Part 5 - Matthew 9:18-22 - LORD, I'M IN DESPERATE NEED OF A MIRACLE!
HILLSONG CHURCH on Sunday night was incredible and I was amazed as always by the sheer number of people who filled the auditorium. Wall to wall people. I bumped into several people in the milling crowd apologising as we found our way. It must have been that way for THE WOMAN WITH CONSTANT BLEEDING as she made her way through the crowd towards Jesus.
Jesus has obviously gained a lot of notoriety as a healer. He even has a synagogue leader, a religious man, kneeling before Him and declaring that Jesus can heal his dead daughter. In Matthew 9:18 (NLT) he says "you can bring her back to life again if You just come and lay Your hand on her." Jesus is concerned enough about one person to get up and go to this man's house. People are crowding around Him on the way.
Then we have this remarkable story of how the woman who has suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding comes up behind Him, and touches the fringe of His robe in order to be healed. In Matthew 9:22 (NLT) it says "Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed at that moment."
What a cool miracle! Even on the way to a miracle, a miracle can happen that can change my life. While I'm expecting God to act in one area of my life, He miraculously fills another need. It's random because what life throws at us at times is random. It's spontaneous as we respond to Jesus in faith in the everyday circumstances of life as well as those desperate moments.
The Synagogue official shouts out for Jesus to save His daughter. The woman with constant bleeding comes silently to be healed. The Synagogue official has faith for another who needs healing. The woman has faith for herself. Each directs their faith towards Jesus who heals and restores, and Jesus responds to their faith. This is not working up enough faith. Our faith is only as strong as the object of our faith.
Notice Jesus says it was HER FAITH THAT MADE HER WELL. How does this work? She suffered for 12 years. This is a medical nightmare that Jesus heals in an instant! When she first got sick Jesus was 18 years old. Now He is 30.
She had tried everything. WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG for God to choose to heal her? Why didn't she have faith enough THEN? Was it at the point of her encounter with Jesus that she became a Christian?
My daughter said with delight to her 1 year old son the other day, "I love the way you snuggle into me and hug me when you are tired." They laughed together as they enjoyed eachothers company. Jesus likes that same kind of dependence that comes from a child of God who exercises unquestioning faith, complete trust, and most of all love.
WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE FAITH THAT THE PERSON I AM PRAYING FOR WILL BE HEALED? I can only pray with what faith I have in the One who is able to heal. I can only trust in His judgment to do what is best. It makes no sense to the one who does not know Jesus. But the more I know Jesus, the more I trust Him.
AS LONG AS A PERSON LIVES THERE IS HOPE FOR HEALING. It may take years before I see the answer to my prayers. It may take only a moment. But WHILE THERE IS HOPE THERE IS THE ABILITY TO EXERCISE BELIEVING PRAYER. You've heard it before. Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) says, "it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him."
AT TIMES IT IS A TRAGIC EVENT THAT DRIVES US TO JESUS IN DESPERATE PRAYER.
Jewish law restricted this woman with uncontrollable bleeding to come anywhere near a crowd, let alone be right in the middle of one. She was CONSIDERED TO BE UNCLEAN, polluted and contaminated AND SHE WAS. But she is also a woman VALUED AND LOVED BY JESUS. And she is desperate enough to do something about her sickness. Maybe she feared rejection from Jesus but instead He says, "BE ENCOURAGED..." He always assures me that MY DESPERATE NEED IS HEARD and that I am not rejected.
In the crowd that milled around Jesus it is the touch of this woman that Jesus recognises. He always feels it when FAITH REACHES TO TOUCH EVEN THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT. HE ALWAYS FEELS MY TOUCH OF FAITH and responds with the power of His healing grace. Even when I feel He will pass by, all I need to do is reach out to Him in faith and touch Him. HE NEVER IGNORES THE TOUCH OF FAITH. In Psalms 91:15 (NLT) God says "When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honour them."
Mark 5:30 (NLT) says that "Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from Him, so He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched My robe?""
Jesus was in on His way to a life or death situation and yet He took time out to speak to this woman. He TURNS AND FINDS HER in the crowd and tells her that it is her faith that He has responded to. In Mark 9:23 (NLT) Jesus says, "Anything is possible if a person believes."
Jesus calls her "DAUGHTER." Does this indicate that she is considered as part of the family of God? Was her faith the kind of faith that enabled her to be BORN AGAIN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD? I think so. John 1:12 (NLT) puts it this way "But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD."
How amazing it is for me to meet with Jesus with enough faith only to touch the hem of His garment. How amazing it is when He touches me with His healing grace and salvation. How amazing it is when He turns and looks me in the eye and speaks words of encouragement and life into my soul.
God bless you Church as Jesus walks by. HE IS WALKING BY RIGHT NOW. QUICK! REACH OUT!
Pastor Ross
