DATE POSTED Monday, 2023-01-30
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

BY: Ed Algreen

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 9:1-5
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Jesus convened a gathering of the twelve. He gave them power and authority to free people from all demonic spirits and to heal them of diseases. 2 He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3-5 These were His instructions:

1. Travel light on your journey: don’t take a staff, backpack, bread, money, or even an extra change of clothes.
2. When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that city.
3. If a town rejects you, shake the dust from your feet as you leave as a witness against them.

APPLICATION: There is at least one other place recorded in Scripture where Jesus gave His disciples the necessary power and ordered them to go and tell the Good News (Matthew 28). In our Scripture today, Luke records that Jesus, called His disciples in to Him, gave them the necessary power that they would need, then instructed them to go, tell and heal as necessary. There’re a few things that caught my attention:

• a). Jesus had been the One doing all the healing, but now, in what appears to be a delegation of power, He gave His disciples the power to meet the needs of the sick that they would come into contact with. Throughout the New Testament there are references to various gifts that are given to believers. But I wonder when, and under what circumstances Jesus still passes this power to heal on to believers today.
• b). No matter how established the church may have been at that time, Jesus ‘SENT’ the disciples out. In other words, don’t wait for the people to get the urge to attend church, go to where they’re at. I believe this command is just as applicable to the church today as it was for these first disciples.
• c). Tell them the Good News of Jesus and what He could do for them. I believe He wanted them to also tell the people what Jesus had done for them personally. For you see, they would rather hear how God is working today, rather than what He did for Moses when he led over a million people to a point where there was water ahead and an oncoming army approaching from the rear, or for Noah when God was about to flood the earth. Because of Jesus, and what He has done for us, we still have an awesome message to tell. Let’s go and tell the Good News fellow believers. This is too good to keep bottled up inside when we know of folk dying each day without any hope of eternity in Heaven.
• d). Heal the sick – whether this refers to those that were physically sick without any hope of recovery, or those who were sin-sick without any hope for eternity, Jesus is the answer to all of man’s deficiencies. As a child of the Great Healer, let’s seek His power and pray, while laying holy hands on the sick. With a touch from God for their physical condition, many will also seek God’s face for healing of their spiritual condition. While this is not something we can boast of, we must be sure to extend the power of our God as He sees fit to bless us with that anointing.

But to top this whole message off, Jesus gave His disciples a few conditions that would generate supreme trust in the Almighty God. I went with a group of missionaries from my church to Mexico for a week. Other than finances, the next greatest challenge was in packing minimally as space would be limited on flights and in the vans used for ground transportation. So, can you imagine trying to ‘GO’ under the restrictions ordered by Jesus in (1) noted above in our Scripture? Homes were opened to accommodate the missionaries, as there were no provisions for commercial accommodations, if any existed. This has become a huge problem today, as most church members will refuse to have a missionary or visiting preacher in for a meal, much less opening their home to one. I trust that you can appreciate the difference. Most of us will do everything possible to be accepted by the townspeople in which we minister. But what do you do if you are not accepted? Jesus knew this would happen and probably disappoint His disciples, just as it would impact us, so He prepared us in advance in (3) above for such an unfortunate event. Bible scholars will tell you that Jesus didn’t just tell His disciples to go some foreign place and, when you get – tell and heal. But instead, He told them in their language that as they GO, tell and heal. It is so important that we represent God and tell the Good News everywhere we find ourselves, not just at one specific building, street corner, country or city. As you go each day, brothers and sisters, in every way possible, tell the story of Jesus and His love for everyone you meet, God being your helper and guide.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: You now have the power, go, tell, and heal in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for entrusting Your disciples with the power to heal the sick as they ministered along the way that they were directed by You. I believe that if anything changed in the methods You used, as applied to us, You would have told us so. But that leaves us with a deep and awesome responsibility as your disciples. We need You Lord Jesus to endow upon us the power to represent You in every phase of ministry as we promote the Savior that we accepted as Lord of our lives. Teach us Lord to trust in you each and every day, and in carrying You with us, may we be sure to depend on You for every word we speak and for every action that opens itself to us. Have Your will and way in the lives of my readers, listeners and myself, so that Your mighty works might be revealed through our efforts. AMEN!