Faith Challenged
Mark 9:14-29
Message #32
We are progressively living in a world where we have to decide how much faith do I truly have in Jesus Christ as my Lord.
We are called to increasing levels of faith in who Jesus Christ IS and in what Jesus Christ can DO. Let me give you an example of increasing faith.
I believe there is a higher power.
I believe that power is God.
I believe what the Bible says.
I believe I want to go to heaven, so I’ll ask Jesus to be my Savior.
I believe Jesus Christ is Lord over every area of my life.
I believe Jesus can do anything he wants to in my life.
I am willing to die for my faith in Jesus Christ.
Our focus today is faith challenged, and faith increased.
When our daughter Danielle was ten years old, she and I climbed the back side of Half Dome in the Yosemite Valley with some friends. On the first day of hiking, we were in beautiful back-country, and it was all fun and inspiring – maybe like the beginning of a new Christian’s walk with the Lord.
But that night, we (literally) had a bear knock our tent down on top of us as he rustled around our campsite. And that took some faith to set our tent back up and get back to sleep – maybe like a new Christian facing the first challenge of their faith in Jesus.
But then, the next morning, after hiking some more, we crested a rock hill, and there it was in front of us – a massive, seemingly straight up climb to the top of Half Dome.
To give you an idea of what we were facing, I want to put up two pictures. This is the view going up what is called the “Cable Trail.” Notice the safety cables anchored into the rock and the two-by-fours placed every eight feet or so.
And this picture is of the view going down. Notice the death-drop on either side of the trail if you were to get out from under those cables. Notice also the height of the cables – they reach the armpits of an adult. They are perfect for an adult and scary enough for an adult. But Danielle was ten years old, and she couldn’t really use those cables because they were too high for her. She was tied to me, and I was holding on to the cables.
Going up was hard enough. But going down, Danielle had to sit on her shoes and slide from one two-by-four to the next, trusting that I was holding the rope and that I would not let her slide off the trail.
That is an experience that Danielle and I will never forget, and I believe it is a perfect picture of what it looks like and what it feels like when our faith in Jesus Christ is challenged. It is only when our faith is challenged that we find out what level of faith we truly have. That is what this text is about in Mark Chapter 9.
Our last message in Mark was called "The Hope of Glory." An in that message, we went up the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Today, Jesus and the inner three Disciples are coming back down the mountain, and they are probably skipping down the mountain after their mountaintop experience. Which, by the way, is what Danielle and her friend did as we came down that mountain in Yosemite.
But, at the base of that mountain, the faith of the other Disciples and the faith of one desperate father was about to be challenged.
Mark 9:14 (NLT)
14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them.
This is an intimidating situation for the Disciples. Jesus isn’t there, they have a large crowd around them, and there are instigators arguing with the Disciples. What I’m saying is this even is super applicable to our world today.
R. Kent Hughes says of this first verse:
The other nine disciples were being heckled and taunted by a group of leering, self-satisfied scribes . . . the scribes were deriding them for their powerlessness, and were blaspheming Jesus as well.
I’m pretty sure something similar to that happened in Portland last night.
So, the crowd is intimidating the Disciples – the instigators are arguing with the Disciples. And we read in Mark 9:15-16,
Mark 9:15-16 (NLT)
15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. (and Jesus immediately takes control)
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
This word for “arguing” means combative altercation – so maybe the spirit of Antifa was around even then. In any case, the Disciples were just glad Jesus showed up when he did.
Mark 9:17-18 (NLT)
17 (The disciples remained silent, But) One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.
18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
For the Disciples, things had been going relatively easy up to this point, like Danielle and I hiking the back-country before we got to the real challenge. And the other nine Disciples were continuing the ministry while Jesus and the three were on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But here’s what happened. The Disciples turned a corner, and suddenly what was before them was like nothing they’d ever seen. The challenge before them was daunting, like climbing straight up a treacherous mountain rock, and they weren’t ready for it.
And they were trying to climb it, but this was not a normal day, or a normal path, or a normal enemy. The situation was getting the best of them, and the crowd was jeering and taunting, and they thought – any minute – they were going to slip off that safety cable and fall to their death.
Then, finally, Jesus shows up, and the Disciples probably thought they were out of the woods, but there was still an important lesson to learn.
Mark 9:19 (NLT)
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
Do you sense any frustration from Jesus kind of “in-between the lines” there? Do you think that’s pretty non-Christian-like for Jesus to be frustrated with the lack of faith of the people? Do you remember the twelve spies in the Book of Numbers? The twelve spies go into the Promised Land that God had promised to them after showing them miracle after miracle after miracle.
The spies go in; they come back out. Ten of the twelve are like, “No way, not doing it. God’s not big enough. Those people are really tall – like nine feet tall. God’s not that big.” Only Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report. Read it for yourself in Numbers Chapter 14.
The spies come back, and they want to stone Joshua and Caleb – the only two guys that are crazy enough to believe God could do this. They wanted to kill them.
Numbers 14:11 (NLT)
11 The Lord said to Moses, how long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me even after all the miraculous signs I have done for them?
And then listen to verse 12.
Numbers 14:12 (NLT)
12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you, Moses, into a greater and mightier nation than they are.
God got so frustrated with the Israelites back in the days of Moses in the Wilderness; he wanted to start over. It’s not the first time – Genesis 6 happened also.
Can God be frustrated with our lack of faith? We have to get a real picture of God. He is a relational, emotional God. He has joy, and he is grieved. He is blessed (if you will), and he is frustrated. And if we accept that, then we can kind of say, “Okay, Lord, let’s talk about it.” Do you think God gets frustrated with our lack of faith? Apparently, he does.
Mark 9:20-22 (NLT)
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father (I love the calmness). He replied, “Since he was a little boy.
22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him . . .
If you’ve ever wondered what the enemy’s goal in your life is… here it is. The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy in your life.
Jesus said in John 10:10 (NLT) 10 The [enemy’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
Do you know why the enemy wants to do this? It’s because you are made in the image of God. And every time the enemy takes out someone that is made in the image of God, it’s a win for him. That’s all he wants – to steal God’s purpose, to kill you, or to at least destroy your life and hopefully use you to destroy other people’s lives. That’s the enemy’s only goal.
This particular demon had been trying to accomplish his goal in this boy’s life since this boy was very young, and his father was desperate to save his son.
And so, the father says to Jesus, at the end of verse 22,
Mark 9:22(b) (NLT)
22 . . . Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
The father wants his boy healed, and he has some level of faith. But he is being transparent, his heart is on the line, and he’s pouring his heart out.
Then, notice carefully verse 23.
Mark 9:23 (NLT)
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Do you see how Jesus turns this question into a challenge of this father’s faith? Jesus says, “What do you mean ‘if I can’?” You’re kidding me, right? Do you think giving this demon a little firm direction is harder than creating the world?
Jesus is saying, “This is not about IF I can. This is about – do you believe.” This is a direct challenge to this father’s faith.
And so, then we read what I think is one of the greatest responses to Jesus in the Bible.
Mark 9:24 (NLT)
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
This father seemed to instantly get it. His faith needed to increase right then and right there.
Let me finish the story about climbing Half Dome with ten-year-old Danielle. I pointed out the two-by-four’s every eight feet, and I mentioned Danielle could not really use the safety cable because it was too high. And so, on the way back down with that certain death drop looming on both sides of the rock, Danielle had to sit on that rock and slide from one two-by-four to the next – being held only by a rope connected to her father.
And when it got super steep and scary, Danielle froze on the rock, and she had to decide right then and there if she had enough faith in her father to trust that he would be able to hold onto her if she missed that next two-by-four and started sliding down that rock face. Danielle’s faith in me was challenged right at that point.
And partly because of that day, Danielle knows today that her earthly father will always hold on to her. And in the years that have passed since then, Danielle knows – even more so – that her Heavenly Father will always hold on to her. That is the benefit of faith that is challenged.
And so, back to our text with the father’s faith challenged and with his prayer to Jesus to increase his faith. We read in Mark 9:25-27,
Mark 9:25-27 (NLT)
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
There’s just one more lesson that has to be learned.
Mark 9:28-29 (NLT)
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Jesus had previously given the Disciples the authority to cast out demons, and so they ask, “Why couldn’t we do it?”
I can probably best explain from ministry life. There are certain situations we go into where just kind of walking in the spirit and maybe a short prayer thrown up on the way in will take care of things spiritually. But sometimes we turn that corner and what lies in front of us looks spiritually daunting, like climbing straight up a rock face, and at times like that, we’ve got to stop, we’ve got to say hold on. This one is going to take some serious spiritual preparation. We can’t walk lightly into those spiritual situations because we know the enemy is especially entrenched in there, and that is when we have got to pray fervently.
We’ve got to get fully prayed up. We’ve got to put on the full armor of God, and we have got to be full of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus says, this kind can be cast out only by prayer; he’s talking about the real thing about intense prayer with real supplication. He’s talking about being truly spiritually ready, and that’s exactly how we need to approach matters that challenge our faith. We turn the corner, and we see it ahead. It is daunting, and we’ve got to approach it correctly.
We need to know every move we make is serious and could mean spiritual life or death. And our spiritual enemy is there trying to discourage us, and challenge us and trying to throw us off balance so he can get us to slip off the path and slide into oblivion.
And so, we’ve got to approach these faith challenges in the full armor of God, full of the Holy Spirit and fully prayed up… ready to meet the enemy.
So, next time you face a spiritual situation that looks like the straight-up Cable Trail of Half Dome, cry out to Jesus just like this father did. Tell him you believe and ask him to increase your faith to match your need.
And then, know this for sure: the big spiritual victories are not won with little spiritual preparation. The bigger the battle, the steeper the spiritual climb, the more we must be prepared. We’ve got to trust God to increase our faith, and we’ve got to be spiritually ready for the challenge that lies before us.
We are called to increasing levels of faith in who Jesus Christ IS and in what Jesus Christ can DO. Let me give you an example of increasing faith.
I believe there is a higher power.
I believe that power is God.
I believe what the Bible says.
I believe I want to go to heaven, so I’ll ask Jesus to be my Savior.
I believe Jesus Christ is Lord over every area of my life.
I believe Jesus can do anything he wants to in my life.
I am willing to die for my faith in Jesus Christ.
Our focus today is faith challenged, and faith increased.
When our daughter Danielle was ten years old, she and I climbed the back side of Half Dome in the Yosemite Valley with some friends. On the first day of hiking, we were in beautiful back-country, and it was all fun and inspiring – maybe like the beginning of a new Christian’s walk with the Lord.
But that night, we (literally) had a bear knock our tent down on top of us as he rustled around our campsite. And that took some faith to set our tent back up and get back to sleep – maybe like a new Christian facing the first challenge of their faith in Jesus.
But then, the next morning, after hiking some more, we crested a rock hill, and there it was in front of us – a massive, seemingly straight up climb to the top of Half Dome.
To give you an idea of what we were facing, I want to put up two pictures. This is the view going up what is called the “Cable Trail.” Notice the safety cables anchored into the rock and the two-by-fours placed every eight feet or so.
And this picture is of the view going down. Notice the death-drop on either side of the trail if you were to get out from under those cables. Notice also the height of the cables – they reach the armpits of an adult. They are perfect for an adult and scary enough for an adult. But Danielle was ten years old, and she couldn’t really use those cables because they were too high for her. She was tied to me, and I was holding on to the cables.
Going up was hard enough. But going down, Danielle had to sit on her shoes and slide from one two-by-four to the next, trusting that I was holding the rope and that I would not let her slide off the trail.
That is an experience that Danielle and I will never forget, and I believe it is a perfect picture of what it looks like and what it feels like when our faith in Jesus Christ is challenged. It is only when our faith is challenged that we find out what level of faith we truly have. That is what this text is about in Mark Chapter 9.
Our last message in Mark was called "The Hope of Glory." An in that message, we went up the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Today, Jesus and the inner three Disciples are coming back down the mountain, and they are probably skipping down the mountain after their mountaintop experience. Which, by the way, is what Danielle and her friend did as we came down that mountain in Yosemite.
But, at the base of that mountain, the faith of the other Disciples and the faith of one desperate father was about to be challenged.
Mark 9:14 (NLT)
14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them.
This is an intimidating situation for the Disciples. Jesus isn’t there, they have a large crowd around them, and there are instigators arguing with the Disciples. What I’m saying is this even is super applicable to our world today.
R. Kent Hughes says of this first verse:
The other nine disciples were being heckled and taunted by a group of leering, self-satisfied scribes . . . the scribes were deriding them for their powerlessness, and were blaspheming Jesus as well.
I’m pretty sure something similar to that happened in Portland last night.
So, the crowd is intimidating the Disciples – the instigators are arguing with the Disciples. And we read in Mark 9:15-16,
Mark 9:15-16 (NLT)
15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him. (and Jesus immediately takes control)
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.
This word for “arguing” means combative altercation – so maybe the spirit of Antifa was around even then. In any case, the Disciples were just glad Jesus showed up when he did.
Mark 9:17-18 (NLT)
17 (The disciples remained silent, But) One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk.
18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
For the Disciples, things had been going relatively easy up to this point, like Danielle and I hiking the back-country before we got to the real challenge. And the other nine Disciples were continuing the ministry while Jesus and the three were on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But here’s what happened. The Disciples turned a corner, and suddenly what was before them was like nothing they’d ever seen. The challenge before them was daunting, like climbing straight up a treacherous mountain rock, and they weren’t ready for it.
And they were trying to climb it, but this was not a normal day, or a normal path, or a normal enemy. The situation was getting the best of them, and the crowd was jeering and taunting, and they thought – any minute – they were going to slip off that safety cable and fall to their death.
Then, finally, Jesus shows up, and the Disciples probably thought they were out of the woods, but there was still an important lesson to learn.
Mark 9:19 (NLT)
19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
Do you sense any frustration from Jesus kind of “in-between the lines” there? Do you think that’s pretty non-Christian-like for Jesus to be frustrated with the lack of faith of the people? Do you remember the twelve spies in the Book of Numbers? The twelve spies go into the Promised Land that God had promised to them after showing them miracle after miracle after miracle.
The spies go in; they come back out. Ten of the twelve are like, “No way, not doing it. God’s not big enough. Those people are really tall – like nine feet tall. God’s not that big.” Only Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report. Read it for yourself in Numbers Chapter 14.
The spies come back, and they want to stone Joshua and Caleb – the only two guys that are crazy enough to believe God could do this. They wanted to kill them.
Numbers 14:11 (NLT)
11 The Lord said to Moses, how long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me even after all the miraculous signs I have done for them?
And then listen to verse 12.
Numbers 14:12 (NLT)
12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you, Moses, into a greater and mightier nation than they are.
God got so frustrated with the Israelites back in the days of Moses in the Wilderness; he wanted to start over. It’s not the first time – Genesis 6 happened also.
Can God be frustrated with our lack of faith? We have to get a real picture of God. He is a relational, emotional God. He has joy, and he is grieved. He is blessed (if you will), and he is frustrated. And if we accept that, then we can kind of say, “Okay, Lord, let’s talk about it.” Do you think God gets frustrated with our lack of faith? Apparently, he does.
Mark 9:20-22 (NLT)
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father (I love the calmness). He replied, “Since he was a little boy.
22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him . . .
If you’ve ever wondered what the enemy’s goal in your life is… here it is. The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy in your life.
Jesus said in John 10:10 (NLT) 10 The [enemy’s] purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
Do you know why the enemy wants to do this? It’s because you are made in the image of God. And every time the enemy takes out someone that is made in the image of God, it’s a win for him. That’s all he wants – to steal God’s purpose, to kill you, or to at least destroy your life and hopefully use you to destroy other people’s lives. That’s the enemy’s only goal.
This particular demon had been trying to accomplish his goal in this boy’s life since this boy was very young, and his father was desperate to save his son.
And so, the father says to Jesus, at the end of verse 22,
Mark 9:22(b) (NLT)
22 . . . Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
The father wants his boy healed, and he has some level of faith. But he is being transparent, his heart is on the line, and he’s pouring his heart out.
Then, notice carefully verse 23.
Mark 9:23 (NLT)
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Do you see how Jesus turns this question into a challenge of this father’s faith? Jesus says, “What do you mean ‘if I can’?” You’re kidding me, right? Do you think giving this demon a little firm direction is harder than creating the world?
Jesus is saying, “This is not about IF I can. This is about – do you believe.” This is a direct challenge to this father’s faith.
And so, then we read what I think is one of the greatest responses to Jesus in the Bible.
Mark 9:24 (NLT)
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
This father seemed to instantly get it. His faith needed to increase right then and right there.
Let me finish the story about climbing Half Dome with ten-year-old Danielle. I pointed out the two-by-four’s every eight feet, and I mentioned Danielle could not really use the safety cable because it was too high. And so, on the way back down with that certain death drop looming on both sides of the rock, Danielle had to sit on that rock and slide from one two-by-four to the next – being held only by a rope connected to her father.
And when it got super steep and scary, Danielle froze on the rock, and she had to decide right then and there if she had enough faith in her father to trust that he would be able to hold onto her if she missed that next two-by-four and started sliding down that rock face. Danielle’s faith in me was challenged right at that point.
And partly because of that day, Danielle knows today that her earthly father will always hold on to her. And in the years that have passed since then, Danielle knows – even more so – that her Heavenly Father will always hold on to her. That is the benefit of faith that is challenged.
And so, back to our text with the father’s faith challenged and with his prayer to Jesus to increase his faith. We read in Mark 9:25-27,
Mark 9:25-27 (NLT)
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
There’s just one more lesson that has to be learned.
Mark 9:28-29 (NLT)
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Jesus had previously given the Disciples the authority to cast out demons, and so they ask, “Why couldn’t we do it?”
I can probably best explain from ministry life. There are certain situations we go into where just kind of walking in the spirit and maybe a short prayer thrown up on the way in will take care of things spiritually. But sometimes we turn that corner and what lies in front of us looks spiritually daunting, like climbing straight up a rock face, and at times like that, we’ve got to stop, we’ve got to say hold on. This one is going to take some serious spiritual preparation. We can’t walk lightly into those spiritual situations because we know the enemy is especially entrenched in there, and that is when we have got to pray fervently.
We’ve got to get fully prayed up. We’ve got to put on the full armor of God, and we have got to be full of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus says, this kind can be cast out only by prayer; he’s talking about the real thing about intense prayer with real supplication. He’s talking about being truly spiritually ready, and that’s exactly how we need to approach matters that challenge our faith. We turn the corner, and we see it ahead. It is daunting, and we’ve got to approach it correctly.
We need to know every move we make is serious and could mean spiritual life or death. And our spiritual enemy is there trying to discourage us, and challenge us and trying to throw us off balance so he can get us to slip off the path and slide into oblivion.
And so, we’ve got to approach these faith challenges in the full armor of God, full of the Holy Spirit and fully prayed up… ready to meet the enemy.
So, next time you face a spiritual situation that looks like the straight-up Cable Trail of Half Dome, cry out to Jesus just like this father did. Tell him you believe and ask him to increase your faith to match your need.
And then, know this for sure: the big spiritual victories are not won with little spiritual preparation. The bigger the battle, the steeper the spiritual climb, the more we must be prepared. We’ve got to trust God to increase our faith, and we’ve got to be spiritually ready for the challenge that lies before us.