When Failure Forgets
Mark 5:25-34
I. Introduction
A. Everyone of us has, at one time or another in our life, faced the harsh reality of failure.
1. Whether it’s your first step as a child, your first attempt to drive a vehicle, or something that you continually have problems with—such as balancing a checkbook!—everyone of us has faced FAILURE.
2. An old quote says, “If you’ve never stubbed your toe, you’re probably standing still.”
B. Spiritually speaking, however, perhaps you struggle with failing on a consistent basis; maybe you’ve failed so many times that you’ve lost count.
C. I realize there are a multitude of books and quotations that I could draw from this morning about overcoming adversity and failure, but let our story this morning—drawn from the very pages of GOD’s Word—show you what can happen in your life When Failure Forgets.
II. Background
A. Jesus was on his way to heal the daughter of Jairus.
1. This woman had the odds stacked against her to begin with:
a. She was NOT the object of Jesus’ attention.
(1) Jesus was not on His way to take care of her problem; He was on His way to take care of Jairus’ daughter!
(a) Sometimes, however, it’s necessary for us to get Jesus’ attention when it seems like He’s busy with everyone else.
(2) In Matt. 8:1-2, we read where one leper came and worshipped him, while the mutlitude simply followed Him.
b. “Much people followed [Jesus] and thronged Him”
(1) This woman faced the battle of fighting a crowd who undoubtedly knew about her and her affliction.
(a) One of the most difficult battles to do is to face down those who know how often we’ve failed.
(b) But when failure forgets the multitude, we can reach out and touch Jesus!
III. The Woman
A. This woman definitely had “issues”
1. This seems to be one of the “catch-words” of the day.
2. It doesn’t matter what you call it, however;
a. Problems are still problems, and failure is still failure!
B. She was, by law, unclean.
1. If you study the Law in Leviticus, this woman was considered unclean (impure, unholy) “all the days of the issue”.
2. For 12 long years, this woman had been separated from her everything close to her, trying desperately to find a cure.
3. She was unable to come in contact with anything or anyone, for anything that she touched, sat on, or laid on, became polluted because of her issue of blood.
a. By its very nature, sin does us the same way, spiritually. It leaves us unclean, impure, unable to be cleansed by anything that we come in contact with. We are alienated from those around us, and from the very Presence of GOD because of the uncleanness of our spirit.
4. What a societal FAILURE this woman had become!
C. She had “suffered many things of many physicians”
1. Undoubtedly, by traveling from one doctor to another, this woman’s story became widely known; hence, her “issue” was known to all those around her.
2. Nothing could help her! Her only recourse after “spending all that she had” was to simply accept the fact that she was doomed to die in a state of uncleanness. What a physical FAILURE this lady was!
D. “Had spent all she had”
1. Not only is she not getting any better, but now she’s out of options.
a. No doctor is going to see her; her reputation was wide-spread; she was incurable, and now she was broke.
2. What a financial FAILURE she was now!
E. But when failure forgets all of these things, everything changes!
IV. When Failure Forgets
A. Someone once said, “Failure is an invitation to have recourse to God.”
B. You see, things start happening when failure forgets;
1. When Failure Forgets, you start trying again.
2. When Failure Forgets, you look in a new direction for the solution to your problem.
3. When Failure Forgets, you start trying to get to Jesus.
C. What happened in this woman’s life when failure forgot?
1. When failure forgot that she was unclean, she broke tradition and touched His purity!
2. When failure forgot that she was an outcast from society, she pushed through the crowd that knew about her past.
3. When failure forgot that she’d tried everything, yet nothing had worked, she reached out yet again, and found the Answer!
4. When failure forgot that she was in financial ruin, that she had nothing with which to buy her healing, she found her healing in the hem of His garment!
V. Conclusion
A. We have all faced failure of one sort or another, and I believe I can safely say that we’ve all failed GOD at one time or another.
B. The secret to living for GOD, however, is not to never fail, but to forget those failures!
1. You see, when failure forgets, you can put your past behind you.
2. When Failure Forgets, you break the rules and push through the crowd.
3. When Failure Forgets that “you can’t”, GOD can!
VI. Closing
A. Erwin Lutzer said, “Those who have failed miserably are often the first to see God’s formula for success.”
B. This is what happens When Failure Forgets !
