That Thing
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· 3 viewsGod's power is unlimited, and as Christians we know there is nothing too big or difficult for Him. Yet, when we call on God, pleading with Him to fix that thing that's broken or hurting in our lives, we have a hard time believing our own prayers. But God knows our deepest needs, and when He answers our prayers in His way, He does more than change our lives - He heals our hearts.
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[1] - Title
God's power is unlimited, and as Christians we know there is nothing too big or difficult for Him.
God's power is unlimited, and as Christians we know there is nothing too big or difficult for Him. Yet, when we call on God, pleading with Him to fix that thing that's broken or hurting in our lives, we have a hard time believing our own prayers. But God knows our deepest needs, and when He answers our prayers in His way, He does more than change our lives - He heals our hearts.
Yet, when we call on God, pleading with Him to fix that thing that's broken or hurting in our lives, we have a hard time believing our own prayers.
The good news: God knows our deepest needs, and when He answers our prayers in His way, He does more than change our lives - He heals our hearts.
Even when our faith is shaken, God is not.
When we bring our most desperate prayers to Christ, his answers are greater than we could imagine.
MOUNTAIN AND VALLEY
MOUNTAIN AND VALLEY
In , Jesus came down from a mountain with three of his disciples [Peter James John].
The transfiguration had happened on the mountain top, which is where Jesus shone with brilliant radiance as God spoke over him, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!”
After coming back down the mountain he walked right into a messy situation.
There was a dispute in the crowd because a father with a son possessed by a demonic spirit had brought that son to be healed, and the disciples had failed to heal him.
[2-17]
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.
And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
[18] Title
Moses
Moses
Jesus’ transfiguration and the event we just read is paralleled in the Old Testament by Moses’ experience in when Moses went up on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments.
And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’ ” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”
Both - encountered God on the mountain, then came back down to find a nation in rebellion and disciples with no faith.
However - while Moses’ reaction was to kill about 3,000 rebellious men, Jesus’ reaction was to heal and restore.
What the law in Moses’ was powerless to do, God did through Jesus to bring life, healing, and salvation to everyone who believes in him.
There was a mess in the valley while Jesus was away on the mountain. But God is not intimidated by messy situations.
Whenever we’re dealing with something in the valley, we can lift our eyes to Jesus who is above us, knowing that He is full of power and mercy, and will come down to heal us.
THAT THING
THAT THING
The father of the boy told Jesus that his son had been that way since childhood. It is likely that he had tried many healers before and none of them had worked.
The man said to Jesus, “I brought my son to you.’ But he hadn’t actually. He has so far brought his son only to Jesus.
Just like the father longed for his son’s healing, we all have “that thing” in our lives that is a constant struggle and hardship.
It’s possible we think we’ve brought that something to Jesus when we’ve really only brought it to the church. Or we think we prayed about something, but we’ve only thought about it a lot.
Whatever that thing is for us, we need to bring it to Jesus. Not to religion. Not to others. To Jesus.
The spirit in the boy would seize him, throw him to the ground, and rob him of speech.
The enemy steals, kills and destroys in our lives. We need to ask ourselves what it is that seizes us, debilitates us and robs us. That doubt. That memory. That bitterness. That fear. That pride. That thing.
ANYTHING
ANYTHING
The father said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, have compassion and help us.”
The father had faith, but he was begging for scraps. His faith was of a survival desperation. He was looking for anything to get relief.
This is where most of us live.
We often come to God just to get relief.
We look to anything that will numb the pain, for just a second.
But anything is pitiful, and it’s not what Jesus has in mind.
EVERYTHING
EVERYTHING
Jesus’ response was, “If you can? Everything is possible for the one who believes.”
Then the father cried out, “I believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”
So Jesus commanded the spirit out, and the boy was healed.
The father’s thing was he wanted his son to be healed.
But Jesus was more interested in healing the father’s unbelief.
But Jesus was more interested in the thing beneath the thing.
Before God gives us what we want, he wants to give us what we really need.
When we really bring our thing to Jesus, he will change our hearts to heal our unbelief, our lack of faith, our pride.
It wasn’t when the father brought his son to Jesus that Jesus healed the boy. It was when the father brought his unbelief.
The most spiritual prayer we can pray is to cry, “Help!” to Jesus from the depths of our soul.
God doesn’t want to do anything for us. He wants to do everything for us.
That Thing
That Thing
That Thing cannot hold you back any longer. It’s time to give it to Jesus.
We are conquerors.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,