Last evening I hosted a zoom induction service and I asked the Church receiving their new Pastor a question: Are you ready for a new move of God in your lives? They all said YES. Of course they would. It was an easy question to ask Christians. We would say the same. But are we ready to accept, change and stand against opposition for that move of God we so desire?
Having declared that He was the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus enters the synagogue and finds someone needing a move of God in there.
“Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. (Matthew 12: 9-14)
Maybe they planted the man with the withered hand? Maybe they went looking for a diseased man and told him to go to the synagogue and they did all this to trap Jesus?
Here are the 3 important questions:
Are you open for God to work in your life at a time you would never have expected?
This man was probably not bothered at all what the day his healing took place! Sometimes the perfect happens at an imperfect time for others and even for yourself.
What if others are offended at what they see God doing in you?
Does that matter to you? Are you more interested in your own popularity? Often you cannot have both. If you are going to stretch your hand out and do what you have not done before then you may lose friends.
Are you willing to make the necessary changes to see God work in you?
The man had to do what he and others said he could not do. He had a shrivelled hand because he could not stretch it out. The truth was when Jesus told him to stretch out his hand he found he actually could.
Missions Paul 