Journey Through Matthew: Ye of Little Faith!
Journey Through Matthew • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsWhen we place our faith squarely in Jesus Christ, we can do anything. This is true because if God has called us to be, do, or go, then God will provide a way to make it happen. However, oftentimes we miss the point that God sometimes moves through other people and circumstances in our lives rather than whirlwinds from heaven. God is present in all things.
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Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day and maybe even was able to get some rest.
This evening we are going to return to our Journey Through Matthew, looking at the subject of “Ye of Little Faith!”
So, if you would like, start turning in your Bibles to .
In just a moment I will be picking up with verse 14 and we will be reading through verse 20.
Also, just for reference the account we are going to be talking about tonight is also recorded in and and I will be sort of bouncing back and forth between Matthew and Mark.
Now, if you can remember all the way back to last Sunday morning, we looked at the Transfiguration and God the Father’s instructions to the Disciples (AND TO US) to “Listen to what Jesus says.”
In fact, just to refresh us, tells us . . .
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
And that was really the main point, that when Jesus is teaching, they should be listening.
And when the Holy Spirit is teaching us, we also should be listening.
Whether that teaching is from the Word, from experience, from other people, from the circumstances in our lives, there is always a lesson and we should always be listening and responding to what we are being taught.
Also, remember that at this point Jesus, James, John, and Peter are away from the rest of the disciples.
And while they are away there are some other things going on back at the disciples base camp, which is where our Scripture tonight picks up.
So, if you have found again in your Bibles, I’d invite you stand with me as I read.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The Disciples Can’t Do Anything (vs 14-16)
The Disciples Can’t Do Anything (vs 14-16)
Now, also remember that Matthew is pretty good about giving us the facts, but where he sometimes lacks is that he does not give some of the details surround the facts.
Which is one reason why we have (4) Gospel accounts and not just one.
So, our passage in Matthew starts out with . . .
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
Which is 100% accurate, but there is more to it than just a man in a crowd coming and knelling before Jesus.
Mark tells us . . .
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
Mark 9:
So, remember now, Jesus, James, John, and Peter are away and they are just now getting back.
And as they are walking up to the camp, they see a large crowd of people gathered around and see a bunch of arguing and angry people.
We have the teachers of the law, or the Jews and the rest of the people, including the other disciples.
And the other disciples are engaged in an argument with the Jews.
But then, as they see Jesus approaching . . .
15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
Mark 9
And of course Jesus wanted to know what was going on at this point . . .
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
Mark 9:16
And the response . . .
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 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.”
Mark 9:
Which is the crux of the entire argument.
This man had brought his son, looking for Jesus, but of course Jesus was gone.
However, he found the other disciples and presented the child to them to be healed.
But, they couldn’t do it for some reason.
And the Jews took this as an opportunity to pounce on them, accusing them of being fakes and frauds, unable to carry through on what they said they could do.
And of course the disciples fired back.
They didn’t know why they couldn’t drive out this demon, but they still were not going to be called a fraud and a fake by anyone.
How Long Do I Put Up With You (vs 17-18)
How Long Do I Put Up With You (vs 17-18)
So, we have this child that is possessed by a demon, who has (1) robbed the boy of speech, (2) basically throws the child into seizures (foaming at the mouth, gnashing teeth, becoming rigid).
In fact, in Matthew it actually says . . .
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
Matthew
Which brings us to the third thing, it throws him into the fire or into the water.
Mark’s account says this . . .
20 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. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “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.”
Mark 9:20
So this man is distraught by it because Jesus and his disciples were this guys only hope and now it seems like that wasn’t even going to help his son.
And this man is distraught by it because Jesus and his disciples were this guys only hope and now it seems like that wasn’t even going to help his son.
So, he is actually pretty desperate and hopeless.
And Jesus’ response to all of this is a bit strange. He tells them . . .
17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
Matthew 17:
It’s almost as if Jesus is annoyed by their unbelief.
And it is not just unbelief. Notice he also calls them a perverse generation, meaning that they are refusing to put their faith and belief in God.
They are putting faith and belief in everything but God.
They are putting all their hope and faith in the doctors and nurses.
In the self-help books and gurus.
In the ump-teen billion belief systems and worldly ideas.
In themselves.
Unwilling to see or acknowledge the truth.
Unwilling to place the boy in the hands of the only one who could really help him.
So Jesus asks them, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
And to be honest, it gets a bit old sometimes.
We teach and preach and do all we can to try to show people the truth of God, and they won’t listen.
We do all we can to help them, and they just refuse.
And you honestly want to throw up your hands and say “fine, have it your way!”
But you can’t do that.
You can’t quit.
You can’t give up.
There is too much at stake.
And even though Jesus said this, maybe trying to get them to slow down and think a bit.
He didn’t quit on them.
He didn’t give up.
He tells them, bring the boy to me!
Bring him to Jesus.
Bring them all to Jesus, because giving up is not an option.
There is too much at stake.
And when we get tired and want to give up and quit, we need to come to Jesus ourselves.
We need to be renewed and refreshed ourselves.
Because quitting is not an option.
So, they bring the boy to Jesus and again in , it says . . .
22 “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.”
Notice the father says if you can do anything…Do you sense his hesitation? His sense of unbelief.
Jesus immediately fires back . . .
23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Do we believe that tonight?
Do we believe that God can do absolutely everything?
Or are we like so many in the world who limit God?
Who think there are things that even God can’t do?
That’s not hope.
That’s not faith.
And that is the main problem as to why the disciples couldn’t even do it.
It was too hard.
There was too much to it.
There was a fundamental flaw in their faith.
And after Jesus rebuked them, the father responds . . .
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
So Jesus took care of it . . .
So Jesus took care of it . . .
So Jesus took care of it . . .
25 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.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Mark 9:25
So, apparently, at this point, this child’s father had more faith than Jesus’ own disciples.
18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
Faith Can Do All Things (vs 19-20)
Faith Can Do All Things (vs 19-20)
Which did leave them a little confused.
So, after it was all over with . . .
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
And Jesus straight up tells them why, because there is no more time for fun and games . . .
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:
And before we get into that though, there is a bit more to it though in Mark.
And I am going to to show you the KJV translation because it is more accurate it this case . . .
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Mark
So, Jesus is actually telling them a couple of things here.
(KJV 1900)
(KJV)
Altar Call
Altar Call
First he is calling them out on their lack of faith.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
And the aspect of faith is very important here because in the case of this demon, he was very stubborn.
28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
It was only by prayer and fasting that they would be able to accomplish this task.
And the reason is what does prayer and fasting do?
It increases our faith and our dependence on God.
And Jesus is telling them here, basically, “your marginal and shallow faith can get you by for a little while, but if you don’t increase your faith over time, you ain’t gonna make it.”
There is going to come a time when things get hard and this shallow stuff is not going to work.
You are going to have to buckle down and start taking things seriously.
Because what they had done was when it got too hard they just threw up their hands and gave up.
Said, “Oh well, we can’t do it.”
No, Jesus says when it gets hard, you do what you need to do to increase your faith and gain the strength to overcome it.
Which is prayer and fasting.
And when we are prayed up and where we need to be, it will be easy to overcome things like this.
Jesus says . . .If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Altar Call
Altar Call
Which is really all Jesus ever tries to teach us.
Altar Call
Put our faith in Him.
Trust God for all things.
Have just a little bit of faith.
If we do, then we can overcome anything and everything.
Nothing will be impossible…NOTHING.
The question is, do we believe that?
Do we live our lives standing on that promise?
Or do we waver a bit here and there?
When things go good our faith is good, but when they go bad, our faith is shaken and we tend to give up and run away.
The truth is, moving a mountain is a trivial thing compared to some of the things we go through in life.
Do we have the faith to endure?
The man in our story believed, but also asked Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief.
Is that our prayer tonight?
Do we need help overcoming our own unbelief?
Tonight we have an opportunity to ask Jesus for that help.
We are going to put on some music and you should take this opportunity to pray.
Pray where you are or at the altar, but I would encourage you to lift up your voice and ask the Lord to open your heart and increase your faith.
Ask for the help that only you know you need.
The altar is open and the time is now.