This Kind
This Kind
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10
You know we christians can get pretty good at being good...what I mean is, we get so used to our routine of not doing evil we start thinking we’re pretty good. We have been given the power of God to be the children of God and we actually start thinking that we are actually good...but we’re not...we are broken people who can do no good without the Spirit of God!
The apostles had been given power and authority of Christ over all spiritual things...this means that Satan’s realm was under the authority of Christ through them. They could cast out demons and heal sickness. One day a dad brings his son who was possessed and hurting himself. They tried to cast out the demon but could not. So, the brought the father and son to Christ and Jesus was grieved by His followers. After Jesus had cast out the evil spirits and healed the boy His apostles asked Him, “how come we couldn’t cast this one out?”. His response was, “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Jesus reminded them that they needed faith that HE was doing the work and that they were the mountain sized issue that was in the way.
Prayer and fasting is not about us doing something good to get what we want. It is about reminding our flesh that it is weak and cannot deal with the spiritual realm as that is God’s Realm. David had sinned against God and knew every step he would need to take to clean up his life and be a good king again, but that’s not what he did. No, he fell on his face, forsook food and sleep and everything else his flesh desired and begged God to do what only He could do. In Psalm 51 David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.” David knew that he could dress the outside up all he wanted in the physical world but that what really mattered was God’s realm.
Let me encourage you child of God, even though you may know exactly how to look like and act like a good Christian, if you don’t bring that flesh into subjection now and again to remind yourself that you are broken, filled with pride and sin, and that you cannot deal in God’s Realm without faith that HE is doing the work, you will never see the power that “this kind” requires. Let that simmer a bit.
Pastor Larry Hof
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10
You know we christians can get pretty good at being good...what I mean is, we get so used to our routine of not doing evil we start thinking we’re pretty good. We have been given the power of God to be the children of God and we actually start thinking that we are actually good...but we’re not...we are broken people who can do no good without the Spirit of God!
The apostles had been given power and authority of Christ over all spiritual things...this means that Satan’s realm was under the authority of Christ through them. They could cast out demons and heal sickness. One day a dad brings his son who was possessed and hurting himself. They tried to cast out the demon but could not. So, the brought the father and son to Christ and Jesus was grieved by His followers. After Jesus had cast out the evil spirits and healed the boy His apostles asked Him, “how come we couldn’t cast this one out?”. His response was, “this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Jesus reminded them that they needed faith that HE was doing the work and that they were the mountain sized issue that was in the way.
Prayer and fasting is not about us doing something good to get what we want. It is about reminding our flesh that it is weak and cannot deal with the spiritual realm as that is God’s Realm. David had sinned against God and knew every step he would need to take to clean up his life and be a good king again, but that’s not what he did. No, he fell on his face, forsook food and sleep and everything else his flesh desired and begged God to do what only He could do. In Psalm 51 David says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.” David knew that he could dress the outside up all he wanted in the physical world but that what really mattered was God’s realm.
Let me encourage you child of God, even though you may know exactly how to look like and act like a good Christian, if you don’t bring that flesh into subjection now and again to remind yourself that you are broken, filled with pride and sin, and that you cannot deal in God’s Realm without faith that HE is doing the work, you will never see the power that “this kind” requires. Let that simmer a bit.
Pastor Larry Hof
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