Scripture Reading: Luke 8:43-48
Hymns: Day by Day Hymn 532
I Know Whom I Have Believed Hymn 511
Moment by Moment Hymn 507
I. Introduction
"To talk of religious things in a casual way, to pray for spiritual blessings without real soul hunger and living faith, avails little. The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no vital power from the contact. But when the poor, suffering woman, in her great need, put forth her hand and touched the hem of Jesus' garment, she felt the healing virtue. Hers was the touch of faith. Christ recognized that touch, and He determined there to give a lesson for all His followers to the close of time. He knew that virtue had gone out of Him, and turning about in the throng He said, 'Who touched My clothes?' Surprised at such a question, His disciples answered, 'Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?'" (My Life Today, p. 13).
A. The Hem of His Garment
1. A line that has caught the attention of the world
2. Songs, poems, multiplied sermons
3. This is the story behind that statement.
B. The Story of a Woman in Trouble
1. Her desperation, her determination, her deliverance
2. How her experience relates to us today
II. A Woman's Desperation (Luke 8:43)
A. Her Problem is Revealed in One Verse
1. She had an incurable sickness.
2. She had spent all her money on physicians.
3. She was ceremonially unclean.
B. Physically Desperate: Her Health was Gone
C. Financially Desperate: Her Money was Gone
D. Spiritually Desperate: She Couldn't Enter the Temple
E. She Pictures all People Apart From Christ
1. Physically: we are ever moving toward death.
2. Financially: money cannot buy what we need.
3. Spiritually: our sin separates us from God.
III. A Woman's Determination (Luke 8:44)
A. "Came From Behind Him, and Touched the Border of His Garment"
Conditions to discourage her from coming to Jesus
1. The great crowd surrounding Him
2. The attitude of His disciples
3. The importance of His mission
4. Her own appearance: pale, poor, pitiful
B. Still, She Pressed Through to Jesus
C. "If I Can but Touch His Clothes" (Mark 5:28)
IV. A Woman's Deliverance (Luke 8:45-46)
A. Her Deliverance Came from Contact with Jesus
B. This was a Touch of Faith
C. She Exercised Greater Faith than Healthy Ones Around Her
D. Our Lord's Response to Her Faith
1. "Who touched me?" Sensitive to her touch
2. "Virtue is gone out of me."
E. Many Surround Christ Who Do Not Touch Him
V. A Woman's Declaration (Luke 8:47)
A. Her Trembling ... Then Her Testimony
1. She told Him why she had touched Him.
2. She declared to the crowd what had happened.
B. How Her Words Have Endured
1. Only one in the crowd whose words are known today.
2. In touching Jesus, she was able to touch others.
VI. Conclusion
A. Press Through to Jesus
1. Come as you are with all your needs.
2. Pay no heed to doubters or critics in the crowd.
B. This Woman Received More Than She Anticipated
1. She was healed from her illness.
2. She became a child of God: "Daughter ..." (Luke 8:48).
C. Jesus Gives More Than We Ask or Think (Ephesians 3:20)
─EG, 1998