Not Dead, Sleeping

Pastor Jeannie Greer talks about an intriguing miracle. This really is one of the most bizarre encounters.

In Jesus life both people. In this story came to Jesus, for one thing, but ended up with something far greater.

Jesus required a lot more than they were expecting gyrus came to Jesus in need of a healing.

What he got was a resurrection that the miracle of grain is not a Bible teaching ministry after taking your house Molly events were diving into a green teaching series called the difficult sayings of Jesus were putting aside our assumptions and were taking a fresh look at who Jesus really is a lot of us have this picture in our head of him wearing a flowing white robe carrying around a lamb on his shoulder and smiling sadly but as will discover the true Jesus so much more compelling than pastor Jeannie titled this message.

Not dead.

We are starting a new series this weekend called the difficult things of one of the biggest misconceptions about Jesus was that he was this tranquil, unflappable religious gurus just went around spreading peace and love and revives nothing could be further from the truth.

The real Jesus was divisive.

He was polarizing. You love them or you hated him and backups, how you know you can count of the real thing is you either love him or you hate him.

Perhaps the greatest irony today is that most people in our culture by Jesus boring nobody in the Bible ever found Jesus boring hated him yes but it was full of it. Yes, board member to take a look over the next several weeks as some of the most challenging, divisive things that Jesus ever said these statements are to do two things for us one euro to find some of the most confusing things Jesus said actually answers on the deepest questions that you and I've ever asked about life second to show you exactly where you stand with Jesus you love him or do you hate him. If you pay attention over the next several weeks you'll find there is no third category. There is no cattle like well he's okay you love them, or you're gonna hate them. The first 100 look at is a statement that Jesus made a little girl's death.

You'll find the story Mark chapter 5 the Bible you want to open it. There, but this statement is going to be in Mark five verse 39 Jesus makes it a little girl's death, the father and mother are beside themselves with grief, she's only 12 years old and so Jesus walks into the place where her little body is is lying on the on the bed and he said why are you making the commotion and weeping this child is not dead. She is sleeping and they laughed at him to scorn.

Maybe that statement doesn't seem like that big a deal to you, but just imagine if you're a parent. If that were your little girl or if you are not apparent magical your little sister. I have a girl who was about 12 years old and I think about what it would be like if suddenly she was struck down and out them.

She got hit by a car. She got sick and died in, and how heartbroken I would be admin for you just to walk, Anna, casually cast a glance of the casket got out she not that she's taken a nap. Furthermore, what you can find out in the story is that her parents, blame Jesus for Deb. She Jesus had been on his way to heal her. When he got delayed and because he delayed she died in appearance like walk. Why did you delay when you know she was just hanging on by Fred Jesus, if you really cared. If you really care why would you let this happen. Why when you've gone immediately. Let me ask you if you ever felt that way find yourself looking up at God save if you're actually there. If you really care why would you have changed this may be a concern. The death of somebody that you love throughout my life I've had seasons where I really struggled with faith. I know that I'm a pastor and I'm probably not supposed to admit that at first to tell you that on this, you will see me as a stalwart, board of play. There is no question that all this is not true. There been seasons of my life. I really struggled to believe and usually it's around the back question right there. If Jesus loves us as much as he says he does. Why is the world the way that it is why you let this happen to that person in the story or to see that this mother and father have a choice of whether or not the love Jesus, or to aid him, I beg you to see that you have that exact same choice. There is no third category.

This really is one of the most bizarre encounters. In Jesus life… Go back to the beginning of the story of Lysistrata walk through it.

Verse 22 is where it begins. One of the rulers of the synagogue, which means he's a pretty important guy. His religious ruler gyrus by name came and fell at Jesus feet and implored him earnestly saying my little daughter is the point of death, and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live find out later.

This is his only child. All parents love their kids. Of course, but there's a special bond. They say between daddy and his oldest girl. I think I know that because I have my oldest child is a daughter on these rich so he's hired. I'm sure the best doctors that money can buy, but Dave now told him there's nothing left that they can do that. She's beyond hope that she's probably not going to make it to the end of the day and so in desperation, he thinks Jesus maybe maybe Jesus he's heard about this miracle working healer you see on the whole religious leaders were not that excited about Jesus, we know that we know that probably he had been publicly critical of Jesus. If you would like most religious leaders of that day, but now he's desperate's little girls about the die and so his dad instincts kicked in and he thinks maybe. Maybe Jesus made what if it's true what if he could actually help my little girl so he ran all throughout the town looking for for Jesus asking people. Have you seen Jesus. Finally, he finds him. He falls on his face and probably says something like like like I know, I know that I haven't been the biggest supporter of yours. I know that that I haven't really believed but keep you can do something please my little girl.

She's dying. Please, verse 24 Jesus what women could you imagine for a minute, what gyrus's joy was at this moment Jesus saying I can do something. And yes, I'll come with you next verse, but as they were going a great crowd thronged about him now. Gyrus is fighting through that crowd try to push people out of the way because he's got a get Jesus to his little girl right in that crowd. There was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years. Discharge of blood means that she had a disease that gave her menstrual irregularity in Thursday's Jewish law would consider a person that commission to be perpetually unclean. I know we don't think that way and it seemed very form but that's how they saw back then under Jewish law.

Here is a woman that has not been able to go into the temple into the presence of God for 12 years she's considered unclean, and not only that, but would not touch somebody was unclean, which means she has not been hogged in 12 years. She suffered much under many physicians and it's been all that she had. Maybe she used to be rich which is not anymore. Instead of getting better.

She's got worse.

She also had heard the reports about Jesus. So she came up behind him and the crowd and touched his garment because she had thought if I could just touch his garments will be made well and immediately when she did so, the flow blood dried up, and she felt her body was healed of her disease. But Jesus perceiving in himself the power had gone out from him immediately turned and said to touch my garments and discipling what he may just regards the crowd thronged around here, but it's not your garments what you mean to touch me.

He looked around to see who had done it. The woman knowing what had happened to her came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth, and he said to her daughter daughter by the way, that's the only time he ever uses that terminal the New Testament. It's a word that means precious child. She's the only one who ever gets called this precious daughter, your faith is made you well.

Go in peace, and be healed of your disease, which is an awesome story right for 12 years has been disconnected from God and disconnected from other people who thinks I can just touch his clothes he'll heal me.

Mr. she fights her way through this crowd. She's on hands and knees risking being trampled to death and she finally gets close enough right is coming by and she lays on her on her stomach and she reaches out her hand as he goes by just a brush to him of his garment, and she's healed.

And then Jesus stops and turns around to touch me and and and she should try to slither back in the crowd, but he will let it go. No I know somebody touch me and so she comes forward thinking she's about to be castigated because she had the audacity is an ugly woman to touch a holy man instead of rebuking her because of the most tender time he calls anybody in all the New Testament which is awesome story, but gyrus is like Jesus. My daughter is home struggling with every breath, every second counts. What Jesus was still speaking with this woman.

There came from the rulers how someone who said your daughter just died. Now, could you imagine as a parent what's would have been like to be gyrus of this moment. What Jesus did. Here, by the way could be considered in certain standpoints to be considered to be considered criminal malpractice doctors practice something they call triage in which, in an emergency situation.

You prioritize people who are in critical condition gyrus's daughter is minutes away from death and here you got a woman who has a non-life-threatening diseases she's had for 12 years. Surely she is minutes while he or she can make it another 12 minutes. But Jesus stops engages the woman and while he does gyrus's daughter dies anything gyrus felt, how would you feel you know you know Jesus you know she was hanging on, and you stop some, but it was nonurgent and while you delayed. She died. Would you be confused I would be, would you be angry I would be overhearing what they said. Jesus said the gyrus. Do not fear of only believe became the gyrus's house, Jesus all commotion people weeping and wailing loudly and then that statement because instead of the child is not Deb sleeping and they laughed at him, but he put them outside and took the child's father and mother and those were with him, and when and where the child was taken by the hand he said to her.

Talitha my Talitha is an Aramaic word that means little girl. It's a pet name, which is probably why the translators inputted into Greek elected Merrimack. There is no good translation literally is like saying honey honey to Myers. Not a very strong word.

Either it's a very gentle word that means get on up, get on up. It sees the word they say you try to use when you are browsing someone out of a nap. So in other words, Jesus did not go into this room and say Charles IV set out on her bed but her mother would've took her hand probably stroked her face this whisper to her honey And immediately the girl got up and began walking.

She she was 12 years of age, five. Crucially important things about life and death. Jesus teaches us and that story number one. Jesus, that this is easy to fix his waken somebody up out of a short nap. What scares you most. What scares us most is it not our death made the death of someone that we love you. See what a beautiful picture of death.

This is she the tender details you want to know what it's like for a believer to die just like this little girl Jesus sits by her bedside.

He takes her hand.

When you awake, the first voice that you hear is his first face that you see is his.

He sits there and carries you like your mother. That's what Jesus is showing us here about the death of a believer.

Is he there are two predominant views of death in our culture. The first is that of the what I'll call the secularist man is the person that believes that we are the result of a random collusion of particles emanating out of the Big Bang. If that's true, if that's all there is and will be diets all over the machine just got turned off, which Ron Russell who is one of most famous skeptics and arm yesteryear said that we just got have the courage to embrace that in fact he says this he says don't console yourself with Christmas carols you and everything you love will die the death of the universe. No heroism, no sentimentality can preserve any life beyond the grave.

All our labors all our accomplishments is all destined to extinction in the vast death of our solar system and only when you admit that you ever begin to live life courageously. Now there's an Easter message for your right to see the alternate view is that death is not natural that God made us to be eternal beings and that means there is something not right. There is something foreign. There is something unwelcome about death and that's what terrifies us about death. That's what makes us hate it so badly because it we were created for Sirs my question for you which one resonates more with your heart which you you CS Lewis asked this question does in the fact that we yearn for eternity. Point to the fact that we were created for eternity fish.

He said they still complain about being wet because they were designed for water.

They complain when they're out of the water. That's only flop around that's their version of complaining that the fact that we yearn for eternity so that were designed for another reason we flop around in the face of death because were not designed for that. If I find myself a desire which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation. Lewis says, is that I was made for another world, but this is your heart not to be true. So an interview with the late Steve Jobs, who think his last interview he gave before he died was asked the question by the interviewer. Do you believe in God and he said this could try to jot down his work socialism into it mostly correct or throughout my life. He said I've been unsure. But as I approached death. I find that I do believe in God more and more conversations because of the human body is just a biological machine when it's turned off it's over exhibit that can't be right. I don't want to be right. He said, incidentally, by the way, for interview. So that's why I've never had Mac products that have on-off buttons that are really easily accessible which annoys the heck out of me because I might just turn this thing off, but he says I just like I do like the concept of a machine ever to shutting down. I like it rather just going to sleep your head might tell you one thing, there's a time and place where we can engage or have but I'm just asking asking a question by your heart was your heart know to be true about eternity is Ecclesiastes is a God created you with eternity in your heart. So even when your head says one thing, your heart always tell you the truth in your heart says this is not welcome.

It's not right.

You were created for more number two. Here's the second thing that the story teaches us is that Jesus is the way, is not inconsistent with his life. Jesus delay is not consistent with his love Jarvis could not fathom why Jesus the lady love me if you cared surely you have gotten there in time to help my little girl. Jesus knew that the delay listen to this. He knew the delay would gonna make any real difference because the him death was as easy to fix his waken somebody up out of a short nap would heart a friend raise the dead, and it was for him to heal the sick, and so this little girl's death was of no lasting significance. Just a temporary delay. Now the point of this story is not that if you pray long enough you can escape death on earth. Of course not little girl died again right you not salade day with me.

She died at some point.

The point of this story is to give you a picture of what all of us will experience in the resurrection, and in the resurrection, the joy of what Jesus restores to us will make any pain that we experience from the delay. Now seemed just like a temporary inconvenience like a short nap gyrus in the moment. It felt devastating from cheese slices of the little delay your pain right now feels devastatingly full permanent but I'm telling you when you know Christ. He says even the greatest pain is like a short nap compared to what's coming in eternity. Paul would say this way. Second review supper for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us eternal glory.

Watch this that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Our afflictions are troubles. Paul says matter how bad they seem with them only light and momentary way.

When Paul talks about pain and trouble. He's not talking about JV level pain. Paul knew what extreme loss was like he knew what it was to have loved ones die.

He knew what it was to be betrayed by close friends he know what it meant to lose his job and run for his life but he saying, compared to the weight of joy, eternity, and the length of time in eternity even the worst pain here is light and momentary so it doesn't feel light and momentary little girl is dead. This person is gone. This feels like the darkest chapter of my life I'm showing you that the moment you step foot into eternity and you feel in that moment, the weights of joy and the beauty that God created out of these things you'll see that all this delay was so light and momentary.

It's like one guy said is a a bad night in a cheap hotel is just like waken somebody up out of short nap. Listen, I'm not try to minimize your pain there. Some of you right now at this moment are walking through chapters of your life that I probably can't even fathom.

There should work not try to minimize your pain. I'm trying to maximize Jesus's victory over death and set a date and I'm trying to tell you the weight of glory and the one so far exceeds the pain of the other. The moment you step foot into eternity.

It will seem like a short nap like a temporary delay that was not even there is delay is not inconsistent with his love. Jesus had a plan for gyrus plan for you.

Number three. Jesus both offers more and requires more than you've ever imagined both offers more and requires more than you ever imagined both people. In this story came to Jesus, for one thing, but ended up with something far greater. Jesus required a lot more them and they were expecting. For example, gyrus came to Jesus in need of a healing.

What he got was a resurrection that's that's that's a miracle upgrade is not Jesus required gyrus, not just to believe that he had power to heal.

He required gyrus to trust him in the midst of completely bewildering circumstances, I would expect and that the woman with the issue of blood. She wanted to hit number Jesus did in Denver healing get out get home.

That's what you wanted, she got only got her healing she was called precious daughter. The only person in all the New Testament be called that she got called precious daughter by the son of God, but the cost was that she had to expose yourself to Jesus and publicly profess and before the crowd coming listen, coming to Jesus always offers more and also always cost more than you've ever realized.

I say that because many of you have been drawn to Jesus because of the need of your own maybe to me for forgiveness help of the family that is falling apart. Maybe putting back together.

A life that is been broken maybe need deliverance from an addiction really purpose or meaning. Or maybe you're just afraid of death. What Jesus offers, he was far more than you imagine not only offers you help with your problem.

The authors you bet something better than the solution that you think about problem which is himself a presence that goes with you, not only in this life into eternity. A presence that promises to take every bad thing and weave it for his beautiful plant where he'll make every sad thing, and truth to that, even when you walk in the valley of the shadow of death, you'll be afraid of evil you shall know that God is with you in goodness and mercy is following you all the days of your life an inheritance incorruptible can never be taken away the offers you far more than you have ever dreamed. Yet he requires more than you've ever imagined. Inventors always said if anybody would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me see when you take up your cross. That means you lose any semblance of control you believe you have in your life is when your fashionable cross you're not call the shots anymore. Jesus said that's what it's like to follow me is total trust, total surrender, total denial for training you are willing to make today with the first new series called difficult things in Jesus you're listening to pastor Janie Greer and Senate life here every day on the radio and online@janiegreer.com okay pastor Janie just begun. This new series about some of the difficult things Jesus said during his ministry here and are some of the statements that most shot guests, yet you and Molly for honest all of us have moments that you just find the statements of Jesus in bizarre confusing sometimes just offensive ran what I want to do in the series to show you how some of those most confusing statements are where Jesus reveals some of the most profound truth in it might rub us the wrong way. At first, but he said he's trying to show us something that's wrong in her heart to Roman understanding of the world and I just found such immense depth in some of the most confusing statements of Jesus. Things like judge not lest you be judged or you last will be first, that there's kind statements. What is it mean that Jesus doesn't know that they are the hours that he's gonna your return that only the father knows that I'll commit the Trinity of Jesus.

We got a not noticeable like that, along with the series wretch provide a resource to that that takes us even a step further is called honest questions quick answers and what we've done is we've taken about 20 really tough, theological, ethical leadership questions and answer them in pretty short order with the genesis of this I DF to put together this resource came from a podcast undercoat asked me anything which is were we to stay questions that we get from listeners that we do say I will try to give a coffee-table answer, meaning not like a theological lecture on it. But if I were sitting down with somebody special summary what a Christian coffee mass.

This would be that the way that I would go about answering this so we took some of the best of those with putting together a volume, just honest questions, quick answers, we would love to get you a copy on when you partner with us in the resource we put in your hands. It's a first of its kind.

I'm pretty excited about it and open it. She turns in several of these, but you get the very first one just a JD Greer.com and I reach out some of the this resource thank you partner with us.

Yes. Thanks, Katie your copy at this premium, but just barely staying comes in. I think swinging down the street level at $25 or more. You can get question by calling eight 523 35 that our website Janie Greer.com and Molly, many thanks research… Senate life. Janie