Adrian
Old-Sunday Worship May 17th, 2026
  • Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

      • 1 Peter 4:12–5:11ESV

      • 1 Peter 4:12–5:11ESV

  • There's Something About That Name
  • Doxology

      • Mark 9:17–29ESV

  • “Praying With Results”

    K. Adrian Scott
    May 17, 2026
    Contextual Introduction.
    The story of Jesus’ transfiguration in verses 2-8 took place on a serene mountaintop. Calmed by the presence of Jesus, the beloved Son of God appeared there talking with the patriarchs Moses and Elijah. While in conversation with these two great Old Testament Prophets, Jesus was suddenly transfigured before them. His clothes turned an intense and brilliant white and then in their confusion Peter spoke up and suggested he and the other two disciples with him should make a booth for each – Jesus, Moses and Elijah. A cloud covered them and then a voice spoke out of the clouds, the voice of God the Father saying, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In other words, Jesus is the only one worthy of worship!
    Leaving the splendor of that mountaintop experience, Jesus then did this according to verse 9b, “he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” The disciples left that heavenly experience only to return to their work and are immediately confronted with hell on earth, a man whose son has been tortured by the devil himself. The disciples just left the representatives of all the Old Testament saints, Moses and Elijah, and are now face-to-face with Hell’s representative, a demon, at work on earth, wreaking havoc on people and families right in the disciples' own community.
    Note: If we are going to do the work of Jesus, we need to be ready to confront the work of the enemy.
    The Text – Telling the Story.
    Vv. 14-17; “And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them? 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.”
    This account as recorded in Luke chapter 9 says this is the unnamed man’s only son! Now Satan’s power has taken the man’s son from him and the man is helpless to get him back.
    v. 14; “And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them.”
    The scribes were men who were considered legal experts and in addition to studying the law copied the ancient manuscripts of scripture, which texts would have been the Law. They were completed fixated with the Law as found in the first five books of the Old Testament, so they would be in direct opposition of the teachings of Jesus. Here in this verse, the crowd finds inspiration by the fruit of Jesus’ ministry and were in support of what Christ’s ministry was accomplishing which irked the scribes.
    vv. 15-16; “And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them?
    v. 17; “And someone from the crowd answered Him, Teacher, I brought my son to you, …” – Everyone can’t say that! And thank God for Jesus; someone who we can turn to when our backs are against the wall and there is no other place or person to turn to who can get results. Thus, the man did not let the unbelieving scribes discourage or stop him from taking his son to Jesus.
    V. 18; “And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So, I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
    The man then provides Jesus with some information about his son’s condition which is serious. The boy’s condition is the result of the demon’s possession of his body who once in possession of him violently throws him down and he becomes rigid or stiff. And this is not all; “And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him” (v. 22a). It was clear to the man that the demons wanted to destroy his son’s life. Before the man saw Jesus, he had sought help for his son from the Lord’s disciples because he believed they were qualified since they had such a close relationship with Jesus. However, the disciples were not able to cast out the demons that were in control of the boy.
    The failure of Christ’s disciples must have been a great disappointment to the man and his son! Here is something that was tragic then and remains a tragedy today, and it is when the disciples or followers of Jesus, who have heardHis Word, who have received His Word, who have seen the Lord work miracles in our own lives as well as others, yet we do not have the spiritual power to help the helpless!
    There was a man recently here in North Texas who worked in a hospital as a doctor, assumed the title, walked around wearing a white coat, knew the medical terminology, but could help no one because they discovered his credentials were fake. Now, we know that the disciples were legitimately called by Christ, but I am thinking it is far easier today for someone to claim to be a Christian and full of the power of the Holy Spirit yet not have the spiritual power to help those who need help!
    As someone famously said, ‘if you (or I) were on trial for being a Christian, is there enough evidence to convict us?’
    Based on what the man had heard and seen about the ‘Christian’ way, he expected good results, but the man and his son left the care of the disciples disappointed because at the command of the disciples the evil spirit refused to come out of the boy, and they were helpless to do anything about it. I am sure that this man was not the only one among the crowd that day who was disappointed with the disciple’s inability to help. There must have been some people there who were looking for encouragement to bring their problems to the disciples also, but since they could not help this man’s son, they cannot help me with my demons either! So, the crowd went home as discouraged and depressed as they were when they came.
    In our context, the Church of the Living God, there are no doubt people who are looking at Christ’s Church and watching to see if the lives of people are really being changed by the Gospel. And in many cases, since they are seeing people come and leave the church the same way they came, that is, with the same problems they had twenty years ago and nothing seems to have changed, the community has decided maybe the Church is not the answer!
    But here is where the non-believers are confused; anyone who genuinely wants the Lord’s help does not have to come through me or any other Elder or Bishop. They can communicate directly to the Lord Himself, and the Lord will not turn them away! So, now I want to ask a skeptical crowd, ‘what is your excuse?’ The disciples failed, and so will the Church fail, but that does not mean you cannot appeal directly to Jesus!
    There is not much use for an impotent, or powerless Church! But I believe this is exactly where we are in our world today. There is something wrong because we have too many people, millions of people who profess to be Christians of one stripe or another; both fundamentalists, evangelical, orthodox, liberal, reformed, etc., and yet we have so many problems in our society, and nothing has been done about it! As a matter of a fact, in some of our neighborhoods where there are literally churches on every block and some of those same neighborhoods have a higher crime rate than the rest of the city! Something is wrong with our religion because the disciples should have been able to help this man’s son, and so should we be able to help the very people who come to us in need of the Lord’s intervention in their lives.
    V. 19; “And he answered them, O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
    Not only was the man and his son disappointed, and not only were there possibly some in the crowd who were also disappointed, but we now know Jesus Himself was also disappointed! What is wrong? Jesus, why couldn’t your disciples able to help the man?  Jesus’ response was this- - “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?”
    vv. 20-21; “And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21And Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said, From childhood.”
    Once again, we have an example of the demonic spirits reacting to the presence of Christ. They attacked the boy as if they knew this would be their last chance to attack the man’s son. Out of obedience, which is a sign of faith no matter how weak his faith was, and with some help they brought his son to Jesus.
    v. 22; “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.”
    By throwing the boy into fire to burn him to death, and then to cast him into the water as if to drown him, these are the drastic measures Satan through his demons had taken to destroy the boy. Then the father of the boy says to Jesus, “but if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Here is the problem, the man who comes to Jesus for help really is not fully convinced Jesus will help the boy and if Jesus is willing, neither is the man convinced Jesus will succeed in helping his son! He has little faith, but it is enough faith to take his son to the Lord. However, he also lacks faith, the kind of faith that says, ‘I know the Lord will make a way out of no way!’ which is a necessary ingredient we all need for the Lord to help us. The Lord honors faith. Hebrews 11.6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. The Lord does not honor the status we possess in this world, nor does the Lord honor a person’s position or titleor our net worth, etc. But what the Lord does honor is our faith in Him, especially if we want the Lord’s help.
    Isn’t this precisely where some of us are in our walk with Christ – we are experiencing the feeling of helpless hopelessness. We see ourselves in circumstances where we see no way out of, and although we have a little faith, our circumstances are making it difficult to fully and completely trust the Lord for deliverance. But Jesus is saying, ‘don’t measure your faith based on your limited abilities but base your faith, all of it, on what I can do! “All things are possible for the one who believes!” There is no limit to what God can and will do if we just place our trust in Him! Are you willing to trust God for those things you are praying for? Are you willing to challenge yourself and ask for the things you need with a spirit of boldness? Are you willing to ask big? Ask what seems like the impossible? Ask God for the things that are hard but necessary? Listen to another passage in Mark 11.24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Believe that our heavenly Father will give you what you need, when you need it! As the perfect Father, the Lord will not withhold from you or I what we are in need of and what He knows will bring glory to His holy name!
    vv. 23-24; “And Jesus said to him, If you can! All things are possible for one who believes. 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe; help my unbelief! 
    This statement Jesus made should have brought some encouragement to the father and his sick son. Jesus’ statement tells them there is hope for his son’s healing. Isn’t hope one of the residual benefits we receive when we are spending time talking to Jesus; we begin to see hope arising out of hopelessness, what once seemed impossible now looks possible! When we continue talking to the Lord the darkened clouds of despair begin to give way to the sunlight of hope. Now get out of the way and let the Lord do it! You brought the problem, the trouble, the question to Jesus, now let Him have it! Lay your needs at the feet of Jesus and pray, ‘Lord, let thy will be done.”

      • Mark 9:14–29ESV

      • Mark 9:9bESV

      • Mark 9:14–15ESV

      • Mark 9:16–17ESV

      • Mark 9:17ESV

      • Mark 9:18ESV

      • Mark 9:19ESV

      • Mark 9:20–21ESV

      • Mark 9:22ESV

      • Hebrews 11:6ESV

      • Mark 11:24ESV

      • Mark 9:23–24ESV

      • Psalm 32:5ESV

      • Isaiah 53:5aESV

  • In Christ Alone

      • Exodus 15:2ESV

Adrian
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