WEBVTT 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:03.200 Dang. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:05.519 Colton's gonna make me cry before I get up here. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:06.559 Thanks, buddy. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.359 Um, yeah, I feel at home here for sure. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:10.880 Um, there's so many folks. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.839 I've known Andrew Banker since he was a wee lad. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:19.280 And and then Colton and Rainey, new friend Derek up here rocking the bass. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.920 So yeah, um, this feels like like home to be back here for sure. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.640 I was here right as Colton was getting started. 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:28.000 Um, how long ago was that? 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:28.960 November. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:30.399 Yeah, it's been a while now. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.359 It's been a while, but really grateful to be here with y'all. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:41.759 And I want to ask, looks looking at the age of the crowd, some people have already been through this, but how many of y'all are in or have been through a midlife crisis? 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:42.399 Anyone? 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:44.479 Have you experienced that before? 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:48.399 Um, well, I'm 48 and I'm in the midst of mine right now. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:53.439 Um, but the midlife crisis is not always a negative thing, right? 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.079 Um, it doesn't always have to result in getting a toupee, a sports car, and a divorce. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.000 That doesn't have to be the way that midlife crisis go. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:14.480 And really it's quite natural and necessary for all of us between 40 and 45, usually, to start thinking deeply about who we are, who we want to be, and what we want the rest of our life to look like. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:21.040 And this process has led me through a lot of changes over the last eight years, a lot of which Colton has been a part of. 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.519 Um I'll tell you about it someday if you have a couple hours over lunch, I can tell you about it. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:38.799 But um, but this has led our family into some real highs and real lows over the last few years, including planting a church, merging churches, and now stepping out of ministry uh for a season. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:49.840 But as painful as some of this has been, I wouldn't change anything about my midlife crisis because, among other benefits, God has used it to take me to school on prayer. 00:01:50.319 --> 00:02:08.800 And now we don't have time to start at the ground level of all that I didn't know about prayer this morning, but I do want to focus on the latest lesson that I'm learning over the last year, and that is this: that God is inviting us into bold, specific, and persistent prayer. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:16.960 And I've come to believe that there's much that God hasn't been doing around me or isn't doing around me simply because I haven't asked. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:18.800 I haven't asked him. 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:27.280 Now, what question, as you start thinking about prayer, what question is usually underneath the surface when we talk or think about prayer? 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:29.840 Often we're asking why. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:30.639 Why? 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:36.879 I mean, we know we need it, we know it should be a vital part of our lives, but we're not sure why. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.280 Well, first of all, is it helpful? 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:40.319 Is prayer helpful? 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:44.000 Well, most studies say it's undeniably helpful and good for us. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:53.360 One study from Harvard Medical School says that prayer calms your nervous system, shutting down your fight or flight response better than pretty much any other activity. 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:58.479 It can also make you less reactive to negative emotions, less angry. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:09.919 Another study said that those who pray show greater decreases in anxiety and stress and positive mood than folks that participate in other non-religious meditation. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:18.400 And studies from Florida State University found that prayer helps troubled marriages survive more than almost any other activity. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:19.360 So imagine that. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:21.599 Prayer is good for marriages. 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:23.520 So, why pray? 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.039 Well, because it's good for us. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.840 Science tells us so, so it's good for us. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:32.400 But that's not close to the most compelling reason to pray. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:34.000 Why pray? 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:45.360 Well, it's because we come we care, first and foremost, because we care about our communion and our relationship with the God who created, redeemed, and rescued us. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:50.639 We pray because we want to be closer to the God who loves us. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.159 And because God works in our hearts through prayer. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:58.159 He changes us, he makes us more like Jesus through prayer. 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:05.199 You know, Philippians 4 has been a very important passage to me over the last few years, really my whole life. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:11.280 And it says that we can exchange our anxiety for the supernatural peace of God. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:17.040 So, how do we make that daily anxiety for peace exchange that's available to us? 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.639 Well, it's through prayer. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.079 Also, all right, so what else can we get? 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.319 Direction and guidance comes through prayer. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:27.519 Comfort from God comes through prayer. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:34.319 All the goodness, the abundant life that the Spirit offers us comes to us as we pray. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:36.720 But there's even more. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:37.439 All right? 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.600 We're adding even more to this. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:41.920 There's more to prayer that we often miss. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:47.439 So, Tyler Staten, in his book Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools, he puts it like this. 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:55.519 He says, yes, prayer stills us, brings us peace, helps us come to terms with the reality of life in this world. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:58.800 Prayer changes the person praying from the inside out. 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:00.160 All that's true. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:04.399 But, he continues, prayer also releases power. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:10.319 Prayer releases power to effect real change in the tangible world. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:18.480 Another quote, as Pastor Kent Hughes puts it, power on earth comes through a praying faith in our great Savior. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:20.720 Do we believe this? 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.399 Does prayer release power that actually changes things in our world? 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:32.480 We would mostly nod to that, but do we actually believe that in our hearts? 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:34.959 Well, think about the Lord's Prayer for a moment. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:40.879 Our church, we go to Renewal Church, and we've started doing the Lord's Prayer every Sunday, which I love. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:47.680 But the Lord's Prayer, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and he responded, pray like this. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:57.600 And then he starts his model prayer with this, as you know, our Father who is or who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:05:59.759 So that phrase is unbelievable. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:09.680 The fact that we can approach God as a perfect father, as a being who is in heaven, transcendent, holy other, beyond us, but at the same time, where is he? 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:15.680 He's completely present with us, engaged in our lives, as a good father would be. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:22.160 So, of course, knowing that, we should hallow, worship, and exalt the name of that guy. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:23.120 That's a no-brainer. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:31.279 So the prayer that Jesus teaches us starts off pretty strong, but then it quickly becomes more challenging with the next line. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:37.600 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:49.199 So, Tyler Staten again, I'm gonna warn you, I'm gonna quote this guy a lot today because this book that I read is one of those like life-changing books that I basically highlighted and underlined the whole thing. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.480 I don't know if y'all have had one of those books before, but this has been it for me. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:54.480 So I'm gonna quote him several times. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.319 But here's what he says about this line in Jesus' prayer. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.040 He says, that's where Jesus loses us. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:04.800 Prayer is an easy way to meditate and let go, definitely. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:08.000 Prayer is a centering exercise, essential. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:12.160 Prayer is a channel to be reformed from the inside out, of course. 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:25.600 But prayer that really works, prayer that pushes back the darkness, prayer that actually makes a marked difference in the visible, tangible world, in the lives of the real people I interact with and in the real issues they face. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:34.800 The sort of prayer that brings heaven to earth, here is where our opinions splinter in every direction, and this is where he loses us. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:37.360 So, yes, I get it. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:37.839 Right? 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.680 I know the paradoxes, I know the hard questions about prayer. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.240 I ask a lot of them myself. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:45.360 Right? 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:46.000 This one. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:53.519 If God is sovereign, if he's in control of every sparrow that falls to the ground, then how do my prayers really affect anything? 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.399 I mean, doesn't he already know what he's gonna do? 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:03.920 If he's all-wise, completely good, and all-powerful, then why does he need my prayers to do anything? 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:11.040 I mean, what am I really adding to this equation of God's work in the world with my prayers? 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:12.879 And then what about this? 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:14.480 The hardest one. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.879 What about when he doesn't answer in power? 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:20.319 What about when nothing changes as far as we can see? 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:21.920 How do we deal with that? 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:29.519 I'm not talking about when I'm asking for you know to win the lottery or to get a new Ford Bronco, which those are pretty sharp, right? 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.839 There's probably one out in the parking lot there. 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:35.360 Um, no, I mean when I'm asking for a family member. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:40.000 Something like this, asking for a family member to trust and follow Jesus. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:41.840 And I've been asking that for a while. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.440 Doesn't God want that? 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:49.039 Then why have I been praying for 15, 20 years and seen so little movement toward God? 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:58.639 Are prayers for things like healing, you know, for addiction to be broken, for broken relationships to be mended, aren't these things that God wants? 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:02.639 Then why doesn't He answer them immediately when I ask? 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:06.000 So I know prayer is not for the faint of heart. 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:08.000 And no, I don't have all the answers. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.799 Heck, I don't even know the right questions when it comes to prayer at this point. 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:18.399 But from today's passage and from many others, I do know this. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:25.519 God is inviting us, all of us, into bold, specific, and persistent prayer. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:31.120 He is inviting us into this on earth as it is in heaven kind of praying. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.039 And this is technically theologically called intercession. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.080 Intercession literally means to come between. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:49.519 So it's to pray for someone else, to approach God for someone, to fill the gap between them and God, and it's driven by love for them and desire to see them blessed. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:59.120 Richard Foster says it like this He says, if we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it's within our power to give them. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:01.840 And this will lead us to prayer. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:10.879 God is inviting us into bold, specific, persistent prayers for the people we love, and even more challenging for the people we don't. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:14.320 And we'll talk about that a little bit too. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:16.960 Why is he inviting us into this? 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:22.559 Well, it's because there are things he will do only through our prayers. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:25.200 And so we are missing out. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:32.240 Our streets, our neighborhoods, our neighbors, our churches, our city is missing out because we do not pray. 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.080 Plain and simple. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:36.159 Plain and simple. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:43.120 Jesus' half-brother James couldn't have been more clear when he said, You do not have because you do not ask. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:49.840 And others around us may also be missing out simply because we do not ask the Lord. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:59.279 So, we're gonna look at a story from the Gospels where Jesus Himself teaches us more about this on earth as it is in heaven type praying. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:05.759 And I just want us to boldly ask that we would hear clearly from the Lord about prayer this morning. 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:10.720 So I'm gonna ask you just to take a moment before I read the passage and just ask God that. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:16.080 Ask him to help you this morning, to hear from him about prayer. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:17.759 So let's take a moment to do that. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:39.600 So, Mark nine, fourteen through eighteen. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:47.840 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:54.559 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him, this is Jesus, and greeted him. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:58.639 And he asked them, What are you arguing about with them? 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:06.000 And someone from the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:12.320 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:17.360 So I ask your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:20.720 So, who are they in verse 14? 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:27.120 Well, this is Jesus, Peter, James, and John, and they're walking into a very chaotic scene here. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:29.679 And this is quite a contrast from where they just came from. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:36.720 So they're walking into an argument, but they have just been up on a mountaintop experiencing something extraordinary. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:39.440 Even more extraordinary than usual life with Jesus. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:45.200 You know, if you're walking with Jesus, you're seeing him heal people, do miracles, exorcisms. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.759 This was everyday occurrence on the road with him. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:57.679 But this was something even more amazing than that, because they saw Jesus transfigured in front of them, meaning that his appearance was changed. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.320 He was transformed in a remarkable way. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.080 Why was that? 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.240 Well, it's because he allowed his glory. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:10.080 Jesus allowed his divinity, his goodness to shine through in a way that he hadn't done before. 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:14.320 So it says his clothes actually became a radiant, intense white. 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:17.279 In other words, Jesus was glowing in front of them. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:19.039 So that was the first crazy thing. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:30.480 And then Elijah and Moses, these are two people who had been dead for 800 and 1,300 years, respectively, they appeared on the mountain in order to have a private talk with Jesus. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:31.039 Okay? 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.120 So this was something else. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:42.320 And then, if that wasn't enough, a cloud enveloped all of them, and the voice of God the Father said audibly, This is my beloved son. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:43.440 Listen to him. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.720 So this was a pretty intense experience, right? 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:48.720 This was pretty amazing. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:57.039 So it's pretty understandable that they're coming down the mountain, and Peter, James, and John are just peppering Jesus with questions about what just happened. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:14:04.960 So they've certainly had what's often called a spiritual high, perhaps the greatest spiritual high that anybody's ever experienced. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:10.000 But the geography communicates a lot here. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:15.759 Because as they come back down the mountain, they also come down from the spiritual high back into what? 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:21.840 Back into the real broken, sinful world that Jesus was here to redeem. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:28.799 And this had to be an abrupt transition, a real slap in the face to walk into this mess from what they had just experienced. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:30.000 So what's going on? 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.879 Well, that's what Jesus wants to know when he comes down. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:41.039 Because an intense argument is happening between Jesus' disciples and some scribes, and a crowd is gathered around to watch. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.120 So not too much different from today, right? 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:49.360 Except it's not online, but people are fighting and everybody's watching and checking it out from the outside. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.399 So Jesus approaches and asks, What's going on here? 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.039 What are y'all arguing about? 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.679 And who speaks up to answer? 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.360 Well, it's not any of the scribes, it's not any of the disciples. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:04.399 You can imagine them kind of kicking the dirt and a little embarrassed. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:05.519 Well, you know. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:07.440 And nobody will answer. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.840 And then someone that Jesus has never met speaks up. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:18.720 It's a hurtful, fearful, desperate dad speaks up and answers Jesus' question. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:20.559 He explains what? 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:28.799 He tells that his son is possessed by an evil spirit and then describes the tragic, terrible life that they've experienced because of that. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.440 Now, just imagine what life has been like for this father. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:38.799 Watching his son suffer in this way since he was a child and being unable to help him. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.679 You know, dads in the room feel what that was like. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.399 What about the possessed young man himself? 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:46.320 What was life like for him? 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:47.679 What does it say? 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:56.399 It says he can't talk, he can't hear, he has debilitating seizures, he's foaming at the mouth, he becomes rigid, grinding his teeth. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:01.440 We find out later that the demon has thrown him into water and fire trying to kill him. 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:05.279 So he's probably got burn marks all over his body. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:11.519 So Matthew's gospel, telling this story, says that the father fell on his knees before Jesus. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:18.159 And Luke tells us that he said, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:21.600 You can just hear the desperation in his voice. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:26.080 So, why is he repeating all this to Jesus, though? 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.879 I mean, didn't he already ask the disciples? 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:35.679 And hadn't Jesus commissioned them and sent them out to preach the gospel, heal, and cast out demons? 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.159 Yes, yes, and yes, he'd sent them out and empowered them to do that. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:46.639 But he's now asking Jesus because he already asked the disciples and they couldn't do it. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:48.320 They couldn't do it. 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:52.799 But before we get to that, let's think about exactly what they were up against here. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:54.480 What were the disciples up against? 00:16:54.639 --> 00:17:00.639 As Peter, James, and John came down the mountain with Jesus, Kent Hughes describes what happened. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:10.480 They were on a spiritual high, but he says suddenly they were now at ground level and facing a world convulsed by demonic powers. 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:17.519 So what a contrast to what they had just experienced, but this is actually the reality for all of us. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:27.839 Because as Paul says in Ephesians 6, whether we recognize it or not, we're all facing off against demonic forces or principalities, as it says all the time. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:32.079 And this story gives us a clear picture of Satan's ultimate goal. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:35.759 What is the devil's goal for us? 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:41.039 Hughes says it like this Satan is at war with the image of God. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.160 He's at war with the Imago Day. 00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:45.839 So think about this man. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:46.960 What did he look like? 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:52.559 He's writhing on the ground, unable to speak, he's rigid, he's screaming. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.880 He didn't look human, did he? 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:56.640 He didn't look human. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.599 Satan was distorting the image of God in this person. 00:18:00.319 --> 00:18:04.400 Now, Satan's tactics are usually more subtle than this with us. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:13.039 But Hughes says that however he can do it, Satan finds ultimate satisfaction in the obscene twisting of lives. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:15.119 That's what he's trying to do. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:21.119 While God's goal is shalom, peace, wholeness for people. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:29.759 He wants his children to be filled with his spirit and reflect the character of Jesus, emanating love, joy, peace, and kindness to the world. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:38.559 Satan wants to mar the image of God in as many people as he can, to keep the character of Jesus from developing in anyone, right? 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:50.160 To wreck lives with sin and dysfunction, anxiety, anger, and fear until God's image, his original intent for humanity, becomes harder and harder to see. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:52.880 That's what Satan is trying to do. 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:55.759 So Satan is at war with the image of God. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:59.440 And the disciples here were losing the battle. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:01.920 But how are we doing? 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.559 Is our city marked by shalom, peace, and wholeness? 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:13.200 Or are there large numbers of people, huge areas of our city, under the enemy's control? 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:20.799 Is Satan being allowed to twist too many lives, to distort God's intention for too many people? 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:27.680 You know, in our city, it's often young men that the enemy is having a field day with. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:34.799 Whether they're perpetrating crime, ending up in jail, or is the victims of the vast majority of that crime. 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:37.759 Now, I don't want to get into this too much this morning. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:46.079 It's not the point of this sermon, but we must respond differently to these young men and those who don't follow Jesus. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:55.680 Yes, I shouldn't have to say this, but they should be held accountable if they're committing crimes for their own sake and for the shalom and peace of the city. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:02.960 But the question for us is how should the church's response to them be different than the rest of the world? 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:06.319 And is it recognizable as the way of Jesus? 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:09.759 Does it reflect the character of Jesus? 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:19.839 So a pastor friend of mine has been dealing with something that lots of churches have over the last year, and that's a rash of car break-ins during worship. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:23.920 I don't know if y'all have experienced any of that, but our church definitely has. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:30.799 And this pastor very candidly said, you know, my primary emotion has been anger in dealing with this. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:35.920 And his primary response is venting that anger about it to anyone that would listen. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:38.559 And that's been been his response. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:43.200 And he admitted that to one of his church members that he's close friends with. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.640 And that church member responded with this text. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:52.799 He said, Yes, it's super irritating, hard to pray for them, but I do. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:21:03.279 I pray that God touches their heart, maybe through something they've stolen, and they change before their lifestyle robs them of everything that's truly important. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:15.599 So as you can imagine, my friend the pastor was shaken by this response, and he was convicted about his hard heart, and he asked that man to pray that God would soften his heart. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:27.440 And now this church has begun to pray every Sunday as part of their worship gathering for those who broke into their cars, specifically for those men, those young men that broke into their cars. 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:31.279 Now, I want you to think about that. 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:35.119 What do you think about that really? 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:39.279 I mean, will praying for these young men actually accomplish anything? 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:41.279 Will it actually do any good? 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:43.599 What do you think, honestly? 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:48.799 Like the feelings I felt our neighbors across the street got their car stolen last week. 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.599 Um did I stop and think, well, I should pray for those young men? 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:59.279 Let's think about for a minute what do we know that heaven will be like? 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:01.599 What do we know about life in heaven? 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:06.079 Especially, specifically, what will God's people be like in heaven? 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:11.839 Well, all of us will finally bear the image of God, the Imago Day, perfectly. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:17.359 And Revelation 21 tells us that the inhabitants of the holy city will experience what? 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:23.519 No death, no mourning, no crying or pain, no crime. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:29.599 For the former things will have completely passed away in that moment. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:32.960 So we know that this isn't our reality now. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:34.960 Clearly, not yet. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:37.920 But we're still called to pray today, what? 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.680 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:52.880 So wherever we see the enemy doing what he does in someone's life, bringing death and destruction, causing tears and pain, what should we do? 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:55.200 What should our response be? 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:01.920 Well, the dad here in this story, it's really the hero of the story. 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.000 He presents the situation plainly. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:12.400 He says, I ask your disciples to cast out this demon, to rescue my son, to win this battle against the enemy, and they were not able. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:18.079 This is in contrast to the power and glory that were just on display on the mountaintop. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:23.039 Jesus' disciples were now powerless in this battle against Satan. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:27.440 They were ineffectual in their mission to the world. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.960 But why? 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:35.200 Before we find the answer for them, let's prepare to answer for ourselves. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:38.319 Do we see God's power on display around us? 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:41.519 Do we see the image of God being restored in people? 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.559 Are peace and shalom overtaking our city? 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:47.680 Do we see broken people being made whole? 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:49.680 Division becoming unity? 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:52.640 Violence and anger replaced by joy and love? 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:54.799 Fear replaced by courage. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:57.440 Hostility toward God becoming faith. 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:06.319 Do we see these things or do we feel more powerless and appear more powerless in our battle against Satan? 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:10.720 Have we also been ineffectual in our mission to a broken city? 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:13.200 And if so, why is that? 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:16.079 So I'm gonna read the rest of the story for us. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.799 Mark 9, 19 through 29. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:25.759 And Jesus answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:27.680 How long am I to bear with you? 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:29.359 Bring him to me. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:34.319 And they brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy. 00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:41.759 He fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth, and Jesus asked his father, How long has this been happening to him? 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.880 And he said, From childhood. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:49.119 And it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him. 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:52.960 But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:59.279 And Jesus said to him, If you can, all things are possible for one who believes. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:05.039 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:16.480 And when Jesus saw that a 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. 00:25:16.880 --> 00:25:22.720 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse. 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.519 So that most of them said, He is dead. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:29.599 And Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:35.920 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could we not cast it out? 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:41.839 And he said to them, This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:50.799 Okay, so what we're going to do in the rest of our time, we're going to contrast the dad in this story with the disciples. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:55.920 And we're trying to answer two simple questions in the rest of our time together. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:59.119 Why were the disciples powerless in this situation? 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:03.279 And then how did the boy finally get freed from this demon? 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.000 So, why were the disciples powerless? 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.920 And then how did the boy finally get freed from this demon? 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:19.039 So, I mean, the disciples had just been all over the countryside preaching, healing people, and casting out demons. 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:20.640 So, what happened here? 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:22.240 What happened in this situation? 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.079 Why couldn't they cast this one out? 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:35.039 And on the other side, I'm sure this dad had spent years going to every doctor and religious leader he could find, looking for someone, anyone who could help his son. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.000 So again, what happened here? 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:42.400 Why was this different, and how did the son finally get freed? 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:44.480 So let's start with the dad. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.720 This is a well-known encounter between this man and Jesus. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:57.119 Jesus asked the dad how long his son has struggled like this, and you can hear the care and compassion in Jesus' question. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:04.319 Jesus is imagining here what it would have been like to helplessly watch his son suffer for all these years. 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:10.480 And this man could see the compassion in Jesus' eyes, he could hear it in Jesus' voice. 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:18.079 So then the dad says, verse 22, if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:23.200 So he's not doubting the compassion, he's doubting the power and the ability here. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:24.799 And how does Jesus respond? 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:30.559 He says, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:35.440 And then without hesitation, immediately the father cried out, I believe. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:37.680 Help my unbelief. 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:41.359 Now this conversation is all about belief. 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:46.240 So my question is, how much belief is necessary? 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:48.960 How much belief is necessary? 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:52.240 This dad basically says, I'm trying, but I'm full of doubts. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:53.920 Can you help me? 00:27:54.319 --> 00:27:58.400 And did Jesus say, okay, go work on your faith a little more. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.480 Here's a curriculum you can work on. 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:07.680 If you can get your doubts down by like 10%, come back to me and I'll see what I can do for you. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.440 Is that how Jesus responds? 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:10.720 No. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:13.440 And thank goodness he didn't. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:23.440 Tim Keller says it like this Jesus could have told the man, once you've surrendered to me totally and can come before me with a pure heart, then you can ask for healing. 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:25.440 But Jesus doesn't say that. 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:26.480 Not at all. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:36.240 The boy's father says, I'm not faithful, I'm riddled with doubts, I cannot muster the strength necessary to meet my moral and spiritual challenges, but help me. 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:38.720 That's saving faith. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:42.079 Faith in Jesus instead of oneself. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:50.319 So Jesus says that belief in him makes all things possible, but how much belief is my question. 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:52.240 Well, it's pretty simple. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:54.240 How much belief is enough? 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:56.079 Enough to ask. 00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:01.119 Enough to admit our need and our helplessness and cry out to Jesus. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:04.480 Faith enough to pray is the faith required. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:08.480 Jesus didn't ask this dad to do anything else, did he? 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:13.759 It's like Jesus is saying, all things are possible for one who believes like you. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:17.279 Because you had enough faith to come to me and ask for help. 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:22.880 When the man did come to him, Jesus again showed off his power. 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:27.200 He displayed his complete power over the evil one and his minions. 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:31.359 He told this particular demon to get out of this boy and never come back. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.160 And we see that spiritual battle is not always pretty, right? 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:40.319 The demon cries out, the boy convulses terribly one last time. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:46.000 And after the demon is gone, it says the boy's body lied on the ground like a corpse. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:54.319 But Jesus tenderly walks over, takes him by the hand, and lifts him up, and then everyone sees what? 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:57.119 The image of God restored. 00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:58.880 And Satan defeated. 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:00.720 Everyone there was witnessing what? 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:04.640 God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:10.799 And all because of one man's imperfect faith that led him to ask Jesus for help. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:17.440 Again, Keller says it like this Dad says, I'm trying, but I'm full of doubts. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.279 Then Jesus heals the man's son. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.119 This is very good news. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:29.359 Through Jesus, we don't need perfect righteousness, just repentant helplessness to access the presence of God. 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.079 Repentant helplessness. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.640 That's the faith that Jesus requires. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:39.119 So now let's move our focus to the disciples. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:43.519 And our other big question: why were they powerless in this situation? 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:46.160 We're not the only ones that wanted to know. 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:47.680 The disciples wanted to know. 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:48.160 Right? 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:52.079 They came to Jesus as soon as they could and said, why could we not cast it out? 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:52.880 What changed? 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.480 They were baffled by what happened in this situation. 00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:58.640 And what did Jesus say? 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:02.960 The answer was simple, but it must have shaken them when they heard it. 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:07.519 He says, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:09.119 And they were like, oh. 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:16.880 So first of all, Jesus says, this kind, referring to the type of demon that they were facing off against. 00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:25.920 Not as popular in our culture these days to talk about spiritual things like demons and angels, but they're real. 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:33.440