July 19, 2009
Morning Worship
Text: Mark 5:21-43
Subject; Part 6 in the Seven Steps to Receiving God’s Miracle
Title: Stepping Out in Faith – The Story of Two Miracles
OK, Here are the facts. We have been going step by step toward receiving a miracle in your life. Everyone needs a miracle. If you are sitting in the pew and somehow have convinced yourself that you don’t need anything from God right now I ask you to search your heart a little deeper and find that need that you never considered before. The first four steps that we have discussed all concern a work of God and your response to that work.
1. Consecrate Yourself – God‘s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ and your acceptance of that work.
2. Stand in the River – Jesus’ promise to baptize believers in the Holy Spirit and your willingness to ask for and receive power.
3. Follow God’s presence. Seek God’s will for your life and then follow the instructions He gives you.
4. Trust God’s word. God has given us His word and it is up to us to believe that this holy book is exactly what it says it is – the Holy Spirit inspired word of God.
Now we move into a little different area. We move from what God has done in order for us to receive to what we must do in order to receive that miracle we are looking for. And it requires faith on our part. We are told that we must step out in faith in order to receive the things that make no sense to us. But we have spent the last five weeks explaining that God intends for you to have more than what you are currently experiencing with Him. He wants you to have a miracle.
Before we go any further I want you to understand what a miracle is. Many people will look at a newborn baby and say that it is a miracle. Well, as callous as it might seem babies are not miracles. Babies are something that God has ordained to happen according to the natural laws that He has set in place. Real miracles are things that happen outside the natural laws that God has established. For instance – God has set the law of gravity into operation. If you stepped off the edge of a roof the natural law of gravity wood go into effect and adverse consequences would follow. However, if you stepped off the edge of a roof and nothing happened – you just floated in mid-air – that would be a miracle. Those are the types of events that God has planned for your life. He wants you to receive what you need so that the only possible explanation would be that God worked a miracle.
I want to look at a comparison of two different people who encountered a miracle from Jesus.
Read Mark 5:21-43
Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.
I. RECOGNIZING YOUR NEED. I want you to see, first of all, that Jesus’ popularity had increased greatly over the course of His ministry. 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. As we begin the story we see Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers, coming to Jesus with a request. Jairus was not a priest, but a layman who would be in charge of the order of the service in the synagogue. He would have been someone who was held in high esteem by others. He worshiped the One true God. But in his limited understanding of the nature of God, an understanding that would have been tainted by the additions to the scriptures and the traditions of the Pharisees and others, he really didn’t have a grasp on what God wanted to do for him. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet… It is interesting that this Jew, a ruler of the synagogue, would be coming to the one that the Jewish leaders had already rejected because of his anti-religion activities. But he had a need and he turned to Jesus to have that need met. Next, I want you to look at the story that is inserted in the middle of the story of Jairus. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. Here is a woman who had suffered at the hands of doctors for twelve years. We don’t have any idea what might have caused her problem. All we know is that the doctors drained her finances and put her through painful treatments and it didn’t help. She just got worse. I suppose that she was just ready for it all to come to a merciful end. The Jewish law would, because of her impurity, have her husband divorce her, her friends disown her, her synagogue excommunicate her, and society ostracize her all because of her uncleanness, something that was out of hr control. Then something in her life changed. 27When she heard about Jesus… We don’t know what she heard, but I do know this, faith comes by hearing. My guess would be that she heard about this itinerant preacher going around the countryside casting out demons, confronting the religious leaders, and healing people. Up to this point Jesus had never been an option for her. She had tried in her own efforts to take care of the problem. What is it that keeps people from recognizing their needs? Is it because society has always pushed us toward the idea of individualism? Stand up for yourself. Be a man! Take the bull by the horns. Asking for help is a sign of weakness. A poll sheds light on a paradox of increased religiosity and decreased morality, according to sociologist Robert Bellah. His conclusion: 81 percent of the American people say an individual should arrive at his or her own religious belief independent of any church or synagogue." Thus the key to the paradox is that those who claim to be Christians are arriving at faith on their own terms -- terms that make no demands on behavior. A woman named Sheila, interviewed for Bellah’s Habits of the Heart, embodies this attitude: "I believe in God," she said. "I can’t remember the last time I went to church. But my faith has carried me a long way. It’s ’Sheila-ism.’ Just my own little voice." Charles Colson, Against the Night, p. 98 I’ll do it my way. Proverbs 14:12, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. At what point do we come to our senses and understand that God is waiting for you to ask Him for help. 2 Peter 5:7 says it very plainly, 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
II. PRESENTING YOUR NEED. As a Christian it is not enough to just recognize your need. You must bring it to Jesus. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” Jairus must have seen Jesus at work before. It is likely that as Jesus went around Galilee and preached in the synagogues and healed on the Sabbath, one of those episodes took place in the synagogue where Jairus was the ruler. Mark 3:1-6 tells such a story. 1Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” 4Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. 5He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. From seeing Jesus at work before Jairus may have had a preconceived notion as to how Jesus would heal. I want you to notice this. Jairus came to Jesus face to face and then fell on his knees before Him. When the crowd would have seen him coming they would have stepped aside because of his position, and let him pass through. The last thing that they expected would be for a leader of the synagogue to fall on his knees before the One who was bringing an end to their traditions. Even though we know that Jesus didn’t have to be present in order for healing to take place, Jesus honored his request because it was asked in faith. 24So Jesus went with him… Now turn your thoughts back to the woman in the story. Here’s a different approach. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Luke’s version of this story tells us that the crowd had pressed in so closely to Jesus that He was close to being crushed. This woman, in her desperation does two wise things. 1) She approaches Jesus from behind. Had she attempted to get to Him front the front she would have been prevented from coming to Him. One, because women never approached men in public without a husband present, and two, she would have been recognized as an unclean woman and cast aside. 2) She makes up her mind that nothing is going to keep her from getting to Jesus. Now remember, we’re talking about stepping out in faith to receive a miracle. In order for you to step out in faith you must believe that there is a miracle waiting for you, then you need to get in the presence of the miracle worker. Jeremiah 29, 11-14, 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the LORD…
III. FILLING YOUR NEED. Let’s stay with the woman for a few minutes. Why was there such a great crowd that was following Jesus? It was because of the message He preached and the miracles He had done. The people who were around Jesus had seen Him heal before and were expecting it to happen again. Look what it says happened when the woman finally got to Jesus. 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. She was in the middle of a great crowd that was expecting, but it was something on her part that had brought her healing. Let’s continue, 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. This woman had done nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn’t being chastised by Jesus for her act of faith. He wanted to make personal contact with her so she could know that it wasn’t some superstitious belief that had healed her but her encounter with the supernatural healer. Just a quick addition to this; Jesus never healed except for the purpose of bringing glory to the Father. John 14:13-14, And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. For what purpose? So God is glorified! And that is what is taking place here. Jesus made sure that everyone understood what had happened. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Now we go back to the other story. While the rejoicing was taking place in the middle of the crowd sad news comes. 35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” Did you ever wonder why these two stories were linked together like this? First of all, it’s the way it happened. Secondly, God knew that Jairus would need a faith booster. He was preparing him for what was about to happen. 36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” I want you to see what happens next. Jesus separates Himself from the crowd. I find this very interesting. This large gathering had just witnessed a miraculous healing where twelve years of doctor’s treatments had failed. Wouldn’t you think that this crowd would be so pumped that it would be to Jesus’ advantage to take a crowd of faith along with Him? But, no. This is a private matter. A man had just lost his daughter. The crowd didn’t need to see this. Jesus’ compassion for his loss is rising up in him. 37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. Jesus took His “inner circle” of friends with Him. The reason He left the crowd behind becomes evident in the next passage. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. Matthew 9:23 tells us that there were flute players there also. It looks like funeral preparations were already in place. The professional mourners were there as well as the musicians. The little girl was dead and that was a fact. 39He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40But they laughed at him. Jesus didn’t mind that they laughed. Jesus didn’t mean that she was literally asleep. He meant that this was just a temporary state. He had his mind set on one thing – the miracle that was about to take place and nothing could keep Him from it. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. Why do we consider one supernatural work of God to be more incredible than another? Why is raising the dead more miraculous than healing a woman? Why do we look at miracles in degrees rather than what they are – the supernatural work of God?
I want to end with verse 43, He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. In the first story Jesus healed the woman out in the open in front of a great crowd of people. There was no way that could be kept a secret. But the second miracle was done in private and Jesus told them not to tell anyone. Why? It is because of the difference in the crowd. The first crowd, the common people, was attracted to Jesus because of the miracle. The second crowd would most likely have been the “religious crowd” who were already convinced that Jesus had come to oppose their Law and traditions. His desire for the first crowd was to draw them to His words by the miracle. His desire for the second crowd was to come to Him by faith that was established from their own scriptures. Those very scriptures attested to who Jesus was. The Jews didn’t need miracles. They needed Jesus.
Jesus wants you to have the miracle or miracles that you need in your life. Have you taken all the necessary previous steps to receive your miracle? Now is the time to step out in faith and come to Jesus with our need. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what your need is. All that matters is that you are willing to come to Jesus and present your needs to Him personally, with faith, and then watch Him work. Are you desperate enough to push through the crowd? It doesn’t matter whether you are touching Jesus in a crowded church service or in the privacy of your prayer closet, Jesus wants you to have your miracle. Step out in faith and receive your miracle today.
