St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 20, Casting out by fasting and prayer.

Our paragraph topic is: (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 5.

Christ taught them.  He instructed them.  He gave to them all that they would need to know for now.  For they could only bare so much.  Their understanding was limited and their hearts were weak.  So Christ had to give them a little at a time that they would not be overcome with the total truth of what was to come.  The sacrifice had not yet been made.  The gift had not been given.  And the justification was not yet made.  So he taught them as though they were little children.  He gave them what they needed now to continue on the journey that they were upon.

Why did they follow Christ?  Why did they sacrifice all?  Why did they seek to know without having the faith that all would be well?  Christ was the key.  He was the answer to all they sought.  He was the Messiah and they followed him because they had some belief in him.  But they were not sure.  They were not certain.  They did not yet have the spirit within them that they would know.  So he taught them and gave them what they needed to know for now.  He showed them the way to cast out demons and how to cast out this particular demon.  He told them:  "But this kind can be cast out only by prayer and fasting."

They did not have the faith of a mustard seed.  They did not have the faith of a grain of sand.  They did not have the faith to cast out the demon from the boy.  Yet they wanted to know why they could not cast it out.  They wanted to know how it could be done.  Christ had given them power to cast out demons before.  He had sent them to the towns and villages to perform miracles in his name.  But because of their little faith they could only cast out this demon by fasting and prayer.

Do we have demons today that need casting out?  Do we have addictions?  Do we have lust?  Do we have compulsions that control us and will not let go?  Do we over eat?  Are we compelled to over shop?  Do we gamble out of control?  Are we addicted to adrenalin?  Do we fear compulsively over everything?  Are we control junkies where we must control everything within our reach?  Do we have demons in our lives that cause us to do things that we do not want to do?  Some would say yes.  Some would say no.  Some would say that we are weak and lack control.  We are no longer possessed by demons but we have all the things in this world that make us subject to being controlled.

Christ came that we would have freedom.  Christ came that we would have choice.  Christ gave himself as sacrifice for our sins that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  But we have life already.  We live and breathe and see, and feel, and love, and want and desire and hate and fear and lust and kill and then we die.  Do we have spiritual life?  Do we have the life within us that Christ died for?  Do we have the light of his spirit within us that we know who we are and where we are from?  Do we know that we are spiritual beings and not physical beings?  Do we know that our spiritual life continues after our physical life ends? 

Come!  See the life that Christ has given you.  He told us how to find it.  He told us where to look.  He gave us instructions as to how to keep it from harm.  He wrote for us in his own words how we would preserve that which he has given us.  And he told us that he would be with us for all times.  He has even prepared a place for us in his father's house that we may live with him for all eternity.  And the Father has prepared great things for those who love him.  Come!  See the light that is within you and you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Follow the path before.  Read the words given you.  Open your heart to the truth.  And the Holy Spirit will come and reside with you.  May the peace of Christ be with you and the love of the Father be in your heart. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 19d, Impossible Faith.

Our paragraph topic is: (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 4.  

Christ was teaching the apostles.  They had very little faith.  They practically had no faith because of their unbelief.  Even though they walked with him daily, eat with him, slept with him, breathed the same air with him, they still did not have the faith to carry on without him.  They were children growing up under the protection of their parent.  But the time was coming near when they would have to walk on their own.  The time was coming near when they would have to talk on their own.  The time was at hand when they had to stand on their own and they were only focused on being in his presence now and not on what was coming next.

They needed to believe.  They needed to know.  They needed to have certainty in their lives that they could depend on at all times.  Christ told them that they had little faith.  He told them that their faith was less than that of a mustard seed.  He wanted them to know that they needed to believe more.  He wanted them to have certainty.  He wanted them to be able to stand on their own and know that within was something more than just what they were able to see.  For with true faith comes certainty.  With true faith comes knowledge.  With true faith comes the truth of who they were and with that truth nothing would be impossible for them.  And he told them:
"If you have faith like a mustard seed....   And nothing will be impossible to you." 

Believe and you will achieve.  Such a famous motto, such a famous quote, such a strong foundation to build ones life upon.  Achieve the stars, the moon, achieve success or anything that the heart desires in this world.  For we must be focused.  We must have faith in what we want to achieve.  We must believe that it is possible and that we can achieve it through our efforts and our strengths.  Many a movie star or rock star, or sports star have professed it.  Many an executive has spoken it.  Many a Billionaire have used this as a their belief system and passed it on to others who would achieve the same goals.  Yet is this the meaning of what Christ spoke?  Is this the substance of his words? 

And nothing will be impossible to you, if only you have the faith of a mustard seed.  Humility is a virtue that not many practice.  Our world teaches us that we must be bold, we must be aggressive, we must be daring, unflinching, without fear, to achieve our goals.  There is no place for the humble in this world.  And yet Christ tells us that with faith nothing will be impossible to us.  For through our faith in Christ and through our faith in God our father, all things are possible.  Shall we achieve our goals for our own vanity, to prove that we are the best?  Or through our knowledge and our faith in Christ, believe with the faith of a mustard seed that all things are possible.   Why do we need to prove it?  Why do we need to show it?  Why do we need to demonstrate something that has been given to us through Christ.  If we believe even a tiny bit then we should know who we are in Christ.  And in Christ is the father and through the father nothing is impossible. 

Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that those who read these words may have their eyes opened, their hearing restored and their hearts filled with your spirit that you may grant to them the light of new life.  And it is through the Holy Spirit that they may know the truth of who they are in you.  Grant, Father, that they may know the gifts that you have already bestowed upon them so that they will know that nothing in this world can compare to what you have already given them.  We pray, Father, that for those who read these words, that they may know and see the light within and know the truth of their spiritual life.  Then will they realize the true nature of their being.  Come my brothers and sisters!  God our Father, is a god of love and it is through his love that these words are written.  The door is open.  The path is before you.  Christ loves you and the Holy Spirit awaits you.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St Matthew, Chapter 17, verse: 19b, Mustard Seed Faith.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Why the disciples could not cure him) Part 2.

The disciples were disturbed.  They did not understand why they could not do what Christ had given them power to do before.  He sent them out to the villages in pairs of two.  He gave them power to cast out demons and to heal the sick, cure the lame, and perform miracles.  But they could not help this father who pleaded with them for help.  They could not cast out this demon.  Why was it that they could not do this?  Christ told them, they had very little faith.  They performed the miracles based upon the power that he gave them but not upon the faith that they had. 

What would they do when he was gone?  What would they say?  What would they think, after the sacrifice was complete and Christ's, mission here on earth, was complete?  Would they have the faith to believe in his works, to believe in his words, to act upon their belief that he is the Messiah?  If they could only have faith.  If they could only believe without seeing, believe without feeling, believe without having his physical presence before them, then they would come to know far beyond what their physical minds could comprehend.  They would know that there is something more than just the physical realm.  So he told them:  "For amen I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed."

It is said that the mustard seed is the smallest seed in the garden.  Yet it grows larger than any other plant.  What is faith?   Would we define it as having a belief in something?   Would we say that faith is a belief that there is a God, that there is a supreme being, that there is something greater than ourselves?  If we believe that there is a God greater than ourselves then how strongly do we believe it?  Do we believe strong enough to act on that belief?  Do we believe strongly enough to follow the commands that have been given to us, pasted down through the generations?  Can we follow the laws of God and the new covenant given by Christ in this modern day and time?  Or are we so caught up in the world that we can not see the importance of God's commandments? 

Do we believe strong enough to not follow the world in its beliefs as to how we should live?  Do we believe strong enough to know that there is the spirit of God that lives within us?  And do we believe strong enough to see the light of Christ that resides within us, the light that guides us, the light that protects us, the light that loves us, the light that provides for us.  We should have nothing to fear, nothing to doubt, nothing to change our belief in who we are in Christ?  For when we know the truth of who we are in Christ then the seed within grows and becomes like the mustard seed.  The seed of faith becomes the largest plant in the garden and our faith becomes the largest belief that we have.

Faith to me is belief in the desire to become one with Christ.  When I am one with Him I have no fear, I have no doubts, I have no situation or circumstance that will change me from what has been given me by his sacrifice.  There is nothing that can change me from the knowledge that I have life in him and he has life in God the Father.  And in that knowledge I abide.  For the light shines within me and I know it.  The light lives within me and I see it.  The light of Christ fills me and I feel it everyday.  I look around and see his presence, I feel his love, I know his protection and I have the faith of a mustard seed, because it has been given me by and through the light of the Holy Spirit.  Come!  Share in the light that is within you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Come!  Celebrate the joy of new life.  Christ awaits you.  Christ Loves you.  And the Holy Spirit will guide you.  Follow the path before you and know the truth of life.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.   

St Matthew, Chapter 13, verse: 31 - 32, The Kingdom of Heaven: Like a Mustard Seed.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the mustard seed) Part 1. 

Christ continues to reveal information about the kingdom of heaven.  He has spoken about the kingdom of heaven as a field that is planted with the good seed.  Now he speaks in another parable about the kingdom of heaven being like a mustard seed.  A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds.  Yet the plant the comes forth from this seed becomes a giant tree.  Other produce fruit.  The mustard seed produces a giant tree that birds make their nest in. 

Christ tells the crowd and his disciples,  "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.   This indeed is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it grows up it is larger than any herb and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches." 

The kingdom of heaven is likened to a seed.  It is like the good seed that a man plants in his field.  It is like a mustard seed that a man plants in his field.  The kingdom of heaven is a seed that is planted within us.  It grows just as a seed grows.  It produces fruit just as the seeds of a fruit tree  or the seed of grain grows to produce fruit.  The kingdom of heaven like an herb that is planted in a garden.  The herb seed grows to produce an herb.  Some are small.  Some are medium sized, but the mustard seed is the the largest herb in the garden.  For when it grows up, it produces a tree that is greater than any other herb in the garden.

Christ speaks to us in a language of planting.  He tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a seed.  It is planted within us.  And we are the soil that brings forth the life of the seed.  We can bring forth the life of the kingdom.  We can produce the fruit of the kingdom.  In some cases we can produce 30% of the time, or 60% of the time or 100% of the time if the seed is planted in good soil that will nurture the seed and bring forth growth. 

Christ tells us further that the kingdom of heaven is like the seed of a mustard plant.  When planted and grows up it brings forth a tree that is greater than any other herb in the garden.  So now we have two choices of what is in the kingdom of heaven.  We have fruit or grain and we have an herb that produces a giant tree.  Which type of seed are you today?  Are you the result of a fruit seed or are you the result of a mustard seed?  One grows tall and strong where the birds of the air come to rest.  The other produces fruit of the kingdom.  Both are in the kingdom of heaven.  Come, let us prepare our soil for the planting of the seeds from the kingdom of heaven!