Sunday Service - 19th July

I begin with an illustration: In the Vatican Gallery in Rome there hangs a work of art by Raphael; his last painting in fact, which many believe was his greatest. It's entitled 'The Transfiguration', his depiction of this event. At the uppermost of the picture there is the transfigured form of the Lord Jesus, and Moses on His left and Elijah on His right.

But on the next level down of the painting there are the three disciples who went up the Mount with the Lord - Peter, James and John - and you can see that they have recently been awakened, and they are shielding their eyes from Jesus' blinding brilliance.

But then, on the bottom level, the ground level, there is this poor demon-possessed boy, and his mouth is gaping hideously as if he's raving and mad.

At his side there is the desperate father, and there are the surrounding disciples and scribes who are debating among themselves about something - and we'll see possibly what that it is in a moment or two - but some of them (in our painting) are pointing to the figure of the transfigured Christ at the top of the mountain. In other words, the message that Raphael is getting across is that Christ is the only hope for that boy.

He is the only hope for the world…

 

Quite often in life a time of testing follows a time of blessing. Have you noticed that?

Jesus, Peter, James and John walk back down the mountain after a time of great blessing.  Immediately they meet the other 9 (disciples) who are having a very hard time, engaged in an argument with scribes (religious professionals). A distraught father had brought his son to Jesus for healing. But Jesus was away – the father asked the disciples to heal him and says tellingly, “but they could not”.

Jesus arrives and understandably asks, “What’s going on?”  The father goes into details. Notice how every verb is in the present tense (v 18), describes un-ending torment for the boy, his father and family…

I don’t think Jesus is happy (exasperated parent) – no-one seems to be able to believe – leaders/crowd/father…it’s an unbelieving generation!

 

Jesus hears the father’s story. He trusted the disciples to heal the son (he had given them authority in His Name), and when they failed I think that may have shattered a father’s faith in Jesus – but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us (v. 22).  In v. 23 Jesus turns it around: “All things are possible to him who believes”.

I think the point is - my ability is not the question. My faith and your faith is the question.  We see how the desperate father responds – in and with PRAYER: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!”  “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”(NIV)

What is the father saying?  “I believe in you and in your power, but my faith is weak – help grow my faith!”  Here is an honest and transparent (short) prayer. A good prayer! Remember, a weak faith is better than none at all; Jesus can and will do something with those who acknowledge their faith is small. He has promised to use those whose faith is like that of a mustard seed – tiny. The lesson the father is learning in his desperation is precisely the lesson the disciples need in their ministry…and we need, too…

 

Although the Lord does not pray with or over the demon-possessed boy, but gives a direct command (v. 25), he nevertheless makes it clear to the disciples that PRAYER lies at the root of the healing.  The continued and earnest prayer of a parent or relative is nearly always a crucial part of any deliverance, and it is needed by those who are trying to minister to those who are in bondage. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

 

Does anyone have complete and perfect faith?  Jesus knows the extent of your faith and mine and that it sometimes falters, even day-to-day.   We can pretend all we like! It’s easy to say, “Lord, I have faith in you”, but what about when the going gets tough; when tragedy strikes; what then?

The disciples had to learn (by failure) that they weren’t as strong in their belief or their faith as they would like to think.  They had been given the gift (authority) of healing by Jesus Himself – perhaps they thought they could heal the man’s son as if by magic formula – or that the strength/power to heal was in them. They didn’t ask for help. The desperate dad did. Perhaps they gave up too soon. Perhaps they took the gift (authority) for granted.

Where did they go wrong? The disciple’s faith was in words and rituals; what they’d done before. Their faith (really) was in themselves – and that’s why they failed. “It is not by might, nor by power but by MY SPIRIT” – says the Lord Almighty (Zech 4:6).

He is not looking for a people who are independent but for men and women who are dependent on his Spirit – he is not asking for us to implement programmes (or to find more powerful people or new music) so much as seeking a people who are prepared to wait for him, to initiate what is in His heart and then follow him; and he is not looking for a people who have mastered human strength but for those who’ve recognised it is in their weakness that God’s strength is made manifest…

 

Where did they go wrong? We fail because we don’t pray. William Barclay says the disciples failed because they “they didn’t live close enough to God.”  Limited contact = limited power! if it did one thing, the miracle performed by Jesus emphasised the need for his followers to maintain constant contact through prayer with the One person who has the power they need…

 

We don’t pray – despite God’s promise to answer our prayers.

 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7)

 

Where do we go wrong? We don’t pray – even though we are commanded to. We don’t pray – because we don’t depend on God for everything. Perhaps we don’t pray because we feel we don’t need help – maybe we are too comfortable or wealthy, perhaps we don’t pray because (deep down) we don’t think God can or will help, perhaps we don’t pray because we doubt God’s power or goodness; or we don’t believe his promises…

We want this church to grow and to out-live us. we want the children of the area to come to God and perhaps grow up here after we are gone.  We want to be better disciples – not disciples who could not!

 

We should pray…We want people to be able to say that those followers are welcoming (yes).  But also that the power of God is here and they serve such a great God - we went for help, comfort and hope and acceptance; we came to see Jesus for ourselves and they could

 

We fail because of unbelief.  We can’t do it by ourselves – that’s humility; He can do it – that’s faith.

We can appropriate his power – through PRAYER – by going to the SOURCE…The power of God rests on us when we learn to rest on Jesus:  

 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…” (John 15).

 

Perhaps we need to be reminded of the desperate father who said (prayed), “Lord, I believe, but please, please help me with my unbelief! Then perhaps I can lean on you for all I need!”

 

We end where we should have begun:

 

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7: 13-14)

 

MFR

 

 

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