Chapter 70
WHY OUR FAITH MAY BE LACKING
Matthew 17:14-21
Before we begin our study let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Almighty God, we ask that as we read Your Word You would please open our eyes, ears, and hearts so we will be able to comprehend why our faith may be lacking. In Jesus Christ’s name we ask.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin our study by reading the incident when Jesus’ disciples were not able to cast a demon out from within a boy. To do this we go to,
Matthew 17:14-19
[14] And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, [15] “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. [16] So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” [17] Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” [18] And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. [19] Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
Before we begin to explore this situation it is important to note that Jesus had already gave the disciples the power over demons. To refresh our memories, let us read what Jesus did to prepare His disciples to go and preach the good news throughout the various cities within in Judea. The Scripture of interest is,
Matthew 10:1
[1] And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Even though the disciples already had been given the power to cast out unclean spirits (demons), Jesus’ disciples were unable to cast the demon out of the boy. This raises the question of; “What was the problem?”
To address this question and expand upon this type of issue we will,
1. Review the reasons Jesus gave as to why His disciples could not cast out the demon.
2. Briefly review the time when Peter walked upon water and then began to sink.
3. Consider the application for us.
4. Discover that the issue of faith is one of relationship.
5. Explore three activities for preserving and strengthening our faith.
6. Close this study with some concluding remarks.
With the above introduction, let us now return to the time when Jesus’ disciples were not able to cast out a demon from within the boy and read,
JESUS’ RESPONSE
To read what Jesus said to His disciples question as to why they could not cast out the demon, we go to,
Matthew 17:20
[20] So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Let us notice the first portion of verse 20,
20(a) … Because of your unbelief or as it is translated in the “New International Version”; “Because you have so little faith.” In other words, they had faith but, in this instance, their faith was not strong enough for this particular task.
With this in mind, we now read what else Jesus said to His disciples. To do this we go to,
Matthew 17:21
[21] “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
In reflecting upon this portion of Jesus’ response one might ask; ‘Why prayer and fasting?” To gain some additional insight with respect to this portion of Jesus’ answer, let us first quickly review the time when,
PETER WALKED ON WATER
To do this we go to the time when Jesus fed 5,000 men in addition to all the women and children. After everyone ate the bread and fish, Jesus sent His disciples, via a boat, to the land of Gennesaret. When Jesus finished praying He went down the mountain to reunite with His disciples. Since there was no available boat, Jesus, to meet them, proceeded to walk on top of the sea water. To read what occurred as Jesus approached the disciples, we go to,
Matthew 14:23-31
[23] And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. [24] But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. [25] Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. [26] And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. [27] But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” [28] And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” [29] So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” [31] And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Let us notice the following verses,
25 … Jesus, by walking on top of the water, went to His disciples, who were now in a boat in the middle of the sea.
26 … Seeing Jesus on the sea, His disciples thought He was a ghost.
28 … To be sure it was Jesus walking on the water Peter asked Jesus to command him (Peter) to come to Him (Jesus).
29 … Peter got out of the boat and initially walked on the water.
30 … Unfortunately, Peter became distracted by the turbulent wind, became fearful and started to sink.
31a … Jesus reached out and saved Peter from drowning.
31b … Jesus told Peter he had little faith and doubted the fact that he could follow Jesus’ command to walk upon the water.
THE APPLICATION TO US THE BORN-AGAIN BELIEVERS
Before we discover the application for us, let us first observe the similarities between the situation with Peter and the disciple’s attempt to cast out the demon from within the boy. In both cases those involved knew Jesus’ command to them. To the disciples, Jesus had already given them the power to cast out demons. To Peter, Jesus commanded him to walk on water to meet Him. In both cases it was their lack or smallness of their faith that prevented or thwarted the successful completion of Jesus command.
Unfortunately, it may be the same for you and me. We as born-again believers know a lot of what Jesus has given us and what He has promised to do for us. For example we know that He has given us power over sin. To refresh our memories of this let us read from,
Romans 6:14
[14] For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
He has also given us great and precious promises to partake of the divine nature and escape the corruption within this world. This is recorded in,
2 Peter 1:2-4
[2] Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, [3] as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, [4] by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Unfortunately, there are times when we, as it was with Peter and the other disciples, have been distracted and our faith weakened. The question is: “Why?” To address this question, let us explore,
THE ISSUE OF RELATIONSHIP
The Bible teaches us that the problem as to why, at times, our faith weakens and becomes ineffective, is an issue of our relationship with Him. Jesus teaches this to us via the Parable of the Vine. To read what He said we go to,
John 15:1-6
[1] “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. [2] Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. [3] You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. [4] Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. [5] “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
For this particular study, let us notice the following verses,
4-5 … As long as the branch of a vine remains in the vine, the sap of the vine will flow through it to bring forth the vine’s fruit. Thus, it is with us. As we, the branches remain in Jesus; the Holy Spirit will flow through us to bring forth His fruit. Note that, without Jesus we can do nothing of “eternal value.”
6 … Those who do not abide in Jesus Christ will be cut off.
Let us now move on and read from,
John 15:7-11
[7] “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. [8] By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. [9] As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. [10] If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … Here our Lord expands upon the parable and tells us that not only are we to abide, that is remain, in Him but His Words are also to abide in us. Notice, if we abide in Him, that is follow His commands and His Words abide in us that is we know His commands and desires, then, we can ask what we desire and it will be given us. To expand upon this we go to,
1 John 5:14-15
[14] Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [15] And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Returning to the Gospel of John, let us notice the following verses,
8 … We glorify God the Father by bearing much good fruit.
10 … If we keep, that is follow, His commands, we will abide in His love.
The question now arises as to; “How do we abide in Christ and have His Word abide in us?” As we read the Scriptures we find that there are,
THREE ACTIVITIES WE CAN DO TO REMAIN IN JESUS AND PRESERVE AND STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH
Earlier in Jesus response to His disciples He identified two of the three activities to be prayer and fasting. As we study the New Testament we find that the third activity we must do is to spend the time to read and study His Word, the Bible.
The first activity Jesus identified was,
PRAYER
Through prayer we become closer and more intimate with Jesus Christ. Consequently, we come to know Him better and hence are strengthened in our faith and devotion to Him. A good example for the importance of prayer is Jesus Christ. The Bible reveals to us that Jesus often prayed. For example let us read what happened after Jesus healed a man who was full of leprosy. To do this we go to,
Luke 5:12-16
[12] And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” [13] Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. [14] And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.” [15] However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. [16] So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Let us notice the following verses,
12 … The man with leprosy did not go to Jesus in a demanding or disrespectful attitude. Instead, the man, recognizing Jesus’ authority, fell on his face and implored, which means to earnestly ask or beg, saying if You (Jesus) are willing, You can make me clean.
13 … Jesus responded saying He was willing and then cleansed the leprosy from the man.
16 … Jesus often withdrew to be alone and prayed. It is also noteworthy to recognize that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the second Person of the Godhead and yet while He was here in the flesh, He often prayed to God the Father. In other words, Jesus maintained His unity with His Father. This is also why Jesus was able to say,
1. He only did what the Father showed Him.
To see this let is read what Jesus said to those who did not believe He was the Son of God. To do this we go to,
John 5:19-20
[19] Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. [20] For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”
And,
2. He only said what He heard from the Father.
To see this, let us read what Jesus said to those who did not believe that He was the Christ. For this study the Scripture of interest is recorded in,
John 12:49-50
[49] “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. [50] And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
The New Testament also reveals to us that Jesus prayed just before His arrest, trial and crucifixion. To see this we go to the Gospel according to Mark and read from,
Mark 14: 32-34
[32] Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” [33] And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. [34] Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
Let us notice the following verses,
33-34 … Jesus became very troubled, distressed and sorrowful.
Let us now read Jesus’ prayer from,
Mark 14: 35-36
[35] He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. [36] And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
Let us notice the following verses,
35-36 … Jesus, after falling on the ground, asked God the Father to take away the ordeal that was set before Him. However, Jesus also told the Father that His, God the Father’s, will be done not His (Jesus’).
This was the attitude the leper had when he asked Jesus to heal him.
Unfortunately, Peter, James and John were not able to stay awake and pray.
Mark 14: 37-40
[37] “Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? [38] Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” [39] Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. [40] And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.”
Let us now read from,
Mark 14: 41-42
[41] “Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. [42] Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
Let us notice the following verses.,
41-42 … Jesus was now strengthened and prepared to successfully and faithfully go through the ordeal that was ordained for Him.
As Jesus, through prayer, received the strength and faith for the activities God the Father had ordained for Him to accomplish; in like manner we, through prayer, will receive strength and faith to perform the activities Jesus has ordained for us.
This is why Paul penned the following words to the church in Philippi.
Philippians 4:13
[13] I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The second activity Jesus identified in His response was that of,
FASTING
As we read the Scriptures, we find there are several purposes for the fast. However, for this study we will focus on the one that concerns itself with repentance and return to God. To do this, we begin by reading about the time when God, through His prophet Joel, called the nation of Israel to repentance and return to Him. To read what God said we go to,
Joel 2:12-13
[12] “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” [13] So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
Let us notice the following verses,
12 … In this instance, part of the repentance and the reconciliation process was fasting.
13 … The reason God told the people to not rend their garments was because it was a tradition to tear one’s clothing or to put on a very sad and sorrowful face to publicly show they were in mourning or in a fast. However, as Jesus taught during His sermon on the Mountain, God is much more concerned with what is going on within our heart rather than what we may be doing for others to observe, to see this we go to,
Matthew 6:16-18
[16] “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. [17] but you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Thus, we find that God wants us to have a heartfelt sorrow for the times when we have been distracted by the things and/or situations that pulled us away from our intimate and trusting relationship with Him.
Secondly, as we go through the fast we are drawn closer to our Lord and Savior to help us overcome the hunger and thirst we are experiencing. To see this let us read what Jesus said to the evil one after He (Jesus) fasted for forty days and forty nights. To do this let us go to,
Matthew 4:2-4
[2] And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. [3] Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” [4] But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Hence, through the fast, we learn how to rely upon our Lord Jesus Christ to bring us through the difficulties and temptations of the fast. In addition, it helps us to understand that we can also rely upon Jesus and His power and strength to accomplish His desires for us. Thus, we will be able to say as the Apostle Paul did in his letter to the Philippians that:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Even though I have not found a specific scripture that states this; I believe fasting does not necessarily mean we are to stop, for a period of time, eating or drinking anything. This is especially true for children, the elderly or those who are ill and require physical nourishment. In these cases, fasting would be avoiding, for a period of time, food or drink we really love or enjoy.
The third activity to preserve and strengthen our faith is to,
READ HIS WORD
We begin this portion by reading from,
Romans 10:17
[10]” … faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
Notice this is a two part verse. The first part tells us that faith comes by hearing the message, which is the Word of God.
Romans 10:17(a)
“… faith comes from hearing the message, ..."
To see this, let us remember the Bible teaches us that God is Truth and therefore will not lie. Not only does the Bible state this truth but also provides numerous examples to illustrate this fact. Thus, as we read His Word, we come to a better understanding that God is faithful, trustworthy, and will do what He says.
The second part of the 17th verse in Romans 10 teaches us that the message is heard through the Word of Christ.
Romans 10:17(b)
" … and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
Thus, the ability to hear, which is to understand, God’s Word comes from our Lord Jesus Christ. To see this, let us read what Jesus did while He was talking to His disciples after His resurrection but just prior to His ascension.
Luke 24:36-45
[36] “… Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." [37] They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. [38] He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? [39] Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." [40] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. [41] And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" [42] They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [43] and he took it and ate it in their presence. [44] He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." [45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."
Let us pay particular attention to verse 45 and consider all the time Jesus spent with the disciples teaching them about the Kingdom of God. Yet, it was not until Jesus opened their minds they could understand the Scriptures. So it is with us! In other words, before we read or listen to the Bible we are to prayerfully come before Jesus and ask Him to open our minds to understand.
SUMMARY
As one considers the actions we need to do to preserve and strengthen our faith, which is to pray, fast and read God’s Word, we come to realize that Godly faith is a gift. To see this we go to,
Ephesians 2:8
[8] “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--"
Just as it is written, Jesus Christ is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. This beautifully expressed in the following exhortation from,
Hebrews 12:2(a)
[12] “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, ..."
Just as Jesus said in His Parable of the Vine,
John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
CLOSING REMARKS
Before we leave this study with a serious misconception, we must never forget that the faith to fulfill or perform tasks or activities that Jesus has commanded us to do, comes from Him.
In other words, this study is not a recipe for getting or doing things to gratify our selves. To see this let us read the following admonition from,
James 4:3
[3] You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
To expand upon this, let us reread from,
1 John 5:14-15
[14] Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. [15] And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
CLOSING
Let us now close this study by reading the following prayer from,
Ephesians 3:20-21
[20] Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, [21] to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Blessed be the Lord forever,
Amen and Amen