Welcome back to another short service from Becloor Free Church.
Today we're in Luke chapter 8 and Luke chapter 8 is all about faith and Jesus explores that in various ways.
So by way of opening our time I want to read a few verses at verse 22.
One day Jesus said to his disciples, let us go over to the other side of the lake.
So they got into a boat and set out.
As they sailed, he fell asleep.
A squall came down on the lake so that the boat was being swamped and they were in great danger.
The disciples went and woke him saying, Master, Master, we're going to drown.
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters.
The storm subsided and all was calm.
Where is your faith?
He asked his disciples in fear and amazement.
They asked one another, who is this?
He commands even the winds and the water and they obey him.
Let's pray briefly.
Lord our God, we thank you for the Bible.
Your revelation to us of your truth, of your character, of your saving plan.
We thank you for Jesus, the one who came into the world in order to be the object for our faith.
Just as he called the disciples to have faith in him in the middle of a storm.
So you call each one of us in the highs and lows of life to look to Jesus with faith.
To trust that he came to live the perfect life that we can never live.
That he came to die in our place for our sin.
That he rose to give the gift of forgiveness and new life to all who would trust in him.
We pray that you would help each one of us now as we turn to the Bible.
To think about what faith looks like.
And why Jesus is the one and only proper object for our faith.
We pray in Jesus name.
Amen.
So let's read together and then we'll think about a section a little bit further on.
Luke chapter 8 at verse 40.
And we'll read to the end of the chapter.
So Luke chapter 8 beginning at verse 40 now.
When Jesus had returned, a crowd welcomed him for they were all expecting him.
Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet.
Pleading with him to come to his house.
Because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.
And a woman was there who'd been subject to bleeding for 12 years.
But no one could heal her.
She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.
And immediately her bleeding stopped.
Who touched me? Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said,
Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.
But Jesus said, someone touched me.
I know the power has gone out from me.
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet.
In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
Then he said to her, daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace.
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader.
Your daughter is dead, he said.
Don't bother the teacher anymore.
Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, don't be afraid.
Just believe and she will be healed.
When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James and the child's father and mother.
Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her.
Stop wailing, Jesus said.
She is not dead, but asleep.
They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
But he took her by the hand and said, my child, get up.
Her spirit returned and at once she stood up.
Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
Her parents were astonished.
But he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
So we're going to continue to think about the reality that Jesus changes everything.
And today to focus especially on this truth that faith in Jesus changes everything for a sick woman and for this little girl.
Now, to say that faith is important is not really controversial.
Most people would agree that faith in something, believing in something is regarded as a good thing.
It's good for giving people hope.
It's good for people's mental health.
It gives a sense of resilience.
Where it becomes interesting, where it can become controversial, is when we get to the question, but who or what should I have faith in?
And of course, we recognise, don't we, that there are so many answers given to that.
There is the answer given by different religious groups.
There are the answers of those who place their hope in science and technology.
There is the message that we hear often where we are called to believe in ourself.
Right now, we are being asked to place our faith in politicians and political parties as we think about an election.
Well, not surprisingly, Christianity says that we are called to faith to believe in God and his son, Jesus, as he is revealed in the Bible.
So today, what we are going to do is we are going to think about what does faith in Jesus look like?
What can we learn from these two stories?
And we will also see that Luke is making a case for us to understand and to see that Jesus is the proper object.
He is the right focus for our faith.
And we see that as he brings healing, as he brings new life.
We think about the wider mission of Jesus.
Jesus comes to bring spiritual healing and spiritual, eternal life to all those who would have faith in him.
So that we would recognise that whoever we are, whatever our situation, the call and the invitation from God in his word, from Jesus, the son of God, is to have faith in him.
So before we get to look at our two encounters, it's important just to notice the settings.
The setting is really fascinating.
So verse 40, you probably noticed it says, now when Jesus returned.
It's a reminder, Jesus has been on the move.
Jesus has been on mission.
And in particular, he's been on mission against the power, the forces of evil and darkness.
So we read about him stopping a storm and storms were seen as chaos and darkness.
And we've seen him, we didn't read it, but he restores a man who'd been possessed by demons to full health and to spiritual health.
And now Jesus turns his attention against the forces of illness and death.
That's a really important setting for where we're going.
We see too, in verse 40, that a crowd welcomed him.
We see, or we used to see at least, sort of pictures of celebrities being mobbed by fans.
Maybe have that kind of picture.
As we think about the excitement around Jesus, the way that he was welcomed, there are people sort of crowding him and crushing him.
And we don't know whether he's excited about his teaching, whether he's excited about his miracles, his word spreads.
But yeah, what's interesting is that Luke moves from the crowds and the crushing to zoom in on just two individuals.
Why those two?
Well, they are for us portraits, very different portraits of what faith in Jesus looks like.
So that's where we're going to spend our time.
We're going to look at each of these.
We're going to look at Jairus.
We're going to look at the unnamed woman.
So let's begin with Jairus and think about his faith in the face of death.
So we'll just look at verses 41 and 42 just now and see three points about his faith at this stage.
First of all, we recognise that faith is humble.
Verse 41, a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet.
So he's a synagogue leader, so we know he's religious, social elite.
But here, humbled by his need, he takes the posture of a servant before a king.
You know, he's not showing Jesus the equivalent of,
Jesus, here's my synagogue leader business card.
You should help me because of my credentials.
No, Jairus understands that faith seeks mercy.
And we have no automatic claim on the mercy of God, whoever we are.
And so we need to understand with Jairus that faith bows down before a perfect and a holy God,
who is our creator, who is our king, recognising that all that we bring to the table is our sin.
And we depend on him for life and salvation and everything else.
From beginning to end, we say nothing in my hands I bring.
Simply to your cross I cling.
And Jairus teaches us that faith is humble.
But he also teaches us that faith is desperate.
Faith comes to Jesus desperate.
So he fell at Jesus' feet and he's pleading with him to come to his house
because his only daughter, a girl about 12, was dying.
This is not a casual chant.
This is not, Jesus, it's fine either way.
Jesus, if you're not too busy, would you mind coming to my house?
No.
This is pleading.
This is begging.
With urgency.
Because the need is great and emotions are high and this matters more than anything else in Jairus' life.
This matters.
Where we place our faith, sometimes not such a big deal.
Sometimes can be a life or death thing.
Certainly was true in Jairus' case as the story goes on.
The teaching of Jesus, the teaching of the Bible is clear about certain realities.
Sin is real.
Sin, that thing that breaks our relationship with God, that separates us from God,
that causes all that's wrong in the world and all that's wrong in our hearts,
that's real.
And because that's real and because God is holy and perfect and hates sin,
so too the judgment of God is real.
The Bible is also clear and Jesus is clear that eternity is real.
That after this life we continue to live.
Our souls live and our bodies are raised and they too live for eternity.
But there's two different destinies.
There is heaven with God and there is hell, the place of separation from God.
Heaven where we know love and peace and joy from and with God and with Jesus.
And hell where we know the absence of that, where all that is experienced from God is his anger against sin and rejection of him.
And that too is real.
But the Bible is clear and Jesus is clear also that this is real as well.
That there is an invitation to forgiveness.
That sin doesn't have to have the last word.
That judgment need not be God's only word over you.
That the love of God, the self-giving love of God in giving his son Jesus to be the saviour for the world,
that's real too.
Eternal life as a gift of God's grace.
In the sending of Jesus to be a rescuer.
To take on himself willingly all the wrong that we have done to die in our place, to suffer in our place,
to forgive us and bring us peace with God.
That's reality also.
And so the stakes are really high when we think about who or what we place our faith in.
And Jesus is clear and the Bible is clear that outside of Christ our need is desperate.
And so there is an invitation to have a faith that goes to Jesus in that desperate need,
looking to him for mercy.
And when we do, he will forgive and he will call us to himself.
It's also, I think, important to learn from Jairus' example.
And we see this in some other stories in the Bible too, that faith pleads,
not just for oneself, but for others as well.
Now I can't begin to imagine Jairus' grief.
And that sense of fear, that sense of being overwhelmed at the prospect of losing his daughter.
But I can relate with a father's love that seeks the very best for his kids.
A father's love that seeks life.
You know, as parents, if you're a parent, as you're listening in,
what wouldn't we do for our kids?
If we had the resources, if we were able to protect, of course we would, wouldn't we?
That's natural, that's instinct, that's good.
But we know too the reality that there are some things we cannot do for the people we love.
There are limits to our love, limits to our strength,
limits to our ability to provide and protect, but not so with Jesus.
And so let's learn from Jairus here.
In his weakness, he took his daughter to Jesus.
Let's take our family and our friends, the people on our hearts, to Jesus in prayer.
He, at the end of the day, is and will always be their greatest hope and their greatest need.
His love, God's love, is the greatest gift, greatest thing we could ever wish for others.
And so let's pray and let's plead for people in our lives.
It's so good for us as a church to pray and to pray together for others in faith,
seeking God to intervene, to act, to bring life.
And it's so good to pray then for faith, to be formed in others.
So we have a chance to do that whenever we gather in community group or on Mondays when we pray.
We can do it in our families also.
So this is the first part of Jairus' encounter with Jesus.
And we'll come back to Jairus.
But let's now think about this woman, this unnamed woman, and faith brings restoration.
Again, it's interesting the way Luke presents this.
It's the only time that we see two miracles come together in the life of Jesus.
So in verse 44, there's Jesus walking to Jairus' house.
The crowds are almost crushing him.
But now a new face comes into focus in Luke's presentation,
or perhaps because I imagine she was perhaps bowed over her,
at least her profile would be in view.
Now, what can we learn about faith from this woman and from Luke's presentation?
First, I think we see that faith is for all.
Faith is for all types of people.
Luke deliberately places these two stories together.
Jesus deliberately draws attention to Jairus and absolutely to the woman.
To remind us, faith isn't just for the in crowd.
Faith isn't just for certain types, for religious people.
It's not just for the West.
It's not just for the middle class.
It's not just for a certain type.
So what do we see here?
We see Jairus, he's male, and we see this woman, she's female.
Jairus, he has power and influence.
This lady, she has none.
Jairus leads religious worship in the synagogue.
This woman is barred from synagogue worship because of her illness.
Jairus comes publicly.
This woman comes in secret, quietly.
The only point that they have in common is faith in Jesus.
And that faith brings both of them together into God's kingdom.
That's one of the wonderful things about the church.
The kingdom of God is diverse.
And local churches, in little ways, get to reflect that diversity, whether it's through our age profile, or whether it's through different countries and cultures that we come from, or different social backgrounds.
A reminder, a reminder, a living reminder that the good news of Jesus is open to all.
We celebrate that.
We should celebrate that.
So faith is for all.
And the woman helps to highlight that.
Faith also trusts.
Faith and trust go together.
Consider this woman's heartbreaking story.
Twelve years.
Twelve years of bleeding.
Of a chronic illness.
With no cure.
An illness that led her to be isolated from her community.
Restricted in her social interactions.
Not allowed in the temple to worship God.
Not allowed in the synagogue to worship with others.
In fact, she would have had to draw attention to her illness so she could be avoided.
I sent a letter to the church this week.
Recognising that we've all, and some of us still are, we feel something of that loss of contact.
We've felt the loss of interaction.
We've felt the loss of worship.
There is something not good about that.
And so we should continue to pray for mercy.
That things would return to normal so that we can be a worshipping people of God again.
But this woman, in light of all of those barriers and struggles, she bravely makes her way to Jesus.
She trusts that in Jesus there is hope.
That he can bring healing.
That he can bring restoration from her suffering.
It's a wonderful faith.
Trust Jesus to deliver.
I wonder, do you and I have that trust?
Do we take our pain?
Do we take our tears?
Do we take our lives to Jesus?
And believe that he can bring something good and beautiful out of perhaps the wreckage and the mess that we're in right now?
And then we also see that faith testifies.
Faith speaks.
Faith gives testimony to what God has done, what Jesus has done in her life.
The amazing miracle happens in verse 44.
After 12 years, instantly her bleeding stops as she reaches out in faith to Jesus.
And then you get that question from Jesus.
Who touched me?
Peter said, it's a massive cry.
Of course people are going to be touched.
Jesus, remember, isn't asking this for his own benefit.
He's not lacking in knowledge.
Who was that?
That's not what Jesus did.
He's drawing the women out.
He's drawing the women out from the crowd, out from the shadows.
To come speak with them.
Why?
We have a fire pit in our garden.
And when guests come and if it's a bit chilly, sometimes we'll get the fire on the go.
And depending on the type of wood and depending on what we've got around,
sometimes the fire doesn't always start that well.
It can be a bit slow getting going.
Sometimes you just get a wee sort of smolder.
And when that happens, I have a...
I don't know why I've chosen this, but I have an orange plastic plate that comes out for special occasions.
It comes out so that it can act the fan.
It fans that just little tiny flicker of flame into, hopefully, all being well, the roasting fire.
Jesus draws the woman out so he can fan into flames.
She's going to be able to do it.
Her small, weak faith.
By encouraging her.
By speaking truth to her.
And part of that will involve her testifying.
And so the woman comes.
She realises she can't hide verse 47.
In the presence of all the people, she told why she touched him and how she'd been instantly healed.
She speaks and gives a word of testimony.
This is my life.
This is my situation before I met Jesus.
This is true now that I've met Jesus and now that I've reached out in faith.
Every Christian has a testimony that effectively says, I owe everything to Jesus.
I was this kind of person.
This was my story.
But then I came to discover the gospel.
I came to hear of a God who loved me and of the gift of his son who was sent.
And I trusted in Jesus that when he died on the cross, he died to forgive me.
And that he rose to give me new life.
And now I have the spirit in my heart.
And now I have the hope of heaven.
And now I have reason and purpose as I look to live for him day by day.
I owe everything to Jesus.
We all have that testimony.
This woman has that testimony.
And Jesus, what does he do?
He invites her to share it.
We can recognise and identify, I am sure, with her sense of terror.
But you know what?
When we remember all that Jesus has done for us.
How he has transformed our lives in a variety of ways.
But especially spiritually, giving us a new heart and new life.
That's what can help us to overcome our fear.
And we realise that we've got a good gift that we want to share with others.
So the woman testifies.
But do you know more than that?
Jesus.
Jesus testifies.
Testifies.
That she has been healed.
And that's important.
Because now.
Public restoration can happen.
Now people don't need to move away from her.
Now she can be welcomed in.
Jesus has done that.
And more than that.
More wonderful than that.
Jesus testifies.
She is mine.
And I love her.
Look at how Jesus speaks of her.
In verse 48 he said to her.
Daughter.
It's family language.
This woman is now part of the family of God.
She's been adopted into God's family.
Daughter.
Your faith has healed you.
Or saved you.
Here is salvation language.
Being spoken by Jesus of her.
And go in peace.
She is going away utterly transformed.
Peace physically.
The illness has gone.
Peace in society.
She can be welcomed in.
Peace spiritually.
As a child of God.
It's the gospel.
It's the wonder of the gospel.
Jesus has come.
And he has come to pay the ransom price.
To deliver us from sin and suffering and evil.
And to bring us into his kingdom.
He's come to bring healing.
Spiritual healing.
Deep down in our heart.
From the inside out healing.
He's come to restore us.
Restore us to the way that we were made to be.
Made to be worshippers of God.
Made to know and enjoy God.
He restores that.
And he's come to forgive.
He's come to deal with the sin that separates.
So that we can be brought home.
Today.
If you're not as yet a believer in Jesus.
Today.
Is a wonderful day.
To put your faith in Jesus.
To ask him to forgive you.
And to be Lord and Saviour.
In your life.
And today if you are a Christian.
It's a great day.
To declare his praises.
And to be looking for opportunities.
Today.
This week.
To declare his praises to others.
So the focus shifts for a while.
From Jairus to the woman.
But now.
Attention is going to shift back.
To Jairus.
We're going to see what happens.
So imagine.
So the news spreads.
In the crowd.
Praise and wonder.
Would no doubt spread too.
This woman has been dramatically healed.
But then.
Comes verse 49.
While Jesus was still speaking.
Someone came from the house of Jairus.
Your daughter is dead.
Don't bother the teacher anymore.
The news Jairus had dreaded above all.
It's too late.
There's no point.
Just come home.
Don't bother Jesus anymore.
There is limits.
Even to his power.
But.
Jesus is not done.
Is he?
Jesus is.
Still revealing his power.
Over the forces of evil.
The forces of darkness.
Jesus is still.
Saying.
To his disciples.
Saying.
To this woman.
Saying to Jairus.
I am the one.
That you should have your faith in.
And so he says.
Verse 50.
Don't be afraid.
Just believe.
And she will be healed.
And what we discovered about faith.
Is that faith.
Fights.
Fear.
Of course Jairus had so much reason.
To fear.
And to collapse.
And these words from anyone else.
Would seem so cruel.
And heartless.
Wouldn't they?
But not from Jesus.
Jesus reminds Jairus.
In this disaster.
In our disasters.
Nothing else matters.
Beyond.
Above.
Our faith in Jesus.
And so Jesus calls Jairus.
To fight the fight of faith.
To fight against fear.
By resting in Jesus character.
To rest in Jesus power.
To continue trusting.
What he's already known about Jesus.
That brought him there in the first place.
And to.
To trust in Jesus all the more.
Because of what he's just seen.
Jesus do in the life of this woman.
And we are invited.
To learn from Jairus.
And his example.
In our fight against fear.
And when things seem to be collapsing around us.
To hold on to God's word.
To trust in God's promises.
To draw comfort from.
His presence with us always.
To rest in.
His grace.
Grace.
That overflow.
Of undeserved loving kindness.
That comes to us.
And to recognise.
We're in the hands of a God.
Who's sovereign.
And wise.
And good.
Faith.
Fights.
Fear.
So.
Jesus.
Then continues to move.
Jairus follows.
And the disciples follow.
And they arrive at the house.
And as they arrive at the house.
They're met with a scene.
Not surprisingly.
Of devastation.
And of grief.
There's mourning.
In verse 52.
Jesus says.
To the mourners.
Stop wailing.
She's not dead but asleep.
Now we need to recognise.
Jesus is not naive.
But Jesus knows his power.
Knows his plan.
It's as easy for Jesus.
To raise this girl from the dead.
As it is for.
A parent to raise a child from sleep.
The crowds.
They mock.
And they doubt.
They laughed at him.
Knowing that she.
Was dead.
There is no faith.
In the crowd.
But they're about to learn.
A powerful lesson.
And Jairus is too.
Because Jairus' faith.
Is rewarded with new life.
Death becomes life.
In his daughter's case.
Jairus has stuck with Jesus.
He's gone from pleading with Jesus.
To following his word.
And obedience.
And now.
Verse 54.
Jesus takes her by the hand.
And said.
My child.
Get up.
Family is restored.
His daughter is alive.
By the power and the love of God.
In Jesus.
Again we see in a wonderful way.
The restoration that faith brings.
And this physical raising.
Speaks spiritual hope for us.
It anticipates.
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Conquering sin and evil and death.
And that promise that one day he will return.
And defeat those forces once and for all.
And we who trust in Jesus.
Will enjoy resurrection life with him.
And so Luke in so many ways.
Wants to say to us.
Jesus is the proper object of faith.
And faith in Jesus changes everything.
What have we learned about Jesus and faith?
Well we've seen Jesus confront evil and suffering.
And it was all around him.
He wasn't disconnected from it.
And we've seen too.
That Jesus is God's solution.
The ultimate solution to the problem of evil and suffering.
And that is revealed for us at the cross.
And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And will be finally revealed at his second coming.
And so we are invited to have faith.
That God is strong enough.
That Jesus is good enough to bring good out of evil.
We see that again at the cross don't we?
That people intended.
Out of evil.
To kill Jesus.
But God.
Had an eternal plan.
That the death of his son.
As a perfect sacrifice.
Would bring life for many.
We see too don't we?
That Jesus is the great physician.
And that to know true peace.
Lasting joy.
Restoration.
Is to put our faith in him.
There's wonderful different pictures of restoration.
The women being restored to society.
A family being reunited.
It's a great picture of the gospel.
That God through Jesus reconciles us to himself.
And it's a reminder that in heaven.
There will be those wonderful family reunions.
As friends reunited.
As all those who have their faith in Jesus.
Are together in perfect joy in heaven.
And enjoying one another.
And enjoying the Lord Jesus.
As we finish.
Let me just remind us.
That it's not enough to say.
I'm a person of faith.
The message from Luke chapter 8.
The message throughout the Bible is.
I must have faith in a person.
And that person.
Is Jesus.
Faith in Jesus brings the promise of new and eternal life.
It brings the hope of true and complete healing in the future.
And it brings the promise of life and peace with God today.
So let me invite you.
To live by faith.
In the son of God.
Who loved you.
And gave himself for you.
Let's pray briefly.
Lord God.
We confess that.
There are times when our faith.
Is placed in many other things.
Rather than in your son Jesus.
We can sometimes place a lot of faith in ourself.
And in our own abilities.
We place hope in political parties.
In educational systems.
In medical and scientific technology.
In the basic goodness of humanity.
So many sources of what we can think of as hope.
But Lord help us to see the ultimate hope.
The ultimate peace and joy in life.
Comes when our faith is in Jesus.
Thank you that the Bible is so full of evidence towards that end.
Both in the power.
And the love.
And the miracles of Jesus.
But also in his dying for us.
And then rising for us.
And sending the spirit for us.
And promising he's gone to heaven.
He'll take his people to be with him.
And he'll come back and make all things new.
Including us.
Lord help us to be a people of faith.
And the people that praise you.
And the people that testify to your goodness.
We ask this in Jesus name.
Amen.
Now let's finish our time together.
First of all singing.
He will hold me fast.
And then Psalm 63.
The first eight verses.
When I fear my faith will fail.
Christ will hold me fast.
When the tempter would prevail.
He will hold me fast.
I could never keep my hold.
Through life's fearful path.
For my love is often cold.
He must hold me fast.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
Those he saves are his delight.
Christ will hold me fast.
Precious in his holy sight.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
For my life he bled and died.
Christ will hold me fast.
Justice has been satisfied.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
He will hold me fast.
For my Savior loves me so.
O God, you are my God alone.
You are my God alone.
I seek your face with eagerness.
My soul and body.
My soul and body thirst for you.
In this dry, weary wilderness.
I've seen you in your holy place.
Your power and glory held my gaze.
For my Savior loves me so.
I'll bless you, Lord.
And so my lips will sing your praise.
I'll bless you, Lord, throughout my life.
And raise my hands to you in prayer.
My joyful lips will sing your praise.
My soul is fed with riches fair.
Upon my bed I lie awake.
And in my thoughts remember you.
I meditate throughout the night.
And keep your constant love in view.
Because you are my help alone.
In shadow of your wings I'll sing.
You hold me up with your right hand.
To you, O God, my soul will cling.
See in the warmer gears.
I arise, my soul will get used.
And inside the light reveal this is more than we have.
So imIT.