A Miracle at Your Fingertips - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- 8 hours ago
- 7 min read
A Miracle at Your Fingertips
Mark 5; Luke 8
I. The Throng that was Impeding
· Luke 8:42 But as he went the people thronged him.”
Sometimes, in order to get what you need from God, you’ve got to navigate the traffic.
The ironic thing – everybody in that throng was close to Jesus.
You’ll have to go through and get past some people in order to get to Jesus.
Some people are there to discover.
Some people are there to demean what He’s doing.
Some people are there to discourage those that come.
If you want God to do something miraculous in your life, get your eyes off the crowds.
You can’t even get consumed in the ones that are nearest to him.
They might not be real.
They may not care about your need.
They definitely do not know everything.
Stop letting people get in your way!
II. The Torment that was Increasing
Mark 5
· 25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
· 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
This woman had been dealing with this problem for over a decade.
The Bible is clear – the ones that she had turned to for help made her worse.
· …had suffered many things of many physicians…
Her torment had been worsened – not just by one physician, but by many.
Her search for relief had been unsuccessful.
In her defense, she went to physicians; not witchdoctors.
In her defense, she paid for it; she wasn’t looking for free healthcare.
In her defense, she tried more than one doctor and more than one treatment.
All she got for her trouble was more suffering and to make it worse, she was broke.
She was out of options.
She was out of money.
She was out of patience.
She needed a miracle!
III. The Touch that was Intentional
Mark 5
· 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
· 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Somewhere, she had heard of Jesus.
This is a good place to mention just how powerful being a witness can be.
She heard people talking about His power; His workings; His concern for people with problems.
She was so convinced of His power that she didn’t even desire a sit-down.
She wasn’t asking for a consultation.
She wasn’t insisting on a one-on-one conversation.
She didn’t even expect Jesus to acknowledge her and touch her.
All she needed was to sneak up from behind him and touch the hem of His garment.
She was convinced that would be all it took to make her whole.
She wasn’t looking for relief.
She wasn’t looking for a reprieve.
She wasn’t looking for pity.
She was looking to be made whole.
Notice what it says in Luke 8:44:
· Luke 8:44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment:
IV. The Transformation that was Immediate
The Bible is clear about what happened.
The transformation that took place in her body was immediate.
· Luke 8:44 …and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
· Mark 5:29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
One of the things that many people fail to believe is that God can CHANGE things.
He can change you.
He can change your spouse.
He can change your children.
He can change your situation.
Jesus Christ is the Agent of change.
Everybody He touches gets changed.
Everything He touches gets transformed.
V. The Transfer that was Initiated
· Mark 5:30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him,
· Luke 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
These verses have always been a mystery to me.
Jesus felt the power of His virtue go out of him and go into someone else.
I have no idea how to explain that!
We know this – He felt the transfer of His virtue in his body, and Mark 5:29 says she felt in her body that she was healed of the plague.
Something spiritual happened.
Something physical happened.
I am reminded of the maniac of the Gadarenes in this same chapter (Mark 5).
Notice the request of the devils in verses 12, 13.
· 12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
· 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine:
The devils that were in that man left his body and entered into the bodies of the swine.
Right after that, the virtue that was in Jesus left his body and entered into the body of that woman.
I cannot explain it. I’m just telling you what it says.
The point I want to make is this – what God can do in you and me is supernatural.
The devils in that maniac had to ask permission to leave his body.
The virtue that was in Jesus did not need permission to leave His body.
Her faith was all it took.
The power of God to transform lives is real.
But so is the faith that is required to access it.
We either believe Him or we don’t.
It is obvious that she did.
It is not something we can manufacture.
It is not something we can fake or cook up.
It is not the figment of our imagination.
It is a literal working of God that is impossible to explain or describe.
But one thing is true – it is real.
And it is life-changing!
VI. The Testimony that was Imperative
· Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
Mark 5
· 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
· 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
· 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
· 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
She was already healed, but that was not the end of the story.
Jesus wasn’t finished with her!
His search for “WHO touched my clothes…” is an important part of this story.
He could have just let her walk away whole and go on with her life.
Even the disciples thought it was a waste of time to try and find out.
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done this thing.
Why would He confront the woman AFTER she was healed?
Why not before? Or during? Why after?
There were a few things that needed to be done.
A. It was Imperative that there be a Confrontation
He wanted her to come and fall down before Him; not sneak up behind him.
Nobody can ever experience a transformation from God behind His back.
God requires a face to face confrontation.
You and I can never experience a miracle and tell someone that God never knew we were even there.
B. It was Imperative that there be a Confession
He wanted her to publicly declare what was wrong with her.
· “…she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him,
Nobody there knew she had an issue of blood, but her.
Nobody knew she had tried every physician in the country, and they had failed to help her.
Nobody in that crowd knew that she had spent all her money searching for help in all the wrong places.
If she had simply been healed and went back home, not a single person there would have known what Jesus could do.
And if she had not been confronted, Jesus would have received no glory for the miracle.
It was imperative that AFTER she got healed, SHE TOLD EVERYBODY.
Luke 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
She declared BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE…
· He wanted her to testify about HER PROBLEM. “...for what cause…”
· He wanted her to testify about HIS POWER. “…and how she was healed immediately.”
All the people that she had to go through and go around got to see what God did for her.
C. It was Imperative that there be a Confirmation
Her healing was confirmed – not by her FEELINGS, but by His DECLARATION.
· Mark 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
She could not walk away wondering if it was just all in her head.
She could not leave that interaction thinking it was temporary.
She never once thought that it was just a coincidence or that the treatment from the other physicians had finally “kicked in.”
She went home knowing without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus had made her whole of her plague.
There was no doubts.
Because Jesus forced her to:
· CONFRONT HIS PERSON
· CONFESS HER PROBLEM
He was able to CONFIRM HIS POWER
Her testimony that day was a testimony of:
· An Existence of Hurt
· An Expectation of Help
· An Expression of Humility
Conclusion: The point of this story is simple – the miracle that you need from God is at your fingertips.
What you need to do is:
Ignore the crowds around Jesus
Have the faith that He can help you.
Be willing to confront Him with your problem.