This conversation is not a long conversation but it teaches us two things:
(1) HOW WE CAN LIVE A LIFE OF HOPELESSNESS
(2) HOW WE CAN LIVE A LIFE OF HOPE
We live in a society today where many are living a HOPELESS LIFE.
Illus: In 1983, on the coast of Virginia, a ship sank and took the lives of thirty-one sailors. This ship sank because an eight-ton anchor came loose and battered the hull of the ship until the ship went down. What is tragic about this accident is that the ship was destroyed by its own anchor.
This makes us think of so many today whose lives are sinking in despair due to the anchors they have placed their trust in.
For example:
(1) SOME PEOPLE SEE EDUCATION AS THE ANCHOR TO PLACE THEIR TRUST IN
Only a fool would be against education. But we are fooling ourselves if we think education is the answer to all of our problems. Some of the biggest corporate crooks in this country are educated by some of the finest educational institutions in the world.
(2) SOME PEOPLE SEE MATERIAL THINGS AS THE ANCHOR TO PLACE THEIR TRUST IN
In the bible we read about Solomon, who had everything a man in this life could dream of having, yet he cried out repeatedly, “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
We live in a society that is filled with people, that if you pin them down, they will tell you that life to them also is “Vanity and vexation of spirit”
There are a lot of depressed people, because they are living each day with NO HOPE of life getting any better.
Many feel like the program that once was on television called, “Hee Haw,” that stated weekly, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I would have no luck at all!”
Illus: Someone said, "Sure, I live in the past. It's about the only thing I have to look forward to!" (Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
Illus: I like what Claire Booth said years ago, "There are no hopeless situations; there are only men who have grown hopeless about them." (Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
Let us look at HOPE in three ways:
I. WHEN HOPE IS LOST
We can see this so clearly in the life of the sick woman who came to Christ. We see all hope in her life is gone.
Look at Mark 5:25-26, we read, “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.”
This woman knew a great deal about living a life of hopelessness. She had a serious health problem, and she tried every physician she knew, but the Bible said she steadily grew worse.
The reason she grew worse could be for two reasons:
(1) SHE MAY HAVE GONE TO SOME BAD DOCTORS
We can all be thankful for the good doctors that practice medicine because they want to help people in their sick conditions. If you have such a family doctor, you ought to tell him how much you appreciate his concern for your health.
But when it comes to doctors, they are like all other professions:
• You can find good ministers and you can find bad ministers
• You can find good lawyers and you can find bad lawyers
• You can find good carpenters and you can find bad carpenters
• You can find good plumbers and you can find bad plumbers
• You can find good electricians and you can find bad electricians
AND YOU CAN FIND GOOD DOCTORS AND YOU CAN FIND BAD DOCTORS.
A bad doctor is someone that has chosen to be a doctor because they feel that once they have a license to practice medicine, it is a license for them to prey on those in our society that are sick and helpless, and they take this opportunity to rob them and their insurance company of every penny they can get.
Illus: Someone said, “That is the reason some of them wear a mask when they are doing surgery.”
They might wear the best clothes, live in the nicest homes, and drive the best cars, but it makes you wonder how some can live with themselves knowing how they have taken advantage of sick people who came to them for help, BUT ALL THEY GOT WAS A BAD DOCTOR!
There are such doctors today, and you can imagine how bad it is going to be as they stand before the Lord and give account of taking advantage of SICK PEOPLE.
They may smile on the way to the bank now, but they will not be smiling when they stand before the Lord and give account for the evil they have committed.
• Some will have to give account for robbing poor sick people
• Some will have to give account for doing operations on people that never were needed
• Some will have to give account for things they said they did but they never did while the person was asleep
The Judgment day is going to be rough on these physicians.
It could be that this sick lady was taken advantage of by the many bad physicians she went to see. We do not know that to be a fact, but perhaps every one that she went to see only cared about HER MONEY, not HER HEALTH.
But we do know this - none of them helped her. However, it might be that she went to good physicians but-
(2) SHE MAY HAVE HAD A PHYSICAL CONDITION THAT EVEN A GOOD DOCTOR COULD NOT HELP
We would like to think this is the case. The doctors did their very best, but as they tried everything they knew to try, she steadily became worse.
Nothing seems to wear on hope like time. The woman had been ill for a long time. SHE HAD LOST ALL HOPE!
We have looked at WHEN HOPE IS LOST, now look at …
II. WHERE HOPE IS LOST
She was hopeless, but she had not always been hopeless. If we could go back in the life of this dear lady, you would probably see that at one time she lived a life of hope.
Life is that way:
• We can be on the mountain top today but we might be in the valley tomorrow
• We might be rich one day and poor the next day
• We might be the most popular politician in town one week and next week the most unpopular
• We might be healthy today but sick tomorrow
We do not know how old she was, but she does not appear to be a young woman, and if you could go back into her life you probably would find that one day, as a young lady, she had HIGH HOPES of living a wonderful life.
But then one day she was struck with this physical ailment, and after trying many physicians and steadily growing worse, her HOPE turned into hopelessness.
When the body is down, sick, tired, or in pain, Satan sows seeds of hopelessness. Such was the case with this woman.
We looked at WHEN HOPE IS LOST, WHERE HOPE IS LOST, now look at …
III. WHEN HOPE IS LACKING
When hope is lacking in our life, WHAT CAN WE DO?
Look what she did:
A. SHE HEARD
Look at Mark 5: 27-28, “When SHE HAD HEARD OF JESUS, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.”
Notice, the Bible says, “When she had HEARD of Jesus”. Hope was gone until she heard of Jesus, then hope sprang anew in her heart.
In Romans 10:17, the Bible tells us that, “FAITH COMETH BY HEARING”.
Did you know that the more you expose yourself to the Word of God, THE MORE YOUR FAITH WILL GROW?
That is one of the facts of life. We are influenced by the things we expose ourselves to.
Illus: This is why it is so important that young people not be exposed to the corrupt music of today. This kind of music leads to REBELLION, DISRESPECT AND SENSUAL LIVING. If they listen to it long enough, they will soon be attracted to that evil lifestyle.
But likewise, if people will expose themselves to the Word of God, they will grow spiritually. This is why it is important that people attend a BIBLE-PREACHING, BIBLE-TEACHING CHURCH. When they sit under the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, they are going to grow spiritually.
This is why the devil is trying to get the church involved in everything but the preaching of God’s Word. He knows what the Word of God will do in people’s lives.
She may have heard of the miracles of Christ, such as:
• HOW HE HEALED THE TEN LEPERS
• HOW HE OPENED THE EYES OF THE BLIND
• HOW HE CAUSED THE LAME TO WALK
• HOW HE RAISED THE DEAD
She heard of all the miracles He had done, and she probably said to herself, “If He can do those mighty things, HE CAN HELP ME.”
SHE HAD HEARD, but notice what else she did in her hopeless situation.
B. SHE HAD HOPE
She had hope, and acted on that hope when she saw the one she had heard about.
Look at verses 27-28, “When she had heard of Jesus, CAME IN THE PRESS BEHIND, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.”
Look at the word “Press,” this is the word “Ochlos” (Pronounced as , okh'-los) it means to a riot:--company, multitude, number (of people), people.
Jesus drew a crowd wherever he went, and in some cases His presence caused a riot!
Illus: Years ago, one of the singers that belonged to that group from England called the “Beetles,” said, “We are more popular than Jesus Christ.” No Way!
• Without an agent
• Without Television
• Without Radio
• Without Telephone
• Without a Newspaper
• Without a Billboard
Jesus could come to a town and multitudes would flock to see Him and Hear Him.
Two thousand years have come and gone since He walked on this earth, and:
• Thousands of songs have been written about Him
• Churches are built all over the world to worship Him
• His Bible is the best seller every year
• Literally millions have dedicated their lives to spread His gospel
His popularity can not be equaled by anyone who has ever lived on this earth.
His popularity caused a problem for this poor sick lady. But she had the faith that if she could squeeze herself through that crowd, and but touch His garment, she would be made whole.
The Bible does not tell us how she pulled this off, but she did.
C. SHE FOUND HELP
Look what happened to this woman that had been living in hopelessness. No physician could help her, but the moment she touched His garment, SHE FOUND HELP!
Look at verse 29, we read, “And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that SHE WAS HEALED of that plague.”
Also, we need to mention that during the centuries, lost men have been coming to Christ in their hopeless condition. But the moment they came into contact with Him He saved them and made them a Born-again person. They were cleansed from the desire to sin and started to live a new life in Christ.
It is interesting to notice that of all those people pushing and shoving and touching Jesus, she is the only one mentioned that received HELP.
SHE FOUND HELP IN HER HEALING. She came to Jesus for healing, and Jesus healed her!
Look at verses 30-31, we read, “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?”
He was well aware of the multitude of people who were touching Him, but He knew that in that crowd, someone came with some HOPE!
D. SHE WAS HUMBLE
Look at verse 33, we read, “But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and TOLD HIM ALL THE TRUTH.”
Her Hope had been that if she could but touch Him she would be made whole, and she was.
Notice, she fell down before Him and TOLD HIM ALL THE TRUTH.
She probably told Him how she had tried many physicians and grown worse, how she had spent all her money, and how she believed that if she could but touch Him she would be made whole.
E. SHE WAS HAPPY
Look at verse 34, we read, “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and BE WHOLE OF THY PLAGUE.”
Notice that ...
• In verse 29, She “felt in her body that she was healed of that plague”.
• In verse 33, She knew “...what was done in her,...”
• In verse 34, Jesus confirms her healing, “BE WHOLE OF THY PLAGUE”
WHAT MADE HER WHOLE? Jesus said, “THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE…”
WHAT IS FAITH?
Heb. 11:1, “Now FAITH IS the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things not seen.”
Conclusion:
Every one of us may choose to live in HOPELESSNESS or in HOPEFULNESS. The success of our life is determined by where we place our HOPE (Faith).
Where are you today?
• ARE YOU HOPELESS - NO FAITH
• ARE YOU HOPEFUL - FULL OF FAITH
I. WHEN HOPE IS LOST
II. WHERE HOPE IS LOST
III. WHEN HOPE IS LACKING
