Sermons

What To Do When God Isn’t Answering You: Matthew 17:14-20-1/19/25 (Week 49)

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Sermon Series: We are currently going through a sermon series in the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we’re talking about a moment where Jesus’ disciples ask why something didn’t work. 



Matthew 17:14 – 20

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon,[a] and it[b] came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.[c] 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”[d]

Have you ever prayed for something and it felt like God didn’t hear you? Today, we’re taking a look at a part of God’s Word, where Jesus’ disciples have that situation happen to them. By looking at Jesus’ response to them, we too can learn what to do when it feels like God isn’t listening.

7 Things to Check:

 

  1. Check your theology

Matt. 5:45, Job, Ps. 145:9, Rom. 8:28, 2 Cor. 7:10, James 5:13-17

  1. Check your relationship with the Lord

1 Pet. 3:12, 4:7, Matt. 6:9-13, 21:22, John 15:7, James 4:2, 5:16, 1 John 3:22, Mark 11:24-25, 1 Tim. 2:8, Is. 1:15-16

  1. Check your relationship with others

Matt. 6:14-15, 18:15, 1 Pet. 3:7, Mark 11:25, Col. 3:13

  1. Check your motives

James 4:3, 15, 1 John 5:14, Luke 22:42, Matt. 6:5-6, 11

  1. Check your doubting

Matt. 17:20, James 1:6, Mark 9:23

  1. Check your diligence

Luke 18:1-8, Heb. 11:6, Eph. 6:18, Co.. 4:2

  1. Check your independence

Matt. 17:12-13, Eph. 5:18, Gal. 5:16, Rom. 8:5, Acts 1:8

Reflecting on God’s Word

Getting Started

  • Take some time to read over Matthew 17-13 and pray. 
  • Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it? 
  • What surprised you as we talked about it?
  • Have you ever been in a circumstance where you felt like God didn’t hear your prayers? Why and what was the outcome?

 

Diving In 

  1. Of the 7 things to check, which one surprised you the most? Why?

 

  1. Of the 7 things to check, which one do you have the most difficult time with? Why?

 

  1. How’s your relationship with the Lord? Is there anything hindering your prayers? If so, what, and what is the next step you need to take in order to deal with it?

 

  1. How’s your relationship with others? Are you holding onto any unforgiveness that could be hindering you from receiving God’s forgiveness?

 

  1. What do you need to be in prayer about during this season of your life? Is that lined up with God’s Will?

 

  1. Looking at your answer from question #5, how can you pray with faith, and without doubting?

 

  1. How can you stay diligent in your prayers? Who else can you ask to pray for this as well?

 

Applying the Scripture

What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word? 

  • What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture? 
  • How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord? 
  • Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?



Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?