Then Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it became well again, the same as the other hand.
(Mat 12:13 ERV)
This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus”. Matthew 12 opens with Jesus and His disciples traveling through grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they picked heads of grain and ate. A group of Pharisees was following Jesus and His team. As soon as they saw the disciples eating in the fields, the Pharisees accused them of working on the Sabbath. Jesus took the opportunity to teach the men, who were acting like “religious rule police” a thing or two about the Sabbath. Jesus closed with this statement, “The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath day.” I am sure they did not like that at all.
Jesus and His team left the fields and went to their synagogue. In the synagogue there was a man with a withered/crippled hand. Once again, the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. So they asked him, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath day?” Jesus answered, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a ditch on the Sabbath day, you will take the sheep and help it out of the ditch? Surely a man is more important than a sheep. So, it is right to do good on the Sabbath day.” Then Jesus, without any fear of the Pharisees, directed His attention to the man with the withered hand. I love what happened next. Jesus said, “Hold out your hand.” The man attempted to stretch forth his withered hand, and sure enough, as he did, it became whole. His withered hand became the same as his other hand. And just like that, Jesus had performed another miracle. But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
So what does this mean to you today? Today I am going to focus on the man with the withered hand. On Monday I will come back to this story to discuss the Pharisees. So, let’s get into it.
1. Don’t allow your issue to rob you of your worship. The man with the withered hand had a clear issue, but he was still in the house of God. He was worshipping despite his issue. If you are going to wait until everything is perfect before you worship God, you will be waiting a long time. You must learn to worship your way THROUGH the storms of life!
2. Make your way to the house of God. The man with the withered hand was in the house of God when He received his breakthrough. There is no telling how many times he went to the house of God with this issue, but one day, while he was minding his own business, he received his breakthrough and it happened in the house of God, in the presence of God. If you have been allowing your issue to keep you from going back to the house of God, resolve TODAY to go back.
3. The power of God can be released at any time. The man with the withered hand was in the house of God minding His own business, when Jesus approached him and released supernatural power. The power of God can be released in your life at any moment. Always be ready to receive whatever God wants to do in, with or through your life. It can happen at any time, which is why you should live your life with a spirit of expectation!
4. You must be willing to expose your issue to God. Think about this for a moment. When Jesus said, “Hold out your hand”, what if the man was so self-conscious about his withered hand that he kept it hidden? Jesus did not say which hand. What if he had presented his good hand to God? If he had, he may have missed out on his blessing.
a) It’s always easy to attempt to present your “good side” to God, but remember, He knows everything. There is nothing hidden from God. So, if you want God involved with your “not-so-good” side, then you must be willing to expose it to Him.
b) God is not going to force you to be blessed. He wants you to willingly bring your issue to His feet.
c) If you fail to expose our issue to God, whatever it might be, you may cause yourself to miss out on God’s best.
d) While you like to present your “good hand” to people, you must be willing to present your “withered hand” to God!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. This year I will experience supernatural manifestation like never before, because I am willing to expose every issue to You. I don’t hold anything back. I don’t have anything that is off-limits from You. I give You my whole heart. I expose You to my entire life. I want You involved in every area and I know that my breakthrough can happen at ANY TIME! I live my life with an expectation of Your best. I am quick to present my withered hand to You, knowing that You can make me whole! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
