Why did the Lord ask her to make herself known? Of course, he knew all about her. ‘Who touched me’, he says, not because he doesn't know, but because he wants her to make herself known. ‘Come on out into the open’ he says to her. ‘You are a public child of God now.’
‘Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.’ Does he mean, your faith has some power in it, that it is a virtuous thing? Is it that her faith has some ingredient in it which has influence with God? No, faith is only trusting him; there's no virtue in it. It is what your faith is placed in that counts. It is faith in Christ. He is the one who saves, because you put your faith in him. He can save you because he has already paid for those who repent. He suffered and died on Calvary to take the eternal weight of punishment for all who would be saved. You can put your faith in him because he never breaks his promises and he has promised that he will hear and he will answer all who come to him sincerely. You say, ‘If you knew the things I've done; if you knew my nature!’ Christ can change you. He can reform us and purge us and improve us when we come to him. Fix your mental eye on Christ. Picture him in some shadowy way just to help you. See him suffering on Calvary's cross for you as a sinner and bearing away your eternal punishment. Put your trust in him and repent of your sin and ask for his blessing and he will change you.
The language of unbelief says, ‘God is not there. God has not spoken in the Bible. It's entirely human literature. Anything goes; there are no absolute moral principles in life. Yes, it's good to be decent to each other, but we do not want the Ten Commandments standing over us. I can do as I like. There is no God to see what I do, so I can cheat, I can be impure, I can lie, and I can be proud and swaggering.’ But the language of faith says, ‘God has spoken. He has told me that I'm under condemnation and judgment. He has also told me there is a way. I can be forgiven. I can be saved, and it all depends on Jesus Christ and what he has done in astonishing love and at such cost. God calls me to life, and he calls me to repent.’ The language of faith says, ‘I come, Lord, and I repent of my sin. I acknowledge my heart's sins and all that's wrong with me, and I rest entirely on what Christ has done on Calvary's cross.’
There's an old illustration, and it illustrates the soul’s dependence upon Christ. It suggests that God is like a beautiful island with a great celestial mountain or hill on it, and it seems to radiate light, the purity and the wonder of the living God. But this island is protected in a wonderful way by currents that flow outward from it in all directions so that nobody can approach it who is corrupt, who is unforgiven. The holiness of God repels all approach by sinful men and women. You're determined to get to that island and you sail, and you're a good sailor, but you get into trouble because the currents that push you away are too strong. You cannot get anywhere near the living God in your own imagined goodness or righteousness. Finally, you are shipwrecked. Your life is a little sailing vessel which capsizes in the strength of the currents, and you are drowning. Now the illustration gets curiously modern. But from the island comes mercy. A helicopter comes out to you to save you, and it lowers a rope and you have to get hold of it from the water. You are swimming; you are lost; you are exhausted trying to swim to the island. You cannot get to this island in your own strength. You say, ‘I am a guilty sinner. I cannot approach God. I've got to depend entirely upon what Jesus Christ has done for sinners and take a free salvation, and repent of all my sin and accept grace alone as the basis of my rescue.’
We use the word conversion. You come to Christ, it is a very personal thing. Nobody can do it for you. The preacher cannot do it for you. It's a transaction between you and the Lord. You come to him. You repent before him. You ask him for forgiveness and new life. You tell him you trust him, and you believe wholly in what he's done on Calvary. You tell him that you cannot contribute to your salvation. You have no goodness of your own. You have no merit, none at all. You come to him in this way, and you speak to him, and you yield entirely to him. But once your nature is changed, you are a different person, you are a public person. What is private, and what is personal and spiritual, becomes part of your testimony. Once he changes you, and forgives you, you must be ready to confess him before the world. You are to live for him openly. You are ready to be counted as a child of God and serve him publicly.
Thinking of this poor woman who had this haemorrhage for 12 years, the key thing was this: while she was in this state and condition, she could not enjoy normal life. The real problem with it was not so much the pain that this disease caused her or the inconvenience, or the fact that it was bringing her to an early death. The great point is it stole from her a normal way of life.