Scripture Matthew 17:14-20
Have you ever felt that way? I have felt that way many times; "How long shall I put up with you?" I have no doubt Jesus has looked at me over the past 48 years and with great aspiration has said, "Jeff, how long shall I put up with you?"
Matt 17:14-20
When they came to
the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "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. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17 "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." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it
came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19 Then the
disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20 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."
We talk about faith, but how much has our faith grown beyond belief in eternal life?
2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Answer 2 - Until
our faith has grown to produce results for building His church.
Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord,
"Increase our faith!"
He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to
this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"
Jesus is waiting for us to ACT on our
FAITH. Jesus never says what the
disciples dream of doing or hope to be doing. In fact, the Bible calls the book
about them "The ACTS of the Apostles". Faith is never evident in
a void.
James 2:14-17 (NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17 (MSG) Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup — where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
When Jesus said, "You could not
heal him because your faith is too little." He did not mean they did not
believe enough - he meant they did not "DO" enough. "Do what you pray!"
Lynne Fuller - I have faith we need a women's Bible study
- after telling her several times to do it, finally her faith became real and
she is doing what she thought she could never do - she started and is leading a
tremendous women's Bible Study - THAT is faith!
NIKE did not originate the phrase, "Just Do It!" Coming back to God from living in exile, many Jewish men married foreign women and took on their culture. God wanted a pure people and told them to get rid of all foreign women and children Ezra 10:4 Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and (just) do it!
Jesus is saying to these disciples, You could not heal him because you didn't ACT in faith.
Not only do it -
but do it without complaint
Not only do it and
without complaint but do it with joy and edification
FAITH
IS ACTION WITHOUT COMPLAINING
Philippians
2:12-18
Therefore, my dear friends, as
you have always obeyed — not only in my presence but now much more in my
absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — so that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Lack of faith is not the problem - we
all have faith which is why we are sitting on these chairs, why we put gas in
the car, why we get into an airplane. Lack of faith is not the problem - living
that faith - acting on that faith is the problem. Two-thirds of the world and
50 percent of all church members will not even roll out of bed on Sunday
morning. They don't need more faith, they just need to roll out of bed and get
to church!
ILLUSTRATION
JEWELRY SHOP IN ISRAEL
Robert C. Morgan in his book,
LIFT HIGH THE CROSS, tells about a woman who has a gift shop on the Via
Doloroso in Jerusalem. Her name is Frieda Hannah. Frieda is a Palestinian
Christian. She makes beautiful embroidery and cross-stitch work. Her specialties
are altar paraments, clergy stoles, and Bible markers. She is a very frail
woman. She has been in business at the same spot, the sixth station of the
cross, for more than thirty years. Her eyes are beginning to fail her. She must
wear thick glasses. If you go by Frieda's shop you will see her smiling and
greeting the tourists. She has made friends with thousands.
A teacher tells about being in
her shop one day with a group of students. Another large group of pilgrims from
America were in the shop, too. All of the members of this second group had
their Bibles under their arms and crosses hanging from their necks. They were
pushing and shoving, demanding to be waited on. A group of little Palestinian
beggars had followed the group into the shop asking for money. These
"Christian" tourists were indignant. The teacher said they made
comments like, "Get these dirty kids out of here." Or, "Why
don't they stay in Jordan where they belong?"
Frieda overheard these remarks.
The teacher was embarrassed and apologized for his fellow Americans, even
though he did not even know them. Frieda's response was, "Oh, that is all
right. I learned a long time ago that many of those who [take] the Bible
literally don't take it seriously."
Frieda certainly
takes the Bible seriously. During the last thirty years, using the earnings
from her little shop, she has given over 1,000 Palestinian youth a higher
education in North America or Europe. She has built and supported the operation
of three medical clinics in the West Bank. She has built and operates two
orphanages. There is no way of determining the good that this Christian woman
has done over the years.
Frieda Hannah is a modest person.
She is always embarrassed to talk about what she does. When asked on one
occasion where she gets the energy and determination, she responded, "God
did not place me in this world just to take up space. It is not enough just to
go along. God wants me to make a difference where I can."
ENCOURAGEMENT
"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." = ACTION
There was never a man
whose faith was shown by his actions than Dwight D Eisenhower.
It is a common practice at
military academies for the upper classmen to haze the first-year students. This
is part of the initiation rites. "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." = ACTION, as a second-year student at West Point,
participated in these activities. One day a plebe, as freshmen were called,
bumped into Eisenhower. Such an act was unpardonable, so Eisenhower responded
as expected, yelling and screaming at the young cadet. Searching for the most
demeaning thing he could utter, Eisenhower said the plebe looked like a barber.
With that remark, the plebe drew himself up to his full height, squared his
shoulders, thrust forth his jaw, and responded that he was a barber. It was as
a barber that he had supported his family before coming to the Academy.
Devastated, Eisenhower returned
to his room. He retold the incident to his roommate, confessing, "I've
just done something stupid and unforgivable. I just managed to make a
man ashamed of his work to earn a living." In his
autobiography, Eisenhower wrote that for him this was a lesson about
"the lack of consideration for others." In his room
that day, Eisenhower vowed never to demean another individual again. It was a
promise he kept throughout his life, even as Supreme Allied Commander during the
Second World War and as the thirty-fourth President of the United
States. He became an encourager and it showed in the
effectiveness of his leadership.
That is the very
heart of the Christian faith in action!
