Matthew 8:16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses. “
Jesus Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses; Jesus bore it so we don’t have to. What an awesome Savior. There truly is no other like Him; turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Psalm 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
This is the God that I serve. Forget not all His benefits; put His benefits in mind. Nurture the truth that He forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. Jesus is the One who redeems your life from destruction. Jesus is the one who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies. Jesus is the one who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Faithful God indeed; don’t forget is the command. Our generation has been so far removed from the promise many are not sure if God does anything like this.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is substance; faith is evidence! Faith is the substance of our confident expectation of the benefits He has promised. Faith is the body of evidence we have received what has not yet manifested in the seen world.
Matthew 13:57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Jesus was limited because of their unbelief. Now He did not do many mighty works there. It was directly related to their unbelief.
Mark 6:4 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
This is Mark’s telling of the same incident; Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. The atmosphere set with unbelief limits the working and demonstration of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 “So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." 17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me."
The man brought his son to the disciples and they could not cure him. Jesus response to the inability of the disciples was “O faithless and perverse generation…” “Bring him here to Me.”
Matthew 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."
Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy; he was cured from that very hour. The disciples asked Jesus privately “Why could we not cast it out?” The answer goes to the heart of the issue. “Because of your unbelief; … if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. The disciples had already cast out devils and healed the sick, what was different. This boy had a demonic manifestation that allows unbelief to come to the disciples. In fasting and prayer, the unbelief is removed and faith stands operative. When faith is coupled with unbelief the faith is nullified. Jesus did not say the demon was too strong; Jesus pointed to unbelief mixed in with faith, turned faith to faithlessness.
Mark 9:17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 “And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." 19 He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
Note that Jesus had the expectation that the disciple should have been able to cast out the evil spirit. Jesus was not pleased with the disciple’s inability to cast out the evil spirit.
Mark 9:20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. 21 So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 “And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."
Mark adds a flavor to the event between the boy’s father and Jesus. So awesome! The man brought the boy to Jesus and the evil spirit convulsed him and fell to the ground wallowing and foaming at the mouth. This demonstration was enough to move the disciples to unbelief; however, Jesus was not moved. Jesus asked the father how long had this been happening to him. The Father had come in faith to the disciples but the faith is now wavering because the disciples could not do it. He said to Jesus “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus always speaks the word that brings the seeker to faith. Listen to the WORD… “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” … WORD
Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” cried out the father. Jesus spoke to the deaf and dumb spirit and commanded it to come out. So many lessons to learn from the Master. Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. Look at our Savoir healing and delivering. Jesus heard the cry of the father, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” The dad set his heart to believe! Set your heart…
Mark 9:28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
Prayer and fasting are the prescriptions to move doubt and unbelief. It will make us effective in ministering. Prayer and fasting do not move God; prayer and fasting clean our receptors from unbelief. Like cleaning lenses to improve eyesight so fasting and prayer improve spiritual perception. Faith is the evidence of what we see in the spiritual realm. God wanted to heal the boy the entire time; this should never be in doubt. The disciples were moved to unbelief by the demonstrative circumstances around them. Has it ever reflected in your life that way?
Luke 9:37 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 “And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.
Now it is Luke’s turn to share this deliverance with us. This man’s pursuit did not stop with the disciples; he pursued the Master. Anyone pursuing Jesus never left disappointed.
Luke 9:40 “So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
The rebuke to the disciples was strong indeed. ‘O faithless and perverse generation.” If our faith is mixed with unbelief we simply have been moved to faithlessness, God has the cure. A lifestyle of prayer and fasting will keep one ready for the onslaught of unexpected circumstances
Jude 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Some have not seen the value of praying in the Holy Spirit. Jude clearly teaches us we can build up ourselves on our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
The bible defined way of praying in the spirit is here, by praying in the unknown tongue. Paul said he would pray both ways. In the unknown tongue, the spirit is praying and pray with the understanding. He went further and said he would sing with the spirit and sing with the understanding. Further still, Paul said he was glad he spoke in tongues more than them all.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Nurturing the faith that God has given you is by giving ear to the living word of God. The word will make the circumstance look small compared to the greatness of your God. Praying in the spirit, meditating on the word, and fasting can clean the receptors to make manifest from the realm of the spirit into the natural realm.
Jesus is the faithful God
God is good all the time!
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