Mark 9:14-29
Helping Broken People
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had set His face like a flint to go to
Jerusalem. On the way back to Capernaum, He stopped on a high
mountain with His disciples where He was transfigured. We don’t know
the mountain so we refer to it as the Mount of Transfiguration. Our
text tonight starts with Jesus coming down the mountain.
Mark 9:14 And when he came to his disciples, he
saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes
questioning with them.
15 And straightway all the people, when they
beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to
him saluted him.
16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye
with them?
As soon as Jesus came down, He was met with problems—not His own, but
of others. There are three sets of problems. Let’s look at the problem
and the power that fixed them.
I. \\#Mark 9:17-22\\ The boy’s problem
Mark 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and
said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son,
which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth
him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth,
and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples
that they should cast him out; and they could
not.
19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless
generation, how long shall I be with you? how
long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20 And they brought him unto him: and when he
saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he
fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago
since this came unto him? And he said, Of a
child.
22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire,
and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou
canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and
help us.
A. The boy was demon possessed.
1. A demon had taken up residence with him.
2. Some may doubt the reality of demons today; but this boy
did not.
B. In order to comprehend the power of this miracle, we must see
the torment of this child!
1. \\#17\\ "dumb" - He couldn’t speak.
a. \\#25\\ adds that he was deaf as well.
b. The Bible makes it clear that this was not the
physical problem of the child.
c. This was the result of the demon living inside of the
child.
2. \\#18\\ "he taketh him"
a. The father likewise knew this attack was demonic.
b. The father said "HE," referring to the demon.
c. This demon would take control of the boy’s body and
actions whenever it desired, doing violent things
with him.
3. "teareth him"
a. The word seems to mean some kind of violent
convulsions.
b. At the least some kind of violent act was being
committed against the lad so that if someone did not
watch, the child could die.
c. \\#Mark 9:22\\ makes it clear that killing the child
was the demon’s purpose.
4. foameth
5. gnasheth his teeth
6. pineth away - The boy was not eating but was wasting away.
7. throws him in the water or fire \\#22\\
C. This child was being tormented by Satan and his demons.
1. Sadly, this is not the only child being tormented by Satan!
2. While I have no expertise on demonism, I see six symptoms
from the Bible and in our society that scream out
demonism.
a. rebellion
b. sickness
c. sex
d. drugs
e. violence
f. suicide
3. Please understand that I am not saying anyone with these
problems are demon possessed, but I am saying the devil
and his demons are behind a lot more than we care to
admit.
4. Somewhere the line between behavior problems and demonism
gets very thin, and I don’t know where it ceases to be
one and becomes the other.
5. In fact, I believe some behavior problems can become an
invitation to the demons to possess you.
D. That really should not surprise us since our children are
exposed to Satan more now than since the Dark Ages and
perhaps since Christ died on the cross, created the church,
and empowered it to beat Satan and his forces into the cracks
and crevices they have been hiding in since.
1. Our entertainment is Satanic: books, magazines, music,
movies, video games, and the internet are filled with
violence, anti-God themes, gore, and demonism like has
never been available before.
2. They can listen to it, watch it and listen to, and even
interact and participate with it all from the comfort of
their bedroom.
3. I am amazed at how many temples, steeples, shrines, and
churches are built to worship false gods, some of them
the ancient deities of the past!
a. Horoscopes, Ouija boards, Wicca, false gods, idol
worship, and out-in-out worship of Satan are all
around us today.
b. We are taught to be tolerant of any and every wicked
and demonic religion that exists—even if the basic
tenants of that religion are publicly espoused to
butcher, maim, and destroy those who will not follow
it.
E. The sad and strange truth here is that people still laugh at
preachers who preach that this power will and is destroying
both its practitioners and the nations that allow it.
1. They do not even see that they are living the destruction
we have preached would come to pass.
2. Friend, it is not going to happen. It has happened.
F. What can help the children of the world who are tormented by
Satan?
1. We must GET THEM TO JESUS!
Mark 9:25 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.
26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and
came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch
that many said, He is dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted
him up; and he arose.
2. We are the disciples in this story.
a. People all around are looking for help but in all the
wrong places.
b. We, the disciples, must be pointing, preaching, and
pulling them to the only One who can help—Jesus.
3. The cure for the violent, the drug and alcohol addicts,
the porn addicts, the pleasure seekers, the perverted,
and the tormented is Jesus Christ!
II. \\#Mark 9:22-24\\ The Father’s Problem
Mark 9:22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the
fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if
thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us,
and help us.
23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth.
24 And straightway the father of the child cried
out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help
thou mine unbelief.
A. The father’s problem was that he had a child that we being
tormented by the devil.
B. The only one who hurts more than the tormented ones are the
ones who love the tormented ones.
1. Imagine what this father had endured.
a. Here was a father who was afraid to go to sleep at
night for fear of what his son might do himself or
another while he was asleep.
b. Here was a father who could not work during the day
wondering what might be happening to his son.
c. Here was a father who had to stay on guard 24/7 just
to keep his son alive.
d. For every scar that child had on his body, the father
bore the guilt of not watching him closely enough.
2. I have seen the high toil loving the tormented can take
on the lives of those who love them.
a. And most often, in the end, after all the tears, all
the prayers, all the midnight watches, and all the
sacrifices, they still lose because the only thing
will help is getting them to Jesus!
b. That tormented child most often continues to hurt
themselves and others while the guilt and shame just
keeps growing inside the ones who love them.
c. And it is not just the parents.
(1) It is everyone associate with the child.
(2) In our society today, that includes a large
number of grandparents, aunts, uncles,
ministers, police, rescue workers, social
workers, and the list goes on
C. How do you help fathers, mothers, grandparents, and the array
of people that are having to deal with demon influenced and
devil possessed people?
1. Get them to Jesus!
a. Here is a case when what is good for the goose is good
for the gander.
b. Both the afflicted and the family of the afflicted need
Jesus.
c. No human being, no matter how motivated by love, can
defeat or fend off a demon.
d. Spiritual power must be defeated by spiritual power
and there are only two powers.
(1) There is Satan the afflicter.
(2) There is Jesus the Healer, Helper, and Comforter.
2. Jesus has a unique way of comforting hurting people.
a. He cures them.
b. No one who comes to Jesus, surrendering all, will
leave disappointed.
D. What happens when we can’t get them to Jesus? What then?
1. If they won’t come to Him, they cannot be helped.
2. Remember they have a will and are free to exercise it.
3. But you keep going!
a. Keep pointing, preaching, and pulling.
b. Keep praying.
c. Keep going until death separates you.
d. For two reasons:
(1) Jesus is the only One that can help them.
(2) At least they will understand one day that
Someone really loved them.
III. \\#Mark 9:28-29\\ The Disciples’ Problem
A. The disciples recognized they had a problem - no power!
Mark 9;28 And when he was come into the house,
his disciples asked him privately, Why could not
we cast him out?
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come
forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
1. They knew this was not the way they were supposed to be.
2. The disciples of Christ are supposed to have power!
3. At least they had the good sense to go ask Jesus why they
did not.
a. That puts them head and shoulders above some of us.
b. Some who are saved today do not even know that
Christians are supposed to have God’s power.
c. And some who do never get around to asking why we
don’t.
B. Jesus saw the disciples problem, too.
1. \\#19\\ He rebuked them.
Mark 9:19 …O faithless generation, how long
shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
you?
a. Jesus was not just calling out the crowd.
b. He was also calling out His disciples.
c. Faithless - having no faith!
2. What an awful condemnation!
2. Why the rebuke?
C. \\#29\\ You might notice that more is required to be the
helper in God’s kingdom than to be helped.
Mark 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can
come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
1. All Jesus said to the father was "BELIEVE."
2. The father and the son could be helped by faith,
3. However, to the disciples, who did not have a sickness but
just wanted, Jesus gave two commands.
a. Much fasting
b. Much prayer
4. Fasting is to refuse this world’s necessities for God’s
necessities.
a. The world offers bread for sandwiches. God offers the
Bread of Life.
b. The world offers security in riches. God offers
security in Christ.
c. The world offers satisfaction in pleasure. God offers
satisfaction in God’s presence.
d. The world offers the flesh all it wants. God offers
to us the Holy Spirit and what He craves.
e. Fasting is telling the flesh who is boss and then
showing it.
5. Praying is to set yourself in earnest fellowship and
communion with God.
a. It is more than just asking for something and then
walking away.
b. It is developing an intimate, personal, permanent
fellowship with God.
(1) Don’t expect to flatter God with a 15 minute
prayer or even a few days or weeks of holiness.
(2) God will not fall for it.
(3) God sees the outcome from the beginning and
unless we are going to give it all, He will not
hearken unto you.
Folks, the world has had problems since man sinned. We are Christ’s
disciples. We are supposed to be part of the solution. How? By
getting those who are hurting to Jesus and by making ourselves
vessels through which His power may flow. Will you be one of those
vessels.
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