January 6, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
To enjoy spiritual power and spiritual victory, you need spiritual resources,
not human prescriptions.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Doctor Tony Evans says that requires a deliberate decision to
have faith.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Your choice to trust God or not to trust God
is the choice.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
It doesn't do how you feel.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Did that have to do with deciding whether He's worthy
to be trusted?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Most of us
understand that God has the power to deliver us, but
when we're caught in a difficult situation or circumstance, we
sometimes wonder if he'll actually do it. Today, Doctor Evans
talks about how we can grow our faith to trust
(00:46):
fully in God's deliverance. Let's join him.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
How do I deal with the bondages in my life,
the things for which I desperately desire to be delivered?
That is the question In Matthew Chapter seventeen, we have
a story, and all what a story it is. To
appreciate where I'm going. The first thing I want you
(01:11):
to understand is the concept involved of a mountain. Verse
twenty said that if you have the faith of a
mustard seed. You shall say to this mountain, be moved,
and it will move. The concept of a mountain means
(01:35):
a difficulty you can't climb over. He's not talking about
a literal mountain here. He's talking about a mountain symbolically
that is a situation in your life where you are stuck.
The reason he uses the word mountain is because of
the context in which this story is found. Jesus has
(02:00):
just taking Peter, James, and John to the mount of transfiguration.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
They just came down from a literal mountain.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
See so, because they had just come down from a
literal mountain, Jesus uses the figurative concept of mountain because
that's what's on their minds right now. In fact, on
this mountain, chapter seventeen, verse one, a high mountain, it's
called he was verse two transfigured before them. His face
(02:28):
shone like the sun. His garments became as white as
a light. Jesus Christ was transfigured. That is, there was
the zipping down of his humanity and the revealing of
his deity.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
When they descended the mountain.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And came down, they discovered there were other mountains.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
That's light to come to a worship service on Sunday
morning and have a mountain top experience, only to leave
church and hit the valley of despair.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Because you run in the mountains, you can.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Whatever your mountain is is fundamentally controlled by your mind.
What Satan does is he builds mountains or fortresses or
strongholds by blocking off the access to divine power. That
was the situation in Matthew seventeen. We have a young
(03:32):
man here who has been brought to the Lord. Verse fifteen.
Mark tells us he couldn't speak. Mark telligens he couldn't hear.
Mark tells us that he would foam at the mouth,
he would go into convulsions, he would have epileptic fits.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And let me tell you proof positive.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
When you know you got a mountain, you've got a
mountain one and you want to get rid of it,
but can't Verse sixteen. And I brought him to your disciples,
and they could not cure him.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Even folks can't help you.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
It's a mountain when you go to the folk who's
supposed to be able to help you and they can't
help you. The folk who had all God all over
them couldn't help me either.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
That's a mountain. A mountain is when you've.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Tried everything you've had, You've gone every twelve step program
in the city, tried the psychic line, you read the horoscope,
you've called on the pastoral staff, you've tried the righteous
and the unrighteous, and nothing works.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
That's a mountain. Part of the problem.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Was that they were looking at the external activity of
the boy to determine the diagnosis of the problem.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But from the tax we discover that the.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Things he was doing on the outside was because of
a spiritual problem he had on the ends. This boy
was demon possessed. And my point about your mountain is
simply this. If we're going to move the visible mountain
of your fruit, we're gonna have to get down to
the invisible mountain of your root. Many of us have
(05:17):
been trying to chop down mountains that are seen without
addressing underground what is not seen. And if you're trying
to fix a big mountain that you see and don't
know that underneath the ground is the foundation of that mountain,
then what you're doing is messing with the fruit. When
your problem's at the root. If you have an addiction,
(05:40):
that is the symptom, not the problem.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
If you have a drug problem, you have a drug problem.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Symptom, not a drug problem essence. If you can't put
down a cigarette, that's a symptom. What we gotta do
is get beneath the ground to find out what say.
And it's staring up on the inside that's producing the inability,
the partition that keeps God from getting through to turning
(06:08):
things around on the outside. And when I studied this,
I said, that's it. People are spending their lives to
fix the outside, not having diagnosed properly the inside, so
they don't fix the inside, so they struggle forever with
the outside, at least to a third point, the confidence
regarding mountains. Look at what Jesus says in verse seventeen,
(06:32):
all unbelieving and perverted generation. That's not what you'd call
a compliment. How long will I be with you? How
long shall I put up with you? Bring him here
to me? Or to put it in ordinary English, I'm
tired of you, folks. How do you think Christ feels
about us when he sees our powerlessness due to lack
of faith verse twenty Because of the littleness of your faith.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
For truly, I say to you, if you have the
faith of a mustard seed.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You shall say that this mountain move from here to there,
and it shall move, and nothing shall.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Be impossible to you. Now that's deep, he says.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
If you have enough faith, you'll talk to the difficulty in.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Your life mountain, and the mountain will move. Did you
just hear that? Now? I didn't make that up. That's
what verse twenty says.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
He says, if you didn't have little faith, then you
would be able to say, to this mountain, get out
of here. Say to this addiction, go away. Say to
this inability to control my tongue shut up. Say to
this mine I can't control, think straight, and the mountain,
(07:49):
the difficulty will submit.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Now that just seems a.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Little bit too good to be true, that I can
just tell it what to do and it'll do it.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
He says.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
The problem is related to little faith. That raises the
question what is little faith? When you have little faith?
The lie of Satan is more believable than the truth
of God. You see, great faith sets no limit on
what God can do.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
You know what great faith is.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Great faith is when you are trusting God and the
very opposite to what you are trusting him occurs.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And you're still trust him. That's great faith.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Now he then tells us something that has led to
a lot of confusion, perhaps even in this room. If
you have faith, as a mustard seed, you shall be
able to say to this mountain, get out of here,
Say to this drugs, leave me alone, and the mountain
will move.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So we got a contradiction.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
He condemns them because they have little faith, and then
tell them, but all they need is little faith in order.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
To move a mountain. You follow me. Turn to chapter thirteen.
Oh are your finger here?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Verse thirty one, And he presented another parable to them, saying,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed when
a man took and sold in his field. And this
is the smaller than all the other seeds. But when
it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants,
(09:32):
becomes a tree so that the birds of the egg
can come and nest in its branches. Now watch it.
A mustard seed is very very tiny. But that's not
Jesus's point. Here's Jesus's point. When you take a teen
s ween sea e se bit mustard seed, plant that
(09:55):
bad boy in the right soil.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
It's external shell.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Splits inside the mustard seed, a little tiny miniature seed
that's even smaller than the mustard seed.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
But guess what happens underneath the ground.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
When the external breaks and opens up, the internal expresses itself,
and what was held hostage on the inside by the.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Hard shell on the outside is now freed to express itself.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
And when this little it'si bitsy teeny weeny mustard seed
sheds its external shell and begins to do its internal thing,
that no nothing seed becomes a fifteen foot plant, bigger
than all the other plants in the garden, although it
(10:50):
started as the smallest seed in the garden. And not
only does it get bigger than all the other plants
in the garden, are the birds can and sit down
and rest on it because it's so strong.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
He does not mean that you have to have tiny faith,
he said. If you take the tiny faith you have
and plan it right, stripping it up its external shell,
what has been held hostage on the inside will begin
to express itself on the outside. And you're gonna find
(11:28):
out not only can you grow, and not only are
you a fifteen foot Christian, but on the folk can
rest on your life too. That's how strong you are.
So guess what that mountain in your life. That mountain
in your life is because the shell on the outside
(11:49):
is controlling the life on the inside. So what you
got to do is split the shell so that the
life on the inside can express itself. But off the
seat ever grew without being buried. First, he means, if
you have the faith of a mustard seat that is
willing to die, be buried, be stripped of its external
(12:11):
so that it can express its internal, then you can
say mountain gaddi.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And having that mountain moving faith requires an important change
in our thinking. Doctor Evans will explain what that change
is when he returns in just a moment. First, though,
if you're ready to dig deeper into the biblical principles
doctor Evans has been presenting today, be sure to request
a copy of his two volume series Fasting the Key
(12:38):
to Spiritual Victory. It explains how saying no to your
physical appetite can sharpen your spiritual one, creating a hunger
for God that the Lord is only too happy to satisfy.
Right now, we're offering all fourteen full length messages in
this series on CD or digital download as our gift
(12:58):
when you support the Ministry of the Alternative. Along with
the complete audio package, will also send you a special bonus,
the Cultivating a Year of Kindness perpetual flip calendar, your
three hundred sixty five day companion to becoming contagiously kind.
These reflections will help you develop a deep passion for
(13:18):
kindness in your daily life as you're motivated and encouraged
with insights from doctor Evans along with short prayers and
inspiring Bible passages. Visit us today at Tonyevans dot org
or call us at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two to take advantage of this special resource package. Again,
(13:40):
that's Tonyevans dot org or by phone at one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Doctor Evans will come back with more of today's lesson
right after this.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Had you ever done a connect the dots puzzle? You
draw lines from one number dot to another, and before
you know it, a picture appears as you didn't even
know was there. Well, Tony wants you to have that
same experience with the Bible through the Tony Evans Training Center.
He'll help you connect the dots of scripture and discover
the big picture of God's Kingdom agenda, all at your
(14:14):
own pace, anywhere, anytime, on your computer or mobile device.
There are courses on a wide range of topics and texts.
Each one includes exclusive in depth content from Tony, probing,
discussion questions, access to full length messages, and an online
discussion forum where you can ask specific questions and get
detailed answers. Visit Tonyevans dot org today and connect with
(14:37):
the Tony Evans Training Center where you can explore the
Kingdom anytime, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Turning me to Mark nine where Mark tells the same story,
but he gives us a little bit more information Verse nineteen,
Jesus says, oh, I'm believing generation, how long I put
up with your lack of faith? Basically verse twenty, they
bring the boy to him. Immediately the spirit threw him
into a convulsion and falling to the ground, he began
(15:05):
rolling about and foaming at the mouth. Okay, so he
is in a chaotic situation here, and he asked the
father how long has this been happening? He said, long time.
This mountain in a long time from a childhood, and
it has often thrown him both in the water to
destroy him. Now watch this now, watch it now. But
(15:29):
if you can do anything, take pity on us and
help us. Now that doesn't sound too bad. Come on, Jesus,
if you can help me, help me. What is Jesus' response.
Jesus said, if you if you can, And I know
(15:49):
that's the sentiment because he says, all things are possible
to him who bleeds. You mean, if you can look
at what the man does in verse twenty four, Idially,
he ain't think about it because if he thought about it,
he wouldn't know what to do. So he stopped thinking
and started trust him. Immediately, the boy's father cried out
and began saying, I do believe help my unbleef.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
That's a different statement.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Your choice to trust God or not to trust God.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Is a choice it God, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
How you feel this I has to do with deciding
whether he's worthy to be trusted, he says. In verse
twenty two, he says, but if you can do anything,
take pity on us. I use the word if I'm
gonna change my word.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
You can.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Now noticed something when he changed the order, God gave
him the miracle. When he changed the order, God gave
him the cure because he changed his perspective. God moved
to enjoy spiritual power and spiritual victim. You need spiritual resources,
(17:02):
not human prescription. This mountain, this thing that's this difficult,
this problem that's been in your life this long, this
problem or sin that Satan has had control of this long,
doesn't come out by going to church on Sunday. Doesn't
come out just because the pastor or the pastoral staff
(17:24):
or the counseling center all have their place. But it
doesn't come out just because you talk to them, because
the disciples can't handle this one. It's too deep, it's
been there too long. Satan has too much of a stronghold.
He's created too much of a fortress. This kind you
got to dig out, and it comes by fasting in prayer.
(17:48):
Fasting in prayer says I have no human option available.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Fasting has to do with going through.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
The pain of the body, because you're trying to the
shell so that that can be the freedom of the spirit.
It is going through the agony. Of course, your stomach
is hurting when you're fasting. Of course your stomach is upset.
But fasting says that I am going to wrestle through
and deny you. Now, in order to deny your body
(18:17):
dinner or whatever fast you happen to be on all meals,
all day, whatever it happened to be, what you had
to do was weaken the flesh. See, the flesh gets
weaker because the flesh gets hungry, so it is now weaker.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
But when the flesh becomes weak.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
It gives the opportunity, when feeding the soul, for the
spirit to become stronger. You see, we don't express our
spirits because we're so into satisfying our flesh that the
free spirit is not free to become a mustard plant.
But once you begin denying in fasting the craving of
(18:57):
the body, what you do is get in the position
where you are telling.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
The flesh what it can do and what it cannot do.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
God is saying, when you can say no to food,
you are saying no to the flesh. Any other addiction
you have is an addiction of the flesh. So once
you get used to telling the flash it can't have
everything it wants to have whenever it wants to have it,
you just now have to shift that from food to drugs,
(19:28):
food to sex.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Food.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
The lion food, the conson food anything else. Because you're
moving in the strength of your decision. You are wrestling
for the control of your life. Because you can control
the physical, you now have been freed up to control
the spiritual. That's why fasting is important. That's why you fast.
(19:49):
How you get a breakthrough? Some of you are fasting
for difficulties in your life and you want to know,
pastor how long do I fast? Hey, you get a
breakthrough as a story in the Bible of a man
looking for a mate and he thinks he's founder, So
I think that's the one. And he goes to a house,
(20:10):
sits down at the table to talk to the girl's father,
and the father brings out some food and the man says,
I cannot eat. Tell this matter is resolved. He put
away food till he found the right wife. We're gonna
(20:31):
have a lot of skinny folk running around here all
right now. You want to know where that passage is,
don't you. I'm not gonna tell. I'm not gonna tell.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
You.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Gotta keep coming back while I preach. Okay, you faster,
you get a breakthrough. James Face says, when we humble
ourselves before God, which fast thing is is we saw
that fast thing is humbling yourself. When you humble yourself
before God, he he gives greater greats, He gives greatest,
great greater power.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Doctor Tony Evans exploring the connection between giving up what
we want and getting what we need, and he'll come
back with a closing word in just a moment. First, though,
today's lesson on fasting for Deliverance is part of a
two volume series called Fasting the Key to Spiritual Victory,
And as I mentioned earlier, you can own this collection
(21:29):
on CD or digital download when you make a contribution
to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station, and
as an added bonus, we're also including our inspiring Cultivating
a Year of Kindness perpetual flip calendar, good to be
used for any year. Be sure to take advantage of
this unique resource package while you still can, just visit
(21:51):
Tonyevans dot org to get the details and to make
your contribution and request. That's Tonyevans dot org. Or call
our twenty four hour resource request line at one eight hundred,
eight hundred thirty two twenty two and let one of
our team members help you again. The number one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two. They say everyone
(22:16):
has baggage in life, but the load you're carrying might
be heavier than it needs to be. Tomorrow, doctor Evans
will show how fasting can help get those burdens off
your back. Right now, though he's back with these closing words.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
I like to watch the Olympics, and I like to
watch the high jumpers seven foot bar.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
They get way back, stay it down, take off, turn sideways, lift.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Themselves up, strong muscular legs that take them seven feet high.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
And that's fine if you've got a seven foot melt.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
But what happens when you have an eighteen footnt mountain?
You need a different approach. See if you just a
high jumper and you got an eighteen foot mountain, and
you get back as far as you can get, go to.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Church every Sunday, have devotions every day.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I'm gonna get way back here, get all the counseling
I can get, and you just take off, and you
just make your weigh and you leap. We gonna all
watch you make a fool of yourself because you won't
get across that bar.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Ah. But in the.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Olympics, when those high jumper sea an eighteen foot mountain.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
They get a pole. They call pole vaulters.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
They get that pole and run down with that pole,
stick that pole in the hole in the ground, and
count on the pole to lift them higher so they
can cross the bar that has been a teen feet high.
If you got a mountain that ordinary Christianity won't get
(24:05):
you over, why you're still trying to jump in your
own flesh.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
What you need is a pole.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
You need something you can dig in and lean on
and push on that will propel you over the mountain
of your life so that you clear it and stop
knocking it over. What you need is fasting and prayer.
That is the pole vault to boost you over the
mountain bars of your life. That is what God is
(24:31):
calling you to. That is what He's asking you to me.
That is the call of fasting and prayer.
To enjoy spiritual power and spiritual victory, you need spiritual resources,
not human prescriptions.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Doctor Tony Evans says that requires a deliberate decision to
have faith.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Your choice to trust God or not to trust God
is the choice.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
It doesn't do how you feel.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Did that have to do with deciding whether He's worthy
to be trusted?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Most of us
understand that God has the power to deliver us, but
when we're caught in a difficult situation or circumstance, we
sometimes wonder if he'll actually do it. Today, Doctor Evans
talks about how we can grow our faith to trust
(00:46):
fully in God's deliverance. Let's join him.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
How do I deal with the bondages in my life,
the things for which I desperately desire to be delivered?
That is the question In Matthew Chapter seventeen, we have
a story, and all what a story it is. To
appreciate where I'm going. The first thing I want you
(01:11):
to understand is the concept involved of a mountain. Verse
twenty said that if you have the faith of a
mustard seed. You shall say to this mountain, be moved,
and it will move. The concept of a mountain means
(01:35):
a difficulty you can't climb over. He's not talking about
a literal mountain here. He's talking about a mountain symbolically
that is a situation in your life where you are stuck.
The reason he uses the word mountain is because of
the context in which this story is found. Jesus has
(02:00):
just taking Peter, James, and John to the mount of transfiguration.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
They just came down from a literal mountain.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
See so, because they had just come down from a
literal mountain, Jesus uses the figurative concept of mountain because
that's what's on their minds right now. In fact, on
this mountain, chapter seventeen, verse one, a high mountain, it's
called he was verse two transfigured before them. His face
(02:28):
shone like the sun. His garments became as white as
a light. Jesus Christ was transfigured. That is, there was
the zipping down of his humanity and the revealing of
his deity.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
When they descended the mountain.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
And came down, they discovered there were other mountains.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
That's light to come to a worship service on Sunday
morning and have a mountain top experience, only to leave
church and hit the valley of despair.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Because you run in the mountains, you can.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Whatever your mountain is is fundamentally controlled by your mind.
What Satan does is he builds mountains or fortresses or
strongholds by blocking off the access to divine power. That
was the situation in Matthew seventeen. We have a young
(03:32):
man here who has been brought to the Lord. Verse fifteen.
Mark tells us he couldn't speak. Mark telligens he couldn't hear.
Mark tells us that he would foam at the mouth,
he would go into convulsions, he would have epileptic fits.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And let me tell you proof positive.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
When you know you got a mountain, you've got a
mountain one and you want to get rid of it,
but can't Verse sixteen. And I brought him to your disciples,
and they could not cure him.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Even folks can't help you.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
It's a mountain when you go to the folk who's
supposed to be able to help you and they can't
help you. The folk who had all God all over
them couldn't help me either.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
That's a mountain. A mountain is when you've.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Tried everything you've had, You've gone every twelve step program
in the city, tried the psychic line, you read the horoscope,
you've called on the pastoral staff, you've tried the righteous
and the unrighteous, and nothing works.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
That's a mountain. Part of the problem.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Was that they were looking at the external activity of
the boy to determine the diagnosis of the problem.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But from the tax we discover that the.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Things he was doing on the outside was because of
a spiritual problem he had on the ends. This boy
was demon possessed. And my point about your mountain is
simply this. If we're going to move the visible mountain
of your fruit, we're gonna have to get down to
the invisible mountain of your root. Many of us have
(05:17):
been trying to chop down mountains that are seen without
addressing underground what is not seen. And if you're trying
to fix a big mountain that you see and don't
know that underneath the ground is the foundation of that mountain,
then what you're doing is messing with the fruit. When
your problem's at the root. If you have an addiction,
(05:40):
that is the symptom, not the problem.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
If you have a drug problem, you have a drug problem.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Symptom, not a drug problem essence. If you can't put
down a cigarette, that's a symptom. What we gotta do
is get beneath the ground to find out what say.
And it's staring up on the inside that's producing the inability,
the partition that keeps God from getting through to turning
(06:08):
things around on the outside. And when I studied this,
I said, that's it. People are spending their lives to
fix the outside, not having diagnosed properly the inside, so
they don't fix the inside, so they struggle forever with
the outside, at least to a third point, the confidence
regarding mountains. Look at what Jesus says in verse seventeen,
(06:32):
all unbelieving and perverted generation. That's not what you'd call
a compliment. How long will I be with you? How
long shall I put up with you? Bring him here
to me? Or to put it in ordinary English, I'm
tired of you, folks. How do you think Christ feels
about us when he sees our powerlessness due to lack
of faith verse twenty Because of the littleness of your faith.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
For truly, I say to you, if you have the
faith of a mustard seed.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You shall say that this mountain move from here to there,
and it shall move, and nothing shall.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Be impossible to you. Now that's deep, he says.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
If you have enough faith, you'll talk to the difficulty in.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Your life mountain, and the mountain will move. Did you
just hear that? Now? I didn't make that up. That's
what verse twenty says.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
He says, if you didn't have little faith, then you
would be able to say, to this mountain, get out
of here. Say to this addiction, go away. Say to
this inability to control my tongue shut up. Say to
this mine I can't control, think straight, and the mountain,
(07:49):
the difficulty will submit.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Now that just seems a.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Little bit too good to be true, that I can
just tell it what to do and it'll do it.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
He says.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
The problem is related to little faith. That raises the
question what is little faith? When you have little faith?
The lie of Satan is more believable than the truth
of God. You see, great faith sets no limit on
what God can do.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
You know what great faith is.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Great faith is when you are trusting God and the
very opposite to what you are trusting him occurs.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
And you're still trust him. That's great faith.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Now he then tells us something that has led to
a lot of confusion, perhaps even in this room. If
you have faith, as a mustard seed, you shall be
able to say to this mountain, get out of here,
Say to this drugs, leave me alone, and the mountain
will move.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
So we got a contradiction.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
He condemns them because they have little faith, and then
tell them, but all they need is little faith in order.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
To move a mountain. You follow me. Turn to chapter thirteen.
Oh are your finger here?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Verse thirty one, And he presented another parable to them, saying,
the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed when
a man took and sold in his field. And this
is the smaller than all the other seeds. But when
it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants,
(09:32):
becomes a tree so that the birds of the egg
can come and nest in its branches. Now watch it.
A mustard seed is very very tiny. But that's not
Jesus's point. Here's Jesus's point. When you take a teen
s ween sea e se bit mustard seed, plant that
(09:55):
bad boy in the right soil.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
It's external shell.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Splits inside the mustard seed, a little tiny miniature seed
that's even smaller than the mustard seed.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
But guess what happens underneath the ground.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
When the external breaks and opens up, the internal expresses itself,
and what was held hostage on the inside by the.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Hard shell on the outside is now freed to express itself.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
And when this little it'si bitsy teeny weeny mustard seed
sheds its external shell and begins to do its internal thing,
that no nothing seed becomes a fifteen foot plant, bigger
than all the other plants in the garden, although it
(10:50):
started as the smallest seed in the garden. And not
only does it get bigger than all the other plants
in the garden, are the birds can and sit down
and rest on it because it's so strong.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
He does not mean that you have to have tiny faith,
he said. If you take the tiny faith you have
and plan it right, stripping it up its external shell,
what has been held hostage on the inside will begin
to express itself on the outside. And you're gonna find
(11:28):
out not only can you grow, and not only are
you a fifteen foot Christian, but on the folk can
rest on your life too. That's how strong you are.
So guess what that mountain in your life. That mountain
in your life is because the shell on the outside
(11:49):
is controlling the life on the inside. So what you
got to do is split the shell so that the
life on the inside can express itself. But off the
seat ever grew without being buried. First, he means, if
you have the faith of a mustard seat that is
willing to die, be buried, be stripped of its external
(12:11):
so that it can express its internal, then you can
say mountain gaddi.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And having that mountain moving faith requires an important change
in our thinking. Doctor Evans will explain what that change
is when he returns in just a moment. First, though,
if you're ready to dig deeper into the biblical principles
doctor Evans has been presenting today, be sure to request
a copy of his two volume series Fasting the Key
(12:38):
to Spiritual Victory. It explains how saying no to your
physical appetite can sharpen your spiritual one, creating a hunger
for God that the Lord is only too happy to satisfy.
Right now, we're offering all fourteen full length messages in
this series on CD or digital download as our gift
(12:58):
when you support the Ministry of the Alternative. Along with
the complete audio package, will also send you a special bonus,
the Cultivating a Year of Kindness perpetual flip calendar, your
three hundred sixty five day companion to becoming contagiously kind.
These reflections will help you develop a deep passion for
(13:18):
kindness in your daily life as you're motivated and encouraged
with insights from doctor Evans along with short prayers and
inspiring Bible passages. Visit us today at Tonyevans dot org
or call us at one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two to take advantage of this special resource package. Again,
(13:40):
that's Tonyevans dot org or by phone at one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
Well.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Doctor Evans will come back with more of today's lesson
right after this.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Had you ever done a connect the dots puzzle? You
draw lines from one number dot to another, and before
you know it, a picture appears as you didn't even
know was there. Well, Tony wants you to have that
same experience with the Bible through the Tony Evans Training Center.
He'll help you connect the dots of scripture and discover
the big picture of God's Kingdom agenda, all at your
(14:14):
own pace, anywhere, anytime, on your computer or mobile device.
There are courses on a wide range of topics and texts.
Each one includes exclusive in depth content from Tony, probing,
discussion questions, access to full length messages, and an online
discussion forum where you can ask specific questions and get
detailed answers. Visit Tonyevans dot org today and connect with
(14:37):
the Tony Evans Training Center where you can explore the
Kingdom anytime, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Turning me to Mark nine where Mark tells the same story,
but he gives us a little bit more information Verse nineteen,
Jesus says, oh, I'm believing generation, how long I put
up with your lack of faith? Basically verse twenty, they
bring the boy to him. Immediately the spirit threw him
into a convulsion and falling to the ground, he began
(15:05):
rolling about and foaming at the mouth. Okay, so he
is in a chaotic situation here, and he asked the
father how long has this been happening? He said, long time.
This mountain in a long time from a childhood, and
it has often thrown him both in the water to
destroy him. Now watch this now, watch it now. But
(15:29):
if you can do anything, take pity on us and
help us. Now that doesn't sound too bad. Come on, Jesus,
if you can help me, help me. What is Jesus' response.
Jesus said, if you if you can, And I know
(15:49):
that's the sentiment because he says, all things are possible
to him who bleeds. You mean, if you can look
at what the man does in verse twenty four, Idially,
he ain't think about it because if he thought about it,
he wouldn't know what to do. So he stopped thinking
and started trust him. Immediately, the boy's father cried out
and began saying, I do believe help my unbleef.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
That's a different statement.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Your choice to trust God or not to trust God.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Is a choice it God, I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
How you feel this I has to do with deciding
whether he's worthy to be trusted, he says. In verse
twenty two, he says, but if you can do anything,
take pity on us. I use the word if I'm
gonna change my word.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
You can.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Now noticed something when he changed the order, God gave
him the miracle. When he changed the order, God gave
him the cure because he changed his perspective. God moved
to enjoy spiritual power and spiritual victim. You need spiritual resources,
(17:02):
not human prescription. This mountain, this thing that's this difficult,
this problem that's been in your life this long, this
problem or sin that Satan has had control of this long,
doesn't come out by going to church on Sunday. Doesn't
come out just because the pastor or the pastoral staff
(17:24):
or the counseling center all have their place. But it
doesn't come out just because you talk to them, because
the disciples can't handle this one. It's too deep, it's
been there too long. Satan has too much of a stronghold.
He's created too much of a fortress. This kind you
got to dig out, and it comes by fasting in prayer.
(17:48):
Fasting in prayer says I have no human option available.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Fasting has to do with going through.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
The pain of the body, because you're trying to the
shell so that that can be the freedom of the spirit.
It is going through the agony. Of course, your stomach
is hurting when you're fasting. Of course your stomach is upset.
But fasting says that I am going to wrestle through
and deny you. Now, in order to deny your body
(18:17):
dinner or whatever fast you happen to be on all meals,
all day, whatever it happened to be, what you had
to do was weaken the flesh. See, the flesh gets
weaker because the flesh gets hungry, so it is now weaker.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
But when the flesh becomes weak.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
It gives the opportunity, when feeding the soul, for the
spirit to become stronger. You see, we don't express our
spirits because we're so into satisfying our flesh that the
free spirit is not free to become a mustard plant.
But once you begin denying in fasting the craving of
(18:57):
the body, what you do is get in the position
where you are telling.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
The flesh what it can do and what it cannot do.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
God is saying, when you can say no to food,
you are saying no to the flesh. Any other addiction
you have is an addiction of the flesh. So once
you get used to telling the flash it can't have
everything it wants to have whenever it wants to have it,
you just now have to shift that from food to drugs,
(19:28):
food to sex.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
Food.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
The lion food, the conson food anything else. Because you're
moving in the strength of your decision. You are wrestling
for the control of your life. Because you can control
the physical, you now have been freed up to control
the spiritual. That's why fasting is important. That's why you fast.
(19:49):
How you get a breakthrough? Some of you are fasting
for difficulties in your life and you want to know,
pastor how long do I fast? Hey, you get a
breakthrough as a story in the Bible of a man
looking for a mate and he thinks he's founder, So
I think that's the one. And he goes to a house,
(20:10):
sits down at the table to talk to the girl's father,
and the father brings out some food and the man says,
I cannot eat. Tell this matter is resolved. He put
away food till he found the right wife. We're gonna
(20:31):
have a lot of skinny folk running around here all
right now. You want to know where that passage is,
don't you. I'm not gonna tell. I'm not gonna tell.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
You.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Gotta keep coming back while I preach. Okay, you faster,
you get a breakthrough. James Face says, when we humble
ourselves before God, which fast thing is is we saw
that fast thing is humbling yourself. When you humble yourself
before God, he he gives greater greats, He gives greatest,
great greater power.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Doctor Tony Evans exploring the connection between giving up what
we want and getting what we need, and he'll come
back with a closing word in just a moment. First, though,
today's lesson on fasting for Deliverance is part of a
two volume series called Fasting the Key to Spiritual Victory,
And as I mentioned earlier, you can own this collection
(21:29):
on CD or digital download when you make a contribution
to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station, and
as an added bonus, we're also including our inspiring Cultivating
a Year of Kindness perpetual flip calendar, good to be
used for any year. Be sure to take advantage of
this unique resource package while you still can, just visit
(21:51):
Tonyevans dot org to get the details and to make
your contribution and request. That's Tonyevans dot org. Or call
our twenty four hour resource request line at one eight hundred,
eight hundred thirty two twenty two and let one of
our team members help you again. The number one eight
hundred eight hundred three two two two. They say everyone
(22:16):
has baggage in life, but the load you're carrying might
be heavier than it needs to be. Tomorrow, doctor Evans
will show how fasting can help get those burdens off
your back. Right now, though he's back with these closing words.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
I like to watch the Olympics, and I like to
watch the high jumpers seven foot bar.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
They get way back, stay it down, take off, turn sideways, lift.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Themselves up, strong muscular legs that take them seven feet high.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
And that's fine if you've got a seven foot melt.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
But what happens when you have an eighteen footnt mountain?
You need a different approach. See if you just a
high jumper and you got an eighteen foot mountain, and
you get back as far as you can get, go to.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Church every Sunday, have devotions every day.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
I'm gonna get way back here, get all the counseling
I can get, and you just take off, and you
just make your weigh and you leap. We gonna all
watch you make a fool of yourself because you won't
get across that bar.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Ah. But in the.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Olympics, when those high jumper sea an eighteen foot mountain.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
They get a pole. They call pole vaulters.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
They get that pole and run down with that pole,
stick that pole in the hole in the ground, and
count on the pole to lift them higher so they
can cross the bar that has been a teen feet high.
If you got a mountain that ordinary Christianity won't get
(24:05):
you over, why you're still trying to jump in your
own flesh.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
What you need is a pole.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
You need something you can dig in and lean on
and push on that will propel you over the mountain
of your life so that you clear it and stop
knocking it over. What you need is fasting and prayer.
That is the pole vault to boost you over the
mountain bars of your life. That is what God is
(24:31):
calling you to. That is what He's asking you to me.
That is the call of fasting and prayer.
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