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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
TOUCHING JESUS
Mark 5:22-34, "And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. 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, 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. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 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? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
Years ago, when I served as Worship Leader in a small independent church, one of the favorite choruses we sang went like this:
Touching Jesus is all that really matters
Then your life will never be the same
There’s only one way to touch Him
Just believe when you call on His name
Quite often we hear people crying out to God for various needs in life, asking God to touch them by His power. There is something wonderful about touching God. Touching God requires that we draw close to Him and strive to enter into the realm of the Spirit. Just one touch of the Master’s Hand will make all the difference in any situation.
Just one touch, that’s all it takes for healing, for deliverance, for victory and for everything in life to change. Thank God for the touch of the Lord in my life.
On that day, so many years ago, there was a sickly, frail, little woman who decided to believe in Jesus’ power to heal and she did what she had to do to get to Him and touch God for her need. Her story is one that is inspiring and has encouraged people throughout the Church Age to keep pressing on until they feel the touch of God. Her example is so profound for those who would desire to feel the touch of Christ to have their needs met. There are lessons to learn for each of us that were taught so greatly in the story of this woman’s faith and determination.
At the outset of this message let’s consider the fact that there was something different about this little woman. She was desperate for help. She was determined to reach out to Jesus. She would not stop until she touched God.
She was purpose driven. She recognized that she had a great need and that no one else could meet that need but God. She also had faith to believe that all she had to do was just get to Jesus, so she would not stop until she reached Him, no matter how long or what it took.
Jesus had been summoned to go to the home of Jarius to heal his daughter. Jarius, too, had come to a point of desperation because his daughter was dying and his only hope was in the Lord.
I can’t help but think of how many of us do not go to the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer, seeking His help, until we become so desperate because we have exhausted all of our own knowledge and ability. I wonder how many problems could have been solved, how many families could have been saved, how many financial, emotional or physical disasters could have been averted if we would have only pressed in to touch Jesus instead of relying upon our own devices?
There is a price that must be paid though, if we are to touch Jesus. This woman, weak and sickly, puts many of us to shame who fail to press in to touch the Lord for our needs.
Though we don’t know her name, yet her story will stand forever as a testimony of faith and perseverance in the face of obstacles.
There were a lot of people following Jesus that day. As the news spread that Jesus was going to perform a miracle of healing for Jarius’ daughter, the crowd of followers began to grow rapidly. From a small party of probably less than 20 people, including Jesus, the disciples and Jarius, the crowd grew larger and larger.
Why did so many people follow Jesus? What was it that they wanted to see? Can we see ourselves in that crowd of people who walked the dusty roads that day with our Lord? I think that if we examine this scene closely, we can certainly pick ourselves out in the crowd too.
It isn’t hard to get a crowd excited about seeing the unusual. Just let a fire start and there will be a crowd. Just let an auto accident happen and soon the highways will be jammed with “rubber necks” that want to see everything. People love to see different things and be a part of something that is really happening.
The Lord Walked along at the front of this crowd that continued to grow as He walked. By His side walked the disciples because they were always close to Him. Their desire was to emulate Jesus and to learn as much as they could so they were never very far away. They could always see what Jesus did. They could always hear what Jesus had to say and they were always searching, listening, watching and learning to be more like Him. These men knew Jesus like no other men of their time has ever known the Lord.
I believe that we, those of us who are the true Disciples of Christ, have that same opportunity today. We can know Jesus, hear His voice and follow Him just as close as we want to as long as we are willing to pay the price to have the relationship with Christ that few people are willing to pay. Too many people are satisfied with only a little knowledge of Jesus and they don’t care to really have an intimate and personal relationship that is as deep as what the disciples had. That’s the kind of relationship I want. I hope that’s what you want to. But, I know that most “Christians” will never have that kind of relationship because they just aren’t willing to pay the price to have it.
Those who were quick to hear and quick to follow the disciples and the Lord toward Jarius’ house came next. They may have been friends of the disciples, or perhaps they were some who stood around to see what would happen next or whether the Lord would begin to teach once again. They were not ready, nor were they chosen to be disciples by the Lord, but they didn’t want to miss anything either.
Can you see yourself as a part of this group? Do you stay close by the church or its leaders so that you won’t miss anything? Do you stay close enough to respond quickly when the Lord begins to move? A lot of people in the church today are in this position. They hand around and stay close to what is happening. They don’t want to miss a blessing, but they also don’t want to commit fully to getting close to Jesus and paying the price for true discipleship. They like the glow of leadership but they don’t want to actually be responsible for being a leader. They won’t carry the load but they will stand close by and encourage those that do.
Behind these people came those who would follow further back in the crowd. Perhaps some of these people were simply latecomers who had not yet moved up closer to the Lord. I think though that they lacked the desire to press in because they were there before the woman arrived and they had not gotten any closer. They were satisfied with just being a part of the crowd. They wanted to be witnesses of what was happening but they weren’t really a part of it at all.
I wonder how many of these people spent the rest of their lives bragging about the part they had in the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and the raising of Jarius’ daughter? That’s what most of our church world does today. We see so many who claim to have had a part in the great revivals that are spreading around the world. We hear the speeches of many who claim to have been a part of what God is doing but I wonder just how much of a part they really played. Were they just part of the crowd where it happened or were they close enough to pray right along with Jesus and have a real part in the work that God is doing?
The last part of the crowd that I want to describe to you is the ones who brought up the rear of the procession. I wonder if many of these people actually knew what was going on or where they were going, or who was leading the crowd? There is a huge crowd of these people that can be seen in the church world of today.
I’ve heard it said that there are three types of people in this world: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened!
I think we place Jesus and His disciples in the first crowd. Those who followed close behind were watching and waiting for the next miracle or the next sermon but I can’t help but believe that a lot of those who were just following the crowd didn’t have a clue as to what was really going on.
These people were so far from the real action that all they could get was second hand information or rumors that were passed from one to another until it reached their ears. They couldn’t see Jesus’ actions because too much was between them and the Lord. They couldn’t hear the voice of the Lord because of the din of noise that drowned Him out. They didn’t know what had really happened or what Jesus was doing because they were too far away.
Knowing how things change from one person to another I wonder just what they finally believed had happened. Even though they walked with the same crowd and claimed to be following the same Jesus, I wonder if they ever really knew what Jesus did that day? I wonder if some of them went home believing that what happened was anything from Jesus tripping over a stone in the road, to having his outer garment torn away, to the appearance of an angel before them all. Rumors have a way of changing so greatly.
That’s what happens in the church world too. Satan has a way of perverting what God is doing so that those who follow Jesus afar will never really know the truth of what God is doing.
Can you imagine what happened after the woman was healed when these, who followed far back, finally heard the news? I can just picture them standing around with this bewildered look on their faces as they tried to figure out what was going on. Perhaps one of them looked at another and said, “What’s going on? Why are we here? Is this crowd really going somewhere? Why are we standing still? Why doesn’t someone find out what’s happening and let’s get this show on the road?
Have you heard anyone in the church with those same questions? Have you ever been guilty of saying them yourself?
There are a lot of people in the church that fall into this category. They hang around the fringes of ministry and do a lot of criticizing and complaining but they never really put their hands to the plow. They grumble because the church isn’t growing or because some small problem hasn’t been handled. They complain because the Pastor lacks vision or the Worship Leader sings the wrong songs. Most of their complaints, grumbling and criticizing only comes because they are frustrated within themselves or have guilt inside because they won’t get involved, pull their share of the load or get out of the way so someone else can.
God help us, if we would be busy doing the Lord’s work they way God called us to do it, there would be no time for complaining and criticizing. We would too busy and we would welcome anyone who was willing to help in any way they could even if what they did wasn’t perfect!
It takes not commitment to be a part of the crowd that hangs around the outside wondering what is going on!
It takes some commitment to get close enough to know and see what God is doing!
It takes a huge commitment to actually be a part of what God is doing and to be used by God to do mighty works for His Kingdom!
The GOOD NEWS is that you can change your position in the crowd just about anytime that you want to if you are willing to pay the price to do so!
The woman with the issue of blood waited until the crowd drew near because she was too weak to go very far to meet them. She let a lot people get ahead of her because she lived in a time when it was unheard of for a woman to approach the man of God boldly. She had to finally come to a decision that it just didn’t matter what anyone said or thought; she had to get to Jesus to touch Him. That was her only chance and she would not pass it up.
She shoved and pushed her way through the throng that followed Christ. I can imagine that she had to endure some hard knocks, pushing back, criticizing words, hard stares and even some who didn’t think she deserved to be there, but she wouldn’t quit.
What a condemning example to those Christians who live such lives of ease, who are healthy in body and whom God has blessed so greatly, and yet will not press in to touch the Lord! We let such small things stop us from pressing in. We get a head cold and we won’t press in. We get a little criticism and the first thing we want to do is give up and go hide somewhere. We get some opposition and then give up the struggle because “so and so” won’t leave me alone. We get a few battle scars in this spiritual warfare and we turn tail and run from the fight! GOD HELP US TO KEEP PRESSING IN UNTIL WE TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT!
One final point I want to make is this – even though the crowd that followed Jesus that day were not all there for the same reason or saw the same things, at least they were all following Him!
I would rather see you follow afar than not at all. I would rather see you coming to the House of God and hearing the ministry of the Word of God than to not be here at all. At least if you are somewhere in the vicinity of where the Lord is moving and speaking, maybe you will get something and there is always the chance that you will get a blessing or even decide to press in to touch the hem of His garment for your own needs.
There were multitudes in that day that didn’t even know that Jesus was near. They didn’t know that the Son of God walked among them. They rejected His power and they would not even turn aside to listen to His teaching. Those are the people that I pity the most. Those are the ones that we must strive to reach. Those are the ones that Jesus died for just as He did for you and I.
The story of the woman that was healed of an issue of blood as she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment is a story that speaks to each of us right now!
Where are you in the crowd?
Are you walking arm-in-arm with Jesus? Is your relationship with Jesus strong and intimate? Can you hear His voice and see Him moving in the circumstances of your life and in your church? If you can answer yes to these questions then praise God for you! God will say to you one day, “Well done my good and faithful servant”! You are the man or woman of God that we all admire. Thank God for those who answer the call to become true disciples!
Are you walking close to your church leaders but you can’t hear the Lord Jesus speaking to you? Are you close enough to see what’s happening, even feel as though you are a part of it, but you really don’t have the vision of what God is doing?
If that describes you, then it’s time to press in a little harder. Make a deeper commitment to follow Christ a little closer. Get on your knees and pray. Study the Word of God more. Spend time with the Lord and open your spiritual ears. Let your relationship get stronger and soon you, too, will be walking in front with Jesus. You are only a step away but it is a giant step of commitment that must be made.
Are you a part of those who are following afar? If so, then start running toward Jesus! Push through the barriers and obstacles; ignore what others may think or say; press in until you can touch the hem of His garment! The only thing that is separating you from the greatest life that Jesus has to offer is your own decision to press in so why wait?
What about those who aren’t even aware that Jesus is coming? It’s the job of each of us who knows the Lord to make them aware! We should be reaching out to them and trying to get them to join our procession toward glory with the Lord Jesus Christ! We must be convinced and believe that we are going to Heaven and that Jesus is the only way, then we must share that vision and belief with others.
Finally, will you press in to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, or will you hang back and be a stumbling block to yourself or to others who are trying to press in? You will either be a part of the solution or a part of the problem. The choice is yours!
BEGIN PRESSING IN RIGHT NOW AND LET NOTHING STOP YOU!
