Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Let’s start with this one question: how big, how strong is your faith? Faith in your best friends? Faith in the government of your country? Faith that the news you hear from your most trusted news source is true. Faith that the economy of your country is solid and won’t crash? Now here’s the most important question: how strong is your faith in God?
Yesterday I left you standing in a crowd of people in the city of Jericho. The crowd around Jesus was pushing and shoving to try and see what Jesus will do for a blind man who had called out to Jesus as the crowd was passing by. Jesus has just asked the blind man one question: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Luke 18:41) It’s a great question and God is inviting the human race to wrestle with that question every day, in every place in the world.
Of course, most people are ignoring God’s question, insistent that they will find their own way in life WITHOUT God’s help! Do you know anyone like that? Most all governments in the world are doing their best to not only govern their people WITHOUT God’s help, but also convince their people that there is no need for God in any segment of their society. Not in business or education or health care or politics or entertainment etc. Is that what you see, my friends, around the world, especially where you live?
So that’s why it’s important we rejoin the crowd in Jericho to see what Jesus will do with this blind man who stands before Him. Without taking more than a few seconds to consider the question Jesus asked, blind Bartimaeus cried out ‘Lord, I want to see!!’ If you know any blind person, or if you have given much thought to how your life would change if suddenly you lost your sight, then of course it’s not at all difficult for us to understand this blind man’s cry for help!
All eyes are now focused on Jesus. What will He do? Of course, we know this was not the first time Jesus had encountered a blind person asking for help, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed my friends, EVERY need was an opportunity for Jesus not only to meet the need but make a significant statement and teach an important life lesson to everyone who was watching.
This time Jesus didn’t DO anything, He simply SPOKE the words: “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you!” What? Jesus didn’t do anything and He didn’t tell the blind man to do anything spectacular? No! Jesus said the man only needed to RECEIVE his sight and Jesus made sure everyone in the crowd understood THIS healing was the result of this blind man’s great FAITH in God!
Now let’s be very careful to not miss the power of this event my friends: From beginning to end of the Bible it is the FAITH in God of ordinary people that is the trigger which unleashes miracles from God! This miracle was a key turning point, for we must remember that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for the Passover/Easter weekend which would provide salvation, redemption, rescue from our sin bondage to every person in the world, one person at a time.
The key to God unleashing His power to deliver us from sin bondage and sin condemnation is our FAITH in Jesus, just as the faith of Bartimaeus unleashed the sight giving power of Jesus into his blind eyes. Do we understand this my friends?
Bartimaeus did NOTHING to earn or deserve or negotiate for or force Jesus to heal Him. His great FAITH in and humble request of Jesus for sight unleashed God’s healing power. It’s exactly the same for you and me in our deliverance from sin. Our FAITH that the atonement death of Jesus is enough to pay our full sin debt with God; and our FAITH that God will apply Jesus’ death payment to our sin debt and declare us forgiven and justified; and our humble, repentant request that God save us, is what unleashes God’s promised deliverance and salvation from sin in our lives!
Oh, I hope you fully understand this my friends. You might need to go back and read that again!
Now watch closely at what happened next in that Jericho crowd. The record says: “Immediately the blind man received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it they also praised God.” (Luke 18:43) That, my friends, is a clear picture of what should happen in your life and mine when God unleashes His saving, delivering, healing, cleansing power into our lives.
We should first RECEIVE God’s powerful work and cherish it! Don’t fight it, don’t try to manipulate it, don’t limit it…RECEIVE all God wants to do in your life!
Second FOLLOW Jesus! Our immediate and passionate desire, from that delivering moment, should be to follow Jesus every day the rest of our lives, and that means we declare Jesus to be LORD, Master, King of our lives and we fully submit to Jesus in everything!
And thirdly, our changed life should draw everyone around us to praise God and should lead them to desire God’s very same work in their lives!
So as the crowd broke into great celebration, singing and probably dancing right there in Jericho, I urge us to ask ourselves the simple but powerful questions…
* Do I have great faith in God, and do I regularly use that faith in trusting God for big things in my life?
* Do I fully receive all God is trying to do in my life or do I complicate things, do I resist or even refuse the transforming, refining work God is trying to accomplish in my life?
* Am I following Jesus with every part of my life... my priorities, my finances, my relationships, my agenda? Or am I still trying to make all the big decisions in my life and expecting God to bless my efforts?
* Finally, are other people celebrating what they see God doing in my life and are they inviting God to do great things in their lives, and are they growing their faith?
Oh my, really important questions for a Monday, aren’t they, my friends? Will you take a few moments and wrestle with those questions?
I think, no song today… just time to speak with Jesus and reflect on some really deep, important questions!
Today’s Scripture: Luke 18:40-43.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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