Good Morning,

We are going to start this year out right!  I'm sick and tired of the devil having control over our lives.  I know you've had enough as well and now there is a way we can stop satan dead in his tracks.  Interested?  Good!  We are going to work this together.  I have never felt so led of the Holy Spirit as I am today preparing our church for the most awesome journey any single church body can go.  We have had the five keys introduced to us for almost two years now and notice I said "introduced"--we have not mastered any one of them, and yet we seem to be, for some of us, in the same place we were in two years ago. How can that be?  Satan defeats us here, he defeats us there, we cry, we moan, we groan, and even though some very valuable tools have been given to us to combat the devil, we are too often quickly retreating, tucking our tails between our legs and running away!  Why?  As a child of God, we don't have too!  "Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world."  Now, wait a minute pastor, that saying is too easily picked up and used--it sounds good, but it doesn't work"  Years ago, I would have agreed with you!  But now, today, after using our revelation gift of praying in tongues, I have not only reviewed this scripture, meditated on it, I have lived it!  You see, when we KNOW that person living down on the inside of us, it is very easy to understand that satan has no more "bite"--he is all "bark"--Praise God!

Jesus comes down off the Mount of Transfiguration with 3 of the 12 disciples.  When He gets to the bottom of the mountain, He finds himself among a crowd of people who are shocked at what they had just witnessed.  No, they didn't witness the visitations of Jesus by Moses and Elijah, but they witnessed a fiasco that tore at the very foundations of faith of those who were there, especially the heart of a father who believed in Jesus and those who walked with Him.  I had to read this passage for a while over and over until I finally saw the father's desperation.  Here is the story found in Matthew. 

Matthew 17: 14-21--"And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,  “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him upon that mountain leaving the other nine behind.  The disciples, wouldn't you say, knew a thing or two about demon possession?  They knew how to pray, they knew how to lay hands on people, they knew the words, they knew the actions.  But, yet, they could not get rid of this demon.  Many churches and denominations have used this passage of scripture to promote fasting as a tool to eliminate demons, and yet while there is a smidgen of truth there, this is not what this passage of scripture really says.

I mentioned earlier the father's desperation to get his son healed.  This man was persistent.  Look at the way Matthew saw it--after they had messed up and given up, the disciples, like whipped pups tucked themselves into a corner of the crowd and wanted more than anything to become invisible.  I mean, wouldn't you?  You had just spent a considerable amount of time praying, laying hands, proclaiming the name of Jesus and all that you could muster-up in this situation, and all you came away with was an unbelieving crowd, and a very desperate father.  And then it happened, the worst thing of all--the ones who just messed up--saw Jesus coming.  I remember, vaguely in my childhood, a time when I broke a window.  Now, the wind, mind you, yanked the door open after I had opened it and it slammed, shattering the window, but that still didn't compensate me when I heard that I had to call dad and tell him I had broken a window.  I hated with all my insides to confront authority.  The same thing happened here.  The disciples didn't heal this boy--they tried--satan had them whipped!  They were amazed, astonished, and a bit overwhelmed.  And now Jesus was coming down from the mountain--along with those disciples who would probably gloat a little. 

After the disciples had given up on healing the boy, I'm sure they wanted to see the father take his boy and go on home before the Master came down from that mountain, but now it was too late!  The Master was almost to the crowd and what do they see?  They see the father going toward and kneeling down in front of Jesus.  They knew what he was telling Jesus.  How they failed!  How they came up short!  Even though Jesus didn't look at them, they knew by the tone in His voice He was talking to them--"O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?"

Now, Praise God!  It didn't stop there.  The father got his boy healed, but it raised a lot of questions in the disciples.  If I had been there, as a disciple who had tried to cast out the demon, I would have had the "fear" of the Lord all over me.  I would have done exactly what they did and asked him in private a question.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so know this--Jesus loved those disciples with all His heart, soul, and mind.  We should know that the Word, is given to us for instruction and rebuke and this was one of those times when He lovingly rebuked His children.  He just called them faithless and perverse, and when they had an opportunity, later on, in private, they asked Him, "Why could we not cast it out?"

The disciples didn't get it!  I'm afraid there are those among us who "don't get it", either.  Jesus loved them more than His own life, but for the life of them, they could not understand the basic principles Jesus stood for.  What was Jesus' whole reason for coming to earth?  Right!  To redeem us--to make possible a way for eternal life with Him forever.  God loves us so much, even though He knew men would fail, He already had in existence a way out!  The disciples thought that because they "knew" Him, walked with Him, prayed with Him, ate with Him,  that just that would be enough to execute the Power from on High!  WRONG!  Even the demons know Him, but they have no way of being redeemed.  False teachers and preachers today know Him but they are as powerless as gnats against a hurricane.  Atheist KNOW God a millisecond after their heart stops beating. They know because of God's absence and constant remembrances of witnessing attempts in a place called Hell!  There are those among us, in our churches, sitting on pews Sunday after Sunday knowing nothing of the Power of God!  Why?  Because like the disciples-these have missed the proverbial boat.  Going back, He just called the disciples faithless and perverse, and when they had an opportunity, later on, in private, they asked Him, "Why could we not cast it out?"
 

Look at His answer--"Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move."  I want to stop here and expound a little on what He said.  "Because of your unbelief"  Over and over and over, I read this--I prayed, "Lord, if those who were with you physically had unbelief, and this was the reason for Your power not working, then who am I and what must I do to overcome this unbelief?"  Don't think for a moment that the Holy Spirit will lead us to a scripture like this, allow us to ask questions about it, and NOT show us the answer.  He does!  In vibrant, vivid color, He shows us the answer.  Part of it lies in His next statement concerning the mustard seed faith.  Understand this--this scripture, too, is taken out of context, too much--It does NOT mean that if you have the faith the SIZE of a mustard seed you can move mountains--NO!  It says if you have faith as a mustard seed you can move mountains. 

Jesus had just gotten on to His disciples for having "little" faith, so why would He turn around and want us to have "little" faith?  You're right--it doesn't make sense, does it?  So, let's look deeper.  It is a known fact that a mustard seed is a very small seed.  Like all other seeds, the "code" of the plant is inside that seed.  The mustard seed grows into a ten-foot tree strong enough for birds to nest in it's limbs.  The "faith" Jesus talks about here is not only physically seeing the seed, but spiritually seeing what that seed will grow into.  We see lots of "little" seeds in the Word, scripture after scripture, declaring our healing, our prosperity, our spiritual status--("by His stripes you are healed"--"you are healed by the power of His presence"--"Jesus came into the world to save it--not condemn it"--"we know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for though He was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor, that through His poverty, we are made rich"),-- BUT WE NEVER SEE WHAT THAT SEED GROWS INTO! (OUR GREAT HEALTH, OUR GREAT WALK WITH GOD, OUR GREAT WEALTH)  Jesus is telling us that if we can have the faith to "see" our mountain of debt, or our mountain of disease, or our mountain of spiritual death moved out of the way--then IT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! 

Like I wrote earlier, The Holy Spirit will not lead us to scripture like this, allow us to ask questions and then NOT answer us.  But, honestly, what kind of a scripture is this?  What depths do I need to go to understand this?  What kind of a statement is this?  Look at what Jesus said after the moving the mountain thought.  " and nothing will be impossible for you."  "AND NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU."  "and NOTHING will be impossible for you."  "and nothing will be IMPOSSIBLE for you."  What kind of a statement is this?  I have made the mistake countless others have.  I have taken this out of context so much.  And each time I use it out of context, I end up frustrating myself, or those I am trying to teach.  Leaving this alone, it gives us enough insight to God's Power to be dangerous, but coupled with the next statement, the Holy Spirit showed me the power of fasting.  Yes, the POWER OF FASTING.  How many times have you thought the next statement concerned the demon?  It doesn't!  It concerns the "faith" He just mentioned.  Here it is:  "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  This kind is referring to the faith as a mustard seed.  You see, the disciples had already prayed.  I will venture to say that each one of them prayed and laid hands on the poor demon-possessed boy, but something was missing.  Their statements of faith alone, made no difference.  It had to be powered along side with fasting.  Now, doing without food and starving yourself will not move God, because it is not God who needs moved.  In fact, the mountain Jesus talked about earlier probably is you!  Fasting moves you.  The mountain, most of time, is you.  I stand in the way of many blessings.  I would say that most of us do, but now there is a way to LIVE in that Power, not just hope it's there when we pray!  First of all, making the flesh submit is one way of making yourself a living sacrifice--we must die daily to our sins, we must die daily to our flesh.  When our flesh is in control, God cannot be!  Eventually, after the initial flesh, (our stomach) concedes, then we will have to deal with the emotions, our very souls. 

Once we can get the emotions submissive, we, then are able to tap into something far greater than we could ever imagine.  We step into a level, an area of our spiritual life that we can actually live in the anointing 24/7.  That is that PERFECT WILL of God Paul mentions in Romans 12: 1-2.  I will be honest with you, I am no where near perfection--but I am on the road.  I am no where near that acceptable will, either.  I think I am somewhere between good and before good--where ever that is!  In other words, I have a long way to go, but I am now, finally, on the right road.  Very few people ever get to that Perfect level.  I would have to say people like Smith Wigglesworth and The Apostle Paul have made it.  A close candidate for perfection is Dave Roberson.  I have met some whom I feel are on a higher level--probably immersing themselves into the acceptable level.  Now, understand this--I am not putting these on a pedestal, I am looking at their level of maturity in Christ--a fruit inspector, if you will!  IF WE ARE TO BE CHRIST-LIKE, THEN WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR SOME TO ACCEPT IT?  I believe The Word and I have seen some pretty major things occur, supernaturally, in my life!  When we fast and pray in tongues--affectionately known as THE POWER TWINS, we engage ourselves into a lifestyle that cannot compared to anything this side of Heaven.  When we do as Jesus told His disciples and have faith as a mustard seed, we SEE that mountain moved.  We see cancer eradicated, we see scar-tissue disappear, we experience God like we never have before and once we get there, there is no turning back. 

Jesus defeated satan in three areas during His temptation time before He started His ministry.  He defeated satan in body, soul, and spirit and every victory he gained at the cross, He said, it is ours!  Every time we fast, we defeat the enemy!  Every time!  Even if we fast for one day and we wanted to go for three, but we failed, we have defeated satan.  Don't feel any condemnation for failing at a fast.  I have known no one, who has been zapped by God and electrocuted by lighting bolts because he broke a fast.  God loves it when we fast, because we are defeating the enemy.  Satan doesn't want us fasting, he would rather we go back to praying in tongues because he knows the power of fasting.  The first thing that gets defeated is the flesh.  "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  Go ahead, devil, turn that rock into a delicious rib-eye steak dinner--you are defeated!  I'd much rather eat the "bread"--The Word--then to give into you!  The second thing that gets defeated is satan's hold on our own soul.  Our emotions, our minds, our intellect--I mean, really how hard is it to believe that if we starve ourselves we can get into a higher place with God?  Yet, our intellect not only stops us here, but will certainly stop other advances just because it's just too hard to believe--Doubt and Unbelief--the killers of faith!  "It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God."  Thirdly, our spirit, that OLD MAN, those old habits, those strongholds, that inner place of darkness where light is beginning to filter in is then brought under subjection by fasting.  When we said, "Yes!" to Jesus and asked Him into our lives, where do you think He took up residence?  The Holy Spirit, co-equal to God--eyeball to eyeball--ear to ear--mouth to mouth--has taken up residence in our "hearts" that inner place where all decisions are made according to the light shone upon it!  That place where we can enter into a personal worship with the Father in our inner sanctuary.  "For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."

To make a statement like Jesus did, that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you, He intended on us having His fullness and grace in this.  In other words, Jesus not only told us nothing would be impossible, He showed us how to achieve this level of Christian Maturity.  By prayer and fasting--the Power Twins, we open ourselves up to God.  This is something we can do any time we want, for as much as we want, just because we want too.  Remember, when we use what is inside of us for the Kingdom of God--WE START CHANGING!  We have to be led by the Spirit of God

I will close with Romans 8: 8-11--"So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

Have a Christ-filled, Spirit-led life,

Pastor C

Let's get with The Lord today!   A good way to do this is to click on Charlie Roger's Website and listen to some wonderful teaching.  Also, Gary Carpenter's Website is full of wisdom and truth.  Here, in these places we can take a few moments and let Him reveal more knowledge and wisdom into our inner man!