THE ISSUE: HYMN + HEM= HIM

Greetings and Salutations dear HEM-TOUCHERS. Clean...or unclean...that is the question. Religious people use the excuse of someone being unclean as an opportunity to ISOLATE them. In the book of Leviticus...chapter 15...the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about when a man or woman has a discharge from his/her body...resulting in them being UNCLEAN. The focus is (1) who and what becomes unclean from a bodily discharge from a man or woman (2) what happens when coming into contact (3) HOW TO GET CLEAN AGAIN (water, turtledoves, pigeons for sin and burnt offerings, time lapse (ie. until evening), etc.

By the time the law hit Jesus' day..."the religious community had used various Leviticus laws to so ISOLATE people that they felt estranged from God Himself. Jesus countered this...demonstrating God's desire to DRAW NEAR TO THE UNCLEAN AND MAKE THEM WHOLE" (The Spirit Filled Bible notes)

ENTER THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD (Mark 5:21-43; Matthew 9:18-26) NOTE: This is a story of 2 SETS OF TWELVE YEARS...
(1) a sick and dying twelve year old girl (2) a woman with a medical problem for twelve years.



Jesus was doing what He does...(1) teaching (2) proclaiming the Kingdom
(3) Healing the oppressed and sick.

"You know of Jesus of Nazareth...how God ANOINTED (with yoke destroying, burden lifting, oppression removing, healing power, devil work destroying) Him with (1) The Holy Ghost (2) and Power...and how He went about (1) doing good (2) and healing ALL who were OPPRESSED by the devil...for GOD WAS WITH HIM." (Acts 10:38)

Jesus was healing and putting people in their right mind as He released people from oppression by the devil. NOTE: In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John... Jesus touched and healed and delivered 40 different times. He used 10 different methods (touching, healing, spitting, speaking, etc.) In each of these incidents...it was not God's punishment, God's discipline, the person's sins...it was THE WORKS OF THE devil...oppression by the devil.


Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.."He who sins is of the devil...for the devil has sinned from the beginning. FOR THIS PURPOSE...the Son of God was MANIFESTED...that He might DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE devil." (I John 3:8)

Jairus...a ruler of the synagogue...fell at Jesus' feet and begged Him earnestly to come and lay His hands on her (one of the methods of healing)...that she may be healed...and live. Jesus set out to do this...and a GREAT MULTITUDE followed Him and thronged Him. (Mark 5:21-24)

THE WOMAN WITH A LEVITICUS 15 PROBLEM...FOR TWELVE YEARS

Jesus was walking along with a purpose...to heal the little girl. Many people were around Him. Let's take a journey in this woman's sandals...put you in her place. What was her mind set, what was her hope level, what was her faith level. What were the obstacles in her way of getting a healing.

So....you have been hearing this teacher...and seeing this prophet...and observing how He is setting people in their right minds...and healing their physical being. You are but one in a crowd of hundreds...thousands...but to you...you feel like one in a million. You have been living in the shame of Leviticus 15 for twelve...long...years. You have suffered many things from many physician's. You have exhausted all of your insurance with the Jerusalem division of AFLAC... you have empty you bank accounts from the Ist National Hebrew Bank...and not only have you NOT got better...but the flow of blood and the associated shame...is growing worse. You know that the Law has declared you as unclean...but you also know that the same Law made provisions for cleansing...but the religious community has ISOLATED you as if you were a leper. Over the years you have grown weary of the religious practice and the religious hypocrisy. Now...you have heard and see...someone who is more than religious...He is kind and was going about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. He was someone who did not CONDEMN people but SET THEM FREE. This man was not afraid to touch lepers, cross racial lines by going into Samaria and crossing cultural lines and talk to women. Something was growing in you...something you have not felt in twelve long years...you have felt HOPE...confident expectation...that you could be healed. You begin to think about it...and begin to say it out loud..."IF ONLY I MAY TOUCH HIS CLOTHES...I SHALL BE MADE WELL." (Mark 5:25-28)

You could see Him walking along to Jairus' house to touch his daughter who was twelve years old. Isn't it strange that you have been unclean for twelve years with this issue/flow of blood...and a twelve year old is at the point of death. You don't want to stop Jesus from going to heal her...BUT...if you just touch His clothes...you know that you know that you know...that you will be healed.

Now your HOPE (confident expectation)...is turning into faith as you put feet to your hope. You begin to press in through the crowd...if you could just touch His clothes...the issue of blood would STOP. If you could just touch His clothes... the shame and finger pointing would stop. If you could just touch His clothes...you might be able to save a little money in the bank account instead of giving it all away to the physicians with no physical return.

Many people are surrounding Him...touching Him...and you are fighting through the crowd. You are fighting through the doubt, the unbelief, the religious piety. You keep getting pushed back because you are unclean and you are a woman. Then you see an open door. You realize that you can't get to Jesus from the front or the side...but if you BOW DOWN REAL LOW...you can reach the hem of His clothes. Hey...clothes are clothes...whether the full cloak...or the fringes of the hem...now you are saying...IF I CAN JUST TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT...I WILL BE HEALED.

Your fingers are within inches...you miracle is a fingertip away...and you muster up all the mustard seed faith that you have and stretch out...an TOUCHED THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT.

IMMEDIATELY...not twelve years...but IMMEDIATELY...the fountain of blood flow...was DRIED UP. You FELT IN YOUR BODY...that you were HEALED OF YOU AFFLICTION and SUFFERING. Just ONE TOUCH...just ONE WORD...was all you needed.

Jesus...IMMEDIATELY KNEW...that someone had touched Him. Your healing was IMMEDIATE...and Jesus sensed it IMMEDIATELY.
Jesus knew that POWER...HEALING VIRTUE had gone out of Him. You see Him turning around...you hear Him ask who touched Him. Fear grips your heart...you begin to tremble. He was quizzing His disciples..."Who touched my clothes?" How could he have known...it was only the hem?

His disciples tried to reason with Him..."You see the multitude thronging You...and You say...who touched me? Now you see Him looking around...scanning the crowd. You think maybe you can hide in the multitude. You finally realize that you might as well come clean...since you have literally become clean. You fall down before Him...and told Him the whole truth (as if He didn't know the whole truth...He is the truth...His Word is truth).

He looked at me...with those gentle, tender, loving and forgiving eyes...and He spoke to me. There were thousands gathered around trying to get His attention...and He was looking and talking to me. "Daughter...your FAITH has made you well. God in peace...and be healed of your affliction." The flow had already stopped...but He was speaking to me about this affliction...not ever coming back again.

Someone came up to Him and informed Jairus that his twelve year old daughter had died. If I had not stopped Him maybe He could have got there in time. Jesus heard the word spoken...and began to speak peace and not fear into the situation. Jesus said...DO NOT BE AFRAID...ONLY BELIEVE. That is what I had done...I believed more in Jesus than what I had believed for twelve years...I guess that's what is called FAITH. Jesus went on and the little girl arose and walked...HEALED. The people were like me...overcome and had great amazement at what He had done.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY

God is speaking to me about PRESSING THROUGH the doubt, the naysayers, speaking forth desired results than what my have been persistent for twelve years. Even when it looks like the promise has died like that little twelve year old girl...Jesus speaks away fear and encourages me to continue to believe...not what my eyes see...not what the doctors say...not what the circumstance screams...but to believe...to have FAITH.

"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] DO NOT SEE and the conviction of their reality---faith perceiving as REAL FACT what is NOT REVEALED TO THE SENSES." (Hebrews 11:1)

Love and Believing Kisses
Rodney "If He Can Do It For A Twelve Year Old Disease...and A Twelve Year Old Girl...He Can Do It For Me" Boyd