ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

Proclamation:

"Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."  Mark 9:23-24

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He said to the man with his son who had a dumb spirit that the disciples of Jesus could not cast out.  The man had questioned the power of Jesus by saying “… if you can …” (Mark 9:22)  Jesus replied to the man by questioning his faith.  The man stated that he believed and then asked Jesus to help him by strengthening his faith.  After Jesus cast out the foul spirit from the boy, His disciples asked Him privately why they could not cast out that demon.  He said unto them, “This kind can come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29)

Application:
It is possible to have faith but also to have an imperfect faith mixed with a little doubt.  This father's prayer was to confess his spiritual weakness and ask for Jesus to help him to have a greater faith.  The take home lesson here is that believers may need to have a greater faith.  The disciples needed to know that some demons are more powerful than others.  This is also a lesson that we all could learn.  Some things we want require that we pray and fast.  All things are possible if we truly believe.  If we had the faith of a grain of mustard seed we could move mountains. (Matthew 17:20)  Jesus said to His disciples during a storm, “O ye of little faith.” (Matthew 8:26)  He was also speaking directly to us today.  We are fearful of things when we shouldn’t be.  We worry about things when it is not necessary.  We are doubtful of things that we should be certain of.  We have faith in God but only a little faith mixed with a lot of doubt.  We should probably also pray, as that father did, and say, Lord, help my unbelief.

Fasting And Praying

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."  Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)

As part of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that when men fast, it should be done in secret as a private matter between them and God.  One should not look as if one is fasting, but rather one should  look normal as though they are not fasting.  It should not be done for the praise of men. 

Periods of fasting and praying should be a personal matter between the believer and God.  Fasting should be spiritual and purposeful.  Part of the reason for fasting should be seeking the will of God, to know it, to understand it, and to comply with it.  In order to do that we need God's help.  The duration and the extent of our fasts may vary, but the spiritual nature of fasting should always be maintained.  As we prepare for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savor, Jesus Christ, a period of fasting and praying would be appropriate as we rededicate ourselves to Him and His Word.

Get Your Heart Right

" 'Even now,' declares The Lord, 'return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to The Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing ..." Joel 2:12-14 (NIV)

In the midst of a description of the destruction of the land and the suffering of the people, Joel tells them to return to The Lord. He says that if they would demonstrate genuine repentance, that God would forgive them and bless them. Tearing their outer garments, a Jewish way of showing grief, was meaningless the heart is broken in repentance and contrition.

When things are going all wrong for us, there is an opportunity for us to turn or return to God. There are those of us who believe that some times, God allows bad things to happen to us in order to get our attention. Only after making a mess of things, trying to handle it ourselves, do we realize that we need God's help. We must learn the error of our ways, confess and repent, and follow His way.

If You Had The Faith You Could Do The Impossible

"When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before Him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him." "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me." Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:14-21 (NIV)

Approximately one year earlier, Jesus had given His disciples the power to heal the sick and to cast out evil spirits and demons (Matthew 10:1 & 10:8) and they had been successful at doing so. This demon they were not able to cast out of the boy. Their faith was not sufficient, they had "so little faith." According to John MacArthur their problem was a failure to make God the object of their confidence rather than their own gifts and abilities.

Some of our problems require that we have more faith in addition to prayer and fasting. Some of our prayers are not answered because we have doubts to begin with, or because we ask for things that are not according to His will. We must believe, have faith, fast and pray, and God will answer our prayers. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22 (NIV) "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1 John 5:14 (NIV) "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)