The Wonders of Willingness
Mark 9:14-29
Part II
I.
Attributes of Willingness
v Ability to do what is required to obtain favorable results
v Determination
v Unequivocal desire to be free
v Focusing upon the goal of healing and resolution
v Taking the necessary steps – one day at a time
v A journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step
v Steadfastly doing the work even when you don’t see immediate results
v Resilience
v Perseverance
v NYU motto – to excel and to persevere
v Desire to learn
v Faith in God
v Belief in self
v Goals for spiritual growth and personal development
v Humility
v Honesty
v Open mindedness
v Acceptance
II.
The Text – Mark 9:14-29: A Father’s Willingness
v (A) Mark 9:14-16
v They recently left the Mt. of Transfiguration
v Return to the world of ministry and challenge
v Jesus finds them arguing/discussing
v “What are you discussing?”
v “What are you arguing with them about?”
v The fallacy of extensive discussion and argument.
v At some point, we have to be willing to so some work.
v We cannot study ourselves out of our problems.
v Similarly, we cannot pray ourselves out of our problems.
v (B) Mark 9:17-18
v The father of the epileptic boy details his desperation
v (C) Mark 9:19
v Jesus’ irritation about our faithlessness
v “O faithless and unbelieving generation!”
v “How long shall I stay with you?”
v “How long shall I put up with you?”
v God asks us the same questions.
v The church’s impotence because of its faithlessness irritates God.
v Personally, we linger in our problems because we lack the faith to
believe that they can be favorably resolved.
v We bargain with pain, failure, fear, disappointments, grief,
resentments, illnesses, mediocrity, etc.
v Faith is the answer.
v Willingness is the key.
v (D) Mark 9:20-22
v Jesus talks directly with the boy’s father.
v The boy has been like this since childhood.
v The disease utilizes fire and water in its desire to destroy the boy.
v Note the father extreme desperation
v Barclay – “But, if you can, let your heart be moved with pity, and help
us.”
v (E) Mark 9:23
v Barclay – “You say, ‘If you can,’ all things are possible to him who
believes.”
v Jesus returns the question to the father.
v Faith is a two-way street between God and us.
v Mark 11:24
v Hebrews 11:1
v Ephesians 3:18-20
v (F) Mark 9:24
v Immediately the father responds, “I do believe. Help my unbelief.”
v “Help me overcome my unbelief!”
v An earnest and empowering prayer
v Belief
v Theoretical
v Academic
v Probable
v Plausible
v Reasonable
v Ephemeral
v Unbelief
v Experiential
v Healing
v Resolution
v Wholeness
v Dynamic tensions of faith and reason
v Faith
v Intellectually respectable
v Avoid superstitions and wives tales
v Contrary to science, common sense, logic, verifiable knowledge
v Reason
v Acknowledge limits
v A lot remains to be discovered
v Faith and reason are compatible
v Room for growth
v Increasing revelation
v Experience and theoretical knowledge
v Learning in both mediums
v Faith and reason ask questions to achieve a greater revelation of the
character of God
v A disciplined search for God
v Not cynicism, doubt and skepticism, etc.
v “Cursed with a sense of the impossible”
v Hopelessness
v Grandiosity
v View the problems of the world from a local perspective
v What are you going to do about them?
v View your personal challenges on a daily basis.
v What are you going to do about them today?
v Faith – Cavour, “A sense of the possible.”
v FDR – “Politics is the art of the possible.”
III.
The Tools of Willingness
v Honesty
v Humility
v Open mindedness
v Acceptance
v Patience
v TIME
v Oak tree analogy – 7/8 years to rid one’s self of bad habits
v Bamboo tree image – 6/7 years to incorporate preferable choices of
behavior
v Pragmatism
v Work toward a miracle
v Acquired genius
v The power of prayer
v Determination
v James H. Cone
v Maya Angelou
v Les Brown
v Jesse Jackson
v Booker T. Washington
v Mary McLeod Bethune
Conclusion
v Mark 9:29 – The power of prayer
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