A few weeks ago, 45,000 college students gathered at the Georgia Dome for Passion 2012. There is nothing on Earth comparable to worshipping the Lord with 45,000 people. Those four days were life changing for me, not because of the speakers, the worship bands, or the Georgia Dome, but because of the Holy Spirit. Day 2 of Passion, is a day I will never forget. Beth Moore spoke on Luke 8:44-55. It's the story of a dying 12 year old girl and a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. The Holy Spirit began moving in my heart, as if this story was being told on this day just for me. She went on to explain that the law said that a person with an issue of blood was considered unclean. This woman couldn't even go in public because whoever she touched would go unclean. Mark 5:28 " If I could just touch his garment, I could be made well." This woman was going to risk making unclean anyone she touched to get to Jesus. Could she make Jesus unclean by touching him? NO! You can not be unclean enough to mess Jesus up, and so filthy in your sin to make a mess of Him. The garment that Jesus was wearing represented purity. (Numbers 15:37) It was this tassel that the woman reaches through the crowd and touches. Instead of making him unclean, he made her clean. Jesus makes himself easy to grab onto. Hebrews 10:19-23– Do you have enough faith to grab on? There is enough hem on His garment for us to grab onto. We all need healing in the most personal way. I'll never forget what Beth Moore said next. If you are going to stand close enough to the cross for your heart to be sprinkled with His blood, you have to be right next to the cross. Throw your head back and look up at the cross. Let your life be cleansed by the blood of Christ. This was such a holy moment in my life. The Lord gave me a vision, with me standing up next to the cross with my arms out and my head back. My Saviors body hanging above me, and His blood dripping on me cleansing me of all my unrighteousness. I have had a difficult time trusting that the Lord has truly forgiven me. The enemy would not let me forget abut the sin of my past. BUT on day 2 of Passion, that lie was drowned out by the voice of my God. I felt the Holy Spirit telling that I was forgiven and I would never be to dirty for Him. His grace is GREATER! Luke 8:46–He'll feel your touch, all you have to do is reach out for Him. Your faith has made you well. It was the faith that drove the touch that welcomed the healing. As we stood to our feet to worship in song, I pictured myself at the cross: head back, arms out, and the blood of Christ dripping on me. It was in this moment that I KNEW I had been set free. I had faith that the Lord didn't see my sin anymore, but that He saw righteousness. I had this indescribable feeling of this weight being lifted off of me. The story in Luke 8 will always hold a special place in my heart. This freedom and peace that I experienced that day was like no other. I don't want to keep this inside! I want the feeling I felt to spread to the NATIONS. On the World Race, I am going to encounter people that need to hear of a God who longs for them. A God who's grace is ENOUGH!
— The prostitute whose identity and self worth are hidden behind a life of immortality and darkness.
— The orphan who longs for just a touch of hope, a smile, a hug.
— The homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk who reeks of alcohol.
— The Muslim who's never heard God's voice.
— The lonely widow who struggles to put one foot in front of the other.
— The drug addict doing whatever necessary to get that next high. Longing to escape reality just one more time.
All of these people are longing for HEALING, FREEDOM. Just as the Lord granted me freedom that day at Passion, he will also do for them. The Lord longs for His children to come home to Him. John 17:24 says "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." He is calling the workers to harvest the field. "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world." John 17:18.
