WEBVTT

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As we make our way to our seats, I'm going to

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invite us to open up our Bibles to the book of

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Mark chapter 9. Mark chapter 9, and we're going

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to be reading verses 23 to 24, and it's up there

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on the screen if you want to reference it. Before

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I get started, I want to thank the Lord for this

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opportunity to... Be able to deliver this word

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this afternoon to stand before you. And I do

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also want to thank my pastor for this opportunity

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to minister in his absence. And we're going to

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keep our pastoral family in prayer. Amen. As

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they are out. Amen. Mark chapter 9 verses 23

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through 24. reads as this. Jesus said to him,

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if you can believe, all things are possible to

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him who believes. Immediately, the father of

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the child cried out and said with tears, Lord,

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I believe. Help my unbelief. Lord, I believe.

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Help my unbelief. And that is what I decided

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to title this sermon for this afternoon, this

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message. And so clap in your hands. You may take

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your seats. Amen. Giving praise to our God. As

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I began praying and studying and... I found myself

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drawn to this powerful story in Mark chapter

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9. The Christian life is often a journey of hills

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and valleys. There are mountaintop seasons, seasons

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where prayers are being answered, doors are opening.

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blessings are flowing. Faith seems effortless.

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And it's easy to praise God when everything is

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going right. I'll be the first to admit it's

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very easy to praise God when everything is going

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right. In fact, it's easy to testify when the

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miracle has already happened. It's easy to worship

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When we are standing on the mountain. But then

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there are valleys. There are seasons when the

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prayer has not been answered. There are seasons

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when the diagnosis changes everything. There

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are seasons when relationships become strained.

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And there are seasons when the finances aren't

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adding up. There are seasons when we've done

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everything we know to do. Yet nothing seems to

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change. And it's in those valleys that our faith

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is tested. Not because God has abandoned us.

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Not because God has forgotten us. But because

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valleys reveal with mountains often conceal.

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The father in Mark chapter 9 was living in a

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valley. Not for a day. Not for a week. Not for

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a month. But for years. His son was tormented

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by an unclean spirit. The spirit would seize

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him, throw him into the fire, throw him into

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the water, cause him to foam at the mouth. And

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every day his father had to watch. Now, if you

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can imagine the father, imagine the helplessness

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that the father must have felt. Would you imagine

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the frustration that the father must have felt?

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Imagine the sleepless nights. that the father

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must have felt. Imagine hearing your child cry

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and not being able to stop the pain. There is

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no pain quite like watching someone that we love

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to suffer. Amen. Maybe the father had tried every

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remedy available. Maybe he had sought every answer

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he could find, yet nothing changed. Then one

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day he heard about Jesus and hope began to rise.

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And maybe this is the answer he might have thought

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to himself. Maybe this is the breakthrough. Maybe

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this is the day that changes everything. And

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I don't know if you've ever been in a season

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like that where you feel like this could just

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change everything. So he brings his son to the

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disciples and nothing happens. There is no miracle.

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There is no breakthrough. There is no deliverance.

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But there is only just disappointment. And standing

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before Jesus, the father finds himself caught

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between faith and doubt. He finds himself caught

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between faith and doubt. He finds himself believing.

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Yet he finds himself yet struggling, hoping,

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yet hurting. And from the depths of his soul

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comes one of the most honest prayers recorded

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in Scripture. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.

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That's today what I want to preach on that prayer.

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Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. And so for

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the first point, even believers can struggle

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with unbelief. Even believers can struggle with

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unbelief. One of the most comforting truths in

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this passage is that the father was not an unbeliever.

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He believed. If he had no faith, he would have

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never come. He believed enough to seek Jesus.

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He believed enough to ask Jesus. He believed

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enough to stay in front of Jesus. Yet he still

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struggled. There is a difference, City Light

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Church, between having no faith and having faith

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that is under pressure. There is a difference

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between having no faith and having faith that

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is under pressure. And so the Father teaches

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us that faith and struggle can exist in the same

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heart. Amen. Has anybody ever felt like that

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where you are just on the cusp of believing but

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also have some doubt? I'll be the first to say

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it, church. The Father teaches us that faith

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and struggle can exist in the same heart, and

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many of us know exactly what that feels like.

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We believe that God can heal, but sometimes another

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doctor's report arrives. We believe that God

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can save our families, but years pass and we

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still find ourselves waiting. We believe God's

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promises, but circumstances continue challenging

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what we know to be true. And suddenly we find

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ourselves praying, Lord, I believe, but I'm struggling.

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Lord, I believe, but I'm tired. Lord, I believe,

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but I don't understand. Come on, can somebody

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join with me if you've ever had that feeling

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where you say, Lord, I believe, but I'm tired.

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I don't understand. I don't have all the answers,

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but I believe, Lord. The presence of doubt. does

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not always mean the absence of faith. The father

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had not let go. His grip was weak. His faith

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was wounded. And his confidence was shaking.

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But he was still holding on. If I can provide

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this illustration, it's like someone hanging

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from a rope. And there are moments when you hang

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on the rope that the grip is strong. And there

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are moments when your hands are tired from holding

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on to the rope. But just because, church, we

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have tired hands, it does not mean we've let

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go. The Father was still holding on, and Jesus

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honored that faith. And that leads me to the

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second point, that disappointment is often the

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birthplace of doubt. Disappointment is often

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the birthplace of doubt. The father's struggle

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did not happen in a vacuum. Before he met Jesus,

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he experienced disappointment. He brought his

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son to the disciples. These were not strangers.

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These were men who... had already seen miracles,

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men who had already cast out devils, men who

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had already ministered in Jesus' name. And certainly

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he thought to himself, they could help. Surely

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this would be the answer. But nothing happened,

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and disappointment began to speak. And can I

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just say that disappointment has a voice. disappointment

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has a voice. It whispers, nothing's ever going

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to change. It whispers, why keep praying? It

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whispers, why keep believing? It whispers, why

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keep hoping? And some of us know exactly what

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that feels like. We thought this was the answer.

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We thought this was the opportunity. We thought

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this was the breakthrough. We thought that this

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was the open door. And then things didn't happen

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the way we expected. And disappointment has caused

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many people to question what they once believed.

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Yet what I love about what this father did is

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that he refused to walk away. The disciples failed,

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but... He stayed. The miracles didn't happen

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immediately, but the Father stayed. His expectations

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were wounded, but the Father stayed. And just

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because people fail, church, does not mean that

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Jesus will fail. Just because yesterday was disappointing

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does not mean that tomorrow has no miracle. Just

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because others cannot help does not mean that

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Jesus cannot help. The church let this serve

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as an encouragement. will not fail, but if you're

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holding on to faith today, if you're holding

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on to that little bit of faith, I invite you

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to still hold on just like this father. The father

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persevered. Hallelujah. People fail, church.

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Jesus never fails. People disappoint. But Jesus

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never disappoints. People may not have the answers,

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but Jesus is still the answer, church. And that

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is why our faith cannot ultimately be built on

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people. It must be built on Christ. And that

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leads me to point number three, which... Time

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is flying as I realize I'm going to invite our

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piano player to come on up. Amen. That Jesus

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responds to honest faith. Jesus responds to honest

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faith. This is the heart of the story. Because

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the father. Does not pretend. He doesn't put

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on a religious mask. And sometimes we don't,

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we're not honest sometimes with the Lord. Honest

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in our prayers, honest in our faith. And we put

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on this mask and everything's all right. Everything's

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okay. See, this father doesn't try to impress

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Jesus. There's no need to act. There's no need

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to act in front of the Lord. He doesn't try to

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impress Jesus. Considering all the circumstances

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that have happened before in this chain of events,

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the Father simply just tells the truth. Lord,

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I believe, but help my unbelief. Lord, I believe,

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but help my unbelief. What a prayer. See, it

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wasn't polished. It wasn't refined. It wasn't,

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it was raw. It was real. It was not impressive.

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It was not theological. Didn't have to be reviewed

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or anything like that. It was just honest. That

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was enough. Because then Jesus responds. And

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I'm here to just say this. If somebody wants

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to receive it, I pray that we receive this. City

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Light Church, God can work with complete honesty.

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Amen. God can work with your honesty, with your

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honest pain. If you're tired, you can be honest

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with the Lord. If you're struggling, you can

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be honest with the Lord. If you're lacking faith

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for a miracle, you can be honest with the Lord.

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There's no need to hide. There's no need to put

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on the religious mask. God knows our heart already,

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so why not just be honest with the Lord already?

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God can work with weakness, church. God can work

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with trembling faith. God can even work with

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struggling faith. And what he desires is that

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we bring it to him. Cast all your cares upon

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the Lord and he shall sustain you. He shall never

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permit the righteous to be moved. God can work

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with your trembling faith. God can work with

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your struggling faith. The miracle did not happen

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because the Father's faith was perfect, church.

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The miracle happened because Jesus was present.

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we catch that the miracle happened only because

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Jesus was present. And Jesus is present here,

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church. The power was never in the Father's faith.

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The power was in Christ. The answer was never

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in the Father. The answer was in Jesus. The miracle

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was never dependent upon a perfect... If I can

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provide this illustration, a drowning man does

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not need the perfect swimming technique. Doesn't

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need to have all the strokes in. Doesn't need

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the perfect, doesn't need to have an Olympic

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level skill set of swimming. He simply needs

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to just reach for help. And in this situation

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with a father seeing his son struggling, The

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Father's faith was reaching, and Jesus met him

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there. And that is the beauty of grace, church.

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Jesus does not wait for us to become perfect

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before he responds. He, in fact, meets us at

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our weakness. He meets us in our struggle. He

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meets us in our valley. So if you have struggling

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faith right now, you are at the perfect position,

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church. You are at the perfect position to receive

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a miracle from God. If you find yourself in the

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valley, right now, you are in the perfect position

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to receive your miracle from God. And so then

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the question becomes, as I move on to my final

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point, how do we strengthen our faith? If we're

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honest, all of us have areas where our faith

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needs to grow. We all have areas, we all have

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different areas of... Where we need to improve

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our faith, I'll be the first to tell you, there

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are some areas in my life that I need my faith

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to be improved on. So if you recognize this,

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looking to yourself, looking deep into yourself,

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and listen, only you know yourself. Jesus in

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yourself, know yourself. So we have to take an

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honest look to ourselves. where does my faith,

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Jesus, where does my faith need to grow? Where

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does my faith need to grow? So what do we do?

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First, we got to acknowledge it. The first step

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to recognizing is just that we just need to acknowledge

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it. I'll give you an example because the father

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did not hide his struggle. Didn't hide it. He

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confessed it. He confessed it with his mouth.

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Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I want to

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see my son be set free. The second thing that

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we must do is we must ask God. to increase our

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faith. The disciples prayed in Luke chapter 17,

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verse 5, Lord, increase our faith. Lord, increase

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our faith. And that is the prayer that we ought

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to pray. Look, if you don't know what to pray,

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then pray this prayer that the disciples pray.

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Lord, increase my faith. Lord, increase my faith

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this Sunday afternoon. Increase my faith on Monday

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morning, on Monday evening, on Tuesday morning,

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on Tuesday evening, Monday through Saturday and

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Sunday. Lord, increase my faith. Faith can grow,

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church. Faith can become stronger. Faith can

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mature. Third, it is that we must fill ourselves

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with the Word of God. There is no other way around

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it. The Word of God is our daily bread. Just

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like we eat every day, we have to eat the Word

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of God every day. The book of Romans chapter

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10 verse 17 says this, So then faith cometh by

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hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Faith

00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:13.480
does not grow accidentally. Faith does not grow

00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:17.539
accidentally. As much as we would like to wish

00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:20.880
for faith to increase by its own, it doesn't

00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:24.640
grow on its own. It doesn't grow accidentally.

00:21:26.700 --> 00:21:30.019
Faith grows through the exposure to God's word.

00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:40.089
And we cannot survive on Sunday's message alone.

00:21:41.690 --> 00:21:45.549
Just as our bodies need food daily, our spirits

00:21:45.549 --> 00:21:50.869
need their daily bread. Which is the word of

00:21:50.869 --> 00:21:59.269
God. Fourth, is to guard the voices that we allow

00:21:59.269 --> 00:22:05.980
into our lives. Guard. Set up a barrier. Because

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not every voice, in fact, let me just say this,

00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:19.380
the wrong voice feeds fear. The wrong voice feeds

00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:25.519
fear into your spirit. But the right voice feeds

00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:30.279
faith into your spirit. Not every voice, church,

00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:33.980
deserves access to our spirit. And sometimes

00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.059
we just have to just have a moment where we're

00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:38.059
just like, you know what, this is it. I'm not

00:22:38.059 --> 00:22:40.079
going to allow these voices, whether they come

00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.099
from social media, whether they come from a friend

00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:45.299
that's speaking death into your life or speaking

00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:48.119
down into your life. Whatever the case may be,

00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:51.359
not every voice deserves access to our spirit

00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:55.440
search. Not every voice deserves access to our

00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.359
hearts, church. Not every opinion deserves a

00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:01.480
seat at our table of our hearts. But we must

00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:04.539
fill our minds with God's promises. We must fill

00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.200
our hearts with God's truth. We must learn to

00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:10.359
speak the language of faith. And sometimes we

00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:14.240
find ourselves saying, it can never happen. It's

00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.569
impossible. If you ever find yourself saying

00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:19.849
it, because I've been there, I've been saying,

00:23:20.049 --> 00:23:21.609
and there's been periods in my life, seasons

00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:23.369
in my life where I've said, it's impossible,

00:23:23.630 --> 00:23:27.529
God, it can't happen. Can it actually happen,

00:23:27.750 --> 00:23:33.400
God? It's impossible. When you add the numbers

00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:36.819
up together, it's impossible. When you put every

00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:40.240
piece of the puzzle together, it's impossible.

00:23:40.900 --> 00:23:44.359
Nothing will ever change. But we must learn to

00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:47.259
speak the promises of God over our circumstances.

00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:50.940
So I invite you at this moment to look into your

00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:53.880
situation. Look into the season of your life.

00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.640
Look into what's going on in your life. And if

00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.440
there's any impossibility that you are facing,

00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.049
if there's anything that you, need God to just

00:24:02.049 --> 00:24:04.890
meet you there at the valley. We have to learn

00:24:04.890 --> 00:24:08.710
to speak the promises of God over our circumstances.

00:24:08.910 --> 00:24:13.450
The promises of God are yes and amen. So as I

00:24:13.450 --> 00:24:15.630
come to a close today, I invite you to stand

00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:27.009
up on your feet. I wonder how many of us feel

00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:31.839
like this father. And it doesn't necessarily

00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:35.839
have to be that your son is sick or your child

00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:38.400
is sick. It doesn't necessarily have to be that.

00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:41.299
It could be an impossibility in your life. It

00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:44.460
can be an impossibility that you're seeing like,

00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:47.619
you know what, God? If you don't move, I don't

00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:50.599
know what's going to happen. If you don't move

00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:52.220
in my life, I don't know what's going to happen

00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:53.619
to this. I don't know what's going to happen

00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:55.740
to that. You know, only you know your circumstance.

00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:59.839
Only you know what's ahead of you. The choices

00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:05.359
that you have to make. And so I really begin

00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:07.819
to wonder in a certain area of our life, in a

00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:11.299
certain area of our faith, I wonder how many

00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:18.240
of us feel like the Father. We've prayed. We've

00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:24.910
waited. And we believed. Yet somewhere along

00:25:24.910 --> 00:25:27.750
the journey, disappointment tried to weaken our

00:25:27.750 --> 00:25:30.130
faith. And I don't know if this is speaking to

00:25:30.130 --> 00:25:32.250
somebody, but maybe disappointment has tried

00:25:32.250 --> 00:25:35.750
to weaken your faith. Maybe perhaps some of us

00:25:35.750 --> 00:25:38.750
have been carrying burdens for years. Perhaps

00:25:38.750 --> 00:25:41.589
some of us have worshiped while quietly struggling.

00:25:42.170 --> 00:25:44.990
Perhaps some of us have smiled on the outside

00:25:44.990 --> 00:25:48.210
while fighting battles on the inside. Perhaps

00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:50.970
some of us have prayed prayers that have not

00:25:50.970 --> 00:25:56.250
yet been answered. today that Jesus is not looking

00:25:56.250 --> 00:25:59.589
for perfect faith. He is looking for people willing

00:25:59.589 --> 00:26:03.630
to come to him. The Father came with faith with

00:26:03.630 --> 00:26:07.170
one hand and questions with the other. And yet,

00:26:07.170 --> 00:26:10.710
guess what? Jesus still moved in the Father's

00:26:10.710 --> 00:26:14.150
life through his Son. And so the Father came

00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:17.890
with belief and unbelief. And so you may find

00:26:17.890 --> 00:26:19.869
yourself praying the same prayer that the Father

00:26:19.869 --> 00:26:25.940
had. Help my unbelief in this circumstance, in

00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:29.720
my job, whatever the case may be. Lord, I believe.

00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:36.859
Help my unbelief. And Jesus still moved. The

00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:39.660
father came broken. Would you imagine for years

00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:42.380
dealing with this, seeing your son struggle,

00:26:42.700 --> 00:26:49.680
carrying that? So the father came broken to Jesus.

00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:57.509
And yet Jesus still moved. The father came hurting

00:26:57.509 --> 00:27:04.069
church. And Jesus still moved. The father came

00:27:04.069 --> 00:27:09.809
honestly. And yet Jesus still moved. And the

00:27:09.809 --> 00:27:13.230
same Jesus who met that father in his valley

00:27:13.230 --> 00:27:18.490
is here today, church. The same Father, the same

00:27:18.490 --> 00:27:22.390
Jesus that ministered to the Father is here right

00:27:22.390 --> 00:27:25.869
now. And if there is a valley in your life right

00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:30.130
now, he can meet you here right now. He can meet

00:27:30.130 --> 00:27:33.769
you here right now. If you need a healing, Jesus

00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:37.789
is here. If we need restoration, church, Jesus

00:27:37.789 --> 00:27:41.829
is here. If we need deliverance, Jesus is here.

00:27:42.049 --> 00:27:45.950
If we need a renewal of our faith, Jesus is here.

00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:46.400
I'm still here.