Releasing the Power of God for Your Victorious Christian Life

Mark 9: 24 The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" (NLT)

This short little story tucked away in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark contains so many important truths for us as believers. Once we walked in the darkness of this world. We were slaves to it. The things of God were foolishness to us and we served the ruler of this world, Satan. We did so willingly and blindly perhaps never truly understanding any of it. But God:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1Peter 2: 9-10

No longer slaves to the darkness of this world we now bask in the glorious light of Jesus Christ, who saved us from eternal separation from God. This concept of "eternal life" is often misconstrued as something we have yet to receive but Jesus Himself taught that we get to live the eternal life now, with the promise and hope of heaven yet to come:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

In his letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul prays for believers:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 16-19

These prayers are not written in the future tense! The fullness of God that Paul prays for all believers is accessible to them right now through Jesus Christ. But so many Christians in Ephesus were selling their own inheritance short. They were not living the victorious Christian life and so as it was, so it can still go on today.

Like the Ephesians we too can be bound by distractions, false teachings, and unbelief. We can lose sight of the true Gospel, which saved us from the fires of eternal hell. We can be saved but be crawling into heaven. Do you know anyone like that? Saved but still bound? Too often this can be the case with Christians. The enemy gains a foothold in their thinking and it robs them of the power of God in their lives. Within the story which our key verse comes from we see how unbelief impacts our ability to approach God correctly and also how to humble ourselves before God.

In examining this story, we see there was a man who had a son who was possessed by a demon his entire life. This demon would not let the boy talk, would throw him to the ground, make him foam at the mouth and gnash his teeth. The man admits in verse 17 that he was seeking Jesus to heal his son but then in verse 18 we are told that he brought his son to the disciples to cast the demon out but they could not.

The first thing we should take away from this is to never settle on anything less than Jesus. The Disciples were companions of Jesus they were with Him all the time. It may have been perfectly logical for this man to think that they could cast the demon out. But while they were close to God, they were not God. Today, we have a lot of well intended Christians who still make this poor assumption. They see the man of God and follow him instead of God Himself. The true man of God will direct you back to Jesus a lifetime relationship with Him. That is where the power of God lies. Not within parlor tricks designed to appear spiritual but lack the power of God. It is in Christ, not in gemstones and gold dust. It is in Christ, not in holy laughter and false prophets. This man was seeking Christ but initially settled for less.

We cannot settle for less in pursuit of all God has given us. That abundant life with the fullness of God is only found within Christ Himself. When the man tells Jesus that His disciples were unable to cast the demon out, Christ starts to diagnose the problem:

Jesus said to them, "You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." Mark 9: 19 (NLT)

I can still see Him saying these words to us today as well. You faithless people. The second thing to take away is that no matter where you tried to bring the problem you face, it eventually must be brought to Jesus if you are to be delivered. "Bring the boy to me."

"Bring your addiction to me."

"Bring your marriage to me."

"Bring your pride to me"

This is what Jesus commands us. Do not try and solve it on your own (Proverbs 3:5). Do not bring it to other people. Not of this world or even those who may appear to know Me well. What is this mountain that you face today beloved? What is preventing you from living the victorious abundant life Christ promised you? What is the mountain you keep circling? Jesus is saying to you today "bring it to me." Let's see what happens when your problems meet Jesus:

So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. Mark 9: 20 (NLT)

Your problems too will fall to the ground, writhing in convulsions before a holy God. Jesus asks how long this has been happening and the father shares that since the boy was but a child. This has been a long suffering situation. So too can our battles in this flesh. We too can be struggling and battling for many years with problems that prevent the victorious Christian life. Bound by the things of this world and the lies that it sells. Bound by spiritual warfare we are not winning. Bound by the insecurities of the world instead of the assurances of God. Truth be told, we can often feel like this boy:

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can." Mark 9: 22 (NLT)

Life can be overwhelming without the comfort of God. It can mount up against us and feel insurmountable without the promises of God. I am sure that this problem with his child had sapped a lot of the strength this father once had. Dealing with the problem for years and years; it must also have sapped his faith and dulled what he believed. We can assume this based on his weak prayer to Christ here in verse 22 "Have mercy on us and helps us if you can" Once again though, we see the master diagnostician at work in the response from Jesus:

"What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." Mark 9: 23 (NLT)

You can almost here the incredulity in the voice of Jesus "What do you mean, if I can?" Jesus turns the tables back on the father and shows him that what he thought was his problem was merely a symptom. Certainly the fact that his son suffered from demon possession was a real problem but the fact that it could not be resolved hid a deeper problem. Underlying the possession problem was the real problem unbelief. Somewhere along the walk for this father he had lost his faith in the power God possessed. He had lost his belief. He wanted God to heal his son but he stopped believing that he could.

And so it can go for us today as well. We can be struggling with the same mountain year after year. A bad medical report, a troublesome marriage, a personal addiction. Maybe it is a hidden sin lust, pride, greed, or hatred. Maybe it is manifesting in the realm of mental health depression, anxiety, or compulsions. Maybe we have brought it to the experts of the world who have tried to sell us on self help, pharmaceutical help, or therapeutic help only to be left still suffering and still struggling. Maybe we took it to the Disciples like this father first tried. We went to the man or woman of God. We have been prayed over and anointed with oil so many times we begin to wonder what it was all for. It binds us in its despair. It overwhelms us and imprisons us. We are saved by the blood of Jesus but we are crawling into heaven. We are in a spiritual fetal position waiting for Jesus to take us home. Jesus is saying to us today as he said to this father 2000 years ago "bring it to me." Not to the experts of the world, not to my disciples bring it to me. Just be ready for the unpleasant diagnosis.

One time Jesus was approached by a rich young ruler who asked what he had to do to gain eternal life. Jesus diagnosed his problem and saw that money meant more to him than God. He told him to sell everything he had and then follow Him. The rich man went away sad he was not ready for the diagnosis. The father in our story however was and it is our key verse:

The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!" (NLT)

Now meditate on this for a moment. The father comes to Jesus after the Disciples fail to cast out the demon that has plagued his son for nearly all of his life. The world will paint this father as the victim. That is the mindset the world sells us. When he brings the child to Jesus however the diagnosis is that it is the unbelief of the father that is preventing the miraculous work of God to be done in his child's life. How would you react to such a charge? Many would be wounded and react defensively.

And that is how the enemy continues to keep us circling the same mountain time and again. That is how the enemy prevents us from living the victorious Christian life. Too often we are begging God to deal with the symptom we are suffering from while God is trying to get us to focus on the problem. God is bigger than whatever mountain you are facing. He is bigger than whatever wilderness you find yourself in. He is bigger than your addiction, He is bigger than your medical report, He is bigger than your spouse, He is bigger than your depression, He is bigger than your anxiety, He is bigger yesterday, today and tomorrow because while the world will change in the blink of an eye God never will.

Thankfully the father recognized that you cannot argue with the master diagnostician. Instantly he cries out what appears to be an oppositional statement. It is a statement many of us today need to get on our knees and admit to God. It is incredibly humbling to do so in our walks, especially when we think we have it together. That statement is "I do believe but help me overcome my unbelief." There is a difference between believing and applying that belief to your life. This father believed but at the same time, he had unbelief to overcome in his heart that was preventing God from moving in his life and the life of his son. He believed God on a macro level but just had some doubts in the situation he was facing. Once the father humbled himself to realize that he had unbelief in his life to overcome Jesus cast the demon out of his child.

What promise do you find yourself waiting on God for today beloved? What mountain are you circling, just praying that God would remove? What demon has controlled your life for far too long now seemingly trying to kill you? What has sapped the joy out of your walk the peace out of your spirit - the eternal out of your life? Have you sought the advice of the world and the "experts" it has to offer only to be left like the woman with the issue of blood bankrupt and desperately seeking Jesus? Have you even taken it to the Disciples been in every prayer line been anointed in every church only to find it could not be cast out? Jesus is still saying to you today "Bring it to me." But if you do, approach Him with the humility of the father in this story, not the pride of the rich ruler. Be ready for the master diagnostician to look into your heart and show you the level of your faith. Be ready to respond with the possibility that while you believe you may need His help to overcome your unbelief. There is freedom in Christ.

Reverend Anthony Wade March 25, 2010