Sabbath Afternoon 02/22/2014
Mark 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
9:18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
There are many questions that pertain to our faith in God and the promises He has made in His word. One of the questions deal with the issue of whether or not the promises made in the word of God apply to our individual, peculiar situations, or whether they are generic, not having any real substance for us personally. Another question is whether or not we should have any specific expectations when we pray for something in particular.
In our world today we are surrounded by many gadgets and man-made devices that are all subject to limitations, to which we have all been accustomed to. We need to be very careful lest the mindset of limitations invade our thinking as it pertains to the Most High God. The Bible explicitly states that there is nothing impossible with God, and therefore when we approach Him, it should be with the understanding that He is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or think.
Most of the many questions pertaining to faith in the promises of God, and their accompanying answers can be found in the experience of the man in our scripture for today, whom we will call Bolo for reference purposes. The case of Bolo and his son is very similar to the issues we often grapple with. To begin with, the reason why Bolo brought his son to the disciples is because he must have seen or heard of the mighty miracles Jesus was able to perform, and since “faith cometh by hearing”, he decided to take his son to the disciples with the expectation that his child would be healed. This is what he clearly stated in his complaint to Christ. Let’s read:
Mark 9:18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
It’s very important for us to note that neither Bolo’s request or his expectation was vague. His son had a problem and he expected a concrete resolution by coming to Christ’s disciples. It’s just that simple.
Now the question is whether or not it was the will of God that Bolo’s son should be healed. What does the Bible say. Let’s read with the understanding:
3rd John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Deuteronomy 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all [them] that hate thee.
Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
And therefore, God who is faithful to all of His promises, went about doing exactly what He clearly stated in His word, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Let’s read:
Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Now that we know that it is God’s will that we should be healthy, the next logical question is,
will The Lord help Bolo in his particular situation.
Obviously, it was the will of God that Bolo’s son should be healed, even though Bolo together with the disciples had probably concluded that it wasn’t, because of the negative results of the disciples’ attempts, and the obvious embarrassment and disappointment they all suffered as a result. In desperation however, Bolo decided to take the matter directly to Christ for resolution, and the brief interview which followed showed the gravity of the man’s situation.
Mark 9:20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
9:21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
9:22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.
In other words, what Christ was saying is, if you can believe it GOD can do it. Observe carefully that Jesus did not address any question of whether or not it was God’s will, for as far as He was concerned, that question was already answered and permanently settled in the scriptures. The issue that would be the determining factor in the outcome, is whether or not Bolo will believe. Let’s read:
Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, [Thou] dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 9:26 And [the spirit] cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
With the signal defeat of the hosts of darkness, a very serious and disturbing question arose in the minds of the disciples. What was the problem why they were unable to cast out the devil? Was it something they did or didn’t do, or even something they did not know? As always, the mighty Counselor had the answer. Let’s read:
Matthew 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
17:20 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.
Two distinct types of “unbelief are clearly brought to view in this episode. One is doubt and the other is attitude. The disciples unbelief could not have consisted of doubt, because prior to this they had subdued devils through the name and power of Christ and therefore received confirmation and assurance that they, by the power of God could handle any situation that could arise. Let’s read:
10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
We therefore conclude that Bolo’s unbelief was rooted in partial doubt, but the disciples’ unbelief was rooted in their attitude. Question: what attitude were they harboring that could so negatively affect their work in the public domain?
Answer: An argumentative attitude. The disposition to argue, for any reason, whether valid or invalid, effectively stymies the power of the Holy Ghost operating in and through us. Let’s read:
Mark 9:33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
9:34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who [should be] the greatest.
Striving for the highest place, or the desire for pre-eminence and popularity constitutes an attitude of unbelief, and thus, consequently prevents miracles from taking place. However, this is not the only attitude that can preclude the miracle-working power of God in our lives. A disposition to imitate the customs, practices and fashions of the world also brings our minds into a state of unbelief, this according to the word. Let’s read:
1st john 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2:16 For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
The life of a true Christian is not “average”. The Lord does not take a person to Himself so that the individual may be just “average”. Let’s read:
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
1st Peter 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
2:10 Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Now brethren, the following passage of scripture is very disturbing to us. Let’s read:
Mark 6:5 6:1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 6:2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing [him] were astonished, saying, From whence hath this [man] these things? and what wisdom [is] this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed [them]. 6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
This text means that because of their unbelief, whether manifested in doubt, or whether revealed by attitude, they actually prevented Jesus from working miracles. In other words, Jesus wanted to work many more miracles for their benefit , but His plans were hijacked through unbelief.
Another factor that will prevent miracles from taking place is the harboring of cherished sin. When known sin is cherished in the heart, miracles cannot take place. Let’s read:
Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]:
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear. 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor [any] pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Then there is the factor of harboring or knowingly possessing the “accursed thing”. This is a Biggie, for within the precincts of many households can be found items, books, foods, novelties, charms, and movies that are expressly forbidden by the word. If these idols are knowingly cherished, this then stops a miracle dead in it’s track. This is what the scriptures say, and the word of God must not be interfered with. Let’s read:
Joshua 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep [yourselves] from the accursed thing, lest ye make [yourselves] accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
Joshua 7:10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put [it] even among their own stuff.
7:12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, [but] turned [their] backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [There is] an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
Deuteronomy 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take [it] unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it [is] an abomination to the LORD thy God. 7:26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: [but] thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it [is] a cursed thing.
Acts 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all [men]: and they counted the price of them, and found [it] fifty thousand [pieces] of silver. 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
And last but not least is the attitude of lightly regarding the law of God. Those who subjectively hold the laws and statutes given in the Bible, or who trample upon them because they interfere with their purposes, cannot really expect any miracles from God until full confession and repentance is made. Let’s read:
Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination.
1stsamuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed [that] thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those [things] have been, saith the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
It thus behooves us to embark upon serious soul searching to see if any of these factors may be hampering the fulfillment of God’s promises to us, and if not, then we should continue to press our petitions to the throne of grace for in due time will reap if we faint not.
We therefore end with a promise intended to encourage each one to seek the Lord in sincerity and in truth.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
May this be our experience both now and forever.
God bless!