"You Snooze, You Lose!"

TEXT: Luke 8:40-48

And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. [41] And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to entreat Him to come to his house; [42] for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes were pressing against Him.

[43] And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, [44] came up behind Him, and touched the fringe of His cloak; and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. [45] And Jesus said, "Who is the one who touched Me?" And while they were all denying it, Peter said, "Master, the multitudes are crowding and pressing upon You." [46] But Jesus said, "Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me." [47] And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. [48] And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

"You Snooze...You Lose!"

PRAYER

INTRODUCTION:

SING: "Reach Out And Touch The Lord"

Reach out and touch the Lord, as He walks by. You’ll find He’s not too busy, to hear your cry. He is passing by this moment, your needs He’ll supply. Reach out and touch the Lord, as He walks by.

Reach out!

When we think about healing and/or needing something from the Lord, there are many occasions that we tend to take a very PASSIVE role in regard to our situation.

We get to feeling like this...

We know that God is OMNISCIENT; therefore we just HOPE and TRUST that God will get around to touching us, and meeting our needs sometime.

-IE. HEALING us, delivering us, etc. etc.

-However, I believe that the Scripture teaches us otherwise!

I believe that the illustration that we read of today, here in Luke 8, gives us just the opposite example of what/how we should pursue the Lord’s help!

TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE:

The lady with the issue of blood depicts a soul that is in a DESPERATE state, and how we can respond to our own desperate situations and needs for healing.

She especially teaches us something in regard to our DETERMINATION in seeking the Lord, our healer, for help!

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There is something to be said of being in a DESPERATE state.

And something further to be said for one who will not just wait around for something good to happen to him, but will be PERSISTENT, AGGRESSIVE, and TENACIOUS!

I think the temptation for many of us is to just wait around for something to happen to us good.

-God knows our situation.

-He knows what I need.

-He will do it when He gets ready.

-And we learn how to "live" with our condition, and medicate its symptoms so that we can cope.

But, this is not always God’s best for us, is it??

I am reminded of one guy in the Bible that came to Jesus in John 5.

He was at the Pool of Bethesda, waiting for the waters to be stirred by an angel of the Lord, and to be the FIRST to get in for a healing...

-For 38 years this guy is an invalid, and had been waiting at the pool for a healing.

-Jesus asks a very appropriate question, "Do you want to get well?"

Let me ask you...

"Do you want to get well?"

We do so often learn to deal with our sickness.

Therefore, it is not necessarily a need...want...desire to be made whole.

PROBLEM, again, what I have been talking about...PASSIVITY!

Hence, "You Snooze...You Lose!"

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We can’t "snooze"

We cannot just lay back and hope for the best.

There is a need for us to be tenacious about getting a hold of God, and being desirous of His touch in our lives!

-The guy sick for 38 years in John 5 was not a good example for us about tenacity...

-But yet, God did touch him, and healed him.

*Because this is God’s desire for you!

However, I want to focus on the thought of not waiting for it to happen to you, but for you to be pursuant of God, and His touch!

There are oodles of illustrations in the Gospels of those who did not take on the mentality "You Snooze, You Lose!"

-Ka sera, sera...

-Live and let live...

-These are not phrases that move the hand of God!

FAITH, HOPE, and reaching out to God in a state of desperation captures the attention of the Lord!