7 BARRIERS TO YOUR MIRACLE
Mark 10:46-52
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Rabid fan & the Priest
1. During a recent World Series game, a diehard Astros fan (Texans, Rockets) amused himself by scaring White Sox fans walking to the game in their obnoxious White Sox shirts. When he saw one, he’d swerve his van toward them as if he was going to hit them but then swerve back at the last minute.
2. Driving along, he saw a priest. He thought he’d do a good deed by giving the priest a ride. “Where are you going, Father?” “To mass at St. Francis Church, about two miles down the road.” “Hop in, I’ll give you a ride.” The priest got in the back seat. Suddenly the driver saw a White Sox fan and swerved as if to hit him. As he swerved back, he heard a loud “THUD,” but he didn’t know where it came from.
3. Remembering he had the priest in his car, he said, “Sorry Father, I almost hit that White Sox fan!” “That’s ok,” replied the priest, “I got him with the door!”
B. TEXT
Mk. 10:46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” 52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
C. THESIS
1. Barrier (definition): a. anything built or serving to bar passage, as a railing, fence, or the like; b. a natural obstacle: a mountain barrier; c. anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access, etc.: a trade barrier; d. a limit or boundary.
2. We’re going to look at a blind man who needed a miracle. There were a number of things which stood in his way to receive their miracle, just as there are with us. If he can beat the obstacles, so can we. Let’s see the obstacles and how he overcame them.
3. The title of this message is, “The 7 Barriers to Your Miracle.” [1. See no way out; 2. unworthiness; 3. public ridicule; 4. our pride; 5. resistance; 6. abandon securities; 7. have faith for a miracle.]
I. SEEING NO WAY OUT
Mk. 10:46 - "blind man."
A. PHYSICAL BLINDNESS
1. There are several ways we can be blind: no light, something in the air, something in your eye, or your eye have no ability to see at all. The first 3 can be easily remedied.
2. If there’s no light, we can get some light. If there’s smoke, fog, or dust in the air, and we can wait for it to clear. We may have a sleepie in our eyes and get it out.
3. But the worst condition is if our eye has no ability to see. That can’t be remedied except by a miracle.
B. MENTAL BLINDNESS. There can also be a mental blindness -- “Having their understanding darkened,” Eph. 4:18. “He made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ,” 2 Cor. 4:6.
C. MORAL & SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS –
1. But there’s also spiritual blindness! Someone once said to Helen Keller, "What a pity you have no sight." She answered, "Yes, but what a pity that so many who do have sight cannot see!" How true. Many with eyes are blind.
2. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light…” John 3:19-21.
3. EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SPIRITUALLY BLIND?
a. THE PHARISEES. “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees...asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” John 9:39-41.
b. SAUL OF TARSUS was blinded until his eyes were opened on the Damascus road.
c. THE LAODICEAN CHURCH. Jesus called the Laodicean Church ‘blind’ (Rev. 3:17-18), and counseled them to “anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see."
d. ELISHA’S SERVANT, “Lord, open his eyes!” 2 Kgs. 6:17.
D. ILLUSTRATION
1. Sally Kennedy tells how she and her husband were driving to stay in a hotel. It was pitch dark, and they were watched for identifying landmarks to guide them back.
2. She said, “I never saw the big warehouse that night, but next day I did. In the daylight, it dominated the landscape. We wondered how we could have missed it!”
3. She got thinking about the difference between things “in the light”, and ‘in the dark.’ Enlightenment is just that; receiving understanding through light.
4. Blind Bartimaeus probably had more than one type of blindness. He may have been blind to the possibility of a miracle happening to him. We may be in the shape.
II. FEELINGS OF UNWORTHINESS
A. HIS NAME
1. Bartimaeus = "Son of the Unclean/defiled.” The O.T. designation of “unclean” was used of lepers or those with a bodily issue. Those with this designation defiled places they went and were forbidden to go in public places. His father was evidently a person that had long been defiled.
2. Would you like that on your mailbox? Imagine the stigma for the father to be called "unclean," and the son to be blind! It sure seemed as if God was against them! But that wasn’t true!
3. Maybe some of you don’t feel worthy for God to do anything for you. Remember that no one is worthy; that’s why salvation is by grace!
B. A BEGGAR
1. This Bartimaeus was so poor that he survived from one meal to the next. His clothing was little more than rags.
2. He was exposed to the weather -- heat, cold, rain, clammy, etc. He probably did not have the opportunity to bathe very often. He was a pitiful sight. He didn’t look like someone God cared about.
III. OVERCOME PUBLIC RIDICULE
A. HE PUBLICLY CAME OUT FOR JESUS
Mark 10:47 – "he began to shout." The Greek word for "shout" is kradzo, and means “to cry out, scream, shriek.” This means that Bartimaeus was screaming, not just politely asking.
B. HE IGNORED THE FEAR OF WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT
1. Mk.10:48 says, “Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more.”
2. Fear of what people think hinders a lot of people from seeking help. We don’t want people to know our business, that we’re in pain, that we’re discouraged, that we feel like giving up.
3. We somehow think we’re less of a person if we acknowledge weakness; nothing could be further from the truth. We’re human! “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
IV. HUMBLE OUR PRIDE
A. HE RECOGNIZED HIS POWERLESSNESS
Mark 10:47 – "Have mercy on me." To have to ask for mercy is the last resort: it means you have no rights or grounds to demand help; you have no influence with the benefactor. Aren’t you glad that’s NOT our case with God?
B. HE RECOGNIZED THAT GOD HAD THE POWER
Twice Bartimaeus appealed to Jesus as the ‘Son of David.’ That’s a reference to God’s Messiah, who as Prophet, High Priest & King had the divine power to grant even supernatural manifestations if He chose to. Bartimaeus was appealing to the highest power for clemency from his afflictions.
V. PERSEVERE THROUGH RESISTANCE
A. PERSEVERED THROUGH REJECTION BY PEOPLE
Even though the crowd with Jesus told Bartimaeus to be quiet, he kept shouting.
B. PERSEVERED THROUGH REJECTION BY GOD
1. Matthew 9:28, if a parallel, adds one more fact – Jesus kept going and went indoors. But Bartimaeus followed after and pressed his claim!
2. Often we want a quick and easy answer, but God wants to see how much we want it. Many don’t want to work in the natural, and a lot don’t want to strain in the spiritual. But when we get truly desperate, Jesus will be moved by our importunity.
3. “The EFFECTUAL, FERVENT prayer of a righteous person avails much” Jam. 5:16. Bartimaeus BEGAN to shout, then he CONTINUED to shout all the more. It was his persistence which got Jesus’ attention.
VI. ABANDON WHAT WE RELY ON
A. BARTIMAEUS LEFT HIS OLD LIFE BEHIND
Bartimaeus’ “THROWING ASIDE HIS CLOAK” (50) demonstrated:
1. He was Leaving his old life. The cloak defined who Bartimaeus was; that he was poor and blind. It was probably the only possession he owned, if it was not held in pledge.
2. It was Act of Faith, that, with sight, he would never be blind or a beggar again. He would probably have positioned the cloak over his knees to catch the coins thrown his way as he begged. Throwing off that cloak showed he believed he wasn’t going to need it anymore.
B. YOU’RE A NEW PERSON; START A NEW LIFE
1. We all have to throw off our cloaks (dependencies) that bind us to our circumstances. The cloak of Bartimaeus can also represent our thinking about ourselves. The cloak defines us. We have to throw off the definition of who we think we are. We think “I can’t,” “I will fail,” “I am bad.” We need to take our cloak off and come to Jesus.
2. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Get rid of your self-righteousness rags! In the sight of God they’re dirty and unfit for Heaven. Only God can supply you with wedding clothes (Matt. 22:11) for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!
VII. HAVE FAITH JESUS IS DOING IT
A. WHAT DO YOU WANT JESUS TO DO?
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see,” Vs. 51.
1. He was very clear on what he wanted. Sometimes our prayers are all over the place. We want answers to all our problems at once. We want health, deliverance, finances, a job, etc., all at once.
2. Look at Bartimaeus, he just asked for the one thing he knew was most important: his sight. He also had many other problems like us. But he knew if God touched that one core need, that one answer would lead to the others being met.
3. This morning, ask for that one thing that you need most from God. That will be the key to your deliverance/miracle in many other areas.
B. WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD?
1. “‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road” (Vs. 52).
2. Bartimaeus began to walk in Jesus’ direction, at His pace, and in His company. He didn’t go his own way.
3. God has delivered many of you in the past, given you good jobs, healing etc. But do you follow him today? Do you have time for him today?
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. The well-known Christian teacher and author Jennifer Rees Larcombe was confined to a wheelchair for eight years owing to a viral infection, encephalitis. Countless people prayed for her, including people in Britain who believed they had the gift of healing.
2. In an “Inspire” Magazine interview, she said her life was plunged into darkness and despair when her idyllic village life as a mother of six and a foster mother came to an abrupt end in 1982 when she became seriously ill with a brain virus.
3. “I was whisked away in an ambulance unable to breathe, eat, swallow, speak or move. I actually died and floated out of my hospital bed as my minister and his wife were praying for me. “It was like free-falling from an aircraft.” The gift of peace and inner contentment came as she wrestled with her recovery. She turned to writing and speaking to encourage others.
4. Then one day a young lady – converted only for three weeks – asked Jennifer if she could pray for her. Lo and behold, Jennifer was instantly healed. She carried her wheelchair home and has never used it since.
5. This is a well-known modern miracle that has encouraged the faith of many to pray and expect God to work miracles! [Polling indicates that 82 percent of Americans believe in the healing power of prayer, and 73 percent of U.S. medical doctors say miracles of healing occur. Source: www.tulsaworld.com/.../oru...oral-roberts-healing.../article_21107c4f-0551-5fd0-87fe... Apr 11, 2015
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you have a prayer-need you need God to answer for you? How many of you are facing one of these seven barriers to your healing?
2. Do you see no way out of your problem? Feel unworthy that God should hear you? Are you facing public ridicule? Maybe your pride is in the way or you’ve given up fighting. Are you relying on something/ someone else besides God to help you? Lastly, will you simply trust God to work a miracle though it seems physically impossible? Let’s PRAY!
[This is a rewrite of a short outline by Jim Butcher on Matt. 9:27-31]
