King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Chapters: Matthew Chapter 17-18
Message: Arise And Be Not Afraid
Hello My Friend,
Do you know what the biggest deterrent of our faith is? Unbelief. [Matthew 17:20-21 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. 21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.]
Unbelief in what God can and will do is what often hinders us from not only God using us, but seeing Him do the impossible. This is where fasting and prayer come in, it removes the barriers that we have placed between us and God. We need to understand also that not everything we ask for will have the outcome that we are hoping for. Whenever we send our requests up to God, He looks at several factors before He gives us His final answer, including which cure is the best cure, even if that means He brings them home to Him, [Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.]
Let me tell you, we can pray and fast all we want, but it will do absolutely nothing if we do not believe that we will receive the things we are asking of God. Now, the unbelief that I am talking about is not that we do not believe that God cannot do all things, it is that we tend to talk ourselves into believing that what we have longed is not in God’s will for us. I made a mistake, yesterday I said that we had read about the transfiguration from Matthew’s account, but it was actually Luke’s. Today, as we continue in the reading of the Gospels, Matthew, gives his account.
[Matthew 17:1-7 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.]
[they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.] Matthew, points out that there were not only scared, but they fell to the ground. I do not care who you are or how long you have walked with Christ, if you are saved, you will hear God’s voice speaking out to you when you are headed in the wrong direction. The only fear that we need to have when God speaks to us is Godly fear, that is the fear we have when we give honor and respect to God, []
Matthew, also gives his account of when Jesus tells Peter, James, and John not to say anything about what they saw until after He raised from the dead. Of course, they did not understand what He was talking about at the time, but they did not have time to talk to Him about it since a crowd was gathered as they came down the mountain.
[Matthew 17:9-12 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.]
[Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.] The leaders of the people rejected John, they had him killed for speaking the truth. He shared the fate that most of the prophets that placed their fearless confession of truth above the concern for their own safety and welfare. In the same manner that John was killed, Jesus is saying that He will be killed by them as well. Of course, the disciples did not understand what He said until after His passion. Matthew, also gives the account of what happened when they came down from the mountain to see the multitude around a young boy who was possessed with a demon.
[Matthew 17:14-18 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 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. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 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. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.]
[and they could not cure him.] The first mistake here is that they were depending on the disciples to heal people, cure their diseases, and relinquish evil spirits instead of God. God, may use physicians and Godly men and women to assist people, but they are not the cure, they are merely the vessels that God uses to assist Him with the cure. We are to never lift up the ones who God uses higher than God Himself, if we do that then we are setting ourselves up for a great fall when we come to realize that they are human, hence the reason why He said that they were a faithless and perverse generation.
[O faithless and perverse generation,] [Faithless; Without belief in the revealed truths of religion; unbelieving. Perverse; Literally, turned aside; hence, distorted from the right.] This sadly, is the majority of Christians. The religious have absolutely no faith in what God can do, that is why they base everything on their works and not Jesus Christ. Yes, God wants us to get up and move, but He also wants us to depend on Him, to trust Him, especially when we get to the point that He is all we have. And we should never get to that point because we need depend on Jesus every day, [James 2:18-20 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?]
Now, I know we read Mark yesterday, but I love how Mark words the mans reaction when Jesus tells him that he just needs to believe in Him. [Mark 9:23-25 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.]
[help thou mine unbelief.] This man literally cried out to Jesus to help his son, he truly believed with all of his heart that He could get that devil out of his son, but he did not want to take any chances, if Jesus saw any sign of doubt, then he wanted Him to remove that as well. When Jesus saw this mans faith He literally rebuked the devil and told him that his soul belonged to Him now. The second that we believe that Jesus can save our soul is the second that Jesus tells Satan that he can no longer mess not only with our soul, but cannot touch it. Oh, he can afflict us, but he cannot kill or even touch one hair our head, for even they are numbered, [Luke 21:17-19 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. 18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19 In your patience possess ye your souls.]
Now, Jesus, and the disciples traveled through Galilee for the night, His hometown, then went on to Capernaum where he resided during His ministry. As soon as they arrive they were greeted by a tax collector.
[Matthew 17:24-27 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.]
[came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes.] The collectors did not approach Jesus directly, but, knowing Peter from former days, they address their request to him. Peter, familiar with Jesus’ and certain that He had always paid His contribution as a member of the Jewish temple, answered with an affirmative yes, but Jesus did not like that he spoke for Him. Christ, spoke first to give him proof that no thought can be withheld from Him. We must never decline our duty for fear of offending anyone, but we must sometimes deny ourselves in our worldly interests to keep peace with them, []
I do not suspect that if we go fishing that money would come out of the fish, but then again if I said that it was impossible I would be a liar because all things are possible with God. Now, I have seen God provide for me from some of the strangest sources like strangers, mail, jacket pockets that are not mine, and finding it in some strange place. So, here come the rest of the disciples, apparently disputing among themselves.
[Matthew 18:1-6 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.]
[Except ye be converted, and become as little children,] First of all, this is Jesus’ way of saying that you must be born again in order to even get into heaven. Second, unless the kids were being brought up in some wicked home, they are not full of the pride that adults have that makes it harder to accept the fact that they are sinners. And third, from the first soul to last that enters heaven, we are only there by the grace of God, and therefore, we are all the same. This is why salvation has always been about grace and not necessarily our works, [Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.]
Have you ever watched little children naturally doing the things they do? Playing, learning, getting into things? There is such trust and innocence about them, they do not see color, race, or gender, all they see is people, and they can sense bad people in a heartbeat. Of course, as they get older and learn more, without even being taught what sin is, that sin nature kicks in, and they know when they have done something wrong. This is how we must be in order to accept that we need Jesus and ask Him to save us. Let me tell you, people get offended by anything these days, we cannot even address someone as he or she anymore. Jesus, goes on to address those who take offense to everything, which by the way, He is addressing all of us.
[Matthew 18:7-10 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.]
[That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father] We need to be careful to receive all who receive Christ and not to offend the very weakest believer, for as inconsiderate as some may be, the very angels of God are watching over them too. When you belong to Jesus you are protected by Him, and if anyone is offended by us, then they have to answer to Him. Jesus, goes on to explain this.
[Matthew 18:11-14 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.]
[Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven,] It does not matter if you are one day old or one hundred years old, it was never God’s intention to send one soul to hell. Thanks to the sin that entered into the world the curse of death was made upon all mankind. Now, as long as we are alive we can escape the curse of death as long as we come to the knowledge of Christ and accept Him as our Saviour, but those who do not will endure a second death, which is called eternal death, []
This morning I had a conversation with my husband that got me asking myself if I tell God that He has created a failure whenever I call myself a failure. The truth is, in regards to who we are as a person, God did make us, I am a naturally born take charge kind of person, love to teach, and I do not mince words. However, there are some things that are not from God, I have trust issues, am on constant guard with my heart, and I tend to shut down when I cannot control things, and that is where I fail God. This is when God has to remind me that I need to forgive myself for my past failures and move forward. In fact, forgiveness is the key to everyone moving forward. Jesus, goes on to explain this.
[Matthew 18:15-18 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.]
[whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.] In other words, whatever decisions we make, in how we handle our offenders, will be accounted for, and if we forgive them, our own sins will be forgiven and forgotten by God. We do not have to agree with them, or even talk to them ever again, but we do have to forgive them. This is not the type of forgiveness that we in our own human capability can have, this is the forgiveness that only Christ can forgive and when we do, there He is in the midst of us.
[Matthew 18:19-22 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.]
[Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.] Boy, this trumps those who are quick to put you in the judgment seat and constantly remind you of your sin, which God had already forgiven and forgotten. It is one thing to actually ruin your testimony by remaining in sin, it is another to be repentant and using that loss as a gain as Jesus gives you a better testimony.
[1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
Keep in mind that our salvation by grace does not keep us from sinning, it does however keep us in God’s grace in that should we sin again after we are saved, we are still saved and forgiven. Well, Jesus, has an interesting way of explaining how often we are to forgive someone who sins against us.
[Matthew 18:22327 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.]
[Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion…and forgave him the debt.] You see, salvation through Christ is a one time deal, there is no need to continually ask Him to forgive us and save us because Jesus only died once to save us. Keep in mind that those who take their salvation for granted and continually live in sin will suffer in their sin until they either repent or those mercies have run out and they die in their sin. Jesus, goes on to explain this through the same parable.
[Matthew 18:31-35 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.]
[if ye from your hearts forgive not every one] So, why does God not forgive us if we do not forgive those whom offend us? A little something called grace. God’s grace is what brings Him to forgive us for our offending Him, and it is that same grace that we need to have to forgive those who offend us, [Matthew 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Matthew 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.]
Today’s Prayer: God, You are my witness that I not only believed in Your Son, but received Him as my Saviour, I am trusting only in Him to take me to heaven. Until that time comes I want to live the best life that I can live here on earth with You leading the way. Lord, Lead me and guide me, show me thy ways, and help me to continue walking the path You gave me without fear of stepping on any mine, but by faith knowing that Your Son guiding me. Let me not be deceived, easily offended, or afraid to tell those I know or come into contact with that Jesus lives in me and I am living my life the way He wants me to live. Also, when offenses come, let me be forgiving as You are forgiving to me when I offend You. I love You Lord, and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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