LEARNING DAILY

Mark 9:24, Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief.”

I am always amazed at how God works, especially when it comes what is selected to write about in this blog. I have been asked several times how I decide what to write about and the reply is from my Bible reading, study, and other things I read. Today’s verse has been written about before. However, I was reading one of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons, which happened to be about this verse, and what he said (or wrote) was significant to what was written in the last page of the blog. Permit me to use what he wrote about believing, unbelief, and how it relates to the message given at NorthRock the past weekend.

Imagine your child being tormented by the devil in the way this one was, and you could not do anything about it. You had taken him to the pastor of the church; he and the elders could not do anything to prevent it. Finally, someone says have faith in Jesus. Jesus approaches the man and tells him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”.  Jesus is telling the father of this boy to have faith, to believe in Him; “true faith is faith in the person of Christ” (Spurgeon). Spurgeon writes, “… the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and its essence lies in the reliance upon Jesus Himself. I am not saved because I believe the Scriptures, or because I believe the doctrines of grace; but I am saved if I believe Christ, or, in other words if I trust Him. Jesus is my creed. He is the truth. In the highest sense the Lord Jesus is the Word of God.”

The father of this boy had some faith. All others had failed to help the boy; but when he stood before the Lord Jesus, he at once answered His question with, “Lord I believe”. There is something important to consider regarding this father’s faith – Spurgeon wrote, “This man’s faith was real, because it was faith that triumphed over difficulties, difficulties which typify our own, and therefore it was clearly the work of the Spirit of God, for no other will endure the trial”.

How does this relate to the message given at Community Bible Church and NorthRock Church? Believers know that the “Father in heaven” loves you and cares about what you believe and do. He cares about you knowing that your sins are forgiven through the blood of His Son and that you know your “past does not define you”! Believers are to be walking the narrow way with Christ into His kingdom each day; that must be done in faith and trust that we walk with Him. Does that not bring confidence and hope to our lives! Does that not remove doubt that the Lord Jesus is cleansing and changing Believers, so they look like Him!

The father found hope and comfort in Jesus alone; other, including the disciples, had failed to heal his son. In Jesus, he found the Lord willing and able to save his son. Believers today will be disappointed by placing their faith and hope in a person. Let your faith and hope be in Jesus Christ alone. In the writing of Spurgeon, He is always divine, always omnipotent to help, always overflowing with loving-kindness, ready and willing to receive sinners, even the very chief of them”. Spurgeon said, “May God grant to every one of us to stand where the poor father did as to his faith, and say as he did, “I do believe”.