The Disciples Lack of Power

The Great Commission

Part 14 – The Disciples lack of Power

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith – www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

WHERE WE ARE AT

† Jesus foretells His death to the Apostles

† Peter tells Jesus He can not go! (he doesn’t understand Jesus’ Kingdom is Spiritual and mankind NEEDS saving through sacrifice)

† Jesus is Transfigured on the mountain

INTRODUCTION

If you remember, Jesus had just taken the Disciples Peter, James and John up to the mountain with Him.

When they arrived, Jesus had shown His Glory, what we call the transfiguration.

Moses and Elijah then appeared and spoke with Jesus about what was coming, the Crucifixion.

Peter then wanted to build Tabernacles for the three of them.

It is at this time that the Holy Spirit was present, and the Voice of the Father spoke and said, “THIS is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. LISTEN TO HIM!”

God will not allow the spotlight to be taken away from Jesus and the Cross, or even shared with the greatest of Saints!

No other name but Jesus is to be called upon, prayed to or worshipped.

God makes this clear in this scripture.

Christ alone!

This is where we are picking up today, just as the Disciples and Jesus are coming back from the mountain.

SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 17:14-18

“14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."

17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.”

PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

They came down from the mountain and immediately met with a crowd.

I. They came to a crowd

a. A man approached Jesus (His action - He drew close to Jesus)

Jesus made Himself available by going to where the crowd was.

But the man APPROACHED JESUS.

Jesus is where the need is…are you approaching Him? Are you drawing close to Him?

He is there. Waiting. Calling.

Revelation 3:20

“20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Jesus is waiting for you to answer…

We must respond to Christ and His invitation.

This is FAITH in ACTION!

This is our DOING part of Faith!

The scriptures tell us that we must be DOERS of the Word.

James 1:22 ~ Be Doers

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

2 Timothy 2:22-23 ~ Call on the Lord

“22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”

Romans 10:13 ~ Call on the Lord

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

See…you must DO, if you do not call on the name of the Lord…you are not saved.

Or, if you call on anything else, you will not be saved.

Or if you do nothing…you will not be saved.

James 4:4-12 ~ Come close to the Lord and He will come close to you

“4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Do you know people who go along with this world and what it teaches?

Are you that person?

Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."

If you are prideful, you are in opposition to God.

If you want to be in God’s Grace, you must humble yourself as this father in our scripture today did, he humbled himself to Jesus.

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Washing your hands of something means to do away with. God wants you to do away with your double-mindedness.

You claim you are a Christ follower, but live like the world.

You claim you are a friend of Christ, yet love the evil of this world.

You claim that you follow the Lord, but you partake in things you know are a sin against God.

You are double minded.

You can not go along with what this world calls “acceptable”, and “tolerant”, and “normal” without becoming an enemy to God.

You will be called a bigot, hate mongering, archaic, religious fanatic…

But Jesus said, “They hated me first, they will also hate you.”

9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”

The boy’s father, came close to the Lord, AND humbled himself.

b. He knelt before Jesus (His submission & acknowledgement of Kingship)

c. He petitioned the Lord (Asking for mercy from the King) He called on the name of the Lord, “Jesus, have mercy on my son…”

The father sought out the Lord.

He humbled himself to the Lord.

THEN…he petitioned the Lord!

How many times we do not humbly seek the Father.

Hebrews 4:15-16

“15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

So many times I hear this translation and think…Boldly?

So many misunderstand this word, they think it means to be bold!

So they do not approach the Lord in humility.

The literal does not say “boldly”, it states;

“We may come near then, with freedom to the throne…”

Not boldly, but freely because of the Cross.

We have the right to approach the throne.

But we must still do it in humility.

We need to remember, He is the Potter and we are the clay.

When does the clay direct the potter’s hands?

II. I brought him to your Disciples and they could not heal him

a. Of course not. Do not put your faith in men, but Jesus. Men fail!

The Father looked to men (Disciples), which if they would have had the proper faith, the father would have been doing the right thing.

James 5:13-16

“13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

This is why we have Wednesday Night prayer, Sunday Service Prayer, and altar call at the end of each Sunday Service.

You see though, the scripture says the prayer offered in faith…

The Elders must have faith.

But it is not the men who are healing…the scripture says “the Lord will raise him up.”

b. The Disciples were inadequate because they lacked Faith

The Disciples lacked faith…their prayers accomplished NOTHING!

The power of God could not move.

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Therefore, the prayer of a faithless man is weak and ineffective.

c. Perverse (deviation from what is right) generation – disciples were faithless, instead of being filled with faith!

Jesus was commenting about the Disciples here, NOT the man who came and humbled himself to the Lord.

III. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?

a. Jesus is agitated at the lack of Faith on the part of His Disciples

Jesus must often get frustrated with us…

How many times in our walk have we lacked Faith?

How many times in our walk have we gone in the perverse direction, the wrong path?

We see throughout the scriptures God getting angry because of our choices, Jesus getting upset because we do wrong instead of what we have been taught, instead of what we KNOW to be right!

b. The father in our scripture reading today, did not lack Faith, the disciples did. And when the representatives of God failed, the father continued seeking…until he came to the source! JESUS!

IV. Bring him to Me

a. Jesus rebuked the devil (demon)

b. The boy was healed from that moment on

Demons MUST obey Christ!

They MUST obey the Word of Christ!

EVERYTHING in heaven and on earth and beneath the earth is under submission to the Lord.

Because of the Cross, and what it accomplished, and because of the Holy Spirit and the commission of Christ, we, as representatives of Jesus Christ, as the Body of Christ have been given this power and authority in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Our power is in no other name, and by the one Spirit of God, for the building and the edifying of the Body of Christ, for the protection power and benefits of the Kingdom, and for the witnessing of the Truth to the lost, which is, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”

Do not wait!

Seek the Lord today. You will find Him!

Humble yourself. He is calling and waiting.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man answer I will come in!

CLOSING

A Prophet without Honor

WELCOME

† The Sermon on the Mount.

† He and his Disciples and Apostles begin to travel from Galilee to Capernaum.

† Jesus heals the Centurion’s servant.

† He then has dinner in a Pharisees home where He was anointed by a sinful woman who had repented.

† Jesus then returns to Galilee preaching along the way.

† Jesus Calms the Storm.

† Jesus send out the 12

SCRIPTURE READING

Mark 6:1 – 6 A prophet without honor

1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

† A PROPHET IN HIS HOMETOWN

Jesus, upon returning to His hometown wants to do the same there that He has done in so many other towns.

Preach the Good News and heal.

The scriptures make it clear, “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” – Romans 3:23

And for this reason, Christ has come, so that through Him, all may be saved!

“Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:18 & 19

Why does Jesus go to all the world?

Because, it is God’s will that ALL come to a knowledge of the Truth!

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” – 1 Timothy 2:3 – 5

And how does the world hear this truth?

Through the body of Christ…Christ followers!

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – Romans 10:14 & 15

So Jesus went into all the world, preaching and teaching and healing.

o They heard the Truth

When you read this scripture, you can plainly see that they are not questioning the Truth of God’s Word that Jesus was giving.

The Truth was never in question.

o They Saw the Miracles

The scriptures are clear that the miracles of Jesus and His ministry were known around the land at this time. They followed and even preceded Him.

From reading this scripture we see that they did not question whether what was happening were truly miracles or not.

They plainly acknowledge that Jesus was teaching the Truth, AND He was performing miracles!

o They did not question the Wisdom, only the man

The problem wasn’t the Truth Jesus was teaching, nor the Miracles that were taking place, nor the Wisdom Jesus had displayed in His teachings and parables.

The problem was Jesus Himself.

The preconceptions in the minds of the people of what a prophet was to look like, and come from.

They were stuck on appearance, lineage, schooling.

But here in lies the problem.

John the Baptist is an example of how God cares not about appearance.

We are also told in scriptures that lineage has no bearing, and that we should not be worried about it.

WHY, because, your family tree makes no difference on whether or not you are right with God.

Now that Christ has come, it is personal.

You can not have a relationship with God because your father does.

You can not go to heaven because your wife is a devout Christ follower.

That works both ways as well.

You are not going to go to hell because your father is an atheist.

And you are not going to go to hell because your husband loves porno.

Our relationship with God is personal. And only YOU and GOD can work that out.

“my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” – Philippians 2:12 & 13

Therefore, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Why fear and trembling?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11 For through me your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.” – Proverbs 9:10 & 11

You want to live longer? Here is the answer, serve the Lord.

Give God a reason to allow you years. Serve Him.

If you are not going to serve Christ on earth, then you have no purpose to be here. And it does not matter if you live or die.

You are not making a difference for the Kingdom of God.

Why do we tremble?

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and tremble.” – James 2:19

“27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.” – Matthew 10:27 – 29

What Jesus taught to the Disciples when they were alone, they were to teach to the world.

This is the Will of the Father in Heaven!

Do not be afraid of man when doing the Will of the Father.

For they can only kill your body, and your soul will be with the Lord.

Rather be afraid of the one who will destroy body and soul of those who do not do His Will.

2 Sparrows only cost a penny.

Hardly worth a dime. Literally!

Yet, not one of them shall die without God’s knowledge or Will…(allowing it)

When Jesus stood before man and was told…”Answer! Do you not understand I can have you killed!” and Jesus answered, “You can do nothing to me, my Father in heaven does not allow.”

Jesus’ Wisdom, Truth in teaching and Miracles were not in question…Only who Jesus was, and where He came from.

To them, He was not worthy.

† THEY WERE OFFENDED BY HIM

o He was a carpenter

This was no scholar of the word, no Pharisee or Sadducee. He was not from a notable family line or a Levite.

He was a carpenter.

o Son of a carpenter

He was a son of a carpenter.

o From a family of regular people

This scripture here mentioning Jesus’ Brothers and Sisters by people who did not like Jesus proves that the teaching by some institutions that Jesus had no brothers and sisters is FALSE.

He had brothers and sisters, they just had a different father than He did!

So they were half-brothers and sisters. Same mother, different father.

† A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR

Jesus was a prophet without honor.

Because He did not fit what they believed a prophet should look like, and what background He should come from.

o Jesus answers them

A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house.

How about you?

† Are you sharing the Gospel with the world?

† Are you accepted as worthy to tell the Good News?

† Does your own accept you?

o AND He could do no mighty work

Because they would not accept Jesus as a prophet of God, He could do no mighty work!

It’s not that He ‘couldn’t’, because He was ABLE, but He couldn’t because they would not come to Him for forgiveness, and healing.

Their lack of belief that this carpenter, son of a carpenter, from a normal family, with normal siblings, could be anything of God prevented Him from performing any mighty works.

So what could He accomplish there?

He laid hands on a few sick people and healed them.

o He marveled at their un-belief

There are only two times in the scriptures where Jesus marveled.

Jesus marveled once at the faith of the Centurion, and once here at the lack of faith in His own people.

CONCLUSION

We know the mission that the Lord has called us to as His people.

Jesus gave us, not only the commission, but an example true to life for us to follow.

As we read about Jesus, we see that He had trouble reaching people just as we will in our lives.

But that in no way slowed Jesus down. And it shouldn’t slow us down either.

We have a Truth to share with others. A Truth that will plant a seed of hope in a hopeless age.

There are going to be two types of people we witness to.

Those who will have faith, and those who will not.

For those with faith, great things will happen in their lives in the Name of Jesus.

For those with no faith, they will continue living their lives as they have.

And on that great day when we stand before Christ Jesus, Lord of all, and He looks into your eyes, will His words be, “Well done!”?