Title Can Be / Mark 9:14-29
You can do it/Mark 9:14-29 Rev. Kiho Um
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus being transfigured and his garments shining. We also saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. It was a very gracious and unforgettable experience for the disciples. The appearance of the disciples coming down from the Transfiguration Mountain was filled with emotion that anything could be done with Jesus. However, the exact opposite was happening to the disciples who remained under the mountain at that time.
A father, who was worried about his son who was dumb and suffering from epilepsy, came to his disciples and looked for Jesus, but he was not there, so he grabbed them and said, “Heal my poor son. This is my only son, and since I was a child, I often fell to water and fire, and was possessed by a demon, knocked down, foamed, grinded my teeth, and became numb all over my body.” Hearing his plea, he tried to cure the epilepsy, but in vain.
On the way down from Mt. Transfiguration, after giving warning to the disciples of the Passion, when Jesus arrived at the bottom of the mountain, he saw the disciples sweating profusely, the child possessed by a demon, and the child's father. The boy's father saw Jesus and said, "Your disciples could not cast out this demon. Teacher, if you can, help me." He did not completely believe in Jesus and begged. When Jesus heard this, he said, “Rebellious generation! How much longer am I with you, and how long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” He rebuked the demon, and the demon went away and the epilepsy was cured. At that time, the disciples of Jesus washed away their sweat and did not know where to put themselves, even though they were embarrassed, saying, “Teacher! Why couldn't we do this?” I ask. Then why couldn't the nine disciples at the bottom of the mountain cast out demons, and how can they cast them out?
You must have faith.
You cannot cast out demons without faith. Jesus is power. Jesus is power. There is nothing impossible for Jesus. Also, Jesus gave this power to his disciples. The Bible wrote, “He has given power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases” (Luke 9:13). The disciples had already been given the power to cast out demons from Jesus. But the disciples ask Jesus, "Why were we not able to cast out demons?" Then Jesus said, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
The disciples thought that the power to cast out demons was hidden within them. So they no longer depended on God for their exorcism. I did not ask God for help in prayer.
Doubt is seeing an obstacle. But faith sees through obstacles. Doubt sees the dark night, faith sees the bright day. Doubt is an attempt to climb one step at a time, but faith is like a wing that soars high into the sky. Doubt destroys relationships with anyone. Doubt ravages one's life and makes home and society a wasteland.
You can't do negative faith.
A daughter was born to a Christian family in the United States. But this baby, named Wilma, was born with a huge disability called lameness. Because of this, Wilma used to stay in the room alone, with an auxiliary splint on her leg, even when her brothers and sisters were having fun outside. One day little Wilma asked his parents. "mom and dad! Can’t I just run around like other children?”
At this point the parents answered. “Wilma, all you can do is believe. If you believe you will be able to run, God will make it happen.” Little Wilma took and believed her parents. So, with my braces off, I started practicing walking with the support of my brothers and sisters. Wilma firmly believed that God would walk her. On Wilma's 12th birthday, he surprised his parents and doctors. Because I took off the brace and walked around the hospital office several times on my own without anyone's support. Since then, she has never used an orthosis splint again.
Now Wilma's second goal was to be able to play basketball. The basketball coach allowed Wilma to practice basketball, but she was given an old uniform. But she just enjoyed being able to practice with other players. One day, with a determined face, Wilma talked to the coach. “If the coach coaches him for just 10 more minutes every day, he will definitely show that he is a first-class player.” The coach laughed. But Wilma's demeanor was so serious that he had no choice but to agree, though he was displeased. Not long after, another miracle happened, and Wilma is now competing as a regular member of the basketball team. Not only that, he soon became the best player ever. Finally, Wilma's team made it to the state championship finals. At that time, a judge asked if he had ever played track and field after special observation of Wilma's abilities. When he said he had no such experience, the judge encouraged him to give it a try.
After the basketball season, Wilma practiced track and field. She always did her best with the belief that God would surely do it. The miracle happened again. This time Wilma became the state's national track and field champion. And at 16, he became America's best youth track and field athlete. Representing the United States at the Australian Olympics, she won a bronze medal as a relay athlete. And four years later, at the Olympic Games in Rome, I took part in the 100-meter and 200-meter runs, setting new world records, respectively, and won gold medals, and in the 400-meter relay, I won gold medals by setting new world records. Afterwards, she confessed, “I was able to do this as a lame person because of my positive attitude of faith that God can do anything if He is with me.”
The father of the child in today's text said to Jesus, "If you can do anything," he said. There is an attitude of unbelief in those words. Seeing that the disciples he had hoped for did not heal, doubts must have sprouted in his heart. Because of the disappointment he felt with his disciples, he wanted Jesus to help him, but he was not sure that he would be healed. “I can do anything” is a questioning belief. It is a lukewarm belief. It is a contradictory belief. The child's father lacked a firm belief in the power of Jesus. When his son was possessed by a mute demon and ran mad, his father brought him to Jesus, and he had to come out with a positive attitude, saying, “Lord, I believe, heal me.”
But his father's words were both unbelievable and skeptical, but at the same time candid. Those who openly tell their circumstances can receive the Lord's grace in the end. Those who possess positive faith, fervent faith, earnest faith, and fervent faith will win. Jesus can do anything. Because He is the all-powerful Savior.
can do.
To the father of the demon-possessed child who asked for help with an unsure heart, Jesus said, "If you can, what do you mean? Nothing is impossible for those who believe." A child's healing is a matter of whether the child's father believes in the power of Jesus or not. Faith itself is an active force that exerts the power of healing. Before Jesus healed the child, He healed the father's disease of faith.
“Nothing is impossible for those who believe.” The meaning of these words is that nothing is impossible for those who first have faith, and it means that nothing is impossible for those who have faith. He has revealed the all-round path of faith.
The boy's father immediately cried out, saying, "I believe; help my unbelief." Recognizing that his faith was never steadfast, he frankly poured out his heart and asked Jesus to help him with his lack of faith. Faith is transcending human limitations and relying on God and trusting completely in God. Skepticism is, after all, unbelief. True faith is only absolute trust that is not shaken by any circumstance. Only the faith of absolute trust can do all impossible things (Philippians 4:13).
Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and the demon screamed loudly and gave the child severe convulsions and was driven out. The child recovered instantly. In this way, the life-force of Jesus can revive all oppressed souls and dying creatures. The fundamental solution to all problems is only in Jesus Christ. So, believe only in Jesus. Only the positive attitude of faith that we can do it through faith can overcome tribulation, endure persecution, and endure disaster. I hope that all of you who profess, “I believe in you,” from the beginning to the end, even though we experience tribulation, persecution, sorrow, and joy throughout our life of faith. And, I bless you all who live with faith and conviction that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”