The 3 C’s of a Healthy Church - Hurting People are in the Crowd
Mark 5:21-34 (p. 702) February 5, 2017
Introduction:
I saw this meme on my Facebook page that said, “Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
SHOW PICTURE
I discovered that truth long ago…In every single crowd is someone whose marriage is shattered…In every single crowd is someone grieving the loss of someone they love…In every single crowd is someone who has been abused or is struggling with addiction…In every single crowd is someone who is hurting physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Every one of us here today has been shocked by a marriage ending that we thought was rock solid. Every one of us has experienced the pain of a friend or family member who reaches a time when they can no longer hide the battle they face with pornography, or alcohol or some other issue they have tried to hide from people.
In this crowd this morning, I promise you, there are people who are at the end of their strength, because they spent all they have emotionally to try and fix the problem on their own, searching for a miracle.
Some think they are looking for love.
Some think they are looking for money.
Some think they are looking for a new opportunity.
Some are looking for answers.
Some are looking for fulfillment.
But what they are really looking for is a miracle!
Third Day has an amazing song entitled, “I Need a Miracle”. The first verse and chorus says,
Well, late one night she started to cry and thought he ain’t coming home. She was tired of his lies, tired of the fight, but she didn’t want to see him go. She fell on her knees and said, “I haven’t prayed since I was young, but Lord above I need a miracle.”
(And then the chorus says) Well no matter who you are and no matter what you’ve done, there will come a time when you can’t make it on your own. And in your hour of desperation know you’re not the only one. Praying Lord above, I need a miracle.
There are many common denominators found in this woman in our text, and every single one of us need a miracle.
The reason that the gospel is “Good News” is that Jesus can provide that miracle. It’s why those of us who have experienced His power are compelled to share the gospel.
What is the first element in the life of someone who needs a miracle?
I. DESPERATION
In this large crowd following…In front, pressing on him is a woman who had been hemorrhaging blood for 12 years. She had seen doctor after doctor. She is suffering and she has emptied her bank account trying to get better, but instead of getting better she kept getting worse.
She is weak, she is anemic, she is pale. She has reached the end of her rope and has no energy left. You and I know she has experienced depression and is discouraged dealing with this sickness for 12 years. And not only that, because the Hebrew law considers her “unclean” she would have experienced “social isolation.”
Don’t believe me? Listen to….
LEVITICUS 15:25 (p. 79)
12 years of physical, emotional, financial suffering…alone.
And when she sought help, those she trusted did more harm than good. These doctors prescribed remedies that did nothing, but they were glad to take her money.
But aren’t we just like her? We try to fix the issues on our own. We talk to people who pretend to know the answers, but we end up broke. Maybe we even try to self medicate with drugs or alcohol to numb the pain and nothing is working. We end up miserable and we need a miracle right now.
But then…
II. SOMEONE TELLS US ABOUT JESUS
Verse 27 tells us, “She heard about Jesus”…I am not trying to be silly, but someone had to tell her about Jesus.
“Faith comes by hearing the message of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
There were no newspapers. There was no Channel 18 News. There was no Facebook or Google.
She heard about Jesus because there were some excited people in the area talking about a Man who performed miracles.
Had they been guests at the wedding in Cana, where He turned water into wine? Was it the leper He cleansed or Bartimaeus who had been blind. Or was it the widow whose son Jesus brought back to life?
We don’t know for sure, but we know without a doubt, someone told her about the healing power of Jesus.
I can’t prove it, but I believe she encountered someone with a personal testimony of healing, someone who had been radically changed by the powerful touch of Jesus Christ. Here’s why I believe that. As she approaches Jesus from behind, urgently moving through the crowd, she thought, “If I just touch his clothes I will be healed.”
That thought shows extreme faith. That thought makes me believe someone had shared a personal testimony of healing with this woman.
When the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans he says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that brings salvation.” (Romans 1:16)
He is sharing a first person experience. I am not ashamed to share the gospel because its power saved ME!
Not everyone who comes to Christ will have been a zealous Jewish Pharisee. Not everyone who comes to Christ will be a 17 year old rebellious pot-head. Not everyone who comes to Christ will be a woman who has been abused or a man. Not everyone will have been paralyzed like Joni Earekson Tada or raised in a missionary home like Tim Tebow or Jon Weece, but everyone who comes to Christ will have heard the good news that Jesus saves, Jesus heals. And they will have heard it from someone who has experienced this power.
The most important message I’ve had in my life happened 41 years ago, almost to the day.
At a point of desperation and hopelessness in my life someone told me that Jesus heals, Jesus forgives, Jesus loves. And I believed it enough to come to Him for healing and His power flowed into my life. I experienced that first hand and I’ve got to tell somebody this good news. I want to tell everyone this good news. What He did for me, He can do for you!
The first poem I ever learned after giving my life to Christ was called:
“The Touch of the Master’s Hand” - SHOW PIC
'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"
But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.
The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.
"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.
The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."
"And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.
What good are “unclean” women or high school drop outs? What good are lepers and demon-possessed men? What good are drunks and strippers, tax collectors and fishermen? What worth would the world put on people like this…. ZERO.
But touched by the Master’s hand each can play a melody only those who have been saved can play, it is the song of the redeemed.
In 1949 an actor in Hollywood named Stuart Hamblen gave his life to Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade. Sometime after his conversion Hamblen ran into John Wayne, who asked him about the rumor around town that he had changed his ways. Hamblen told Wayne that it was no secret what God had done for him and that He could do it for Wayne too. Wayne said, “That sounds like a song” and suggested he write one. Hamblen obliged….
“It is no secret what God can do. What He has done for others He will do for you. With arms open wide He will pardon you. It is no secret what God can do.”
This woman in Mark 5 needed a miracle and she got one. In the middle of a crowd was one who reached for Jesus in desperation and He healed her. He knew and so did she. He asks, “Who touched me?” And listen once again…
Mark 5:33-34 (p. 702)
She falls at His feet in worship. She is afraid, but so honest she tells him the whole truth. Yes, I touched you. Yes, I believe in you. Yes, I was desperate for healing.
And Jesus reveals the answer to all those who suffer and long for salvation.
“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your suffering.”
In every crowd there is a desperate man or woman who has heard about the power of Jesus, but it takes faith to make your way through the crowd of spectators and reach for Him. But those who do are set free from their sin and their pain and are promised peace to replace their suffering.
Just ask anyone who has experienced this.
Let’s pray.
