UNBELIEF THE KEY TO FAILURE
Mark 9:14-29
DON’T ARGUE THE WORD, TEACH
Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up to the mountain where Jesus was transfigured and
met with Elijah and Moses. They heard the voice of the Father from the cloud who said
this is my Son who I love, Listen to Him. When Jesus and the three came
down from the mountain there was an argument with the religious leaders.
V:14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.
When doing the Lord's work you can't allow yourself to get distracted by nonbelievers.
Jesus had given his disciples the authority to cast out demons (Mark 6:13). In this case
they may have forgotten the rule to shake the dust from those who will not receive you.
You don’t argue with nonbelievers. They should have separated themselves with the
father and his non from the crowd. The devil was not only in the boy but in the minds
of those who opposed the Word of God.
DON’T GET DISTRACTED BY UNBELIEVERS
16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever 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 could not."
Notice Jesus directed His question to teachers of the law but got no response. Only the
father with the need for his son spoke up. Perhaps the teachers of law knew they had
no chance of winning an argument with Jesus.
The father explained to Jesus what was happening to his son by the demon that
possessed him. The disciples were unable to cast out the demon and thus the
argument with teachers of the law. I can imagine the teachers of the law held
that no man can cast out a demon. Jesus’ disciples probably responded that
they had cast out demons but couldn’t do it this time. There will always be those
who will not believe your testimony.
UNBELIEF IS THE KEY TO THE FAILURE OF THE
MINISTRY
V:19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
Jesus had proved over and over again His power over demons, over all kinds of sickness
, and nature which they had witnessed. Our inability to do as Jesus asked is our
unbelief. Unfaithfulness is a sin against Jesus because it allows to ignore the
commands of God. The original sin of Adam and Eve was a result of their unfaithfulness. The disciples failed to go in prayer as a team and call on the
authority given to them. We may not be able to see Jesus but we must know
his presence in our situations. The question is how many times must we see
Jesus work in our lives before we believe He will always work for us?
The first command is to bring the problem to Jesus.
THE DEVIL’S OBJECTIVE, BLOCK YOUR
RECOVERY
V:20 So 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.
When you bring your problem to Jesus the devil gets busy trying to discourage you.
Satan will not give up easily when you are on the road to recovery. He will attempt to
to strong arm you to show his influence. Sometimes the situation seems worse in
the recovery stage.
THE LORD’S OBJECTIVE, TRUST IN HIM
V:21 Jesus 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. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
To unbelievers. Jesus first establishes a relationship to those who come for help.
Unbelievers who come to us for help need to feel that we care about their
situation and are willing to help. We must take time to listen and understand
what they are dealing with. Unbelievers need to understand that God can do
what others can't do.
The father poured his heart out but still doubted that Jesus could help.
Jesus put the problem on him as it is on all of us. It is not Jesus's inability
or His willingness to help. It is our unbelief. This is a profound true statement
that we all must take hold of. “Everything is possible for him who believes”.
The Lord will do what we believe He will do. No prayer is too big or too small
for Jesus to act on. Notice our recovery, our blessings, and our help is on us.
“If we can believe”.
OUR PRAYER, A MEASURE OF FAITH
V:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Notice the first step to our recovery is belief. We need God's strength
to solidify our belief. Belief in the power and authority of Jesus does not
come easy. Our stumbling block is what we have seen man do and can believe
in our human thoughts. The Lord is compassionate enough to allow us to grow by our
ignorance.
A PRIVATE PRAYER, A PRIVATE RECOVERY
V:25 When 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."
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
The Lord does not need our approval to do a miracle. He can do one in plain sight
or He can perform it before we realize it is done. To avoid vain glory. Jesus cast
the demon out before the crowd could get to him.
At Jesus' command the demon came out, but not before trying to kill the boy.
Even when the devil is busy, God is in control. The devil can do only what
God allows. Jesus can undo anything the devil does. Jesus performed three
miracles at once. He cast out the demon, he gave the boy his voice and his hearing.
Jesus does not do a half job, He does a full restoration.
CONSTANT IN PRAYER, CONSTANT IN GOD’S
DIRECTION
V:28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
29 He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
It is good to schedule some private time with Jesus. We need to get away from
that which distracts us. We should all learn from our failures. There are times when
we need to review what worked and what didn’t work. Failure is part of our growth.
Jesus is on our side and has planned our success. An occasional failure keeps us
from being overconfident. Failure keeps us grounded and dependent on the Lord.
Failure keeps us on our knees in prayer.
We cannot take our prayer time with the Lord for granted. It is our vital
communication with the Lord. He will reveal to us what we need for
success in the ministry. Prayer is the time when the Lord gives us guidance
and directions.
Rev. M. Mitchell
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