While Larry and I were leaving the church, we saw two or three groups of people with their arms around each other praying. It is not unusual to see people praying for each other in the
sanctuary, but to see them praying on the sidewalk is different. We are not limited to church in the buildings, but we are taking our praying and our faith outside. “There Is Power in the Blood.”
Pastor Josiah has been having people testify to God’s miraculous hand on their lives. Today
Tiphanyie, one of our worship team members, shared how God impacted her life. Two times at three in the morning, she woke up with a sharp pain in her chest. After several tests like
mammograms and ultrasound, the doctor told her that she had breast cancer. Cancer to
Tiphanyie meant death because she lost several family members to cancer, but that diagnosis did not stop Tiphanyie that night from going to the Young Adults to praise the Lord.
Tiphanyie asked the Lord,”How am I going to tell my kids?” She has a daughter in college and an eleven year old son. She also asked the Lord,”Will I live?” Her Abba Father told her that she would outlive her parents. Thus she started chemotherapy treatment and surgery.
Tiphanyie reminded us,”You need the Lord” and that the plan for life is in the Word. “His Word has power!!” It is part of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:18 and is “sharper than a two-edged sword.”Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) The Lord told her how to pray while she was having
chemotherapy, and she did. Though the chemotherapy was hard on her body, the Lord fed her soul, and she prayed. “God is victory!” When she was being prepped for an MRI, the technician and the nurse prayed for and with Tiphanyie. “I can see God’s hand on you.”
Later the doctor reported, “The cancer is gone.” She had an excellent MRI. Praise God.
However, she still needed to go through a second session of chemo. Tiphanyie did not want to hear that, but she followed the doctor’s recommendation and had the second round. It was hard. Even her bones ached, but the Holy Spirit filled her up, and she testified that through Him, all things are possible. The doctor informed her that cancer is like a dandelion which has many seeds that can go everywhere in the wind. The second chemo would eliminate all the seeds.
Now Tiphanyie is cancer free. She cried at the goodness of God, and she pointed out that God hears and answers us; God’s word is true; sickness does not define her; and she is thankful for the FC house. Tiphanyie recommended, “Do exactly as He tells you to do. If He did it for me, He can do it for you.”
Then Pastor Josiah invited, “All those who have cancer raise your hands.“ Larry raised his hand because his cancer is “treatable but not curable” according to his oncologist. While we were praying, Tiphanyie came over and laid hands on us and prayed for Larry and me.
Our God is bigger than cancer! What satan intends for evil, the Lord can turn to good! Praise the name of the Lord!
After Tiphanyie’s amazing testimony, Pastor Josiah mentioned Jairus, the Temple official whose twelve year old daughter was dying. He sought Jesus and asked Him to heal his dying daughter. His faith was in the Lord. A woman who had bled for twelve years desperately attempted to see the Lord, for she had gone to doctors and still bled, which made her unclean and unable to worship at the Temple. She reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, and instantly she was healed. I had never thought about this point, but Jairus the powerful, Temple official did not take offense to the woman who was healed. If God is so gracious, may we learn to be gracious and generous of spirit too.
Another point about Jairus and the woman is that they were both going against what society
dictated. He was a learned Jew who had power, and he sought Jesus whom the Pharisees
disparaged and tried to trap. She was unclean with no status. Both faithfully sought the Healer, the Restorer. What can we learn from Tiphanyie, Jairus and the bleeding woman? We need to seek Him and Him alone. He is the Answer, the Lifesaver and Redeemer. There is none like the Lord!
Pastor Josiah reminded us that we culture like Christ, and our vision is Jesus. Previously he
taught about how we need to decide that Jesus is our Lord before the tragedies and challenges arrive. That is the best way to approach life. This week Pastor Josiah shared of Jesus’ actions in Matthew. “Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down.” Matthew 15:29 (NLT) Jesus climbed hills and healed. It was inconvenient to climb hills. It is inconvenient to fast. However, we need to just get to Him, no matter how inconvenient it seems. For example, “A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.” Matthew 15:30 (NLT) The inconvenience was worth it.
In Mark 7 we saw another miracle. “A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to
him, and the people begged Jesus to lay hands on the man to heal him.” Mark 7:32 (NLT)
The people suggested how He should heal the man. Jesus did not heal the same way every
time. He is God, and He can do whatever He wants to do, how ever He wants to do it.
Jesus spit on His fingers and “touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed
and said,’Ephphatha,’ which means,’Be opened!’” Mark 7:33b-34 (NLT) Immediately the man
could speak and hear! Because Christ Jesus is able and more than enough, we have to remain a Spirit-led people. We need to seek Him! We can trust Him, the Son of God.
Returning to Matthew 15, we learned of another miracle, the feeding of the four thousand. He felt sorry for the people who had been with Him and wanted to feed them. The disciples
wondered,”Where would we get enough food her in the wilderness for such a huge
crowd?” Matthew 15:33 (NLT) It is easy to criticize the disciples for their short term memories.
Had they forgotten about the feeding of the five thousand men earlier? How often am I a
spiritual amnesiac when I am in a tough situation? Oh so often.
“Jesus asked, ‘How much bread do we have?’
They replied,’Seven loaves, and a few small fish.’” Matthew 15:34 (NLT)
That answer should have jogged their memories-This is the Messiah who changed water into
wine at a wedding and two fish and five loaves into food for five thousand men.
The Paramount Point is stay in the process. What does that mean? It means to stick with the
Lord, the Miracle Worker, Way Maker, even when you do not understand what is happening or what He is doing. Stick with Him, and read His Word. As you read His Word, you get to sit with Him.
Because they stayed in the process and stuck with the Lord, the disciples were able to distribute food for four thousand men, and they collected seven large baskets of leftover food. He came through again.
In Matthew 16, Jesus taught the disciples another lesson. They crossed to the other side of the lake but forgot bread. “‘Watch out!’ Jesus warned them. ’Beware of the yeast of the
Pharisees and Sadducees.’” Matthew 16:6 (NLT) This comment confused the disciples; they
argued about bread. But Jesus reminded them about feeding the five thousand and the four
thousand. Jesus stated,
“Why can’t you understand that I am not talking about bread?
So again I say, ’Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.’ Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking
about the yeast in bread, but the deceptive teaching of the
Pharisees and Sadducees.” Matthew 16:11-12 (NLT)
The direct problems of the culture are solved by the truth of who Jesus is! When we do
not understand something the first time, we need to “stay in process.” Jesus stayed in process until the cross and resurrection. He did not want to experience the torture, humiliation, and death, but He did to fulfill His Father’s will. May we stay in process so we can be salt and light in this challenging world.
Submitted by
Larry and Annette Linthicum
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