When God Feels Too Late | Phil Kniesel

Have you ever written something off too soon? A relationship, a dream, your faith, or even yourself?

In this message, we look at a moment in Mark 5 where everything seemed over. A dying child, a woman out of options, and people who had already accepted the ending. But where people saw finality, Jesus stepped in and rewrote the story.

This message reminds us that Jesus responds to desperate faith, that His timing isn’t random, and that what feels finished to us might just be the place where He begins something new.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil kl, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Have you ever noticed how quickly people decide something is over, your phone hits 9% battery and suddenly you're like, guys, if I don't make it, tell my family I love them . The wifi drops for five minutes and the whole office declares it's time to go home. Your team is down by three points in the first quarter and you're already talking draft picks, you send a text, you didn't get a reply in five minutes, and suddenly you're convinced the friendship is over. We're really good at declaring endings and it's not just with trivial things. A relationship struggles for a season while that marriage is done, A teenager walks away from their faith, they'll never come back. A dream falls apart. That chapter is over. A family member struggles with something. Yeah, they'll never get better. A business is in trouble. It's finished, and then And then we have the Oilers Dry cidal is out for the regular season, and we're planning emotional support groups and packing up before the playoffs. , We're quick to write obituaries for things that are still breathing. We are quick to pronounce endings. So let ask you, what is something you've already declared over? What is something you have quietly written off? Here's the thing, what if it's not over in God's economy? We're in a series entitled This is Jesus, and we're walking through the New Testament gospel of Mark. This is a book about the good news of Jesus detailing his life, death, and resurrection. And Mark is part of four accounts in the Bible that tell us about Jesus. And even though his is the shortest, it gives us the highlight reels of Jesus' life. Miracle after miracle, incident after incident filled with intentionality. And I'm gonna read from Mark again today, but before I do, I wanna give you some context. Jesus just calms a storm and the disciples along with him cross over to the other side of the sea of Galilee to this place called the region of the Garins. This was outside of Jewish territory. It's basically saying he was stepping into enemy territory. And as soon as they land, a demon possessed man comes to meet them. Kind of like, welcome to the jungle guys. Here we go. And Jesus delivers this man and suddenly someone who wasn't in his right mind finds himself in his right mind. And this miracle was witnessed by a whole bunch of people. This man wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus says to him, I want you to stay back and tell others what God has done for you. And we know from history that this guy had massive impact and influence in that region. Then Jesus and the disciples decide to cross back over to the other side and immediately another crisis. I'm reading from Mark chapter five, verse 22. 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 lived. So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed round him, and a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. And once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him, turned round in the crowd and asked, who touched my clothes? You see the people crowding against you as disciples answered. And yet you can ask who touched me, but Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what happened to her, came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her daughter, your faith has healed. You go in peace and be freed from your suffering. 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? That doesn't throw Jesus. He's like, not, we're gonna keep going. And as he walks towards the house, he recognizes there's a whole bunch of people there crawling. They're wailing. And then he says this, 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 them and he went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, qua, which means little girl, I say to you, get up. Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around and she was 12 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. Mark five is an interesting chapter because it's full of situations. Everyone assumed were finished. We have the demon possessed man and society had written him off. We have a woman bleeding for 12 years and it was medically hopeless and we have a little girl who died. It was completely over. However, in every case, Jesus steps in and rewrites the ending and friend, I don't know where you're at today, but listen, Jesus can always rewrite your ending. Now, mark uses a specific structure to tell two of these stories. Some scholars call it the mark in sandwich. There's the story of Jairus and his dying daughter. Then suddenly the story stops and we read about the woman with the bleeding condition and then he returns to Jairus again. He places one story inside another. So the two interpret each other and there's parallels between 'em. Jairus's daughter is 12 years old. The woman has suffered for 12 years. One story is about a sudden crisis. The other is about long-term suffering. One person is a respected synagogue ruler. The other is socially excluded. Jairus is named, the woman is unnamed. Jairus comes publicly. The woman comes secretly. And Mark is showing us that Jesus brings life into both kinds of pain to sudden tragedy and to long-term suffering. And so whether your pain is 12 hours old or 12 years old, Jesus can step into both. So again, let me ask you, what is something you have declared over? What is something you've written off that Jesus still wants to breathe life into you? I wanna give you three truths that I see from this scene that Mark shows us who Jesus is. And the first one is this. Jesus always responds to desperate faith. Jairus was a synagogue ruler. This meant he was responsible for overseeing worship scripture, reading, keeping the synagogue in order. And because of this, he was respected and he had a certain degree of spiritual knowledge. But when his daughter is dying, none of that matters. Mark says, when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him. That's a posture of desperation. The man who would normally stand in authority is now kneeling in humility. Pain has a way of stripping titles. And then we have the woman, 12 years of bleeding. This wasn't just a medical problem under their law. This made her ceremonially unclean. And because of this, she lived with constant exclusion. She likely could not participate normally in worship. Her illness affected every part of her life. We read that she spent all her money on doctors and only grew worse. And so when she's reaching out for Jesus, she's not simply reaching out for physical healing, she's reaching for restoration into life itself. Because under their law, she's unclean, meaning anything she touches becomes unclean. But when she touches Jesus, the flow reverses instead of her impurity defiling Jesus, his holiness overcomes her impurity. And that's really the gospel message. Jesus is not contaminated by our brokenness. He overcomes it. He's not pushed away by our guilt and our shame. He restores us. And what we have are two totally opposite people moving toward Jesus. One powerful one powerless, one respected, one invisible. But both arrive at the same place at the feet of Jesus because desperation is the great equalizer and Jesus gives both of them his time. And this displays another beautiful truth of the gospel, that the kingdom of God dismantles human categories of worthiness. And throughout Mark's book, throughout his gospel, we see this theme. Jesus touches lepers. He welcomes children. He forgives the worst of sinners. He restores outcasts, which means Jesus is not impressed by status and he is not repelled by brokenness. Jesus always responds to desperate faith. And so no matter who you are, friend, where you are at for all the good in your life and for all the mess in your life, it doesn't matter. You can come to Jesus. Your title doesn't impress him and your shame doesn't repel him. And I know, I know some of you are desperate today. You're desperate for a touch from him physically. You're desperate for freedom from a life you want out of. You're desperate for spiritual restoration. You're desperate for guidance, encouragement, and hope. Friend come fall at the feet of Jesus because faith is not having it all together. It's saying, I don't know what else to do and so I'm gonna be falling at the feet of Jesus. King David, in the Old Testament, he was coined a man after God's own heart, but he had a past. At one point, he committed adultery, orchestrated a murder and then tried to cover it up. And when he finally faced the truth, listen to what he wrote. Listen to his desperation. He said, my sacrifice, oh God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. You God will not despise a broken and contrite heart means humility and genuine sorrow for sin. God never rejects a repentant heart, which means when you honestly humbly and with desperation fall at the feet of Jesus, he will receive you. But he won't just will uh receive you. He will restore you. This is Jesus. He always responds to desperate faith. Second truth I see about Jesus here is Jesus' delays are not his denials. See, Jarris begs Jesus to come to his house. I imagine the urgency he must have felt every second matters when your child is dying. And so Jesus says yes and starts walking, but then he stops because this woman touches him. We read at once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He's turning around and he says, who touched my clothes? And then the disciples respond essentially saying, that's a ridiculous question. Jesus, everyone's bumping into you. And then this woman, she comes forward and falls at Jesus's feet and he pauses to engage in conversation with this woman. Meanwhile, Jairus is standing there watching and thinking, let's hurry up. This is a do or die moment for my daughter. And then we read this while Jesus was still speaking. So as he's having this conversation, some people come from the house of Jairus and they say this, your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore? You can hear the defeat in their words. You can imagine the blow. This was to the stomach for Jairus. Jesus, I asked you to come. I needed you right now. Why did you pause? It's too late. You know when you read through the Bible, you would notice this is one of the ways that God seems to frequently work. Often his timing confuses people. Abraham and Sarah waited decades for their promised son. Joseph waited years in prison before his destiny unfolded. Israel waited 40 years in the desert. Israel also waited centuries before the promised Messiah came. And in every case the delay wasn't random, it was purposeful. Your your daughter is dead. And that sentence is a loaded tip to what people believed about Jesus. They assumed death was the boundary. He couldn't cross heal sickness. Yeah, we've seen that reverse death. No, that ain't gonna happen. The messengers, they had a category for Jesus and that category was too small. And maybe that's where you're at. Maybe you're willing to trust Jesus but only up to a certain point. Because beyond that, you're saying, man, even Jesus can't change this. Maybe you can trust him with your discomfort but not devastation. Maybe you can bring them your setbacks but not your endings. Maybe you can bring them your burdens, but not your graves. Have you put Jesus into a category? Have you made Jesus too small? The messengers assumed the moment death entered the picture, Jesus was no longer relevant. How do we know that? Why bother the teacher anymore? But Mark goes on to show something different. Jesus is most clearly revealed precisely where human ability ends. The gospel writer of John, he records a close parallel to this. It's a story about a guy named Lazarus. Jesus hears that he is sick and even though asked and strongly persuaded from very close friends, he deliberately waits to go to his house. And by the time he arrives, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Why would Jesus wait that long? Jesus himself said it was so. The glory of God may be seen if, if Jesus had arrived at the house of Jairus earlier, he would've healed a sick girl. He would've displayed compassion and power. But by allowing the situation to pass into death, Jesus is gonna reveal something greater. He's not only Lord over sickness, he's Lord over death. The glory of God would be seen. Jesus' delays are not his denials. They are often connected to a greater revelation of his nature. And so friend, in your waiting, in your delay, what is God trying to reveal to you? So the messengers say what they say overhearing what they said. Jesus tells Jairus, don't be afraid. Just believe. And that word believe insinuates faith, a firm conviction on the goodness of who God is. And Jesus is not asking him to deny reality. He's calling Jairus to trust his word over the visible circumstances. That's actually one of the way that the Bible describes what faith is. Not the denial of facts, but confidence that God's word is more decisive than appearances. And so where do you need to trust his word Over your visible circumstances? The messengers interpret, interpreted the situation through the lens of loss. But Jesus is calling Jarvis to have faith and interpret the situation through the lens of himself. In fact, the apostle Paul wrote something similar to the church in Ephesus. He said, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you the richest of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. I pray that you can look at things through a different lens. What Mark has given us here in Jesus's comment when he says, don't be afraid, just believe it's what is called an eschatological hint. There is a kingdom of God dimension here in Jesus'. God's kingdom is breaking into the present age. He's showing us what God's kingdom will be like. And so that means the miracles Jesus is doing are not just random acts of kindness. They are signs that the reign of God has arrived. It's why Jesus said, when you pray, you pray, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus's delay is not accidental narrative tension. It is saying in him the kingdom of God is present and it's active even where death appears to rule. And so friend, listen to me. Your waiting does not mean Jesus has stopped caring. He may seem late by your clock, but he is never absent from the story. He may allow the situation to deepen, but he has not given up on the circumstance. He may delay because he may intend to reveal more of his power. It's almost like God frequently allows a situation to move beyond human repair so that his power becomes unmistakable. This is Jesus, his delays are not his denials. Third truth I see about Jesus in this passage is Jesus sees beginnings. Where we see endings, see Jesus is, Jesus arrives at J's , a lot of us is there. Jesus arrives at J's house and they're grieving in full force. People were crying, they were wailing. Everyone had already written the ending. And then Jesus says something shocking. Why? All this commotion and wailing, the child is not dead but asleep. He's not misdiagnosing her. Jesus is not confused. He's redefining the situation in light of his authority. And throughout scripture, the word sleep becomes a metaphor for death because death in light of God's power is not ultimate. You can go to the Old Testament, Daniel 12. It talks about um, the end of times and it says multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. In the New Testament, we often see Jesus and Paul using the language of sleep for believers who die because for those under God's saving power, death is temporary and resurrection is certain. And so when Jesus says she's only sleeping, he's not minimizing death, he's announcing that death does not have the final status. People think it does when he is present to everyone, death is the end to Jesus. Death is an enemy. He has an authority to interrupt. And that's precisely why they all laughed at him. They lived within the ordinary assumptions of a fallen world. But Jesus is operating with the authority of the kingdom of God. And what happens next? It says he took this girl by the hand and said to her little girl, I say to you, get up. Jesus touches the corpse. That was just like the woman touching a corpse made a person unclean. And once again, mark is showing us Jesus moves toward the unclean, but instead of becoming defiled by it, he reverses the condition. Jesus is the one whose life is stronger than impurity and whose power is stronger than death. So Jesus touches and speaks to the corpse. And what he touches and speaks to is transformed. His word carries divine authority. Just like in Genesis, when he spoke, spoke and life came forth. Here Jesus speaks and life returns. He changes the ending. And this is not just miracle theology, this is incarnation theology in Christ. God has come near to touch the world ruined by sin and death. It's a sign that says Jesus sees beginnings where we see endings. You wanna know the greatest example of this. The greatest example of this is the cross. Because to all who wanted Jesus to liberate them to the disciples and his close friends, good Friday looked like the end of hope to hell. It looked like a victory to the world at large. It looked like defeat. Satan thought he had won. But in the wisdom of God, the apparent ending became the beginning of redemption, resurrection, freedom, and new life. And in that house with this 12-year-old girl and Jesus, we have a small preview of Easter. Jesus even tells her parents give this girl something to eat, which means he restores her life to the full. This is earthly, this is practical. Resurrection is not this ghostly escape from the world, but it is the restoration of life as God intended. That's the Christian hope, the renewal of all things. And so Jesus takes this girl by the hand and says, immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around. The story everyone thought was Finn had begun. Again. The story that was deemed over wasn't. Jesus sees beginnings where we see endings and so friend, what is something you have declared over? What is something you have quietly written off? What is something you believe is finished? Maybe it's a relationship, a friendship, your marriage, a family member. Maybe it's a calling you once had. Maybe it's a dream you once believed in. Maybe it's a circumstance. You say, this is never gonna get better. Maybe it's a prodigal child you've secretly given up hope on. And at some point you just thought, man, I guess this chapter is finished. And it's not just you saying it, it's others as well. I mean the crowd in Jar's house believe the story was over too. And maybe, maybe the voice is all around. You are saying it's over. But listen, the voice of Jesus still says, do not be afraid. Just believe. Because when Jesus speaks, the story isn't finished yet. When Jesus walks into the room, everything changes. Jesus always responds to desperate faith. Jesus' delays are not his denials. Jesus sees beginnings where we see endings, this is Jesus. And so I'm gonna ask you to stand if you are able to. I wanna pray for you in closing today, but before I do, I want to ask you, friend, just look inside your heart. Is there something that you have decided is over? You've declared it over you've, you've written it off. I wanna encourage you today, place that situation into the hands of Jesus. In fact, can I just have every head bowed and eye closed for a moment? I'm gonna pray for you in a moment, but before I do, if you're saying, pastor Phil, I've declared something to be over and I need to bring it to Jesus. I've spoken death over something that Jesus can still bring life to. You know what? It's across this room, across all our campuses. If that's you, I'm gonna ask you to raise your hand in an acknowledgement so I can pray for you today. Just raise your hand. Thank you, thank you. I see the hands across the balcony in the house everywhere. Let me pray for you. Jesus. You see every person in our church, you see the things we talk easily about and the things we all carry quietly. You see the situations that to many of us feel broken beyond repair. You see the places where our hope has faded. And today I bring you those places, Lord, just like gyrus fell at your feet, just like the woman reached out in faith, in desperation, I pray over and for my friends today, I pray over each person who has declared things are finished where you may not be finished yet I ask that they give you these situations. I ask that they lay them at your feet, Lord. And so I place marriages into your hands today. I place children into your hands. I place dreams, futures and circumstances into your hands. Jesus. Where we see endings, I ask you begin something new where delays are evident. Help us not to give up. Build our faith, strengthen our faith where we have grown impatient. Help us to rely upon you, stir inside of us a deeper faith, a deeper trust, a deeper longing, a desperation to be at your feet. And so God, I ask that in those circumstances that we have declared finish, may we believe that your word gets the final word, Jesus, that you, once you enter into the circumstance, God, that we can trust you and look to you and give us that faith. Give us that assurance. Give us that promise. Maybe you're joining us and you don't know. Jesus personally talked about it earlier. And I just wanna reiterate, friend Jesus went to the cross to die for your sins. He rose to offer you life, both now and forever. And I think following Jesus is the best decision anyone can make. And so if you're joining us and you want to begin a journey with Jesus, the Holy Spirit's tugging on your heart and you're saying, man, I gotta make this choice. I'm gonna pray a prayer that just allows you to put into words the beginning of that journey. And so just pray along with me, please Jesus today I see my need for you. I thank you for going on the cross, for dying, for my sins, for rising and offering me life and hope both now and forever. And so today, I put my faith in you. I put my trust in you. I declare that you are. Lord, help me to follow you all the days of my life. Help me to understand what it means to make you Lord and leader. And I wanna pattern my ways after you. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to do this today. And so Jesus, here's my life. Here's my heart. I give it to you. And Lord, I pray over every individual, every couple, and every family I ask as they go into this week, may they just experience the nearness of God. I pray that as they just navigate their faith in daily life, that they may know that Jesus, that you are present and that you are moving, that you are working. And I pray where they have declared endings, God, may they just trust in you and say, no, I'm gonna depend upon Christ. I'm gonna look to him, build their faith, God. And may they walk in the assurance of knowing that they can just look to you at all times. And so, God, thank you for that promise. Thank you for that assurance. And I pray this over and for these incredible people in the wonderful, incredible, and powerful name of Jesus. Amen. If you prayed that prayer of surrendering your life to Jesus this morning, I wanna say a way to go, friend, if you could do one thing for me, if you could pull out your phone and just tap the disc on the seat back in front of you, we'd love to get a digital booklet inside your hand. And it's also our way of connecting with you, um, in a large church. And by the way, I just want to tell you, church, the reason I do this week and week out, and the reason all our pastors do this is since November, we've had 499 people tap those discs for life. And that's why we do this every week. I just want to tell you, this isn't just words coming. We do this 'cause we believe God is reaching people. If you want prayer over anything and you're in the house, we're gonna have a prayer team available down at your front, left, right here. And they would love to pray over and for you. One more thing on your way out today, I'm gonna ask you to grab an Easter invite and just pray and consider who you may invite to join you at one of our Easter services. Thanks for being here today. Hope City, love you guys. Praying for you. God bless. Have an incredible Sunday.