Mark 9: 17 – 19, 28 – 29
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”……………
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”
REFLECTION
Spiritual authority is in levels. There is what you can handle and what will need extra effort from you or spiritual reinforcement from fellow believers and/or servants of God. The authority God gave us is not questionable and is not lesser than what someone else carries, the difference is the power at work within us (how much you have allowed God to work within you). The bible says we grow from glory to glory and from strength to strength; this growing depends on the revelation we have about God and His work in our lives.
The father of this boy had taken him to Jesus, when he did not find Him, he asked the disciples to drive out the evil spirit from the boy, but they could not. These are the same disciples who Jesus had called and gave them power to cast out evil spirits and to heal all sicknesses and diseases in Matthew 10:1.
When Jesus was told they could not help the boy, He was upset and called them unbelieving generation. He went further and asked them “How long will I put up with you?” This tells me that Jesus had greater expectations from the disciples. They were not operating in the level that He wanted them to. Unbelief kept them from performing miracles.
When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. The evil spirit could not wait for Jesus to talk. It bowed to the authority of Jesus. There is something I want you to see hear; the disciples were using the name of Jesus to drive the spirit out, yet it did not go. When it saw Jesus, it reacted immediately. This tells me the evil spirit can know when we have faith and when we don’t. There are times you could be conducting deliverance and the evil spirits laugh at you but when someone else comes in the keep quite or scream and leave the person. It shows levels.
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
The spirit initially threw the boy to the ground when it saw Jesus but it did not come out. If Jesus left the boy because he had fallen to the ground, he would have gone back home with the evil spirit in him. It is until Jesus commanded it out that it left the boy. When a demon/ evil spirit manifests, do not take it to mean deliverance. Go ahead and rebuke it/ cast it out.
When the disciples went privately and asked Jesus why they could not drive out the evil spirit He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting”. Prayer and fasting helps you to work on your faith. When you go without food and in prayer your eyes are fixed on God and His word and hence you are able to exercise mountain moving faith. As you fast and pray God increases in your heart and you decrease; the doubting you decreases. You are able to overcome unbelief.
Mark 9:21 – 24
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
The boy’s father put it as a probability, “If you can?” This did not go well with Jesus. He echoed his words. It was as if to ask, “What did you just say?”
Everything is possible to them that believe. If you want to exercise your authority in Jesus be a man/woman of faith.
I love what this man did. He quickly corrected himself and asked Jesus to help his unbelief. If something is posing as a challenge to you such that you can’t exercise your faith, ask God to help your unbelief. This man would have gone back home with his problem if he continued with unbelief.
It is not that the scriptures have lost their power or Christianity has become weak, the problem is the unbelieving believers.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus I come before your presence to ask for grace and mercy. Help me to walk by faith and not by sight. I desire to exercise the authority you have given in me in Christ Jesus. Help my unbelief, in Jesus name I pray and believe. Amen.
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