Rich Man With A Desperate Need, Journey #98A

[Maggie]

Rich Man With a Desperate Need
Journey #98A---- Mark 5:21-24; 38-42; Matthew 9:1

The previous miracle in this section of Mark was when Jesus cast the demons out of the man.
He then gave instructions to that man to go to his town showing them what God had done for him.
Jesus was revealing His power over all that threatens us.
He has all power over all the rulers, authorities and powers of darkness that are lying to us to distract us from what God has said.
They are constantly and continuously eroding and undermining our faith in God by trying to move our attention off Him.

The miracle in our study today points to the One who has all power and authority over all the things.
Things in our life that threatens to destroy our faith and move us away from what God has said.
Mark 5:21-24
"When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake.
Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there.
Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly with Him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live."
So Jesus went with him."

Jairus is the leader of the local synagogue. That may not mean much to you and me, but in the days of Christ the leader of the synagogue was the most important man in the community.
Jairus was the highest ranking religious and community leader, a man well known in that area.
He was also a wealthy man. He lived in a beautiful house with his wife and their only child, a twelve year old daughter, whom they loved dearly (Luke 8:42).
Who could ask for anything more?
Yet we see him begging Jesus to go with him.
Jairus didn't try to negotiate with Jesus. Throwing himself at Jesus' feet, he pleads with Jesus "please come."
Jesus started with Jairus at once.

Don't miss the first line (Verse one) of this that says Jesus came back from the other side of the lake.
Why did Jesus go to the other side of the lake?
He went for ONE MAN! (See Journey #97---part one)
When He healed that one man, He came all the way back across the lake to Capernaum.
Notice the great, great effort that God has made to reach us.
In Capernaum Jesus meets another desperate man.
This one is not demon possessed but a desperate one nevertheless.
How desperate are you? What are you desperate for today?
One problem we have with so many blessings in this nation, we've been lulled to sleep with stuff thinking we don't have to be desperate for anything except perhaps for more stuff.
Or we may be desperate for a storage unit or shed to store some of it.

My longtime friend lives in a 6,000 sq. ft home and rents four or five storage units!
Yet she is desperate. Something is desperately missing in her life.
What are you desperate for in your life?

Although Jairus had a great position, power, and wealth, he had a desperate, desperate need in his life.
Suddenly into his life came a need that was greater than everything he had.
It doesn't make any difference how strong you are, your position, your resources; suddenly there will be something that happens to you that will be greater than anything you have.

Jairus is jeopardizing his job and position when he ran to Jesus.
We studied in Journey #85 how that Jesus was accused by the religious leaders of being in league with the devil.
Risking everything he had, Jairus runs to Jesus and bows down before Him with this desperate plea, "My daughter is taking her last breath.
You are the only one who can do anything about it."

Let's put our faith and trust in God's Son, Jesus Christ.
We can trust Him because He is greater than anything that can happen to us!
We must remind ourselves of this because unless we are on guard, we will be lulled into thinking of other resources to save us.
We are blessed with resources such as government, family, job, 401K, Social Security, insurance, and assets.
It is wonderful to be blessed with such resources.
All these things and more that we could talk about are not bad, they just make poor gods.
Resources give a false sense of safety--- a false sense of security.
Be aware: You can't count on them. May I say 401K invested in the stock market?
In a national emergency, those who are invested in the stock market can easily see their entire life savings disappear in a very few minutes.
What kind of god is that? What kind of security is that?

Jairus ran to Jesus because the need in his life was greater than his job.
He didn't think about his job.
"You may lose your job, Jairus, if you go running to Jesus and be identified with Him!"
There was something greater in his life. He was desperate.

Desperation wiped out everything but the one great need in his life.
Jairus had great faith to run to Jesus--greater than his fear of losing his position as synagogue ruler---greater than his fear of being labeled a follower of Jesus Christ.
Jesus loves an honest heart.
What are you desperate for today? Jesus Christ is greater than all the need in your life.
Trust Him. He will meet that need in your life.

.....part two....next time...Journey #98b

[Jane]

Maggie I was gld to see you had posted this before you hit the road, I need a little spirtual life now and then and this did the trick

[Maggie]

Yes, food for the soul right from the Word. God's Word addresses our greatest need and gives us strength to carry on.