Tested Faith

Turn in your Bibles this morning to Mark 5:35-43.

Mark 5:35-43

Mark 5:35–43 NKJV

35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

Prayer

Message

Story: The Phone Call

There are some communications in life that you remember exactly where you were, what time it was, what the occasion was and every single detail when you hear the news.

What’s interesting, there may be some here this morning that can’t remember what you ate for breakfast. Other times we can trapse across the house to the garage to retrieve something and forget what we were looking for by the time we get there. How many here have lost your glasses and they are sitting on your head?

Some of us here think you have a photographic memory, we just forgot to load the film.

But there are certain phone calls or forms of communication we never forget.

Ill. My mom’s passing

“The test came back positive.”

“There’s been an accident.”

“We’re going to have to let you go.”

“I don’t want to be married anymore.”

“The doctor wants you to come back in because he wants to talk to you.”

Life can be going along Hunky Dorey and one sentence can create a great chasm between life before the news and life after you heard the news. There is a great void.

Let’s firstly understand this morning that when we receive Bad News, it Will Challenge What You Believe.

1. Bad News Will Challenge What You Believe VV. 35, 38-40

Mark 5:35 “35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?””

Jairus had just heard one of those types of communications.

And what makes this story so interesting is what Jairus has been experiencing immediately before representatives from his home showed up with tragic news.

He was walking with Jesus at the exact time He received the news.

Jesus and Jairus were in route to go to Jairus’ home.

Please note:

Oh dear church listen, Satan knows when we are walking closest to the Lord and it can be in those moments that we receive some of our most troubling news. We want to consider this morning how we handle such news.

Jairus was an eyewitness to the remarkable miracle of seeing Jesus heal the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. He saw her humility as she fell down at Jesus’ feet and shared her whole story and the fact that she testified to Jesus healing touch on her life.

Jairus must have been floating on clouds to see this great miracle of Jesus giving this woman her life back!

Can you imagine what that did to Jairus’ faith as he was in need of a miracle in the life of his daughter?

“If He can do that for that woman, He can do something for my little girl. Let’s just get Him to the house!”

And then somebody comes walking toward them from the direction of Jairus’ home.

Do you have people that are close enough to in your circles that you can interpret their facial expressions and realize the news they have to share is not good? Jairus knew that face as the family representative was coming toward him and he knew this was news he did not want to hear.

Jairus sees this coming. And the messengers say nine devastating words:

“Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

Isn’t that how life comes at us at times? We can be so full of Jesus, singing His praises, walking hand in hand with Him, but we live with our feet on the ground more than we realize? The world swings our thinking and the thoughts of the world.

We are easily sidetracked or discouraged from the here and now and outside world taints our thoughts.

And church, that is where tested faith resides-between what Jesus has shown us time and again in our past and..... the here and now and the world’s interpretation of our circumstances.

Listen to what Paul writes to the church at Colossae:

Colossians 3:2 “2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

We constantly are bombarded with reports from this world that limits the parameters of our possibilities of thinking. And unfortunately, there are times the parameters of this world’s rules, its norms, and it’s standards play on our psychic much more than we would ever want to admit.

We listen to probabilities and statistics and chances of something succeeding or failing, and we are swayed by that mindset and it can be discouraging.

Here is the scene that Jesus and Jairus face as some of the people that were at Jairus’ house met him with the news. “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further.”

Several considerations here in this verse.

Firstly, the news that Jairus was receiving was competent news. The person that came to Jairus was emotional, but the news was competent, it was accurate. Jairus daughter was dead.

Secondly, we see reinforcement of that news by the reaction of the friends and family.

Mark 5:38 “38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.”

Jairus is attacked again with a sobering reality that by all standards his daughter is dead.

Tumult

A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible 2351. θόρυβος

thŏrubŏs, a disturbance:—tumult, uproar.

Jairus’ heart and total manner is being attacked with this disturbance, an uproar and the situation is emotional and I imagine hopeless is all over the faces of every loved one and friend there.

Jairus like all of us had never seen anyone raised from the dead. It was definitely at this moment on his bucket list for his little girl but he did not even think of that as a possibility.

Let’s be honest here. I imagine Jairus and the family was at their lowest ebb.

He knew factsd, he knew the statistics, he knew probabilities, yes I imagine hopeful, but he had never seen a dead heart resuscitated. In his mind, too much time had passed for such a feat to happen.

Do you get what I’m saying? Our faith is tested when we are trusting the Lord against the worldview mindset of things.

“There is no way you can come back from that financial calamity. The debt load is too great against your income to ever see light at the end of the tunnel.”

“There is no way to heal your marriage, there is too much water under the bridge. The wrongs that you have both committed to each other is too much to rebound from.”

“There is no healing from your sickness. There are no proven cures for what you have.”

“This church is not in a position to grow. Look around. There is not a sufficient population out here to support growth.”

“You can’t change a call in your life to follow a vocational calling for the Lord, you are too old to start over.”

We fight worldview mindsets every day and it affects every one of us.

And...that type thinking is what Satan uses as his defense against our faith.

Let’s not miss something here.

The messengers were not wrong about the facts.

Jairus’ daughter really was dead. Jesus never said she wasn’t dead. Oh listen church, the problem was not the people’s diagnosis of the daughter’s condition.

The problem was their conclusion:

“Why trouble the Teacher any further.”

Oh listen dear church, this is where unbelief enters our lives. It does not always lie to us about the facts. Sometimes we simply interpret the facts without factoring in Jesus.

Now, let’s be very clear here. I’m not suggesting that believers do not ignore facts. If your gas gauge says empty, don’t say, “I’m walking by faith,” and you continued driving toward Birmingham. By all means, stop and buy some gas.

Faith is not pretending the gas tank is not empty.

Biblical faith looks honestly at the empty tank, an empty bank account, an empty doctor’s report, or even an empty bedroom—and refuses to believe that the circumstance gets the final word over Christ.

Let’s listen to some good news in this scenario.

Mark says: “While He was still speaking...”

The messenger changed Jairus’ circumstance, but he did not change Jesus’ destination.

Oh listen church, Jesus kept walking toward the house.

That's powerful because Jesus doesn't panic. He doesn't say, “Oh no, Jairus, if that woman hadn't delayed Me…” He doesn't start moving faster. He doesn't renegotiate the plan.

The situation has gone from sickness to death, but Jesus behaves as though nothing has happened that has exceeded His authority.

2. Fear Must Give Way to Faith V. 36

Mark 5:36 “36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.””

“Do not be afraid, only believe.”

The people from the house told Jairus what had happened. Jesus told Jairus how to respond to the news he had just received.

Circumstances said, “It is over.”

Jesus said, “Keep believing.”

And Jairus was at a major juncture in the road and it is the same juncture we come to from time to time. “Which voice is going to govern my heart?”

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

Consider for a moment what Jesus did not say:

Jesus didn’t tell Jairus, “There is nothing to be afraid of.” Oh church, there was plenty for Jairus to be afraid of! His daughter was dead.

Jesus never denied the reality of the circumstance. Jesus challenged the authority that the circumstance was going to have over Jairus’ heart.

There is a tremendous difference between HAVING FEAR and LETTING FEAR HAVE YOU.

And notice what Jesus gives Jairus to combat his fear. He doesn't give him an explanation. He doesn't tell him what He's going to do. He doesn't say, “Jairus, don't worry, in about twenty minutes I'm going to raise your daughter from the dead.”

He simply says:

“Do not be afraid; only believe.”

Faith sometimes has to walk without an explanation

That's Jairus' next assignment.

Keep walking with Jesus.

That's all he can do. That’s all any of us can do.

He cannot heal his daughter. He cannot change the report. He cannot silence the mourners. He cannot reverse death.

But he can keep walking with Jesus.

“Lord, I don't understand what You're doing.”

Keep walking.

“Lord, I don't know how this is going to turn out.”

Keep walking.

“Lord, this isn't what I prayed for.”

Keep walking.

“Lord, I'm scared.”

Keep walking.

3. Faith Discovers that Jesus Always Has the Final Word VV. 37-43

First, Jesus starts reducing the noise

Verse 37:

“And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John…”

Then they arrive in verse 38:

“a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.”

And then verse 40:

“And they ridiculed Him.”

That's fascinating.

They went from weeping to being witty at Jesus almost instantaneously.

That tells us something. They were absolutely convinced they understood the situation better than Jesus did.

Can we not be guilty of the same thing in the circumstances we face that we know more than Jesus about the severity of the situation?

The apostles thought they knew the Sea of Galilee better than Jesus did they not?

“Jesus, we know death when we see it.”

And medically speaking, they were right.

They knew the condition of the girl. They did not understand the Creator of the Universe was standing in the room.

That's the issue!

Their theology was too tiny for their tragedy.

They were calculating what could happen based upon the condition of the girl rather than the identity of Christ.

They had such confidence in their prognosis of the situation it would be like:

Someone telling Michael Jordan, “Now, Michael, basketball is a difficult game.”

Or telling Tiger Woods, “That putt breaks a little to the left.”

They're standing in the house explaining death to the One who is the Resurrection and the Life!

John 11:25 “25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”

And then Jesus does something interesting

Verse 40:

“But when He had put them all outside…”

Why did Jesus put everyone outside? Why did Jesus allow Peter, James and John on the inside?

Firstly, Jesus put the noise outside. I call the noise the Yah Yah, the distractions, those things Satan uses in our lives to weaken our faith.

Not Jairus.

Jesus.

Not the disciples.

Jesus put out the voices that said:

The voices that said, “It's over.” The voices ridiculing Christ. The voices declaring what could not happen.

Jesus removed them from the room.

There are times when protecting our faith means being careful about which voices we allow to have access to our hearts.

Peter, James, and John represent for us the humanity of Christ in that Christ examples for us to surround ourselves with the right voices. Voices that encourage, voices that lift up, that undergird, that pray for us, that love us and have our best interest at heart. Your insiders are not perfect no more than Jesus’ insiders were not perfect, but in the best of their ability and the Holy Spirit guiding them, they had Jesus’ interest at heart and Jairus’ daughter’s life.

No listen, Not everybody needs a microphone in your life.

That doesn't mean we surround ourselves with people who tell us only what we want to hear. It means no human voice gets greater authority than the voice of Christ.

Romans 10:17 “17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

They go into the bedroom.

“Talitha, cumi”

Verse 41:

“Then He took the child by the hand…”

Picture that.

The Creator of the universe walks over to the bed of a twelve-year-old little girl.

He doesn't shout.

He doesn't struggle.

He doesn't perform a ceremony.

He takes her by the hand.

And Mark preserves the Aramaic words Jesus spoke:

“Talitha, cumi.”

“Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

Church, notice something here:

Jesus speaks to death with the same authority you and I would use to wake a child from a nap.

That's why He called it “sleeping.”

Not because she wasn't truly dead, but because death in the presence of Jesus is no more permanent than sleep is to us.

The messengers said, “Your daughter is dead.”

The mourners said, “There is no hope.”

The crowd laughed at Jesus.

Death itself said, “She belongs to me.”

But Jesus said:

“Little girl, arise.”

And when Jesus spoke, every other voice became irrelevant.

Then verse 42:

“Immediately the girl arose and walked.”

No rehabilitation.

No recovery period.

No wondering whether it worked.

Immediately.

And I love the wonderfully ordinary detail in verse 43:

“Give her something to eat.

I love that. Jesus has just raised a child from the dead, everybody in the room is standing there with their mouths hanging open, and Jesus essentially says, “Somebody feed that young'un!”

Because Jesus isn't just interested in demonstrating power. He cares about the little girl.

The miracle is cosmic in its power and tender in its details.

The title:

Tested Faith.

That's what Jairus had.

His faith was tested by bad news.

His faith was tested by fear.

His faith was tested by delay.

His faith was tested by the voices around him.

His faith was tested by circumstances that appeared to be a dead end road.

But Jairus learned that day:

What looks final to us is not final until Jesus has spoken.

Now church, that doesn't mean Jesus promises to reverse every tragedy in this life. Every person Jesus healed eventually died. Even this little girl would one day face death again.

The greater message is this: there is no circumstance—not sickness, suffering, Satan, sin, and not even death itself—that has authority greater than Jesus Christ.

Invitation

This morning maybe you came into this room carrying some news.

And maybe that news has been talking to you all week and all through this message.

“It's over.”

“There's no hope.”

“Nothing can change.”

“Why trouble Jesus anymore?”

I cannot stand here this morning and tell you what Jesus is going to do with every circumstance in your life.

But I can tell you who Jesus is.

He is still Lord.

He is still Savior.

He is still trustworthy.

And He is still saying to frightened hearts:

“Do not be afraid; only believe.”

And there is an even greater death represented in this passage.

The Bible says that apart from Christ we are “dead in trespasses and sins”

Ephesians 2:1 “1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,”

You don't need Jesus merely to make you a little better.

You need Jesus to make you alive.

And the same Christ who walked into that room and spoke life where there was death is the Christ who saves sinners today.

Maybe today your tested faith needs to say, “Jesus, I don't understand, but I'm going to keep walking with You.”

Maybe you've never trusted Christ at all. Today He is calling you from death unto life.

Whatever your need, don't make the mistake those messengers made:

Never conclude that there is no reason to trouble Jesus anymore.

Come to Him.

Trust Him.

Keep walking with Him.

Because Jesus always has the final word.

Let’s pray.