06/2/24 The God of Miracles: Mark 5:21-43

Stand h keep two at least they right name don't well good morning church hey it is good seeing you I'm so glad that you're here welcome to First Baptist Church my name is Cody I'm the pastor here and I'm glad that you are here as well it's good seeing so many of you here this morning every first Sunday it is family worship Sunday so if you see the little ones in the service that's why it's designed in such a way to give children an opportunity to worship with their parents it's also designed to give those children's ministry volunteers an opportunity to worship with us in service which is very important and also to partake in communion every first Sunday we partake in communion together you can find some of these over at each one of these entrances we are all out over here so during like meet and greet time you can grab one of these you do not have to be a member of our church to partake in communion but you do have to be a believer and we're going to take that take communion at the end of service brother Jim he's going to come up and he's going to lead us in that couple of announcements for you before we dive into everything that we got going on don't forget the last Sunday of the month this month we got a new members class that's starting up we want you to jump in both feet be a fully invested member here and so if you put that in your phone as a reminder it's a four-week class that takes place during that community group hour where you go over your testimony we talk about the Baptist Faith the message that is what our church holds to theologically and we also take time to

Talk about our history the mission and vision of First Baptist Church we also have our baby bottle campaign that's going to be wrapping up on Father's Day that's June 16th so if you see baby bottles at any of the entrances take those fill them full of change bring those back by Father's Day that'd be huge in US supporting the Pregnancy Help Center because we are unashamedly pro-life we believe that we want to do everything that we can not just to see babies born but to support moms and young families after that baby is born amen also there's some information about the little blessings event that's going to be happening and that table over here is run by Katherine and the loving our community team and they need some volunteers to help sign up for that if you want some information about it we will you can check the bulletin but you can also talk to anyone that's a member of the loving our community team lots of different things that are happening be sure to grab one of these bulletins and read up on it that'd be huge and you being able to know what's happening in our church so hey why don't you take a moment find a friend or a neighbor shake their hand say welcome to First Baptist Church what going e well good morning first Baptist Church good morning it's good to see you all here this morning it's good to be here with you to worship together at this time as you make your way back to your seats I'd like to move us into this time that we like to take just a minute to prepare our hearts and our minds for worship amidst all the craziness of Life all of the various things that we have going on good and bad some of us are

Grieving and mourning and some of us are looking forward to lunch and amidst all of that I'd like to invite you just to take a moment to ask the Lord to focus your hearts and your minds on him this morning so I invite you to Bow your heads and to close your eyes to pray for Lord we ask that this morning you would still our minds that you would quiet our hearts Lord that you would help us to rest in you God we pray that you would help us to remember who you are and what you've done and help us to let that flow through us and flow out of us into worship Lord help us to love you more help us to serve you better and help us to worship you in spirit and in truth because that's what we were created to do it's in Jesus name we pray amen I'd like to start this morning by reading to you from First Corinthians the 15th chapter where we read oh death excuse me oh death where is your Victory oh death where is your Sting the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ that's a reason to sing this morning amen let's stand and sing [Music] together that Praise Is Now awake the dawn we your mercy with a song your people stand and sing for all your love kindness you Carri Us in faithfulness upon the path of rightous our gracious King you Crown us with your love [Music] kindness How Great Is Your Love Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joyful forever to sing the Glad pra of graise that saved us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your Ling kindness [Applause]

[Music] you us with the father's hand you shelter us with your commands what heart could ful com your Mercy's [Music] endless you lead us through the Shadows deep where tra every step it seems but as the Darkness break will'll see the morning promise how great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the Glad refra of Grace that saved us of sweet forg oh how great is your Ling [Applause] [Music] kindness a life L down to resue us with arms outstretched upon the cross the [Music] greatest kindness a life laid down to us with arms outstretched upon the cross the greatest there ever was ofing kindness your Ling kindness how great is your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the Glad refra of Grace that saved us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your Ling kind it's your Ling kindness oh God of goodness our joy forever to sing the Glad [Music] refra of Grace that Sav us of sweet forgiveness oh how great is your Ling [Music] kind you're loving [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Kindness you're loving [Music] [Applause] kind what an awesome God we serve that though we were still sinners Christ died for us that he made a way for us when there should have been no way but praise the Lord though our sins are many his Mercy is more praise the Lord his Mercy [Music] is stronger than dark every our they are many his Mercy [Music] is what love could no wrongs we have done om all he counts not their s into us without B more our sins they are many his Mercy is for praise the Lord his Mercy is [Music] stronger than Darkness every our s they are many his Mercy is [Music] more what PA would wait as we constantly Ro what father so tender is calling us home Hees the weakest [Music] the our SS they are many his Mercy is more praise the Lord his Mercy is stronger than Darkness every our sins they are many his Mercy more what Riches of kindness he lavished on us his blood was the payment his life was the cost we the Deb we could never AF our SS they are many his Mercy is more praise the Lord his Mercy is stronger than Darkness every morning our sins they are many his Mercy is

More praise the Lord his Mercy is more stronger Darkness every our sins they are many his Mercy is our sins they are many his Mercy [Music] is you can be seated as our ushers come forward if you would pray with me please as we take this moment of opportunity to give back to the Lord the abundance of what he's given us and continue to worship him with our tithes dear heavenly father I do thank you for today and for the opportunity to come into your church to study your Scriptures Lord have you speak to our hearts Hearts thank you for your love and mercy that never comes to an end your kindness thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for my sins and allowing me to be here in Christ's name I pray amen Pastor text me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would give my testimony on giving and as I thought about what I was going to say the word that came to mind immediately was obedience and I looked the word up obedience and the Biblical definition of obedience is to do what the Lord asks of us out of reverence and love for the Lord rather than fear of punishment and I also like this another definition that said to hear God's word and act accordingly the Scripture that came to mind was Deuteronomy 64-7 which says here o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength these Commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts and it says to impress them on your children talk about about them when you set at home and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you get up and the Old Testament says in many places that you should teach your children so that they may teach their children and so on

Obedience my dad was a Dairy Farmer my mom was a homemaker substitute teacher when there was a need to make in meet and we went to First Baptist Church in versales and every Sunday at church I watched my dad put his offering in the plate and because we did not get an allowance our parents gave us a nickel or a dime to put in the plate as well every Sunday and I can say that in a community of farmers most of the kids didn't get allowances and most of the kids got a dime or nickel the and the expectation was that they put that money in the offering plate when I left home I went to college four years graduated and got a job at the college in Warburg and during those years did I obey the Biblical teachings of the Bible my parents and my church I did not and after Steve and I married and I moved to camton we joined First Baptist Church here January 1982 and we made the this church our church home sometime after that the Holy Spirit convicted both Steve and I separately that we needed to start giving and Steve said to me it's time we start tithing so we did and after months of tithing or giving Steve said to me he says I don't miss that money and when I started thinking about it I didn't either you know it was something we gave to the Lord and it was never ours to miss we never even consider that through all that time that we might not give a month because we had a car payment or we had a bill that we really needed to take care of never once did that enter our minds and I want to conclude what my dear sweet mother-in-law said to me some time ago she said when I place my offering in the plate I visualize placing it at the feet of my Lord thank you [Applause] well this next song that we're gonna sing is a it's a new song for us it's a

Song of the month it's called Jesus strong and kind and it's a very simple song a simple chord structure simple Melody and actually in some ways it's kind of a children's song which I thought was appropriate for Family Worship Sunday too and the children will be working on this song up been their their children's activities for the next month as well but it's just a reminder for us and a declaration for us of who God is that he is always strong and kind and we can always run to him so I invite you to stand with me as you're able to sing with us Jesus strong and kind Jesus said that if I thirst I should come to him no one else can [Music] saisi I should come to him [Music] Jesus said if I am weak I should come to him no one else can be my strength I should come to him for the Lord is good and faithful [Music] Will Keep Us day and night we can always run to Jesus Jesus strong and high Jesus said that I fear I should come to him no one else can be my shield I should come to him for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night [Music] we can always run to Jesus Jes strong and kind Jesus said if I am lost he will come to me and he show me on that cross he will come to me for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night we can always run to Jesus Jesus strong and

Kind for the Lord is good and faithful he will keep us day and night we can always run to Jesus Jesus strong and kind Jesus strong and kind [Music] Man of Sorrows what a name for the Son of God who came ru wi siners [Music] toclaim hallelu what theor bearing shame anding Ro in my place condem he stood seal my paron with his love [Music] hallelujah what a [Music] Savior of Sorrow Son of God purchase Freedom by his who takes the blame for S hallelujah what a saor [Music] guilty vient heless we spotless Lamb of God was he full atonement can it beelu what a saor Man of Sorrow Son of God purchased Freedom by his blood man who takes the blame for sin hu what a saor [Music] up was he to

Die it is finished was his cry now th in heav exalted hallelujah what a saor hallelujah what aior hallelujah what a say saor and of Sorrow Son of God purchase Freedom by his BL man who takes the blame for Sing Hallelujah what a sing [Music] when he comes our glorious King all his ransome home to Brea then I knew this song will sing Hallelujah aior men ofar Son of God purchas freom by his blood man who takes the blame for sin hallelujah what [Music] hallelujah what a [Music] sa what a God we serve and What A Savior our Lord is let's pray together God we thank you for the cross Lord we thank you for that sacrifice that atonement for our great sins Lord that we can't even fathom the depths of but Lord you made a way God we pray that day after day minute after minute you would remind us that we are purchased by the blood of Christ Christ it's in Jesus name we pray amen all right children it's time for our children's lesson all right guys okay today we're going to be talking about a story

In The Book of Mark that has two healings in it and they're kind and they're related to each other but I want to ask you guys have you guys ever experienced a miracle in your life okay yeah sometimes there's little ones and sometimes there's big ones sometimes we recognize them sometimes we don't we're going to talk about two Miracles that Jesus performs and let me tell you the story it's about a man named jerus and he had a daughter who was as the Bible says at the point of death which means she was just about to die any moment he comes running he hears about Jesus he comes running to him and he says Jesus Jesus my daughter she's about to die can you come with us so that you can lay your hand on her so that she might live what do you think Jesus says yes let's go and they start to go and on the way to jer's house a massive crowd forms so big that it's really hard to walk through the crowd now I don't know how you guys feel about this but when I'm driving and I'm kind of in a hurry and all a sudden I hit traffic I get irritated okay you guys don't have your drivers yet but your dad probably gets IR irritated right yeah right and so you know that's just a small thing can you imagine how much more stressed out would you be if you knew your daughter was seconds away from dying and you have this massive crowd that you have to slow down and Jesus doesn't seem to be bothered by it he just keeps walking and you know what there's a woman there who grabs a hold of him and kind of you know just grabs the Garment I don't you know and Jesus feels power Le from him and this woman had been dealing with sickness her whole life and the Bible says that many Physicians came and tried to heal her but nobody could heal her you know I have a story you I ask you guys if you ever witnessed a

Miracle I had never really witnessed a big miracle before but I'm going to share one and my mom this last Thanksgiving got diagnosed with stage four cancer and the doctor said she had a year to live if that and there was nothing that they could do for her their wisdom was dried up and I Shar this with my church family here and many of you and your parents and everybody's been praying for my mom well would you believe it that no longer she doesn't have any well she was had so many tumors in her stomach and she had cancer in her bones and now she has no more cancer in her bones and all her tumors are shrinking she had to go to the doctor every three to four weeks to get fluid drained out of her stomach because the tumors are draining fluid into her stomach and it was a very painful thing and you know what she doesn't need to get her stomach drained anymore her tumors are shrinking the cancer is out of and it's a miracle people ask me and I often tell them you know I have never really witnessed a miracle before but I was witnessing one with my mom and what a what a wonderful thing so God he loves to heal he's not he's not Pat he's not impatient with jerus this woman needed healing and Jesus healed her anyways they get they finally get to jer's house and the and they look and they see that the daughter had died but what does Jesus say he says she's not dead she's just asleep and then people laugh ha yeah right she's dead sometimes that's in our own way we see that and we think because we're so used to the our doctors we're so used to seeing things happen our own way we really have a small Faith to believe that God could do it another way and so Jesus says this and I want you guys to pick up on this he sayso not fear just believe and he lays hands on the girl

She woke up she became alive and so I want you guys to it doesn't matter what God chooses to do he may heal you one thing we need to recognize God loves to heal he is very compassion but even if even let's say jer's daughter did not get healed you know who would have been there to help jerus and his family comfort him Jesus and the joy of being with Jesus is the highest joy we can have even in the midst of our suffering and sorrow now I'd like to ask one of you guys can someone share a story in their own life of how Jesus has performed a miracle or answered a sickness or a prayer of yours l so my dad he was in the hospital and he had this Pock was it a pocket appendicitis and I was really scared and just like I don't remember how long it was but he was in the hospital it felt like for a really long time and he felt better got better did you pray for him yes we pray for him every day praise the Lord and God answered your prayer he cares about your prayer is there someone else who has a story yes K so my grandma she had this stuff and she forgot who her do one of her daughters were and then she was trying to find her husband and then our Aunt our Aunt brought her to the doctors and then a couple of days later she felt way better were you guys praying for her yeah did it take time for the healing to happen it did yeah and you know what so that's that's one of the things we need to remember is you know we can pray and God in his timing is perfect but we just need to just remember to walk with Jesus like jerus did on his way to see his daughter healed walk with him and enjoy being with him and not getting you know too stressed out about what God is going to do because we can always trust in him

Okay all right let's pray dear heavenly father thank you for your word and the story coming to us at this time Lord there is many who are dealing with sicknesses who are totally exasperated with the lack of healing and wisdom and Lord we just we know that you give medicine to us as a good gift but it is a gift Lord that comes from in you and so ultimately you heal you are the great physician Lord help us to trust in you to not fear but to believe and Lord I pray that we would also enjoy the time with you as we walk through our trials we ask all these things in Jesus name amen come over well I sure do love Family Worship Sundays if not just hear the way that Thomas tells stories he's really a blessing to our church and all these little ones too praise the Lord for that hey if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to Mark chapter 5 Mark chapter 5 we're going to be in verses 21- 43 today we've been looking at the God of Miracles over the last couple of weeks and as we've seen we've seen Jesus prove his power over nature through the calming of the storm last week we saw Jesus's Authority and power over the armies of hell as he cast out a legion of demons and today we're going to see Christ performed two more miracles it's been said that Mark 5 is what would be called the St Jude chapter of the Bible St Jude is the patron saint we don't we're Baptists we don't believe in Patron States but if we did of hopeless causes of lost causes right and you look at each one of these different situations that Christ engages with and for us they would be completely hopeless situations things that are completely outside of our control things that we cannot deal with or cope with or handle

And yet Jesus Christ with his loving kindness comes in and he engages with each one of these situations because God he shows up in these hopeless situations you could call this sermon today the tale of two daughters they are in Hopeless situations and so be encouraged that the Lord has you here today that if you are going through a season where you've been tempted to despair where you've had troubles and trials and feelings of hopelessness there's a reason why the Lord has you here today for this sermon and I hope that's a blessing to you if you would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 5: 21- 43 God's word says this and when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side a great crowd gathered about him and he was beside the sea then came one of the rulers of the synagogue jerus by name and seeing him he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly saying my little daughter is at the point of death come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live and he went with them and great crowd followed him and thronged about him there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years who had suffered much under many Physicians and it's been all that she had and she was no better but rather grew worse she had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him from the crowd and touched His Garment for she said if I touch even his garments I will be made well and immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease and Jesus perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him immediately turned to the crowds and said who touched my garments and his disciples said to him you see the crowd pressing around you and yet you say who touched me and he

Looked around to see who had done it but the woman knowing what had happened to her came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth and he said to her daughter your faith has made you well go in peace and be healed of your disease while he was still speaking there came from the ruler's house some who said your daughter is dead why trouble the teacher any further but overhearing what they said Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue do not fear only believe and he Allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and came and Jesus saw commotion people weeping and wailing loudly when he had entered he said to them why are you making a commotion and weeping the child is not dead but sleeping and they laughed at him but he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was taking her by the hand he said to her Tumi which means little girl I say to you arise and immediately the girl got up and began walking for she was 12 years years of age and they were immediately overcome with amazement and he strictly charged them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat and so Lord we do thank you for your word today and I ask that today that you would please move in our hearts help us to be receptive to your word and help us to rightly apply your word to our lives we ask that you would be the king over everything God we know that you already are but father that you would just Rule and Reign here at First Baptist Church that you would move us to be filled with compassion and Grace just as Christ was that we might go out and impact the world just as Christ did and we pray that you would help us to be

Ambassadors of Hope and to glorify you in all that we think and say and do we thank you Lord in Jesus name amen you can pleas seated our passage begins today with Jesus returning back to Galilee remember that it had only been a day since he was last there and the crowds they still hadn't dispersed and so when Jesus comes back a man by the name of jerus he meets Jesus and he runs to him and we know that jerus he was he was a wealthy father who had a position of leadership in the synagogue he this means that he love the Lord it jerus it literally means his name means God enlightens he was a leader where Christ had already cast out a demon he had been where this man had seen Jesus or at least heard about Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath and I have to wonder what did this man think about Jesus healing someone on the Sabbath what would his initial thought have been would he have looked down on Jesus for healing in the synagogue on this on a Saturday on the Sabbath would he have scoffed at Jesus along with the along with the Pharisees and joined in and saying this is not right this is not a good thing clinging to their Traditions would he have joined in their condemnation well desperation can be a sovereign tool of God for spiritual growth amen and God he uses the hard he uses the tough he uses the impossible situations to help us to rightly prioritize the things that need to be prioritized I remember one time way back in about 2005 I started serving at a church in Pamplin City Virginia population 200 real tiny community and I was serving as a youth pastor there and they had plaques on everything in that church they had plaques on walls they had plaques on Library doors they had

Plaques on everything you know this water fountain given in memory of Betty Willis right this carpet was given in honor of the mlen family right all of these different plaques do you know what you could change in that church nothing you can't change anything of that church that water fountain hadn't worked in over a decade and you couldn't do anything with because people would get mad and get upset you know here's here's the thing I was talking with the executive director of the Missouri Baptist convention a few weeks ago and he was the pastor at First Baptist Church Mayfield Kentucky when a few years ago in December tornadoes tore through and destroyed the entire downtown area the only thing that was left was First Baptist Church of Mayfield it's the only building that was standing but that the roof had been ripped off the windows had been blasted out the pews had been wrecked the Pulpit had been splintered everything was gone how do you how do you Worship in a facility like that you don't they had to they had to move to the high school gymnasium and all of a sudden they had to be very flexible and supple and they didn't have to rely on the traditions in the culture of the church cuz all that went out the window do you know what happened to that church they saw more baptisms in that those following years than they had in the previous decade combined praise the Lord in the same way God he allows situations into our lives that are meant to strip away the things that ultimately don't matter this man he may have been one of the scoffers ultimately he is now seeking out Jesus and he is falling down at the feet of the master and earnestly implores him just as last week that demon-possessed man he fell down in

Submission we find this father doing the same thing in a Greek and Jewish culture this is a total FAA because bowing down is an act of worship and submission which is not something that you would do but this man is imploring Jesus imploring means not just to beg but to beg urgently to grab and to cling and say you have to come with me my little girl is dying and if you don't help she is going to pass and I want you to notice this and this is important because when we are at the end of our rope we can come to Jesus it's best not to wait until we're at the end but even then Christ still receives us amen this man he beckons and invites Christ to come and lay hands on his daughter and to heal her Jesus I've seen you work I've heard your teachings I know your reputation all you have to do is touch her and she will be made well and Jesus he doesn't scoff he engages with the situation and he goes with this man to his home and jerus is just like some of us in how we come to Christ it was a des desate need for Christ to work it wasn't love was it was desperation and a need for Hope as arent Hughes he says despair is commonly the Prelude to Grace Jesus Christ he is full of compassion and Authority he's both strong and kind and he goes with us into the hard situations and he never abandons his people he goes with you to the doctor's office he goes with you to that meeting with your boss he goes with you to that courtroom and the Bible says he prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies that's just not limited to people it's also the enemies of sin and death and hell and he continues on with us and he Shepherds us and he leads us now remember the situation here there's a massive crowd

Of people that word throng literally means about 3,000 all moving around and pushing and trying to get closer to Jesus to hear him to touch him to get a good look at him and people are moving around him in mass as he makes his way with jarus to his home and then along the way he meets this new person we don't know her name but we know her situation and it's way more desperate than you or I could ever assume because you see this woman she had a bleeding issue for 12 years here's what it reads in the law of God in Leviticus 15 it says if a woman has a discharge of blood for many days now at the time of her menstrual impurity or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness as in the days of her impurity she shall be unclean every beted on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity and everything on which she sits shall be unclean as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity and whoever touches these things shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening 10 times in that passage unclean impure this is the woman's not just her health situation but think about this the Jewish girls back in that time would have gotten typically married between the ages of 12 and 15 now if a couple they had trouble conceiving then the Pharisees would encourage divorce since clearly that was a sign from God that the woman was unclean or even Unfaithful of course that was wrong it was evil to think but This Woman's situa but I want you to think about this situations This Woman's situation for a bit she couldn't have close friends because to touch them would make them unclean she couldn't fellowship with

People inside of the Covenant Community of Israel because she would spread her impurity to everyone she was an outsider and she went to all the doctors and she spent all of her money which means that she was impoverished and this woman she had no love she had no money she had no connections she had no hope Mark says that she had suffered much under Physicians and wasn't any better the Jewish talet it's a collection of laws and ceremonies and teachings from the rabbis from the first and 2 centuries and in the talmud there are over there are 11 excuse me 11 different cures that they have ranging from like potions to like almost witchcraft okay here's a few for you so take the gum of Alexandria the weight of a small silver coin of Alum the same of crocus the same let them be bruised together and given in wine to the woman who has this issue and if this does not benefit take of Persian onions three pints boil them in wine and give those to her to drink and say arise from thy flocks and if this does not cure her set her in a place where two ways meet let her hold a cup of wine in her right hand let someone come behind and frighten her and say arise from thy flux in another place it says that if a woman has this issue she should take barley corn which had been taken from the stool of a white female donkey and carry it with her okay this woman tried everything and she submitted to The Experts to try anything for relief but in fact she got worse and worse and worse and so she fought through the crowd and by her even touching the people in the crowd she was making them impure she was spreading that uncleanness and she is moving even in that situation you know what she is doing she is moving by faith that

Somehow God's going to work it all out I just need to get to Christ that's the goal she is desperate she is a needy person and she is at the end of her rope and there are tons of people that are touching Jesus but she is the only one that is touching Jesus by faith and this teaches us something important as well is that anyone that wants to be made clean by Christ must approach him through faith must approach him through faith many people have approached Christ by many ways haven't they the story from Paul bun and the Pilgrims Progress says that there are people who have tried jumping over the hedge rather than go entering through the wicked gate the wicked gate being Christ we must enter the kingdom of God through Christ Alone by faith alone that's the only way it's not about being a good person it's not about being a church member it's not through baptism it's not by having your name on a role it's not by even knowing your Bible because if you're relying on any of those methods to be saved then let me tell you a brother let me tell you a sister let me tell you friend I should say you're not saved you're not saved the Bible says that you must be born again and the evidence of being a Christian is the new birth and this happens when we come to God by faith in Jesus Christ it's as simple as that Lord I believe and look at this woman's Faith what does it say if I touch even his garments I will be made well there's no doubt there's no maybe there's no possibly be made well I will be made well and what was the result for her she was immediately healed she went from being unclean to perfectly clean she was healed of her disease and Jesus asked that question who touches who touched him and why is that because power had gone out from him now Jesus

Was perfectly in control of his healing power he didn't just radiate healing power like some sort of icon or Talisman or anything like that he gave healing so who is touching Christ everyone they're moving they're jostling they're they're bumping into each other they're pushing they're crowding around them and even the disciples as kind of say this that's that's a really weird C question Jesus and the woman who really didn't want to have an encounter with anyone she wanted to slip in touch them slip out okay it's like some of the people that attend church here amen I love you I'm glad that you're here okay I'm very glad that you're here but Jesus doesn't want that remember that it's not enough to just simply believe in your heart what does the Scripture say in Romans 10:9 that you must confess with your mouth Christ Jesus is Lord in front of the crowd she confesses this first of her great need of healing and then secondly the fact of her salvation and this is a costly confession because she comes she's terrified what does the Scripture say that she has fear and trembling I mean she is a woman talking in a primarily Jewish crowd and she's talking about something so personal for her this would be a very humbling experience but humility is essential to entering the kingdom of God no one enters into the kingdom thinking how great they are we all enter by thinking how great God is and she fell down before the Lord and she tells Jesus everything she tells Jesus about the sickness the hurt the pain the poverty the isolation and Jesus he uses the word daughter here it's the only time that Jesus uses this word daughter in any situation in all of the Gospels and he welcomes her she wanted a cure but Jesus wanted a personal

Encounter he is not content with just handing out Miracles he wants to minister to people and meet them in their needs and by this personal encounter this woman she goes away healed not just by being known by him but by encountering him in submitting to him and she leaves having met her Creator and notice the passion The Compassion of Jesus is that Christ he doesn't get angry with us in our need he show shows us compassion he doesn't say you know I've got other things that I've got to do he doesn't say you know your needs are unimportant or anything like that he takes a moment and he stops and he engages with the situation he doesn't say woman I'm too busy nothing like that he's compassionate and he points her to the necessity of faith that word faith in the Greek it points here not to theological knowledge okay theological knowledge and knowing the Greek and all of the tenses are worthless if you do not know God but this faith it points to a convictional belief that Spurs on pursuing Jesus Christ and that phrase has made you well in the Scriptures here it's also translated is that your faith has saved you in other words it's not his garments it's not that he some sort of magical power but yet there's also no intrinsic power in faith alone let me explain that we can have faith and not be saved if the object of our faith is incorrect if I have faith that my works are enough does that save not one bit I could have all the faith in the world and I can believe sincerely with all of my heart but if the object of my faith is misconstrued or in error or anything like that guess what I am still lost see faith is not the cause of her healing it's the tool of her healing

Jesus was the cause of her healing her faith was the tool to bring about her healing and it's like that in our justification God does not declare us righteous because there is any inherent righteousness in our faith prompting God to say because you have faith I will save you no faith is the cause of our justification because it is the channel by which we take hold of Christ Christ is the effective cause of our justification and so in the same way it is Jesus who healed the woman through faith and this is God's condition for working in our lives if we trust him it is the condition that comes from the very nature of having a relationship with a Triune God we are called to be faithful to be dependent loving obedient it's not about intellectually agreeing with God faith means that we are helpless apart from God and so we choose to abide and to walk in the power in the presence of Christ and while Christ is instructing this woman about the importance of Faith someone from jer's home comes and tells him the awful news that his daughter has died that question why trouble the teacher any further was designed in such a way to give Christ an out why trouble the teacher anything further what could he do in the face of death sure this miracle worker he could heal leprosy and he could teach great things and he could cast out demons but to overcome death so Jesus he overhears what's happening and once again what does Jesus do he encourages our faith he says do not fear only believe and the one thing that jares can do is trust Jesus but he has to shift his Focus from his daughter's death to Jesus Christ himself do not fear only believe and jerus he must face this difficulty and so does everyone that knows Jesus when we come to Christ we come to him by faith and we continue walking by faith

And we have to ask that question as we grow and as we come into different circumstances in our lives am I going to believe God am I going to trust God in this situation am I going to do it God's way or am I going to do it my way what how am I going to walk by faith in this situation he works all things according to the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes do we believe that or are we going to give in there the determining factor is whether or not you have faith in the Lord that present tense in the Greek it literally means to Keep On Believing you believed as you came to me continue believing as you go through this hard time for you to hold on to and abide by faith in the Son of God that's the calling for the Christian not to give in to hopelessness or Despair and so do you see how Central faith is to walking with Christ to see God at work in our lives and as Christians we must walk by that faith not according to our wisdom okay although we do have wisdom from God which is foolishness to men and we walk with Christ not by knowledge although we do have knowledge of God which is offensive to men and not according to our efforts although we exert ourselves for the sake of Christ which is misunderstood by men we walk by faith because we know him by faith and we continue by faith and we finish by faith which Finds Its power and its Effectiveness in knowing Christ in Christ he arrives to the home with this Inner Circle Peter James and John now in this in this culture at this time they would have professional mourners for people that had passed away they would wail and they would sing and they would play flutes and things like that death was handled very quickly in that culture listen to what God's law

Says in numbers 19: 11-13 says whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days he shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day and so be clean but if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day he will not become clean whoever touches the dead person the body of anyone who has died does not cleanse himself defiles the Tabernacle of the Lord and that person shall be cut off from Israel because the water for impurity was not thrown on him he shall be unclean his uncleanness is still on him according to phisical law at this time not only was the body unclean but anything that U the body touched any garments any kind of they had funeral beers that they would carry the body on that was unclean if you touched that then you became unclean I don't really know where it stops you know it's like the body's on the ground is the ground unclean I don't know but also according to phisical law in order to rightly have a funeral you had to have at least one flutist like flest Woods flest flattest and then at least two professional Whalers mourners singers and this man he was likely very wealthy there were likely several mourners and instrumentalists who would create a commotion and this is a cultural thing so Christ he asked why are you making a commotion and weeping the child is not dead but sleeping now this sleeping was a common euphemism that Christ would use to describe death and Christians would continue this on okay at the stoning of Steven they describe him as Steven falling asleep as we see in The Story of Lazarus Jesus he says in John 11: 11-15 after saying these things he said to them our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I go to awaken him the

Disciples said to him Lord if he has fallen asleep he will recover now Jesus had spoken of his death but they thought that he meant taking a rest and sleep then Jesus told them plain plainly Lazarus has died for your sake I am glad I was not there so that you may believe but let us go to him now the crowds they don't understand Jesus the Professionals in this situation they laugh at God they make fun of him and the Lord he's great so gracious kind that the creator of Heaven and Earth would condescend to do his all of these great works and that they would laugh at him poking fun at him and he doesn't just go Smite you know like that is such gracious work on the on the part of Christ God is Joy itself but that doesn't give us permission to laugh at the Lord his word or his promises those that don't take God seriously are going to be judged by the one who told them to take his message seriously and the professionals that get it wrong here why is that because they do not know or believe Christ at all okay that's that's what happens those that do not know Jesus Jesus Will Mock him this is true of the Whalers this is true of those who at his crucifixion would slap him who would pull on his beard those that's true of those who would mock him while he was on the cross but the mourners here they are more concerned about putting on a show than seeing God work and Jesus he puts them all outside and he takes Peter James and John along with his girl's mother and father and he goes in to see the girl I like to think of the contrast okay the jostling of the crowds the talking the murmuring the flutist playing I like to think of Liars out there playing I like to think

Whalers and all of that all of the singing all of that and Jesus closing the door in the quietness of the house in that dark room with that little girl's body if you've ever been in a room with a with a body before you know the weight of it you know that it's finished nothing and then Jesus he does the unthinkable he leans down and he touches the little girl now that's twice in this passage that Jesus has done something ceremonially unclean and yet Christ he never sins he never became unclean and why is that because he is pure his righteousness overcomes our uncleanness and he takes this little girl and he speaks to her in Aramaic and she gets up and she walks around that house little girl arise he says and everyone is overcome with amazement that this little girl who was dead is now alive again and both of these stories I want you to see how they converge together both of these stories are about are about females that are healed by the touch of Jesus they're both treated with tenderness by Christ the woman's illness and the girls age are both given as 12 years both stories bring Jesus into contact with uncleanness and uncleanness it's it's present not just in this story but in the story that we looked at last week about the man living among the tombs and all three of these people in Mark chapter 5 they transfer their uncleaned to Jesus and each one of them receives from Jesus cleansing and wholeness and restoration and this communicates the truth that Christ became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God we can come to Christ with all of our uncleanness and he can make us pure

And holy yet we must come to him by faith in his son we must trust that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that he rose again on the third day and these stories they show the faith that Jesus expects from those who follow him you see faith is recognizing that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves and so what do we do we just Express full dependence on God we depend on him for his saving power jerus he demonstrated by faith or that Faith by coming to Jesus with that full knowledge that for him to do so would mean ultimately rejection from the religious leaders in Galilee This Woman's faith is shown through her approach to Jesus that even in the shame and the fear of her condition in spite of being rejected by others for 12 years both of them believe that Jesus has the power to save and that faith is not just one single act but it is enduring in faith and when jer's daughter dies guess what jerus he faced an even greater Challenge and Jesus called him away from his fear to an even greater faith in his power to raise the dead and these two testimonies they show the need for Faith and they kind of exist in contrast to the disciples the people they or Jesus he re he rebuked the disciples for their failure to believe him in the face of the storm the town's people in the gine area gasa they responded to Jesus's amazing exorcism with rejection instead of faith and in next week's sermons well we're going to see Jesus being rejected by his own people in Nazareth and for Mark's readers and for us these lessons on faith remind us that the Christian life is not always a comfortable walk in the park is it we've got trials we've got sufferings we've got persecutions that are going to come our way and when that pressure comes whether it's through illnesses or accidents or the loss of a job betrayal

By a friend a broken relationship the death of a loved one God he calls us to turn to him in hope in faith recognizing that he has a purpose and that in the end nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus the beautiful thing is that in every one of these situations it proves that the truth that God he allows for us to despair in order to drive us to Christ and as Christians we can be tempted to despair as well but we mustn't allow for despair to drive us away from Jesus but to drive us to the Cross of Christ where we can find Shelter From the storms where we can find protection from our enemies and where we can find Hope from despair headart hand head God wants you to know that you can come to him when your situation is desperate you see Christ he actually invites us to come to him he says it in Matthew 11 verses 28-30 come to me all who we labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden light heart heart God wants you to believe that he will work through your desperation it may be in unexpected ways it may not be his will to heal but then again it may [Music] be but when we are his we can rest assured that we are in the safest place we don't have to be afraid but we can abide in the love and grace that is available to us in Christ Jesus Romans 8:2 veres 35-39 says 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 being killed all the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered no

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I am I'm 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 that is in Christ Jesus our Lord in hand I want you to profess publicly what Jesus has done for you while he told these parents not to say a word he didn't tell that woman to be quiet he didn't tell that demon possessed man to be quiet he actually told us in his word in Romans chap 10: 8 through 11 but what does it say the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart that is the word of faith that we Proclaim because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart One Believes and is Justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved for the Scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame you are invited to go to Christ you don't go through a pastor you don't go through any person other than Jesus you go to him with your needs with your sin with your shame with your sorrow and he will receive so God we do thank you for this time as we transitioned into the Lord's Supper I just pray that you would be with us as we contemplate the Beauty and the tragedy of what our Salvation [Music] cost thank you for allowing us just this symbol this representation of your body and your blood where we get to memorialize your body that was crushed your blood that was poured out be with us as we continue in worship by partaking in this supper in Jesus name amen

[Music] okay let's transition into the communion part of the service and communion is a regular reminder for us a regular reminder about what God did to restore the relationship between God the father and US yes communion is an opportunity to look within ourselves for and confess known sin but as a whole it's not about what we do to try to get right with God it's more about what God has done to make us right with [Music] him let's pause for a moment and quietly Focus On Christ and think about in our own personal lives what he has done and thank him take a moment to thank him for what he has accomplished in each of Our Lives [Music] communion started within the Jewish culture and for us we are very distant from that culture there were things that happened during that communion ceremony that it might be difficult for us to understand in Jewish custom there was what's called a hamotzi it's a prayer of thanks that was offered before the meal began a prayer of thanks for the bread the meat what was going to be eaten and Paul wrote for I have received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks hamotzi he broke it thank you Lord that you gave your body you gave your life you gave yourself to reconcile us each one of us to the father we didn't deserve it but we are so grateful and then Jesus said this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of [Music]

Me another Jewish custom was to say a second prayer called the Al hagfan Al a gafane and that was a special prayer over the cup the wine that happened later not at the beginning before eating it happened later and we can see elements of this in the passage in the same way he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Covenant in my blood Lord God I want to pause and just once again thank you and celebrate what Jesus blood secured for each one of us who believe we pray that this time of reflection might cause any who has no relationship with you to turn to you today and receive your perfect gift of Salvation then Jesus urged them do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of [Music] me finally Jesus told them why they should do this for as often as you drink this cup and eat as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death Pro we just proclaimed the Lord's death in Jewish culture wine played a really key role in something that the men around that table that night probably didn't connect the dots and it was part of the Jewish wedding festivities where the father of the groom would go to the Father of the Bride and he would take a payment a purchase price for the bride it was called the moar he would take the mohar and make the purchase price for bride and the men at that table that night with Jesus I don't think connected the dots that night but as time went on within that culture I believe that they could say that wine is what the two fathers would drink in agreement the father of the groom and the Father of the Bride to a agree that the payment the purchase

Price was satisfactory God was the one who was sending the purchase price in our case sending his son to satisfy the needs to be purchased are sin and that picture of the Jewish moar and the purchase price was mentioned just in some of the songs we've we were singing what was the verse how can I experience Freedom that comes from having Christ remove your sin as far as the East is from the West the song that we just sang says Man of Sorrow son of God purchased Freedom with his blood that is the essence of the moar the purchasing the freedom with his blood let's stop and just thank the Lord and close our service in celebration Lord thank you for who you are for what you've done thank you for accomplishing salvation for us thank you for allowing us today to Proclaim it Lord there could be somebody here who doesn't know you and I pray if there is that they would talk to someone on their right or left who they saw drinking and partaking in communion and asking ask them for an explanation get with one of the elders get with one of the deacons they would love to explain this to you we would all love to explain it to you don't leave here today without making sure that you're right with the Lord he has paid the purchase price and offers you freely to accept that talk to somebody about it before you leave here today in Jesus name [Music] amen for [Music] Dy daddy daddy [Music]