Just a "Touch" of Faith
Pray.
Faith in the Bible is defined as such, Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen.
Faith is the essence of your salvation. If you have faith in Jesus' completed work on the cross to save your soul,
than He will. If you do not have faith in Jesus' completed work on the cross, than you are destined to hell for eternity.
Faith is the key that unlocks the door to heaven. Faith is what allows Jesus to enter into your heart. Faith is what
saves your soul from hell, And Faith is what gets Me through every day of my life, How about you?
In the Bible, it's hard to turn to a page and not find a story about someone's faith or lack there of. But one of my
favorite examples of faith in the Bible is found in Mark chapter 5:24-34.
In this text, we have Jesus walking with his 12 disciples, on their way to heal a very sick child. And as they are
walking on a very crowded road, full of people something happens. Thus begins our story of a woman full of faith.
Read verses 24-34 of Mark chapter 5 with me.
In verses 25-26 we learn of her health issues. She has a bleeding problem that will not stop. She spent every
penny she had, seeking a cure from several different physicians and through it all, her condition worsened.
She is at a breaking point in her life. She's at her wits end. Her health situation is apparently incurable, she
literally has no way , no Hope of escaping her current condition.
UNTIL look at verse 27 , She HEARD of JESUS. This woman just received hope. She heard Jesus was
in the area. She knew about Jesus and His healing power. She heard of His miracles. She heard of how Jesus
gave sight to the blind, she heard of how Jesus made the lame to walk, She heard of how Jesus cast out demons,
And she KNEW He could heal her as well.
What a wonderful picture of faith. This woman represents every person in a lost spiritual condition. When you
were lost in your sins, nobody could change the state of your condition, except JESUS CHRIST.
At some point in your life, you were like this woman. You had a problem that needed to be fixed. And nobody
could fix it. Your sins were tied to your being, they were going to take you to hell, BUT ONE DAY, you heard
about Jesus. And like this woman, YOU then had hope.
This woman tried everything, she visited every doctor, she spent every penny she had searching for a cure but
Nothing or Nobody could fix her, Except Jesus.
Your sins could not be forgiven, they could not be forgotten by God, You were going to have to pay for them
yourself in hell fire, and nobody could help you, Except Jesus.
Notice here in verse 27, this sick woman is trying to fight through the crowd. She is searching for the ONE that
she believes can cure her and she literally , crawling on her knees, According to Matthew 9:20, reached through the
crowd and was able to lunge and touch the hem of his garment. In Luke chapter 8, Luke says, she was able to touch
the border of Jesus' garment. A desperate lounge, A "TOUCH" of faith.
Does that describe how you met Jesus? Were you at a breaking point in your life? Did you realize that your
condition was incurable? That you were a sinner, on your way to hell. Were you searching for the ONE that could
change that? Did you say, I will find Jesus. I will fight through anything to find Him, I will crawl on my knees if I have
to, I will humble myself and trust that Jesus and Jesus alone can save my soul.
This woman had a real faith. She believed that if she just was able to touch the hem of His garment, that she
would be cured, according to verse 28 here in our text, Folks that's faith.
Do you still believe that today? Let me ask you, How do you touch the hem of Jesus' garment today?
The answer is through prayer. Today, you must apporach Jesus, through Prayer, in like faith. Believing that if you
can just touch the hem of Jesus' garment, through prayer, Anything can be accomplished in your life.
Do you believe that? Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you still desire to touch the hem of Jesus'
garment in order to perform miracles in your life or in the life of others? Do we approach Jesus with such urgency
today?
And straightway, in verse 29, the bleeding stopped. 12 years she had this bleeding problem according to verse 25
And in ONE moment of Faith, She was cured, She was made whole.
If you're saved here this morning, Jesus did this for you. You may not have been bleeding for twelve years, but
He certainly saved you in like manner. Your brief moment of prayer, when you asked Jesus to save you, also
Made you whole. Notice here, She was healed, when? Did she have to wait a day? or a week? No, Jesus healed
her straightway, which means immediately. When Jesus heals, It is immediate and it is perfect.
When Jesus healed your broken spiritual condition, it was immediate and it was perfect.
Look at verse 30 with me. Jesus felt power leave His body. And he turns to His disciples and says,
Who touched my clothes? Now, Jesus knew exactly who touched Him, He wanted the woman to come forward
voluntarily and we 'll say more about that in a minute.
I love the response of His disciples in verse 31. They say, What do you mean "Who touched ME" can't you
see all of the people on this street bumping in to you. There are people all around you, what do you mean,
Who touched Me, What kind of a question is that, everyone is bumping into you.
What a picture this is. This is a picture of society. Yes, many people bump into Jesus today. They acknowledge
His name. Some acknowledge Him as the Son of God. Some acknowledge Jesus in church, Some today
recognize Jesus in prayer, BUT Jesus only recognizes the ONES that recognize Him in FAITH.
People were bumping into Jesus every step He took, But He was only concerned with the one that touched Him
in Faith. The faithless people were not drawing any virtue from Jesus, but the faith filled woman did.
Do you see what Jesus meant, when He told the woman at the well to Draw water from His well because it will
never go dry. That is what this woman did here in our story. She approached Jesus in 100 percent faith, She
drawed water from the everlasting fountain of Grace and Mercy and as a result Jesus healed her and made her whole.
This is such an example for us today. If you approach Jesus through Prayer , and it is anything less than
100 percent faith, You're just another person bumping into Him on the street, He doesn't recognize you.
But when you reach the point in your life of desperation and despair and you realize that nobody can help you
other than Jesus Christ, and you approach Him boldly, 100 percent believing, You actually draw virtue or power
from the person of Jesus Christ into your life. Don't believe Me, try it and get back with me.
Many wonder why God's not answering their prayers, I ask you, are you approaching Jesus like the woman in
our text did? On your knees, TOTALLY Believing He is Capable.
In verse 32 Jesus makes eye contact with this woman and in verse 33, the woman humbly falls at His feet
worshiping Him for what He did in her life and for who He truly was. Nobody was going to convince this woman
that she was not healed. Nobody was going to convince this woman that Jesus was not the Messiah.
How bout you? At the moment of your salvation, I said Jesus healed you, Immediately and perfectly. Don't
let anybody tell you differently.
And in verse 34, Jesus lifts her up by the hand and says, Daughter, thy FAITH has healed you. Go in peace.
Notice Jesus didn't say, I healed you. Jesus said, it was your faith in Me to heal you.
He calls her daughter here because at that moment of saving Grace, Jesus God in the Flesh was now her
heavenly Father. If you're saved here this morning, Men , God calls you Son. Ladies, God calls you His daughter.
How beautiful is this story.
A hurting, desperate woman, A woman with no apparent hope, Until she heard about Jesus, took her last bit
of physical strength, crawling on her hands and knees, Lunges up, hoping to just touch the hem of Jesus'
garment, Believing , Knowing that if she did, He would heal her.
A "Touch" of Faith. How we all should approach Jesus in this manner. Longing, Desiring to talk to Him,
Lunging out through prayer, just hoping our prayer reaches the hem of His garment, Knowing, Believing that He will
perform His will in and through our lives.
Remember this story. Keep the picture of this woman, bleeding, crawling on her knees, lunging to touch Jesus
in your mind and use it to increase your desire to meet with Jesus. Don't take Jesus for granted.
And remember, anything other than 100 percent faith, You're just another person bumping into Him and He will
not even recognize you or your prayer. What an example this woman is for us and was for the people in that day.
I close with these 2 verses in Matthew 14:35-36.
And when the men of that place had knowledge of HIM, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought
unto Him all that were diseased.
vs. 36 And besought Him that they might only touch the HEM of his garment and as many as touched were made
perfectly whole.
This event here happened after our bleeding woman did what she did. Do you think her story got around and as
a result, other people's faith increased. The answer is YES.
Faith is contagious. Your Faith in Jesus can help another person's faith in Jesus increase. Christian , faith in
this world will fail you, faith in other people will fail you, faith in our government will fail you, But Faith in Jesus Christ
will Never Fail you. And I love what Jesus told our woman in our text in Mark. He said, Now Go in Peace.
Coming from the mouth of God, Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace. Beautiful. Let us all leave here today, with
an increased faith in Jesus Christ and as a result, Let us all live and Go out of this building today in Peace.
Let's Pray.
