Family Doubt

Faith is a call to see God’s Kingdom revealed on earth.

Today we starting a series in Matthew called “the Kingdom Family”, in it we will look at family dynamics of the kingdom and how Jesus calls children, calls adults, and calls families to be kingdom people. Today we are looking at family doubt. Now, I’ve been on my share of family vacations. I’ve been on some great vacations, everyone is getting along, the whole family is excited for the adventure that they’re going to have…there is an air of optimism about the time you’re going to share together....I’ve also been on vacations where if you asked five different people what they wanted out of the vacation you would get five different answers. Where the most common phrase is “do we really have to do this?” and the answer the parent gives is “it will be fun!” *Narrator inserts* “they would not have fun.”

Now, could they have fun? Yes, but all it takes is a little bit of doubt to creep in and the behavior of each person will change dramatically. There are some important factors that go into the experience being good or bad. When are you going, where are you going, and what are you doing?

What we are going to see today is that doubt has crept into the disciples minds and because of that they have not revealed God’s kingdom on earth in the way they are supposed to. And so we will look at three aspects of faith that are dealt with in this passage. The timing of faith, the agent of faith, and the power of faith.

So let’s read the passage together.

The timing of faith

We start our reading with Jesus coming down from the mountain after the transfiguration, where we see Jesus in all His glory with Moses and Elijah while Peter, James, and John are just bystanders who have this incredible opportunity to experience this. And so they come down from the mountain and as they reach the bottom this man comes up to Jesus, kneels before Him and calls Him Lord, and asks Jesus to heal His son who is a danger to himself because of these seizures he has, this form of epilepsy. He says that the disciples couldn’t heal his son. He doesn’t specify which disciples, most likely some of the 12 are included but potentially others are as well. After the man gets finished talking Jesus turns to his disciples and scolds them severely. He calls them an “unbelieving generation”, he tells his disciples they are just like the rest of those who haven’t believed, and that they are perverse or distorted in their thinking

Now, you might be thinking. “WOAH! Jesus! Calm down for a moment, whats the big deal?” But the words Jesus uses and the scenario being played out is a familiar one in the Bible, and what it points to will make clear what is going down.

First, the language being used is exactly the same as Deuteronomy 32:5 “His people have acted corruptly toward him; this is their defect—they are not his children but a devious and crooked generation.”

Moses says this as time as God’s prophet is coming to the end and he speaks these words to the Israelites as a warning to not follow their previous ways, the ways that God them stuck in the wilderness for 40 years, the ways that had led many of them to the grave because they were unwilling to trust in God and His promises that He had a better place for them ahead. It’s a reminder to them of their past inability to have faith in God after God had provided for them. There is a particular event that Moses is pointing them to as the time they were “devious and crooked” and he points them to it with the first line, “His people have acted corruptly toward Him”. Because that is what God says to Moses on the mountain after the people had made the golden calf.

And if we looked closer we see a lot of parallels between the story of the golden calf and this one.

Because Jesus, just like Moses was coming down from a mountain. And Jesus, just like Moses, had His face “shine like the son” because He had seen God’s glory. And Jesus, just like Moses, got to the bottom of the mountain only to find out that those who were following Him were impatient and tried to do things their own way rather than God’s.

Therefore just like the people of Israel acted in idolatrous ways so here the disciples are seen to act in an idolatrous manner. But in Exodus they made an idol, one that had no power that it says they wanted “to go before them.” But here the disciples make an idol of themselves because they go “before the Lord” believing they can be the one to solve the peoples problems without God.

The problem in both stories is the issue of timing. That if God isn’t where they can see them then why not take the problem into their own hands? Why not make something else go before or us be the ones to go on God’s behalf?

We do the same thing, in the absence of God we find another way to solve our problem, we put it into our own hands. We say “well I’m not getting what I want so I’m going to go and take it.” Doesn’t sin start off that way so often? The need to be satisfied overtaking the patience to receive something better? Its what leads us to adultery, to lash out in anger, sometimes to make decisions that seem good but we choose the first option rather than to wait for God to answer. Paul discusses this temptation in Philippians.

Philippians 2:12–16 “Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.”

Notice the use of “a crooked and perverted generation” that is used here, because the theme in all 3 passages is the timing of faith. See, the timing of faith means that we “hold firm” even in what seems like God’s absent so that we may “work out our own salvation” so that God can do His work in us according to His good purpose and not our own. So that our boasting can be in Christ and that we “didn’t run or labor for nothing.”

When I was in college we had busses that would go across the campus, and like any bus it had a route that it took and during the day there would be several busses taking the same route. To walk from one end to the other was about a mile, but if you were impatient and you had waited 10 minutes you might say “I’m just going to walk over there” and if you did, the same thing happened. By the time you had walked far enough, just out of reach from the bus stop, a bus would come driving by and you would miss it. And you’d be kicking yourself after you started sweating about 20 minutes into your walk.

See, rather than wait for a better power the disciples decided the would tried to do it in their own power. Because when it seems like God isn’t there we think “well I have to do it all on my own”. This story plays over time and time again throughout Scripture and that is why Jesus is so frustrated. They were making the same mistakes their ancestors made. They were getting the timing of faith wrong. But not just the timing of faith but also the agent of faith.

The agent of faith

After Jesus spoke harshly to the disciples, He goes and heals the son. Then the disciples ask Jesus privately “why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus answers and tells them that all they need is the faith a mustard seed in order to move mountains.

What does this mean? Does it mean they just have to think hard enough? That if we consider God before something that it will happen? But Jesus answer has little to do with the amount of faith. Famously, mustard seeds are very small, so what is Jesus getting at? What Jesus is discussing is the agent of their faith. They are trying to pull a full spiritual load with the equivalent of a Barbie electric car when they have a semi-truck next to them. You can believe in the Barbie car all you want but its not moving much, but you don’t even have to step on the gas of the semi-truck to get a large load to move for you. Jesus tells us there are two ways to have the wrong agent of faith

The agent with the wrong authority

God does not ask us to have a large amount of faith. He just asks that we have faith in Him. But we often put big faith in things that don’t have the authority to fulfill what they have promised. We invest money and time into things that can’t come through in the end.

In the NFL there are 12 teams that have yet to win a Superbowl, more than 1/3rd of all teams. Many of these teams have existed for more than 50 years. Each team with hundred of thousands, if not millions of fans, spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year on tickets and jerseys, hours each year watching games, all with faith that one year it will “be their year” and they will finally win a Superbowl. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. They don’t know but they have hope that one year all of their cheering will eventually lead to the desire victory.

-We can have lots of faith in a team, in ourselves, in spiritual forces, in karma and superstitions, we can even have faith in an idolatrous version of Jesus we make for ourselves that never tells us how bad our sin is or that the things we are seeking is wrong.

But all Jesus says is they need “the faith of a mustard seed” the tiniest amount of faith, and if they didn’t have this amount of faith then what level of substance of faith did they have? The answer is none.

So if they didn’t have faith, what was the agent they used to try and heal this kid?

Their own power, like faith is some type of magic that they can figure out. That if they do the right ritual or pray in a certain way (maybe even say the same words they heard Jesus use in removing a demon) that they could heal this man by their own power. But you can say all the right words and not have faith.

Sometimes we believe need to have this “Great faith”, this faith that others marvel out “wow, look how much faith that person has”. But that will not solve our problem.

Our faith makes a difference not because we are so great, or we trust in great people, but because we trust in the God who the Father puts over every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every authority both in heaven and on earth. Our faith doesn’t become powerful when we consider how strong our faith is but it springs up when we recognize the glory of our God and Jesus whom He has sent us.

You may ask “how do I know where may faith is?” The answer lies in what things we fear.

What worries you and gives you anxiety? What causes you to panic? What, with even a thought, scares you to the point of inaction?

But second, what is your solution to that fear? Is it a person you think can fix your problem? Is it an action you need to take? Is it more money? More work?

-The first thing we are to do with our worries is go to the Lord.

God asks the question of His people throughout Scripture, “why do you trust in my creation over me?” and He points out the irony of us trusting the things He has made over the one who made it. Then in Isaiah 40 God answers the question of which agent we should trust.

Isaiah 40:28-29 (CSB)

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the whole earth.

He never becomes faint or weary;

there is no limit to his understanding.

He gives strength to the faint

and strengthens the powerless.

Every other agent we may have faith in will grow tired, will have a limit, will run out of resources. But God is the one who gives strength to the tired and to the powerless.

-Consider a mustard seed itself, out of this seed can grow a tree over 20 feet tall, in the same way the power of faith is in the potential it has when connected with a powerful source that springs it into life. The seed, by itself, can’t spring up life, it needs the right agent of change to enter into it. We need the right agent to bring life to our lives.

But we also see a second way we find the wrong location of faith. The wrong location of the problem.

The wrong agent for the solution

One interesting thing to note is that when the man comes to Jesus he uses the language of “healing”. But whenever there is a demon possession the Gospels always use the word “casting out” rather than “healing.” So when Jesus “casts out” the demon it is the first recognition we have in the passage that spiritual warfare is at play. The disciples didn’t recognize this spiritual element behind the physical problem. This does not mean that physical issues do not exist, but there is something behind the physical.

-Often we ignore the spiritual reality of our problems, we get so caught up trying to solve them we can ignore the spiritual toll it is having on us.

What Jesus shows us is that He has authority over demonic forces, over the power of evil. Matthew makes clear that this healing happens immediately, nothing hinders Jesus' ability to perform this.

-A student asked me if I have ever performed an exorcism. And I said that if they are talking about the ways you have seen it in the movies then certainly not. Because it is usually a priest, and they come with holy water, a crucifix, maybe a rosary, and in order to exorcise a demon they need all of these things to do it. And the other thing about those movies is that they often portray the prayers of these leaders of faith as unable to battle against these spiritual forces.

-What I said was that I have prayed for people who have had spiritual battles, certainly not in ways that movies portray it. But I don’t bring holy water or a crucifix or anything else, because the name of Jesus is far more powerful than any demon, than any spiritual force, and the power of our Lord and Savior is enough to battle against these spiritual forces.

In choosing the wrong location of the problem we try and solve it with the wrong tools. I know many husbands have tried to fix something in their home. A refrigerator, a dishwasher, a car. And you think you know the issue but if you fix something but it isn’t the actual problem then you can get pretty frustrated when the issue persists.

We need to recognize what the root of our problem is, that in all things God is able to solve our problems and that He is with us.

But now we also see the third way Jesus teaches them about faith, the power of faith.

The power of faith

Jesus tells them if they had this faith of even a mustard seed that they can “move mountains” and “nothing will be impossible for them.” What Jesus is point them to is the power that comes behind faith in God.

Our mistake is that we come to situations in our lives believing we have power rather than coming to God recognizing we don’t have power. It reminds me of the prayer of King Jehoshaphat says in 2 Chronicles 20:12 “For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.” I think that would solve a lot of issues in our life if we came to our problems with this attitude. If more parents were willing to recognize they don’t know what to do rather than expecting they need to have all the answers. If more students were willing to recognize they don’t have knowledge and they need to seek those who do. If more struggling families rather than thinking they needed to solve their financial problems or relational problems on their own just said “I don’t know what to do.” And sometimes when we doubt God’s power it can have an affect on those we care about, just like this boy who the disciples were unable to help. Because when we don’t trust in God’s power through faith we look to other solutions for our trials.

"I just have too much going on to go to church, to read my Bible". But have you stopped to consider how God may use His people and His word as an encouragement in your trials?

“we just have so many issues in our family" but how often do you pray with and for your family? Do you lead them spiritually rather than expect others to do that?

"I'm so worried about whats happening in our culture, whats happening in the schools, in my neighborhood." Have you reached out to teachers to let them know you’re praying for them? To ask them for requests, to pray with them? What about students?...When was the last time you prayed with a student?

Our issue is often we see things through our own lens and when we do that everything seems hopeless because we can’t overcome it. But if we bring our weakness before God we trust that He is a good who has nothing He is unable to overcome. There is no power that can stand against Him and no problem He can’t solve.

Two important notes on the power of faith

But I also want to describe the two dangers that often come when we read “nothing is impossible with God”. Because there is strong biblical truth in this. But it can lead us to believe all we need is prayer to fix our problems or when things don’t go our way that it means we didn’t have enough faith in our prayers. So how do we stay away from these dangers?

Correction is found in community

Remember that the disciples were given this power by Jesus, they had been given authority to perform this miracle. Sometimes we can try and use an authority we haven’t been given. Because the danger of an improper view of faith happens outside of communities of faith. It is “healers” that move from church to church performing miracles and then moving on without accountability. It is televangelists whose primary followers are people watching from home. It’s someone who is isolated from a church or in a church that doesn’t have sound doctrine. Hear what James says:

James 5:13–15 “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

Notice who they are supposed to go to in order to receive help for their requests. The elders of the church, from those whose responsibility it is to shepherd them well. The best way to make sure we are praying in the right ways is to call on the church to pray with you. To not go to someone outside your church, to not make it just a personal experience, but for you to bring it to the church. Not only are the prayers of many effective, not only does it help us bear one anothers burdens, but it helps us when we are tempted to pray in unhelpful ways.

-It reminds me of the story about the man trapped at his house during a hurricane as it began to flood. A truck came by and said “hop in and we will take you to safety, but he said “thank you but I prayed to God and He will save me.” As the water began to rise he was forced to climb onto his house. And as he was up there someone in a boat came back and told him to hop in but again “the Lord will save me”, then a third in a helicopter came and were willing to pick him up but he said “the Lord said he will save me!” Eventually the flood grabbed him and he died, and as he went to heaven the man asks God “why didn’t you save me?” And God said “I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter yet you didn’t take any of them you idiot!”

The secret to faith is contentment

When we look at faith in the NT we see that the power that comes from God is just as much for us to trust in God as it is our prayers being answered the way that we want them to. Consider this commonly quoted passage in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens mean.”

We often read the “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” while not recognizing the point Paul is making is NOT that we can become super athletes with just a little bit of prayer, or that God will make us millionaires if we just trust in Him, or that God will heal all of our sins. Rather, Paul is saying that in trials, in difficult situations, in times where we are tempted to do things our own way that God can give us the strength to rely on Him and to know that He will take care of us.

As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12 that God’s “power is perfected in our weakness.”

How is God’s power perfected? In our weakness, in our ability to be content in not solving our own problems but to have the Lord solve them for us. That means we have to let go. You know the scene in movies where someone is falling and the other character says “do you trust me” and have to pull them up. That’s the moment that the characters begin to have faith in one another.

Faith is believing that God can do what He promised and giving glory to God because of it.

Our belief is that nothing is impossible with God because He DID raise Jesus from the grave and we ARE delivered from our sins and declared righteous by God. Therefore God has calls us to be strengthened in faith and give glory to God THROUGH faith because we are fully convinced that what God has promised us about the kingdom of heaven He is able to do and WILL do.

Do you believe that God will have the victory in the end? Do you believe God has prepared something greater for us in the kingdom? Then live as kingdom people!