
So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed. Did you notice when He stated “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”
The centurion wasn't religious, but he believed Jesus on a level that even the Lord Jesus' own people (the Jews) didn't believe in Him. Keep this in mind, the Lord doesn't recognize your faith in your religion or your denomination. What He does recognize is faith, trust and belief in Him. Those of us who are living with a Kingdom mindset, operate not by what we see with our natural eyesight, but what we see through the eyes of our faith in the King. Our faith in Him opens doors that aren't seen with the natural eye. When you have a Kingdom mindset, you realize that what many people call a miracle is an ordinary means of operation in God's Kingdom.
The ambassador Peter was operating by faith in the King when he commanded the lame man to rise and walk. Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. It was faith in the name of King Jesus Christ that caused the lame to walk; not their faith in a religion.
It was also because of the faith in the Lord Jesus that the woman with the issue of blood was healed. Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
Your faith in the Lord God's Word is the key to all our needs for those who have a Kingdom mindset. They realize that it is their faith and obedience that pleases their King. They trust in all of His promises, just like His servant Abraham. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
If we are to receive our reward from our Lord and King we must maintain our faith in Him and His Word. Ambassador Paul made this statement in a letter to the Hebrew believers: All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Faith is having Kingdom eyesight! Remember, your faith in the Lord God's Word is your greatest commodity.
Luke 7:1-10 Acts 3:1-10 Matthew 9:20-22
Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16 all NLT
~~W.R. Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
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