Jesus our Champion — Sermon by Rev. Dr. Craig Stephans

let us

pray Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have

mercy on us sinners Proclaim to us your

gospel that is the power of God for

salvation to everyone who believes and

help our unbelief help us to have faith

that moves mountains to have faith that

receives and walks in your love we ask

through Christ amen

please be

seated I'm going to walk through the

gospel passage today from Mark

Mark 9:14

9:14 I encourage you to turn in your

Bibles or you can use your phone um but

this passage really begins

previously in the the chapter of Mark

it's also in Matthew and Luke's gospels

begins with what we call the

Transfiguration where Jesus takes with

him James Peter and John and he climbs a

a high mountain and Luke tells us that

he goes up the mountain to pray and

while he prays the three disciples with

him fall asleep and as Jesus is praying

the glory of Heaven surrounds him like a

cloud like a mist and in that cloud he

begins to have a conversation with two

saints that have gone to be with the

Lord Moses and Elijah and then the

disciples wake up and they see the glory

of God they see Jesus talking with two

Heroes of their faith Moses and Elijah

and Luke tells us that they're speaking

to Jesus about his upcoming departure or

his Exodus that is his death in

Jerusalem and at that time as the

disciples see him they see him

transfigured filled and emanating a

glory like one they have never seen

before white like lightning like nothing

in the world world and they're in awe

they fall down and they hear the voice

from Heaven of God speaking of Jesus

saying this is my son my beloved listen

to

him and then all the

glory this the lights they disappear and

it's just them and Jesus and as they

make their way down the mountain the

Jesus tell Jesus tells them again that

the son of man that himself will go to

jerus Jem that he will suffer that he

will die and on the third day he will be

raised to

life and as they come down the mountain

they come into the scene that was read

that begins in verse 14 they came to

their disciples that were left there in

an argument with some of the scribes the

teachers of the law and while they're

arguing there's a crowd about them and

in the midst of that crowd is one of the

most desperate people in the gospel in

the Bible perhaps a father of a young

son a young man who from his early days

has been tormented by a demon that

convulses him that we find out tries to

destroy him by throwing him into fire

into

water a terrible terrifying experience

you can imagine how that father has

lived watching that happened to his son

and he has brought him to the disciples

there to have that demon cast out and

the gospels emphasize that this is a

demon it's not a case of a disease of

epilepsy this is a demon that has

possessed the boy from his early

childhood and so as we begin in verse

14 when they came to the disciples they

saw a crowd about them and the scribes

arguing with

them and you can imagine such a scene

we've probably been in the midst of it

it certainly is something that happens

too often in this world people arguing

people fighting people pointing

fingers Jesus's disciples being right in

the midst of it and immediately all the

crowd when they saw Jesus were greatly

amazed and ran up to him and greeted him

and it's possible that as Jesus came

down that mountain he still emanated

some of that glory and light not unlike

Moses did when Moses came down the

mountain from the glory of God and and

had to wear a veil but it might be more

likely that Jesus just carried the

authority of Heaven he carried the

authority of a man who had been with God

a man who is God he carried the

Assurance the confidence of a man who

had been in prayer who had heard from

God and so they're amazed at him they

see Jesus as something other than what

they see in this world and they're

amazed and they run up to him and they

greet him and Jesus asked nothing gets

by Jesus he saw what they were doing

what are you arguing about with them he

asked his

disciples in other words why are you

spending your time and your energy

arguing with

people why are you getting involved in

these conflicts these frustrations of

the World by

arguing instead of by seeking the Lord

and In Prayer by practicing what he had

taught them they are engaged in this

vitriol with one another and when that

happens they lose sight of the Kingdom

of Heaven they lose sight of the need

that they have been empowered to

address as before in the gospels when

Jesus gave them authority to go out

preach the gospel cast out demons they

even boasted about their ability to cast

out demons but here they're just arguing

they're involved

in the conflicts of the world which

likely are inspired by demons themselves

who manipulate their own sinful nature

in this Fallen World as Father Brian

preached about last week the the

susceptibility that we have to our own

flesh the world and the

devil and then they hear from the man

the father teacher I brought my son to

you for he had a spirit that makes him

mute and whenever it seizes him it

throws him down and he Foams and grinds

his teeth and becomes rigid so I asked

your disciples to cast it out and they

were not

able when when his disciples engage with

the world like the world they are not

able to do the works of the Kingdom

they're not able to proclaim the gospel

they're not able to exercise the gifts

and Powers they've been given through

the Holy Spirit and the same is true for

us if you're like me at all you've found

yourself way too often anxious fretting

even angry at the things of the world

and having arguments in your mind or

being overcome with an anxiety about

what's going to happen what's not going

to happen in the world whether about

things near or far and when we become

consumed like that when I become

consumed like that eventually by God's

grace it may lead to prayer but too

often it becomes concerned about myself

and my agenda and I'm unproductive for

the kingdom and that's what we see

happening here this man had Faith to

bring his son to the disciples and ask

them to cast it out but the

disciples maybe trying too much in their

own power were impotent to cast out this

demon and when Jesus comes on the scene

we see the manifestations of evil in the

darkness mocking and scoffing at the

impotence of those who claim the name of

Jesus creating conflict continue in his

Terror in possessing the

son and that's what evil does a couple

weeks ago we had as our reading

Ephesians 610 through2 that or 10-20

that Paul tells us we don't wrestle

against flesh and blood but that's

exactly what the disciples were doing

all this crowd was wrestling against

each other but we wrestle against the

spiritual forces of evil the rulers the

authorities the cosmic powers of this

present evil age and when we're bound up

in the world and wrestling against flesh

and blood we can't deal with them we

can't continue our prayers to God and so

when Jesus hears

this he answered them all oh faithless

generation how long am I to be with you

how long am I to bear with you bring him

to me this is quite a severe statement

by

Jesus Oh faithless generation how long

am I to be with you Jesus being fully

God is also fully man and he expresses I

think his frustration here and maybe his

Al also his lament at the dichotomy

between what he experienced on the

Mountaintop a true Mountaintop

experience that he had with the glory of

his father in communion with his

father and then he comes down into this

valley of

darkness and that peace That Glory that

he had experienced is all disrupted by

this darkness that he walks

into but of course Jesus does walk into

it because that is why he came to

destroy the work of the devil and so he

says bring the boy to me and they

brought the boy tomb and when the spirit

saw him immediately he convulsed the boy

and he fell on the ground and rolled

about foaming at the mouth the devil is

not going to give up his grasp on things

easily or willingly this demon

knows that Jesus is the son of God who

has the power and authority to cast him

out but he is going to try even to

intimidate the Son of God even to

manifest in such a way as to cause

Terror in Jesus he definitely follows in

the way of his master who prows around

like a roaring lion seeking someone to

Devour the devil tries to create a

shadow of death and Terror over us and

before us that he will disrupt our faith

that he will get us off kilter that he

will try to make himself so intimidating

that we think there's nothing that can

be

done except to be anxious to worry to

try to

hide but this demon has come before the

Son of

God through whom all things including it

were made Jesus has absolute and perfect

faith and certainty in the power of God

working through him to cast out this

demon and so he is not intimidated he is

not moved by what it does just like he's

not moved by what any of the demons in

the gospel say to

him he asked the father how long has

this been happening to him and he said

from childhood and it has often cast him

into the fire and into water to destroy

him this is what the enemy does this is

what evil does this is what our own

sinful nature does brings about

destruction

that is the working of evil in this

world and that the devil and his demons

have not given up Jesus referred to him

as the ruler of the world and Jesus did

come to cast him out of all things and

one day he will be cast out of all

creation and existence but for now those

evil spirits are still in the world

trying to bring about

destruction through their powers through

their world and through the manipulation

of our own sinful nature that must die

and you can think just what we see in

the world what some of you have

experienced how this happens from

conception in the womb to the end of

life naturally the devil seeks

destruction murder drugs abuse all sorts

of conflict and war and

violence

everything he's trying to bring about

destruction

in for this child since his childhood

the demon has been trying to cast him

into fire and water to destroy him

imagine the heartache of his father

imagine the terror that that child has

experienced but they have found

themselves at the feet of Jesus who is

the one sent from heaven to destroy this

very work that this demon has brought

about and as Jesus sees the crowd coming

about him the man asks Jesus if you can

do anything have compassion on us and

help

us if you can do anything have

compassion on us and help

us Jesus said to him if you can all

things are possible for one who

believes one who believes has just come

down from the mountain into the darkness

of this Valley one who exudes and

overflows with compassion has come to

this man and his son the same one who

has come into the world because of

compassion who has come into the world

with power who has come into our lives

with compassion with power to do all

things according to God's will his

goodness and his love he has come into

our lives Jesus is one who believes that

all things are possible we will see when

he's in the Garden of

Gethsemane and he prays to the father

ABA father all things are possible for

you take this cup from me yet not what I

will but what you will be done Jesus is

one who believes and has an assurance

that all things are possible for God he

has the compassion to exercise that

power for goodness and Grace and

love and he is one who is obedient to

God and so he says all things are

possible for one who believes and the

father in his desperation cried out and

said I believe help my

unbelief he believes enough he's

demonstrated that by bringing his child

to the disciples and to Jesus but he

still needs God's mercy and Grace

because his faith is not perfect it's

not complete and so it's not unlike our

prayer Lord have mercy on me I believe

Lord but have mercy on me and help my

unbelief

and

then Jesus says to the unclean Spirit he

rebukes it and says you mute deaf spirit

I command you come out of him and never

enter him again and there's no way that

this spirit is going to disobey the word

of God the word that created all things

yet he's still not going to give up

without in trying to intimidate trying

to cause Terror

maybe give one last hold

out maybe Jesus will give

up and so when Jesus commands a demon

out the demon convulses the boy

terribly but then it came out and the

boy was like a corpse so that most say

yes Jesus did it

no even after Jesus casts out the demons

there is so much doubt and unbelief that

the crowd says he's dead

man what a statement of unbelief this is

why Jesus is frustrated and he says oh

faithless generation how long am I going

to be with you to give you reasons to

believe in

God the boy's dead they say but Jesus

reaches down and lifts him up and

restores him to the

father you might feel hopeless like your

dream are dead like you're dead to God

you're dead to

others but it's not

true there is one who stands before you

to stoop down and to lift you up to

restore you to his father in Heaven he

comes as a minister of reconciliation to

reconcile us to God and to the kingdom

of

heaven this boy is not dead we are not

dead no matter what is happened to us or

what we've done we are not dead to God

as long as we can have faith in Jesus

and the one who has

come there is nobody who is so low there

is nobody who's so high in this

world that Jesus does not stoop down to

lift them up to restore them to the

father to restore him or her to the

goodness of God there's no one who has

too little value in the eyes of the

world and there's no one who has

everything in the eyes of the world that

is outside the reach of Jesus to lift

him or her up set them on their feet and

restore them to the heavenly father this

is why Jesus has come into the

world to lift us back up to God to lift

us up out of the darkness and bring us

into his light just as he does this

young boy as he restores him to the

father the disciples later asked Jesus

those who had been left in the valley

why couldn't we do it and he says this

kind cannot be driven out by anything

but prayer and almost every Bible I read

has a footnote that says some

manuscripts and

fasting and I think that it's probably

safe to include an

fasting as part of our spiritual

disciplines it was part of Jesus's

spiritual disciplines

Jesus is one who has prayed who fasted

on our behalf Jesus is the one who has

prayed and fasted so that we could be

delivered from demons he has fulfilled

this on our

behalf the passage from Isaiah 50 is one

that speaks of the suffering servant the

obedient servant of God who is the

Messiah the prophecies that Jesus

fulfilled and I I want to revisit it in

Isaiah

50 beginning in verse

4 the Lord God has given me the tongue

of those who are taught that I may know

how to sustain with the word him who is

Weary mour by morning he awakens he

awakens my ear to hear as those who are

taught the Lord God has opened my ear

and I was not rebellious I turn not

backward I gave my back to those who

strike my cheeks to those who pull out

out the beard I hid not my face from

disgrace and

spitting but the Lord God helps me

therefore I've not been disgraced

therefore I've set my face like flint

and I know that I shall not be put to

shame he who vindicates me is near who

will contend with me let us Stand

Together who is my adversary let him

come near to me behold the Lord God

helps me who will declare me guilty

behold all of them will wear out like a

garment the moth will eat them up this

is what Jesus has fulfilled on our

behalf as fully God as fully man in the

world he gave his ear to the

Lord that the Lord could direct him and

instruct him day by day that the Lord

could give him and he would proclaim the

word that sustains the

weary but not only that in obedience he

turned his back to those who struck him

to those who pulled pull out the beard

he gave himself over to death in

obedience believing that the Lord God

would help him that he would not be

abandoned but that he would be

Vindicated which he was in the

resurrection Jesus was obedient to God

as a faithful servant and died and rose

again on our behalf so that we can call

upon him in faith and assurance that he

will come to lift us up that he will

come to to rescue us from the powers of

evil and the Darkness and bring us into

his kingdom to bring us into his light

to bring us into the perfect love of the

father that we can live with him so let

us not be consumed or distracted or fret

over the things of the world but when

those things come against us and tempt

us let us look to the Lord in prayer let

us look to him calling upon his name

whether it's a simple prayer like Lord

help me Lord have mercy on me Lord come

to me Lord I believe help my

unbelief Jesus is our champion who

didn't stay on the mountain of Heaven in

God's glory but came down to the

darkness of the valley of this world to

die for us so that we could be made

alive to God and filled with the Holy

Spirit and by God's grace and through

our reception of his gift of faith by

faith and as he has ped out his holy

spirit upon us we also can follow in the

way of

Jesus no longer being afraid no longer

being overcome by

Darkness but we too can submit to God

and as James says in James 4:7 after

James 4:7

saying that God opposes the proud but

gives grace to the humble we can humble

ourselves to God and submit to God and

as James says and resist the devil that

he would flee from us

we draw near to God and he draws near to

us and therefore as we walk through

Christ and in Christ we too overcome the

evil and those spiritual forces of evil

that we would not wrestle against them

in our own power and get pinned but we

would wrestle against them with the

power of the Holy Spirit and by the name

of Jesus and cast them out so I want to

leave you with this encouragement to

follow in the way of Jesus as his

indicated in Isaiah 50 to make this a

prayer to you what Jesus

fulfilled the Lord God has given me the

tongue of those who are taught that I

may know how to sustain with the word

him who is weary ask the Lord to teach

you to speak to you to give you his word

that sustains the weary and to help you

to share it with others mour by morning

he awakens awakens my ear to hear as

those who are taught pray that God would

speak to you morning by morning or day

by day to awaken you as one who is

taught by a loving father who Delights

in his son and his daughter whether it's

in the morning if that's the best time

for you or whether it's during the day

or at night invite the Lord to speak to

you morning by morning Day by Day

evening by evening to speak to you and

awaken you as one who is taught awaken

your spirit awaken your faith awaken his

spiritual gifts within you awaken his

calling for your

life and humble yourself and submit to

God Like Jesus ask him to help you

submit to him and resist the devil

invite the Lord to draw you near to him

and for him to draw near to

you that even when we walk in the valley

of darkness that seems to be overcome by

evil we come bringing the light of God

in that Darkness

scatters that is our calling in the

world to receive that light the light of

Jesus and to shine it in the world so

let me close by praying for us that very

thing Lord Jesus we thank you that you

have come into this

world in obedience in servitude even in

death for our sake and we praise you

God for the resurrection we praise you

that the same Spirit who raised Christ

from the dead dwells in us and gives us

life and as Jesus you were obedient to

the father we ask you to help us to be

obedient father awaken us day by day

speaking to us as those who are

taught giving us the word that sustains

the weary for ourselves and that we

might share it with others Lord help us

to be obedient to you to submit to you

and draw near to you resisting the devil

lord by your power by the might of your

Angels make him flee from us and from

all those for whom we care and for whom

we pray we ask through Jesus Christ Our

Lord Our Savior

amen for