Introduction: Today our lesson opens with a father caught in the grips of an understandable fear, loss in his worry over the illness of his child. This father confronted by his child in crisis was compelled to seek out anyone who just might be able to help.
Is it not strange that sometimes the only good thing that comes out of our, worries and fear is that we tend to seek the assistance of the Almighty. A songwriter wrote these words “when we have tried everything and everything has failed try Jesus.”
I now realize that what he was saying is when you have exhausted all of your best efforts to correct that which is wrong and everything you do ends up all wrong again. Know this that my God is able! My Lord is ready to help you, if you would learn to come to Him.
Church I have grown pass the point of trying and failing, I just take it to the Lord from the beginning. It is a faith issue, or shall I say it is an issue of your faith! What do you believe? Do you believe in; THE POWER OF AN ABLE SAVIOR, IN THE MIST OF WEAK BELIEF. Can you turn it over to the Lord and then let Him work it out.
Let’s move on with the lesson today, it brought this father to Jesus, but once there, his unbelief threatened his receiving of the Lord’s help.
While worry may sometimes drive us to the Lord, it can so dominate our prayers that we have trouble claiming God’s answers by faith.
Perhaps this father’s case may help us understand our own. Let us note the case carefully and observe...
1. The Suspected Difficulty — The father may have thought...
A. The Disciples Were Incompetent. Despite their bravado, they seemed unable to help.
B. Sometimes other people, despite good intentions, can’t relieve our need.
C. Sometimes even our Christian friends in the church appear to be powerless to help.
D. The Problem Was Hopeless. The boy’s disease was fitful, mysterious, and terribly violent. We sometimes forget that the Lord delights to work with the impossibilities that often exist in our lives.
E. The Savior Was Powerless. The man half hinted at this when he said, “Master,
if you can do anything....”
The people of Isaiah’s day grew discouraged in their exile, wondering if God saw their problems or cared about their cause.
How many times in the night of your problems, did you wonder if God heard your cries?
Yet if you remember the children of Israel cried for 430 years in the land of bondage before God answered.
25. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. (Isa. 40:25).
Anxiety may whisper demonically in our ear, “God doesn’t care. The Savior is powerless.” Yet my God says:
21. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
23. That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
My God is truly an awesome God!
2. The Tearful Discovery — “He said with tears...”
A. His small faith discovered his unbelief. Sometimes we have just enough faith to realize how weak our belief really is. That isn’t a great faith, but it’s enough to start with. If we have just enough faith to recognize its own weakness, we have a place to start. God has a foothold in our hearts. Sometimes in rock climbing, all you need is the smallest crevice for a foothold or a tiny crack for inserting a finger.
B. He was distressed at the sight of his own unbelief. Worry and anxiety is tantamount to unbelief, and unbelief is a great sin. It kept the children of Israel out of the Promised Land for 40 years. Unbelief doubts:
• The power of Omnipotence.
• The value of biblical promises.
• The efficacy of Christ’s blood.
• The prevalence of Christ’s pleas on our behalf.
• The very truth of Scripture.
C. He turned his thoughts in that direction, no longer saying, “Lord, help my child!” but, “Lord, help my unbelief!”
Sometimes it turns out that when you are going for one thing it turns out to be something else? Is it not good to know that the God we serve knows all about us and just what we stand in need of even when we don’t!
That is THE POWER OF AN ABLE SAVIOR, IN THE MIST OF WEAK BELIEF.
3. The Intelligent Appeal — The poor father cried to Jesus...
A. On the basis of faith. “Lord, I believe....” Can you come to Christ today with even a small amount of faith? Isaiah 42:3 says, A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.”
B. With confession of sin. “...my unbelief.” Chronic anxiety represents the sin of unbelief, a serious sin needed repentance.
C. To One who knows how to help in this matter. “...help!” And Jesus did help. And Jesus does help. And Jesus will help.
Conclusion: If you’re worried about a loved one or about some other life difficulty, come to Jesus with any case, and in every case. Come with your little faith, for in this matter He can help as no other can.
COME TO THE SAVIOR
COME TO THE SAVIOR, MAKE NO DELAY; HERE IN HIS WORD HE’S SHOWN US THE WAY; HERE IN OUR MIDST HE’S STANDING TODAY, TENDERLY SAYING COME.
SUFFER THE CHILDREN OH HEAR HIS VOICE, LET EVERY HEART LEAP FORTH AND REJOICE. AND LET US FREELY MAKE HIM OUR CHOICE, DO NOT DELAY, BUT COME.
THINK ONCE AGAIN, HE’S WITH US TODAY, HEED NOW HIS BLEST COMMANDS AND OBEY. HEAR NOW HIS ACCENTS TENDERLY SAY, WILL YOU MY CHILDREN, COME.
JOYFUL, JOYFUL WILL THE MEETING BE, WHEN FROM SIN OUR HEARTS ARE PURE AND FREE AND WE SHALL GATHER, SAVIOR WITH THEE IN OUR ETERNAL HOME.
