Touch the Hem: Faith That Brings Healing

Jun 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Faith Crawls Through Crowds

The desperate woman’s story reveals faith that claws through shame and isolation. Her 12-year bleeding made her an outcast, barred from worship and human touch. Yet she refused resignation. Weakness didn’t stop her from pushing past bodies, social stigma, and the voice saying “you don’t belong.” Her healing began the moment she moved toward Jesus, not when the bleeding stopped. Faith thrives in gritty determination, not passive waiting. What looks like chaos to others becomes holy ground when we reach for Christ. [14:40]

“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped.” (Mark 5:27-29, NLT)

Reflection: What “unclean” area of your life have you hidden from others? How might bringing it into the light become your first step toward healing?

Day 2: Theology That Doesn’t Blame the Wounded

Sickness isn’t God’s lesson plan. When Adam’s sin fractured creation, thorns invaded both fields and bodies. Jesus entered this brokenness not to assign blame but to destroy the works of the devil. The Father’s heart rejects the idea that He uses disease to teach righteousness. His will blazes in the healings of the Gospels—every touch restoring what sin corrupted. Our prayers align with heaven when we declare: God is good, and His healing is for you. [08:45]

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you secretly believed your pain was God’s punishment? How does Jesus’ response to the bleeding woman redefine His view of your suffering?

Day 3: Third-Party Faith That Carries Stretchers

Some miracles require friends who dig through roofs. When the paralyzed man’s crew dismantled a house to lower him into Jesus’ presence, their audacity became his healing. Faith isn’t always solitary—it thrives in community bold enough to say, “We won’t let your crisis have the final word.” The Church’s greatest power lies not in perfect theology but in stubborn love that brings the broken to Christ. [13:07]

“Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. When they could not find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” (Luke 5:18-19, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs you to “tear the roof” for them? What practical step could you take this week to carry someone to Jesus?

Day 4: The Deliberate Touch That Drains Power

Jesus stopped a mob for one woman’s intentional reach. Her fingers brushing his fringe released healing virtue because she connected prophecy to action. Malachi’s “healing in His wings” became her lifeline when she targeted the hem of His garment. Miracles aren’t random—they’re claimed by those who study God’s promises and act on them with precision. Your breakthrough waits where Scripture and desperation collide. [27:14]

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.” (Malachi 4:2, NIV)

Reflection: What specific promise in Scripture have you hesitated to “touch”? How can you position yourself this week to actively claim it?

Day 5: “Daughter” – The Healing Before the Healing

Jesus called an outcast “Daughter” before declaring her healed. Identity restoration preceded physical restoration. Twelve years of being labeled “unclean” dissolved in one word of belonging. Our deepest healing isn’t changed circumstances but hearing God name us as His. Sickness may linger, but no diagnosis can revoke your status as His child. The altar isn’t just for healing—it’s where orphans become sons and daughters. [22:22]

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1, NIV)

Reflection: How might embracing your identity as God’s child change the way you approach Him in your current struggle?

Sermon Summary

Jesus stands up in Scripture as Jehovah Rapha in the flesh, the Lord who heals. James calls the church to stop only listening and start obeying, so the text presses toward action, anointing with oil and praying the prayer of faith. Exodus names God as Healer, and the Gospels keep saying it straight, he healed them all. Mystery remains when the sick are prayed for and are not healed, yet the text refuses cynicism. The call turns from a culture of unbelief and cessationism to simple, childlike trust that keeps praying and keeps anointing because Jesus keeps saving and healing.

A sound doctrine of healing starts where Romans 5 starts. Sin entered, death spread, and a broken planet grew thorns and thistles. God is not the author of sin, sickness, or pain. Jesus was anointed and went about doing good, healing all oppressed by the devil. The cross answers the fall, and the stripes on his back set the expectation for healing now, even as mortality still holds until the resurrection.

Faith is the nonnegotiable, and the text shows three sources. Sometimes the faith of Jesus invades without permission, as with Lazarus. Sometimes third party faith carries a stretcher or intercedes for a daughter. Most often, Jesus says it plainly, your faith has made you well. Luke 8 spotlights what that faith looks like in the woman who bled for twelve years. The unclean label exiled her from worship and community, yet faith refused resignation.

Her faith moves. She gets up, leaves the house, and makes a move. Her faith persists. She presses through resistance, criticism, and rejection, risking exposure to get to Jesus. Her faith is informed and deliberate. She talks to herself in Scripture, If I can just touch him, and reaches for the hem because Malachi said there would be healing in his wings, the kanaph, the fringe. Jesus stops the crowd for a single touch, calls her daughter, and restores not just her body but her belonging. Physical healing is precious yet temporal. The greater miracle is a sin sick soul made whole, relationships restored, and shame replaced by sonship and daughterhood. The text then brings the room to decision. Casual observers are invited to holy desperation. Faith keeps reaching, keeps pressing, and obeys James 5 right now, anointing with oil and praying the prayer of faith.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus embodies Jehovah Rapha today God’s name and Jesus’ mission align, so healing flows from who he is, not from human hype. Sickness rides in on the fall, not on the will of the Father. Confidence grows when the heart stands on God’s character, even while holding the mystery of unanswered prayers. This posture keeps expectation high without denying reality. [08:45]
2. Faith moves, even when weak Dynamic faith gets up and leaves the house. Movement is not bravado, it is alignment, small obedient steps that match what the heart believes. The move might be as simple as stepping into prayer, counseling, or confession, yet that step often breaks long cycles of resignation. New mercies meet feet in motion. [16:27]
3. Resist unbelief and press through rejection Crowds, critics, and shame try to fence the soul out of Jesus’ presence. Faith treats obstacles as signals to press closer, not reasons to quit. Jesus names the rejected woman daughter, healing her belonging before the crowd. Acceptance in Christ becomes the atmosphere where bodies and stories are made whole. [20:06]
4. Aim for an informed, deliberate reach Biblical meditation trains the heart to reach for what God promised, not for random outcomes. Malachi’s word about healing in his wings turns into a focused touch on the hem, not a superstitious grab. Confession steers inner dialogue toward expectancy that matches the Word. Deliberate faith draws real power. [25:21]
5. Keep praying in James 5 obedience Anointed prayer is not magic, it is covenant practice. The church does not measure obedience by immediate outcomes but by staying with the Scripture until. Oil on the forehead and the prayer of faith keep the door open for God’s present-tense mercy. Persistence honors the Healer. [32:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:04] - Series recap and Jesus the Healer
[02:36] - Obeying James 5 today
[03:44] - Jehovah Rapha in Exodus
[04:18] - He healed them all
[05:38] - Miracles now and the gap
[06:17] - Calling out unbelief and cessationism
[07:01] - Keep praying the prayer of faith
[08:45] - Broken planet, not God’s sickness
[11:08] - Three sources of faith
[14:40] - The woman with twelve years bleeding
[16:27] - Faith gets up and moves
[21:50] - Daughter, you are accepted
[25:21] - Healing in his wings, the hem
[32:05] - Anointing with oil and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Luke 8:40-48 (ESV): "Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, 'Who was it that touched me?' When all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!' But Jesus said, 'Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.' And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.'"

Observation Questions

What three specific actions did the woman with the bleeding condition take to pursue healing, according to Luke 8:40-48?
In the sermon, what Old Testament prophecy (and its fulfillment) was linked to the woman’s decision to touch Jesus’ garment? [25:21]
How does James 5:14-15 connect physical healing with spiritual restoration?

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus stopped the crowd to identify who touched Him, even though many were pressing against Him? What does this reveal about His priorities?
The woman’s condition made her ceremonially unclean, isolating her from worship and community. How might her physical healing have also restored her sense of belonging? [22:45]
The sermon emphasized that faith “moves” even when weak. How does the woman’s story illustrate the relationship between faith and action?

Application Questions

Faith often requires a “move,” like the woman leaving her house to seek Jesus. What is one practical step you can take this week to actively pursue healing or breakthrough in an area where you’ve felt stuck? [18:15]
The woman faced rejection and shame but pressed through obstacles to reach Jesus. Where in your life do you need to resist resignation and “press closer” to Christ despite criticism or doubt? [20:06]
The sermon mentioned meditating on Scripture to fuel deliberate faith. What promise or attribute of God (e.g., “healing in His wings”) could you focus on this week to strengthen your expectancy? [25:21]
James 5 calls for anointing with oil and prayer. How could you intentionally create space in your life or community to practice this kind of persistent, covenant-driven prayer? [32:05]
Jesus called the woman “daughter,” restoring her identity. How might embracing your identity as God’s child (accepted and loved) shift how you approach Him in times of need? [22:22]

Sermon Clips

39s

#EmbraceHolySpiritGifts

“So it just seems ridiculous to me that the body of Christ would teach one another that God doesn't operate in the gifts that he gave the church, but it's out there and maybe God has rescued you from that. But I would say that the body of Christ at large not embrace the power the Holy Spirit at the same level with the same simple childlike faith as the early church. We just don't in America. But I would like to call us back today if we could to a simple childlike faith that if Jesus said he wanna heal us, we say, Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief. And”

29s

#PersistInPrayer

“here at the father's house, even though we pray for some sick folks and they don't get healed, guess what we're gonna do? We're gonna keep on praying. We're gonna keep on living in James chapter five verses fourteen and fifteen. We're gonna anoint you with oil and pray the prayer of faith and believe that God is gonna raise you up, and we're gonna do it today in Jesus' name. We will keep praying for the sick and believing that God is going to heal.”

50s

#TouchTheHemInFaith

“She's coming in knowing, based on the prophecy of Malachi, if I can just get through the crowd and touch the hem of his garment in that moment, I know that I will be healed. That is faith. That's a commodity that we long for. That's why we study the word of God. We meditate on the word of God because there's something of faith that says, if I can just get to Jesus, if I can reach out and touch him, if I can hear his voice, and if I can have an audience with him, I know this thing in my life will change. I know breakthrough will come. I know healing will come if I can touch the hem of his garment. This is not a random grab of a piece of clothing, but an informed reach for the one who has promised.”

35s

#GodDoesNotCauseSickness

“a lot of people have a wrong theology about sickness. Let me just we're gonna go to Luke chapter eight in just a moment, but I want to touch on this. There's a lot of people that say this. God gave me this disease or this sickness to teach me something. I would oppose that that line of thought altogether, that god puts sickness on people. Now there are some exceptions even in the New Testament. You'll find them in the old. But in the New Testament, what I find is when God used sickness or death, it was against the wicked, not against the righteous.”

42s

#ByHisStripesWeAreHealed

“So get a good theology regarding where sin and suffering come from so that you can trust that Jesus is the redeemer. He hung up on a cross. He took stripes upon his back, and by his stripes, we are healed. That is where our faith rests. Amen? Amen. So receiving healing, the nonnegotiable component to be healed, we find this in the word, is faith. Without faith, you don't move the hand of God. Without faith, miracles do not take place. But there are three general sources of faith that you can tap into. The first one is I prefer this one. It's the faith of Jesus himself.”

30s

#ThirdPartyFaith

“This would be someone else's faith that steps in for you, like when Jairus ran to Jesus and said, Lord, would you come see my 12 year old daughter? She's dying. And Jesus said, yeah. Let's go. Or how about the four guys who picked up the four corners of a stretcher, and they drug their friend to Christ? It was their faith because we see that when they got to the house, they couldn't get in. There was no room, not even around the windows. And then one of the dudes looked up and says,”

36s

#MakeYourMove

“He's coming down from Capernaum. He's coming to Magdalai, and I think I can get into the meeting. I can pull my cloak up over my head. I can get through. Maybe no one will recognize me. And if I can just touch him, I believe that I will be healed. She made a move. She left the house. And I wanna ask you today, what is your move? What is your move? And let me give you some examples. Reach out to someone for counseling and help. It's a move. Simply come to the altars for prayer today. Set up the first marriage counseling appointment.”

42s

#MoveWithFaith

“Give God the first and the best of your income. That's a move. Show up for church every time the doors are open. Make the apology. Release forgiveness to the one who hurt you. Come to celebrate recovery on Monday night. Go to the healing rooms on Saturday and wait in the presence of God. What is your move of faith? You gotta make a move. You gotta get up. There was a there was a great anthem actually released in the year 2000, and many of the the Christian people in the room, the k lovers will know this one. It was a song by Switchfoot. Anybody remember I dare you to move? Google it up. You'll thank me later.”

47s

#PursueDespiteCritics

“We all have this in our life. You'll have to do the same. And this message today goes farther than a moment where we're gonna pray for the sick because your life is is all about moving past obstacles. There's gonna be obstacles and critics in your way in your pursuit of Jesus. There's always roadblocks to our miracle. And I was thinking about my life, and I've had many of these, and some are too personal to share. Could it might be awkward. I I don't wanna produce that. But I I remember when we started this church nearly thirty years ago, I had some leaders in the body of Christ and pastors I work with, and they're actually warning people, don't go with Dave to plant that church. Do not partner up with that guy.”

36s

#GodIsGoodHeDoesGood

“But the overarching theology of Jesus being the healer is this, god is good and he does good. James says that every good gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness or shadow of turning. The book of Acts says this, that god anointed Jesus who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. So I want you to have a theology that aligns with this statement that I crafted right here. God is not the author of sin, sickness, and pain.”

23s

#YourFaithHeals

“But the predominant source of faith in healing in the New Testament, I would say, is this, it's your faith. It's your faith. What do you believe God to do for you? There's these statements throughout the New Testament. I'll read a few that come up on the main screen. These are quotes from Jesus. He said, your faith has healed you.”

41s

#MoreThanPhysicalHealing

“``And whether you get healed today physically or not, I I know this about the heavenly father. He wants to look at you and call you his son. Look you in the face and say, you are my daughter. And there is a healing that's greater than any physical healing because we believe that there will be people healed today at every location. I believe today as we lay hands on the sick, we're gonna see miracles right here in these altars in East Bay and Napa and Calgary and Roseville and Prison Church Network. We're gonna pray for the sick wherever they are, and God's gonna move. But let me let me give you the downside of that. You're still gonna die.”

46s

#FaithFromTheMargins

“This is a powerful story with just layers of cultural complexity, and I would like to extract three attributes of this kind of faith that brought a healing to this woman. First off, we need to understand that this lady, she lived a painful existence of shame, of isolation, of rejection. She would be categorized in a group called the unclean. Unlike the lepers, if they got within distance of any person where they could be contaminated, they had to cry out, unclean. Unclean. And because of her condition, she fell into the category of unclean, which meant she was restricted from worshiping in the temple. She was not welcomed in any public setting.”

47s

#HealingInTheHem

“The son of righteous will righteousness will arise and he will have healing in his wings. And it's not talking about wings like the cherubim and seraphim. This word kanaph in the Hebrew means this. It meant the edge, the corner, the fringe, or the hem of a garment. So here's what they knew. When messiah comes, when the son of righteousness comes, there will actually be healing in the hem of his garment. And sure enough, there's another instance in the New Testament where everybody was coming to Jesus begging to touch the hem of his garment because they knew there was healing. So she's coming in, and this is some conjecture and speculation, but it's well based.”

48s

#RunUntilYouTouch

“And I just love this image here because through all the mess and the dust and the crowds and the mayhem, Jesus stops everything. He goes, wait a minute. Wait. Wait. Stop. Someone touched me. Peter's embarrassed. He's like, Lord, there's people pressing in all around us. Okay? This this is a mob scene right here. He goes, no. No. No. Somebody deliberately touched the hem of my garment. And today, I pray that you would experience that kind of faith. I pray that at every location, we say, God, we're running after you, and I need a healing. I need a miracle. And I'm not gonna stop until I touch the hem of your garment.”

37s

#SinEqualsPain

“So it's a broken planet theology and doctrine that says sickness and brokenness and pain and war and suffering and things I can't understand are all around me directly and indirectly because of the entrance of sin because of the fall. The fall brought sin. And because of that, God told Adam and Eve, because you sin, you will experience pain. So sin equals pain. Sin equals pain in your marriage. It equals pain in your personal life. It equals pain in your finances. And and he also said that because of sin,”

38s

#SinProducesThorns

“you're gonna struggle in your labor. Used to be they just walk into the garden, everything you want to eat, right there. Just pick some, grab some, sit down, enjoy some. And then sin came, and the ground got hard, and it produced thorns and thistles. Sin produces thorns and thistles in your marriage, in your personal life, in your mental life. Sin produces thorns and in the ground literally. Now I'm studying this, and then I go out yesterday afternoon to mow my lawn because I wanna be a good neighbor, and I don't wanna be busted by the HOA.”

46s

#FromShameToHope

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Touch the Hem: Faith That Brings Healing

Devotional

Day 1: When Faith Crawls Through Crowds

Day 2: Theology That Doesn’t Blame the Wounded

Day 3: Third-Party Faith That Carries Stretchers

Day 4: The Deliberate Touch That Drains Power

Day 5: “Daughter” – The Healing Before the Healing

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Touch the Hem: Faith That Brings Healing

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