A little inside joke between me and Brother Marty this morning. He loves his boss man. Well, we're on number two, the scornful spectators. Of course, talking about when Jesus healed Jairus' daughter. Does anybody need an outline for three? But if four needs one, Anybody else need a napkin? Ms. Sarah, is that right? OK, Ms. Sarah needs one. Brother, don't hurt your neck there, Brother Eddie. Three, we got three. Oh, I didn't see her hand. OK, excuse me, Ms. Sylvia. All right, we'll go ahead and get started. We're at the point now, Jairus has come to see Jesus, they've gone, and now they are back to Jairus' house. And verses 43-43 there in the scripture, we've already read that. So there's already a crowd there and of course, you know with a well-known person in the community Probably a lot of people at what they are considering is going to be a funeral Probably have some friends and family grieving people there again attracted by his position and then You may even have some professional mourners which was common in that day with somebody that was well respected. They thought it looked better for the family to make sure they had enough people mourning the lost. But we do know this, we don't know who was there, how many was there, but they all doubted Jesus' ability to raise this little girl. So, number A is the Lord's assertion. So when he arrived, he told the crowd there, he said, why are you weeping? She's not dead, she's just sleeping. And out of the three gospels that this story is in, the reply to him was, and they laughed him to scorn. They thought, why would Jesus say this? How could he know? Of course, he just got there, and they've been there no telling how long with this girl about to die, and now they believe she's dead, or she is dead actually. But you know, when it comes to something that's difficult, like with any prayer request we have, That's difficult, especially if it's one, uh, illness situation where the doctor says, uh, for instance, uh, that, is it Miss Davis that's not going to have treatment? Brother Marty? She, Miss Davis is not going to have treatment, right? Okay. So she, whatever the doctor has told her, she said, well, I'm just better off, you know, without the treatment. Evidently he's told her that the treatment doesn't offer a lot of hope. And so, But in situations like that, it becomes more difficult to trust the Lord. We have to put a little more into our faith. We have to really pray and ask God to help us. But Satan in our flesh will give us a number of reasons to not believe that God can do whatever we need Him to do. Now, remember the story is that Jesus was coming and Jairus had to leave his house, go to where Jesus was and then come back. So he had been gone from his daughter for several hours, possibly 12 or more hours. So some time had passed. It seems that when he left that she was, there was no hope. And as a matter of fact, she may have actually been dead when he left. The different phrases that are said in the scriptures, it's more like she was dead but he wouldn't accept that she was dead. So he was going to get Jesus to help. So these people, in their mind, They were sure there was going to be a funeral. There was nothing else that could be done. So Jesus was just now arriving and they didn't think that he knew anything about what was going on because he wasn't there. He just didn't know what he was talking about. You know, just because it seems like a long time to us doesn't mean it's a long time for Jesus. A lot of times we think, well, the situation's gone too far And I would keep praying, but now nothing can be done. There's no such now in Jesus' vocabulary. There's not a now God can't do, no. He can always do something. Ezekiel 37 and 5 says, Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. That girl wasn't near as far gone as these bones were. In the Old Testament, we had this story where he actually brought dead bones to life. And, you know, we have to remember, well, how can he bring somebody back to life? How can God bring life into dead bones? He didn't have anything when he created Adam. He didn't have a body. He didn't have a bone. So He created, if He can create life from nothing, certainly He can create life from a bone. Sometimes we just feel like God maybe, He doesn't understand the situation. And probably we're thinking, well, we know God can do something, so why hasn't He done something? But He does truly understand. He does know what's going on. But it feels like he doesn't understand how busy we are. He doesn't understand how discouraged we are. He doesn't understand how little money we have. But God does know and he is able to do with whatever we have. What we have, what knowledge we have has nothing to do with what God is able to do through us if we allow him to do it. When we entertain these thoughts, what God doesn't understand, that's unbelief. That's saying, God, you're wrong. And that's what these people were saying to Jesus. You're wrong. She's not going to live. She's gone. But what God says will always be true. John 17, 17. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. And then you have, I think, in your outline, Psalm 19, 7 through 9. We're not going to read that one, but you can read that one there. And then Psalm 119, 151. Thou art near, O Lord, and all thy commandments are truth. So we know whatever God says, it is true. In 1 Kings 17, the story of Elijah and the widow, after that he had told Ahab that it wasn't going to rain. God told him to go to the widow and she would sustain him. And when he gets to the widow, he said, give me some drink and some water to drink and some food. And she says, all I have is enough water and meal and oil to fix my son. And I have one more meal and then we're going to starve to death. And Elijah said, if you'll fix mine first, God will take care of you until it rains. And so she did that by faith, she did that, and of course God did take care of her the rest of that time. So what seems impossible, God can do. Always, God can always do it. So the widow trusted and obeyed what Elijah told her. And that's what we have to do. We have to let go of what we don't know and what we don't understand and believe what we do know about the word of God. And that B, the next one is the people's derision. And derision means to scoff at something in content Now, scoff is a verb that means to express insolent doubt or derision openly and emphatically. It implies talking about someone or something in a way that makes it clear that you think they are stupid or ridiculous. That's what these people were doing. Well, listen to what he's saying. He has no idea what he's talking about. And it's hard for us to fathom somebody saying that about Jesus. Especially because when we look back and study the Word of God, these people knew Jesus. These people are in the same town that Jesus grew up in. They're in the same place that Jesus turned the water into wine. Or in the same area where they knew some of his miracles. But they said, this is too far, this is too much, you can't do this. You can't know what you're talking about. In Mark 6 and 1, when Jesus left the house after raising the little girl from the dead, it says, And he went out from thence and came into his own country, and his disciples followed him. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things, and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and of Judah, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him, and he could there do no mighty work. And verse 6, and he marveled because of their unbelief. This was after he raised the little girl from the dead. They still wouldn't believe. Sometimes we look at a person that's lost and Maybe we've talked to them or you've talked to them and you've given them the scriptures. You've known other people have. You've known they were in church enough to hear the gospel. And they know how to be saved. And we wonder, how is it that they don't get saved? But we see here a group of people that have more knowledge of Christ than we have. They saw Him. They saw Him raise the dead. They saw the miracles that He did. And still, they would not believe. It is a choice. They have to choose to believe. But before we judge, why don't they believe? Why don't they trust in Jesus? How many times do we struggle with unbelief ourselves? Maybe we're saved, but there's something in our lives that we have trouble believing that God is going to take care of or trusting in his decision. The crowd mocked because they did not understand. And that's the reason unbelievers ridicule Christians. They say, well, religion is a crutch. You're just looking for a pie-in-the-sky solution in the sweet by-and-by. Because they refuse to believe because you can't prove it to them. And you can't prove Salvation to anybody you can tell them what the Word of God says and they just have to believe First Corinthians 118 for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish Foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. So those that absolutely refuse to be saved The Bible is foolish Because they just won't believe it Hebrews 11, 6, But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We just have to believe the Word. If somebody is lost, they have to believe what the Bible says. Not what we say, but what Jesus said, what God says in the Word of God. So what was running through Peter's mind. We don't know if Peter was all the time saying, y'all need to listen, in his mind thinking, y'all need to listen to him, this girl's gonna live. Or was he saying, well I'm just, in his mind was he saying, I'm not sure. I'm not sure if Jesus is gonna be able to do this. We don't know which side he was on. But we do know that he was learning from Jesus as a disciple at this time. He might have still had doubts. It is not just conjecture to think that Peter may have been doubting. Let's look at verse 42. Now, remember when Jesus had went in, the girl was there, he took her mother and father in, and he took Peter and James and John. So that's all that was there with six people alive and one dead. That's all that was in there. And verse 42 says, And straightway the damsel arose and walked, for she was of the age of twelve years, and they were astonished with great astonishment." It says they all were astonished. It sounds like Peter was surprised that the girl got up. We face situations where we must choose between doubt and faith. We have to ask the Lord to help us to overcome our unbelief. In Mark 9, 23 and 24, Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. So we know that if there's something we can't believe, something we're having trouble with faith, we need to ask God to help us trust Him. And He'll do that through the Holy Spirit, will help us believe what God says and believe that God can do what He says. We have faith, but when we have areas of unbelief, this is when we need to ask for our help in our unbelief. When we think, I don't think I can get through this. Ask God, help thou mine unbelief. I can't do it. Help thou mine unbelief. Help thou mine unbelief. As a way of illustration, a Christian lady once was introduced as a woman of great faith. But she said, no, I'm a woman of little faith and a great God. We just have to realize we're not putting our faith in what we know. what we've been able to do in the past. No matter what great things that God has helped us accomplish in the past, our faith is not in what we have done, but our faith is in what God can do. We all struggle with belief at times, but we know there's a God that can overcome our doubts. Despite the spectator's derision and unbelief, Jesus continued inside to heal the young girl. And by doing this, he proved that he was not only trustworthy, but all powerful. There's nothing that Christ cannot do. And this brings us to point three, the sufficient Savior. Now to the crowd, Christ was just too late, out of touch. It's more or less, Jairus, you wasted your time. Jairus, you've missed time where you should have been here with your wife. You should have been here with your family. You should have been here mourning her. Why in the world did you go get this man? He's nothing he can do. Despite the sensitivity situation, they began to mock him openly. Now think about it. This is a funeral. When you go to a funeral, Now, let's be honest, you go to funerals sometimes, and you know the family. And you know there's strife in the family before the death of the loved one. But in most cases, everything still goes smooth. They put that aside for a little while. They don't go back and say, where have you been? You know, openly say, where have you been for the last six months? Why didn't you do this to help when you could? You know, all the different problems, it's in the family. are put to the side. And nobody judges anybody openly during the funeral time. But here, these people come in, they're mocking Jesus openly. Here, there's a dead little child inside the room there, and they're openly mocking somebody, making fun of somebody. So they were sure about this. It wasn't something that, you know, they thought in their head. They were openly mocking Jesus. Very insensitive. Imagine parents have their young child in the emergency room and the child's not breathing. The doctor says, there's still hope. And everybody around starts mocking the doctor. I mean, Jesus is trying to give them hope. He's trying to tell them she's gonna be okay. And they're saying, don't listen to this guy. She's gone. In the next few moments, however, their scorn would change to astonishment. One of God's names in the Old Testament is El Shaddai. Did I say that right, Eddie? That's right, ain't it, brother Boyd? Shaddai. I don't say that enough to remember. Which means God Almighty. And He is Almighty. Genesis 17, verse 1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. The spectators, the grieving parents, the disciples were about to find out that Jesus was El Shaddai. He is all sufficient Almighty God. So A is Peter's attendance. We know in the scriptures, in the story here in the Bible, that Peter and James and John were the only ones that went in. And often that was Christ's three choice people that went with him to certain areas and that did certain things, was those three. Remember that Peter had responded in previous lessons, he had responded to the call of Christ and the decision To do that, determine the rest of his future. Now, we're going to experience, they were going to experience one of the rewards of obedience. A young girl brought back to life. Now, you've seen God do certain things that people said wouldn't happen, doctors said this can't happen, that can't happen. But imagine being there at that time and witnessing a young girl brought back to life. We too can see God work in miraculous ways. We place great importance on being at certain events, birthdays, weddings, graduations, sporting events. This is one reason why Christians ought to be faithful in church. We never know when God is going to do something great in our lives, and we should always be where we're supposed to be to experience what God has for us. Time after time, Peter showed a desire to be near Christ. We ought to want to be where something might happen. We should have a desire to be in the house of God. We should have a desire to be where God is going to do something. Peter was the one that came to Jesus on the water. He was the first one to run to the empty tomb. We don't want to miss an opportunity for God to work in our heart. We know God doesn't move in our heart the same way every service. And you might be here today, and God really, I mean, you go home today after preacher preaches, and God really just showed you something in your life, really impacted you, and giving you, encouraged you, And you might come next week and you don't feel all that. You enjoyed it, you liked it, but it didn't motivate you as much as today does. So we don't always get that same opportunity. So you don't want to miss an opportunity. You can't say, well, I'm not going to come to church this Sunday, but I'm coming next Sunday and I'll get everything God has. No, you've missed that one. You see, it's not that God can't, it's that you can't receive it all. You can't receive two days of blessings in one. He's only going to be able to bless you what you're there for. Sometimes He simply makes Himself known and sometimes He moves deeply. The next service you miss could be when God was going to bless you the greatest you've ever been blessed. Take Alan Shepard. Now then, we are talking timeline of the people in here for the most part. Who knows who Alan Shepard is? All right. All men, right? I figured it might be that way. Alan Shepard was the first American in space. All right. About a year and a half after he went into space, he developed an inner ear problem. He wasn't the first man on the moon. Had he not had a physical problem, he probably would have been the first man on the moon. He would have been the most qualified. He would have at least been on that first mission that landed on the moon. Alright? But he couldn't go. And he couldn't go on the next one. But I think it... Let me read my notes. I'm not going to read the whole story here. He was the fifth man to walk on the moon. Why? Because he kept at it, he kept helping. He helped the first astronauts that walked. He helped the first four astronauts that walked on the moon. He helped them to get there. With his knowledge and his work, he kept working at it. And then when his inner ear problem got taken care of, he was able to go. So we can't meet a defeat and say, I'm done. I mean, everything was great with him. Well, he's doing good. This is the top guy. We're going to put him in space first. He's going to be the one to go. You had to know when he got to space. And when they started talking about going to the moon, he just knew he was going to be the one. But he couldn't go. There was no denying the fact you couldn't go. He could not go. But he didn't quit. He said, all right, y'all take over. I'm going to rest now. He said, no, we've got to get the man to the moon. I don't know how much importance you put on getting somebody to the moon. And I don't know how important that was. But to Alan Shepard, it was the most important thing in his life. And those men behind him, it was the most important thing in their life was to get to be on the moon. So he didn't give up. So sometimes we have expectations and they don't happen. And they don't happen. And they don't happen. But we just got to keep on. It will happen when God Sees it necessary to happen. God's not losing power because we didn't meet the expectation that we thought we ought to meet. God can still do it. Ephesians, let me read Jeremiah 33 and 3. Calling to me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. We just have to keep calling on the Lord to do things in our life. So we'll pick up there with B next week and get into lesson four. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this opportunity you've given us. Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings. Lord, we want to remember our pastor this morning as he'll be going to surgery next week. Lord, be with the doctors and nurses, Lord, and the hospital staff. And Lord, we just, Lord, ask you, Lord, to touch him in a special way, Lord, to bring him through the surgery, Lord, with a victorious surgery, and Lord, and then, Lord, a quick recovery. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.