There is Hope!

LK 4: ¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. ¹⁵And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. ¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. ²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. ²²And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

Mk 5: ²⁴And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. ²⁵And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, ²⁶And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, ²⁷When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. ²⁸For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. ²⁹And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. ³⁰And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? ³¹And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? ³²And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. ³³But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. ³⁴And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

 

She was a bruised reed

·        Bleeding for 12 years

·        Suffered very much

·        Spent all the money she had

·        And getting worse.

A chronic menstrual disorder.

·        A perpetual issue of blood

·        Such a condition would be difficult for any woman of any ere.

·        But for the Jewess,

·        Nothing could be worse.

No part of her life was left unaffected

·        Maternally–She could not bear children.

·        Domestically–anything she touched was considered unclean.

·        No washing dishes

·        No sweeping floors

·        Spiritually she was not allowed to enter the temple to worship.

·        She was physically exhausted and socially ostracized.

 

She had sought help

·        But no help could be found.

·        If there was a promise of a cure she sought it.

·        If there was a prescription offering promise she bought it.

·        If she was told of a treatment she sought it out.

And the Bible says

·        “ when she spent all that she had on her sickness…instead of growing better she only grew worse.”

·        She awoke daily in a body that nobody wanted.

·        She’s down to her last prayer.

·        And the day we encounter her, she’s about to pray it.

I wonder if you understand the situation this woman is in.

·        I wonder if you’ve ever felt the hopelessness that she felt.

·        I wonder if you’ve ever heard the doctor say…”There is no hope.”

·        I wonder if you’ve ever heard the word “incorrigible” pronounced over your son or daughter.

·        I wonder if you’ve ever stood in the midst of despair only to find that you have somehow lost your grip on hope.

 

Probably too many of us know all too well her plight.

·        Possibly someone here this afternoon understands very well the hopelessness of hopelessness.

 

I wonder if you know what it is to feel helpless.

·        It’s a terrible thing to lose sight of hope.

·        Insurmountable odds against you

·        A helpless situation.

It’s the prognosis of a doctor.

·        The decision of a judge.

·        The ungratefulness of an employer.

·        The curse on your fiancees

It’s the situation that only gets worse, no matter how hard you try to make it get better

·        It usually attacks in the night.

·        When you are tired and exhausted.

·        When you’ve spent all your energies.

·        When you’ve worked hard all day to correct the situation, but to no avail.

Hopelessness brings with it despair.

·        And dispair brings with it discouragement.

·        And discouragement brings with it depression

·        And depression brings despondency

·        And despondency brings disheartenment

·        And disheartenment brings gloom.

·        And gloom brings darkness

·        And darkness brings fear

·        And fear brings many sleepless nights

·        And many uneaten dinners

·        And many unfulfilled happy moments

·        And a life that is tormented from the moment one wakes to the moment they fitfully fall to sleep.

·        Only to repeat the same process again the next day.

·        And again the next.

·        And again the next.

And such was the case of this wonderful woman of faith who in the face of the…

·        Despair

·        Discouragement

·        Depression

·        Despondency

·        Disheartenment

·        Gloom

·        Darkness

·        Fear

·        Sleepless nights

·        Uneaten dinners

·        Unfulfilled happiness

·        And in the face of the torment said…”If I can just touch Jesus, everything will be all right.”

This woman was different than many people in the world today.

·        Oh, many are in as bad of a situation as she was.

·        In fact, many are worse than she was.

·        But that’s not how she was different than many others.

·        She was different in that when “all was lost”

·        She turned to Jesus.

 

How many suicides have occurred because one could not see Jesus.

·        How many drug overdoses.

·        How many wasted young lives.

·        How many fathers have walked out the door for the last time.

·        How many young mothers have got in their car and never looked back.

·        How many parents have given up on their hell bent child.

·        How many children have given up on their hell bent parents.

·        How many lost hopes

·        How many dashed dreams

·        How many scattered lives.

I’ll tell you how many!

Too many!

When she spent all she had.

·        All her money.

·        All her time

·        All her patience.

·        All her strength

·        She understood that there was one last place she could turn.

·        One last person she could talk to.

·        One last physician.

·        The Bible calls him the Great Physician.

·        And his name is JESUS!

Job, probably the most tormented man that the bible records said…

·        Jb 11: ¹³If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; ¹⁵ then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: ¹⁶Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: ¹⁷And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. ¹⁸And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;

There is Hope!

There is Hope!

There is Hope!

Jb 14: ⁷For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. ⁸Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; ⁹Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

 

Scent of water represents the scent of hope for you and I !

Jn 7: ³⁷In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. ³⁹(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

All that some people have today is a scent of water….

·        But Jesus wants to replace your scent of water with “rivers of Living water”.

·        He wants to replace your sleepless nights of fear with the Presence and Power of the Holy Ghost!!!

·        “I say it all the time…”If I can just get under the spout where the glory comes out!!!”

Somehow some way…

·        In the middle of the turmoil…

·        In the middle of an unchanging situation.

·        In the middle of hopelessness.

·        We have to touch Jesus.

Healing begins when we do something.

·        Healing begins when we reach out.

·        Healing starts when we take a step.

Nothing results from apathy.

·        The great work in this story is the mighty healing that occurred.

·        But the great truth is that the healing began with HER touch.

·        And with that small, courageous gesture, she experienced the tender power of Jesus in her life!