Igniting Our Faith
Deepening your faith with Christ alone.
When Wayne and I were young adults, we were attending a church with a class of 40 young adults. It was a small church, and we were a close group of friends and family. We had babies together and our young children grew up together. We grew spiritually during those days because of our Bible studies and group times together with one another. After about 10 years, people started to move away, some changed churches and we found ourselves with a much smaller group at the church. As with many churches, that little church went through some difficult times. Wayne and I found ourselves feeling like people had deserted us and we felt rejected (even though we never were alone). Those were days that we considered “in the valley” not on the mountaintop. We found ourselves having to exercise our faith and seek counsel from the Lord on our own. We were determined not to listen to everyone else, because we knew the Lord was working in each person and family to meet their needs and place them
where He wanted them to be at that time. We found that hard times such as those were moments of exercising our faith. That seemed to be the place where we grow the most spiritually.
This must have been how the disciples felt in Mark 9:23-25. Prior to this passage, Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with three of his closest followers, Peter, James and John. The other nine disciples were left behind to do the work that Jesus called them to do. The nine were trying to cast out a demon in a boy, but it did not work. The scribes who were standing by watched them fail. Of course, the scribes criticized the disciples and probably even made fun of them because they were trying to do something outside of their power. Jesus came along and talked with the father of the boy. The father showed faith, at least enough for Jesus to do the impossible. Jesus acted a little disgusted with the nine because they did not exercise their faith. Jesus said that this type of demon could only be called out by prayer. Evidently, the nine were trying
to cast out a demon on their own power not with God’s power. It could possibly be they had not prayed or done the work to be in a close relationship with God prior to this happening. Possibly the nine had depended on their fellow “leader disciples” and not stepped out in faith on their own. Maybe the nine would have been more successful with the disciple trio of Peter, James and John. I don’t know, but there may be several speculations as to what this all meant.
I think sometimes Jesus puts us in situations where we must exercise more faith, without the help of someone walking along side of us. He has given us the resources to activate his power and love, but we have to step out and reach forward for more faith. We might think we have faith, but is it enough for the work of God’s kingdom to be done here on earth?
Sometimes, like Wayne and I in that small church several years ago, we have to get out of our comfort zone and reach for new heights in our faith development. When we walk through the hard times, leaning on Jesus and His Word, in prayer and obedience, we can walk out in faith and find ourselves in a whole new world of growth within ourselves that we never even dreamed could happen. What would happen at Wesley Chapel if every one of us would spend time with the Lord, attend worship,
and seek growth in our faith as individuals? Just think how an “ignited congregation of believers” could be in a community when we come back together on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings after exerting our faith through the week!
