I hope you turn with me to the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 14 and the text you'll find in verse 36. I'll read from verse 34.

And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. Which when the men of that place had knowledge of him They sent out into all the country round about And brought unto him all that were diseased And besought him that he might only touch the hem of his garment and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

We saw last week the Lord Jesus Christ as he left the area where they had done the miracle of the five loaves and the two fish and then they crossed over the sea the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias and they were coming to this place of Gennesaret and we saw that in the middle of the sea, about three miles out, there they encountered a great storm and everything seemed to be against them as they were seeking to obey the command of the Lord Jesus Christ to cross over and go to the other side of the sea, a six mile journey to Gennesaret right in the middle of the ocean in the great sea.

There they encountered this storm. We saw that the Lord Jesus Christ came and he walked upon the water to the apostles as they were filled with fear. Christ walked upon the sea, those things which they were so fearful about, the loss of their life and the storm that was raging around about them, they saw Christ Jesus walking upon the ocean above all of their problems, all of their difficulties, all of their anxieties, all of their fears.

Christ was over all. And it was then when he entered into the boat, there was that great calm. Let me read in the Gospel according to John. Immediately as the Lord Jesus Christ entered into the boat, the boat was immediately at the shore where they were going.

So miraculously they are transported a further three miles and they land on the shore of Gennesaret. Gennesaret is a place, a densely populated area, a place that is very, very fertile, and so there were lots of people who lived there.

a popular area to live, good for farming, good for animals and so naturally speaking people locate to such a place. In the wilderness there is no people but we saw the Lord Jesus Christ leading his people out into the wilderness and there he fed them, there he provided for them in a miraculous way.

Then we see him leading his people across the sea into the middle of the Sea of Galilee and there we see Christ appearing to them in the middle of their troubles. And now we find him going over to the other side of the lake to a multitude of people, a populated area.

He wasn't going there to make himself some business. He was going there to fulfill the prophecy regarding himself as we have seen as we have gone along that Christ was there to testify of who he was, to fulfill prophecy regarding himself to heal the sick and to make the blind see, the lame walk and the deaf hear, and to raise the dead to life, to stamp the authority of the message that he preached by doing these wonderful miracles that God indeed had come to dwell with man.

Emmanuel God with us. And so he comes to this place of Gennesaret. And if you look at this, the name of this place is always very interesting to look at the names of the places. Because the names of the places tell you something about what that place is like.

We've seen Bethlehem, the house of bread. And we saw Bethage, the house of figs. And so the place names tell you something about the area that that place is located. And so the name Gennesaret has an interesting meaning. In the Hebrew it's made up of different words and it can be translated or interpreted as the garden of the prince or the prince's garden. But also it's made up of a word that comes from a harp. So if you look at the Lake of Galilee or the Sea of Galilee they believed that it was shaped in the shape of a harp.

And so if we take the Lord Jesus Christ and we see that he is the Prince of Peace. but also we see that he comes from the line of David. He is the son of David. We know that David is the sweet psalmist of Israel. He wrote all those psalms as he meditates upon the greatness of God and as he sings experimentally of the situations that he is passing through that he's referred to as the sweet psalmist of Israel.

And so we see this Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David, David's greater son going to the place of the hearth, the place of the garden of the prince or the prince's garden and we see him there going to meet a multitude of people.

The reason why I read to you from from Exodus 15 was right at the end, after they had finished singing the praises of God for his great deliverance. It is written from verse 26, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians. For I am the Lord which healeth thee.

So the plagues which fell upon the people of Egypt were the plagues that God imposed upon them because of their sin and their rebellion but God separated the people of Israel from those plagues. And he says to them that if you obey my voice and if you walk in my ways then none of these diseases and these plagues will come upon you because I am the Lord that healeth you.

And so we see the fulfillment of this healing in the Lord Jesus. We see that he is the one who is able to heal their diseases. He is the one who is able to put a distinction between the unbeliever and the believer. It is the one that has authority over those sicknesses and those diseases.

And so he comes to this populated area an area which is the garden of the prince, an area which is described as being the harp. Yet in these populated areas, although the ground is good and the crops are good, we still find sin. We still find the effects of sin. we still find people being diseased, people being unwell, people being sick, people being in need.

In this area of Gennesaret, which is more like we would say East Sussex, something like that, the county name, there were cities. You've heard of Tiberius, Capernaum and Magdala. You will remember I'm sure of a lady who came from Magdala. Her name was Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene of whom the Lord had cast out those devils and who followed the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 8.

And it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing glad tidings of the kingdom of God and the twelve were with him. But certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Teuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. And so as Jesus is going around, if you look at the lake of Galilee, and you see the various cities that are dotted around, we see Christ going to these various cities and those who have been saved and who have a great love to him attaching themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and sitting at his feet, they don't want to leave him, want to follow him, they want to go where he goes and not only do they want to follow him but they also want to give, they want to assist him in his continued ministry.

not for any benefit for themselves but for the advancement of his message. They desire that other people may come under the teaching and influence of the Lord Jesus Christ. They want to aid him in his labours and so they minister to him of their substance, the things that they have. They followed the Lord Jesus Christ. These were the ladies. Maybe they provided the meals. Maybe they assisted him with clothing. But they wanted to aid the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.

And one of these ladies is Mary Magdalene. coming from the town of Magdala which is in the fertile area of Gennesaret which was the place where the Lord Jesus Christ went to to heal those that were sick.

Although there are those people who are assisting the Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry of their substance seeking to keep the wheels turning as it were. Yet as with the work of the Lord Jesus Christ even today there is an opposition. There is the forces of darkness which seek to hinder and oppose the advancement of the kingdom of Christ and that's what we witnessed last week as they crossed the sea.

Again Jesus commands them get into the boat, cross over to the other side. A great storm opposes their advancement. hinders their progress but that great storm is used by the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal to themselves their own weakness and their own lack of faith but also his greatness and his power and authority over the providential situations of life, even in our own lives.

we may be burdened to do something, the Lord may have laid it upon our heart to do something. and you find that you try to go forward and it is hindered, it is seemingly opposed. There are things that take place and you can't fully comprehend them but when you analyze that you're seeking to obey the Lord Jesus Christ then you must understand that you're going to come under a spiritual opposition. Satan is going to oppose any advancement or any movement of the Lord's people.

And so we can feel like we're walking in obedience yet the providential situation that we're in seems to be opposing and oppressing and slowing down what the Lord has commanded us to do. But the Lord is still in control. His work cannot be thwarted. It cannot be hindered. It continues to go forward even though there is much opposition as it was with these apostles.

You find that in the life of the Apostle Paul. It goes forward and there's attack, there's opposition, there's difficulty, there's hardship but the message still goes forward. because Christ rides upon the storm. It was similar wasn't it when the Lord Jesus Christ went to the people of the Gadarenes. As they went there on their journey there was that great storm. and they accused the Lord Jesus Christ of not caring that they perished but Christ had a work to do the other side of the lake and therefore that ship was going to get there no matter what storm or opposition opposed them they were going to get there because Jesus had to go there. There was a man there, a madman that needed the healing touch of the Lord Jesus Christ Although the work was opposed yet it only slowed down his journey but he was there at that right time to cause that deprived man to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and to be in his right mind and to desire to follow him.

Storms often come before a great calm. Sometimes we can be going along smoothly and the Lord brings a storm into our lives to muddy up the waters, to shake us about. But after the storm we've learnt something. There's a great calm. As Christ entered into the boat there was a great calm. As Christ rebuked the wind and the waves with a peace be still there was a great calm. And the storm that you and I may be in at this moment in time is only for a season. Christ is fully aware of all that we are passing through as we saw last week. Though he was on the shore in the mountain praying to the Father yet he saw his apostles toiling and rowing in the deep. He was fully aware what was taking place and he is fully aware of all that you are passing through at this moment in time. The storm has a purpose and it will have an end and he will bring a great calm. bring a great great calm.

If you think of when the Lord first dealt with you and you experienced the great storm of sin, sin seemed to bubble up inside of you like a storm You were tossed to and fro and didn't know what to do. You were perplexed. The sin became... You became very conscious of your sin. And you said like the scripture says, neither know we what to do. You didn't know what to do but your eyes were up unto the Lord and he brought a calm. As he forgives sin he brings a calmness to the troubled soul. The soul is anxious and in despair because of its sin then Christ speaks a peace be still. Your sins which are many are all forgiven and there is a rest. You are brought into that haven of salvation that harbour of hope.

And just like these apostles walking in obedience is a great storm but Christ has a purpose to bring them to the fertile land of Gennesaret the garden of the prince where the garden of the prince is going to walk through the garden the prince of peace and he's going to bring peace to a multitude who were diseased and sick and so as the Lord Jesus Christ lands on the shore. The people knew him. We think of Mary Magdalene having been from that area. It means that the Lord Jesus Christ had passed through that place before. He had done miracles there before. He had healed Mary Magdalene of those seven devils that were in her and no doubt she testified of the goodness of God. People saw her change. And as testimony is told, people believed. And so when the Lord Jesus Christ went there again, they understood that this is that man. The man that has done miracles before. The man who has been walking around this lake, healing people and raising people from the dead and having a message of the kingdom of Christ. And so they knew him. And when they realised it was him they wanted to tell other people about him.

And when the men of that place had knowledge of him they sent out into all the country round about and brought unto him all that were diseased. You see this garden of the prince still had a multitude of sickness. No matter how lovely the city, how lovely the town, how beautiful the place as always the evidence is of sin no matter how we try and hide it and cover it all away lock it up in the hospital or in the asylums there is always the evidence is of sin. And so it is through this beautiful area there were those that were sick, those that were diseased, those that needed the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a natural thing isn't it? You know if you've been healed by a certain doctor and you find somebody else who has that same condition that you have and you're going to tell them aren't you that you know I went to this place it's a really good doctor really kind and he gave me the right medication and treated me so well and I'm healed.

And this is just what took place. It's the natural thing to do, the neighbourly thing to do when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to a place. You're going to be reminded of old Mrs. So-and-so and Mr. So-and-so and that young person there who's been afflicted their whole life. And you're going to tell them, Jesus has come. The one who is able to heal you. And you're going to run into the various streets and the cities and the towns and the villages and you're going to gather all of those that were unwell and bring them to the Lord Jesus.

In the Gospel of Mark, in chapter six, in verse 55, this is the same account. or verse 54, and when they were come out of the ship straightway they knew him and ran through that whole region round about and began to carry about in beds those that were sick where they heard he was. It's a natural thing to do.

Although man is sinful though he walks in rebellion against God and his heart is totally deprived yet he is still able to do an element of good to his fellow human beings. He still possesses within his heart some remnants of the image of God in him and he still has that compassion and that care. Some yet not all.

We were watching the other day on the news, a documentary or a news documentary on phone snatching in London. And there was this phone snatcher who said, you know, I don't care. I don't care if you're an old person. I'll snatch your phone. I don't care if you're a child. I will snatch your phone. I don't care if you're in a wheelchair. I will snatch your phone. If I see it I will snatch it and I will only throw it back if it's worth less than 50 pounds. You see so deprived can the human heart become. So callous and so hard that we can so suppress any natural feeling of compassion that we might have.

People enter into a life of crime and all they think is about money. And all these young men were thinking about money. So they said we couldn't get a job and earn this much money it's far easier to rob people of their phones and sell them and make a living that way. But the Bible says that even those can be saved. He that stole let him steal no more let him labour with his hands. And so the hard heart can be changed.

But here we see that human compassion to another manifesting itself in the men of that place running from town to town, village to village, gathering the sick, carrying them on their beds to the Lord Jesus Christ. They wanted to tell others of the Lord Jesus. If you remember that the madman from Gadarene. What did Jesus tell him? Go home and tell your friends how great things the Lord has done for you.

It is a natural thing to declare something good that has happened. To hold it in your heart is to hold a secret, but to testify it is to declare the goodness of God, what God has done

Remember the lady at the well who met with the Lord Jesus Christ. She ran into the village of Samaria, come and see a man that told me all things that ever I did is not this the Christ. She couldn't hold it in anymore. She had witnessed herself, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as he told her about her life, as he revealed to her her sin. She couldn't hold it in. She had to go and tell her other people all that Christ had done. It was her personal testimony. The madman, it was his personal testimony of how Christ had dealt with him and transformed his life and set him on the narrow way that leads to life.

And so it is with these people. They'd heard and witnessed all that Christ had done. And they wanted others also to experience that same thing. Those that they knew that were unwell. Those that they knew were diseased. They wanted them also to experience the greatness of the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it showed an evidence of their own faith.

You see to tell of what Christ has done It is to manifest faith in Him. But also to hear and to receive and to act upon that message is an act of faith. Faith He gives us to receive it. If you tell somebody what Christ has done for you, you're revealing your faith, your testimony of Christ's dealings with you.

And so they brought them to the Lord Jesus Christ. And they besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. In Mark it says, and whithersoever he entered into villages or cities or country They laid the sick in the streets and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment and as many as touched him were made whole.

There was no special magical power in the clothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see that with the lady who has the issue of blood who came to the Lord Jesus Christ and found him surrounded by a multitude of people. And she presses through that crowd and touches the hem of his garment and immediately Christ feels that virtue is gone out from him. The lady is immediately healed and Jesus said, somebody has touched me. And the apostles say, well, the crowd is thronging you. How is it that you are saying somebody has touched me? so there were other people who were touching the Lord Jesus Christ who were not receiving healing, who were not receiving forgiveness, who were not receiving any particular power or miraculous thing from touching his clothes. So it's not something to do with the clothes of the Lord Jesus Christ although they closed him but it's to do with faith to do with faith. Those who touched him in faith, believing that he was able to do what they trusted him to do, those were the ones who received the healing.

They were active in their faith. Their faith was not just a knowledge that they knew what Jesus could do, They'd heard about what Jesus could do but their faith was active, it was live, it was living faith and to that living faith stretched forward and took hold of the garment of the Lord Jesus Christ and they were healed.

There's an interesting chapter in the book of Numbers regarding the garments of the Jews. they were to wear these long garments but around the hem of their garments they were to put the colour blue and it was a reminder for them that when they saw the hem of their garment and the colour blue around about the hem that they were to be reminded of God. In Numbers 15 from verse 37 and the Lord spake unto Moses saying speak unto the children of Israel and bid them that they make the fringes of the borders of their garments throughout their generation and that you put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue

if you think of these people they're coming to the Lord Jesus Christ they are bending right down and they are touching the border or the hem of his garment. Whether Jesus was wearing this type with a blue ribbon we don't know but it's something that it signifies which may be in the mind of the Jew.

And it shall come and it shall be unto you for a fringe you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them that you seek not after your own heart and your own eyes after which you used to go a whoring that you may remember and do all my commandments and be holy unto the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God which brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God I am the Lord your God.

And so this ribbon that was placed around the border of their garments was to cause them to remember, to remember the Lord, to remember that they are owned by God, that they have been redeemed and purchased with a price, and that they're not to seek after their own heart, to seek after their own will, but to seek guidance and direction from God. that they're not to covet things with their own eyes but they're to look to the Lord for guidance and direction and provision and they're not to go a whoring or go after other gods that they're to remember the Lord your God and so I thought that maybe this is in their minds As they're coming to the Lord Jesus Christ, they see that he is the one that is able to heal. He is the son of David, the Messiah, the prophet of the Lord, the anointed one of God. And they remember this promise, that they're not to seek their own heart. They're to seek after the true and living God. They're to look to him as their God, the one that delivered them. And to come humbly before him.

as it shows us that humility. As they come to the Lord Jesus Christ and they're stooping down like the lady with the issue of blood, touching the hem of his garment, the place nearest to the floor, the lowest that they can possibly come before him, they're remembering, not my will, but your will be done. Not my way, but your way. Not my God, myself, But you are my God, just like Thomas says, my Lord and my God.

You see, they've got to come to Christ believing that he is able to deliver them and to heal them. If they come to him with doubt, they will never stretch forth their hand and touch the hem of his garment. And even if they did, they wouldn't be healed. They came with true living faith, exercising faith, and they touched. his garment.

Sometimes when you're dealing with solicitors we have something they call a point of contact that you deal with this person and that is your point of contact. And as we see these people coming to the Lord Jesus Christ for healing we see him as their point of contact. We see their hand representing their need, their difficulty, their depression, their disease stretching forward to the object. which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the hem of his garment.

Their hand, his hem, joining together and then a miracle taking place. Faith reaches out to an object. You can't have a faith that doesn't anchor itself upon anything. It's just like a hand wavering about hoping that it might grab something here and there. Faith lays hold of something and that faith lays hold of the object of Christ Jesus because he is what she needs. That's what you and I need. need true living faith that is anchored upon Christ, he's your only hope, he is your object, he is the one you desire, the one you look to, the one you go to for help and although you may be able to just lift up your hand slightly and touch the border of his garment that is enough, was enough for these people. They had no strength of themselves but in faith they lifted their arm and touched the border of his garment trusting that he is God, that he's able to deliver them and to heal them of their diseases. He was their only hope.

It's like that lady with the issue of blood. I've tried everything. All the doctors have tried to help me but nobody can help me. I'm done. I abandon the help of man. My only hope is Jesus Christ. And nothing is going to stop me from getting to Him. And so she goes to Him. She goes for Him. She knows that He is the one that can help me. And He is the one that can help you.

Maybe you've tried all the doctors. You've tried all the ways. You've tried everything to sort yourself out. But you can't. Because you've gone to the wrong place. You've gone to the supermarket instead of the pharmacy. You've gone to the world instead of Jesus Christ. You've gone to the wrong place.

These people had to be brought to the Lord Jesus. Here he is. This is what he has done. But that's not enough. You know about Jesus. You know what he's done. Maybe you celebrated Christmas time and time again. But you've never brought out your hand and laid hold of him. You've never owned him as yours. You know all about it. You've been brought to his feet. You've never exercised living faith to lay hold of him to be made perfectly whole.

You see no doubt many people sat at the feet of Jesus. We saw that many people crammed around about the Lord Jesus to heal him but only one person touched him and exercised living faith and was made perfectly whole. That man that we saw in the pool of Bethesda, 38 years he'd been sitting there. Nobody was able to take him to the pool. Just waiting until Jesus came.

These people had been brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. Their friends had carried them on their beds. And that's what you and I can do. We can carry people on their beds to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we can't save them. We can't give them faith. We can tell them and reveal to them all that Christ has done for us. We can pray for them. We can do all that we naturally can do for them, living Christian lives before them. But they as individuals, must see something in Christ Jesus and touch him. They still had to reach out in faith.

Jesus says in John chapter 5 In verse 40, search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me that you might have life. The Jews had the Scriptures, and the Scriptures testified of Christ Jesus. They testify today of Christ Jesus. What's there in your head is not enough. Lying on their beds as Christ Jesus walked by was not enough. They had to reach out in faith, exercise faith and touch the hem of his garment, believing that he is able to do this.

Remember that he says, do you believe that I am able to do this? Yea, Lord, I believe. Is that what you say this morning? Do you believe that I am able to do this? Your sin, do you believe that I am able to do this? Yes Lord, I believe that you are able to forgive me of my sin. This situation that you are in, do you believe that I am able to do this? Yes Lord, I believe that you are able to do this. To reach out and touch him. it says as many as touched him were made perfectly whole and this means saved thoroughly perfectly saved removed from danger that situation that they were in they were not in it anymore they had been delivered just as the apostles were delivered on the sea, just as the hungry were delivered by the five loaves and the two fish.

So these people were delivered from their sickness and you and I can be delivered from our sickness of sin by the Lord Jesus Christ and be made perfectly saved That our salvation does not rest upon us, it rests completely squarely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a finished work, a completed salvation and we walk through this world by the aiding power and influence of his spirit that he guides and directs us as these people were brought to the Lord Jesus Christ and presented before him.

So the Spirit of God takes us as we walk through this world, guides us and directs us, continually leading us to the Lord Jesus Christ in the narrow way that leads to life. And so these people, they came diseased, they came sick, but they left perfectly whole. you also will leave the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly whole, perfectly saved. All who come to him he will not cast any out. He never told any one of these people don't touch me, you're too diseased, your case is too difficult. He allowed those that would, those that saw in him he was he allowed them to touch him and they were each made perfectly whole

and when they were gone over they came to the land of Gennesaret the garden of the prince and when the men of that place had knowledge of him they sent out into all the country round about and brought unto him all that were diseased and besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment. And as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Amen.

So the tune 544, 586. Ye servants of the Lord, ye messengers of grace, go forth with one accord, proclaim a full release. Jesus has made an end of sin, and righteousness divine brought in.

586. Hey. of the world. Salvation is a praise and good salvation too. He deserves it. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with us each now and forevermore. Amen.