Embracing Faith: A Journey from Desperation to Divine Healing

Imagine carrying a burden for twelve long years, feeling isolated and desperate. That's the reality our latest episode unravels, as we share the stirring biblical account of a woman whose faith led her to a miraculous healing by Jesus. Her unwavering conviction reminds us of the often untapped potential residing in our belief and the boldness required to overcome societal constraints. We dissect this narrative, not just emphasizing the power of faith but also inciting a self-reflective journey on avoiding spiritual complacency. Our dialogue promises an awakening to the essence of maintaining a fervent heart in pursuit of the Divine, assuring that God's grace is accessible even amidst our imperfections.

Transitioning from inspiration to life application, we dissect the robust nature of faith and its role in personal transformation. The episode is a clarion call to activate one’s faith, as tiny as a mustard seed, to navigate life’s greatest trials. We weave through the teachings of Matthew, Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, and Luke, anchoring our insights on the supremacy of divine strength over human wisdom. The stories and personal experiences we share will challenge you to not only seek inner metamorphosis but to also extend that hand of change to others. Join us in embracing the understanding that profound shifts in our existence are cultivated not by self-made strategies but through a deep, transformative relationship with God.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:10

12 years. The Bible tells us that for 12 years this woman suffered. No amount of doctors could help her. Nothing she did. According to the law and she mentions this she's considered unclean, unworthy In the culture. If you were considered unclean, you were not allowed to have contact with a single person. You were ostracized, you were put out from crowds, you were excluded from worship because there was this fear that the year uncleanliness would cause someone else to be unclean. For her to even be standing near the crowd at that moment was taking this incredible risk. That might have even cost her her life. She was disobeying the laws, but she was so desperate, so hungry for change.

Speaker 1: 2:32

Luke 8, 40 through 56 says now, when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed them, but they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. So this miracle takes place and it's sandwiched in between another one. So Jesus comes across Jairus and he's headed to his house because his daughter has become ill and Jairus has faith that Jesus can heal her. It says it in verse 43,. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and she touched the edge of his cloak and immediately her bleeding stopped. Who touched me, jesus asked. When they all denied it, peter said, master, the people were crowding and pressing against you, but Jesus said someone touched me. I know that the power has gone out for me. Then the woman, seeing that she cannot go unnoticed, came trembling in fellow's feet, in the presence of all the people. She told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. And he said to her daughter your faith has healed you, go in peace.

Speaker 1: 4:13

So he has this encounter. And she had so many things going against her. Not only was she unclean, but culturally she was a woman, and women in that culture were not highly valued or seen. But she has this moment, in the same desperation that we see last week, that they have this understanding that if I can just get to Jesus, if I can just find a way in her words, if I can just find a way to touch the edge of his cloak, it could change my entire life. And you imagine being in a culture where you can see and you know and you've seen what Jesus does and you just have this overwhelming fear, this over just bearing fear that I, how do I get to him? What do I do? What am I supposed to do? I love the video but channel this because in her interaction she talks about the idea that if I touch you, you will become unclean.

Speaker 1: 5:36

And I think so often in the world and just from what I see is a lot of people they don't come to church and they don't come to Jesus because they think they're so unworthy, unclean, and if they come into his presence they're somehow going to mess him up. Or I hear people say like, oh no, I'll come to church but I hope it doesn't burn down when I walk through the door and listen. I think people say that jokingly, but at their core there's a part of them that has this belief that God is unattainable, that I'm not enough, that I'm not worthy enough. And here's the beauty of it is, to an extent that's true. You and I are not worthy to stand in the presence of God, but it's never stopped him from coming to us. It's never stopped us. It's never stopped him from meeting us where we are and loving us the way that he does because, even though we're not worth it, he makes us worth it. He chooses to open that door that the entire reason why Jesus came was to start a relationship with humanity, one that they had never seen before. And so, as this woman, as she approaches Jesus, she does someone thinkable things. Who knows who she touched to get there? Who knows what it could have cost her? But in that moment it didn't matter. All that mattered and all that she wanted was just to have some kind of encounter with the Son of God, the one who had come.

Speaker 1: 7:42

As believers, as Christians, are we desperate enough? Are we desperate every single day to say God, I just want to have another opportunity to encounter you, I just want to draw closer to you, I want to see everything that you can do for my life. And I think that sometimes, the longer we're Christians, the harder. That is because we become complacent, we start to, we get into a habit and we get into practices and we almost lose that fire, that desire to know God so intimately that we're willing to push through a crowd of people just to get to him. And this is the kind of faith. This is the kind of desperation that offers genuine transformation, is the realization that every day of my life I have to go to God and say what do I need to do now? What do I need to be working on? What area of my life do I need to give you this morning?

Speaker 1: 8:59

Because our fear, our fear that we have of how people see us, of rejection, our fear of not being worthy, keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us. Because we allow the voices of culture to get in the way, we allow the voices of our close friends and our close family to get in the way, because we don't want to be seen as those. Jesus see people. And I know this and I can prove this in my own life, because when I first became a Christian I'm ashamed to say this, but the people that I went off and make fun of, because I was very much a young believer were the overly Jesus people, the people who wanted to pray about everything. Like all, my car broke down. I'm going to pray about it and I was like go see a mechanic and that's because I was immature, and so I would look at those people and I'm like you can't be about Jesus all the time. And then, as I grew up, I was like, yeah, but you should be about Jesus all the time, like your life is designed and created and was bought with a price and the purpose of being transformed is to be more like Jesus. The older I get, the more my relationship with God should mature and develop. That's growth. That's how it's supposed to be.

Speaker 1: 10:40

But if we're not careful we become complacent. I've met people well into their years, decades into being a Christian, who have told me very honestly well, I don't sin anymore, there's nothing in my life that needs to change. I'm exactly how God wants me to be and listen. Maybe they are, maybe they have figured it out, but I can tell you that, as someone who's a sinful human being, I need Jesus every single day to course correct me. I need God to remind me every single day that my life is not my own and I need Him to help lead me where I need to be. Every conversation, every interaction, everything that I do, I have to compare to the life God wants me to live. And there are things about my life that have to change. I talked about it last week. There's things that I did last year that I'm proud of. There's things that I did last year that I'm not proud of. But part of being transformed is this realization that I am not until I die. I'm not complete, I'm still learning, I'm still sinful. And what I love about what happens in this moment, when this woman approaches Jesus and she touches his garment and she's healed, we don't have a ton of what happens.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Next conversation. Right, we know that she's healed and Jesus calls her daughter and he says your faith has brought you healing and go in peace. And then he continues on into the work he was headed. To begin with, he said excuse me, starting in verse 49, while Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead. He said Don't bother the future anymore. Hearing this, jesus said to Jairus don't be afraid, just believe that she will be healed.

Speaker 1: 13:13

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go with him, except Peter, john and James, who tried his father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing in mourning for her. Stop wailing. Jesus said she is not dead, but asleep. They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead, but he took her by the hand and said my child, get up. Her spirit returned at once. She stood up and Jesus told him to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. So in this moment he has this encounter with this woman and she's healed. And then immediately someone comes out and says to Jairus, don't bother him anymore, your daughter has died. And Jesus continues on. He says listen, don't listen to the crowds, have faith. He goes and he brings this girl back to life.

Speaker 1: 14:18

But in the moment we have this encounter with this woman who was bleeding and we don't know what happens next, I can tell you from my own personal experience as someone who found Jesus later in my life, 15, 16 years old the moment that I met Jesus, there was this realization that I did not wanna return to who I used to be. I didn't like that part of me. I didn't like the depression that I struggled with. I didn't like the failed suicide attempts that I had made in my own life. I didn't like the way I treated even my mom and my friends. There was this realization that I no longer had to be that person because I had met someone who was gonna change my life. And so I can imagine in this moment as this woman stands up. She realizes I don't have to go back to who I was, but I still have to figure out who I'm becoming.

Speaker 1: 15:35

It's not instant. She would have to learn a new way of living, almost. She no longer was considered unclean, she no longer was ostracized or cast out. She could be around people. She might be able to even restore friendships, relationships that she had. But she knew that she had a road ahead of her. It wasn't gonna be easy, but it was gonna be way better.

Speaker 1: 16:04

In the last 12 years I think about the paralytic had the same thought as he walked out of that house. He could have gone back and sat on his mat day in and day out and allowed people to carry him around, but I can't imagine he did that. I can only imagine that he danced and ran and walked and was willing to tell everyone the story of what happened, because he realizes that, yes, that's who I was, but in Jesus that's not who I am any longer and there's a freedom that comes from having that type of relationship with Jesus, that moment when you realize that I no longer have to be who I was, because Jesus has set me free and there's a beauty of not knowing what's coming but knowing and trusting that God's going to get me to where I need to be next. Jesus does so many things in this encounter. We talked about this on Sunday the importance of words. We were talking about different Bible translations and the importance of the text and all of that.

Speaker 1: 17:32

And I love it because in this moment, after she's been healed, jesus calls her daughter and we saw in the clip that her reaction is I'm no one's daughter. And once again, we don't know, but just knowing the culture, knowing how separated, how isolated she has felt for for more than a decade she probably had no close relationship, she probably had no one to love her. If she would have been married, actually her bleeding would have been grounds for a divorce. Her husband could have justified it if he wanted to, but she's felt nothing but isolation and separation. And for years. And in this moment, not only does Jesus heal her physically but he restores her emotionally and spiritually. He says today, you are my daughter. He calls her and just there's this moment where I like the thing, she has this realization that I'm no longer alone, that after 12 years, I finally belong again.

Speaker 1: 19:01

So in that church. That's what I love about Jesus More than anything in this entire world is the fact that anyone who is willing to come to Him and to give their life to Him that they belong. They belong to the plan, they belong to the purpose, they belong to the kingdom of God, no matter their background, no matter their story, no matter all the things that they've done wrong, no matter their diseases, no matter how much they failed, that when you give your life to Jesus, you're now part of the family. There's a transformation that comes in that moment that, I think, when you're a new Christian, you understand how beautiful it is.

Speaker 1: 19:58

But sometimes, the longer we're believers, we forget, in almost 20 years that I've known God 22 actually and you know, one of the hardest things that I struggle with, especially when I'm dealing with, was showing grace. And I make this mistake, and I know that I do, but sometimes I forget to show grace because I forget how much I've been given, I forget how much grace God has shown me, and I have to think back to that 15-year-old kid that had no future and no promise and no desire to even live, and all I can say is God, if you can find me in that darkness, if you can bring me out of that place, then I am in no way able, nor should I be ever willing, to get in the way of someone finding you, because if you can save me, you can save them, and if I've seen what you've done in my life, I know they need it too. And so I love where Jesus is headed and I love what he does, because he does two incredible miracles. Not only does he heal the woman and he brings her back. He calls her daughter, but he goes on. He brings Jeres' daughter back from the dead.

Speaker 1: 21:27

Because Jesus is in the business of healing, he's in the business of restoring people. He's in the business of giving hope to the lost and those who feel like they have nothing. And the beauty is that you and I were part of that. We are part of that conversation. We get to go into the world and say listen, I know it's hard right now. I know it feels like everything's falling apart, but let me show you someone who can restore you, someone who can fix you, someone who can help you overcome, someone who has a plan for you. The other part of these stories that I love. Let me talk about the words that people say.

Speaker 1: 22:32

Jesus addresses the faith of both groups twice. To the paralytic and his frenzy, he says listen, your faith has made you well. Part of being a believer and this is where it comes to us being an active participant is having faith that Jesus is who he says he is, and having that kind of faith that when he offers us healing, when he offers us hope, when he offers us the chance to be restored, we have faith that he can do it, matthew 1720 said. He replied because you have so little faith. Truly, I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say this mountain, move from here to there and it'll move. Nothing will be impossible for you. In Corinthians 5, 7, for we live by faith, not by sight. Romans 10, 17,. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard to the word about Christ. First, corinthians 2, 5, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on God's power. Ephesians 6, 16,. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith with which you can distinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Romans 117,. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith, refers to last, just as it is written. The righteous will live by faith. And then, luke 848,. He says to the woman he said to her daughter your faith has made you well, go in peace.

Speaker 1: 24:36

Our faith in what God can do in our lives is essential, and I said I'm going to say it a lot this year, so I hope you're ready. We are called to actively participate in our relationship with God. There are no bench warmers in the kingdom, at least there shouldn't be. We are called to have faith, to act in faith, to live in faith, to believe in faith that the work of Jesus in our lives is a continuing process, that you and I are part of that. As we look at the world around us and it feels like it's falling apart, as we feel like the darkness is overcoming it, that we can look and say the church will not be not. The kingdom of God will continue to overthrow the darkness. We have faith in that. That gives us hope and that's what we're trying to show everyone else that no matter what you've done, no matter where you're coming from, no matter what you're struggling with, if you have faith that Jesus can transform you. He will, because he wants to see our lives changed.

Speaker 1: 25:57

But we have to be part of the process. We have everything at our disposal to be successful as a church, as individuals. We have everything we need in Christ to be successful, but we have to put it into practice. And it starts here, starts with me. It starts with looking at my life and asking how can I be a bigger part of the plan God has? What in my life do I need to change? What transformation needs to happen? And then that should go into all of us. How do we help others transform? How do we help our church transform? How do we be everything we're supposed to be? Because we believe, and I believe, and I hope that you believe, that the only way people will ever experience genuine transformation is by finding Jesus. There is no other way. There is no self-help book that will ever give you the ability to experience transformation like a relationship with God. But it's something we have to continue to work at.

Speaker 1: 27:33

Imagine being a paralytic. Imagine being healed by Jesus. Imagine being able to walk after all that time and the first thing you do is you take your mat and you go sit back down again. Imagine 12 years of being ostracized, separated from the world, not even able to participate in worship, and finally being deemed clean, clean and returning back to isolation, because it's all you've ever known. That is not what God wants for us.

Speaker 1: 28:22

The moment you made the decision to follow him, your life no longer was your own, and I'm telling you that he has an incredible story for you. You belong to a much bigger picture than you ever had before. God has a plan for you, not only in your life, but he has a plan for you in this church. He has a plan for you in this community, and part of that plan is taking what you've learned, taking who you are, taking that transformation that you've experienced and helping someone else to find it too. And I feel like a broken record, but I must say it again, and I'll probably say it again that Jesus will always meet us where we are. Thank God, he loves us too much to leave us there. What would it look like if we really allowed the work of God in our life to transform everything we do? And what if we took that a little more serious this year than we've ever done before? I know I've got some things to work on, but I'm glad that God doesn't expect me to do it by myself. That's great.