WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.540 Last week we read of the transfiguration where Jesus' appearance was changed and he shone with the glory of God up on the mountain. 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:20.660 And now we read what happens as he comes down the mountain. We're going to read from verse 14 to verse 29. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:23.820 So let's hear God's word together. 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:33.620 When they came to the other disciples, so Jesus was up the mountain with three of his closest disciples, so there's nine left. 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:40.539 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:47.600 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 00:00:48.299 --> 00:00:51.260 What are you arguing with them about? he asked. 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:58.280 A man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought you my son who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:02.399 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. 00:01:03.019 --> 00:01:06.219 He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:10.319 I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:14.099 Oh, unbelieving generation, Jesus replied. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.319 How long shall I stay with you? 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:18.900 How long shall I put up with you? 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:21.120 Bring the boy to me? 00:01:21.940 --> 00:01:23.000 So they brought him. 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:28.140 When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. 00:01:28.860 --> 00:01:32.400 He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:36.660 Jesus asked the boy's father, how long has he been like this? 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:38.980 From childhood, he answered. 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:42.760 It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:48.080 But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:56.020 If you can, said Jesus, everything is possible for him who believes. 00:01:56.859 --> 00:02:01.020 Immediately, the boy's father exclaimed, I do believe. 00:02:01.460 --> 00:02:04.140 Help me overcome my unbelief. 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:09.439 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:12.580 You deaf and mute spirit, he said. 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:17.580 I command you, come out of him and never enter him again. 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:22.599 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:26.300 The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said he's dead. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:31.560 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet and he stood up. 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:36.979 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:39.280 why couldn't we drive it out? 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.319 He replied, this kind can come out only by prayer. 00:02:45.259 --> 00:02:45.719 Amen. 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:47.379 This is God's word. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:54.159 Now, before we turn back passage that we read in Mark chapter 9. 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:01.060 And let's see what it can teach us. 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:09.420 About the importance of trusting Jesus in the face of evil and suffering. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:16.340 I think by God's providence, we are here in this passage. 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:23.860 I guess for so many of us, our lives are marked by times of pain and suffering. 00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:32.640 And it's God's gift to us when we are reminded of his care and his love for us while we suffer. 00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:38.040 Today's story, as we read it, we see a family, a father and his son, 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:41.940 and their life is marked by dreadful pain and suffering. 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:46.520 We see evil spirits that have taken possession of him, 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:52.600 rendering him deaf and mute, where he's being thrown to the ground, 00:03:52.600 --> 00:04:00.560 where this evil spirit seeks to destroy the image of God in the life of this young boy. 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:08.680 It's a picture for us of the reality of pain and suffering that we all in different ways experience. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:14.599 Either this is something we know in our past or something that we will know in our future. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.240 It's something that we are living with right now. 00:04:18.780 --> 00:04:20.620 There are so many different factors. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:22.639 Sometimes it's illness. 00:04:22.900 --> 00:04:25.540 Sometimes it's anxieties for family members. 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:31.040 Sometimes it's because we've been the victim of sin against us. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:34.400 But how do we deal with that? 00:04:34.660 --> 00:04:37.540 What do we do with our pain? 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:42.520 And does Christianity, does Jesus offer hope? 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:49.180 In a sense, we're being invited to consider the problem of evil. 00:04:50.200 --> 00:04:52.920 But we're not doing it from a textbook. 00:04:53.140 --> 00:04:55.600 This isn't a philosophy class. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:03.060 This is the problem of pain and evil through tears and anguish and distress. 00:05:04.820 --> 00:05:16.080 Just as we begin, I was reminded of a poem written by Edward Shilito shortly after the end of the First World War in 1919. 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:20.379 He wrote a poem called Jesus of the Scars. 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:25.040 Let me just read the last verse of that poem for us. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:29.520 As we begin this morning in there, he writes, 00:05:29.640 --> 00:05:35.020 The other gods were strong, but you were weak. 00:05:35.900 --> 00:05:36.879 They rode. 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:39.520 You did stumble to a throne. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:44.879 But to our wounds, only God's wounds can speak. 00:05:45.780 --> 00:05:50.400 And not a god has wounds, but you alone. 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:57.479 Shilito was reflecting on national and worldwide pain and distress. 00:05:58.179 --> 00:06:02.779 And he's saying, here's the unique thing about the good news of Christianity. 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:10.000 That God in Christ Jesus both suffers with and suffers for his people. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.560 So there is hope beyond pain and suffering in Jesus. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:16.300 And that's my hope for today. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:22.100 That for all of us, whether we're Christians or not Christians, that we'd understand and hold on to that hope. 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:30.459 That we'd see the Jesus of the scars as the one that we can take our tears and our pain and confusion to. 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:33.079 And we can trust him. 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.079 So to our text. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:45.319 The first thing that I want us to notice is that Jesus comes down into a world of evil and suffering. 00:06:45.599 --> 00:06:54.959 So as I said before the reading last week, we thought about the fact that Jesus had been up a mountain with James and Peter and John. 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:59.779 And there his appearance had changed and he'd shone with all the glory of God. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:01.259 And he heard the voice from heaven. 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:03.259 The disciples had heard the voice from heaven. 00:07:03.699 --> 00:07:05.319 This is my son and I love him. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:06.539 Listen to him. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:08.279 And so that's Jesus. 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:12.579 He is the king of glory as we thought about last week. 00:07:12.659 --> 00:07:15.139 But what happens in verse 14? 00:07:15.359 --> 00:07:21.019 Well, in fact, from verse 9 onwards, Jesus doesn't stay up the mountain in his glory. 00:07:21.099 --> 00:07:23.319 He comes down the mountain. 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:26.439 He comes down and he enters this scene. 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.060 He arrives to find the disciples. 00:07:30.659 --> 00:07:31.319 Verse 14. 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:33.879 And there's a large crowd and the teachers of the law. 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:35.319 And they're arguing. 00:07:35.459 --> 00:07:38.000 And then he hears the story of suffering. 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:46.879 So it gives us a great picture, a great reminder that one thing that's true of Jesus is he comes down into a world of pain and suffering. 00:07:46.980 --> 00:07:49.100 And he comes down so as to redeem it. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.000 So as to bring change. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.920 It mirrors the storyline of the Bible. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:04.819 So often when you read the Old Testament, indeed the New Testament, you find the God of love and mercy coming down to comfort, to rescue, to help his people. 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:08.639 And we see that's true of the slaves. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:09.980 The Israelite slaves in Egypt. 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:11.280 They cry out to God. 00:08:11.280 --> 00:08:12.400 And God has compassion. 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:13.700 And he remembers his covenant. 00:08:13.840 --> 00:08:15.920 And he sends Moses and he rescues them. 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:28.800 At the time of the judges, even when the people wander away from God, even when they really mess up and they're facing oppression, when they turn back to God and they cry out to him, he sends them judges and he delivers them. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:32.919 So he shows mercy and love to the nation. 00:08:33.560 --> 00:08:36.320 But he also does that to suffering individuals as well. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:41.120 And we're going to sing Psalm 23 at the close of our sermon. 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:45.560 And that reminds us of Jesus, the shepherd who comes to be near us. 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:51.679 Even in the dark valleys, he is the God who promises to be with us. 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:55.419 So it's the storyline of the Bible and it's the story of Jesus. 00:08:55.839 --> 00:08:57.939 And we're told that Jesus is our Emmanuel. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.559 He is God with us. 00:09:01.079 --> 00:09:06.599 And Jesus as God, he leaves the glory of heaven to become a humble servant. 00:09:06.599 --> 00:09:14.039 As we thought about last week, he leaves the glory of heaven in order to suffer, to face rejection and to taste death. 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:16.759 It's what he's been teaching his disciples about. 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:18.299 Chapter 8, verse 31. 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:20.459 Mind you of those words. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:32.339 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:35.299 So Jesus, he's promising he's going to rise again. 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.259 Now that Jesus has risen, what's he doing? 00:09:37.819 --> 00:09:41.539 We're told in the book of Hebrews that Jesus becomes our high priest. 00:09:41.539 --> 00:09:46.379 He's not just any high priest, he's a faithful and he's a sympathetic high priest. 00:09:47.459 --> 00:09:47.939 Why? 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:50.000 Because he's walked in our shoes. 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:51.959 He cares. 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:53.319 He understands. 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:55.719 And our text is going to show us that. 00:09:57.779 --> 00:10:10.240 Every philosophy, every religious system, every individual in this world needs to deal with in some way with the problem of evil. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:16.000 Lots of different religions and different philosophies have their answer to the problem of evil. 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:24.799 Only Christianity says in response to a sin and evil and suffering did God enter in. 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:31.639 Jesus comes and he identifies with us in our suffering. 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:38.480 Jesus is the God who suffers with us and for us. 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:48.960 And through his death and resurrection, he alone gives hope beyond pain and suffering and even hope beyond death itself. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:55.319 Christianity has a unique answer to the problem of evil. 00:10:55.320 --> 00:11:05.860 One of the things that that reminds us of is that when we suffer, if we're the people of God, we don't suffer alone. 00:11:06.780 --> 00:11:08.620 And we should not suffer alone. 00:11:09.340 --> 00:11:12.420 It's often a strapline for charity helplines. 00:11:12.419 --> 00:11:21.439 If we're suffering from an addiction or suffering and you need to call somebody, often you can feel like you're the only person who's going through that. 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:23.219 And you can feel very lonely and isolated. 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.899 And so the charities will often have that reminder. 00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:27.419 You know, you don't suffer alone. 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:29.279 You're not alone. 00:11:29.459 --> 00:11:31.959 You're not the only one who is going through this. 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:36.759 There is somebody who you can talk to, who can help and who understands. 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.379 And in so doing, they're seeking to restore hope. 00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:50.299 And that's one of the things that's important for us as a church, I think, that we are to both listen to and talk about suffering. 00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:57.980 That we are to seek to extend understanding and sympathy and love in the name of Jesus. 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:08.680 But when we say to people, you don't need to suffer alone, ultimately we're saying because there is Jesus, our Emmanuel, God with us, and he understands. 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:14.980 Because he knows pain and suffering by personal experience. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:19.879 And so we are discovering that we can trust Jesus. 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.899 We can trust him with our tears. 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:25.920 We can trust him with our questions. 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:27.820 Why is this happening? 00:12:27.820 --> 00:12:34.900 I mean, we can trust him with our anger about a situation for ourselves or for others. 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:38.980 Because Jesus is God with us. 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:41.540 And he's walked in our shoes. 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:44.320 He suffers with us and for us. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:45.920 And so we can run to him. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.000 We can call out to him. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.520 We can pray to him. 00:12:48.780 --> 00:12:53.340 Because Jesus comes down into a world of evil and suffering. 00:12:53.340 --> 00:13:06.060 The next thing to remind ourselves of from this passage is that faith trusts Jesus in a world of evil and suffering. 00:13:06.059 --> 00:13:14.279 So we have this situation that Jesus is confronting in verses 14 to 18. 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:17.599 There's this big argument that he comes down to. 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:22.159 There is a father who is deeply concerned for his son. 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:23.959 He wants to find help. 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:27.780 So he brings the boy to Jesus. 00:13:27.900 --> 00:13:28.980 But Jesus is up the mountain. 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:31.139 So he asks the disciples to help. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:36.060 And it turns out on this occasion they are unable to help. 00:13:36.059 --> 00:13:40.219 And Jesus is wondering why there's the argument. 00:13:40.339 --> 00:13:41.339 There's the teachers of the law. 00:13:41.439 --> 00:13:42.319 And they're weighing in. 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:46.399 And they're trying to use this to say, well, you shouldn't trust Jesus because he doesn't really have power. 00:13:47.739 --> 00:13:49.299 Let's hear the man's words. 00:13:49.979 --> 00:13:54.500 Let's to remind us of the reality of the pain and suffering of this family. 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:57.539 Verse 16, Jesus says, what are you arguing with them about? 00:13:58.419 --> 00:14:04.379 And a man in the crowd answered, teacher, I brought you my son who's possessed by a spirit that's robbed him of speech. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.419 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:10.539 He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:15.320 I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:19.440 So here's the big question for the father, for the son, for the crowd. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:24.019 Is there any hope for this child in his suffering? 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:31.120 And what we see is that Mark draws our attention to three different responses to the pain and the suffering. 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:36.399 Jesus explicitly says that two groups of people are unbelieving. 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:38.440 Verse 19, an unbelieving generation. 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:41.360 Jesus replied, how long shall I stay with you? 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.139 We'll think about who they are. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:47.879 And we'll see that their response does nothing about the hurt and the pain. 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:54.820 But we'll see the father who trusts Jesus, who has faith in his helplessness. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:57.700 That sometimes that faith is strong. 00:14:57.779 --> 00:14:59.620 Other times that faith wavers and is weak. 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:05.759 But the love and the power of God comes because the father has dependent trust on Jesus. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:12.379 So as we think about the attitude that three different groups have in the face of evil and suffering, 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.419 perhaps we can reflect, do I see my story in theirs? 00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:23.139 First of all, let me draw attention to the cynical teachers of the law. 00:15:23.459 --> 00:15:26.059 Now we've seen the teachers of the law throughout Mark's gospel. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:27.979 They don't believe Jesus is the son of God. 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:29.599 They don't believe that he has authority. 00:15:29.819 --> 00:15:33.159 Therefore, they don't believe he has the power to do anything. 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:39.600 They're looking for a way to score points against Jesus because their disciples, his disciples have failed. 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.379 But whatever else we can say, we know this. 00:15:43.819 --> 00:15:50.059 That because they don't trust in Jesus, these teachers of the law have done and can do nothing 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:54.779 to deal with the problem of pain and suffering that this family is experiencing. 00:15:55.319 --> 00:15:56.559 They're cynical about Jesus. 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:57.500 They don't trust Jesus. 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:01.600 So they bring nothing of value and help. 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.779 And I think that's an important thing for us to reflect on. 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:08.120 Maybe especially if you're not a Christian here today, 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:17.040 that we're thinking about the unique hope that Jesus alone offers in your suffering, in your tears. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:24.820 And it's an invitation to consider him, to listen to his claims, to put your trust in him. 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:29.259 Perhaps it's also an opportunity to talk to a Christian friend, 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:35.819 talk about their experience of knowing God's peace and God's presence while they were suffering. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:39.019 Because that's so often the story of God's people. 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:45.960 That we suffer, we experience trouble, but at the same time we experience God drawing near. 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:49.960 We experience peace and comfort even while we suffer. 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:53.059 So we've got cynical teachers of the law. 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.459 We've also got complacent disciples. 00:16:56.939 --> 00:17:01.179 The disciples, it's important to recognize that earlier on, 00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:05.299 these disciples have been given authority by Jesus. 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:09.679 We need to flip back to Mark chapter 6 and verse 7. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:14.519 Here is Jesus commissioning his disciples. 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:18.400 Mark chapter 6, verse 7. 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:25.180 Calling the 12 to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:28.160 So the very thing they're being asked to do, they've been given authority over. 00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:29.039 Verse 13. 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:31.680 They've had success in the past. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:38.400 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:45.140 So in their past, they have been able to drive out demons because they've been given that authority from Jesus. 00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:47.540 But here, they were unable. 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:50.720 And that causes them to ask the question at the end of our reading. 00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:52.860 Verse 28 of chapter 9. 00:17:53.540 --> 00:17:57.340 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:59.519 Why couldn't we drive it out? 00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:04.420 He replied, This kind can come out only by prayer. 00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:10.440 It seems like the problem is that they're trusting in past success. 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:14.400 Trusting in the fact that God's given, Jesus has given them a job to do. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:18.640 They're not completely dependent on God in prayer. 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:21.840 There's a warning for us as Christians. 00:18:23.080 --> 00:18:27.080 Not to rest on past hope, past success. 00:18:29.060 --> 00:18:32.560 Maybe we had a victory against a particular sin yesterday. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:39.039 But that doesn't mean we need God's grace and help and to pray for victory over that sin today. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.759 And that maybe we experienced suffering with hope and with joy yesterday. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:50.819 But that doesn't mean the next time suffering comes, we might fall into bitterness and fear. 00:18:50.899 --> 00:18:54.720 We need to continue to pray and to trust. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:02.360 Because the disciples are showing us, without total dependence on Jesus, without total dependence on God in prayer, 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:09.000 they and we cannot deal with the pain, the evil, and the suffering. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:13.299 But by contrast, we have a father. 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:18.440 We have a father who is dependent on Jesus. 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:29.400 Verse 17, the very fact that he brings his son to Jesus is evidence that he believes Jesus can do something to help. 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:41.340 And so Jesus has a conversation with the father, having seen the terrible suffering of the boy. 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:47.220 In verse 20, we see the evil spirit throwing him into another convulsion. 00:19:47.939 --> 00:19:52.679 The father in verse 21 says that he's been like that from a childhood. 00:19:53.639 --> 00:19:58.039 It's often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:06.199 And we see in this moment, as he's before Jesus, his faith is weak. 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:11.980 But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:14.600 But nevertheless, his faith is real. 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:16.900 And his faith is in a strong savior. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.620 When Jesus says, everything is possible for him who believes, 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.680 immediately, verse 24, the boy's father exclaimed, 00:20:23.799 --> 00:20:27.700 I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:32.140 Faith wavers, but his faith is in a strong savior. 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:36.420 And so he believes and he holds on to that. 00:20:37.940 --> 00:20:41.980 In all of this, the identity of Jesus is key. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:45.940 When Jesus says, everything is possible for him who believes, 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:50.520 he's saying, everything is possible for him who believes in me, 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:54.560 who believes that I am the son of God, that I am the savior of the world, 00:20:54.620 --> 00:21:00.000 that I have the power to enter in and to redeem this situation. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:03.880 He's not calling the man to have faith in his faith. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:09.420 He's calling the man to have continued faith in the Lord Jesus. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:16.039 To help us illustrate, perhaps, imagine two people in a doctor's surgery 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:18.279 and they're sitting beside each other. 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:24.799 They've got the same condition and they're both waiting to go in to meet their GP. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:30.220 One person has complete confidence in the doctor on the other side of the door, 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:38.319 has complete confidence in the ability of a doctor and medication to bring a cure and to bring relief. 00:21:38.419 --> 00:21:43.500 Well, the person beside, not so sure, kind of put off the visit for a while 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:48.359 because they weren't absolutely convinced that the doctor would be able to help. 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:53.959 But as soon as both of them step into the doctor's surgery, 00:21:54.639 --> 00:21:57.000 what's important at that point? 00:21:58.179 --> 00:22:01.240 It's not so much what they think of the doctor, 00:22:01.959 --> 00:22:05.659 it's the doctor and his medicine that matters. 00:22:05.939 --> 00:22:10.000 It's trusting themselves into the doctor's care. 00:22:10.899 --> 00:22:12.679 And that's where faith is so important. 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:17.620 Faith is saying, sometimes my trust is strong, sometimes it's weak, 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:22.980 but always I want to trust myself to the care of Jesus. 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:27.900 And we see why this is such good news in the man's experience. 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:32.779 Verse 25, when Jesus saw that crowd was running to the scene, 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:34.160 he rebuked the evil spirit. 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:37.660 I command you, come out of him and never enter them again. 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:41.940 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. 00:22:42.680 --> 00:22:47.920 It makes sense to put our faith in Jesus because Jesus is a strong savior. 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:50.920 And notice that Jesus didn't say to the man, 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.580 well, come back when your faith is strong and perfect, 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.340 when you don't have any doubts or fears. 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:57.140 I'll deal with you then. 00:22:57.259 --> 00:23:01.560 No, he responds to his weak and wavering faith 00:23:01.560 --> 00:23:06.120 with his strong power and loving grace. 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:09.640 It's reminding us it's all about Jesus. 00:23:09.860 --> 00:23:10.660 He's the hero. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:11.759 He's the savior. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:16.279 We're invited to put our faith in him and not in ourselves. 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:20.480 You know, he sang that him, he will hold me fast. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:25.500 When I feel my faith will fail, he will hold me fast. 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:32.319 This is trusting the everlasting arms of God to hold on to us and not to let us go. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.940 This is faith in Jesus who described himself as a doctor for sinners. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.980 He's not someone who turns patience away. 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:43.779 He's not someone who says, well, come back when your faith is perfect. 00:23:43.779 --> 00:23:51.539 He takes us in our weakness, in our doubts, so long as our faith is in him. 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:57.639 I dropped Sebastian on his head yesterday. 00:23:58.139 --> 00:23:59.259 My little boy. 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.339 We have a routine that we've done probably hundreds of times, 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.539 but it involves him putting his feet on the floor after a quick spin. 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:10.819 Yesterday, for some reason, he didn't bother with the leg thing, 00:24:10.819 --> 00:24:13.859 so instead he clunked on the pavement. 00:24:14.899 --> 00:24:15.679 It felt horrible. 00:24:17.099 --> 00:24:18.139 But here's the thing. 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:23.119 Having been failed miserably by his dad, how did he deal with the pain? 00:24:23.919 --> 00:24:28.259 His first instinct was cry and then run to me, 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:35.059 and then to curl up in my arms and find comfort that kids do when they have pain 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:37.079 and when they have suffering. 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:42.859 I am not a perfect dad, clearly, but still there is that instinct. 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:48.099 I can trust this one to care for me in my pain. 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:53.279 How much more ought we to trust in Jesus, 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:59.480 to trust in our everlasting father when we have pain, when we suffer? 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:03.500 He has arms that will never let us go. 00:25:04.139 --> 00:25:07.319 He has a love that is everlasting. 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:13.879 We see from our father in the story 00:25:13.879 --> 00:25:17.420 that all of us are a mixture, 00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:21.079 if we're Christians of faith and doubt, 00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:24.199 who doesn't resonate with verse 24, 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:30.699 I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief. 00:25:31.659 --> 00:25:35.220 And the amazing thing is Jesus is gentle with us when we're in that place. 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:39.199 He is patient with us when we're in that place. 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:44.359 It would be a wonderful prayer for us to make our own. 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:47.919 I do believe, help my unbelief. 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:53.759 I do believe that you can save my friends and my family, 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.320 that you can bring transformation 00:25:56.320 --> 00:26:00.519 when all I see at the moment is apathy and disinterest. 00:26:00.820 --> 00:26:02.980 But help my unbelief. 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:08.360 I do believe that you are able to bring good out of pain, 00:26:08.460 --> 00:26:11.800 but in the moment all I feel is darkness. 00:26:12.400 --> 00:26:15.420 Help my unbelief. 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:20.560 I do believe that you can help me fight against this sin 00:26:20.560 --> 00:26:23.580 that's causing me so much distress. 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:27.880 Help my unbelief. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:35.300 Faith trusts Jesus in a world of evil and suffering. 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:43.079 The last thing that Mark draws our attention to is this fact. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:50.779 Jesus' death and resurrection promises hope beyond evil and suffering. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.480 Mark is very deliberate, I think, 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:56.960 in the way that he writes in verse 26 and 27. 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:59.379 Let's read those verses again. 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:27.060 Here is language that deliberately calls to mind dying and rising. 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:31.720 It's what Jesus has begun to teach his disciples about. 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:35.779 He has come to be the dying and rising savior, 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:42.039 to deal with sin, to bring hope and healing to the world, to his people. 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:48.799 And so these two, the teaching and the story are brought together 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:58.279 to remind us that because Jesus has died and risen and is now ascended in glory and victory, 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:04.419 he is able to offer hope beyond evil and pain, suffering, 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:08.240 even beyond death itself. 00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:14.399 The resurrection of Jesus stands as God's promise to the world. 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:20.400 That when God raised Jesus, God was saying to us, 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:24.240 I can breathe new life where there is death. 00:28:26.320 --> 00:28:28.080 That it's God's way of saying, 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:35.480 I have defeated the great enemies of sin and death for you. 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:44.579 It's an invitation again to trust in God because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:48.480 And what happened in the life of Jesus, 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.299 the Bible says one day Jesus will do that for the whole creation. 00:28:53.120 --> 00:28:56.660 One day Jesus will come back at the second coming and he'll make everything new. 00:28:57.299 --> 00:28:59.799 There'll be a new heaven and a new earth. 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:01.579 It'll be perfectly restored. 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:07.939 And not only that, all the people who trust in Jesus will also enjoy this resurrection 00:29:07.939 --> 00:29:14.179 to new creation life, to enjoy new creation with him. 00:29:14.939 --> 00:29:20.980 One of the things that the Bible brings to us is a promise of the world we all want. 00:29:22.439 --> 00:29:27.059 Because it doesn't matter who we are, what experience has been today, 00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:31.579 all of us would love to live in a world where there was no sin, 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:37.539 where there was no pain, where there was no evil or suffering, 00:29:38.179 --> 00:29:39.480 and where there was no death. 00:29:42.139 --> 00:29:47.279 And Jesus, through his death and his resurrection and his return at the end of time, 00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:55.039 promises to give to those who have faith in Jesus the world we all want. 00:29:55.039 --> 00:30:01.960 He dies to win a decisive battle against our sin, leading to death. 00:30:02.220 --> 00:30:03.519 He takes our guilt. 00:30:03.659 --> 00:30:05.159 He takes our shame. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:07.859 He takes the punishment that should be ours. 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:13.039 And he bears that for us to wash us clean, to bring us to God. 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:15.940 So that battle against sin is won. 00:30:16.339 --> 00:30:20.539 There is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:22.960 And then we're told of the second coming. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:27.620 Jesus will come back again, and that total victory will be secured. 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:33.860 Then sin and death will be done away with forever for the people of God. 00:30:34.740 --> 00:30:41.920 We will enjoy his love and his peace and his joy in his presence for all eternity. 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:46.160 All pain and suffering, long gone and forgotten. 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:48.279 If we'll be our trust in him. 00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:52.680 I have a friend who does a lot of running. 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:58.579 And I remember he talked about an ultra marathon that he did in the highlands across a lot of high altitude. 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:00.119 It was pretty testing. 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:04.359 And he said for the last few miles, he was kept going by two thoughts. 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:11.279 He was kept going by the fact that soon he'd be at the finish line and he wouldn't be far away from home. 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:13.819 And his mum's home cooked dinner. 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:16.500 That kept him going home and a meal. 00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:24.559 And our lives, different kind of suffering, but our lives are marked by suffering now in various ways. 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:35.159 Jesus is the one who both walks with us now and also makes rich promises for them. 00:31:35.419 --> 00:31:39.679 He promises to bring us home to be with himself. 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.740 And he promises at a great feast, at a great banquet. 00:31:44.879 --> 00:31:49.139 So many of the pictures of life in heaven is of a feast. 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:53.159 At a wonderful meal of celebration and joy. 00:31:53.160 --> 00:32:00.440 Jesus says, trust in me, there is hope beyond pain and suffering and tears. 00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:08.380 Faith in a suffering and a strong saviour brings hope for now and for eternity. 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.480 We all will suffer. 00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:16.120 We all will find that we need help and we need hope. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:19.220 Will we trust this Jesus? 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:23.600 The one who came down for us to bear the scars for us. 00:32:24.079 --> 00:32:27.360 Will we cry, help me, to him. 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:33.139 We all will find that we can be taken jap Melissa andροja. 00:32:33.139 --> 00:32:33.959 Isaiah 5 – nestaya. 00:32:34.679 --> 00:32:35.639 Muslim Attaling with you who's body until kilometre. 00:32:35.879 --> 00:32:36.299 Listen, you can walk to him. 00:32:36.639 --> 00:32:39.419 We will have to soothe him, but do you find some good 입니다 Risk of Stories or Target. 00:32:40.059 --> 00:32:41.459 Will we come back as well forなに? 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:42.579 Will we make peace? 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:44.059 Let us know. 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:47.139 We can discuss that We should stop the exceeded p Rechts п the goal of the audience. 00:32:47.219 --> 00:32:49.740 Let us know about pain, which is our我就. 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:52.779 Like a dog, it's been a lamp that has ABOUT surveying us.