DK - I Believe but help my unbelief

Nathan Jones

Courageous Faith • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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MONTHLY THEME: Courageous Faith

ALL THE HERO'S OF FAITH HAD ONE THING IN COMMON

They demonstrated courageous faith – on their way to the triumph they moved through doubt and unbelief

Craig Groeschel - Christian Atheist: Read Book Section

The Power of Unbelief

Unbelief keeps up stuck where we are / It can rob us of peace & joy

It is so powerful it stops God moving in our lives / It keeps Him at a distance

SO MANY WAYS IN WHICH DOUBT CAN MANIFEST IN OUR LIVES

HAVING COURAGEOUS FAITH IN SPITE OF OUR DOUBTS

MESSAGE TITLE: I Believe but help my unbelief

PRAYER

Sharing from passage in Mark 9 - A story of courageous faith

Mark 9:17-27 NLT

17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.” 19 Jesus said to them,[c] “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

JESUS IS FRUSTRATED BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF AND LACK OF FAITH

Not because they were arguing / not because of the chaos, disunity and confusion

HIS HUMANITY

We don’t have all the details but we can safely say that this guy was facing the greatest challenge of his life It’s easy to believe when things are easy

His son is not right physically and mentally – a heart breaking place for a parent

I WONDER IF HE HAD PREVIOUSLY LOOKED FOR ANSWERS ELSEWHERE – IN THE NATURAL

Thinking his son had a medical condition that was causing this problem

I wonder if he had got his hope up after looking for help in other places

Maybe he had looked thoroughly in the natural and realised it was a spiritual problem

SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS

Now, let me be clear, not every problem stems from a spiritual problem.

We can be sick just because we are sick, it’s not always a demon.

But sometimes we need to go a bit deeper to see if what we are going through stems from spiritual problem

In any case, this Dad is desperate, he’s facing an impossible situation – There was a big problem and no one had been able to help

IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS

IN MY WORLD – IT’S THEN THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT GOD HAS BEEN AT WORK IN YOUR LIFE

THIS BOY WAS UNWELL – SOMETHING WAS WRONG AND HE NEEDED A BREAKTHROUGH Do you need a breakthrough today? HIS DAD LOVED AND CARED ABOUT HIM Do you know someone today, someone that you love and care about, that needs a breakthrough today?

IN THE FACE OF AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION THIS DAD DOESN’T GIVE UP – HE IS COURAGEOUS

WHEN HE GETS HIS SON TO THE DISCIPLES AND THEY BEGIN TO TRY TO CAST OUT THE EVIL SPIRIT

THE DISCIPLES HAS BEEN EMPOWERED

He took his son to the people that we supposed to be able to do the job – no, still no results

HE MUST HAVE FELT LET DOWN – LET DOWN BY THE DISCIPLES – LET DOWN BY PEOPLE

EVER BEEN LET DOWN BY PEOPLE?

WE NEED OTHER PEOPLE IN OUR WORLD – OUR FAITH IS OUTWORKED WITH OTHER

We need to have people pray for us – that’s important

We do life together right? Yep, that supper important. We need each other.

SOMETIMES, THOUGH, WE ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO FIGHT A BATTLE THAT ONLY WE CAN FIGHT

Sometimes they are carrying a load themselves and can’t carry any more

Sometimes we need to go straight to Jesus

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

FATHER HAS TRIED EVERYTHING

What if the man had given up right there: THIS GOD THING JUST DOESN’T WORK. But he had courageous faith, he took him to Jesus.

Mark 9:20-24

20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. 21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father. He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” IF YOU CAN – A STATEMENT OF UNBELIEF

IF YOU CAN – Fuelled by: past experience / experience in the natural / being let down by people

23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

I BELIEVE BUT HELP MY UNBELIEF

What an incredible declaration and demonstration of courageous faith

JESUS SAYS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF A PERSON BELIEVES, IF WE HAVE FAITH

HOW MUCH DO WE NEED? MUSTARD SEED

Mark 9:20-21

28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?” 29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.

THIS WAS A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM – So, how do we know when it is?

When we activate our faith and things begin to shift – it’s spiritual

When we pray and we see a shift, it’s spiritual

WHEN THE BOY RECEIVED HEALING HE WAS DELIVERED, HEALED AND SET FREE

WHEN THE BOY WAS HEALED THE FATHER WAS DELIVERED, HEALED AND SET FREE

He was set free from carrying what he had been carrying all those years

HE WAS SET FREE FROM ANY GUILT & SHAME HE WAS CARRYING

LIVING IN THE PAST / MOVING BEYOND MISTAKES

THIS MAN HAD BEEN DELIVERED AND SET FREE

The cross gives us freedom to move past our mistakes / to not live in the past

He wants us to learn from our mistakes and move beyond them

We are not our sin – We are not who others say we are – we are who He says we are - We are His children – we’re forgivable – we are changeable

Through repentance and God’s forgiveness, these things transform our life us and teach us