Consequential Pursuits

The Opposite of Trivial Pursuits

Question 1: What is the subject of Jesus’ statement: “This kind comes out only through prayer and fasting”?

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 [of unbelief] goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.  (Mat 17:19-21 KJV) [brackets ] added to point out the subject.

Answer: The subject is “unbelief”. The subject of this scripture is often misstated as referring to “this kind of demon”.

Back story: Jesus had given His disciples authority to cast out demons, and they had previously done so. In this occasion however, they had been unable to cast the demon out of this little boy. Jesus cast the demon out and rebuked His disciples.

When His disciples asked why they had been unable to cast it out, He replied it was because of their unbelief. Then stated that this kind (of unbelief), does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

There is no demon that can refuse to obey a command given under the authority of Jesus, which authority Jesus gave to all His disciples including us today. If a command given under the authority of Jesus did not accomplish the goal, our prayer and fasting would be utterly useless. The prayer and fasting are to bring our bodies under subjection, not to accomplish anything with God.

Question 2: What is the pearl of great price?

What is the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure mentioned as parables in Matthew 13:44-46?

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  (Mat 13:44 KJV)

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  (Mat 13:45 KJV)

Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.  (Mat 13:46 KJV)

From childhood (a long time ago), I heard these verses taught as people recognizing their need for a savior gave up their worldly lives to receive something much better. This interpretation comes from a works mentality. This is counter to accepting what Jesus paid for.

O foolish Galatians (modern Christians), who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  (Gal 3:1 KJV)

Man could not redeem himself, so Jesus came and paid all that was necessary to redeem us. If we attempt to pay for anything that Jesus suffered for, then we are rejecting God’s grace and saying that what Jesus did was insufficient.

We are the hidden treasure, we are the pearl of great price and Jesus gave all that was necessary to purchase us.

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.  

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.  (Rom 10:3-4 KJV)

If you want a victorious life, you need to understand the message of grace and faith and how they combine to give us a close personal relationship with God. I highly encourage you to take advantage of the resource below.

Resources (from others), to help discover who God says you are: Understanding who you are as a spirit, which is the real us, is key to understanding God’s grace and our response (faith) to God’s grace. Andrew Wommack has a free video teaching and this is a link to that teaching.

https://www.awmi.net/browse-teaching/spirit-soul-and-body/?mode=video

This is a series of 30 minuet videos, there are 25 lessons and this will change your life.

Need prayer? Charis Bible College has trained prayer counselors that are available 24/7 (less a few holidays). 719-635-1111 and choose "prayer".

Question 3: Was the “Tree of Life” a forbidden fruit? If not, did Adam and Eve eat regularly from it?

Answer: No, it was not forbidden; and yes, they ate of it regularly. More to come …

Does one maintain a healthy relationship with God without daily involvement with Him? No, our relationship with God is a dynamic one. As the name implies the tree of life was necessary for continued life and it was a food to be eaten regularly.

I think it is a common misconception that if Adam had eaten of the tree of life at any point, that he would live forever. It was not a forbidden fruit and there is no reason to think that he had not already eaten from this tree many times. I believe he ate from it daily when he went for walks with God.

The tree of life is mentioned in Genesis and in Revelation, a tree of life is mentioned in proverbs. I have more to say on this topic in a later post, but I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you about the tree of life.