Faith in Desperate Times
Notes
Transcript
In our last two lessons, Peter’s discipleship training kept him at the Sea of Galilee. Now we’ll journey with Peter to a new classroom. the roads of Capernaum. Here, he’ll learn, along with a man named Jairus, a powerful lesson on unbelief.
John Wooden- “Reptition is key to learning.”
Indeed, we see this in Peter’s life. In our last lesson, we watched as Peter learned that trust and obedience are foundational to becoming a disciple of Jesus. But Peter had not mastered the concept from that one experience. In fact, we will see interwoven through every succeeding lesson the importance of “Trust and Obey.” Good teachers understand,as Jesus did that continual reinforcement of learning is vital. We can all be grateful that the Lord is so patient.
When it comes to trusting the Lord, we are often merely a step away from unbelief. We more easily doubt than we trust. With God’s help, however, we can leave doubting behind and walk forward in faith. Three times in the New Testament the Bible tells us, the just shall live by faith.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
As we continue out discipleship education, let’s travel back to the dusty roads of Capernaum and see Peter learn, once again that nothing is too hard for God.
The Sad situation
The Sad situation
When sin sentered the world, paradise on earth departed. Out of the resulting tragedy, death is one of the most heart-wrenching struggles we face, particularly the death of a child. In this lesson, we meet a man named Jairus who was facing the treminal illness of his young daughter. Undoubtedly, he had call the best Doters, sparing no expense. But despite all his efforts, nothing worked. And barring a miracle, he and his wife had accepted that their daughter would die. When our passage opens , we see this anguished father, fully aware that his only hope was Jesus, casting himself at the Saviour’s feet.
The Father’s Plea
The Father’s Plea
On the surface, Jairus appeared to have it all a ruler of the synagogue, he held a great position. But at this moment, he had one despeate thought in his mind- if he could just get to Jesus, his dying daughter would be healed. When he saw the Lord, he, a man of power and authority, humbly cast himself at Christ’s feet. In fact, the Bible says Jairus “besought him greatly.” This wasn’t a simple request, but an impassioned plea for help. He knew the Lord was the only one who could heal his dying daughter.
When someone requests something of us, generally how they ask determines our response. If they begin casually, “if you get a chance,” or they say, “Just when you get around to it, but no rush,” then we’ll usally take it casually as well. We understand it doesn’t matter much one way or the other.
But if the person would come to us in great distress, as Jairus came to Christ, we would be much more likely to act, not only immediately but with a true sense of urgency.
When we pray, how do we ask something of the Lord? Are we fervent like Jairus was? This is how God wants us to talk to him.
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
In these verses on prayer, James recounts the passage in 1 Kings 17 of Elijah who prayed earnestly that it might rain to show God’s power to an unbelieving king. When you pray, be earnest. Be fervent. God will take note.
Pray without ceasing.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears are open unto their cry.
When we fervently pray, the Lord hears us, just as Jesus heard Jairus’ desperate request for help.
As Christ traveled to Jarius’ house, Peter and the rest of the disciples followed. An unexpected delayy, however, was just around the corner. And this would, to many, seem to be a delay Jairus’ daughter couldn’t afford.
The Daughter’s Plight
The Daughter’s Plight
In Jairus’ heart, there was hope. Jesus was coming. Jairus believed his daughter could be healed. But in the middle of their journey, Jesus stopped.
Out of the throng of people came a desperte woman plagued by an issue of blood and she simply touched the Lord and was healed. Like Jairus’ daughter no dotor could bring her help, so she came to the only person who could. Jeus saw her faith and healed her.
But this delay appeared to be a fatal one. A messenger from the house came, saying, “Thy daughter is dead: why troublest the Master any further?” At that point, it seemed Jesus was too late.
At the beginning of the story, Matthew records the father telling Jesus his daughter was even now dead.
While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
Mark tells us she was at the point of death.
And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
and luke says she was dying.
For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
Based on this, Jairus was apparently expecting her death. When he said his daughter “is even now dead,” as recorded by Matthew, he was pointing out that she was sick that surely she could have died by the time he reached Jesus.
Where doctors could no longer help, where medication could no longer cure, Jairus knew there was one who could previal, and His name was Jesus. “come and lay thy hand upon her,” he urged, “and she shall live.” At this moment, Jesus was not just the last resort; He was the only resort.
Even though Jairus began with great faith, Jesus knew the delay on the way and the report that his daughter actually had indeed died could undermine his faith. Thus Jesus encouraged Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe.”
Like Jairus, do we take our cares to the Lord no matter how big our problem may seem to be?
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.
Are you in the middle of a hopeless situation? have you tired everything to no avail? Only until we’ver given our burdens to the Lord can we rest knowing we’ve done all we can.
In the early 1900s Charles Tindley pastored a large church in Philadelphia. One of his members came to him and poured out a long list of troubles. Tindley’s advice, based on 1 Peter 5:7, was “Put all your troubles in a sack, take ‘em to the Lord, and leave ‘em there!” Out of this converation came the hymm “Leave It There.”
If the world from you withhold of its silver and gold, and you have to get along with meager fare,
Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird- take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
Leave it there, Leave it there,
Leave it there, leave it there,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there;
If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
- Charles Tindley
Often, we know what to say to others, right? when we are going through a diffcult times and other Christians come to try to give confort, we say have given our burdens over to the Lord. But do we really? or are those just words?
Sometimes we do go to the Lord in prayer but we pick back up the burden and came it with us never truely leaving it with the Lord.
We not only with this with our burdens we do it with our sins. The Bible tells us that if we confess our sins God will forgive us. But we don’t want to give ourseleves.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
End with a video from onetimeblind “Trash.”
