For an audio version of this message,
please click the link below:
It’s Just Bartimaeus
Mark Chapter Ten:
46. 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.
As I was reading these verses today a sadness filled my heart. I got to thinking about this man they called Blind Bartimaeus. They didn’t call him Bartimaeus, they called him blind Bartimaeus. He had been blind for so long that blindness wasn’t just his disease it was part of his name. How sad that must have been.
It’s the same with many of us. We have had the same problem for so long that we identify ourselves with our problem and not with our God. Just like they did with Bartimaeus many people tell us to give up and to stop troubling Jesus with our problems. They will tell you that God doesn’t heal anymore and that those days passed away with the apostles. They will give you a million reasons to give up but today I am going to give you one reason to never give up. The reason is Jesus.
Many will tell you that you must have great faith to be healed and that you must fast and pray and quote a dozen scriptures on healing each day and confess the scriptures until you get what you want. I believe in quoting scriptures and confessing them but how many did Bartimaeus confess? Where was his great faith?
It was right there in our story. Jesus told Bartimaeus “Go your way, your faith has made you whole.” So what did Bartimaeus confess? By calling Jesus the son of David he professed his faith that Jesus was the messiah of whom the prophets spoke of. The only other way he exercised faith was by crying out for help.
Think about it; do you cry to someone for help if you don’t have faith they can help you? It’s knowing who to call that counts. If your house is on fire do you call a plumber? If you have a leak do you call the fire department? You have faith in the one you call on. The only thing Bartimaeus had faith in was that Jesus is the healer and that he is merciful.
Just as the scribes and Pharisees added so many stipulations to the law so the faith teachers of our day have added so many rules and regulations to what is called faith. They have given us burdens we were never meant to carry. We think we have to do so many things in order to get what we ask of our Father or our savior. We have been given so many rules that Father never intended for us to have to adhere to.
Think of it this way. What is the greatest miracle you will ever see? Is it not salvation? How many verses did you know when you got saved? Could you confess a dozen or so without reading them? Had you fasted and prayed until you were holy enough to call on him? Had you paid all your tithes and offerings and had you been in every church service and read every book on the reading list? Did you sow a miracle seed for your salvation? NO! You called on Jesus and he saved you. This is the gospel message. All that call upon the name of the Lord will be saved! That’s all. Nothing more.
Children don’t have a ten, twelve or twenty step plan for getting their needs and wants. They have one plan. Ask until they get it. Jesus said unless you are humble as child you won’t see the kingdom of God in action. A child doesn’t know all the rules of faith. All they know is there is man they call Daddy and if they ask him they will get what they ask for. Sometimes they ask him over and over like Bartimaeus did until they get what they want.
Those of you with children just imagine if your children treated you the way we treat our loving Father in heaven. Suppose they came to you with times and dates written down of all the times you promised them you would buy them some ice cream.
What if they went all over the house quoting things like: Dad chapter one: August first, Dad promised me ice cream. Dad chapter two, would you children like some ice cream?: Mom, chapter seven: Mom said she would stop at the store and get some ice cream.
Then imagine if they made it into a prayer and came to you and said. Oh holy one called Dad, three times this week you promised us that you would buy us ice cream. I have memorized all the times and occasions you have promised and I come to remind you that you promised to buy me some ice cream. Oh holy Dad, I have not eaten in a week because I am fasting until you get me some ice cream. I gave ten percent of my Kool Aid to the kid next door and I gave Brother Billy my candy bar as a seed offering so that you would buy me some ice cream.
What would you do? Would you rush your child to the doctor immediately thinking they had lost their mind? See how sill all this is?
It’s time to simplify the message. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock, knock, knock until the door opens because our Father in heaven knows how to give good gifts to those who ask him. He already knows all you need before you ask and already wants to give you the kingdom but only created prayer because he loves you and loves the sound of your voice when you pray.
He asked me one time why did he say to pray for daily bread and not monthly or yearly bread? I told him I didn’t know and he said it’s so we would pray every day because he loves to hear our voices and loves it when we come to his table every day.
Blind Bartimaeus became just Bartimaeus by asking and not giving up until he had his sight. He only had faith in two things: He believed Jesus is Lord and he believed that Jesus has mercy. Doesn’t that simplify the message?
Second Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
He already said yes. All we could ever need is already provided and in Father’s pantry. Just like when you buy ice cream for your children. You bought it with the intention of giving it to your children. From the moment you bought the ice cream it belonged to your children. You put it in the freezer and plan to give it to your kids after dinner. But they just keep on asking for it now and they don’t stop so you finally drop what you are doing and give them what they are asking for.
When we get off our high horse called religious faith and come back down to the reality that we are his children and he is our loving father then we will see our prayers answered. The kingdom of God is not a system. It’s a family.
Just imagine a couple days after Jesus healed Bartimaeus. He was walking down the street and someone shouted “aren’t you Blind Bartimaeus?” and Bartimaeus replied. “No, thanks to Jesus it’s just Bartimaeus.”
I hope you are encouraged by these words.
Until next time,
Grow Rich in His Grace,
I love you all,
michael
As I was reading these verses today a sadness filled my heart. I got to thinking about this man they called Blind Bartimaeus. They didn’t call him Bartimaeus, they called him blind Bartimaeus. He had been blind for so long that blindness wasn’t just his disease it was part of his name. How sad that must have been.
It’s the same with many of us. We have had the same problem for so long that we identify ourselves with our problem and not with our God. Just like they did with Bartimaeus many people tell us to give up and to stop troubling Jesus with our problems. They will tell you that God doesn’t heal anymore and that those days passed away with the apostles. They will give you a million reasons to give up but today I am going to give you one reason to never give up. The reason is Jesus.
Many will tell you that you must have great faith to be healed and that you must fast and pray and quote a dozen scriptures on healing each day and confess the scriptures until you get what you want. I believe in quoting scriptures and confessing them but how many did Bartimaeus confess? Where was his great faith?
It was right there in our story. Jesus told Bartimaeus “Go your way, your faith has made you whole.” So what did Bartimaeus confess? By calling Jesus the son of David he professed his faith that Jesus was the messiah of whom the prophets spoke of. The only other way he exercised faith was by crying out for help.
Think about it; do you cry to someone for help if you don’t have faith they can help you? It’s knowing who to call that counts. If your house is on fire do you call a plumber? If you have a leak do you call the fire department? You have faith in the one you call on. The only thing Bartimaeus had faith in was that Jesus is the healer and that he is merciful.
Just as the scribes and Pharisees added so many stipulations to the law so the faith teachers of our day have added so many rules and regulations to what is called faith. They have given us burdens we were never meant to carry. We think we have to do so many things in order to get what we ask of our Father or our savior. We have been given so many rules that Father never intended for us to have to adhere to.
Think of it this way. What is the greatest miracle you will ever see? Is it not salvation? How many verses did you know when you got saved? Could you confess a dozen or so without reading them? Had you fasted and prayed until you were holy enough to call on him? Had you paid all your tithes and offerings and had you been in every church service and read every book on the reading list? Did you sow a miracle seed for your salvation? NO! You called on Jesus and he saved you. This is the gospel message. All that call upon the name of the Lord will be saved! That’s all. Nothing more.
Children don’t have a ten, twelve or twenty step plan for getting their needs and wants. They have one plan. Ask until they get it. Jesus said unless you are humble as child you won’t see the kingdom of God in action. A child doesn’t know all the rules of faith. All they know is there is man they call Daddy and if they ask him they will get what they ask for. Sometimes they ask him over and over like Bartimaeus did until they get what they want.
Those of you with children just imagine if your children treated you the way we treat our loving Father in heaven. Suppose they came to you with times and dates written down of all the times you promised them you would buy them some ice cream.
What if they went all over the house quoting things like: Dad chapter one: August first, Dad promised me ice cream. Dad chapter two, would you children like some ice cream?: Mom, chapter seven: Mom said she would stop at the store and get some ice cream.
Then imagine if they made it into a prayer and came to you and said. Oh holy one called Dad, three times this week you promised us that you would buy us ice cream. I have memorized all the times and occasions you have promised and I come to remind you that you promised to buy me some ice cream. Oh holy Dad, I have not eaten in a week because I am fasting until you get me some ice cream. I gave ten percent of my Kool Aid to the kid next door and I gave Brother Billy my candy bar as a seed offering so that you would buy me some ice cream.
What would you do? Would you rush your child to the doctor immediately thinking they had lost their mind? See how sill all this is?
It’s time to simplify the message. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock, knock, knock until the door opens because our Father in heaven knows how to give good gifts to those who ask him. He already knows all you need before you ask and already wants to give you the kingdom but only created prayer because he loves you and loves the sound of your voice when you pray.
He asked me one time why did he say to pray for daily bread and not monthly or yearly bread? I told him I didn’t know and he said it’s so we would pray every day because he loves to hear our voices and loves it when we come to his table every day.
Blind Bartimaeus became just Bartimaeus by asking and not giving up until he had his sight. He only had faith in two things: He believed Jesus is Lord and he believed that Jesus has mercy. Doesn’t that simplify the message?
Second Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
He already said yes. All we could ever need is already provided and in Father’s pantry. Just like when you buy ice cream for your children. You bought it with the intention of giving it to your children. From the moment you bought the ice cream it belonged to your children. You put it in the freezer and plan to give it to your kids after dinner. But they just keep on asking for it now and they don’t stop so you finally drop what you are doing and give them what they are asking for.
When we get off our high horse called religious faith and come back down to the reality that we are his children and he is our loving father then we will see our prayers answered. The kingdom of God is not a system. It’s a family.
Just imagine a couple days after Jesus healed Bartimaeus. He was walking down the street and someone shouted “aren’t you Blind Bartimaeus?” and Bartimaeus replied. “No, thanks to Jesus it’s just Bartimaeus.”
I hope you are encouraged by these words.
Until next time,
Grow Rich in His Grace,
I love you all,
michael
For more information please click the links below:
