Sunday Sermon | The Gospel of Mark: Staying Dependent

This is the Gospel of Mark.

Well, good morning, church family.

Feel like I need to reintroduce myself.

My name is Jason Smith.

I'm the pastor here at First Baptist.

I do want to thank you for uh for I spent the last uh several weeks just sitting with my family, being a normal church member, and it was great.

It's refreshing to my soul to uh just be uh a member amongst us.

And uh truthfully, well while I'm on the subject, I I want to talk to us just for a moment about the fact that so so going into uh our construction phase where I knew everything was going to be an upheaval on campus, right?

Everyone's cheese is moved, classes are moved, there's construction, right?

The plaza's in a mess, and things just feel quite different around here, right?

Uh as your pastor and the pastoral staff, right, we we're a little nervous in regards to how are our people going to respond, right?

Because we can be cranky, right, when we we when things are moved in our lives, but but truthfully, church, you've responded incredible, right?

This these are small asks in comparison to our faith and our brothers and sisters who are suffering for their faith.

These are preferences, and yet when you do it with a gracious attitude and a willing spirit, everything is so much easier.

So I just want to say, as your pastor, great job.

Keep it up, praise the Lord for that.

Um, I expected it of you, but at the same time, right, it is proof that uh we have faith and we walk with the Lord, and any inconvenience is worth it to suffer for his name.

Okay?

Amen with that.

All right, church family, we have the awesome privilege of taking the Lord's Supper together.

All right.

Uh and if you did not get elements on your way in, if you would lift your hand, we have some deacons who are nearby.

We'll make sure that you get those elements.

Church family, let us prepare our hearts as we move towards the Lord's Supper because we are a people formed by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Right?

Only by the grace do we come.

Only because of God's mercy.

And so every time we take the Lord's Supper, we are reminding ourselves of it's the fact that Jesus is holding on to us, not that we are holding on to him.

Amen?

Right?

We come by the blood.

So prepare your hearts.

We want to do this really well.

We'll take it at the end of the of the sermon together.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 9.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

We continue our walk through the Gospel of Mark.

If you do not have a Bible, there's a Bible in the seat back in front of you.

You can take that Bible as a gift from us to you.

We want you to have a copy of God's word.

On January of 1967, three astronauts climbed inside of Apollo 1.

Now, this was essentially a rehearsal.

They were not launching that day.

Okay?

And they get sealed inside the spacecraft, and the cabin is filled with pure oxygen as the engineers run their systems checks.

Now, you may hear that and say that sounds crazy.

Because a hundred percent oxygen creates an extremely dangerous situation.

Pure oxygen is highly combustible.

But NASA had been doing this for years.

Their two previous missions of Mercury and Gemini, they had used pure oxygen and mission after mission had succeeded.

But on this fateful day at 631, something produced a simple spark.

And in that oxygen-rich environment, fire tore through the capsule, killing all three astronauts.

Now, afterwards, NASA did an investigation.

And what they discovered, okay, what it was not their lack of experience that produced the catastrophe.

Rather, it was actually that they had so much experience, okay, that years of successful missions diluted their awareness of the dangers of working with pure oxygen.

See, sometimes the most dangerous thing to happen to us is that we succeed.

Because when we fail, we're aware of our weaknesses, aren't we?

But success can sometimes make us forget it.

Now that's where we are as we come to Mark chapter 9 this morning.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

We find that the disciples are in a situation that they've seen before.

They've preached, they've healed, they've cast out demons.

But this time a desperate father comes to them, and Mark tells us they were not able to cast out the demon.

Listen, as I read, beginning in verse 14 of chapter 9.

Now, when they came back to the disciples, so that's Jesus and the three, Peter, James, and John, they're coming down Mount Transfiguration.

And they come back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.

Immediately, when the crowd saw him, they were amazed, and they began running up to greet him.

And he asked them, What were you discussing with them?

And one of the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought you my son, possessed with the spirit which makes him mute, and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out.

I told your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.

And he answered and he said, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you?

How long shall I put up with you?

Bring him to me.

They brought the boy to him, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit threw him into the convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.

He asked his father, How long has this been happening to him?

And he said, From childhood.

It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.

But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.

And Jesus said to him, If you can, all things are possible to him who believes.

Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, I do believe, help my unbelief.

When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You deaf and unmute and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.

After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out.

And the boy became so much like a course, a course, that most of them said, He is dead.

But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up.

And when he came into the house, his disciples began questioning him privately.

Why could we not drive it out?

And he said to them, This kind cannot come out by anything but a prayer.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, as we come to your word this morning, we need you to teach us.

Teach us to be dependent upon you.

Teach us to be like this Father who came to you even with his unbelief and said, I believe, help my unbelief.

Father, we we don't want to play games, we don't want to pretend.

We know that our faith is on a spectrum of belief, and we have good moments, and Father, we have moments where our faith is tested and we seem very weak.

And God, I pray that you would teach us this morning through our current circumstances how much we need you, and specifically, Father, areas where we are not praying to you.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All right, we've turned a corner in the gospel of Mark, and now everything is moving towards the cross, especially after Peter has denied his need for the cross.

Mark will repeatedly expose the heart of the disciples, showing us that even the good ones need a crucified Savior.

Now recall, Garrett preached for us two weeks ago.

He did an excellent job, and we were looking at the transfiguration.

Jesus up on the mountain, right?

Revealing his own glory.

Just like Moses when he was transfigured with God's glory up on Mount Sinai, so now Jesus radiates his own glory.

The one who has just announced his coming death is revealed again as the one true Son of God.

But against Peter's wishes, they must come down off the mountain and enter back into the brokenness below.

Because Jesus' mission awaits.

Now, as they get to the base of the mountain, Jesus is immediately met by a tormented child, a desperate father, a confused crowd, a group of scribes that are arguing with the disciples, and the disciples have proved to be powerless.

See, apparently, while Jesus was atop the mountain with Peter, James, and John, the rest of the disciples were below, and they were met by a desperate father who came looking for Jesus because his son is demon-possessed.

Now understand, the disciples have seen this before.

They have experience.

Recall back in Mark chapter 6, verse 7, as Jesus was sending out his disciples, right, to multiply the mission, that Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits.

Mark 6:7

In verse 13 of chapter 6, Mark tells us that they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

You see, they've done this before.

And yet when they encounter this situation, nothing.

The Father tells Jesus, I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they were not able to.

See, they had experience, they knew what to do, but this time they are not able.

Okay, after everything Israel had seen God do, the Lord asked them, How long will this people not believe in me?

Despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst.

You see, Israel had seen his power.

They had experienced his provision.

You remember the manna that came up every morning?

And yet, when the next crisis came, they still failed to trust him.

And Jesus enters into this scene and says, O unbelieving generation, how long?

And then Jesus says four simple words.

Bring him to me.

Now, in a moment, we're gonna get to the bottom of the unbelief.

I'm gonna show you where that comes from.

But take note of this scene.

Don't miss the fact that in the midst of all the failure of all the unbelief, Jesus still has compassion.

He still heals.

He is still clearly and always the answer.

When your strength can't fix it, when your wisdom can't fix it, when other Christians can't fix it for you, run to Jesus.

Now, with compassion, Jesus turns to the Father and asks, How long has this been happening?

And here's what we learn.

For years, this little boy has been tormented.

The demon wants to destroy him, throwing him into the fire, trying to drown him, convulsions, foaming, spody stiffening, the grinding of teeth.

And all the while the father has been helpless to do anything about it.

And so out of desperation with Jesus, right, he cries out, but if you can do anything, take pity on us, help us.

And Jesus catches these words, if you can.

See, the question isn't whether Jesus has the power, right?

We've seen for nine chapters now, Jesus has the power.

The question is whether the father will trust.

So Jesus presses.

All things are possible to him who believes.

And immediately the father cries out, I do believe.

Help my unbelief.

Now hold on to that prayer because we're going to come back to it.

Because before this account is over, we're going to find that this moment the father becomes a model not only to us, but especially to the disciples.

Upon hearing the father's response and seeing the crowd, Jesus commands the demon to leave the boy.

And in one final act of violence, the demon throws him into terrible convulsions.

There he is, writhing in pain again on the ground.

And then suddenly, lifeless, everyone says he's dead.

But Jesus kneels down and takes him by the hand and raises him up.

See that spirit that tormented the boy for years is now gone.

Can you imagine the father's excitement as he receives his son back?

He's free.

He's finally free.

And Jesus has done with a word what the disciples were powerless to do.

Now Mark quickly shifts the scene back to the disciples.

Just like that.

We're with the disciples in a house and they are alone with Jesus, and they can now privately ask him, why couldn't we cast out the demon?

And Jesus' answer is short but pointed.

This kind only comes out through prayer.

Now what a fascinating and honestly embarrassing answer.

Because Jesus essentially says, you didn't pray.

You didn't pray.

You could have acknowledged your need.

You could have cried out for help from your heavenly father.

You could have admitted we cannot do this, God, unless you show up and do what only you can do, God.

But instead, what did they do?

Apparently, they simply went to work.

They had experience.

They said, we've done this before.

We've got this.

We know what to do.

And somewhere along the way, they had forgotten that the power never belonged to them.

That it was always God's power through them.

Can you imagine the first time that Jesus sent them out?

Right back in Mark chapter 6.

Mark 6 · chapter mention

Jesus sends them out preaching, healing, casting out demons?

Now, certainly the first time they went out, they knew how dependent they were, right?

They were like, God, if you don't show up, I don't know how this works.

I don't have any authority.

How can I heal?

How can I heal?

You think I have the authority to cast out demons in my name?

God, you're gonna have to move.

And you know what?

He did.

Again.

And again, God moved.

But success and familiarity and even competence can do something dangerous to the human heart.

Because what began as God, I need you, can slowly become.

I know how to do this.

And now look at him.

Powerless.

Embarrassed before the scribes.

Unable to help the desperate father.

And Jesus looks at him and says, You didn't pray.

You didn't pray.

Church, we can't miss this.

Because Jesus is about to expose a kind of unbelief that we don't normally recognize.

You see, we recognize the Father's unbelief when he says, Jesus, I'm not sure that you can do anything about this.

We recognize that.

But the disciples have another kind.

Jesus We thought we had it.

Now, Matthew adds an important detail that helps us piece this together, Jesus' rebuke.

Because in Matthew, when the disciples asked Jesus, why could we not cast out the demon?

In 1720, Jesus replies, because of the littleness of your faith.

Do you see what Jesus said?

He said, You lacked faith.

Now we instinctively recognize one side of unbelief, the side that says, God can't, or he won't, or he isn't good, or I can't trust him.

We recognize that as unbelief.

But Jesus is pressing this entire account, it is exposing another side of unbelief within the disciples that you and I don't often recognize, but it is within us.

It's an unbelief that doesn't say God can't, but it says, I've got this.

It's self-reliance.

It's moving through life without ever turning to God.

Because sometimes deep inside our heart says, I don't need God anymore.

Now hear me.

Competence isn't the problem.

God wants you to gain wisdom and skill and experience.

Romans 12, 2 even says, I want you, God says, I want you to be able to discern my will.

God wants us to grow up in maturity.

The problem is when we move from God, I need you to teach me to now, God, I don't need you anymore.

See, Christian maturity is growing in competence without becoming independent from our Father.

And one of the clearest evidences of self-reliance is prayerlessness.

Because what is prayer?

It's an admission of our need.

Prayer is saying, God, I need you to do what I cannot do.

Which means sometimes the most revealing question about what we believe in our heart is actually, what are you not bringing to God?

So let me ask you, where have you stopped praying because you think you already know what to do?

You instinctively rush to solve without ever slowing down and turning to the Lord.

Oh, I know you once desperately begged for God in that area, but now you simply operate out of experience.

Parenting.

Your marriage.

Have you stopped asking God for wisdom?

Has experience taught you to settle?

To say, this just is the way it is?

What about your finances?

Do you pray about how God wants you to steward his resources?

Or do you only come to him in a crisis?

What about when that familiar sin returns?

Are we actually praying for God to change your heart?

Or do you just say, I've got to be more disciplined?

Church, let me confess to you.

When I first began preaching, I knew my weaknesses.

God, if you do not speak to your people, what will I be except a babbling fool?

But now there's a temptation in my heart to say, I've got this, I know how to preach.

Listen, I know how foolish that sounds, but slowly, almost invisibly, yesterday's experience of God's faithfulness can become a substitute for today's dependence upon God.

So maybe that's the question this passage is asking us.

Where has God I need you quietly become, I've got this?

Because prayerlessness is not always evidence that you don't believe God exists.

Sometimes it's evidence that your heart is genuinely saying, I don't need you.

I've got this.

But now let's circle back to the desperate Father.

Right?

Because remarkably, when Jesus presses him, what does he say?

I do believe.

Help my unbelief.

What an honest exposure of the human heart.

Jesus, I believe, but I don't believe perfectly.

There's doubt in me.

Jesus, I need you even to help my unbelief.

Now, what a contrast from the disciples.

When the disciples get to the end of themselves, they do not cry out for help.

They stand there arguing with the scribes over the technique.

And their failure is exposed to everyone, but not this father.

He doesn't hide his weakness, he brings it to Jesus.

It's as if he is asking Jesus, can I come to you even with my unbelief?

And the answer is yes.

Isn't that remarkable?

In a passage filled with unbelief, that's what Jesus rebukes.

There we have the Father becomes a model of faith.

Because faith isn't the confidence that I can, faith is dependence upon the one who can.

And maybe that's where you are this morning.

Right?

You believe, but your faith is mixed with fear and doubt.

Listen, don't hide it.

Bring it to Jesus.

Because faith isn't pretending you're strong.

Faith is knowing where to go when you are weak.

And the disciples haven't learned that yet.

In fact, what we're going to see from this point forward, Mark is going to keep exposing them, their unbelief, their pride, their self-reliance.

And you say, why does Mark keep exposing now the disciples?

And the first portion, all the way up to the hinge of the book, Mark exposes the crowd, he exposes the scribes, but now on this side, he's going to continue to expose the heart of the disciples.

Why?

Upon Peter's confession.

Remember, Peter says, we don't need a crucified Savior.

And Mark's going to unfold.

No, no, no, no.

Listen, even the good ones need a crucified Savior.

And so do we.

That's why Jesus keeps walking towards Jerusalem.

To give his body, to shed his blood, to die for sinners who have real faith.

But their unbelief is real too.

That's why it's so fitting as we come to the Lord's table this morning.

The Lord's Supper is not for those that have it all together.

It's for people that know that I need a Savior.

So I want you to prepare the bread.

I want you to hold it.

And I want you to remember, I'm going to give you just a few moments, though.

As you look at this, this simple piece of bread, this reminder of Jesus' broken body, we remember where our hope is, don't we?

It's not in your strength.

It's not in your self-reliance.

It's in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

In fact, what could be a more perfect prayer to lead into the Lord's Supper than that of the Father?

I believe.

Jesus, I believe.

Help my unbelief.

Because it's a beautiful expression that I come to him, we come to him, warts and all.

You reflect on that.

We'll take this together in just a moment.

He gave it to his disciples and he said, Take, eat.

This is my body.

Now I want you to prepare the cup.

Yes, we come to him broken, we come to him warts and all.

But his death and resurrection, the new covenant screams, now let me show you what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna forgive you, I'm gonna wash you and cover you in my righteousness.

I'm gonna redeem you.

I'm gonna call you my own.

And I'm gonna resurrect you from the dead.

So church family, if step one is come to him broken, step two is celebrate the victory that he has earned on your behalf.

Let me give you a few moments to just praise him, celebrate that truth, and we'll take this together.

For this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Will you pray with me?

King Jesus, we praise you.

We praise you because you have accomplished what we could never.

We praise you because you meet us in the midst of our sin.

We praise you because you are patient and kind with us, even as we forget our dependence upon you.

Jesus, you forgive even that sin and you meet us even in that struggle.

We thank you for your word, for the way that it clearly exposes our heart to our tendency to run away from you and to get self-reliant.

Jesus, teach us.

We want to be mature, we want to be competent, but we also never want to leave our dependence upon you.

It is only by your power and your strength we will boast in our weakness, our weaknesses, because then your power will be made perfect through us.

Father, I pray all across this room, because I know that there are personal situations that people are dealing with right now that they have not bothered to pray about.

We fill our minds with immediate responses, and yet we don't turn to you.

Father, I pray right now during this altar time, time of response, that your people would pray desperately and confess how much we need you to move.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

All right, church family.

The praise team's gonna come lead us in two songs of response.

And as always, we give this as a time for you to respond.

As God's people, you've heard God's word, now it's your chance to respond.

Whatever the Spirit of God has pressed upon you, may we be obedient.

Is it just me that that runs to solutions and tries to solve problems and never turns to the Lord?

I doubt it.

So let us be a praying church.

Let us do exactly what this scripture commands us to do.

We'll have ministers down here at the front who would love to pray with you.

If you want to grab your spouse or your family and meet at the altar and pour over issues, we have issues.

The question is, is will we take them to the Lord?

And listen to me.

There is no more powerful moment than when the church is gathered together.

Yes, you can pray on your own in your own private prayer closet.

King Jesus hears you.

But we are the living temple.

Okay?

And there is a special authority and an anointing when we are gathered.

So, guys, let us pray.

Amen.

Stand, let's sing, and let's pray.