WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Accredited; Prayer and Faith Publishing Date: 2023-08-27T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/accredited-prayer-and-faith/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.040 Can you open to Matthew 17, 14 to 20? 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.040 Matthew 17, 14 to 20. 00:00:15.040 --> 00:00:19.040 Matthew 17, 14 to 20. 00:00:19.040 --> 00:00:33.040 Last week I said I won't be here this week, so this week I'm saying I won't be here next week. 00:00:36.040 --> 00:00:39.040 Matthew 17, 14 to 20. 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:50.040 Okay, when they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 00:00:50.040 --> 00:00:56.040 Lord have mercy on my son, he said. He has seizures and is suffering greatly. 00:00:56.040 --> 00:01:04.040 He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:17.040 One more time. When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:22.040 Lord have mercy on my son, he said. He has seizures and is suffering greatly. 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:27.040 He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him. 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:31.040 Oh, unbelieving and perverse generation, Jesus replied, 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:36.040 How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me. 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:41.040 Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of the boy and he was healed at that moment. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:46.040 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, Why couldn't we drive it out? 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:52.040 He replied, Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:57.040 If you say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move, nothing will be impossible for you. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:02.040 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, The son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:07.040 They will kill him. On the third day he will be raised to life. And the disciples were filled with grief. 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:22.040 Go to Luke 9, 37 to 42. Luke 9, 37 to 42. Luke 9, 37 to 42. 00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:31.040 The next day when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 00:02:31.040 --> 00:02:38.040 A man in the crowd called out, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 00:02:38.040 --> 00:02:46.040 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. 00:02:46.040 --> 00:02:54.040 It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive him out, but they could not. 00:02:54.040 --> 00:02:59.040 Oh, unbelieving and perverse generation, Jesus replied, How long shall I stay with you and put up with you? 00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:05.040 Bring your son here. Even while the boy was coming, a demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. 00:03:05.040 --> 00:03:10.040 But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 00:03:10.040 --> 00:03:16.040 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did. 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:20.040 He said to his disciples, Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. 00:03:20.040 --> 00:03:25.040 The son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. But they didn't understand what this meant. 00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:32.040 It was hidden from them so that they did not grasp it. And they were afraid to ask him about it. 00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:52.040 Let's go to Mark 9. Mark 9, verse 14. Mark 9, 14. Mark 9, 14 to 30. 00:03:52.040 --> 00:03:58.040 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and teachers of the law arguing with them. 00:03:58.040 --> 00:04:03.040 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 00:04:03.040 --> 00:04:06.040 What are you arguing with them about? he asked. 00:04:06.040 --> 00:04:14.040 A man in the crowd answered, Teacher, I brought to you my son who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 00:04:14.040 --> 00:04:21.040 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.040 I asked the disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:32.040 Oh, unbelieving generation, Jesus replied, How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me. 00:04:32.040 --> 00:04:37.040 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:43.040 He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, How long has he been like this? 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:48.040 From childhood, he answered, It has often thrown him into the fire or water to kill him. 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:53.040 But you can do anything. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:58.040 If you can, said Jesus, everything is possible for him who believes. 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:04.040 Immediately, the boy's father explained, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. 00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:09.040 When Jesus saw that a crowd was coming to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:15.040 You deaf and mute spirit, he said. I command you come out of him and never enter him again. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.040 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:23.040 The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said he's dead. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.040 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet and he stood up. 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:33.040 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, Why couldn't we drive it out? 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:36.040 He replied, This kind can come out only by prayer. 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:44.040 They left at place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were because he was teaching his disciples. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:48.040 He said to them, The son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:51.040 They will kill him and after three days he will rise. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.040 But they did not understand what he meant and they were afraid to ask him about it. 00:05:55.040 --> 00:06:01.040 Three gospels, three narratives gives you the entire picture of what's happening. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:05.040 And so it's important that we read all three. Otherwise, sometimes we don't know the full story. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:10.040 So guys, one of the things that we need to understand is healing and deliverance. 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:15.040 Healing and deliverance is part of Jesus's forever mission. 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:21.040 Till we get to a place where the new heavens and the new earth appear. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:30.040 Healing and deliverance is the nature of Jesus's divine commission. 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:37.040 A divine mission when he was on earth, divine commission now that his body is on earth. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:50.040 It's that way. To think of it any other way based on your own experiences or failure is to distort the nature of God. 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:57.040 Let that be settled. Even amongst us, even amongst us as some of you who are leaders of house churches. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:02.040 Your experience may not be healing and deliverance every time. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:08.040 But it does not negate the nature of Jesus's commission or Jesus's mission. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:17.040 And you should not support any other view. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:27.040 You can say this is my condition, but you cannot say, you cannot theologize on it. 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:33.040 This is my condition. This is unfortunately my thinking. This is where I am at. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:39.040 But this is not necessarily where the Bible says Jesus is at. That must be clearly spoken. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:50.040 As a leader, if you say otherwise, you're doing the church and the people in the church a disservice because you're distorting the nature of God. 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:58.040 We are all leaders at some point in our lives because we lead one or two. 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:05.040 Healing and deliverance is the nature of Jesus's divine commission. And in this scene, we see a dispute happening. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:10.040 Not everybody is disputing. There are disciples because only three of them went up with Jesus. 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:15.040 So there are at least nine of the apostles there and other disciples that followed Jesus. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:19.040 There are bystanders who were always there because Jesus was in town. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:24.040 And then we see the scribes or the teachers there too. And they are the ones disputing. 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:31.040 They're arguing because they have an axe to grind. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:39.040 The scenes are the same even today. Jesus's healing and deliverance is still being disputed. 00:08:39.040 --> 00:08:46.040 There are highly educated theologians who will still argue. 00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:52.040 What are they arguing for? Who gave you the right to heal? Who even gave you the right to cast out this demon? 00:08:52.040 --> 00:09:00.040 Who do you think you are? Since when do you think that it is God's will to deliver people? 00:09:00.040 --> 00:09:09.040 They didn't say der since Isaiah 61. They didn't say der because der means something completely different in Greek. 00:09:09.040 --> 00:09:18.040 So it was this idea of how dare you pray for healing? And what makes you think you have the right to? 00:09:18.040 --> 00:09:24.040 This was a question they used to ask Jesus. And now with Jesus missing, they're disputing the same thing with the disciples. 00:09:24.040 --> 00:09:33.040 That's a scene. And so many of the scenes in these three narratives are so prevalent today. 00:09:33.040 --> 00:09:41.040 Then there's the father. The father as in the boy's father. 00:09:41.040 --> 00:09:47.040 The father, here's what's happening. He appeals to the disciples. 00:09:47.040 --> 00:09:53.040 Why do you think he appeals to the disciples? He appeals to the disciples because the very term disciples means 00:09:53.040 --> 00:09:58.040 that they belong to a master and that master was Jesus. 00:09:58.040 --> 00:10:03.040 And he appeals to these disciples because he had heard that their master heals. 00:10:03.040 --> 00:10:10.040 And so he expects that if the master heals, the disciples will heal because the principle of discipleship, 00:10:10.040 --> 00:10:16.040 the principle of discipleship in those days and the same applies to us today. 00:10:16.040 --> 00:10:27.040 The principle of discipleship was that the messenger, the messenger of a man is the man himself. 00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:36.040 The messenger of a man is the man himself. This comes from a Hebrew word shalia. 00:10:36.040 --> 00:10:41.040 Shalia means if I sent you someone as my representative or as my disciple, 00:10:41.040 --> 00:10:51.040 the idea was what he says is what you would say. That the messenger of the man is the man himself. 00:10:51.040 --> 00:11:00.040 They didn't see any distinction. This kind of discipleship today is politically incorrect. 00:11:00.040 --> 00:11:09.040 Jesus was a representative of his father. He had to be what the father is and says. 00:11:10.040 --> 00:11:17.040 During the Gulf War, I used to laugh my head off seeing the Iraqi foreign minister come on TV. 00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:23.040 While the US troops are running over Baghdad airport, they're asking him, so how are things in Iraq? 00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:28.040 Everything is peaceful. Everything is calm. Everything is going well. There's nothing wrong. 00:11:28.040 --> 00:11:31.040 Nobody has come into it. And in the background you can see the scene. 00:11:31.040 --> 00:11:35.040 And in the scene US tanks and allied tanks are rolling onto Baghdad airport. 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:41.040 But this guy has no other choice. Why? Because he has to say who he represents. 00:11:44.040 --> 00:11:53.040 We think we have leeway here. We don't. So this man comes to the disciples simply because if the master is Jesus 00:11:53.040 --> 00:12:01.040 and he heals and delivers, surely the disciple should be able to do so too because the messenger of a man is the man himself. 00:12:02.040 --> 00:12:10.040 This is why Jesus goes on to say, if you deal wrongly with any human being here on earth, 00:12:10.040 --> 00:12:17.040 know that you're dealing wrongly with me. Because every human being is actually made in his image. 00:12:17.040 --> 00:12:22.040 Salem. T-S-E-L-E-M. That's another story. Any questions on this? 00:12:22.040 --> 00:12:29.040 This is exactly, this is why nowadays it's fashionable to distance yourself separately, sufficiently from Jesus 00:12:29.040 --> 00:12:33.040 so that what is expected of Jesus won't be expected of you. 00:12:35.040 --> 00:12:41.040 I'm only human. I'm just a man. 00:12:42.040 --> 00:12:51.040 And so we distance ourselves enough from Jesus so that the expectations that people have of Jesus cannot be expected of us. 00:12:51.040 --> 00:12:56.040 But the ancient Middle East, that was not an option. 00:12:56.040 --> 00:13:02.040 Any questions? Where are we going with this? 00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:08.040 We are going with this saying, if we say we are disciples of Jesus, there is a requirement 00:13:08.040 --> 00:13:17.040 that the messenger and the man, the gap between the messenger and the man get very, very, very narrow. 00:13:17.040 --> 00:13:21.040 The disciples though had reason to believe that they could expel this demon, 00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:25.040 because in Mark 6-7, Jesus had commissioned them. 00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:29.040 In Mark 6-7 it says, I give you the authority to go cast out demons. 00:13:29.040 --> 00:13:32.040 And the disciples had tried that. 00:13:32.040 --> 00:13:36.040 So when they went to cast out this demon, it was not, let's do some ministry. 00:13:36.040 --> 00:13:39.040 No, they were commissioned for it. They had good values. 00:13:39.040 --> 00:13:42.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:42.040 --> 00:13:45.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:48.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:48.040 --> 00:13:51.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:51.040 --> 00:13:54.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:54.040 --> 00:13:57.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:13:57.040 --> 00:14:00.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:14:00.040 --> 00:14:03.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:14:03.040 --> 00:14:06.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:14:06.040 --> 00:14:09.040 They were not going to be like, I'm going to be a Christian. 00:14:09.040 --> 00:14:14.040 That's a topic. 00:14:14.040 --> 00:14:17.040 And so in this case, they had a valid reason to believe they could do it. 00:14:17.040 --> 00:14:25.040 My question to you and please, every time I say you, just include me so that I don't have to say we, 00:14:25.040 --> 00:14:29.040 my question to you is this. 00:14:29.040 --> 00:14:33.040 Do you even actually believe? 00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:36.040 Do you air and believe? 00:14:36.040 --> 00:14:43.040 actually believe? Do you, Aaron, believe that you are commissioned and have a valid reason 00:14:43.040 --> 00:14:51.040 to go around healing and delivering people? Is that an actual deep belief? 00:14:51.040 --> 00:15:05.040 Not in the prayer line here, but across the earth. On earth as in heaven. 00:15:05.040 --> 00:15:11.040 These are questions I must ask and you must ask because we can avoid these questions. 00:15:11.040 --> 00:15:24.040 The us and we helps avoid questions. The you hits home harder. You! See, it hit home a little harder, right? 00:15:24.040 --> 00:15:36.040 Unfortunately, the disciples failed and they could not bluff their way out of it with an assurance that the boy would be okay. 00:15:36.040 --> 00:15:41.040 That's what we do. We pray for somebody, nothing happens and we tell them, don't worry, it will be okay. 00:15:41.040 --> 00:15:48.040 Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways and maybe tomorrow, maybe day after, maybe a year from now, maybe there's sin in your life. 00:15:48.040 --> 00:15:57.040 But they could not bluff themselves out of this because unfortunately Jesus' reputation was that he heals and he heals immediately. 00:15:57.040 --> 00:16:03.040 There are only three delayed healings in Jesus' life and those three delayed healings was a matter of minutes. 00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:13.040 This is a super high standard to set. But if he's your master, what choice do we have? 00:16:13.040 --> 00:16:16.040 Any questions? 00:16:25.040 --> 00:16:34.040 Yeah, reality. Reality. If the person doesn't get healed, what do we do? We go on to the next person. 00:16:34.040 --> 00:16:39.040 But we don't say, we don't bluff our way through it. 00:16:39.040 --> 00:16:47.040 And we'll see, because here in this story, it's an if. He did not get healed. 00:16:47.040 --> 00:16:51.040 This is our reality. 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:57.040 There's nobody in this room who has Jesus' track record. We've all failed. 00:16:57.040 --> 00:17:04.040 And some of us, the longer we live, the more you do this, the more often you fail. 00:17:04.040 --> 00:17:16.040 Your batting average goes up the more you bat, but there is sufficient failure too. 00:17:16.040 --> 00:17:20.040 So if is a reality in this story, it did not happen. 00:17:20.040 --> 00:17:23.040 And they were confident because it was not their first rodeo. 00:17:23.040 --> 00:17:27.040 They had gone before and cast out demons and Jesus said, man, look at them. 00:17:27.040 --> 00:17:30.040 They come back and they're rejoicing. And why were they rejoicing? 00:17:30.040 --> 00:17:35.040 Because demons had been cast out and people had been healed. So it was not like they were novices. 00:17:35.040 --> 00:17:39.040 But here is the situation where nothing happened. 00:17:39.040 --> 00:17:54.040 There's another problem here, guys. In Mark 9, 22, you find that their inability to heal shook the father's confidence in Jesus' ability. 00:17:54.040 --> 00:18:09.040 Their inability to heal shook the dad's confidence in Jesus' ability to heal. 00:18:09.040 --> 00:18:19.040 This is a reality even today. 00:18:20.040 --> 00:18:29.040 They come and say to Jesus, the same guy who brought his son because he knew there was nowhere else to go, now says, if you can. 00:18:29.040 --> 00:18:38.040 So my inability to heal also casts doubt in people's mind on the ability of my God to heal. 00:18:38.040 --> 00:18:45.040 Because we are the only ones who represent him. Where else will they go for healing? Where else can they go? 00:18:45.040 --> 00:18:55.040 To the Bible? They wouldn't know where to look. Call out to God? What if they haven't heard of him? Where else can they go? 00:18:55.040 --> 00:19:14.040 Now we come to a place where we look at Jesus and we find him displaying exasperation, 00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:27.040 anger, fear, veeriness, anguish, frustration. 00:19:27.040 --> 00:19:35.040 How long shall I bear up with you? How long shall I put up with you? He's only been with them for about a year and some. 00:19:35.040 --> 00:19:51.040 Not like 17 years with me and us. And you see the son of God who is a perfect representation of the father, experiencing or displaying all these emotions. 00:19:51.040 --> 00:20:01.040 Exasperation, veeriness, anguish, frustration. 00:20:01.040 --> 00:20:10.040 So is it perhaps possible that after he rose again these emotions disappeared? Nope, he's the same yesterday, today and forever. 00:20:10.040 --> 00:20:25.040 These emotions are real for God and they are as real today as they were yesterday and day before and long ago. 00:20:25.040 --> 00:20:33.040 Any questions? 00:20:33.040 --> 00:20:40.040 Jacob, this is such a discouraging message. God is exasperated, weary, anguished and frustrated. Thank God he does something about it. 00:20:40.040 --> 00:20:52.040 But please don't think that he thinks it's okay and normal when we pray for people not to get healed. He doesn't think that's normal. 00:20:52.040 --> 00:21:02.040 Perish that thought. We are sitting here thinking it's okay if we get a 50% batting average. That ain't Jesus. 00:21:02.040 --> 00:21:11.040 Perish that thought. That thought is what allows us to settle for less. 00:21:11.040 --> 00:21:32.040 Guys, you're looking at a guy who bats sometimes lower than 50. So if you think I'm pointing at you and you're feeling guilty, come join the club. I'm starting one. 00:21:32.040 --> 00:21:40.040 It's not about correct methods. They received a commission and it isn't yet about receiving a commission either. 00:21:40.040 --> 00:21:48.040 Luke 9.1 he says go, heal, cleanse, cast out demons. But it's not in Luke 9.2, sorry. It's not about receiving a commission. 00:21:48.040 --> 00:22:03.040 There are a couple of things that he wants us to work with if he is supposed to begin to escalate in terms of how he functions. 00:22:03.040 --> 00:22:16.040 The best way to put it is you have to be faithful and you have to be faithful. 00:22:16.040 --> 00:22:44.040 And we have to be both to engage in divine mission. 00:22:44.040 --> 00:23:01.040 It's odd if you read on in Mark 9 and Matthew 17 you'll find shortly after this the disciples go into arguing about who is better. 00:23:01.040 --> 00:23:09.040 They argue about some guy who started healing and they were upset that he was healing and he was not part of the 12. 00:23:09.040 --> 00:23:19.040 They argue about things that are so pointless that you suddenly realize that even though they walked with him for a while, they still don't have his nature. 00:23:19.040 --> 00:23:27.040 There was a man who was healing and he was actually getting people healed. And they come to Jesus and they say he's not one among us. 00:23:27.040 --> 00:23:34.040 Meaning he was not one of the 12, but he was healing in the name of Jesus. And they get upset that he's healing. 00:23:34.040 --> 00:23:41.040 They just can't heal, but they're upset with people that are healing. It's almost farisical. And don't you think that we sometimes do it? 00:23:41.040 --> 00:23:49.040 Find another church or another someone who we don't necessarily think is functioning like we are, but when they begin to do well, you begin to scratch your head. 00:23:49.040 --> 00:23:56.040 How come they're doing this? This is exactly what the Pharisees did. How are you healing on a Sunday? 00:23:56.040 --> 00:24:03.040 And now the disciples are doing exactly what the Pharisees used to do. That guy is healing. He's actually getting people healed, but he's not one of them. 00:24:03.040 --> 00:24:11.040 Jesus, shall we go shut him down? 00:24:11.040 --> 00:24:24.040 This story begins to expose so many of our present prevalent conditions. It's fascinating. 00:24:24.040 --> 00:24:39.040 I have to be both faithful as in walk faithfully and I have to be faithful, which Jesus is going to bring up. 00:24:39.040 --> 00:24:50.040 It is because the disciples were not faithfully walking that Jesus then goes on to Luke 9, 52 to 59, where he says, 00:24:50.040 --> 00:24:56.040 Come follow me. And then he begins to tell them what following will look like. 00:24:56.040 --> 00:25:08.040 And if you want to follow Jesus, but live a convenient life, if you want to follow Jesus, but live a convenient life, 00:25:08.040 --> 00:25:16.040 then you must pack up this message and not listen to it because it is not for you. 00:25:16.040 --> 00:25:28.040 But if Jesus is the mark that we are aiming for, then know that a faithful life is a life that causes inconvenience. 00:25:28.040 --> 00:25:44.040 Luke 9, 52 onwards will show you how highly inconvenient, highly costly, highly demanding this life is. And that is faithful walking. 00:25:44.040 --> 00:25:47.040 Should we read Luke 9, 52? 00:25:47.040 --> 00:25:51.040 And a man came to Jesus and he said, Jesus, I want to follow you. 00:25:51.040 --> 00:25:58.040 And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. 00:25:58.040 --> 00:26:07.040 Do you still want to follow me? As in, are you willing to forego the conveniences, the things that people normally have to do on a daily basis? 00:26:07.040 --> 00:26:09.040 Live the way. Are you willing to forego that? 00:26:09.040 --> 00:26:13.040 Another man came to him and said, Jesus, I want to follow you. Jesus said, come follow me. 00:26:13.040 --> 00:26:17.040 And the man said, let me go first bury my father and then I will come with you. 00:26:17.040 --> 00:26:26.040 What was he trying to say? I will come and join you once my inheritance and my legacy and all the division of property and all is settled, I'll come and join you. 00:26:26.040 --> 00:26:30.040 Jesus said, let the dead bury the dead. You come and follow me. 00:26:30.040 --> 00:26:39.040 As in, if you're going to wait till an opportune time and all the conditions are right, you cannot be my disciple. 00:26:39.040 --> 00:26:43.040 Another man came to him and said, Jesus, I want to follow you. 00:26:43.040 --> 00:26:51.040 And Jesus said to him, if you set your hands to the plow and keep looking back, then you cannot be my disciple. 00:26:51.040 --> 00:26:57.040 As in, either take a jump into this, put both hands to the plow and start walking. 00:26:57.040 --> 00:27:07.040 If you keep looking back and are constantly doing this, wanting to go with Jesus, but also not wanting to let go, then you cannot be my disciple. 00:27:07.040 --> 00:27:13.040 This is where he takes them to after he realizes that these guys have walked with me. 00:27:13.040 --> 00:27:23.040 Yes, they walked in the commission, but there are these flaws in less than four or five weeks. 00:27:23.040 --> 00:27:26.040 In less than four or five weeks, he's going to be dead. 00:27:26.040 --> 00:27:37.040 The advantage that we have, that the disciples didn't have, is that they didn't have the Holy Spirit living in them. 00:27:37.040 --> 00:27:46.040 So we have an advantage over them. 00:27:46.040 --> 00:27:58.040 Now we look at Jesus' response, which you won't like. 00:27:58.040 --> 00:28:02.040 Jesus' response is really strong. 00:28:02.040 --> 00:28:06.040 Whenever we read it, we think he's addressing the disciples. 00:28:06.040 --> 00:28:08.040 Now, what if he was addressing you? 00:28:08.040 --> 00:28:11.040 Can I pick on a few of you and just say what he said? 00:28:12.040 --> 00:28:19.040 What if he looked at the left side, the first half, till Jordan and Anne? 00:28:19.040 --> 00:28:29.040 What if he looked at you because of your inability to heal people being demonized and people who have sicknesses and your inability? 00:28:29.040 --> 00:28:39.040 And he looks at you and he says to you, you perverse, unbelieving, faithless generation. 00:28:39.040 --> 00:28:46.040 This is the same loving Jesus. 00:28:46.040 --> 00:28:48.040 Don't like it, right? 00:28:48.040 --> 00:28:51.040 If I was on the left side, I wouldn't like it. 00:28:51.040 --> 00:28:56.040 But this is what he's saying. 00:28:56.040 --> 00:29:01.040 We would like to imagine that this is only addressed to the apostles and that Jesus' sins have changed. 00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:06.040 He's become nicer after the resurrection. 00:29:06.040 --> 00:29:09.040 This is not being nice. 00:29:14.040 --> 00:29:22.040 You faithless, perverse generation. 00:29:22.040 --> 00:29:24.040 That's what he calls them. 00:29:24.040 --> 00:29:35.040 It's actually you unbelieving and perverse generation. 00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:46.040 In some, he says faithless is actually an echo from Deuteronomy 23, verse 5 and 6, where God says, I am faithful, but Israel is a stiff necked, faithless, perverse generation. 00:29:46.040 --> 00:29:49.040 He's borrowing it from them. Why? 00:29:49.040 --> 00:29:52.040 Because there was a time when Moses came down a mountain. 00:29:52.040 --> 00:29:54.040 His face had been transfigured. 00:29:54.040 --> 00:30:02.040 He comes down the mountain and he finds people below, not worshipping God, but worshipping a calf. 00:30:02.040 --> 00:30:08.040 He was faithful, but the people below are unfaithful, even though he set them free. 00:30:08.040 --> 00:30:13.040 And borrowing from that, now Jesus uses the same scripture in a completely different context. 00:30:13.040 --> 00:30:15.040 He's come down from the mountain. They saw him transfigured. 00:30:15.040 --> 00:30:17.040 He's down in the valley. 00:30:17.040 --> 00:30:18.040 And now it happens. 00:30:18.040 --> 00:30:23.040 And he draws from Deuteronomy 23, verse 5 and 6. 00:30:23.040 --> 00:30:28.040 Any questions? 00:30:28.040 --> 00:30:40.040 So the thing is, he comes down because he was disappointed with America. 00:30:40.040 --> 00:30:46.040 Did it happen or was it obedience to what Jesus was? 00:30:46.040 --> 00:30:52.040 Yeah. So when we go further down, he tells them why. 00:30:52.040 --> 00:30:53.040 He explains it to them. 00:30:53.040 --> 00:31:00.040 So the great thing about Jesus is he can call me unbelieving, perverse, and faithless. 00:31:00.040 --> 00:31:08.040 And then after that, in private, he can begin to help me not be perverse, unbelieving, and faithless. 00:31:08.040 --> 00:31:10.040 Because he takes them. There are two versions. 00:31:10.040 --> 00:31:14.040 One says once they were inside the room, Jesus spoke to them. 00:31:14.040 --> 00:31:17.040 Another one says he drew them aside privately and he spoke to them. 00:31:17.040 --> 00:31:19.040 But he begins to address it. 00:31:19.040 --> 00:31:24.040 Our present problem is we're not even supposed to address it. 00:31:24.040 --> 00:31:28.040 Make everyone feel good about themselves. 00:31:28.040 --> 00:31:39.040 Thank God Jesus used this word, not a pastor. 00:31:39.040 --> 00:31:43.040 He also challenges the father, the boy's father. 00:31:43.040 --> 00:31:45.040 He challenges him too. 00:31:45.040 --> 00:31:53.040 And you see this as another tendency nowadays amongst Christians and amongst non-Christians also. 00:31:53.040 --> 00:31:58.040 Amongst Christians, it'll be, if God will do this, I will believe him. 00:31:58.040 --> 00:32:00.040 This is what the dad is saying. 00:32:00.040 --> 00:32:04.040 If you can. Jesus doesn't like it at all, eh? 00:32:04.040 --> 00:32:07.040 That wasn't a nice exchange. 00:32:07.040 --> 00:32:08.040 This dad is saying, if you can. 00:32:08.040 --> 00:32:16.040 And Jesus is saying, this has nothing to do with can. 00:32:16.040 --> 00:32:20.040 He doesn't give it any oxygen. 00:32:20.040 --> 00:32:25.040 I've seen Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, non-Christians, atheists coming and saying, 00:32:25.040 --> 00:32:28.040 if your God will do this, then I will believe him. 00:32:28.040 --> 00:32:31.040 And we fall for that. 00:32:31.040 --> 00:32:35.040 We plead with God for a miracle so that the person can believe. 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:41.040 What if Jesus didn't do anything for you but died for you to pay a price for your life 00:32:41.040 --> 00:32:43.040 so that you're not eternally damned? 00:32:43.040 --> 00:32:48.040 Is that enough? 00:32:48.040 --> 00:32:51.040 John Piper puts it this way. 00:32:51.040 --> 00:32:54.040 We want a history maker because we have a sense of purpose. 00:32:54.040 --> 00:32:58.040 We want a sin remover because we like feeling not guilty. 00:32:58.040 --> 00:33:01.040 We want a pain remover because we don't like pain. 00:33:01.040 --> 00:33:06.040 We don't like pain. We like pleasure. 00:33:06.040 --> 00:33:16.040 But we never go to Jesus simply because of the surpassing worth of who he is and what he's done. 00:33:16.040 --> 00:33:20.040 Paul talks about the surpassing worth of Christ and what he's done. 00:33:20.040 --> 00:33:22.040 We play into this. 00:33:22.040 --> 00:33:23.040 Jesus, please prove yourself to me. 00:33:23.040 --> 00:33:26.040 And Jesus will prove himself sovereignly if he wants to. 00:33:26.040 --> 00:33:32.040 But when this challenge comes in, it's not necessarily a God thing. 00:33:32.040 --> 00:33:45.040 Show me one place where God does something to convince someone of something. 00:33:45.040 --> 00:33:48.040 Yeah, agree. 00:33:48.040 --> 00:33:50.040 I can think of a few other Old Testament examples. 00:33:50.040 --> 00:33:53.040 But in the gospel narrative, you rarely find Jesus. 00:33:53.040 --> 00:33:58.040 I mean, I don't know if you watch a movie, but walk over my swimming pool, Jesus will refuse. 00:33:58.040 --> 00:34:06.040 Yeah. 00:34:06.040 --> 00:34:07.040 Yeah. 00:34:07.040 --> 00:34:11.040 So he takes away from the man the ability to say, if you can. 00:34:11.040 --> 00:34:14.040 What Jesus is saying is this has nothing to do with my ability. 00:34:14.040 --> 00:34:20.040 This has everything to do with your belief. 00:34:20.040 --> 00:34:33.040 Ain't going to jump off no steeple for you. 00:34:33.040 --> 00:34:36.040 Nowadays, there's a tendency to provoke God's power through a challenge. 00:34:36.040 --> 00:34:39.040 Jesus is saying, it depends on your ability to believe, not mine to act. 00:34:39.040 --> 00:34:42.040 It depends on your ability to believe. 00:34:42.040 --> 00:34:55.040 It depends on your ability to believe, not mine to act. 00:34:55.040 --> 00:35:04.040 Because I will always act. This is my nature. 00:35:04.040 --> 00:35:09.040 I once had a person in Indonesia come to me and they brought their child with them. 00:35:09.040 --> 00:35:14.040 And the guy who brought them, I felt like throttling him later. 00:35:14.040 --> 00:35:17.040 And he, she, so she comes to the challenge. 00:35:17.040 --> 00:35:25.040 She says, if your God is true, tell me what my problem is and ask your God to solve it. 00:35:25.040 --> 00:35:32.040 So not only don't I know the problem, she wants me to find out from God what the problem is. 00:35:32.040 --> 00:35:36.040 Then after having found out the problem, she wants me to pray to God to heal it. 00:35:36.040 --> 00:35:38.040 And surprisingly, God did. 00:35:38.040 --> 00:35:40.040 That is the crazy part. 00:35:40.040 --> 00:35:44.040 This God is a kind, merciful, obliging God. 00:35:44.040 --> 00:35:49.040 He knows when it's a test and when it's not. 00:35:49.040 --> 00:35:55.040 He knows. 00:35:55.040 --> 00:36:00.040 Learn the faith that bows its head before the concealed glory of God, not my line. 00:36:00.040 --> 00:36:29.040 Learn the faith, learn the faith that bows its head to before the concealed glory of God. 00:36:29.040 --> 00:36:33.040 Learn the faith that bows its head before the concealed glory of God. 00:36:33.040 --> 00:36:49.040 As in, can I bow my head in faith instead of faith being something that I will only exert if you can convince me that you are able to do it. 00:36:49.040 --> 00:36:53.040 The other thing Jesus does that is strange is he rebukes the spirit twice. 00:36:53.040 --> 00:36:55.040 He says, get out of this boy. 00:36:55.040 --> 00:36:57.040 And he says, never come back again. 00:36:57.040 --> 00:37:01.040 Nowhere else in any other story does Jesus do that. 00:37:01.040 --> 00:37:03.040 Twice he rebukes him. 00:37:03.040 --> 00:37:05.040 Get out of this boy and never come back again. 00:37:05.040 --> 00:37:13.040 This particular spirit was a malignant, really evil spirit because it was able to resist the disciples. 00:37:13.040 --> 00:37:20.040 And when Jesus comes and rebukes the spirit, what immediately happens is the spirit throws this boy down. 00:37:20.040 --> 00:37:23.040 And the boy starts convulsing, foaming. 00:37:23.040 --> 00:37:26.040 This is unlike the other spirits that Jesus has cast out. 00:37:26.040 --> 00:37:28.040 They leave it a word. 00:37:28.040 --> 00:37:35.040 I don't know whether it was that that caused Jesus, but there's an anger in Jesus now against the spirit. 00:37:35.040 --> 00:37:39.040 I've never seen him in any other narrative rebuking and saying, don't ever come back. 00:37:39.040 --> 00:37:44.040 It was like a final class. 00:37:44.040 --> 00:37:46.040 There's a finality to what he does with this. 00:37:46.040 --> 00:37:50.040 And this is just a supposition. 00:37:50.040 --> 00:37:53.040 Did the boy really die? 00:37:53.040 --> 00:38:01.040 Because he says he fell down and he was like dead and people around him started saying, this boy is dead. 00:38:01.040 --> 00:38:06.040 And if it was so, then Jesus raised him to life. 00:38:06.040 --> 00:38:09.040 That's what the scriptures say. 00:38:09.040 --> 00:38:15.040 Every time Satan is dethroned, decay and death are defeated and life arises. 00:38:15.040 --> 00:38:17.040 We don't know whether this boy actually died. 00:38:17.040 --> 00:38:20.040 We know that when Paul was stoned, they left him for dead. 00:38:20.040 --> 00:38:23.040 And we know that he died and he rose and went back into the city. 00:38:23.040 --> 00:38:25.040 What happened with this boy? 00:38:25.040 --> 00:38:30.040 Sometimes when the girl was dead, Jairus's daughter was dead, Jesus said she was sleeping. 00:38:30.040 --> 00:38:37.040 In this case, the boy was, in the eyes of everybody else, this boy was dead. 00:38:37.040 --> 00:38:40.040 So there's not just a deliverance here. 00:38:40.040 --> 00:38:42.040 Perhaps. 00:38:47.040 --> 00:38:52.040 All righty. 00:38:52.040 --> 00:38:56.040 So now to go to Mark's question. 00:38:56.040 --> 00:39:01.040 In response to their questions on why they had failed, Jesus takes them aside. 00:39:01.040 --> 00:39:05.040 And here are some of the reasons that come up. 00:39:05.040 --> 00:39:08.040 One, guys, their faith is on and off like ours. 00:39:08.040 --> 00:39:14.040 Their faith is on and off like yours and mine. 00:39:14.040 --> 00:39:16.040 Is on and off. 00:39:16.040 --> 00:39:19.040 Their faith is on and off. 00:39:19.040 --> 00:39:26.040 So sometimes when they were in the boat and Jesus said, go on to the other side, 00:39:26.040 --> 00:39:29.040 they had faith but it didn't manifest. 00:39:29.040 --> 00:39:35.040 Other times when they were sent to heal the sick and cast out demons, 00:39:35.040 --> 00:39:38.040 faith was on and they went and they came back rejoicing saying, 00:39:38.040 --> 00:39:40.040 Jesus, even the spirits obey us. 00:39:40.040 --> 00:39:43.040 Then there are other times where he said, you give them something to eat, 00:39:43.040 --> 00:39:48.040 and the faith was weak because they said, how can we provide for 5,000? 00:39:48.040 --> 00:39:51.040 And then in this situation, faith is absent. 00:39:51.040 --> 00:39:53.040 So faith for the disciples was on and off. 00:39:53.040 --> 00:39:57.040 And it's crazy what Jesus is asking them to do. 00:39:57.040 --> 00:40:02.040 He's looking at a crowd that was about 100 times this crowd here, 00:40:02.040 --> 00:40:04.040 and he's saying, you give them something to eat. 00:40:04.040 --> 00:40:09.040 What's his expectation, man? 00:40:09.040 --> 00:40:16.040 We have it easy, guys. 00:40:16.040 --> 00:40:19.040 We have it so easy. 00:40:19.040 --> 00:40:21.040 Imagine if Jill was one of the apostles. 00:40:21.040 --> 00:40:23.040 Jill, give them something to eat. 00:40:23.040 --> 00:40:25.040 But Jesus, what do you want? 00:40:25.040 --> 00:40:28.040 Phoebe has two loaves and five fish. 00:40:28.040 --> 00:40:30.040 Take it from her before Sheldon gets it. 00:40:30.040 --> 00:40:41.040 And feed the 5,000. 00:40:41.040 --> 00:40:52.040 The demands that are being placed on the disciples are so much harder. 00:40:52.040 --> 00:40:55.040 And he said, where's your faith when he did that? 00:40:55.040 --> 00:40:57.040 And so here faith is absent. 00:40:57.040 --> 00:40:59.040 So one of the things is their faith is on and off. 00:40:59.040 --> 00:41:02.040 And may I say to you that my faith and your faith is usually on and off. 00:41:02.040 --> 00:41:05.040 Some days you show amazing faith. 00:41:05.040 --> 00:41:09.040 Other days it's completely off. 00:41:09.040 --> 00:41:14.040 Second, and this is the crux of the matter. 00:41:14.040 --> 00:41:25.040 He says the expulsion of this kind of spirit could only happen through prayer. 00:41:25.040 --> 00:41:35.040 As in full reliance on the unlimited power of God, 00:41:35.040 --> 00:41:51.040 full reliance on the unlimited power of God is accessed through and expressed, 00:41:51.040 --> 00:41:57.040 is accessed and expressed only through prayer. 00:41:57.040 --> 00:42:12.040 And in saying that, implicit in his statement is the failure to pray. 00:42:12.040 --> 00:42:15.040 Is the failure to pray. 00:42:15.040 --> 00:42:17.040 Some versions may say prayer and fasting. 00:42:17.040 --> 00:42:20.040 I just want you to know that the prayer and fasting, 00:42:20.040 --> 00:42:24.040 the fasting part was added more than 100 years later 00:42:24.040 --> 00:42:29.040 because there was a time 200 and 300 years after Christ's death 00:42:29.040 --> 00:42:33.040 where fasting became a very important part of church. 00:42:33.040 --> 00:42:35.040 And nothing wrong with that. 00:42:35.040 --> 00:42:38.040 But people started adding notes to the original scriptures. 00:42:38.040 --> 00:42:41.040 So you will find in your Bible that many of them leave a little asterisk there 00:42:41.040 --> 00:42:44.040 saying this is not in the original manuscripts. 00:42:44.040 --> 00:42:46.040 When Jesus spoke about it, he was only talking about prayer. 00:42:46.040 --> 00:42:48.040 Prayer and fasting was added much later. 00:42:48.040 --> 00:42:50.040 And you will find that in a few other scriptures too. 00:42:50.040 --> 00:42:53.040 They are all later manuscripts, not the original. 00:42:53.040 --> 00:42:55.040 Which is not to say you shouldn't fast. 00:42:55.040 --> 00:43:02.040 It is just to say in those situations, those verses, it's not true. 00:43:02.040 --> 00:43:07.040 Full reliance on the unlimited power of God is accessed and expressed only through prayer. 00:43:07.040 --> 00:43:09.040 So let's go down that road. 00:43:09.040 --> 00:43:18.040 So prayer forges, prayer forges as in shapes or fashions, 00:43:18.040 --> 00:43:35.040 fuels as in sustains, and fragrances as in makes sweet relationship. 00:43:35.040 --> 00:43:43.040 And therefore requires time. 00:43:47.040 --> 00:44:02.040 Relationship forges, fuels, furnishes faith. 00:44:05.040 --> 00:44:20.040 Faith forges, fuels, and finishes authority. 00:44:25.040 --> 00:44:27.040 That's how it works. 00:44:27.040 --> 00:44:30.040 Finishes as in completes. 00:44:30.040 --> 00:44:32.040 Finishes as in completes. 00:44:32.040 --> 00:44:40.040 Authority is never fully exerted or complete till authority and faith work together. 00:44:40.040 --> 00:44:46.040 God has given us authority but we don't have the faith to walk in that authority or complete. 00:44:46.040 --> 00:44:51.040 To remove the word finishes, I was just going for Fs all over the place. 00:44:51.040 --> 00:44:55.040 So go with complete or another word. 00:44:55.040 --> 00:44:56.040 Pardon? 00:44:56.040 --> 00:44:59.040 Faith forges, fuels, and furnishes as well. 00:44:59.040 --> 00:45:04.040 Finishes, finishes authority as in completes authority. 00:45:04.040 --> 00:45:06.040 So this is how it works. 00:45:06.040 --> 00:45:10.040 And this is something that most of us don't do because we do not have time. 00:45:15.040 --> 00:45:16.040 Sure. 00:45:16.040 --> 00:45:29.040 If faith is something that causes you, at what point does it become more related than faith? 00:45:29.040 --> 00:45:30.040 Yeah. 00:45:30.040 --> 00:45:38.040 So God gives everyone faith, but the faith is built through relationship. 00:45:38.040 --> 00:45:50.040 So if I know God's nature, faith is easy to exert. 00:45:50.040 --> 00:45:55.040 If I do not know God's nature, then faith is difficult to exert. 00:45:55.040 --> 00:46:02.040 In any area in our lives where we know the nature of somebody, it is very easy to trust her. 00:46:02.040 --> 00:46:05.040 Any area of life where you, I'm not talking about God. 00:46:05.040 --> 00:46:11.040 In any area of life where you know the nature of someone, in that area you will trust them super easily. 00:46:11.040 --> 00:46:13.040 You don't even need to exert faith. 00:46:13.040 --> 00:46:15.040 It becomes almost restful. 00:46:15.040 --> 00:46:23.040 And so God gives us faith to start with, as in, hey, I've given you the ability to trust me. 00:46:23.040 --> 00:46:27.040 But now develop that ability through relationship. 00:46:27.040 --> 00:46:35.040 Therefore, prayer forges our shapes or fashions, prayer fuels and prayer fragrances relationship. 00:46:35.040 --> 00:46:40.040 And it makes the relationship rich, but it requires time because relationships require time. 00:46:40.040 --> 00:46:42.040 And so that's the first one. 00:46:42.040 --> 00:46:50.040 Once you have a relationship, now the relationship begins to fuel, forge and furnish you the faith you require. 00:46:51.040 --> 00:47:00.040 Because once you know, once you're in a relationship with someone and you know their nature in an area, you are able to trust them so easily, so easily. 00:47:00.040 --> 00:47:07.040 In any area that you are excelling in faith, it is because in that area you have a relationship with God. 00:47:07.040 --> 00:47:10.040 In that area, more than I do. 00:47:10.040 --> 00:47:16.040 So let's assume you have this amazing ability to trust God for money. 00:47:16.040 --> 00:47:22.040 It is because in that area you have this amazing relationship with Him as provider. 00:47:22.040 --> 00:47:26.040 Let's say I have an amazing ability to trust Him for healing. 00:47:26.040 --> 00:47:32.040 Because in that area, when it comes to the nature of Jesus as healer, I'm confident of it. 00:47:32.040 --> 00:47:36.040 All of us are different areas, guys. 00:47:38.040 --> 00:47:41.040 Some of you are not afraid of losing your job. 00:47:41.040 --> 00:47:43.040 Others will panic. 00:47:43.040 --> 00:47:44.040 But you won't. Why? 00:47:44.040 --> 00:47:51.040 Because when it comes to jobs, you are super confident that God will take care of it. 00:47:59.040 --> 00:48:05.040 Faith then begins to shape, fashion, fuel and give strength to your authority. 00:48:05.040 --> 00:48:08.040 Otherwise, having authority is not enough. 00:48:08.040 --> 00:48:10.040 Authority must be mixed with faith. 00:48:10.040 --> 00:48:13.040 Authority must be mixed with faith. 00:48:33.040 --> 00:48:37.040 Sometimes it's all-in-all because of laziness. 00:48:37.040 --> 00:48:43.040 Sometimes it's on and off because of a lack of time spent and therefore lack of relationship. 00:48:43.040 --> 00:48:47.040 Yeah, it could be so many reasons for being on and off. 00:48:47.040 --> 00:48:53.040 Sometimes I am on and off in my faith simply because I can do it without faith. 00:48:53.040 --> 00:48:56.040 Why do I need God? I can do this on my own. 00:48:56.040 --> 00:49:03.040 One of the greatest enemies of faith is self-reliance, not doubt. Self-reliance. 00:49:03.040 --> 00:49:05.040 I can do this on my own. 00:49:13.040 --> 00:49:18.040 Faith is never a measurable commodity, guys. It's always a relationship. 00:49:18.040 --> 00:49:24.040 And so through prayer you don't get superior faith. Through prayer you get superior relationship. 00:49:26.040 --> 00:49:32.040 Superior relationship allows you to fathom the unlimited power of God. 00:49:32.040 --> 00:49:41.040 You can't, it's not a measurable commodity. So it's not like you can have superior faith, but you can have superior relationship. 00:49:41.040 --> 00:49:46.040 And once you have superior relationship, you can begin to fathom the unlimited power of God. 00:49:46.040 --> 00:49:50.040 Once you know the unlimited power of God, you can use faith to draw on it. 00:49:53.040 --> 00:49:58.040 Once you know the unlimited power of God, different areas, you know the unlimited power of God as a healer, 00:49:58.040 --> 00:50:04.040 you know the unlimited power of God as a healer, well then, now you have such easy ability to draw on it. 00:50:04.040 --> 00:50:09.040 You're in pain, but you're absolutely confident that you will be healed. 00:50:09.040 --> 00:50:15.040 You don't have money, but you're absolutely confident that you will have money. 00:50:19.040 --> 00:50:26.040 I'm unfortunately stuck on healing and provision, but there are so many hundreds and hundreds of areas if you take Hebrews chapter 11. 00:50:29.040 --> 00:50:36.040 That's how this works guys. And Jesus is saying, guys, you need to now begin to spend more time in prayer. 00:50:36.040 --> 00:50:44.040 Do you see now why in Acts chapter 6 verse 4, the apostles say, we cannot continue serving at these tables every day. 00:50:44.040 --> 00:50:49.040 We need to set time aside for prayer and teaching the word. 00:50:49.040 --> 00:50:51.040 So let me end. 00:50:51.040 --> 00:50:55.040 In Acts chapter 2 verse 42 to 45, and the church grew. Why? 00:50:55.040 --> 00:51:03.040 Because there were four things they focused on, breaking of bread, fellowship, teaching, prayers. 00:51:14.040 --> 00:51:16.040 So let me end. 00:51:20.040 --> 00:51:34.040 Prayer requires unusual energy. Why? 00:51:34.040 --> 00:51:55.040 Because I have to lock my heart and mind to an invisible person. 00:51:55.040 --> 00:52:08.040 And I must avoid mental drift. 00:52:08.040 --> 00:52:17.040 This is why it requires unusual energy. It requires so much energy to pray, man. Why? 00:52:17.040 --> 00:52:22.040 Because I have to lock my heart and mind on an invisible person. 00:52:22.040 --> 00:52:27.040 It's easy having conversation with a person that is live. 00:52:27.040 --> 00:52:31.040 Hey Mark, and then you begin a conversation. 00:52:31.040 --> 00:52:37.040 You're talking to an invisible person with a cup of coffee, and you have this thing called mental drift. 00:52:37.040 --> 00:52:42.040 Where your mind begins to think, oops, I've got to do that for Karen. 00:52:42.040 --> 00:52:45.040 Oops, I left a towel that was wet on the floor. 00:52:45.040 --> 00:52:50.040 Oops, didn't do this, didn't do that. So many things, mental drift, and it is so hard. 00:52:50.040 --> 00:52:54.040 You need unusual energy for this. 00:52:54.040 --> 00:52:58.040 This is why a crisis makes it so easy to pray. 00:52:58.040 --> 00:53:01.040 Whenever we have a crisis, it becomes easy to pray. Why? 00:53:01.040 --> 00:53:05.040 Because our mind and our heart immediately locks onto the problem. 00:53:05.040 --> 00:53:14.040 That's why we get so pray-y during crises. 00:53:14.040 --> 00:53:19.040 Because now there's a serious problem that I've got to lock my mind and heart on. 00:53:19.040 --> 00:53:22.040 Because if I don't pray this through, things won't work out good. 00:53:22.040 --> 00:53:25.040 So now it's like on my knees, head buried, praying. 00:53:25.040 --> 00:53:33.040 But when everything is normal, we do not have the discipline of praying because it consumes a lot of energy. 00:53:33.040 --> 00:53:40.040 But what we do is because it is so difficult and our mind wanders, we decide, okay, we are such a creative, charismatic church, 00:53:40.040 --> 00:53:43.040 we'll spontaneously pray. Pray without ceasing. 00:53:43.040 --> 00:53:47.040 Like, just have conversations with God. Just, that's what the Father wants. 00:53:47.040 --> 00:53:52.040 Isn't that what people who are in love do? They spontaneously talk to each other. 00:53:52.040 --> 00:53:55.040 And you think to yourself, that's good. 00:53:55.040 --> 00:53:58.040 But that ain't enough, man. 00:53:58.040 --> 00:54:00.040 That they were doing anyway with Jesus. 00:54:00.040 --> 00:54:04.040 The disciples were walking up and down, talking to Jesus about everything from carpentry to fishing. 00:54:04.040 --> 00:54:12.040 But what he was asking them to do was, can you have deliberate times of dedicated prayer? 00:54:12.040 --> 00:54:14.040 And that was missing in their lives. 00:54:14.040 --> 00:54:18.040 And he says, because of this, you could not cast out the demon. 00:54:18.040 --> 00:54:23.040 Their ineffectiveness was because of a lack of prayer and a lack of faith. 00:54:23.040 --> 00:54:33.040 Lack of prayer. Unbelieving generation. Lack of prayer. 00:54:33.040 --> 00:54:36.040 So the spontaneous thing is not very, it's very good. 00:54:36.040 --> 00:54:40.040 I'm glad that we can spontaneously, beautifully pray like children pray. 00:54:40.040 --> 00:54:42.040 But there are these concentrated times of... 00:54:42.040 --> 00:54:46.040 I mean, can you imagine walking with your dad, talking about a math problem, 00:54:46.040 --> 00:54:49.040 and thinking that that will help you get through math in school? 00:54:49.040 --> 00:54:54.040 It doesn't. Two plus two is four. But it's very different when you have to write an exam. 00:54:54.040 --> 00:54:56.040 It's a little more difficult. 00:54:56.040 --> 00:55:01.040 So just because prayerlessness is more dangerous than a wandering mind. 00:55:01.040 --> 00:55:04.040 Prayerlessness is more dangerous than a wandering mind. 00:55:04.040 --> 00:55:07.040 And so here's how we can fix that. 00:55:07.040 --> 00:55:31.040 How about this week we try praying out of Psalm 143 or Psalm 139 or Psalm 23 or Ephesians 117-19 or Matthew 6, 8-15. 00:55:31.040 --> 00:55:34.040 Why don't we try praying out of this? Learn the discipline. 00:55:38.040 --> 00:55:44.040 So this won't take away spontaneity, but it will add to it discipline. 00:55:44.040 --> 00:55:48.040 Choose any of these. Maybe you have more. But choose one of these. 00:55:48.040 --> 00:55:56.040 Psalm 23, Father, you're my shepherd. I shall not want. Oh shucks, I definitely want. 00:55:56.040 --> 00:55:58.040 So now let's start all over again. 00:55:58.040 --> 00:56:04.040 The Lord is my shepherd. I have nothing that I want. Not true, oh God. 00:56:04.040 --> 00:56:08.040 Start again. The Lord is my shepherd. I have my. 00:56:08.040 --> 00:56:12.040 Eventually you might get there. Psalm 139, same thing. 00:56:12.040 --> 00:56:14.040 Deliberate times of prayer. Just take these five. 00:56:14.040 --> 00:56:20.040 This can last you. Some of us this can last us to the end of Christmas. 00:56:26.040 --> 00:56:28.040 Because this has been very difficult. 00:56:28.040 --> 00:56:35.040 Can we try this? In any language? 00:56:35.040 --> 00:56:40.040 Because why are we saying this? Because we need this man. 00:56:40.040 --> 00:56:45.040 There are other options besides well done, good and faithful servants. 00:56:45.040 --> 00:56:48.040 Like, oh, unbelieving, faithless, perverse generation. 00:56:48.040 --> 00:56:50.040 I would rather hear the other one. 00:56:50.040 --> 00:56:55.040 Your pastor is in the same boat as you when it comes to dedicated times of prayer. 00:56:55.040 --> 00:57:02.040 As in, very good. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. 00:57:20.040 --> 00:57:31.040 There's nothing automatic about power, guys. There's nothing automatic about power. 00:57:31.040 --> 00:57:36.040 The key lies in faith. The key lies in faith. 00:57:36.040 --> 00:57:40.040 Nothing automatic about power. The key is faith. 00:57:40.040 --> 00:57:52.040 When you say faith, Jesus says nothing will be impossible for you. 00:57:58.040 --> 00:58:03.040 And he doesn't say great faith. He says mustered faith. 00:58:04.040 --> 00:58:13.040 Just so you know, if you can't believe for deliverance for yourself, if you can't believe that God heals, 00:58:13.040 --> 00:58:21.040 if you don't believe it for yourself, you can't believe that God heals. 00:58:21.040 --> 00:58:25.040 You can't say, I believe that God heals but not for myself. 00:58:25.040 --> 00:58:29.040 Then you really don't believe it. I believe that God provides but not for me. 00:58:29.040 --> 00:58:35.040 Then you really don't believe it. Don't hold both those things together. You can't hold them. 00:58:35.040 --> 00:58:41.040 Got to believe for myself first and then it can begin to spread to others. 00:58:41.040 --> 00:58:46.040 You empower the enemy when you agree with a man-centered perspective. 00:58:46.040 --> 00:58:51.040 You empower the enemy when you agree with a man-centered perspective. Refuse that.