• Home
    • Contact Me
  • Statement of Faith
  • Prayer
  • This Is Me…
  • 30 Random Things About Me…

Gone Fishin'

~ …“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”

Gone Fishin'

Tag Archives: mustard seed

BUILDING OUR OWN FAITH!

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

atrophic or developed, determine, distress, evaluate, fake or true, flabby or firm, judge, measure of faith, mustard seed, pain, physical exercise, powerless or powerful, soreness, spiritual exercise, spiritually healthy, spiritually strong, unpleasantness, weak or strong, weather the storms, working out

Build Your Faith

And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].  Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. ~ Mark 11:22-23, AMP

For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. ~ Romans 12:3, AMP

Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).  [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. ~ Philippians 2:12-13, AMP

 

In order to remain spiritually strong and spiritually healthy, we must EXERCISE our individual spiritual Faith muscle! It’s our responsibility to build our own Faith muscle! If our own Faith is weak, flabby, atrophic (wasting away, withering), or false, then it is our own fault – NOT God’s!

It is so sad but so true that most people strongly dislike exercising—they have an acute aversion to physical workouts. Even though they know that physical exercise is “good” for them, because it will strengthen their muscles, strengthen their bones, improve their mental health, improve their mood, control their weight, and etc., they often put off exercising primarily because they know that in order to obtain their goals they first must allot plenty of time and expect to experience much bodily pain.

Now it appears that the abovementioned reasons for why most people put off exercising (too time consuming and too painful) are not only the same reasons why many of God’s children have an intense distaste for physical exercise and, thus, will avoid doing it, but also the reasons why they often have no desire to engage in spiritual exercise. Too many people who say they are followers of Christ Jesus seem to have no desire to devote the time nor any desire to endure the pain it will cost them to do what it takes to increase the strength in or gain more power for their Faith muscle. This, however, is the undeniable truth as to why their spiritual Faith muscle repeatedly fails them in their times of need, and why they repetitively are asking/begging God to give them more Faith or to increase the strength and power levels of their Faith.  

The above-stated physical and spiritual exercise analogy is why this blogger does not understand why so many Christians keep teaching and preaching that WE should ASK God to INCREASE and/or STRENGTHEN our Faith, or give our Faith MORE POWER. The Divine Truth is that God already has given each one of us OUR own measure of Faith (the degree of Faith apportioned by God), which is our individual portion of His Faith! For this reason, He doesn’t need to increase or strengthen or empower our individual Faith any more than He heretofore has done, because He has given us ENOUGH Faith to make us born again believers, to make us victorious saints, and to make us powerful followers of Christ Jesus—powerful enough to literally move mountains, which means that even if our measure of Faith is as small as a grain of mustard seed It still is strong enough and powerful enough to remove a mountain from where it is located on land and throw it into the sea (see Mark 11:22-23 also Matthew 17:20)!

Furthermore, God’s Word tells us that our mountain-moving measure of Faith automatically INCREASES and/or gets STRONGER and becomes more POWERFUL when we put our own measure of Faith to use—when we EXERCISE our own measure of Faith by WORKING OUT our own Salvation (see Philippians 2:12-13), and by evaluating our God-given ability with sober judgment in accordance with our own measure of Faith (see Romans 12:3). Once again, God gave all of us who are His sons and daughters everything we need to live holy, righteous, and victorious lives on this Earth (see 2 Peter 1:3), and that EVERYTHING includes more than enough Faith!

Let there be no doubt about it. It is our responsibility to live out our God-given Faith in Christ Jesus, even more so during the many storms of life that come our way! Unfortunately, it is sad but true that the painfulness we encounter that causes most of us to have an aversion to working out our own Salvation happens every time we EXERCISE our own spiritual muscle of Faith while we are facing the various kinds of storms that frequent our individual lives.

Oddly enough for many believers in Christ Jesus, it is because most of us frequently can’t understand why God didn’t keep us from the soreness, distress, and other unpleasantness we suffered in our past storms that we often stop exercising our Faith, while we are in a present storm. This very poignant and unquestionable truth is why we all need to understand this also very frustrating yet undisputable Truth: God allows us to weather the storms (to be all right in spite of experiencing great difficulties and/or serious problems) that come into our lives so that we realistically can evaluate (judge, appraise, determine) just how fake or true, weak or strong, flabby or firm, atrophic or developed, and/or powerless or powerful our own Faith is in the God we say we love, we obey, and we TRUST! Our evaluation definitely will show us just how spiritually strong and spiritually healthy we are, as well as point out how important it is for us to continue with our Faith’s spiritual workout regime.

 

A word to the wise should be sufficient.  Shalom . . . .

Share this:

  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Speak To Your Mountains

12 Saturday Mar 2011

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

cancel out, Divine Truths, doubt, fasting and praying, measure of faith, move mountain, mustard bush, mustard seed, nothing will be impossible, obstacles, rough side, unbelief

Move your mountains (obstacles), and don’t try to climb them….

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’  He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’ (Matthew 17:19-20, NIV; cf. Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-24; and Luke 17:6).

Why do believers preach, teach, sing and write about seeking God for the strength to climb their MOUNTAINS, when Jesus the Christ never taught us to do any such thing? Indeed, He told us that even FAITH that is as small as a mustard seed is FAITH that’s powerful enough for us to say to our MOUNTAINS, “Move from here to there,” and they will move.

In this world, both the saved and the unsaved people will go through seasons when life’s challenges will seem to be overwhelming. Now, while the unsaved usually will respond in ungodly ways to those circumstances and situations that occur during their overwhelming seasons, the absolute truth is that believers (saved individuals) should not be responding to their circumstances and situations in ways that might suggest they are not saved. In other words, God’s  children should never give in to the temptation to talk about how BAD their problems are, or about how HARD it is for them to climb the rough side of their mountains.

Basically, a mountain (problem) is a barrier, meaning anything in this world that keeps believers from completing God’s Will. Naturally and spiritually speaking, a  mountain is anything that slows down or impedes believers’ progress in the Kingdom of God!

Therefore, it is not enough that believers talk to their mountains about how BIG their God is. It will not do believers any good to declare to their mountains that they serve a mighty BIG God, if believers do not have the FAITH to respond to their mountains the way the Word of God says they should do?

The harsh reality is the knowledge about how BIG their God is, in and of itself, will not produce the overcomer’s results that Jesus the Christ says people of faith should achieve. Then too, praying and fasting will not move any mountain, either. For sure, the Lord also never told believers to pray, in the “churchy” way, to God about their mountains, or to fast, in the “churchy” way, so that their mountains will be removed. Why not? Well, it simply is because prayer and fasting ONLY deal with unbelief, or the lack of confidence in God’s Word (cf. Matthew 17:15-21; Mark 9:23-29). Thus, believers’ lack of faith is the main reason why most mountains in their lives never seem to go away, and/or never seem to stay away once they do leave!

Without a doubt, it is our faith that moves God, and not our knowledge of how Big He is, or our knowledge about all things being possible with Him, or our fasting and praying. The Lord COMMANDS us to speak to (COMMAND) our mountains, in His name (authority). Now, since God already has given us our measure of faith, it then is our responsibility to speak to our mountains (to tell them specifically and clearly to MOVE), instead of trying to use our words about how BIG our God is to intimidate our mountains, or instead of trying to climb our perilous mountains by enduring each tortuous journey a few footholds at a time, or, lastly, instead of trying to pray and fast them away.

Now, it does not matter whether believers’ measure of FAITH is the size of a mustard seed or a mustard bush. What really matters to God is that whenever believers DOUBT (don’t have 100 percent trust in Him or in His Word), they cancel out their measure of FAITH. For sure, FAITH and DOUBT cannot occupy the same space at the same time!

The Divine Truth is that God, by way of Jesus the Christ’s atoning sacrifice, has given believers the supernatural power of His Holy Spirit and His sovereign permission and authority to use this power. Thus, His God-given power is demonstrated when believers use His God-given authority, and His God-given authority becomes evident when believers speak His Word! For these reasons, born again Holy Spirit baptized believers ALWAYS should do what Jesus the Christ has commanded them to do about their mountains: They should speak to their MOUNTAINS and tell them to move, and then believe in their hearts that their mountains “will move” (Matthew 17:20b, NIV). As Jesus the Christ also says: “Everything is possible for one who believes” (Mark 9:23, NIV).

Please read my blog entry: Fast And Pray To Remove Sensual Unbelief.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Parables of The Growing Seed and The Mustard Seed

25 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

beyond God-designed size, Divine Truths, Growing Seed, impenetrable riddles, Kingdom of God, Kingdom parables, Living Water, Living Word, mini-parables, mustard bush, mustard seed, mustard tree

… So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. …Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. ~ Mark 4:26-32, KJV

Most teaching parables are similar to illustrated sermons about the Gospel, and the Gospel is that which announces Father God’s GOOD NEWS about His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, who is gathering believers in Him (in His Body), and these believers will spend eternity with Father God. However, even though Kingdom parables also teach about this same GOOD NEWS, Kingdom parables’ narratives conceal the Gospel’s Divine Truths. In other words, for the purpose of drawing out GENUINE seekers who desire to know God’s secrets/mysteries that are hidden in the Gospel, seekers of the Gospel’s Divine Truths must first solve the Kingdom parables’ riddles before they can understand the mysterious ways of God.

For those individuals who are not GENUINE seekers of the Gospel’s Divine Truths, Kingdom parables are viewed as merely unexciting anemic stories. As a result, the insincere (pretend) seekers will not dig any deeper or try any harder to uncover God’s Divine Truths. They instead will treat His Kingdom parables as jokes, or as impenetrable riddles, or as incongruities (absurdities), or as mere short stories, and so forth.

For example, on the surface, the Growing Seed mini-parable (Mark 4:26-29) seems to be a very succinct short story about a man who  properly prepares the soil into which he plants a seed. He tills the soil, plants the seed in the soil, then possibly applies nutrients to the soil, and possibly waters the soil, but after that he forgets about the seed. Then too, this very concise short story clearly points out this seed sower’s lack of influence over the growth process of his seed, which is why this man’s day-by-day routines don’t educate him about how his sown seed develops into a green leaf that rapidly changes into a full-grown plant, which then produces much grain. Furthermore, this short story seems to be about a man who, though ignorant about how grain grows, as well as a bit unconcerned about the seed’s needs, is still very aware when the grain is ripe. In fact, it is apparent that he anticipates reaping a harvest!

Therefore, the only understanding (truth) to gain from this mini-parable seems to be that the best part of this man’s initial labor is yet to come, now that the plant is ripe. The truth is that once his grain crop is harvested, this man will have plenty food to eat and/or he will make money from the sales of his grain!

A closer analysis, however, will reveal that the Kingdom of God is HERE NOW within every born again, redeemed, justified, being sanctified believer, and this Kingdom of God appears, expands, and reproduces itself by way of the intrinsic POWER that not only is within the planted seed but also within the One who cultivates the seed. For this reason, the mysterious growth of the mini-parable’s seed represents the secret ways in which God plants and increases the Kingdom of God in believers’ “hearts.”

In several Scriptures, both Jesus the Christ and the Apostle Paul make it clear that the Kingdom of God is NOT the realm of God but rather the reign or rule of God in believers’ lives. The Apostle Paul writes:

…the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ~ Romans 14:17, AMP

Based on the apostle’s above Kingdom of God definition, this Kingdom IS anywhere and everywhere in this world where the fruit of the Kingdom of God is ruling in the “hearts” of mankind. That fruit is God’s righteousness (goodness), love, justice, peace, and joy. It should be understood here that “heart” means the center or seat of everything that is moral and spiritual—the seat of humans’ affections, desires, conscience, determination, intellect, emotions, thoughts, perceptions, understanding, reasoning powers, imagination, grief, happiness, joy, and faith.

Furthermore, since the reign or rule of God is in believers’ lives, then in Romans 14:17, the Apostle Paul also is making this salient point, which is that the Kingdom of God that is now in born again humans first was placed in God’s Holy Spirit. For this reason, spiritual or inner growth is not the result of human effort! This Divine Truth also means that the harvest mentioned in Mark 4:29, which results from this independent spiritual growth (inner growth not caused by humans), is both a gift given directly to God and a miracle. Indeed, this harvest is a type of New Testament “firstfruits,” and  “firstfruits” in the New Testament is used as a metaphor for something given in advance of something anticipated to come that will be of a greater benefit or will bring a larger “harvest.”

Like the Growing Seed mini-parable’s man, who cannot explain the mystery behind the rapid growth and development of the seed he plants, likewise, NO ONE can explain precisely how God through Jesus the Christ gets the seed planted in receptive humans’ “hearts” to produce Kingdom of God fruit, specifically, the fruit of righteousness (goodness), love, justice, peace, and joy. This fruit mainly grows within believers, mysteriously and very swiftly, but it also manifests itself right in front of believers and unbelievers’ eyes, when the children of God do the many great works that please God. Even so, just as the plant in the Growing Seed mini-parable is capable of “…bringeth forth fruit of herself…” by reproducing itself through the seed, the seed in this mini-parable also is symbolic of one of the means by which spiritual growth can be advanced.

The answer to the Kingdom of God’s growing mystery, then, is the POWER of the planted seed and the POWER of the indwelling and infilling Holy Spirit. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the One who is inside believers applying the spiritual nutrients and pouring the Living Water in their “hearts” (the soil), the place where the seed (the Living Word of God . . . Jesus the Christ) already has been planted. Working in tandem, the Power of the seed (Living Word) and the Power of the Holy Spirit (Living Water) cause Body of Christ believers to live a lifestyle that reflects their child of God or Kingdom of God identity.

The bottom line is this: Father God is the all-important factor in this mini-parable. He is the One who makes the Kingdom of God’s spiritual growth happen, because it is His Power that is in His seed and in His Holy Spirit! For sure, it even takes the work of God’s Holy Spirit for people to have ears to hear  (understand) what thus saith the Lord!

Let there be no doubt about it. Though God uses mankind to sow the Gospel seed in this mini-parable, it is God, through His Son, His Word, and His Spirit, who causes the spiritual growth! Believers, however, are sowing the seed (spreading the Gospel), when they hand out tracts in the streets, when they have a one-on-one Gospel sharing session with an unbeliever, when they witness to lost souls about their own faith in God and in Jesus the Christ, when they publish their Christian articles online, or post relevant comments about their faith on various websites, or stream their sermons over the Internet, and so forth.

Furthermore, it is evident that Jesus the Christ will return soon for His Bride . . . His CHURCH . . . His Body of Believers . . . the gathering up of those in Him (the Rapture or Harvest of every believer in Jesus the Christ who ever lived on Earth so that each one of them can spend the seven-year Tribulation AND eternity with God). That’s why the duty of everyone who has the Kingdom of God growing within him or her is to spread/advance the Kingdom of God throughout the present world. This duty is accomplished primarily by evangelizing lost souls (leading others to Jesus the Christ) and discipling the saved souls (encouraging and edifying others in the Lord so they will remain sold out for their Lord, while they spiritually mature—ripen).

While the Growing Seed mini-parable is about God being the Power being ALL of the spiritual growth in the Kingdom of God, the Mustard Seed mini-parable is about the extent to which the Kingdom of God has been designed by God to grow. Thus, in the second mini-parable (Mark 4:30-32), the Lord paints a different picture. Here, He uses the imagery of the mustard seed. The Lord declares how in a very small and virtually invisible way the mustard seed is, generally speaking, the very tiniest of seeds planted in gardens, yet it grows into one of the largest trees on Earth (cf. Matthew 13:31-32).

The Lord then compares the growth of the tiny mustard seed to the Kingdom of God’s growth. Similarly, just as the sown extremely small mustard seed ends up becoming one of the biggest bushes (or biggest trees) in any garden—becomes a huge bush or a colossal tree with large but rigid branches that often serve as a shelter for EVERY kind of bird—the Kingdom of God also grows from essentially a small dot into a mammoth-sized realm.

Now, to the people who are NOT looking to find any deeper meanings in this Kingdom parable, this second narrative only seems to be just another familiar story about those big outcomes that result from small beginnings. However, Mark’s second mini-parable is not just about big outcomes from small beginnings. This mustard seed’s insignificant, humble beginnings that result in something gigantic not only is comparable to the growth of the Messiah’s Kingdom during Jesus the Christ’s millennial reign, but also comparable to the growth of His Body of Believers—to their outward and inward growth.

Outwardly speaking, Jesus the Christ’s initial handful of believers, 12 disciples, grows to an enormous number in the few months that followed the Lord’s death. For example, the 120 disciples on the Day of Pentecost increase to 3,000 on that same day (cf. Acts 2:41-42). Moreover, each one of the believing followers of Jesus the Christ has an unbelievable amount of influence—some even had a supernatural and natural influence. Thus, the Mustard Seed mini-parable in Mark 4:30-32 not only describes the rapid growth of worldwide Christianity as an outward sign recognized by the vast number of “physical” churches (the institutional church), but also the Mustard Seed mini-parable describes the inner spiritual growth that happens in the life of each Body of Christ member who has God’s Kingdom in him or her.

In the natural, the literal mustard seed grows independently, on its own, and depending on where it is planted and how it is cultivated it can reach ten, sometimes fifteen feet in height. However, even though a child of God’s spiritual growth also is independent, aside from the supernaturally manifested miracles, signs, and wonders that many believers are able to perform (an outward sign of inward growth), human beings really cannot correctly measure the spiritual growth that is happening in every true believer. The reason why this spiritual growth cannot be measured correctly is because this kind of growth happens inwardly via the Word of God and the Holy Spirit’s mighty workings.

Furthermore, unlike the seed that can grow, expand, and reproduce itself, the Kingdom of God cannot make itself grow, expand, and/or reproduce itself. It takes other agents to grow, expand, and/or reproduce the Kingdom of God, and those other agents, once again, are the seed (Living Word) and the Holy Spirit (Living Water). Nevertheless, what is true about the mustard seed’s small beginnings leading to gigantic ends also is not only true about the growth of Christianity but also true about each individual believer’s initial start and final finish, spiritually speaking.

Concerning the phenomenal growth of the institutional church, the early Way grew from small numbers into an exceedingly great Body of Christian believers, despite the fact that most believers weren’t demonstrating any immediate “major” visible (outward) changes. Now, even though many of the early Way observers could not visibly see another believer’s NEW NATURE, which makes it difficult to measure how much someone has grown from his or her very small beginnings, this fact didn’t stop many of these observers from concluding that so-and-so wasn’t “spiritual” enough. This misjudging is still true today. Many contemporary believers in Jesus the Christ who are observing someone they consider to be the least likely to change, are looking for immediate “major” visible (outward) changes. When this person doesn’t show any “major” outward changes, his or her observers will consider this person’s New Man conversion to be doubtful.

The irony here is that nothing delights Jesus more than to take people who seem most unlikely to be able to represent Him and then transform them into people who are so saturated by His influence that they become powerful witnesses of His transformable power. Thus, it is a very big deal when people finally astound their critics with a great outward show of their spiritual development. Until then, though, many family members in the Household of faith might not accept as a child of God those believers whose New Man conversion is considered doubtful.

Be that as it may, once the institutional church  reached the size that it is today,  there have been many believers in their local churches who often have thought that the Kingdom of God, which is represented as the mustard seed’s full-grown tree, certainly must be a wonderful blessing to all who find shelter (safety and harmony) in its “branches.” However, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Divine Truth is that the mustard plant has the tendency to intrude and mix with other plants, which is why the mustard seed should not be planted in a garden. Rather, it should be planted in a large field where it can be carefully tended to, individually.

Here’s the spiritual reason why the mustard seed should be sown in a large field. The mustard seed generally produces a plant or bush, but because the mustard plant has mixed with other plants it ends up growing beyond its originally designed sized. Therefore, now that it has become a tree with large rigid branches, it really is not a place where safety and harmony can be found, for the reference to birds (cf. Mark 4:32) signifies demons. That’s right! The mustard tree (institutional church)  is an unnatural home for demons, because “the fowls of the air” imagery that is used in v. 32 is a metaphor for Satan and his imps, who, although attracted to the seed and the shade, really perch on the mustard tree’s “branches” (church pews) because they are there to devour the seed (Word of God) [cf. The Parable of the Sower, specifically  Matthew 13:19] !

This Divine Truth about the mustard plant changing into something it never was meant to be, which is a tree, is supported by prophetic eschatology. God declares that at end of the age, when there will be a great harvest, before the Messiah’s millennial reign can begin there first will be the separating of the wheat from the tares, of the sheep from the goats, and of Israel’s friends from her enemies (cf. Joel 3:11-14; Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-42; Matthew 25:31-46; and Revelation 14:15-16 and 14:17-20).

This mustard tree, thus, represents a revival of all that was evil about Nebuchadnezzar’s tree (cf. Daniel 4:19-27). The mustard tree also symbolizes today’s institutional church that has grown beyond its originally designed limits. Furthermore, by adopting the ancient Babylonians’ false systems and those systems’ false doctrines, the institutional church has opened its doors to demonic spirits, who are sitting on pews right beside true believers.

The mustard seed’s modern day spiritual implication is as follows: Although the Gospel message has endured the test of time, too much of the unadulterated Word of God has been compromised. Secular humanism, the revival of ancient Babylonian spiritism (the belief that the dead communicate with the living; also spiritism refers to astrology, self-help, New Age, and other alternative belief systems that emphasize the spiritual aspect of life), world religions’ false doctrines, and so forth, have been mixed with the Word of God. As a result of the institutional church becoming too secular because it has grown too large (beyond its intended size), churches today also have become the breeding grounds for the “false church” . . . the apostate church!

For these reasons, it is difficult NOW for many saved and unsaved people to tell the difference between a genuine believer (a genuine sheep, or genuine wheat) and a fake believer, a pretender (a goat, or a tare). Therefore, it is easy to see why Jesus the Christ doesn’t let church “laborers” separate the wheat from the tares before the end of the age (cf. Matthew 13:28-30)!

Furthermore, those sheep and wheat who are separated at the end of the age are Tribulation Period’s survivors who have not accepted the Mark of the Beast. They are the Left Behinders who are converted by the Book of Revelation’s 144,000 Jewish evangelists, two Jewish witnesses, and the angel who is flying through the air preaching the Gospel.

Concerning the growth of the Lord’s Kingdom, when it starts, the numbers of Tribulation believers will be small compared to the huge number of believers that will be around at the end of the Lord’s millennial reign. The bottom line is this: The Lord’s Kingdom will increase swiftly, which means that the quick growth of the mustard seed not only represents spiritual growth but also represents the fast increase in population. For sure, the Messiah’s physical Kingdom will grow by leaps and bounds, naturally and spiritually.

Finally, in the Scriptures cited at the beginning of this article, it is clear to GENUINE seekers that in the mini-parable of the Growing Seed (vv. 26-29), which ONLY appears in The Gospel According to Saint Mark, that Jesus the Christ is speaking about the Kingdom of God’s growth within every born again and redeemed child of God, which is the Kingdom of God that is presently here on Earth. It also is clear to GENUINE seekers that in the mini-parable of the Mustard Seed (vv. 30-32), Jesus the Christ not only is speaking about the Kingdom of God that is presently here on Earth but also He is speaking about the Kingdom of God’s growth that happens during the Lord’s millennial reign—the Kingdom that is yet to come!

In both mini-parables, the Kingdom of God begins small but then rapidly gets bigger. The deeper message of these mini-parables, however, is that regardless of their background, believers in Jesus the Christ can become great spiritual men and women in His CHURCH and great spiritual men and women in His Kingdom, but only if they let God’s Word and Holy Spirit do His work in them!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Casting Out Unbelief

12 Monday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

faith, greater quantity, miracles, mustard seed, possible, signs, size, supernatural, unbelief, wonders

Today, it is not unusual for believers to have unbelief. That’s right! It is possible to believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and still have unbelief! Christians’ unbelief, however, has nothing to do with how much faith they have, for Christ says that they will be able to move mountains from one location to another, even if they only have faith (trust in God) that is the size of a mustard seed. What then is believers’ source of unbelief, if it isn’t their faith? On almost all of today’s spiritual matters that seem too farfetched to believe, especially as they compare with our rational, natural senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and tasting), we will display unbelief because we do not agree with God that we also have Christ’s supernatural power and authority.

This same unbelief in today’s Christians will make them as ineffective as Christ’s disciples once were. Even though Christ gave His 12 disciples His power and authority to handle ALL manner of sicknesses and diseases, and gave them the command to  “…cast out devils…” (Matthew 10:1 and 8, KJV), they still couldn’t deal with the epileptic demon (that “him” the disciples refer to in the below Scriptures). They didn’t believe that the supernatural power and authority Christ had given them would cast out this kind of demon!

Thus, their unbelief, which was caused by their reliance on their natural senses, kept them from healing the boy. Likewise, when today’s Christians are confronted with unseen or unheard of before supernatural miracles, gifts, signs and wonders taking place, their first reaction is unbelief, even when they know that the WORD says believers can possess the power and authority of Christ to do great works—even greater works (a larger quantity of great works) than Christ did (cf. John 14:12). Christ, thus, confirms that fasting and praying are not for casting out demons; fasting and praying are the ways we cast out our unbelief about our supernatural abilities!  AMEN.

“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 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. Howbeit this kind goeth out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:19-21, KJV).

Share this:

  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Print & PDF (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

Sanctified Child

KEEN Blogging Days

August 2022
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Jul    

KEEN (Weekly) Top Posts

  • HARPAZO (Rapture, Take, Snatch, Force, Pull, Pluck, Catch, Catch Up, Catch Away) Scriptures
  • It Is Very Meaningful, When God Speaks A Name Twice
  • Proverbial Wisdom from Three Wise Monkeys
  • The Bride of Christ’s Inner, Upper, and Outer Garments
  • CLOWNS Are Entertaining GOATS
  • Statement of Faith
  • The Fruit of the Ruach (Spirit) Is His Work – Not Ours
  • The Dust Of His Feet
  • God’s Holy Convocations
  • The Truth About the Sinner’s Prayer

KEEN Topics

Awards Bible Prophecy Bible Study Devotional Faith and Wisdom Heartbreak Heavenly Insights Literary Fiction National Tragedy Poetry Praises and Thanks Published Book Reblogged Review Short Story Spiritual Tribute

Published Book Author

Perfect Peace, published 2-19-2015; collection of my Haiku poetry

Published Book Author

Keeping It Real..., published 10-20-2015; collection of my devotions

My Newest Book

My Spirit's Musings, published 1-9-2017; collection of mostly Free Verse poems

My Mini-Memoir

My mini-memoir deals with love, loss, and forgiveness. Published July 26, 2018.

My Third Collection of Poetry

Moody Woman - published January 12, 2020

A literary fiction debut novel . . .
published January 29, 2022 . . .

My Spirit’s Musings Press Release

Captivating New Xulon Verses Remind Believers Why Only a Christlike Life Reflects God’s Image - Reverend Keen of Deeper Walk Ministries Lyrically Addresses Christlikeness

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Ambassador for Christ Blogger Award

Deeper Walk Ministries Logo

Serving Others Ministry

KEEN Created Graphic

Fruit of the Spirit

KEEN Created Graphic

Lone Voices Suffer

KEEN Created Graphic

AKA Haiku

KEEN Created Graphic

KEEN Social Media

  • View preachingwoman’s profile on Facebook
  • View sanctifiedchild’s profile on Twitter

KEEN Twitter Followers

My Tweets

KEEN Posts Liked

  • Soul Food on Gone Fishin'
  • Invisible – A Common Phenomeno… on Gone Fishin'

KEEN Community of Friends/Visitors

KEEN Blogging History

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009

KEEN Visits

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Gone Fishin'
    • Join 1,729 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Gone Fishin'
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: