1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,520 If you have a copy of God's Word in your hand, please meet me in 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:08,560 the Gospel according to Mark in Chapter 9 in verse 14, Mark 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:13,920 9/14. This is a lengthy portion of 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,239 Scripture that going we're going to be covering and so we're 5 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:21,520 going to read it in its entirety before we see it in smaller 6 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:25,160 portions. Just want us to have a holistic 7 00:00:25,740 --> 00:00:29,820 view of this scene, this episode of God's demonstration of power 8 00:00:30,140 --> 00:00:35,820 and mercy and so follow with me beginning here in verse 14. 9 00:00:37,820 --> 00:00:40,500 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great 10 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:45,700 crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them, And 11 00:00:45,700 --> 00:00:49,100 immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly 12 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:51,980 amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 13 00:00:52,660 --> 00:00:56,500 And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them? 14 00:00:57,300 --> 00:00:59,020 And someone from the crowd answered them. 15 00:00:59,020 --> 00:01:03,260 Teacher, I brought my son to you, For he has a spirit that 16 00:01:03,260 --> 00:01:06,980 makes him mute, and whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, 17 00:01:06,980 --> 00:01:10,140 and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. 18 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:15,020 So I asked her disciples to cast it out, and they were not able. 19 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:20,060 And he answered them. Oh, faithless generation, how 20 00:01:20,060 --> 00:01:24,590 long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? 21 00:01:24,590 --> 00:01:28,590 Bring him to me. And they brought the boy to him. 22 00:01:28,590 --> 00:01:32,190 And when the spirit saw him, immediately convulsed the boy, 23 00:01:32,190 --> 00:01:34,910 and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the 24 00:01:34,910 --> 00:01:38,230 mouth. And Jesus asked his father, how 25 00:01:38,230 --> 00:01:40,710 long has this been happening to him? 26 00:01:42,110 --> 00:01:45,830 And he said from childhood, and it has often cast them into 27 00:01:45,830 --> 00:01:47,830 fire, into water, to destroy him. 28 00:01:48,510 --> 00:01:52,150 But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us, 29 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,680 And Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for 30 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,560 one who believes immediately the father of the child cried out 31 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,880 and said, I believe. Help my own belief. 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,960 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he 33 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,200 rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it you mute and death 34 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,600 spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him 35 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,280 again. And after crying out and 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,960 convulsing him terribly, it came out and the boy. 37 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,940 Was like a corpse, so that most of them said he is dead. 38 00:02:24,780 --> 00:02:27,900 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose 39 00:02:28,580 --> 00:02:30,820 and we had entered the house. His disciples asked him 40 00:02:30,820 --> 00:02:34,820 privately why could we not cast it out? 41 00:02:35,700 --> 00:02:42,100 And he said to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything 42 00:02:42,740 --> 00:02:50,000 but prayer. Let's pray we confess our 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,840 reliance and dependence upon you, Oh God. 44 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:59,160 We do not presume that our desires are enough. 45 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:03,880 We confess our neediness, and we ask that you would help us in 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:09,680 the experience of this moment. As the Word of God is delivered, 47 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,920 may it be delivered in the power of the Invisible One, the Holy 48 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,320 Spirit. We ask. 49 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,370 Oh God, that our hearts would be receptive, and that more than 50 00:03:21,370 --> 00:03:24,770 just a stirring of the mind or the heart, there would be a deep 51 00:03:24,770 --> 00:03:28,410 work done where you would inspire us onto greater 52 00:03:28,410 --> 00:03:32,010 obedience, and that you would cause us to be moved to walk 53 00:03:32,010 --> 00:03:35,250 closer with Thee. This is our prayer. 54 00:03:35,410 --> 00:03:39,570 And so, Lord, even now, humbly, sincerely, genuinely, we say we 55 00:03:39,570 --> 00:03:43,810 are nothing without you. We cannot do anything without 56 00:03:43,810 --> 00:03:47,530 you. Help us now and Lord for some 57 00:03:48,410 --> 00:03:52,810 help our unbelief in Jesus name. Amen. 58 00:03:54,690 --> 00:03:59,210 This is an important story to the Holy Spirit and one reason 59 00:03:59,210 --> 00:04:02,290 why we know that is because it is not exclusively found in the 60 00:04:02,290 --> 00:04:06,470 Gospel of Mark, but it is also found in Matthew and then Luke's 61 00:04:06,470 --> 00:04:07,950 account. But what's interesting is that 62 00:04:07,950 --> 00:04:11,270 if you find the story in Matthew and Luke, you'll notice that 63 00:04:11,270 --> 00:04:15,750 Matthew and Luke have a much shorter version of this account. 64 00:04:15,990 --> 00:04:21,390 Mark gives around double the attention in terms of verses 65 00:04:21,670 --> 00:04:27,110 than the other gospel writers. And as we read this we realize 66 00:04:27,110 --> 00:04:32,870 comparatively that Mark is being very careful to give details 67 00:04:33,310 --> 00:04:37,080 about this scene. And a simple reading of it, like 68 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,960 what you and I just did, reveals the rich reporting that Mark 69 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,720 offers concerning the interactions and the activity. 70 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,680 And it gives us much to work with in terms of historical 71 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,920 accuracy and reliability and godly application into our own 72 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,760 lives. It almost seems overwhelming, 73 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:58,400 right? You look at a text like this and 74 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,000 you can you can make four or five sermons out of it, right? 75 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:03,400 But we won't do that for the sake of our time together. 76 00:05:04,070 --> 00:05:06,670 Instead, we'll try to investigate all that it has to 77 00:05:06,670 --> 00:05:09,990 say and we'll divide it. We'll divide it just by really 78 00:05:09,990 --> 00:05:12,270 going through it. But the way I looked at it, I 79 00:05:12,270 --> 00:05:15,230 see five things, around 5 things here. 80 00:05:15,230 --> 00:05:17,190 I see that there is a specific scene. 81 00:05:17,990 --> 00:05:22,470 I see that there is a situation, I see that there is the servants 82 00:05:22,470 --> 00:05:25,710 example. I see that there is a stumbling 83 00:05:25,710 --> 00:05:27,230 block. And lastly, I see that there is 84 00:05:27,230 --> 00:05:30,310 schooling. Notice everything starts with an 85 00:05:30,310 --> 00:05:31,830 S Preachers like to do that stuff. 86 00:05:33,180 --> 00:05:36,500 We have a scene, we have a situation, we have the servants 87 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:40,060 example, we have a stumbling block, and we have lastly 88 00:05:40,660 --> 00:05:43,300 schooling. There's a lesson at the. 89 00:05:43,340 --> 00:05:46,220 End of this as you heard. And so let's examine this 90 00:05:46,220 --> 00:05:48,940 carefully. We read here in verse 14. 91 00:05:49,020 --> 00:05:52,220 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great 92 00:05:52,220 --> 00:05:55,420 crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 93 00:05:55,420 --> 00:05:58,180 Just envision it and immediately. 94 00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:01,460 All the crowd, when they saw him were greatly amazing, ran up to 95 00:06:01,460 --> 00:06:04,850 him and greeted him. So there's chaos going on here. 96 00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:08,930 You have disciples and scribes arguing and debating. 97 00:06:09,690 --> 00:06:11,890 You have this crowd. Now we're probably leaning in 98 00:06:11,890 --> 00:06:15,690 and paying attention, and the sight of Jesus descending from 99 00:06:15,690 --> 00:06:20,330 that mountain with three of his disciples caught the attention 100 00:06:20,410 --> 00:06:22,770 of the multitude. And they turn away from this 101 00:06:22,770 --> 00:06:26,730 debate and they come to Jesus like a celebrity, the celebrity 102 00:06:26,730 --> 00:06:28,970 that he is, the only celebrity you should really care about, 103 00:06:28,970 --> 00:06:30,810 really, and follow in terms of example. 104 00:06:32,710 --> 00:06:37,710 And they greet him. And it's hard to move on without 105 00:06:37,990 --> 00:06:42,350 contrasting the scene here with the scene that you and I enjoyed 106 00:06:42,590 --> 00:06:46,670 in our previous sessions. What a contrast it is. 107 00:06:47,510 --> 00:06:50,750 When Jesus and those three were on the summit of that mountain, 108 00:06:50,750 --> 00:06:55,590 that atmosphere was holy. That atmosphere was glorious. 109 00:06:55,590 --> 00:06:59,190 That atmosphere contained heavenly fellowship. 110 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,840 And as they came down, there is a chilling shift that takes 111 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:07,440 place now. They've entered into a very dark 112 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:14,360 place, filled with pain, filled with brokenness, demonically 113 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,160 energized. What a difference. 114 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,720 And looking at this, I wondered in the perspective of Christ. 115 00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:27,420 You can see by looking at Jesus coming down here how this is 116 00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:30,300 almost like a miniature illustration, a miniature 117 00:07:30,300 --> 00:07:36,900 picture of what he did and coming into our world, the glory 118 00:07:36,900 --> 00:07:43,180 that he left in order to come into our environment, our mess, 119 00:07:43,180 --> 00:07:46,620 in order to save us. You know when we read Second 120 00:07:46,620 --> 00:07:49,300 Peter verse one, we are told that on that mountain, according 121 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:54,660 to Peter in verse 17, Jesus was. Crowned by the Father with glory 122 00:07:54,660 --> 00:07:58,300 and honor. And that is not the only time 123 00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:03,220 Jesus enjoyed glory and honor by virtue of being the Son of God. 124 00:08:03,220 --> 00:08:06,620 He knew glory and honor from eternity past. 125 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:11,540 But at the perfect time, at the right time, he set aside such 126 00:08:11,540 --> 00:08:15,180 status and recognition. He turned his back on it in 127 00:08:15,180 --> 00:08:20,970 order for him to come here. To come into our world that is 128 00:08:20,970 --> 00:08:24,770 mirrored quite accurately by this scene, what do we see here? 129 00:08:25,490 --> 00:08:29,090 We see Jesus entering into a place that is prevailed by sin. 130 00:08:29,090 --> 00:08:32,610 We see Jesus entering into a place where Satan's power is at 131 00:08:32,610 --> 00:08:35,530 work. We see Jesus here entering into 132 00:08:35,530 --> 00:08:39,130 a place where there is layers and levels of pain and misery 133 00:08:39,130 --> 00:08:44,370 and brokenness and so even allow this sequence of events to 134 00:08:44,370 --> 00:08:48,130 inspire you to realize how Jesus. 135 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,000 Not just in a moment left a mountaintop of glory to come 136 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:58,040 into a world that is devilish and heartbreaking. 137 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:04,960 He turned his back on a heavenly abode where there was angelic 138 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:10,360 love and perfect praise, and because of. 139 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,800 A great love. He came to not keep us in this 140 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,960 mess, but to save us and to deliver us. 141 00:09:18,060 --> 00:09:20,580 I thought, wow, even in this you see a gospel truth. 142 00:09:21,580 --> 00:09:24,260 But I didn't just want to see it through the perspective of 143 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:25,740 Christ. I thought to myself, what about 144 00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:29,580 the perspective? The disciples, the disciples 145 00:09:29,580 --> 00:09:32,700 were also on that mountaintop, and we've used this. 146 00:09:32,700 --> 00:09:36,780 Term We've used this phrase and and perhaps it came from 147 00:09:37,540 --> 00:09:39,180 testimonies like this in the Word of God. 148 00:09:39,180 --> 00:09:43,380 Mountaintop experiences, Right, brother? 149 00:09:43,380 --> 00:09:45,660 How's your walk with the Lord? I'm in a valley. 150 00:09:48,390 --> 00:09:51,550 How was the conference? Oh, it was a mountaintop 151 00:09:51,550 --> 00:09:55,590 experience. What does that really mean? 152 00:09:55,590 --> 00:09:59,230 I think it simply means that you and I experienced something of 153 00:09:59,230 --> 00:10:04,190 an unusual intensification. Of God's presence, his 154 00:10:04,190 --> 00:10:08,470 revelation, awakening and affection, awakening, sense of 155 00:10:08,590 --> 00:10:12,910 faithfulness and desire for Him that seems to be almost 156 00:10:13,750 --> 00:10:17,730 unbroken. So strong and consistent. 157 00:10:19,730 --> 00:10:22,250 And when we are in those moments, whether it's a moment, 158 00:10:22,770 --> 00:10:25,890 whether it's a season, we like Peter who was on that 159 00:10:25,890 --> 00:10:30,250 mountaintop, say, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. 160 00:10:32,330 --> 00:10:34,450 It is good that we are here. And more than that, we're like 161 00:10:34,450 --> 00:10:37,490 Peter and wanting to make tent so that we can stay there as 162 00:10:37,490 --> 00:10:40,930 long as possible. It is good that we are here. 163 00:10:40,930 --> 00:10:44,130 Can we stay here? Can we remain here? 164 00:10:45,830 --> 00:10:47,950 If you've had those moments of the Lord, you know what I'm 165 00:10:47,950 --> 00:10:51,910 talking about. But just like how these 166 00:10:51,910 --> 00:10:55,790 disciples learned that this permanence of the glory of God 167 00:10:55,790 --> 00:11:01,150 being experienced and tasted, that glory will not be permanent 168 00:11:01,150 --> 00:11:04,070 until a time to come, what is more common is what you and I 169 00:11:04,070 --> 00:11:08,710 see in this valley. That's more real to us than 170 00:11:08,710 --> 00:11:12,220 anything else. Now what do we see here? 171 00:11:12,220 --> 00:11:14,420 We see bullies, right? Even religious bullies. 172 00:11:14,420 --> 00:11:16,100 You know religious people can be bullies. 173 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:20,780 What do you see here? You see the brokenness of a 174 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:24,620 parent who can't seem to get control of the erratic behavior 175 00:11:24,820 --> 00:11:27,860 of his child. Is that common? 176 00:11:29,860 --> 00:11:33,140 What do you see here? You you see here, Satan working 177 00:11:33,140 --> 00:11:38,620 in and through people, tormenting them, harassing them, 178 00:11:39,340 --> 00:11:44,050 afflicting pain. And on top of all of this, what 179 00:11:44,050 --> 00:11:47,530 else do you and I experience in this world, followers of Jesus 180 00:11:47,530 --> 00:11:51,530 Christ who don't really have it all together, just like these 181 00:11:51,530 --> 00:11:55,210 disciples? That's what you and I are 182 00:11:55,210 --> 00:11:59,010 familiar with. And the hope that we have is the 183 00:11:59,010 --> 00:12:01,090 hope of the glimpse that they got on that mountain. 184 00:12:01,090 --> 00:12:05,410 It's not going to stay this way. There is a time coming where 185 00:12:05,570 --> 00:12:11,020 Jesus will subdue. All of Satan's power and save 186 00:12:11,020 --> 00:12:14,580 us, not just from temptation, not just from the power of sin, 187 00:12:14,580 --> 00:12:16,180 but from the very presence of it. 188 00:12:16,540 --> 00:12:20,100 That time is coming. But may I add, and may I suggest 189 00:12:20,180 --> 00:12:24,100 that our hope for that future is not merely something that you 190 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:27,860 and I can't enjoy today. To some regard, what do I mean? 191 00:12:27,860 --> 00:12:31,980 Because this scene in the Valley, though it is common, 192 00:12:31,980 --> 00:12:36,220 though it's inescapable for you and I in this life, it can look 193 00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:39,780 different based on one premise. And that is the presence of 194 00:12:39,780 --> 00:12:42,820 Jesus Christ in it. You see, Christ is going to 195 00:12:42,820 --> 00:12:45,620 enter into the scene and things are going to change. 196 00:12:45,940 --> 00:12:47,260 Things are going to be different. 197 00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:51,540 And may I say to you that though you and I can't ultimately 198 00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:55,780 escape until we go to glory or glory comes to us, we can 199 00:12:55,780 --> 00:13:00,540 navigate through it with a joy and a peace on one reality. 200 00:13:00,580 --> 00:13:04,260 Whether or not Christ is in it with us, Jesus is going to make 201 00:13:04,260 --> 00:13:06,340 all the difference here. Jesus is going to come and bring 202 00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:11,010 solution here. And you and I can be encouraged 203 00:13:11,010 --> 00:13:13,690 to know that although there is an ultimate fulfillment, there 204 00:13:13,690 --> 00:13:17,650 is also a relief that we can enjoy now that is totally 205 00:13:17,650 --> 00:13:20,890 dependent upon one thing, your relationship with the Lord Jesus 206 00:13:20,890 --> 00:13:25,250 Christ. So Christ comes now and he's 207 00:13:25,250 --> 00:13:28,370 going to do some work. He's going to bring some 208 00:13:28,610 --> 00:13:33,360 alleviation here, a level of salvation and deliverance, one 209 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:37,520 that you and I can also expect and believe God for not just 210 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,920 when heaven comes, but even now in this pain filled world. 211 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,520 So Christ is coming, Christ is here, this is the scene now. 212 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:52,760 We look here at the situation we read, He asked them. 213 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,960 What are you arguing about with them? 214 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,560 And he gets no answer. He gets no answer from the 215 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,920 scries, perhaps because they were more than willing to debate 216 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:01,680 with the disciples. But now here comes the master 217 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,280 debater. Maybe we shouldn't say anything. 218 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,120 And he doesn't get an answer from the disciples because 219 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,000 perhaps they were embarrassed. They're ashamed that they 220 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,840 couldn't fulfill what they've been given power to do, by the 221 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,880 way. And the silence is suddenly 222 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:22,320 broken by the voice of a father. This father interrupts. 223 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,720 He speaks up, and he gives the answer to what is taking place 224 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,520 here. And he says, Teacher, I brought 225 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,300 my son to you. For he has a spirit that makes 226 00:14:32,300 --> 00:14:34,460 him mute. And then he goes on to explain 227 00:14:34,460 --> 00:14:37,420 what happens. What happens when the spirit 228 00:14:37,420 --> 00:14:41,180 takes a hold of the sun? And he's saying, I brought, I 229 00:14:41,180 --> 00:14:43,300 brought him to you. I I came expecting you. 230 00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:45,260 You weren't here. So I gave him to the disciples, 231 00:14:45,260 --> 00:14:48,180 and they were not able to do what I had hoped. 232 00:14:49,140 --> 00:14:55,300 That can be done in your name, and there's so much to say about 233 00:14:55,300 --> 00:14:57,060 this, so much can be expounded upon. 234 00:14:57,060 --> 00:15:00,100 But I want to make one point clear based on this example and 235 00:15:00,100 --> 00:15:03,420 it is this that the Holy Spirit through this text wants you and 236 00:15:03,420 --> 00:15:07,180 I to be informed about the heart of the evil One. 237 00:15:08,380 --> 00:15:15,260 Satan absolutely hates not just those creating the image of God, 238 00:15:15,780 --> 00:15:18,580 but even little children who are creating the image of God. 239 00:15:20,020 --> 00:15:22,500 We read later on, and you heard it, that when Jesus asked how 240 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:25,180 long has this been going on for, He said from childhood. 241 00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:31,020 From childhood. So the evil one, his hatred is 242 00:15:31,020 --> 00:15:35,060 not reserved for those who have reached a certain age of mental 243 00:15:35,060 --> 00:15:40,100 and physical maturity. No, he loads them at the 244 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:42,780 earliest phase possible. He loads them while they're in 245 00:15:42,780 --> 00:15:46,900 the womb. And if they escape the womb, if 246 00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:49,900 they are born into this world, we should not think for a moment 247 00:15:49,900 --> 00:15:54,140 that he has the decency to restrain himself from afflicting 248 00:15:54,140 --> 00:15:57,620 and assaulting these vulnerable and fragile gifts from God. 249 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,560 I'm not presenting this truth to you, to frighten you, or to 250 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:06,640 cause you to live in anxiety. Grandparents, parents, older 251 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,320 siblings, uncles and aunts. But why? 252 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,600 I am bringing this to you so that I can remind you that there 253 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:18,680 is a war for our children. There is an allout war for our 254 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,200 children. And I'm saying this so that you 255 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,840 and I can be aware of the nature of this war, lest we fight it 256 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,210 aimlessly. So that we can be more 257 00:16:29,210 --> 00:16:34,410 effective, as his father was effective in fighting for the 258 00:16:34,410 --> 00:16:39,050 soul of his son. And we can make the rest of the 259 00:16:39,050 --> 00:16:42,530 sermon about how it is that we can fight for our children and 260 00:16:42,530 --> 00:16:45,250 defend our children and raise our children and disciple our 261 00:16:45,250 --> 00:16:47,410 children. But let me summarize it in this 262 00:16:47,730 --> 00:16:50,610 The best thing that you can do, the best thing that you can do 263 00:16:50,610 --> 00:16:54,250 for your offspring, for the gifts that God has given you, is 264 00:16:54,250 --> 00:16:57,090 that no matter how old they are, young or old, no matter how 265 00:16:57,090 --> 00:17:01,090 receptive or rebellious they may be, learn to bring them to 266 00:17:01,130 --> 00:17:05,290 Jesus. Learn to bring them to Jesus. 267 00:17:06,530 --> 00:17:10,250 What does this man do? Evidently he he felt as though 268 00:17:10,250 --> 00:17:13,450 there was nothing he could do in his own strength and his own 269 00:17:13,450 --> 00:17:18,329 ability. And yet this is how many parents 270 00:17:18,329 --> 00:17:21,490 feel about their own They're exhausted. 271 00:17:22,410 --> 00:17:28,000 They've run out of solutions. And all they do is, as they get 272 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,000 older, see their children becoming more and more 273 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:35,200 influenced by evil, by the flesh veering further and further away 274 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,320 from the truth that you love and hope would be replicated and 275 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,040 emulated by your own children. And I want to tell you this 276 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,520 afternoon that as helpless as you might feel, you cannot 277 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,640 afford to be hopeless. You might feel helpless. 278 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,400 That's okay. Hopeless is not Okay. 279 00:17:57,190 --> 00:18:02,350 You need to have the faith to surrender them to the Lord day 280 00:18:02,350 --> 00:18:06,790 after day, month after month, year after year, even if they go 281 00:18:06,790 --> 00:18:12,550 from bad to worse. Learn that you can give them to 282 00:18:12,550 --> 00:18:14,830 Christ. And don't you dare allow your 283 00:18:14,830 --> 00:18:18,670 faith to shrivel up for them. Don't let it die. 284 00:18:20,790 --> 00:18:24,620 This man could have given up. He could have been dissuaded by 285 00:18:24,620 --> 00:18:27,340 the fact that these disciples, who supposedly had a reputation 286 00:18:27,340 --> 00:18:30,620 of radiating the power that's been given to them, But he 287 00:18:30,620 --> 00:18:31,980 doesn't. He remains. 288 00:18:32,340 --> 00:18:36,300 He stays right there. And there are some, perhaps 289 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:39,220 parents, now and again. Siblings, older siblings, aunts, 290 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:41,340 uncles, grandparents. You're heartbroken. 291 00:18:43,020 --> 00:18:46,300 You're tired. Maybe you're even numb. 292 00:18:50,540 --> 00:18:52,620 I want to exhort you. Though you may be feeling those 293 00:18:52,620 --> 00:18:55,220 things. Whatever you do, don't let your 294 00:18:55,220 --> 00:19:00,660 hope die. Don't let your faith die. 295 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:05,740 In fact, Jesus reveals that the absence of faith in God's 296 00:19:05,740 --> 00:19:10,540 ability to intervene the life of someone you love is to be 297 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:12,940 denounced and rejected altogether. 298 00:19:12,940 --> 00:19:14,540 Look what he says here in verse 19. 299 00:19:15,580 --> 00:19:19,070 And he answered them. Oh, faithless generation, how 300 00:19:19,070 --> 00:19:23,430 long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? 301 00:19:23,430 --> 00:19:25,110 Bring him to me. Is he? 302 00:19:25,270 --> 00:19:29,670 Is he rebuking the scribes? Is he rebuking the crowd? 303 00:19:30,670 --> 00:19:32,390 Or is he speaking about his disciples? 304 00:19:32,390 --> 00:19:34,110 Well, you can say He's including all of them. 305 00:19:34,870 --> 00:19:38,430 But the most concerning out of them all is the disciples, the 306 00:19:38,430 --> 00:19:41,990 ones who have confessed Christ and have vowed to follow him and 307 00:19:41,990 --> 00:19:46,270 to learn from him. Oh, faithless generation. 308 00:19:48,250 --> 00:19:52,610 How long am I to be with you? You you should know this by now. 309 00:19:53,170 --> 00:19:55,850 Your your faith in me should be stronger than this. 310 00:19:55,850 --> 00:20:00,610 Well, what about the faith of the disciples proves to be weak? 311 00:20:01,090 --> 00:20:03,410 How did their faithlessness manifest? 312 00:20:03,730 --> 00:20:07,410 What was it here, in terms of observation, that the Lord was 313 00:20:07,410 --> 00:20:12,300 righteously exasperated about? I think the clue is here. 314 00:20:12,300 --> 00:20:14,340 Look at the last part of verse 18. 315 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:17,980 The Father says So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and 316 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:20,980 they were not able. They were not able. 317 00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:24,460 And then you come down here in verse 28 and what do you see? 318 00:20:24,900 --> 00:20:27,740 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him 319 00:20:27,740 --> 00:20:30,740 privately, why could we not cast it out. 320 00:20:31,860 --> 00:20:35,580 The situation here, the the the dilemma is that the disciples 321 00:20:35,900 --> 00:20:38,380 were expected to bring about results and they didn't. 322 00:20:40,130 --> 00:20:43,810 So the father says they couldn't do it and the disciples realized 323 00:20:43,810 --> 00:20:46,130 they were guilty that so in a private meeting with the Lord 324 00:20:46,130 --> 00:20:49,610 they said Lord, why could we not do it? 325 00:20:49,610 --> 00:20:53,050 Remember earlier Jesus doesn't give him an explanation but he 326 00:20:53,050 --> 00:20:57,210 does give commentary. Faithless generation. 327 00:20:57,690 --> 00:21:00,330 What's synonymous with faithless, Unbelieving, 328 00:21:01,890 --> 00:21:05,890 unbelieving generation. Then the disciples say, hey, why 329 00:21:05,890 --> 00:21:07,610 couldn't we do it? Well, he said earlier. 330 00:21:07,610 --> 00:21:10,840 Because you're faithless. But then now Jesus narrows it 331 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,440 down and explains what faithlessness looks like in this 332 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,160 context. And he said to them, this kind 333 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,200 cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 334 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,400 Oh, so now we understand what the disciples failed to do. 335 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,600 It wasn't just unbelief. It was an unbelief that led to 336 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,540 prayerlessness. It was a lack of trust and 337 00:21:38,540 --> 00:21:41,340 understanding of how God relates to this situation that caused 338 00:21:41,340 --> 00:21:47,260 him not to even inquire of God. Jesus underscores that true 339 00:21:47,260 --> 00:21:50,300 faith in God. This is so important to hear. 340 00:21:50,620 --> 00:21:54,420 True faith in God, a faith that pleases him and a faith that 341 00:21:54,420 --> 00:22:01,060 unleashes his power is not tapped into when you argue or 342 00:22:01,060 --> 00:22:04,240 debate about a situation, when you think about the situation 343 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,880 and ruminate over, or even if you desire the outcome of the 344 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:15,160 situation to be favorable, Even God glorifying the faith that 345 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,880 brings about results is faith that expresses itself in 346 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:26,240 supplication, prayer, and so when Jesus says, oh, faithless. 347 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,040 You know what you can almost say? 348 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:32,990 And part what he means is this, Oh prayerless generation, oh 349 00:22:32,990 --> 00:22:38,030 prayerless generation, when will you learn to depend on me? 350 00:22:39,510 --> 00:22:44,030 When will you believe that I can actually intervene even 351 00:22:44,030 --> 00:22:48,550 immediately, and bring about my power? 352 00:22:48,630 --> 00:22:51,870 When will you learn not to rely on your own wisdom and strength? 353 00:22:52,150 --> 00:22:55,910 And the reason why Jesus was righteously frustrated with his 354 00:22:55,910 --> 00:23:01,020 own disciples was because they needed to learn how to exercise 355 00:23:01,020 --> 00:23:04,860 that power, How to walk in such a faith, Faith that expresses 356 00:23:04,860 --> 00:23:07,660 itself in prayer. Because he soon was going to 357 00:23:07,660 --> 00:23:11,620 leave, and he was hoping that they would have learned that 358 00:23:11,620 --> 00:23:14,100 lesson while he gave him a trial run. 359 00:23:14,220 --> 00:23:16,380 Where was Jesus while this was taking place? 360 00:23:16,460 --> 00:23:19,380 Was he with them? No, He was on the mountain. 361 00:23:20,820 --> 00:23:23,740 He was on the mountain. And there would be a time coming 362 00:23:23,740 --> 00:23:27,010 in a few short months, where Jesus would die, rise and 363 00:23:27,010 --> 00:23:30,410 ascend. And the disciples need to know 364 00:23:30,410 --> 00:23:33,050 by now. I'm not always going to be with 365 00:23:33,050 --> 00:23:35,170 you. And because of that, you need to 366 00:23:35,170 --> 00:23:36,850 know how to connect with me. How? 367 00:23:37,050 --> 00:23:40,730 Not through conversation, not through pulling me aside 368 00:23:40,730 --> 00:23:44,930 privately, but in prayer. Disciples, you should know by 369 00:23:44,930 --> 00:23:47,450 now how to pray. You're going to need prayer if 370 00:23:47,450 --> 00:23:49,050 you're going to fulfill the Great Commission. 371 00:23:49,490 --> 00:23:51,250 You're going to need prayer if you're going to go and preach 372 00:23:51,250 --> 00:23:52,930 the Lost. You're going to need prayer if 373 00:23:52,930 --> 00:23:54,250 you're going to plant in churches. 374 00:23:54,580 --> 00:23:56,940 You're going to need prayer when people come in with demons and 375 00:23:56,940 --> 00:23:59,980 disease, how will you do it if you don't know how to pray? 376 00:24:02,020 --> 00:24:06,860 And This is why he's rebuking? Because they're supposed to be 377 00:24:06,860 --> 00:24:09,740 trained by now. Can I ask you a question this 378 00:24:09,740 --> 00:24:13,700 afternoon? Does your faith pray? 379 00:24:15,740 --> 00:24:17,700 Does it pray? I don't care how you articulate 380 00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:19,060 it. I don't care what you blog about 381 00:24:19,060 --> 00:24:21,540 it. I don't care how many debates 382 00:24:21,540 --> 00:24:24,200 you win. It doesn't matter how you can 383 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,000 articulate your theology and your doctrine and systematize 384 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,440 it. Does your faith pray? 385 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,200 If so, keep praying because you're doing the best thing that 386 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:46,360 you can do with your faith. If not, I ask that you allow 387 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:50,200 this sermon today to encourage you to take up spiritual arms 388 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,510 and to fight. In the place of prayer, 389 00:24:52,510 --> 00:24:56,190 especially for your children. It's the best thing you can do 390 00:24:56,190 --> 00:24:58,590 for your son. It's the best thing that you can 391 00:24:58,590 --> 00:25:00,830 do for your daughter. It's the best thing that you can 392 00:25:00,830 --> 00:25:02,990 do for your niece, for your nephew, for your grandchildren. 393 00:25:03,430 --> 00:25:04,910 Yes, I know. Examples important. 394 00:25:04,910 --> 00:25:06,910 Yes, I know life is more practical than that. 395 00:25:07,150 --> 00:25:13,110 But there are certain levels of demonic influence that only 396 00:25:13,110 --> 00:25:19,190 prayer can deal with. This is the situation at hand. 397 00:25:19,510 --> 00:25:25,100 Oh, faithless generation. Oh prayerless generation, But 398 00:25:25,100 --> 00:25:27,420 now we come to the servants example in verse 20. 399 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:32,420 And they brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, 400 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:37,460 immediately it convulsed the boy and he fell on the ground and 401 00:25:37,460 --> 00:25:38,980 rolled about foaming at the mouth. 402 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:43,940 And you would think at this point then here is this boy now 403 00:25:44,180 --> 00:25:47,500 manifesting, and this demon is clearly trying to destroy him 404 00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:51,380 even before the Messiah. You would think that at this 405 00:25:51,380 --> 00:25:54,020 time Jesus would immediately interject and bring about the 406 00:25:54,020 --> 00:25:55,420 deliverance that only he can bring. 407 00:25:55,420 --> 00:25:57,860 But we read something quite strange, Something maybe that 408 00:25:57,860 --> 00:26:00,620 you might have just read past. But I find it to be absolutely 409 00:26:00,620 --> 00:26:04,420 fascinating in light of how Mark writes about Jesus verse 21 and 410 00:26:04,420 --> 00:26:08,020 Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? 411 00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:13,940 Is Jesus ignorant? No, he's all knowing. 412 00:26:15,620 --> 00:26:19,580 Is Jesus trying to discover something about? 413 00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:23,860 The length of this possession so that he would know exactly how 414 00:26:23,860 --> 00:26:26,940 to exercise his power. No, it doesn't matter if the 415 00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:30,820 demon was there for 5 minutes or for 50 years, he can deal with 416 00:26:30,820 --> 00:26:35,820 them equally. Why is Jesus asking this 417 00:26:35,820 --> 00:26:37,340 question? Does he want the crowd to know 418 00:26:37,340 --> 00:26:38,860 something? Does he want the crowd, the the 419 00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:41,220 scribes to hear something? No, no, no. 420 00:26:41,260 --> 00:26:44,620 The reason why Jesus is asking this question is because Mark 421 00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:47,180 wants to see how the perfect servant serves. 422 00:26:48,980 --> 00:26:51,860 Luke omits this detail. Matthew omits this detail. 423 00:26:52,020 --> 00:26:54,540 Mark is the one who tells us and shows us that he asked this 424 00:26:54,540 --> 00:26:58,780 question to the Father. And when you consider and I 425 00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:01,660 reminded again, This is why it's beautiful to go through a book 426 00:27:01,660 --> 00:27:05,540 and its entirety, what kind of portrait Mark is trying to paint 427 00:27:05,540 --> 00:27:07,340 concerning Christ? You remember that what it's 428 00:27:07,340 --> 00:27:10,940 about Jesus fulfilling the prophecies of him being what, 429 00:27:10,940 --> 00:27:14,900 the perfect servant of Yahweh. That's true for the prophecies, 430 00:27:14,900 --> 00:27:17,860 and it's helpful for us practically because the Lord 431 00:27:17,860 --> 00:27:20,330 here. Is engaging with the father, and 432 00:27:20,330 --> 00:27:26,170 by asking a question, he is showing his sympathy and caring 433 00:27:26,610 --> 00:27:30,410 heart for this man. Asking Listen, asking questions 434 00:27:30,410 --> 00:27:35,730 isn't always about finding answers, but sometimes it's 435 00:27:35,730 --> 00:27:39,410 about showing that you are invested and that you actually 436 00:27:39,410 --> 00:27:42,290 care and desire to connect with the sufferer. 437 00:27:43,810 --> 00:27:46,370 And here's the Lord just giving a chance for this father to 438 00:27:46,370 --> 00:27:51,340 unburden his heart. As much as he is concerned about 439 00:27:51,340 --> 00:27:55,140 this boy who is being tortured, he's also concerned about this 440 00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:59,540 father whose heart is heavy. And so he turns to this father, 441 00:27:59,540 --> 00:28:03,180 and he asks, and he's inviting him to unload. 442 00:28:03,620 --> 00:28:07,100 And he wants him to know that he is approaching a personal God, 443 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:10,580 not just a powerful one. A personal. 444 00:28:10,580 --> 00:28:14,660 God, not a vending machine that if you press the right button 445 00:28:14,660 --> 00:28:16,460 and if you get the right amount of faith, you'll get some 446 00:28:16,460 --> 00:28:18,930 results. But one who actually cares. 447 00:28:19,930 --> 00:28:21,250 How long has this been happening? 448 00:28:23,130 --> 00:28:26,130 You've met people like that They they don't just they don't want 449 00:28:26,130 --> 00:28:28,210 to just a surface relationship. They ask more. 450 00:28:28,450 --> 00:28:30,810 They ask more because they actually, genuinely care. 451 00:28:30,810 --> 00:28:35,250 At least hopefully they do. And I looked at this verse last 452 00:28:35,250 --> 00:28:37,930 night and I thought to myself, if this is Jesus demonstrating 453 00:28:37,930 --> 00:28:41,210 what it means to serve God in very practical ways, then surely 454 00:28:41,210 --> 00:28:43,730 there's instruction here for you and I as a church. 455 00:28:44,290 --> 00:28:45,690 There's instruction for you and I. 456 00:28:46,370 --> 00:28:50,370 When people come into this place and we pray that people would 457 00:28:50,690 --> 00:28:55,090 visit this place, believer or nonbeliever, they're not coming 458 00:28:55,090 --> 00:28:59,890 here for a performance, nor is our aim for them to come to be 459 00:28:59,890 --> 00:29:04,130 plugged into a program. We want them to come to meet 460 00:29:04,490 --> 00:29:11,610 people, caring, loving people. When you and I are planning to 461 00:29:11,610 --> 00:29:14,890 go out to the world, we did and we're going to go again, we 462 00:29:14,890 --> 00:29:18,450 don't want people to see us heartlessly proclaim a message 463 00:29:18,450 --> 00:29:20,930 of righteousness. We want them to see people who 464 00:29:20,930 --> 00:29:25,050 care. They care about my soul. 465 00:29:25,610 --> 00:29:29,050 They care about my life. They're not just try to satisfy 466 00:29:29,050 --> 00:29:31,650 the religious conscience. They're not just trying to do 467 00:29:31,650 --> 00:29:35,570 this so that they can say something to others about how 468 00:29:35,610 --> 00:29:37,290 much they serve and stand for the truth. 469 00:29:37,290 --> 00:29:42,290 They actually care. This is Jesus actually caring. 470 00:29:43,450 --> 00:29:49,630 He pauses. He gives time, he inquires, and 471 00:29:49,630 --> 00:29:53,950 he convinces this man and encourages him that he does 472 00:29:53,950 --> 00:29:56,030 care, and this this man was able to perceive that. 473 00:29:56,030 --> 00:30:02,830 So he finds the courage to look at Christ and to say, if if you 474 00:30:02,830 --> 00:30:06,750 are compassionate, I perceive that you are compassionate, help 475 00:30:06,750 --> 00:30:09,030 me. Please help me. 476 00:30:09,630 --> 00:30:13,990 I can't do this anymore. And so on verse 22 we read that. 477 00:30:14,490 --> 00:30:20,810 Now we look at the stumbling block it says here at the end of 478 00:30:20,810 --> 00:30:22,370 verse 21, he said from childhood. 479 00:30:22,370 --> 00:30:25,370 And it has often cast them into fire, into water to destroy him. 480 00:30:25,370 --> 00:30:27,010 You just imagine that kind of a life. 481 00:30:27,410 --> 00:30:29,410 Imagine being a father or a mother. 482 00:30:30,330 --> 00:30:35,090 And so much of your time is to protect the unpredictable 483 00:30:35,090 --> 00:30:39,330 behavior of your child, where demon is in him and launches him 484 00:30:39,330 --> 00:30:42,490 into a fire pit, and if not into a fire pit, into some kind of a 485 00:30:42,490 --> 00:30:44,570 well or a pond. To try to drown him. 486 00:30:44,570 --> 00:30:49,370 Imagine all that time and energy rescuing, putting out fires, 487 00:30:51,490 --> 00:30:55,170 trying to arrest them by while trying to be kind and letting 488 00:30:55,170 --> 00:30:57,810 them live as much of a normal life as possible. 489 00:30:59,850 --> 00:31:04,450 This is what this father is dealing with then, he says. 490 00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:08,210 But if you can do anything, but if you can do anything, have 491 00:31:08,210 --> 00:31:14,410 compassion on us and help us. But if you can do anything, does 492 00:31:17,130 --> 00:31:22,570 that sound like strong faith? But if you can do anything, even 493 00:31:22,650 --> 00:31:25,770 Jesus gives this surprising expression. 494 00:31:25,770 --> 00:31:30,250 If you can. If you can, I would have loved 495 00:31:30,250 --> 00:31:33,330 to hear the Lord say that if you. 496 00:31:33,330 --> 00:31:36,970 Can that does it sound like strong faith? 497 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:39,720 What does strong faith look like? 498 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:41,800 You know, I'm reading Romans. I was reading Romans this week 499 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,440 and this first came to mind. Every time I go to Romans 500 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,880 chapter 4 and read about Abraham, my faith is always 501 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,560 checked. Always. 502 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,560 Because the Holy Spirit describes this Father of faith 503 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,280 in such a detailed manner and it gives us language. 504 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,760 To what strong faith looks like. Can I show you what strong faith 505 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,080 is? According to the Bible, we know 506 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,560 what faith is, but what does strong faith look like? 507 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,010 Well, turn to Romans 4 with me. Romans 4 and let's go to verse 508 00:32:09,010 --> 00:32:15,290 19 Every time I come to this chapter, in this portion of this 509 00:32:15,290 --> 00:32:18,690 chapter I examine the quality of my faith. 510 00:32:21,450 --> 00:32:27,770 Romans 419. It says here about Abraham. 511 00:32:27,770 --> 00:32:31,370 He did not weaken and faith when he considered his own body, 512 00:32:32,010 --> 00:32:36,180 which was as good as dead since he was about 100 years old, or 513 00:32:36,180 --> 00:32:38,900 when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 514 00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:42,980 So Abraham didn't weaken in faith the older he got. 515 00:32:43,980 --> 00:32:47,740 He didn't weaken in faith the older Sarah got. 516 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:51,500 That's an astounding commentary. Look at verse 20. 517 00:32:51,500 --> 00:32:54,420 There's an end there. No unbelief made him waver 518 00:32:54,420 --> 00:32:58,740 concerning the promise of God. But he grew strong in his faith. 519 00:32:58,740 --> 00:33:02,340 OK, this is strong faith. He grew strong in his faith as 520 00:33:02,340 --> 00:33:04,780 he gave glory to God. Verse 21 is a description of 521 00:33:04,780 --> 00:33:05,740 strong faith. You ready? 522 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:10,080 Fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised? 523 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:13,720 That's strong faith. Fully convinced. 524 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:18,120 Not partially, not 90% completely. 525 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,440 As a shirt as I am. That this is a wooden pulpit, 526 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,280 That this is an ESV Bible, That this is a white shirt. 527 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,800 That's how you are with the promises of God. 528 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,440 There's no doubt. There's no question. 529 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,420 I'm fully convinced that what God has said he would that's 530 00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:38,660 strong faith. That's what you and I should 531 00:33:38,660 --> 00:33:41,420 strive for. That's God glorifying faith. 532 00:33:43,020 --> 00:33:45,060 You come back to this man, is he? 533 00:33:45,100 --> 00:33:51,340 Fully convinced If you can do something, that's not Abraham. 534 00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:58,420 Like faith, Abraham didn't weaken in faith, he was fully 535 00:33:58,420 --> 00:34:00,380 convinced. So the opposite of weak faith is 536 00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:03,140 fully convinced faith. But that's not what we read up 537 00:34:03,140 --> 00:34:05,410 in this story. Let's come back. 538 00:34:08,449 --> 00:34:11,170 May I add that this man is not coming to Jesus blindly. 539 00:34:11,770 --> 00:34:15,370 He wasn't taking a walk with his son and saw Jesus and heard for 540 00:34:15,370 --> 00:34:16,489 the first time. You know this. 541 00:34:16,570 --> 00:34:19,250 Jesus can do miracles. I'm sure this man was very, very 542 00:34:19,250 --> 00:34:22,010 aware of who Jesus was. I'm sure he has heard the 543 00:34:22,010 --> 00:34:23,570 reports and the eyewitness testimonies. 544 00:34:23,690 --> 00:34:25,370 That's why he came to Jesus to begin with. 545 00:34:26,090 --> 00:34:30,290 So this man is informed. He's not in the dark concerning 546 00:34:30,290 --> 00:34:34,330 the reputation that Jesus had, but despite the reports, despite 547 00:34:34,330 --> 00:34:38,610 the accounts, there was still doubt in him, there was still 548 00:34:38,610 --> 00:34:42,449 this uncertainty. And Jesus takes this opportunity 549 00:34:42,449 --> 00:34:45,850 to say something not just for this man, but also for his 550 00:34:45,850 --> 00:34:49,010 disciples, his disciples, who were also going to live most of 551 00:34:49,010 --> 00:34:52,330 the life without the immediate physical presence of Jesus 552 00:34:52,330 --> 00:34:55,050 Christ. This is what he says, if you 553 00:34:55,050 --> 00:34:57,810 can. All things are possible for one 554 00:34:57,810 --> 00:35:01,090 who believes. All things are possible for one 555 00:35:01,090 --> 00:35:03,510 who believes. That's really the center. 556 00:35:03,510 --> 00:35:06,230 That's the core of what this is all about, Believing. 557 00:35:06,990 --> 00:35:10,310 Believing that as long as what you're believing for doesn't 558 00:35:10,310 --> 00:35:13,150 contradict the word of God is in alignment with the will of God. 559 00:35:13,430 --> 00:35:18,670 It can happen. All things are possible. 560 00:35:19,390 --> 00:35:22,430 And if we're honest, if we're honest, let's be honest, we're 561 00:35:22,430 --> 00:35:24,790 in church. We're Christians. 562 00:35:24,790 --> 00:35:30,030 We should be honest when we hear that all things are possible for 563 00:35:30,030 --> 00:35:33,120 one who believes. Our response is more like this 564 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,400 man than it is being fully convinced. 565 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,240 This is a little too good to be true. 566 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:46,600 All things are possible for one who believes so we can resonate 567 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,920 with his response. I'm sure more than anything else 568 00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,360 in verse 24, immediately the father of the child cried out 569 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:57,320 and said I believe this end there, I hope my own belief. 570 00:36:00,530 --> 00:36:03,170 I believe there's a motion here. There's like an outburst, right? 571 00:36:03,650 --> 00:36:07,650 Like something was triggered. I believe help my own belief. 572 00:36:10,170 --> 00:36:12,570 I believe help my own belief. Which one is it? 573 00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:13,890 Do you believe or you're not believe? 574 00:36:13,890 --> 00:36:17,810 It's both. You're familiar with that, 575 00:36:17,810 --> 00:36:21,730 right? You believe, but there's a 576 00:36:21,730 --> 00:36:25,250 little bit of doubt. I don't know. 577 00:36:26,210 --> 00:36:28,570 I'm not sure really. Can it? 578 00:36:31,530 --> 00:36:34,450 You know what's amazing? This man says, I believe, help 579 00:36:34,450 --> 00:36:37,170 my unbelief. And before you read verse 25, 580 00:36:37,250 --> 00:36:40,450 you would anticipate that Jesus would respond with what we saw 581 00:36:40,450 --> 00:36:44,450 earlier in verse 19. Oh, faithless generation. 582 00:36:45,370 --> 00:36:47,210 Like, when does the faithlessness stop here? 583 00:36:48,410 --> 00:36:51,210 Oh, faith, That how you're just this is just not going to stop, 584 00:36:51,210 --> 00:36:52,530 is it? You would think so. 585 00:36:52,530 --> 00:36:53,890 You would think that would be the appropriate. 586 00:36:53,890 --> 00:36:56,370 Reaction that Christ would have, but he doesn't give that. 587 00:36:56,930 --> 00:37:00,990 What does he do? He actually performs the 588 00:37:00,990 --> 00:37:04,710 miracle. And when Jesus saw that a crowd 589 00:37:04,710 --> 00:37:06,910 came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit. 590 00:37:07,110 --> 00:37:10,150 He rebuked it, and he brought deliverance to this child. 591 00:37:11,030 --> 00:37:13,390 How can this be? He? 592 00:37:13,390 --> 00:37:17,510 He said to the disciples, mainly of faithless generation. 593 00:37:18,430 --> 00:37:20,590 And when you go to Matthew's version, you don't have to turn 594 00:37:20,590 --> 00:37:21,910 there. Matthew 17. 595 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:26,520 You read there that Jesus actually tells them why they 596 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,160 couldn't cast it out. Mark emphasizes prayer. 597 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:34,000 Jesus says because your faith is weak, it's weak faith. 598 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,040 They didn't have 0 belief, it was just weak. 599 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:38,760 Well, isn't this man's faith weak? 600 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:43,320 So why isn't he rebuking him? Why did he rebuke the disciples 601 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,120 for their weak faith? But here's a man with equally 602 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:50,080 weak faith, and Jesus doesn't rebuke him but actually honors 603 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:51,200 him. I'll tell you why. 604 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,450 You ready? It's because what the disciples 605 00:37:54,450 --> 00:37:56,690 did with their weak faith was much different than what this 606 00:37:56,690 --> 00:38:00,210 man did with his weak faith. The weak faith in the hearts of 607 00:38:00,210 --> 00:38:03,650 the disciples caused them not to pray but to be self reliant. 608 00:38:03,930 --> 00:38:05,970 The weak faith of this man though was weak. 609 00:38:06,090 --> 00:38:09,290 There was enough of it for him to act upon and say I need you. 610 00:38:10,450 --> 00:38:12,850 It's weak but I still give it to you. 611 00:38:13,410 --> 00:38:16,410 It's contaminated with doubt, but I still cry out to you. 612 00:38:16,410 --> 00:38:20,140 Do you see the difference? It's not necessarily the 613 00:38:20,140 --> 00:38:23,820 strength of the faith, though that strength can glorify God. 614 00:38:24,380 --> 00:38:26,300 Is that despite the measure of it? 615 00:38:26,940 --> 00:38:29,540 Can you act upon it and still move? 616 00:38:29,540 --> 00:38:33,780 Forward with it. And if you really think about 617 00:38:33,780 --> 00:38:37,820 it, this man is acting in more faith than you might perceive. 618 00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:42,740 I believe help my unbelief. Do you realize that in his 619 00:38:42,740 --> 00:38:44,660 unbelief he's actually believing? 620 00:38:45,660 --> 00:38:48,940 This is I love this miracle for this this reason right here, 621 00:38:49,620 --> 00:38:53,340 help my unbelief. The fact that you're identifying 622 00:38:53,340 --> 00:38:56,580 that unbelief is good, but the fact that you're surrendering it 623 00:38:56,580 --> 00:38:58,780 to the Lord is an act of faith in itself. 624 00:39:01,220 --> 00:39:04,980 So it's not necessarily the presence of doubt or fear or 625 00:39:04,980 --> 00:39:09,540 anxiety that disqualifies God channeling through our faith. 626 00:39:10,220 --> 00:39:13,700 It's that though you see that doubt, what do you do with it? 627 00:39:15,100 --> 00:39:17,940 And here's the mercy of Jesus Christ, here's the glory of his 628 00:39:17,940 --> 00:39:21,220 compassion that you can even take your doubt. 629 00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:25,460 Give it to the Lord, ask him to help you with it, and he'll 630 00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:27,620 honor the faith behind that request. 631 00:39:28,780 --> 00:39:31,700 Does not move you. Doesn't that stir you? 632 00:39:32,420 --> 00:39:35,420 You can't lose. Only way you can lose is if you 633 00:39:35,420 --> 00:39:38,980 don't come to him at all. You you see earlier where he 634 00:39:38,980 --> 00:39:43,630 says, if you have compassion, have compassion on us and help 635 00:39:43,630 --> 00:39:45,590 us. That same word for help is being 636 00:39:45,590 --> 00:39:49,390 used here about his unbelief. Help us concerning my son. 637 00:39:49,390 --> 00:39:52,350 And then when it came to his lack of faith, he goes help my 638 00:39:52,350 --> 00:39:57,950 lack of faith. I'm desperate for my doubt to be 639 00:39:57,950 --> 00:40:00,910 dealt with, and the Lord honors that. 640 00:40:01,790 --> 00:40:04,670 The Lord answers that the Lord works with that kind of faith. 641 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,120 And so I don't believe God in the story earlier as strongly as 642 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,400 I know I should. Well, don't be like the 643 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,640 disciples and reserve yourself from coming to him altogether. 644 00:40:13,880 --> 00:40:16,400 Come to him, even with that mustard seed. 645 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:23,880 Like faith. One that is murky and slimy, not 646 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:28,360 rock solid. Say, Lord, I I know I should 647 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:30,160 believe you more about this, but it's not as strong. 648 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:34,540 Can you help me here? That's faith, and that's the 649 00:40:34,540 --> 00:40:38,180 Lord and his goodness willing to answer and rescue us and even 650 00:40:38,180 --> 00:40:41,580 bring about results and fruit. You won't prove of that in Acts 651 00:40:41,580 --> 00:40:44,540 chapter 12, when the church there praying for Peter to be 652 00:40:44,540 --> 00:40:47,620 released from prison, Rhoda hears some knocking at the door. 653 00:40:47,620 --> 00:40:49,460 It's Peter at the door. She runs back to the perming, 654 00:40:49,460 --> 00:40:51,060 says, you know, Peter is here, they go, You're out of your 655 00:40:51,060 --> 00:40:55,100 mind, no? No, no, it's it's really Peter, 656 00:40:55,420 --> 00:40:57,060 the one that you're asking God to deliver. 657 00:40:57,060 --> 00:40:59,860 He's actually outside in the courtyard is probably his Angel. 658 00:41:00,820 --> 00:41:05,410 What kind of faith is that? OK, and yet that was the kind of 659 00:41:05,410 --> 00:41:06,890 faith they were offering to heaven. 660 00:41:07,010 --> 00:41:09,650 And God still was willing to send an Angel and deliver Peter, 661 00:41:10,170 --> 00:41:13,170 How good is our God? How awesome is he? 662 00:41:13,490 --> 00:41:16,330 How can you not pray? How can you condemn yourself to 663 00:41:16,330 --> 00:41:18,210 the point of being paralyzed in your prayer? 664 00:41:18,210 --> 00:41:23,170 Life may not be so. This man says, help my own 665 00:41:23,170 --> 00:41:25,490 belief. I can pray to God in my own 666 00:41:25,490 --> 00:41:28,010 belief, and he'll recognize the act of faith behind that plea. 667 00:41:29,610 --> 00:41:32,410 And finally we come not just to the stumbling block that was 668 00:41:32,890 --> 00:41:34,530 overcome, but we come to the schooling. 669 00:41:35,410 --> 00:41:40,250 The boy was delivered verse 27, but Jesus took him by the hand 670 00:41:40,250 --> 00:41:42,010 again. Mark loves to use that language. 671 00:41:42,650 --> 00:41:47,050 He loves to show Jesus touching and looking and asking more and 672 00:41:47,050 --> 00:41:49,770 being more personally, takes him by the hand and lifted him up. 673 00:41:50,170 --> 00:41:53,490 And he arose, and now the scene shifts again. 674 00:41:53,490 --> 00:41:54,610 There's a there's a private meeting. 675 00:41:54,610 --> 00:41:56,330 They go to a house. We're not told which house it 676 00:41:56,330 --> 00:41:58,930 is. And when he had entered the 677 00:41:58,930 --> 00:42:02,170 house, his disciples asked him privately why can we not cast it 678 00:42:02,170 --> 00:42:06,260 out? Now the disciples have the right 679 00:42:06,420 --> 00:42:09,540 to ask this question, obviously because of their failure, but in 680 00:42:09,540 --> 00:42:11,460 light of their previous experience. 681 00:42:11,900 --> 00:42:15,420 This is not the first time that the disciples dealt with demons. 682 00:42:15,740 --> 00:42:17,500 It's not the first time that they were confronted with a 683 00:42:17,500 --> 00:42:20,980 problem in the supernatural. Go back to Mark chapter 6. 684 00:42:20,980 --> 00:42:25,740 Very briefly, look at verse 7 and Mark 6. 685 00:42:28,250 --> 00:42:31,170 And he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two, and 686 00:42:31,170 --> 00:42:34,850 he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 687 00:42:34,850 --> 00:42:41,330 And then you come here to verse 13 and they being the disciples. 688 00:42:41,330 --> 00:42:43,930 Cast out many demons and anointed with oil, many who were 689 00:42:43,930 --> 00:42:47,250 sick and healed them. So the disciples had a history 690 00:42:47,450 --> 00:42:52,090 of success with demons before, and now they come to this, and 691 00:42:52,090 --> 00:42:55,010 there's no fruit, there's no power, there's no demonstration 692 00:42:55,010 --> 00:42:56,810 like what they have known. And they're they're they're 693 00:42:56,810 --> 00:43:01,570 confused. Jesus, we're not understanding 694 00:43:01,570 --> 00:43:03,130 this. You gave us authority. 695 00:43:03,130 --> 00:43:05,170 We've seen results. Now we're here. 696 00:43:05,730 --> 00:43:08,610 Why isn't anything happening? Why didn't anything happen? 697 00:43:09,290 --> 00:43:11,090 And Jesus is something so insightful. 698 00:43:11,890 --> 00:43:14,610 This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer. 699 00:43:16,570 --> 00:43:20,850 What is the Lord getting at here between Mark Chapter 6 and Mark 700 00:43:20,850 --> 00:43:24,890 Chapter 9? For some reason the disciples 701 00:43:24,890 --> 00:43:31,550 developed a prayerless attitude and the disciples relied on 702 00:43:31,550 --> 00:43:36,470 previous success, maybe even technique, maybe some kind of 703 00:43:36,470 --> 00:43:40,110 methodology. But where they went wrong is 704 00:43:40,110 --> 00:43:43,950 they stopped being depended upon God Almighty. 705 00:43:45,110 --> 00:43:47,870 And where do you stop being depended upon God Almighty when 706 00:43:47,870 --> 00:43:50,950 you stop praying. And that's what Jesus points 707 00:43:50,950 --> 00:43:54,390 out. You stopped praying at some 708 00:43:54,390 --> 00:43:59,170 point. And this is for those who are 709 00:43:59,170 --> 00:44:02,890 servants of God who desire to see fruit, even supernatural 710 00:44:02,890 --> 00:44:05,290 fruit, right? It's all really supernatural. 711 00:44:05,290 --> 00:44:07,130 But you want to see God do great things. 712 00:44:07,850 --> 00:44:10,130 You want to see God bless your minister, your efforts. 713 00:44:11,490 --> 00:44:18,210 It's very tempting to rely on a reputation or to to get a hold 714 00:44:18,210 --> 00:44:25,210 of a certain technique or routine and see on the surface 715 00:44:25,210 --> 00:44:29,290 level, something steady and satisfying where you begin to 716 00:44:29,290 --> 00:44:34,330 now remove yourself from the place of getting before God and 717 00:44:34,330 --> 00:44:37,370 speaking to Him and asking help from Him. 718 00:44:39,370 --> 00:44:42,410 It happens all the time. It happens more frequently than 719 00:44:42,410 --> 00:44:44,970 you think. It's a great temptation for us 720 00:44:44,970 --> 00:44:49,450 to get off of our knees, especially on the other side of 721 00:44:49,450 --> 00:44:54,160 success. And this is what happened to 722 00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:57,360 these disciples. And I think it's more than just 723 00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:59,680 Jesus saying in this moment you didn't pray. 724 00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:03,800 I think this is Jesus saying that altogether their sense of 725 00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:10,040 dependency was removed. And so this is a longterm thing, 726 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:14,160 not just an immediate thing. And Jesus, as God Almighty, 727 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,360 brought about results not just because he's got almighty, but 728 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:22,020 because being man, he actually modeled how you and I should go 729 00:45:22,020 --> 00:45:25,660 about serving him. He tells him you didn't pray. 730 00:45:26,460 --> 00:45:28,700 But Jesus coming down the mountain, was he prepared? 731 00:45:30,020 --> 00:45:33,100 Was he prepared? Let me show you how he was 732 00:45:33,100 --> 00:45:36,060 prepared. If you go to Luke in Chapter 9 733 00:45:38,260 --> 00:45:48,820 in verse 28, this is the same account of the transfiguration 734 00:45:48,820 --> 00:45:51,420 where Jesus went up to the mountain to make his glory known 735 00:45:51,420 --> 00:45:53,180 to his disciples. But look what we see here in 736 00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:57,050 Luke 928 Now, about eight days after these sayings, he took 737 00:45:57,050 --> 00:45:59,530 with him Peter and John and James and went up on the 738 00:45:59,530 --> 00:46:03,650 mountain to what, pray Jesus was prepared. 739 00:46:06,170 --> 00:46:09,090 So Jesus is talking more than just about spontaneous prayer in 740 00:46:09,090 --> 00:46:13,610 light of a surprise attack. I believe the Lord is speaking 741 00:46:13,610 --> 00:46:16,930 about a lifestyle of prayer that makes you ready for the 742 00:46:16,930 --> 00:46:22,210 surprise. We all know how to run to prayer 743 00:46:22,210 --> 00:46:26,130 when there's chaos. We all know what to do when 744 00:46:26,130 --> 00:46:28,050 there's things that get out of hand. 745 00:46:29,250 --> 00:46:33,890 Prayers are 911 and it should be, but it should be more than 746 00:46:33,890 --> 00:46:35,690 that. Prayer should be our posture all 747 00:46:35,690 --> 00:46:39,570 the time. Pray without ceasing, Paul said. 748 00:46:39,770 --> 00:46:41,690 How do I pray without ceasing? Do I stay in my room the whole 749 00:46:41,690 --> 00:46:43,290 time, Ask my wife to make me dinner? 750 00:46:43,290 --> 00:46:45,370 To put out the closet door and quit my job? 751 00:46:45,370 --> 00:46:47,570 Is that what prayer means, To pray without ceasing? 752 00:46:48,010 --> 00:46:49,890 No. Develop an attitude of 753 00:46:49,890 --> 00:46:52,050 dependency on the Lord every day, all day. 754 00:46:52,500 --> 00:46:53,900 That's what prayer without ceasing means. 755 00:46:56,660 --> 00:46:58,740 And Jesus saying. You've forgotten that. 756 00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:02,620 And it shows. It shows. 757 00:47:03,260 --> 00:47:06,340 I wasn't planning to go to this text in the Old Testament, but I 758 00:47:06,340 --> 00:47:08,900 think it's helpful. It's helpful because I want to 759 00:47:08,900 --> 00:47:13,340 show you for more than one place how what I am saying to you is 760 00:47:13,340 --> 00:47:16,580 valid and for our consideration. Please understand me. 761 00:47:18,130 --> 00:47:21,250 You can know a level of success without prayer. 762 00:47:21,250 --> 00:47:25,650 I know that sounds blasphemous. You can know some kind of 763 00:47:25,890 --> 00:47:30,250 superficial results and not pray at all. 764 00:47:31,170 --> 00:47:34,250 I remember hearing this years ago where a minister was at a 765 00:47:34,250 --> 00:47:37,090 minister's conference and when he discovered with these pastors 766 00:47:37,090 --> 00:47:39,970 who had churches of thousands of people, that most of these 767 00:47:39,970 --> 00:47:45,260 pastors don't pray at all. They're so busy, have so much to 768 00:47:45,260 --> 00:47:49,420 do, administrative work and meetings and conferences, and 769 00:47:49,420 --> 00:47:53,300 they have thousands of people. They have books, but you know 770 00:47:53,300 --> 00:47:54,820 what? They don't have a prayer life. 771 00:47:58,580 --> 00:48:02,340 And there was a man in the Old Testament who saw some results 772 00:48:02,460 --> 00:48:05,380 without prayer. And there is an amazing lesson 773 00:48:05,380 --> 00:48:07,700 here through his life that I want to bring to your attention. 774 00:48:07,940 --> 00:48:09,660 It's in Second Chronicles. Let's turn there. 775 00:48:09,660 --> 00:48:17,540 We're we're gonna end it here. Second Chronicles. 776 00:48:17,540 --> 00:48:19,420 It's after First and Second Kings. 777 00:48:20,060 --> 00:48:21,980 First the Second Kings as of First and Second Samuel. 778 00:48:23,420 --> 00:48:26,460 Second Chronicles, it's after Genesis, before Revelation. 779 00:48:30,660 --> 00:48:36,820 Second Chronicles In Chapter 16, King ASA, the king of the 780 00:48:36,820 --> 00:48:42,500 Southern Kingdom, heard reports of Basha, king of Israel, coming 781 00:48:42,500 --> 00:48:47,240 up against Judah and built Rama. There is a war that was about to 782 00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:49,240 ensue between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern 783 00:48:49,240 --> 00:48:52,400 Kingdom. So what does King ASA do in 784 00:48:52,400 --> 00:48:55,760 order to deal with the enemy? Verse two, Second Chronicle 16. 785 00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:58,480 Then ASA took silver and gold from the treasures of the House 786 00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:01,440 of the Lord and the King's house, and sent them to Ben 787 00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:05,880 Haddad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, There is a 788 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:08,620 covet between me and you. As there was between my father 789 00:49:08,620 --> 00:49:11,820 and your father, behold, I am sending to you silver and gold. 790 00:49:11,820 --> 00:49:13,860 Gold. Break your covenant with Basha, 791 00:49:13,860 --> 00:49:17,100 king of Israel. That he may withdraw from me. 792 00:49:18,180 --> 00:49:21,060 Stop. Is aligned with the Syrians a 793 00:49:21,060 --> 00:49:24,340 good thing or a bad thing? It's a bad thing. 794 00:49:25,180 --> 00:49:28,700 The Syrians are enemies as well. And so he makes an alliance with 795 00:49:28,700 --> 00:49:30,420 Syria. He asked Syria to break their 796 00:49:30,420 --> 00:49:33,660 covenant with Israel and notice what happens. 797 00:49:35,080 --> 00:49:37,720 We see here in verse four and Ben Haddad listened to King ASA 798 00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,120 and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of 799 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:43,400 Israel and they conquered. And at the last part of the 800 00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:47,480 verse he stopped building Rama and let his work cease looking 801 00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:50,080 verse six. Then King ASA took all Judah and 802 00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:53,200 they carried away the stones of Rama and it's timber with which 803 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:56,720 Basha had been building and with them he built Giba and Mispa. 804 00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:05,080 Success results. Advancement, relief, yeah. 805 00:50:05,080 --> 00:50:09,160 But the story doesn't end there. God sends a prophet, and this is 806 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:12,400 what the prophet says in verse seven at the time. 807 00:50:12,720 --> 00:50:16,040 Hannah and I, the seer, came to ASA, king of Judah and said to 808 00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:22,160 him, because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely 809 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:27,320 on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped 810 00:50:27,320 --> 00:50:32,790 you. ASA, because you trusted in 811 00:50:32,790 --> 00:50:36,950 human power, because you trusted in human resources. 812 00:50:37,950 --> 00:50:41,790 Read your Bible carefully. He said the king of Syria has 813 00:50:41,790 --> 00:50:43,710 escaped you. He didn't say the king of 814 00:50:43,710 --> 00:50:48,230 Israel, king of Syria, the same Syrians that you made an 815 00:50:48,230 --> 00:50:49,830 alliance with. You know what he's saying by 816 00:50:49,830 --> 00:50:52,510 this? If you had just relied on God, 817 00:50:53,310 --> 00:50:56,110 not only would have God-given you Israel, He would have given 818 00:50:56,110 --> 00:51:02,200 you Israel and Syria, but you forfeited that by trusting in 819 00:51:02,200 --> 00:51:04,080 your own strength instead of God's. 820 00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:06,720 People wonder, do I miss out on prayer? 821 00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:07,880 What? Do I really miss out? 822 00:51:08,080 --> 00:51:12,240 Is it really practical? I don't want to live a life 823 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:18,040 where I can navigate through it comfortably but not know what 824 00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:20,080 else could have been done if I had just sought God. 825 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:22,680 Some Christians are comfortable with it. 826 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:24,840 That's why this part of the message isn't moving you a bit. 827 00:51:25,800 --> 00:51:30,320 I'm not interested in that kind of Christianity, because again, 828 00:51:31,080 --> 00:51:34,800 you can go about, you can do ministry and not pray. 829 00:51:36,040 --> 00:51:41,040 But Jesus said this kind cannot come, it cannot come out but 830 00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:43,960 anything but prayer. Meaning you always will reach a 831 00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:48,440 ceiling of potential being prayerless, but there is 832 00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:50,880 unlimited possibility for the prayer fall. 833 00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:55,840 So do it, but you'll always reach a limit. 834 00:51:55,880 --> 00:52:00,300 You only come so far this kind. There is a level that you will 835 00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:05,380 never reach if you don't pray. Why does this church pray? 836 00:52:06,260 --> 00:52:08,020 Why? Why do we put a meeting 837 00:52:08,020 --> 00:52:11,020 uncomfortably during the week? So because we have nothing else 838 00:52:11,020 --> 00:52:13,580 to do. Is it because we're bored? 839 00:52:14,580 --> 00:52:16,700 Is it because we want to eat something together on a 840 00:52:16,700 --> 00:52:18,060 Wednesday night? We don't eat anything on 841 00:52:18,060 --> 00:52:21,540 Wednesday night. The reason why we pray is 842 00:52:21,540 --> 00:52:25,380 because we know that we can't know God's full potential unless 843 00:52:25,380 --> 00:52:27,900 we do. That's why we pray. 844 00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:32,480 That's why we take time to see God's faith. 845 00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:36,400 Because we don't want to be like disciples and rely on our 846 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:41,440 strength and our gifts and our money and our hopes and plans. 847 00:52:43,080 --> 00:52:45,600 God, if you don't come, we're finished. 848 00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:49,440 If you don't help, we will not go far. 849 00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:51,880 And I look at this in verse eight. 850 00:52:52,500 --> 00:52:55,020 He reminds him of the past. We're not The Ethiopians and the 851 00:52:55,020 --> 00:52:58,100 Libyans, a huge army with very many Chariots and horsemen. 852 00:52:58,460 --> 00:53:01,500 Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your 853 00:53:01,500 --> 00:53:04,540 hand. That's that bothers me because 854 00:53:04,540 --> 00:53:08,900 this man was a prayer man. He was at one point. 855 00:53:09,140 --> 00:53:12,820 Usually when people are early in their ministry, early in their 856 00:53:12,820 --> 00:53:18,700 walk with the Lord, we usually become prayerless as time goes 857 00:53:18,700 --> 00:53:20,660 on. And so here's the reminder. 858 00:53:20,660 --> 00:53:23,460 Just to get an idea of how this man prayed, go to Chapter 14. 859 00:53:23,460 --> 00:53:26,300 This is ASA as well. Look at verse nine of Chapter 860 00:53:26,300 --> 00:53:29,740 14. Zero. 861 00:53:29,740 --> 00:53:33,540 The Ethiopian came out against them with an army of 1,000,000 862 00:53:33,540 --> 00:53:40,060 men, a million men, and 300 Chariots, and came as far as 863 00:53:40,060 --> 00:53:44,100 Marisa and ASA went out to meet him and drew up their lines of 864 00:53:44,100 --> 00:53:46,820 battle in the valley of Zepha. Marisa did. 865 00:53:46,820 --> 00:53:52,130 Did ASA have an army here? Yes, he had an army here, but he 866 00:53:52,130 --> 00:53:54,010 has something else. Verse 11. 867 00:53:54,010 --> 00:54:00,010 And ASA cry to the Lord his God. Oh Lord, there is none like you 868 00:54:00,010 --> 00:54:02,570 to help between the mighty and the weak. 869 00:54:02,570 --> 00:54:07,130 Help us oh Lord our God, for we rely on you and in your name we 870 00:54:07,130 --> 00:54:10,010 have come against this Multi the Oh Lord you are God. 871 00:54:10,010 --> 00:54:14,730 Let not man prevail against you. The power of ASA and his Kingdom 872 00:54:14,730 --> 00:54:17,210 was not his army. It was in prayer. 873 00:54:19,570 --> 00:54:24,490 And Hannah and I says you were a praying man before you knew how 874 00:54:24,490 --> 00:54:27,330 to rely on God. But then you got smart. 875 00:54:28,770 --> 00:54:32,130 Then you being confident. You allowed your track record 876 00:54:32,370 --> 00:54:35,490 and a time of peace to convince you that you don't need to plead 877 00:54:35,490 --> 00:54:40,050 before God. What happened to you? 878 00:54:40,050 --> 00:54:45,850 ASA? And then he gives verse 9 as a 879 00:54:45,850 --> 00:54:50,280 motivation for us. Unfortunately, one that was too 880 00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:54,320 late for ASA, though he could have repented verse 9 for the 881 00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:57,840 eyes of back in chapter 16. For the eyes of the Lord run to 882 00:54:57,840 --> 00:55:01,600 and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong support to 883 00:55:01,600 --> 00:55:04,040 those whose heart is blameless toward him. 884 00:55:06,120 --> 00:55:09,280 ASA, do you know why you can pray? 885 00:55:10,160 --> 00:55:14,560 Because God is actively looking for those whose hearts are 886 00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:19,590 completely his, and that will seek him so that he can bring 887 00:55:19,590 --> 00:55:25,270 about his power through them. Can you imagine that the eyes of 888 00:55:25,270 --> 00:55:32,830 the Lord in 2023? Not just then, 2023, are still 889 00:55:32,830 --> 00:55:39,070 scaling the earth to find a man, a woman, a mother, a father, a 890 00:55:39,070 --> 00:55:44,390 church whose heart is blameless toward him and that shows itself 891 00:55:44,390 --> 00:55:47,230 by relying on him in the place of prayer? 892 00:55:48,230 --> 00:55:49,790 What is God looking for in this hour? 893 00:55:50,990 --> 00:55:57,710 Intelligence, looks, Charisma, Prayer. 894 00:56:00,070 --> 00:56:02,910 It was true then. It is true today. 895 00:56:05,070 --> 00:56:11,590 It'd be very strange to end this meeting by singing 2 songs and 896 00:56:11,590 --> 00:56:16,420 not allowing it to bleed into some kind of response. 897 00:56:20,460 --> 00:56:25,220 Let's pray. What do you need God to do in 898 00:56:25,220 --> 00:56:29,020 your life? I do not stand here to present 899 00:56:29,020 --> 00:56:32,220 to you a nice religious lesson. I present to you the truth of 900 00:56:32,220 --> 00:56:35,660 the living God. What do you need to What do you 901 00:56:35,660 --> 00:56:37,340 need God to do in your daughter's life? 902 00:56:37,340 --> 00:56:39,300 What do you need to see God do in your son's life? 903 00:56:40,080 --> 00:56:41,720 What do you want to see God do through your ministry? 904 00:56:41,720 --> 00:56:46,000 What do you want God to do? And as delfo as it may seem, as 905 00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:50,440 drug addicted as they might be, as confused as they might be, as 906 00:56:50,440 --> 00:56:54,360 rebellious and hardened, as difficult as the fruit has been, 907 00:56:54,360 --> 00:57:01,400 as limited as the opportunities. Are I believe help my unbelief I 908 00:57:01,480 --> 00:57:04,680 I I did my part I I mean if if if after this your heart isn't 909 00:57:04,680 --> 00:57:05,960 start to pray. I mean I can't do anything I 910 00:57:05,960 --> 00:57:07,800 can't make you pray put your neck down and get on you. 911 00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:09,680 I can't do that. It's between you and God. 912 00:57:10,340 --> 00:57:14,780 But I pray that we would remain prayerful as a church, and pray 913 00:57:14,780 --> 00:57:18,380 that this church will remain prayerful, whether that prayer 914 00:57:18,380 --> 00:57:21,500 meeting is 5 or 500. May God find a praying people in 915 00:57:21,500 --> 00:57:23,780 this place. What do you need God to do? 916 00:57:24,140 --> 00:57:26,380 That's the answer. That's the response to this 917 00:57:26,380 --> 00:57:27,940 message. What do you need God to do? 918 00:57:28,060 --> 00:57:29,780 And the praise team will come. They'll set themselves up. 919 00:57:29,820 --> 00:57:32,500 We're ready to sing. But we would be remiss not to 920 00:57:32,500 --> 00:57:34,260 seek the Lord after hearing all of this. 921 00:57:34,820 --> 00:57:37,460 And so don't get distracted by who's on your left, by who's on 922 00:57:37,460 --> 00:57:40,740 your right. If you need to fast a little 923 00:57:40,740 --> 00:57:43,460 bit, by waiting a little bit longer to pray and not get your 924 00:57:43,460 --> 00:57:45,180 lunch. It's good. 925 00:57:45,220 --> 00:57:47,460 Fasting is good. Ask the Lord. 926 00:57:48,740 --> 00:57:50,940 I need your help. Lord, forgive me for my 927 00:57:50,940 --> 00:57:53,100 presumption. Forgive me for trusting in 928 00:57:53,100 --> 00:57:55,980 myself. Forgive me for not looking to 929 00:57:55,980 --> 00:57:58,700 you like the disciples that help me be like that, Father, who 930 00:57:58,700 --> 00:58:01,020 knew how to come to you still in weakness and unbrokenness. 931 00:58:01,420 --> 00:58:02,940 And the Lord will honor that kind of faith. 932 00:58:03,500 --> 00:58:07,420 What do you need to see God do? Don't let your mind wander. 933 00:58:10,310 --> 00:58:17,350 Engage with your God and praise team when you're ready. 934 00:58:17,550 --> 00:58:21,190 After you have finished praying, please come and prepare so that 935 00:58:21,190 --> 00:59:26,900 we can sing together. It's not.