Struggling Faith Victorious

Jesus ministered in the midst of a generation of unbelief.
Matthew 17:17, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?
Mark 9:19, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?
Luke 9:41, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer (or endure) you?
I see five sorts of people at this scene that typifies a generation that is turned aside from truth and wallows in unbelief living during the life of Christ:
(Perverse means to be turned aside)
The Scribes, “fault finding religionists,” taunting and scoffing at the disciples.
Come now, Philip, can you not cast out that devil from the boy. What about you Andrew? Maybe Matthew can do it! No, not you either? Oh, you are imposters, all of you. I can only imagine they were taunting, mocking, and discrediting the apostles and their Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. They had great knowledge and a great position in the eyes of men but they did not have faith to match their knowledge or position. Thus they were filled with pride. Many of them had great reputations, but they were religious unbelievers. They believed in God without believing in God.
The father, desperate and frustrated, at the end of his rope; once hopeful, now full of disappointment.
Unbelief clouded his mind and now filled his heart. He had a great problem but he did not have a faith to meet his problem.
The disciples, powerless and careless while not applying themselves to their privileges:
I can hear them saying: “We don’t understand what is going on. We have cast out demons in others. We don’t understand our inability in this case. Maybe this demon possessed boy is ordained to damnation. There must not be any hope for him. He will always be a child of the devil!” They had stopped cultivating faith through prayer and fasting, for the Lord tells them so. They had a great ministry but their unbelief had rendered them powerless to help one who came to them.
The great multitude, rubbernecking with curiosity:
They were surrounding the scribes and the apostles. Some were curious, others were amazed. When Jesus comes, His very presence amazes them. Jesus’ unexpected and sudden appearance at this opportune moment aroused their astonishment. They were amazed but they did not have a strong faith.
The demon possessed boy, desperate and suicidal:
Oh, look at this pitiful, weakened young man. He was possessed with an evil spirit that caused him to fall into violent fits of epilepsy that would lead him to be cast into the waters and fires to destroy him. The word “destroy” in Mark 9:22 is the same word used in Mark 4:38, “Master carest thou not that we perish?” The devil’s desire is to bring us to loss, not merely of being but of well-being. This was an especially desperate case: he had many suicidal seizures. Today this man no doubt would be considered epileptic and his condition would be described rationally and various psychological terms could describe his behavior, but it is clear from the Word of God that his problem was a spiritual problem. His problem was a demonic problem. Perhaps there is more demonic activity in the world than we are willing to acknowledge. While some of these symptoms can have natural causes, this boy was controlled by a demon.
Remember that all men are sinners but the power of the devil in some men is greater than in others. The depravity of some men is greater than in others. Beloved, do not minimize the reality of the devil and his demons in this world today. He still seizes men and women and throws them into the fire of self-destructive living. He seizes the hearts of unsuspecting souls and throws them into clubs to destroy their lives in alcohol or drugs like “K” or ecstasy. He attacks the hearts of young men and throws them into the life of lust and runaway lasciviousness. He enters into the hearts of attractive young ladies and well groomed young men and throws them into destructive life styles that lead them to disease and death. He loves to enter into homes and throw some young father into the fire of destruction to tear up that home.
Notice how the devil is the prowling lion seeking whom he may devour:
He dashed and destroyed this son. The demon spirit would seize him and throw him down. Not only would this spirit try to crush him against the ground but it would cast him into fire and water in order to snuff out his life.
He would foam at the mouth and gnash his teeth.
“He pineth away.” He melted under the pressures and circumstances of life. This spirit would leave him in complete exhaustion.
This generation had a problem with a lack of faith. Things have not changed. The religious leaders lacked faith and spent their time in finding fault and accusing Jesus and his disciples. The religious hypocrites lacked faith, the powerless disciples lacked faith, the needy father lacked faith, and the devil was having his way.
The TUG-OF-WAR over IF
The father makes it to Jesus and we see a tug of war over IF. The father says, “IF thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” Jesus responded with the same phrase and put the IF upon him: “IF THOU canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
Jesus is emphasizing the phrase “IF YOU CAN” by using a definite article. Let me talk to you about the “IF YOU CAN.” This is not about Jesus’ ability or Jesus’ compassion, it is about your faith!
There is no IF in reference to Christ. The father tried to put the IF upon Jesus: “If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” If we can put the IF upon the Savior, then all of the earth’s woes are his responsibility. God is to blame for everything. The man was asking for Jesus to give him a one-time help. Help me with this and all will be well. BAIL me out of this difficulty if you have any power and compassion to do it.
Jesus puts the IF in the right place. The IF is in his lack of faith.
There is no IF with our Savior. The father casts the doubts of the atheist and the deist at the Savior. Why, if you are loving and powerful are you allowing this evil to my son?
There is no IF with HIS POWER. The father said, “If thou canst DO ANYTHING…help us.” The word CANST is the word dunamis, which means power. The word help is a compound word from the words “to shout” and “to run.” It speaks of an immediate need. I am shouting to you, run to meet my need!
He is the POWERFUL CREATOR. For by Him were all things created, things that are in heaven and things that are in the earth. The earth is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof.
He was asking for ONE-TIME help to bail him out of this problem.
There is no IF with HIS LOVE. “have compassion on us…” There is no doubt that God is love. He has compassion on us. This is the word often used of Jesus that he was “moved with compassion.” The word is a powerful word showing the spiritual and moral equivalent of a physical cardiac arrest.
He is the COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR. No, there is no IF with Christ’s love and of his being moved to save all who call upon Him. He will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He is not willing that any perish but that all come to repentance.
Jesus turned the question around to the father and put the IF upon him. Jesus responded and said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
We often get angry at God for allowing singular events in our life and then say, Lord if you will just bail me out of this situation, all will be well. If you really have power and if you really have love, this one time, you will do it!
Jesus is saying, “IF thou canst does not lie with me but with you!” We need to have faith, a living faith, a PRESENT faith, a daily faith, a moment by moment faith in the Lord. A lack of faith is the root of our problems. Look at the power of faith.
Jesus knows the solution is not a one-time bail out but a life of real belief. If He bails us out of our immediate problem, but we return to the way of life that let the devil into our home in the first place, what good is it?
The if is in our lack of faith at the PRESENT MOMENT. Now, is that a hard thing that God asks, yea, commands of men, that we believe RIGHT NOW? Any person would say, no, that is not a hard thing. As a matter of fact, this shows the love of God, that all we must do is believe in His Son and all things are possible.
Why are there any “IFS” to a person’s faith?
We are dead in trespasses and in sins. By nature, we are alienated from God, we walked “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” The Bible tells us our human problem: we do not love God, rather we are haters of God. We are at enmity with God. We are lost and depraved and totally unable to save ourselves. We are idolaters by nature-ALL OF US- for we all have that tendency to want to hold or have or see, taste, or feel SOMETHING to satisfy the longing of our hungry hearts.
It is not a lack of evidence that keep people from Christ but a lack of repentance because we love our sin too much.
So, the IF was not in Christ’s power, His love or even in His will to save this boy. The problem here was not Christ’s lack of power or His lack of love. So it still is in the world. The IF was in the lack of faith in the man. Lack of faith is at the bottom of this pathetic situation.
Now, look at how the IF is removed from his faith and his son is healed.
The REMOVAL of IF:
Mark 9:24, And straitway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
COME with your problem to Jesus
Mark 9:19, “Bring him unto me.”
This is a command. Jesus gives a command to bring the boy to Him. When he brought him to Jesus the boy convulsed severely. The spirit tore at the boy and threw him on the ground.
The demon takes the boy one last time and throws him around to destroy him. Like a bad tenant whose lease is out, who hates the landlord and is about to be evicted by the marshal so he ruins the apartment before vacating it. The devil has his final bit of fun in destroying this boy made in the image of God. He throws him down one final time and he is literally foaming at the mouth in uncontrolled convulsions while rolling in the dirt.
The man brought his son to Jesus JUST AS HE WAS and laid him down. The problem had never been worse.
Maybe the problem you are presently having in your life has never been worse. Your MARRIAGE has never been more difficult. Your TEMPTATIONS have never been worse. Your ANGER has never been worse. Your FINANCIAL PROBLEMS have never been worse.
Jesus said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” If we can just come to Jesus, we will be saved. Why? Because we come to Jesus by His grace. “All that the Father giveth shall come to me,” Jesus said. We all come to Jesus imperfectly, but the important thing is that we come to Him.
CONFESS your faith
This man did the right thing. He brings his little faith to the Lord. Lord, I DO BELIEVE! His faith came by hearing the word of God, Jesus Himself. He confesses His faith openly and boldly. He cried out. This was an emotional cry made with tears. He did not wait. He cried out immediately. He confesses his faith presently and personally (Present, active, indicative). I believe right now! Perhaps he did not have a great faith, there were imperfections, dents and bruises, in his faith, but he brought his little bit of faith to the Lord. The scribes had knocked his faith down, the disciples failure also stamped on his faith and so his faith was not strong, but he brought that little bit of faith to the Lord.
Lord, I believe you are the DIVINE SON OF GOD the Only begotten Son sent of the Father. I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus. Lord, you are my God, my dwelling place, my strength, and my rock.
Lord, I believe that your WORD IS TRUTH and that you SPEAK the truth: that “all things are possible to him that believeth.” Yes, thy word is truth! Lord, I believe that this is the Word of God! I don’t understand everything, and I struggle with some things in your Word, but Lord, I believe!
Lord, I believe that you can SAVE FROM SIN and DEATH.
Lord, I believe that you can DELIVER ME over the WORLD, FLESH, and the DEVIL. Yes, the world presses in upon us, and lust arises from within our flesh, and the Devil tempts us with darts of doubt, but faith is the shield that quenches all the arrows and the sword of the Spirit smites that wicked one. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!
Lord, I believe that you HEAR and ANSWER PRAYER!
Lord, I believe that you can use me in YOUR SERVICE. All things are possible to him that believeth. I believe that I can teach that class for your glory and the good of those souls. I believe that I can witness and win the lost to Christ, for you have said to go and preach the Gospel to every creature.
Listen to this testimony:
“Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me. I knew that if I could only abide in Christ all would be well, but I could not. Then came the question, ‘Is there no rescue? Must it be thus to the end- constant conflict and, instead of victory, too often defeat? Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power against sin; and no wonder, for faith and even hope were getting very low. I hated myself; I hated my sin; and yet I gained no strength against it. I felt I was a child of God: His Spirit in my heart would cry, in spite of it all, ‘Abba, Father’: but to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless. “
This is the testimony of the great man of God, the missionary Hudson Taylor, who went to China and established the China Inland Mission in the 1800’s. He continues:
“All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how to get it out. I saw that faith was the only prerequisite, (faith) was the hand to lay hold on His fullness and make it my own. But I had not this faith. I strove for it, but it would not come; tried to exercise it, but in vain. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word. Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world - yet I indulged in it.
Then Taylor read a sentence in a letter by a fellow missionary that “was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never known it before. ‘But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.’ (From J. Hudson Taylor, pages 212-213)
We come to Him and we confess to him our faith. Resting on the faithful one.
CLING to Christ for help: “Help thou mine unbelief.”
He is depending and asking Jesus to help his unbelief. He is not asking that Jesus help in the mere physical areas of life, but that Jesus help in the area of His faith. He does not cry, “Heal my son” but “help mine unbelief.”
The word “help” is a present (tense) active (voice) imperative (mood). The word “help” in verse 22 was an aorist active imperative. The father is here crying out not just for a one-time help. He is crying out for present and ongoing help. Help me not just ONE time, but for ALL TIME. I need your help today and I need your help tomorrow. Do not just help me now, but for the rest of my life. Help and keep on helping my UNBELIEF.
What a personal and honest appeal he makes to Jesus to help him against his unbelief. No one here has a perfect faith, and our faith mingles with doubt. Even in his unbelief he has faith, for he prays to the Lord to ask help for his unbelief. His cry for help is different than his previous cry. He uses the same word in verse 24 as he used in verse 22. “Help us” he cried, but it was in reference to the condition of his son. Now he cries, “help mine unbelief.” He realizes that the Lord is powerful and loving to heal his son. The problem is not that God is not willing to help. The problem was his unbelief. There is no one but Jesus who can help us overcome our unbelief. Notice the words of Jesus were the source of his faith and now asking for Jesus to help him with his lack of faith
“Our faith is feeble, we confess, We faintly trust thy word; But wilt thou pity us the less? Be that far from thee, Lord!”
A faith that recognizes its weakness is a growing faith. Can your faith grow if it has no weakness? All of us have areas where our faith is imperfect and at that point of imperfect faith there is unbelief. Can you confess that unbelief to the Lord? You are not too proud to do that, are you?
The disciples later on asked Jesus in Matthew 17:19,20, “Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not our but by prayer and fasting.”
Bring your mustard seed bit of faith to the Lord, and with that faith, do some prayer and fasting. Is there a lack of prayer in your faith? A lack of Bible reading or Scripture memorization? Is there a lack of faithfulness in attending the House of God to worship the Lord?
Come to the Lord and ask him to help you where your faith is weak. Lord, I believe your word is mighty, but help my unbelief. Lord, I believe prayer changes things, but help my unbelief.
Jesus rebuked that evil spirit and cleansed that boy of the spirit. Bring your loved ones to Jesus. Bring your friends to Jesus. Let the word of Jesus speak to their heart. Do you believe that His Word is powerful?
Where does the secret of faith lie? Not in the greatness of our faith, but in the greatness of the FAITHFUL ONE.
For so many to exercise a simple, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing in the world. For others, it is the most simple and clear thing in the world.