A Tearful Moment

Mark 5:21-43

A Pitiful Dialogue (21-23)

The Accomplishments Of Jairus

Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue.

He was a man of prominence, position, prestige, privilege, prosperity and power.

But none of these mattered anymore.

Death had come to his house.

His little daughter was dying!

The Attitude Of Jairus

God opened his eyes and let him see that the Lord Jesus Christ was his only hope.

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He heard that the Lord Jesus Christ was passing through the town.

He came reverently, prayerfully and passionately, and fell humbly at His feet.

The Acknowledgment Of Jairus

He acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ’s saving power.

He begged Him earnestly to heal his daughter.

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A Painful Delay (24-35)

The Interest Of The Savior

The Lord Jesus Christ had compassion on Jairus.

He went with him to his house.

The Intrusion Of Sickness

They were stopped by the woman with the issue of blood.

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This delay must have gripped the heart of Jairus.

But he waited patiently until the Lord Jesus Christ was free and could continue on with him.

The Invasion Of Sorrow

A servant of Jairus came with the tragic word: “Your daughter is dead!”

Jairus’ world must have fallen apart.

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A Powerful Deliverance (36-43)

The Exclamation Of Faith

The Lord Jesus Christ said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

What a word of faith!

The Lord Jesus Christ was saying to him not to worry about the problems ahead; just trust Him.

The Exclusions Of Faith

The Lord Jesus Christ put out everyone who did not believe Him.

They were excluded from seeing Him move and work in power.

The Exhibition Of Faith

The Lord Jesus Christ entered the room where the dead girl was lying.

He took her by the hand and told her to rise.

And she did!

Immediately the girl arose and walked.

Then she was given some food.

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Only the Lord Jesus Christ can fulfill our needs.

We must do what Jairus did.

We must go to the Lord Jesus Christ, fall at His feet and tell Him what we need.

The Lord Jesus Christ is a Sovereign Lord!

He can take an impossible situation and turn it into a miracle of His power and glory.

Do you have a need?

Get it to Him now!

One Night Upon The Sea

Mark 4:35-41

A Night Of Great Dangers (37)

The Suddenness Of The Storm

The Sea of Galilee is susceptible to sudden storms.

The Severity Of The Storm

It was a violent storm.

It was night time.

They were in terrible danger.

They feared for their lives.

The Source Of The Storm

It might have been a natural phenomenon.

God might have sent it to teach them a lesson.

It might have been satanic in origin.

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A Night Of Great Doubts (35, 38)

The storm whipped up a storm of doubt within the disciples about the Lord Jesus Christ.

They Doubted His Concern For Them

They accused Him of not caring about them.

They Doubted His Commitment To Them

They were afraid the Lord Jesus Christ might let them all die.

They Doubted His Comment To Them

They doubted they would reach the other side of the lake.

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A Night Of Great Discoveries (39-41)

They woke the Lord Jesus Christ from sleep.

The Lord Jesus Christ began to work.

As He did, they made precious discoveries about the Lord Jesus Christ

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They Learned About His Power

They learned that the Lord Jesus Christ was able to control the storm.

They Learned About His Promise

They passed over to the other side of the lake.

They learned that He was as good as His Word!

They Learned About His Presence

They learned that when the Lord Jesus Christ was with them, they had an advantage.

They Learned About His Purpose

They learned that the Lord Jesus Christ has sent them into this storm to teach them to trust Him.

They Learned About His Peace

They learned that with Him, they could sleep during the storm.

They Learned About His Person

They learned that the Lord Jesus Christ rules over the storm.

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The Lord Jesus Christ can still our storms.

If it is a storm of suffering, He can ease our pain.

If it is a storm of sorrow, He can comfort our soul.

If it is a storm of sin, He can deliver us and set us free.

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Do we hear the Lord Jesus Christ say “Peace, be still!” to our storm?

Let us stay calm and watch Him work.

You Can’t Hide From The Light

Mark 4:21-25

Light Has Its Purposes (21)

The Lord Jesus Christ used the image of a candle to teach a profound spiritual truth.

Houses in those days had notches cut into the wall so that a lamp could be placed there.

When a lamp was lit, it was placed in a high location so that everyone in the house could receive light.

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This parable illustrated the purpose of spiritual light.

When the Lord Jesus Christ shared the Word of God, His light was given to people trapped in spiritual darkness.

His light revealed the Heavenly Father to fallen men.

His light increased in its intensity until it shone with the glory of Heaven as He gave His life for sinners on the cross.

Then it burst forth in radiant beams when He rose from the dead.

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When the Lord Jesus Christ saved us from our sins, He placed His light within us.

He does not want us to hide the light away.

He wants us to allow His light to shine through our lives so that others might see the way to God.

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Light Has Its Powers (22)

Light holds the power to make hidden things plain.

Light not only reveals the hidden things of God to man, it also reveals the hidden things within man!

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The Gospel is a message that reveals the darkness of the human heart.

The first step in coming to the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved is to have our sins exposed to the light.

When we get honest about our sins, we can experience God’s forgiveness.

But if we try to hide our sins away, they will destroy us from within.

And we will be punished on the Judgment Day.

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Light Has Its Privileges (24)

We Must Listen To The Right Voice

The right voice will always speak words that line up with the Bible and point us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we hear that voice, we must make sure that we heed what it tells us to do.

We Must Pass On The Truths To Others

We are to share our faith and the things God has shown us with others.

We are to proclaim the Gospel to the world!

We Must Anticipate More Truths

As we give away the truths the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us, He will give us more truths.

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Light Has Its Promises (25)

The Lord Jesus Christ will continue to reveal more truths to those who pass them on to others.

They will grow in the things of God in ways they could never have imagined.

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But those who reject the truth will see their ability to recognize truth diminished.

They will eventually lose their grasp of the truth they once had.

Their will then be condemned to Hell.

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The little candle holds tremendous power.

It has the ability to dispel darkness.

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The little candle gives its light at great cost to itself.

As the candle gives away its precious light, its very life is consumed.

This is a perfect illustration of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us.

He paid a high price to bring His light to the lost.

He died on the cross so that we might have life and light.

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When He saved us, He kindled that light within our hearts.

We must let our lights shine so that a world lost in darkness may see the way to come to God.

It may cost us everything to give the light to others.

But we must be willing to pay the price.

We must never be guilty of hoarding the light, hiding the light or hindering the light.

We must let our light shine for the glory of God!

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We can’t hide from the light!

The truth of God’s Word will confront us some day.

It may have already done so today.

It may be that the Lord has spoken to our heart, revealed our sins, and pointed out the truth of the Gospel.

If so, we need to come to Him and be saved!

Please do not reject the truth!

Please do not go on toward Hell.

Please come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved today.

How Is Your Heart?

Mark 3:1-12

The Lord Jesus Christ was in the synagogue on a Sabbath.

The Pharisees followed Him.

They were looking for way to trap Him, discredit Him and destroy His ministry.

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The Hard Heart Of The Pharisees

Their Plan (1-2)

There was a man there who had a withered hand.

He came to seek healing from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees were watching to see what the Lord Jesus Christ would do.

Their Problem (5)

The Lord Jesus Christ knew what they were doing.

He called for the injured man.

Then He asked the Pharisees whether it was lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill.

They answered Him not.

The Lord Jesus Christ was grieved by the hardness of their hearts.

Their Plot (6)

When the Lord Jesus Christ healed the man, they were outraged.

They considered this healing to be work.

They left that meeting and immediately sought the Herodians to plot together against Him.

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The Holy Heart Of The Savior

His Command (3)

The Lord Jesus Christ knew that the Pharisees were trying to trap Him.

But the man with the withered hand needed healing.

He told the man to step forward.

He wanted everyone present to see the power of God at work.

His Confrontation (4)

The Lord Jesus Christ confronted the Pharisees by asking them two questions:

Is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath?

It is lawful to save a life or to take a life?

The Lord Jesus Christ was trying to awake sympathy in the hearts of the Pharisees.

But His efforts failed!

His Consternation (5)

When they refused to answer His questions, the Lord Jesus Christ became angry.

He was angry because their hearts were hard.

They had continually refused to acknowledge the power and presence of God and He was offended.

He was angry because they had more concern for their man made rules than they did for a man who needs help.

His Compassion (5)

In spite of their attempt to trap Him, the Lord Jesus Christ told the man to stretch out his hand.

When he did, it was healed!

In spite of His anger at their hypocrisy, the Lord Jesus Christ still had compassion on the man with the withered hand.

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The Hopeful Heart Of The Needy

What They Saw In Jesus (10)

When the common people looked at the Lord Jesus Christ, they saw a Healer, a Savior and the Messiah.

What They Sought From Jesus (10)

They wanted to experience His healing power.

What They Said About Jesus (8, 11)

They spread the word about Him.

Everywhere, across the nation of Israel, the people were talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Even the evil spirits were talking about Jesus.

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Whatever the Lord God is calling us to do, we must do.

Hardening our heart against the call of God is a serious matter.

We will reach a place where we no longer can hear Him calling.

We will reach a place where He will abandon us to our decision.

We will reach a place where the Lord will allow us to go our own way.

When Jesus Is In The House

Mark 2:1-12

The Lord Jesus Christ and His men returned to Capernaum after some days.

They probably entered the home of Peter.

Word soon got out that He was back in Capernaum.

Many people flocked to the house.

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Jesus And His Preaching (1-2)

The people wanted to see the Lord Jesus Christ work some more miracles.

They were surprised and disappointed when the Lord Jesus Christ began to preach to them.

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Preaching was central to the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Through preaching, He reached into the hearts of the lost with the Gospel of grace.

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Jesus And His Power (3-5)

Right in the middle of the preaching service, something spectacular happened.

4 men brought their paralyzed friend to the Lord Jesus Christ.

They believed that if they could get this man to Jesus, then Jesus could heal his body.

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When they arrived at the house, the crowd was so large that they couldn’t get into the house through the door.

These 4 men then carried their friend up the staircase onto the roof of the house.

Once there, they began to dig through the roof until they had made an opening large enough to lower their friend into the house.

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These men were willing to do whatever it took to bring that man to the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The paralyzed man was lowered into the service.

The Lord Jesus Christ witnessed the extent and depth of their faith in Him and His ability.

Then He did something amazing!

He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

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Jesus And His Proof (6-12a)

The Criticism

Sitting there in the house that day were some scribes.

They were sent to check up on the Lord Jesus Christ.

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When they heard the Lord Jesus Christ forgive the crippled man’s sins, they could not believe their ears!

They knew that only God could forgive sins.

They understood the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as a claim to be God!

When they heard this, they immediately accused Him of blasphemy.

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The Confrontation

The Lord Jesus Christ, being God, knew what they were thinking in their hearts.

He immediately offered them a challenge.

He said, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?

The Lord Jesus Christ was setting up a test to prove that He is the Messiah.

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The Confirmation

The Lord Jesus Christ used the physical to prove the spiritual.

He commanded the man to “arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

The Lord Jesus Christ was proving that He is Who He claims to be.

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By healing this man, the Lord Jesus Christ proved that He is worthy of faith!

He was proving that He is the Messiah.

He was proving that He is God in the flesh.

He was saying that He has the power on earth to forgive sins, and that it would be too late for our sins to be forgiven when this life is over!

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The Lord Jesus Christ healed the man.

The paralyzed man got up, picked up his mat, and elbowed his way through the crowd and left!

He simply got up and walked away!

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His heart was healed first.

Then his flesh followed.

That is the way things go!

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When the Lord forgives a person’s sins, that person becomes a new creature.

The insides are changed and the walk is rearranged!

What the Lord does in the heart always shows up on the outside.

Genuine faith is something that can be seen by others.

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What about us?

Are we like the crowd, still waiting for more miracles?

The Lord Jesus Christ is in the house today.

Let us receive Him and be saved today.

Let us also bring our friends in need to Him too!