Hi, everybody. Once again, I'm looking forward
to where we can meet together at the building, but I'm thankful
for this and I pray for the Lord's blessing on all of you and love
all of you and miss all of you and can't wait for this to be
over. I want to try to preach this
evening on a certain woman. We read in Mark chapter five,
verse 25, and a certain woman, which had an issue of blood 12 years. Now the story before us
is actually a story within another story. In verse 22 of Mark chapter
five, and behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,
Jairus by name, and when he saw him, he fell at his feet and
besought him greatly saying, my little daughter lieth at the
point of death. She was a 12 year old girl and
she was at the verge of dying. I don't think they had any hope
of her being healed unless the Lord was pleased to heal her.
He said, I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her that she
may be healed and she shall live. And Jesus went with him and much
people followed him and thronged him and a certain woman. Now
this is the story within the story. As the Lord is going to
the house of Jairus to heal his daughter, Jairus is witness to
what takes place here, a certain woman. Now the Lord only saves
certain individuals. We find this a lot in the scripture,
a certain man, a certain woman, and those certain individuals
are the ones that he chose before the foundation of the world. And understand there's nothing
generic about his salvation. I love the verse of scripture,
thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people
from their sins. He won't make salvation available
to anybody offer salvation to anybody, he shall save his people,
his people, every one of them certain individuals. He shall
save his people from their sins. Now this woman had what the scripture
calls an issue of blood. It was a menstrual disease and
she had a continuous discharge of blood for 12 long years. And how anemic she must have
been. What a terrible burden that must
have been. How weak she must have continually
felt. And this also meant, according
to the Levitical law, that she was in a continual state of uncleanness. unable to enter into the worship
of God. She was unclean. She had a continual
discharge and anything she touched was unclean. Didn't matter what
it was. She was a social outcast in a
state of uncleanness. Now, blood disease pictures our
state by nature, unclean. Everything we do is unclean. Everything we do is sinful because
we do it. We're unfit for worship. We're all by nature unclean. We're unclean by practice. We're unclean by choice. We are sinful men and women. It says regarding this woman
in verse 26, she had suffered many things of many physicians
and had spent all that she had and was nothing bettered, but
rather grew worse. Now these many physicians were
quack physicians. They couldn't really do anything
for her, but they gave her all kinds things to do and things
to take that would heal her disease. So they said, and she did all
these things they told her to do and spent every dime she had,
all to no avail. She didn't get better, but rather
she grew worse. Now, none of these men understood
her disease and they couldn't do anything for her but they
were quite willing to take our money. That kind of reminds me
of man's religion. They have no understanding of
the true nature of our disease. Listen to these scriptures. Here's
the nature of my disease, my sin disease. And God saw that
the wickedness of man, and that's me and that's you, was great
in the earth. and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now what kind of curate do you
have for that? Romans 8 verses 7, 8 and 8 says the carnal mind
is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. Now, this is the nature of our
disease. And these preachers, these religious
quacks, cannot do anything for us. Now, because they don't understand
the nature of the disease, they set up practices. Doctor, keep
the law. Doctor, ceremony. Dr. Baptism, Dr. Free Will, you just gotta will
yourself out of this, saying to someone dead in sins. Dr. Sincerity, Dr. Penance, you need to show sufficient
sorrow for your sins. There's Dr. Reformed Life and
his associate, Dr. Reformed Doctrine. There's Dr. Do your best and trust Christ
for the rest. Dr. Yesterday. Remember that
experience you had. Dr. To tomorrow. You're going
to fix this tomorrow. Dr. Join a church. Dr. Bible reading and his associate. Dr. Prayer. Dr. Stop sinning and his associate.
Dr. Be good. Dr. Feel good. Dr. Orthodoxy. Dr. Experience. Dr. Speak in
tongues. Dr. Miracles. You know, there's
about as many quack ways of salvation as there are people. All these
men who practice quackery, who could not help this woman. Now there's four things said
of this woman that had gone to these many physicians. Verse
26 says, and she had suffered many things of many physicians. Number one, she suffered. And
number two, she spent all that she had. And number three, she
was nothing bettered. And number four, she rather grew
worse. Now think of these four things
that she suffered as a result of going to these quacks about
her disease. The scripture said she suffered
many things. And there's all kinds of emotional
turmoil and suffering that takes place as a result of man's religion. And the scripture said she spent
all she had. She was left with nothing. She
became bankrupt trying to do what these men told her to do.
And she was left with nothing to pay anybody else. And the
scripture says she was nothing bettered. No sign of improvement,
no help whatsoever. but rather she grew worse. Now, this makes me think of man's
religion. Now, most religious men would
never admit to the fact that they're growing worse. They'd
say, I'm getting better. By grace, I'm getting better.
I'm becoming less sinful. I'm becoming more holy. I'm growing.
I'm becoming more happy. I'm doing well. That is their testimony. But
someone who's seen their sin, this is how they see themselves.
Nothing better, but rather growing worse. Now I know this, the more
light we have, the more evil we'll see ourselves to be. Now, you've heard of progressive
sanctification. That's a term used by many religious
people. And might I add religious quacks
when they're talking about the experience of a believer. They
talk about progressive sanctification. You progressively, by grace,
become less sinful and more holy. Now right off the bat, that's
said from an ignorance of what sin is in the first place and
what holiness is in the first place. You don't become more
holy and you don't become less sinful. When I hear people speak
like that, I become less sinful and more holy. I cannot identify
with that in any way. I'm talking about right now.
I'm not talking about the way I used to be. I'm talking about right
now. I don't feel any better than I've ever felt. I don't
feel less sinful. I don't feel more holy. I feel
just as sinful. I feel just as evil as I ever
have. And I've not improved as far
as my old nature. Now, I have a new nature. I have
a new nature that every believer has, but I still have the old
nature as far as feeling like I'm becoming less sinful and
more holy. That's just not true. And someone who says they are,
either they are deceived or they're lying. I don't believe that for
even a second. You know, the very idea of progressive
sanctification is a denial of two separate natures in a believer. Now, if you deny two separate
natures, a holy nature given in the new birth and the sinful
nature that never gets better, if you deny that, you are denying
total depravity. You're saying the grace works
with the old nature and improves the old nature. And that's just,
it's not what the Bible teaches. And it's contrary to a believer's
experience. It's just not so. Now, let's go on reading in verse
27 of our text. When she had heard of Jesus. Now she'd suffered many things
of these many quacks physicians, but when she had heard of Jesus, she came in the press behind,
not up in front of him. She had some idea of who he was.
She came behind in the press and touched his garment. I love to picture this in my
mind, this woman in this state of weakness, knowing that she
had to get to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know from the
other accounts that it was the hem of his garment she touched
at his feet. So I have no doubt she was on
her hands and knees crawling through the crowd thinking, if
I can just touch the hem of his garment. Here's what'll take
place. I shall be whole. And that word
whole is the word that's generally translated saved. If I can just
touch the hem of his garment, I shall be saved. Now, when she
heard of Jesus, what did she hear? We're not told exactly,
but we know from whatever it was she heard, she drew this
conclusion. If I can but touch his clothes,
I shall be whole. Now, here's what she knew. She
knew he could heal her. She believed in his ability to
heal her. She was like the leper who said,
Lord, if you will, you can. You have the ability. If you
will, you can make me clean. I love what Paul said in 2 Timothy
1, 12, when he said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded
that he is able. That's the emphasis. I'm persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I've committed to him against
that day. She too was persuaded of his
ability. And you know, the only time you'll
ever come to him like this is when you've spent all you had
and you have nothing less and you've not become better, but
rather you've become worse. That is the person who is ready
to hear the gospel. That is the person and only that
person can have an appreciation of the gospel. Now, what did
she say? She said, if I may but touch
his clothes, I shall be whole. Now, This is spoken of in the
passive voice, and this is the way many of the other translators
translate this, and I think it's a better translation. I shall
be made whole. Now, if you know anything about
your own sin and about who he is, you know the only hope you
have is what he makes you to be. If I can just come into contact
with him, I shall be made whole. Salvation is what he makes me
to be. Listen to this scripture. 1 Corinthians
1.30. Of him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us. There's the word. Who of God
is made unto us. Wisdom and righteousness. and sanctification and redemption. For he hath made him, 2 Corinthians
5.21, for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. You know, people talk about being
self-made men and women. Oh, not a believer. I am only
what he makes me to be And if you're a sinner, you understand
that. She said, if I may, but touch
his clothes. And notice she says, if I may,
but touch his clothes. She doesn't say, if I can touch
his clothes. She says, if I may touch his
clothes, if I'm permitted to touch his clothes, I shall be
made whole. If I can come into contact with
him because of who he is, Now, there were other people who were
thronging him and touching him, but they didn't touch him the
way that this woman did, because they didn't have this understanding
of who he is. She had some understanding of
who he is, and that's what made her come in the throng to touch
his clothes. Look in verse 29. And straightway, immediately,
upon touching his clothes, Straightway the fountain of her blood was
dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed of that
plague. The very second she touched him,
she was healed. She quit bleeding. The fountain
dried up and she knew it and she felt it. The scripture says
she was healed And again, the verb healed is in the perfect
tense, perfectly completed, never to be repeated, never to go back
into that state. She felt that she had been healed
and she knew that it was his work. She knew that she hadn't
healed herself. She didn't say, well, at least
I touched him. There were other people who didn't touch him.
They could have, but at least I touched him. I came into his presence
and touched him. If that other lady that had this
menstrual disease would have done that, she would have done
that, too. The difference between me and her is I touched. No,
she didn't think anything like that. That's what so many people
do. They try to make a work out of
things that just shouldn't be made a work out of. Like, well,
you've got to receive him. Sure, you've got to receive him. But are you
going to say the reason you're saved is because you received
him? The reason you're saved is because he saved you. This
woman understood that. She knew he healed her. Now, she knew she didn't cooperate
in this. She didn't give her crawling
through the crowd and touching him some kind of merit or contribution. She knew that he had healed her
without any contribution from her. She touched him and she
was healed. Listen to this scripture. From
first Peter chapter two, who his own self bear our sins in
his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should
live into righteousness by whose stripes you are healed. Now, did you have anything to
do with that healing? No, sir. By whose stripes you
are healed? But this man," Hebrews 10, 12,
but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool for by one
offering Listen to this. He hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Now, he did this completely and
she knew she had been healed of that plague and she knew he
did it all. And look in verse 30. And Jesus,
immediately knowing in himself That virtue, now that word virtue
is power. He felt something too. He knew
immediately that power had gone out of him. Now, one of the things about
the Lord's power is he can have power go out, it's still there,
but he knew that power went out of him. You see, it took his
power to make that woman's blood disease to no more be. It takes
his power to make my disease, my sin to not be. Only the power of omnipotence
can make my sin to not be. Do I stand before God without
guilt? But this is something to think
of something leaving him and something left her. Now think
about that. Something left him and something
left her. What left him? Well, his innocence
before the holy law of God left him when my sin became his sin. And when my sin, my disease left
me and became his, his power, his righteousness becomes mine. This woman was saved by the substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's tree. Something
left him, his innocence before the law when my sin became his,
and something left me my sin, but here's the glorious thing
about the Lord Jesus Christ. Such was the the greatness and
glory and virtue of His person that when He died, that sin was
actually put away. He satisfied God's justice and
God's wrath. He made complete satisfaction.
And the reason God raised Him from the dead was God was satisfied
with what He did. Now, the reason hell is eternal
is because God's never satisfied with the sin payment. But oh,
He's completely satisfied with the sin payment of His Son because
who he is because of that perfect righteousness he worked out in
his life. Something left him and something
left her. And it takes his power to do
that. Now, he asked this question in
verse 30, and Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue,
saving power, had gone out of him, he turned about in the press
and said, who touched my clothes? You and I both know that he knew
who touched his clothes. But this woman is going to be
confessing all of this publicly. And he says this to cause her
to do this. Who touched my clothes? Now, can you imagine how she
felt when it says in verse 32, and he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. Can you imagine when their eyes
met? I guess she thought she wasn't going to have a personal
experience of him speaking to her. And can you imagine what
she must have felt when their eyes met? Who touched me? And he looked upon her because
he knew exactly who it was who touched him. And we read in verse
33, but the woman, fearing and trembling, Now, this is not the
fear and trembling of unbelief. This is the fear and trembling
of God. She knew she was in the very presence of the God man.
This woman, fearing and trembling, don't miss this, knowing what
was done. Now, I know what was done. Every believer knows what was
done. There is knowledge. I know whom I have believed. We know that all things work
together for good to them who love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose, knowing what was done. Oh, I hear salvation, knowing
what was done. Now, the key word of all anti-Christ
religion is do. Do. Here is what you need to
do. And it's always so vague. What
exactly is it that I need to do in order to get God to accept
me? But the message of man-made false
religion is do. And everyone that is saved is
in the religion of what was done. This woman knew what was done. What were the last words of the
Lord from the cross? It is finished. It is done. He said in his great high priestly
prayer for his people in John chapter 17 verse 4, I have glorified
thee on the earth, I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. Now when he said it is finished,
when he first came into the world, or before he first came into
the world, and the angels faked to Mary, they told her what he
was to name him, thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall
save his people from their sins. When he said, it is finished,
he had saved his people from their sins. Listen to this scripture. Colossians chapter two, verses
nine and 10. says, in him dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him. There's nothing you need to reach
for. There's nothing you need to do. There's nothing that's
missing. You are complete. You are finished in him. He did it all. Now that's salvation, and this
woman understood this. She said, when she knew what
was done. What's it say next? In her. She know what was done in her. Now, whatever my experience of
grace is, I know that it is what He has done in me. You know, that's why no believer
believes in free will. It's the most ridiculous thing.
I know that I'm not saved because of some act of my will. I know
that in my experience of salvation, I am saved because of what He
has done in me. Paul put it this way in Galatians
115, when he pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me. Not just to me. That's not enough
because if all of he is revealed is to me, somehow I'll mess it
up. But he revealed his son in me. I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me and the life that I now live in the flesh I live
by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me. Paul spoke in Colossians 1 27
of Christ in you the hope of glory. Now if you're a believer
this is your experience. He did it all for you and he
did it all in and you don't give yourself any praise for anything,
where is boasting then? It is excluded in every respect. Now, what did she do? Knowing
what was done in her, came and fell down before him and told
him all the truth. I love this. She told him all. The truth. Not half the truth. Not 99% of the truth. If what
you have is 99% of the truth, you have a lie. The truth is
one whole. And if you leave any of it out,
all you got is a lie. She came and told him all the
truth. Now, did that mean she spent
hours telling him all these different things? No, all you gotta know
and say to say all the truth and to know all the truth is
know that Christ is all. If you know that Christ is all
in every aspect of salvation, you have all the truth. She came and told him all the
truth. Now, look at his response to
her in verse 34. And he said unto her, daughter,
He didn't say woman at this time, he said daughter. Now, why is
that? She's a daughter of Abraham. She's a true believer. You see,
anybody that has faith in Christ is a true child of Abraham, is
a true child of God. He calls her daughter. Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Now, what was her faith? That's a good summary of her
faith. She believed that if she could just touch the hem of his
garment, there was such saving power and virtue in him, he couldn't
possibly fail. She didn't think she could come
in contact with him and then end up not being healed. No,
she knew if she came into contact with him, she must be healed. And you know that if Christ died
for you, you must be saved. If he's given you his spirit,
you must believe him. You must persevere all the way
to the end. That's what she believed. Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Now why in the world does the
Lord give such honor to faith? Because it was the Lord who made
her whole. That's what faith believes. The Lord puts such
honor upon faith because faith puts all the honor on Him. It
always does. If it doesn't put all the honor
on Him, it's not faith. It's always faith alone. Not faith and. Faith alone. And the Lord put such honor on
this. He says, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Thy faith hath saved thee. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Daughter, thy faith hath made
thee whole. Go in peace. This is command. Go in peace. The peace of knowing
that God is at complete peace with you. The peace of knowing
that all your sins have been put away. They're not there anymore. God said their sins and iniquities
I remember no more because there's nothing there to remember. You
have nothing less than the very righteousness of God. You have
a perfect standing before God. He's well-pleased. Go in peace. Now, if I said, you need to do
this, you're not gonna have any peace, but if it's all done and
he did it all, you can go in peace. And behold of thy plague. Now, this is spoken as a command
and what a blessed thing this is. Go in peace. This is him
commanding you. Go in peace. whole of thy plague. And you know the Lord doesn't
command, make any commandments that are disobeyed. Not with
his people, they're caused to do what he says to do. David
put it this way, thou has given commandment to save me. Go in peace and be whole of thy
plague. What a beautiful picture the
Lord gives us of a woman who had been trying with these quacks,
spent everything she had, was nothing better but rather worse.
But the best day of her life was when she heard of Jesus.
She heard who he really is and what he did. And she knew if
I come into contact with him, I'll be made whole. And that's
exactly what she did. And we're going to look next
Wednesday night at the story that this story is within when
Jairus comes to Christ. But once again, I'm looking forward
for us to be able to meet together. And let's pray together. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name. And we're so thankful for him.
We're so thankful for the salvation that's in him. We're so thankful
for his glorious righteousness. We're so thankful that you allow
us to touch the hem of your garment and that we're made whole. Lord, I ask in Christ's name that saving
faith might give to each one listening according to your will.
And Lord, we pray that you'd give us the grace to have No
worries about this time that you've sent our way. Indeed,
Lord, this is to us a strange time, but we know it's the time
of your appointing that you sent this virus, that you have caused
these things to happen. And we pray for our leaders that
you would give them wisdom. And we pray for deliverance from
this according to your will. Lord, we desire that you'd restore
us that ability to worship to work. Lord, do these things for
us, for Christ's sake, and enable us to glorify you by not worrying
over what you're doing, knowing that you're in control. We thank
you for who you are. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.