Revelation of God’s Glory
The Father’s glory is Christ’s glory and the transfiguration was a revelation to Peter, James, and John of the honor and glory that belongs to Jesus. This was the same glory that was revealed in the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38) and again in the temple (1 Kings 8:10,11). This glory was now on the earth in the person of Jesus Christ and would soon be reveled to Stephen (Acts 7:55,56), to Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3), and once again to John in Rev. 1:16. This glory that is brighter than a flash of lightning will be revealed to the entire world at the second coming of Christ (Matt. 24:30). The glory that will one day lighten the whole world was now here being revealed to the three disciples who witnessed the transfiguration. The light in which the redeemed will walk for all eternity (Rev. 21:23) was witnessed by Peter, James, and John. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Christ had made the preceding week. It was a premature picture of Christ’s second coming but was also a revelation of the glory that awaits God’s children. Paul wrote, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…” (1 Cor. 15:51). The Greek word for “changed” is the same word for “transfigured” and Jesus promised that we shall not only see His glory but will also share His glory for all eternity.
It was a sight to behold. Four weeks before His death and a week after making the prediction “that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1), Jesus separated three of those disciples who were closest to Him and led them up one of the many steep slopes of Mt. Hermon. While He was praying the appearance of His face suddenly changed and His face shined brighter than the sun. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them (vs. 3). Jesus was transfigured and the blinding brilliance of the glory of God was glistening on Him and radiating out of Him. Jesus was not transfigured by means of an external light focused on Him but rather was a revelation of the essential glory of God that belongs to Him. John so explained it when he said, “We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). John also recorded the Lord’s prayer, “Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began” (John 17:5).
One can only imagine what Jesus and His three close friends were discussing as they came back down the mountain. Surely a time of celebration was at hand but instead they came upon a crowd of people in mass confusion and some teachers of religious law were arguing with the other disciples. When Jesus asked what all the commotion was about one of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so You could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever the spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it” (Mark 9:17,17 NLT). Jesus answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to me” (vs. 19). Jesus had just been transfigured and had even spoken with Elijah and Moses and the first thing He mentioned here was faith. People of faith don’t enjoy being around people of unbelief. It’s like you’re trying to go upstream against the current. Everybody around you wants to talk negative. They say what you’re believing for is impossible and can’t be done. Faith don’t want to hear that because it’s not true and this is why Jesus was irritated at their lack of faith.
Jesus asked in Luke 18:8b, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” The insinuation here is no, He will not. Do not imagine that faith is prevalent and everywhere. It is not! True, genuine faith is rare and precious and you do not find strong faith everywhere you go. Today people use the word “faith” too loosely. They say they have faith but are not made whole in many areas of their life. They then put the blame on God and say it must not be His will for them to prosper and be in health even as their soul prospers (3 John 2). Is it any wonder that Jesus gets irritated at people’s lack of faith? The good news is that being rare does not mean you can’t have it. You can have all the faith you want. You can have great faith that is precious and genuine. You can have faith for miracles. Jesus asked the man how long his son has had convulsions and he replied, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:21,22). The man was leaving it up to Jesus as to whether or not his son got delivered.
Here is where people miss it the most. It is not a question of whether God can or will do anything. It’s not up to Him. Jesus turned it right back around and said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (vs. 23). The Message Bible states, “Jesus said, ‘If? There are no “ifs” among believers. Anything can happen.'” Everybody is going to experience situations in life where man alone can do nothing about it. Most people will say to accept it, deal with it, and go on living. Not Jesus. Not once did He ever say to accept anything that is not in line with God’s Word. When there is nothing man can do, when you’re at the end of your rope, there is still something that can be done. When man says “It is impossible” Jesus says “It is possible.” But not to everybody. It is only possible to them that believe it is possible. It’s not up to God! Jesus didn’t say anything about the will of God or about who He was. He talked about faith, faith, faith! The devil don’t want you to know this. He will do anything to get you off the faith track. The enemy will tell you to not get your hopes up. He’ll say your situation can’t be helped. Deal with it.
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'” The Message Bible says, “I believe. Help me with my doubts.” God will meet you where you’re at. He responds to those who reach out in faith. In the face of seemingly impossible situations, believe anyway. Be like Abraham who against hope believed in hope (Rom. 4:18). It is the will of God for every captive to be set free, for every soul to be saved, for every sick person to be healed. It is God’s will for you to live a nothing missing, nothing broken life. You don’t have to have that incurable disease and die before your time. You don’t have to be poor and never able to pay your bills. You can be made whole in every area of your life. All things for possible for them that believe. Faith is a choice and begins where the will of God is known. At the same time, be honest with yourself and be honest with God. Never try to cover up a lack of faith. The father said, “I believe! Help my unbelief.” God will help you with your unbelief and the boy’s father knew now was not the time to pretend he had faith when he really didn’t. He believed some things and he wanted to believe the rest. He was ready and willing to believe and he did the right thing. He asked for help.
1 Tim. 1:5 (NLT) says, “The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.” The Message Bible says, “The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love – love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.” There is a genuine faith and there is a counterfeit faith. Be honest and don’t pretend where faith is concerned. It is foolish and prideful to act like you have more faith than you actually have. Don’t be afraid of somebody finding out you’re lacking in faith in certain areas. Don’t be prideful and act like you have more faith than you actually have. Don’t pretend. This is feigned, counterfeit faith and this is why things don’t happen the way you want them to. Besides, who do you think you’re fooling? All miracles come from God and He can’t be a part of anything fake or phony. Faith is personal, it’s between you and God, so be honest and don’t pretend. The Lord will meet you where you’re at, not where you’re pretending to be.
What does pretend faith look and sound like? It looks like and sounds like real faith. Examine yourself and be honest about what you’re believing for. Don’t say you can believe for a million dollars to come in by the end of the month when you can’t. Doing this will discourage you when it doesn’t happen and will hurt the faith you currently have. Faith is not imagination or desire or needing something. It is believing something. It’s being confident and persuaded of something so don’t play games with faith. Don’t pretend and think you’re in faith because a lot of vain words come out your mouth. Also, don’t think you have mountain-moving faith because you have a lot of knowledge. You can have all the knowledge and understanding in the world and not have faith. You don’t believe with your head, you believe with your heart. God resists the proud (James 4:6) but the humble get the grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). Be honest and don’t pretend. You can’t pretend you’re somewhere you’re not and make progress. Say, “Lord, help my unbelief!” with enough help fro God you can get anything.
Real faith in God never fails but still there is a lot of phony faith around. It’s better to be honest about where you’re at than to pretend everything is okay when it’s not. Who gets the grace? Who gets the help? Those who are humble and honest. Remember, God meets you where you’re at. Don’t stay home from the doctor if you don’t have faith to get healed. This is a matter of life and death and many have died because they were pretending they had faith when they really didn’t. Don’t pretend your faith is at a place it’s not. Be honest with yourself. Go to the doctor and use the faith you have to believe God will work through medical professionals. You receive where your faith is at. Don’t pretend. You either believe or you don’t. At the same time, beware of trying to prove to others how much faith you do have. Don’t show off, don’t elevate how spiritual you are. If you do, you’re setting yourself up for a faith failure. Pride is involved here and you must realize that it’s not about you. Trusting God is a place of submission, not pride. Humble yourself and don’t try to show other people what you can do. Stop trying to impress other people and God will meet you where your faith is at.
Jesus came down the mountain and came upon the situation where the disciples could not heal the man’s son. They had a faith failure and the leaders were exploiting it. There was strife, unbelief, and mass confusion. Jesus immediately knew what the problem was and said sternly, “Faithless generation!” Faith irritates unbelief and unbelief irritates faith. In Numbers 14:10 the congregation wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb for believing they could defeat the giants in the promised land. The boy’s father came to Jesus and said, “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” Jesus quickly replied, “What do you mean ‘If I can?’ Anything is possible if a person believes.” The recovery of the man’s son hinged on his believing. Pretending don’t work. People say they have faith but what they’re believing for never materializes. Now was the time to be real with God and the man cried out, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” If you’re not where you need to be do what this man did and ask for help. Don’t play games. Tell God you’re not where you need to be and ask for help. He’ll meet you right where you’re at. Jesus delivered the man’s son and prevailed where others failed.
One must take notice how much the spirit realm is referred to in this passage. The man knew his son’s condition was caused by an evil spirit and this is what Jesus dealt with. “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, ‘You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more!'” (Mark 9:25). To have faith for miracles you must acknowledge and become more aware of the realm of the spirit. Jesus was aware of the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, of angels and evil spirits, and of human spirits. The realm of the spirit is real and according to the Bible the boy’s convulsions were caused by the influence of an evil spirit. The Wuest translation says “a spirit disrupted his body function and shattered his strength.” Doctors give medical names for people’s physical and mental condition but they never acknowledge there is an evil spirit causing the problem to happen. You can’t have miracles unless you are aware of the spiritual realm. You can’t deal with spiritual things mentally and physically. The boy got delivered and the man and his son were astonished at the majesty of God.
Jesus said in John 14:12, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” How will you do these greater works? The same way the Master did them. There is no superior way of doing things than how Jesus did them. If you want to get the same results like He got, then you must do it like He did it. Jesus acknowledged the realm of the spirit and addressed the evil spirit personally and directly. He commanded it to come out of the boy and leave him and it did. The boy’s condition wasn’t mental or physical, it was spiritual. Jesus was aware of what the problem was and He was aware of what the Holy Spirit wanted Him to do. Jesus dealt with the problem exactly as it needed to be done and a miracle occurred. It was a problem no man could fix in the physical realm. In Luke 13:11-16 there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. Jesus acknowledged this was a woman “whom Satan has bound” and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
People are so locked into the natural realm that they can’t see into the spiritual realm. The symptoms may be natural but the root cause of the problem is spiritual. God is spirit and miracles come from the spiritual realm. If you want faith for miracles you must go beyond the natural and be aware of the spiritual. You can’t just live an intellectual and physical life. You can’t be locked into your five senses and what you’ve learned in your head. You must go beyond that and look into the spiritual realm. If all you do is look at the natural then you lock yourself into only what man can do to fix it. You limit yourself because natural solutions can not fix spiritual problems. How often do doctors say, “There’s nothing more that can be done. We’ve done all we can do”? People hear this and quit trying and eventually will die an early death. Jesus counters this by saying, “All things are possible to him who believes.” A miracle is a manifestation of the power that makes possible and for the miraculous to happen you’ve got to look beyond what you can see or feel or touch in the natural realm. Miracles come into your life from another realm and changes it and makes it better. You are being made whole and your life and the situation you are in is remade and reshaped.
When the man’s son was brought to Jesus “immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth” (Mark 9:20). The young man had these type of seizures since childhood. Sometimes you get so used to things being wrong that you get accustomed to it. Believing for things to get better is hard to grasp onto. The way things have been for the past several years is how it’s going to be tomorrow and nothing is going to change that. Once poor, always poor. Once sick, always sick. The father looks at his son on the ground tossing to and fro and what he sees contradicts what he wants. He doesn’t know how the problem can be fixed. Nobody yet has been able to help him. Not even the disciples could help. He said to Jesus, “If you can do anything…” He’s clutching at straws. He needs help with his unbelief. Moments later Jesus rebuked an unclean spirit and cast him out of the boy. He showed everybody that to have faith for miracles you must go beyond the natural and deal with the spiritual. The life force behind every disease is spiritual and unless you acknowledge this you will be locked into dealing with medical problems on a natural level and that is not enough. Clearly it was a spirit that caused this boy’s problem. How much has changed between then and now?
Not long after this miracle occurred the disciples privately asked Jesus the only question that could be asked at this time, “Why could we not cast him out?” (Mark 9:28). They had tried everything and nothing worked. They had been given power and authority by Jesus to do this. Matt. 10:1 says, “And when he had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” They had success in times past. Others had been healed and delivered by them. Why not now? “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you'” (Matt. 17:20). The Young’s Literal Translation says “because of your want of faith” which means literally “because of your little faith.” The Message Bible says, “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously.” Even though they had been authorized and empowered by Jesus himself to cast out evil spirits they got no results this day because of a serious lack of faith.
You must get a revelation of this! They had too little faith! Why don’t things happen today like we’d want they to? Too little faith! Period! It was the problem then and it’s the same problem today. Jesus said in Matt. 6:3a, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…” Why do people worry about their needs getting met? Too little faith. If you had enough faith, you wouldn’t worry. Why didn’t the disciples get up and rebuke the wind and the rain? Too little faith (Matt. 8:26). Christians don’t like to hear that having too little faith is the problem. They want it to be something else. Churches and seminaries try to teach people that the problem is anything and everything except what it actually is. If the devil can keep you in the dark about this he can keep you from getting any results. He can keep you in the natural realm, locked into the flesh. But Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Miraculous things can happen in your body, your mind, your family, and your bank account if you will believe it is possible. Stop living in fear and worry and being limited to what other people say can and can’t happen. Dare to stand up and say, “I believe!” Say it with conviction and expect it to happen.
Faith is not fantasy. Faith is not pretend. Talking like you have big faith does not mean you have big faith. Faith is real and it’s in your heart. In the gospels Jesus emphasized faith over and over again. It’s mentioned over a hundred times in the book of John alone. Faith is not a movement. It’s the way you live, the way you overcome, the way you receive. Faith is how you please God and there is no substitute. Why couldn’t the disciples deliver the man’s son? The Wuest translation says, “Because of the littleness of your faith.” Lack of faith is a serious problem in the world today. Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 3:2, “And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.” The Message Bible says, “I’m finding that not all ‘believers’ are believers.” You need faith in whatever area you’re believing for, whether it be finances, healing, or peace of mind. And it’s not just going through the physical motions that gets things done. The disciples did all they knew to do. They had the power and the authority to deliver the man’s son but not the faith. After scolding the disciples for their unbelief Jesus immediately told them how to fix the problem. He said in Matt. 17:21, “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
There is very little teaching in the church today in regards to fasting but if you’re serious about wanting faith for miracles you need to feed on the Word of God and there needs to be prayer and fasting. The disciple’s problem was lack of faith and Jesus said the solution was prayer and fasting. They heard Jesus preach the Word all the time but what they needed now was prayer and fasting. This keeps you spiritually alert. This keeps you from getting in the flesh too much, from getting too carnal. Don’t misunderstand what Jesus is saying here. You don’t pray evil spirits out and you don’t fast them out. You cast them out! Praying and fasting takes you out of your carnality and makes you more aware of the spiritual realm. It gets you closer to God so you don’t operate in the flesh but lets you operate in the power and authority you already have. Not long after Jesus delivered the man’s son Mark 9:33,34 says the disciples were disputing among themselves who would be the greatest. They were getting too big in their own eyes and this is why they needed to fast and pray. They had authority and they had power and people were brought to them from near and far. They were getting prideful and because of their carnality they were unable to deliver the young lad with the unclean spirit.
The servant is not above the master (John 13:16) and if you want to be instruments of power then you have to do it the same way the Master did it. How did the blind eyes get opened and deaf ears hear? How did the dead get raised to life? He didn’t do it as God. He did it as a man anointed with the Holy Spirit. He did it as a man with faith in God. Today people are desperate for the reality of the living God and as faith begins to increase mighty things will begin to happen. In Luke 4 Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights. There is no short cut. There is no substitute. If you want God to get real to you then you’ve got to put your flesh under and you’ve got to spend time with God. Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” The disciples went through all the motions trying to get that boy delivered but human effort accomplishes nothing. You need to put your flesh down and draw near to God.
The anointing removes burdens and destroys the yokes of the enemy. Mental anguish is a yoke and a burden as is poverty and disease. The devil can work for generations to get strongholds locked into a person’s life but in a single moment of time the anointing can break that yoke and remove that burden. However, the anointing alone is not enough. Faith must be mixed in with it. Jesus did not fast to get power. The Holy Spirit was already upon Him. He fasted and prayed to put His flesh down and to draw near to the Father. You need to do the same thing but be forewarned, as soon as you try to do that the devil will step in and try to draw you off. He did it to Jesus and he will do it to you. The devil told Jesus to turn stones into bread. The devil will always try to get you to focus on you and this is where the disciples missed it. They were saying, “Look at us! Look what we can do!” They were trying to do things through God but this is not how miracles happen. God does things through us! We are the instruments through which His power flows. He works through those who will submit to Him and yield to Him.
The devil wanted Jesus to demonstrate He had faith and power by telling Him to jump off the highest point of the temple and the angels would catch Him. He wanted Jesus to show off. Pride was the devil’s downfall and this is what he tempted Jesus with. He wants to infect people everywhere with the same thing and this is why the disciples could not deliver the man’s son. They got too high minded and could no longer get results. Jesus, on the other hand, never took credit for one healing or one miracle. Not one time! He said in John 5:19, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” Jesus emptied Himself of all divine power and walked the earth as a man. If He can do it, you can do it also if you do the same things He did. He fasted and He prayed. He put His flesh down and gave the devil nothing to work with. At the same time, He gave the Father everything to work with. Remind yourself daily that without God you are nothing and without Him you can do nothing. Instead, be thankful for the opportunities He gives you to be involved in what He is doing on the earth.
Jesus told the carnally minded disciples that the problem was unbelief. It was the problem then and is the problem today. Don’t let scholars and theologians tell you anything different. The good news is that there is a cure for unbelief. If you can get your unbelief fixed you can get your bills paid and your sick body healed. You can have peace of mind and freedom from all fear, worry, and anxiety. You can be made whole in every area of your life. Just don’t pretend you have faith when in reality you don’t. Never play games where faith is concerned. Phony faith looks good and sounds good from a distance but the reality of its falseness comes when that which it is believing for is not manifested. It is better to have a little faith and get something than to have phony faith and get nothing. If you are born-again you’ve already received a greater miracle than any healing. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t receive a miracle. You already have! You are a new creation than what you used to be. That’s a miracle! How did you receive that miracle? By faith! You believed it in your heart and confessed it out your mouth (Rom. 10:9,10).
Gal. 3:23a says, “But before faith came…” and vs. 25a says, “But after faith has come…” There was a time when faith was not there. Then it came! It came when you believed the preaching of the anointed Word. This is how faith comes to get born-again and to receive anything else, including the working of miracles. God speaks through the anointing and when you know you’ve heard from Him, faith comes with it. Faith does not come by just hearing yourself or somebody else reading the Bible. You have to hear from God for yourself. When you do, faith comes. Many people believe for things without first hearing from God and this is why they stand and confess and nothing happens. You can’t “stand” in faith until you are in faith. Too many people rush past the hearing and believing part and try to stand when faith isn’t there. You don’t have faith because you want something or desire something or because you need something. You have faith because you heard from Him and believe in your heart what you heard. Mark 11;24 says, “Whatever things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Don’t go off half-cocked and selfishly desire just anything. Only desire that what you’ve heard God say! You have to hear from Him in order to have faith! Yes, you do! You’ve got to hear from Him every day. When you do, it will enlighten you and quicken you. Then, and only then, will you have faith for miracles.
You can believe in miracles. You’ve already done it. If you’ve done it once, you can do it again, and again, and again. It’s not hard even though many people make having faith for miracles a near impossible task. Real faith requires action but you’re not going to act unless you first believe. And you won’t believe unless you first heard, and how will you hear without a preacher (Rom. 10:14)? God has chosen to reveal Biblical truths to you through anointed teachers and preachers so don’t think you can stay home from church and just read the Bible and learn all that God wants you to know. Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together (Heb. 10:25). God wants you connected to other members of the body of Christ because together you can get so much more done than if you were to go at it alone. You need the anointing that is on other people and they need yours. Rom. 10:17 (NLT) says, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good news about Christ.” The word “Christ” means ‘the anointed One and His anointing.’ Faith comes by hearing the words of those who are anointed. It comes because of the anointing.
