Lord, I Believe; Help my unbelief

As we make our way to our seats, I'm going to

invite us to open up our Bibles to the book of

Mark chapter 9. Mark chapter 9, and we're going

Mark 9 · chapter mention Mark 9 · chapter mention

to be reading verses 23 to 24, and it's up there

on the screen if you want to reference it. Before

I get started, I want to thank the Lord for this

opportunity to... Be able to deliver this word

this afternoon to stand before you. And I do

also want to thank my pastor for this opportunity

to minister in his absence. And we're going to

keep our pastoral family in prayer. Amen. As

they are out. Amen. Mark chapter 9 verses 23

Mark 9:23–24

through 24. reads as this. Jesus said to him,

if you can believe, all things are possible to

him who believes. Immediately, the father of

the child cried out and said with tears, Lord,

I believe. Help my unbelief. Lord, I believe.

Help my unbelief. And that is what I decided

to title this sermon for this afternoon, this

message. And so clap in your hands. You may take

your seats. Amen. Giving praise to our God. As

I began praying and studying and... I found myself

drawn to this powerful story in Mark chapter

Mark 9 · chapter mention

9. The Christian life is often a journey of hills

and valleys. There are mountaintop seasons, seasons

where prayers are being answered, doors are opening.

blessings are flowing. Faith seems effortless.

And it's easy to praise God when everything is

going right. I'll be the first to admit it's

very easy to praise God when everything is going

right. In fact, it's easy to testify when the

miracle has already happened. It's easy to worship

When we are standing on the mountain. But then

there are valleys. There are seasons when the

prayer has not been answered. There are seasons

when the diagnosis changes everything. There

are seasons when relationships become strained.

And there are seasons when the finances aren't

adding up. There are seasons when we've done

everything we know to do. Yet nothing seems to

change. And it's in those valleys that our faith

is tested. Not because God has abandoned us.

Not because God has forgotten us. But because

valleys reveal with mountains often conceal.

The father in Mark chapter 9 was living in a

Mark 9 · chapter mention

valley. Not for a day. Not for a week. Not for

a month. But for years. His son was tormented

by an unclean spirit. The spirit would seize

him, throw him into the fire, throw him into

the water, cause him to foam at the mouth. And

every day his father had to watch. Now, if you

can imagine the father, imagine the helplessness

that the father must have felt. Would you imagine

the frustration that the father must have felt?

Imagine the sleepless nights. that the father

must have felt. Imagine hearing your child cry

and not being able to stop the pain. There is

no pain quite like watching someone that we love

to suffer. Amen. Maybe the father had tried every

remedy available. Maybe he had sought every answer

he could find, yet nothing changed. Then one

day he heard about Jesus and hope began to rise.

And maybe this is the answer he might have thought

to himself. Maybe this is the breakthrough. Maybe

this is the day that changes everything. And

I don't know if you've ever been in a season

like that where you feel like this could just

change everything. So he brings his son to the

disciples and nothing happens. There is no miracle.

There is no breakthrough. There is no deliverance.

But there is only just disappointment. And standing

before Jesus, the father finds himself caught

between faith and doubt. He finds himself caught

between faith and doubt. He finds himself believing.

Yet he finds himself yet struggling, hoping,

yet hurting. And from the depths of his soul

comes one of the most honest prayers recorded

in Scripture. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

That's today what I want to preach on that prayer.

Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And so for

the first point, even believers can struggle

with unbelief. Even believers can struggle with

unbelief. One of the most comforting truths in

this passage is that the father was not an unbeliever.

He believed. If he had no faith, he would have

never come. He believed enough to seek Jesus.

He believed enough to ask Jesus. He believed

enough to stay in front of Jesus. Yet he still

struggled. There is a difference, City Light

Church, between having no faith and having faith

that is under pressure. There is a difference

between having no faith and having faith that

is under pressure. And so the Father teaches

us that faith and struggle can exist in the same

heart. Amen. Has anybody ever felt like that

where you are just on the cusp of believing but

also have some doubt? I'll be the first to say

it, church. The Father teaches us that faith

and struggle can exist in the same heart, and

many of us know exactly what that feels like.

We believe that God can heal, but sometimes another

doctor's report arrives. We believe that God

can save our families, but years pass and we

still find ourselves waiting. We believe God's

promises, but circumstances continue challenging

what we know to be true. And suddenly we find

ourselves praying, Lord, I believe, but I'm struggling.

Lord, I believe, but I'm tired. Lord, I believe,

but I don't understand. Come on, can somebody

join with me if you've ever had that feeling

where you say, Lord, I believe, but I'm tired.

I don't understand. I don't have all the answers,

but I believe, Lord. The presence of doubt. does

not always mean the absence of faith. The father

had not let go. His grip was weak. His faith

was wounded. And his confidence was shaking.

But he was still holding on. If I can provide

this illustration, it's like someone hanging

from a rope. And there are moments when you hang

on the rope that the grip is strong. And there

are moments when your hands are tired from holding

on to the rope. But just because, church, we

have tired hands, it does not mean we've let

go. The Father was still holding on, and Jesus

honored that faith. And that leads me to the

second point, that disappointment is often the

birthplace of doubt. Disappointment is often

the birthplace of doubt. The father's struggle

did not happen in a vacuum. Before he met Jesus,

he experienced disappointment. He brought his

son to the disciples. These were not strangers.

These were men who... had already seen miracles,

men who had already cast out devils, men who

had already ministered in Jesus' name. And certainly

he thought to himself, they could help. Surely

this would be the answer. But nothing happened,

and disappointment began to speak. And can I

just say that disappointment has a voice. disappointment

has a voice. It whispers, nothing's ever going

to change. It whispers, why keep praying? It

whispers, why keep believing? It whispers, why

keep hoping? And some of us know exactly what

that feels like. We thought this was the answer.

We thought this was the opportunity. We thought

this was the breakthrough. We thought that this

was the open door. And then things didn't happen

the way we expected. And disappointment has caused

many people to question what they once believed.

Yet what I love about what this father did is

that he refused to walk away. The disciples failed,

but... He stayed. The miracles didn't happen

immediately, but the Father stayed. His expectations

were wounded, but the Father stayed. And just

because people fail, church, does not mean that

Jesus will fail. Just because yesterday was disappointing

does not mean that tomorrow has no miracle. Just

because others cannot help does not mean that

Jesus cannot help. The church let this serve

as an encouragement. will not fail, but if you're

holding on to faith today, if you're holding

on to that little bit of faith, I invite you

to still hold on just like this father. The father

persevered. Hallelujah. People fail, church.

Jesus never fails. People disappoint. But Jesus

never disappoints. People may not have the answers,

but Jesus is still the answer, church. And that

is why our faith cannot ultimately be built on

people. It must be built on Christ. And that

leads me to point number three, which... Time

is flying as I realize I'm going to invite our

piano player to come on up. Amen. That Jesus

responds to honest faith. Jesus responds to honest

faith. This is the heart of the story. Because

the father. Does not pretend. He doesn't put

on a religious mask. And sometimes we don't,

we're not honest sometimes with the Lord. Honest

in our prayers, honest in our faith. And we put

on this mask and everything's all right. Everything's

okay. See, this father doesn't try to impress

Jesus. There's no need to act. There's no need

to act in front of the Lord. He doesn't try to

impress Jesus. Considering all the circumstances

that have happened before in this chain of events,

the Father simply just tells the truth. Lord,

I believe, but help my unbelief. Lord, I believe,

but help my unbelief. What a prayer. See, it

wasn't polished. It wasn't refined. It wasn't,

it was raw. It was real. It was not impressive.

It was not theological. Didn't have to be reviewed

or anything like that. It was just honest. That

was enough. Because then Jesus responds. And

I'm here to just say this. If somebody wants

to receive it, I pray that we receive this. City

Light Church, God can work with complete honesty.

Amen. God can work with your honesty, with your

honest pain. If you're tired, you can be honest

with the Lord. If you're struggling, you can

be honest with the Lord. If you're lacking faith

for a miracle, you can be honest with the Lord.

There's no need to hide. There's no need to put

on the religious mask. God knows our heart already,

so why not just be honest with the Lord already?

God can work with weakness, church. God can work

with trembling faith. God can even work with

struggling faith. And what he desires is that

we bring it to him. Cast all your cares upon

the Lord and he shall sustain you. He shall never

permit the righteous to be moved. God can work

with your trembling faith. God can work with

your struggling faith. The miracle did not happen

because the Father's faith was perfect, church.

The miracle happened because Jesus was present.

we catch that the miracle happened only because

Jesus was present. And Jesus is present here,

church. The power was never in the Father's faith.

The power was in Christ. The answer was never

in the Father. The answer was in Jesus. The miracle

was never dependent upon a perfect... If I can

provide this illustration, a drowning man does

not need the perfect swimming technique. Doesn't

need to have all the strokes in. Doesn't need

the perfect, doesn't need to have an Olympic

level skill set of swimming. He simply needs

to just reach for help. And in this situation

with a father seeing his son struggling, The

Father's faith was reaching, and Jesus met him

there. And that is the beauty of grace, church.

Jesus does not wait for us to become perfect

before he responds. He, in fact, meets us at

our weakness. He meets us in our struggle. He

meets us in our valley. So if you have struggling

faith right now, you are at the perfect position,

church. You are at the perfect position to receive

a miracle from God. If you find yourself in the

valley, right now, you are in the perfect position

to receive your miracle from God. And so then

the question becomes, as I move on to my final

point, how do we strengthen our faith? If we're

honest, all of us have areas where our faith

needs to grow. We all have areas, we all have

different areas of... Where we need to improve

our faith, I'll be the first to tell you, there

are some areas in my life that I need my faith

to be improved on. So if you recognize this,

looking to yourself, looking deep into yourself,

and listen, only you know yourself. Jesus in

yourself, know yourself. So we have to take an

honest look to ourselves. where does my faith,

Jesus, where does my faith need to grow? Where

does my faith need to grow? So what do we do?

First, we got to acknowledge it. The first step

to recognizing is just that we just need to acknowledge

it. I'll give you an example because the father

did not hide his struggle. Didn't hide it. He

confessed it. He confessed it with his mouth.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I want to

see my son be set free. The second thing that

we must do is we must ask God. to increase our

faith. The disciples prayed in Luke chapter 17,

Luke 17:5

verse 5, Lord, increase our faith. Lord, increase

our faith. And that is the prayer that we ought

to pray. Look, if you don't know what to pray,

then pray this prayer that the disciples pray.

Lord, increase my faith. Lord, increase my faith

this Sunday afternoon. Increase my faith on Monday

morning, on Monday evening, on Tuesday morning,

on Tuesday evening, Monday through Saturday and

Sunday. Lord, increase my faith. Faith can grow,

church. Faith can become stronger. Faith can

mature. Third, it is that we must fill ourselves

with the Word of God. There is no other way around

it. The Word of God is our daily bread. Just

like we eat every day, we have to eat the Word

of God every day. The book of Romans chapter

Romans 10:17

10 verse 17 says this, So then faith cometh by

hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Faith

does not grow accidentally. Faith does not grow

accidentally. As much as we would like to wish

for faith to increase by its own, it doesn't

grow on its own. It doesn't grow accidentally.

Faith grows through the exposure to God's word.

And we cannot survive on Sunday's message alone.

Just as our bodies need food daily, our spirits

need their daily bread. Which is the word of

God. Fourth, is to guard the voices that we allow

into our lives. Guard. Set up a barrier. Because

not every voice, in fact, let me just say this,

the wrong voice feeds fear. The wrong voice feeds

fear into your spirit. But the right voice feeds

faith into your spirit. Not every voice, church,

deserves access to our spirit. And sometimes

we just have to just have a moment where we're

just like, you know what, this is it. I'm not

going to allow these voices, whether they come

from social media, whether they come from a friend

that's speaking death into your life or speaking

down into your life. Whatever the case may be,

not every voice deserves access to our spirit

search. Not every voice deserves access to our

hearts, church. Not every opinion deserves a

seat at our table of our hearts. But we must

fill our minds with God's promises. We must fill

our hearts with God's truth. We must learn to

speak the language of faith. And sometimes we

find ourselves saying, it can never happen. It's

impossible. If you ever find yourself saying

it, because I've been there, I've been saying,

and there's been periods in my life, seasons

in my life where I've said, it's impossible,

God, it can't happen. Can it actually happen,

God? It's impossible. When you add the numbers

up together, it's impossible. When you put every

piece of the puzzle together, it's impossible.

Nothing will ever change. But we must learn to

speak the promises of God over our circumstances.

So I invite you at this moment to look into your

situation. Look into the season of your life.

Look into what's going on in your life. And if

there's any impossibility that you are facing,

if there's anything that you, need God to just

meet you there at the valley. We have to learn

to speak the promises of God over our circumstances.

The promises of God are yes and amen. So as I

come to a close today, I invite you to stand

up on your feet. I wonder how many of us feel

like this father. And it doesn't necessarily

have to be that your son is sick or your child

is sick. It doesn't necessarily have to be that.

It could be an impossibility in your life. It

can be an impossibility that you're seeing like,

you know what, God? If you don't move, I don't

know what's going to happen. If you don't move

in my life, I don't know what's going to happen

to this. I don't know what's going to happen

to that. You know, only you know your circumstance.

Only you know what's ahead of you. The choices

that you have to make. And so I really begin

to wonder in a certain area of our life, in a

certain area of our faith, I wonder how many

of us feel like the Father. We've prayed. We've

waited. And we believed. Yet somewhere along

the journey, disappointment tried to weaken our

faith. And I don't know if this is speaking to

somebody, but maybe disappointment has tried

to weaken your faith. Maybe perhaps some of us

have been carrying burdens for years. Perhaps

some of us have worshiped while quietly struggling.

Perhaps some of us have smiled on the outside

while fighting battles on the inside. Perhaps

some of us have prayed prayers that have not

yet been answered. today that Jesus is not looking

for perfect faith. He is looking for people willing

to come to him. The Father came with faith with

one hand and questions with the other. And yet,

guess what? Jesus still moved in the Father's

life through his Son. And so the Father came

with belief and unbelief. And so you may find

yourself praying the same prayer that the Father

had. Help my unbelief in this circumstance, in

my job, whatever the case may be. Lord, I believe.

Help my unbelief. And Jesus still moved. The

father came broken. Would you imagine for years

dealing with this, seeing your son struggle,

carrying that? So the father came broken to Jesus.

And yet Jesus still moved. The father came hurting

church. And Jesus still moved. The father came

honestly. And yet Jesus still moved. And the

same Jesus who met that father in his valley

is here today, church. The same Father, the same

Jesus that ministered to the Father is here right

now. And if there is a valley in your life right

now, he can meet you here right now. He can meet

you here right now. If you need a healing, Jesus

is here. If we need restoration, church, Jesus

is here. If we need deliverance, Jesus is here.

If we need a renewal of our faith, Jesus is here.

I'm still here.