Help My Unbelief!

[0:00] Well, if I could, with the Lord's help this morning, if I could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read. The Gospel according to Mark, chapter 9, page 1019.

[0:18] And if we read from the middle of verse 22, the Father's question, He says, Amen.

[1:00] I'm sure that for many of us in here today, we would describe life and the experiences that we go through in life. We would describe them as mountains and as valleys.

[1:13] And that it doesn't matter who we are or what we go through or who we are in the world or what position we hold. And our lives are all full of mountains and they're all full of valleys.

[1:27] But the story of our lives, it's filled with high points and it's filled with very low points. And there are high points in our lives, whether it's entering into a relationship or getting married or the birth of a new child or starting a new job or reaching milestone anniversaries or targeting great achievements.

[1:48] There are many high points. Life has many good things in it. There are many mountaintop experiences. But for many of us, those mountaintop experiences, they are often overshadowed by the dark valleys.

[2:04] Because life throws at us many challenges and our valleys come in many different forms. Whether it's the valley of illness, where there is sickness or pain or worry.

[2:18] Worry about either yourself or a loved one. Or there's the valley of loneliness, where every day it's a long, dark valley that seems like it will never end.

[2:28] And very often the valley of loneliness comes after the valley of the shadow of death. Because the great separator of life and our last enemy in this world, death, always takes.

[2:42] It steals, it kills, it destroys. It removes those whom we love. And it leaves us in the valley. And more often than not, these valleys appear without any prior warning.

[2:57] Where we're thrown into the shadows of the valley. Having never planned our journey to go that way at all. My friend, our lives are full of mountains.

[3:08] And they're full of valleys. But the question this passage wants us to ask this morning. Is where do we go when we're on the mountaintop? And where do we go when we're in the valley?

[3:21] And the answer to that question is the same. That whether we're on the mountaintop or we're in the valley, we are to go to Jesus. Because last week when we looked at the Mount of Transfiguration at the beginning of chapter 9, we saw that Jesus took Peter, James and John and he went up to the top of a mountain in order to reveal his glory to them.

[3:44] And so we met Jesus on the mountaintop. But now we meet Jesus in the valley. And what Mark wants to teach us from this passage is that we need to have faith in the valley.

[3:58] Because it's easy to have faith on the mountaintop. But it's not so easy to have faith in the valley. And I want us to see that that's the emphasis of this passage. Mark doesn't want our focus to be taken up with this demon-possessed boy.

[4:12] Although the boy and the illness is an important part of the narrative. But he's not the main character and the focal point of the narrative. Because the main character and the focal point of the narrative is the faith of this father.

[4:29] And what Mark wants us to understand is that even frail faith is still faith. Because it's frail faith in a strong saviour. It's frail faith in a strong saviour.

[4:43] And so I'd like us to consider this passage just under three headings. A faith, a concerned faith, a condemned faith, and a confessed faith. Three headings.

[4:54] A concerned faith, a condemned faith, and a confessed faith. So we look firstly at a concerned faith. A concerned faith. If you read again at verse 14.

[5:05] And when they came to the disciples they saw a great crowd around them. And the scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed.

[5:16] And ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, What are you arguing about? And someone from the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought my son to you for he has a spirit that makes him mute.

[5:28] And whenever it sees him it throws him down. And he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out. And they were not able. The contrast between these verses and those which precede at the beginning of chapter 9.

[5:47] When we read them it's quite remarkable. Because as we saw last week on the Mount of Transfiguration. We saw the purpose of Jesus' ministry being revealed to us.

[5:58] Where he revealed his glory to the disciples. But this week in the valley we have the ministry of Satan now being revealed. Last week we were given a vision of Christ's glory on the mountaintop.

[6:10] But this week in the valley we're given a spectacle of demon possession. Last week we noted the blessing it was for the disciples to be in the company of Moses and Elijah.

[6:22] But this week we're confronted in the valley with the arrogant unbelief of the scribes. And there's no doubt that the contrast between the mountaintop and the valley is stark.

[6:34] Yet what we see is that Jesus was present in both cases. He was present on the mountain and he is present in the valley. But it's the presence of Jesus in the valley that excites the crowd.

[6:46] Because we're told that when Jesus came down from the mountain having been transfigured before Peter, James and John. Jesus met the other nine disciples.

[6:56] The other nine disciples who didn't experience the mountaintop. And he finds them surrounded and to some extent they were cornered by this great multitude. And the scribes who were arguing with them.

[7:09] And I suppose it wasn't a good position to be in for them. To have the crowds questioning their integrity and the religious leaders questioning their authority. But when Jesus appears on the scene, the focus moves away from these cornered disciples.

[7:25] And the focus moves to Jesus. Because when the crowds see Jesus, we're told that they were greatly amazed and they ran to greet him. They were excited at the arrival of Jesus.

[7:38] But what we see is that Jesus doesn't greet the crowds. Doesn't speak to the disciples. Instead the first thing Jesus does is that he asks the scribes, What are you discussing with the disciples?

[7:53] And he says, What are you arguing about with them? Jesus wants to know the topic of the conversation. He wants to know what the controversy is all about. He wants to hear all the accusations that the scribes are now bringing against the disciples.

[8:10] But the scribes don't respond. Not because they have nothing to say. They have plenty to say against Jesus. But because onto the scene steps this fearful father. Who is bound up in the interests of his suffering son.

[8:24] That's what we see in verse 17. Someone from the crowd answered him. Teacher, I brought my son to you. For he has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down.

[8:35] And he foams and grinds his teeth. And becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out. And they were not able. And so it's not the scribes who make their accusation against the disciples.

[8:47] But this fearful father. And his accusation is that the disciples were unable to heal his suffering son. I spoke to your disciples that they should cast it out.

[8:59] But they could not. And for the disciples standing there listening to this father. It must have felt like they were being condemned for their inability to help.

[9:11] They must have felt useless and ineffective in the Lord's service. That they couldn't heal this demon possessed boy. Because as disciples of Jesus.

[9:22] They had been given the power and the authority to heal people. They had been given the power and authority to cast out demons. And they had travelled from place to place healing many people.

[9:34] The disciples had done many great works in the name of Jesus. And yet this occasion was going to be a humbling experience. Because they were being reminded of an important truth.

[9:45] Which we all need to remember. That without Jesus we can do nothing. And that's what Jesus says when the disciples ask him privately in verse 28.

[9:57] So when he had entered the house the disciples asked him privately. Why could we not cast it out? And he said to them this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.

[10:09] Which means that the disciples dependence upon Jesus was missing. Their commitment by prayer was absent. Their failure to cast everything upon the Lord had left them ineffective in the service of the Lord.

[10:24] Because they were going in their own strength. They were going in their own efforts. They were going by their own knowledge. And their gifts. And their past experience. And their self-confidence. But they were going without Jesus.

[10:37] And they were going without Jesus. And as if they went without Jesus they were just empty vessels. Without Jesus it was all in vain. Without Jesus they could do nothing.

[10:50] And you know my friend this ought to be a lesson to us. That we need Jesus. We need him. Whether we are on the mountaintop. Or whether we are in the valley.

[11:01] We need Jesus. We need him every day. And we should start our day with Jesus. By bringing everything to him in prayer.

[11:12] And casting every care and every concern that we have upon him. Why? Because he cares for us. And that's the wonder of this Jesus.

[11:22] He cares for us. He has a love for us. And a concern for us. That's beyond our comprehension. And he wants us to come with all our burdens.

[11:35] And all our sorrows. And all our worries. That weigh us down. That weigh us down every day. And cast them upon him. Cast them to him. Because it's when we bring everything to him in prayer.

[11:46] And we read his word. His word speaking to us. That sweet word. It's then that we see all the great and precious promises that are there for us.

[12:01] Promises of his presence when we're at our lowest. Promises of his grace to help in time of need. Promises of strength when we're at our weakest.

[12:13] Promises of his support and refuge in our times of trouble. Promises of his assurance in our worries or doubt. Promises of his comfort in the midst of sorrow.

[12:23] Promises of his peace that passes all understanding. My friend, without him, we can do nothing. But with him, the Bible says, all things are possible.

[12:39] And you know, if anyone in scripture knew the sufficiency of God's grace, it was the apostle Paul. Did he not write to the Philippians and tell them, just as he ended his letter, He told them, I'm able to get through anything.

[12:55] Anything that life throws me. I'm able to get through it just because Jesus is with me. He said, I have learned that in whatever situation I am in to be content, I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound.

[13:11] He knows the valley and he knows the mountaintop. And in every and any circumstance, he says, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

[13:24] He says, for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My friend, if you're struggling today, let this be your portion.

[13:37] That you know that without him, you can do nothing. But with him, all things are possible. And for this fearful father who was concerned about his suffering son, a precious son who had been suffering for many years, he had to learn a similar lesson to the disciples.

[14:00] Because this fearful father, he had the faith to believe that Jesus was able to heal his son. He had the faith to look for Jesus. He had the faith to bring his son to Jesus.

[14:12] But when he couldn't find Jesus, when Jesus wasn't there to hear his concern and deal with his burden, when Jesus was nowhere to be found, this fearful father turned to his disciples for help.

[14:27] When he couldn't find a supernatural Jesus, he turned to natural man for help. And for this fearful father, he learned that the miseries Satan has inflicted upon his son, they were too much for his disciples.

[14:45] Too much for the disciples of Jesus. And he too learned that with man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. And you know, that was true of the psalmist experience in Psalm 60 that we were singing earlier on.

[15:00] Where the psalmist confessed, vain is the help of man. Vain is the help of man. And there's a lesson for us there too. That putting our faith, our hope, our trust, in anything, or anyone, other than Jesus, it's vanity, it's useless.

[15:22] Because, everything else will fade away. All our material possessions, they have no lasting value. And it doesn't matter who they are, everyone will let you down.

[15:34] Whether it's your wife, or husband, or parents, or children, or Christians, or church elders, or me, your minister, will let you down. It doesn't matter if they are the holiest and godliest Christians in the world.

[15:50] They will let you down. Because even the best of men are only men at best. I can't promise you that those around you will never let you down.

[16:02] I can't promise you that I will never let you down. But there's one thing I can do. And that I can promise you that when you cast yourself upon this Jesus, he will never, ever let you down.

[16:17] He will never let you down. It doesn't matter how weak or how frail your faith is, as long as it's frail faith in a strong saviour. Because it's the object of your faith that matters.

[16:31] And the object of your faith, it has to be Jesus. Because if you are the object, or someone, or something else, if that is the object of your faith, your faith is worthless.

[16:46] Absolutely worthless. And that's what Jesus condemns here. He condemns a worthless faith. Which is what I'd like us to look at secondly. We've looked at a concerned faith, but secondly, a condemned faith.

[17:01] A condemned faith. Read again at verse 17. Someone from the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid.

[17:17] So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able. And he answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.

[17:28] They brought the boy to him, and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground, and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. You know, when we read these verses, we can't avoid the awful description, which is given of this demon-possessed boy.

[17:47] In fact, in comparison to the gospel accounts, Matthew and Luke, Mark, in comparison to them, Mark gives the most detailed description, of this boy's condition.

[18:02] But I believe the reason Mark gives to us such detail, as to how much this boy was suffering, is to show us that, the struggle this father had, is to point us to the father, because the description of this suffering son, and the extent of his suffering, it's portrayed to us, through the eyes of the father.

[18:23] It's this fearful father, who's relaying all this information, about his son, and everything he's seen, about his son. He says in verse 17, I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit, and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, he foams at the mouth, he gnashes his teeth, and he becomes rigid.

[18:41] And then in verse 22, he says that this evil spirit, it has thrown his son, both into the fire, and into the water, to try and destroy him. And with this detailed description, from a fearful father, Mark is highlighting to us, the difficulty this father had, with the concept of faith.

[19:01] Because he struggled to understand, his situation. And you know, when we look at his situation, it's not been easy for him. Here's a real man.

[19:13] Since childhood, his son has been, possessed by this demon. And this father, he probably never thought, that this would happen to him. He never saw this, coming into his own home, and to his own family, and into his own experience.

[19:29] He never thought, this would happen. He never planned, for his own child, to become ill. He didn't prepare, to be given this, unbearable burden. And it didn't matter, what help he sought, no one could help his son.

[19:44] No one knew, how to cure his son. No one knew, what this parent, was going through. He had no one. And because of his home situation, he probably couldn't work.

[19:57] He was broke. And he was broken. Because as the days, and years went on, his son's condition, was not only, destroying his son, it was also destroying him.

[20:10] He had tried everything. He had tried to cope, with the situation himself. He tried to keep, a brave face, for his son, and all those, who saw him. But when all human hope, was exhausted, to whom else, could he go, but to Jesus?

[20:26] to Jesus. In trying to do the best he could, for his own son, he brought him, to Jesus. Because despite his, frail faith, and even though he had difficulty, in believing in Jesus, and trusting, in him completely, this father, could see in Jesus, that he was a strong savior.

[20:46] Despite the fact, that his faith, was wavering, and he was doubting, and that he may have had, questions which, he knew couldn't be answered. Where he was maybe asking, well why did this happen?

[20:56] Why now? Why this way? Why me? Why my son? Why my family? Why could, why did God, allow this to happen to us? And yet this broken, and fearful father, comes to Jesus, because he sees in Jesus, something different.

[21:13] He sees in him, something glorious. He may not have been given, the mountaintop experience, of witnessing, the revealed glory of Jesus.

[21:24] He may not have had, the transfiguration, but through his veil of tears, this father was enabled, to see the wonder, and the beauty, of this Christ.

[21:36] Even though this, fearful father, couldn't recognize Jesus, he could recognize, who Jesus was. Even though he could see, the beauty of him. The wonder is, nobody else could.

[21:50] Which is why, Jesus condemns them. He condemns the other, by saying in verse 19, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?

[22:02] How long am I to bear with you? Jesus doesn't condemn the father, for his lack of faith. But he does condemn, the disciples, and the crowds, and the scribes, for their faithlessness.

[22:17] Because when we read, Matthew's account, Jesus explains the reason, why the disciples, couldn't heal the boy. Jesus simply says, it's because of your unbelief. It wasn't because of your lack of faith.

[22:30] It was because of the absence, of your faith. Which is why Jesus says, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?

[22:40] How long shall I bear with you? And there's frustration there. Jesus had been with the disciples, and the multitudes, and the scribes, for so long.

[22:52] And they still couldn't see, who Jesus is. Jesus, this father could see it. He could see the beauty, and the glory, found in Jesus. But they couldn't see it. And yet they had witnessed, all the miracles.

[23:04] They'd heard all the sermons. They'd listened to all the parables. They had followed Jesus, everywhere. They had, the greatest gospel privileges, given to them. And yet they still couldn't see, the wonder, and the beauty of this Christ.

[23:18] And Jesus condemns them, for their faithlessness. Doesn't condemn their lack of faith, he condemns the absence of their faith. The absence of their faith.

[23:34] And you know, as someone who sits here, week in, week out, you have been given the greatest privilege.

[23:46] you have been given the greatest gospel privileges. Because over many years, many, for some of you, many, many years, you have heard all about who Jesus is, and what Jesus does for sinners.

[24:05] You've heard about all the miracles of Jesus, the sermons of Jesus, the parables of Jesus, the people Jesus transforms. you've heard, you've heard, time and time again, this wonderful story, of God's redeeming grace, through the cross of Jesus Christ.

[24:21] You've heard much. You've been given much. You've witnessed much, through, through the lives of God's people. But the solemnity of it is, that the Bible says, that to whom much, has been given, much will be required of them, at the day of judgment.

[24:42] And yet, for all that you've been privileged enough, to receive, what strikes me, is that you don't seem to do anything with it. And it's not because of a lack of faith.

[24:55] It's because of an absence of faith. And Jesus is saying, faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you?

[25:07] Because that's the warning of scripture. It's what was said in Noah's day. God does not always strive with man. What happened in Noah's day?

[25:18] The warning of judgment was coming. And judgment came. And you know, God will not continue to put up with, our absence of faith, and our desire to go our own way, and do our own thing.

[25:31] My friend, God is long-suffering. But he is not all suffering. God's grace is boundless. But it's not endless. Because the day of grace, will come to an end.

[25:45] And our gospel opportunities, will cease. And they will cease, either if Jesus, comes again as king, or we go to him at death.

[25:56] Which means that you need to come to him, and see who this Jesus is, and cast your lot in with him. And you need to do it now.

[26:09] You need to do it now. Don't put it off any longer. I don't know how many times I've said it, but you know, I'll keep saying it, as long as I'm here.

[26:21] Now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time.

[26:31] Don't put it off. Come now. But I think there's also this. I believe that the reason why the disciples, the scribes, and the crowds, were all arguing together, when Jesus found them, it was because they were far more taken up, with the miraculous, and the extraordinary, and the supernatural, than simple faith in Jesus Christ.

[26:53] And that's what held them back. And many people are like that today, where they're more concerned with, and taken up with faith healing, or all the gimmicks that come with faith healing, and they're concerned with spiritual experiences, and visions, and drastic, and dramatic conversions, than simple faith in Jesus Christ.

[27:14] But that's what Jesus said in Matthew's account. That all that is required is simple faith. Assuredly, I say to you, he says, if you have faith as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for you.

[27:29] Faith as tiny as a mustard seed. It's small faith, it's weak faith, but it's simple faith. And as we said earlier, the size and the strength of the faith, is irrelevant.

[27:42] Because it's the object that matters. The object of that faith, that's important. And the object must be Jesus. If the object of our faith, isn't Jesus, then it'll be a condemned faith.

[27:56] It'll be a condemned faith. But what about this fearful father? What about his faith? Well, it seems that despite the weakness of his faith, he still confesses his faith.

[28:08] And that's what I'd like us to look at thirdly. We've considered a concerned faith, a condemned faith, but lastly, a confessed faith. A confessed faith. If you look at verse 21, Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him?

[28:25] And he said, from childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes.

[28:40] Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said, I believe. Help my unbelief. Now, before we come to look at the confession of the father's faith, I want to point out that I've purposely avoided focusing upon this demon-possessed boy.

[29:00] Not because I think it's irrelevant or that it seems too far-fetched for our 21st century minds of medicine and science to even try and consider it. But simply because I don't think that that's the emphasis of the passage.

[29:14] That's what I said earlier. That Mark wrote his gospel, not that we would be convinced that Jesus is able to do all these miracles. Mark wrote his gospel for the sole intent and purpose that we would be convinced that Jesus Christ is God's son and the savior of sinners.

[29:32] And yes, we could look in detail at his demon possession and the extent of it and what it is and what it's like and whether it's still present today. But the focus of the passage isn't upon this demon-possessed boy.

[29:45] The focus of the passage is upon the father's faith in Jesus and our need to have that same faith in Jesus. Because when this fearful father requested help from Jesus, he said, if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

[30:05] He said, if you can. Which means that when he asked Jesus for help, he was full of doubt. He was full of uncertainty. There was one thing he wasn't full of and that was faith.

[30:19] Because his faith was frail, his faith was small, and his faith was weak. But it was still faith. And he had the faith to believe that Jesus could help him and Jesus could have compassion upon his son.

[30:35] And you know, I love that word compassion. Where Jesus is described throughout Mark's gospel as one who moves with compassion. He moves with compassion.

[30:46] It's a beautiful phrase, isn't it? Jesus moves with compassion. He doesn't move with pity or with empathy or sympathy. He moves with compassion.

[30:59] And the word compassion, it describes the deepest love of Jesus. And his willingness to help those in need. And all this father needed for Jesus to help him was faith.

[31:12] Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for one who believes. Jesus simply states that the bridge between this fearful father and his all-sufficient help is faith.

[31:28] That's all it was. All you need to do, says Jesus, is believe in me. All you need to do is have faith in me. All you need to do is trust me. And how does the father respond?

[31:40] I believe. Help my unbelief. He openly confessed his faith. And he said that his faith was frail faith.

[31:51] But it was a strong savior. He confessed that he did believe. But at the same time, he also confessed that he had issues of doubt. He had issues of assurance of his faith.

[32:02] But as little and as weak as his faith may have been, this father can see that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And that he's the savior of sinners.

[32:13] That's why he cries out with tears. He's at the end of himself. He knows he's got nothing left. Nothing worth holding on to. And in that moment, he casts everything upon Jesus.

[32:27] And he says, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. My friend, listen to this.

[32:38] Listen to this. This father becomes a believer. He becomes a Christian. Not when he has a sufficient amount of faith.

[32:50] Not when he is free from all doubts. And all worries. And he has full assurance. No. He becomes a Christian when he is willing to risk everything on what little faith he has.

[33:06] He becomes a Christian when he's willing to cast his lot in with Jesus and lay hold of all the promises that have been held out to him.

[33:16] Because through saving faith, it's always aware of how small and how inadequate it is. genuine faith doesn't have to be big faith.

[33:29] It can be as small as the tiny mustard seed. Because, as we said, it's the object of faith that's important. Through faith, it has no confidence in self.

[33:40] Through saving faith, throws itself at the mercy and the compassion and the love of Jesus Christ. My friend, you don't have to be free from all doubts and worries and concerns and have full assurance to be a Christian.

[33:56] You just have to have faith in Jesus Christ to be a Christian. You just have to have faith in Jesus Christ to be a Christian.

[34:08] But what is faith in Jesus Christ? What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? Well, our Shorter Catechism gives a helpful answer to us.

[34:21] because it says that faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive and we rest upon him alone for salvation as he has offered to us in the gospel.

[34:37] Through saving faith receives Jesus, which means that we receive his word into our heart and say, this is for me.

[34:49] we receive the finished work of the cross and say, that was for me. We receive the promises of eternal life and say, they are all for me.

[35:02] This Jesus is for me. But in order to have saving faith, we not only need to receive Jesus into our heart, we also need to rest upon him.

[35:14] We need to rest upon him and no other. Because we can't receive Jesus until we, if we're still resting upon self.

[35:26] Now, I'm trying to imagine in my head, a child, I often do it with David, standing on a step and they let go and you're there to catch them.

[35:38] That's faith. In one sense, that is faith. It's letting go, resting upon, relying upon. We can't have saving faith in Jesus until we're resting upon him alone.

[35:52] If we're resting upon self, we can't have saving faith. We can't have saving faith when we're still going in our own strength and going our own way and doing our own thing because saving faith receives Jesus and rests upon him alone.

[36:10] It relies upon Jesus alone. Saving faith says, I am nothing but Christ is everything. It says, I am a sinner but Christ is my saviour.

[36:22] It says, I am weak but he is strong. I must decrease, he must increase because he is my all in all. But I'm sure that there are many people in here today who can echo the words of this father.

[36:40] Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. I have no doubt that some of you believe. No doubt at all. You believe in God.

[36:53] You believe in the Bible. You believe that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners. You believe that Jesus rose from the dead. You believe that he will one day come again and judge the one.

[37:05] Many of you, if not all of you, believe this. But the issue many of you have is that you only believe it in your head. You only believe it in your head.

[37:19] It's intellectual belief. It's childhood knowledge. It's what you were taught in Sunday school. It's what you know is right. But the issue you have is that you don't believe it in your heart.

[37:33] And that's not faith. Because if you did believe it in your heart, you would respond just like this father did. Through saving faith is not from the head.

[37:47] It's from the heart. A heart that is willing to receive and rest in Jesus Christ alone. Through saving faith is from a heart that is willing to say with a hymn lighter, nothing in my hands I bring.

[38:01] Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress. Helpless look to thee for grace. Foul I to the fountain fly.

[38:11] Wash me saviour or I die. My friend, in order to have genuine saving faith in Jesus, you must do what this father did.

[38:22] you must cry out to Jesus to save you. You must ask him to forgive you your sin and make you his. Which means that the only way to be saved is to pray.

[38:38] The only way to deal with the effects of sin in our lives is to pray. And that's what Jesus taught his disciples. Prayer is the key to saving faith.

[38:50] Because prayer is the outworking of receiving and resting in Jesus alone. Therefore, the only reason someone prays is because they see that without Jesus they can do nothing.

[39:03] But with Jesus all things are possible. And so, if you want to know if you have saving faith or not, do you pray? Do you pray?

[39:16] Because prayer is faith turned towards God. God. And both faith and prayer testify that you're not resting upon self but God alone.

[39:31] And that you're waiting and that you're trusting in God all his promises. Trusting that your sin is forgiven. Trusting that what he says is true. Therefore, do you pray?

[39:43] I'm not asking you if you say your prayers. I'm asking have you genuinely earnestly honestly prayed and asked Jesus to save you?

[39:56] Confessing that you are nothing and that he is everything. And if that's the case the Bible says you are saved.

[40:09] You are a Christian. you are one of the Lord's people. And yes it's as simple as that. It's as simple as that.

[40:21] Because the promise of the Bible is that without faith it's impossible to please God. For whoever comes to God must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

[40:35] So all I want to know today is I want to know whether whether you're on the mountaintop or in the valley.

[40:48] All I want to know is do you have faith in Jesus Christ alone? Do you have faith in Jesus Christ alone?

[41:00] My friend you see to it that you receive this Jesus and your heart and that you rest upon him alone for your salvation for time and for eternity because he has been freely offered to you in the gospel today.

[41:18] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord our God we give thanks to thee for the reminder of how simple salvation is and how often we put up so many barriers.

[41:33] We put in things that are so unnecessary. Help us Lord to see the beauty of trusting in Jesus, to receive him into our heart and to rest upon him alone for our salvation.

[41:48] O Lord bless thy word to us. Help us to see Jesus in it, to see that he is speaking to us, that he is speaking to us personally because he is a personal saviour, just like he was for that father, that he met him at his point of need and helped him in his hour of need.

[42:08] Lord, help us, we pray thee, and go before us throughout today. Watch over us in the week that lies ahead. If we are not here this evening, that we, O Lord, would know thy presence and thy goodness and thy mercy, following us throughout this week and all the days of our life.

[42:25] Go before us then and do us good. for Jesus sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing in Psalm 62, Psalm 62 in the Scottish Psalter, page 294, singing from verse 5 down to the verse marked 8.

[42:52] Psalm 62 from verse 5. My soul, wait thou with patience upon thy God alone. On him dependeth all my hope and expectation.

[43:03] He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is he. He only is my sure defence, I shall not be. In God my glory placed is, and my salvation sure.

[43:14] In God the rock is of my strength, my refuge most secure. Ye people place your confidence in him continually, before him pour ye out your heart.

[43:25] God is our refuge high. These verses of Psalm 62 will stand to sing to God's praise. my soul, wait thou with patience upon thy thought alone.

[43:47] On him dependeth all my hope and expectation.

[43:59] He only my salvation is, and my strong rock is he.

[44:15] He only is my sure defence, I shall not move with thee.

[44:30] In God my glory placid is, and my salvation action more.

[44:59] In justice Keep the pleasure confident in Him continually.

[45:14] Be for Him, for ye unto our Lord, O this our refuge, I.

[45:32] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.