My theology is big enough but life experiences are not – I know my God can do all things!
- The 3 Hebrew boys– Daniel 3:17– If that is the case,our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
- There’s no way one’s life experiences can keep up with God
A boy, not healed by the disciples, is healed by Jesus.
- We have parallel stories going on in each of synoptic gospels – Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9
- From Luke 9 we get the timetable – Jesus just sent out the 12 disciples and came back with many testimonies
- They run into a situation where things stop working
- This one boy who has seizures it is identified as demonic issue
Asking the wrong Why’s.
- Gideon why has this happened to us, where are the miracles – Judges 6:13– “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lordis with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
- Pre-carnate Christ – Many get stuck at the why – why? – asking the wrong why’s
- Adam asks why he was given this woman. Job got stuck asking the wrong why.
- The religious crowd comes in with their “opinions.” Like in Job’s case, “you must have done something wrong.”
- Stuck at the why? I never meant to get stuck here, it is a stop sign, not finish sign. Get directions and proceed.
When the Why becomes a What.
- Mark 9:14we see the crowd along with the scribes. Notice that it wasn’t why God didn’t You heal the boy? It was why can’t we do this? – Matthew 17:19– Afterward, the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
- When we go to God and ask the right why, make sure we get the right what
- Ask God what you are missing – this disarms the enemy’s weapon
- In this case, the disciples’ level of believing God wasn’t at the right place – The religious crowd cause doubt
- God directs them to the right place believing without doubt
- Faith is a great tool on the tool belt – This puts us in the right position to get the next Word
When things go wrong you need a word from the Word, Jesus.
- Not about trying harder – Matthew 17:21– “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer & fasting.”
- Trusting more – Matthew 17:20– “You don’t have enough faith,”Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
- David and his mighty men – Ziklag burnt, women/children taken, men wanted to stone him – David was greatly stressed
- David could have blamed God – but strengthen himself in the Lord God
- David inquired of God and asked what shall he do – 1 Samuel 30:7-8– Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake themand without fail recover ”
- David obeyed God’s direction – even when the crowd didn’t agree