BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." I love that picture of Jesus! He’s the Son of God, the Anointed Messiah, and that day in Jericho He was on His way to do something important. He had multitudes following Him and He had a mission to fulfill. YET HE HEARD A CRY OF FAITH COMING FROM ONE BLIND BEGGAR AND IT STOPPED HIM IN HIS TRACKS. Everyone else had told that beggar to shut up. They didn’t think he was important. But Jesus thought Bartimaeus was so important that He called for him and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” (verse 51, "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). Isn’t that amazing? Instead of telling Bartimaeus what to do, Jesus let Bartimaeus tell Him what to do. And—immediately—He did what Bartimaeus said! That’s also what happened in Luke 7 in the story about the centurion. He came to Jesus in faith and what he said, Jesus did. That man wasn’t even an Israelite! He was a gentile, an officer in the Roman army. Yet, according to Matthew 8: "There came unto [Jesus] a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed (my emphasis). For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" (verses 5-10, 13). Believe It, Say It, Act on It and Receive Talk about simple! In every one of those situations, Jesus was so easily entreated that whatever people said, that’s what He did. Bartimaeus said, “I want to receive my sight,” and Jesus gave it to him immediately. The leper said, “If You will, You can make me clean,” and Jesus immediately said, “I will, be clean.” The centurion said, “Speak the word only and my servant shall be healed,” Jesus spoke, and immediately the servant was healed. That’s how easy it was to receive from Jesus when He was on earth. And that’s how easy it is to receive from that same Jesus today. “But those are isolated instances,” you might say. “Jesus didn’t minister healing that freely to everyone.” Yes, He did! The Gospels testify to it over and over. They say: • “The blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.” (Matthew 21:14) • “They brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick.” (Matthew 8:16) • “They brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.” (Matthew 4:24) • “And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all.” (Matthew 12:15) And that was before Jesus finished the work of Redemption and set us free from sin and the curse! That was before He became our substitute on the Cross and bore all our sicknesses and pains. Even during His earthly life, sickness and disease weren’t any problem for Jesus. He healed people of every nasty thing the devil had put on them. How much easier for Him is it now that He’s been crucified, raised from the dead, and given all power and authority? * * * * * article concludes on p. 30 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Points to Get You There: 1) Jesus heals today just like He always did because He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 2) When Jesus ascended into heaven, as the disciples watched Him, an angel appeared and told them that this same Jesus would return just as they had seen Him go. Acts 1:11 3) During His earthly ministry Jesus proved He can heal any sickness, disease or physical infirmity. Matthew 4:23 4) When sick people came to Jesus, He always healed them right away. Luke 5:12-13 5) Although Jesus isn’t physically present on earth today, His Anointing to heal is always present and you can draw on it by faith anytime. Mark 5:34 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BVOV : 29

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