It Is Time
Hebrews 5:11 “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. I have a lot more to say …but it may be hard for you to follow since you’ve become dull in your understanding.” (ESV & The Voice)
Yesterday, we delved into things that cause deafness. The first is Hardness of Heart. The second is Pride. And the third cause of deafness that we will explore is the Lack of Spiritual Growth. Read the rest of this entry
Heart Matters
Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
There are things that cause sound to be put off, and as we journey in restoration, it is important for us to know them and avoid such villages. For sound to be off in hearing, it is called deafness. Read the rest of this entry
Just Declare
Mark 7:34-35 “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.” (NIV).
The third thing that jumped out at us from Mark 7:31-37 (please read) is the fact that Jesus spoke life. The spoken word has the power to bring about restoration. The words you speak over a situation have the power to bring about restoration. In certain situations that require spiritual engagement, it is not the prayer of supplication that is needed. What you need is to declare over the situation. Jesus looked up, He acknowledged His connection with heaven, and He sighed in the Spirit. He was burdened by the situation, and he spoke to the situation. Jesus spoke the end result. In discipling and coaching people in spiritual things, I have found this very necessary. People sometimes don’t understand how it works.
When you speak to situations, you speak the end result. You speak what you want to see happen. Jesus looked at the situation. He looked at the man that He formed in his mother’s womb. Jesus knew how the vocal cords, the eardrums, and the neural network of the human being works. But He spoke the end result. Jesus said, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”) …”. In other words, the mouth and the ears that were shut, be opened! Jesus could have said, “Let the neurons connect. Let the vocal cord be strengthened. And let it connect to this other nerve, so that this nerve can connect to this…”. All those details are not necessary. Be opened!
You are trusting God for the fruit of the womb; it is not necessary sometimes (except you are led to do it) in prayer to say, “Let the fallopian tube, or let the eggs, or let the cell…”. No! Declare God’s Word over yourself, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be fruitful and multiply.” That Word knows what to do. The Word knows what to adjust and what to recreate. You speak the end result like your Father. Romans 4:17 “As it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (ESV). In Genesis 1, God said, “Let there be light, and there was light”. There are several ways to create light. However, the Word knows the optimal one and that Word will create it. Jesus spoke life into the situation, and He expects us to Speak Life. However, there are things that cause sound to be put off. I pray for everyone whose sound has been put off, in the Name of Jesus, your sound will be restored. Your hearing will be restored, and your speaking will be restored.
Prayer: Father, in the Name of Jesus, let every muteness and every deafness in my life be taken out completely. My ears are open. My tongue is loosed, and I speak clearly. Amen!
Unashamed
Mark 7:32 “There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.” (NIV, emphasis added).
The second thing that stands out to us from Mark 7:31-37 (please read) is how shameless the people who brought this man to Jesus were in prayer. Read the rest of this entry
Undisputed
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.” (ERV, emphasis added)
As we see in the inserted image, there is a pen in a yard surrounded by a fence, but it doesn’t have a physical gate. By evening, shepherds (say five or ten) bring their different flocks into the same pen. Guess what? The shepherds will lie down at the entrance to the pen and become a human gate. That is why Jesus says, “I am the door”, “I am the gate”. It means that any fox, any enemy that wants to get to the sheep must first go through the shepherd. We have a Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep, for us. Anyone who wants to attack us must first kill Jesus. Is that even possible again?
But that’s not all; by morning, all the sheep would have mixed up. However, each shepherd will walk in a different direction, and the sheep will follow their own shepherd. There is no confusion. John 10:4 “He walks ahead of them; and they follow him, for they recognize his voice.” (LB, emphasis added). The shepherd walks ahead with a sound, and the sheep follow his voice. This is so, so powerful. So, maybe overnight, the sheep have made friends and gotten separated from their flock. But when it is time to follow the shepherd, it is goodbye. Every sheep follows its own shepherd. It is an anomaly to have sheep hearing and following different voices or having different shepherds. That is why people are spiritually confused and in disarray.
Jesus’ sheep hear and know His voice. Guess what? There is no conflict, confusion, or rivalry among the shepherds. All the shepherds bring the sheep together in a pen. Everybody lies down, eats supper together, prays (if they do night prayer), and sleeps. But in the morning, every shepherd goes in a different direction for pasture, and their own sheep follow them. The Bible says the voice (instruction) of another they will not hear (follow). Shepherds go first, they model, they lead by example. And that is the difference between a cowboy and a shepherd.
A cowboy is on his horse, driving the cattle from behind, whipping the slow ones. So, you see all the cattle running ahead, and the cowboy is behind. The shepherd, on the other hand, is in front, leading the sheep, not even worried that there can be a “bastard” sheep that wants to follow another shepherd. The shepherd leads, and the sheep follow.
Prayer: Father, You alone are my Shepherd, and You alone will I follow. The voice and instruction of another, I will not follow, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!
The Key
Mark 7:37 “They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.”
Sound is being restored to you in the Name of Jesus. Sound that is coming to you and sound that is going from you is being restored in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
Ephphatha!
Mark 7:35 “At once the man’s ears opened and he could hear perfectly, and his tongue was untied and he began to speak normally.” (TPT)
Over the next few days in our journey to restoration, we will be focusing on restoring sound. God’s Word to us this season is restoration, and so shall it be in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
Reinstated
John 9:8-9 “His neighbours and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
I am sure that after yesterday’s devotional, the question on your mind is, How do I move from Independence to Freedom? One word, the link (the bridge) between Independence and Freedom is Responsibility. Read the rest of this entry
The Bridge
Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (NIV).
The first significance of restored sight is Renewed Perception. The second significance of restored sight is that you gain Independence and Freedom. Read the rest of this entry
Renewed
Mark 8:25-26 “Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”
Just like the man’s sight was restored, your sight will be restored in the Name of Jesus. Beginning today, we will delve into three significances of restored sight. Read the rest of this entry
