10 April 2013

TALK BY BRO. WILLIAM MALENFANT FROM BETHEL

A brother's personal notes taken from a talk given by brother

William Malenfant of Brooklyn Bethel.



Please read the account found in Mark 5:25-34 (New World Translation) before continuing.

(Mark 5:25-34) 25 Now there was a woman subject to a flow of blood twelve years, 26 and she had been put to many pains by many physicians and had spent all her resources and had not been benefited but, rather, had got worse. 27 When she heard the things about Jesus, she came behind in the crowd and touched his outer garment; 28 for she kept saying: “If I touch just his outer garments I shall get well.” 29 And immediately her fountain of blood dried up, and she sensed in her body that she had been healed of the grievous sickness. 30 Immediately, also, Jesus recognized in himself that power had gone out of him, and he turned about in the crowd and began to say: “Who touched my outer garments?” 31 But his disciples began to say to him: “You see the crowd pressing in upon you, and do you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 However, he was looking around to see her that had done this. 33 But the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be in good health from your grievous sickness.”

Isn’t that a beautiful account?

Who healed her?

Jesus didn’t know who touched him, remember?
- 30 Immediately, also, Jesus recognized in himself that power had gone out of him, and he turned about in the crowd and began to say: “Who touched my outer garments?” 31 But his disciples began to say to him: “You see the crowd pressing in upon you, and do you say, ‘Who touched me?’”

Who could see that woman working her way up the crowd to get to Jesus?

Who could appreciate all the pain she’d been through, the suffering she had been through?

Who could appreciate the quality of her faith?

Who allowed power to flow out of Jesus into that woman, so she’d be healed?

It had to have been Jehovah.

You see, Jesus knew something had happened that the apostles didn’t know. That’s why they said: “Well, why do you say: “Who touched me?”

‘THIS was new, something happened’, thought Jesus. He felt ‘power’ go out of him. He knew something remarkable had happened

What does that tell you about Jehovah?

Isn’t that remarkable?

Now another question…

What’s her name?

Do you know? Me neither…

The Bible doesn't say. It doesn’t say. “Nobody. She was just nobody.” Was she?



Jehovah knew her... He took care of her.


Do you see the point?

So don’t ever get into the feeling that: “Well, I’m nobody. What does God care about me?”

He DOES care!

And sometimes we’ll say: “Well, I’m so imperfect…” Well of course you are. Who isn’t? We all are.

We’re getting life by undeserved kindness, brothers and sisters. We’re not getting it because we’re so righteous and so good. We do our best. Yes. But life is coming by God’s undeserved kindness. Jehovah sees all of us and the beauty of it is…HE KNOWS! He understands us. He knows that we make mistakes and sometimes we get down on ourselves and beat ourselves, for sure.

You know what brother Franz used to say about that?

“I remember once at an assembly, the Israelites were all waiting for Jehovah to clear away all the fog and the mist when the Egyptians were after them, you know? And the Israelites were going to cross the Red Sea. Jehovah said to them:


“Stop praying and get going!”



And what that means is:

Get up! Get going with your life! Serve Jehovah with rejoicing!

Don’t ever go through life lamenting and looking at things that have happened and “’Ooh this’, and ‘Oh my, that’”.

Jehovah knows…

Jesus paid the price that covers our past mistakes; it covers current mistakes and even in the future, as long as we’re genuine in serving God and doing our best…Jehovah forgives us. But we have to put forth the effort and have faith in the arrangement. And then we can serve Him with a good heart.

Now, back to that woman…

She didn’t have the right to touch Jesus. That’s true, isn’t it? Because she had a flow of blood. And in the Hebrew Scriptures it tells us a woman with a flow of blood was unclean.

Now think of it…

Here’s this woman, unclean, coming through a crowd, and is going to touch The Holy One of Israel. Jehovah God obviously knew about it, could see it. His own law that He inspired said a woman with a flow of blood was unclean, and yet, what happens?

Evidently, He pushes His own law aside, lets her touch Jesus… She becomes clean. He heals her...

Doesn’t that tell you something else about Jehovah?

He takes everything into account. He looks at the whole picture. He sees our whole life, our whole background. The things we battle with, our imperfections. And He still loves us. And He does what He can to help us.

That’s a wonderful thing! That should really move us to really want to serve Jehovah and love doing His will.

There’s a scripture in 1 John that says: “Jehovah is greater than our heart.” Well, what that means is that our heart sometimes focuses in just on small individual imperfections and problems we have. But Jehovah sees much more than our little heart. He sees the whole picture. He’s greater than our heart. And we’re grateful for that because, He does, indeed, love every one of us.

And so, when you get discouraged and blue…think about that woman. And think about the wonderful hope we have and the beautiful things that are in store for us and our great privilege of serving Jehovah God right to the end. And then we can rejoice and be happy in our service




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