Kerry Shook - Touching Heaven
Woodlands Church, we are in this adventure that we're calling the Heaven On Earth Challenge, and it's based on the part of the Lord's Prayer where Jesus said we're to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus is saying that when you pray, you're reaching out and touching heaven. And we're to ask the King of heaven to bring some heaven on earth in our lives, our homes, our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods, our cities. He wants to bring some heaven on earth. That means the peace of heaven, the healing of heaven, the blessings of heaven, are right within reach.
The problem is we usually let earth crowd out heaven. We let all the distractions of earth crowd out our reaching out and taking hold of heaven and bringing it right down where we are. And sometimes, you gotta fight through a crowd of distractions to find heaven. People will fight through crowds for ridiculous reasons, and you know that. You've been in some of those crowds at times. People will actually wait in line and then fight through the crowds to be able to fight somebody else over a flat-screen television. People will fight through crowds for ridiculous reasons, and you know that. But today, we're gonna look at a woman who fought through a crowd so she could touch heaven, and she experienced the healing of heaven. And so, I want you to open your Bibles to the Book of Luke chapter 8. And would you stand in honor of God's Word, Woodlands Church? Just follow along with me.
"As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 'Who touched me?' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.' But Jesus said, 'Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.' Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
You can be seated. Heaven came to earth 2,000 years ago and walked among us. Jesus was heaven in human flesh. And so, when this woman pushed through the crowd and touched Jesus, she was touching heaven. And she experienced the healing of heaven instantly. She experienced the power of heaven to overcome her greatest obstacle. Look at verse 43. It says, "And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her".
This woman's greatest obstacle wasn't the crowd she had to fight through in order to get to Jesus. Her greatest obstacle was the illness she had been fighting for 12 years that was slowly killing her. She was desperate for a touch of heaven. She was desperate for God's healing touch in her life. She had tried doctor after doctor, medicine after medicine, and nothing had worked. She was considered incurable, terminal, a lost cause. And she was also bankrupt. I mean, she was broke. She spent all her money on doctors and medicines, and her condition was even worse. She was facing an overwhelming barrier that just seemed like it would be impossible to ever get through.
So, what is the overwhelming barrier you're facing right now? What is that problem that you feel like you'll never be able to get through? What is that hurt that you feel like you'll never be able to get over? But what is that loss in your life you feel like you can never recover from? Well, here's the good news. When you realize the greatest barrier in your life is too great for you to overcome, then the barrier between heaven and earth gets real thin. Did you get that? When you realize the greatest barrier of your life is too great for you to overcome and you come to the end of yourself, then the barrier between heaven and earth gets really thin.
See, the ancient Celtic Christians called certain places thin places. They said it was like the barrier between heaven and earth was really thin in those places. It was like heaven was touching earth and miracles were happening in those places. And it was because there would be people who had been praying in those places for years the Lord's Prayer and that part of Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". It's because people had prayed for years for heaven to come to earth in that place.
And so, it was a thin place. Woodlands Church, our campuses are thin places. It's amazing, like, almost every day, we have people walk in to our campuses and maybe they come to the prayer fountain and just start weeping. And one of our pastors will see them and talk to them and find out that maybe their marriage is falling apart. Or maybe they've just lost a loved one or maybe they're struggling with an addiction and just don't know what to do, where to turn. And we'll say, "How did you come here"? "Well, I've never been to the church, but I don't know, just something drew me here. I just had to come here".
And then heaven invades their heart, and we've seen it over and over again, why? Because people have been praying here for years. This church is bathed in prayer. At our campuses, we've been praying for years for heaven to come to earth in this place, and that's why God works miracles here, that's why God meets needs here, that's why God brings heaven's restoration, heaven's healing, heaven's hope, heaven's peace right here. You're in a thin place right now. And sometimes you can just feel it when you walk onto our campuses. But I want you to know, the greatest thin places aren't physical places on this earth.
The greatest thin place is that place in a person's heart when the thick pride that was covering their heart crumbles away, and they realize that their greatest obstacle was too great for them to overcome. And they stop trying to wrestle heaven, and they reach out for heaven. That is the greatest thin place. When you come to that place where you realize your greatest obstacle is too great for you to overcome and you give up, then the barrier between heaven and earth is really thin right there. Heaven is about ready to collide with your heart. And so, are you at a thin place right now? Are you at that place where all of that thick pride has just crumbled away because you realize your greatest obstacle is just too great for you to overcome and you feel like giving up?
It's good news, folks, because you're at a thin place. That's the place where the barrier between heaven and earth is so thin, where heaven is so near, that all you gotta do is have a little bit of imperfect, ordinary faith and reach out and touch heaven because heaven is so near. Heaven is right here. Heaven is right there because the barrier between heaven and earth evaporates when your pride crumbles away. And you can just reach out to heaven. And that's what happened with this woman. The barrier between heaven and earth was so thin in her heart because she was desperate for heaven. She was gonna do whatever it took to push through the crowd, to fight through, so she could touch heaven.
Well, the woman was not only destitute and considered incurable, she was also considered unclean. Because of her bleeding, according to Jewish law, she was ceremonially unclean, and that would mean everyone who touched her or everyone that she touched would be considered unclean. So, that meant that she was ostracized by her community, probably she was put outside the city so that she wouldn't accidentally bump into someone and make them unclean and wouldn't be allowed to touch anyone and make them unclean. So, she probably hadn't felt human touch in over 12 years. I mean, can you imagine never again in your life feeling human touch?
Can you imagine never again in your life feeling someone's arm come around you and hold you and say, "You're gonna make it. It's gonna be okay. I'm here with you. I can't fix it, but I'm here with you". Can you imagine never again feeling an encouraging hug? Can you imagine never again holding someone's hand? She hadn't felt human touch in 12 years, no community, no connection, no human touch. I would imagine that her greatest fear was the fear of being alone for the rest of her life, never being noticed, never being accepted, never being understood, never being touched, never being treasured. I imagine her greatest fear was the fear of being alone for the rest of her life. But just the thought of one touch from heaven, just the thought of heaven's touch took away her greatest fear.
One touch from heaven took away the greatest obstacle in her life. And just the thought of one touch of heaven dispelled the greatest fear in her life. So, what's your greatest fear? What paralyzes you with fear? What keeps you up at night? Is it the fear of what people think about you? Is it the fear of rejection? Is it the fear of being alone? Is it the fear of the future? Is it the fear of failure? Is it the fear that someone's gonna find out that you're not all you're cracked up to be? Is it the fear of death? What's your greatest fear? I'm telling you just one touch from heaven can shatter your greatest fear and fill you with hope.
It says in Luke 8:44, "She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped". So, she scrapes together every last bit of hope and courage that she can muster. She puts aside all of her fear and all of her shame, and she steps into the crowd for the first time in 12 years. I just imagine that she pulled her cloak up over her head and put her head down so she wouldn't be recognized by anyone in the crowd.
And it must have felt so awkward and uncomfortable for the first time in 12 years to feel human contact and not just human contact, but the crowd just pressing in. She must have felt so claustrophobic, but she fought and she fought. She fought through her anxieties. She fought through that claustrophobia. She fought through her fears and her shame. And she fought and fought until she got right behind Jesus Christ, right at the front of the crowd. And then in an act of scandalous faith, she had the audacity to reach out and touch heaven. She touched the hem of heaven.
You see, she thought, "If I can just touch the hem of heaven, I'll find healing. If I can just touch the hem of heaven, then maybe I'll finally be healed". She touched the hem of heaven and she discovered that heaven has a healer and his name is Jesus Christ. She was instantly healed. Now, it's interesting to me that the story doesn't end there. I mean, it's a great ending that this woman was instantly healed. She, for the first time in 12 years, was pain free and for the first time in 12 years had total healing. And then she fades back into the crowd. But no, it didn't happen that way. She must have been shocked when Jesus stopped, turned around, and he said this in Luke 8:45, "'Who touched me?' Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, 'Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'"
You see, the crowd, even the disciples, didn't realize a miracle had just taken place in their midst. They weren't amazed. They had no idea. And sometimes we think, oh, we'll be amazed when the greatest miracles happen around us, but it's not the case because many times we're not aware of the miracles. We're not in tune with the miracles. We don't really notice the miracles. The miracle, many times, is right under our nose. We miss it. The very thing that you need the most is probably right under your nose, but you're looking somewhere out there for it when heaven is right there if you'll reach out and take hold of heaven. Well, no one knew without any fanfare or even a word being spoken.
God knew and responded to this woman, and he brought healing. Even though she couldn't even put the prayer into words, all she could do is touch the hem of heaven. She touches the hem of heaven, and it changes everything. Now, even though her bleeding had stopped, she still was considered unclean until she had undergone the elaborate ceremonial, ritual cleansing that was to take place, and then she'd be approved to go back into society by the priests and by Jewish law, she was still unclean and if she touched anyone, she would still be considered unclean. They would then be considered unclean. But Jesus stopped, turned around and said, "Who touched me"? And it's as if he was saying to her, "There's never a time where you cannot approach me. You can never be too uncleaned for me".
Is there an area of your life where you feel unclean where you feel like, you just feel like that you're just too ashamed to bring it to Jesus? Is there an area of your life where you feel so unclean that he cannot forgive you? You can never be too unclean to come to Jesus if you come to him humbly. If you come to him and you reach out, he'll reach out to you and give you his forgiveness and his grace and his total cleansing. You can never be too unclean to come to Jesus Christ. She reached out and she touched the hem of heaven. In Luke 8:46 it says, "But Jesus said, 'Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me".
Jesus said, "Someone touched me". He was saying, "Someone reached out with a little bit of faith, and they received healing from heaven". He was saying, "Someone at the end of their rope reached out and let me rescue them. Someone who was at their weakest reached out and found supernatural strength. Someone who thought they were at the end, reached out and found a new beginning. Someone who'd been walking through hell reached out and touched heaven, and their life will never be the same".
Jesus knew a life was changed. He knew that heaven went forth from him. Now, Jesus knew who the woman was, and the woman knew that Jesus knew. Jesus was just asking her to step forward and to share what he had done to bring glory to God. And it says in Luke 8:47, "Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed".
I love that phrase, "Seeing that she could not go unnoticed. Seeing that she could not go unnoticed". Unnoticed by who? She went unnoticed by the crowd. The crowd didn't notice her. The crowd overlooked her. The crowd didn't care about her. The crowd didn't care about her hurts and her sickness and her fears and her deepest wounds. The crowd didn't care about her at all. The crowd overlooked her. The crowd didn't notice her. But it says, "Realizing she could not go unnoticed".
Unnoticed by who? Unnoticed by Jesus. Heaven sees, heaven hears, heaven notices. You cannot go unnoticed by Jesus Christ. Maybe no one else notices what you're going through right now. Maybe no one else cares. Maybe no one else knows. Jesus notices. He knows. You can't get overlooked by Jesus. Jesus notices. The healer of heaven notices what's going on in your life. He knows it all and he loves you. He notices. You cannot go unnoticed by Jesus Christ. And if we're to bring heaven to earth, then we have to be noticers. We have to be noticers like Jesus to notice those who are unnoticed and notice those who are ignored, to notice those who are left behind, to notice the least of these.
If we're gonna bring heaven to earth, then we have to have our eyes open to see the hurts of others, to see that people around us are bleeding and wounded and hurting. And we reach out and we meet their needs. You reach up and you take hold of heaven, you bring it down and experience the blessing in your heart. And then you take that blessing to others. That's how you touch heaven on earth.
In Matthew 25 Jesus said, "At the end of it all, I'm gonna gather everybody and then I'm gonna separate them. It's gonna be the great separation". And he says, "It's gonna be like the farmer who has the sheep and the goats. He separates the sheep from the goats, and the goats are all those who didn't trust me and follow me and bring heaven to this earth. And the sheep are the ones that grabbed hold of heaven and experienced it in their hearts, and then took it to the people around them". And he says this is what's gonna happen.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me, you did it to me.'"
So, whenever we reach up and take hold of the blessings of heaven and receive them in our hearts and then we reach out to people who are hurting and hopeless, the poor and the powerless, the ignored, the overlooked, and we reach out and we touch them, we're touching heaven because we're touching Jesus Christ. You see, that's how you bring some heaven to earth. That's how you touch heaven on earth is you take heaven into your heart, and then you take heaven to the people around you. And really, when you meet the needs of the hurting and the hopeless, you're meeting Jesus's need. You're touching heaven literally.
You see, a big church makes a big difference when we get our eyes off ourselves and on to God and others. We take hold of heaven and bring heaven to others. Then we touch Jesus, we touch heaven. You know, our church has been all different sizes. Sometimes people ask me, "You know, how did Woodlands Church get so big"? And I always say, "I don't know, blame God on that one. I'm not sure. God did it". I mean, you can't determine the size of a church, only God does that. We've been all different sizes. We used to be the smallest church in America. It was five people, all my family, and one of our kids didn't want to come.
So, I mean, we used to be the smallest church in America. We used to be, and then we grew to about 150, you know? And we're just like a small church. It was awesome. And we were still doing all these kinds of things. And then we were a church of 500, you know, and then our church just kept growing and kept growing. And now we're a large church. The size of the church doesn't matter. It's the life in the church that matters. But here's the thing, I'm grateful that God has grown our church large because used to when we were 150, I would say, "Hey, let's go out and pack some food, or let's go do this".
And we would do some good things, and it counts in heaven. God loves it. But now, we can change a community. We can change lives. Not being connected for a weekend but being connected from now until eternity. We're gonna be connected, and we're gonna be on the ground making a difference. We preach the gospel of hope, and we show up with hope because we're in it together. And I'm telling you, I'm so grateful that God has grown our church large. And the reason you're here is because God needs you. And we are making a difference for God's glory and the kingdom of God. And we're gonna bring some heaven to this earth and how this earth needs some heaven right now. We need heaven in our homes, heaven in our neighborhoods, heaven in our communities. We need some heaven. But let's look at how this whole thing ends.
In Luke 8:48 it says, "Then he, Jesus, said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'" I love that he says, "Your faith has healed you". That little bit of ordinary imperfect faith that she had that started welling up inside her when she heard that Jesus was coming to her hometown, when she heard that heaven was coming to her hometown, that little bit of hope and faith that rose up within her that said, "Just maybe if I can touch the hem of his cloak, I'll be healed".
I love that God can take our ordinary, imperfect faith, even without a word of prayer, if we just touch heaven. And I'm telling you, if you're in a thin place right now where you just feel like giving up, where you feel like your greatest barrier is just too great to overcome, that you'll never get over it, you'll never get through it, you'll never recover from it, then you're in a thin place.
Heaven is right there next to your heart and all you gotta do is reach out and take hold of heaven. He's right there. He's right there to bring healing in your life. He's right there to help you overcome your greatest obstacle. The barrier between heaven and earth is really thin right now, but you've gotta choose whether you reach out to heaven or whether you keep wrestling with God. He called her daughter. I love that because as we start in the Lord's Prayer, we're to say, "Our Father who art in heaven, our Father, Daddy God, our Father". And if you're a child of God, if you are a believer, then you're a daughter or a son. You're a daughter or a son and God says, "Hey, son, I love you. Hey, daughter, I love you. Go in peace".