Divine Appointments - Sunday, July 16, 2023 AM

Speaker A [00:00:02]:

Amen. Thank you, Brother Gary. Thank you. Praise band, open up your Bibles, if you would, with me to Luke, chapter eight, verse 40. I'm looking at Luke 840 through 56 this morning. A very, very strange account, actually. The only one of its kind in the scripture in this, Luke is a physician. He's very orderly, moves from one thing to another.

Speaker A [00:00:34]:

Sometimes that gets kind of confusing because he doesn't move in chronological order ordinarily he clumps things by subject. And so Luke will talk about he'll put a bunch of parables together, even if we can tell from the other gospels that when Jesus told them they were spaced out a little bit, that Jesus takes these different things and he can string them together I'm sorry, luke can string them together and assemble them in a nice logical order. That's what makes this account in Luke 840 through 56 very, very noteworthy, as well as a parallel account in Mark. What happens is Jesus is going on the way to heal one person, and after a couple of verses, that story stops because he gets interrupted and has to heal somebody else. And then he's got to finish going on to his ordinary destination, his regularly scheduled destination. So when we look at this, we are going to see this idea that when things happen, that there are no coincidences, right? Sometimes we talk about coincidences and say, well, this just happened to turn out this way. I would tell you that there are no coincidences because God is in control. Have you ever had something in your life that you thought was a coincidence or just an accident, and then later you found out that it caused something else to fall into place? That caused something else to fall into place, that caused that this domino effect where what you thought was random happenstance was actually part of God's plan.

Speaker A [00:02:12]:

You think about things in your life that if something had gone just slightly different, your whole life would have been different, right? I met my wife, I guess, really, because our names were next to each other in alphabetical order. And so in star testing in high school, we sat next to each other. Our names are in alphabetical order. And look, now we're married, have three kids. Not as many as the Schneiders, I guess, but if I had as many master's degrees as they did, then I guess I could do that too. So we have these moments, these little moments that line up that God orchestrates so that everything changes. A lot of times what we see as an inconvenience or as an interruption is actually a divine appointment where God has put the right person at the right place at the right time for his will. I told you about that a few weeks ago when we got back from the Aba meeting in Washington, where there was Nora.

Speaker A [00:03:09]:

Had a headache at just the right time for me to be walking by to take her outside to be able to lead this lady to the Lord who comes and checks on us when we go outside. How many stories do you have like that where God used a seemingly insignificant detail to line up the events of your life? Now, sometimes the interruption in your life is nice. The person that you get assigned to sit next to, and she said, It's tax testing, not star testing. You have to excuse me. We went through a lot of testing regimes when I was in school. They changed it three times. Clearly, they had it all worked out by the end of it. But when we were in elementary school, it was toss testing, and then it was tax testing, and then it was star testing, and then I guess it was EOCs.

Speaker A [00:04:06]:

I don't know. So when they're telling you what the test scores and stuff mean, it makes me a little suspicious that they just keep on changing it. Anyway. Nobody asked me what I thought about that. You're dealing with me after a very long week, and I had the flu and slept for a lot of it. And I'm very grateful for Tamiflu allowing me to be here with you this morning. So when you have these little interruptions, sometimes they're positive in one. You know, we were gone at camp for a week, and when we came home, I got the call that night that Brother Kenneth was on the way to the hospital.

Speaker A [00:04:47]:

And then the next morning, of course, Brother Clyde passed away, really almost exactly 12 hours apart. And obviously that's a tragedy. But of course, Brother Clyde had been off life support for two weeks. And so one of my prayers was that the Lord would allow him to stay until I got back home from camp so I could be there and be there with Sister Linda and help her and her family to get through that. And so in that sense, what was a painful thing for them waiting or a painful surprise for the Barber family with Brother Ken passing away so quickly was for me a divine appointment that God allowed the details to work out at the right place at the right time for me to be where I needed to be. That's the way that God works. That God works in these seemingly random, disconnected circumstances to show who he is and what his glory is. And we're going to look at that this morning.

Speaker A [00:05:53]:

If you're able, would you stand with me in honor of the reading of God's word? As we look at Luke, chapter eight, beginning in verse 40, the Scripture says, and it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him, for they were all waiting for him. And behold, there came a man named Gyrus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus'feet and besought him that he would come into his house, for he had only one daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay dying. But as he went, the people thronged him. And a woman, having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him and touched the border of his garment. And immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, who touched me? When all denied Peter and they that were with him said, master, the multitude thronged thee and pressed thee, and sayest thou who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him.

Speaker A [00:07:05]:

She declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. While he yet spake. There cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, thy daughter is dead. Trouble not the master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Speaker A [00:07:37]:

And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in save Peter and James and John and the Father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept and bewailed her. But he said, weep not. She is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out and took her by the hand and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway, and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished, but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Speaker A [00:08:13]:

And all God's people said, Amen. You may be seated. All right, here's what we got. Jesus is returned from casting out the demons. Remember, the man had a legion of demons, and he comes back into town, and he's very popular at this point. These are early days in Jesus'ministry. There's crowds mobbing him all over the place, wanting to hear him. And this man Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, a powerful, influential man, comes up to Jesus and says, jesus, my daughter is dying.

Speaker A [00:08:44]:

Will you please come help her? And Jesus says, I'm on my way. But Jesus is delayed. It seems like an interruption. Think about this from Jairus's point of view. You are on the way with Jesus, this master healer, and you are stopped because some woman reaches out and touches Jesus. And Jesus says, who touched me? What's going on? And when Jesus finds this woman, he tells her, your faith's been made whole. They have this little conversation, and while they're delayed, his daughter dies. Now, from Jairus'perspective, what would your first reaction be like this little interruption, this speed bump in the road, cost my daughter her life.

Speaker A [00:09:33]:

And of course, in the Old Testament, there are two cases of somebody who died and was brought back to life. I mean, you're talking in the Old Testament from the time of Moses, 1450 BC. To the end of the Old Testament. So 1500 years, there's two people brought back to life total. And so for them, that's not in the cards. You remember in John four, the same thing with Mary and Martha. When Jesus comes after Lazarus has died, mary says, Lord, if you'd been here, he wouldn't have died. It's too bad that you're too late.

Speaker A [00:10:16]:

We think about God in those terms sometimes, don't we? Right? Say, God, if you could only have done this. But now it's too late. How many of you have experienced firsthand that it's never too late for God? That Jairus thinks that this divine interruption has cost him everything, but it's a divine appointment. It's not a coincidence that this happened, as we'll see. And God works it all together to bring them together for good. Our big idea this morning, very simple, I think faith lets us recognize interruptions as appointments. Some of you have had some interruptions in your life where things did not go the way that you planned. I say some of you as if there's anybody here, that everything has gone exactly the way that you thought your life was supposed to go, right? But you know that's not true.

Speaker A [00:11:08]:

All of us have this idea in our mind of, here's the way my life is going to be. And when those things don't go the way we expected, a lot of times our reaction is to stomp our feet, right? I've told you before about how my kids act. No, Daddy, not like that. That's not how you do it. My daughter is the worst about it, right? Anastasia, when you're playing with Anna, she'll say, okay, Daddy, you be this one, and she'll give you the little toy, right? And she'll say, okay, here you came and you saw me. I'll say, Hi, it's nice to meet she says, no, Daddy, not like already. They're know. Say, It's good to see you again, sister.

Speaker A [00:11:48]:

It's good to see you again, sister. Right? By the time that you have played with my kids for a little bit, you realize that you're not actually necessary at all, right? Now, don't try to leave because they have not yet realized that you're not necessary. But they have a script laid out, and your job is to follow the script and say what they expect you to say when they expect you to say it, right? That's the way kids act, and that's the way that a lot of adults act with God like, no, God not like that. Now you're supposed to say, yes, you can marry this person and win the lottery and get this job and wake up and lose 30 pounds, right? God, you've messed this up. This is the way this story is supposed to go. And unfortunately, or fortunately, we don't get to play with God like that, right? God's. God, not us. So faith, though, when you see it through the eyes of faith, you see that these interruptions are actually divine appointments, that these are actually God making the domino pieces all fall right where they need to fall.

Speaker A [00:12:56]:

That all things will work together for good for those who love Him. So look with me, back in verse 40, the scripture says this and it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him, for they were all waiting for Him. So he's been in Gentile territory. He cast out the demon. If you're looking for something catchy for this chapter, in the first part of this chapter, Jesus casts out the demon. In the next part of the chapter, he cures the woman with the hemorrhaging disease. And finally he reverses the power of death. Jesus shows his dominance over humanity's.

Speaker A [00:13:32]:

Three problems demons, disease, and death. Right? That sin, suffering, and some word for death that starts with an S, however you want to put it. Demons, disease and death. Jesus shows his absolute supremacy. Right? So it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Gyrus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. This is a big deal, okay? Jairus is a big deal. He is somebody who is not a rabbi.

Speaker A [00:14:05]:

The local synagogues were not run by rabbis, but they had people who were influential, who picked, who was going to read the scripture and who was going to speak. And this would be somebody who was well off and stable and steady. And so this man comes to Jesus and kind of like the Roman centurion, he could have come to Jesus and said, jesus, do you know who I am? But he doesn't. He falls at his feet. He doesn't pretend that he's worthy or that he deserves for Jesus to come. He comes and falls at Christ's feet and he besought Him, that he would come into his house. He says, Please come to my house. Please come help me.

Speaker A [00:14:45]:

Verse 42. For he had only one daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying so this woman, this young girl, twelve years old in their culture, right? On the cusp of being old enough to marry, right? And he's only got one kid and it's her. And so there is the I mean, just the basic grief that his daughter's dying. But then he's got one daughter, she's twelve years old, so she hasn't married or anything. This is the end of his family. And so he's afraid, he's overcome by grief. And so he comes and he asks Jesus to please, please come. But as he went, the people thronged him.

Speaker A [00:15:33]:

Have you ever tried to walk through a big crowd? Have you ever been to the mall the week before Christmas or something? Some of you do that on purpose, which is beyond me, but when you're in a crowd, it's very difficult to move. Some of you have heard me tell the story before of when on our honeymoon, we were in Jerusalem, and it was during Ramadan, and we went to church, and we were trying to get back to our hotel on the other side of the city. We were in Horatio Spafford's house there in Jerusalem. Horatio Spafford wrote, It is well with my soul. And he lost his family, but he and his wife, he lost all his kids in the boating, the shipwreck that and his wife alone was saved. But after all that talk about divine appointments, this is really interesting. I guess let me back up and tell this story a little bit better. Horatio Spafford was a pastor or businessman who later became a pastor.

Speaker A [00:16:34]:

He was a businessman who was traveling to America because he was a lawyer, actually. And he'd lost everything in the great Fire of London. And so he told his wife and his kids, look, I'm going to go to America and try to set up a law office, and when I get there, I'll call for you. And so he got there. He'd lost everything once already. He got to America and tried to set up a law office there, and things were going well, and so he called his family and then a shipwreck, his children all drowned, and his wife sent him a telegraph that said, all's lost, I alone am saved. And so he got on a boat to go back to England where his wife was. And when they got close to the spot of the shipwreck, he asked the captain of the boat if he would stop over the place where his family died.

Speaker A [00:17:29]:

And he went into the cabin after he stood there. And he wrote a poem. When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my law thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. And of course, he was quoting the woman who Elisha was staying with, and her son died. And Elisha asked, is everything okay? And the woman responded, It is well. And so when Horatio Spafford wrote this poem, he said, I've lost everything twice, but it is well with my soul. He went and got his wife, and they had more children, and eventually, through a series of things, they moved to Jerusalem. And they were the first Christian missionaries evangelizing the Jewish people in the modern era, I mean, for a thousand years or something.

Speaker A [00:18:30]:

And their house where they set up is actually on the Muslim quarter side of Jerusalem. And it's set up today as this place where you can come and pray and all of this. And so we got to go there on our honeymoon. After church one Sunday, it was closed, but the church that we went and visited with the people there ran it, ran the house. And so after they took us to lunch, they asked if we wanted to go see it. So we got it all to ourselves. It was very neat. But then they asked if we wanted to ride back to the hotel.

Speaker A [00:19:03]:

I said, no, it's no big deal, we can walk, right? Well, when we entered the city in the Muslim quarter on Ramadan, people are packed like sardines, right? And the difficulty of just walking through that crowd surrounded by people, you don't speak the language, you don't know what's going on, and the streets are not paved, right? I mean, they're cobblestones and stuff. And so you're tripping and trying to get through this enormous crowd. It took us quite a while to get through the press of people, right? And people touching you on all sides because everybody's all together. Me wondering what's going to happen to me when my mother in law finds out that I took her daughter through this, right? That all these things. So we got through everything's fine, we lived happily ever after. But you've been in situations like that, right? Oppress of people, this huge crowd. If you ever been to baseball game or football game or whatever, when it's time to leave, you can't just go where you want to go, right? You may see where you parked your car, the exit, you need to go down over here. But if there's a press of people going this way, then pretty much you're going to go with the people until you can find some way to get against a wall and slide back out, right, that you're going to get drugged along.

Speaker A [00:20:36]:

And now it's even worse, right? Because these people, it's not just a random crowd. These people are coming to see Jesus. And so they're gathered around pressing in on Jesus. So as he's going, the people are thronging Him. Now, we heard our first story for three verses now. A woman having an issue of blood twelve years. I'm going to notice how different this person is than the last one, okay? The first one, we know his name, he's a man which in their culture especially, was a big deal. The rabbis prayed every morning, lord, I thank you for not making me a gentile and I thank you for not making me a woman.

Speaker A [00:21:14]:

Right? They were very fond of the ladies. He's a ruler of the synagogue. So he was wealthy, had a lot of status. And then you have this woman who she has a hemorrhaging disease for twelve years, and it says she'd spent all her living upon physicians. Neither could be healed of any, right? She's out of money. She spent all her money asking doctors to heal her, and none of them can. Has that ever happened? Sometimes that happens to people with literal doctors, right? So some of you have experienced that with actual doctors. You spend all your money and you're not any better at the end of it.

Speaker A [00:22:01]:

But I bet there's other things where that happens to you, too, where you go and you look for help and you use everything you have looking for help from somebody other than God, and there is no help to be had. And at the end of that there's no hope. This woman has this issue of blood for twelve years. But just so you don't think it's an accident to remind us that this is an appointment, remember, Luke doesn't normally tell things in chronological order like this, but he tells this little sandwich story in chronological order because how old was the little girl? Twelve. How long did this woman have this disease? Twelve years. Right? Now there's no reason for that detail to be included. In fact, as far as I know, there is no other story in Luke where he tells you how long somebody was sick. Right.

Speaker A [00:22:53]:

Luke and Acts together are two parts of the same book, and Luke and Acts are the longest part of the Bible. Luke wrote more of the Bible than Paul did. Right. The longest part of the New Testament. Excuse me, luke wrote more of the Bible than Paul did. And other than something like their whole life, he never tells you how long somebody else has been sick. But here he tells you that she was sick for twelve years because he wants you to know this is no coincidence. God put these two things together to show who he was.

Speaker A [00:23:26]:

This woman suffered for a long time, twelve years. Remember that? That's a real person that for twelve years suffered so that she could have an encounter with Jesus at the right time. She probably because she comes up in the middle of the crowd, she comes, she's healed, jesus sends her off, she goes on about her way. She probably lived her whole rest of her life and never knew about this twelve year old girl and never knew that God had woven their stories together. A lot of times people have something happen in their life and they say, Why God? Why did you allow this to happen? And sometimes you can kind of hint at an answer, guess an answer. Other times the struggle in your life is not about you, right? This woman suffered for twelve years so that we, 2000 years later, could read about the power of God. It wasn't about her. Now, this hemorrhaging disease, because the Old Testament law and Greco Roman culture meant that she was unclean.

Speaker A [00:24:32]:

So you've got one ruler of the synagogue and one woman who can't even go in the synagogue. You've got one woman, one man, one person who is so insignificant we don't even know her name, and another one who was so significant that at the time Luke was writing, he writes his name because people still would have known who this guy was. They could not be more opposite, right? They could not be more different. But you know what they had in common? They both knew that the only one who could help them was Jesus. See I've seen different people. Some people who have got problems with addictions know major in the eyes of the world, major sin. And other people who somebody might look and say, oh, they're doing okay. They're pretty good.

Speaker A [00:25:17]:

And the only thing that they need to have in common is to see that the only one who can help them is Jesus. That's the emphasis here, that you weave these two stories and they seem so different, and yet they are the same. Every salvation story is the same. You may say, Well, I was in jail and somebody else may say, Well, I was raised in church and was at camp one week, right? But the story, if you look at it from the big picture, is the same every time. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. Some people say I'm so bad that God could never save me. Other people say I'm so good that I don't need to be saved.

Speaker A [00:25:58]:

And God says, no, everybody needs a personal encounter with Jesus. Everybody needs the touch of the Master's hand and they're both going to get it. Okay? So this woman, she'd spent all her living upon physicians. Neither could be healed of any, right? I tell you about that because in some translations that verse isn't there, but it's in all translations in Mark. It's a long story. It's very interesting. Talk to me later. It says in Verse 44 this woman came behind him.

Speaker A [00:26:28]:

She doesn't even come to him face to face, right? The man walks up to Jesus and falls at his feet. This woman comes behind him because one, she's really not supposed to be in this crowd because anybody she touches becomes unclean. Sin is pictured by uncleanness and sin's contagious, right? It spoils everything it touches. Sometimes you and I look and say, well, I've just got this little problem, this one little area. But the problem is that sin always spreads like mold, right? That sin starts in one area but never stays in one area. So the idea was if you were a leper and you touched something, now that thing was contaminated with leprosy and if somebody else touched that, now they're contaminated with leprosy, that it spreads. And that's the story of sin from Genesis three on, right? That sin spreads and contaminates everything it touches. Except except here she came and she touched the border of his garment, the hem of his robe.

Speaker A [00:27:31]:

They had these little tassels that were prescribed in the Mosaic Law. She touches the little tassel and immediately her flow of blood stands. She's healed immediately what all the doctors in all of Judea couldn't do or all of Galilee couldn't do. What all her life couldn't do. In a moment, when she touched the hem of the master's robe, she was healed. A lot of you may have some problems in your life, right? Some problem with sin. You say, I've worked on it. I've gone to counselors, I've read books, I've done all these different things.

Speaker A [00:28:06]:

And maybe what you need is after you've spent all your living and it profits nothing maybe you need to reach out and touch the hem of the master's garment and say jesus, you're the only one who can fix this problem in my life. I need you. Jesus doesn't always heal people immediately, physically or from sin. Sometimes we see these stories where Jesus one man's blind, and Jesus goes and gets mud and rubs it on his face and then says, go and wash yourself in the pool of saloam. Sometimes Jesus stretches it out to make a point or to teach somebody something. And sometimes you may have some sin in your life and you may pray for God to take it away. And it may not be the next day that suddenly you've got no more temptation. But when you have the power of the Savior on your side, then that's what counts.

Speaker A [00:28:54]:

That's what overcomes the power of sin. You don't have to be a slave to it anymore. So she's healed immediately, and Jesus said, who touched me? They're in this crowd. And Jesus says, who touched me? Remember. He's God. He's all knowing and he's all powerful and he's all present. But he's locked accessing those powers away because he's taking on the fullness of humanity. And so he, from his divine perspective is aware of all things.

Speaker A [00:29:26]:

But in his earthly humanity he knows somebody's touched him, but he doesn't know who it is. And so he says, who touched me? And everybody said, we didn't touch you. And Peter and they that were with him. Peter the spokesman for the disciples. You can imagine Jesus says, who touched me? And if he's like, we didn't touch you, Lord. And the disciples are all talking to each other. What is he talking about? Everybody touched him. We're in the middle of this crowd.

Speaker A [00:29:52]:

What's going on? And Peter's the one who comes up and says lord, Master, the multitude throng thee, impressed thee and sayest, thou who touched me? Says, everybody touched you, Jesus. But the verse 46 Jesus said, somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. Virtue is one of those words that has changed meaning over time. The word virtue in the King James, time meant power. Now we use it only to refer to moral power. But that's a change in English. So you can see that even in Shakespeare it says if my pen has any virtue right, that means strength. Not like that.

Speaker A [00:30:37]:

I have a. Really ethical, upright pen. Jesus didn't become less holy when this woman touched Him. Effective power went out of him. That's what virtue means. So when we talk about virtue today, we mean effective moral power. But historically, virtue just meant power. So Jesus says, I can tell that I've used some power here.

Speaker A [00:30:55]:

And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him. Now she comes in front of Him and she's trembling, trembling in fear, right? What's he going to do? Trembling in awe that she's been healed. She comes and falls down before Him, the same thing as Jairus did. She comes and falls at his feet. She declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. Now, Jairus, as the ruler of the synagogue would have been pretty smart, pretty well educated, theologically. This woman's pretty superstitious, right? I just want to touch his clothes. And so watch what Jesus says here.

Speaker A [00:31:44]:

He said unto her daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. He tells her, look, do you want to know what healed you? It wasn't you touching my clothes, right? It was your faith. Aren't you glad that God doesn't require you to have every detail perfectly worked out, to understood, to respond to your faith? That it's not because she touched his garment that she was healed, it's because she believed in Him and he responded to her faith. Her faith wasn't perfect. She thought, I need to touch his clothes, but God responded to it anyway. We don't have to have every detail worked out.

Speaker A [00:32:28]:

And none of us will have every detail worked out, will we? We're all going to be confused about some things, we're all going to be wrong about some things until we stand before Jesus and he straightens us all out. We do the best that we can, but we trust Him, right? That's what it comes down to, is trusting Jesus. He says, Daughter, don't be afraid. Cheer up. Be of good comfort. Your faith has made you whole. Go in peace. So she comes, she believes, and she's healed.

Speaker A [00:33:00]:

Remember, we know God doesn't heal every physical sickness. In fact, we know that physical healing is the one prayer that eventually God doesn't answer because it's appointed and a man wants to die. And after this, the judgment, right? We know that every single one of us, eventually, if the Lord tarries is going to physically die. And so you can pray for somebody to be healed, and sometimes God heals them. But eventually, physically speaking, god says no to the prayer for healing for every man and woman, right? Eventually we all physically die. But in another sense, of course, that's not really God saying no at all. Because when somebody dies physically and they enter the presence of Jesus, they're made whole that instead of God saying I'm going to patch you up here. I'm going to fix this problem or that problem, or this problem.

Speaker A [00:33:51]:

God says, I'm going to bring you into my presence so that at the resurrection you can be completely whole forever. So in fact, when we think God says no, when we ask Him to heal one of his children physically, he's actually just saying yes in a bigger way than we could possibly ask for. So meanwhile, though, back at the ranch, verse 49 while he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to Him, thy daughter is dead. Trouble not the master. So one of Jairus's people comes and says, it's too late. Don't bother Jesus anymore. He's got other things to do, and he can't do you any good because your daughter died. And again, imagine Jairus'perspective, this is not just a story, right? This is a real man who had pinned all of his hope on Jesus.

Speaker A [00:34:39]:

Jesus comes into town, right, just at the pivotal moment, because remember, Jesus had been in Gentile country casting the legion of demons out. He just got back into town and Jairus comes and finds him immediately when he gets back in Galilee, and he says, I need your help. My daughter's dying. You came just in time, right? And then he gets delayed and it's no longer just in time. We in our culture are so obsessed with time, aren't we? Minutes and seconds and just we get obsessed with time. I remind you that in the New Testament, peter preached all night long, right? See? What would you do? You'd stone me. It'd be terrible. But this is what happens, right, that we get so obsessed with time.

Speaker A [00:35:30]:

God doesn't care about time at all, right? Our obsession with time is just foolishness. It's because we think we're in control. God doesn't care about time at all. God cares entirely about timing, right? God doesn't care if you're sick for twelve years or two minutes. God cares that when you're made whole, it's at the right time to bring you to Him. God doesn't care if you're 80 years old or 30 years old or ten years old when you get saved. God cares that it is the time when he has drawn your heart and you respond in faith. When you hear His Gospel, there's no too late or too early.

Speaker A [00:36:08]:

There's the perfect timing of God. And so here he must feel like, this is terrible, right? I've missed it. It's too late. But before he even gets a chance to call it off, it says, jesus is the one who responds. Verse 50 but when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, fear not, believe only and she shall be made whole. He says, don't be afraid, fear not. All you have to do is trust me and she'll be healed. If you trust me, then I'll respond in faith to your prayer, just like I responded in faith to that woman, just like I responded to the faith of that woman back there.

Speaker A [00:36:49]:

If you'll believe me, then she will be made whole. She'll be healed. And when he came into the house so we don't get Jairus'dialogue, but he must have said, okay, let's go. When he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in save Peter and James and John and the Father and the mother of the maiden. So Jesus comes in and he tells the rest of the crowd to wait outside except for his inner circle, peter, James, and John and the girl's parents. Now, the inside the house, verse 52 all wept and bewailed her. So inside the house, you have all these mourners that are already there. Some of them may have had some connection to the family, but in this time, one of the things they had were professional mourners where if you were a wealthy and influential family, people would show up to play the violin and to cry at your funeral.

Speaker A [00:37:55]:

And that was just the culture. So obviously, this girl has just died. Gyrus has not called for them. But I think it was kind of like, have you ever driven through a major city and people start washing your windshield and stuff? These mourners just show up, start crying, and expect to get paid. Okay? They profit over this death. But Jesus said, weep not, she's not dead, but sleepeth. Jesus says, don't cry. She's asleep.

Speaker A [00:38:30]:

She's going to wake back up. Now. She's dead, right? In a minute. It says her spirit returns to her, right? She's dead. But mark this to Jesus, it's just sleep because he's going to wake her up again. First, thessalonians chapter four says that, I don't want you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep. Jesus calls his saints asleep because he's going to wake them up again, right? If you know Jesus as your Savior, when your body goes to sleep, your soul goes to be with Him, and he comes and wakes your body up again when he makes it new. So weep not, she's not dead, but sleepeth.

Speaker A [00:39:14]:

And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. They're mocking him, right? These professional mourners. They said, we've seen a dead body before. We're quite familiar with how it works. This little girl's dead, you big dummy. You can see how compassionate they are with the family. And he put them all out, right? So Jesus kicks everybody out except Peter, James, John, mom and dad. He put them all out, and he took her by the hand and he called saying, maid, little girl, arise.

Speaker A [00:39:45]:

So Jesus goes, he touches her by the hand. They both needed to touch the Master, right? You remember Jairus, though Jesus said, fear not, believe only, and she'll be made whole. What does Jairus have to do? He has to ignore the laughter. He has to ignore what all these people think. And he has to say, jesus, I believe you. Jesus, I block out all these other voices laughing at what you've told me, and I trust your word. I take you at your word. Jesus, I believe you.

Speaker A [00:40:12]:

Sometimes you've got to do that sometimes you and I have some situation in our life, and if you say, I'm going to trust God in this, people say, oh, you're so naive. That's never going to work out. And Jesus says, Fear not, believe only right. It'll be made whole. The Bible doesn't say all things work together for good for everybody. The Bible says all things work together for good for them that love the Lord the called according to his purpose, right? It's your faith that lets you see that this interruption is a divine appointment, that it's not an accident, that it's the hand of God working all things together for good. So this jairus still believes. He's prayed to Jesus, jesus, help me.

Speaker A [00:40:51]:

And so Jesus takes her hand and says, little girl, get up. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway, and he commanded to give her meat. That's my favorite part of this whole story, the little girl, not the part where she comes back to life. I guess that's good too. Her spirit comes again. She gets right up. And then Jesus looks at mom and dad and says, go get her peanut butter and jelly. Like, get this girl something to eat.

Speaker A [00:41:27]:

Isn't that one of the most marvelous things about Jesus? We have people who say, I'm a detailed person or I'm a big idea person or whatever. And sometimes you pray to the Lord and you're like, well, maybe this thing is too small for Him to care about. I won't pray about this or whatever, but I want you to know that that little girl being dead was not too big for Jesus to deal with. And that little girl being hungry was not too small for Jesus to care about. How do you like that? That little girl being dead was not too big for Jesus to deal with, and that little girl being hungry was not too small for Jesus to care about in your life. That thing you think is too big, god could never forgive me for that. I can't be saved. I've got this problem I could never overcome.

Speaker A [00:42:13]:

It the one who said, dead little girl, get up. And she gets up can handle that problem in your life. On the other hand, you say, Well, I'm pretty good. I've just got these little things God doesn't really care about that. There's nothing so small either. There's none so good that they need not be saved and none so bad that they cannot be saved. There's no problem in your life that you can't pray about because God can't handle it. And there's no problem in your life that you shouldn't pray about because God doesn't care about it.

Speaker A [00:42:45]:

Fear not, believe only and she shall be made whole. Whether you're the woman who is an outcast nobody even knows her name separate from society, isolated, and your contamination spreads to everything you touch until you touch Jesus and his holiness spreads to you instead, or whether you are in the throngs of death itself. Whether people think of you like they thought of Gyrus, or people think of you like they thought of the woman, the question is this will you fall at his feet and say, I need you? Because if so, then he calls out and says, Arise. Get her something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. They're amazed, but he said, don't tell anybody because Jesus is still keeping his identity a secret. Because once they find out he's the Messiah, they're going to expect him to ride into Jerusalem, and he knows he's going to die. Once he begins publicly telling people that he's the Messiah, it's only about six months of ministry he has left because they don't understand what it means.

Speaker A [00:43:55]:

And so he says, Keep it a secret for now, and then you'll go tell everybody. It's interesting because he told the Gentile man who'd been possessed by demons, go tell everybody. But he tells here in Israel. He says, Wait, but I want you to know that for us he doesn't say wait anymore. He says, Go tell everybody what I've done for you. I've got one more verse I want to show you. As our musicians come. We get two Corinthians six up there, please.

Speaker A [00:44:22]:

Thank you. It says, For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the time of salvation have I suckered thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Some of you know that you need to be saved. Some of you may be a member of the Church, but you know you don't really have a relationship with Jesus. Some of you may have been putting it off, saying, when things get a little better, when things get a little different, then, yes, I'll be ready. But God says, I've heard you in the acceptable time.

Speaker A [00:44:53]:

Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. You're not here this morning by accident. Maybe God's calling you to some service. It's not an accident that this morning we were able to hear from the pain lines about what God's doing there. Maybe God's calling you to go somewhere or do something. Maybe God's calling you to trust him as your savior. But I want you to see that in the eyes of faith, we can see those things we thought were interruptions, we thought were accidents, we thought were inconveniences, are actually divine appointments where God is saying, I'm working all things together for good.

Speaker A [00:45:26]:

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, now's the day of salvation. Your sin's not too big or too small to come and say, jesus, I know that I've sinned. I believe that you died for me. Will you forgive me and save me? And God gives you a new heart immediately. Immediately. You're healed like the woman was. Maybe there's some other problem in your life, something you've been struggling with, some sin, somebody you need to talk to, some bad attitude that you have that you need to be freed from. I don't know what it is, but I know that this morning Jesus says, now's the time.

Speaker A [00:46:01]:

I've brought you here to this place at this moment, not on accident, but for My glory. I'm going to ask you to stand, and we're going to have a word of prayer. And then we'll have a hymn of invitation. If you need to make a decision this morning. Won't you come and pray with me? Won't you come and pray by yourself? Now is the hour of salvation. Don't put it off. Don't say, I'll do it later. I'll do it tomorrow.

Speaker A [00:46:26]:

Now's the time that God says, I've orchestrated all the details for this. Let's pray. Heavenly Father God, I thank you for this day. I thank you that you are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I thank you for this group of people that have gathered together today, Lord, to encourage the man that You've sent through us and his family to West Virginia to be a blessing to them. Lord, those that have sat patiently as we have studied Your Word together, lord, I thank you for them and ask that you'd use Your Word to touch our hearts, that if there's anyone here who doesn't know you as their Savior, that they'd make that decision even right now. That if there's anyone here who has some other struggle that they think is too big or too small for you, that this would be the moment that they come and lay it down with you. I ask these things in Jesus name.

Speaker A [00:47:11]:

Amen. Let's sing once.