LORD, I BELIEVE; HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF

"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."  Mark 9:24

          Did you know you can have faith and unbelief at the same time?  The father in Mark 9 said, Lord, I believe (that's faith), but then he said, help thou mine unbelief.  When you were saved, you not only received salvation, you received everything Jesus had, including His faith.  See 2 Peter 1:1.  In fact, we all receive the same amount of faith.  See Romans 12:3. 

          In Matthew 17:14-21 and in Mark 9:14-29, it tells the whole story about how this father came to Jesus for help in casting out a demon from his son, because the disciples were unable to do it.  The disciples had plenty of faith.  Jesus had given them the power to cast out demons and they had already cast out plenty of demons.  Why then could they not cast out this demon?  Jesus said it was because of their unbelief.

          You see, unbelief challenges your faith.  Unbelief sets in when you worry, or are full of care and stressed out.  Unbelief sets in when you fear what the Bible says won't come to pass.  Most of the unbelief that we have is based on what we see and how we feel.  Dare I say that whatever the disciples saw while they were trying to cast out the demon frightened them?  Dare I say that unbelief set in when the disciples let whatever they saw affect them more than what Jesus said to them? 

         How do we get rid of this unbelief?  Jesus said it can only come out by prayer and fasting.  See Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:28-29.  Think with me for a moment.  Jesus could not have been talking about this kind of demon, because when you are casting out a demon, you would probably have time for a quick prayer, but you would not have time to fast.  Jesus was talking about their unbelief.  This kind of unbelief (the natural unbelief meaning what you see or feel) can only come out by prayer and fasting. 

          You do not fast to move God.  You do not fast to move the devil.  Fasting is designed to move you.  Fasting doesn't give you more power or anointing.  Fasting is designed to get your body and senses to line up with the Word of God.  It is designed to attack carnality.  Carnality is when your life is being controlled by what you see, hear, and feel (your senses).  Fasting and prayer is how you begin to exercise your senses.  You have to exercise your senses, so your senses don't govern what you believe, but line up with what you believe.  See Hebrews 5:14.

          Let's get rid of unbelief by praying and fasting, but also by meditating on God's promises instead of what we see, hear, and feel.  Let's become spiritual Christians who are dominated by God's Word and by the Holy Spirit. 

DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE MIRACLES IN YOUR LIFE, THEN CONSIDER THIS NOT THAT

"And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." Romans 4 :19-21

          Do you want to see more miracles in your life? Then consider God's promises and consider not your problems. Think about and meditate on God's promises and not on your circumstances. Abraham considered not what he saw in his body or his wife's body, but considered the promise of God. To consider means to think about, to ponder, to meditate on.

          There is only one other place in the Bible where someone, actually someones, considered not. In Mark 6:45, after Jesus fed the 5,000, He told the disciples to get into the ship and cross over to Bethsaida.  After Jesus sent the people away and spent some time in prayer, He saw the disciples in the middle of the sea. The wind was blowing against them and they were rowing hard. Jesus walked on the water towards them, but when they saw Him they were afraid because they thought He was a ghost. Now here is where you need to stop and put your spiritual thinking cap on. The Bible says in Mark 6:51-52, the disciples "were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened." Their heart was hardened because they considered not the miracle of the loaves. Your heart will harden if you consider not God's promises and only consider your problems.  Having a hard heart does not always mean you are rebellious. The disciples were not rebellious. Having a hard heart can also mean you are deprived of wisdom, judgment, and understanding. Ponder this for a moment. Your heart is hardened when you relate more easily to the natural realm than you do to the supernatural realm. When things in the natural realm are more real to you than things in the supernatural realm, you have a hardened heart. If you are more moved by what you see in the world than by what God’s Word says, your heart is hardened.

          Another thing you can glean from Mark 6:51 where it says the disciples “were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered,” is that you should never be amazed when Jesus does a miracle in your life. You should look for miracles in your life every day. Expect them and thank Him for them even before you see them.  And just one more thing.  Don't try to figure it out.  Don't try to explain it.  You can see the natural things.  You can figure it out and even explain what you see.  But God's miracles are supernatural.  You will never be able to explain or figure them out, so don't even try.  God wants to take care of you.  He wants you to trust Him, so just sit back and enjoy. 

          So are you ready to see more miracles in your life? Are you ready for a soft heart? Then consider God's promises and consider not your problems. Ponder God's promises and not your circumstances. Think about God's promises and not how you feel.  In fact, meditate on God's promise over your problem until you see the promise.   

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

WALKING IN THE SPIRIT

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16


          This morning when I woke up, I asked God a question and as He sometimes does, He answered me right away. You see, I have been trying to get rid of something in my life for some time now. I purposely will not tell you what it is because I want you to plug in your own thing you are trying to get rid of in your life. Sometimes I do good and abstain and sometimes I just partake. I was doing so good last night, so I thought, and then it came across my path and I happily said yes, or more accurately, my flesh happily said yes again. So this morning, one of the first things I did was ask God, why did I say yes again. Why can't I stop partaking and just say no, and this is what God said to me: It is because you are not walking in the Spirit.


          It always amazes me how God teaches me what He is trying to get me to see. A lot of His teachings lately have been about worship and praise, and this morning when He said, It is because you are not walking in the Spirit, I knew in my heart that what God said was the grand finale of what He was trying to get me to see. While I am worshiping and praising Jesus, I am walking in the Spirit. While my mind is on Jesus and His Word, I am walking in the Spirit. You walk in the Spirit by continually, from the moment you get up until you go to bed, think about your Savior and His goodness towards you. Yes, you have many things to do, but your many things to do will never give you the power to overcome what you need to overcome. Remember the story about Martha and Mary? (Luke 10:38-41). Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to His every word. Martha was busy with her many things. And here is what Jesus said to Martha, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." You see, the many things you have to do are full of care and troubles, but spending time with Jesus is the good part and what you learn at Jesus' feet "shall not be taken away from" you.


"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3


          So here's how you continually walk in the Spirit throughout your day. Start talking to Jesus the moment you get up in the morning. Then between your daily work continue to talk to Jesus. Thank Him for His goodness and His many blessings, praise Him, ask Him questions, tell Him what's on your mind, sing or hum hymns or Scripture songs. You can do this while you are walking to your car, or to the restroom, going to lunch, cooking dinner, making your bed. Whenever you find yourself alone, instead of talking to yourself or thinking about how upset someone made you or what you had for dinner last night, just talk to Jesus. That is walking in the Spirit.
          You see, there is power when you are walk in the Spirit. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people, so while you are praising Jesus, God is there. The power is God's power. Always be aware of God's presence in your life. Keep your thinking focused on Jesus. If you are walking in the Spirit, you are being led by God's Spirit. You cannot be led by the Spirit if you are walking in the flesh. I suppose you can say that walking in the flesh is thinking about everything but Jesus. Walking in the Spirit means you are tuned into the Spirit realm and you will easily be able to hear God's voice in your spirit.


"And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about." Luke 4:14



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