This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share be sharing with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
This miracle is found in Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, and Luke 6:6-11. I will primarily use Matthew’s account.
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 followed 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 temple, there was a man with a withered/crippled hand. Once again, the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus of doing wrong. It’s almost like they knew Jesus was going to heal the man. 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 performed another miracle. But the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Don’t ever allow jealousy to be your driving force.
— The Pharisees fought Jesus because they were jealous of the crowds He was drawing. It’s a sad commentary, but people who claimed to be “close” to God were acting no different from the world. The world should be able to see a difference in you!
— When you know who you are and are comfortable with your divine assignment, you can celebrate the diversities of giftings and callings without jealousy.
2. We can get more done together.
— I wonder how different the Gospels would be if the Pharisees had chosen to join forces with Jesus instead of fighting against Him. The need in the world is big enough, and our God is big enough, for ALL of us to do what God has called us to do. There is no need to fight each other.
— While it is true that one can chase 1,000, the Bible tells us that two can put 10,000 to flight! (Deut 32:30).
— The wisest man in the Bible said, “Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done. If one person falls, the other person can reach out to help. But those who are alone when they fall have no one to help them.” (Ecc 4:9,10).
3. Rules cannot make you right.
— The Pharisees were focused on rules. Jesus was focused on His relationship with the Father. Rules can’t make you right. Rules can only show you where you are wrong. Don’t live rule-based. Live relationship-based.
— The purpose of the Law was not to make you right but rather to show you how wrong you are. Paul said, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” (Rom 3:20).
— Focus on your relationship with the Father through His Son, empowered by His Spirit. When you develop your relationship with the Father, you will walk in love, you won’t look down on people, and you will build each other up instead of tearing each other down.
4. Don’t allow what you are going through 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 God, 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!
5. 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.
— I know it’s been a while since our churches have been packed like they were pre-COVID, but there is something special that happens in the house of God. This past Sunday, at our church, the power of God was moving so mightily during worship that lives were being changed in the presence of the Lord.
— Can you worship at home? Of course, you can. And you should. But there is something special about corporate worship. If you have been allowing your issue to keep you from going back to the house of God, resolve TODAY to go back.
6. 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 into 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 with a spirit of expectation!
— Whatever you are believing God for, live with an expectation of manifestation. Live with the excitement of knowing that it can happen at any time. Get your hopes us and keep them up!
7. You must be willing to expose your issue to God.
Think about this for a moment. When Jesus said, “Hold out your hand,” to the man with the withered hand, what if he 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 might have missed out on his blessing.
— 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.
— God will not force you to be blessed. He will not force His will on you. He wants your relationship with Him to be an act of your free will. So God wants you to bring your issue to His feet willingly.
— You will never address what you are not willing to confront. The man could have put forth His good hand as if nothing was wrong with him. And that is precisely what many people do with God. They live like they don’t have any issues, while God has the power to address them. As a result, their problems go unresolved because they continue to be ignored.
— If you fail to expose our issue to God, whatever it might be, you may cause yourself to miss out on God’s best.
— While you like to present your “good hand” to people, you must be willing to present your “withered hand” to God!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
The closer I get to You, the less I think of myself and the more gracious I am toward others.
I am so comfortable with who I am that I can celebrate what You are doing in the lives of others, and I never look down on anyone. Living this way, I can partner with others to get more done during my short time on this planet.
When faced with challenges, I will expose every issue to You. I don’t hold anything back. I don’t have anything 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 quickly present my withered hand to You, knowing that You can make me whole!
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
