Desperate Faith

There was once a young doctor just out of school who started working in a small town. This was back in the days when doctors made house calls.

Late one night, he got a call from a farmer who said, "Doctor, come quick, my wife is really sick"

The doctor grabbed his little black bag and headed out.

The farmer met him on the steps, rushed him into the house, and upstairs into the bedroom. The doctor could tell this woman was very sick. He asked the old farmer to step outside and shut the door.

In just a moment the doctor opened the door and said, "Quick, get me a screwdriver."

The farmer ran downstairs, got a screwdriver and handed it through the door. The doctor shut the door, the husband stood out in the hall wringing his hands; he could hear moans and groans.

In a minute the doctor opened the door again. He said, "Quick, get me a pair of pliers."

The farmer ran downstairs, got a pair of pliers, came back and stuck them through the door. The doctor shut the door and the farmer began to hear more moans and groans.

In just a minute the doctor came back and said, "Quick, get me a hammer and chisel."

Well, by that time the farmer had had it. He said, "Wait just a minute, Doctor, what is wrong with my wife?"

The doctor said, "I don't know, I can't get my little black bag open."

For the last few Wednesday’s that I have had the opportunity to preach we have been exploring the topic of Faith.

Courageous Faith in the face of oppression

Earnest Faith that trusts in God completely

Effective Faith that moves us to action

And tonight we are going to look at a situation in Mark 5 which will show us what it means to have Desperate Faith

The fifth chapter of the gospel of Mark there are three miracles that take place.

In the first miracle, a man comes to Jesus bound in chains, bleeding from cuts, controlled by demonic forces. Jesus cast out these demons, and changes him from a child of the devil to a child of God.

Then, the second miracle happens when Jesus encounters a woman with a terrible disease that is sapping the very life out of her. She had a continuous flow of blood that is slowly but surely killing her. By faith, she reaches out and touches the hem of his garment and instantaneously the bleeding is stopped.

In the third miracle a little girl has died, her heart had stopped beating and the breath has left her lungs; but Jesus goes to the home and puts the breath back into the lungs, recharges that heart, and raises the girl from the dead.

The first miracle illustrates that Jesus has authority over demons;

the second miracle shows He has authority over disease;

the third miracle shows that He has authority over death.

These three miracles tell us that NOTHING is too big for Jesus.

He healed the man, the woman, the child. He showed no favoritism and no bounds to the authority He possesses.

In these three miracles we see different levels of faith. I want to focus on the woman who was healed because I believe she best illustrates Desperate faith.

I want to focus on this second miracle.

Mark 5:25–34 CSB

25 Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But he was looking around to see who had done this. 33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

Jesus is surrounded by a massive crowd. People are pushing and shoving just to get a glimpse of this man who was performing these miracles. It was a chaotic scene.

There is a woman, weak, sick, timid, and shy, that no one in the crowd even notices, who presses through the crowd and reaches out to touch the hem of his garment, and a miracle takes place.

She came to Jesus that day with Desperate faith.

To me, Healing in the Bible are parables of God’s grace.

Physical healing is a picture of the greater miracle of spiritual healing. Literally, it deals with sickness, but figuratively, it deals with salvation.

We are all in need of spiritual healing before we come to Christ. Until we become desperate in our own fallen condition we will never come to Jesus has the hope of our salvation.

Desperate Faith brings Salvation

This woman was misery personified.

Mark 5:25 NLT

25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding.

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for twelve years continuous bleeding. Imagine the weakness, the sickness, the fatigue this woman must have experienced. She was dying a slow horrible death.

In the Bible physical sickness can illustrate the greater sickness of spiritual sickness.

Just as sickness was killing this woman, there is a disease that is killing humanity called sin.

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This woman knew she was going to die; she was getting weaker and weaker and weaker.

Isn’t that what sin does? It weakens you, it wears you down, it breaks down your immunity to temptation until finally it kills you.

James 1:15 CSB

15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

Believe it or not, we have a similar disease. We have a blood disorder, because flowing in our veins right now is the sin nature that we inherited from the very first man.

This woman was in a bad situation, she had nothing.

Mark 5:26 NLT

26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.

She had spent all of her money and possessions trying to get back all of her health.

She was looking for relief. She had gone from doctor to doctor to doctor; but the only thing that they had relieved her of her money. Her disease had totally depleted her physically and economically.

You know, sin is very expensive. Sin will cost you.

It will cost you a clear conscience;

it will cost you peace of mind;

it will cost you a good reputation;

it will cost you fellowship with God;

it will cost you your marriage;

it will cost you your family;

it will cost you your health.

There is one thing the sin of man and the grace of God have in common. They are both free, but they are not cheap.

Sin will take You farther than you want to go; it will keep you longer than you want to stay; and it will cost you more than you want to pay.

For 12 years this woman was not getting any better, she was getting worse.

Sin never gets any better, it only gets worse.

If this woman had waited until she got better before she came to Jesus, she would have died and missed him altogether.

I have had conversations with people who tell me, "When I get my life together, when I get things straightened out, when I get good enough, I'm going to come to church, I'm going to get right with God and live for Jesus."

I look right at those people and say, I've got news for you...

Without Jesus things will never get any better; they will only get worse.

For a lost man to say he is going to wait till he gets his life straightened out to come to Jesus, is like a sick man saying he is going to get well before he goes to the doctor. It’s insanity!

Luke 5:31–32 NLT

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

This woman had nothing and she was also ostracized by society.

By the law of her own people she was divorced from her husband, and could not live in her home.

She was forbidden to be with her children.

She was excluded from going to the temple to worship.

No one would have anything to do with her.

She was physically sick, financially strapped, emotionally destroyed, socially rejected, void of friendship, void of family, with no one to talk to and no one to turn to.

Such a picture of sin! It’s just like that.

I mean, do you know what sin does?

Sin will insulate you from faith, and isolate you from the Father.

Sin will separate you from the best friend you could ever have, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then desert you when you need a friend most.

As long as that prodigal son had money to spend, his apartment was filled with friends.

Oh but, when he could no longer pay the rent and throw the party, his friends were nowhere to be found.

Sin will pain you, drain you, strain you, and leave you holding the bag and paying the bill.

When this woman reached out to Jesus she was completely and totally desperate. He was her only hope!

Mark 5:27 NLT

27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.

In that time period, if this crowd around Jesus had found out who she was she most likely would have been stoned to death on the spot because she was considered unclean. She KNEW that she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she was desperate! She was willing to risk life and limb just to touch the hem of His garment.

People get pretty desperate when they hit rock bottom, and sometimes God will allow them to hit the bottom so they can reach up in faith!

There are some people who will never think of their spiritual need until death begins to knock on their door.

I am convinced that the hardest person to reach for Christ is not the unbelieving atheist, not the drunk in the gutter, not the prostitute on the street, not the out-and-out sinner; the hardest person for God to save is the "good" person who does not understand his need to be washed clean by the blood of Jesus.

They aren’t desperate!

I remember once as a teenager I convinced a friend to come to a revival meeting. My friend was not saved and they thought I was nuts for being a Christian. Oh the preacher that night was on fire. Preached a message that brought everyone to their knees in repentance. I’ll never forget that altar call. I watched my friend from the corner of my eye and could tell they were under conviction. I asked if they wanted to pray, but they declined. Talking with them later, all I could see was that pride stopped them from receiving the greatest gift of all.

This woman had long ago lost her pride. She didn't care who, when, or how, she just wanted to be healed.

A patient will never be cured until he admits he is sick, and a sinner will never be saved until he admits he is lost.

I am so glad that somebody told this lady about Jesus, the reason that she came to Jesus was "she heard about Jesus."

Desperate people are looking for help.

This woman touched Jesus because she was first told about Jesus.

Everyone of us who are saved ought to think on this thought: No one can come to Jesus until they first hear about Jesus.

Romans 10:14 NLT

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

The second someone realizes they are lost and in need they will desperately reach out to Jesus in faith for salvation.

Desperate Faith will bring Restoration

I love how this lady bravely elbows her way through the people. Probably trembling and shaking from weakness.

She reaches out and puts the finger of faith on the hem of heaven...

Mark 5:29 NLT

29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

God means business with those who mean business with Him.

She was not gradually healed; the flow of her blood was not slowed, it was immediately stopped.

Now, just as her sickness pictures sin, her healing pictures salvation. This woman was healed immediately.

There is no such thing as growing into salvation.

There is no such thing as progressively becoming a Christian.

There is no middle ground.

A person is not partly saved, and partly lost; mostly saved and slightly lost; or mostly lost and slightly saved.

He is either saved or lost.

Kristen and I were married May 17, 2003. I can remember it like yesterday. Our lives became one. We changed. We went from being single to being married. It wasn’t part way! I’ll never forget that day. I might not remember the date or year, but I can sure remember the day.

Salvation is just like that. You may not know the exact time, or the exact place, but you should be able to point back to a place, and a period, when you placed your trust in Jesus as Lord and He started to restore your life.

When the woman reached out to Jesus in Desperate Faith she was healed immediately, but it was private.

No one else knew.

Mark 5:29 NLT

29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Most people there that day came to see a show, this woman came because she had faith.

The difference between the crowd and the woman is the difference between flesh and faith.

Flesh wants to see a sign, but faith wants to touch a Savior.

Jesus can always tell the difference between those who mean business and those people who do not, we can’t and it’s not our job.

There were many in that crowd that day who heard Jesus, saw Jesus, got a glimpse of Jesus, brushed against Jesus, but only one who touched him in desperate faith, and only one who was both healed, saved, and restored.

Think about it. This entire crowd was close enough to reach out and touch, but because they did not reach out, they were left out. They were so close and yet so far away.

There was once three contestants on a game show. They were down to the last round. The Host explained the final question: He said, "I'm going to give you a phrase with a word missing at the end. If you come up with the missing word and spell it correctly, you will win our grand prize an all expenses paid trip around the world.

The phrase is ‘Old McDonald had a ____.' Now remember, you must not only name the missing word, you must spell it."

Well, the first contestant said, "Old McDonald had a ranch r-a-n-c-h." The studio audience moaned. The host said, "Wrong."

The second contestant tried. "Old McDonald had a barn b-a-r-n." The studio audience groaned again.

The third contestant said, "Old McDonald had a farm." The crowd went wild!

The host said, "all right, now for that super deluxe all-expenses paid trip around the world, all you have to do is spell the magic word."

Well, the man was so nervous he said, "E-I-E-I-O."

He was so close, and yet so far away.

My greatest fear is that people who come to church service after service, but have never been born again, never been saved.

It is one thing to be the crowd around Jesus, it's another thing to trust Him. It's one thing to be in a crowd that listens to Jesus, but it's another thing to be a part of that crowd that reaches out and touches Jesus.

When she reached out in desperate faith she was healed. When we reach out in desperate faith to Christ we can be healed. We can be made whole. Our life is not over. It can begin again.

Desperate faith Brings Salvation, it brings Restoration, and my final thought for tonight...

Desperate Faith brings Transformation

This healing is not just about a literal physical healing. It is also an illustration of a greater spiritual healing.

There are two truths that are illustrated in this miracle: there is the faith of the sinner, but there is also the grace of the Savior.

What an amazing thought: Desperate faith is met by amazing grace, and the result is salvation, restoration, and transformation.

Mark 5:30–32 NLT

30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it.

The moment this woman touched him Jesus knew it, because He felt power had gone out of him. Somebody had touched him in a special way. Now the disciples didn't realize it, but He knew it. He can tell when someone is trusting Him in Faith.

Jesus begins to search through the crowd looking for the guilty party.

The woman comes to Him, fearing and trembling, falling down before him and to tell him it was her who touched him.

Now why did Jesus acknowledge this woman?

Why did Jesus want this crowd to know what had taken place?

After all, he could have kept quiet, but Jesus wanted one and all to know a miracle occurred.

Was Jesus looking for attention?

Did He want to do a little holy bragging?

No, the reason that Jesus acknowledged her was because He wanted her to acknowledge him.

He gave her a cure; she owed him a confession.

No patient who ever gets healed is ashamed to confess the doctor.

This same story is told in Luke, chapter 8, and we are told there that she tried to hide.

Luke 8:47 NLT

47 When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.

When a person is saved, Jesus expects a public confession so that He might get the glory.

When the children of Israel were instructed to slay the lamb for the Passover, they were told to put the blood on the doorpost; on the front of the house, not in the closet, not on the backdoor, not under the mat, but on the doorpost where everyone could see it.

When a person gets saved, he ought to come out in the open and let everyone know it!

Jesus did not want there to be any misunderstanding as to how this miracle took place.

That’s why He said, "Your faith has made you well." (v.34) He wanted her, and everyone else, to understand it was not his hem, nor her finger, but it was faith that saved her.

Mark 5:33–34 CSB

33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

This is the only time Jesus ever addressed a woman with the term "daughter."

Now he could have used the word “woman”, or the word “lady”, or even the word “friend”; but rather it was "daughter."

You see, Jesus not only acknowledged her, he adopted her. He not only healed her, he saved her, and she was now a part of the family of God.

She had not only accepted Jesus, Jesus had accepted her.

John 1:12 NLT

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Oh friends, she was dirty, diseased, despised, deserted, destitute; but now she was a child of God.

Aren’t you glad Jesus accepts us?!

He acknowledged her

He accepted her

And He Approved Her

Jesus says goodbye by saying

Mark 5:34 NLT

34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

For twelve years she had been living in the shadows of sin, but now she could enjoy the sunshine of salvation.

She had a peace that passes all understanding.

Oh, she was healthy, and yes she was happy, but now she was holy.

Real peace is not found in health nor wealth. It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can have a well body, and have a sick soul.

You can be financially rich, but spiritually poor.

But there is no wealth and there is no health that can compare to peace of heart, peace of soul, and peace of mind, and you can have it with just one touch from Jesus.

You may think you're just one in a crowd today, but I want to tell you that Jesus is passing by.

He is waiting on you just to reach out and touch Him.

Because when you reach out and touch Him, He will reach out and touch you; and you will never be the same again.

The real question is are you desperate enough to reach out in faith. If you are you will find Salvation, Restoration, and Transformation.