2005 – “To Confound The Wise”
Mark 2nd Chapter
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.
2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,
7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?
9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” He said to the paralytic,
11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
In our text, Jesus confounds the “wise” teachers of the law by forgiving the paralytic man of his sins (5th) and then freeing him from his infirmity (12th). They wondered how could He (Jesus) forgive this man’s sins? Now the beauty of this situation to me is that if they wondered how Jesus could forgive the paralytic man’s sin, what do you think they were thinking when Jesus healed him? If they were puzzled and perplexed concerning the paralytic man’s forgiveness, then surely they were even more confused and confounded over his healing.
While I was studying this text, God began to speak to me regarding the year 2005. This is a year that He is going to confound the wise. He is going to do what is everyday to Him but extraordinary to us. We will see new manifestations of healing that have never been seen before. Believers in Christ will call out to Him for healing, and they will get healed. If one visit to the doctor brings a bad report, fear not, because the next shall bring a good report.
We will see still-borne babies revived in the womb. When doctors are going to suggest that parents terminate pregnancies, God will restore and revive those children… His children… right in the womb.
We will see more than ever on video what men call miraculous. The things that can not be explained will be caught clearly on camera, and there will be no way to explain what happened without acknowledging that God was involved. Simply put, God is going to confound the wise.
Here is what the Lord says:
“I take great pleasure in confounding men in their own wisdom. Just when they believe that they know everything, I will do the smallest thing to disrupt the theories they felt were reliable and infallible. Yet all the while, these theories were as solid as sinking sand. Have they not learned yet that I am God, and there is none like me. I do as I will, and none can stop me. Natural laws yield to me because I am God. There is nothing that can keep me from doing what I desire to do. And yes, this year, I shall surely move in the lives of my people more than ever. And this year, I will be seen more clearly by even the unbelievers. They will know that I do exist. They will see my goodness and my wrath, and it will be their choosing to follow me or fall by the might of their own wisdom. And their own wisdom will surely be their downfall.
As for those who will walk by faith and follow me, I will surely bring you out of the burdens that you are in. The situations that seem impossible for you to get out, I will surely bring you out. The circumstances that by all logic looks hopeless… from those things you shall be delivered. And those people, those nay-sayers, those doubters, those who in their wisdom thought that you would never see the sun shine again, they will certainly be proven wrong. I will do so not just to your delight but to my delight as well. And yes, you may not understand how I did it. You might not be able to explain what I did, but you will certainly, surely, beyond doubt or reason know that it was I who DID IT.”
This year, we believe that God will do what others see as impossible. We believe that the stumbling blocks the enemy has placed in your life will be turned into stepping stones that will propel you to the place God desires for you to be. Every test will wind up as a testimony. Every situation will wind up a success. You will truly see God intervene in every circumstance that comes forth to hinder your destiny. And you will know, that you know, that you know, that no matter how big your obstacle is, your God is bigger!
Enjoy seeing God move only as He can in 2005!