← ArchiveFactsThe Facts of FaithDateAugust 30, 2020SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamText—Passages in this sermonMark 94:29Ephesians 6:1121:00TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00We'll be right back. We'll be right back.0:30And we'll be right back.1:00And then Pastor Jared last week shared with us in this fact series the importance of worship,1:29which is our response to God's revelation, Jesus Christ. And then a dear friend in Christ, James, is going to be sharing next week on the importance and the foundations of prayer in your life. So come back. You don't want to miss it. But today we're going to see the necessity of faith. And I do know for those watching at home and those in person that we have people in our midst1:56that are not believers. They are not followers of Christ. And I know that when you hear the word faith, some of you would say, well, that's the word that Christians use when they have nowhere else to turn. When you just are grasping at straws, you say, well, that's faith. I'm going to argue today that my faith has substance. My faith has history.2:26I think about it like a farmer. We have a micro, micro, micro garden at our house, a micro farm. It's four by eight, not acres, feet, four by eight feet. And we had tomatoes and cucumbers and squash. And the summer was so hot that it just didn't produce much. And we had carrots because my son wanted carrots. And he's up there watching, so he's going to hear this. So it just, no carrot came up. I mean, it didn't have carrots.2:55So I told him then it's not carrot season. It's not going to work. And it didn't work. So we've replanted the carrots this time. Because it's now carrot season. And guess what? We walked out a couple days ago and we see the very beginnings of the carrots. And I don't care what happens. If I have to go to the store in two months and put carrots in the ground and then pull them up, we will have carrots at the Burnham micro farm.3:23But what if I planted those seeds? And I said, I have faith that those seeds are going to give me something. And you say, no, they're not. That's just, that's an empty promise. Well, here's what the farmer knows. That if you plant enough and if you water enough and you have the right soil because of history, because of experience, their hope and their faith in the crop that you don't see will eventually happen.3:48And here's what I am just bold enough to believe this morning. I know that the God of the universe has been working in our world. I know that the God of the universe has been working in my life. And I have the faith to believe that God who worked yesterday and is working today will work tomorrow. So I simply want to say to you today that faith is not empty. I believe that we will have a crop and I believe that the same God who is working will continue to work in our lives.4:16So today's message is simply this. It is the facts of faith. The facts of faith. And as Pastor Jared has already shared, we're going to be reading in Mark chapter 9. The facts of your faith. I have five different facts for you today. Mark is in the New Testament in the Gospels. It is Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.4:43Mark chapter 9, beginning in verse 14. The word of the Lord says this. When they came to the disciples. So they is Jesus, Peter, James, and John. When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the scribes disputing with them. When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and they ran to greet Jesus.5:12So Jesus asked them, what are you arguing with them about? Someone from the crowd answered, Jesus, teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down. He foams at the mouth. He grinds his teeth and he becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't.5:41So Jesus replied to them, you unbelieving generation. How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me. So they brought the boy to Jesus and when the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into convulsion. Sound familiar? If you were here a couple weeks with us, you know that the demon shrieked at the sight of Jesus Christ at that last miracle.6:09The boy fell to the boy fell to the ground and he rolled around foaming at the mouth. How long has this been happening to him? Jesus asked the father. From childhood, the man said. And many times, it has thrown him into the fire or the water. Listen to this. To destroy him.6:40But if you can do anything, have compassion on us. Help us. And Jesus said to the father, if you can, everything is possible for the one who believes. And immediately, the father of the boy cried out, I do believe. Help my unbelief. When Jesus saw a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, you mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.7:10It came out shrieking, throwing him into terrible convulsions. The boy became like a corpse so that many said, he's dead. And as only he can, Jesus takes the boy by the hand, raises him up, and he stood.7:31Let's pray. Father, we desperately need faith. Lord, we know that faith is the playing field of heaven. But we don't want to play on earth. But we want to see your power.8:00Your spirit. Your work. Lord, remind us today that faith is not empty. It is not void. It is not without promise. Faith is based on what you have done yesterday and what you are doing today and the hope of what you will do tomorrow. Lord, we believe, but help our unbelief. Father, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen.8:30And amen. Well, there's a lot here in this passage. So let me set the scene. So we have the triad, right? Peter, James, and John up on the mountaintop. And they are experiencing, they've just experienced Jesus transfiguring before them. It's interesting. The Bible says that Jesus' clothes were so white that not even your favorite cleaners can get him that white. And we have a gentleman, a good friend in this church, that he runs a dry cleaner.8:57I thought of him. I'm like, not even he could make Jesus' clothes that white. Because that's the power of the gospel. And so they've seen this miraculous event, and they're heading down the mountain, and they find this scene. They actually find a dispute, an argument, some of your versions say. And so who's arguing? It's the people who like to argue. It's the local scribes, and it's the other nine. And somewhere in the midst, we have a father and a son, but they're not on the scene yet.9:28Does that make sense? We're coming off this religious high, coming down to the valley, and now the people are arguing again. Now, I know that there is no church still that would argue, but let's just assume that that happens today, right? Religious people arguing. Let's just assume it's on Twitter. And Jesus enters into the midst of this, and he says, what are you doing?9:56And in the midst of this, we find the first fact of faith. It's clear to me that the nine disciples are in a bind. Why? Not because they're in an argument. What's the difficulty here? Who's not with them? Jesus Christ. And it's interesting, over and over and over again, the doubt and the lack of faith of the disciples are always tied to the absence of Jesus Christ.10:23It's almost as if when the Messiah is not near the disciples, they freak out. They don't know what to do. And that should be a reminder for us. If the disciples who live with Jesus, you can't say that. Who ate with Jesus, you can't say that. Who slept near Jesus, you can't say that.10:52Who saw the miracles of Jesus, you can't say that. They were probably playing bottle caps with him. I don't know what game they played in the ancient world. But they were living and breathing with the Messiah. There's not a single person here that can say that, is there? If they needed the nearness of their Messiah, how much more do you and I need that? The first fact of our faith is that when Jesus is not present in our life, we are in a crisis.11:22Now some of you are thinking, well, okay, I've given my life to Jesus. I've been baptized. I'm a member of this church or a church, so I'm good. No, no, you don't understand. Anytime we are not near Jesus in our lives, you are in a crisis. That's the first fact of our faith. We need to be near Jesus.11:50We need to be near the Messiah. If they desperately needed him, how much more do you and I need him? And so the syntax here of Jesus' question shows us who he's asking. Now if you have the King James Version or the New King James, it actually tells you who Jesus is asking. It says that Jesus enters the argument and he speaks to the scribes. So Jesus enters this argument.12:18He comes back to the nine and he says, why are you arguing scribes? And what do they say? I find this fascinating. So Jesus, okay, let's try this again. I believe in you. The sermon is about faith. The scribes and the disciples are arguing, right? Yes, that means yes.12:47So Jesus asked the scribes, why are you arguing and who answers? I love this. The only person that answers is the one who realizes there's a crisis. Did you get that? The disciples don't answer. The scribes don't answer. But who answers here? Someone in the crowd. Who's the someone? It's the dad. And he realizes there's a crisis.13:17Listen, I brought my son and I am in need. Jesus, I need you. Do you understand your need for Jesus Christ? I'm reminded that sometimes the most religious people are the last to realize their need. You know why that terrifies me? Because most of us, by the world's standards, are religious. Sometimes the most religious people are the last to realize their need for the closeness of God.13:44Listen, you don't need a fancy worship service. You don't need a program or a specific ministry. You need Jesus Christ. And I love who answers. Someone, and it's a father, and he says, I need Jesus Christ. It's like this father, you will never have faith until you understand and know your need.14:08Talk about convicting a pastor. Man, that's the first fact of our faith. Without Jesus Christ, we are in a crisis. We are in a crisis. And so this happens. Someone in a crowd answers Jesus and says, teacher, I brought my son to, in verse 17, he says, I brought my son to you.14:32Now, I'm thinking as I'm reading the word of God. Well, no, no, he didn't. No, you didn't. You brought your son to the disciples, and they couldn't heal him, right? That's where the argument's coming from. But what does this father know? The father knows that when all hope is lost, hope can be expected from Jesus Christ.14:56Sometimes I feel like the father. Listen, I'm tired of the scribes arguing. I'm tired of the disciples arguing. I need Jesus. And I think if we would all land on that fact and that truth, how different would our lives be? If we were above the fray, if we pushed through the fray, you see, from this point on here in the text, you don't hear from the scribes or the disciples.15:22The gospel makes a focus on Jesus and this man, on this father. Why? Because he sees his need and he knows that Jesus is the answer. That's the fact of our faith. When all hope is lost, we have hope in Jesus Christ. What a wonderful truth that is.15:50Luke tells us that this is his only son. He doesn't have another one, so he's bringing this man to Jesus Christ. And look what he says. I can just hear the emotion of the father speaking. He says in verse 17, Four times in this passage, Mark reminds us of what the demon is doing to this young man.16:10Listen, the enemy does not want to hurt you.16:38The enemy does not want to harm you. The enemy wants to destroy you. Did you get what's happening here? He's not trying to harm the boy. He's not trying to discomfort the boy. He's trying to destroy the boy. The enemy of God wants to destroy you.17:06Let that sink in. How much do we need Christ? Because we are in a battle for our souls and the enemy wants to destroy you. To annihilate you. And in the midst of all this, Jesus says something spectacular to the crowd. He says, you unbelieving generation.17:33Who's he talking to here? Okay, so he has some options. He could be talking to the man. The father. He could be talking to the father's only son. Which would be odd because this young boy has not been able to speak. He could be talking to the nine disciples. Right? He could be talking to the scribes.18:02But the Greek here helps us again. He's really focusing back on the crowd. And what does the unbelief do to Jesus Christ? Does it deter him? No. He looks at the one man with faith. And Jesus never gives up. Jesus doesn't say, you unbelieving generation, I'm done with you. Peace. He would say it in Aramaic, not English.18:32But it would go something like that. Jesus doesn't do that. And why this gives me hope. I'm reminded that Jesus never gives up on us. He doesn't say to the nine, again? Come on, guys. Really? I've showed you how to cast out a demon. Step one, pray.19:02Step two, lay hands. Step three, I'm here with you. Call on me. And the demons will shriek in terror at the the sight of Jesus. No, Jesus goes to work. And I don't know where you are spiritually right now, but I want you to know that God will never give up on you. Even if you walked in here with unbelief. God doesn't say, Josh, come on. I'm done with you. He says, okay.19:32Trust me. And I will work. Even when all hope is lost, hope can be expected of Jesus Christ. And I just really believe some of you are here today and you feel like all hope is gone. Hope can be expected of Jesus Christ. That is the basis of our faith. But it continues. Now we see something else happening. So Jesus says, you unbelieving generation. He says what?20:01Bring the boy to me. So they brought the boy. Can you imagine? The nine disciples are looking around thinking, okay, you. You take the boy. Because I'm not touching this one. Someone brings the boy to Jesus Christ. And as it always happens in scripture, when the spirit saw Jesus, what happens? It immediately throws the boy into convulsions.20:31He fell to the ground. He rolls around foaming at the mouth. Listen, faith, this is fact number three. Faith is the antidote to the poison of the enemy. You want to know how you extinguish the flaming darts of Satan against you? Let me give you one word. His name is Jesus Christ. It is faith in Jesus. Here's what Ephesians says about it. Ephesians 6.11 says, put on the full armor of God so that you might stand against the schemes of the devil.21:00So whether you know it or not, Satan has a scheme against you today. He knows the right fishing lure. He knows that, hey, Kevin likes night crawlers. But Josh likes topwater rulers. And, hey, Stephen back there, he's a cricket man. And, you know, John, he likes liver.21:31The stink bait. But Satan knows your temptation, doesn't he? And so, may we never look at someone and say, I can't believe you're falling for that bait again. Stink bait, come on. You know how stinky that is? Because we all have our own schemes, don't we? And the answer to the poison of the enemy in your life is Jesus Christ.21:56It is faith in Messiah. Ephesians says, so that you may stand against the schemes in every situation. Take the shield of faith, the shield of faith, which you can extinguish all the flaming darts. I love what the Word of God says. With the shield of faith, you can extinguish how many darts? Oh, there is not a single dart that is shot at you from the enemy that will not be extinguished by faith.22:21Man, Lord, give me that faith. I found a blog written in the theme of the screw tape letters. If you're not familiar with screw tape letters, written by C.S. Lewis, it was written by a demon, in the thought of a demon, screw taped to his nephew, Wormwood. So, a demon is writing to another demon how to torment his pupil.22:47So, listen to what Satan might say to you and to demons about you. Now, I can see Satan saying it to this demon right here. Remember what I taught you. If the patient, this young boy, just looks at the enemy with faith, even weak faith, the enemy will immediately strengthen him, comfort him, help him,23:17and your flaming darts will bounce off of him. Satan knows that if you even have weak faith, that his darts are no match for you. That's why Satan is saying to you, to the demons, you must focus all of your energy on attacking his faith. Satan knows that faith is the antidote to his poison in your life. Lord, give us that faith.23:48Give us that faith. And so, this is what happens. Jesus says, well, how long has this been going on? And the father says, since childbirth. It's from his infancy. Many times it has thrown him into the fire, verse 22, or water to destroy him. But Lord, but Jesus, if you can do anything, have compassion on us. Jesus, help us. And Jesus says, what? If you can.24:20It's interesting that this miracle was recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But Matthew and Luke do not record this conversation between the father and Jesus Christ. It's only found here in Mark. And in this, Jesus takes what the father is saying as an honor challenge. The best translation is really this. Jesus responds, that expression of yours, if you can. Jesus is taking it to say, if I can.24:49Jesus is asking the father, and he's asking you and me. Do you trust me? Don't you know that I can heal your son? Don't you know that there is no temptation that you struggle with that can't be removed? Don't you know that in Jesus Christ, there is no sin that you have committed that will not be forgiven? Don't you know that the roadblocks that you are hitting, that Jesus can't smash through those?25:19If he can. Man, I love this answer from the Messiah. Because there's often times in my life that I come to Jesus and I pray, Lord, if you can do this, come on. And Jesus says, if I can. Watch. The fourth fact of our faith is that everything is possible for the one who believes. Do you see what Jesus answers here?25:48He says, everything, everything is possible for the one who believes. One commentator said this, the sole bridge between frail humanity and the all-sufficiency of God is faith. Faith is the playing field of faith is the playing field of heaven. And if we're honest, most of us are content to play on earth and not in heaven.26:15Give us this faith. God, everything is possible for the one who believes. And so this is how the man answers. I think this is the most brutally honest passage in all of Scripture. He says, actually he doesn't say. He doesn't speak. What does he do? He cries out. Some manuscripts, the New King James says he cries out with tears.26:45He cries out and he says this. He says, I do believe. And then you can, I can see his mind turning. He said, no, I don't believe. So I do believe, Lord, help my unbelief. Here's the fifth fact of our faith. Even weak faith has the power to move mountains. Did this father doubt? Yes.27:16Yes. He tells us, Lord, help my unbelief. But what does Jesus respond to? Did Jesus respond to the scribes? No. Did Jesus respond to the nine disciples yet? No. Did Jesus respond to the father's unbelief? No. What does Jesus respond to here? He responds to the father's faith. Even weak faith has the power to move mountains.27:43I don't know about you. Does anyone feel like the father sometimes? Anyone besides me say, Lord, I have faith, but man, it's really weak right now. I so love that we have a Savior who doesn't say, I'm going to respond to your doubt first, and then we'll get to faith. He says, give me the faith. And I'll respond to you in faith. Even weak faith has the power to move mountains.28:12He responds to authentic faith. This is a balm to my soul. The father becomes a believer. When? Not when he has the right amount of faith. Not when he has the right quantity or quality of faith. The man becomes a believer. When? He says, God, all I have is weak faith, but it's yours. Even weak faith has the power to move mountains.28:42And Jesus takes the boy and he casts out the demon and changes his father's life forever. He changes his only son's life forever. And with even weak faith, Jesus can change your life forever. I don't know about you, but I would rather have weak faith and play in the game of heaven than have no faith and be content here on earth.29:08We need this faith. So, what do we do about this? If these are our facts of faith, how do we live it out? First, we know that faith is not static. Baptists, listen to me. Do I have your attention yet?29:38If you're not Baptist, you can just close your ears for about 30 seconds. Faith is not a one-time decision. No one here is a card-carrying member of the faith club. No one here is saying, Jesus, I made a decision years ago. Here's my faith. Faith is not static. It is continual. Faith has a beginning. It has a source. But the continual source of our faith is Jesus Christ.30:05And I'm so thankful that God does not leave us in our doubt, but he gives us faith and he continues us in our faith. So, if you're here today and you're content based on your one-time faith decision 30 years ago, you need to get your heart right with the Lord. Because you're missing out on so much. And I would even say, biblically, if your only faith is something that you did years ago and God's not doing anything today, I would ask God, is your faith authentic and genuine?30:35Because I want God to work on my life today. I want him to work on my life tomorrow. And I'm thankful that he worked on my life yesterday. Faith is not static. Secondly, some of you are here and you have doubts. And you may even feel like, I can't go to a pastor and tell them I'm doubting. I can't go to my parents and tell them I have doubts of faith.31:03I can't let God know I doubt. Remember how God responds to this father. Did the father doubt? Yes. But what does Jesus respond to? His weak faith. I'm so thankful for a loving father, Jesus Christ, and his only father, God, Yahweh, who responds to our faith even in the midst of doubts. So if you are here and you have doubts, God knows that, he hears that, and he responds to faith.31:34Trust him. Everything is possible for the one who believes. And maybe you've been praying for something for years and years and years, and today you say, I'm going to give up. Don't give up. Don't give up. Even weak faith has the power to move mountains. Fourth, when's the last time you experienced the power of God in your life?32:02I'm not saying when's the last time you got a little tingly feeling in your stomach and you thought about raising your hand in worship. You didn't, but you thought about it. You did it like this. Right? That's not all I'm talking about. When's the last time that you poured out your life before God and you saw something that only Jesus could do? I want that faith.32:34I want to be a part of a church that when we look back, we say, that was impossible. But Jesus did it. But Jesus did it. God, give us this faith that we would live not to say, look what we did, look what we made happen, but that we would have faith to say, look what Jesus did. Lastly, never forget that the Father appeals to the compassion of the Savior.32:56Verse 22, it says, Lord, if you can do anything, have compassion. If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, I want you to, if you know nothing else about God, I want you to know what this Father knows and what Ephesians says. That you are saved by grace alone through faith alone. But the verse before that says that he, Jesus, might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through kindness.33:23If you know nothing about God, know that he is kind and that he is compassionate. And that if you come to him in your mess, in your difficulty, Jesus will say, I'll take that weak faith and I'll change your life. I'll take that sin and I'll give you righteousness.33:52I'm so thankful for a God who gives us faith and responds to faith. As we conclude and as we enter into a time of response, personal reflection. I want to leave you with what Satan might be saying towards his demons right now about us. He says to his demons, remember what I taught you. If the patient just looks at God, the enemy with faith, even weak faith,34:23God, the enemy of Satan, will immediately strengthen him, comfort him. And help him. I don't know about you, but I pray that my father today would comfort, strengthen, redeem, and encourage. Oh Lord, give us faith. Let's pray.← Previous in FactsGospel-Driven WorshipNext in Facts →Prayer
