Mark 5:1-43, Jairus’ twelve-year old “little girl” is dead, so if you were asked to preach her funeral, what would be the most popular title of your funeral message? Obviously, the most sought-after title to the message would be “How to LIVE in perfect peace”, for given the choice, everyone will choose to LIVE in perfect peace, so this post is God-given to teach this lesson.
The demon possessed man, in Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-27, (but Matthew 8:28 says there were two demon-possessed men in the cemetery with multitudes of unclean demons), so he was “unclean” on the inside, because he kept opening himself to satanic oppression a little at a time until some two-thousand satanic spirits possessed him, separating him from Jesus, his family and friends, driving him to live in the cemetery cutting himself with stones to end his life. Everything in life is purposeful planned and timed to either bring us to Jesus, the resurrected Christ, or separate us from Jesus, so always watch for any separation between Jesus and us or the family and us.
Jairus’ twelve-year old little girl, in Mark 5:21-24, 35-43, was “unclean” inside and outside, for she died before having an encounter with Jesus, and according to Jewish law in Haggai 2:13, she was unclean and anyone touching her would be unclean. The “unclean” is according to O T Law.
The woman with the twelve-year issue of blood, in Mark 25-34, was “unclean” outside, for the Jewish law in Matthew 9:20, says she was “diseased” and therefore considered by law, “unclean”.
These three stories are also given in Matthew 8:28-34; 9:18-26, and Luke 8:26-56.
Before their encounter with Jesus, none of the three had the faith it takes to access or get into the grace and truth John 1:17 says, “came through Jesus Christ”; therefore, all were outside God’s grace that Romans 5:1-5 says, is only accessed or gotten into by faith, the same faith it takes to receive Jesus Christ as our Creator, Lord, Master, and Owner. This is the only way of being “Once in grace always in grace”, for if we have a close, personal relationship with Jesus, we are in grace, but if we do not have a totally surrendered, close, personal relationship with Jesus, we are in disgrace, so we will always be in either grace or disgrace, which is “Once in grace always in grace”.
When we have humbly and totally submitted ourselves to Christ Jesus, by obeying Isaiah 26:3-4 that says, 3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength”. Through obedience to God and His word we set ourselves up for living in perfect peace.
However, if our mind is still on how to solve our problems, how to stay alive, how to find other employment, or whatever keeps us from keeping our mind focused on Jesus, then we are not living in perfect peace, but dead to Jesus by our own mindset, but Romans 12:1-3 commands us to present our total self to God as a holy sacrifice that God accepts, so it transforms our thinking from self in the world to faith in God to be faithful to keep His word. What we think is what we are and what we will do, so always focus all thinking on obeying the Lord, for Jesus’ only goal while on earth was not the take the stripes for our healing; or giving His life to remove our sins, but it was to obey every command and word written for Him to fulfill. Total obedience to Jesus is our only priority.
But we either forget, do not know, or do not believe Psalm 37:23-24, that the Lord “orders” every step we are to take, for He delights in the steps we take, so if we fall, the Lord lifts us back up; thus, we never blame God for anything, but we credit Him with everything that happens, for without God nothing can happen, but everything that happens was planned to teach us about Jesus, so we could have a close, peaceful, sweet, relationship with God, through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus, the resurrected Christ, ordered our steps before time began, then we know what we face on a daily basis has already been planned, with a specific purpose, and with a precise time to start and stop; therefore, when we totally and humbly submit every detail of life to Jesus, so all our thoughts are focused on Him, as commanded by Galatians 2:20, then He becomes our perfect peace, as stated in Ephesians 2:13-14 and Hebrews 13:5-6 that guards both our heart (spirit) and mind, as says Philippians 4:7. Therefore, if we want to live in perfect peace, let Christ Jesus live through us taking all our anger, depression, dementia, fear, and worry to the cross for crucifixion.
Jim and Tim Nabors
