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October 7, 2019 1:00 am
Will my brothers and sisters. It is a joy to greet you this afternoon and your thoughts are anywhere as mine are going to sleep beside alone somewhere and ponder what we just heard. Ponder on our knees and seek the Lord's face with thanksgiving for his truth and for the faithful proclamation of it for the application of it to our hearts by his spirit, and for the improvement that it can make of what we are simply by hearing. May God bless the word that we just heard. I want us to go together to mark the ninth chapter and will read beginning at verse number 14 of past I'm drawn to. So often as I want us this afternoon to consider the subject of the believers quest for honest faith and in Mark chapter 9, our Lord has been on the mountain with Peter James and John where they met with Moses and Elijah in the great Transfiguration and leaving the mountaintop coming back down in the Valley. They find that indeed it is a deep valley for the disciples are there wallowing in their own failure, which would reflect. Of course, upon the master and so we take our reading at verse number 14. Mindful that this is the word of God. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them and the scribes questioning within and straightway all the people when they beheld him were greatly amazed and running to him, saluted him and he asked the scribes what question he within and one of the multitude answered and said master. I have brought unto thee, my son, which hath done spirit and wheresoever he taketh him he'd terrify him and he foam a finance shift with his teeth and plaintiff the way that I spake to thy disciples that they should cast them out and they could not. He answered him, and saith of faithless generation, how long shall I be with you.
How long shall I suffer you bring him unto me and they brought him unto them, and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tear him and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming and he asked his father how long is it ago. Since this came unto him, and he said of a child, and often times it has cast him into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him without camps do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said to him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe with and straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief when Jesus saw that the people came running together.
He rebuked the fell spirit, saying unto him without dumb and deaf spirit. I charge the come out of him and enter no more into him in the spirit of pride and rent him sore and came out of him and he was as one dead, insomuch that many said he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose and what he was coming to the house. His disciples asked him privately. Why could not we cast him out and he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. May God bless to our hearts. The reading is inerrant and holy word.
I recall that account in John chapter 9 where our Lord with his disciples was entering the temple and the man born blind was there by the wayside. The disciples asked the question who did sin, this man should be born blind was it his parents are was it him. And Jesus responded neither have this man's sins nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
They don't think we do injustice to any of the miracles recorded in Scripture where Christ healed the afflicted. If we apply that very same purpose unto those miracles and the illness is attached. Why was this well with the works of God might be manifest in him. There was a child who was grievously afflicted and the father as afflicted, inasmuch as there was no solution to his child's affliction and anyone who is been apparent in seeing one of his own offspring and in the mildest form of distress or affliction from illness know something of the moving of the heart of compassion for that child and when it's a circumstance such as we read up here were what the child suffered. There was no cure for there was no answer to it. It was a danger to him a cruelty to him. He would never be able to live normally. He might not be able to live another day as this demonic presence afflicting him would cast them into the water where he might drown or into the fire where he might be burned to death or scarred and marred for life in the father is at a point of utter and absolute desperation and it comes to Jesus disciples who do their best. Certainly is not enough.
There is no healing in the scribes.
Those religionists who were so pompous in their self-confidence, and so set upon discrediting Christ observe the disciples failure, as if failure of their master. And so they are they are questioning the disciples and how delicious it must've been to those unbelieving scribes to respond in such a way to the Disciples of Christ and then Christ returns from the Mount of Transfiguration defined such a spectacle there in the valley is disciples embarrassed and ashamed. The needy who most needed. The healing power of God remaining in the affliction that was so cruel and destructive father comes running to Christ asking him, telling him in desperation what the symptoms are about the history has been how long it has been all of the multitude is gathered around here is the record of this child's affliction spoken by his loving father and the father cries out to Christ if you can do anything help us and our Lord says if you can believe anything is possible and the father responds. I believe help thou mine unbelief. There is honest faith. May God teach that to this preacher to every one of his people. I've grown up in a nation and a religious culture of evangelical fundamentalism in a nation which, by its very nature and culture is a prowled nation a self-made people and then an evangelical climate that very much is self-made in its mindset and Arminian God helps those who help themselves.
Thinking and in that setting.
The past couple of centuries.
How many expressions of faith have in fact been dishonest expressions of the comes to me often to ponder what I've seen and heard. Please take no offense at this illustration, but I think of the him that is often sung, but we do not sing it where I pastor Faith of our fathers. Holy faith, you probably recall the last line that the chorus the refrain of that I will be true to the till death. I trust so what an affirmation that is we don't sing that because I don't find in Scripture the Warren for God's people to boast about what they are going to do the it was the Pharisees who boasted about what he did. I title that I possess. I fast twice a week.
He thanked God that he was not as other men are was Peter who was corrected but would not receive the correction when he said to Christ, I will die with the is a prelude to denying him three times. It seems to me that that is the demeanor of humility, of which our brother has just instructed us that ought to possess us. Let us not boast in what we are or what we are resolved to be again. My Jesus, I love the I know the mind for the all the follies of sin. I resigned really. Who can say I've resigned all the follies of sin.
You see, I I sense that American evangelicalism of which I am a product has on many accounts been a rather boastful movement in them and that a movement insensitive to the biblical examples and instruction. The quest for honest faith. That's what we're reading about in the passage before us.
The father says to Christ, who has just prompted him with. If you can believe, all things are possible, comes back and says I believe help thou mine unbelief and I think that's probably the prayer I need to be. We are here today because we believe we believe the word of God, who among us would dare to say I believe it perfectly. I believe it with a wholehearted perfect faith. Perhaps we need to continually re-examine our own testimony in our own profession. We don't have to observe our own living long to see that we live in an imperfect faith and are well admonished by the man in great and desperate need to pray Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief we all, of course, embrace from Scripture the necessity he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Here we have a man who was coming in the faith and imperfect faith.
I willingness to confess the imperfection of his faith and he was diligently seeking the promise of the Scripture is that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Thank God it does not teach us that he is a rewarder of them who have perfect faith. Otherwise, we would never have a preference but he is a rewarder of them that come unbelieving, who diligently seek him. We recognize along with the necessity of faith. The proper review of unbelief that is found through the Scripture. Why in Matthew's account of this very matter that we've read Jesus answered and said all faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you. How long shall I suffer you bring him hither unto me, and Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples unto Jesus and said, why could not we cast him out. And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief for verily I say unto you, that you have faith. If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove hence to yonder place and it shall remove nothing shall be impossible and you out. This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting price. Their review, the disciples unbelief and rebuked it with strong denunciation and they did not get what they were seeking as they sought to deliver the demon possessed boy but the father 13 with unbelief as well and he didn't get what he was seeking seems to me the difference between the two is pretty simple to observe the father came with an acknowledged unbelief in the disciples came with an unrecognized unbelief they came in the confidence that they had faith and that they were where they should have been. The disciples called of Christ when in fact the disciples had manifested rather a rather troubling and imperfect condition.
They had tried to cast out the demon from this child and had been a failure. They were powerless to do so, and then we read what Christ says to them this time come about by nothing but by prayer and fasting. We find they were prayerless in their efforts evident and then we read a few verses. Further, in Matthew's gospel, and we find that these are the main link here is that Matthew, Mark, here as well. We find that these were debating among themselves or which of them were the greatest in the kingdom and just a few verses later, we are informed, in fact, they were power-hungry wanting greatness from Christ than we find in next encountering others who were not direct followers of Christ, who were indeed succeeding in casting out demons, and the disciples forbade them because they were not following Christ that you think on that what they had just failed at doing spiritually.
These were succeeding at and they are rebuking them for doing it and telling them not to. This was a failure to recognize their own unbelief. The father, who had been brought to greatest humility, who had been brought to absolute desperation. There was nothing nothing nothing that could be done for his boy and it comes and brings him to come to Christ with an honest assessment of his own faith.
I believe help thou mine unbelief we find it is our brother so eloquently set before us the faith of God's people is tried is tried by their circumstances. Indeed, this brothers faith was being tried by his sons condition and the utter impotence of the disciples to deliver and the failure of every endeavor to bring about healing his faith was being tried in the Scripture teaches us that with regard to an imperfect faith. There are there are humors applied to it shall be read from first Peter wearing you greatly rejoice the mall for season if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes though it be tried with fire might be founded to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Peter speaks to those whose faith is tried, but this trying of their faith is what perfects that faith is what brings it to greater strength and maturity and so the unbelief we can faith is brought to strength to development and maturity by the afflictions, the father who was crying. Lord, I believe, help find no mine unbelief is in the midst of a an event at trial of his faith result will be the fortifying of his faith.
It brings interest to the great honest assessment of his faith. May we all have Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief Peter, who said there are two price though I die with me I will not deny listening by Christ Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have the that he may specifically is elite, but I have prayed for the that thy faith fail not. In Peter who had a week in faith. Peter, who believed was unconscious of his unbelief was indeed assaulted by the wicked one, and didn't denied Christ three times and this was a trying of his faith. Peter was set among the enemies of Christ and tried to make himself comfortable there, he feared for his own life which he had promised to be laid down for Christ. He made the grade. Great professions of courage and confidence.
He made the great affirmation of faith. Problem was, he was affirming a faith that he didn't have the only thing that secured Peter was the fact that Christ prayed for, and thus Peter would later write concerning the believers that were scattered abroad in the dispersion we are kept by the power of God by means of faith is God's power that kept Peter from Satan's auto devouring of him. Peter, in that circumstance.
Doubtless was being taught to pray Lord I believe help thou mine unbelief imperfect faith is a boasting faith proclaims Lord I will be true to the till death for the all follies of sin I reassign.
I II which is very much the expression of American evangelicalism. Lord help us to learn to pray Lord I believe my unbelief is beyond anything I can measure my unbelief is greater than I would ever assess. I am so prone to the pride of self-confidence. This father was discrete affliction that brought him to an honest assessment of his faith, believe help thou mine unbelief.
What we find here is the quest for un-mixed faith on our best day.
Let us realize that our faith is still a mixed faith.
It is mixed with unbelief were it a perfect faith.
We would not sin.
We would be so united in obedience to Christ. The faith will render us since our faith is an imperfect faith, let us know. It and acknowledge it. This alone will drive us to the foot of Calvary and keep us in obeisance before the one who redeemed us there with his precious blood. I think from time to time of the sermon that I read from Spurgeon in which he was speaking of that text from John chapter 3 verses 14 and 15 as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believe it in him should not nourish, but have everlasting life, and he described how the people who had been bitten in the wilderness by the venomous serpents were doubtless by the very venom coursing through their body rendered well-nigh dead. They would have to be carried to the place where they can look to see the serpent and then if they looked upon the serpent on the pole they would be healed but can you look upon the serpent when your vision is blurred with the delirium of fever in the venom that is sucking your life from you, and yet it was not the clarity of their vision. The precision of their perception, it was looking at the serpent that was very healing in the serpent as Christ lifted up before men in Christ brings that forth in the third chapter of John we come to Christ, and we look to him and the looking to him as a believing and thereby we are saved by way look perfect faith we see through a glass darkly. We know in part our faith is mingled with unbelief. Let us know what let us own it. Let us pray it.
Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief blessed us with that answer Christ you doesn't take perfect faith to bring the response of God in our time of need, simply an honest faith. If perfect faith required, we would never have a prayer answered. We would never have a need met is not perfect faith that is required. It is a perfect Savior and we look imperfectly him to him and through a height is blurred by the venom of sin's curse. We behold the Lamb of God, and he beholds us. We are healed. Lord, teach us to assess our faith. For what it is and ever to pray with the father whose prayer was so gloriously inserted Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. God help us