Fear and Faith
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14-15
Whom will you serve?
It's an honest question we must always ask ourselves and each other. Dad's are God's wonderful gift to His children.
Jairus was the leader of the synagogue. He was powerful, successful, and popular. But status took a back seat when Jairus' precious daughter went from sick, to sicker, to on the brink of death. Jairus was a father, but as powerful as he was, there was nothing he could do to help his girl and fear filled his heart. But so did faith.
Jairus knew fear- his daughter was dying.
Jairus knew faith- who knew the One who could actually do something!
So Jairus left his home filled with fear and clinging to faith and finds Jesus. He doesn’t shake hands. No, this isn’t a time for formalities. Instead, the powerful man flops on his face and pleads with Jesus.
“My little daughter is at the point of the death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
Jesus listened and went with him towards his home and his little girl- Jairus’ little girl. Fear was fading and faith was growing, until Jesus was interrupted by a very sick woman.
Jesus has time for both.
While Jesus is healing, Jairus is waiting, watching, and wondering. While Jesus is talking to the woman, Jairus' friends talk to him.
"Your daughter is dead, stop bothering the teacher."
Faith takes a back seat to fear as a father's nightmare is revealed.
But Jesus overhears the conversation and looks at the distraught dad and issues a command.
“Do not fear, only believe.”
We deal with both fear and faith too, don’t we? Christians live in the tension of the now-not yet. We know Christ is Risen and we live as Resurrection People knowing that Christ has saved us, but we wait for Christ to come again. In this now-not yet life we experience fear. Turn on the news, and you will quickly see a world filled with fear. It's in fear-filled times that our faith is tested most. But in our fear-filled moments, God speaks to us too. In his Word, God reassures us that he is with us always. In his actions, Jesus proves he is all-powerful, all-knowing, and cares.
So Jesus walks along Jairus as he walks home. Jesus speaks and Jairus' little girl gets up and has a bowl of mac and cheese. Jairus, his wife, and Peter, James, and John are speechless.
Fear will still creep into our lives, but when it does, listen for the words of Jesus.
“Do not fear, only believe.”
Join us Sunday as we continue our sermon series: Adjusting to Change with Jesus--who NEVER changes.
Dads, let's unite and declare to the world the words of Joshua, "As for me and my household we will serve the Lord."
Happy Father's Day Dads!
Austin
