November 18, 2024 • 24 mins
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to see the world through God's eyes? In our latest episode, we explore the powerful narrative of Bartimaeus from Mark 10, uncovering the profound impact of simple, heartfelt prayer. Discover how Bartimaeus' cry for mercy parallels our own struggles with spiritual blindness and urges us to re-examine our deepest desires when approaching God. By acknowledging Jesus as the "Son of David," Bartimaeus not only recognizes Jesus's divine identity but also highlights the transformative power of mercy—encompassing healing, restoration, and the unfolding of God's kingdom.
We take a closer look at the symbolic act of Bartimaeus discarding his cloak, representing a leap of faith towards a transformed life and renewed commitment to discipleship. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, we draw parallels between physical and spiritual sight, encouraging a dialogue with God that fosters a transformative relationship. Join us as we express gratitude to our online community, emphasizing communion and love, and invite everyone to part in the shared joy of this journey. With a promise to return to Ocala, we extend an invitation to share in prayer and reflection on the boundless mercy of Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit towards embodying love and service.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
Florida.
This is the Lord's Day and weare grateful to be sharing it
with you.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, we're trying to do some things a little
different.
Today, for the first time, weare with the online people
online, and so we're visitingyou online people, and our
church is happening today.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
We're becoming all things to all men.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So if it glitches a little the video, just listen to
the audio and we're going toget through this together.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
We are so grateful for your presence, beloved, and
we have been excited to sharethis particular portion of the
scripture with you.
We're in Mark's gospel stillMark chapter 10, and there is
this beautiful story that is soencouraging and life-giving and
offers us such an incredibleperspective.
So this morning, if you haveyour text and you would like to
(01:06):
read with me in Mark, chapter 10, or if you would like to listen
, I'd be happy to read to youMark, chapter 10, verse 46.
Then they reached Jericho andas Jesus and his disciples left
town, a large crowd followed him.
A blind beggar named Bartimaeuswas sitting beside the road.
(01:27):
When Bartimaeus heard thatJesus of Nazareth was nearby, he
began to shout Jesus, son ofDavid, have mercy on me, be
quiet.
People yelled at him, but heonly shouted the louder Son of
David, have mercy on me.
And when Jesus heard him, buthe only shouted the louder son
of David, have mercy on me.
And when Jesus heard him, hestopped and said tell him to
(01:51):
come here.
So they called the blind man,cheer up.
They said have heart, come on.
He's calling you.
And Bartimaeus threw aside hiscoat, jumped up and came to
Jesus.
What do you want me to do foryou?
Jesus asked my rabbi.
The blind man said I want tosee.
(02:11):
And Jesus said to him go, foryour faith has healed you.
And instantly the man could seeand he followed Jesus down the
road.
What a beautiful portion ofscripture and what a gift for us
to remember, I think, some ofthe things that really really
stood out to me this week inthinking about this and
(02:31):
pondering and meditating.
I remind you that last week'sliturgy and in the scripture in
Mark, reminded us that Jesus had, just a little bit ago, had two
of his disciples, james andJohn, also ask for a favor, and
they said what we want is to benext to you when you come into
your glory.
And we hear this same questionbeing asked by someone who is
(02:54):
blind and he said I need mercy,and so I ask for all of us what
are we asking for and what arewe hoping to receive when we ask
that question?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
God is not unwilling to provide favors.
We just need to be asking theright questions.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And so the invitation is to really assess your
situation, at least for me.
The blind man actually neversaw Jesus, and so I was thinking
I've never seen Jesus either,but I'm in the same condition
that the blind man is, but I'veheard.
And so the blind thinking I'venever seen Jesus either, but I'm
in the same condition that theblind man is, but I've heard.
And so the blind man is on theside of the road and he hears
that Jesus of Nazareth is coming, and so what he does is he
(03:35):
begins to call out Jesus son ofDavid, and in that naming of
Jesus the son of David, hebegins to invoke all the
prophecies and all of the thingsthat people really believed
about Jesus that he would be aliberator, that he would be a
healer, that he would come torestore.
And so, in calling on thatparticular name, he says Jesus,
(03:56):
son of David, have mercy on me.
I think one of the things that'sso powerful about this is it
kind of gives us reference towhere this prayer that we have
been praying as the ChristianChurch for 2,000 years comes.
When we say Jesus, son of God,have mercy on me, this very
(04:16):
simple, very effective prayer toreturn, to return to ourselves.
Have mercy on me again.
We find this that many of usrecognize our own blindness,
even though we can see with ourliteral eyes.
But what blindnesses do we havein our life if we can't see
with spiritual eyes or with eyesof faith, or eyes of hope or
(04:37):
eyes of love?
And so I think this is such abeautiful invitation for us to
look at who Jesus shows us Godis and look at the hope that is
in this account, in this story.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I think that we also can see how prayer doesn't have
to be uber complicated, thatwhen it's from the heart and
we're asking, god is, I believe,so willing to meet our needs
and to provide the requests.
And I think sometimes we wantto have some kind of a mental
(05:11):
gymnastic or some kind of anamazing doctrinal presentation
so that we can convince Godwe're into what he's all about.
And the truth is that that pureheart we simply request, and so
you can brag.
Today you learned a new prayerat church.
Jesus, son of David, have mercyon me.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Well, I hope that it's not a new prayer, but if it
is, you're welcome to it.
For those of us who have heardthis prayer before, this
invitation, this kiri yaleasan,this beautiful prayer of have
mercy on me, and I think thatwhat it calls us to is this
understanding that mercyincludes healing, mercy includes
(05:53):
restoration, mercy includesGod's good kingdom coming to you
, and so this expansive view ofmercy.
We know that God is merciful.
The scriptures teach us that.
Our lives have taught us thatbut mercy is who God is.
In fact, the mercy of God issomething that has been a theme
(06:14):
of people who are followingafter God since the very
beginning.
In fact, in the book ofLamentations, it says it is of
the Lord's mercies that we arenot consumed, because his
mercies are new every morning.
Great is God's faithfulness, andso this morning I'm so
encouraged to think about thisblind man who is there shouting,
(06:35):
and I do want to take a quicksecond to talk about the people
who told him to be quiet, whosaid it's okay for you to stay
in your blindness.
These are people that could see.
These are people withprivileged see, these are people
with privileged sight and toldthe man with no sight pipe down.
You just need to quiet down.
You're making too big of a dealabout this, and so we need to
(06:55):
be mindful that that is not theposition that we take when
someone is crying out for mercy,that we need to be people who
are helping people find Jesus,connect with Jesus, and not the
people who are saying be quietbecause you're going to offend
someone.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And sometimes that's the religiousness of us that we
think that we have the order inwhich God would want us to come
to, and so we so idealize thatway of behavior that we actually
become obstacles for people tocome to god.
I can think of uh.
One time I was involved in achurch and we started to get a
(07:33):
lot of young people coming uh tothe services for the first time
and they were uh back in thosedays, uh younger, just kids in
their 17 18 were coloring theirhair crazy and getting tattoos
on their necks and all kinds ofstuff that our leadership said
well, we can't have any part ofthat.
(07:54):
Our kids might start lookinglike that, and so they were so
opposed to to the, the fear ofof looking maybe non-Christian,
that they behaved in such anon-Christian way to not invite
those people in.
And I see you know essentiallythe good and what their purpose
(08:16):
was and what their thinking is.
But I wonder how much of that Imight have, or that you might
have let seep in something thatyou think God is so pleased with
, but it almost becomes that anobstacle that keeps you or
others from receiving that mercyand grace that we all need what
(08:38):
I see here also is the, thedarkness, the blindness is
calling for the light, thisbeautiful invitation where
darkness is wanting the lightand we see people saying be
quiet, and Jesus hears about it.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
And then Jesus I love this about him doesn't just go
to Bartimaeus, he sends the verypeople who told him to be quiet
to go get him, bring him to me,you who have said be quiet, to
go get him, bring him to me.
You who have said be quiet, nowyou're responsible to bring him
to me.
And so they change their tuneand good for them, because
repentance is good for all of us.
(09:16):
But they change their tune.
They're like cheer up, takeheart.
The master is calling you, beof good cheer, be courageous,
courageous, come, come.
And so he hears this, that themaster has called that after he
has reached out, after he hasprayed and said have mercy on me
.
And they told him to be quiet,he shouts louder have mercy on
me.
Jesus says bring him to me.
(09:36):
And it says that he threw offhis cloak.
And this is such a beautifulpart of the story, its intention
, I think, to remind us of quitea few things, but I remind you
that this whole story, becausewe get to be at this part in
history where we hear the end ofit.
He is a follower, he becomes adisciple and he gives away or
(09:58):
rids himself of a possession.
This is what I used to be ableto survive with this beggar's
cloak, but I'm following Jesusnow I don't need this.
I was also thinking about howanti or very different this
would be for him, because Icannot imagine, as a blind
person, that you would throwanything, because how can you
(10:20):
know that you'd find it?
I wear really thick glasses, Ihave contacts on, but I cannot
see anything.
My prescription is over 500.
And so I'm very careful when Idon't have the corrective lenses
and where I put things.
I'm not throwing thingsanywhere because I can't find
them.
And I can imagine or I canthink about someone who is blind
saying maybe he thought that inhis, maybe in his healing he'd
(10:44):
come back and he'd be able tofind it.
But I don't think that's thecase at all, because he just
leaves that cloak and followsJesus.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And I think that's the beautiful invitation for us.
What moves me about that ideais that you know your beggar's
cloak is the thing thatidentifies you as a beggar, and
you know it would almost be likeif you had a permit in modern
times to panhandle.
The city has allowed you tostand on that corner and ask for
money.
They're not going to put you injail.
(11:15):
So this identified him for whohe was as a beggar, in which
case was the way that he wasprovided for.
So throwing that away to mefeels like an act of faith.
You know, I'm not going to livethat life anymore.
I'm coming to be changed, andso why would I hang on to the
thing that provided for me?
(11:37):
But I see that a lot as a pastor.
I remember this one woman thatcame to the church and her
husband was a rascal and she wasthe wife of the man that was a
rascal and that was heridentification and she got a lot
of sympathy.
She got a lot of people thatreally helped her out, because
(12:00):
this guy was a real piece ofwork, you know.
And what happened was, as theycame to the church, god began to
change him and it almostangered her because it was
messing with her identity andshe identified with being the
troubled, broken person.
And if you stay in that placeyou'll never walk in the place
(12:26):
of freedom.
Some point you will have tothrow down, I believe, your
beggar's cloak, as it were.
Whatever it is that made youidentify in your sadness, in
your sin, in your brokenness,and realize I'm new, I'm a new
creation.
And that's scary.
(12:46):
I'm not saying that it's easy,but at some point I believe your
faith will empower you to laythat down.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(13:16):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
And I don't know that he hadever thrown his cloak off before
.
Maybe he had, but the pointhere is after he hears Jesus
calling for him, that's when hesays I choose Jesus, I choose
that way, I choose thatfollowing.
And so, as the story was told,he comes to Jesus and is
(13:42):
actually brought to Jesus.
The very people who told him tobe quiet now tell him have good
cheer, the master is calling.
And so they bring him to Jesus.
And then Jesus says to him whatwould you like me to do?
And I just hear such mercy anddignity even in that portion.
And then he says to Jesus Rabbi, again, identifying him as
(14:05):
teacher.
He had heard of Jesus.
He knew that Jesus was thehealer and the liberator.
And he said Rabbi, I want tosee again.
And in that place of acceptanceof who he was, as a blind man
saying I want to see Beloved.
What if all of us, especiallyin this current climate that
(14:25):
we're in, say I want to seeBeloved?
What if all of us, especiallyin this current climate that
we're in, say I want to see.
I want to see what God seesabout the world.
I want to see what God seesabout the person in front of me.
I want to see what God seesabout unity, about forgiveness,
about wholeness.
Let me see.
Heal my eyes.
Over and over again in thescriptures, jesus heals people
(14:47):
and restores their sight.
And beloved.
Even though some of us have theability to see, we need our
sight restored, the sight thatwe have through our heart,
through the spirit, to be ableto see the life of God, the work
of God, the kingdom of Godamong us.
And so what a beautifulinvitation for all of us to say
Rabbi, teacher, jesus, let mesee.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And I also like the idea that Jesus asks him what he
has need of, as if Jesusdoesn't know that a blind man
would want to see.
And God knows the things thatyou have need of.
God knows the things that youhave need of.
But it is important that youidentify to him in that place of
(15:31):
humility and ask, and reallyfor us to come to recognize
that's the only place we'regoing to get it, and so I think
that sometimes that can make usquiet in our prayers.
Well, god knows what I need.
Why would we have prayer?
Prayer is such an importantplace for us to speak and then
(15:52):
to listen, and so allowing Godto develop that kind of
relationship with you istransformative, and we're seeing
the evidence of it right herethat communication back and
forth and then the responsegiven the miraculous healing.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
He says to jesus I want to see again.
And then Jesus says go aheadand go, your faith has healed
you.
And he begins to follow Jesusdown the road.
And I think that part is myfavorite part of the whole story
.
He doesn't just take his sightand then go on his way to do his
life.
It is his sight that allows himto follow.
(16:36):
And may Jesus restore all ofour sight that allows us to
follow in such a way that webecome disciples, that our lives
become people who are so markedby love and by the love of
Christ that people begin to seeand hear Jesus because of the
way we live.
I mean, ultimately, ourintention is, as a church family
(16:59):
too, is to be able to say thatwe have seen Jesus and now we
are living life like Jesus did.
And the intention that Jesus hadto bring God and God's good
kingdom into the world is ourintention that we would love
people, that we would feed thepoor, that we would eliminate
(17:19):
suffering as much as is possibleamong us us and that we would
be attentive to the moving ofthe Holy Spirit.
Dennis and I have been talkingmuch this week about the Holy
Spirit and about just anawareness and a presence of the
Holy Spirit.
And we came across a beautifuldescriptor of the Holy Spirit as
(17:40):
the perspective adjuster, and Ihad never heard that particular
way of recognizing the Spirit.
But wouldn't that be soincredible for our whole world
if our perspective, if we wouldallow the Spirit to change our
perspective on things so that wewould be people who don't tell
someone who is suffering, bequiet, don't be upset about this
(18:00):
, that we would then take ourprivilege and be able to say
someone is suffering, jesus,come and heal them.
That we would be people whowould take gently by the hand
those in darkness and bring themto light.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You know, this week has been pretty amazing.
We're on vacation, heather andI and Silas.
This week has been prettyamazing.
We're on vacation, heather andI and Silas.
And when I read this storyabout a blind man who had to
wait for Jesus to walk by, hewasn't going to be able to go
(18:36):
find him.
How could he see?
And there's an off chance thatJesus walks by, or there's some
of us who just have this beliefthat God is going to take care
of us, the thing that you haveneed of.
He's going to come by, you know, and let us have the wisdom of
(18:58):
that blind man to ask and torecognize our moment.
When I was on the plane, I satnext to the lady and I didn't
say a word to her in six hours.
And she said to me one thingthat she discerned within me
peace.
And I said why would you saythat?
(19:19):
And she said well, I'm a personthat tries to live there and so
I know it when I see it, and itreally blessed me.
And she just said a couple morewords.
She said that she was swimmingrecently in the ocean and she
saw a jellyfish and it terrifiedher and so she tried to swim
away from it.
And then she said her friendsaid why are you so afraid?
(19:45):
You've lost your peace.
She said well, I have jellyfish.
It scared me.
Then she said she began to seelater that day in her hotel room
there was pictures of jellyfish.
And then she said all day shecouldn't escape the jellyfish.
And so she asked the Lordwhat's the deal with the
jellyfish?
And she began to think aboutjellyfish, how they kind of
(20:10):
float on the water.
They don't really swim anywhere, they kind of go with the flow
and their food comes to them andlife comes to them and they
just kind of go along in theirlittle pulse and ride the waves.
And so we begin to talk aboutthat as a family.
Just this week on our vacation,and it's been amazing how we
(20:33):
were in a situation where Silas,this man, offered help to Silas
and at first he didn't want to.
And the guy said well, I'lltake you back up the mountain in
my car instead of you guyshiking that last little bit.
And then Silas whispered to mejellyfish.
And so many times this weekwe've realized that God has
brought to us what we need andwhat if we could stop striving
(20:57):
and trust the Holy Spirit isgoing to take you where you need
to go, have you in the spot youneed to be, that striving could
cease and the joy of justliving in the flow.
And so maybe you'll think andsee the jellyfish this afternoon
(21:19):
, this evening, this week inyour life, that the way God will
just take care of that animaland make sure that its food is
there and everything that itneeds for survival and for you,
everything that you have need of, will be there by the direction
and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Brings to mind the prayer that Jesus talked to us
about.
Consider the lilies of thefield they don't toil, they
don't spin, and yet Solomon, inall of his glory, is not clothed
like this.
Consider the birds of the air,because your Father feeds them
and knows when even one falls.
(22:02):
And so seek first the kingdomof God and all of his
righteousness, and all of thesethings will be added unto you.
Master, rabbi, I want to seeagain.
May that be our prayer and mayour prayer be Lord, jesus Christ
, son of the living God, havemercy on me, returning us to
(22:25):
that place of love, returning usto that place of hope.
And so, today, may we be peoplewho repent of telling others to
be quiet when they are in need,and may we be the people who,
after hearing the correctionfrom Jesus, quickly turn and say
be of good courage, be of goodheart.
The master is calling you, yourprayers have been answered, you
(22:47):
have been heard, mercy is onthe way.
Amen.
We're so grateful for yourpresence.
May this be true for all of us.
May our sight be restored.
May the miracles of Jesus becontinuing in us, in allowing us
to see the whole world, to seeeach other and to see ourselves
(23:08):
the way that love sees us.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Well, you know, for those folks that watch us online
, we're so grateful for the timethat you would set aside to
support us in that way.
We encourage you just to find away, through the apps that
you're on, to find us andsupport us financially, if
that's something that you can do.
We also want to remind you thatyou know, at the end of every
(23:33):
service we take communion,because it's really for us, the
crescendo, the grand finale, thejoy of getting together that we
can share, and so normally welead you through that, but us,
being here, we're just gonnaencourage you, when the cameras
are off and the videos shut off,that you would just partake
yourself.
That's what we'll do.
(23:54):
And and then, of course, first,love.
We love you so much and we'returning the service over to, uh,
pastor lee and david andcaroline's gonna share and, if
she hasn't already, and we're uhjust so grateful for all of you
and we'll see you next sunday,uh, some of you will be seeing
(24:14):
you right, uh, online, uh, anduh, for those folks in ocala,
we'll be back home standing inour pul, sharing the good news
of the gospel and loving you thebest we can.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Pray with us this morning.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of theLiving God, have mercy on me.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
Florida.
This is the Lord's Day and weare grateful to be sharing it
with you.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, we're trying to do some things a little
different.
Today, for the first time, weare with the online people
online, and so we're visitingyou online people, and our
church is happening today.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
We're becoming all things to all men.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
So if it glitches a little the video, just listen to
the audio and we're going toget through this together.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
We are so grateful for your presence, beloved, and
we have been excited to sharethis particular portion of the
scripture with you.
We're in Mark's gospel stillMark chapter 10, and there is
this beautiful story that is soencouraging and life-giving and
offers us such an incredibleperspective.
So this morning, if you haveyour text and you would like to
(01:06):
read with me in Mark, chapter 10, or if you would like to listen
, I'd be happy to read to youMark, chapter 10, verse 46.
Then they reached Jericho andas Jesus and his disciples left
town, a large crowd followed him.
A blind beggar named Bartimaeuswas sitting beside the road.
(01:27):
When Bartimaeus heard thatJesus of Nazareth was nearby, he
began to shout Jesus, son ofDavid, have mercy on me, be
quiet.
People yelled at him, but heonly shouted the louder Son of
David, have mercy on me.
And when Jesus heard him, buthe only shouted the louder son
of David, have mercy on me.
And when Jesus heard him, hestopped and said tell him to
(01:51):
come here.
So they called the blind man,cheer up.
They said have heart, come on.
He's calling you.
And Bartimaeus threw aside hiscoat, jumped up and came to
Jesus.
What do you want me to do foryou?
Jesus asked my rabbi.
The blind man said I want tosee.
(02:11):
And Jesus said to him go, foryour faith has healed you.
And instantly the man could seeand he followed Jesus down the
road.
What a beautiful portion ofscripture and what a gift for us
to remember, I think, some ofthe things that really really
stood out to me this week inthinking about this and
(02:31):
pondering and meditating.
I remind you that last week'sliturgy and in the scripture in
Mark, reminded us that Jesus had, just a little bit ago, had two
of his disciples, james andJohn, also ask for a favor, and
they said what we want is to benext to you when you come into
your glory.
And we hear this same questionbeing asked by someone who is
(02:54):
blind and he said I need mercy,and so I ask for all of us what
are we asking for and what arewe hoping to receive when we ask
that question?
Speaker 2 (03:06):
God is not unwilling to provide favors.
We just need to be asking theright questions.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And so the invitation is to really assess your
situation, at least for me.
The blind man actually neversaw Jesus, and so I was thinking
I've never seen Jesus either,but I'm in the same condition
that the blind man is, but I'veheard.
And so the blind thinking I'venever seen Jesus either, but I'm
in the same condition that theblind man is, but I've heard.
And so the blind man is on theside of the road and he hears
that Jesus of Nazareth is coming, and so what he does is he
(03:35):
begins to call out Jesus son ofDavid, and in that naming of
Jesus the son of David, hebegins to invoke all the
prophecies and all of the thingsthat people really believed
about Jesus that he would be aliberator, that he would be a
healer, that he would come torestore.
And so, in calling on thatparticular name, he says Jesus,
(03:56):
son of David, have mercy on me.
I think one of the things that'sso powerful about this is it
kind of gives us reference towhere this prayer that we have
been praying as the ChristianChurch for 2,000 years comes.
When we say Jesus, son of God,have mercy on me, this very
(04:16):
simple, very effective prayer toreturn, to return to ourselves.
Have mercy on me again.
We find this that many of usrecognize our own blindness,
even though we can see with ourliteral eyes.
But what blindnesses do we havein our life if we can't see
with spiritual eyes or with eyesof faith, or eyes of hope or
(04:37):
eyes of love?
And so I think this is such abeautiful invitation for us to
look at who Jesus shows us Godis and look at the hope that is
in this account, in this story.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I think that we also can see how prayer doesn't have
to be uber complicated, thatwhen it's from the heart and
we're asking, god is, I believe,so willing to meet our needs
and to provide the requests.
And I think sometimes we wantto have some kind of a mental
(05:11):
gymnastic or some kind of anamazing doctrinal presentation
so that we can convince Godwe're into what he's all about.
And the truth is that that pureheart we simply request, and so
you can brag.
Today you learned a new prayerat church.
Jesus, son of David, have mercyon me.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Well, I hope that it's not a new prayer, but if it
is, you're welcome to it.
For those of us who have heardthis prayer before, this
invitation, this kiri yaleasan,this beautiful prayer of have
mercy on me, and I think thatwhat it calls us to is this
understanding that mercyincludes healing, mercy includes
(05:53):
restoration, mercy includesGod's good kingdom coming to you
, and so this expansive view ofmercy.
We know that God is merciful.
The scriptures teach us that.
Our lives have taught us thatbut mercy is who God is.
In fact, the mercy of God issomething that has been a theme
(06:14):
of people who are followingafter God since the very
beginning.
In fact, in the book ofLamentations, it says it is of
the Lord's mercies that we arenot consumed, because his
mercies are new every morning.
Great is God's faithfulness, andso this morning I'm so
encouraged to think about thisblind man who is there shouting,
(06:35):
and I do want to take a quicksecond to talk about the people
who told him to be quiet, whosaid it's okay for you to stay
in your blindness.
These are people that could see.
These are people withprivileged see, these are people
with privileged sight and toldthe man with no sight pipe down.
You just need to quiet down.
You're making too big of a dealabout this, and so we need to
(06:55):
be mindful that that is not theposition that we take when
someone is crying out for mercy,that we need to be people who
are helping people find Jesus,connect with Jesus, and not the
people who are saying be quietbecause you're going to offend
someone.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And sometimes that's the religiousness of us that we
think that we have the order inwhich God would want us to come
to, and so we so idealize thatway of behavior that we actually
become obstacles for people tocome to god.
I can think of uh.
One time I was involved in achurch and we started to get a
(07:33):
lot of young people coming uh tothe services for the first time
and they were uh back in thosedays, uh younger, just kids in
their 17 18 were coloring theirhair crazy and getting tattoos
on their necks and all kinds ofstuff that our leadership said
well, we can't have any part ofthat.
(07:54):
Our kids might start lookinglike that, and so they were so
opposed to to the, the fear ofof looking maybe non-Christian,
that they behaved in such anon-Christian way to not invite
those people in.
And I see you know essentiallythe good and what their purpose
(08:16):
was and what their thinking is.
But I wonder how much of that Imight have, or that you might
have let seep in something thatyou think God is so pleased with
, but it almost becomes that anobstacle that keeps you or
others from receiving that mercyand grace that we all need what
(08:38):
I see here also is the, thedarkness, the blindness is
calling for the light, thisbeautiful invitation where
darkness is wanting the lightand we see people saying be
quiet, and Jesus hears about it.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
And then Jesus I love this about him doesn't just go
to Bartimaeus, he sends the verypeople who told him to be quiet
to go get him, bring him to me,you who have said be quiet, to
go get him, bring him to me.
You who have said be quiet, nowyou're responsible to bring him
to me.
And so they change their tuneand good for them, because
repentance is good for all of us.
(09:16):
But they change their tune.
They're like cheer up, takeheart.
The master is calling you, beof good cheer, be courageous,
courageous, come, come.
And so he hears this, that themaster has called that after he
has reached out, after he hasprayed and said have mercy on me
.
And they told him to be quiet,he shouts louder have mercy on
me.
Jesus says bring him to me.
(09:36):
And it says that he threw offhis cloak.
And this is such a beautifulpart of the story, its intention
, I think, to remind us of quitea few things, but I remind you
that this whole story, becausewe get to be at this part in
history where we hear the end ofit.
He is a follower, he becomes adisciple and he gives away or
(09:58):
rids himself of a possession.
This is what I used to be ableto survive with this beggar's
cloak, but I'm following Jesusnow I don't need this.
I was also thinking about howanti or very different this
would be for him, because Icannot imagine, as a blind
person, that you would throwanything, because how can you
(10:20):
know that you'd find it?
I wear really thick glasses, Ihave contacts on, but I cannot
see anything.
My prescription is over 500.
And so I'm very careful when Idon't have the corrective lenses
and where I put things.
I'm not throwing thingsanywhere because I can't find
them.
And I can imagine or I canthink about someone who is blind
saying maybe he thought that inhis, maybe in his healing he'd
(10:44):
come back and he'd be able tofind it.
But I don't think that's thecase at all, because he just
leaves that cloak and followsJesus.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
And I think that's the beautiful invitation for us.
What moves me about that ideais that you know your beggar's
cloak is the thing thatidentifies you as a beggar, and
you know it would almost be likeif you had a permit in modern
times to panhandle.
The city has allowed you tostand on that corner and ask for
money.
They're not going to put you injail.
(11:15):
So this identified him for whohe was as a beggar, in which
case was the way that he wasprovided for.
So throwing that away to mefeels like an act of faith.
You know, I'm not going to livethat life anymore.
I'm coming to be changed, andso why would I hang on to the
thing that provided for me?
(11:37):
But I see that a lot as a pastor.
I remember this one woman thatcame to the church and her
husband was a rascal and she wasthe wife of the man that was a
rascal and that was heridentification and she got a lot
of sympathy.
She got a lot of people thatreally helped her out, because
(12:00):
this guy was a real piece ofwork, you know.
And what happened was, as theycame to the church, god began to
change him and it almostangered her because it was
messing with her identity andshe identified with being the
troubled, broken person.
And if you stay in that placeyou'll never walk in the place
(12:26):
of freedom.
Some point you will have tothrow down, I believe, your
beggar's cloak, as it were.
Whatever it is that made youidentify in your sadness, in
your sin, in your brokenness,and realize I'm new, I'm a new
creation.
And that's scary.
(12:46):
I'm not saying that it's easy,but at some point I believe your
faith will empower you to laythat down.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(13:16):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
And I don't know that he hadever thrown his cloak off before
.
Maybe he had, but the pointhere is after he hears Jesus
calling for him, that's when hesays I choose Jesus, I choose
that way, I choose thatfollowing.
And so, as the story was told,he comes to Jesus and is
(13:42):
actually brought to Jesus.
The very people who told him tobe quiet now tell him have good
cheer, the master is calling.
And so they bring him to Jesus.
And then Jesus says to him whatwould you like me to do?
And I just hear such mercy anddignity even in that portion.
And then he says to Jesus Rabbi, again, identifying him as
(14:05):
teacher.
He had heard of Jesus.
He knew that Jesus was thehealer and the liberator.
And he said Rabbi, I want tosee again.
And in that place of acceptanceof who he was, as a blind man
saying I want to see Beloved.
What if all of us, especiallyin this current climate that
(14:25):
we're in, say I want to seeBeloved?
What if all of us, especiallyin this current climate that
we're in, say I want to see.
I want to see what God seesabout the world.
I want to see what God seesabout the person in front of me.
I want to see what God seesabout unity, about forgiveness,
about wholeness.
Let me see.
Heal my eyes.
Over and over again in thescriptures, jesus heals people
(14:47):
and restores their sight.
And beloved.
Even though some of us have theability to see, we need our
sight restored, the sight thatwe have through our heart,
through the spirit, to be ableto see the life of God, the work
of God, the kingdom of Godamong us.
And so what a beautifulinvitation for all of us to say
Rabbi, teacher, jesus, let mesee.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And I also like the idea that Jesus asks him what he
has need of, as if Jesusdoesn't know that a blind man
would want to see.
And God knows the things thatyou have need of.
God knows the things that youhave need of.
But it is important that youidentify to him in that place of
(15:31):
humility and ask, and reallyfor us to come to recognize
that's the only place we'regoing to get it, and so I think
that sometimes that can make usquiet in our prayers.
Well, god knows what I need.
Why would we have prayer?
Prayer is such an importantplace for us to speak and then
(15:52):
to listen, and so allowing Godto develop that kind of
relationship with you istransformative, and we're seeing
the evidence of it right herethat communication back and
forth and then the responsegiven the miraculous healing.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
He says to jesus I want to see again.
And then Jesus says go aheadand go, your faith has healed
you.
And he begins to follow Jesusdown the road.
And I think that part is myfavorite part of the whole story
.
He doesn't just take his sightand then go on his way to do his
life.
It is his sight that allows himto follow.
(16:36):
And may Jesus restore all ofour sight that allows us to
follow in such a way that webecome disciples, that our lives
become people who are so markedby love and by the love of
Christ that people begin to seeand hear Jesus because of the
way we live.
I mean, ultimately, ourintention is, as a church family
(16:59):
too, is to be able to say thatwe have seen Jesus and now we
are living life like Jesus did.
And the intention that Jesus hadto bring God and God's good
kingdom into the world is ourintention that we would love
people, that we would feed thepoor, that we would eliminate
(17:19):
suffering as much as is possibleamong us us and that we would
be attentive to the moving ofthe Holy Spirit.
Dennis and I have been talkingmuch this week about the Holy
Spirit and about just anawareness and a presence of the
Holy Spirit.
And we came across a beautifuldescriptor of the Holy Spirit as
(17:40):
the perspective adjuster, and Ihad never heard that particular
way of recognizing the Spirit.
But wouldn't that be soincredible for our whole world
if our perspective, if we wouldallow the Spirit to change our
perspective on things so that wewould be people who don't tell
someone who is suffering, bequiet, don't be upset about this
(18:00):
, that we would then take ourprivilege and be able to say
someone is suffering, jesus,come and heal them.
That we would be people whowould take gently by the hand
those in darkness and bring themto light.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You know, this week has been pretty amazing.
We're on vacation, heather andI and Silas.
This week has been prettyamazing.
We're on vacation, heather andI and Silas.
And when I read this storyabout a blind man who had to
wait for Jesus to walk by, hewasn't going to be able to go
(18:36):
find him.
How could he see?
And there's an off chance thatJesus walks by, or there's some
of us who just have this beliefthat God is going to take care
of us, the thing that you haveneed of.
He's going to come by, you know, and let us have the wisdom of
(18:58):
that blind man to ask and torecognize our moment.
When I was on the plane, I satnext to the lady and I didn't
say a word to her in six hours.
And she said to me one thingthat she discerned within me
peace.
And I said why would you saythat?
(19:19):
And she said well, I'm a personthat tries to live there and so
I know it when I see it, and itreally blessed me.
And she just said a couple morewords.
She said that she was swimmingrecently in the ocean and she
saw a jellyfish and it terrifiedher and so she tried to swim
away from it.
And then she said her friendsaid why are you so afraid?
(19:45):
You've lost your peace.
She said well, I have jellyfish.
It scared me.
Then she said she began to seelater that day in her hotel room
there was pictures of jellyfish.
And then she said all day shecouldn't escape the jellyfish.
And so she asked the Lordwhat's the deal with the
jellyfish?
And she began to think aboutjellyfish, how they kind of
(20:10):
float on the water.
They don't really swim anywhere, they kind of go with the flow
and their food comes to them andlife comes to them and they
just kind of go along in theirlittle pulse and ride the waves.
And so we begin to talk aboutthat as a family.
Just this week on our vacation,and it's been amazing how we
(20:33):
were in a situation where Silas,this man, offered help to Silas
and at first he didn't want to.
And the guy said well, I'lltake you back up the mountain in
my car instead of you guyshiking that last little bit.
And then Silas whispered to mejellyfish.
And so many times this weekwe've realized that God has
brought to us what we need andwhat if we could stop striving
(20:57):
and trust the Holy Spirit isgoing to take you where you need
to go, have you in the spot youneed to be, that striving could
cease and the joy of justliving in the flow.
And so maybe you'll think andsee the jellyfish this afternoon
(21:19):
, this evening, this week inyour life, that the way God will
just take care of that animaland make sure that its food is
there and everything that itneeds for survival and for you,
everything that you have need of, will be there by the direction
and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Brings to mind the prayer that Jesus talked to us
about.
Consider the lilies of thefield they don't toil, they
don't spin, and yet Solomon, inall of his glory, is not clothed
like this.
Consider the birds of the air,because your Father feeds them
and knows when even one falls.
(22:02):
And so seek first the kingdomof God and all of his
righteousness, and all of thesethings will be added unto you.
Master, rabbi, I want to seeagain.
May that be our prayer and mayour prayer be Lord, jesus Christ
, son of the living God, havemercy on me, returning us to
(22:25):
that place of love, returning usto that place of hope.
And so, today, may we be peoplewho repent of telling others to
be quiet when they are in need,and may we be the people who,
after hearing the correctionfrom Jesus, quickly turn and say
be of good courage, be of goodheart.
The master is calling you, yourprayers have been answered, you
(22:47):
have been heard, mercy is onthe way.
Amen.
We're so grateful for yourpresence.
May this be true for all of us.
May our sight be restored.
May the miracles of Jesus becontinuing in us, in allowing us
to see the whole world, to seeeach other and to see ourselves
(23:08):
the way that love sees us.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Well, you know, for those folks that watch us online
, we're so grateful for the timethat you would set aside to
support us in that way.
We encourage you just to find away, through the apps that
you're on, to find us andsupport us financially, if
that's something that you can do.
We also want to remind you thatyou know, at the end of every
(23:33):
service we take communion,because it's really for us, the
crescendo, the grand finale, thejoy of getting together that we
can share, and so normally welead you through that, but us,
being here, we're just gonnaencourage you, when the cameras
are off and the videos shut off,that you would just partake
yourself.
That's what we'll do.
(23:54):
And and then, of course, first,love.
We love you so much and we'returning the service over to, uh,
pastor lee and david andcaroline's gonna share and, if
she hasn't already, and we're uhjust so grateful for all of you
and we'll see you next sunday,uh, some of you will be seeing
(24:14):
you right, uh, online, uh, anduh, for those folks in ocala,
we'll be back home standing inour pul, sharing the good news
of the gospel and loving you thebest we can.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Pray with us this morning.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of theLiving God, have mercy on me.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
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