Believe! (Part 2)
Matthew 9:27-34
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Sept. 16, 2007
*I remember when I first believed in Jesus. It was a fall night in 1975. We were on a retreat with McClendon’s Young Adult Choir. (Thank God for a choir director who was wise enough and compassionate enough to allow a lost guy to sing in the choir!)
*People were giving testimonies as we sat around the fireplace that night. Mary and I were strategically seated by ourselves on the second row of the group, probably because Preacher and Georgia knew that I didn’t have a testimony. The front row went around the circle almost to the end, and Jimmy Posey was giving a tearful testimony about his twin brother who was not saved at the time. In that moment it was like a light went on in my mind. I remember thinking, “This is real. Jesus is real. What the Bible says about Him is true!” I believed in Jesus, and He has changed my life forever.
1. Jesus wants us to believe that He can fix the worst problems.
*This was His challenge to the two blind men in vs. 27-28: “When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’”
*Jesus Christ wants you to believe that He can fix the worst problems you will ever face in life. This does not mean that Jesus will always heal us, like He healed the blind men, because this world is not our home, all physical healing is only temporary, and God in His infinite wisdom may have another way to help us. But we must believe that He is able and willing to do all things well.
*Besides, the biggest problem we face in life is not a physical disease. It is spiritual death. The worst problem we face in life is not sickness but sin.
*Billy Strayhorn reminds us of this with a Dennis the menace cartoon. Good old Mr. Wilson and his wife are standing at the front door. In the distance Dennis the Menace is waving good-bye. Mrs. Wilson tells her husband, “(Dennis’ mother) says he was such a good baby.”
*Mr. Wilson replied, “Obviously he got over it.” And Billy Strayhorn said, “While it is very true of Dennis the Menace, it is also very true of each of us.” We may be cute babies, but we are born with the sickness of sin in our hearts. “Somewhere along the line we experience our own fall. And we’re never as good as God intended.” But God knew this ahead of time, and He planned the way for us to be saved. Jesus Christ is the way for us to be saved. (1)
*God’s Son came to earth as a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. Now Jesus will give everlasting life to all who trust in Him. Speaking about Jesus in Col 1:15-23, Paul said:
15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
20. and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22. in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight
23. if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
*Believing in Jesus is the only thing that can fix our worst problem. Faith in Him will take you from spiritual death to everlasting life. Dr. Lewis Chafer was the key founder of Dallas Theological Seminary. One day many years ago, Dr. Chafer was walking down the street when he noticed a flagman sitting in a little house at a railroad crossing. He saw that the man was reading a large Bible, and though a sign on the door said, "No Admittance," Dr. Chafer went boldly in and greeted the man. Then he asked the railroad man if he read the Bible a lot. The man said, “yes.” Then Dr. Chafer boldly asked him a second question: “Are you saved?”
*The flagman said something very close to what I remember saying one time, “I never could be good enough to be saved.” Dr. Chafer then asked, “Friend, if God would make an exception of your case, and give you salvation outright as a gift, would you receive it?”
-“Mister, I don’t know what kind of fool you think I am that I wouldn’t take a gift like that!”
-Dr. Chafer asked the flagman to read the words in John 10:28, where Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”
-Then the preacher steered him to Romans 6:23, which says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
*The flagman was amazed. He told Dr. Chafer, “Stranger, I don’t know who you are, but you’ve done more for me today than any other man.”
-Chafer replied, “What have I done for you? I’ve got you in a trap. You told me that if it was a gift, you’d accept it. Now, what are you going to do about that?”
-“I will accept it right now,” the flagman said. And he did. (2)
*Believing in Jesus changed his life forever. And it will do the same for you.
2. Believe that Jesus can fix the worst problems. And believe that your faith will make a difference.
*The Lord made this clear in vs. 29-30, when “He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ -- And their eyes were opened.”
*Faith made the difference. I believe it was King Duncan who said, “Faith is our most important link with God; through it the created and the creator are connected. Faith is the channel through which the strength of our creator flows into us, the created. The strength of our God, who created the heavens and the earth, and who raised up Christ from the dead, comes into our lives through faith. Faith is the key which unlocks the door so God can enter. It allows us to experience new strength, the strength God brings to human lives. (3)
*Dr. Larry Baker is a man who knows the difference faith can make. Larry became totally blind by a viral infection when he was 25. The doctor told Larry, “I’m afraid that I have to tell you something that will affect the rest of your life, you will never see again.”
*But Larry replied, “Doctor, I understand what you are saying, but I will determine the effect.” At the time, Larry was married with three children and working for a family dairy delivering milk. He described himself in high school as “a member of that one third of the class that made the top two thirds look good.” But Larry took advantage of a scholarship offered to people with vision disabilities. He graduated from Indiana University fifth in a class of 780.
*Larry received the Presidential Achievement Award, and went on to earn his master and doctoral degrees in business administration. A university professor for 10 years, Larry formed his own company, and now presents seminars around the world. Larry learned to ski after the age of 45 and urges people not to let other people set limits for them.
*He once said, Nobody has ever gone broke giving more than they receive. Have faith in God, your family, friends, and last, but not least, have faith in yourself.” (4)
*Most of all, I’m sure Larry Baker would tell you, “Have faith in God.”
3. Believe that your faith will make a difference -- But believe enough to follow and obey.
*Even though faith will bring us the most wonderful things. It’s not just about getting things from the Lord. Faith is about trusting in the Lord even when we don’t get things. It’s about following the Lord. It’s about trusting Jesus enough to do what He tells us to do -- Even if we don’t understand it.
*We see a good example of this in vs. 30, where “their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, ‘See that no one knows it.’”
*Jesus sternly warned them to keep quiet about their healing. Part of this word means to be moved with anger, and the word picture is of a horse snorting. So John Gill tells us that “This was a very strict charge, and according to the (meaning) of the word used here, it was given with great austerity of countenance, and severity of expression, in a very rough and threatening manner.” (5)
*Why did the Lord so sternly tell them to keep quiet about their healing? Usually, it’s just the opposite. -- As the Lord later said in Acts 1:8, “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
*John Gill suggested that maybe the Lord gave this strict warning in Matthew 9, because he had already given like orders, and they were ignored. Maybe the Lord foresaw bad consequences coming from their testimony, such as when the people tried to force Him to become an earthly king. (5)
*We don’t really know why Jesus told them to keep quiet. We only know that He did. And we know that though these two men had the faith to be healed. -- They did not have the faith to obey the Lord, because vs. 31 tells us that, “When they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.” Sometimes the Lord will ask us to do something we don’t understand. And when He does, we need enough faith to simply obey.
*About 12 years ago, Wendy Murray got a great lesson on obedience from her little boy. Mom later gave this testimony:
*When our middle son, Ben, was much younger, he had heard more than one sermon about the importance of surrendering our lives to Christ. And Ben seemed well-attuned to the heart of God. He exhibited the selfless and kind tendencies that would take some -- like his mother a lifetime to acquire. So it disturbed my husband and me when Ben stubbornly resisted our invitations for him to give his life to Christ. He would offer no explanations; he would simply tell us in his preschool English that he wasn’t ready.
*Ben resisted for several months. Then, one morning as we sat around the kitchen table eating our Cheerios, little Ben announced that he was ready to give his life to Christ. He then got up from the table and went upstairs. My husband and I looked at each other and followed him.
*I guess we expected to find Ben on his knees in prayer. We didn’t. Instead, we found him folding his Star Wars pajamas into his Sesame Street suitcase. We said, “Ben, what are you doing?” He answered, “Packing.” “Why?” we asked. “To go to heaven,” he said.
*We then understood why our child hesitated to give his life to Christ. He thought that he would have to leave us and take up residence, literally, with Christ in heaven. (6)
*God help us to have the kind of faith that is willing to obey:
-Even if we don’t understand.
-Even if it takes a sacrifice.
-Even if obeying means saying goodbye to people we love.
4. Believe enough to follow and obey. And believe that God’s best is still in the future.
*The next verses remind us that greater things are coming our way. In vs. 32, “As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. And when the demon was cast out in vs. 33, the mute spoke. --And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!’’
*Remember the background here. God had done many amazing things in the Old Testament, but the Old Testament Scriptures had been finished over 400 years, and still the Messiah had not come. But when Jesus revealed Himself, He performed an abundance of miracles that the world had never seen! -- So many miracles that the Apostle John closed his Gospel by saying, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
*Now God wants us to believe that the best is yet to be. He wants us to believe that His best for us is still in the future. He wants us to believe that the days are coming when we will say, “We’ve never seen it like this before.”
*In the short run, this is our prayer, as we look for God to do great things in our families, in our church and in our world. We are waiting for God’s best for us, but remember how some of the greatest heroes of our faith had to wait for great things to happen. William Carey worked 7 years before the first Hindu convert was brought to Christ in India. Adoniram Judson worked for 7 years in Burma before his faithful preaching saw one soul won to Christ. In western Africa, it took 14 years of hard work before one convert was received into the Christian church. In New Zealand, it took 9 years. And in Tahiti, it was 16 years before the first harvest of souls began. (7)
*God wants us to believe that the best is yet to be. In the short run, this is our prayer. In the long run, this is His promise. If you don’t believe that, just think about Heaven. A couple of week ago, I saw part of a show on the History Channel talking about the size of our galaxy. So how big is our galaxy? If our sun was the size of a period on the page of your Bible, our galaxy would be the size of the continental United States! Now that’s big -- But it only serves to remind us how truly big our God must be to create all of that.
*Jus think then how much He has coming in the New Heaven and Earth He has promised. “As it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” (1 Cor 2:9)
5. Believe that God’s best is still in the future. And believe in the face of strong opposition.
*Opposition like we see in vs. 33&34.
33. And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!’’
34. But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.’’
*Of course the Pharisees were the most religious, most respected people in their society. And in spite of all of Jesus’ miracles, they did not believe. But you believe in Jesus no matter who tells you not to believe.
*This world is full of influential people who will tell you not to believe. One example is the Florida State University professor who is an expert on lakes. Last year he wrote an article saying that a rare combination of water and atmospheric conditions in the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago may offer a scientific explanation for Jesus walking on the water. Professor Doron Nof said that Jesus could have been walking on a patch of ice floating in the Sea of Galilee. They came up with the theory after studying records of long-ago water temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea. (8)
*People will come up with all kinds of ways to discount what the Bible says. But you believe no matter who tells you not to believe
-If your teacher tells you not to believe -- You believe.
-If your favorite singer tells you not to believe -- You believe.
-If a big star from the movies or TV tells you not to believe -- You believe.
-If the President tells you not to believe -- You believe.
-If your parents tell you not to believe -- You believe.
-If your preacher tells you not to believe -- You believe!
*Believe in the face of strong opposition, and take a stand for Jesus Christ in the face of strong opposition. I like this testimony from Kenneth Sauer who said:
“As soon as I got saved, I called up all my friends and told them about Christ. Most of them thought I was nuts, but that is what I did. And at the time I was taking a public speaking class during my freshman year in college.
The first speech I gave in that class had something to do with the difference between good heavy metal music and bad heavy metal music -- the louder and heavier the better. For our second speech we were asked to pick a hero of ours and speak from their perspective. I chose Gene Simmons of KISS. I even put on the KISS make-up, and dressed like him. Then I acted like Gene as I gave a speech on his life.
The day before my third speech I had given my life to Christ. So, the class was quite shocked when I got up and gave my Christian testimony! (9)
*The class may have been shocked, but I am sure that God was smiling when Kenneth gave his testimony for the Lord. And why did Kenneth do that? --Because he believed. So believe!
*Jesus asks us the question we saw in vs. 28, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” May our heartfelt answer always be, “Yes, Lord. We believe!”
1. From Dennis the Menace by Hank Kethcham, December 8, 1992. (Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “Life in the Spirit” by Billy Strayhorn Gal 5:13-25)
2. Today in the Word, May, 1990. (Found on sermonillustrations.com)
3. christianglobe.com sermon “Faith Filled Living” - Luke 17:1-10
4. The Tullahoma News (June 6, 1990), Section A, p. 9. (Found in christianglobe.com sermon “Connections in High Places” by King Duncan - John 15:1-17)
5. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 4525 - SOURCE: Online Christianity Today (america Online): Future Tense: How Do We Live Under The Shadow Of ’the End’? - TITLE: Packing For Heaven - AUTHOR: Wendy Murray Zoba - DATE: 10/2/95
7. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “Never Give Up” by James May - Matt 9:1-26
8. Jesus May Have Walked on (Frozen) Water, Scientist Says. Thursday, April 06, 2006 - Associated Press - TALLAHASSEE, FL
9. SermonCentral sermon “God of the Oppressed” by Kenneth Sauer - Matt 9:9-26
