Recall the encounter between the Lord Jesus and the man with the withered arm; Jesus called him forth while He was teaching in the synagogue and said, “…Stretch forth thy hand….” (Matthew 12:13). How could he have done it when he had a withered arm? Read the concluding part of the verse: “…And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.” How did that happen? That was faith. What is faith? Faith is the response of the human spirit to the Word of God. The man heard Jesus in his spirit and acted upon His infallible Word, from within! Understand that if he had acted from his mind, he would have said, “Well, you know my hand is withered. I can’t do that.” But his spirit took a hold of the instruction and responded accordingly. We find a similar example in Mark 2:11. Here, Jesus said to a man who was lame, “…Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
The man acted on the Word and got a miracle. There’s no way he could have gotten up if he didn't respond from his spirit. Understand this: the man’s spirit wasn't crippled; it was his body that was afflicted with palsy. Thank God He didn't argue, but acted from his spirit on the Master’s instruction. Mark 2:12 tells us that while the people watched, the man got up, picked up his mat, and hurried away. They were all completely amazed and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
I've seen people struggle with faith, trying to help somebody stand, stretch forth his hand, or to open his eyes when he couldn't open them. What they didn't realize was that they were working from the outside; that doesn't work. The response from your spirit, not your mind, or physical body, is what produces result. Once you can believe the Word with your heart and voice it out with your mouth, it'll produce result. That’s what Jesus said in Mark 11:23.
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