Message from Scripture: 12/3/2020

 

Our message from Scripture today is Matt. 9:36. “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

 

In Matt. 9, we see Jesus engaged in what was typical of His earthly ministry, which involved Him interacting with others, meeting their needs, and authenticating His claim to be the Son of God. In doing this, He testified not only to who He was, but who we are, what we need to be if the great work He came to accomplish, the salvation of our souls, is to be completed.

 

In Matt. 9, Jesus revealed His lordship over all. We see Jesus as the Lord over disease, over life and death, over blindness, even over demons. He possessed all authority over every aspect of the creation He brought into existence. Surely, He has the authority to help us with the course of our lives as well.

 

In Matt. 9, we see the importance of faith in Him as Lord. Each act of healing was accompanied by faith, whether the paralytic’s friends bringing him to Jesus, or the grief stricken ruler seeking Jesus to restore his child’s life, or the woman with the hemorrhage being healed, or of the two blind men who received their sight. If Jesus is Lord, He is to be believed in who He is and what He can do.

 

In Matt. 9, we see how obedience was the response in acknowledging His lordship in faith. There are more than enough examples to show us God’s power is revealed when faith leads us to obey. It has always been true, in God’s will for mankind, for faith and obedience to be coupled together if we are to please Him (Heb. 11:6).

 

It has been said, whether in obeying the gospel, or living the Christian life, the hardest part is not in what God asks of us, but in making up our minds to do it. Do you have the faith in Him to make that choice and live for Him? Let’s show by our words and deeds a genuine faith that seeks Him and seeks to live for Him. God bless.

 

Robert