"jairus' Daughter Had A Concerned Father"

Title: “Jairus’ Daughter Had a Concerned Father” Script: Lk. 8:40-56

Type: Father’s Day Where: GNBC 6-15-2014

Intro: In 1950, 17 percent of African-American children lived in a home with their mother but not their father. By 2010 that had increased to 50 percent. In 1965, only eight percent of childbirths in that segment of the community occurred out-of-wedlock. In 2000 that figure was 41 percent; and today, the out-of-wedlock childbirth in the Black community sits at an astonishing 75 percent. The number of African-American women married and living with their spouse was recorded as 53 percent in 1950. By 2010, it had dropped to less than 25 percent! Although this trend is most pronounced in that community it is being mirrored across all ethnicities in America. Dads…you are needed! (From Your Black World News, June 12, 2014) Yet, on virtually every sitcom and tv show, fathers are seen as incompetent and unnecessary. That is a lie promoted by the devil himself. Dads, you are necessary! Story looking at today is about a father who was absolutely essential to the survival of his daughter. Dads, your role in your family is VITAL and ESSENTIAL! Many fathers today are ashamed to identify fully and completely with Jesus Christ.

Prop: We’ll examine 3 actions Jairus was unashamed to take in identifying with Jesus.

BG: 1. The story is centered around the healing of a 12 yrs. old girl and her father’s response to her dire need. Accompanying the story is another plot line of a woman with a hemorrhage of the same amount of time and her healing. For our purposes we’ll focus on the one.

Prop: Examine with me 3 important actions Jairus unashamedly took in order to see her daughter healed.

I. Jairus was Unashamed to Seek out Jesus in His Time of Great Need.

A. Jairus was motivated to seek out Jesus because his precious daughter was gravely ill.

1. What do we know about this Jairus and his daughter?

a. v. 41 tells us that Jairus was “an official of the synagogue” at Capernaum in the Galilee, the region Jesus was always the most popular in. It was his duty to pick readers or speakers for the service. He was to make sure things done decently and in order.

b. v. 42 gives us another interesting fact into the life of this man, Jairus…he was a father! He was the father of a very sick 12 yrs old little girl. Loving fathers will go to many an extreme for one of their children in need.

2. We know that Jairus loved his daughter more than his own reputation.

a. Jairus was a man who would have been held in high regard by his own community. He would have been wealthy. He was a leader in the synagogue, as an official, he was sort of like what a pastor would be seen as in a church, he was dignified, was rigid in his faith and practice, he would have been the model of respectability. And yet, he is completely unconcerned about himself and how he is seen in the eyes of the people when his little girl is on the point of death and he goes to the Master to see help. In fact the Bible says he “fell at the feet of Jesus and began to entreat Him to come to his house.” The Bible uses the word “entreat”. “Entreating” is much more that simply asking someone to come with you or do something for you. It is begging and pleading with them. When you are “entreating” you are running out of options! Jairus knew that he was running out of options for his daughter and he was willing to make a scene if it required it.

b. Illust: Fathers, are you willing to make a scene so that your kids know that you believe Jesus Christ is your son or daughter’s biggest need? I know moms and dads who go absolutely gonzo-bonkers over kids sports, or music or art competitions, etc. Lets them know how important that is to them and their child’s success. Let me ask, do you show that same type of commitment to their spiritual growth and or successes? Oh, that fathers today would have the same driving passion that St. John did in IIIJn. 1:4 : “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” I have told my kids many times over that I do not care what they do in life as long as they do what the Lord wants of them. I will have no greater joy in life than to know they are walking in the truth.

B. Jairus set an example for Fathers today: Seek out Jesus.

1. Fathers are a vital link to identity and purpose in life.