Sunday, July 15, 2012 am
Help my unbelief!
Back in Mark’s account, we find that when the father comes to Jesus,
Jesus says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
(Mark 9:23) We then read that the
father of the child cried out with tears, “Lord,
I believe; help my unbelief.”
(Mark 9:24) What a
remarkable statement. Today
I want to talk about this faith for a few moments.
I
challenge each of us to honestly examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5).
This morning I challenge us to examine how strong our faith is.
Is my faith as strong as it ought to be?
Do you struggle with your faith? I’m not talking about believing
in God and Jesus Christ. I
am not talking about a firm belief
that Jesus lived upon this earth and all that is spoken of Him in
the Bible is true. NOR am I
speaking of our faith in our salvation through the blood that He shed
upon that cross for our sins.
I’m talking about a faith that completely TRUSTS God.
I am talking about living where we completely trust Him above the
ways of the world. When we
speak of faith in such terms, do the words of the father of the demon
possessed son ring in our ears, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief”?
This morning we will take a few
moments to discuss what faith is and notice some things we can do to
increase our faith.
a.
What is faith?
L&N (31.85), “to believe to the extent of complete trust and
reliance.”
Vine’s, “primarily firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing.”
Heb. 11:1 describes it as, “the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.”
When we discuss faith we note that it is more than mere belief (though
the word “belief” is a derivative of the same root and it is certainly
related). True faith means
not just that you believe IN God, but you believe God and you TRUST Him!
b.
The way God has created
this world is incredible.
It is perfectly suited for each of us to make up our own minds as
to whether or not we will obey Him.
Does He exist?
Certainly there is great
evidence for His existence – in both the vastness of the universe (Psa.
19:1, 8:1, Rom. 1:20, etc.) and the structure of the cell and its DNA
(cf. Acts 17:26). But the
evidence is such that
it requires faith to fully accept.
It is because of this that man
can deny Him if he so chooses (Rom. 1:21-23, etc.)
The same is true with His Word – the Bible is absolutely the most
remarkable book in all of history.
It is the WORD of GOD and sufficient to give us all the direction
we need! (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:3).
The evidence for its genuineness is staggering and beyond compare
with anything else ever written.
There is plenty of “proof” to take it seriously.
BUT, with all that evidence
it still requires faith to fully accept it.
It is written in such a way that if you don’t want to accept it,
you don’t have to. You can reject and dismiss its authority and
teachings.
I BELIEVE that God created this world, His word and other things the way
He did on purpose! I believe
that the nature of the Bible, the church and other things were in His
eternal plans (cf. Eph. 3:10-11, Heb. 8:5ff).
He created such things as He did to require us to have FAITH in
Him. A faith that trusts Him
and His word even if we don’t fully understand everything!
c.
Godly Faith Exemplified:
i.
Perhaps the greatest
example of faith is that of Abraham.
AT least 3 times in the NT we are told, “Abraham believed God,
and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:34, Gal. 3:6,
Jas. 2:23). We see in the
example of Abraham a faith that matured to the point that he willingly
offered his “only begotten son” Isaac (Heb. 11:17-19).
If you study the life of Abraham you find this as the culmination
of his faith. He trusted God
so much that he believed God would raise him up, even from the dead.
As we talk about FAITH this is what we have in mind!
ii.
Ezra is another example
of this faith. IN Ezra 7 & 8
we find that the temple has finally been rebuilt in Jerusalem after the
return from Babylonian captivity.
It had laid in ruin for some 70 years (586-516 BC).
About 50 years later (ca. 466 BC) Ezra, seeks permission from
Artaxerxes to go to
Jerusalem (from Babylon) and rebuild the city.
God is with him and not only is he granted permission to go, the
king supports the mission, even offering to send an armed escort to the
city. As Ezra prepares for
the journey he calls together the leaders and proclaims a fast and
prayers to God for guidance.
Ezra 8:22-23 records, “For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and
horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken
to the king, saying, ‘The hand of our God is upon all those for good who
seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake
Him.’ So we fasted and
entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. “
IN summary, they made the trip without an escort and without
incident. God was with them.
Here we find an example of what it means to TRUST God.
Ezra’s actions manifested his faith to the world.
d.
Some passages to
consider in dealing with our faith:
i.
Without faith it is
impossible to please Him! – Heb. 11:6.
We HAVE to have faith!
IF you study the 11th chapter of Hebrews you find the
trust and obedience that manifests what TRUE faith is!
ii.
James 1:6-8 calls for
Christians to go to God with our requests.
But as we pray we are told, “But
let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave
of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from
the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
NOTICE how when we pray to God, we MUST have faith.
We must BELIEVE that God can and will answer our prayers.
Is that not what John noted in 1 John 5:14-15 says, “Now
this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us,
whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked
of Him.”
When we go to God in prayer, do we have doubts?
Do we have confidence that He will answer our prayers (according
to His will and terms)? Do
we sometimes doubt our own worth as we pray for forgiveness of sins and
strength to overcome?
iii.
Rom. 12:3 is an
interesting verse which calls for our humility as we asses our
self-worth. Instead
Paul says, “…but think soberly, as
God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Paul tells us that we each have “a measure of faith”.
What does that mean?
Is that measure equal in each of us, or do some inherently have more
faith than others. I believe
that in matters of faith, we all have the same measure of faith.
IN other words, we all have the ability to believe God and trust
Him.
IF that is so, why do some have more faith than others?
The answer has to do with WHAT WE DO with the faith we have.
We can let it stagnate or we can work to build it up.
That is what we are discussing in this lesson.
Someone noted, Arnold Swartzenegger, when he was born had the
same amount of muscles as everyone else.
But what he did with them is what caused his faith to increase.
iv.
1 John 5:4 says, “This
is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.” The victory
that overcomes the world – our faith! I
ask, how is it that with our faith we can overcome the world.
v.
Finally, we turn to Luke
17:5. On another occasion
where Jesus was teaching His disciples about forgiveness which prompts
the apostles to say to Him, “Increase our faith.”
Jesus responds that with the
“faith of a mustard seed” they would be able to do great things.
What is interesting about this is that His apostles, who had been
with Him and upon whom He had imparted incredible powers they make this
request of Him, “Increase our faith.”
That demonstrates to us that faith is certainly something we need
to build up.
e.
Most of us struggle with
our faith from time to time.
There are times when we struggle with trusting God.
I am reminded of examples like that of Peter when he saw Jesus walking
on water and said, “If it is you, command me to come to you on the
water.” Jesus said, “Come”.
Peter did and began walking on water, but then he became fearful
at the “boisterous seas” he began to sink and said, “Lord, save me.”
(Matt. 14:26-31) Or later,
after denying Him 3 times and Jesus asks him, “Do you love Me?” (cf.
John 21:15-19. In the
conversation you find Peter’s hesitation to answer him straightforward.
Does such ever happen to us?
a.
We can see from the
above texts, the need to develop our faith and overcome whatever
unbelief we have in our lives.
Chances are, if we have a weak faith it is NOT in the fact that
God exists or that His word is inspired, but rather it lies in those
areas of life where we have doubt and things aren’t as crystal clear as
we would like for them to be.
So HOW do we increase our faith in these areas.
Following are some suggestions.
b.
Realize that you are NOT
going to understand everything!
One of the wonderful qualities of the Bible is that its learning
potential is NEVER exhausted.
And quite honestly, there are some things in there that we will
NEVER understand. Deut.
29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all
the words of this law.”
While written to Israel, it certainly reveals the character of God that
doesn’t change.
Peter spoke of things that are hard to understand, (2 Pet. 3:16).
So the problem is not perfect knowledge, as that is something we must
continue to develop. Let us
not become frustrated just because we can’t understand everything and
use ignorance as a crutch that leads to doubt.
(NOTE: I am NOT dismissing the importance of study, nor am I
excusing ignorance)
c.
Know that God does care –
AT times, when things aren’t going the way we want them to, and
pressures are building up, we might be tempted to question God’s love
and concern for us. Resist
that urge! It leads to
doubt, frustration, and can very easily lead to sin.
1 Pet 5:7 tells us to humble ourselves before God (that requires trust)
and “casting all your cares upon
Him, for He cares for you.”
Psalm 37:25, David said, “I have
been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his descendants begging bread.”
Heb. 13:5, the Lord says, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.”
d.
Make up your mind to
trust God –
THIS is the attitude that we need to develop - simply accept what He
says (even if you don’t like it or fully understand it).
Sometimes this is tough to do, but when you are facing a troubled
decision that you have carefully weighed and agonized over, you may need
to just tell yourself, “I putting this in God’s hands!”
Can you think of an example of this?
I can! Jesus in the
garden (Lk. 22:41-44) and on the cross! (Lk. 23:46)
Psalm 4:5 says, “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your
trust in the Lord.”
Prov. 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your
own understanding.”
e.
Evaluate what God has
done for you
–
We sometimes sing, “Count your many blessings, name the one by one and
it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
That’s not just an exercise to get us to realized how blessed we
are, it can also serve as a reminder that the promises of the Lord are
sure. He has taken care of
us (Matt. 6:33) over and over!
David observed, “Many, O Lord my
God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; And Your thoughts
toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and
speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” (Psa. 40:5)
f.
Be patient - A mature faith has to
mature.
Christians need patience – Jesus said, “By your patience possess your
souls.” (Lk. 21:19)
James 1:4, “But let patience have
its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
You are not going to have a perfect faith overnight.
David said, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts
in Him.” (Psa. 34:8)
Even Abraham had to develop perfect faith – recall the tests of
faith he failed – he lied to Abimelech (Gen. 20:2), and Pharaoh (Gen.
12:11-20); he tried to help God fulfill His promise by conceiving with
Hagar (Ishmael – Gen. 16)
Seek to develop your faith
– like everything else it needs time and “nourishment” to grow.
Consider the tight wire performer pushing a wheelbarrow across a
canyon. Do you believe he
can do it? Do you believe him enough to get in the wheelbarrow?
Look for ways to use and build up your faith.
An example: 2 neighboring
farmers are living in a drought ridden area.
They both pray to God for much needed rain.
One sits at home and waits while the other goes out and plants
his crops. Which one has the
greater faith?
g.
You have to obey God – Rom. 10:17 – faith comes by hearing.
Obviously hearing is more than audibly receiving the words.
It involves accepting them and putting them into practice.
There are so many passages that address the need for obedience.
Jas. 1:22 says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.” Vs.
25 says, “But he who looks
into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a
forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in
what he does.”
Friends, if you want God to bless you, you have to serve Him!
True faith always wants to obey
God.
h.
Pray regularly and
properly –
This is the other side of communicating with God (studying is
listening). Recall how James
1:5 says if you lack wisdom, ASK for it!
The same could be said of faith – recall the text we began with,
“Help my unbelief.”
But you have to ask for the right things –James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it
on your pleasures.”
I know of so many whose prayers are filled with self-serving requests.
They treat God as their “cash cow” that they turn to for whatever
they want. And they have
plenty of false teachers on television and other places encouraging them
to seek materialistic blessings.
Friends, God is NOT going to give you everything you want.
And if that is your expectation, your faith will suffer when you
don’t get it!
1 John 5:14 tells us, “Now this is
the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to
His will, He hears us. And
if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we have asked of Him.”
i.
Do your part –
Don’t expect a miracle!
I don’t say that because the days of miracles have reached their
completion (and they have), but rather as a challenge for us to get up
and be busy doing what we ought to be doing.
When you go to God in faith, you need to do what you can do.
Let Him take care of what you cannot do.
The raising of Lazarus is a good example of this.
John 11:39, “Take away the stone” and vs. 44, “Loose him and let
him go.” Notice how Jesus
let THEM do what they could do.
If you want to reach the lost, you can pray to God in faith to help you
– but then you need to go out and start looking for opportunities!
You need to prepare for it!
j.
Associate with others of “like precious faith.”
The final thing we mention is the need to be around those who
have a great faith. Just as
evil company corrupt good habits (1 Cor. 15:33), so good company
sustains good habits. As
brethren we build each other up which is why we need to prefer one
another. Heb. 10:24-25 AGAIN
says, “Let us consider one another
in order to stir up love and good works.”
This is followed by the need to assemble!
Rom. 1:8, Paul commended the brethren at Rome because, “You faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
Similar words were uttered concerning the church at Thessalonica
(1 Thess. 1:8) the
implication is that it was a strength to others.
If you want to build up your faith, find those who want to help you.
Stay away from doubters and cynics and agnostics!
And
thus we can see the importance of increasing our faith.
It is my hope that we have been reminded of some things we can do
to build up our faith in Him.
Think about it.