The Gospel Is The Power Of God
Today’s Bible Reading: Matthew 9:35-38, 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6
Memory Verse: Matthew 9:38
‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.’
Commentary By Andrew Wommack
People are born again through the power of the Word of God, not through prayer. Prayer is very important, but it is not a substitute for the Gospel.
Many people petition God for someone to be saved and can’t understand why it hasn’t happened yet. We don’t have to ask the Lord to save anyone. He isn’t willing that anyone should perish. He has already made provision for everyone’s salvation.
So what do we pray concerning someone coming to the Lord? Jesus said to pray that the Lord send laborers across their path. They need to hear the Word. Also, we should bind the influence of the god of this world (Satan) who tries to blind them to spiritual truth (II Cor. 4:4).
God is more motivated to save our loved ones than we are. We don’t need to plead with Him, but rather we need to become a channel for Him to flow through to reach that person. We do that by sharing the good news (Gospel) with them and/or praying that others will come across their path who will do the same.
The Gospel is the power of God that releases the effects of salvation in our lives (Rom. 1:16). If a person needs healing, it’s in the Gospel. If deliverance is needed, it’s in the Gospel. Prosperity, answered prayer, joy, peace, love – they are all found through understanding and believing the Gospel.
The Gospel is the good news that although we are sinners and worthy of God’s wrath, God, in love, sent His Son to be our substitute, bearing our punishment, so that we could be made completely righteous in His sight. It’s based only on our faith in this completed work of Christ and not our own performance. Now that’s GOOD NEWS!
Get Rid Of Fear
Today’s Bible Reading: Matthew 9:23-31; Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56
Memory Verse: Luke 8:50
‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
Commentary By Andrew Wommack
Jesus told Jairus to ‘believe only,’ implying that faith and fear can operate in us at the same time. This is also the reason James tells us not to be double-minded, or to waiver (Jas. 1:5-8). Fear will negate faith. We can have both thoughts of faith and thoughts of unbelief at the same time.
Fear and faith are opposing forces. Fear is actually faith in reverse. Fear is believing something or someone other than God. Therefore, fear makes us subject to Satan and his death just as faith makes us recipients of all that God has to offer. This is the reason Jesus told Jairus, ‘Fear not.’ Jairus’ fear would have sealed his daughter’s death.
Instead of trying to build huge amounts of faith to overcome our fears and unbelief, a simpler method is to remove our fears by cutting off their source. Then, our simple ‘child-like’ faith that remains will do the job. It doesn’t take big faith – just pure faith.
Where does fear come from? Second Timothy 1:7 says, ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.’ It doesn’t come from God. The way that fear is able to come upon us is that we take our attention off of Jesus and put it on our situation.
Fear or doubt cannot ‘just overcome’ us. We have to let it in. In the same way that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, fear comes by hearing or seeing something contrary to God’s Word. We would not be tempted with fear or doubt if we didn’t consider things that Satan uses to minister that fear and doubt.
Satan tries to distract us with thinking about our problems. No problem is too big for God. We should cast our concern about the problem over on God and just keep our eyes on Jesus, the Word.
Making Faith Work
Today’s Bible Reading: Luke 8:43-48
Memory Verse: Luke 8:46
‘And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.’
Commentary By Andrew Wommack
Is it possible that Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh, and therefore all-knowing, did not actually know who touched Him? Yes! Although Jesus’ spiritual man was divine, He took upon Himself a physical body with its limitations. Jesus drew on His divine ability through the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and so can we (Jn. 14:12; 1 Cor. 12:7). Before His resurrection, He operated as a man (sinless) by receiving from His Father through faith. Luke 8:47 says that the woman ‘saw that she was not hid.’ It is evident that Jesus received a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit and had singled out this woman. However, this was after He felt the power of God flow out of Him and heal her. The woman was healed before He discerned her by the law of faith.
The law of electricity has been here on earth since creation. Man has observed it in such things as lightning and static electricity, but it was not until someone believed that there were laws that governed the activity of electricity that progress began to be made in putting it to use. Likewise, you don’t deny the existence of faith, but it is only when you begin to understand that there are laws that govern faith, and begin to learn what those laws are, that faith will begin to work for you.