SPEAKER_00: Scripture this morning is taken from the Gospel of Mark, Mark chapter 9, verses 14 through 29, and we will read that uh this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 9, verses 14 through 29.
SPEAKER_00: And when they came to the disciples, they saw great crowds around them and the scribes arguing with them.
SPEAKER_00: And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
SPEAKER_00: And he asked them, What are you arguing about with them?
SPEAKER_00: And someone from the crowd answered, Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
SPEAKER_00: And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.
SPEAKER_00: So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and and they were not able.
SPEAKER_00: And he answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?
SPEAKER_00: How long am I to bear with you?
SPEAKER_00: Bring him to me.
SPEAKER_00: And they brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus asked his father, How long has has this been happening to him?
SPEAKER_00: And he said, From childhood.
SPEAKER_00: And it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him.
SPEAKER_00: But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said to him, If you can, all things are possible for one who believes.
SPEAKER_00: Immediately the father of the trial child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief.
SPEAKER_00: And when Jesus saw that the crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You mute and deaf spirit, I command you come out of him and never enter him again.
SPEAKER_00: And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and and the boy was like a corpse.
SPEAKER_00: So that most of them said, He is dead.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
SPEAKER_00: And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could we not cast it out?
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you for your word.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for your reminders that you have all power.
SPEAKER_00: We can say, well, we don't have demons running around or whatever, but Lord, there are the devils busy in homes.
SPEAKER_00: The devil is busy in young people's lives, old folks' lives, the devil's busy.
SPEAKER_00: Bondage is running rampant.
SPEAKER_00: And you are still able to deliver.
SPEAKER_00: And so we pray, Lord, that as we look at your word this morning, that we might, we might, as your people, know what it what it takes, what it looks like for us to live in this life and in this world by faith and prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Oh Lord, open our eyes, encourage our hearts, grant us hope.
SPEAKER_00: And the only one that can change and transform lives.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: We're resuming our series this morning through the Gospel of Mark.
SPEAKER_00: We've been working our way through the Gospel of Mark, and we have come on the ninth chapter, the first eight chapters of Mark, as we've been saying and as we've been going through, you notice a pattern that Jesus was displaying who he was.
SPEAKER_00: There was always this response when he performed miracles.
SPEAKER_00: Who is this?
SPEAKER_00: Who is this man?
SPEAKER_00: And where does he get this power from?
SPEAKER_00: They were wondering who he was and where the power came from to do the things that he had done and that he did.
SPEAKER_00: We got in chapter 8, and Jesus asks the disciples, and this is a transition in the book of Mark.
SPEAKER_00: He asks the disciples, Who do men say that I am?
SPEAKER_00: And they said, Well, some say you're Elijah and you're a prophet and all the various things.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus says, But who do you say that I am?
SPEAKER_00: And Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.
SPEAKER_00: And from that moment on, Jesus began to talk to them.
SPEAKER_00: And you'll look in Mark chapter 8 and verse 31.
SPEAKER_00: It reads this, and he began to teach them after Peter's confession that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
SPEAKER_00: Now this didn't make sense to them.
SPEAKER_00: They understood he was the Messiah.
SPEAKER_00: They understood that he was the king, that he had come, that he was the one that was sent from God.
SPEAKER_00: But all of a sudden now he starts talking about dying and being persecuted and hanging on the cross and being raised from the dead, and it didn't make sense to them.
SPEAKER_00: Last time we were together, Pastor Tom took us on the Mount of Transfiguration.
SPEAKER_00: And it was as if Jesus, because he's preparing them, he's preparing them for when he leaves.
SPEAKER_00: What's life going to look like for you when I'm gone?
SPEAKER_00: What's life going to look like?
SPEAKER_00: How are you going to navigate?
SPEAKER_00: How are you going to manage life?
SPEAKER_00: How are you going to serve and live for me when I'm gone?
SPEAKER_00: And so he's preparing them to understand and how to figure out how to how to navigate life.
SPEAKER_00: And so they're on this mountain of transfiguration.
SPEAKER_00: And he turns white as white and bright as anything can be.
SPEAKER_00: They couldn't understand it.
SPEAKER_00: They were scared to death.
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes we we see that in the scriptures where it says they were terrified.
SPEAKER_00: We've all been scared.
SPEAKER_00: We've all had those dreams when you've been terrified.
SPEAKER_00: You know those ones you pray, Lord, get me out of this.
SPEAKER_00: You know those dreams where you'd be breathing hard and you wake up, they were terrified because of what they saw on the mountain, and then and then there was a voice that comes from heaven, and the voice says, This is my son.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to him.
SPEAKER_00: And so it's as if God was saying that when I'm gone, worship me.
SPEAKER_00: Worship is a key to how you're going to function as the people of God.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to come and you're going to worship and you're going to bow down before me, and then you're going to listen to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to do what Jesus tells you to do.
SPEAKER_00: And he's no longer with them physically.
SPEAKER_00: Our text today wrestles with the question: how do we live life and do ministry when he is no longer with us physically?
SPEAKER_00: What are you going to do when he's gone, when he's up in glory?
SPEAKER_00: You can't stay on the mountain forever, beloved.
SPEAKER_00: We've all had those experiences where we go on retreats and we have those mountaintop experiences, and you're flying high, you're feeling good, the worship was good, the singing was good, the the the speaker was good, and and everything was good, and and then you you gotta come home.
SPEAKER_00: And we've all had the experience when you come home, and next thing you know, things are you're greeted with stuff that just seems crazy.
SPEAKER_00: Refrigerator breaks down, AC unit goes out, children acting crazy, you're arguing with your wife, and you just came off the mountain.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, what's this?
SPEAKER_00: We need to understand that as the people of God, as we come in here and we worship, that that that life goes on, life is still gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: When we come in here this morning and the Spirit of God encourages you and builds you up, that you understand that when you leave out of here, the devil's still active.
SPEAKER_00: He's still active.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't, he's not gonna park and say, oh, they just came from church.
SPEAKER_00: No, leave them folks alone.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: He's he's ramping up busyness, your flesh is still active, everything's still going on.
SPEAKER_00: What do we do when that's going on?
SPEAKER_00: We remember that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of Lords.
SPEAKER_00: That's what they saw on that mountain.
SPEAKER_00: They saw him in all his glory, and he was reminding them that when you go through, I'm still in charge.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still in charge.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody, nowhere, has authority over me.
SPEAKER_00: And when he left, he told the disciples, all authority in heaven and earth is given unto me.
SPEAKER_00: So go, don't be scared, don't be intimidated by the enemy when he comes, because he's coming.
SPEAKER_00: He's coming.
SPEAKER_00: So notice then what happens.
SPEAKER_00: So verse 14 says, And when they came down, the disciples saw the great crowd around them, and the scribes arguing with them, and immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
SPEAKER_00: And they asked him, What are you arguing about?
SPEAKER_00: What's going on here?
SPEAKER_00: Why are you arguing?
SPEAKER_00: Because there was an argument going on.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus and them were up in the mountain.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, Peter, James, and John were on the mountain, and and his disciples were down there in the city.
SPEAKER_00: And so when they come down, they see this argument going on with the scribes and the Pharisees, and Jesus asks them, What's going on?
SPEAKER_00: And so someone from the crowd, and there's the son, listen to the father's description of what the problem is.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to listen to how he describes his son.
SPEAKER_00: They want to know what the problem is.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Why are you arguing?
SPEAKER_00: And his father comes out in verse 17, and someone from the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
SPEAKER_00: Just listen to all the things this child is going through.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to all the things this father is experiencing with his child.
SPEAKER_00: He makes him mute.
SPEAKER_00: And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.
SPEAKER_00: So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.
SPEAKER_00: So they he's got this child, and there's this demon.
SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like epilepsy, but but as you continue on through the text, you understand that Jesus is now this ain't epilepsy.
SPEAKER_00: This is a demon.
SPEAKER_00: This is the devil that's that's that's possessed this child.
SPEAKER_00: And so he's wrestling, and and so he says, I this child he he he falls down and he and and and understand that that that this this this demon wasn't just laying this child down violently.
SPEAKER_00: Think of the head trauma that this child was experiencing.
SPEAKER_00: Think about all the physical bruises that were over this child's body because of what was going on with him.
SPEAKER_00: The demon wasn't concerned about whether they were around the rocks, he wasn't concerned about where they were, just threw them down and was just convulsing him madly.
SPEAKER_00: Notice something else.
SPEAKER_00: Let's skip down to verse 20.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to see, paint the picture some more about what this child was going through.
SPEAKER_00: He says in verse 20, when he when he when he brought the boy to him and the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell to the ground or rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
SPEAKER_00: And and Jesus asked him, How long has this been happening to him?
SPEAKER_00: And he said, From childhood, so from childhood, all this stuff has been going on.
SPEAKER_00: And notice in verse 22, and it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him.
SPEAKER_00: I can't imagine that.
SPEAKER_00: We got it, we saw these children walking out of here this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Children that sitting here.
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine that as a parent?
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine that as a parent that you see your child being thrown around and there's this demon trying to kill your child?
SPEAKER_00: Understand, understand that that is that's the goal of the devil.
SPEAKER_00: He comes to steal, to kill, and destroy.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's after.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't care how he gets you there, he might get you there through money, he might get you there through education where you think it's all about you, and and he doesn't care, he doesn't care what he uses to get us from turning from God.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter to him, but his goal is to kill and to keep steal and to destroy.
SPEAKER_00: And so this isn't this isn't this isn't some simple case, you know.
SPEAKER_00: But notice Jesus' response when this father tells him this and and and he responds to the disciples in the crowd, and Jesus, he answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?
SPEAKER_00: How long am I to bear with you?
SPEAKER_00: Bring him to me.
SPEAKER_00: Now in my mind, I'm thinking, you know, Jesus, this doesn't seem like an ordinary demon.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, you know, and he seems to be, he seems to be exasperated.
SPEAKER_00: He is exasperated.
SPEAKER_00: There is an expectation that he has that they should have been able to deal with this.
SPEAKER_00: That this wasn't something that was out of their realm, out of their control.
SPEAKER_00: He he looks at them and he's exasperated and he says, How long am I going to be with you?
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say to them, Oh guys, you know, I'm sorry, boy, this was one, this was a this was a type A, and I didn't let you know how to deal with that.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what he said.
SPEAKER_00: He rebuked them, he's frustrated with them.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying to them, How long do I have to be with you before you get it?
SPEAKER_00: Now, beloved, that that that that question can come to us.
SPEAKER_00: How long does Jesus have to bless us?
SPEAKER_00: How long do we have to experience his faithfulness?
SPEAKER_00: How many journeys, how many trials has he taken you and I through, and and you didn't know how you were gonna get on the other side?
SPEAKER_00: You didn't know where the answer was gonna come from, you didn't know where the where the deliverance was gonna come from, but you're here today to tell the story.
SPEAKER_00: You didn't know how he was going to deliver, you didn't know, and you were.
SPEAKER_00: How many times has he done that for us?
SPEAKER_00: How many times have we cried out to God and he has delivered us and delivered us and delivered us and provided for us?
SPEAKER_00: And now something else comes up and we panic again.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I don't know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm so scared.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, why does God do this to me?
SPEAKER_00: Why'd he leave me in this place when he's gonna answer my prayer?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_00: Whining and whining, complaining, complaining, and Jesus says, How long do I have to deliver you?
SPEAKER_00: How long do I have to provide for you?
SPEAKER_00: How long do I have to show you my faithfulness before you will just trust me?
SPEAKER_00: That when when the storms come, you know where to run.
SPEAKER_00: You know where to run.
SPEAKER_00: You should know.
SPEAKER_00: We ought to know where to run, that he is our rock, that he is our salvation, that he is our shield, that he is our protector, that he is our provider, that he is all that we need.
SPEAKER_00: And and Jesus looks at these men and he looks at his disciples, and he's frustrated.
SPEAKER_00: He says, You have seen me cast out demons, you have seen me heal up the blind, you have seen me open the eyes of the deaf, you have seen me heal paralyzed men, you've seen me work, you've seen me on the mountain of glory.
SPEAKER_00: Now, how long?
SPEAKER_00: How long?
SPEAKER_00: You see, they weren't operating, trusting in the power of God.
SPEAKER_00: You know, they had cast out demons before.
SPEAKER_00: They had done things before.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus sent them out.
SPEAKER_00: He sent them out before, and they they cast out demons, they healed the sick, they did all these things, they came back, they were so excited, they were like, Jesus, guess what?
SPEAKER_00: We went out and all these things and we spoke the word, and Jesus said, Okay, come along.
SPEAKER_00: So they had done this before.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't new.
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes, sometimes we get a little arrogant.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we get a little arrogant.
SPEAKER_00: I say, all right, all right, I did that before.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I get I got this.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm you know, I know how this works now.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm gonna be a little more spiritually mature.
SPEAKER_00: I got my my feet, my legs up under me.
SPEAKER_00: I don't really need to go and pray.
SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't need to call out to God.
SPEAKER_00: I I know the formulas, I know what to say, I know what to do, I know how to manage, I know how to handle this.
SPEAKER_00: I got this, God, no problem.
SPEAKER_00: When I need you, I'll call you.
SPEAKER_00: When I need you, and if I get in the jam, then I'll I'll I'll look to you.
SPEAKER_00: But but I got this right now, I know what to do.
SPEAKER_00: And much of our lives, much of our our ministry, much of our doings is is in our own strength.
SPEAKER_00: We know what to do, and and we've gotten to the point where we don't even we don't even think we need to thank God for opening our eyes in the morning.
SPEAKER_00: Because we just think we're supposed to see.
SPEAKER_00: We think that when we get up in the morning, we're supposed to see and hear and smell and touch and feel and do all the which just yeah, yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_00: When James tells us that, he says, Don't say, I'll be there or I'll go there.
SPEAKER_00: He says, if the Lord wills.
SPEAKER_00: We're so arrogant now, we're just like, well, I'll see you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, I got this on my calendar, and I'll do such and such and do, and we'll go such and such a place.
SPEAKER_00: And we don't even say, if the Lord wills.
SPEAKER_00: And the disciples were operating, they were functioning, they were moving in their own strength, they were relying on their own abilities, and and they were forgetting about a God who had called them and who had who had who had empowered them where the power came from.
SPEAKER_00: The power comes from God.
SPEAKER_00: The power doesn't come from your education, the power doesn't come from how much money you got in the bank, the power doesn't come from the people that you know and the connections and the and the network that you have, the power comes from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: It always comes from the Lord, it always will come from the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord could dry up all the connections, he can dry up all the money, he could dry it up.
SPEAKER_00: It comes from the Lord, period.
SPEAKER_00: That's where it comes from.
SPEAKER_00: But they were they were relying on their own strength.
SPEAKER_00: So, so so so what kind of faith then, what kind of faith does God require?
SPEAKER_00: What is it gonna take for God to say and God to move on our behalf?
SPEAKER_00: So let's look at his encounter with this with this father, because his encounter with the father will give us insight and glimpses and understanding as what it is that God is looking for.
SPEAKER_00: What kind of faith is he looking for?
SPEAKER_00: So, verse 20.
SPEAKER_00: And they brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about foaming at the mouth.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus asked his father, How long has this been happening to him?
SPEAKER_00: And he said, From childhood, and and and it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him.
SPEAKER_00: But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said to him, If you can, if you can, all things are possible for the one who believes.
SPEAKER_00: Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to, I just want to I just want to take a bracket for a moment before we look at more detail with this father.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to I want you to see what this demon, what this devil is doing.
SPEAKER_00: Because, because these disciples couldn't do it.
SPEAKER_00: And so he comes in Jesus' presence.
SPEAKER_00: And notice what the devil does when he when he comes into his presence.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 20, he says, and he brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground, he rolled about him, foaming at the mouth.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to intimidate.
SPEAKER_00: But I tell you what, I'm gonna do.
SPEAKER_00: Even when he comes into Jesus' presence, even when this boy stands in Jesus' presence, this demon cast him around and he's rolling around and he's foaming at the mouth and everything's going on.
SPEAKER_00: And and if you're a parent, you you're probably thinking, Jesus, do something.
SPEAKER_00: Can't you do, can't you, can't you stop this right now?
SPEAKER_00: Beloved, you need to you we need to understand oftentimes when God is working, when God is at work, when God is moving, Satan gets even busier.
SPEAKER_00: He gets even busier.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, things get crazy.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you you might you may be sitting there, you may be thinking, I thought my I thought my child was crazy, but this is crazy.
SPEAKER_00: I might have thought my my relationship was wild, but this is out of control, and and I've been praying and I've been asking God to move and work, and and it seems like things are getting worse.
SPEAKER_00: And what the enemy of our soul is trying to do is to cause us to doubt God, to to fear, to think that God can't handle this, that here this child is before Jesus, rolling around, foaming at the mouth, uh uh uh convulsing him, doing all of these things.
SPEAKER_00: Please understand, saints.
SPEAKER_00: Please understand that we're in a war.
SPEAKER_00: We're in a battle.
SPEAKER_00: But notice Jesus' response.
SPEAKER_00: This boy is falling and roaming around and he doesn't he doesn't flinch.
SPEAKER_00: He ain't he's not intimidated, he's not scared, he's not, oh, what am I gonna do?
SPEAKER_00: Oh I gotta do.
SPEAKER_00: You know, he's not running around, he's just he's he's cool, we might say, calm and collected.
SPEAKER_00: And he says to the Father, while this is happening, how long has this been going on?
SPEAKER_00: Those are words of compassion.
SPEAKER_00: Those are words from a God, a savior that cares about how long have you been going through this, my friend?
SPEAKER_00: How long have you been experiencing this?
SPEAKER_00: But he's not panicking.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say to us that as God is at work and if things seem to be out of control in your world or in your life, understand that God is not panicking.
SPEAKER_00: He's not sitting up in heaven saying, Oh my goodness, didn't see that coming.
SPEAKER_00: Don't know what we're gonna do, don't know how to handle this situation.
SPEAKER_00: Call in a conference call between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to figure out what we are gonna do about this situation that's going on in this in your life or in my life.
SPEAKER_00: He's not phrased by anything that the enemy brings before him.
SPEAKER_00: He's not phrased.
SPEAKER_00: He's on a boat.
SPEAKER_00: Disciples are scared to death.
SPEAKER_00: They're trying to save everybody.
SPEAKER_00: They say, Where's Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is asleep.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all know how that is when things are there's trouble and somebody's sleeping, or they laid back, they relaxing, and there's work to be done, and they come to Jesus and they say, Don't you care that we perish?
SPEAKER_00: And he gets up and he says, Oh, yeah, faith, what are y'all scared for?
SPEAKER_00: What are you afraid of?
SPEAKER_00: Speaks to the wind, speaks to the storm, be still.
SPEAKER_00: Just like that.
SPEAKER_00: You see, you see what with what this what what Jesus is showing us, and what I want us to understand this morning that you you know how it is when a child is with their parent and there's something that's frightening the child, and they they get behind the father or the mother, they because they know that they can protect them.
SPEAKER_00: Get behind Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Stand behind him.
SPEAKER_00: But you don't know what the doctor said.
SPEAKER_00: Get behind Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But you don't know about my finding get behind Jesus because he ain't scared, he's not intimidated, he's not frightened by anything that's going on in our world that's coming at you.
SPEAKER_00: He's not afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Get behind him, but you don't know about my relationship or my marriage or my home.
SPEAKER_00: Get behind Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's your rock, he's your shelter, he's your shield.
SPEAKER_00: Get behind him.
SPEAKER_00: So the father responds.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus says, See what kind of faith is acceptable.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief.
SPEAKER_00: This father comes to Jesus and he's he's at wit's ends.
SPEAKER_00: His child is rolling on the ground, being possessed by this demon.
SPEAKER_00: The demon's trying to kill him.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, Look, if if I can, he says, all things are possible for those who believe.
SPEAKER_00: All things are possible.
SPEAKER_00: And so this father cries out.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I believe.
SPEAKER_00: But I this is tough.
SPEAKER_00: I believe, but I don't know how you're gonna do this.
SPEAKER_00: I believe, but I'm scared.
SPEAKER_00: I believe, but I don't know, I don't know.
SPEAKER_00: I I see no way for this to be fixed.
SPEAKER_00: I see no way for this to be resolved.
SPEAKER_00: I see no way for this to be handled.
SPEAKER_00: I I believe, would you help me?
SPEAKER_00: Would you help me?
SPEAKER_00: Now notice how Jesus responds.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say to this man, that's not good enough, son.
SPEAKER_00: I need faith.
SPEAKER_00: I need faith that doesn't waver.
SPEAKER_00: I need faith that's not gonna doubt.
SPEAKER_00: I need faith that's not gonna be wishy-washy and going back and forth.
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna work on your faith, come back in, and we can see what we'll do for you.
SPEAKER_00: But I need a faith that's not gonna waver.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what he says.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 25, and when Jesus saw the crowd, that the crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit and saying to it, You mute and deaf spirit, I command you come out of him and never enter him again.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 26, and crying out and convulsing him terribly, the devil's still trying to trying to intimidate.
SPEAKER_00: He tried one more time.
SPEAKER_00: Crying out and convulsing him terribly.
SPEAKER_00: It came out of the boy, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said he's dead.
SPEAKER_00: Look at look at look at resurrection power that Jesus has.
SPEAKER_00: He picks him up.
SPEAKER_00: Life comes.
SPEAKER_00: He took his faith as wobbly, as weak, as jacked up as it was, and he said, Okay, we can work now.
SPEAKER_00: You see, because what he is not looking for, he is not looking for people that are confident and got it all together and know what the answers are and can manage life on their own and all they need is a little help from Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: No, no.
SPEAKER_00: He looked, he's looking for individuals that recognize that without me, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Without me, you're not gonna get up in the morning.
SPEAKER_00: Without me, you're not gonna walk out this door today.
SPEAKER_00: Without me, you're not gonna drive home safely.
SPEAKER_00: Without me, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Now he says, Oh, now we can work.
SPEAKER_00: Now I can help you.
SPEAKER_00: Now I can come alongside.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not looking for how qualified you are.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not looking for what you could bring to the table.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't save us because he thought we were bringing something to the table.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, quite frankly, he tells us in Isaiah that the best of your righteousness is filthy rags.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, I'm not really looking for filthy rags.
SPEAKER_00: You have nothing to bring.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Come as you are.
SPEAKER_00: Come as you are.
SPEAKER_00: Notice what Matthew says.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew expands on this in verse Matthew chapter 17, and it's the same thing, but he he expands on this.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and saying, What, why could we not cast it out?
SPEAKER_00: And he said to them, Because you are a little faith, for truly I say to you, if you have faith like the grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move it from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.
SPEAKER_00: He says, You want to know how what you know you want to know what kind of faith I'm looking for?
SPEAKER_00: That right there, grain of a mustard seed.
SPEAKER_00: Is what he's looking for.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, that'll do.
SPEAKER_00: That'll do.
SPEAKER_00: They said, why couldn't we do it?
SPEAKER_00: He says, because of your faith.
SPEAKER_00: They said, well, what kind of faith do we need?
SPEAKER_00: Mustard seed.
SPEAKER_00: What?
SPEAKER_00: That's all I'm I'm asking you.
SPEAKER_00: He's asking us.
SPEAKER_00: Stop depending on yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Stop relying on your own resources.
SPEAKER_00: Stop relying on your own goodness.
SPEAKER_00: Let it go.
SPEAKER_00: And then God says, I can get busy now.
SPEAKER_00: Now we can work.
SPEAKER_00: Now we can make progress.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say that there may be some of us who are saying, Well, Pastor, preacher, I've been praying, and I've been asking God for things, and I've been believing, and God's not answered, or God didn't have an answer, or God did not come through, and and and how do you explain him not doing and I was really believing, I was really praying, I was really trusting, and I was, I was, I was putting my confidence in him.
SPEAKER_00: We need to understand, and this is a part of our walk with God, that he didn't heal every child.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't open all the eyes of the blind.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe the the cry of your heart might be, God, I believe that you can, but you would you help me to believe that you do all things well, even if you don't answer my prayer.
SPEAKER_00: God, I believe, but but would you help me to know that that you are a good God?
SPEAKER_00: And though I may not understand you saying no to my situation or not answering this particular prayer, that you have my best interest at heart.
SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't see it right now, and I want to see it, and I know that intellectually, but but would you help me believe that that is true?
SPEAKER_00: You see, you might need to be saying that prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I believe, but would you help me believe that when you don't answer, when you don't deliver, as I think you should, that you're still good.
SPEAKER_00: So they finish up and they say, Well, why couldn't we do it, verse 28?
SPEAKER_00: And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast it out?
SPEAKER_00: And we and he said to them, This cannot be driven out but by out by anything but prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Now we we heard the description of this child.
SPEAKER_00: He's deaf, he's foaming at the mouth, he's being thrown on rocks, this demon's trying to kill him.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said, faith and prayer.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't say, Well, look, there's a certain cantation that you gotta do, and you know, you should have said these words in this order, or you should have had this along with you, or he didn't say any of that.
SPEAKER_00: He said, This comes not but by prayer.
SPEAKER_00: That's amazing to me.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, because because whatever's going on in your life, whatever's going on in your world, Jesus says, Well, the answer is you stop relying on your own strength and you pray.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but God, you don't know, you look, you don't know what I'm going through.
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what's going on here right now.
SPEAKER_00: No, he said, no.
SPEAKER_00: That demon, that kind, prayer.
SPEAKER_00: What's going on in your world?
SPEAKER_00: What are you wrestling with?
SPEAKER_00: What are you, what are you afraid of?
SPEAKER_00: What are you struggling with?
SPEAKER_00: What are you, what are you, what are you doubting?
SPEAKER_00: What are you?
SPEAKER_00: This kind comes not but by prayer.
SPEAKER_00: You see, prayer is the ultimate surrender.
SPEAKER_00: Prayer is saying, I can't do this.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you're praying, you're saying, you're saying to God, God, you would you, my situation is out of control.
SPEAKER_00: I've tried everything, I've called every person that I know.
SPEAKER_00: I've I've I've I've got used all my money, all my resources, all my thing.
SPEAKER_00: I got, you know, I had this pool of people that have been counseling me and it still isn't fixed.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to counselors, or I've got counselors for this thing or that thing, and and nothing's being fixed.
SPEAKER_00: And and and and Jesus says, this kind comes not by prayer.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't give them any special words, he didn't give them any special incantations.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't.
SPEAKER_00: He says, get on your knees before the Father and knock.
SPEAKER_00: Get on your knees before the Father and acknowledge, God, I don't have any answers.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what to do with this.
SPEAKER_00: Get on your knees before God and say, I am scared to death.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know what to do, but I need a shelter.
SPEAKER_00: Get on your knees and your face before God and say that all power is given unto you, and I don't have the power, I don't have the ability to do anything, I need your help.
SPEAKER_00: I can't do it.
SPEAKER_00: And as simple as that sounds, beloved, that's the hardest thing for us to do.
SPEAKER_00: The hardest thing for us to do is to admit and to say, I don't, I can't.
SPEAKER_00: You know how it is when when I often think about the example with kids trying to tie their shoes when they're learning how to tie their shoe and you're trying to, you're trying to you're trying to get out of the house.
SPEAKER_00: And you want them to tie the shoe, and they're like, I got it, mom, I got it, and you're like, No, you don't.
SPEAKER_00: No, you don't, you don't have it.
SPEAKER_00: Let me do this for you.
SPEAKER_00: No, I can do it.
SPEAKER_00: And they fall out into crying and screaming and everything like that, but you won't let them help you tie their shoes.
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times we're like that with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We're like, okay, okay, I got it, God, I can, I can figure this out.
SPEAKER_00: Just give me a little more time.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not that incompetent.
SPEAKER_00: I can surely figure this out.
SPEAKER_00: I've gone to college, I've got an education, I've got a doctrine, I've gone to seminary, I've gone to, I got all these degrees on my wall.
SPEAKER_00: I can surely fix this.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Would you would you get out of the way?
SPEAKER_00: Would you get on your face and would you ask me to help you?
SPEAKER_00: That's what he told them.
SPEAKER_00: He said, The reason why you couldn't do it is because y'all didn't pray.
SPEAKER_00: They were so arrogant.
SPEAKER_00: They had done this before.
SPEAKER_00: We got it.
SPEAKER_00: I know how this works now.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You taught me how to do such and such and such and all that.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm I'm I'm pretty well versed in this now.
SPEAKER_00: I can do this on my own.
SPEAKER_00: And and he's looking at us and he's saying, are you serious?
SPEAKER_00: Are you serious?
SPEAKER_00: Beloved, how are we going to walk day by day in this Christian life while we wait for his return?
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna trust him and we're gonna pray.
SPEAKER_00: That's a little too simple.
SPEAKER_00: Well, God knows how dense we are.
SPEAKER_00: He likes to keep it simple.
SPEAKER_00: Trust me and pray.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, in many ways, we're like this father who had a son that was he he couldn't fix.
SPEAKER_00: In many of our lives, there are situations, there are things that are going on, and we don't have answers to them.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know how to fix it.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, thank you for showing us that you are more than capable of fixing and answering and delivering us.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, would we swallow our pride, put away our arrogance, get on our knees, and trust you.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, help us this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, you know in each of our lives what we're holding on to for dear life.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, give us the grace to let it go and trust you.
SPEAKER_00: Give us the grace to bring our petitions before you and trust you.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.