 |
| Rev. Brent Russett |
Pastor of
Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:
http://www.sunnysidechurchottawa.com/ _______________________________________________________
LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, April 19th, 2015:
‘The Disciple's Big Fail’
Good morning. And welcome to good news in the
morning. My name is Brent Russett. I am
the Senior Pastor at Sunnyside Wesleyan Church. It is my pleasure to look at
some of life’s challenges, and then bring you some good news in the morning.
I am
glad that you tuned your dial to CFRA. I want you to know that you can also
find Good News in the morning on the internet at Goodnewsinthemorning.ca .
There you can hear past episodes and find interesting articles.
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This
morning I am going to be looking at a passage of scripture from Mark 9 and I
want to talk to you about the disciples
big fail.
There
have been times in my life when I wondered if the gospel worked.
It is
not that I don’t believe in the existence of God because I do. It is not that I
don’t believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ, because I do. But there
have been times in my life when I wondered about the power of the gospel.
Those
times usually come when I see a profound disconnect between the life that I am
living and the life that I know I am called to live. I know that God’s call is
to love him and love our neighbours. I know that God has shone his love in our
heart by the Holy Spirit. Yet there have been times when I have struggled to
love certain people. There is a disconnect there.
I
know that one of the fruit of the Spirit is joy. I know that joy is different
than happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances. It would be absurd to be
happy at a funeral of someone you really love. But joy is deeper than that. It
is an underlying sense of well-being. It is like Horiatio Spafford testimony.
He was financially destroyed in the great Chicago fire of 1871. He planned to
travel to Europe but he got held up and so he sent his wife and 2 daughters
ahead. Their ship was in a collision and only the wife was rescued. He sailed
to meet his wife, deep in grief. But when his ship passed close to where his
daughters drown, he penned the words to this song.
Listen to the Words Of it is well with my Soul as
Sandi Patti sings it.
Music
– It is well with my soul (4:23)
That
is the definition of joy in grief. That is the power of the gospel. There is an
underlying sense of well being in the middle of life’s circumstances. But there
have been times in my life where circumstances have been bad – and I haven’t
been able to honestly say it is well with my soul. And in those times I
wondered about the power of the gospel.
Have
you ever been there? Maybe you thought
that prayer should work in a particular way, but it didn’t. Maybe you thought
that the gospel should give you strength to live above sin, but you find
yourself returning to your own pet sins. Maybe you thought that the gospel
should make you feel good about yourself, but you find your ability to accept
yourself is still out of reach. Maybe you thought the gospel would give you
strength to get by, but the strength didn’t come through. And in those times
you wonder about the power of the gospel.
What do you do when you can’t seem to do
what you are supposed to be able to do through the power of the gospel?
To
help us with that question we are going to get to our passage in Mark 9 – but
before we get there I want to take you to Mark 6.
Mark 6:6–13
(NLT)
Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching
the people. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and
began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil*
spirits.
(He
gives them instructions)
12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their
sins and turn to God. 13 And they cast out many demons and
healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
So
Jesus gave his disciples the power and the authority to cast out evil spirits.
So they embarked on their ministry and preached and cast out evil spirits and
healed people.
But
now we get to Mark 9. Jesus had taken Peter James and John up to the top of the
mount of transfiguration where they had this great spiritual experience.
While
they were at the top of the mountain, the other 9 disciples were at the bottom
of the mountain. When Jesus came down the mountain with Peter James and John,
he saw the other 9 disciples in an argument with some of the religious
teachers. So Jesus asks what they were arguing about.
VERSE 17
Mark 9:17–18
(NLT)
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son
so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him
talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him
violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and
becomes rigid.* So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they
couldn’t do it.”
“So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they
couldn’t do it.”
What do you do
when you can’t seem to do what you are supposed to be able to do through the
power of the gospel.
They had been given the power to cast out evil spirits.
They had done it before. In fact they had done it a number of times. But now
they couldn’t do it. So what do you do when you can’t do what you are supposed
to be able to do.
Well the disciples first move was to argue about it. We
are not told what the argument was about, but we are told who the argument was
with. It was with the teachers of the religious law. These were the people who
were already critical of Jesus – so by extension would be critical of Jesus’
disciples. But I would note that it takes two sides to argue.
When it is you alone who can’t seem to do what you are
called to do, it is disheartening. Then what often happens is that you start to
argue with yourself. We call that rationalization. You tell yourself all the
reason why you can’t do what you are supposed to be able to do. We are just
like the disciples.
If a group of people can’t seem to do what they are
called to do then conflict and bickering and arguing is one of the first things
to take place.
I have been on the sidelines of a number of church
conflicts. There are some things I have learned by observation. One thing I
have learned is the issue is rarely the issue. The conflict may be over a
particular program or it may be around a particular person, or it may be around
the colour of the carpet. But the issue is seldom the issue.
If you look close at what is going on, often, not always,
but often, the church can’t seem to do what is supposed to be doing through the
power of the gospel – so it turns in on its self. The last thing we really want
to focus on is why we don’t have the spiritual power we should.
We are often like
the 9 disciples. When we can’t do what we are supposed to be able to do we
argue.
The response of
Jesus was quite different.
Mark 9:19
(NLT)
19 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.”
Ouch! This is not the gentle Jesus meek and mild. He
hasn’t stopped loving his disciples. He hasn’t stopped caring for his disciples.
But he sure scolds them. I don’t like when Jesus scolds.
The disciples haven’t quite figured it out but he is
preparing them to take over the ministry when he leaves this earth. He has just
been up on the mountain for a short time and you disciples are stymied.
He calls them a faithless people. Or a faithless
generation. He has given them the authority but exercising authority in the
spiritual realm is always connected to faith.
You have to know that faith matters. Your ability to live
out the gospel, is dependent on your faith in the gospel. Your ability to
access the promises of God is dependent on your faith in the promises of God.
But sometimes we hit situations that we just don’t have the faith for. We end
up not being able to do what we believe we should be able to do. You want the
faith – you need the faith – but you just don’t seem to be able to exercise it.
What do you do.
Then Jesus says, bring
the boy to me.
I have noticed
that when I feel powerless, and haven’t been able to do what I was supposed to
be able to do through the power of the gospel, - I end up feeling helpless.
Whether it is that I need more love, or peace, or joy, or patience, or strength
, or endurance – and I don’t seem to have what it takes. After coming to the
end of myself, and my strategies, and my self-pity, I end up saying “I can’t do it” then I come
to Jesus. I don’t have the answers but in my mess I come to Jesus. It is the
prayer of surrender. Lord, I have come to the end of myself, and my ways, and
even my faith, I give it all to you. Surrendering
to God is a good thing.
VERSE
20
Mark 9:20
(NLT)
20 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.
So they brought the boy to Jesus – and it gets worse. The
boy starts thrashing on the ground.
Isn’t that just the way. You come to Jesus. You pour out
your heart to Jesus, you surrender to Jesus, and it gets worse.
Life can be messy and difficult and hard, but when you
come to Jesus, sometimes it becomes all out war. The demons of hell don’t want
you to come to Jesus. They will do their best to make sure you don’t come to
Jesus.
Now you have felt helpless because you haven’t been able
to do what you thought you were supposed to be able to do. Now you come to
Jesus and put the mess in his hands – and it gets worse. But at least the 9
disciples could say – it’s Jesus responsibility now.
That is a great definition of surrender. It is Jesus’
responsibility Now.
Jesus takes a step
back and says,
Mark 9:21–22
(NLT)
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 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.”
That sounds like some of my prayers. God, if you can do
anything about this – I would sure appreciate it. Meanwhile, the boy is
thrashing on the ground. Meanwhile our lives are as messy as ever.
Mark 9:23
(NLT)
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a
person believes.”
Again it is back to theme of faith.
But I am with the Dad in this story. This has been going
on for a long time. I came to people who have a track record of being able to
help and they couldn’t help. Jesus if you can do something…
Jesus comes back – it is a matter of faith. Anything
in possible for those who believe.
The father gives, what I think to be one of the best
replies in the bible.
Mark 9:24
(NLT)
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my
unbelief!”
That seemed to be enough for Jesus. I do believe help my
unbelief.
That is a humble response. That is a response that asks
Jesus for even help with faith. Before Jesus dealt with the boy he dealt with
the father.---- Before Jesus deals with the stuff in our lives he often deals
with us.
He often brings us face to face with who we are in order
that we can see his power at work in our lives.
Mark 9:25–26
(NLT)
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the
evil* spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and
speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him
again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion
and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as
people said, “He’s dead.”
So the boy is in horrible condition, they bring the boy
to Jesus and he gets worse – falls down and thrashes on the ground, --- and
then Jesus becomes actively involved in the situation and thing look like they
are getting worse still. The boy looks dead.
When God is at work, things are not always what they
seem. What you see and what is happening in the spiritual realm may be very
different. Jesus had just talked to the boy’s father about having faith – it is
a good thing, because in this moment, when all seems lost, what the dad needs
more than anything else is faith.
Mark 9:27
(NLT)
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood
up.
Jesus came through. After things went from bad to worse
to really bad, Jesus came through.
Some of you find yourself in middle of this story. We get
to hear this story with the end in mind. But when you are in the middle of the
story it is harder. But I want you to know that Jesus has a habit of coming
through.
Mark 9:28–29
(NLT)
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they
asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.*”
What do you do when you can’t do what you feel you should
be able to do through the power of the gospel. The disciples asked why? Why
couldn’t we do it.
When Jesus talks to them in public he talks to them about
faith. When he talks to them in private he talks to them about prayer. Prayer
is that which undergirds faith. Faith is built through prayer.
Some of you are at a place where you can’t seem to do
what you should be able to do through the power of the gospel. You first
inclination is going to be argue about it, or rationalize it.
But Jesus comes and says, there is a faith issue here,
will you surrender it to me. Bring the issue to me. Are you willing to do that.
You surrender to him. You put it in his hands. Sometimes when you do that it gets worse, ----- but in the middle of that
difficulty Jesus will deal with who you are – like he did with the father. Part
of surrender is admitting that you don’t have what you need.
Jesus will be at work in a situation, but it might not
look like it. But you can trust him. Are you ready to surrender are you ready
to trust.
Remember that the foundation of trust is prayer. Or as
Jesus puts it in this story, much prayer. Remember to pray. When life get hard
remember to pray more. When life gets really hard surrender trust pray.
So you have been in a place where you know you should
love, but don’t seem to be able to. You know you shouldn’t doubt, but you do.
What does that make you. It makes you just like the 9 disciples. Jesus
continues to love them. He continues to teach them. He continues to work with
them, just as he will with you.
In the process, he has something to teach you about
yourself, he has something to teach you about himself. He has something to
teach you about trust. He has something to teach you about prayer.
So for those of you who have been struggling – hear this
very clearly – Jesus cares for you.
Let’s
pray…
Lord Jesus, I
pray for those who are in the middle of a struggle, and, Lord, they’ve been thinking,
“I should be able to do this, but I can’t.” And so, Lord, I pray that they would
see themselves in the faces of the disciples and, Lord, that you would take them
from where they are, and teach them, and walk with them, and help them surrender
to you. Teach them about faith. Give them faith. Help them to walk this through,
in Jesus’ name, AMEN.
If
Good News in the Morning has been a factor in your journey of faith, we would
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May
you know Jesus Christ personally and
profoundly. May the Holy Spirit reside
deep within your heart . And may the
heavenly Father surround you with His constant and abiding and accompanying
love
MUSIC: Jesus lover of My Soul (3:38)
By Rev. Brent Russett
Pastor of Sunnyside Wesleyan Church in Ottawa:
_______________________________________________________
PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, April 19th, 2015:
PODCAST LINK to CFRA broadcast - Sunday, April 19th, 2015:
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