Acts 9:31-35 ESV
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
What if you had an appointment with the Lord?
In this passage, all we are told about Aeneas is that he was bedridden for 8 years, and paralyzed. That is it. As Peter is moving throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria, he comes to Lydda to visit those who follow Jesus the Christ. Does Aeneas even know anything about Peter's coming? It seems that, all of a sudden, Peter walks up to him and lets him know that Jesus Christ heals him, as if delivering a letter that has already been written.
Aeneas was a saint, a believer of God. To be paralyzed, lying on his bed for 8 years, do you not think that he prayed many times that God would take away his problem? Can you imagine what some people might have said: if he has real faith, then God would have healed him long ago. Or, he has no reason to go on asking God for anything, because God has abandoned him. Now, we all have problems. If you are honest with yourself, then you know that there is something in your life that you wish you could make better. It is something that is very evident to you, even though very few other people may notice it. Think of that issue or situation, the one about which you may have stopped praying by now, having given up hope on that area of life in which you no longer expect anything notably positive to be done. Would it not be quite incredible to have your problem handled? Moreover, what if it is handled quite unexpectedly?
Perhaps you have yet to pray today, at least not about that. You have yet to obsess over it today, at least not as much as you did the last time. Suddenly, it is finished. You sit up, make your bed, and realize your Lordthe Lord--has taken care of you...yet again. I say again because, well, for starters, it is not as if you have been dead since the development of this problem. There is always something for which you can and should thank the Lord. Maybe that is for another time.
My point now is that, at any time, God may send a message of healing your way. You just hold on; keep praying, believing, hoping, trusting God and waiting on His word. The Lord says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that, if His people, called by His name, would humble themselves and pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, *then* He will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal the land. The Bible tells us that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not faint. What an honor to receive a good word from the Most High God!
Pay attention to what Peter says next, "Rise and make your bed." There is nothing that has begun to affect you that the word of God, once spoken, and spoken once, will not change. God only has to speak to bring about His purpose. The Scriptures do not read that the Lord had made His presence to dwell in Lydda before Aeneas was healed, or that some fire had to rain down from heaven before a healing could come. God did not even mention that Aeneas had to fast or go to any a certain place to have healing. God Almighty sent a message through his servant, Peter, to tell Aeneas of what had already been decided by the throne of God. Aeneas' duty, then, is to live in the restoration of physical abilities, and therefore to be strengthened spiritually to continue following the Lord. If you have waited faithfully for the Lord, when the Lord shows Himself to be ready for you to move, then MOVE!
This could be true for you right now. You are wondering and praying to the Lord to give you direction. When He finally does, you decided to pray even longer for the same thing. But why would you do that?! The time for seeking the Lord on this matter has ended. The time has come to walk with your God. Peter delivers the message to Aeneas that, since Jesus has healed him, he should live according to that word. He had been bedridden for eight years. Peter did not tell Aeneas that the change would be easy. He did mean for Aeneas to start the change immediately. And what was Aeneas' response? The Bible tells us here in Acts chapter 9 that Aeneas rose *immediately*. He believed God and, like Abraham in the book of Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, "it was put to his account as righteousness."
Do you believe God? Do you believe that God can send a messenger to you, right where you are? Do you believe that just God's word can set you free from your circumstance? Do you believe God enough to deliver His message to someone else?
Consider this: what if you have been given the privilege of being Jesus Christ's messenger?
You are going about your way, impacting the world for the Lord in your spheres of influence, when you reach a certain place. There may or may not be anything special about the place in its own right, except that as you are on the way, you meet someone with an ailment, in whatever form it may be presented. Then, the Lord himself gives you His notice of authority, "This is the one I have a message for at this time. Let them know I heal them, and tell them to live according their healing." What do you do? Your options are there. Will you obey; take glory for what has been done by the Lord's word; continue on your way as if nothing is happening (because who knows if God is even saying anything to that person); or will you falter in your faith because you do not think God would really tell YOU to do something like THISeven though perhaps you of all people would like to believe miracles like this are still alive and well in God's kingdom?
In both of the aforementioned scenarios you are blessed with an appointment with the Lord, whether to . So that means you need to pay attention to what you are doing, and constantly listen for the voice and direction of the Lord. Whether you are giving the message God has given you, or receiving the notice that God has given someone else, is it not a great thing to both relay and perceive that "Jesus Christ heals you"?
Oh and by the way, Jesus Christ sent me to tell you he HAS healed you of your former condition, called death. Accept it. Acknowledge him as Lord. Believe that God raised him from the dead. Rise, then, and make your bed; walk in the healing with which you have been healed.
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
What if you had an appointment with the Lord?
In this passage, all we are told about Aeneas is that he was bedridden for 8 years, and paralyzed. That is it. As Peter is moving throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria, he comes to Lydda to visit those who follow Jesus the Christ. Does Aeneas even know anything about Peter's coming? It seems that, all of a sudden, Peter walks up to him and lets him know that Jesus Christ heals him, as if delivering a letter that has already been written.
Aeneas was a saint, a believer of God. To be paralyzed, lying on his bed for 8 years, do you not think that he prayed many times that God would take away his problem? Can you imagine what some people might have said: if he has real faith, then God would have healed him long ago. Or, he has no reason to go on asking God for anything, because God has abandoned him. Now, we all have problems. If you are honest with yourself, then you know that there is something in your life that you wish you could make better. It is something that is very evident to you, even though very few other people may notice it. Think of that issue or situation, the one about which you may have stopped praying by now, having given up hope on that area of life in which you no longer expect anything notably positive to be done. Would it not be quite incredible to have your problem handled? Moreover, what if it is handled quite unexpectedly?
Perhaps you have yet to pray today, at least not about that. You have yet to obsess over it today, at least not as much as you did the last time. Suddenly, it is finished. You sit up, make your bed, and realize your Lord
My point now is that, at any time, God may send a message of healing your way. You just hold on; keep praying, believing, hoping, trusting God and waiting on His word. The Lord says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that, if His people, called by His name, would humble themselves and pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, *then* He will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal the land. The Bible tells us that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not get weary, they will walk and not faint. What an honor to receive a good word from the Most High God!
Pay attention to what Peter says next, "Rise and make your bed." There is nothing that has begun to affect you that the word of God, once spoken, and spoken once, will not change. God only has to speak to bring about His purpose. The Scriptures do not read that the Lord had made His presence to dwell in Lydda before Aeneas was healed, or that some fire had to rain down from heaven before a healing could come. God did not even mention that Aeneas had to fast or go to any a certain place to have healing. God Almighty sent a message through his servant, Peter, to tell Aeneas of what had already been decided by the throne of God. Aeneas' duty, then, is to live in the restoration of physical abilities, and therefore to be strengthened spiritually to continue following the Lord. If you have waited faithfully for the Lord, when the Lord shows Himself to be ready for you to move, then MOVE!
This could be true for you right now. You are wondering and praying to the Lord to give you direction. When He finally does, you decided to pray even longer for the same thing. But why would you do that?! The time for seeking the Lord on this matter has ended. The time has come to walk with your God. Peter delivers the message to Aeneas that, since Jesus has healed him, he should live according to that word. He had been bedridden for eight years. Peter did not tell Aeneas that the change would be easy. He did mean for Aeneas to start the change immediately. And what was Aeneas' response? The Bible tells us here in Acts chapter 9 that Aeneas rose *immediately*. He believed God and, like Abraham in the book of Genesis, chapter 15, verse 6, "it was put to his account as righteousness."
Do you believe God? Do you believe that God can send a messenger to you, right where you are? Do you believe that just God's word can set you free from your circumstance? Do you believe God enough to deliver His message to someone else?
Consider this: what if you have been given the privilege of being Jesus Christ's messenger?
You are going about your way, impacting the world for the Lord in your spheres of influence, when you reach a certain place. There may or may not be anything special about the place in its own right, except that as you are on the way, you meet someone with an ailment, in whatever form it may be presented. Then, the Lord himself gives you His notice of authority, "This is the one I have a message for at this time. Let them know I heal them, and tell them to live according their healing." What do you do? Your options are there. Will you obey; take glory for what has been done by the Lord's word; continue on your way as if nothing is happening (because who knows if God is even saying anything to that person); or will you falter in your faith because you do not think God would really tell YOU to do something like THIS
In both of the aforementioned scenarios you are blessed with an appointment with the Lord, whether to . So that means you need to pay attention to what you are doing, and constantly listen for the voice and direction of the Lord. Whether you are giving the message God has given you, or receiving the notice that God has given someone else, is it not a great thing to both relay and perceive that "Jesus Christ heals you"?
Oh and by the way, Jesus Christ sent me to tell you he HAS healed you of your former condition, called death. Accept it. Acknowledge him as Lord. Believe that God raised him from the dead. Rise, then, and make your bed; walk in the healing with which you have been healed.
posted from Bloggeroid
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