Touching the hem of Jesus` garment

Sermon notes from 30 April 2017
Matthew 14 verses 22 - 36 

Here in these verses we read of a visit of the Lord to the land of Gennesaret.  The voyage of course was a difficult and dangerous one.  Jesus constrained his disciples to get into the boat and he went into the mountain to pray.  In the boat the disciples realised a storm was brewing.  When the Lord stepped into the boat a calm and peace came on the disciples that made them cry out that surely he was the Son of God.  Now they have arrived in Gennesaret.  What a great privilege for this land to have him.  They sent out all around about who was sick and he touched each of them and they were healed.  There was an urgency about these people.  They didn`t waste a second, they brought friends and families just to touch his hem.  What a wonderful picture of the gospel message.  God in his great love and mercy would take his only begotten son and sent him into the world that he might die for you.  Look at the hem of this garment.  The man who sent out for those to come and as they came then they turned around to the Lord.  They besought him.  They were men of vision and prayer.  When the people came they prayed that they might be able to touch the hem of his garment.  What does this hem speak of?

The preparation of this hem.  The work of the Lord as he comes to Gennesaret, his garment had something special about it.  My mind and thoughts were drawn to the preparation work.  Some lady sitting down at the table had a plan in her mind to make a garment.  She began to measure out the shape of it.  As she designed it no doubt in her mind this was something very important to her.  She would be thinking of that final stitching.  The hem, the finished product of the garment.  It was the last thing she would make.  These people touched the finished product.  Thought of the life of Christ.  Many important features.  "Whereforth when he cometh into the world he saith sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not accept but a body thou hast prepared me." (Hebrews 10 verse 5) Joseph in the New Testament was espoused to Mary.  Realised she was expecting.  Word came from the throne room of heaven not to be concerned, that which was in her was conceived of the Holy Ghost.  As I think of forming that body in Mary, one that was spotless and sinless would come to take away the sins of the world on a rugged cross.  When she not only conceived but brought forth her firstborn son.  She and Joseph had to make way to Bethlehem no room was found for him except in a stable.  Mary had no-one to help her as she delivered that baby.  She took him and laid him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.  Tremendous prophecy fulfilled by prophet Micah so many years ago.  The angels heralded the shepherds to come down and see this thing that had come to pass.  Then we see the Lord in his infancy.  The wise men from the east saw the star in the sky and came to find this baby.  Followed it until they came to where he was.  Presented him gifts.  Think of him at 12 years of age sitting in the temple talking to the rulers and wise teachers, couldn`t understand how he has received such a thing.  They are sitting in awe of him.  See him as comes down to the Jordan river where John the Baptist baptises him.  The heavens opened the spirit descends on him like a dove "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.  In the mind of God when that baby was formed in the virgin Mary all thoughts were on the day he would die on Calvary because that was the finished product.  That was the reason why he came to this world.  He was finishing the work his father had given him to do.  Dying as a sacrifice for your sin.  Every sin was laid on him.  Tonight you sit in an unfinished state.  You have never taken him as your Savour and Lord.  If you were to die in sin you would be lost and lost for all eternity.

The presentation of the hem.  Notice when the sick began to gather what would they touch?  Verse 36 "only touched the hem".  These men were not pointing to those who were diseased or sick but pointing to the hem of the garment.  They must touch that which was presented.  I see that lady making that garment with her own hands and coming to the final piece she takes that hem and folds it back lining it up.  She comes with her needle and thread and starts to stitch it in place.  That is what was to be seen.  It had to be perfectly done.  No different from this woman.  We come to Calvary, it is perfect for you and I.  John the Baptist whenever he was baptising Jesus he presents him to the crowd  "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world."  Pilate presented him "behold the man" but John presented him as the Lamb of God.  We are presenting Christ in all his fulness tonight.  Will you not trust him and take him as your Lord and Saviour?  The apostle Paul was sent to present Christ.  Paul was sent to present the gospel.  "Christ sent me not to baptise but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words."  I am sure he could have used great words.  He said "if I used them the cross of Christ would be made of no effect."  If we present the gospel without the cross it would be worth nothing to point to the Saviour. 

The precision of the hem.  The price of healing was precious - only touch the hem of his garment.  Why touch the hem?  Someone who was small in stature could touch it.  For those who are unwell and sick.  Maybe those who could only creep along they could touch that hem.  That precise point for the gospel of saving grace is the cross.  That is where we must come to.  To receive salvation for the rich and poor, healthy and sick, young and old you must come to the cross of Christ.  There is no other way of salvation.  Jesus Christ has died and risen again.  Woman in scriptures sat along the street for 12 years.  She was so sick, nothing worked for her.  One day the Lord came along.  She reached forth and touched the hem of his garment and was gloriously saved.

The power of the hem.  It is not the hem, it is the person, it is the power of Christ that heals.  When the woman touched Jesus` hem the virtue flowed from him.  She touched the hem by faith.  As she was touched she was healed.  None went away disappointed.  What will you find tonight - peace with God, take away your sins, reconcile you, bring you into a relationship with God.  You have got to come though.  That is the power of the hem.  They were sent into all the country and brought all that were diseased.  Imagine that one touch healed all the young and old, rich and poor and they all received healing.  When you think of the power of the cross - think of that old thief dying on that cross and one moment later he was going out into heaven`s glory totally transformed.  Think of Barabbas, the crowd cried out for the death of Christ.  Barabbas was set free.  Soldiers at the foot of the cross said "surely this was the Son of God" as he watched him die.  You will only find Christ if you seek him with all your heart, soul and mind, not to be halfhearted in your efforts.

As men touched the hem it was personal.  When those who were sick came he healed them.  They probably mocked and scoffed the very idea of touching the hem to be healed.  Many look at the cross and say I cannot believe that if I come and acknowledge my sins, take Christ as Saviour, I wll be saved.  The problem with sin is that it is in the heart.  We might try to polish it with all the good works we do but the problem is on the inside.  Only way to deal with it is opening up the heart and letting Jesus in.

The reality, role and request of the devil

Sermon notes from Sunday 30 April 2017

Luke 22 verse 23 - 32

"And the Lord said Simon, Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat." verse 31

 These words came after a dispute among the disciples.  There was a strife in that inner circle.  The disciples had pledged to follow the Lord but a dispute arose amongst them about who was the greatest.  Jesus was on his way to Calvary yet all they could think of who was the greatest.  It came after a time of fellowship.  They were sharing the Lord`s supper.  We need to be careful because the enemy can come in so easily.  He will come in through the back door. Here was one of the Lord`s closest friends that Jesus said of him "Satan have desired to have you."

There is the reality of the devil.  Many deny such a person today.  That is when the devil is at his most dangerous, when he gets you into thinking that there is no such a person as the devil.  See the Lord speaking to Peter words of endearment not rebuke.  He wanted Simon to keep on his guard.  They tell us today we live in a more enlightened age, that the Bible is not what it is or supposed to be.  The devil is out to deceive.  Ezekiel points back to the days of  Satan`s creation "Thou wast perfect."   There amongst the angelic host he had the most beautiful voice but there came a day when he tried to be above God.  Jesus is speaking here of someone who is real.  Someone who can plan and manipulate.  The apostle Paul spoke of a real devil.  People say they believe in an evil influence that makes people do things they wouldn`t normally do.  It is Satan who is the master planner.  Ephesians speaks of a battle in the every day realm.  Not a plague but a real battlefield.  This letter was written to people who had trusted Christ as Saviour and Lord.  He spoke to them of the Christian warfare that is available.  An armour we need to have on that is able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  "Wiles" means tactics Satan the devil will bring before us.  We need the full armour if we are ever going to stand against attacks.  Paul pointed to the devil as a real person.  Peter proved the reality of the devil when called upon to take the side of the Saviour.  He said "I don`t know him."  What a statement.  1 Peter 5 verse 8 "your adversary the devil."  Not the evil influence, a mythical person.  The danger is for us to get over acquainted with this evil influence rather than think of him as a real person.  In Revelation 20 verse 2 "and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years."  This is the future we are talking about.  One day Satan will be bound, cast into the bottomless pit for a 1000 years.  Jesus will reign on this earth because Satan will be bound.  He will bind Satan himself.  Revelation 20 verse 7 "and when the thousand years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his prison."  He will once more be on the earth, out in the nations of the earth again.  Verse 10 shows the final overthrow of the devil.  "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."  That is the reality of the devil today.

The role of the devil.  Jesus said "Satan hath desired to have you."  It was as if he was drawing him into his bosom.  The only reason he wanted to do that was to destroy him.  The devil still wants to do that today.  "That he may sift you as wheat" is using the language familar to all - threshing.  The chaff was separated from the good seed.  That is what the devil wants to do to you, he wants to ruin your life, to take away the good leaving nothing.  The deceitfulness of Satan.  Paul spoke of "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities."  When Jesus told his disciples that he must suffer and be put to death Peter said "not so."  The Lord told him "get thee behind me Satan."  He recognised the spirit working behind Peter.  We wrestle with an enemy that doesn`t show himself.  We are in a warfare today.  Just because someone tells you something or calls you all the names of the day that is not our battle.  Our battle is behind the scenes.  If you are not saved Satan will do all in his power from coming to the cross, stop you from recognising him as Saviour and Lord, that you must come and bow the knee and trust him as Saviour.  As a child of God he will try to bring you down, destroy you.  He will bring a person before you, a situation before you, a group of friends and coax you into saying this is the right thing to believe in.  All the time he wants to bring you down.  The Lord cast Satan out of heaven and he came in the guise of a serpent.  He pointed Eve to the tree they were told not to eat from.  He told her that when she ate of it her eyes would be opened.  Eve ate and gave to her husband and sin entered into the world as a result.  Paul spoke to the Corinthian church of the subtlety of false preachers.  2 Corinthians 2 verse 13 - 15.  Jesus said "except a man be born again of the Spirit of God he cannot be see the kingdom of heaven."

The request that is made.  Satan had to make this request, he couldn`t just attack him.  Satan wanted to have all the disciples.  He wants to have the complete church of Jesus Christ.  Thank God Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of hell will never come against it."

The rebuke Satan received - verse 32 "but I have prayed for thee."  Satan had a measure of success.  Peter walked afar off when Jesus was arrested that night.  He came before the fire on that night and the maid asked him if he was one of Jesus` disciples.  Peter replied he was not.  Peter came back to the Lord and he strengthened and encouraged the other disciples in the work.  As a child of God let us be on our guard today.  We are kept by the power of God through faith.  Have we put on the armour of God today?  None of us are beyond the attack of the enemy.  We should fight in Christ`s strength alone.

The importance of prayer

Sermon notes from Sunday 18 June 2017

Colossians 4 verses 1 - 9

As we turn to chapter 4 of the book of Colossians we realise that it is the close of a little section.  Paul has been talking in chapter 3 of relationships - verses 19 - 25.  Relationships between husbands, fathers, sons and families.  He brings it into the work place with servants and those who employ them.  Verse 2 comes in with Christian responsibilities and he talkes about continuing in prayer.  In verses 4, 5 and 6 he takes it wider by talking about Christian work, Christian witness, Christian wisdom and Christian words.  The point of his prayer is this - "praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance."  His prayer is that a praying people might arise.  When you read these words you might think that Paul is going through a time of blessing in his own soul but when you read through his history you realise he is writing from a prison cell.  Paul hasn`t got his freedom and he is not speaking of his own liberty but rather that he might send forth the gospel that other people might receive the freedom God gives.  He is speaking here in a very specific manner.  He is not looking to himself, to his own comforts but rather looking to others to spread the gospel as Christian men and women.  We need to be looking for ways to spread the gospel.  That brings me to ask myself the question - have I been spreading the gospel this past week?  Is that burden in our hearts today that the gospel would be spread.  I am aware that it has become so difficult today to do this as we need to be so very careful what we teach and preach.  Paul tells these readers to get on their knees and pray that God would move mightily.  What is Paul telling us about prayer in these words?

Prayer is a duty.  Prayer is not some attachment to the Christian life.  Here are a people in Colosse who were a people of prayer.  Chapter 1 verse 1 "to the saints".  That word really means "holy ones".  Paul goes on to describe them as "faithful brethren in Christ."  These people had gone through so much.  False teachers had come in and blinded their eyes and minds.  Jesus himself made prayer very important when he said "men ought always to pray." (Luke 18 verse 1)  The apostle Paul spent 3 years in the Arabian desert.  He told the Thessalonians "pray without ceasing".  In Samuel`s day the people desired a king.  They wanted to be like other nations around them.  Samuel felt very grieved but he gave them what they wanted.  Sometimes God gives us just what we want, not always the best but he gives it to us any way.  The people then feared that Samuel would cease to pray for them.  They realised he had been their prophet, he had brought God`s message to them, he had provided them with what they desired (a king) but they needed to be reassured of his prayers.  Samuel said "moreover as for me God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." (1 Samuel 12 verse 23)  That is how important he felt prayer was.  He felt he was sinning against God if he was not praying.  Paul here has the same thought.  `Am I sinning against God if I am not praying?`  Samuel reckoned it was a sin not to pray.  Paul said to Timothy "I exhort therefore first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men." (1 Timothy 2 verse 1)  In Acts 1 verses 14 when the disciples went into the upper room to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit it says "these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication."

Prayer is a discipline.  The duty is praying but the discipline is watching.  What are we to watch for?  The enemy - the devil.  There is one place the enemy wants to take you out of and that is the prayer time.  "your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5 verse 8)  He will be ready to pull the rug out from under you when you start to pray.  He will oppose you.  Paul said to the Corinthian church - "for a great door is opened unto me and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16 verse 9)  The Lord himself praying in Gethsemane knelt down and prayed.  He was praying and as it were great drops of sweat poured from him.  Then he turned and walked out of the Garden.  He came to his disciples and found them asleep.  He asked them "what could you not watch with me even one hour?  Watch and pray that he enter not into temptation.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26 verses 40 and 41  The devil will do all he can to stop you praying.  That is why the prayer meeting in the church is the smallest meeting of all the meetings.   Nehemiah set about to rally the people.  He came down to Jerusalem from Babylon in the north.  He wanted to return the glory of Jerusalem.  the walls were broken down and the people had been carried away.  Now he was faced with an enormous task.  Chapter 4 verse 9 "nevertheless we made our prayer unto God and we set a watch against them day and night because of them."  The enemy was doing all in his power to destroy the work.  That is what the devil still wants to do today.  Nehemiah and the people got together and prayed.  Paul knew all about the battle and about blocked doors.  He knew a way through them by rallying the church to pray.  We need to pray for God to open a door that we might reach others.  Paul realised he could not do it himself and neither can we.

Prayer is a devotion.  "with thanksgiving" verse 2.  Prayer is not to be a list of what I want from God.  We should worship and give praise in our prayer times thanking God for what he has done.  Never stop thanking God for saving your soul from sin.  If God hadn`t opened our eyes our souls would have been lost for ever.  We need to praise and thank God continually.  "Let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4 verse 6)

There should be a direction in prayer.  Verse 3 "pray for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance."  That is all Paul wanted.  Can we take this prayer on our own hearts today?