Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1)

Jesus did not tolerate sickness. Verse 41 says Jesus was indignant. Other translation says, Jesus was filled with compassion. The Holy Spirit is working in us, do we have the compassion of Jesus to reach out and heal someone.

Please read Mark 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28)

We are all called to do a special work for Jesus. We were given the responsibility to make disciples all of all nations, one person at a time. In order to accomplish that work successfully we need to be conscious of the fact that Jesus is always with us. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age," Jesus is telling us. Do you know who is with you?

Please read Matthew 25 - 28. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21)

It is not difficult to have faith. But it is difficult to exercise faith because we don't want to look foolish. Jesus talked to the fig tree, to the sea, he even told us that we can talk to mountain. He did not think that was foolish.

I remember way back one specific testimony from a lady of the church that made most of us young people of the church at that time laugh. She was coming to her house and it was cold and her door would not open. After many tries of opening the door unsuccessfully, in desperation she commanded the door of her house to open in the name of Jesus. Porte, wap louvri ban mwen nan nom Jesus. And behold the door opened. We laughed at the testimony, but we missed out a great truth: "everything is possible with God."

Please read Matthew 21 - 24. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you! 

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁹ As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

³¹ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. ³³ “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” ³⁴ Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. (Matthew 20)

Do you love Matthew 7:7? I do. ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Do you ask and keep on asking? Do you seek and keep on knocking? Do you knock and keep on knocking? Do you listen to the crowd or you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? "But they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Please read Matthew 17 - 20. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13)

This part of the story is very sad, and is being repeated over and over even now. The people of Jesus' hometown failed to recognize Jesus for who he was and consequently they missed out a lot of the blessings that Jesus would have given them. People are still missing out because they failed to recognize Jesus as the Son of God who brings to humanity forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God, and eternal salvation. 

Please read Matthew 13 - 16. And Listen.

May the Lord rivhly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9)

Jesus invites us to ask the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers into his harvest field. This work is laid out for us to do. We may think that the workers were supposed to just proclaim the good news of the kingdom. But, if we want to follow the example of Jesus who went out proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness, we also need to heal the sick among us specially in our church.

Please read Matthew 9 - 12. And listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases." (Matthew 8)

Jesus  touched Peter's mother-in-law hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. That was an instantaneous healing. Wonderful! But, there is also a gradual healing that people experience just by being in the presence of Jesus in church services. Where Jesus is, there is deliverance, there is healing. Going to church is not a waste of your time, rather it is very beneficial for your whole being: spirit, soul and body. Make up your mind to experience healing in your church services and you will experience it. Every time you go to church, you get better. 

Please read Matthew 5 - 8. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. (Matthew 4)

We need to proclaim the good news of the kingdom, and heal every disease and sickness among the people.  We should never minimize the importance of healing in our church. If healing the people was important for Jesus, healing the people in our church needs to be important for us. Often, we start our service by speaking a special healing blessing on the people; it is wonderful to see the change in most of the people throughout the whole service because of that prayer of faith.

Come to service early, and get your healing.  God is a gracious God. Jesus still heals the sick. 

Please read Matthew 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Can you trust God on these promises of blessings? Sure you can; God keeps his promises always.

Please read Malachi 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12)

It is God who gives to his people a spirit of grace and supplication. Every problem in your life is solvable by prayer. The Bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."(Philippians 4:6-7)

Please read Zechariah 12-14. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
    it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
    and plants of the field to everyone. (Zechariah 10)

You don't have to wait until you feel worthy to ask God for something. God is gracious to all people.  "He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone. (v.1)

Please read Zechariah 9 - 11. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁸ And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ (Zechariah 7)

How does one reconcile justice and mercy? They seem to be two opposite requirements in the verse above. Justice is to be applied at a societal level, mercy and compassion at an individual level. We show mercy and compassion to one another because we all need mercy and compassion. Jesus says, “Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Will Receive Mercy” (Matthew 5:7) 

Please read Zechariah 5 - 8. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4)

Jesus, in Luke 11:13, says, " If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Have you asked your Father in heaven to give you the Holy Spirit?  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

Please read Zachariah 1 - 4. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁵ “‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. ¹⁶ When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. ¹⁷ I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. ¹⁸ ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: ¹⁹ Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.

“‘From this day on I will bless you.’” (Haggai 2)

When people give priority to God's projects, their own projects succeed. Once they started to build the house of the Lord, everything they did prosper. This is a great lesson for any family, any church: put God first, and the blessings will follow. Today can be the day that you hear the Lord says to you, “‘From this day on I will bless you.’”

Please read Haggai 1 - 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

The Lord within her is righteous;
    he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
    and every new day he does not fail,
    yet the unrighteous know no shame. (Zephaniah 3)

God does no wrong. God has been good to us. He rescued us, saved us and he gives us hope of eternal life. We live by faith not by sight, always trusting in the Lord who dispenses his justice morning by morning. You can live a confident life. 

Please read Zephaniah 1 - 3. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!