“Nominal followers of God.” It’s one of the statements in this week’s sermon. The word nominal just kind of sounds like something none of us would like to be--borderline, on the fringes. The Webster Dictionary defines it as 1) having the nature of. 2) having to do with. 3) in name only, not in fact. 4) very small compared to expectations.
What does keep us from getting closer to God? Brother Josh pointed out that we all have baggage. Very simply put, our preacher said, “Get the stuff out of the bag that doesn’t need to be there. Get rid of whatever is keeping you from getting to God.” This was immediately after the opening scripture taken from Hebrews 4:14-16.
Next was an example of someone who definitely wasn’t nominal. Beginning in Matthew 9:20 we meet a woman who had been sick for twelve years. In Mark 5:25-34 we learn more about her. She was broke from paying physicians and still wasn’t any better. This woman was desperate. She had heard of Jesus, that’s all we’re told. But she thought that if she could just touch his garment, she would be whole. That’s faith--the earnest expectation--the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
There was a crowd of people around Jesus that day. It says so in Luke 8:45. How in the world did a sick woman get through that crowd? She had to be really determined to do it. She may have even crawled through the crowd to get to him. She probably did crawl because it says that she touched the hem of his garment. And the hem is at ground level. It goes on to say that immediately she was healed.
Now Jesus knew that someone had touched him. How about that? She touched the hem of his garment and he knew it. All those people pressing in against him and he knew it. It goes on to say that she fell down before him and told him how she had been healed. And the most wonderful part is when Jesus tells her to go in peace because her faith has made her whole. What a revelation! She does go in peace but her story doesn’t end there. In Matthew 14:34-36 it tells of a trip that Jesus makes. When he arrives, he is thronged with people who have all kinds of diseases. What does verse 36 say? “…that they might only touch the hem of his garment..” One woman’s faith had turned into a snowball rolling downhill. Faith really can move mountains. Just think of how many lives were changed because one person chose not to be nominal.
What does keep us from getting closer to God? Brother Josh pointed out that we all have baggage. Very simply put, our preacher said, “Get the stuff out of the bag that doesn’t need to be there. Get rid of whatever is keeping you from getting to God.” This was immediately after the opening scripture taken from Hebrews 4:14-16.
Next was an example of someone who definitely wasn’t nominal. Beginning in Matthew 9:20 we meet a woman who had been sick for twelve years. In Mark 5:25-34 we learn more about her. She was broke from paying physicians and still wasn’t any better. This woman was desperate. She had heard of Jesus, that’s all we’re told. But she thought that if she could just touch his garment, she would be whole. That’s faith--the earnest expectation--the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
There was a crowd of people around Jesus that day. It says so in Luke 8:45. How in the world did a sick woman get through that crowd? She had to be really determined to do it. She may have even crawled through the crowd to get to him. She probably did crawl because it says that she touched the hem of his garment. And the hem is at ground level. It goes on to say that immediately she was healed.
Now Jesus knew that someone had touched him. How about that? She touched the hem of his garment and he knew it. All those people pressing in against him and he knew it. It goes on to say that she fell down before him and told him how she had been healed. And the most wonderful part is when Jesus tells her to go in peace because her faith has made her whole. What a revelation! She does go in peace but her story doesn’t end there. In Matthew 14:34-36 it tells of a trip that Jesus makes. When he arrives, he is thronged with people who have all kinds of diseases. What does verse 36 say? “…that they might only touch the hem of his garment..” One woman’s faith had turned into a snowball rolling downhill. Faith really can move mountains. Just think of how many lives were changed because one person chose not to be nominal.
