Church, I invite you to stand for the reading of God's Word. This is His all-sufficient and authoritative Word. I am reading from Hebrews chapter 3, the whole chapter, from the Legacy Standard Bible. Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him, as Moses also was in all his house. For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, insomuch as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later. But Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried me by testing me and saw my works for 40 years. Therefore, I was angry with this generation and said, they always go astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways. As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. See to it, brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God, but encourage one another day after day as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. While it is said, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me. For who provoked him? when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? And with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. And God, I pray you would just bless the reading of this word, God. Just be seated, please. You know what's interesting? In the passage that we were looking at this morning for communion, Jesus has just shared in the Passover meal with his disciples and he had spent three years living with them, teaching, traveling, singing, and sharing their meals together. And they would say that they know him and they know each other. But then he tells them that they will all fall away, that they will all desert him. In verses 29 to 31, Peter denies that he would ever fall away, even saying he was willing to die with Jesus. And the other disciples also said the same thing. And Jesus knew that they would be fearful, that they would doubt, but he also knew that all but one would come back. As we remembered about Jesus and the price that he paid in communion, so that through our trusting faith in Him, we might share in fellowship with God forever. We see also in our passage this morning, the importance of belief. Turn over, if you will, to Mark chapter nine, Mark chapter nine, and we're looking at verses 14 to 29 this morning. And while you're doing that, I wanna share something from a theologian, Haddon Robinson, he's the author of Biblical Preaching, and he wrote the following anecdote about Monroe Parker, a famous fundamentalist evangelist. Now, you can tell this is a little dated from the story, but you get the same idea, the same point to the story. He says, years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on one of those hot, sultry Alabama days. And he stopped at a watermelon stand, and he picked out a watermelon, and he asked the proprietor how much it cost. It's $1.10," he replied, and we're all kind of seeing now how dated this story is. The old days, right? Parker dug in his pocket and he found only a bill and said, all I have is a dollar. Well, that's okay, the proprietor said, I'll trust you for it. Well, that's mighty nice of you, Parker responded, and picking up the watermelon started to leave. Hey, where are you going? The man behind the counter demanded. I'm going outside to eat my watermelon. But you forgot to give me the dollar. Well, you said you'd trust me for it, Parker called back. Yeah, but I meant I'd trust you for the dime. Mister, Parker replied, you weren't going to trust me at all. You were just taking a 10 cent gamble on my integrity. And there's a big difference between actually trusting someone completely or taking a gamble on the possibility that they might be genuine. Now, the latter is limited trust. It's a partial faith. It's like saying, I kind of or somewhat believe you. Please open your Bibles to Mark 9, and we're ready to go from verse 14. When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. Immediately when the entire crowd saw him, they were amazed and began running up to greet him. And he asked them, what are you discussing with them? And one of the crowd answered him, teacher, I brought you my son possessed with a 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 them and said, Oh, unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. When he saw him immediately, the spirit threw him into a convulsion and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And 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 mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again. And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out. And the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, he's dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. 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 prayer. Now this is immediately after Jesus had been transfigured on the mountain. Jesus, Peter, James, and John are just arriving back to the place where they had left the other nine apostles. And what they see when they come back is a huge crowd surrounding those nine disciples while the scribes are arguing with them. And the dispute seems to be centered on the apostles' inability to cast out a demon. And the scribes are there to gloat and to ridicule and to make fun of them in front of the crowd as if this is their opportunity to finally get back at Jesus through the failure of his disciples. And we're not told how long the disciples have been standing in the circle of shame, but it seems that Jesus arrives back at just the right time. And as soon as the crowd notices that Jesus has returned, they immediately begin running up to him to greet him. Look at verse 15 there. And you notice that Mark is writing about the reaction of the crowd to the presence of Jesus when we read in verse 16, and he asked them, Now, Mark brings a unique perspective here. We know the them that Jesus is asking is the crowd, because for one, the wording in verses 14 to 15 says, they, that is Jesus and the three disciples, came back and saw them, that is the nine disciples, surrounded by the crowd, and then the crowd began running up to greet Jesus. So the nine disciples are still surrounded, and more people run up to Jesus, implying a distance between Jesus and the nine disciples still. And also the one who answers, you notice there is not one of the disciples. They would certainly have answered if Jesus had asked them a direct question. It's a man from the crowd which has just run up to greet Jesus, and he's the one who had brought his demon-possessed son to be freed from the demon. He's the one in verse 17 who explains what the arguing is about. The ones disputing or arguing are not the disciples. The disciples are the target of the dispute as the scribes are still arguing with them in verse 14. So you see this crowd, the disciples surrounded, and then Jesus shows up and they start running towards Jesus. It makes a difference to understand this in the context of the passage, because the context shows that when Jesus challenges unbelief, he is actually confronting the stubborn unbelief of all the people all around him. And he calls them, oh unbelieving generation, in verse 19. The disciples have been given the authority to heal people in Jesus' name, but they're unable to cast the demons out of the man's son. And we know from Jesus' words that the crowd has difficulty believing. They want to see a miracle, and that doesn't necessarily mean they believe in Jesus. Now, looking at the passage as a whole, we can see that the heart of this event is how Jesus challenges unbelief. from the way that the crowd behaves and the way that Jesus responds to their reaction, the reaction of the crowd to the apostle's supposed failure at the demon expulsion, we can see that the real reason here is not disciple inadequacy, but unbelief in general. And this is shown in varying degrees. So we're gonna look at three observations that we can make right here in this text. And the observations can be made by those who want to know the truth. For those who have already decided that they do not, cannot, and shall not believe in Jesus, there is nothing here for them to see, because they do not want to see the truth. The word of God has the power and the purpose to transform those who come to God, those who are wanting to believe and understand, as he draws them, as he gives them that understanding. It's like seeds of life being scattered in order to be productive where they are received by fertile soil. Now these observations that we're going to notice this morning in God's Word challenge unbelief. They don't excuse it. And they are to test your trust in Him. As we study this passage, may God use his word to root out any remaining weeds of unbelief that struggle against your faith in Christ. May we also be encouraged to confess our doubts to God and not pretend like we have no problem during challenging circumstances. The first observation seen in verses 14 to 18 is the problem. No one can help but God. When Jesus asked the crowd what they are discussing with the disciples, or closer to the point why they are pointing a finger at the disciples, one man from the crowd answers in verses 17 to 18. He says, Teacher, I brought you my son, possessed of the spirit which makes him mute. Notice, he says, I brought you my son. He doesn't say, I brought the disciples my son. He says, I brought you my son. Well, Jesus wasn't there at the time. The man had hoped to bring his son to Jesus so that Jesus might cast out the demon. Instead, Jesus was not there, only the nine of the 12 disciples. And the crowd had gathered in anticipation of a miracle. And since Jesus had given the disciples the authority and the power to cast out demons and heal people in his name, the nine attempted to drive the demon out themselves. But for some reason, it didn't work. Perhaps like the woman back in Mark 5, verses 25 to 34, the woman who had been bleeding internally for 12 years and had spent all she had on false doctors and was not helped until Jesus healed her, perhaps this man may have spent his savings taking his son to many so-called false healers or exorcists, but had never seen any good results. Maybe he had become jaded and bitter, taking his son to be healed, but doubting anyone could truly help. And when the disciples attempted to cast out the demon but failed, was it the man's fault? Maybe he doubted the ability of the disciples, expecting he would have met with Jesus in person, who had a reputation for casting out demons and healing the sick. Or was the reason for the failure the inability of the disciples? Perhaps they were counting on their own strengths, their own power, their own authority that had been given to them having performed many exorcisms and healings already. Perhaps they became a little too confident. Perhaps the father had put his hope in his own plan to take his son to Jesus to get healed without really putting his faith in Jesus. And when Jesus was not there, he saw his plan had failed. That would explain a lot when he says, I brought you my son. The man who answers Jesus responds first in verse 17 by addressing Jesus with some respect, calling him teacher. Then describes how his son has a demon which makes the son unable to speak. If you notice that the man does not call Jesus Lord, Nor does he use the word for rabbi. The word he uses, didaskale, does not reveal any personal belief or commitment to Jesus, only that Jesus is recognized as a teacher. The man tells Jesus in verse 18 that the demon is doing much more harm than just preventing his son from speaking. When it takes him over, it is more than just a seizure. The Greek word used here, katalabe, means it might take over or overpower. And when it takes over, it chrese him, it tears, it rips, it bursts, it blasts him. To describe the severe convulsions that throw him wriggling to the ground, where he foams at the mouth and he grinds his teeth, and it even causes him to stiffen out. And the word translated stiffen here, serenitai, means he is dried out, withered, severely dehydrated. It means he becomes like a corpse. Would that be a scary thing to see? Imagine the father seeing his son go through this and he can't protect him, and he has to be on alert all the time to make certain that his boy doesn't get thrown into a fire or harmed in some way. Later in verse 22, the father describes how the demon has tried to destroy the son by making the boy fall into the water or the fire. You know, it's interesting, after describing how terrible his son's condition is, the father then says in verse 18, I told your disciples to cast it out and they could not do it. And now we look at that statement and it's hard to tell whether the man's statement is about the disciples And it's to stress, is it about them or is it to stress the terribleness of his son's condition where even the disciples could not drive it out, it's so bad. Or is it to criticize the disciples for the inability to do what the master could do, which they were supposedly given authority to do themselves. The real reason the demon is not cast out of the boy is that no one there is leaning on the ability of God to deliver the boy from evil. The only solution is God. When the man permits the disciples to try and cast out the demon, neither the man nor the disciples are counting on God's ability to grant the request. And this is because His and their request is not a trust in God's ability, but a cheap gamble on the possibility that the disciples might succeed in casting out the demon, like a 10 cent chance, as opposed to investing all of their faith. How does the Father ask the disciples to help? He does not. Look at verse 18. He tells Jesus, I told your disciples to cast it out. That's like a customer who brings an order for service and the man tells the disciples to do this task since that's what they're supposed to be able to do, right? And the disciples, they're more trustful, right? They're more trusting in God. Do we read of how they pray and how they ask God to do this for the man's son? No. In fact, Jesus tells them privately later in the passage that only prayer would have succeeded. So none of them have been truly trusting in God for this deliverance. They probably said to one another, we got this, we have the power, we're anointed. But they couldn't help. The disciples fell short of the task. What could the disciples and us learn from this? that the truth is no one can truly help but God. And it's a problem when people forget this. We were created to lean on God and we're commanded to in Proverbs 3, verses five to six, trust in Him with all of our heart. We're commanded to trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding. And when we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He makes our path straight. He guides us onto the best route. We're not truly following Jesus when we forget or refuse to trust in Him. And by that I mean trust in Him first at the beginning of our plans, not after we need some approval for the plans we already made. Ministry is the service that we carry out in His name to others for His glory. You see the focus there? It's all about for the glory of God. But we are only able to successfully do this through our continued trust in God's ability and in His good purpose. Not trusting Him is a major problem. In fact, we're told in Scriptures, without faith, it's impossible to please Him. Once we start saying and thinking, oh, I can't do that ministry. I'm not strong enough or able to serve in that way. Does it sound like Moses? Didn't he do the same thing? Hey, I'm slow of speech. Well, join the club, Moses. Right? But yet, if God calls you to do something, what do you do? You do it. And you trust in His ability. If you say, I'm not strong enough, guess what? It's all about you. Then it becomes all about yourself and not about trusting in God's ability to accomplish all for his glory. And that is the key. Everything should be for his glory. Have you heard the verse Philippians 4.13, where it says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Have you heard that? Can we have a show of hands? How many have heard that verse? Okay. Do you count on that believing in Jesus's ability to strengthen you for the task that he called you? Or do you hear that verse and think, I can do all things? Because the point of the verse isn't on what I can do, but on what can be accomplished through Christ. If it's not through Christ, you accomplish little if anything, and then nothing lasting. It's all about trusting in Christ and believing in His ability and purpose. Remember, the first course of action is always to go to God in prayer. Philippians 4, 6 commands, be anxious for what? Nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. You know what this means? It means that you first admit that you need God. Have you heard the expression, God does not fill with the spirit the one who is already full of himself? You know, in Matthew 5, 3, Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit. And those are the people who come to God with empty spiritual pockets, knowing only God can fill them with His presence and ability. Oswald Chambers, have you heard of Oswald Chambers? and his book, My Utmost for His Highest. He wrote, the thing I am blessed in is my poverty. That's his spiritual poverty. If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says, blessed are you, because it is through this poverty that I enter his kingdom. I cannot enter his kingdom as a good man or woman. I can only enter it as a complete pauper. You know, the disciples had not been successful because it really was not about their ability nor their inability, but about looking to God to meet their need. You know, a second observation we can make, seen in verses 19 to 23, is the hindrance. What's the hindrance? And that's unbelief. Verse 19, Jesus says, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me." And despite all that God has done for them, and despite all of God's words and promises, the people refuse to trust Him, to trust in Him. Notice that Jesus does not comment on the severity of the boy's condition, which the Father has just described, as if that would have any bearing on why the boy has not been helped by the disciples. Nor was it because the disciples did not have enough power. He doesn't comment on that. He doesn't say anything about that. In fact, Jesus does not address the disciples specifically yet at all, but he does address everyone there, everyone. The problem is not a lack of power, but unbelief. The word for unbelieving that Jesus uses is apistas, which means without trusting faith, untrustful. And they're seemingly unable to trust God. They can't trust in God. They might say that they do, they might even maybe believe that they do, but by their actions, they're really not. He addresses them as the people of that time, that generation who are untrusting of God. He tells them that. And their generation has witnessed so many miracles and heard his word preached to them. Can you imagine witnessing Jesus raising someone from the dead, giving sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, feeding multitudes from a few fish and some loaves? That's like generating out of nothing all of these food and then having more leftovers to take up than there was to begin with. And then still saying, what sign do you do? What other kind of proofs do you have for us? They keep asking for signs. And he asked, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? And it shows His utter disappointment and their stubborn resistance to trust Him. And it shows how tired He is with putting up with their stubborn unbelief. They are a burden to Him because He carries their doubts and their self-centered ways as heavy as the weight of the cross, because both are weighed down by their sins. And He goes to the cross to pay for the penalty of those sins. Jesus tells them the problem is unbelief. And apparently, After the disciples failed to cast out the demon, the possessed son was taken away somewhere safe. So if you look at verse 19, Jesus commands them to bring the son back. He's announcing to them all what God can and will accomplish, and they should be prepared to believe. Bring him back. Let's see what happens. They should know what happens beforehand. Now, when they bring the boy to Jesus, the moment the demon in the boy sees Jesus, he immediately convulses the boy's body, causing it to fall and roll around on the ground and foam at the mouth. And Jesus, seeing how the boy is suffering, asked the dad in verse 21, how long has this been happening to him? And at this point, Jesus could just command the demon to be gone or wave his hand to throw the demon out of the boy and then move on to the next town. But he's showing compassion for the son and also ministering to the dad. And he's also giving a message that they may not even perceive to the crowd and later even to the disciples. It's not just about healing the possessed boy. It's about calling people to faith. And that father really needs to believe with a trusting faith. And Jesus shows him mercy by challenging the man's unbelief. Now from the father's answer to Jesus' simple question, it is clear here that Jesus has touched a sensitive nerve. This is the reason for the man's bitter disappointment in the disciples and for his surprising lack of faith. Look again at the dad's answer. And he said, from childhood, It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. So how long has this been going on? A long time. It's been going on for so long that the father has had to rescue his son from the fire, from the water over the years as the demon tried to kill him. And the father knows that these incidents were not accidents related to the son's condition. but were deliberate spiritual attacks from the malicious and murderous intent of the demon within the boy. It has thrown him to destroy him." It's trying to kill him. And the father's plea in verse 22 shows desperation. He is consumed with worry for his son and also discouragement that this will be just one more failed attempt at a long-shot cure for something that only God can resolve and so far has not. The other father says to Jesus, but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. I wonder if you could have heard a pin drop. And possibly because of his discouragement when the disciples were unable to cast out the demon, the dad's discouragement slips out when he phrases his frustrating statement to Jesus, unintentionally making it sound like a challenge. You're coming to Jesus, you want Him to heal your son, and you're challenging Him. In the dad's statement, and it is a statement and not a humble request, he expresses doubt in Jesus' ability and in Jesus' ability to actually want to help. He conveys an overwhelming sense of self-pity as if he is saying, we are suffering, pity us, help us. Basically, he's crying out, do something for us if you can. Who does he think Jesus is? Clearly, he doubts. Jesus in his usual style of speaking with direct truth and challenging unbelief says in verse 23, if you can. I bet at that moment, that man realized what he said and did a. Did I really just say that? Jesus is calling attention to the dad's statement that shows such unbelief and a lack of trust in Jesus's ability. And the truth of the matter is that it was never Jesus's ability that was in question, but the surprising lack of faith, the untrusting attitude of the people, especially the boy's dad here. We've observed the problem that no one can help but God, and people lean on their own strengths first. That's a big mistake. Why is it so hard for people to trust more in God than their own efforts? And perhaps it's stubborn refusal to admit that they need God to do everything, and they need to be totally dependent on God. And only through Him can there be an acceptable resolve. Do you believe that? Do you put your trust in God this morning? How much? 10%? We've also observed the hindrance, unbelief, a lack of trust in God, or unwillingness to trust Him completely. And next we see the third observation. Look at verses 23 to 29, the solution is to believe, to trust in God's ability and mercy. And I say believe, trust, because true belief is a trusting belief. That means putting 100%, 110%, if you wanna go the dollar 10 illustration there, into Christ. Jesus tells the man in verse 23, all things are possible to him who believes. Again, right to the heart. to this statement, verse 24, tells us that immediately the boy's father cried out and said, I do believe, help my unbelief. There's an immediate reaction from the dad as he realizes the true source of his dilemma. It hasn't been about his circumstances, but his lack of trust. And the dad asserts that he has believed that Jesus could heal his son, but he also admits right away he's having a difficult time trusting, and he wants Jesus to help him to have a stronger faith. It's like those who profess to have belief in Jesus, but can't believe in miracles. As if praying but not expecting the unexpected. Have you seen that? What's the worst thing you can hear as a Christian? Well, one of the worst things, we've done everything else. There's nothing to do but pray. And your first thought is, that's the first thing that you should have been doing and should be doing and shall be doing, right? It's all about the ability of God and not about all these other possible solutions since God is the number one solution. The response that Jesus elicits from the boy's dad is the kind of response that Jesus is calling for all who would follow him, admit your lack of trust and believe. This is where the father starts going in the right direction. You know, back in Numbers 14, 11, God says to Moses about Israel, how long will this people spurn me and how long will they not believe in me despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? Think about what Israel saw. They saw God perform incredible plagues and part the Red Sea and feed them daily with manna and quail and water. And yet they still complain. They still worried that they would starve or that they'd be killed by their enemies. Does that make sense? God is traveling with them by day as a cloud and by night as a flaming pillar. And he's feeding them. That's a lot of people to feed, right? Never misses a feeding day. And yet they doubt, they still wonder. We believe because God is right here, but are we really gonna have food for tonight? What about Jesus' disciples themselves? When Jesus' friend Lazarus died, his sister Martha, a believer, said to Jesus when he arrived, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Okay, she believes, but what's the problem? She's believing within a limit. John 11, 21 to 26 talks about that. She believed Jesus could have healed her brother, but when Jesus tells her, your brother will rise again, in verse 23, her response is, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Belief within limits. What about right now? Will Lazarus be raised right now? Is this what she should have? Hey, can he come back? What about Peter? Believing that if Jesus permits him to come out to Jesus on the water, that Peter can walk on the water too. And he does, and he starts to walk on the water, but then he starts to doubt. He sees the wind, he sees the waves, and he starts to sink down. And suddenly he disbelieves. How could you be standing on water and there's no ice shield or anything else under there. There's no reef or anything else. He's standing on water and there's nothing down below the water. And then he starts to doubt. And before you go, how could he do that? Well, we do the same thing. The common thread in all of this is we believe, but we also have our unbelief. He disbelieves even when Jesus is standing right there on the water. Now when Jesus rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb. And you gotta think, if she's believing, what's the first reaction when the tomb is empty? He is risen! But what does she say? Someone has stolen the body. Really, Mary? Oh. That's the first thing, someone has stolen the body away. And she was so sure that Jesus was still dead that when she saw the person who was the risen Christ standing near her, she assumed him to be the gardener. Mary, and that's what Jesus said, Mary. And then she recognized, oh, it is the Lord. Are we not the same? We say we believe in Jesus, but we complain when we're afflicted with sickness and other suffering. We're going through difficult circumstances. And maybe we resign ourselves. Well, that's just, resign ourselves to our fate. That's just the way it is. Something else I gotta live with. Have you heard yourself saying that? And I ask, do we pray about that first, at that moment? Before we say, hey, this is just the way it is, or do we keep saying, I'm gonna bring this before the Lord, and I'm gonna trust in Him, and if He says, this thorn will remain with you because my grace is efficient, then fine, but until I hear that from Him, I'm gonna keep asking and asking and asking and praying. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Maybe we say we believe in Him, but like Thomas who doubted, we insist, on Jesus giving us more proof to show us that he really has done what he has promised he would do. Or we demand a visual, a physical assurance, some sign, some fleece to prove that he really cares. Remember what Jesus said to Thomas when he appeared again to his disciples, and especially Thomas? John 20, verses 27 to 29. This is great. Thomas had said, unless I see myself, if I see Jesus for myself and put my hand in his, the holes in his hand and put my hand in his side, I can't believe. Jesus appears and he said to Thomas, reach here with your finger and see my hands and reach here your hand and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed. Now maybe we are like Thomas or like Mary or Peter and Martha and like the father of this boy in our passage. Maybe we should be praying, please help me in my unbelief. I want you to compare the statement of this desperate dad in verse 22 to the statement of the desperate leper in Mark chapter 1 verses 40 to 42. And the leper came to Jesus, beseeching him and falling on his knees before him and saying, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, I am willing, be cleansed. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. You know what? The leper knew that Jesus could heal him if Jesus willed to do so. He submitted to Jesus's authority, acknowledging it was up to Jesus whether or not he would be healed. He knew it was not if Jesus could heal, but if Jesus chose to. See the difference? In verse 14 of our Mark passage here, a crowd has already gathered. But if you look at verse 25, the crowd was rapidly gathering, so even bigger. And that means that either the crowd had withdrawn as Jesus spoke with the Father and now they are converging again, sensing that Jesus is going to do something or that more people are streaming in around Jesus because they have heard that he has returned and is going to perform a miracle. In either case, Jesus acts quickly. not wanting to draw even more spectators. Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit in the boy. And you know, it's interesting, Mark's gospel is the only one of the gospel writers to include the actual words that Jesus spoke. He's also the only one to include the detail that this person was also mute, the demon-possessed son. Jesus said, you deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again. The demon has been keeping the boy from hearing as well as from speaking. And Jesus exercises his heavenly authority over the demon and commands him to come out and stay out, saying, I command you. Notice this, Jesus has absolute authority and power. As Jesus says in John 8, 36, so if the son makes you free, you will be free indeed. That's the authority of Christ. Are you free in Christ? Have you, at one point in your life, put your trust in Him and say, I acknowledge that you are Lord and Master, you died for my sins, you rose again, and I submit my life to you. Have you done that? Because I'll tell you what, if you've never done that, you're not saved. And some of you are gonna be angry and you're gonna write me emails or text or whatever, that's okay. The point is, you are saved only by putting your trust in Christ, in Christ alone for your salvation. And you acknowledge him that it's all about him, not about us. The demon cries out, convulses the boy really badly one last time, and it comes out, leaving the boy utterly wiped out. Now, it's interesting, Mark writes that the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, he's dead. And you gotta be thinking, really? Jesus just drove this demon out of this deaf, mute person. So now he's, the demon's gone. And then, cause he looks, well, he's dead. Jesus killed him. That's their response. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him and he got up. And I hope there are a lot of people feeling a little shame to themselves at that point. Oh, well, I guess he didn't kill him. Again, we see the faulty perception of the crowd. Jesus drives out the demon and people think the boy has been left for dead and that Jesus killed him. Jesus has authority over demons and even over death. So whether the boy actually dies and Jesus raises him from the dead or Jesus merely restores the boy to health who looks like he was dead, we do not know. Either way, Jesus is able to do all things according to God the Father's will, even that which is beyond man's ability, way beyond our capability. You know, in Luke's account, the reaction of the crowd is reported in Luke 9.43, and it says, and they were all amazed at the greatness of God. Isn't that awesome? What Jesus did, they said, this is the hand of God. Who is Yeshua, Hamashiach, Messiah, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us? Wow. Did they believe that? We don't know. They believed this is amazing, this isn't something we see every day, but did they put 100% trust in him? Perhaps not. What would it take? I'll tell you what it takes. It takes a changed heart that God gives. The disciples still need to learn this last lesson from this event. And in verses 28 to 29, after Jesus leads them away from the crowds and into a house, you know, he always kind of corrects them not in front of all the other crowds. It's another reason we know that he's gonna answer them separately. He leads them into the house, and he's able to speak with them privately. And they begin asking, why could we not drive it out? Or perhaps the we is emphatic, stressing in their question, why couldn't we drive it out? In contrast to Jesus' successful action. Maybe they're still thinking that. What's happening? What's the disconnect? It was never about their abilities or efforts, but about the power of God working through them as they abide in him. Jesus answers the question in verse 29. And he said to them, this kind cannot come out by anything but prayer. Now you might think reading this, maybe he's telling them that this particular kind or type of demon is much harder to cast out and that they shouldn't be too hard on themselves. But from the context of the passage and from the solution that Jesus gives, he would seem to be teaching them to trust only in the power of God. What do you do when you're praying? You're trusting in God. trust only in the power of God, instead of their own experiences or abilities, they had done these things before in the name of Christ. Maybe at this point they got to think, hey, we've done this before, we can do this, we got this, right? Maybe he's telling them they need to appeal directly to God in prayer. For He Himself to cast out the demon, He could do that. Jesus can do that because He's God. You know, in the King James Version and the New King James Versions, the words, and fasting, are added. And this phrase, and fasting, does not appear in the early manuscripts of Mark's writings, which makes sense. The power to do God's will is not on an individual's act of piety or contrition, but in the power and grace of God that God Himself supplies. Being in constant prayer is leaning on the understanding and strength of God and acknowledging Him in all your ways. Goes back to that Proverbs 3, 5, 6, isn't it? Therefore, in order to truly follow Jesus and challenge unbelief, you must see the problem first, is no one can help but God, the hindrance, which is unbelief, and the solution, which is believing, trusting completely in God's ability and mercy. How much of your day-to-day living do you trust in Jesus? I want you to think about this. How much each day do I trust in Jesus? Do you invest a 10-cent gamble? to minimize your disappointment and loss? Well, we can always pray. That's a 10 cent. Or will you decide today, right now, to call out to Jesus and confess, I believe, but not enough. Help me in my unbelief. I know that he can do all things. If there's a disconnect, it's on me, it's not on him. Help me to trust 100% in you, Lord. Increase my faith in what you're doing and will do through me, and that all I do be for your glory. Can you pray that? Let's pray that now. Lord God, we are so thankful for these lessons that you teach us, that you taught the disciples, that you taught the crowd, that you taught the dad of this young, this boy. what it is to walk in trust and faith in you. Lord God, we pray that we would examine our response, examine our plans, examine those things that we say, oh, we believe, but we're walking in unbelief if we're not bathing everything in prayer, if we're not trusting in your ability instead of our own. Lord God, we pray for those neighbors that we haven't shared the gospel with or haven't responded to the gospel. We pray for those people, those family members that maybe we say, well, it just doesn't seem like there's opportunity. Oh, we've shared so many times. Maybe we should stop praying. Lord, help us to see how horrible an unbelief that is. But to keep praying, to keep trusting in you and what you will do. Lord, we know from your word that you channel the heart of the King like water through your hands. So we pray, we even pray for the elections coming up. We pray for wisdom and discernment for the people. We pray, Lord, that you would do a mighty work that we would be able to see. Even if things don't turn out the way we want, we know that you're in control and you hold all things together. So help us to be believing and to doubt no more. Lord, we ask these things in Jesus name.