© 19 Colin Melbourne, Transcribed and annotated from The Pentecostal Evangel 1923
Your Privilege and Duty
I want to show you that you can be a living branch of the Living Vine, Christ Jesus, and that it is your privilege to be right here in this world what He is.
John tells us, “As He is, so are we in this world.”
Not that we are anything in ourselves, but Christ within us is our all in all.
The Lord Jesus is always wanting to show forth His Grace and Love in order to draw us to Himself.
God is willing to do things, to manifest His Word, and let us know in measure the mind of our God in this day and hour.
There are many needy ones, many afflicted ones, but I do not think any present are half as bad as this first case that we read of in Matthew Eight.
This man was a leper
You may be suffering with consumption, or cancers, or other things, but God will show forth His perfect cleansing, His perfect healing, if you have a living faith in Christ.
He is a wonderful Jesus!
This leper must have been told about Jesus.
Jesus Heals Today
How much is missed because people are not constantly telling what Jesus will do in this our day.
Probably someone had come to that leper and said, “Jesus can heal you.”
And so he was filled with expectation as he saw the Lord coming down the mountain side.
Lepers were not allowed to come within reach of people, they were shut out as unclean. [1] And so in the ordinary way, it would have been very difficult for him to get near because of the crowd that surrounded Jesus.
But as He came down from the mount: He came to the leper.
Oh, this terrible disease! There was no help for him, humanly speaking, but nothing is too hard for Jesus.
The man cried, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” [Wilt is the second person singular of WILL. Ed.]
Was Jesus willing?
You will never find Jesus missing an opportunity of doing good. You will find that He is always more willing to work than we are to give Him an opportunity to work.
The trouble is we do not come to Him, we do not ask Him for what He is more willing to give. Mtt. 8:3 KJV;
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
If you are definite with Him, you will never go away disappointed. The divine life will flow into you and instantaneously you will be delivered.
This Jesus is just the same today, and He says to you, “I will; be thou clean.”
All things are possible if you will only believe!
God has a real plan.
It is so simple.
Just come to Jesus
You will find Him just the same as He was in days of old.
The next case we have in this chapter is that of the Centurion coming and beseeching Jesus on behalf of his servant, who was sick of the palsy and grievously tormented. [Palsy: Muscular weakness, paralysis, with involuntary spasms and tremors. Ed]
This man was so in earnest that he came seeking for Jesus. Notice this, that there is one thing certain, there is no such thing as seeking without finding. He that seeketh findeth.
Listen to the gracious words of Jesus, “I will come and heal him.” [Mtt. 8:3 KJV]
Most places that we go to there are so many people that we cannot pray for. In some places there are 200 or 300 who would like us to visit them, but we are not able to do so.
But I am glad that the Lord Jesus is always willing to come and heal.
Continue reading… Smith Wigglesworth: Himself Took Our Infirmities and Bare Our Sicknesses
Preached at Springfield Assembly of God in 1922, and printed in 1923
[1] Lepers were not allowed to come within reach of people, they were shut out as unclean: Leprosy is still common in Asia, a notifiable disease. Victims with active infections are not allowed outside their leper colony.
© 19 Colin Melbourne, Transcribed and annotated from The Pentecostal Evangel 1923
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