Seek His Face and Purpose

Our Daily Regime: Seek His Face and Purpose John 21:25, Luke 13:10-13, 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, John 10:10 We have been studying the account of the woman in Luke 13:10-13. Jesus had met this woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath whose body had been twisted and bent over for 18 years because of a spirit of infirmity. She was obviously a faithful Jewish woman who regularly worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath days. She was a daughter of Abraham and an heir of all the promises of God which had been extended to people who lived in the Old Testament. In spite of her reverence of God, she had been bound by an evil spirit of infirmity which had resulted in a severe physical distortion in her body. But on this Sabbath day, Jesus was in the synagogue! The power of Jesus’ spoken word directed at this evil spirit of infirmity instantly pierced the demonic bondage that had plagued this woman and set her free from the power of darkness. Then something else happened, verse 13 says that Jesus then laid His hands on her, and immediately “SHE WAS MADE STRAIGHT AND GLORIFIED GOD” (Verse 13).
	Some people today would have us to think that if we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are automatically immune from the powers of the enemy to bind and distort. That’s not the case here as we can clearly see in this woman’s life and experience. Jesus never addressed the issue of faith in this woman telling her that she had to BELIEVE as He had told so many others. Why? She already believed! Neither did He tell her that she needed to repent of all of her sins. Why? She was probably already living to the best of her ability in the fear and reverence of the Lord as she understood it under the old covenant! Verse 12 says that “when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’” Apparently the only change Jesus was looking for in this woman’s life was that she be set free by the power of God from the demonic spirit of infirmity that had twisted and ruined her life! When Jesus declared her to be free, she was free! The demon’s grip over her life was instantly broken!
Something else had to happen as well. She needed to be restored physically in order that she could live a normal life again. Verse 13 says, “And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made STRAIGHT AND GLORIFIED GOD.” This is the story of two miracles, not just one! Satan’s power had to be destroyed, but then the power of the Holy Spirit needed to flow through her in order that she be able to stand up straight and live a life of victory that brought glory to God! As we have said in an earlier study, I believe this is a picture of many people in the Church today who have been set free from the curse of the devil’s power but have never really been made whole in order that they might stand up STRAIGHT and bring great glory to God. They are free because they have believed in the words of Jesus but yet still live life in a twisted, bowed down, and defeated way because of the damage the devil did to them when they were still under his control. The will of God is always for people to have two miracles and not just one! He wants us to be free but also to be able to stand up straight and bring great glory to Him! How does this happen? Is it instantaneous? Is it a one time event? When a person is set free, can they return back to a twisted bowed down state once more? Why is that people can have genuine experiences with Jesus and then in time go back to another state of twisted bondage in their lives? This woman was made STRAIGHT by the tangible flow of the anointing of the Holy Spirit into her body which restored her to normal for which she gave great glory to God. What we must understand is that when we believe the words of the Gospel, the power of darkness of the devil is instantly broken in our lives but it is the CONTINUAL FLOW of the power of the Holy Spirit into our lives that MAKES US STRAIGHT and then that flow on a daily basis KEEPS US STRAIGHT! How does this happen? It happens when we take time every day to walk in the presence of God through worship and personal fellowship with Him through prayer and the study of His Word. That supernatural flow of the life of God will continue as long as we continue to honor the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts through the reverential respect for God’s presence and the pursuit of holiness in our character and integrity. The touch of God that destroys the devil’s power is an instantaneous event, but it is also an event that needs to be reinforced on a continual daily basis by the consecration of our wills and lives to seek His face and His purposes. It is in this process that His life becomes our own, and HE living in us will cause us to arise, stand up STRAIGHT, and bring great glory to God! PRAISE GOD BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD