Quote from Forum Archives on November 11, 2005, 11:55 am

Posted by: info <info@...>

E-pistle

Dr. Curt Scarborough, President
FreeWay Foundation November 4, 2005

Seeing The Kingdom Present With Power

(Mark 9:1-29; Matthew 16:28-17:21; Luke 9:27-43)

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I. Concentration: on these mountain-valley events in the
synoptic gospels

1. Mark (who usually gives the briefest account) includes much more

detailed information on these events than do Matthew and Luke.

2. Exclusive to Mark are the crowd's discussion (14-16), the boy's

convulsion (20), Jesus' questions about "How Long?" and the father's

cry for compassion (21-22), "All things are possible" (23), and "I believe,

help my unbelief!" (24).

3. Only Matthew writes here about mustard-seed faith moving a mountain

(20).

4. Only Luke reveals that Jesus was praying when His transfiguration

happened (28-29), and that following the healing of the boy, the people

"were all amazed at the majesty of God," (43).

II. Meditation: on the setting and participants of these
mountain-valley events

1. All three gospels preface the story with Jesus' prediction that
some of the

disciples would "see the kingdom of God present with power."

2. This prophecy referred, of course, to His transfiguration on the
mountain,

but it also referred to his victorious encounter with a very powerful demon

in the valley.

3. On the mountain-top, only Jesus was present, with Peter, James, and
John.

4. In the valley, participants included: Jesus, Peter, James, and
John, the

nine other disciples, the man with his demon-possessed son, the

multitudes of curiosity seekers, the critical Scribes, and Satan's deaf and

dumb spirit. (A typical church gathering!)

III. Revelation: on what was needed to "see the kingdom
present with power"

1. Compassion: (Mark 9:22) and mercy (Matthew 17:15) for the suffering
boy

and his troubled father.

2. Faith: "If you can believe, all things are possible . . . Lord, I
believe; help

my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23-24) "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," (Matthew 17:20)

3. Prayer: (Luke 9:28-29), "This kind can come out by nothing but
prayer and

fasting," (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29)

4. Fasting: apparently Jesus and the inner circle of disciples had
spent about

a week in fasting (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28).

IV. Applications: In order to "see the kingdom present with
power," I need to . . .

1. Spend quality time on the mountain-top daily communing with Jesus.

2. Regularly engage in prayer and fasting, rather than waiting for an

emergency to happen before entering into these spiritual disciplines.

(The nine disciples had not spent a week in prayer and fasting, so they

were powerless against the demonic spirit.)

3. Look upon hurting people and their families with the compassionate,

merciful eyes of Jesus, seeking the Father's guidance on what He wants

me to do to help.

4. Exercise my small mustard-seed faith by speaking to the mountain,
just as

Jesus spoke to the demon; such active faith WILL SPEAK, the obstacle or

problem WILL MOVE . . . and others WILL OBSERVE God's power and be

amazed at His majesty (Luke 9:43).

Note: in a typical church gathering, Jesus
is there, along with some who have spent time

with him; impotent believers, hurting
people, critical skeptics, and Satan also are present.

But a miracle can happen . . . if those few
Jesus-filled believers will speak out in faith!

Dr. Curt Scarborough, 7-26-05

"A Trio of Tragedies"

Dr. Curt Scarborough

I wondered what Grandpa Scarborough meant when he said. "Tragedy
always

comes in threes." He'd witnessed WWI and WWII, so maybe he was looking over
his

shoulder for WWIII? Perhaps since he delighted in telling scary fairy tales
to his

preschool grandson, he could be referring to the sorrowful plight of the
three homeless

porkers whose houses were huffed and puffed away? Or, the family of three
hapless

bruins who fell victim to a home invasion by a bleached blond?

Wait, I have it!!! The three little rodents with dark glasses
and tiny canes, being

pursued by a homicidal maniac with a carving knife. Now that was a tragic
trio! WOW!

Grandpa sure knew how to spin a yarn to entertain a 4-year-old-boy.

Speaking of "tragic trio's," my wife, Ruth Ann, would leap to
her feet and place

in nomination the tasteless triumvirate: The Three Stooges. It must be a
gender thing.

Guys seem to get a kick out of Moe, Larry, and Curly; gals just want to see
them kicked

out. But that's another story.

On the positive side of threesomes, consider the swing Andrews
Sisters, or the

famous double-play magicians of the baseball diamond, "Tinkers and Evers
and

Chance. " . . . And who could forget those dashing adventurers, The Three
Musketeers?

Or were there Four?

Spiritually speaking, meditate on the deep mystery of the Holy
Trinity. Or the

basic disciplines of the Christian life: praying, fasting, and giving. See
the repeating

pattern as Jesus selected His inner circle of disciples: Peter, James, and
John. And

think about the concluding refrain of the Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13) .
. . "Now abide

faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

This brings us back to the initial cluster in Paul's list of the
nine "fruit of the Spirit"

(Galatians 5:22-23) . . . "love, joy, peace." These describe the inner
quality of persons

who are filled with the Holy Spirit. "Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst after

righteousness," Jesus taught, "for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
Love, joy, and

peace are the three tasty treats (traits) which fill the life of persons who
hunger and

thirst for the Spirit of the indwelling Christ.

Such Spirit-filled persons sincerely LOVE the Lord with all
their heart. They

experience overflowing JOY from His abiding presence. They rest in genuine
PEACE

based upon the assurance of His promised providential care.

Prayer for the Day: Lord, fill me with your Spirit, and help my life to
overflow with the

inward cluster of spiritual fruit . . . love
and joy and peace.

Pillsbury College & Seminary

Tuition Fees for 2005

The Board of Regents of the Pillsbury College & Seminary has established the
following

Tuition rates effective, January 1, 2005: Undergraduate tuition: $60 per
credit hour

Graduate-level tuition: $90 per credit hour

Christian Doctor of Philosophy (C.Ph.D.) or Doctor of Christian Counseling
(D.C.C.)

NCCA: 60 credit hours - $5,400

Terms: $900 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 30 months

Christian Master of Arts (C.M.A.) or Master of Christian Counseling (M.C.C.)

or Master of Christian Psychology (C.Psy.M.)

NCCA: 45 credit hours - $4,050

Terms: $750 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 22 months

Doctor of Christian Psychology (C.Psy.D.) (Second Doctorate Only)

NCCA: 48 credit hours - $4,320

Terms: $870 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 23 months

Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Biblical Counseling, Expository Studies, or

Christian Theology

48 credit hours - $4,320

Terms: $870 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 23 months

Master of Ministry (M.Min.) in Biblical Counseling, Expository Studies, or

Christian Theology

36 credit hours - $3,240

Terms: $690 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 17 months

Bachelor of Biblical Counseling (B.B.C.) or Bachelor of Biblical Studies
(B.B.S.)

Final Year: 32 credit hours - $1,920

Terms: $570 initial payment plus $150 monthly for 9 months

The $50 registration fee will be refunded if the applicant is not accepted
as a student.

Entering students who submit a registration form for a degree program will
have 60

days in which to complete the process, including the payment of the initial
fee. After

60 days, the entering student who has not completed the process will be
placed on

inactive status, the registration form will become invalid, and the $50
registration fee

will be forfeited.

Pillsbury College & Seminary is owned, controlled and operated by Freeway
Foundation,

a non-profit ministry which provides "practical teaching and training for
successful living."

The Foundation pays the salaries and benefits of Pillsbury's administration,
staff, and

faculty members. The College & Seminary is housed at no charge in Freeway

Foundation's spacious modern building on a beautiful 2-acre campus in
northwest

St. Louis County. Since the overhead costs of the school are minimal, these

substantial savings are passed along to the student in the form of lower
tuition rates.

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is

made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must

be done does away with fear."

- Rosa Parks

--
To unsubscribe, send ANY messag