In this sermon, the preacher addresses the struggles of young people in the city who are battling against sin. He emphasizes the feeling of dirtiness and filthiness that sin brings, especially for those who have a heart for God. The preacher highlights the desperation of individuals who have been seeking help and healing for their problems for years, but have not found a solution. However, he reassures the audience that God can meet them and bring healing if they open their minds and hearts to His Word. The sermon then focuses on how Jesus responds to different needs, starting with grief, and emphasizes the importance of responding to Christ and His Word with action.

This message is one of the Times Square Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the Sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge PO Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771 or calling 214-963-8626. None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends. Do you know Jesus responds? He answers prayer. This, this, you know, I usually, all my ministry, I've been one of the, they call me a doomsday preacher, they call me all kinds of names. That's one of the kinder things they've called me over the years. But I, I've prayed for a long time. The Lord give me some of those, those nice encouraging messages. Well, I think maybe he's given me one tonight. The responding Christ. I know, I know he's blessed me with it and I know he has a word. I, I was almost finished with another message. I've been working on it for a whole month and the Lord won't let me preach it yet. And, and yesterday the Spirit of the Lord just came on me and I just kept writing and writing and pouring it out. And late last night it was all finished and the Lord had blessed me with it and I want, it's a simple message but I know God has meant it for us tonight. The responding Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for our Savior who responds, who cares about us and Lord, there are people here tonight that need to hear that. That you care, that you love, that you're concerned. Lord Jesus, I pray that your anointing be upon me. I pray for the unction of the Holy Ghost and I pray that every demonic spirit, every prince of power and power of darkness and time square will know that God has brought freedom to his house tonight. Everything of Satan we bind in Christ's name. This word to go forth in the unction and the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Lord, there are those that sit here tonight doubting. There are those that sit here tonight wondering. There are those sitting here tonight in confusion. Those in sin. Lord Jesus, I pray you'll break through with a clear word tonight. Lord Jesus, if you have to cut, then cut, but then pour in the oil and heal. In Jesus' name we pray. Lord, thank you for what you did this morning. Many, many lives changed. That wonderful Indian couple from India and all those other couples that came forward and those that were on drugs, those that were bound by sin and set free and the chains broken. Lord, every service we see it, but let us see it again tonight we pray. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. I'd like you to turn to Mark the 5th chapter and just leave it open in your lap because I'll be speaking quite a bit from the 5th chapter of Mark. Turn to Mark the 5th chapter. Remember, if you come back, if you're first time and you plan to come back to Times Square Church, bring your Bible or you're going to be lost. Bring your Bible. Everybody said? Yes. We love this book here. Did you hear me? We love this book. This is our life. The Word of God. Hallelujah. To respond in Christ. Now as soon as you get it, just lay it on your lap and then give me your good ear and look this way. To respond. I'm speaking to respond in Christ. To respond is to answer by action. Answer by action. Now I want to show you tonight from, especially the 5th chapter of Mark, God's working how quickly Christ answers by action everyone who truly calls on His name sincerely. That God never turns anybody down. Now if He's ever impressed a message upon me, He's impressed this on me tonight, He's made it very clear there are going to be people here tonight that need action. There's something that's grieving you. There's something that may be draining out your spiritual or physical life. And you've got to have God intervene. In fact, you need a miracle tonight. I feel that so strong. And I believe I bring you a message of hope and a message of compassion that no matter what your need may be, that you can have a response before you leave this house tonight. You can touch Jesus. You can be healed. You can be changed. I don't care what it's been. I do not care what problem it's been. God can meet you tonight if you'll open your mind and your heart to the Word. Now here in the 5th chapter of Mark, we find some very wonderful examples how Jesus responds to people with serious needs. Now I'm going to go over some of these. In fact, I'd like to get right into it. I know from reading this 5th chapter of Mark, in fact, I'm going to... you can skip all the way down to the 22nd verse, and I'm going to read there and to the 43rd verse. Most of my message is centered on these great touches of Christ, a vision of His responding by action to human need. First of all, we're going to see how Jesus responds to grief. Jesus always responds to the cry of grief. I want you to look at the 5th chapter, verse 22. And behold, there came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and when he saw him, he fell at his feet. And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee, come and lay your hands on her, that she may be healed and she shall live. And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him, and thronged him. I want you to follow me very closely here. Jairus was the president or the administrator of the Jewish synagogue at Capernaum. He was an elder of a religious system that totally rejected Jesus Christ. You know the synagogue put him out. In fact, this very synagogue in Capernaum is a place where Jesus performed many of His miracles. Remember Jesus, in fact, at this synagogue healed a man who had a withered hand. And it must have been in Jairus' synagogue. Listen to Mark, the 3rd chapter. Just slip over left to Mark, the 3rd chapter. And I want you to read the first, follow me with the first 6 verses. I want to show you something here. Very clear. And he entered again, verse 1, he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he said unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil, to save life or to kill? That they held their peace. And when he looked around about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other. Now, Jairus, the leader of this synagogue, no doubt was there when this event happened. And I wonder if he was one of the very men that Jesus had looked upon with anger at the hardness of his heart. A man, his hand had been absolutely withered, stretched it forth and was healed, and rather than rejoice about it, they were ready to crucify him, they were ready to destroy him, because he did it on the Sabbath. This man Jairus is really, the story of Jairus has touched my heart because I believe he represents many people that are sitting in this auditorium here tonight. Now, we don't know really what Jairus thought about Jesus. We do know that Jesus did most of his miracles in three cities. In fact, he says, and I'm reading it from Matthew 11, 23, Thou Capernaum, which are exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell, for if the mighty works which had been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained unto this day. In fact, Jesus did most of his mighty miracles in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. So, this ruler of the synagogue knew about Jesus. He had a little daughter, 12 years old, at the point of death. Now, it must have taken something for this man to go to Jesus and fall down at his feet, because he's part of a religious system that totally rejected the very concept of Christ the Messiah, as far as Jesus is concerned. He knew that if he went to Jesus, he would be ostracized. He knew that the other rulers, in fact, he was a part of this rulership and, so to speak, a school of cardinals. If it were a Catholic church, it's a school of elders. And he knew that they were plotting the death of Jesus Christ. And it was something for this man to break away from all the tradition, to break away from everything that he had been taught, because you see, grief has a way of changing your doctrine. Grief has a way of breaking through every prejudice there is. You see, this little girl, 12 years old, was dying. When you've got a little 12-year-old girl that's dying, what does tradition have to do with it? And I see this man making his way to Jesus, and to go to Jesus, he has to break through so much. No doubt in his mind, he has ringing in his ears the word of his little daughter, because all the children knew Jesus. He picked them up in their arms. They praised him. Surely this little girl must have said, Father, call Jesus. Call Him. I've seen Him heal. He's taken little children in His arms. Call for Jesus. And I'm sure that was ringing in his ear. But grief has come to this house, because this little girl, if you see it here, is absolutely at the point of death. It was a terrible, terrible grief that brought this man to the feet of Jesus. You see, the miracle of the restored arm wouldn't touch it. He must have seen those many demonics that Christ had healed. When the demon spirits came out, they exalted Jesus and said, Thou art the Son of God. He had to see it. And yet there was something inside of him holding him back from going to Jesus. He had to fight through so much. But now that his little girl's at the point of death, it doesn't matter whether all of his circle mocks Christ. It doesn't matter what every other scribe or Pharisee has to say. In fact, the Bible says much people followed. They see this one of the synagogue, fall at the feet of Jesus, which is really something because they had rejected Him. And I believe the Scripture says many people followed Him, followed Him because they wanted to see if He's even going to invite Him into the house. And that's where Jesus was headed. Jesus had been teaching, and He didn't mind the interruption. Folks, when there's grief in the heart of any one of His children, He never minds an interruption. You may be sitting here right now, with grief in your heart. I don't know what that grief is. It comes in many, many definitions. It may be that there's someone that you love that's very sick just like this at the point of death. There may be a son or daughter who's spiritually dying. Losing their spiritual life. I don't know what that's like. I have four children in the ministry. I don't know the grief of some of you that sit here tonight. I've never had to bear that kind of grief. A young lady came racing across the stage this morning, who had been in rebellion. And her mother was here. And the girl cried and came back here. I can't imagine the grief of parents who have to walk the streets to find a son or daughter, or to know that they're wasting away in jail. I don't know what that kind of grief is, but Jesus does. Jesus understands all of that grief. The Scripture says, And Jesus went with him. Some of the disciples could have said, But Master, He didn't want you when all was well. Where was He when they mocked you in the synagogue? Why is it He has to come to you now that He hurts? And you see, that's how the devil will work on you. It may be that you've neglected Jesus for a long time. You may have forgotten Jesus days on end. And you're sitting here tonight, and you say, Well, I don't want that kind of religion. I don't want to go to Jesus just when I'm hurting. Well, why not? Because Jesus doesn't hold that past against this man. He doesn't hold it against him. Jesus sees grief in this man's heart. He's touched with the feeling of his infirmity. And Jesus goes with him. Heads out to his house. We see Jesus responding to love, In love to hurt and pain and grief. When I study the Bible, and this really gripped my heart, Yesterday when I was digging into the Word of the Lord, Even when God is chastising His people, He's so deeply touched when they're hurt by that chastisement. Jesus, in His mercy and in His justice, If you're going to persist in sin, He has to turn you over to your enemies. He has to turn you over to your sin. That's the justice of God. And then when you're being turned over to your enemies, And you're in this suffering, You're being chastened by the Lord, He sees that hurt, He sees that pain, And it touches His heart. And I'll show you. I want you to see it from the Word of God. I want you to go to Judges, if you will, please. I want to give you a couple of glimpses into the heart of the Lord. Judges, the 10th chapter. The 10th chapter of Judges. Let's start reading. I hope you're keeping your marker on Mark 5, Because we're going to be going back to Mark 5. But Judges, the 10th chapter. Starting to read at the 9th verse. Judges 10, verse 9. I'll wait until the leaves start rustling. Stop rustling. Verse 9. Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight against Judah, And against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, So that Israel was so distressed. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We've sinned against thee, Both because we have forsaken our God, And we've also served Balaam. And the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, And from the Amorites, And from the children of Ammon, And from the Philistines, The Zidonians, And also the Malachites, The Manites, Did oppress you. You cried to me, And I delivered you out of their hand. But you've forsaken me. This is God speaking. You've forsaken me, And you serve other gods. Wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go, cry unto the gods which you've chosen. Let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned. Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, And served the Lord. And his soul, This is God's soul. And his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. And that word, grieved, in Hebrew, Is moved to pity. Moved to compassion. He saw the suffering, And even though there was suffering under judgment, He was moved. Turn left to Judges, the second chapter. Judges 2. And I'll show you another glimpse Into the heart of God. Judges 2, verse 14. Beginning to read Judges 2, verse 14. And the anger of the Lord was hard against Israel, And he delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoiled them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, So that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, The hand of the Lord was against them for evil. As the Lord had said, As the Lord had sworn unto them, And they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless the Lord raised up Judges, Which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their Judges, But they went a-whoring after other gods, And bowed themselves unto them. They turned quickly out of the way, Which their fathers walked in, Obeying the commandments of the Lord, But they did not so. But when the Lord raised them up, Judges, Then the Lord was with the Judges, And delivered them out of the hand of their enemies, All the days of the Judges. For it repented the Lord, Because of their groanings, By reason of them that oppressed them, And vexed them. Do you see that word, it repented the Lord? You'll find it in five or six places in the Old Testament. Now look this way if you will please. That word repent, Right there means to pity, sorrow, To be consoled, to comfort, To ease the burden. And God is saying, I have to judge, I have to chastise, But he hears the groaning of his people, He sees the grief, he sees the pain. The Bible says time and again, It repented him. David was moved by the devil to number the children of Israel. A death angel sent into the camp. In Israel 70,000 men die. The angel of death is camped, Right before Jerusalem, Ready to slay the city. And the scripture says, And God remembered, Or rather 2 Samuel, it says, And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, The Lord repented him of the evil, And said to the angel that destroyed the people, It's enough. Stay now your hand. God said that's enough. He felt the grief, he felt the pain. In fact David the psalmist wrote these words, And he remembered for them his covenant. And he repented, And repented according to the multitude of his mercies. He made them to be pitied, Also of all those that carried them captive. Now isn't that something? Listen to it. They're led away into captivity because of their sins, But God is saying, Even though the enemy takes them away, I'm going to make those enemies pity them. God says I have pity on them, I have mercy upon them, Even though they suffer, I'm going to make even their enemies to pity them. I thank God that I serve such a Lord. Aren't you? A God of mercy and grace. One who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. Now some of you that are listening to me right now, Let me try to make the application. You're burdened with some kind of grief right now. And it's probably over someone you love. There are so many of you fighting a battle in your home with your marriage. And I've asked the Holy Spirit tonight to just take me in the Spirit, And try to touch that something in you that is grieving. That He would give me a word for you. Because you can sit in this house and you can put on an act. You can make it sound like everything is alright. You can even tell your children everything is alright. You can tell your friends everything is alright. But you carry, like Mary in the Bible, some grief. And you can't even tell anybody. She pondered in her heart. She couldn't even share it. And there are some of you sitting here tonight, And I speak in the Spirit of the Living God. And you're grieved tonight because there's something that's come into your home. There's something that's come into your life. And you're sitting here under a heavy, heavy burden. You can't even tell anybody. Because you don't even know yourself how deep it is. It's something you fear. It's more fear than anything else. It's the fear of the unknown. The one thing that I see that blesses me is that the Scripture says, And Jesus went with him. And Jesus went with him. It makes all the difference in the world when He's with you. It makes all the difference in the world when you're in step with Jesus. And I want you to know tonight that God is speaking to your grief. Jess was going to be brought to a point of absolute hopelessness. Even though Jesus was with him, walking toward his house. Jesus was going to heal that daughter. And yet he was going to be brought to a point of hopelessness. And he would be brought to a point of hopelessness while he was walking step in step with Jesus. You may get the idea, well if I'm walking step in step with Jesus, And I've repented and I've fallen at his feet and I call upon him, That there'll be no more testing of my faith. That the miracle is there. It just waits to happen. But you see, calamity is going to strike. Right while he's walking with Jesus. Because this man's miracle is delayed. Because Jesus responds even to the touch of somebody who's desperate. Not only to grief, but to the touch of the desperate one. While he's walking toward this man's home, To touch this 12 year old child at the point of death, There's a woman meets him. Go back to Luke, or rather to Mark, the 5th chapter. 5th chapter of Mark. Look at verse 24. Mark 5, 24. And Jesus went with him. And much people followed him. And I believe, I told you and I believe it, much people followed him, To see whether this man would invite him into the house. And a certain woman, we don't know her name, Which had an issue of blood, 12 years. She'd been hemorrhaging for 12 long years. And had suffered many things of many physicians. And had spent all that she had, was nothing bettered, That rather grew worse. When she heard of Jesus, She came in the press, or in the crowd, behind, And touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Matthew said, She said, if I could just touch the hem of his garment. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up. And she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing to himself that virtue had gone out of him, Turned him about in the press and said, Who touched my clothes? Who touched me? Look this way if you would please. Luke the physician, himself a doctor, Said, she spent all her living upon physicians, Neither could be healed of any of them. That was a doctor speaking. This hemorrhaging woman was growing worse every day. Now, she represents, Now listen closely, She represents, Those among us, Who have some kind of uncleanness, That lingers. It represents sin that drains our spiritual strength. She's the daughter of Israel. She's polluted, she's unclean, Ceremonially she's unclean. She can't even go into the synagogue of this man Jairus. Because she was ceremoniously unclean. Ceremony unclean. Now, I've got to stop here for just a moment and tell you what I believe the Holy Spirit is saying to me and through me tonight. And I felt it. And that's the reason I believe God changed my message. That there would be people in this auditorium tonight, Who are bleeding to death. I'm not talking about physically, I'm talking about spiritually. There's something that's lost itself, there's a plague that touched your life. This woman had it for twelve years. She went everywhere telling her story. Doctor after doctor. I can see her hopes being raised because she hears of a specialist somewhere. And she raises off hope in her heart. With purse in hand. Maybe this one will have the answer. And she goes to this doctor and tells her story. He makes promises. He can't fulfill them. Takes her money. She becomes more and more steeped in poverty. Loses hope. She's gone everywhere. I don't know how many times she told that story. She had to start from the beginning. There's one thing my wife hates more than anything else. She's here tonight. She's had five operations for cancer. I don't know how many operations Gwen has. And finally, every time she'd have to go through all this story of all these operations. And finally Barbara's secretary typed it out. A full page of all these operations. Gwen's a living miracle. And I look at that sheet. And Gwen says, honey, I don't ever want to have to tell a doctor again. I don't want to go through all that anymore. This woman told her story time and time again. Nobody could help her. And she's the type of this person, this man, this woman that sits here tonight. And you're bleeding because you're involved in something. You're involved in something you know that's unlike Jesus. It's polluted you. It's made you unclean. And you sit here now, feeling that uncleanness. You feel, in fact, I'll just say it plainly. There are some people, I know it, I can tell. I've counseled some of them. They say, I am so unclean, I feel like I'm polluting the place. I feel filthy, I feel dirty. The precious young people that are sitting here now battling against besetting sin. It makes you feel dirty, it makes you feel filthy, doesn't it? That is if you have a heart for God at all. And how many times have you gone to somebody and told your story? How many times have you gone over and over and over again? Explaining, trying to find somebody. Accounts for anybody to try to touch that nerve in you and give you the key to get out. To bring healing to you. Twelve years it's a losing battle. Twelve years of saying, here's my problem. But every night she goes home and lays down at night and she feels her life just drifting away from her. And she wonders, am I going to die like this? You know there are people, there are Christians that have carried besetting sins, they've carried habits for years and years. And it's just a hemorrhaging, they're hemorrhaging to death. You know Job had three babysitters, comforters. You know what he said to them? He said, you're all forgers of lies. You're all physicians of no value, hold your peace. In other words, shut up. All their multitudes right now running around telling their story. Running from one person to another looking for a way out. And she finally gives up trying to find help from any human source. Boy, what a place to be when you finally give up looking to man. Looking to some human source, looking for some council that's got that special word or some evangelist that's going to zap you. A lot of people think if they get to the right evangelist and get zapped, their problems will be zapped right out. I'll tell you what, you can go down on the floor, you can be zapped and get right back up and the problem will still be there. It's not somebody touching you, it's you touching Christ. Look at that sick, weak, desperate woman. She's walking her way through the crowd. And I believe she's on her hands and knees. Because she's going to touch the hem. She's, I just want to touch the hem of his garment. And I'm sure she must have touched Peter, James and John. But she wasn't interested in that touch. She was interested in touching the source of power. She said, I know if I can touch him, I'm going to be healed. Just touch. I just want to get near him and touch him. And I see her crawling through the crowd, walking her way in. Just a touch. This nightmare is going to end if I can just get to him and touch him. I thank God for counselors. I thank God for well-meaning friends. But you're never going to get free of this thing that binds you until you touch Jesus on your own. Until there's a desperation in you like this woman said, I've tried everything. I've been to church after church. I've heard preacher after preacher. I've been to counselor after counselor. And I tell you now, if you don't hear anything from any other preacher as long as you live. Hear me. The only way out. When you try that homosexual friend. Lesbian friend. Drug addict friend. Alcoholic friend. Whatever it may be. That thing that's sucking your life. That thing that's draining your very spiritual life blood. That thing that makes you so unclean. There's not going to be any way out. God, you don't need a formula. You don't need us to lay hands and cast a demon out of you. You go to Jesus. You get desperate and say, Lord, every man has failed me. I'm going to touch you. I'm going to touch you. That's the reason people are not making it today. They're still looking for help from some human being. They're still looking for some person, some preacher, some evangelist. No, it's Jesus. And He alone who has the power. There are many sitting here right now that needed nothing but Him. They had no one around. Then they reached out and they touched the heavens. And they were changed. They were healed. I see her lunging. She sees this garment just swishing by. And she lunges and touches it. And immediately she's healed of her uncleanness. Now, I take it for granted tonight that you love Jesus. Or you wouldn't be here listening to me. And when I see people that I know in my heart come and sit under the Word of God, and they hear Bob preach, then they hear Victor preach, and they hear Don preach, and they hear Gary preach, the Word comes forth strong and clear, and yet they continue in their sin. I'll tell you what. I have been fighting demons and devils all week, and I'm not going to let them get victory tonight. Give me that other microphone. I'm going to preach this message. In my heart, the people that I know that are continuing their sins, either a secret affair or something they won't let go, and you know it, there's something just holding them back. If I had my way, I'd just take them by the shoulder, even though I love them. I want to get them by the shoulder and shake them and say, Wake up! I want to say, what's it going to take? I want to say, how can you sit and hear such a strong Word and yet walk out and go back to your sin? And I'm that kind of nature, boy. I just want to... I'm glad your salvation doesn't depend on me, man. I'd have cut you to pieces long ago. Everybody would be in hell by now. Because outside of His mercy and grace, we don't know how to deal with it. We don't understand His mercy and His grace. But see, this woman doesn't need somebody to shake her and say, Wake up, you're unclean. She needs a miracle. She needs to be delivered. And I'm taking it for granted that you're here tonight, and you're saying, Brother Dave, I really want to be clean. I want to be free. I don't want to live with this thing anymore. I've been to meeting after meeting. I've prayed and I've done all these things. What is the answer? It's here. It's so very, very clear. You get desperate, get your eyes off man and say, Whatever it takes, I'm going to get along with Him. Where two or three are gathered in my name, He said, There am I in the midst. He's here tonight. You can reach out and touch Him and be healed tonight. It's that desperate reaching out and saying, Jesus, You're my hope. You're the only one who can break this thing in my life. And she was immediately touched. She was immediately healed. Hallelujah. Jesus suddenly stops. And the crowd is pushing. I mean, everybody's touching Him. All around, the disciples are touching Him. People are milling around. He's just being carried by the crowd. And Jesus stops and turns and said, Who touched me? Because He perceived that virtue had gone out of Him. And that word virtue is dunamos, which means power. The same word that's used in the book of Acts. Power has gone out of me. Somebody's tapped my power. And the disciples are incredulous. They said, Look around, Master. Who touched you? We've all touched you. No, Jesus. Somebody touched me. And He wouldn't move. And I see Jairus. I'm calling him Jairus. It's Jairs. Well, whatever his name is, it doesn't matter. But I can see him wringing his hands and saying, Master, please, we've got to get to my baby's dying. It's my only child. She's dying. And she's at the point of death. And he looks down the road looking for a messenger to come from the home. He has this sense of bad news coming. And Jesus stops. He delays. He delays right then and there. Who touched me? And the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, verse 33, came and fell down before Him and told Him all the truth. A long testimony. Why was this woman fearing and trembling? She just had a miracle. Why was she trembling? Oh, there's a good reason for it. A very good reason for it. Because I told you that she was ceremonially unclean. Now, that comes from the law of Moses. And they were under the law, the Levitical law. In fact, there was a law of the issue, it was called, and I'm just going to read. You don't have to turn. I'll read you the law of the issue. She shall continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days. She shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. Here's another. If a woman have an issue of blood, this is from Leviticus, from the law, if a woman have an issue of blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation, all the days of the issue shall be as the days of her separation. She shall be unclean. Whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, and whosoever touches those things shall be unclean until the evening. This is the law of those that have an issue. This is the law of the issue. In other words, everything she touched was unclean. And she had touched something holy. She had touched the hem of His holy garment. She had touched the holy Son of God. And she knew a miracle happened. And she's so used to feeling dirty, so used to feeling her uncleanness, she can't even go into the house of God. She's not allowed in the temple. Because she's unclean. And she touched the holy. Friends, I believe Jesus had two reasons, two good reasons why He stopped here. First of all, He stopped for her sake. Because He was going to relieve her of her sense of defilement. Do you know there are some of you that have been saved and you still have that sense of defilement? I thought of Angelo this morning. When I went home, he was here. His wife came forward this morning. And I had said, Angelo, you came out of jail. And I felt sorry for mentioning the jail. I thought, well, maybe I've wounded our brother for mentioning he's in jail. But Angelo, you're among brothers and sisters. You're family. And we see Jesus in you with everything. But you see, there are some that are here and have that sense of defilement. Can I be accepted? Can I be forgiven? Will I be accepted? And I think Jesus is saying this for this man's sake, too. He's saying, can't you? I know that you need a miracle in your own life. I know that your child is dying. Jesus knew that child would be dead, sleeping. He knew all about it. He knew the minds. Didn't He see Nathaniel under the tree before He even met him? He knew what was in the minds of the Pharisees. He knew it all. And I see Jesus trying to conform this woman in her healing. He's publicly removing her reproach. Oh, that's the wonderful thing about a body that's walking in the fullness of Jesus. When you're really repentant and walking with Jesus, you are fully accepted in the brotherhood. Hallelujah. He removes the reproach. How many of you are here, though, still in your sin, and you say, Brother Dave, I don't even feel I should be here, because I know the Word's going forth in this house, and I believe this is a holy place, and I'm still battling in my sin. I'm still going through it, and I feel like maybe I shouldn't be here. I've heard that. I've heard it three or four times. I just feel like I bring something into this church that's not... In fact, someone said evil. They felt that they were bringing evil in. Let me say something to you here now. I don't care what you've done. I don't care what battle you're going through right now. You're at the right place, and the doctor's in. He's here. And as long as you hate your sin, as long as you're hating it, you say, I can't live with my sin, I'm having a battle right now, but I will not walk out on Jesus. I want Him. I need Him. It's not reaching. I promise you, if you'll do what this woman did in desperation, work your way through everything, press into Him and touch Him, He's going to heal you. He's going to set you free from your sin. In the meantime, we're still going to love you. Now, the Bible said, she told all. I don't know how long that took. But don't you see the ruler of the synagogue just... I mean, he's on his toes looking this way. I don't even know if he heard Jesus say to this woman, Woman! In fact, it's right here. Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace and be whole of thy plague. Because he wasn't even looking and listening at this time. He was looking down the road because a messenger was coming. At the very moment Jesus was saying, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, someone was whispering in his ear, Your daughter's dead. Look at the next verse. Verse 35. And while he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? Why trouble him any further? Alright, look this way please. Now here's the problem and here's the lesson I want us to learn through the power of the Holy Spirit. It's possible to be so consumed by your own needs, so wrapped up in your own hurts, so consumed by your own need of a miracle, you don't have time to stop and rejoice in what Jesus is doing for others. You're missing something very profound. You can become very selfish. In fact, you can see Jesus answering prayer for others, performing miracles in other people's lives, and it can make you impatient about your own. And I really believe that the ruler of the synagogue was very, very impatient at this point. I believe Jesus must have looked at him in the corner of his eye and was saying, Don't you understand? Sheep for 12 years, your daughter's 12 years old, and I picture Jesus thinking this. My brother, the very year your daughter was born, this woman started hemorrhaging. And for all these years you've enjoyed the fellowship of your daughter. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. She's at the point of death. This woman's been dying for 12 years. She can't even go into your place of worship. I know you're hurting about your problem. I know you're overwhelmed with your own grief. But can't you reach out and rejoice in what I'm doing for her? Oh, folks, that's been my problem. It's been the problem of the church of Jesus Christ for years. We get so wrapped up in our own needs and our own burdens and our own problems and our own health needs and everything else, we can't stop and rejoice when God's doing it for somebody else. And one of the reasons God is doing it for somebody else is to encourage your faith. He knows that you're going to need it. Jesus responds best of all, I think, when all hope is gone. When all hope is gone. And this is the point this ruler had reached. Look at verse 35 and 36. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he said unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. Can you imagine what must have gone through this man's mind when he hears this word? It's all over. She's dead. And I want you to stop and consider just a minute what was being said. Here's what they said. Don't trouble the master anymore. And here's what I believe is being said. I don't know if it was synagogue friends or who it is. Yes, you tried it, but it didn't work. You said you wanted to go the faith route. You said that Jesus was the answer. You tried it and it didn't work. So come on back. Don't trouble him anymore. Don't go on this path anymore. And hear me now. I'm speaking in the spirit to somebody or more than one here. And this is going to be your test before it's all over. And this test will hit you hard. Because you're going to come to a point of absolute hopelessness. Where all hope is gone. I don't know what it will be. It has to be maybe your job. It has to be with your career. It can be with your family. It can be with almost anything that touches your life. But you're going to come to the point that this man did. What a field day the devil must have had with that man's mind. Jesus knew that and that's why he said, Don't be afraid, only believe. He saw what Satan was trying to do and what he was trying to instill into this man's mind. He was trying to say, This man's a fake. It doesn't work. All these claims of healing. And I know what's going through this man's mind. She claims to be healed. Who knows? We have to take her away. There's no evidence. There's no evidence she's healed. And all the doubts begin to plague this man's mind. And then came these cutting words. Why trouble the master anymore? It's too late. It's no use. Let's go our own way. It's almost as if they're chiding this man. Saying, Alright, you've trusted long enough. You fell down at his feet. You begged him for his help. You walked with him. It didn't work, so grit your teeth. Get back to the synagogue. There's no help anyhow. No one can help you. And it was total despair. And Jesus overheard it. Jesus overheard every word. He whispers to the man, Be not afraid. Only believe. Do you remember what Jesus said to Mary and Martha as he approached Lazarus' grave? He wept. He didn't weep because they were grieving. He didn't weep because he had lost a friend. He hadn't lost his friend. He knew he was only sleeping. He wept at their unbelief. The unbelief of those who were his own precious family. This was his family. Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Do you remember what Jesus said? He said, Said I not unto you that if you would simply believe, you should see the glory of God? If you'll believe, you'll see my glory. And you know what that glory is? The resurrection power of Jesus Christ. That Jesus takes something dead and brings it out. Out of death, he brings life. When you give up hope. When you think it's all over. Suddenly, he brings it to life. I was telling Brother Bob the other day what a miracle that was. In fact, I've asked God to forgive me because I used to enact Lazarus when Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth. I would picture Lazarus getting up off the slab and walking like this. No, a man who's wrapped hand and foot, he can't bend. He can't get up. Do you know what Jesus did when he raised Lazarus from the dead? He took Lazarus and he picked him right up by the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost moved him right out of that tomb. He couldn't walk. He was bound hand and foot. And he stood right in front of him. The Lord levitated him right to their presence. Can you imagine? You said, if I'd have been there, I'd have been shouting. No, you'd have been running down the road scared to death. What would you do, Kenny, if you saw that man in his grave? He'd just been carried by the Holy Ghost right in front of him. And he's standing there in mid-air. And the Lord lets him down gently and says, now cut him loose. Cut him loose. That's the kind of power Jesus is talking about. That's what you touch when you touch the hem of his garment. Resurrection life. Jesus is saying to us, it's not enough to walk with me, to call me Lord, to fall down and repent. If you're going to walk with me, you're going to trust me. You're going to rest in my power. You're going to believe that I can take that thing that's dying and I can even let it die. Die! And I'll bring it out. I'll bring it to life. There's going to be one final test for this man. He's going to have to look death right in the face and still trust God. Look at verse 37. And he suffered no man to follow him save Peter and James and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and seeth the tumult. That means confusion. And them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he said unto them, why make ye this ado? Now ado means fuss. Jesus said, what are you fussing about? Why are you weeping? The damsel's not dead. She's just sleeping. Can you imagine what it was like for this ruler of the synagogue to approach his house? I picture his wife come running down the road. She sees him and falls in his arms and says, where have you been? What was the delay? Well, there was this woman that was hemorrhaging. And we stopped and heard her whole testimony. She told it all. But honey, our baby, she died! They were weeping and wailing because in the tradition of the time, they paid mourners. And if you were wealthy, you got the best of it all. I mean, they could really wail. And can you imagine? This man walks into that confusion. It's a house of confusion. And he has to walk in there and the Lord is saying, don't be afraid, just believe. And everybody's wailing and everybody's crying. And his wife is weeping saying, where have you been? And he's got to walk into that room and look at that little girl. He's got to look death right in the face. And he hears ringing in his ears, don't be afraid, only believe. You know, the Bible says Jesus walked into that scene and he said, what's all this fuss? Why all this weeping? She's not dead, she's sleeping. And they laughed him to scorn. You know why they laughed him to scorn? They were afraid they weren't going to get paid. Worse than that. What do you mean? You mean we're weeping and wailing for somebody that's sleeping? She better be dead. What an embarrassment it was going to be. No paycheck and wailing for somebody asleep. I'm not trying to be facetious. Jesus, they laughed him to scorn. And that man walks into his little daughter's room. And here's this final test. The Bible doesn't say whether or not he passed the test. Because there comes a time when Jesus is so moved by the grief, he's already made up his mind he's going to intervene. He's the resurrection and the life. And he's going to get glory out of this to the Father. Hallelujah. And this man walks in to that little girl's room. And he looks death in the face. There's his wife and there's Peter, James, and John. And here's the Master. And Jesus stands beside him. And I'm wondering in my mind if Jesus isn't looking at the side of his eye to get some hint from this man. Sir, do you believe I have the power? Do you believe I can raise her from the dead? And he took the damsel by the hand. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he had taken the father and mother, the damsel, and them that were with him and entered in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel or the child by the hand and said unto her, Talitha Kumi, which is being interpreted damsel or maiden, child, I say unto thee, Arise. And straightway the damsel arose and walked. For she was of the age of twelve years. The same number of years the woman had suffered with the issue of blood. Hallelujah. I say unto thee, Arise. And straightway she arose. You know the point of my message tonight? All you need is Jesus. Did you hear me? All you need is Jesus. I say to the homosexual, don't go digging into your past. Don't go looking into the filth of your past trying to find someone to blame. Just get desperate enough to go out and touch him. And I say to everyone bound by any habit or sin or lust or whatever it may be, you don't need to run to another counselor. You run to him and touch the hem of his garment. He has all the power. Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Hallelujah. Glory to God. That's not very complicated. But Paul said, I didn't come to you with enticing words. I came to you in demonstration of power, might of the Holy Ghost. And I speak to you tonight in the power and the might of His Holy Spirit because He wants to deliver and set people free tonight. He did it this morning. He did it Tuesday night. He did it Friday night. He's going to do it again tonight in this service. Hallelujah. If I know anything about my Savior and about His working in my life, I know that the Spirit of the living God put the simple word in my heart because there are people here tonight needing an absolute miracle of deliverance. You're tired. You say, I don't want to go on with this anymore. Well, do you believe He has the power to set you free? Do you believe He's here? I don't know what your grief is. I don't know what your sorrow may be. But I know I serve a risen Savior. This is Easter. What a day to get your resurrection. What a day to get out of your tomb. Hallelujah. God's going to bring you out of your tomb tonight. We're coming against every power of the enemy, and we're going to ask you to press in with us tonight and touch Jesus. Hallelujah. Some of you used to know Him. You walked with Him. There may be some of you who think I'm crazy. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Because God's going to reach those here tonight that have been slowly bleeding. You say, Brother Dave, I don't want to bleed anymore. I want God to stop the bleeding. I want the Lord Jesus to heal me tonight. I want to lay down all my sin. I want to be absolutely set free tonight. This is my night to be free. I'm going to touch Jesus as I've never touched Him in my life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come to You right now asking You to send the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, we invite You to come now with the convicting power that is needed to reach into the heart and bring out what has to come out. Lord Jesus, we pray for those who carry a burden of sin tonight. Our hearts are burdened for them. Our hearts read out in Your love and Your compassion. And we say from Your heart, we do care. But, Lord Jesus, there has to be a reaching out to You right now. Jesus said, don't be afraid, only believe. Trust Me. Reach out to Me. I'll deliver you. I'll set you free. I'll heal you. This is the conclusion of the tape.