Let's turn to Mark chapter 9. We will begin reading at verse 2 and read through to verse 29. Mark 9 at verse 2, reading through to verse 29. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John. and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can wipe them. And it appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias. For he wished not what to say, but they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. And suddenly when they had looked round about, they saw no man anymore, save Jesus only with themselves. As they came down from the mountain, he charged them, that they should tell no man what things they had seen till the Son of Man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first and restoreth all things. and how it is written of the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be set at nought. But I say unto you that Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him, and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. He answereth him and saith, O foolish generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him, and when he saw him, straightway the Spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, 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. If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. 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. The spirit cried and rent him sore, and came out of him, and he was as one dead insomuch that many said, he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. And we leave God's word there, and we take up as our text this evening, verses 23, 24, that in a way we'll be referring to the entire account there of the healing of the man that was possessed by the evil spirit. In verses 23, 24, we read this, Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. and straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." Hardness of heart and unbelief had established a foothold in the hearts and minds of Jesus' disciples at this point in time. They had observed many miracles performed by Jesus. Nonetheless, their minds remained essentially uninformed about the power and all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Consequently, the disciples failed to consistently view Jesus as the one who was able to meet them in their every need. Yes, they had seen Him restore sight to the blind. They had observed Him enabling the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. They had witnessed Him restore the sick and the diseased to health and strength. They had participated in the feeding of the 5,000 when Jesus had miraculously multiplied the five loaves and two fish so as to feed that vast multitude. They'd also been there when he'd fed the 4,000 and again had seen the miraculous multiplication of food in his hands. And moreover, they had seen firsthand how he had stood a raging storm in the Sea of Galilee and seen him there walking on the sea. Notwithstanding, though, all that they had been given to see, The disciples still struggled to view Jesus as the one who was able to supply all their needs. The reason for that was because the disciples were, in truth, men of little faith. They were men who struggled with unbelief. Despite the demonstrated power of Jesus to meet them in their every need, instead of trusting in him, the default position of the disciples was to trust in their own strength and in their own resources. Though Jesus had directly addressed this issue with his disciples, when he had warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, nonetheless the disciples still struggled with unbelief. The disciples' hardness of heart, because that's what it was also, the disciples' hardness of heart and unbelief appears again in our text, which concerns Jesus' healing of a boy possessed with an unclean spirit. As we've seen, this miracle is recorded not only here in Mark's gospel, but also in Matthew 17 and Luke 9. Notice again what Jesus says in our text. He says, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Jesus is speaking there about unbelief. To whom was he speaking? Well, he was speaking to the scribes. He was speaking to the father of the boy that was healed. And he was speaking also to his disciples. You see, the disciples' struggle with unbelief was not over. They, like the boy, the father of the boy, needed to be brought to the place where they cried, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. You know, brethren, that ought to be our prayer. That ought to be our prayer. because we are fundamentally no different to the disciples. So often we are those of little faith. We'll look at this word of God then this evening under this theme, Lord help my unbelief, Lord help my unbelief. We divide the sermon into three headings, a hesitant plea, a heartfelt confession, and an amazing gift. Background to this miracle is significant. It helps us to understand what might be described as Jesus's pained exclamation in verse 19, when he says, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Just prior to these events, Jesus had been ministering in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea Philippi was located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In order to prepare his disciples for what would soon take place in Jerusalem, Jesus had begun to reveal to his disciples in more explicit details the things that awaited him. A key aspect of that instruction was that he must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes. And moreover, he must be killed and after three days rise again. In addition, Jesus also warned his disciples that if they would follow him, if they would come after him, they too would inevitably share in his suffering and shame. However, what Jesus said to his disciples at that time actually made very little sense to them. And the primary reason for that was because the suffering and death of Jesus Christ did not fit with the disciples' conception of him as the Christ or as the Messiah. In preparing his disciples for what lay ahead, Jesus therefore took Peter, James, and John up into the mount of what's called Transfiguration. And there, as we read in Mark 2, Jesus was transfigured or changed before them. He was changed in his physical appearance. His clothes became dazzling white, his face shone like the sun. And there on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus's deity shone through the veil of his humanity so that Peter, James, and John beheld something of his divine glory and his indescribable greatness and majesty. given a glimpse of the glorified and exalted Christ. Now it was following that extraordinary revelation on the Mount of Transfiguration that Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, returned to Caesarea Philippi. Upon arrival, Jesus was confronted by a large crowd that had gathered about the nine disciples that had not accompanied him to the Mount of Transfiguration. And as Jesus approached, he saw that his disciples were being harangued by a number of scribes. And so Jesus inquired of those scribes, what questioned you with them? What are you arguing about with them, in other words? The scribes apparently were reluctant to answer. And though the scribes were reluctant to respond, we find that the father of a young man who had brought his son for healing spoke. This is what he said. Master, I have brought unto you my son who has a dumb spirit and is a spirit that made him mute, unable to speak. And wheresoever he takes him, he tears him and he foams and he gnashes with his teeth. and pines or whale becomes stiff or rigid. Having discovered that Jesus was not present, the father had, when he initially came to see Jesus, the father sought the assistance of the disciples who would remain behind, but to no avail. They could not assist. Father's response as to what had occurred was followed by Jesus' exclamation, O faithless generation. In the parallel account of Matthew 17 and verse 17, Jesus employs the description, O faithless and perverse generation. O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? From the worry and exaltation of the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was quickly and abruptly brought back to the realities of a world characterized by unbelief. He was confronted by a faithless and perverse generation. Whom was Jesus speaking? when he makes reference to a faithless and perverse generation. Perverse there, by the way, means twisted or turned from the proper direction, which is often used in the Greek language to refer to someone's eyes. where one or both eyes are actually turned away from their natural position. And so here Jesus refers to that generation as a faithless and perverse generation. To whom was Deuces actually directing those words? Well, in the first place, one might reasonably understand that he was speaking, in fact, to the world in general, to the entire gathering there at Caesaresa Philippi. Faithlessness, unbelief, and perverseness characterize that age. They refused to believe on Jesus Christ, notwithstanding what they had been given to see. Those words were also spoken, though it would seem, to the scribes. Notwithstanding Jesus' extraordinary miracles, the scribes also refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. The description faithless and perverse generation could also rightly be applied to the father of the young man who brought his son for healing. He too was aware of Jesus' great miracles, that's why he brought his son to him. But he also, as we will come to see, struggled with unbelief, an unbelief that manifested itself in doubt and uncertainty in the power of Jesus Christ. And last but not least, the description of a faithless and perverse generation also can be applied to Jesus' own disciples. Despite all that they had been privileged to see, the disciples also continued to struggle with unbelief. Their unbelief meant that though they did trust in Jesus, nonetheless they were still plagued by a measure of doubt and uncertainty about his ability and his power. As Jesus declares in Matthew 17 and verse 19, it was on account of the disciples' unbelief that they'd actually not been able to heal the boy. They asked Jesus, why could we not cast him out? Why could we not cast out the devil? And Jesus' response there in Matthew 17, 19 was, because of your unbelief. The disciples themselves, remained unconvinced of the power and all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, in whose name they had actually been authorized to cast out demons. Disciples had not been able to heal the boy because they did not trust explicitly in the power and the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. That description, a faithless and perverse generation, of course, though, applies to every generation. We live in a faithless and perverse generation. The description of faithless and perverse generation applies to you and to me as much as it did to Jesus' disciples. The truth is we are prone to unbelief. unbelief in the greatness and the power and the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. We're inclined to question His power and His ability to meet us in every need and in every circumstance. We doubt His promises. We question His assurances. These are the things that characterize even the life of the children of God today. You could put it this way. We are men and women of little faith. The disciples themselves needed to grapple with that issue. They needed to come to terms with the fact of who Jesus was and of his greatness and of his power. And the truth is, brethren, so do we. So do we. We need to believe that Jesus is the all-sufficient Savior who is able to meet and to supply us in our every need. We need to believe that Jesus Christ is one who loves his people, who loves and cares for his people. We need to believe that his word is absolutely trustworthy. And we may have been Christians for many years, and yet like the disciples, too often we struggle with a measure of unbelief. This is not to question the reality of our Christianity. Our Christianity is real. Our faith is real. We possess a genuine living faith in Jesus Christ. But at times, and particularly in the crises of life, when things are difficult, we struggle with unbelief. We know what the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ. But our difficulty is being able to fully embrace those things in our hearts and minds. In other words, we have a head knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. We have a head knowledge of what the Bible says about Jesus Christ. But the difficulty that we possess or that we encounter is the trickling down of that knowledge into our hearts and into our minds and then into application in our lives. Do we actually believe on Jesus Christ? Do we actually trust him? That's an issue that confronts us at the present time. It confronts us in a whole range of ways, but for example, that's an issue that will confront us this week, particularly as we attend the funeral for David Do we actually believe what the word of God has to say about the death of believers? Do we believe the promises of Jesus Christ about the provisions that he has made concerning those who die in him? Do those things actually filter down into our hearts and minds that they actually inform and guide and comfort us. It's just one thing to have it at a head knowledge level. But you know, if that's all we have, if we have simply a head knowledge, yeah, we might be able to quote the scriptures, we might be able to declare what the Bible says concerning the provisions that Jesus Christ has made for his saints in their death. That's one thing. but that will not actually meet our spiritual needs. It will not actually comfort our hearts and our minds. Let me just elucidate what I'm thinking here. Job 19, verses 25 through 27, we read where Job says, for I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold him, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. And there Job is speaking about the fact that he personally, he ultimately in his body and soul would actually be in the presence of God. The question is, brethren, do we actually believe that? Do we actually believe that? Scripture declares it, but do we actually believe that? In John 14, the first three verses, Jesus says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also." Do we actually believe that Jesus Christ is gone when he left this world, that he went to prepare a place for his people in glory? Do we actually believe that he will come again at the end of this world and that he will bring about the resurrection of the body of believers where their bodies will be reunited with their souls so that they will live forevermore in the presence of God? Do we actually believe that? Jesus also in John 11, 25, 26, says these very comforting words to Martha. He says, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Do we actually believe that? Do we actually believe that those who die in Christ Actually, you never, in truth, truly die. Yes, they die physically, but they never die eternally. They live. David lives. And David lives this night in the presence of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 21, 3 through 5, we could multiply many, many passages of the scriptures rather than to illustrate the point, but in Revelation 21, 3 through 5, John writes, I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write, for these words are true and faithful. Is this our expectation, brethren, of glory? Is heaven a reality in our hearts and our minds, or is it just simply a concept of which we're familiar, but not a concept which actually has trickled down into the reality of our hearts and our minds? But I think the truth is, is at times we actually struggle to actually believe all that the Word of God actually says. We struggle to believe, perhaps at times, that the souls of believers, immediately after their death, do enter into glory. We struggle to believe that Jesus Christ has actually prepared a home for his people in the very presence of God. Struggle to believe also that there is a day coming when our earthly bodies which lay in the grave will once again be reunited with our souls so that we will be both body and soul forevermore. The father in our text struggled with unbelief. As Luke reveals in his account, the boy was dear to this man. He was this man's only son. His son was possessed by a spirit or a demon, and the spirit, we're told, tear him, cause him to fit. The son was consistently wracked by convulsions. He writhed on the ground and foamed at the mouth. It's not difficult to imagine the concern and the anxiety that the father would have experienced every time his son was overcome in that way. Not told precisely how long this young man had suffered this condition, though we are told that it was from his childhood. The seizures themselves were distressing enough. What made the situation even more devastating was that what occurred frequently when these seizures came upon him was that he engaged in life-threatening conduct. As the father informed Jesus, oft times it, referring to the demon, hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. Given the desperate plight of his son, the father pleads with Jesus. This is what he says, verse 22. But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Notice how the father prefaces his request. But if thou canst do anything, What those words indicate is that there was an uncertainty and a doubt in the father's mind as to whether Jesus could actually help his son. His choice of words raised a question mark over the ability and the power of Jesus Christ to do what he actually asked. The father desperately wanted his son to be healed. He wanted to believe that Jesus was able to heal his son. He desired that through all his heart, but he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure whether Jesus could do what he so desperately wanted. Consequently, his request was constrained by a measure of unbelief. Father says in effect to Jesus here, if you have the power to heal my son, and I'm not sure that you do, but if you do, have compassion on us and help us. Was Jesus able to do what this man sought? Did he possess the power to heal and to deliver his son from this demon? Of that, the father was uncertain. And that is the fundamental issue that so often confronts us as believers. This is the sort of doubt that often plagues us. This is how we think, and it's often how we approach the Lord for His help and assistance. Like the boy's father, we say, if thou canst do anything, Have compassion on us and help us. How often we stand in need of help. And at times, the circumstances of our life bewilder us, they overwhelm us. We don't know how to help ourselves. We're unable to help ourselves. We're in desperate need of the Lord's help. We're in desperate need of His assurance and of His comfort. But at the same time, we're uncertain. We want to believe in Jesus Christ as the all-sufficient Savior. We want to trust Him and we want to draw strength from Him. We want to be comforted and assured by Him. And we do believe in Him. But nonetheless, in many instances, we are also plagued by a measure of doubt and uncertainty. In our hearts and minds, in a way in the secrecy of our hearts and minds, we actually wonder whether Jesus actually has the power and ability to do what we seek. With the result that we fail to approach him with complete confidence. We ask ourselves the question, can he address, can he truly address my concerns, my issues, my anxieties? Can he really help me in my time of need? Can he heal my wounded and broken heart? Can he apply to me the balm of Gilead? Can he bring clarity to my befuddled and confused mind? What's the answer, brethren? The answer is absolutely. Absolutely. The issue is not if Jesus can do anything. You see, if the if of the Father in this account, the if of the Father is the language of unbelief. It's not a matter of if Jesus can do anything. Undoubtedly, Jesus can do all things. He is the second person of the Trinity. He is the all sufficient Savior who can meet us in every need that we ever encounter in this life. The issue is not one concerning the power of Jesus Christ to help. He unquestionably possesses the power to help, to uphold, to save, to comfort. He is the all sufficient Savior. No matter what the circumstance, no matter what the difficulty, no matter what the trial, no matter what the grief and the sadness that we might experience, no matter what the complexity of our life might be, Jesus is able to help. Notice Jesus' response to the plea of the father. That's verse 23. This is what Jesus responds to the Father's request. He says to the Father, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes. In a way, Jesus' response contains a deliberate play on words In effect, Jesus says to the Father, you say to me, if thou canst do anything, but that's not the real issue. The real issue is not whether I have the power to do what you seek. I am able to accomplish whatsoever I will. I am able, more than able, to heal your son. Now the real issue is not whether I have the power to do that, but rather the real issue is, do you believe? Do you believe that I am able to heal your son? The if, says Jesus to the Father, rests not with me, but with you. I am able. But the real issue is, do you believe that I am able? Brethren, that's the question that really confronts us. Do we actually believe? Do we actually believe in our hearts and in our minds? Not just in our heads. Do we believe in our hearts and our minds that Jesus is able to succor us and to help us in our time of need? Is he able to do what we ask? Notice that Jesus' response forces the father to examine his own heart, and in a way does the same also for us. Did the father really believe that Jesus could heal his son? Do you believe that Jesus could free His Son from the power and the stranglehold of that demon? Or was that some unfounded, whimsical notion that the Father, I hope, might be true, but of which there is no certainty? Brethren, if we seek the help and assistance of Jesus Christ, we must come to Him in faith. And we must come believing that He has the power to help. He does have the power to help, but we must come believing that He has the power also to help. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the all sufficient Savior. We must look to Him in faith. We must trust Him. And we know that. but we struggle with unbelief. Reality is too often we're like the father in our text, too often we're like the disciples, too often we are like the world in which we live. A world plagued by doubt and fear, uncertainty, and sometimes we are also plagued by that doubt and uncertainty, plagued by unbelief, Few suffer from doubt and uncertainty. I think the reality is that every believer at different points in time in their life does suffer to some extent and degree from doubt and uncertainty. We should take careful note of what our text reveals concerning the father here. Notice what Jesus says to him in verse 23. He says, firstly, as we've seen, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And then he goes on in verse 24 and says this, and straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. The father, he wanted to believe. In fact, he did believe, but he was plagued also by unbelief. The father knew exactly what Jesus was referring to when he said, if thou canst believe. The father knew that he entertained a measure of unbelief. So he knew exactly what Jesus was referring to when he said, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And then we find that with tears streaming down his face, tears of sorrow over, no doubt, his lack of faith, the father here confesses that he did believe. Lord, I believe. I do trust you. I do have confidence in you. I do believe that you have the power to deliver my son from this demon. Lord, I believe. But notice at the same time, and really in the same breath, he acknowledges the weakness of his faith. Help thou mine unbelief. This man's faith in Jesus was real, but his faith also was weak. He struggled with his faith. He had doubts. He entertained the possibility that Jesus may not actually be able to do what he promised. So there was a measure of doubt that lurked in the back of his mind. Brethren, what I suggest to you is that the experience of the Father here is often our experience. It may be true that there are those who have never doubted Jesus and His ability to help. They never doubted that for a moment. They've always believed, believed His promises, believed in His ability to be the all-sufficient Savior. What a blessing, what a blessing if that's true of us. But I would suggest that such a person is the exception. The truth is that many of us are like the father here. We struggle with the weakness of our faith. We do believe. We with him say, Lord, I believe. We do trust in Jesus. And our trust and confidence is not always free. from unbelief. Our trust and confidence fluctuates. At times, niggling doubts and fears arise. We balk at things that seem so great and so impossible. And in many ways, that's what we're speaking about often in the Christian life, isn't it? To speak about, for example, Jesus Christ going into heaven, into glory, and there preparing a place for his people, we might spend eternity with him. That seems beyond comprehension in many ways to earthbound creatures such as we. To think that the living God would make a place for us in his presence and that we should spend eternity with him is beyond really our comprehension. And these are things that we can't test or even prove. He says, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I'd go to prepare a place for you. But how do we know that? How can we be sure of that? How can we test that? That being the case, brethren, what should we do? Like the father here in this account, we must confess the weakness of our faith and plead for the Lord's help and assistance. With him, we also need to say, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And what we're really praying for there is the help and the assistance of the Lord, because we will never believe, we will never believe left to ourselves. We need the Lord's help even to believe. Apart from the gracious work of his spirit in our hearts, we will never believe. We'll always be plagued by doubts and fears, and we'll turn away from the only real source of help. Our constant prayer, our repeated prayer, should be, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Notice that though the father's request was hesitant, and though mixed with a measure of unbelief, Jesus graciously answered his plea. He granted to this man an amazing gift. He granted to this man the restoration of his son. Jesus had declared to this father, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes. All things, even the seemingly impossible things, are possible for those who believe. Nothing is impossible. with the Lord. Even the healing of this man's son from demonic possession was not impossible. Jesus Christ is our all-sufficient help in times of trouble. He is able to help In response to the father's plea, Jesus healed this man's son. We read in verse 25 that Jesus commanded the foul or unclean spirit to come out of the son. We're told that in verse 26, the spirit cried and rent him sore and came out of him. And he was as one dead in so much that many said he is dead. All things are possible. The evil spirit could do nothing but obey the command of the Son of God. He came out of that young man. Jesus Christ, brethren, is the complete and all-sufficient Savior. The one who is able to meet us in every need and in every circumstance of life. as weak, fearful, doubtful, and anxious creatures. That describes all of us. Let us confess. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. May God enable us to take his word with us into this week that lies ahead. Amen.