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Fasting Drives Away Doubt
Mark 9:29 'And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.'
MARK 9:28-29
Prayer and fasting do not drive certain demons out. If the name of Jesus and faith in His name won't do the job, then fasting and prayer won't either. Jesus is saying that fasting and prayer are the only ways of casting out this type of unbelief.
An unbelief that comes as a result of ignorance can be done away with by receiving the truth of God's Word (Rom. 10:17; 2 Pet. 1:4). However, the unbelief that hindered the disciples in this case was a 'natural' type of unbelief. They had been taught all of their lives to believe what their five senses told them. They were simply dominated by this...
Give All The Glory To God
John 17:18 'As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.'
We are not from the world. Through the new birth, we come from God and should constantly remind ourselves of this. It is not good to be too 'at home' in the world. We are in the world but are not of the world. Great men and women of God have always had this attitude.
The primary reason that God chooses to use those who are nothing by the world's standards, is so no one else can take credit for the great things that are accomplished.
If the Lord used those who had it 'all together' in the natural, then they would share the glory that rightfully belongs to God alone. But when the Lord works miraculously through someone who obviously...
His Will Is In The Word
John 17:17 'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.'
JOHN 17:17
In this prayer, Jesus prayed twice that the Father would keep His disciples from evil. Then He reveals the way that God will accomplish this - through His Word, the holy scriptures. Anyone who desires to live for God, reject the devil, and reject the world's system, must know God's Word.
We must study the scriptures, for they reveal the will of God for our actions and attitudes. To be filled with the knowledge of God's will, we must be filled with God's Word. God's Word is His will! Those who are ignorant of God's Word will be ignorant of God's will.
Knowledge of God's will is foundational in developing Christian conduct and...
His Purpose Revealed
Matthew 16:21, 'From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.'
MATTHEW 16:20-28
Despite the abundant and clear prophecies about His death and resurrection, Jesus' disciples didn't understand or remember Jesus' words until after His resurrection (Lk. 24:5-9). Luke records twice that Jesus' sayings about His resurrection were hidden from the disciples. It is interesting to note, however, that the chief priests and Pharisees remembered Jesus' prophecies about His resurrection (Mt. 27:63) when His disciples didn't.
One of the great truths of the...
Recognize The Real Enemy
Mark 8:33, 'But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.'
MARK 8:30-33
Jesus was not implying that Peter and Satan were one-and-the-same, but was referring to the fact that Satan had inspired Peter's statement. This type of metaphor was used elsewhere in scripture such as when God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) as though addressing Satan. The serpent was merely the vehicle of communication Satan used to tempt Adam and Eve, while Peter was the vehicle Satan used to tempt Jesus. Ephesians 6:12 reveals that our warfare isn't with people, but...
God's Will Above Ours
Luke 9:23, 'And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.'
MATTHEW 16:16-26; MARK 8:30-37; LUKE 9:21-27
Self-denial is an important part of the Christian life. Jesus sacrificed His life for us and He demands that we die to ourselves that we might experience the new life He has provided. We do this first by recognizing that we can't save ourselves by our own effort and, second, by trusting God - not self - for salvation. Then daily, we need to deny our own wisdom and seek God's wisdom and direction for our lives.
Self-denial is only good when we are denying ourselves for the singular purpose of exalting Jesus and His will for us in...