Rebuilding Faith – Radical Discipleship Part III

Sermon Title: Lord, Help My Unbelief: Rebuilding Faith

Good News Statement: Jesus rebuilds our faith

Preached: Sunday, January 23, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Mark 9:14-29 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Mark chapter nine verses fourteen thru twenty-nine. Listen to the words of the Apostle Mark…

The Healing of a Boy with a Spirit

¹⁴ When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. ¹⁶ He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷ Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; ¹⁸ and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so.” ¹⁹ He answered them, “You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” ²⁰ And they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” ²³ Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵ When Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that keeps this boy from speaking and hearing, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again!” ²⁶ After crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he was able to stand. ²⁸ When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹ He said to them, “This kind can come out only through prayer.”

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, Amen.

 

Introduction:

          An elderly pastor was searching his closet for a tie before church one Sunday morning. In the back of the closet, he found a small box containing 3 eggs and 100–$1.00 bills.

            He called his wife into the closet to ask her about the box and its contents. Embarrassed, she admitted having hidden the box for the entire 30 years of marriage. Disappointed and hurt, the pastor asked her “why?”

            The wife replied that she hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings. He asked how the box could have hurt his feelings. She said that every time during their marriage that he delivered a poor sermon, she placed an egg into the box.

            The pastor felt that 3 poor sermons in 30 years was certainly nothing to feel bad about, so he asked what about the $100.00 for. She replied, “Each time I got a dozen eggs, I sold them to the neighbor for $1.00!

Sometimes in life what we think is good news is not actually good news. We have more rotten eggs in our life than we would care to think about or even acknowledge. A few days ago, I was watching re-runs of America’s Funniest Home Videos and while I was laughing and doing my best not to cry, I couldn’t help but think how some of these people honestly thought that what they were doing was actually going to end well.

For example, the person who climbed on their roof and jumped into a four foot deep above ground pool had to have known that the pool was probably going to explode and water was going to go everywhere. Or the person who was being pulled on a sled behind a 4-wheeler in the middle of the woods had to have known that at some point their destiny of meeting a tree would happen. Or the young kid who just got a bike and was showing off for his older brothers had to have known that sooner or later the speed-bump in the road would cause a bad crash and that his older brothers would ask him, “Is the bike okay?” Sometimes in life the good ideas we have in our head are not always the best ideas. Sometimes in life the training that we receive for a specific situation unfolds when the unexpected happens.

The Disciples from Mark 9:14-29 have received training and have been given authority to heal people, but yet they were unable to predict what would happen if they didn’t take time to think things through. The Disciples lost faith. The Disciples, like the father of the demon-possessed child, experienced unbelief. The Disciples lost sight of what was important. The Disciples, like many of us at times, forgot what it means to be a disciple—to pray, to fast, and to have faith. When we forget what it means to be a disciple, rotten eggs find their place in our life and people go unnoticed. We must remember that Jesus rebuilds our faith when we lose sight of what is important. To be a radical disciple, we must regain and rebuild our faith.

Opening Prayer:

            Let us pray…Dear Lord, Jesus, as we listen to your words today, help us to regain our faith. Help us to gain a little bit more faith as we strive to be your disciples. And help us to notice those in our life that need our help. I pray that my words fall to the ground as your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Body:

The story of the demon-possessed child takes place after Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on a mountain. The text reads from Mark 9:2-4, “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” This transfiguration is similar to what Moses experiences on Mount Sinai in Exodus chapter twenty-four.

Mark begins chapter nine with talking about the transfiguration of Jesus to demonstrate to some of the disciples and to us that he is more than what he appears to be. Jesus is the Son of God, the Son of the Most High God, the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To quote the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  Jesus is the “Beloved” Son of God who bestows upon this earth authority and power: two things that we have as disciples but yet haven’t fully understood.

After coming down from the mountain, I’m sure Peter, James, and John were confused about what just happened. As a matter of fact, I’m sure the three of them were dreading the day when Jesus would ask them, “Who do you say I am?” (Mark 16:15). If you were either Peter, James, or John, what would you be thinking after witnessing the transformation of Jesus? After coming down from the mountain, Jesus, along with Peter, James, and John, meet up with the rest of the Disciples who so happen to be arguing with the scribes while an innocent child lays on the ground being tortured by a demon.

Janet Wolf, author of Practicing Resurrection, begins her analysis of Mark 9:14-29 by stating, “A father has brought his child to Jesus—to the disciples, actually—but the father insists he brought his child to Jesus, believing the disciples are the community of Jesus” (73). The father is not wrong to think that the disciples are the community of Jesus—a community of faithful believers that can perform miracles—since it is stated in Mark 3:13-15 and Mark 6:7 that Jesus appointed the twelve that they might preach the good news and “have authority to drive or cast out demons or unclean spirits.” The father has faith in them, but do they have faith in themselves? Wolf continues, “And though the suffering of the child must have been shockingly apparent, the disciples do not focus on healing or even being present with the father and son; instead, the disciples stand around arguing theology with the scribes” (73-74). It’s a startling image. The father and son both are suffering with an immense amount of pain while the disciples and scribes have their backs turned to the needs around them. It’s no wonder Jesus calls them a “faithless generation” (Mark 9:19).

The story’s details in a book known for its brevity and shortness are striking. Mark writes that the boy is inhabited by an unclean spirit that robs him of speech and hearing, that causes him to go rigid and foam at the mouth, and that forces him to grind his teeth and roll on the ground while convulsing unbearably. The unclean spirit is even said to have seize the child, throw him down, toss him about, and cast him into the fire and water, sucking the life out him so that the child appears to be dead (Mark 9:17-18, 20, and 22). The child even appeared to be lifeless after Jesus cast out the unclean spirit: “It came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead’” (Mark 9:27).

Noting the reaction from the crowd and the faithlessness from the disciples, Wolf states, “Jesus brings the boy closer by giving his time and attention” (74). Being frustrated and aggravated by the lack of faith from his disciples—which is seen in the questions that Jesus asks them, “How much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you?” (Mark 9:19)—Jesus quickly commands, “Bring [the child] to me” (Mark 9:19). Jesus asks the father “How long has this been happening to [the child]?” (Mark 9:21). By asking this question, Jesus is simply stating to all those present whether something bad has only happened for a few hours or a for years, Jesus can heal anyone or anything as long as they believe.

Jesus asks the father this question and then listens to the father’s painfully detailed description of this terrorizing, life-destroying spirit. Jesus does not assume he knows what’s happening, although he probably does. After all he knew what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking about when he healed the paralyzed man before they said anything at all! Instead, Jesus listens to the father who questioned his power and authority. The father said to Jesus, “IF you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:23). The father is practically calling out to Jesus in desperation, “If you are able to do anything. If you can help us. If you can save us. If you can redeem us and set us free. If you can give me a little more faith, then I will do anything for you, Jesus.” Jesus responds, “All things can be done for the one who believes” (Mark 9:23). Jesus is bluntly saying, “… [With] God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Even though this man questioned Jesus’ authority and power, Jesus still helped him. Do you believe that all things are possible through God? Have you ever found yourself in the shoes of the father, asking God for a miracle in your life but knowing that Jesus needs something from you before the miracle can take place?

Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit but things get worse before they get better: the unclean spirit torments the child one last time leaving him in a lifeless state. But Jesus does not turn away, he does not give up, he does not “keep out of the way of knowing” (74) as the disciples seem to have done. Jesus stays, listens, engages the powers that are hurting this child, making sure that they will not return; he takes the boy by the hand, lifts him up, and returns him to the community, whole, healed, and restored. Jesus even gives the father a little more faith and teaches the disciples that sometimes in life prayer (and fasting) must be observed before the work of God can be done. Jesus holds our hand and lifts us up and returns us to our community when we go to him in prayer. Through prayer anything is possible as long as you believe and “Have faith in God” (Matthew 11).

Jesus, unlike the disciples, is going to be there for you when life seems difficult, when life seems unfair, when life seems chaotic, uncertain, and unpredictable. Jesus will be there when you cry out, “I have faith, but I need a little bit more” or as Luke notes, “increase my faith” (Luke 17:5). Jesus will be there to walk with you and to talk with you. Jesus will be there to listen to you and to lift you up from the pits of despair. Jesus is listening for your cry, a cry that resembles the words of a famous Beatles song, “Oh yeah, I’ll tell you somethin’ I think you’ll understand. When I say somethin’, I want to hold your hand, I want to hold your hand, I want to hold your hand.” Jesus will be there to hold your hand. Jesus will be there for you if you believe and have faith in God. To be a radical disciple, we must pray to God asking that he increase our faith and make us a mover of mountains as we grow our belief in Him. Do you have faith? Do you need a little bit more faith in your life?

Conclusion:

Although this story is not the most heavenly story to hear or to read, it is story that reminds us that along our walk with Jesus Christ we will be called a “faithless generation” because of our actions. During our life we will put our wants and desires before the wants and desires of Jesus Christ. We will have bad sermons, say the wrong things and do the wrong things, be unable to mend every broken heart, and stray away from Jesus. We will choose to engage with the crowd instead of engaging with those who need to hear the good news and be lifted up. We be like the disciples, imperfect and human.

The story of the demon-possessed child is a story of a few verses but a lifelong meaning and realization that sometimes God does God’s best work in the darkest of times; when we lose our faith and when we become distracted. Just because you are not perfect, just because you have a few rotten eggs in your closest, doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve faith. You all deserve faith. All you have to do is pray. The disciples didn’t quite understand that which is why Jesus took things into his own hands. But we can learn from the mistakes of the disciples. We can begin to pray now, to help those in need, to bring people to church, to lift people up, to hold their hand, to listen to them, and to engage in life with them. Faith is not a one-time thing: no, faith is an all the time thing. Faith can only increase if you let it; and faith can only work if you pray and put your beliefs in action.

So do you believe? Do you have faith? This world is filled with unclean spirits that are causing people to lose their faith, to no longer want to attend church and worship God. These spirits, as Jesus shared with his disciples, “can come out only through prayer (and fastening)” (Mark 9:29). It’s up to all of us to remove these spirits and bring others to Christ. It may take work; it may be trying at times, but Jesus needs us to build his kingdom. Jesus needs us to pray, have faith, and say “I believe.” This world can change and it all starts with you be being willing to pray. To be a radical disciple we must regain and rebuild our faith through the power and authority of prayer. Are you ready to change the world? Are you ready to pray and have more faith? If you are, then say with me, “I believe. I believe.”

Closing Prayer:

            Let us Pray… Dear Lord, Jesus, we are ready to increase our faith and to proclaim to the world that we believe in you. Lord, help us to increase our faith and help us to learn how to pray to you so that others will be saved and healed. Lord, make me a believer. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

As you go about your week, consider those in your life that could use a little bit more faith: pray for them, listen to them, hold their hand, and remind them that Jesus is here for them. You are not faithless. You are faithful and full of belief. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, transforming lives as you live well and wisely in God’s world. Amen. Amen. Amen.