Expect The Unexpected
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today
and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
For many years, Leslie Keegel, has been the Foursquare
National Leader to the nation of Sri Lanka, which rests directly below India,
on the opposite side of the world. Over the past 30 years, God has increased the number of churches to
almost 1,500 with countless individuals finding healings of every type. Leslie shared a story with our congregation
some time ago that remind us that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and foever.”
“I was visiting two young pastors and they
asked me to visit a school for the deaf and blind. I
was reluctant to go to the school because the two young pastors had told the
staff that their pastor would come and pray for the children and all the children
would be healed. These two young people
were so excited, and they thought I would be very happy too. I thought, ‘There goes my afternoon nap! And- no pressure- but all must get healed!’
When I got there, I realized that this deaf
and blind institute was also the Buddhist temple. When
I got inside, their workers met me and said, ‘Well, our boss said you were
coming…do your thing!’ And my two young people, standing next to me, were
saying, ‘Pastor, go for it!’ One of them said, ‘I’ll check the blind’ and
the other said, ‘I’ll check the deaf, and bring them up for testimonies.’ They were so expectant that something would
happen.
By faith, I proclaimed the Good News of
Jesus Christ and asked the children if they would like to give their lives to
Jesus and receive prayer for healing. Every single child raised their
hand; every single child received prayer: and- much to my surprise- every
single child was healed!
Blind eyes were opened and
deaf ears could hear. The one who had been translating for me
said, ‘No, miracles do not happen.’ But there were about five or six parents of
these children who had come to visit the kids, and they came up and said,
‘Miracles do happen- we know our children and God healed them!’
One of the greatest characteristics that God
honors is a person of expectation. On one occasion, we find Jesus
in his hometown where the people had little faith or belief that Jesus could or
would work any miracles. On other
occasions, the virtue that was always rewarded were people who believed that
Jesus could do what He said.
In Mark 10, the Bible recounts
the story of blind Bartimaeus who persistently called to Jesus from the side of
the road. Though obstacles came from his own sense of
occasional doubts and other disparaging words, He was going to believe for
Jesus’ touch on his life. And God
rewarded Him for it.
May we never forget that God is looking for
people of expectation. Hebrews 11:6 challenges us, “And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and
that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” As another friend, Roy Hicks used to say, “You
do the possible…and let Him do the impossible.”
Simply give Him the faith you’ve got and let Him do the rest.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) What is the most impossible situation that
you are facing in your life right now? (Salvation of a friend or loved one,
provision, healing or something else)
2) Declare to Him that You trust Him today
through a word of prayer.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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