The Hem Of His Garment

Beloved, before we start this message, I want you to take the following prayer points:

1. Oh Lord, let your anointing fall upon me, in the name of Jesus.

2. Every agent of infirmity, fall down and die, in the name of Jesus.

Matthew 9: 20 – 22 says, “And behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. (What a positive confession.) But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.”

We have another version of that story in Mark 5: 25 – 34: (When you see a story repeated in many places in the Bible, know that it must be very important.) “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 made whole. And straightway, the fountain of her blood was dried up; (the fountain of your sickness will dry up, in Jesus’ name.) 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 had made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”

This is a very interesting story from which we can draw a few lessons:

Lesson 1: This story is the simplest illustration of faith in the Bible. The woman acted, virtue came out of the Lord and a miracle took place. She felt that she did not need to bother the Lord. She believed that once she was able to touch the hem of His garment, she would be made whole. With this simple child-like faith, she went ahead and touched Him and that was it. We could say that she drew power from Jesus without permission.

Lesson 2: Longstanding problems yield to the power of Jesus Christ. The woman had the problem for good twelve years. Meaning that no matter how long a particular problem has been in place, the hand of the Almighty can go to the foundation and dry it up in one second. This was what happened here. Many who are suffering from long term sicknesses will be delivered if they can reach out to the Lord in faith.

Lesson 3: The doctors can only care but they cannot heal. The woman had been to many doctors, yet she did not receive her healing. She discovered that only Christ could save her. Perhaps your case is like that, as you are reading this message, the Lord shall deliver you, in Jesus’ name. People’s cases get worse when they go to satanic doctors for healing, so avoid it.

Lesson 4: It does not matter if you come from behind, as long as you can touch the hem of His garment, you will be healed. You do not have to be in front to get your healing. This woman did not know about Christianity. Her father was not a reverend gentleman, likewise her mother. So, no matter who you are, once you reach out to the Lord in faith, He will touch you.

Lesson 5: The virtue of healing comes from only our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lesson 6: The Lord insisted that the woman made an open confession. Until she made an open confession, her healing was not complete. It was after her confession that Jesus said to her: “Daughter, thy faith hath made you whole.”

Lesson 7: The woman got rid of all her obstacles to get to Jesus.

Let us consider this last point.

Faith can break down the barrier between a person and the person’s desired miracle. There were many things that would have prevented the woman from receiving her healing but she refused to be stopped. She kept going despite all the obstacles.

WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED HER

FROM GETTING HER BREAKTHROUGH?

1. THE WRONG CROWD: Jesus attracted the wrong kind of people and that could have been a barrier to the woman. Those who followed Jesus were people from Galilee. They were not educated people. They were not fine people. They were not the kind of people you would refer to as civilised. They were a pack of fishermen, poor, sick, despised and ignorant people.