Stop Touching It

Introduction

My Brothers & Sisters,

We live in a world that tells you to push through.

Grind through.

Pray through.

And yes —

there is a time for all of that.

But nobody ever taught us what to do — after the storm.

Nobody ever sat us down and said — what happens when the battle is over — but the wounds are still open?

(pause)

See, we know how to fight.

We know how to stand.

We know how to rebuke the enemy.

But for some of us —

we don't know how to heal.

We know how to survive —

but we don’t how to recover.

We made it out of life’s pit —

but we're still carrying the bruises from the fall.

We came out of the fire —

but we keep smelling the smoke on our clothes.

(pause)

And God sent me here tonight to deal with that.

Not the battle.

But the wound the battle left behind.

(pause)

Here's what I've learned about wounded people.

Wounded people don't always look wounded.

They show up.

They smile.

They sing.

They serve.

They pray on the prayer line for somebody else —while they're still bleeding on the inside.

(pause)

And nobody knows,

Because you've gotten so good at functioning in your brokenness.

You've gotten so good at performing while you're in pain.

You've gotten so good at carrying what was never yours to carry.

(pause)

But God sees past the performance tonight.

God sees past the Sabbath smile — even on a Wednesday night.

God sees what you've been holding.

God sees what you keep going back to.

God sees the wound you keep reopening —

every time you revisit the memory,

Every time you replay the conversation,

Every time you re-read the message,

Every time you rehearse what happened —

and you feel everything all over again.

(pause)

And He's saying to us tonight—

enough.

Not because your pain doesn't matter.

Not because what happened wasn't real.

It was real.

The betrayal was real.

The loss was real.

The disappointment was real.

What it cost you —

was real.

But He's saying —

you can't heal what you won't release.

You can't close what you keep reopening.

You can't move forward if your hands are still on the wound.

(pause)

& So tonight —

God sent me here with a surgical word.

A word that goes straight to the place you've been avoiding.

A word that addresses the habit you've been defending.

(pause)

And the word is simply this —

In order to heal a wound — you have to stop touching it.

(pause )

Turn with me now to Psalm 147, verse 3.

Bible Passage

Psalm 147:3 ESV

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

He Heals

As we examine the text, it tells us that:

HE heals.

Not you.

Not your willpower.

Not your coping mechanism.

HE heals.

But here's what's hidden in that verse —

It says he: “binds up their wounds."

That word binds in the Hebrew means to wrap tightly.

Like a bandage.

Like something that needs to be covered —

and left covered.

God is saying —

I will wrap it.

But you've got to leave it wrapped.

MOVEMENT ONE — THE WOUND IS REAL

Now before I go any further —

I want to be clear.

I am not on here to minimize all of what you went through.

That hurt was real.

That betrayal was real.

That loss was real.

That disappointment was real.

What they did to you —

was real.

What it cost you —

was real.

I am not up here telling you to pretend it didn't happen.

I'm not telling you to fake a smile.

I'm not telling you to bury the feeling and call it faith.

No.

The wound was real.

But here's the problem —

some of us have been bleeding for years.

(pause)

Because we keep going back.

We keep replaying the conversation.

We keep reading the old text messages.

We keep rehearsing the argument in our minds — and saying all the things we should have said.

We keep visiting the memory like it's a museum.

Like we've bought a season pass to a place that has no exit.

And every time you walk back in — you pick the wound right back open.

(pause)

You're not just hurting anymore.

You are re-injuring yourself.

There is a difference between a wound, and a wound you keep touching.

One is something that happened to you.

The other is something you keep doing to yourself.

MOVEMENT TWO — THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T STOP

To help us understand, I need you to meet somebody.

In Mark chapter 5 we find a woman in this text —

the Bible doesn't give us her name.

But she doesn't need a name.

Because what she went through —

many of you know her by experience.

Mark 5:25-27 says:

Mark 5:25–27 CSB

Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing.

Twelve years.

Not twelve weeks.

Not twelve months.

Twelve years.

She woke up bleeding.

She went to bed bleeding.

She walked into the room —and the room changed.

Because under Jewish law —she was unclean.

She couldn't be touched.

She couldn't touch.

She was isolated by her condition.

She was defined by what was wrong with her.

(pause)

She spent everything she had trying to fix it herself.

She went to the doctors.

She went to the specialists.

She tried every prescription.

She tried every remedy.

And the Bible says —

she grew worse.

Church, let me say something here.

Some things you cannot treat yourself.

Some wounds are deeper than your coping skills can reach.

Some pain is beyond what therapy alone can touch.

Some conditions —

only God can heal.

And the more you try to fix it in your own strength —

the worse it gets.

(pause)

But then she heard about Jesus.

And something shifted.

She didn't call a press conference.

She didn't make a formal appointment.

She just pressed.

Through the crowd.

Through the shame.

Through the bleeding.

She said —

If I can just touch the hem of His garment,

I will be made whole.

MOVEMENT THREE — THE TOUCH THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

She had been touching the wrong things for twelve years.

She touched doctor after doctor.

She touched remedy after remedy.

She touched her purse until it was empty.

She touched her pride until it was broken.

But the moment —

the very moment —

she touched JESUS —

the bleeding stopped.

(pause)

Verse 29 says:

"Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction."

Immediately.

Not eventually.

Not after a waiting period.

Not "let's monitor it and see."

Immediately.

When she stopped touching the wrong things —

and touched the right One —

healing came.

(pause)

But here's what gets me.

Here's what wrecks me every time I read this text.

Jesus stopped.

In the middle of a crowd.

With people pressing from every side.

He stopped —

and said, "Who touched Me?"

The disciples looked at Him like —

Lord, everybody is touching You!

But Jesus knew the difference between a casual brush —

and a faith-filled reach.

There are people who bump into Jesus on Sabbath — and nothing changes.

Because it was casual.

It was routine.

It was "this is just what we do."

But this woman —

she reached with everything she had left.

And Heaven felt it.

(pause)

Jesus looked at her and said —

"Daughter, your faith has made you well."

Not "the medicine made you well."

Not "the crowd made you well."

Not "time healed you."

Your faith.

Faith that said —

I'm done looking everywhere else.

I'm done spending what I don't have on things that don't work.

I'm going to Jesus —

and I'm not leaving the way I came.

MOVEMENT FOUR — STOP TOUCHING THE WRONG THINGS

Now here's where I need to get practical for a moment.

Because for somebody on this call —God already closed something.

He already did the work.

He already healed the wound.

But you went back.

(pause)

You went back to the relationship that was toxic.

Not because you love them.

But because the wound felt familiar.

You went back to the bitterness.

Not because it serves you.

But because you've held it so long —

it feels like yours.

You went back to the guilt.

Not because God is holding it against you.

But because you can't stop holding it against yourself.

You went back to the conversation —

rehearsing it in your mind —

editing it —

rewinding it —

re-living it.

And every time you go back —

you bleed again.

(pause)

Can I be honest with somebody tonight?

Some of you are not stuck because the devil is so strong.

You are stuck because you keep touching what God is trying to heal.

You are delaying your own breakthrough.

You are extending your own season of pain.

Not God.

Not the enemy.

You.

Because you won't let it go.

(pause)

The wound cannot close —while your hands are still on it.

The scar cannot form —while you keep picking it apart.

The healing cannot come —while you keep revisiting what God already judged, forgave, or removed.

MOVEMENT FIVE — LET GOD BE THE DOCTOR

Go back to Psalm 147:3 for a moment It Says

Psalm 147:3 ESV

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

He is the Healer.

He is the One who binds.

And here's what a good doctor will tell you —

when a wound is dressed —

you don't touch it.

You don't peel it back every hour to check on it.

You don't expose it to the elements.

You trust the physician.

You rest.

You follow the instructions.

You let the healing happen.

(pause)

God is saying tonight —

I have dressed this wound.

I have covered this wound.

I have spoken over this wound.

Now will you trust Me enough — to leave it alone?

(pause)

I know it itches.

Healing itches.

When a wound is actually closing —it gets uncomfortable.

And that discomfort will make you want to scratch.

It will make you want to open it back up.

But that itch — is not an invitation to go back.

That itch — is the sign that something is happening underneath the surface.

Healing is taking place.

Don't ruin it now.

Don't go back now.

Don't touch it now.

(pause)

Isaiah 53:5 says —

"By His stripes we are healed."

The stripes of Jesus were real wounds.

His wounds purchased your wholeness.

Don't dishonor what He went through —

by refusing to receive what He paid for.

MOVEMENT SIX — RELEASE IS AN ACT OF FAITH

Somebody on this platform has been holding on to something —and calling it strength.

But God says it's not strength.

It's fear.

Fear that if you let it go — you'll have nothing.

Fear that if you stop being angry — justice won't come.

Fear that if you stop grieving — it means it didn't matter.

But I need you to hear this — releasing it doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

Releasing it doesn't mean they were right.

Releasing it doesn't mean you weren't valuable enough to be treated better.

Releasing it means —you trust God to handle what you can't.

(pause)

Romans 12:19 says —

"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

God doesn't need your help holding that case open.

He's got it.

He doesn't need you to keep revisiting the offense —to remind Him what happened.

He saw it.

He recorded it.

He will handle it.

Your job — is to release it.

(pause)

Letting go is not weakness.

Letting go is an act of faith.

It is saying —

God, I trust You more than I trust my own grip.

I trust Your justice more than my bitterness.

I trust Your plan more than my pain.

I trust Your healing more than my habit of holding on.

That is worship.

That is warfare.

That is one of the most powerful things you can do in the spirit.

Open your hands.

Let it go.

Stop touching it.

THE RISE

I want to tell you something about this woman in Mark 5.

When she walked away from Jesus —

she walked away whole.

Not patched.

Not managing.

Not surviving.

Whole.

The bleeding had stopped.

The shame was gone.

The isolation was over.

She came in pressed.

She left in peace.

Jesus said to her —

"Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

Go in peace.

Not just healed in body —

but healed in her soul.

Not just physically restored —

but emotionally released.

She didn't have to carry it anymore.

(pause)

And I want to prophesy over somebody right now —

you don't have to carry this anymore.

That wound doesn't have to define your future.

That season doesn't have to determine your destiny.

That person doesn't have to have that much power over your life.

God said —

I bind up their wounds.

He is wrapping it right now.

He is covering it right now.

He is speaking life over it right now.

But you've got to take your hands off of it.

(escalate)

You've got to stop going back to the conversation.

You've got to stop re-reading the message.

You've got to stop rehearsing the argument.

You've got to stop giving them free rent —in the house of your mind.

(escalate)

God is saying —

I already paid the price for your healing.

I already sent the remedy.

I already made the way.

But you've got to cooperate with your healing.

You've got to partner with the process.

You've got to do your part —

and your part tonight —

is to let go.

Closing

As I close,

Psalm 147:3 says — He heals the brokenhearted.

He doesn't say He helps the brokenhearted heal themselves.

He doesn't say He advises the brokenhearted.

He doesn't say He encourages the brokenhearted to try harder.

He heals.

And what God heals —

stays healed.

What God closes —

stays closed.

What God restores —

is better than the original.

What God does in you —

the enemy cannot undo!

(rise)

You might have come on here tonight with the wound open.

You might have come on here tonight bleeding on the inside.

You might have come on here tonight tired of trying to fix what only God can fix.

But I declare to you —

the Doctor is in this place!

The Healer has come to Wednesday night!

The One who binds up wounds —

has shown up in this house!

(rise more)

He healed the woman with the issue of blood —

and she had been bleeding twelve years!

He can heal your hurt that's been open for twelve months!

He can heal your heart that's been broken for twelve years!

He can close what medicine couldn't close!

He can restore what time couldn't restore!

He can fix what no human being could fix!

(Pause)

Because He's not just a healer —

He is the Healer!

He is Jehovah Rapha —

the God who heals!

He healed blind eyes —

He can heal a broken heart!

He healed lame legs —

He can heal a wounded spirit!

He raised Lazarus from the dead —

He can resurrect what you thought was gone forever!

(pause)

So tonight I dare you —

to open your hands!

Tonight I dare you —

to release the grip!

Tonight I dare you —

to take your hands off the wound —

and put them on the Healer!

He is here!

He is able!

He is faithful!

And what He starts —

He finishes!

What He promises —

He delivers!

What He speaks over you —

WILL COME TO PASS!

(landing — slow and powerful)

Stop trying to heal yourself.

Stop going back to what broke you.

Stop giving power to what God already judged.

Stop revisiting what God already closed.

Stop touching what God is trying to fix.

(pause — breathe)

Stop touching it.

Let God heal it.

And when He does —

leave it healed.

CLOSING DECLARATION

"I will stop touching it."

"I will trust God to heal it."

"I will leave it in His hands."

"I am walking away whole."

Somebody shout —

"HE HEALS!"