I. Introduction
We learned them as children. They are forever burned into our memory. However, just because we learned them doesn't mean we learned from them. Let's look at one of these fairytales we know so well and see if we can learn from it today.
Once upon a time there lived a good king and his queen. They had no children for many years and were very sad.
Then one day, the queen gave birth to a lovely baby girl and the whole kingdom was happy. There was a grand celebration and all the fairies in the kingdom were invited. But the king forgot to invite an old fairy. She came to the celebrations but was very angry. Soon it was time to gift the baby with special wishes. The good fairies wished her well and said, “May she grow to be the most beautiful girl in the world! She will sing sweetly and dance so well! She will live happily!” All the fairies blessed the baby and gave her beautiful gifts.
When it was the old fairy’s turn, she said, “When the baby is sixteen she will touch a spindle, and die!” The king and queen were shocked and begged the fairy to forgive them and take her words back but the fairy refused to do so. When the other fairies saw the king and queen crying, they said, “We cannot undo what the old fairy has spoken. But we certainly can make it different. Your child shall not die when she touches the spindle. But she will fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years. Then, a prince will come along and wake her up.” Hearing this, the king and the queen were relieved. The king forbade everyone from spinning so that the princess would never touch a spindle.
The princess grew up to be a kind girl and helped people in need. Everybody loved her. Years passed. When the princess was sixteen years old, she was walking in the woods when she saw an old lady spinning. “What is this? May I try?” she asked The old lady said, “Of course, my pretty little child!” And the princess sat down to spin. But the moment she touched the spindle, she fell to the floor in a deep slumber. The old lady took her back to the palace and the king and queen laid her on her bed and tucked her in. They were very sad and called the good fairies. The fairies felt sorry for them and cast a spell over the whole kingdom so that when the princess woke up after a hundred years, she would not be alone in the palace. Everyone, including the guards and the servants and the animals were now fast asleep. For a hundred years, they all slept soundly.
A hundred years passed. There came a prince from a far off land. He, along with his servants, went deep into the forest and crossed many rivers. Once the prince lost his way and was separated from the rest of the travelers. He came to the sleeping kingdom and was amazed. The guards, the servants, the cats and the cows were all fast asleep and snoring.
The prince reached the palace and entered it. No one moved. The prince then found the sleeping princess. She was such a beautiful girl that the prince kissed her. By that time, a hundred years had passed by and everyone was waking up, one by one. The princess yawned and opened her eyes. She saw the prince and smiled. She asked him “Are you my prince?” He was happy to hear her speak. The prince and the princess fell in love with each other. The prince wanted to marry the princess so they went to ask for permission from their parents.
The king and the queen arranged for a royal wedding. All the clothes the bride wore were a hundred years old, but she looked beautiful. Soon, they were married and then they lived happily ever after.
There is an account in Scripture that this fairytale could have been crafted after. It is found in Mark 5:21-24;
Text: Mark 5:21-24, (25-34 - interrupted by Woman with issue of blood), 35-43
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.
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 what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
The stories are similar. Parents confronted with disaster. A child that was once full of life, hope, potential and promise overtaken by the curse of death. Hope becomes hopelessness. Promise traded in for pain. Destiny for despair. Then the hero walks in. A prince from a far off place arrives on the scene and death/sleep is interrupted and a miracle takes place.
Either account teaches us some important and essential truths this morning.
1. Delay doesn't mean denial.
Sometimes time passes, but that doesn't mean the Prince isn't going to show up!
In the fairytale 100 years pass. In Scripture, enough time to go from sick to apparent death. In other words, Jesus waits for it to go from bad to worse! He waits until all hope is gone. But we need to remember that even though Jesus is rarely early He is always on time. The Prince knows the perfect time to show up. Hold out hope. Trust His timing! Hang on! I know time has passed. I know it seems bleak. I know you would have liked for Him to get here 2 months ago, 2 weeks ago or maybe 2 days ago. Wait instead of worry. He will arrive. In due season. At the right moment He will walk in. Delay doesn't mean denied. If we are not careful, then delays will cause us to become filled with despair, and depressed and the result is we become desperate. Desperate leads to detours which can lead to destruction. Instead let's let delay cause us to be determined! Determined to wait on His timing. His plan. His solution. Any other solution will not satisfy or produce real life. It will simply supply a substitute that will further delay real life. Wait on Him. Your time is coming. Wait on the Prince!
Three types of people - interruptions. Some interruptions are not intrusions they are assignments and rather than detours they are divine appointments. How do you know? They line up with your purpose. Jesus came to heal so this interruption simply lined up with His purpose. Some of you are missing assignments because you see them as annoyances but if they are part of your purpose deal with them. They will set you up for greater things! Jesus goes from healing to resurrecting! Then there are those who will try to stop you completely. Get away from those folks. Third group are those you can take even into the most difficult situations and they will still believe with and for you. Stay with those folks. Take those folks on your journey with you.
2. Don't mistake sleep for death.
Because some things have been dormant so long you begin to believe they are dead. Sleep can be mistaken for death. The fairy tale teaches us that even when everyone around you is asleep, has given up hope, has counted you out there is still life in you. The crowd may have counted you out! In the account in Mark the folks standing around hear the news of the death of the little girl and they try to convince Jairus to give up. How many people do you have in your life speaking death over you? Who is trying to get you throw in the towel and walk away from hope? Who is trying to get you to give up on Jesus? Jairus had a choice. He could walk away from Jesus or walk away from the death dealers. Some of you need to make a choice today. Walk away from those who are prophesying your demise. There are some folks who haven't been invited to your party that will want to speak death over you! Distance yourself from them!
See this account teaches us that there are some things in your life that seem to be long gone, dreams that seem deceased, promises that seem improbable, too late, too far gone, hopeless and lifeless but when The Prince from a far off place arrives on the scene He can speak life into your dream again.
What promise have you given up on? What dream has been asleep so long that you sit by while others conduct funerals over it? Some of us just need to allow our dreams to get woke! Don't mistake sleep for death!
