We’re back in the gospels today… Matthew 8-10 to be precise.
Today’s notes:
Matthew 8:2 (NIV)
2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Matthew 8:10 (NIV)
10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Matthew 9:2 (NIV)
2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 9:22 (NIV)
22Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
Matthew 9:29-30 (NIV)
29Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30and their sight was restored.
Jesus performs a number of miraculous healings in Matthew 8 and 9. The common element? Whether of the afflicted, or of those who care for the afflicted, it’s faith.
I wonder, do we REALLY have faith that God will provide answers to our prayers? Whether healing, blessings, needs to be met, intercessions on behalf of our friends, I wonder… in what kind of faith do we offer our prayers? Do we truly believe God will answer?
I’ve probably written on this subject before, but I think it’s worth revisiting. If faith is the common element in answered prayer, shouldn’t we be sure we offer prayers with every ounce of belief that God will answer as we’ve requested that we can muster?
This isn’t to say God’s answers are based on our strength of belief, of course… God’s will trumps all. But if faith is required for an answer in the affirmative, should we really offer prayers that are, in a way, wishy-washy? Maybe it’s easier to provide an example…
Dear Lord, I’m deeply concerned about so-and-so. They’re [in this situation], and I really think [they need this]. I know you can provide that answer Lord, and I pray you would do so. Of course, I know your will is most important, so please, if [this need] isn’t your will, let yours be done. May you be praised in all things, Father. Amen.
What do you think?
Matthew 9:9-13 (NIV)
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
This is a pretty challenging passage to me, personally. Why?
I’m like just about every other person that’s been a Christian for longer than a year or so… my friends are pretty much all Christians. I don’t hang out with “tax collectors and sinners” very often, even though that’s who Jesus came to save.
How are we, as Christians, supposed to shine the light of Christ into the lives of those who need it most if we rarely associate with them?
I’m sorry I talk so much, but I have to tell you that when we hang out with my family it’s like hanging out with tax collectors and sinners. I don’t mean that in a judgemental way. My dad claims to be an athiest. My mom says she believes in God but doesn’t want to go to church, because she believes she can do it on her own. She says depending on God says that you’re a weak person. My brother, who is my only sibling, is coming back to the Lord. Yeah! I have 11 uncles from both sides of my family (not including Ben’s side) and only one of them is walking with the Lord. I have 12 aunts from both sides of my family and only one is walking with the Lord. I can’t even tell you how many cousins I have. Almost all of them aren’t serving the Lord either.
I have to be a gentle spirit around them and not push God on them. I just have to show them by example what God has done in my life and I just have to listen to them when they tell me the dumb things they do. Sometimes I have a story to share with them that’s related to the topics they talk about and I can tell them what God’s done in my life. It’s hard because my family believes in me. Everyone’s watching you too, to see if you genuinely care. It’s a slow process but there’s progress.
John-
I am with you on this. Faith is a strange thing in our world of self dependence. I struggle with this same issue often. But I’m not sure if it is so much my lack of faith, or the fact that I may not know what is best for me or whatever the situation may be. And therefore, not sure if it is God’s will. But I do thoroughly believe that God is active in everything that I do.
Also, I am like you where most people I am around are other believers. But I will say that I truly believe that we are being watched.(sounds like a scary movie, huh?) No really, I think that if we are truly walking in the way of Christ we will stand out so much from the world that people will take notice. Whether we are directly communicating with them or indirectly.
I think both of you have hit upon an important point… non-believers do see how our faith influences our lives, and that in itself can be a form of witness.
It’s not enough, though. Romans 10:14-15 makes it clear…
14But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!â€
Faith doesn’t just come from seeing the working of God in others’ lives. It comes from hearing the truth and believing.
We just need to be careful to not rest on the hope that lifestyle witnessing is enough. It’s not.
(To be clear, I don’t intend to imply that either of you believe that it is.)