I hope you have been keeping up with us in your daily Bible
reading! If not, it is not too late to start. It is only a handful of verses
each day. The reading plan is on the back table and you can grab one on your
way out.
Hebrews 11:1-7
“11 Now faith is the reality of what is
hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For
our ancestors won God’s approval by it. 3 By faith we
understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that
what is seen has been made from things that are not visible. 4 By
faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was
approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he
is dead, he still speaks through his faith. 5 By faith
Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be
found because God took him away. For prior to his removal he was approved,
since he had pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is
impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that
He exists and rewards those who seek Him. 7 By faith
Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly
fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and
became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Hebrews 11 speaks of the benefit that comes from faith. As
can be seen by some of these examples that benefit may not be seen by the one
acting on their faith. Abel acted in faith and teaches us so much these
thousands of years later. It did not work out to well for him in the short run,
but the impact he has had on humanity is more than anyone could ever imagine.
Noah acted on his faith and was the instrument that God used to re-populate the
earth. Did he see the benefit in his life time, no but we would not be here
without him. I am thankful for the faith of Abel and Noah, and even more
thankful that they ACTED on it.
As it tells us in Titus 2:13
“while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of
the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Hope is having faith in something certain, such as our
blessed hope in Jesus Christ.
Faith is having conviction to something or
someone. This should be having complete trust in the work of our Savior Jesus.
So, to believe is to have faith in something or someone.
Sometimes we do not know how strong our convictions, or faith is, until they
have been tested.
Our faith is developed by putting our faith to the test. Now
I am not talking about testing God or laying out a fleece. We test our faith by
stepping out and doing things that are beyond our comfort zone. We may question
if we have the Bible knowledge to witness to someone, but when we do witness to
someone we are stepping out in faith. Inviting someone to church, stepping out
in faith. Giving to missions, stepping out in faith. Reaching out to someone in
need, stepping out in faith. Going on a missions trip, stepping out in faith. Some
would say when you step out in faith, you are faith-ing. You are putting your
faith into action.
This morning we will be looking at a passage that tells us
about one who acts on his faith, yet knows it needs to be stretched, and others
who think their faith is already fully developed.
The faith of a man made him seek Jesus for help.
Mark 9:14-18
“14 When they came to the
disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing with
them.15 All of a sudden, when the whole crowd saw Him,
they were amazed and ran to greet Him. 16 Then
He asked them, “What are you arguing with them
about?” 17 Out of the crowd, one man
answered Him, “Teacher, I brought my son to You. He has a spirit that
makes him unable to speak. 18 Wherever it seizes
him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and
becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
Here we find a father who was trying to get help for his son
and he went looking for Jesus. He had heard that Jesus was healing the masses.
He was confident enough in his faith to speak up when asked. He was not shy, he
was not afraid, he was confident and bold. He did not hold back and made an
appeal for Jesus to heal his son.
In many ways this is the early faith that brings someone to
the cross. This father like many seeking a savior are lost and don’t know what
to do. The father had heard that Jesus had been healing people so he had enough
faith to seek him out. Many people who are lost have heard that Jesus brings
peace, joy, and love. Things that might be missing from their lives and things
they really could use. So like the father they seek out a way to learn about
Jesus. They talk to a believer or walk into a church. The first steps of faith.
Scripture does not tell us how far this man traveled or how
many days he was searching, but his faith drove him to seek Jesus. How about
those of you who are believers, are you confident enough that Jesus can work in
your lives that you are still seeking him? It is not enough to find a group of
believers and make that initial commitment, seeking Jesus needs to be a life
long journey. Are you stepping out in faith doing something for God? What are
you trusting that God will do in your life? In what ways are you stepping out
in faith and letting God work in your life?
The father sought Jesus but did not stop there.
The faith of the disciples, or lack of faith in this case,
was not enough to help the man’s son.
Mark 9:18, 28-29
“18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws
him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I
asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
28 After He went into a house, His
disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 And
He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing
but prayer [and fasting].”
The disciples had been given the power to do various kinds
of miracles.
Luke 10:17
“The Seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord,
even the demons submit to us in Your name.”
They had performed miracles and cast out demons, so this
should not be an issue for them. But in this case, they could not do it. Jesus
let them know that they had not prayed enough. Sounds like they had put their
faith in themselves not Jesus. After all they had cast out demons before, they
could do it again. They forgot that it was through God that these things were
possible, not through the power of the disciples.
How often do we try to accomplish things only to fail.
Sometimes it is something new, but other times it may be something we have done
many times. Sharing your faith with a friend is a good example. Sometimes we
seem to say the right things and other times we do not get the results we would
like. I know from personal experience that this is the case. I have shared the
gospel with people and they have accepted Jesus and I have done it and it makes
them angry. To often we try to force it. If we pray about it and let the Holy
Spirit guide us, He will let us know when the time is right and give us the
words to share. On our power we will
fail, on His power we will succeed.
God wants to do amazing things through every single one of
us.
Philippians 2:13
“For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to
desire and to work out His good purpose.”
The point we need to remember is that it is God doing the
work not us. We need to be as close to God as possible. We need to be spending
time in God’s Word and we need to be talking to Him. Having that close
relationship allows God to work in and through us, without being close to God
we will fail trying to do it on our own.
The faith of the man grew because he asked Jesus for help.
Mark 9:22-27
“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.” 23 Then
Jesus said to him, “‘If You can’? Everything
is possible to the one who believes.” 24 Immediately
the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.” 25 When
Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked the
unclean spirit, saying to it,“You mute and
deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him
again!” 26 Then it came out, shrieking and
convulsing him violently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many
said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the
hand, raised him, and he stood up.”
At that moment when Jesus questioned the man’s faith the man
cried out. He wanted to know if his belief in Jesus and what He could do was
real. Not knowing for sure, he appealed to Jesus to help him believe. The crowd
obviously did not have faith since they thought the boy was dead, but Jesus
showed the crowd and the father that his belief was sincere. It was through the
father’s faith that Jesus worked.
A couple of minutes ago I mentioned we need to be talking to
God. One of the things we should be asking Him is to help us have more faith.
More faith means believing and acting on those beliefs, more today than we did
yesterday. Faith-ing, actively stretching our faith, allows us to have greater
kingdom impact.
Here was a father who was unsure if Jesus could help him and
he asked for more faith. As believers we need to be doing the same thing,
asking for more faith, asking for more opportunities to stretch our faith, and
then putting our faith in action as the Holy Spirit guides us.
The challenge in a passage like this is that it may lead
people to believe that faith brings instant gratification. There are many who
proclaim that exact message, but the author of Hebrews pointed out several
examples to tell us otherwise. God’s response to our faith is not always
immediate. In fact, the outcome might not be known for hundreds of years.
As Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything
is possible to the one who believes.” Jesus believed. His faith was
larger than a mustard seed. Whenever Jesus spoke miracles happened. He healed
the lame, cured the sick, and even raised the dead. Jesus didn’t perform
miracles for His own glory.
John 11:40-42
“40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the
glory of God?”
41 So they removed the stone. Then
Jesus raised His eyes and said, “Father, I
thank You that You heard Me.42 I know that You
always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may
believe You sent Me.””
Jesus performed miracles so that others might truly see the
Glory of God. His ministry was to point people to the Father as our ministry is
to point people to Jesus.
The man in this passage saw God’s glory because he had
faith. His son was restored. Like this father, our faith must lead us to Jesus.
Letting Him be our focus. Letting Him drown out the noise. Letting Him remove
the distractions. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus at all times.
Unlike the disciples, we must not allow our past
experiences, or faith in our own abilities make us overconfident. The last
thing we should do is to think we can take care of it on our own since we have
done it before. What we must remember is that if Jesus gave us the power to do
it in the past, you need to trust Him again! It is by His power, not yours.
Like the father in the passage when you find yourself
challenged by everything going on, the turmoil of life, and you find your faith
is weak, pray to Jesus asking Him to ‘Help Your Unbelief.” Ask Him to give you
the faith you need to know that He will provide what is needed in His way and
in His time.
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