Power and Faith

Mark 9:14-29

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter 9. The gospel of Mark chapter 9 and in a moment we are going to read verses 14-29 as we continue our study this morning in the gospel of Mark chapter 9.

The tittle of the message this morning is: Power and Faith, because that is what we are going to see from this passage, and that is what we are going to talk about today.

To define those terms for you: Power is the actual or potential capacity to produce change by authority, influence, or strength.

Meanwhile, Faith is the trust or reliance upon God and it is the central emphasis of Christianity.

We have all seen power manifested in the world. For example, there are incredibly strong and powerful animals. Things like the lions, and tigers, and bears.

These are apex predators; they are the hunters; nothing is hunting them.

And then, there are incredibly massive animals such as: the elephant, or the rhino, or the whale. They are huge and powerful, and We stand in awe at the sight of these creatures.

 But the power they possess is nothing compared to that of human beings, because humans are superior intellectually. People have the ability of logic and reason.

We have shared attributes with God. We can take what God has given us and create. And you can look at civilization and the incredible landscapes of cities like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles and you can see that human beings are far superior to animals.

Sometimes to our own detriment. We have such technological power; we have created the ability to annihilate ourselves with a push of a button. So, at times, we are too powerful for our own good.

However, we are nothing compared to the unpredictable power of nature. There are tornado’s, hurricanes, and earthquakes that can change our lives in a moment without warning. In the blink of an eye, Fire, wind, and ice can be devastating. We all remember the ice storms of just two years ago!!

Furthermore, There are things orbiting our atmosphere that could wipe out our entire planet, and there is nothing we can do about it..

Yet as mighty, and powerful as all those things are, they are nothing compared to the ultimate power of God. He is in control of it all.  

God is the Creator and sustainer of the universe. Who we are told in Genesis 1:1 that, He created everything, “ex niello,” or from nothing.

He is the uncaused, cause of all things to come into existence. All other authority and power that exist in the world, is all because of Him and it’s all insignificant compared to Him.

But the greatest thing about the power of God is: He exercises it in love. God exercises His power through His Son by grace and justice and mercy.

Jesus tells us in Matt. 28:17 that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. In Rev. 5 Jesus stood before the throne of God as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, and He took the scroll from the right hand of the Father to signify the transfer of power.

 Today, God executes His judgment, authority, and power through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and what He asks of us, is to believe. He asks us to exercise faith!!

The question is do you believe? Because Christ is the power of God to all who believe.

That is what we are going to talk about today because that is what we will see in this passage. So, lets read:

Mark 9:14–29 KJV

And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

Mark 9:14–29 KJV

And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

Mark 9:14–29 KJV

He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Mark 9:14–29 KJV

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

Mark 9:14–29 KJV

And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 

Lets Pray together,

Heavenly Father we thank You for today, We thank You for Your Word! We pray as Your Word is spoken to us, Lord we could gain a clear understanding of what You want to say.

Lord give us wisdom. Give us knowledge, and give us the ability to adapt Your Word to the way we live.

If there are any here among us my God who don’t know You. We pray You use this Word to speak to their heart and draw them to You that they might be saved.

We pray these things in the Name of Jesus, Amen!!

  In our passage this morning we see a great contrast between what was taking place on top of the mountain and what was taking place down in the valley.

Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on top of the mount of transfiguration, having this incredible spiritual experience. Meanwhile, down in the valley chaos ensued and the other 9 disciples are caught in the middle of spiritual warfare.

The scene reminds me of what we see on the news, taking place at the ICE detention centers in Minnesota, and New Jersey. It is total pandemonium. And the disciples are surrounded by throngs of violent people, until Jesus comes to the rescue.

I can’t help but think to myself, “I am so grateful He does the same thing in our life.”

He shows up at just the right moment, when we are in the heat of the battle, and He asks us to trust Him, no matter what we are going through. He is in total control. And that is what we see taking place in this story.

When Jesus returns from the mountain, and shows up on the scene, the battle is over. The scribes are silenced.

The crowds run to greet Him, Satan is rebuked, the boy is healed, and the disciples are at peace. And what we learn from this story is: Christ is the power of God for all who believe.

We are going to look at our passage this morning under three headings. 1. We are going to see the opposition of His power, in Vs. 14-19. 2. In Vs. 20-27 We are going to see the exercise of His power, and finally, In Vs. 28-29, we will see the access of His power.

 The first thing I want you to see in this passage is

I. The Opposition of His Power Vs.14-19

Because there is always opposition to the power of God. But it is important we understand that it doesn’t matter who or what, stands in opposition to God, it doesn’t change His power.

God is still God whether someone accepts and believes or not. The only thing that changes the power of God at work in our life is unbelief. God is omnipotent, all powerful, and on the throne, whether we live for Him or not.

The first opposition to the power of God in this story is the scribes and you see them in Vs. 14. It says, “And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.”

The scribes are arguing with the disciples. But of course, they are. Every time we see the scribes in the scripture, they are arguing with Jesus or the disciples. They are always in opposition of God.

That is because they are the jealous rulers of the nation, and they don’t want to lose their power. They do not want people to follow Jesus. So, they are desperate to find something to accuse Him of, and there is already a plot to kill Him.

 What they don’t know is: they are pawns in God’s plan for Christ. God is going to use their evil decrepit hearts, to carry out His mission for the world. So, even what they are doing in this moment, will bring glory to God.

You see the scribes thought they were going to bring Jesus down, but they were actually going to lift Him up. What is interesting is as soon as Jesus shows up on the scene you do not here from the scribes again in this story. They are silenced by His presence and by His power.

The crowds on the other hand, are another source of opposition. Notice Vs. 15 it says, “And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.”

We are not told why the crowd was amazed. Some have suggested that Jesus looked different after the Mount of Transfiguration. Some say, He was shining from the glory of God, like Moses when he returned from Sinai. We don’t know.

Perhaps, they were amazed because He showed up at just the right moment to rescue the disciples. We are not given that information, we just know they were amazed and ran to greet Him.

But this crowd was an opposition to the power of God, because they were always getting in the way, rather than helping. They were there for the circus.

They loved to see the miracles, and to eat the loaves of bread Jesus provided, but they were not committed followers. They were there to worship the gifts rather than the giver.

And I can not help but wonder if there isn’t many of us in the church, that are just like this crowd. We are following along to see what is in it for us, rather than truly become disciples of Christ.

 In Vs. 17 one from the crowd speaks up, and it is the father of a boy, and here we are introduced to the real opposition behind it all. We are introduced to Satan himself.

Vs. 17 tells us, “The boy has “a spirit that makes him dumb” In other words, he couldn’t speak. He was mute!

It is important that we do not make the theological leap here and say, “all mute people in the world are possessed with an evil spirit. The scripture doesn’t make that leap, and neither should we.

There are actual people who suffer with sickness and disease and it has nothing to do with demonic possession. It is just the circumstances of a fallen world.

What we do know, and what the scriptures do teach us is: that Satan is at war with God. And He is wreaking havoc in this story, trying to prevent Christ from doing what He has come into the world to do.

He knows nothing of the cross. He knows nothing of the resurrection. The only thing Satan knows is that God has come into the world in the form of Jesus Christ to redeem mankind, and he must stop Him.

We have to understand that this is true in our life as well. If you are a child of God, you are in a spiritual battle whether you realize it or not.

Satan is at work behind the scenes trying to prevent you from living for God. And he will use people, places, and things in this world to prevent you from praying, studying, or coming to church.

He will try to enhance your lust for sin and the things of the world and dampen your spirit for God.

 It is also important we understand, that Satan is just a dog on a leash. Christ is in control. The bible calls Satan the prince of the power of the air. But Christ is the one who created the air and the wind, and the waves and He is the one who rules them.

The only way Satan wins this battle for your life is if you let him through unbelief. And we see that in Vs. 19. “He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.”

 Christ is obviously frustrated in this passage. What is interesting is we do not really know who He is frustrated with. Who is He talking too?

  Most scholars believe, He is talking to the disciples because, they were unable to cast out the demon. And certainly, that makes sense, because Jesus had empowered them to do so.

If you remember, He had sent the disciples out, and given them power to heal and to cast out demons, and yet they are powerless because of unbelief.

However, He could be talking to the scribes. Because the scribes were the political/religious leaders of the nation. They should have been ministering and taking care of the people. Yet instead of caring for the boy, and his father they were arguing with the disciples.

Furthermore, He could also be referring to the crowd, because the crowd is who ran to greet Him. We really don’t know who Jesus is frustrated with. We only know, He refers to them as a faithless generation!!

 Either way, what we learn from this story is: nothing can oppose the power of God in Christ Jesus. Not Satan, not the rulers of the world, and not the crowds of people who oppose Him. The only thing that can prevent the power of Christ in your life is unbelief.

 Unbelief is like a dead battery in your car. It doesn’t matter if you are driving a Pinto, or a Peter built. If your battery is dead, you are powerless. But Christ is like someone who shows up with the battery charger.

He has the power supply, and if you got a set of jumper cables, we call faith you are in business. Because faith connects us to the source of power in Christ.

In Christ, we have everything we need. It doesn’t matter what you are going through. It doesn’t matter if you got a bad report from a doctor or a pink slip from the boss. None of it changes who Christ is.

  Christ is the power of God for all who believe. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is:

II. The Exercise of His Power Vs. 20-27

It is important we understand, the way Mark describes Jesus, exercising His power here, would have been amazing to Mark’s original audience.

They were Romans and were accustomed to Caesar and the authority of the emperor. Caesar ruled the people, and the people served him. But Jesus is a power and authority that serves the people.

  It reminds me of the story in Matthew 20, when the sons of Zebedee asked Jesus for positions of honor in the kingdom of God!! In Vs. 26 Jesus answered, and said to them, “If you want to be great, you must become a servant, but if you want to be the greatest, you must be a slave. For just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.”  

 You see Jesus uses the power of God to serve us. He serves us personally, He cares about us individually, and He spends time with us specifically. His desire is to be our God and for us to be His people.

 Notice Vs. 20 He exercises His power with authority. It says, “And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.”

This is something we see often in Mark’s gospel. When Satan’s demons see Christ, they expose themselves. They cry out, they beg Jesus not to get rid of them. That is what we see here. When the demon sees Jesus, he immediately goes into a seizure.

In Vs 21-22 Mark tells us: this boy has been afflicted with this his whole life, and the demons are trying to kill him. It throws him into the fire, it throws him into the water. And you can hear the desperation in the father’s voice.

Notice the end of Vs. 22, “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us!!”

This father has done all he can do, and at this point, he is not sure if there is any help for his son at all.

It reminds me of the story of the Leper in Luke 5:12. He was desperate and he comes to Jesus and says, “I know you can Lord, but will you make me clean.” This father comes to Jesus and says, I know that you will try,  but I am not sure if you can.”

 I love the response Jesus gives him, because it comes in the form of a question. Notice Vs. 23, He says, “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.”

You see the father has placed limits on what Christ can do, but Jesus turned it around and said you’re the one who has the limitations, not me.

  Ephesians 3:20 say, “Now unto Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works with in us.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything.” It is important we understand, there are no limitations in Christ, the limitations are always with in us.

 Notice Vs. 24 we are given the fathers response and it teaches us a great lesson about faith. It says, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

This father, comes to Jesus in complete humility. He knows he has a weak faith, but he has come to a big God.

There are some important things about this man’s faith we need to learn. Notice his faith was immediate, he did not procrastinate, and his faith was heartfelt, he cried out in humility. Help my unbelief.

 Every one of us can relate to the way the man felt. We have all said, “I do believe” and then we get the news from the doctor, and we say, “help my unbelief.”

We have all said, “I do believe,” and then there is a crisis in our family, with one of our children and we say, “help my unbelief.”

What we learn from this story is; the amount of faith we have is not nearly as important as who we place our faith in. It is not the size of our faith that moves the mountain it is the object of our faith.

I came across a poem this week I felt was appropriate. It’s called:

Faith And Doubt

Doubt sees the obstacles.

Faith sees the way!

Doubt sees the darkest night,

Faith sees the day!

Doubt dreads to take a step.

Faith soars on high!

Doubt questions, “Who believes?”

Faith answers, “I!”

—Gospel Banner

(David Lloyd George, a famous prime minister of England in the 1800’s once said, “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible.”

 Christ is the power of God for all who believe. The final thing I want you to see in this passage is:

III. The Access of His Power Vs. 28-29

Jesus tells us here how we access His power.

 Notice the disciples pull Jesus aside, and take Him into a house, where they ask Him privately, why they were humiliated publicly. Notice Vs. 28 they say, “Why could we not cast him out?” This is referring to the demon.

Notice Jesus’ answer: It was because they did not pray. The fact that they ask the question, tells us that at one time, they had the power to cast this demon out!!

But somewhere along the way, they began to doubt. They began to rely on themselves, and they forgot about God, the first thing they stopped doing was praying.

 And we do the same thing. The lesson we learn from this passage is simple. You may be called, gifted, and prepared. You may be a bible believing disciple of Jesus Christ. but if we do not remain in communion with God you will fail when you face crisis.

 We neglect prayer in our life because we don’t think it is important, we don’t place any value on it, because we do not see immediate results, but Jesus tells us: that is where our power comes from.  

Prayer is Powerful. It’s been said, where you have no prayer, you will have no power, where you have a little prayer, you will have a little power, but if you are a person of much prayer, you will have much power.

The saddest part of this story is not the condition of the boy, or the disciples being mocked by the scribes. But, it’s that they were powerless disciples because they were prayerless disciples.

Christ is the power of God for all who believe, and the essence of faith is prayer. Because it is what you do when you are alone. It is what you do when it is just you and God. If you want to evaluate your faith, evaluate your prayer life, and you will know what you really believe.

We began this message talking about the omnipotence of God. How He is the all-powerful, sovereign over the world because He is the Creator, and sustainer of life.

And He exercises His authority in love through His Son Jesus Christ. And the only obstacle to His power is unbelief. And what we learn from this story is we overcome that unbelief through prayer, by saying, “Lord I do believe, help my unbelief.”

Lets pray together,

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. I pray Your Word has spoken to us about who You are. And I pray Your Word has taught us about ourselves.

Lord I pray we would grow in our belief. I pray we would exercise the privilege we have to pray!! For that is how we access the power to grow and mature in our faith!!

Lord bless these Your people and draw them to You!! Save us Oh Lord I pray!!

In Jesus name, Amen!!