Mark 9:23
And Jesus said to him, "‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes."
Whatever the situation, a follower of Jesus should respond always in faith. For it is always faith that does the will of our Father. And what the Father requires is the prayers and fasting of his people.
And to be honest, it's not really that hard a task. It's no great sacrifice to pray for others and fast of the things that distract you in prayer. At any rate, like it or not, a life of prayer is our duty.
The father of this young boy, in Mark chapter nine, was greatly troubled. His son probably was afflicted with epilepsy. And he's desperate for a solution that will save his son from this horrible malady. And yes, it's possible that this affliction is inspired by Satan, certainly the demons believed that to be the case.
You may ask, "how does that happen?"
The obvious answer would be that the boy was likely already frail. I mean to say he likely had the condition at least available for the demon to take advantage of in its possession of his body. They'll prey upon human weakness in the mind, spirit, and body. And they prey upon the lack of faith as well.
The father is heartbroken. He was desperately hoping that Jesus’ disciples could help. And Jesus diagnosed the situation and proclaimed it's a lack of faith at work here.
The Meaning of ‘Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief’ in Mark 9:24
Let me ask you, the reader, is "Faith" a one-and-done talisman like thing for you?
Is it true, as some believe, that if you can just believe strong enough you can move mountains? And if that mountain doesn't move, are you lacking in faith? Is it a weak faith?
Let's say you take a friend to a healer, a faith healer, and your friend has some malady that he wants taken care of. Everybody gets together, lays his hands on him praying in faith. And the malady remains. Who is lacking faith? I suppose it could be your friend just doesn't have enough faith. Or maybe you who are joining your prayers in this healing process, maybe you don't have enough faith. But what then about the faith healer, shouldn't his faith be enough to cover everybody's lack of faith?
I gotta be honest. I don't think this has anything to do with degrees or levels of faith at all because at the end of the day what is a lack of faith? The father asked Jesus to help him with his unbelief. He said he had belief, but he needed help with his unbelief. What sort of help? Well, let's take a look at what he got. The help he got was Jesus. So, it turns out the faith isn't the power, at best the faith is the conduit. The father's belief, however great or small, didn't heal his boy. His belief in the One who is the healer is what made it possible for his boy to be healed.
Now, if you're trying to sort that out, go back to earlier when we were talking about his epilepsy, and how that condition is likely being manipulated by demonic spirits. The spirits are able to manipulate the malady because the condition already exists. So, it stands to reason, if the condition of faith exists too, then faith healing can occur. So the condition of faith doesn't create the healing, but it makes it possible for the healing to happen. And this is backed up by the fact that so often Jesus says, "your faith has made you well".
So, you maybe are in agreement with this idea or not, but let's agree on this. What you cannot do is manipulate God's healing or blessings, in a broader sense, simply by believing a whole bunch. Like, "I believe, I believe, I believe", and this positive affirmation of faith is what gets the job done. This isn't biblically sound advice because the pagans often practiced repetition in their prayers and sacrifices. And we already know how God feels about that.
No, there's something different going on here. Let's go back to the Word again. Maybe the story has the answer.
Check this out:
Mark 9:22 - this is the father of the boy speaking...
"And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
Did you see it?
"But if you can do anything"
There it is. The unbelief.
Q: So...where does faith come from?
A: By hearing the Word of God.
It's God who is the author of Faith. Faith comes from Him, and it is gifted to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, as the Bible says. Faith is spawned out of hearing his word. Not seeing. It doesn't say seeing. It's the fruit of hearing. So, how is faith produced in the hearing and why isn't it produced by seeing?
Think back just before they encountered this father and his son, the disciples and Jesus were on the mountain top having their transfiguration experience. I mean, talk about seeing! The disciples saw the kingdom of God! And yet, here they are, lacking in faith, and unable to exercise a demon. So, I suppose it's obvious that seeing God and all his glory isn't enough to generate faith. Well, we've seen that reality before. The Jews spent 40 years in the desert wandering because they couldn't muster up enough faith to love their God, who is right there, in a fiery cloud. No, by all evidence, seeing does not create faith. People deny the evidence of their own eyes all the time.
So why did the father say? "But if you can do anything" how did this unbelief affect his faith?
It wasn't that he wasn't sure if Jesus was capable, what he wasn't sure about, what he couldn't muster up faith in, was whether or not Jesus WANTED to heal his son. He couldn't believe that Jesus was going to heal his son.
How many times have you been trying to console someone? Someone who is torn up in grief over a sick loved one in the hospital. And you want to offer prayers and suggest that they pray, as people say, "all we can do is pray". And the look in their faces, and in their eyes, you can see it, the unbelief. Not that they aren't people who pray all the time for others. But the unbelief isn't that Jesus can heal their loved one, the unbelief is that maybe Jesus won't heal their loved one.
The father said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"
Here's what I believe… I believe most if not all professing Christian people have some level of faith in their heart, mind and spirit. I truly believe that. But belief isn't the only part of faith. Faith comes with doubts, uncertainty. And that's where faith is found lacking. I suppose you could say that most of us have a faith that is something smaller than a mustard seed. But even so, there is faith.
Our faith is like the weather. It's not constant. We move from faith to faith, from grace to grace. Our faith waxes and wanes. And our enemy, Satan, is always assaulting the weaknesses in our faith. You see, we are all suffering from a malady, we have a weakness of faith disease. Some days were better, some days were extremely strong, other days were weak, and that's when he exploits it. That's what it means when the Bible says he is like a lion prowling around, looking for someone to devour. He's looking for someone's faith to feast upon.
Friends,
It takes a lifetime of faith to build up a strong faith. And it takes only a few minutes to destroy it. Why do you think Jesus said, "this kind can only come out through prayer and fasting"? The faith needs more time to heal before the intercessory healing can take place. Faith has just been wiped out by extreme stress and uncertainty. The Devil is gnawing and chewing on it. Now it's necessary to heal it before it can do great things again. It's not something you can just assign to autopilot. You cannot always count on your reservoir of faith, or someone else's. You've got to get on your knees and come to God.
So we believe, and it isn't perfect and pure. And we pray, "help me with my unbelief". And then we should RUN to the word of God because THATS where faith comes. Come to the Lord for help with unbelief. Come to his word and pray those things. Fast and pray in his Word.
Pray the Psalms when you're in distress. I'm certain you'll receive your blessing when you do. Some Bible scholars believe that recitation of the Psalms brings high spiritual power. I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that I've seen how it can work when faith is having a moment of weakness.
Pray these in meditation or song:
Psalm 119:105
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light onto my path."
Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 31:14-15
"But I trust in you, Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me."
Psalm 62:5-8
"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken."
"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God."
"Trust in him at all times,
O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah"
Psalm 143:8
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."
Psalm 121:1-2
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."
Psalm 23:4
"Even though I walk through the darkest valley of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Go in peace friends, and know that while you were reading this, I was joining my prayers with yours. May the lord bless you and keep you, now and forever.
Amen.
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Matthew 10:16
"Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves."
"Beware the moon, Stay on the road. Keep clear of the moors." (From: An American Werewolf in London 1981)
I was 19 when that movie came out and it was then that I was at my lowest point ever. I was dying and couldn't see it happening to me.
It's nearly Halloween, and I've arrived here in my daily studies at Jesus sending his children, as lambs, out to preach the gospel among wolves. And I have to admit this morning my head went to the movie I rewatched (for the hundredth time) again last night. I confess I'm somewhat of a connoisseur of werewolf movies. It's really an odd and unexpected fascination since throughout my entire childhood I was plagued nightly by nightmares of invisible werewolves that stalked me trying to bite me. I couldn't see them but could hear them. And when they were just about to bite, they'd suddenly be visible (this is how I knew they were werewolves). And this was a ...
Matthew 10:32-33
“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven."
Jesus calls and sends his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel because he has a great compassion for the needy. He sees them as sheep without a shepherd, lost and living in miserable conditions. They're harassed, and cast down. And in the face of many evils they're unable to help themselves. They are outside of Christ, living in darkness.
And what's interesting is the disciples are sent to be forerunners to His coming. Like heralds they are to go into the towns and villages healing the sick, casting out demons, raising spirits and preaching the good news. It's a mission trip, he's sending them outside the congregation to free these people from the bondage of evil. This is aggressive evangelism. It's like rustic camping. Bring it in and take it out. They must depend entirely on God for all their needs. It's a mission trip focused upon aggressively reaching ...
Exodus 13:21-22
The Lord showed them the way; during the day he went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud, and during the night he was in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel during the day or night. The pillar of cloud was always with them during the day, and the pillar of fire was always with them at night.
In 1446 BC, the 435 miles long trip from Goshen (Tell el-Dab’a) to Mt. Sinai took the Hebrews a total of 47 days to trek. The Hebrews made the 12-mile-long crossing of the Red Sea at the Straits of Tiran, and they all eventually arrived at the Red Sea on day 25 then took 22 days to travel 124 miles from the Red Sea Crossing to Mt. Sinai. During that entire trip about 2 million Jews DID NOT die. The Lord was with them in a very prescient manner. And his protection was upon them. They hadn't done anything to earn it. They had no merit born out of faithfulness. In fact, many if not most were people who had been fully engaged in the pagan worship of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh's army easily traveled the 249 miles from Goshen to the Red Sea crossing ...
James 2:1
"My brothers and sisters, show no partiality [favoritism] as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."
It may be smart, this sign of showing favoritism, but it is sin, in the same way that murder and adultery are sin. It's the sin of discrimination. And it's contrary to God’s design. It's difficult to say you love your neighbor as yourself when you are motivated to be discriminatory towards others who are not to your liking. Living a life in faith is living selflessly always, not just when it's convenient. There are never moments when it's not sin to discriminate against others. To operate in this discriminatory manner is to make yourself a law unto yourself. A law contrary to God's law. And this attitude toward the law of God draws attention away from the needs of others and makes the merits of the self into law. This is how one arrives at self-righteousness and a philosophy of self justification.
With God there is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). We know Jesus was no respecter of persons because his disciples taught that he ...
Mark 9:1
And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."
Jesus began his earthly ministry by proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand. Now he tells his disciples that some of them there would not taste death before they see the kingdom of God coming with power.
Q: Just where is the kingdom of God?
A: It's where God reigns as king, simply put.
Wherever God reigns is where his kingdom is.
The kingdom of God is not just a geographical place or a moment in time and history. It's not like a mirror that reflects only external realities. In many ways the kingdom of God is already within us and in the world. If God is reigning in your heart and mind, then his kingdom is already among you, and some would say it is within you. If you haven't been completely compromised by your need to control your own spiritual life by worldly things then you have access to the prolepsis of God's heavenly kingdom realized in your faith.
Luke 17:20-21
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of...
