Thoughts Matter

Transcript

Alright thank you very much, and hello again dear radio friends. How in the world are you? This is your good friend Dr. Cook and I’m so glad to be back with you. Well, we’re looking at Mark chapter 6. We’re ending up the sixth chapter and will soon be on into the seventh chapter of Mark. It said that, “When the Lord Jesus and His disciples had come out of the ship, straightway they knew Him”, that’s the crowd, “and ran through that whole region roundabout, began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard He was. And withersoever He entered into villages or cities or country, they laid the sick in the streets and besought Him that they might touch, if it were but the border of His garment: as many as touched Him were made well”. What a beautiful scene that was. Exhausting to our Savior and of the disciples because of the constant demands upon His healing power, but oh what a thrill, what a joy for someone who reached out the hand of faith to touch the Savior, and was made well.

A couple thoughts about that before we go on. There is a very real sense in which the reach of faith must reach out to touch the Savior, and today although He’s now risen and sits at the right hand of God the Father, and we await His second coming in power and glory, still He is our Savior and He intercedes for us in the presence of a holy God and He said, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. He’s still in the business of answering prayers. The Bible says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever”. Bible says, “I’m the Lord, I change not there for ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”. So, God’s promises are still the same, the Savior is still the same, a relationship that you sustain with Him is still based upon His saving grace, your faith and repentance, and commitment to the Savior. Now having said that, we come to this matter of, how do you really touch God? Well you know you can’t do it physically that’s for sure as these sick folk and needy folk did in that day, as the Lord Jesus passed by them. They reached out to touch Him.

You remember the story of the lady who pressed through the crowd to touch the garment of the Savior because she said in her heart, “If I can but touch the hem of His garment I shall be made well”, and He turned around there in the crowd everybody pushing and shoving and He’s said, Who touched Me”? The disciples told Him, you’ve got be kidding Lord, people are touching You everywhere, they’re shoving you. No, He said, “Somebody touched Me”. He knew that the power the healing power that was His had been shared with some receptive heart, so then this lady came and told Him what she had done and He said, “Be of good cheer, thy faith has saved thee”. So, there is this relationship.

How do you touch the Savior? You can’t do it physically because He’s now at the right hand of the father, alive forevermore. He said, “Behold I am He that was dead and behold am alive forevermore”. He’s a living Savior, He’s in the presence of the Father, He ever liveth to make intercession for us, the Bible tells us, and we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, He is the propitiation for our sins. As a person, not only what He did what He is, He is the propitiation for our sins, He stands between us and a holy God, and God looks upon us through Christ. There He is, you can’t reach out physically to touch Him. Now, how do you touch God?

Well, number one He said, “Seek the Lord, seek you me, seek the Lord”. The King set his heart to seek the Lord. Daniel, the prophet, set his heart to seek the Lord. What does that mean? That means you set aside time to give your entire attention to the matter of your relationship with the Lord.

I heard a letter read that had been written from some part of the mission field in India, some years ago, and the friend who was reading it went on something like this. These people who were missionaries observed that their work was in the very low state. The professed believers in that part of India, were overly living in sin and many of them had gone back into their idolatrous ways and the missionaries themselves were at cross purposes and not getting along well together, so there was a built-in air of tension there and things were going bad. So, someone said, “Let’s seek the Lord”. They sent a notice out, it said, “No further services until further notice”, and so they canceled everything. They even told the post man not to come bring the mail because the fact that he would ring the front door and deliver the mail would interrupt their praying. The one who was writing the letter said, “I even let my watch run down because I found myself looking at my watch and wondering how long I’d prayed”. So, they were real serious about it, they were seeking the Lord, and they spent most of a week. Well, the first thing that God did with them was to get them right with each other. They had to confess things to each other and to God, and so they got things straightened around with each other and their hearts were melted with tears and love as the Holy Spirit of God worked among them. Still, there didn’t seem to be any real assurance that the work was done, so they continued on through the week. They came then to the Friday and someone said, “Instead of praying here in the compound, let’s go up to the cottage up in the hills”. There was a little summer cottage up in the hills not too far away, that was sometimes used as a place of relaxation, and so they all went up there and they prayed through Friday and Friday night, and on into Saturday, and finally someone said, “I’ve confessed everything I know how to confess and I don’t know anything else is stands between me and God orbetween me and you friends”, said, “I believe my heart is right and right now I’m going to believe God by faith for His touch upon my life”, and so he prayed, he said, “God by faith I receive whatever you have for me in the power the Holy Spirit, the ministry that should be ours”, and one by one they all did the same thing. Came down from the cottage in the hills and to their amazement the next day people were early for the service. The place was filled and the Spirit of God met them and there was repentance and there was people getting saved and a new spirit in the work. Now, what had happened?

Well, if you touch God number one, set aside time to seek Him. Number two, confess your sins, specifically that is to say, and then get right with people in so far as you can. Now, there’s some things you can never make amends for. We know that. You’ll carry some secrets with you, between you and God. You’ll carry them to your grave because it’s nobody’s business but yours and God’s and you can’t change anything by spreading it abroad, but there are other things that you can make right. You can apologize for angry words, for things that have been taken or stolen or actions that have been with the reprehensible, you can make things right in so far as you can, as the spirit of God guides you. Alright, number one set aside time for God. Number two, confess your sins to God. Number three, get right with people and as you continue waiting on God, then there comes that moment when you can say, by faith dear Lord I receive your touch upon my life. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him for He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him”. If in your heart you’re willing to receive God’s answer, He’s willing to give it to you. Jesus often said, “According to your faith be it unto you”.

Big faith, big answer. Little faith, little answer. No faith, no answer. There is one town where it said, “He could there do no mighty work among them say that He laid His hands on a few sick folk and healed them and He marveled because of their unbelief”. When you don’t believe that God can do it, when in your heart you doubt Him, you are in effect closing the door to any outpouring of His spirit and His blessing upon you.

How do you touch God? You wait on Him, you set aside time, you wait on Him, you pray, you confess your sins, you get right with people, and then you wait some more, until your heart is completely yielded and committed and then by faith, you take the answer and God sends it from the blue.

Now, if you think that’s too simple, well that has to be your problem. You just didn’t try it yet. If you will try what I just told you, you’ll find that it does work. It says, “As many as touched Him were made well”. Oh, I long for that touch of God upon your life as well, God knows, as upon my own as the days go by. The blessing of the Lord is such a beautiful but fragile thing. A little disobedience, a little selfishness, a little carnality, a little brassy clanger in the midst of the music that God would produce in your soul, just a little lack of consecration, just a little self-centeredness, just a little worldliness can cut the edge of blessing and you’ll lose that touch of God. No you didn’t lose your salvation. What you lost was the touch and the blessing of God, and so you want to preserve that at all costs. The wise man said, “Guard thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life”.

You want good breaks in life? Then you better keep your heart right with God, and that means that daily touch. Don’t quit praying until your heart you know you’ve reached out to touch Him and He has indeed answered your prayer. You say, how will I know? You’ll know. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God and if children then heirs, joint heirs, with Christ. God’s Holy Spirit dwells within you if you’re a believer and He, the Holy Spirit of God will tell you, when you pray as the old-timer said, prayed through. That is to say God’s Spirit will let you know when and in your own heart you are right with God and you are enabled then to believe Him for that blessing that He pours out upon you.

Now, what kind of blessing should you ask for? Leave that with God. Leave that with God. Bring your specific concerns to Him. Paul says, “In everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God”. Bring your specific concerns to God lay them out before Him, but then beyond that let God do the outpouring, let Him do the touching of your life, let Him do the blessing of your life and ministry. He knows what He wants from your life. The Bible says of our Lord Jesus, “He Himself knew what He would do”. The disciples were perplexed when He posed the question about providing for a large crowd said, “He Himself knew what He would do”. God has plans for you beloved. You let Him work out His plans. Bring your specific concerns to Him and your requests, yes of course. Pray through the list of your own personal agenda, but when you’ve gotten through with that, you’ve confessed your sins and you’ve gotten right with people, than wait on God for His agenda. It’s glorious I promise you.

Dear heavenly father today, oh give us I pray Thee, the grace and the stick-to-it-iveness to wait before Thee, until we have indeed touched the hem of that lovely garment, until we have indeed prayed through to that point where Christ is Lord and the Holy Spirit is in control, in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!