Obedience: Did You Complete the Whole Assignment? (Part III)

Mark 1:40-45/New King James Version

(40) Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” (41) Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”  (42) As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. (43) And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,  (44) and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (45) However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

ISSUE

I’m tithing and I’m sowing but I’m not seeing results.  I’m experiencing short-tem victories, but not the breakthroughs my Pastor preaches about.

RESEARCH AND STUDY

Now that we’ve gotten the toxic people out of our lives (Real Issues, Part I) and were working on our mouths (Real Issues, Part 2), I need to reiterate the importance of the second part of our obedience assignment.  Failure to complete this part will hinder the Lord from working for us in that area.  In Mark 1:40, 41 we find a leper begging the Lord to cleanse him and ‘Jesus, moved with compassion’ does.  But notice the rest  of the leper’s  OBEDIENCE ASSIGNMENT in verse 44,  

(1)  Say nothing to anyone.

(2)  Go.

(3)  Show yourself to the priest.

(4)  Give an offering.

There were FOUR parts to his assignment and the leper refused to complete any of them.  Verse 45 says, ‘However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely’. So let me ask you a question. Do you believe he kept that cleansing?  Let’s go deeper.  Could his mouth have caused him to become leprous in the first place?  Wouldn’t this have been the perfect opportunity for the Lord Jesus to heal his PHYSICAL condition and address the SPIRITUAL cause that quite possibly brought about the leprosy? 

Notice verse 45 states, that after the leper went out and proclaimed it freely ‘that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places’.  Think about that for a moment.  Could the leper’s disobedience have caused the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees in that city to believe that Jesus instructed him NOT TO DO what Moses commanded in the law?  Your disobedience not only affects you, but those around you, and more importantly, it limits and hinders the Lord.  If Jesus could not go back to that city because of the lepers’ disobedience, do you think that leper remained cleansed in that city?  So again I ask, have you been experiencing short-term victories, only to fail in those areas again?  Check your obedience level.  It’s not the Lord, it’s you.  Be sure to do your part.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Repent!  Ask the Lord to forgive you for what you ignorantly or willfully ignored or refused to do.  Ask Him to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and to give you another opportunity to complete every assignment He has commanded you to do.  Thank Him for His patience and grace.  Now look for opportunities to be quiet and check with the Holy Spirit to see if there is something else you need to do.

Obedience: Close Your Mouth! (Part II)

(40) ‘And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. (41) Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her,“Talitha, cumi”, which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” (42) Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement. (42) But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.’

ISSUE

Have you experienced short-term victories, only to fail in that area again?

RESEARCH AND STUDY

In verse 42, we see that the parents are ‘overcome with great amazement’.  They want to go and tell everyone their daughter has been healed.  They want to Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and text everyone that Jesus healed and literally raised their daughter (or situation) from the dead.  This would be a prime opportunity to share their testimony and give God the praise, right? What’s wrong with that?  Everything, if the Lord told you not to do it!!! 

Surely, the Lord wouldn’t tell me not to tell of His goodness? Hallelu’jer! Yes, He would and did!  Verse 43 states, ‘But He commanded them strictly that NO ONE SHOULD KNOW IT,..’ Now why would Jesus COMMAND THEM STRICTLY to keep their mouths closed? Because it was too soon.  They were not ready for the scrutiny of their haters, critics, and those unbelievers. 

What if those same haters and critics come back into your life and began to question you?  Are you fully prepared to explain what the Lord did?  But let’s look further into another reason why they had to keep it on the hush. 

Though it seemed like the miracle was completed and all was well, there was a second part to their obedience.  And if they missed this, it would have caused their daughter to fall sick again. Or maybe for you, to fail in that area again.  Look at verse 42 carefully, ‘But He COMMANDED THEM STRICTLY that NO ONE SHOULD KNOW IT, (part one of their obedience assignment) and said that something should be given her to eat (part two).’ 

The Lord told them to feed that girl.  It was not TIME to be calling Big Momma and Lil Pokey.  There would come a time when the people would see the little girl for themselves, but it was not their place to go, run and tell er’body in the hood.  No, it was time to feed their daughter.  Give her what she needed and more importantly, be obedient to what the Lord told them to do.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Pray about the areas in your life where you failed to be obedient with the second part of His assignment.  Ask Him to help you know when you have not fully complied and ask for His grace to complete the assignment and know when you are released to share it with others. 

Obedience: Get The Wrong People Out (Part I)

New King James Version/Mark 5:22, 23, 35-40

(22) And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came...(23) and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” (35) While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?”  (36) As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue,“Do not be afraid; only believe.” (37) And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John....(38) Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. (39) When he came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping.”  (40) And they ridiculed Him.  But when he had put them all outside, he took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.’

ISSUE

Perhaps you or someone you know has a sick child. Regardless of the diagnosis, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe.’  But how? Feed your spirit faith-building messages from the Word.

RESEARCH AND STUDY

Notice when it was time for the Lord to lay hands on the child, He first put out ‘all’ those that had been weeping and wailing.  In our modern vernacular that would be those relatives or friends shaking their heads, saying that “it must be the Lord’s will for the child to be sick because He is either trying to teach or punish you”. 

     

Maybe they can support you in the waiting area, by phone, or email.  But keep that doubt and unbelief away from the child.  Now I’m not judging or suggesting you be rude.  Those people are believing in accordance to how they’ve been taught.   But consider the ‘great multitudes’ that were following Jesus while He was on His way to minister healing to the child (Mk 5:24); even they were reduced to only ‘Peter, James, and John.’ (Mk 5:37)

I know this is going to require courage and a bit of boldness on your part, but look at verses 37-40 with an emphasis on verse 40, “And they ridiculed Him.  But when HE HAD PUT  THEM ALL OUTSIDE,…’  If the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had to PUT OUT ALL those that ridiculed Him for having the audacity to have the faith to believe that God could raise this child from the dead, what makes you think your Big Momma and cousin Sheneka are any different?  Do you realize that Jesus went into a strangers house and put his whole family out because none of them had faith?  That’s just like me coming over your grandmothers house and telling her, Big Daddy, your cousins and uncles to get out.  But you know what? Sometimes it takes boldness to get healed.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

 · Create an environment, whether in the hospital or at home, for faith to flow.  How? By keeping the Word of God on the majority of the time.  You may want to bring a DVD or CD player so that you and the child can hear faith-building messages on ‘healing’.  Now is not the time to listen to prosperity, but to feed your spirit on what is needed; healing. 

· Prayerfully consider notifying the doctor and nurses to give the child’s prognosis outside the room.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Pray about how you can create an environment for faith to flow.  Maybe you have no idea where to get or cannot afford to purchase faith-building messages.  You can visit kcm.org and search “Healing School” or go to flcbranson.org.  They offer free downloads of all their messages.  You can watch the messages online or download them to your i-pod, i-phone, or MP3 player.  For time sake, try downloading;

Questions About Healing

http://flcbranson.org/listseries.php?archive_index=QuestionsAboutHealing.txt&seriestitle=1006+-+Questions+About+Healing

Gods Will To Heal

http://flcbranson.org/listseries.php?archive_index=GodsWillToHeal.txt&seriestitle=2002+-+God%27s+Will+To+Heal

Redeemed From The Curse of the Law

http://flcbranson.org/listseries.php?archive_index=RedeemedFromTheCurseOfTheLaw.txt&seriestitle=1004+-+Redeemed+From+The+Curse+Of+The+Law