Tag Archives: foul demonic spirit

Fast And Pray To Remove Sensual Unbelief

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in Devotional

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Unbelief . . .

And straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!’ ~ Mark 9:24, KJ21

 

The incident with the “epileptic” boy serves as a sharp contrast between the three chosen disciples’ Mount of Transfiguration mountaintop experience and all of the disciples’ valley frustrations about their inability to heal ALL manner of sickness and disease. In Mark chapter 9, Christ Jesus’ disciples could not heal this “epileptic” boy. For this reason, when the boy’s father confesses to Christ Jesus that he believes yet has unbelief, no doubt because of the disciples’ failure, his confession is presented as a symbol for the root cause of the disciples’ frustration problem.

Christ Jesus’ disciples profess with deep faith their confidence in their Lord to do supernaturally the naturally impossible. However, their own sensual unbelief (a trust in what they ONLY can see, feel, hear, smell, or taste) ends up hardening their hearts (human spirits). As a result, it is their sensual unbelief that keeps their hearts and minds from professing with deep faith that same level of confidence in their own ability to do supernaturally the naturally impossible, even though they have been given the Lord’s power and authority.

Sensual unbelief results from us paying more attention to the physical world and/or our natural senses, or paying more attention to the opinions of others, instead of focusing on the Divine, Supernatural Truth of God. Consequently, we keep looking to Christ Jesus to do for us what He ALREADY has done in us! He has put in us our measure of faith (enough trust in God) and our measure of power and authority (enough dunamis and exousia) to perform miracles, signs, and wonders for others, as well as for ourselves. But, regrettably, our own sensual unbelief (ignorance about or unwillingness to trust) in the supernatural in us hinders us from doing what IS supernaturally possible for us to do, if we ONLY would believe.

Because what we see, feel, hear, smell, or taste often is contrary to the WORD and the promises of God, we then doubt (have sensual unbelief) in our hearts. As our doubt increases, and as our circumstances continue to appear to go against God’s WORD or His promises, we redouble our dependence on or trust in our five senses, or in mankind’s opinions. Moreover, because doubt (sensual unbelief) and faith cannot occupy the same space in our hearts at the same time, our doubting hardened hearts always will cancel out our faith, which is our total trust and belief in the Holy Spirit working through us!

For this last reason, Christ Jesus teaches us on the importance of faith, prayer, and fasting, as their roles in our lives pertain to the removal of our sensual unbelief. That’s right! Contrary to popular opinion, when the disciples ask Christ Jesus why they couldn’t cast out the demonic spirit (cf. Mark 9:28), the Lord’s response, “This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29, KJ21; see also Mark 9:17-29; Matthew 17:14-21; and Luke 9:37-43a), does not refer to His disciples’ need to fast and pray in order to cast out the foul spirit. He tells them that they needed to fast and pray, because that would be the only way for them to remove their sensual unbelief. Their unbelief being the reason for why they could not get rid of the foul spirit is made crystal clear in Matthew 17:20.

Therefore, since Christ Jesus already had given His disciples His power and authority over “…unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease” (Matthew 10:1, KJ21; see also Mark 6:7 and Luke 9:1), these disciples did not fail to heal the boy possessed with that foul spirit of epilepsy, because they had not fasted or prayed before performing what would have been a Divine miracle. They failed at casting out this particular demonic spirit, because of their own sensual UNBELIEF!

Let us then learn to fast and pray whenever we are dealing with our own sensual unbelief so that God will remove that sensual unbelief from our minds, and in so doing, save us from hardening our hearts against the supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

Please read my blog entry: Speak To Your Mountains.

The SPIRIT of FEAR

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Faith and Wisdom

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“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear…” (2 Timothy 1:7a, KJV).

So many of us let our emotional barometers rule our lives instead of letting our moral compasses lead our way.  Although we experience a variety of emotions, with fear being one of the major ones, we need to know that there is a world of difference between having anxieties and misgivings over situations (even to the point that we tremble and shake), and having the kind of fear the Apostle Paul speaks about in 2 Timothy 1:7a. This kind of fear is much more than just an emotion. It is a SPIRIT!

A “spirit” of fear is an unclean or foul entity that is in league with Satan, who commands this foul spirit to torment nonbelievers. The way this foul spirit works in the sons and daughters of disobedience is by getting these unsaved people to conduct their lives according to the lusts of their flesh—to fulfill the desires of their flesh and their mind (cf. Ephesians 2:1-3). With believers, the Devil’s “spirit” of fear seeks to make God’s children unstable, unreliable, and uncertain about everything, especially everything God has promised His children in His Word.

Therefore, the “spirit” of fear is in conflict with the godly spirits of a sound mind (calm, well-balanced and self-disciplined mind), love (agape, the God kind of love), and power (dunamis, self-controlled might/physical strength), because these heavenly spirits are associated with God’s Holy Spirit and with His children of Light (cf. 2 Timothy 1:7b; Ephesians 5:8-12; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; James 1:6-8; 1 John 1:5, 7; 1 John 2:9-10; 1 John 4:18). In other words, God has given His children His godly spirits of self-discipline, self-control, and love so that His children will be protected from the demonic “spirit” of fear, which is nothing more than Satan’s smokescreen—his false evidence appearing real (F E A R).

Furthermore, the godly spirits of power, love, and a sound mind are the manifestations of God’s pledge (promise) to His children—His guarantee that His Holy Spirit will transform, fully conform, them to the image of Jesus the Christ (cf. Romans 8:1-30 and 2 Corinthians 1:22). So then, for believers to conquer the demonic “spirit” of fear, which seeks to hinder them from conforming to the image of Jesus the Christ, believers must guard their hearts (the centers of their individual physical, intellectual, mental, moral, and spiritual lives) against the external influences that attack believers’ measure of faith. Additionally, believers must trust in the true and living God, by turning their attention to (focusing on) the Lord, and by seeking God’s Divine Strength and Divine Wisdom to counteract every tormenting attack. In essence, believers must put into use God’s holy spirits of power, love, and a sound mind!

Last but not least, believers also must become bold, on fire for Jesus the Christ, Holy Spirit-filled followers of the Lord who cannot be controlled by the demonic “spirit” of fear. In fact, the only fear that affects these believers should be their godly fear: awe, reverence, an attitude of deep respect for, bowing down in worship of, and having an intense love and admiration for their Father who is Almighty God.  AMEN.