The God Who Makes House Calls

THE GOD WHO MAKES HOUSE CALLS

LK. 8:40-56

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A persistent salesman refused to leave when the secretary told him the boss was out. An hour passed, then two. Finally, weary of being a prisoner in his own office, the boss admitted the salesman.

2. "My secretary told you I was out," exclaimed the puzzled boss. "How did you know I was in?" "Easy," explained the salesman. "Your secretary was working."

B. TEXT

8:40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. 49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” 51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

C. THESIS

1. The idea of ‘Doctor House Calls’ reminds me of the days of Gunsmoke when Doc Adams routinely rode his buggy half a day into the country around Dodge City to visit sick patients. He often got little or no pay for doing so.

2. Shift to today when you have to make an appointment a month in advance to see a specialist and even with a G.P., if you miss your appointment, they still charge you $30 for their inconvenience.

3. And forget the G.P. ever coming to your house – you go to their office and get a 10-minute appointment after waiting 1½ hours past your time.

4. As amazing as it sounds, we serve a God who isn’t too busy or important to make house calls. Jesus did it routinely. He came to Peter’s house to heal his mother-in-law (Mt. 8:14); He had dinner at Matthew/Levi’s house (Mt. 9:10); he agreed to go to the centurion’s house to heal his servant (Lk. 7:6); into Simon the Pharisee’s house for dinner (Lk. 7:36); the dropsy man Pharisee house (Lk. 14:1); He went to Zachaeus’ house to eat & heal him (Lk. 19:5); and he went to Lazarus’ tomb to raise him from the dead (Jn. 11:31). There are 6 or more houses Jesus entered which were not identified.

5. We’re reading today about when Jesus was asked to come to the house of Jairus to heal his dying daughter.

I. JESUS MADE A HOUSE CALL

A. WEAK FAITH HONORED

1. Jairus didn’t have the faith of the centurion (Lk. 7:6), who told Jesus it wasn’t necessary for Him to come to his house, but to speak the healing word at a distance.

2. But Jesus complied with his request; he went along with him. Strong faith is applauded, yet weak faith shall not be rejected. We don’t have to be afraid if we have weak faith; Jesus will still honor us!

3. If your problems are looking big, and your God is looking small, then you’re looking at God through the wrong end of the binoculars. When you use a magnifying glass, it doesn’t change the size of what you look at. It changes your perception.

4. ILLUS. There was a huge storm and a father remembered that his little girl was upstairs alone. Thinking that she might be frightened by the thunder and lightning, he raced up to her room and found her with her face pressed against the window. “I think God’s trying to take my picture,” she said. Perspective!

B. WHY JESUS LEFT THE MULTITUDE BEHIND

1. When Jairus made his appeal, Jesus was looking at probably 500 people who had needs. To answer Jairus’ request, Jesus had to turn away from 500 other needs. Why did He do it? For at least two reasons.

2. First, God responds to ‘importunate’ prayers – that is, desperate prayer. It was a “life & death” need. Many times we mumble and don’t even focus on what we’re asking from God. But when people are desperate, they “take hold of God.” This girl was Jairus’ ONLY child; God knows what that feels like! Jairus held on to Jesus and wouldn’t let go.