Lesson # 23 | MARK 9:14-29 | DEALING WITH FAILURE

I.   Greetings: 

II.  Introduction:  Last week we spoke of "religious experiences".  Such times are marvelous,  what we can learn there, if we listen, is tremendous.  However, there is another good thing about such Mountain-Top experiences:  we must come back down to the Valley.  That may not sound good to you, but maybe it is. 

            If we attend a great service, are in a deep time of prayer, go to an excellent retreat, or a wonderful camp experience, we always have to come home.  We learn a lot in those high occasions, but have you ever been like me and come home and met spiritual failure?  Lets see how this happened to the disciples.

 

III.  Coming Down to Defeated Disciples:  Mark 9:14-19

>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:14-19

            Q  Who has failed here?

               An = The disciples that were left in the valley.  Three of the disciples were seeing glorious visions of Jesus, Moses and Elijah while the other nine were hard at work trying to help some demon possessed child.

            Q  How do you think the disciples felt?  How would you feel?

>>>> You re-read Mark 9:19.

            Q  Why is Jesus so rough?  Especially in front of the crowds?  Why does He do this?

               An = A lot of us would be mortified if our leader said this to us.  However, they know Jesus, and they were a little tougher than some of us today.  They also knew they had failed. 

            Notice the text does not tell us their feelings.  It quickly moves on to the unfolding drama before us.  Sometimes our feelings need to take back seat to what is happening around us.

 

IV.  Dealing With Dad:  Mark 9:20-24.

>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:20-24.

            Q  Why does Jesus ask the question of verse 21?  Doesn't He know all things?  Is it important?

               An = It is an easy question, it gets the dad talking so that soon he spills out his guts.  (As teachers, counselors, youth workers, parents talking with children, it is wise to start with easy questions sometimes, as it gets people into the act of thinking.  Then harder, more personal and delicate questions can follow.)

            Q  Is the dad panicking in the end of verse 22?

               An = It almost appears that as the father is describing the boys condition his sense of worry over the boy's needs heightens, and he breaks into a desperate plea for help.

            Q  How sensitive is Jesus' response in 9:23?

               An = It is OK to be puzzled by some of Jesus' behavior.  He is quite well aware of how His dealing with life puzzles us today.  It might help us to grow spiritually if we ponder what His actions meant, so as to learn how to understand them today.  The way Jesus acted then is how He acts now.  He does not change. 

            Note:  First, it is important to understand that love is demonstrated in different ways.  Here, Jesus is forceful and demanding, almost pushing this poor man over the edge.  In verse 23, you can almost hear Jesus scowling in a demanding tone.  The father has expressed his deep pain at his son's condition and asked for help, yet Jesus seems a bit offended and calls the wretched man on it.

            Q  What is the father's response?

               An = I do believe, but help me with my unbelief = He had faith but he lacked much as well.  He is a mixture.  This man is much like the disciples.  This man is where most of us are today.

            Q  What did Jesus do for this parent in a time of deep anxiety?

               An = He did not give him a spiritual formula or ask for money.  He drove the man to confess two things:  his faith and his lack of faith.  When we finally are driven to see ourselves, we become better people.  Most of us here are a mixture of belief and unbelief.

              

V.  Dealing With the Devil: Mark 9:25-27.

>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:25-27.

            Q  Did Jesus struggle hard to heal the boy?  Does Jesus struggle hard with the devil?

               An = No.  When Jesus and Devil meet heat-to-head there is never a struggle.  The Almighty One is unmitigated, undiluted, unbeatable power.  Jesus merely commands.  The key is to get Jesus into the picture.

            Q  Whose power healed?  Did the father help?

               An = It was Jesus and Jesus alone who healed the boy without any help from the father.  The only thing the father has done is realize that he lacks faith.

            Q  If it is all Jesus' power, why hassle the father when Jesus does all?

               An = Jesus knew He could easily heal the boy.  He knew the boy would then be going home, not only a demon-free boy, but a boy capable of living a good life.  To do that the child would need a spiritually strong father.  The boy needed a deeper and stronger dad.  God can heal our pains, or deliver us from the devil, but the Lord will also stress us, or else the gift would do us little good.  We would remain the same people as before.

            God always has more in mind than we do.

VI.  Dealing With Failure Among the Disciples:  Mark 9:28-29

>>>> Have someone read Mark 9:28-29.

            Q  Do the disciples feel they can approach Him?

               An = Those of us in leadership positions may need to be tough and corrective at times, but those we correct should believe we are approachable after rebuke.  We should be approachable if they have the courage to do so.

            Note: The disciples screw up publicly and so get a public rebuke (9:19).  This is not a nice thing, it would be so much nicer if Jesus would have covered for them and then privately rebuked them.  We notice Jesus is tough, but good to the father.  Jesus is hard on the dad, but it helps the father gain awareness of his lack of faith.

            Q  How then is this public rebuke a good thing?  What possible good could it accomplish?

               An = Maybe, it is an example of fairness.  How often leaders get public praise for public successes, but do not want public rebuke for public failures.  Maybe, it brings them down to the level we all truly live on.  We all make mistakes and all need correction.  It does not  invalidate a leader if he makes mistakes.  He is invalid when he cannot learn from them.

            Q  What is the cure for failure in tough spiritual cases, like this exorcism?

               An = Prayer.  Something we as leaders need to invest much time in.  What is prayer? Nothing but spending time with the Lord and talking to Him?  What the father of the boy was doing was talking with Jesus and Jesus is God.  Talking to God = prayer.

            Note:  If the disciples dialogue and talk with Jesus (as the father did), they too will learn the lessons the father learned in 9:21-24.  They too, will learn they also have faith, and yet need to realize they need more.  It is the facing of our mixture or lack of faith that begins the growth of our spiritual power so we can help others.  To refuse to face our lack of faith keeps us an "unbelieving generation" (9:19).

 

VII.  Conclusion:

            Note:  As we close in prayer, let me ask you two questions.

            Q  Is there mixture in you?  Would you admit to Christ you have faith but need so much more to face the tough situations that confront you?

            Q  Would you be willing to let Christ deal with you in your daily life in the coming days that could reveal your "mixture"?

                        Note:  Remember if you pray this latter prayer, He will listen.