Series: Your Miracle is Coming
Sermon: “What Do You Want Me To Do For You?”
The first silly question Jesus asked.
Lu 18:35 ¶ Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.
36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.
37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
38 And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him,
41 saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said,"Lord, that I may receive my sight."
42 Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
What a stupid question!
Why would Jesus ask a dumb question like that? Because he wanted something before he would perform a miracle for them.
1. He wanted him to get specific about what he wanted.
The fireman was sitting by the phone when it rang. He picked it up and said, “Fire department!” The woman on the other end said, “SEND A FIRE TRUCK!” and hung up.
He waited, not sure what to do, and the phone rang again. He picked it up, said “Fire department.” The woman said, “SEND A FIRE TRUCK NOW!!” Then she hung up.
He waited, and this time he was ready. The phone rang, and he picked it up and said, “Where’s the fire?” The woman said, “It’s in the kitchen!” and hung up!
Sometimes we don’t want to get specific about what we want from the Lord. I think often we limit the miracles we can receive because we are not willing to tell Jesus exactly what our problem is!
Notice that when Jesus asked this man what he wanted, the man didn’t say, “Well, Lord. . . I just really need your help. I have an unspoken request. You know my heart, and uh. . . I just need your guidance with my situation.”
I’m not against unspoken requests. . . sometimes, it’s the most appropriate way to ask for prayer in public. But the danger is that we don’t ask God specifically enough sometimes in the place of prayer!
DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM? Something you’ve wrestled with for a long time, and never been able to conquer? A situation that you can’t handle? Will NOTHING short of a miracle be the cure and take care of the situation?
Then you need to do two things:
- Tell God exactly what the problem is.
- Tell God exactly what you need done about it.
I have a personal friend who struggled for a long time with stopping the smoking habit. He knew he was injuring the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he tried to quit many times. But he never made it past a few days.
It wasn’t until he really admitted that he had a problem HE couldn’t deal with, and asked the church to pray for him that he began to get victory over that habit.
The next silly question Jesus asked:
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Joh 5:1 ¶ After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"
7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."
8 Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and
walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
“Do you want to be healed?”
What a stupid question!
Why would Jesus ask a question like this?
2. He wanted the man to put his will into motion.
You know, a lot of things that we struggle with are never solved because we don’t use one particular thing that God has given us:
OUR WILL!
The will is what you choose with. If I hadn’t used my will this morning, BELIEVE me, I’d have never gotten out of bed!!
God has made your will a powerful thing! You know how powerful it is? Even though God wants you to go to heaven, he has made you able to CHOOSE to go to hell by not living in a right relationship with Him!
Next silly question Jesus asked:
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Mt 9:27 ¶ When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you."
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows it."
“Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
What a stupid question! They wouldn’t have followed him if they hadn’t believed!!
Why would Jesus ask a question like that? It was because he wanted something before he would perform a miracle.
3. He wanted them to verbalize their faith in him!
Jesus already knew that they believed – he just wanted them to say it out loud! He wanted them to admit it, because there’s something about sharing OUT LOUD that you believe something that REALLY CLINCHES IT!!
CONCLUSION:
Some time ago, I had a friend who was struggling with pornography. For a long time, he’d struggled. He wanted to do what was right, but he didn’t want to get really honest about the problem with God. He wasn’t quite FED UP with it yet. And he wasn’t really sure that he believed God could deliver him from it – the desires were SO strong! (That’s the way they get if you’ve practiced giving in for a long time!)
Finally, he had enough. I was able to pray with him as he humbled himself before God – and he went through these exact steps!
1. He told God “My problem is pornography, and I want to be forgiven, and changed on the inside!”
2. He told God he was fed up and wanted the problem to be fixed more than he wanted anything else.
3. He told God that he trusted HIM to help control those desires, and give him victory!
And guess what? GOD WORKED A MIRACLE THAT DAY!
Jesus still asks the same three questions of you today:
- What do you want me to do?
- Question of your honesty!
- Do you WANT to be healed?
- Question of your will!
- Do you believe that I’m able to do this?
- Question of your faith!
