"Reach Out And Touch Him"

… at the feet of Jesus.

II. HER DESPAIR – 5:26 - Most people would rather have “health” than “wealth”. She was no exception, except that she lost BOTH. She had tried every doctor and every cure, but all it did was make her sicker and poorer. The Talmud (ancient Jewish writings) gave 11 different cures for bleeding. Beside tonics and other remedies, one cure was for the inflicted to carry the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen bag in the summer, and in a cotton bag in the winter. Another cure was to carry around a barley corn that was found in the dung of a white she-ass. One scholar lists common remedies of that day to include eating grasshopper eggs, carrying around the tooth of a fox, and carrying around the fingernail of a person who has been hanged! Common remedies included cutting and burning of the infected area.

This woman sought every available cure and every available doctor. Nothing worked, and now she is both sick and broke.

People try all sorts of “cures” today for their SPIRITUAL ailments.
· Dr. Morality – They try to get on God’s good side by living a moral, upright life.
· Dr. Feeling – They try to stay on a spiritual “high” by attending seminars, reading books, Christian concerts, listening to preachers that make them “feel good” about themselves.
· Dr. Legality – They try to live righteously by obeying all the rules set up by the church, other Christians, and even rules they have set up for themselves.
· Dr. Church – They try to impress God with their church attendance, and even their participation in church activities … “Look at me, God … aren’t you impressed!”

BUT, it was only when she had tried everything else, and nothing worked, that she turned to Jesus. For 12 years, she had “faith” in doctors, but they all failed her. Now, she turns her faith toward Jesus, WHO NEVER FAILS. It wasn’t her “faith” that was her problem, it was the OBJECT of her faith that failed her.

III. HER DESPERATION – 5:27-28 – “she heard about Jesus” - Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Where had she heard about Jesus? Others had touched Jesus and were healed – Luke 6:17-19. She had heard, and believed that Jesus could heal her … if only she could touch Him!

She had “heard about Jesus”. She was desperate, and had no other hope. Her symptoms had started years before Jesus began His ministry, and when she “heard about Jesus” she had already suffered for 12 long years. Now, there was hope … her last hope … her only hope.

But, hasn’t EVERYONE “heard about Jesus”? Surely everyone who has entered the doors of First Baptist Church has heard about Jesus.. What about everybody in Archer … or Alachua County … or Florida? How can you live in America, and not have “heard about Jesus”?

While I don’t know WHO has “heard about Jesus”, I do know that it’s your and my responsibility to tell people about Jesus. Now, you can’t be saved just by “hearing” about Jesus. There may be some who attend church every Sunday, and “hear about Jesus”, but have no saving relationship with the One whom they’ve heard about.

Hearing about Jesus is important, but that alone won’t “heal” you, or “save” you. Romans 10:17 – “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” But, let’s not forget Romans 10:13 – “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." She