From Desperation to Deliverance

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Apostles’ Creed & Pastoral Prayer

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Message

Introduction

What’s the thing you’ve most desperately wanted in your life?

For some — it’s that wayward child who’s far from home.

Maybe for others — it’s a clean health report.

For some — it could be relief from financial stress.

Or maybe — it’s something you can’t even put into words… you’ve just felt desperate.

Me

For me — there’s something very specific that I spent a lot of the past year desperate for.

We’re continuing in our series this morning called Crossroads — where we’re exploring four different encounters people had with Jesus in the Book of Mark. And about this time a year ago my family and I were at a crossroad where we had to make a decision — and we struggled — and prayed — and hoped God would provide an answer.

See — we had just been approved through a church planting organization to plant a church. We’d been given the green light — we’d been approved to receive funding — and we were preparing to move to Indianapolis to plant this church.

We’d told everybody — we’d already raised a lot of money for it — and just about every conversation I had was with people talking about our upcoming move.

But as the end of the year got closer and closer — we just felt discontent. Everything was going smoothly — but it just didn’t feel right. No matter how many doors opened for us — we just felt like God was telling us that this wasn’t the right path. Anybody ever been there?

And so after a lot of prayer — and some tears — and having to swallow a lot of pride — we made the decision to stay where we were. At my previous church, I had to go ask for my job back (talk about a humbling experience) — we had to give a lot of money back — and honestly — I felt pretty defeated.

But just a few months later — in early April — Blaire and I were at lunch one afternoon and I got a call from a weird number. I assumed it was spam so I didn’t answer it. But then I got a voicemail. And on that voicemail was this very kind voice — many of you know it — and it went something like this:

“Hi Pastor Zakk — my name is Sara Farenbacher. I’m a volunteer on the Pastor Search Committee at the Turning Pointe Church. We’ve received your application materials and I was calling to follow up on that.”

And that voicemail set off a chain of events that totally changed the path of my family — and ultimately this church. Over the course of 2025 I became desperate for something else — the chance to serve — and love — and care for the people of The Turning Pointe. And every conversation — every interaction — every mention of what God is doing in this body of believers made me more desperate to be a part of it.

And can I just say — do you know how hard it is to be that desperate but to act like you’re not? It’s kind of like when you do something really cool as a parent, but your teenager — under no circumstances — can admit that it’s cool. That’s what I was trying to do. A pastor search committee does not want a desperate candidate for a pastor. But I guess now the secret’s out and y’all are stuck with me. Bless your heart.

We

Desperation has a way of changing us, doesn’t it? For some of us — it can make us do things we wouldn’t normally do. It strips our pride — and our pretense — and it force us to reach for what really matters most.

All of us know what it’s like to feel desperate.

When you’re desperate — you don’t care about appearances — you just want answers. See most of the time the world leaves us with more questions than answers — but desperation can drive us toward the only One who can truly help.

God

This morning we’re going to be in the Gospel of Mark — Chapter 5. Where we’re picking up in this story — Jesus has just finished teaching in the synagogue and was answering a question. He meets a man who is desperate to save his daughter.

But on His way to this miracle — a woman experiences another. Take a look with me — Mark Chapter 5, starting in verse 24:

Exposition

vv. 24-25

Mark 5:24–25 NIV

So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.

Now we don’t know a lot about this woman. We don’t even know her name. But we do know a lot of other important details about her. For instance — we know she suffered physically. The Bible isn’t explicit about this bleeding disorder — but most scholars agree it was menstrual bleeding. Not for a week — or even a month — but for twelve long years.

It was miserable. Take a look at verse 26:

v. 26

Mark 5:26 NIV

She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

Think about the torment this woman has been going through. She doesn’t have access to all our modern medicine — and because of that — she’s likely anemic — and probably constantly dehydrated. She’s seen all the medical professionals — maybe even tried some of the superstitious remedies from witch doctors of the day.

She’s tried everything — but it just keeps getting worse.

But she’s not just suffering physically. She’s also suffering emotionally — and mentally. See — the Law given to Moses in the Book of Leviticus — that’s the Old Testament system of rules that God gave Israel and governed their everyday life — as well as the Jewish customs of the day — put heavy restrictions on this woman’s social life — and her relationships. See, she’s considered ceremoniously unclean — meaning — she’s not allowed to touch anyone and nobody’s allowed to touch her, either — or they wouldn’t be allowed to go into the temple to worship.

She’s alone — she’s isolated — and she feels broken.

I mean — think back to the Covid lockdowns we were all going through five years ago. A lot of us struggled with isolation and lack of physical contact. It wasn’t even safe to give somebody a hug — remember?

But that pales in comparison to what this woman has experienced. 12 long years of social distancing. 12 long years of physical contact. No hugs — no kisses hello or goodbye — no affection whatsoever. Even the most introverted person here would suffer with that.

And because she’s considered unclean — she’s also considered an outcast in society. People avoid her for fear of being “unclean” themselves. That means — she also suffers spiritually — because she’s not even allowed to go into the temple to worship God.

She has nothing left — except a desperate faith that Jesus could do what nobody else could.

vv. 27-28

Mark 5:27–28 NIV

When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

Now — don’t miss this. She’s taking a huge risk here. This passage tells us the crowd was so deep — Jesus was being “pressed in” from all sides. If you’re claustrophobic — this is your worst nightmare. There are people everywhere.

And remember — she’s considered unclean. Which means anybody she touches is going to be unclean as well. Every hand she brushes against — every article of clothing her body comes against — all of it will be unclean too.

And not only that — but she knew that touching Jesus would cause Him to be considered unclean too.

But in this moment — in this situation — she’s not concerned about manners or etiquette …she’s desperate. She’s desperate for healing — desperate for relief — desperate for hope — for a sense of belonging — for somebody to just show her some compassion.

She breaks cultural and religious taboos — and reaches out — and touches his clothes.

See — sometimes we feel like our problems will keep us from God. But His love reaches through to us — no matter how impossible or terrible we think the situation is.

“WE SHOULD NEVER ALLOW FEAR” GRAPHIC

And this account should serve as a reminder to us that we should never allow fear to keep us from approaching Jesus.

And in this moment — through the crowd — through all of the shouting voices — through all of the fear — her desperation becomes the doorway of her deliverance. Take a look:

v. 29

Mark 5:29 NIV

Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Her desperation takes her to a place of healing. At this point — she’s not worried about the crowd. She’s not worrying about being caught — and she’s not worried about what people will think. She just knows Jesus is the only One who can bring her relief — and He has!

Mark uses the word immediately. Not gradually. Not after a follow-up appointment. Not after a long recovery period. But immediately. It shows us the power of God — alive and active — right in the middle of somebody’s mess.

For twelve years — every doctor’s visit has ended in disappointment. Every attempt has left her worse off. Every day is marked by weakness and shame. But in one instant — all of that is reversed.

Twelve years of suffering undone in a single section by touching Jesus.

And notice here — it says she felt in her body that she was healed. This isn’t theoretical healing. It’s tangible. It’s real. She can feel strength returning to where weakness once ruled.

And that’s what Jesus still does. He takes what we’ve carried for years — the pain — the shame — the desperate prayers — and in a single moment — He has the power to set us free. Not a band-aid — not a temporary fix — but freedom that you can feel deep in your soul.

This woman reached for healing — and she found belonging. She reached for relief — and found restoration.

But this encounter with Jesus isn’t over yet. Take a look at His response:

v. 30

Mark 5:30 NIV

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

Now — Jesus knows exactly what’s happening here. His question wasn’t so much about information as it was revelation. He wanted to draw the woman out — to make public what had been private. Not to shame her — but to show that His power heals.

Not again Mark’s urgency — he says “At once” Jesus started asking questions. Just as the woman immediately feels healing — Jesus immediately knows healing has gone out. Nothing slips by Him.

This crowd is pressing in all around Him — but this touch is different. It isn’t an accidental bump in the chaos — it’s the touch of desperate faith.

Lots of people are around Jesus — but only one actually reaches out to Him.

See this healing isn’t magic — and Jesus isn’t a vending machine for miracles. He wants this woman to know that her healing doesn’t come from superstition about clothes — it comes from a real encounter with Him.

And He’s asking for her because He doesn’t want her to sneak away anonymously healed — He wants her to walk away publicly restored.

See Jesus doesn’t let us settle for a drive-thru miracle. He stops the crowd so we can see His face.

How many of us brush shoulders with Jesus week after week — we come to church — we sing the songs — we sit in the crowd — but we never actually reach out to Him in faith? The difference between the crowd and this woman wasn’t proximity — it was desperation. It was faith.

So Jesus asks what happened — and look at the disciples’ response:

v. 31-32

Mark 5:31–32 NIV

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.

I love the visual here. Imagine this scene — hundreds of people are jostling around — and pushing — and pulling — and Jesus suddenly stops — turns around — and asks, “Who touched Me?”

If I’m a disciple — I’m thinking … “Uh… everybody?” What do you mean who’s touching You? Everybody’s touching You? We’re packed in here tighter than sardines!

But Jesus knows this touch is different. The disciples see chaos — but Jesus sees faith.

Mark says Jesus keeps looking around. See — healing isn’t the end goal. Relationship is. Jesus never lets miracles stop at the physical. He always pushes toward the personal and the eternal. He knows this woman doesn’t just need her body healed. She needs her dignity restore — her isolation ended — and her faith affirmed.

How many of us try to sneak into church — grab a little blessing — and sneak back out without ever being seen? But Jesus doesn’t want us to stay anonymous. He calls us into relationship — with Himself and with other people. He keeps looking around until we realize He’s calling us — not just to healing — but to Himself.

Jesus doesn’t just want to fix what’s broken in us — He wants to call us out of hiding and into relationship.

So imagine the tension here: the crowd has gone quiet. Jesus is scanning the faces — waiting. The woman is shrinking back. Her heart’s pounding. But Jesus is relentless — not because He wants to shame her — but because He wants to restore her fully.

And look at what happens next:

v. 33

Mark 5:33 NIV

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

Can you picture that? She knows she’s healed. She can feel it in her body. But now she’s terrified. Why? Because she wasn’t supposed to be there. For 12 long years — she’s been the outcast. She isn’t allowed to touch anybody — much less Jesus. And now — she’s caught.

So she comes trembling. She’s shaking with fear — but she falls at His feet.

“THE SAFEST PLACE” GRAPHIC

And listen — that’s always the safest place for the desperate and broken.

And then she tells Him the whole truth. Not half of it. Not a polished version. Not the “church appropriate” testimony. She pours it all out:

Twelve years of pain.

Twelve years of shame.

Twelve years of isolation.

Every failed doctor — every sleepless night — every broken prayer.

She tells Him everything.

And here’s the moment — the whole crowd is holding its breath. Is Jesus going to rebuke her for breaking the rules — or will He redeem her for reaching out in faith?

Church, Jesus doesn’t draw us out to condemn us — He draws us out to set us free.

Some of us need to hear this truth today:

You’ve been healed in secret — but you’re still living in fear.

You’ve been touched by Jesus — but you’re still trembling.

You’ve received that miracle — but you haven’t told the whole truth yet.

And until you do — you’ll never step into fullness of His freedom.

Because healing isn’t just about your body — it’s about your story. And Jesus wants the whole truth — because He already knows it — and He’s not ashamed to call you His.

v. 34

And then Jesus speaks. Look at verse 34:

Mark 5:34 NIV

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Don’t miss that first word He says: Daughter.

He doesn’t call her “woman” — He doesn’t call her “unclean” — He doesn’t even call her “healed”. He calls her daughter.

For twelve years — she had no place — no belonging — no identity except “unclean”. But with one word — Jesus gives her a new description. She came for healing — but she left with identity.

And then He says — “Your faith has healed you.” Notice — it wasn’t magic in His clothes. It wasn’t superstition. It was her faith — desperate — and trembling — and reaching — that opened the door to His power.

And finally, He says, “Go in peace — and be freed from your suffering.” He’s not just talking about physical pain. He’s talking about the spiritual pain — the emotional torment she’s gone through — and the social isolation she’s had to face. He’s telling her, “You don’t have to sneak through life anymore. You don’t have to hide in the crowd. You don’t have to live in this shame — because you are free.”

She reached for healing — and found wholeness. She touched His cloak — and found His heart.

Guys, this is the Gospel in one verse. Jesus doesn’t just fix what’s broken — He restores what was lost. He doesn’t just remove your suffering — He gives you peace. He doesn’t just heal your body — He names you His child.

You

You know the whole point of this series — in seeing these “Crossroads with Jesus” — is to help us see ourselves in these interactions. We all have these Crossroads with Christ at some point in our walk with Him. From the paralyzed man two weeks ago — to the demon-possessed man last week — and now here — today with the bleeding woman — where do you see yourself in this story?

Maybe you’re like the woman: you’ve tried everything — exhausted every option — and you’re still hurting. You’ve prayed — you’ve searched — you’ve spent all you had — and instead of getting better — it feels like you’ve only gotten worse. You’re desperate. But listen: your desperation doesn’t disqualify you. In fact — it’s the very thing that can drive you to Jesus.

Or maybe you’re like the crowd: close enough to brush against Jesus — but maybe not desperate enough to really reach out. Maybe you come to church, sing the songs, and know the routine — but you’re still in the crowd. Don’t settle for proximity when Jesus is offering you power.

Or maybe — if you’re honest — you’re like the disciples: confused by what Jesus is doing — or maybe even frustrated by His questions — missing the point of the chaos. You’re following Him — but you’re not really sure you understand Him right now.

Here’s the thing — all of us is somewhere in this story. The question isn’t whether Jesus has the power to heal and restore — He does.

“WILL YOU REACH OUT” GRAPHIC

The question is — will you reach out in faith, or will you stay stuck in the crowd?

We

The crowd pressed against Jesus that day. Hundreds of people brushing shoulders with Him — close enough to touch Him — but only one person actually reached out in faith.

That’s the difference. It wasn’t proximity. It wasn’t being in the right place at the right time. The difference was desperation. The difference was faith.

And this is where it lands for us: we don’t want to be a crowd that brushes against Jesus on Sundays. We don’t want to be people who are close in proximity but far in faith. We want to be the kind of people who reach for Him every single day — in our homes — in our workplaces — in our struggles — and in our desperation.

Because crowds don’t change the world. Disciples do. The crowds come and go — but disciples are the only ones who press in — who cling to Him — and who live like His power is their only hope.

Don’t settle for proximity when Jesus is offering you power.

Call to Repentance

You know — when I think back on this year — and how I was desperate for the opportunity to serve at The Turning Pointe — God, in His mercy, opened that door.

But here’s the thing — as grateful as I am for that — my desperation for this role is nothing compared to the desperation this woman felt when she reached out for Jesus.

Her story shows us that desperation doesn’t disqualify us — it draws us closer. She reached out in faith — and Jesus gave her not just healing — but wholeness — peace — and a brand new identity.

So let me ask you: what are you desperate for today?

Healing?

Hope?

Forgiveness?

Belonging?

Don’t settle for just brushing up against Jesus in the crowd. Reach out to Him in faith.

Because the same Jesus who stopped for this woman — is here right now. And He’s not ashamed to call you His son — His daughter — His child.

Don’t leave here today stuck in the crowd. Reach out. And be set free.

Prayer

Communion