How's the Sermon Vault working for you?
Thanks — that helps us improve the library.
What's My Part
In this powerful revival message, Pastor Willie Russell takes us on a journey through Mark chapters 4 and 5, unpacking the intertwined stories of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood to answer one critical question: what is my part in receiving the supernatural power of God? This sermon will challenge you to examine whether survival instincts are quietly overriding your faith, and what to do about it.
Related Sermons
Small Group Guide
What's My Part
Small Group Discussion Guide
1. SERMON RECAP
Pastor Willie Russell explored the powerful tension between what God does supernaturally and what we are called to do in the natural. Drawing from the story of the woman with the issue of blood and the healing of Jairus' daughter in Mark 5, he challenged the congregation to recognize that doing something in the natural is often what releases the supernatural power of God. Pastor Willie also issued a sobering reminder that survival instincts, while deeply human, must never be allowed to override what the Word of God calls us to do.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
Mark 5:27-29 "When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment: for she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague."
3. ICE BREAKER
What is one thing you have always wanted to learn how to do but have avoided trying because it made you nervous or uncomfortable?
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Pastor Willie described survival as a learned behavior, one that can quietly become more influential in our daily decisions than the Word of God. Where have you seen that show up in your own life, in big or small ways?
2. The woman with the issue of blood had already tried every natural resource available to her before she pressed through the crowd to reach Jesus. Pastor Willie pointed out that her desperation, combined with her desire and her decision to act, produced something supernatural. What does her story say to someone who feels like they have already exhausted every option?
3. Pastor Willie drew a distinction between being healed and being made whole, noting that the woman was not willing to settle for a partial blessing. In your own life, is there an area where you may have accepted a partial blessing when God was offering something more complete? What held you back from pressing further?
4. He referenced Moses lifting his hands in Exodus 17 as an example of a natural act that released a supernatural result, and he connected that to the woman touching the hem of Jesus's garment. What natural steps of faith do you sense God is calling you to take right now that you have been putting off?
5. Pastor Willie challenged the group with Revelation 12:11, which says that believers overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. He noted that the woman with the issue of blood stood up, despite fear and trembling, and told Jesus the whole truth about her situation. Why is personal testimony so difficult for many believers to share, and what does it cost us spiritually when we stay silent?
6. He closed with a direct and honest challenge: survival instincts can cause us to make decisions that step outside the protection of God. How can this group help one another stay accountable to the Word of God when fear and self-preservation want to take the wheel?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
This week, identify one specific area of life where a survival mindset has been quietly keeping you from obeying the Word of God. It may be a conversation you have been avoiding, a place of worship or service you have been absent from, or a testimony you have been too afraid to share. Take one concrete step in the natural toward that thing before the group meets again, and come prepared to share what happened.
6. PRAYER POINTS
-
Pray that each group member would have the courage to identify the specific areas where learned survival behaviors have been keeping them from full obedience to the Word of God.
-
Pray for a fresh hunger and desperation for the presence of Jesus, similar to the woman in Mark 5, so that the group would not settle for partial blessings when God is offering wholeness.
-
Pray that this group would become a community where members feel safe enough to stand up, tell the whole truth about their struggles, and give testimony to what God is doing in their lives.
7. MEMORY VERSE
Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
Daily Devotional
The Word That Goes Before You
Mark 4:35 — "On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side.'"
I want you to notice something about this moment. Jesus had preached all day long, and when the day was done, He turned to His disciples and said, "Let us go to the other side." That was a word. A simple, direct word. And everything that happened after that — the storm, the wind, the waves — happened while that word was still in effect. The word "other side" never changed. The storm did not cancel the promise. I have learned that when God speaks something over your life, the circumstances that rise up around it do not have the authority to reverse it. The disciples forgot the word the moment the wind picked up. But the word was still standing. Whatever storm you are facing this week, I want to remind you — God's word over your life has not changed. The word got them to the other side. It will get you there too.
Father, remind me today that what You have spoken over my life is still true. Help me to hold onto Your word when everything around me looks like it contradicts it. In Jesus' name, amen.
Survival Was Never Meant to Be Your God
Hebrews 10:25 — "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
On Wednesday I talked about something I called survival as a learned behavior, and I want to sit with that a little longer today. Survival is not wrong on its own. God gave us good sense. But when survival begins to quietly overrule the Word of God, it has stepped into the place that only God belongs. I told you about my own fear of drowning, and how I did not want to pass that fear on to my son. That was a decision. It cost me something. But I made the decision because I knew that what I had learned should not become his limitation. Hebrews 10:25 does not give us an exception clause for when we are uncomfortable or afraid. It simply says do not forsake gathering together. Sometimes obedience is the bravest thing we can do. Do not let the instinct to protect yourself keep you from the place where God is moving.
Lord, I confess that fear has sometimes driven my decisions more than Your Word has. Forgive me for that, and give me the courage to obey You even when it costs me something. In Jesus' name, amen.
Desperation Has a Reach
Mark 5:28 — "For she said, 'If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.'"
This woman had been sick for twelve years. She had spent everything she had. She had tried every doctor, every remedy, and she had only gotten worse. But when she heard Jesus was near, something rose up inside of her. She did not say, "I hope I get healed." She said, "If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be made whole." That is not timid faith. That is desperate, decided, reaching faith. And I want you to notice she had to do something. She had to press through the crowd. She had to get off whatever she was sitting on at home and go to where Jesus was. She could not receive her miracle at a distance. Desperation and desire, when they work together and stretch out in faith, produce something. She did not settle for partial. She came for the whole blessing, and that is exactly what she received.
God, I do not want to settle for a partial blessing when You have made a full one available. Give me the kind of faith that presses through and reaches for everything You have for me. In Jesus' name, amen.
Tell the Whole Truth
Revelation 12:11 — "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
The woman with the issue of blood was already healed when Jesus stopped and asked who had touched Him. She could have stayed quiet. She already had what she came for. But she did not stay quiet. The Bible says she came forward in fear and trembling and told Him the whole truth. And it was after her testimony that Jesus looked at her and said, "Daughter, your faith has made you whole." She went from healed to whole in the moment she opened her mouth. I believe that your testimony carries more power than you realize. You cannot be ashamed of your past if God is going to use it. Revelation 12:11 tells us plainly that the word of our testimony is one of the weapons by which we overcome the enemy. If you have been keeping quiet about what God has done in your life, it is time to tell the whole truth.
Father, forgive me for the times I have been ashamed to tell what You have done in my life. Give me the courage to speak it openly, because I know my story can set someone else free. In Jesus' name, amen.
The Natural Thing That Opens the Supernatural
1 Timothy 2:8 — "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
All through the Word of God, I see this pattern. Moses raised his hands and Israel began to win the battle. The woman pressed through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was made whole. The disciples got in the boat, even imperfect as their faith was, and got to the other side. Again and again, God asks His people to do something in the natural that unlocks something in the supernatural. Lifting your hands in worship may feel like a small thing. Showing up to the house of God when you are tired or hurting may feel like a small thing. Praying out loud when you do not feel like it may feel like a small thing. But these natural acts of obedience and faith are not small to God. They are the very things He uses to release His power into your situation. Do not wait until you feel it. Do the natural thing, and trust Him to do the rest.
Lord, help me not to despise the simple, natural acts of obedience You have called me to. I choose to lift my hands, show up, and press in — trusting that You will meet me there. In Jesus' name, amen.