Matthew 9:14-26

Week 5 Memory Verse

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.   

And as you go, preach, saying,

‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,

raise the dead, cast out demons.

Freely you have received, freely give.

Matthew 10:6-8 

 

 

Read Matthew 9:14-26!

 

 

As a little girl, I had many friends who were head over heels in love with members of New Kids on the Block or Garth Brooks. I could just never understand what drove all of my friends to be completely batty about whichever celebrity was their new crush or obsession. As I got older, I would see stories in the media about how fans and paparazzi followed these people around constantly, never giving them a moment of peace. What was the big obsession with celebrities?

When I was 25 years old, my family decided to spend Christmas at Walt Disney World. At one point in our time there, my brother and I had headed into the Haunted Mansion ride while the rest of my family was in various places shopping or riding different attractions. As you walk into this particular ride, they have about fifty guests stand together in what is called the Stretching Room. You are in a tight space with those people for a few minutes before heading out to get on the actual ride itself. As my brother and I were standing in the room, I happened to glance behind me and saw Donny Osmond standing only a few people from me.

Now understand this, I only know who Donny Osmond is because my mother was a fan of his when she was younger and had talked to me about him before. I had seen pictures of him in the media for various things, but couldn’t tell you one song he has ever sung or even what he was famous for, I just knew that he was a celebrity. Immediately I told my brother who it was and that our mother would be so incredibly excited to see him. All we could talk about through the entire ride was telling my mother who we had seen. As we got off the ride, my mother was waiting right at the exit for the two of us. We immediately rushed over and told her about being on the ride with Donny Osmond himself. What my mother did next will never escape my memory! She began to run…I mean RUN…to catch up with him in the crowd. She left us, her family, behind and went after this celebrity like it was life or death. All she needed to do was reach out to him in the crowd, and she could have her time meeting him face to face.

In today’s passage, we see a woman with that same drive and determination for Jesus. Jesus was one of the earliest celebrities of our time. He had crowds of people following him everywhere he went. I can only imagine what it was like for him to move from place to place all while being surrounded by those who wanted to know more about his ministry or to be healed by the Christ himself. Jesus and his disciples were heading out to go see about the sick daughter of a synagogue leader. You can only expect that a crowd of people were following Jesus as well. In Mark 5, it tells us that the crowd pressed all around him. This woman, who had been bleeding for twelve years, knew that if she could just reach out her hand and touch his cloak, she would be healed. She knew how important it was to TOUCH Jesus. She could probably tell that he was on a mission and didn’t want to bother him for long or maybe she didn’t have enough energy, after bleeding for so many years, to go very far with the crowd. What we do know is, her faith was strong enough that just simply touching Jesus was enough for her.

I have to ask the same for us today. Do we reach out to Jesus? Do we push through the “crowds” of things, like work, family life, and busyness, which block us from God? Are we willing to RUN as fast and as determined as we can to meet Jesus face to face? Acts 17:27 says that, “God did this (created the Earth and all of us in it) so that we would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.” God is calling us to reach out to Him and find Him. It is the entire reason we were created! Not to have nice things or live a good life, but to REACH out to God and find Him there waiting on us. Our faith has to be that simple, and our focus and determination must be on God and God alone.

 

 

 

Today’s Reflection:

Think about what you are “reaching” for. It is easy to see that answer when you reflect on what you are spending your time and determination on. Make a to-do list daily of your tasks with God at the top to remind you to focus on God first before all else. It can be so easy to get busy in this world and forget that we are here just to seek God and nothing else. Seeing it down on paper helps us not to skip over the most important part of our day. Look through the Bible and write down other places in Scripture that shows people “reaching” out to God. Use those stories as a reminder when your focus gets swayed.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  KELLY SMITH has been married to her husband, James, for 5 years.  They attend Pine Forest Baptist Church in Pine Forest, Texas, where she is the Children's Ministry Director.  Kelly is an elementary school library media specialist for Silsbee ISD where she has worked for eleven years. She is an avid Disney fan who sees God work in my life through the use of Disney characters and Disney experiences on a daily basis. Never underestimate what God can use when working with His children. :)

 

 

 

Matthew 9:1-13

Week 4 Memory Verse
 

Enter by the narrow gate;

for wide is the gate and broad is the way

that leads to destruction,

and there are many who go in by it. 

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way

which leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

 

 

READ MATTHEW 9:1-13!

 

“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ~Matthew 9:13

 

Jesus came into this world with one purpose. His face was set as flint. He wasn’t looking to the right or the left. He came willingly. He came for no other reason than to die for the love of his creation. His purpose gave hope for all mankind. My point here is this: Jesus wasn’t focused on the sacrifice itself, but rather the mercy and love behind His sacrifice. He believed there was a world that needed his mercy. There is a world out there that needs our mercy too.

In the scripture above, Jesus challenges the Pharisees (the religious) to learn the difference between mercy and sacrifice. Church ministry can be a challenging thing sometimes. We need to be careful not to become a “Pharisee”. We should pray daily against pride and self-righteousness. Everyone is in a continual state of growth from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18) We need to always remember the purpose of the church:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

Luke 4:18

It’s not always a simple task. It’s hard work. Sometimes it’s a sacrifice. If you have ever ministered to someone in bondage or a situation that seems impossible, then you know what I am talking about. Ask yourself this: “Have I seen someone’s life change from the love I have invested in them?” I bet your answer is “yes”.

My Bible tells me that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) So I am just naïve enough to believe (the key is belief) that if the church truly tapped into the power that Jesus has given us, we would see the unimaginable happen! I believe that if we fiercely sought the Lord, mercy and love for this world would overtake us and a great revival would consume this nation! I believe that there is so much power in the name of Jesus that the dead could be raised, the lame could walk, the blind could see, the mute could sing praises, the deaf ears could be opened up to hear the audible voice of the Lord! I believe there is nothing….NOTHING that God wants to hold back from us!!

 

 

TIME OF REFLECTION:

What are some areas of your life that unbelief or doubt has started to take residence? Find a scripture about the power/authority Jesus has given you.

In today’s passage Jesus healed a paralytic man. Jesus performed many miracles in the Bible. Look up some of the miracles Jesus performed and remember Jesus IS the same yesterday, today and forever!!!

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: NAOMI CHANCE is the wife of 16 years to Dale, and homeschooling mom to three children.  She serves as Ladies' Ministries Director and in the Media Department at Freedom Fellowship in Silsbee, Texas, where her whole family is very active!



Matthew 8:18-34

Week 4 Memory Verse
 

Enter by the narrow gate;

for wide is the gate and broad is the way

that leads to destruction,

and there are many who go in by it. 

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way

which leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KATI KILPATRICK is the 13 year old daughter of Billy Joe and Tera Kilpatrick.  She loves playing the piano, singing, writing songs, babysitting, church, dancing, and her sisters!  When Kati is grown, she wants to get married, have LOTS of babies, and be a midwife!  Kati is a homeschooler in eighth grade and is a member of  F.F.H.S.C..  She is a very active member at Freedom Fellowship in Silsbee, Texas where she plays the keyboard for the youth "One Way" praise team and serves in the nursery.

 

 ***READ Matthew 8:18-34!***

 

The dictionary defines disciple as a personal follower of Jesus through his life, especially the twelve apostles. Being a disciple was a hard thing to be. The disciples gave up ALL they had to go and follow Jesus.

 

Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matthew 8:19-20

 

Jesus was saying that he had nothing but what God provided for him, and if they truly wanted to be a disciple and follow him, they would have to give up earthly things that might become more important than him.  They needed to know the cost of being a disciple, and the price is EVERYTHING!

 

This also applies to us. Even though we are not exactly like the 12 disciples, if you’re a Christian, a true follower of Jesus, you are His disciple. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to go and sell all you stuff in a yard sale. What it does mean is that if we put more time into playing the x-box, talking on the phone, watching television, or working to get "things" than we do praying and reading our Bible, we are putting earthly things before Jesus. Our time, money, and things we own should all be used for the work of Jesus.  The price of being a disciple is letting Jesus be in control of all of things. 

 

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”  Matthew 8:23-27

 

Even though the Disciples had seen Jesus do many miracles, they still had doubt. In verse 26, Jesus asked, "Why do you still doubt me?"  With ease Jesus got up and calmed the storm. Sometimes we will have doubt. We NEED to read The Word to remind us that Jesus will calm our storms and have faith, believe, that He is who He says He is! 

 

 

TIME OF REFLECTION:

Have you ever been talking with other people about an event that happened, and it seems that everyone has seen things slightly different?  You were all at the same place, seeing the same thing, but different things stuck out in your mind, and not in the person's next to you. This is one of the reasons I know the writers of the Gospels were REAL people.  They each saw things from different viewpoints.  In verses 28-34, two demon-possessed men were healed.  This miracle is also found in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-34.  Read every account!  In your journal, compare Matthew, Mark, and Luke's accounts of what happened during this miracle.   

 

Matthew 8:1-17

Week 4 Memory Verse
 

Enter by the narrow gate;

for wide is the gate and broad is the way

that leads to destruction,

and there are many who go in by it. 

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way

which leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

 

 

Read Matthew 8:1-17!

 

The things Jesus did while He was on the earth was the will of God in action.  Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”  Jesus only did the will of God.  Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene to unveil the Father to us.  Everything Jesus did was the will of
God.  What did He do?  Among other things, He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.  (Acts 10:38).

 

Not one single time did someone come to Jesus for healing and Jesus say to them, “It is not your Father’s will to heal you”.  Jesus did not once say to any of the ones who were in need of healing and restoration of their health, “Well, I will heal you someday” or “I would heal you, but you still need to learn a lesson and until you do,  the healing will have to wait.”  NO!  He healed them immediately!

He was fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Isaiah, and showing the people it is God’s will to restore life to those who have need of it whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally,  or spiritually!

One of the things I have noticed throughout my time in being a Christian author and speaker is people are not always sure it is God’s will to heal them.  The Bible clearly tells us what God’s will is concerning healing.  As you will notice in the above passages, Jesus did not turn one person away, but He healed ALL that came to Him.  You can search the New Testament, and  there is not one instance that Jesus denied healing and the restoration of the body to anyone.  From this can we can surmise, it is God’s will to heal ALL!

 

Each instance of healing we see in Matthew 8 carries a common factor;  each person had faith to be healed.  The centurion in particular had such incredible faith, he knew when Jesus spoke the word the power of God to heal his servant would  go forth and he would be made whole.   The word tells us Jesus actually ‘marveled’ at the faith of the centurion!  What impressed Jesus?  The centurion’s faith!  It never tells us Jesus considered a person’s past, their present, or if they were ‘deserving’ of a miracle.  He looked at their faith and acted accordingly!

 

Today, if you need healing from anything  physically, mentally, or emotionally know God’s will is to heal you and it is not His will for you to be sick in any way.  Remember Jesus is the same today, yesterday, and forever.  If it was His will to heal ALL while He was on the earth, that has not changed.  Don’t let the devil condemn you and tell you, you don’t deserve to be well.  Because of the love of God and His grace you can walk healed, whole, and your body and mind functioning to perfection.

 

TIME OF REFLECTION:

Confess this  with me:  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Jesus is the Healer today.  I believe that in my heart.  Because I believe that in my heart, I accept Him as my Healer.   I acknowledge Him as my Healer.

 

Reference:  ‘Health Food’  Kenneth Hagin, Sr.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JULIANNA WORSHAM is the wife of 31 years to Daryl. She is the author of "A Joyful Life Made Simple" on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,  as well as bookstores across the United States and in Europe and Australia.  They go to Oak Grove Harvest Assembly of God in Fred, Texas where Juliana serves as greeter, mentor, hospital chaplain, and intercessor.  Daryl serves as the co-leader of the men's ministries organization, substitute sunday school teacher, and greeter. Julianna taught school for 20 years and was 2001-2002 National Teacher of the Year.  She is an inspirational speaker and a contributing writer to online Christian magazines and blogs.  She have been blogging at simplyjuliana.com for over 3 years.  Julianna's blog is in the top 50 in the nation for The Fellowship of Christian Bloggers.




Matthew 7:21-29

Week 4 Memory Verse
 

Enter by the narrow gate;

for wide is the gate and broad is the way

that leads to destruction,

and there are many who go in by it. 

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way

which leads to life,

and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:13-14

 

READ MATTHEW 7:21-29!

 

Jesus is winding up the Sermon on the Mount with a sobering warning.  Not all who call themselves a Christian will be saved.  A person may be a teacher, preacher, or a host of "many wonders" (vs.22) and not have a repentant heart or a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

"The Day of Judgment will reveal strange things.  The hopes of many, who were thought great Christians while they lived, will be utterly confounded.  The rottenness of their religion will be exposed and put to shame before the whole world.  It will then be proved, that to be saved means something more than making a "profession".  We must make a practice of our Christianity as well as a profession.  Let us often think of that great day.  Let us often 'judge ourselves, that we be not judged' and condemned by the Lord.  Whatever else we are, let us aim at being real, true, and sincere." -J.C. Ryle

 

The second warning Jesus gives is to those who "hear" and do nothing.  He says they are like a "foolish man who built his house on the sand." (vs. 26)    JUST HEARING IS NOT ENOUGH.  We must break off from sin, take up our cross, and really lay hold of Jesus Christ.  If we're going to be a " wise man who builds his house upon a ROCK", then we must be "doers as well as hearers." (James 1:22)

 

Jesus is the rock on which I want to build my whole life.  He is strong.  He is able.  He is unmoving, unyielding, and unchanging through anything that might come my way.  I love the song below, The Rock Won't Move by Vertical Church Band.  I've been listening to it everyday, and it goes so well with today's Bible passage.  Hope you enjoy listening to it !

 

When the ground beneath my feet gives way
And I hear the sound of crashing waves
All my world is washing out to sea
I'm hidden safe in the
God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of the truth
That You are holding tighter still to me

The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock won't move and His word is strong
The Rock won't move and His love can't be undone
The Rock of our Salvation

My hope is in the promise of Your blood
My support within the raging flood
Even in the tempest, I can sing
I'm hidden safe in the God who never moves
Holding fast to the promise of You truth
That You are holding tighter still to me

Woah, woah
Woah, the Rock of our salvation

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest in His unchanging grace
The Rock won't move, the Rock won't move

TIME OF REFLECTION:

Using your Bible concordance look up some verses that refer to God the Father or Jesus as The Rock.  Write the verse down in your journal.  Here are some verses that I found!   

 

-Psalms 78:35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.

-2 Samuel 22:32 “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?

-Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

-Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.