"When Jesus went to Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. Jesus touched her hand, and the fever went away. So she got up and prepared a meal for him.
In the evening the people brought him many who were possessed by demons. He forced the evil spirits out of people with a command and healed everyone who was sick. So what the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 53:4) had said came true: “He took away our weaknesses and removed our diseases.”
It is not coincidental that this true story follows on the heels of the story of the Centurion. Here again we see the vital connection between authority and faith. Remember, our faith is not so much in giftings and anointings and abilitites, although Jesus obviously had these; rather, our faith is in the nature and character of Jesus, our healer. People brought the sick to Jesus because they had not only observed His ability, but also because they had observed His compassion and His goodness and His willingness to heal them. People trusted Jesus' character, not just His ability.
In the context of people having faith, Jesus simply spoke the commands, exercising true authority, and demons were gone and people were healed. There was no big battle. There was no carnival side-show atmosphere. There was no hysteria. Why not? Because all of that was unnecessary. All that was necessary was people exercising simple faith in Jesus, and Jesus exercising authority over sin and disease and demons. It seems clear to me that what was true then is still true now.
What we need most for effective Kingdom ministry to occur in our lives is a faith that is rooted firmly in the nature and character of Christ, and to properly minister in His authority.
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