As we've seen in our study of
the Psalms, all these Psalms speak first and foremost about
the Lord Jesus Christ and then secondarily those who are found
in Him. And so It's true in Psalm 1,
blessed is the man, the God-man, who walketh not after the counsel
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sit
in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law
of the Lord. And by law, that means the full
revelation of Scripture. which is a revelation of Christ. His delight is in the law of
the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. May God be pleased to give us
a mind and a heart to think on the things of Christ this hour.
It's good to see you all this morning. Let's stand together.
Brother Tom's going to come lead us in the hymn on the back of
your bulletin. O blessed God, how kind are all
thy ways to me, whose dark, benighted mind was enmity with thee. Yet now subdued by sovereign
grace, my spirit longs for thine. How precious are thy thoughts
that o'er my spirit roll. They swell beyond my faults and
captivate my soul. How great their sum. How high they rise, can there
be known beneath the skies? Reserved by Jesus when my feet
made haste to hell, And there should I have gone, but thou
do'st all things well. Thy love was great, Thy mercy
free, Which from the pit delivered me. Before thy hands had made
the sun to rule the day, or earth's foundation laid, or fashioned
Adam's clay, what thoughts of peace and mercy float in thy
great heart of love? ? O God ? A monument of grace
? A sinner saved by blood ? The streams of love I trace ? Up
to the fountain, God ? And in His sight Please be seated. Good morning. So thankful to
be here. Would you please turn to Jeremiah
29, Jeremiah 29. One of my favorite passages.
We're going to begin in verse 10. One of the reasons why I wanted
to read that this week I was driving. I had noticed a work
truck that I was following and I was encouraged it had this
big scroll that said Jeremiah 29, 11. So I took a picture of
it thinking, all right. So as I pulled off, this is what
it said. It said, um, For I know the plans
I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I found
no comfort in that. If anything, I was wondering,
well, where can I sign up for this? I, Brian and I were talking about
this. The only comfort I could ever get from a gospel is a gospel
that's in eternity where I can't put my hands on it. Something
that's done, something that's finished. And as we read, he
performed the word that was for the land that was slain before
the foundation, the eternities past. That I could wrap myself
around, not that. And that's what it was in religion.
So in verse 10, I wanna hear what the Lord has to say. And
here it is. This is God saying this. Oh, for thus saith the Lord,
that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you. Now we know that that's a picture
of our lives, three score and 10. Babylon, that's what we live
in. I will visit you and perform
my good word toward you. And what is that word? That's
the word, covenant of grace in eternity's past. The covenant
I have with my dear son and with the Holy Spirit, I'm gonna perform
it in causing you to return to this place. Where is that place? That place is in the heart of
God in the Lord Jesus Christ in eternity. That's the place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected
end. Then shall you call upon me and
you shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you. And you shall seek me and find
me when you shall search for me with all your heart. And the reason why, because he
gave us that heart. It's his heart, it's his spirit.
Treasure is an earthen vessel. And I, you notice, everything
is I, it's him. I will be found of you, saith
the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity. and I will gather
you from all the nations and from all the places whether I
have driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again into
the place whence I caused you to be carried away. May the Lord
be pleased in this next hour to perform that good word once
again by the preaching of the gospel. Then one day when he
does visit us, that performance will be Actual we will see him
for who he is. Let's pray Lord we do come to you in the
name of thy dear son the lord jesus christ the lamb slain before
the foundation of the world Where all our hope of our salvation
rests in Lord he was that perfect peace Peace through his cross. He's the one that quenched all
the wrath, all the fire. And now, Lord, you are no longer
angry at us because of what he has accomplished. You're pleased
in him and satisfied in him. Oh, Lord, may we be found in
him right now and most especially in that day when you come for
us. We do ask again this next hour,
Lord, that the word that you have performed in eternity and
on the cross that you would do it this morning once again in
saving your people. Lord, draw us to yourself. We
can't come to you, Lord. You have to come to us. So we
ask now that you would send your Holy Spirit, Lord, in power and
that you would minister once again to our dear brother, the
one you have sent to speak the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. As you give us ears and eyes
to see, Lord, I pray you would do that for him as well. For
we ask it in Christ's name, amen. Let's stand together once again.
We'll sing hymn number 229 from your hardback teminal. 229, 229. Tell me the old, old story of
unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His
love. Tell me the story simply as to
a little child For I am weak and weary and helpless and defiled
Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story of
Jesus and His love. Tell me the story slowly, that
I may take it in. That wonderful redemption, God's
remedy for sin. Tell me the story often, for
I forget so soon. The early dew of morning has
passed away at noon. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story of
Jesus and his life. Tell me the story softly with
earnest tones and grave. Remember I'm the sinner whom
Jesus came to save. Tell me the story always, if
you would really be In any time of trouble, a comforter to me
Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story of
Jesus and His love. Tell me the same old story When
you have cause to fear That this world's empty glory Is costing
me too dear Yes, and when that world's glory is dawning on my
soul, tell me the old, old story, Christ Jesus makes the whole. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story. Tell me the old, old story of
Jesus and his love. Please be seated. Rachel Wiese
is going to come and bring some special music now. I once was lost but now am found
Was blind but now I see ? The grace that taught my heart
to fear ? ? And grace my fears relieved me ? ? How precious
did that grace appear ? ? The hour I first believed ? Many dangers, toils and storms,
have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. In their 10,000 years, we're
shining at the sun. We've no less days to sing God's
praise than when we first began. Thank you, Rachel. That was a
blessing. So many people sing that hymn
with no understanding. They call themselves wretches,
but they don't believe themselves to be wretches. Will you open
your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 5? Mark chapter 5. I've titled this message two
miracles, one story. It begins with a man by the name
of Jairus having a 12-year-old daughter who is on her deathbed
and he is the leader of the synagogue there, probably in Capernaum,
but it doesn't tell us exactly what town they're in. And so the Lord is going with
Jairus to his house to tend to the physical needs of Jairus'
twelve-year-old daughter when a woman with an issue of blood
for twelve years stops him. And by the time they get to Jairus'
house, his twelve-year-old daughter had died. And the Lord said to
Jairus, don't be afraid, only believe. And the Lord raised
her from the dead and I've called this two miracles and one story
because there are a lot of similarities between Jairus and the woman
with the issue of blood and the Holy Spirit in his infinite wisdom
saw it fit to record these stories together And I think in part
at least that could be one of the reasons. So let's read the
passage together and then I'm going to try to draw out six
points that I think are relevant to me and you to give us a lot
of hope in how the Lord saves sinners. Begin in verse 21, and
when Jesus was passing over again by ship unto the other side,
much people gathered unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold, there cometh one
of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when he saw
him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying,
My little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee,
come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she
shall live. Jesus went with him, and much
people followed him and thronged him. And a certain woman, which
had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many
things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and
was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard
of Jesus, came in the press behind and touched his garment. For
she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain
of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she
had been healed of that plague. And Jesus immediately, knowing
in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about
in the press and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples
said unto him, Thou seest the multitude throng in thee, and
sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling,
and knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before
him and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter,
my faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and behold of thy
plague. And while he yet spake, there
came from the root of the synagogue's house certain which said, thy
daughter is dead. Why trouble thou the master any
further? And as soon as Jesus heard the
word that was spoken, he said unto the ruler of the synagogue,
be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow
him, say Peter and James and John, the brother of James. And
he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and seeth
the tumult and them that wept and wailed bitterly. And when
he was come in, he said unto them, why make you this ado,
and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
And when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and
the mother of the damsel, and then they were with him, and
they entered in where the damsel was laying. And he took the damsel
by the hand and said unto her, Talithi, Kumi, which is being
interpreted, damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway
the damsel arose and walked, for she was at the age of 12
years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And
he charged them straightly that no man should know it, and commanded
that something should be given her to eat. The first thing that stands out
to me in this story is the fact that the woman with the issue
of blood had been suffering for 12 years and the damsel was 12
years old. She began her disease when this
little girl was born. Now the number 12 is very significant
in the Bible. It's mentioned almost 200 times.
In the book of Revelation, it's mentioned 40, over 40 times.
What is the significance of the number 12? The number 12 in the
Word of God represents all the people of God. It represents
all of God's elect. When the Lord chose a particular
people in the Old Testament, He divided them up into 12 tribes,
12 sons of Jacob. In the New Testament, when the
Lord took the gospel out into the world, he did it by calling
out to himself 12 disciples. The showbread in the temple in
the Old Testament, there were 12 loaves. They were to be changed
every Sabbath day. When the Lord describes the New
Jerusalem coming down from heaven, which is the church, he describes
it as a city which has 12 foundations and 12 gates. And when he describes
his bride as the woman in Revelation, she has a crown on her head with
12 stones, 12 precious stones on
her crown. The number 12 clearly, the most
clear representation is when the church is spoken of in Revelation,
it's spoken of as 144,000, which is 12 times 12,000, and that's
all the people of God. And here's the truth of these
stories. God has an elect people. Romans
chapter eight, all that he foreknew. All that He placed His love on
in the covenant of grace before time ever began, them He did
also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. And
all them which He did predestinate, He did call. And all that He
did call, He justified. And all that He justified, He
glorified. This matter of salvation has
been determined by our sovereign God for an elect people. And Jairus and the woman with
the issue of blood represent by this number 12 part of God's
elect. The Lord said to the Jews, He
said, I have other sheep that are not of this fold, them I
must bring. The Lord knows where his sheep
are. He knows where every one of them are. He said, I'm not
gonna lose one. I'll lead the 99. I'll go out
in the wilderness and I'll bring in every single one of them. Not one of my sheep is gonna
be lost. What a great comfort. Now the unbeliever would say,
well, then what hope is there for salvation? What hope is there? Election, predestination. is the only open door to heaven. It's the only open door. It's
not a shut door. It's the only open door there is. Now men want
to force open a door of good works, they want to force open
a door of free will, but the truth is that God's sovereign
election of his particular people chosen by him in the covenant
of grace before the world began is the only open door that there
is. And God's people rejoice in knowing
that all Israel, all Israel shall be saved. And what I'm saying
to you is that there's no gospel, there's no salvation. outside
of God's electing grace. A message of salvation that leaves
out God's sovereignty in electing a particular people, a work that
was done from the foundation of the world is no gospel at
all. It's a works gospel. Don't believe it. Now, the second thing I see in
these two stories which is really one, these two miracles, which
is one story, is that both stories have a group of people who stand
in contrast to the woman and Jairus. With the woman, the scripture
says, much people thronged him. They pressed him. Remember the
disciple said, how can you say who touched me? Everybody's touching
you. Oh, no. No, virtue went out from me.
Now that word virtue is power. It's the word deutamus. It's
the same word we get our word dynamite from. And the Lord knew that power had
gone out of him. Power wasn't going out of him
on all these other folks that were touching him. In another place, the Lord told
that same crowd, the only reason that you're following me is so
that you can have your bellies full. Now the belly in the scripture
is a picture of the flesh. The false prophets are described
as those who have fat bellies who just are interested in filling
their flesh. And the Lord said to those people,
he said, the only reason you're following me is so you can have
your bellies full. You're just interested in me providing you
a more comfortable existence in this world. And the world
is full today of people who throng the Lord Jesus Christ or throng
their image of Jesus in hopes of getting a little more comfort,
a little more prosperity, a little more peace in this world. The Lord said to those people,
he said, if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself,
take up your cross, follow after me. Denying yourself is denying
your ability to do anything to save yourself. Taking up your
cross is identifying yourself with the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Paul said, I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. People talk about taking up your
cross as if it's some sort of burden. Listen, there's a lot
of people going to hell that carry great burdens in this life. Great burdens. People that suffer
horribly in this world. And if that's what taking a cross
is, then, you know, that's, no, no. It's knowing that when Christ
died, I died. God is satisfied with the sacrifice
that the Lord Jesus Christ made for the hope of my salvation.
God saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied. and following
after Christ is looking to the Lord Jesus Christ for everything,
for everything. But the masses aren't interested
in that. The masses are not interested
in denying themselves. The masses aren't interested
in identifying themselves with the death of Christ. The masses
aren't interested in looking after the Lord Jesus Christ and
abiding in Him. No, they're interested in, what
are you going to do to make my life better now? Now, with Jairus, the crowd represents
something a little bit different. When the Lord got to Jairus'
house, the scripture says that there was a group of people there
that were crying and wailing bitterly. They were an emotional mess.
They were grieving over the death of this 12-year-old. And the
Lord said to them, Why do you weep so? The damsel's not dead,
she sleepeth. And this same group of people
who were wailing uncontrollably in grief immediately started
laughing at him. Now how can a person go from
one extreme to the other? They laughed him to scorn, the
scripture says. What does this represent? It
represents a group of people who hang the hopes of their salvation
on their emotions. How I feel, if I feel saved,
if I feel like I have peace, if I, we've all been tempted
in that direction haven't we? And our feelings are just as
fickle as the feelings of these people. We can go from extreme
grief to extreme happiness and our circumstances and what happens
around us changes our feelings, don't they? Feelings come and feelings go.
Feelings really are deceiving, aren't they? Those of you who know Christ,
you didn't feel lost when you were lost, did you? And there's
a lot of times we don't feel saved. But the hope of our salvation
is not based on our feelings. Thy word, God's word is our only
warrant. Feelings come, feelings go, feelings
are deceiving. My only hope is the word of God,
none else. is worth believing. What did
the Lord say to Jairus? Don't be afraid. Don't let your
feelings control you. Believe me. Believe what I've
said. The Lord Jesus Christ, the scripture
says, would not commit himself to men for he knew what was in
their hearts. He knew that there would be a
group of people that would only follow him to have their bellies
full. He knew that there would be a
group of people who would judge all the hopes of their salvation
based on their feelings. This woman had an issue of blood,
didn't she? She had an issue of blood. And
that's our problem, isn't it? We are born into this world having
received from our father Adam an issue of blood. That issue
of blood is sin. And it affects, just like your
blood affects every part of your body, doesn't it? Life is in
the blood, disease is in the blood too, isn't it? And it affects
every part of us. The third thing I see in this
story, Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue. He was the top dog in Judaism
in that city. And the woman with the issue
of blood had spent everything that she had on physicians and
was worse off now than she was at the beginning. Now, I don't know much about
medicine 2,000 years ago, but I suspect that they probably
were doing what they were doing 200 years ago when someone was
sick, and that is that they were bloodletting. You know, we'll
just take out their diseased blood. The worst thing you can
do for a woman with an issue of blood is take out more of
her blood. That's a picture of how unable
religion is to save. Neither one of these people could
find any hope in their religion. They had no place to go except
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Their religion couldn't help
them. Judaism had degenerated into
a works religion, a religion of rules and regulations. And
this ruler of the synagogue, when he got to the point of having
a daughter that was dying, could not find anything in his religion
to give him any hope. The woman with the issue of blood
had been to every physician. She had spent all that she had. and now she was poor and broken
and worse off now than she was to begin with. They could find
no help in religion. There's no freedom in religion.
There's no salvation in religion. Religion's all based on rules
and regulations. It's all based on do's and don'ts.
It's all based on something that you bring to God in order to
secure the hope of your salvation. That's all religion is. And when it came down to it,
when it came down to their real need, neither one of them could
find any hope in religion. That's why when the Lord bowed
his mighty head on Calvary's cross, the scripture says that
the veil was rent. It was rent from top to bottom.
God said, this is over. Judaism came to an end that very
day. That very day. It was 70, it
was 40 years later, 70 AD before the temple was destroyed. But,
but Judaism as a type of the gospel came to an end on the
day that the Lord Jesus Christ gave up the ghost on Calvary's
cross and declared, it is finished. It's finished. There's no freedom in religion.
There's no liberty in religion. There's no hope of salvation
in religion. The Lord said, why do you go back to the law? Why
do you go back to the law? Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
I have made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage. Religion just makes a person
worse off. Why? Because they have their hope
in something that's not true. Going to the law for redemption,
looking to the law for the cause or the evidence of my salvation
will leave me like this woman with the issue of blood, worse
off at the end than I was at the beginning. So we see these two individuals
as a type of God's elect people. We see in contrast to them the
rest of the folks in these two stories that represent the masses
of humanity. And we see that religion could
do nothing to save either one of them. Couldn't deliver her
from her disease and could not deliver this little 12-year-old
girl from death. Fourthly, these two stories remind
us that both the woman with the issue of blood and Jairus came
to the Lord Jesus Christ because they had no place else to go. They had no place else to go.
And the only time that you and I are going to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ is when we have no place else to go. That's why
coming to Christ is not a choice. It's not a decision. When the
Lord asked the disciples, will you lead me also? What did they
say? Lord, where are we gonna go?
Where are we gonna go? You've shut us up to yourself.
You alone have the words of eternal life. We know and are sure that
thou art the Christ. We don't have a choice about
this. And when God breathes life into a sinner, He makes them
willing in the day of his power. Regeneration is a sovereign work
of God's grace. Notice in verse 23 of our text,
and he besought him greatly saying, my little daughter lieth at the
point of death. I pray thee, come and lay thy
hands on her that she may be healed and that she may live. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
62. We looked at this passage back
during our conference. I want to remind you of it. Isaiah
chapter 62, and to begin reading at verse 10. Go
through, go through the gates. Prepare ye the way of the people,
cast up, cast up the highway, gather out the stones, lift up
a standard for the people. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord is my
banner. We hold up the standard. The
Lord Jesus Christ said, and I, if I be lifted up, will draw
all men to myself. For as the serpent was lifted
up in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up.
And so the Lord's speaking to his watchman and he's saying,
open the gates, take out the stumbling stones. Behold, the
Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, say ye to the
daughter of Zion, behold, by salvation cometh. Behold, his
reward is with him and his work before him. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the only one who can approach a holy God based on his work. His works went before him. Now
that's what men try to do in religion. They try to send their
works before them. And when Jacob sent the gifts
to Esau, maybe this'll smooth the way. Maybe this'll oil the
wheels. Maybe this'll take out his wrath.
And men send their works before him, before them in hopes of
earning favor with God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only one that can do that. And they shall call upon them
the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, and thou shall be
called sought out, a city not forsaken." Gather up the stones.
Don't leave men any place else to go. Now, if you and I have
any other place to go other than Christ, we will do it. If we
can find an open door to heaven, with feelings, we'll go there. If we can find an open door to
heaven based on works, we'll go there. We'll find some other
way, some other experience. Well, I'll just, you know, I'll
look back to my experience to see if I've been saved, or I'll
look to the law, or I'll look to the things that I know about
the Bible for the hope of my salvation. If we can find any
place else and any way else to be saved, we will do it. God
has to shut us up to Christ. Both Jairus and the woman with
the issue of blood had no place else to go. How do we know they had no place
else to go? Because they both worshipped at the feet of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 22 back in our
text. And behold, verse 22 in Mark
chapter 5, And behold, There cometh one of the rulers
of the synagogue, Jairus, whose name translated means God enlightens. God enlightens. And that's the
only way you and I are going to come. If God sends the light
of the gospel in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ in our
hearts. Why? Because we're born blind. We can't see. He has to open
our eyes. He has to do for us what he did
for Bartimaeus, doesn't he? Behold, there cometh one of the
rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when he saw him,
he fell at his feet. He fell at his feet. And look
at verse 33. But the woman fearing and trembling,
knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him
and told him all the truth. See, this woman was unclean.
According to the law, she was supposed to announce her presence
so that no one got near to her. And yet we find her, oh, if I
could just touch the hem of his garment. If I could just get
a touch of his righteousness, that's his garment, isn't it?
The garment of the Lord Jesus Christ is a picture of his righteousness. I'll be made whole. And now the
Lord exposes her and what she do. She tells him all the truth. Reminds you of the woman at the
well in John chapter four, doesn't it? Where she goes back into
Sychar and she It says, come meet a man who told me everything
I ever did. When you worship the Lord Jesus
Christ, it's because you know that He knows everything about
you. Everything about you. He knows
you better than you know yourself. Not gonna hide anything from
God. Knows your thoughts before you think them. Knows your words
before you speak them. He knows everything, doesn't
he? And so we bow. Now people pretend to be worshipping
God that aren't worshipping God. The only God that's worthy to
be worshipped is a God who's sovereign in salvation, a God
who's omnipotent. And He will be worshipped. We
will be like Jairus. We'll be like that woman with
the issue of blood. We will find ourselves, like
Mary, at His feet, choosing that one thing that is needful. Now the first time that the word
worship is used in the Bible is found in Exodus chapter 22
when Abraham is taking Isaac up on the mountain to make a
sacrifice. And Abraham says to his servants
who he leaves at the foot of the mountain, he says, he says,
me and the ladder going up to worship and we shall return. Now the Lord had already told
Abraham that he was to sacrifice Isaac. And Abraham with full
intent of his heart was gonna obey God. But he also believed
that God was gonna raise Isaac from the dead. He said, we'll
come back. And on the way up, what did Isaac
say? Father, here's the wood and here's the fire, but where
is the lamb? Where is the lamb for the sacrifice? And what did God, what did Abraham
say to his son? Son, God shall provide for himself
a lamb. Now three things would be understood
in that statement. And here's the only way, the
only way to worship God is with the blood of the lamb of God.
It's the only way to approach the, the only way to approach
God is by the blood of Christ. And what Abraham was saying is
God's going to provide the lamb. God's going to provide himself
as the lamb. and God's gonna provide the lamb
to himself. God shall provide himself a lamb. And the only way that you and
I are going to be able to come into the presence of a holy God
is by the blood of that lamb. Turn to me to Colossians chapter
two. We'll begin reading in verse
16. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of a new moon,
or of a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come,
but the body is of Christ. Now here's the lamb. Don't let
anyone, what the Lord's saying is, don't let anybody put you
under the law and say, well, you're not worshiping God if
you don't worship him on this particular day and in this particular
fashion at this particular time with this particular food and
dress and all the things that the law, that religion puts into
worship. But these are a shadow of the
things to come. Those are all Old Testament types, but the
body, The fulfillment of all those types is Christ. Let no
man beguile you, you reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping
of angels, intruding into things which they have not seen, vainly
puffed up by their fleshly mind and not holding the head. So men in religion are puffed
up. They've got some knowledge. They're
trying to impress folks with what they think they know, and
God says they don't know anything. They don't know anything. Why?
Because they're not holding the head, from which all the body,
by joints and bands, have nourishment, ministered and knit together,
increased with the increase of God. The head, just like your
head, controls every part of your body. Every organ, everything
in your body is controlled by your head. Now the Lord's likening
his church to a body and he's saying Christ is that head. And
men, you know, they want to look at what the body's doing rather
than looking at what, who controls the body. Wherefore, if you be
dead with Christ, from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are you subject to ordinances, touch
not, taste not, handle not, which are to perish with the using
after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed
a show of wisdom in will worship." Now, there's religion, worshiping
man's will, setting man up on the throne of God, saying that
God loves everybody. Christ died for everybody. God
wants everybody to be saved. Now you got to do your part in
order to make what he did work for you. That's will worship. Will worship. And a false humility. The neglecting of the body, not
in any way altering to the satisfying of the flesh. You're not controlling
the flesh. Religion doesn't make a man holy. That's what he's saying. If you then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above where Christ seated at the right
hand of God and set your affections on things above, not on things
of the earth, For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ.
When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear
with him in glory. Christ is our life. That's why we worship him. And
the Lord makes it clear here that the only hope of worshiping
God is to come before him with the blood of the Lamb that is
without spot and without blemish. None of the ordinances of man,
none of the commandments of men are going to give us access into
the presence of a holy God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the head
and He's the only one. So, Jairus and the woman with
the issue of blood, where do we find them? We find them at
the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, worshiping Him. knowing that
all the hope of their salvation is in Him. And finally, both Jairus and
the woman with the issue of blood had nothing but faith. That's all they had. That's all
they had. Look at verse 28 in our text. For she said, If I may touch
but his clothes, I shall behold." I shall behold. She had heard of the Lord. Notice in verse 27, and when
she had heard of Jesus, faith comes by hearing and hearing
comes by the word of God. The reason why we preach Christ
is in hopes that God, the Holy Spirit, will unstop our ears
and enable us to hear of Him. She had heard of Jesus and she
believed what she heard. And she said, oh, if I could
just touch His garments. Look at verse 36. And as soon as Jesus heard the
word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue,
Be not afraid, only believe. Now go back with me to verse
22. And behold, there cometh one
of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And when he saw
him, he fell at his feet. Now you and I come into this
world spiritually blind and spiritually deaf. And the only way that we're
going to be saved is if God gives us ears to hear and eyes to see.
And Proverbs chapter 22 says that the seeing eye and the hearing
ear are both from the Lord. They're both from the Lord. Jairus
saw the Lord and ran to Him. The woman with the issue of blood
heard of Jesus and believed on Him. And all either one of them
were left with was faith. They didn't have any evidence
in their lives. They didn't have anything else. All they had was faith. And that's
all you and I've got. If we look at anything else,
faith, Hebrews chapter 11, is the substance of things hoped
for. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. And without faith it is impossible
to believe God, to please God. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
a gift of God. Oh Lord, help how mine unbelief. Increase our faith. Lord, enable
us to believe you. it's the only means by which
we're going to be connected to God is if God gives us faith. So how do I know if I have faith? I just believe God. I believe
Him. I try everyday not believing
Him. I can't do it. I can't do it. I told somebody recently I believe
the gospel more surely than I believe the sun's gonna come up tomorrow.
And then I corrected myself and I said, I believe the gospel
more surely than I believe the sun came up this morning. I'm not sure about much. Matter
of fact, I'm not sure about anything. Maybe the sun coming up was a
figment of my imagination. But God has enabled me to believe
the gospel with all my heart, mind, and soul. And I can't not
believe it. God gives you faith, you become
a believer. It's just that simple. And that
is the only evidence that we have of our salvation. And if
you look anywhere else, anywhere else, they saw and they heard and they
believed what they saw and they believed what they heard. What is the one thing that you're
most sure of in your life, in this world? What did that Ethiopian
eunuch say? I believe that Jesus Christ is
the son of God. I believe that man you just told
me about, from Isaiah 53, I believe what you told him. I believe
what God's word says. I believe that He's the Christ,
the Anointed One. I believe that He accomplished
the salvation of His people. Sometimes I wonder whether He
did it for me, but that's not where the hope of my salvation
lies. You see, the hope of my... You see, as soon as you begin
to get the assurance of your salvation based on whether or
not He did it for you, I like what Spurgeon said. He
said, he said, when I look to Christ, the dove of peace flies
into my heart. And when I look to the dove of
peace, he flies away. If you start looking to your
feelings, you're going to be just like those fickle folks.
It went from wailing uncontrollably to laughing at the Lord. If you start thinking, well,
I wonder if he did it for me, and I've got to know that he
did it for me before I can have assurance of my salvation, that's
looking to yourself for something, isn't it? It's looking to yourself. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of your faith. Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God, that He accomplished the salvation of His people,
and that the only hope that you have to be saved is to be found
in Him? You've been shut up to Christ.
There's no place else for you to go. You're just like Jairus. You're just like the woman with
the issue of blood. You've got no choice about it.
All you can do is find yourself at His feet worshiping Him. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we're thankful for Your Word and for the miracle of Your salvation
and for the stories that You've given us in Thy Word to tell
us about who Christ is and what He's accomplished. And, oh Lord,
we pray We pray for faith. To rest all the hope of our salvation
on him. For it's in Christ and we ask
it. Amen. Number 36, let's stand together.
Spiral handbook 36. Behold my soul, the love of God,
behold the grace most free. Before all worlds His purpose
stood, His heart was fixed on me. Elected by eternal love,
The covenant firm and sure, The triune God agreed in love, Salvation
to secure. My soul was given to the Son,
He promised to redeem. By blood and righteousness His
own, He would my soul reclaim. In the due time Emmanuel came
to live and die for me. He lives today and bears my name. Christ is my surety. In love He sent His Spirit down,
Who gave me life and grace. He drew me and I followed on,
My Savior to embrace. Now I rejoice in covenant love,
amazing grace I sing. I now am conquered by His love,
my Savior is my King. Thank you.