The word of God records to us in the book of Acts 10:38, how God anointed His Son Jesus Christ with power and He went around doing good and healing all those that were oppressed by the Devil.
Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with great power; and He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
God's anointing was upon His Son and wherever He went and saw the people been oppressed the power of God that was upon Him was available to heal the sick and as soon as Jesus was present anywhere, the sick had freedom from the sickness or from any kind of diseases.
Jesus was full of power because God the father was with Him. and God's desire for mankind is to set the captives free from any form of oppression. God does not want any of His children to be in pain so that they can serve Him wholeheartedly and without fear. Freedom from sickness is very important to God. God loves us so much that He wants us free.
God's love wants us well and living free from any affliction and this is why Jesus cried out on the cross before He gave up His breath "That it is finished" - John 19: 28 - 30.
The story of Bartimaeus
Mark 10: 46 - 52
Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road [as was his custom]. When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and say, “Jesus, Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” Many sternly rebuked him, telling him to keep still and be quiet; but he kept on shouting out all the more, “Son of David (Messiah), have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, telling him, “Take courage, get up! He is calling for you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni (my Master), let me regain my sight.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith [and confident trust in My power] has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Jesus on the road.
It was the custom of this blind man who became a beggar because of his condition to sit in the same spot everyday beside the road to beg, the place where there was a lot of people going to and fro, a busy place for him, knowing fully well that by the end of the day he would take something home with him.
But a day came that Jesus the anointed one was going through the same road, and let's remember that wherever Jesus was, there was always a large crowd around Him, people wanting a touch from Him, his disciples were also present and the Pharisees , the Sadducees, the Scribes, the Chief Priests were present to question everything that Jesus did.
Bartimaeus on this day was still in the same position begging and suddenly heard lots of noises around him, he had to ask the people what was happening in that area and remember he could not see, and someone replied him that Jesus the miracle worker was in the area and healing the oppressed. Bartimaeus was excited and must have been hearing about Jesus, to him it was the day of salvation and he started raising up his voice, and thank God he had a voice and shouted at the top most of his voice to Jesus.
The first thing that came out of his mouth was "Jesus , Son of David the Messiah have mercy on me!" and he continued to shout, saying the same thing.
There is a scripture in Hebrews 4: 16
Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
On this day Jesus who sits on His throne was now present here on earth. Bartimaeus knew within him that this was his day, and refused to keep quiet, even with all the opposition around him. He kept on saying the same thing "Jesus, Son of David the Messiah have mercy on me!"
The Bible records that on this day Jesus stood still and asked for him to be brought to Him. And when Bartimaeus heard that Jesus had called for him, Bartimaeus jumped up in excitement and ran to Jesus, throwing aside his garment that he had been using for years and of course people recognised him with the garment and the question I would ask is that why did he decide to throw aside his garment? he was so used to it and he used it to cover himself up in every season.
The Bible says this in 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
Bartimaeus must have had the power of God surge through him when Jesus called for him and had to leave the garment behind, because something new was about to happen to him. What a day that must have been for Bartimaeus son of Timaeus. the Saviour had come into his life and he was about to receive his miracle, that he had been praying for, for years. The day of his healing had come, and he was not going to allow his enemies to stop him.
Jesus healed Bartimaeus after asking him what he wanted. Jesus in asking him what he desired wanted Bartimaeus to say what he wanted out of his own mouth, and after he said it Jesus said to him his faith had healed him.
There is a scripture that is coming to me through the Holy Spirit that says this about confession
Romans 10: 9 - 10
Because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises].
Everywhere Jesus went He would say this:
Your faith as healed you.
Your faith as saved you.
Your faith as made you well.
We are told to have faith in God, for with Him all things are possible - Mark 10:27. And Jesus also said to us in Mark 9:23 "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Faith is the key that brings us salvation, healing and our breakthrough in life. The Bible records in Hebrews 11:6
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.
Therefore, without faith in God we cannot walk with Him nor please Him. I want to please God, I choose to have faith in Him and believe that He would do what He says in my life.
James 2: 14 - 26
Faith and Works
What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.] If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].
But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].” You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]! But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless? Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [of obedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a sacrifice to God]? You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and as a result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressed his faith through obedience]. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith]. In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.
And in Romans 4: 13 25
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking, has found? [Has he obtained a favored standing?] For if Abraham was justified [that is, acquitted from the guilt of his sins] by works [those things he did that were good], he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed in (trusted, relied on) God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness (right living, right standing with God).” Now to a laborer, his wages are not credited as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation [something owed to him]. But to the one who does not work [that is, the one who does not try to earn his salvation by doing good], but believes and completely trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is [b]credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God). And in this same way David speaks of the blessing on the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed and happy and favored are those whose lawless acts have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered up and completely buried.
“Blessed and happy and favored is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account nor charge against him.”
Is this blessing only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” How then was it credited [to him]? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before? Not after, but while [he was] uncircumcised. He received the sign of circumcision, a seal or confirmation of the righteousness which he had by faith while [he was still] uncircumcised—this was so that he would be the [spiritual] father of all who believe without being circumcised—so that righteousness would be credited to them, and [that he would be] the [spiritual] father of those circumcised who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had before he was circumcised.
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through [observing the requirements of] the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. If those who are [followers] of the Law are [the true] heirs [of Abraham], then faith [leading to salvation] is of no effect and void, and the promise [of God] is nullified. For the Law results in [God’s] wrath [against sin], but where there is no law, there is no violation [of it either].
Therefore, [inheriting] the promise depends entirely on faith [that is, confident trust in the unseen God], in order that it may be given as an act of grace [His unmerited favor and mercy], so that the promise will be [legally] guaranteed to all the descendants [of Abraham]—not only for those [Jewish believers] who keep the Law, but also for those [Gentile believers] who share the faith of Abraham, who is the [spiritual] father of us all— (as it is written [in Scripture], “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the sight of Him in whom he believed, that is, God [c]who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. In hope against hope Abraham believed that he would become a father of many nations, as he had been promised [by God]: “So [numberless] shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he considered his own body, now as good as dead [for producing children] since he was about a hundred years old, and [he considered] the deadness of Sarah’s womb. But he did not doubt or waver in belief concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and empowered by faith, giving glory to God, being fully convinced that God had the power to do what He had promised. Therefore his faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God). Now not for his sake alone was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also—to whom righteousness will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead— who was betrayed and crucified because of our sins, and was raised [from the dead] because of our justification [our acquittal—absolving us of all sin before God].
The promises of God comes through faith in Him who called us His children. We are to believe in God with everything that is going on in our lives for God is not a man that would lie - Numbers 23:19. Therefore, we are called to hold on to His promises like Abraham did in his time. Everyone that came to Jesus will always get their miracle like Bartimaeus did.
And the Lord says through his servant in HEBREWS 10: 35 - 39
Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward. For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.
For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man’s relationship to God and trusting Him];
And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.
But our way is not that of those who shrink back to destruction, but [we are] of those who believe [relying on God through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by this confident faith preserve the soul.
God wants us to stay in faith to bring about His promises.Been faithful will produce results that we are believing God for in our lives. God does not want us to let go of faith in times when we do not see His promises coming through but as we continue in Him, we will eventually see our desires been met.
Jesus said to us in John 6:29 this is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
in this chapter of Hebrews God says He is not happy if we let go of faith. Bartimaeus did not let go of calling on Jesus and we can see that he got his healing and followed Jesus on the road with his eyes open. believing that we will receive our promises will cause our faith to be stronger in Jesus and when He sees that we will get all our desires.
Remain blessed.
