In Mark 9 we read this
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
I have been thinking about this phrase that a desperate dad blurts out when Jesus tells him, if you believe it will happen……
All you have to do is believe
What I hear is alright, be a man, believe. But I do believe and I still have this problem.
I don’t know what your problem is but I know that a group of men I meet with on Wednesday mornings have problems. I don’t say this to call anyone out but to show the reality that no matter where we are we have problems. No matter where we have come from we have problems. No matter where we go tomorrow, we will have problems.
So my question for you today is this. When you come to the end of yourself, what are you going to do? Or what do you do now?
Do you man up and try to figure it out? Good
Do you man up and gut it out not letting anything get in your way? Good
But there is a time or will come a time when what you man up to do will not be enough. That’s my question for today.
What will it take to get past yourself and go to Jesus? If you read back in the chapter the disciples are arguing amongst themselves because they can’t get this demon to leave the boy. Jesus shows up and kicks out the demon and changes the life of this boy for the rest of his life. I wonder where he is now.
All of you are in one of two positions. You are either a disciple with a question because everything you’ve tried in your Christian faith doesn’t seem to produce the results you wanted.
Or, you are the father that can plainly see God at work in your life and there is a problem that you want to or have given to God but yet it doesn’t seem to change.
I invite you to talk to Jesus, give him the problem, listen like you have never listened before, (that includes prayer, fasting, reading your Bible, and listening/waiting)
It’s the praying, fasting, reading the Bible that is the easy part. It fits with who we are as men, action and results. It’s the waiting that we hate. Well at least I do.
I challenge you to this: Get better at the listening and waiting part. A part of this is in your manly relationships. First, if you don’t have a good manly friend get one (they need to be a Jesus follower). Second, as you spend time with God verbalize it with this friend, third, hang out with a group of godly guys.
Why do I say this? It will have the time go faster, it will help you sift out the bad ideas, and it will help you clarify what God is saying. As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.
So, what’s your problem?
I look forward to seeing you all and talking with you because I know one thing. God is on the move and it is happing through you!
ETHOS 4 LIFE 