The Power Of Feeble Faith

Mark 5:25 34 -- “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.”

l. INTRODUCTION

Hebrews 11:1 -- “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

-Faith, that vague thing that preachers preach about. Faith, that elusive word that seemingly cannot be defined. Faith, that aspect of my life that often seems absent.

-I have heard said and preached, that if I just had a little more faith, God could work. When do you know when you have enough faith? Is there is a “faith” gauge on the soul that indicates either empty or full? (I will take a half a tank of faith, God. Or, Fill’er up, God.) How is it that God could work with faith as weak as what mine is? How is it that God could fulfill what he wants with feeble faith?

Romans 4:19 22 -- “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:” “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;” “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

-There are moments in my walk with God that I cannot even relate to the Scriptures of the faith of Abraham. I cannot imagine walking to the top of the mountain, challenging the prophets of Baal for my God to answer by fire. I cannot imagine walking to the Red Sea and stretching forth a rod and suddenly God parting the waters for safe passage. I just do not fit in with the Abraham’s, with the Elijah’s, and with the Moses’ types.

A few years ago, in fact for two years while we lived in Houston, we went to the airshow, called “Wings Over Houston.” It is amazing to notice the power of the jets as they fly in tight formations in the sky. Such precision and such carefulness is exhibited there. Such power and form is noted there. The F-16’s and the F-18’s of the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels are breathtaking in their flight patterns. Flying about 50 feet off of the runway they roared with power. They flew upside down, right side up, and sideways. But at that same airshow there were planes that were basically cropdusters with pilots not nearly as accomplished as those in the jets. If you are one of those F-18’s with faith enough to send sonic booms through the heavens, I salute you. If you don’t have F-18 faith, I understand. Maybe your faith fits in the crop duster category. Maybe your a lot like me, you aren’t flashy, you fly low, you seem to cover the same ground a lot, and some mornings it’s tough to get the old engine cranked up.

-Somehow, I just have a suspicion that I am not the only one who has trouble with their faith and trust in the Lord. I do have faith, it (at times, is just a little bit feeble). Forgive me, but I’ll not be preaching to the F-18’s, but I will be preaching to the cropdusters. I am preaching about, The Power of Feeble Faith.

ll. THE SETTING OF THE TEXT

A. A Certain Woman

-The Bible declares to us that there was a certain woman. A woman who had endured an illness for twelve long years.

-How long is twelve years?

It is 4,383 days.

It is 144 months.

It is 624 weeks.

It is 105,192 hours.

It is long enough to graduate from high school.

It is long enough to become a doctor.