Mark: Lessons in Failure [Mark 9:14-29]

Brian Larkin

The gospel of mark • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Mark: Lessons in Failure []

Stand for the reading of the word of God []

Many years ago [10-15 years ago] I was out bow hunting for deer on an early crisp November morning. Those of you who are deer hunters know what a crisp early November morning means…it means the rut! i.e. big bucks are on the move! I looked out over the field I was hunting when a nice 8 pointer came out chasing a doe. There were several bucks and does out there that morning but this 8 pointer was the best one.

Well I noticed the 8 pointer get a little nervous and out from the woods walks this big 10 pointer…he was the stud obviously because the way all the other bucks just avoided him. Instantly my heart rate just went through the roof. This guy was the biggest buck I had seen on stand and with a bow in hand I knew all I could do was wait and hope he came within 30 yards [He was about 200 yards out at the time].

So after watching him for a few minutes, and getting antsy, I decided to use a deer call and try to draw him in. It had never really worked for me before to call in a big deer but it was worth the try. I hit my call twice and he looked right in my direction and here he came…walking right down the wood line toward me. I knew if he kept on the same path he was walking he would walk 15 yards in front of me and that is a chip shot, a done deal, no one misses at that distance.

He kept coming and here he was 15 yards, I grunted to stop him and he stopped, I can’t believe it’s working out so perfectly like this…I draw back my bow…and if you’re a bow hunter you know that’s usually where you mess things up when you draw the bow back and the movement scares the deer…not this time. I’m at full draw, the deer is at 15 yards, broadside, standing still and has no idea I’m about to bag him. I’m already thinking about how awesome he’ll look on the wall, and the story I have to tell…and right as I pull the trigger on my release, my bow arm jumps and I shot the deer right in the butt, oops I meant rear end. I watch him run off with my arrow sticking out of his hind end and I sit down in utter disbelief. [by the way for those who are not deer hunters, that’s not where you want to shoot them].

I start running through my mind, what just happened? How did I mess that up, why did my arm jump like that? I was devastated! I sat there for 15 minutes trying not to cry when I thought, I’ll get down and just check maybe I got lucky and hit an artery or something, or maybe my eyes played a trick on me and I hit hit better than I thought. I knew exactly where he ran so I went over there and there was really good blood, so I thought great I got lucky or I hit him better than I thought. I followed the blood, it was a good blood trail. But the problem was I wasn’t thinking it’s only been a few minutes, I was so shook up that I just started following the blood trail right away. I tracked him for about 600-700 yards when there he was sitting down looking at me with my arrow in his backside…he saw me too and off he went. at that time I knew I really messed up. As he ran off I left for a while and came back a few hours later with several guys and we looked for two days for that deer never to be found.

That hunting experience taught me some very very valuable lessons in the deer woods. Never be over confident, never push a deer to quickly, and don’t shoot deer in the butt. Well several years later I would get the chance to redeem myself in that same stand and the exact same scenario happened with different results as I bagged the biggest buck I had ever shot.

We can learn a lot from our failures. Which is what we are going to focus on today in our text. While failure is never fun and seldom something we delight in because it can be painful, embarrassing, and humiliating…it can serve to teach us valuable lessons. Our response to failure is perhaps more vital, we will fail…our vital response is...it’ll either make you bitter or better. It’ll either draw you away from the savior to drive you to the savior.

Our message today can be summed up in one sentence. [in your outline]

MI: We will fail, but God uses these failures to deepen our dependence on Him, our faith in Christ, and our discipline to prayer.

Failure deepens our need for dependence on Christ []

Last week we looked at Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, this crowd from today’s text is waiting for Jesus and the 3 disciples to return. Mountain top experiences are wonderful and we need them from time to time to recharge our spiritual batteries…God never intended for us to stay there. He want’s us “down here” among and serving the hurting. God’s wants us ministering to those devastated by the fall and sin. As Christians we are agents of God’s redemptive love in Christ Jesus and we go in His name and in His presence…to forget that is to open ourselves up for a lot of difficulty and failure. We need to learn from these failures.

1. We need Christ when facing our critics []: read verse 14, the scribes were disputing with the other disciples, the nine not with Jesus. These religious critics are now arguing with the disciples since Jesus is away. The bible doesn’t tell us what they were arguing about…but you can pretty much guess that because the disciples were unable to cast out the evil spirit from the boy that these critics jumped all over them. Whatever the argument, the disciples are face to face with their critics.

We often face critics in our lives, especially if you proclaim to follow Jesus. Those critics will often be all over you as a follower of Jesus when you fail. You ever hear someone say, “Christians think their perfect”? That is the wrong perspective. If fact if a person claims to be Christian and perfect…I would say they are not saved…because to be save one must know they are not perfect and in desperate need of someone to redeem them from that imperfect state…and that’ what Christ has done. He offers salvation to the flawed.

When faced with critics…look to Jesus. Notice verse 15…great verse, “Saw Jesus, amazed, ran to Him. when face to face with critics point them to Jesus, don’t look at me look at Him…when you do that…people will be amazed at Him. We need Christ when facing critics which deepens our dependence upon Him.

2. We need Christ when faced with the demonic []: Jesus asked what the arguments were and they answered him. There was a boy possessed by an evil spirit that caused him to have seizures, foaming at the mouth, gnashing his teeth. The spirit would throw him in the fire and water to destroy him, and it left the boy in a state where you could not communicate to him, Jesus referred to the spirit as deaf and dumb. This is a absolutely heart breaking picture. Those of you with children know the last thing you want to see is your children hurting or suffering…this boy is trapped in his own body, unable to communicate, unable to help himself, unable to control his actions, if the father isn’t watching this boy 24-7 it may be fatal. My heart breaks for this father, my heart goes out to those parents with children that have special needs, that are suffering from cancer, or other diseases. We should pray for these parents and offer them help.

In this case the boy is possessed by a demon. there are many lessons here we could learn but I don’t won’t to get side-tracked by the demonic, but we can’t avoid it either. A few lessons 1.) demons are real, they are not mythological creatures, Jesus clearly believes in the demonic. they are no match for Jesus 2.) Demons desire to inflict pain and death and can cause physical suffering. 3) in our own strength we are powerless against supernatural powers of the demonic. 4) spiritual victories in the past are no guarantee we will be victorious today, especially when we operate with faith in ourselves rather than faith in Christ…we need to turn to Jesus first.

3. We need Christ’s correction in our defeats []: Notice the words of Jesus, “faithless generation” or ‘unbelieving’ this seems like a hard statement…well it is. Correction is seldom pleasant…correction often cuts but they also cure. I believe Jesus is directing this rebuke towards the disciples specifically, the rest of Jesus’ ministry will be focused on teaching the disciples. This also expresses Jesus frustration with His disciples as well. As one commentator captured a glimpse of what Christ may have felt, he said, “imagine the loneliness and the anguish of the one authentic believer in a world which expresses only unbelief.”

Sinclair Ferguson said, “Mark vividly captures the pressures and frustrations of Christ’s life in these verses. On the mountaintop he had been faced with the spiritual short-sightedness of his disciples. Here in the valley he was confronted by their unbelief.”

Whenever the the disciples are separated from Jesus, they get in trouble and experience a crisis. What a lesson for us to remember. our failures deepen our need for dependence upon Jesus.

Failure deepens our need for faith in Christ []

1. The key to faith is direction []: Hebrews tells us it is impossible to please God without faith. But how much faith do we need? A lot? Does it have to be perfect faith? No! Faith the size of a mustard seed is good enough. The key is not the depth of our faith but the direction of our faith. It’s not the potency of our faith but the person our faith is in. A little faith in a great savior goes a long way.

Notice in verse 20…their moving in the right direction, “they brought the boy to Jesus.” That’s all they needed to do. If we would just remember that phrase right there, They brought him to Jesus. Bring someone to Jesus, bring your failure to Jesus, bring your hurt to Jesus…take it to Jesus first! We would save ourselves a lot of frustration if we’d just remember that little phrase…bring it to Jesus.

The father’s faith is not perfect either, he said in verse 22, “but, if you can do anything…help us.” i.e. the father said I think you’re willing to help but I’m not sure if you can…this is the complete opposite of the leper that was healed earlier in Mark’s gospel who said, I know you can heal me but I’m not sure if your willing to. Both positions have a misunderstanding or unbelief in Jesus yet he helps both…isn’t that just a good word for you? Jesus is both able and willing to help those in need if we turn to him in faith.

2. The key to faith is dependence upon Christ []: Jesus said, verse 23, just believe. It’s that simple, just believe in me. well you say there’s got to be more than that, don’t I have to do something or say a certain prayer, or jump through some hoops??? No just believe. And this man says one of the greatest prayers in all the bible, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Have you prayed that prayer? We all have times of failure and unbelief…when we do prayer Lord I belief, help my unbelief. It’s a great prayer.

Then Jesus rebuked the spirit and the spirit came out of the boy but it left the boy as dead. The people said, “he’s dead” But I love verse 27…the best verse in this whole section. “Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.” I cannot help but think of when I read that verse, , he made you alive who were dead in your sins…but God who is rich in mercy made you alive in Christ and raised you up…by grace you have been saved…not by your efforts…it’s a gift of God. The key to faith is dependence upon Christ and Christ alone!

Failure deepens our need for discipline to prayer []

1. Failure should lead us to ask questions about ourselves []: After Jesus was successful in casting out the demon the disciples begin to question why couldn’t they do that…after all they had before. When Jesus sent them out earlier they went in the power of Jesus and did the works of Jesus…so why could they not cast out this one?

Introspection is a healthy spiritual discipline when it cause us to examine our weaknesses and confront our limitations. Presumptuous self-sufficiency may be viewed as a great strength to the world, but it is deadly to our spiritual lives.

The disciples failed big time. It was public, it brought ridicule, it cast doubt on their master, and it filled them with doubt…we never sin in a vacuum, it’s hurting someone. So they asked… “why could we not cast this demon out?” The question itself gives us insight into the minds of the disciples. They were resting on their laurels, it suggests a since of pride in their past accomplishments…i.e. we did it before why didn’t it work again? That’s a great question…they were victorious in the past why not in the present??? let’s hone in here so we don’t miss what Jesus is trying to convey. while failure should lead us to ask questions about ourselves…

2. Failure should drive us to God in prayer and humility []: Jesus response is powerful and insightful. He says this kind can come out only by prayer and fasting. this kind refers to casting out demons and other spiritual conflicts... not that there are some demons that can be cast out with out prayer. What Jesus is saying is actually very simple…and there has been many many terrible sermons and ideas given because of what Jesus said here. It’s real simple, Jesus is not saying this was a special kind of evil therefore it needed a special kind of prayer and fast…that’s not it…Jesus says…you didn’t pray. i.e. the disciples sought to take on this battle in their own strength and it didn’t work…Jesus said, you should have said your prayers. It’s that simple. Prayer aligns our wills with the will of God.

Jesus is conveying if you take the field of spiritual battle and you go in your own power and ability or even with the presumption that God is going to fight for you…your going to lose that battle…therefore you should PRAY! Pray! Pray! How often do you hear from believers “my prayer life is not what it should be.”??? Why because the discipline of prayer is hard!

One commentator said, “Faith bridges the gap between God’s power and human weakness, and that faith is experienced and exercised through prayer. Could this be why prayer is one of the most difficult of the spiritual disciplines? Could this by why we don’t see greater things in missions, our churches, and our personal lives? Is this why Paul said…pray without ceasing in Thessalonians 5:17?”

Here’s the truth of it…the power of prayer will not be experienced if we don’t pray! How do we pray? Humbly…when was the last time you got down on your knees before God and prayed?

Conclusion: This morning we are going to take the Lord’s supper, but I want us to have an opportunity to pray. While we sing our invitational song I invite you to come forward get down on your knees and pray…Lord I believe help my unbelief.

You want to see the power of God move in your life like never before??? Pray! I invite you to come.

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