Luke 8:40-44, 49-56
The Last Ounce of Faith
We mentioned last week that there are two miracles joined together.
We have two different miracles with two different ladies at the same
general time and in the same general location. The number 12 is also
significant to them both. The little girl was 12 years old and the
woman had been sick for 12 years.
And both miracles have to do with faith. The sick woman had a faith
so great that she got an unrequested healing. The sick girl’s father
had a faith that was greatly tested. It seems strange that these two
extremes would be interwoven together. I am sure it is NOT by
accident.
Let’s consider it from four points.
I. This miracle teaches that faith is PARAMOUNT.
A. \\#41\\ The Bible says of Jairus that he was a ruler of the
synagogue.
1. That means he was a Jew.
2. That also means that he was a religious leader.
3. And it means that most of his peers were against Jesus.
B. The leaders stand against Jesus was obvious.
1. By John 3, Nicodemus would only come to Jesus by night
\\#John 3:1-2\\. Perhaps he feared reprisal from the
other religious leaders.
2. By John 7, the religious leaders’ opinion was that anyone
who followed Jesus was ignorant of the Bible.
John 7:48 Have any of the rulers or of the
Pharisees believed on him?
49 But this people who knoweth not the law are
cursed.
3. By John 9, they had determined what would happen to any
who followed Jesus.
John 9:22 These words spake his parents, because
they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed
already, that if any man did confess that he was
Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
4. But Jairus came; Jairus fell at his feet, Jairus
worshipped Jesus.
Luke 8:41 And, behold, there came a man named
Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and
he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him
that he would come into his house:
Matt 9:18 While he spake these things unto them,
behold, there came a certain ruler, and
worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now
dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she
shall live.
C. What brought Jairus to this place?
1. I can’t answer for certain but I suspect LIFE’S CAN’Ts.
2. The fact that Jairus a ruler of the synagogue suggests
that he was probably much like many others in that day,
torn between his personal beliefs about Jesus and the
pressures he felt from the religious leaders.
3. That is until his daughter was dying and he could do
nothing to help her.
a. Then Jairus had to make up his own mind.
b. I believe Jairus decided who Jesus was before he went
to see Him, perhaps a long time before.
c. I think that is obvious by what he did when he did see
Jesus.
d. He also decided to set aside any fear of the
consequences.
4. And so it is with life’s can’ts.
a. When flesh meets the unmovable object, it should at
least cause us to realize we need something or some
One more powerful than ourselves.
b. Life Can’ts help us to see that faith is paramount in
this life.
c. Of course we must still find Who to put our faith in.
d. For Jairus, that was fairly easy.
(1) Jesus was walking through Galilee demonstrating
His power.
(2) Today, there are many deceivers and cults who
demand our faith.
e. But the first step is to see that faith is important,
essential to human condition.
II. This miracles teaches us that faith is often PROLONGED.
A. God promised to honor faith but He never promised to do it on
our time table.
1. This is a reality about faith that we typically don’t
like.
2. We tend to think if we will believe, God will immediately
honor us and our circumstances will change for the
better.
a. That is often NOT the case.
b. Indeed, God often makes us wait in faith—sometimes
into eternity.
(1) Abraham wait on a son for 25 years.
(2) Moses was 40 years old before he even began to
lead Israel, lived on the backside of the desert
for another 40 years, and then wandered with
Israel in the wilderness for his last 40 years,
and he never entered the Promised Land!
(3) Daniel waited 70 years for Israel to return to
the land but he never went back.
(4) Two times in the Roll Call Chapter, God pauses to
speak of those whose faith had to be prolonged.
Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar
off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good
report through faith, received not the promise:
3. While God may and often does instantly reward our faith
with pleasant results, but it is naive to think it always
works that way.
4. If we are going to walk with God, we must realize that
our faith is often prolonged by God.
B. Consider Jairus.
1. His only daughter was laying at the point of death.
2. Jairus had to find Jesus.
3. Jairus had to get to Jesus and then get Jesus to come.
4. Once moving the crowd was thick, forcing them to move
slowly.
5. Then Jesus stopped.
a. Not to heal a person for the healing was spontaneous.
b. But to find out who was healed.
6. It would not have mattered to Jairus if this happened
over a period of 10 minutes or 10 seconds—every second
was precious.
7. As far as we know, Jairus stood silent, with patience, and
politely waited while these activities were delaying
Jesus from accomplishing what he wanted to see, the
healing of his daughter.
C. If you want to win the battle of faith, grow some patience.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that,
after ye have done the will of God, ye might
receive the promise.
1. What is patience?
2. Patience is waiting without anxiety and frustration.
3. You cannot have faith without patience.
III. This miracle teaches that faith can be PULVERIZED.
A. Faith is one of the most important and basic qualities that a
Christian can possess.
1. It appears that God would rather a person to have either
no faith or a strong faith for God certainly deals with
us in a way so that one or the other is likely to occur.
2. Notice what happened.
Luke 8:49 While he yet spake, there cometh one
from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying
to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the
Master.
B. Once we have committed ourselves to faith, we expect to see God
moving on our behalf.
1. With teaching and growth, Christians can learn that their
faith will often be prolonged, but we certainly don’t
want things to get worse.
2. If they do get worse, our faith will either crumble or
get stronger.
3. This seems to be God’s plan.
C. Consider the four levels of faith.
1. The first is to simply believe, expecting quick
deliverance from God.
2. A step up is to continue to believe, to have faith enough
to hold on for a prolonged time.
3. Another step up is to have faith when things get worse.
4. And the last is to have faith to believe even when it
appears our hope has died.
5. That is what happened to Jairus.
a. The expectation of his request, his daughter, died.
b. Bill Gothard called this, "death to a vision."
c. While being polite, patient, and proper, Jairus’
daughter died.
d. Eventually can be a long time away and things often
get worse while we are waiting for it to arrive.
D. God often gives a vision by faith and allows that vision to
die.
1. Martha and Mary had a vision by faith of Lazarus being
healed.
2. Nehemiah had a vision of building the walls of Jerusalem…
3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a vision of
deliverance…
4. Hezekiah had a vision of healing…
5. Moses had a vision of Pharaoh letting the people go…
6. The disciples had a vision of Jesus ascending to the
Jewish throne…
E. When a vision dies, many quit.
1. Israel quit every time things got hard in the wilderness.
2. Some disciples quit when Jesus taught hard things.
3. Judas, one of the twelve, quit when Jesus didn’t ascend to
the throne.
4. Christians must not quit believing.
5. If you want to win at the Battle of Faith, prepare to
believe regardless of how bad things get.
F. What are we to do when God allows our faith to be pulverized?
1. Listen to God.
Luke 8:50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered
him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she
shall be made whole.
a. There is no one else who can tell us what He is going
to do but God Himself.
b. Sadly, I believe that sometimes our emotions cause us
to hear what we want God to do rather than what God
says He is going to do.
c. I’ve looked at this from the outside looking in and
from the inside looking out and I am convinced, we
often substitute what we want for what God wants.
d. When your faith seems destroyed, the best you can,
find God and listen to Him.
e. In Jairus’ case, God resurrected a dead hope. God is
God and God can do that if He desires.
2. But if God does not, keep believing.
a. Believe that God is good.
b. Believe that God will work all things for your good
and His glory.
c. Believe that it will all make sense one day.
IV. \\#54-56\\ This miracle teaches that faith earns PROMOTIONS.
A. If you continue in the battle, God will honor and promote you.
B. I would like to say that you will always get the miracle you
desire.
1. Jairus got his daughter.
2. Martha and Mary got their brother.
3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got delivered and
promoted.
4. Hezekiah got 15 more years.
5. Moses got the people, the power, and the presence of God.
6. Nehemiah built the walls and become governor of the city.
C. But in truth, it does not always happen that way.
Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having
received the promise….
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good
report through faith, received not the promise:
1. Some rewards must be kept for eternity.
2. But I promise you this, if you keep your faith, you will
not be disappointed.
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