If You Can...
Mark 9:14-29
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.
Last week we dealt with the question, “If you are willing…” this week we see the question raised in Mark, “If you can…” The leper in asking, “If you are willing…” had complete faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him. But what if we are more like the father in this story and our question for Jesus is, “If you can…” Why, so many times, is our faith weak?
There are two examples of weak faith in this story. First of all the disciples are unable to cast out the demon from the boy. There are 9 disciples involved in this story. The other three, Peter, James, and John were just coming down from the mountain where they had witnessed the glory of Jesus at His transfiguration. Earlier we read the disciples had driven out demons while on their mission trip to the villages. They had been given authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
Matt. 10:1 - He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
Mark 9:14-29
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.
Last week we dealt with the question, “If you are willing…” this week we see the question raised in Mark, “If you can…” The leper in asking, “If you are willing…” had complete faith in Jesus’ ability to heal him. But what if we are more like the father in this story and our question for Jesus is, “If you can…” Why, so many times, is our faith weak?
There are two examples of weak faith in this story. First of all the disciples are unable to cast out the demon from the boy. There are 9 disciples involved in this story. The other three, Peter, James, and John were just coming down from the mountain where they had witnessed the glory of Jesus at His transfiguration. Earlier we read the disciples had driven out demons while on their mission trip to the villages. They had been given authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
Matt. 10:1 - He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
However, here the disciples were unable to drive out the demon and Jesus rebukes them in v. 19 calling them “unbelieving”.
The second example of unbelief is the father of the demon-possessed boy. He tells Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” He obviously had some knowledge of Jesus, because he brought his son to him and his disciples to be healed. But maybe after the disciples failed he wasn’t for sure if Jesus could help. Has the failure of someone else in your life caused your faith in Jesus to be weakened? Or maybe the answer to a prayer was not what you thought it should be (maybe you didn’t understand) and your faith in Jesus’ power in your life became weak?
What is faith? What kind of faith should we have? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Two words describe faith: sure and certain. It is not an emotional kind of wishful thinking; it is an inner conviction based on the Word of God. Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
What should our faith look like? Faith accomplishes things because there is power in the Word of God. When we believe and obey what He says, the power of the Word accomplishes things in our lives. Our faith should be active through obedience. (See James 2:14-26).
So how do we act out our faith? Hebrews 11 is called the Hall of Fame of Faith. God gives us examples of great heroes of faith. Heroes who like us were not always perfect. (See Hebrews 11:4-12).
Abel offered a better sacrifice (Heb 11:4). The verb action word is “offered.” What have you offered Jesus? What sacrifice have you made for him? Because of Abel’s offering even though he is dead he still speaks. Abel has left a legacy of faith for us.
Enoch was one who pleased God (Heb 11:5). Do you make God smile? The Greek word for please is euaresteo which means satisfy. Enoch lived a dedicated life to God in a wicked world. He set his life to pleasing/satisfying the God of the universe. How pleasing is your life to God?
Noah’s action faith was “holy fear" (Heb 11:7). Noah acted in reverence. In holy fear he acted out in obedience. In what ways do you show reverence to God?
Abraham obeyed and went (Heb 11:8). Abraham believed God when he did not know where, when he did not know how, when he did not when, and when he did not know why. Are you willing to believe and obey when you do not know where, how, when or why?
Sarah received ability to conceive because she considered God to be faithful to His promise. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised (Heb. 11:11).
The second example of unbelief is the father of the demon-possessed boy. He tells Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” He obviously had some knowledge of Jesus, because he brought his son to him and his disciples to be healed. But maybe after the disciples failed he wasn’t for sure if Jesus could help. Has the failure of someone else in your life caused your faith in Jesus to be weakened? Or maybe the answer to a prayer was not what you thought it should be (maybe you didn’t understand) and your faith in Jesus’ power in your life became weak?
What is faith? What kind of faith should we have? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Two words describe faith: sure and certain. It is not an emotional kind of wishful thinking; it is an inner conviction based on the Word of God. Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
What should our faith look like? Faith accomplishes things because there is power in the Word of God. When we believe and obey what He says, the power of the Word accomplishes things in our lives. Our faith should be active through obedience. (See James 2:14-26).
So how do we act out our faith? Hebrews 11 is called the Hall of Fame of Faith. God gives us examples of great heroes of faith. Heroes who like us were not always perfect. (See Hebrews 11:4-12).
Abel offered a better sacrifice (Heb 11:4). The verb action word is “offered.” What have you offered Jesus? What sacrifice have you made for him? Because of Abel’s offering even though he is dead he still speaks. Abel has left a legacy of faith for us.
Enoch was one who pleased God (Heb 11:5). Do you make God smile? The Greek word for please is euaresteo which means satisfy. Enoch lived a dedicated life to God in a wicked world. He set his life to pleasing/satisfying the God of the universe. How pleasing is your life to God?
Noah’s action faith was “holy fear" (Heb 11:7). Noah acted in reverence. In holy fear he acted out in obedience. In what ways do you show reverence to God?
Abraham obeyed and went (Heb 11:8). Abraham believed God when he did not know where, when he did not know how, when he did not when, and when he did not know why. Are you willing to believe and obey when you do not know where, how, when or why?
Sarah received ability to conceive because she considered God to be faithful to His promise. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised (Heb. 11:11).
Do you believe God to be faithful to His promises? Do you know what His promises are?
How do obtain more faith? We can find the answer to looking back at our two examples of weak faith in Mark. First of all the disciples faltering faith came from the lack of prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus why they could not drive out the demon, Jesus responded by telling them only through prayer. We, just like the disciples often face difficult situations that can only be resolved by prayer. Prayer is the key that unlocks faith in our lives. Effective prayer needs both attitude – complete dependence – and an action – asking. Prayer demonstrates our reliance on God as we humbly invite him to fill us with faith and power. There is no substitute for prayer, especially in circumstances that seem impossible.
The second example (and my favorite) is the response of the father. Mark 9:23-24 - " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
I can so relate to his response. “I do believe! Only I know that I don’t believe enough, Help me!” I believe that you have saved me, help me believe in your continuing work in me! (Phil 1:6).
James 4:2-3 - You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 1:5-8 - If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
So how do we obtain more faith? We quite simply ask for it. Faith is not something we can obtain with out help. Faith is a gift from God. No matter how much faith we have, we never reach the point of being self-sufficient. Faith is not stored away like money in a bank. Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewing our trust in Jesus. Then after asking we act upon it in obedience to Christ!
2 Cor. 4:18 - So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Matthew’s account of Jesus reply to the disciples question has a little more detail. Matthew 17: 19-21 - Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Do you have a mountain that needs to be moved?
Ask for the faith to move that mountain!
