The Master’s Touch Luke 8:40-56

If you've got your Bibles, I encourage you to turn with me to the Gospel of Luke.

Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

We are working our way through the Gospel of Luke, and as we are continuing in the narrative in chapter 8, and I'm going to have you stand in just a moment in honor of reading God's Word, but I wanted to give you a second to find it.

Find the passage.

I hope you know where your Bible is.

If you've already lost your Bible, then we got bigger issues than just finding a scripture.

But Luke chapter 8, we're going to start in verse 40, and we're going to go to the end of the chapter.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

If you'd stand with me, please.

Have you had enough time?

Are you good?

Good.

All right.

Luke chapter 8, beginning in verse 40.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

Would you stand with me, please, in honor of reading God's Word?

And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed him, for they had all been waiting for him.

And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue, and he fell at Jesus' feet, and began to implore him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying.

But as he went the crowds were pressing against him, and a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.

And Jesus said, Who is the one who touched me?

And while they were all denying it, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on you.

But Jesus said, Someone did touch me, for I was aware that power has gone out of me.

When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.

And he said to her daughter, Your faith has made you well, go in peace.

While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, Your daughter has died.

Do not trouble the teacher any more.

But when Jesus heard this he answered, answered him, Do not be afraid any longer, only believe, and she will be made well.

When he came to the house he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the girl's father and mother.

Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her, but he said, Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.

And they began laughing at him, knowing that she had died.

He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, Child, arise.

And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately, and he gave orders for something to be given her to eat.

Her parents were amazed, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Would you pray with me, please?

Lord, would you give us faith to hear?

In Christ's name we pray.

Amen.

Thank you.

Please be seated.

There's something that resonates about this part of the narrative, this part of the story.

There's something that that really clicks here that I'm hoping over the next few minutes we'll be able to walk through the scripture together and get a sense of what's happening as Jesus is encountering these folks back home.

He's gone back onto the other side of the lake.

But just as a foundation or kind of as a springboard, if you will, I wanted you to look in your Bible with me back to the beginning of Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

And I wanted to remind you of the last few weeks that we have been, the book passages we have been looking at, because this is all a unit.

This is all a pericope, this is all a part and a paragraph of understanding of thought.

As Luke, the doctor, Dr.

Luke, is writing this, he wants to be sure that we get this, that we we see the pieces, and now they all come together.

So in the beginning of Luke chapter 8, if you'll just turn back just a few verses, if you have to turn the page, back around verse 4, Jesus is encountering this large crowd, and as the crowd comes, he starts to speak to them in parables.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

Verse 4 says, When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying into to him, he spoke by the way of a parable.

The sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air ate it up.

Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture.

Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

Other seed fell into the good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.

And he said these, as he said these things, he would call out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Now he's he's gonna he's gonna see this throughout the chapter.

We're gonna see it in just a minute.

But the reason that I'm bringing us back to the beginning is because it's so tempting to listen to the truth of God, not not just the preacher, not just the teacher, not just what you read, not just what you hear, but when God's word is exposed, it's revealed, it's communicated, when it's proclaimed, it is so tempting to listen, but not really listen.

To hear, but not really hear.

To understand the words, but not to really understand the words.

Now I know that may sound like I'm contradicting myself, and maybe in a way I am, but I want you to think about what's happening when the word of God hits the child of God, when the scripture is open, something magnificent, supernatural, otherworldly happens to you and in you and through you.

You see, what is amazing about the Spirit of God, the author of the Word of God, is that when the child of God who has been redeemed, bought back, sold at a price, but now come back, whenever he belongs to Jesus, he has the indwelling, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God working among the people of God, you have God working in you to hear his word.

Not just to read it and put it aside like any other book, not just to hear the words, but you have something prompting inside of you that opens up the word of God, that gives it clarity, that that shows you the necessity of hearing and understanding and believing.

You see, the the temptation is to just listen.

And you maybe you'll get something out of it, maybe you won't.

Can I tell you?

You're gonna get out of this what by the grace of God He wants you to receive as you in tandem submit to His Spirit to listen.

Speak now, your servant is listening.

And if you're not listening with the eyes and the ears and the heart of faith, then you're not gonna get anything out of this.

It's gonna be, you're you're probably already, you've probably already checked me out.

You probably bored stiff, you're already thinking about what else you're gonna be doing.

I get it.

Been there and done that.

I remember when I was a child, sometimes I don't need to share everything, but I remember as a child, I would take the bulletin, here's an idea, and I would just circle in all the O's because I was so bored listening to the preaching.

I'm not trying to give you ideas of what to do to keep your mind occupied.

I'm just saying, I get it.

We don't always resonate, we don't always understand.

But when the Word of God presents his word to the people of God, something amazing is happening.

And what Jesus is doing telling this parable, he's saying, now there's going to be those other seeds, those other types of soil, the seed is the same, the other soils, and they're going to receive the word in different ways, but the word that the word comes to you, if you could be that good soil.

So he continues to explain it in verse 10.

He said to him, To you it has been granted to know the mysteries, the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in pass in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

Verse verse eleven.

Now the parable is this The seed is the Word of God, those beside the road are those who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

And we saw this last week when we got into the story of the demoniac in verse thirty-seven of Luke chapter eight, where it talks about the people of the country of the Garosines and the surrounding district asked Jesus to leave, for they were gripped with great fear, and he got into a boat and returned.

So we we've already seen the examples of this, and we're going to see it throughout the gospel of those who don't even listen, aren't even aren't even going to entertain the idea of faith or believing who Jesus is.

Then in verse 13, those on the rocky soil are those when they hear receive the word with joy, and these have no firm root.

They believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away.

And we're going to see this in the gospel.

We're going to see those who we think they've made a profession of faith, but really what they've done is they've just kind of got on the bandwagon, but as soon as it got difficult, as soon as life got hard, then we had a whole nother conversation.

Verse 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way, they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity.

Once again, that example of you think you're on the right track, you're doing the right thing, but then when real life hits you in the face, then you realize your faith has no grounding, it has nothing to grow on.

And as you're growing, you realize the things of this world have more appeal, more allure, and because of that you aren't really in the faith as you thought you were.

But now, verse 15.

But the seed in the good soil, and this is the goal, this is what we're after, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance.

The goal of sharing Luke chapter 8 with you this morning is not for you to evaluate.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

I wonder how how this is in terms of the whole gospel or whole the Bible, I wonder how the speaker did, or I wonder how the scripture communicated all of that well and good in and of its own in its own place.

The goal of sharing Luke chapter 8 with you this morning is that your heart would be good soil, that you would hear this, and as you hear it, you would say, Lord, speak, your servant is listening.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

Help me to understand what this means.

Open my eyes.

Open open open the understanding, the recognition, the application of what it is you want to share with me.

So as that is happening, in Luke chapter 8, the goal is for you to be there and get it.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

Now I want you, I showed this to you a few weeks ago, but I want to show it to you one more time.

Turn with me to the Gospel of John, just the first chapter.

And let me just kind of reiterate where we're going with this.

And I understand that sometimes the introductions are so long that you think the sermon's going to be three hours.

I promise I'm going to get you out of here.

I'm just telling you that you got to see this for my sake to be able to see where we're going.

John chapter 1, verse 9.

John 1:9

John chapter 1, verse 9.

John 1:9

There was the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.

Think about that for a minute.

I won't take the time, but that's amazing.

He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him, did not know him, did not receive him.

Verse 12.

But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

In a nutshell, John chapter one is saying that's the goal here.

Good soil, good heart, receive and believe, to understand who he is, not because not because of culture, the genetics, the will of flesh, nor the will of man, nor blood, who were born because of the will of God, hearing the word of God, and by faith being able to take it to root, to have the the seed actually come in and to grow and to be fruitful.

I love the way he puts this in the good soil, the ones who have the in verse 15, the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance.

Now, that was the beginning of Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

If you're still with me, if you still have the Bible in front of you, I encourage you to keep looking because what I'm going to do real quick is I'm going to summarize the last two couple of sermons as we get to where we are today, the climax of the story, this narrative, the part of Jesus and his healing.

The first thing that he encounters is demoniac, and as he stills the sea at the beginning, understanding who he is, but let me show you what's happening.

Jesus Christ is the master of the world.

And in verse 24, as the sea is still by his voice alone, they came to Jesus, woke him up, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing.

And he got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped and it became calm.

And he said to them, Where is your faith?

They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, Who then is this that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?

Once again, the seed, the word of God, coming to the heart, your heart, my heart, and saying, Is it going to hit thorns?

Is it going to hit rocky ground?

Is it going to be snatched away so we don't even hear anything?

Or is it going to be receptive to the truth of God's word?

And as the truth of God's word comes to us, we see that Jesus is the sovereign, he is the master of the whole world.

There is nothing in the physical world that he is not king of.

There is no point where he doesn't sit on the throne and able to give his directives and guide as only he can.

That's why we sang the songs we did this morning.

Understanding his sovereignty, his majesty, his authority.

There is nothing happening in your world that is outside the kingdom of God.

You get that, right?

See, the heart has to hear that with faith.

You can't just hear the words of, yeah, that's fine, preacher, that's fine, but I gotta get back to work.

Your work is under the kingdom of God, it's under his authority.

He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, He is the Prince of Peace.

I get it, I get it, Pastor, but I've got those doctor deployments.

The doctors are under the Lord.

The culture, the country, the education system, everything, good, bad, all the things in between, is under our Savior, our sovereign.

Jesus Christ is the master over the whole world.

So he crosses the sea, and on his way, the storm comes, he calms the water, he doesn't just quiet it down, it's a snap decision.

He says the word, and now it is no longer a storm.

Man, that would have been good this week.

But as he as he is, he does that, and then he gets to the other side, he encounters the demoniac, and we realize that Jesus Christ is also the master over the devil.

Not just the world, but also the devil.

So the physical world and the spiritual world, just a few of the verses just to remind you of the of the passage, of what happened.

Verse 28.

Seeing Jesus, he the demoniac cried out before him and said in a loud voice, What business do we have with each other?

Jesus, Son of the Most High God, I beg you do not torment me.

For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for it had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles, and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

And Jesus asked him, What is your name?

And he said, Legion, for many demons had entered him.

They were imploring him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain, and the demons implored him to permit them to enter the swine, and he gave them permission, and the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd crushed down the steep blank bank into the lake, and was drowned.

Then scoot down to verse thirty-eight after the commotion that is caused by that.

Verse thirty eight, but the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging him that he might accompany him, but he sent him away, saying, Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.

So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Christ is the master of the whole world, physical world.

He's the master over the devil, the spiritual world, things seen and unseen, heavenly places, spiritual realms, everything.

But now we're going to finish the thought.

Jesus Christ is the master over the flesh.

Now I understand that flesh is the physical world, but understand as well that flesh and scripture can refer to the spiritual world.

So we have the world, the flesh, and the devil, and we have something happening here as we get to this point that's going to be a tad different than what we've experienced before.

Let me just demonstrate for just for a moment.

When Jesus was on that boat and he was woken up, which is amazing that he could sleep through that.

Some people can sleep through anything, but he was he was so exhausted, he was so tired, and he stood up.

The water did not have a part in that conversation.

The waves and the wind, Jesus, King, stop, water, waves, stop.

He gets to land.

He sees the demoniac.

He encounters this man who is who is suffering terribly, can't even imagine what he has gone through, both mentally, physically, spiritually, all that's happening to him as a human being.

And as he encounters this man, the spiritual world, they beg, they implore, but Jesus is going to be Jesus, whether the spirit world agrees with him or not.

He says the word and the demonic does what Jesus says to do.

End of conversation, end of sentence, period, full stop.

But now, now we're getting to a dialogue.

Now we're getting to a gyrus and a woman, totally different economic status, totally different strata in society, totally different backgrounds.

I doubt they even talk to each other, even in the same realms or the circles of influence.

But now something different about this.

The world and the devil, the the physical world and the spiritual world, they don't get to have a part in this conversation.

But now these these folks they do.

The folks on the other side of the lake, they had said, please leave, and Jesus left.

And now we get to this passage, and instead of please leave, verse 40, and as Jesus returned, the people welcomed him.

For they had all been waiting for him.

They were excited.

They wanted him back.

Quite the contrast between where he just came from.

And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue, and he fell at Jesus' feet and began to implore him to come to his house.

For he had an only daughter about 12 years old, and she was dying.

This man named Jairus, verse 41, an official of the synagogue.

An official of the synagogue.

If you haven't caught it by now, as we're reading through Luke, especially as you read through all the gospels, the officials of the synagogues are not on the top of the list of Jesus' fan club.

As a matter of fact, these are the ones who are going to have him killed in just a matter of months from now.

And he's one of them.

He's one of them.

He is the one who in the synagogue would be in today's in today's terminology, he'd be the one who holds all the keys.

When I was growing up, I had the privilege of filling in for our custodian at our church.

And one of my favorite parts of filling in for him when he went on vacation, I'd come in.

I did a terrible job, I don't know why they let me do it.

But I would come in, and one of my favorite parts was he had this big old ring of keys, and there was a key for all these different doors, and they all went, and I just I felt so important.

And it's so silly, but at hindsight, I don't know what was wrong with me.

But I was so proud to walk around with this big old set of keys.

This is the guy who has all the keys.

He is the one who determines who's going to speak, who's going to who's going to sit where.

He's the one who says, This is the passage of scripture.

You are going to pray here, you're going to do this part here.

You're he was the one who was in charge of the order of service.

He was the one who was in charge of who would preach.

He was the one who would make sure that everybody understood what they were doing.

He had this position, he had this respect, he had this wealth, he had the position.

And all of a sudden, his 12-year-old little girl is dying.

And all of that is just like, so what?

He comes to Jesus, he comes begging, the one who others in his his circle would bow before him.

Now he's bowing before Jesus.

He comes before him and implores Jesus, verse 41, to come with him.

Continue in verse 42.

We have a uh an insert, we have another story that's running parallel to this, and this happens in all the synoptic Mark Matthew and Mark Gospels.

I have an insert with this woman who comes along, verse 42.

But as he went, so Jesus was going with Jairus, he was on his way.

As he went, the crowds were pressing against him, pressing against Jesus.

By the way, that's the same word used in the parable of the soils, of choking out.

It was strangling.

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.

That's good.

All these people wanting a piece of Jesus, wanting to touch him, wanting to be around him, crowding in, pressing in, and this one woman comes in, touches his garment, the fringe, the tassels, the blue twisted cord, according to Numbers and Deuteronomy, that it was a reminder for the for the Jews to obey the commands of God.

Jesus most likely had that same thing.

And she touches his tassel and she has this idea of I'm going to touch in faith, touching the tassel so that she could be healed.

This is the touch the master with faith.

The irony here is that of everyone who was touching him, only one was healed.

What did you think about that for a second?

You know, you can be in the same zip code with the answer.

It doesn't mean you're going to receive it.

You can hear the truth day after day, week after week, year after year.

It doesn't mean you're going to receive it.

You could say you understand the seed, the word of God.

It does not mean your heart is good and honest and sincere and willing to receive the word of God.

You see where he's going with this?

So this woman touches Jesus and that faith, her coming to him, she is able to be healed.

She's been disconnected.

She's been unclean.

She's been drained and defiled.

She's been desperate.

This same episode is recorded, like I said, in the other gospels, but I wanted to show you one of them just so you can see the full extent of what's happening with this woman.

If you want to go back with me to Mark chapter 5, and let me just read a couple of the verses.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

Same exact story, same narrative, but in verse 25, he says, A woman who had an hemorrhage for twelve years and had endured much at the hands of many physicians.

I wonder why Dr.

Luke didn't include that part in the story.

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 garment, I will get well.

Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

She received, she understood, she was healed.

Coming back to our passage, her years of being on the outside, now she gets to go into the temple.

It wasn't that she was contagious, it wasn't that she was she was a social piranha, she she was able to be around other people.

She just couldn't, they couldn't touch her, and she couldn't go into the temple because then they would be defiled.

It would defile someone to touch her.

You imagine living for 12 years like that?

The unclean, the don't touch me?

Can you imagine seeing the answer walk towards you and realize that if you touch him, you may cause him to be undefiled.

But she still touched him.

You realize what perhaps some of the things that were going through her mind, but you come back after she touched him, picking it up in verse 45, Jesus said, Who is the one who touched me?

And while they were all denying it, Peter said, Master, now wait a minute, they were all denying it.

What do you mean denying it?

They were touching him.

How do you anyway?

All right, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on you.

But Jesus said, Someone did touch me, for I was aware that power has gone out of me.

I have so many questions that once I get to heaven I won't care about knowing the answers, but I there's so much to this.

When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before him and declared in the presence of all the people, all the people, the reason why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed in that grave.

She had to, she owned up to it, she was trembling, she didn't know what was going to happen next, but in sincerity and humility, she came to Jesus and touched him, and he healed her.

Now look how he responds in verse 48.

He said to her, Daughter, your faith, a good heart, sincere, perseverance, take the seed to root.

Your faith has made you well.

Go in peace.

While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue officials saying, Your daughter has died, do not trouble the teacher anymore.

Now wait a minute.

We get right back into the story of Jairus.

And I'm wondering, now I don't know this for a fact, this is me just speculating, but I'm wondering if I had a 12-year-old daughter who was dying, and I thought and believed that every moment counted, and then here comes a woman who's had this issue for 12 years, can't she wait just a couple of more minutes till I get Jesus back home?

That's interruption number one.

And then, verse 48-49, after Jesus says, daughter, your faith has made you well, go in peace.

Verse 49, while he was speaking to the woman, which perhaps in Jairus' perspective was a distraction, while he's speaking to her, then someone comes from the house, one of his servants, I don't know who, comes from the house of the synagogue official and says, Your daughter has died.

Do not trouble the teacher anymore.

There is so much that is wrong about that, I don't even know where to start.

For one, don't ever recruit someone like that in grief counseling.

Don't ever, don't ever, don't ever be that blunt and that abrupt.

And what does it matter if we're troubling anyone?

Your daughter has died.

But I wonder, at that point, if it was a second strike, if it was a thought to Jairus, okay, it's bad enough that you were delayed.

We see this in John with the resurrection of Lazarus or the resuscitation.

It's bad enough that you were delayed, Jesus.

And now, look what happened.

If you had been there, my daughter would not have died.

It's bad enough that you've got all of these distractions and all these other things, but obviously you've checked out of my life and you're not paying attention to what's going on in my world.

It's bad enough you're doing all those other things.

I mean, I guess they could use some help too, but seriously, would you pay me some attention?

Would you get on my page?

Would you come to my address?

Would you be involved in my life?

And now I've got this servant coming to me saying that my daughter is dead.

You can't make this nice.

She's gone.

And you're telling me to ignore Jesus now, to not trouble him anymore.

I wonder, I wonder if we'd be tempted with the same same idea.

I wonder if we would be the rocky soil or the or the soil that has thorns growing up around it.

So, verse 50.

When Jesus heard this, he answered him, do not be afraid any longer, only believe, and she will be made well.

This dialogue, this exchange between Jesus and Jairus, and Jesus and the woman, it's not like the water and the waves.

I say it, you do it.

It's not like the demoniac, I speak, you listen.

This one's different.

Because there's this element of faith.

You've got the touch, the master with faith, and now you have the touch of the master with faith.

In both instances, it has to do how you see, receive, perceive, believe what's happening here and how it applies to you.

The touch of the master with faith.

In both cases, the authority of Jesus Christ is illustrated, but in both cases, there has to be, like John 1 talked about, receiving and believing.

It's not enough just to know the facts.

It's not enough just to understand the message.

It's not enough to say, I get it, we're accountable to God, that we are sinners by nature and by choice, that we have to repent and faith trust in Him.

I get all that.

I get that not all are saved because we all stand condemned, but only those who believe in Him.

John 3, he didn't come to the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.

That for God so loved the world, whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

I get it, I get it, I get it.

You probably could write it better than I could.

You probably could could articulate it and get it all diagrammed and fleshed out, and people understand it correctly.

You understand a lot of people touched Jesus, and only this woman was healed.

You understand that the servant had had the temptation of, I'm just gonna listen to my servant instead of Jesus.

I'm gonna, she's gone, it's too late.

I know that Jesus healed people, but surely he wouldn't do that whole rise from the dead thing again.

I heard he did it with a widow's son.

I don't think he could do it with me.

You understand that faith has everything to do as you're listening to the word of God, as you're encountering Jesus.

Keep going in the passage, verse 51.

When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the girl's father and mother.

They were all weeping and lamenting for her.

But he said, Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.

And they began laughing at him, knowing that she had died.

They laughed at Jesus.

How can you laugh at Jesus?

I've seen it.

You you know the truth.

You you hear the truth.

Or you just laugh.

It doesn't matter.

You disrespect, you diminish, you ignore.

I wonder if the temptation from the servants was anything compared to the temptation from his his fri family and friends for those who were paid to mourn with them.

I wonder if that temptation was even greater.

Do I listen to Jesus or do I join in on the laughing?

Do I join in on ignoring and being presumptuous and proud and thinking that I know more than he does, that he has to follow my rules and he has to get under my banner and he has to figure out what I want.

If he really is God, and if he really is Jesus, he'll do what I ask him to do.

I don't know what kind of Bible preaches that, but it's not this one.

If we understood his sovereignty, if we understood his authority, he is king of kings sitting on that throne, then we don't tell him what to do.

He tells us what to do.

We're the creation, he's the creator, we're the pot, we're the clay, he's the maker, the potter, he's the one who puts things together, he's the one who brings all of the elements together, he is the one who tells us what is right and what is wrong, what is up and what is down.

We don't get to define those things.

We don't get to create those things.

That's not our job, it's not our role, and it's honestly it's impossible because it's not our universe, but it is his.

He is the master of the world, he is the master of the physical, the spiritual, the flesh, he's the master of everything, everything.

And as Gyrus is encountering these people weeping and mourning, can you imagine?

I I know it's easy theoretically and abstractly to talk about things like this, but can you imagine going to your house knowing that your daughter is no longer living?

And then having that option, do I go this way or do I go that way?

Do I listen to the people that I know and love and have grown up with?

Do I hear what they've got to say and do I let them be the authority?

Or do I pick Jesus?

Having a heart that receives the word of God means that you're going to pick him first.

Means that he's going to be the authority.

He's going to be the king.

He's going to be the one that you're going to listen to.

You keep going in the passage.

He tells them to in verse 52.

They were all weeping and lamenting for her, and he said, Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.

They began laughing at him, knowing that she had died.

Verse 54.

He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, Child, arise.

Man, I would have liked to have been there.

To be able to see this, to hear it, to be a part of it.

Her spirit returned, verse 55, and she got up immediately, and he gave orders for some something to be given her to eat.

Her parents were amazed.

But he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

He'd just gotten through telling the demoniac who had been healed to go tell everybody, and now he's telling this family to not tell anyone.

I don't know why, it could be a number of reasons, but maybe it's because the people who were laughing at him as he came in, they'll just pick something else to laugh at.

Maybe the idea of cynicism and skepticism and doubt and discouragement is so pervasive that it doesn't matter how many truths are revealed before you, you're going to decide not to believe it no matter what anybody thinks or says.

Maybe logic is thrown out the window and truth doesn't really matter, and all that matters is how you feel, and you're going to follow your heart instead of following the truth.

Maybe, maybe it doesn't matter how many times you you uncast those pearls off of that necklace, you're going to throw it in front in front of the swine, and they're going to keep trampling over it again and again and again.

It doesn't matter how many times you try, they're not going to listen because they're hearing the word of God, but not without faith.

They're hearing it, but it's getting snatched up, or it's got the the hard rock and the dry soil, there's not much there, no moisture, or it's got the thorns that grow up with the produce, the product, and it gets choked out at the same time.

Maybe, maybe that's why.

I don't know.

But I do know this.

When Jesus Christ walks into a room, nothing is bigger than him.

No one is bigger than him.

Nothing is greater than him.

The world, the flesh, the devil?

Nothing.

Nothing.

But you see, I can say that, I can hear it.

Someone can tell me, I can tell you.

And as as we listen to those words, you think to yourself, well, that sounds pretty good, I guess.

Whatever.

Or, or you can couple it with faith, and by grace you are saved through faith, and you realize this isn't just about receiving information, this is about being transformed, renewed in the mind, so that I can grow in the image of Christ.

I'm going to show you one last passage.

Just go with me all the way to the back of the Bible, the book of Revelation.

Revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

As John receives, receives this image, Peter, James, and John.

James was the first to be martyred, that little group.

John was the last apostle to survive.

Peter was right there in the middle, and Jesus predicted his death.

But John, John has something to say as he's experiencing this, and he comes in front of Jesus.

The same Jesus that he saw heal this little girl, that bring her back to life, the same Jesus that he and the other two saw on the Mount of Transfiguration, the same Jesus that he and the other two were in the Garden of Gethsemane, all of that dealing with death and authority and power.

But now look at how he engages him now.

Revelation chapter 1, verse 17.

Revelation 1:17

When I saw him, see he'd seen him all his life.

He'd seen him through the ministry, he'd seen him all that had happened.

But when I saw him, no flesh, no flesh to veil, no darkened mirror, when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man.

And he placed his right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid.

I am the first and the last and the living one.

And I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.

And I have the keys of death and of Hades.

I want to I want to challenge you this morning.

I'm not asking you if you heard what Luke 8 said.

I'm asking if you heard with faith.

Because it's really easy to listen to words and to let it go in one ear and out the other.

Trust me, I've been there and done that.

It's really easy to receive information and just let it drop off your radar.

But you're not talking about just information.

You're talking about a savior.

You're not talking about just knowledge, you're talking about revelation.

And this revelation is given to us not so that we can just say, hey, now I know something else, but so that we can worship, we can respond to what he reveals to us about him.

And what he reveals in Revelation chapter 1 is that there is nothing that is not under his authority.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

He holds the keys, death and Hades.

He is the one who walks into a room and death submits, the waves submit, the water submits, the demoniac submits, it all submits because he is king.

But are you are you hearing that with faith?

That's the question.

See, the way this would translate, see, there's so many of us, there's so many different ways that this would be applied.

But it would be it would be trusting Jesus even when the world doesn't make sense.

It would be trusting Jesus even when your heart really does hurt.

It would be trusting Jesus even when you don't know what the next thing is going to be.

Because faith, faith is not blind, it's not it's not b it's not silly, it's not presumptuous, it's rooted in him.

It's a substance, it's a reality, it's real.

And what faith does for us, by grace you are saved through faith, what faith does for us is it, it is the is the transient, is the means that you and I can take words like Revelation chapter 1, and we can say, okay.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

I don't know if this loved one's gonna survive, but I know who holds holds the keys.

Okay.

I don't know what's gonna happen next.

I don't know if if the world's gonna crash, come crashing down around me, but I know who is king.

Okay?

And I know, I know that the touch of the master's hand is all that I need.

Do you know that this morning?

I'm gonna ask you to to pray with me.

Bow your heads.

This is not a magic formula, this is not some sort of silly cantation.

We are speaking to the author and the authority.

We are praying to Jesus.

And as we bow before him, he is the one who holds the keys.

Lord Jesus, I pray for the faith of your children.

We walk into this room and so many backgrounds, so many experiences, so many burdens, so many thoughts.

And the amazing thing about you and your word is that you cut right to the heart and you say, Let me tell you the truth.

The question is, are you going to be the one who touches and is healed, who realizes, who receives, who believes, or will you be the one of many who just kind of bump into and move on?

Lord, I pray for your people.

I pray for the individual who's come into this room and needs some clarity of following you.

And I thank you for pastors and deacons who will stand at the front in just a moment and be able to start that conversation.

I pray for the individual who needs to get some things right with you that you want to.

We've started something fairly new in the last few weeks.

We're hanging out of the hymn book.

It's that little red odd-looking book in front of you.

And you can take it if you'd like to.

If not, don't worry about it.

We're going to be hanging hymn number 411 to so sweet to trust in Jesus.

We're not going to put the words on the screen.

That really isn't the point in the next few moments.

The point is for you to spend time with your Savior.

If you'd like to come forward, I would encourage you to do that.

If you want to stay right where you are, the freedom to do whatever you feel the need to do.

But I just ask you to do it in faith.

You do it out of obedience.

If you'd stand with me, please.

Just to take your stand is comfortable.

Just to do this.

Jesus, Jesus Christ, just Jesus.

To trust him sweet to trust in Jesus.

Just church for us to be strengthened.

Just stand up.

Before we dismiss the deacons had a message and had the Sean as the chair of the deacons.

Many of you may recall that October is pastor appreciation month.

And we would like to take this month and show our appreciation.

We have a plan now to do a little something during service on Sunday the 25th.

But in preparation for that, please uh be in prayer and consider uh how much you would contribute towards these gifts.

And we have a couple of different ways for you to do that.

Um you can put it in the plate next Sunday in the offering plate as it's coming through.

Make sure it's marked specifically for pastor appreciation.

Also, you can work through your small groups, your Sunday school group, your life group, whichever your leader should be aware of how to funnel that.

So they will be taking up those collections as well.

So please carefully consider your participation in that.

Thank you.

An invitation.

I can always reach out to him myself or any other pastors or the deacons anytime.

We'd love to talk with you more about the Lord.

I believe it's a benediction.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Amen.