JUST SAY THE WORD
By
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (January 29, 2018)
“Whether neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.” (St. Luke 7:7, King James Version [Christ speaketh of John])
Greetings in the Holy Name of Jesus,
My sisters and brothers, there is not a moment that passed in time that man does not desire to dwell and work in the power of the Word of God. Just say the Word. There is power in the Word of God. Supernatural power of such a greatness that men wanted to pay the disciples for the ability to summon the power, randomly speaking, at their beck and call, whenever they needed but Jesus did not respond to the man who desired his power, spoken as a Word, he simply told his disciples, “Ye of so little faith.” Jesus healed with the Word of God: “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise” [7:14] resurrected (raised) the dead; “Rise up, and stand forth in the midst…Stretch forth thy hand” [6: 8, 10] healed the man’s withered hand; “Man thy sins are forgiven thee, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Rise up and walk? …I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house” healed the man with palsy [5:20,22,23,24], “I will: be thou clean” cast out leprosy in the man [5:13]; “Hold thy peace, and come out of him” cast out the spirit of an unclean devil [4:35,33], “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men” blessed Simon Peter with a net overflowing with fish and future success in catching men in order to lead them to the faith of Jesus [5:4,10].
Most importantly, the people witnessed the power of the Word [St. Luke 4:32, “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power:]. Jesus sent the people to John to tell him what he did, “”…Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” [7:22]. Jesus finished the works God gave him to do and also gave the men out of the world the words that God gave to him, returning the men that he received from God back to God and back to the Name of God. Jesus prayed:
“…I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do…I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me: and they have kept thy word…For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me…And now I am no more in the world, and I come to thee.
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“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” [St. John 17:4,6,8,11].
More importantly, we reflect on Luke, the beloved physician [Col.4:14], who wrote to present Jesus to the world of believers as Savior of all, compassionate healer and teacher. Luke traveled with Apostle Paul, accompanying him to the missions-at-large. Howbeit, Luke’s science of healing did not conflict his heart and mind as Apostle Paul healed as Jesus did and as he was also called to heal as Jesus did---not questioning the power of the Almighty God to heal those God created and gave to Jesus? It is not easy to heal those who are vulnerable for many rebuke, reject, resist that which they are not able to readily understand---they are limited in the comprehension of it all. Interestingly enough, Mark, the disciple known for writing the first of the Gospels presented Jesus as the Christ, the mighty worker, not as a teacher. “And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But with a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” (St. Mark 4:33, KJV].
In The Gospel According To Matthew, the parables opened up the secrets that dated back to the foundation of the world, “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” [13:33-34, KJV]. According to John, known for explaining the mystery of the Person of Christ by the use of the term “logos” (word), for John witnessed that Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” [16:12]. Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, in which he discussed both doctrinal and ethical problems that plagued their believers in their new life in Christ and their demonstration of such a new life in Christ in their fellowship, one with and to another, wherein he addressed spiritual gifts, Christian love and the meaning of the resurrection, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” [3:1-2]. In Hebrews the gospel says, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” [5:12]. In I Peter (2:2,KJV), Peter the apostle of Christ said in a letter that reflects a time of suffering and fiery trial---persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities that ruled the day [4:12], Peter said, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and evil speaking, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” [Peter
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showed the way with a life of purity,, of godly living, steadfastness and faithfulness for Jesus did not pray for the world, he prayed only for those God gave to him (John 16:9).
In summary, God did not hide what he did from Abraham when he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha [Genesis 18:20, KJV], for sin is very grievous, understandably simply using parables which presents the sinner in situations that lead to sin worked best, for God gave Abraham a great nation so that all the nations of the earth should be blessed in Abraham? {Genesis 18:17-18). The burden of sin laid even on Jesus does not let the sinner run away from the wages of sin is death just a way to escape death, if they will, then the will of God is done, as one in the one body of Christ Jesus prevails to save us. Lord save me, Christ save me. For we dwell in the righteousness of Jesus for the glory of God Almighty.
In closing, what say ye, of the woman---a mother who killed her child by leaving her---a five-year-old girl in a hot car while she was inside the beauty salon? What say ye, of the mother who killed her child when she let her best friend babysit and her best friend in turn, let her young daughter babysit, who hit the child until she died? What say ye, of the woman, a mother, who killed her child when she let her male friend carry a gun inside her home, who in turn, the same male friend, pushed a gun down in the cushion of the sofa (couch), then went upstairs with her to visit while she left the child on the same sofa? What say ye of the woman, a mother in divorce proceedings, who killed her child rather than allow her husband, a police officer share in custodial rights of visitation of the child? What say ye, of the woman, a mother who lost her child in the tornado when a tree fell down on the house in the same location that the child ran to and search efforts still could not find any traces of the child, one year later since the tornado?
Are you Christ to raise the dead, heal the minds of broken-heartedness and vain glory, take away the anger and bitterness of separation, render the sick and depraved mind safe in Christ Jesus, restore a sound mind so that decision making, the errors of, do not adversely effect judgment when the scales of justice lean towards condemnation? What say ye of the parents who starved 12 out of their 13 children in practices of hate, chained and bound them? What will ye, in the will of God, to effect change for the betterment of the earth from seemingly a doomed generation of sinners? Pray, for Jesus did not pray for the world, just those out of the world that God gave to him.
Lord save me. Christ save me. Lord save us---the one body, hypocrites, transgressors, workers of iniquity, sinners and blasphemers. How great is your God? Is he great enough to forgive such sins as those mentioned above? In the Name of Jesus, Jehovah Jireh. Amen.
