Despair to deliverance!

1. Introduction

“There was a castle called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant DESPAIR” - John Bunyan 1628-1688, British Author

Despair is a state in which everything seems wrong and will turn out badly. It is the feeling that there is no hope and that you can do nothing to improve a difficult or troubling situation. Let’s take an example a woman (Mark 5:25 -34) whose condition was desperate and was looking for a way out of it.

2. Desperate condition (verse 25, 26)

· She suffered from bleeding problem – ‘menorrhagia’

· Duration - 12 years

· Treated by many doctors

· She spent all the money she had

· Her condition grew worse

Though there are numerous causes of menorrhagia, fibroids in the uterus are the most common cause of bleeding in women. As a result of loss of blood, she might have developed ‘anemia’- which itself can cause tiredness, breathlessness, palpitations (rapid heart beats), dizziness, and headache. Pain is another common symptom. In the modern world, there are so many treatments available, the last option being ‘hysterectomy’ – removal of uterus. But in those days, surgical skills were not advanced. So she had to suffer with this disease for such a long time (12years!). She was in a desperate state – she wanted her condition to be healed.

3. Action plan (verse 27)

· She heard about Jesus and his healing power

· She believed in his miracle working power

· She moved up the crowd

· Passed through the circle of disciples

· Touched his garments – encounter with Jesus

On her journey to Jesus, the first resistance she faced was the crowd. This group consists of a mixture of believers, unbelievers and even onlookers. After passing through them, she then faced his disciples, who could have tried to keep a distance between Jesus and the crowd. So she struggled in silence to pass thru them. She successfully passed them to come near Jesus. Then she touched his garments and felt an ‘instant’ healing, thereby she touched the ‘glory of God’!

4. Application

· Determination - If she had not gone to Jesus, this disease would probably have been her life-long menace. So, when there’s a pressing need in our life, we MUST take it to Jesus. We MUST be determined to get an answer from him.

· Courage – It took a lot of courage for this woman to go through the crowd to touch his garments.

· Planning – Days or even weeks before her encounter with Jesus, she had planned for such encounter well in advance.

· Silence – She kept everything secret till she accomplished her mission.

5. Conclusion

In essence, the encounter and fellowship with Jesus is the most exciting experience in everyone’s life. Given a hard situation, we MUST have the determination and courage to reach out to Jesus to find an answer for the problem.

“NOTHING earthly will make me give up my work in DESPAIR”

David Livingstone 1813-1873, British Missionary.

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but NOT IN DESPAIR” - 2 Corinthians 4:8

God is good all the time!

My friend you can trust GOD, today.

He is good and

He is good all the time.

But as you focus on his GOODNESS,

Don’t miss his GREATNESS.

He is unparalleled and unprecedented.

He is the centre piece of excellence.

He is the superlative of all excellence.

He is the sum of human greatness.

He is the source of divine grace.

His name is the only one able to save and

His blood is the only power able to cleanse.

His ears are open to the sinner’s call.

His hand is quick to lift the fallen soul.

He is the eternal lover of us all…everyone….

And you can trust HIM.

He supplies mercy for the struggling soul.

He sustains the tempted and the tired.

He sympathizes with the wounded and the broken.

He strengthens the weak and the weary.

He guards and guides the wanderers.

He heals the sick and cleanses the leper.

He delivers the captives, defends the helpless and

Binds up the broken-hearted.

He is for you and

You can trust HIM.

JESUS is the key to all knowledge.

He is the well-spring of wisdom.

He is the door way of deliverance and the pathway of peace.

He is the road way of righteousness.

He is the high way of holiness.

He is the gate way to glory.

And yes, you can trust HIM.

JESUS is enough.

He is the all sufficient KING.

He is the KING of the Jews.

He is the KING of Israel.

He is the KING of righteousness.

He is the KING of the ages.

He is the KING of heaven.

He is the KING of glory.

He is the KING of KINGS and

He is the LORD of LORDS.

And, yes, again, you can trust HIM

And rejoice in this, my friend.

He is a sovereign GOD.

There is no gauge to measure his limitless love.

There is no barrier to block his blessings outpoured.

He is enduringly strong and

He is entirely SUPREME.

He is eternally STEADFAST.

He is immortally FAITHFUL.

He is imperially POWERFUL and

He is impartially MERCIFUL.

He is JESUS, GOD’S son and

You can trust HIM.

I wish I could more accurately describe HIM.

But he is indescribable.

He is incomprehensible.

He is invincible.

He is irresistible.

You can not leave HIM, can you?

You can not live without HIM.

But Pharisees couldn’t stand HIM,

but found they couldn’t stop Him.

Pilot couldn’t halt Him.

Harod couldn’t kill Him.

Death couldn’t conquer Him.

And the grave couldn’t hold Him.

My friends, He is the Alpha and Omega.

The first and the Last…

He is the God of the future…

And the God of the past…

And we rise to speak to His name…

Again… and… again… Jesus… Jesus

He is Jesus…

He is far us…

And we can Trust Him…

Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…

By courtesy of: Don Moein

Lazarus! Come forth!!

A) The Valley of dry bones: - Ezekiel 37:1-14
The Lord took Ezekiel’s spirit to a valley which was filled with very dry bones. After death, the human body starts to decay slowly. It takes years for the body to be decomposed and to become individual dry bones. The reason that the bones are not decomposed is because of the high content of calcium in the bones which resists decomposition. Once in this valley many people lived joyfully, but all of them were killed violently (…these slain…v9) at the same time (as all the bones in the valley are dry uniformly). These dry bones represent The House of Israel or the Nations of Israel, which once was dwelling peacefully in the grace and favour of God, has now become dead. They say:
1. Our bones are dried
2. Our hope is cut off
3. We are cut off
There was no hope for the Israel. They were all dead and rotten. Now, the Lord speaks: “I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live” (v5).
B) The Resurrection of Lazarus: - John 11:1 – 44
Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha (v5). When he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed in the same place, which was only 18 miles away from Lazarus’s place. He stayed there for two days (v6). Isn’t this interesting to us? Why should Jesus ignore Lazarus, whom he loved very much? Though Jesus stayed very near (just 18 miles) to his house, he did not come to his house to heal his sickness. Some of us may think Jesus was playing a double role. Or is he playing a hide and seek game? Certainly NOT! Absolutely he was NOT neglecting them. Jesus was WAITING in time to demonstrate greater love and power to them!
In those days, the people had an idea that the dead man’s spirit wandered around the sepulcher for about 3 days, trying to return to the body. These first 3 days were called “Days of Weeping”. When the decomposition sets in on the 4th day, the dead man’s spirit would leave the grave. Then, the people would beat their breasts in loud lamentation for another 4 days, making 7 days of mourning. As you can see, people believed in those days that on the 4th day, the dead person’s spirit would leave the grave and would not return back. In their view, there is NO HOPE / NO CHANCE for the return of the spirit of Lazarus and the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus came there ONLY 4 days after the death of Lazarus. Just at that (RIGHT) time, Jesus came to his tomb (v39). People thought he was TOO LATE! But he was NOT! He came there in HIS right TIME (Ecc.3:11).
Jesus really wants to make sure that the miracle / the deliverance / the healing / the resurrecting power that he provides is NOT humanly possible. It MUST be beyond the human realm and human comprehension. In other words, ONLY Jesus has the power to do anything in this world (Behold: I am the Lord! The God of all flesh; Is there anything too hard for me? Jer.32:27). So, on the 4th day, when people believed that there is no way Lazarus could be raised, Jesus raises him from the death! This is the RIGHT TIME for god, but NOT the right time of people (as the people wanted Jesus to heal him, while he was alive, but sick (v21, 37). This point is of practical importance in our life. We want Jesus to come and help us in OUR time; but He comes and helps us only in HIS time! But after witnessing the resurrecting power of CHRIST in our life, then we shall say it was the will of God to undergo pain in life so that the power of God is experienced in our life. Indeed, the JOY that Martha & Mary had immediately after the resurrection of Lazarus from death was million times more than in a situation where Jesus would have just healed him when he was sick. The people were able to see the resurrecting POWER of God and their FAITH increased tremendously.
C) The Resurrection of JESUS: - Matt.28: 1-4; Mark 16: 1-5
Jesus prophesied in Matt.12:40 “As Jonas was 3 days & 3 nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the son of man be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth” So, Jesus was dead for 3 full nights and 3 full days. Jesus was put in the grave Wednesday just before sunset and was resurrected at the end of Saturday after sunset. His resurrection took place sometime between Saturday sunset and dawn Sunday. But it was well before day light on Sunday, when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb to present spices. No verse says he was buried Friday sunset. Ideally, Good Friday should be changed to Good Wednesday.
Following the death of Jesus, his body was kept in a new tomb, the opening of which was closed by a huge stone and sealed. The stone was so huge that they (Mary Magdalene, Mary and Salome) wondered how to roll the stone away and to go into the tomb to present sweet spices to his body (Mark 16:3). But the tomb was sealed (a cord was stretched across the stone and an official seal with clay was fastened at each end. So, if the grave was open, it could be detected) and guarded (a guard of 4 soldiers, which was changed every 3 hours!). Hence given this situation, from people’s point of view, there is no way Jesus’ body could be raised from the death. Anyone would think this is the end of Christ. Jesus was dead and his tomb was closed by a huge stone and sealed. Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb day and night. This is a similar situation at some point in our life, when we have no hope/ no future! I believe most of us who walk close with God have experienced such things. Everything seems to be doomed and tombed. There is silence & darkness everywhere. Most of the suffering takes place in darkness. Nobody knew what you were going thru’. The 3 days and 3 nights seem so long. Time seems to pass very slowly during those days. People think this is the end. We are ruined. But in that hopeless situation, the RIGHT time in god’s terms, the resurrecting power of Christ will come down from heaven and roll away the heavy & sealed & guarded stone (the problem in life) in a flash of a second like a lightening!

Showers of blessings!

“ ... I will cause the evil beast to cease out of land;

My people will dwell safely in wilderness,

And sleep in woods.

I will cause the shower to come down in seasons;

There shall be showers of blessings!” - Eze.34: 25, 26

This promise is for the chosen people of Israel (i.e. for us) l. When he comes at his time, He will destroy the beast and make a covenant of peace. Then, the people of Israel will have protection in wilderness (this is where they live) and they will sleep in woods (means- in old days people who lived in forest, prepared a protected dwelling place high & safely in the trees and hence they were protected by the attack by the wild animals especially at nights).

“He has made everything beautiful in his time” - Ecc.3:11

All these things will happen in His right time. Nothing will happen even a second before that time. Can you believe this? : In the fishermen’s story in Luke 5:5 “they toiled all night and got nothing” .They tried all night, but couldn’t get, not even one fish. Poor fishermen! We have been in such situations. We have, indeed, worked / desired / needed / anticipated / yearned for a very small blessing (like one small fish-which all your friends have….all your neighbors have), but have got nothing... really disappointing indeed. It is a normal & natural human reaction to feel depressed after toiling hard to get a specific thing from god and go empty handed. Nothing worked. In case of fishermen, they worked in sea which is cold at night....no blankets to cover them…wild waves would have tried to engulf them…there would have been no light…just imagine the situation, if they couldn’t catch any fish! ….it should have been a devastating experience; especially the labour which produced no fruit…

But once his times start, the blessing will shower down from heaven in seasons. “.. In seasons….” means the blessing will continue even if you don’t want more blessing. Just pay attention to the following verse and see how great his blessing is: “…filled both the ships, so that they began to sink!” (Luke 5:7).If they were to catch some more fish (blessing), they might sink! Friends, we have been in such situation, but Life doesn’t end there. In that right time, i.e., when you are disappointed, tired, can’t make a step forward, JESUS will appear and the blessing will pour out like the rain….even if you want the blessings to stop, it won’t!

Welcome to the Living Waters!

Dear friends,

I greet you all in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST!

In 2003, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I slowly started to write the messages given to me by God. As I'm a beginner, I may have made some errors, onwhich I continue to improve. If it is the will of God, I will continue to write new messages each month. So continue to visit this site every month. I pray that God will pour out His Living Water upon you and your family abundantly.

Please spend two minutes to post your feed back. (Click on the link 'comments' at the bottom of each message. A separate window will open. Then,scroll down to the bottom, where you'll see 'choose an identity'. Click 'others'. Then, write your name and comments in the separate boxes provided and then, click 'Publish Your Comment').

If you wish to send this article to any of your friends, click the 'envelop sign' just next to 'comments' at the bottem of each message. Then write his/your e-mail addresses in the respective field and click 'send'.

I thank you very much for your cooperation.

Best Wishes,

Dr.Jeshur.