Rewind — the teaching platform built on your church’s own preaching

The big idea

A desperate faith is a transformative faith — God does His biggest miracles when people get desperate enough to reach for Him.

Jesus meets people not where they've got their lives figured out, but right in the middle of their desperation. In Matthew 9, a religious leader, a woman with an incurable bleeding disorder, and a dead little girl all get to the end of themselves — and in each case, small, feeble faith reaching toward Jesus is met with real transformation.

A story from life

Preacher recounts cutting the lock off the gas line himself rather than wait five more weeks for hot water after moving to Arizona

I believe that a desperate faith is a transformative faith

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Point 1 of 6

Jairus, a religious opponent of Jesus, comes desperate for his dying daughter, and Jesus receives him without bringing up the past.

Pastor Daniel walks through Matthew 9:18-19, noting that Jairus was likely a Pharisee who had preached against Jesus as a fraud just days before. When his daughter dies, all the theological differences fall away, and Jesus simply gets up and goes with him — no debate, no reminder of past hostility.

Point 2 of 6

A woman with twelve years of bleeding, ceremonially unclean and isolated, reaches out with feeble faith and Jesus turns around for her.

Drawing on Matthew 9:20-22 and filling in details from Mark 5, Pastor Daniel describes a woman excluded from society under Leviticus 15's purity laws, who spent everything on doctors and only got worse. Her faith is small — she believes only that touching the hem of His robe will be enough — yet Jesus stops and calls her daughter.

Point 3 of 6

It's not the size of your faith that matters, it's the object of your faith.

Pastor Daniel argues that the woman's weak, feeble faith still produced a miracle because it was aimed at the right person — a man who conquered death and still works miracles today. God does big miracles with small faith when that faith is placed rightly.

it is not the size of your faith that matters. It is the object of your faith that matters

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Point 4 of 6

Jesus exposes the healed woman publicly because hidden healing isn't real freedom.

Rather than letting her slip away unnoticed, Jesus asks who touched Him and draws her out of the crowd. Pastor Daniel explains that Jesus heals her socially and relationally, not just physically, by naming her daughter in public — because healing that stays secret leaves the person still bound to shame and reputation.

Point 5 of 6

Real breakthrough requires coming out of hiding, not just a private moment with God.

Pastor Daniel connects this to the woman at the well, where Jesus goes straight to her place of shame so He can actually heal it. He warns that a private religious moment that is never revealed or dealt with leaves the enemy free to remind a person of who they used to be.

Related passage

if we won't reveal it, then maybe he can't heal it

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Point 6 of 6

Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead, proving His power over the ultimate enemy.

Pastor Daniel reads Matthew 9:23-25, where Jesus tells the mourning crowd to leave, is laughed at, and then raises the girl by simply taking her hand. He notes Jesus tells the family to keep it quiet, protecting the girl's future over His own reputation, showing that Jesus has power over sickness, nature, and death itself.

what we think is laughable is easy to the God of the universe

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Jesus knew his reputation mattered less than this girl's future

— Pastor Daniel Goulding

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel calls the church to stop just playing church and step out of the crowd toward their own breakthrough.

Application

Bring your desperation to Jesus instead of hiding it
Whatever is plaguing you, don't settle into it as your identity — reach out to Jesus like the woman who only had enough faith to touch His robe.
Make Jesus your only option, not one of several
Reorient your whole life around who Jesus is instead of treating Him as just one tool among many for fixing your problems.
Let your struggle be exposed instead of staying private
Stop seeking healing only in secret; be willing to let your struggle be seen so it can actually be dealt with and healed, not just managed.
Get uncomfortable and take a physical step forward
Get out of your seat, out of the crowd, and come to the front to meet God in your circumstance, trusting Him even if what you feel is doubt rather than confidence.

Keep going

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