A while ago, I watched a movie in which one of the actors made a statement that I found quite amusing. He had traveled to a country in the temperate region and spent some time in freezing weather. As expected, padded jackets became a customary part of his dressing when he was there. Having spent considerable time there, he refused to stop putting on the jackets even after being deported to his tropical climate country.
Someone dared to approach him and ask him why he was still wearing the jackets under sweltering conditions. His response, which I found funny because of the way he said it was that just because they were in the same place did not mean that they were necessarily under the same climate.
I remembered this recently when I was considering the story of the woman with the issue of blood in the bible. Peter could not understand what Jesus was saying when He asked for the person who touched Him, with so many people pressing around Him. Obviously, many people were touching Jesus at that time, but all the touches were not equal.
Everyone was touching Jesus but only the woman with the issue of blood was healed. She was probably not the only person that needed some kind of healing in the crowd. They were all in the same place, touching the same person but their experiences were different. The preparation of her heart and her faith made the difference. Some of the people who were around Jesus at that time must have gone home empty-handed even after touching Him.
At that moment Jesus felt power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “How can you ask, ‘Who touched me,’ when you see the crowd pressing you on all sides?” But he kept looking around to see the woman who had done this. The woman trembled with fear. She knew what had happened to her. So, she quickly bowed in front of him and told him the whole truth. Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace! Be cured from your illness.” Mark 5: 30-34 [GWT]
This can also be related to the parable of the sower in the bible. The sower sowed the same seed, it produced different results depending on the soil it landed on. The problem was not with the sower, nor with the seed. The soil condition was the variable in the equation, and it made all the difference. In this story, the soil refers to our hearts, which can be in different conditions, even when we are in the same place and hearing the same message.
The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Mark 4:14-20 [NLT]
The fact that we attend a ‘powerful’ gospel meeting or encounter a minister of God that we greatly admire does not mean that we would be impacted by that meeting. The preparation of our hearts is key to what each meeting leaves with us. Some people will attend the same meeting and leave completely transformed, while others will only leave with an overdose of goosebumps. The people who came out of Egypt and ended their journey in the wilderness can tell their stories about this. They heard God and saw him do unimaginable things, yet it was recorded that they displeased God because faith was missing in their hearts.
Our approach to EVERY meeting of believers should be that of great faith, an eager expectation to meet God and open hearts. If Jesus said He would be present any time 2 or 3 people gather in His name, it implies that His power would be available to touch, heal, save, and transform us, whether there are 2 people or 2000 people in the meeting. This should not depend on whether it is a prayer meeting, cell meeting, bible study, revival conference, or on who the minister is. Our heart condition is the key variable, and it is completely up to us what climate we choose to be in.
Image credit: RADsan
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