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“I BELIEVE…I THINK”

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Mark 9:14-29

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In spite of our doubts, Christ can heal us through faith and prayer.

A sermon preached by

Dr. William O. (Bud) R= eeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

October 12, 2008<= /o:p>

A Baptist preacher and his wife decided they n= eeded a dog. Of course, they knew t= hat any dog they would be interested in would need to be a Baptist dog. So they went to a reputable kennel= and explained to the manager that they were in the market for a Baptist dog. The manager said he thought he had= just the dog for them. He went to = the back and came out with a fine-looking dog.= He gave the command, “Fetch the Bible.” And the dog trotted over and broug= ht the Bible to the kennel owner. Th= en the man said, “Psalm 23,” and the dog, with amazing dexterity in his paws, leafed through the Bible, found the correct passage, and pointed to it with his paw.

A dog that could do Bi= ble drills! Obviously, this was a= good Baptist dog, so the preacher and his wife bought him and took him home, jus= t as proud as they could be. That evening a few of the deacons came over to visit, and the preacher was showi= ng off his new dog. “Here,= boy,” he said, “Fetch the Bible.”&nb= sp; The dog got the Bible and laid it at his master’s feet. “Psalm 23,” the preach= er said, and the dog leafed through the Bible with his paw, found the passage,= and pointed to it. The deacons we= re amazed. Several times the pre= acher repeated the trick—“Matthew 5…Romans 8…Leviticus 23.” The dog found every passage he was asked to look up.

Finally one of the dea= cons said, “That’s very impressive.= Does your dog do any regular dog tricks?”

“I don’t know,” the preacher said, “Let’s see.” So he called out to the dog, “Heel, boy, heel.” Suddenly the dog jumped up in the preacher’s lap, put one paw = on his head, lifted the other in the air and began to howl. The preacher looked at his wife and said, “Good God, Martha, that fellow sold us a Pentecostal dog!”= ;

Some people are rather uncomfortable with the concept of spiritual healing. It is still a little foreign to us, isn’t it? We tend to associate it more with Pentecostal denominations or TV evangelists who make= a dramatic event out of healing. But actually healing is one of the primary things Jesus did, and the Christian Church has historically had a healing ministry. United Methodists have just reclai= med the traditional ministry of healing prayer and anointing in recent years, b= ut it is a very ancient practice and not weird or outlandish at all—at l= east not in the traditional way we do it. It is, however, a very powerful way that the Holy Spirit goes to wor= k in the church to help broken and hurting people.

Our Scripture passage = today is a very interesting story in the healing ministry of Jesus. The Lord had just been on the Moun= t of Transfiguration, where he glowed with the light of the glory of God. Then he came down the mountain rig= ht into a confrontation going on between the disciples and the scribes, who we= re religious leaders of the day. The problem was a man who had brought his son for healing; the son was possesse= d by a spirit that gave him symptoms that sound to the modern ear like epilepsy. The disciples had n= ot been able to do anything to help.

The father with the spirit-possessed son asked Jesus to please do something—if he was abl= e. Jesus was already upset that the disciples were exhibiting so little power, and the man’s remark just = set him off. “If you are able!” he said. The fat= her obviously didn’t know to whom he was talking. Jesus said, “All things can be done for the one who believes.”= = [1]

The man cried out, = 220;I believe, Lord; help my unbelief!R= 21;= = [2] So Jesus called the evil spir= it out of the boy. It gave him a mig= hty seizure and left him in a heap. Jesus picked him up and sent him on his way.

Later the disciples as= ked Jesus, “Why could we not cast= it out?” And Jesus rep= lied, “This kind can only come out thr= ough prayer.”[3]

This little story is so interesting to me because it shows us a picture of the way we so often appr= oach the healing power of God. The= father of the epileptic boy is me and you—crying out for help, not knowing exactly what to do, on the edge of despair, yet not really sure if Jesus is= the way out of his mess or not. W= e know this father; he is us.

There was undoubtedly a physical problem here. The bo= y was afflicted. In that day and ti= me, they attributed many physical illnesses to the possession of spirits or demons. Nowadays we have made= great advances in understanding our bodies and treating diseases. But the fact remains that many of = our physical ailments still come from emotional, psychological, or spiritual so= urces.

The deeper problem, as= far as Jesus was concerned, was spiritual.&nbs= p; The father asked Jesus to help the boy if he could. Ther= e was doubt in his mind. The doubt = led to anxiety in his heart. The anx= iety produced fear, which had cut the father off from the healing power of God.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Can anybody relate to that today? = We have brokenness on so many level= s. There are physical diseases in our bodies. There is mental and emotional anguish in our hearts. There are problems in our marriages and in our families. There is conflict with our friends= . There is this gigantic economic cr= isis going on all around us that we can’t ignore. We begin to doubt if God is really= in charge any more. Does God care about all of this? That doubt produces anxiety, and before long we are just scared to death that the God = who has always delivered his people, the God who has been with us through every trial we have ever experienced, the God who loved the world so much he sent= his Son to save us all, maybe that God won’t do it this time.<= /span>

Let me tell you, our G= od is not a God of fear. Our God ha= s not changed and has not stopped caring and will never fail to deliver his people. We can be sure of tha= t. So we can put aside our fears. We can let our anxiety subside. We can put our doubts to rest. When we do we will find our healin= g, our wholeness, our security.

Heat= her Spencer is our semina= ry intern this year, and I asked her to share with us a testimony about the healing power of God in her life.

In October of 2003, I went on a retreat with about 60 other women f= rom central Arkansas<= /st1:place>. For about five months, I had reall= y been looking forward to this retreat. When I say I was looking forward to the retreat, I mean that I was looking forwa= rd to it in the spiritual sense. Physically, however, I was really dreading the retreat. I knew the retreat would mean hour= s and hours of sitting still at a table, and I suffered from chronic back pain. So, physically, the retreat was go= ing to be a nightmare for me. <= /o:p>

I had been suffering from chronic back pain for ten long and excruciating years. I had see= n my general physician, a neurologist, a sports medicine doctor, and two chiropractors for the pain. I= had also endured several batteries of x-rays, an MRI, thyroid tests, hormone treatment, and upwards of 50 chiropractic sessions all in an attempt to fig= ure out what was causing my chronic and debilitating pain. Not a single medical test was able= to reveal any medical reason for the pain, and yet I lived with it day-in and day-out for ten years. <= /o:p>

It is my belief that somet= imes our physical pains are NOT caused by medical problems in our bodies. Rather, I believe that sometimes there are spiritual iss= ues that are going on in our lives which end up being manifested in our physical bodies. It’s the mind-b= ody connection. I believe that sometimes there can be something = going on in our spiritual life (perhaps some kind of spiritual struggle) that nee= ds to be resolved or healed, and, if that spiritual sickness does not get heal= ed, then that spiritual pain ends up coming out as pain in our physical body. In the end, what I discovered abou= t my chronic back pain was that there WAS NO medical cause. Rather, my back pain was a phys= ical manifestation of a spiritual struggle.

My testimony before you today is that I can totally relate to the b= oy in our Scripture. He had a sp= irit within him, and it caused him great physical pain. I, too, had a spirit within me onc= e that caused me great pain. It was a spirit of unlove and contempt toward another human being. As you can imagine, harboring inte= nse feelings of unlove and contempt for another person (a child of God) is a serious spiritual issue. I kn= ew I had this serious spiritual issue going on inside my soul, but I had given u= p on my relationship with this person ever getting any better. Therefore I had begun to ignore th= is spiritual issue in my life. <= o:p>

Then I went on this women’s retreat. It was not a retreat that focused = on team-building or relaxation. This retreat w= as all about helping young Christian leaders to strengthen their relationship with Christ. One way the retreat proposed that you could better your relationship with Christ was to pray. We were to spend time in prayer in= order to determine what kinds of things were going on in our lives which were creating obstacles or barriers between us and our Savior. We were to identify and name a particular spiritual issue that was holding us back from growing in our fai= th in Christ and in our relationship with Christ. Then we were to lay that spiritual= issue at the foot of the cross, believing in God’s power to heal us and to reconnect us to Christ.

The room got quiet as everyone began praying and trying to discern = what spiritual issue was serving as a stumbling block to their faith in Christ.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> My personal spiritual issue hit me= like a ton of bricks. I mean it physically hit me. I literall= y felt the weight of my spiritual struggle as if someone had dropped a heavy sandb= ag on my chest. I thought to myself, “Nah! There’s no = sense in giving this spiritual struggle over to God for help because it’s t= oo big and too ugly to give to God to heal.&n= bsp; I’m too ashamed of myself, and I’m not sure I really bel= ieve God can help with this one anyway.”&= nbsp; So I tried to put this spiritual struggle out of my mind and prayed = for another answer…but it was no use.&nb= sp; This was the one! This= was the spiritual sickness, the spiritual issue, that was killing me on the ins= ide and straining my ability to participate fully in a life-giving relationship with Christ.

After praying, we had to take and hold a piece of bread which represented the spiritual issue we had each identified in our prayer time.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Then we were told to sit and hold = that piece of bread (our spiritual issue) and imagine ourselves sitting and talk= ing about it with Jesus. I cried = and cried as I talked to Jesus about the issue going on in my spirit that was plaguing me. You see … the spiri= tual issue that I had identified in my prayer was an inability to love my sister. I won’t go into= all the details about why I was unable to love my sister. It wasn’t just petty sibling rivalry or something that could be gotten over with ease. I had very serious problems and is= sues with my sister and they were keeping me from loving her.

As I sat and talked to Jesus about this issue that night, I was painfully aware that it made Jesus VERY sad. Jesus loves my sister! He loves her with his whole heart!= He gave his life on the cross out = of his love for her. So, I KNEW that= I had to bring this spirit of unlove and contempt for my sister that lived within= me to Christ for healing. I had = to lay this huge spiritual issue down at the foot of the cross and believe that God could cas= t out this spirit of unlove thereby healing me and my relationship with Christ. I had to die to this sin of not lo= ving my sister and be healed … freed … to love her as Christ loves h= er.

So on that October night in 2003, I took this spirit of unlove and contempt for my sister and laid it down at the foot of the cross. I knew this spirit was a big one a= nd a bad one, and I had my doubts as to whether God was going to be able to cast= it out of me. But I knew that I = had to give it over to God, and I desperately wanted to believe that he could heal this sickness within me.

At this retreat, the way we were to lay our spiritual struggle at t= he foot of the cross was to put our piece of bread in a basket which was sitti= ng, literally, at the foot of the cross. So, I took my spiritual struggle and made the move toward the basket= to lay it down. But I was having= the hardest time letting go. Down= on my knees I went. I was shaking a= nd crying so hard I could barely see. My doubts were getting the best of me, and then God (in his infinite= mercy) stepped in to help my unbelief. God provided help through my sisters in Christ who surrounded me in love and encouraged me to believe in God’s ability to heal and restore. With God’s help, I released = that piece of bread, stood up from my knees, and immediately the weight of my spiritual struggles was relieved. The pain was completely gone! Hallelujah!! Since that very night, I have neve= r once felt that chronic back pain that I had lived with for so many years! I believe that when I BELIEVED, Go= d touched me with his healing hand. God= cast out that spirit of unlove that had taken up residence in my soul and made me sick.

That is a testimony to God’s power to heal, my friends! God is the divine healer, and I am living proof of God’s ability to heal us emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually. Glory to God! Amen!

Whatever pain, doubt, anxiety, or fear we are feeling today, Jesus points us to two remedies. First, we can be healed by faith. Believing that God has the power t= o make you whole is the first step toward health.

John Wesley, the found= er of Methodism, went through a doubtful time in his early thirties. His missionary work in Georgia= was fairly unsuccessful. He was depressed and unsure of his faith. On the way to Georgia, he had witnessed during a storm at sea the faith of a group of people called the Moravians. In the face of death, they praised God and sang hymns.&nb= sp; Wesley wanted that kind of faith.&n= bsp; Back in Engla= nd, he confessed to Peter Boehler, a friend and a Moravian preacher, that he thought he should quit preaching because his faith was obviously false. All he could find in his heart was= doubt and unbelief. Wisely, Peter B= oehler told Wesley by no means to quit; he said to “preach faith until you h= ave it, and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.” Wesley took his advice, and soon t= he Holy Spirit brought healing to his doubting heart.

We all go through peri= ods when we doubt the reality and the effectiveness of our faith. There are situations in life that = we don’t understand. There= are questions that simply don’t have answers. That’s OK. The real question is, are we going= to let our doubts keep us from knowing God and his power? Or can we take the little faith we= have and come to God, doubts and all, and put ourselves in his care? I believe that’s what the fa= ther in our Scripture text did when he cried out, “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief!” When all else fails, go to Jesus. There is = where you will find real power and healing and faith.

C. S. Lewis calls this mixture of doubt and faith a kind of holy pretending. It’s no= t like the bad kind of pretending, where you put on false airs and try to be somet= hing you're not and don't intend to be. Instead, this holy pretending is like the children's story in which a horribly disfigured prince put on a mask to hide his ugliness, and over the years of wearing a mask that was handsome, his face slowly changed into the face of a handsome prince.

It’s like childr= en playing dress-up. They don= 217;t dress up in grown-up clothes in order to misrepresent themselves as adults. They dress up because= they want to be like mommy or daddy. They want to grow into that image.[4]

It’s the same wa= y with our faith. Sometimes we know = in our hearts we are not worthy of the name Christian. We sin; we doubt; we don’t represent Christ very well. B= ut we know what we are supposed to be, and if we can just make a conscious decisi= on to act that way in spite of our shortcomings or misgivings, then we open up= a doorway for Christ to actually transform us and change us into what we want= to be. If we will just cry out, = “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief!” Jesus makes the promise, “All things can be done for the one who believes.”[5] You can believe that!

Secondly, we can be he= aled by prayer. The disciples couldn’t f= igure out why their efforts were so ineffective.= Jesus explained, “This= kind can come out only through prayer.”[6] In the toughest times, at the lowest places, in the dungeons of our despair, in the valley of the shadow = of death, the only recourse, the last resort, and the best option is to take o= ur burden to God in prayer. He w= ill hear us and he will heal us in the way we need to be healed.

Phil Callaway didnR= 17;t know how to respond when his children asked if their mommy was going to die. His wife, Ramona, was suffering horrible seizures. Despite the prayers of many friends and relatives, Ramona’s we= ight had slipped to 90 pounds. She= was suffering seizures daily, sometimes hourly. Her doctors were at a loss. There was some doubt as to whether= she would make it to her 30^th birthday, just days away.

Throughout her ordeal,= Phil never left her side. But one evening, he stepped out in their back yard for some fresh air and was overc= ome with a sense of hopelessness. He fell to his knees and cried out, “God! I can’t take it any more! Please do something!= 221;

Suddenly a doctor̵= 7;s name came to mind. Phil calle= d the doctor, who saw Ramona the next day and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency. Within a week, Ra= mona’s seizures ended. Her eyes spar= kled again. She gained strength. The miracle was so incredible, Phil said, “God gave me back my wife.”[7]

So where are you today= ? Has your faith been seized by doub= t, anxiety, or fear? Are you fee= ling the pain of disease or anxiety or despair?= Are you carrying the burden of grief in your heart? Good News: Chris= t has power over the demons, the diseases, the sickness and the sadness that dest= roy abundant life. He wants to make you whole.=

Do you have enough fai= th to say, “I believe, Lord; help my unbelief”? Do you have enough faith to open t= he door to the healing power of Christ? Then come. Receive the healing grace of God. Renew y= our spiritual strength. And rejoi= ce in the goodness of God! Amen!