(Read Acts 14:8-10)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to learn more about the amazing life of the Apostle Paul. Yesterday we left off with Paul and Barnabas being forced out of Iconium and the Apostles fled to the region of Lycaonia—to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area. While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. This man had been crippled from birth. Although he was a grown man, he had never been able to walk on his own. Imagine spending your entire life without the ability to take a step. The man was clearly in need of the Supernatural.
The crippled man sat and listened to Paul preach and Paul noticed him. Looking straight at him, Paul realized the man had faith to be healed. Paul had faith in God to attempt the Supernatural, the man had faith in God to be healed, and God had the power to make it happen. So Paul called out to him in a loud voice, saying, “Stand up!” Without hesitation the man jumped to his feet and started walking for the first time in his life. It was a miracle! Praise God! But let’s talk about how the miracle happened.
While we know Paul had a Supernatural encounter with God on the road to Damascus and we know he had a Supernatural visitation from Jesus, this is the first record of a Supernatural act occurring as a result of his ministry. Paul discerned the crippled man had the faith to receive healing and Paul knew he had the faith to attempt the miracle. By faith both men tapped into the Grace of God and the crippled man was healed. I have been on the Paul side of this story many times. I have been standing in front of someone, who clearly needs a Supernatural touch, craving and crying out to God, waiting for me to pray for them. The first few times I was in this position I was scared to death and my fear killed my faith. I allowed thoughts like, “You don’t have any power to heal this person,” “What if you say something and it then does not happen? How are YOU going to look?,” “How can you pray for a miracle when you know you have issues in your own life?,” and so on. The first few times the Lord healed someone through my ministry, it was surely in spite of me, because I was clearly not in-faith. But the more the Lord led me to pray for people and the more I have seen the Supernatural happen in their lives, the more comfortable I am with it, because I now realize that it has very little to do with me. The Supernatural comes by Grace!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. The Supernatural is available TO YOU and THROUGH YOU today. What Paul did was akin to what Jesus did while He was in the earth. And guess what? The same still happens today. Whenever Jesus performed the Supernatural, He gave the credit to the Father. He claimed the Father was leading Him to do it and it was the Father’s power making it happen. Paul did the same thing. When Paul said, “Stand up!” he knew, good-and-well, that he did not have the power to make the crippled man stand. But Paul had faith in the God who did. By faith Paul tapped into God’s Grace and the Supernatural was manifested. I can testify that the same has happened through me on many occasions. And if it can happen through me, then it can happen through anyone, because I am far from perfect. The message to you this morning is twofold. If you need a Supernatural touch, the Supernatural power of God is available TO you. If you are not the person needing the Supernatural touch, but you find yourself in a situation where someone does and God is leading you to pray for them, then DO IT BY FAITH. Not only is the Supernatural available TO YOU, but it is also available to flow THROUGH YOU to others, so that God can get the glory!
2. The Supernatural comes by Grace and it is accessed through Faith. It was by Grace that God healed the crippled man in Lystra. It was certainly a gift from God. But God’s gift of Grace was accessed by Paul’s and the crippled man’s faith. By faith they tapped into the Grace of God and the Supernatural was manifested. It is the same with you today. God provides all He provides by Grace and He actually already provided it, before the foundations of the world. When we discern God’s will, and we know what He wants to do, we then simply access His Grace through the vehicle of faith and His power is manifested.
3. You will never hit a homerun if you never take a swing. Said another way, you will never walk on water if you are too afraid of getting out of the boat. When Paul said, “Stand up!” he was taking a risk, but his faith was in God. When you are led of the Holy Spirit He will often lead you to do things that make no sense at all, because faith does not make sense. The Holy Spirit will get you ‘out there’ so far, at the risk of looking foolish, that you can’t help by rely on God to make it happen. But when you do, and when you truly put your faith and confidence in God, you will get to the point where you tap into the Grace of God and something will happen that is beyond human ability. You might miss it a few times, you might get embarrassed once or twice, but so what? Living by faith is exciting, because you never know when God will lead you to do something you can’t do on your own, in order to see something that baffles humanity and brings glory to Him! If you can see the invisible, you can attempt the impossible, and you can experience the Supernatural!
Closing Confession: Father, I know the Supernatural is available to me today. It is available directly TO ME, when I need a Supernatural touch from You. And it is available to flow THROUGH ME when You want to use me as a conduit of Your glory. So I am available to You, both to receive and to release Your Supernatural power in the earth. I know Your Supernatural power comes by Grace. It is Your gift and it comes from You. I don’t, in and of myself, have any Supernatural power. But I do have access to You. So, by faith I access Your Grace for the Supernatural and I see signs, wonders and miracles performed through me, before my very eyes. I am excited about You, about my future, and about what You want to do in, with and through me. Living by faith is exciting. As You lead me, I am ready to see the invisible, attempt the impossible and experience the Supernatural! I spent years living my life on my agenda and with my own power. Those days are over. My life is now about fulfilling Your Kingdom plans and purposes for me, and since I am on Your agenda, I get to live a life of NO LIMITS! You are a limitless God and I strip myself of every artificial limit I have ever placed on You. There is nothing too hard for You, all things are possible with You, and I am ready to experience the Supernatural as part of my daily life. Use me Father for Your glory! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
