Jump Start # 1297

Mark 9:22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

  Our verse today comes from the amazing demonstration of Jesus’ power over the demons. Here a parent pleads with Jesus. His son has a demon. He’s had it since birth. The demon made the child mute. He would foam at his mouth and grind his teeth. The demon would slam the child to the ground and in the most horrific nightmare of all, the demon would throw the child into fire or into water. The demon was trying to kill the child. What a terrible state this parent was in. The child could not be left unattended. There would be multiple burns upon the child when he was thrown into the fire. What a danger he was.

The child had been taken to the disciples but they were unable to do anything. The child was then taken to Jesus. Rolling on the ground, foaming at the mouth, the boy seemed to be in a helpless condition. Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to leave the child and he did.

Jesus had something else to cast out other than this demon. There was some unbelief in the father. He asked Jesus, ‘if You can do anything?’ Jesus heard that. He repeated it back to this scared parent. Jesus said, “If you can?” There is no “if” with Jesus. All things are possible with Jesus. He wanted to cast out unbelief as well as casting out the demon.

It’s hard for parents to see their children suffering. When our children come home from school with stories of being picked on and bullied, most parents are ready to face the bully and tell him a thing or two. It’s hard seeing our children sad, sick, lonely, heart broken or disappointed. Why Satan chose to possess this young child all his life is hard to understand. Why he picked on a child speaks volumes about how indifferent and mean he is about others. Satan simply doesn’t care.

There appears to be a great difference in what was really important here. For the parent, getting the demon out was priority number one. He wanted pity for his child. Yet, from Jesus’ perspective, the unbelief and doubt of the parent was a greater concern. The demon was simple for Jesus to fix. Say the word and the demon would wake up on Pluto, never to bother anyone again. That was easy for Jesus. What was hard was getting people to see who He really was. Faith was something that Jesus couldn’t put into others. He would give them the reasons to believe and trust, but they had to latch on to faith and open their hearts up to who Jesus really was. Jesus could force a demon out but He couldn’t force faith in. That was up to man.

Faith is still up to us. The proof is there. It’s in the Bible. Every reason we need to know that the Bible is from God and that Jesus is the risen Christ is there. Page after page demonstrates the power, compassion, wisdom and divinity of God. It’s up to us to believe. That takes a bit of work on our part.

Faith is born out of the word of God. Romans tells us that. Without the word, we really can’t believe. We wouldn’t know what to believe. The word points us to God. Trusting that word is what establishes faith. The more Bible that is in us, the more faith that we will have. Things happen when we put more Bible into us. First, our conscience gets working properly. A conscience that is driven by the word of God will produce guilt and sorrow. Those things leads us to changing our lives. Without that working conscience we no longer are embarrassed by what we say, do or wear. In Jeremiah’s time, the people no longer blushed. Their conscience wasn’t working. This is why some folks can say the most obscene things and it doesn’t bother them. This is why some can stand before an audience, like at the Oscars, wearing only tiddy-whiteys and not be embarrassed. I wouldn’t go to the mailbox looking like that. Why can some do that? No conscience. Their spiritual needle is malfunctioning and they have no Bible in their hearts. The Bible affects us in many ways. The more Bible that is in us, the more we become like Jesus. It’s hard to read about Jesus and still be a goon to others. It’s hard to see how forgiving Jesus is and not be led to forgive others, ourselves. It’s hard to see how giving Jesus is and remain selfish. The Bible has an affect upon us.

Faith must be guarded, fed and grown. Faith isn’t a one time event. It’s something that runs deeper and deeper the more we spend time in God’s word. Faith gets us through tough times. Faith sees hope and answers when others can’t. Faith remains calm in a crisis. Faith knows. Faith assures.

Jesus is always interested in faith. This father in our passage today, was concerned about demons. Jesus was concerned about faith. After Jesus kindly rebuked the father, the text tells us that he “cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” I love that. He didn’t whisper that. He didn’t move his lips and those around ask, “What did he say?” He cried out. He shouted it. He said it for all to hear. He said it for Heaven to hear. I do believe, help my unbelief.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to hear someone shout that out in worship. Sometimes we are a bit to refined for my liking. I doubt anyone in that crowd hushed him. I don’t think anyone would have said, “keep it to yourself.”  We have a song, “Lord, I believe,” but much too often it’s sung mildly. Shout it out from the roof tops. Lord, I believe. Who cares if someone sees you. Who cares if others turn their heads in astonishment. This father had a growing faith. He had tossed the “if” word out of the equation. If was gone. Faith doesn’t have room for if. Faith stands in absolutes. Jesus can.

LORD, I BELIEVE! Can you say that? Can you say it and mean it?

Roger