I'm so grateful to have each of you here today.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We trust in Your power, even as it is often found in weakness; in Your wisdom, even as it is expressed in seeming foolishness; in Your wholeness, even as it comes to us amid our brokenness. We do not ask this day for dazzling displays of strength, electric exercises of intellectual prowess, or marvelous manifestations of miracles. We come simply to worship and glorify You. Because You alone are worthy! Touch us this day, O Lord, sinners that we are, that we might become Your saints, Your body, Your children, Your church. For this Temple of Your Spirit is built not upon our own abilities, knowledge, or restorative skill, but upon You, in Jesus Christ' name
Amen.
"Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
So 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 to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ”
Luke 4:14-23
"So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Mark 5:24-34
This message I've entitled: There is Hope
I know some of you, may be feeling hopeless in your situations..
this message is for you..
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 some here this today understand very well the hopelessness of feeling hopeless.
I wonder if you know what it is to feel helpless.
It’s a terrible thing to lose sight of hope.
When insurmountable odds are stacked against you.
A helpless situation.
I believe it's safe to say, we have all felt that sense of hopelessness at least once in our lives.
It's an awful feeling, isn't it?
Praise God, we as followers of Christ, have hope!
Our hope is in Jesus Christ!
Amen?
Maybe it’s the prognosis of a doctor.
The decision of a judge.
The ungratefulness of an employer.
The curse on your finances.
A spouse who left you.
It’s the situation that only gets worse, no matter how hard you try to make it get better
It usually attacks in the darkness.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 despair 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
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!
He was her HOPE!
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 and broken dreams.
How many scattered lives.
I'll tell you how many, FAR 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 hope.
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 is recorded in the bible said…
"If you would prepare your heart,And stretch out your hands toward Him;
If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
Because you would forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
And your life would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety.
You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor."
Job 11:13-19
But guess what ... There is Hope!
Say that with me
There is Hope!
There IS Hope!
“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant."
Job 14:7-9
Scent of water represents the scent of hope for you and I!
"On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
John 7:37-39
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 that turmoil…
In the middle of that unchanging situation.
In the middle of that hopelessness.
Church,
We have got to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, get up and touch Jesus!
Healing begins when we do something.
Healing begins when we reach out.
Healing starts when we take a first 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, it was then, she experienced the tender power of Jesus in her life!
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!
Can we all just give God some praise?
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Brian Monzon Ministries