46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with
His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat
by the road begging. 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!” 48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried
out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 So Jesus stood still and
commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be
of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” 50 And throwing aside his garment, he
rose and came to Jesus. 51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want
Me to do for you? The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my
sight.” 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”
And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
I’m going to start by stating with authority that someone
reading this word is about to be transformed.
You have the opportunity to receive your sight, your eyes are going to
be opened to see the life that God has predestined for you, Satan has been
deceiving you and you’ve been unable to picture what the unfettered power of
the Holy Ghost can do in and through you, but if you receive it, God’s about to
bless you with an incredible vision.
It’s time for you to get angry, downright mad at Satan, to
stand up in faith and to go after your inheritance in Christ. You do not have
to be a victim of your circumstances, you don’t have to let your circumstances
define you. You’ve have worn your circumstances like chains, you’ve let them hold
you in bondage and keep you from the abundant life that Jesus came to give. It’s time to break the chains!
Blind Bartimaeus represents those trapped in the darkness of
sin. Before we met Jesus we were foul,
unclean, polluted by sin, and yet we were so important to God that he sent his
only son to die for us.
You may be a millionaire, you may live in a mansion, but if
you don’t know Jesus, you are no different than a homeless beggar, or someone
who is a slave to alcohol and drugs. Without Jesus everyone is in the same
condition: blind, lost and polluted by sin. There is only one cure for rich and
poor alike, the blood of Jesus.
However, Bartimaeus also represents another group of people,
not in the world but in the church. Those who are in the body of Christ, who
love God, who I believe are saved, but they are living a limited life. You are living like beggars, living with the
mindset that you are not worthy, that if you could just get the crumbs from the
masters table you would be satisfied, you are living in spiritual blindness. You
are blind to your inheritance in Christ, unaware that being worthy has nothing
to do with us and everything to do with Jesus. Our righteousness is in him, “For
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.” – II Corinthians 5:21
Jesus didn’t come to give us crumbs, He came to give us life
and that more abundantly (John 10:10): many have gone to great lengths for eternal life, but
fail to experience abundant life right here, right now.
The road represents the place where the business of life is
going on. And Jesus is coming toward you
on the road and He carries with Him, the anointing that brings peace, joy, abundant
life, and God’s favor. Too many of God’s
children are like Bartimaeus, stuck on the side of the road begging. People who love God and yet they are willing
to live a substandard life.
Too many of Gods people are saved but they’re living on
crumbs, just getting by, trying to hang on and hold out till Jesus comes, saved
but living defeated lives. You are discouraged,
anxious, fearful, worried, and stressed out.
You have no peace, no joy, and your life is a life of want and not abundance. Jesus didn’t come to bring us a “crumby” life, a
life of just getting by, of just surviving, or of just holding on by a
thread. He came to give us abundant
life, unlimited life, and a life of Joy unspeakable and full of glory. He came to give us peace like a river and
power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.
He came not only to heal your sicknesses, he said he put his
power in you to lay your hands on the sick and they will recover.
One day Blind Bartimaeus the beggar heard Jesus was coming and
he decided that day he wanted abundant life.
He decided he was tired of begging, tired of living on crumbs, tired of
being in want, always in need, always in lack, always coming up short, and just
barely surviving.
What happened to Bartimaeus that delivered him from the
place of living the life of a beggar, with no vision, no dreams, no passion, no
hope of better days, just getting by living on crumbs?
You say Jesus healed him: Yes, but before healing came, something
else happened in him. First he recognized he had a need and acknowledged his
deficiency. Second, He became desperate
for a change, desperate for abundant life, desperate for vision, and he wanted
deliverance from a life of impotency, from a powerless life. Third, he
recognized that Jesus was the only one who could deliver him, who could open
his eyes and bring him into a life of vision, a life of power and abundance. And finally he gave everything to get Jesus
attention.
A lot of people want what Jesus has but they’re not willing
to pay for it. No you can’t buy a miracle, you can’t buy Gods presence or power
with money. But it’s not free, it will
cost you something: It will cost you your pride, it will cost you your
preconceived religious ideas and traditions, it will cost you your old way of
doing business, and you’ll have to do what the Holy Spirit tells you to
do. It will cost you time. It will cost you your old associations, you’ll
have to run with a different group of people.
It may even cost you your reputation among men, as you may be criticized
and persecuted, you may be labeled fanatical.
That’s why there are still a lot of blind beggars in the
church today, they would rather be blind than pay the price to be healed. They would rather live on crumbs from someone
else’s table than to pay the price to receive personal revelation and the abundant
presence and power of Jesus in their lives.
I’m not in a position to criticize: I used to be one of those
people. I would blindly follow and be
led around by someone else, living off crumbs because I wasn’t willing to pay
the price for personal revelation and have the power of God in my life. It’s not sin that is keeping most Christians
from the abundant life, its self.
Bartimaeus robe represents his old life, the life of “self”. As he came to Jesus he cast away his robe. He
put off the “self” life to receive abundant life. The only way for you and I to receive the
abundant life that Christ came for us to have, is to let the cross deliver us
from ourselves.
As Easter is upon us I want to speak to those still begging
and remind you: The only way to resurrection power is through the cross. The abundant life that God offers can only be
manifested in us to the degree that the cross has exercised its power over “self”
in our life.
Listen to what I am saying!
Your miracle, healing, deliverance, and your spiritual breakthrough are
in his presence. There is peace, joy, and
restoration in his presence. Just lift
your hands right now and begin to call on his name. Don’t watch it pass you by! Cry out to Jesus and get His attention, don’t
let His presence pass you by.
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