The Faith of Jairus

Good morning, one church.

How are you doing today?

Wow, you're that bad, huh?

Y'all okay?

You with me this morning?

You look good.

It's so good to be with you.

My name is Shane.

I'm one of the pastors here.

It's always a joy whenever we get to consider God's word together.

Uh happy Memorial Day weekend.

You know, Memorial Day is a weekend in which we uh celebrate the freedoms that are afforded to us, uh particularly through those who have lost their lives uh serving in the military.

So can we put our hands together and honor those who have served?

Anybody uh anybody got a cookout planned today?

Anybody grilling out?

I'll I'll preach short just to get you out of here so that you can be the first to get the burger.

Apparently they made burgers in the lobby.

Could y'all smell it coming in?

No?

Okay, just me?

Great.

Y'all are gonna make me work today.

Talk back to me and give me a give me a good amen whenever you hear something that's resonant with you.

I do want to reiterate before we dive into the word something that Ryan mentioned.

Uh, we believe life is better together, life is better in community, so I can't encourage you enough to get in a group.

I'm actually in a group uh with uh a bunch of guys who meet here to play basketball.

This group is uh comprised of exclusively former college basketball players, and then there's me, which is like one of these things is not like the other.

I'm just there sucking wind and throwing up airballs, and and these guys can go, but uh shout out to my group, couldn't imagine life without you guys.

Also, want to make mention we have a small group launching in the major metropolitan area of Zanesville, Ohio.

Make some noise for Zanesville.

I'm never gonna live that down, y'all.

I get stopped in the lobby like seven times a weekend.

Somebody from Zanesville's like, you know, Zanesville's not that bad.

I'm like, you are lying in church.

Um but uh we got a group starting in Zanesville, some folks who attend online.

Their group is meeting in their home, so shout out to Zanesville.

Uh today I'm gonna be wrapping up a series that Pastor Greg kicked off four weeks ago, five weeks ago.

This is the fifth week of this series.

The title of this series is interrupted, and we spent the entire series in one chapter looking at Mark chapter five.

When Pastor Greg asked me to preach this, I gotta be honest, I was a little nervous because I thought to myself, uh, five weeks is a long time for a single chapter, and after after Pastor Greg gets done tearing it up, I'm not sure if there's gonna be much meat left on the bone for me, but I as I've waded through this text, it has literally captured the attention of my soul.

Particularly this man Jairus and the faith that he exhibits.

So if you have your Bibles, go with me to Mark chapter 5.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 5 is where we're gonna drop anchor and hang out for the next uh 20 minutes or so.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, that's totally fine.

We'll have the words on the screens.

If you have an iBible, feel free to fire that up.

Any, let me see my iBibles.

Any i let me see my iPhone users wave at me.

Great.

If you're an Android user, just keep that thing in your pocket.

Don't embarrass yourself.

Uh Mark chapter 5.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

Here's what I want to do.

I believe in you.

We're gonna read the entire story from verse 21 to verse 43.

Is that okay?

We believe that these are so much more than words on a page.

This is God's word to you today.

This is unlike what we typically do, but I want to read the whole story as we conclude this sermon series so that you can see the interplay between the various characters.

So uh I believe in you.

Lock in with me.

If you're ready to hear from God's word, give me a good amen.

Amen.

Mark chapter 5, starting in verse 21.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

It says, 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.

I'm reading from the NIV, by the way.

For context, Jesus has just sailed from across the Sea of Gal the Sea of Galilee from a town called Gadera, where he met a man that was demon-possessed.

And when Jesus meets this man, he was naked and insane, but when he leaves Jesus' company, he was clothed and telling everybody about what Jesus had done for him.

Is anybody grateful today that God loved you enough to meet you where you were, but he didn't leave you there?

Verse 22 when one of the synagogue leaders named Jairus came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet.

He 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.

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.

She had suffered a great deer deal and deer, she had suffered a great deal.

English is hard, y'all.

You try to get up here with this microphone and do it.

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.

Let me just push pause and point out this is a different sermon for a different day, but I think it's important for you to hear.

Isn't this so often how it works out in our lives?

The things that we turn to that we think will actually make us better, in fact make us worse.

Overeating, sexual promiscuity, retail therapy got you spending yourself into debt.

Well, let me just mind my business.

Let's keep going.

Verse 27.

When she heard about Jesus, she came up from behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

Because she thought, if I could 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 to the crowd and asked, Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said, Jesus, you're crazy.

That's essentially what they said.

He said, Everybody's touching you.

What do you mean, 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.

He said to her, Daughter, this is the only place in Scripture where Jesus evokes this word.

It's a term of endearment.

Jesus is letting her know who she is.

He says, Daughter, your faith has healed you.

Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader.

Your daughter is dead, they said, Why bother the teacher anymore?

Overhearing what they had said, Jesus told him, Do not be afraid, just believe.

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, because Jesus knew that for a miracle of this magnitude he needed the company of some faith-filled folks.

When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion with people crying and wailing.

He went and said, Why are y'all crying?

This child is not dead, but asleep.

But they laughed at him.

We're almost done.

After he put them all out, somebody shout, Get out! Shouted better, thank you, sir.

Say, get out.

After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him and went in where the child was.

He took her by the hand and said to her, Talitha kum, which means little girl, I say to you, get up.

And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around.

She was twelve years old.

And this and at this they were completely astonished.

He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and he told them to get this girl some Chick-fil-A.

It's closed on Sundays, though, y'all.

I mean, we we know it's closed, but it's disappointing every time you say it out loud.

God's favorite sandwich.

I wish I had a fancy title for you guys.

I don't.

Let's just call this sermon the faith of gyrus.

Is that okay?

Let's pray and ask God's presence to meet us here.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill and flood this place, fill every heart.

I pray, Jesus, that you would reveal yourself to us, reveal your hope, reveal your mercy, reveal your tenderness, God.

I pray for anybody in here who is experiencing pain, loss, or suffering that you would meet them in that place, that you would comfort them, that your your peace that surpasses understanding would prevail in them.

Jesus, open our minds to a fresh revelation of your love.

Jesus, open our hearts and draw forth from us the affection, the worship that is due to your name.

Jesus, open our hands.

Far be it from us that we would be hearers of your word, make us doers also.

For your name and for your glory.

We pray together.

And everybody said.

Amen.

Faith is fundamental to what it means to follow Jesus.

It's very difficult to talk about Christianity, to consider Christianity without considering faith.

We are saved by grace through faith.

We are called to live by faith and not by sight.

We are called to carry the shield of faith by which we quench the fiery darts of the enemy.

Faith is fundamental to what it means to follow Jesus.

In fact, faith is so important, the author of Hebrews says this in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6.

Hebrews 11:6

He says, without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

And this is the reason why I love this story of Jairus, because in Jairus, I believe we see the picture of faith that pleases God.

Finish the phrase with me.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This surely was a desperate time in Jairus' life.

His daughter is knocking on death's door.

At the same time, we see Jesus at the Sea of Galilee, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, having barely stepped foot off of a boat before the entire town comes to see him.

Word had gotten around that Jesus might be more than just a man.

They had heard about his miracles and his compassion, and everybody wanted to come and get a first-hand look at the person of Jesus.

Throngs of people were surrounding him on every side, but scripture says that Jairus made his way to Jesus and fell at his feet.

That piques my curiosity.

And I wonder how Jairus was able to push his way through all those people in the crowd to get a front row seat with Jesus.

It could be because, perhaps, as verse 22 tells us, he was a synagogue leader, which would have been a prominent position that was widely known amongst most in the town.

So when they saw Jairus approaching, perhaps they just stepped aside and made room for this man to get to Jesus.

But I think it was actually because of Jairus' desperation.

It was out of his desperation that he refused to let anyone or anything get in his way and keep him from getting to Jesus.

So you can imagine Jairus pushing and shoving his way through the crowd.

And Scripture says that when he sees Jesus, he falls at his feet.

This is significant because keep in mind, like I just mentioned, Jairus was a synagogue leader.

Some of your translations say that he was a ruler of the synagogue.

This was a position of importance.

This was a position of high honor.

This means that Jairus was probably a man of means.

He had a little money.

It means that Jairus had some authority and power.

But none of that in the face of certain death mattered.

The last place you would have expected a man of Jairus' stature, a man of Jairus' position and prominence would have been groveling at the feet of an obscure, homeless revolutionary.

But there he is.

And in this we see our first lesson of faith.

And if you're taking notes, write this down.

Faith forsakes our pride.

Faith, true faith, forsakes our pride.

Let's examine it a little closer.

It doesn't seem to have occurred to Jairus that he has any sort of reputation to uphold.

There he is.

Again, groveling at the feet of Jesus, all of his money, all of his power, all of his authority.

None of that mattered at this moment.

The thing that mattered was that he was a daddy.

And his little girl was dying.

Not to mention the fact that this would have been vocational suicide for a man like Jairus.

By virtue of being a synagogue leader, that meant that he was a part of the religious establishment who were presently plotting Jesus' murder.

They view Jesus as a blasphemer and a political menace, surely not somebody worth following, or whose feet you should fall unto.

But again, the thing that mattered most to Jairus in this moment, all of his pride, all of his prejudice, all of his position, all of that went out the door, and he's a daddy right now.

And there's nothing within his means to save his little girl.

You can imagine there's probably a cracking in Jairus' voice as he pleased through tears and he says, Jesus, you're my last hope.

Would you please come and see about my little girl?

If you would just lay your hands on her, I believe you would be healed.

Please, Jesus, come see my daughter.

We're told later that this little girl was 12 years old, which would have been about the time that her mother and father would have been attempting to arrange a marriage for her, finding her a partner.

So Jairus, in an instant, goes from dreaming about his little girl's wedding to confronting the nightmare of her funeral.

Jesus, please.

Any parents in the room can resonate with this cry.

It's unimaginable what this man is going through.

Jesus, please save my little girl.

And a moment of weakness and surrender.

Jesus, please.

It takes a rare person to readily admit that they have weaknesses or that they have limitations, right?

It's almost like we're conditioned in our culture not to show any sign of weakness.

We'd rather keep it moving and wear the mask and pretend like we're all good.

How you doing?

I'm good.

I'm doing great.

Knowing full well you're not.

Now, what I'm not saying is that you should take every opportunity to spill your guts, right?

Don't be an overshare, but you you don't have to pretend like everything's okay when it's not okay.

We're conditioned not to show any signs of weakness.

Or when we do, it's not because we want healing, it's because we want attention.

But the thing that we so often fail to remember is that the kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom.

It's in the kingdom where the weak are made strong.

It's in the kingdom where the last become first.

It's in the kingdom where the broken are made whole.

I'm going to keep going until y'all get with me this morning.

It's in the kingdom where the hungry get fed.

Jesus would say of himself, he would say, I didn't come for those who are well.

I came for the hurting.

I came for the broken.

I came for the sick.

In fact, Scripture says that God is closest to you and I when we're broken.

So surely it was utter desperation that sent Jairus to Jesus' feet.

But unbeknownst to him, he didn't realize that he was laying so much more down.

He was laying down his security.

All his money, all of his power, none of it could save his little girl.

He was laying down his reputation.

He didn't care how many Instagram followers he had in this moment.

He didn't care if all of his co-workers saw that he needed Jesus.

What might you need to lay down today in order to make room for the miraculous in your life?

What are you holding on to?

Your reputation, your status, your financial security?

What might you need to let go of to make room for God's presence and power to be made manifest in your life?

God isn't looking for the strong, successful, and stable.

God is looking for the poor in spirit.

The ones who would admit, Jesus, I need you.

And would have the courage.

I don't know if Jairus realized it in this moment, but falling at the feet of Jesus was the most courageous act he could have done.

Listen to what Martin Lloyd Jones says.

He says, approach Jesus on your feet, relying to the slightest extent on yourself and your own power, and you will not know his blessing.

But those who fell at his feet, who acknowledged him and his greatness, never failed to obtain a blessing.

What might you need to lay down today to obtain God's blessing, to make room for the miraculous in your life?

Now it's at this point, I imagine that Jairus' faith begins to swell because apparently Jesus makes house calls and he says, Come on, Jairus, I'll come see about your daughter.

Jairus is probably elated because the man who was his last hope has agreed to come see about his little girl.

So I imagine Jairus is probably pushing his way back through the crowd, the same crowd that he pushed his way through to get to Jesus.

Jesus says, I'll go.

Jairus is like, Y'all better get out the way.

The master's coming to my house.

He's probably like doing one of these, excuse me here, excuse me.

He's clawing and biting.

People are trying to take a selfie with Jesus.

They might try to slip Jesus, their business card, and Jairus is like, get out the way, I saw him first.

He's time is of the essence, so he's surely running by now, checking over his shoulder, like, Jesus, are you there?

We're almost there, Jesus, right this way, Jesus.

He's in dead sprint, checking his shoulder, making sure Jesus hasn't fallen too bar too far behind.

But eventually he looks over his shoulder and he realizes that Jesus isn't there.

Because there was this woman.

We know that she had an issue of blood in which she hemorrhaged for 12 years.

We know that she had gone broke seeking help from one physician after the next.

But after every doctor's visit, her condition actually got worse instead of better.

We know that she was ceremonially unclean, which meant she wouldn't have even been able to go to church.

In fact, it's likely that whenever this woman was out and about around town and someone would approach her, you want to talk about social distancing.

Whenever someone got within six feet, she would have had to have shouted, unclean! Unclean.

As a way to say, you better keep your distance, because one touch from me is all it takes for you to become unclean, too.

You can only say that about yourself so many times before even you start to believe it and start to internalize it.

Now, like I said, this sermon is primarily about gyrus, but I believe this unnamed woman gives us our second important lesson about faith that pleases God.

And it's this faith demands expectation.

Faith demands expectation.

We're told that this woman snuck up behind Jesus because real G's move in silence, and she had said in her heart, if I could just touch his cloak, if I could just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be made whole.

And sure enough, one touch is all it takes for this issue of blood to be dried up.

But this begs a very important question.

The disciples, Jesus actually acknowledges that the power leaves his body, and he says, Who touched me?

What is Jesus doing here?

How many of you know that when you come to Jesus, you get more than what you came for?

This would have been, this physical healing would have been plenty for this woman, but Jesus is like, no, no, no, I got so much more for you.

And so he says, Who touched me?

His disciples, as simple as they are, they're like, Jesus, what are you talking about?

Literally, everybody in town is touching you.

Which again leads to this question: if everybody in town was touching Jesus, why was only one woman healed?

It's because she's the only person who expected to be healed.

When her hand touches what her faith reached out for, in a moment she was healed.

Now, what I'm not saying is that God can't work with your faith even when it's feeble and fragile.

And hear me well, what I'm certainly not saying is faith is the means by which you can manipulate God to get him to do whatever it is that you want him to do.

But what I am telling you is this God honors expectation.

God will meet you in the place of expectation.

Charles Spurgeon, my favorite preacher, the Prince of Preachers, he says it like this.

He says, God's mighty work, whenever he has done a great thing, it has been done by someone who had very great faith.

Well, says the cynic.

Well, says the skeptic, I don't expect to see great things.

Well then, my dear friend, you will not be disappointed because you ain't gonna see nothing.

But those that expect them shall see them.

Did you come this morning expecting to get a touch from Jesus?

Did you come this morning expecting to encounter the presence of God?

If you didn't, why are you here?

God honors expectations.

Now you can imagine this entire conversation, the urgency in gyrus is rising.

It's apparently an urgency that Jesus doesn't share in because he's allowing himself to be distracted by this woman.

In fact, once Jesus calls her out, it says that she shared with him her whole truth or her whole story.

Now, if this would have been a conversation between Jesus and a dude, it probably would have lasted for 30 seconds because we're all mostly emotionally stunted.

But come on, ladies, y'all know sharing her whole story, this might have lasted all afternoon.

Jairus is surely thinking to himself, Jesus, this woman has suffered for 12 years.

A few more hours won't hurt her.

My daughter is dying.

Attend to the matter at hand, Jesus.

But Jesus needed to take the time to call this woman out of anonymity because he knew that she needed more than just the physical healing.

She needed to know who she was.

She needed an identity, which is why Jesus calls her daughter.

Jesus needed the crowd to become her community upon the revelation that she was no longer unclean.

Jesus needed Jairus to know that he was a healer, even though Jairus wasn't the one participating in this healing.

I heard one preacher say it like this.

He said, Don't get upset when God is blessing your neighbor because that just means he's in your neighborhood.

Jesus needed Jairus to know that faith could make the difference, particularly for the news that Jairus receives next.

Scripture says that while this conversation is taking place, some folks from Jairus' house come and they say, Jairus, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry, bro.

But you're too late.

Your daughter is dead.

Leave this man be and come and come weep for her with the rest of us.

I can't even begin to imagine the blow that dealt Jairus.

Surely he's left staggering under the weight of it.

He barely has the strength to stand.

The emotion of it all is bearing so heavy upon his shoulders.

Say, Jairus, I'm sorry.

But you're too late.

And I imagine it was at this moment that Jesus and Jairus switched places.

Scripture says that Jesus overhears this and in tenderness and in mercy, I want you to notice throughout this story the tenderness of Jesus.

It says that Jesus hurries over to Jairus.

And I imagine Jesus taking Jairus's face in his hands and he says, Jairus, don't mind them too much, man.

Don't be afraid.

Just believe.

Don't be afraid, just believe.

The verb tense in the Greek seems to indicate that Jesus actually said, keep on believing, Jairus.

Keep on faithing, Jairus.

Trust me.

Trust me.

And again, like I said, this is where Jesus and Jairus switch places.

You guys remember Jairus at the start of the story with a heart full of faith?

He was out ahead of the crowd.

He was leading the pack.

He was like, right this way, Jesus.

We're almost there, Jesus.

Just a little bit further, Jesus.

Let's go.

Jairus was leading the way.

But now his faith is wavering.

And Jesus and Jairus switch places.

And Jesus says, Jairus, I got this.

I wonder if anybody can testify to a time in your life when your faith began to wane and you didn't think you could make it, but Jesus quite literally carried you through.

Jesus surely grabs Jairus by the hand at this moment and he's like, Jairus, keep on believing, brother.

Where'd you say you live?

I told you I got you, and I'm going to be right on time.

I am so glad that even when I am faithless, Jesus remains faithful.

Jesus says, Jairus, keep on believing.

Trust me.

Trust me.

I don't know if there are two more loaded terms in our vocabulary than this phrase, trust me.

It's implied in every promise, in every contract, every transaction.

It's implicit in every political ad and every commercial.

You and I are constantly examining who we can trust and what are the limits to our trust.

What are the boundaries to our trust?

What can we actually trust people with?

Jesus says, trust me.

Even when your faith is waning, even when you receive the worst news you could possibly ever hear.

Trust me.

And in this we see our last lesson about faith, and it's this faith is fortified in hardship.

Faith is fortified in hardship.

I can't tell you how many people I've pastored over the years.

And I'm young, y'all.

I know that.

I've been in ministry a lot longer than I deserve.

But ministry years are like dog years, y'all.

Every one of those things are like seven.

I can't tell you the number of people that I have pastored who begin their journey with Jesus bright-eyed and full of faith.

They typically come out of crisis like Jairus.

They encounter Jesus' mercy, and Jesus is so real to them.

They are so excited.

They join like 15 small groups.

They get goosebumps on the back of their neck whenever a Maverick City song comes on.

They start serving in the church.

They're the first one in and they're the last one out.

They are so excited about Jesus.

But then eventually, crisis comes and it derails them.

Maybe they go through a messy divorce.

Maybe they become disillusioned by the church because they found out in the worst way that their pastors and leaders are sinners just like they are.

All they wanted was a baby.

But all they get is one negative pregnancy test after another.

They experience a dark night of the soul where all of a sudden God feels a million miles away and you think the doors of heaven are closed on every single one of your prayers.

Crisis comes.

And to make matters worse, while you're in your crisis, typically the folks around you are getting the blessing or the miracle that you think you're entitled to.

You are always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

You get laid off while your coworker gets a promotion.

You hear these stories of cancer survivors, but your mama was the one that didn't make it.

And the very foundation of their faith is shaken.

The pain and disorientation of it all causes them to lose sight of Jesus.

They have more questions than they have answers.

They have no idea where Jesus is, what he's doing, or where he's taking them.

And it's heartbreaking to recount the number of folks who simply give up and throw in the towel because they wrongly concluded that faith doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

So I'm done with this.

But the word of the Lord to you today is do not be afraid.

Keep on believing.

Trust me.

Trust me that in my sovereign care I'm working all things together for your good.

All things means what you think it means.

It means good things and bad things.

I'm working them all out for your good.

Trust me that I'm at work in your life.

I'm doing something in you and through you, even when you don't see it.

Trust that on the other side of this wall there is a faith so rich and fortified that you'll be able to endure seasons of delay.

You'll be able to embrace the mysteries of God because you'll come to know me for who I truly am.

Not as you have expected me to be.

You'll know the real me.

Let me give you an example.

These are my car keys here.

I drive a 2013 Kia Sol.

I can fit so many groceries in that thing, y'all.

It's amazing.

This is my friend Stefan right here.

Stefan is actually a part of my group.

He's a great hooper, played at Malone University.

Steph has no idea I'm getting ready to do this, but uh, is if Steph were to come up to me and say, hey Shane, I need to borrow your car, I would take my keys.

You ready?

Don't mess up.

I just hyped you up, man.

It's your time to shine.

Well done, sir.

I would pass them to Steph.

He wouldn't need to tell me what he needs my car for.

He wouldn't need to let me know where he's going with it, although that courtesy would be much appreciated.

The entire time I'm praying to God that this man doesn't wreck my car.

But I don't need to know all the details.

Because I know Stefan.

I know that he loves me.

I know that he cares about me.

I know that he wouldn't do anything to wrong me or harm me, and that's enough for me.

I don't need to know all the details because I know him.

This is the sort of faith that God wants for you.

Not the sort of faith that comes with absolute certainty, but the sort of faith that knows that he is a God who cares for you, who loves you and has your best in mind.

I gotta be honest with you guys.

I think we spend so much time as Christians trying to cash checks that Jesus never wrote.

God never promised you that the cross he called you to carry wouldn't get heavy.

God never promised you a life free of pain and suffering.

God never promised you the victory without there needing to be a little fight in you, but he does promise that you will never have to fight alone.

He does promise that you will never have to walk alone.

He does promise that death no longer has to have the final word over your life.

Trust me.

Keep on believing.

I got you.

I'm almost done.

Stay with me.

When Jesus and Jairus finally get to the house, we're told that the funeral has already started.

There's weeping and wailing happening, and it's curious to note that these were actually professional mourners that were hired.

Much like you would hire a band at a wedding, these folks were hired to provide some sort of anonymity for the folks who were actually stricken with grief.

So they would raise a fuss so that the folks with real tears wouldn't be exposed in their grief.

But Jesus walks to the house, he takes one look around, and he says, Why are y'all crying?

This little girl isn't dead, she's only asleep.

And these professional mourners turn into professional jokesters, and we're told that they laughed at him.

In the King James, anybody still use the King James version of the Bible?

Y'all are going to heaven first.

Well done.

In the King James Version, it says that they laughed him to scorn.

But I love Jesus' response.

It says, it says, after he put them all out.

Somebody say, get out.

Some things in your life might stay dead until you muster the courage to take your accused from Jesus to start putting some stuff out.

You might need to take your doubt and put it out.

You might need to take your anxiety and put it out.

Get a counselor.

Don't stay stuck.

You might need to take some cynical friends who aren't taking you anywhere, any anywhere good anyway, and put them out.

It says, after Jesus put them all out, he took Jairus.

He took Jairus' wife.

He took Mama Bear, which I'm guessing at this point the mother has no idea that Jesus just was uh lollygagging a little bit because she probably wouldn't be too thrilled with that.

You don't mess with mama bears.

Jesus took this little girl's parents and his disciples, he gathers them around this little girl's bed, and again, I love the tenderness of Jesus, the tender mercies of Jesus.

Scripture says that he takes this little girl by the hand, and he simply speaks over her, Talitha kum.

Which means, little girl, get up, but but that's actually a pretty weak translation.

Instead, the words Jesus uses here are so much more endearing, so much more tender.

What Jesus essentially says to this girl, he says, Honey, he says, Sweet one, it's time to wake up.

What Jesus says to this girl is what many of you probably told your little ones this morning.

My boys don't wake up like this little girl.

My boys wake up full of sin, y'all.

But he says, Sweet one, it's time to wake up.

And instantly the breath returns to her lungs, the color returns to her flesh, and life returns to her body.

And she gets up.

That's the power of our God.

And they all lived happily ever after, right?

Or so we may be tempted to believe.

This girl was twelve years old.

There's a lifetime of hardship awaiting her.

Some of you in here this morning are probably asking yourself some version of this question.

And if this is you, I praise God for you because your ability to keep it real.

Some of you might be saying it's easy for Jairus to have faith because his daughter got up.

Show me the story where the girl stays dead.

That's not Jairus' story, but it might be yours.

It's easy to believe when it all works out in the end, isn't it?

When I wrote this message, I had in mind, in particular, the families of the victims of these hate-filled, horrific mass shootings in Uvaldi, Texas, in Buffalo, New York.

And I thought to myself, what word of comfort could this story offer those families?

Could this story offer you this morning?

And I think the word of the Lord is this fairy tales aren't real.

Fairy tales aren't real.

Fairy tales, the good guy wins and the bad guy loses.

Fairy tales aren't real life.

Grace is real life.

This girl, you know what's crazy?

This girl died eventually.

But she lived her whole life knowing that grace was real and he has a name, and his name is Jesus.

If you walk out of here today thinking that the key to a loss, a loss, a life free of loss and suffering is faith, I've done you a great disservice.

Faith isn't the key to a loss-free life.

Faith is the key to eternal life.

Faith is the key to a life with Jesus, which is a life that is better by far.

Because whatever it is that you find yourself going through, there is Jesus right there with you, weeping with you, affording you hope that can only come from Him, affording you a peace that surpasses understanding.