Now's the Time: For Overcoming Faith

As we look to our text, realize that Jesus came into a situation where a man’s son needed deliverance. Jesus’ disciples are there along with a crowd. When Jesus is told that His disciples could not cast out a demon…

Mark 9:19–24 (NASB95) And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”

Christ distinguished between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, ‘I can’t believe.’ Unbelief says, ‘I won’t believe.’Doubt is honest. Unbelief is obstinate.

Henry Drummond

20 They brought the boy to Him. When he [the demon] saw [Jesus], immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 And [Jesus] asked [the boy’s] father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

This father was a desperate man.

He fought a constant battle just to keep his son alive — maybe every day.

He needed a miracle and he went to the right source — he went to Jesus.

But he still needed something — he needed faith — overcoming faith

When confronted by Jesus with this requirement, this desperate dad admitted what many of us sense:

We have SOME faith — but is it enough?

Charles Spurgeon said: It is very noticeable that this father does not say, “Lord, I believe; help thou my child.”

Nor does he say, “Lord, I believe; now cast the devil out of my boy.”

Not at all.

He perceives that his own unbelief was harder to overcome than the devil, and that to heal him of his spiritual disease was a more needful work than even to heal his child of the sad malady under which he labored!—18.71

We too face extraordinary battles as we live in extraordinarily evil times.

Now is the time for overcoming faith.

Overcoming faith is what Jesus told the 7 churches of Asia was absolutely needed for His miracles in their lives:

To the church at Ephesus: To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God

To the church at Smyrna: He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

To the church at Pergamum: To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

To the church at Thyatira: He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27 AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star.

To the church at Sardis: Revelation 3:5 (NASB95) ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

To the church at Philadelphia: Revelation 3:12 (NASB95) ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

To the church at Laodicea: Revelation 3:21 (NASB95) ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Now is the time, if ever there was a time for overcoming faith.

We need miracles in our lives.

We go to Jesus — and that it the right place!

But we need to also have faith — ever-increasing, overcoming faith.

In Mark 5:21-24 we read about another desperate person.

A woman with a bleeding problem that had gone on for years

Mark tells us about a miracle that resulted from extraordinary faith.

A woman in the crowd has suffered bleeding for over a decade.

in humility she touches only Jesus’ clothes.

Not only did she trust that Jesus could heal her,

she trusted that merely touching his garment would be sufficient.

When Jesus discovers what happened, He says, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mk 5:34).

For this desperate woman, faith brought healing, peace and release from suffering.

So, she exemplifies what it means to “have faith in Jesus.”

To have faith in Jesus means to trust Him without reservation or doubt.

This is the type of faith all Christians must have. When we have faith in Jesus we:

➤ Believe who He is and what he has done—

To have faith in Jesus is to believe He is the Son of God, who took on a fleshly, bodily form and lived among humanity (see Jn 1:14).

It is also to declare that He is Lord, that he died on the cross at Calvary and that He was resurrected from the dead (see Ro 10:9–10).

➤ Reject all other paths to salvation—To have faith in Jesus is to believe there is no other path to salvation (see Ac 4:12).

➤ Completely surrender to him—

Faith in Jesus is more than mere belief.

Satan knows Christ was resurrected from the dead and has ascended to heaven.

But Satan does not have faith in Christ, because he has not surrendered to God’s will.

Similarly, believing the right doctrines about Jesus is insufficient;

to have faith in Him we must surrender our lives to him.

As John Piper says about Satan’s belief in Christ, “So what is missing is not believing in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God but delighting in that fact, embracing that fact, and making Christ the treasure and the Lord of your life by surrendering to him.”

Satan’s Goal

Because, you see ...

Satan’s goal is to separate us from our faith, because he knows that faith pleases God.

(See Hebrews 11:6.)

Faith makes us an overcomer. (See 1 John 5:4.)

Faith gets answers to our prayers. (See Mark 11:24.)

Jesus said, “When you pray … believe that you receive … and you shall have it” (Mark 11:24).

Do we really believe that? If we do, we will act on it!

We believe and we fight. 1 Timothy 6:12 says: “Fight the good fight of faith”

so there must be enemies of faith.

One of the biggest enemies of faith is ignorance of God’s Word.

Hosea 4:6 says: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you”

It is one thing to know, it is entirely another to reject what God shows you.

God has shown and IS showing us what it will take to be an overcomer in this day and time.

To overcome, we MUST have faith in Jesus.

So, to grow our faith we must KNOW Jesus better every day.

As we sang and prayed last Sunday night:

2 Timothy 1:12 (NASB95) … for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

To know Jesus, to gain more faith, will require at least 7 things.

This may very well be an introduction to a series of sermons I preach in the future.

These 7 things are:

1. Think More About God

First …

Colossians 3:1–2 (NASB95) Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

If we are going to know Jesus, we MUST think about Him.

A. Our knowledge of Jesus, and our growth in overcoming faith is often hampered by our busyness.

Cluttered thoughts rob people of serenity.

As Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) You [God] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Serenity, peace, calm — these come as we spend time thinking about Jesus.

It’s when our attention is distracted, that we lose patience and faith.

B. Faith means taking time for God.

Meditating on His Word and fellowshiping with Him increases our faith (Isa. 26:3).

2. Look More to God

Second, we must look to God in EVERY circumstance.

As I mentioned last week, God tends to be the LAST resort rather than our first dependence.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).

A. Looking to other people, financial gain, houses, lands, pleasure, and popularity brings disappointment.

B. We must look to God. People and possessions must be kept in proper perspective. Looking to Jesus increases our faith.

3. Hear More from God

Third, we need to pray more.

In our prayer guide for this week of prayer and fasting I ask us to pray that more in the church will see the value and the priority of individual and corporate prayer.

Come tonight.

Come Tuesday morning.

I am not asking as much in the way of corporate prayer for this week of prayer and fasting.

Is the little that I ask too much?

As we spend more time with Jesus. as we pray.

As we depend on Him for everything in our lives.

We will hear from Him more often.

“I will hear what God … will speak: for he will speak peace to his people …” (Ps. 85:8).

A. Too many sounds—conversations, radio, and TV—exhaust spiritual reserves.

B. We need to hear more from God. He speaks through His Word, prayer, sacred music, and His Holy Spirit.

4. Say More for God

Fourthly, we need to pray, we need to SPEAK the Name of Jesus.

Our pagan society will push back.

But Jesus is counting on us to speak the Gospel.

To really believe what the Apostle Paul said in:

Romans 1:16–17 (NASB95) For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

In (Acts 1:8) Jesus said: “And you shall be MY witnesses …”

A. People talk about everything—the weather, politics, cars, news. But how much do they say for God?

B. Christians should seek opportunities to share Christ with others.

5. Do More Through God

Fifthly, we need to be like the Apostles after the resurrection.

Yes, they spoke the Word of the Gospel, but they also manifested the miracles that got people’s attention and made them receptive to the message of salvation through Jesus.

We will need more faith for that.

Isaiah 45:24 (NKJV) [Like Jesus, we need to say] … ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, …

A. Some Christians do little for the Lord because they depend on limited finite strength.

B. We must depend upon the infinite, omnipotent power of God. He works through the totally committed.

6. Go More with God

Almost there!

Sixthly,

Isaiah 48:17 (NASB95) Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, … Who leads you in the way you should go.

A. Without God’s direction, people often lose their way.

B. God’s way is always best. When He leads us, we are assured of the proper guidance.

7. Be More Like God

Finally, the Apostle Peter reminds us:

1 Peter 2:21 (NLT) For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

A. Some mimic other people, celebrities, or other well-known individuals.

B. Let us be more like Jesus, our greatest example. His love and mercy are unsurpassed. Our faith grows as we follow Him (1 John 3:2).

Do You Need MORE Faith?

So, do you need more faith?

I know I do.

Now is the time for that abounding, overcoming faith.

But there are NO SHORTCUTS.

Receiving that for what we need , that for which we are desperate requires faith.

Like the desperate dad we start by admitting we fall short of what we need.

We come to a place of surrender.

We surrender to the process I just described.

Miracle-working, ever-increasing, overcoming faith will not come overnight.

BUT if we will:

Think More ABOUT God

Look more TO God

Hear more FROM God

Speak more FOR God

Do more THROUGH God

Go more WITH God.

Be more LIKE God

Faith WILL COME!

We have access to greater faith because of the Blood of Jesus shed for us.

I’d like to ask the Wilcox family to share a song with us.