So, of course, Matthew chapter 14, you've got a lot of great miracles here.
You've got Jesus feeding the thousands with a few loaves and, of course, that very well-known
story where Peter walks out on the water and begins to doubt and then sinks.
But then there at the end, you also see this other kind of, this other miracle that kind
of gets looked over because of the fact that it's kind of overshadowed by these other ones.
But it says there in those last couple of verses, it says in verse 35,
And the men of that place had knowledge of him.
They sent out unto all the country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased.
So Jesus comes over into this land, and they hear that he's there, so they begin to send
out word that, hey, Jesus is here.
And they sent out unto everybody around the country, and they bring everybody that's diseased.
They're just, everyone in that area that has something wrong with them, they're bringing
him to Jesus.
And it says in verse 36, And besought him that he might only, that they might only touch
the hem of his garment, and as many as touched him were made perfectly whole.
So it's this amazing miracle, again, that just kind of gets overshadowed by the fact
that there's all these other great miracles in this chapter.
But all these people are coming to Jesus, and they're beseeching him, they're begging
him that if they could just get close enough to Jesus to just touch even his garment, not
have him look at them or him speak to them or do some miracle like we see in other passages
where he's healing the blind men through, you know, spitting on their eyes and making
clay and saying certain things to people, raising the dead by, you know, telling them,
speaking words unto them.
He's just passing by, and these people are just reaching out and just touching his garment,
and they're healed, they're made perfectly whole.
And that's the title of the sermon tonight, Made Perfectly Whole.
And I want to kind of just use that phrase and apply it to ourselves tonight that we
as Christians need to become perfectly whole.
Now let me just start out by defining perfect.
Of course, perfect, where I'm not talking about becoming sinless, that we're going to
reach, you know, like we often use the word perfect today in our modern English.
We would say, you know, that's perfect.
Like there's nothing wrong with it, you know, it's perfect.
But in biblically, what it's saying is that when they're made perfectly whole, it's kind
of in that phrase right there, perfectly whole.
To be perfect in the scriptures is to be made whole, to be complete.
If you would go over to James chapter 1.
This is a great way to define what the Bible means by perfect or perfectly.
Not sinless, but complete.
You're going to James 1, and I should have had you keep something in Matthew 14, so you
might want to keep something there.
But I found another passage I thought that helps define this word perfect.
In Deuteronomy 25, it says, Thou shalt have a perfect and a just weight, a perfect and
a just measure shalt thou have, that they, days may be length in the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee.
So he's saying, look, your weights, your measurements, they have to be perfect, meaning what?
That they're not going to say, this is one pound, but it's actually .8 pounds.
They're going to be perfect.
They're going to be complete.
They're going to be whole.
They're going to have all the weight that they are supposed to have.
If you look there in James 1, it says in verse 2, My brethren, count it all joy when you
fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience,
but let patience have her perfect work.
Let her work on you, let it run its course, why?
That ye may be perfect and entire.
So you can again see how the Bible uses the word perfect by being complete, by being entire,
by wanting nothing, he's saying there, not being lacking, but being perfect.
He goes on and says, if any of you lack wisdom, when I'm asked of God, I give it to all men
liberally and it shall be given him.
So again, the Bible use of the word perfect means to be complete or to be made, to not
lack anything.
And that's kind of when I want to apply this phrase here, being made perfectly whole.
That's how I want to use this tonight to emphasize the fact that we as Christians,
we have to be perfectly whole as Christians.
We can't be lacking things in our Christian life.
Now of course here in the context of Matthew chapter 14, the primary application often
is that of salvation.
One is, it goes to show you that one touch is all that's needed.
That if a person just touches Jesus, just one time, they're complete.
Salvation is a one time thing.
That you only need to be born again once, you don't have to be born again and again
and again, that once you're born again, you're born again, that's it.
Once you touch the hem of that garment for salvation, you're whole, you're complete.
Not only that, but that it's enough for everyone.
I'm going to have you go over to Mark chapter 5.
There's salvation for everybody.
It's only a one time thing.
The Bible says in Luke 6, he came down with them and stood in the plain, of course after
he calls his disciples, and the company of his disciples and a great multitude of people
of all Judea and Jerusalem and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon which came to hear
him to be healed of their diseases and they were vexed with unclean spirits and they
were healed and the whole multitude sought to touch him for there went virtue out of
him and healed them all.
The other thing I want you to notice is that it says that when these people touched him,
the virtue went out from him and healed them.
Again, it's a great picture of salvation showing us that it's the Lord that heals us, that
he's the one that makes us whole.
We reach out, we touch in faith, trusting that Jesus is going to make us whole when
it comes to salvation, but it's his virtue that comes out of him and makes us whole.
It's not our own good works, it's not our own good deeds.
So of course that's the primary application here that I believe that we could use, that
it's his virtue and not ours that heals.
Look there in Mark chapter 5 in verse 27, it says when she had heard of Jesus, she came
in the press behind him, of course this is the woman that was vexed with the issue of
blood for 12 years, and she says that she came in the press behind him and touched his
garment, for she said, if I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that
she was healed of the plague, and Jesus immediately, knowing in himself that virtue had gone out
of him, turned him about in the press and said, who touched my clothes?
So again, it's his virtue that heals, it's his goodness, it's his grace that makes us
whole when it comes to salvation, but we all understand that, so tonight I want to use
this as more of a secondary application, and the fact that we need to draw near to
Christ to be made whole as believers.
That we need to get close enough to God where we are, you know, in a spiritual sense touching
him, that we're at arm's length with the Lord in order to be made what?
To be made perfectly whole.
Ask Christians, as you read in James, you know, that if let patience ever work that
you what?
May be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
If you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, you know that we should not be lacking things
in our Christian life.
We should always be trying to add to our faith and growing.
If you would, go over to 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1.
The Christian, though they are saved, is not immediately perfectly whole.
We know that when he comes and when he shall appear, we shall be as he is, that we will
have the mind of Christ, a glorified body that will be delivered from the old man once
and for all, and that we will be whole in that moment.
But until then, we still have the sin nature with us.
We still have the spirit and the flesh conflicting with one another every day.
So we as Christians need to be made perfectly whole.
We need to strive to become better Christians every single day.
We must add to our faith, as it says here in 2 Peter chapter 1.
Look at verse 1, it says, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that
have obtained like precious faith.
They've already obtained it, they've already gotten saved with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 5, and besides this, give all diligence, add to your faith.
And of course, we've read this list before, I've heard it preached, all these virtues
and the knowledge and the temperance and the patience, all these things that we are to
add to our faith.
And if we're lacking these things, then we are not whole as Christians.
We are not made perfectly whole.
If we desire to be fruitful, all these things must be added.
This is just one list in the Scriptures.
There's many other things that we ought to be endeavoring as Christians to add to our
life to be made perfectly whole.
And it says there in verse 5, besides all this, giving all diligence.
In order to be made perfectly whole as a Christian, it's going to take diligence.
It's not something that's just going to happen by itself.
You're not just going to put your Bible under your pillow at night and sleep on it and by
osmosis wake up just a spirit-filled believer that's on fire for God and living godly in
Christ Jesus.
It's not going to happen.
You have to determine to live that life, and it's going to take diligence in order to be
made perfectly whole as a Christian.
This process of being made perfectly whole requires effort on our part.
Many people, they desire to be closer to God.
They would say they want that, but few of them have the faith to actually make that
happen.
A few of them want to put forth that effort to make that happen.
If you're there in Matthew 14, in verse 22, we'll look at that, of course, famous miracle
of Peter walking on the water, it says in verse 22, Matthew 14, straightaway Jesus constrained
his disciples to get into a ship and to go before him under the other side, and while
he sent the multitudes away, and when they had sent the multitudes away, he went up into
a mountain apart to pray, and when the evening was come, he was there alone, but the ship
was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary, and in the
fourth watch of the night, Jesus went of them walking on the sea, and the disciples saw
him walking on the sea, and they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit, and they cried out
for fear, but Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.
And Peter answered and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto the end of the water.
We kind of pick on Peter sometimes, but man, for all the faults that he might have had
that makes him relatable, we also look at this and say, well, I wonder how relatable
he is to us in this passage.
Will we be like Peter?
Will we be one of the guys back in the boat, saying, Peter, what are you doing?
You can't walk on the water, Peter, I mean, the Lord's coming, he'll get close enough
to us, and the Lord's going to come to us, he'll climb up in the boat, we'll be close
to God together, don't be such a showboat, Peter, you're just trying to show off.
No Peter really wanted to be with the Lord.
He really wanted to get closer to God in that moment.
He really wanted to know what it was to walk by faith with the Lord.
And that required him stepping out of that boat, when everybody else was just going to
stay back in the boat, where it was safe, and where they had sure footing.
When he was the one that decided to step out and to come unto him on the water, you
know, many people would like to do things like this, they would love to do these great
works for God, they would love to do the works like Paul did, you know, the great victories,
like Peter here.
They would love to do all these great things, but few are willing to suffer like he did.
I mean, Peter was in the midst of a storm when he did this, they're thinking they're
going to die.
And he's walking on the water, it wasn't a nice bright sunshiny day, the waters are
just smooth as glass when he's doing this great miracle.
So in order to get close to God, we have to put ourselves in that position where we have
to step out by faith and be uncomfortable.
And you have to be willing to go through these storms, you know, and like, like, like Paul,
you know, Paul did great works for God, but you want to talk about a guy that suffered
for the Lord's sake, I mean, that guy suffered.
He said in Philippians, and if you would, go over to Philippians chapter 3, Philippians
chapter 3, he said in Philippians 1, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
And he's ready to just die, he counts his life as nothing.
He had a desire to depart and to be with the Lord, which is far better, nevertheless, he
chose to abide in the flesh because it was needful for those around him.
It says there in Philippians 3, we'll look at verse 7, he says, what things were gained
to me, those I counted loss for Christ, they doubtless I count all things but loss, for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the
loss of all things and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through faith.
So you see, Paul here, he's the type of person that, you know, he did all these great works,
but at what price, what was the mentality that he had, a willingness just to count it
all dung, just to count it all as worthless.
So this process of being made perfectly whole, drawing closer to God and him molding us into
what we need to be as Christians requires effort, it requires sacrifice, and the fact
is that many people, though they would like that, are not willing to make that effort,
they won't do it.
Look at Luke chapter 17, Luke chapter 17, and it won't be a long sermon tonight but
I think it's an important one, it's an important concept, it's something that we have to understand
as Christians that if we want to be made perfectly whole, and not just live a mediocre Christian
life, not just live this ho-hum Christian life where we really don't get anything done
for God, you know, we're going to have to understand that we need to be made whole.
In order to do that, you're going to have to put forth the effort, you're going to have
to be diligent to add to your faith, you're going to have to be willing to put yourself
in uncomfortable circumstances, and we love the idea of walking by faith but it's easy
to walk by faith when everything's going right, it's easy to walk by faith when life is just
all lined up and the job's going great, the finances are great, the home life is great,
and everything's going great in the world.
But it's when things get tough, when things get hard, that's when we really learn to walk
by faith, when we're uncertain, when we really truly just have to trust God for what's going
to happen next.
And that's what Peter did, he didn't know, he had the faith to say, I'm going to step
out on this water and it's going to hold me and I'm going to walk to the Lord and draw
closer.
But, you know, a lot of people in that boat might have been saying, you're crazy, what
are you doing?
Look what's going on around you.
And the fact is, many will not make the effort necessary to draw closer to God to be made
perfectly whole as Christians.
Look at Luke chapter 17 verse 11, and it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers which
stood afar off.
And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
And when they saw him, he said to them, go show yourselves unto the priests.
And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed.
You can look at every single one of these miracles and just see how they had to have
faith in order to be healed, in order to be cleansed.
They had to believe what he said, his word.
And it wasn't until they stood up and acted on that faith that they were cleansed.
It says in verse 15, and one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back and with
a loud voice glorified God.
So he heals these ten people, these ten lepers, and one of them glorifies God.
And he looks down, he's healed of his disease, and he lifts up his voice and glorifies God
and it says that he fell down on his face at his feet.
So instead of going to the priests like he was told, he just forgets all that, runs away
from the other nine guys who just go on their merry way, and runs towards the Lord and falls
on his face and glorifies God.
And Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed?
But where are the nine?
They are not found to return to give glory to God, save the stranger.
Because you have to remember they were in Samaria, so this is a stranger, he's not even
a Jew.
And he said unto them, Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.
The other nine, they didn't want to make the effort, oh Jesus, he's all the way over there.
And I'm already cleansed, I'm already healed.
I mean I appreciate what the Lord's done for me, but I'm just going to go on my own way.
And the one guy, the few, the one out of the ten was the one that decided, you know what,
I'm going to glorify God, and turn around and put forth the effort to draw near to God
and fall on his face and glorify him.
Not everyone's willing to do that.
And in order to draw near, you have to say, well I want to be like that one.
In order to do that, you have to let nothing get in your way.
Nothing distracts you.
If you have the attitude like Paul, it's all done, compared to the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ.
All of it is worthless.
Let's go over to Mark chapter 5.
Mark chapter 5.
Mark chapter 5 and verse 22.
And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name.
And when he saw him, he fell down on his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little
daughter lieth at the point of death.
I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live.
And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him and thronged him.
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many
things of the physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but
rather grew worse, when she heard of Jesus, came in the press behind him.
So you have to get the idea here that all these people are just thronging Jesus.
I mean, they're just pressing on him.
It's like trying to get through this thick crowd of people.
I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like that, but it's not always easy.
If you've ever been on a crowded street or something like that, where you have to navigate
around people, or just a very tightly packed group of people, if you want to get through,
you just have to start grabbing shoulders and jackets and throwing elbows and trying
to get in there.
And that's what she did.
It says she came in the press behind him, and she went through everybody.
She wasn't letting anybody get in her way.
She was going to get close to God.
She didn't care how many other rulers were there, how many other more important people
than her were there.
She was going to draw close to God that day.
Nobody was going to stop her, because she knew that Jesus had what she needed, and nothing
was going to stop her.
And I wonder if we would have that same attitude, because though we're healed, though we're
already saved, there's many things that we still require from God as Christians.
We still need the wisdom and the knowledge and the virtue and the patience and all of
these things, but are we willing to press through all the things that get in our way?
Or are we just going to say, it's too crowded, life's too busy, I don't have time to get
close to God, there's more important things.
I guess the things that I need aren't really that important.
Or is it just because it's just not convenient?
And he said, for she said, if I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was drawed up, and she felt in her body that
she was healed of that plague.
And what I love about this is that God notices when we get close.
Look at verse 30, and Jesus immediately, knowing in himself that virtue had gone out
of him, turned him about in the press and said, who touched my clothes?
And of course his disciples, they're perplexed by this question saying, thou sayest the multitudes,
sayest thou who touched me?
But he knew that there was one person there that had made the effort, that had pressed
through all those people, because she desired something from him, and she got it.
And he already knew who it was.
But God notices when we take the time and put in the effort and remain diligent to develop
as Christians to grow, to be made perfectly whole, he takes notice of that.
The Bible says, draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
That's a promise that we have from God.
They say, God feels so far away from me, it just seems like it's just this, you know,
he's just a concept to me.
He's not a person.
He's not real to me.
Well, are you trying to get closer to him?
Are you doing your part to draw closer to him?
Because if you will press toward him, he'll notice, and he'll draw nigh to you.
So really what I'm trying to, how can we apply this tonight practically as Christians?
You know, they say, this all sounds great, but what specifically should I do tonight?
You know, I want peace.
I want to be whole.
I want to grow as a Christian.
I want to grow and add these things to my faith, and draw nigh to God.
Well, you don't have to put forth the effort, you have to draw close, and to just give you
a practical application tonight, how about reading your Bible?
That's probably the one thing that will draw you closer to God than anybody.
It's probably the most neglected thing amongst Christians, is the reading of the scriptures.
Just the daily getting in there and reading your Bible.
I mean, if we would read this book, I mean, we have God in our hands.
Not the paper and the ink, but the words of God are right here.
He's at arm's length.
The Bible says in Psalm 119, I rejoice at that word, as one that findeth great spoil.
You know, spoil not, you know, stuff that's gone bad in the fridge, but spoil like the
spoils of war.
One that comes upon treasure suddenly, and it all comes into a great wealth.
The psalmist is saying, I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
There's just this treasure trove of just wisdom and knowledge and all these things that help
us draw closer to God right at our fingertips, but we just take it for granted.
We say, well, to us, it's not spoil.
To us, it might as well be spoils in the fridge.
Something that we just say, I'll get around to it, I can't, I'll clean that up later.
You know, it's not a treasure to us.
He said, I hate a boring and lying, but thy law do I love.
Can we say that tonight?
Can we say that we love God's word, that it's a treasure to us, that we look forward to
getting up early and getting in it and spending time in it?
Do you ever get to the end of your day asking yourself, waiting and saying, I can't wait
to get back in my Bible?
If not, you know, you need to do, you need to check your heart because this is how you're
going to draw nigh to God.
Jesus isn't going to walk in the room today.
You know, he's not going to have, there's not going to be a physical garment that you
can go lay hands on today and take in your hands and hold and feel, but you can wrap
your hands around this book.
You could reach out and grab this and feel this in your hand, and this will bring you
closer to God today.
Read your Bible.
He said, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them.
Wouldn't it be great to have peace today?
I mean, there's so much uncertainty, especially these days about what's going on in the world
around us and people, so many people don't have peace.
They're just, they're fretting.
They're biting their nails.
They're worried.
They need to get in this book and love this book and walk by faith according to this book.
And if they will do that, they'll have peace.
It's guaranteed.
Great peace have they which love thy law.
People that love it, that want to be in it.
You know, we were here at the potluck yesterday, I broke out that fancy Bible of mine, right?
With that soft goat skin leather, right?
That premium and it's, and I like it.
It's butter.
I'm going to break on it.
I spent good money on that Bible.
Buttery smooth.
Thank you.
Appreciate that.
I bought it myself.
Right?
It's a nice Bible, but I don't care what was around that Bible.
I don't care if it was wrapped in sandpaper.
It's the words that are in here that matter.
And we, if we would read the scriptures, if we would just reach out and no matter what,
what was the binding was, whatever it was, it was just some paperback off the back shelf
over there.
And we would just put our hands on this book.
You know what you're doing?
You're touching the border of his garment today.
You're touching, you're reaching out and grabbing a hold of God today when you pick up your
Bible
And when we read it and with the, those that love it and spend time of it and anyone who's
done it knows I'm telling the truth that when you read that book, you could begin to feel
his presence.
He begins to speak to you through that.
Some passage just smites your heart or brings you joy or brings your happiness or convicts
you or something.
It moves in your life.
It works in your heart.
Brings a tear to the eye.
It does.
It has power in it.
Why is that?
You're touching God.
You're reaching out and you're grabbing a hold of the Lord and molds us into what we
ought to be as Christians and makes us perfectly whole.
How are you going to be made perfectly whole tonight by reading this book right here?
Not just by wanting to, not just by wishing it into existence.
You're going to have to get in this book, reach out, grab a hold of it, go through the
press of, of your busy schedule, push through the press of everything that's trying to distract
you from stopping and cracking open this book and reach out and grab the border of
his garment in the Bible.
And that's going to mold us in what we are going to be.
You know, every day the Lord's just passing by at arm's length of so many Christians.
Every day he's just right there on the coffee table just passing us by.
Every day he's just on our nightstand just right there just passing us by.
But so few of us actually reach out and grab a hold and say, I want to draw closer to God
and open it up and get in it.
So that's what I'm trying to encourage you to do tonight, to be made perfectly whole
through reading your Bible.
Don't let the Lord just pass you by, reach out tonight and grab a hold of it and be made
perfectly whole.
Let's go ahead and pray.