God Is a Fraud/Jesus Is a Liar

God is a fraud! Jesus is a liar!

That is truly the battle cry that a wrecked life (by the world's standard) shows the world! They've heard the promises of God. They've heard the pitches by God's people. They've seen the hypocritical Christians in the good times doing wrong things and now they see me in the bad times doing terrible things. I don't turn to God I turn away from him! What an advertisement for Christianity, Jesus Christianity. His namesake. And all he ever wanted from us was our trust and obedience and he would give us the world. If we could just get past our unbelief. He promised. He promised!

Consider this. If you are always fretting about money how would you feel if a wealthy shopping center developer worth millions and millions of dollars gave you-gave you-$2 million? Well, you say, I wouldn't feel very good until he handed me the money. Why? Because you don't trust him. Just because he says he will doesn't mean he will. But what if he said to you, "I will give you a first trust deed to my biggest shopping center worth $20 million to secure the 2 million-dollar note. And I will pay you $20,000 a month for 20 years as provided for in the note with my shopping center a security." Now how would you feel? Much better thank you.

Look what we have just said. I have a rope! Not only do I have a promise that I will receive money, I have something I can touch and feel and rely on. My rope. Is it not the truth? Are we not saying that God is no better than the shopping center developer who promises to give us money and, in fact, He is not even as good as the man once we receive the trust deed? Of course we are! We may as well say we just don't believe in God's promises.

Look at the text concerning this unbelief:

Mark 9:16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.
18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered.
22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23 "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead."
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

I want to note specifically that the father made this statement: "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "If you can..." In fairness the man has already been to the disciples and watched them fail. Yet as though he didn't want to get his hopes up he approaches the subject from doubt. "If you can..."

Note the response by Jesus: "'If you can'?" somewhat harsh it shows a rather confrontational tone. As though to say "You come to me for help and then you question whether I have the ability to help you?" Now friend, where is the faith here? Yet again in fairness give this man credit. He obviously believes to some degree that Jesus can help.

Also note that Jesus threw it back to him. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Jesus basically says, "It's not if I can, it's if you do (believe)". It's not about the ability to perform, it's about the faith to believe. God can come through on his promises if, IF we have the faith to believe he can.

Now let me make a distinction. If God didn't promise it, we have no right to claim it. What I mean is if I say to God, "In the Bible you say I can do all things so I'm going to jump off this cliff because flying is something I want to do and I'm going to fly," then I need to be ready for a big disappointment! Because nowhere in the Bible does God promise to make me fly.

For example Paul, who had a thorn in the flesh, possibly an illness, three times asked for healing or deliverance. The answer was no. Not because he didn't have enough faith and not because God couldn't deliver on his promises, but because nowhere did God promise Paul perfect health. The same applies to Jesus in the garden asking the Father to "let this cup pass from me". Nowhere did Jesus have an express promise from God that this would happen and therefore had no right to demand that God come through on this request. But make no mistake about it; if God said it, it will happen. This doesn't mean we can't ask for things, just that we can't claim them as a promise of God.

Now the father has to let go of his rope and, in front of all the people gathered around including the Pharisees and Scribes, tell Jesus that he believes. Where was his fear to talk in front of these religious leaders and keepers of the law? What if Jesus couldn't do it? Wouldn't he look the fool?

And look at the strange answer the father gave when asked whether he believed: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" He might well have said, "I do have faith; help me increase my faith!" And that is our cry as Christians. We have some faith; we need more faith!

So let's look at some of God's promises to you and I. These promises we can take to the bank like the note from that shopping center developer. But really much much better.