Participants: Roy Brown
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000317
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00:30 Let me take this opportunity today to
00:34 welcome you to Faith Chapel, where we believe 00:38 that the just shall live by his or her faith. 00:43 My name is Roy R. Brown, Retired President 00:47 of the Southeastern Conference of 00:49 Seventh-day Adventist and my subject for today 00:53 is, nothing to it. Let us pray. 00:58 Father, we stretch our hands to thee, 01:02 no other help we know, in your loving 01:06 kindness grant us a full disclosure of 01:11 your will to us for this day. 01:14 In Jesus name, Amen. Jesus was confronted 01:21 by two individuals with critical needs. 01:26 Jairus, a well situated, well established, 01:34 well connected, well respected leader of 01:39 the synagogue, ruler of it. 01:42 He belonged to the college of elders 01:44 or preachers and he had a 12-year-old girl 01:50 who was terminally ill. His daughter was sick 01:57 and Jesus met an obscure elderly lady 02:02 who had spent all of her livelihood on 02:06 ineffectual medical care, a system 02:10 that was broken without one single result. 02:15 In fact she got worst, Jairus with status 02:21 gets to Jesus first and Jesus decided to go 02:28 down to his house in order to bring relief 02:31 and care to his daughter. As Jairus was 02:35 going down to his house, Jesus was going down 02:38 to Jairus' house the unnamed, unannounced, 02:43 unhealed, unnoticed, unclean woman lays 02:50 her hands on the Lord of life and glory 02:53 and her life which was ebbing away was 02:58 immediately healed. This is considered 03:03 one of the wayside miracles of Jesus, 03:06 because of its secret sorrow, 03:09 public description is withheld. 03:15 There are three gospels in the Bible 03:20 which report this incident, it's in 03:24 Matthew, Mark and Luke. In the 9th chapter of 03:30 Matthew, verses 20 to 22 we read, 03:34 the Bible says, and suddenly a woman 03:39 who had a flow of blood for 12 years came from 03:44 behind and touched the hem of His garment 03:49 and suddenly a woman who had this blood for 03:56 12 years Bible says, for she said to herself, 03:59 if only I may touch His garment, 04:03 I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, 04:09 and said to her "Be of good cheer, daughter; 04:15 your faith has made you well." 04:18 And the woman was made well from 04:21 that hour onwards. The Levitical laws 04:26 indicate that this woman's malady 04:31 subjected her to grievous penalties, 04:34 it was rather embarrassing for her 04:38 to discuss her predicament in public. 04:42 In fact she was a woman of few words, 04:46 which is a rarity and a woman of much 04:50 shamefacedness. Womanly delicacy forbade 04:56 her openly discuss her situation in public. 05:02 But the Levitical law said that, 05:06 all that she touched, all she sat up on, 05:10 all who came in her path became unclean 05:14 simply because of her illness, 05:17 an outcast of society she was, 05:20 end of the law, shunned by her neighbors 05:25 and friends, purposely avoided if you please. 05:28 She was living a haggard life from poverty, 05:33 having spend all that she had, 05:35 in fact she was made worse not from the drain 05:42 on her physical body, nor her drain 05:45 on her finances, but the stigma of uncleanness 05:49 affected her mostly. This woman was excluded 05:54 from the consolations of public worship 05:58 and you know how it is, you go to church 06:03 when you're sick because you believe 06:06 that Jesus Christ is a great physician 06:09 and that He has healing for your 06:13 soul spiritually and physically. 06:15 Your go to the house of worship because 06:19 you are poor and the Bible indicates 06:23 blessed are the poor in spirit. 06:26 You go to church because you've been rejected 06:29 because you have a serious need, 06:32 you go to God's house because you have trails 06:35 and difficulties encompass you, 06:39 go because you have troubles 06:40 and you hope that within the house of God. 06:42 The words of Isaiah will be fulfilled in 06:45 your life, where the Bible simply says 06:49 he is called wonderful, counselor, 06:52 the mighty God, the everlasting Father, 06:56 the prince of Peace and it is hoped that 07:00 when you enter within the gates of God's house 07:04 that the comfort and the assurance 07:06 and the help that you need will be 07:08 forthcoming. This woman, her preference 07:13 rarely was obscurity, if it could have been 07:16 so not a single word came out of her lips, 07:22 except when Jesus confronted her 07:25 and He drew it out of her only for her 07:28 lasting good. She belongs to that 07:31 long line of persons, individuals who 07:38 if courage is needed to gain salvation 07:42 it will be most difficult for them. 07:44 She is almost like Nicodemus, 07:46 he came beneath the star studded skies 07:50 at night to learn truth and to gain light 07:55 and understanding from the Christ. 07:56 There was no pomp and no pageantry, 08:00 it was just Jesus and Nicodemus. 08:05 If you notice the life of Christ it is really 08:08 an amazing and beautiful life. 08:10 Jairus wanted Jesus to come down to his house. 08:16 The gentile Centurion told Jesus please 08:21 don't come to my house just speak the word 08:25 and my servant would be healed. 08:27 This unnamed woman will touch Christ 08:32 in the hope that she will be blessed 08:36 all three, Jairus, the gentile Centurion 08:42 and this unnamed woman, all three like 08:45 all of us in different ways are seeking for 08:48 God's help and the fact is that 08:51 God will respond, it was such an interesting 08:55 account that Jesus was going down to 08:58 Jairus' house and the cup of grace 09:01 that He was carrying simply spilled 09:03 and the woman sponged up every ounces 09:07 of it to her eternal good. This is what 09:11 we call a wayside miracle, this lady is 09:14 really symbolic of those whom Christ 09:17 and the Christian way of life the whole 09:21 Revelation of God in Christ is applicable 09:25 only in direst extremity, only as a 09:30 last resort. I'm talking about a religion that, 09:35 that's prompted by, by cul-de-sac, 09:39 experience a dead end road to be born again, 09:43 to be reconciled to God, to have all of our sins 09:48 forgiven, to have Jesus Christ at foremost 09:51 in the life. To do God's will and to keep all 09:54 of His commandments, they must be first sick 09:57 and dying, and then hear the cry from them, 10:03 they cry out Jesus Lord have mercy on me. 10:09 Lord, I'll do what You want me to do. 10:12 I'll be what You want me to be, 10:16 I will go where You want me to go, 10:19 they seem to forget the formula that 10:22 Jesus Christ has given us. He says in the 10:25 book of Matthew, the chapter is 6 10:27 and the verse is 33, He says, 10:30 "But seek first the kingdom of God 10:36 and His righteousness, and all these things 10:38 shall be added on to you." The Bible in the 10:43 book tells us that the woman had spent 10:48 all of her living. Mark's Gospel says 10:52 that this woman was first getting rid of all 10:56 of her expenses in an attempt to get well 10:58 before she saw Jesus and you and I ought to 11:01 remember that Jesus ought to be a 11:05 first choice and not a last resort, 11:10 we opt to spend all of our money 11:12 and our time on pleasure on wealth 11:15 and fame and cars and real estate 11:19 and when we have taken care of all of the 11:22 educational responsibilities 11:24 and the comforts and the ease of life. 11:26 Then after we have acquired and we have 11:29 done the gamete of those then we like the women 11:32 discover that we are not better but worse. 11:37 Then when we have failed to accept 11:42 Jesus Christ at the given time, 11:44 if we did not elect to chose God first then 11:49 when we ready to die, when we have no more 11:53 an attempt to get all that God has to offer 11:56 then we give to Him the tattered, 11:59 battered, scant remains of time 12:02 when we could have given Him first 12:04 if we had followed his formula all that 12:06 we have and are and life would have been 12:09 one endless stream of blessing, 12:11 no wonder the songwriter says give now 12:14 thy use to God, God will take us whenever 12:18 we get to Him, whenever we elect to choose 12:21 Him as our frame of reference, 12:24 as our savior, as our Lord and our coming 12:26 King. But in an event that we do not 12:30 but turn over our lives to Him God knows 12:33 that He will take us and make us what we ought 12:36 to be by His grace. This man and his wife 12:42 were at the account of fear 12:44 and she wanted to ride the merry-go-round 12:48 and he didn't. And after a few moments of 12:53 deliberation, he said to her, honey, 12:55 if you want to ride, you can go ahead, 12:57 I will wait for you. So, she went on the 13:00 merry-go-round and she had her ride, 13:04 finally the merry-go-round came 13:07 for a stop. He was waiting for her, 13:09 just where she had got on and then she walked 13:13 over to him and he said to her honey, 13:15 may I say something to you, he said 13:18 you paid your money, you got off 13:22 where you got on and you haven't been anywhere. 13:25 And so it is in life, sometimes we have given, 13:31 we have spent all that we have 13:33 and instead of getting better you got worse. 13:37 This woman really depicts in a broad sense 13:42 or diseased on healed world. 13:45 Look at the list of her helpers. 13:48 Really they were here hurters, HURTERS. 13:53 If we may calling the word, OBG ones, 13:56 doctors of internal medicine, 13:59 laboratory tests, operations, experiments, 14:04 notorious drugs, medications beyond 14:08 or ideal for fulfillment. 14:11 Egyptian doctors, Syrian doctors, 14:14 Greek practitioners, all tired, these men 14:17 had the science of medicine down 14:19 but instead of helping her she became worse. 14:22 She just paid, and paid, and paid 14:25 if she already knew the prodigal son, 14:29 that the prodigal did not earned his rule 14:33 it was given to him and so it is with us 14:37 what we get from the Lord is not 14:41 what for we do not earn it, it's a gift 14:44 from God. Twelve years expenditure 14:48 is a lot of money, the scriptures do not 14:53 indicate her source of livelihood, 14:56 well they are individuals in our world 14:59 now who can't afford their medications 15:04 for a week or a month, this woman could do for 15:08 12 years. In fact there are some people 15:11 who must opt may be to eat cat or dogs food 15:15 in order to get the medications 15:17 to sustain life. But this woman 15:20 having spend all, paid all, she was not 15:24 bettered, she was still poor, still destitute, 15:27 still diseased, still disappointed, 15:30 still weak, still miserable, 15:33 and still excluded from the consolations of 15:37 public worship. But she wanted out 15:39 you see of her situation. She was 15:43 downright desperate. She spared 15:47 neither living nor labor and all world is like 15:52 this woman, we have tired everything 15:55 world wars, we have tried all the isms, 15:58 capitalism, materialism, militarism, 16:03 we have tried communism, imperialism, 16:07 democracy, we're still going to pieces, 16:10 still diseased, all of treaties, 16:14 and all of the peace talks, 16:16 and all of the summits and all of the 16:18 United Nations resolutions, still have 16:23 not helped us. When are we going to learn, 16:26 we ought to learn in the book of 16:29 Acts the chapter is 4, and the verse is 12, 16:35 here is what the Bible tells us is the best 16:39 solution to all of the situations 16:42 that comes our way. It is so simple 16:45 we ought to just get it at the first chance, 16:48 it says "Nor is there salvation in any other, 16:53 for there is no other name under heaven 17:02 given among men by which we must be saved. 17:06 There is only name that will grant us salvation, 17:11 no medicine on earth can keep the heart 17:16 throbbing if Jesus says that's it. 17:21 No surgery can remove the load of sin 17:24 and guilt from the conscious but Jesus can. 17:28 No hand of preacher or philosopher 17:32 or prophet can cleanse the stains of sin 17:37 from our lives. No voice can say a word that will 17:43 astonish the wounds of a bleeding heart, 17:46 but Jesus can. The thirst can only go worse 17:52 because the water sought are from broken 17:55 empty systems. Only Jesus can help us. 18:00 We like the woman have tried and tried 18:04 and tried, we have forgotten that 18:06 life is not healed by financial resources, 18:11 life is not healed by the accomplishment 18:14 or the achievements. This woman had however 18:18 a great determination, she had great 18:21 hopefulness, she had great ideas 18:24 that she would get help, her misdirected 18:29 qualities are needful for us because 18:34 if only she had got the opportunity 18:39 to hold on to that which was right and true 18:43 and helpful at the out set. 18:45 Life would have been one glorious attempt 18:49 for this woman to know what kind of 18:51 characteristics she had. Mark tells us 18:56 that she heard about Jesus, 18:58 and this is so marvelous, this is so 19:00 beautiful somebody somewhere did a 19:04 beautiful deed for Jesus, when she had 19:08 heard about Jesus the woman said, 19:13 if I could only have the opportunity to touch him 19:18 I will be healed, I will be blessed, 19:21 I will be restored because this individual 19:24 who told her about Christ had given her 19:28 something to hold on to. She heard about Jesus 19:31 the Bible said, just hearing about Him 19:34 she hadn't seen Him. She was not in contact, 19:37 she heard about Him. How sweet the name 19:41 of Jesus sounds in a believer's ears, 19:45 it heals the sorrow and gets rid of all of his 19:49 wounds. Dear name the rock on which 19:52 I build my shield and hiding place. 19:55 The songwriter says all hail the power of 19:58 Jesus name. Let angels prostrate fall. 20:03 He is savior, He is our Lord, He is our master. 20:09 He is the great physician that 20:11 this woman sought, He is the door, 20:13 He is the good shepherd, He is the way 20:16 the truth, the life, in fact we need to say 20:20 like Thomas did, he cried out my Lord 20:24 and my God. However to hear about Jesus 20:28 is not enough, we must first come 20:34 and the songwriter says I came to Jesus 20:38 as I was, weary and worn and sad, 20:43 I found in Him a resting place 20:46 and He has made me glad. Isaiah 55 and verse 6 20:53 tells us exactly how we ought to deal 20:57 with our lives in relationship to this 21:00 marvelous savior that we serve Isaiah 55 21:04 and verse 6, it says, seek the Lord 21:08 while He may be found, Call upon Him 21:13 while He is near. This woman really sought 21:19 the Lord while he could be found, 21:21 she said if only I may touch His clothes, 21:27 she says I shall be made well, this unclean, 21:33 unhealed woman would venture into the 21:37 very presence of the Lord of life 21:40 and glory with one objective in mind. 21:44 If I can only but touch Him, 21:47 Jesus never ever bid us come if we are clean. 21:52 Jesus never gave us the idea that there are 21:57 some acceptable, approved ceremonies 22:01 that we must first go through before we can 22:05 approach Him. He does not design a ritual 22:08 for us to come He simply says come unto me 22:12 all ye that labor and are heavy laden them 22:15 and I will give you rest. This woman 22:19 sought the Lord, she said if I will only go 22:24 and if I can only touch His garment, 22:28 I know I am going to get well, and she did. 22:31 You see my brothers and my sisters, 22:33 my friends, it is important 22:36 that this woman get well because after 12 years 22:43 and she could no longer buy that, 22:46 those medications and costly injections 22:50 that had raised her hopes only to dash them, 22:53 this woman came to what would be called 22:56 her bitterest grief. She said I don't have 23:00 anymore money and look at what I'm going 23:02 through, I can't buy my medication 23:04 but she heard about Jesus, that was the best 23:07 thing that could have happened to her 23:10 because its no longer her medication it is no, 23:13 not I but Christ and so it is with us. 23:17 When we come to the end of our purse strings, 23:20 financially or educationally 23:22 or whatever purse strings we have 23:24 and they are depleted then we learn to depend 23:27 upon Jesus, we learn to trust him. 23:29 Because as long as there is food on the table. 23:32 As long as on one in the hospital, 23:35 as long as we can buy the gas for whatever 23:38 they cost, three dollars or four dollars 23:40 whatever, as long as the mortgage is paid 23:43 and we have some crunches around us, 23:45 then we feel that everything is alright. 23:48 But God says you got to learn to study 23:51 its not I but Christ, this was the 23:54 simplest thing she could do. 23:57 No prescription to fill, no pills to take. 24:00 This was the easiest thing that she could do, 24:03 just touch the hem of his garment. 24:04 This was the freest thing she could do, 24:09 its so free not a cent. Because God's gifts 24:12 are all free as the air we breath. 24:15 No money for grace, no money for love, 24:18 no money for his compassion. 24:20 This was also the quietest thing that 24:23 she could do only a touch. It was the most 24:26 effectual thing, number five that she could do, 24:29 look at the crowd around her, 24:31 look at her personal responsibility, 24:34 no one went for her. No one to touch for her, 24:37 no one to introduce him to her she was going 24:40 for herself, pushed and tossed 24:42 and shoved by the maddening crowd, 24:44 here this woman of faith in her hand. 24:47 She says my faith demands that I must 24:51 have a personal, intimate relationship 24:55 with the Lord Jesus Christ and so she came 24:57 and all of a sudden her moment arrived 25:00 and her moment arrived the Bible tells us 25:03 that she reached out and touched the hem 25:06 of God's garment and the Bible says 25:08 that her bleeding was immediately stanched. 25:12 Arrested, stopped, the live-giving forces 25:17 were now cruising through all of her body, 25:19 in fact the Bible says in the book of Mark that 25:22 her blood stopped immediately. 25:26 Jesus turns around and He asks, 25:29 who touched Me for I feel that 25:32 virtue has gone out of Me, that's what 25:35 the woman said, she said if I may but 25:37 touched Him. Jesus in saying who touched Me, 25:41 simply wanted to reward her faith because 25:45 He says virtue has gone out and He says 25:47 I do not want this woman to leave feeling 25:50 that she stole something or unconscious of that 25:55 which occur to her was a gift from God. 25:58 So, He said woman who touched Me, 26:01 He asked the crowd. The healing virtue 26:04 was an answer to her faith so God called her 26:08 and when she went up, the Bible says 26:10 that she spoke to God. She told Him 26:12 I touched you she told Him everything 26:14 because Jesus wanted her not only to believe 26:18 with her heart, He also wanted her to confess 26:21 with her lips, then Jesus turned to her 26:24 and He said to her daughter your faith 26:27 has made you well. Go in peace 26:31 and be healed of your affliction, 26:35 saving faith, the word of God in Jesus Christ 26:40 gave her a tremendous assurance, 26:43 more than that God called her daughter, 26:47 He was on His way to Jarius' daughter 26:50 and so He turn to her and he says lady 26:52 you are also my daughter, ancestry 26:55 of the Jews, ancestor of Abraham. 26:59 God has billions of people here 27:03 on the earth but He wanted her to know 27:05 that chronically ill old ladies mean 27:08 just as much to him as bright privileged 27:11 young daughters. So, He said daughter, 27:14 be of good courage, your faith has made 27:17 you whole, with the large crowd, 27:19 but this simple touch of faith do not leave 27:24 God's presence ever, unless you touch him 27:29 by the hand of faith, then raise up 27:31 and sing, he touched Me because it's reciprocal, 27:35 it's a divine human relationship 27:38 and then you can say to God only a touch 27:40 of your hands dear Lord, only a word of love 27:44 and God will make you all that you can be 27:47 and he wants you to be, there is nothing to it, 27:50 its simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17