When Jairus approached Jesus, he was desperate for the healing of his daughter. As you see in this passage from Mark 5, his daughter died before Jesus even got there. As we saw the other day sometimes Jesus healed the person before they got to the house as we saw with the Greek women in Mark 7:29 “Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter. 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.” We also saw that happen with the centurion who said to Jesus you don’t even have to come to my home I know you can heal. Matthew 8:8 “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.”
Yesterday we talked about lingering. To linger means to take /stay longer than expected. Habakkuk tells us Habakkuk 2:2 “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Too many have given up on the word of God being truth and accepted the empty, powerless and pathetic ways of man instead. Many have also been deceived by those who were supposed to teach them truth. Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. 8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty.” By doing so the church rebelled against God by not adhering to His commands, which left us powerless. 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” When God is angry with His people, He turns His face and power is withdrawn. Not only is power removed, our defenses against the onslaught of our enemies is also removed. You cannot say that you love God but don’t believe or obey His words. Rejecting His words means you don’t believe them. I have talked about this before but Jesus said in John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” The meaning of this verse is often altered to reflect a powerless church. By rejecting God’s own words, you are rejecting Jesus as our Messiah. This rejection has led to the rebellion of the church. Most everyone knows this verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But this verse does not stop there 17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
The question is have you rejected the Son because you have not seen what He has promised us. The lack of miracles have been explained away with doctrines of demons and other false teaching but what hasn’t been explained is that the church is in rebellion and needs to repent. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” Revelation 16:9 “They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.” Due to the church’s lack of repentance, God’s wrath remains on us. The church also doesn’t seem to want to learn God’s ways. Hebrews 5:11 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Paul gives this warning to the Jews. Acts 13:38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Here is a major problem for the church; the Gentiles have done just as the Jews Paul was speaking to have done and the church also has followed Israel into rebellion just as we saw them do throughout the Old Testament.
This verse Paul used came from Habakkuk. God spoke to Habakkuk and showed him what was going to happen. God was sending the Babylonians against Israel for their rebellion. Habakkuk 1:6 “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. 10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. 11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty people, whose own strength is their god.” This arrogance cost Babylon in the end as God said Isaiah 14:22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord.” The same has happened to the church as our enemies have prevailed against us just as Daniel warned us it would but for us it is not a war with humans but a spiritual war and the church has been decimated just as Babylon decimated Israel.
But there is hope as we read earlier. Habakkuk 2:3 “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. 4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. 20 The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” Habakkuk then says Habakkuk 3:2 “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” We all need to be pleading with God for this. Then Habakkuk describes the power of God against our enemies. 9 You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; 10 the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. 11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. 12 In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. 13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. 14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. 15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters. 16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled.” Habakkuk was not speaking about being afraid of the enemy but the fear of God.
The church has been in desolation and is powerless against the mighty forces of evil that God has allowed to come against us but as Habakkuk said God will rise up and destroy them. Habakkuk describes what we see in the church today. He also tells us what to do. Habakkuk 3:16 “Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Today we need to persevere in our waiting. God has given us a promise so we wait. It may seem that Jesus is taking a long time to get to our house but He is coming and will do just as His word says He would do. Then when we are clothed with power from on High we will do what He did. Scripture makes it clear that God’s power did not stop with the early disciples: what stopped was the church’s obedience to God’s word. If you are still reading this, then you have hope that Jesus will do as He said. Unfortunately many will not believe and will not wait on God to move in power once again. The question is Isaiah 57:11 “whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me, and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me?”
Miracles, signs and wonders are available for the church but the church must turn from their wicked ways. Many will not submit but there will be a remnant that will rise up again in the power of God. Will you submit and persevere in your waiting? It is good to read the book of Job to see how God blessed Job in the end. James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
So we persevere as we wait. James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. 9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
The church for too long now has had God’s word in their hands but has rejected all that God has for us because of unbelief in the very words God has given us. Although many have God’s word in their hands, they have been deceived by those who teach them. Here is an example of this. Every Sunday those in Joel Osteen’s church hold up their bible and say, “This is my Bible. (yes, unless it is someone else’s) I am what it says I am, (no) I have what it says I have, (no) I can do what it says I can do. (no) Today, I'll be taught the Word of God,(no) I boldly confess, My mind is alert, My heart is receptive, I'll never be the same.(no) I am about to receive, the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living seed of the Word of God. (no) I'll never be the same, In Jesus' Name.(no)” Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” It is not just unbelief but also false teaching that has deceived many. There are so many church-going Christians who have said Lord, Lord but will not hear well done good and faithful servant. Jesus said, Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Jesus also said Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Even though you have not seen all that God has for those who believe and follow wholeheartedly, we must remember. We take communion to remember Jesus, not just His death and resurrection but all that He did for us. He gave us His authority and power to go out and do as He did and we cannot forget that. If we reject all that Jesus did for us and Hebrews 10:26 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
We must remember all that Jesus did. He came to save us but He also still saves us and He still defeats the work of the devil. What we read in the gospels is what the church should be doing now. David remembered the miracles. Psalm 77:10 “Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 12 I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” 13 Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? 14 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. 15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.” The bible tells us everything we need to know and it doesn’t need anything in addition to it or subtracted from it.
As we wait for God to once again move in power, stand firm on His word. Don’t be afraid, just believe. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
