Reaching Out for Jesus

I will read the scripture from Mark 5:21-34 right up front. It says: 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

There’s a wonderful story in scripture for this week from Mark 5:21-43. The story is about Jesus being taken to the home of Jairus, but something unexpected happened along the way. The unexpected story is about a woman who was sick for twelve years. She had been bleeding for a very long time. The women went to every doctor and spent all of her money before she thought to reach out to Jesus. In fact, she had just learned about Jesus.

The Bible has a description for people who’ve just heard about Jesus. They are described as having the faith of a mustard seed. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds in the world which grows into a very large tree. She could have accepted her fate, but she decided to reach out for Jesus. This woman is a wonderful example for us.

If someone who’s just learned about Jesus has the sense to reach out to Jesus, then what is holding us back? We don’t know what the woman was told about Jesus, but it was enough for her to follow Jesus. She had to work her way through the huge crowd to get to Jesus. She had all kinds of obstacles, but she didn’t let the obstacles keep her from reaching out to Jesus.

There are so many ways that God will answer our prayers. In the case of the woman who was bleeding, she had the faith to reach out to Jesus and touch the hem of his cloak. In the case of the woman she was unified in faith with Jesus. Jesus felt the power of the Holy Spirit leave him when the woman reached out her hand to touch him.

Each story of answered prayers is a little different. In the woman’s story, the person receiving the prayer reached out to Jesus. In the story later in Mark 5, the person who reached out to Jesus was the father who loved his little girl. Jairus, the father of the little girl had the faith to ask Jesus for help. We don’t know anything about the faith of the little girl. In other cases, the friends of the lame man carried him to Jesus. In fact, the friends cut a hole in the roof to reach out to Jesus. The friends were not related to the lame man, they just loved the lame man enough to reach out to Jesus. Each situation is very difficult, but the results are the same when they reached out to Jesus.

Jesus asks a key question to the disciples. He asks: “Who touched me?” The question is so simple, but it has so much meaning. It was the act of reaching out to Jesus that demonstrated the woman’s faith. At the time when she touched Jesus the anointing flowed out of Jesus into the woman. The woman’s bleeding ceased. She was healed. Jesus felt his anointing flow out of him into someone in the crowd.

I didn’t know about God’s anointing until a few years ago. The anointing of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it can do amazing things. This anointing is also a gift that we can be given to share God’s love and anointing with others who are in need. I’ve felt God’s anointing flowing through me into the ones who are receiving prayers. God’s anointing feels so good. God’s anointing feels like a tingling sensation or like electricity flowing through my body. God’s anointing also feels like goose bumps. God’s anointing flows when I preach or teach. My voice gets stronger and my preaching will get bolder when I am preaching God’s word.

God’s anointing is as close as I think we get to God until we are in His presence. God’s anointing is not us. We don’t have the power. God has the power. We are just able to be God’s hands here on earth. God gives each one of us the ability to share the love of Jesus Christ from the Holy Spirit which lives within each one of us.

Anointing is like love. Love grows the more we love others. We don’t run out of love by loving others. Instead our love grows the more that we love others. In turn, the love we shared with others grows to love people we don’t even know. Anointing works the same way. The more we share God’s love with others, the stronger our anointing will become.

God’s anointing is one of those secrets of the Gospel that I learned by serving God in missions. It is another case where I thought I was going to teach people about God and what really happened is that God taught me through the people that I went to serve. I feel heat or warmth when God’s anointing is flowing into someone. The anointing feels like an electric blanket where the anointing is flowing through my hands into the person receiving the prayer. The prayer can be different. It doesn’t always feel the same. There are times when I feel God working and there are times when I don’t feel anything at all. I’ve learned that God doesn’t always reveal himself to us when and how the prayer will be answered. I’ve learned just to believe and to pray. God does all of the rest.

Jesus is trying to walk across town to the house of Jairus, but it is difficult to travel through a large crowd. Jesus is surrounded by his disciples. Jesus is also surrounded by people who are curious and seeking answers. Jesus is also surrounded by people with faith who want to experience being in God’s presence. A sad thing happened along the way to reach the home of Jairus. A few men came to inform Jesus and Jairus that his daughter had died.

Mark 5:35-36 informs us: 35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" 36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Jesus quickly makes the decision to raise the little girl from the dead. The story continues in Mark 5:37-43 “37He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.”

These Bible verses have some real gold nuggets. Jesus brought with him only people who would believe that it was possible for the girl to be raised from the dead. Jesus served the unbelievers and those with a little bit of faith in the city. Jesus picked out his disciples and the parents of the little girl when there was a need to be unified in faith. Faith can be sidelined by doubt. In the story, many people were already at the house mourning the death of the little girl.

The people who are mourning the death of the little girl have a hard time believing that the girl can be raised from the dead. It was easy to spot the people with doubt. They were the ones who laughed at Jesus when Jesus said that the girl was not dead.

The Bible doesn’t explain why Jesus chooses to raise the girl from the dead. This story is similar to the story of Lazarus. It is important that the reason to raise someone from the dead is the right reason. The dead person is being pulled from heaven to here on earth. Once Jesus makes the decision, he surrounds himself with people who believe that the impossible is possible.

Jesus took the girl by the hand and said to her, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" Immediately the girl stood up and walked around. I’m sure that the disciples and parents prayed in unison for the girl. The disciples and the parents were of one accord with Jesus that the girl should be raised from the dead. The people without faith that the girl could be raised from the dead were sent outside of the house.

The act of being in one accord is so powerful. The New King James version of the Bible emphasizes being in one accord. It is different from being together in the same place. One accord means that we are unified in our faith, our belief, and our purpose. There is no doubt among those with Jesus. They just believe with their hearts and minds that Jesus can do all things. They didn’t have to wait until they saw with their own eyes to believe. The disciples and parents simply believed. I’m sure that the faith of the disciples and the girl’s parents grew when they saw a dead child one moment that was touched by Jesus and stand up beside Jesus.

The girl was not able to reach out for Jesus like the woman who was bleeding. The girl was not able to speak a prayer to ask Jesus for help. In this story, it was the girl’s parents, the disciples, and Jesus who come to the aid of the little girl. The girl could not ask for help. The girl could not reach out for help. The girl didn’t have the right words to speak in a prayer, but it didn’t matter. Jesus had enough love in unity with the others who loved the girl to come to her aid.

These two stories are important. The first story of the woman reminds us that we can receive the answer to our prayers if we just reach out to Jesus. The second story reminds us that God can answer our prayer even if we are unable to ask God for help ourselves. The second story also demonstrates that God’s power is multiplied when we are unified in our faith together in one accord.

We don’t need prayers that rhyme or just the perfect words to speak to God. All we have to do is to reach out to Jesus. Jesus will do the rest. We just need childlike faith to have God’s anointing flowing in our lives. Trust me. You’ll cherish the moment when you feel God’s anointing flowing through you for the first time and every time. The Bible also shows the power of the love of parents for their daughter. The parents were the ones who reached out to Jesus when the little girl couldn’t reach out for Jesus herself. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit by Jesus.

The gift of grace is a free gift. The gift of the Holy Spirit is freely given to us to use to touch people in need. As we touch those that in need, God gives us his touch in return that makes us feel like we are getting a huge hug from God! Let us go out today and reach out for Jesus and see the miracle of life through the eyes of God!