You are called to be a thousand times more – Part 2
Rev. Theodore Effiong
Matthew’s Gospel chapters five through eight present to us a typical day in the life of Christ.
He began very early in the morning by preaching the greatest sermon ever preached: The Sermon on the Mount. This sermon stretches through chapters 5, 6 and 7.
In chapter 8:1-4, immediately after His morning ministration, a leper pleaded with Him for healing and the Lord complied. With just one word, one divine touch from the Lord, his leprosy was completely healed.
In verses 5:13, as Jesus stepped into Capernaum, a centurion accosted Him and beseeched Him concerning the condition of his paralysed servant.
Jesus spoke a word right there on the road and the servant was instantly healed.
In verses 14 and 15, He got to Peter’s house, where his mother-in-law lay sick of fever. With just one touch of His hands, the fever ‘fled.’
In verse 16, in the evening of that same day, He embarked on a full deliverance ministry and many people possessed and sick were brought to Him, and He cast out the spirits of sickness from them with His Word and healed all the sick.
Immediately after that, He, in verse 18, gave an order for them to cross over to the other side by boat.
Then the wind and the storm rose up against Him and He rose from sleep to subdue the elements by His Word.
At night, He got to Gennassaret. Here, two wild men possessed with devils ran towards Him from the tombs.
Jesus cast out the legions into some swine, which stampeded down the hill and drowned in the water. The two men became totally whole and ALL OF THESE HAPPENED IN JUST ONE DAY.
Demons, devils, sicknesses, wind and waves were all subdued by Him in one day with only words.
What He achieved in one day is more than what most of us achieve in our entire life as children of God. Chapter 9 of Matthew captures another day in the life of the Master.
In verses 1-6, four friends of a paralytic man broke the roof of a house, lowered him down and Jesus raised him up by the power of His Word.
In verses 18-26, Jarius the ruler of the synagogue approached Jesus on behalf of his only daughter that had just died.
Jesus went to his house and while on His way, a woman with an issue of blood pressed through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment and got an instantaneous miracle. At Jarius’ house, He raised his daughter from the dead.
What a Ministry! As He departed from Jarius’ house, (v27-31), two blind men followed Him, calling on Him to heal them, and He laid hands on both of them and healed them.
In verse 32, as they went out, a dumb man came in, brought by certain people. Jesus cast out the devil and the man spoke.
Truly, Jesus Christ the Son of Man and our Pacesetter in the Gospel Ministry, was just too much and this is precisely what we are supposed to be like.
There should be no difference. (See 1Jn. 4:17, Rom. 8:28-29, 1Jn. 2:6, 1Pet. 2:21, Heb. 6:20, Mk. 16:17-18).
Do you know that Jesus never sent anybody to just go to preach and teach? He sent them to preach and teach and raise the dead, heal the sick and cast out devils. (Mk. 6:7, 12, 13; Lk 10:19).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works Than these shall he do”. Jn 14: 12.
“…Himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” 1 Jn 2:6
“…As he is, so are we in this world”. 1 Jn. 4:17.
In reality, you are called to be a thousand times more than what you are now.
The potential for this is inherent in you, but for you to achieve this goal, there is something that you must do.
Before Jesus achieved what He did while on earth, He devoted Himself to serious prayers. Before Jesus delivered His most powerful “Sermon on the Mount,” He, as our spiritual Role Model, also devoted Himself to serious all night prayer. (See Lk. 6:12-13).
Eventually, that all night prayer gave birth to preaching and miracles that was out of this world.
In other words, Jesus was practically result-oriented and spiritually focused in His Ministry. You must note that success is not an accident.
More so, people on top of a mountain did not just get there. Work it out! “A little one shall become a thousand and a small one shall become a strong nation”. Isa. 60:22.
May you get one thousand times more out of your own life.
Merry Christmas!
Rev. Theodore Effiong
Assemblies of God Church, Calabar
Or
Prayer To All Nations (PTAN),
Prayer City, Calabar. CRS
Email: theoeffiong@yahoo.com
Phone – +234 9030012007, +234 7031921770
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