Did you know that the “shall” found in “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13) is the same “shall” found in “…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”? (Mark 16:18). This may not seem significant to you, but to me, the five-letter “shall” changes everything.
Come on and fess up. I’m quite sure that reading this five-letter word didn’t cause a download of excitement. I’m right, aren’t I? Wait. Don’t quit reading.
Here is where my excitement originates. Take a minute to reread Romans 10:13. Still not excited? I suggest that you use the index finger and thumb on each hand to pry open your eyes. It’s there in plain sight. It is found in what I call the “Shall Factor”. In this “Shall Factor”, God’s Word gives us the complete assurance of our salvation. As we call upon the name of the Lord for salvation, the “Shall Factor” is activated, and we know that we know that we know that we know that we know that we are our sins are forgiven, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and without question, we are saved. The confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 10:9-10) removes in our thinking all wiggle room found in any “might” or “possibly” or even an “I hope so” in our being delivered out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness and moved into Jesus’ kingdom (Colossians 1:13). (This would be a great place to say “amen”.)
But the “Shall Factor” doesn’t stop with our salvation. As I wrote in the opening paragraph, the “shall” that assures and insures our salvation is the same “shall” that assures and insures our healing. (This is where the shouting should begin.) Go ahead and reread Mark 16:17-18 to see what God has to say about this. The “Shall Factor” once again squelches the wiggle room in our thinking of any “might”, “possibly”, and “I hope so” for both our ministering and receiving divine healing. On the ministry side of the equation, I KNOW that when I lay hands upon the sick, the sick SHALL be made whole. It doesn’t stop there. On the receiving side of the equation, I KNOW that when hands are laid upon me, I KNOW that God’s healing power SHALL accomplish its mission and I SHALL be made whole. To use a phrase my dad often used: the “Shall Factor” makes healing a “done, done.”
Thank God for the “Shall Factor”. I’ll share it again. Thank God for the “Shall Factor”. The land of the “done, done” is my kinda’ place to be!
