9, which we read to verses 14 through 29, page 1004 in our pew Bible, 1004. Mark 9, starting at verse 14, where the word of God speaks to us as follows. And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them? And someone from the crowd answered him, teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So we asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able. And he answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me. And they brought a 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. And Jesus asked the father, How long has this been happening to him? And he said, from childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief. And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit saying to it, you mutant death spirit, I command you come out of him and never enter him again. And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out and the boy was like a corpse. so that most of them said, he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose. 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. That's our scripture passage. Our focal point we take in the verses 23 and 24, and Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, is this a good text for a sermon, brothers and sisters? A text about a man who expresses himself in such a double-minded way to the Lord Jesus? Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief. The man doesn't seem to know what it's all about in his life. He doesn't hide his double-minded attitude either. We don't like that in our time, do we, this double-mindedness? Indeed, we don't, and rightly so, if we mean by this that we should not allow for a conflict between our words and our deeds. Let's be consistent. Still, isn't it true that we recognize ourselves in this man's life, in his exclamation? At least that's the feedback I get from people in my pastoral experience. Then the question is raised, how do we have to see that, Rev? And how do we deal with this dilemma of belief and unbelief? Yes, who doesn't have it sometimes, this being torn between belief and unbelief, between trust and distrust, between acceptance of something in the Bible or a skeptical feeling about it? And if we don't recognize ourselves in it, then we certainly do the attitude of modern man. Nowadays, no one seems to know anything for sure anymore. It may well be, beloved, that we recognize modern man in this expression. It may also be true that we ourselves empathize with this man. In general, people haven't really changed all that much yet. The question is, though, is that what the passage is about? This is not a story about someone who is skeptical or confused. It's first of all about a man who is desperate about the condition of his son. His boy was possessed by an unclean spirit. who made him sick, handicapped, and unable to live. The man had tried everything, and he had taken his son everywhere, and so he also ends up with the disciples of the Lord Jesus. You have to try everything, right? If the regular ways don't work, you seek an alternative way. That's how he ends up at Jesus, beloved. Not by faith, but in despair, to seek any possible way for healing for his son. Then the Lord Jesus doesn't allow him to use the Lord that way. Yet he doesn't turn him away either. Rather, in a few words, he makes the man aware of the deepest problem of his life. It's not the illness of his son, the demon that's in him, but it's his own unbelief. And yes, that's not just his problem, but it's the problem of everyone around him too. It's the unbelief that says, can God really help? Can God solve my problems, really? If you can, the father says, if you can do something about it, he doubts it. He doesn't quite know it for sure. Let's wait and see. That's not just a double-minded man, he is an unbelieving man. And now the Lord Jesus wants the people to believe him, to believe in him, trust him, and know that there is no limit to his power. He wants you to discover, to know that the problem isn't in him, but in you. That's what we see. The Lord Jesus exposes the deepest problem in our life. We see two things. First of all, the Lord calls us away from our unbelief. And secondly, the Father calls upon him from his unbelief. So I summarize the message of our text as follows. The Lord Jesus exposes the deepest problem in our life. The Lord calls us away from our unbelief, and secondly, the Father calls upon Him from His unbelief. So first of all, the Lord calls us away from our unbelief. What is the situation in our Scripture passage, brothers and sisters? The Lord Jesus has been on the mountain together with His three disciples. We call it the Mount of Transfiguration because there he was for a while in the glory of heaven together with Moses and Elijah. How glorious that was. At his return to his other nine disciples and to all the people who were there with them, he is confronted once again by his difficult task for people. They are in the grip of demons and of unbelief. After his heavenly glory, there is now the earthly letdown. What an unbelieving generation. Right away, there's another man with a problem. It's a father who had come to his other nine disciples with his six son. It comes for Jesus because he is seeking healing for his boy. It's a difficult case. Our first impression may lead us to conclude that this is a case of epilepsy. We have to add, however, that it's not an ordinary case of epilepsy. It was much worse. There are symptoms of a different nature. The boy could not speak and he is deaf too. In fact, an evil spirit is at work here, a demon who drives the boy into the water or into a fire to kill him. When the father found that the Lord Jesus wasn't there, beloved, he approached the nine disciples for help. They can't help him, however. It seems that with the departure of their master, the source of power has disappeared. His disciples are no longer connected with him, and thus, a power outage occurs that's caused confusion, upsetting the people, including this father, and making the scribes to question them, their master, and their pursuit, rubbing it in. You see? Without your master, you can't do a thing, they must have said. You may as well forget about this whole affair. It's in the midst of that situation that the Lord Jesus returns. As soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder, we read, verse 15. Mark uses a rather unique word here to express how excited, how amazed, and how overwhelmed they were, as if they somehow were surprised that he is there again. Mark expresses a mood of bewilderment because they had never expected him to come back again. Yet there he is, and they greet him. What are you arguing about? The Lord Jesus asked. And a man, the father of the boy, answered the question, Master, he said, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit, and I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." Actually, the man is asking the Lord Jesus initially to condemn his own disciples for their impotence. Take good note, however, of the Lord Jesus' reaction. He doesn't look at the boy, or hardly. Neither does he go into the matter of the boy's condition. He speaks about the people's unbelief. Yes, he asked himself the question, oh, unbelieving generation, how long will I be able to put up with you, bear with you? That's a well-known reaction. These are well-known words spoken to the people of the Lord by Moses in his famous hymn of Deuteronomy 32. There the Lord is about to hide himself from them, that unbelieving, that perverse generation. Indeed, the Lord Jesus is the Lord, who had just been glorified by his Father, and who once again is coming to his people. No, not because there would be anything in his people for which he would desire to save them, rather, In his love for his people, in his purpose to bring salvation to this world, he continues his pursuit. Yes, he calls the father to bring his son, but for what? Is it to show healing and that's it? No, that doesn't seem to be the most important at this moment. They are an unbelieving generation. That's it. You see, beloved, the healing of the boy, that's not so difficult. That's something the Lord Jesus can do on the side as well. And this demon that's in this boy, he trembles for him. You can see that from the way he treats this boy. He makes him convulse and drop to the ground, foam on his mouth, gnashing his teeth and rolling around. You see that when the boy comes to the Lord and the spirit sees the Lord. Sure, these spirits know the Lord Jesus. You don't have to tell them anything. It's just like James said later on, do you believe there is one God? Good, the evil spirits do so too and they shudder. That's what you see there. This evil spirit knows the power of the Lord Jesus and he is dead scared. So that's not the problem, this sickness, this evil spirit, it's the people. They are the problem. This unbelieving generation, they are the problem, including the disciples. They are? Well, what about Peter, whom the Lord had addressed as servant of Satan just days ago? Why don't these people kneel before him? Why don't they believe in Him? That's the problem, the real problem, and their deepest problem. Oh, does the Lord Jesus ever want to help them? It almost seems as if they are all possessed, possessed with unbelief. That's more difficult for the Lord than this evil spirit. Oh, unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you? And it's in this also at the heart of many of our problems, our troubles, my brother and my sister, of our difficulties with believing, with prayer. We are looking at our life and all the difficulties in it with which we wrestle and we think, how is this ever going to be straightened out? We're lying awake because of our problems. We're overly worried about so many matters. Doesn't the Lord Jesus have to say it to us too so often? But where is your faith? Where is your faith? He wants to bring you to confidence and trust, a trustworthy surrender to him. You see, isn't that how he approaches the father? Yes, the father. Central in our passage is this discussion with the boy's father. The heart of the matter is not that he might put this boy on his feet, but that he might lift up the father in faith. Hence, he asked the father some questions. How long has the boy suffered this way? From childhood? Wow. He's been in grave danger so often already, witnessed those burns, and he drowned almost a number of times. Wow. Then why didn't you come sooner? Why didn't he come to the Lord Jesus on one of his earlier trips through Galilee, and when he healed so many sick, cast out so many spirits? That's his unbelief. Of course, brothers and sisters, we have to be careful in our judgment. Just imagine a child like that. epileptic, deaf and dumb, and having tried every doctor in the land. Just imagine seeing your child suffer the way this man had. They could not leave him alone for a moment, every time another attack. His parents must have been desperate, indeed, and tired. Parents with a handicapped child can empathize, I'm sure. There's never a break. Hence the man's request. If you can do anything, that sounds courageous, maybe not strong, not trusting, but at least a cry for help, like a prayer. Indeed, isn't that how many a prayer begins? Lord, I don't know it anymore. I've been disappointed so often, tried so much, but if you can help, have mercy on me. It's like a simple man looking up against a mountain and wondering who would want to climb it. Then how does the Lord Jesus respond to this, beloved? If you can, Jesus said, if you can, talking about what I can, what's possible, I have a totally different question for you. It's not a matter of what I can, but of whether you can believe. That's how the Lord Jesus exposes the deepest problem in his in our life. Indeed, this is a matter of what is possible, but not of what is possible for me, but for you. Do you doubt whether I could heal him? Are you wondering whether there is a solution with me for your problems? Let's turn the question around. Are you able to believe? Do you dare to come to me empty-handed in the expectation that I will fill them? Do you dare to come like a small child and say, I can do it, but you, you are great. You are so powerful. Then what happens? What miracle do we see happen in this passage? Before the evil spirit leaves the boy, shrieking and screaming, the father loses his unbelief, exclaiming, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. The word. with which the Lord Jesus calls him, calls us away from this unbelief, moves him, moves us to the Lord Jesus, admitting, confessing, indeed, Lord, it's my unbelief. The problem truly is our unbelief. And then we see in the second place, the Father called upon him from his unbelief. Lord, I do believe. Help me in my unbelief. That's such a beautiful word, brothers and sisters. So real, so true. Faith broke through in the Father's heart. The Spirit of God broke his heart. He starts to trust. He starts to understand where he has to be. I have a problem, and the Lord Jesus is the only one who is able to solve it. I believe, but it's so difficult to believe. Indeed, when you start trusting in the Lord alone, there is that resistance right away, or that weakness and that uncertainty. The devil was probably working harder in the Father than in the Son. I believe, but I still have so much to overcome, Lord, and you have to help me doing that. Without you, I can do nothing. At least now, beloved, the father knows his problem and he knows where he has to be. He sees that he himself has a bigger problem than his son and that he needs help more urgently than his son. The point is not whether the Lord Jesus can help, but whether he expects this help from him. Can I go to him to ask him? That's the problem. His problem, the disciples' problem, and the people's problem. That's why we read at the end of the story how the disciples too came to Jesus to ask him why they could not cast out the evil spirit. They wanted to do it in their own strength, by their own power, instead of in the name of the Lord. Then the Lord Jesus points them to the power and purpose of prayer. Prayer connects you with the power source. I, your Lord and Savior, make you small, your weak and helpless life strong. and I give you everything you need. Yes, but how hard that is. How difficult it is to give it all over to God, to be totally open to God, and then to say, you can do it. You can solve my problems if you will. Yes, you can change my unbelief into a true faith so that I believe that there is no problem, no evil power, no death, and no trouble in which I need to run stuck. Would that be something? Beloved, if we could only believe that, would that be something? If I could think of God as bigger than my problem, as greater than my struggle, stronger than my fear, and mightier than my worries for the future. Yes, that's what this father expressed. And it's too bad that our ESV translation doesn't include the exclamation many manuscripts include, namely that he says, Lord, help me in my unbelief. Lord, at first he has called him just a master, a rabbi, respectfully, with politeness. Now, however, from his awareness of unbelief, he calls upon him as, Lord, you are God, you are great. That's faith. Even though our faith is suppressed so often, in our prayer, it becomes faith. Yes, believing is a struggle, a fight for confidence and trust in God, but that's okay. As long as you come to God, and as long as you call upon him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what this father discovered when he no longer asked for the healing of his son, but for the healing of his own unbelief. Then he also saw his faith confirmed by the facts. Then he saw the Lord's power when he called the boy back to life when he was lying for dead on the ground. The devil and death have no say in the sight of Jesus. What a beautiful thing it was to see this. Yes, in the healing of his son, first of all, but especially in the healing of his unbelief. We are living in a broken world, beloved. A world with illnesses, handicaps, pain and sorrow, worries and problems. We walk around with problems and take our worries to bed. And the devil will stir up the fire of fear and fright. That's life, our life. Living by faith then means that we believe that the Lord Jesus will make an end to all this misery. Hospitals will be closed. Handicaps disappear. Counselors are redundant. And on the new earth, there won't be any epilepsy, cancer, autism, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's. The devil won't have any access there either. The only power that will reign there is the Lord Jesus' power. He will remove the devil, his demons, and death from the earth too. Right now, however, we won't see all illnesses removed or all problems resolved and all desires fulfilled. That is hard, indeed. Yet, you do belong to your only Savior, Jesus Christ, with body and soul in life and death. That's your only comfort. The question is, do you believe that? No, not in the way of, just see how strong my faith is. No, much more in the way of, Lord, help me. Father, you know me. Don't let go of me. Believing, beloved, that's not a feeling of, look how well I'm doing, for we are not doing that well all the time, really. No, believing, that's thinking about God's promises. Believing, that's not looking at the circumstances, but at God. Faith in Jesus' name, Peter says, that will conquer the world. Nothing is impossible for him who believes, says Paul. And I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So I don't have to panic. I don't have to be driven by the situations, the worries and the problems, for the Lord is with me. What can man do to me? The Lord Jesus is able to do everything, right? Just one word and the devil leaves, subdued. One word and the dead are raised. Well, it is he who loves us. It is He who cares for us. He told us that the hairs of our head are numbered. That's what my faith tells me when it sees the problems, the difficulties, and whatever could befall me. Even if my life goes a different direction than I expected, or than I would like to see, God is with me, and the Lord Jesus has bought me. They won't let go of me. That's how you deal with the circumstances in your life, and then your faith won't need to be a great faith, a strong faith, even if it is a faith like a mustard seed. As long as you come, "'Why couldn't we drive it out?' the disciples asked the Lord Jesus. And what was his reply? "'This kind can come out only by prayer.'" Now, when you compare Mark's account with Matthew's, you will see Matthew reported the Lord's answer to be, "'Because of your little faith.'" Shall we combine these two, beloved? Why can't we overcome those problems, deal with those difficult circumstances? Because of your little prayer. Those two go together. Where there is little faith, there's little prayer. Yet also where there is an abundance of genuine persevering faith, there is also fervent, unrelenting prayer. Then you come to the Father in the name of the Savior. Then you say to the Father in the name of the Savior, Father, here I am. I have nothing to offer, but you are so great, so mighty. You can handle my life. Then the Father will be there to lead you in your life, and the Son will be there to forgive you your sins, and the Holy Spirit is there to give you faith, courage, endurance, and trust. Then you know that your Savior is there for you, who will solve all your problems, here and now, or after. He sure can. if he wills. Why he doesn't always will to solve them? Well, maybe he first has to work on you, on your faith, on your prayer. Amen. Let us turn to Psalm 30, our song of response.