Enemies

Are you an enemy of God? If you are a church-attending, tithing individual, you may say, "I can't be an enemy of God!" Jesus had some enemies, as Mark called them, and what made them His enemies was the way they wanted to control Him and His message. This is so dangerous, and we truly have to be pre-programmed for this to happen. Here is some of the preprogramming.

1. Jesus' power and His healings were overstated, and they can be explained away.

2. That kind of power is not available today for "modern-day" Christians.

3. Jesus' power is relative to my belief in it or not.

Let me help you with this. Jesus' power is just what the Word of God says it is, and His power is still evident and working today. You are not a freak or Bible thumper if you believe in the whole Bible to be true and working today! To try to explain away the power of Jesus and the message of the Word of God makes you an enemy of God. Not a good place to be.

Mark 3: 1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. ² And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. ³ And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” ⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Jesus' actions here show us so much about His desire for each of us to really believe and not just give lip service, when it comes to His power and the working of it. I have found this out since I found out I have cancer. I have gotten one report after another after Godly people prayed, as they should, and every time I say anything about Jesus answering our prayers, I get the "side look" or the "I sure hope so" comments, and it is very frustrating to hear this from the very people who pray for my healing. The devil comes into people's minds, even my mind, and convinces us to disbelieve by making us think "So what you gonno do big boy when your psa rises again, like so many other's have done?

For me, my faith and my mind are so far beyond that, and it is not an issue for me. REAllY! I believe, and it is not how good or strong my belief is that matters, as much as it is God's Word and the realiability of it. I am proceeding knowing that my days are numbered with or without cancer, and when Paul writes in Ephesians 5: ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Don't get me wrong, I want to live, and I have great hope that my cancer doesn't go into remission, but it is gone at my next appointment. But I truly do want to follow God's will for my life.

The word immediately comes to mind when I think of Jesus healing the deformed hand of the man while He was in church. I also think of the word immediately in Mark 3, where Jesus told the disciples to drop their nets and follow Him, and they dropped those nets immediately and followed Him! Mark 1: ¹⁶ Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

But what about these enemies? An enemy of Jesus would do like the religious leaders and accuse Him of preaching a false gospel, but Jesus just kept on preaching, and the disciples kept on following. That's how it works when you are a friend of God and not an enemy. Whatever happens in the days ahead, I believe I will still be making plans with a vision to follow Jesus "immediately" responding to His direction, and God will provide for me, and Andra as we walk this faith walk!!! What a journey, what a pilgrimage, and there is more victories to claim. Glory to God in the highest!!!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren