Matthew, Psalm 103

Mike Davies

Is there a need for Jesus in 2008?

I often wonder what it was about Jesus that caused the first disciples to give up everything they valued to follow Him.

He certainly gathered crowds wherever He went. Looking through the Gospels we soon pick up the fact that He was a man of compassion. He had a desire to meet the needs of the people. In Matthew (chapter 4) we find that His fame soon spread as a miracle worker and thousands upon thousands were healed of various types of sickness and disease. These signs and wonders continue through the Gospel accounts.

There is as much need for Jesus in 2008 as there has ever been. With the healing meetings I speak at I am astounded by how many people are desperate for one touch of God. The day we accept Christ into our lives we are walking in the supernatural. Let us live in it.

When Jesus started His earthly ministry He told the disciples that they would become "fishers of men" and from that time a healing and miraculous river flowed and has never stopped.

I live on the outskirts of Dartmoor where the high ground is the source of many rivers. You will find the source of the River Plym; 450metres above sea level at an upland marshy area known as Plym Head. From there the river builds until it eventual flows into the sea at Plymouth. To stand at Plym Head having stood on Plymouth Hoe and watched the anchoring ships you can imagine the wonders of creation. Now compare this to the flow that started with Jesus which has increased through the years. Jesus said we shall do greater things than He. Why? Because He is our source and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father triumphant.

Jesus had been with the devil in the wilderness. He then embarked upon a mission to which He would not be shaken. He called His disciples and we truly see a healing and miraculous river beginning to build. At the start of Matthew (chapter 5), Jesus laid out the principles of the Kingdom but at the end of the previous chapter all had been healed. One leper (Matthew chapter 8) decided not to go up to the mountain top due to his illness and as he would probably be stoned. Did Jesus miss him? No, he healed him on the way down. The message is that Jesus will not miss the one. We know He healed in the morning (on the mountain top); on the way to the house of Simon Peter he met with the Centurion and brought healing to his house. In the evening at Peter's house He healed Peter's mother-in-law.

In Matthew 9 (v 35), Jesus went to all the cities and villages and healed every sickness. There were so many sick people that at the start of Matt 10 we seeing Jesus giving the disciples power to bring healing and restoration. This power has been passed onto every believer.

In Matthew (chapter 12) we find Jesus in the synagogue. Remember the healing flow is building. The Pharisees want to see if He will heal on the Sabbath. He does.

Jesus heals in the morning, in the evening, and seven days a week. He heals the crowds but also the one that was missed. This is a compassionate God that we love and follow.

His earthly cousin, John the Baptist was beheaded (Matt 14) and Jesus departs from the people. But He is still filled with so much compassion that He still heals. Whatever the circumstances you cannot escape the compassion of Jesus Christ.

Following through the Gospels people started to catch on and sick and diseased people were brought to Him wherever He went. Whether it is healing or a miracle Jesus was in full flow. If you highlight every healing in the Gospel and then through the Book of Acts you may take a different view on the words of James. "Is anyone among you sick?" I honestly believe he didn't expect there to be too many.

If we follow through the Feasts of Israel we are literally living in a time known as Pentecost. What is observed in the Old Testaments feasts, they speak of the application in the New Testament and to you and me. After the feast of Pentecost, comes that Feast of Trumpets. Has Christ come again for a second time? No, so we must still be in the time of Pentecost. This is a time of the miraculous and a time of the mighty outpouring of the Spirit of the living God.

People today are desperate for a touch of healing and the miraculous. As I speak in many different churches and many conferences around the world I have seen that in 2008 most altar calls have over 80% response for a miraculous touch of God. People are desperate not for a touch of traditional church buildings or the same songs, but for a touch of reality, which can only come through an encounter with Jesus.

In Acts 2 the followers of Jesus were told that they would receive power and when that power came upon them they were to be witnesses unto Him (Jesus).

If you are reading this now you may be anywhere in the world. If you truly need a touch of Jesus Christ, by the power the Holy Spirit then can I ask you to lift your hands and let the river flow. Bartemaeus knew the secret - he called to Jesus and that is all you have to do.

Psalm 103: "Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases ..."