November 4, 2024

The Stretch of Faith

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The man with the withered hand.

Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. 2In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. 3Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.” 4And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”But they were silent. Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored. (Mark 3:1-5)

A man in the synagogue with a withered hand, a believer no doubt, yet his had was withered, The nerves and sinews of it being shrunk up, so that it was entirely useless. His right hand. The right hand is the predominant hand in scripture, Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. (Exodus 15:12) It talks of the right hand of fellowship, a person of high rank who put someone on his right hand gave him equal honor with himself and recognized him as possessing equal dignity and authority. And this is what the Apostle Paul writes of Jesus Christ in Ephesians. “And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us, the ones believing according to the working of His mighty strength which He worked in Christ in raising Him from the dead, and He seated Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all principality and authority and power and dominion, and every name being named, not only in this world, but also in the coming age” (Ephesians 1:19-21).

The withered hand speaks of a disability, an inability to GIVE.

Are your hands paralysed to the point that you cannot give your best to others, you cannot support your local church you cannot give to missions or to your church building fund. Jesus is a giver and so are you by nature, He gave us hands to give help and bless others and so he comes to us today and commands we stretch it forth, ‘stretch forth thy hand.’ stretch it forth into new territory stretch it forth into new projects, embrace new challenges, take on a greater giving, put your hand into something new. Stretch forth thine hand, and as you do you shall be healed

Paul.

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