PEACE IN THE STORMS OF OUR LIFE

TO SURVIVE..WE MUST KNOW THAT JESUS IS ON BOARD (IN OUR SHIP)

Mark 4:35-4:41
 
 It is fascinating to hear stories of people who have survived tragic events. Someone makes it out alive of a landslide. Someone survives a crash. Someone survives after days at sea. We are never promised to come out alive, but we can know survival in our hearts if we trust Jesus. There is spiritual survival for the believer. How can we survive in the storms of life?

The disciples were told to go over to the other side in Mark 4:35. Jesus was with them in the ship. They did not know, but their survival was due to the fact of the presence of Jesus in their vessel. How can we experience peace in the storms?
The answer is simple, we must have Jesus on board.

Many people are uncomfortable with Jesus in their ship. Many people want to run their own ship. They don’t want to answer to the Captain, they don’t want to take orders, they want to be at the helm and
chart their own course. SURVIVAL......HOW CAN WE SURVIVE in the year 2001? How can we endure
through the storms of this new year? How can we survive the temptations to quit our faith? How can we survive the pressures of everyday life? How can we survive in a stormy marriage? How can we survive criticism? How can we survive the bad news we will get this year? If YOU ARE hoping to go through life without pressure, without criticism, without
temptations, without bad news, without tragedy, then you are living on FANTASY ISLAND.

TO SURVIVE.....WE MUST KNOW THAT JESUS IS ON BOARD OUR SHIP.
I hope every person has ask Jesus to be the captain of their lives.
There are numerous ADVANTAGES OF HAVING JESUS ON BOARD!!!!

1) We are given a sense of direction and purpose to our lives.
“v.35 “let us go......other side”

Many people live day by day with no sense of purpose....Why am I here? Where am I going? Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good.....called according to his purpose.” Jesus gave the disciples directions. We can look in the Bible and we can see
that God has given us directions, a purpose for living. We have a purpose as a body of believers here in this community. We are to be a light for Jesus. We are to be an encouragement to one another. WE HAVE PURPOSE. In Jesus, I know why I’m here!


2) With Jesus on board, we are not only given a sense of direction, we are given the Assurance of Eternal Life.
No matter what was going to happen, Jesus’ message to the disciples were that they were going to the other side. In Jesus we have assurance that we are going to the other side. We are saved for all eternity. Not only is Jesus the Captain to give us a sense of direction, Jesus is also the anchor of our ship. He is the anchor that holds.

See Hebrews 6:19-20 Jesus is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, an which enters into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus”

“In New Testament times, they say the harbors of some cities would have a sand bar just outside the harbor. If a boat got there when the tide was out, it couldn’t get into the harbor. They would just take the anchor and throw it over into the harbor. It really didn’t
matter if the winds came and beat against the boat, because they understood that when the tide came in, the ship would follow the anchor right on into the harbor.
Jesus is our anchor. Jesus is in heaven, and if you are saved, you are going to heaven one of these days because Jesus is there. The anchor is the guarantee that one of these days the ship is going on into the harbor.”
2Timothy 1:12 “I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him”....We are kept by the power of God.
When we think of a storm, we must think about Noah. What a storm he had to deal with. Noah did not have to worry about falling out of the Boat. The Bible says “God shut them in.” I’m sure with all the waves, Noah must have fell down many times in the Ark.
Although he fell down, he never fell out. He was safe and secure in the Ark. We may get bumps, bruises, scrapes along the way, but our salvation is eternally secured. Jesus is our anchor.

With Jesus on board, we are given a sense of direction.
With Jesus on board, we are given the assurance of eternal life.

3. With Jesus on board, we are given stability in the unexpectant crisis of life.
Notice v.37 the storm came up suddenly. On the Sea of Galilee, cold air would come down from the hills which surround this huge body of water. The hot air rising would collide and immediately a storm would develop. Our storms can be a financial storm, a
business storm, a relationship storm, a storm of illness. News of a sudden death can come in one phone call. One phone call, and a loved one has unexpectantly died. The bad news from a doctor of a terminal illness. Suddenly, your whole life is turned upside down.
Notice, just because Jesus is in the ship, doesn’t mean no STORM will come. Many Christians wrongly think storms are only for unbelievers. That’s not true.
You can be in the very center of the will of God, and be going through a cyclone, or a hurricane of all kind of troubles. Disobedience can bring on a storm. Just look at Jonah. But so often storms are a way for God to make us stronger.

Jesus rises up and calms the wind....the storm ceases. The main storm Jesus was concerned about was the storm of fear in the hearts of his disciples. That’s the storm we are really talking about. We don’t have to look at the circumstances, we can just look to
the Lord Jesus. Fear is looking at the storm. Faith is looking at the Saviour.
Fear is looking at the circumstances, but Faith is looking at God.

Note....v.39 “and he arose.....” Jesus did not sink...He arose above the storm. When Jesus is recognized as Saviour and Lord in our ship, we can be sure of one thing... We are not going under, we are going above...We will rise above the circumstances of
life and experience peace.


4. When Jesus is on board, we are given a greater appreciation of Who this Jesus Is.
see v.41 “What manner of man is this,....”

We come to appreciate something of the magnitude and the awesome power of our Lord God!
Psalm 107:24 tells us that in the deep waters we see God’s power at work.
Only God knows what we will face this coming year. You and I can be assured of His peace.
Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We can experience peace in the storm because with Jesus in our ship we are given
1) a sense of purpose and direction
2) an assurance of eternal life
3) stability in the unexpectant crisis that come
4) a deeper appreciation of Who our God Really is

YOUR BROTHER WILL RISE AGAIN

 LAZARUS SICKNESS AND DEATH

  John 11:17-17:27
Why was Lazarus sick? Why did Jesus wait two days after hearing Lazarus was sick? Why did Lazarus have to die? The questions are endless.

And so are the questions we often have as we go through our own type of difficulty and dillema. The "whys" of life can drive you crazy.

Before us today is a look at "Personal Crisis." By that I mean personal trouble. We watch the news, and we’re troubled. We read the newspaper, and we’re troubled. But when the trouble comes to our own house, we are not only troubled, but often we’re terrified!

This is a Personal Crisis. But we’re also looking at "Personal Christianity." It’s about your personal commitment to and trust in Christ. What we are in Christ will be revealed in the midst of a personal crisis. A PERSONAL CRISIS WILL TEST YOUR PERSONAL CHRISTIANITY.

Understand that Jesus loved Lazarus. The Bible is very clear on that. Jesus loved him, but Lazarus was sick! You can be a saint and still be sick! That’s pretty clear in the scriptures. The love of God does not exempt one from sickness, nor sorrow.

Sickness, in the context we’ll use it, could be a number of things. Physical, emotional, mental, family problems, and so on. Sickness can be termed as "that which causes any area to be infected with imperfection." (The human nature is infected with sin. We are SIN-SICK.)

Yet knowing that God loves us, should serve as a sustaining force that gives us hope! Yet, hope is hard to have when "your brother is dead." When Jesus showed up, Lazarus had been dead and in the grave for 4 days. There may be an area in your life, which you were hoping would recover, that has "died." It seems hopeless.

The word of the Lord to you today is: YOUR BROTHER WILL RISE AGAIN! You have not seen the last of your brother. Sometimes God will wait and bring deliverance on the far side of disappointment. Sometimes, you have to have faith after the funeral. After you’ve written it off. After you inwardly feel that it will not get better. you have to have an "after-the-funeral-faith."

And the hope for your situation does not depend on the "Jews" who are standing around your situation. It is dependent upon Jesus Christ alone! And there are sevral things that I want to share that can serve to give you hope in Christ.

1. THE CONTROL OF CHRIST - V. 4 says that Christ knew what was going to happen, and He knew why. The same is true in your life: Jesus is in CONTROL.

2. THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST - V. 27 says that you must believe in Who Christ is. A personal crisis requires a personal faith, and that faith is founded on the character of Christ.

3. THE CONCERN OF CHRIST - V. 33-34 - Jesus sees every tear, and He doesn’t turn a deaf ear to your cry. He is concerned about you and your situation. Christ will, however, take you back to the place where you gave up hope - "Show me where you laid him down."

4. THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST - V. 35-36 - Some people may be uncomfortable with a God who cries, but it serves to draw you closer to Him, knowing that He is "touched with the feeling of your infirmity." The picture is of "THE CRYING CHRIST." He weeps. He weeps for you, and for the situation you’ve had to lay in the ground.

(Just a note on v. 37 - Disregard those who want to criticize Christ.)

5. THE COMMAND OF CHRIST - V. 39 - Many times we try to distance ourselves from the problem, refusing to deal with it, and deny its reality. We can become hard, stone-cold, and callused to the problem. We can get bitter toward the situation, toward life, and even toward God. Jesus says, "Take away the stone." He really says, "Let me into the situation, and let me handle it the way I want to." (And don’t let the "stink" stop you!)

6. THE CALL OF CHRIST - V. 43-44 - When they opened up the situation to Christ, the deliverance they had hoped for began to flow. When the cry came forth, it was Christ speaking DIRECTLY to Lazarus. God is about to speak DIRECTLY to some things that have had His people bound in grief!

You have to believe that YOUR BROTHER WILL RISE AGAIN!

And when God raises those dead areas back up, look what it does, or what it should do.....

7. THE COMMUNION WITH CHRIST - In John 12:1-2, we see Jesus having restored fellowship with Lazarus and his family. When God brings deliverance, it’s for the purpose of renewing our communion with Him. Our communion with Christ should deepen after He brings deliverance.

Draw close to Him even now. Believe Him. Trust Him. And I believe His words will prove to be true.

YOUR BROTHER WILL RISE AGAIN!

HOPE AND WAITING FOR GOD TO ACT

HOPE


John 11:1- 45

"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him;" John 11:1-45.

PROPHECIES THAT JESUS FULLFILLED

Prophecies Jesus Christ Fulfilled

  Prophecy Fulfilled

The crucifixion was prophesied in Scripture 1,000 years before Jesus Christ was born.

The books of the Old Testament contain many passages about the Messiah—all prophecies Jesus Christ fulfilled. For instance, the crucifixion of Jesus was foretold in Psalm 22:16-18 approximately 1,000 years before Christ was born, long before this method of execution was even practiced. Some Bible scholars suggest there are more than 300 prophetic Scriptures completed in the life of Jesus.
Although this list is not exhaustive, you'll find 44 messianic predictions clearly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, along with supporting references from the Old and New Testament.

44 Prophecies That Jesus Fulfilled

	Prophecies About Jesus	Old Testament Scripture	New Testament Fulfillment
1	Messiah would be born of a woman.	Genesis 3:15	Matthew 1:20 Galatians 4:4
2	Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.	Micah 5:2	Matthew 2:1 Luke 2:4-6
3	Messiah would be born of a virgin.	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 1:26-31
4	Messiah would come from the line of Abraham.	Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18	Matthew 1:1 Romans 9:5
5	Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac.	Genesis 17:19 Genesis 21:12	Luke 3:34
6	Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob.	Numbers 24:17	Matthew 1:2
7	Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah.	Genesis 49:10	Luke 3:33 Hebrews 7:14
8	Messiah would be heir to King David's throne.	2 Samuel 7:12-13 Isaiah 9:7	Luke 1:32-33 Romans 1:3
9	Messiah's throne will be anointed and eternal.	Psalm 45:6-7 Daniel 2:44	Luke 1:33 Hebrews 1:8-12
10	Messiah would be called Immanuel.	Isaiah 7:14	Matthew 1:23
11	Messiah would spend a season in Egypt.	Hosea 11:1	Matthew 2:14-15
12	A massacre of children would happen at Messiah's birthplace.	Jeremiah 31:15	Matthew 2:16-18
13	A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah	Isaiah 40:3-5	Luke 3:3-6
14	Messiah would be rejected by his own people.	Psalm 69:8 Isaiah 53:3	John 1:11 John 7:5
15	Messiah would be a prophet.	Deuteronomy 18:15	Acts 3:20-22
16	Messiah would be preceded by Elijah.	Malachi 4:5-6	Matthew 11:13-14
17	Messiah would be declared the Son of God.	Psalm 2:7	Matthew 3:16-17
18	Messiah would be called a Nazarene.	Isaiah 11:1	Matthew 2:23
19	Messiah would bring light to Galilee.	Isaiah 9:1-2	Matthew 4:13-16
20	Messiah would speak in parables.	Psalm 78:2-4 Isaiah 6:9-10	Matthew 13:10-15, 34-35
21	Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted.	Isaiah 61:1-2	Luke 4:18-19
22	Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.	Psalm 110:4	Hebrews 5:5-6
23	Messiah would be called King.	Psalm 2:6 Zechariah 9:9	Matthew 27:37 Mark 11:7-11
24	Messiah would be praised by little children.	Psalm 8:2	Matthew 21:16
25	Messiah would be betrayed.	Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13	Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16
26	Messiah's price money would be used to buy a potter's field.	Zechariah 11:12-13	Matthew 27:9-10
27	Messiah would be falsely accused.	Psalm 35:11	Mark 14:57-58
28	Messiah would be silent before his accusers.	Isaiah 53:7	Mark 15:4-5
29	Messiah would be spat upon and struck.	Isaiah 50:6	Matthew 26:67
30	Messiah would be hated without cause.	Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4	John 15:24-25
31	Messiah would be crucified with criminals.	Isaiah 53:12	Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28
32	Messiah would be given vinegar to drink.	Psalm 69:21	Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30
33	Messiah's hands and feet would be pierced.	Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10	John 20:25-27
34	Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed.	Psalm 22:7-8	Luke 23:35
35	Soldiers would gamble for Messiah's garments.	Psalm 22:18	Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36
36	Messiah's bones would not be broken.	Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20	John 19:33-36
37	Messiah would be forsaken by God.	Psalm 22:1	Matthew 27:46
38	Messiah would pray for his enemies.	Psalm 109:4	Luke 23:34
39	Soldiers would pierce Messiah's side.	Zechariah 12:10	John 19:34
40	Messiah would be buried with the rich.	Isaiah 53:9	Matthew 27:57-60
41	Messiah would resurrect from the dead.	Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15	Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32
42	Messiah would ascend to heaven.	Psalm 24:7-10	Mark 16:19 Luke 24:51
43	Messiah would be seated at God's right hand.	Psalm 68:18 Psalm 110:1	Mark 16:19 Matthew 22:44
44	Messiah would be a sacrifice for sin.	Isaiah 53:5-12	Romans 5:6-8

THE MIRACLES OF JESUS

The Miracles of Jesus
#	Miracle	Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
1	Jesus Turns Water into Wine				2:1-11
2	Jesus Heals an Official's Son				4:43-54
3	Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit		1:21-27	4:31-36
4	Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-Law	8:14-15	1:29-31	4:38-39
5	Jesus Heals Many Sick at Evening	8:16-17	1:32-34	4:40-41
6	First Miraculous Catch of Fish			5:1-11
7	Jesus Cleanses a Man With Leprosy	8:1-4	1:40-45	5:12-14
8	Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant	8:5-13		7:1-10
9	Jesus Heals a Paralytic	9:1-8	2:1-12	5:17-12
10	Jesus Heals a Man's Withered Hand	12:9-14	3:1-6	6:6-11
11	Jesus Raises a Widow's Son in Nain			7:11-17
12	Jesus Calms a Storm	8:23-27	4:35-41	8:22-25
13	Jesus Casts Demons into a Herd of Pigs	8:28-33	5:1-20	8:26-39
14	Jesus Heals a Woman in the Crowd	9:20-22	5:25-34	8:42-48
15	Jesus Raises Jairus' Daughter to Life	9:18, 23-26	5:21-24, 35-43	8:40-42, 49-56
16	Jesus Heals Two Blind Men	9:27-31
17	Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak	9:32-34
18	Jesus Heals an Invalid at Bethesda				5:1-15
19	Jesus Feeds 5,000	14:13-21	6:30-44	9:10-17	6:1-15
20	Jesus Walks on Water	14:22-33	6:45-52		6:16-21
21	Jesus Heals Many Sick in Gennesaret	14:34-36	6:53-56
22	Jesus Heals a Gentile Woman's Demon-Possessed Daughter	5:21-28	7:24-30
23	Jesus Heals a Deaf and Dumb Man		7:31-37
24	Jesus Feeds 4,000	15:32-39	8:1-13
25	Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida		8:22-26
26	Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind				9:1-12
27	Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon	17:14-20	9:14-29	9:37-43
28	Miraculous Temple Tax in a Fish's Mouth	17:24-27
29	Jesus Heals a Blind, Mute Demoniac	12:22-23		11:14-23
30	Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman			13:10-17
31	Jesus Heals a Man With Dropsy on the Sabbath			14:1-6
32	Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers			17:11-19
33	Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead				11:1-45
34	Jesus Restores Sight to Bartimaeus	20:29-34	10:46-52	18:35-43
35	Jesus Withers the Fig Tree	21:18:22	11:12-14
36	Jesus Heals a Servant's Severed Ear			22:50-51
37	Second Miraculous Catch of Fish				21:4-11

SERMON ON MIRACLES OF JESUS

Jesus' miracles reveal his identity

First, Jesus' miracles reveal his identity.

This is the big theme controlling Luke's organization of the material. In the disciples' words of verse 25, Who is this?

Ironically, the demons were in no doubt. In verse 28, they call him, Jesus, Son of the Most High God 

And the Gentile former demoniac seemed pretty clear. Look at the lovely parallel in verse 39. Jesus tells him, Return home and tell how much God has done for you. So the man went away and told all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.

In short, Jesus does things that only God can do.

Psalm 89 says, O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.

King Canute, the 11th century king, got this. In the famous story, Canute set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt and not wet his feet and robes; but the tide failed to stop. Canute leaped backwards and said "Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws." He then hung his gold crown on a crucifix, and never wore it again. God created those eternal laws; only he can subvert them to perform miracles.

Similarly, who else in the entire history of the world has been able to order demons around, able to heal at a touch, or able to restore life with a word?

Only God can do these things. The miracles of Jesus reveal his deity. He is God in human form.

Jesus' miracles reveal God's kingdom

Second, Jesus' miracles reveal God's kingdom.

To demonstrate his mastery over all of creation, Jesus could have done it by destroying: how spectacular it would have been if he'd commanded a volcano to erupt, or an asteroid to smash into the temple. How spectacular if he'd sent the Roman army mad with demons. How spectacular to inflict boils on all the Pharisees. How spectacular to strike Pontius Pilate down with a word.

But Jesus' miracles have no whiff of the destructive about them. In every case he chooses to bring order instead of chaos, he chooses to heal instead of harm.

In this way he shows us what God's kingdom is like.

You see, the creation we live in is like a wonderful, bright painting that has been obscured by a think layer of dirt and grime. We can just about make out the underlying picture, but it is faint, and our world is full, not of brightness, but darkness and evil.

What Jesus does in these miracles is punch a few holes through the grime so that we can see a speck of the glorious picture underneath. In Jesus' miracles, we catch a glimpse of creation ordered, so that never again will 200,000 people perish in an earthquake. We catch a glimpse of evil banished forever. We catch a glimpse of a world where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

For now, it is only a glimpse. The miracles are down-payment and guarantee of Jesus' promise to return and bring the kingdom in full; to wipe away all the grime and restore the picture in all its glory. He can do it; he will do it.

Those who receive the miracles

The third observation I want to make is about those who receive the miracles.

In each of the cases we've seen, the recipients were desperate. There was no human means by which they could be helped. They had reached the end of the road: Jesus was the only hope they had left.

This applies equally to the disciples about to drown, the helpless man possessed by a legion of demons, the bleeding woman whom no-one could heal, the grieving father whose daughter was dying. All were desperate, they had nowhere else to turn.

So we learn that Jesus helps the desperate.

But it's not enough simply to be desperate. The other thing they have in common is that all of them came to Jesus. The disciples may not have had much faith, but they had enough to make them wake their Master. Even the demon-possessed man came to Jesus: apparently enough sanity prevailed that he came out of the tombs to meet Jesus on the shore. The woman forced her way through the crowd just to touch him. Jairus fell at Jesus' feet and pleaded with him to come.

These miracles were done for desperate people who cast themselves on Jesus as their only hope.

It's worth noticing that these seem to be the only important qualifications. In other respects, the recipients are a thoroughly mixed bunch: from Jesus' close friends, to a Gentile man, to a poor unclean woman, to a prominent leader of the synagogue. Jesus doesn't discriminate according to who you are: anyone can be desperate; anyone can come to him.

SERMON ON MIRACLES OF JESUS

Power over Sickness

Luke 8:40–56

First there is Jairus, who falls at Jesus' feet, begging him to come and heal his twelve-year-old daughter, who is on the verge of death.

But Jairus will have to wait! This scene belongs to a poor sick woman who has her own reason for desperation. She has been bleeding for 12 years: according to the law, this makes her ceremonially unclean; effectively excluded from all religious life. She is helpless and powerless, no-one can cure her.

Only, she's heard about this man who heals. She dares to fight her way through the crushing crowd and merely touch his cloak. She's not bold enough to demand his attention. She believes, and desperately hopes that a touch will be enough.

But Jesus notices. He feels the healing power flow from him: despite the crush of people, and the urgency of his journey, he knows that a desperate soul has made contact with him.

So he stops: he makes sure that everyone knows this woman is healed; she is no longer unclean. And he makes sure that they know that it is his power that has done it.

Jesus has power over sickness.

Power over Death

In scene four, we're back with Jairus. While Jesus delayed, his daughter has died. Jesus may have power over sickness, but no-one has power over death. For this little girl it's too late.

I think Jesus' delay was deliberate, just as in John's gospel, when he hears that his friend Lazarus is sick and close to death, he deliberately stays away for two more days so that Lazarus dies.

In this little sequence of power-plays, there is no value in showing once again that he has power over sickness. Jesus is going for the big one. He has power over death itself.

So, to everyone's incredulity, Jesus presses on. And with a mere two words of Aramaic, he brings this little girl back to life.

Nothing and no-one on Earth has power over death, yet for Jesus it is effortless.

So there we have four scenes of desperation, and four demonstrations of power. If I were the kind of man to use alliteration, I would say that Jesus demonstrated power over destruction, demons, disease and death. In these scenes we see Jesus exercising power in every sphere of fallen creation.