29/03/24
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
Today’s Scripture
And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 8:26, ESV
AWAKEN FAITH
We all face dreams and obstacles that seem too big for us, but God has all the power in the world. The key is our faith. God works through our faith. If you believe little, you’ll receive little. If you think small and talk small, you’ll get stuck where you are.
The Scripture talks about different levels of faith. In Matthew 8, the disciples were in a boat with Jesus when a huge storm arose and the waves swept over the boat. They woke Jesus up and cried out, “We’re about to die!” He responded, “Why do you have such little faith? You’ve seen the miracles I’ve done. You know I can do anything. Why are you still stuck at this low level of faith?” If you’re going to reach the fullness of your destiny, it’s not going to happen with weak faith, doubting faith, or average faith. It’s going to take great faith. The good news is, it’s in you, but you have to awaken your great faith. You have to dare to believe big, to take the limits off.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You bring obstacles across my path so big that only You can make it happen. Help me to be bold, to dare to believe, to dare to take some new steps of faith. I declare that I will not stay stuck at a low level of faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
SECTION TWO
Once, the Lord showed me a vision of what happened at the cross. I saw how all the sins of the entire human race (lies, deceit, envy, bitterness, adultery, addiction, bondage, murder) and all the consequences of sin (fear, sicknesses, guilt, disease, and condemnation) swirled around Jesus like evil spirits and demons, laughing heinously, taunting and tormenting Him. Jesus became like a magnet for all sin and of His own volition accepted all this sin into His own body.
You and I will never be able to imagine the excruciating pain that tore through His body at the cross. Every malignant cancer, every tumor, every sickness, and every disease came upon Him at the same time.
He who knew no sin took upon Himself the mountainous weight of all men’s darkest and foulest sins. He took it all Himself.
The Word says that “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Matt. 8:17). “Himself”—a singular, reflexive pronoun that signifies the exclusion of you and me.
Since He Himself has taken the full punishment, judgment, and condemnation for all sin, you and I are excluded from every punishment, judgment, and condemnation for all sin when we receive Him as our Savior.
But the story did not end there. Jesus did not die on the cross in the middle of receiving upon Himself all of humanity’s sins. He took it all and accepted it all in His body. Then the fire of God’s judgment was unleashed upon His own precious Son, and only when every last sin had been punished did Jesus cry out, “IT IS FINISHED!” moments before breathing His last breath (John 19:30).
Can you see that? Jesus held on at the cross until every single sin that you have ever committed and will ever commit was punished in His own body. That is why we call what Jesus has accomplished at the cross a “finished work.”
Now, what is your part today? Your part is to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life and that all your sins have been paid for at the cross.
If you believe that all your sins have been forgiven, sin will have no more power over you. You don’t have to walk around with “a mountain of sin” on your shoulders anymore because this “mountain of sin” was laid squarely on the shoulders of another—Jesus. He Himself has already paid the price for your sins, so stop condemning yourself!
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