Can You Believe?

Mark 9:14-27

Message No. 0644 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

You're not likely to speak with anyone who does not have an expectation of what they want God to help them accomplish in a new year. Some have very high expectations and others, not so much. The stand of everyone is driven by what they may or may not have experienced in the past. I have spoken to someone who thinks that God does not love her. This position obviously would have been driven by this lady’s experiences in the past years, of happenings in her life and prayers that may not have been answered yet. For ages, there is a central question that has been asked over and over again: why are some people blessed, and others are not? Why does God answer some people’s prayers and does not answer other people?

Last week we looked at the need to do something new in order to move forward this year. However, there is need to do more than new things in order to obtain desired results. In Mark chapter 9, Jesus Christ had just returned with Peter, James and John, from a mountain where He was transfigured. Quickly, He noticed that the Scribes were having a dispute with His disciples and decided to intervene before things got out of hands. “What are you discussing with them,” He asked the Scribes. Unfortunately, there was not a chance on this planet to receive answers to this question, because a distraught father, on noticing that it was Jesus, interrupted the discussion very quickly in verses 17 and 18:

“Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

Now, there could have been something else that the Scribes were disputing with the disciples because they never ceased to find faults with Jesus and His followers, but this father made his case so urgent as to trump whatever else was being talked about. He needed an urgent solution or intervention to his son’s condition. Who wouldn’t? In response, Jesus made one of the most fundamental statements to our Christian Faith:

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

As followers of Christ, we understand that when He makes a statement, He is not joking or making a suggestion. All things are possible to him who believes, is a statement of fact by the God who alone is able to make things come to pass. In Romans chapter 4 verse 17, the Bible says God is He who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. In other words, if God says it is done, then it is, unquestionably, done.

In this encounter, the father of this boy was very desperate, so he immediately exclaimed that he believed. On a second thought, he knew that he may not have believed enough to bring healing to his son. One thing he did not do was stay strong in pretense that he had faith. He immediately declared his vulnerability and asked God for help.

We need answers to our prayers for 2023, but the only way to obtain answers is to follow the statement made by the prayer answerer Himself. If you try to operate an appliance without following the manufacturer’s instructions, you are not likely to go far. If Jesus says you must believe to have answers, you better believe that you must believe. There is no dancing round this fact. In Romans chapter 11 verse 6, the Bible says:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him

Jesus says if you can believe, all things are possible for you. This desperate father asked for help to believe, and his son was healed. Peter believed and he walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33). The woman with the issue of blood believed and she was healed of 12 years of pain and shame (Mark 5:25-34). Moses believed and brought water out of the rock (Exodus 17:1-7). Joshua believed and stopped the sun and the moon from moving for about one day (Joshua 1-:1-14). We can go on but it looks like the pattern is clear, right? You too can accomplish the impossible this year if you believe. Do you believe? Can you?

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 PLEASE ACT NOW:
 If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
 Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!