We're going to continue our evangelistic sermons in the Gospel of Mark, and today our verses will be chapter 9, verses 14 to 29, with the sermon title of the plight of man and the power of God. Some of you will recognize that title from a famous sermon by Martin Lloyd-Jones, but he spoke on a different passage. So all I'm doing is borrowing the title. But this very much does speak to us of the plight of man and the power of God. Our Lord Jesus, Peter, James, and John, having descended the mount of transfiguration are confronted by this appalling case of a youth who is possessed by a demon and has symptoms which are consistent with epilepsy. The terrible effect sin and Satan had upon this person's life, this young person's life, is just the reason why the Lord Jesus had to descend the mountain, why he couldn't go up to heaven in glory, that he had to come down and suffer and die and fulfill his life's mission. There's something about this young man's condition which is just so awful and complex. And in Mark's Gospel, From the confession of Peter, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, the whole focus of the Gospel is now on the suffering role of the Messiah, and in respect of the disciples, our role as cross-bearing disciples. The first part of Mark, which we spent the last few months studying, highlighted Christ's authority over sickness, demons, and nature. And in the second part of Mark, there are very few, in fact there are only two miracles mentioned or recorded. This one today, and the healing of blind Bartimaeus. And this miracle that we're reading of today, as I've said, demonstrates the terrible plight of man. as a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. There are two things which the church often falls into. One is underestimating the power of sin and Satan in this world. And the second is underestimating the power of Christ to deliver men from sin and Satan. And the duty of the Christian church is to tell men the truth about their dire situation and to lead them to Christ, the only saviour of sinners, the only one who has the power to save even the most complex, sin-bound and demon-possessed lives. And yet what do we see so often in the church? We see a church that preaches a weak and inadequate explanation of man's spiritual condition so often. Isaiah, in his prophecy, describes mankind's condition in the most graphic terms. He says in chapter 1, 5 and 6, the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores that have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Spiritually speaking, that's the condition of everyone outside of Christian salvation. And the church is guilty of reducing the power of the gospel to some vague message about peace or hope or community cohesion and all these things. You know, this story today is so relevant to our times because just as Satan had a field day with this poor young man. He's having a field day, isn't he, with our society. And the church so often are like these disciples. The Father said to our Lord, I speak to thy disciples, the father of the youth said, that they should cast him out. But they could not. The world is heading to hell, dear friends. And for the most part, the church remains ineffective, if we're even noticed at all. And society, in general, has never been so faithless as it's so lacking in faith, in God. It's never been so unbelieving and cynical about Christian truth. And our society resembles the one described by our Lord here in verse 19, a faithless generation. And at a time when the world desperately needs a strong church, the church is weak. And at the very moment this young man and his father needed the disciples to be firm in faith with the delegated power that they had been given, it was beyond them. Why could we not cast him out, the disciples said to Jesus. And the Lord said, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. Oh, how we need to turn to prayer and fasting, isn't it, in our day. How we need a mighty outpouring of revival in our land. We need the power of Christ because Jesus didn't say, this kind is impossible to cast out, did he? He said, this kind can only be cast out by seeking my power through prayer and fasting. And this text today serves as a wake-up call. It's a wake-up call to unbelievers, and that's what I'll focus on. this morning, but it's also a wake-up call to believers. We must get serious in prayer, mustn't we? Because this kind, this society, the devil will not be cast out, the demon will not be cast out of this society but by much prayer and fasting. And so our Lord had just descended from the mountain with the three disciples and he saw this large crowd and the other nine disciples involved in a dispute with the Jewish scribes. You see, the Lord had only taken three disciples with him. The rest had been left behind. And we assume the dispute was over the disciple's failure to cast out the demon from this young man. Maybe the scribes were questioning their right and authority to even attempt to do so. And these scribes are now the open enemies of Christ. And I'm sure they were mocking, weren't they, these disciples. You just can't do it, can you? This isn't working. This message of Jesus, this power of Jesus that you say has been given to you isn't working. Well, the church is mocked, isn't it, today? Sometimes we've brought that on ourselves. People think the church is irrelevant. and powerless. But the word in Mark says that when the crowd beheld Jesus, they were greatly amazed and ran to him and saluted him. It's interesting, isn't it? Why were they so amazed? Because Jesus hadn't performed the miracle yet. And some Bible commentators suggest that the explanation for their reaction is that the splendor of his glory on the mountain was still visible in his face and in his outward appearance, similar to what happened to Moses when he returned from Mount Sinai with a radiant face. That's speculation. We don't know. But Jesus asks the scribes, what question ye with them? What are you arguing about? And someone from the crowd steps forward and answers, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit. And the father describes his son's condition. He has a dumb spirit, and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him, and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. And from verse 25, we see that the boy was also deaf. Jesus says, thou deaf and dumb spirit, I charge thee, come out of him. I mean, what a mixture of needs there. And from this vivid description of this young man's condition, we learn our first lesson this morning. And that's the dreadful misery to which sin has reduced mankind. This boy, or this young man, was truly wretched, wasn't he? He exhibited epileptic-like symptoms. He had seizures and convulsions, falling to the ground, foaming at the mouth, grinding his teeth. And on top of that, he was a deaf mute. He hath a dumb spirit, says the father, meaning that he is possessed by a spirit that has deprived him of the ability to speak. It was an unclean spirit that caused this severe physical condition. This was not an ordinary case of epilepsy. And the father describes the boy not just falling into the fire and the water, but being thrown into it by some power, some evil power. A malicious spirit seeking to destroy the life of this poor lad. Verse 21 and 22, and he asked his father, how long ago is it? How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child, and oft times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. Just imagine being this young man. These are not fairy stories. This boy actually existed. He was real. He had a real life. Just imagine being him for a moment. You cannot hear anything. You can't speak. You have no control over your body. Some force within you urges you to destroy yourself and throws you into the fire and into the water. Imagine being the father of this boy. Luke mentions that this boy was his only child. And Satan had tormented this lad from his childhood. And now at an age when a young man should be blossoming with strength and vigor, he says, he pineth away. He's wasting away in extreme misery. Well, this is a picture, of course, isn't it? The Holy Spirit has put in his word to teach us about the true depth of man's spiritual plight. Satan's cruel power over human souls remains as potent as ever and as extensive as ever. Peter says in 1 Peter 5.8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. You see, Satan is a real being, a destructive and cruel personality. He's seeking to destroy people's lives. His aim is to destroy your body and your soul. That's his mission. And Jesus said, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which can destroy both soul and body in hell. If you're not genuinely saved this morning by Christ, the Bible teaches that you are under Satan's power and domain. who through your natural weaknesses and tendencies to sin is seeking to destroy you and cast you into hell after death. And sometimes, as a result of dabbling in the occult or some other devilish practice, he may command a demon to possess someone physically. However, that is not necessary for Satan to accomplish his goals. The Bible teaches that all humans outside of Christ are under Satan's authority. 1 John 5.19, and we know that we are of God. And the whole world lieth in wickedness. This is the plight of man. This state of bondage under Satan has been the default condition of man since he deceived man into disbelieving God and rebelling against the one true God in the Garden of Eden. Our subjection to Satan is described vividly in the Bible, described in several different ways. We won't go through them all. Partly it involves our inability to understand God's truth and our complete willingness to accept all of Satan's lies and deceptions. It's amazing how natural it is for us to believe Satan when we're outside of Christ. John 8, 43, the Lord said, why do you not understand my speech? The Lord is saying, think why you're not understanding me? Even because ye cannot hear my word. They can't understand Jesus because they can't hear him. Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. We're in complete bondage to Satan's deception outside of Christ. It also involves our minds being blinded and never being able to see and know the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4, You see, Satan's not neutral, he's actively clouding and shielding people's minds from the gospel so that they won't see the light. He's blinding them to the light. Satan has power over your life if you're not one of Christ's own. It also includes the disobedience to God that characterizes a non-Christian life. Paul talks about, in Ephesians 2, 2 and 3, among whom also, we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. You see, outside of Christ, you're in bondage to the lusts of the flesh, All these powerful emotions and desires. But it's not only to Satan that the man or woman outside of Christ is subject. Man is also subject to another mighty powerful force. A destructive force as well. Man is subject to the power and dominion of sin. Being sinful, you see, was not a natural part of human nature. We were originally created without sin. We're not meant to have a sinful nature. Sin existed outside of us and separate from man in some way that we don't understand. But through man's disobedience, it entered into human life. And if you're honest, everyone experiences this other power acting upon us. Even when we know what's the right thing to do is, and we intend to do it, this other thing comes in very often and powerfully makes us go in a different direction. People often talk about having a good angel on one shoulder and advising them what to do. And having a bad angel on the other, telling them to do the complete opposite. Everyone has that experience, don't they? That's called sin. The reality of human life is that this power called sin is a mighty force over us. And although we may resist sin at times, all eventually succumb to its overwhelming strength, regardless of how moral or self-disciplined someone may be. It doesn't mean to say that we're not responsible for our sin. The wrath of God is upon all sin. because it is revealed against all unrighteousness and ungodliness, not of Satan, but of men. We're the ones doing the unrighteousness. It is a deliberate choice that we make to sin. But the point is that this sin is a force that man, original man, allowed into this world and is in our lives, and it has a profound and malign effect upon us. And it exerts its power over every aspect of life. It's part of us. We have a sin nature now. Our nature is sinful. It's not as if we have a good nature and then sometimes we sort of opt into sin. Our very nature is sin. And our intellect, our desires and will are all under the mighty influence of sin. I say all these things because we should never underestimate the plight of man. The church must never underestimate the plight of man. You see, some kind of soft-soaked message isn't going to cut it, is it? Man is bound by Satan and by sin. The world needs a message that will set them free. It needs a gospel of power and truth to unlock all the chains that bind man so powerfully. The effect of sin upon real people in this world is terrible. This youth is a picture of the effect sin and Satan has upon us by nature. We are deaf and dumb as far as true knowledge of God is concerned. We cannot hear God. We cannot communicate with God. We are alienated from the life of God. And ultimately, life outside of God becomes a miserable existence for most people in this life. Of course, some people go through life having a great time. But there will come a time after death when everybody outside of Christ will know this miserable existence. For Jesus teaches us clearly that all who reject him will be cast into hell, where there is nothing but misery. There's nothing Jesus said there in that dark place. but gnashing of teeth, gnawing regret, and endless suffering. And so, dear friends, we cannot exaggerate the desperate plight of man. We must tell people the truth about their condition in life and what their condition will be in death if they do not come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what I'm telling you today. If you don't know Jesus as your Saviour, You're in the most desperate trouble, the most desperate plight. The second lesson we see here today in this text is the vital importance of putting our faith in Christ to save us. It appears that the father had assumed that Christ was with the disciples when he brought his son. And he had brought his son to be healed by Christ. But finding that Jesus wasn't present, he asked his disciples to cast the demon out of his son. But they couldn't. And how glad he must have been to see Jesus appear. And in verse 20 it says, they brought him, that's the boy, unto him, the Lord Jesus. I take that to mean that disciples or maybe some of the crowd brought the young person to Christ with the consent of the father. And upon seeing the Lord, the demon reacts violently, throwing the youth to the ground. And Jesus asked the father how long it had been since this came upon him. And he said, from a child. And then the father describes the effect the demon had upon the young man. And the father seems to acknowledge that sorting this boy out, sorting all these problems out, was a tall order. He implies he would accept any kind of improvement, doesn't he? He says, but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. He's saying to the Lord, it seems to me implicitly, if you can just make some improvement, I'll take that. That would be a wonderful thing. But Jesus addresses his lack of faith and gives him the opportunity to trust in him. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. He's saying, it's as if Jesus is saying, I'm not just here to do anything or something. You either believe in me or you don't believe in me. I'm not in the business of slight improvements. I'm here to heal your boy, and all things are possible to him that believes. Will you put your faith in me?" And we see that, albeit weakly, And in almost contradictory language, the father puts his faith in Christ. Verse 24, and straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And that act of faith, dear friends, as imperfect as it was, was the salvation of this poor young man. And in Christian salvation, belief or faith really determines whether you have been rescued from the power and misery of being enslaved to sin and Satan. Ephesians 2.8, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. This faith is saving faith. meaning faith that is placed in the Saviour. We're not saved because of faith, but by faith, we're saved by faith in the One who saves, Jesus, the only Saviour of sinners. And in the response of this Father to Christ prompting, we learn an important lesson, that the power of faith, the efficacy of faith, doesn't lie in the strength of our faith, but in the strength of the object of our faith. You see, even the weakest trust in Christ is enough to be saved, because what is necessary to receive him and all his benefits is true faith, not perfect faith. There is nothing perfect about the faith of this Father. And yet he put his faith, weak as it was, in the right place, in the right person. And that's how to be saved this morning, dear friend. You may have all sorts of questions. You may not be filled with great faith, but put whatever faith you have in Christ and you will be saved. He is the object of faith. And this is the call of the gospel. The only answer to the miserable and terrible condition of your sinful life outside of Christ is to put your faith, no matter how weak it may be, in the person of Jesus to save you. And I ask you to say to the Lord, Lord, I believe, I believe that you can save me from my sins. I believe that you can Save me from the hold sin and Satan has over my life. I need so desperately for you to deliver me and heal me. And Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. Take away all unbelief, Lord. I do believe. Believe in the fact that Jesus has done everything necessary to save you this morning. He went to the cross. and paid the penalty of sin on your behalf. He fulfilled all the requirements of the law in his perfect life. And on the cross, he blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. On the cross, Jesus broke Satan's power. Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. He's done it all. And as he did with the father of this poor youth, he invites you this morning to put your faith in him, not in your morality, not in your self-will, not in your good intentions, not even in your regret for the things you've done, not even in your intentions to put things right. Put your faith in Him, in Christ, and you will be saved. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Believe me, the Lord Jesus could mend this boy. He can certainly mend you. And everything about you, dear friends, outside of Christ needs mending. Your relationship with God is broken, and that needs mending. All your sins hidden and open, your addictions and your temper and your uncleanness, And whatever it may be, all needs to come before Jesus and he can deliver you from all of it. Even if you've dabbled in extreme wickedness, such as the occult, even if you've sold your soul, Jesus can redeem it and set you free. There is no demon strong enough that cannot be cast out by the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the name of Jesus, demons will have to flee. And they do. This is the power of our message. This is the power of the Gospel. And third and final lesson here in this text is the extraordinary transformation that the power of Christ can bring about in a person's life. Verse 25, when Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, rent him sore, and came out of him. And he was as one dead, so much that many said, he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose. Jesus raised that youth who appeared to be lifeless and delivered him back to his astonished father. in absolutely perfect health, dear friends. In Luke's account it says, they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. And this is what we want, isn't it? We want to see miraculous conversions of souls, even of complex people, even of people with many difficulties, and people to be amazed at the difference that Christ is making to their lives. This is how the gospel spreads, dear friends. Through conversions of souls and young converts, then witnessing to all their friends, and then their friends witnessing to other friends, and then before you know it, the gospel is spread like wildfire, but we need the power of Christ. Like Peter's mother-in-law, Like Jairus' daughter and others, Jesus simply grasped the boy's hand, lifted him, and made him stand up. And spiritually speaking, this is what Jesus has done for all of us who have been saved. And he can do that for you today if you put your faith in Christ. Many of us here today can say in the words of the chorus, love lifted me. Love lifted me when no one but Christ could help. Love lifted me. Matthew in his gospel writes, and the child was cured from that very hour. Completely delivered, dear friends. He may have appeared lifeless, after the physical impact of the demon leaving him. But Jesus now lifted up a man, a young man, who was actually full of life, and he made him stand. Praise my soul, the King of heaven, the hymn says. To his feet thy tribute bring, ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, who like me his praise shall sing. He can do all of that for you. As he's done that for many of us here today, all things are possible to him who believes. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.