Don't You Get It!

Mark 8

14 But the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any food, so there was only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod." 16 They decided he was saying this because they hadn't brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, "Why are you so worried about having no food? Won't you ever learn or understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 'You have eyes – can't you see? You have ears – can't you hear?' F36 Don't you remember anything at all? 19 What about the five thousand men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?" "Twelve," they said. 20 "And when I fed the four thousand with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?" "Seven," they said. 21 "Don't you understand even yet?" he asked them.

Don't you understand yet? What chilling words. Jesus' frustration shows through very clearly. The disciples had seen Him do so much, and yet they lacked faith. They had seen Him feed thousands and yet were concerned that they were going to go without when their supply came up short. Now it is easy to read the stories of the Bible and pick on the disciples and wonder what they were thinking. As if we would have been such better disciples. Remember Peter, the rock in which God built His church, denied even knowing Jesus the very same night he said he was ready to die to protect Jesus. We all have had our moments.

When I see ministers that are seeing great results like salvations, healings and miricles. I have wondered what their secret is. Why I don't see that in my own minstry. I think their secret is simply, they get it. They understand. So what's to understand? Jeus tells us in the next verse.

Mark 11

19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city. 20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it was withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, "Look, Teacher! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" 22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23 I assure you that you can say to this mountain, 'May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,' and your command will be obeyed. All that's required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. 24 Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. "

Did you see it? "Have faith in God" It sounds so simple and it is. But it's not so much the believing part we need to worry about. In the first part of chapter 8 Jesus warns the disciples to not let the yeast of the Pharisees and Harod get into them. What is the yeast you ask? Doubt. Asking in Faith means to ask without doubt. Now all of us would say that they believe God heals, but when we pray for healing don't we in the back of our minds think, "I wonder if it'll work?". Don;t we hesitate when that person in the wheel chair comes up to get prayer? Why? Because we forget who Jesus is and who we are and doubt creaps in.

There is another point made at the end. Jesus tells us before we pray that we need to forgive others first so God can forgive us. This is all about relationships. Not only do we need faith without doubt, but we need to have right relationships between our fellow humans and with God.

So what do we do? We forgive, repent, and do what God has called us to do.

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