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Turning your Bibles to Matthew 
chapter 17. 

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I know I've said this before and
I'll continue to say it about 

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different passages that we read,
but this is one of my favorite 

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passages. 
Matthew chapter 17. 

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Remember we had the mountain. 
We're on the mount of 

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Transfiguration. 
Last week Jesus transfigured 

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before three of his disciples. 
There's the revelation of his 

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deity. 
There's the continued 

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establishment of the promotion 
of the Father. 

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There's revelation coming to his
disciples. 

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There's preparation for Jesus to
go to the cross as he talks with

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Moses and Elijah. 
And now he comes down the 

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mountain. 
So again, same moment. 

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We took a whole week off. 
But this was the same occasion, 

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the same day, the same evening, 
the same night, whatever time of

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day it was. 
They were up on the mountain. 

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We don't know how long, but when
they came down, this is 

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immediately what they came into.
Matthew 17, verse 14. 

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And when they came to the crowd,
a man came up to him and 

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kneeling before him said, Lord, 
have mercy on my son, for he has

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seizures and he suffers 
terribly. 

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For often he falls into the fire
and often into the water. 

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And I brought him to your 
disciples, and they could not 

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heal him. 
And Jesus answered, O faithless 

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and twisted generation, how long
am I to be with you? 

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How long am I to bear with you? 
Bring him here to me. 

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And Jesus rebuked the demon, and
it came out of him, and the boy 

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was healed instantly. 
Then the disciples came to Jesus

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privately and said, why could we
not cast it out? 

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He said to them, because of your
little faith. 

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For truly, I say to you, if you 
have faith like a grain of a 

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mustard seed, you'll say to this
mountain, move from here to 

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there, and it will move and 
nothing will be impossible for 

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you. 
God, we thank you for the 

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promises that are here. 
God, we thank you for the 

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correction and the help that's 
here. 

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We know that we need more faith.
We ask that you would increase 

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our faith today. 
Faith comes by hearing the Word 

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of God. 
So we have every right and every

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expectation now to claim that 
promise by faith that you will 

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bring and deliver with the Word 
of God today. 

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Faith to believe the Word of 
God. 

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I pray that you would enlarge 
us, that You would purify us, 

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and that our faith would not be 
in the concept of faith or any 

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formula, but our faith would be 
in you. 

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Our faith would be in Your Word,
in Your nature, and in Your 

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character. 
All of our confidence pointed 

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directly to you, not our ability
to believe better or harder or 

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more, but our simple, pure, even
very small mustard seed faith 

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that is landed in the right soil
of God himself. 

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In Jesus name we thank you for 
your word. 

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Amen. 
So the mountain top was great. 

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They've just been up top. 
Incredible revelation, 

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incredible delight. 
What an incredible story they 

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have to tell. 
Jesus says don't tell it for a 

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while, wait till I'm 
resurrected. 

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But what an incredible story. 
And we saw that John talks about

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it later in the his gospel. 
We see Peter's talking about it 

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many years later. 
He's saying, I was there. 

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I was an eyewitness of His 
Majesty and his glory when he 

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was transfigured on the holy 
mountain. 

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I was a part of it. 
Remember Peter? 

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He said we didn't have fancy 
footwork, we don't have clever 

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myths, something really well 
crafted and thought up. 

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I was on the mountain that day. 
I've seen it all and I've seen 

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the resurrection and I watched 
Jesus fly up into heaven. 

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I'm not going to die for a lie, 
but I will die for the truth. 

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Peter goes on to do that, of 
course, all the almost all the 

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apostles going to do that. 
And of course they're not alone.

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Many Saints have done likewise. 
Why? 

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Because the truth changes you. 
That revelation sets you on 

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fire. 
So you would, you would think 

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again, the disciples, they've 
seen so much, they've 

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experienced so much. 
You would just think, how could 

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they ever doubt? 
Well, how could they doubt? 

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The same way you and I doubt. 
Haven't you seen God do great 

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things in your life? 
Haven't you seen his power? 

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Haven't you seen his glory? 
And still don't you have doubt? 

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Don't you have struggle? 
Don't some days you're so high 

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and built up. 
You're like, man, I just you, 

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you couldn't get me to doubt God
if you paid me like I couldn't 

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doubt him if I wanted to right 
now. 

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That is, that is when faith is 
high and you're just so certain.

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And it's not that you're doing 
anything. 

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It's just that your faith is 
placed in the right place. 

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It might be a mustard seed, It 
might be a mountain. 

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It doesn't matter how big your 
faith is. 

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That's not the point Jesus wants
to emphasize because he says you

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got little faith. 
That's the problem. 

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And they go, my faith is too 
small. 

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He goes, but let me clarify. 
I really mean you have no faith 

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because if you have faith in 
God, then that settles it. 

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So you don't need to get caught 
up in is it big? 

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Is it small? 
Just just faith is faith. 

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Faith will accomplish things. 
So if you have faith for a small

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thing, you could expect that 
small thing to be accomplished. 

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But if you put that measure of 
faith toward a big thing, the 

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measure of faith is not what 
matters. 

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It's where the faith is placed. 
And the faith is in the Lord 

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Himself, His Word, His nature, 
and His character. 

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He's the one I'm trusting. 
So if the faith is placed on 

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God's promise, if the faith is 
placed for God's work in God's 

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hand and God's miracle, then we 
can expect that God is going to 

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be God. 
So they come down the mountain 

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and this is the moment where 
again, we've, we've all had 

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those mountaintop experiences. 
I'm at a high right now. 

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Things are wonderful, things are
great, but life comes at you 

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fast. 
And today we're going to see 

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people struggling to believe 
God, and we're going to be 

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reminded that our faith plays a 
necessary role in our walk with 

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God and in receiving His 
promises. 

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This is one of those sermons 
where your pastor will # the 

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pulpit. 
There are plenty of things where

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I've preached you and I go, hey,
some folks think this and some 

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folks think that. 
Today's one of those where I go,

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some folks think this and some 
folks are stupid. 

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And this is, this is one of 
those areas where I'm very, very

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dogmatic and emphatic. 
And if you're not, then I'm just

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going to say keep reading your 
Bible. 

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Don't take my word for it, but 
I'm going to keep showing you 

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the Scriptures. 
I'm going to keep saying out of 

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the mouth of two or three 
witnesses and you're going to 

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keep coming back to the word. 
So I want you built up. 

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I want you encouraged. 
I want you to know how good your

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God is. 
He's better than you think he's 

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better than I think. 
He's better than any of us dare 

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to believe. 
But it is important and it is in

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a it is an important Christian 
doctrine that all Christians 

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should hold on to, not just with
their brains, but in their daily

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lives, that our faith plays a 
necessary role in our walk with 

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God. 
And it does impact how we do or 

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do not receive his promises. 
There's no there's not any 

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condemnation for those who are 
in Christ Jesus, but there is 

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supposed to be revelation and 
understanding. 

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So let's keep going here in 
verse 14. 

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And they came to the crowd. 
A man came up to him and 

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kneeling before him. 
He said, Lord have mercy on my 

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son for he has seizures and he 
suffers terribly. 

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The first point in application I
want to make here is not the 

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main thrust of the Scripture, 
but there are many applications 

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we can make with verses. 
There's the primary, which is 

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where we should really focus. 
And then there could be some 

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secondary things and maybe some 
tertiary things and say that's 

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also true. 
But the point I want to make 

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here is that, parents, you 
should bring your children to 

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Jesus. 
The Samaritan woman did this. 

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Remember, Lord, my daughter, 
bring them to Jesus. 

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This father in this place does 
this. 

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Bring them to Jesus. 
Bring them to Jesus in prayer 

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and physically put them in the 
presence of God. 

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Parents make all kinds of great 
efforts to take their children 

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to sports practices, to 
universities, to doctor's 

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offices, and more. 
Not bad things. 

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But if we don't put even more 
effort into bringing our 

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children to Jesus, we have 
failed them as parents. 

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We have failed the assignment 
given to us by the Lord. 

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Jesus is the head of the 
household, and he expects to be 

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served there. 
I tell you often, He expects to 

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be served everywhere. 
The government should serve 

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Jesus. 
They don't believe that. 

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Does it matter what they 
believe? 

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Jesus built the whole world and 
he expects governments and 

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nations to please him. 
Jesus established households and

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he expects them to please him. 
Jesus established the church. 

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All three spheres of influence 
in the earth and authority in 

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the earth are pointed to and 
designed to worship and serve at

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the pleasure of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

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Our households are the same. 
So this Father, of course, in 

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his desperation, bringing his 
child to the Lord, we don't want

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to just wait for desperate 
moments to bring our children to

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the Lord. 
We're going to be bringing them 

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to the Lord in prayer and 
bringing them to the Lord for 

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Sunday worship, bringing them 
around the Saints of God, and 

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all that goes along with that. 
Keep going. 

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Verse 15. 
Lord have mercy on my son, for 

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he has seizures and suffers 
terribly, for often he falls 

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into the fire and often into the
water. 

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So we realized that this demon, 
as I said earlier, the spiritual

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and the physical are connected. 
It's easy for me to think that 

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they're not. 
It's a it's poor teaching. 

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It's bad thinking. 
When we thought, well, there's 

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like an invisible realm. 
I guess I'll see that in heaven 

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someday. 
But all these things are 

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intertwined. 
You are a complex creature. 

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You're made in the image and 
likeness of God. 

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And people think, man, that's 
fascinating. 

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The human body, if we just study
the physical portions of things,

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it's fascinating. 
But what's even more fascinating

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is the more detailed you study 
the human body is, the more 

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mystery starts to come. 
We understand it at a higher 

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level. 
We go, yeah, the heart pumps 

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blood, and that moves around, 
and we bring in fresh oxygen, 

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and then that works through the 
lungs and that transfer happens.

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But that transfer is a miracle. 
Everything can't be understood. 

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The nerves work like this. 
Yeah. 

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Yeah. 
You described the concept. 

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But when you bring it down to 
the detailed level and then 

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don't even get started on the 
brain where like who knows how 

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much crossover there is, but 
where is the mind and the soul 

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and the spirit? 
We know there's distinctions 

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between between these things 
because the Bible tells us that 

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the word of God can even divide 
between the soul and the spirit 

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thought those were the same. 
Apparently not. 

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So our soul, you might say, is 
the mind will intellect and our 

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spirit is that thing that was 
made brand new. 

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My spirit is brand new in 
Christ. 

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Couldn't get more perfect when I
die and go to heaven. 

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And yet my soul, my mind, my 
will, my intellect, my emotions.

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But where are those things? 
Are they physical? 

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Well, if you take my brain away 
from me, I certainly wouldn't 

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have those things anymore. 
But they're not purely physical,

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are they? 
So all these things are tied in 

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and connected. 
And I don't know how it works 

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and neither do you, but the Lord
does. 

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But we know these things are 
connected. 

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So this, this boy is dealing 
with a demon inside of him. 

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How do you get there? 
We don't know. 

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Scripture doesn't tell us, but 
it certainly, it certainly isn't

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a good thing. 
It's an obviously evil, 

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objectively bad thing. 
But this manifests with physical

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problems. 
It's not just like, well, he's 

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got a spiritual problem. 
So, you know, sometimes he wants

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to do bad. 
Well, we all have that that 

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problem then. 
But it, this thing can take 

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control of him and create 
circumstances in his body. 

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It can create his body and make 
it seize up and make it freeze 

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up, and all kinds of problems 
can come along with that. 

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So we just want to understand 
that the the spiritual world and

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the physical world are deeply 
connected. 

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We see in Ephesians chapter 6, 
verse 12, we do not wrestle 

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against flesh and blood, but 
against the rulers, against the 

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authorities, against the cosmic 
powers, over this present 

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00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,760
darkness, against the spiritual 
forces of evil in the heavenly 

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00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,160
places. 
So our temptation could be to 

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think that everything is 
physical again. 

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And the Scripture tells us we're
not wrestling with flesh and 

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blood like we might be thinking.
Now, I don't mean to imply that 

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every single physical negative 
thing we ever experienced is 

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00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,960
spiritual. 
And yet we should be open to the

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00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,840
possibilities and have 
understanding to go. 

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Lord, bring us revelation, teach
us how to pray. 

242
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:02,480
How should we be praying for 
this thing? 

243
00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,120
What's really going on here? 
Is this just a physical thing 

244
00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,240
going on? 
Does this person have what we 

245
00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,440
would just call epilepsy? 
Jesus didn't walk up and go, oh,

246
00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,160
epilepsy and I'll heal him of 
epilepsy. 

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00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:15,000
All of a sudden Jesus walks up 
and he says he tried drives the 

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demon out of him. 
So we're not wrestling with 

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00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,160
flesh and blood. 
We're dealing with rulers, 

250
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:27,360
authorities, and cosmic powers 
who are ruling over this present

251
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,200
darkness, and we're dealing with
them. 

252
00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,080
We're fighting against the 
spiritual forces of evil in the 

253
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,160
heavenly places. 
So there is a demonic realm, 

254
00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:35,960
just like there's an angelic 
realm. 

255
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We don't see them, but we're 
experiencing them all the time. 

256
00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:42,200
Those who allow demonic 
influence in their lives and 

257
00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,440
continue to tolerate sin will 
experience more demonic 

258
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,080
activity, more oppression, or 
even demonic possession. 

259
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,480
Jesus was casting out demons all
the time. 

260
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Remember this is a big part of 
his ministry. 

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00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:56,960
The disciples have cast out 
demons before. 

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00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,920
It makes no sense that in our 
modern moment, people still 

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wouldn't be satanically 
influenced, oppressed, or 

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00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,760
possessed. 
And I think we often see demonic

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00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,320
issues today, but we foolishly 
think that we're wrestling with 

266
00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,800
flesh and blood. 
I think we see those things and 

267
00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:15,480
we just go, that's crazy. 
Like, well, it might be, it 

268
00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,280
might be something else, but we 
shouldn't be naive. 

269
00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,040
So I'm not naive enough to say 
there's a demon behind every 

270
00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,800
door, and I'm also not naive 
enough to say there's not. 

271
00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,440
The point is we have authority 
over these things. 

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00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,440
This is Jesus's frustration with
his disciples. 

273
00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:32,680
You've been given authority over
them. 

274
00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:34,800
You've previously it previously.
They rejoice. 

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00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,120
Lord, even the demons obey us in
your name. 

276
00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,040
He goes, duh, I know. 
Of course they do. 

277
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,800
That's not a big deal. 
Of course they have to obey in 

278
00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:45,440
my name. 
So now he comes down the 

279
00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:46,800
mountain. 
He goes, Why weren't you? 

280
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:48,560
Why? 
Why didn't you? 

281
00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,040
Why couldn't you? 
How long do I have to deal with 

282
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,160
you? 
So what are we supposed to do 

283
00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,720
with all this? 
We need to be spiritual people 

284
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,240
who bring the authority of Jesus
to deliver others from evil. 

285
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,960
This is part of your Christian 
ministry. 

286
00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:05,400
Christian ministry includes 
exorcism. 

287
00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,760
Every Christian is an exorcist. 
Movies have made that a weird 

288
00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,760
and fanciful thing. 
It's not intended to be. 

289
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,120
According to the Scriptures, 
Christians are to carry the 

290
00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,680
spirit in the presence of God. 
And we say, well, I don't have 

291
00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:19,240
any experience there. 
Well then let's get some, let's 

292
00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,240
build some, let's make ourselves
available for ministry. 

293
00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,960
Our prayers have to change. 
We've got we've got issues in 

294
00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:28,120
our own lives and we say, Lord, 
I need help here and I need 

295
00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:29,360
freedom here and I need growth 
here. 

296
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,520
But don't ever fall for the trap
and think once I get squared 

297
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,720
away, then I will be equipped 
and prepared for ministry. 

298
00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,920
That was not the model that 
Jesus showed us with the 

299
00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,400
disciples. 
So wherever I've gotten that 

300
00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:43,680
from, I didn't get it from 
Scripture. 

301
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,760
Once I become a perfect 
Christian, then I can go make 

302
00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:48,520
disciples. 
No, that's not how it worked 

303
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,480
with the 12. 
They're a mess. 

304
00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,000
And Jesus says go, you mess, go 
help people. 

305
00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,200
If you're one step in front of 
me, you're able to lead me, 

306
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,120
aren't you? 
You're just one step. 

307
00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,320
You don't have to be a mile in 
front of me if you're just 

308
00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,520
barely in front of me. 
If you just know one thing I 

309
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,400
don't know that can help me, 
that can set me free. 

310
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,600
And if you got a power that I 
don't have that can transform 

311
00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,880
me, well, I just think I don't 
know if I'll be able to answer. 

312
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:12,440
Don't get caught up in the pride
now. 

313
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,400
Now you're going to start 
thinking about being 

314
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,000
embarrassed, which really is 
pride. 

315
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,480
And then you're thinking, I 
don't want to look dumb. 

316
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:21,440
I don't. 
Oh, so the issues that the truth

317
00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,200
comes out that I'm actually more
worried about how I look instead

318
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,520
of the work that the Lord has 
given me in this ministry. 

319
00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,520
But the Lord has given the the 
ministry of exorcism to all of 

320
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,960
his disciples, you and I 
included, and he expects that we

321
00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,120
should walk out our ministry 
faithfully. 

322
00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,720
Keep going. 
Verse 16 I brought my son to 

323
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,720
your disciples and they could 
not heal him. 

324
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,280
And Jesus answered, Oh, 
faithless and twisted 

325
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,800
generation, how long am I to be 
with you? 

326
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,840
How long am I to bear with you? 
Bring him here to me. 

327
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,280
Jesus reveals his frustration 
toward unbelief, and he is not 

328
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,600
sweet about it. 
That's not a nice thing to say. 

329
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,960
He's not gentle about it. 
Faithless and twisted, Twisted 

330
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,440
meaning perverted, turn from the
truth corrupted. 

331
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,040
He's calling the generation 
that. 

332
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,880
So the scribes were there also. 
Mark Chapter 9 gives us the same

333
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:21,560
account Mark Chapter 9 tells 
about. 

334
00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,400
They just come off the mountain 
and Mark Chapter 9 says and now 

335
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:25,840
here's what happened. 
So I'm going to read this to you

336
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:36,640
from Mark Chapter 9. 
Mark 9/14. 

337
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,280
And when they came to this 
disciples, they saw a great 

338
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,720
crowd around them and the 
scribes arguing with them. 

339
00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:47,960
And immediately all the crowd, 
when they saw Jesus, him, they 

340
00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,320
were greatly amazed and they ran
up to him and greeted him. 

341
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,040
So what do we see here? 
It's a mess going on. 

342
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,120
The scribes are here arguing 
with the disciples. 

343
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,240
We don't know who started it. 
We don't know how it started. 

344
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,400
Maybe the father said, hey, 
disciples, can you heal my son? 

345
00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,920
Because we're all like the 
massive crowd waiting for Jesus 

346
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:04,960
to come back down the mountain. 
Can y'all heal my son? 

347
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,240
And maybe the scribes, they 
don't have any power and 

348
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,680
authority. 
Like the scribes are the fancy 

349
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,119
guys, the religious leaders, 
They're supposed to know stuff, 

350
00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,880
do stuff, and they're supposed 
to have all of the honour and 

351
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:17,599
all the attention and they're 
like, we don't want the 

352
00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:19,520
fishermen doing anything. 
Maybe that's how the fight 

353
00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,119
started, and maybe they said no.
Maybe that brought doubt for the

354
00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,200
disciples don't know where their
doubt came from. 

355
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,640
Maybe they tried to cast out the
demon, but the demon didn't come

356
00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:28,600
out. 
Why? 

357
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,160
Because of their little faith. 
I love reading the Bible because

358
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,800
there's this thing that happens 
in Christian conversations 

359
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,360
whenever you teach on faith. 
Those who disagree with these 

360
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:45,080
conclusions that our faith 
matters will condemn you and 

361
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,200
imply that you are condemning 
others. 

362
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:50,880
It might be, it might be a 
little too wordy, but the thing 

363
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,040
that often happens when you 
teach on faith is whenever you 

364
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:58,400
teach it plainly like this, 
people will say, well, you're 

365
00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,400
telling people it's their fault.
That's the thing that people 

366
00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,280
really want to get to. 
And although you didn't use that

367
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,920
language, and although you 
didn't quite mean it as in 

368
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,400
fault, at the same time, let's 
just read out loud. 

369
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,760
Let's use our basic reading 
comprehension and go. 

370
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,080
Jesus said, why didn't these 
things happen because of your 

371
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,520
little faith? 
He didn't say because of the 

372
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,680
Father, because of me, because 
of the Spirit, because of the 

373
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,520
weather, because of the 
biometric pressure, because of 

374
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,720
the length of time. 
He said this was the reason. 

375
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:29,160
What are we supposed to do with 
that? 

376
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,400
We're supposed to grow and walk 
with our gracious and loving and

377
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,640
forgiving God, but many get 
hardened at that. 

378
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,920
I've seen it many, many times as
somebody who grew up in a 

379
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,200
denomination who was big on 
emphasizing faith and I thank 

380
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,240
God for it. 
Often times whenever I would 

381
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,720
share this message with others, 
the the main pushback I get is 

382
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:54,200
so you're saying, hang on, I'm 
not, but he is. 

383
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,720
And again, there's some things 
here that are really on the 

384
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,480
nose, hard to avoid, hard to 
hard to slide away from. 

385
00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:02,480
Like I always tell you, I listen
to a lot of sermons. 

386
00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,600
I listen to sermons in 
preparation like, hey, how do 

387
00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,360
other pastors approach this? 
I knew exactly what I was going 

388
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:09,280
to come across in preparation 
for the sermon. 

389
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,800
And I wasn't surprised. 
It was the very typical 

390
00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:14,280
approach. 
Like, like I've told you many 

391
00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,440
times, faithful men of God, good
pastors, good churches, they 

392
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,960
love the Lord and I respect 
them. 

393
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,640
And yet when they'll come to 
passages like this, they were, 

394
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,280
the word says this last week. 
The word says that the week 

395
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:26,640
before that they come to this 
one and they go. 

396
00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,960
So, you know, here's the thing. 
And I'm like, here it comes, you

397
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,280
know, and now we're going to, 
we're going to Bob and weave a 

398
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,200
little bit like, well, you know,
this isn't saying this and this 

399
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,320
is saying that going let Jesus 
speak. 

400
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,080
Jesus speaks pretty plainly and 
we've got enough scripture, we 

401
00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,120
can bring it all together. 
I want to be fair. 

402
00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,480
We don't want to just beat 
people with a verse. 

403
00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,280
We want to set people free with 
the word. 

404
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,960
But that's what Jesus is doing. 
But there are consequences for 

405
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:57,000
my lack of faith if I'm a part 
of a faithless and twisted 

406
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,960
generation. 
So back to where we were here in

407
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,600
Mark 9. 
We've got this mess, this 

408
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,760
argument, this crowd. 
Like we said, that's we've all 

409
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:06,840
been there. 
We've been on the mountain 

410
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,920
before and now sometimes we're 
back down in the valley. 

411
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,040
The disciples could not cast out
the demon. 

412
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,280
Maybe the scribe started the 
fight. 

413
00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,360
Maybe the disciples lost 
confidence. 

414
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,000
Maybe the disciples are now 
embarrassed. 

415
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:22,520
But now Jesus steps in and he 
brings a loud and stiff rebuke. 

416
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,720
I'm like, if we could see this 
stuff on video he would not be 

417
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,600
all faithless. 
And perverted generation, how 

418
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,640
long must I bear with you? 
We want to put a smile on 

419
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:36,480
everything that he says, but I 
don't think that would be 

420
00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,160
honest. 
That doesn't seem reasonable at 

421
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,720
all. 
Jesus wants the crowd to hear. 

422
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,200
It's a stiff rebuke, even though
even as his compassion continues

423
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,800
to come through, though, because
he says he finishes it with 

424
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,840
bring him here to me. 
He doesn't says you faithless 

425
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,560
generation, get out of my sight.
He says you faithless and 

426
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,680
twisted generation, everybody, 
what's coming next? 

427
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,080
Is he going to send us all away?
And he goes bring him to me. 

428
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,960
I'm correcting a problem and 
yes, I'm going to answer the 

429
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:12,200
prayer. 
Verse 18 makes it again pretty 

430
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:14,240
simple. 
Jesus rebuked the demon and it 

431
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:17,040
came out of him and the boy was 
healed instantly. 

432
00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,280
Duh. 
Surprise, spoiler alert, Jesus 

433
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,680
wins over demons every time. 
There is not an epic battle 

434
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:28,120
between Jesus and his enemies. 
There's not an epic saga of 

435
00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,760
who's going to win and it might 
go to the last round. 

436
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,240
It only looks that way because 
God lets it look that way. 

437
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,000
Man didn't. 
Didn't the devil kill Jesus? 

438
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,120
Nobody killed Jesus. 
Jesus laid down his life. 

439
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,360
He did it for you. 
Nobody takes anything from God. 

440
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,280
Nobody takes anything from the 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

441
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,040
So the demons beg Jesus for 
mercy. 

442
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:50,880
Normal stuff. 
Keep going. 

443
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,480
Verse 19. 
Then the disciples came to Jesus

444
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,000
privately. 
How do you think they came to 

445
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,600
him privately? 
Like we get blasted enough in 

446
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,080
public. 
Like I'm going to come to a 

447
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,400
private. 
Hey, Lord, just real quiet over 

448
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,120
here in the corner. 
If you don't mind, how, why 

449
00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:08,600
could we not cast this demon 
out? 

450
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,200
He said to them, because of your
little faith. 

451
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,520
For truly I say to you, if you 
have faith like a mustard, like 

452
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,520
a grain of a mustard seed, 
you'll say to this mountain, the

453
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,880
mountain he was just on guys, 
that maybe they're walking away.

454
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:26,000
If you say to the mountain be 
moved and thrown into the sea, 

455
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,280
then it will do what you say and
nothing will be impossible for 

456
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,680
you. 
So first, before we dig into 

457
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:37,960
what Jesus did say and how he 
really answered them, let's look

458
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,240
at what Jesus didn't say. 
Lord, why could we not cast the 

459
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:42,880
demon out? 
Here's some things Jesus didn't 

460
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,760
say. 
You guys couldn't cast it out 

461
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,840
because it wasn't God's will for
you to cast it out. 

462
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,840
Duh, right? 
Like oh that, that that's the 

463
00:22:54,840 --> 00:22:57,400
implied thing If you ask plenty 
of Christians why things don't 

464
00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,000
happen. 
Why didn't this person get 

465
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,520
healed? 
Wasn't God's will for him to get

466
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:02,000
healed? 
Why is that person demons 

467
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,280
possessed? 
You're not so confident to say 

468
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:04,920
that, are you? 
Yeah. 

469
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,440
Because you know it's wrong. 
In your heart of hearts, you 

470
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,880
know it's wrong. 
Why? 

471
00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:11,200
Why do all kinds of bad things 
happen? 

472
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,720
Because the world is broken. 
The devil is bad and Jemichael 

473
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,720
is stupid. 
You you add them up. 

474
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,600
You come into all kinds of 
problems. 

475
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:21,480
You come into all kinds of 
difficulties. 

476
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,840
And God is still good and God is
still merciful. 

477
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,000
And God still catches all of 
your tears in his bottle, and 

478
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:31,800
he's still compassionate and 
kind and does he still move 

479
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,760
sovereignly apart from our 
faith? 

480
00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:35,600
He does. 
But that's not his normative 

481
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:37,560
function. 
That's how he is chosen. 

482
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:43,280
He is chosen by his own decision
to function and operate mostly 

483
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,120
in accordance with our faith. 
That's his choice. 

484
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:48,960
Is he limited by that? 
Limited isn't the right word. 

485
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,240
He chose to function and operate
that way because He loves you 

486
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:53,880
and He wants fellowship and life
with you. 

487
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:55,880
Remember the beginning of the 
book? 

488
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,600
God made a garden and his family
and they all lived happily ever 

489
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:01,880
after. 
Whoops, we messed that up. 

490
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,520
Enter the whole middle of the 
glorious story. 

491
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,640
And now Fast forward to the end.
God has his family again and we 

492
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,560
all live happily ever after. 
We're in this messy middle. 

493
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:13,720
All things are going to be made 
perfect. 

494
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,120
All things are going to be made 
new. 

495
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,360
So in the meantime, there are 
many problems. 

496
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:19,840
There are many challenges. 
Well, I just wish God would ZAP 

497
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,440
everything. 
I I don't blame you. 

498
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:24,600
I've felt that way many times. 
I wish God would just boom, 

499
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:26,840
boom, boom, boom boom boom boom 
boom. 

500
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,400
Spoken like a human who's not 
God, who doesn't want to develop

501
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:36,600
their fellowship with God, who 
wants to walk in natural things 

502
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,200
and not become more heavenly 
minded like their God, not grow 

503
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:43,840
up into the head of the church 
that is Jesus Christ. 

504
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:45,360
I mean, that's, that's our 
flesh. 

505
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:47,680
Of course I want the microwave 
option. 

506
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,280
You want dinner to take two 
hours to make or would you like 

507
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,960
to have it in 30 seconds? 
I'd like to have it now. 

508
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,760
And I'd personally, I don't even
have to put in the microwave. 

509
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,400
That's a bit of a, that's a bit 
of a chore. 

510
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:58,880
I mean, just the more 
convenience, the better. 

511
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:01,520
Well, that's not how 
relationships work. 

512
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,280
Is that how marriage works? 
Yeah. 

513
00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,520
I just wish we could just be 
super close all the time. 

514
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,680
Well, then there's going to be a
lot of hanging out on the sofa 

515
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,480
talking. 
There's going to be a lot of 

516
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,880
walks and there's going to be a 
lot of just relate just being 

517
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:16,720
together. 
Just keeping the boyfriend, 

518
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,560
girlfriend dynamic in your 
marriage. 

519
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,200
Like you don't, you don't get 
the fruit without the effort. 

520
00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:26,000
It's not that you earned all the
fruit either. 

521
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,440
It's just that it's the 
inevitable outcome. 

522
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,960
Jesus didn't say, oh, guys, you 
couldn't cast the steam mount 

523
00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:35,200
because it wasn't God's will. 
Jesus didn't say, hey, guys, the

524
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,840
the father actually wanted this 
boy, that my heavenly Father 

525
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,520
wanted this boy to have these 
seizures because it was teaching

526
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,120
him and his father. 
He has some powerful lessons on 

527
00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:48,600
trust. 
I mean, I'm still waiting on 

528
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,560
this New Testament passages that
say that. 

529
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,120
Now I definitely know that we 
learn from those things. 

530
00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:56,240
Some people on the podcast are 
like from strangers from the 

531
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:57,920
Internet are losing their minds 
right now because they're going 

532
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,440
to go to James. 
We do learn perseverance, Yes, 

533
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,200
we do. 
But that's not the same thing as

534
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,320
God wanted the evil to happen in
spite of the bad thing. 

535
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,200
We will learn. 
Will good things come out of bad

536
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,360
things? 
Yes, yes, yes. 

537
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:15,200
I'll # the pulpit on that too. 
1000 times, yes. 

538
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:16,720
Why? 
It's the principle of 

539
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,080
resurrection. 
It's the goodness of God. 

540
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,720
It's the tragedy of Cole's 
cousin who died. 

541
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,680
But what will God, what good 
things will God do? 

542
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:27,480
He'll do many wonderful and good
things. 

543
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,080
He'll do some sovereignly good 
things, apart from anybody's 

544
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,840
faith and apart from anybody's 
prayers, because He's that good 

545
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,520
and he's that wonderful. 
And yet our faith will also pave

546
00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,920
a road that heaven will carry 
its mighty cargo. 

547
00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:43,480
Even more so on. 
Jesus didn't say any of these 

548
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,000
other things. 
What did Jesus say? 

549
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,160
The reason was that the demon 
didn't come out because of your 

550
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,800
little faith. 
It shouldn't surprise us. 

551
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,760
We've seen Jesus rejoice over 
great faith and we have seen 

552
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,520
Jesus rebuke small faith, basic 
Christian stuff. 

553
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,320
I'm pastor obvious today, y'all.
Basic Christian stuff. 

554
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:09,800
The centurion, great faith. 
The woman who brings her 

555
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,320
daughter great faith. 
Jesus tells her no. 

556
00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:15,720
Remember one of my favorite 
passages on faith? 

557
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,800
We hit the same kind of stuff, 
but it's right here again, right

558
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:21,840
in front of us. 
Jesus says I'm not going to give

559
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,800
the children's bread to the dog.
She says, but even the dogs will

560
00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,600
take the crumbs. 
He goes, that was a test and you

561
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,520
passed, but what would have 
happened? 

562
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,360
I asked you this when I preached
that message, what would have 

563
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:36,200
happened if Jesus said it's not 
right for me to give the 

564
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:41,440
children's bread to the dogs? 
And she went, OK, well, I think 

565
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:43,800
he would have stopped her. 
Well, I don't, and neither of us

566
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,480
can prove it, but I don't think 
he would have. 

567
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:48,960
I think it would have. 
Again, that was a faith test. 

568
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,280
She didn't pass it. 
Oh my goodness, she's out of 

569
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:54,760
here toying with people. 
No, Jesus is out here drawing 

570
00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:00,640
people unto himself. 
The Father wants fellowship. 

571
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:05,000
He wants closeness. 
I want my faith to be a formula 

572
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:12,040
so I can push that button every 
time. 2 weeks ago, my son needed

573
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,240
a life saving surgery. 
In our modern moment, it's 

574
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,960
really kind of no big deal. 
And at the same time it's kind 

575
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,440
of a big deal because he'd be 
dead if he didn't get it. 

576
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,560
Natalie keeps accidentally 
saying he had a hysterectomy. 

577
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:30,880
He did not have a hysterectomy. 
Just to let everybody know he 

578
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,840
had an appendectomy. 
Very different. 

579
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,120
So life saving surgery, big 
deal. 

580
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,360
You know, did I pray for my son 
the night he had tummy aches? 

581
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,040
Of course I did. 
Was I in faith? 

582
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:45,560
Was I not in faith? 
Well, I was going through the 

583
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,480
motions. 
I'm trying. 

584
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:50,280
I'm seeking the Lord. 
This is real talk. 

585
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,920
Is this OK? 
And then the next day he wakes 

586
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,080
up and he's still got tummy 
pains and I'm working and 

587
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,880
Natalie says he has 
appendicitis. 

588
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,160
It hurts to touch. 
It's moved over to the one side,

589
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,200
blah, blah. 
I'm like, Yep. 

590
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:03,800
And right away, where did my 
brain go? 

591
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:06,840
We we pretty much need to go to 
the hospital. 

592
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,520
That was my plan A, right? 
My plan A was not. 

593
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:12,840
All right. 
Well, I'm stopping work for the 

594
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:13,800
day. 
I'm going into the prayer 

595
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:16,560
closet, and I'm not coming out 
until his symptoms are gone. 

596
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,040
That wasn't my response. 
My response was, well, I've had 

597
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,120
appendicitis. 
He's got appendicitis. 

598
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,280
Hey, these hospital workers, 
they're the Lord's servants to 

599
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,240
accomplish the healing ministry 
of Jesus. 

600
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,280
I can receive from that. 
And you know what? 

601
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,400
The Lord answered our prayers 
that doctors would be blessed, 

602
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,800
that they would be skillful, 
that surgery will go well, that 

603
00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,000
there be no infection, that we'd
all live happily ever after. 

604
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,200
That's where I laid my faith. 
And I received from the Lord 

605
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,480
comfort and reassurance 
throughout that day. 

606
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:45,840
Do I think that was God's ideal 
and God's best? 

607
00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:47,760
Nope. 
And nobody can convince me that 

608
00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:51,000
it was. 
God is good and he met Joe 

609
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,960
Michael where Joe Michael was 
because God is good and he's 

610
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,600
gracious and I don't walk in one
ounce of condemnation about it. 

611
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,600
But I know other Saints and even
other moments in my life where I

612
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,200
did take the prayer closet 
approach and said, I'm, I'm 

613
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:07,800
going to, I'm going to be with 
the Lord. 

614
00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,080
I'm not going to eat, I'm not 
going to drink, I'm not going to

615
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,360
talk to anybody. 
I'm getting my answer. 

616
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,400
I'm getting the, I'm getting 
the, the promise of God fully 

617
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,280
delivered. 
Old timers used to call that 

618
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:22,480
praying through, praying through
actually, instead of just like I

619
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,280
prayed. 
Don't you think his father had 

620
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,160
prayed before? 
We don't have a verse for it. 

621
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,200
Do you suspect though, that 
since this guy had he's, he 

622
00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,760
said, how long has he had it? 
Since he was a little boy. 

623
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:35,960
Do you think this father has 
ever prayed? 

624
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,680
God, please heal my little boy. 
Come on, church. 

625
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,240
What do you think? 
I suspect he probably did at 

626
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,560
some point in his life. 
Why didn't God heal that little 

627
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:50,320
boy that father prayed? 
I love reading the Bible because

628
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,760
now I don't have to say it. 
Jesus said it for me. 

629
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,320
I'll tell you why. 
Because of his little faith. 

630
00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:58,080
Are you mad at him? 
Are you shaming him? 

631
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,160
Not at all. 
I am that father. 

632
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,960
I get it, Lord, I believe help 
my unbelief. 

633
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,720
I am that guy. 
So I get it. 

634
00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,800
I plead with him, but I won't be
dishonest with the with the 

635
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,080
scriptures. 
I won't say something else and 

636
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,000
go well, you know, hey, we can 
place our faith where we can 

637
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,920
place what do we believe in for 
Let's unite together, man. 

638
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,480
We're going to pray and expect 
these doctors that let's do it. 

639
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,320
Are you really in? 
Do you really trust? 

640
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,080
So to clarify, you'd be shocked 
then if that didn't happen, 

641
00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,800
right? 
Because when you're praying in 

642
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,760
faith, remember that that's a 
good test. 

643
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:32,960
Am I in faith or am I not in 
faith? 

644
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,320
Would you be surprised if your 
prayer wasn't answered? 

645
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:37,840
Yeah, That would, like, be 
crazy. 

646
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,240
You're probably then you're 
really solid on that thing, 

647
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,200
right? 
You're not like, fingers 

648
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:43,920
crossed, which is how most folks
pray. 

649
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:48,160
God, please get this demon out 
if it be your will. 

650
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,800
I mean, who can know these 
things, right? 

651
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:53,800
Well, look at all the demons 
that Jesus cast out. 

652
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,080
Look at all the demons that you 
know, people came to him and he 

653
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:57,760
said, no, it's not that it's not
time yet. 

654
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,600
This this demonic thing hasn't 
finished its its season yet. 

655
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,640
Jesus drives these things out. 
We're making some straight line 

656
00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,120
conclusions here from what's 
right in front of us. 

657
00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,400
Your faith matters, Church. 
That's the encouragement I want 

658
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:12,760
you to have. 
Your faith matters. 

659
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:17,960
The absence of faith, also known
as doubt, it blocks, it hinders,

660
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:19,720
and it obstructs the move of 
God. 

661
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,800
Pastor Obvious. 
Here today, the presence of 

662
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:27,200
faith invites hosts and 
facilitates the move of God. 

663
00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:30,800
Pastor Obvious, thanks a lot. 
Can you show me this in the 

664
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,840
Bible, Pastor? 
First of all, that is the right 

665
00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:34,040
question. 
Good job. 

666
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,840
Second of all, I just did show 
you this in the Bible. 

667
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:38,760
And third of all, yes, I'll show
you again. 

668
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,960
I'm going to take you to Mark 
chapter 6. 

669
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:48,960
So we need multiple witnesses, 
right? 

670
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,040
We're establishing a point. 
I told you, I'm pounding the 

671
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:52,760
pulpit on this thing. 
What? 

672
00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:54,800
What is the thing exactly you're
pounding the pulpit on? 

673
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,440
That our faith matters and that 
our, that the presence of faith 

674
00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,840
or the absence of faith will 
impact what we received from the

675
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:02,400
Lord. 
That's like the most straight 

676
00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:04,400
line conclusion to make from 
this text, right? 

677
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,120
I didn't shoehorn this one in, 
right? 

678
00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:09,200
Come on, tell me there's no 
fancy footwork here today. 

679
00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:11,920
Why couldn't we do it? 
Here's why you couldn't do it. 

680
00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:15,080
OK, which why are you? 
Why are you so emphatic about 

681
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:16,920
it, Pastor? 
Because so many people don't 

682
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:18,560
believe that. 
That's why. 

683
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,120
So the reason I get emphatic on 
certain things is because large 

684
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,120
swaths of the body of Christ who
love the Lord and love their 

685
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,520
Bibles still will come to some 
strange and incorrect 

686
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,480
conclusions with these passages.
Why? 

687
00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:32,520
Because they look at their 
circumstances and they want to 

688
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:35,120
outsource everything to the Lord
and say everything that happened

689
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:36,960
was the Lord's will. 
Everything. 

690
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,800
That's what some folks believe. 
Everything that happens is the 

691
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,400
Lord's will. 
But I'm going to show you 

692
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:49,080
something in Mark chapter 6 and 
verse one, Jesus went away from 

693
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,360
there and came to his hometown. 
What a special moment for the 

694
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:52,640
Lord. 
He's going to go minister to his

695
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,320
hometown where he grew up. 
You know, Hey, I remember that. 

696
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,000
I remember that. 
That's Miss so and so that's Mr.

697
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,080
so and so, you know, he's 
looking forward to blessing 

698
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,040
them. 
And his disciples followed him 

699
00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,600
and on the Sabbath he began to 
teach in the synagogue. 

700
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,760
And many who heard him were, who
were astonished saying, where 

701
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,440
did this man get these things? 
We know. 

702
00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:14,800
We know this guy. 
Where'd he get this teaching? 

703
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,600
What is the wisdom given to him?
How are such mighty works done 

704
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,480
by his hands? 
They're like we saw him play JV 

705
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:25,159
football, You know, like, I'm 
not, I'm, I'm confused. 

706
00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:26,880
It's I'm having a hard time 
receiving from him. 

707
00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:32,560
Isn't this the Carpenter, the 
son of Mary and brother of James

708
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:37,400
and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And aren't his sisters here 

709
00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:38,840
still with us? 
You know, maybe his sisters of 

710
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:42,679
married guys there and Nazareth.
And they took offense at him. 

711
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,960
And Jesus said to them, a 
prophet is not without honor, 

712
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,679
except in his hometown and among
his relatives and in his own 

713
00:34:50,679 --> 00:34:54,120
household. 
And he could do no mighty work 

714
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,240
there, except that he laid his 
hands on a few sick people and 

715
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:01,120
healed them, and he marvelled 
because of their unbelief. 

716
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:07,200
And he went about among the 
villages teaching Jesus said to 

717
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:09,600
them, a prophet is not without 
honor except in his own hometown

718
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:11,480
and among his relatives and in 
his own household. 

719
00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:15,680
And he could not, he could do no
mighty work there except he laid

720
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:17,240
his hands on a few sick people 
and healed them. 

721
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:18,880
And he marvelled because of 
their unbelief. 

722
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:21,200
The Lord was hindered because of
unbelief. 

723
00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:24,800
Are you saying Jesus act like 
couldn't, couldn't, couldn't? 

724
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:30,680
Well, hang on, let's clarify. 
God can do literally anything. 

725
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,480
OK, unless we're just playing 
some philosophy, some stupid 

726
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,520
philosophy game, but God can do 
anything. 

727
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,760
So why could he do no mighty 
work there? 

728
00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:43,200
Well, because of their unbelief.
So God's limited, remember, 

729
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:45,480
because he has chosen to limit 
himself. 

730
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:48,400
The Lord has said I will 
function in accordance with the 

731
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,880
faith of my people. 
I will interact with their 

732
00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,880
faith. 
So in that sense, yes, the Lord 

733
00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:57,320
literally could do no mighty 
work there because he has chosen

734
00:35:57,480 --> 00:36:00,240
to function with people in that 
way. 

735
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,440
I've never heard anyone teach or
anyone believe that God was 

736
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,720
incapable, actually, or 
powerless that day. 

737
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,680
But the point is that he has 
chosen to interact with his 

738
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:13,000
people in a certain way, and he 
marvels when people doubt him. 

739
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,600
He marvels when people doubt 
him. 

740
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:17,800
Jesus marvels. 
I can't believe this. 

741
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,200
This is crazy. 
He's shocked, he's surprised, 

742
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:26,560
which also necessarily implies 
that Jesus is not the one 

743
00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,400
preventing them from believing. 
Somebody say Amen. 

744
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,600
Jesus is not stopping them from 
believing him, because if he was

745
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,200
stopping them from believing 
him, how then could he marvel at

746
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:39,680
their lack of belief? 
Right? 

747
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,360
So again, to our brothers and 
sisters who we dearly love, who 

748
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,720
are Saints, who will be with 
forever, and who we fellowship 

749
00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:49,320
with now, but for our brothers 
and sisters who would say that 

750
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,200
the Lord controls everything, 
even people's faith. 

751
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,040
Is there interaction? 
Yeah, but there's some stuff 

752
00:36:55,040 --> 00:36:58,040
that's not quite clear. 
But Jesus is displeased with 

753
00:36:58,040 --> 00:36:59,880
them. 
Is it reasonable to be 

754
00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,880
displeased with someone when you
are the 1 causing the problem 

755
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:07,760
that they're supposedly causing?
No, that's just like, I don't 

756
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:09,600
know what that I guess that's 
gaslighting is what that would 

757
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:16,640
be, right? 
So your faith, your trust, your 

758
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,120
belief, your expectation is the 
road. 

759
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:20,480
Here's one way to think about 
it. 

760
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:22,960
Our faith, what is our faith? 
What's the, what's the, what's 

761
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,160
the play that it has? 
Our faith is the road that God 

762
00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:29,760
uses to deliver his promises. 
The promises of God are the 

763
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:31,640
thing. 
The road is not the thing, but 

764
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,600
it needs to be there though. 
But we don't make a big deal 

765
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:35,920
about the road. 
The road's not the special 

766
00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,640
thing. 
The cargo is the special thing. 

767
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,840
That's what's important. 
Can He deliver his cargo without

768
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,200
your Rd. 
Yes, he can, and yes, He has. 

769
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:50,000
But as you read your Bible, you 
will continue to see that God's 

770
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,160
preferred and normative approach
is to use and work with the 

771
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,360
faith of His people. 
God wants you to have a road of 

772
00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:00,200
faith so that heaven can 
constantly deliver its promises.

773
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:02,600
Well, I've seen the Lord work 
sovereignly, apart from anybody 

774
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:04,720
or anything. 
And in spite of our faith, in 

775
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:06,520
spite of all of our doubt, I've 
seen the Lord do this. 

776
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,920
Welcome to the goodness and 
kindness and extreme goodness of

777
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,880
your God. 
He is so good, by the way. 

778
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,520
We don't deserve anything. 
Even when we lay down the road, 

779
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,480
we don't now deserve it. 
He's always good. 

780
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,360
But how much more, even in our 
doubt and in our unbelief, when 

781
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,960
he does something sovereignly, 
we go, wow, that's not to be 

782
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:28,280
taken as a lesson to go. 
God will do what he wants. 

783
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:29,640
There ain't nothing you can do 
about it. 

784
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,600
Let's, let's be more clear. 
Let's be more clear with what 

785
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:39,200
the Scripture gives us here. 
So your faith matters. 

786
00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:41,080
Can you show me that somewhere 
else, Pastor? 

787
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,000
I sure can go to James Chapter 
1. 

788
00:38:55,810 --> 00:38:58,130
And we're not exhausting the 
subject of faith today. 

789
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:01,720
It's important to clarify just 
really quick the, the 

790
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,120
distinction between the, the 
kinds of faith. 

791
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,360
So a lot of times, like if 
you're talking to somebody out 

792
00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,000
in the world, they might say, 
Oh, your faith's really 

793
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,320
important to you. 
They mean your Christianity. 

794
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:12,280
So that's one way that your 
faith is used. 

795
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,120
That's not the way I'm preaching
on faith today. 

796
00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:16,640
I don't mean like, hey, our 
faith in God matters. 

797
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:20,920
Like the devil has faith. 
Everybody knows there is a God. 

798
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:23,720
Whether or not they would 
acknowledge that the Lord would,

799
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:24,960
the Lord would disagree with 
them. 

800
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:26,680
Whenever they say that, you know
they don't believe that. 

801
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:29,320
Now they've hardened their 
hearts and there's a lot going 

802
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:30,920
on there. 
So when we're talking about 

803
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,680
faith, we're talking about 
actual grabbing a hold of God's 

804
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:38,560
promises and trust, expectation,
his word, his will, his nature 

805
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:40,320
and his character. 
And that's what James is 

806
00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:43,000
referencing here. 
He's not referencing just the I 

807
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,400
have religion. 
He's referencing the specific 

808
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,280
promises of God. 
James chapter one, verse 5. 

809
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,360
If any of you lacks wisdom. 
So now we're going to lay our 

810
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,680
faith on one specific thing, to 
ask for God. 

811
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,240
If any of you lacks wisdom, let 
him ask God. 

812
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,720
Well, that's me. 
I've asked for wisdom many 

813
00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:05,040
times, and I'll continue to let 
him ask God, who gives 

814
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,520
generously to all without 
reproach. 

815
00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,280
Well, that's good news, and it 
will be given him. 

816
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,400
What a promise. 
You need wisdom, Ask God for it.

817
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,040
He gives generously to 
everybody. 

818
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,800
It will be given to you. 
But now James goes on. 

819
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,360
He goes. 
Let me clarify. 

820
00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,800
There's a condition here. 
Everybody say there's a 

821
00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:30,400
condition, but let him ask in 
faith with no doubting. 

822
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:35,960
For the one who doubts is like a
wave of the sea that is driven 

823
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,440
and tossed by the wind. 
What will happen if I doubt? 

824
00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:43,000
Verse 7 tells you. 
For that person must not suppose

825
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,800
that he will receive anything 
from the Lord. 

826
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,520
Oh, OK, well, that's the full 
picture, isn't it? 

827
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:54,040
I like verse 5 all by itself. 
Ask God, He'll give it the end. 

828
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:55,800
That's how most Christians 
function. 

829
00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:58,680
I ask God, he didn't give it. 
I guess he didn't want me to 

830
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:00,560
have it. 
There's other factors here at 

831
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:02,400
play, friend. 
What are you saying? 

832
00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:06,280
Are you saying it's my fault? 
Calm, calm down. 

833
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:08,680
My my brother and sister in 
Christ, I love you. 

834
00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:10,880
I just want to give you the 
whole story here. 

835
00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:14,000
Can we reason together? 
Can we look at some passages 

836
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:15,520
together? 
I just think you're going to say

837
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:20,040
it's my fault. 
I'm not going to say anything. 

838
00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:22,680
How about we just read out loud 
together and we and we just, 

839
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,360
I'll ask you what it means. 
How about we do that? 

840
00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:27,040
Maybe that would be a wiser 
approach. 

841
00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:28,760
Maybe that would be an easier 
way. 

842
00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,040
Why? 
Because the ego is big and the 

843
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:33,200
ego is real. 
And there's a lot of 

844
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,280
consequences and there's a lot 
of tragedy that people have 

845
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,160
experienced and people have 
prayed for a lot of important 

846
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:40,200
things that didn't happen. 
So there's a lot of hurt around 

847
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:43,560
these things. 
It's not always small, you know,

848
00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,280
not that wisdom is small, but 
it's not always like I need 

849
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:47,320
wisdom. 
I don't know if I've got it or 

850
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:48,720
not. 
How do you measure it? 

851
00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:52,040
I feel like I'm just as dumb as 
it was yesterday, you know, 

852
00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:59,680
compared to my child, compared 
to my sick loved 1, compared to 

853
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:04,240
other catastrophic things that 
they need power and they need 

854
00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:06,800
the movement of heaven right 
here, right now. 

855
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,360
So there's a lot of hurt and 
there's a lot of weight around 

856
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,080
these things, which is why we 
should be gracious, which is why

857
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:15,640
we should be gentle while at the
same time being truth tellers. 

858
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:19,560
Who does that? 
Remind me of a truth teller, you

859
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:23,000
wicked and twisted generation. 
Bring him here to me. 

860
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,560
He brings the whole thing all 
the time. 

861
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:27,720
We need to be the right thing at
the right time, of course, like 

862
00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:33,200
Jesus, but I like verse 5. 
Ask God and it's done. 

863
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:39,520
But there's more than verse 5. 
But let him ask in faith with no

864
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,640
doubting, for the one who doubts
is like a wave of the sea that's

865
00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:46,400
driven and tossed by the wind. 
What's wrong with that? 

866
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:47,520
I'll tell you what's wrong with 
that. 

867
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:50,680
That person must not suppose 
that he will receive anything 

868
00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:54,400
from the Lord. 
Ah, oh, so we have a condition 

869
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:58,560
here with God's promises. 
Yep, Yep, Pastor, obvious. 

870
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:00,640
Thanks for that. 
There's conditions with God's 

871
00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:02,960
promises verse 8. 
He's a double minded man, 

872
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:06,760
unstable in all his ways. 
Pastor, what point do you want 

873
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:07,880
to make? 
You seem angry. 

874
00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:11,000
Well, I get frustrated when 
people don't understand how God 

875
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:14,360
works, especially whenever it 
comes down to their ego. 

876
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:16,520
And I think a lot of times this 
becomes an issue of ego for 

877
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,720
folks. 
Whereas like I've prayed for 

878
00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:23,600
many things that I haven't seen 
answers to, but I consistently 

879
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,280
say God, you're good and I don't
understand everything. 

880
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:28,640
Maybe I thought I was in faith, 
maybe I don't. 

881
00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:30,280
I don't want you to get caught 
up in it. 

882
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:31,480
I don't want you to get tripped 
up. 

883
00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:32,840
I don't. 
You go more faith to have less 

884
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:34,040
faith to have big faith to a 
small faith. 

885
00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:36,080
I just want you to keep looking 
to Jesus. 

886
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:37,800
I just want you to look to 
Jesus. 

887
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:40,400
Just go. 
I feel like I got a spec fine 

888
00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:43,080
that speckled to do just fine as
long as you planted in the soil 

889
00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:44,960
of Christ. 
The rest is history. 

890
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,680
I want you to keep putting your 
eyes on Jesus and I want you to 

891
00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,680
know your faith matters. 
I want you to know your God is 

892
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,720
sovereign and all powerful and 
His sovereignty. 

893
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:57,560
In his sovereignty, He is chosen
to function in a particular way,

894
00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:00,120
and that is a participation with
your faith. 

895
00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:02,440
I want to encourage you to build
your faith. 

896
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:06,480
How do you do that with your 
Bible, with the Word of God? 

897
00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:09,760
The more time you spend getting 
familiar with the Word of God, 

898
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:12,760
the more things you you can 
recognize truth more clearly. 

899
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:16,280
Saints who have been in the word
for a long time, man, there's 

900
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:18,920
just a it. 
There's just a filter and stuff.

901
00:44:18,920 --> 00:44:21,840
Can't get through it all. 
Christians who have spent a lot 

902
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,240
of time in the Word you, you 
just know a lie when you hear it

903
00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:27,240
and you just know truth when you
hear it. 

904
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:29,360
Why? 
Because the Spirit of God in you

905
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:32,680
and the voice of God in you is 
confirming these things or or 

906
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,120
denying these things depending 
on what they are. 

907
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,960
But your faith, your specific 
trust and expectation in God's 

908
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,040
word and his nature and his 
character, they matter. 

909
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,600
And your faith often determine, 
determines what you will and 

910
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:48,400
will not receive from God. 
God's not angry. 

911
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:52,440
God's not shaming or condemning.
God is just saying, here's the 

912
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,360
way I've set things up for 
fellowship for you and I, I want

913
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:56,800
you to learn me. 
I want you to seek me. 

914
00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,800
I want you to walk with me. 
There's there's blessings that 

915
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:01,800
come along with that. 
And it's sure enough, there's 

916
00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:06,720
consequences for not like I 
said, pastor, obvious stuff that

917
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:09,840
Christians have to agree with in
the pews on a Sunday morning 

918
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:11,080
when it's laid out in front of 
them. 

919
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:14,640
But many times we don't believe 
it in day-to-day life. 

920
00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:17,040
The way that we speak reveals 
what we think is really 

921
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:19,400
happening with something. 
Well, this thing happens. 

922
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:20,760
So I guess the Lord wanted to 
blah, blah, blah. 

923
00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:23,240
I'm like, I cringe every time I 
hear something like that. 

924
00:45:24,120 --> 00:45:26,000
Yeah, I thought. 
I mean, I talked to a lot of 

925
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,360
people throughout the course of 
a week and people talk as though

926
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:33,400
everything that happens is the 
Lord's will and, and bless their

927
00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:34,560
hearts. 
I don't mean that in the 

928
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:36,880
southern passive aggressive, 
insulting way. 

929
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:40,440
I mean it in the genuine care 
and compassion that I have for 

930
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,240
them way. 
Bless their hearts. 

931
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:44,640
They most of the time they just 
haven't pulled that thread all 

932
00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:46,840
the way out. 
They just haven't followed it 

933
00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,360
all the way through to its 
logical conclusions to go, oh 

934
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:51,360
man, I was doing this, that and 
the other and then, you know, 

935
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:53,840
got in the car wreck and blah, 
blah, total this thing. 

936
00:45:53,840 --> 00:45:57,000
But then this is so look at what
the I'm like, yeah, what you 

937
00:45:57,000 --> 00:45:59,640
just described was the goodness 
of God and his resurrection 

938
00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:01,720
principles in spite of a bad 
thing. 

939
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:04,720
But people often like they just 
don't think through and pull the

940
00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:08,640
thread all the way out and go, 
oh, oh, they just see a little 

941
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:11,440
thread dangling and they say, 
this is what the Lord wanted. 

942
00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:13,120
Everything that happens is what 
the Lord wanted. 

943
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:14,840
This is what the Lord wanted. 
This is what the Lord wanted, 

944
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:17,760
and they're not recognizing God 
is good and he brings good out 

945
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:21,000
of bad because God is good, 
because God is wonderful. 

946
00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:24,880
Saints, everything that happens 
is not God's will. 

947
00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:29,360
Everything that happens is not 
God's will. 

948
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,680
Did he just say that? 
Yeah, he did. 

949
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,560
He'll say it many, many more 
times. 

950
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:35,800
It's not God's will for me to 
sin. 

951
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:43,240
We must pray, we must obey, and 
we must believe God if we want 

952
00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:46,840
to see more of His power. 
Like I said, we know that Father

953
00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:50,240
prayed for his Son before that 
day arrived many times. 

954
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,480
Why did anything happen? 
Some would even argue, well, 

955
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:56,520
because the Lord wanted to do it
that day, fine, fine. 

956
00:46:56,520 --> 00:46:59,000
But my, my point remains, the 
Lord wanted to do it. 

957
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:02,720
Nobody can point to the ministry
of Jesus and show me anywhere 

958
00:47:02,720 --> 00:47:03,920
where the Lord didn't want to do
it. 

959
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:06,520
Everybody will always have to 
come to the Lord wanted to do 

960
00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:07,360
it. 
Well, why did you do it at this 

961
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:09,320
time? 
We can argue about timelines. 

962
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:11,120
I'm open to that one. 
I'm open to being wrong on that 

963
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:14,160
one, not open to the Lord. 
Didn't want to do it. 

964
00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:17,680
Clearly he did, but my faith 
played a part. 

965
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:21,280
Keep going. 
I want to take you back to Mark 

966
00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:23,880
91 last time and we're going to 
start closing now. 

967
00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:28,960
So Mark's account just gives us 
more detail. 

968
00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:33,800
Same thing. 
Same thing as Matthew. 

969
00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,040
Mark's just filling in other 
details. 

970
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:40,520
Mark filled in certain details. 
Matthew and Mark both recorded 

971
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:47,600
Mark 921 and Jesus asked the 
Father, how long has this been 

972
00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:50,680
happening to him? 
And he said from childhood. 

973
00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:54,200
And it is often cast him into 
the fire and into water to 

974
00:47:54,200 --> 00:47:57,280
destroy him. 
But if you can do anything, have

975
00:47:57,280 --> 00:48:01,120
compassion on us and help us. 
And Jesus said to him, If you 

976
00:48:01,120 --> 00:48:07,400
can stop him in his tracks, if 
you can, all things are possible

977
00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:10,280
for one who believes. 
So Jesus quotes the man back to 

978
00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:12,080
himself. 
He interrupts him right away. 

979
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:16,120
Lord, if you can do anything, 
please help us if you can, 

980
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:20,360
quoting the man right in front 
of him, all things are possible 

981
00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:26,160
for the one who believes. 
Correcting this father right 

982
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:30,200
away. 
Immediately the father of the 

983
00:48:30,200 --> 00:48:35,080
child cried out and said, I 
believe help my unbelief. 

984
00:48:37,680 --> 00:48:44,600
I've prayed this prayer many 
times, Lord, I do believe help 

985
00:48:44,600 --> 00:48:46,440
my unbelief because I know 
there's some doubts in there 

986
00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:48,400
too. 
And it's like this weird 

987
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:49,920
mixture. 
And I don't want any poison in 

988
00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:51,040
my dinner. 
Do you? 

989
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:54,520
How many drops of how many drops
of Sinai do you want in your 

990
00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:58,400
dinner? 
And just one, maybe 0, right? 

991
00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:00,240
Yeah. 
So the same way Lord, purify my 

992
00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:03,720
faith, help me to trust you and 
stop believing my circumstances.

993
00:49:03,720 --> 00:49:05,560
Help me stop being such a 
natural man. 

994
00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,280
And the Lord is saying keep 
walking with me, son, even right

995
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:14,200
now. 
Jesus says this, this kind 

996
00:49:14,240 --> 00:49:17,680
other, other there, there's 
other passages here that say 

997
00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:19,800
this kind doesn't come out by 
prayer. 

998
00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:22,680
He tells them in verse 29, this 
kind of doesn't come out by 

999
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:23,840
prayer. 
Why couldn't we cast the demon 

1000
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:25,280
out? 
He says this kind of only comes 

1001
00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:27,360
out by prayer. 
That wasn't to say you have to 

1002
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:29,800
go pray alone and then come 
back. 

1003
00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:34,080
The point was the development of
your faith through a life of 

1004
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:35,960
prayer. 
The emphasis is not on here's 

1005
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:37,840
the formula to make the demon 
come out. 

1006
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:40,840
The emphasis is on building up 
your faith. 

1007
00:49:41,480 --> 00:49:44,560
A life of prayer is where faith 
will come from. 

1008
00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:47,480
A life in the Word of God is 
where faith will come from. 

1009
00:49:48,760 --> 00:49:53,640
If you can do anything, This is 
the fatal flaw in our faith that

1010
00:49:53,640 --> 00:49:55,840
makes our faith not faith at 
all. 

1011
00:49:56,680 --> 00:50:00,600
The IF. 
How many times have have I 

1012
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:04,480
placed the if on God? 
But Jesus fixes it real fast? 

1013
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:07,840
No, no, no, no, no. 
There is an if, but the IF is 

1014
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:12,520
not with me. 
Jesus says if you can believe, 

1015
00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:15,320
all things are possible. 
For those who believe will make 

1016
00:50:15,320 --> 00:50:18,800
the quick and obvious point that
when He says all things are 

1017
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:22,520
possible, we're not talking 
about ridiculousness or 

1018
00:50:22,560 --> 00:50:26,080
stupidity, you know, or I want 
Lamborghini lightning bolts 

1019
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:28,200
flying across. 
They're like, we're talking 

1020
00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:31,400
about things that the Lord 
wants, things that come from the

1021
00:50:31,400 --> 00:50:34,400
Word of God, things that are in 
line with His nature and His 

1022
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:36,280
character. 
Do you have confidence? 

1023
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:38,240
Faith begins where the will of 
God is known. 

1024
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:42,600
I can't have faith in God for 
for things that I'm just coming 

1025
00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:45,360
up without a thin air. 
And yet when we know the word of

1026
00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:49,200
God, the nature of God and the 
character of God, now I can 

1027
00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:54,800
start to put my mustard seed or 
smaller right there and say it's

1028
00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:56,400
settled. 
I don't see it yet. 

1029
00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:58,320
Oh, I've been waiting for a 
while. 

1030
00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:01,520
Oh, it's through faith and 
patience that we inherit the 

1031
00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:06,200
promises. 
It's not always an instantaneous

1032
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:13,120
thing, but there is an if and 
all things are possible if we 

1033
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:20,360
will believe in verse 20 of 
Matthew 17 now. 

1034
00:51:21,040 --> 00:51:23,240
And he said to them, because of 
your little faith for true lay, 

1035
00:51:23,240 --> 00:51:25,600
I say, if you have the faith 
like a grain of a mustard seed, 

1036
00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:28,200
you'll say to this mountain, 
move from here to there and it 

1037
00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:31,120
will move and nothing will be 
impossible for you. 

1038
00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:36,320
If your faith is in God's Word, 
if it's pure, you won't need to 

1039
00:51:36,320 --> 00:51:41,200
focus on bigger faith or or over
analyzing the quality of your 

1040
00:51:41,200 --> 00:51:44,320
faith. 
Just faith and you're all set 

1041
00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:49,040
because faith is just the road. 
The road isn't really what we're

1042
00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:52,120
after, is it? 
It's the cargo that we're after.

1043
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:56,560
It's the cargo of heaven. 
So pure trusting Bible faith is 

1044
00:51:56,560 --> 00:52:03,720
enough to move a mountain. 
Now we'll say this, we do know 

1045
00:52:04,600 --> 00:52:08,400
that when Jesus said anything, 
he didn't mean anything like I 

1046
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:10,400
said, according to the will of 
God. 

1047
00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:16,560
So if you needed a mountain to 
move, a literal mountain, that 

1048
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:18,960
could happen. 
There's not a limitation. 

1049
00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:20,440
It's not more difficult for the 
Lord. 

1050
00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:22,760
Why would you say that, pastor? 
Why would you go out like this? 

1051
00:52:22,760 --> 00:52:24,800
Why would you end it like that? 
Well, because the fig tree 

1052
00:52:24,800 --> 00:52:28,560
Withers up. 
Jesus cursed a fig tree and the 

1053
00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:31,800
disciples marvelled at it. 
He said no one will ever eat 

1054
00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:34,840
fruit from you ever again. 
And the tree Withers and the 

1055
00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:40,600
disciples go, that's crazy. 
And then Jesus, who's just done 

1056
00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:43,200
a physical example right before 
their eyes, says, if you think 

1057
00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:46,080
that's crazy, I tell you that 
you can move a mountain. 

1058
00:52:46,440 --> 00:52:51,160
So what's your point, pastor? 
My point is that your faith is 

1059
00:52:51,160 --> 00:52:53,720
the road that can carry anything
on it. 

1060
00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:56,920
It can carry a fig tree. 
It can carry a mountain. 

1061
00:52:57,160 --> 00:52:59,480
He said I don't really have much
need for cursing fig trees right

1062
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:00,880
now. 
And there's actually no 

1063
00:53:00,880 --> 00:53:03,160
mountains around here, and I 
really don't need any of them 

1064
00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:04,560
out of my way. 
Fair enough. 

1065
00:53:05,680 --> 00:53:08,120
The point is, anything and 
everything that you would come 

1066
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:10,320
against in life, that's against 
the will of God. 

1067
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:14,200
He wants you to be the minister.
He wants you to be the disciple.

1068
00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:17,000
He wants you to execute the work
of His ministry. 

1069
00:53:17,320 --> 00:53:19,840
He wants you to charge and storm
the gates of hell. 

1070
00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:22,360
He wants you to be that prayer 
warrior. 

1071
00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:24,800
He wants you to be that 
Christian who joins with your 

1072
00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:27,120
brothers and sisters in salt. 
He wants you to be that 

1073
00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:29,680
Christian who blesses the people
of the world around you. 

1074
00:53:29,680 --> 00:53:34,000
And He expects ministry power to
flow through you. 

1075
00:53:34,880 --> 00:53:38,200
He expects you to have a road. 
I need to develop my Rd. then 

1076
00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,560
get to developing it. 
How do I do that? 

1077
00:53:40,800 --> 00:53:42,760
Is there a formula? 
Well, there's some best 

1078
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:47,040
practices. 
Read your Bible, read your Bible

1079
00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:56,680
and joy and feast on your Bible.
Pray, pray about your Bible. 

1080
00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:00,040
Talk to the Lord about what you 
read in your Bible. 

1081
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:02,360
You're going to develop your 
relationship with Him. 

1082
00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:05,760
You don't have to complicate it.
You just enjoy him and walk with

1083
00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:07,360
him. 
Your faith will be developed. 

1084
00:54:07,360 --> 00:54:10,360
That road is being built. 
Darren's built a lot of roads. 

1085
00:54:10,360 --> 00:54:12,480
He's built a lot of bridges. 
Why? 

1086
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:14,200
For the precious cargo of 
people. 

1087
00:54:15,680 --> 00:54:17,440
But the roads, there's a lot 
required there. 

1088
00:54:17,640 --> 00:54:20,480
It takes time. 
So we, we want to develop our 

1089
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:21,680
faith. 
We want to build our faith. 

1090
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000
But remember, faith comes from 
hearing the word of God. 

1091
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:26,160
So get the word of God more in 
your head. 

1092
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:28,920
Get the word of God more in your
heart, more before your eyes 

1093
00:54:29,840 --> 00:54:32,760
because you have you have 
ministry work to accomplish. 

1094
00:54:33,320 --> 00:54:35,960
There are people who need to 
believe, who need you to believe

1095
00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:37,560
God on their behalf. 
Like this boy. 

1096
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:39,960
He needed others to stand up for
him. 

1097
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:42,480
Your children, your spouse, your
friends, your family, your 

1098
00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:44,600
enemies. 
This world needs a bright 

1099
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:48,560
believing church who walks in 
power, not who says whatever 

1100
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:53,040
will be will be, but who says 
we're going to make the Kingdom 

1101
00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:56,240
come and his will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven. 

1102
00:54:56,240 --> 00:54:58,120
We're going to do our part. 
We're going to make sure we have

1103
00:54:58,120 --> 00:54:59,880
a road. 
We're going to make sure we have

1104
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:00,920
a road. 
We're going to make sure we use 

1105
00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:02,880
it. 
We're going to say, Lord, find 

1106
00:55:02,880 --> 00:55:06,080
this road, bring your heavenly 
cargo down this way. 

1107
00:55:06,880 --> 00:55:11,320
Use me. 
Believe God, believe that he 

1108
00:55:11,320 --> 00:55:14,840
loves you and that he loves to 
be believed by you. 

1109
00:55:15,480 --> 00:55:17,360
The Lord is so pleased when 
people believe him. 

1110
00:55:17,760 --> 00:55:20,720
I love to see the delight in 
Jesus when people believed him 

1111
00:55:20,720 --> 00:55:24,720
and he goes, that made my day, 
that made my day. 

1112
00:55:24,720 --> 00:55:27,280
You just believed me. 
You trusted me. 

1113
00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:31,920
I mean, it's a pleasing thing. 
The Lord is so satisfied when 

1114
00:55:31,920 --> 00:55:35,960
his Saints believe him. 
He goes, ah, you will not be put

1115
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:38,680
to shame. 
Those who trust in the Lord will

1116
00:55:38,680 --> 00:55:41,840
never be put to shame. 
But that trust looks like 

1117
00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:46,160
something. 
He loves to be believed by you, 

1118
00:55:46,280 --> 00:55:47,880
and He loves to come through for
you. 

1119
00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:49,920
Your God will come through for 
you. 

1120
00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:52,480
Your God will come through for 
you. 

1121
00:55:55,400 --> 00:56:00,800
There's no issue with the cargo.
Lord, build our roads, build our

1122
00:56:00,800 --> 00:56:07,600
roads stronger, build whatever 
needs to be built on us. 

1123
00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:10,040
Lord, there's areas of our lives
where we're actually quick to 

1124
00:56:10,040 --> 00:56:11,600
trust you. 
There's some areas where it's 

1125
00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:13,840
just easy, where it's just, 
we've always been able to trust 

1126
00:56:13,840 --> 00:56:16,080
you in that area. 
We laid our faith on it. 

1127
00:56:16,080 --> 00:56:20,040
Maybe it was wisdom or, or maybe
it was for financial provision 

1128
00:56:20,040 --> 00:56:22,480
or, or maybe it's for healing. 
Maybe there's areas that's just 

1129
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,800
ma'am, I just trust the Lord 
and, and, and his heavenly cargo

1130
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:28,960
just flows quickly in that area.
And then maybe there are other 

1131
00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:32,640
areas of my life where I know 
why I'm not receiving because of

1132
00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:36,200
my little faith. 
Lord, protect me from 

1133
00:56:36,200 --> 00:56:39,840
condemnation. 
Protect your your Saints from 

1134
00:56:39,840 --> 00:56:44,320
the accusations of the devil, 
from shame and from guilt or 

1135
00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:48,360
from overwhelm and bless them 
with relief and delight. 

1136
00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:51,520
Lord, even as the Word was 
preached today You have 

1137
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:54,160
delivered again the faith needed
to believe in. 

1138
00:56:55,280 --> 00:56:58,880
So we believe Your word and we 
pray that You will continue to 

1139
00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:03,720
purify our faith so we would 
receive all that You intended 

1140
00:57:03,720 --> 00:57:05,440
and that You would make us 
effective and powerful 

1141
00:57:05,440 --> 00:57:10,880
ministers, well equipped and 
well able to glorify Your name 

1142
00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:16,920
to carry out Your ministry work.
We love you, we thank you, we 

1143
00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:23,120
honor you, and now the Lord 
bless you and keep you. 

1144
00:57:24,240 --> 00:57:28,280
The Lord make his face Shinedown
upon you, and be gracious to 

1145
00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:30,800
you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance

1146
00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:36,200
upon you and give you great 
peace in Jesus name, Amen.