"Desperate Faith" part 1

"Desperate Faith!" (Part 1 of 2)

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #31)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

August 28, 2011

Mark 5:21-34 (NAU), ²¹ When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. ²² One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet ²³ and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live." ²⁴ And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. ²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." ²⁹ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?" ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" ³² And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. ³³ But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction." [Prayer]

Our Scripture lesson today focuses on 2 people who come to Jesus out of complete desperation. The first is a powerful and influential leader while the second is an unclean outcast. The result of their circumstances leads them both to the same place—to Jesus Christ with an open and desperate heart seeking His healing power & presence. DESPERATION LEADS TO HUMILITY!

Let's discuss Mark 5:22-23 which narrates the beginning of the story (story finishes in verses 35-43 which we'll discuss next week), "One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.'"

This is a man brought to humility by the devastation in his life…his daughter was on her literal death bed and Jesus was his last (and desperate!) option. He risked everything in going to Him…position, stature, even his orthodoxy according to his peers & Sanhedrin.

2 Kings 5:14 (turn to Naaman's story in 2 Kings 5:1-14) tells the story of another powerful and influential leader whose life circumstances lead him to the humility of seeking God's healing, "So he [Naaman] went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God [Elisha]; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean."

Friends, must we wait until devastation has come upon our doors before we will humble ourselves and seek resources and assistance outside of ourselves?

You have a choice to make in your own life: desperation or devastation! You can realize your absolute need for Jesus or wait until devastation breaks your pride. Jairus and Naaman were both influential men of position who were brought to a place of humility by devastation. What will it take for you to humble yourself before God?

Matthew 18:3-4 states the importance of humility, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus echoes this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3 stating, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Proverbs 16:18 declares, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling."

Jairus risked position and stature to publically place his faith in Jesus. Are you desperate enough to risk everything on Jesus? Or will devastation be necessary to get you to that place of desperation? God does not cause the devastation, but He sure will work in the midst of your circumstances because God wants you to heal you; He desires to bring peace to your storm! When you find yourself sinking in the storm of your life, will you be like the Apostle Peter and reach out for Jesus?

DESPERATION LEADS PEOPLE TO REACH OUT WITH DESPARATE FAITH TO JESUS CHRIST!

The story of Jairus is seemingly interrupted with the story of another desperate person. This is not a random interruption; this is divine appointment and yet another teaching point in Jesus' ministry to His disciples. [unpack thought as Holy Spirit leads]

Listen to Mark 5:25-28, "A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, 'If I just touch His garments, I will get well.'"

The woman was an unclean outcast (Leviticus 15:25-27) considered far from God; her community, her family, and her religion ostracized her. [explain]

Do you feel distant from God because of your circumstances and/or how people treat you? Are you desperate enough to reach through the manmade (& your own) barriers to touch Jesus?

The Bible declares in Romans 10:11-13, "As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" No matter what your circumstances may be or what people have told you, if you reach out to Jesus Christ with desperate faith He will respond to you!

The story continues in Mark 5:30-31, "Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My garments?' And His disciples said to Him, 'You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"

We experience this deepest of truths expressed by Saint Augustine in this short phrase: "Flesh presses, Faith touches!" Jesus knows the touch of need and He responds to it! Jesus distinguishes between the jostle of the curious crowd and the agonized touch of a desperate person. Are you a part of the crowd that is curious about Jesus or are you desperately in need of Him?

Holy Spirit leaves you no wiggle room. You must choose today which camp you fall into—you are either a member of the curious crowd or you are the desperate person seeking only to be able to reach out to Jesus Christ knowing He is your only answer; He is your first and last resort for life. Both groups may faithfully attend church and participate in religious activities, but the Kingdom of God, eternal life, salvation is only for those who are poor in spirit, desperate to touch Jesus! Don't bank on your curiosity getting you into Heaven; today is the day that you MUST realize your absolute need for Jesus—are you desperately in need of Jesus Christ? There is good news!

JESUS CHRIST SEES YOU AND HE LOVES YOU ENOUGH TO MEET YOU IN YOUR MOVEMENT TOWARD HIM IN DESPERATE FAITH!

Mark 5:32 describes Jesus' response to this desperate woman, "And He looked around to see the woman who had done this."

Jesus will not be impressed with your status in life, your portfolio or resume, your downs or your outs. What God cares about is your heart! It is NOT our circumstances that need to change friends; it is our heart attitudes! The Bible teaches in 1 Samuel 16:7b, "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Jesus sees to the depths of your greatest need. He can see your desperation for Him! If your heart reaches out to Him in faith, then He will see and respond with the loving embrace of the Father.

You will never earn salvation because you are good enough. There is no amount of religious ritual or activity that can make you right in the eyes of God. You can be the president of the synagogue (Jairus) with the love and approval of all the community and the religious establishment behind you OR you can be the unclean outcasts (the woman) with the disdain and rejection of all the community and the religious establishment against you. God does not look upon you as man does; with an external focus. That is not what matters; what matters is your approach to God (in humility or pride) and your faith in Jesus Christ (desperation or curiosity). God is looking for the desperate faith of a person who knows that everything depends on Jesus Christ—there are no back up plans; He's all I have!

Mark 5:34 concludes, "And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.'

After so much loss and suffering, Jesus sees the woman's desperate faith, heals her, restores her, blesses her, and gives her a brand new identity by calling her "daughter". Jesus will do the same for you if you would humbly acknowledge your need and reach out to Him with desperate faith. Are you ready to be embraced by the love of your heavenly Father?

After so much loss and suffering in your life are you ready to stop worrying about externals and what people will think and say. Are you ready to throw all that aside and respond to Jesus Christ as the desperate person you are. We each need to respond to this message…I wonder for you if it will be with the pride of a curios tourist or the humility of a desperate believer?