The Bible Speaks - Words of Inspiration - Do you believe?

[00:00:00] Let us pray, pray together on our knees Let us pray, pray together on our knees When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun Oh Lord, never see all the need Welcome to the Bible Speaks with Elgin Carelock

[00:00:30] The Bible Speaks is a weekly ministry of Harvest International Our prayer is that the Bible Speaks will encourage you in your study of God's word You will be able to contact Elgin at the address given at the end of this broadcast And now, here's Elgin

[00:00:46] Brothers and sisters, for many of us, being brought up in church was what we did on Sunday And usually because we did not have an option As we grew older, some embraced the teachings and aspired to live lives that are pleasing to God

[00:01:04] Because they believed the Word of God is true For others like me, as soon as I had the opportunity to make the decision of whether or not I went to church I chose not to go, and so was the case for me for nearly two decades

[00:01:21] When I was reintroduced to the Lord in 1998, a transformation began And over the past 26 years, I have been growing to the point where I now trust God So today I'd like to have a conversation with you on the topic of Do You Believe?

[00:01:42] Our scriptural inspiration comes from Matthew 9-28-30a And reading from the English Standard version, it reads When he entered the house, the blind man came to him And Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes Lord

[00:02:07] Then he touched their eyes saying, According to your faith, be it done to you And their eyes were opened When we think about whether we believe or not, it's not that anyone questions God's ability Or it's not that in my past that I questioned God's ability

[00:02:30] Or did not believe that the Bible was true from a literal or metaphorical sense But I did not understand the ability to trust God came from a deep heartfelt belief That he is who he says he is and always keeps his word

[00:02:49] Before taking a closer look at our scriptural text, I wanted to share with you what was going on Jesus had just come from the house of one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus Whose daughter Jesus brought back to life In Matthew 5 verse 36, Jesus told the Father

[00:03:10] Be not afraid, only believe This was a powerful moment because everyone around was mourning Even when Jesus arrived on the scene When he declared the little girl was only sleeping The crowd laughed and made rude comments And Jesus sent them all away before performing the miracle

[00:03:32] As a side thought, be careful of who you have around you and who you listen to Because it can cloud your ability to truly trust God and believe in him for miraculous occurrences As Jesus was leaving Jairus's home, two men approached calling out to Jesus

[00:03:52] Son of David, have mercy on us they said By them calling Jesus Son of David, they were acknowledging their understanding of who Jesus was And his authority to do what they ask This got Jesus' attention

[00:04:08] And as he continued on to his next destination, he took time to address the men Jesus's question, do you believe that I'm able to do this? Has several layers The first being, are you asking because you heard that I have been performing miracles

[00:04:27] And your need for relief exceeds your fear of seeking who I am? And that speaks to motive When we don't know God, we tend to use him as a break in case of emergency kind of relationship

[00:04:44] When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that moves to having faith in God's ability to provide as a result of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection As we mature spiritually, it becomes an earnest expectation or belief that he is able

[00:05:06] The second layer I believe is Jesus asking, who do you think I am? The Bible tells us that the two men first spoke to Jesus coming from Jairus' home So they were no doubt aware of the miracle that had taken place

[00:05:23] Jesus took this opportunity to use this as a teaching moment for his disciples by asking the men if they believe But I believe it went further

[00:05:33] Jesus was asking if they understood by what power he was able to do, not only the miracle that they were aware of, but what they were asking him to do We say that we believe Jesus is the Son of God

[00:05:48] But do we fully understand what that means in terms of the level of power that comes when we truly trust him to lead our lives? In verse 29, Jesus says, according to your faith, be it done unto you

[00:06:07] This is both a confirmation of their blessing being a result of them truly believing in Jesus' ability and authority and an admonition for us today We must understand that our faith and trust in God drew Jesus many times holds the keys to breakthroughs, healings and blessings

[00:06:30] Mark 11, verse 24 reads, therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you've received it and it will be yours Notice he didn't say believe that you may receive it He said that you have, which means a certainty that it has happened even before it arrives

[00:06:58] Brothers and sisters, when we truly embrace the promises secured by Jesus' resurrection, we can lead lives marked by profound peace and unshakable hope Knowing that we are fully reconciled with God and assured of eternal life

[00:07:16] This deep belief transforms our everyday existence, enabling us to live with boldness and purpose as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overcome challenges and extend God's kingdom on earth

[00:07:32] I thank you once again for spending this time with me on today and I look forward to our time together on tomorrow Until then, God bless This program is cared for by listeners who care

[00:07:56] Your prayers and financial investment in this ministry helps to keep the good news on the air We look forward to hearing from you and invite you to write us at Harvest International, Post Office Box 6690 Ocala, Florida 34478 Again, that's Harvest International, Post Office Box 6690 Ocala, Florida 34478