Mark 9:14-29

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. To be in the New Testament this morning, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9.

[0:12] Mark is part of the synoptic gospel of Matthew, Mark Luke, Mark is the shortest of those gospels, even though chapter-wise Mark is the shortest of those gospels, it's worth mentioning that there are more miracles mentioned as far as the gospel accounts.

[0:44] In the 16 chapters of Mark, there are in the book of Matthew or Luke, in the book of John. Even though it's the shortest, there's a lot of miracles that takes place in Mark.

[0:57] That being said, we've also got to consider the age of Mark. Mark was a very young man, and the miracle working would have appealed to Mark.

[1:09] Mark didn't follow Jesus around on the touring and going from town to town and preaching and such.

[1:21] Mark would have gotten his information from elsewhere about Jesus when he wrote his gospel. But the other way, he was a young man. In fact, it's suggested and thought that the arrest of Jesus Christ in the gospel of Mark, Mark puts himself in a cameo appearance if you'd like to phrase it like that.

[1:46] It says there was a young man that was wrapped in linen and the guards laid holding on him and he ran from the scene naked. That's what the scripture says. And a lot of people say that Mark was inserting himself in, but that was Mark that done that.

[2:04] Now, there's no scripture to prove that, but it was done very often in these days, in the days of this type of writing style for the writer to insert themselves somewhere in their writing.

[2:21] But that being said, Mark chapter 9, one leads up to wherever we're going to be preaching from in just a little while. Mark chapter 8, we see Peter asking a wonderful question.

[2:38] Jesus asking the disciples actually the wonderful question, Whom say men that I am, and Peter giving his wonderful response, that thou art the cross, the Son of the Living God.

[2:49] Now, that might be the channel, that quote. It's the same meaning from Matthew into Mark. And of course, we get on into Mark chapter 9.

[3:03] And this is what commonly referred to as the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, or the Mount of Transfiguration. And Jesus takes Peter, James and John, they go up in the Mount, Peter, James and John, see Jesus Christ change before their eyes.

[3:23] And his countenance changes. They basically see Jesus in his glory, and not only do they see Jesus though, but they also see Elijah and Moses.

[3:35] And Peter, as Peter often did, sticks his foot in his mouth and says, Let us build three tabernacles here, one for you, one for Elijah, and one for Moses.

[3:48] Peter didn't want to get back to the world. Peter wanted to stay right up there on the Mount, but the main thing is, he wanted to stay right up there on the Mount with Jesus. And Moses and Elijah were just added bones for that.

[4:02] But anyway, the Mount of Transfiguration happens, then we come back down off of the Mount. Jesus, Peter and James and John, that would have left nine disciples at the bottom of the mountain there.

[4:16] Twelve and all three of them were on the Mount with Jesus, and they come down off of the mountain. And that's where we're going to pick up reading here. Mark chapter 9 and verse 14 says, And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

[4:35] And straightway, all the people when they beheld him were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, what question are you with them?

[4:47] And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh, and he tareth them, and he foaming them, and gnashingeth with his teeth, and piningeth away.

[5:00] And I spake to thy disciples that they should cast them out, and they could not. He answered them and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?

[5:12] How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him. And when he saw him, straightway the spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

[5:23] And he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child. And oftentimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him.

[5:38] But if thou canst do anything, hath compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

[5:49] And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears lowered, I believe, help thou my unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

[6:10] And the spirit cried, and rend him sore, and came out of him, and he was as one dead. And so much that many said he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up, and he arose.

[6:23] And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, why could we not cast him out? And he said unto them, this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

[6:35] And that brings us to the end of that passage, and the end of that chapter as well. And here we, again we have Jesus, he had just come down off of what commonly referred to as the Mount of Transfiguration.

[6:51] He and Peter and James and John come down, and what does he find? He finds a scene of disarray, he finds a scene of confusion.

[7:02] Disciples would have been confused as to why Jesus Christ had given them power to cast out unclean spirits. And yet they couldn't cast one out, and the scribes were there, and they would have been ridiculing the disciples, saying, see this Jesus Christ isn't whom you thought that he was.

[7:22] He's not as powerful as you thought that he was. This would have been the thought of the scribes towards the disciples. The disciples would have been confused, and Jesus comes down off with a Mount of Transfiguration into this mess.

[7:35] And it says, when the people saw, when the multitude, they laid eyes on it, it says that they were amazed. Folks, why do they have been amazed? Well, remember, Jesus Christ has come down off of this Mount after being transfigured in front of Peter and James and John.

[7:51] I would assume it was much like Moses when he was up on the mountain, and when he came down off of the mountain, the glory of God was still shining off of his face. There must have been something about Jesus, why these people would have beheld him and seen him, and being amazed at how he looked, and this multitude, they flocked to Jesus, and therefore they would have flocked to Peter and James and John, as well as they would have been with him.

[8:19] But they come, and Jesus Christ is seen here, and he asks them, he asks the scribes, he says, what question are you with them? What are you asking them?

[8:31] What's the problem here? What Jesus Christ was saying, and the problem was that there was a man in the crowd, remember, in the scripture that we just read, that he asked the question to the scribes, what's this, what are you questioning my disciples about?

[8:48] What's the matter here? What's going on? But there was one from the crowd after the scribes didn't answer, and after the disciples didn't give an answer. There was one from the crowd that said, Lord, I brought my son.

[9:02] I brought this one that's been throwing fits since he was a youth. I brought this one that is possessed, obviously, with a devil. I brought this one that this devil, he's casting, he casts my son into the fire.

[9:17] He casts my son into the water, and he means to destroy him. And I brought him to your disciples because I'd heard that they'd been casting out the unclean spirits.

[9:29] I'd heard they'd been doing these wonderful works, and I knew that this was my opportunity to have my son healed, to have my son rectified, to have my son, to have this demon cast out of my son.

[9:45] And I brought him to your disciples, and your disciples could not cast this demon out. That's the summation of where we're at here in the Scripture.

[9:59] The scribes ridiculing the disciples, the disciples being confused, and I'm assuming the disciples being somewhat embarrassed.

[10:10] And Jesus Christ coming on the scene to make all things better, to make it all right, to make it the way the disciples could not. That's the summation of what we have here.

[10:23] And once again in verse 17, one of the multitude. Now I'm one of the scribes, one of the multitude. Anthony said, Master, I brought into thee, I brought into thee my son.

[10:36] I brought into you, Jesus, my son. He had showed up there, he had showed up, and Jesus was nowhere to be found. But he said, hey, these disciples, they've been doing the works as well.

[10:49] Jesus has given them power to do the same work. But he said, I originally brought him to you because folks that shows this man's faith, we read just a little while ago that the man said, I believe, Lord, he'll found my unbelief.

[11:05] He had faith in Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ could heal this son that Jesus Christ could toss this demon out of his son and make him well and make him whole. But he says, I brought him to thee, my son, which hath a dumb spirit.

[11:22] And wheresoever he taketh him, he tareth him, and he foetheth, and he nasheth with his teeth, and he pines away. He said, my son, act crazy, my son, act mad, and after these bits that he takes, and after these bits that he throws, he says that he pines away, he withers away, and he foetheth means that his son was weak after the fact of these bits that he was throwing after these bits that this demon that was inside of him was causing him to throw and make his son weak.

[11:56] They've been in pining away, and I speak to the disciples that they should cast them out, and they could not. They answer with him and say, at the old faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?

[12:11] Bring him unto me. Hey, the disciples have their chance here. The disciples all have their opportunities to cast out this demon, but it would take Jesus Christ to make it all right. I don't know the scripture. Doesn't tell us.

[12:28] Maybe the disciples got too much into themselves. Maybe they hadn't prayed. Jesus told them at the end of the passage that some of these things only come out by fasting and by praying. Maybe they hadn't been praying. Maybe they hadn't been fasting, but either way, it would take Jesus Christ to cast the demon out of this boy, cast the demon out of this child, out of this young man.

[12:56] However old he was, Jesus asked the man, how long ago did this come until? And the man said, ask the child, so we can assume this young man was at least in his teen years, at least that old.

[13:12] But either way, this had been tormenting the child, and in turn, it had been tormenting the father as well. It had been causing the father much havoc in his life, and it would take Jesus to make it all right. Hallelujah.

[13:29] Amen. Thank you Lord. Speaking about disciples, that they should cast him out, and they could not enter them and say, if old faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? Notice here, in this verse, verse 19, he says he entered him, there's some debate in the theological realm as to who Jesus was talking about when he says, old faithless generation. Now, a generation is more than one person, but he says he answers him, he answers the boy's father that said that I brought my son unto thee.

[14:10] He answered him in this manner, old faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. They brought him unto him, and when he saw him straight away, the spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming.

[14:28] He says, when he saw him, when the spirit that was in this boy, when the unclean spirit, when the demon, when the devil saw Jesus Christ coming that way, when he saw him, he says that he tear at the boy, and he threw him to the ground, and the boy was wallowing, and he was foaming at the mouth.

[14:47] This is the way folks, this child was in a state, this young man was in a state that he could do nothing about. Obviously, his father could do nothing about it. Obviously, the very disciples of Jesus Christ could do nothing about it.

[15:03] I want you to know if you're here this morning, and you are lost if you've never known Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you've never been born again, they had to admit the preacher can do, there is nothing that any disciple within these walls can do for you, the only one that can save your soul, the only one that can make you new and pure and whole, is Jesus Christ, and it is Jesus Christ alone that can do this for you.

[15:37] We can pray, we can lay hands on people, we can pray, we can beg, and we can plead, but we cannot save souls.

[15:48] The disciples of Jesus Christ cannot save souls. I don't care if it's somebody that's been preaching for 70 years, it is impossible for a fine-up human being to save a man's soul. It takes the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit of God to get inside your heart.

[16:08] It takes the work of the Holy Ghost to tear that heart open so that the gospel seed can fall in there and it can find good ground. And when it finds that good ground, hey, my produce proved for the kingdom that God has promised to come.

[16:27] But it is only God, and only God that can do this. It is only He through Jesus Christ, through His shed blood that can make you whole, that can wash away your sins, that can throw your sins into a sea of forgetfulness, that can cast them as far as they east is from the west, and His only God through Jesus Christ that can do that. This man here, he was unable to help his son.

[17:01] God helped him. He was unable to help his son. He said they brought him to him and saw him straight away in the spirit tears him, and he fell on the ground and walled in the fire. This is very close to the same symptoms that we find in people with epilepsy.

[17:21] Nowadays, very close. I'm not saying that's what was wrong with this boy. I'm saying that's very close to, very similar to symptoms of what we know as nowadays, as epilepsy, the walling on the ground, the seizing, the foaming at the mouth.

[17:41] And it makes me wonder though, it really makes me wonder now, I understand there are true medical conditions. There are true mental conditions. There are true physical conditions. I understand all that and I get all that, and I'm not down in bed at all.

[17:56] But it really makes me wonder how many people in the past, say, 100 years have been diagnosed with some kind of condition when all it was that they had a demon that was trapped inside of them.

[18:08] They had a demon that was throwing them down. They had a demon that was causing them to wallow on the ground. And the doctors and the physicians, they look at him and they say, oh, he's got this problem. He's got that problem.

[18:21] Like I said, I understand there are true medical conditions. I've got one. Most of you have probably got one. I'm not downplaying that a bit, but it makes me wonder because these symptoms were so similar.

[18:35] How many people may have been diagnosed with a physical ailment when the real problem was a spiritual ailment? The real problem was that Satan had gotten inside in form of a demon.

[18:47] When a devil gets inside and he rents you and he throws you to and fro and he throws you on the ground and he causes you to fall with them out and he causes you to act what most people would consider crazy.

[19:00] Hey folks, when it's a devil, doing that there is only one remedy for it and that is the man Jesus Christ. He's the only one that can help. They brought him under him.

[19:13] And when he saw him straight away, the Spirit Terraman fell on the ground and wallowed, phoning, and he asked his father, how long did it go since this came into him? And he said, I'm a child.

[19:26] And off times he's casting into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us.

[19:41] Well, he's already told Jesus Christ. He said, I brought him unto thee. I brought him here because I heard that you were here. I brought him here because I heard that you were in the midst.

[19:53] He's already made the confession that shows that he had faith in the works of Jesus Christ. He had faith in what Jesus Christ could do for his boy.

[20:04] He had faith in all these things. But it says, if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us. He says, if thou canst do anything, if you can do anything about this situation, Lord, I would greatly appreciate it.

[20:20] If you can help my son, I would owe you everything. But he tells the Lord, he says, have compassion upon us. Once again, this boy wasn't the only one ailing from something.

[20:34] His father would have been ailing if his mother was still around. She would have been ailing because of it as well. Hey, parents, hey, grandparents, uncles, aunts, if you have children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces that you know are wallowing around in their sin.

[20:53] That you know are out in the world. That you know are not born again and are not living for God. It should cause you to grieve and it should cause you to run the God and say, have compassion on me and them in this situation.

[21:14] We should be praying for them. We should be praying for them. Yes. So many times we want to do an all inclusive prayer. So many times we want to say, Lord, save the lost.

[21:27] And that's all great and final well. Don't you get me wrong? That's all final well. But do we do that because we sincerely mean it? Or do we do it because we feel obligated to do it?

[21:39] Do you ever call out the names of your lost loved ones? Do you ever call out the names of your children that you know are wandering around in sin? Or your grandchildren or anybody else that's close to you that you love, that you've known all their lives or they've known you all their lives?

[21:57] Whatever the case is, do you call those names out on the God and you say, God, these people, they're suffering. They've got demons. They've got sin. They're out in the world. They're not doing the things of God.

[22:09] They don't care about church. They don't care about the Bible. They don't care about me. They don't care about Christ. All they care about is fulfilling the lust of their own flesh. God, would you please get the hold of this heart? Only you can do it.

[22:25] Do we call out like that? Do we call out like that? This man brought his son to Jesus because he knew that Jesus could do something about it. He cut it, cast it into the fire in the waters to destroy him.

[22:39] Folks, the Bible teaches that the devil is up to still kill and destroy. The Bible teaches that the devil, our adversary, is as a roaring lion. He's not a roaring lion. He is as a roaring lion walking to a road that is seeking whom he may devour.

[22:57] It is his purpose. It is the purpose in his mind. It is his game. It is his intent to destroy God's creation. It is his intent to destroy the losses and intent to recalls havoc in our lives as born again Christians.

[23:15] But it is his full intent and his purpose is to destroy and disrupt the lives of the creation of God, the lives of those who were created in the very image of God.

[23:28] That is his purpose here. That is the plan and that is the war that he has waged on God and God's people and God's servants and all of humanity. It's the greatest many people in the hell with him as he can. That is his purpose here.

[23:44] And Jesus Christ is here to destroy as we taught in Sunday school this morning. To destroy the works of the devil by taking our sins away, by forgiving us our sins.

[23:57] And if you have lost people in your family, in your life, you need to pray that God destroy the works of the devil in their heart, in their life, in their body, in their mind and complete his work of redemption in those people.

[24:17] Pray for the lost folks. Pray for the lost. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe all things are possible, to him that believe.

[24:30] If thou canst believe he asked, well he didn't ask questions per se, but he said, if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us.

[24:44] That is what the man said to Jesus. Jesus says, if thou canst believe all things are possible, to him that believe. He turns the hip around back on the father of this boy, the father of this young man.

[24:59] He turns the hip right back around. If thou canst believe, if you can only believe, hope that's all it takes. It takes belief. Yes, you must repent. You must repent. Jesus came into the very beginning of this gospel.

[25:15] Repent and believe. Repent and believe. The kingdom of God is a hand. The kingdom of God is near. It's a repenting way and it's a believing way. The gospel of Jesus Christ though is what we must believe.

[25:28] We must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, to be spiritually saved. We must believe in his work on the cross. We must believe that it is all sufficient to wash away our sins. We must believe that in the death of burial and the resurrection of the only begotten son of God.

[25:47] And we must believe that he is ascended. We must believe that he is coming back. And when he does come back, he does judge and make war. Folks, this is the cross of the scriptures. This is the cross that we must believe.

[26:00] And to be spiritually saved, this is the cross that we must have all of our faith in. Well, that period. Thank you, Lord. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him to believe.

[26:15] All things, all this man was asking for was the cross saved his son from this life of torturing by this demon that was inside him.

[26:27] The straight way, the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. I've quoted this many times and preaching and teaching both this very lie in the scripture. Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief.

[26:46] They would do Christians well to dwell on this verse of scripture. Lord, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. And I believe in you, Jesus. This father here has been tormented for years.

[27:01] He tells Jesus Christ, I believe, but I need you to help me with my unbelief. If you're here this morning and you tell me you have a perfect faith in Jesus Christ, I will call you a liar.

[27:15] None of us have that perfect faith in Jesus Christ. We had enough faith to believe. The Bible talks about the measure of faith that is given unto men. The measure of faith.

[27:26] All of us are dealt the same measure of faith. Now listen, over time that faith can grow. It can grow more towards God. It can grow more towards money. It can grow more towards all kinds of things.

[27:37] But it talks about the measure of faith. Hope this man said, I believe. Help thou my unbelief. He said, I believe in you, Lord. I believe everything that I've heard about you. If I didn't believe this, I would have never brought my son unto thee.

[27:52] I would not have showed up here this day. Hey, Christians, have you but sometimes we put so much faith in our own belief that we forget about what we just don't believe about God.

[28:05] How many times have we prayed in God of knowing good and well that our fear didn't go past the ceiling? How many times have we gotten up off of our knees thinking that was a waste of time because I don't believe that this is actually going to happen?

[28:22] That is unbelief. He says, I believe, Lord. Help thou my unbelief. I believe in you, Christ. But I'm depending on you, Christ, to help me with that unbelief. Christ? Yes.

[28:37] I depend on God to help me with my unbelief. My faith ain't perfect. But, say, Lord, your faith ain't perfect. Abraham's faith wasn't perfect. And Moses' faith wasn't perfect. And Thou art composed, made perfect. Peter changed John. None of their faith was perfect.

[28:56] If you look at Abraham, where Abraham became Abraham, when God called him out of order, when God originally called him out, and you don't read about it until you get over to the book of Acts, God had called Abraham up once.

[29:13] He only moved a little ways the first time, but he didn't go where God told him to. God told him, you get out. You go to a land that I'm going to show you. You go to a land that's going to be filled with milk and honey. You go on your way. And when you get there, I'll let you know.

[29:28] It took God twice to tell Abraham that. Moses certainly did that perfect, right? Moses had faith in God. He was a Hebrew. Yes, he had faith in God. But when God came to Moses, and he said, go to Pharaoh, tell him, I said, I'll let my people go.

[29:46] That's what Moses did. Moses wasted a bunch of time arguing with God, hey, I shouldn't be the one doing this. I can't do this. I don't talk very plainly. I can't believe you're making me do this. He tried every way that he knew how to get out of it. And what did God tell Moses?

[30:01] He said, certainly, I will be with thee. Moses said, how am I going to do this? And God said, certainly, I will be with thee. He didn't tell Moses how he was going to do it. He told him, I'll be with you. I will be with you all the way. I'll be with you all down into Egypt.

[30:16] I'll be with you when you stand before Pharaoh. I'll be with you when you tell him to let my people go. He didn't warn him about all the plagues. He didn't warn him about how much time he was going to be spending another in Egypt. He just said, certainly, I'll be with the eight folks.

[30:28] That's all I got to bank on right now and this time, which we live in now. I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. I don't know what helmets might hit me or might hit my family and you don't know what helmets might hit you or your family.

[30:41] We don't know what the future holds with praise. God, I've got a promise in the scripture that certainly not God will be with me. Certainly, he'll be holding my hand all the way. Certainly, he'll be abiding within me and lie within him.

[30:58] Certainly, he will bring me comfort. Certainly, he will give me guidance. Certainly, he will give me everything that I need to sustain me. Hallelujah.

[31:09] That's my God. Yes, that's my God. We've all got unbelief. We've all got unbelief inside us. We've all got unbelief.

[31:21] I said all those are pray prayers. Knowing that it was a waste of time for us to do so. I've done it. Everyone in here has done it. It causes unbelief. But when we detect that unbelief in our lives, when we detect that, I've said before, could God heal me as I be?

[31:44] A disease I've carried around for 40 years. Could God heal me as I be? Of course He can. God's all power. Well, He healed it. That's up to Him. I personally don't think so. He will. Not that He can. That He will.

[32:01] Does that have anything to do with my unbelief? It may and it may not. How will my unbelief affect that? Because I've depended on man to keep me alive for the past 40 years. I've depended on syringes. I've depended on...

[32:18] I've actually depended on pigs to keep me alive. For the first 10 years, maybe as I go to bed, I eat pork insulin. And then man-made insulin. Either way, I've depended on man to keep me alive. And to this day, I depend on this pump on my side.

[32:33] Without insulin going on me, I'm dead. I'm dead. And I've depended on that. So is it because of my unbelief that God hasn't healed me? No. I believe it was the very last time I preached.

[32:48] I know I preached in my long ago. Right up here in John chapter 9, Jesus healed a blind man. He told the disciples, He said, this man is not sending or his parents send. But this man is blind. This man is suffering. What he is, that the works of God may be manifest in him.

[33:03] Also, the works of God may be manifest in me and may be manifest in you because of whatever ailments that you might be suffering. The works of God, the ailment in this boy right here, that he was suffering is that the work of God could be manifest in him.

[33:19] Remember, it wasn't just the scribes and it wasn't just the disciples. There was a multitude of people that was gathered around here. As this was going on in this passage of Scripture that we were reading, there were untold numbers of people that were gathered around.

[33:35] And the work of God was manifest in this boy that had been demon-possessed for who knows how long the work of God was manifest in his life. The Father says, I believe, help them, I don't believe. When Jesus saw the people come running together, he rebuked the foul spirit saying unto him, the dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him.

[33:59] They praised God. Jesus Christ not only cast the spirit out, but he told the spirit, he commanded of the spirit and he commanded the spirit not to ever enter into that boy.

[34:10] Again, praise God. When God saved me, he put the Holy Spirit within me. He cast out all that was filthy, he cast out all that was nasty, he done some house cleaning in my heart and in my body and in my soul, and he cast out that filth and he moved the Holy Spirit within me.

[34:30] And he dared the other things to come back. Hallelujah. The Holy Spirit will let you know when this stuff starts creeping in. The Holy Ghost will let you know if your eyes are stay fixed on something, they shouldn't stay fixed on it too long. If your mind has been fixed on something, then it shouldn't have been fixed on it for too long.

[34:52] The Holy Ghost of God will let you know of that. He says, now deaf and dumb spirit, this is significant.

[35:04] It's not in the Bible, in your Bibles, but the priests of the day, the priests in this time, thought that it was impossible. And the Pharisees as well, thought that it was impossible to cast out a demon if you didn't find out the demon's name.

[35:22] It was a deaf and dumb spirit. So it was impossible to find out the name of a demon if it was dumb and didn't speak. So in their eyes, in the Pharisees and in the pre-sides, and I'm assuming in the scribe's eyes as well, it was impossible for this demon to be cast out. In their eyes, it was impossible.

[35:46] The one cross tells this Father, Praise God, he should have believed it. All things are possible. The deaf and dumb spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him, and the spirit cried and bring him sore and came out of him, and he was as one dead and so much that many said he is dead. This goes back to what we were talking about a few verses ago, when the Father was describing the ailment that this boy was suffering, and he said that he pined it, meaning that he wastes away, he's withering away, he grows weak in this. Hey folks, this was this, this was this unclean spirit, this was this devil's last opportunity to inflict some hurt on this boy.

[36:27] He says that he ran him sore, and he hurt the child as he was coming out, and says the spirit cried, and ran him sore and came out of him, and he was as one dead and so much that many said he is dead.

[36:40] Everybody around looked at this boy that was laying on the ground, they said he's dead, there ain't nothing that can be done for him now. Can you imagine the accusing looks that Jesus Christ was getting after all this happened, and after all was said, and all was done, this boy's laying there, and everyone thinks that they're dead, but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

[37:05] It doesn't say that Jesus took him, and yanked him up, and sat him upright, and kept him standing there. This says he reached down, and he took him by the hand, and he told him, and he arose, the boy arose all on his own.

[37:19] Hey, that boy wasn't dead, but he had just had a demon cast out of him. Hey folks, do you remember how relieving it was when you got saved, whether it was in the morning, whether it was in the evening, do you remember the weight that was taken off of you?

[37:36] I ain't saying that you wanted to lay down and sleep, but it was a relieving feeling when God moved in, and evil moved out. This boy here just had an evil spirit cast out of him.

[37:51] This is a rhythm sore. Everybody around said he thought he was dead, but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up. Same thing you do with me. Same thing you do with me. How many people in my family thought?

[38:06] I ain't no hope for Spencer. I ain't no hope for that drunkard. I ain't no hope for that atheist. I ain't no help for that whatever else they could say about me. I never did anything that was true.

[38:20] How many people said I ain't no hope? I ain't even gonna pray anymore. Jesus grabbed me by the hand and he pulled me up and I rose.

[38:33] But it was only through the help and through the aid and through the blood of Jesus Christ that I could do any of those things. Otherwise I'd be laying there and everybody around would be saying he's dead and ain't no hope for him.

[38:47] Ain't nothing to be done. When Jesus took me up, or lifted me up, I rose when he was come into the house of disciples, asked him privately, why could we, why could not we test him out?

[39:02] Those that didn't ask him this while they were out in front of everybody says they asked him privately. Now listen, there's things going on and I understand that and I get that. There's all kinds of things going on, all kinds of actions taking place.

[39:15] Maybe they didn't have the opportunity, or maybe they were embarrassed. Maybe they were embarrassed that they couldn't do the casting out. That they couldn't do what Jesus had given them power to do, maybe.

[39:30] And he said, this kind of can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Folks, how often do we put our own efforts into stuff without prayer and without fasting?

[39:46] When you fast, biblically, fasting is going without food, but it goes further than that. You say I'm going to fast under the Lord, I'm going to fast for religious purposes three times this week.

[40:05] And all you do is skip a meal, all you do is disturb yourself. That's not fasting. If you're not taking that time that you would be using to eat, fasting don't have to be that.

[40:20] If you don't take that time, you'd be using to watch a ball game, or to listen to the radio, watch TV, whatever it is you're doing, like Andy Crush.

[40:34] If you don't use the time that you have said, I'm going to fast instead of doing this, I'm going to pray to God, I'm going to spend time with God. If we're just skipping that and going on about your life and doing something else, that pleases your flesh.

[40:49] All you're doing is denying yourself of that little pleasure that you got out of something worldly. I ain't saying ball games are simple, I ain't saying Andy Crush is simple.

[41:00] I ain't saying TV is simple, I ain't saying any of that. I'm saying when you proclaim to be fasting, if you're not spending that time with God, you are not fasting. That's what fasting is. And Jesus here says this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.

[41:20] That tells me that disciples haven't been praying that they should, and they haven't been fasting as they should. That's exactly what Jesus Christ was telling them.

[41:31] He said, y'all got so called up to this, what Jesus tells them there in the gospel? He said, rejoice not that you have power over the devils, but rejoice that you name is written in the land, book of life.

[41:43] Rejoice that you name is written in heaven. That's why we rejoice. Not because we have power over unclean spirits, not because we have a gift, but because God saved our soul.

[41:57] And he wrote my name in a book that no man can climb up there in a race, and no devil can climb up there in a race. Nobody can go up there and tear that page out of his book. Hey, it's up there.

[42:10] And God is the best guard that I can think of over his book and over the Lamb's book of life. My name is there, God put it there, and I rejoice in that fact.

[42:21] But if I do pray, and nothing happens. And I pray earnestly, and I pray permanently. We all know that the James chapter 5, the Effective Firm and Prayer of a Rapturous Man available is much.

[42:35] It makes you feel like you're not very affectual or fervent in your prayer, and maybe not very righteous, and nothing happens. Folks, it's not that God don't hear.

[42:48] And if God is doing exactly what Christ was doing with the disciples here, pray more, fast more. How good is what better time to spend throughout your day than in prayer to God?

[43:01] And I understand that someone's got jobs, I understand we've got other things going on. I get that. When Paul rifted to the Thessalonians to pray without season, he wasn't saying to spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week on your knees, but constantly having attitude to prayer.

[43:17] Constantly have God on your mind, constantly being able and willing to go to God. Whenever you come to cross your path throughout the course of the day, this kind can come forth by nothing.

[43:31] But by prayer and fasting, I believe Jesus was honestly telling these disciples, you ain't been doing what you should have. And sometimes, I think that our prayers don't get answered because we ain't been praying like we should have.

[43:47] I know that's the face of me. I haven't prayed, I haven't spent as much time with God as I have. And sometimes, sometimes those guys just want you to pray more.

[43:58] Sometimes that reason don't follow you by your prayer, they ain't getting answered. God will answer in His new time. God will answer when He's ready to give it. God bless y'all, it's the message, I appreciate your attention.