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1 Corinthians 15:53-57 - For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. NASU
We are decaying, or in other words, we are not able to do what we did when we were 18 or 21 years of age and that is a fact. But we have a body that is coming that will allow us to never decay, age or lose our vitality. Second, we are going to become immortal. This means we will never die again. The Greek word for immortal is "athanasia" which means "no death or deathlessness." You may recognize the word "euthanasia" which means "a good death." The word "eu" in Greek means "good or well" and is used as a prefix in many English words. Another word is "eulogy" or good words spoken about a person at a funeral. Paul is able to mock death because he views death as a defeated enemy. You and I can mock death if we will have the faith in Jesus Christ.
We can receive this "victory" by being "in Christ." The Greek word for "victory" is a very popular word and one I am sure you'll recognize. It is the word "Nike." The shoe manufacturer's name means "victory or victorious." When Nike started their company they saw themselves as being "victorious" in business. My question for you is this, "How do you see yourself when you will meet death face to face?" Do you see yourself getting the "Nike" or "Victory"? If you have faith in Jesus Christ you can be as assured as the Apostle Paul that when you meet death "face to face" the "Nike" will be yours.
Have you been "born of God" or been "born again"? John 3:3-7 - Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' NASU I was born again March 2, 1975 when I went down into a watery grave (aka- baptism) and was resurrected to walk in newness of life. Baptism is a transliterated word from the Greek. The translation of this Greek word is "immerse". I hope you will be "victorious" in this life by being able to defeat death when you meet it face to face. You can be "Nike". Think On This: The only thing worse than growing old is to be denied the privilege. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend.
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Matt. 8:5-10 - And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." NASU
A centurion worked for the hated Roman Empire. He was in charge of or had authority over 100 men and this is where his name "centurion" or "100" derives. He was one who had sworn allegiance to the Roman Empire and he would do exactly as he was commanded. He was given the authority to put down any type of uprising by any means necessary. If you have read anything about the Jewish people in Jesus' day they always had a plot in action to overthrow the hated Roman Government. One famous Jewish insurrectionist was Barabbas. Mark 15:7 - The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. NASU He was the one who was released by Pilate and then they crucified Jesus.
But if you really want to talk about him may I suggest you talk about his GREAT faith. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." He didn't have faith, he had great faith.
Second, he understood "his sinfulness". He said to Jesus, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof,…" I am pretty sure some of the most horrific sins this man had committed came rushing into his guilty conscience. He was so moved with guilt he tells the Lord that he was not worthy to have him come to his house.
He is who He said He was. He is the Son of God. He does have all authority and it says this about Him in Matt. 28:18 - "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth…." He doesn't possess some authority. He possesses all authority and not just here on earth but in Heaven as well. Secondly, we must comprehend our own sinfulness. The Israelites who stood there and couldn't understand how Jesus could heal a leper and help a centurion's servant didn't understand their own sins. They were focused on the sins of others. You will never have amazing faith until you understand what Jesus did for you in regard to your sinfulness. You will never have great faith when all you do is look at others and how sinful they are. If we really want to look at a sinner we know all we have to do is look into a mirror. How will we arrive at having great faith? ... by truly understand Jesus' authority and our sinfulness. Think On These: Faith doesn't demand miracles, but it often accomplishes them. Doubt makes mountains. Faith moves mountains. Faith helps us walk fearlessly, run confidently, and live victoriously. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Matt. 8:1-3 - When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2 And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." 3 Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. NASU
It is now time for Jesus not to preach anymore but to put into action what He has preached. You see, I found out a long time ago, it is fairly easy to preach a sermon, but to live what you preach now that is when life becomes challenging.
Below are some of the lessons that Jesus had just finished teaching His followers. They were to be the light of the world and to let their lights shine. Matt. 5:14-16 - "You are the light of the world.... Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." NASU When Jesus heals this leper He will have displayed His good works and glorified His Heavenly Father exactly like He told the followers to do in His sermon on the mount. The leper is asking, seeking and knocking on the Lord's door, and He has already said if you will do those three things, the door will be opened to you. Matt. 7:7-8 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. NASU You will notice Jesus teaches a lesson on how we are to treat people. We are to treat them the same way we want to be treated. Matt. 7:12 - "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."NASU Can you hear the followers murmuring in the background? What murmuring? The murmuring, "It's a leper. Is He going to help a leper?" It was believed by many that you were cursed with leprosy from God because of something evil you had done. When Miriam sinned against her brother Moses God struck her with leprosy. Numbers 12:9-11- So the anger of the LORD burned against them and He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. NASU Now a leper is coming to Jesus to be healed. Jesus taught them to treat people the way you want to be treated. He didn't say unless they are Babylonians, Moabites, or lepers. Jesus is close to the end of His message when He says, in Matt. 7:17-20 - "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. " Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits." NASU When Jesus heals this leper He is letting them know He is a good tree and He will bear good fruit.
Yet, he knew enough to come to Jesus for help. When you pray you need to be like this leper. You need to come to Jesus and inform Him that He can heal you from whatever problem you are carrying in life, if He so desires. You don't want to miss what the leper said to Jesus. "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." That my friends is FAITH. The leper had faith that Jesus could heal him and he wasn't afraid to say it. Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. NASU If you want results in your prayer life come with faith believing that if it is the Lord's will you will be healed. Think On These: Prayer doesn't need proof, it needs practice. If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy. Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which is outside the will of God. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page or Forwarding to a friend. Romans 12:2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. NASB
2 Corinthians 3:18 - But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. NASB
According to the Apostle Paul, you need to know you are going to have to make some changes in your mind which will bring about changes in your lifestyle. Why do we need to go through this transformation? So we can prove what the will of God is. For years I have had people say to me, "I just wish I knew what the will of God was for me." I can tell you this much if you have not been reading His Word and praying to Him, you will never find out what God's Will is for your life. Notice what Paul says, "…the will of God is, that which is GOOD, and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT."
In the Old Testament after Moses had received the 10 commandments from God and descended from Mt. Sinai, he had to put on a veil on that covered his face. This covering was to hide the Glory of God from the Israelites. It is just the opposite in the New Testament. We don't hide from the Glory of God. We are to reflect the Glory of God so that others can see this glory and desire to have the Glory of God in their lives. The issue here is if we are not going through a metamorphosis (aka- transformation) personally, we are hypocrites. We should become more and more like Jesus and Paul tells us why. The reason is, we don't have a veiled face and we are looking directly into the Glory of the Lord. Therefore, who else are we going to look like except, Jesus?
Paul said, "be transformed by the renewing of your mind,…" It is your mind that must be renewed and it is your mind that must have gone through a transformation. It is not enough to know a Christian you have to be one. So seriously ask yourself this question: "How much do I resemble Jesus?" Think On These: We can change the world by changing ourselves. Where we go and what we do advertises what we are. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. |
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