How Long Has It Been?
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· 269 viewsHow long have you wrestled with your problem? How long have you struggled with an unclean spirit? It's time to let Jesus take it away. It's time to let Jesus heal you.
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How Long Has It Been
How Long Has It Been
Praise the Lord! So thankful that you are here worshiping with us today. I give honor to my family, to our church family and most importantly to the Lord Jesus, who has already manifest Himself here today.
Mark 9:
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 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. 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. 20 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. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 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. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 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. 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. 20 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. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 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. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
We’ve all heard the phrase before, “How long has it been?”. Many times this question is posed by someone we haven’t seen in a long time. They might say, “How long has it been since I saw you last?”. Or for those recovering from drugs, alcohol, or tobacco use, we might say, “How long has it been since your last hit or your last drink?” Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups often use the phrase “X days since my last drink or X number of days sober”.
Allow me to ask a question this morning. How long has it been since your last REAL encounter with God? How long has it been since the last prayer where you really prayed through? May you’ve never had a real honest to goodness encounter with God. If you have, you will know it. Because like Jacob in when you have a REAL encounter with God you will leave walking with a limp.
In , we already read were Jesus encountered a family with a problem. You see we often think that our problems only impact us. That no one else is affected. No one else has to carry this around. No one else has to deal with what I’m dealing with. But we couldn’t be more wrong. While we are individuals, our lives are still intertwined with others and things always seem to spill over.
A man, “one of the multitude” came to Jesus with his son. How often as parents do we bring our children before the Lord in prayer. How often do we bring someone else up to God in prayer? This man was desperate, this man had run out of options. So he starts outlining all the issues for Jesus. The boy has a dumb spirit (he cannot speak) and every time this spirit takes hold of him he foams at the mouth, gnashes with his teeth, curls up in a ball and just pines away. Right in the middle of the man explaining the issue Jesus stops the man and asks him, “How long ago did this happen to him?” or “How long has it been?” The man looks and Jesus in utter hopelessness and says, “Since he was a child” in other words pretty much all his life. Since the scripture records the man’s answer “Of a child.” we can assume that the man’s son was no longer a child. We can infer that this had been going on for years. After Jesus’ question, the man just keeps on outlining the issues. He said, “and many times it throws him into the fire and into the water and tries to destroy him.”
Sounds like a pretty messed up situation even by today’s standards. Sounds like it had been going on a while. Sounds like someone needed a REAL encounter with God!
It amazes me that whether we’ve known God all our lives or whether today is our first introduction to Him, we all seem to have a similar response to our issues. Just like the man in , we lay out our problem and we want someone to listen to our complaint. We desperately want to tell someone what’s going on. We want to unload our heavy burden, but we end up just like this man saying, “...if you can do anything”.
So I ask again, “How long has it been?”
In truth, it doesn’t really matter how long it has been going on, because with Jesus, things can change immediately. Whether it has been 10 minutes, six months or 85 years, it doesn’t matter, because with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! It doesn’t matter how long you’ve dealt with that problem. Jesus can and will deliver you TODAY! It doesn’t matter how long you’ve carried that sin around. Jesus can and will save you and set you free TODAY!
Just like we read in , the man finished his complaint with the statement, “but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” Jesus turned the tables on him and says, “if thou canst believe...”. If you can just get your eyes off the problem long enough to get your eyes on Me. If you can stop believing the doctor’s report long enough to trust Me. If you can set aside all that you don’t understand for just a few minutes and believe Me…ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
King James Version Chapter 10
Mark 10:27
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Mark 14:36
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
“but not with God:” - WOW! How long has it been again? How long as this been going on? Oh, did you say since he was a child. Well, that’s not a problem for God. It doesn’t matter that you’ve been dealing with that your whole life. It’s not a problem for God!
Mark 10:27
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
All that matters if that you and I have that encounter with God. We just need to turn it over to Him. “If thou canst believe.”
Where’s your faith today? What is faith you ask? FAITH = complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Hebrews
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
There is an old hymn that says,
How long has it been since you talked with the Lord and told Him your heart's hidden secrets How long since you prayed? How long since you stayed on your knees 'til the light shone through?
How long has it been since you talked with the Lord and told Him your heart's hidden secrets How long since you prayed? How long since you stayed on your knees 'til the light shone through?
Since you talked with the Lord
And told Him your heart's hidden secrets
How long since you prayed, how long since you stayed on your knees 'til the light shone through
How long since you prayed, how long since you stayed on your knees 'til the light shone through
How long since you stayed
On your knees 'til the light shone through
Mark 9:17-24
How long has it been? All that matters is how long it’s been since you last had a REAL encounter with God!
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 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. 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. 20 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. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 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. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.