I HAVE ISSUES!

Recently I did an online test to see if I have issues. After 20 minutes of feeding information about myself I was emailed the results. The good news is that I am not sociopath or schizophrenic or do I have any compulsive disorders. BUT apparently I am moderately anti-social! I guess I do have ISSUES!

I am convinced we all have baggage. We all have issues. Something that is on your mind. Something that we worry about, think about, fret over. We have issues that need to be dealt with. I want to talk to you about your ISSUES based on this account we read in the Word.
-“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.””Mark 5:25-34 NKJV

THE WOMAN WHO HAD AN ISSUE:
Have you ever noticed that this woman’s name is mentioned nowhere? Was her name Sue, Betty, Mary, & Anna? We just don’t know.  Did you notice that she was known by the following description, “The woman with issue of blood?”

That was all the information needed & everyone knew whom the writer was talking about!

In other words, this woman was defined by her ISSUE! Everyone knew her as the woman with the ISSUE…  She wasn’t known by her name. She was totally defined by her ISSUE.

The Bible is filled with others who were known by their issues.

Like Blind Bartimaeus was defined by his issue…THE BLIND GUY! Simone the leper. Zacchaeus the tax collecter. To name only a few!

I wonder, How many of us are defined by our issue?

That’s the woman with the bitter spirit…

That’s the man who was hurt by the pastor...

That’s the boy who’s dad beat him...

That’s the guy/girl that got divorced…

That’s the girl who had an abortion…

That’s the young guy who tried to commit suicide.

That’s the preacher who failed morally...

ISSUES...REAL ISSUES!

Tragically we can become defined by our ISSUE. We walk around wearing our issue like a name-tag.  We become known by our issue. We are become totally wrapped up in what happened to us. ISSUES DEFINE US!

Issues defines our attitude, our actions, the way we talk, the way we behave & the way we believe.

The hurt we suffered 10 years ago today if allowed DEFINES US!

But her issue did more than just define her. Her issue also disqualified her…

Caused her to be an OUTCASTE…because of her state she could not worship. She wasn’t allowed to enter the temple to pursue a closer relationship with God.

Because of her state she couldn’t enter into relationships. She wasn’t allowed to have relations with her husband or her children.

Leviticus 15:25-27, ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean. ²⁶ Every bed on which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be to her as the bed of her impurity; and whatever she sits on shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her impurity. ²⁷ Whoever touches those things shall be unclean; he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. -This declares that everything & everyone she touched would be unclean.

She was cut off from God & man. She was cut off from meaningful relationship & service. She was disqualified by her ISSUE...

Sounds like many... Because of their ISSUE... feel disqualified from everything & everyone.

I can’t worship because of what is happening in my life.

I can’t serve, I can’t help with outreach… I can’t pray for you, I can’t minister, I can’t sing, I can’t pray, I can’t impact anyone!

I can’t do anything for God or man because of what is & has happened to me.

I am unable to fulfil my destiny because of my current issue. I am cut off.

THIS WOMAN WAS ISSUE DRIVEN:
I believe this woman was DRIVEN by her ISSUE! ISSUE DRIVEN! The Word says she had tried everything… Vs 25, Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, ²⁶ and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

I believe that she couldn’t forget about her issue. Imagine every morning for 12 years, 4380 days of her life she woke up knowing she had an ISSUE. Her issue consumed her daily thought life. It was all she could think about…

She couldn’t get it out of her mind. She couldn’t escape it...

While others were relaxing, laughing, joking, & playing games she had an ISSUE.

While the other women were rocking their babies she had an ISSUE!

While other women held her grandchildren she had an ISSUE!

While others talked about the weather she had an ISSUE.

While others went shopping she had an ISSUE.

OTHERS are dancing, shouting, glorifying God but YOU have an ISSUE.

OTHERS are enjoying life but YOU have an ISSUE.

While OTHERS are having a breakthrough around the altar your mind is consumed with YOUR ISSUE.

While OTHERS are fulfilling their destiny you can’t quit thinking about it.

It is on your mind when you wake up & it is the last thing that goes through your mind before you go to sleep.

24/7 it invades your thinking. Thoughts of “How can I get out of this? How can I be free?” YOU ARE DRIVEN BY YOUR ISSUE! 

The Word declares that this woman’s issue had cost her everything. Text, …She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.In fact the Word says she had spent everything she had & still only grew worse. She had tried everything!

William Barclay says that there were at least 11 cures listed in the Talmud for this issue. They ranged from tonics to superstitions such as carry the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen bag in summer and in a cotton bag in winter, another was to carry a barleycorn, which had been found in the dung of white female donkey. Barclay believes this woman had tried it all but only grew worse. All very difficult & costly...

She was devastated. It cost her all of her energy, her resources, & dignity. Everywhere she went she had to shout, “unclean, unclean”. IMAGINE…every time you walk in a room…UNCLEAN!

Why do you think she snuck up on Jesus, TRYING NOT TO BE NOTICED. She was embarrassed about having to disclose her issue…

Her life had been devastated. It COST her EVERYTHING….

Many of you can relate. YOU have been DEVASTATED by YOUR ISSUE. You have tried everything. You have fasted, prayed, read, & pursued an answer.  It has cost you energy, resources, & your dignity.

-You are EMBARRASSED. You are ASHAMED that you are still dealing with the same ISSUE...

You can’t bear the thought of going to another altar & disclosing your issue only to walk away worse.

You don’t want to be noticed any longer.

Your ISSUE has cost you everything. Friends, self-esteem, faith.

You are devastated & at wits’ end!

You are broken, crushed & exhausted.

THIS WOMAN WAS DESPERATE FOR FREEDOM:
The final thing we must notice about this woman & her ISSUE is that her issue drove her to the point of desperation.

She came to the conclusion that she was so desperate she would take whatever means & actions were necessary to resolve her issue. How many of us have been in that place…

A Chinese man has learned that hell hath no fury like a peeved mother-in-law. Wang Qin,

from Lishui, Shanghai in China, got so sick of her son-in-law’s excuses for not paying back

a loan she gave him that she used a crane to winch his car onto her roof terrace, the UK

Daily Mail reported. Wang claimed she loaned her son-in-law nearly half-a-million yuan

(almost $88,000) to invest in his business. However, when he began avoiding her & was

ducking all requests for repayment she decided to take his Audi hostage as collateral.

Initially the car was parked on the pavement outside her house, but when she heard her

son-in-law had been trying to retrieve it she took the extreme measure of winching it onto

her roof terrace. This is clearly one mother-in-law you don’t want to mess with.Reporter

doesn’t know whether the scrounging son-in-law has repaid his loan or got his car back

yet, but this story just proves that borrowing money from your family only leads to trouble.

This woman with the issue pushed past shame. She pushed past man’s protocol. She pushed past the belief that nothing will ever change.

She was desperate. She was willing to do the unusual to get the unusual!

Her desperation drove her to the divine, positioned her for deliverance.

Take a look at your current issue right now. In your own spirit grow tired of being defined by your issue.

Have you become tired of the thought of being disqualified & driven by your issue. Become desperate in your spirit today.

Have you come to the place where everything within you cries, “I must touch Jesus!” So desperate that you will push through the crowd of men to get to God.

So desperate that if necessary you will run to the altar to touch Him.

Forget man’s protocol, man’s rules, man’s laughter, & man’s opinion & run head long into the divine.

Touch Him & your current issue will be resolved.

Touch him & your issue will no longer define, disqualify, drive, or devastate you. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Are you desperate?

“Holy desperation is the door to God’s greatest blessings. Those who proved Him best in the Scripture were at the end of everything.” Vance Havner

Notice also that Jesus didn’t just speak to her health issue. He spoke to her mind & spirit issue. “Go in comfort, go in peace.” If you are desperate you can leave whole & at peace.