Unbelieving Faith

Unbelieving Faith
Following the Servant
Mark 9:14-29

After the wonder of the Mount of Transfiguration, the disciples come down to face reality.  This is the fourth and final exorcism in Mark.  The disciples were unable to perform it, and so Jesus did, emphasizing the necessity of faith and prayer.

“. . . apart from me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5

I need to let my weakness drive me to His .

1.         We never advance beyond our need for Jesus (9:14–19).

We should be able to take a failure and ask God to use it and help us learn from it, and especially to learn how we can .

Jesus clearly believes in the demonic. Demons are real and not mythological.

Satan and his demons cannot touch God, but they can come after us, His children, and they will.

We must always be prepared because we’re fighting .

1 John 4:4

2.         We never advance beyond our need for faith (9:19–27).

“Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

Matthew 17:20

We have to embrace, as pictured in the disciples, our utter powerlessness to .

The key to great faith is .

Our problem is not that God lacks power or willingness; the problem is .

Don’t believe that you need to be for God to work and answer prayer and intervene on your behalf.

Even with all his doubts, Jesus heals this man’s son!

Of course, we struggle against doubt, but God .

3.         We never advance beyond our need for prayer (9:28–29).

Faith is experienced and exercised through .

1 Thessalonians 5:17

The essence of prayer is abandoning my reliance on my own strength and wisdom, and resting myself in .

Prayer is both a confession of our own neediness and a celebration of !

Four key questions about prayer:

·      Do you believe God can do anything?

·      Are you willing to leave the “anything” up to Him?

·      Will you stop worrying, quit interrupting, cease striving, and simply pray?

·      Will you accept the answer He chooses to give?

John 20:29

Ephesians 6:16

Daily Meditations

Memory verse: “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:23, 24

Monday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  What has been your most profitable mistake—the one from which you learned the most valuable lessons?

Do you tend to criticize others for making mistakes or encourage them to learn from mistakes?

Tuesday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  How did witnessing the transfiguration prepare the disciples for this next lesson?

How did this lesson bring them down to earth from their mountaintop experience?

Wednesday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  How does our failure reflect badly on Jesus in the eyes of the world?

What might we say when we have failed that would lessen the damage done to His name?

Thursday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  How would you respond to someone who said the child’s behavior probably represented epilepsy or some other natural disease rather than demonic forces?

Is our generation more or less of a “faithless generation” than the one Jesus confronted? In general, what causes people to change over generations?

Friday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  How does turning to Jesus with questions and doubts demonstrate at least small faith rather than no faith at all? What would no faith look like?

Should our daily lives be divided into things we can do on our own and things we need Jesus’ help to do? Explain.

Saturday
Read Mark 9:1-32.  What did the disciples do after their failure? How can we learn from our failures?

How does self-sufficiency express pride, while prayer and humility express faith, trust, and dependency?