“Confronting Our Unbeliefs”
"Confronting Our Unbeliefs"
Jesus: The Provocative Teacher Series
Sunday, August 17, 2008; Mark 9:14-29
Introduction: Holocaust denial is the claim that the genocide of the Jews during World War II—usually referred to as the Holocaust, did not occur in the manner or to the extent described by current scholarship. In the United States, the movement has been known in recent years primarily through the publication of editorial-style advertisements in college campus newspapers. One of the more recent denials has come from the President of Iran, who in a December 2005 speech said that the Holocaust was a fairy tale that had been promoted to protect Israel.
Even greater though than the denial of the Holocaust, is the denial of God and the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And yet, even with those who believe in Jesus, there is unbelief in how powerful He is and/or what He can do for you and me. This morning Jesus provokes people in regards to belief verses unbelief.
I. Unbelief- (Mark 9:18-24; Psalm 71:19-20)
a. Unbelief in the Bible- In our passage I just read, we see that there
is a situation where there is a boy who has been seized by a spirit that makes him do things he doesn’t want to do. The father of the boy brought the boy to Jesus’ disciples, but they couldn’t cast out the demon. Now the situation is brought to Jesus. When Jesus hears about all that has transpired, His response is: “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?...”
What a reaction this is from Jesus. Jesus rebukes the people, and His disciples in regards to their lack of faith. In His statement, there is a sense of despair on Jesus’ part as He realizes the immense task that is before Him, the task of training and preparing the disciples to be men of God, and capable of carrying on the ministry after He leaves.
The father himself is rebuked by Jesus. The father tells Jesus the story, but then finishes his story with the words: “…but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus responds, by saying: “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” Which causes the father to quickly answer: “I believe; help my unbelief.”
Now, it might sound as if Jesus is saying to the man, “The healing of your boy depends not on me, but on your faith.” Theologically we know this is not true. Jesus could heal the boy regardless of another person’s faith. But if a person doesn’t have faith going in, then the healing will not create true faith. The father may believe for a time, but his faith will not take root, because when the next problem comes along, he will again doubt.
NO, our faith has to be outside of the miracles and actions of God. Our faith has to be rooted in the trusting in God; in the good and the bad. We have to believe that God is our creator, and that God has our ultimate good in mind. We see this sentiment in Psalm 71:19-20, “Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you? 20 Though you have allowed me to suffer much hardship, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” Our faith is not to be determined by God’s actions, but by the understanding that God will be there for us at all times, and in all ways.
This is how Jesus is challenging the father and the people around Him; where is your faith? How can you allow this occurrence to cause you to doubt? How can you let what is seen affect the faith you have in the unseen? If this is the case, if you can doubt so easily, then your faith is not strong.
b. Contemporary unbelief- In our current day, there is much that
can cause us to doubt; to have unbelief. We can get caught up in the materialism of the world. We can get caught up in the spirit of independence, which causes us to not think that we need God. Or we can get caught up in the thinking that belief in Jesus and the God of the Bible is too narrow a view.
Recently this view has been perpetuated by Oprah Winfrey. I recently viewed a youtube video where Oprah had spoken about denying Jesus Christ. She says that this came about when she was in her late 20's and her pastor talked about God being a "jealous God." It didn't make sense to her that God, who was supposed to be all-powerful and all-loving, could be jealous of her. How could that be?
This led Oprah into a new venture of faith where she sought answers outside of the framework of the all-powerful God she had believed in as a young adult. She got to the place where she believed that there couldn't possibly be one way. On her show, when she was challenged by a member of the audience, about Jesus being the only way, all she could do in response was to repeat over and over again, "There couldn't possibly be one way." This led her to New Age doctrines, and the development of a "New Earth Web class."
Why should we be so concerned about this? Because Oprah has a faithful following of millions of viewers who are easily swayed by her philosophies. Any time that she promotes a book through her book club or television show, it instantly becomes a best seller! By offering this new earth web class, she is seeking to lead people away from Jesus Christ, and towards other doctrine. She is doing that with statements like this: "Who you are requires no belief."…. "Heaven is not a location, but refers to the inner realm of consciousness."…. "The man on the cross is an archetypal image. He is every man and every woman."…. "My mind is part of God's; I am very holy."…. "My holiness is my salvation."…. "My salvation comes from me."…. "Let me remember there is no sin."…. "Do not make the pathetic error of 'clinging to the Old Rugged Cross.'" AND "The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross."
If we don’t have a strong faith, it doesn’t take much to cause unbelief!
II. Jesus Heals the Boy- (Mark 9:25-27; John 20:27-29)
a. Bring him to me- There is a window in each person’s heart. When
and if this window is clear, then we can see God and we believe. But many times in life, this window is not clear; it is like looking through a beveled window, all that can be seen is shades of light, and flickering of shadows. Most often this happens when things aren’t going our way. Most often this happens when we don’t get the answers we expect. Most often this happens when we are struggling in life.
This is where the father of the boy was; he was struggling. How difficult would it be to see your son possessed by a spirit? How awful would it be to see him be injured by actions he couldn’t control? How terrible would it be to not be able to make things better? And even more, there is the despair that has come when he brings his boy to the disciples, followers of Jesus. They attempt to cast out the spirit, but they are unsuccessful. It seems as if all is lost; the last hope has been dashed. That is why he says to Jesus: “If you are able to do anything.”
But Jesus’ response is with authority: “If you are able!” With Jesus’ statement there is a sense of fear, and yet hope in the man. “…help my unbelief…” And then Jesus simply says: “Bring the boy to me.” This even brings more hope. Jesus doesn’t make excuses for what hasn’t been done. Jesus doesn’t express any doubt Himself. With authority and confidence he says: “Bring the boy to me.”
This statement reminds us that what we can’t do on our own, Jesus can do. This statement reminds us that we are not to dwell on the state of the world (which can lead us to depression), but to dwell on the state of who Jesus is. Jesus reminds us that it is about believing in Jesus, and what Jesus can do. AND SO THE BOY IS BROUGHT TO JESUS, AND WITH THESE WORDS CASTS OUT THE EVIL SPIRIT: “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
This causes an immediate reaction by the spirit, as it sends the boy into convulsions, but then ultimately comes out of the boy. This was such a violent reaction, that at first the boy is still, as if dead. But Jesus takes him by the hand, lifts him up, and hands him over to his father!
b. A restoring of faith- Could you imagine witnessing this? The
scripture says that when the boy is brought to Jesus, it causes a crowd to COME RUNNING over to Jesus. The crowd had great expectations. And they weren’t disappointed, because Jesus did cast out the spirit.
There is a lesson to be learned here: When we remember what Jesus has done for us in the past, it restores our faith. This healing of the boy gave great hope, and renewed faith to the father. And when God works in your life, and in mine, our faith is renewed as well.
But what about all those times when it doesn’t seem like God is at work. I could name many right now in regards to our church: someone needs a place to live, and they can’t find one; someone needs to be healed, and they haven’t been; someone needs a job, and they can’t seem to find one; we would like to see more people in our church, learning about God and serving God, but they aren’t coming; and on and on I could go. What happens when we don’t see God at work? What happens when it seems as if God is silent to our requests?
One of the best known stories of doubting is with the disciple, Thomas. Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, but Thomas wasn’t there. When the disciples tell Thomas about it, his response is that he won’t believe it until he sees it for himself. A week later, Jesus comes back. We pick it up in John 20:27-29, “Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ 28Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
True faith comes even when we can’t see what God is doing. True faith is when we trust in God even though we don’t understand why things are happening the way they are. True faith is about believing that our life will work out according to God’s plan when we put our faith in God.
III. Why Couldn’t We Do It?- (Mark 9:28-29, 3:14-15)
a. Destination- Story: Have you ever taken a long car ride with
children? If you have, then you know what I’m talking about when I say that it is not easy. Two times in the last 5 years we have driven to South Dakota and back. It is a trip of over 1500 miles. Part of the challenge is the destination. Our ultimate destination is South Dakota, but along the way the kids might see something that looks tantalizing (a McDonald’s with a play area; an ice cream shop; a gift store), and when they see it, they want to stop. They want to stop both because they want to get out of the car, but also because it provides something fun for them to do.
In our faith journey, we have a similar problem; destination. God has a destination for us, but as we travel along the way, we see things that make us want to take a diversion. The journey itself can at times be a struggle, it can seem long and boring, it can be bumpy, it can be windy, it can be hot and uncomfortable. And all of these things make us want to bail on the trip. But, just like my kids, who had a great time once we got to our destination, so we will be blessed at each stop of the journey when we trust in God.
After Jesus has healed the boy, they entered the house, and Jesus and the disciples are alone. At this moment, they have an important question for Jesus: “Why could we not cast it out?” This was a legitimate question, because earlier in Mark, Jesus had sent them out for this reason. Let me read for you Mark 3:14-15, “He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.”
b. Prayer- Jesus’ answer, in verse 29, is important for the disciples
and for us. He simply says to them: “This kind can come out only through prayer.” In effect, Jesus is saying that they weren’t living close enough to God. God may have given us gifts, and a call, but without God, our gift will not have power.
God may have called me to preach His message, but if I am not connected with Him, then my words will fall on deaf ears. I know that when I pray much before each Sunday, I have many more people come up to me after the service to tell me that I preached a good sermon. I KNOW that this is the work of God, and not my own doing! God may have given you the gift of building relationships with others. But unless you are connected with God, your gift will not lead these people into a relationship with Christ. God may have given you the gift of helps, but unless you are connected with God, the work will get done, but it won’t bless others the way it will if you have given it over to God and let God be a part of it!
Unless we maintain this contact with God, we lose two things: First, we lose our vitality by not have the living power of God flowing through us. Instead of it being an offering of ourselves to God, it becomes a performance. It may not be meant as a performance, but that is how it will be seen. Second, we lose our humility. What should be used for God’s glory we begin to use for our own. In doing this, we lose the virtue of the gift. What should have been used to lift up God before people ends up setting ourselves up. In this the loveliness of the act is lost.
This isn’t just true for individuals, it is true of churches as well. While on vacation, God put it on my heart (as He had put it on my mind by the suggestions of others) that we as a church need to be in prayer more. Prayer is probably the most important activity we do as Christians. But it is easy to get too busy and not pray, it is easy to get caught up in the doing of ministry and not pray, it is easy to forget the power of prayer and not pray. J. Oswald Sanders, in his book “Prayer Power Unlimited,” says:
“The supreme importance of prayer is tacitly admitted by most evangelical
Christians. It is accepted as an article of faith. And yet there are few areas of
the Christian life in which there are more regretful confessions of failure
and disappointment.” (Preface)
Later on in the book, in regards to the power that comes from united prayer, he says:
“When a number of Christians unite in prayer for a given person or
objective, it is the uniform teaching of Scripture that this brings special
power into operation, for their gathering demonstrates that oneness
that God delights to see and acknowledge.” (p.155)
I believe that what our church needs now, more than ever, is times of united prayer. So in the coming months, look for us to schedule times of gathered prayer. I hope that you will all seek to commit yourselves to these opportunities for us to pray together, for our church, and for our outreach into the community, but most of all for our connectedness with God.
posted by Logan's Blog at 1:22 PM
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