Title: Why Couldn't We Drive Out?
Contents
Bible: Matthew 17:14-20
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In 1 Kings 18, we see the battle between Elijah and the priests who serve Baal and Asherah, whom we know well. We are well aware of the outcome of that battle over the true God. A similar event is also recorded in Acts 19 of the New Testament. It is a miracle of healing by just touching the Apostle Paul's clothes or handkerchief. A magician who saw it said to the man possessed by a demon, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Paul speaks of, get out.” The demon-possessed man said, “I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?” On the contrary, we see an incident where the demons are torn apart.
In today's text, Jesus and three disciples went up the mountain of transfiguration. In the meantime, a father comes to the remaining disciples with a demon-possessed son. The son was possessed by a demon and fell ill with water and fire. The nine remaining disciples did their best to heal the child, but the child was not healed. Just then, Jesus and three disciples came down from the mountain. The father said to Jesus, “The disciples could not heal our child. Our child is pitiful. Please fix it.” Then Jesus healed him immediately.
The rich man leaves and the disciples ask Jesus. “Jesus, why did we not do this? How can we not cast out demons?” To that question, Jesus answered, “Because of your little faith.” You say:
What do we say we believe in? We come to think that we believe in human numbers more. Many of us experience heartbreak when people don't sympathize with us. It seems that we do not think much about God being with us. So, strictly speaking, it means that we believe in people more than God.
Even David, who is praised as a great king, made two fatal mistakes. It was the offense of Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and the second was the counting of the army in 2 Samuel 24. Then General Joab said: “King, it is not the numbers that have allowed us to win the war. We were able to win because God was with us.”
When we worship, even if others do not agree with us, think about whether we are worshiping by looking at and relying on only God, not people.
Also, one of the mistakes we make is that we do not fully rely on God. It is said that there is a human aspect that depends only on one's own abilities.
In the 4th chapter of James, a Jew who is a good trader brags about his abilities. Then Master James said to him, “Are you not just a mist that appears for a moment in the morning and then disappears? What are you that you promise to make a lot of money for? It will be possible.'” In this way, human beings rely too much on their own abilities and want to reveal something wrong.
In the 18th century, a scholar named Jean-Jacques Rousseau said, “Humans are born good, so if we provide good education, we can create a society where all humans are equal, eliminate crime, and create a utopia.” However, in the modern society, which is said to have learned more than any other era, the scariest beings to meet at night are not ghosts or ferocious animals, but have become humans. It is saying that it is absolutely not possible to build a utopia with human power.
Also, we need to think about what Jesus said, “Because of your little faith.” The blind spot of modern Christians is that prayer is important, but doing is not very important. If you look at what makes Christianity badly evaluated by the world, it is saying that there are many good words but no good deeds.
Why is a man named Nehemiah revered as a leader in Israel? Even though it was a foreign country, I was able to sit and protect myself as a high-ranking official in the seat of the chief of staff that I am talking about now, but when I heard the news that the walls of Jerusalem had fallen, I felt sorry for myself, and then I gave up the high-ranking official on my own.
In Matthew 23, Jesus said, “Woe to you! Those who talk only and do not do things are the ones who prevent neither themselves from entering the kingdom of heaven nor others from entering the kingdom of heaven.”
The third important thing is to just leave it to God. The miracle could happen at the wedding feast in Cana because of Mary's faith, saying, "Whatever Jesus says, you just have to obey it."
We are not doing good. God uses us as instruments for good. In the name of the Lord, I pray that you will become the channels of blessing that God uses today and the good tools that accomplish God's will.
2010-10-02 17:24:25