WEBVTT 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:07.120 Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.679 Sermons. This week we are beginning a brand new 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:13.060 teaching series called What Remains. 1 Corinthians 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:17.420 13 .13 says, These three things remain, faith, 00:00:17.660 --> 00:00:20.859 hope, and love. And today we are excited to welcome 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:23.120 our guest speaker, Justin Stratus, to talk to 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:27.480 us more about faith. What is faith? How can I 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:31.100 have faith? And do faith and doubt go together? 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:33.500 Or do I need to have a perfect kind of faith? 00:00:33.929 --> 00:00:36.289 Those are just some of the questions that Justin 00:00:36.289 --> 00:00:38.329 is going to unpack for us in today's sermon. 00:00:42.149 --> 00:00:45.030 Today's reading is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:52.109 9, verses 14 to 29. When they came to the other 00:00:52.109 --> 00:00:55.570 disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, 00:00:55.670 --> 00:00:58.329 and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 00:01:00.270 --> 00:01:03.210 As soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed 00:01:03.210 --> 00:01:09.170 with wonder and ran to greet him. What are you 00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:14.390 arguing about? He asked. A man in the crowd answered, 00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:18.109 Teacher, I brought my son who is possessed by 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:22.290 spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever 00:01:22.290 --> 00:01:25.450 it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He 00:01:25.450 --> 00:01:29.120 foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth. And becomes 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:33.400 rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:39.859 spirit. But they could not. You unbelieving generation. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:45.400 Jesus replied. How long shall I stay with you? 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:51.159 How long will I put up with you? Bring the boy 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:56.829 to me. So they brought him. When the spirit saw 00:01:56.829 --> 00:02:00.849 Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. 00:02:01.709 --> 00:02:04.829 He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming 00:02:04.829 --> 00:02:12.150 at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, How 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:15.669 long has he been like this? From childhood, he 00:02:15.669 --> 00:02:18.969 answered. It has often thrown him into a fire 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:22.770 or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, 00:02:23.069 --> 00:02:28.469 take pity on us. and help us. If I can, said 00:02:28.469 --> 00:02:31.629 Jesus, everything is possible for the one who 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:37.090 believes. Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 00:02:37.169 --> 00:02:46.310 I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. When 00:02:46.310 --> 00:02:48.889 Jesus saw that the crowd was running to the scene, 00:02:49.189 --> 00:02:54.860 he rebuked the impure spirit. You deaf and mute 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.699 spirit, he said, I command you to come out of 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:04.580 him and never enter him again. The spirit shrieked, 00:03:04.580 --> 00:03:09.340 convulsed him violently and came out. The boy 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:13.439 looked so much like a corpse that many said he's 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:17.699 dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:22.599 him to his feet and he stood up. After Jesus 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:26.379 had gone indoors, his disciples asked him, why 00:03:26.379 --> 00:03:30.639 couldn't we drive it out? He replied, this kind 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.960 comes out only by prayer. The word of the Lord. 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:41.360 Morning, everybody. It's a real pleasure to be 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.520 here. Rob already introduced me as a professor 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:47.199 of theology at Wycliffe College. And I just wanted 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:51.060 to say. You get to hear me speak about God and 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:55.159 theology this morning for free. But how much 00:03:55.159 --> 00:03:58.819 more fun would it be if you could pay money to 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:01.539 hear me talk about God? And if that excites you, 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:06.159 then you should enroll at Wycliffe College. But 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.319 it's a real pleasure to preach the scriptures 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:10.979 to my church family this morning, as it always 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:13.840 is. But before I begin, would you pray with me? 00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:24.319 Lord, we believe. Help thou our unbelief. Amen. 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:30.759 So for the past 15 years or so, I've started 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.000 nearly every one of my sermons with that prayer. 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:37.100 So it was a real cool surprise when Rob asked 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:41.360 me to preach today from Mark chapter 9, where 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.939 this prayer comes from. And I guess to me... 00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:48.550 I believe, help my unbelief is something of a 00:04:48.550 --> 00:04:53.069 perfect summary of what it means to follow Jesus. 00:04:53.610 --> 00:04:57.209 Because it sort of weaves together all of the 00:04:57.209 --> 00:05:01.930 elements of this mysterious leap that characterizes 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:05.889 so much of the Christian faith. And Christianity 00:05:05.889 --> 00:05:12.029 is a leap in my view. Being a disciple of Jesus 00:05:12.029 --> 00:05:17.589 is not the result of a calculated strategic risk 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:22.170 -reward analysis. It's a decision that all of 00:05:22.170 --> 00:05:25.790 us have to make in response to that moment when 00:05:25.790 --> 00:05:29.730 Jesus Christ bursts into the scene of our lives 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:37.310 and commands that we follow him. Now, a Christian 00:05:37.310 --> 00:05:41.689 is just a person that says yes to that command. 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:46.509 It's a person who, like Simon, Andrew, James, 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:49.829 John, Levi, and all the other disciples, hears 00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:53.750 that call, and as Mark so often puts it, immediately 00:05:53.750 --> 00:06:00.730 leaves their old life to follow Jesus. But it's 00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:04.290 more than that. Because following Christ is a 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:08.649 leap, or rather, following Christ is a leap. 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:12.699 Only if Jesus is there to catch us on the other 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:16.839 side. In other words, following Jesus is not 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.100 an achievement on our part that we get sort of 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:25.019 rewarded for. It's a constant daily entrusting 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.540 ourselves to him. It's not a thing that we possess. 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:32.839 It's a life that we receive day by day in Jesus's 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:37.170 presence. And that's why this prayer, Lord, we 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:40.110 believe, help our unbelief, is something that 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:44.050 we pray not once, but we pray every moment for 00:06:44.050 --> 00:06:49.550 the rest of our lives as disciples. There's another 00:06:49.550 --> 00:06:52.670 reason why I love this prayer, and that's because 00:06:52.670 --> 00:06:56.930 in my experience, and maybe in yours, it's like 00:06:56.930 --> 00:07:03.100 really hard to believe in Jesus. I mean, in some 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:05.980 ways, it's easy to say the words, it's easy to 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.939 sing the songs, it's easy to tick the box that 00:07:08.939 --> 00:07:10.819 says you're a Christian on the Statistics Canada 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:14.860 form. But no matter how we might look like on 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:17.720 the outside, no matter how loudly we tell people 00:07:17.720 --> 00:07:22.100 we believe, we all know that little voice deep 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:25.500 down on the inside that no one hears but us. 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:30.699 It's a voice that asks us quietly but persistently, 00:07:31.610 --> 00:07:36.110 Yeah, but like, do you really believe all of 00:07:36.110 --> 00:07:41.689 this stuff? Do you actually believe this? One 00:07:41.689 --> 00:07:43.870 of the comforts of this passage, I think, is 00:07:43.870 --> 00:07:48.910 that this doubt, that niggling voice in our minds 00:07:48.910 --> 00:07:54.990 is not a surprise to God. In fact, doubt is exactly 00:07:54.990 --> 00:07:58.110 the thing that we need to admit in order to receive 00:07:58.110 --> 00:08:01.889 the faith that God is offering. And it's kind 00:08:01.889 --> 00:08:05.329 of a paradox, right? I mean, admitting you don't 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:09.149 have faith is obviously the condition for getting 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:13.430 faith. But asking God for a faith that you don't 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:16.930 have kind of proves that you have something of 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:18.750 it already. Otherwise, why would you ask for 00:08:18.750 --> 00:08:22.129 it in the first place? Reminds me of this song 00:08:22.129 --> 00:08:25.149 lyric from the early 2000s by this Irish band 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:29.089 called The Script that goes, I'm alive. but I'm 00:08:29.089 --> 00:08:31.850 barely breathing. I just prayed to a God that 00:08:31.850 --> 00:08:36.250 I don't believe in. You see how the prayer kind 00:08:36.250 --> 00:08:39.450 of cancels out the unbelief, but the unbelief 00:08:39.450 --> 00:08:45.830 is still there just the same. I believe. Help 00:08:45.830 --> 00:08:50.909 my unbelief. I love that. I want that on my tombstone. 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:55.529 Justin believed, and God helped his unbelief. 00:08:57.710 --> 00:08:59.909 So that brings us to our passage, Mark chapter 00:08:59.909 --> 00:09:04.389 9, verses 14 through 29. And if you're a Baptist, 00:09:04.590 --> 00:09:06.470 you might want to open your Bible and look at 00:09:06.470 --> 00:09:08.429 the passage. If you're Anglican, you can just 00:09:08.429 --> 00:09:13.210 listen. Mark chapter 9, verses 14 through 29. 00:09:13.429 --> 00:09:15.710 Bit of context. Now at this point in the Gospel 00:09:15.710 --> 00:09:18.970 of Mark, Jesus is kind of puttering around in 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:21.590 the upper end of Israel, north of the Sea of 00:09:21.590 --> 00:09:24.860 Galilee. in these villages that are surrounding 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:29.399 this larger city called Caesarea Philippi. And 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.879 this is where Jesus began his itinerant ministry, 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:36.279 according to Mark. And that's the place he's 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:39.080 eventually going to leave and go down to Jerusalem 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:44.820 to be crucified. Now for the disciples, who was 00:09:44.820 --> 00:09:47.960 Jesus? He was their teacher. He was their rabbi. 00:09:48.809 --> 00:09:52.070 But to everybody else, what Mark calls the crowd, 00:09:52.330 --> 00:09:57.629 Jesus was known mostly for two things. Miracles 00:09:57.629 --> 00:10:03.129 and ticking off religious leaders. By the time 00:10:03.129 --> 00:10:05.830 we meet him in chapter 9, Jesus had driven out 00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:08.629 tons of demons. He's healed people of leprosy, 00:10:08.629 --> 00:10:11.990 blindness, paralysis, hemorrhage, deafness. He 00:10:11.990 --> 00:10:15.919 brought a little girl back from the dead. Not 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.200 to mention he fed thousands of people with a 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:24.779 couple scraps of food twice. But he's also at 00:10:24.779 --> 00:10:27.899 this time clashing with religious teachers over 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:31.379 Sabbath observance, over his relationship with 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:35.279 so -called sinners, over ritual purity, and pretty 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:40.179 much everything else he ever said or did. Of 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:43.539 course, Jesus did a lot of teaching at this time, 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.620 too, in public. But you get the sense when you 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:48.679 read Mark's gospel that most people were just 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.919 confused by the stuff that he taught, including 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:55.320 his own disciples. But the disciples always had 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:57.539 this kind of special relationship with Jesus, 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:01.440 which is why in Mark 6, he lets them get their 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:05.220 own taste of the miracle working lifestyle when 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:08.460 he sends them out two by two and gave them authority 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:11.299 to drive out impure spirits, according to Mark 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:16.240 chapter 6. So it must have been this really exciting 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:20.220 time to be a disciple of Jesus. Healings were 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:24.259 up, demon possessions were down, and love him 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:26.039 or hate him, Jesus was kind of like the most 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.679 famous guy around. And the cool thing was, if 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.720 you were his disciple, you were right there with 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:36.659 him for all of the action, the Galilean equivalent 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:40.220 of being in the room where it happened. Which 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.289 is why... it was probably kind of a deflating, 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:46.149 let down experience when Jesus starts talking 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:50.250 to his disciples about all the costs that are 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:53.690 involved in following him. And especially when 00:11:53.690 --> 00:11:55.990 he starts telling them where exactly they were 00:11:55.990 --> 00:12:00.509 following him to. In Mark chapter eight, verse 00:12:00.509 --> 00:12:03.950 31, for example, the text says, he then began 00:12:03.950 --> 00:12:06.190 to teach them that the son of man must suffer 00:12:06.190 --> 00:12:09.090 many things and be rejected by the elders, the 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:12.120 chief priests. and the teachers of the law, and 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:16.379 that he must be killed. And then three days after, 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:20.480 rise again. And then here was the cherry on top. 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:25.179 According to Jesus, following him now meant that 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:29.840 you, too, have to be willing to die, just like 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.139 Jesus. He says, for whoever wants to save their 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:39.879 life will lose it. But whoever loses their life, 00:12:40.269 --> 00:12:44.889 For me and for the gospel, we'll save it. Mark 00:12:44.889 --> 00:12:51.929 8, 35. I think this is a point that we all reach 00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:55.529 in our Christian lives. When you first come to 00:12:55.529 --> 00:12:59.029 Christ, for a lot of us, it's just awesome, right? 00:12:59.450 --> 00:13:03.450 Jesus is Lord. The light breaks in. This great 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:06.529 adventure starts. You want to tell everyone about 00:13:06.529 --> 00:13:10.379 it. there are literally no downsides to following 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:14.580 Jesus that you can think of. As the old hymn 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:17.940 puts it, the peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:21.519 a fountain ever springing. All things are mine 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.059 since I am his. How can I keep from singing? 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:29.539 Being a disciple of Christ is unambiguously amazing. 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:37.090 But soon, you figure out, That enthusiasm by 00:13:37.090 --> 00:13:40.850 itself is not enough to fuel your Christian life 00:13:40.850 --> 00:13:43.970 in the long run. That despite your best intentions, 00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:47.470 you don't really have what it takes to sustain 00:13:47.470 --> 00:13:52.230 your walk with Christ. Along with your early 00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:54.889 victories, you start to rack up a few defeats. 00:13:55.350 --> 00:13:58.230 And you realize that you need something more. 00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:04.820 You need a deeper well to draw from. Here's what 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:09.860 I think the Bible is telling us today. The thing 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.419 that you need, the only thing that you need, 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:18.639 the only thing that can sustain a lifetime of 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:23.100 following Christ, a lifetime of cross -bearing 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:28.559 and ministry is not excitement. It's not victory. 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:32.919 It's not zeal, not pie in the sky and the sweet 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:37.559 by and by. The thing you need both to become 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:44.799 and to stay a Christian is faith. And some people 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:52.879 might say faith alone. So let me explain. Here's 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:57.139 the scene. It just happens right before the passage 00:14:57.139 --> 00:15:00.509 in Mark chapter 9. The disciples, Peter, James, 00:15:00.549 --> 00:15:03.370 and John, are up on this mountain that's right 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:06.029 up by Caesarea Philippi called Mount Hermon. 00:15:06.789 --> 00:15:09.769 And on that mountain, Jesus is transfigured into 00:15:09.769 --> 00:15:12.850 this kind of dazzling white figure before their 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:15.950 eyes. And he's standing there with Moses and 00:15:15.950 --> 00:15:18.990 Elijah, these two fellows that are long gone 00:15:18.990 --> 00:15:22.210 at this point. And a voice from heaven announces 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:24.830 to the disciples that Jesus is the Son of God 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:29.919 and that he has to be obeyed. Now, this whole 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:33.279 scene on Mount Hermon is supposed to make us 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:38.159 think of Exodus chapter 32. That's the scene 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.740 where Moses ascends this mountain, right? And 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:44.259 is told by God that Israel is now going to have 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:46.580 to follow this thing called the law. You know, 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:50.080 the two tablets with the Ten Commandments. And 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.580 just like Moses, Jesus comes down from this mountain. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:58.710 And what does he find? But chaos unfolding. Only 00:15:58.710 --> 00:16:01.590 this time, it's not a golden calf. It's just 00:16:01.590 --> 00:16:06.230 a whole big argument. And here's the presenting 00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.309 issue. The disciples, the ones who didn't go 00:16:08.309 --> 00:16:11.450 up the mountain, the remaining ones, are trying 00:16:11.450 --> 00:16:15.490 and failing to do Jesus stuff without Jesus. 00:16:16.409 --> 00:16:18.870 The crowd's upset because they've come to expect, 00:16:19.090 --> 00:16:21.490 I guess, a certain level of service from the 00:16:21.490 --> 00:16:24.289 Jesus movement. And the religious leaders are 00:16:24.289 --> 00:16:27.070 upset that the crowd is continuing to expect 00:16:27.070 --> 00:16:31.070 things from this obviously fraudulent rabbi and 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:34.529 his followers. Meanwhile, the disciples are at 00:16:34.529 --> 00:16:37.009 a loss because the authority to drive out demons 00:16:37.009 --> 00:16:40.570 that Jesus gave them back in chapter 6 doesn't 00:16:40.570 --> 00:16:44.990 seem to be working anymore. And so this is when 00:16:44.990 --> 00:16:48.450 Jesus arrives and stuns the crowd with his kind 00:16:48.450 --> 00:16:51.169 of what's -all -this -then messianic energy. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.720 And so this distraught father emerges from the 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:01.700 crowd and explains the situation to Jesus. He 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:04.299 came with the crowd looking for Jesus himself 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:08.019 to heal his demon -oppressed son. But in the 00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:10.759 teacher's absence, he asks the disciples for 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:14.940 a Jesus -style exorcism. It was their failure 00:17:14.940 --> 00:17:17.859 to deliver on this exorcism that kicks off the 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:22.910 dispute. Now, initially, Jesus' response to this 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:26.329 poor father seems like really cold. He says, 00:17:26.650 --> 00:17:31.509 you unbelieving generation, how long should I 00:17:31.509 --> 00:17:33.710 stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? 00:17:35.329 --> 00:17:39.029 But remember, in the story, Jesus is supposed 00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:42.930 to be like Moses, right? He comes to the people 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:45.589 with a message from God, and what he encounters 00:17:45.589 --> 00:17:50.039 is chaos and rebellion. More to the point, the 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:54.140 stuff that Jesus says, he's using phrases that 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:56.160 in the Old Testament are usually only put in 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.279 the mouth of God. How long will these people 00:18:00.279 --> 00:18:03.160 treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:06.140 to believe in me in spite of all the signs I 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:09.380 performed among them? That's what God says to 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:13.599 Moses in Numbers chapter 14. In other words, 00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:17.390 the apostle Mark. the author of this gospel, 00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:19.829 is doing everything he can to make sure that 00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:21.869 we're thinking of Jesus in the highest possible 00:18:21.869 --> 00:18:25.869 terms. His appearance before the crowd is not 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:28.109 just the appearance of this itinerant miracle 00:18:28.109 --> 00:18:31.349 worker that they've all been waiting for. It's 00:18:31.349 --> 00:18:37.349 the arrival on the scene of Israel's God. And 00:18:37.349 --> 00:18:40.930 so Jesus, speaking with the authority of the 00:18:40.930 --> 00:18:48.250 Almighty, says, bring the boy to me. At this 00:18:48.250 --> 00:18:51.450 point, the boy goes into another fit. And as 00:18:51.450 --> 00:18:53.950 he's kind of writhing around on the ground, Jesus 00:18:53.950 --> 00:18:56.509 continues to press the father for information. 00:18:56.690 --> 00:18:59.529 Well, how long has he been like this? He asks. 00:19:01.349 --> 00:19:04.730 Well, he's always been like this, the guy says. 00:19:05.450 --> 00:19:08.549 And one of these days, this is going to kill 00:19:08.549 --> 00:19:13.950 him. So if you can do anything, please help us. 00:19:16.360 --> 00:19:21.779 More indignation from Jesus. If, if I can do 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:25.839 anything. And then the kicker, everything is 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:31.759 possible for the one who believes. So I've got 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:35.420 a question. Who do you think Jesus is talking 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:41.140 about here? When he says everything is possible 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:44.509 for the one who believes. Is he talking about 00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:48.309 the man's faith, or is he referring to himself? 00:19:49.329 --> 00:19:52.410 In other words, is he saying, if the man believes 00:19:52.410 --> 00:19:56.190 in Jesus hard enough, this boy can be healed? 00:19:56.970 --> 00:20:01.130 Or is he saying, of course he can heal the boy, 00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:04.950 because he, that is Jesus himself, has perfect 00:20:04.950 --> 00:20:12.349 faith? Right? Which one is it? It's tricky. So 00:20:12.349 --> 00:20:14.190 if you read the gospel, on the one hand, it does 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:17.130 seem like there's a relationship between faith 00:20:17.130 --> 00:20:21.509 and healing. So remember in Mark chapter 6, Jesus 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:25.630 goes back to his hometown of Nazareth, right, 00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:27.470 announcing that he's the Messiah. And everyone's 00:20:27.470 --> 00:20:29.250 like, I remember this kid. He's like the carpenter's 00:20:29.250 --> 00:20:32.730 kid, right? No one believes him. And the text 00:20:32.730 --> 00:20:35.309 says that he couldn't do any miracles in Nazareth 00:20:35.309 --> 00:20:37.589 because of, quote, the people's lack of faith. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.920 But on the other hand, the Bible, and hear me 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:46.140 on this, the Bible definitely does not teach 00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:49.099 that people whose relatives and friends are not 00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:51.920 healed, whose friends and relatives are not healed, 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:57.859 are to blame for that. In fact, that is actually 00:20:57.859 --> 00:20:59.859 precisely the kind of thinking that this passage 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:03.339 is trying to dissuade us of. It's trying to dissuade 00:21:03.339 --> 00:21:07.319 us of the idea that the success or failure of 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:12.789 healing comes down to us. What if Jesus is saying 00:21:12.789 --> 00:21:16.630 something different? What if Jesus is saying 00:21:16.630 --> 00:21:21.529 something like this? The boy's healing does depend 00:21:21.529 --> 00:21:26.890 on faith, but there's no way that you can muster 00:21:26.890 --> 00:21:30.910 mountain -moving faith on your own. You just 00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:36.329 can't. Just like the Israelites in the book of 00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:39.250 Exodus, the only thing that you're capable of 00:21:39.250 --> 00:21:46.390 producing on your own is a golden calf. A cheap 00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:51.470 imitation of the glory of God's presence. Something 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:54.930 that looks like faith, but in the end is really 00:21:54.930 --> 00:22:00.670 just you cosplaying as a disciple. What you need 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:06.849 is not more of you, Jesus says, but more of me. 00:22:10.390 --> 00:22:14.009 Now, I think that the father's response to Jesus 00:22:14.009 --> 00:22:16.970 in this story basically amounts to him agreeing 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:24.089 with this point. You're right, Jesus. I can't 00:22:24.089 --> 00:22:28.930 do this. Not even your disciples can do this. 00:22:30.329 --> 00:22:38.069 In fact, nobody has this kind of faith. We all 00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:44.500 doubt. We all fall short. There's only one person 00:22:44.500 --> 00:22:48.119 on earth with a relationship with God that is 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:51.940 strong enough that God will answer any prayer 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:59.140 that's prayed. And that's you, Jesus. I believe 00:22:59.140 --> 00:23:05.839 in you. I have faith in you. Now, would you meet 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:10.369 me in my unbelief? Would you meet me in my doubt? 00:23:11.410 --> 00:23:15.549 And would you do what I can't do? Would you heal 00:23:15.549 --> 00:23:22.569 my son? And so that's exactly what Jesus does. 00:23:25.490 --> 00:23:29.109 You know, in theology, the greatest thing that 00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:33.809 one could study, in theology, Jesus is often 00:23:33.809 --> 00:23:38.630 referred to as the mediator. The one who stands 00:23:38.630 --> 00:23:43.730 in between us and God. The one who brings to 00:23:43.730 --> 00:23:47.890 God what God requires of us, but what we could 00:23:47.890 --> 00:23:52.009 never give to God on our own. The one who heals 00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:54.609 our relationship with God. The one who, even 00:23:54.609 --> 00:23:57.789 despite our sin and brokenness, reconciles us 00:23:57.789 --> 00:24:03.990 with God, fixes the relationship. Jesus is the 00:24:03.990 --> 00:24:07.420 reason that we can approach the throne of grace 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:10.440 not with fear but with confidence, as the writer 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:16.799 to the Hebrews puts it. I think that the disciples 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:21.259 failed to cast out this demon because they were 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:25.140 trying to call on the power of God without a 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:29.599 mediator. In other words, they were trying to 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:35.069 do it on their own. And that's why Jesus reminds 00:24:35.069 --> 00:24:38.150 them later on in the passage that this kind of 00:24:38.150 --> 00:24:43.869 demon can only be driven out by prayer. Not by 00:24:43.869 --> 00:24:46.930 relying on one's own strength, but by calling 00:24:46.930 --> 00:24:54.109 on someone who is stronger. Now, obviously, the 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:58.509 demon was cast out. So who's the one who prayed? 00:25:00.490 --> 00:25:04.460 It wasn't the disciples. Actually wasn't Jesus 00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:09.460 either, right? It's a very odd tale where Jesus 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:11.359 instructs them to do something that he himself 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:18.700 did not do. So who was the one that prayed? The 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:23.859 answer is, it was the boy's father. And what 00:25:23.859 --> 00:25:28.759 was his prayer? His prayer was, I believe, help 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:33.500 my unbelief. It wasn't a... powerful prayer, 00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:36.779 right? When you think of exorcisms, right? You 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:39.079 think of the movie from the 70s where you're 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:41.059 sort of screaming at the demon and declaring 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.019 under the authority of Jesus that this person 00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:45.660 needs to be healed of this demon. I cast you 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:47.380 out. The power of Christ compels you, right? 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:50.799 It wasn't that kind of sort of declarative commanding 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:57.500 prayer. It was a humble prayer of need. In fact, 00:25:57.500 --> 00:26:02.880 it was a prayer of desperation. And that is the 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:06.279 kind of prayer that moves mountains. That is 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:09.539 the kind of prayer that, as James puts it, availeth 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:15.720 much. I want to learn how to pray like that. 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:24.980 I want you to learn how to pray like that. And 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:31.079 you totally can. We can come to Jesus every morning 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:36.869 and pray Lord, I've been oppressed and sinful 00:26:36.869 --> 00:26:41.410 my whole life. I bring all sorts of failures 00:26:41.410 --> 00:26:45.730 and maladies. And I feel like the boy in this 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:48.589 story that one day these things in my life are 00:26:48.589 --> 00:26:53.109 going to take me down once and for all. But you 00:26:53.109 --> 00:26:56.109 say, Jesus, that if I have faith as small as 00:26:56.109 --> 00:26:59.329 a mustard seed, I can be saved from all of these 00:26:59.329 --> 00:27:05.880 things. The problem is, I don't even have that 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:09.240 small amount of faith. I don't even have mustard 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:13.079 seed sized faith. So here's what I'm going to 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:18.980 ask Jesus. I ask that you take your faith, that 00:27:18.980 --> 00:27:22.880 you take your relationship with God, and you 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:27.279 go before God on my behalf. And if you do that, 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:35.779 then I can be saved. Lord, I believe that you 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:47.880 can do this. Now help my unbelief. Amen. Thanks 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:49.859 for tuning in to this week's episode of Trinity 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:52.480 Sermons. This sermon was recorded at Trinity 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.539 Church Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:58.319 August 23rd, 2026.