There is a story of Jesus in Mark 9 that is so fascinating to me! We see Jesus and some of the disciples that were closest to him coming off a mountain after having an amazing encounter with some pretty amazing heroes of the Old Testament; not to mention with God Almighty! There were points in this story where the disciples show their utter humanness, and there are points where they show their utter dependence on Jesus! A great picture for us to follow! They simply didn’t have their eyes on the right view. They were viewing through the lens of human, not the lens of our God!
Then something happens! As Jesus was showing up back in the town below, people realize that it is Him! At that very moment, people are moved with awe that Jesus is standing in their midst. Funny thing is, they were arguing in His presence about something that the disciples could not do.
Why could the very men that walked with Jesus personally, not drive out a demonic presence from a little boy’s body? Better yet, why were the disciples engaged in an argument over the reason that they could not drive out this demonic presence? Why, at many times in our lives, do we feel powerless in a world that would love for Jesus to fall flat on His face and then to have the church waste away into a state of unknown?
Jesus lays out the secret in the answer to the father of the boy that WAS riddled with demonic possession!
Mark 9:23, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Jesus gives us the key to the lack of power in our lives, the lack of growth in our lives, and the lack of utter dependence in our lives! We have to believe in Him! Not just that He is a good teacher. Not just that He was a prophet. Not just that He was a good man. But, that He is the Son of God! The King of Kings! The Lord of Lords! He is our EVERYTHING!
This happens through one simple key: Faith! Faith unlocks the access to some of the most absolutely magnificent sights in the kingdom of heaven!
Have we reached the mountain top of Faith? No, we have not! But what I know about Jesus, His word tells us in James 4:8, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” This I know, and you and I can take it all the way up to the top of your mountain, and you will say yourself…
“You Wouldn’t Believe the View up Here!”
By the way, Jesus said in Mark 11:22-25, 22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”