West Village Church Podcast
West Village Church Podcast
...And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes...
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Series: …and… | The Movement of God and his people through Mark
Title: ...And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.
Text: Mark 9:14-29 (NIV)
An Honest Start On Trust
SPEAKER_01Normally, when I start a sermon, there is a thought. There is an idea that we are going to be walking towards. And I want to lay it out and get us all to the place where we're we're thinking about the thing. We are where our hearts are stirred. I had such a difficult time trying to figure out how we needed to enter into this passage. I think part of the reason I had a difficulty is because God knew that I was having difficulty in trusting him. This passage is all about trusting Jesus. And there have been things that are going on in my mind and in my heart where I am wrestling with God. And I am, um, I have new opportunities to trust him more. And so I didn't want to come up here on a Sunday and say to this room of absolutely lovely, wonderful people and all the folks who will watch on the interwebs hello, uh, and then listen at a later time, as if what we are talking about, trusting God, is something that I've got down pat. I've solved it. We're moving on. Come and listen to all of my wisdom about trusting God because that's hogwash. Beyond that, I also don't want us to just do the Christian thing, or I'll say the fake, shiny Christian thing, where we show up and we're like, we're going to talk about Jesus. And everyone's like, well, what we should should we do with Jesus? Well, we should believe in him and we should trust him. And I tell you, well, let's trust Jesus. And everybody feels good about hearing about it and says, Yeah, we were told to trust Jesus. So that meant I went to church. And then we just kind of leave. Like, I want to come up before you and say, there is a lot that is difficult and hard about trusting Jesus in an active way. And I haven't figured it out, and my hunch is I'm in good company. So can we uh uh humbly, with open hands, walk into this passage and say, okay, Jesus, what do you have for me? Because I trust that He does. Okay? So throwing out the first few paragraphs that I actually wrote, here is where I want us to go. Here is where I'm seeing the passage, and this is what I want to invite us into. We're gonna begin with the end. When we trust in God with everything, we become like him and flourish. When we trust God in everything, we become like him and flourish. That's where we're going. That's where our passage is. Are you willing to go where, go there with me? Three people said yes, so I'm hoping for six by the end. All right. Would you pray with me? Lord, I thank you so much that you have given us this text this week, that you have spoken these words to us, and you are both inviting and challenging. In humility, Lord, let us hear your voice and come to you. We need you. Holy Spirit, please move. In your name we pray. Amen. All right.
Mark’s Context After The Mountain
SPEAKER_01So, in the in the grand scheme of where we are, we are in Mark. And we have been walking through Mark in our and series, the movement of God and his people. Last week, Matt, uh, who was just up here, he had a killer message uh on the transfiguration. Now, I will be honest, I was a little bit sad that he didn't try to personally cover Sufjan Stevens' song called The Transfiguration, uh, from his album Seven Swans. So there's going to be an image up here of the album. So if you want to go and check it out, then you can, and then you can ask Matt why didn't you try? I'm just kidding. Um, maybe next time. So in this text, Jesus brings his disciples in the text that Matt talked about last week at the Transfiguration. He brings his disciples, three of them, up the mountain. And it's this, it's an analogous uh um moment, just like Moses going up on the mountain of Sinai, right? And so uh Moses goes before God, he receives the law, and his face is changed. His actual countenance is changed because he has sat before the glory of God. Jesus goes up the mountain, he sits in front of the Father, and his countenance is changed, right? So he actually has, as he is transfigured, there is something different in Jesus' appearance. And so he has now been changed, and then he, so he's, he's, he's behold, he has beheld the face of God. He has beheld the Father in all of his glory, in all of his wonder. And then he and the boys go right back down the mountain to a very different environment than what he is. So let's jump into verse 14.
The Crowd Argument And A Father’s Need
SPEAKER_01When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. What are you arguing with them about? He asked. All right, so Jesus, Peter, James, John, those were the disciples up on the mountain for that uh transfiguration. They come down for a verbal tussle. All right, so what do they see? They see disciples, they see scribes, they see a crowd, they see an argument, and then everybody sees Jesus. It is a record scratch moment. They were overwhelmed with wonder. Isn't that just the most delightful phrase? They were overwhelmed with wonder. Jesus' face has noticeably changed just like Moses did, and it's noticeable. It's noticeable. And he shows up, and everybody sees that the beholding of the glory of God has an effect on him. His countenance is so brilliant that it distracts everybody from the argument that is in front of them until Jesus asks about it. Says, What are you arguing about? Verse 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, and 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. Now, when you read a passage and you go through it quickly, did you notice uh that nobody technically answered Jesus' question? Technically. He comes down and says, What's the argument about? And the dad says, My son's possessed by a demon. That wasn't what they were arguing about. All right. The issue is what has caused the lack of healing. So we're going back to previous texts with um Mark and the scribes. And the scribes continue to show up and question Jesus' authority. So the scribes are against Jesus. They are antagonists, if you will, and they are saying, You are not God, you are not the Messiah. You don't have the authority to do the thing that you claim that you have the authority to do. The disciples are there, and they are saying they have the authority to cast out the demon.
SPEAKER_00Right?
SPEAKER_01So on one hand, you don't have the authority. On the other hand, yes, we do have the authority. Now, let's look at the disciples for a quick second. Back in Mark chapter 6, verse 7, Jesus actually gave them the authority over impure spirits. This is this is well-tread territory. Jesus has said, yes, you can cast these demons out. And then in successive verses, we see that they have done it. So them showing up on a scene with a boy who is possessed with the spirit that has made him mute, who is causing him pain, they can't drive it out.
SPEAKER_00They've done it before, and now they can't, right?
SPEAKER_01Can you imagine if you were there? Boy comes down and they say, In the name of Jesus. I don't know what you say after that. Be gone, demon. Um like go. Nothing happens. Okay, well, maybe you needed to say it louder. In the name of Jesus, be gone. Nothing. Okay, well, maybe I need to put the emphasis on a different syllable. In the name of Jesus, come out. It's not working. Nothing's happening. Okay, Andrew, maybe you try it. Okay, in the name of Jesus, come out. No, nothing happened. Okay, maybe a few of us, uh, Matthew, can you come here? Maybe if we like tag teamed it, in the name of Jesus, come out. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. And so these disciples keep failing, and the scribes continue to say, see, Jesus' name doesn't have authority. And this is proof. And the disciples are flummoxed because they say, no, Jesus' name does have authority, but it's not working, and we don't know why. Now, Matt read the passage at the beginning of the sermon. If you all were listening, Jesus answers the question later.
Unbelief That Looks Like Pride
SPEAKER_01We'll talk about it. Why couldn't they? Because this kind can only be driven out by prayer. However, there is something beneath that.
SPEAKER_00When the disciples showed up and they see that there is a boy with a demon in their minds, in their hearts, they say, We know what to do. We've done this. We've got it.
SPEAKER_01We know the exact words to say. We know the abracadabra of it all. If I say this, then this is going to happen. And because I want this, this will be the result. It's as if their pride, the presence of their pride, was completely oblivious to them. As if they were the ones who had achieved. If they had finally made it, we are also wonder workers, and the demons have to listen to us. We've said the thing. Like I literally just said they were being prideful. Like I'm making a big deal out of it. Let's keep reading to see if Jesus agrees with me. Trick question. He does. Verse 19. You unbelieving generation, Jesus replied, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me. Jesus accuses his disciples of not believing. Considering that the last three chapters of Mark have all been about people actually believing that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is doing things so that people will believe. Peter in the last chapter had this first official big confession. Who do people say that I am? And Peter said, Well, other people say this. Well, who do you say that I am? You're the Messiah, right? They've already claimed that they believe. So, what does it mean when Jesus asserts that they are unbelieving? Because Jesus thinks this is a big deal. So, what does this mean? This past week, Cheryl Woodward and I were talking about this passage, and I was very excited. I was very excited about this passage because it is centering around a word in Greek that shows up multiple times throughout the text. This word is pistos. And it means it can be translated, if in the noun form, it means belief, faith, and trust. Belief, faith, and trust. All depending on its context, that word is going to be translated belief, faith, trust. These three words share so much. Verb form, pistuo, I believe, I have faith, I trust. These words are all over this passage. So there is a reason that in this text says, you unbelieving generation. Other versions, other manuscripts would even translate this as you faithless generation. You people who don't trust. This is what Jesus is calling out a complete lack of faith and trust in him. Now, was Jesus frustrated that the disciples didn't believe strongly enough?
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_01Was it about their failure of like really believing really hard? No. Was it that they had lost their faith in Jesus and all of a sudden they lost their salvation? No. I don't think that's what Jesus is saying. In the context of this passage, I take it to mean that their trust in him had moved to themselves. They thought they could do it. Jesus had continued to show himself faithful, and when they were met with a chance to rely on him, they went back on their own effort.
SPEAKER_00And they failed. They stopped trusting him.
SPEAKER_01Now, this is easy to get academic, especially when I throw out like Greek words. Let's take a look at ourselves. This is not a situation, at least so far, where um we are constantly trying to cast demons out of people.
unknownRight?
SPEAKER_01So it's not like, hey, remember that time that you tried to cast out a demon? Oh, yeah. I know we're not going to relate on that level. But I have a hunch, are there times that pride comes up for you? That you wrestle with pride. So think. When someone in your life has a problem, is your first reaction to give advice to them on how to fix it?
SPEAKER_00Because you know how to fix it and you know the answer. Is that your go-to? I know it's my go-to, by the way.
SPEAKER_01This is me. Not listening, not running to Jesus with it, trying to fix it on my own strength. This I struggle with often. Think about your job. When things go well, do you thank God for getting you that win? Or do you feel a little pride? I knew I was gonna kill it. I killed it. I'm gonna have a me party. All right. Think about at home. When things are going sideways with your spouse or with your kids, do you raise your voice to get your way? Do you try to use manipulative language to get to the end that you want? Do you stick to your systems to get things back on track? Or not even try, not even try to move to wholeness, but say, I know what's happening here, I know why everybody's acting poorly. And once they address that thing, the reason why they're acting poorly, um, they need better sleep, they need more food, um, insert whatever your family situation brings to you, it'll all be taken care of.
SPEAKER_00It'll be fine. Uh is there any humility in here, or is it just different varieties of pride? When pride is present, we have got to slow down and trust in the persistence of God.
SPEAKER_01Trust in the persistence of God. It isn't trusting God once, like I believed in Him for salvation, and now I'm good and I can do all the things that I want. No. It's actually going to God and then continuing to go to God and then going to God again and again and again. It's a faith that actually remains no matter the stressor. God is persistent in his care for us. He is always there. He is always saying, I am here for you and your need. Because I am the only one who can help you. And uh update, we are always in need. We are never going to be at a place in our life where we say, Ah, I am now not in need. We are always in need.
SPEAKER_00The persistence of God is persistent. Trust him always.
SPEAKER_01When we trust God in everything, we become like him and flourish. Okay, let's read on, verse
Naming Where We Doubt God
SPEAKER_0120. So they brought him, right? Jesus said, Bring the boy. 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. Jesus asked the boy's father, How long has he been like this? From childhood, he answered. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. Now I don't want to come off too harshly about the father because I you may accuse me of coming off too harshly at the disciples, so now I'm two for two. Uh I mean, he did bring the boy, right? He knew he knew he needed help. And he came to people thinking these are the people who can help me. So I don't want to come off too harshly. But in the interaction, the father couches his middling asked Jesus with so much fluff, you could sleep on it. The phrase in English, if you do, if you can do anything, it really comes across to us like the father saying, like, hey Jesus, I don't want to inconvenience you. If you're I mean, you're here. So if you could do anything, that'd be great. Would appreciate it. Take pity on us, please. The Greek is a bit more forceful. It actually more sounds like if you have the ability or the power, please take pity on us and heal. The father lacks the faith that Jesus is actually able to do the thing that his disciples couldn't do. Right? They tried healing in his name and they failed. So why would Jesus be able to, if they couldn't? Jesus, do you even have the power? Do you even have the power to do it? And again, before we throw stones at the disciples, before we throw stones at the Father, because we think somehow, well, if this was me, if I was in his sandals, I wouldn't do this. I would have seen Jesus and said, Oh, Jesus, please help me.
SPEAKER_00I know you can. Honestly.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we can feel real good about ourselves looking back at the past. Why don't we look at our lives? Do we believe that Jesus has the power to conquer any issue in our life? Our poor workout habits, our spending problems, our relationship frustrations, our worries, our cares, our everything. This is just my list.
SPEAKER_00What's on your list?
SPEAKER_01Do we actually believe that Jesus has the power to take care of anything? And please hear me. Please, please, please, please. Even going through a list like this, I don't want it to feel, it might feel, I don't want it to feel like I'm coming and trying to make you feel bad. And just like pointing out all the areas, you kind of suck. It's not the intent is to say, hey, if you feel like there is a flag that just went up, and it's like, oh, I don't actually trust him in that area. Oh, I don't actually trust him in that area. Welcome to humanity. We are all in need. This is a place that you get to run to Jesus and say, I need you. I need you. And he is faithful and he is good and he wants to be there. So when we feel that, when we realize that we are lacking faith, here is the encouragement. Trust in the power of God. Trust in the persistence of God. Trust in the power of God. He is able. What he brings to the table is not just good enough, it is more than enough. Our God is able. I've got friends who are missionaries that uh I got connected to them in Houston. And I was, I first time I met this guy, felt like we clicked. I was like, okay, Todd, I'm gonna be a prayer partner for you. When you guys go and do ministry in Australia, and then COVID happened, and Australia said, You're not coming here. And they said, Well, God, I guess you're gonna send us somewhere. And he said, Yes, England. Last time you looked at a map, those are not close. And now they're in England. And so I get these emails from them, these prayer updates. Every single email it finishes with, God is able. God is able. And every time I read it, I'm just like, oh, I'm so thank you, so thankful for them for that constant reminder that our God is able. He has the power, he is here. Trust him in his power. Trust in his power. When we trust God in everything, we become like him and flourish. Okay, one more stop over. Verse 23. If you can, said Jesus. Maybe you can ask it nicer and make Jesus not as sarcastic. If you can, said Jesus.
God Is Able Even Here
SPEAKER_01Everything is possible for the one who believes. I love Jesus' response because he doesn't shut the dad down. Yes, he calls out the lack of belief, the lack of faith, but he doesn't leave him there. He leaves him a wide open door for the father to step in and trust and be able to see his son flourish. Everything is possible for the one who believes. Just trust me. Verse 24. Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, There are other manuscripts that say he cried out with tears. Jesus said, Everything is possible for the one who believes, and immediately with tears, the father cries out, I believe. I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. This is one of the most beautiful phrases in the whole of the Bible. With tears, he cries out that he believes. Jesus, I trust you. But at the exact same moment, in the exact same breath, he also sees that he is in need of more faith. Jesus, I trust you. Help me trust you more. Because the amount that I am bringing to the table, I can feel is insufficient. I can feel that I don't have enough, but what you bring is enough. I need you.
SPEAKER_00I am desperate for you to move. If you're wanting a verse to memorize, please.
SPEAKER_01This is a good one. If you want a prayer to pray, when you don't know what to talk to God about, I believe.
SPEAKER_00Help my unbelief. He's right there. He invites you to trust.
SPEAKER_01Okay, verse 25. When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. You deaf and mute spirit, he said, I command you come out of him and never enter him again. The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a cork that they said, He's dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. Though the boy was thought to be dead, the words that Mark uses in this passage are the exact same words and order that he talks about Jesus being lifted up and raised from the dead. We see in Jesus bringing life to this boy that when we trust God with everything, we become like him and flourish. The Father trusted in the one who can make everything sad untrue to bring flourishing.
SPEAKER_00Verse 28.
SPEAKER_01After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, Why couldn't we drive it out?
SPEAKER_00And he replied, This kind can only come out by prayer.
I Believe Help My Unbelief
SPEAKER_01Now stick with me as we land this plane. The assertion from Jesus is that the disciples didn't pray when trying to drive it out. As we've covered, they trusted in themselves. They didn't think they needed God's presence to drive out the demon. And so they went through the rigmarole that they did because they knew how. They didn't need him. And to aid his point, uh, to aid what Jesus is saying here, right? That this is actually the disciples trusting themselves. Let's go quickly to the book of Matthew. Same story, same question. Why couldn't we drive it out? This is Jesus' answer. Chapter 17, verses 20 and 21. He replied, Jesus, because you have so little faith. Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible to you. If you actually have your paper Bible, or you um pulled this Matthew text up on your screen, you'll see that it has Matthew 17, it has verse 20, and then the very next verse is verse 22. There is a verse 21. So in earlier manuscripts it says, verse 21, but this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting. Jesus is trying to make it clear.
SPEAKER_00Y'all relied on yourself. You did not rely on me.
SPEAKER_01If you have faith, anything is possible, right? It goes back to what he told the Father. Anything is available for those who believe.
SPEAKER_00But you didn't pray about it. They neglected prayer. They neglected prayer.
SPEAKER_01Now, some of you who are adept and are listening and are tracking along with me, you might be asking quietly in your mind, okay, uh, where in this passage did it say that Jesus prayed? Raise your hand if you're at least thinking it. Yeah, a few of you are like, What? But I didn't see it. How did the demon that can only come out by prayer come out without prayer?
SPEAKER_00Let's take a step back. What is prayer? What is prayer? Is it kneeling? Is it folding your hands just right?
SPEAKER_01Or like this? If the emoji is like this, it has to be this. Uh is it closing your eyes? Is it making sure to call out God by Father? Is we didn't see Jesus do any of this, right? If this is what we call prayer, and Jesus didn't do that, what do we have? Those are what we see, those are observable things that people might do. That's not prayer. Prayer is taking something. It is a request, a problem, a praise, a pain, a question, a feeling, a joy. Taking something to God, the God who is persistent, the God who is powerful, and the God that is present and trusting Him with it. That is prayer. Prayer is this act of humility because you are saying, I can't do it, and I trust you, God, to do something. I can't do it, and I trusting you to do so. Prayer is from your mind and in your heart.
SPEAKER_00It is not just from your mouth.
SPEAKER_01It's an active faith, active belief, active trust that God is present and powerful and persistence and persistent. Trust in the presence of God. Trust in the presence of God. When we trust God in everything, we become like Him and flourish. Jesus maintained his trust in the Father. His invitation to prayer was an invitation to trust. So I've been in this text this week. I've been trying to read it, trying to what I hope, but I pray, is that when any of us who bring God's word, that God actually first changed our hearts with what he had here. And so I found myself wrestling with a lot of this this week about prayer and about trust and where that showed up for me.
Prayer As Presence And Practice
SPEAKER_01Last night, uh, we had the opportunity, some of us went over to the Parker's new home. Uh, it is being built. And so uh studs are all up, floors are all down. Um, and so what we did is we came over to pray over the space and write verses and write prayers in Sharpie on the wood that will eventually get all covered up and ne'er seen again. Um and so when we went there, I had the intention of I want to make sure what is a prayer that I can pray for this space, this specific room that I'm in. And then more so, what are prayers that I have for each of the parkers in their spaces? And so I went into those rooms yesterday and stepped into the room and said, Okay, Lord, what do you want me to pray for them? What do you want me to pray for this child, for this adult? What do you have for me for them? So in prayer, used the old cellular device, punched in some things. I felt, okay, this is exactly what I want to be praying for them. And so would write out the verse and you know, write out not just the reference, but the whole thing. And I looked at them this morning that took pictures of each of them. Between all four kids and the parents, between the five passages that I wrote, they were all different, and they all had to do with trusting in God and flourishing in him. That God was working on me and in me and through me to continue to pray for the Parkers, that they would trust God in all things, and that they would flourish because of him.
SPEAKER_00And I realized this morning it's my heartbeat for our church, too.
SPEAKER_01That this is not a passage where we get to hear about trusting God and we say, yay, we we were told to trust in God. Yes, I will do it. But my prayer is that every single one of us slow down and come to Him and say, I need you. I need you every step in my life. I need you with every issue that is in front of me. I need to believe in you, have faith in you, trust you completely. And part of my joy in wanting this for you is not just that as you flourish, you get to be better. As I look at you, Jordan, I want you to trust in Jesus and I want you to grow in him. As I look at you, John, I want to see you continue to be formed in his likeness. Kathy, I want you to actually physically be healed and then continue to grow in trusting in him and everything. But it is not just good enough for you to be flourishing and awesome. Because as you are made whole, as we are being discipled in Jesus, side note, this entire passage is about discipleship. It is about growing in his likeness and looking like him. And as you grow in him, as your life flourishes, it becomes this massive beacon to everyone around you. This is what Jesus does. If we talk about being a church on mission and we go and try to do stuff in this town without stopping and humbly becoming, coming before our Father and saying, I need to become like you. I need to trust you and I need you to make me whole. If we think we can go out and be on mission without having that slowdown, we're kidding ourselves. I want us all to be whole and to flourish. And as we flourish, the body of Christ that exists at West Village will become this huge, humble, welcoming group of people that says, we don't know what we're doing, but we do know who does.
SPEAKER_00We don't have it all figured out, but we do know where to find bread. Come and flourish before the king.
SPEAKER_01And so, my invitation to you, when we trust God with everything, we become like him and flourish.
Three Questions For Reflection
SPEAKER_01So I have three questions for us to reflect on. Band, as I read through those, you can make your way up. Firstly, it is a there is no assumption that everybody who has sat their keisters here is following Jesus. It's a very simple question. Do you believe? Do you have faith in? Do you trust Jesus as Lord?
SPEAKER_00Have you actually turned to Him for forgiveness and life?
SPEAKER_01Have you turned to the persistence of God? The second question: Where in your life do you need to cry? I believe, help my unbelief. Where do you need to turn to the power of God and trust Him? Lastly, what do you need to bring to God right now to make whole and bring flourishing?