Real Honest Faith
Mark
9:14-29
As a person is a follower of Jesus for awhile we face a significant challenge. It is an internal challenge, but it influences what we do, how we relate to others, how we know Jesus and follow him. some grow through this challenge, and some do not. For many, this challenge is the place they stay in regards to their spiritual life, they learn how to avoid the challenge and never grow through the challenge. Others will realize the significance of the challenge and face the challenge on the battleground of their heart. The heart is the place in our lives where nearly all the significant advances of our faith occur.
This is the challenge - we try to turn our faith into a process rather than a relationship. a series of activities, beliefs, propositions, that if we just hold these truths to be true, if we just do these right things, say the right words, even get our hearts into the right condition then God will move.
This week I had a conversation with a person who wanted to talk about spiritual warfare. This person had had their home broken into, some strange things had happened in the process. This person wanted to know 'what they could do to deal with the spiritual warfare that was going on around them.' What is the spiritual perscription to deal with the challenges of life.
Life is hard sometimes. Sometimes harder than other times, but we face real challenge in life. At times we will face challenges so significant that it tests the mettle of our faith. Someone gets seriously ill, a child is not responding as a parent would hope for them, a financial crisis crushes down on us, loved ones die, we want things fixed, resolved, made better - what do we have to do to bring that about - and where does my faith influence my responses?
This story in Mark 9 causes us to consider what is REAL - HONEST - FAITH
the disciples thought they knew how to deal with the evil spirit wrecking the boys life
the father was emotionally and intellectually wrecked - at his wits end to know what to do and how to help his son
What is Real Faith?
REAL
re·al
-adjective
Authentic is an important word today, to know that something - or someone - is what or who they say they are.
We can be skeptical of politicians because we may not believe they are who they say they are - that they may be telling us just what we want to hear inorder to get what they want and then once they get it then they become someone else who say and do things differntly than they told us origionally. - we are concerned they may not be 'real' with us.
sometimes we present ourselves differently than who we really are. we inflate our abilities, exagerate our accomplishments, we present ourselves as having more importance or authority than we really have.
we may think 'we know best' - and that is really how things work
Spiritually we can act like we have got this 'faith in Jesus' thing down - I know how Jesus works, and I know how he works through me
The truth is : It is Jesus power that accomplishes spiritual work - not our activities
Mark 9:17 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."
Mark 9:19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
In reality it is Jesus that brings life to a person, it is Jesus that people come to - not the disciples, not us -
The father said: "Teacher, I brought you my son..."
It is Jesus who meets the child's (and father's) needs
Jesus says: "Bring the boy to me."
The father had a great concern, the child had a great need - the disciples thought they could deal with the situation on their own. then they could tell Jesus "see what we did"
Jesus takes great delight in exercising his power through his church, but we must always remember it is his power not our own, it is his strength, not our own.
This shows how feeble the disciples are on their own. The disciples can be just like all of us; a life or ministry marked by weaknesses, too ready to engage in arguments, undisciplined in prayer life and more eager to learn spiritual techniques than to take time to walk closely with God. We want people to come to us - as Jesus representatives - to ask us the spiritual questions -because we've got it together. Sometimes we secretly like to look like the one with some spiritual authority and we forget that we dont have any - only Jesus has any spiritual strength or authority
to their credit, the disciples are teachable and want to learn from their mistakes, their question for Jesus was "Why couldn't we drive it out?". However, their question reaveals their assumption. The emphasis is on 'we' and reveals their longing to rely on their own 'professional' skill and power. They may have wondered if their was something wrong with their techniques that made things not to work and the demons to not respond to them.
the same thing happened to some first century brothers...
Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Today, Jesus exercises his power through his church - Eph 3:10
we who are part of His body, His church - have the opportunity to be used by him, but it is Jesus that people need, not you or I as individuals, but we as a part of his church can be instruments that God's Holy Spirit uses to minister to people - to meet their REAL needs in REAL ways because of the REAL presence and power of Jesus in us.
This power does not rely on a technique or special knowledge, but a heart that is willing to submit to him and be used by him
The disciples had been tempted to believe that the gift that they had received from Jesus in Mark 6:7 when he "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits." was in their control and could be exercised at their disposal. This attitude comes from a subtle form of unbelief. When someone has some success, it encourages them to trust in themselves and their technique rather than in God alone. They were guilty of what Marshall calls an "anxious self-concern" and a "misplaced self confidence"
The disciples - and us as well - must realize that when Paul said "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" he understood that REAL power, ability, strength comes from Jesus alone.
What is required of us?
an Honest faith
a sincere, frank, genuine expression of who we are, what our life is like, and what we need.
we need, our world, needs Jesus today, more than they need friends, or healing or peace in their circumstances.
in this story, we see an honest father. we see his desperate need and cry for help, and what the exchange between himself and Jesus says about faith.
This father was hurting because his child was hurting. Can't you imagine he has tried everything he can think of to find relief for his son.
But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
Mark 9:23 " ‘If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
The gospel draws people who are hurting and they place their hope in Jesus - not us.
In his book, "How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?" Lewis Smedes honestly came to a realization when he wrote:
"They came to my church on Sunday, ordinary people did, but I did not recognize them in the early days. I know now why I did not recognize them, I did not want them to be ordinary people... I wanted them to be spiritual athletes, shoulders strong to bear the burdens of global justice that my prophetic words laid upon them. But while I was offering them the precious promises and walloping them with the heroic mandates of the Word of God, many of them were secretly praying "O God, I don't think I can get through this week -- HELP ME!" What they have in common is a sense that everything is all wrong where it matters to them most. What they desperately need is a miracle of faith to know that life at the center is all right."
In this passage we have a father who honestly needs what Jesus offers, he comes in honest recognition of where he is at..
Three qualities that reveal his honesty -
Confession - recognizing Jesus - "I do believe..."
the father is willing to admit he needs Jesus
at that time - he was more honest and willing to admit his need of Jesus more than the disciple realized their own need for Jesus
Jesus said that "Everything is possible for him who believes" and everything the father needed was found in Jesus and so he was willing to confess that only Jesus was able to meet his needs
Repentance - "help me overcome" = attitude that wants to change - "help me change the way I think, the way I understand what is real"
"I may not know how you can do this, no one else seems able, but help me realize this" I am going to stop looking to others to do what only you can do"
Humility - "...my unbelief..." - recognizing his own weakness and continuing to move ahead
"have pity on us and help us"
the hardest thing some will do is ask for help, realizing we are insufficient, incapable
as Nouwen says: "...all is grace and nothing is simply the result of hard work."
The father experienced REAL - HONEST -
FAITH
This father is like so many parents today who helplessly watch their child suffer from some malignant disease, caught in the grip of some addiction, living in the tug of war of significant emotional or relational challenges. These parents experience anger, frustration and the anguish of despair in not knowing where to turn for help. They fear in their deepest soul that something has taken control of their children's lives that will severely hurt or even kill them unless they can be delivered.
We also witness more and more children in our society who are convulsed by values that roll them around in the dirt. Hopelessness throws them into the fire of drugs and alcohol and drowns them in despair. Teenagers who get caught in the grips of anorexia, and parents stand helplessly by seeking answers and worrying themselves sick. Their best efforts bring no relief.
The most severe challenges to faith come when loved ones suffer or die, particularly when they are young. When hopes are raised only to be smashed - that is when we find it hard to really have hope again in a God who is "good and loving".
The father in Mark 9 has almost reached the point where he has given up all hope - and Jesus encourages him to have FAITH. Faith unleashes a new power in a persons life, but there are a few cautions that need to be raised:
1 - Beware of Cheap Faith - People will say too glibly to others "Just have faith" - and mouth platitudes about the great power of faith. Living out real faith - honestly - is NEVER easy - and it grows harder in the midst of uncertainty or tragedy. There seems to always be a tension between faith and doubt. In Mk 4 & 6 Jesus chastizes the disciples for their lack of faith and yet here he responds to the fathers honesty of the struggle to believe.
Marshall said "There is within every believer a tension between faith and unfaith, and that faith can only continue to exist by divine aid."
Chesterton wrote of faith as "a string which is always stretched to snapping yet never snaps."
Faith is always at a disadvantage and seems so fragile but nevertheless can outlive all its would-be conquerors.
This father ties what little faith he has to Christ and asks for help just as he is.
2 - Dwight L. Moody said there were three kinds of faith, struggling faith, like a man in deep water struggling to swim, clinging faith like a man hanging on the side of a boat, and resting faith like a man safely inside the boat and able to reach out and help others get in. Many, like the father, have struggling faith, a faith that causes one to believe in the fantastic against all odds. Most experience all three kinds of faith and move back and forth between them. We can have a resting faith until some life event comes along that like a giant wave capsizes our boat and we are back in the water again.
3 - Faith requires a humble trust. The father comes to Jesus hesitantly, he doesn't come with a bold swagger - but says: "if you can do anything, take pity on us..."
4 - Faith comes as a gift and is sustained by the power of Jesus. It is not a secure possession obtained once for all, as the father didnt trust in his own capacity to believe but asked Jesus to help sustain his faith.
Faith is God going into action
Our Spiritual Strength comes from an abiding relationship with the Father
NOT WORKS
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
Mark 9:29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer.'"
Faith and prayer make a powerful combination. Faith is not just an inner comfort but it changes human reality
Jesus does not pray in this situation as you or I might pray, taking a few minutes to call out to the Holy Father. He did not take several minutes of silently clearing his mind so he could focus on spiritually connecting with God. but instead he lived in the constant awareness of His Fathers will. He was praying in the midst of asking the disciples what they were arguing about, he was connected to the Father as he listened to the incapability of the disciples spiritual strength, he was praying as he listened to the child's father describe his sons condition and confess his lack of faith, he was praying as he rebuked the evil spirit.
Jesus teaches his disciples what this kind of prayer life looks like in John:
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus wants you and I to experience the kind of spiritual strength that draws upon a real - honest - faith that addresses real issues and concerns of life. We do not spend our lives on mountain top spiritual experiences like Peter, James and John experienced in the transfiguration on top of the mountain. We can have wonderful spiritual experiences on retreats, worship gatherings, Christian conferences, - but that is not real life. our faith is lived in the valleys of life, the ups and downs and more than that, people around us who do not have Christ are there with us and need the kind of faith like Jesus wants us to live in.
You and I can experience this kind of faith - but we must we must realize that our faith is the expression of our dependent relationship with Jesus - not a demonstration of our own ideas, strength or processes.
we must be willing to come to Jesus - confessing our trust in him alone, repenting of our own initiatives and actions and humbly receive the gift of faith
and we must live in an abiding relationship with the one who is constantly bringing strength into my life.
Does this describe you?
As a person is a follower of Jesus for awhile we face a significant challenge. It is an internal challenge, but it influences what we do, how we relate to others, how we know Jesus and follow him. some grow through this challenge, and some do not. For many, this challenge is the place they stay in regards to their spiritual life, they learn how to avoid the challenge and never grow through the challenge. Others will realize the significance of the challenge and face the challenge on the battleground of their heart. The heart is the place in our lives where nearly all the significant advances of our faith occur.
This is the challenge - we try to turn our faith into a process rather than a relationship. a series of activities, beliefs, propositions, that if we just hold these truths to be true, if we just do these right things, say the right words, even get our hearts into the right condition then God will move.
This week I had a conversation with a person who wanted to talk about spiritual warfare. This person had had their home broken into, some strange things had happened in the process. This person wanted to know 'what they could do to deal with the spiritual warfare that was going on around them.' What is the spiritual perscription to deal with the challenges of life.
Life is hard sometimes. Sometimes harder than other times, but we face real challenge in life. At times we will face challenges so significant that it tests the mettle of our faith. Someone gets seriously ill, a child is not responding as a parent would hope for them, a financial crisis crushes down on us, loved ones die, we want things fixed, resolved, made better - what do we have to do to bring that about - and where does my faith influence my responses?
This story in Mark 9 causes us to consider what is REAL - HONEST - FAITH
the disciples thought they knew how to deal with the evil spirit wrecking the boys life
the father was emotionally and intellectually wrecked - at his wits end to know what to do and how to help his son
What is Real Faith?
REAL
re·al
-adjective
| 1. | true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act. |
| 2. | existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life. |
| 3. | being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up. |
| 4. | being actually such; not merely so-called: a real victory. |
| 5. | genuine; not counterfeit, artificial, or imitation; authentic: a real antique; a real diamond; real silk. |
Authentic is an important word today, to know that something - or someone - is what or who they say they are.
We can be skeptical of politicians because we may not believe they are who they say they are - that they may be telling us just what we want to hear inorder to get what they want and then once they get it then they become someone else who say and do things differntly than they told us origionally. - we are concerned they may not be 'real' with us.
sometimes we present ourselves differently than who we really are. we inflate our abilities, exagerate our accomplishments, we present ourselves as having more importance or authority than we really have.
we may think 'we know best' - and that is really how things work
Spiritually we can act like we have got this 'faith in Jesus' thing down - I know how Jesus works, and I know how he works through me
The truth is : It is Jesus power that accomplishes spiritual work - not our activities
Mark 9:17 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."
Mark 9:19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
In reality it is Jesus that brings life to a person, it is Jesus that people come to - not the disciples, not us -
The father said: "Teacher, I brought you my son..."
It is Jesus who meets the child's (and father's) needs
Jesus says: "Bring the boy to me."
The father had a great concern, the child had a great need - the disciples thought they could deal with the situation on their own. then they could tell Jesus "see what we did"
Jesus takes great delight in exercising his power through his church, but we must always remember it is his power not our own, it is his strength, not our own.
This shows how feeble the disciples are on their own. The disciples can be just like all of us; a life or ministry marked by weaknesses, too ready to engage in arguments, undisciplined in prayer life and more eager to learn spiritual techniques than to take time to walk closely with God. We want people to come to us - as Jesus representatives - to ask us the spiritual questions -because we've got it together. Sometimes we secretly like to look like the one with some spiritual authority and we forget that we dont have any - only Jesus has any spiritual strength or authority
to their credit, the disciples are teachable and want to learn from their mistakes, their question for Jesus was "Why couldn't we drive it out?". However, their question reaveals their assumption. The emphasis is on 'we' and reveals their longing to rely on their own 'professional' skill and power. They may have wondered if their was something wrong with their techniques that made things not to work and the demons to not respond to them.
the same thing happened to some first century brothers...
Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Today, Jesus exercises his power through his church - Eph 3:10
we who are part of His body, His church - have the opportunity to be used by him, but it is Jesus that people need, not you or I as individuals, but we as a part of his church can be instruments that God's Holy Spirit uses to minister to people - to meet their REAL needs in REAL ways because of the REAL presence and power of Jesus in us.
This power does not rely on a technique or special knowledge, but a heart that is willing to submit to him and be used by him
The disciples had been tempted to believe that the gift that they had received from Jesus in Mark 6:7 when he "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits." was in their control and could be exercised at their disposal. This attitude comes from a subtle form of unbelief. When someone has some success, it encourages them to trust in themselves and their technique rather than in God alone. They were guilty of what Marshall calls an "anxious self-concern" and a "misplaced self confidence"
The disciples - and us as well - must realize that when Paul said "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" he understood that REAL power, ability, strength comes from Jesus alone.
What is required of us?
an Honest faith
a sincere, frank, genuine expression of who we are, what our life is like, and what we need.
we need, our world, needs Jesus today, more than they need friends, or healing or peace in their circumstances.
in this story, we see an honest father. we see his desperate need and cry for help, and what the exchange between himself and Jesus says about faith.
This father was hurting because his child was hurting. Can't you imagine he has tried everything he can think of to find relief for his son.
But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
Mark 9:23 " ‘If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
The gospel draws people who are hurting and they place their hope in Jesus - not us.
In his book, "How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?" Lewis Smedes honestly came to a realization when he wrote:
"They came to my church on Sunday, ordinary people did, but I did not recognize them in the early days. I know now why I did not recognize them, I did not want them to be ordinary people... I wanted them to be spiritual athletes, shoulders strong to bear the burdens of global justice that my prophetic words laid upon them. But while I was offering them the precious promises and walloping them with the heroic mandates of the Word of God, many of them were secretly praying "O God, I don't think I can get through this week -- HELP ME!" What they have in common is a sense that everything is all wrong where it matters to them most. What they desperately need is a miracle of faith to know that life at the center is all right."
In this passage we have a father who honestly needs what Jesus offers, he comes in honest recognition of where he is at..
Three qualities that reveal his honesty -
Confession - recognizing Jesus - "I do believe..."
the father is willing to admit he needs Jesus
at that time - he was more honest and willing to admit his need of Jesus more than the disciple realized their own need for Jesus
Jesus said that "Everything is possible for him who believes" and everything the father needed was found in Jesus and so he was willing to confess that only Jesus was able to meet his needs
Repentance - "help me overcome" = attitude that wants to change - "help me change the way I think, the way I understand what is real"
"I may not know how you can do this, no one else seems able, but help me realize this" I am going to stop looking to others to do what only you can do"
Humility - "...my unbelief..." - recognizing his own weakness and continuing to move ahead
"have pity on us and help us"
the hardest thing some will do is ask for help, realizing we are insufficient, incapable
as Nouwen says: "...all is grace and nothing is simply the result of hard work."
The father experienced REAL - HONEST -
FAITH
This father is like so many parents today who helplessly watch their child suffer from some malignant disease, caught in the grip of some addiction, living in the tug of war of significant emotional or relational challenges. These parents experience anger, frustration and the anguish of despair in not knowing where to turn for help. They fear in their deepest soul that something has taken control of their children's lives that will severely hurt or even kill them unless they can be delivered.
We also witness more and more children in our society who are convulsed by values that roll them around in the dirt. Hopelessness throws them into the fire of drugs and alcohol and drowns them in despair. Teenagers who get caught in the grips of anorexia, and parents stand helplessly by seeking answers and worrying themselves sick. Their best efforts bring no relief.
The most severe challenges to faith come when loved ones suffer or die, particularly when they are young. When hopes are raised only to be smashed - that is when we find it hard to really have hope again in a God who is "good and loving".
The father in Mark 9 has almost reached the point where he has given up all hope - and Jesus encourages him to have FAITH. Faith unleashes a new power in a persons life, but there are a few cautions that need to be raised:
1 - Beware of Cheap Faith - People will say too glibly to others "Just have faith" - and mouth platitudes about the great power of faith. Living out real faith - honestly - is NEVER easy - and it grows harder in the midst of uncertainty or tragedy. There seems to always be a tension between faith and doubt. In Mk 4 & 6 Jesus chastizes the disciples for their lack of faith and yet here he responds to the fathers honesty of the struggle to believe.
Marshall said "There is within every believer a tension between faith and unfaith, and that faith can only continue to exist by divine aid."
Chesterton wrote of faith as "a string which is always stretched to snapping yet never snaps."
Faith is always at a disadvantage and seems so fragile but nevertheless can outlive all its would-be conquerors.
This father ties what little faith he has to Christ and asks for help just as he is.
2 - Dwight L. Moody said there were three kinds of faith, struggling faith, like a man in deep water struggling to swim, clinging faith like a man hanging on the side of a boat, and resting faith like a man safely inside the boat and able to reach out and help others get in. Many, like the father, have struggling faith, a faith that causes one to believe in the fantastic against all odds. Most experience all three kinds of faith and move back and forth between them. We can have a resting faith until some life event comes along that like a giant wave capsizes our boat and we are back in the water again.
3 - Faith requires a humble trust. The father comes to Jesus hesitantly, he doesn't come with a bold swagger - but says: "if you can do anything, take pity on us..."
4 - Faith comes as a gift and is sustained by the power of Jesus. It is not a secure possession obtained once for all, as the father didnt trust in his own capacity to believe but asked Jesus to help sustain his faith.
Faith is God going into action
Our Spiritual Strength comes from an abiding relationship with the Father
NOT WORKS
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
Mark 9:29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer.'"
Faith and prayer make a powerful combination. Faith is not just an inner comfort but it changes human reality
Jesus does not pray in this situation as you or I might pray, taking a few minutes to call out to the Holy Father. He did not take several minutes of silently clearing his mind so he could focus on spiritually connecting with God. but instead he lived in the constant awareness of His Fathers will. He was praying in the midst of asking the disciples what they were arguing about, he was connected to the Father as he listened to the incapability of the disciples spiritual strength, he was praying as he listened to the child's father describe his sons condition and confess his lack of faith, he was praying as he rebuked the evil spirit.
Jesus teaches his disciples what this kind of prayer life looks like in John:
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus wants you and I to experience the kind of spiritual strength that draws upon a real - honest - faith that addresses real issues and concerns of life. We do not spend our lives on mountain top spiritual experiences like Peter, James and John experienced in the transfiguration on top of the mountain. We can have wonderful spiritual experiences on retreats, worship gatherings, Christian conferences, - but that is not real life. our faith is lived in the valleys of life, the ups and downs and more than that, people around us who do not have Christ are there with us and need the kind of faith like Jesus wants us to live in.
You and I can experience this kind of faith - but we must we must realize that our faith is the expression of our dependent relationship with Jesus - not a demonstration of our own ideas, strength or processes.
we must be willing to come to Jesus - confessing our trust in him alone, repenting of our own initiatives and actions and humbly receive the gift of faith
and we must live in an abiding relationship with the one who is constantly bringing strength into my life.
Does this describe you?