Turn with me to the Gospel of
Mark, Chapter 9. Mark, Chapter 9. I love the New
Testament stories where the Lord Jesus Christ heals a pathetic
man or woman. Why? Because it reminds me of
how He dealt with me in His miracle of grace. How He supernaturally
healed me of my dreaded disease called sin. pictures of redemption
and the miracles that Christ wrought. Returning with Peter
and James and John from the Mount of Transfiguration. We read here
in verse 14, and when he came to his disciples, the other nine,
Peter, James, and John being with him, he came to his disciples
and he saw a great multitude about them and the scribes questioning
them. The scribes and the Pharisees
were those who were constantly looking to discredit the Lord
and His disciples. Two, it says here that the great
multitude, they were amazed when they saw him and they ran to
him and saluted him. I believe that the people were
amazed by the glory of Christ's countenance here was still beaming
from his transfiguration, but that's just speculation on my
part. And we must also remember that
our Lord had already performed many miracles and they had made
a celebrity out of him. You know how people become so
enamored around famous people. They just do. But our Lord was
never sidetracked from the work that He came to do. And in verse
16, we read that He asked the scribes, what question ye with
them? Before they could answer Him
a word, we read in verse 17, and one of the multitude, One
man out of that multitude of people answered and said, Master,
I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit. Now,
I don't know what the scribes were arguing with Christ's disciples
about, but I'm pretty sure that it had something to do with their
inability to cast the foul spirit out of this young man who had
a dumb spirit. Maybe that's why, maybe it wasn't.
But there is one thing that I know for certain, one thing that we
see here for certain. This heartbroken father didn't
care what they argued over. That wasn't the issue. And it's
still not the issue. I'm not gonna argue and I'm not
gonna debate the gospel of Christ with folks. That's not the issue.
God's messengers are simply voices crying in the wilderness, proclaiming
the truth, saying, prepare you the way of the Lord. Just reporters
of the truth and mercy of God's grace in Christ. This heartbroken
father had one thing on his mind, and that was his son. He had
one concern, he had one need, and it was for his son. He didn't
even wait for the scribes to respond. He said, Master, I've
brought unto thee my son. You see, this was a personal
thing. This was his son. And can you hear the desperation
in his voice? I brought unto you my son. Oh,
his heart was pleading. In Luke's account, he said, look
upon my son, for he's my only child. So this wasn't just a
son, it was his only son, his only child. Oh, that Christ might
be pleased to look upon my sons and my daughters. The well-being
of his son was what he cared about the most. And out of the
abundance of his heart, his mouth spoke. He said, my son needs
help. My son is a mess. And he was. My son's in trouble. Lord, if
something's not done, my son is going to die. My son needs
a miracle. You who are parents, those of
you that have sons and daughters, you think about this. My son
needs you. I need you. You're the only one
that can help us. Worldly physicians couldn't help
him. He said, your disciples couldn't
help me. The scribes certainly offered
no help. And that's where God's going
to bring His people. He's going to bring them to the
end of themselves. They're going to be made to see
that no one else but Him can help. Have you reached that point,
dear sinner? Have you seen that none can help
you but God, but Christ? His son was in a horrible condition.
That's my first point. That's what I want you to see.
His son had a dumb spirit. He couldn't talk. He could not
communicate his need. He was not only dumb and couldn't
speak, but he was also deaf and couldn't hear. There was no way
to reason with him. There was no way that he could
express his need. No one could reach his troubled
soul. No word could come from his troubled
soul. He couldn't explain his condition.
And you know, we can't explain ours either, can we? Apart from
Christ, we can't explain our condition. Paul couldn't either.
In Romans chapter 7, Paul said, What I hate that I do. But what
I hate that I do. And I would do good, but I don't.
In my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I know that much. I want
to do right, but evil is present with me. How to perform that
which is good, I just don't know. The evil which I would not do,
that's what I do. I can't explain this horrible
condition that I'm in. I'm so messed up. I'm so wretched,
I can't explain it. And apart from being in Christ,
we too, friends, are in a horrible condition. Paul said, who's going
to deliver me from the body of this death? And that's what this
loving father wanted to know. Who can help me? Is there anyone
who can help me? Lord, I can't help myself. I
can't help my son. Your disciples couldn't help
me. They tried. The religious scribes offered
me no help. There's only one who can. And this father standing right
in front of me. This young man was in a horrible
condition. Look at verse 18. The Father
says, and wheresoever he, he who, that the foul spirits, who
he's talking about here, he said, taketh him. This foul spirit
within my son takes my son. This young man being possessed
was led around by this foul spirit. And then he says, the spirit
teareth him. This young man was a broken man,
and that word, teareth, means just that. It means to break.
It means to shatter to fragments. He was a shattered soul. This
was a man who foamed at the mouth. Do you see that in verse 18?
He foamed at the mouth like a rabid dog. He gnashed and grinded his
teeth in pain and agony. Oh, can you see his horrible
condition? It says, He pineth away. That
means He was dehydrated. He was shriveled up. His skin
hung loosely upon His bony and His frail frame. Can you see
Him? Lost sinner? That's what you
look like spiritually in the eyes of God. Always remember that the physical
miracles that our Lord performed picture the spiritual miracles
that he does for his people. The outward and the natural diseases
of mankind symbolize the inward and spiritual diseases within
us. Brother Harmon talked to us Wednesday
night, those of you that were here, about Mephibosheth. I am
Mephibosheth. I'm lame on both my feet due
to a great fall. Mephibosheth pictures me. When
Mephibosheth was brought before the king, you know what he said?
Why would you look upon a dead dog like me? I wonder that often. Why would God look upon a dead
dog like me? I am that leper who cries, Lord,
if you will, you can make me clean. Christ said, I will be
thou made whole. I am that man with the withered
hand. I can do nothing to help myself. My hand is withered.
Christ helps those who cannot help themselves. The world would
tell you that he helps those who help themselves. No, that's
not true. He helps those who cannot help
themselves. I'm that woman with that issue
of blood. I spent all that I had to get
well, and I only grew worse. Do you see yourself in these?
I'm that impotent man that lay at the pool of Bethesda, but
Christ commanded me to rise up and walk. I'm that blind man
that had never seen before, but Christ opened my eyes that I
might see him. I'm that man who had the legion
of devils, and I tell you, I'm telling all my friends, all that
will listen, the great things that he's done for me. And I
am this son, deaf and dumb, broken and bruised, rabid and mad, torn
and fallen, Unstable and unpredictable. Is there any hope for a wretch
such as I? Paul said that in Romans 7. He said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Is there
any who can help me? And immediately he said this,
I thank God through Jesus Christ my Lord. Do you know why Paul
thanked God? Because he thanked God because only Jesus Christ
can deliver sinners from their bodies of death. Has God shown
you that? Are you looking to Him and Him
alone? He that hath the Son, hath life. And he that hath not the Son,
hath not life. Do you have life? If you have
Christ, you do. Do you have Christ? Without him,
there's no life. That's not hard, friends, to
understand, but impossible to believe apart from God's mercy
and grace. All the elect of God are gonna
be brought to where this poor soul was. Verse 19, he answered
him and saith, oh, faithless generation, the Lord Jesus Christ
looked at that man, but he's talking to everybody there. even
his own disciples, and he says, oh, faithless generation, how
long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?
Bring him unto me. Oh, I love those words. Bring
him unto me. There's hope of healing in those
words. There's hope of salvation in
those words. There's hope of redemption in
those words when they're spoken by Christ. Bring him unto me. In order to be made whole, you're
gonna have to be brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to
be redeemed, you're gonna have to hear a word from him. Look at verse 20. And they brought
him unto him. They brought this man unto Christ.
And when he saw him, that being the man or the spirit within
him, straightway the spirit tear him. And he fell on the ground
and he wallowed, foaming. He's foaming at the mouth. And
he, Christ, asked his father, he said, how long is it ago since
this came unto him? Now listen, our Lord knows all
things. He knew. He ordains all things. The Lord
asked this question to get this man to think him and to get us
to think him. And the man answered, and he
said, of a child. And the Greek word for child
here means from his infancy. This had been going on since
he was born. In verse 22, he says, and oft
times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy
him. And then he makes this plea,
but if thou canst, if you can do anything, have compassion
on us and help us. Do you see how horrible this
young man's condition was? He had horrible bruises from
a dreadful fall. So do we. Our fall into sin brought
forth wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. He was so unstable
that there were continually new injuries from his constant falling. The older I get, the more I fall.
I'm telling you, it ain't fun. Sometimes me and Teresa look
at each other and say, where'd you get that bruise? I don't
know. We're constantly falling, spiritually speaking, aren't
we? This young man from Infancy now had been filled with anguish. He had been wracked with pain
and suffering, always filthy from wallowing on the ground. We wallow in our sin like a hog
wallows in mud. We do. It's so. We have bruised ourselves. Our
injuries are self-inflicted. We increase our injuries by our
unstable condition. And this has been going on all
our life. You tell me now that this doesn't picture you and
me. This spirit threw him into the fire to burn him. It threw
him into the water to drown him. That's what sin aims to do to
you. It aims to kill you. It aims
to kill us. The wages of sin is death. Lost
one, the Spirit within throws you into the fire to be burned.
It throws you into the water to drown you in your afflictions.
You're unstable and you're unpredictable in all your ways. That's what
a double-minded man is. That's what James said. Unstable
in all his ways. This man was a double-minded
man. He wasn't in control. He was
so plagued by the Spirit within. So are you. So are you by nature. Did you notice what this father
asked the Lord in verse 22? Oh, I tell you, looking at this,
it became so obvious to me, our unbelief. Even the strongest
in faith are so full of unbelief. He asked, he said, if thou canst,
if you can, If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help
us. If, such a little word, if, I-if, is not a good word to use
considering the work of Christ. It's just not. The if is not
in Christ as to whether he can. The if, no reference to Christ
at all. He's God's beloved son. He is
God, the beloved son. He can do all things. The if
falls back on our lack of faith. This man exposed his lack of
faith. He didn't say, if you will, which
is really no better. He said, if you can. Oh, do you
know not who you stand before? Do you know who you stand before? If we can believe, all things
are possible. That's what our Lord said to
this concerned father. If you can believe, all things
are possible to him that believe. Turned it right back around on
him, didn't he? It is absolutely unreasonable to expect Christ
to do anything for us if we will not believe that He's able. Faith
in God is a reasonable demand because of who He is. If you
refuse Christ your confidence, can you wonder if He refuses
you of salvation? But that's what makes His mercy
so wonderful, is that He blesses us in spite of us. That poor
leper did not doubt Christ's ability, His power to heal. He
said, if you will. He knew Christ could. But that
leper did doubt His willingness. And I don't know which is worse.
doubting His ability or doubting His willingness. Both are bad. Both are unreasonable. If either
His willingness or His ability is absent, then He cannot be
a Savior for sinful man. And the problem, the difficulty
falls back on us. Not on Him. That's what makes our Savior
so wonderful. He is both willing and able If
a man is willing and he's not able, that's going to do me no
good. And if a man is able and not willing, how is that going
to help me? But Christ is both willing and
able. So what put the if in this man's
question? Why is it that we can't believe?
Why is it that we're so full of unbelief? The if is never
in his ability or his willingness. The if is in our faith, in our
believing. in our ability to believe. Look
at verse 23. And Jesus said unto him, Thou
canst believe. If you can believe, all things
are possible. All things. You see, our Lord
throws this right back to the man. The man said, if you can
do anything, have compassion and help us. And our Lord said,
if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Why are all things possible to those who believe in Christ?
Well, I think the answer is obvious, isn't it? Because Christ can
do anything and everything. That's why all things are possible
to those who believe in Him. The doubt is in our believing.
The doubt is in our faith. Not in His ability, not in His
willingness. And I'm telling you friends,
it grieves my soul how pathetic a light that men paint Christ
in today. It's sad. They act as though He's unable
to do anything without their help. He who created the heavens
and the earth is dependent upon man to accomplish his will? I
think not. Why do men hate Christ to be
so pathetic and weak? I suppose so they can feel strong.
Paul cried unto the Lord three times, had a thorn in the flesh. I have my speculation as to what
that thorn was, but it really don't matter what it is. Whatever
our thorn in the flesh is, it's real to us. Our Lord told Paul,
he said, my grace is sufficient for you. My grace is sufficient
for you. Why is Christ's grace sufficient
for us? Because in his strength, we're
made strong. His strength is made perfect
in weakness. Paul said, therefore, I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am
strong. You see, in our infirmities,
we realize that we're upheld and made to conquer by the power
of Christ. The scriptures say, let the weak
say, I am strong. Why? Because he that is weak
in himself and sees himself to be so is strong in Christ. If
we can just believe, all things are possible. Why? Because our
Lord can do anything and everything. Isn't that such a simple precept?
The problem is that we don't believe that He can do anything
and everything. I want you to listen. I think
this will help some of you. Many have trouble believing because
they think that their case is especially difficult. They believe
that God can deliver others. but their situation, they think,
is a bit more difficult. Many of you think like this poor
man did. He thought his son's condition
was an extra hard one. He thought his son had too many
issues. Why, he's deaf, and he's dumb,
and he's got this spirit within him. He's possessed with this
foul spirit. It leads him and throws him,
and oh my, totally controlled by the spirit within. He had
been too long in that condition. You know, he'd been this way
since he was born. All His life He's been this way.
His symptoms were too valiant to be cured. Even in the presence
of Christ, when He's brought before the Lord, He wallowed
on the ground. And when that happened, he thought
his son's case was even more a difficult one. Or he said he
must have thought, even in the presence of Christ, my son is
a crazy lunatic. And that's exactly what this
father called his son in Matthew's account. He said, Lord, have
mercy on me, or have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic. My
son's case is more difficult than the average case. My son's
case is especially a hard one. Do you know what that is when
we do that? Pride. Nothing more than pride. Men and women can take pride
even in their sin. Some think they're bigger sinners
than others. Some think that God saved others
but not them because these others are not as big a sinner as they
are. They say, with me, there's too
many issues. They say, I've been too long
in this condition. They say, I have no control over
my sin. It leads me here. It throws me
here. They say, I can see how God can
save you, but with me, it's a different story. My case, more difficult. My case, more complicated. My
sin is greater. I'm a hopeless cause. Hear me,
not for Christ. Oh, some take pride in their
righteousness, but others take pride in their sin. Now I ask
those of you who will not come to Christ, is that what you're
doing? Do you think that God is not
able to save you? Christ can do anything. Christ can do everything. If you can believe, all things
are possible. All things. That's your problem
and mine. We can't believe. We're dead
in trespasses and sin. God has to enable us to believe. God has to give us faith to believe. Faith is the gift of God. Grace
and faith is not of works, it's the gift of God. What a gracious
gift faith is, for without it, it's impossible to please God.
Isn't it such a great gift God give us faith in Him? Faith is
what gives substance to the things that we hope for. Faith is what
gives evidence to the things that we don't see. Verse 24,
And straightway the father of the child cried out and said
with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And you know what? Christ did. He helped his unbelief. And he
can help yours too. I pray this all the time. Not
audibly, but within my heart. Lord, I believe. I do believe. I really do believe. I believe
that you can do anything. I believe that you can do everything. But there's a part of me, there's
a part of me that doesn't Help that part of me. Help that part
of me. Help Thou my unbelief. Verse 25, And when Jesus saw
that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul
spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge
thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit
cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him. And he was as
one dead, insomuch that many said, he's dead. But Jesus took
him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose. Child of God, God is going to
make you as a dead man. You're going to have to die to
yourself. You're going to have to die to yourself. You're going
to have to see that you can do nothing to save yourself. Have
you seen that? He's going to take that dumb
and that deaf spirit out of you and you're going to be left dead
to sin and self. I believe that's what this picture
is. You're going to be dead to your sin and dead to yourself.
God is going to kill you before He gives you life. That's just
the way God does it. He's going to bring you low before
he lifts you up. Paul said, I was alive without
the law once. Paul thought that he was alive.
He was just keeping the law. He was checking them off. But
the scriptures say when the commandment came, when the commandment came
above with power and might and light, his sin, his rebellion,
his corruption lifted up its ugly head and showed him what
he truly was. That's what the law was meant
to do, to show you who and what you are and your inability to
do anything about it. And Paul said, I died. And the law which I thought ordained
me to life, I found it to be unto death. I was deceived. I deceived myself in thinking
that I could somehow merit and earn salvation by doing. And
the law slew me and I died. Has the law killed you? It did
me. But my Lord took me by the hand. He didn't leave me there. He
took me by the hand and he lifted me up and I rose just like this
man. What a picture. You see, beloved,
my story is the same as this deaf and dumb man. And you know
what? So is yours. So is yours. To live is Christ and to die
is gain. I do have a desire to part, to
depart. Hadn't always been that way.
But I think by the grace and mercy of God, I'm beginning to
see that to live is Christ and to die is a great gain. Why?
Because when I do, I go to be with Him face to face with Christ
my Savior. But that too is in the Lord's
hand. May God enable you to die to sin and self. May God enable
you to live in Christ. May God help your unbelief. May God do for you what he did
for this poor lunatic. You know what we are? God's people
say, lunatic. I'm in that number. Because he's
revealed to us what we are, hasn't he? And we take sides with God
against ourself and we say, yay, Lord. I am a dog. But even the dogs get the crumbs
from the master's table. If you can believe, if God enables
you to believe, all things are possible. All things. Because of who He is. Amen.