Are You Drawing Near?
Mark 5:25-34
-Before the era of mandatory seatbelts you could always tell which couples were in love and which ones weren’t. The distance indicated something.
-Many of God’s children are content to ride in the car with the Lord, but they want to keep their distance.
-God isn’t interested in a legal contract with you or me. The legal side of it is important – being justified. When you place your faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins, your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life and you are declared legally righteous. But God wants more than that.
-There’s a big difference between legal marriage and an intimate relationship.
-If you’re desperately hungry for the Lord, and you are taking that hunger to Him in prayer, you can expect to hear His invitation to draw closer.
-The question is: Will you accept that invitation to move in His direction in order to experience greater intimacy with your Creator, your Savior, and your Lord?
-It’s a question of placement and direction of your heart and life.
In the 5th chapter of Mark’s gospel we find one of the most striking portraits of desperation in Scripture.
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-This woman had what we would call a uterine hemorrhage, a constant bleeding that could not be stopped.
She also faced a financial issue. No insurance. Depleted financial resources. Condition no better. No answers on solving the problem.
-She also had psychological issues. She had to sneak around (v.27) It was an embarrassing kind of illness.
-She also had a spiritual and social issue. She was unclean. Note Leviticus 15:25-31.
-This woman’s total life was one big issue. She was defiled, destitute, discouraged, and desperate. We all know what it’s like to have a bad day, but we have nothing on this woman. Twelve years of constantly having to endure would be more than most of us could take.
--There’s something about getting desperate. There’s something about that situation that brings God’s truths into focus as never before.
-In Mark 5, Jesus was in town and word had gotten out that He was good with issues.
-The problem was that this woman was not in Jesus’ appointment book. When she caught sight of Him, he was already being taken by someone else. (v.22)
-Before telling us about the woman with the hemorrhage, Mark tells us about an important man that approached Jesus. (v.22-23) Also note v.24
-In the midst of this surging throng was this bleeding, desperate woman. A penniless, nameless, nobody in the crowd. Look at vv.27-28
-She approached Him from the rear, sight unseen.
-Technically, what this woman did was against the law because of her uncleanness. So to pull off this plan, she had skip over the law. How do we explain that? Simple: Grace has always been greater than the law. What she needed was grace. Note John 1:17
-The law was telling this woman to go away, but grace was calling out, “come closer.”
-The law said she was an outcast; grace was saying, “There’s room.”
-The law said she was condemned; grace was saying, “condemnation is cancelled.”
-Once she finally got close enough to touch Him two things happened “immediately.”
Verse 29 The first supernatural event took place inside her physical being.
Verse 30 Second, her encounter elicited a response of full awareness from her Healer.
-Now why did Jesus ask such a question? The disciples were wondering that too. v.31
-When Jesus asks a question, it isn’t because He is deficient in knowledge. His questions aren’t for His benefit, but for ours.
-He knew someone had touched Him with a touch of faith. V.32
-He was surrounded by a multitude; why didn’t more people draw close enough to Him in faith? Because they were there to see the show. They wanted to see what Jesus was going to do with Jairus’ daughter.
-This bleeding woman was not interested in the show. She was determined to touch Him because of her desperate need. She wasn’t satisfied merely to be part of the parade.
-They were just pressing in; she wanted Him.
-A lot of us are in the vicinity of Jesus, like the crowd, but we really don’t understand who we are dealing with.
-We really don’t understand that when we draw close enough to touch Him by faith, there is power that can flow out of Him into our lives.
-It’s the same power that turn a valley full of dry bones into a vast army of living, breathing, soldiers for the Lord.
-You can be in the vicinity of Jesus, you can be in the neighborhood, without really being someone who’s touched Jesus and received His power. Just because you are in the crowd doesn’t mean you’re making the connection.
-Jesus wanted to know who touched Him. He looked around the crowd and He didn’t have to wait. V.33
-Her quick and full response shows us both the real purpose and impact of Jesus’ question. Fix your attention on how He responded to her. V. 34
-After she fell before Him and testified what had happened, after her situation brought glory to Jesus, the result was personal intimacy with Jesus.
-He actually called her “daughter.” Don’t miss that. When we started this story, she had no name. Now she has gone from being nobody to being the daughter of Jesus.
-Jesus told this new daughter to “go in peace.” This was shalom peace.
-It’s the kind of peace that puts life in proper perspective. It means having all of life’s needs abundantly met.
-It’s the kind of intimacy described in Jeremiah 9:23-24.
-If you can’t brag about your intimacy with the Lord, then you really don’t have much to talk about.
-Few of us have circumstances as numerous and as severely difficult as those faced by the woman in Mark 5. Most of us can identify with one or two of them
-Physical problems; financial problems; psychological problems; social issues; and spiritual issues that make us desperately in need of God’s grace.
-What are your issues today?
-I want you to know that whatever the issue is, there is plenty of God’s grace to address it, as you draw near to Him in intimacy.
