[0:00] Let us worship God. We shall sing to his praise from Psalm 116, from the beginning of the psalm.
[0:18] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer shed it here. I, while I live, will call on him who bowed to me his ear. Of death accords and sorrow stood about me compass round.
[0:32] The pains of hell to call on me, my grief and trouble found. Upon the name of God the Lord, then did I call and say, Deliver thou my soul, O Lord, I do thee humbly pray. God merciful and righteous is, yea, gracious is our Lord. God saves the meek, I was brought low, it it me help afford. O thou, my soul, do thou return unto thy quiet rest. For largely lo, the Lord to thee, whose bounty hath expressed. For my distressed soul from death, delivered was by thee. Thou didst my mourning eyes from tears, my feet from falling free. These verses of Psalm 116, from the beginning, I love the Lord because my voice and prayer shed it here.
[1:25] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer shed it here. I find I live with God, all of them who the Lord.
[1:54] I love the Lord because my voice and prayer shed it here. I love the Lord because my I fear the trouble found. I love the Lord. I love the Lord because my heart is O Lord, I do thee humbly pray. God merciful and righteous is, yea, gracious is our Lord. God's
[3:20] Osek is the nearer who to life 에 ganz drunkenioni resting hiç jonha O sein yon he cite fire saith young saithços May IHum Tage viam Unto thy quiet rest For march below the Lord To thee in sown thee hath expressed For my distresses so from death Delivered was by thee
[4:25] Thou bidst my glory And from tears my deep From the living Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray.
[4:50] O Lord our God, we give thanks that we can come before you in this act of worship. And no matter where we are in the world if we have desired us to worship our God we can engage in that activity with your help.
[5:07] We pray that we would have that spirit of worship where we would acknowledge your great name where we would do what the psalmist was doing even calling upon the name of God and bringing out petitions into your presence Whether these petitions involve the desire for the salvation of our soul or out of any particular predicament that may have presented itself in our walk in this world Too often we are met by providences that are beyond our control We are met by situations that affect us deeply far more than some would reckon them And we are despondent and full of grief because of them And while we can come and bring these things to you and leave them in your hands
[6:13] Your servant And the psalmist said And the psalmist said He was delivered from death and his eyes which spared the grief of mourning Whatever it is that assails us this day we bring to your attention and seek grace to leave it in your hands that we may know that you are of God indeed We remember before you all our loved ones within the home within the community We pray for families We pray for friends We pray for even enemies we are required to pray for those who are enemies of your church they are many but we are still called to bring them to you and to pray for their salvation and to pray for their conversion to pray for the bitterness that is in their heart to be dealt with
[7:17] We remember Lord this nation of ours which has departed from you and we pray for all in it that have forgotten God and who have embraced idols of their own making given the place that belongs to God to these idols Whatever they are they may not think they are idols they might not think that they are worshipping they might not think that they are engaged in an activity that is equivalent to honouring God but what they are doing is giving the place that God alone that you alone should have They are giving that to other things and we pray for mercy to fear amongst them we pray for grace that we may be delivered from these things in whatever way we have fallen prey to them We bring our nation before you as a nation we remember those who govern us we remember those who serve within our parliaments we remember all who would seek to do so in the coming general action as your people reflect on who is to receive their vote we pray that you would guide them in that that they would do so prayerfully that they would fulfil whatever duty it is that you have given them to fulfil with regard to that we should not leave it in the hands of those who are careless or indifferent but that we would have a solid reckoning of what it is that is expected not just of us but of others we pray that you would remember the family royal remember especially the Queen our children and grandchildren and all connected with them as they continue in a state of mourning we pray that whatever it is that their griefs have brought into their hearts that they would know to look to the one who has triumphed over death and the grave and who is able to speak to them accordingly as the one who is the resurrection and the life we pray that you would remember all who are grieving and sorrowful at this time death is not strange to us it is not a stranger amongst us we pray for those who are unwell at this time those who are fearful of it and we ask Lord that you would bless them and prepare them for it whether they are at home or in hospital or being cared for in care homes for the elderly bless them we pray bless them in the care that is delivered to them we pray that you would remember those who are suffering from
[10:08] Covid at this time it may appear to us that the effects of it are diminishing but it is still there and it is still the potential is there for it to come in another phase and we know that there are nations in the earth who are experiencing just that and we pray for those that are all prepared for it and because of the vastness of these places and the huge numbers of souls that are residing within it and exposing themselves to these ills so in mercy supply them with vaccines and remedies that would help them cope with it to all other places in the world that have different things to contend with we are in this veil of tears and our life is a life that is often confronted with things of that nature that test us and try us we pray that you would bless the gospel throughout the world remembering all that you have called to preach it and all you have called to hear it it is both all things are in your hands you have given privileges to some you have given graces to some you have given encouragements to some we think of the prophet
[11:37] Isaiah who went out knowing that his endeavours would not prosper but that there would be a heart that would be hardening under his preaching and we pray Lord that you would preserve us from that so that our preaching and our witnessing to the truth would not be the means by which men and women are hardening in the face of eternity so continue to do for us what no other can watching over our homes and our families blessing those who are amongst us and those who would come amongst us guide us in the truth we pray magnified in our reading of it and in our reflections upon it pardoning every sin in Jesus name Amen we're going to read from the New Testament scriptures we're reading from the
[12:39] Gospel of Mark Gospel of Mark and chapter 5 and beginning to read at verse 21 and when Jesus was passed over again by ship and to the other side much people gathered unto him and he was nigh unto the sea and behold there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue cherished by name and when he saw him he fell at his feet and besought him greatly saying my little daughter lieth at the point of death I pray thee come and lay thy hands on her that she may be healed and she shall live and Jesus went with him and much people followed him and thronged him and a certain woman which had an issue of blood twelve years and had suffered many things of many physicians and had spent all that she had and was nothing bettered but rather grew worse when she had heard of Jesus came in the press behind and touched his garment for she said if I may touch but his clothes
[13:51] I shall behold and straight away the fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague and Jesus immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him turned him about in the press and said who touched my clothes and his disciples said unto him thou seest the multitude thronging thee and sayest thou who touched me and he looked round about to see her that had done this thing but the woman fearing and trembling knowing what was done in her came and fell down before him and told him all the truth and he said unto her daughter thy faith hath made thee whole go in peace and be whole of thy plague while he had spake there came from the ruler of the synagogue so certain which said thy daughter is dead why trouble thou the master any further as soon as jesus heard the word that was spoken he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue be not afraid only believe and he suffered no man to follow him save peter and james and john the brother of james and he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saith the tumult and them that wept and wailed greatly and when he was come in he saith unto them why make ye this adieu and weep the damsel is not dead but sleepeth and they laughed him to scorn but when he had put them all out he take the father and the mother of the damsel and them that were with him and entered in where the damsel was lying and he took the damsel by the hand and said unto it
[15:43] Talitha kumi which is being interpreted damsel I say unto thee arise and straight away the damsel arose and walked for she was of the age of twelve years and they were astonished with a great astonishment and he charged them straightly that no man should know it and commanded that something should be given to her to eat amen may the lord add his blessing to this reading of his word and to his name be the praise we can read again at verse twenty two behold there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue Jairus by name and when he saw him he fell at his feet this is one of these miracles that Jesus performed that many are aware of but also many are in denial of the beginning of the chapter
[16:57] Jesus we are told cast out the devils out of some legion was one instead of gaining popularity for this great miracle of healing they begin to beg him to depart out of their coasts he returns to Capernaum where the people receive him gladly and here again opportunity was given to perform a miracle when he encounters Jairus miracles strange thing is people today think about the biblical account of these miracles in the same way people treated them when he performed them so many years ago we know that not only did Jesus personally perform miracles of healing he also performed miracles that were nature miracles as they are identified he turned water into wine he stilled the storm and so on but accompanying all these signs and wonders that the
[18:16] Lord enabled his followers to see and to do there is a witness to the truth concerning who he was who he was did not depend on doing these miracles or signs but they bear testimony to it B.B.
[18:42] Warfield suggests that far from from being a testimony to who he was as far as people were concerned. All they were interested in was the immediate impact upon lives. When he carried out the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, people were glad that he satisfied their hunger. Whether he was able to satisfy their spiritual hunger at the same time is not something that you can prove from the scripture. As Warfield says, for a time disease and death must have been almost banished from the land, whether that is true or not.
[19:42] Certainly there were many who were brought to him, as we saw even in the reading of this chapter. They brought to the Lord many and they laid him at his feet in the hope that those of them who were needing to be healed would be healed. Now as we look at this passage we should remind ourselves that just as is true about many who were eyewitnesses to what Christ was doing, they were riddled with unbelief. They were not satisfied to give a spiritual application to what he was doing. So those who read the scripture today are equally sceptical.
[20:37] Those who do not want to believe, those who do not want to believe, they will not believe. Philosophers and atheists of all descriptions, they are in denial as to what Christ could do.
[20:53] It's David Hume who says the only miracle that we can see in the Bible is that people actually believed in miracles. That is something his out and out atheism and scepticism did not allow him to do and he couldn't understand why others would do it either.
[21:13] And that is the way some people look at Christians today, at those who believe in the word of God today. They look at them askance and they are almost in denial of these people's ability to reason for themselves.
[21:35] It's as if their response to what Christ has done is irrational and no one in his right mind would be able to do that. But that's not the case. Many, many have appeared on the scene of time over the years who have tried to rationalise what was done or to give a completely, completely skewed interpretation of events.
[22:05] But the truth is that sometimes Christ and God does things that are beyond the ability of man's understanding.
[22:22] John Blanchard in his book John Blanchard writes about this in, I don't know if it's God Believes in Atheism, one of his books anyway, he talks about this and he says, God is the ordainer of the laws of nature. He is not someone who is subject to them.
[22:50] The laws of nature are merely our assessment of how God normally causes things to happen. But he is not subject to those laws and is perfectly at liberty to suspend or change them on a local or widespread basis wherever and for whatever reason he chooses. Nor would his doing so violate any known law.
[23:17] God is, he is the author of his own laws. The laws that are not just moral laws, but the laws that regulate the world in which we live, the rising of the tide and the going out of the tide, the rising of the sun and the going down of the sun, the moon and the stars, they function with a certain order as endowed to them by God who created them. He can suspend these laws at will.
[23:53] And some people say God's not allowed to do that. As if they are God who have the right to tell God what he can and what he can't do.
[24:08] When we look then at this miracle, it is a miracle indeed. And it is a miracle that is unexpected in many ways.
[24:20] We look at somebody who comes to Jesus when others could easily have come to Jesus and choose not to. So I want us to think about this first meeting that Jesus had with Jairus.
[24:39] Secondly, the way that Jesus dealt with Jairus and then considered the resurrection of Jairus' daughter. In the description we are given of Jairus, there is much in it that commends his character to us.
[25:00] He comes to Jesus and he is polite and he falls at his feet and he begs the attention of the Lord.
[25:14] My daughter lies at the point of death, I pray thee, come and lay your hands on her that she may be healed and that she shall live. Geoffrey Grogan suggests that the respect that he has for the Lord is something that arises out of desperation.
[25:34] He is courteous and despite his own position within the synagogue, he gives Christ respect.
[25:46] And according to Grogan it is desperation that makes him go against the pharisaic stream. He is a part of the Lord. But the truth of the matter is that when we are in need, we go to where that need is best met.
[26:05] And even though the norms and the dictates of our everyday life would go against it, if we cannot find an answer to our need elsewhere, this is where we must go.
[26:21] And where better can you go than to Christ? But the thing is, when you read this and when you think of this and you think, well, according to these theologians, the fact of the matter was the reason for Jairus coming to Jesus was he was desperate.
[26:43] It was the last resort. This is where he had to come because he couldn't go anywhere else. Maybe he had exhausted every other route.
[27:00] And sadly that's the way it is with many people when they seek the Lord. They have tried everything else and then they come and try him.
[27:13] If you ask yourself the question, what is it that you must experience in order for you to come to Christ? What is it that will make you come?
[27:24] You're perfectly happy as you are. You're perfectly content in your home life, in your work life, in all that you do. You're very cosy and very comfortable.
[27:36] Is there anything that would make you uncomfortable? Is there anything that would disturb your current peace that would make you go and seek the Lord?
[27:52] And maybe there is. Maybe there's fear of death. Maybe there's sickness. Maybe there's illness in the home and the family.
[28:05] And then you decide, well, maybe I should go to Christ. Maybe I should go and pray. Maybe I should make myself known. But does it really have to come to this before you?
[28:18] Before you seek the Lord? Do you have to be at your wit's end? Is it the fact that he is not worth approaching the way you are today?
[28:30] Before you feel your need? There's no rule to say that you can't come and make yourself known and say to him, well, I have everything and I have nothing lacking.
[28:45] But if this is all there is, surely there is more to it than there is if Christ is not part of your life.
[28:57] Is he not worth approaching as you are? And we often forget that not everybody came to Jesus because of what they were or what they wanted.
[29:10] You have to think of it in this way because it is who he is and what he is that convinced many people that they should come to him.
[29:25] Just as the wise divine said about Joseph, the best way of saying no to sin is to say yes to Jesus Christ. Which is good advice indeed.
[29:36] And it is not something when you think back at the story of the Queen of Sheba when she came to Solomon.
[29:49] She expected a king. She expected wisdom. She expected riches. She was prepared beforehand. But when she came to get a first-hand experience of what was before her, she said the half was not told.
[30:09] And that is true about people who come to Christ even though they come by way of the school of hard knocks. They discovered that there was more to Christ than they realised.
[30:22] And one thing that many regret, if not all regret, is that they have not and did not come to Christ at the earliest opportunity. Any sinner can come to Christ out of a sense of need and say to him, Lord, save me, I perish.
[30:46] Any sinner can come to Christ and even ask Christ to make them a sinner so that they can come and appreciate who he is and what he is.
[30:56] But how did Jesus deal with his mind? Well, he dealt with them at once. But all that surrounded him did not distract Jesus from dealing with him personally.
[31:16] Did you notice that? There were many people. You know, Jesus, when he passed by the ship and to the other side, much people gathered unto him.
[31:28] He was surrounded by people, followed by people of all descriptions. And yet when this person came, he got his undivided attention. Jesus went with him.
[31:42] And many people followed him and thronged him. Jairus would have been pleased. Jairus would have been encouraged.
[31:54] Jairus would have been enthralled to think that his passion had come with him to deal with his need. But then we have an interlip.
[32:07] Then we have a break. Another miracle. And the Lord breaks off dealing with Jairus to deal with this woman who stretched out her hand and touched the hem of his gather.
[32:27] Even though he knew that his daughter was at death's door, he still dealt with this needy woman.
[32:38] A woman that we read about here. Who had been for so many years suffering from an issue of blood. Getting worse and worse.
[32:50] Who knows? Remember, it is the Lord that we are dealing with here. You may think that because this woman's need was of a long-standing duration, that she would have time on her hands to wait for him and come back and deal with her when the opportune moment came.
[33:10] Remember, this is the Lord who is dealing with them both. And maybe he knew more than we do. But he dealt with her. And then he went to be with Jairus.
[33:23] But then in verse 35 we read their words that are words which would break any man's heart. Your daughter is dead.
[33:35] Why do you trouble the master any further? Despite his hopes being lifted and despite every feeling of encouragement that he enjoyed, here he was and nothing could be done.
[33:57] You have no longer need of Christ. We can't enter into that grief. We can't enter into that sorrow.
[34:09] These past few days we've been reminded of an infant who died just a few months old from a severe form of leukemia for which there was no remedy.
[34:24] And the death of that child received universal disclosure because of whose child she was and the sadness surrounding the death.
[34:43] But as a result of that many have put their names forward for stem cell, to provide stem cells for the alleviation of that particular vile form of cancer.
[35:03] So through the death of one child many have been encouraged to help out. And that is a good thing. But one can't help but think about the parents of the child who died.
[35:18] And perhaps thinking if only, oh if only you had come forward before now. If only you had volunteered to be donors before now.
[35:36] Then maybe your child could have lived. And who knows what kind of thoughts are going through the mind of this man. Knowing and believing that this last resort was not going to yield any fruit.
[35:57] But Jesus spoke to him with compassion. He knew the break, the heartbreak that this man was suffering from.
[36:10] Be not afraid, he says, only believe. Is that not what took you to me? Don't let it go. It is strange why all the crowd were debarred from seeing this, from being witnesses to this.
[36:30] But they were. Jesus was dealing with the needs of this woman, this child and this man who was her father. And it was for them that he was doing this, not for the witnesses, not for the testimony of his own power.
[36:50] Jesus however really did the miraculous to satisfy curiosity. And at the house it is the same. The mourners had gathered but they are dismissed. The final thing that we have here is the result.
[37:08] The result of what Jesus did. Only the parents and the disciples were to be privy to that. Talitha come, he says. Little girl arise.
[37:21] How sweet and gentle Jesus appears to us here. Sometimes you see that with doctors. They say of them that they have...
[37:32] Some of them have good bedside manners. They are gentle. They are kind, compassionate. They have time to give to their patients.
[37:44] Some others do not give that impression. Maybe they want to fall down to their nature. They are aloof and standoffish and care.
[37:56] Almost cold in their care. No matter how skilful they are. But not so Christ. He is gentle. And he is mindful of the need that is before them.
[38:10] She is not dead. But sleepeth. What a wonderful way to be walking from your sleep.
[38:21] Hearing the words of Jesus. At him goes, I heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest.
[38:35] Lay down thy weary one. Lay down thy head upon my breast. I came to Jesus as I was. Weary and worn and sad. I found in him a resting place.
[38:46] And he has made me glad. When this little girl heard the voice of Jesus. She came like Lazarus.
[38:57] And the son of the widow of Nain. And every soul that hears the invitation of Christ and recognises his voice. Every single one of them that responds to it.
[39:11] Know that the one that awaits them is indeed gentle and kind. Every Christian believer who has heard the voice of Jesus as they lay in the grave of an unnatural state.
[39:25] Without God, without hope in the world. Dead in trespasses and sin. This is the Christ that has called them out to himself.
[39:36] Marvel not at this, Christ says. For this hour is coming. In the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice and shall come forth.
[39:48] Ye that have done good unto the resurrection of life. And they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. It's not the same voice and yet it is.
[40:00] A different time. A different summons. A different result awaits for some. Some will know that they are going to be with him which is far better.
[40:15] Some will know what awaits them. They would want to be away from it. What will that be like for you? If you are today saying to yourself, well I have no need of this Christ.
[40:30] How wrong can you be? How wrong? You do not need to be in desperate straits to understand what the word of God says. You may not believe it now. But you should.
[40:42] You may not understand it. Well if you don't. Get down on your knees and ask the Lord to help you understand. The truth of what this word says.
[40:54] Concerning you. And the appointment you have to keep with Christ. May he bless to us these few thoughts. Let us pray. Merciful God.
[41:05] We give thanks for the voice that. Invited and treated and. Called people to himself. Even out of the grave. We pray that you would bless.
[41:18] Those who are without hope this night. That you would. Bless them and encourage them. To put their. Hand in the hand of Christ. And put their head. In his spousal and.
[41:30] Seek his blessing. Watch over us each one. We pray. Cleansing from sin. And now may grace. Mercy and peace. God the Father. The Son and the Holy Spirit. Be with you all. Now and always.
[41:41] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.