God Will Give You The Desires Of Your Heart

God Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart

Mark 10:46-52

Introduction: Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Revival and spiritual growth are God’s desires for each one of his children. Today revival seems to be elusive to many but know it’s God’s desire. In our lesson, a multitude is accompanying Jesus and his disciple, all with different motives. Various motives influenced the multitude to silence the beggar's cries. Some regarded his crying out as inappropriate, distracting their thoughts and interrupting their conversation. Others did not like to hear Jesus referred to as Messiah. Others still, believing that Jesus was about to be crowned king, thought that it was high time that he should cease paying so much attention to beggars and begin to assume the dignities of royalty. But Bartimaeus was filled with the spirit of Jacob. The more resistance he met, the more strenuously he wrestled to obtain the blessing (Ge 32:24-26). He received the desire of his heart!

What are you desiring? Do your desires align themselves with the will of God? Are setbacks, hindrances, and difficulties brought on by the pandemic changing your desires. Even during difficult days, God promises, if we “delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” The present unfavorable conditions and circumstance do not have the power to cause us to come short of their goals, dreams, and purposes. We can still take all our frailties, weaknesses, and faults to God in Prayer. Nothing can stop us in our quest for the abundant life that our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ promised in his word. I realize we have an adversity trying to hold you and me back individually, and personally. Yet, knowing that God will give us the desires our heart should keep us encouraged. The only thing that hinder us is a lack of desire. Bartimaeus, the blind of our text was filled with the spirit of Jacob. The more resistance he met, the more strenuously he wrestled to obtain the blessing. Receiving the desires of our heart may require us to wrestle!

Everyone faces obstacles in life. Winners and losers are separated by how they choose to deal with the difficulties of life. Winners in the Christian race learn how to outlast overcome their difficulties. They overcome and gain victory, to becoming a victor instead of the victim. To overcome means to conquer, to triumph, to beat down and subdue every hindrance that would keep us out of the mainstream of life. This message may not be for everyone because some people are satisfied living beneath their privileges. Others are satisfied living on the sideline of life, receiving handouts from those passing by. Then there are those who refuse to be content with life’s limitations. They are the ones looking for way out or a hand up! They can sense that they were born for greatness. They were born to please God at a higher level. They have not lost their dreams; their hope is alive and well. They hunger to move into the mainstream of life. All they need is the right opportunity; the right message, the right inspiration; and the motivation. They really believe that if they “delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” They are ready to wrestle like Jacob who said, “I will not let you go until you bless my soul.” They understand that they might meet resistance along the way. They have decide, the more resistance they met, the more strenuously they wrestle until they obtain the blessing (Ge 32:24-26).

Today, we have an interesting story. This event occurs during the third year of Jesus' earthly ministry; his year of opposition. His first year was a year of obscurity, when no one really knew him. Jesus was just another itinerate preacher under the watchful eyes of the Pharisees and Sadducees. His second year was a year of popularity when everyone knew him. His influence was great, and his crowds were massive. Many religious leaders became jealous of him. By the third year, a decision had been made, Jesus must be stopped. This is the last time that Jesus would make this journey from his hometown Nazareth up to Jerusalem. Jericho was a common stop-over between Nazareth and Jerusalem. When Jesus arrived in Jericho, the crowds were enormous, and Jericho was tingling with excitement.

Jericho was in the plain of the Jordan River. If you remember, (1) Jericho is known as the oldest city in the world. (2) Jericho was the place Israel selected to enter the Promised Land after the wilderness journey had transformed a band of wanderers into the Hebrew nation. (3) Jericho is the place we found ZACCHAEUS up a tree and out on a limb. ZACCHAEUS’s life was transformed by an encounter with Jesus. Jericho was the place where Bartimaeus stationed himself to beg. During the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry Jericho was a rich and flourishing town, having a considerable trade, and celebrated for the palm trees which adorned the plain around. The word Jericho means fragrant or sweet smell. Jericho was a place where weary travelers could refresh themselves for the journey ahead. Jericho could really be thought of as place of refreshing. Even King Herod owned a summer house at Jericho. Often travelers chose to refresh themselves at Jericho before they journeyed on! My wife and I spent a day at Jericho a few years ago. I rode my first camel at Jericho. This was the last time that Jesus would visit Jericho and if the man of our text is going to get his heart’s desire, it must be now or never.