We have someone new in our church family. This
woman has come out of brokenness, loneliness, and desperation. The Lord has
brought her out of her bondage, sorrow, and sin. She is born again in Him. She
has been saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. She desires to
serve Him with great joy, out of great gratitude.
In Mark we read about a woman who came to Jesus
incognito out of deep pain, loneliness, and shame. As He was often, Jesus was
surrounded by a large crowd of people. A large crowd of people continued to
press in on Jesus, surrounding him closely as he began to try to make his way to
Jairus’ house. In the crowd was a woman who driven by desperation. For 12 years
she had a condition that got steadily worse. She has spent all of her money on
doctors, searching for a cure, but it did not help at all. Instead, she’s grew
worse. In fact, her desperation drove her to extreme faith. All of her hope, her
very survival rested on one thing - the power of Jesus to heal her.
The amount of faith this woman demonstrated is amazing to me. She knew without a doubt that the power of Jesus was so great that all she needed to do was touch the edge of his robe. Such a belief drove her, moved her in closer, determined her course and would not let her veer from the path. Immediately, when she touched his clothing, Jesus realized what she had done. He looked around for the individual responsible. The disciples could not understand how, surrounded by masses of people, each of them crowding in on him, he could know someone intentionally touched him. He knew the desperation and the great faith of this woman.
The woman, nameless to us, was shaking with fear. She thought she could be healed by touching him and none would be the wiser but it didn’t work that way. It could be percieved that she took from Jesus this gift of healing without asking for it, without Jesus wanting to bestow it upon her. It could be looked upon as an act of stealing, in a way, from Jesus. She found herself having to confess her desperation to Jesus, and how she thought she could be healed without anyone knowing, particularly Jesus.
Jesus set her straight letting her know that it was her faith, her belief in him and his ability, that made her well. Believing in Jesus’ ability to transform her life had made her whole. Her incredible faith made her well.
Though we don’t know her name, Jesus has called her ‘daughter.’ I find that interesting. I don’t know that Jesus placed himself in such a paternal role with anyone else. Most often we all are referred to as his adopted brothers and sisters in his name, but he calls this woman daughter.
The amount of faith this woman demonstrated is amazing to me. She knew without a doubt that the power of Jesus was so great that all she needed to do was touch the edge of his robe. Such a belief drove her, moved her in closer, determined her course and would not let her veer from the path. Immediately, when she touched his clothing, Jesus realized what she had done. He looked around for the individual responsible. The disciples could not understand how, surrounded by masses of people, each of them crowding in on him, he could know someone intentionally touched him. He knew the desperation and the great faith of this woman.
The woman, nameless to us, was shaking with fear. She thought she could be healed by touching him and none would be the wiser but it didn’t work that way. It could be percieved that she took from Jesus this gift of healing without asking for it, without Jesus wanting to bestow it upon her. It could be looked upon as an act of stealing, in a way, from Jesus. She found herself having to confess her desperation to Jesus, and how she thought she could be healed without anyone knowing, particularly Jesus.
Jesus set her straight letting her know that it was her faith, her belief in him and his ability, that made her well. Believing in Jesus’ ability to transform her life had made her whole. Her incredible faith made her well.
Though we don’t know her name, Jesus has called her ‘daughter.’ I find that interesting. I don’t know that Jesus placed himself in such a paternal role with anyone else. Most often we all are referred to as his adopted brothers and sisters in his name, but he calls this woman daughter.
First of all, desperation is often a driving
force that leads us to seek grace in Christ. In some way, at one time or
another, our lives have been shattered and we have had to start over. Jesus the
Risen Lord during such times is always there, available to us. The healing power
of Jesus is always available to put our lives back together. When desperation
comes, whatever its source, we must turn our eyes upon Jesus. When our life
takes a turn in that direction, we often find ourselves like this woman, trying
everything to fix our problems. We try resolve after resolve. We make promise
after promise. We coax, we cajole, we bargain with God. We try every fix we can
think of until we are depleted, empty, lifeless, and hopeless. To learn from
this experience is to bypass all that, plunging into the healing power of Jesus.
We are called to have that incredible faith driven by Christ, driven by love,
driven by a personal relationship, not driven by desperation. Still, we will
find our faith at its greatest clarity often during the desperate moments of our
life.
There is another side to our faith, seeking
Christ. . Touching Jesus isn’t just a check list item. It was her faith that
made her well, not Jesus’ garment. It was a person to person encounter, not just
a checklist of Christian things to do. Transformation happens only when we open
ourselves up to that person to person exchange with Jesus.
There is a story about John Wesley, shortly after his return from Georgia in the American Colonies. The Americas had been nothing like what he expected. He returned from there feeling like his ministry had been an utter failure. On top of that, there was a terrible storm at sea on the trip back to England, and John Wesley had feared for his life. On the same ship, were a group of Christians who had a sense of calm John Wesley didn’t have. They had assurance that their fate rested in God’s hands whether they lived or died.
Upon his return to London, Wesley discussed his concerns with a German minister named Peter Bohler. He could see the lack of faith on Wesley’s part. Wesley, an ordained minister, had knowledge of salvation, but no assurance of his own. He knew all about Jesus, but didn’t know Jesus in his heart. Peter Bohler gave Wesley this memorable advice: “Preach faith until you have it, and then because you have it, you will preach faith.”
It is written, “Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”
I challenge each of us to follow Peter Bohler’s prescription: to believe even when we want to doubt, to believe Jesus can perform miracles in our lives, even when logic and reason wants to tell us otherwise. I challenge us to hope and believe even in the impossible. It can happen through Christ Jesus.
There is a story about John Wesley, shortly after his return from Georgia in the American Colonies. The Americas had been nothing like what he expected. He returned from there feeling like his ministry had been an utter failure. On top of that, there was a terrible storm at sea on the trip back to England, and John Wesley had feared for his life. On the same ship, were a group of Christians who had a sense of calm John Wesley didn’t have. They had assurance that their fate rested in God’s hands whether they lived or died.
Upon his return to London, Wesley discussed his concerns with a German minister named Peter Bohler. He could see the lack of faith on Wesley’s part. Wesley, an ordained minister, had knowledge of salvation, but no assurance of his own. He knew all about Jesus, but didn’t know Jesus in his heart. Peter Bohler gave Wesley this memorable advice: “Preach faith until you have it, and then because you have it, you will preach faith.”
It is written, “Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”
I challenge each of us to follow Peter Bohler’s prescription: to believe even when we want to doubt, to believe Jesus can perform miracles in our lives, even when logic and reason wants to tell us otherwise. I challenge us to hope and believe even in the impossible. It can happen through Christ Jesus.
In Christ,
Brown
Annual Praise and Prayer Conference
Friday- Sunday October 12-14,
2012
- Opening worship: Friday 7 PM at Union Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple Drive, Endicott
- Saturday 10 am - 1 PM We will gather in the sanctuary of the Union Center United Methodist Church for a concert of prayer.
- Prayer teams will be available to pray. We will anointing with oil and will pray for emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. We will be praying for deliverance and restoration.
- 6 PM First United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott. We will gather for a NEW YORK PIZZA Party
- 6:30 PM praise and worship. There will be time for prayer. There will be anointing with oil. We will be praying for miracles of healing, deliverance, salvation, restoration. We will also be serving Communion at the Altar.
- Sunday, October 14, 2012, Morning worship will be at 9:30 AM at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1000 Day Hollow Road
- 8:30 and 11:00 Worship services will be held at the Union Center United Methodist Church; 9:50 - Sunday School Hour
- 12:30 PM Prayer Banquet with international foods
Leaders for the prayer conference
are:
Kelly Johnson from Memphis, TN,
Andy and Sunita Groth, Rob
Krech, Meredith Watson, and Amanda (all from Washington,
DC).
The leaders and members of the
Binghamton House of prayer will be joining for this conference Event. Laureen
Naik will be leading in worship music. Come expecting a miracle.
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