Tap the Power

You know the story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5...

'A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse —after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.

'For she thought [Gr. lego—to say, speak or affirm], "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

'Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My garments?"

'And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of 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]

Jesus did nothing to heal her as we would think. He didn't even know she was there! He didn't give a word over her, or lay hands on her, or anoint her with oil!

She drew the power out of Him by her faith!

His Part, Our Part
Yes, He was there and full of God—He was exactly where He was supposed to be—but it was her faith that made the connection and drew the power out of Him. He was totally unaware of her until He realized that power had gone out of Him. When He perceived what had happened, He confirmed it: "Daughter, your faith has made you whole."

Yes, in many cases He did lay hands on the sick and they recovered—He called the dead back to life and even spit on people's eyes and ears for healing! But in every case, whether He was consciously party to it or not, it was the individual's faith that drew the power out.

When He went back to His hometown of Nazareth, the people took offense at Him because they thought they knew who He was.

'Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief...' [Mark 6:4-6]

He couldn't do much there because of their unbelief! No faith, no miracle.

The same was spoken of the Israelites and their inability to enter into the promises of God...

'For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

'SO WE SEE THAT THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF.' [Hebrews 3:16-19]

It always takes faith to draw miracle-working power from God. Why? Because faith is the substance—the assurance, substantial quality, that which has actual existence, real being—of things hoped for, the conviction, or proof, of THINGS NOT SEEN. [Hebrews 11:1]

Hebrews 1:3 goes on to say 'By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the Word of God, so that WHAT IS SEEN was NOT MADE out of THINGS WHICH ARE VISIBLE.' Yes, it always comes back to the visible and invisible, the temporal and eternal [2 Corinthians 4:18].

Jesus The Word
Jesus is the Word of God, and we know that the Word of God is settled forever. [Psalm 119:89] He is and was the fulfillment of all the Old Covenant, including Psalm 107:20...'He sent His WORD and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.'

He was the forever settled WORD of healing—God's work, already finished—she just tapped into it. Interestingly, He called her 'daughter' or thugater, which in the Greek means daughter of God, acceptable to God. In other words, she was in covenant with God, and her covenant provided for her healing!

I have previously written that I see God’s Word, forever settled in heaven, like a canopy above us, filled with all precious and pleasant riches [Proverbs 24:4]. We are told to look at the unseen and take hold of the hope set before us—so we look at His forever settled Word and speak “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, ON EARTH, AS IT IS [present tense] IN HEAVEN…”

She drew from that forever settled Word, the Word of her covenant—the Covenant just standing there in front of her! Sort of like the old-fashioned leather hand straps of a trolley—she just reached up and grabbed it, because IT WAS ALREADY THERE! Just like Hagar’s well! [Genesis 21:19]

Why was it already there? Because God had already spoken all of His Word…He has rested from His works! She was a daughter of the covenant!

For Us, Too
So it is for us as well. Jesus was not only the Old Covenant, He is the New Covenant, too! He is the Limitless One, and we are one Spirit with Him. [1 Corinthians 6:17]

'For as many as are the promises of God, IN HIM THEY ARE YES; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

We are sons and daughters of the New Covenant, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. [Ephesians 4:24]

‘For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.’ [Galatians 3:26]

‘Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”’ [Galatians 4:6]

Therefore we, too, can tap into the power within to take hold of the promises of God for us.

Hallelujah!