Key Verse:
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” – Mark 9:23 NKJV
Do you have faith?
Do you have the faith to know that He will? Most of us have the faith that He can, but how is our faith when it comes to knowing that He will?
In this passage of scripture (Mark 9:14-29) we should immediately notice a few things that I would like to point out and talk about for a bit. What immediately stands out to us is the son who is in need of healing. The father of the son had brought him to the disciples, Jesus’ 12 disciples, so that they could heal his son of the spirit that possessed him (Mark 9:18). The son, we are told, was possessed by a dumb (or mute) spirit. What this means is that his son was possessed by a demon.
This father tells Jesus that the demon would cast his son into fire and into water (Mark 9:22). The demon was really hurting and threatening his son’s life, and he wanted someone (the disciples) to do something about this. I imagine that he sees the disciples and thinks to himself, “they follow Jesus, surely they can help.” So he brings his son to the disciples for help, but let us notice how this plays out. We see in the very same scripture (Mark 9:18) that the disciples were unable to heal his son. How saddening this must have been for the father.
We must pay close attention to this scripture because it is central to the key of my message today. Should Jesus’ disciples been able to heal this father’s son? What do you think? Give your answer before you continue you reading.
Let’s take your answer, what you think, and now find the answer to this question. We can find an answer in Matthew 10:1, which states:
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
Scripture clearly tells us that Jesus gave His 12 disciples authority over those impure (unclean) spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. In fact, in this particularly passage (Matthew 10) we see Jesus sending out His 12 disciples after training and instructing them. Let’s remember that the disciples were not following Jesus around for nothing but for a reason! There is no doubt that the disciples should have been able to heal the son of the unclean spirit.
The question is: why could the disciples not heal the father’s son? The disciples had been trained, instructed, and given authority over this such thing that possessed the son, but what was it that kept them from being able to heal the son? Jesus provides an answer to this question for us.
Jesus first says (Mark 9:19), “O faithless generation”. Does this mean the disciples lacked faith? I don’t believe this was necessarily the case, and we will see why in a little bit. Jesus, after the son is healed, tells the disciples (Mark 9:29), “this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.” Prayer is supplication to God, and fasting is meditation on God and your spirit. Jesus essentially tells the disciples that the key to being able to heal is a lifestyle of prayer and meditation – keep this in mind as we move forward in today’s message.
A representation of today
I find that this particularly passage of scripture is very representative of us (believers) and the world today. I believe this passage represents Christendom as a whole today. The Church (body of believers in Christ) is represented by the disciples. The world is represented by three people: the multitude that was watching; that father that came for help; the son that was in need of healing (saving). I hope you are able to see that in this passage of scripture; if you do not, read this passage (Mark 9:14-29) all over again with that thought in mind.
In Christendom today: we have gotten into accepting “the world has gone to hell-ism”. I do not say this for shock value or for laughs, but in all seriousness. This is a very bad habit as we simply just stand around looking and saying this repeatedly to anybody that will listen. “The world has gone to hell,” is what we say. The world is a lot like the father’s demon possessed son in that it foams at the mouth and is wallowing around – it needs help! The world is in serious need; it needs to have the unclean spirit cast out of its body! Often times the world turns to the Church for help and what do we do?
The one thing we can all agree on is this: Jesus is not physically here to drive out the unclean spirits as He was for the father’s son. Jesus sits at the right hand of God, and we, believers, all know that! So who is going to help the world? Who is going to drive out the unclean spirits? Who is going to help the sick? Well the answer to that question should be the Church; after all, Jesus gave the Church that responsibility to do so.
Like the apostles, we have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Also like the apostles, we mostly stand around not knowing what it takes to actually heal the sick and the unclean spirits that walk among us every day. You see, the truth of the matter is that we doubt and limit what we can do. Right now, someone reading this just might be thinking, “you’re talking nonsense, preacher”. Again, doubting and limiting what they can do, and not realizing the power (authority) that God has given to each of us. You see, when we doubt and limit ourselves, what we are also doing is doubting and limiting God in us – the Holy Spirit.
Someone may ask, “are you saying that I can cure someone with the flu or aids?” We like to be smart like that, especially when it comes to things of the spiritual. Again, Paul said that this battle is not against flesh and blood and it’s high time we start realizing that! The disciples could not get the father to see Christ, to open us his faith. Here we are as a Church today, just like the disciples, standing helpless to bring a world is in need, to Christ.
Christ had to come to this father to save his son. The feedback that I often hear from people that don’t go to church often is this idea that the church “don’t care about God”. Part of me knows that there is truth in this because there are many people sitting in church today solely because of the board that they serve on. They will then go into the street and shout out that they are a Christian, but will not know the first thing about healing the father’s son in need.
The disciples enjoyed following Jesus; they enjoyed the reputation that they had of being Jesus’ followers. Then this man came to them looking for help, and they could not help. The disciples should have looked at this father and asked him, “Do you know that He will?” We don’t do enough of this today, do we? We like to only mention Jesus in church. We should be presenting Jesus to the multitude, to the father, and to the demon possessed son (the world) but all the world sees nowadays is a bunch of hypocrites. The world is in need and we, His disciples (followers and believers), cannot help.
Step up in our faith
As the body of Christ, the world looks to us for healing; which means we have a role to play. How often do you hear “why don’t the church do this or that?” We should be presenting Jesus Christ to all of the sick. When I say “the sick” I do not mean those that are in hospitals or in nursing homes. There are many sick people who are up and walking around – looking healthier than ever – yet they are sick in the spirit. We must present Jesus to the sick and impure (unclean) spirits.
In our key verse, notice that Jesus says to the father, “If you can believe? Everything is possible for one who believes.” If you can believe – there is a choice to believe or not to believe. If you can believe in Christ, everything is possible – this is what we should present to the world today! You see, we know, as believers that He can for us but at the same time do we know that He will for somebody else?
I ask that question because we tend to become overly selfish when it comes to God. We have become too selfish to tell the sick that “He will” for whatever may be ailing them physically, mentally, and especially spiritually. You see, I know that He will deliver you from whatever ails you physically, mentally, or spiritually. I know that He will deliver you from that unclean spirit that is in you today. I know this because I know what the Lord has already done for me. This is the message that we should bring and present to the multitude, the father, and to the demon possessed son.
We have the God given authority to present this message to the world because Christ gave us the authority to do so when He commissioned us! When you wake up tomorrow, wake up with the thought on your mind to let somebody know that He will! If all you say every day for the rest of your life is “He will” then you have shared a very powerful message. We have become so selfish that we don’t realize the power that we have in us.
Remember, Jesus told us that it takes a lifestyle of prayer and meditation to heal – to wash away that unclean spirit. Interesting enough, James touched on this lesson as well in his book. James says (James 5:15) that the prayer of faith will save the sick. Again, I don’t believe the sick are just those that cough, wheeze, and run a temperature. The sick can be saved because God will. James went on to say (James 5:16) the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much; this means to make much available (or possible).
This same message is repeated over and over again throughout scripture because faith, prayer (supplication), and meditation on God is the real power. I said last week that we are a blessing and a miracle. Everybody thinks the only miracles are those that we read in scripture, but when we are able to present God to somebody and let them know that He will, that is a miracle as well. When someone comes to the Lord, that is a miracle. When somebody believes in the Lord, that is a miracle.
The point of today’s sermon is to say: don’t limit what God will do. Do not limit what God will do for you or for anybody else; you limit yourself and you limit God. I want to also point out that the father of the son told Jesus (Mark 9:24) “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief”. There are many people who honestly believe, but they need help in overcoming the doubts that they have as well. Again, we must be there to present them the name of Jesus, and it is Jesus who will help them in their need.