Sermon Tone Analysis

Somebody once said the two greatest enemies of faith are unbelief and fear.

Unbelief is rebellion against reality, a choice to reject what you know to be true.

*Romans 1:18–19* /18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who *suppress the truth in unrighteousness*,  19because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

/

          Unbelief suppresses the truth, pretends God does not deserve to be believed.

Fear, on the other hand, is a feeling which you cannot usually control.

I have faith in God’s protection, but if I walk into a pet store and see some crazy person with a big snake wrapped around them, trying to get people to pet it, I’m out the door without thinking, heart pounding like a jackhammer.

People tell me fear of snakes is irrational.

My fear stays unconvinced.

Fear is not always a choice, but how we /react/ to our fears /is/ a choice.

We often have to get beyond our fears to a certain level of faith.

You tell a person who is afraid of water, they’ll float, that if you just start paddling around, you won’t sink.

But they will never learn to swim until they go beyond their fear and step into the pool.

You tell somebody scared of planes that flying is the safest way to travel, statistically speaking.

Far more people die in car accidents than in air crashes.

But they have to go beyond the fear and trust before they ever enjoy traveling by jet.

We face this same situation when it comes to our faith in God.

You want to trust God completely, to ignore your worries and fears, but sometimes it is not easy.

It’s not that you reject God’s promises or His Word—your fear hinders you from trusting Him.

How can you get to faith beyond the fear?

This morning we look at a story within a story that shows how Jesus helps us do that.

Our text is *Mark 5:21-43*.

*PRAYER*

          How many of you here trust me?

(Is my wife raising her hand?)

How many of you would hold a nail and let me hammer it into a piece of wood?

You said you trusted me.

Surely you trust that I will not miss the nail and hit your hand?

Maybe it’s my aim you don’t trust.

Bro Mike’s eyes aren’t what they used to be.

That’s OK—you’d be wise not to trust me, because I don’t always hit the nail on the head.

God, on the other hand, is always worthy of your trust.

He loves you /and/ His aim is /never /off.

While you know that in your head, sometimes fear might make you hesitate.

What the folks in these verses learn is what you and I have to learn: /to choose faith beyond our fear.

/

We need a faith beyond fear in 3 areas:

*1.     **Faith beyond the fear of man.

(v.

21-24)*

One of the things you learn to live with as a parent is to keep a certain level of

concern~/worry~/fear about your kids.

It’s what makes us buy plastic plugs to put into electric outlets, what makes us warn them not to talk to strangers, what makes mothers pray so hard during football games, what makes you keep saying every time you hand them the car keys /be careful!

/Somebody posted a cartoon on Facebook: /guns don’t kill people—dads with pretty daughters do.

/When our kids are in danger, we get desperate.

*Vs.

22* introduces us to a desperate father named Jairus.

His /little daughter /is dying and he’s frantic.

He and his wife try everything they know to do, but every day she slips a little closer to death.

This drives him to Jesus, and here’s where we need to remember *vs.

22* tells us Jairus he’s a ruler of the synagogue.

The synagogue rulers [are] responsible for supervising worship services, caring for the scrolls, running the weekly school, keeping the congregation faithful to the Law, distributing alms, and administering the care of the building.[i]

Synagogue rulers have strong ties with the Pharisees, whom *Mark 3:6* tells us want to destroy Jesus.

Jairus has been warned about Jesus, told to stay away from Him.

But that was before his little girl got sick.

Jairus knows she will die unless he does something.

Imagine how shocked the crowd is to see one of the leading men in the community falls down at Jesus’ feet and beg.

He speaks words of faith in *vs.

23*: /Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.

/Jairus doesn’t care what Pharisees think.

He doesn’t care what the crowd thinks.

He doesn’t care what /anybody /thinks.

His faith brings him beyond the fear of man to Christ.

*Proverbs 29:25* /The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

/

This is a trap we all risk falling into, because what other people think is important to us.

We want to be respected and accepted.

What other people think about us can become so important it becomes a fear that hinders our faith.

You sit in the cafeteria with your friends and everybody digs right in without offering thanks.

You don’t want them to think you’re weird, so you follow the crowd.

Your friends at work look busy while the boss is watching, but when he steps out, they kick back and ride the clock.

You don’t want to feel out of place, so you do as they do.

The fear of man becomes a snare, a trap that keep you in line with the crowd, making you a prisoner to public opinion, always obedient to the mentality of the mob.

But when God intervenes, and you are driven like Jairus into a faith beyond the fear of man, a faith that puts you at Jesus’ feet, where you can finally find the help and hope you need.

/You and I need a faith beyond the fear of man./

This story also tells us we need

*2.     **Faith beyond the fear of rejection.

(v.

25-34)*

The fear of rejection by people can be a terrible burden.

But the/ fear of rejection by God /is

intolerable./

/This is the plight of this pitiful woman introduced in *vs.

25-26*.

She has suffered from her ailment for the same number of years Jairus’ daughter has been alive (*cf.

v. 42*.)

She’s spent everything she has on doctors, but not only do none of them help her—she keeps getting worse.

She is more than just sick—/she is unclean /(*cf.

Lev.

15:25*) Being unclean separates you from others—from family and friends.

But in most people’s eyes it also labels you as cursed by God.

She is suffering like this, people reason, because God rejects her.

Like Jairus she’s desperate, and like Jairus she comes to Jesus seeking healing.

Unlike Jairus, she doesn’t approach Jesus directly.

She sneaks up on Him, convinced if she can just touch His robe, His power will heal her, and nobody will be the wiser.

She’s not only afraid of the crowd—/she is afraid of Jesus.

/Perhaps she’s afraid He’ll reject her plea and confirm God truly has cursed her.

Everything goes according to plan; she gets close, reaches out and makes the touch, and she’s healed.

Everything goes smoothly until Jesus stops dead in His tracks, looks around, and asks /Who touched Me? /

/          /Another Gospel tells us the disciples can’t believe He asks.

/Lord, there are people pressing against You from all sides!

How can you ask who touched You? /

*Luke 8:46* /But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” /

          Somebody touched Him not just with their body, but with their faith.

Now this poor woman is even more terrified.

/Is He angry?