FAITH THAT DOESN’T FAIL
Mark 9:14-32
INTRO:
At the library a couple of weeks ago, where I often go to study, I saw a car with a bumper sticker. This car was parked in the first space, so it was unmistakable – you saw it the moment you pulled into the parking lot, and it confronted you as you walked to the parking lot from the library. It read, in large, loud letters, “Nothing fails like prayer.” Nothing fails like prayer. Now, it is one thing not to believe in prayer, or to think those of us who do pray are misguided or even foolish. But to go to such lengths to ridicule and discourage prayer is something else altogether. And I wondered, what happened to this person? What prayer didn’t get answered the way they wanted it to and caused this crisis of faith? What had happened to cause their faith to fail? Perhaps it wasn’t their faith that failed initially, perhaps it was someone else’s…
PREV: Has your faith ever failed? Maybe today, this very moment, your faith is hanging on the edge, on the brink of failure as you face something big in your life. Can you keep from failing, from losing faith? Can you get it back if it has already failed? Can you keep it from failing? Today, we will answer these questions as we see Jesus face a man in this kind of a situation. Last week, we saw Jesus and 3 of his closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, go up a mountain and have an incredible experience. Up there, Jesus revealed his glory to them, and God spoke to them. Now, its time to head back down the mountain, back to reality. We pick up the account in Mark 9:14. Follow with me as I
read Mark 9:14-16.
A. Jesus comes down the mountain and finds the disciples in trouble
After experiencing the glory of the mountaintop, they quickly return to the reality of the valley.
They find the rest of the disciples engaged in a heated argument with the religious officials, in the presence of a large crowd.
What’s going on here? Can’t I leave you for one minute?
What were they arguing about, Jesus asks.
Let’s read Mark 9:17-18 to find the answer.
A father speaks up and gives a vivid account of a very serious situation.
He brought his son with expectation of help.
The boy is possessed by an evil spirit, who:
• Robs him of speech
• Seizes and convulses him violently
• Produces foaming, gnashing, rigidity
• Attempts to destroy him (v.22).
The purpose of the demonic is to distort and destroy the image of God in man.
A sober reminder that Satan hates, and goes after our kids. It may not look like this, but intention is the same.
With Jesus absent, he expects disciples to help, having their master’s power.
A basic principle of discipleship: “The messenger of a man is as the man himself”
The disciples no doubt expected to be able to help, based on their past commissioning and past success (6:7, 13)
“But they could not.”
Their failure had drastic consequences.
This led to arguing with the teachers over their authority to exorcise demons – they attempt to embarrass the disciples.
Why the failure? Why couldn’t they help this boy and cast out the demon as they had previously? Notice how Jesus describes them as I read Mark 9:19.
B. They were defeated by unbelief
Seeing the situation, Jesus cries out with exasperation, weariness, close to heartbreak. This is a word addressed primarily to the disciples – they had failed in a critical time
Jesus describes them as “unbelieving.”
Jesus pins their failure, their inability, their defeat on their lack of faith, or absence of faith. Defeated by unbelief.
Throughout, we have seen them characterized by unbelief, and hard heartedness. (Cf. 4:40; 6:50, 52; 8:17-21)
Now it catches up to them, with disastrous results.
A serious need is left unmet.
“Disaster occurs when men from whom faith may be expected are proven to be void of power when it is needed.” – Lane
What did they not believe? Where did their faith fail?
They failed to have faith, to totally rely on God. They had faith in themselves, in their past success. They were self-reliant, not God-reliant.
C. We too are defeated by unbelief
It works the same way with us, doesn’t it?
We go from the glory of the mountaintop to the reality of the valley. From Sunday to Monday.
We too are defeated by unbelief.
We too are often characterized by unbelief, or wrong belief
We rely on ourselves, not on our God.
This happens to individuals:
• We have faith in ourselves instead of God as we try to get our lives straight.
• We pull up our bootstraps and pour in extra effort to get us out of the bind we are in at work.
• Faced with temptation, we keep failing, because we keep relying on our own strength to resist.
• A serious family situation that we tackle on our own, never submitting it to God, and trusting His way.
This happens to churches:
• A wide open door for ministry is missed because the leaders and the people don’t really believe it could happen, don’t think it realistic.
• A serious ministry problem is tackled with human skill instead of prayerful faith, and it fails.
• People with serious needs are let down because no one really believes God can do something dramatic.
When our faith fails, there’s a cost – to us, our loved ones, etc.
Let’s be honest – there are times for us when Jesus would say the same thing to us: “O unbelieving people! How long will I put up with you?”
I. WHEN OUR FAITH FAILS, WE FACE SPIRITUAL DEFEAT
When we do not believe, depend, rely on God, we fail spiritually. It’s all too true that we are often characterized by unbelief.
That sounds pretty dismal, doesn’t it? How can we have faith that doesn’t fail? What kind of faith, what does it mean to have faith that won’t fail at critical times?
Faith is the foundation, the center, the key to our relationship with God. But what is faith? We have seen that it means faith in God, not in ourselves. Jesus will show us what this faith looks like, what it contains, what it consists of. First he turns his attention to this boy and his father. Notice the radical faith Jesus calls this man to as I read Mark 9: 20-23.
A. Jesus calls us to faith without limits
Unclean spirit, brought before Jesus, tries one more time to destroy the child.
Jesus is deeply moved by the boy’s situation.
In a final plea of desperation, the father cries out and says:
“If you can,” help my boy. His own faith has withered, because of the disciple’s failure.
Jesus responds, “If you can?” “If you can?” “IF you can?”
He turns it around – this isn’t about me, its about you.
The question isn’t “Can I do something,” its “Can you believe it?”
Everything is possible to him who believes!
What is to be tested here is not my ability to do something, but your ability to believe it!
Faith opens up the doors of unlimited possibilities.
You must believe without limits!
Jesus calls him to a faith that doesn’t set limits.
This is radical faith – free from the presumption of doubt.
Jesus doesn’t say if you have faith, you can have what you what. He’s not a genie, he’s God!
He doesn’t say that the only thing that determines whether you get what you ask for is how much faith you have. You know better than that, don’t you?
There is a relationship between our faith and what we receive, but it’s a complicated one – because we also know what we ask must be according to his will.
He says radical faith in God is faith that truly believes anything is possible for God – the possibility exists. If he wants, if its his will, if he deems it good, he’ll do it.
That is the kind of faith God that sees God do the amazing!
Ex.: Corona Bible Church; VBS 2003
It is far more likely that I am defeated spiritually because of my lack of faith than that I have faith but don’t get what I ask…
So Jesus calls this father to a radical faith without limits. Let’s see his response as I read Mark 9:24.
This is an honest response – I do believe, but help me!
Belief and unbelief co-exist, don’t they?
Jesus grants his request, as we see in Mark 9:25-27.
This is the honest, earnest request God wants.
Jesus is patient – this answers his question of “how long will I put up with you?”
This apparently contrasts with the disciple’s faith…
What limits have you placed on God? What limits your faith? Where is God calling you to believe without limits?
Jesus calls us to faith without limits. But there’s another aspect to the faith he wants in us. We see it as he turns his attention to his disciples. Look at Mark 9:28-29
B. Jesus calls us to faith that prays
The disciples wait until they’re alone, then ask (sheepishly)
“Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
This is a good question. Why did the disciples fail?
The answer is simple and profound:
This kind only comes out by prayer.
You have to pray, guys!
Apparently they thought this power to cast out demons was under their control. That’s a subtle form of unbelief – unbelief in God, the necessity of God working. Hey, its me, not God who will do this. See how it works? They trusted themselves, not God.
But sincere prayer would show their faith in God, their dependence on God.
Jesus calls us to faith that prays. Faith that demonstrates its sincerity by praying.
When we don’t pray, we’re saying we don’t believe God can, so why pray? Or, we’re saying don’t worry, I can handle this one, why talk to God about it? Or, God will act even if I don’t pray.
Been there, done that!
Ex.: Austin’s MRI – we prayed!
But prayer is the source of faith’s power and the means of its strength.
The healing of this boy shows what is possible when we have a faith that doesn’t fail.
Let’s say your car breaks down, or you face a big problem. Its easy to adopt a sort of deism – God’s there but he can’t really do anything about it. Pray! Get on your knees, pour your heart out to God, & believe that anything is possible!
II. FAITH THAT DOESN’T LIMIT GOD AND EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH PRAYER WON’T FAIL
In spite of our tendency toward unbelief, lack of faith, Jesus calls us, draws us toward a radical life of faith.
III. THIS IS PRECISELY THE TYPE OF FAITH WE NEED IN HIS ABSENCE.
Jesus reminds his disciples that he will be going away. Read Mark 9:30-32. They will need this kind of faith when he’s gone. But Jesus was still planning for the day when they would be left, they would carry on the ministry without him. He wouldn’t always be there to bail them out.
Mark wants to remind his original readers that they need this kind of faith in Jesus’ absence. The Christians in Rome were facing some pretty tough circumstances.
I want to remind us that this is precisely the type of faith we must have now, in Jesus’ absence. He’s counting on us, we don’t want our faith to fail when we, or others, need it.
