Humor and Pickleball with Victor
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, good morning, everyone. you guys doing well? You guys all recovered from the festivities of the weekend? I haven't. So I was telling Victor this morning at our prayer time, I walked in, i was like, man, I feel like I'm in a fog, man. I don't know what happened. but I think it was too much pickleball.
00:00:24
Speaker
We pickleball and a man playing Rick or Steve-O, he's an animal. So if y'all want don want a challenging opponent, play Rick or Steve-O one-on-one, he'll get you.
Gratitude for American Freedom
00:00:34
Speaker
But if you guys have your Bibles, going to open them up to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. That's where we're to be spending our time this morning.
00:00:41
Speaker
But in all seriousness, I really do hope and pray that you guys had a fantastic July 4th weekend. it for For me to be up here to say this, i hope you guys know that I mean with all my heart that we live in the greatest nation this world has ever seen.
00:00:55
Speaker
um I don't mean that just to be extra patriotical or anything like that, but I mean that because, i mean, it's the truth. we We have a freedom that most people long for.
00:01:08
Speaker
And if you if you want evidence of that, it doesn't take much, just look at the border. You have people who are trying to come into this country to escape what their country is facing because of the freedoms and the opportunities that we have here in the States.
Reflecting on July 4th and Religious Freedom
00:01:23
Speaker
All going back to that July 4th in 1776 when our forefathers fought for the independence of our nation. And I pray that over the weekend that we reflected on that.
00:01:35
Speaker
Now we don't take our freedoms for granted, that we use them to the fullest of our extent. Because while we still have our freedoms, here's the reality of this, right? Because we are free, it's not just that we are a free nation, but we also have the freedom of religion our country. And we have the opportunity of declaring the greatest news this world has ever seen without fear.
00:01:59
Speaker
Now, I understand that some of you probably the room are probably thinking like, man, well, i don't know, today's country, today's culture is a lot different. There's people coming against our freedom. They're trying to take it away. But the reality is that we can sit here and dwell on that all day long, but the reality is that we're still free.
The Cost of Freedom and Sacrifice
00:02:15
Speaker
And while we still have freedom, we still have the opportunity to go and share the good news. And because the reality is that we our freedom didn't come free.
00:02:26
Speaker
Freedom isn't free. It comes at a cost. Many, many and women in our country have laid down their life so that way you and I can be in this place this morning and have the opportunity to study God's word together and to go out and to do our our things once we leave this church building today.
00:02:45
Speaker
For all of you Pineco staff, you guys are going out there back out to Pineco to do another week of ministry. And the reason why that's possible is because we have the freedom to do that. Right? Many of you guys, you guys have lunch plans after this. You guys are all seeing that I'm up here on stage. you're like, man, I really hope Josh doesn't go over today. Well, just, if you had seatbelts, I'll tell you to buckle in. So, but all that to say though, is that we have all these things in mind that we that we have that we feel like we are entitled to do.
00:03:15
Speaker
But the reality is, is that we are not entitled to any of it. It's a gift. And we should take full advantage of that gift. Because again, we have many brothers and sisters around the world right now who don't have these freedoms.
00:03:29
Speaker
they're still They're still in bondage, they're still captive to something. And the reality is though, is that we have a tendency of thinking that way, right?
Spiritual Liberation Through Christ
00:03:37
Speaker
our Our worldview is that, man, everyone else around us is held captive.
00:03:43
Speaker
But if I'm gonna bring this home for a minute, every single one of us in this room, we were once held captive. And many of us are still held captive. I'm not talking in a physical, national sense. I'm talking about in a spiritual sense.
00:03:58
Speaker
Many of us are held captive to this thing called sin. And sin is something that none of us can avoid or escape on our own. We're all born with it.
00:04:09
Speaker
We can thank our first father, Adam, for that, and Adam and Eve, right? But the reality is that the only way we can truly escape and experience freedom from that bondage of sin, just like we experience a freedom in a national sense, is by only through one person, and that is through Jesus Christ.
Dual Identity: Nation and God's Kingdom
00:04:29
Speaker
And so this morning, I know July 4th has passed and I wanted to not i wanted to tip my hat since July 4th because we really do live in a great country. I know it may not be at the apex of what it was, but at the same time, we live in a fantastic and and um a nation that is very unique, and stands above all else.
00:04:48
Speaker
But for those are in this room who identify as Christians, we belong to another nation that's even greater. That's God's people. That's God's nation. God's children.
00:05:00
Speaker
We belong to a heavenly kingdom that surpasses anything this world can ever dream of. And so I pray that we will cling to that reality. And that while we still have breath in our life today, that we will follow through on it.
00:05:13
Speaker
And this morning, we're going looking at a passage in Luke chapter 8 that i feel like will hopefully reinvigorate in us this idea of the freedom that we have in Christ. and what and how we should ultimately long for and how we should desire and how we should pursue it because the reality is is for many of us in this room as christians we we have a tendency of allowing this thing called fear sit in our driver's seat of our car a lot of times you know again talking about freedom not being repetitive but it's as christians we are called to one thing i remember what jesus said before he ascended into heaven
00:05:49
Speaker
He said, instance he told his disciples, go therefore make disciples of all nations. And I'm so glad Miss Cheryl's here because that's exactly what she's doing. She's making disciples down there in Nicaragua and we've had the opportunity to go down there and witness it. And it's absolutely incredible.
00:06:04
Speaker
But a lot of times though, we we allow this thing of fear to get in the driver's seat to hold us back from the commission which God has called us to do. And if we continue to allow that fear to be in the driver's seat, is the gospel ever really going to make an impact?
00:06:23
Speaker
I mean, ultimately, yes, the gospel will, because the gospel is is the good news and and Jesus can conquer all things. But at the same time, this is the beauty of of our relationship with God as believers, is that he desires to use us.
00:06:38
Speaker
to go and to advance his kingdom. that's unique in this That's unique to us in Christianity, right? To to go and to share the good news of the gospel, that God loves us so much that he chooses to use us despite our brokenness.
00:06:54
Speaker
It's an incredible gift. And so I pray that we will not let this thing of fear stay at driver's seat, but rather that we will replace this thing called faith. You see, even going back to our founding fathers of our nation, the reason why that they stood their ground and they fought for our freedom is because they had a faith in their belief and who God is and and the freedom that he calls us to.
00:07:17
Speaker
And so for us, I pray that we will swap out that fear with faith where we can actually go and be bold and be humble and walk with assurance, with a heart of gratitude for what God has created and called us to do as people.
00:07:34
Speaker
Are we ready to do that?
00:07:38
Speaker
Because when we when we are ready to do that, we do do that, we see but the explosion of the gospel. We see revival take place when you see a generation who walks faithfully to Right?
00:07:53
Speaker
right And so and we've seen revival even here recently across our nation, whether it's on college campuses or even here, I would even say here in Columbus. It's just been so cool to see how God has been moving.
00:08:06
Speaker
But we have to remain faithful. So with that being said, i want us to look I want us to turn our attention to this passage. because it really does, in my mind, bring to light these key aspects of what it means to to get fear out of the way and to walk by faith, right? And it's through two different characters in Luke chapter eight. So we're gonna read these verses, verses 42 through 56, and then we'll kind of expand on a little bit more. So if you guys are able, will you stand with me in honor of God's word?
00:08:39
Speaker
And we'll read through this passage.
00:08:45
Speaker
Pick up in verse 40, it says this, when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him for they were all waiting for him. 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 for he had only or he had an only daughter about 12 years of age and she was dying.
00:09:07
Speaker
And Jesus went, or as Jesus went, the people pressed around him.
Faith and Healing of a Woman
00:09:12
Speaker
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years. And though she had spent all her life or all of her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
00:09:23
Speaker
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, Who was it that touched me? when ah When all denied it, Peter said, "'Master, the crowd surrounded you and are pressing in on you.' But Jesus said, "'Someone touch me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.' And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling and falling down before him, declared in the presence of the people why she had touched him and how she had been ah immediately healed.
00:09:55
Speaker
And he said to her, "'Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.'" While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher anymore.
00:10:07
Speaker
But Jesus, on hearing his this answer or on hearing this, answered him, do not fear, only believe, and she will be well.
Jairus' Daughter: Faith Over Fear
00:10:16
Speaker
And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter him to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and the mother of the child.
00:10:25
Speaker
And all were weeping and mourning for her. But he said, do not weep, for she is not dead, but is sleeping. And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand, he called, saying, Child, ah arise. And her spirit returned as she got up at once and directed that something should be given to her to eat.
00:10:46
Speaker
And her parents were amazed, but he charged them not to tell charged them to tell no one what had happened. Thank you guys for being seated.
00:10:58
Speaker
going pray over us one more time and we'll dive into this together. will you pray with me? Father God, we come before you, Lord, and we just ask that you go before this time. Lord, that you will open our eyes and our ears to what you have to say to us this morning.
00:11:12
Speaker
Lord, we thank you for your word and how it is living and it's active and it penetrates our hearts. And I just pray, Father, that if there's anyone here who needs the assurance of hope of the gospel, that this morning that they will find that today.
00:11:24
Speaker
Lord, if there's anyone here who's held captive by sin in their life right now, and they're looking for a way out of it, Father, that they will find that answer here today, and it's only in you. So Lord, will you lead this time?
00:11:35
Speaker
Will you bless it? It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. going to read to you guys another section of scripture real quick out of Romans chapter 8. This is an incredible passage.
00:11:46
Speaker
It says this in verse 31 of chapter 8. This is Paul speaking. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.
00:12:00
Speaker
How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is it to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, he was raised. Who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
00:12:20
Speaker
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake, we are all being killed all the day long.
Assurance of God's Love
00:12:34
Speaker
We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Verse 37. No, in all things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
00:13:01
Speaker
What an incredible passage of assurance and affirmation Paul just spoke to the Roman people right there, and that he speaks to us even to this day. You see, going back to it, many of us in this room, we have all been held captive to sin in our life. Some of us have been delivered from sins.
00:13:17
Speaker
Some of us are still walking in these sins. And you see, because this idea of freedom, going back to it real quick, is more than just having these rights to be able to go out and do things. Freedom for some of us is is freedom from something that is holding us back. right Freedom from us being able to fulfill what God has called us to do, what he has designed us to do.
00:13:39
Speaker
And in order for us to truly overcome these things that hold us captive, to experience this freedom that we desire, we have to overcome the fear of, of of or or at least acknowledging it. I think that's the that's the biggest thing is that we have to first acknowledge the thing that is holding us captive. And that's a terrifying thing.
00:14:01
Speaker
Because we as people, we don't like to admit that we're wrong. We don't like to admit that we are held captive to anything because we're prideful. But when we overcome this fear, we walk by faith and we pursue the one who is able to deliver us from the things that are holding us captive, that's where we find freedom.
Overcoming Fear with Faith
00:14:20
Speaker
And that's what Paul is talking to when he was talking to these Roman people. He's saying, who can deliver us from these things? It's only Christ. and who can who i mean and And when it comes back to it, nothing could separate us from that love.
00:14:34
Speaker
And so for us is we should be able to walk in boldness in these things. And so there's four things I want to see though that want to pull out of Luke chapter eight in regards to that same concept this morning of this idea of walking in faith over fear from the life of the bleeding woman and of the life of Jairus.
00:14:50
Speaker
Because the reality is that both of these individuals, though, as we read through, you're like, no one where you where are we going with this, Josh? What freedom are they looking for? Like, what's the what's the correlation here?
00:15:02
Speaker
But when you look at it, there's two different individuals who are on opposite sides of the spectrum on the social scale who are looking for the same thing. They are looking for freedom.
00:15:15
Speaker
And what kind of freedom are they looking for? Well, hopefully as we unpack it, we'll find out, right? But I'm sure you guys can probably give answers right off the top of your head of what they're looking for. But I also just want to make this disclaimer too. When I talk about faith over fear, when with this concept of fear, I don't want anybody in here thinking that fear is necessarily a bad thing.
00:15:35
Speaker
I think God created us, every one of us, with this with different instinctual emotions for a reason. God gives us fear so that way we can respond in the ways that we need to in moments of crisis or moments of hardship.
00:15:49
Speaker
But the the difference is it's kind of like doubt. When we choose to allow fear to sit in the driver's seat hinder us from doing what we're actually created to do, that ultimately, in my opinion, will lead to sin. But when we choose to allow God to take that fear out of the driver's seat or we allow God to use that fear to to press us forward into remaining faithful to him, that's where it's healthy. Does that make sense?
00:16:13
Speaker
So, I just want to make that clear. I'm not saying that if you're walking in fear today because of the different things around us, like for example, those who just walked through the the situation over there with the flooding, fear I'm sure fear is a big thing going on over there. I'm not saying they're in sin because they're fear, but fear should ultimately drive us into faithfulness.
00:16:32
Speaker
So... But the first thing I want us to see here in verses 40 through 42 is this, this man named Jairus. The first aspect of how we can walk in faith over fear is with great humility.
Jairus' Humility and Faith
00:16:45
Speaker
So if you're here today and you're allowing fear to be in the driver's seat, you just have to understand that we have to humble ourselves and then and recognize who we are in light of who God is. When we choose to recognize that God is the creator of the universe and he's the one who is sovereignly in control of all things, that's where the healthy transition begins from fear into walking in faith.
00:17:07
Speaker
And we see that within Jairus because this man Jairus, it says here that he was a ruler of a synagogue. Okay, so I talked about how these two individuals are on opposite ends of the spectrum socially. Jairus is over here. He is an official of the synagogue. He is of a high standard, a high nobility. what The idea of the him being a member of the synagogue is more likely an official in charge of arranging services. So he is in the know of what's going on. And most likely he is part of the Pharisee party.
00:17:37
Speaker
So he is a well-known, well-acclaimed man in his society. And when you think about his status of being a Pharisee, In this moment, what it say he does?
00:17:48
Speaker
It says that Jairus, knowing that his daughter is ill, goes to who? Jesus. Y'all remember who the main opposing party to Jesus is at this moment? The Pharisees.
00:18:01
Speaker
So when you think about somebody who is of high social status, who has everything going for him, put put yourself in his shoes. if If you knew that the only way that you could save your daughter is by the man that your social class is trying to kill or to destroy, would that make you feel knowing that you had to go to him?
00:18:19
Speaker
It'd be kind of awkward, wouldn't it? And and then honestly, there'll be some fear in you because the reality is by you going to Jesus and proclaiming that, hey, you're the only way i can save my daughter, you're declaring to the rest of your Pharisee party that you believe in the fact that he is who he says he is, which would automatically ostracize you from the rest of your of your group.
00:18:45
Speaker
Pretty crazy, right? but jesus sorry But it says here, Jairus, falling at Jesus' feet, implored for him to come
Faith and Empathy
00:18:56
Speaker
to his house. So regardless of the fear, regardless of what would have happened to Jairus, knowing that he was going fall at the feet of Jesus, he did it anyway.
00:19:05
Speaker
Because he knew in that moment that that there was something about Jesus, something that he saw, something that he heard, something that he witnessed about Jesus, that Jesus was who he said he was. That Jesus had the power, the authority, the ability to to do the unthinkable to heal his daughter.
00:19:24
Speaker
So in this moment, he set aside his fear and he put forth in the driver's seat his faith and that Jesus is who he was, that he says he was. And so he went, he's falling on his feet, implored him to come to his house so that way he can heal his one and only daughter.
00:19:40
Speaker
This is home for me. i' I'm a father of one. i have a three-year-old daughter. And so if this was my daughter, i can only imagine how I would be responding right now. And so for Josh to do this, it's it's a huge moment of boldness, right? but he's But it's also a moment of great humility for him to humble himself from his status, from his position in society, to be able to go and fall the feet of Jesus, to ask him something so great. So imagine this, right? So Jesus...
00:20:11
Speaker
is there, he sees this man, Jairus, fall at his feet, a Pharisee, a man from the the opposing group who's opposing Jesus' ministry, falling at his feet and asking a request of Jesus.
00:20:23
Speaker
Now, for all of us who are human, right, truly human, how would y'all respond to Jairus? Y'all be like, yeah, sorry, dude, you picked the wrong fight. ain't helping you.
00:20:36
Speaker
But what does Jesus do? Praise God he's not all human like us, right? He's fully human, but he's fully divine. And so he shows great empathy, great compassion, great mercy towards Jairus. And what does he do?
00:20:51
Speaker
He goes. He sees his faith. He sees his weakness, just this moment of where Jairus is trying to figure this out. And he knows that Jairus comes to him because he he understands that there's no other option for Jairus but to come to him.
00:21:10
Speaker
Now, some of you in this room can probably empathize with Jairus. There's something in your life right now where there's only one way for you to truly get over it. And it's by falling at the feet of Jesus. And the first thing you have to do is humble yourself.
00:21:24
Speaker
You see, we have a tendency to think humility is ah is is a weakness. Humility is strength. When you humble yourself, it magnifies God. It's an incredible thing.
00:21:37
Speaker
So it goes on though, and and and it says this, as Jesus went, the people pressed around him. So there's this great crowd. And so that's another aspect about this with Jairus is that it wasn't just an isolated event. This was in front of everybody.
00:21:52
Speaker
This was a large crowd of people who knew who he was, but yet regardless of his status, as he still did it. But Jesus goes, and then here comes another situation. Here comes another side story, if you will.
00:22:06
Speaker
The bleeding woman, right? It said there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years, and though she had spent all of her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
Bold Faith and Healing
00:22:18
Speaker
And she came up behind him get this, touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge was ceased. And so Jesus is trying to go and help Jairus. And then out of nowhere, he's just he's focused, he's going. And then there's this woman who's been bleeding for 12 years. Now this is kind of an ironic correlation here. This is kind of a connecting point. How old is Jairus' daughter? 12. How long has this woman been bleeding?
00:22:44
Speaker
12 years. Kind of crazy, right? So you have Jairus' daughter who is of this higher social class guy who's been living a life very pleasantly for 12 years. And then on the other side, you have this woman who's been bleeding for 12 years, who's been ah ostracized, who's been outcast because of her condition, but according to the law, right? So it's just kind of just one of those little side notes, interesting correlations there of of those two.
00:23:07
Speaker
But this woman comes up With great boldness, which is the second thing I want us to see here when it comes to us living in faith over fear is that we got to walk with humility, but we also got to walk with boldness, right?
00:23:19
Speaker
With boldness. we can't justine We can't just shy away from the things that people tell us that we can't do. Right? So again, this woman has been bleeding for 12 years. She's been ostracized. She spent all of her money on the physicians of the world and no one no one has been able to help her.
00:23:39
Speaker
And again, according to Leviticus 15, I believe it is Leviticus 15 or Leviticus 13. Let me actually stop for a second and clarify that point. um
00:23:52
Speaker
Well, I thought I it my notes. This is embarrassing. well Living against 15 verses 25 to 30. ah According to the law, because she has been bleeding for an exorbitant amount of time, she has now been ostracized from society because she is considered perpetually unclean.
00:24:10
Speaker
So she is outcasted. So for her to be in the presence right now of this great crowd and of Jesus, she is putting a lot on the line. But yet she understands that with great humility, there's no one else who can fix this and fix their situation other than Jesus. And with great boldness, she says, I don't care about what the world is telling me right now about who I am and what I'm supposed to do. She says, i am focused on one thing and that is Jesus himself.
00:24:38
Speaker
the source and the power of the one who can actually heal me and deliver me from my sickness or deliver me from my pain, deliver me from my my fear, deliver me from whatever it is, fill in the blank. She's focused.
00:24:52
Speaker
And what does she do? She comes up and she doesn't try to jump on his back. She doesn't try to get his attention. She focuses on one aspect of him, the garment. She just touches the hem of his garment.
00:25:05
Speaker
And what happens as she touches it She's healed. Her bleeding is ceased immediately. Power immediately flows into her.
00:25:16
Speaker
It's just this incredible, can y'all imagine her her what she felt in that moment? Someone who had been a who been had an ailment for that long and out of nowhere to just feel this surge of power going inside of her to where it she is miraculously healed.
00:25:32
Speaker
What an incredible moment.
00:25:37
Speaker
What boldness this way this this this woman had to go and to seek Jesus and not to seek him, but to touch him. But it goes on in verse 45 and Jesus said, who this didn't go unnoticed. Jesus says, whoa, whoa, time out. He's walking. So he touches the hem of his garment, okay? And he stops. He says, whoa, time out.
00:25:57
Speaker
Something just happened. Power just flowed out from me and I don't know who touched me, but somebody touched me. And then Peter being Peter, Peter always brings in some comic relief, if that makes sense.
00:26:07
Speaker
He's like, Jesus, have you not noticed that everybody's around you? Everybody's touching you right now. And Jesus is probably like, dude, I understand that, but this is different, right? He says, no, somebody touched me differently.
00:26:20
Speaker
and And he says, somebody touched me and I wanna know who it was. And this woman, she could have easily just been like, yeah, I'm out, right? Just backed away, ran down ah the street corner whatever, ran down an alleyway, but she stayed there because she was amazed at what just happened.
00:26:40
Speaker
and and And she knew that she couldn't get away from it. And I believe that Jesus actually, i think it was a rhetorical question in this moment. I think Jesus actually knew who touched him. I believe that there this was a divine appointment from Jesus with this bleeding woman.
00:26:56
Speaker
But he says, who touched me? And gave her opportunity to come out. And to what? Be bold. To be bold. And she did. Listen to what she said.
00:27:09
Speaker
And when the women saw oh when the woman saw that she could not be hid, she came trembling and falling down before him and declared the presence of all the people why she touched him and how she had been immediately healed.
00:27:22
Speaker
So she didn't shy away, she went forth, but how listen to it, falling down before him, probably out of fear, right? Out of reverence, but she did it with great humility.
00:27:35
Speaker
So you see both aspects here. You see humility, then you see her boldness.
00:27:41
Speaker
But listen to how Jesus
Spiritual Adoption and Salvation
00:27:42
Speaker
responds. So Jesus doesn't, he he looks at her and he doesn't chastise her He doesn't ostracize her. He doesn't say, woman, you have no right touching me. Get out of here. But how does he respond?
00:27:53
Speaker
He says, daughter,
00:27:57
Speaker
daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Now, this is a pivotal moment right here.
00:28:10
Speaker
A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, who had been ostracized, who had been outcasted, who has probably been known as just woman her entire life, her identity just changed. all because of her faith, her boldness of reaching out to Jesus.
00:28:25
Speaker
She's no longer just an insignificant woman who has a bleeding issue, but rather she is now a daughter. You see this word that's used here, daughter, refers to being adopted into the family, daughter.
00:28:39
Speaker
So not only did was she healed physically, but many scholars believe here that she was also healed spiritually. She encountered salvation in this moment because of her boldness and humility and faith in who Jesus is.
00:28:59
Speaker
And I pray that we have this same boldness as she does, that we will not shy away from the reality of who Jesus is in light of a culture that is saying that he is not who he says he is, but rather that we will boldly pursue him and run to him regardless.
Faith's Power Over Fear
00:29:19
Speaker
But the next thing I want to see here is that it's humility, boldness, and with assurance, that's the third thing. i want So the way we overcome our fear with faith is is by walking with assurance.
00:29:33
Speaker
So Jesus heals the bleeding woman. He says, daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace. And then he goes back, he turns his attention back to Jairus.
00:29:45
Speaker
This is just another side note. This is what we call an inclusio in the scholarly world, right? So you have one story happening, a middle story, and then it goes back to the original story. Just a fun note.
00:29:58
Speaker
But Jesus turns his attention back to Jairus. He says, while he was still speaking, someone from the rulers came and said, your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher anymore.
00:30:13
Speaker
But verse 50 says this, but Jesus on hearing this answer him, do not fear, only believe and she will be well. And how does Jairus respond? Well, based off of what we see in verse 51, he still followed Jesus.
00:30:29
Speaker
He walked with assurance, knowing that Jesus is who he says he is. Especially, can you imagine Jairus' hope and feeling now after seeing Jesus heal the bleeding woman? You know, he had hope in Jesus before, but after that miracle, he's probably like, oh man, my daughter is surely gonna live.
00:30:47
Speaker
If Jesus can heal this woman, he can heal my daughter, easy.
00:30:52
Speaker
But then, but while Jesus is still speaking, he comes and and then this messenger comes from his house, Jairus' house says, your daughter is dead, do not trouble the teacher anymore.
00:31:03
Speaker
Can you imagine how that made Jairus feel? But upon hearing Jesus' words, he remained faithful. He remained assured that Jesus would do what he said he would do.
00:31:17
Speaker
And so he goes on and when 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. And so they go and Jesus again in this moment doesn't look at the circumstances, doesn't hear the word of the messenger, but he stays focused on the mission that's been put before him.
00:31:38
Speaker
This divine encounter of of of healing Jairus' daughter And in verse 52, we walk into the scene. It says, and all were weeping and mourning for her. But Jesus said this, don't weep for she's not dead, but she is sleeping.
00:31:54
Speaker
Right? So Jairus walked with great assurance.
00:32:00
Speaker
And then in which leads us to the last thing. And ah what we'll ultimately see in the last few verses is that it leads to a heart of gratitude. Right? Leads to a heart of gratitude. So we walk into the scene. jesus or He says there's weeping and mourning going on.
00:32:17
Speaker
The people had given in to this idea that the daughter has is dead.
00:32:24
Speaker
But Jairus is still holding on to the fact that Jesus can do what he says he can. Right? Right? As Jesus says, do not weep for she's not dead, but she is sleeping. In verse 53, and it says it's the mourners, those who are mourning and those who are weeping. And they laughed at him knowing that she was dead.
00:32:42
Speaker
But taking her by the hand, he called saying, child, arise. And her spirit returned and she got up at once and he directed that something should be given to her to eat.
00:32:56
Speaker
So again, walk into the scene. Everyone is convinced that this girl's dead and rightfully so, right? Any of us who were in that house, we'd probably all think the same thing. She was lifeless. The breath was gone.
00:33:11
Speaker
But Jesus walks in and says, hey, don't weep anymore. she's not She's not dead, but she's sleeping. So in this moment, we could have either, you know, put yourself those shoes. You can either choose to laugh at Jesus and say, dude, you're crazy, or you can walk by faith and believe like, whoa, time out, something miraculous this is about to happen.
00:33:32
Speaker
And that's exactly what they witnessed, is that he walks up, he says, daughter, arise. picture up, life comes back into her lungs. And just to just to ah confirm that she was actually alive and that it wasn't some like dream or hysteria thing, he says, hey, give her something to eat, right?
00:33:54
Speaker
Give her something to prove that she is alive by giving her something to eat. And so you can only imagine again what the those who were present were thinking and then what Jairus was
00:34:07
Speaker
Talk about a moment of clarity for Jairus. If there was ever a doubt in his mind to not follow Jesus after this moment, it was just answered that I needed to follow Jesus.
00:34:20
Speaker
because he just raised his daughter from the dead, right? This is what we call a resuscitation. So ah this this girl was dead, but Jesus brings her back to life.
00:34:30
Speaker
And the reason why i say it's resuscitation versus a resurrection is that resuscitation, those who are brought back to life, who are resuscitated, ultimately die again. But resurrection, only Jesus did.
00:34:42
Speaker
Because resurrection is you're brought back from the dead only to live on for eternity. right And so this is an incredible moment here, though, for Jairus to witness.
00:34:53
Speaker
And we see here at the end of it, it says this, verse 56, and her parents were amazed because he charged them to tell, her so his parents were amazed, but then Jesus charged them to tell no one what had happened. So they were amazed. They had hearts of gratitude at what Jesus did for them.
00:35:11
Speaker
And then what I do, I'd also like to point this out too. What's interesting about how Jesus, how this section ends with what Jesus telling the parents not to tell anyone. It's a stark difference though of how Jesus in the the last section with when he was in the the land of the but the demoniac man.
00:35:34
Speaker
The land always forget, Gerasenes. There it is. Thank you, Stephen. Yeah, the land of Gerasenes, right? So in the land of Gerasenes, after the the man was healed from his demons, what did Jesus tell him to do?
00:35:50
Speaker
He says, go into your village and tell him what I've done for you. Well, the reason why that was is because the village rejected Jesus, right? But in this moment, um Jesus tells him, hey,
00:36:03
Speaker
don't tell anybody. And the reason why it is because now he's back in a Jewish setting and he doesn't want his identity to be revealed because of the the messianic prophecy that they were hoping and clinging to.
00:36:16
Speaker
And so it's just a really interesting thing here to see within the scriptures. But all I'd say is bringing you back to the point.
Embracing Spiritual Freedom
00:36:23
Speaker
In order for us to live a life that is of faith over fear, we have we have to walk in these four ways. We have to walk with humility,
00:36:32
Speaker
We have to walk with boldness in the gospel. We have to walk in boldness for Christ. We have to walk with assurance of who Jesus says he that he is and the hope that we have in him.
00:36:43
Speaker
And then we gotta walk with a heart of gratitude. Heart of gratitude. Now, this is not an exhaustive list, okay? I'm not saying that it's only these four things, but these are four great ways for us to walk with faith over fear and boldness in the gospel.
00:37:03
Speaker
And we see, because if you want even more examples of this, yeah all you have to do is turn over to Hebrews chapter 11, what will many of us call the hall of faith. And you see example after example after example of those who've gone before us, who've walked in these manners, who've walked with boldness, who've walked with assurance, who've walked with with humility before God.
00:37:26
Speaker
And God has allowed them and used them for miraculous things. And he has he has delivered them from miraculous things. And so I challenge you to read hebrews chapter 11 and some of those names are like uh, noah abraham isaac sarah rahab And then the other names that are probably that are probably uh popular are like david can you i mean david was brought through everything But yet he humbled himself before the lord and lord delivered him because of his faith And his belief And so if you're here today
00:38:00
Speaker
and you're finding yourself in a position of of fear in this life over things that seem insurmountable, things that seem big, but yet can be overwhelmed or that that can be overcome, I pray that you can just do exactly what these two individuals did in this text today, that you will come to Jesus.
00:38:21
Speaker
with humility, with boldness, with assurance, and with gratitude. And just be amazed at how Jesus can deliver you and bring you into freedom, true freedom.
00:38:34
Speaker
Deliverance from your sin, deliverance from the bondage and the captivity that you are in now. That's my prayer. So going to pray over us. And if you need to come down and talk to me, that's great. I'll be down in the front as we go on into this time invitation. But I pray, though, that you'll just, whatever's on your heart, that you'll do it right here in your seat as well.
00:38:52
Speaker
That if you need to confess something to the Lord, that you'll do it. If you need to surrender it, surrender it. If you need to turn to your neighbor and just ask them to pray over you, I pray that you do that.
00:39:03
Speaker
But the gospel message is the most the most freeing thing that we can choose to accept. It's gift. And for anyone who's in Christ today, we can stand boldly and proclaim how how freeing it is to put your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus.
00:39:19
Speaker
So let me pray, and then we'll go into this time invitation. Father God, we come before you, Lord, and we just thank you again for this time. We thank you for your word. and Lord, we thank you just for the the reality of the freedom that we can have in Christ.
00:39:35
Speaker
Father, we are all held captive by sin. Paul talks about that. We are all held captive by our sin, by our flesh, but Lord, you alone can deliver us from those things.
00:39:49
Speaker
So Lord, I pray there's anyone here who is feeling the weight of their sin or feeling the weight of captivity, Father, that they will experience deliverance today by bringing it to you.
00:40:00
Speaker
that they'll put their faith, hope, and trust in you, that they can walk by faith over fear, that they can walk with great humility, with boldness, assurance, and gratitude. And Lord, I pray that for all of us who are believers in you, all of us who are Christians in this room today, Father, that we will do this daily.
00:40:18
Speaker
Father, we'll live by example, that we will not shy away from the gospel, but rather we'll live boldly in proclaiming But Lord, again, we just thank you for the deliverance that you bring and that you offer for all those who believe in confess and confess in your name.
00:40:33
Speaker
But Lord, again, we thank you for this time. It's in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:40:42
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.