Help me with my unbelief...
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Good morning! today we are going to be talking about finding faith… which can sometimes seem like an impossible endeavor… Have you ever lost anything? Maybe your keys, and you needed to leave 5 minutes ago… It’s amazing how quickly your anxiety levels rise. You retrace your steps, but with each passing minute you feel a little more hopeless, you start to look in silly places, like the freezer and in the plants, you have just about given up, when you look down in your hand only to see that you had them the whole time.
You feel relieved, but at the same time bothered because you failed to see what was there right in front of you....
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
You see I know this, but sometimes I feel more like Charlie Brown… Last week was one of those weeks… Which is why I can relate to the demon possessed boy’s dad in Mark 9:14-29
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.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
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.”
THIS is the case of a man who knew what he wanted, and was full of anxiety to obtain it… He prayed earnestly for it. He even prayed to the right person, but he ha not received the blessing that he sought....
We probably know many people that are clueless to their spiritual condition. They have many spiritual needs, but they don’t know what they are. This man had a clear understanding of what was needed for him and for his son.
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
Jesus shifts the attention the REAL problem… Lack of faith! It was a generation of unbelievers.
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.”
The yeah, buts:
My problem is too big… its beyond your power (v.18)
I’ve already done so much… I took him to your disciples
My problem is too serious (v.22) It tries to kill him
Can you do anything??? HELP US
23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Did you notice? The boy’s father asks for help a second time, but the focus is different. The first time he asked for help, he asked Jesus to solve their problem. The second time he asked for help he asked to change his posture.
True faith requires humility… it requires a change of posture...
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Faith is more than just belief, it is trust. It can be difficult to submit our lives to God. Humility does not come easy to me, many times I find myself trying to wrestle control from God’s mighty hand. Many times I think I am stronger than I really am. Peter encourages us in that the same mighty hand that lets us suffer will on day exalt us James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Peter then referred to Jesus’ words of encouragement in the sermon on the Mount (Mt 6:25-32) while quoting Ps 55.22
22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
All of our anxieties can be cast… on Him. Christ sustains us because He cares. Our confidence rests in the fact that Christ is genuinely concerned for our welfare.
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure 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.
We need to be in a posture that allows our faith to overcome our fears..
Many, like this father may doubt Jesus’ ability to save, but it is precisely this ability we celebrate in communion.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Pray for communion