The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Matthew:17:14-23

kjv@Matthew:17:14 @ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

kjv@Matthew:17:15 @ Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

kjv@Matthew:17:16 @ And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

kjv@Matthew:17:17 @ Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

kjv@Matthew:17:18 @ And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

kjv@Matthew:17:19 @ Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

kjv@Matthew:17:20 @ And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

kjv@Matthew:17:21 @ Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

kjv@Matthew:17:22 @ And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

kjv@Matthew:17:23 @ And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

Today's notes:As a Grain of Mustard Seed

Context:

Before - Transfiguration and its secret
After - lest we should offend them

What is man believing/doing?:

begging mercy from the Son of David
disciples attempting to cure but not being able

What is making man to believe/do as he is doing?:

Jesus has cured every demon possessed person brought to him
Jesus had commissioned the twelve to be able to do this
the influence of being in a faithless and perverse generation
the effect of not praying or fasting to the level required in this case

Notes:

A mountain is often pictured as an place of solemn worship, a means of retreat to get closer to God. If the mountain we worship at is a mountain of false worship, it becomes a mountain needing to be removed. This mountain is an obstacle to us reaching the mustard seed we should rather be standing upon.

Unbelief suggests that something has been made known that was a vital link to the commission kjv@Matthew:10 that is not then accepted/acted upon by others. If it had not been made known, it would be called ignorance not unbelief. The disciples are charged with unbelief. Something they had known and had been acting upon to the curing of all the others stopped unexpectedly with this man's son, my guess is for fear of that devil.

What would prayer and fasting have to do with faith as a grain of mustard seed? The mustard seed faith has already been explored and points to the Kingdom proper not to the depth of our own beliefs and self determinations. A person could be full plenty big of faith of the more common type (like the majority of these people) and still be accounted effectually as being faithless or unbelieving. To keep attempting to bend this understanding back to ourselves is not only foolish but amongst the other things we try to do with it even perverse. Think of it like this: if your faith is the in sheer/true substance of the kingdom this mountain shall be removed. What is the mountain being removed? The reliance upon anything other than what He has commissioned.

The cry for having filter:NT-GOSPEL have mercy AND Son of David is frequently linked

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

The effects of a generation are most unidentifiable and inescapable (except in Christ) and have every consequence. Not a one of us would naturally see our entire mass as faithless and perverse, but there is nothing other to compare it to; except perhaps the faithless and perverse generations before us. Despite the goodness and good intent of the majority, the output of the sum is identical. Men cannot be and do the things as they were designed and intended in the spirit to which is needed because he can only work from the bases of corrupted counterfeits.
Nebulous faith no matter what size is still and always nebulous; we are quite comfortable with that, we can always muster up more nebulous faith. Directed faith, being commissioned to something with the authority of another, when not acted upon (no matter how much you believe in the authority's ability to do that) is faithlessness still and always; we are not so comfortable with that. If comfort is the measure of ability, then it is no wonder this is a faithless and perverse generation.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Matthew:17:14-23
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Matthew:17:14-23 rwp@Matthew:17:14-23 mhcc@Matthew:17:14-23
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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