Knowing the heartbeat of God for you…Part 1
I talked with you about God’s heart beat for you…
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.
Over the next few weeks, I want to give you specifics of how Jesus showed us the Father’s heartbeat in ways you may not have noticed before.
The Father’s heartbeat if to make sure you know you are valued for who you are and you are able to value others
We see each other every week in church, perhaps a couple of times a week but does anyone really know you….Do you feel like you really matter?
That leads us to another question do we believe we really matter to God?
We are surrounded by people all of the time
We work to accomplish task and goals but we don’t often feel connected or valued
We can have all kinds of success or very little success and be in the same boat…ask yourself…
Do people really see me?
How many people really know who I am?
You don’t have to be alone to feel lonely
We lead “fake” lives…facebook has perpetrated an entirely fake world where people seem happy, engaged, connected….we have hundreds even thousands of friends but no one really knows us
We have people like our post but when you ask them what it’s about they have no clue
People connecting with us through Pinterest, Instagram or Linked In but the connections are all surface but God’s heartbeat is to really connect with you
Luke 8:43-48
Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Great story…I am sure you have read it or heard about it dozens of times but in this story, we see the Father’s heartbeat in Jesus and a connection that is real. Let’s take a closer look
The woman had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, she had no hope. She was now an outcast in her culture because of her issue of blood she was not allowed to be around people the law said she must be isolated
Sometimes we feel like an outcast ourselves, we feel for some reason that we are isolated from the “in” crowd or others in general. We feel like we don’t fit in for some reason it could be guilt we are carrying, shame, low self-esteem, fear of rejection
This woman carried all of those things being a widow or at least a single, a woman in a male-dominated culture, the blood flow was a sign of sin in this culture so she was already being always judged. She fit in nowhere because of no man in her life, her blood flow, her guilt her self-condemnation, creating an impossibly low self-esteem…it was in her feeling this way that she did something in desperation…she was trusting in the stories she had probably heard about Jesus who went to other outcasts like Samaritans and lepers. She reached out…the next verses may seem harsh or embarrassing at first but they weren’t
Luke 8:45,46
And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”
Do you think the God of the universe, the God who knows everything, the God who knew He was going to die on the cross and when didn’t know who touched him?
This poor woman was already an outcast already feeling rejected and now it seems she is going to be pointed out for ridicule and more rejection.
Even being in a crowd of people she felt alone and rejected and it seemed more rejection was coming
Jesus keeps pushing the button getting everyone else all excited and confused…why would he do this to this poor woman….this is somethingsome of you believe this morningas well, that if you draw close to Jesus He is going to expose all of your sin, He will reject you or openly ridicule you, when that is the furthest from the truth…
if you have read anything about Jesus he never ridiculed or embarrassed regular people. He only had love and compassion for the broken and rejected.
Then here is what happened
47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
Many times if we really come into the presence of God, we have been touched by Him we feel unworthy. We think God will perform a miracle for others but not for us. God cares about so and so but not so much about me. So many others are far more important in the Kingdom than me
Remember… “he loves you with an ever lasting love” he is the one who loves you the most…
He felt that way and showed us that through this woman. Listen to what he said.. Luke 8:48
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
This rejected woman, woman of low self-esteem, woman bound by guilt and shame. This outcast he calls “daughter”
He not only healed her but he made a big spectacle out of the situation questioning people causes a buzz to be about this unknown person. He took this person that everyone had rejected, everyone had made fun of, ridiculed…he made her the center of attentionnot to embarrass her but instead – to embrace her, -to value her, -to love her, -to raise herup to being a “daughter” of the King. When he used the word “daughter it not only meant child of God but one who was in right standing with God…he took a woman on the bottom rung of society and made her a princess… His words “go in peace” meant you are righteous before God, she was not only made well, became a princess, but he made her completely right and free in God. That is what the Father’s heart beat is for you today.
This is the Father’s heartbeat for the world
This is the Father’s heartbeat for every person we see and associate with everyday
Many times people yell, throw tantrums, get upset are moody because they are simply waiting to be rejected again…we have the power like Jesus to lift them up to be the princes and princesses they are called to be
I don’t want to overload you with verses but here are a few to help you remember even when you don’t feel valued that what you are feeling is not the truth but a lie
Christ has set us free to experience true freedom Galatians 5:1
“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
WE never need to fear or worry, because God has got us no matter how difficult the situation Psalm 46:1
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”
You are so loved by God that He calls you His child 1 John 3:1
“See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
We all go through times of not feeling like we are important to the people we want to feel important too, but God lifts us up. You have to choose to believe it!
Just as important today is I want us to be aware that there are people you know, you see everyday, that God wants you to be sensitive to His Spirit enough, to recognize where they are and be Jesus to them as Jesus was to this woman…it doesn’t matter why they are the way they are we must try to help them and if they will be helped…set them free