Unbelieving Faith

If you have your Bibles, I'd like to ask you to open them with me to Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 9, and we're going to be looking at verses 14 through 29.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

This morning, we're going to be taking a look at my favorite verse throughout Scripture.

It's my favorite verse because I find so often myself identifying with the Father that we find in this passage.

The Father in this passage is coming to Jesus, and He's totally desperate.

He's in circumstances that are beyond His control, and He's turned to every source of help He could possibly find up until now, but He has received no help.

You see, His Son was possessed by a demon.

He had gone to religious leaders. He had gone to some of Jesus' disciples.

But up until now, He's found no help.

And He approaches Jesus and says, if you can do anything, please help us.

And Jesus assures Him that all things are possible to those who believe.

And this is where my favorite verse comes in here.

For He comes to Jesus and He says, I believe.

Help me overcome my unbelief.

Help me overcome my unbelief.

If the man believed in Jesus, he knew that he was able.

I'm sure he had heard stories up until now of Jesus healing the sick, raising the dead, casting demons from people.

But maybe he was fearful a little bit or had a little bit of doubt creeping to the back of his mind.

Because up until now, he had gone to those who he assumed should have been able to help him.

But he had found no help up until now.

And so he says, I believe.

I believe.

Help me overcome my unbelief.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like that?

Have you ever found yourself in totally desperate times?

Desperate situation or circumstances that are out of your control and beyond your ability to deal with?

I'm sure most of us have found ourselves in those situations at times.

And while we know that Jesus is more than able to do anything we ask, we know He's able.

But do we ever have that little bit of doubt creep into the back of our mind of will He?

Will He answer our prayers the way we've asked Him to?

We know God is able.

But sometimes we question whether He will.

Or maybe we've faced situations in life, circumstances in life, and they've just beaten us down so much

that we're weary, that we're tired, and we just don't know where to turn.

And we allow a little bit of doubt to creep into our mind.

You know, this passage is amazing.

It speaks to me so much because I find myself in the same situation at times where we know Christ is able.

But we have to be honest and say, Jesus, help me overcome my unbelief.

But this passage is also one of the most misinterpreted scriptures in all the Bible.

We often hear pastors and others saying, if you just have enough faith, just have enough faith,

then God will do whatever you ask Him to.

We especially hear that in these name it and claim it preachers.

Just have enough faith.

And then when God doesn't answer the way we wanted Him to, they're, oh, you didn't have enough faith.

But is that what really the scriptures teach us?

Is that what God's really teaching us or Jesus is teaching us in this passage?

And so before we look at our scripture this morning, I want us to go to the Lord in prayer.

And I want us to take time to ask God to speak to each one of our hearts.

I'm sure we're in different situations in life, different circumstances in life.

And many of us may be in moments like that where we've been praying for God to answer our prayers for a long time.

And until now, He's not done it.

He hasn't responded in the manner in which we want Him to, at least.

And so we're allowing a little bit of doubt to creep into the back of our minds.

Where is God?

Does He love us?

Will He answer as I have requested?

Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we thank You for this day.

Again, we thank You for the privilege of being able to come together as the body of Christ.

And to lift Your name high above every name and to worship You.

We're thankful that we can take a day to set aside all of our worries, all of our concerns, all of our fears.

And just come before You, Lord.

And I ask, Lord, today that You speak to us in Your Word.

I pray that You speak to every heart here today.

Every life.

Wherever each of us may be in the journey of life, different situations, different circumstances.

I pray that You help us to set aside those worries, those cares, those fears.

And just come to You and allow Your Word to speak to us.

And grant us faith.

Maybe today there's someone here that they've been fearful to step out and receive You as Lord and Savior.

They know all the claims about You, Christ.

But they're fearful to make that step.

And I pray, Lord, today You'd give them the faith to recognize You as God.

The Messiah who died upon a cross for our sins.

That we can put our faith and trust in You to receive forgiveness of our sin.

And be adopted into the family of God.

And we thank You, Lord, for this.

And we praise You always in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, let's look together at our scripture.

We're going to look at Mark chapter 9, verses 14 through 29.

Mark 9:14–29

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them,

and the teachers of the law arguing with them.

As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him.

What are you arguing with them about, he asked.

A man in the crowd answered,

Teacher, I brought you my son who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.

Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground.

He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.

I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.

Oh, unbelieving generation, Jesus replied.

How long shall I stay with you?

How long shall I put up with you?

Bring the boy to me.

So they brought him.

When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.

He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy's father,

How long has he been like this?

From childhood, he answered,

It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him.

But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.

If you can, said Jesus, everything is possible for him who believes.

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed,

I do believe.

Help me overcome my unbelief.

When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene,

he rebuked the evil spirit.

You deaf and mute spirit, he said,

I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.

The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out.

The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said,

He's dead.

But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet,

and he stood up.

But after Jesus had gone indoors,

his disciples asked him privately,

Why couldn't we drive it out?

And he replied,

This kind can come out only by prayer.

Jesus and his three disciples that made up his inner circle,

Peter, James, and John,

they had just had this amazing experience on the Mount of Transfiguration

where Jesus truly revealed his identity to Peter, James, and John.

They heard the voice of the Father speak.

They met with Moses and Elijah.

Can you imagine that?

And here they come down off of the mountain

where the other disciples were waiting,

and a crowd had formed.

And they began to see that the disciples

were engaged in an argument with the religious leaders.

And so Jesus came, and he asked,

What are you all arguing about?

Now, I'm reading into this,

but I can just imagine there was silence for a moment.

There was just a bit of silence.

Nobody wanted to tell Jesus, you know,

what they had been arguing about.

But finally, we see in verse 17,

the father speaks out, and he says,

Teacher, I brought you my son

who is possessed by a spirit

that has robbed him of speech.

Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground.

He foams at the mouth,

gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.

I ask your disciples to drive out the spirit,

but they could not.

You know, when we take a look at these verses,

and we take a look at the other gospel accounts

of this same story,

we begin to see the condition

that this boy was living in,

and certainly his father as well.

If you're a parent,

you know the hurt and the pain and the sorrow

that you feel when your children are struggling,

or hurting, or up against circumstances

that are beyond our control.

And so we see this horrific picture

of this boy's life.

He's possessed by a demon

that often throws him to the ground.

He then is left foaming at the mouth.

He grinds his teeth.

He becomes rigid as a board.

If you drop down to verse 22,

you also see that this demon

often throws him into the water,

or into fire trying to kill him.

He's also deaf and mute.

So you can imagine this boy,

he's covered with scars,

he's covered with burns,

and he just lives a horrific life,

which in turn leaves the father

living a just horrific life

of worry and fear.

And if you really put yourself

in that position this morning,

put yourself right here

in the midst of the scripture,

you can begin to feel

the desperation of this father.

You can feel his agony

and his pain.

If you've ever had a child

that you've struggled with,

maybe they've had health issues,

maybe they've gone wayward

away from the Lord,

or maybe there's just been

other circumstances in their life

that you've struggled with,

you know that you can feel

this father's hurt and his pain.

And he comes to Jesus

because he's obviously heard

that Jesus has healed the sick.

He's heard that he's cast out demons

from others,

and so he has great hope

that this is the answer.

This is what he's looking for,

and he comes to find Jesus,

but Jesus is up on the mountain

with Peter, James, and John,

and he's unavailable,

and so he goes to the other disciples.

The disciples,

who just three chapters before this

had been sent out by Jesus

to heal the sick

and to cast out demons.

You know,

they had been doing this themselves,

and so the man comes

to the nine disciples

that were at the foot of the mountain,

and he asks them to help him

and to cast out this demon,

but they were unable to do so.

We have to ask ourselves the question,

if they had been sent out in chapter 6,

and they had already been out there

casting out demons

and anointing people with oil

and healing them,

why then were they unable

to cast this demon out of this boy?

Why were they unsuccessful this time?

Well,

let's put that question on hold

for just a moment,

and we'll come back to it in a minute.

When we drop down further in the chapter,

they asked Jesus that very question,

and so we're going to come back

to that in just a moment.

But Jesus comes down the mountain

of transfiguration.

He sees them arguing with the crowds.

He finds out what's going on,

and so he asks them

to bring the boy to him.

He says,

bring the boy to me,

and the father states

that if you can do anything,

take pity on us and help us.

And you can just imagine

Jesus looking at the guy

and say,

if I can,

if I can help,

and he assures him

that all things are possible

for him who believes.

Now,

this is where this passage,

this passage,

and other passages

throughout the New Testament

are often misinterpreted.

Again,

I said a moment ago,

we often see individuals say,

if you just have enough faith,

just believe,

and God will do exactly

what you want him to do.

But is that really

what scripture is teaching us?

You know,

I remember

back in 2005,

my dad was diagnosed

with a brain tumor,

and I went home,

I knelt beside his chair,

laid hands on him,

and prayed,

and I believed

with all my heart,

as much as I could,

that God would heal him

of this brain tumor,

and at 65,

he would not die.

But less than a month later,

my dad passed away.

And God didn't answer

my prayer

the way I had wanted him to,

and had asked him,

now,

did I not have enough faith?

Did God let my dad die

because I didn't have

enough faith?

Well,

I don't believe

that's what scripture teaches,

do you?

Jesus said,

if you have the faith

of a mustard seed,

which a mustard seed

is the tiniest of all seeds,

one of the tiniest seeds,

he says,

if you have the faith

of a mustard seed,

you can tell this mountain

to move,

and it will move.

And I don't believe

for a moment

that when we look

at the entirety

of scripture,

that we can walk away

from the entirety

of scripture,

because usually scripture

is the best commentary

for scripture,

isn't it?

We have to look

at all of scripture,

and it has to complement

one another.

If we come away

with something

that contradicts

another passage

of scripture,

then we're coming away

with the wrong conclusion.

But we have to look

at the entirety

of scripture,

and yes,

Jesus does confirm

on more than one occasion

that faith plays a role

in answered prayer.

Faith does play a role.

He says,

here,

all things are possible

to those who believe.

We also see,

remember the lady

who had been bleeding

for a number of years,

and she knew

if she could just touch

the hem of his garment,

she would be healed.

And so,

she pushed her way

through the crowd

and got as close to Jesus

as she possibly could,

and she reaches out

and touches his garment,

and instantly,

she was healed.

And he felt it.

He knew energy

had gone out from,

or healing power

had gone out from him,

and so he stopped

and said,

who touched me?

Well,

the disciples thought

he was nuts,

didn't they?

Like,

what do you mean

who touched you?

You know,

all this crowd

pushing in on you,

but finally the lady said

she was the one

that reached out,

and what did Jesus say?

He says,

your faith

has healed you.

So,

faith does play

a very significant role

in our lives

in answered prayer,

but I don't believe

for a moment

that the Bible

teaches us

that if you just

have enough faith,

then God

will answer

your prayers

the way

you ask them,

or what you're

asking of him.

As a matter of fact,

if we turn to

1 John chapter 5,

1 John 5 · chapter mention

look with me

if you will.

John chapter 5

John 5:14

verses 14 and 15,

this is one

of those scriptures

where we have

to use scripture

to interpret

other scripture.

And this is

a very vital scripture

to me

in understanding

that if we have

enough faith,

how will God respond?

1 John 5,

14 and 15,

this is the confidence

we have

in approaching God

that if we ask

anything,

now pay attention,

if we ask

anything

according

to his will,

he hears us.

And if we know

that he hears us,

whatever we ask,

we know

that we have

what we ask

of him.

If we pray

anything

according

to

his will,

how do we know

the will of God?

How do we

pray the will

of God?

How do we know

his will

that we can

put it into prayer?

Well,

the word of God,

for starters,

the more time

we spend

in God's word

and the more

time we spend

in his presence

and we develop

that relationship

of just

resting in him

and resting

in his word

and knowing

the word

of God,

the better we can

know the will

of God.

And the more

we know the will

of God,

the more we can

incorporate it

into our prayer lives

and instead of

just simply having

prayers that are

always focused

on ourselves

and our wants

and our desires,

we begin praying

the very will

of God.

And the more

we spend

in his presence

and the more

we develop

that intimate

and personal

relationship

with God,

the more he

changes our hearts.

He changes

our heart

so that

our desire

is the will

of God.

The more

we dwell

in his presence,

the more

we want

more than

anything else

is for the

will

of God

to be done.

Pastor Daniel

did not

pay me

to say this.

But a few

weeks ago

he introduced

a Bible

reading plan

here.

If you've not

picked one of these

up,

there's still

a couple up here.

There may be

some in the back.

It's also

in the newsletter.

It's also

on the website.

Practice

spending time

with God

daily

in prayer.

Allowing

him to speak

to us.

And then

instead of

praying

you know

just

fleshly

worldly

prayers

that we're

asking God

allow his

Holy Spirit

to direct

us and

guide us

that we're

praying

the very

will of God.

Is it wrong

to ask

for healing?

Is it wrong

to ask

for things

like this?

No.

It's not

wrong.

I wasn't

out of God's

will to pray

that he

heal my

father.

It's not

wrong to

pray that

if you

need a

new job

or your

marriage is

struggling

that you

pray for

these things.

We should

pray for

these things.

You should

bring in

other believers

to join you

in praying

for these

things as

you're able.

But remember

when Jesus

prayed at the

Garden of

Gethsemane,

he asked

that this

cup be

taken from

him.

He said

remove this

cup from

me.

But what

else did

he say?

Not my

will, but

your will be

done.

And so

Jesus was

showing us

there that

there are

times when

we pray for

God's will

or we pray

for things

in our

lives.

But more

importantly,

we want

God's will

to be

done in

our lives

even when

we don't

understand

why.

I didn't

understand.

Why did

God allow

my dad to

die at

65 when

he was

just starting

to retire?

Looking forward

to the golden

years of

spending with

my mom.

He said he

was going to

come see me

more often.

But why

did God

allow him

to die?

I can't

answer that.

But I do

know that

one day

when we're

in heaven

it's not

going to be

all that

important

anymore,

is it?

All of our

tears will

be wiped

away.

All the

struggle,

all the

pain,

all the

sorrows

that we

face,

the challenges

that we

were up

against,

that we

wondered,

God,

where are

you?

Why are

you not

answering?

We don't

understand.

When we

stand before

God,

maybe we'll

understand

better.

But it's

not even

going to

matter.

When we're

standing in

the presence

of the

Lord,

in his

heavenly

kingdom,

all those

things are

going to be

washed away

and it's

all going to

be worth

every little

thing that

we've gone

through and

all the

challenges,

all the

obstacles,

all the

pain.

And we

don't

understand,

but we

have to

have faith

that God's

will is so

superior to

our understanding

and our

beliefs.

God's will

is beyond

our wildest

understanding

and imagination

and we

just have to

come to

him and

trust him

and trust

that his

will is

best.

Now this

father states

to Jesus,

I do

believe.

Help me

overcome my

unbelief.

This man has

searched high

and low

everywhere

possible for

his son's

deliverance

from this

demon,

but up

until now

he's found

no answer.

So we

can understand

the difficulty

this man may

be having

with faith.

Maybe he's

just worried

that he

doesn't want

to get his

hopes up

just to be

crushed once

again.

But at least

he goes to

the father

or to

Jesus and

he says,

you know,

help my

unbelief.

He's coming

in total

honesty.

You know,

when we

struggle in

our faith

a little

bit,

just be

honest with

God.

You know,

I'm struggling

here.

I don't

understand.

I'm going

through pain

and sorrow,

Lord.

Just be

totally

transparent

with God

and share

with him

the hurt

or the pain

or the

doubt

that's creeping

into your

mind and

ask him

to help

you overcome

that unbelief.

Have him

help you,

give you

the faith

that you

need to

trust him

and his

will when

we don't

understand it,

we don't

like it,

and it's

hurtful or

painful,

that we can

trust God's

will even

when one of

our loved

ones pass

away and

die or

when they

continue to

experience pain.

Have you

ever been

there in a

situation like

that where

this man

found himself?

circumstances

beyond your

control?

You believe

that Christ

is more than

able to do

anything,

but maybe

because of the

circumstances of

life that you've

gone through,

life has beaten

you down,

life has been

painful and

hurt,

you're weary,

you're tired,

and you find

it difficult to

really believe

and we begin

to let that

doubt creep

into our minds.

Or maybe

you've prayed

about a

situation or

circumstance in

your life for

a very long

time.

You've prayed

for years

maybe even,

and up until

now you've

received no

answer.

For years

you've asked

God for a

specific answer,

but up until

now God has

not answered it

at least in

the way you

would like for

him to.

And we allow

ourselves to

have those doubts

creep in our

mind, where is

God?

Why is he not

with me?

Does he hear me?

Does he love me?

Is he able?

You know, what's

wrong with me?

You know, Paul

found himself in

a similar situation

like this, where

he found himself

with a thorn in

the flesh.

And for three

seasons, he

prayed and asked

God to remove

that thorn from

his flesh.

Listen to God's

response to him

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 12:8

chapter 12,

verses 8 and

9.

Three times I

pleaded with you,

Lord, to take it

away from me.

But he said to me,

my grace is

sufficient for you,

for my power is

made perfect in

weakness.

What did God

just tell Paul?

No.

That's basically

what he said,

isn't it?

Paul, it was, we

don't know what the

thorn was, but it

was painful, it was

difficult, it was a

challenge to him.

He may have even

seen it as a

hindrance to

continuing on his

ministry.

And he pleaded with

God, please remove

this thorn from my

flesh.

And God said, no.

So my grace is

sufficient for you.

Rest in me.

Endure the thorn.

Because God had

allowed the thorn to

enter into his life for

a purpose and a

reason, and he wasn't

removing that thorn until

it had accomplished the

purpose that God had

allowed it to be there in

the first place.

You know, maybe you're

in a situation like

that.

You've been praying,

asking God for

something, and he

says no.

But he's saying, my

grace is sufficient for

you.

Rest in me.

Rest in the power and

the strength of God and

trust him that he's

working in your life in

a way you don't

understand that's beyond

our comprehension at

this time.

Now drop down with me

to verse 28.

Verse 28, we see that

Jesus is alone with the

disciples, and they come

to him and they ask,

why were we not able to

cast out this demon?

And we see that Jesus

states, this kind can come

out only by prayer.

Some of your Bible

translations include

and fasting.

Prayer and fasting.

And the implication that I

gained from this is the

disciples had gone out in

chapter 6 in the name of

Christ, in the power and the

authority of Jesus Christ, and

they had gone out and they

were healing the sick and

they were casting out demons.

But they got so comfortable in

their abilities to do this, that

now Jesus was up on the

Mount of Transfiguration and

they were trying to cast that

demon out in their own power.

They were trying to cast that

demon out of this boy and heal

him in their own strength.

We're no match for Satan.

We're no match to the powers

of darkness when we go in our

own strength and our own power.

Jesus said this type can only

come out through prayer and we'll

add the word fasting on there.

Fasting is just an intense, a

more intense way to go to God in

prayer.

To do without what your physical

body needs to put God first and

to seek him or to cry out to

him, to beg him, to plead with

him, to intervene in a situation.

But to go in prayer.

You know, maybe you're facing a

circumstance or a situation right

now that you realize is beyond

your power.

It's beyond your ability.

Spend time praying.

Spend time pleading with God if

necessary.

Spend time lifting that up to

you.

First Peter says, cast all of our

burdens on him and trust him

because he cares for us.

Trust that he will work in that

situation.

There's also another message to us

here.

We get so comfortable, don't we,

at times doing church, being the

Christian, carrying out the work of

the church.

You know, we've, many of you've

been a Christian 40, 50, 60, 70

years and we get so comfortable

that we think we can handle things

in our own strength and our own

power and our own abilities.

But you know what?

If you look at the church in

America today, we have more

resources, whether it's money,

technology, we have more things

available to us to carry out the

work of God and yet we're seeing a

decline of the church.

And so if we can do what Christ had

called us to do in our own power and

our own strength and our own

resources, we had already done it.

But we can't.

When we try to do what God has

called us to do, to take the gospel

message to the world, we've got to

make sure we're doing that through

prayer and total, total, total

dependence upon Jesus Christ and his

power and his ability to work in and

through us.

Jesus said in John 15, 5,

I am the vine, you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in him, he

will bear much fruit.

Some of y'all who've done experience in

God, help me.

But apart from me,

you can do nothing.

What does that mean?

You can do some things?

You can do a portion of things?

Speak it.

Speak it.

Come on.

Nothing.

That means we as children of God can do

nothing if we're not abiding in Christ

and relying completely and totally in

him to do the work in us.

So as a church this morning, as a family,

as an individual, when you realize God

is leading us, whether it's to take the

gospel to the world, whether it's to do

vacation Bible school, whether it's to

sing in the choir, what do we learn from

this passage?

We can do nothing in and of ourselves.

We should get, if you're in the choir,

get up early on Sunday morning.

Stay up late on Saturday night and pray

and ask God to use the gift and talent

that he's bestowed upon you to bring

glory to him and to lead others in

worship because when you're singing a

song up here, you're not just up here

entertaining.

You're leading us in worship.

Whether we go out to do Bible school,

don't just say, well, I'm a teacher.

I know how to teach the word.

Spend time in prayer asking God to give

you every word.

Give you patience.

Speak into the hearts of these children.

Whether we're teaching a Sunday school class

or working in the youth or being an usher.

property and grounds.

Whatever we do, do it in the name of Jesus

and spend time in prayer.

Pray, pray, pray.

Asking God to use our church to be a lighthouse

in this community and take the gospel message

out of the walls of this building

and into our community, into families,

into homes.

Let's break down the walls of drug addiction

in this community.

Let's break down the walls of broken homes

and broken marriages.

In case y'all don't know, drugs have become

an epidemic inside our schools.

And we need to pray and pray and pray

that God is working, that God is moving,

that God is stirring.

In case you also haven't noticed,

we need a revival in America.

We are so desperate for God,

but we're not going to do it in our own strength,

in our own power.

We've got to rely on Jesus Christ

to work in and through us,

to work through our churches,

work through our sister churches,

work through pastors,

raise up pastors all across this land

to proclaim the word of God

in power and in strength

and to bring us as a nation back to Him.

I want to ask the musicians

if they'll come and begin leading us this morning

in our time of invitation.

Now I just want to ask you,

is God speaking to you today?

Is He speaking to your hearts,

drawing Him to you?

If you need to make a decision this morning,

I would just ask you to respond

during this time of invitation.

I'll be glad to pray with you here.

Let's stand as we sing.