Did you call me doctor? Only in the sense that I'm still
practicing. That's one profession they positioned
for many, many years, and he's still practicing. That's the
way it is with preaching, we're practicing. Amen, I'm delighted
to be here today, thankful for this opportunity to be with you
here at Grace Baptist. The Lord is so good to us in
so many ways. I know it's been a hard week for
this congregation. Brother Lindsey spoke just a
word about it. I listened to the memorial service
online and it was tremendous. blessed and grieved along with
this family and church family. But wow, I never heard so much
gospel in 29 minutes. Brother Don, it was outstanding.
It was outstanding, your pastor. And it was a great tribute to
Brother Estes. Aren't you glad, as the Apostle
Paul said, that though we sorrow, We sorrow not as others which
have no hope. For them, this thing we call
death, is a hopeless end. But for we which believe, it
is an endless hope. There's a better day. There's
a better day. Amen. I want us to turn this
morning in your Bibles, if you would, to the Gospel of Mark.
chapter 9 Mark chapter 9 And verse 17 Mark chapter 9 and
verse 17 and And one of the multitude answered
and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath
a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh him,
he tarreth 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 answered
him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. And they brought
him unto him. And when he saw him straightway,
the spirit teared 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 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. Jesus said unto him, if thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Straightway the father of the
child cried out and said with tears Lord. I believe Help thou
my unbelief 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 in so much that many said he is dead but
Jesus took him by the hand and Lifted him up and he arose that's
reading down through verse 27 Mark chapter 9 The passage began and one of
the multitude and That's all any of us are this
morning is one of the multitude And he comes with this problem With his son Possessed and it's
been going on since the lad was a child And this man in verse 23 not as Informed as you and I are Said if thou it's not verse 23
verse 22 said to him if thou can't do anything We know better than that there's
no if If thou can't do anything Have compassion on us and help
us. I want to call our attention
to verse 24, where we hear the desperate cry of a father and
with tears. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. This is my prayer to the Lord
every day of my life. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. In those four words, we have
several things. First, the person, Lord. He calls
him Lord. He does not call him Jesus, doesn't
call him master, teacher. He calls him Lord. He does not
call him the man upstairs. He calls him Lord. We call him Lord this morning.
And the second thing, there's the profession. He says, I believe. I believe. I trust everyone here this morning
can say that. Lord, I believe. And then third, there's the petition
in these words. Help thou. I need help. Is there anyone here this morning
needs help? And then fourth, the problem.
Mine unbelief. Lord, I believe Help thou mine
unbelief My subject this morning is unbelieving believers Unbelieving
believers It is nothing but religious pride
in us Which would deny that along with our believing There remains
in us a great deal of unbelief Our adversary, the devil, says
to you, just like he does to me, if your faith were genuine,
you wouldn't be plagued with so much unbelief. You must not be a true believer. Well this man we just read about
was a true believer. How do I know that? because only
genuine God-given faith working in a man will bring him to confess,
I have a problem with unbelief. It is divine work which brings
the new man to speak negatively about the old man. It's folks with no problems at
all that bothers me. No unbelief, no doubts, no hangups
about anything. They're just skipping across
the mountaintops on the way to heaven and valleys don't exist
for them. I'm afraid of that. I'm afraid
of that. In accordance with this text,
Genuine faith does not deny unbelief. It confesses it. It confesses
it. Our spirit which believes God
and our flesh which cannot believe God are never reconciled. There is the continual warfare. That's why Paul said in Galatians
5, 17, for the flesh lusted against the spirit and the spirit against
the flesh. And these are contrary, the one
to the other. They never get along. so that you cannot do the things
that you would. Romans 7, 18 and 19, Paul said,
for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing. For the will is present with
me, oh yes, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would
not, that I do. Oh, that's familiar to every
child of God. And this is not just concerning
outward deeds Paul's talking about. It also applies to the
condition of heart. I would believe this morning
without any doubt But I find myself doubting even
in my believing. This man confessed it so clearly
and he petitioned the Lord so earnestly and honestly. Lord,
I believe, help thou mine unbelief. I refer to two verses from 2
Corinthians 11 where Paul said in verse two, for I am jealous
over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one
husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Paul is speaking to believers
now, God's children at Corinth. And he says in verse three, but
I fear, lest by any means, The serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ That's him that word simplicity means single-mindedness
Paul is simply saying I know you're God's children You're
not going to hell But I fear that Satan will corrupt your
minds and you'll be looking somewhere other than at Christ and to Christ. That's the story of unbelieving
believers. You say, but I get so discouraged
so easily. Things look so bad sometimes. We tend to forget that no matter
what comes or goes in our lives, our Redeemer does not change
His mind about us. Lord gave me that thought and
somebody needs to hear that. Regardless of what comes or goes
in your life, our Redeemer does not change His mind about you. We have the beautiful passage
in Romans 8 35 who shall separate us from the love of Christ Question mark who Now the question
there is not who or what shall cause you To feel like the Lord
don't love you as you thought he did. Oh, no, that's not the
question. I The question is who or what
shall cause him not to love you as he always has. And of course
the answer is nothing, nothing. But these things catch us off
guard and they lead to discouragement. Discouragement, bad as we hate
to face it, is sin. That's a hard pill to swallow
We all like to think that we sometimes have a right to be
discouraged We don't Why? It charges God With thinking
less of us than we thought he did The passage in Romans 8 said
nothing will change God's mind about you. Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
2 Corinthians 4, and he's not telling them why
he's got to quit. He's telling them why he can't
quit. 2 Corinthians 4, 8, we're troubled on every side, yet not
distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Cast down but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus. That the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always
delivered unto death. For Jesus say that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. What was
he saying? He's saying it's Christ in me
that don't quit. This flesh is nothing but a quitter.
Mine and yours. But there's one living on the
inside. that wants to keep seeking after
God, that wants to keep loving and honoring our Redeemer, and
will not quit, will not quit. Well, I want to give us three
specifics about this this morning. Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. There are three things in which
our adversary would pervert our thinking and promote unbelief
in our hearts, even while we believe. Number one is the matter
of the universal guilt. Universal guilt. As Adam's children, none are
exempt from guilt before the Almighty. Guiltiness before him is not
just what we do or don't do It's what we are We do what we do
because of what we are We're sinners by nature from
birth And we're sinners by choice We don't become sinners because
we sin we sin because we're sinners The glove of guilt is one-size-fits-all Romans 3 23 for all have sinned
The scripture has concluded all under sin now on a personal level
It is the nature of your fallen nature to compare measures of
guilt That's all wrong We'd like to say things like
well, I know I'm a sinner but I'm not the sinner so-and-so
is Well, there's just one kind We're all guilty We're all part
of this mess of fallen humanity which Paul said in Acts 17 26
are made of one blood That one blood is Adams Adams blood is your blood The thief's blood is your blood
and The murderer's blood is your blood. The blasphemer's blood
is your blood. The child molester's blood is
your blood. The alcoholic's blood, the whoremonger's
blood. The harlot's blood, it's your
blood. God hath made of one blood. All
nations are men for to dwell upon the face of the earth. Universal
guilt. Romans 3.22, there is no difference. Listen to the words from Robert
Hawker. He wrote, the whole world is in a state of guilt and condemnation
before God. And though some from the pride
and vanity of their own hearts may fancy themselves less guilty
than others, if all grace be withheld, we'd
all be on exactly the same level. He's simply saying a part from
the mercies of the Almighty, there is in you the capability
to be the most vicious and vile sinner. They never walk the earth. There is no way under heaven You need a lesser Savior and
a lesser salvation Than anyone else Talking about the universal guilt
the subtlety of Satan Paul referred to Would convince some that you've
Sinned too long You've gone too far You've messed up too much,
there's no hope for you. Mm-mm. Too far gone. Driven. Driven by the enemy. Driven by demon oppression to
despair, to the point of saying, no use in me trying. What a helpless, hopeless condition. That some individual here today
might feel in your soul, and you listen to the enemy, and you said in your heart, and
but for your religion, you'd say it out loud, there's no hope
for me. But I declare to you this matter
of sin is universal guilt. You're no worse or no better
than anyone else. The second thing I'd mention
would be the unchanging gospel. The question for every heart
this morning is this. Is my ruin greater than God's
remedy? Satan says it is. You're too
far gone. Is my disease greater than the
great physician? Satan says it is. Do I dare attribute my weakness
as being greater than God's strength? No. Do I dare attribute my sin abounding
as greater than his grace abounding? Oh no, no. Do I dare attribute Adam's blood
greater power to corrupt than the blood of Christ to cleanse?
Oh no, oh no. Do I dare listen to anyone's
word other than God's word as the authority? Oh, no, don't
do it. Don't do it He says in so many places And I love it when he says it
in Isaiah 118 come now and Let us reason together To any and every seeking sinner,
Christ says, come. Come. Such a beautiful word. Now to self-righteous religionists
and to mouthing Pharisees, he says, go. Get away from me. But to every seeking sinner,
He says, come. When you're doing well enough
not to need him, his word to you is get away from me. If you
don't need me, I don't need you. Talking to you about our God
today. But to the poor, doubting, unbelieving,
yet believing sinner, The invitation has come. Come now. Let us reason together. The gospel
has not changed. Quit looking elsewhere and listening
elsewhere. God says, listen to me. Here's
how it really is. Though your sins be as scarlet. Not if, but though. Though your
sins be as scarlet, Your life is not a white garment
that's just slightly stained or gotten a little dingy. No,
no. We're like cloth, dyed through
and through. There's not a speck of white
left anywhere. Not a single thread of purity
anywhere you're dipped and died with the deepest in raw color
Though your sins be escala. You're a hundred percent wretched
It's what he's saying Quit thinking about the few times
you fell in the ditch Get it, right That your whole
being is nothing but a sewer in God's sight. What you are
by nature is a stench in the nostrils of Almighty God. Your
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Good religious folks say, well,
if I know my heart. You don't, you don't. It's desperately
wicked and deceitful above all things. Though your sins be as
scarlet, only the awakened sinner will ever confess this. The rest will have to go to hell. What a blessed word for seeking
sinners. Come now, let's talk about it. Do you have any trouble
at all? The Lord said, let's reason together.
Though your sins be as scarlet, that's a fact, don't deny it,
they shall be as white as snow. What a contrast. Though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
from all sin. The very nature and design of
the gospel is altogether intended for the poor in spirit. Those
bankrupt of any righteousness. Those with absolutely no bargaining
chips with which to bargain with the Lord. He doesn't bargain. Don't come to the Lord and say,
I can't pay much. Oh no, oh no. Come, in the words
of Top Lady's hymn, in my hands no price I bring. I have nothing to pay. Simply
to thy cross I cling. If you could just quit listening
to you, wouldn't that be a blessing? If you could stop up the carnal
ears of your mind and listen Christ listen to Christ Here's
what he said. I came not to call the righteous But sinners to repentance That's what he said Don't take the side, well, I'm
not that bad. Oh, yes, you are. The whole need not a physician,
but they, they're sick. And your mind is racing, well,
I'm hoping I'm not that sick. Oh, you're that sick. Christ stood in the synagogue
at Nazareth and he read and he said, the spirit of the Lord
is upon me, reading from Isaiah. because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor, not the financially poor, but
the spiritually poor, the spiritually bankrupt, those with no righteousness. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted. There is no healing for a heart
not broken. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted. To preach
deliverance to the captives. Those held in the bondage of
their sins. Captives. Not free. Did you know there is no deliverance?
There is no salvation from free will? Christ came to preach deliverance
to the captives. Captives. And recovering of sight
to the blind, there are none so blind as those who cannot
see redemption in Christ alone. And to set at liberty them that
are bruised. None are so bruised as those
who sit under the gospel for years while Satan Beats and beats
and beats with his lies. It's not for you It's for everyone
else, but not you you're too bad. You've gone too far you
you've sinned too much This is the unchanging gospel of Jesus
Christ It's the same for sinners young and old. It's the same
for religious sinners and non-religious sinners. It's the same for vile sinners
and what we'd foolishly call not-so-vile sinners. It's for 60-year-old veteran
sinners and for those just starting out. It's an unchanging gospel. It's called the glorious gospel
of the blessed God. But if it's not big enough for
you, it's not glorious at all. It's called the glad tidings
of good things. If it can't help you, it's not
glad tidings at all. It's called great joy to all
people. If it's not for you, there's
no joy to be had. It's called the unsearchable
riches of Christ. If you cannot be saved, there's
no riches at all. You bankrupted it. It's called the exceeding abundant
riches of His grace. If it's grace can't save you,
it's no grace at all. It's called the word of life. But if it be not for you, it's
the word of death. It's called salvation. But if
it can't save you, it's no salvation at all. It's called plenteous
redemption. But if it's not for you, it's
not plenteous at all. It's no redemption at all. I've been referring to all this
gospel as an it, an it. It's a person. It's a person. One who has conquered all and
more than you'll ever face in this world. He's a redeemer. He's a king. You ask, but how can it be for
such a sinner as I? Because it is not a proposed
mercy depending on your merit. But it's a certain mercy based
on Christ's merit. The gospel of Christ is not about
you qualifying yourself to be among the deserving. That's not
it. It is about Christ, the one and
only deserving one, dying for you and I, the undeserving. This
salvation is the free, unmerited gift of God to us in Christ. It wasn't free to him. It cost
him everything. But it's free to you and I. And in this, the very best of
saints have nothing to boast of as recommending himself or
herself to God. And neither do the lowest of
saints among us need to despair. It is all of grace. Our acceptance
with God is not in our performance. but in the performance of our
surety and our Savior, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank
God for this unchanging gospel. A third thought and I'll be through.
The unfailing grace. I hear preachers say, well God's
done his part, now you do yours. Christ has done his part, now
you do yours. The truth is, since this covenant
of grace was established in eternity between the Father and the Son
and the Holy Ghost, you don't have a part. God determined the payment for
sin. Christ suffered and endured and
paid that payment. And when he cried on the cross,
it is finished. The debt was paid. You can have
nothing to it. You just believe it, or you're
out. That's all. John 8, 24, Jesus
said, if you believe not, then I am he. He who satisfied my
father for your sin. If you believe not, then I am
he, I'm the one that's done it. You shall die in your sins. Religion says buckle down and
do. God's word says believe it is
done. It is done. It's called an everlasting covenant. grace What God has made everlasting
Man cannot by any action ever destroy it or make it temporary. No No Aren't you glad this morning?
Jeremiah said this and I will the Lord said in Jeremiah 32
40 and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will
not turn away from doing them good. But what if they don't keep up
their end of the covenant? We don't have an end of the covenant.
It's between the father and the son. I will not turn away from
doing them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts that
they shall not depart from me. Aren't you glad this morning
you have the fear of the Lord in your heart? I know it's not all it should
be. That's part of this unbelieving believers. It's not all it should
be. We fail and we falter. But oh,
to have the fear of the Lord in your heart at all, how blessed
you are. How blessed you are. It is in
this covenant of grace, established in the merit of Christ, that
a holy God The lesson was talking about
this morning. It is in this covenant of grace that a holy God can
be just and at the same time be the justifier of sinners like
you and I who believe in his son. John 6.37, all that the Father
giveth me, Shall come to me Are you interested
in coming to him? Then you're part of that all John 7 37 if any man thirst he
never said any good man Any moral man He said if any man thirst
the secret is the thirst Is anyone thirsty? Don't ever be guilty of hearing
the gospel of God's grace, and I know that's all you're gonna
hear in this place. Don't ever be guilty of hearing the gospel
of God's grace, the atoning sacrifice of Christ's blood, and then ask,
can God, can God do anything for me? Everything he's done, For wretched
sinners like you Just like you Don't ever think your sin is
too great No This is a faithful saying
And worthy of all acceptation That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners Paul said of whom I am chief. You're supposed to think that
you're the worst one here this morning. You're supposed to think that.
But you're not supposed to think you're so bad that our Lord can't
do something for you. He can. Lord, be merciful to
us. as we're surely unbelieving believers. We readily acknowledge the universal
guilt, and we do believe and embrace the unchanging gospel. Lord, help us to believe and
cling to your unfailing grace. Lord, I believe help thou mine unbelief. Thank you for your attention.
I've enjoyed it. Look forward to this evening.
Hope you'll all come back. What time is it this evening,
brother? 6.30? 6.30 this evening, all
right. Look forward to it. Come on, brother. Please take your handbook and
turn to number 272.