A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Mark 5:25-34 NIV

Faith is the gridwork by which we allow the Lord to move in our lives

Our view of Faith is determined by how we view our Father and ourselves

The outcome of our Faith is not controlled by us

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 1:20-21 NIV

Immerse: A Ready Heart

5.17.26

Mark 4:13-20. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” NIV.

4 Degrees of Readiness

Path: A heart where nothing sinks in.

Rocky: An emotional response with no roots.

Thorns: A heart contaminated by life’s distractions.

Good soil: A heart the follows & obeys God’s word.

Cultivating Our Hearts

1. Read & obey God’s word.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV.

2. Pray daily.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. NIV.

3. Pay attention to what is influencing your soul.

Mark 4:24 “Consider carefully what you hear…” NIV.

4. Protect your heart from spiritual weeds.

Immerse: Demolish Strongholds

5.10.26

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

What Is A Stronghold

Stronghold: A false refuge that protects our pain while imprisoning our soul.

Diagram of Stronghold.

Demolish Strongholds: Recognize the lie, renounce the lie, replace it with God’s truth.

3 Common Lies We Believe

Lie: I’m not good enough.

Truth: You are deeply and completely loved as a child of God.

Romans 8:15-16 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. NLT

Lie: I can’t forgive, the injury is to great.

Truth: Forgiveness releases us from the chains of our injury.

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

Lie: God’s forgotten me.

Truth: God’s with you, He sees you, and fights for you.

Hebrews 13:5-6 because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. NIV