TOUCHING THE MASTER

Matthew 14:35-36

35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;
36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

When they heard that Jesus was come into their area, they brought all the diseased to Him. Jesus did many miracles as proof of His divinity. No one could do what Jesus did. He had a special love for the sick and diseased and afflicted. The accounts of the four gospels give many examples of the healing power of the Master. He healed people physically, so they would want to be healed spiritually. Any body healing will not stay death. We will die, but we can die spiritually whole. We often talk about the Lord touching our lives and He does. We also can touch the Lord in our lives. There are some things that touch the Lord.

I. Torments Touch The Master

A. The person
  1. In the text all that were diseased in this area were brought to Jesus and He healed them.
    2.
  1. In Jesus' day disease meant a lot of pain physically and emotionally and mentally.
  1. Those with certain diseases were to cry out unclean. They were not to pass the germ of the disease to others.

B. The problems

  1. These people had diseases that they would have to live with for the rest of their loves.
  2. Those with diseases know of the human frailty. We know what weakness and fears and uncertainty is all about.
  3. These diseased people wanted to touch the hem of the garment of the Lord. They believed they would be healed by doing so.
  1. The power
  1. The power of the Master is real and the Bible is full of demonstrations of it.
  1. Read your Bible through and you will get a small understanding of the power of our great God.
  1. God is so great that when they touched the hem of His garment, power went out of Him and they were healed.
  1. The beauty of it is the Lord is concerned about the diseased and sick and handicapped.

II. Tears Touch The Master

A. The person
  1. In Isaiah 38:1-3 King Hezekiah is told something that brought tears to his eyes and a prayer on his heart.
    2.

    1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
    2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,
    3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

  2. He was a good king. He did a lot for the Lord in his reign as king.
    3.
  1. Bad things do happen to good people. Problems are a part of life. Even the righteous have to suffer for Christ's sake.

B. The problem
  1. Hezekiah was informed by the man of God that he needed to set his house in order.
  1. The reason he was to set his house in order was that he was going to die.
  1. The prophet was not lying to Hezekiah. He was sent of the Lord to tell the king this message. We all know that we will die, but we don't know when or how.
  1. The power
    2.
  1. Hezekiah did the best thing that anyone can do. He prayed to the Lord.
  1. As he prayed to the Lord, he wept before him. Tears are a language that moves our Lord.
  1. Because of Hezekiah's prayer and tears, he was given 15 more years to live. The Bible is very plain on this truth.

III. Trials Touch The Master

A. The person
  1. In II Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul was troubled and bothered about a thorn in his flesh.
    2.

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

  1. Paul had been given a wonderful personal revelation of Jesus Christ. He knew as much about the personal ministry of Jesus as Peter and the others.
    2.
  1. But the thorn in the flesh was given to Paul to keep him humble so he would not be lifted up in pride.

B. The problem
  1. The Bible is not plain on what the thorn in the flesh was. He didn't want the thorn and prayed three times for the Lord to remove it.
  1. The Bible is not plain on what the thorn in the flesh was. All we can do is speculate about it.
  1. We do know that Paul wrote several things about his eyes and even described himself as unbecoming in his condition.

C. The power
  1. The answer of the Lord to the three prayers of Paul was His grace was sufficient for the need of Paul.
  1. When we have problems that we have to deal with the Lord can take them out of the way or He can give us the grace to bear them.
  1. He can calm the storms in your life or calm you in the storms of life. One is just as good as the other. Either way the Lord takes care of our needs.

IV. Troubles Touch The Master

A. The person
  1. The book of Job is very difficult to read. It deals with all the problems of Job.
    2.
  1. Job is described as a mature or perfect man, upright, feared God and eschewed evil. Job 1:1,

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

  1. We talk a lot about Job when we talk about problems and hardships that we face.

B. The problem
  1. There is no man that has gone through all the problems that Job went through.
  1. If you are serious about serving the Lord, you can get ready for a lot of problems the devil will bring your way.
  1. Job lost his possessions, children, family and friends, and his health. He went through all of this because the devil wanted to prove that he was only serving God for what he got out of it.
  1. The power
    2.
  1. In Job 42:7,8,10 the Lord informs the three friends of Job that they were wrong and Job was right.

7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
8 Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.
10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

  1. They were to take an offering to Job and he was to offer it for them.
  1. When Job offered the offering, all was restored to him. He had twice as much possessions and God gave him 10 more children.

V. Testimonies Touch The Master

A. The person
  1. Stephen was a preaching deacon. He had preached to the Jews about the Lord Jesus.
    2.
  1. He had preached the truth to them. He had obeyed the Lord and brought the message of truth to these needy people.
  1. Even the very best of preachers and witnesses can get into trouble teaching the word of God in love.

B. The problem
  1. What Stephen had presented caused the Jews to become angry and full of wrath.
  1. They were so angry that they stoned Stephen to death. Study what He taught them in this chapter and you will find he told the truth.
  1. They stoned him to death. His death was witnessed by a young man named Saul. He became Paul the apostle and a mighty witness of the Lord.
  1. The power
    2.
  1. Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost. Acts 7:55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
  1. In this condition he saw Jesus standing at the Father's right hand.
    2.
  1. He asked the Lord not to lay what they were doing to their charge. His death was used of the Lord to convict Saul of his sins and need of salvation.

© 2008 The Flaming Torch, All rights reserved.
The Fundamental Top 500
The BaptistTop1000.com