I. Introduction
Have you ever had what might be called “a mountaintop experience” with God? He has done something wonderful in your life, and as a result, all doubt and fear flees and your faith just soars. All is right with the world and you’re convinced God can do anything.

But we’re still in the flesh and those mountaintop experiences are few and far between. Sooner or later we come down from that sunlit peak and we find ourselves in a dark val-ley. The warm glow of the faith we basked in on the mountain becomes a cold and thick cloud of misgivings and questioning.

And in the process our unshakeable belief begins to fade away and we slide into unbelief. We still believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We still trust Him to save our eternal souls. We’re still Christians. But the joy of our saving faith ebbs away and we find ourselves plunging into doubt and fear. Why? What’s wrong with us?

It’s been said that our struggle with unbelief and doubt is due to the ever present contrast between what we know in our hearts to be true and what we perceive with our senses to be true. There are the facts that we know and the feelings that we experience. And they are always in tension. They are always pulling against each other.

Here is an example. Many people are “white-knuckle flyers.” They know they are safe. They just don’t feel like it. The tension between facts and feelings pulls them in two directions. They have faith in the well-known principles and physics of flight, but they question their safety. With regard to flying, you could call them “believing unbelievers.”

This morning’s passage in Luke exposes this very real problem as it existed in Jesus’ own disciples. With the obvious exception of Judas, who was never truly saved, all of them were believers struggling with unbelief. They had saving faith but their doubts and fears sapped them of their strength, their vitality, and hindered their spiritual power.

Does that sound like you? Do you wrestle with knowing you have saving faith in Christ, but sometimes wonder if everything He says is true? In other words, is your faith weak? Are you like that frightened father in Mark’s gospel who cried out to Jesus, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” We’ll talk about that very thing as we look into Luke 9:37-45.

What is faith? How would you define faith if you were asked to do so by an unbeliever? Here’s what faith is not. It is not believing without proof. It is not believing regardless of what the evidence may seem to suggest. The world may define faith that way but you and I should not. Here is what saving faith is. Saving faith is total and complete trust in the God of the Bible as He has revealed Himself in His creation, His written Word, and His Son, Jesus Christ. (repeat)
Saving faith has three elementary components.
• The first is intellectual. You know the facts. You recognize and accept what God says. Such recognition and acceptance are necessary in order to be saved, but by themselves, neither recognition nor acceptance has the power to save.
• The second component of saving faith is emotional assent. In this you are convic-ted of your need. Such conviction is necessary in order to be saved, but by itself it has no power to save either.
• The third component of saving faith is called volitional. In this you consciously and deliberately act on what you recognize and accept as fact. You act on your conviction and you receive Christ. That is what has the power to save a soul.

Listen to theologian Lewis Berkhof from his book, “Systematic Theology.”
“(Saving faith) is not merely a matter of intellect, nor of the intellect and the emotions combined; it is also a matter of the will, determining the direction of the soul…this third element consists in a personal trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, including the surrender of the soul as guilty and defiled to Christ, and a reception and appropriation of Christ as the source of pardon and spiritual life.”

Saving faith leads to obedience. The fact is that you cannot claim Jesus as Lord of your life if you do not believe what He says and obey Him. In this morning’s passage the dis-ciples are having a hard time believing what Jesus has been saying. Therefore, they can’t understand Him, and since they can’t understand Him, they aren’t obeying Him.

Isn’t that our problem too? Don’t we embrace the gospel but struggle with believing all God has said because we don’t perceive it? I think the problem is that we rely too much on our senses for understanding. But our natural human senses are unable to comprehend how God can make us righteous by the blood of Christ. Our natural human senses don’t perceive Jesus actually atoning for our sins. And so, if we rely on human senses and human perceptions, our faith falters and we accomplish little for God and His glory.

If that isn’t bad enough we’re under constant assault by the weaknesses of our own flesh, the pleasures and philosophies of the world, and the devil. This is why we need to be continually feeding on God’s Word. It’s why the preaching and teaching of the Bible is so critical in the world we live in today. And it’s why our children and young people so desperately need to be exposed to, taught from, and internalize God’s Word.
Romans 10:17
17 …faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

But are we listening? We know that faith saves and justifies the lost.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of your-selves, it is the gift of God…

We get that. But we sometimes forget that faith also sanctifies us (make holy) in this life.
Galatians 2:20
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”

When we are glorified and stand in the Lord’s presence, we will see Him face to face. Only then will our faith become sight. In the meantime, the lost world thinks that what you and I have is “blind faith.” But even our sometimes weak faith isn’t blind at all. It sees far more clearly than do the lost, those who are spiritually blind and have no hope.
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II. Review
How did we get to this point in Luke’s gospel? Or more precisely, how did the disciples arrive at the point at which they now find themselves in Luke 9:37? For the last year or so they’ve seen Jesus say and do things no one has ever said or done. And just the day before, Peter, John and James have been given a glimpse of Jesus’ eternal glory.

What more could anyone need? On the Mount of Transfiguration they saw God’s glory. But they saw more than that. Moses and Elijah were with the Lord, and in them the disci-ples saw their own future glory as well. It truly was a mountaintop experience.

Wouldn’t you think that experience would last? Wouldn’t you think that experience would end all doubt and fear? Wouldn’t you think that after witnessing Jesus’ transfigu-ration the disciples’ faith would be so strong that Satan himself couldn’t shake it? If your answer is, “Yes,” you’d be wrong. And that takes us to this morning’s text in Luke.
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III. Text
*Luke 9:37-45 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
37 And it came about on the next day, that when they had come down from the mountain (of transfiguration), a great multitude met (Jesus).
38 And behold, a man from the multitude shouted out, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,
39 and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth, and as it mauls him, it scarcely leaves him.
40 “And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
41 And Jesus answered and said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you, and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 And while he was still approaching, the demon dashed him to the ground, and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that (Jesus) was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

Peter, John, and James have just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration. They have seen eternal life before their very eyes. But now they find themselves back in this evil world, this valley of death, if you will. And the contrast between the two is almost beyond description. They’ve gone from the presence Christ’s glory and beauty to the presence of Satan’s evil and depravity. They had great faith on the mountain, but now that faith is weakening. Their natural senses are assaulted by this world’s pain and suf-fering, and as a result, they forget what they know and their fears and doubts reappear.
*Luke 9:37-39
37 And it came about on the next day, that when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met (Jesus).
38 And behold, a man from the multitude shouted out, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,
39 and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth, and as it mauls him, it scarcely leaves him.

By this time in our Lord’s ministry He is continually besieged by multitudes of people who want a favor, a blessing, a sign, or some kind of a miracle from Him. This man who pushes through the crowds is no exception. His only son is possessed by a demon, and he wants Jesus to cast it out of the boy. Luke says the man calls Jesus, “Rabbi,” meaning “Teacher,” but Matthew’s account (17:15) of this incident says he calls Jesus, “Lord.”

Using this title indicates that the man believes Jesus has power over the demons. In v. 39 Luke speaks of convulsions and foaming at the mouth. In Mark’s gospel he adds that the demon, “…dashes him to the ground…and grinds his teeth, and (he) stiffens out (Mark 9:18).” Beyond all of that Matthew and Mark tell us that the demon has left the boy deaf and mute, and repeatedly throws him into wells and open fires.

This demonic activity is manifesting itself in epileptic seizures. In this day and age we know that epilepsy is no more “demonic” than any other disease, but this demon was using the boy’s seizures to torment him and his father.

When v. 39 says the demon “…mauls him…” it uses the Greek word “suntribō,” which means that the boy is literally being crushed, shattered, and broken in pieces. Mark says that all of this has been going on since the boy’s childhood (Mark 9:21). The picture is one of extreme violence and pure evil. This is what greets Jesus, Peter, John, and James upon their descent from the Mount of Transfiguration. It is quite a contrast, isn’t it?
It isn’t hard to see why strong faith can weaken in the face of such an onslaught of pain, sadness, fear, and deep spiritual darkness.
*Luke 9:40-42
40 “And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
41 And Jesus answered and said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you, and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 And while he was still approaching, the demon dashed him to the ground, and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

In order to get the full picture here we need to read a little bit into the text. Remember the disciples to whom this man brought his son were the nine left behind when Jesus took Peter, John, and James to the mountaintop. Those three aren’t the ones being spoken of in v. 40. It is Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), Jude, and Judas Iscariot who were unable to cast out the demon.

Apparently this father had come looking for Jesus, but when He was not there, the father assumed that the Lord’s disciples could help him. That was a reasonable assumption on his part, given the fact that the Twelve had been healing and casting out demons earlier in Luke 9. Jesus had given them the power to do just that when He sent them out to preach the gospel. But what happened? Where was their ability to heal the sick and cast out demons now? They didn’t lack the power. They lacked the faith. Luke doesn’t tell us that. But later on both Mark and Matthew will.

In v. 41 The Lord rebukes them. But this rebuke isn’t directed solely at the nine disciples who couldn’t help the demon-possessed boy. It isn’t prompted by this specific issue at all. Jesus’ rebuke is aimed at the entire nation of Israel, the whole generation that is alive when they are visited by their Messiah. So Peter, John, and James can’t escape it either.

Jesus is both saddened and angered by Israel’s refusal to receive Him and His truth. While He’s here on earth He calls them, “…a brood of vipers (Matthew 12:34),” “…an evil and adulterous generation (Matthew 12:39),” “…a sinful generation (Mark 8:38),” and, “…a wicked generation (Luke 11:29).” They’re acting just like the generation Moses led out of Egypt and called, “…a perverse and crooked generation (Deuteronomy 32:5).”

But why are the disciples among those on the receiving end of this rebuke? Don’t they have saving faith? Isn’t Jesus’ rebuke aimed at those who do not? Yes, it is. But there is one sense in which the disciples are still very much like the lost. Their faith is perverse and crooked in the sense that they aren’t believing everything Jesus is saying to them.

They aren’t scoffing at it or ridiculing it like the lost so often do. But they have let their fears and doubts rob them of the faith that can move mountains. In v. 41 Jesus’ question, “…how long shall I put up with you?” reflects His disappointment in them.
Since the disciples can’t do what He has empowered them to do, Jesus has the father bring the boy to Him. In v. 42, in a final explosion of hatred and fury, the demon throws the boy to the ground and causes him to have yet another convulsion. Now the boy’s father comes directly to Jesus and pleads for His help.

While we are here in the middle of Luke 9:42, I want us to take just a moment and look at Mark 9. It’s there that Mark reveals some of the details that Luke does not.
*Mark 9:22b-24
22b “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

Look at v. 23. Jesus reiterates what He has said again and again. A great faith, a strong and unwavering faith, can accomplish anything. The question for us this morning is this: Do we really believe that? But it’s the next verse that speaks so strongly to me, that is so convicting. This father believes in Jesus, but he freely admits that his faith is weak. And it’s apparent that he’s sincere in his desire to increase his faith in God. Jesus knows the man’s heart, and hasn’t He said that with faith all things are possible?
*Mark 9:25-27
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.”
26 And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.

Thus ends the narrative of this demon-possessed boy and his faithful father. But, what about the disciples? Doesn’t Jesus need to deal with them? Later that day, He does.

*Mark 9:28-29
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

There’s the first lesson for both the disciples and for us. Do you want your faith to grow? Pray! Do you want to accomplish great things for God? Pray! Do you want to see God act in your life in ways that will amaze you and glorify Him? Pray! Could Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question, “Why couldn’t we do it?” be any simpler or clearer than that?

Do we want God to work in our individual lives and here in LBC? Pray! Without prayer we simply cannot expect to strengthen and grow our faith.
At the conclusion of Matthew’s account of the father with the demon-possessed boy he gives us the second reason why the disciples couldn’t cast out the evil spirit.
Matthew 17:19b-20
19b “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 And (Jesus) said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this moun-tain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”

When the disciples faced off against that demon they did so with doubt and fear instead of great faith. So Jesus’ point is this: Of course they couldn’t cast it out. They all had saving faith (except for Judas), but as is so often the case with us, it was polluted by fears and doubts. The disciples acted, or failed to act, based on what they perceived with their human senses as opposed to what Jesus had said. Therefore, when trouble, strife, loss, calamity, or evil came upon them, they were simply unable to cope with it. (back to Luke 9)
*Luke 9:43-45
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that (Jesus) was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

While Matthew and Mark tell us of the disciples’ weakness, Luke tells us of God’s great-ness. What a contrast it is! Unless you and I see both things clearly, the overall teaching of this passage will be minimized or altogether missed. I think this is an example of why there are four gospels. When we take the time to study them alongside each other we can easily see different aspects of the same truth or event. In this case Matthew’s and Mark’s conclusion is that even good men are weak, but Luke’s conclusion is that God is great.

The word translated “marveling” in v. 43 means that the crowds were astonished because they were seeing things that were beyond any human or earthly explanation. Because of this Jesus again drives home the truth regarding His immediate future.

Remember that all of their lives the disciples have been taught that the Messiah would coming to deliver Israel and save her from military and political tyranny. Now they’re finally coming to believe that Jesus truly is the Messiah. But what they don’t understand is that Israel’s national deliverance and salvation would happen at His Second Coming, not His first. So it is inevitable. Soon He will be, “…delivered into the hands of men
(v. 44).” Jesus is saying to them, “Listen and pay close attention. I am going to die. I will not always be here to do these things for you. You must hear what I am saying to you! You must believe Me! You must trust Me! I am going to be killed.”
But because of the disciples’ misconceptions about Jesus, their preconceived ideas about why He was there, and their reliance on what they thought they knew, v. 45 tells us they just didn’t get it. The bottom line is that they believed everything except what Jesus Himself told them! But they suspected something “unpleasant,” and they didn’t want to know. The passage ends with, “…they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.”

Do you suppose this is where the term “ignorance is bliss” came from? Have you ever known someone, who when faced with trouble or imminent disaster just ignores it? They somehow think if they don’t acknowledge it or don’t talk about it, it will just go away. It doesn’t work that way, does it? Spiritual or biblical ignorance has never helped any child of God and it never will.

For example, have you ever wondered why do so many Christians deliberately ignore the Book of Revelation? Is it because there’s so much misery and horror depicted in it? I suspect that’s one reason. But then why, of all sixty-six books in the Bible, is Revelation the only book in which God promises a blessing to those who read and study it?
Revelation 1:3
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed (obey) the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

In the end, real faith believes God, it trusts Him, and it obeys Him.
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IV. Conclusion
The Apostle Thomas was saved. He had saving faith. There’s really no question about that. Lack of salvation wasn’t Thomas’ problem. But after the crucifixion he was afraid and filled with doubts. He said he would only believe Jesus was alive if he could confirm it with his physical senses.
John 20:25, 28-29
25 “Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails…and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (Then Jesus came to him.)
28 Thomas…said, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

We’re a lot like Thomas before he saw the resurrected Jesus, aren’t we? But we don’t need to be. I want us to close with a passage of Scripture that powerfully speaks of the faith that drives out fear and doubt.
*1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

~ Pray ~