Your Faith

Rather, faith is that state of awareness, receptivity, and readiness for appropriate action which opens one to the working of the powers of the kingdom of God in the ministry of Jesus.

What is Faith?

The easy Bible answer is from Hebrews 11:1.

The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew 2. Jesus Raises a Girl from Death and Rescues a Woman from Perpetual Uncleanness (9:18–26)

contact with Jesus is transformatory for those who approach him with believing receptiveness.

The New American Commentary: Matthew 3. Paradigmatic Healing (8:1–9:35)

Praiseworthy faith does not doubt God’s ability to act, but it does not presume to know how he will choose to act.

Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew G. The King’s Authority over Life and Death (9:18–26)

both components of faith: she recognized her helplessness and she went to the appropriate person for help.

The Desperate Act of Faith

This was a woman who made a tremendous decision

With desperation in her action she reached out to touch the One who could heal.

Twelve Years of Suffering

Interestingly, she has suffered the same length of time that Jarius’ daughter had been alive.

We cannot imagine the social and emotional toll that she had faced.

Tremendous Risk worth Taking

Jesus could have rejected her. She was unclean and certainly very few Rabbis would have sanctioned her actions.

She risked further alienation and ridicule.

The Slightest Gesture Possible

How much faith is enough?

Some so-called faith-healers today blame lack of healing on the weakness of those who they fail to heal’s faith.

Faith does not require some grand action that establishes it’s significance or magnitude

God is not waiting to be impressed by the amount of your faith, it is the presence of faith itself that He rewards.

He wants to be the one on whom you depend...

The Dependent Nature of Faith

Faith

Recognition of Helplessness

This woman had no hope outside of Jesus.

She could not do anything to change her circumstances.

It is when we come to the end of ourselves that we find that He was all we needed to begin with...

Identification of Helpfulness

She realized that Jesus was able.

We know very little of her background, she was able to recognize in Jesus that which brought her to hope...

The Definite Hope of Faith

Faith, Properly Placed, is Transformative

When you come to Jesus in faith He always is waiting.

He is never too busy, too tired, too frustrated or too uninterested

Hope is Found in the Transcendent

There is no one like Him.

He is the Alpha and Omega, the Creator of the World, the Author and Finisher of our faith.