You Just Have to be Normal to Carry the Extraordinary Potential of Faith in God

Luke 1:30-33 (NKJV) ³⁰  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ³²  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

As we consider the tremendous potential that God placed into each believer, I want to look at the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I believe we can see in this young girl some of what we need to release that potential in a way that can touch the world in which we have influence.  Her willingness to be used of God opened the door to salvation for all of us.  I do not believe that Mary was anything more than a normal human woman.  I do not believe that she should be venerated in the way some others do.  However, I believe we should be grateful for her obedience.

I think it is interesting to note that what Mary brought to the equation required only that she be human and that she be willing.  It was the fullness of time as the Father defined it.  It was time to put the final phase of the plan to redeem man in motion.  The only way that could be possible was for the Father himself to take the form of human flesh.  God must become man.

The Father supplied the “God” part of the equation.  John 1:1 tells us that the Word of God and God himself are one.  Verse 14 tells us that the Word “became flesh.”  1 Peter 1:23 says that we have been born again of an incorruptible seed, the Word of God.  If we put these verses together, we understand how Mary became pregnant with the Son of God.

The angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her.  The Word of God became a physical seed that fertilized the egg in Mary’s womb.  The child conceived was therefore divine.  The Word became flesh.  However, to be flesh he must also be human.  The human component came from Mary. 

Her obedience changed the world.  What did she have to do to accomplish that?  She had to do what multiplied millions of other human women had done.  She had to carry a baby, give birth to that child and be a mother to him.  She did not have to lead an army, participate in a revolution or be a political leader.  She just had to be a normal woman willing to obey God!

This gives me great hope that I can change my world.  I do not have to be something more than what I am.  I just have to be a normal person willing to obey God.  I do not have to be exceptionally gifted or talented.  I do not have to travel the world.  I do not have to have any special education.  Though God may use any or all these things, I only need to be willing to allow God to live through my humanity. 

To an observer it did not look like anything supernatural or extraordinary was happening to Mary.  For 9 months, she was a pregnant woman just like every pregnant woman before her.  I believe she probably got morning sickness.  I think she was just as uncomfortable at 8 ½ months as my wife was with our six children.  Everything on the outside looked completely ordinary.  However, the extraordinary was growing in her.

As we approach a new year, I believe we need to realize that the same Word that was in Mary is in us.  She carried the Word as a physical mother.  We carry the Word as a vessel for the supernatural God to change our world.  Our “pregnancy” does not result in a physical baby.  Our “pregnancy” can bring forth the power of God in our everyday situations.  The same potential that was in Mary is in us.

Many Christians think they must be something more than what they are to be used of God.  The lesson we should learn from Mary is that God needs what we are.  We are human beings.  We live in the human world.  God wants access to that world.  His chosen method of gaining that access is through human vessels.  In Mary’s case, he needed someone who would carry his human form and bring it to birth so that he could redeem man.  Our job is different.

Redemption has already been accomplished.  Jesus carried his blood to the heavenly holy of holies and sat down at the right hand of God.  He does not need to be born into the world again.  We received the same seed that produced Jesus and were born again in our spirit.  He needs those who will take the seed of his Word to those who do not know him so that they can be born again as well. 

He needs a people who will carry the word of reconciliation to the world. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NKJV) ¹⁷  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸  Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹  that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Mary had to be a normal human being to fulfill her calling.  She had to be willing to allow the Spirit of God to move upon her and she had to be willing to receive the seed of God’s word inside of her.  She did this at great risk.  She could have been stoned for fornication.  She could have been forced to live as an outcast.  There were all kinds of bad things that could have happened to her because of her obedience.  She chose to obey anyway, and the world was never the same. 

God always has leaders.  God gives gifts to all people.  Each one of us carries a touch from the supernatural hand of God.  We are capable of being a channel for his power to the earth.  However, I think it is important that we understand that God needs us to be real human beings.  He needs us to be factory workers and teachers.  He needs us to work in stores and even in government.  He needs us to raise families and live normal lives.  He needs us to do these things because it is normal people we must reach. 

At the same time, we must remember that although we are normal on the outside, the supernatural is growing within us.  We are flesh and blood just like our neighbors, but we are also vitally joined to the supernatural God.  While Mary’s job was to produce a baby, ours is to produce disciples.  He gave Mary what she needed to do her job and he gives us what we need to do ours.

Mark 16:15-18 (NKJV) ¹⁵  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷  And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸  they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mary was called to produce one birth.  We are called to produce many births.  She just had to be a mother willing to obey God.  We just need to be normal people willing to obey God.  He took care of the supernatural part in Mary’s pregnancy.  He will take care of the supernatural part in ours as well, if we cooperate with him as she did.  As we do, that inward supernatural potential will flow through us in 2022.

For Audio Messages Visit: https://anchor.fm/bill-kiefer or search Practical Wisdom from the Word of God or Bill Kiefer on Spotify or where you listen to podcasts.

Releasing Faith’s Potential: A Thanksgiving Lifestyle 3

Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV)⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! ⁵  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We have been talking about the fact that, as Christians, we have a tremendous potential to live life in a blessed and impactful way because of our relationship with Jesus Christ.  One of the most important prerequisites for releasing this potential is a lifestyle of thanksgiving.  I believe this includes thankfulness for whatever is good in our lives but more important thankfulness to God for his presence and the fact that he is always working for our good.  We have found that there are some keys to developing this kind of lifestyle in Philippians 4. 

When I use the term keys, I am referring to what we can do to cultivate things that will put us in position to receive from God.  I am not talking about having to earn something from him.  I am talking about cultivating the nature of God within us.  In Galatians 5 Paul speaks of something called the fruit of the spirit.  These “fruits” are the nature of the Spirit of God.  They are in us because Jesus is in us.  We are born again in his image and likeness.  They are called fruit because, although they are a part of our life, there are things we must do to cultivate them so they will grow.  What we find in Philippians 4 are things that we can do to make sure the fruit of thankfulness grows strong and healthy in us.

We have learned two things we must do so far that will help.  We must rejoice.  Rejoicing is an action.  We rejoice when things are happening that we desire or that make us happy.  The kind of rejoicing Paul is speaking of goes beyond that.  If we will rejoice when there is no natural thing to rejoice about, we offer the sacrifice of praise to God, called the fruit of our lips.  This action taps into and releases the Joy of the Lord within us which results in thanksgiving.  The more we do that, the more thanksgiving becomes a dominant element in our behavior.

The second thing has to do with how we treat others.  Paul says we should let our gentleness be known to all because Jesus is “at hand.”  Although this phrase often refers to the second coming of Christ, I think it also means he is here with us.  As we deal with others, we should remember how God deals with us.  Treating others as God treats us will cause us to meditate on what he has done in our lives, and we will cultivate thanksgiving to God.  With every demonstration of kindness to others, thankfulness is reinforced in us.

As we close in on Christmas, I want to point out the things the rest of this section of scripture shows us concerning a life of thanksgiving.  Verse 6 says we should not be anxious about anything.  The King James Version uses the word “careful.”  We might say it this way.  “Don’t worry about anything.” 

I do not know about you, but it seems to me that we have rarely had more going on that would justify worry than we do today.  Personally, there are always challenges that demand we worry.  What is worry?  It is meditation on what we are afraid will happen.  Sometimes we have good reason to be concerned.  Often worry comes in because of what we think might happen even if we have no real proof it will.  Worry and thanksgiving cannot take up the same space in your mind.  You will either do one or the other.

Do not misunderstand me.  I have said before in this space that my mother was a “world class” worrier and she endeavored to train me to be the same.  Worry is something I have to battle with.  I understand the question, “How can we face all that we face and not worry?”  The answer may seem simplistic, but it is true none the less.  Choose to be thankful instead.  In Matthew 6, Jesus speaks about worry.  One of the things he tells us is that we should “not worry saying…..”  Again the King James uses a different phrase.  It says “take no thought saying…..”  The implication is that one of the ways we give worry power over our minds is by what we say.  What would happen if every time we wanted to say, “I don’t know how this is ever going to work out.”, we said instead, “Thank God, he is working things out.  He has done it before, and I thank God he is doing it again.”  Does that sound too simple?  Try it and see what happens.

Why should we give thanks instead of worry?  In Matthew 6:32 Jesus tells us exactly why we should not give voice to thoughts of worry.  Our heavenly Father knows what we need, and he will always provide it.  Peter says it this way.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

We cast all of our care, read worry, on the Lord because he cares for us.  The only way we can do that is if we humble ourselves before the Lord, understanding that we were never designed to carry the burdens of our lives.  He is the burden bearer, not us.  Are there things we can do that will help us develop a thanksgiving life that will enable us to replace worry with thanksgiving.  Is there something that will turn our minds, and our mouths, away from worry and to thanksgiving.  Paul says there is.

Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Paul tells us how to replace anxiousness or worry with thanksgiving.  We should approach every situation with prayer.  Many times, we see prayer as a last resort.  Paul tells us to pray all the time about everything.  Look at this verse in the amplified Bible

Philippians 4:6 (AMP) ⁶  Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

This tells us that in every circumstance and in everything we should pray.  We should make definite requests of God.  I believe these requests should be based on the promises in his Word.  How should we make these requests?  Should we explain to God how worried we are?  Should we make it clear that the situation is really bad?  If we point out our need clearly enough, will that finally convince God to move?  That is not what it says.  It says we should make our requests in every circumstance and about everything with thanksgiving! 

How is it possible to defeat the power of worry in our lives given what we face?  I believe we must first find out what God has to say about the situation.  No matter what you are facing right now, there is a promise in the Word of God that covers the situation.  Even if the Bible does not cover the specifics of what you face, it covers it in principle. 

The message in Matthew 6 about worry is clear.  It does no good.  It cannot add an inch to your height.  However, what Paul tells us to do will help.  We find a promise in the word of God.  We make a request based on that promise.  Not to inform God of the problem and give him the solution, but to give us something to focus our thanksgiving on while we wait for the results to manifest.  The beauty of this is that I do not have to wait for the “spirit to move on me.”  I can choose to replace the thoughts and words of worry with thoughts of the promise of God and words of thanksgiving.  As I do that, I reinforce the truth that my Father knows what I need and that he cares for me.  I believe the more we practice Philippians 4, the more we will release the tremendous potential faith in God brings to us.  We will see that potential bring change to us and to those around us in 2022.

For Audio Messages Visit: https://anchor.fm/bill-kiefer or search Practical Wisdom from the Word of God or Bill Kiefer on Spotify or where you listen to podcasts.

Releasing Faith’s Potential Through a Thankful Lifestyle 2

Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV) ⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! ⁵  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We are looking into what it takes to release the potential that God has placed in each one of our lives.  For me, this is my “Word of the Lord” for 2022.  We have looked at the necessity of living a lifestyle of thanksgiving as it applies to releasing that potential.  Last time we began looking at Philippians 4 as a pattern for developing this.  We see in verse 4 that Paul makes it clear that we must rejoice.  Rejoicing is a manifestation of thanksgiving. 

When we are truly thankful, we will rejoice in some manner.  It may be in shaking hands, hugging or in some other way expressing how thankful we are to a person who has blessed us.  When we are thankful to God, we praise him.  We may sing, or dance.  We may shout unto God.  We may lift our hands in quiet worship to express deep gratitude.  All of this is part of rejoicing in thankfulness for the blessings in our lives.  What about when we do not feel thankful because we do not see anything to be thankful for.  We should rejoice by faith.

Hebrews tells us to offer the sacrifice of praise.  That means rejoicing when we do not feel we have anything to rejoice about.  When it comes to developing a thanksgiving lifestyle in the Lord, whatever we would do if we saw God bring an answered prayer or fulfil a promise, we should do continually.  There is always something to be thankful for.  Rejoicing by faith on purpose cultivates thanksgiving in our hearts.

The next thing we see in Philippians 4 seems less connected to thanksgiving than rejoicing.  Nevertheless, I see it as just as important.  Paul says that our gentleness should be known to all men because the Lord is at hand.  To me that speaks of our testimony to those around us, especially the world.  What is gentleness?

Webster defines gentleness as the quality or state of being gentle; especially mildness of manners or disposition.  The King James Version of the Bible uses the word “moderation.”  Strong’s dictionary defines the Greek word as appropriate, i.e. (by implication) mild :- gentle, moderation, patient.  If we put these ideas together, we see how we should treat others.  Rejoicing is often loud, and I do not think there is any problem with that.  Nevertheless, Paul is telling us that thanksgiving is not obnoxious to other people.  We should be known for handling others with gentleness.

How does this relate to a thanksgiving lifestyle?  As I thought about it, I realized the key is in the end of the phrase.  We should act this way because Jesus is at hand.  This is often interpreted to mean the second coming of the Lord at the end of the age.  I think it can also mean that we should cultivate a sense that he is with us right now wherever we are.  That means I also cultivate an awareness of how much he has done for me.  I will never see a day in hell.  On top of that, I have been abundantly blessed.  I have much to be thankful for!

How did Jesus treat me in my sin?  I believe that God does chasten his children.  I believe God hates sin and that there is judgement coming for sin.  I believe that, even in the life of believers, sin opens the door to death (Romans 6:23.)  That does not mean that God gets mad at us when we sin and punishes us.  It means that when we choose to allow sin to dwell in our lives, we put ourselves in danger because we are vulnerable to the devil.  When my toddlers ran towards the road, I would stop them and if they persisted, I would spank them.  Not because I was mad but because it was my job to protect them. 

That said, before I was saved the Lord did not point out my sin or deal with me in anger.  He dealt with me in gentleness.  He drew me with compassion.  He let me know there was a way back to him.  As I deal with those around me, I should do so with gentleness not harshness.  I can certainly rejoice for what God has done but I should do so remembering all of that is because he loved me and drew me to himself.  I should endeavor to do the same for those I meet.

What does gentleness look like?  The definition can help.  We should be mild in our manners and disposition.  I do not think we should be ashamed to praise God.  I do think we can praise him around others without shouting praise God all the time.  We can do it with mildness.  We can rejoice around others with gentleness.  When we are around the people of God, we should shout unto the Lord with a voice of triumph.  When we are out in the world, we should declare the goodness of God in gentleness.  Not because we are ashamed but because we remember where we came from. 

We remember how God dealt with us when we did not understand.  We realize that he is here with us now.  If he would not run up to someone and make them rejoice, neither should we.  The King James uses the word moderation.  The idea is the same. 

The Greek word also gives us insight.  I find it interesting that the main definition is appropriate.  We sometimes think that to behave in a manner that is appropriate for where we happen to be is compromise.  I would submit it is gentleness.  I had a friend who would always shout out, “Praise the Lord!”, no matter where we were.  I admit that made me uncomfortable.  Not because I was ashamed to praise God, but because he would do it at times that were not appropriate.  When he did, the result was not that people joined with him to praise God.  The result was that people were often turned off.  There is nothing wrong with praising God in public, but how you do it is important.

Another aspect of the Greek word is patience.  I think a thankful heart should also be a patient heart.  We should be patient with those who may be having a hard time being thankful.  We can help them find something to thank God for, but we should be patient with them when they do not immediately catch on.  This will help us develop a thankful lifestyle because it will remind us of just how patient God has been with us. 

Joy is that inward sense of wellbeing that is independent of our outward circumstances.  True thanksgiving comes from that inner place much more than from the outward gratification we feel when something good happens.  Rejoicing is important to cultivating a thanksgiving lifestyle.  That should be part of our devotional life to God.  I believe it should be a major part of conversation with those who are of like mind.  I also believe it should be an important part of our gathering together as the church.  Yet right after Paul encourages us to rejoice, he says let gentleness be our testimony.

I think the world is looking for stability.  I believe the world is looking for something to rejoice about.  In our gentle dealings with people in the world around us, I think we will show them those things.  Often someone who is “obnoxiously happy” acts that way because they are not.  Cultivate a moderate, appropriate, patient and gentle approach to the world by remembering, Jesus is right there with you.  What he did for you he wants to do for them.  Gentleness will draw them in to the joy and thanksgiving that you hold in your heart.

For Audio Messages Visit: https://anchor.fm/bill-kiefer or search Practical Wisdom from the Word of God or Bill Kiefer on Spotify or where you listen to podcasts.

Releasing Faith’s Potential: A Thanksgiving Lifestyle

Philippians 4:4 (NKJV) ⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

In my last post we looked at the idea of potential from a physical perspective.  Gasoline, for instance, contains something called potential energy.  This means there is energy stored in the gasoline but for it to be useful it must be released.  When gas is put into our cars, that potential is in the gas tank.  For that potential energy to be released into a more useful form, in this case kinetic energy, it must be mixed in the combustion system of the engine and transferred via the transmission to the wheels.  If the driver releases the brake, the potential energy begins to move the car forward. 

The potential resident  in the gas tank of the car becomes motion which is useful in getting the driver to where he or she wants to go.  In the same way the potential spiritual energy in the Word of God via the promises of God must run through our spirit, through our minds to our body in order to be effective in changing our life, attitudes and ultimately circumstances.

You and I have tremendous potential in God.  God has given us his Word containing his power in spiritual form.  In the New Birth, we were given the ability to process and release this energy to touch our lives and the world around us.  The Holy Spirit has been given to help us in every way.  When God formed us in our mother’s wombs he put into us all the natural potential we need to do what he designed us to do.  First, we must release it.  How do we do that?  Has God given us instructions in his word that will help us release the spiritual potential we already possess through our relationship with Jesus?  I believe he has and that is what I want to look at as we bring 2021 to a close. 

The Bible teaches that we must trust God and he will do whatever needs to be done for us.  I believe this is true.  It is very foundational to releasing our faith potential.  At a very important time in my life and ministry, God made it very clear to me that faith was a rest and I was not resting.  If we do not understand that we will do what may be the right things but from the wrong perspective.  However, that does not mean we have no role to play in receiving what God has for us. 

The New Testament teaches many things that would indicate we have something to say about what happens to us.  God gave us promises in the Word.  If he was just going to do whatever he wants with no need of our participation, why give us these promises.  The only promise we would need is the promise that he loves us.  However, there are many “great and precious promises” by which we become partakers of his divine nature (2 Peter 1:2-4.)  To all of these promises the answer from God is  yes and amen in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20.)  I have lived long enough to know that God does not usually fulfil them in the way we expect him to nor in the time we think he should.  Nevertheless, they are promises given to us and we must know them to see them change us and our world.

Both Jesus in the gospels and the rest of the New Testament make it clear that we are to be participants in releasing this potential, not just spectators or recipients.  We looked at the story of Jesus’ healing of a boy in Mark 9.  In answer to the father’s question, “If you can do anything will you help us,” Jesus said the key was that the father needed to believe.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus said that whatever we desire when we pray, we should believe that we already have what we ask for and we will see it manifest.

Paul teaches extensively about our responsibility in terms of our Christian living.  We must walk by faith and not by sight. We must put on Christ and walk worthy of the calling on our lives.  In 2 Peter 1 after Peter spoke of God’s great and precious promises, he gives us a list of the things we must add to faith so that we will be both useful and productive in the earth.  The foundation must begin with a resting trust in the goodness and love of God.  That said, I believe the New Testament teaches us that God wants us to grow in him and be fellow laborers with him in life.  We are his sons and daughters not his eternal babies.  In Revelations 20:6 the Bible says we will reign with him for 1000 years.  Babies do not reign!

In the end it is not our resting trust in God and his goodness or our active faith in the promises of God that is important.  It is both.  Resting trust without active faith will keep us immature and make us only spectators.  Active faith in the promises of God without the abiding rest of faith in God’s love will lead to a life of striving for the wrong reasons.  We are not doing the things the Bible shows us to convince God we have faith.  We do them because we have faith.

I do not like being a spectator.  I like to know that I have a role to play in my life.  The promises and principles in his Word are things that we can apply proactively.  Although God may work in ways that are beyond them, he will always be faithful to work within them.  That is why he give them to us.

We began a few weeks ago with the idea of a life of thankfulness.  This is one of the most important things we must do in order to release the potential of faith.  There are specific instructions in the word as to how we are to do that.  We find them in today’s scripture.  The first thing Paul tells us here is that we should rejoice.  I love the way it comes out.  “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.”  Paul wants to emphasize that rejoicing is a major key to the believer.  What does this word really mean? 

In English a synonym is to celebrate.  In Strong’s dictionary it is a primary verb meaning to be “cheer” full.  It can represent a state of being.  “I am rejoicing because I am happy.”  However, rejoice is also an action verb.  When I do not feel cheerful, but I rejoice anyway, I choose to act on the cheer that is mine in my relationship to God.  I am not being “phony” I am acting on the spiritual reality that I know is true.  My emotions will follow my faith. 

Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, says that praise and thanksgiving cannot be separated.  Rejoicing, even during a time of trial, releases the thankful heart.  Hebrews 13:15 tells us to offer the sacrifice of praise or rejoicing.  One of the most powerful ways to release the potential of faith in a circumstance is to rejoice in the Lord, giving him praise and thanksgiving when it looks like we have nothing to be thankful for. 

In Acts we read of Paul in jail in the city of Philippi.  He was not in a modern holding cell but in the deepest part of a first century dungeon.  The Bible says he led the prisoners in singing and rejoicing.  There was nothing to rejoice about in the prison, but Paul knew that he could rejoice because of God’s care for him.  He did not know what God would do, but the potential for God to move was there in his heart.  He released that potential in praise and rejoicing.

As the story goes, there was a great earthquake, the doors to the prison were opened and their chains fell off.  Would this have happened if they had not praised?  Did it happen because God loved them?  Of course.  Nevertheless, it did not happen until they rejoiced.  I tend to believe it would not have happened if they had not praised God before the fact.  Their rejoicing became the voice of faith that unlocked the potential that was already within them.  It bridged the gap between the physical reality they were living and the spiritual reality they were praising God for.  When that happened no chains, inward or outward, could hold them. 

More next time.

For Audio Messages Visit: https://anchor.fm/bill-kiefer or search Practical Wisdom from the Word of God or Bill Kiefer on Spotify or where you listen to podcasts.

The Potential Energy of Faith

The Potential Energy of Faith
November 30, 2021

Mark 9:21-23 (NKJV) ²¹  So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²²  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” ²³  Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

As we begin the Christmas season heading towards the new year, I want to finish discussing the idea of the potential you have in the Lord.  You have the potential to live a blessed and fulfilling life.  I believe you have the potential to overcome any and all challenges you may face in 2022.  You have the potential to matter in the lives of those you love and in the world around you.  Do not let anyone or anything tell you that you do not. 

In today’s scripture, we see a father who brings his son to Jesus that he may be delivered and healed.  There are many things that happen to him causing him to lose his expectancy that Jesus would deliver the boy.  When he arrives at the place he thought Jesus would be, he was not there.  Then the disciples were unable to help him.  Then the scribes began to argue with them telling the father that Jesus was not from God and that the father should not be asking for such a thing at all.  The same kinds of things happen in our lives as well.  We hear the same kinds of voices.  Some of them are outward but many times they are inward.

When Jesus finally came on the scene, he asks the father what the problem was and how long it had gone on.  The father’s answer is in today’s scripture.  Between all the opposition and all the voices trying to convince him that what he was asking was impossible, the man had finally become so discouraged that all he could say to Jesus was, “If you can do anything for us, please help us.”  I think many of us come to this place.  We know what God has said, but we just do not see him doing it.  We have been disappointed too often.  We have prayed and not seen the results we thought we should.  I think the last two years have brought many of us to that point.

Jesus answers this father, and it might seem that he was being critical.  He says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  I have heard many who seem to think it is a criticism to say to someone, “The problem is on your side not God’s.”  Jesus never criticized anyone.  He never said anything to tear a person down.  If he said something that seems critical the purpose was always to build up.  He was not criticizing the father.  He was diagnosing the thing that was in the way of his ability to access what was there all along.  Jesus was not lacking in power.  Life, disappointment and even the length of time the problem had gone on had robbed the father of a sense of expectancy.  He was blinded to the potential that stood right in front of him.

Today, that same potential lives in us because of the new birth in Jesus.  One of the things that keeps us from accessing faith’s potential is the same as the thing that hindered the father in our story.  If we can believe, anything is possible.  If we are not believing the potential remains untapped.  As I have studied this story, I believe the father came to find Jesus with great expectancy.  He knew Jesus would save his son.  What he faced had robbed him of that expectancy, but I believe he still had faith, because he was still there.  Jesus knew he simply needed to energize that faith by putting away the unbelief that had come in via disappointment. 

I believe the Lord is saying the same thing to you and me today.  We need to be reminded that the God of all creation is still the same.  We need to be reminded that God is not the problem.  We need to be encouraged to believe again that anything really is possible.  The father’s response to Jesus is the same one we must be willing to give today.  “I do believe but help the areas of unbelief that have entered into my life.”  Jesus helped the father.  How do I know?  His son was healed and delivered.  If we will be honest and not get offended, Jesus will help us as well.  Unbelief takes many forms.  He will locate and diagnose the thing that is keeping you from accessing your potential, he will show you how to change it and he will help you.  He will strengthen your believing until you receive the answer you seek.

This brings me to what I want to point out to you today.  The idea of potential can be expressed in something called “potential energy.”  There is potential energy in gasoline when you put it into your car.  That energy cannot be released until you turn the key and ignite the gasoline in the engine.  At that point there is potential energy in the drivetrain of the car, but to release that potential you have to put the car in gear. 

Once the car is in gear, there is potential energy being transmitted to the wheels, but it will not be released until you let off the break.  Once you do that, the potential energy in the gasoline is transmitted through the internal combustion in the engine, then through the transmission to the wheels and the car begins to move forward.  As you increase pressure on the accelerator, the car moves faster as more potential energy becomes kinetic, or moving, energy.  We get to our destination at whatever speed we desire. 

The potential for more speed depends on the size of the engine and the efficiency of the car in converting the potential energy in the gasoline to kinetic energy.  Many other factors come into play at this point, but I want us to understand that, depending on its octane, the potential in the gasoline is the same for any car that is filled with it.  If our car does not move, it is not the gasoline’s problem.  If we have good gasoline in the tank, if our car does not run correctly there is something that needs to be fixed in the car.  That is not a criticism it is a diagnosis. 

When we are born again, we all receive the same ability to extract the power of God that he has stored in the Word of God. 

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Jesus said that anything was possible if the father could believe.  If he could not believe, then Jesus said something to him that was unfair.  Believing is the active state of faith.  We might think of the word of God as the gasoline.  It has potential spiritual energy.  When we put it in our mind and heart, it has the potential to be released into a spiritual “kinetic” energy.  Believing is putting our foot on the gas pedal and releasing that energy into whatever situation we need to see changed. 

In the case of the father in Mark chapter 9, he needed to get back to believing that Jesus would heal his son.  That is what brought him to Jesus to begin with.  He left his home and took this boy with severe problems that could manifest at any time to the place he heard Jesus would be.  That is the manifestation of his foot on the accelerator of faith.  The opposition he faced caused him to let up on the gas and put on the breaks.  Jesus said, “Just put the pedal to the metal again!”  When he did, his son was healed. 

As a Christian, I believe you and I have faith.  I think that we have the potential power of God available to us.  I know that my car illustration is a bit simplistic, but I believe it can help us understand how faith and believing work.  I pastored 40 years.  I know that the things that keep us from “pressing the gas pedal” are sometimes complicated.  At the same time, I believe that Jesus’ words to the father are the same for us.  I do not think we always need to understand the problem.  We just need to let Jesus help us without thinking we are bad.  It is not bad to be wrong or to need help.  Nevertheless, until we decide to accept that we do, we will never receive what we need to change what needs changing.

The Word of God is filled with the potential energy of the power of God.  We were designed to be transmitters of that power.  All things are possible.  Whatever God said he will do, he will do for you.  Whatever you need to be, you can be that with the help of the Holy Spirit.  I think we need to press the accelerator of faith and believe that 2022 is going to be a year where we release more of our potential in God than ever before.

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