In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the importance of a Christian's actions aligning with their words. He emphasizes the idea that when a Christian's walk does not correspond with their talk, it is better for them to say less. The sermon draws parallels between the doubts expressed by John the Baptist and the miracles performed by Jesus, highlighting the evidence of Jesus' divinity. The speaker also shares a personal anecdote about his son finding a message written in a songbook, which serves as a reminder that people often procrastinate and fail to do what they should in the present.

Ministries have become available in these days together, not only from the Word of God, but through the servants of God who have contributed gifts that God and shared with us something of the gifts that God has given to them. And of course your own participation has been a rich blessing for all of us. I'm on a little bit of a learning curve here in so much that I'm discovering that one of the fringe benefits of speaking with others at a Bible season such as we're sharing together, that sometimes there's a little mistaken identity that can come in. So much so that for the Territorial Commander on Monday, someone took him aside and said, By the way, in that message you gave last night, Commissioner, would you just give me the rest of that quote by Dr. Stanley Jones? Anyhow, that's been satisfied. But yesterday at lunchtime, I lined up with everybody and a lady came up to me and said, You know, Commissioner, I almost felt I had to say something to you this morning. And I said, What did I do wrong? She said, I'm a cat lover. And she said, That story you told about the cat disturbed me. Well, Dr. Arthur and myself, we might be sort of approaching similar dimensions, I don't know. But there was a little mistaken identity there. And of course, sometimes it can be that as the week unfolds, we're starting to get a little bit tired. And where I noticed they've already dimmed the lights a little, and that can be tempting for some of you. In fact, I'll tell you a true story that happened in New Zealand. It was told by a colonel, and that's why I'm happy to say it's a true story. And he told me that in the southern island there one Sunday night at a corps, congregation had assembled and the meeting was going along nicely. And towards the front there was a father and son sitting in this meeting. And the father was, as the meeting went on, seemed to be less eager in his participation. So that when it came to the sermon, what should happen, the captain noticed that the father was starting to nod. Well, that's a good sign that he was with us. But then the nodding stopped and the captain realized that the man beside his son had gone to sleep during the sermon. And so he stopped the meeting, the captain. And he said, excuse me, son, would you just tell your father that the meeting is still in progress? And the boy was horrified. How could he handle this? He looked at his father and for sure his father was asleep. And then he looked back at the captain and he said, Captain, you put him to sleep, you wake him. Well, that's the story that the colonel told me. He's now gone into honorable retirement. But there you have it. I like Mark's account of the Bible reading that we took a little earlier from Matthew. And so we're going to look at Mark chapter 5 tonight. It was Commissioner A.B. Cook. I don't know whether any of you have met, some years ago, Dr. Cook, great missionary doctor in India. And prior to his retirement, he was territorial commander in New Zealand, his home territory. And I can remember him telling us a story in Sydney once, how that there were two brothers in New Zealand. One was a D.D., a doctor of divinity. And the other was an M.D., a doctor of medicine. Both doctors, one a preacher and the other a medical man. And for economic reasons, they only retained one secretary to serve them both. So that when the secretary answered the phone, she found the best way to answer any inquiry was to say, do you want to speak to the doctor who preaches? Or do you want to speak to the doctor who practices? Now the reason I mention that is that in the life of Jesus, you soon come to the conclusion that for Jesus, words without deeds were never enough. And so to ensure effective communication, Jesus identified or communicated himself through two ways, by what he said and by what he did. So that by a combination of words and actions, Jesus was able to minister to the physical and the spiritual. You remember, of course, that when John the Baptist was in prison and he was being buffeted by terrible doubts, he called two of his disciples and said, I want you to go and find Jesus and I want you to put this question to him. Are you the one who should come or do we look for another? And then you'll have it in Matthew and Luke that when Jesus replied to those two disciples, he said, go and tell John what you hear and what you see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, etc. And so we are coming to the point, and very often I'm challenged, I'm a great believer in sermons in a sentence. And over the years I've been able to retain a number of them for my own benefit. But in preparing this message tonight, there came to my mind the little sentence which says, when a Christian's walk does not correspond with his talk, the less he has to say the better. When a Christian's walk does not correspond with his talk, then the less he has to say the better. Well now, in this Bible segment that we are studying tonight, it is a remarkable presentation because there is an overlap between two very intensely human situations. The songwriter has said, who is he to whom they bring all the sick and the sorrowing? Jesus. And this remarkable incident that we're going to look at this evening brings two experiences very delicately together. First of all, in the household of Jairus, where there is sorrow because a life has passed away. And then you've also got a lady who had been handicapped, whose health had been so different for at least 12 years because of an incurable hemorrhage. And you know the story as well as I do, how that she said, if I could but touch the hem of his garment, I'm sure I would be cured. And so we've got these two incidents overlapping each other, one to do with sorrow and the other to do with suffering. And we'll see who it is who comes and ministers to both situations. But first of all, going from Mark chapter 5, you'll soon as we pick it up, I think at about verse 21, then into 22 we meet Jairus. Now, Jairus must have been a very important man. He was a ruler in the synagogue. He was a Jew. And if you keep in mind that at this time there was mounting opposition to Jesus, so that it must have been a very difficult thing for this man to do, to have plucked up the courage, even the faith, to have said, I'm going to go and talk to Jesus about this need. He was desperate. His love for his 12-year-old daughter was so intense that he could just overcome that reservation of his position, his race, his nationality, or whatever you like to say, and he could just put it aside and say, I'm going to speak to Jesus. And if you noticed in Matthew's gospel, it said, when Jairus came to Jesus, he fell down before him and worshipped him. Now, it's interesting that as Jesus responded to the request of Jairus to go to his house and bring a ministry as the great physician to his child who was nigh unto death, as Jesus was on his way to that very place of need, his progress was interrupted. And it was interrupted by this lady who was overcome by her own circumstances that had beleaguered her for the last 12 years. And the crowd that was there, she managed to inch her way through right to where Jesus was standing, and she touched him. And at that moment, she knew that her illness had been cured. Then Jesus continued on his way to the house where sorrow awaited them. Now, when I read the Bible, as I'm sure you do too, I very often sit down and say to the Lord, Lord, help me to understand this a little better. How does this relate to my life? And when I do that, I very often find that God gives me new insights which previously had somehow missed my attention. And that's one of the wonderful things about the Bible. You know, I read this morning about Hagar and the lad who'd cried out to the Lord, and I've read that I don't know how many times, but never did it hit me that Ishmael had cried out to the Lord. So every day, God, in a very wonderful way, gives you and me surprises. And so when I was preparing this message, I first of all thanked the Lord for showing me this segment of the Scripture that answered the two situations that had occupied the songwriter's attention. And then as I sat down, I began to compare. Here is Jairus on one hand, and here is a lady. Who is suffering, and Jairus who has a sick child. How do they compare with each other? Well, first of all, Jairus, his name is given in the Scriptures. But the lady remains anonymous. There's no name. The man was an important synagogue official, was Jairus. But the lady is a nobody, without any resources, and who has an affliction that would have even denied her attendance at the synagogue. Jairus comes looking for Jesus because he wants to intercede for his child. This lady simply comes privately for her own need, and in her own mind says, if I can touch him. Jairus has a daughter who's 12 years of age. The woman has had an illness for 12 years. Jairus was a man in the public eye, and everybody knew his situation. This woman had a private need, which perhaps was not known to a great many, except that Jesus knew and understood. And so, if we can just separate these two incidents for a moment or two, so that ultimately we can bring them together, then first of all, let's look at what happened to Jairus. And I want to put to you tonight that as I was preparing this message, I was helped of God to see that when Jesus came to speak to this man, and any parent who's had a child who's gone through a sickness would understand, or a loved one that's gone through an illness that's been nigh unto death, you would understand something of the emotional strain that tears at your inner resources, and saps them, and you wonder how you can survive. And God said to me in my preparation, you listen to what Jesus had to say, and you'll listen to him who it was prophesied in Isaiah. He would be the counsellor. And so then I went back into my Bible to Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. And I want to just read it to you for a moment. Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. And I discovered that I had something written in my Bible by that very verse. Now I don't know what you use for Bible study, but I have a Bible here which is called a margin Bible. This is my third Bible like this. Because when, like during these few days together, I've already picked up some very, very powerful sentences from our guest speakers. And so I write them down. When I go home, I get out my special little pen, which is like a draftsman's pen. And I print with Indian ink because it won't run. And this is where I put all my little thoughts that come by courtesy of others, so that I've always got it. Now I'm on my third Bible. One day, God willing, I dare say one will go to each of the children. But this is what I've got written beside Isaiah 9 6. Now I don't know where I got it from, but listen to this. To the weary, He is wonderful. To the confused, He is counsellor. To the weak, He is the mighty God. To the orphaned, He is the everlasting Father. To the troubled, He is the Prince of Peace. Well, I thought I'd share it with you tonight to give you an idea. I don't know where that came from, but somewhere along the road, God has blessed me as I've read it or someone has said it. And there it is. I can always come back to it and be blessed again. It might just give some of you an idea that you might like to follow through with your own Bible study. And so, first of all, Jesus came to be the counsellor of Jairus. And what's He going to say that can help a man in this situation? Because it's crisis time. Keep in mind, it's crisis time. Mark 5 and we're going over to verse 36. Because in the previous verse, it's been brought to the attention of Jairus. Word has come from his home and saying, don't worry Jesus anymore because your child has now gone into eternity. It's too late for Jesus to do anything. What did Jesus say in verse 36? Jesus gave him the word of faith. Be not afraid, only believe. Fear, as Captain said this morning. Be not afraid, said Jesus, only believe. As I said, this incident had taken on a new dimension as I look at it here. And his whole body for Jairus would have responded to this news that had just reached him. Now, either Jairus had to believe his friends and cut off any further contact with Jesus or he had to take Jesus at his word and say, I'm going on with you. In other words, Jesus was saying, keep matters in context. It was your faith that brought you to me. And your faith has been helped by watching what happened to the woman with the issue of blood. Now, he said, don't quit. Keep on believing. And as Captain was giving us the message this morning about fear and how it can immobilize it, one sermon came to my mind, Captain, a sermon in a sentence. And it says, when your knees knock, kneel on them. When your knees knock, kneel on them. That's the answer. And Jesus gave him a word of faith and said, be not afraid, only believe. Oh, I believe God answers prayer. He's answered mine before. You know, we have a little chorus. I don't know whether you ever sing it in America. Faith, mighty faith, the promise is. And looks to that alone, laughs at impossibilities and cries, it shall be done. Do you sing that in America? I wonder where Colonel Cooper is. Do you sing it in the Central Territory? But Jesus gave Jairus a word of faith. And then he did something more in verse 39, because when they came into the house, Jesus discovered that they were there, the professional whalers were there, the mourners who were paid to come to such a situation. And that of itself would tell us that the girl was dead. And Jesus gave a word of hope. Hallelujah. And this is the word of hope that he gave. The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. But sleepeth. You see, it's an interesting study, and time won't allow us tonight, but it's an interesting study that in the New Testament, death is continually spoken of as sleep. So that if you go to John 11, 11, you'll find that when Jesus spoke about Lazarus, he just simply said, he's asleep. Or if you go into the Acts of the Apostles, and you'll find the first martyrdom there, you'll find that it was said of Stephen, he has fallen asleep. And you know, I'm told in my, well I've discovered in my reading, that in the early Christian church, the martyrs called the day for their death, as their birthday. They were going into a new life. And so I want to suggest to you tonight that when Jesus gave the word of faith, and then he gave the word of hope, I want to just continue and say that there was one more word that Jesus gave. And in verse 41 we have it, and it's a word of love and power. And Jesus took her by the hand and speaking to her in Aramaic said, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. You see, unbelief laughs at God's word, but faith lays hold of it and experiences the power of God. The mourners failed to realise that Jesus was the resurrection and the life. And it's interesting that Jesus, in the record of his ministry, he only raised three people to life again after they had died. Lazarus, who was an only brother. The son of the widow of Nain, who was an only son. And the daughter of Jairus, who was an only daughter. I've written this down here and I would like to leave it with you just to think it through. The question may arise as to why Jesus was apparently so reluctant in the exercise of his supreme power. Perhaps we ought hardly to attempt an answer. Yet I cannot think of it without believing that he saw the whole of life and knew where these were that men called dead. He knew that in calling them back into the earth life, he was calling them back to the place of sorrow. Hence his reluctance. And so in these three situations that I've just mentioned, all of them show the tenderness and understanding that Christ had from his heart towards those who experienced sorrow. And so I can see some lessons in this, and let me just briefly give one or two of them to you in this segment of scripture to do with Jairus. It's meant to tell us, I'm sure, that death is never more than a sleep. And from it, we awake strengthened and refreshed to enjoy the presence of God forevermore. And so may God help us understand that when the day comes that God calls you and me to meet him, we're going to what the songwriter calls a better land. And so the great position. Now we'll just look for a few moments at the situation concerning this woman who had this illness running for 12 years. She was a lady who had to keep herself rather private in her contact with people. And if you look at the scripture, you'll find three things confront you immediately about her situation. First of all, in verse here, the duration of her condition, it says that she had had this condition for 12 years, in verse 25. And so for 12 years, the Talmud said that there were 11 different ways in which this illness might be cured. But if it wasn't cured, it denied her the opportunity of going to the synagogue, it denied her the opportunity of contact with other people. The rabbis even said that it was a reason for which a person could ask for a divorce. And so for 12 years, it says here that this situation, that in verse 26, that she grew worse as she had spent all that she had. And so not only is there the duration of her condition that gives us some concern, but there's also the fact that during that time, her condition deteriorated. So she grew worse, as I said, in verse 26. And thirdly, you'll pick up the destitution of her condition. She has spent everything that she had. She has nothing. But let us not give up hope, because the songwriters have said, when we have reached the end of our resources, the Father's full giving has only begun. And this is the turning point for this woman. Despite this background, this depressive background that had dominated her life for 12 years, suddenly she's at the turning point. It's the crossroads. Because the remarkable thing, it says here in verse 27, but when she had heard of Jesus. Who is He? Oh, when she'd heard of Jesus. What had she heard of Jesus? How did she hear of Jesus? I don't know. Everybody was talking about Jesus. And if you go back in the earlier chapters, you'll find out that he had healed the mother-in-law of Peter. Raised her from her sick bed. He'd cleansed the leper. He'd also raised the dead son of the widow of Nain. A demon-possessed man had been delivered. The storm on the lake had been calmed. This is Jesus that she'd heard about. And in her own mind and concept at that moment, she said, if I can but touch the hem of his garment, I believe the great transaction of healing will take place in my life. That was the moment. It was before her. Jesus was there. The motivation to meet him was there. Her faith, and we'll deal with her faith in a moment. It was, perhaps we might use the founder's expression, her faith was growing bolder. You know, the important thing for you and me is that when we suddenly become conscious that God wants to do something more in our lives, there is no more precious moment than that very moment. Because at that very moment, you and I are deciding matters of eternal importance. You and I have the opportunity to respond to the guidance of God, which is the greatest discovery that can come to the human soul. To suddenly say, I hear him. He says to me, I will follow. And you give your response. One day when the six of us added rather meaningfully to a small congregation while we were on furlough in Australia, only about 15 in the meeting. Children were much younger in those days, and they were eager to have their own song books. The eldest boy was sitting beside me. I always found that the most comfortable position, both for he and for my own peace of mind. And as he was browsing through the song book, he suddenly saw something and he turned to me and he said, Dad, look at this. Someone has written inside the song book. You shouldn't do that, should you? Oh, no, son, you don't write in Salvation Army songs. What's written in there? I said, and he handed it to me. And this is what was written in the song book. Man seldom does tomorrow that which he should have done today. There's a sermon in a sentence. Man seldom does tomorrow what he should have done today. And this was the moment for this woman. We may protest that her theology is a little awry. We might even question whether her faith, we say to ourselves, what sort of a faith that she had? It was weak. It was timid. It was somewhat superstitious. But you call it what you like. Jesus saw in that woman's faith, be it ever so small, perhaps the size of a grain of mustard seed. But there was something there that Jesus said, that is enough. And it was enough to bring the great blessing of God into her life. Glory be to God. I'm just so glad that judgment belongs to God and not to you and not to me. Because God sees in you and me things that no human eye can ever appreciate. But God sees the flicker of faith. And it is enough. It is enough. I often start the day by quoting to myself the words of Cardinal Newman, I ask not to see. I ask not to know. I ask simply to be used. That's all. She touched him. The 12 years of suffering was over. And in a very wonderful way, that touch of Jesus on his robe had brought that response that gave her body relief. Now, I just want to spend the closing moments by then looking at what Jesus did at that very moment. He called for her and he said, Who touched me? And the disciples were amazed and said, How on earth you are touched by so many people thronging around you. How could you put that question? All the disciples were surprised. Because as he spoke already, the woman was beginning to slip away from the crowd. She knew that she was made whole. But then it says, look how in this, it says here in this segment of scripture in verse 33. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, hallelujah, came and fell down before him and told him all the truth. Bless the Lord. Why should she tremble? Why should she fear? I guess at that moment, the devil was already counteracting something that already was starting to settle in her mind, the relief to know that she was cured. And so the devil was trying to cancel out that plus factor that was taking hold of her. And she perhaps thought in her mind, will he publicly expose me? Will he ridicule me before others? Will he tell people that I've made him unclean by touching him? What will he do with me? How marvellous and tender was the response of Jesus. Who is he that responds like this? You see, I believe Jesus didn't want her to go away because if she'd have gone away, several factors would have been not completely locked in. She'd have gone away without hearing his words of comfort. But I believe Jesus stopped her from going away for two basic reasons. Firstly, for her own sake. And secondly, for the sake of Jairus. Don't forget that they were on the way to the house of Jairus when their progress was interrupted by this incident. And they're going to resume the journey afterwards on hearing the news that the little girl of twelve has died. I believe that Jesus stopped her from going. And I'm going to give you three or four reasons. You might like to just think them through yourself. I believe that Jesus wanted to help her in adequate faith towards maturity. Because in her mind, she said, if I may touch his garment. But Jesus said, yes, get it right. It wasn't that, it was your faith that made you whole. And so Jesus didn't want her to go away with an understanding that divine things only happen when you have this outward observance or whatever you like to call it. The physical was only the sacramental symbol of the spiritual. And faith, of course, is the hand that receives the blessing. Even faith that says, Lord, help my unbelief. So Jesus didn't want her to go because she needed a little bit of teaching to help her faith get on to a more appropriate level towards maturity. Jesus wanted to be much more to her than a healer. He wanted to be a saviour. He wanted to be a friend. Isn't that a lovely thought? Who is he? The great physician. He wants to be more than the healer. He wants to be the saviour. By the time he had finished speaking to this woman, she experienced something more than physical healing. For to be made whole was more than just a body recovery. It had to do with her spirit as well. Thirdly, I want to put to you that Jesus didn't want this girl to get away without he had had a final word because here she was. She was healed, but she was still penniless. She was still friendless. Perhaps she was still divorced and she was still excommunicated from rabbinical law. But in employing the most tender expression, and it's only once you'll read it in the life and ministry of Jesus, Jesus turned to her and said, Welcome to the family of God. Daughter, be of good comfort. It's the only time in the New Testament you'll find that Jesus used that phrase. Daughter, be of good comfort. You know in the Salvation Army we use the term comrade. We use the term brother and sister. But I like, rather than using comrade, I like the term brother. I just might just go on the masculine for a moment, or sister. Because the definition of a comrade is somebody who shares the same room. But a brother or a sister is someone who shares the same blood. Who is he? It's because of his blood spilt on Calvary. That you and I here tonight are brothers and sisters in Christ. And Jesus would not have this lady go without a full understanding of what's going on. What he would want to do with her life. And the fourth little thought that you might find helpful, helpful, he didn't want her to go away and become a secret disciple. He wanted her to be so released in body and spirit that she would go in the terms of the psalmist. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. He wanted her to be able to go and give voice to her new experience in a way that would glorify God and would challenge men and women to take knowledge that she had not only been with Jesus, but Jesus had touched her life. I have a little verse here and I leave it with you. She too, who touched thee in the press and healing virtue stole, was answered, daughter, go in peace, thy faith hath made thee whole. Concealed amid the gathering throng she would have shunned thy view, and in her faith was firm and strong, had strong misgivings too. Like her, with hope and fears we come to touch thee if we may. Oh, send us not despairing home, send none unhealed. It could be that hidden away within this crowd tonight, hidden away from all others except the Lord himself, someone is stretching out a hand of faith, conscious of a great and overwhelming need. To that person, man or woman, young person, whatever your spiritual or moral malady, you too can find healing as instantaneously and as perfectly as the woman who came and gave herself in response to the words of Christ and felt the great positions complete and wept when he knew of Lazarus. Who is he who can come and attend to the cry of someone who's suffering in a way and feels that faith is so small that they just want to make some insignificant approach to the Lord? He it is who understands you and me better than we understand ourselves. May God help us each to know who he is, and when we know who he is through personal experience, let us ask that he might teach us by his Holy Spirit more of himself so that daily we might become more like him in our relationship with others. Because you remember the verse that I quoted from J. D. Phillips' translation, Jesus Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. And you and I are challenged to be his ambassadors, bringing this same message to others as God by his grace has brought to you and me.