When we don't experience divine healing, we are often told that we didn't have faith to receive the healing but the fact of the matter is that "faith" alone does not bring about healing unless it gets plugged into the source of God's power or into the Anointing on a servant of God who has become a channel of God's power. The Centurion believed that Jesus was a man in authority and that his servant would be healed if Jesus just spoke a word but his faith had to connect with the power that was flowing through Jesus. Had not the Centurion met with Jesus, his faith alone would not have brought healing to his servant. Would we say then that the Centurion had no faith, if his servant had not been healed because he didn't get the chance to meet with Jesus? Whether he got to meet Jesus or not, he still had faith and Jesus himself testified to that fact, saying, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." - (Matthew 8:10). Had not the Cannanite woman met with Jesus, her great faith alone would not have brought healing to her daughter (Matthew 15:28). Had not the woman with the issue of blood came in contact with the power that was flowing through Jesus, her faith alone would not brought healing to her body. Infact it was her faith that drew the power out of Jesus. For Jesus said, "Somebody touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."- (Luke 8:46) If we are to receive healing, then it is imperative that our faith comes directly in contact with God's power or indirectly in contact through a servant of God who has become a channel of God's power. This contact with the Anointing on a servant of God is the manner in which most of the miracles have happened. We read in the Bible about those who by faith tapped into the Anointing that was upon a "man of God". The widow at Zarephath had enough faith to tap into the Anointing that was upon the prophet Elijah and as a result 'the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.' - (1 Kings 17:16)
Where are these Anointed servants of God today? Why are they such a rarity (a person or thing that is not common or usual) ? We only come across those who presume to be powerful but cannot deliver the gospel promises!! Who then are those who can demonstrate the Spirit's power? They are those who have waited upon the Lord until the Spirit of the Lord came upon them with power. It is written about Jesus that 'as he was PRAYING, the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove' (Luke 3:22) and he 'returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit in the desert where ... he was tempted' (4:1-2), before he 'returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit'. - (4:14) And when he started his ministry, he made this bold proclamation: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has Anointed me ..." - ( Luke 4: 18) because, 'God had Anointed him with the HOLY SPIRIT and POWER and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him' - ( Acts 10:38). So also it is written about the Apostles that 'they all joined together constantly in PRAYER' (Acts 1:24, 2:3 ) and 'when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place ... and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit'. - ( 2:1-3) Jesus had foretold this when he said to them, "You will receive power when when the Holy Spirit comes on you" - (Acts 1:8) and so they did receive! 'Many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the Apostles' - (Acts 2: 43) 'With great power the Apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.' - (4:33) The Apostle Paul also said that his 'preaching was not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power'. - (1 Corinthians 2:4)
There is no other way to connect with the power of God but to wait in prayer for the Holy Spirit to come UPON US. We believers presume that the power of God is flowing through us just because we have the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling IN US but this is a misunderstanding because these two experiences are not one and the same! If there was a time interval of 40 days between the time Jesus was Anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, then we too can expect an interval, probably even longer! The Anointing with the Holy Spirit is for us to live as a Christian and to bear the fruit of the Spirit but the Anointing with power is for us to become witnesses of Christ and to demonstrate the power of the resurrection. We will receive power if we heed to this instruction : "Wait in the city ( or wherever you are) until we have been clothed with power from on high" - (Luke 24:49). We need not be on the lookout for those who have been Anointed in this generation when we ourselves can be those who by faith plug into the power of God and become "live wires" that can conduct the power to others around us! The biggest dearth ( scarcity or lack of something) of the modern Church is this lack of power! The modern Church has affluence ( the state of having a great deal of money; wealth) but no power to affect the world whereas the early Church had no affluence but had great power to affect the world ! Why no power? Because of prayerlessness! "Prayer is not power" but that which connects faith with grace or to power. Let's plug in the power cord of prayer, to power our faith, for the need of the hour is for power! Amen.
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