Jackson Snyder presents www.Bible-News.comAccept No Cheap Imitations:
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Faith Healing Books and Resources at CBD
Faith Healing Books and Resources at CBD
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Mark 5:21-43: Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. East SideYahshua has just returned from casting a legion of demons out of a poor wretch in Gadara on the east bank of Lake Tiberias. This man lived among the tombs and the swine, but when he saw Yahshua coming, he recognized him through the fog, fell down and worshipped, was set free from his torments and given back his right mind. No longer a wretched outcast, the man who had the legion became an evangelist, calling upon the people of his own neighborhood to repent and believe in Yahshua so that they might be saved, set free and healed. Having put his faith in Yahshua only, his life, his life style and his attitude had completely changed. He was made a new man, a saved man, a whole man.
West SideThe crowds on the west side of the lake eagerly await Yahshua's return. Now, as he tries to disembark from the boat on his home turf, the desperate crowd is clamoring about him, asking, begging. An aisle is cleared through this swarm of humanity as a very important person (a VIP) approaches – it’s the the president of the very same church that had earlier disputed Yahshua's authority. But this time, desperation overcomes disagreement. Time has passed. Yahshua's character has been scrutinized; his mighty deeds confirmed; his royal heritage investigated. Now he’s being hailed as a messenger from heaven, a prophet or a resurrected patriarch. Only a few really know him; those are the few, the humble, the saved. The church president falls at Yahshua's feet now, right in front of everybody. He blurts out that his daughter is sick to death, and “will you come lay your hands on her that she might be saved?” Yahshua was his last hope for her salvation. The president gets back on his feet as Yahshua agrees to follow him hastily through that narrow corridor of human flesh and on to his domain. The death spirit is in his house and time is running out! {pause}
Yahshua Preached Repentance and SalvationYahshua went about preaching repentance and salvation in the sacred name. Everyone in this area knew his message. He did heal, but he didn’t specifically preach healing. He did cast out demons, but he didn’t specifically preach that, either. And it’s interesting to note that Jairus, the church president, doesn’t ask Yahshua to heal his only daughter, but to save her. Jairus is a religious man. He’s not ignorant of the brand of salvation Yahshua is proclaiming. He realizes too that his daughter, twelve years old, is accountable for her own soul. He’s convinced she will die (for even young people die), but will she first be saved? What if his girl dies lost? Now that’s his primary concern. Jairus had come to believe that Yahshua held the keys to hell and death. This brought him hope, and hope brought him to faith: saving faith!
Touch MinistriesBefore they get too far, a diseased woman, ritually unclean and abandoned, finds a pathway in Yahshua's wake; and lunging at his back, she just barely touches Yahshua's white linen prayer garment with its blue, knotted tassels and the sacred name YHWH embroidered in gold thread upon the shoulder. “Who touched my clothes!” Yahshua asks, stopping suddenly. “Why, who isn’t touching you,” Peter replies. “Everybody here’s touching you!” But hers was a special touch; it was a faith touch. This woman had already spent everything on those who couldn’t save. She’d bled for twelve solid years; one for each year Jairus’ daughter had been alive. And for twelve years she’d been out of church: they couldn’t let her in according to their by-laws. But when she heard Yahshua's message the last time around, that HE was the way to the Father, and that the Father loved her, Yahshua gave her back her sense of value. She began to worship in her heart, the same heart that was pumping her life’s blood out on the ground. Through her worship, she acquired hope again. And soon her hope turned to faith, the kind of faith that proclaims, “If I only touch his clothing, I’ll be saved.” Such a determination leaves no room for chance or double-mindedness – there was nothing in the world left for her but faith in Yahshua alone. “Who touched me?” he repeats. The woman, scared and trembling, comes forward with her story. She tells them that death was closing in – and that she’d heard Yahshua preach repentance and salvation -- and she wanted to be saved before she bled to death. Yahshua simply tells her, “See, your faith has also made you well. Go in peace.” This woman didn’t think first to be healed – she wanted to be saved. When Yahshua spoke of her faith, he referred to her faith for salvation. Her healing was the assurance of her salvation, the natural result of her saving faith.
Is She Dead or Not?“We’re wasting time, let’s hurry on,” Jairus, the church president, admonishes. James whispers into Yahshua's ear, “Yeah, let’s hurry up. Remember, he’s the president here. Let’s not miss this opportunity.” But too late – some people are shouting as they approach. “Your daughter is already dead. Why bother the Master now?” If she was dead, it was too late for the girl to be saved. Yahshua, often late, is late again. “This pestiferous woman received the salvation meant for my daughter!” Jairus thinks, though, as president of the church, he’d never actually come out and say such a thing. But Yahshua knows what he’s thinking – it’s just out of fear, “Don’t be afraid. Continue on in faith. Nothing is impossible with G-d.” As they hurry on, these words kindle the spark of hope which flames into faith deep in his heart. He believes Yahshua and his words. He’s going to be saved, and he’s exercising the salvation-faith on his daughter’s behalf as he gets closer to home. “Everything’s going to be all right. All right. All right.” HE says to himself. There are two things we can say about Jairus. (1) He was financially set, and (2) he was expecting his daughter to die. Professional funeral wailers had already been hired and were ready to begin their doleful screeching the moment the girl was pronounced dead. When Jairus got wind that Yahshua was nearing, he had faith enough to leave his daughter to fate and go fetch him. But now these wailers are plying their trade; there’s a terrible commotion in the house as the sound of false grief fills the air. When they see Jairus coming with Yahshua, they throw themselves on the ground at Jairus’ feet, convulsing in despair. (They cry, “Oh! Oh! Oh, my god!”) Really, they’re glad the girl’s dead; it means they’ll get paid. “She’s not dead; only sleeping!” Yahshua rebukes them. At this, these pros immediately go from their false tears of grief to the demonic cackling of doubt, cursing his stupidity as he casts them out of the courtyard. {pause} Yahshua then enters the death room, leaving everybody else outside but Peter, James, John, Jairus and Mrs. Jairus, where he takes the hand of the dead girl and brings her back with the simple words “talitha kumi” – “little girl, get up!” And, she immediately rises to the astonishment of all. Yahshua helps her up and orders her a hamburger. Why food? To prove she isn’t a ghost. No, she’s alive, and despite her death, Yahshua saves her.
Comparison and ContrastNotice the contrast between Jairus and this woman. The crowd made way for Jairus as he approached Yahshua face to face. The woman, who remains unnamed, sneaks in the back. Jairus talks to Yahshua; she merely touches him. Jairus was at the top of the social register; she was on the bottom. He was a man of high prestige; she was an outcast. He was perfectly well; she was preparing for death. He was the president of the church; she was no longer even welcome there. What they had in common included the fact that both were seeking salvation and both had faith in the person of Yahshua. If we throw Jairus’ daughter into the mix, we find that there was enough faith in his heart for both him and his daughter to be saved. If we throw the crowd in the mix, then we learn that Yahshua's salvation is for everyone who has faith in him and him alone, regardless of status, stature or age. It also shows us that all need to be saved. The woman had little to lose. But don’t you think this Jairus had to eat humble pie after earlier disputing Yahshua's authority? Yes he did, not even minding the taste of the pie. He’d gotten to the point as a secret believer that he had to come out of the closet; he dared not care who knew he was a believer or “who told who” because his need was so great and so immediate.
Go PublicI’ve heard people say they were too embarrassed to make a public confession; too humiliated to let it get around that they were caught weeping in church; too haughty to allow folks beneath their station to see them in a vulnerable position; too prideful to kneel in contrition at an altar; too worldly to take communion or give a decent offering to G-d; too self-centered to acknowledge just how messed up they are without Yahshua leading their lives. Woe unto them. They are NOT saved. For it’s as Yahshua said, Matthew 10: 32. Everyone who accepts me before others, I will accept before my Father; but whoever denies me before others, I will also deny. Man, your pride is a more serious disease than twelve years of bleeding. It was pride that caused a powerful and beautiful angel to fall and pride that makes you one of the devil’s disciples. If you’re too prideful, self-conscious or stubborn to humble yourself before the crowd and invite Yahshua into your heart’s home, then pray G-d you catch some horrible disease that will force you to be humble for your soul’s sake. Lady, you need Yahshua more than you can ever know. But someday you’ll know. On that day, you won’t have me to blame for not telling you that you needed to be saved before you were forced to be judged. ¿Didn’t Yahshua tell us, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16)? Note three quick things about this saying.
(I wish you could have seen how people reacted to the pouring out of the Spirit of Yahshua last Wednesday evening as we were praying in the Flomaton church at the end of their revival. I don’t know why you couldn’t take time to be there, but we witnessed ordinary people we know dancing under the power, quaking and shaking, falling out on the floor in worship, laying hands on one another, testifying and praising his glory right out loud with “Amens” and “Hallelujahs” and unknown tongues. And this was a Methodist Church. These dear local people aren’t exhibitionists. They were merely expressing their spirit-felt gratitude for having received assurance from on high of their eventual salvation. “Well, I ain’t gonna never do nothin’ like that.” Huh? If you are finally saved, my friend, you’re going to put on much wilder exhibitions than these! But for now, a heart-felt confession of faith will do.)
OmmissionI might add, your omission is the same as denial. Doing nothing is as bad as blaspheming. Enjoying the benefits of Yahshua without participating in his responsibilities is the worst kind of slacking. Even if you claim to know him, examine yourself to see just what kind of a slothful creature you are. Get mad at me and say, “Man, I am saved and my life shows it,” or “Man, I know I’m saved and I prove it by putting Yahshua first,” or “Man, Yahshua saved me and that’s why I’m helping pay your salary every month”; if you can get a little mad at me and confess to some of these things, then I can confess that I’m not talking to you anyway. People who are saved aren’t afraid to confess it and do things to show it. They’re known by their fruits: just as a pear tree is known by its pears or a pecan tree by its pecans.
Are You a Road Apple?Speaking of fruits and nuts, do you know what a thorn apple is? It looks exactly like a ripe green apple, but it’s poisonous. How about a hedge apple? They look just like a breadfruit, but they’ll make you sick. These are nature’s poisonous imitations of edible fruit. Do you know what a road apple is? Yahshua says you’ll know the saved by their fruits. Don’t you think that when we are gathered up before Yahshua, he’s going to be wise enough to pick the thorn apples, hedge apples and road apples out of the peck and pitch ‘em on the trash heap? You bet he will. If you’re a hedge apple or thorn apple, get real – put your faith in him, make your confession, have your baptism and live his life -- and he’ll remake you. Maybe you’re just an old road apple. Then Yahshua is the only one who can convert a road apple like you into a Golden Delicious.
Salvation MessagesYou road apples need conversion! You people need salvation. You know I deal in literal translations of the Scripture. In the text, both the bloody woman and the church president plea for salvation. The woman thinks, “If I can touch his clothes, I may be saved (soqhsomai).” Jairus tells Yahshua, “Lay your hands on her that she may be saved (soqh).” (Sozo or sothē in both cases.) And notice they’re saved from: death and Hades. Realize what they’re saved to: life and forever. You may say, “I don’t wanna live forever.” My friend, you’ll certainly get your wish; you’ll soon die in your sins and spend the next century in a boneyard. But before that happens, the choice of life is still yours to make. Be saved from the curse and saved to the blessing. In regards to faith: Everyone has faith in something or someone. I have faith that my leg will catch me as I fall forward in the process of walking. It’s caught me just about every time and I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t keep catching me. That’s why I walk without even thinking about it. That’s what faith is all about. But faith in the dexterity of my leg or faith in any other part of my body or mind or faith in my husband or wife or mother or father or bank account or family or automobile (god forbid!) is not the kind of faith that gets you life or assurance. These Bible people show us that no person or thing may save but Yahshua. He is the way, the truth and the life. And he was their last resort. But in these days, our days, Yahshua can be our first resort. Give it up your pretense of religion. Believe the Gospel and be saved.
A Thorn Apple's Prayer of SalvationFather Yahweh in Heaven, I am like a thorn tree bearing poisonous fruit. I'd rather be an apple tree planted in Paradise. I need to put my faith in your Son, who died so that I can live. I need Yahshua to save me and change my life. I want to spend eternity in Your kingdom working for good, not a century in a boneyard. {repeat after me}
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| Jackson Snyder jackson AT jacksonsnyder.com (801) 605-1715 vm (062703) | ||||
