The Danger of Decisional Salvation: Recovering the Gospel of Grace

• Faith and Healing [00:00:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor debunks the idea that lack of faith causes illness, arguing instead that God can heal even with limited faith, citing the biblical example of asking for help with unbelief.
• Impatience and Divine Timing [00:08:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts human impatience with God's perfect timing, using the story of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood to illustrate that God's delays are often for a greater purpose.
• Spiritual Testing [00:07:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that tests in life, like the interruption of Jairus's journey, are opportunities for spiritual growth and learning to trust God rather than relying on self.
• Social Ostracization and Restoration [00:06:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights the woman's ceremonial uncleanness and social isolation, contrasting it with Jesus's restoration of her dignity by calling her 'Daughter'.
• Faith and Healing [00:14:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor debunks the idea that lack of faith causes illness, citing biblical examples where healing occurred despite the patient's inability to have faith (Lazarus) or the faith of others (Jairus).
• Humility and Repentance [00:17:44 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that God makes Himself known to those who humble themselves, using Jairus and even Judas as examples of God's willingness to receive the humble.
• Resurrection and Hope [00:22:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses the Christian hope of seeing loved ones again after death, contrasting this with the despair often seen in those who do not hold to God's promises.
• Grace and Restoration [00:25:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor highlights Jesus' respectful treatment of the woman caught in adultery, noting that Jesus saw her potential for restoration rather than just her sin.
• Grace and Forgiveness [00:24:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery, highlighting Jesus' refusal to condemn her and His command to 'sin no more'.
• Identity and Dignity [00:25:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor analyzes Jesus' use of the term 'ma'am' or 'lady' as a term of respect that restored dignity to the woman, contrasting it with how she was previously treated.
• Divine Perspective vs. Human Perspective [00:26:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts human self-perception (seeing failures, past, and an end) with God's perspective (seeing potential, future, and a new beginning).
• Evangelism and Salvation [00:26:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor transitions to a direct evangelistic appeal, explaining the problem of sin, the solution of Jesus' death and resurrection, and inviting the listener to accept forgiveness.

• Sermon Illustration [00:01:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a weather analogy, describing a bleak storm with thunder and lightning that suddenly breaks to reveal a new day, to illustrate the transition from despair to hope found in the biblical accounts.
• Sermon Illustration [00:09:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his own impatience, describing how he eats pizza too quickly while driving, burns the roof of his mouth, and cuts off other drivers, to relate to the congregation's struggle with waiting.
• Sermon Illustration [00:09:47 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Jacob, who was naturally impatient and tried to fix his life in his own hands, resulting in him wrestling with an angel and walking away with a permanent limp.
• Sermon Illustration [00:10:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, where Jesus delayed coming to heal his friend Lazarus, resulting in Lazarus's death, only to raise him from the dead, illustrating that God's delay was for a greater resurrection miracle.
• Sermon Illustration [00:16:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about being told his son Christopher had died, describing the devastation and the choice to listen to Jesus' voice ('Don't be afraid') rather than the devastating news.
• Sermon Illustration [00:22:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts an interview with Jordan Peterson where he explained his faith in resurrection based on God's past faithfulness in keeping promises regarding forgiveness, peace, and purpose.
• Sermon Illustration [00:24:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells the story of the woman caught in adultery, speculating on what Jesus wrote in the sand that caused the accusers to leave, and highlighting Jesus' respectful address of 'ma'am' to restore her dignity.
• Sermon Illustration [00:24:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells the biblical story of the woman caught in adultery, noting that Jesus wrote in the sand (speculating it might have been their specific sins), causing the accusers to leave from oldest to youngest. He then contrasts this with the woman healed of her medical condition, whom Jesus called 'daughter,' emphasizing Jesus' restorative language.
• Sermon Illustration [00:26:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a series of metaphors to contrast human self-view with God's view: seeing a blank canvas vs. a finished painting, and seeing an end vs. a new beginning.

• Pastoral Charge [00:15:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray with available faith and ask God to help their unbelief.
• Pastoral Charge [00:18:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > Humble oneself in the sight of the Lord.
• Pastoral Charge [00:19:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > Come to the Lord in humility and honesty.
• Pastoral Charge [00:27:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Accept forgiveness of sin and assurance of heaven through Jesus Christ

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
When doesn't God heal everybody?
[00:00:08] Sometimes people will say it's because you lack faith.
[00:00:10] If you had more faith, you would have been healed.
[00:00:12] And the reason you're sick in the first place is a lack of faith.
[00:00:16] That's nonsense.
[00:00:17] God can heal us even with our limited faith.
[00:00:21] So what I suggest to you is you pray with as much faith as you can muster and be like that guy in the Bible who said, Lord, I believe, but then he added this, and I love it, but help my unbelief.
[00:00:49] Let me ask you, have you ever been in a situation that was just so bleak you never thought it was going to get better?
[00:01:01] You could compare it to a storm and the storm clouds gathered and the rain began to fall and then came the thunder and the lightning and it got worse and worse and you wondered, is this storm ever going to stop?
[00:01:14] And then suddenly,
[00:01:16] The sun breaks through the clouds and it's a whole new day.
[00:01:20] And maybe your life feels that way right now.
[00:01:23] Well, that picture describes what we see before us here in Mark chapter five.
[00:01:28] We have two very different people in two very different sets of circumstances
[00:01:35] who you could describe as brokenhearted.
[00:01:38] And the one thing they had in common was they both needed Jesus.
[00:01:43] This is part of our Jesus and You series that we've been doing together.
[00:01:47] And now we're looking at two characters.
[00:01:49] One is named Jairus, who I'll introduce you to in a moment.
[00:01:53] The other is an unnamed woman who had a very intense medical condition.
[00:01:58] Their story is found in three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
[00:02:04] And they could not have been more different.
[00:02:06] First, we have this poor, helpless, hopeless woman.
[00:02:11] Her life grew more miserable.
[00:02:12] Day by day, with no end in sight, she lost her health, she lost her wealth,
[00:02:19] In effect, she lost her hope.
[00:02:21] She tried everything she could to fix her situation, and it just got worse, but she found what she needed from Jesus.
[00:02:29] And then we have a man who was quite different.
[00:02:33] His name was Jairus.
[00:02:34] He was a leader in the local synagogue.
[00:02:37] He was respected.
[00:02:38] He was powerful.
[00:02:39] He was influential.
[00:02:41] But one day, his beloved daughter of 12 years became very sick.
[00:02:47] and he grew so despondent because his little girl was literally at death's door.
[00:02:53] But he too found what he needed from Jesus, reminding us that every man, every woman needs Jesus.
[00:03:00] We need him at the beginning of life, the middle of life, and certainly we need him at the end of life.
[00:03:06] and we see how Jesus came through for both of these people.
[00:03:09] So let's read about it now.
[00:03:11] Mark chapter five starting in verse 21.
[00:03:14] Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake.
[00:03:18] This would be the Sea of Galilee.
[00:03:20] Where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore.
[00:03:23] There a leader of the synagogue whose name was Jairus arrived.
[00:03:28] When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him.
[00:03:33] My little daughter is dying, he said.
[00:03:36] Please come and lay your hands on her, heal her so she can live.
[00:03:40] Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him.
[00:03:44] A woman in the crowd who had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding.
[00:03:49] She had suffered a great deal from many doctors over the years and had spent everything she had to pay but had only gotten worse and she heard about Jesus and came up behind him.
[00:04:00] Through the crowd and touched his robe and she thought to herself, if I can touch his robe, I can be healed.
[00:04:08] Immediately the bleeding stopped and she could feel it in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
[00:04:15] We'll stop there.
[00:04:16] 12 years.
[00:04:18] 12 years this woman had this medical condition, some kind of hemorrhaging.
[00:04:25] She went to the local doctors, which first century medical care was not very dependable to say the very least.
[00:04:33] She spent all of her money on these doctors, probably quack doctors, and now she's in this place where her only hope is God.
[00:04:41] And then 12 years is also the time that Jairus spent with his beloved daughter, probably his only child, no question about it.
[00:04:51] She was daddy's girl.
[00:04:53] His heart was broken.
[00:04:55] His daughter was at death's door.
[00:04:57] So 12 years is an important amount of time in both of their stories.
[00:05:02] And so now Jairus comes to Jesus hoping that he can do something for his little daughter.
[00:05:09] He says in verse 23, Please come and lay your hands on her, heal her,
[00:05:14] so she can live.
[00:05:16] And Jesus got up and followed him.
[00:05:18] So here now is Jairus.
[00:05:20] He's got Jesus.
[00:05:21] Everything's getting better.
[00:05:23] He reasons in faith.
[00:05:25] If I can get Jesus to my daughter, he'll lay his hand on her.
[00:05:29] And why not?
[00:05:30] The reputation of Jesus was spreading.
[00:05:32] He was trending on every social media platform.
[00:05:36] and every time you were flipping through reels, here's Jesus healing a leper.
[00:05:40] Here's Jesus restoring sight.
[00:05:42] Here's Jesus raising the dead.
[00:05:44] Oh wait, here's another one of Jesus calming a storm.
[00:05:48] If he could do all of those things, surely he could heal the daughter of Jairus.
[00:05:52] So they're on their way.
[00:05:53] to the home of Jairus and it crowds around and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, this woman appears who touches him.
[00:06:01] Now you wouldn't even have noticed it if Jesus didn't stop and say, who touched me?
[00:06:07] So this is an interruption in how easily Jairus could have resented it.
[00:06:13] Could have said, hey, I don't know who you are.
[00:06:14] By the way, she was ceremonially unclean.
[00:06:19] What does that mean?
[00:06:19] Because she bled constantly,
[00:06:22] That meant that she was declared unclean and she could not interact with other people.
[00:06:29] She would have been ostracized, she would have been isolated.
[00:06:32] So here now is this in quotes, unclean woman cutting in on him, a ruler of the synagogue.
[00:06:39] He's a VIP.
[00:06:41] He's an important guy.
[00:06:42] And besides, you know, her medical condition could wait.
[00:06:47] His daughter was dying.
[00:06:48] He really needed Jesus maybe a little bit more than she did.
[00:06:53] But she cuts in on Jairus and he does not object.
[00:06:57] He does not protest.
[00:06:59] Maybe he knew because, well, that's how Jesus rolls.
[00:07:02] He just helps people.
[00:07:03] Don't stop him from helping people.
[00:07:05] I mean, he's helping me.
[00:07:06] So Jairus was being tested.
[00:07:09] And you know, tests will come into the life of a Christian.
[00:07:13] Remember when you were in school, some of you still are in school, and there would be the pop quiz from the teacher, the unexpected test, and all the nerds would get really excited.
[00:07:24] We're gonna have a test today that I didn't tell you was coming.
[00:07:28] All the nerds are like.
[00:07:31] And I'm like, oh no.
[00:07:33] Because I never read, I never prepared, I never paid attention.
[00:07:37] I'm sorry to describe nerds that way.
[00:07:39] That was kind of rude.
[00:07:40] They're not like that.
[00:07:42] I shouldn't mock nerds at all.
[00:07:43] The reality is we call them boss now, okay?
[00:07:47] They run all the companies, right?
[00:07:49] And all the goof-offs like me say, yes sir, yes, no ma'am, right?
[00:07:54] So anyway, tests will come.
[00:07:56] You don't always know when they're coming.
[00:07:58] Why does God test us?
[00:08:00] To make sure we're learning the material.
[00:08:02] In James chapter one it says, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy, for know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
[00:08:16] So tests are a way to grow spiritually and learn how to trust God instead of ourselves.
[00:08:24] Often tests are there to prepare us for something that is ahead.
[00:08:29] If this was a test in the life of Jairus, he passed it with flying colors.
[00:08:34] He just handled it so well, he didn't protest, he waited for Jesus to do what Jesus wanted to do.
[00:08:42] So it's a beautiful illustration of a man who understood that.
[00:08:47] And sometimes we grow impatient with God.
[00:08:50] God, when are you gonna do this thing I want you to do?
[00:08:53] You know, when are you gonna open up this door for me for ministry?
[00:08:57] When are you going to provide me with a husband or a wife?
[00:09:01] How long are you gonna let that person get away with that sin?
[00:09:05] Hey Lord, how long until you come back and establish your kingdom on this earth?
[00:09:11] When are you gonna answer my prayer in the way that I prayed it?
[00:09:15] And sometimes in our impatience, we take things into our own hands and we make a mess of them.
[00:09:22] Now by nature I am impatient.
[00:09:24] Like if I go to pick up a pizza, by the time I'm home I've eaten three pieces.
[00:09:31] And it's not easy to eat a pizza when you're driving and cutting in on people.
[00:09:37] and I can tell you that I burned the roof of my mouth more than one time eating extra hot pizza, right?
[00:09:44] So we don't like to wait and we say, I'll fix this.
[00:09:47] Good illustration of a man who was impatient and took things constantly into his own hands was Jacob and what a mess he made of his life.
[00:09:57] He ended up wrestling with an angel and walked away with a permanent limp.
[00:10:03] So we have to trust in the Lord and realize that God may have something better in mind.
[00:10:10] Take the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
[00:10:14] They were all personal friends of Jesus.
[00:10:16] They lived in Bethany, which was striking distance from Jerusalem.
[00:10:21] And our Lord often showed up at their house for a meal made by Martha, and he enjoyed spending time with them.
[00:10:29] So one day, Lazarus,
[00:10:31] God's sick.
[00:10:33] And they sent word to Jesus, hey, Jesus, Lazarus, whom you love, is sick.
[00:10:39] They probably expected he would drop whatever it was he was doing and rush back to Bethany and lay his hand on Lazarus and take that sickness away.
[00:10:48] But we read instead of doing that in John 11 five, Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and he stayed where he was.
[00:10:57] Well in this time that he stayed where he was instead of going to where they were, Lazarus died.
[00:11:05] So when Jesus finally shows up a few days later, not only did he not heal his friend, but he missed his funeral even.
[00:11:14] Martha and even Mary were both accusatory of Jesus.
[00:11:18] If you would have been here, they said, my brother would not have died.
[00:11:22] Jesus said, your brother will live again.
[00:11:25] Martha says, yes, I know he'll live in the resurrection.
[00:11:27] Jesus says, Martha, listen to me.
[00:11:29] I am the resurrection and the life, and he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
[00:11:35] And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
[00:11:38] And then he walked up to the tomb of Lazarus, and he said, Lazarus, come forth.
[00:11:44] And Lazarus came back to life again.
[00:11:46] See, they wanted a healing, God wanted a resurrection.
[00:11:51] Sometimes the reason that God delays is because he wants to do something better than what you prayed for.
[00:11:57] He wants to do abundantly above and beyond that which you could ask or think.
[00:12:02] So know this, God's delays are not necessarily his denials.
[00:12:08] Just as important as the will of God is the timing of God.
[00:12:14] So here is this woman, unclean ceremonially,
[00:12:18] Reasoning if she can touch Jesus, she will be healed.
[00:12:21] Let's read about it, Mark chapter five.
[00:12:24] Jesus realized at once healing power had gone out of him.
[00:12:29] He turned around to the crowd and said, who touched me?
[00:12:32] His disciples said, look at this crowd pressing around you.
[00:12:35] How can you ask who touched me?
[00:12:37] but he kept looking around to see who had done it.
[00:12:41] Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done and he said,
[00:12:53] Daughter, I love that.
[00:12:55] Your faith has made you well.
[00:12:57] Go in peace.
[00:12:58] Your suffering is over.
[00:13:00] Isn't that fantastic?
[00:13:01] Daughter.
[00:13:03] This woman, I'm sure, had a mom and dad, obviously.
[00:13:06] I don't know what kind of relationship she had with them at the time.
[00:13:10] They probably wanted nothing to do with her.
[00:13:12] Our daughter's unclean.
[00:13:13] Jesus says, Daughter.
[00:13:16] You're better.
[00:13:17] You're healed.
[00:13:18] You're restored.
[00:13:19] But imagine this scene.
[00:13:20] Here's all these people pushing and pulling and Jesus says, who touched me?
[00:13:25] I perceive that power has gone out of me and the crowd cut apart and there she is.
[00:13:30] Hi.
[00:13:31] Yeah.
[00:13:32] He didn't want to condemn her.
[00:13:33] He wanted to commend her.
[00:13:35] He wanted to compliment her for her courageous faith and he said, power has gone out of me.
[00:13:41] The word used there for power is the Greek word dunamis.
[00:13:44] It's also used in Acts 1.8 when it says, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be witnesses unto me.
[00:13:53] The word is sometimes translated dynamic or dynamite.
[00:13:58] So Jesus is saying explosive power has been released as this woman came in faith and prayed for this and God touched her.
[00:14:08] When doesn't God heal everybody?
[00:14:11] Sometimes people will say it's because you lack faith.
[00:14:13] If you had more faith, you would have been healed.
[00:14:15] And the reason you're sick in the first place is a lack of faith.
[00:14:19] That's nonsense.
[00:14:21] Because as we look in the Bible, we see that it wasn't always the faith of the person being healed that caused it to happen.
[00:14:27] Now in the case of this woman in particular, it does appear her faith played a key role
[00:14:32] and her own healing.
[00:14:34] But in the case of the daughter of Jairus, it was really the faith of the father, not the faith of the sick person, the daughter.
[00:14:41] Then in the case of Lazarus, it certainly wasn't the faith of Mary and Martha.
[00:14:46] Lazarus had no faith because he was dead.
[00:14:50] So really it was just God exercising his will.
[00:14:54] So the point of the matter is, is God can heal us even with our limited faith.
[00:15:00] So what I suggest to you is you pray with as much faith as you can muster and be like that guy in the Bible who said, Lord, I believe, but then he added this and I love it, but help my unbelief.
[00:15:12] Lord, this is as much faith as I have.
[00:15:14] It may not be perfect faith.
[00:15:16] It may not be flawless faith.
[00:15:17] But I believe.
[00:15:19] Help my unbelief.
[00:15:20] And God honored that.
[00:15:21] and look what he did now in this incredible story.
[00:15:24] So back to Jairus.
[00:15:25] So he's waiting patiently.
[00:15:27] Okay, Jesus, okay, it's great, it's great, let's go.
[00:15:31] So they're headed to his house and the following scene unfolds.
[00:15:34] Mark chapter five, verse 35.
[00:15:36] While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the house of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue.
[00:15:43] They told him, your daughter is dead.
[00:15:47] No use in troubling the teacher now.
[00:15:49] But Jesus overheard them.
[00:15:51] and said to Jairus, don't be afraid, just have faith.
[00:15:55] How devastating.
[00:15:57] Your daughter is dead.
[00:16:00] I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that message.
[00:16:03] When I was told, your son has died.
[00:16:05] Now that was put more delicately to me.
[00:16:08] Christopher, my son, has gone to be with the Lord.
[00:16:11] But I knew what that meant.
[00:16:12] My son had died.
[00:16:13] There's nothing worse a parent could ever hear than those words.
[00:16:18] and he was devastated.
[00:16:19] But I love what Jesus said to him.
[00:16:22] Don't be afraid.
[00:16:24] Just have faith.
[00:16:26] You know, we all choose what voice we're gonna listen to.
[00:16:29] And the voice of the person who told him this news or he could listen to the voice of Jesus.
[00:16:36] Yeah, they told me my daughter's dead.
[00:16:38] But Jesus said, don't be afraid.
[00:16:40] I'm gonna listen to the voice of Jesus.
[00:16:42] And we have the same choice every day.
[00:16:45] We have the voice of the culture.
[00:16:47] We have the voice of Satan who says you're worthless.
[00:16:51] You're a failure.
[00:16:53] You'll never amount to anything.
[00:16:55] You're cursed.
[00:16:57] Or we can listen to the voice of God who says I love you.
[00:16:59] I have a plan for you.
[00:17:01] I'll use you.
[00:17:02] Now I bet that Jairus was beating himself up over this.
[00:17:07] It's my fault.
[00:17:09] I should have pressed Jesus to come sooner.
[00:17:11] I should have done more and often that happens.
[00:17:14] Especially when a child dies, the parent will assume a responsibility that maybe is not really theirs to assume in those particular circumstances.
[00:17:25] It depends, I suppose, but ultimately we have to realize that life and death are in the hands of God, not us.
[00:17:32] He alone decides when we will be born and when we will die.
[00:17:37] but he just humbled himself and came to Jesus and understand that Jesus was not high on the cultural ladder.
[00:17:44] He wasn't a rabbi.
[00:17:45] He was a carpenter's son from Nazareth and Nazareth was not a city that other people respected but yet Jairus realized he was more than a carpenter's son.
[00:17:58] Jairus realized this is God walking among us in human form.
[00:18:02] So he, a leader of a synagogue, humbled himself and asked Christ for his help, and he got it.
[00:18:08] And that's what everyone needs to do.
[00:18:10] The Bible says, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord.
[00:18:14] And some people don't wanna do that, but he was willing to.
[00:18:17] And God will make himself known to any person who comes to him in humility.
[00:18:24] no matter what they've done.
[00:18:25] Even Judas Iscariot, after he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and was leading the cohort of Roman soldiers and temple guard to arrest Christ there in the Garden of Gethsemane, seeing them approach, Jesus sees Judas.
[00:18:41] He knows Judas has betrayed him.
[00:18:44] And yet he says to him, friend, why have you come?
[00:18:48] What?
[00:18:50] Friend?
[00:18:51] Judas was far from a friend.
[00:18:53] I would have said, fiend, why have you come?
[00:18:57] Then I would have punched him.
[00:19:00] Friend, why have you come?
[00:19:01] Judas probably missed it, but Jesus was giving him one last opportunity to repent.
[00:19:07] We can come to the Lord, and if we come in humility and honesty, he will receive us, and that's exactly what Jairus was doing, and that's exactly what we need to do.
[00:19:18] But I love the words of Jesus.
[00:19:19] He says, don't be afraid, keep on believing.
[00:19:23] Now Christ arrives at the home of Jairus.
[00:19:27] It's filled with people mourning.
[00:19:29] Understand, these were not just people showing their sorrow.
[00:19:35] for this young girl.
[00:19:37] These are professional mourners.
[00:19:40] You literally, depending on how much money you made, could hire people to come into your home and mourn.
[00:19:46] They would play their musical instruments and sing their sad songs and the whole house is filled with all of these people weeping and wailing and Jesus walks in and we read about it in Mark chapter five verse 38.
[00:20:00] He came to the home of the synagogue leader
[00:20:02] He saw much commotion and weeping and wailing.
[00:20:05] He went inside and asked, why all this commotion and weeping?
[00:20:09] The child isn't dead, she's only sleeping.
[00:20:12] And they went immediately from weeping to laughing and specifically mockery.
[00:20:17] Who does this guy think he is?
[00:20:19] Coming in here and saying she's sleeping.
[00:20:21] Clearly she's dead.
[00:20:22] He says, get out of here.
[00:20:24] You're all a buzzkill.
[00:20:26] He didn't say that, but it's implied.
[00:20:29] He thought, I'm not gonna work in this environment of unbelief.
[00:20:32] I want these people gone.
[00:20:35] And they all left.
[00:20:36] And then he went to the bed of this little girl who indeed was dead.
[00:20:39] And he knew that, by the way.
[00:20:41] He was using the word sleeping as a picture.
[00:20:44] Because when a Christian dies, the Bible describes it as falling asleep.
[00:20:50] Even when Stephen died the violent death of a martyr,
[00:20:55] We read that he fell asleep.
[00:20:57] Not literally, but it's a picture because falling asleep is not a bad thing, right?
[00:21:03] Now, when you're a child, it's the worst thing.
[00:21:05] Go to bed.
[00:21:07] Take a nap.
[00:21:08] No.
[00:21:09] When you're older, it's like, take a nap.
[00:21:11] Yes.
[00:21:14] Happy hour for an old person is a nap.
[00:21:17] That's it.
[00:21:17] Happy hour, right?
[00:21:20] So, these are the jokes, people.
[00:21:23] Just not that good.
[00:21:26] She's only sleeping, but of course, she had passed over to the other side.
[00:21:32] And Jesus says, little lamb arise.
[00:21:35] That's a literal translation of what he said.
[00:21:37] I love that, little lamb, it's so tender.
[00:21:41] Only Jesus can speak to the other side and be heard.
[00:21:45] Like he did at the tomb of Lazarus.
[00:21:47] He said, Lazarus, come forth.
[00:21:49] It's a good thing he said, Lazarus, come forth.
[00:21:51] because if he had simply said, come forth, every body in every grave would emerge at once.
[00:21:59] Lazarus, I'm talking to you, buddy, come here.
[00:22:01] Come back, same thing for this little girl.
[00:22:04] Little lamb arise and she came back to life again.
[00:22:10] You know, what I love about this story is she comes back to life and then Jesus says, give her something to eat.
[00:22:16] That's so practical.
[00:22:17] She's probably hungry, get her a sandwich quickly.
[00:22:21] So here's the thing that we need to realize, that when we lose a loved one, most of us are not gonna see them raised from the dead.
[00:22:30] But we know we will see them again.
[00:22:32] We know that when one of our loved ones dies in faith, that they are indeed alive in another place, and we will once again be with them in the future.
[00:22:43] They're not just a part of our past, they're also a part of our future.
[00:22:48] When I did my interview with Jordan Peterson, I mentioned, I know that I mentioned the story of my son Christopher and how he had died and how I knew that I would see him again.
[00:22:59] And Jordan asked me, why do you believe that?
[00:23:02] I said, well, it's faith.
[00:23:04] It's faith in God's word.
[00:23:06] And he asked me, what is faith?
[00:23:08] I said, well, the Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for.
[00:23:12] It's the evidence of things not seen.
[00:23:16] and because God has kept his promises to me in the past, I know he'll keep his promises to me in the future.
[00:23:23] As an example, God told me he would forgive me of my sin if I would ask him to and he's done that.
[00:23:30] He told me also that he would give me a peace that passes human understanding.
[00:23:35] He's done that as well.
[00:23:37] He also promised me that he would give me meaning and purpose in life and that he would guide my steps and he has done all of that.
[00:23:44] God's made many promises to me and I put those promises to the test and I've seen how God came through for me.
[00:23:51] And Jordan asked me, well, how did God come through for you?
[00:23:54] And I said, well, I've seen what's happened to other people who've lost children.
[00:23:59] Their marriage has unraveled.
[00:24:02] Some have turned to drugs or alcohol.
[00:24:04] Some have just become bitter, angry people.
[00:24:07] And that didn't happen to me and my wife.
[00:24:10] And I said it's not because I'm a virtuous person.
[00:24:12] It's simply because I believe the promises of God and I have found them to be true.
[00:24:19] And that's the truth.
[00:24:25] So Jesus raises this little girl back to life again.
[00:24:31] It reminds me of another story.
[00:24:34] A woman who was caught in the act of adultery.
[00:24:37] And she was thrown before the feet of Jesus.
[00:24:41] And one of the accusers says, Allah says she should be stoned to death.
[00:24:44] What do you say?
[00:24:45] Jesus said, let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone.
[00:24:50] And then he kneeled down and wrote on the sand.
[00:24:53] And he stood up and said it again.
[00:24:55] And the Bible says they left from the oldest to the youngest.
[00:24:59] Wow, what did he write in the sand?
[00:25:01] Well, the greatest minds in the church have grappled with this for centuries, and I'm gonna settle it right now.
[00:25:07] No, I don't know what he wrote.
[00:25:10] Maybe he wrote their names with a commandment they were breaking at that moment, looked up at him, I don't know.
[00:25:17] Whatever he wrote, it cleared the room.
[00:25:19] Now here's this woman, alone,
[00:25:22] And he says, woman, where are your accusers?
[00:25:25] She said, I have none.
[00:25:26] He says, neither do I condemn you.
[00:25:28] Go and sin no more.
[00:25:29] But it's interesting, the word that he used there, he said, woman, where are your accusers?
[00:25:34] That could be translated lady or ma'am.
[00:25:37] I'm sure this girl had been called a lot of things in her life, but I doubt anyone ever called her ma'am or lady.
[00:25:45] It was a term of respect.
[00:25:47] But Jesus didn't just see her for what she was, he saw her for what she could become.
[00:25:52] Going back to the woman who is healed of her medical condition.
[00:25:56] Daughter, you're healed.
[00:25:57] You're a daughter now.
[00:25:58] I want you to remember that.
[00:26:00] And now to this woman caught in sin.
[00:26:02] He says, lady, ma'am, go and sin no more.
[00:26:06] See, when I look at myself, I see my failures.
[00:26:08] God sees my potential.
[00:26:10] I see my past.
[00:26:11] God sees my future.
[00:26:13] I see a blank canvas.
[00:26:15] God sees a finished painting.
[00:26:17] I see an end.
[00:26:18] God sees a new beginning.
[00:26:20] He sees you for what you can become.
[00:26:23] and that's what he saw here.
[00:26:31] Hi, I'm Greg Laurie.
[00:26:32] I've got some good news for you.
[00:26:34] God loves you, and God has a plan for your life.
[00:26:37] Here's the problem.
[00:26:39] We're separated from God by our sin because we've all broken His commandments.
[00:26:44] But the good news is, is 2,000 years ago, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for your sin, and then to rise again from the dead.
[00:26:54] The same Jesus who died and rose is alive and ready to come into your life right now.
[00:27:00] Would you like your sin forgiven?
[00:27:02] Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
[00:27:05] If so, pray this simple prayer with me right now.
[00:27:08] Just say, Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but I believe you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin.
[00:27:15] I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward.
[00:27:21] Did you just pray that prayer with me?
[00:27:23] If you did, God in heaven has heard you.
[00:27:26] Congratulations and welcome to the family of God.