A New Beginning presents a fascinating book about heaven from Pastor Greg Laurie. I began an extensive study of the topic of heaven. What is it like? What will we do there? Will we see our loved ones again? Short answer, yes, if they're Christians. But I've written about this in detail in a book called As It Is in Heaven. So if you've had questions about heaven and I think we all do, I think you ought to order a copy of this book, As It Is in Heaven. Read your copy at harvest.org. God who says I love you, I have a plan for you. Modern radios are very selective. We pick up one station at a time. So as you listen to a new beginning, you're not hearing the latest hit on the polka parade or pork belly prices from the farm report. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out we need to be just as selective with our hearing. It's all too easy to let the voices of our culture plant ideas and values in our heads. But today, we'll see two broken-hearted individuals who were tuned in to Jesus. Well, why don't you grab your Bibles and turn to Mark chapter 5. Title of my message is Jesus and the Broken-hearted. Mark chapter 5, starting in verse 21. Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake. This would be the Sea of Galilee. Where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. There a leader of the synagogue whose name was Jairus arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. My little daughter is dying, he said. Please come and lay your hands on her, heal her so she can live. Jesus went with him and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd who had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors over the years and had spent everything she had to pay, but had only gotten worse. And she heard about Jesus and came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. And she thought to herself, if I can touch his robe, I can be healed. Immediately, the bleeding stopped and she could feel it in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. We'll stop there. 12 years. 12 years this woman had this medical condition, some kind of hemorrhaging. She went to the local doctors, which first century medical care was not very dependable, to say the very least. She spent all of her money on these doctors, probably quack doctors. And now she's in this place where her only hope is God. And then 12 years is also the time that Jairus spent with his beloved daughter, probably his only child. No question about it. She was daddy's girl. His heart was broken. His daughter was at death's door. So 12 years is an important amount of time in both of their stories. And so now Jairus comes to Jesus hoping that he can do something for his little daughter. He says in verse 23, Please come and lay your hands on her, heal her so she can live. And Jesus got up and followed him. So here now is Jairus. He's God Jesus. Everything's getting better. He reasons in faith. If I can get Jesus to my daughter, he'll lay his hand on her. And why not? The reputation of Jesus was spreading. He was trending on every social media platform. And every time you were flipping through reels, here's Jesus healing leper. Here's Jesus restoring sight. Here's Jesus raising the dead. Oh wait, here's another one of Jesus calming the storm. If he could do all of those things, surely he could heal the daughter of Jairus. So they're on their way to the home of Jairus, and a crowd's around, and suddenly seemingly out of nowhere, this woman appears who touches him. Now you wouldn't even have noticed it if Jesus didn't stop and say, who touched me? So this is an interruption in how easily Jairus could have resented it. Could have said, hey, I don't know who you are. By the way, she was ceremonially unclean. What does that mean? Because she bled constantly, that meant that she was declared unclean, and she could not interact with other people. She would have been ostracized. She would have been isolated. So here now it's just in quotes. An unclean woman cutting in on him, a ruler of the synagogue. He's a VIP. He's an important guy. And besides, you know, her medical condition could wait. His daughter was dying. He really needed Jesus, maybe a little bit more than she did. But she cuts in on Jairus, and he does not object. He does not protest. Maybe he knew because, well, that's how Jesus rolls. He just helps people. Don't stop him from helping people. I mean, he's helping me. So here is this woman, unclean ceremonially, reasoning if she can touch Jesus, she will be healed. Let's read about it, Mark chapter five. Jesus realized at once, healing power had gone out of him. He turned around to the crowd and said, who touched me? His disciples said, look at this crowd pressing around you. He touched me, but he kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said, daughter, daughter, I love that. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over. Back to Jairus. So he's waiting patiently. Okay, it's great. It's great. Let's go. So they're headed to his house and the following scene unfolds. Mark chapter five, verse 35. While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the house of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, your daughter is dead. No use in troubling the teacher now, but Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, don't be afraid. Just have faith. How devastating. Your daughter is dead. I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that message. When I was told, your son has died. Now that was put more delicately to me. Christopher, my son has gone to be with the Lord, but I knew what that meant. My son had died. There's nothing worse a parent could ever hear than those words. And he was devastated, but I love what Jesus said to him. Don't be afraid. Just have faith. You know, we all choose what voice we're going to listen to. And the voice of the person who told him this news or he could listen to the voice of Jesus. Yeah, they told me my daughter is dead. But Jesus said, don't be afraid. I'm going to listen to the voice of Jesus. And we have the same choice every day. We have the voice of the culture. We have the voice of Satan who says you're worthless. You're a failure. You'll never amount to anything. You're cursed. Or we can listen to the voice of God who says, I love you. I have a plan for you. I'll use you. Now I bet that Jairus was beating himself up over this. It's my fault. I should have pressed Jesus to come sooner. I should have done more. And often that happens, especially when a child dies, that maybe is not really there to assume in those particular circumstances. It depends, I suppose. But ultimately we have to realize that life and death are in the hands of God, not us. He alone decides when we will be born and when we will die. But he just humbled himself and came to Jesus and understand that Jesus was not high on the cultural ladder. He wasn't a rabbi. He was a carpenter's son in Nazareth. And Nazareth was not a city that other people respected. But yet Jairus realized he was more than a carpenter's son. Jairus realized this is God walking among us in human form. So he, a leader of a synagogue, humbled himself and asked Christ for his help and he got it. And that's what everyone needs to do. The Bible says, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. And some people don't want to do that, they're not willing to. And God will make himself known to any person who comes to him in humility. And that's exactly what Jairus was doing. And that's exactly what we need to do. But I love the words of Jesus. He says, don't be afraid. Keep on believing. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love hearing from our listeners. Whether it's a short word or they take some time to tell us what's going on with them. We read every word. Hi Pastor Greg. Our son Tanner was baptized at Pirates Cove on August 16th. He attended the Harvest Crusade in Boise, Idaho a couple of years ago. We praise God for all he's doing in Tanner's life. Thank you for all you do. Do you have a story to share with Pastor Greg? If so, would you let him know? Greg at Harvest.org That's Greg at Harvest.org Glad you're along today as Pastor Greg brings us his message called Jesus and the Broken Hearted. Now Christ arrives at the home of Jairus. It's filled with people mourning. Understand, these were not just people showing their sorrow for this young girl. These are professional mourners. You literally, depending on how much money you've made, could hire people to come into your home and mourn. They would play their musical instruments and sing their sad songs and the whole house is filled with all of these people weeping and wailing. And Jesus walks in and we read about it in Mark 5 verse 38. He came to the home of the synagogue leader. He saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He decided and asked, why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead, she's only sleeping. And they went immediately from weeping to laughing and specifically mockery. Who does this guy think he is? Coming in here and saying she's sleeping. Clearly she's dead. He says, get out of here. You're all a buzzkill. He didn't say that, but it's implied. He thought, I'm not going to work in this environment of unbelief. I want these people gone. And they all left. And then he went to the bed of this little girl who indeed was dead. And he knew that by the way. He was using the word sleeping as a picture. Because when a Christian dies, the Bible describes it as falling asleep. Even when Stephen died the violent death of a martyr, we read that he fell asleep. Not literally, but it's a picture because falling asleep is not a bad thing. Right? Now when you're a child it's the worst thing. Go to bed. Take a nap. No. When you're older it's like take a nap. Yes. Happy hour for an old person. It's a nap. That's a happy hour. Right? So these are the jokes people. I mean, just not that good. Anyway, she's only sleeping. But of course she had passed over to the other side. And Jesus says, little lamb arise. That's a literal translation of what he said. I love that. Little lamb. It's so tender. And she came back to life again. You know what I love about this story is she comes back to life and then Jesus says, give her something to eat. That's so practical. She's probably hungry. Get her a sandwich quickly. So here's the thing that we need to realize. When we lose a loved one, most of us are not going to see them raised from the dead. But we know we will see them again. We know that when one of our loved ones dies in faith, that they are indeed alive in another place. And we will once again be with them in the future. They're not just a part of our past. They're also a part of our future. When I did my interview with Jordan Peterson, I mentioned the story of my son Christopher and how he had died and how I knew that I would see him again. And Jordan asked me, why do you believe that? I said, well, it's faith. It's faith in God's word. And he asked me, what is faith? I said, well, the Bible says faith is the substance of things hope for. It's the evidence of things not seen. And because God has kept his promises to me in the past, I know he'll keep his promises to me in the future. As an example, God told me he would forgive me on my sin if I would ask him to. And he's done that. He told me also that he would give me a peace that passes human understanding. He's done that as well. He also promised me that he would give me meaning and purpose in life and that he would guide my steps. And he has done all of that. God's made many promises to me and I put those promises to me through the test. And I've seen how God came through for me. And Jordan asked me, well, how did God come through for you? And I said, well, I've seen what's happened to other people who've lost children. Their marriage has unraveled. Some have turned to drugs or alcohol. Some have just become bitter, angry people. And that didn't happen to me and my wife. And I said, it's not because I'm a virtuous person. It's simply because I believe the promises of God and I have found them to be true. And that's the truth. So Jesus raises this little girl back to life again. There reminds me of another story. A woman who was caught in the act of adultery. And she was thrown before the feet of Jesus. And one of the accusers says, Allah says she should be stoned to death. What do you say? Jesus said, let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone. And then he kneeled down and rode on the sand. And he stood up and said it again. And the Bible says they left from the oldest to the youngest. Wow, what did he write in the sand? Well, the greatest minds in the church have grappled with this for centuries. And I'm going to settle it right now. No, I don't know what he wrote. Maybe he wrote their names with a commandment they were breaking at that moment, looked up at him. I don't know. Whatever he wrote, it cleared the room. Now here's this woman alone. And he says, woman, where are your accusers? She said, I have none. He says, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. But it's interesting the word that he used there. He said, woman, where are your accusers? That could be translated lady or ma'am. I'm sure this girl had been called a lot of things in her life. But I doubt anyone ever called her ma'am or lady. It was a term of respect. But Jesus didn't just see her for what she was. He saw her for what she could become. Going back to the woman who was healed of her medical condition, daughter, you're healed. You're a daughter now. I want you to remember that. And now to this woman caught in sin. He says, lady, ma'am, go and sin no more. See, when I look at myself, I see my failures. God sees my potential. I see my past. God sees my future. I see a blank canvas. God sees a finished painting. I see an end. God sees a new beginning. He sees you for what you can become. And that's what he saw here. How do you become a daughter of God? How do you become a son of God? Sometimes we will say we're all God's children. Actually, we aren't. We're all God's creation. We're all loved by God. We're all valued by God, but we're not God's children by default. Well, how do you become a child of God? The Bible says, for as many as received him to them, he gave the power to become a son of God. So you become a daughter of God. You become a son of God. You become a child of God when you put your faith in God and invite Christ to come and live in your heart. And in closing, I ask you, have you done that yet? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? Has he forgiven you of your sin? Maybe you come here today with a broken heart. Maybe you come here today with failure in your life. You've messed up and you don't know what to do. You just come to Jesus and reach out. You touch him. Oh, I wish God would touch me. Why don't you just reach out and touch him? Because he's here right now. As surely as he walked this planet of ours 2,000 years ago, he's with us right here, right now, ready to change your life. Ready to heal your broken heart. Ready to give you a new beginning. If you need that, we're going to close in prayer and then you can pray and ask Christ to forgive you and you can start a new relationship with him or make a recommitment to follow him. If you need to do that, why don't you do this? We pray now. Father, thank you for every person here. If they're not yet your son or your daughter, let this be the moment they believe. Let this be the moment they come to you. Now, while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, if you would like your sin forgiven, if you would like to become a child of God, if you would like to begin this relationship with him, why don't you pray this prayer after me? You can pray it out loud if you like or you can pray it quietly, but just pray this if you want Christ to come into your life. Just pray these words, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer in answering this prayer in Jesus' name I ask it, Amen. An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie with those making a change in their relationship with God today. And a few yourself have prayed with Pastor Greg for the first time decision for the Lord. I would like to help you get started in your new relationship with God. I would like to send you Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible. Not only will you find the Scripture text in an easy to read translation, you'll find hundreds of helps just for new believers. So call us at 1-800-821-3300 and ask for it. We'll send it free of charge. That's 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning Box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or go online to harvist.org and click No God. And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry and for supporting it through your generous donation. It's an investment in kingdom business. Isn't that right Pastor Greg? Yeah, it's really true Dave and I believe it's so important because you know the gospel saves lives. It saves eternal lives because when a person believes in Jesus according to Scripture they pass from darkness to light from the power of Satan to the power of God. And then of course that changes the course of their future. That impacts their children and their children's children. The gospel changes everything and thousands and thousands of people respond every single year. Thanks to the Lord also thanks to you for your investment in this ministry enabling us to reach people wherever they are. So if this is something you care about I encourage you to make a financial investment in a new beginning in harvest ministries. Yeah, that's right and we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today. It can make a real difference not just for today or this week but for eternity. So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300 That's a 24-7 phone number 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning, Box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or go online to Harvest.org Well next time as Pastor Gray continues his series called Jesus and You we'll see the importance of approaching the Lord with childlike faith. Join us here on a new beginning with Pastor and Bible Teacher Greg Lorre.
