Lets open your Bibles up to the Gospel of Luke. Were going to resume a series we started quite a while ago. We took a hiatus, and now were resuming it again. While youre turning there, I want to read to you from 1 Peter 1:3. You dont have to turn there; I just want you to listen to what Peter says. Peter says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. A living hope… I want you to know that when the Bible mentions the word hope, or you see hope exemplified, hope is not what we associate it to be today. Hope today is like crossing your fingers and wishing for the best kind of thing. Thats hope. Its an optimistic attitude that there is a chance this might happen; I hope it does. Thats not what the Bible means when it says a living hope. [An example of] the kind of hope we normally have, for instance: you read the news about Brett Favre saying, Well, you know, if Aaron Rodgers gets hurt, and the team needs me, I might come back. So, you may have read that and may have some hope that Brett Favre will play for the Packers this upcoming season. If youre like me, April rolls around, and baseball season is here. My hope is that this year the Cubs will win the World Series. Thats my hope, but thats not Biblical hope. Biblical hope would be more like this: We have gone through a tough winter; all of us have. Spring, so far, has not been great. Im not sure what its like out there today, but yesterday was icky. Its been kind of wet, cold, chilly and cloudy. We know that good weather is going to come eventually, right? Eventually, its going to get here. We can say, I hope good weather comes soon. I hope it gets warm and sunny soon. Thats Biblical hope. Its inevitable; you know its going to happen. Youre just not sure when. How many of you think this year that Brett Favre is going to come back and play for the Packers? For real? How many of you think its going to happen? A couple people [do]. How many of you think the Cubs are going to win the World Series this year? I was kind of hoping for more. How many of you think that good weather is going to eventually come to us? All right, its coming, right? Do you see the difference? The hope we have in Christ isnt one of these. Its not wishful thinking. Peter says its a living hope based upon the Resurrection of Christ, based upon whom God is and that what He has promised will come to pass. So with that as an understanding of hope, lets turn and look at a couple of examples of hope in Lukes Gospel, the eighth chapter. These two people couldnt be more opposite. One is prominent. Were going to know his name; were going to know his job-a very influential job. The other person is somebody who we dont know her name. The other person is a person who isnt prominent. The other person is a person who has spent every last dime she had. Shes poor, and shes weak. Tragedy has struck both of their lives. Tragedy is a great equalizer, isnt it? No matter whom we are, where were from, what our background, what our social/economic status is, when hardship comes, were all in the same playing field. Pain hurts the same for all of us; loss hurts the same for all of us. Lets read the story together: Verse 40 (page 1025 of pew Bibles). Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him. Then a man names Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. You and I cant begin to imagine the fear and anxiety this father felt. As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years… Imagine suffering for 12 years from the same condition. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing against You. In other words, What do you mean who touched You? Really the question is who hasnt touched You? Were all touching You. What do You mean who touched You? He said I know somebody touched Me; I know that power has gone out from Me. Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Were going to see details of that in Mark shortly. Then He said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. This word healed is the word sozo, which means salvation. He didnt just pronounce a physical healing on her; He pronounced salvation to her. In essence, He said, Your faith has saved you. He touched her not only physically, but spiritually as well. While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler… and said the worst possible news. Your daughter is dead. Dont bother the teacher anymore. Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, Dont be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed. When He arrived at the house of Jairus, He did not let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John and James, and the childs father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. Stop wailing, Jesus said. She is not dead but asleep. To the one who had the power of life and death, it was like she was asleep even though she was dead. They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. But He took her by the hand and said, My child, get up! Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but He ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. There are three characteristics that Id like us to consider in this passage. First of all, Id like us to consider their situation. Their situation was one of desperation. We see this man who was about to lose his most precious possession: his little child. She was sick, and she was dying. He was not sure if she would be alive or not by the time he made it home. We see him-no matter how much power, no matter how prominent his name, how important his position, how much money [he had] in the bank-tragedy has come to his life. He was a desperate man. We see this woman who for 12 years had suffered from this condition. No one could cure her, and shed spent all she had. She was desperate. He lived his life in community. He was the head of the synagogue. She lived her life in isolation. If youve studied Old Testament law, you know that the issue she had of a blood disorder made her unclean. She could not participate in the ceremony of the church. She could not be a part of temple worship. She could not be a part of Passover or any celebration. She was removed from the spiritual community for 12 years. With one, we know his name; one is anonymous. With the Lord, no one is anonymous. She wanted to be a nameless, faceless person in the crowd, but Jesus knew who she was. Jesus took the time to talk to her, Youre not a nameless, faceless person to God. Both situations were desperate. Truth be told: in life, we will go through desperate situations, every single one of us here. It will come at different times; it will come in different ways, but problems are going to come. Storms and trials are going to come to all of us. The key is how we deal with them, what we do or dont do when they come. It is a when, not an if. So into their lives came the storm. I want you to watch how they deal, how they cope, with it. The first thing I want you to see is the declarations that come out of their mouths. I want you to notice the words that come out of their mouths in spite of the desperate circumstances. To do that, Id like us to turn to the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 5. Would you turn there, please? In Mark 5, Mark gives us an insight that Luke does not. There is more detail to the story with the words and thoughts they had. Lets pick up the reading in Verse 22 (page 995 of pew Bibles), 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. Notice he doesnt say may or might. Notice the confident expectation. Notice the hope and faith and the declaration of his mouth. Jesus, if You will come, and You will touch her, she will live. This man had no doubt-no question-in his mind, in his heart, that Jesus could heal his daughter. Then I want us to turn to the woman and listen to her confession [in Mark 5:24], So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed. Do you see that declaration? If I just… He is busy; he has more important things to do. He has more important issues than mine; but if I could just touch Him, I will be healed. [It was] a declaration of faith in the midst of her adversity. Let me ask you this question; its a rather personal one: What are the words that come out of your mouths in times of desperation? What are the words you speak in times of testing and trial? What are they? Do you sing the Hee Haw song? Do you remember that? Did you ever watch Hee Haw back in the 70s? Those old farmers would get out there and sing gloom, despair and agony on me. Ohhhh. Deep dark depression, excessive misery, if it werent for bad luck, Id have no luck at all. Ohhhh. Gloom, despair, and agony on me. How many of you ever sang that song in life before? You sang it, right? Some of the young people are saying, What is he talking about? What kind of crazy show was that? Hee Haw? Well, it was about as dumb as it sounded, but we used to watch it anyway. Theyd sing that song. You and I have sung that song. We didnt realize we were singing the Hee Haw song, but we were. We say, Why did this happen to me? What have I ever done to make God hate me? Im a good person. How could this happen? I dont deserve it. Sometimes we sing all three verses. We sing them for a long time. Do you know that when you do that, youre working against the very good that God wants to do in your life? What comes out of our mouths is a reflection of our heart. What you want to come out of your mouth is Gods truth, not what is dictated by your circumstances or your emotions. You want what comes out of your mouth to be what God has said, not what others have said, not what environment might dictate. You want to speak Gods words, Gods word of life-His declaration. Friends, if these two could say it, you can say it. Here is this woman who had spent all she had. If a doctor had come forward and said, Hey, good news. I finally have a cure for you, it would have done her no good. She had no money left. Even though she went to all of those doctors and had the doors slammed in her face saying, You know what? We cant help you. We have done everything we can do, and we cant help you, she doesnt give up hope. You would think if anybody could have sung the Hee Haw song, it would have been her. She has a confident expectation, and she says, If I just touch Him… Thirdly, I want you to notice their determination. Notice their determination. Notice heres this little frail woman. Could you imagine bleeding for 12 years? All the iron youve lost, how weak you would be? If you were fighting that condition for 12 years… Im sure at this point, shes a little bit frail, a little bit weak. However, she is bound and determined to press on through that tough crowd and touch Jesus. She is not going to let anything stop her. Everybody was pushing and shoving, and theyre trying to get to Jesus. This woman says, You know what? Im weak. Im frail, but Im going to get through to Him. Im going to touch Him. She pressed on through that crowd. I want you to think of the determination of Jairus. Jairus gets the worst possible awful news he could get. A man comes up to Jairus and puts his hand on his shoulder. Jairus knows what hes going to say before a word even comes out of his mouth. He says, Jairus, dont bother Him anymore. Its too late. As he says that, he probably begins to cry himself. Jairus hangs his head and instantly, Im sure, begins to weep. It would have been easy for Jairus at that point to say to Jesus through his tears, You know what, Jesus? I appreciate Your willingness to help me. I appreciate the fact that You are willing to drop everything and follow me, a person you dont even know, and help me in my time of need. I appreciate everything You are willing to do, but its too late. Shes gone. Even though she was gone, he still brought Jesus to his house. What does that tell you about his faith? What does that tell you about his determination? Let me ask you a question: a woman who had suffered for 12 years spent all she had. No doctor could help her. The man had lost his daughter. She was already dead, and yet he still had Jesus come over, believing for a miracle. Let me ask you a question: What stops you? The first question is what comes out of your mouth in desperate times? The next question is what stops you? What stops you in your tracks? Is it because somebody told you it couldnt be done? Somebody told you to give up or youre discouraged, and you quit? What stops you today? This faith that we see, this hope we see in the Bible does not have to be contained within the pages of this Bible because the same Jesus who touched Jairus daughter and healed the woman is alive today. That same hope and faith can be yours today as well. I have a friend who I think illustrates this in a very tremendous way. Many years ago when I was an assistant pastor in Rockford, Illinois, a friend of mine by the name of George-Big George-was in a trucking accident. He jack-knifed his truck and broke his neck. When I say Big George, George is about 62 and 350 pounds. There is George lying in a hospital bed with this big halo around his neck and his forehead. He received the news from the X-rays that he would never walk again. Too much damage had been done. George let me know what the boundaries were right off the bat when I walked in his room. Imagine what youd be thinking or feeling. There would be temptation when you got that news for the declaration to come out of your mouth to say, Why me? Poor me. Im just trying to make a living. Im just driving my truck. What have I done to deserve this fate? Thats not what George says. George says to me, Pastor Willie, if youre going to be in this room, youre going to have to believe that Im going to walk again. Thats what he called me. George, after a period of time, met with all of his specialists. He went to his rehab in his wheel chair. He met with the head doctor and the therapists, all of those people. He looked the head guy in the eye and said, Will I walk again? Do you believe I will walk again? The doctor took off his glasses and said, Well, Mr. Hertzner, you have a fracture in your… He was using medical terminology. George said, Its a yes or no answer. I just want to know, do you think-as the head of this team-that Ill walk again? Well, Mr. Hersner, I cant lie to you. Its a medical impossibility. Is it scientifically possible? No. No, youre not going to walk again. Im sorry. George does his best Donald Trump impersonation. He says, Well, then, youre fired. Youre done. I dont want the head of my team telling everybody on my team Im not walking. Youre fired. People would come into Georges room-I kid you not-singing the Hee Haw song, saying, Oh, George, George, youll never walk again. What have you done to deserve it, George? You know what George would say? I dont mean to be rude, but you need to leave now because I need people in my room who believe that Im going to walk again. George was determined to walk again. He had a living faith because his faith was not based upon the medical report. It was not based upon what the doctor said. It was not even based upon his X-rays. Georges faith was a living hope based upon his believe in Jesus Christ. It was as if the same Jesus who walked the streets that day was alive today. I was with George the first day he stood up. I remember that. There were these two long railings. He had wobbly knees as we helped him out of his chair. He stood up and was like thats it. Thats it, and he went back down. That was all he could do. I remember hed stand a little bit longer with each passing day. I remember the first time he took a step on that railing, a shaky step. Okay, thats enough, and he sat down. I remember when he took two steps. I remember the day he walked shaking from one end to the other; his muscles were just trembling. It was all he could do to hold himself up with his upper body. He progressed in time. Months later, I remember when George took his first steps with a walker down the hallway. One person was on each side, and a wheelchair was behind him. I remember the day George took his first steps with a four-pronged cane. I remember the day that George walked out of that hospital but nothing but a cane. Howd that happen? George would tell you he had something to do with it, but George would tell you it was the strength and the promise of Gods word that sustained him. Times of desperation had come to Big George, but he aligned his faith and his words with what the word of God said, not with his emotions, his circumstances, and not with the bad report. What comes out of your mouth? Are you speaking Gods word to those situations? If youre not, youre working against yourself. Youre working against the very blessing that God wants to give you. Is there a determination in your life, or have you given up? Have you just thrown in the towel, It isnt meant to be? Maybe its time to resurrect that hope. Maybe its time to say you know what, God? If that little woman who was bleeding for 12 years, as weak as she was, as frail as she was, could fight that crowd and press on to You… If Jairus, after receiving the disturbing, terrifying news that his daughter was dead, would still bring You into his home, I guess I can believe too. One of my favorite artists is named Rich Mullins. He wrote Our God is an Awesome God. You remember that song? He wrote many songs. One of the songs that has really ministered to me through the years is a song that talks about this very truth. Id like you to mediate during this song. The tech team is going to play this song for us. There are no fancy pictures, no special effects; its just the music and the words. I want you to read and listen to this song as Rich Mullins talks about the reality of this life. What we do when we receive communion [is] we hold onto the elements together until weve all received. Then well read the Scripture, and well partake together. So dont receive it as it passes by; just hold it until weve all received. As they are passing this out, we have a media that we would like you to look at. This is a quiet reflective media we prepared on hope. As were waiting, you may choose to close your eyes and worship. Or, you may want to listen or read the words of this presentation to prepare your heart to receive from the Lords Supper. Lets go ahead and play that now. You dont have to be a member of Faith Community Church to receive communion with us today. If you are here and youve made a confession of faith and Christ is your Lord and Savior, youre welcome to receive with us today. Would you bow your head with me in prayer? Father, we take comfort today in knowing that Youre with us. We know desperate times will come, and how we respond to them is key. Lord, the cross speaks of desperation. It speaks of a desperate condition in which man was in. It also speaks of a declaration. It speaks of Your declaration of love, of Your declaration of grace-the forgiveness of a new beginning. It speaks of your determination as well that there is no limit to which your love would take you. As our Lord Jesus left Heaven, and went in flesh, walked this earth as a man and lived a perfect sinless life, that determination took Him to the cross where He would pay the ultimate price to bring man back to God. We are thankful this morning that the same hands which touched the daughter of Jairus by the hand and raised her up, those hands were once spread out and nailed to a cross. The same feet stopped what they were doing, headed a different direction and walked all of those miles to where that little girl lay. Those same calloused feet one day walked to Calvary where they were laid and stretched upon a cross and nailed there. Our sin was nailed with You. By Your resurrection, a way to eternal life, a living hope was realized. That is what we remember, and that is what we celebrate, give thanks and worship You for this morning. In Jesus name. Paul writes and says, For I receive from the Lord what I also passed on to you. Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. Lets receive together of the Lords body this morning. In the same way after supper, He took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this whenever you drink in remembrance of Me. Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lords death until He comes. Lets receive together of His blood. Amen. I invite you to stand as we close our service in prayer. Sometimes after a message like this, it maybe stirs up some things. It stirs up some concerns, some needs. Maybe youd like to make a declaration this morning. Maybe youd like to pray about a desperate situation, or maybe youd like somebody to agree and pray with you about a determination in your life. Maybe its something entirely different. Im going to ask our prayer team to come forward now and stand up here. If youd like prayer, theyre here for you. Theyre your friends. This service tends to be a little shy and bashful. Im not sure why. [In] other services, people come forward a little bit more readily, but Im asking you not to be shy. There is nothing wrong with saying, I need a friend to pray with me and stand and agree with me in prayer. Please come forward after we close. Lets pray together. Father, we are so encouraged when we see the faith of Jairus and see the faith of this woman. Maybe our problems dont look like their problems, but, Lord, there are desperate times that have come into our lives or will come. I pray that in those times, we will emulate that kind of declaration; that we would speak words of life and hope; that we would speak Your promises, not what our fickle emotions or changing circumstances might dictate. Lord [I pray], we would not work against You with the words of our mouth and that we would put feet to our faith; feet to our hope; that we would not let those negative words or negative circumstances cause us to lose heart, lose hope, and quit. Like this woman, and like this father, we will be determined. We will press on to touch You. Faith still touches, Jesus. Help us to be a people of faith and people of hope. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.