I Am Going To Touch Jesus!

Mark 5:24-34(NLT)

24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came, and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

In this passage from the Book of Mark, this woman had a problem. It was not a small problem, this was not a common cold, or the flu, this problem was stealing her life. She had been suffering for 12 years. She had seen all the specialists, had all the tests, spent all her money, but none of that had changed her circumstances. She had arrived at a location known as ‘Hopelessness.’

Most of us can relate to this woman, at least on some level, because we’ve all had a problem at some stage in our lives, it seemed like we’d never overcome. Maybe, you’re there now, I know I’m writing this to help someone this morning. Maybe you have a child on drugs, maybe your marriage is being torn apart, maybe you’re broke and you have bills you cannot pay, maybe you’ve gotten a bad report from the doctor, or sin has taken its toll on your life and your struggling to be set free – I don’t know who you are, or what you’re going through today, but God woke me up for you today.

You feel that it’s too late: the doctor said, “It’s too late, there’s nothing we can do.”

Your husband or wife said, “It’s over, I’m through.”

The devil said, “Stop wasting your time praying, it’s too late, it’s hopeless, God’s not listening!”

Maybe like this woman you have heard those words, and hope has died in your heart. Maybe like this woman you have had this problem so long that you think it is hopeless. Well I have good news for you, when you open your life to God there is no such thing as hopeless, and it’s never too late!

Romans 15:13 (NLT)

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As long as there is a God in heaven there is hope!

In John chapter five, there was a man in the bible who had been lame, he had been waiting for a miracle, for 38 years – then Jesus came along and healed him. When Jesus shows up, he doesn’t ask how long you been sick, he don’t ask how bad is it, what are the doctors saying, what are the lawyers saying, or what are the bankers saying?

Jesus doesn’t ask you what does it look like, what it feels like, or what do you think?

All Jesus wants to know is, do you believe? Do you believe that I Am, and that I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly? Do you believe that I died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe that I spoiled principalities and powers in your behalf? Do you believe that I am the same yesterday today and forever?

In her darkest hour of hopelessness, the woman hears that Jesus is passing by, and light pierces the darkness. She had heard about Jesus. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. She heard about Jesus and when she did hope sprang alive in her heart. She thought, if I can just touch the hem of his garment I know I will be healed. It was no longer a question of whether she could be healed, it was just a matter of touching Jesus.

And I am telling you today: it is not a matter of whether you can receive your miracle, it is only a matter of touching Jesus!

She came to where Jesus was. We come to where Jesus is by coming to His word. The only place you are going to find Jesus is in the word of God.

She pressed through the crowd. To touch Jesus, you will probably have to press through a lot, you may have to press through religion and tradition that tells you sickness is Gods will, that God is working out his mysterious will for your life through sickness.

You may have to press through your own pride, and make up your mind that it doesn’t matter what people think or say about you, the most important thing is touching Jesus.

You may have to press through your feelings. You cannot expect your feelings to get you to Jesus. If you listen to your feelings or your emotions you may never reach Him.

You may have to press through pain: physical pain, and emotional pain.

You may have to press through the most adverse circumstances: everything in your life that could go wrong may be going wrong, but you must keep pressing. One touch and everything changes!

‘She said to herself!’ Sometimes you must talk to yourself. If you wait for other people to encourage you all the time you may never be encouraged. You have got to tell yourself, “I can make it, come on self, believe! I have a destiny, I was meant for more than this!”

Keep pushing! Keep pressing! You’re getting closer! Don’t give up, don’t stop now!

David knew the value of encouraging himself: When they returned from battle and their houses had been burned with fire and their wives and children had been taken the people became angry with David and discussed stoning him. The bible says: “And David encouraged himself in the Lord.”

That’s what she did she encouraged herself, to keep pressing through the crowd. When she got to where Jesus was she found another problem, He was surrounded by people. It is still true today, Jesus is surrounded by people. Just like on that day many people were bumping into Jesus, they were touching Him physically but her touch was different, her touch was the touch of faith, and the touch of faith stopped Jesus in His tracks.

And Jesus Said: “Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Instantly her life changed forever! Just one touch from Jesus and years of misery, disappointment, and hopelessness, turned into joy, peace, and thanksgiving.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever, he never changes what he did for this woman he will still do today. Wherever there are people that will press through and touch him miracles happen. The blind see, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the lame walk, and broken lives are restored.

Multitudes gather around the world in church buildings on Sunday, and they move all around Jesus. They sing about him, talk about him, they bump into him, and yet many of them leave just like they came.

But then there is another group, that have made up their minds, they come for only one reason, they came to touch Jesus, and when they do their lives are changed forever!