June 5, 2016
Scripture:
Hymn 28 - O what a Saviour is Jesus the Lord
Prayer
Mark 5:25-34
We are on part two of our stories. This next story is in the middle of another story. Jesus is going with a man to see his child when He meets the woman whom our story is about.
Back then, they didn’t have hospitals; they had physicians. This woman had had this plague for twelve years. She had a wound that was constantly bleeding, and she was continually suffering. She had tried to get help. She went from one doctor to the next. One would mix up some kind of potion, but it would do nothing. It must have hurt because it says, “She suffered many things of many physicians.” Because of all the doctors she had been to, she was out of money.
She had heard people talking about Jesus. It’s wonderful when people tell others what Jesus has done and can do. There appeared to be lots of people who had come to Jesus: the lame, blind, sick, and the dying. Others were being healed, and it didn’t take twelve years. She had heard Jesus was a healer. She knew that He could heal, but she didn’t know if He would.
She came to the place where Jesus was, and He was completely surrounded. So, she decided she would just sneak up from behind. She wouldn’t say anything; she would just touch the hem of His garment. As soon as she touched it, she was better. It had worked! You can almost see her trying to get out of the crowd thinking to herself, “I’m well. It really worked!”
She was slowly backing out when Jesus suddenly turned around and asked, “Who touched Me?” The disciples must have looked at the people all around Him pushing and shoving and said, “What do You mean by ‘who touched me?’ You’re surrounded by everyone.” But Jesus knew there had been a different touch. It had been a touch of faith. He had felt virtue go from Himself to the one who had touched Him. What a blessing it is to be in touch with Jesus by faith. When one is saved they have something they never had before: they are in touch with Jesus.
The woman was now at Jesus’ face; not His back. She has been healed, and now she falls down before Him and tells Him all the truth. She had received a free gift. Jesus called her “daughter.” She has been brought into a relationship with Him. We, who are saved, are also sons or daughters of God. He has adopted us, and we can call Him Father. It’s a family unit, and it’s a blessing. Just think of what the woman would have missed if she had stayed behind Jesus.
Her faith had healed her, and she was given peace. She was without a burden, and now knew that the Lord could supply. She was completely whole of the plague. It wouldn’t gradually get better. She was better. The Lord was her Healer, and she was healed
Philippians 4:5-23
The word “moderation” here is a hard word to translate. Darby uses gentleness in his English translation, and meekness in his French. It means not insisting on one’s rights. Our day is a day of insisting on rights; human rights, animal rights, male rights, female rights, rights if you’re both! There are many riots and protests that take place today by those who feel their rights have been taken. In the midst if all this, Christians should be able to yield their rights; and it should be an evident manner of life so that others can see and know it.
After telling us to give up our rights, Paul reminds us that the Lord is near (DT). Things in this world will be put right, but we don’t have to do it; He will. Both the Lord’s presence and His coming are near. That should effect our behaviour; because of that, we can be gentle, meek, and yield our rights.
We are to be careful, or anxious, for nothing, but that doesn’t mean we can have a careless, “so what?” attitude about life. Rather, we are not to worry (DT and French) about things. We can give our burdens to the Lord, and have Him carry them, but it can take a lifetime to learn how to do that. The story is told of a woman who was carrying a heavy load of laundry home, when a farmer with a horse and cart offered her a ride. She accepted, but continued to hold her load of laundry. When the farmer told her she could put it down, she replied that she didn’t want to put the burden on the horse! The Lord will carry our burdens without us carrying them, too. They don’t worry Him, He has a plan.
In Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable of the sower, and in verse 22 warns that the cares of this world can choke out the seed of the word. This has application to those saved: the word will bear fruit, but not if it’s burdened with care. Peter encourages us to cast all our care on Christ, for He cares for us. Is the Lord doing what He tells us not to do? No, the meaning of “care” changes from “worries”, to “watches over”.
Verse 6 shows us that it is by prayer we can lay our worries down. We get several different words for prayer here: prayer (general requests), supplication (specific requests), and thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, and should express that when we pray. Being care-free is an important part of our relationship with the Lord, and prayer is an important part of being care-free. One helpful thing we can do is to take the many promises of scripture and pray them back to God; “reminding” Him of what His word says.
Isaiah 26:3 promises perfect peace to those who keep their minds on God. That’s a challenge; if we don’t have perfect peace, then we aren’t trusting God fully. He wants us to trust Him! Our minds, thoughts, and imaginations can run wild with things that aren’t true and cause us to fear, and we must take those thoughts captive. God is in control and knows what He is doing.
The result is Philippians 4:7: the peace of God will keep our hearts. Nothing surprises God; He is equal to any situation, and His peace can rule our hearts and minds. There is nothing, no big or small detail, that we should worry about. He doesn’t promise to deliver us from our trials, but to give us peace. We need to bring our trials to Him, and leave them with Him. That’s how we have peace.
We must remember that God sees the big picture; we see the daily snapshot. In India, there are father and son weaving teams. The father creates the pattern, while the son helps. The son may only see the ugly, back side of the weaving until all is completed, and the father shows him the finished product. We see our trials now, and it might not be until farther down the road that we see their purposes. As the poem says:
Not till the loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas,
And explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful,
In the weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver,
In the pattern He has planned.
Won’t it be something, when we get to heaven, and God says, “Would you like to see something?”
Hymn 213 - Thou my everlasting portion
Prayer