The Problem for Bart [Powerpoint 2-Problem] And there s a man there! Bartimaeus which means Son of Timaeus (bit like O or Mc or Mac or Van)

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1 Mark 10: Your Faith Has Healed You 19-Feb-17 Café Church Intro There are Bibles on the table in front of you There s an outline to take down notes Let me ask God to guide us in our understanding of His Holy Word Let s pray Context [Powerpoint 1-Context] Jesus and the disciples are making their way to Jerusalem The next chapter chapter 11 Jesus enters Jerusalem as a King They are in Jericho There s a large crowd there most likely because everyone is heading to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival The Problem for Bart [Powerpoint 2-Problem] And there s a man there! Bartimaeus which means Son of Timaeus (bit like O or Mc or Mac or Van) Bartimaeus has a problem He s blind! Blind Bart! And he s begging on the side of the road? Why? Well he can t work so this is his only source of income to buy food/clothes Blind Bart - needs help doesn t he? He needs healing of his blindness He s heard of Jesus of Nazareth and he knows Jesus can heal him

2 And he knows who Jesus is Son of David and he asks for mercy The Miracle [Powerpoint 3-Miracle] In fact Bart is desperate even when people tell him off for bothering Jesus he shouts even more for mercy from Jesus And Jesus shows his grace and love and compassion And Jesus tells the disciples to call him over Jesus asks Bart what he wants Bart says he wants to see And Jesus says those magical words: Your faith has healed you And Blind Bart can see Lessons we learn from Blind Bart [Powerpoint 4-Lessons Blind Bart] 1. Persistent a. Blind Bart was persistent almost to the point of being annoying - even when others were trying to silence Him b. Remember Jesus says in Matthew 7:7-8 Look it up! 7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. c. Are we willing to be persistent in our prayers just like the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, Grant me justice against my adversary. 4 For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, Even though I don t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won t eventually come and attack me!

3 6 And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? 2. Faith a. Blind Bart was healed because of his great faith in Jesus He totally believed and was convinced about who Jesus was and that Jesus could and would heal him no doubts whatsoever! b. In the same way as the woman who couldn t stop bleeding in Mark chapter 5 she touched Jesus garment and her faith healed her c. Do we have that sort of faith here s how the apostle John sees it look up 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Do we have faith that never doubts like Bart? 3. Gratitude a. Blind Bart was grateful to Jesus in Luke s version of this same story Luke 18:43 says: Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. b. He not only praised God he followed Jesus too c. Do we praise God for everything Lookup 1 Thessalonians 5:16=18: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do we rejoice in the healing we have from God through Jesus who fixes our sins and makes us right with God. Do we pray continually or only when we want something. Do we give thanks in ALL circumstances?

4 Conclusion/Challenges Let s finish with some challenges tonight [Powerpoint 5-Challenges] We are all blind like Bart to begin with Not physically blind But we are all spiritually blinded by our sin until we accept Jesus into our lives We all need to see to see Jesus to see who He really is He s calling each one of us into a relationship And He can make us see who He really is And He can make us see the sin and rebellion in our lives And He can and does heal us by dying on the cross to get rid of the disease of sin and heal us Challenge 1 - So are we persistent wanting a relationship with Him? Persistent in wanting to please Him? Persistent in wanting to follow Him and know more about Him? Are we persistent and never doubting like Bart? Are we persistent in our study and reading of God s Word? Are we persistent in our prayers for ourselves and others? Never giving up hope? Write down how you can be persistent like Bart Challenge 2 - Do we have faith like Blind Bart no matter who is trying to stop us or distract us or hurt us or lead us astray? Do we have faith even when things in our lives are going pear-shaped? Now you ve seen Bart s faith tonight - write down a prayer request now which you are stepping out in faith trusting God no matter what like Bart did Challenge 3 - Are we grateful for what Jesus is done Do we say thank you for God saving us of our sin through Jesus? Do we say thank you to God s for His many blessings do we praise God for his love and grace and mercy and compassion towards us do we say thank you when He

5 answers our prayers - and do we follow Jesus making Him the Lord of our lives listening, obeying and following His Word? Write down 3 things you can be thankful to God for Questions? Let s pray