DON'T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVE! | Christina Sermon

Tell me why you will not feel demoralised and your faith will be compromised

when you listen only to those who criticise?

It's time for you to divorce yourself from every negative source

and listen to God's voice.

Grace and peace to you all in Jesus’ name.

Did you know, people of God,
that God wants to speak to you today?

Remember the small boy Samuel in
1 Samuel 3. God had a wonderful message.

He wanted to speak to him,
but it was not until the boy Samuel said,

“Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” -

then he could hear the message from God.

We need to pay attention to God's Word,

but we need to say, ‘Speak, Lord,
for Your servant is listening’.

Because it is one thing to hear a
powerful sermon with your ears,

or to read the Word of God
with your natural eyes.

And it is another thing to listen with
a hunger and an openness from your heart.

So are you ready to receive God's Word today?

Are you ready to come before
God as a servant?

Because when you come before
God as a servant,

you are not coming to Him for advice,
which you can pick and choose from,

but you are coming from a place
of willingness to submit to His Word.

So if that's you today, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’ Hallelujah!

Now I want to turn in our Bibles today
to a portion of Scripture that you may

well be familiar with from Mark 5, and we are going to start from verse 21.

And it says, “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 leaders
named Jairus came,

and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet.

He 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.

A large crowd followed and pressed around
Him, and a woman was there

who had been subject
to bleeding for 12 years.

She had suffered a great deal
under the care of many doctors,

and 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.’

Immediately, her bleeding stopped

and she felt in her body
that she was freed from her suffering.

At once, Jesus realised
that power had gone out from Him,

He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched My clothes?’

‘You see the people crowding against You,’ His disciples answered,

‘and yet you can ask who touched Me?’

But Jesus kept looking around
to see who had done it.

Then the woman, knowing
what had happened to her,

came and fell at His feet
and trembling with fear,

she told Him the whole truth,

and He said to her, ‘Daughter,
your faith has healed you.

Go in peace and be freed
from your suffering’.

While Jesus was still speaking,

some people came from the house of Jairus,
the Synagogue leader.

‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said.
‘Why bother the teacher anymore?’

Overhearing (ignoring) what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’”

Can I see somebody telling their neighbour
or telling us here today,

DON’T BE AFRAID - JUST BELIEVE!

And this is the title of the message today.

Indeed, this portion of Scripture
highlights that in coming to Jesus,

we will face both challenges and miracles, opposition and breakthrough.

Yes, no one is immune from trouble.

And trouble does not need an invitation
before violating your life.

Look at the case of Jairus.

He was a respected and influential leader,
as the Synagogue ruler.

However, his position could not prevent
him from facing an acute family crisis.

The woman with the issue of blood had the means to spend money on many doctors,

but her resources could not reverse
that curse of sickness in her life.

And instead of improving,
she became impoverished.

Their position could not save them,
their money could not mend them,

and the severity of their predicaments was not the thing that attracted Jesus' attention.

Then we see that there was a crowd who was
pressing around Jesus, touching Jesus.

You know, sometimes crowds can be faithless and fickle, following Jesus without faith,

just as many people attend church
for a variety of reasons.

Some people today are
much around churches,

instead of being around Jesus Christ,
the Head of the Church.

Many people are around healing
and deliverance,

instead of being around Jesus Christ,
the Healer and the Deliverer.

Some people go to church

more with the priority of their outfit
of the day than the verse of the day.

The outfit of the day will pass away,
but God's Word will never pass away.

Others might attend church or associate
with people of God for social status.

They are clout chasers,
instead of God chasers.

And Jesus had many experiences with crowds.

In Matthew 14:14, we read that when
Jesus Christ saw the crowd,

He was moved with compassion
and healed their sick.

And again in Luke 6:17-18,
it says that when the people came

and heard from the words of Jesus Christ,
Jesus healed them all.

But there were many people touching Jesus,
pressing around Jesus.

So why in this case, were there
not many more miracles recorded?

And then we see, as we read on in Mark 6, that Jesus Christ left there, went to His hometown,

and then in Mark 6:5, it says that He could not do any miracles there

except lay His hands on a few sick people,
and He healed them.

And He was amazed at their lack of faith.

This goes to show the fact
that we join a service like this,

does not mean that we have faith.

No. We need to cultivate
an atmosphere of faith,

because an atmosphere of unbelief
makes it difficult

to believe and receive
all that God has for us today.

And you cannot imitate
somebody else's faith.

Faith must arise in each person's heart.

So I want to tell you today and remind us
that prayer is not a performance.

You are not going to be judged

by how loud you shout or how fervently
you engage in the service today. No!

We should not reduce prayer
to a religious ritual

where impressive words matter
more than sincere motives.

Your external posture
cannot move your Maker

because He looks at your heart.

So what's your position today?

What is your motivation today?

What is going to attract
Jesus' attention and commitment?

There were many people pressing around
Jesus, touching Jesus,

but there was one woman
who had a touch born of faith.

A touch born of God.

She actively reached out by faith.

Mark 5:27 - “When she heard about Jesus,

she came up behind Him in the crowd
and touched His cloak because she thought,

‘If I could just touch His clothes,
I will be healed.’”

What have you decided in your heart
before joining this service?

I would like to remind you that the fact
that you have suffered so long,

or your resources have been depleted,

or you feel that you have been
mistreated along the journey,

is not a ground from which you can claim from Jesus Christ today.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:3

that Jesus Christ was pierced
for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us
peace was on Him,

and by His wounds, we are healed.

There is one ground
from which you can claim today.

He bore your disease,
and He suffered for your pain.

So the only thing we can do today is base
our faith on the fact that Jesus Christ

died to provide what you are asking for.

So are you like the crowd
joining the service today?

Approaching it like a religious ritual?

Or are you one who is pressing through
that barrier of distraction and opposition

to reach Jesus by faith?

Have you joined today
to see what all the fuss is all about,

or have you joined with one thought
in mind that if I can just get to Jesus,

if I can just touch Jesus,
if I can just receive His Word,

I know I will be made whole?

It's not too late to get out of the camp
of the faithless, to the faith filled.

It is just a heart’s decision.

Only faith pleases God.

And it was the faith of the woman
with the issue of blood

that attracted Jesus' attention
and commitment in that moment.

Let us see Jesus' response to her
in Mark 5:34.

“He said to her, ‘Daughter,
your faith has healed you.

Go in peace and be freed
from your suffering’.”

Have you ever wondered why Jesus Christ said to her, ‘daughter’, called her daughter?

On the surface level, we could say, ‘Oh,
we know that a woman who is haemorrhaging -

she would have been unclean.

She would have been ostracised,
on the fringes of society.

So maybe Jesus Christ was reintegrating
her, bringing her back into wholeness

in terms of her social status.’

But Jesus Christ was doing
much more than that.

Because Jesus Christ was not only restoring her dignity socially,

but He was bringing her
into a lasting relationship with Him.

Because when you are healed,
you are healed to follow Jesus Christ.

So you might have come to this service today praying, asking God

for that breakthrough, for that healing,
for that deliverance, for that new job,

for that spouse that you
have been praying for.

But don't be surprised if God not only delivers you and sets you free,

heals your broken heart,
restores your dignity -

but He wants to draw you into a lasting relationship with Him as a son or daughter.

Tell your neighbour, “Jesus Christ wants to draw me into a lasting relationship.

Because when Jesus heals me,
I am healed to follow Him.”

And what's the implication of sonship?

Well, as children of God,
we are to reflect our Heavenly Father.

Let's turn in our Bibles
to Ephesians 5:1.

And it says, “Follow God's examples therefore, as dearly loved children”.

Can you see that there? Dearly loved children - what do they do?

They follow God's example and walk in
the way of love, just as Christ loved us

and gave Himself up for us.

And in Ephesians 5:8, “For
you were once darkness,

but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.

For the fruit of the light consists
in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

And find out what pleases the Lord.”

So the question I have
for you today is simply this:

How will your encounter
with Jesus Christ today

affect the way you live
your life after this service?

Jesus Christ wants to draw you in
to a lasting relationship with Him.

But back to our story.

Yes, we know that the woman with the issue
of blood received this wonderful healing.

But remember, she seemed to interrupt
another man's prayer request.

Who was there first? Jairus.

Jesus agreed to go to his house.

He was on his way to the house,
and suddenly the woman

with the issue of blood touches
Jesus and receives this miracle.

And there's this wonderful testimony.

And let us see what happened
next in Mark 5:35.

“While Jesus was still speaking,

some people from the house of Jairus,
the Synagogue leader,

came and said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?’”

Wow! Can you imagine that.
Voice number one is Jesus.

“Whilst Jesus was still speaking...”

So Jesus is still speaking to the woman
with the issue of blood, affirming her,

and the testimony of her
healing is going on.

But then some people from the house of Jairus, the Synagogue leader, came and said,

‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?’

They came with this negative news,

trying to discourage Jairus from
pursuing Jesus any longer.

They were implying that the pursuit
of Jesus was a bother to Him,

that the situation had gone
beyond the point of no return -

that now the little girl was dead,

there was no point in approaching
Jesus Christ anymore.

And remember this within the context
of this wonderful testimony

that had just happened.

Now, today we have heard
a host of many wonderful testimonies.

As you have listened to these testimonies today, you might have had some mixed feelings,

knowing that as other people have received
from Jesus Christ,

your own situation
seems to have gone worse.

Or you are listening to these testimonies
and you're saying,

‘I have been praying for my situation
for much longer than they have.

How could they just reach
Jesus and immediately receive?’

Or maybe your own situation
feels so time critical

and you are wondering what is taking
Jesus Christ so long to manifest His power

in your case, like you have
heard from other people.

But Jesus Christ overheard the negative
words of the Synagogue leader’s people.

And in Mark 5:36 it says, “Overhearing
what they said, Jesus told him,

‘Don't be afraid; just believe.’”

So Jairus had a choice to yield
to that voice of discouragement

and disappointment, or draw strength
from the testimony of the woman

with the issue of blood, and listen
to Jesus' personal encouragement to him

to do away with fear and just believe.

People of God, the choice is yours today.

What is the fact of your own matter?

You know, the fact of the matter was that
Jairus’ daughter was dead.

But Jesus Christ put a
better perspective on it.

Can you imagine what
would have happened

if Jairus was not in the presence
of Jesus when those negative words came?

In your own mind,
negative thoughts can come.

You might receive word of a situation,
and the fact of the matter might be

that you have got a redundancy letter,

that you have got a bad health report,
or you have got an eviction notice.

That might be the fact of the matter.

But when you come
into the presence of God,

you can bring it before the feet of Jesus.

And Jesus Christ can give you
His perspective on your situation.

Don’t be afraid. Just believe!

Because what does God's Word say?

If you turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:55.

Your situation may feel like death
and destruction, as if it's gone

beyond the point of no return, that
there is no hope and there's no future.

But God's Word says in 1 Corinthians 15:55,
“Where, oh death is your victory?

Where, oh death is your sting?

The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, He gives us victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters,
stand firm. Let nothing move you.”

Tell your neighbour, “Stand firm!
Let nothing move you.

Because death has been
swallowed up in victory.”

Let me see somebody giving the Lord
a lovely wave of praise.

Because Jesus Christ has swallowed up
death and given you victory.

Hallelujah!

So don't be afraid. Just believe.

Just believe and you will see God's glory
in your life story.

Apostle Paul also gave us some encouraging words

about doing away with fear
and just believing.

So let's finally turn to the book
of Philippians 4:6.

“Do not be anxious about anything...”

That means that there's no situation
which requires an anxious response.

There's no position
that you could be in right now

where the appropriate response
would be anxiety.

“But in every situation”, not some,
“by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your request to God.

And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Wow, what a wonderful promise
that when you put your problems

into God's hands, He will put
His peace in your heart.

And not only that, His peace
will guard your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

When you fail to guard your heart,
you are wide open to the voice of doubt,

discouragement, and depression.

But when you bring your requests
before the Lord with thanksgiving

and choose to do away with fear,
the peace of God will guard your heart

so that you can hear the voice of God
telling you,

‘Don’t be afraid; just believe!’

Come on, people of God,
there is need for us to guard our hearts.

We are so good
at guarding our possessions.

You don't put your online passwords
out in the public domain.

You don't allow your children
to eat rubbish.

You don't leave your keys
in the door of your car,

so that someone could just unlock it
and drive it away.

So why would anybody be so foolish
as to leave their heart unguarded?

So don't be anxious about anything.

But in every situation,
by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God right now

and allow the peace of God

to guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So, in conclusion,
what is your situation today?

Have you been listening to testimonies
time and time again?

And in your own case,
instead of your situation getting better,

it seems to have gotten worse?

Are you listening to that voice of doubt
and discouragement, telling you

that the situation has been
going on too long,

that it's gone too far, that there is no
point in keeping on praying?

Are many people disparaging the
perseverance you have in your marriage?

Who is bearing false witness
about your sickness?

Who is interfering with faith
for your career?

Tell me why you will not feel demoralised
and your faith will be compromised

when you listen only to those who criticise?

It's time for you to divorce yourself
from every negative source

and listen to God's voice.

Just believe and you will see God's glory
in your life story.

Tell your neighbour, “Just believe and you will see God's glory in your life story.”

So yes, in a moment, the situation of Jarius’ daughter got worse.

But in the next moment,
a greater miracle happened.

Because God's time was the best and His
plan was bigger, and His plan was better.

So yes, Jarius had asked Jesus Christ
to come and heal his daughter,

but Jesus Christ was coming now to
resurrect her, to bring her back to life.

What is your own situation?

Jesus Christ is on His way to you right now.

As Jesus was on His way to the house of Jarius, He is coming for you right now.

So if you feel as if your miracle
has been delayed, don't be surprised

you are about to receive the mother
of miracles, the greatest of miracles!

So just believe. You will see
God's glory in your life story.