Don't Stop Believin' Series

Don’t Stop Believin'

Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see a group of people who were on the verge of not believing. They had lost hope b/c of the circumstances they were in. But Jesus came along and gave them a message that we can still use today. And that message is “Don’t stop believing.”

Mark 9:14-27 NIV - 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.”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.”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.”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!” 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.

Bckgrd: Jesus and His followers always had a difficult time w/the religious leaders of the day. When He came along they saw Him as a threat to their way of life, as someone who was trying to pull people away from their religion. But Jesus had come to give them freedom. He’d come to give them life.

-The problem was, and still is, that this world is rough! We face disappointments, busted relationships, financial hardship, loss of job, and the loss of people we love. We live in a world of great uncertainty. And so the belief that we have a God who loves and cares for us can be hard to grasp when put in the light of our present reality.

-In our text, a man has a son who’s demon possessed. His son was overwhelmed w/the presence of evil in his life and the dad was desperate for help; he was desperate for deliverance. But his biggest obstacle in seeing it was the belief factor.

-I know there are people here who face the same thing. They want freedom but they don’t know where to find it. It’s here Jesus shares w/us some reasons we need to hang on to belief in Him.

Believing is called Faith

"Faith is the art of holding on to things in spite of your changing moods and circumstances" CS Lewis

The Bible says in Matthew 9:29 “According to your faith it will be done unto you.” That’s one of my favorite verses in the Bible. What are you expecting God to do in your life? This is the law that God has established. It’s called the Law of Expectation. The fact is, we tend to get what we expect out of life. We tend to see what we expect to see. We tend to hear what we expect to hear. We tend to feel the way we expect to feel. We inevitably accomplish what we expect what we’re going to accomplish. This is the law of faith. God says you get to choose. Because “According to your faith it will be done unto you.”

Faith is… To have trust or assurance, confidence, conviction, belief, reliance in what God says. Trust that produces actions.

Believing when I donʼt see it.

•(Def) To accept as true or real, to expect, to have firm faith, to have confidence, or trust.

(Hebrews 11:1 KJV) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Amplified - Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].