Very early on in our ministry here in the south-eastern Columbus metropolitan area, I received a phoned request for an exorcism. A man in his late middle age was hospitalized for extremely strange behavior. A prayer chain or two had been engaged and he was being held up before the Lord by quite a number of praying Christians. Two of our deacon's were talking with him and the family. The man had been taken to an area hospital and whoever was in charge of diagnosis in his situation was either inexperienced or not thinking clearly. And so, the telephoned request for assistance in spiritual warfare. Now, I have read fairly widely and hold great stock in the counseling advice of Jay Adams. Thankfully, his writings kept us all from a public embarrassment. My first questions regarding the man's strange behavior was if the various glands had been tested or any comprehensive blood tests been taken. The answer was no. So I insisted that such be done. The next day, I received another phone call to come down again. Are you sure the proper tests have been done, I asked. What about the Thyroid gland? No, that one hadn't been tested. Thankfully, that was the culprit causing the man's overwrought condition. A proper medication plan was begun and he soon returned to some normalcy.

Now I tell this story, not to disown the possibility of demon possession, but to caution us all within the Christian community to be certain what we are up against! We know from Matthew 4: 24 that the people of Jesus' time could distinguish between "those who were demon possessed, epileptics, and paralytics."

What we see in this passage is that the disciples had gotten in over their heads in spiritual warfare. Here was a demon possession beyond their own abilities to deal with. In the last twenty-five years, I have met at least two people whom I believed were possessed, but in neither case was it possible to pursue the problem within a modern public institution. The phenomenon is still providentially somewhat rare here in Middle America. And as I look at this passage, a very important missing ingredient in the two cases I was familiar with, was someone with faith and love for the individual to pray and ask for their deliverance. There was and is also a general lack of spiritual discernment in that public situation as well!

Isn't that lack of discernment what Mark is attempting to display in this report? Look carefully at the situation. Then compare it with the coming down from the Mountain of Moses into the Israelite camp! In both cases believers in God professed their presence. Aaron the high priest, the family of Moses and the several tribes in the first instance. Here in the second, Jesus' men, the scribes and a large crowd as well.

Since the disciples were not as well grounded in the Scriptures as the Scribes, the sudden inability to cast out one demon strained their credibility. Their lack of spiritual power was noted and the object of their inability was brought before Jesus and as the events were playing out, the crowd began gathering in larger numbers.

Jesus' first words here indicate the first point that we are to take from this passage. "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." Immediately, the young man was healed by the driving out of the demon after further discussion with the young man's father. Later the disciples asked: "Why could we not cast it out?" The answer related not only to their lack of faith but to their lack of being in a prayer with the Father. Much "Prayer and fasting," is required of those who seek to do the Lord's will effectively!

Now certainly there is a profound difference between the disciples playing harmlessly with a demon and the frenzied orgastic dancing of the Israelites around the golden calf. However, just playing church is not sufficient for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom. One reason I do not like to do personal counseling is the great amount of time that must be devoted to each and every case. You really have to be prayed up to listen carefully and be granted discernment as to what is really going on. Then there is the usual problem that once you come down from the mountain (so to speak) - the person who says they want help are usually only playing with God in the matter.

Like the great majority of Christians - God is okay for talking to on Sundays and in emergencies, but a constant daily calling to prayer is beyond their immediate interests. Or sadly - in secular counseling - even beyond permissible discussion. Some people miss the real benefit of what prayer can accomplish. It takes so much out of me, many would complain - little realizing that prayer is more about putting the power of God into daily use.

The second point that we need to make from this passage is found in the words of the boy's father. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" At least, the father of the boy is more honest than everyone else around him. He realizes his lack of faith and in his admission, the Lord blesses. Not because of his faith but through it. Now, I need to be careful here, faith is never the cause for reward, neither is faith a cause of salvation, but it is through faith that the Lord encourages us and shows us His great power. Power, that like the situation before us - is beyond human ability to accomplish.

George Washington reported years after the revolution - that seven times, he was fairly beaten by British generals in battle and had the Lord not provided a specific way of escape - the army and the country could easily have been lost. George Washington learned to be a humble general because he spent enough time in prayer to see the hand of the Almighty improve on his own poor abilities.

I hope you have a sense of what God can do here at Christ Covenant, All of a sudden, the Lord is doing things in our midst that give us great encouragement. Things have happened that we have wanted to see for most of a decade. Things have happened that are beyond the ability of us to accomplish, because we know that our plans for this building have twice been dashed with the cold water of expense. "Except the Lord build the house, those who labor, shall labor in vane", this is our experience - as well as our creed. We have not changed our attitudes, neither our policies nor our habits in the last six months - but what a tremendous difference we have seen in our own midst! Let us be certain to credit the Lord for bringing us thus far.

In the same way should we see the early work of the Church and the later Reformation and even the building up of this nation - only in the providential work of our Father in heaven. May we, like the man who brought his son see an uplifting and an increase in our faith by the sovereign administration of the Lord's power and grace!

And those of you who have come because of the Lord's grace and sending you where you are needed - take comfort that you are working within God's providential plan. It was J.R.R. Tolkien that put this phenomenon in a modern perspective. At the end of his classic children's tale The Hobbit, Gandalf and Bilbo had a discussion: "Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!' said Bilbo.

"Of course!" said Gandalf. "And why should not they prove true? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!"

This idea leads us to our last point this morning - the sovereign plan and purpose of our Father God. We see in the last three verses of our text that Jesus again tells the disciples what must occur. "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."

In the context of this passage, Harry Uprichard describes the contrast between "the power of Christ on the mountain with the powerlessness of the disciples on the plain. But Mark is emphasizing the power of the resurrection and the disciples' lack of understanding of his own particular purpose. Jesus is the Son of Man and he will rise the third day. They do 'believe' in Jesus, just as the boy's father 'believed' in his son's healing, but their remaining unbelief has to be dislodged so that they can both understand and accept the necessity of the death and resurrection of Jesus, as God's way of inaugurating his kingdom. Their faith needed help to see as its true object and foundation the death and resurrection of Jesus. often we need that help to."

The disciples were to afraid to ask about what they did not understand. We at least have a fuller knowledge than they at this point in the narrative history of the revelation of Jesus Christ. We see in our text today that the disciples were powerless without prayer and content in their ignorance. I have been about eight times through the whole Bible and double that perhaps through the New Testament. But this is the first time that I have noticed how many times Jesus told the disciples what must happen. The year and a half we spent in Isaiah some time ago, was also an eye opener to the prophecies that concerned Jesus. I was once criticized because of the Christ references that I find throughout the psalms.

Yet, who can remain ignorant of what God intended to do, having read the scriptures carefully? We can, thus it is our continued calling to search the scriptures diligently to find the truth and knowledge that the Lord God would have us know. In addition let us take to heart the comment of Jesus - that much prayer should be invested in the difficult task of casting out the demons of our time as well as holding up the ongoing work of the kingdom. May the Lord give us this desire and encourage and assist us in working our His sovereign will. Amen.