The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 6: The Day is Coming

Episode Date: November 1, 2020

The Son of Righteousness has risen with healing in His wings. His name is Jesus. Do you need healing? Do you have faith?

Amen and amen. How we doing, church? Doing good? You look good. I hope you had a happy Reformation Day yesterday. I know some of you do pagan stuff, but not at my house. We celebrate the Martin Luther, nailing the 95 thesis on the door to Vittenberg. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should read more.

It's only the most important thing that's happening in a long time. Hey, if you got your Bibles, Malachi, Chapter 3 and 4 is where we're going to be. We're finishing up this series. And as we do that, at all of our locations, would you join me in welcome. welcoming back our Baker campus online. Amen? Baker has been off for about six months, and I know, fellas, some of you guys were asking, will we be back? Of course we'd be back. We have not given up on you because God didn't give up on you, and we know this because he didn't give up on us, and we are the same.

And so, boys, we say, welcome back to 1122. Amen. Amen. So we're finishing up this series, and remember, what God is doing here is God is speaking through Malachi. And he's like a good dad going after the heart of his kids. And think about it. What would be the last things you would say to your kids if you were going to see them a long time? This is the last words of the Old Testament. And I don't know if you've ever seen a movie. And at the end of the movie, you think, I think there's going to be a sequel.

Because there's something still to come. Well, this is how this is going to end. Of course there's going to be a sequel because there is more to come. At the end of the Old Testament, two things are going to happen. God's going to give them a warning, and he's going to give them a warning. and he's going to give them a promise that there is more to come. So we'll pick it up in chapter 3, verse 16, says this, Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.

So there is this remnant in Israel that still believes in God, that still trusts God, that still obeys the covenant. Remember, he's been wearing out the faithlessness of his people over and over and over, but to those who fear the Lord, they spoke with one another, and the Lord paid attention and, heard them. I don't want to read by that too fast because God is paying attention to you and he hears you. That God is paying attention to you and he hears you. Never confuse your perceived lack of cooperation on God's part for God's absence. Let me say that again. Never confuse your

perceived lack of cooperation on God's part. You ever been there? You ask God to do something and he won't cooperate with you, that does not mean he does not exist. Think about it. If that were the case when you were a teenager, that would have meant your parents didn't exist. Because you asked them to do things and they would not cooperate with you. That did not mean they weren't there. But even, we've been singing this a lot lately, even when I don't feel it, he's working. And even when I don't see it, he's working because God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. He sees you. He's paying attention to you. And it says, in a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.

This was a Persian culture. They would make these big, like, fancy-bedazal-looking books, and they would write your name in it, and then they would write your actions or your deeds, and then the results of those deeds, the promises and rewards that you should get. Well, the good news is that the Lord keeps a book on us, too. It's called the Book of Life, but what he rewards us for is not our deeds. He rewards us for the righteousness of Christ. God keeps a book on us.

Verse 17, here's what he says. They shall be called mine, says the Lord of Host. In the day when I make up my treasured possessions. That what God is setting up here is there will be a day where I will gather unto myself, my people, and they will be, to God, a treasured possession. Did you know that from God's perspective, you are his treasured possession? that God, who needs nothing, who cannot be paid off, who cannot be bought off, God treasures you. Listen, if eBay taught us anything, eBay taught us the true value of a thing, right?

Like, you've got a thing at your house and you think it's worth a lot and you put it on eBay and you find out what it's actually worth. And what it is actually worth, like you put that thing there and you're like, I'm about to get two hundee and you get $2,000, guess what it was worth? $2. $1. God, essentially, we all go on this cosmic eBay and guess what God is willing to pay to purchase you? 1 Corinthians chapter 6 says it this way, and you are not your own, you were bought at a price. That the price that God was willing to pay for you was the blood of his very own son.

So you're not a nobody, you're not a nothing, you're not insignificant, you are God's treasured possession. He says, they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession. And then here's like a little foreshadowing of how that happens through the gospel, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. But in God's economy, God did not spare his son who served him, but his son came and served him. And God spared not his son, and he paid the price at the cross to purchase his treasured possession. This is the way Paul will say it in Romans chapter 8, 31, and 32. What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? So this is where he starts out. Really good news, really good news, that God is going to claim unto himself of people that will be his treasure possessions. And then he goes on in verse 18 to say, then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him. This is the way the Old Testament ends.

By the way, this is also the way the teaching ministry of Jesus ends. In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples asked Jesus, what's the end of the world going to be like? And he tells three stories back to back to back. In Matthew 25, and the last story is this. It's called the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. And Jesus says, when I return, it will be like a shepherd that separates the sheep. sheep from the goats. And the sheep, he'll put on his right, and he'll say, well done, good and faithful servant. For I was naked, you gave me clothes, I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink,

I was hungry, and you fed me, and they're like, we didn't see you like that. And he goes, whatever you did to the least of these brothers of mine, you have done unto me, enter into the joy of my father because you knew me and I knew you. In other words, it's not because you did those things that you got in, you did those things because you knew me. And that's why you're in. And to those on my left. He said, depart from me. Sorry, you sat on the hellside. It's not my fault. Okay? He's like, look here, goats. Because when I was thirsty and hungry and in jail, you didn't do anything for me. And you were like, we never saw you that way. And he goes, it's not that you didn't do those things, but the reason you did none of those things is because you did not know me.

Then on the day of judgment, there will be a judgment. And there will be a separation. This is what he talks about. He's going to go on and he's going to give a, some more info on it, chapter 4 verse 1. For behold, that means pay attention. The day is coming. Burning like an oven when all the arrogant and all evil doers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of Host, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

God gives this warning that there will be a day of judgment. And I'm just telling you, in 2020, We don't take this very seriously. And I know this is not a very popular thing to preach about, but it's also not very popular to be a Jesus follower. So let me just lay it here before you, not because I'm mad at you, not because I'm trying to judge you, but because I love you.

There is coming a day of judgment, and we will stand before the judge. And he says that everyone who is arrogant will burn like in an oven. So let me just ask you this. Are you arrogant? So it's for you? Me too.

So if you say, yes, I'm arrogant, then you realize I got a problem because I got a oven waiting on me. Now if you're like, well, I'm not arrogant. What an arrogant thing to say. I think that's why he picks this one. You're either are or lying about it, and he's got a lying category too. So in other words, we all stand as sinners before a holy and just God. And when we sin against an almighty everlasting judge, it requires an eternal and everlasting payment. And I know that hurts some of your feelings, but if you were in a car accident and your car was on fire,

I wouldn't mind scratching you up a little bit to drag you out of the burning car. I'm telling you, a day of judgment that's coming by the end of the service, I'm going to tell you how not to be judged, but that Jesus can take your place and you can get credit for his perfect life. But this is what he is saying. that sin must be paid for and a righteous judge is going to judge. Jonathan Edwards says it this way. By the way, he's not like a blogger or he doesn't have a YouTube channel. He's an old Puritan dead preacher.

He said this. He says, the bow of God's wrath is bent and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God without any promise or obligation at all that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. What are we that we should think to stand before him at whose rebuke the earth trembles

and before whom the rocks are thrown down? There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any moment out of hell but the mere pleasure of God. We are but sinners in the hands of an angry God. The idea is, he says, It's like every single one of us are walking over a trap door that could drop at any moment to drop all of us into forever judgment, but by the merciful loving hands of this God that we have sinned against. He gives us time to hear the gospel and to repent and to be saved. God warns us of this judgment.

Verse two, but, but I told you this before. I like big butts and I cannot lie. The ones in the Bible that start with condemnation and then end. with conviction of the Spirit. And if you don't like that kind of little joke, you're going to hate it here. Let me just warn you, okay? But there is a however.

Some stand before God in judgment and they get burnt up like in an oven and some people leap for joy. But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. We're going to come back to that verse. And you shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

I know we don't have a bunch of ranchers here. but if you've got a little calf all bound up and you unbi them, they will kind of prance away from the stall. On the day of judgment, you want to be into prancing crew because you fear the name of the Lord. You will put your faith in Jesus Christ. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the souls of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord of Host. And that God is going to do things through you even after he saves you to enact and bring about justice in this world. The way Paul says this in Romans 1620 is this. of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be with you.

In other words, once you know the fear of the Lord, the salvation of the Lord, then you walk in this gospel power. Verse four. By the way, this is a beautiful text on progressive sanctification. Verse four, and remember the law of my servant, Moses, the statutes and the rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all of Israel. In other words, you are saying. set free to obey, you are not set free from obedience. The way we live matters. Now what he says here though is he says, remember the law of the Lord. What he's talking about on my horror, this is the Ten Commandments. Remember the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. Now, I don't know about you, but it's not the remembering that I have a problem with. It's the actually,

it's the obeying that I have a problem with. Anybody have trouble remembering the law of God? Like, what did he say about murder again? I can't remember, right? Do you ever get it? That's what I'm saying. It is the action, not the remembering. So when you read this, you go, uh-oh, uh-oh, I think I'm in trouble because it's not that I don't know what the law of God is.

I just can't pull it off. By the way, anybody with me on this? Yeah, me, you, and the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7. That's what Romans 7 is all about. The Apostle Paul says, I see this law at work in me. I want to do good and I can't pull it off. And I see this law at work. The bad things I don't want to do, super good at doing those.

What a wretched man am I? Who would save a wretch like me? Then you get the answer, praise God, for Jesus Christ, then Romans 8.1, therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Malachi is basically doing Romans 7 right here, which leads to, okay, about that, about walking in obedience of the law, I'm going to send you someone to do for you what you cannot do for yourself, which is to live out the law perfectly on your behalf. is what five and six are about. This is how the Old Old Testament ends. Behold. And when the Bible says

behold, that means like, look up, pay attention, get off your phone, behold. I will send you Elijah, the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. So first is coming Elijah, and then it's coming to the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with the decree of uttered destruction, might drop, boom, it's over. And for 400 years, if you've got like a real paper Bible, okay, remember those, like King James used to carry in his pocket? Okay, if you turn from Malachi 4, there's a blank page, or it might say New Testament on it. That page in your Bible is 400 years of waiting, of waiting, of waiting for this one who was going to come,

of waiting for this one who's going to come in the spirit and the power of Elijah, of waiting for the one who is going to prepare the way of the Lord. And for 400 years, the people of God wait. You ever start praying for something on a Sunday? And by Tuesday, you're like, where are you, God? Sometimes he takes a minute.

Can I get a witness? All right? Sometimes his time, it ain't our time. Well, they prayed and waited and anticipated it for 400 years. And then you get to the Gospels Luke chapter 1 verse 5 to 16 I'm just going to read it it says and in the days of herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zachariah of the division of abijah and he had a wife from the

daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth and they were both righteous before God walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord but they had no child because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years now why he that Zechariah was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty. According to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and to burn incense. And the whole multitude of people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of

incense. And Zachariah was troubled when he saw him and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zachariah. For your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you. a son and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And here it comes. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and the power

of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord of people prepared. For 400 years, they've been waiting and waiting and waiting and Gabriel comes up and he's talking to a religious person, a person that works at the temple, the person that should be most ready for the coming Messiah, a person that has been going through all of the Levitical rituals every day of his life to get ready for the coming Messiah. And because it does not fit in his religious box, he misses the whole thing. The angel shows up and says this thing that mouth.

Malachi has been talking about that you have been waiting on, it is about to happen, and your son, you're going to name him John, and he is going to play a pivotal role in this coming Messiah. And then, if you keep reading, we don't have time for it, but if you keep reading, Zachariah's like, how's that going to happen? So basically, Gabriel puts him in time out. He says, look here, you're going to be, you're not going to be able to talk until you give birth. Put them in time out. You ever met a preacher that can't talk, worthless, puts him over there.

guy comes out of the temple. They're like, what happened? He's like, I can't even talk. And then finally, on the day that his kids born, tradition would say that you would name him after yourself. You would name him like Zachariah Jr. But that's not what he does. He names the boy John. He writes it on a paper.

Name him John. And they say, why would you name him John? And a part of what his naming, his son, John is, is that God is about to do a new thing. God is about to establish a new covenant. that this covenant is not just going to be people with my name, Jewish last names, God's going to start saving first names, Jew and Gentile. And so the kid grows up, and he's kind of weird. He's kind of weird. But he was an only child, so you know, you're more likely to be weird if you're an only child.

And if you're like, hey, I'm an only child, we know, we could tell. You didn't have a brother or sister to tell you you're weird. You're kind of weird, but that's cool, man, no problem, all right? God bless you. God loves weird people too. And so he grows up weird, and he wears weird clothes, he's got weird hair, and he yells at people all the time. And he eats weird food.

The Bible calls it locust. Everybody knows it's a roach. Ain't no such thing as a palmetto bug, bro. That's a roach, okay? He's out there eating roaches, and he screams at people. You can make a decent living doing that. And he just yells, repent and be baptized. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.

People start showing up. They're getting dunked, and he was dunking people in the ocean. That's why his name's John the Baptist. You see, I grew up, and I thought it was like, I thought it was like Mark the Methodist and Pete the Presbyterian and John the Baptist, that's not how it was. He was John the baptizer, the dipper, the dunger, the washer, and he was preparing the way of the Lord.

And then one day, one day at the Jordan, his first cousin, who was a nobody with nobody parents from nowhere according to everybody there. And John the Baptist sees Jesus walk up on the scene. And he says, behold, which means, hey, everybody, get off your phone, pay attention. What I'm about to say is important. behold the lamb of God who's come to take away the sin of the world he goes on to say look this was not about me my job was to just was to just prepare the way and now the Messiah is here and I can't even I can't even tie his shoes I can't carry his gym bag but behold the lamb of God who's come to

take away the sin of the entire world and let me tell you what that matter to that Jewish audience what he did not say is behold another Lamb of God that's here to cover the sin of the Jewish people for another year. That's what they had been doing since Moses rolled out the law a couple thousand years before that. But the Lamb of God who's come to take away the sin, not just of those people, but anybody who would believe. And then Jesus begins his ministry. For about three years, Jesus begins his ministry. He walks into the water. John the Baptist and Jesus had this conversation about who's supposed to baptize who. Jesus wins. John the Baptist baptized us Jesus. And in that moment the heavens open up and God the Father says, behold my son and whom I

I am well pleased, which, by the way, is a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. At this point, Jesus has done no earthly ministry. And what God is telling him is the verdict comes before the performance. Before you ever do anything to earn anything, I am your father, and I am well pleased, and you. And then the Spirit of God descends on Jesus like a dove. And then Jesus begins its earthly ministry. For like three, three and a half years. He walks around and he primarily, he does three things.

And the third one is the most important. First of all, he's a preacher and a teacher. Everywhere he goes, he tells stories and he teaches. But he doesn't teach like, hey, here's four ways to get along with people better. That's not what he does. He primarily teaches about who God is and how we are to relate to him. 189 times he calls God the cosmic judge, Father. And then secondly, he does signs and wonders.

But he does the miracles, not just because he has the power to do miracles, but sign means that it points to something else. And what Jesus was doing every single time he did an earthly miracle, it was to point to an eternal reality. I make blind people see because God can open your eyes. I bring dead people back to life because it is God that gives life. I can walk on water because God is in charge of all things. That's what a sign is.

A sign points to something greater. Like when you get to Jacksonville and it says, welcome to Jacksonville, that sign is not Jacksonville. it just points to something greater. I grew up in Dillon, South Carolina. It's off of I-95. It's a little podunk nowhere town. And 11-22ers drive by it all the time,

and they take a picture of the Dillon sign, and they text it to me. And I always text back the same thing. Keep going, it'll get on you. But they're not actually in Dillon yet. It just points to Dillon. This is what Jesus was doing when he did signs and wonders. It was pointing to the Father Heart of God.

And then the most important thing, he taught about this all the time. He says, I have come to live a perfect life, to die, sinners' death, and on the third day be resurrected for the forgiveness of your sin. This is why he came. And when people encountered Jesus, they had different reactions. When some people encountered Jesus, some people scoffed. They were offended by him.

They didn't like him. And most often, this was religious people. These were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These were people that had studied the Bible and done all of their religious activity so that they would be most prepared to meet Jesus when he showed up. But because he did not fit in their religious boxes, they thought this can't be God and they rejected him. They scoffed at him. Some people ignored him. I mean, some people are walking down the street and they are so focused on there right now that they miss eternity.

That Jesus is right in town. We see this on things like Palm Sunday. everybody shows up and they cut palm branches and they're singing Hosanna, blessed as he who comes in the name of the Lord. By the way, Hosanna means save us. They're saying, what could you do for me? And then the Bible says that some people just get caught up

in the crowd and they say, who is this man that we're singing to? That's the equivalent of somebody shows up to your tailgate. You don't even know them. They're not even a fan. And by the third quarter, they've got their shirt off with the jags painted on their chest going, we won.

You're not us. That's Palm Sunday, by the way. That's why we don't do the palm branches around here. There are some people that ignored him. They were so busy with carpool that they missed eternity. Some people encountered Jesus, and they were just entertained. I mean, who doesn't love to see a good exorcism every once in a while? Or a nice healing.

Or they were in the crowd when they were following, and Jesus fed them with like a kid's lunchable, and they ate all they could eat, and they had 12 basketfuls left over, and they were like, we want to see some more signs and wonders. And then some people believed. Now, this is not just true in the first century. This is true today at our church, whether you're watching online or you're one of our campuses or you're listening in your car eight months from now. This is also how people respond when they encounter Jesus.

Some people scoff. Some people get mad because they're like, you don't fit into the way I thought you would do this, and so I'm going to do this on my own. Some people are so busy with the right now that you're going to miss out on eternity. Some people show up to church because they want to be entertained. They're just thinking, what can I get out of this? Like, you know, I need a date. Maybe I'll try a church girl.

Work on coming to America. Maybe it'll work for me. If you're under 25, you don't know what that movie is. It was a documentary. Never mind. So. Or I want good kids. Or I want a blessing.

And then some people believe. I want to spend the rest of our time talking about a person in the Bible that believe. Go to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8 all of that was just set up for the sermon the sermon starting now here we go Luke chapter 8 beginning in verse 40 here's a woman that believed says this now when Jesus returned and what he returned from was calming a storm and casting out demons when when Jesus returned the crowd welcomed him for they were all waiting for him and there came a man named gyrus who was a ruler of the synagogue, this guy's a really big deal. And falling at Jesus's feet, he implored him to come to

his house, for he had an only daughter about 12 years of age, and she was dying. Now, I want to stop before I go on, because some of you are so familiar with these Bible stories, is that you think of them as Bible stories. This is not a story. You see, and if you grew up in Sunday school, and you can remember like fanograph, you already knows how this, you know how this ends. And so you miss the desperation in the voice of this dad. This dad's a really big deal, and he's going to lay himself out in front of Jesus and implore him, beg him, cry. And say, Jesus, I need your help. Can I remind you, I know I say this all the time, but man, ain't no pain like kid pain, right?

No pain like kid pain. And if you're a kid, you have no idea how much your mom, I'm talking to your, right here. You have no idea how much your mom and dad love you, and one day you will. I know you're like 16 or 17 or how old you are, and you're brilliant and you know everything, but when you get about 20-something, you're going to be brilliant again, and realize how much your mama loves you, your daddy loves you. It's just true, is it not? And here's what my friends with adult kids tell me, and they're always your kids, and there are always your kids, and there's no pain like kid pain. I mean, I remember when I held JP, I thought I did not know I could love something like this.

and then I remember when I held Reagan Capri, I thought, I would die for you. And I might make somebody die for you. That's just true. We already got a prison ministry. I can run this thing from there, no problem, okay? No pain like kid pain. On Thursday night, one of my buddies was sitting on the front row. His name's Hunter Brandt.

And one day I was coming back just a couple years ago. I was coming back from a trip. And how many of you know that you can't get to heaven from here without a layover in Atlanta, right? And so I'm in Atlanta. I just boarded a plane. down in my seat and I got a call from Hunter Brent. Now I answer his call all the time. I answer very few calls but Hunter was rightly named because Hunter buys in sales hunting land and so I answer sometimes he just wants to chat but sometimes it's an invitation so I always like hey buddy how you doing

so he called but I'm sitting on the plane I'm like I text him back hey I just boarded a plane I'll call you in an hour and then he texts me back he goes all right I need your prayers we're driving to wolfson's right now we think Christian which was his like brand new baby boy They think he might have leukemia. And so I call him immediately. Hey man, I don't know how long I have because, you know, we're all boarding and all that. They told me to do the put up the phone thing.

What's going on? He tells me. So I said, can I pray for you? I'm just going to pray for you. So he's driving in the car. Christian's in the back. Mama's over here, the passenger seat, and then I just start praying. And as I'm praying, I kind of, I just sort of,

I forgot where I was. I forgot. I was in public and I started praying and praying because ain't no pain like kid pain. This ain't even my kid, but my heart just begins to hurt, for the kid and the mom and the dad, and I start praying and praying and praying,

and I'm calling heaven down and praying for miracles, and then I feel something on my shoulder, and I look over, and my seatmate has put his hand on my shoulder, and he's got one hand in the air, and he's praying, okay? And he's going for it. And then the Delta attendant came over to tell me to put my phone up, and she realized what I was doing, and so she's praying. And I'm praying, and then when I finally get done,

and then I look up, and, man, I'm just crying. And I don't mean a little bit. I'm talking about crying, going to put this out here for you. I'm not a good crier. Some of you are good criers. I've seen some of you men, especially to you older fellas. When you cry me, you put that jaw out there, you cry like the Terminator. It's like one tear, bing, you look like Clint Eastwood.

Not me. Nope. I look like I'm trying to eat my bottom whip off. I'm like, my wobble chin and I can't breathe and I get like the convuls. It's not okay. I look like an eighth-grade girl to watch the notebook. I'm like, it's not okay. And so that's me for a seat. And then I'm trying to look at the guy next to me that prayed with me to say thanks. But every time I look at him, we both well up, we never talked. I never said a word to him the whole time.

No, I ain't talking to you. I'll meet him in heaven. I don't know, okay? There's no pain like kid pain. He's got an only daughter she's 12 years old. And he's thinking maybe Jesus can do something about it, and he's in utter desperation. Now, he's a really big deal. And Jesus is going to make his way to minister to this girl.

and as Jesus went, he's going to Jiris' house, the people pressed around him, not crowded around him. They were very anti-social distancing back then in Copernum in the first century. They are touching him. They are bumping into him. And there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years. And you get this miraculous interruption. You see, Jesus is on his way to somebody that's very important,

and he's interrupted by somebody in that, in that, wouldn't be very important. You see, there's no accident that these two events are sandwiched together because this woman has an issue of blood for 12 years and Jiris's daughter is 12 years old. That Jiris is very esteemed and he is surrounded by community in the synagogue and this woman, based on Levitical law, would have been outcast from the synagogue. And we know Jiris's name. And the Bible does not give us her name. Which leads me to understand. understand this, is that there are no nobodies in the kingdom of God. It doesn't matter if you're missed or this or miss nobody.

It doesn't matter because God died on a cross to save everybody. And you matter to him. You matter to him. He is not too busy for you. Now, something that struck me this week as I'm studying this, and I'm going to need a little bit of help from you. This woman has a title in Bible. study circles. We refer to this woman with a certain title. Anybody know that is? We call her the woman with the issue of blood. Every commentary I look up, every source I have, every resource I look up,

this is called the woman with the issue of blood. Church, can I just ask you, by the way, spoiler alert, she's going to get healed. Why do we constantly refer to people by their issue instead of by their miracle? I mean, I don't know if you notice, but we all got a few issues. Aren't you glad God didn't refer to you by your issue. Aren't you glad I don't, hey, there's the guy with the issue of anger. How you doing? Welcome to church. Oh, and his wife, the issue of complaining.

What's up, drip, drip, drip. Glad you're here. I'm telling you, we live in a world that wants to label us because then it can deal with the label and it doesn't have to deal with us. But God knows your name. God's been paying attention to you. You see, and especially in a world right now that is so divisive. I mean, seriously, with a pandemic and with a political situation and

racial tension. We live in a world that says this is your label and we want to tear you apart. But I'm telling you, this world didn't get to tell you who you are, only Jesus gets to tell you who you are. That you are not your divorce, you are not your affair, you're not your orientation, you're not your political affiliation, you're not your bankruptcy, you're not your addiction, you're not your marital status, you're not your sickness, you are not your career. You are not what this world tells you you are. You are not your issue. You are who Jesus tells you who you are. And he is going to call her daughter.

Jesus doesn't refer to her by her issue. He refers to her by her new name, which will be daughter. And this woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years, she, think about it, man. You know, she's not supposed to be there. It says, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. So not only is she an outcast, but she's broke and she's, desperate. For 12 years, she's tried everything this world has to offer. And now somehow she sees Jesus through the crowd. And she thinks, maybe, maybe, maybe Jesus can do something about this. And it says,

and she came up behind him and she touched the fringe of his garment. Pay attention to that. Underlined that. I'm going to come back to it. She touched the fringe of his garment and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. Now, let me share this with you. it in that deep, but you've got to pay attention to it. Typically, when something that's dirty touches clean, then the clean gets dirty, right? That's why you make your kids take the shoes off when they come in a house, because it's not like the clean house cleans their shoes, but the dirty shoes dirty up the whole house. So typically, when dirty touches clean, the clean gets dirty. But with Jesus, when dirty touches clean, the clean makes the dirty clean.

And that's not just true with an issue of bleeding 2,000 years ago. that's also true with our issue of sin that at the cross, 2 Corinthians 521, God made Him who was without sin to be sin for us that we would be made the righteousness of God. That God takes our dirt, takes our sin, crucifies it to the cross, and gives us, or imputes us His righteousness and makes us clean.

Verse 45, and Jesus said, Who was it to touch me? Now, I wish I had time to get all into this, but let me just tell you, Jesus is jacking with everybody right here. You think the almighty king of the universe doesn't know who touched him? He knows. He knows.

The Bible says he knows everything. The Bible says he knows the words you're going to speak before you even know what you're going to say and before you say it. The Bible says that God numbers the very hairs on our head. For some, that's an easier count than others, okay? Some people's hair turns gray, some people turns loose. How about this, ladies?

He even knows which hairs are yours and which ones you're renting. That's what he knows. And I know you're like, how does he know? He knows, okay? And Jesus says, who touched me? And when all denied it, Peter said, of course Peter's going to speak up, master. He's like, boss, everybody's touching you.

The crowd surrounded you and are pressing in on you. He's like, everybody. Everybody here's touching you. If you touch Jesus, raise your hand. They're all around you, Jesus. What are you talking about? But Jesus said, someone touched me. That word there is like to grab on to.

to grasp. Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. Jesus is saying, no, no, no, this one was different. There was a transfer of power here. There's a whole bunch of people bumping into me, but nobody has touched me. Church of 1122, please, please, please, don't be the kind of person that shows up here every week and you're in the very vicinity of Jesus, and you bump in. to him, but you're not touched by him. Please don't miss him. But this lady doesn't miss him.

He's like, and when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling and falling down before him and declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. You know why she's afraid? Because in the book of Leviticus, because she has an issue of bleeding, she's not supposed to be there. And the law says that not only are you unclean, but anybody you touch is also unclean. And so she's afraid that if I tell everybody what my issue is, they're going to do some contact tracing, and you're going to be unclean, and you're going to be unclean, and everybody I bumped into to get to Jesus is going to be unclean.

And I can guarantee you this. At some point in her life, I'm sure she had religious leaders looking at her going, what are you doing here? Now, let me just say something on behalf of the church. church. If any of you have ever heard from somebody in my position, pastor, and they have looked at you and said, what are you doing here? That brother ain't playing for team Jesus. He does not understand the ministry of Jesus. This place is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And I'm telling you, there's a bunch of 11-20 tours, and we've been

banged up a little bit by some other churches. I mean, when I hear stories, everybody hears. like I used to go to this church, they told me I wasn't welcome. Our church is like the island of misfit toys, okay? So I need you to understand. There is a reason that you're here, and the reason that you're here is because you believe, with a touch from Jesus, you too can be healed. And you, no matter who you are or what you've done or who you did it with, or what you're going to do, or what your background is, or it doesn't matter.

This place is a movement for all people and all means all, to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And she's afraid. and he said to her. Imagine what she thinks. You know, some of you have been running from God because you got issues and you don't understand what he would say

if you would just kneel before him and reach out and touch him. You think he would say, how dare you? But that's not what he says. Jesus says to this lady, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Daughter, your faith has made you well.

go in peace. When do you think the last time she's been called daughter is? And he looks at her, and he does not define her by what's going on in her life. He defines her by what he's going to do with the cross. Basically, what he's saying is this. He's like, I'm not calling you the woman with the issue of blood, because actually I have an issue with blood too. And I'm going to pour mine out, and it's going to change you forever.

And this is true for any one of us, for anyone who would believe that when Christ died on the cross, that counted for you. If you would believe, then we are given the right to be called children, sons and daughters of God. He calls her daughter. And then he says, your faith has made you well. Faith in what? I got a prayer shawl here. Somebody brought me from Israel.

And just like Jesus says, it came in a zipper pouch. And I busted this thing out a few times, and I like to put it on because it makes me feel holy and spiritual and that kind of stuff. And this is a prayer shawl, people that, you know, Orthodox Jewish folks still wear them today. And it was a reminder to pray. It was a part of what Jesus would have had on in the first century. And Jesus would wear this. The edge of this garment right here, this is the edge. So when the Bible says she touched the fringe of the garment.

or the edge of the garment, this is it. The Hebrew word is called Knoff. Knaf. Say Knoff. Knaf could be translated as edge of the garment, but it could also be translated as wing. Because, you know, like if the wind's blowing or you're going real fast, you can kind of, da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na.

It's like a wing, right? You have big wings. And so Malachi, remember, tells us, and the son of righteousness will come with healing in his khanof. And on the edge right here, there's these long tassels, and these tassels are called the tassels. T-T-C-C. Say T-Z-T-C. That's T-Z-I-T-T. If you're from Dillon, you call it their T-Z-Z-Z-Z-I-T. But that ain't how you say. And I could go on and on and on about all of the meanings of the strings and the knots, but this was to remind you of the law of God.

There are five knots to represent the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. There are four wrappings. There are eight chords. One of them is a different chord to point to the Messiah. It represents the numbers of laws that come from God, the numbers of dos, the numbers of don't. And actually, what you were supposed to do is that God is a tactile God. I don't know if you know this, but in the first century, everybody did not have a downloaded copy of the scriptures in their pocket, but you had to remember it. You had to memorize it. And so as you were walking along the city and you would touch these knots, you would be reminded of the law of God. And this woman one day, for 12 years, she spent all her money. She's seen all the physicians.

She did everything that this world had to offer, and the problem's not going away. but she's heard these rumors. She heard about this man named Jesus, but apparently he wasn't just a man. There were rumors that he walked on water. There were rumors that he cast demons out of people, threw him in a bunch of pigs, they went off a cliff.

She began to hear that there were people that used to be blind and now they could see. They used to be lame, and now they can walk. And she even heard a couple of times there were dead people that were brought back to life. And even though she had spent all of her money and saw all of the physicians, everything that this world has to offer. And then this Jesus shows up in Copernum, in her very own town.

And even though she's not supposed to go out in the crowd, because she'll contaminate everybody else, she doesn't care about that in that moment. She believes, what if he is who he says he is? What if it's true? What if this is the son of righteousness with healing in his wings? The problem is when she shows up, that day, there's 600 reasons for her to walk away.

And it was all the people that she would have to fight through. But she did not let the fear lie to her, and she didn't let the fear paralyze her by faith one step at a time. She said, excuse me, excuse me, pardon me, can I get through? And everybody's watching. And everybody knows who she is. And she fights through and fights through and fights through. And by the way, this Knaf in those days would have been right here down by the ground,

covered in the dirt of Israel. And she fights through and she does not let her circumstances define her and she reaches out and she just touches. She doesn't even touch Jesus. She is believing that what Malachi said about the son of righteousness was true that he has healing in his wings. And she has faith. She has faith that if I can just get there,

he is who he says he is and he always keeps his promises. I don't even know how much faith she has. but I've got good news for you. It's not the amount of faith that changes things. It is the object of your faith that changes things. Jesus says even the tiniest little itsy-bitsy-sseed-sized faith and the almighty everlasting God can move mountains in your life. But she didn't see the mountains.

She saw the mountain mover and she fights her way there and she grabs on to the promise of God, the promise of a coming Messiah. By the way, this thing right here was to represent the law of God or the Word of God, but the Bible says the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And she was healed because of her faith. And then Jesus says to her, daughter, go in peace. Go in the shalom of God.

This world is not going to tell you who you are anymore. You are no longer going to be defined by this issue, but I get to tell you who you are. You are my daughter, and I have a purpose for you, and I have a plan for you, and it is not to live like this as an outcast for the world. rest of your life. Now, you are the daughter of the most high king, and I want you to walk in that kind of peace, shalom, and wholeness that God has for you. You see, the point is this. What Malachi said is true. The son of righteousness has risen with healing in his wings. His name is Jesus. And so I just have a question for you. Do you need healing?

do you have the kind of faith that this woman had? I mean, think about it. Jesus could have leaned down to her and said, listen, I know that everybody else has treated you like an outcast, but do you realize 2,000 years from now and I'll land far, far away in a place called Jacksonville, Florida, people are going to be sharing your testimony and your step of courage is going to emboldened people

to receive the kind of healing that you have received. So let me ask you, do you need to be healed? And the first one that's most important is some of you need to be healed. spiritually healed. Some of you are spiritually dead and you need a resurrection. Some of you for the very first time need to reach out to Christ as your Lord and your Savior. And I'm going to do something very different. Normally at this point in the service, I would ask everybody to bow their head and everybody to close their eyes and this just be something between you and Jesus. But as I'm studying this, I could not get over the fact that she fought through the crowd and she did this in public.

And so I want to ask you, if there's somebody here, and I know you've got a thousand reasons to stay in your seat, but is there anybody here that for the very first time wants to surrender their life to the Lordship of Christ in front of everybody with your hands up, I mean, with your eyes up and your heads up. If that's you, I'm going to ask you to stand up. That maybe there's just one. Praise God, man. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Look, bro.

I don't know your story, but the Lord does. And you'll no longer be defined by your issues. God Almighty says to you, my man, some. your faith has healed you and he has a purpose and a plan and a peace for you. Now I want you to stay standing. I believe there's some other folks here. Maybe you've known Christ for a while, but you're in a place of utter desperation too. And you need to be healed.

And just like this woman had the boldness to not go to a small group and say unspoken, but she fought through the crowd with everybody watching, if you need the healing that's found through Jesus. I'm going to ask you to stand up. Maybe for some of you, it's relational. You need relational healing. You see, this lady was an outcast, but she found peace in Jesus.

Maybe some of you have broken relationships. Amen. Amen, amen, Jesus can mend a broken relationship. And maybe for some of you, it's financial. This woman has spent all the money that she made and she was broke and you're in a financial pinch and God owns it all, brother. He owns it all. And maybe for some of you, it's physical. You need physical healing. Listen, I've read the whole Bible multiple times. I have not found a term limit on physical healing in the scriptures. Jesus says he doesn't change and he healed people and I believe he can physically heal you. Or maybe for some it's your marriage. And you might think, well, pastor, my marriage is dead. Well, I've got good news. If God can resurrect his dead son, then he can resurrect the dead marriage. He can breathe. the ruah of life into that marriage, and he can heal that marriage. For some of you, it's spiritual.

You feel like the nation of Israel. You've been crying out to God, and you're in a time of silence. He won't talk back to you. I dare you to stand up to reach out and touch him. For some of you, it's mental. You are beginning to believe the labels that this world has placed on you, and it's beating you down. For some of you, you need emotional healing because the circumstances of your life are getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. And oftentimes, this is one of the hardest things for Christians to deal with. Your circumstances are okay, but you continuously deal with depression and anxiety. And Jesus offers you healing. Amen, brother. Amen. And some of you are ruled by fear and you need to be healed of fear. Because fear is not a feeling. Fear is a spirit.

The Bible says, God did not give us a spirit of fear. And so the spirit of fear, and so the spirit of fear Has no place in here. Receive it. Receive healing. But he has given us a power, a spirit of power and of love and a self-control. And so if you need healing, last call, I invite you to stand because we're going to pray for healing. We're going to pray for healing. Now we live in a crazy time, okay?

We live in a crazy time. And Jesus said, amen, amen. Jesus said that the church that we were going to do even more than he did. Which means if Jesus was here, he could pray for everybody, but it would be one person, Down front, everybody would have to get in one line. But God has unleashed the body of Christ to pray for one another. And the same spirit that resurrected Christ from the grave lives in the soul of every believer.

And so if you came with somebody, if somebody is standing and they're from your group, would you just reach out, put your hands on them and pray for them? And we are going to ask God to do what he said he was going to do that the son of righteousness has come. And there is healing in his wing. And if you're here and you're like, well, part of the thing I'm struggling, is I'm alone. You don't have anybody come down front. There'll be some prayers down front

that we would love to lay hands on you and pray for you. And as you're praying, I want you to pray like everything depends on it because it does. Let me pray for us. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, Jesus, I thank you that you are the son of righteousness and there is healing in your wings. God, there is healing in your word and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. God, I pray for physical healing right now. God, I pray that scans would be perfect this week, and I pray that tumors would shrink. God, I pray that cells would obey you, the king of the universe. God, I pray that diagnoses that were terminal would now be classified as miraculous.

God, I pray for marriages, Lord, I pray that you would bind together, and what you bound together, no one can tear apart. God, I pray for mental and emotional freedom. God, the enemy is a liar, and I pray that he has no room in the head of the believer. Lord, I pray that they would not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but they would be transformed by the renewing of their mind. God, would you miraculously transform minds right now? Would men and women and students begin to receive a peace that transcends all understanding? God, I pray for financial miracles. Lord, that people would put their trust in you and you alone and not the uncertainty of riches.

God, I pray that relationships would be reconciled just as we. have been reconciled unto you. And God, I pray, because of your miraculous touch, we would be different that this week, as marriages are restored, and addictions are broken, and depression is relieved, and doctors proclaim miracles. Lord, I pray, as we bump into our friends and our neighbors and our coworkers, that they would see us and say,

what is different about you? And God, that we would give testimony. We touched the hymn of the garment. That we believe we had faith that the son of righteousness this has come and there is healing in his wing and that we are walking in a shalom that only can be explained by the Prince of Peace. God, we pray this in the only name that matters, the matchless name of our Lord, our Savior and our healer, Jesus Christ. And all God's people said, Amen. Would you please join me, the rest of us. Would you please stand and join me? We're going to

respond. We're going to bring our first and best. We're going to pray. Don't stop praying. And we're We're going to sing. And we're going to sing a song that comes out of the book of Revelation that describes what it looks like when we all experience healing. Because by his stripes, we're healed. And when we're sitting before the throne and worshiping, and when there are no more tears, when nobody's hungry because the banquet table is set for us all, when there are no financial problems, they've got so much gold, they use it as asphalt there. But we are in the very presence of the Almighty God. So let us sing and let us bring, let us pray.

Let's respond.