Luke 9:37-43

Luke 9:37-43 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

In this story we see Jesus very disappointed with the disciples for not being able to exorcise the demon from this child. We know the disciples attempted to drive the demon from the boy, but we don't know what they did in their attempt. We don't know how they prayed or by whose authority they attempted his deliverance. Did they pray in Jesus' name or their own? Did they really have faith that the demon would come out or did they just go through a ritual? Whatever, Jesus called them unbelieving and perverse; otherwise, stubborn in their own ways, refusing to believe wholeheartedly that demons were under the subjection of Christ. Jesus was exasperated with the disciples, for He knew He was going to be with them for only a short time. If they were unwilling to believe that Jesus had powers over the underworld now, how could they believe after He was gone from them?

Do we believe is the question? Do we believe God is able to change things, to make things different? This is the age old question for every Christian. Are our hearts unbelieving and perverse: stubborn, locked into unbelief? When we see as the disciples did, evil exercising its power everywhere, will we believe the power of the evil one can be overcome through prayer? Do we believe that problems are overcome by prayer or do we stand back and say things will be as they always have been? If we believe the latter, we will stop praying. Rather than taking the land, we will go back to the land of wandering. We will believe there is no divine revelation, no healing, no balm of Gilead. We will believe the impossible is not possible with God.

This isn't Christianity. Christianity is always believing in miracles, believing in God's intervention in every situation. Jesus came to intervene; the New Testament theme is intervention. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1) He came to turn the world upside down. Do you believe that? Do you believe God desires to break the bonds that hold you today or to deliver someone from the demons of oppression? If we don't believe that, we can hardly be called Christians. Without such faith, our souls dry up inside us. Christianity is a moving, flowing life, an exciting life, for things are never what they seem because they are always in flux and can be changed. God is THE CREATOR. Will we allow God to create in us and through us what He desires?

Now God's will for his disciples at that time was to reveal The Christ had come to Earth to redeem mankind. They were to perform miracles, showing The Christ in the midst of them. This is also true today. We are to do his work both naturally and supernaturally. We should promote the good works of the Lord by feeding people, housing them, and meeting their needs, BUT we should also perform his works by praying and believing for miracles. Our belief in the supernatural, in miracles, opens the wells of healing for us and for others. If we believe wholeheartedly in Christ and his authority, things will not be the same as they have always been. God's spirit will intervene in every situation, maybe not as we expected, but He will be there in power and authority.