“From Failure To Faith”
Mark 9:14-29
INTRODUCTION: We continue in our series on ‘Great Events In The Live And Ministry Of Christ’.
Jesus had just come from the mountain-top experience of the Transfiguration (last Sunday’s message). Jesus had allowed his glory to shine through, as He and the Disciples experienced a taste of Heaven.
NOW … they come down to the realities of earth. While Jesus and the 3 Disciples were up on the mountain, a man brings his son to the other 9 Disciples.. His son is demon possessed.
We find here a picture of ALL the lost. YOU … before you were saved. YOU … if you have never trusted Christ to save you.
“BUT” … you might say … “I was never like that … I was never demon possessed like this young man. I wasn’t a BAD lost person.”
EVERY lost person is under the bondage of sin. Satan has established his throne in your heart. Ephesians 2:2 – “in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”
Nobody is “more lost” than anyone else. BUT … Some lost are worse than others. It’s like being a “little” pregnant … or a “little” dead. You either are … or you’re not.
I was saved when I was 11. I wasn’t “bad” … BUT … I was under the bondage of sin … and Satan had established his throne in my heart.
Some 11 year olds have been in & out of detention centers. Some have committed murder. Some can swear and make a sailor blush! I wasn’t like that. BUT … I was just as lost as they are.
If YOU were never living at the bottom of the sin-barrel … then thank God for that! BUT … just remember … ALL LOST are in the same boat. ALTHOUGH, some will live in better cabins than others … their DESTINY is the same … the Lake of Fire. There will be a lot of good, moral people in Hell.
9:14 – The Scribes were giving the Disciples a hard time. Jesus had been gone with 3 of His Disciples to the mountain-top, and the Scribes took advantage of His absence.
LESSON: Satan attacks you when you’re out of fellowship with Jesus. When you haven’t spoken to Jesus in awhile, the Devil will take advantage of it. When you miss church for a few Sundays, Satan will attack your faith. He knows when you haven’t been with Jesus.
9:14-18 – The Scribes are giving the Disciples a hard time:
“What’s the matter … this one too hard for you? If you can really cast our demons, do it NOW! That’s what we thought … you’re a bunch of imposters … hypocrites!”
When the world looks at you … WHAT DO THEY SEE? They see that you’ve got the same problems they have (you’re not immune). BUT … if they see that you don’t have the POWER of Christ in your life … you’re no better off than they are. BUT … when they see that Christ in your life makes a difference in how you handle your problems … they will see the power of Christ.
The Disciples were powerless to cast out this demon. YET … they had cast our demons before. Mt. 10:1, Mark 3:14-15. When Jesus was out of sight, He was out of mind … and they were out of power! Their former success made them forget WHY they were successful – JESUS! Pride had crept in. BUT … this time, they couldn’t do it.
9:16 – Jesus to the rescue! Like a knight in shining armor, riding on a white horse, Jesus comes to their rescue.
9:19 – “faithless generation” – Who was Jesus talking about? The Disciples … Scribes … Jews in general … crowd … father …?
I don’t think Jesus had anybody in particular in mind. We are ALL guilty of lacking faith.
Their lack of trust BOTHERED Jesus.
ILL.: “I don’t trust Ray Scott.”
o “Has he ever LIED to you?” NO … But I don’t trust him.
o “Has he ever CHEATED you? NO …But …
o “Has he ever … been UNFAITHFUL … UNTRUSTWORTHY … FAILED you …?” NO … But …
o “Just the opposite … he has been loyal … giving … unselfish … honest … BUT … I just don’t trust him.”
That would bother me … it bothered Jesus. After all they’d seen & heard … they didn’t trust Jesus.
WITHOUT FAITH:
o There would be no SALVATION – We aren’t saved BY faith … but THROUGH faith. Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
BUT … nobody was ever saved WITHOUT faith. Mark 16:16 – “he that believeth not shall be damned.” Jesus did all the work of salvation. Faith is the instrument that makes it real in our life. You turn to the One that you can trust.
o There would be no MIGHTY WORKS in our life. Matthew 13:58 - “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
You turn to the one you can trust. A couple of years ago, I had a cancerous tumor removed from my nose. I wasn’t real pleased with the Surgeon. Last year I had a cancerous tumor in my ear. I looked for another Surgeon. WHY? I didn’t trust the first Doctor. I didn’t have faith in him. SO … I found a Doctor that I could trust. The one I trusted, was the one I got to work on me.
MY POINT: If you put your trust in Jesus … He’ll do marvelous works in your life.
The Disciples had failed to cast out the demons. Jesus said: “Bring him to me.” LESSON: When we have a problem that we can’t solve, Jesus says: “Bring it to me.”
Jesus was disappointed in their lack of faith. HOWEVER, He didn’t just walk away and say: “Too bad … if you’d had more faith, you could have healed him.” Jesus said: “Bring him to me.”
LESSON: No matter how much you’ve disappointed Jesus in the past … He won’t just walk away from your problems. You’ll never hear Jesus say: “Well, you deserve it. You’re on your own, now.”
9:20-22a – “of a child” – This had been going on for years. It seemed hopeless … he hadn’t gotten any better on his own. Time hadn’t cured him. There was only one answer … JESUS!
“Ofttimes” – Sometimes he was sane … sometimes he went of the deep end. Ever know anybody like this? Sometimes they are as nice as they can be. Might even go to church … treat you real good. THEN … they go off the deep end. It’s like they are demon possessed. I’m not saying they are … BUT … they are letting the Devil have full reign in their life.
9:22b – “IF you can do anything …” Can you imagine saying this to GOD? True, the Disciples couldn’t do anything. BUT … this is the Creator he’s talking to. That’s not an issue. Is there anything Christ can’t do? The issue isn’t “CAN Jesus do something?” Jesus puts the “if” where it belongs.
9:23 – The “if” is in your faith … not in the ability of Jesus. Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please him:”
If God isn’t working in your life … don’t blame Him. The blame lies with YOU. If Jesus is limited, it’s because of a lack of faith on YOUR part … not HIS lack of ability.
HOW DID THIS MAN OVERCOME HIS “if”?
9:24 – He confessed the faith he had … “Lord, I believe.”
Everybody has “faith” … of some kind. When you set your alarm clock at night, you had “faith” it would go off (or you wouldn’t have set it … I set TWO alarm clocks if I don’t trust ONE). When you sit down, you have “faith” that the chair will hold you (or you wouldn’t sit down). When you eat a meal, you have “faith” there’s no poison in it (or you wouldn’t eat it).
There was a lot this man DIDN’T believe in:
o The Disciples - they tried … but couldn’t help his son.
o The Doctors - I’m sure he spent a fortune on them … to no avail.
o Himself – he wasn’t able to help his son.
With what little faith he had left … he believed in Jesus. He believed in 9:23b – “all things are possible to him that believes.” He believed that. His faith was real.
NOW … NOTICE his PLEA … “Help thou mine unbelief.” He acknowledged that, even though he had faith … he had his doubts. He was honest about his lack of faith.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY WITH THAT?
You’ve got FAITH … BUT …
“I believe Jesus forgives sins … BUT … I have a hard time believing that Jesus could forgive what I’VE done.”
“I believe Jesus is all-powerful … BUT … I have a hard time believing He can do anything about MY problem.”
“I believe Jesus said He would never leave nor forsake me … BUT … some times I feel so all alone.”
“I believe Jesus loves me … BUT … why did He let this happen to me?”
“Jesus, I believe in You …. BUT …. I have a hard time being faithful to You”
Can you IDENTIFY with this man?
NOTICE: Even tho he had some doubts, he took them to Jesus. What he lacked in faith, he made up for in hope … that Jesus could strengthen his faith.
9:25-27 – His faith, as little as it was … was rewarded. WHY? Because it was focused in the right direction.
LESSON: The OBJECT of your faith, is more important than the SIZE of your faith. See Mt. 17:19-20
Some people believe that Jesus actually raised him from the dead.
9:28-29 – “privately” … I’m sure! WHY couldn’t the Disciples do this? If they would have been PRAYING while Jesus was away, they would have had the POWER. Some things require more prayer than other things. There is a connection between PRAYER … and POWER.
What is “fasting”? SERIOUS prayer! Peter Dynaka – “No prayer, no power … little prayer, little power … much prayer, much power.”
CONCLUSION: Maybe we need to ask the same question that the Disciples asked … “Why don’t great things happen in my life?”
OR … BETTER YET … “How can I have great things happen in my life?”
o FAITH – 9:23 – Faith … not in yourself … not in others … BUT … in Christ Jesus. The only ability you & I have, is to mess things up. AND … we do a pretty good job of it!
o PRAYER - Hebrews 12:2 – “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” John 15:5 – “for without me ye can do nothing.” Their power failure was a direct result of their prayer failure.
o GET SERIOUS – Until we GET SERIOUS about Jesus, we won’t see serious things happen. You will experience the same degree of victory in your Christian life … as the degree of how serious you are about Jesus.
Get serious about prayer … get serious about your faith … get serious about Jesus.
STAND – PRAYER
HYMN - #375 – “’Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“From Failure To Faith”
Mark 9:14-29
INTRODUCTION: Jesus comes back from His transfiguration.
- Satan has established his throne in the heart of ALL the lost – Ephesians 2:2.
9:14 – Satan attacks you when you’re out of fellowship with Jesus.
9:14-18 – The lost world looks to see if you have the ANSWER to your problems … the POWER of Jesus in your life.
- They had cast out demons before – Matthew 10:1.
- They were depending in their own power.
9:16 – Jesus comes to their rescue.
9:19 – Their lack of trust bothered Jesus – Matthew 13:58.
- When you trust someone, you rely on them for help.
- When you have a problem, Jesus says, “Bring it to Me.”
- Jesus didn’t walk away from the problem, just because their faith was weak.
9:20-22a – Time hadn’t cured him … Jesus was the only answer.
- His affliction came and went.
9:22b – Is there anything GOD can’t do?
- Jesus puts the “if” where it belongs.
9:23 – The “if” is in your faith … not in Jesus’ ability.
- Hebrews 11:6 – Don’t blame Jesus if He’s not working in your life.
9:24 – “Lord, I believe.” – he confessed the little faith he had.
- “Help thou mine unbelief” – he also had some doubts.
- He took his doubts to Jesus, his only hope.
9:25-27 – His little faith was focused in the right direction .
- The object of your faith is more important than the size of your faith – Matthew 17:19-20.
9:28-29 – There is a connection between PRAYER and POWER.
- “No prayer, no power … little prayer, little power … much prayer, much power.”
CONCLUSION: How can Jesus do great things in your life?
o FAITH – 9:23 – Focused in Jesus.
o PRAYER – John 15:5 – Power failure is a direct result of prayer failure.
o GET SERIOUS – It determines the degree of your victory.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
