing
was too big or too small. Jesus handled it all.
The miracles we read about were healing, nature miracles,
bring people back to life and casting out a demon. He had
the power and authority to do amazing things. Some of
which had never been seen in Israel before!
If you are struggling today with an illness, or there is
another type of storm in your life, I would encourage you
to bring it to Jesus today. He is more than willing and
capable of handling it today. Simply come in faith.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, today I bring my problem to You. You know
my situation and my need. I lift it up to You today and I
ask You to intervene. Please bring a miraculous
breakthrough that only You can do. I ask this in Your
name, Amen.
By Dave Quinn
Founder of PASSIONAustralia.org
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