09/07/2021–Such Great Faith–Beyond Belief

09/07/2021–Such Great Faith–Beyond Belief
(Click on Video Thumbnail Below, to Watch on YouTube)


Matthew 8 (Amplified)
(Includes Healing #1, Healing #2, Healing #3, & Healing #4)


Healing #1…Verses 1-4
Jesus Cleanses a Leper; The Centurion’s Faith…

These verses tell us that when Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds were following Him. Through that crowd, a leper came up to Him and bowed down, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You are able to make me clean (well).” Right then, Jesus reached out His hand to touch the leper, informing him that He was, indeed, willing. Then He simply said, “Be cleansed.”

Then we see in the scripture, that not only was the man HEALED, he was CLEANSED of the parasites that had been living inside of him, causing his body to be so badly attacked that he was shunned by everyone.

Because of the Law, Jesus quickly told him, “See that you tell no one about this until after you have shown yourself to the priest for the necessary inspection, and presented the offering that Moses commanded–as viable evidence to them, of your complete cleansing and healing.”


NOTE: Jesus hadn’t yet been crucified, hadn’t risen, and hadn’t presented Himself back to the Father. The people were still under the Law and the Commandments. Once Jesus HAD been crucified, HAD risen, and HAD presented His shed blood back to Father God, He had FULFILLED the Law and the Commandments, and the NEW COVENANT was put into place…FOREVER. Today, we already HAVE His touch, and we already HAVE Holy Spirit saying, “I am willing; be cleansed!” every moment of every day. IT IS ALREADY DONE (Check out 1 Peter 2:24).

Because of this, we understand that the man who had had leprosy in this accounting, would not have been allowed back into society, just by the cleansing and healing SPOKEN by Jesus–who knew that. This is why Jesus told the man not to stop and tell ANYONE what had happened, before he got the inspection and approval of the High Priest.

Who is our HIGH PRIEST today? Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and He reigns over us–a kingdom of kings and priests–as our HIGH PRIEST.

If we are healed by HIS power (which we are), then we have nowhere else to go, to present ourselves for approval. God, Himself–FATHER, SON, & HOLY SPIRIT–has already GIVEN His approval and His permission to WALK FREE OF THAT STIGMA. Period. He WANTS us to BELIEVE, then WALK IN THIS BY FAITH, and stand–every moment of every day–fully UNDERSTANDING what He has already done for His children, and therefore walking in that truth–without questioning, worrying, or doubting.


Healing #2…Verses 5-13
Such Great Faith…

As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help], and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” [However] the centurion replied to Him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

The centurion (a military commander over 100 soldiers) could say that to Jesus, because he was a man both SUBJECT TO authority of officers above him in rank, AND because he, himself had charge of all of the men under his command. He could just say to one, “Go!” and it would happen. Then he could say to another, “Come!” and that would happen. Not only that, but also had slaves or servants, and all he had to do was say, “Do thus and such,” and it would get done immediately.

When Jesus heard what the centurion was telling Him, He turned around and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith as this with anyone else in Israel.”

Obviously, Jesus was recognizing that the officer was NOT a Jew, but a gentile, so he continued, “I say to you that, over time, MANY gentile BELIEVERS will come from everywhere, and they will INTENTIONALLY sit down to feast at the table in the Kingdom of Heaven, that will be set for them, and enjoy my Father’s promises, right along with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the other hand, there will be sons and heirs of the Kingdom–living descendants of Abraham–who will stubbornly not recognize me as Messiah. Because of their UNBELIEF, they will remove themselves far from the Kingdom, and they will walk in their darkness because they haven’t learned how to believe, and therefore walk in faith. They will weep in sorrow and pain, and will grind their teeth in both distress and anger.”

Then Jesus turned back to the centurion, and said, “Go! It will be done for you as you have believed.” Just like that, the centurion’s servant was restored to health immediately.


Healing #3…Verses 14-15
Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed…

After that encounter, we are told, Jesus went to Peter’s house in Capernaum. When He got there and entered the home, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed, ill with a fever. He reached out HIS hand, touched HER hand, and the fever left her immediately. Then, she got up and went back to doing what she needed to do to serve the guests (including Jesus) in her home.


Healing #4 & Beyond…Verses 16-27
Casting Out Demons

That evening, many were brought there to Jesus, who were under the power of demons. We are told that He exhibited His authority as the True Messiah, by casting out all of the evil spirits with just a word. Then all who had been sick because of those evil spirits, were entirely healed. This confirmed (even BEFORE Jesus was crucified and died–becoming the Perfect Sacrifice Lamb) what the prophet Isaiah had said long before then: “He Himself took our infirmities upon Himself, and CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”


Even More…Verses 28-34
…and More Demons

Continuing on the journey, Jesus had arrived in the country of the Gadarenes, when two demon-possessed men came out of the tombs nearby. They were extremely fierce and violent, and they were intent on keeping all travelers away from their destinations.

When they saw Jesus, they SCREAMED at Him, “What business do you have here with us, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the appointed time of judgment?” NOTE THAT Jesus still had NOT done on the cross what He later DID do. THAT TIME, is what those demons were talking about. The devil KNEW what was going to happen.

When Jesus evidently didn’t answer them (or maybe He did, even though the scripture doesn’t SAY that He did, right then), the demons quickly began begging Him to make it easier on themselves (they thought). They said, “If you DO drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs over there.”

Jesus quickly took advantage of that situation, and said to the demons, “GO!” So the demons HAD to immediately leave the men and go into the pigs. When that happened, the WHOLE HERD OF THE DEMON-FILLED PIGS rushed immediately down the steep bank into the sea, and then died in the water!

At that point, all of the herdsmen for the pigs, ran away, went into the city, and reported everything that had happened–leaving nothing out. Having heard that report, the entire population of the city went out to meet Jesus, but not to “meet and greet Him” as you might think. They didn’t go to celebrate with Him. Instead, they immediately BEGGED Him to leave their region!


A Question on Which to Dwell–

WHY was Jesus asked to leave? Think about it.

I think you may come up with some surprising answers. While you’re at it, also reflect on the fact that still, today–when these types of events are reported, which are being accomplished by God’s people who have been sent out by Him to do these types of things and more–there are sometimes people from “surrounding regions” who do exactly the same thing that the people in that town did.

In this particular day and time, it’s become even more common than that. Christians are being hushed up and hidden away as much as possible. You might want to think about a certain date a few years ago, when a group of thousands of Christian intercessors were visiting a very renowned public place in our nation, for a special Day of Prayer.

If you ever present healing in the ways discussed in these scriptures (or more ways that the Bible explains in plenty of other scriptures) don’t be surprised if even your own local church tries to send you away. DON’T GIVE IN, and DON’T QUIT doing what God tells you to do! He has told us to be HIS hands, throughout the world, speaking the truth of the Kingdom of God, laying our hands upon the sick, cleansing any lepers, casting out demons as necessary, and raising the dead.

Once you get involved in doing that (especially if/when you start getting backlashes from the world around you) watch the increasing ways in which God Himself gets involved with you, right here on Earth. We are in a wonderful, exciting time–right now–right in the midst of what the WORLD is doing (which is walking AWAY from God’s power, or trying to send HIM away, as previously mentioned).


Again…
DON’T GIVE IN, and DON’T QUIT!
BELIEVE, then act out your FAITH, by putting that BELIEF into ACTION.

— ALWAYS REMEMBER —
— WE WERE MADE BY GOD —
— TO WALK WITH GOD —
— IN HIS IMAGE —
(Imago Dei)
— IN SUCH GREAT FAITH —
— OVER AND ABOVE BELIEF ALONE —


“Beyond Belief” by Petra
Cover by Dan Vasc (with Victor, the Guitar Nerd)
Featuring John Lawry & John Schlitt of Petra



“Breath of Heaven” (Official Music Video)
Daddy Daughter Duet – Mat and Savanna Shaw


“Mary Did You Know” (Official Music Video)
Mat and Savanna Shaw (Father & Daughter)


BONUS x2…
THINK OF HOW BOTH OF THESE RELATE
TO OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOD, AS BELIEVERS.

“More Than Words”
(Dan Vasc Cover of Song by the band EXTREME)

O Holy Night | Ka Haili Aloha | Harvest Church
Thank you Sam Albito and all of you who danced,
for all of the work you put into this.
Sam–It’s LOVELY to see your son Elijah dancing with Caela.
They did SUCH a great job…so very, very beautiful.


YET ANOTHER BONUS…
“For All” – ROY KHAN cover | Feat. Jacob Kaasgard and Gabriel Belozi
I was reminded of this one, today (Wednesday, December 20, 2023).
It totally repeats what I’ve said earlier, about not giving up,
and remembering who we are, in Christ.


ONE MORE BONUS…
Metal Musicians Perform “O Holy Night”
Dan posted this 12/21/2023.

As you watch/listen to this one, think back to how he built the story of “Amazing Grace” when presented that on April 7, 2023. He does very much the same thing with this song. He remarked on his INSTAGRAM account, the day before he posted the song, that it would “melt our faces.” Listen to EVERY nuance in this presentation. Dan doesn’t just sing a song. He LIVES the song. He IS the song. There are some very interesting observations throughout this song–shown only in the WAY and the SOUND OF WHICH he presents each part of it. Remember…Dan doesn’t do anything by accident, or just because he thinks it might “sound nice.” Everything has a purpose, and there are several very important ones throughout this song and the way it is presented.


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“Songs of Hope and Joy” (My YouTube Playlist)

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Powerful Prayers (Listed on My Website)

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Scriptures from the Amplified Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015
by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631 (All Rights Reserved).
Less than 500 verses of scripture used by general permission.
https://www.lockman.org/
Quotations do not amount to a complete Bible book,
nor are they more than 25% of the total text of this work,
which is not to be considered as a biblical commentary or reference work in its entirety.
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