Don't Be Afraid, Just Believe!

Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. Well, you open in your Bibles with me to Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5.

We'll pick up where we left off. Mark chapter 5, just as a side note there, pick up where we left off. Some of you know a little bit about the story of John Calvin, and as he was a pastor in Geneva, he was exiled from the city, kicked out of being the pastor for seven years, lived elsewhere, and when he got up into the pulpit the first day he came back after that exile, when they had asked him to return to be his pastor, he picked up on the next verse. I haven't been gone seven years, but for three weeks, and we're just going to pick up on the next verse, verse 21. Mark chapter 5 beginning at verse 21. Hear now God's perfect word. Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to him, and he was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jarius by name.

And when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and begged him earnestly, saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay your hand on her that she may be healed and she will live. So Jesus went with him and a great multitude followed him and thronged him.

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for 12 years and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. And when she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, if I may only touch His clothes, I shall be made well. Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, who touched my clothes? But his disciple said to him, you see the multitude thronging you, and you say, who touched me? And he looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. and be healed of your affliction. While he was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, your daughter is dead.

Why trouble the teacher any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not be afraid, only believe. And he permitted no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. Then he came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw Ptolemaic and those who wept and wailed loudly. When he came in, he said to them, why make this commotion and weep?

The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they ridiculed him. But when he had put them all outside, he took the father and the mother of the child and those who were with him and entered where the child was lying. Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, Talitha, Kumi, which is translated, little girl, I say to you, arise. Immediately the little girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age, and they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat."

Prayer for Illumination

Let's pray. Well, Father, we thank You for Your perfect Word. We know that it does not fail, it does not err. And so, Father, we pray now that Your Holy Spirit might attend to it, that you might illuminate our eyes, that you would open our ears, that we might see, that we might know, that we might believe, that we might trust. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Sermon

I'd like to read to you a passage from a diary of a Covenanter woman. This woman was from Scotland. She moved to the United States just after the Civil War. She had left her child with her parents just outside of Glasgow. She had left her firstborn, her oldest daughter, there with her parents. They wanted to spend some time with her and they promised to come visit, but as she came back to America and lived in Ohio, she received a letter from her parents. This is what she wrote in her diary.

After a week of some anxiety about our fair lamb, distant and far away, the mail at length came yesterday afternoon. It brings sad news. From all contained in the various letters, we fear she was then when last was written, Saturday the 15th, near her end. We fear she was already gone ere the news of her illness reached us the last week Oh, that it was not so. Oh, that our precious lamb may have been spared. Of course, I have not quite given up hope, but Mr. McCartney says he has.

It is strange, all last week, after hearing first of her illness, I could scarcely pray about it. My prayers seemed to stick in the air, and the thought would always intrude itself. You have been all winter seeking the salvation of your father and mother. If God will answer your prayer by this means, will you not acquiesce? And I almost feel sorry at the feeling of acquiesce that I had. I felt God was wise and knew best what to do. If she had been taken, oh, may we have grace given to say more strongly that it is the will of the Lord Let him do what seem good to him.

Oh, my little lamb, it is so strange and dreary that I know not whether to think of you today sporting about over the moor on the lovely lawns at Blair Beth, making glad the hearts of household there or in the heavenly fold in the arms of the Good Shepherd.

Where do we go Where do we go when sickness and death knock at the door? Where do we go when our loved ones find themselves terminally ill, cancer diagnoses or other treatments that are no longer viable? What do we do in the face of death? When sickness and death knock at our door and plague our lives, brothers and sisters, we are to find comfort in our faith in Jesus Christ.

And that is what we find here in these passages. First, as we see this going to Jesus in the face of sickness and death, I want you to notice what both Jarius and this woman with the issue of blood do. Look with me at verse 22 and 23. Verse 22 and 23 of chapter five.

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him, and He was by the sea. So He's left Gennesaret, He's on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and now He's on the west side of that lake. And verse 22, And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet.

This is a leader of the synagogue. This is one of the rulers of the synagogue. This is a man who has standing and reputation. This is a man who people would come to for advice. He was one who would preside over the church of that day. And he forgets all of his position. He forgets all of his respect. He forgets all of his nobility. And what does he do? He falls at the feet of Jesus. He pushes his way through the crowd. And he goes before the feet of Jesus. Why? Because he loves his daughter and he knows that there's only one person he could think of who could possibly help him. And so he goes and he's desperate to get to Jesus.

And this is the same thing we find about the woman in verses 25 through 28. Notice that she also is desperate to get to Jesus. Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for 12 years and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had. It was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.

For she said, if I only may touch his clothes, I shall be made well. Both of these people find themselves coming to Jesus desperate for help. He's their only hope. He's their only chance. He's their only object of faith. It's only Jesus that they could imagine who could help them in this situation, whether it be death that's impending, or sickness that's been always with her. I want you to see that Jesus doesn't brush these people away, no matter how great they are or how small they are.

Notice in verse 24, Jesus pays attention to Jarius. So Jesus went with him. And a great multitude followed him and thronged him. Jesus has, we don't know how many this throng is, how many people this is that are pressing in on Jesus, they're crowding around Jesus. But when this one person comes and he has this request, Jesus sees his face and Jesus isn't too busy for him. And then as they're traveling there, Jesus takes notice of this woman also.

Verse 30 and 32, he knows who has touched her. And Jesus immediately, verse 30, knowing in himself that power had gone out of him, turned around in the crowd and said, who touched my clothes? But his disciples said to him, you see the multitude thronging you and you say, who touched me? I mean, can you imagine this?

There's all sorts of people touching Jesus. There's all sorts of people pressing on Jesus. There's all sorts of people crowding in around Jesus. And his disciples are incredulous. What are you talking about, Jesus? How can you say who touched me? There's a whole bunch of people who've touched me, but Jesus knows. Jesus knows, but his disciple said to him, how can you say who touched me?

And he looked around to see her who had done this thing. Jesus is giving her an opportunity to come and to show her faith, to display her faith, her trust in him. Jesus doesn't ignore her. Jesus isn't okay with just, okay, yeah, she got healed. I'm just going to keep on walking past and pay her no attention. No, he wants her to know that he knows her and that he cares for her. This wasn't some magical miracle.

But point number three, Jesus gives us opportunities to show our faith. Jesus says, who touched me? His disciples are incredulous about this. They're not happy that Jesus has done this. They don't know who's ever going to come around and say, oh yeah, it was me. Everybody's touching him.

But this woman is given an opportunity, a moment, to do something extremely courageous. Look with me at verse 33. But the woman, notice we had some insight into her soul here, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. Why would she tremble?

Why would she fear? see for 12 years over a decade a decade in two years this woman has has had this issue of blood this flow of blood and according to Leviticus chapter 15 she was unclean now we might think like oh that's not a we just don't have context for this but there's actually archaeological records or proof that shows that in a lot of houses they would they would have a special room And for once a month, for just about a week, this was the lady's bedroom.

This was the unclean room. And everything that that woman touched during that time of her uncleanness, every jar of water she got, or every piece of pottery that held some food, you know what had to happen to that pottery? It was never allowed out of that room again. It had to be smashed on the floor so no one else would touch it.

I remember when I was reading an archaeological magazine and I was telling Olivia about this, she thought, well, that'd be kind of nice. You know, you get a couple days off a month where nobody bothers you, you just get to be by yourself. She was like, this sounds like a pretty good gig.

But then you think about 12 years in isolation. A decade plus two years. where anytime you went out of that room around anyone, you had to let them know unclean, unclean. Because if anybody touched you, they were unclean until evening. For 12 years, this woman suffered both relational isolation and ritual uncleanness. Now, you need to recognize something.

That means she was never allowed to just do what most of you are doing in the church right now. She couldn't sit with her husband in the synagogue. She was not allowed to go up to the temple and go into the courtyard of the women. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere near the sacrifices.

Separated from people. Separated from community. In a sense, separated from God. She's desperate for Jesus. She needs Jesus. She thinks, if I could just touch the hem of his garment, I'll be healed. She's so desperate, she's bankrupt herself. Notice what it said. It says that she has spent everything she's had to go to different doctors. No help. Actually, things have just gotten worse.

She thinks if somehow I could just touch the edge of his garment, maybe, huh? No, so why is she trembling? Why is she afraid? Is it the stigma that she has? Is it her reputation? If she speaks up, maybe people will notice. Whoa, whoa, whoa, we know this lady. What's she doing out here? How many people did she have to touch to push through to get to Jesus? Did she make other people unclean? Is she trembling in fear because she might be afraid that Jesus might rebuke her because she's just made Him unclean?

Maybe she's embarrassed and trembling with fear because this very sensitive medical piece of information is now going to be made public to an entire thronging crowd. But I think part of it I think there's many mixed emotions going on here, most likely in her heart, but I think part of it is also a sense of fear and trembling and awe.

As she realizes she touched this man, and she's healed. We're only half a chapter away from when the disciples stood in awe of Jesus with fear bowing before Him. asking, what type of man is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? And now she has exhausted every clinician, every physician, every doctor that she could afford, and she finally just touches the hymn of Jesus's robe, and she's whole. What type of man is this?

And Jesus doesn't rebuke her. Notice what he says in verse 34, and he told, and he said to her, Daughter. Daughter. Notice this is two stories about daughters. Jairus' daughter and this woman whom Jesus calls daughter. She's the only person that Jesus calls daughter. In all the gospels, it's just her. Out of all the women he healed, out of all the people he cared for, this one he looks and calls her daughter. Because of the faith that she has displayed. He calls her daughter and he tells her, your faith has made you well. The object of her faith was Jesus Christ. This is the same object of our Christian faith, is Jesus Christ.

And what does he tell her? He sends her away with an ancient farewell. He says, go in peace. This is the same thing that Eli, the Old Testament priest, said to Hannah when she left his presence, desiring a child, pleading with God that he would hear her crying out. And the priest tells her, go in peace. The exact same words in the exact same grammatical form are used here. Jesus is telling her, God be with you. And he's answered your requests. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction. She's been healed spiritually. She's been healed physically. She's been healed relationally. She truly does have shalom, the full peace of God upon her.

But what happens next is difficult. In verse 35, Jesus is tenderly talking to this woman in a conversation where he's dialoguing directly with her in the midst of this large crowd of people. And as he's sharing these beautiful words with her as he's just healed her, bad news comes from Jairus' house. And this is something we need to recognize and understand that There seems regularly to be both rejoicing and sorrow in the midst of the same congregation. Even in this church right now, there are people in our congregation who are suffering with debilitating pain and other people who are celebrating the birth of a child. There are people who are stuck in a facility that they are trying to understand just what's happening with them and with life and are often brought to the deeps of sorrows and tears. And there are some of us who are rejoicing at the goodness of God that He has poured out upon us. This is regular and this is what happens in a fallen world.

While he was still speaking, Jesus is saying this, he hears, he overhears something that wasn't meant for him. Someone came from the ruler's house, from the synagogue leader's house, and he said, your daughter, I can't imagine these words. Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore? It's done.

And as the veil of darkness seems to shadow over the synagogue leader's heart, as this grief starts to consume him, it's as if Jesus takes him by the chin and looks in his eyes and he tells him very clearly, do not be afraid. Only believe. He's really being filled with fear. with fear. His heart is already being consumed. Can this possibly be true? And Jesus says, I need you to listen to me. You need to trust me. I know this is scary. Walk with me.

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to walk from the seashore there to this leader of the synagogue's home? I imagine his feet felt like they were walking in lead boots, dreading going into the courtyard of that house, knowing the mourners were going to be there, knowing he would have to open a door into his child's bedroom and find the lifeless body of his beloved child.

Jesus isn't annoyed by this. Jesus cares for him. Look to me at verses 35 and 37. While he was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house and said, your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word, notice, as soon as, immediately, when he had heard the word that was spoken, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not be afraid, only believe. And he permitted no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

And he came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw Ptolemaic and those who wept and wailed loudly. Jesus goes with us in our sorrows. Jesus was a man who did not come to sit in princely palaces, to take his crown upon a throne, and to be fully removed from his people's troubles. Jesus was a man of the people and loved His people went into their homes, cared for them, walked with them in their grief. He's not annoyed by the problems of this world, but he loves.

But notice when he gets into the house, people mock him. Don't be surprised about this. People will mock you for your faith also. You'll say the Lord said things and they'll think that you're wack crazy out of your mind or worse than that, ignorant or stupid. Question is, do you believe the sovereign ruler of the universe who gave life and formed your body in your mother's womb? Or do you believe the world? See, Jesus is sovereign even in the face of professional mourners. Look with me at verses 38 through 40.

Then he came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw a torment of those who wept and wailed loudly. When he came in, he said to them, Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they ridiculed him. They laughed at him. They mocked him. Now, we're in a little bit of a different situation here, right?

In America, If somebody dies, we typically treat it with a great deal of respect. We give the family their space. The immediate family only comes, and it's a very quiet and somber. There's often weeping, and there's often crying, and people talking about their loved ones, things like this.

But that's not the way it was in Jewish homes. See, when Jesus walked into this home, he most likely walked into the courtyard and right away there would have been professional mourners there. People on call all the time, Jewish tradition dictated that even the poorest of families would shell out for, and you would pay them later, but the professional mourners would be there right away. So if someone was sick, it went out through, I'm sure, the first century prayer chain. People found out about this, and the people who were good at wailing and weeping, they came to the house to mourn and weep.

Now we might find that a little bit odd, but think about it. The dead person is in another room. These people are in the courtyard, and they're there to set the tone that when you come, this is a somber event. How many dead bodies have these people seen? How many times have they seen a corpse laying in a bed? How many times have they wept with somebody who knows the difference between a coma and a dead person? And when we go to the book of Luke, we find out in the book of Luke that this little girl really is dead.

But Jesus says to them, The child is not dead, but is sleeping. Somehow she is not yet fully gone. We don't exactly know what Jesus is getting at here, but all we know is that her name isn't written in the book of the dead yet. And they ridicule him. They mock him. Notice Jesus hasn't even gone into the room yet. He's still out in the courtyard. How could he possibly know this? Yeah, this is just some quack rabbi. He doesn't know what he's talking about, obviously. But Jesus is sovereign in his care of this child. Jesus knows the state of her soul. Jesus knows where she is physically and spiritually.

Now I need to make a special caveat on this because there are people who will take this passage and I need to warn you as a pastor. I'm going to warn you about this by story. When I was in seminary in Pittsburgh, there was an event that happened where a child died. And the charismatic pastor took this passage, and he thought, well, if it was good for Jesus, then it's good for me. And he prophesied, I'm going to put that in big air quotes, prophesied that by the people's faith there, and by his faith, he would lay hands on this dead girl's body, and she would rise again from the dead.

And this was a spiritually abusive pastor. Because, of course, the girl did not rise from the dead. And then what did he do? He trampled on his people's faith. He was a poor shepherding, told them, well, someone in here, probably one of the parents, didn't believe enough. That is cruel, and it's a twisting of this passage.

It is Jesus Christ we're supposed to look to here. These types of things did happen with the first century apostles, but it was just for that to affirm the apostolic message. But this is not to be normative, but it is a historical event. This is not just wishful thinking. But Jesus Christ walked into that room and notice again, notice the detail that Mark gives us.

But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child and those who were with Him, and He entered where the child was lying. Then what did He do? Verse 41. Then He took the child by the hand. Now you touch somebody with an issue of blood, you're unclean until the evening. You touch somebody who is dead, you're unclean for a week. That's not a concern to Jesus. That's not what he's worried about. This historical event happens that Jesus touches the cold hands of this dead girl and she rises again to life. But I need to let you know that this doesn't always happen.

I would be remiss, Christians, if I did not tell you and warn you that there are some of you who have lost children. Some of you who have suffered as you have prayed for people and prayed for people. Maybe you've prayed for your mother or your father. You've prayed for children, you've prayed for loved ones, and they never get better.

This is not outside the sovereign control of our God. No. I need to warn you that often suffering in this life is a lonely road. We as a church, I need to warn you because if I, again, pastorally, I'm concerned about this. There are some of you that in your life, God is going to bring trials that we can't walk with you. We can help in certain ways, but there will be lonely moments in your life that the only person who could ever possibly comfort you and walk with you is going to be the Holy Spirit himself. We as a church can love, we can support, we can care for, but only to a certain extent.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. And Romans chapter five tells us that the afflictions in this life aren't purposeless. Romans chapter 5 teaches us that if we have been united to Jesus Christ, if we have been justified by Him, then the faith that He gives us, even in the midst of trials, in the midst of catastrophes, in the midst of persecution and suffering, produces character perseverance, and hope. And hope doesn't disappoint. That is what Jarius had. That is what the woman with the issue of blood has.

It's hope in Jesus Christ. How do you get this hope? How do you make sure you have this hope as you are going through trials and suffering and affliction in this life? In the face of sickness and in death, how do you ensure that you have this same hope? Well, first, you need to know who God is.

I was really encouraged, I recommended this month, I normally don't do this, but I'm gonna recommend it straight from the pulpit, Tim Challey's little book, Seasons of Sorrows. You talk about a real uplifting book to read while you're on vacation. I finished this when I was on vacation and found myself weeping on the couch. suffering with Tim Challies as he walks through what does it look like for him to lose a boy, his firstborn son. And time and time again he talks about, and even in interviews about this book, he talks about he needed to be rooted in who God was before the suffering came.

He needed to know that God was sovereign. He needed to know that God was righteous. He needed to know that suffering had a purpose to it. Because God is loving and He is providential. And He needed to know those things when He went into suffering. So that He could have hope while He was suffering.

Remember, secondly, I'm gonna give you nine different points. That was number one, evaluate or remember who God was. Number two, remember it was God who is the creator of all things. God made you. God knit each one of us in our mother's wombs. You were fearfully and wonderfully made. God doesn't treat us like discarded toys. But He's the one who has made us.

Third Point

Remember point three of this, how do we maintain hope in this relationship with Jesus in the face of trials and suffering? Remember, it is God who gives all good gifts. Even in the midst of your suffering, when sickness and death come, knock at your door, and brothers and sisters, I need to warn you, it is going to. Will you remember what a gift your loved ones are, and who the giver of that gift was?

It is God. Fourthly, realize that it is sin that has robbed us from our health and life. All creation groans eagerly awaiting the day of redemption. We need to remember that it is sin that has brought this upon us. It is our guilt. This is the way of a fallen world. Recognize number five. Recognize that this decay and death are sad realities. We need to walk around.

I'm not talking about being melancholy and, you know, doom and gloom all the time. Oh, when am I going to get hit by a bus? Or when am I going to just drop dead on the tractor? I'm not saying that. But with a healthy reality, that unless Jesus Christ returns each and every one of us, your body's going to fail you. That's one thing I've learned from pastoring a congregation with older people. Y'all prove that our bodies are all going to fail us. We're going to get sick. We're going to age. It's going to hurt. For it is appointed for every man to die once and after that, the judgment. We are all going to die unless Jesus Christ returns again. So walk around with a sobriety about that. Number six, seep yourself in God's word and cling to his promises.

Today's a joyful day. A man you don't know but who we prayed for four years ago was released from prison yesterday. This is his first Lord's Day with his family. One of the ruling elders of early reign covenant church was released from prison from his four year sentence yesterday morning.

Why was he imprisoned? Because he was a Christian. because he was a leader of an underground church that wasn't registered with the state. And so he was thrown in prison for four years. But when he went into prison, he needed to have God's Word hidden in his heart. When trials and afflictions come in your life, you need to have the promises of God ready at your hands. You need to have God's words stored up in your heart so that when days of despair and depression come, you know who God is and what He said. Seventh, go to Him as a heavenly Father, ready and able to help. He's our comforter. He has sent us His Holy Spirit. Go to Him in prayer. He told us, boldly enter into His throne of grace. Go to Him.

In your sorrows, in your depression, in your despair, when sickness and death knock at your door, the door to heaven is always open. Eighth, talk of your grief with others. This is a paradox and this is a hard one. You will be tempted in your sorrows. You will be tempted in your despair. To turn inward. To isolate. To remove yourself from others. This is a normal pattern. And yet it's also a dangerous pattern. Because as we isolate ourselves from God's people, We can't share one another's burdens.

Share your grief with others. Let others in, let others care for you. Let others provide for you. Let others comfort God's word to you. Last point of application from this. Find friends who will share your burdens. Who can talk with you and who will listen. but also who will encourage you and even confront you. I get overwhelmed sometimes, and you all know that. It happened this morning.

But I'll never forget when my father-in-law died. And standing here, reading Romans chapter 8, we had been working through the book of Esther, and when we read through the book of Esther, every single Lord's Day, we read Romans chapter 8. And then, in front of all of you, God hit me with a baseball bat across the face.

Not even death can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. The same words that another friend told me one time, and he said, stop crying like a pagan and have hope, Brian. Death isn't the end of the story. Surround yourself with people who will encourage you to be in God's word, who will give credence to the reality of sorrow in your life, but will also encourage you and can also challenge you. And seventhly, the last point is be amazed at the sovereign love of Jesus. Be amazed at the sovereign love of Jesus.

Jesus has put everybody out of the house and then he took the child by the hand. And he said to her, Talitha Kumi, which is translated little girl, I say to you arise. Immediately the little girl arose and walked for she was 12 years of age and they were overcome with great amazement. But he commanded them strictly that no one should know it and said that something should be given her to eat. Jesus walks into that room with only five people. And he calls her Talitha.

The translation says, you know, it means little child, and that's true. But in the Aramaic, it's this idea of lamb. He says, little lamb, arise. Get up. And the one who spoke the dawn into existence, speaks to this little girl, and just by the power of His will and of His words, could you imagine opening your eyes and seeing the Savior in front of you?

He doesn't care about the uncleanness for a week. He doesn't care about any of that. But as one commentator says, with a minimum fuss, simply a grasp of the hand and a word of command, The girl obeys and is brought back to life. Death isn't the end of the story. Death is not the end of the story. Everyone else is amazed. They're shocked by this. But this is just a precursor to what Jesus is going to do. Because Jesus would conquer death itself. See, this little girl Jairus's daughter would die again, but Jesus would die the death that he would never die again. To raise again from the dead to live forever.

Oh death, where is your sting? When sorrow and when death come knocking at your door, where will you go? in the midst of your sorrow? Will you be like Jairus who goes to Christ? Will you be like the woman with the issue of blood who goes to Jesus Christ?

A quick interesting point and then concluding words from Tim Challies book is I love just the historicity of this book. She gets up, she's 12 years old, And Jesus says, somebody make her some food. Chalice, when he finishes the very last pages of his book, he says, the sun has set, the house has fallen quiet, and it's time for me to retire for the night.

I'll go upstairs. and slip into the room where Eileen is already at rest. I'll roll over to be close to her and lie there a few minutes, listening to the sound of her breathing until my chest begins to rise and fall in unison with hers. My eyes will grow heavy and my mind will grow hazy. Soon enough, I too will drift off. And as one day fades into the next, I'll sleep, confident in the knowledge that when I awake with the sun, I will be one day nearer to heaven, one day nearer to Nick, one day nearer to Jesus. Good night, my boy, oh whisper in the darkness. Good night until then.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Oh Father, we thank you that we have hope in sorrow and in grief. We thank you that death is not the final word, but that each day we live is one day closer to eternity, one day closer to the new heavens and the new earth, when we will rejoice with you with a throng of angels worshiping before the Lamb who was slain. Lord, we thank you that you have told us to come to you. And one day the trumpets will sound, and you will say to those who rest in their graves, arise. And a new age will be inaugurated. Lord, give us comfort. Give us hope that only your Holy Spirit could provide.

In Jesus's name. Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.