God's Purpose Cannot Be Hindered By The Traditions of Men

Adam did not pray to God, as he must have assumed there was no need to, since he had everything. For that reason, when the deceiver came, Adam lost everything he had, and caused the whole humanity to miss out on God. Jesus came to restore us, as the Son of God and fully God, and yet He prayed. He deemed it important to pray. We have a choice, either to take after the Second Adam, or after the First Adam. If we follow after the First Adam, we will lose everything God has entrusted to us; if we follow after the Second Adam (Jesus), we will not miss out on God, and will always walk in God’s purpose, preserving that which God has entrusted to us.

We should not get used to God, to assume that we know the ways of God. It is for us to humble ourselves like Moses, who knew God and used to talk with Him face to face, and yet told God that He wanted to know Him and know His ways (Ex. 33:13). We have to be prayerful people, always communicating with God and listening to Him.

God is just about to disregard the history of your life. The handwriting that was against us was deleted forever and ever (Col. 2:14). All our families and lives have histories, but Jesus does not regard our histories. History, in the world, is very important and vital, for example when you go to a hospital they will ask you for your history. God does not need your history to bless you. Jesus is the God of all miracles.

God makes everything beautiful in its own time (Eccl. 3:11). Your miracle might have delayed for the sole purpose of God making it beautiful in its time, for God to be glorified. During the waiting time, God has been testing you to prove His faithfulness to Him.

Luke 8:43-48

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,  ⁴⁴ came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

This woman had a history of bleeding and visiting physicians without receiving healing. Her history was physical. Yours may be unseen, spiritual/ emotions afflictions and so on, or it could be seen, physical. Either way, Jesus is the answer.

The day that the woman got healed was not her day; but she hijacked and took her miracle just because she was there. Jesus was on His way to heal Jairus’ daughter, when the woman intercepted Him. She “took” her miracle, by virtue of her following Christ closely. Peter denied Jesus because he walked from a far, following Him. This is contrary to what the woman did, following Jesus from close, and received from God. We should be like the disciple who, when the two of them were running to the tomb to see Jesus, went in, instead of staying outside, like the other one. We should go in.

This woman was not even supposed to be in the midst of people, being unclean. According to the culture of the Jews, she was supposed to go shouting “unclean”, since she was unclean (Lev. 13:45-46). She instead broke the traditions and followed Jesus. Are we ready to break the traditions, issues, circumstances associated with our history, and follow the Messiah?

The woman did not even wish to touch Jesus’ hand, or for His hand to touch her, but rather that she touches the hem of His garment. We should also desire to touch the hem of His garment. Though the garment was dusty and dirty as Jesus had walked for a very long distance, she still wished to touch that hem. The reason why she wanted to touch His hem is because in order to touch the hem she had to bend, to go down. In order to touch the hem of Jesus, we have to go down on our knees in prayer. You cannot touch the hem of Jesus’ garment standing; you have to bow. At this position, you worship Jesus, and then pray.

David, as little as he was, was able to take on Goliath, because he went to him in the power of the Lord. While picking the stones, he was worshiping God, as he had to bow down while picking the stones. The five stones he picked was a representatives of the name of Jesus, which also has five letters (J.E.S.U.S). So throwing the stone in the name of the Lord is a representative of throwing it in the name of Jesus. Goliath fell down face down, symbolizing worship to God.

In those days, there were tassels, hanging from the hem of the Jews’ garment, to remind them of the Torah laws, the law of God, and His will. At the hem of Jesus’ garment, there were also the tassels, which were blue in color (Numbers 15:38-39). The woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, the part that had the tassels, which was blue in color (symbolizing heaven). So this woman was in a season of being reminded of heaven, touching the law of God, and bowed down in worship to God. She knew that touching the garment, she was breaking the tradition of the law, moving from law to grace, to experience the times and seasons of grace, to receive the power of grace from Jesus, since it is Jesus who brought grace (John 1:17).

We have to make our garments clean, without blemish or spot. We have to break the traditions of men, and walk in grace. The reason why Jesus felt power leave Him is not because she was so anointed; it is because she was determined to receive her miracle. Notice that the women in those days used to follow after men whenever they were moving in multitudes. She pressed forward, past the women and men, and got to touching Jesus.

No matter the size of the multitude, or what they are saying or may say, we should also press forward and touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. With a discerning spirit, Jesus felt that the power of healing had left Him and entered the woman. Are you ready to touch Him until He discerns that the power to make you a great servant, a powerful minister, has left Him? Are you ready to touch the hem of His garment until He perceives that the power to make you the best worshipper has left Him?

The reason why many of us are going through many things that are contrary to the word of God, is because we are not determined to receive from Jesus, following Him wherever He leads. Are you ready to follow Jesus wherever he leads, to receive that which is yours? May we follow Him wherever he leads. Follow the move of the Lord, and as you do so you will receive your miracle.

The Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of prophesy. You can prophesy to yourself, as you have the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in you.

The woman did not even worry about what people would say, or fear the outcome. She didn’t even know Jesus very well, who He is as even the Pharisees and Saduccees had been hindering people from following Jesus. This is why she came trembling before Jesus, not knowing the outcome when she declared what happened, in the presence of all the people (when no one could admit to touching Jesus). Why are you following the Lord? I am following the Lord as I want to know Him and His ways, and know the power of His resurrection. When I know this, I will live with Him eternally. That’s my reason for praying. I do not pray for service, but rather for the primary reason for which Jesus came, which is salvation. Follow Him for your salvation, as the Bible exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phi. 2:12-13). Do not follow Him for other benefits, such as what you get out of Him, the good things and material things; follow Him for your salvation.

The woman followed Him because she wanted to get healed, not even knowing that Jesus was the Savior. This is as some of us are; wanting the miracles, but not the Messiah and Savior, Deliverer, King and Everything. We should follow Him for the latter, not the former, because when we follow and seek Him, all the other things will come and be added unto us (Matt. 6:33); He’ll prepare a table for us in the midst and presence of our enemies (Ps. 23:5).

Luke 8:43

And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

In spite of not being a Jew, being poor having sold out everything she had to give to the Physicians, Jesus on that day called her a daughter. The Lord is calling us daughters and sons today. It does not matter what they say about you today, based on your history; He’s still calling you a son/ daughter. Today those names (borrowers, poor, sick etc.) have been taken away. What we could not do before, we can do today, by God’s grace.

If you want to touch the hem of His garment, be serious and faithful. There are things that are similar to jiggers that hinder us from following Jesus faithfully. These things are removed as we follow Him, while we fast pray. We should ask Him to remove the jiggers from our bodies:, the jiggers in our feet (where and how we walk); the jiggers in our hands (what we do with our hands); the jiggers in our ears (what we hear); the jiggers in our mouth (what we speak). We have many jiggers in our bodies that hinder us from receiving from God. Jesus gave the woman an assurance to be of good cheer, once she received healing and the jigger of bleeding was removed. The faith of seeking God and following Him through prayer and fasting is what makes us well.

The best gift you can get from Jesus is peace; this is what He gave the woman. You enjoy peace when following Jesus, as He is the Prince of Peace, Jehovah Shalom.

In 1 Kings 3:16-28, we see two harlots who were not under grace, who both gave birth to children. They did not even have a name like the one in our main story in Luke 8 who was called a “daughter”, as they were not following the Savior, and the ways of God. As these women slept, one of them slept on the baby and the baby died. Both were sleeping, not following the ways of the Lord, not even checking on the babies in the middle of the night, especially the woman for whom the baby was exchanged. As we follow Christ, do not sleep; awake. If you sleep, what God has given to you may be taken and exchanged by someone else. Let it be that it is you who will finish your assignment, not somebody else. What God gave you might be exchanged and done by somebody else, if you sleep like that woman who slept on her gift. Do not sleep on your gift.

Do not care about the multitude; arise, and let God deal with the crowd. Go down until you touch the hem of His garment.

Deuteronomy 34:1-4

And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, {Pisgah: or, the hill}  ² And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, ³ And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. ⁴ And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.

God called Moses, and told Him to go over to Mt. Nebo, at the top of the peak Pisgar. The spirit of Pisgar is an “almost there” spirit, a very dangerous spirit, that causes your miracle, blessing etc. not to actualize and manifest physically. The Pisgar must go from everyone life; from your business, relationship life, etc.

Break free off traditions of men and press forward to receive from God.

Amen.

-- Prophetess Grace Mwasya.

(18/05/14 Sunday Service Sermon, Teaching Transformation Ministry).

Prophetess Grace Mwasya who is an anointed servant of God with a calling in the ministry of intercession. She has been used by God to release prophetic utterances in many countries and her passion is to minister the true word of God without fear. She is a minister of the word at Teaching Transformation Ministry, located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.