Living Miracles- The Bringer of Hope
Notes
Transcript
As we approach this scripture I am drawn to the fact of what Jesus can do in very desperate times of life. I believe there is no more desperate time than when a parent is unable to protect their children. We find Jarius in this moment. He is desperate, his daughter is dying and the only person he can think of can do anything is Jesus. He goes and finds Jesus and in the middle of Jesus going to heal his daughter, Jesus stops to heal an unclean woman. This morning we will see the significance of Jesus being involved in what seems to be a hopeless situation. We saw some of this last week but we see it again in what I believe to be a more desperate situation than we experienced last week. This week we find Jesus and Jarius approached while they are on the way to Jarius’ home and we are told that his daughter had died and that there was no need for Jarius to bother the teacher any longer but to accept the desperate truth that his daughter had died. What a devastating truth for a parent to have to accept in their lives. I cannot think of a more desperate situation. For just a minute let us put ourselves into Jarius shoes and let us feel his pain, his desperation, his suffering. In your moment I do not know what the pain is caused by and what you are struggling with. What I can tell you though is that this truth did not end there, this truth carries on into something more eternally powerful. Whatever your situation this morning, no matter how desperate, no matter how tragic. Jesus is not far off from you, while it may feel as though He is delated, let me tell you He is right on time.
Just a few years ago my son came up to me and said, Dad Hurry! you have to come see what I built. I was in the middle of finishing up a report so I told him it would have to wait a few minutes. He came running back inside and said, Dad, Hurry Up! it is about to fall over. By time I made it outside the fort he had built fell over. He was disappointed. First he was disappointed that his fort fell apart, second, he was disappointed that his dad did not make it in time because he was too slow and did not listen. What he did not know is that at sending that last report I had freed up the rest of my evening. We spent the next hour or so repairing the fort and using screws and rope. His fort was stronger than before. What appeared a hopeless situation for him was not hopeless to me as his father.
This is the same thing we will see this morning. The things that appear hopeless and like God is running late, well those things are the areas where Jesus breathes in a hope that we cannot provide for ourselves. He builds things better than we do and He repairs the things that we cannot repair. Turn with me in your Bible to Luke 8:40-42
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.
And
49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
In this scripture we will see three things. First we will see Belief beyond logic. Jesus commands a belief beyond what our eyes and minds can see and tell us. Second we will see Faith over Mockery- sometimes in the middle of our pain the healing of Jesus and His power can seem like it is too late, too weak, and too radical. Lastly we will see that Jesus us able to Speak life into Death
1. Believe Beyond Logic
1. Believe Beyond Logic
49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
Jesus invites Jarius into a position that he likely has never been invited to. A position of believing in spite of what his logic would tell him. I can imagine that Jarius felt like Jesus took too much time, had he not stopped he would have been there. I cannot imagine the level of despair that he must have been feeling. Despair is a real difficult emotion.
The dictionary definition of despair is: the complete loss or absence of hope.
In the Bible we have examples when we find despair
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
Despair brings us to a place of wondering how can God be real? If God were real why is this happening? Jarius likely found himself in the same position asking the questions. Jarius likely felt that if Jesus had not stopped to heal the unclean woman that his daughter may have been healed. Jarius no doubt was in a position of despair. Where are you in your life? I have not heard that any of you are in the position that Jarius is in but I do not believe that in here we do not have anyone who is nearing a position of despair. This morning you may be nearing your position of despair. Life is not lining up like you planned, things are more difficult than you believed they would be. Maybe you have prayed, and prayed, and yet it seems like God has not answered your prayers and now it is too late. Despair has hit your life in the way it does, drawing you to a place of having an absence of hope. You used to be able to tell yourself it would be ok but now, well you just are not so sure about that.
During the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. To comfort her, Gerhardt reminded her of Scripture promises about God's provision and keeping. Then, going out to the garden to be alone, he too broke down and wept. He felt he had come to his darkest hour. Soon afterward, Gerhardt felt the burden lifted and sensed anew the Lord's presence. Taking his pen, he wrote a hymn that has brought comfort to many. "Give to the winds thy fears; hope, and be undismayed; God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head. Through waves and clouds and storms He gently clears the way. Wait thou His time, so shall the night soon end in joyous day."
It is often in our darkest times that God makes His presence known most clearly. He uses our sufferings and troubles to show us that He is our only source of strength. And when we see this truth, like Paster Gerhardt, we receive new hope. Are you facing a great trial? Take heart. Put yourself in God's hands. Wait for His timing. He will give you a "song in the night."
Jesus is inviting us today as He did Jarius to not look at the logical scene around us but to lean in and to believe in what He can do. Notice that when Jesus invited Jarius to believe He had not yet healed his daughter, but Jarius was right there when Jesus had healed a woman who had bled for 12 years. Jarius was right there with Jesus as He did the unthinkable. Jesus is inviting us to believe in Him while the things around us tell him there is no point. The moment despair stepped in Jesus stepped in and said, hey look at what I just did, I got you! I will not let despair be your story. Can I tell you He is saying the same thing to you today.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
2 from the end of the earth I call to you
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I,
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus is inviting you to not allow despair to be your story. While logic may lead you to saying that things are not OK, things will not be OK. Jesus is standing and saying, just believe in me and things will be more than OK. Despair can take us to a place that is opposite Jesus. In Jesus there is always hope, in despair there is an absence of hope. Jesus is inviting us to live in belief over logic.
2. Choose Faith Over Mockery
2. Choose Faith Over Mockery
51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
There are 2 things I want us to look at here. First is the intimate nature of Jesus ministry. Second is the aspect of mockery that takes place. First let us look at the intimate nature of Jesus ministry. Notice that Jesus did not allow anyone other than Peter, James, John, and the parents to enter into the home with Him. Jesus was very selective on this. Some have asked why this is. I believe that the scripture gives us insight into the personality of Jesus. Jesus was personal and cared about people on a very individual level. We often think of Jesus as we do someone like Billy Graham, where He had a wide reach and touched many people. We forget that often in Jesus ministry He cared more about getting away from the crowds, sharing His ministry in a personal way with those around Him.
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
These are just a few scriptures of times where Jesus had these intimate moments and shared who He was and what He was here for with a select group of people. Often times we believe Jesus is this corporate religion and that you have to meet standards to meet with Jesus. We often feel like Jesus is so far separated. Can I remind you that Jesus is very personal. He desires to meet with you and to talk with you. The Father is the very same way. Remember what the Bible says?
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
This morning if you are in a place of despair and you feel like Jesus is far away, I want to encourage you that He is closer than you could imagine. Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with you, not a corporate relationship that is dependent on your religious behaviors. The second part I want us to see is this concept of mockery. We often think of mockery as this idea of calling out to Jesus while He was on the cross and making fun of Jesus. We do not often think of mockery as this idea of doubting Jesus as the group inside this home did.
53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
How often have you looked around at the problems or struggles in your life and the idea of prayer seemed futile? How many times has the concept of handing things over to Jesus seemed silly and pointless? Certainly this is how the parents of this little girl must have been feeling. Here is Jesus the Son of God and He cannot tell that their child is dead? What is wrong with Him? How can Jesus say something like she is just sleeping? You see Jesus does not see as we see. Jesus sees not with logical eyes but with spiritual eyes. Jesus sees with the heart of the Father. Mockery is not simply the concept of making fun of Jesus, Mockery is doubting His power, doubting His word, doubting His ability to handle all of your life.
Let me meet you on the mountain, Lord,
Just once.
You wouldn't have to burn a whole bush.
Just a few smoking branches
And I would surely be ...your Moses.
Let me meet you on the water, Lord,
Just once.
It wouldn't have to be on White Rock Lake.
Just on a puddle after the annual Dallas rain
And I would surely be...your Peter.
Let me meet you on the road, Lord,
Just once.
You wouldn't have to blind me on North Central Expressway.
Just a few bright lights on the way to chapel
And I would surely be...your Paul.
Let me meet you, Lord,
Just once.
Anywhere. Anytime.
Just meeting you in the Word is so hard sometimes
Must I always be...your Thomas?
Norman Shirk, April 10, 1981, KQ (Dallas Seminary)
Faith is full belief at all times. Mockery is not making fun of but doubting the power and presence of Jesus. How many of us are guilty of this mockery? We are called to believe in Jesus, to stand firm in His power.
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We are called to have belief in Jesus, we are called to understand that He is personal in our lives and that to doubt who He is and what He can do is mockery. When we decide to believe in Jesus and to allow Him to personally affect our lives we will get to live in the glory of His power to speak life into death.
3. Speak life into death
3. Speak life into death
54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
I do not want to take much more of your time this morning, I do want us to take this last point so seriously. Jesus wants to come into your broken life, into your time of despair, into your time of darkness and breath life into you. Jesus did not come to make much of Himself but to bring hope to the hopeless, life to the lifeless, light to the darkness, and power to the powerless. Just as Jesus took this little girl by the hand and said Child, arise, He wants to step into your life and give you the power to rise. The group inside this home left with a renewed understanding of who Jesus was. They left that room understanding not only who Jesus was but what He came for. So often we think that Jesus came so that we can all become really good Christian's. While that certainly should accompany the life of the believer. Do we really believe that is the purpose of our freedom? Do we really believe that the culmination of our Faith is that we are good looking Christians and that our lives look good and we sound good? Is that really what the result is? The result of Jesus life was that by giving His life away He saved the life of one wretched sinner, me. Jesus purpose is to bring life, to bring freedom. Can I encourage us this morning with something? Can I encourage us to have faith over logic, belief over mockery, and in doing so be a megaphone to the rest of the world of the life Jesus brings to this world! Let us all be a part of Jesus speaking life into death.
Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
Erma Bombeck.
Seize the moment. Church our greatest accomplishments in the kingdom of heaven will not be how pretty of a building we have, it will not be how good of people we were. The greatest accomplishment in heaven will be that we are a church that trades in our wants and desires so we can be a mega phone to the world of God’s goodness. Our greatest accomplishment is not being a religious church but being a church that at every moment tells people to turn their face towards Jesus and watch what amazing things He can do in their lives. To elevate every time Jesus breathes life into death. Our greatest accomplishment will be, being more like Jesus in laying down ourselves to be the servants to all, delivering freedom and hope in a world of despair and hopelessness. Are you ready to speak life into the world? It is our time, today, not tomorrow or next week, today.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
4 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
Let us be a church that points the world to the one who can speak life into their broken and weary lives. May we continue to lean in and trust in the Lord even in our own despair.
Maybe you can focus on the powerful words of Jesus, "Child, arise!" to illustrate His command over life and death, showing He can bring restoration. This conclusion could inspire believers to invite Jesus into their broken situations, trusting His power to revive what seems lost. Consider suggesting that through Him, hope and life are always possible, encouraging a renewed perspective of trusting in Jesus' miraculous abilities.
