A Nugget from New Life Network
(excerpts from Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (June 27, 2017)
Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you (Matthew 17:27).
I have always wanted to minister the way Jesus ministered. He ministered in great power. His ministry was effective and He changed the world.
When Peter approached Jesus about money, Jesus gave him the solution to his problem. Jesus told Peter (who was a fisherman) to take a hook (nothing was said about bait), throw it in the Sea of Galilee, pull out a fish, look in its mouth, and take out the money that would be there. Jesus told him to take that money and pay his taxes with it and there would be enough left over to pay the taxes for Jesus too.
Recently, a man from my church approached me with a financial problem. What would this man have thought if I had ministered to him the same way Jesus ministered to Peter? First of all, Peter was a fisherman and this man was a farmer. What if I had told him to take his rifle, go to his farm and shoot the first chicken he saw? After shooting the chicken, he should look in its beak, and there he would find several diamonds that would be more than enough to pay his taxes and supply all the needs of his family.
I can just imagine the man standing there with both arms stretched toward heaven with his eyes closed and his head bowed, with my hand on his head, I’m sure that halfway through my instructions, one eye would open slightly and his head would raise slowly with a perplexed wrinkle on his brow.
In John 14:12, Jesus said that those who believed in Him would do the same works that he did and not only would we do the same works, but that we as believers would do greater (or more) works. If the Holy Spirit spoke to most ministers and told them to do what Jesus did, most ministers of our generation would rebuke the devil for that thought. If we will truly listen to God and be led by His Holy Spirit and not allow pride and intimidation to overpower us, we could possibly begin to minister like Jesus.
Why do we not minister the way Jesus ministered? For many of us, the reason is that we do not believe we will see the results that Jesus saw. Why do we not see the same results? We are not walking in the same level of belief. We also need to remember that Jesus said He did not say anything or do anything that He did not hear the Father say or see the Father do. It could be that our spiritual hearing and sight have been impaired over the years with too much religion which usually produces doubt and unbelief. We need to get to a place where we can hear the Spirit of God clearly, believe, and act on it.
As Jesus said to the father of the boy being tormented by a “mute” spirit, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)
