If Jesus were in front of you right of you, what would you do? In Mark 5:27, a woman in need of healing expressed faith in the power of Christ and received from Him what she was seeking. She reached out to touch the hem of His garment. In Mark 5:34, Jesus says it was her faith that healed her and not anything magical in his clothes.
What are your expectations, your dreams, your aspirations that you have for God-sized movements to take place in your lifetime, in your city, in your nation? If you have low expectations of Christ, don't expect anything great to come from Him. The great missionary William Carey said, "Attempt Great Things for God, Expect Great Things From God!" Will you be like the lady who did not let Him pass her by or will you let Him walk on by?
E.M. Bounds in his book, The Power of Prayer, talks about how our prayers made in faith move the hand of God. Will you take the time to tell Jesus what you would like Him to do for you? A local pastor in our area J.D. Greer has done just that. He said he has asked God to plant a 1000 churches out of his church, The Summit, in his lifetime, to send out 5000 missionaries from his church in his lifetime, to be able to minister in the Raleigh-Durham area for 40 years, to baptize 50,000 people in his city either in his church or the churches that his church planted in the city, to start 100 community blessing organizations that come out of his church, and to be a part of a great awakening that will effect the Raleigh-Durham area for 100 years to come.
When Jesus sent out the apostles, He told them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." Every day, it is as if Jesus is passing by our house. In the early church days, opening your door to an apostle was like opening the door to Christ. What Christ began to do in his earthly body (read the book of Luke), he continued to do using the early church (read the book of Acts focusing on the word "began" in Acts 1:1). In the early church, apostles and prophets were heavily relied upon. Today, Christ has given the church pastors, teachers, and evangelists. How often though are these ministers overlooked or uninvited when people truly need the Lord. I ask again, will you let Him pass you by?
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