“SELF, WHAT IF THEY’RE WRONG?”
YOU EVER ASK YOURSELF, “SELF, WHAT IF THey’re wRONG?”
WE ALL NEED A SECOND OPINION aT TIMES.
SOMETIMES A PROBLEM > BECOMES A PURPOSE > GIVES US A BURDEN > BECOMES A VISION!
I) BEFORE THE FINAL VERDICT
“WHAT IF THEIR WRONG?”: THE MEDICAL SYSTEM
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A SPECIALIST TO GET A SECOND OPINION!
“WHAT IF THEIR WRONG?”: THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
A DEFENDANT HAS A RIGHT TO APPEAL/RETRIAL
“WHAT IF THEIR WRONG?”: THE BIBLICAL SYSTEM
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.’ — REV. 12:10
SATAN IS THE "ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN"
"ACCUSE": TO SLANDER; TO OPPOSE WITH THE INTENTION TO HOLDING ONE DOWN; TO SEIZE AND LAY HOLD ON; OR TO PREVENT ONE FROM REACHING HIS FULL POTENTIAL.
SATAN ACCUSES US 4 WAYS
1. HE WILL SLANDER US BEFORE GOD
2. HE WILL SLANDER US BEFORE OURSELVES
“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” — PS. 51:2-3
3. HE WILL ACCUSE US TO OTHERS
“Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’” — JOHN. 8:10
4. HE WILL TRY TO ACCUSE GOD BY SAYING TO US, "IF GOD LOVED YOU, THEN YOU WOULDN'T BE GOING THROUGH WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH"
BUT WHAT IF WE'RE GUILTY
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” — I JOHN. 1:9-10
”My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” — I JOHN 2:1-2
"ADVOCATE": ONE WHO HAS BEEN CALLED TO HELP WITH OUR CASE. (CAUSES US TO BE ACCEPTABLE BEFORE GOD)
II) “WHAT IF THEIR WRONG?”
“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’
‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ‘
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’ “ — MARK 5:25-34
A TWO-FOLD DILEMMA
SHE WAS BLEEDING TO DEATH
SHE HAD NO ONE TO HELP HER
VS. 26: “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.”
SHE WAS ISOLATED, FROM SOCIETY, FAMILY AND FRIENDS. LEFT LONELY FOR 12 YEARS (QUARANTINED).
SHE LEGALLY HAD TO ANNOUNCE HERSELF "UNCLEAN". ACCORDING TO LAW, IF ANYONE TOUCHED HER THEY BECAME UNCLEAN, TOO.
ISOLATED, RIDICULED, SENSE OF INFERIORITY, DEPRESSED, SUICIDAL
III) REACH OUT AND BREAK THE RULES
SHE GOT A SECOND OPINION!
VS. 27: “When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak”
FAITH COMES FROM HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD (ROMANS 10:17)
"WHEN SHE HEARD OF JESUS" - SHE PUT ASIDE HER FEARS AND TOOK A RISK.
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” — II COR. 9:8
SHE TOOK ACTION, IN FAITH.
VS. 28: “because she thought (her confession), ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ “
HER GREATEST FEAR BECAME HER GREATEST NEED. THE ONE THING SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO DO WAS THE VERY THING SHE ULTIMATELY HAD TO DO.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” — HEB. 4:16
SHE CHOSE TO BREAK THE RULES AND SAID "IF I JUST TOUCH HIS CLOTHES, I WILL BE HEALED." (SHE TRULY BELIEVED THIS)
HER FOCUS CHANGED: FROM WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT OF HER, TO JESUS.
THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT
THE PART WHERE LOOSE ENDS MEET AND ARE TIED TOGETHER. WHAT HOLDS EVERYTHING TOGETHER. KEEPS IT FROM FALLING APART.
IF LIFE (MINISTRY, MARRIAGE, CAREER, BUSINESS) SEEMS TO BE UNRAVELING, REACH FOR THE HEM!