Faith to Move Mountains
Notes
Transcript
Faith to Move Mountains...
Faith to Move Mountains...
Today we come to the first Sunday in November and man the weather has changed, we’ve seen a weeks of colder temperatures.
The seasons are changing, holidays are approaching and soon we will be in the face of a new year.
I know that you are starting to make plans for what type of meals you are hoping to have, you are thinking perhaps about what to buy your family for Christmas...
What I am saying is this, we make plans for each day and future days. But here is the challenge, what do you want to do for God the rest of this year and in the coming year?
If God has given us breath and will allow us to live, we need to seek to make plans for him as well.
I want to challenge you… Pray, seek His face and make some plans for serving Him?
Faith is what allows us to do this… In faith, we believe that God will enable us to serve, live faithfully and honor Him with our lives.
Today we are going to address the topic of Faith.
So lets go back to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 17, verses 14-21
So lets look at the text as we begin today...
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Now this passage is also recorded in Mark chapter 9, verses 14-29 and also in Luke chapter 9: verses 37 to 43a.
Now we are going to look at Matthew gospel but we are also going to peak over at Mark’s account for it contains just a little more information for us.
Now we know from verse 9 in chapter 17 that they have come down from the mountain where Jesus was transformed in front of Peter, James and John as He met with Moses and Elijah concerning the things to come....
And it is during this time, as they have come down, they Jesus is presented with an issue of a demon possessed boy and faith.
So lets begin with this thought today...
1. A Faith Challenge
Faith my friends is a central component of our life in Christ. In fact, how can we be saved unless we had faith to seek and ask him for forgiveness and for life eternal?
I think by now we know or are aware of that the best definition of faith comes to us from the book of Hebrews
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
So faith is the knowledge of what we know is true, real and sincere even though we have not seen it.
We have not seen Jesus face to face, yet we believe that He is real because of faith and because of the witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the truth of His Word.
Now that we understand completely what faith is, we see the issue of faith at the forefront of our text today.
So look again at what is happening here, verses 14-17
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
So see the story here, Jesus has just come from the mountain top with Peter, James and John. And in the midst of the glorious mountain top experience for the 3 disciples with Jesus that has just taken place, Jesus is coming to a back down in the valley experience for the disciples, and He must walk with them as well through it by default.
So as Jesus and those 3 come back to the disciples, there is a commotion if you will, a father has come with a great need.
This man’s son is possessed by a demon, and the demon tries its best to destroy them, bringing seizures upon him, and has tried to kill the boy by throwing him into the fire and into water.
Can you imagine, the Father or other families members have to be with this young man day and night least something terrible happen to him. They have dealt with life and death and no one has been bale to help him.
So the father brings his son to Jesus. But Jesus isn’t there, just the reminder of the disciples. So they step up, these other disciples and they try to help.....
Lets look at what the Bible says...
16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”
Wow, the disciples are there and the need presents itself… and they have a chance to step up and show the Kingdom of God and its power to this dad...
But they couldnt not....
Their faith was challenged and they could not see victory…
And we know the father doesn’t have much faith either, he probably came seeking help from Jesus and or His disciples as a last resort....
Either way, this young man is not delivered from the evil that possess him. The faith of these disciples is challenged.
Let me ask you… what has challenged your faith? You have prayed and prayed, you have asked and asked and you are just waning in your faith because of it?
Keep asking, do not give up. He will answer. Wait on the Lord
And then we come to our next thought today
2. A Faith Test.....
Faith is always the key, Jesus has already given His disciple authority over demons long ago when He sent them out to the surrounding towns and village to minister.
But here, they are ineffective. They cannot help the boy, they cannot meet the needs of this father’s plea and Jesus is upset.
The religious leader are there and they are arguing with the disciples, Let me share Mark 9 with you
14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Jesus hears what is happening and that His disciples were not able to cast this demon our and heal this young man.
In response Jesus provides a rebuke if you will, listen to verse 17 in Matthew 17
17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
Man, Jesus is a bit disgusted. Listen to what he says
First … Her calls them faithless… they - referring to the disciples and the crowds, they had seen Jesus minister, they had seen him do a great deal and they still didn’t believe at times. Their faith is still challenged.
The crowds, the religious leaders were missing the truth that He was at work in the word on the Father’s behalf.
Second, Jesus calls them twisted.... Here Jesus is speaking mainly to the crowds and the religious leaders who were watching Jesus. He was God’s Messiah and they had a distorted perception of him in spite of all they had seen by His hand.. and they still rejected him. They were still in a state of unbelief.
Un-belief is a dangerous place to live my friends, in un-belief you miss the work of God because you hinder it by the state of your heart.
And you hear His emotion, He is frustrated that they were acting as such…
And Jesus commands that the boy be brought to Him...
Lets look at Mark 9 20-24
20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Wow, do you see how the demons respond in the presence of Almighty God, that demon threw the boy down, trying to do anything to inflict a little more pain and suffering ....
And Jesus begins to speak to the Father. Jesus knew how long this had been going on… He is omniscient, all knowing. He is trying to engage the boy’s father, his heart and yes His faith.
But Jesus asks him, how long this has been happening.... and the father tells him, since childhood
Ghee, this young man, from the time he was a child has been inflicted by this unclean spirit. Do you see how the devil seeks to take advantage of the helpless, to kill steal and destroy. Often he as sought to harm him.
And the father makes one more statement...
Verse 22b “....But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Do you hear that… if you can do anything.... his faith is so broken, so helpless, He believes but then doesn’t believe...
Like I said a moment go, he has probably brought his son to Jesus as a last resort. I am just being honest. How often do we have something happen and we start looking for the fix and then when we can’t we start seeking the Lord’s help. So often our actions reveal a crisis of unbelief that lies in our own hearts.
We must search our own hearts and ask God to help our own faith increase.
And Jesus takes exception with the Father’s words...
Look at verse 23
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
Do you believe or not? All things are possible for those who believe! Do you believe or not? There is no middle ground.
Did you hear that… there is no middle ground. Do you believe or not.
Faith is the greatest issue we face. We trust Jesus with our future, our salvation but we struggle like this Father did at times with the day to day issue of life.
Do you believe?
You see every day present it self as a test. things happen, we get news we don’t understand or know… life has major changes but at the end of the day willl our faith stand in the middle of life’s test.
Will it.
There is the question we must answer my friends....
Now just one last thought my friends.
3. What Faith Can Do!
As we finish the passage we see just what faith can do....
As Jesus is speaking with the Father, the father makes one of the most honest confessions you will ever hear in the Scriptures.
Let me take you back to the detail of Mark’s gospel
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Did you hear that, the father said I do believe, help my unbelief… Wow there is that honest statement. And what I really love about this is this.. it hots home doesn’t?
I mean this is how we are all to often… we believe but we doubt as well.
The father here confesses I have some faith, please help me to believe, help me to overcome my spiritual weakness and create in me a heart that believes more firmly.
And Jesus steps up and rebukes the demon and it came out and the boy was healed instantly… (Matt 17:18)
Can yo imagine with me as this boy is changed, as his countenance changes, his inner struggle stops and his outward tension is gone. He is healed and the Father has witnessed for himself the power of God in His son’s life.
Listen, when you witness the work of God it really has the power to change your perspective, to change your life and point of view.
And once you have witnessed it, do not allow the devil to steal your faith away. See and believe!
Now here is where it gets a little more interesting… after all this takes place, the disciples come privately to Jesus and ask the question.. what did we do wrong?
lets go to verses 19 and 20
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Why could we not cast out that demon? That is their question… and frankly that would be our question too....right?
Yes it would.
And Jesus tells them.... Let me share with you two thoughts....the first is from Matthew 17 and verse 20
“It is your little faith...”v 20. You either believe or you will not believe.
The second comes from Mark 9 verse 29
29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
So Jesus says faith is needed, and prayer is needed .... So what am I seeing from these two thoughts…
A. We must be people of prayer daily, we must be praying for his direction, his power daily and his help…
B. And we must posses faith, we will either believe or not..
But here is a great thought, how can we believe if we are not spending time in prayer? If you are not spending time in His presence, before His throne hearing from Him, then how can we believe?
So with prayer and faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed, Jesus says we could say to this mountain be removed from us and it would...
With prayer and a little sincere faith, we can bring the impossible in reach, we can see God at work in ways that we could never imagine.
So how is your faith?
Let me ask you this....
What are you struggling with today? What are you hoping for, looking for, trying to reach out for?
Are you praying about it and His will for your life?
Are you believing as you pray…
As always seek His face, pray and believe. Our Father will do for us just as we need according to His will.
