And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 15:34-38.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Be intensely grateful and you will live an intensely joyful life.
The night is far spent now and dawn is approaching, it is time to wake up to righteousness and live in newness and life. Be serious about living a life of integrity and power. Watch your words and watch your actions. Cease to worry and begin to praise. Seek to do good and not evil. Pursue peace with all. Be careful how you walk, not as foolish people but as wise.
The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
How do you want to be remembered for your time on earth? Think about that in your heart right now and give Me your answer. How many of you said, “As one who loved God intensely and loved the neighbor unconditionally.” Do not be surprised at that for Jesus told you the two greatest commandments are to love Me with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. “Jesus answered, ‘The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31.
Uncompromising faith is living days of Heaven on earth for it will keep you in perfect peace. Know that I am the Most High, there is no other. I alone am worthy of your attention and all flows from that. Problems and trials the devil raises in your life are not worthy of your primary attention, even if you caused them by not realizing the extent of what you did, so that you live under constant fear of a dreaded result.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, nowhere else, and you will never sin. Be Kingdom minded and you won’t be blindsided. Look back to the basics of faith. Believe in your heart and speak with your mouth. Both can be worked on by you. Faith comes by hearing My Word and that will store it on the tablet of your heart, and then the power is released when from the belief in your heart you speak it with your mouth.
And before you speak, look at your motives behind what you are releasing. Will it edify, exhort, and/or encourage the hearer? If not, do not say it. Does it seek self-justification? If it does, don’t say it. Does it promote deception, even by omission? If it does, do not say it. Does it lead away from Me or make light of holy things? If it does, do not say it. Stop lying, justifying, and hiding, that is what Adam and Eve did and it had horrible consequences.
Let Me do a work in you. “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21.
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6. “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13.
Let Me help you. Do not try to improve yourself FOR Me, do it with Me. I am your helper. Jesus did not come to judge you but to save you and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He did not leave you orphans, He sent you another helper to be at your side to lead you, guide you, teach you, edify, exhort and encourage you, and best of all to fill you with resurrection power so that you are walking as the royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart as My own special treasure.
Here are basic instructions for a beautiful Kingdom life on earth: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24.
You see, it is you and I working together. Not just one and not just the other. If you are willing and obey you shall have the good of the land. Your part to be willing to obey and My part is to instruct you with My Word and Spirit, strengthen you with resurrection power, and give you the good. And your part is to be a cheerful and grateful doer of the Word, with the help of My Grace and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday, we left off with the healing of the possessed daughter of the Syrophoenician woman. The next miracles in the gospel according to Matthew come immediately upon Jesus leaving the territory of Tyre and Sidon and going back into Galilee. Even for one woman the trip was worth it into Tyre and Sidon, because then her testimony drew others to Jesus as Lord and Messiah in a nation that was not in Covenant as yet with Me. Jesus changed all that and opened Covenant in Him to all with faith in Him. And that woman had great faith.
So let us continue on the journey with Jesus to find out more about how you bring the Kingdom of Heaven near you even on earth.
Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee. Matthew 15:29. Mark gives you a few more details, “Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.” Mark 7:31. And having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. Matthew 15:29. But He could not escape notice. Large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, maimed, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them. So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled and maimed restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. Matthew 30-31. Mark adds some specific details about the healings that took place. “They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.” Mark 7:32-35. The people were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” Mark 7:37.
Please consider how Jesus worked this miracle, and be mindful He only did what I showed Him so that He was sure of the result. He put his fingers in the deaf man’s ears and He spit on His finger and touched the man’s mute tongue, looked to Me and commanded the man’s ears to open. And his ears were opened and he spoke plainly. He commanded the ears to be opened. If you are having trouble hearing or another is, command the ears to open.
Jesus placed his fingers in his ears and put his spit on the man’s tongue to impart a creative miracle, the man’s ears and tongue needed to be reformed and I originally fashioned you in Christ Jesus so by His hands he was fashioned anew. You know that, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17. And another witness to the same, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” John 1:1-4. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. And now, in Him I make you a new creation! 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10. So it is by His Body and Blood you are made whole, given eternal life, and fashioned into a new creation, born again from the imperishable, incorruptible seed of My Word into your flesh.
And the people who had come to Him as He sat down on the mountain there in Galilee near Decapolis (where the once possessed man of Gadara had preached the good news of Jesus resulting in crowds coming to Jesus with faith) did not leave quickly, the people stayed to hear His teachings and to be healed. The healed ones did not want to leave but remained to hear more. It got to be three days of teachings and healings with more people showing up all the time.
So Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” Matthew 15:32. Mark affirms this but with more details, “Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” Mark 8:1-3.
The miracles Jesus worked were done in compassion, just as those you do in His Name should be as well. They had a purpose of giving abundant life filled with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not come to make you suffer but to celebrate, to make unfruitful lives fruitful. For how can the wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them? And He is with you always to the end of the age. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and give constant thanks. Celebrate so great a salvation. You are a new creation in Christ.
The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” Matthew 15:33. They seem to have forgotten about the miracle of the five loaves and two fish with well over 5,000 people present and twelve basketfuls of leftovers. But this is generally true of most people. Even if they have been healed multiple times, the next time they have pain or illness they get into fear and wonder if they will be healed again. But you already are healed, that is, by His stripes you were healed, 1 Peter 2:24, and I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heaven in Christ. Ephesians 1:3. It is like the Israelites who saw My mighty works in delivering them out of Egypt, miracles, signs and wonders as had never been seen before or again, and yet they thought I could not bring them into and give them the land I had promised them for hundreds of years. Even every time they needed water they were crying and grumbling that I brought them out there to die of thirst, even after I had caused water to gush out of a rock when Moses struck it.
So Jesus asked them again the same question He had asked them before when He miraculously multiplied bread and fish to feed a crowd, “How many loaves do you have?” Matthew 15:34. And that is what I ask you when you need a miracle, “What do you have in hand?” Moses had a staff. The widow had a bit of oil in a jug. And you may think you have nothing but you always have something you can offer and sow into the project to get your miracle harvest. And that will be enough.
And the disciples looked around and responded with what they had at hand, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” And that was all I needed.
Jesus directed the people to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. Matthew 15:34-38. Another miracle of replication, cloning, and multiplication. And after everyone was satisfied and rested by partaking of a meal together as the household of faith, Jesus dismissed the crowds and got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan. Matthew 15:39. Molecules were made for miracles.
If you want to learn how to run a healing crusade meeting, that is the way to do so. Teach the Word, heal, and share a meal to celebrate together. And it lasted three days and they all stayed together on the mountain with Jesus. And you can spend your life that way right in your home now that you are filled with the Holy Spirit and are surrounded by so great a crowd (cloud) of heavenly witnesses and heavenly host. You can access the Kingdom within you, kind of like accessing the cloud on your computers. What a lovely way to spend your day as you go about your business here on earth. And what makes you think you cannot stay in the cloud of My glory even now? Do you not recall:
“The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” Exodus 13:21-22.
And I did this for the Israelites I redeemed from the slavery of Egypt all the way to the promised land for over forty years even though they grumbled, complained, rebelled, and kept their eyes below on earthly things, but despite all that, I did not remove My guidance or care for they were in Covenant with Me. And the same is true for you today. I will never leave you or forsake you, you are Mine in Christ Jesus your Lord. I redeemed you from the slavery of sin and death in Christ Jesus and I will lead you safely to your promised land of rest and eternal life in Me. And I will provide for you all along the way. Remember the Manna, the bread from Heaven? Now you have the real heavenly bread.
I love you. What do you have in hand? Lift it up and thank Me for it and see what I can do with you and with it. Are you ready for miracles?