How to Receive From the Lord
Mark 10:46-52 King James Version, “And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”
The man we know as Blind Bartimaeus was not considered to be anything special or important. He was born blind and was a beggar, a panhandler all his life. Every morning friends would lead him to the gate of the city where he would beg for his living.
He had nothing going for himself and was more of a liability than an asset.
He was named Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus. The name Bartimaeus means “Honorable, son of one who is esteemed.” If names mean anything, Bartimaeus was living far below what God had planned for him.
He was also called son of Timaeus and Timaeus means “Highly prized but polluted.” You see, Bartimaeus was supposed to be honorable but his generational heritage was polluted and he now found himself to be a blind man and living far below his privilege. And to top it all off, he lived in Jericho. The name Jericho means “A place to breathe, to smell with pleasure.” You see, you can be in a good place but in a bad way. You can be in a prosperous place but not be living a favored and blessed life because of ……..
So, here is Blind Bartimaeus hanging out at Jericho’s gate when he hears a commotion and word travels down to him as it does, telling him that Jesus of Nazareth had come to Jericho and was now leaving the city. And, not just leaving the city but actually entering through this particular gate where Blind Bartimaeus was stationed that day. Now, Jesus had gained a lot of popularity and was getting very well known by this time in His ministry so a lot of people were mighty curious….. Jesus had experienced a very successful campaign in Jericho.
Bartimaeus knew Jesus was a healer, a miracle producing prophet. So he knew this was his chance, perhaps his only chance. How often would the blind beggar ever be this close to Jesus again given the circumstances?
There was something desperate within him that began to cry out, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.” And when he wasn’t sure that he was being heard over the crowd, he yelled it even louder, and louder and louder until he was making a spectacle of himself.
In order to receive from the Lord, Bartimaeus had to strip himself of his pride, self-importance and dignity. He had to humble himself and not care what other people thought about him.
I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people miss God because they were too concerned about what others thought.
I mean, what will people think if I go up front? What if I start crying, or acting funny or fall down or start speaking in tongues?
What if I embarrass myself?....
Who Cares?
And, what is more important, your image or your breakthrough? Your pride, or your miracle?
Now, let’s look at the next step in how to receive from the Lord; Bartimaeus had to ignore the opposition. There were people telling him to be quiet, to not make a scene. And that is one of the biggest tools of the devil even to this day, intimidation! If the devil can get you to be silent in your desperation, he has got you compromised. If he can make you feel unworthy, he will silence you.
Your prayer life will cease.
Your faith will cease.
Your hope will cease.
Your blessing will pass you right on by…. while you stand there silently, letting it pass you by.
If he can make you stop confessing God’s promise over yourself…….
If he can get you to back down…..
If he can intimidate you into silence….
But something rose up in Bartimaeus. Something inside of him said, “This is my best chance, I must get Jesus” attention! And he finally did! He stepped across the chicken line. In spite of his opposition, the Lord heard the cry of desperation. When the Lord heard him, he called for him. And in response to the Lord calling for him, he did something…… he took off his outer garment which was a handicapper’s jacket.
The garment identified him as a blind man. You can equate it to those orange reflective vests that the DOT guys wear while working on the roads. Bartimaeus wore something that identified him as a particular kind of person. He had to throw away the garment before he came to Jesus. You see, in order to identify with the new, you must first do away with the old identity. You cannot hang on to both.
You need to make room for the blessing before it comes.
Make room for the breakthrough before it has arrived. You cannot just add Jesus to your already cluttered life; you must get rid of the clutter in order to make room for the Lord.
Light and darkness cannot co-exist. It is either one or the other! Bartimaeus knew this and got rid of everything that identified him with the old.
When he found himself standing before the Lord, he was asked, “What should I do for you; what do you want?” Now when you think about it, that seems like a real no-brainer. Jesus has an obviously blind man standing in front of him and he asks what the guy wants? Wow! That seems like an obvious question. The guy is face to face with Jesus. It didn’t take any revelation to see that the guy’s problem was.
I can think of two reasons Jesus asked the question.
1. It is important to verbally your need to the Lord in prayer and supplication.
2. Jesus wanted to help him at his perceived point of need. Even though he was blind, perhaps he just wanted some money. If that was the case Jesus would have taken up a love offering.
Jesus would not have healed him if he wanted a love offering. So, in retrospect……. Maybe it wasn’t such a stupid question after all.
In Closing:
Jesus said His Faith made him whole. Blind Bartimaeus had faith in Jesus, not just in the healing. Pursue the healer and the healing will come. This guy’s faith made him whole. Sometimes our faith is stronger when we are at our worst.
The Building blocks of faith.
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Jesus said faith made him whole.
He followed Jesus in the way!
This is the part that some people do not do. They receive their answered prayer; their miracle, and life gets better. They don’t think they need God any more………. At least, not until the next crisis. Any they don’t become disciples; they don’t follow Jesus in the way.
But not our guy. Not Bartimaeus. He makes a decision to follow Jesus. He because a true believer. He didn’t just use Jesus to get him out of a jam. He devoted himself to the one who healed him and made his life completely different.
So this is how you receive from the Lord…
1. In order to receive from the Lord, Bartimaeus had to strip himself of his pride, self-importance and dignity. He had to humble himself and not care what other people thought about him.
2. Bartimaeus had to ignore the opposition. There were people telling him to be quiet, to not make a scene. And that is one of the biggest tools of the devil even to this day, intimidation!
If the devil can get you to be silent in your desperation, he has got you compromised.
3. He had to throw away the garment before he came to Jesus. You see, in order to identify with the new, you must first do away with the old identity. You cannot hang on to both. You need to make room for the blessing before it comes. You cannot just add Jesus to your already cluttered life; you must get rid of the clutter in order to make room for the Lord.
4. Blind Bartimaeus had faith that made him whole. Faith in Jesus, not just in the healing. Pursue the healer and the healing will come. This guy’s faith made him whole. Sometimes our faith is stronger when we are at our worst.
5. He followed Jesus in the way.
Altar call………..
