Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I want to invite you to turn
with me this morning to the book of Mark, chapter 9. We are going to look at the subject
of faith. The title of this message is
something that a man said directly to our Lord. He said, Lord, help
thou my unbelief. And I pray our Lord might do
just that. May he help our unbelief. Here in Mark 9, verse 14 says,
when he came to his disciples, He saw a great multitude about
them and the scribes questioning with them. The disciples were
trying to cast an evil spirit out of a man's son and they couldn't
do it. And verse 15 says, straightway
all the people when they beheld him were greatly amazed and running
to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, what
question ye with them? What he's saying is, what's everybody
talking about? What is all of this commotion? Verse 17, and one of the multitude
answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son which
hath a dumb spirit. He's making it so that my son
cannot talk, can't speak. And wheresoever he taketh him,
he teareth him, and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth and
pineth away. And I spake to thy disciples
that they should cast him out, and they could not. He answereth
him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? How long am I gonna put up with
you? Here's what he said to the man.
He said at the end of verse 19, bring him unto me. I'm sure the disciples got a
little too arrogant. I'm sure they did over the fact
that they could heal people. The Lord had given them the ability
to heal sicknesses. But a great problem for them
was, I'm sure they lost sight of Christ. They walked up to
that man's son thinking in their hearts, I'm gonna heal you. And
the Lord told them, you're a faithless generation. Bring him to me. And that's always the answer. Always. We preachers would be
wise to get it in our minds and keep it in our minds that we're
not gonna do anything for anybody. I'm not gonna do anything for
anybody. The only one who can work, the
only one who can heal is Christ the Lord. We're just gonna point
men to Him. That's the only thing that any
preacher is called to do. It's bring sinners to Christ,
that's it. He said, bring them unto me. Verse 20, And they brought him
unto him. And when he saw him, straightway
the Spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming. And the Lord asked this young
man's father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. He's been that way since he was
a child. Now our Lord did not ask this
question to get this young man's medical history. This son was dumb. He couldn't speak. So the Lord
asked his father this question. But he wasn't asking to get this
young man's medical history. Our Lord knew all about him. He knows the end from the beginning. He asked this question so that
man could confess with his mouth, he has always been like this. Always, he was born this way. Our Lord brings every one of
His children to that same confession. Our Lord brings every child of
His, every sinner that He's gonna perform a work in, He brings
every single one of them to that same confession. I was conceived in this. This horrible, wicked, bound
condition. Can't we all say the same thing
about our own sin? Can't we all say that? From a
child. Verse 22, he said, in oft times
it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy
him. But if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus saith unto him,
if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Now this man, as good as his
request sounds, at the end of verse 22 he said, If thou canst
do anything, have compassion on us and help us. As good as
that request sounds, he has evidenced that he's an unbeliever. You
know that? As good as what his request to
the Lord sounds, in that request he has evidenced that he's an
unbeliever. I tell you three things that he does not believe.
based on what he said. And as we look at this, we ought
to ask ourselves, what do I believe? Because what God calls as a sinner
to believe about Jesus Christ means the difference between
life and death. What we think of Christ is life
and death. Here's what the man said, he
said, if you can do anything. He didn't believe God was sovereign,
did he? Clearly, he does not believe that God is God Almighty. And most people don't. Most people don't. Clearly, this
man does not believe that the whole world is in his hand. And he can uphold it if he wants
to, or he can crush it if he wants to. He said, if you can. And that's what man by nature
thinks about God. Man naturally does not believe
that God Almighty is God Almighty. If you can, oh if you can, we'll
take it if you can. If you can do anything, we'll
take whatever you can give us. The Apostle Paul said, I'm persuaded. I am absolutely convinced that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. This man didn't believe he was
God and he was able. The second thing this man didn't
believe is that the work was Christ's alone. He must do it
alone. He said at the end of verse 22,
if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Help us. I could use a little
help on this one. I'm doing the best I can. I'm
putting in the work. I'm putting in the effort. I'm
piloting this thing, but I sure could use a co-pilot. There was a leper who came to
the Lord one time. He came for healing. And this is what he said. This
is what this leper said when he came to the Lord Jesus Christ
in his need. He said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean. You. Not us. You. If you will, you can make
me clean. That's faith. But this man right
here in Mark 9, he didn't believe God was sovereign. He didn't
believe that the work was Christ's alone. And this man did not believe
the word that God has written. He did not rest in God's word. And that's where men and women
are all over this world today. They do not believe that God
is sovereign. God is in absolute control. God is almighty, able to do whatever
he wants to do. Men and women do not believe
that the work is Christ's alone. The work of healing, the work
of salvation belongs to Christ by Himself. They don't believe
He by Himself purges sin. And they don't believe the Word
that God has written. Verse 22, He said, oftentimes
it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy
him. But if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us and help us. That water and that fire is gonna
destroy him. That's what the man said. But
what has God written in his word about that? What has God said
concerning that? Look with me if you would over
at Isaiah 43. If you have your Bible there,
you turn with me over to Isaiah 43 and look at verse two. It
says, when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Since thou was precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee, therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not,
for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every
one that is called by my name. For I have created him for my
glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him. He said when
you pass through the waters, they're not going to destroy
you. They're not gonna overflow you. When you walk through the fire,
you're not gonna be burned. But until this moment right here,
That man in our text didn't believe that. And the reason is because
he couldn't believe it. He could not. Back in the text,
it says, Mark 9, verse 23, it says, Jesus said unto him, if
thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe
it. He said, if you can believe,
then all things are possible to you. What does our Lord mean by that?
If you can believe. What does He mean by that? Well,
over in Matthew chapter 13, our Lord said in Matthew 13, verse
11, He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to
them, it is not given. The only way a sinner can know
and believe the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven is if God
Almighty gives him that knowledge and that faith. That's the only
way. Over in Ephesians chapter two,
in verse eight, Our Lord told us, by grace are you saved. Grace means free gift. What was
the free gift? The blood of Jesus Christ. The only thing that could wash
away our sins. There's a song that says, what
can wash away our sins? The answer is nothing but the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Ephesians 2 verse 8 says,
for by grace are you saved through faith. Through believing on that
gift. Through believing on that blood. It goes on to say, and that is
not of yourself, it is the gift of God. Now this is important. Without that gift, no man or
woman can believe. Without that gift, no man or
woman Philippians 1 verse 29 says unto
you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe
on him but also to suffer for His sake. It's given. That ability to believe is given. It's a work that God Almighty
performs in whoever He wills to perform it. If you have your
Bible there, look with me at Acts 13. This is such an important
verse of scripture. Acts 13 verse 48 says, when the
Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of
the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. as many as were ordained. Do you notice that it doesn't
say as many as believed were ordained? It says as many as
were ordained believed. So our Lord said back in our
text, back over in Mark chapter nine, he said in verse 23, if
thou canst believe, All things are possible to him
that believeth. If you can believe, then as Hebrews
11 says, that's your evidence. That is your evidence that God
Almighty has chosen to do a work in you. He sent that faith to
you, that faith in Christ. Verse 24 says, In straight way
the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord,
I believe, help thou mine unbelief. God did a work in that man. God
did a work in that man. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. This man heard the word of God. He heard the word of God himself
and he said, I believe. I believe. What? What did he believe? What did
he believe? The Apostle James said, you believe
there's one God? You do well. He said, the devils
believe that though. The devils believe that. Men
all over this world believe there's one God. Men who bow the knee
to Allah believe there's one God. Men who bow the knee to
Muhammad believe there's one God. People say all the time,
oh, I believe in God. Great. But the devils do that. Do you believe God created the
heaven and the earth and he created man and he created everything
that is? Well, the devils believe that.
Do you believe man fell in the garden? Do you believe men are
sinners? Well, the devils believed that.
The devil himself was there when it happened. Do you believe Jesus
Christ came to this earth? The devils believed that. They
said, we know who you are, the Holy One of God. Do you believe
that He performed all of those miracles? The devils believe
that. They were the ones He cast into
all those swine. Do you believe He hung on that
cross? Do you believe they really put
Him in that tomb? Do you believe He truly did arise? The devils believe that. Saving faith does not just believe
in God. Saving faith believes God. There's a difference. There's
a difference. In verse 24, that father of the
child cried out with tears and he said, Lord, Lord. When he first came to him in
verse 17, he said, Master, which means teacher, And that's what
man thinks of Jesus Christ. They think he came to be a teacher,
a teacher of morality, a teacher of God. They think he came to
point men to God. And he did. But they have no
idea he was pointing men to himself. Himself. But look what this man
says after God spoke the truth to him, after God struck his
heart with the Word Himself. Verse 24, straightway the father
of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, Lord, Lord
means God Almighty. Lord means sovereign. Lord means
ruler. Lord means controller. He said
just like Thomas did, my Lord and my God, I believe. What? What do you believe? I believe you. I believe you. He said help thou. The first time he said help us.
Now he's saying help thou. You're the author. You must be
the finisher. You must do it all. Help thou
my unbelief. I acknowledge what I am. I'm
just a sinner who does not believe and cannot believe because I'm
dead in my trespasses and sins. And nothing will be in this heart
right here if you don't put it there. Without you, I can do
nothing. True faith points a man to Christ. It points men and women to Christ. It says, I can't, but you can. And you must. Paul said, I know
whom. I know whom I believe. He didn't
say, I know what I believe. He said, I know whom. True faith
points sinners to Christ. Verse 25, when Jesus saw that,
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 is dead. But Jesus took
him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. There's an old song that says,
he lifted me out of the deep miry clay. He settled my feet
in the straight narrow way. He lifted me up to a heavenly
place, and He floodeth my soul each day with His grace. True saving faith acknowledges
the fact that He reached way down for me. I was lost. I was undone without God's precious
Son, but He reached down His hand for me. Verse 28 says, and
when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately,
why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, this kind
can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. You know what prayer is? Prayer
is calling on God. You know what fasting is? Fasting
is denying yourself and that's true faith. True faith says I
can't, you must. You're my only hope. I don't
just believe in you, I believe you. Your word says I'm a sinner
and I believe it. Your word says you chose who
you would save and I believe it. Your word says you only died
for the ones you chose to save, and I believe it. I believe you. Your word says every soul you
died for, you're gonna give every one of them faith to cause them
to look to you and trust you, and I believe that. And thank
God your word says if you put faith in the sinner, you're gonna
keep that sinner all the way to the end. Lord, I believe it. May God increase us with that
faith. May God put that faith in each
one of us and cause us to believe. May we all say, Lord, I believe,
help thou my unbelief. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening
to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m. Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.