Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
DEVOTION
Today is a very exciting day in protestant churches; you will probably notice a lot of people wearing red as a result. It is Reformation Sunday--a day set aside to remember the move of God's Spirit on the heart of Martin Luther.
If you are not Catholic, you owe a debt of gratitude to Martin Luther. For it was Martin Luther who began the reformation that led to all other Christian denominations.
The spirit of the reformation is that of freedom! We are reminded that in Christ we are set truly free! We are not slaves to people, institutions, or even our own sin. Rather, we are set free in Christ to fully experience God's Amazing Grace!
I love Ephesians 2: 8-9 which states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Isn't it wonderful good news that salvation is a work of God and not of man? We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ!
This faith sets us free to express our gratitude through kind and loving deeds toward others; but we must always remember that our good deeds are not a means of securing our pardon or "purchasing" a ticket to get into heaven, rather they are a reasonable response to God's great love!
I am so thankful for God's love revealed to us in Christ Jesus! I am so thankful that I am set free by Christ because of God's Amazing Grace. And I am so thankful for the spirit of reformation which encourages me to read my own Bible, reflect deeply on God's Word, and cling tightly to my personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!
God is so good and freedom is so sweet! Hallelujah!
Let us pray: Thank you God for setting me free in Christ! Thank you for Jesus' life, death, and resurrection which made atonement for my sin and gifts me with eternal life! Thank you for the words that you spoke to Martin Luther so many years ago. Thank you for his reformist spirit that would not let him be quiet even in the face of great persecution. Help me to be so bold. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta
If you would like to hear Pastor Yolanda preaching this sermon, please click the link above!
SCRIPTURE
Mark 10:46-52
They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
SERMON
Today I am touched by the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. What most amazes me about Bart is his incredible faith. The Bible teaches us that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen!
In Bart’s case this was literally the case! I can imagine that he was sitting by the side of the road, holding his cup, begging for the money he needed to take care of his daily needs and then all of a sudden he was caught up in a surge of people—a large crowd—all calling out to Jesus seeking his attention.
Now Bart had never seen Jesus, but it was clear that he had heard something about him. Based on nothing more than the good news stories of others, Bart began to call out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Would that all of us were so bold in our request for mercy, forgiveness, help and/or healing. It is my experience that some of us, faced with a difficult or trying circumstance withdraw into ourselves. Others of us ask the saints of God to pray for us, but won’t pray for ourselves. Still others allow our pride to get in our way, desiring a miracle, but refusing to ask. And finally some of us allow people along the road of life to “hush” us as we cry out for mercy and we fall silent.
Bart was under no false pretenses about himself. He didn’t have a “reputation” to uphold. He was already considered the lowest of the low in his society. After all, his moniker in scripture is, “Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, a blind beggar.”
This is an incredible reputation—is it not? All that scripture remembers about his condition before he met Jesus was that he was somebody’s son, he was blind as a bat, and he had no means of support other than the kindness of others.
I really believe that because Bart had already been humbled by the circumstances of his life, he was clearer about his need for Jesus than others. He didn’t need to see Jesus to understand that there was something special about Jesus. He could probably feel the change of energy in the air and the supercharge of excitement that came from the crowd as they followed Jesus.
Additionally, I would imagine that since Bart had become blind, he was really good at listening. Perhaps he had heard tell about Jesus’ miracles—the feeding of the 4,000, the healing of the woman with an issue of blood, and/or the walking on the sea.
Since Bart had probably heard about Jesus, he may have assumed that there was a good chance that Jesus would have mercy upon him, as he had had mercy on so many others. He began to call out to Jesus loudly, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Now, I notice something interesting about his request. Although he could not see Jesus, he very correctly understood that Jesus was more than he appeared to be.
For Bart did not call, “Jesus, son of Joseph, have mercy.” Instead he said, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!
Hallelujah!
Even without his physical sight, Bart had an amazing spiritual in-sight that allowed him to recognize Jesus as a member of the royal household of David, a great healer, and friend to the suffering-least-of-these.
As a result of Bart’s request and declaration, Jesus did have mercy upon him. Jesus requested that Bart be brought forward and then he asked him, “What would you have me to do for you?”
I love that Jesus invited him to be specific about his request. Like Bart, we too, are invited to be specific about our requests. When we need healing, we should ask for it. When we need financial provision, we should ask for it. When we need forgiveness of sin, we should ask for it.
But, let me say this. When we ask for something, we should ask in faith. We should believe that Jesus, Son of David, Son of God, Our Great Savior, Lord, and Friend, is more than willing to assist us with those things that are in accordance with God’s Will.
Listen, my friends, God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life. Since God did not withhold this extravagant gift, then we know that God will not withhold any other gift that we truly need!
After healing Bart, Jesus said, “Go, your faith has made you well.” But, Bart did not go! Instead, scripture teaches that Bart “immediately regained his sight and followed Jesus on the way!”
This is the appropriate response to God’s love, care, and provision. When we have an encounter with Jesus, we ought to be willing to follow Him along the road of life, wherever he may lead us—forever!
As we become followers of Jesus, we will also become sharers of the good news message that God loves, God gave, and God saves. It is an amazing truth that Jesus saves and He saves to the utmost and this is good news worth sharing!
It is my deepest desire to show forth the same amount of faith that Bart showed toward Jesus. Although he was physically blind, he was able to see deep spiritual truths. Because he could see spiritually, Jesus blessed him in every other way as well!
I don’t know what you are going through, but I want to encourage you to believe that God is able to meet all of your needs according to God’s riches in glory. There is no-thing that God is unable to rescue you from. There is no-thing that God cannot deliver you from. There is no-thing that God is unable to forgive.
But let us remember, it is up to God, how we will be delivered out of our circumstances. After we have asked for what we need, let us remember that God is Alpha and Omega. We do not have to prescribe our salvation to God; God knows what is truly best for us.
In the African American church tradition we have a saying about this. The little old ladies always say, “God may not come when you want Him, but He’s always right on time!
Dear friends, please remember that you cannot out run, out sin, or outfox the love of God revealed to us in Christ Jesus.
God loves you! More than you can hope, dream, or even imagine. Jesus loved Bartimaeus even before he ever met him along the road; Jesus knew him as well. God loves and knows you as well!
Jesus knew exactly what Bart needed and wanted, but he gave Bart the opportunity to express his faith to Jesus and to those who were standing around them. This was Bart’s first chance to share the good news. I wonder how many other opportunities he had along the road as he followed Jesus.
Today, you are invited to show forth your love in Jesus as well! Will you put all of your faith in Jesus to meet all of your needs—physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual? Will you decide to follow Jesus today?
If so, please pray with me:
Holy God, thank you for hearing me when I cry out for mercy! Please meet all of my needs according to your riches in glory. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Today, I am putting all of my faith in you. I believe that you died on the cross to secure the forgiveness of my sin and to gift me with eternal life. I know that you did not stay dead, but you were resurrected on the third day, just like you promised you would! I am excited about this good news and pledge to share it with others! I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
SPECIAL NOTE
If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!
I would be honored if you would take a moment to click “YES” in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, “Did God save you today?”
Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!
ANNOUNCEMENT
Happy "Reformation Sunday" to our many Protestant Christian friends celebrating around the world today! We are holding you in our prayers as you continue to share good news as you are led! Peace be with you!
