I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me in the same book that Brother
Pat read out of, the book of Luke, to chapter 8. Luke chapter
8. I'd like to read verses 43 to 48. And a woman, having an issue
of blood twelve years, which has spent all her living upon
physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him
and touched the border of his garment. And immediately her
issue of blood was staunched. Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they
which were with him said, Master, the multitude thronged thee and
pressed thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said,
Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone
out of me. And when the woman saw that she
was not hid, she came trembling, And falling down before him,
she declared unto him before all the people for what cause
she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter,
be of good comfort. By faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace." Now here was a woman that was
truly suffering. Physically, she was miserable. She was hemorrhaging. She was
weak. Financially, she was broke. She had spent all of her money,
all of her living on doctors, and none of them could help her. And before the law, this woman
was an outcast. That issue of blood made her
ceremonially unclean, impure. She was in a mess. According to the law in Leviticus
15, everything that this woman touched, everybody that touched
her, Anything that she had touched,
if you touched that, you were unclean. And there was no cleansing
until after the issue of blood had been dried up. And she had
been like this for twelve years. And there was no relief in sight. But I'll tell you the great blessing
here. This woman had been brought to
know her miserable state. And that was a blessing. Here's a picture of man by nature,
unclean because of sin. Isaiah 1-6. This sums up man. Here's man by nature. Here he
is right here. If you want to know how man is,
the scripture says, from the sole of his foot, even unto the
head, there's no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores, they've not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment. No oil put on them. Sin has polluted
man in all of his efforts to try to cleanse himself. All of
the spiritual doctors that he thinks he could go to, he none
the better. Nothing. Nothing. He can't work
hard enough. He can't be good enough. He can't
read enough. He can't pray enough. There is
nothing that he can do to heal himself. All of his self-righteousnesses. I'm talking about the good things
now. He came to church. Well, if you
think, that Almighty God is pleased with your ability to come to
church or to even read His Word. If you think that that is your
righteousness, the Scripture sums it up and says it's nothing
but filthy rags. That's all it is. Now, you know
I'm not discrediting coming to the services. We're commanded, forsake not
the assembling of yourselves together. But I'll tell you this,
if you think, I'm right before God because I go to church. Anybody can go to church. If you're resting in yourself,
and you realize this, that the fountain that you're resting
in, your works, It's polluted. It's a miracle of God's grace
that this woman was in the state she was in. When I hear someone begin to
speak of their need and their struggles like we talked about
a while ago, that's the most encouraging thing I hear. Man,
when I hear people talk about how faithful they've been and
how wonderful they are and how much they do, I'm thinking, oh
my. This passage of Scripture here
was also recorded in the book of Mark chapter 5. Mark 5.27
said this concerning this woman, when she heard of Jesus, when
she heard of Him, Now I tell you this, whatever this woman
heard, now the Scripture just made a statement, but whatever
this woman heard, there was something that we can readily admit was
a hearing that was blessed by the Spirit of God because this
woman had some hope. And her hope was only in Christ. This woman had said, if I can
get to Him, if I could but touch the hem of His garment, she wasn't
looking at the Pharisees, she wasn't looking at anything but
Him. When this woman heard of Jesus'
faith, That blessed grace cometh by hearing and hearing by the
gospel. The Word of God. The gospel of
God's grace. This woman heard more than just
the natural ear could hear. This woman knew. He's my hope. He is my hope. She said in Mark
5, 28, if I may, I look back at that word this morning, if
I may, if I may, if He allows me the privilege, if I may touch
but His clothes, I shall be whole. Boy, that took a work of God's
power and grace in the midst of her condition. In Luke 8,
verse 44, the Scripture says, she came behind him and touched
the border of his garment. And immediately, her issue of
blood was staunched, stopped. Twelve years this woman had been
hemorrhaging, unclean, impure. Before God's law, the law would
cast her out. But Christ in her heart, Christ
in her heart, by His Spirit, said, You come to me. The law is not going to have
anything to do with you. You go to the law. The law is going
to contend you. You're impure. You're unclean.
You come unto Me. All you that labor, labor with
no hope to cleanse yourself. You that know by life-giving
power that there's no hope in any other, you come unto Me. You that labor heavy laden, With
the presence of sin, I will give you rest." This woman came up behind him
in Luke 8, verse 44. Touched him. She knew in her
heart, if I touch him, I'm going to be whole. I've struggled
with this, Mitch, for twelve years. And I have no hope anywhere
else. If I touch Him, I know I'm unclean. I know I'm unclean. I know if
I touch anybody, they're unclean. I know. I know. Boy, you see
a beautiful picture here. of Christ being made sin for
her and His righteousness to His people. If I can get to Him,
if there's a connection between me and Him by His grace, if I
may, I know what the law says. The law says if I touch anybody,
they're impure. He's all I've got. If I stay
away from Him, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to
bleed to death. And she came up, and she touched
Him. Came up behind Him. And there's
all the crowd, and they're pressing, pushing, and they're moving.
A big crowd, and this woman working her way up. She just reaches
out to Him. Touched Him. The Scripture says, Verse 45, Jesus said, Who touched
me? Who just touched me? Who touched me by faith? Who touched me believing me? Who touched me with a heart of
need? Who touched me? And look at this,
verse 45. when all denied. Who touched
me needing me? Who touched me because they were
hurting and dying, polluted? Who touched me? And everybody
said, not me! Not me. It wasn't me. I didn't
touch you. Who touched me because there
was no hope in any other? Who did? Not me. I'm innocent on that one. Who
touched me? Because there is no confidence
in their flesh. Who touched me? Not me. Not me. Who touched me? Because I made
them willing in the day of my power in response to regeneration. Who touched me? Because they
know that their will and their works are impotent. Who touched
me? Not me. Not me, wasn't me. I just happened to be here. Peter, Scripture says, all they
were with him said, Master, the multitude thronged thee and pressed
thee, and thou sayest, Who touched me? Well, I'll tell you what, it's
not hard to understand of the multitudes can be in just outward
activity. They just happen to be there.
Just part of the crowd. Just showed up. They look busy. They look like
they're part of the gang. But I'll tell you this, the Lord
Jesus Christ knew. He knew. Bumping him, just pressing
him, moving him, going through. And that touch, just how simple
must it have been. Just touched him, just touched
him. Who touched me? He knew. Verse 46 says, and Jesus
said, Somebody has touched me by faith. For I perceive that
virtue is gone out of me. I know that ability, that worthiness,
that strength is gone out of me. No touch of faith is unknown
to our Lord. He's the author of it. He initiated
it. He knew it was coming. He knew
where that woman was. He knew exactly where. He's known
this woman from before the foundation of the world. There's an object
of His mercy. And by grace and mercy, He crossed her path, showed up
that day right there in that city. On that day, He let that
woman go twelve years, spent all she had, brought her to the
end of herself. Who touched me? I perceive virtues
going out of me. Verse 47, when the woman saw
that she was not hid from Him, from Him, everybody else saw
her. They knew it. Oh! See who that
is? That's that woman. When she saw
she was not hid from Him, Mark 5.29 says, straightway, the fountain
of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that she
was healed of that plague. She knew. She knew. She knew. I'm healed. Romans 8.16 says, spiritually,
spiritually, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God. We have assurance of life. How
do you know? How do you know? Oh, I think
back to what we just preached on the evidence of faith. I know. I believe Him. No confidence in flesh. I believe
God. Paul says, I'm persuaded. Persuaded. This woman healed of her plague
knowing the law. that declared her to be unclean. She came, the Scripture says,
trembling, falling down before Him, declared unto Him before
all the people what cause she touched Him and how she was healed
immediately. Isn't this what God's people
do? Oh, we confess Him. We do. We confess Him. If God
Almighty has called you out of darkness. Confess Him in baptism.
That's the confession of our faith. Baptism. And we never
stop confessing Him. She confessed, declared unto
Him before all the people, He saved me. He healed me. He called me out of darkness.
He keeps me. He is my life. He's my hope. And I have no confidence whatsoever
In any other, none whatsoever. But don't you believe that you
can... No, I don't. Whatever you're getting ready
to say. Whatever you're getting ready to say. No, I don't. I
tell you what, you trust in yourself, in your will, in anything. I'm
telling you, life is in Christ. It saves. Verse 48, He said unto
her, Sweet daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith, the object of your
faith, the object of your faith, hath made thee whole. Go in peace. Now, I want to talk about something
for just a minute. that I think is the heart of
this passage of Scripture. Here's the life. Here's our life
right here. Christ. Let's look at our Lord's
statement for just a moment in closing. Who touched me? For I perceive
that virtue has gone out of me. Virtue. The virtue of Christ. The power. The strength. The ability. That's virtue. The power. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, I perceive that virtue has departed out of me. Virtue, the scripture says, is
gone out of me. And He knew it. He knew it. He gave it. He gave it. The eternal fountain from which
no depletion shall ever happen. All power. There is all power. No end of the power. Virtue. That virtue. He was being pressed
and thronged and touched and moved as he went about, and somebody
touched him by faith. Faith. That precious, precious
grace called faith. That grace given from above. that Almighty God initiates and
blesses. It's His that He gives and calls
it theirs. By faith, He said, it was a gift. I gave that to you. You didn't
come up with that. I gave you that. That virtue didn't go into everybody.
A lot of them were touching Him.
Bumping into it. Kind of crowding around. But
those that did not touch him by faith, there was no butcher
there. Oh, the difference was that this
woman needed him. And the others didn't. They showed
up. They showed up for church that
day, Pat. They were there. They showed up. But they didn't
need him. They didn't need Him. Lord, Lord,
give me a heart that needs You. I know this. I'm not going to
drum it up. This woman needed Him. The initiator of faith was going
to draw this woman to Himself. All that the Father giveth Me.
And He knew where she was. They shall come to Me." He gave
that woman faith in the day of His power. That day that He was
there. She had heard. She heard. And she knew, I'd get to Him. And He crossed her path. He put
Himself just exactly where she could see Him. And here she comes. My sheep
hear My voice. They followed me. And here's
she coming up behind him. She came up behind him. She knew. Who touched me? It was me. It was me. He said, daughter, be of good
comfort. Our faith has made thee whole. Oh, what she needed, He gave.
She needed Him, and He gave her faith to believe it. Believe
Him. The Lord had chosen that woman.
I know that for a fact. Consistent with all the Scriptures
before the foundation of the world. And He purposed to show
mercy to her. And God gave her an illness. Deplete everything she had and
crossed her path and came and she believed Him. And He blessed
it. Virtue, power, strength, ability
is found nowhere else but in Christ. Christ. All the power of the Godhead
is in Him. In the Lord Jesus Christ for
the purpose of healing, redeeming, and saving spiritually the sheep
of God. He said, I perceive that virtue. What virtue is that? It's the
virtue of His holy, blameless, God-pleasing life. Can you imagine? She touched Him by faith, and
I'm telling you, all that He is as the God-man mediator, all
that He is as the Husband of the sheep. All that He is as
the surety of the sheep. There is Himself, His holy, indisputable,
well-pleasing obedience before God Almighty. His virtue. His virtue. The virtue of His all-atoning,
substitutionary death. He was made sin for His people. Made sin. Took their guilt. Took their debt. Paid in full
from before the foundation of the world in the mind and purpose
of Almighty God. She touched it. Virtue has gone
out of me. It's yours. Oh, the virtue of His all-conquering
resurrection. When He came out of that grave,
let me tell you what happened. God Almighty said, I'm pleased
with Him. He paid the debt. He put it away. There was no sin in Him. He paid
the debt that He did not incur. He made sin, but He Himself,
holy. And when He paid that debt, there
was nothing else to hold Him. God raised Him from the dead.
And when He came out of the ground, accepted, we came out too. Accepted in the Beloved. She
touched Him and that virtue. That's yours. No other name given
among men whereby virtue is found. Virtue. Power. Strength with
God. I tell you, His virtue is sufficient
for the desperate. The virtue of His obedience before
God. The virtue of the law of satisfaction
summed up in this beautiful passage of Scripture in closing that
we love, read, and cherish. 1 John. 4, 17, Herein is our love made perfect,
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because
as He is, so are we in this world. Lord, this day, if I may touch you
afresh today, Today, I have life. Bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.