Struggling To Believe Series

INTRODUCTION

• Have you ever been desperate for something—like when you’re thirsty or hungry and are desperate for anything that will fill you?

• Or if you’re in a lot of pain and will take anything to take the pain away?

• Our doubt can come from disappointment, but doubt can also desperately drive us to search for answers and help.

• Today as we continue in our series, “Help My Unbelief, Dealing With Doubt,” we are going to look at an interaction that Jesus has with a father.

• Jesus met a father who was in desperate need of Jesus to heal his son, but the father struggled to fully believe.

• The man’s son was possessed by an unclean spirit and would go into convulsions.

• This man was desperate; he had been let down the child’s entire life to this point.

• I want to read verses 17-19 for context.

Mark 9:17–19 (CSB)

17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak.

18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

19 He replied to them, “You unbelieving generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me.”

• This man heard Jesus was in town, so he decided to give it a shot.

• In our text today, we will see a desperate man dealing with an issue most people struggle with.

• Some people cannot seem to overcome this issue, the struggle to believe.

• We want to believe, but something inside of us will not allow belief to happen.

• If you are a Christian, then what do you do when you struggle to believe?

• Are you a terrible person? Has God rejected you for your doubt?

• Will the church kick you out?

• Are you afraid to share your struggle because you think you are the only one dealing with doubts?

• Today, I hope to answer some of these questions with you.

› Big Idea of the Message: We can believe in God and struggle to believe at the same time. But Jesus will accept us, even in our struggle

• We need to know that doubt is not a place for us to live forever, but in some seasons we may struggle with it, and if we do not understand a few things about doubt, Satan can use our doubt to drive a deep and wide wedge between ourselves and God as well as our Church family.

• Let’s turn to the Gospel of Mark 20:20-22

Mark 9:20–22 (CSB)

20 So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father. “From childhood,” he said.

22 “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

SERMON

I. Struggling through desperation.

• Imagine as a father, or a mother, seeing your child from childhood going through what this father and son were experiencing.

• How would you feel.

• Jesus asked the father how long this stuff was happening to the boy.

• The man answered, since childhood.

• For the parents with us today, you may think the kid was about 2 when this possession happened.

• It would explain a lot, wouldn’t it?

• You can feel pain in the words of this man as he explains the situation to Jesus.

• The fact that this father came to Jesus with this problem shows that he WANTS to believe that Jesus can do something to help them.

• In verse 22 the father appeals to the compassion of Jesus, yet we can see the man has his doubts.

• Notice the father says, BUT IF you can do anything. Have compassion for us and help us.

• The father without knowing it, shows a weak faith.

• This may in part, stem from the failure of the disciples to cure the boy served to weaken the faith he originally had.

• This is true with us today.

• When one doctor fails to cure, it lessens our faith in the efforts of another.

• In Matthew’s account we read...

Matthew 17:16 (CSB)

16 I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

• A healing of the son would relieve both the distressed father and his son.