Faith Demonstrated - Faith Rewarded

"And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."  But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, "take courage; your faith has made you well."  At once the woman was made well" (Matthew 9:20 - 22).

Hey Gang:  As a little squeezer, our Sunday School used to have contest memorizing Bible verses and the winner would get a prize.  Being a lazy type I always looked for the short verses like "Jesus saves", "Jesus Wept" and "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God". But I readily admit I did not have a clue what ‘faith’ was.  In my tenure in the church the word ‘faith’ was used quite frequently but I do not recall anyone sitting me down and saying “now this is what faith is all about” and it is a very essential ingredient in your walk with the Lord.

And then one day, as I was doing a word study on the word faith, a brilliant thought crossed my dome of intellect, "Faith is an action word".   As I read and reread all of the accounts where Jesus did miraculous healings, in each miracle faith rewarded was preceded with faith demonstrated.    In other words, I learned that faith was an action word.  In all of the faith healings performed by Jesus there was a prerequisite - they had to believe with all their heart that Jesus could do what they were asking Him to do.

Do you remember the story of the paralytic? Due to the huge crowd that surrounded Jesus, the four men who carried him could not get close to Jesus.  Time to pack it in and wait for another day, right?  Wrong! They were determined that they would get their friend into the hands of the healer, so they went up on the roof, cut a hole in the thatching and let down the paralytic down into Jesus’ presence.    Seeing their faith, Jesus responded: "Your sins are forgiven, take up your pallet and go home".  (Mark 2:3-5).

How about the blind man who was sitting by the road when he heard commotion and learned that Jesus was passing by.  His response,” Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me".  He was told to keep quiet, to which he cried all the more!  Jesus said, bring him to me. Jesus then asked the man what he wanted Him to do.  The man responded, “I want to be able to see.” Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight, your faith has made you well" (Lu. 18:35-43).

And then there was the woman who had suffered with a hemorrhage for twelve years.  She  believed if she could touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she could be healed.  Weakened from the loss of blood for so many years she had something that many of us lack - determination.  She would not be stopped!  And Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, your faith has made you well." (Matt. 9:20-22).

Sooooo, My friends, these are but three of the awesome miracles that Jesus performed; each one was based on the faith demonstrated - faith rewarded formula.    I challenge you to do a word study on the word faith and see the many times that Jesus touched -the lepers, the blind, the paralytics and even the dead and said, "By your faith or the faith of someone who loves you dearly, you are healed".  It is a faith building exercise for truly "Faith does come by hearing" and reading of the many wonderful examples He gives, "and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17)

Blessings,

Gramps