Gtcotr/ss042813
Mark 5
25 Now a certain woman had a
flow of blood for twelve years,
26 and had suffered many
things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better,
but rather grew worse.
27 When she heard about
Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
28 For she said, "If
only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."
29 Immediately the fountain
of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed
of the affliction.
30 And Jesus, immediately
knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd
and said, "Who touched My clothes?"
31 But His disciples said to
Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ’Who touched
Me?’"
32 And He looked around to
see her who had done this thing.
33 But the woman, fearing and
trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and
told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her,
"Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of
your affliction."
This
is one of my most favorite passages in the Bible. This poor infirmed woman
teaches us not to give up, not to give in and not to give out. Her persistent
participation in finding an answer to her problem led her to the One who has
power over all problems. Today we are going to let this woman’s testimony serve
to teach us a few things. The first lesson we learn from her is:
1. What we hear makes a difference
a. For Good and Bad
v.27
– When she heard about Jesus …
* don’t you know she was tired of
trying remedy after remedy
* but something about this must have
been different …
* and on top of that – what did she
really have to lose?
b. What we hear can
either impress us or depress us
The
Children heard a bad report from the 10 fear-filled spies of Numbers 13 &
14 … they got depressed … so depressed that they wouldn’t hear anything else.
They got deceived …
What
we hear makes a difference – why?
c. Because what we hear
can affect what we believe and the world is doing its best to keep you hearing
the wrong thing.
Proverbs 18:17 The one
who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.
The
world always tries to turn in the first report and if that doesn’t work, they
will just get louder. But let me testify – the winner is not always the one who
gets there first or the one who crows the loudest … just remember that! The
Bible plainly teaches that “it ain’t over till it’s over!”
This
brings us to the next lesson this morning:
2.
What we believe makes a difference
a. We think what we
think, feel what we feel and want what we want because we believe what we
believe.
b. What we believe
makes a difference because it affects what we think, what we feel, what we want
and ultimately what we do.
3.
What we do makes a difference.
The
Children of Israel heard the evil report, believed it and based on the lie they
believed, refused to trust God and every one of them ended up dying in the
wilderness without ever entering their promise land.
The
man given a talent who buried it because he believed the master was unjust and
too hard to please … he ended up losing everything because he deceived. He was
sincere, but he was sincerely wrong and it cost him. (Matthew 25)
But
on the contrary this poor woman heard about Jesus, trusted in His power and
acted on her faith. She was healed of her affliction.
The
Bible is filled with accounts of two types of people: Those who hear about God
and trust Him and those who hear and refuse to participate.
From
Zacchaeus to the young rich ruler; from the citizens of Nineveh to the citizens
of Sodom and Gomorrah; from frightened Simon Peter before the crucifixion to
bold and empowered Apostle Peter after the resurrection – people hear things,
believe things and act according to what they believe.
This
started way back in the Garden of Eden when Eve. When
we listen to the wrong voice we make the wrong choice. Tell me … what
have you heard?
1. What have you heard about yourself?
·
Like
the woman in Mark 5 … have you heard that your condition is incurable or your
problem can never be solved?
·
Or
that you were so important and loved by the Creator of heaven and earth that He
sacrificed His only son to provide a way for you.
2. What have you heard about Jesus?
·
Have
you heard that He is critical, condemning, legalistic, only waiting on you to
make a mistake so He can sentence your soul to hell?
·
Or
that He loves you, cares about you, willingly sacrificed Himself for you and
has a wonderful plan for your life.
3. What have you heard about the Bible?
·
That
it’s an archaic book out of touch with reality, hard to understand and without
significance in this modern world?
·
Or
that it is the source of life, light and love; filled with the wisdom of the
ages, relevant and powerful, alive and everlasting.
4. What have you heard about the Church?
·
That
it is a dead entity, a symbol of all that is wrong with organized religion,
filled with hypocrites and unable to connect with this generation, out of date
and powerless?
·
Or
that it is the very Body of Christ, the eternal Bride of our risen Lord, the
City set on a Hill built foursquare, New Jerusalem, the family of God in Heaven
and Earth, the Congregation on the sides of the North, Mount Zion, the
Tabernacle of our God built with Lively Stones upon a Rock so that the gates of
hell can never prevail.
5. What have you heard about the future?
·
That
everything is going to be ok? That all roads lead to a blissful eternity? That
there is no God? That if there is a God He certainly would not send anybody to
hell and if He would, then you don’t want to have anything to do with Him? That
you’ll figure it out when you get there or that everybody is in the same boat?
·
Or
that all have sinned and deserve death but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which
report are you going to believe? You see …
What
we hear can affect what we believe and what we believe can affect what we do
and what we do makes a difference.
Stop
listening to the devil, this world or well meaning friends who may be sincere
but are sincerely wrong.
How
can you tell if someone is wrong? If they have a different report than the
report of the Bible – they are wrong!
Don’t
be deceived … don’t listen to the wrong voice and risk making the wrong choice.
Trust
Jesus – hear His Word and put your hope in Him.
This
poor, afflicted and worn down woman of Mark 5 who had done absolutely
everything she could to get help finally found the answer:
When
she heard about Jesus she came …
Won’t
you come to Jesus this morning … come to Jesus with all your heart … come to
Jesus even if you know you have disappointed Him … come to Jesus if only in
your prayers today … He is waiting and He has the power you need. Hear this
good report from God’s Word and come!
