Failure has a great impact in our lives. Once beaten, twice shy.
• When we failed, we are hit by discouragement, fear and even doubts, that we can ever succeed.
• That makes the second or third attempt more difficult.
Put ourselves in the shoes of the father for a moment.
• He was a worried father, looking for a cure for his son. Little hope, but heard of Jesus.
• Brought him to see Jesus but could find Him – away up on the mountain.
• Nine of His disciples were there and so they were asked to help.
• The disciples prayed but it failed. Nothing happened.
Why were they powerless this time? They had similar ministry in the past – 6:13 “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”
• Jesus reacted with these words (9:19), “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?”
• Jesus gave the answer when the disciples asked Him privately later – Mark 9:29 “This kind can come out only by prayer.” They should have prayed!
FAILURE AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNT
Apparently the disciples did not trust God fully at this crucial moment. They trusted themselves.
• They might have taken for granted that a simple word and everything will be fine.
• Or that they had come to believe that the power was inherent in themselves, like a magician waving his wand (pronounce: want).
• Whatever it is, the disciples did not exercise believing prayer. They were probably relying upon themselves rather than God.
And we see the impact of this failure:
• First the father began to doubt if Jesus can really do anything for his son.
• And the teachers of the law began arguing with the disciples over this failure. A large crowd had gathered.
And then Jesus came, with his other 3 disciples Peter, James and John.
• What a contrast here – on the mountaintop, the 3 disciples were having a great time with the Lord, seeing a miraculous transformation of Jesus, God’s glory and power….
• And then at the foot of the mountain, the other 9 disciples were failing miserably in ministry, struggling with a failed attempt to demonstrated the healing power of God in their prayer.
• And it was causing a great commotion.
The desperate and hurting father said, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” (9:22)
Jesus immediately fixed the IF clause – He corrected him straight away: “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes.” (v.23)
Doubt has set in. Naturally, you noticed.
The initial attempt was a failure and it has now affected his approach to Jesus.
Bro/sis, don’t let failures rob you of faith.
Whether it is the failures of others, or your own failures. Or some unforeseen circumstances, or things that did not work out right.
• In an imperfect world with imperfect people, in an imperfect church with imperfect Christians, we are bound to see failures after failures.
• We must not let these setbacks rob us of faith in God. He has not changed and He will not fail.
• Setbacks and failures in life will not change Him or His ability one bit.
What is important is advice Jesus gave, listen to it carefully:
“Everything is possible FOR HIM who believes.” (v.23)
• It’s about YOU! It doesn’t matter what really went wrong with the disciples. It doesn’t matter if the teachers of the law do not believe. You must believe!
• Others may have failed. Some may have fallen. But you stand firm and keep your faith in God.
• We must be determined not to let doubt sets in. Focus on God. Don’t build your faith in people.
My faith is not build upon what I see – in people or circumstances - but what God has said.
• This means that my life or yours has only as much of God as our faith permits. The promises of God are appropriated only by faith. Apply this today – in your studies, work, and ministry.
• God is looking for a people who will believe Him and take Him at His word no matter what the circumstances say or what other people are telling us.
Joshua and Caleb were two such people who took God at His Word, even though they had seen the same enemies the other spies had seen. The majority was wrong!
• That’s why God gave a wonderful compliment about Caleb in Num 14:24, “My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly.”
• As a result of this willingness to side with God’s promise, Caleb and Joshua got to enter the land.
• The other ten spies – and a million or two other people – died along the way.
Jesus is asking this question, “Can you trust me?”
The father’s response was honest: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (v.24)
• Calvin: “He declares that he believes and yet acknowledges himself to have unbelief. These two statements may appear to contradict each other but there is none of us that does not experience both of them in himself.”
• Notice, the emphasis is not on the degree, the quality or the amount of the man’s faith – it has to do with his trusting relationship with Jesus.
• Focus in not on the ‘faith’ but the OBJECT of faith.
Learning to Swim: You cling to the side of the pool and yet you want to learn to swim. The trainer stands beside you and said, Come! You let go of the side of the pool, knowing you can cling onto the trainer. It is not just a matter of faith, but the presence of the OBJECT of faith!
• Faith in God is like that - letting go of life lived on our own terms and our own strength, and clinging with all our might to the person of Jesus.
• This is what the father finally does: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."
HELP ME OVERCOME…
It’s a prayer. Faith expresses itself in prayer. These two go together.
• Where there is little faith there is little prayer, and where there is little prayer there is little faith.
• That’s why Jesus said to His disciples, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29)
• I believe He was not referring to some particular prayer technique or set of words you must use.
• It has nothing to do with what to pray when you came face to face with the demon that will make it works.
• Because Jesus himself did not stop to pray when he cast out the demon.
It is not a trust in a special technique or set of words but trust in an Almighty and loving God - whose healing power would flow when we depend fully upon Him.
This kind of faith cannot come through a momentary prayer during a crisis.
• It can only come through a relationship – a lifestyle of communion with God. You have faith in God because you have been talking to Him.
• Jesus himself exemplified such a lifestyle. He had unwavering faith in God.
• He was always in touch with his Father, always walking in reliance upon Him and drawing his strength and power from Him.
Henri Nouwen, has this to say about Jesus’ prayer life:
Jesus continuously left his apostles to enter into prayer with the Father. The more I read the Gospels, the more I am stuck with Jesus’ single-minded concern with the Father. From the day his parents found Him in the Temple, Jesus speaks about his Father as the source of all his words and actions. When he withdraws himself from the crowd and even from his closest friends, he withdraws to be with the Father. "In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there" (Mark 1:35). All through his life Jesus considers his relationship with the Father as the center, beginning, and end of his ministry.
Look at the event in Acts 19:13-16 “13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15[One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Conclusion
Many of us can identify with the characters in this drama.
Some of us are like the disciples.
• We are already believers in Christ but our walk is lukewarm and our ministry not often effective.
• The disciples made the mistake of thinking that the power to minister effectively in Jesus’ name was inherent in themselves. This was a subtle form of unbelief, because they began to trust in themselves rather than in God.
• Jesus gently reminded them that it was not they but God who overcomes evil. Therefore faith in God is critical, and prayer is necessary.
In his book, The Living Reminder, Henri Nouwen warns us about sacrificing prayer for ministry:
“We have fallen into the temptation of separating ministry from spirituality. Our demons say: ’We are too busy to pray, we have too many needs to attend to, too many people to respond to, too many wounds to heal.’ Prayer is a luxury, something to do during a free hour, a day away from work or on retreat.”
• It is only when the disciples were caught up short that they learned they did not possess any power of themselves.
• The power and strength they needed belongs entirely to God and must be received from Him through a life of dependent prayer.
But before we become too hard on the disciples, we ought to admit we are often just like them.
• We too are plagued by failure, too ready to engage in arguments, undisciplined in our prayer life, and more eager to learn techniques and depend on ourselves than to take time to walk closely with God.
• Our battle against Satan requires a lifestyle of prayer too.
• We need to be always dependent upon Him, and this trusting relationship can only be cultivated through a prayer life.
Like a branch that thinks it can survive and produce fruit apart from the vine, we often act as though we can overcome life’s struggles and minister in God’s name relying solely on our own strength.
• We need to develop this humble dependence upon God for all that we do.
• Whether we are serving in worship, witnessing to a friend, discipling our children or caring for one another, we must pray for His mighty work to be done in and through us.
Jesus reminds us: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5).
• We can be talented and gifted, prepared and organized, but if we do not remain in constant contact with the source of our power we will fail.
• God may have given us a gift, but unless we maintain a humble dependence upon Him to express our gift it becomes ineffective.
Some of us here this morning are like the father in our story.
Like him, our disbelief stems from disappointment.
• Maybe your faith has received a setback because of the shortcomings of those who profess to trust in Jesus. Maybe you have been disappointed by the Church and some Christians within it.
• Whatever the reason, we want to put our trust in Jesus but sometimes we feel there is too big of a gap for our very little faith to bridge.
The good news however, is that we need faith only the size of a mustard seed (Matt 17:20; Luke 17:6).
• It is not the size of our faith but the OBJECT of our faith that is important.
• We are not left on our own; God will supply where we are insufficient.
• Failures around us need not rob us of faith in God.
Pray: “I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”
• Is it possible for our lives to be changed?
Is it possible to bridge the gap between doubt and faith, weakness and strength?
• Jesus says it is all possible if you believe Him, if you trust your life to Him and lean on His strength.
• All things are possible for us when we believe, because all things are possible for the One in whom we believe.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love for us. Nothing is too great for you. Nothing can separate us from your love. You reach out to us wherever we are. We may be riddled with sin, doubt, or pride, and yet you love us and desire to draw us to yourself and make us whole.
Thank you for your Word. Help us see your love and power and cling on to you. Pray that you will bring us to a place of humility that we might become a people of prayer, who will depend fully upon you. Help us understand our great need of you. We believe, help us overcome our unbelief.
This we pray in the Name of your Son Jesus. Amen.
