Can I Have Your Attention

Intro

Desperation can sometimes seem comical to observe- Toddler suddenly looking up at you with that “Oh no I gotta go!” face realizing they need to reach the potty in time, a child tasting something sour and trying to wipe the taste off their tongue or spicy and gulping a glass of milk, Buddy and Baylee when they see their leashes come out

Desperation can allow people to perform otherwise impossible feats of endurance or strength- Mom saving Mickey from car and not realizing her leg was broken until after

Desperation can make you act irrationally in response to physical or emotional pain- Saying final goodbye to grandma on the phone and kicking a hole in the wall

Close your eyes. Think back to a time when you did something out of desperation. Where are you? What does it sound like? Who is there with you? Did you think before you acted? How do you feel? Is your heart racing?

The thing about desperation is that when you find yourself experiencing some form of it, you will do just about anything in reaction to it.

This brings us to what I want you know today:

God wants want you to be as desperate for Him, as He is for you

Luke 8:40–56 NLT

40 On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. 42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. 44 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 49 While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” 50 But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” 51 When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. 52 The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” 53 But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. 54 Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” 55 And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.

Jesus sees through all the distractions to acknowledge our desperation for Him

He stops in the middle of a crowd to acknowledge the faith that has healed the woman

Jairus was desperate because someone else was in pain- He was a father begging for his only daughter (and heir)to be saved.

The woman was desperate because she was in pain- she had physically suffered for years from what doctors deemed was incurable. She would have been an outcast, ceremonially unclean. We don’t know if she trembled in awe of Jesus or nervous He would be upset that she touched Him without permission because it would have made Him unclean.Jesus’ question, Who touched Me? does not imply that He was ignorant of the situation. He wanted the woman to reveal herself and openly express the faith which caused her to touch Him. The woman’s faith became public when she fell at His feet.

Of the many that touched him, this woman and none else received this Divine virtue; and why? Because she came in faith. Faith alone attracts and receives the energetic influence of God at all times.

Clarke, A. (2014). The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes (New Edition, Vol. 5, p. 421). Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation.

Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 227). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Distractions

Crowd of people pushing in all around wanting attention

Noisy, restricting

Jesus stops when he feels he has been touched- Jairus could see this as a distraction- also that the ceremonially unclean woman had just touched Jesus. He still had faith to let Him into their home.

We don’t posses the ability to always see through the distractions- and aren’t we distracted easily?

Family, friends, work, ambition, tv, games, cell phones, shopping, internet, social media, health, social injustice, politics, pain or addictions- physical, mental, or emotional

This world is strategically and specifically filled with distractions to take your attention away from God

Jesus patiently but desperately waits until we let Him into our life. Nothing distracts Him from your desperation for Him.

God wants want you to be as desperate for Him, as He is for you

What does Jesus have to do to get your attention so that you believe that He is everything He says He is?

What area or areas of your life are you desperate to reach out and touch the fringe of Jesus’s robe for?

Marriage, family, health, addictions

Revelation 3:20 AMP

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

Revelation 3:20 NLT

20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Explain picture

Can you hear Him knocking?

Have you already let him in?

And He is jealous for me. Love's like a hurricane. I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory. And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.

And, oh, how He loves us, oh. Oh, how He loves us. How He loves us, oh.

And He is jealous for me. Love's like a hurricane. I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory. And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.

And, oh, how He loves us, oh. Oh, how He loves us. How He loves us, oh.

Yeah, He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.

And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss. And my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about the way...