FEBRUARY 28, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
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Transcription (please disregard any errors):
Hello. My name is Serena Acker, and I'm honored to serve as an elder here at Common Ground Northeast. Has there ever been a time that you wanted something really badly, but you had to wait and waiting is hard, isn't it? Patience is not something that comes naturally to most of us. So when you want something and you pray for it, especially when that is a good and Godly thing, it can be really difficult to wait and trust in God's timing.
Several years ago. Now Jonathan and I prayed about it and felt like it was time for us to start a family. We ended up trying unsuccessfully for several years we were on a monthly roller coaster of waiting and hoping and praying, only to be disappointed. Each month it was exhausting. We saw specialists and took texts and took pills and did procedures and endured shots.
And finally I ended up having a surgery that allowed us to conceive Gavin, which felt like a miracle. We ended up trying for four years before I got pregnant. Now I know that we are so blessed because many infertility journeys don't end with pregnancy like ours did. In our best moments of those four years, we trusted in God's provision and timing. In our worst moments, we were filled with frustration and impatience and fear and sometimes anger at God because we like to think that our timing was best.
It was certainly a lesson in patience. If you've been with us the last few weeks, then you know that we are in the Gospel Story series during which we are focusing on the life of Jesus and how we can model our lives to look more like His. I love reading about Jesus in the Gospels and how he interacted with those he encountered. Oftentimes he was breaking social norms and challenging the status quo. He often said yes to situations that any normal person wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole.
Jesus walked so closely in the spirit that he was directed by it, and it is a great challenge and example for us to follow. As we think about walking as Jesus walked and trusting in God's timing. It starts with depending on God in all things, which is what a few characters in our story do today. If you have your Bibles and want to turn with us, we are going to be in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 440. Now, when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.
Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus's feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. Jesus had just returned from the region of Garrisone, where he had cast in demons out of a man. And so now he is back home in Gallowee and a crowd is waiting for him. It's really no wonder because people flocked to Jesus. They had heard of this man who turned water into wine and made the lame to walk and the blind to see, and they wanted to see for themselves.
And just like Gyrus and the woman we're about to meet to seek his healing touch, the Scripture tells us that Gyrus, the guy who approached Jesus, was a synagogue leader. So as such, Jesus would have known him, and he pleads with Jesus to please come because his daughter is dying. Now, if I had a friend who approached me with a dying child that I could somehow help with, I would sprint in that direction. But Jesus doesn't. We don't have a recorded response from Jesus other than the next verse that begins with as Jesus was on his way.
So we know that Jesus at least agreed to go, but he gets waylaid. If we continue. In Luke 843, a woman was there who had been bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. Let's pause here. We don't know a lot about this woman.
We don't know how old she is. We don't know if she was a young woman who had never been married or if she was a woman who had potentially lost her husband and family because of her bleeding. But we do know that her bleeding defined her so much so that we don't even know her name. She is just defined as the bleeding woman. We also know that she's been bleeding for twelve years.
If you read the same story in the Book of Mark, it adds in the detail that she had spent all that she had trying to seek help from doctors. It's speculated that the bleeding woman suffered from a disease called and I'm sure I'm going to Butcher this manageria, which has to do with clotting flactors in the blood. Now, if you are a woman, you know what it's like to bleed. Obviously, men bleed too. But a
woman's menstruation is different.
It can be really uncomfortable. The bleeding woman lived in a perpetual state of pain for twelve years. Can you imagine not to mention that because this woman was bleeding, she was therefore considered ceremonially unclean in that culture. So once a month or after a woman had given birth, women were considered soiled and were ostracized. Women during those times were unable to publicly worship in the temple, and they stayed outside of camp and remained untouchable.
So this woman's normal existence would have been spent watching people skirt around her to avoid the possibility of contact, eliminating any possibility of any physical touch from family or friends for twelve years. It's worth noting that this woman sought Jesus out. He had a widespread reputation at
the time as being a teacher and a healer. She had heard of the miracles he had performed, and she had at least a thread of hope that maybe if she even touched the hem of his garment that she might be healed, she had seen all of the doctors and tried all of the things, and she is desperate.
So she makes one last ditch effort to try to get healed.
Here is where we are going to pause for our first reflection question. Try to put yourself in the bleeding woman's shoes. Take a moment and try to imagine and discuss what it would have been like to be in constant pain and isolation for twelve years. Go ahead and take a moment.
I'll give you about 30 more seconds.
Okay. As we pick back up, let's read what the bleeding woman does in chapter eight, verse 44, she came up behind him, Jesus, and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked when they all denied it. Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.
But Jesus said, Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me. The bleeding woman's very presence in a large crowd would have been frowned upon. So it took a lot of courage for her to merely be in public, let alone reach out and touch the Son of God. She literally had nothing to lose.
And so she took a big risk and reached out for Him. I think there's something symbolic here about her reaching. She wasn't just sitting, hoping that he might walk by. She was reaching. There's something physical.
There's something about our physical postures because as humans, we are physical beings moving our bodies in certain ways to reflect our prayers and the attitudes of our hearts. Our intentions and our desires are reflected in our physical movement. It's why a lot of people use their bodies during worship, like extending hands in praise. It's a reflection of the heart reaching out to God for more. Other people will open their hands during prayer, symbolizing an openness to receive from God.
The bleeding woman was physically reaching out to God, which I believe was a reflection of her heart and how she was desperately seeking him. Though she was reaching, she didn't actually touch Jesus. She merely touched the hem of his robe as he walked by. In that time, it was inappropriate for a woman to touch a man in public. And so the bleeding woman might have wanted to touch Jesus as inconspicuously as possible.
It's also possible that the crowd may have been so tight around Jesus that she may have just had to reach around people to even get close to him. We don't know, but it didn't go unnoticed by Jesus. He responds in verse 45, who touched me, which I think is kind of funny because he's the Son of God, and he knows who touched him. After asking the question, he says, I know that power has gone out from me. Jesus never released power without his control.
He knew that healing had gone out from him and he called attention to it. He didn't have to. He could have just kept walking and pretended like it never happened. But he didn't. He wanted to acknowledge
the bleeding woman.
This woman who was otherwise overlooked in society. Anyone else in the world would have ignored her or chastised her for being in public or freaked out at her uncleanliness being close to them, but not Jesus. Jesus stops because he wants to know her. He wants to know the woman who desperately reached out from the fringes of society to reach the fringes of his robe. I wonder if Jesus was calling attention to her because it was an invitation to turn her timid faith into a faithful witness.
You're going to pause again here for another reflection question. If you were the bleeding woman, do you think you would have had the courage to be in public and reach out and touch Jesus? Why or why not?
I'll give you about 30 more seconds.
Okay, let's pick back up in chapter eight, verse 47, when the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at Jesus's feet in the presence of all the people. She told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. And then he said to her daughter, Your faith has healed. You go in peace. Jesus meets the bleeding woman, or rather is met by her, and now she is in the spotlight and was understandably nervous.
The text says that she told why she touched him. If you read that same verse in the message version, it says that she blurted out her story and Jesus listened. He knew her story. I can't out but wonder if Jesus wanted the crowd to know the extent of the healing that just took place. As I pictured in my mind, I could see it going a few different ways from it, just all tumbling out of her mouth, what her life was like before and how she had been bleeding for so long, and it was so hard and painful.
And she had been to all of these doctors and spent all of her money on herbs and oils and teas and and and but I could also see her being very timid. The NIV version describes her as trembling, which makes me picture her with her eyes downcast and filled with shame, being crushed by her fear of rebuke and crushed by her years of invisibility. She is drawn to her knees by the gaze of her healer. She meets his knowing gaze, which sees deep within her soul. And what does Jesus do?
He responds, as Jesus does with love and Grace. He calls her daughter. He accepts her. He heals her and offers her peace, which is something she hasn't experienced in the last twelve years. What a gift.
The purity laws at the time which this woman would have been subject to were created for the sake of preserving the Holiness of Yahweh. So those who were impure were not allowed to mix with those who were pure. Yet here is Jesus the Holy One looking on love and compassion with the unclean One. When he heals her and sees her, Jesus demonstrates the depth of love for those the world does not see and those the world dares not touch her. Bleeding is stopped by the one whose blood heals all of humanity.
The bleeding woman had a need. Clearly she sought Jesus out and reached out to him physically and with her heart's posture. She put her life in his hands and was brave enough to trust that he was going to heal her. And he did. Jesus knew that Cyrus's daughter could wait.
He trusted the Holy Spirit's, leading to ten to this woman who needed him. Meanwhile, poor Gyrus is over here waiting. Do you remember that our text started out with that detail that Cyrus approached Jesus, asking him to please come heal his sick daughter? The scripture doesn't say that Cyrus was
impatient, but I imagine him wanting to say something like, hey, Jesus, I know this lady has been bleeding for a long time, but at least she's alive. So could we go ten to my dying daughter, please?
If we keep reading in chapter eight, verse 49 says while Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Gyrus, the synagogue leader and says, Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher anymore. Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, don't be afraid, just believe and she will be healed. So Cyrus finds out that his daughter is dead. It's too late.
And Jesus responds with don't be afraid, which is an interesting response, don't you think? Because she's dead. Gyrus worst fear just came true and Jesus is telling him not to be afraid. I think what Jesus was saying was trust me and my timing. So they head to Jairus house and we pick up in verse 51, when Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not go in, except with Peter, John and James and the child's mother and father.
Meanwhile, all of the people were wailing and mourning for her. Stop wailing. Jesus said she is not dead but asleep. They laughed at him knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, My child, get up.
Her spirit returned and at once she stood up. And then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. It's really interesting to me that Jesus only let a few people in the room with him. Really. He chose his closest circle of friends, Peter, James and John and the girl's parents.
We don't really know the reasoning for that. Maybe Jesus was tired of being in a crowd all the time. I don't know. Regardless, he's with these people who are wailing and mourning. We don't know how far Gyrus's house was from the bleeding woman.
Incident, so it could have been that they were traveling for hours or days to even get to the home. And so this girl might have not been just recently dead. It could have been that she was dead for days, which is why the family laughs when Jesus said she was just sleeping. So can you imagine their reaction when Jesus says, My child get up and she does? I imagine it went from complete shock to lots of squealing and hugging and crying.
Cyrus had a legitimate desire. He sought his friend Jesus asking for his help and trusted that Jesus would respond in the right timing. What have you been asking God for? Maybe four years. Some of you, like Gyrus and the Bleeding Woman may have been begging God for healing for yourself or for a family member.
Some of you may be asking for a spouse or a baby. Maybe you're praying for reconciliation for you and a disowned family member or friend. At the end of the Bleeding Woman's story, Jesus tells her that it's her faith that healed her. It wasn't his power. It was her faith.
It was her trusting in him and his ability to heal her. Do you have faith that he will and can do what you've been asking him to do? If so, do you trust in his timing? Here's where it can get sticky, though, because there have been plenty of times that I have asked God to do something and it didn't happen. I have friends who ask God all the time for legitimate things like healing in a marriage or healing from horrendous pain.
And he hasn't done it. Not yet. Anyway. After twelve years, the Bleeding Woman easily could have resigned herself that she was just going to bleed the rest of her life. But she didn't.
She continued to trust in God's timing and his ability. Do you remember the story of Moses in Exodus 17, the Israelites were being attacked and he tells Joshua that he's going to go up on the top of the Hill, which he does. And as long as he holds up his hands, the Israelites are winning, but whenever he lowers his hands, they start to lose the battle. As you can imagine, his arms get tired. So his brother Aaron and his friend Her came alongside him and they held up his arms for him.
If you reach a point where you give up on trusting God or His timing, that's where your friends come in, share with them of your discouragement. Let them come alongside you and pray with you and hold up your arms, holding out hope for you. Don't lose your faith. Don't stop asking friends. Don't stop approaching the throne of Grace with a spirit of boldness.
Reach out to him like the Bleeding Woman. Trust his timing like Gyrus and be led by the Holy Spirit like Jesus. And hopefully you too, will experience a miracle. Let's pray God. I thank you so much for characters in the Bible like Gyrus and the Bleeding Woman that we can learn from.
I would ask for forgiveness for us, for the times that we think that our timing is right. Help us to know and believe and trust that your timing is perfect. Give us the courage to keep keep seeking. You increase our faith. Thank you for the gift of community and the ways that they can encourage us and hold out hope for us when we are discouraged, we love and we trust you.
God. Amen.
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
SAVE THE DATE: The 2020 Marriage Retreat is scheduled to be Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and November 8!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
Coty Miller’s own “Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.