Luke 9:37-42

Luke chapter 9, beginning with verse 37 and reading through verse 42. And it came to pass that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. Behold a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee look upon my son, for he is mine only child. Then loa spirit taketh him, and he suddenly cryeth out, and it tareth him, that he foamed again, and bruising him, hardly departed from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out, but they could not. Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. and as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tear him. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and delivered him again to his father. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this morning. The godly Samuel judged Israel all the day, of his life. His sons, Joel and Abaya, however, to their father’s disappointment, did not know the Lord. And this became very evident when Samuel tried to install them as judges over Israel, and we find that Joel and Abaya did not walk in ways of their God-fearing father. They took bribes. They perverted justice. It was a sad state of affairs. It’s grievous for Christian parents to have children and see their children under the power and influence of Satan and doing evil. It’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking. Our text provides, in a sense, a case in point, and it shows how best we should handle this situation. I want to talk about concern about your children from this text of scripture this morning. Now here we have the story of the demon-possessed son. It’s also found in Matthew and Mark’s Gospel of all the story of the demon-possessed son. the accounts, Mark’s gospel is the fullest and the completest in giving us information about this. Also, by the way, just as an aside, this doesn’t cost anything. I threw this in especially for you. As an aside, Mark’s gospel cannot simply be an abridgment of Matthew’s gospel. Because it has all this extra information. Many of aside all, it’s just an abridgment. it’s not. It is an independent, original work inspired by the Holy Spirit. There’s just one case in point for you to consider. Now, immediately following the night on which Jesus Christ was transfigured up on the mountain, the hill is the text says here, up on the mountain before Peter James and John, we find here that they came down to join the other disciples who were down below the mountain. And when Christ came to his disciples, there was this group of people that were around his disciples. And he saw a great multitude, as Mark has told us, and the describes he were questioning with them. This is why there were much people there. There was sort of a… debate going on, some type of argument going on when Jesus returned. This question or dispute involved the scribes. Now, we probably could suppose that this was about the fact that the disciples that the disciples could not cast out this demon. They were probably being ridiculed, mocked by the scribes. at this point. And a multitude’s upon seeing Christ who were immediately drawn to him and flocked to him to him to see what he was going to do and say about the situation because they were his disciples. And he had trained them. This is the setting for the incident related in our text. Now let me begin by saying this. Let’s talk about what you as a Christian parent should do. when troubled about the state of your child or your children. Versus 38 the 40. Now you may have children under the power here of Satan. Verse 39 says, and lo a spirit taketh him and he suddenly cryeth out and it tariff him that he foameth again and bruising him, hardly departeth from him. Here you find a father. A father that’s greatly distressed because of the sad state of his only son. And if you read Mark’s Gospel, chapter 9, verse 34, it appears to us that he is a believer in Christ. I believe, help my unbelief. It was not some bodily diseased that plagued his son, but demon possession. And the scripture is very careful to separate, as we saw in chapter. chapter 9 in verse 1 physical disease from demon possession there’s two separate things when Jesus sent out the the apostles he says you heal the sick cast out the demons there are two separate things and i think this is an example here in chapter 1 and in verse 1 of this situation Now this spirit that tormented this boy, it’s called a devil. Later on in verse 42 he’s called an unclean spirit. He was a demon. Demons and devils are fallen angels. They joined in with Satan’s rebellion against God and were cast out of heaven originally. But now they are in lockstep with Satan. opposing Christ and the advancement of his kingdom on this earth. Now this boy was under the power here of this demon, which seized him. The Bible says it taketh him. It seized control of him. This boy would cry out or shriek when he had this occur. Caused him to foam at the mouth. And the boy would cry out or shriek when he had this occur. fall down and to hurt himself because you get bruised as the scripture says here in this passage. As we read, you read in Matthew 1715, for oft times he falleth into the fire and off into the water. As if, you know, this demon was harming this child when he got possession of him and hardly departeth from him, which indicates to us that with great difficulty, this demon would, and sometimes depart from him, but then the demon would always come back. You’ll notice when Jesus heals the boy, he tells the demon, don’t come back. When he cast out the demon. How all this grieved the father because the son was under Satan’s pot? Now here you are as a Christian parent, and your child may not be demon. and possessed. But he or she is born with the depraved nature and without conversion, without salvation in Christ, is under the power of Satan. The Bible says that Paul was sent out to preach, to open the eyes of people, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan, unto God. Acts 2618. 2. Timothy 2 talks about God, Paraventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive at his will. So here you are, you could be a Christian father or mother, and may be just as troubled about. your child because Satan is controlling the situation. It seems evident from scripture that not all the children of Christian parents are brought to salvation. Kane might have had an able, or excuse me, Adam may have been able, but he also had a Kane, who the Bible tells us was of that wicked one. Abraham may have had an Isaac, but he also had an Ishmael, and the scripture says that he was born after the flesh and persecuted the one who was born after the spirit. Isaac may have had a Jacob, but he also had an Esau who was called in scripture a profane person. Eli had Hoffnai and Phineus. This high priest had two sons of Belial, the Bible says. Samuel had Joel in Abiyah who turned aside after filthy lucre, the Bible says. David may have had a Solomon, but he also had an Absalom who was prideful, arrogant, and hateful as a son. Now, it may be that you have attempted to bring your child up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, but they rebelled against it. Eli, the high priest. of Israel at those two sons, Hoffnion, Phineas, who the Bible says very clearly, who knew not the Lord. Now, it’s a sad thing. When here you are as a high priest and your two sons are priests, who are offering up the sacrifices, and yet they don’t know the Lord. These two men were profane. The Bible says they even lay with the women that gathered at the game. of the tabernacle. They disregarded God’s law with regard to the portion that was to be given to the priest from the sacrifices. They just took whatever they wanted. And the Bible says that the people abhorred the offering of sacrifices under the Lord because of these two men. Can you imagine that? Eli tries to admonish them. He says, why do you do such things? Try here of your evil doings all this people. Name my sons, for it’s not good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Sadly, the Bible says notwithstanding, they harken not under the voice of their father. They wouldn’t listen. Sometimes despite whatever efforts you put into bringing your children up under a godly influence. It may be that they turn out covetous, foolish, and worldly, and it’s heartbreaking. The devil appears to somehow retain his power and control over your child and you say to yourself, I shall go to the grave sorrowing about this matter. So you may have children under the power of the power of of Satan. Notice also, you may be disappointed when godly ministers are unable to help your children. Now, we see the failure of the disciples in this passage. When Jesus sent forth his apostles in chapter 9 verse 1, the Bible says he gave them power and authority over all deemines. And yet, These disciples could not cast out this demon, but they had the power to do so, did they? What was the matter? We’ll find out in the moment. But on this occasion, they failed, and they failed before the scribes who were willing to ridicule them and mocked them and denounce them because they opposed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, why does this happen? Well, I think Christ had a purpose in allowing this to happen the way it did. One is humility. One is to teach the disciples some humility and to demonstrate their dependence upon him that without him they can do nothing. It’s not that they had the power. He gave them power. And they need to recognize that. Secondly, his power and authority is much greater than theirs. That was another good lesson for them to learn. Their ability to cast out demons was a gift. Christ’s ability was innate. Do you remember this story about the widow’s son that dies? She goes off to get Elisha to come back and spare her son. And Elisha sends his servant in Gahazi, and he says, take my rod or my staff in your hand and run and don’t talk to anybody in the way. When you get there, lay the staff next to the child. We’re on the child. Did it? revived the child? Did it spare the child that was a child able to be brought to life by this? No. Only when Elisha came. Could the child be? raised. So we see here the instruments, the disciples, can’t do it on their own. It takes the true prophet, Jesus Christ, to raise, in this case, cast out the demon. The third thing is found in verse 41 is their lack of faith. Their lack of faith in doing what Christ gave them to do. It was also a cause of their failure. So here’s the failure to disciples. Now, friends, we see from this, if we can draw from this this morning, perhaps you as a Christian parent have brought your children faithfully to church. They’ve sat under the preaching of the Word of God. They have even been counseled, maybe by a pastor or one of the elders of the church, but all to no veil. For years. they’ve heard the minister’s sermons. You have tried to train them at home. Perhaps they’ve had counseling and monishing and the warnings and so forth. And yet the child remains unaffected. Maybe you’re disappointed by the failure of the minister and elders to affect any change in your child. Here’s a hard lesson that we have to learn, though. All human instrumentality is bound to fail to change anyone without the grace of God. You can have the best counseling in the world. You can hear the best sermons in the world. You may be sitting there and the pastor may be preaching a sermon that you think, boy, this is really good for my child to hear, and the child hears it. No effect. No fact. Christ alone has the power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as God the Father has given him. That’s what John 172 tells us. What a humbling lesson to learn. You hear a very convicting message. I said, surely this is going to do it. Surely this will bring my child to repentance unless God works, it won’t. So he reminded that the power to give eternal life rests solely with Christ. He alone can raise the spiritually dead. So you may be disappointed when godly ministers are unable to help your children. But here’s the point. And I think verse 38 is the key factor here. You must always bring your child to Christ for help. Behold, a man of the company cried out saying, Master, I beseech thee. Look upon my son, for he is my only child. gospel gets us a little more fuller information. It tells us that this man came kneeling before Jesus, pleading, begging Jesus, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son. The Father implores Christ to help. Nobody else can help me. Help me. Christ will just compassionately look upon this son of his, his only son. If he’ll just do this, he could be healed. The demon could be taken away. The power of Satan can be broken. What an example this is for Christian parents when we think about. Do exactly what this man did. Isn’t this really our only hope? Sure, it helps to have Christian counseling. Yes, it helps to have the training at home. But ultimately, here it is. Lord, have mercy on my child. That’s really the bottom line of all this, because Christ is the only one who can break the power of Satan over your children. My friends, we get down on our knees, we beseeched the Lord. You say to me, but, Pastor, I’ve done this for years. Don’t give up on your efforts. Men always to pray and ought not to faint. Sometimes, Christ, Christ, waits to be gracious in the calling of our children. And so we have to persistently ask and seek and knock at the throne of grace. Scripture talks about, give him no rest, about the matter. I knew a Christian family that despite their efforts at godly training and regular church attendance, had a wayward son. He was quite a grief to his parents. He rebelled against all the religious training that he was given. And he grew up to be a man of the world. He was a very profane man. Had no interested church, his parents kept praying for him. In his 30s, this man came under a conviction of his sins. and began to have long discussions with his parents about the condition of his soul. And they urged him plead with Jesus Christ to save you. And they continued to pray for him. And Christ granted this son grace. He was a changed individual, completely different than he was. growing up. I knew him. I saw him grow up. And when I thought about it, I thought if anyone had told me this was the one that God was going to reach out and save, I would have been surprised by it. But we shouldn’t be surprised. God is able to save all kinds of people under all kinds of circumstances. The parents’ prayers were answered, but it took years before they got answered. the power of prayer and intersection is great. Just remember that God’s time of conversion may not coincide with your own. Don’t despair. Keep pleading with the Lord, show mercy to my son or my daughter, as the case may be. What you as a Christian parent should do when troubled about the state of your son. Now secondly here, my second main point is this. You need Christ’s power to have. help you as a Christian parent. Now notice verses 41 and 42. O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tear him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and delivered him again to his father. Now, you do live in a faith. and perverse generation just like the day of Christ. Jesus seems to rebuke the sins of all who were concerned in this matter. Now we particularly could focus on the scribes in the multitude here. The scribes had been insulting the disciples because of their inability to cast out the demon. They didn’t believe Christ gave them the power to do this. but also the multitude. They didn’t believe on Jesus Christ so they had heard the gospel many, many times. It saw many other miracles and also saw Jesus casting out demons. The father of the demon-possessed boy also could be included somewhat here for his weakness of faith. And finally, the disciples, who did not exercise their faith, in their attempts to help the boy. Now with the scribes and the multitude, they were totally faithless. They were perverse. No question about it. The father and the disciples were not perverse. Nor were they completely faithless, but their faith was weak. But they were faithless in one particular area. It’s interesting. You’ll recall the story when Thomas refused. to believe that Christ was raised from the dead. And he comes the second time and he says, okay, put your finger here in my handprints, you know, thrust it into my side. It’s me. And what does he say, Thomas? Be not faithless, but believe him. He was faithless in this one area. We certainly believed he had faith in Christ. So Jesus says to the Father, if thou can’tst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth in Mark 9.23. You can believe that I can do this. It’s possible. It can happen. But we do read in Scripture that Christ could not do many, mighty works among some of the people. Because unbelief rain. This generation of Israelites was probably the most faithless there was. And it hurts them. themselves for this. Now, if you don’t have any faith at all, it tells us here that you’re perverse. Now think about that in a minute. The scripture says this. Under them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure, but even their mind and conscience is defiled in Titus 115. Perverse here is used to indicate sin when it’s reached its worst state. Those who have faith, those who have faith are generally obedient to God’s commands. Those in unbelief oppose God’s revealed will and are rebellious. Now, the problem we have is living in a faithless and perverse generation has a tendency to rub off on us. And so we have to be careful here. It is a hindrance to our walk in this world that all those around us have this faithlessness, this perverseness about them. Let us cry out with the Lord here and realize, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? It grieves you to be in such a situation. You live in a faithless and perverse generation. Now notice here, you must ask in faith believing Christ can break Satan’s control of your child. Now turn with this. me to Mark chapter 9 once again mark chapter 9 begin with verse 19 he answereth him and set all faithless generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I suffer you bring him unto me they brought him under him and when he saw him straightway the spirit tear him and he fell on the ground wallowed foaming and he asked his father How long is it ago since this came unto him? He said of a child. And oftentimes it has cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him. But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out. out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. When Jesus saw the people came running, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying on him, thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter him or enter no more into him. There’s some unbelief in the father, even though he believes in Christ overall. This case was longstanding. and it was severe. You see even what happened to the boy as he’s brought to Jesus Christ, how he’s thrown down to the ground. And you can imagine the father begins to doubt if anyone can help his son because of this powerful influence of Satan over him. And Jesus tells him, if thou can’tst believe it’s possible. And the father, struggling with doubt, I believe, help my unbelieve. He did really believe that Christ was able to heal his son. But the severity of the case caused some doubts to rise in his mind over this issue. His prayer to Christ, of course, was favorably. Now, here you are as a Christian parent. Maybe you have a wayward child. You’re grieved about his spiritual state. Let us be instructed and encouraged by this account. because bring your child’s case to Christ believing he has the power that break Satan’s control and hold over your child. Bring him to me. Though human means may fail you, though the situation may appear on the surface to be impossible, don’t disfell you. let us ask in faith not wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven him with the wind and tossed if doubts persist pray the same thing this man did lord i believe help my unbelief christ does not always answer our prayers for our children as quickly as we would like to and maybe as quickly as it happened in this case Christ’s time to save your child may be different than your own. But be persistent. Don’t give up. Ultimately, you may be willing to say, you may have to say, you know, thy will be done. I don’t have a promise that guarantees the salvation of a child. But who knows what Christ will do? And what may be impossible to us, nothing’s impossible to him. So you need Christ’s power to help you as a Christian parent. It is disappointing. It’s grievous if we have any children as Christians that are not saved. It, you think about the time you spent and trying to train them and teach them as scriptures and work with them. But God’s time is different than ours. you know, some children are saved when they’re young. Some children are saved when they’re older. I can’t tell you what God is going to do and how it works with your child. But I tell you this much. Realize this, that your children do start out of the power of Satan. And even our best efforts, as parents, and bringing in the church and maybe hearing the preaching and the copy, counseling of the elders or something of this nature. Do not always bring about the salvation of our children. Realize this. You can always bring your children before the Lord. You can always lay their case before Christ and believe that he has the power to break Satan’s control and save your child. That’s where our hope always lies. Let me. encourage you this morning with that in mind. I hope, as we have some young, you know, children here, I hope that all of them are saved in younger years. You know, you like to see children use their whole life to serve Jesus Christ. But we don’t always know what God’s plan is. Let us keep in mind this story and realize the power of Christ can break. Satan’s control. Let us close.