20/04/2021 - A SPECIAL GUEST

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And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. Acts 14:8

When we obey Jesus’ command to go to all the world and when we pray that God would bless our ministry, we shouldn’t be disappointed if a great number of people doesn’t show up to one of our meetings, for example. We long to preach the Word to the largest possible number of people, but the Lord will tell how many should come to the meeting. The work is His!

We don’t know if the man without strength in his feet was the son of someone important. As servants of the Most High, we should believe that all who are sent to hear from us have been sent by God. We should never treat people at church in different ways. As the Leader of everything, the Lord knows everything about those He sent there and about those who couldn’t be there for some reason.

No one should be discriminated or exalted through our attitudes. As servants of the Lord, we should act according to His direction. We don’t know a lot about this man. Others were also in Lystra, because the Lord had invited them and prepared their hearts. Some might have been healed, and others received the Word and witnessed that man being healed.

We should never think that certain people weren’t supposed to come to church; it’s just the opposite, everyone should come, especially those who are sick. And if someone hasn’t been healed yet, that shouldn’t bother us. If we do the work with all our heart, the Lord will concede faith to whoever is in need of it. Many will receive the blessing when they realize that the same happened to others around them.

Unfortunately, not all will be saved in the meetings we lead. It’s sad to think this will happen, because there are people who don’t want to open their hearts for the Holy Spirit to work. This scares me, because there will be no other opportunity to be saved after death. It’s as if these people were drunk, without realizing the necessity of accepting Jesus and escaping from the lake of fire and sulfur.

Preachers should never allow the enemy to convince them that someone won’t ever be saved or healed. The man without strength in his feet from birth listened to God’s message, understood His plan and believed in Him. The apostle saw he had faith to be restored, and so it happened. Pay attention to the Word, because faith comes by listening to it (Romans 10:17).

Without faith, no one will be healed from anything, even a simple pain or itching. That’s why a strong and enlightening word about the will of God should be ministered before the prayer. By doing that, many will testify about what God did on their behalf. If we long for the Lord to act in our midst, we must preach the Word. 

In Christ, with love,

Dr. Soares