According to your Faith

[Brother-Paul]

According to your Faith

Matthew 9:27-29 (NKJV)
27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

AFTER the raising of Jairus' daughter, our Lord on His departure was followed by two blind men crying for mercy

Matthew 9:27-34 (NKJV)
27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."
31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.
33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"
34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

He asked them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" And they answered, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it unto you," and their eyes were opened.

A simple story, so simple that we pass over it and overlook its tremendous revelation. Here is the key to a life of blessing: "According to your faith." But, mind you, faith in the Lord Jesus, for He had just asked, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" The value of faith depends upon the object of faith, and when Christ is the object, faith never fails. All things are possible to the person who believes, if he believes in Him with whom all things are possible.

Back of all the misery of the world today lies unbelief in Christ. We will not come unto Him that we might have life. Sinners miss life here and hereafter because they believe not, and Christians live meager and defeated lives because they believe so little. In the midst of it all stands Jesus, the answer to every problem; but we do not believe like the blind men that He is able to do wonders in our lives or, if we believe it theoretically, we do not believe it practically, so our eyes are not opened. Some seek special experiences, signs and wonders, but will not live daily by faith, looking unto Jesus.

Here is the measure of blessing: According to your faith. If there is much faith, there is much blessing. If there is little faith, there is little blessing. There is no other way. Simple faith in Jesus Christ is the key to every problem, the answer to every issue from the smallest to the greatest. He Himself said so: how long will it take us to learn it?

After this miracle, the Lord healed a dumb demoniac and the Pharisees attributed His miracle to the devil. Alas, there are religious people today who deny a God of miracles and ascribe works of healing to the devil! It is to the everlasting shame of the church that we have lost sight of Christ the Healer and stand almost in the place of the Pharisees, ridiculing those who have the gift of healing, plainly taught in the New Testament, and almost ascribing the work of God to Beelzebub.

Our Lord went next to Nazareth, and there what struck Him was unfaith. His townspeople were offended in Him, and He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief. He marveled at the centurions faith

Matthew 8:10 (NKJV)
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

but here He marveled at their unbelief

Mark 6:6 (NKJV)
6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

So we read that He went around about the village, teaching. He was restricted to a teaching ministry here—and so He is today in most places, for we believe not.

What wonders might come to pass if we only believed!

Reflections on the Gospels by Vance Havner

Prayer: Heavenly Father look on us your children, whether we consider we have a strong faith or little faith, in your eyes our faith is as small as a mustard seed.

Help us Lord to believe and trust in you as you request, as your deserve, may our faith grow daily and may you be Glorified through Jesus Christ our Lord.

According to our Faith let it be. In Jesus precious name. Amen

 

[Thankful Pat]

Amen!

 

[Brother-Paul]

Amen indeed @Thankful Pat

PART 2 of this devotion will be added in a couple days.

Bless you

 

[Thankful Pat]

Thank you Brother-Paul. Much love and peace.:smile:

 

[Brother-Paul]

ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH (CONTINUED)

Matthew 9:27-34 (NKJV)
27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."
31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
32 As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.
33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"
34 But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."

WORLDS of possibilities are wrapped up in our Lord's statement to the blind men in
Matthew 9:29 (NKJV)
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Men go from book to book, from lecture to lecture, seeking a more abundant life. Weak Christians devour devotional literature, always expecting that the next page will unlock the mystic secret. But here is the key: Faith grows as we exercise such faith as we have. The measure of the life abundant is in proportion to our faith. God's resources are ever available to faith. If we make our check small, we have only ourselves to blame.

Observe that it is not "according to your fate." The Chinese have a proverb: "We make our fortune and call it Fate." Some of us excuse our laziness under the guise of predestination and say, "What is to be will be." Nor is it "according to your fortune." Lands and goods are not the measure of life abundant, for "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth"

Luke 12:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

It is not "according to your fame," for celebrities are often most miserable. As Johnson said, "Fame usually comes when we are old and can't enjoy it, solitary and can't share it, independent and don't need it." Christ did not say, "According to your friends." Popularity and "pull" cannot bring us life abundant. Too many friends are like shadows; they follow us only on sunny days. Nor did our Lord say, "According to your feelings." Here is the commonest mistake in looking for a better life. We confuse it with certain emotional ecstasies and are discouraged when feelings rise and fall—and moods change like April weather.

It is "according to your faith." But here we need to examine just what sort of faith this is, for faith itself has been made a fetish by those who think faith is sufficient no matter what we believe. The value of faith depends upon its object. If the object of confidence turns out unworthy, the one who believed is in worse condition than before, no matter how worthy his faith may have been. Popular teaching which puts the emphasis upon faith itself makes it purely subjective, while the real virtue lies in the object.

The only faith which brings eternal life and a more abounding daily experience is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, for only He is worthy of absolute trust and able to meet every need of the believer. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" was the early message of the apostles, and simple faith in Christ as Son of God and Savior is the condition of salvation. In addition, more abounding life and growth are "according to our faith." If we believe only to a small degree, our experience will be commensurate to that faith. Every believer has experienced that as far as he has trusted, he has found the promises true.

So, do not look for something magical about this matter of faith. Your experience will be in proportion as you take God at His word, in spite of all appearances! But the value of faith lies in Him whom you trust, not on the quantity nor quality of your faith. "All things are possible to him that believeth"—if he believes in Him with whom all things are possible.

Here and here only is the way to life victorious and abundant, for "this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"

1 John 5:4 (NKJV)
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

Reflections on the Gospels by Vance Havner


Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us understand your Word and the importance of the things you say to us. We are quick to understand 'all things are possible to those who believe' and 'ask what we want in Jesus Name and you will give it to us. But, there are other times when we pray we wonder why nothing happened.

May we take to heart, when ever we pray in Faith, your Word Lord, that we receive according to OUR Faith.

Thanks be to God in Jesus Name. Amen