Tag Archives: Faith

Matthew 9- Salvation By Faith

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While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. Matthew 9:18-22

Here we read about a couple of miracles Jesus performed, it’s important when reading these not to get confused as they kind of jump back and forth between stories. The first one we will focus on is the woman who had a medical issue for 12 years and sought after Jesus to heal her. Notice what the woman said “If only I can touch his garment, I will be made whole” The first thing to notice is her faith, she knew Christ is the only cure and she went after him, seeking The Lord

Notice the woman’s statement here in the KJV translation, she says “I shall be made whole” most English translations will say “healed” but when you look at the original Greek word  “sotheseomai” it means not only healed but saved, preserved, rescued, delivered. This was more than just a physical healing, this woman got saved by coming to Christ in faith

Jesus said to her “Daughter, be of good comfort, your faith has made you “sotheseomai” healed, saved, preserved, rescued, delivered. Take comfort, daughter you are now a Child of God through Jesus Christ!

And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land. Matthew 9:23-26

Now as we look at the other story, this was more severe as the daughter is already dead. But notice the faith of the father , the scripture says the father came to Jesus worshiping him, ok so he understood who Jesus was and the authority he has, and the father said “ If you place your hand on her she will live” This man has so much faith in who Jesus is, he believes Christ can raise his daughter from the dead. 

When Jesus gets to the daughter, notice what he does. There are people laughing at him, large crowds playing music, making noise, what does Jesus say “Go away” Christ clears out the mockers, the unbelievers, those who have no faith. 

Jesus raised the girl back from the dead and of course his fame spread throughout the region and still spreading even today. But Jesus will not only raise you physically from the dead, he will make you Born Again and give you eternal life Amen!

Matthew 9- New Wineskin

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No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. Matthew 9:16-17

Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you can’t see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) I know I say this over and over again, but I think it’s a point that most people who declare themselves “Christians” forget. Becoming saved is not just repeating a few words and doing a few religious practices, it’s a transformation of your soul, it’s bringing your dead self stuck in sin back to life. When you become saved, there needs to be a change, there needs to be fruit produced to show evidence of your conversion, (Matthew 7) otherwise you’re probably not saved at all

Jesus teaches this point in his parable about the New Wine skin, you can’t put a piece of new cloth on an old shirt, you can’t put new wine in an old wine skin. You can’t pour the Holy Spirit in a wretched sinful body, you have to become reborn. This is what Jesus meant you must be Born Again to enter Heaven. You can’t pour New Wine into Old Wine Skin, what happens? The Wine Skin breaks, it can’t handle the New Wine, same with a wretched sinner, you can’t handle the pouring of the Holy Spirit unless you change

When we look at Paul’s teaching of Baptism in Romans 6, when we are immersed into the water, it’s symbolic of our old self dead and being buried with Christ. As Paul says “Our Old Self was crucified with Him, so that the body of Sin may be rendered powerless” (Romans 6:6) This is exactly what Jesus is teaching about, your old self is dead to sin, and your new self has been raised with Christ (Romans 6:11) Walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:4) Paul didn’t say walk as you were , or your fine the way that you are, no your old self died and you have been raised new with Christ

Going back to the New Wine, remember when Jesus changed the water into wine (John 2) This was not a coincidence, this was an illustration of the transformation of Christ by becoming Born Again. You are not going to be Born Again living in a sinful body, an intoxicated body, you need to be set free from sin and that can only happen through Jesus Christ! Amen!

Matthew 9- The Calling

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And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. Matthew 9:9-10

When Jesus called his Apostles, what was he looking for? Christ wasn’t looking for theological knowledge, otherwise he would have called some Pharisees or Sauducees, no Jesus called on regular people, fishermen and tax collectors like Matthew. What qualities are Jesus looking for? Faithfulness, obedience, humble, ect these are qualities you don’t need a Master degree to obtain. To understand the amazement of God’s calling to become Born Again, we need to understand who Christs disciples were and what they accomplished because they followed The Lord

Today we look at Matthew, a tax collector, now that might not seem like a big deal to be a Jewish tax collector but when your understand what Matthew was really a part of , you could say he was the chief of all sinners. Think about it a Jewish man working for the evil oppressive Roman government enslaving his own people in poverty and persecution. Now when you put it that way, yeah it sounds really bad because it was. Matthews conversion to Christianity was just as miraculous as Pauls , I’m sure when most Jews saw Matthew with Christ and his Jewish disciples, they probably cringed or doubted the authenticity of Matthew

Notice it lists the “publicans” or tax collectors with sinners. The tax collectors , like Matthew, were the scum of the Earth. List the tax collectors with the prostitutes and lepers, these are the outcasts, these are the outsiders, however Jesus is going to call them and make them fishers of Men

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 9:11-13

The religious leaders wanted to know “Why does this Holy man eat with sinners”! Jesus said “He didn’t come for the righteous but to bring sinners to repentance” The Great Physician came to fix some souls, Christ didn’t come for the 99 , he came for the lost sheep to bring them home to our Heavenly Father

When Jesus called Matthew, it said “He arose and followed him” Matthew immediately answered the calling, He didn’t say I’ll get back to you or check his options, when Christ said Follow me, Matthew followed him, that was his main qualification, faith and obedience. The rest is history including this gospel which Matthew recorded for our edification and learning

Is Jesus calling you today? Get up and follow him, don’t worry about your past or don’t worry about your qualifications, The Lord will make you Born Again and a Fisher of Men, Amen!

Matthew 9- Healed or Forgiven?

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And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. Matthew 9:1-3

There are many who say “Jesus never said that He is God” , it’s apparent that those people either don’t know the Bible or they don’t understand the Bible. In our reading today, Jesus makes it very clear He is God in the flesh (John 1:14) So we begin our story, with a paralyzed man being brought to Christ to be healed. Now notice what the scripture says “Jesus seeing their faith” this whole miracle happened with Christ because the people had faith in Christ. Faith is key in our spiritual lives to walk with God

Jesus says “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven” Now Jesus is demonstrating his deity here. First notice, Jesus said “Your sins are forgiven” So this brings up the question, who can forgive sins? Well the common sense and correct answer is only God can forgive sins. There is no human except Christ who can truly forgive sins, regardless of what man-made religion or tradition may have taught. The religious leaders understood what Jesus was saying that’s why they said “This man is blaspheming” (v3)

 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. Matthew 9:4-8

The Son of Man has the power to forgive sins and heal people! The Son of Man as described by the prophet Daniel (Daniel 7) This is Christ proclaiming He is God in the flesh, if you can’t see how Jesus is proclaiming to be God you are not understanding the scriptures. The religious leaders clearly understood what Christ was saying, that’s why they charged him with blasphemy and wanted him killed. Another thing to notice is, when Jesus heals he doesn’t pray to God and then they are healed. Christ heals them himself, because Christ has the power and authority of God

But when the multitudes saw it they marveled and praised God, Jesus wasn’t doing ordinary things. Christ is Immanuel, God is with us, the power of Heaven has come down to Earth. Another thing to ponder, Jesus forgave the man’s sins and physically healed him. If Jesus just healed the man, his soul could still be dead in sin, however Christ has the power to bring the spiritually dead back to life, that’s why Christ is the true Great Physician

Jesus has the power and authority to forgive sin because Christ is the Lamb of God who paid the debt for our sins, because Jesus Christ is God in the Flesh (John 1:14) Amen!

Matthew 8- Demons Tremble

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And when he 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. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. Matthew 8:28-31

 When you ask the average Christian, what are your thoughts on demons and angels? Many of them either are skeptical or don’t believe in the supernatural at all. It’s amazes me how anyone can be a Born Again Christian and read the Bible, and not accept the supernatural world is real. Angels and Demons are real, Heaven and Hell are real, you have a soul. My concern with this lack of belief, is not only do you deny scripture, but you are not getting the full picture of the spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6) that is going on right now for your soul, and every soul on this Earth

Here in Matthew, we see the Legion story that is in more detail in Luke. Now in Luke he focuses on just one made possessed with multiple demons named Legion. However here we see there is actually multiple people filled with demons, their behavior is violent and blasphemous. But notice when the demons see Jesus they know exactly who he is and the power Christ has over everything! We read yesterday Jesus has power and authority over the winds and the sea, now we see Christ has the power and authority over all the demons and Satan. Remember every knee will bow down to Christ, not just the saved but also the wicked (Philippians 2)

The demons address Jesus as the Son of God, does that mean they are saved? Of course not, because they reject Christ authority as Lord over them. My point is we have a weak gospel nowadays, where anyone who “believes” in Christ is saved, this is not true or Biblical. You must repent of your sin and be Born Again through Christ to be saved, not just believe who He is. Secondly, notice the demons beg Jesus not to “torment” them, what are they talking about? They are talking about Hell, Christ holds the keys to life , death, and Hell (Revelation 1:17-18)

And he said unto them, 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. And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 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 8:32-34

Notice again the authority of Christ, the demons begged him to let them enter the pigs and he allowed it. See the demons and Satan are in subjection to Christ. So why are some people possessed with demons then? Because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6) A Born Again Christians who’s body is the Temple of God can’t be overtaken by demons. However those who reject Christ and open themselves up to demons with worldly sin can easily be overtaken by demons. 

Now I know this article may have made you feel uncomfortable or maybe questioned your beliefs, but that is not a bad thing. It’s best we understand the Spiritual War we are in and make sure we are Born Again in Christ, nobody came come to the Father God except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6) Amen

Matthew 8- The Calm In The Storm

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And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. Matthew 8:23-25

When Moses led the Israelites from Egypt, God parted the Red Sea, I think we can all agree on that. However here we see Jesus is in control of the Sea, the winds and the sea obey him. Jesus is not just another prophet from God, Christ is God in the flesh, all the disciples fully understand this with Jesus actions here

From another practical perspective, Jesus is the calm of the storm in your life also. Question is do you obey him as Lord as the winds and sea do? While the disciples were out in the boat, a great storm came upon them, what was their response? “Lord Save Us, we are perishing” ! While it’s great they called upon The Lord, why are the disciples living life in such fear? We can ask ourselves this question also, during the pandemic we seen who truly had faith and who completely wavered

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! Matthew 8:26-27

Jesus’ response to his disciples “Why are you so fearful?” also “Where is your faith”? Many Christians live like they don’t have any faith at all. Do you truly believe Jesus is your Lord? Do you truly believe Christ has risen from the dead? Then why don’t you live like you believe? This is what Jesus was saying to his disciples, c’mon guys you seen me perform miracles, you seen me raise the dead, why don’t you guys have any faith?

Now I understand we all have our moments of weakness, I know some struggle with anxiety more than others, put your full faith in Jesus Christ! The disciples marveled at Jesus “Even the winds and sea obey Him”! Think about that, the same Lord who died for you on the cross, is the same Lord that created the Heavens and Earth

If your in the storm today, go to the one who can truly calm the storm. Go to the permanent solution not the temporary fix, go to the eternal Son of God Jesus Christ, Amen!

Matthew 8- So You Want To Be A Christian?

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Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Matthew 8:18-20

The world today has a very cheap perspective of Christianity, even most of the Church today does as well. Many claim you just repeat a few lines and magically you get a golden ticket to Heaven. But as Jesus taught us Christianity has a cost, what is the cost? True Christianity will cost you everything, Jesus said “Anyone who wants to save their life, must lose it” (Matthew 16:25) Jesus also said “Deny yourself, carry your cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23)

Many want the salvation of Christ but they don’t want to be transformed by Christ. This is an important step, as Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3)Again there is a price to pay to become a Christian, it’s not a cheap grace, it’s eternal life bought by the price of Jesus Christ himself.

The man said “Master I will follow you wherever you go” Really? Are we willing to follow Christ to the cross? Are you willing to let your old self die and let your new self be risen and transformed? Many want paradise but don’t want repentance or obedience to Christ. You are either a slave to sin or a slave to Jesus Christ (Romans 6:20) 

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

Jesus is saying “You really think you want to follow me”? You really think its going to be a glamorous road following Christ? Think of the opposite, if they killed your Master, they will kill you also. They will hate you, they will spit on you, they will curse your name, why? Because the world hates the real Jesus, because the world is ruled by the evil one

So before you identify yourself as a Christian, ask yourself did I really become Born Again? Did I really die at the cross to my sins, and I was baptized by the Holy Spirit and transformed? If you truly want to be a disciple of Christ, deny yourself, carry your cross and follow your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen

Matthew 8- Faith of a Gentile

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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. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Matthew 8:5-9

Today we are going to see the fruition of the New Covenant of Christ. To understand this story in better detail, we first need to understand what a Centurion was. A Centurion was a Roman commander in the military responsible for 100 men, hence century where the name Centurion derived from. So this wasn’t just any ordinary Gentile (Non-Jew) this was a Roman soldier. 

And notice what the Centurion does, He goes and asks the Christ to heal his servant. Wow, talk about radical faith, this Roman soldier goes to the Jewish Messiah for healing, why? Because he has true faith and understanding who Jesus is, the Son of God. Next, notice the Centurion demonstrates and understands the authority Christ has. The Centurion says “Lord I am not worthy for you to come under my roof” Imagine this, a Roman Centurion, who has power and authority, is telling The Messiah he’s not worthy to be in his presence, this is true faith and repentance.

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:10-13

Notice what Jesus says here “I haven’t found anyone in Israel with such great faith” think about that! This was a Roman soldier, and he had greater faith according to Christ, then all the religious leaders of Israel. Why? Because this Gentile recognized that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, while the religious leaders all rejected Jesus and had him crucified

Jesus said “ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for many sons of Abraham” why? Because salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6) no other way can you be saved. This Roman Centurion was going to see the Kingdom of Heaven and many religious leaders of Israel wont, why? Because of one simple denominator, the blood of Christ for forgiveness of sins.

This is the beginning of the New Covenant, the Gentiles are getting grafted into the Kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ, Amen

Matthew 8- The Lepers Prayer

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When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 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; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Matthew 8:1-4

Leprosy was a major issue in the 1rst Century, not only physically was it horrible to have the disease, but from a social perspective also. When you had Leprosy, you were essentially cut off from all of society. You couldn’t work, you couldn’t be in the presence of other people. It was a lonely and miserable life for the Lepers. Now you might wonder, how does this relate to you? We might not have physical leprosy, but we all had spiritual leprosy , which is caused by sin. The Bible tells us “We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23) So this includes all of us, until we become Born Again through Jesus Christ

First thing to notice is the faith of the Leper, he went after Christ and worshiped Him. The Leper understood who was the ultimate cure for him, it was Jesus. It wasn’t a mistake or an accident that he encountered The Lord, He came running after Jesus. And he understood who Jesus is, the Son of God, the Christ, the one worthy to be worshiped. Jesus didn’t rebuke the man for worshiping him, because Christ is God in the flesh. If Christ wasn’t God then this would have been idolatry. However this man knew Jesus is God and Christ allowed it

Notice the next thing Jesus does, Christ put forth his hand for the Leper to touch him. This was completely forbidden by the Torah, you can have no interaction with a Leper. However again, Jesus is God, Christ is the Living Torah made flesh, and He allowed the Leper to touch his hand. Notice also Jesus said “Be Clean” , Christ didn’t need to pray to God to heal the man, because Jesus is God

The last thing we see is Jesus told the man, “Don’t tell anyone”, but go to the priest and offer a gift as a testimony” Christ didn’t heal the Leper for fame, in fact he wanted the healing to remain silent until the hour has come that the Son of Man was glorified. We don’t know if the man ever did what Jesus asked, however we know Christ brought a dead man back to life. 

You might have Spiritual Leprosy today, you might still be dead in your sins. You need to run to The Lord and worship Him, Let Christ create you a new Clean Heart and a Clean Mind, become Born Again by the Holy Spirit Amen!

Matthew 7- Build On The Rock

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Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matthew 7:24-27

What is the foundation of your life? Those who reject God and believe they are going to live a “happy go lucky” life are in for a rude awakening. People who don’t build their life on the rock, Jesus Christ, wonder why their lives or marriages fall apart during any storms of life. It’s inevitable, your life or marriage will crumble without God as your foundation.

Jesus tells us its like the wise man who built his house on the rock, when the storms came the house never fell. However the foolish man who built his house on the sand, once the storms come in life, their house crumbles. Why? Because their house was not built on a solid foundation. We need to understand building a life without Christ, is a disaster waiting to come, not just in the present world but in eternity also

Atheists try to define morality without God, they say people can just make up their own morality.  But when confronted about Hilter , their logic crumbles. God’s moral Law, the Ten Commandments, are the moral foundation for humanity. Without God there would be no standard for morality, because we know good and evil exists, we know God exists. What’s my point? Christ is the Rock of our lives, without building your life on God everything in your life will crumble including your marriage. With no standard of morality, why expect people to be moral? 

And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7:28-29

The disciples understood and realized that Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:14) they were astonished with his teachings and his authority. Salvation can be found in Christ alone (John 14:6) this is why you need to build your life upon Jesus. When the storms of life come crashing on your life or your marriage, will you be able to withstand it? Without the foundation of Christ, where does your moral standards come from? Without Jesus there is no hope for your life or future

Build your life on the rock, Jesus Christ, put your faith and trust in The Lord. Don’t risk your marriage or salvation without Christ! Build upon the rock and the gates of Hell with no be able to stand, Amen!