The Faith Formula

Bishop Riggen preaches from Mark 5:25-34 on the faith formula for receiving miracles, consisting of three elements: your dilemma, His divinity, and the catalyst of faith. He illustrates using the woman with the issue of blood who suffered twelve years, spent all on physicians, and only grew worse. Her desperate situation was the necessary first ingredient. When she heard of Jesus, she determined that touching His garment would make her whole—this was her faith mixing her dilemma with His divinity. Bishop Riggen emphasizes that God does not perform miracles without a need; every miracle in Scripture responds to a problem. The second ingredient is Christ's divinity, which must be invited into the dilemma. Using Mark 6:48, he shows Jesus would have passed by the storm-tossed disciples until they cried out. Faith is the catalyst that makes the formula work, as Hebrews 4:2 warns that the word preached profits nothing unless mixed with faith. In Luke 8, the woman's faith pulled virtue from Jesus before His humanity could deliberate, proving that determined faith triggers immediate response. Bishop Riggen also references the Syrophoenician woman (Matthew 15) who persisted despite rejection, and the father in Mark 9 who cried 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief'—showing even imperfect faith works. The spiritual purpose is to assure that Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), so the same formula guarantees miracles when believers mix their problems with faith in His divinity.