Mark 9:24

if you can, all things are possible. for one who believes.

See, the problem in this man's request was the three words, if you can. He was not doubting Jesus's willingness, but his ability, his power. He doubted whether Jesus was able to help him. And on one level, we can sympathize with his unbelief. We're told that the spirit had possessed the boy from childhood. So this was something that the father had dealt with for many years, We're also told that the spirit would often try to cast the sun into fire or into water to kill him. And so this father certainly lived in constant fear and worry. Surely he had sought out every possible way to try to help his son. Surely he had tried everything he could only for nothing to work. Now you can understand just how hopeless and just how helpless he must have felt. And now having heard all about Jesus and his disciples, how they had healed the sick and cast out spirits, he brought his son to them, only to find that even they could not help his poor son. See, this man's hope had been struck down time and time again, to the point where he had trouble believing that anyone could heal his son. He didn't believe in himself, for he had surely tried everything possible in his power to heal his son and failed. He didn't believe in the disciples either, for they too had tried and failed. Yet the man applied this same unbelief to Jesus when he approached him. He wasn't talking to the disciples anymore, but to Jesus Christ himself, to God incarnate. Yet it's as if he expected Jesus' attempt really wouldn't be any more effective than the others. And Jesus does not comply with this man's initial lack of faith. He repeats the man's words back to him, if you can, almost as a rebuke. Jesus' words here are sharp, but they're merciful. It's really a wake-up call to the man. Jesus is exposing his unbelief and correcting it. Because the issue did not lie in Jesus' power to heal the boy, but in the man's unbelief. His unbelief was the obstacle, the barrier. God requires that we trust him and appeal to him in sincere faith. And so Jesus's rebuke here is really for this man's gain, that he might exercise a sincere faith and truly trust him. It was for the good of this man that Jesus called him out of his unbelief. And we see that he succeeds in doing so because then the man responds immediately by declaring his belief. His faith is renewed. He says boldly to Jesus, I believe. And at the end of the day, that is sincere faith. The sincere faith that Jesus requires is faith in Him. And so, in saying, I believe, the man was expressing his faith in the person of Christ. And because Christ is all-powerful, sincere faith acknowledges then that He can do anything. Sincere faith does not put limits on God. It does not treat problems as bigger than Him. It does not act as if certain things are too difficult for him. And it does not say to him, if you can. I know it trusts that he loves us and has our good at heart and that he will do everything that he says. So brothers and sisters, let us be marked by a sincere faith, knowing that is what Jesus requires of us. And as we consider this man's faith, we see that it was indeed sincere. But at the same time, we also recognize that his faith was far from perfect. And that brings us to our second point. Sincere faith is mixed with unbelief. Sincere faith is mixed with unbelief. It's in the very declaration this father makes. I believe, help my unbelief. In the same breath, he both declares his faith and confesses his unbelief. Perhaps we might ask, how is this possible? How is this not a contradiction? Well, it's because even sincere faith always has some degree of unbelief. True faith is always battling real doubt. We see this reality in the man. His faith led him to seek Jesus out in the first place and ask him to heal his son, but the unbelief in his heart revealed itself when he doubted Jesus' power to heal. We see this reality in Peter, when he walked on the water to Jesus by faith, only to start sinking when he saw the wind and became afraid. We see this reality in John the Baptist, who so boldly declared,

behold, the Lamb of God,

only to later doubt.

Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?

And how we see this reality in ourselves. We do trust God and his word, but when trials come, oh how we start to doubt his promises. We look at the cross and we see God's love for us, but when tragedy strikes, we question if he truly loves us, if he truly cares for us, whether he really is working all things for our good. All too often, we know the wrestling that takes place inside our hearts between belief and unbelief. So how we can all relate to what this father says. I believe, help my unbelief. Yet even his confession of unbelief is really an expression of belief. It's as if he's saying, Lord, I do believe, but I know that I do not believe as I should. So please help my unbelief. Please help me to believe more. In other words, the prayer of faith is a prayer for faith. It is those who go to God and pray, help me to believe, help me to trust you, who are truly believing Him in the first place. Because those who have sincere faith see their unbelief and are grieved by it. They acknowledge that their faith is weak and tainted by unbelief. But let us be comforted that even though our faith may be weak, our Savior is not. Yes, Jesus does require us to have a sincere faith, but that does not mean a perfect faith. This man's faith was certainly far from perfect, but even so, Jesus honored it. He healed his son by casting the unclean spirit out, because ultimately, it's not so much dependent on how strong our faith itself is, but on how strong the object of our faith is. Imagine someone walking out on a pond that's frozen over with ice. They might have the strongest faith in this ice to hold them up, but if the ice in reality is weak and thin, it doesn't matter. It doesn't make a difference. They'll still walk through and fall through. But let's say the ice is thick and strong, even though the person's confidence in it is weak. He's full of fear and doubt. He's unsure if the ice will hold him up. But he takes one slow step, and then another. And step by step, he walks across the ice. Because even though his faith is weak, he walks across because the ice holds him up. And so it is with us. Our faith may be weak, but Christ is strong. We may be faithless, but he remains faithful. Yet at the same time, that does not give us any excuse for unbelief. We certainly should trust God and should desire to trust him. To do so is only right and rational. And so the fact that God honors our faith, even when it is mixed with unbelief, should not by any means cause us to persist in unbelief or remain in it. If anything, it should lead us to strive against our unbelief and repent of it. And that brings us to our third point. Unbelief must be helped by Jesus. Unbelief must be helped by Jesus. We must, first of all, recognize unbelief for what it really is, and that is a great sin against God. It is a personal offense against God to disbelieve Him. God has never broken a promise that we should distrust him, he has never lied once that we should doubt him. But unbelief is not just a sin in and of itself, but it's a dangerous one too. It hardens our hearts against God, it chokes our faith, it poisons our joy, it robs our assurance, and it's the root of many other sins too. Think of how unbelief drives us into anxiety or worry or envy when we doubt our Heavenly Father's provision. Or think about how unbelief leads us into disobedience because we doubt that what God has commanded for us is good and that what he has forbidden is harmful. So we must not entertain unbelief and allow it to linger. We must see it rightly as wrong in the sight of God. We must not seek to justify it or excuse it, but confess and repent of it instead. And I think the man understood that. He saw the unbelief in his heart, and he knew what a great sin it was. The verse says that he immediately cried out. He wasted no time. He was quick to confess his unbelief. He pleaded for help right away. Friend, will you do the same? Will you bring your unbelief and doubt and come to Christ as this man did and confess in your heart, I believe, help my unbelief? And let us also learn something else from this man's example. When he had unbelief in Jesus, who did he ask for help? Well, it was none other than Jesus himself. We must take even our unbelief in Jesus to Jesus because He can help us and He alone. We must recognize that we cannot help ourselves. We cannot try to muster up more faith on our own. We cannot strengthen our faith by looking inward. What we must do is look to Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. We must go to Him and cast ourselves at His feet and plead with Him, help my unbelief. And as we do so, as we go to Christ, know that he is compassionate. He is not a harsh master, but a loving and gentle savior and friend. He is compassionate, merciful, tender, kind. Earlier in this story, when the man brought his son to Jesus for help, Jesus asked him an interesting question. In verse 21, he asked him,

how long has this been happening to him?

And I don't think he was asking this because he didn't know the answer, or as if he somehow needed to know how long the symptoms had been going on for in order to know what approach to try. No, I think he asked out of compassion. He wanted to hear the man express himself and tell him and bring his pain to him. And in the same way, Jesus desires to hear our prayers. He desires that we should bring our needs to him and make them known to him for him to help us. And later, even when the man openly confessed his unbelief before him, Jesus did not condemn him, but he even granted his requests. He healed his poor son, and in doing so, he helped the man's unbelief. So when you face unbelief, don't hide from Christ, don't run from him, Instead, bring it to him for pardon, ask him to drive it out, and remember that Christ is compassionate. As Isaiah says,

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench.

So even when we struggle with unbelief, may we draw near to Jesus and ask him for help. May we confidently say, as the hymn does,

Begone unbelief, my Savior is near, and for my relief will surely appear.

Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of faith. We confess with this man that we do believe, but that we need help. So we ask that you would help our unbelief. In Jesus' name, Amen.