Made not to Stumble

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues: yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see me no more; of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged. "

(John 16:1-11 NKJV)

'And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble." '(Mark 4:13,14;16,17 NKJV)

Simply put, righteousness is what Jesus did: EVERYTHING that He did! Sin is unawareness of, ignorance of or the departure from what He did. The Helper, the Spirit of truth, convinces those who have begun to believe of these things yet have stumbled in one way or another. The ruler of this world is judged because, as Jesus said, 'he has nothing in Me'. So, also, will those be judged who are persuaded by that 'ruler'. Therefore, be convinced by the Helper, the Spirit of truth, regarding the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are willing and obedient, you will be made not to stumble as you experience tribulation/persecution, recognizing and rejoicing in the hope of His calling.

Correction precedes Deliverance and Appointment

‘And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.'

'Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" 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. However, this kind goes out not but by prayer and fasting." '(Matthew 17:14-21 NKJV)

We see that individual desire to receive deliverance and the disciples’ desire to minister deliverance were unsuccessful until correction came from the Lord. It seems Jesus always dealt with the root of the problem rather than the fruit of it. We all know that if we pull the leaf of a weed, unless the root comes out with it, the weed will manifest again. The father brought his son to Jesus' disciples, hoping they could minister the cure. The disciples were unable, at that time, to awaken the father to his faithless and perverse approach; rather trying to pull off the leaves of the weed. The disciples had to be brought to maturity through the prayer declared by Jesus (Matthew 17:20) and fasting illegitimate attempts to remove leaves of weeds. 'Nothing will be impossible for you' is the promised result as faith is in Him, believing.

Do You have Enough Faith to Finish Well?

'And there went great multitudes with him; and he turned, and said unto them, "If any man come to me, and hate (an idiom of preference toward God) not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, 'this man began to build, and was not able to finish'.

'Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.' (Luke 14:25-33 KJV)

So, the criterion for building the tower and making war against many is forsaking all that YOU have: your confidence in the flesh.

'And the disciples came, and said unto him, "Why speaketh unto them in parables?" He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given. For whoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." ' (Matthew 13:10-12 KJV)

So, if you forsake to follow Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit shows you how to have enough to finish well the good fight of faith: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Those who begin to build and begin to make war against another king must know what to HAVE to finish.