Whether or not the Kansas City Chiefs advance to the Super Bowl, the game is worth watching if only for its humorous and inventive commercials. Three years ago (2011) Chevrolet put on a commercial which featured a Silverado pick-up truck, acting like a modern-day Lassie. It repeatedly rescued a young boy named Tommy from various disasters. Take a look… (show 2011 Chevrolet Super Bowl commercial; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuBnYlyfQEc)
The ad begins as the truck rushes into the driveway and honks. Tommy's father listens to the truck "speak," and then the anxious father asks the truck, "What? Tommy slipped into a well?" Then the father and his faithful truck proceed to drive off and rescue the boy from danger.
This scenario repeats itself several times. The truck peels up the driveway, horn blaring and lights flashing, as it "tells" about a new episode in Tommy's saga of getting in trouble. Each time the truck appears, the father blurts out his frustration: "Tommy's stuck in a cave?" or "Where did you get a [hot air] balloon?" or "How did you get trapped in the belly of a whale?" or "I didn't even know this town had a volcano!" But each time Tommy gets in trouble, the loyal truck shows up and powerfully delivers Tommy from his self-made disasters.
Like Tommy, some of us have a knack for getting in trouble. Even so, the question is not, “How did you get INTO trouble?” but “What are you going to get OUT of the trouble?” You see, we all get INTO trouble, but only some of us come OUT of the trouble a better person. Only some of us come out of the adversity a victor, someone who is able to change the world, not a victim of circumstances.
How about you? How about me? If that’s what you want, if you want to be a world-changer in times of adversity, I invite you to turn with me to Mark 10, Mark 10, where we see how a blind man did it in Jesus’ day.
Mark 10:46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. (ESV)
Bartimaeus literally means “son of the honored one.” But as you can see, he was anything but. He was blind. He was a beggar, and his condition was a mockery to his name. No doubt, he was an embarrassment to his family.
Can’t you see Bart’s dad as he interacts with the other men in Jericho? One pulls up in a cart with a bumper sticker that says, “I’m the proud parent of a Jericho High School honor student.” Another man brags that his son is a successful lawyer in the big city – Jerusalem. And still another says, “My boy is entering the ministry. Rabbi says he should do real well. By the way, Timaeus – oh honored one – what’s your boy doing these days.”
“Well…ah…uh…he’s into…charity.”
“Oh yea, where at?”
“Well…his office is just outside the city.”
“Oh, I get it. He’s that blind beggar that sits there everyday asking for a handout. Too bad.”
Bartimaeus did not bring honor to his family. He brought shame, but he didn’t let that keep him from Christ.
Mark 10:47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (ESV)
Despite his condition, he called out to Jesus.
Mark 10:48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (ESV)
The citizens of the city are embarrassed. Here, this VIP has come to town and Blind Bart is making a scene. They try to shush him up, but he only shouts louder & longer, “JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!” “JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!” “JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!”
He isn’t about to let anybody or anything stop him from getting close to Jesus. And neither should we. If you want to become a world-changer in the midst of adversity, then…
DON’T LET ANYTHING OR ANYONE KEEP YOU FROM CHRIST.
Don’t let your circumstances. Don’t let other people. Don’t even let your own embarrassment keep you from calling out to Christ.
In the movie, First Knight, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are celebrating their wedding during which several guests participate in the challenge of the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is an elevated obstacle course comprised of a hundred moving parts, including whirling balls and swinging blades. No one has ever successfully navigated the Gauntlet before, but the young men line up for the chance to run the course. The prize for making it through is a place of honor at Arthur's table and a kiss from the queen. The young men suit up in huge padded outfits to protect themselves and then hurtle through the course.
The first three men attempt the Gauntlet—and all fail. One by one, they misjudge the course and are swept aside. Then Lancelot begins climbing the platform without a single pad. The crowd cries, “You're mad! You'll kill yourself!” but that doesn’t deter Lancelot.
His first obstacle is a set of huge swirling balls, which he dodges with graceful timing, correctly judging each threat and carefully moving ahead. Next, he leaps up to grab one of the spinning wheels from which the balls were suspended. He rides the wheel around to the other side, creatively getting around another set of obstacles. He then faces his biggest threat—dozens of blades slicing through his path. He inches past blade after blade, and at a crucial point he pauses long for just the right opening. Finally, he plunges forward headfirst and dashes to safety. The king and crowd wildly applaud him.
Later, Lancelot tells the king how he successfully got through the Gauntlet: “It's not hard to know where the danger is if you watch it coming. Perhaps fear made them [the others who failed] go back when they should have gone forward.” (First Knight, Columbia, 1995, written by Lorne Cameron and David Hoselton, directed by Jerry Zucker, starting at 0:36:45 to 0:40:15; www.PreachingToday.com)
I think that’s what happens to a lot of us. Fear makes us go back when we should go forward. Please, don’t let that happen to you. Don’t let fear keep you from going forward to Christ. Don’t let the fear of embarrassment keep you from crying out to Him, because that’s the only way to make it through adversity. If we want to become world-changers in times of adversity, then we cannot let anything keep us from Christ. Instead, we must…
TRUST CHRIST WITH OUR LIVES.
We must depend on him to make us what he wants us to be in the midst of our pain. We must rely on the lord to do his work in us even when times are hard.
That’s what blind Bart did. He saw Jesus for who He was. Even though Bartimaeus was blind, he saw things others did not see. He saw Jesus as the Messiah, calling Him the “Son of David” (vs.47 & 48). Now, that was a Messianic title, recognizing Jesus as the Promised King and Deliverer of His people. More than that, Bartimaeus saw Jesus as the Merciful One, calling on Him to have mercy (vs.47 & 48), and indeed Jesus showed him mercy.
Mark 10:49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” (ESV)
Now, Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to “give His life as a ransom for many” (vs.45). He’s got a lot of things on His mind, but He’s not too busy to stop for one blind beggar on the way. He’s got the whole world to save, but He also cares about ONE individual. He indeed is the Merciful Messiah, and that’s what Blind Bart saw. So Blind Bart threw aside his own pitiful efforts at self preservation.
Mark 10:50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. (ESV)
The cloak here is an outer cloak which beggars in Jesus day spread before themselves to collect alms. Bart depended on his cloak for his livelihood, but he cast it aside and came to Jesus.
Mark 10:51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” (ESV)
Literally, he called Jesus “Rabboni,” which means MY Rabbi, My teacher, MY master. You see, Blind Bart not only saw Jesus as the Merciful Messiah and threw aside his own self-efforts, he claimed Christ as His OWN master and teacher. To Bartimaeus, Jesus was not just THE Master, He was MY Master, and that made all the difference in the world.
There are a lot of people who understand that Jesus is THE Savior of the world, but they have never looked to Him as “MY Savior.” That’s what Blind Bart did, and that’s what we must do if we want to be truly saved.
If we want to stop being victims in times of adversity and start becoming world-changers, then we must see Jesus for who He is – the Merciful Messiah, throw aside the cloak of our own self-efforts, and come to Jesus as “MY Master.” That’s what true saving faith is all about, and that’s what makes all the difference in the world for you and me.
In a word, we must TRUST. We must trust Christ with our lives. We must stop depending on ourselves and start depending on Jesus in the midst of our pain. We must rely solely on the Lord to do his work in us even when times are hard.
Don’t trust in a prayer you prayed when you were a child. Don’t trust in a response you made to an evangelist’s appeal. Don’t trust in any of your own self-righteous efforts to better yourself. Instead, trust Christ Himself and Christ alone for your salvation. Then He will begin the process of changing you from the inside out.
Charlie Crowe, of Covington Georgia, talks about a time years ago when a friend invited him to fly across central Florida in his private plane. His friend had 50 years of experience as a pilot, had flown all over the world, and had faced every possible condition, so Charlie felt safe with his friend.
Yet on their return trip, the airplane began to shake and the engine started coughing and losing power. As Charlie looked down from an altitude of a few thousand feet, terror gripped him. He felt an incredible urge to do something, but there was nothing he could do. He had no experience in flying, landing, or fixing a plane.
Then Charlie looked at his friend at the controls. He was utterly calm as he adjusted knobs and switches and continued to pilot the plane to a safe landing.
Charlie comments: There are times in life when I desperately want to grab control. My experience in the plane reminds me that if I take control I will ruin or destroy my life. At those moments, I must resist the urge and trust the one who has seen it all before, and who knows what he is doing. (Charlie Crowe, Covington, Georgia; www.PreachingToday.com)
My friends, that’s the only way any of us will make it through life. We must resist the urge to take control and trust Christ to steer us through the good times as well as the bad. Don’t let anything keep you from Christ. Instead, trust Christ with your life. For that’s the only way…
WE CAN BE TRULY SAVED.
That’s the only way we will be rescued from a life of darkness to walk in the light of Christ. That’s the only way we will be delivered from a worthless life to serve the Lord. That’s what happened to blind Bart.
Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well” [ literally, your faith has saved you]. And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
When Blind Bart was saved, he literally saw the Truth and he was changed into a follower of Christ. In fact, as a follower of Christ, he became a world-changer as well. Matthew and Luke, in their gospels, also record this miracle, but only Mark includes the Blind man’s name. That’s because Mark’s original audience in Rome probably knew Bartimaeus by name. In other words, Bartimaeus went on to have a significant impact for Christ in the first century. Though he was born and raised in a little town called Jericho, he ended up being a godly influence in the big city of Rome itself.
When Christ saved Bart, Christ not only changed him on the inside, Christ used Him to change the world, as well. And that will happen to us if we stop depending on ourselves and start trusting Christ with our lives. We will see the truth. Christ will change us into one of His followers, and He will use us to change the world around us.
Probably one of the most well-known pictures to come out of the Vietnam War was Nick Ut's Pulitzer Prize-winning photo (show picture) of Phan Thi Kim Phuc (pronounced “fuke”). On June 8, 1972, a napalm bomb was dropped on her village, and Kim, who was just nine-years-old at the time, ran crying from her hiding place in the village temple in Vietnam. Phuc's arms are outstretched in terror and pain, and skin is flapping from her legs as she cries, “Nong qua! Nong qua!” (“Too hot! Too hot!”).
Doctors said Kim would never survive, but after 14 months in the hospital – and 17 surgeries – she returned to her family. However, despite her physical recovery, Kim was seldom free from pain, nightmares and anger.
As Kim tells her story, she says, “The anger inside me was like a hatred high as a mountain, and my bitterness was black as old coffee. I hated my life. I hated all people who were normal, because I was not normal. I wanted to die many times. Doctors helped heal my wounds, but they couldn't heal my heart.”
Then Kim found a Bible while spending time in a library. It confused her, because it was different than her religion, but her brother-in-law had a friend who was a Christian. She arranged to see him with her list of questions, and after they talked, this friend invited Kim to visit his church for a Christmas service. The end of the service was a turning point in Kim's life after 10 years of pain.
“I could not wait to trust the Lord,” Kim said. “[Jesus] helped me learn to forgive my enemies, and I finally had some peace in my heart. (Ruth Schenk, “Napalm Attack Begins 36-year Journey to Faith and Forgiveness,” Southeast Outlook, September 11, 2008; www.PreachingToday.com)
In fact, 14 years later (show picture of her today), she met the man who was responsible for setting up the air strike on her village in Vietnam. His name was John Plummer, and he had approved the strike after he was twice assured there were no civilians in the area. In 1996, he was pastor of the Bethany United Methodist in Purcellville, Virginia, and had learned through a network news story that Kim was alive, living in Toronto, Canada, and about to speak at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.
Plummer invited members of a Vietnam helicopter flight crew to attend the speech with him. And as Kim Phuc addressed the crowd, she said that if she ever met the pilot of the plane she would tell him she forgives him and that they cannot change the past but she hoped they could work together in the future.
Plummer was introduced to Kim Phuc that day and later wrote about their meeting in the Virginia Advocate (January 30, 1997). “She saw my grief, my pain, my sorrow,” he wrote. “She held out her arms to me and embraced me. All I could say was, ‘I'm sorry; I'm so sorry,’ over and over again. At the same time she was saying, ‘It's all right; it's all right; I forgive; I forgive.’” (Evangelical Press News cited in Beacon, 4/97, also in Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 4; www.PreachingToday.com)
Today, Kim is an author and she travels thousands of miles to spread her message of love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. She tells her audiences, “Now when I look at my scars or suffer pain, I'm thankful the Lord put his mark on my body to remind me that he is with me all the time.” Kim also heads up the Kim Phuc Foundation with a mission “to help heal the wounds suffered by innocent children and to restore hope and happiness to their lives.” (www.kimfoundation.com)
In a word, Kim is a “world-changer.” When she trusted Christ with her life, God changed her from the inside out, and then started using her to change her world.
My friends, the good news is Christ can do the same thing for you and me! Just don’t let anything keep you from Him – not your circumstances, not other people, not even your own fear of embarrassment. Instead, trust Christ with your whole life. Throw aside your own efforts to better yourself, and start living your life in dependence upon Christ. Then watch the changes He makes in you and through you.
Adversity does not need to weaken us or harden us. Rather, Christ can use the adversity to turn us into world-changers if we simply get out of the way and let Him do His work in us.
