Luke Week 7 • Luke 9:28-50

Show Notes

Sunday, February 21st • Beau Bradberry

"As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”" — Luke 9:34-35

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Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

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Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

Hey, glad you guys are here with us, whether you're here on campus or joining us online.

Before we dive into our message this morning, though, let's go to the Lord in prayer.

God, I thank you so much for this time and opportunity that we could be here in this

place.

Lord, I thank you that, unlike a lot of areas right now in our country, Lord, I thank you

that we have an opportunity to gather, and we have power, and we have heed, and we have

some comfort in here this morning.

So, Lord, at first, our hearts are drawn to thank you for that.

But, Lord, we also lift up those who are without right now, those who are suffering, Lord, those

who are working to bring back power and water and all the different things that's been shattered

with this cold storm.

Lord, I pray that you would just keep those first responders and workers safe as they travel

and as they perform the jobs that they need to.

God, I pray that as we open up your word this morning, that this may be a story, an encounter

that many of us have heard, Lord, but that we could respond to the newness and the freshness

or that your word is.

And so, Lord, speak to our hearts, draw us closer to you, and it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Well, if you've got your Bibles with you, turn to Luke chapter 9 here in just a moment.

We'll start reading verse 28 as we continue on in looking at the gospel of Luke, but we're

kind of sandwiched in from last week to next week, this middle section of Luke chapter 9.

We've been kind of moving pretty quickly, but we're pumping the brakes a little bit as

we look at this chapter, which is so monumental in understanding the person of Jesus, but also

the work and the ministry that he came to do.

Now, I want to say this.

In verses 28 through 36 that we're going to look at first, I don't know that there's anything

in our life, in the history of the world, that is ever exactly like this.

But I want to, in the best that I can, in an illustration, try to explain to you a little

bit of what's going to happen and kind of take place, all right?

So I don't know if you're aware of it, but it's been cold and rainy here, right?

My wife told me the other day, she read on the news where 72% of the United States is covered

in snow, and that was impressive, but 100% of South Carolina has been covered in mud for

the last week, right?

Now, here's what's kind of happened with me with this.

I love the cold.

I don't mind the rain.

I don't like the two of them together, all right?

Now, last weekend, my son and I, as we had the weekend to spend together, as Emma and Aaron

were off skiing, we kind of hoped we could do some things, right?

And then the rain came in, and the rain came in, and it kept on and kept on.

And I'm the guy, like, before I go to bed, I check the weather.

First thing I do when I wake up is check the weather.

And I saw days last week where maybe we were going to get two days, right, where the rain

was going to cease and sun.

And so it surprised me on spite of what my iPhone said, right?

God had different plans, and I would wake up in the morning, and it would be raining over

and over again.

It would be cold.

But then yesterday happened, right?

And yesterday, I don't know if y'all saw it, but skies aren't always gray.

They were blue, right?

And the sun came out.

And I got in the backyard.

I let all three of our dogs at the Bradbury Zoo kind of roam around the yard with me, and

I worked in the yard, and I built some things, and I did some stuff, and I didn't get cold,

and I had on a long-sleeved shirt.

And I thought, this is good, right?

Like, this is what I remembered normal weather was like from the past.

And then it created in me a sense of, this is good, of what hopefully springtime can come,

and I can have more days like this.

But then God and His graciousness and His kindness toward a group of people that are suffering gave

us something else.

And I don't know if many of you saw this yesterday or not, but the University of South Carolina

played Dayton in baseball, and we won, right?

Now, as a South Carolina fan, it's been a long time.

We won Friday night, and we won Saturday, right?

And regardless of the sports, other than our women's basketball season, it's been a long

time coming in men's sports to put two W's back to back.

So yesterday was just a phenomenal day, and I was taken to remember back of seasons where

it wasn't raining, right?

And I was taken back to remember seasons where it wasn't so cold outside, and then now where

I'm at just personally is I'm looking forward to springtime.

We got out, and we were working in our garden and doing some different things there, and

so I look forward to what the future holds.

But then this morning, I left my truck.

I forgot to move it to the front, and I left my truck parked in the backyard because I take

some tools and supplies back there, and I come downstairs, and Erin's sitting in the kitchen

table with her coffee, and she says, you may need to plan on leaving a little bit earlier

than normal.

And I said, why?

And she said, look at your truck.

And there was a frozen piece of ice, right, that was just all over the front of my truck.

And immediately, like, I was right back to where I was before.

I was like, you gotta be kidding me.

From the experience we had yesterday to now, like, there's this thick layer of ice on my

truck.

Now, here's why I kind of tell this story.

What we're going to look at this morning in this section of Luke is going to be an encounter

that yesterday does not do it justice.

Like, don't hear me.

Like, that's not what I'm saying.

But on the Mount Transfiguration, what we're going to see today is going to give those who

were with Jesus a glimpse back into the past.

They're going to be reminded of some things that have happened and that have taken place

as they encountered their present.

But also through encountering their present, they're going to be told and reminded of some

encouraging things as they're going to move forward in their life.

Some things to look forward and to hope to build within them that not every day, right,

is going to be as bad as the day that they're in right now.

But then when they step off of it, and the next day comes, they're reminded of the frailty

of the moment and the deepening faith that they need to have in Jesus.

And so let's jump in as we look at this, starting in Luke 9, verse 28.

It says, now about eight days after these sayings.

So let me pause here real quickly if you weren't with us last week.

So what are these sayings that are happening and take place?

Well, as we look back and look back at last week, the sayings begin, Peter declaring that

Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus coming and telling the disciples that he must suffer, die, be

resurrected, right?

Like, I'm going to have to leave you and this is going to have to happen and take place.

And then also Jesus telling them, like, look, in order to follow me, right, Jesus ups the

game a little bit.

It's not just about walking alongside of him.

It's not just about kind of standing in his shadow and watching him work and move.

And it's going to be even a little bit more than what they'd experienced at the very beginning

of chapter 9, right, where Jesus gives them power and authority to heal and to call out demons.

Jesus says, it's going to be more than that.

Jesus says, in order to follow me, there's going to be a life of suffering as you take

up your cross and as you follow after me.

So scripture tells us now about eight days after these sayings, then this encounter begins

to happen.

And he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his clothing became dazzling

white.

And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke

of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Now, Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep.

But when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

And as they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are here.

Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah, not knowing what

he said, and as he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them.

And they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

A voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my son, my chosen one, listen to him.

And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone and they kept silent and told no one in

those days anything of what they had seen.

And so what we see here in this Mount of Transfiguration, right, is this encounter, like, let's be honest,

this is nothing like you or I have ever experienced.

Right?

We get these expressions and phrases a little bit from Scripture, right?

Like the mountaintop experience of those connections where we go and we have such a deep, passionate

interaction with Jesus, it's not that it literally happened on a mountain for us, but it was at

this moment in our life, this spiritual thing happened, and we can trace it back through.

A song that was led at a conference, a message that was spoken at a worship service, a point

in time of serving on a mission trip, a conversation that happened between two individuals.

And we call these mountaintop experiences, and it's drawn from moments like these in Scripture

that we see where there's just such a real encounter that an individual has with Jesus.

But let's be honest, you and I, we ain't walked through nothing like this.

Like, this is different than any mission trip we've ever been on.

This is different than any youth camp that we've ever attended.

This is different than any Bible study or any quiet time that has taken place as Peter, James,

and John have this interaction with Jesus, but also, right, like with Moses and Elijah.

And because we believe in the authority and the sufficiency of Scripture, like this isn't

like some hallucination that's happening to them, right?

This isn't some spell that they're under or some dream that is happening and that has taken

place.

In fact, Scripture speaks of the opposite, that they were heavy with sleep.

I mean, they were asleep, but when they woke up, they saw that all of these things were happened

and taken place.

And so we see this encounter that happens with them, with Jesus on this mountain.

And in a beautiful way, what God is drawing them to is as this reality that they could never

fathom that happens and takes place in front of them, it's actually going to speak to in

three different ways, two different realities to help them see and understand who Jesus is.

And in order for them to see and understand the calling that Jesus has for their life, as

they have this encounter right here, the words are going to ring true for them when Jesus

says the Son of Man must suffer, must be rejected, must die, but be raised again.

As they have this encounter on the mountain with Him, their understanding of the depth of

the call of what God has for them is going to ring truer and truer into their lives, especially

when we see in a moment, when they come off the mountain.

And so we have three different things which point to two different realities that I want

us to look at and see.

And the first is this of what happens and takes place is we see that there's two exoduses.

That's a hard word to say that I've been practicing a lot this week.

I hope I say it correctly.

Look back at verse 31.

It says this, who appeared in glory, right?

This is Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, who appeared in glory, and notice this, and spoke of his

departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

So what are they talking about?

Jesus' departure.

Remember, Jesus had told them, I'm going to have to leave you.

And so what Jesus had said, now James and John and Peter are hearing them talk about it, right?

You want to talk about the authority of the words of Christ for them, right?

Like in their full believing of who Jesus is, if there's an affirmation that it could be

given, it's a prophet Elijah sharing that.

But also Moses, right, is sharing this, like they're game planning.

They're talking about this.

They're working through this.

And so there in the moment, it's the credibility of what Jesus had said, but they're going to

use a word that's important, that when they speak and they say the word departure, the

word that they literally use is exodus.

And so in verse 31, literally says that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah speak about the exodus of Jesus.

And this would be huge for them, right?

These are Jewish men.

These are men raised in the Jewish faith, ethnically Jews.

They know when they hear the word exodus, they know what that means.

They know the importance of that word, that the word exodus would draw from them the foundational

events and the forming of the Jewish nation of Israel as God's chosen people.

They would begin to see the work of what's moving.

When they hear the word exodus, they would be taken back to think of the time when their

ancestors were enslaved by Egypt, but yet God sends Moses to Egypt to set them free.

It had been based on what so many of their religious customs and holidays that they celebrated

were based off of.

When they hear that word exodus, like we hear Christmas or we hear Easter, right?

There's so much value and power in that word.

And now as they're standing there, what they hear is this, Jesus, your exodus.

Wow.

So what does that mean as they've been beginning to draw through?

Well, the other exodus brought freedom.

The other exodus set people free from bondage.

The other exodus solidified this nation that God had promised and that God saw through and

that God delivered.

When they hear the word exodus, they know that freedom is coming.

There's two exoduses.

In the first exodus, God's people were enslaved by a country.

They were enslaved by a man, Pharaoh.

What's remarkable about the first exodus is that they couldn't set themselves free, right?

They couldn't just revolt against.

They were enslaved.

They were held captive.

The weight of their slavery enabled them to not, restricted them to not be able to go out

and to set them free.

They couldn't break their own chains.

So God had to step in.

The only way for them to experience that first exodus was by a work of the Lord.

And so God does that.

And how does God do that?

Does God come in with a spirit?

Does God come in with natural disasters and create and cause this to happen?

No.

God sent Moses.

God sent a man.

God sent a deliverer who would stand before Pharaoh, who would bring them out of bondage,

and who would lead them to freedom, the first exodus.

So now let's jump forward as they speak to Jesus' exodus about what would happen, right?

You see, where we find ourselves in the life of Moses and we find ourselves in first century

Jerusalem, the people were enslaved again.

They're still enslaved.

But not to a man or to a country, but to sin.

Just as they couldn't set themselves free before, they can't set themselves free again.

The rules and the religion and as much as they try to follow and try to practice,

they can't create within themselves their own sense of freedom that they can cling to.

And so they need someone else.

And as God sent Moses, God sends Jesus.

But this time, if you go back and read the story of Moses, there's tons of brokenness in Moses

of his insufficiencies, of what he's not capable to do,

that just as Moses is brilliant and is faithful in the lot that he does, like he's flawed.

And so God doesn't send a Moses.

Instead, he sends a perfect Moses.

He sends Jesus to be the deliverer, to set the people free and they can find.

And so in this very beginning, as we look at this, we see the two exodus,

the first one that set a people free, but who continued to wander in their sin

and who find themselves back where they were so many times before finding themselves in captivity.

But we see the second exodus.

It's a physical and a spiritual exodus that brings life and hope and eternal.

So we look to the past and we see the future and the current reality of where they are.

But also not only see two exodus, but we also see two mountains.

It's right here.

And as they're there on this mountain with Jesus, they retreat to this place with him.

They go up onto the mountain to pray with him.

They're going to be looking toward now something that's different.

Something as they talk about the journey that will happen and that'll take place and that'll bring them to Israel.

What we see on this mountain, on the Mount of Transfiguration, right?

Like what they see about Jesus physically changes.

What they see about their environment around them changes.

And what we'll see is that this Mount of Transfiguration, in a lot of ways, will be the opposite of another mount that Jesus will climb.

That what they experience on the highest of the highs of the Mount of Transfiguration will look different when Jesus climbs the Mount to Calvary.

As he carries his cross, as he dies in that moment.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, from Scripture, we see that his face was altered.

It's changed to reflect the glory of God.

That his clothes, Scripture tells us, they shone.

And I believe in John's account, I may be wrong on this, but in John's account, I think it says that his clothes were as bright as lightning, is what they see.

So imagine that.

Imagine you're Jesus, right?

You're not wealthy.

You're moving through the dusty roads.

You've got dirt on your face.

You've got dirt all over your clothes.

This is how people were as the sand was there, right?

There's not a place to shower.

I don't know about you, but if you ever hike to the top of the mountain, that's not stay clean and pretty as we get there, okay?

And this is where they head to, and they wake up, and they see Jesus, and he's different than he was before.

The way he looks and everything that they can see.

Jesus has friends with him, right?

He's got some guests.

He's got Moses and Elijah.

They didn't make the journey with him.

They didn't head up there, but they find him there in that moment.

And then there's a cloud of the presence of God.

That surrounds them.

And then there in the moment.

And imagine being these guys, right?

Imagine in your life, you've just experienced Jesus giving you the power to heal demons.

I'm sorry, to heal people and to call out demons.

And now, just eight days later, nine days later, you hear the voice of God, the audible voice of God as he declares his delight in Christ.

Right?

That experience.

But it's going to point towards something.

It's going to point toward a mount where things look different than they did here.

But that within that mount, it's the mount that Jesus has been telling them about.

The mount that Jesus is saying, this has to happen.

This must take place.

This is what I came to fulfill.

This is what I came to do.

This is who I am for you.

It's going to be different than this.

This will be Calvary.

As we jump forward, as you look at Calvary, what would happen and take place?

There on Calvary, Jesus' face would be altered again.

But this time, it would not be altered by the light of the glory of God.

But instead, this time, Jesus' face would be altered by a crown of thorns that would be pressed down on his head.

And it would not be the glory of the light of God, but it would be his blood that filled his eyes and that covered his face.

That just as Jesus had his clothes altered on the Mount of Transfiguration, his clothes, too, would be altered on Calvary.

They would be beaten as he was beaten and would be torn into shreds and would be covered in blood.

And then in the last moment of trying to humiliate Jesus, they would be torn off of him so that he is left naked, hanging on the cross as soldiers gambled for his clothes.

On one mount, Jesus was altered.

On another mount, he was as well, but in a different way.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus would be surrounded by Moses and Elijah, two men of great faith that we see and that we read about.

But on the Mount of Calvary, right?

Jesus is not surrounded by Moses and Elijah, prophets of old, but is instead hung in between two thieves who are on either side of him.

That on the Mount of Transfiguration, there would be not a cloud of light that would come, but darkness would cover the land.

That on the Mount of Transfiguration, where the voice of God is heard, instead, on Calvary, it's not the voice of God, but it's silence.

And that the Son of God cries out, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And we see the weight of both.

And the depth of the sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice of the life Jesus came to live and what would culminate on the cross of Calvary.

But the good news is that the hope that we have is it doesn't end here.

That there's one more encounter of two different things that's going to happen here.

And what I want us to look at is two tabernacles.

So imagine being Peter, James, and John, and this is what you are seeing.

This is what is happening and taking place before you.

You're probably thinking to yourself, man, no one is going to believe this.

Like when Jesus was coming and asking me to pray, I never knew that it would end up like this.

I wouldn't have fallen asleep if it did, right?

But this is where he finds that where they find themselves.

And as they see that this is going to begin to end, that it's going to, that this time together is going to cease.

Peter speaks up and he says, hey, let's do something.

Let's create something so that this moment does not have to stop.

And I don't know if you've ever had that like mountaintop experience with Jesus, but it's like that, right?

Like, hey, there's a sincere heart of Peter that we've had before.

Like, I don't want this to end.

And so look back at verse 33.

It says, and as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus,

Master, it is good that we are here.

Let us make three tents.

One for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

But here's what's key, not knowing what he said.

Peter's just trying to practically solve a problem so that this doesn't end.

But what he says in the declaration of that brings implications that remind us and bring us hope.

That, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Peter, this isn't about establishing and building a tent so that they can stay here.

But it's more than that.

In fact, when Peter uses the word, when he has the suggestion that they'll build a tent, it's more significant than that.

Because Peter says, let's build a tabernacle here.

Right?

Tabernacle is another word from the Old Testament.

In fact, in Exodus 40, we're not going to read there, but just give you a brief summation.

God tasked Moses to build a tabernacle, which was a very elaborate tent.

Right?

And this is where people could go to be with God as they wandered in the wilderness.

And so the word that Peter uses here in Luke 9 is that same as that word in Exodus 40.

He's like, hey, let's make sure that right here in this moment, we build the tabernacle so that we can come back to this place,

so that we can have this experience, because there's Jesus, and we know who he is.

And there's Moses, and we know who he is.

And there's Elijah, and we know who he is.

So let's build a tabernacle here.

Let's take care of this so that we can come back too.

But Jesus, no, because the presence of God is not going to be found in the tent,

but in the man whom the tent would be built for.

In John 1, 14, John opens up his gospel, and he says,

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Now, as you read that, that word dwelt there, translated, it's tabernacled.

So then the word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

You see, the experience of God, the connection of God, the person of God, the relationship of God,

is not going to be found in a place, an ideology, an experience outside of this, but it's found in Jesus himself.

And say, look, there's an exodus that must take place.

There's a journey that he must go on.

And then that's going to be found freedom.

And in that journey, in that exodus, there's another mount that he will climb.

And in that, you're going to see a different side in the same person of what he's come to do.

In all of this, because he is divine, because his face shines with the glory of God,

because he is his Son with who he is well pleased,

in all of these things is what's going to qualify Jesus to climb Calvary and die.

Not because he's a thief or a sinner, but because the exact opposite, because he's not.

And then within that, within just as he walked this earth,

just as he was in community with Peter, James, and John here,

just as he healed and interacted with others,

so too as he tabernacles with us.

So we don't have to find a place to experience God.

We don't have to lean into an experience or an ideology,

but the very Spirit of God rests in us for those who are known by him and who know him.

And so it's the experience we begin to see that these three men have,

begin to shape their understanding in a great and powerful way of who Jesus is.

And so imagine now you're them and you're coming off that mountain.

This is what has happened, what has taken place.

There's still the other group of the disciples who are down,

and they're not going to know about this.

They're not going to find out about this.

But in all that happens, you're going literally from the mountaintop into the valley.

And I don't know about you guys, but that's life.

Here's a real quick practical application.

As quick as you can be on the mountain is as quick as you can be in the valley.

And the areas of our life that you and I often focus in on are the lowest of the lows

and the highest of the highs.

But the truth is, where we spend most of our life is on the trail or the road that leads to one or the other.

And so what we want to see in here is what does it look like to have faith on the mountain and faith in the valley?

What's that going to be in the life of the believer as we encounter in those moments of the understanding of who Jesus is,

but then walk right off of that mountain into the valley and find where real life exists,

where hurt and where pain and where struggle is real and is strong.

Look at verse 37.

It says,

In the next day when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.

And behold, a man from the crowd cried out,

Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.

I want to pause here for a moment.

What I want you to grasp here is the desperation of a parent.

Now there's been a phrase that I love, that this phrase has been around.

If you hear the words, if you're hiking in the woods, let me throw this out there to you.

Not in South Carolina because we don't really have this problem.

But let's say you're in, I don't know, Alaska, all right?

And someone says, oh, watch out, there's a mama bear.

Can I tell you what you need to do?

You need to back up.

And here's why you need to back up.

You know how we know she's a mama bear?

Because there's cubs.

And little baby bears, little cubs, here's what they'll do.

They're kind of like our kids.

They're curious.

And they'll wander up to you.

Not necessarily to eat you, right?

Because they're curious.

Well, guess what mama bears do when their cubs wander up to you?

They take their cub and put them in time out.

No, they don't do that, all right?

What they do is they come at you.

Why would you come at my cub, right?

And so now this expression, and I love it for the ladies who you'll say this.

You're like, I'm a mama bear, right?

Don't mess with my kid.

And if you mess with my kid, if something happens, there's a desperation within me that you haven't seen before that you're not ready to see now.

So watch out for a moment, okay?

And when we see this verse, what I want us to hear when it says a man from the crowd cried out, there is a level and depth of desperation where this man finds himself where it is not like every other parent who's out in the crowd.

There's something different going on in his life.

And so from the crowd, he cries out to Jesus.

Look at verse 39.

He shared that to look at his son, for he's my only child, verse 39, and behold, a spirit seizes him and he suddenly cries out.

It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth and shatters him and will hardly leave him.

And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.

All right, so let me explain to you what's going on with this boy.

Theologians believe, Bible scholars believe, that there's actually two things that are going on with this child.

One is a spiritual issue and one is a medical issue.

With the medical issue, most believe that this boy suffers from a severe battle with epilepsy, that his seizures that he has are the type of seizures that can kill someone.

And so if you've ever had a seizure, my son's had one seizure in his life, he's about 18 months old.

It was the most, it was the scariest moment of my life.

I didn't know what to do.

I couldn't stop it.

And it was mild.

But this boy's been suffering from this.

So he's got a medical battle that mom and dad can't fix.

But he's also got a spiritual battle.

And the spiritual battle is theologians, and you'll see this from the words, right?

And they affirm that he was possessed by demons.

So you've got a medical issue that you can't fix and you've got a spiritual issue that you can't fix.

Now, I don't know about you guys, but with those that I love, there's no more a crippling situation than when you love someone who's falling apart in front of your very eyes and you can't fix it.

I know I'm not God, but I feel like I need to do something.

And that's how this dad feels.

And he says here that he begged Jesus' disciples to cast it out, but they couldn't do it.

Now, remember, Jesus before had been with the disciples, had given them the power to do what?

To heal and to call out demons, right?

And it doesn't tell us that he removed this power from them.

And so this man has more than likely heard this is what they can do.

And so he gets his son to them, and they can't fix it.

He's heard what they've done for others, but they can't do it for him.

He doesn't walk away bitter.

He comes running to Jesus.

Verse 41.

And Jesus answered,

Oh, faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you?

Bring your son here.

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him.

But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy as both and gave him back to his father.

And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

Now, Jesus' words here look complicated and hard for us.

You've got a dad who brings his son to you, and he says,

This is what's been going on.

I'm desperate.

I need you.

And Jesus' response is, Oh, faithless and twisted generation.

Now, more than likely, these words aren't meant for the father, but for those who he sent.

That what Jesus is dealing with is that in those who claim to know him, there's a weakness in something.

And it's not the weakness and the power that Jesus has given them, but their weakness is what Jesus calls out.

It's their faith.

It's their faith.

In Mark chapter 9, we get a different account of some added details of what happens in this dialogue and in this conversation.

I want to read it to you.

Mark 9, starting in verse 21, it says,

And Jesus asked his father, How long has this been happening to him?

And he said, From childhood.

And it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy him.

But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.

And Jesus said to him, If you can, all things are possible for one who believes.

And immediately, the father of the child cried out and said, I believe.

Help my unbelief.

I want you to hear the desperation of what this dad is going through.

I want you to hear the journey that he's been on with this boy.

He says, Jesus, there's been times where we find him in the fire.

Jesus, give me some liberty for here, okay, for a moment.

But like, Jesus, there's been times we've pulled him out of the water because he's trying to drown himself.

I mean, can you imagine?

But you couldn't sleep at night.

But it would be hard to go to work, to live life, to function, to find joy, and to find hope in this.

As this is your every day, your child, your only boy, who you deeply love.

That this is where you find yourself.

And he's covered with scars.

Because this is where he finds himself.

And Jesus says, he asked Jesus, he says, can you help him have compassion on us?

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

And immediately, notice the words of the father.

Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said, I believe.

Help my unbelief.

Jesus, I believe.

And I don't know about you, but here's the journey that I've been on before and that sometimes I still find myself.

Jesus, I believe in you.

But I'm angry as I see and as I go through this.

Jesus, I believe.

But my faith is weakened in this moment of loss.

Jesus, I believe.

But I don't understand as all of this is going on around me.

And Jesus, I believe.

But help my unbelief.

Help me when I can't see past the sickness.

Help me when I can't see past the struggle.

Help me when I can't see past the tears.

Jesus, help me.

And it's amazing.

Jesus healed him.

Spiritual battle.

Physical battle.

But in order for Jesus to heal his deepest need, to step into where he was, he needed the father to be truthful with Jesus about who he was.

I feel like sometimes as Christians, we're not okay with being not okay.

We're too quick to say, well, I've got faith.

God's going to get us through.

But inside, there's unbelief.

We're quick to stand and say, no, I'm good.

God's got this.

God's got control.

And as we leave our small group, as we go back to our house with a marriage falling apart, there's tears that are flowing down our face.

And we're angry with God.

We're frustrated with God.

And we don't know what's going on.

And we live in this cycle within our world because the truth is that we have faith but help our unbelief.

But we won't cry out to God in that manner.

We won't have the faith of the man that's willing to say, but I believe, but I struggle.

But I believe, but I have anger.

But I believe, but I have pride.

But I believe, but I have selfishness.

But I believe, Lord, and they continue to build, and they build, and they build.

So we see it with Jesus.

Today, we saw where the exodus of Jesus, where he comes from to set us free.

The sin and the death that enslave us.

We see the mount that Jesus would climb and face for you and I so we could experience that very same freedom.

We see about the tabernacle, that Jesus came not to stay in a tabernacle, but he came to tabernacle amongst us

so that we may know him and interact with him.

And living in this reality is not found by making all the right statements and following all the right rules

and getting it all right.

Living in this reality is not found in you and I trying to achieve some false sense of perfection

that we try to cling to in and of ourselves.

It's found in being truthful with who we are.

Because when I'm truthful in who I am, then I'm truthful in who he is.

And then at my core, right, I'm just a sinner who's saved by grace.

Who desperately needs God.

Who I believe, but in so many areas of my life, there's still the unbelief.

And then I need to bring Jesus into.

So that I can walk in that exodus.

So that I can live in the reality of Calvary.

And so that I can know that Christ tabernacles with me.

Would you pray with me?

God, we come to you this morning.

And we thank you.

Jesus, you are God on the mountaintop, God in the valley, God on the road in between.

Lord, I thank you for the journey to Jerusalem that you took.

The exodus that was written for you.

That you could set your people free from the sin and death that enslave us.

Lord, I thank you that you were the perfect sacrifice.

Who bore the punishment that we deserved.

But that you faced it on Calvary.

That it's through the blood of Christ that we find healing.

And that we find hope.

And that we find meaning.

And that we find purpose.

That your one act covers a multitude of sin.

Of all creation.

Lord, I thank you that you came and you dwelt among us.

And that when you left, when you ascended, Lord, you left your spirit with us.

So that right here, as we face the battles that we face, the journey that we're on.

Lord, we're not alone.

Lord, you're here with us.

Lord, I pray that this morning, Lord, we could look at this dad.

Number one, Lord, who knew that he was desperate.

Who, number two, knew that he needed Jesus.

And who, Lord, number three, knew that he, even as much as he believed, he was still incapable and needed you.

So, Lord, from the heart of the individual who's lost, to the heart of the saint who's on this journey with you.

Lord, I pray that you would reveal to us in the power of your spirit our desperation.

Lord, we need you when we need you alone.

We may trust you and lean into you and impress into you.

Lord, today, could we worship you because of the exodus.

Today, could we worship you because of Calvary.

Lord, today, could we worship you because not only could a tent not withhold you, but neither could a tomb.

Lord, you're here with us now.

Jesus, we believe.

Help our unbelief.

It's your name we pray.

Amen.

In just a moment, we're going to stand and we're going to respond.

The altar's open.

I'll be down front here because I've got to come up at the end in just a moment.

If you need to pray, we're here for you.

If you can talk to somebody about a relationship with Christ, we want to talk about that with you.

But more importantly, we want you to respond in how God's bringing you.

So where's your desperation?

Where's that moment?

Where's your unbelief?

Stop trying to hide it like he knows it.

He knows it.

Just lay it out before him.

And see what God's going to do in your life.

You stand as we worship him.

Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram.

We'll see you next time.

We'll see you next time.