I was out for my midnight run. Generally I go out for my runs (ungraceful stumbling in the dark) sometime between 11:30 pm and 1:00 am. I do this for three basic reasons;

1. Health
2. In the dark your less likely to become a YouTube viral video
3. It’s my me time, it’s the time I can listen to YouTube teachings. Lately I have been streaming Johnny Cash reading the Bible.

I have read this and heard sermons on Matthew 17 and have always walked away thinking what can I do to walk in this? Always looking for the formula to get that “more than a mustard seed faith.”

Matthew 17:16-21
English Standard Version (ESV)

16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 
17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 
18 And Jesusrebuked the demon, and it[c] came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 
20 He said to them,“Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
21 But this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

So, back to my thoughts.  While jogging the other night I was listening to a teaching by a friend of mine,  Chris Berglund and he went into this text.

I’ve always had a works based mentality in my Christiandom and have recently walked away from this mindset.  I have been real going deep into much of Paul’s writings and have been purpose to revisit the Gospels.  I  probably need to do this sooner than later. I say this because many of my old ways of thinking need to be worked out.

Under my old paradigm I won have took Jesus’s really response as a full on rebuke.
“Oh faithless and and twisted generation,  how long am I to be with you. ” maybe this was not a rebuke. Have you ever had a boss or someone you worked for? For example,  say you botched up the paint mixing machine at work your first week on the job.  Does your new boss rebuke you and yell at you or….  does he  say something to the effect, “OK head up, I’m only going to be able to hold your hand for so long, listen up and learn what I have to show you.”? I’ve always seen that as a rebuke with attitude,  I’m not sure it was anymore. We are told to see Him as our loving father a loving father first loves than corrects while building up.

The second part of this story happens later when the disciples come to Jesus in private. They ask why they were not able to cast the demon out of the person. Jesus replies in verse 20 it was because of their disbelief. It was their ability to see what they saw rather than what was to be.

It’s what they saw rather than what was.

In verse 21 He says ” this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting. ” this verse has always (in my head) made his ability to heal dependant upon my response or works. This has never made sense to me. So God can’t do something unless I prayer or fast? God is not dependent on man. In Chris’s teaching he brought up the idea that maybe Jesus was not talking about healing but maybe he was talking about faith or the ability to believe or see with God’s eyes. So I’m saying that disbelief only goes away through fasting (wanting what God has more than food) and prayer (spending ones time building that intimate relationship with dad).

It’s not about what I do but what He has done!

My view of God has been challenged immensely in the last 2 years. I have viewed the God and read the Bible through a paradigm of a wrathful and judgemental God. The way you view God will totally slant everything, I mean EVERYTHING in your life. Jesus always related to people out of love. He commanded us to walk in love. Never did he call us to judge others. “Judge not or you will be judged” or John 8 “I judge no one” or even with the woman at the well “let the him who has no sin cast the first stone.” He had ample times to judge but didn’t, he moved in love and compassion. He also said “I only do what my father in heaven does.” If Jesus moved in love, God moves out of love. God is not waiting up in heaven to smite people. He is a loving father! We are his children. I am putting on new glasses and putting on God’s love goggles as I read the bible, it can totally change your perception of what you “thought you knew.” Steve McVey has a great book “52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday.” He also has expanded it in a series of YouTube videos.

God likes mankind, he created us to be his kids. He really really likes you.

This makes sense to me and it does go against the traditional teaching on it. I would like to get some feedback and thoughts on what you think, feel free to reply below.

Chris gets into Matthew 17 around 12:30 in the YouTube video below