Help My Unbelief

Well, surprisingly, Mark gives much more time and space to this particular miracle of Jesus

than any other gospel author.

The parallel accounts, if you want to, you can write these in your notes, maybe you'll

want to reference them later.

The parallel accounts are found in Matthew 17 and Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And what you'll find as you begin to study those three accounts of this specific miracle

is that Mark not only gives more time to it, Mark gives more time to this event than the

other two gospel authors combined.

That's pretty significant.

It's unique because when we start to look at Mark's gospel, we step back and kind of consider

the book as a whole, what his style is typically like.

It's by far the shortest of the four gospels.

He constantly in style is pushing the story along, the narrative.

Even in this particular story, almost every verse begins with the word and, and it's

a literary note here on Mark's part.

He's pushing it forward.

He's keeping the story moving.

He doesn't want us to dwell too long on one particular thing.

He wants us to keep it moving.

So it's unique then that when we get to this story, he takes so much time, more time than,

as far as I can tell, more time than any other miracle in his entire book he gives to this

moment.

Now then we can go to John chapter 21 at the very end of John's gospel.

John 21 · chapter mention

What is it that John says?

Of all the things that Jesus did, he did so many more things than what you've read about.

And if all of them were written down, the world itself could not contain the books.

And so if we start to step back and we have to ask this question then, okay, if that's true,

why did Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all three find this to be so important to include in their

gospels?

And then to take that question just a little bit further, why did Mark feel that it was

so important that he gives more time to this than he does to any of Jesus's other miracles?

I think that's significant questions to ask.

And I think to answer them, we have to step back for just a moment.

Remember that we have divided Mark's gospel really into two main sections.

The first eight chapters, remember, are focused more on Jesus's identity as the Messiah and the

Son of God.

The last eight chapters are focused primarily on his purpose in bringing salvation through his

crucifixion and resurrection.

And so that helps us to stop and think for just a moment, okay, where does this particular miracle

find itself?

Well, it's not in the part where we're trying to figure out Jesus's identity.

So we've already established that there's got to be another purpose for it here.

That's not lost on the story, but it's not really its main drive either.

When we start to look then at when Mark includes miracles, we see that most of them are in that

first section.

They are meant to say, this is who Jesus is.

Look at this power.

Look at what he can do and what he does.

How could he be anything else than God?

How could he not be the Messiah?

How could he not be the Son of God?

But then when we get to this last section, there's very few miracles included.

I think we could even take this section of Mark really about halfway through chapter 8 through

chapter 10 and look at it almost as a subsection where Mark has really zeroed in on Jesus's training

of the 12 disciples.

And this section is bookended by two miracles.

Both involve Jesus healing blind men, giving them sight.

What's Mark doing with that?

He's emphasizing in this section right now, he's emphasizing spiritual blindness and spiritual sight.

And every story, every part of the narrative vacillates between those two things.

In some cases, he's presenting an element of spiritual sight, someone who has exhibited faith

in Christ and is following Christ in faith.

In some situations, it's the opposite.

He's dealing with Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees, Herodians, where there is clearly

spiritual darkness.

And Mark is drawing these lines.

And then he particularly deals with the progressive nature of the disciples' spiritual sight.

Remember the first miracle with the man that was blind, Jesus healed them.

The first time there's, he can see, but it's not very clear.

And then Jesus touches him again, and then he can see clearly.

Well, the disciples are in this phase right now where they can't quite see clearly.

And Mark's explaining that.

And so when we get here to this particular passage, we find that it has less to do with Jesus's

messiahship.

It has more to do with our discipleship.

And the lesson that is being driven through by Jesus first in this miracle is a lesson on

the necessity of faith to the disciple.

The necessity of faith to the disciple.

So let's work through the story together.

The first thing, if you're keeping notes in your journals, the first thing that I would

write down is a problem of unbelief.

A problem of unbelief.

So the narrative picks up in verse 14 following, if you remember, the transfiguration of Jesus

on Mount Hermon.

Remember, Jesus had taken Peter and James and John with him up the mountain, but he left the

other nine disciples behind.

We're not told of any specific instructions that he gave to them.

But they were evidently engaged in some type of ministry as they waited for the Lord to return.

That may not have actually been their intention.

They probably didn't want to have to deal with the crowds in this particular moment, but the crowds

inevitably found them.

And the people coming to them, some of them had very urgent needs.

And now Jesus had sent his disciples out before.

And when he had sent them, he had empowered them in his name to perform these works that

needed to be done.

Let me just read you a part of Mark chapter six.

We studied this a few months ago.

Mark chapter six and verse seven, he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two

and gave them authority over unclean spirits.

And then we jumped down to verse 12 and it says, so they went out and proclaimed that people

should repent and they cast out many demons and anointed many with oil who were sick and

healed them.

And so it's not that the disciples had not done this before.

They had, God had used them to do this very thing in the past.

And so the crowd start to come to them and having a little bit of experience under their

belts, the nine disciples at the foot of the mountain began to minister to the needs of

the people.

The problem is they failed miserably, miserably.

They couldn't do the same things that Christ had empowered them to do before.

And so then we see this incredible contrast in chapter nine.

We see the glory of the Mount of Transfiguration.

We see this glimpse of glory, this glimpse of what awaits us, of who Jesus is in his essence,

of what awaits us even beyond this life.

And then we're immediately confronted with the chaos in the valley.

And we go from glory to chaos.

And it's a pretty good picture, isn't it?

It's a picture of what life will be for us at the end of this age.

But then down in the valley is a picture of what life is like for us now.

It's chaos.

It's darkness.

It's wickedness.

It's struggle.

And so Jesus descends the mountain and this is what he comes to.

Mark gives four different people or groups here as he unfolds the story for us.

The first one we see is disputing disciples, disputing disciples.

Look at verse 14.

When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.

So among this crowd that had gathered waiting for Jesus was a group of scribes, which is never a good thing.

We often find them partnered with the Pharisees and the Herodians,

always looking for a way to trap Jesus in his words,

always looking for a way to discredit him.

And we know that what they were really doing based on, I think it's Mark 3,

what they were really trying to do was destroy him.

They're looking for any means possible by which they could condemn him

and get him out of the way because he was bad news for them.

So you can imagine the delight of the scribes when the disciples were incapable of performing this miracle.

And apparently they confronted the disciples about this.

And what ensued in following with that is this embarrassingly public argument.

So this man brings the boy to the disciples.

The disciples could do nothing with it.

The scribes find it as a reason for them to give the disciples a hard time to discredit them.

And instead of exercising wisdom in this moment, what do the disciples do?

They engage in a public, embarrassing argument with the scribes.

They fed right into what the scribes wanted them to do in this particular moment.

Not only had they failed in their ministry, but they allowed themselves to get sucked into a fight that was unnecessary.

And of course, unbecoming of a disciple of Christ.

And this isn't too uncommon for us these days either.

It only takes a little bit of surfing on the various social media platforms to find groups of Christians

who are so distracted from what God has actually called us to do,

they're getting sucked into unnecessary arguments, embarrassingly public arguments.

It's unbecoming of a Christian, unbecoming of a disciple of Christ.

That's what Jesus walks down the mountain to.

The ones who were closest to him were a complete embarrassment to him in that particular moment.

He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

Number two, we see distracting crowds, distracting crowds.

Look at verse 15.

Immediately, all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up and greeted him.

Now again, crowds are never mentioned favorably in Mark's gospel.

They weren't opponents to Jesus in the same way as the scribes and Pharisees,

but they were often a distraction and even a danger to Jesus's ministry.

For the most part, they were only interested in Jesus's entertainment value.

They weren't concerned with his message.

They weren't concerned really with following him.

And in this moment, as they noticed Jesus, they excitedly run and greet him.

But it's not because they had a genuine faith in who he was.

They were just enamored by his celebrity.

Have you ever been out in public and a celebrity has emerged from the darkness,

maybe incognito, but somebody notices them?

And what immediately happens?

The crowd runs to them.

Not because they actually like the person.

Not because they care anything about what the person does.

But it's a celebrity.

And this is what we've come to see.

Jesus comes off the mountain and the crowd rushes over.

Not because they want to hear him.

They just want him to entertain them.

They want to see what he can do.

Maybe perhaps what he could provide for them.

Then we see this desperate father.

A desperate father.

Look at verse 16.

And he asked them,

What are you arguing about with them?

Someone from the crowd answered,

Teacher, I brought my son to you.

For he has a spirit that makes him mute.

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.

So Jesus asked,

What are you fussing about?

And probably due to some embarrassment,

they hesitate to answer.

So this father pipes up.

He says,

Let me tell you.

I have a son.

And some people say that he's got epilepsy.

Here's his conditions.

I think there's more to it.

I think there's a demon torturing my son.

He can't talk.

He can't hear.

So I can't communicate with him.

I can't try to console him.

He's constantly being thrown on the ground violently.

He's foaming at the mouth.

He's grinding his teeth.

And I brought my son hoping that you could help,

but your disciples were unable to help him.

Can you imagine

being powerless to help your son

and having to set by day by day

and just watch as he's tortured?

He's desperate.

No doubt,

no one else has been able to help.

He hears of Jesus.

He hears that Jesus is nearby.

He goes to where Jesus is,

but Jesus isn't there.

So naturally,

who does he turn to?

Those who claim to represent him.

This is a word of warning for us, church.

People who don't know Jesus

by nature

turn to those

who proclaim to be his representatives.

It's a warning

and a reminder for us

that we must pursue a life

that truly reflects the Lord

in faith,

in word,

in deed.

And these disciples,

despite their best attempts,

were incapable of helping the man's son.

And what it produced in the man

was more doubt.

Not doubt about the disciples.

Doubt about who they said they represented.

Doubt about Jesus.

Here he is bringing his son,

hoping for help.

And after a couple of attempts,

they ignore his son's condition

so that they can fight

with the scribes over here

who have nothing to do

with the whole situation.

And who's left out in the process?

The desperate father

who's actually come for some help.

But he ends up getting ignored

so they can get caught up

in this battle over here.

Does that sound familiar?

I feel like we get caught up

in battles over here.

And there's a lot of people

that may be coming to us

or otherwise would come to us

seeking for help from Christ.

But we're ignoring them

in order to get caught up

in all the mess

that's going on over here.

Well, then we see

the disappointed Lord.

The disappointed Lord.

Look at verse 19.

And he answered them,

Oh, faithless generation,

how long am I to be with you?

How long am I to bear with you?

Bring him to me.

And it's here that we begin

to discover the point of the story.

You can sense the emotional frustration

in Jesus' words here.

He's exasperated

by their unbelief.

But it's not just the unbelief

of one person or one group.

When Mark says that Jesus answered them,

he means all of them.

Everyone that's there in that moment.

And of course,

there's a special nod

toward the disciples here,

but it's not just about the disciples.

Jesus says,

faithless generation.

Words used five times

in Mark's gospel,

always in a broad sense,

never to describe a specific group,

but to describe people

in a general sense.

When Jesus steps back

and says,

Oh, faithless generation.

He's not frustrated

only with the disciples.

It's with everybody

that's there present

in that moment.

And yes,

he's frustrated with the nine.

But it's not because

they couldn't cast out the demon.

It's not because

they were just merely incapable.

He knew they didn't have power

in and of themselves

to do those things.

But Jesus also wasn't going to let them

pass this off

as just a mere impossibility

due to their humanness.

No.

What does Jesus say?

Faithless.

Unbelieving.

What's he accusing

these nine disciples of?

Not in being incapable

due to their humanness,

incapable due to their unbelief,

their faithlessness

in this moment.

Because they had done

these things before,

they fooled themselves

into thinking

that they indeed had the power

to do it themselves.

It's not that they doubted

that God could

or would perform this miracle.

It's that they didn't think

they needed God this time around.

They didn't think

they needed him.

We've done this before, fellas.

Let's say the words.

Let's do the touches.

Let's find the oil.

Let's do the stuff

and it will just work.

There's no notion

of God's power.

There's no reliance

on God's work.

They think they have it

in and of themselves,

which is just a form

of unbelief.

Jesus is frustrated.

They're still not getting it.

They're still not getting it.

But he's not just frustrated

at them.

He's frustrated

at everybody else.

There's the scribes there

who had no faith at all

and were only trying

to cause problems for Jesus.

Faithless generation.

There's the crowds

who believed

he could provide them

with good,

a good show

or maybe some bread and fish,

but their unbelief

refused to follow him

as Lord.

Then there's the Father

who came to the right place

and he doesn't seem

to doubt Jesus' willingness,

but after the disciples failed,

what we find

is that he doubts

whether or not

even Jesus can do this.

And Jesus observes

everybody in this crowd

and he steps back

and he says,

Faithless generation,

how long do I have

to be with you?

How long am I going

to have to bear with you

before you will finally believe,

believe before you will

finally get it?

And we have to ask,

do we fit

any of these descriptions?

Are we like the disciples

trying to do the work of God

without God?

Relying on our own abilities

to do what God

has called us to do,

whether it be

in a ministerial way

in the church

or whether it be

as parents

or grandparents

or whether it be

in whatever thing

that God has put

in our lives

for us to accomplish

for his glory.

How many of us

are going about those things

trying to do the work

of God in our lives

but absent of God,

thinking that we have

within ourselves

what it takes

to do the things

that God wants us

to do in this life?

how many of us are like the crowds?

Interested in Jesus

so long as he gives us

what we want

or makes us feel good

in the process?

Maybe we're like the Father,

desperate for God's intervention,

but giving in to doubt

about whether his power

and faithfulness is true.

Who of us

would Jesus stand here today

and say,

faithless generation,

how long?

But then we get

to the last phrase

of this verse,

verse 19.

And it's the most encouraging phrase

of this particular story.

What is it Jesus says

at the end of that?

Bring him to me.

Bring him to me.

This is fantastic.

If the church

has failed you

like the disciples

failed this man

and his boy,

Jesus is still able.

Trust him.

If your life

is an utter mess right now,

like just an absolute mess

and you don't know

what you're gonna do,

you feel like you have

no hope in the world

at all,

Jesus is still able.

Trust him.

Trust him.

He can do for us

what no one else can do.

And he has a willingness

that's unmatched.

Nobody loves you

like Jesus loves you.

Your spouse doesn't love you

like Jesus loves you.

Your kids don't love you

like Jesus loves you.

Your parents don't love you

like Jesus loves you.

He has an unmatched

willingness to help you.

And he says,

just come to me.

Just come to me.

Bring your burdens to me.

Cast yourself on me.

I can help you.

I want to help you.

Trust me.

Believe me.

Bring him to me,

Jesus said.

Which sets up the miracle

that awaits us.

We have to move quickly.

Number two,

we see the lesson taught.

The lesson taught.

Look at verse 20.

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.

Jesus asked his father,

how long has this been happening to him?

He said, from childhood.

And it's often cast him into fire

and into water

to destroy him.

But if you can do anything,

have compassion on us

and help us.

Demon possession is not always

the source behind physical disorders.

We understand that.

We know that.

But this boy was clearly suffering

from spiritual torture,

not epilepsy.

There is way more going on

with this little boy

than just an illness.

He's being assaulted

assaulted by forces

beyond our sight,

beyond our control.

And it's easy for us

to come to passages like this

and even as believers

just wonder,

is this real?

Like, is this just meant

to be figurative?

No, this is real.

Demons are real.

And they're torturing this boy.

They brought the boy to Jesus

and the demon responded,

the way that they always do

when confronted by Jesus

in the Gospels.

Began its destructive work.

Tossed the boy on the ground.

Caused him to convulse

and so on.

And then Jesus inquired

of the father

more about this boy's condition.

Now, Jesus knew the boy's condition.

It wasn't that he needed

the information.

He's drawing something

out of this man, okay?

Now, hang on to that thought.

You're going to see it

as we go through these verses.

He's drawing something

out of this man.

He's drawing his doubt out

so that he can draw his faith out.

And he asked him,

how long has this been happening?

From childhood.

Not only does it happen,

but the demon tries

to destroy him.

Sometimes it throws him

into fire

and we have to rescue him

out of the fire.

Sometimes it throws him

into water

and tries to drown him.

You can imagine

this poor boy

scarred

from all of the struggle

that he's gone through.

All the times

he has been

cast down

into these different ways,

these different places.

And again,

we see

the desperate cry

of his father,

don't we?

If you can do anything,

will you please

have compassion

on my boy?

Will you please help?

That's the same thing

we would say,

is it not?

If one of our kids

were struggling

in this way,

what would we do?

If there was anybody

that could help,

we would go to that person.

If you can help,

please help.

And notice,

he says help us.

He doesn't just say

help my son.

He says help us.

This was torture

for his father.

This was painful

for his father.

He's asking for Jesus

to do something.

But Jesus latches on

to one element

of the man's plea

that reveals his doubt.

Look at verse 23.

And Jesus said,

if you can,

if you can,

all things are possible

for one who believes.

I don't think Jesus

is speaking out

of frustration here.

I think before,

he's speaking out

of frustration.

Oh, faithless generation.

Now he's dealing

with this man one-on-one.

He's not frustrated

with him at all.

He's drawing this out.

He wants him

to acknowledge his doubt

so that Jesus

can get him

to acknowledge his faith.

It's amazing

what Jesus does here.

He has to empty us

before he can fill us.

And he's doing that

with this man.

And he says,

you can just imagine.

We see the tenderness

of Jesus

in these miracles

all the time.

You can imagine Jesus

not being frustrated,

but getting down

with the man,

looking the man

in the eye,

maybe putting his hands

on his shoulders,

whatever would have been

customary in that day,

getting his focus

and just saying compassionately,

all things are possible

for the one

who will believe.

What's Jesus saying?

Essentially he's saying this.

The question,

the issue here

is not my ability.

Of course I can do this.

The question is not

whether I can.

The question is

whether you will believe

because all things

are possible

for the one

who will believe.

He was directly

challenging the man

to believe

for his son

to be healed.

The burden rested

on the father's faith,

not on Jesus' ability.

Jesus could certainly do it.

No doubt he could do it.

And he needed this man

to understand

it's not about my ability,

it's about your faith.

Will you believe?

Which makes me wonder

how often

we fail to experience

the power of God

at work in our lives,

not because he's incapable

or unwilling,

but because we fail

to believe him for it.

Isn't that what Jesus is saying?

All things are possible

for the one

who will believe.

Now,

not to put an asterisk on it,

but we do have to understand

this correctly,

don't we?

Because many

of prosperity preachers

have taught

a false gospel

that is dangerous

and has destroyed people

along with this verse.

Jesus didn't say

all things are guaranteed.

That's not what

Jesus told the man.

He said

all things

are possible.

And he didn't mean

that we have to reach

a certain

quantum

of

super spiritual

faith

that would put

God in a position

where he has

no other course

but to

listen

and obey

our request.

That's not what

Jesus is saying.

Faith is not

an instrument

that controls God.

No,

he is God.

He does what

he wills.

And God

will never answer

a request

that goes against

his sovereign will.

That's not what

Jesus is saying.

We can't control God.

Many people

have turned away

from Christ

because somebody

has told them

God will give you

whatever you want

if you just believe enough.

If you just believe enough

God will give it to you.

And when they don't

get what they want

who is it that

they end up rejecting?

Not so much

the preacher

that lied to them

but the God

who they now feel

has betrayed them.

What else could I do?

I put all the faith

I had into this one day.

I really wanted this job.

I really wanted this thing.

I really wanted

God to do this thing

and he didn't do it

and it's his fault.

That's not what

Jesus is saying.

That is not what

this is about.

The Bible helps us

to stay grounded

on this.

Okay?

I want you to consider

the Apostle Paul

for a moment.

If we were to stack up

and list

the most faithful people

in the New Testament

Paul is going to be

at the top of the list.

Who had such faith

as Paul?

And yet

when he asked God

to take away

something that caused

him to suffer

God wouldn't do it.

And it wasn't because

Paul didn't have faith.

It's because it wasn't

God's plan for his life.

Let me read it to you.

2 Corinthians chapter 12.

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Paul says,

To keep me from

becoming conceited

because of the surpassing

greatness of the revelations,

a thorn was given me

in the flesh,

a messenger of Satan

to harass me,

to keep me from

becoming conceited.

three times

I pleaded

with the Lord

about this

that he should leave me.

But he said to me,

My grace is sufficient

for you

for my power

is made perfect

in weakness.

Therefore,

I will boast

all the more gladly

of my weaknesses

so that the power

of Christ

may rest

upon me.

Here's a faithful man

full of faith

that God can take away

this thorn

that God has given him.

And yet God says no.

You say,

How do we reconcile that

with what Jesus

is saying here?

Remember,

Jesus didn't tell the man

all things are guaranteed.

He said all things

are possible.

Every impossibility

is made possible

when you believe God

for that thing.

It doesn't mean

that he's always

going to do it,

but it does make it possible.

But there's a ditch

on the other side

of the road here,

isn't there?

It's easy to let

the prominence

and prevalence

of prosperity gospel

to lead us

to a constant state

of doubt.

Like we want to be

so careful sometimes.

I feel this way at least.

I want to be so careful

sometimes

not to give people

the wrong idea

with a verse like this

that I basically

go through my life

in a constant state

of doubt.

Praying for healing

for someone,

but always having

to put a parenthetical

statement on it.

Lord,

if you desire

to do this,

if this is your will,

we need of course

to pray for God's will.

But the mindset

behind those prayers

sometimes

is that we don't

really think

God is going to do this

and we're saving

ourselves from

the embarrassment

of expressing a faith

that doesn't actually

come to fruition

later on.

Don't do that.

Jesus takes the man

and he says,

listen,

this is not about

my willingness.

This is about

your faith.

Believe.

Believe me.

Believe me.

Trust me.

Follow me.

It's a lesson

we need to learn.

Jesus' point

is that when faith

is put in the right source,

it makes possible

everything that is

otherwise impossible.

And when we trust Christ,

we appeal

to the one person

with the ability

and willingness

to do absolutely anything.

We avail ourselves

to the fullness

of his power.

And true faith

believes in the promises

of God.

True faith

submits

to the sovereignty

of God.

And true faith

trusts

the power of God.

True faith

believes the promises

of God,

submits

to the sovereignty

of God,

and trusts

the power of God.

And it does not

waver

when the outcome

is different

than we hope.

It trusts

the Lord

even when he says

no.

Isn't that

Paul's point?

I asked God

three times

to take this away.

He didn't do it.

And I trust him.

He did the right thing.

It's hard for me,

but this is right

because God

is always

right.

The father

needed to understand

that.

He needed to understand

that the healing

of his son

was not threatened

by any inability

in Jesus,

but by his own doubt,

which is what leads

us to the father's

response in verse

24.

Immediately,

the father of the child

cried out and said,

I believe,

help my unbelief.

I believe,

help my unbelief.

I love this.

I love how he responds

because it reveals

that his faith

was actually

more robust

than what we

originally supposed.

Notice he didn't

try

to think

positive thoughts

or dig deep

within his heart

for the necessary

kind of faith.

It's not what he did.

Isn't that

what our temptation

would be?

If somebody were

to tell us that,

we're really seeking

for God to do something.

They said,

if you just believe,

you gotta believe,

you gotta believe.

Maybe we sit there

and we think,

okay,

well,

what do I have

to do to believe?

Do I have to just

think really hard

and just convince myself

of something

that I don't actually

feel is true

in that moment?

No,

that's not what

the man does.

What does he do?

He cast even

his doubts,

even his doubts,

he cast wholly

on the Lord Jesus.

Jesus,

I believe

whatever doubts

are within my heart,

please help

those things.

Help my unbelief.

Help my unbelief.

That's true faith.

True faith

doesn't ignore

the doubts

that are in your heart.

True faith

goes to the Lord

with those doubts.

It casts those doubts

on him.

That's what Jesus

was drawing out

of this man.

That's why he inquired

more about the boy.

He wanted to expose

his doubt

so he could then

fill him

with this faith

that he needed.

And how did

that faith look?

It looked like surrender.

It looked like surrender.

Jesus,

I don't have this faith.

If it's gonna be there,

it's gonna be

because you help me have it.

You give it to me.

Help my unbelief.

The word helps,

interesting.

It's the same word

he uses

in verse 22

or 21

when he's asking

for God

to help his son.

It literally means

to rescue.

So the father's

asking Jesus

at this moment,

please rescue

my son

from this demon

and please rescue

me

from my unbelief.

Rescue me

from my

doubt.

Jesus isn't interested

in you trying

to dig up

some kind of confidence

from somewhere

in the depths

of your being.

It's not there.

It's not there.

You can't do it.

He wants you

to exhibit

true faith

by recognizing

you can't actually

provide it

for yourself.

He wants you

to cast yourself

wholly on Him.

He wants you

to bring your

doubts to Him

trusting that

if anyone

can do something

with Him

it's Him.

Casting all

your care

upon Him

because He cares

for you.

Help my unbelief

should be the

daily cry

of every one

of us.

Lord help

my unbelief.

Quickly

we see the power

of God.

Verse 25

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.

After crying

out and convulsing

Him terribly

it came out

the boy

was like a corpse

so that most

of them said

he's dead

but Jesus

took Him

by the hand

and lifted

Him up

and He arose.

It's amazing.

It's a picture

of the gospel.

This boy

was gripped

by evil.

He was

enslaved

by the powers

of this world.

His condition

was such

that he could

not help

himself

neither could

those closest

to him

provide any

type of rescue.

There was only

one person

that could

meet his

need

and without

any effort

from the boy

Jesus

delivered him

from his

bondage

to the

wickedness

and death.

Is that

not what

salvation

is?

We're

enslaved

to evil

to sin

to the

powers

of this

world

incapable

of helping

ourselves

incapable

of being

helped

by those

around us

desperate

for God

to do

his work

and only

Jesus

can do

it

and he

doesn't

need our

help

wouldn't

do any

good

anyways

it is

all of

his

grace

he

does

this

work

the

demon

had no

choice

to obey

it fled

dramatically

actually

and the

crowd

that had

gathered

presumed

that the

boy

was

dead

but again

Jesus

tenderly

and

compassionately

does

what

he

doesn't

send

the

disciples

to him

he

doesn't

send

the

father

to him

he

gets

down

with

the

boy

himself

taking

him

by

the

hand

and

raising

him

up

and

Matthew

says

at that

point

he

gives

him

to

the

father

the

word

that

Mark

uses

here

when

he

says

that

Jesus

lifted

him

up

is

the

word

for

resurrection

it's

not that

the

boy

was

actually

dead

I

don't

think

that

he

was

not

in

this

case

I

think

that

he

probably

seemed

lifeless

after

such

a

traumatic

moment

but

I

don't

think

that

he

was

actually

dead

but

Mark

wanted

us

saves

our

souls

he

raises

us

from

spiritual

death

to

eternal

life

we

must

not

see

in

this

miracle

anything

less

than

what

Jesus

has

done

in

each

one

of

us

at

the

moment

of

salvation

that's

what

that

is

we

are

dead

Jesus

raises

us

up

and

then

what

does

he

do

gives

us

to

the

father

gives

us

to

the

father

that's

the

whole

point

Ephesians

chapter

two

but

God

being

rich

in

mercy

because

of

the

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

in

our

trespasses

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

and

he

has

raised

us

up

with

!

seated

us

with

him

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

so that

in the

coming

ages

he

might

show

the

immeasurable

riches

of his

grace

in

kindness

toward

us

in

Christ

Jesus

that

description

of

salvation

is

illustrated

by what

Jesus

does

for this

boy

finally

we see

the place

of

prayer

the place

of

prayer

look at

verse 28

and

when

he

had

entered

the

house

his

disciples

asked

him

privately

why

could

we

not

cast

it

out

and

he

said

to

them

this

kind

cannot

be

driven

out

by

anything

but

prayer

at

the

end

of

the

day

the

whole

event

is

teaching

us

something

about

the

necessity

of

faith

in

discipleship

and

whenever

the

disciples

had

an

opportunity

to

ask

Jesus

more

about

how

they

had

failed

Jesus

response

was

that

they

did

not

pray

which

is

why

it

gives

us

light

as to

what

the

problem

was

at

the

beginning

Jesus

said

it

was

their

unbelief

but

then

when

they

ask

he

says

this

only

comes

through

prayer

so

at

one

time

in

Mark

Mark 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

they

had

recognized

how

desperately

they

needed

Christ's

power

as

they

fulfilled

the

ministry

that

he

had

given

them

this

time

however

they

relied

totally

on

themselves

apparently

they

didn't

even

stop

for

a

moment

to

pray

for

God's

help

which

reveals

to

us

their

unbelief

they

knew

God

could

do

it

but

they

didn't

think

they

needed

him

now

similar

to

the

point

made

in

verse

23

about

faith

Jesus

wasn't

giving

a

measurement

of

prayer

to

follow

when

seeking

his

work

he

wasn't

saying

you have

to

pray

a

certain

amount

of

times

or

that

you

have

to

say

a

certain

kind

of

words

what

he

meant

here

was

that

prayer

is

that

external

action

that

reveals

an

internal

faith

in other

words

when we

truly rely

on

God

it

will

show

up

in the

way

that

we

pray

our

faith

and

our

prayers

are

inextricably

linked

and

this

kind

of

praying

faith

is

an

essential

quality

of

faithful

disciples

so we

conclude

that our

greatest

failures

in life

are

prayer

failures

and

our

prayer

failures

are a

direct

result

of

our

unbelief

at

its

very

heart

prayer

is a

demonstration

of our

total

reliance

on

God

but the

problem

is that

so many

of us

go through

life

not

actually

thinking

that we

need

him

that

much

else

we

would

pray

right

now think

about what

Jesus has

just said

they said

why couldn't

we do

it

Jesus

says

you

didn't

pray

so let's

switch that

around and

just restate

it a

different

way

how can

we do

it

Jesus

says

this only

comes

by

prayer

how are

we

going to

raise

kids

to love

the

Lord

in a

society

that

hates

him

our

kids

have

nothing

going

for

them

nothing

everything

they're

going to

grow up

in in

their

life

outside

of the

faithfulness

of their

families

and their

church

is going

to push

them to

wickedness

and evil

and corruption

and as far

as this

world around

them is

concerned