What it means to believe - Sermon Summary

What it Means to Believe The story begins in Mark 9. Jesus, with 3 of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, have been on the mountain where they have had an incredible experience. While on the mountain Jesus was transfigured and his clothes became brilliant white. Elijah and Moses appeared and spoke with Jesus. A voice had come from heaven and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” It was a great “mountain-top” experience. Wow! Peter, James, and John might have been thinking. . .”The Christian life is incredible! I knew it was a great choice to be a Christian!“ It was the kind of experience that you never want to forget. Jesus, John, James, and Peter were now coming back down the mountain. If it was us, we would probably be happy, enjoying being with each other, and praising God. Mark 9:14-29 is what they found when they came down from the mountain.  14When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. As Christians there will be times when we feel extremely close to God and everything seems perfect. We might consider this a “mountain-top” experience, but we can’t stay there. The majority of our lives are lived in the valley of everyday normal issues. Disappointment, frustration, and pain are just part of life in a fallen world. These difficult valley experiences that wait for us after those mountain-top experiences are at times just part of life. At other times it is that Satan is worried about our new level of surrender to the Lord and he brings obstacles our way to derail or distract us. We were never intended to live permanently on the “mountain-top” in this life. But we can look forward to an eternal mountain top relationship with Christ in heaven. The disciples were faced with a situation to which they apparently didn’t have the answers or the power to respond. In the midst of the argument and the frustration Jesus appears. The crowd was “overwhelmed with wonder” when they saw Him. There was something that was clearly different about Him.  16"What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. 17A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever 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 couldn’t.” As Christians we need a balanced view of the spiritual forces that exist in this world. There is a spiritual battle taking place that we need not ignore. At the same time we must remember that we are God’s, and Satan and his demons have no dominion over us. It is not a battle of equals, God is exponentially above all. Some choose to ignore the fact that there are demons and an unseen spiritual struggle taking place that is mentioned in Ephesians chapter 6 and various other passages in scripture. This perspective leaves us vulnerable to the attacks and strategies of the evil one. We must recognize the battle and know the resources that God has given us to stand strong in our faith. Others go to the other extreme. They say that everything bad is the work of Satan. But that is not true when we look at scripture. We live in a fallen world where difficult things happen. Someone comes in contact with bacteria and gets a virus. Someone loses control of their car on a wet road and has an accident. Someone forgets to pay a bill and has to pay a penalty. Evil and Satan do exist and we do need to beware, but we need not fear it as if it has dominion over us. God is our refuge and strength. In the story the man and his son came looking for and needing an encounter with Jesus, but they received something less. They came with a need that only Christ could meet but God’s people, without the power of God, were not able to meet the need. We don’t know all the details of the story, but in our lives today how many times have people needed Jesus and instead we sit down with them and give them our opinion. Not that we intend to harm them, but we do them a great disservice when they come with a Christ-sized need and we fail to usher them to Him. May we be a people who walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. And may we be a people who usher people to Jesus.  19"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? They didn’t believe. The story shows us that the father and son had come needing Jesus’ help. Some came to argue, some for healing, and others because they sincerely wanted to know more of Jesus. But just because they had come didn’t mean that they truly believed. Jesus knew their hearts, just like He knows ours. There is probably a similar dynamic in church today. We approach God with our own agendas and then rely on our strengths and strategies to make life work for us. We miss out on what God has made available for those who truly believe Him in all parts of their lives. That is a question we need to ask. Do we believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and as our Savior and Lord. Has our faith changed our lives, or do we just believe with our minds? Bring the boy to me." 20So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"  "From childhood," he answered. 22"It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23" 'If you can?" said Jesus. The man said to Jesus, “If you can. . . “ We might say “what weak faith this man has. “It may sound like the man did not believe, but he believed enough that he risked ridicule and humiliation and brought his son to Jesus. That in itself is an act of faith. Jesus then responds with these words. "Everything is possible for him who believes." This is a place where we must be careful. If we only look at this verse by itself we can misunderstand it. We must look at all of scripture to get a full understanding of what Jesus meant. In John 5:19 Jesus says that He only does what He sees the Father doing. Everything is possible, God can do everything, but it must be in line with God’s will. In John 15 it gives a similar idea when it says, “if you remain in me and my word remains in you: Ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.” As we walk with God our desires will be changed to be like His. We then pray His desires back to Him with confidence knowing that everything is possible when God’s will and our faith come together.  24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" This is the reality of most Christians. We believe in God’s ability to “be enough” in certain areas of our lives, but still struggle with unbelief in others. We have a belief that has brought us salvation, but "walking by faith" has not become our total way of life. (2 Cor. 5:7) We have crossed over from “death to life,” but we are still walking as a slave to sin when we have been made free in Christ. Belief / trust is a scary thing. We have trusted family, friends, governments, even spouses and been let down. Our fallen world trains us not to trust, but to protect, to take care of our self first. . . And then Jesus comes and says trust me. That’s difficult because of our past, but yet He is the only way for us to know God. It is only when we realize that we are needy and helpless without Him that we finally give up on our own efforts and trust Him. That realizing of our spiritual bankruptcy is the beginning of belief. We see it in the story. It was the man’s words “help my unbelief” that finally open the door to the possibility to newfound belief. In Romans we see that “no one is good, no one seeks God on their own.” In Matthew 5 we see that “blessed are the poor in spirit,” blessed are those who realize that they are spiritually bankrupt. It is helplessness that finally turns our hearts towards God. How did God first begin to show you that there was a better way? In your life how did God first begin to stir your interest and draw you to Himself? It always starts with God. It is He who wills and acts in us according to His purposes. (Phil. 2:13) The book of John tells us the “no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him.” (John 6:44) It always starts with God. God somehow brings the need to our attention and begins to open our heart to the possibility. We then have the opportunity to search for more or turn away. God promises that if we seek Him we will find Him. (Matt. 7:8) That means that He begins to draw us and if we will respond by seeking more of Him, He will make sure that we find Him. Belief is a difficult word to explain. We see in John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.” Wow, all we have to do is believe and we become a child of God and get to go to heaven. That sounds great. But what does believe really mean? Scripture shows a belief of the head and a belief of the heart. When it is from the heart it is such a desperate belief and surrender that it begins to affect every area of our life. In scripture we see where some in the early church were claiming belief in Christ with their lips but then their lives didn’t resemble Jesus at all. James writes these words into that situation. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. . . Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” (James 2) James is saying that belief without surrender is not enough. Believing He is God but not allowing Him to be Lord of your life is not enough. Many times in scripture we see that when Jesus encounters a demon, the demons know who He is immediately and are afraid of Him. The demons know who Jesus is, but they do not surrender or relate to Him as Lord. This type of belief is one that seems to acknowledge God with their lips “but their heart is far from God.” This is not really belief at all. It may be someone who says they believe in God, but they live as if there is no God. It could also be someone who does all the religious deeds that are expected but has never truly given his or her life to Jesus Christ. The biblical understanding of a faith that leads to salvation is one that begins with brokenness, repentance, and results in life change. We aren’t perfect, but if we are believers of Christ it should be more and more evident in our lives. The old habits, the old attitudes, the old impulses should be getting fewer and fewer. It is a belief that will cost us everything, but what we receive in return will be worth it. So where are we today in the area of belief. Internet pornography, parenting, waiting for a mate, dealing honorably with our finances, trusting God with our future instead of manipulating and worrying. Where do you desperately need to step from unbelief to belief. How many of our struggles with pride, lust, greed, in the end can be traced back to an issue of unbelief. As you read this maybe God has brought something to mind where you need to believe Him. It is now your turn to surrender and pray it back to Him. He will then begin to grow your faith and lead you to walk in obedience. The story ends with these words in verses 25-29.  25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."  26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.  28After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"  29He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer." There is a place of spiritual power that is only reserved for those who pray with an utter desperateness for God. Could it be that there is something in your life that you need and that your heart longs for? Could it be that it is God’s will, but you continue to try to make it happen in your own power? Could it be that God desires to meet your need if you will come to the point of surrendering it to Him in desperate, and persevering prayer? May we each begin to join with Him as He turns our unbelief to belief. May we begin to experience a life where our pray and belief joins with God’s will and we see that everything is possible for those who believe.