Luke chapter number 8, and we come to the rest of the story that's given to us in Luke 8. Jesus is left out from across the Gadarenes, and he's going back across. They said, we don't want you here. Get out of here. Depart from us. We pray thee to leave. And he gets on the other side, on the other shore. And we pick up in verse number 40. And the Bible says, and it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the opposite thing happened. The people gladly received Him, for they were all waiting for Him. So he's got a different atmosphere over on the other side. Verse number 41, the Bible says, And behold, there came a man named Jarius, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and sought him, that he would come into his house. For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went, the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment, and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude thronged thee and pressed thee, and saith thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him. She declared unto him, Uh, before all the people for what cause she had touched him, excuse me. and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace. While yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, thy daughter is dead, trouble not the master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter and James and John. and the father and the mother of the maiden, and all wept and bewailed her. But he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she rose straightway, and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished, but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. You'll direct your attention back to verse 48 on the phrase that's given there by Jesus, thy faith hath made thee whole. Let's pray, Father in heaven, Lord, we ask you now to help us to see your word, to understand it, Lord, that we might apply it to our hearts and our knowledge, Lord, that we might live by faith and trusting you in every area of our life. Would you give me an unction to preach? Would you be high lifted up? We ask this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Augustine said, Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand. I think he got it right when he said that we are to believe and trust God, and as we believe, God builds our faith. He demonstrates in our heart what faith truly is, and we are strengthened by it. Here in the conclusion of chapter 8, we are given a story, another story, account that interweaves two different things happening, two different people, both dealing with something very significant in their life, but it's all about faith. It's about trusting God and looking to Jesus. We saw what he did across the Sea of Galilee for the men in the tombs and how he delivered them. There was a demonstration of faith earlier on in the chapter. The disciples were looking and they were trying to understand and they had questions about what was going on in that storm. And Jesus asked, they're about halfway through the book, the eighth chapter of Luke. And he said, Jesus asked them, where is your faith? And so as if to put it on full display for them to help grow their own faith, Jesus takes them to the tombs. They see something take place there that is really nothing short of a miraculous, marvelous thing. And then they come back across the sea and Jesus again gives them something to help these disciples to see What faith is because when you step into Chapter 9 right away in the first verse, he's going to gather them together. He's the Bible says he's going to he calls together his 12 disciples and gave them power and authority over all devils to cure diseases and he sends them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And so they're about to go out and do the work of God and he needs them to truly understand what faith is. Aren't you thankful this evening that you came to a saving faith. You came to a faith to understand that God loved you and that he sent his son to die on a cross for you and you accepted that free gift of salvation presented to you through the word of God. But aren't you more thankful that through the years that you've been saved, the days, the weeks, the months, and the years, and perhaps even decades for some of you, that God has demonstrated and grown your faith. He's brought you along and has taught you some things about faith. And you continue to grow even day by day, learning to lean upon Jesus Christ each and every day just a little more. I want to show you three things here in this chapter that I hope will help you strengthen your faith. A simple message, really a reminder for us, but we need to be reminded of what Jesus tells this lady in verse number 48, thy faith hath made thee whole. In every area of our life, whatever we're faced against, whatever trial, whatever temptation, whatever circumstances before us, we can, by faith, Be made whole and trusting and leaning upon the Lord. The African Impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a three foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us. We see, first of all, there was hope. Each of these people, the man, Jairus is his name. Sometimes I call him Jarius, but it's Jairus. Jairus, and then this woman who had an issue of blood, both of them, there was hope for them. They came because there was hope. And I want you to look at a few different verses here in a particular word. Look at verse number 41. Bible says, and behold, there came, verse 41, there came a man. Look at verse 44, came behind him, talking about the woman there that came with the issue of blood. Verse 47, when the woman saw that she was not hit, she came trembling and falling down before him. And then verse 51, Jesus, the Bible says, and when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in. I want to think about that word tonight and kind of make that the word that we're building upon, faith. is a reaction. We lean upon the Lord. We trust in the Lord for something we can't see. These people came to God. They enacted their faith before they arrived at Jesus' feet. You and I, before we get to the throne room in prayer, we're coming there by faith, knowing that when we get there and petition before the Lord, we have come there already by faith, so we continue on in faith, trusting God to answer our prayers. Some Christians, I believe, they come by faith and then they quit by fear. before they get to see God answer their prayers. Mark 10, the Bible tells us, for even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. I'm thankful this evening that Jesus Christ came to us before we needed Him, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for our sins. I'm thankful that the Word can be found here because it demonstrates to us that faith is something that is built every day. We have to live in faith of a past and in our faith of what's ahead of us in our future. By faith, we will venture into tomorrow. Our nation has been in turmoil, quite frankly. It's been facing a lot of troubles. And we have made it through the years gone by by faith. And what's ahead of us, regardless of how bad it gets or how good it is, we're going to keep marching on by faith. I'm thankful the Bible tells us that Jesus came to us beforehand. Matter of fact, in John 61, he said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. He said in Luke 5, they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I'm thankful this evening that Jesus came, because Jesus came, we are offered hope in Him. These came to Jesus by faith before they arrived at Him. They came on the scene trusting that He had what they needed. Jairus came while his daughter was taking her last breath. How many would leave our loved ones bedside right at the last moment of their life? In Matthew, this account is given to us. And the words are said, she is dead already. That's what Jairus said to Jesus, she is dead already. In the book of Mark, he words it this way, she is at the point of death. In other words, when Jairus left the bedside of his only daughter, who she was at the point of death, he knew this is it, she's dying. And yet he chose to walk away and he came to the feet of Jesus. Why would a man leave away from his loved one to go to the feet of Jesus knowing that in any second she's going to die? Why? Because he had a hope in Jesus alone. This woman who has an issue of blood, the Bible said that she had spent all her living there in verse 43, and a woman having an issue of blood 12 years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any. You would think that a woman who has gone to every medical professional that she could find and spent every penny that she had, all her living, you would think she was probably a little bit weary. But she still came to Jesus and she was doing it knowing that it would cause her great trouble because as a woman with an issue of blood, she was not to come near anybody. She was not to touch anything. She was not to touch anybody or especially a garment because that would make him unclean. And yet she came to him because she had a hope in Jesus. And I remind you and I tonight that our hope is in the Lord for salvation. But our hope is in the Lord for all things in our life. We have to come to Jesus knowing that he's been before us and he came to seek and to save that which are lost. And he came to help us and he is the living bread. He came to give us life and to give us strength. What Jesus offered them went beyond what they were able to achieve on their own. It surpassed their ability. I remind you what Jesus said in 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, Paul was speaking and he said, unless I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelation that was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure for this I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And Jesus said, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, Paul says, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasures in affirmities, and reproaches, and necessities, and persecutions, and distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. These two have come to Jesus in their weakest point, at their breaking point. She had lost all her living. Matter of fact, the words that are given there concerning using all her living is the same thing you'll find a few chapters later in the parable of the prodigal son when the brother comes back and the other brother makes a reference to he had squandered all his living. She had literally given everything, even that which would give her bread and water, she had given. All hope was lost in the world, and yet there was hope to be found in the Savior. See, you and I tonight can be reminded that there is hope when we come to the Lord. We're gathered tonight on a Wednesday night because we believe there is hope in Jesus. We find the strength we need in Jesus. I'm grateful that I can hope in the Lord tonight. Hebrews 11 tells us now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, but it's the next verse that really helps us to understand that we must continue on day by day in faith. Verse number two of Hebrews 11 says, For by it the elders obtained a good report. You know what that one word tells me, the word elders? It tells me that there is a lifetime of trials and troubles and only after living a lifetime do we really strengthen our faith to the point where we can walk by it every single day knowing and trusting that Jesus will be there for us today just as he was 10, 20, 30 years ago. I'm grateful that we can have a hope like that. I have a hope in the Word of God because the Bible tells us back in 2 Chronicles 16 that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward them. we could have a hope in the Lord. That's what this passage of scripture demonstrates for us. And it was for his disciples. Jesus was preparing his disciples to go forth into the world and to do miraculous and marvelous things. But he needed them to understand that although he's going to give them all power and authority over all devils and cure diseases, he was giving them this great authority. He needed them to be steadfast in their faith because when they begin to do the work of the Lord, there was going to be great troubles and trials to come their way. And you and I need to be reminded tonight that there is hope in the Lord because as we go forth and we tell others about Jesus, there's going to come things that shake us to our core. We need to have a hope in Jesus alone, one that would allow us to step aside from the bedside of a loved one who's at the very literal last minutes. Before he gets back, she has passed on. She has died where she laid. And yet he trusted God enough to go to Jesus in the midst of that trouble. So we find, first of all, there was a hope. These people came because there was a hope. They had faith in Jesus. Their hope was built upon him. Secondly, we find that there was a humbling. Jairus, there I go again, Jairus bowed down and worshiped Jesus in verse 41. It was especially humbling because of his religious position. The Bible says right there in verse 41 that he was a ruler of the synagogue. You understand that he was the synagogue. They, at this point, they despised Jesus. They were worried because Jesus was pulling all their religious people, all their members of their church, if we can put it that way. He was pulling them away, and they despised him. But here he comes, the ruler of the synagogue, and he bows down, the Bible says, in verse a number, In 41, it says that he fell down at Jesus' feet and besought him that he would come into his house. In the other gospels, it says that he bowed down and worshiped him. Jairus comes and bows down, he humbles himself before the only one who could help him. And Frank, can I remind you that when we act in faith and we live by faith and we put our hope in Jesus, we must also be humble before Jesus. The woman was discovered after she came and touched the garment. The Bible tells us in the other Gospels that she thought within herself, if I could just but touch his garment, I'll be healed. And so she comes in behind him, the Bible says in verse 44, came behind him and touched the border of his garment, immediately her issue of blood was stanched. And then look at verse 47, the Bible says, and when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him. She declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. What a humbling experience for her. It was already enough on her that she had this issue of blood and that she was supposed to be withdrawn. Anything she touched was unclean. Anything, she was supposed to be withdrawn from the last moment that she had an issue of blood. She was supposed to be withdrawn for seven days according to Leviticus 15. And here she is, she comes in, touches the board of Jesus, knowing the virtue that his strength has gone out from him, turns around. The other gospels say he looked right at her. That's why she knew she was uncovered. I mean, he was looking directly at her. He knew who touched her, and she had to humble herself and admit her position and why she came and touched there, trembling and fearing, the Bible says. What a humbling experience for this woman. But you know what? It's by becoming humble that we are able to see by faith the power of God in our lives. That's what 1 Peter 5 tells us. Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. For Jairus, it's an incredible thing that he has had to come and bow down at the feet of Jesus because he is the ruler of the synagogue. But in due time, God is going to use that to raise him up. And can you imagine the testimony that he now has as he stands before those who hate Jesus, who crucify Jesus, and he has to say, well, wait a minute, I can't partake in that. Matter of fact, I have a love for that man because he touched my daughter and he gave her life. for the same thing happens to that woman. She's lived in this place all her life, but now for 12 years, not all her life, but for 12 years, and finally, she is freed from the stigma. She is freed from the separation. She is finally going to experience, matter of fact, Jesus turns to her in verse number 48, and he says, be of good comfort and go in peace. Two things that she has longed to hear for 12 years. I go through trials and every hour is agonizing. I go through troubles. I get a little pain and it seems like I'm just, it consumes me. Can you imagine 12 years of suffering this kind of thing? It's a separation. She's gone to every doctor and every doctor has told her the same thing. There is no hope. but now she's humbled herself and fallen before Jesus. The Bible tells us in James 4, but he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the humble. I'm thankful this evening that our God will give us more grace when we're humble before him. Jesus tells us, the Bible tells us in Hebrews 4 16, let us therefore come boldly into the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Faith is always found at the knee of the humble. Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace. Some of us must come to a place of humbling ourselves, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. We so often think of them as having great faith, but they had to walk through the furnace to demonstrate that faith, to solidify it in their hearts. And you and I must as well go through things, but we can know this, that there is hope with our Lord by faith Verse 48, thy faith hath made thee whole. By faith we are made whole in our circumstances. Thirdly and lastly tonight, we find that there was help. In verse 48, we find the help for the lady with the issue of blood. In verse 55, we find the help for Jairus. But we have one thing that is certain in our life. When we walk by faith, we will always have help. Verse 48, she heard the words, daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace. Help came. It took 12 years, it was agonizing, there was separation there, but help came. You see, you and I, when we walk by faith, we have a promise that help is always with us. The Bible says that he'll never leave us nor forsake us. And if we faint not, then we will see the reward for our walk. It's required of stewards that we be found faithful. We are to walk trusting in God, putting and placing our hope in the Lord, being humble, and knowing that our help is ever present with us. Isn't it comforting tonight to be reminded here of this story? We're reminded that our Lord is there. He's with us. He'll help us. He'll keep us. He'll strengthen us along the way. And we can, even when things have completely come to their end, whether it's financially everything's lost and every physical helper, every physician cannot find an answer for our problems, we still have a help in the Lord. Or whether even our own loved ones have, they're dead. They can't live again. It's not possible. And yet Jesus raises them up. You know, that alone gives me hope. It gives me hope for those family members that are far off into sin, that it would seem as though there's no possible way they'll ever rise from the dead. But Jesus provides the help. and raises him up. That's what Psalms 46 tells us. It says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof? Selah. We get an understanding from Psalms 46 just exactly what it is when Jesus gave the example of the, with a grain as a grain of mustard seed. If we had the faith of the grain of mustard seed, we'd say into that mountain to move yonder and then move into the sea. Psalm 46 tells us though all things should shake, though all things should roar, though every trouble come your way, He is a very present help in trouble. I'm thankful to know tonight, be reminded that Jesus Christ is a very present help in trouble. Faith in God makes great optimists. Over in Burma, which is Myanmar, over in Burma, Judson was lying in a foul jail with 32 pounds of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen with a sneer on his face? His instant reply was, the prospects are just as bright as the promises of God. We have a faith in Christ and therefore we have a hope in all things. We also have a help in every area if we remain humble before our God. And I'll end with this because it's worth noting, I believe that in the passage we just read, from verse number 40 all the way through the end of the chapter, verse 56, there's a greater story hidden in the underlying of the faith in each of these individuals, one in which a family is restored after 12 years. The Bible tells us that this is a woman who had an issue of blood 12 years. It tells us of a man who has a daughter who is about 12 years old, who's dying. And as I read this pages, now this is just my personal opinion amending this together. I believe it to be something greater than just a healing and a resurrecting of this dead girl. I believe as I look at this, this chapter that Jesus Christ was bringing together something that had been broken for more than a decade. When you look at the Bible, it tells us in verse number 51, after these people, he heals, first of all, the lady who was not allowed to come in. She was not allowed to dwell where the people dwelt. She, by Leviticus 15, you can go look at that later from verse 19 through verse 20 in Leviticus 15, the instruction is given concerning someone with an issue of blood. And this seems to be an issue of blood that comes from having a child. And anyway, she would be separated. She would be put away. So the Bible mentions that she had a living. She was given a living up. Somebody who had an issue of blood would not be able to work a job. They would have had to have been given a living and it would have come from whoever she was married to before. Then you see how the Bible plays out, and you get down to verse 51. The Bible says, in verse 49, when the man came from Jairus' household, and he came, and he says, don't trouble him anymore. The daughter's dead. The Bible says in verse 15, Jesus heard it and answered and said, fear not, believe only and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in save Peter and James and John and the father and the mother of the maiden. Interestingly enough, it mentions that the father and the mother, we know the father's not there because he went to Jesus, but I cannot imagine that there as his daughter has just died, that the mother would not be sitting there holding tightly to her daughter who has passed away, being the only parent there because Jairus had run off to Jesus to go seek help. And yet she's outside the room and Jesus is going to bring them in. They're going to go in, the Bible says, into where the girl lays in verse 54. And he put them all out and took her by the hand. In the other Gospels, it tells us they go into the room where she's laying. But he takes in this mother and the father and he brings her back to life. Verse 56, and her parents were astonished. They charged them that they should tell no man what was done. I believe what takes place here, because God doesn't do things without purpose and reason. It just so happens that there's two issues of 12 years. One, an issue of blood, and one of a 12-year-old girl who's died. And I believe, just in my own personal opinion, that what is given here is a great demonstration of two people's faith, trusting God, but also a restoration, restoring something that was broken apart. that has been a great burden in their life. Either way, what we find in this chapter, the conclusion of this chapter, is a demonstration of keeping our faith in the Lord no matter how long it takes. We can find our help, a very present help, in a time of trouble. We can trust the Lord and have our faith strengthened. Jesus tells us, God tells us in his word, Philippians 4, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Do you build your faith up? Are you building your faith up? Are you just resting in salvation alone? What will you do with the word of God?