Do You Have An Issue?

I. An Issue For God: Text: Luke 8:40-48

A. If you have an issue today for God, the Word gives you 5 virtues that you need in your life that will cause Jesus to stop along the way and touch you, along with two principles that you must avoid.

B. I call these 7 principles the 3:16 Structure.

1. First, we must define the word ‘issue.’

2. Of course, in the case of our story, it means to ‘flow.’ When it states that she had an ‘issue of blood,’ it means that she had an irregular, constant blood flow problem.

3. However you want to look at it, it was certainly a problem that only Jesus could fix.

4. Therefore, today, we are going to look at the word ‘issue’ from the dictionary’s definition. The word means ‘subject; question; or topic of concern.’ So, today I ask you, my sermon title asks you, do you have an issue for God?

C. If so, let’s begin to look at…

II. The 3:16 Structure

A. Virtue #1 ~ He has called us to Salvation

1. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ”

2. Many of you are fortunate enough today to have this basic foundation of faith. For without it, the remainder of this sermon is not necessary.

3. Notice, it is apparent that, while she knew of Jesus, this woman didn’t know Him as Lord and Savior before she went to Him.

4. Notice in verse number 48 He says, “…Your faith has made you well.” But in the KJV it says, “…Thy faith hath made thee whole.” This implies a total transformation. Not just a physical healing but a spiritual one as well.

5. So, Jesus cleansed her spiritually so that He could cleanse her physically.

6. We must have this 3:16 principle foundation before we can expect God to do anything further in our life!

7. Jesus paid the price for our healing, but healing is reserved for those who are in covenant with God!

B. What Caused Jesus to Stop and Heal This Issue?

1. The faith of the woman.

2. Notice Jesus said it was her faith that made her whole.

3. Without faith we cannot even receive salvation.

4. She believed in Jesus and believed He could heal her infirmity.

5. She had so much faith that Jesus stopped on His way to an emergency to heal her!

6. The first virtue we must have is salvation!

C. Virtue #2 ~ He has called us to Sanctification (Holiness)

1. I Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

2. Some may have salvation, but they are a far cry from sanctification.

3. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church later and said, “I die daily.” (I Corinthians 15:31)

4. Some of us feel like we’re honoring God by dying spiritually once a year. Or once every two or three weeks.

5. We’ve become no different than the Easter and Christmas people!

(By the way, what do you call a non-churchgoer? A “Seventh-Day Absentist.”)

6. We, too, must die daily. That is true sanctification.

7. To be sanctified is to be set apart from the world, and to God!

8. Holiness is what I’m talking about. Does the world see that you are different?

9. Not only does God know, but also do you know and does everyone around you know? If so, that’s what holiness/sanctification is all about!

10. Leviticus 20:7 “Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye holy for I am the Lord your God. ”

11. I Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy. ’” (Peter is quoting Leviticus 11:44).

12. Notice it doesn’t say ‘try’ and be holy. Because you and I are made in His image, we are holy. So what is unholiness…being holy but not acting like it! Or, being godly but not acting like it. Being in His image, but not acting like it!

13. So, the second virtue to posses, after salvation, is sanctification.

D. Virtue #3 ~ He has called us to Servantood

1. Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

2. God has called each saved person – those who have been saved by grace and are in the daily process of sanctification – to servanthood.

3. We cannot expect God to continue to just throw out daily manna unless we’ve learned to trust in His Word by obeying it.