“A Big View of God”
Cheap Seats
Luke 18:35-43
If you were going to a sporting event, or concert what we would be the best seats? If you were going to a basketball game it would be center court front row. If it were football it would be the 50-yard line, front row. If it were a concert it would be center stage, front row. But, if it were Sunday morning church service, it wouldn’t be the front pew. The back pews always fill up before the front pews in church. The best seats in church always seem to be near the back. Regardless of were you set in church, this should be were we all get a front row seat with God. I’m not saying you can’t see God in nature, and through everyday events in our life. We should see God all around us and in all the events of our life, but here in church, is where we should get the best view. This is where all the distractions and obstacles in our life should take the back seat while our relationship with God takes the front seat. And in this message and during the next few weeks in this series I want to challenge you to take a few steps closer to God in your everyday life. Because most everyone in life has experienced a time when all of life comes unraveled and the soul freezing winds of this life come rushing in and freeze our faith until our faith seems almost useless. But what if—in our everyday living we move a little closer to the Son (Jesus)…so that when the soul freezing winds of Big problems, Big worries, and Big Questions come rushing in—they pale in comparison of our Big view of God? Through the stories of the Bible I’m convinced that God wants us to live everyday with such a Big View of His loving concern—and active work in our day to day lives that the soul freezing circumstances of this life never freeze us up spiritually.
So lets begin with the understanding that worship is always going to move me closer to God. When I engage in worship it magnifies my view of God. God doesn’t get bigger but my perspective of Him changes because I move closer.
Psalm 34:3 (KJV)
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt his name together.
Worship is the act of magnifying God. Enlarging our vision of Him. Setting in the front row to see Him up close and personal. Of course, His size doesn’t change, but our perception of Him does. As we draw nearer, He seems larger. Isn’t that what we need—a big view of God? Don’t we have big problems, big worries, and big questions? Of course we do, and the only thing that can truly help us is a big view of God.
Now lets take this principle to the person of Jesus and learn what happened to someone who was moved from the cheap seats to the front seats in following Him. In this section of Scripture Jesus had just finished teaching the disciples about what it meant to be His disciple. He told them of the certain death that awaited him in Jerusalem and that the way to follow Him was the way of death, sacrifice, and self-submission while serving everyone. But it’s all very blurry in the eyes of the disciples—they don’t have the spiritual eyes at this point to understand what Jesus is teaching them. So here from everyday life comes a blind man who through his circumstances teaches the disciples and us how taking faith steps towards Jesus can radically change our lives.
1. Spiritual blindness. (v.35)
Luke 18:35 (NLT)
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road.
a). His predicament – he was physically blind.
The blind beggar is like the lost world today, setting by the roadside going no where spiritually. They cannot see their spiritual need for the gospel. They are going nowhere – nothing in life is fulfilling apart from Christ.
2. Spiritual hunger
Luke 18:36–38 (NLT)
36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene* was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
a). His position – In desperate need of God’s help.
The people said, “Jesus of Nazareth” which was a statement of fact. The blind beggar changed it to “Jesus, Son of David” which was a statement of faith.
Mercy: when you deserve punishment but you receive favor.
Luke 18:39 (NLT)
39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him…
b). His opposition – came from “the people in the front”
Those who lead the way today are the church. Many people who are in need of God’s mercy face opposition in the church because the church doesn’t preach a balance between judgment and grace. All they hear and see is condemnation and judgment from those leading the way and they can’t see the grace and mercy of the gospel.
c). His persistence –…But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Even though his predicament was bleak, and he faced relentless opposition, he refused to allow the blessing to pass him by. This was the last time Jesus went through this area. What if the blind beggar said, “oh well I get with Jesus on His next time through.” God honors persistence, whether it is in our faith, our prayer life, or our giving. Many times we give up just short of the blessings.
Illustration: An elderly lady was once asked by a young man who had grown weary in the fight, whether he ought to give up the struggle. "I am beaten every time," he said dolefully. "I feel I must give up." "Did you ever notice," she replied, smiling into the troubled face before her, "that when the Lord told the discouraged fishermen to cast their nets again, it was right in the same old spot where they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing?"
d). His relocation – Luke 18:40 (NLT) When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him,
“Jesus stopped” Even on His way to die, Jesus had time for a blind beggar! This is yet another prophetic sign for those who would spiritually see!
Through his faith, hunger, and persistence he was brought from the back row to the front row.
e). His request – Luke 18:41 (NLT) “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”
When he drew near to the Lord, Jesus asked him, what he wanted from Jesus. The blind man knew exactly what he wanted more than anything else in life. It was obvious to everyone what the blind man needed. His blindness is what fueled his faith, hunger and persistence.
Do we realize our need today? Do we know exactly what we want from God? One of the most important disciplines in our life is to be aware of our spiritual needs before the Lord.
3. His reward -- Luke 18:42–43 (NLT) And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
a.) The blind man received what he asked for. His response, “and followed Jesus, praising God”. When we see God up close and personal, and get in the close sets we don’t want to go back to the cheap seats.
b). It also had an effect on the people who were “leading the way”. It encouraged them to see what Jesus did with the blind man. When the power of God moves in a person’s life it always encourages the faith of those near that person. The ones who originally opposed the blind man are now worshipping with him.
Conclusion:
What have we been experiencing here at Church? We have a hunger for not only the Lord’s presence but also His power. That’s what excites me when I preach. When I look out at the congregation and see hunger in the eyes of those who are listening.
Illustration:
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
A big view of God is all about seeing God in all our circumstances.
2 Kings 6:15–17 (NLT)
15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. When the Syrian detachment surrounded the place by night, for the apprehension of the prophet, his servant was paralyzed with fear. This was a new servant, who had only been with him since Gehazi’s dismissal and consequently had little or no experience of his master’s powers. His faith was easily shaken by so unexpected an alarm.
16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
Elisha could see into the Spiritual realm—what Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven—Elisha could see that God was in control / God was present in his circumstances and God was ready and willing to fight on Elisha’s behalf. A big view of God is about trust / knowing God is present / trusting God will fight on our behalf / it’s seeing God in all our circumstances whether they be joyful or pain filled
Application
Big Problems we must know God is present and He cares about our problems
Big Worries trust God will fight on your behalf
Big questions know God working in all our circumstances
Help is only a Mercy cry away / Jesus never refused mercy of anyone who asked
What moves us closer to God? Worship!
