The second Touch of Jesus
Many
of us are like this blind man: we’ve seen God’s goodness, He’s helped us
to get to where we are, we’re grateful even though we haven’t broken the
addiction, accomplished a dream, a child is still off course. We’re
thankful for what God has done; we can say, like the blind man, “He’s made it a
whole lot better.” while we should be content where we are, we shouldn’t be
satisfied with mediocrity. Too often, we settle for less than God’s best,
thinking, “I’ll never break this addiction, but at least I’ve learned to live
with it. I’ll never get married, but at least I have a few friends. I’ll never
get out debt, but at least I can pay my bills.” you’re right where the blind
man was, saying, “everything’s blurry, but at least I can see something. I’m
not complaining; I’m satisfied to be better.”
Here’s
the key; you may be satisfied, but God is not satisfied. He has a
second touch coming your way. The second touch is when you are free from the addiction, the medical report
says no more sickness, your whole family comes to know the Lord. The
second touch is when God opens doors you never dreamed would open, when He
amazes you with His goodness. Be grateful for what God has done, but don’t be
satisfied with better. God didn’t create us to reach half of our
destiny, 3/4 or 90%; what God started in your life, He’s going to bring to
completion. I’m not just trying to encourage you, make you feel better; I’m
prophesying that a second touch is coming your way. When this second touch
kicks in, you’re going to see favor that you’ve never seen, the right people
are going to show up, freedom from strongholds, a new level of your destiny.
Now
you have to let this seed take root. You have to get in agreement with God. you
can’t go around thinking that you’ve reached your limits, you’ll never get
well, never be promoted, “I’ll never see clearly, it’s been blurry for so long
in my life”; thinking like that will stop God’s best. Quit declaring
defeat over your life, quit prophesying mediocrity. It may be blurry, but it’s
not a surprise to God. He’s not scratching his head, thinking, “Why didn’t they
get clear vision?” God controls the whole universe. He has all power. What
He’s destined for your life will come to pass. It may not happen all at
once; while we’re waiting, that’s a test of our faith. Don’t get
discouraged. When things happen that you don’t understand, don’t give up; you
always face your greatest opposition when you’re closest to your victory.
The
enemy wouldn’t be fighting you so hard if he didn’t know that God has something
amazing in front of you. You have to dig your heels in, and say, “it may be
blurry, taking a long time, I don’t understand it, but I know a secret; the
second touch is coming. God is still on the throne. His plans for me
are for good, and any moment things could change in my favor.” when you
live with this expectancy, that’s what allows God to do great things. You don’t
know, the second touch could happen today; you could meet the person of your
dreams tomorrow, that health issue could turn around, the loan could go through
this week. There are second touches already ordained to come across your path.
God doesn’t do things halfheartedly; He’s the author and the finisher. it may
look impossible, but God can do the impossible.
People
may try to talk you out of it, but people don’t have the final say, God does.
get up every morning and thank Him for your second touch; “Lord, I’m
grateful that I have a job, that I can pay my bills, but I’m still in debt;
God, I’m asking for your second touch.” the second touch is when you come into
overflow, more than enough. “Lord, I’m feeling better, I’m making progress, but
I’m still struggling with this illness; Lord, I’m asking for the completion of your
healing.” God, I went through a bad break, I lost a loved one, it’s kind of
blurry in my life right now, and God I’m asking, just like You did for that
blind man, touch me again: restore my joy, passion, vision. God, give me
a new beginning.”
I
wonder what would happen if we would go out with this expectancy, believing
that the second touch is coming, not just hearing a message, but letting a seed
take root, expecting a dream to come to pass, expecting to get healthy and
whole, expecting God to finish what He started. “this sounds good, but I’ve had
some setbacks, I’ve been taking this treatment for cancer on and off for the
last 10 years, that’s why I’m discouraged, I don’t think I’ll ever get well.”
just because you gave up doesn’t mean God gave up. God is not satisfied with
better; He’s going to take you to the fullness of your destiny.
David
said:
Psalm 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and
mire; he set my feet on a rock
Sometimes,
even though we’re content to stay in the pit, God is not content. He’s
not going to give you a choice, He’s going to lift you out of that pit and set
your feet toward your destiny. you didn’t think it was going to happen, you
thought you were stuck where you are, but then, one touch of God’s favor,
suddenly your health improved, you met the right person, a new door of
opportunity opened. it wasn’t anything you did; it was simply the
goodness of God, His second touch.
in
1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah had just seen one of the greatest victories of
his life; 450 false prophets who worshiped the god Baal had come against him:
1 Kings 18:21-24 Elijah went before the people and said, “How
long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but
if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s
prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two
bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut
it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare
the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on
the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who
answers by fire—he is God.”
Elijah
let them go first; they prayed, sang, danced, chanted, hour after hour,
still no fire. When it was Elijah’s time, he prayed, and God sent lightning and
started the wood on fire. Later all 450 of those prophets were killed; it
was a great victory for Elijah.
There
was a lady there by the name of Jezebel. When she heard what happened to those
prophets, she was furious. She sent word to Elijah:
1 Kings 19:2-3 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah,
saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as
the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and
he arose and ran for his life
It’s
funny, he wasn’t afraid of 450 men, but he was scared to death of one angry
woman. Elijah ran far away from that place. He was sitting under a tree,
so depressed that he didn’t want to live:
1 Kings 19:4 … He sat down under a solitary broom
tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my
life
Here
he had just seen this great miracle, and the problem now is, he’s tired;
tired of believing, standing strong, staying in faith. Maybe like Elijah,
you’ve been doing the right thing for a long time; believing, praying,
standing in faith. you’ve seen God’s goodness in the past, but now you’re
tired, you’ve lost your drive, passion, you don’t think you’ll ever really get
well, you’ve had the sickness so long, you’re not believing to start that
business anymore, you’ve had too many setbacks. The good news is, God doesn’t
give up on us when we get tired, discouraged. when Jesus was on his way
to the cross, about to be crucified, he got so tired, so weak. God didn’t
say, “Jesus, you’re making me look bad”; He sent a man by the name of Simon to
carry the cross for him:
Matthew 27:32 As they were going out, they met a man from
Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
God
knew there would be times that we would get tired, fall down, be discouraged,
give up on a dream. He doesn’t say, “Too bad, you should have had more faith”;
no, He’ll send somebody to help lift you back up, breathe new life into your
dreams. Maybe I’m that somebody for you today; you’re not here by
accident. God is saying, “The best part of your life is still out in
front of you.” He has new friendships, opportunities, victories, mountains for
you to climb. But sometimes, we think, because we’re people of faith, we’re
supposed to be superman/woman, never have an ounce of doubt, a moment of
discouragement. Take the pressure off yourself; you don’t have to be
strong all the time. Even Jesus had a moment of weakness:
Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face
to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken
from me.
you
may be down right now, not pursuing your dreams, not passionate about life,
tired; God has you here to lift you, to help you get back up, to remind
you that He’s not finished with you. He’s going to bring you out of that
pit. He’s going to set your feet on a rock, move you towards your
destiny. this season will pass; the second touch is coming.
Elijah
was so depressed, he didn’t want to live, he’s sitting under that tree.
you would think God would say, “come on Elijah, I just rained down fire from heaven,
showed you My favor, protection, and you mean you’re going to let this one
woman, bad break, disappointment, cause you to get discouraged and give up? What’s
wrong with you?” no, God doesn’t disqualify us when we don’t stand strong
enough. The scripture says:
1 Kings 19:5-8 Then he lay down under the bush and fell
asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He
looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a
jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the
Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the
journey is too much for you.” So he got
up and ate and drank.
God
not only gave him the bread and water, He took it one step further; He
cooked the food for him. God could’ve given him the strength to go out
and hunt, find food, water, come back, get the firewood, cook it himself, that
would’ve been nice. here’s how good God is; on this second touch, God’s going
to bring things to you. He’s going to cause blessings to chase you down:
Deuteronomy 28:2 All of the following blessings will be
yours—in fact, they’ll chase after you
He’s
going to make things happen that you could’ve never made happen. you may
have been through some disappointments, people, circumstances, have come
against you, and now you’ve settled where you are, not expecting anything good.
every voice tells you, “it’s never going to happen”; don’t believe those lies.
just like with Elijah, the angel of the Lord is coming a second time. this
second touch is not only going to give you new fire, passion, but it’s going to
push you into your destiny. the second touch is when you’ll see clearly. You’ll
have wisdom, the right doors open, things fall into place. you’ll step into
your purpose.
Why
don’t you shake off the disappointments, what didn’t work out, and say, “God, I
know you’re still in control of my life. I’ve had these bad breaks, things come
against me, but God, I’m not going to settle here, give up on my dream. I know your
second touch is coming.” If you’ll do that, God will not only bring you the
provision, give you the food and water so to speak, but He’ll cook the food for
you, do more than you can ask or think. But too often, we stay focused on
the negative, what didn’t work out, how long it’s taken, who hurt us, how
unfair it was; that causes us to get stuck. you can talk yourself out of your
destiny.
This
is what Abraham’s father did. His name was Terah. He had three sons. One
of his sons, a young man name Haran, died at an early age:
Genesis 11:27-28 This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah
became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of
Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the
Chaldeans, in the land of his birth.
Terah
went through this great disappointment, the loss of a son. years later:
Genesis 11:31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his
daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son
Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the
land of Canaan [the Promised Land], but they stopped at Haran and settled
there.
He
started off good, but when he came to the place that reminded him of the son he
had lost, the place of his greatest disappointment, he got discouraged, gave up
on his dream, told everybody, “I’m sure I should go forward, the promised land
is probably in front of us, but I’ve been through too much, been hurt too many
times, let’s just settle here.” Terah could have become the father of many
nations, instead of Abraham; it could have started one generation sooner,
but Terah chose to settle. he didn’t realize that God had a second touch, that
God can give beauty for ashes, that:
Psalm 30:11 you have turned my mourning into dancing; you
have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
That
God can take what’s meant for harm, and use it to our advantage. Instead, he
chose to stay focused on the pain. I don’t know, maybe he had a good excuse, he
lost a loved one, but if he could’ve just dug his heels in, and said, “no, I’m
not going to settle in Haran, I’m not going to stay in the place of my greatest
pain, I’m going to keep moving forward, knowing that a second touch is coming, knowing
that God will pay me back for this trouble.” if he would’ve done that, he
would’ve been listed as one of the heroes of faith. Friends, don’t let one
loss, one disappointment, one bad break, cause you to settle. We all face
things we don’t understand, life is not always fair; the key is, you have to
pass through the place of your greatest pain, pass through the hurt, the
rejection, the failure, the mistake. If you’ll keep moving forward, you’ll come
into your promised land. God will give you beauty for ashes. The scripture
says:
Zechariah 9:12 … today I declare that I will restore to you
double.
Isaiah 61:7 Instead of your shame you will receive a
double portion
Job 42:10 … the Lord doubled all Job’s earlier possessions.
You
remember Job; he went through a great disappointment, lost his health,
business, family, but in the end, God restored twice back to him. Job had
10 children that were killed in a terrible storm, great tragedy, he was
devastated, but later on, God gave Job 10 more children; he had 10 in
heaven, 10 on earth, double. What’s interesting is, the scripture never says
that Job married a younger wife; the same wife that had given him 10 children
before gave him 10 more children. God opened that womb once again. In the
natural, she was too old, she was done, couldn’t have anymore children; looked
like her womb was dead. but when God saw the trouble the enemy had caused her,
God said to her in effect, “don’t worry, I’m going to bring back to life your
dead womb; that womb that’s been closed ,I’m going to open it once again,
you’re going to have 10 more children.
The
enemy cannot stop God’s plan for your life; he may try, but he can’t do it, God
has the final say. You may have something that looks dead; you tried, it didn’t
work out, it’s been a long time. You need to get ready for the second touch. On
the second touch, God’s going to reopen what was closed, bring back to life
what was dead, pay you back for that trouble. Don’t settle in the place of your
greatest pain; the second touch is coming.
Your
situation may look dead, in your health, relationship, a business; you don’t
see how it could ever work out. But God didn’t bring you this far to leave you;
there’s a second touch coming. The first touch got you to this point; the
second touch is when you see it turn around, when you see your health restored,
when your business takes off. The second touch is when you say, “I can see
clearly now. the dream came to pass. The problem resolved. God finished
what He started.” Anybody can give up, say, “it’s never going to happen,”
that’s easy; doubters are a dime a dozen. But it takes a wo/man of great faith,
somebody like you, to say, “I may not see a way, but I know God still has a
way. I’m not going to give up, settle, be talked out of it; I know my second
touch is coming. God did it for others, He can do it for me.”
Moses
said in Psalm
Psalm 90:15-16 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good. Let us see your miracles again
he
was saying, “God, I’m in a tough time, things haven’t been going my way, but
God, I’m asking for your second touch; show us miracles again.” when you face
difficulties, do like Moses: “Lord, touch, heal, strengthen, amaze me
again.” Dare to ask for the second touch.
in
the scripture, there was a lady named Elizabeth; she and her husband Zechariah
were well up there in years, and they’d never had any children, but:
Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah;
your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you
are to call him John.
(he
later became known as John the Baptist.) Even though Elizabeth was too
old in the natural, she conceived; she was pregnant with John. For the first 6
months, she hardly felt any movement in her womb, and she was very concerned
that something was wrong with the baby. One day, her young cousin Mary came to
visit her; she was pregnant with Jesus. When Elizabeth saw Mary, the
scripture says:
Luke 1:44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the
baby in my womb leaped for joy. She
knew John was alive and well. That was the first time John the Baptist ever met
Jesus, technically, still in the womb. Fast-forward 30 years later:
John 1:35-36 The next day again John was standing with two of his
disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold,
the Lamb of God!”
Matthew 3:13-16 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized
by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by
you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to
do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the
water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him.
The
first time John met Jesus, he moved in his mother’s womb, a natural
occurrence. the second time they met, the heavens opened up, a
supernatural occurrence. This second touch is not going to be ordinary,
natural, or what you were thinking; it’s going to launch you into a new
dimension, a new level. God’s going to take you where you could not go on your
own. You may have seen God’s goodness in the past, but you haven’t seen
anything yet. You need to get ready; the second touch is coming. It’s not too
late to accomplish your dreams. You can still live healthy and whole. you can
still overcome that obstacle. Don’t get discouraged and settle where you are. Don’t
get stuck in the place of pain and disappointment; keep moving forward, there’s
a promised land in front of you.
The
best part of your life is still in your future. I’m asking you to stir your
faith up, get your passion back. Get up every morning and say with Moses,
“Lord, thank You for Your second touch.” if you’ll do this, just like the blind
man, you’re going to see the completion of what God started. Like with Elijah,
God’s not only going to strengthen you, but He’s going to bring you the
provision, do more than you can ask or think. like with John the Baptist, God’s
going to launch you into a new dimension, into the fullness of your destiny.
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