Category: Devotions

Power and Authority to do.

Luke 9: 1-2 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”

Many are ‘called’ to do many things. Many of those callings are individual ones. To be the leader, the preacher, the ‘voice of one calling …’ and in the course of time to be able to teach a seminar on how the ministry is a lonely place.

There is only one Messiah. You and I are not it.

So they group together, the 12 of them, circling around Jesus and he gave them what he had, what they had seen demonstrated as he scattered the seed from town and village. The same ability to do what he had been doing and the same right to do it. Their brief was simple:

1. Drive out all demons.
2. Cure diseases.
3. Preach the Kingdom of God.
4. Heal the sick.

1 and 3 are linked and so are 2 and 4.

1 and 3: The Twelve have witnessed how with certain people Jesus didn’t speak to them, not really. He spoke to the one who was holding them bound in a spiritual stronghold, a mental torture and a broken identity. Jesus spoke to demons and the Twelve were going to do the same thing. They no doubt would copy exactly how Jesus spoke but words were not enough they had the same power and authority to see the demon(s) flee from the person.

But they also were called and sent to speak to people the same parables, the same message, to teach and preach about the Kingdom Jesus had spoken of. They were sent to convince, persuade and impact minds and hearts with the gospel. Were they able? YES. What right did they have to speak in such a way? Their qualifications, their credentials were from the school of Rabbi Jesus.

The point is that we need to not only speak the good news to people we also need to speak to the bad news that is within them and get it out.

2 and 4: The Twelve had seen Jesus cure every disease that had inflicted a person. The curing of that body meant the eradicating of the disease. One moment it was there and the next it wasn’t. Jesus gave them the ability and the right to go and do that same thing.

But people who are cured are not necessarily healed. They had seen Jesus not only cure the disease of the woman who was bleeding but he didn’t leave her cured. He also healed her of the psychological impact of being an outcast in society by raising her as a Daughter of Israel again. They had seen Jesus offer his healing hand of restoration to raise up the man from the floor, to tell the person to present themselves at the Temple, to go home etc. The healing of Jesus made the person renewed, whole and the person they had always been created to be.

The point is that we are called to do the quick-fix cures of all kinds of diseases but also the longer route of restoration of the whole person back into their community.

We do all this with the same power and the same authority that Jesus has. The ability and the right of Jesus to do such things was given to the Twelve and is given to us.

Share your life, it is better that way.

Luke 9 v 1-6 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal those who were ill. He told them: ‘Take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.”

 

They came to Jesus together. Maybe community is more important to Jesus than it has been for us. Maybe our calling and our destiny is better discovered and expressed through community than trying to convince a community of our individual, personal revelation of the ministry Jesus wants us to do.

 

They received from Jesus together. Maybe ‘bless me’ should be changed to ‘bless us’ and ‘fill me’ changed to ‘fill us’ and so on. Perhaps if we are singing songs together then we should sing songs more about us rather than me. There is a place for personal worship but perhaps the powerful moments are also in the understanding that Jesus wants to pour out His Spirit on us.

 

They were sent out to proclaim and to heal together. Maybe we were never meant to go it alone. Maybe proclaiming and healing is just too much for an individual anointed one man/woman band. Maybe there are too many temptations for stardom. If the team conquer Everest it’s not important which foot got there first, the team did. Could it be the gospel was meant to be shared together and when we pray for the sick that it should be done at least with another?

 

They set out together. Going on a trip together makes the trip reach its fullest potential. I went for petrol the other day and a group of men were buying drinks and crisps and chocolate and they were in high spirits as their car was being filled for the journey. The shop assistant asked where they were going and they said, “A road trip to the city” and they were the happiest people I saw in that petrol station. Why? They were setting out together.

 

I know I have posed a lot of maybes.

However, maybe, together is super important.

How are your horizontal relationships? Who are you walking with? Who is holding you accountable and who is laughing with you? Share your life, its better that way.

 

 

Luke 8: 55 “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.”

“It will get easier, you will get over it.”

“Time will heal; it won’t be like this forever.”

But what happens if it doesn’t get any easier? What happens if we don’t get over it?

The Apostle Paul said:

We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! (2 Cor 4: 8-10)

The Church needs Christ to live in us!

Galatians 2: 20  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Luke 8: 55 “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.”

The very core of her being came back.

A person may lose many things but if they lose the spirit the battle is over.

Paul said, “We are hard pressed; perplexed; persecuted; struck down … but the life of Jesus is revealed in us.”

It’s not your circumstances that determine who you are but whether or not Christ is living in you.

I pray for the Church in the UK whose spirit has returned and who is standing in Christ and that Christ is seen in each member.

1. Wasted years will be returned. The mourners were wailing because of the girls lost potential. You may feel you have periods of your life when you lost people or opportunities and they appear wasted. ”I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.” Joel 2:28
2. Faith will be returned. “Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed.” Don’t become an unbelieving believer. Faith is believing that God can and He can do it for you.
3. Miracles will be returned. It is time to believe for miracles of many kinds. “My child get up.” It is time to believe for the works of God, for divine interventions, for things to happen that cannot happen.
4. Joy shall be returned. The world may laugh at you, “They laughed.” The enemy of your soul may be laughing this may lead to a decline of joy in your life. David said “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Psalm 51:12
5. Family blessing will be returned. Proverbs 3: 33 “He blesses the home of the righteous.” Don’t let Satan steal what is yours. You may have already seen things taken but you are saying NO MORE. Today you can start and build on that relationship. Recover everything. Bring everything back.

May the Spirit of the Church return!

Knowing the times that you are in

Luke 8 v 51-56 “When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”

 

There are some situations that you are facing today and you need to choose carefully who you permit to walk with you. You don’t need a crowd of voices or onlookers, you may only need 5 people. They may not take too long to choose. Three of them are always there. The go-to people. Others will want to come but you have to say NO. You have to close the door on people. You have to say goodbye even if it is just for a short time, but you cannot take everyone. The quality of leadership is the choices you make.

There are times you have to lean out the window and stop the mourning that is taking place from people who think they know what is going to happen. The sound is not conducive for a miraculous provision. Walking in the right atmosphere is so important for what is going to happen. What music are you listening to? What books are you reading and what films are you watching? What words are flowing over the coffee tables? What is in your inbox? What are on the facebook comments? Change the sound.

There are moments that only serve the bigger purpose of your life, they are not the main deal. The miracle of Jairus’ daughter was not the real reason why Jesus had come. If it was then now was the time for the whole world to know. It was of course the cross. The triumphal entry announcing his kingship was the moment and not before. There are times when the book tour should not commence and what has happened is just another chapter in that book. What is your purpose and destiny? Keep to it and don’t let people rush you into that before time.

 

 

 

12 years

Luke 8 v 41 –50 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

 

12

 

12 years of family stories are now fading away.

12 years of hope as her father but now all he has is despair.

 

12 years and she has now reached the accountability age where her Bar Mitzvah at the synagogue would take place and she would lead part of that service.

12 years and from that moment of the special service she would step out of the control of her father. It doesn’t look like she will be attending that service.

 

12 years losing blood and not being able to stop it.

12 years of searching for help but finding no one could.

 

12 years.

The synagogue ruler.

The daughter of the synagogue ruler.

The other was restored as a daughter of Israel.

But there is another link.

The woman with an issue of blood was unclean (Leviticus 15:19-27) and possibly an outcast, this could have been for the whole 12 years.

The father has been a father all the time the woman has been unclean. But even more importantly he has been the synagogue ruler responsible for making sure this woman and others did not enter and make it unclean. Maybe he has been responsible for the whole 12 years that this woman could not enter his synagogue to worship God.

 

So here is the story:

Jairus policing his synagogue and having Scripture to support him is preventing impurity entering.

His daughter not able to come to her father’s synagogue, not able to step into a new season of life.

This woman rejected by society and this synagogue because of what she had become.

 

2019:

Discussions are being had with Scriptural guidance on who can come to Church and if they come what they can do when they get there. Jairus is still alive. What is your position on LGBTQ? What is your position on Islam? What is your position on …? The list goes on.

But at the same time the younger generation have left and those who haven’t are dying spiritually and will leave soon because Jairus’ daughter is still here but only just.

And the woman? Yes she is definitely still here! Who will help the outcasts? They have tried to fix their lives. They have nowhere to go.

This is quite a mess. 

My position is this: the man on the cross. Jesus is a healing river that is not afraid of ethnic, gender or sickness boundaries. It takes courage to carry the cross through a divided world. No Fear is his message. Just believe. Jesus redeems, restores and transforms our lives. No matter who we are. Whether a religious person who has been ungracious, a child who is dying or a woman who is not welcome. Jesus is here for them all. I have a better position once people have found their Saviour, the Lover of their souls, the Healer of their bodies and who becomes the Orientation of their lives. Nothing is fixed until then. But let’s not take 12 years to have a move of Jesus in our land.

 

 

 

Jesus will return

Luke 8 v 40 “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.”

They were waiting for Jesus. They had seen him leave for the other side. They knew he would come back they just didn’t know when that would happen. But it would be soon. They needed him back. He had touched their hearts and transformed their lives. They wanted more of him. It was hard to dance without Jesus. He had changed the landscape of their homes. He had given them hope for a future. He had spoken of a Kingdom to come and they wanted to be people of that kingdom.

When would he be back?

They didn’t know but they lived their lives waiting. Some people wait and die but others who wait for Jesus’ return wait with expectant hearts. He will be hear real soon. Living with waiting expectation was like living with Jesus present. Their plans changed. This was not the time to go for an excursion. This was not the time to live unruly, selfish lives. This was the time to let the light that Jesus gave them shine like a lamp on its stand. This was the time to make sure their hearts were that of good soil, to deal with the desire for riches and the stronghold of worries. To be different. To be ready.

Then they saw him and they ran to meet him. The biggest crowd that anyone had seen before. Every eye upon Jesus, hands raised in joy, welcoming him back to them.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Rev 22:20)

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matt 24:42)

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28)

He will return. Will we welcome him? Are we expecting him?

This is what Jesus does to the towns and regions.

 

Luke 8: 34-39 “When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”

 

1. He has an impact on the economy.

That day the entire pig industry collapsed as every pig drowned in the lake. Those who are more interested in the fate of the pigs than the freedom of the man will not understand the Sovereignty of God when life is not perfect for them. That Jesus purposely brings down an economy is hard to accept, especially if you are affected by it. What other destruction is Jesus going to bring for the sake of one man?

2. He disturbs the people to the core.

Never think that all your town needs is a healing or a deliverance for whole-scale revival. The result was that they preferred keeping the demons than have Jesus stay.

3. He gives them what they ask for.

Jesus will not stay where He is not wanted. He leaves. Can you imagine a different scenario? Can you imagine if they begged Jesus to stay? Who else would have been set free? There is a price to pay for a move of God and there seems to be a lot of churches in my nation not wanting to pay that price. They would prefer not to have a move of God and keep the violent demoniacs than have change.

4. He leaves them an evangelist.

Jesus so loved the people of the Gerasenes that he wouldn’t take the man with him as a disciple. He left him as an evangelist. “Go home. Let people see the changed man and tell them who did this to you.” That message is still as important today as then. The power of testimony can change and win hearts for the Kingdom

Thank God for Jesus!

 

 

This is what Jesus does to the demons

Luke 8: 30-33 “Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

1. He brings into the light what is hidden.

The man is a good man with a bad problem. Jesus exposes the man not to shame but that what is causing him shame.

2. He commands to know their name.

This is not because he doesn’t know. It is because at his feet everything has to bow. To reveal your name is to surrender your identity.

3. He permits them to beg.

They begged repeatedly and they begged again. If a legion is up to 6,000 Roman soldiers in a unit then the begging would have been very loud indeed! Hell is begging Heaven. What an amazing sound that is!

4. He does not give them what they want.

It may look like the demons have got what they wanted but Jesus was playing a better game. The demons wanted to temporarily enter the pigs so that somehow they could return to some other human. They didn’t want to go into the Abyss. They got what they wanted to a point, but they didn’t account for the pigs choosing the wrong route!

5. He shows them that the sanity and welfare of this man is more important than their destruction and that of the pigs.

The removal of the oppressing, possessing and controlling spirits is a demonstration to the forces of evil that Jesus in a human being is far more powerful than 6,000 demons.

Thank God for Jesus!

 

 

This is what Jesus does for you!

Luke 8: 26-29

They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

The devil will humiliate you, but Jesus clothes you with righteousness.

The devil will make you homeless, but Jesus invites you to come home.

The devil will make you dangerously free, but Jesus sets you completely free. Free indeed!

The devil will break any authoritative figure from you, but Jesus gives you friends of accountability.

The devil will make you isolated, but Jesus places you into His family.

Thank God for Jesus!

Just have faith

Luke 8: 24-25 “The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’

Faith isn’t only the ability to rebuke and calm the storm.

Just have faith. “Only believe and you will be healed, provided for and blessed”, that’s what we hear so often. This is faith. But is it?

Thousands wake today with the thought, “If I just have a little more faith then my situation can be changed.”

I wonder if you need more faith not to wake Jesus up and be prepared to capsize with the boat.

Maybe faith is not panicking even if it looks like you are going to drown.

Faith is not to prophecy our doom.

If we go down we go down with the Lord of the Resurrection. That is a great position to be in.

I think that’s the faith that is missing today. Faith to lose knowing we always win.