Pastor Scott Andrews | April 6, 2025
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Luke 9:37-43
Mountain-top experiences – we’ve all had them. When you got to the end of the semester, took the final or turned in the project and scored an A. When you finally got the nerve to pop the question, and she said yes. At the birth of a child – nothing quite like it. When you applied for the job you always wanted and got it.
How about this: times when you experienced the grace and presence of Jesus in remarkable ways. Maybe it was a time of camp or retreats – we’ve just had several, haven’t we? When we got away from the routines of school or work and were immersed in spiritual activities. Great music, challenging speakers, compelling altar calls, emotional times of prayer and forgiveness, late nights, sweet fellowship. Were there emotional decisions induced by lack of sleep and peer pressure? I’m sure – but there were others, made in the presence of a living, convicting, inviting Holy Spirit – decisions which changed lives forever. Times when you experienced the power and glory of God unlike anything you had ever seen before. A mountaintop.
Of course, as we get older, we don’t do summer camps anymore. No, we’re much too sophisticated. We do conferences, seminars and retreats. We don’t stay in bunkhouses (unless you’re on a men’s retreat), we stay in hotels. We don’t eat in cafeterias, we eat in restaurants. But we still meet God in a special way. Great music, challenging speakers, compelling altar calls, emotional times of prayer and forgiveness, late nights, and sweet fellowship. Orchestrated emotional decisions? Perhaps in some cases – but in others, some of you can recount decisions that changed your lives forever. Special times away from changing diapers and screaming kids and bills you can’t pay and work you can’t stand, where you met God – and He met you.
Mountaintop experiences – we’ve all had them. It may be you didn’t have to go away to experience one. Some have come when God met you in a special way during our corporate gatherings, others in the quietness of your own home, perhaps others during a trial or crisis when God showed up and His grace sustained you in a remarkable way. Mountaintop experiences – not only have we had them, we like them – we want to stay on the mountaintops. Remember, you didn’t want to come home from summer camp. You didn’t want to lose the glow from the campfire as you held hands and sang Kumbaya or Firm Foundation. You didn’t want to leave the conference – you wanted to continue to experience the glorious euphoria of corporate worship in God’s presence. Of course.
But there is a significant challenge: all mountaintop experiences are separated by valleys. Some low, deeply cut valleys. There comes a time when we must descend the mountain to face the everyday challenges and trials of life. Despite all our efforts to maintain the glow and tingle, to experience the glory, despite all our efforts to stay in the euphoria, it eventually, usually quickly, fades, and we find ourselves in the trenches facing yet another insurmountable battle. We try to convince ourselves – when I go home, I’ll never be the same again. I’m going to take the mountaintop with me. Then the trials of everyday life come, perhaps the very next day. Those trials may be as severe as Satan’s fiery darts, they may be as simple as the mundane, dreary, dull, hum-drum existence of everyday life. If I have to take another test, if I have to change another diaper, if I have to face another day at work…. After God has given us a glimpse of His glory, while we would just as soon stay there, He sends us back into the thick of the battle. To face things like screaming kids, biting spouses, throbbing pain, unresolved prayers, struggles I can’t seem to overcome, and demons that won’t come out.
You see, on the mountain, everything seems clear – no striving, no distractions, it was powerful, unforgettable. But mountaintops are only mountaintops because they’re separated by necessary valleys. If there were no valleys, there would be no mountaintops. And in the valleys is where we live. They’re hard, they’re difficult, and it’s hard to see the glory. If you find yourself on the mountaintop today, I have a word for you – praise the Lord, relish His sweet presence. But know this, the valley’s coming. And if you find yourself in the valley this morning, and you’re really struggling – pay very close attention. You see, Luke paints a picture for us – that the glory of God is to be found not only on the mountaintops but also in the valleys.
A couple weeks ago, we looked at a mountaintop experience. In fact, it may be from that story the term “mountaintop experience” comes. You remember – Jesus led the inner circle, Peter, James and John literally up a mountain. And they experienced, without doubt, the greatest literal and spiritual mountaintop of their lives, at least to that point. We call it the Transfiguration.
Can you imagine what it must have been like? The disciples were actually able to see Jesus peel back the flesh. They saw Him reveal His glory that He had with His Father before the world began, the glory veiled by human flesh at the incarnation, the glory He will display for all to see at His second coming. It’s going to be great. And they got a foretaste. They saw the glory, experienced it – we saw His glory, John said, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Peter said were eyewitnesses of His majesty (interesting word) on the holy mountain. This was the mountaintop experience of all mountaintop experiences.
And you remember, Peter wanted to stay, right? Jesus, let’s stay around the campfire and warm up to its glowing – roast some marshmallows and sing another round of Pass It On. Let’s build three tents, for You, Moses, and Elijah. Let’s have a retreat and hang out for a while. Besides the fact Peter didn’t understand the significance of the event and didn’t understand the singular uniqueness of Jesus – besides that, he missed another vital truth – you can’t live on the mountaintop. You have to go to the valley and face the challenges and battles of the Christian life. And as you descend into the valley, you may have the experience of failure, weak faith – of a father with his son – the struggle great. Read the text with me – Luke 9:37-43a.
In 1517, the Italian painter Raphael Sanzio began his now famous painting called The Transfiguration. He worked on it until his death in 1520 – someone else finished the work. But notice how Raphael pictured the event – Jesus up on the mountain, with His disciples, and Moses and Elijah. Light, glory, all around. I’m not sure about Jesus levitating, we’ll go with it. Down in the valley, we see the vain attempt of the disciples to cast the demon out of the boy. Notice – while a few were on the mountaintop, most were in the valley. Mountaintops and valleys exist at the same time. And we all move through life from peak to peak, valley to valley. You see, God doesn’t expect us to live on the mountaintops. Let me give you the outline of the text as we make our way through the story:
I. The Impotence of the Disciples (37-40)
II. The Power of Jesus (41-42)
III. The Majesty in the Valley (43)
Let me tell you what we’re going to do. We’ll look at this story and see failure, and trial, and weak faith, and the answer to all that in faith-filled prayer and trust – to trust in the greatness of God even in the valley. And we’ll end in a time of prayer and communion to be reminded what Jesus did, and that He is present with you, right now. I want us to increase our weak faith in the midst of whatever challenging trial you may be facing, right now.
But let’s start with the impotence of the disciples. As Jesus and the inner circle descended the mountain the next day, they came back to a crowd of people waiting for Jesus. As soon as they saw Him, they began running up to Him, Mark says. It’s who they were looking for – in fact, that’s who a distraught father was looking for. And he shouted, “Teacher, I beg You to look at – give regard to my son, for he is my only boy.” Luke likes that – Jesus cared for many who’s only child was sick or even dead. Remember the widow of Nain whose son was being carried in funeral procession to be buried – it was her only son, so Jesus, in His mercy, stopped the procession and raised the son to life – and gave him back to his mother.
So don’t miss the man was looking for Jesus, meaning his hope was rightly placed. But Jesus wasn’t there. You ever feel like that in the midst of a significant challenge – I’m came to Jesus, but He wasn’t there. My prayers seem empty, meaningless – they just bounce off the ceiling. Listen, if you are a child of God, there is no such thing as a prayer that bounces off the ceiling. Notice, Jesus showed up at just the right time. He had some faith to strengthen, and maybe that’s true in your life. Listen, God always answers the prayers of His children according to His sovereign and good purposes. We may not see it, may not understand Him, but trust we must.
Matthew tells us the man fell on his knees. All three synoptic gospels tell this story right after the Transfiguration – Matthew, Mark and Luke. But Mark’s account is twice as long and has some intriguing detail, which we will notice. The father goes on, I brought my only son because a spirit seizes him – all three accounts tell us this was a case of demon possession. I say that because many today want to suggest this was simply a case of epilepsy or grand mal seizures. But while his symptoms may be similar to those maladies, all three accounts make clear this was demonically induced. Perhaps it was epilepsy, but it was made much greater by demonic actions.
Understand, somewhere there is a balance between dismissing demonic activity as mere mental or physical sickness and seeing a demon under every rock and behind every tree. Demons are real, and we should be aware of their schemes to destroy people made in the image of God. That’s the issue here. Demons are always opposing God and His work, especially people created to reflect God’s glory and grace. The devil’s job is to steal, kill and destroy. That’s what was happening here – regardless of the son’s physical challenges – the forces of evil were seeking to destroy him.
As we read these accounts, we find this demon seized the boy, he screams, and it throws him to the ground in a convulsion with foaming at the mouth. It was quite difficult to get the demon to leave, and when he did, he mauled the boy as he left. The other accounts tell us the demon also caused the boy to be both deaf and mute and caused grinding teeth and paralysis. In fact, we find he’s been possessed since childhood, and the demon would throw the boy into the fire or water to destroy him – again, seeking to attack this divine image bearer. We can only imagine what the boy looked like – perhaps scarred and disfigured after years of demonic attack.
Now understand, this is all intentional. Jesus is teaching His disciples and us something about His glory and greatness in the valleys. Further, we see they were going from a mountaintop, and are immediately confronted with a sin-infested world. From the glory of the only Son to the challenge of a demon-possessed only son.
But notice the impotence of the disciples. The father said, “I brought my son, You weren’t around, so I begged Your disciples to cast out the demon, and they could not.” The father is desperate, he begged the disciples. Of course, at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus sent the twelve out in pairs, and gave them authority over unclean spirits. And they went out preaching, casting out many demons and anointing many who were sick, healing them. But for some reason, this time, they were unable to do anything about the problem, unable to cast out the demon. Back to the realities and challenges and difficulties of life in the valley. I can hear Peter saying – Lord, can’t we go back to the mountain? Do we have to come down here? What’s with the failure – haven’t you promised success – where’s the glory now? Was it there?
Again, have you ever done that? You experience God’s presence in a meaningful way, maybe when you first gave your life to Him, only to immediately face a serious battle? Listen, the forces of evil know when you’ve been faced with the glory of God. They know when you’ve made new commitments, taken giant steps of faith. And they show up just as quickly to attack you, to discourage you. The disciples came off the mountain and were immediately confronted with failure. And the message for us today is this: hold onto Jesus even when you don’t feel like it – even when the glow is gone. Even when you don’t feel all tingly, Jesus says, I want you to know I’m here – you’re not always going to feel it. Hold on then with great faith.
I know it’s true in my life. Periods of closest intimacy and growth and commitment and relationship with Christ are followed with attacks, temptations, all too often, failure. With all the good things God has been doing at Alliance, you should know, there have also been attacks of the evil one. Physical attacks. Mental attacks. Spiritual attacks. The valleys are deepest, the attacks fiercest, the failures greatest following peaks of spiritual success. It shouldn’t surprise us. In fact, it should prepare us.
In this passage, Jesus is trying to communicate an important truth to His disciples, to us: you can’t live on the mountaintops. We live most of the Christian life in the valleys where we face the realities of a fallen world. And the principle Jesus wants us to learn is this: hang on to Me with everything you’ve got. My glory – majesty – is in the valley, too. Believe it, even in the most challenging of times. That’s real faith. You see, the valleys are intended to increase our faith – they are there to cause us to look to the Savior.
Now, let me ask you a question – why did the disciples fail here? Luke doesn’t tell us, but let me tell you what it wasn’t. It wasn’t because they had no power to cast out demons. Jesus had given them that authority earlier. They had the power, and it had been working. That wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t because of lack of experience – they’d cast out demons before.
The problem was the littleness of their faith. Notice, their failure caused Jesus to cry out, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you?” Strong words. Who is the unbelieving generation? Well certainly it includes the disciples. To be clear, Jesus appears frustrated with them. They had been with Him for two and a half years by now. And yet their faith was weak. He came off the mountain, where He had disclosed His glory, only to be faced by a helpless boy, a helpless father, a helpless generation, and bunch of helpless disciples. He had proven Himself to them – where was their faith?
The problem was the littleness of their faith, or perhaps, a misdirected faith. You unbelieving generation. This isn’t the first time Jesus referred to their lack of faith. In fact, in the gospels, whenever Jesus says, o ye of little faith – it was always to the disciples. They had little faith. What does that mean? Does that mean they just didn’t have enough faith? They had some, they just needed more? More, and you would have been successful? That doesn’t seem to fit the context. In Matthew’s account, Jesus goes on to say, “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will.” Jesus called the mustard the smallest of all seeds. It was very tiny, and He says, if you have just tiny faith, you’ll move mountains. Not literally, of course – then, like today, moving mountains was a way to speak of overcoming obstacles – accomplishing something of great difficulty. Jesus says, you can move mountains, you can overcome every obstacle, you can accomplish anything, nothing will be impossible to you – if you have mustard seed faith.
The problem here was not the quantity of their faith, it was the quality of their faith. That’s why He said, you unbelieving generation. Theirs was an unbelieving faith. Why? We’re not told. Perhaps they had become complacent – they’d done this before, no problem, we can do it again. Maybe they saw their previous powers as some sort of magic – all they had to do was go through their routine, and the demon would come out. Say the right words, really, really mean it.
Can’t you see the scene now? All nine disciples tried, one by one, to exercise the demon – to heal the boy. Judas, back up, it’s my turn. Obviously, Thomas, you’ve got a problem with doubting, let me try. They worked their way up, probably to Andrew – after all, he was Peter’s brother. But even Andrew failed. Why? Perhaps they had misplaced or misdirected faith – that is, they were perhaps confident in their own abilities – in themselves, rather than the proper object of their faith – God Himself. Maybe, the problem of our little faith is a misplaced object of faith. The strength of your faith doesn’t do it – it’s the object of your faith.
Remember, they had cast out demons before, they had healed people before, not because they said it right. Not because they were super spiritual guys – they weren’t. They had performed the miracles because of God’s power behind it – because of the object of their faith – Jesus Himself. It’s critical we understand, because it’s key to understanding this text. Even this story is about the glory of Jesus – first on the mountaintop, then in the valley. This is about Him, not them.
Again, that’s why Jesus goes on in Mark to say, this kind does not go out except by prayer. Jesus isn’t giving a formula – okay, demonology 101, in order to cast out really nasty demons, we’ve got to pray more. No, Jesus is saying – the problem here is you were depending on yourselves. You can cast out no demons by your own strength. This and every demon, and dare I say, every challenge requires faith and dependence on the Master. You see, the danger of mountaintop experiences is we can become complacent and self-dependent. And Jesus desires people who will cling to Him all the time – even when the glow is gone.
Which brings us full circle to the point of the passage. It’s easy to cling to Jesus on the mountaintops where there is a visible display of glory. It’s easy to hold on to Jesus at a moving summer camp or a meaningful conference or in special times of worship. But disciples, know this: you better hold onto Jesus in the valleys too, or you’ll never make it. Don’t take your eyes off Jesus, don’t focus on the circumstances and trials, don’t trust in your own abilities – hold onto Jesus with everything you’ve got. Life in the valleys requires prayer – life in the valleys requires simple faith in the Savior – not some unbelieving sense of trust in your own abilities.
We live in a sin-cursed world where things don’t always go according to plan. Where we fail, fight with spouses, deal with kids and get frustrated at work and people are sick and not healed, some are even dying, and we find that demons don’t always come out. It’s then we must hold onto Jesus. By the way – this perverted generation is a phrase used of the children of Israel in the wilderness in Deuteronomy 32 – when they lacked faith in the power of God. Don’t do it.
I’ve jumped ahead. Not only did the disciples lack faith, so did the father, to a degree, which brings us to the second point, the power of Jesus. After lamenting, how long do I have to put up with you, Jesus said, bring your son here. Please notice, the father had the sense and faith to bring his son to Jesus.
This part is quite familiar. As he brought the demon-possessed boy, the demon saw Jesus, knowing who He was, and threw the boy into a convulsion. In Mark, Jesus asked how long had this been happening, and the father replied, since childhood. It’s not that Jesus needed to know that piece of information or that He didn’t already know. He was likely exposing the magnitude of the miracle He’s about to perform. The father gives the additional information we already looked at – the demon has been trying to destroy my son. Why had he been unable to do so? I’m just guessing, but suggesting it was for this moment – for the glory of God to be displayed. Is that possible in your life as well?
At this point, I don’t want to miss it, in Mark, the father exclaims, if You can do anything, take pity, more literally, have compassion on us and help us. To which Jesus replies, If You can? Read that with the incredulity intended. Are you kidding – if You can? Do you know who you’re talking to? Is Jesus saying that to you right now? Do you believe God is able to meet you right where you are to accomplish His purposes in your life? Jesus says, all things are possible to him who believes.
Now, this verse has been wrenched out of its context to make it say what it does not say. If you just have enough faith, you can have whatever you want. And if you don’t get what you want, it’s because you don’t have enough faith. That’s not the point. The point of the verse is God has the power to do whatever He wants – through the faith of the one who believes. This is not a carte blanche promise to ask for whatever you want and God will do it. Rather, it’s a promise that God has the power to do whatever He wants. The point is not the amount of faith, but the object of faith. Everything is possible through our great, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God. I use those terms to remind us – He is present, even if you don’t feel it. He is powerful, even if you don’t have the resources. And He is all knowing, even when you don’t understand, He does. And as a result, He will always do what is best.
At which point, the father cries out with that very famous line recorded only in Mark, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” That’s one of the most wonderful statements in Scripture – one that has aided Christians for centuries – and I hope it helps you today. This guy believed Jesus could do something about his son’s condition – that’s why he brought him to Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t available. The disciples failed. Now the boy has just been thrown into a terrible convulsion. Everything seems against him. But the truth is, Jesus was drawing out and strengthening faith. This answer to Jesus was just what He was looking for: an admission of little, but a desire for great faith.
Which may be exactly where you are today. You’re in the valley. Oh, you’ve experienced God’s grace and glory in the past. You’ve had those mountaintop experiences. But you’ve been in the valley for some time. And maybe Jesus feels absent. Maybe He’s up there, unnoticing. Maybe your prayers seem unanswered. Or maybe you haven’t prayed – you’ve relied on yourself – and maybe you’ve exhausted your resources. And maybe you should cry out to Jesus today, I do believe – help my unbelief.
Don’t miss it, Jesus helped this father and delivered his son. He rebuked the unclean spirit. Not only did He command the spirit to come out, but in Mark He commanded the demon never to return. What encouragement that would have been to the father and the boy in the weeks, months, years ahead. The demon came out – he had to. The God of the universe had commanded it so. After that one final desperate attempt, throwing the boy to the ground in terrible convulsions, Jesus did what He loved to do, He gave the boy back to his father.
Which brings us to our third point and our conclusion. I don’t want you to miss it – the Majesty in the Valley. Verse 43, and they were all amazed at the greatness of God. Now, you remember when Peter referenced the mountaintop Transfiguration in II Peter 1, he said, “we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…we were eyewitnesses of His majesty…when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” Eyewitnesses of His majesty on the mountaintop. And when they came down, and Jesus delivered the demon-possessed boy, the people were all amazed at the greatness – the majesty, it’s the same word – the majesty of God. My point – Jesus majestic glory was as much in the valley as it was at the mountaintop. He’s the God of the mountains, and the God of your valleys.
Maybe that’s where you’ve been. Trying to live in the valley, facing your situations by yourself – after all, you’ve done it before, you think. And after exhausting your resources, maybe now it’s time to turn to God. Time to seek God to put His majesty on display.