 Today, we're in chapter 17 of Matthew's Gospel. Let me begin before I even read by telling you, this is one of those portions of Scripture that God gave to me on a personal level to apply. We first did that, it was many, many years ago now. But it is a lesson that I continue to learn. And so, there may be some emotion that I have as I share this with you, because in first service I allowed myself to become a little more raw and open in my sharing. And I'm hoping to control myself. I prayed that the spirit of Chuck Smith would be upon me because Chuck never cried about anything. But this is something that the Lord has given to me on a deep level. You know, the word logo and the word remma are words that are translated in the single word word. And so, when you're reading the Bible, there are times that you will be reading and it speaks concerning the logo. The logo is in reference to just the general word and it can be used in a variety of ways. But the word remma is very often used in speaking of a particular word, a word for that moment. And it can also contain with it the implication of a prophetic word. And there are times when the Lord, through his word, is giving to you something deeply personal. In Bible studies, for example, like we're about to go through, there are times when the Holy Spirit may be speaking to you a word that is significant to you for that moment. And in the Greek language, that's the remma. That's the word for that moment. It's a particular word for you. You know, for me, this passage happens to have that kind of power. For me, this is a personal word that God gave to me. And I get emotional, and I shouldn't. But he gave to me this kind of message many, many years ago, and he has reiterated it. And it's encapsulated by what the Father says. You'll see this in a moment when he says, I believe, help my unbelief. I believe strongly that there are people in this room right now who need to hear this encouragement. And you get an encouragement from God's word today in this passage. It is an encouraging word, but for me, it is raw. I'm not apologizing. I'm preparing. I don't mind having raw emotion, you know? I'm not a robot, but at the same, well, I don't think I am, but at the same time, I don't want to overwhelm you with the misunderstanding of what that guy's going through up there. I came to church to walk out bouncing in my best day ever, and it sounds as if, and I'm not that way at all, I want you to see things that are deeper, though, than the surface, because our lives are intended to be deeper than surface. A lot of people are very surface. A lot of people are very surface. We want to keep our relationships and things on the surface, but you're never going to go anywhere if you're not willing to sink beneath the water, and God wants to do a work in our lives that deepens us. And at this last moment of the last days that we're living in, the church has to awaken to the reality that you can believe the right things, but God wants to strengthen you, not in the things that you do believe, but in the things that you have yet to really embrace by faith and to learn, and a lot of wounds that you've gone through, you know, they may heal on the surface, but there are still wounds on the interior. God wants to work in all of that area in your life, and I believe very strongly as we go through this passage, and you'll see when the Spirit begins to say to my heart, okay, this is where it's real. You'll see that in this study. So again, just be ready. If you can't handle a man with the emotion, you came to the wrong church. I have to be honest with you, but I'm asking God, get me through this without it coming off weak. Chapter 17, verses 14 through 21, Matthew, when they had come to the multitude, a man came to him kneeling down to him and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely, for he often falls into the fire, often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, oh, faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked the demon and he came out of him. The child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, why could we not cast him out? Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief, for assuredly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. And so I'm going to give you a backdrop. We'll have a context. We'll move into the application as we look at this passage together. And so I'll remind you that Jesus had just given three of his disciples what would be called a preview of his glory. He had been transfigured before them and he gave them a glimpse of his glory, but not its complete fullness. They simply received a glimpse of his glory. You see, as I mentioned before, one of his greatest desires would be that his disciples would see his glory. He even praised that in John 17, verse 24, where he prayed and said, Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. The glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. So to get a glimpse of his glory on earth would be a motivation. It would serve as a motivation for his disciples to follow him faithfully. So the transfiguration was only a glimpse. In heaven, we will see him in full glory. Isaiah prophesied in chapter 40, verse 5, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. So at this point, Jesus descends this unnamed mountain that he's been on. He's with three of his disciples, Peter, James and John. He had left the other nine behind. Jesus had gone with these men what we would call an overnight trip. And when he came down from the mountain, there's a multitude that is awaiting him. Luke 9.37 says it came to pass that on the next day when they were come down from the hill, many people met him. Mark tells us that Jesus was looking for his disciples and he ultimately found them. Mark in chapter 9, verses 14 through 16 says when he came to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them and scribes disputing with them. Immediately when they saw him, all the people were greatly amazed and running to him, greeted him and he asked the scribes, what are you discussing with them? And so that gives us insight. Even as I mentioned last time we're together, that gives us insight into the fact that mountaintop experiences don't necessarily last that long. There are times when the Lord will meet you in a special way, but the enemy is awaiting to undermine it. You can go on a retreat. You can go like we have. We go to the mountain. We actually go up to Twin Peaks with the men and all. And I've told the men more than once, you know, you're going to go into the mountain. You have a mountaintop experience with the Lord. But don't be surprised that when you come down the enemy is waiting at the foot of the hill. Sometimes he's dressed like your wife. Don't be surprised because the enemy wants to steal what God has planted in you. So don't be surprised. So when when the three men are there with the Lord Jesus on the mountain and they're having a glimpse in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are times that you'll have a mountaintop experience, but the enemy is awaiting to attempt to steal the seed that Jesus Christ has planted in you. In John chapter 10 verse 10 it says the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus went on to say I've come that they may have life and have it to the full. So when the Lord Jesus is coming down, he's found his disciples. There are some scribes, some legal experts surrounding them. And so Jesus sees them as they're speaking. He asks, what are you discussing with them? Now that gives me insight into Jesus's personal concern for his sheep. We know that the Bible tells us that Jesus is our good shepherd. And as the good shepherd, he protects his sheep. Like it says in Psalm 28 verse 7, the Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in him and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise him. He is my strength and he is my shield. He defends me. Psalm 46 one, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. So the Lord is coming down. He's looking for his men. He finds them, but there is an argument that's taking place. A disputation taking place and Jesus approaches and says, what are you discussing with them? He takes attacks on his disciples very personally. When you are attacked to this day, when friends, family, co-workers or neighbors are attacking you, disputing with you, arguing with you, the Lord takes that very personally because he's a good shepherd. And he says in Matthew 18 verse 6, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Jesus takes it very personally. And as a shepherd, he comes and he comes upon those who are arguing with his disciples and he asks them the question, what are you discussing with them? What are you arguing? The word discussing in the original language, when you look at the New Testament, it's translated into English. Originally it was written in what is called Koine or Common Greek and the word discussing when you look it up to see what is the Greek word, is a word that is strong and it intends to communicate an argument. What are you arguing about is what Jesus is saying, not just simply having a conversation. What are you arguing with them about? And he's in essence saying this to these scribes. Again, these are legal experts. These are people who knew the scriptures, at least through the tradition that they'd received. They had spent much of their life, most of their life in pouring over these scriptures. And so these are people who would be equivalent to what we would call doctors of theology, arguing with people who are in training. And so Jesus takes it personally and basically what he's saying is if you have an argument, then bring it to me. So Jesus is saying, I'm going to stand there, I'm going to take care of this myself. Now as this is taking place, Matthew 17 verse 14, it says when they had come to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him. And so as you begin this passage in Matthew, his account gives to us the insight that this man is kneeling down. So kneeling down is a picture of humility as well as reverence. Humility and reverence is always the best way to approach God. In Psalm 10 verse 17, you hear, oh Lord, the desire of the afflicted. You encourage them. You listen to their cry. It's the best thing for us to do to come to him with humility and a posture of reverence. And that's what this man is doing, knowing that God is listening and can hear what is being said. And so as Jesus says, as it says that this man came to him, kneeling down to him, this is what he said verse 15, Lord have mercy on my son. He's an epileptic and suffers severely. For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Lord have mercy. Show sympathy. Lord have compassion on my son. Luke gives us more insight in his Gospel when he says in chapter 9 verse 38 that the man said, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son. He is my only child. Jesus, please restore him to health. He is so very dear to me. My son is an epileptic. He suffers severely. The word epileptic literally moon struck. Lunatic. There was an ancient belief that the moon would affect health as well as behavior. So when the word was used, it would be often used to describe various illnesses. And it would be used to describe convulsions and even epilepsy. Now, he knows it's more than simply a physical problem. If we only had Matthew's account, you would immediately begin to wonder why such an emphasis on epilepsy in this way. But we need to see that both Mark and Luke gives us more insight because in Mark 9, 17 and 18 says, a man in the crowd answered, Teacher, I brought you my son who's possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not. Luke 9.39, a spirit seizes him. He suddenly screams. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. The word sees when it says it and both Mark and Luke seizes him, the word sees means to hurl to the ground. It was a common occurrence in cases of demon possession as well as epilepsy. What is going on here and what is causing this father to be so upset? A demon is attempting to murder his child and is abusing his baby. It robs him of speech so he cannot cry out for help. It throws him to the ground causing bruising, cutting, knocking the wind out of him. It throws him into violent convulsions, choking him on his own saliva. It causes his body to become rigid, causing cramps in his muscles. The boy gnashes his teeth causing bruising of his mouth and gums, possibly even breaking teeth. It throws him in water to drown him or in fire to burn him and this boy can be physically scarred. This is how the demon is abusing this man. This is how the man's boy. This is how the demon is treating this victim. So in desperation, he wants help. He says in verse 16, I brought him to your disciples. They could not cure him. You were still on the mountain. I came and I brought my boy in but you weren't here. So I brought him to your disciples. I brought him through these men and I asked them, please do something for my son but they could do nothing. And I'm helpless and I'm hopeless and now I'm in complete desperation. So as this is taking place in all, it says in verse 17, Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me. Now as he speaks, Jesus is addressing the Father, the crowd, and he's impatient with their hardened hearts. He says faithless. The word faithless means you are not trusting God. The word perverse speaks of being twisted in understanding. You've distorted your understanding. You've distorted a view of God's will. You don't know Him. You're twisted in your understanding of Him. And then he says, bring him to me. That helps me to remember how deeply God loves us and when we're in deep pain, the wisest thing that we can do is come to him. Now I want to develop this with you by taking you to Mark chapter 9. Would you turn there with me please? Mark chapter 9. Because Mark gives us insight that I want to spend some time developing and then I'm going to bring you back to Matthew chapter 17. In chapter 9 of Mark beginning at verse 20, you may be new at turning your Bible. You say, where's Mark? Mark's in heaven. But his book is one book to the right. Mark chapter 9. Beginning at verse 20. Then they brought him to him. And when he saw him, immediately the Spirit convulsed him and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So we asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said from childhood. And often, he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said to him, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, when Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more. So they brought him to him. And I want you to notice in verse 22, it says, and when he saw him, immediately the spirit convulsed him. The demon reacts immediately to the presence of Christ and convulses the child. It knows that Jesus will cast it out. He intends to harm the child. One last time, when you read your Bible and you see how demons treat human beings, it seems obvious that demons get some form of pleasure, a perverse pleasure out of harming people. I think of the demon-possessed ones who were in the Gadarenes. And how that we're told in the Gospel of Mark, we're told that they were out there crying out and they were cutting themselves with sharp stones. Demons desire to harm you. They get some perverse enjoyment out of causing harm to people, physical harm. You see, the Bible teaches us that God's Holy Spirit would never move to harm us, but evil spirits do. Now, this loving Father, this is my child, my only child, this loving Father has been enduring this for some time and he's losing all of his hope. And all you need to do is put yourself in his place and think of how desperate you would be if you were in those circumstances. You are helpless because your child is a spiritual problem that you cannot solve for him. You watch him constantly because he's driven to injure or kill himself. At any moment, he can be thrown to the ground, he can injure himself. At any moment, he can go into a seizure and you look at this child and his mouth bleeds, his gums are bruised, his body is scarred and any Father who loves their son, any Father who loves their child can feel so helpless. There's nothing I can do. How can I help them? I did not understand that kind of love before I had children. I didn't. I remember my mom when I was growing up, how my mom said to me that she would get angry when I was in my car seat or sitting in the back. I don't even know if they had car seats then on a blanket, whatever it may have been. And she said, and the son would be on you. My mom told me and it would be causing you discomfort, David. She said, and I would look at the son and I would shake my fist at it and I'd say, leave my baby alone. I thought, mom, you're so dramatic. Come on, you. Come on. What do you mean? Until I had Corinne, I had her in a car seat. The son was hitting her and she was squirming and getting uncomfortable and I could hear her making noise there in her car seat and I turned and looked at her and I saw her looking at the son's waving her little arm. It just happened last week. She's 39. But anyway, I could see my baby in her car seat squirming and I looked at the son and I got angry at the son and my mom, I said, leave her alone. It was so weird and my mom's voice came back to me. She said, Dave, David, I used to get mad at the son for bothering you. Any father understands what I just said. Any father who loves your child does. You don't want them hurt. I mean, when the baby was born and they handed that baby to you and you held that baby for the first time, I don't know what your heart was like. I don't know what you felt. But me, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed. I looked at this baby and I looked at my wife and I thought, God, you're so good. Look what you gave to me. What a beautiful baby. And you have all these plans in your heart. One of them. Forgive me. I told you I get emotional. One of them is you never want harm to come upon that child. You want to protect them. You want to be there for them. There are times when I have said to the Lord, put it on me. Put it on me. Put it on me. I can't take it. Seeing them hurt. Put it on me. You have a baby. Forgive me. I'm telling you this is something the Lord gave me many years ago. It's something He has poured into me. You live in agony. Your child can't play. His body is being bruised. You see other children. They're out there running. They're out laughing. They're out playing. This man here can never see that. He sits on the park bench and he watches the kids kicking a soccer ball. And he's watching his child closely because that child may harm himself. You sleep with your eyes open in a sense. Your ears always open in case the child makes some noise at night. And you have to get up to find out what they're doing. The child could wander out of the house. You go down the street. You don't know. Now, in this case, this is a demon. In some people's lives to this day, their child has a condition. When that doctor handed that little guy to him and they held him in his arms, in his hands. Father's thinking, oh, one of these days I'm going to get you a baseball glove and a baseball and a bat and a hat. And the child grows up and the child begins to have problems. And there'll never be a time when you'll watch him playing soccer. There'll never be a time when you watch him playing Little League or being in Pop Warner or playing on the track. That's not going to happen. That's not in your life. You're not going to have that. And you watch this child constantly because you don't know what that child can do to itself or somebody else. There are people in this room. I spoke to somebody in between services who know exactly what I'm talking about. Some of you do, too. It's just your dreams. I mean, you had dreams. You had dreams. And there's pain. Listen, life isn't always filled with roses, is it? There's pain in our life. How do we deal with it? Disappointment. Desperation. Hurt. This is spiritual. This man has been waiting for the Messiah, Jesus, to deal with his child. He knows it's spiritual. The Spirit seizes him and causes him great harm. Throws him into fire. Throws him into water. He hits the ground. He foams into the mouth. He gnashes at his teeth. His gums are bruised. His body is scarred. He's been doing this since he was an infant, since he was a baby. And I've been just beside myself. Do something. All these unfulfilled dreams. All these disappointments and all these fears. So he says in Mark 9-22, if you can do anything, have compassion on us. Help us. He's completely desperate. He's come to the end of his rope. He wants to give up. God is placed in this man's heart a deep love for his child. And he presses on to speak to Jesus. He's raw. He's real. He doesn't try to pretend to have faith. He's beyond embarrassment. I've given up hope to be honest. You're my last chance. You see, often in matters of faith, that's really the best place to be. Because when we've been reduced to helplessness, we will be driven to seek the only one who can help. In verse 61, verse 2, it says, from the end of the earth I will cry to you, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 29-11, the Lord will give strength to his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. And so the man is coming to him. He's desperate. I need help. Have compassion if you can do anything. And Jesus in Mark 9-23 he actually confronts his lack of faith. He says, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. The question is, can I do anything? But do you believe that I can help you? Now, the man's response is one of the most insightful comments that you can read, because in Mark 9-24, the father of the child cried out and said, with tears, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. I memorized that Scripture in Mark 9 close to 40 years ago. But I memorized it in the King James. Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. I believe. I believe the theological truths that I've received over a lifetime. These truths, this theology, has guided my life over many years. I've considered these truths to be my spiritual foundations. I'm not an unbeliever. I am a believer. But I'm tired, and I have serious doubts. It's not what I believe that's bothering me. My unbelief is killing me. The word unbelief speaks of being faithless or lacking faith. It even speaks of a weakness of faith. It's not that he had no faith, but that his faith was tainted with doubt. He knew that within himself. There was no power to believe and could not overcome his own unbelief. I need help to overcome my unbelief is what he's saying. I believe. But I need help to overcome my unbelief. Lord, how come other people seem to have their prayers answered and mine aren't? How come there are people I know who don't give their kids devotions, who don't go to church that regularly or ever at all, and yet their kids are doing fine. Their kids are going on mission strips. Their kids are serving you when the parents don't put any effort at all in raising their kids. Their kids are almost raising himself and yet he's out there doing good. Lord, how come I try to sit down with my kids and help them with their homework and they don't learn anything and some kids out there don't seem to study at all and yet they're on the honor roll. One of those bumper stickers years ago that I saw that made me laugh was they have their bumper stickers and my son is on the honor roll for Magnolia or whatever and somebody had a bumper sticker and my kid can beat up your honor roll student. You know? Got me majors in beating people up and not in mathematics. Lord, what's going on? Have you ever been there? Have you ever been at that place where you look around and you begin to say it's not what I believe that bothers me. It's the fact that I can't grasp those and apply those things to my own life. It's not my belief that I have a problem with. I have a theological foundation. I understand these things. I know these things, Lord. I've studied them, memorized them and all. It's not what I believe that's bothering me. It's the unbelief that my belief is tainted with a lack of faith and in this particular circumstance the desperation has overwhelmed any hope that I have. I'm coming to you because I don't know that you'll do something for me. You seem to have been able to do things for other people. I mean, the stories of Christ and the various things he's done, the healings and the casting out of demons and all that has already occurred is what has provoked this man to come to Christ in the first place. I know that you do things. I've heard that you do things. That's why I brought them. But Lord, when you say if you believe, all things are possible to the one who believes. It's not that I don't believe. I do believe. My problem is I have it undergirded with unbelief and I need some help. Help thou mine unbelief. I'm not an unbeliever. I'm a believer but I have serious doubts. Again, Jesus said if you believe all things are possible to him who believes. I have enough power to do what you're asking. The question is do you have the faith to receive it? Psalm 50 verse 15 says call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you shall glorify me. The simple truth is Jesus is willing to help us but we often are unwilling to receive the help he wants to give. God can do more than we are willing to trust him for. Jeremiah 32, 27 I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? Nahum 1, 7 the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who trust in him. Ephesians 3, 20 he's able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. I believe. It's my unbelief that's killing me. As a pastor, I've had experiences where friends have approached me and have said, you know what the Lord has done? What? Somebody at the church gave us a million dollars. We're able to do this. And I said, really? You want to send them over to my church for a while? You know what the Lord has done? You know what the Lord has done? And sometimes I've heard those stories that should encourage my faith in Christ but it's discouraged me asking why God do you do it for others and you don't seem to do it for me. Why? Why? Why when we put effort and prayer and faith into things? Why? And I believe that the Lord screams most loudly sometimes in the midst of the pain that we go through. It forces us to become real and raw before him. Some people don't want to take that trip. Some people don't want to go there. Some people don't want depth. They are very comfortable living in a very shallow kind of relationship with God. You know? Little God doesn't hurt anybody but a lot of God. Not really that hungry. I had a guy I knew who was on a board that I served with many years ago now. He's an older fella. I was at that time 28 or 29 and he was at least 50. He was an old man. And he was on the board that I was serving on. I still remember that we had a conversation and he had said to me, I don't need much of the word of God. He said a little bit of his word satisfies my soul and he wanted to give me the appearance that he was so filled with God that even a little bit at a time was all he needed. And he and I went to a smorgasbord one time together and I couldn't help but notice he filled his plate with food three times. And I was a young man. I was only 28 years old. And I thought it's interesting how his flesh requires more than his spirit. That's not a judgment. It's just an observation. I didn't think he was a bad man. I just thought how interesting you feed your flesh more than your spirit. You tell me you don't need the word of God but you need to eat three helpings. So that's what happens. See for me, I can look and I can say, now wait a minute, Lord, why do you do good to those who really aren't pursuing you? Why do you supply when we cry, we fall on our face on a carpet and we say, God, I can't go on and I'm not with me and that's where the Lord meets you there. That's how it works and some people are not willing to go there. You don't want to get on your face on a carpet. You don't want to say, God, help me. You don't want to go and pray over your son's bed and say, God, help him. Help him. I dedicated him to you. I held him in my hands when he was born. And I said this one. Oh, God. Then it goes the wrong way. And your hope and your dreams are heart broken. Am I speaking to anybody today? Do you know what I'm trying to say to you? God, help. I believe. I believe. How am I unbelievable? Lord, I'm impatient. I haven't come to the end of myself. I'm still fighting to try and somehow ransom this moment. And I've done what I thought I was supposed to do. In the case of this man, I brought him to your men. They could not cure him. I've done all I know what to do. And the Lord's saying to him, you've come to the right person. See, my apostles will always let you down because they're men. But Jesus never will. Jesus never will. He never will. And so here he comes and he says, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you. You shall glorify me. He's willing to help, but we need to trust him. So what does he do? Well, he casts out the demon. He heals his little boy. Mark 9, 25 and 26 says, when Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit saying to him, you deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him, enter him no more. Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, came out of him. He became as one dead, so that many said, he is dead. So notice in verse 25 of Mark 9, Jesus saw that the people came running together. See, when the people came, Jesus took it as an opportunity to prove that he's Messiah. It's a miracle that he's about to do and it's intended to reveal who he is to them. John 5, 36 says, I have greater witness than John's, the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness of me that the Father sent me. And he speaks, he says, you deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him, enter him no more. Notice he says, I command you. You resisted my disciples, but you cannot resist me. Psalm 33, 8 and 9, let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spoke, it was done. That's the God that you worship, by the way. That's the God that you serve. He spoke and it was done. The demon couldn't resist Jesus. But what does he do? He harms the child one last time. The spirit cried out, convulsed the child, left him for dead. He couldn't resist hurting him. That's how the enemy, by the way, treats his victims. He harms you. He is the tempter. He is the seducer. I have met over the years more than one person who was seduced. Seduced, seduction is a form of deception. A person who is seduced is hearing something said to them that they want to hear. A seducer is somebody who says to that person exactly what they know they want to hear in order to get from them something that they want. When a man seduces a woman, he's simply telling her what he knows she wants to hear. And there are men who are expert at seduction. They watch the woman. They see her insecurities. They get to know her. They see that she dresses up and nobody mentions anything. So he says, was that a new dress that you have? And she's flattered. He walks by her and says, you know, have you lost some weight? And she's flattered. He walks past her and says, I'm sorry, what kind of perfume is that you're wearing? And she's flattered. I'm sorry I don't want to be too personal, but your makeup, do you look five years younger? Seduces, seduces, seduces. And this poor victim of seduction is hearing what she wants to hear. Until ultimately he gets what he wants from her and goes to somebody else because that's what seduces do. They're just using you and hurting you. Young lady, if a man loves you, he'll respect you. If a man loves you, he'll honor you. If a man loves you, he will help you to keep your purity because if he is after you for sex and things you know you ought not to do, he doesn't love you because he doesn't have love. He is lusting for you and he will leave you behind as soon as he gets what he wants. You know that. It's a fact. And that's why some young ladies go from man to man because they become victimized by their desires. The enemy seduces spiritually. He will say to you things you want to hear. He can say it in a variety of ways but it comes into your mind when in reality what he wants to do is he wants to harm you and he does harm you. He leaves you bruised, battered, confused and hurt feeling worthless and useless on the side of the road as he goes on to destroy somebody else. Jesus came that you may have life and that more abundantly but the enemy came to steal, to lie, to kill, to cheat, to destroy because that's what he does and if anybody here is yielding to the enemy he will bruise you, he will batter you, he will hurt you and he will do the best that he can to take everything out of you and he wants to just deal with you and hurt you and it's an interesting thing how the enemy treats his victims which is tearing them and hurting them and some continue to follow him as if that's the only thing they've got and Jesus is so much better. Jesus loves you and cherishes you and he would never harm you. That's a fact. The child appears dead so Jesus gently lifts this little guy to his feet now closing with Matthew for those who went with me to Mark let's turn back to Matthew and I'll close briefly by looking at the last few verses Matthew 17 when this is taking place in Matthew 17-19 the disciples came to Jesus privately and said why could we not cast him out? Jesus said to them because of your unbelief for surely I say to you if you have faith as a mustard seed you will say to this mountain move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you however this kind doesn't go out except by prayer and fasting well naturally the nine apostles were wondering why they couldn't cast him out they had cast demons out before when Jesus sent them out to do that in Matthew chapter 10 so why did they fail this time when they had succeeded in the past they're wondering at their lack of success while ignoring their lack of faith they didn't see that faith and results are linked so they gave up when resisted so Jesus says in verse 20 because of your unbelief he speaks concerning having faith and it's interesting how he says if you have faith as a mustard seed you'll say to this mountain move from here to there it will move and nothing will be impossible for you what he's basically saying here and it's a very basic thing is small faith in a great God has amazing results God is with you but the problem is it's your unbelief you can only trust he's saying when I'm next to you but you need to trust always faith trusts when everything says denying faith trusts when you have nothing faith trusts when you feel forsaken faith trusts when you don't know if he's listening faith trusts when you don't even think he's listening and caring for you so he's saying you need mustard seed it's a small faith but a persistent faith it's not great faith that God honors it's the presence of the small persistent faith you see the mustard plant grows because of continuing contact with the soil our faith grows as we abide in Jesus well he says in verse 21 this kind doesn't go out except by prayer and fasting you see when Jesus was on the mountain the disciples neglected their time with the Lord instead of praying in the battle they let their guard down spiritual warfare is not momentary spiritual warfare is continuous the enemy doesn't take a vacation have you noticed that he doesn't take a vacation he doesn't take time off he doesn't go out there and then come back refreshed he never does he is relentless he is looking to destroy you he's on the prowl constantly in whom he may devour I don't believe that he's overly concerned with people who profess to be Christian who in reality are not they're really doing him a great service because they make the gospel of Christ look weak and powerless to change lives so people who run around saying oh I'm a Christian and then live as an ungodly person it's doing a great service to Satan he doesn't seem to be overly concerned with those who are carnals still living in the flesh because once again in the flesh are not really a great danger to him because they're not even aware of what he's doing they don't even notice what he's doing he's not concerned with the lukewarm too much because the lukewarm people they don't do much good if any at all the ones that he has a problem with is the warrior is the guy who wakes up in the morning and says I'm putting on the helmet of salvation the breastplate of righteousness I'm preparing myself by putting on my shoes of the gospel of peace I'm putting on the the belt of truth I've got the sword of the spirit which is the word of God and I'm going into battle today that's the one that the enemy has a problem with because he knows that's a warrior he knows that's a warrior that's the person who takes the time seriously that's the person who realizes that the days are evil therefore we should be prepared to go at war that's who he's concerned with he's not concerned with the person who's more concerned with the petty things and gossip and do I have the latest thing to drive or to wear or whatever he's not concerned with that because those are the things that don't matter they don't have any spiritual substance and they don't remain eternally those aren't the things he's concerned about he's not concerned about that person who doesn't live for the Lord Jesus Christ at all even though they're professing no Christ because they're really doing no harm to him it's the one who wakes up and hits their knees before they go to work and says God use me today I have the opportunity to share about Jesus Christ to somebody use me today help me to remember that there are people who are watching me in my testimony on the job or at school and in my neighborhood help me to remember who I am because I want to be used by you because Lord when I get to the very end and when I stand before you I want to hear the words well done my good and faithful servant that's the one that the enemies look it out for God wants to do a work in you and you need to be aware Job Job was a righteous man God said it there's none like him none like him because the enemy came and was speaking to God and God says if you consider my servant Job there's none like him oh yeah I have of course but you put a hedge about him Satan says to God I can't touch him but if you allowed me some access to that man he will curse you to your faith the Lord says oh you can touch what's dear to him but you can't take his life don't touch him and we know the story of Job he loses everything in one day including his children who were in a house the enemy used his tactics to destroy everything that Job valued from his possessions to his babies and yet he did not sin with his mouth next time the enemy comes before the Lord God says if you consider my servant Job righteous man he hates evil well everything a man has he'll give for his skin allow me to touch him and he will curse you to your faith you can touch him but you can't take his life next thing you see Job is there in an ash with a broken piece of pottery scraping pus off of his skin children are beginning to make songs about him and his wife is looking at him and saying how long will you continue in your integrity curse God and die thank you baby I will take your advice to heart I can't take this anymore mama saying I can't take this anymore I've lost everything and I've lost you die naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall leave the Lord gives the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord and all of this Job did not did not sin against God with his mouth why? the end was better than the beginning because in the midst of all that Job went through he learned something of God who wouldn't have learned without the trial that he went through though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy rod and thy staff they comfort me I'm walking through I'm not staying in and you're with me every step of the way and I am learning lessons in a valley that I would never have learned on hilltop when God breaks the man he makes the man he shows you that the only thing you need is him because if you have him you have enough you can have everything and not him you have nothing you have him and nothing you have everything that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ bottom line hang in there be prepared do not get caught off guard trust God you will have victory Psalm 91 verses 14 through 16 he has set his love upon me therefore I will deliver him I will set him on high because he's known my name he shall call upon me I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honor him with long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation God is with you he does not leave you nor does he forsake you this man came and said if you can do anything and Jesus said all you need to do is believe I believe how my unbelief and God delivers that child and that man walked away with this child he possessed he walks away his arm around his son saying oh Jesus you are so good thank you for what you've done on my behalf I will serve you forever thank you Lord for your word is true you are great you are greater than any enemy that has ever come after me and you have given to me the sure word of your promises and I trust you no matter what yes it's true we go through moments of doubt and unbelief and yes there are some things that no matter how encouraging this word can be to us today we still are going to have those things existing that's true but you're not alone you're not alone and the Lord can take you through these things and will teach you some deep things you may not want to know those things right now but at the end you'll look back and you'll say oh God thank you for these lessons you taught me and to the person I am today through these things and in that I'm very grateful