I do Believe, help me overcome my unbelief (Mark 9:14-29) Please keep your Bibles handy at Mark chapter 9 starting at verse 14 and we re going

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1 1 I do Believe, help me overcome my unbelief (Mark 9:14-29) Café 30-Oct-16 Please keep your Bibles handy at Mark chapter 9 starting at verse 14 and we re going through to verse 29. There are Bibles on the table in front of you. And there s an outline in the bulletin for you to follow and take notes if you wish Let me pray first Intro [Powerpoint 1] Last week we talked about a mountain top experience where some of the disciples got a glimpse of Jesus heavenly glory which we can be part of if we believe and follow Jesus. And we said that we can hang on to the hope of being part of that heavenly glory as we struggle through our lives here on earth. And we can pass that hope on to others. As they come down the mountain and joined the other disciples they find them embroiled in a controversy with the teachers of the law v14 The private mountain top experience is soon a distant memory as people flock to see Jesus and are overwhelmed with wonder v15 The controversy is because there is a boy who is possessed by a spirit that has made him unable to speak and leaves him having seizures that throw him on the ground and he foams from the mouth gnashing his teeth and then he becomes rigid. And the boy s father is desperate for his boy to be healed But the disciples have not been able to heal him! The Story If the disciples can t heal the boy Jesus can and will! Jesus asks how long the boy has been like this The father says from childhood and says IF YOU CAN help, Jesus [Powerpoint 2a] Page 1 of 5

2 Success of Jesus Of course Jesus CAN! Jesus says everything is possible if someone believes The father says he does believe, but then asks Jesus to help is unbelief? What does that mean? [Open up to Answers] "Help my unbelief" is something a man can only say by faith. "While men have no faith, they are unconscious of their unbelief; but, as soon as they get a little faith, then they begin to be conscious of the greatness of their unbelief." (Spurgeon) {When we have faith we are conscious of the greatness of our unbelief (according to Spurgeon)} Faith is a bit like when we learn about a new subject as we learn something, it s then we realize just how much we don t know before we started learning we were ignorant ignorance is bliss! Faith works the same way once we start believing and trusting in Jesus the more we realize how much more we still need to believe and trust him for everything not just some things! 2 Once the man has expressed faith Jesus casts out the demon simply by SPEAKING and notice he commands the Spirit not just to come out but to never renter the boy see v25 Failure of the disciples [Powerpoint 2b] Why did the disciples fail? [Open for answers] See verse 19 Lack of faith unbelief! Because everything is possible for someone who believes see v23 And lack of prayer see verse 29? And some manuscripts also include fasting? Application How can we apply this to our lives today [Powerpoint 3a Warning] Warning Page 2 of 5

3 We can be tempted to take Jesus words in isolation Especially everything is possible for one who believes v23 But we can t take one verse in isolation Look up 1 John 5:14 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. We must ask according to God s will Taking Jesus words in isolation might give people false hope Like saying to someone if you believe in Jesus you ll prosper and be rich what are we going to say if they lose their job the next day? We must take Jesus words in context Our faith must be according to God s will See Jesus in the Garden facing death see Mark 14:35-36 The apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh Lookup 2 Cor 12:7-9 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ s power may rest on me As someone once said: All things are possible but they must be on the menu! Also some things are not possible - because they are asked for selfish reasons or wrong motives Lookup John 4:3 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Or because we don t keep His commands Lookup 1 John 3:22 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 3 Page 3 of 5

4 JESUS WORDS PRESUME THAT WHAT WE RE PRAYING FOR PLEASES GOD AND IS ACCORDING TO HIS WILL AND ASSUMES OUR OBEDIENCE! 4 Principles [Powerpoint 3b] So here s 3 principles to take home with us tonight 1. The importance of FAITH a. We can t underestimate faith (See Heb 11:6) 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him b. Faith grows through word of God (see Rom 10:17) 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 2. The Power of PRAYER a. Our faith whilst important is not always sufficient b. God must be involved we must be connected to God through prayer c. That s what Jesus tells the disciples the boy s case needs prayer as well as faith Look up James 5:14 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. d. But prayer is also dependent on God s will as we said before see 1 John 5:14 3. The Role of FASTING a. Fasting is also mentioned in some of the manuscripts that were used to put together the Bible we have today b. Fasting was often joined to prayer. Lookup Ezra 8: There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who Page 4 of 5

5 forsake him. 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. c. Fasting Fasting is not just the idea of giving up food and focusing on the fact that we ve given up food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take our eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and renew our reliance and dependence upon God to help us in whatever circumstance we are in By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to God and to Jesus. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. The idea of fasting is to commit a serious/dire concern to God and focus on God and his help and putting the idea of preparing and eating food to one side forgetting about our own needs and focusing on God and His purposes for our life and the lives of others 5 Conclusion So Faith, prayer and fasting as we seek God s will and not ours can achieve the most remarkable things. Example: prayers cancer disappears! Do you have a need? A problem? A concern that needs to be taken to God? How is your faith? How is your prayer life? Have you considered fasting? Q & A Page 5 of 5