Binge Jesus Part II: Week 2

Welcome to Church of the Cross. Sing.

My name is Andrew, and I'm so glad that you're here.

If you're new, welcome. We are in this series called

Binge Jesus where we are looking at stories from Jesus's

life told in the Gospels in the New Testament part

of the Bible. And today we're looking at one story

from Jesus's life that is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

And today I'm going to be concentrating on the story

in Mark chapter five primarily. But as we begin to

open God's Word, would you pray with me, Father.

God, thank you for your grace and your presence. God.

We have come here today with expectation. We're expecting to receive.

What you want to give. We want to expect to

receive more of you.

And so God, in the name of Jesus, would you

silence any distraction in our hearts and minds.

God, would your.

Truth and your love cut through the fog and the

confusion today? Father God, would you reveal more of yourself

today through your word.

And it's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

I have a son named Shepherd who's.

Just over a year old now, and I'll tell you

this last year of Shepherd growing up, I have been

sick more often this year than any other year in

my life because of all that he's bringing home germs

and things from daycare.

When Shepherd was just a few months old.

One Saturday night, we were very concerned because he had

a high fever, and at that age, just a few

months of fever can be very very serious for a baby,

and we kept trying to cool him down with the

wet rag and hold him, and his fever kept climbing

one hundred, one hundred and one, one hundred and two,

and our pediatrician had told us that sometimes if a

fever gets too high, it can sometimes cause a baby

to have a seizure, and so we.

Were very scared.

We were very worried, and that night I had a

hospital bag packed just in case we needed to go

in the middle of the night, with extra clothes and

food and snacks, things that you need in the hospital.

And Lauren held Shepherd all night while he whimpered and whined,

and we just prayed that the fever would pass, and thankfully,

it did pass in the night.

And the next morning he was much much better.

If you are a parent, you know the agony of

feeling helpless to.

Change your child's suffering.

What parent wouldn't trade places with their child if they could,

And even if you're not a parent, have you ever

suffered for a long time with a heavy burden? Have

you prayed through the night awake with worry? Has there

been something in your life that has just caused you

to feel overwhelmed that makes you feel panicked?

It makes you worried, sick because.

You can't fix it or change it. In Mark chapter five,

Jesus meets a man who is panicked. This man has

a daughter who is ill, and she's dying. And this

man comes to find Jesus and asks him for help.

Let's read Mark chapter five, verse twenty one. When Jesus

had again crossed over by boat to the other side

of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while

he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue

leaders named Gyros came, and when he saw Jesus, he

fell at his feet.

Gyros pleaded earnestly with him. My little daughter is dying.

Please come and put your hands on her so that

she will be healed and live.

So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. So Gyros

begs Jesus to come and help. The text tells us

that Gyros was a synagogue leader. Gyros was not a rabbi.

Gyros was not a priest. Gyros was not a scribe.

Gyros was a lay leader in the synagogue, the local

congregation of the Jewish community, like a church, and so

it's likely that the elders had entrusted Jyris with administrative duties.

He was responsible for the maintenance of the synagogue, the

security of the synagogue. He probably managed the library of

scrolls and scriptures. He had a lot of responsibilities. It

says that in the text that he was a leader.

That means that Gyris was accustomed to giving orders, providing direction.

Gyros was a leader who could troubleshoot. He could solve problems.

But now.

Here is a problem he cannot solve. His leadership skills

cannot change the fact that his daughter is sick and dying.

He's overwhelmed. Have you ever felt overwhelmed?

Overwhelmed with a problem, overwhelmed with grief, overwhelmed with conflict

and family dynamics.

You ever feel like.

You're in over your head and there's nothing you can

do to change it.

It's out of your control and you can't handle it.

Well, I want to tell you today, the main point

of this message is that Jesus can handle it.

Whatever it is.

You can't handle whatever's overwhelming, whatever scaring you. Jesus can

handle it, whatever it is.

He can handle it.

And so Gyros runs to Jesus because he believes Jesus

can handle it, and Jesus drops everything and he goes

with Gyros. But along the way Jesus is interrupted because

Gyros is not the only person who needs Jesus. Gyrus

is not the only person with a problem. Let's keep reading.

In verse twenty four, a large crowd followed and pressed

around him, and a woman was there who had been

subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a

great deal under the care of many doctors and had

spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she

grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up

behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because

she thought, if I just touch his clothes, I.

Will be healed. Immediately.

Her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body, that

she was freed from her suffering. At once, Jesus realized

that power had gone out from him.

He turned around in the crowd.

And asked, who touched my clothes? You see the people

crowding against you. His disciples answered, and yet you can

ask who touched me.

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came

and fell at his feet, and, trembling with fear, told

him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, daughter, your

faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed

from your suffering. The TV show The Chosen depicts this

story in a dramatic scene.

Let's watch this together. Jesus can handle it.

In this story, we have two different people from two

different backgrounds, with two different problems, but both of them

believed Jesus could handle it. You see, Gyros and the

woman are on opposite ends of the social spectrum. On

one hand, Gyros, he's the synagogue leader. On the other,

the woman was rejected from the synagogue because of her condition.

Gyros had a job with income, he might have been wealthy.

The woman, the text says, has spent all her money

on doctors.

She was broke.

Gyros was respected, the woman was rejected. Gyros was well

known in the community. This woman was a nobody. We

don't even know her name. Gyros had an acute problem

and the woman had a chronic problem. Acute problems and

c problems are different. An acute problem is something that

comes on suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning, and a chronic problem

is something that's long lasting, or it returns repetitively, or

can torment over a long period of time. Sometimes acute

problems can turn into chronic problems. An acute problem is

like a broken bone. It happens suddenly without warning. A

chronic problem is like a diagnosis, an illness, a disease

that can be very serious and long lasting. Gyrus had

an acute problem.

His daughter was dying. This was an emergency, and the.

Woman had a chronic problem, suffering for twelve years. Gyrus's

daughter was twelve years old. For that little girl's entire life,

this woman had suffered. You and I face both acute

and chronic problems in our lives.

You and I.

Face challenges everyday, challenges, and we face big challenges. Perhaps

you're here listening and you're in the middle of a crisis,

an acute problem. There's an emergency. You've got a problem,

the loan's been called, there's not enough money to pay

the bills, or you've got a phone call that just

shocked you. There's a crisis and an emergency, a problem.

And when we face these acute problems, these crises, we

feel this pressure sometimes panic, to try and fix it, to.

Try and change it, to try and solve it.

Or there might be someone listening where you've been facing

this chronic problem and it just feels like it won't end.

It seems like relief will never come. The answer isn't coming.

A long term health condition, a diagnosis, a workplace thing

that's just wearing you down, a relationship that is chronically

more and more unhealthy, a worry of fear, something that

pops up, something that triggers you repetitively. And when we

have these chronic problems, it feels like this burden that

we're trying to carry, and sometimes we just feel like

it'd be better if we give up.

Or if we give in.

And I've heard some Christians who face these long term

problems who just say, well, this must be my cross

to bear.

This is the way it is in life, this.

Is my lot.

I'll just have to put up with it.

But the woman in this story didn't say that she

had faith that Jesus could handle it. So, whatever you're

facing today, acute, chronic, emergency, long term, whatever you're facing,

I want to tell you today, Jesus.

Can handle it all.

Jesus can handle the emergency and the little in life.

Jesus can handle the cancer, he can handle the diagnosis.

Jesus can handle trauma. Jesus can handle disappointment. Jesus can

handle grief. Whatever we're facing, Jesus can handle it all.

When this woman touched Jesus in the crowd, it was chaos.

The crowd was pressing and squeezing against Jesus.

Does your life ever feel like chaos?

The pressures of life pushing on you, the demands of

life squeezing you, the conflict, the problems, the pressure.

Does it feel like chaos?

In the middle of that chaos, Jesus looked to see

who had touched him. In Verse thirty two, it says

Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

Jesus sees you in the chaos, and he can handle

all of your problems. He can handle the chaos of

your life, because when Jesus came into this world, he

came to handle all of the problems. Jesus handled sin,

Jesus handled injustice, Jesus handled trauma.

Jesus handled shame.

Jesus handled the things that were most embarrassed about, the

things we don't want anybody to know about.

Jesus handled it all because he handled it on the cross.

He lived a perfect sinless life.

But then he willingly sacrificed his life to pay for

our sins so that we can be forgiven. So anybody

who trusts in Jesus will be forgiven of sin and

receive eternal life. Jesus handled sin on the cross, and

when he died, they took his body down off of

the cross.

They wrapped it in a cloth, and then they laid.

His body into a tomb, and they rolled a big

stone in front of the tomb. But that was not

the end, because three days later, on Sunday morning, the

earth shook and the stone rolled away, and Jesus came

back to life.

He walked out of the grave alive.

Jesus handled death and the grave could not handle him.

Would you give him praise if you believe he can

handle it? So anyone who.

Has faith in Jesus has access to his resurrection power.

We serve a living God who is greater than all

of our problems.

He can handle it all.

When this woman interrupted Jesus, can you imagine what Jyros

was thinking. I wonder if Gyros was annoyed. I wonder

if Gyros was angry. I think about when you go

to the grocery or the deli counter and you take

your ticket with the number to your place in line.

Gyros had his ticket, he got to Jesus first.

I wonder if he's thinking.

Jesus, hurry up, stop wasting time with this woman.

She can wait. My daughter's dying.

Jesus can handle the interruption. It's not a distraction for Jesus.

I sometimes hear Christians say, I don't want to bother

Jesus with my problems.

It's too small. It's not a big of a deal.

I can put up with it. There are people who

have such bigger things than what I'm going through. I

don't want to bother Jesus.

Sometimes we think that it's an interruption or a distraction.

But here's what I want to say that to that

type of thinking. No, there is nothing too small that

Jesus cannot handle. There's nothing too big that he cannot handle.

There is nothing too insignificant or personal or private that

Jesus cannot touch. Because my Jesus, why Jesus is supreme overall,

My Jesus rose from the dead.

My Jesus defeated the works of the devil.

There's no temptation, there's no sin, there's no addiction that

he cannot handle.

Sometimes what we think is an interruption.

Just might be an opportunity for God to do something miraculous.

I'll tell you about a time that I was interrupted supernaturally.

It was a Monday, and I was in a staff

meeting at the church with other staff, and a woman

from the congregation came into the conference room, interrupted our

staff meeting and said, let me tell you what God

has done for me. She shared with us that she

had chronic pain in her legs and ankles and joints.

And she said that this pain was so debilitating that

she could no longer walk up and down the stairs

in her home. The pain was so significant that she

could no longer drive herself in her car, and so

she was home bound, depending on friends and family to

help take care of some of her needs. Because she

could no longer drive, she could not attend church, so

she would watch church online over the internet. And one Sunday,

while she was watching church at home, there was an

invitation during the worship service to receive prayer, specifically praying

for healing and pain, praying for joints and.

Ankles and knees.

And as she was watching at home, this woman put

her hands on her legs and she prayed, and she

felt the pain go away. And then she stood up

and she walked up the stairs in her home without

any pain, and walked down the stairs in her home

without any pain. And then on Monday, she got in

her car and drove herself to the church and interrupted

our meeting and said, look.

At what God has done for me.

For Jesus, there are no interruptions, only divine appointments. Jesus

heals supernaturally. Jesus also heals with medicine science. I have

one friend who had a gastric mass in his stomach.

They did an endoscopy and it was alarming because this

mass it could be cancer, it could be a tumor,

but the doctors were able to treat it, and through

the power of medicine and through the power of prayer,

the next time he went back for his imaging, the

mass was gone. I have another friend who had an

acute problem. My friend is healthy, fit, but one day

started experiencing an acute pain in his chest and he

was concerned this might be a problem in his heart

or something there. And so on a Thursday night, my

friend came to church and asked for prayer, and we

prayed that God would heal whatever was going on in

his heart or his arteries or blood vessels. Well the

very next night, twenty four hours later, he woke up

in the middle of the night with more acute pain,

repeated episodes in his chest, and he went to the

emergency room and after they investigated, they found that there

was an eighty percent blockage of his left interior coronary artery.

This is also called the widow maker because it can

be so fatal.

And they operated and installed a heart stint.

And now my friend is healthy and recovered and back

to regular activity and light exercise. See God can heal miraculously.

God can heal supernaturally. God can also heal with medicine

and science. And that's why we're hosting an event called

Naturally Supernatural or we're gonna learn how do we pray

for God to release more of his love for God

to do miracles. We have a guest speaker named Chris

from Asberry Seminary. He's gonna be doing some teaching and

training that day.

Often when I pray.

With folks for a need, a physical need, a healing need,

I often say I can't promise when or how God

might heal you. I don't control that, but I can

promise you'll experience more of God's love.

God always releases more of his love.

Because sometimes we think what we need is a physical

healing or a material miracle, But sometimes the greatest miracle

is what God can do in our hearts.

The greatest healing sometimes is the spiritual healing.

In this story, the woman thought that she just needed

to touch Jesus's garment, but Jesus wanted to touch her heart.

He wanted to heal her heart.

In verse thirty three, it says then the woman, knowing

what had happened to her, came and fell down at

his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

Jesus can handle the whole truth. When I was a

youth pastor, I met with a young woman in the

youth ministry.

Because her behavior had changed.

She seemed very angry. She was treating others cruelly. She

was lying and spreading rumors and just acting strange. And

so I met with her. And as I was talking

with her, she seemed very angry and she was complaining.

But as I listened, I felt the Holy Spirit prompt

me that there was more to this story. I didn't

have the whole truth, and so, following that prompting, I

gently asked.

Her this question. I said, is it possible that you are.

Jealous that most of your friends are dating a significant

other and you don't have a boyfriend. And she looked

at me stunned, and then her face softened and she

nodded and said, yes.

You see, on the surface, that looked like she.

Was angry and cruel and mean to other people. But

there was something beneath the surface. There was more to

the whole truth.

She was hurting, she was wounded, she was in pain.

And so together we pray that God would touch her

heart and heal that emotional and spiritual pain in her life.

Sometimes the greatest miracle is the healing that God can

do in the heart. And I want to tell you

that Jesus can handle your whole truth. What's the issue

behind the issue? What's the thing behind the thing? What's

the whole truth? What's the secret that you're scared to face.

Is there a grudge, bitterness that you've been holding onto,

but now it's manifesting.

In your body.

It's creating insomnia, it's attacking your immune system. Is trauma

trying to work itself out in your body from a

wound in the past. What's the thing that you're ashamed

of that you've been hiding. Jesus can handle the whole truth.

I want to encourage you. Bring Jesus your home truth.

Bring him your pain, bring him your disappointment and your grief,

bring him your questions, and yes, bring Jesus your doubts.

Jesus can handle the whole truth. And that's why I'm

so excited that our church is launching Celebrate Recovery in

a few weeks. You see, Celebrate Recovery is more than

an addiction program. Celebrate recovery is a worship service for

all of us who have hurts, habits, and hang ups.

It's a place where we can bring our whole truth

and receive more of God's love. Because what did Jesus

say to the woman in verse thirty four? He said

to her daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in

peace and be freed from your suffering. Do you need

freedom today? Do you need freedom from something in the past?

Do you need freedom from a lie that you believed

about yourself? Do you want more of God's peace? Jesus

exchanges our problems for his peace. His wounds secure are healing,

his death purchase our eternal life. There is There's no

addiction that Jesus cannot break, there is no pain that

he cannot heal. There is no grief and loss that

he cannot restore. He brings freedom.

The love of Jesus.

The love of Jesus exchanges our problems for his peace.

So far, we've talked a lot about the details of

the woman who touched Jesus's garment, But what about Gyros.

Remember this all started with gyros.

Let's pick up in verse thirty five, while Jesus was

still speaking some people came from the house of Gyros,

the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead, they said, why

bother the teacher anymore? Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him,

don't be afraid, just believe. Let's watch how the Chosen

depicts the end of this story. There are few things

worse in life, and seeing a loved one pass away,

especially if.

It's unexpected or seems too early.

They can sabotage our faith, can make us feel like

there's no more meaning in life. It can feel like

the worst. Jesus can handle the worst. In this story,

Jyrus trusted Jesus to heal his daughter while she was sick,

but before Jesus could get there, she passed away.

It seemed like it was too late.

Does it ever feel like it's too late for something

to change, too late to change direction, too late to

recover a financial loss. Does it feel too late to

reconcile a relationship, too late to save a marriage, to

feel too late to get treatment.

I want to tell you that there is nothing too

late for Jesus.

Jesus can handle the worst. You are not too far gone.

You are not to damage that Jesus cannot reach you

where you are. The worst problem in your life will

either push you away from Jesus or pull you closer

to Jesus, because Jesus is with us in the worst.

I'm gonna be honest with you. This life is full

of pain and suffering. In this life, you and I

are gonna be disappointed. We're gonna be angry, We're gonna weep,

We're gonna mourn.

This life has trouble. And when you feel like you

can't handle.

It anymore, remember that Jesus can handle the worst. Remember

that we have a hope for eternity. Remember that we

have a hope and a God who rose from the dead.

Death does not get the final word. Disappointment will not

destroy you. Grief will not consume you. Loss will not

drown you. Because we have a God and his name

is Jesus, and he can handle the worst.

And so you may be listening.

And wondering, how do I know I can trust Jesus

even when it's the worst.

How do I know I can lean on Jesus.

The only answer I have for you is that I

have a relationship with Jesus.

This is not religion. It's a personal relationship with Jesus.

A friendship with Jesus.

When you put your faith in trust in Jesus, he

forgives your sins, he gives you eternal life, and you

enter a personal relationship with him.

And I've seen.

How Jesus walks with those of us who believe in

Him through the worst. I'll close by telling you about

my grandfather, whom I've seen trust Jesus in the worst.

I've mentioned him from time to time.

See, my grandfather had a personal relationship with Jesus. He prayed,

he read the Bible, he talked with Jesus. And when

my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, she was very young,

very very young, and my grandfather turned to Jesus in

his grief and shock. Through the years of chemo and

radiation and the surgeries, my grandfather prayed every day for

my grandmother. My grandfather talked to Jesus about his worries

and his fears and.

His disappointment because Jesus could handle it.

My grandfather told me that when she was at her sickest,

he felt like there was nothing more he could do

to get through the day, but he would meet with

Jesus and Jesus would give him enough strength to get

through that day. And then toward the end, when cancer

got worse and my grandmother was admitted to the hospital,

my grandfather spent most of his days at the hospital

with her, and each day he would spend time in

the chapel of the hospital talking.

To Jesus, praying to Jesus, and he.

Would often say, Jesus, I don't know if I have

what it takes for today, but Jesus would meet him

because Jesus can handle the worst. And then when my

grandmother passed away, my grandfather was heartbroken.

He was devastated.

He was in depression, the darkest days of his life

for a long time, in grief, and he continued to

meet with Jesus because he had a relationship with Jesus.

And he told me that some days, in his grief

and in his loss and in his depression, he would

think to himself, there's nothing more that God can possibly

do for me, that well is all dried up. But

every time he met with Jesus, he would give him

a little bit more to get through the day. And

I'll always remember what my grandfather said to me when

I asked him, how did he come through the grief

and the loss. He said, Andrew in my darkest days,

God met me when I felt completely alone, and he

has walked with me ever since. Jesus can handle the worst. So, friends,

if you have a relationship with Jesus, he can handle it.

And today, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus,

this is your opportunity. I'd like to invite each of

us to bow our heads and close our eyes right now.

And if you're listening and you do not have a.

Relationship with Jesus but you want to that today, then

simply I invite you to repeat this prayer after me. Say,

Dear God, I admit that I'm a sinner and I

need your forgiveness. I believe Jesus died for me and

rose from the dead to save me. Today I confess

Jesus's lord of my life. Begin a new relationship with

me today