I Believe -- Help My Unbelief! Mark 9:14–29; James 3:1–12; Isaiah 50:4–10
Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Our message is from our Gospel, especially verse 24, the father of the child cried out to Jesus, and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Believing in God and His almighty power, can be a challenge for us fallen people, living in this fallen world... and especially in our increasingly secular-minded society, that tends to dismiss the presence and power of God among us.
But not dealing with something, or pretending that it doesn’t exist, doesn’t make it go away, or make it not true, or make us immune from it.
The power of God impacts all, not just those who believe, but also those who don’t.
As Jesus says in His sermon on the mount, in Matthew 5:45, For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
And so all humanity benefits from God’s rule of the Universe.
Likewise, all people are harmed by humanity’s fall into sin, and sin’s corruption of the created Universe.
The power of God for the world, can be seen most clearly in Jesus’ defeat of death by His mighty resurrection. He died and rose for all.
And He offers His redemption to us all, for us to believe and receive, and then to have His full blessings, the full impact of His grace in our lives.
And still, there’s something in us that would doubt, or hesitate, or just flat out refuse and dismiss, even deny, the extraordinary spiritual blessings and the better life God gives.
There is that self-destructive nature in us that would turn us against our Redeemer, as insane as that is. But that’s the nature of sin in us; it would destroy us by separating us from God.
But thanks be to God, by His Son, He has won our redemption, and by His Spirit, He delivers it to us through His means of grace, Holy Baptism and the Holy Gospel…
… coming to us with the power to repent and believe, and to overcome that destructive power within us to doubt or disbelieve.
How much better it is to believe, not just for our eternal life, but also for our earthly life and relationships.
So with the father of the child in our Gospel, we exclaim, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”
I believe, but still I’m weak to doubt. Make me strong to believe in You more, and strong to doubt You less.
We’re all weak in faith in some ways, but the good news is, as Isaiah says in chapter 42, and Matthew refers to in chapter 12, “… a bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not snuff out.”
Even when faith is just a flicker in us, God does not cast us aside.
It’s not His goal to eliminate those whose faith in Him is weak, which in some ways is true of us all, because we all have doubts at times, and we all struggle with sin; rather God’s intent is to strengthen our faith, for our present and eternal blessing, to give us strength for today, and joy for eternity.
When we go through trials and temptations and difficulties in our walk with Christ, some that may seem extreme, God isn’t trying to destroy our faith and drive us away…
… He wants to refine our faith, as gold is refined by fire, 1 Peter 1:7 says, and so strengthen our faith and draw us closer to Him.
And that’s what the Holy Spirit in us through Baptism is all about, building our faith in Christ, and dismantling our doubts.
Our doubts about God and His Word are nothing more than a fear of trusting in Him. Sin would make us afraid to believe.
God, through His Word, would give us the power to let go of that fear, and trust in Him, and be much more at peace, even in this world of turmoil and trouble.
Our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah is a prophecy of the Messiah, coming to us with words of comfort and strength for our soul, to increase our faith and love for Him.
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, indeed, Jesus was wise the Word and ways of His Father, that I may know how to sustain with a word, him who is weary.
We grow weary of the evil things that happen in our world, and the sin in our lives. We long for a day when evil no longer assaults from within and without, that day when evil is no longer in us and around us.
Trusting in our risen Redeemer, that day of salvation is surely and quickly coming to us, the day of His return and our resurrection.
But our day of salvation was won at great price.
Isaiah prophesies about the abuse Jesus would endure for us, as He was falsely tried and savagely beaten before He was led away to be crucified.
He says in verse 6: I gave my back to those who strike, Jesus was flogged nearly to death, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard…
… while that isn’t specifically mentioned in the Gospels, it may have happened, chunks of flesh torn from Jesus’ face by the soldiers pulling out his beard… it’s hard to think about.
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Jesus set His face like flint; He never lost faith that His suffering and death would win our life and salvation.
He never lost faith that His Father would raise Him on the third day, and He would ascend to Heaven’s throne, for the eternal glory and reign that is rightly His…
… and that He shares with those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit, don’t allow their doubts to overcome their faith in Him.
Isaiah says in the last verse of our Old Testament: Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.
How much better for us to trust in our God. About the blessings of faith, Jesus says in our Gospel: “All things are possible for one who believes.”
Not worldly things but godly things.
God has so much good to give you, to bless your heart and soul, but it all comes by faith…
… that’s how we receive His grace, and receive the gifts and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which are far more wonderful than any worldly gifts.
So by God’s Word, let us grow strong in faith, and let our doubts and fears grow weak.
A life of faith in God is so much better than a life of doubt and fear. It’s truly the wise way to live.
Today, as we begin our Sunday School and Bible Study classes for the year, and other groups and organizations and events by which we serve our congregation, and our community, and our God…
… let us do so with joy, and with the conviction born of faith, knowing that it’s an honor to serve the Lord we love, and who loves us completely.
Our Lord loves us with no doubts or fears.
Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief.
May faith and trust in my Savior become more of me, and may doubt and disbelief become less of me.
Less fear, more faith. That’s a great mantra to live by, for, as Jesus says, “All things are possible for the one who believes.”
And with less fear and more faith, the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who makes us bold to believe. Amen.