MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Faith Beyond Wealth: A Journey of Spiritual Insight | Pastor Will Hawk | November 3rd, 2024
What if the path to eternal life is obscured by the very comforts we hold dear? Join us as we unravel the compelling story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18, where a simple question leads to profound revelations about wealth, faith, and salvation. Through personal anecdotes and reflective insights, we challenge ourselves to recognize the divine truths often hidden in plain sight, drawing parallels to our own spiritual journeys and readiness to embrace the path God has laid before us.
As we turn the pages of this narrative, the intricate dance between material wealth and spiritual devotion comes into focus. How does our reliance on comfort and luxury shape our faith in God? By examining Jesus' encounter with the rich young man, we explore the possibility of aligning our hearts with God's kingdom despite the pull of worldly possessions. This episode invites us to reassess our dependencies and consider how grace, though unearned, calls us to strive for excellence in serving others and embracing a life that echoes eternity.
Amidst these reflections, the theme of spiritual blindness emerges in sharp relief, offering a poignant reminder of where true assurance lies. Inspired by Fanny Crosby's timeless hymn "Blessed Assurance," we celebrate stories of faith that shine through life's imperfections. In the narrative of the blind man, we find a powerful testament to the comfort and certainty found in knowing Jesus. Together, we seek mercy, fix our hearts on Christ, and trust in the assurance of faith that promises peace and fulfillment, no matter the trials we face.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Alrighty, good morning. You guys, let's jump right into God's Word. If you will grab your Bible and we're going to turn to Luke, chapter 18. And you guys, that's on page 877, if you're looking at a pew Bible and follow along as I read God's Word, that's again Luke, chapter 18, verses 18 through 25. Luke 18, verses 18-25.
Speaker 1:Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. And he said All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God this is the word of the Lord than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2:This is the word of the Lord Amen. Thank you, christy, much appreciated. Well, good morning guys. I hope y'all are doing well, excited to get into God's word with you as we do. I just want you to notice something very quickly. The very first thing that Christy read just go ahead and put your eyes on that for just a minute the very first thing that she read is this young ruler walks up and he says to Jesus good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him why do you call me good? There's nobody good but God. All right, let me tell you what's happening in that one verse. That one verse is laying out for you the next three stories that Jesus is about to tell us through the gospel of Luke. And here's the point, if you look at it. This ruler comes up and he sees Jesus, gives him a compliment and he says good teacher. Now Jesus takes that moment, that one moment made out of two words, and he says well, time out real quick. Why are you calling me good if we know that there's no one truly good except God alone? Here's what Jesus is saying. Can you see what is obvious right in front of you? Can you see what Jesus is saying is. You're not wrong to call me good teacher. You're focusing on the teacher, I'm focusing on the good I am. Jesus is saying in the statement God, the son of God, god, put on flesh. And the whole point of what we're going to look at this morning together is can you see what is obvious right in front of you?
Speaker 2:A number of years ago, I was away I can't remember why. I think I was maybe in Uganda or something like that. The kids were very, very young and my wife was reminding me of this story recently. She was keeping the kids. They were young it may have just been Ellis and Thad at the time and it was like the day before I made it back from the trip. They'd had no emergencies, they'd had no problems. And then Karen Ann fell asleep while Thad, who was very small, was on the bed, and Thad fell off the bed and she was doing what most mothers do when a baby falls and gets hurt. She was asking this question do I go to the hospital Doctor? Do I go in? Well, it just so happened that blood was coming out of Thad's ear. Now Thad's okay. He's serving in kids ministry right now. Maybe as a result of this, he's very well suited for it. He great, great kid Can turn left and right and the whole thing All right. Her dad, in hearing this because she asked her dad to come and help out her dad said Karen Ann, blood is coming out of his ear. Yes, you need to go to the hospital. That's what you do, right? This is an obvious thing. My wife is a very good mother. She allowed me to tell that story. I think she was just a little bit in shock. All of our kids are doing very, very well when it comes to health. She gets them to doctor's appointments and the whole nine yards.
Speaker 2:The point is, some things, when they are presented to us very quickly, if we're not expecting them or seeing them come, what really should be obvious when we look at it in front of us sometimes we can often miss. However, I think in this text, here is going to be the question that all of us need to wrestle with, because there are going to be three people or groups of people who are all going to ask this question. There's going to be a rich guy that Christy just read about that walks up to a good teacher and he says look, I've done all of these good things At the end of my life. When I stand before God, am I going to be okay? The disciples are going to hear the way Jesus responds to this and they're going to say well, hang on, jesus. If it's hard for that kind of a guy to make it into the kingdom of heaven, are we going to be okay? And then a third man is going to be presented to Jesus who is so far from being okay. And all of this happens in a tight little bit of scripture where you're going to see a hard saying. A hard saying like rich people don't make it to heaven, good luck. A hard saying where Jesus not a hard thing, but a saying where Jesus basically foretells the future in very specific detail. And then we have a supernatural miracle all brought together.
Speaker 2:I don't know if y'all remember this or not. You'd have to be a little bit older. And can I just tell y'all how much it trips me out how many people are here right now. I so want to do a straw poll of how many of you thought y'all were coming to the 11 o'clock service and you figured out when you got your coffee. I'm so curious. I'm very excited about the small Bible study we're going to have for second service. If you're visiting, there's more room in second service. By the way, if you're like it's a little crowded here, come back at 11.
Speaker 2:I don't know if y'all remember this, because I don't think TVs work this way anymore. When I was a kid, my mom used to always get on to me for sitting too close to the TV and she would say if you sit that close to the TV, it's going to okay. Some of y'all know yeah, it's going to ruin your eyesight. By the way, I have 20-20 plus vision. My vision is good. I want to wear glasses. I think people look smarter and older when they wear glasses. It's not in the cards right now for me. I would get so close to the TV not to watch it, but just for fun. Do y'all remember this? You could get so close that you could see the pixels on the screen. Do y'all remember this? There were three colors in one pixel. What were they? Red, green and blue. It's where we get RGB from, if you've ever done any AV work.
Speaker 2:So in this story that we're going to look at, there is one sort of image of light that is coming forward, but it's coming from three different places. It's coming from a red version of a rich man who completely misses it, a green version of the disciples who sort of get it, but not exactly. And then this third party is going to come along unexpected and make it to where you can see exactly who Jesus is. But it all starts here and I think one of the healthiest things all of us could do as we enter into God's word, as we get ready for communion we're going to be having communion at the end of our service together. This should be your question and please don't answer it too quickly. Please recognize that Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9 that those who are well have no need of a physician. Those of us who walk in, feeling well, feeling like life is together, feeling like we have the answers to the questions, we are the ones who are most prone to miss out. Please enter into the hospital that is the house of God, the hospital that is the word of God, and at least let this wrestle with you.
Speaker 2:But here is what we see as we start with this first piece of a pixel. We have a young man who comes to Jesus and he asks really a beautiful question. I don't want to fault the guy for it. He comes to Jesus and he says what must I do to be saved? Now, for those of you who grew up in the church some of you may have studied theology One of the first things that comes to mind is that's the wrong question. Man, you can't do anything to inherit eternal life. You can't be good enough or speak well enough or give deeply enough. The only one who could do anything that can cause you to have a right relationship with God is not you. The only thing you can do is recognize. I can't do anything except ask for the forgiveness of my sins and plead that what Jesus has done would be seen by God as being credited to me. But I don't want to fault this guy because, quite honestly, I think he's asking a sincere question. I think he's coming to Jesus wondering have I made the cut? And I just want you to know who this guy is.
Speaker 2:Who is this guy? Well, the Bible goes so far as to tell us he's a ruler, which means he's in charge of a number of people. He is making decisions on behalf of others. He's not just rich, he's extremely rich, and be careful that you don't write yourself out of that. Okay, if the word extremely brings you comfort, you might be looking in the wrong place for comfort. All right, if you're like you know I might be doing well, but extremely I'm no, elon, okay, I don't have a robot cleaning my house for me. Yeah, I wouldn't write yourself out of that quite so quickly.
Speaker 2:And then we have to run to Matthew, because he gives us a detail in this story that Luke leaves out, and he tells us that this guy was pretty young. It was a young man who comes up to Jesus. He asks the best question of the best expert who then gives him the best answer, and this young, well-off person in charge of people absolutely misses it. He misses Jesus. Might that be your story, because it isn't just his story. It turns out this was the story of the disciples who had been walking with him for a long time.
Speaker 2:Here's what we see as we continue going on in verse 24. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, he's not angry, he's not kicking or throwing up dust, he's not arguing with Christ as an arrogant, young, well-off person in charge of many people. He's sad, he's despondent, his head drops. There is a piece of him that truly wants the things of God. There's a part of him that really wants to give up everything and make Jesus everything except the problem is there's so many things in this world just gripping him and holding him.
Speaker 2:He is saddened by this and then Jesus, I believe, with sadness in his voice, says guys, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. I've ridden on a camel before. It was a little sketchy, to be honest with you. We were in Africa and we were like walking through and I don't know, just meeting folks and enjoying the area, and they had organized a camel ride for us. All I can think about when I think about riding a camel is a video I saw once of a woman who got on it and it went horribly, horribly wrong. But can I just tell you, as somebody who has sat on top of an animal and who had a mom who did sewing, this is a ridiculous statement, ridiculous. Not that Jesus is ridiculous, he's being exceedingly hyperbolic when he says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. And I know there's like three percent of you who are like now, william. I have done the research on this and there is a place in Israel called the eye of the needle, and only may a camel go through by kneeling. And I'm like that's cool too. Maybe they understood it, maybe they didn't.
Speaker 2:Jesus is bringing up a question that all of us must wrestle with, and it's this Does wealth affect faith? Does your comfort affect your faith in God? Does your bank account affect your faith in God? Do the advantages of life affect the way that you see God? And those who heard Jesus's statement? If you guys want to jump back to the text in verse 26, the disciples hear him make this statement and they look at Jesus and they say then who can be saved? Pause for just a moment and go here.
Speaker 2:These are the disciples who have walked with Jesus for a pretty long period of time. We know that because the next thing Jesus says is I'm on my way to that. I'm getting really close to this. I've been walking with you guys and doing miracles in front of you guys. I've been teaching you for a long, long time. And they look at Jesus and they think if this young man is not qualified for the kingdom of God. What about me? I don't know how many of you may feel that way. You look around this room, you think about people who have their lives together and you simply say I don't know if I qualify for whatever it is that God is offering who can be saved? And then Jesus swings and he says look, what's impossible with man is possible with God. Let me just answer this question for you Does your wealth affect your faith?
Speaker 2:It absolutely does. I can point to a hundred scriptures, but I can also point to a hundred experiences in your life. When every need is met, our prayers become little. When our needs are not met, our prayers become much. When there are things in life that we are longing for and missing, we go to the only one who can step in. When there is something bigger than me to be able to bring about, when there is something greater than me to tackle, we go to someone who is greater. But if we feel like our lives fit within the span of our arms, if we feel like we can hold together our lives, it becomes much more difficult to have faith in God, to really need faith in God, which is why Jesus says it's the sick who are going to find me. It is the weak who are going to cry for me. It is the needy who are going to be looking for me. It is those who are longing for something that they have yet to find in this world that are going to find everything in me.
Speaker 2:Does wealth affect your faith? Yes, it does, but does it prevent faith? Absolutely not. I don't know how close of attention you were paying to what Jesus said to the rich young man, but he said this to him. He said I want you to take your wealth and I want you to give it away. Now, if wealth was exceedingly evil in and of itself, if it affected faith to the point that we couldn't come to it, an appropriate teaching for Jesus would have been pile it up and set it on fire as a testimony of you trusting in the Lord and don't draw other people into its deceitfulness. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say dig a hole and cover it up and hope that nobody ever finds it.
Speaker 2:He says here is the deal. You are young, you are wealthy, you are in charge of many, many things, but those things have a hold of your heart rather than your heart having a hold of me, and that is a major problem. What I want you to do is take these things and use them to bring grace to others. The goal is not that money is bad or wealth is evil. It is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil. It is the need of the comfort it can bring, rather than the comfort that God can bring. So, no, wealth does not prevent faith, and you may look at this and you may say well, will, that is not my problem. I'm a college student. I don't know if I'm going to be able to afford lunch, depending on where my friends decide to eat out. It may be breadsticks only for me today. Or you may say my friends are at this level and I'm at this level. I'm struggling to get by. Can I just tell you that the concept remains. What Jesus is basically asking this guy is tell me what your heart is tied into. Tell me what it is that, if you lost, it would be the worst thing that you could possibly lose.
Speaker 2:From this story, we see a ruler who's being asked this question. From this story, we see a ruler who's being asked this question who do you believe gave you decision-making power for others? He's looking at somebody who's very wealthy and he's saying who do you operationally consider responsible for any good gift that you have? He's looking at maybe some of you who are young, and not just young, but this guy was young and impressive. He was further along than most people would have expected him to be, and I think a great question for this is what do you do when somebody gives you a compliment? Let me tell you why I ask these questions.
Speaker 2:Dallas Willard has a phenomenal quote. He says this grace is you recognizing you don't deserve something and you're getting it anyway. That's the grace of God. I don't deserve for him to know me. I don't deserve for him to love me. I certainly don't deserve for him to die for me. That is grace.
Speaker 2:Grace is not opposed to your effort. It's not opposed to you serving. It's not opposed to you working hard. It is not opposed to your effort. It's not opposed to you serving. It's not opposed to you working hard. It is not opposed to you taking your life and saying God. You have given me X number of days, and I know how few they are. Not I have no idea, but according to your word in Psalm 139, every one of my days was written before one of them came to be. However many days you have in your sovereignty, I want to work for a kingdom that will last forever. That is appropriate. Grace is not opposed to effort.
Speaker 2:Christians, we ought to try to be excellent in everything that we do. You ought to try to excel. You should be the greatest boss and the greatest employee. You should be one of the kindest people in your neighborhood. You should be one of the kindest people in your neighborhood. You should be one of the most others-oriented people, knowing your neighbor's names, knowing the name of their dog if you can help it. There should be this desire in you to just know and love people, because you are worshiping a God who chose to know and love people, even though we didn't deserve to be known in our sin. There's nothing wrong with effort, but grace is opposed to earning. Grace is opposed to you saying have I not arrived? I've succeeded in school, I've succeeded in my age bracket, I have succeeded in work, I have succeeded in relationships.
Speaker 2:It all comes down to this question who are you giving credit for any success in your life? That's why I ask you these questions. If you have decision-making capabilities over others, by the way, parents, that's you, by the way. Parents, that's you. Grandparents, that's you. Managers, teachers, coaches, bosses, owners. If you have any decision-making power over others, why do you have it? Is it because you've earned it or is it because God has given you the brain? He has given you the opportunities that he has given you, birthed you into the country that you were born into so that you could Hebrews 7 and Romans 13, use that authority for their good. If you are wealthy, if you're not wondering if you're going to make it through this month or through the next, who do you operationally consider responsible for those good gifts? According to James, it is God who should receive praise for those things.
Speaker 2:And if you receive compliments, I always hate it when Christians get compliments, when somebody comes up to me and they're like Will, that was a good sermon, I'm not asking for that. I do love it. I do. I'm not asking for it. It is one of the weirdest responses to give back to you guys. I would rather you come and say, will, I'm not asking for it. It is one of the weirdest responses to give back to you guys. I would rather you come and say, will, I need really, really a deep prayer. I have messed stuff up. I'm like, oh okay, I can enter into that.
Speaker 2:What do we do as Christians with compliments? Really, it turns into the most awkward run on sentence, and if you don't know the person well, you feel really weird about it. Hey, I just noticed this thing that you did and I wanted to tell you. It really blessed me, man. Thank you for saying that. It's only by the grace of God that I have anything good in me, and if you noticed it, then let's make sure that we give God glory. But there are also wonderful things in you, and now I'm gonna try to come up with one on the spot.
Speaker 2:I abhor that in being a You're so tough. I don't want to be proud. Can I just tell you I think it's okay to say thanks, that's encouraging. But don't you stop there. You let that awkward run on sentence run through your brain. Let it own you when you receive a compliment or an encouragement in anything. Thank you brother, thank you sister. That's super encouraging. I needed that today and Will. Don't you dare forget that there is nothing good in you except for what God has done. Every good gift comes from the heavenly father. There is nothing in me that I have earned. No matter how much action I put into it, everything that I have is by God, and by God alone.
Speaker 2:This man walks away sad, and I think Jesus feels sad for him because he doesn't know how to answer this question. I did this and I did this and I did this. Have I not done good enough? I think the Lord laments what our stuff does to our souls. Now I would just leave that up for a minute to have you wrestle with it. You can pick stuff. By the way, that's the same word, mammon, when it says that riches lead people astray, that the love of money. It's actually the love of mammon, the love of stuff. Are there things that are clinging to your souls harder than your soul is clinging to Christ? But I don't want to stick here long because I want you to laugh with me at how the disciples respond to this.
Speaker 2:Jesus was fine with this man's age. He was fine with his wealth. He was fine with his position. He just wanted him to use it to give grace to others as a vehicle, rather than it be a shield preventing grace from penetrating his own heart. So in Luke 18, 28, peter hears Jesus say this man, it's hard for a rich man to make it in. Please lean in and enjoy this with me. All right, peter, always the first to speak up.
Speaker 2:God, if this guy's not going to make it, look, look, look, see, we left our homes and we followed you. I love this response. Jesus is like man. It's hard for people who cling to stuff to make it into the kingdom of God. And Peter's like, yeah, but Jesus, I left my wife right, I left my house, I've left it all. I'm coming.
Speaker 2:Can you not appreciate the comedy in this? Jesus is like it's really hard to make it into heaven. And Peter's like no, no, no, no, look, look, we're doing the right thing, right, jesus? Am I going to be okay? And he said to them truly, I say to you, there's no one who's left house or wife or brothers, or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more, both in this life and in the age to come, eternal life. I do feel the need I don't have this in my notes to tell you if your marriage is tough right now, I don't think Jesus is saying great news. You need to leave your marriage for the sake of the gospel, if you feel like you're being called into missions because you got in an argument yesterday. I'm going to argue with that thought. Okay, what is Jesus saying here? He's saying all of the things that we would value most, we need to hold most loosely, and Jesus proves it with his next statement and taking the 12,. He said to them see, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets will be accomplished.
Speaker 2:If you have been following Jesus for a long time, I want you to enjoy this next section. If you have been debating following Jesus for a long time, if you have been wondering is it right for me to trust him with my heart and mind and soul and affections and decisions? Please listen to what comes next. Jesus said he will be delivered over to the Gentiles. He will be mocked and shamefully treated, he will be spit upon and after flogging him, they will kill him and on the third day he will rise. I just I wanna put this in front of you.
Speaker 2:This is Jesus telling the future. This is Jesus looking at a group of men and saying I am going to tell you precisely and perfectly what is about to happen in my life. You're going to see me get handed over. That's going to happen in Matthew 27 too. I'm going to be mocked in 27, 29, shamefully treated in 27, 28, spit upon, flogged and killed. And by the time we get to Matthew 28, on the third day I will rise.
Speaker 2:Jesus gives them promises and prophecies. Please hear me on this. This is one of the great comforts of this passage. When it comes to this question, am I going to be okay? At least we're going to the right person. The rich man may not have liked the answer, he may not have been willing to stop the way his life was going and change it on that day and on a dime, but at least he made it to the right guy. At least the disciples even though they're trying to figure out, really asking the same question, at least they're going to the right place.
Speaker 2:Jesus knew what was coming before it ever came. He knew how painful it was going to be. He knew how gruesome it was going to be. He knew it was going to be for you, if you're trusting in him. And not only did he lay it out in front, knowing it, seeing it before it ever came, did not deter him from going there. We Christians follow someone who knows the end from the beginning, and he knows it not only about his life, but about yours. Your tomorrow may feel very uncertain to you. It is not uncertain to him. Your next year may have a million question marks For Jesus. They are periods he understands. Yes, this is the right question and, yes, jesus is the one to go to Verse 34, but they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what was said.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm picking up from y'all's tone that you're not picking up my. This is my favorite part of the entire passage. The disciples, completely missing who Jesus is is my absolute favorite part. Let me show you why. Okay, guys, will y'all give me the screen for just a minute? Okay, perfect, okay, this is just so great. Watch this. This is what we just read. And Peter said see, we have left our homes. I don't know if you're paying close attention. Jesus responds to him in the same way. Jesus, can y'all see that in the back? Just give me a thumbs up. Yes, okay. And taking the 12, he said to them see, all right, check this out. So cool, the Bible is just the coolest thing. Don't just read it, study it. Read it with a pen in hand, read it with a journal next to you. You're going to get so much more out of it.
Speaker 2:Our story begins with a rich man who has everything and he cannot see Jesus for who he is. It then goes to the disciples who had been with Jesus through everything and they cannot see Jesus for who he is. Guess who's about to walk up next? Guess who is the third piece of the pixel, peter, see, we've left everything. And taking them. He says see, we're going up to Jerusalem. And then it is hidden for them. Who does God, in his perfect providence, to show you how great grace is, bring up A blind man? If you can't appreciate it, we just need to hit pause right now and pray that the spirit of God would show you how incredible he is. A man who can't see it, a group of men who had already been taught everything. They cannot see it. Jesus even uses his word. See what is happening here. Then the Bible says they're not able to see it. It's hidden from them, and up walks a blind guy. How does this play out? Go ahead and take it back. Let's read that together. Here is how it goes.
Speaker 2:As he drew near to Jerusalem, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. Welcome to the hospital of God's word, welcome to the hospital of God's church, where every patient who arrives is treated perfectly and precisely for their ailment. I don't know what your heart is clinging to, but God sure does. I don't know what you're putting your faith and trust in, but God certainly does. And as he draws near, a blind man is sitting on the roadside begging. Tell me this what is he clinging to? He probably doesn't have much health. He's sitting on the roadside begging. Might be homeless, can't see anything, cannot hold down a job. Maybe he has a lot of friends? Doesn't seem so. Why? Because verse 36, hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and he cried out Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him be silent. This is not the lame guy who has a couple of really good friends who rip open some dude's roof to drop him down to Jesus.
Speaker 2:This guy is alone and in the dark. He's on the side of the road. He's guessing that something is happening because he hears a commotion. And what does somebody do when they are in great need Help me. What do you do when there's blood coming out of your kid's ear? You go somewhere to get help. What do you do if your heart is clinging to something of this world? You cry out that God would help you.
Speaker 2:And even if there are detractors you know this isn't at church. We really don't want to make too much of a commotion. You probably shouldn't go and receive prayer today. What are people going to think? These are all of the voices, but this man continues to cry out. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me, it says. He cries out all the more and Jesus stopped and he commanded him to be brought to him. Everybody stop.
Speaker 2:I hear the voice of one who needs mercy. Do you see this? Who needs mercy? Do you see this? It's a crowd of people, it's a parade of folks and Jesus stops everything for the one person who will cry out for mercy. I don't know how many people there are in this room, but I can tell you that, whatever that number is, there are that many people who need mercy from God. None of us walk into this room accomplished. It doesn't matter what we are in charge of. It doesn't matter if we've accomplished a great amount for our age in life, it doesn't matter how many comforts we have or what our bank account looks like. I'm promising you this, every one of you, every one of us. I need mercy and Jesus stops everything the moment he hears that.
Speaker 2:Bring that guy to me. And when he came near, he asked him what do you want for me to do for you? And he said Lord, let me recover my sight. Guys, I don't know exactly what to tell you about his response here, but I'll tell you it breaks my heart when he says recover sight. Does that mean that he used to have it? Does that mean that there was a world that he lived in at one point where he could see? Does this mean that he knows, different than somebody born blind, what it was that he was missing out on? Watching birds fly across, seeing his kids play soccer? Does this guy know what it was to see the face of his three-year-old but wonder what he looks like now that he's 17? How much has this man lost? And he cries out to Jesus and he says I would love, son of David, he knows who he is to see again. And Jesus said to him recover your sight. Your faith has made you well.
Speaker 2:There's a piece of me when I read this that gets frustrated at this blind man. I get a little frustrated at Luke and I get a little frustrated at Matthew. Wouldn't the right response be Jesus, save me from my sin? And then Jesus says yes, my son, I will save you of your sin. And how would you like your sight as well? Isn't that really the teaching that should be here? I think that's actually what happened. When Jesus says your faith has made you well, what is his faith in? You'd have to be paying very close attention to pick this up.
Speaker 2:When Jesus describes who he is, he says and the son of man is on his way to the cross. The son of God is on his way to the cross. This blind man was not near Jesus when he said this to his disciples. The text says he pulled them off to the side, which means when this blind man cries out son of David, here's what he's saying, the promised one that God has told us about the Messiah that for hundreds of years, thousands of years, god has promised Jesus. I believe that you are him, and if you are him, could I see your face? This is what I believe this blind man is crying out and immediately he recovered his sight and he followed him, glorifying God and all the people.
Speaker 2:Now, because one man cried out for mercy, because one man said I need a hospital, not a little fix in my life. When he said I am clinging on to something other than Christ or I got nothing to cling on to. And here is Christ. The entire congregation celebrates and praises God. This blind man can see the riches of knowing Jesus More than the rich young man ever could. This blind man can see who Jesus, of knowing Jesus, more than the rich young man ever could.
Speaker 2:This blind man can see who Jesus truly is, better than the disciples who ate and slept near and watched and walked with Jesus himself. They understood none of these things, but this man did. He saw, without ever being able to see what God was doing, that the answer to this question Am I going to be okay by Jesus? Is yes and amen, and always for any of us who would put faith and trust in him. In just a moment, we're going to receive communion and we're gonna pick up a little piece of bread and we're gonna pick up a little cup, and when we do that. Here is what I hope is happening in you. First of all, that's a meal for a believer. If you're not trusting in Christ yet, the best thing that you could do is not grab a cup, not get a piece of bread. It would be for you to come and receive mercy. You don't actually need me to do that. There's nothing special about me. If you know a Christian in this room, you could go and talk to them, but I am more than happy to do that. Larry will be over here. I'll be over there, some of the prayer team as well. The greatest thing every one of us could do would be to cry out for mercy, but I think maybe the other best question would be this have you been blind to some of the realities of Christ?
Speaker 2:Fannie Crosby was born blind. She worked in missions and cared for the poor and needy all of her life, wrote something like 8,000 hymns, one of which many of you in this room know very well. Speaking of her blindness, this is what she said it seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for that dispensation, for that distribution that he was kind enough to give me. My blindness is what she's saying. If perfect earthly sight were offered to me tomorrow, I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I'd been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me. I wish I knew what she meant when she said about me. I wonder if she meant I think I would have been distracted by God because of the things that were about and around me. I wonder if it would have been a distraction to me, and maybe blindness was the greatest gift that God could have ever given me. But it could be. I think that would have been the disciples struggle. It could be. God giving me blindness kept me from seeing the good things about me. It kept me from looking in the mirror and telling myself how wonderful I am. It kept me from looking at my accomplishments and saying look at how well I have done.
Speaker 2:You see, this whole text may talk about riches and it may talk about prophecy. It may include miracles, but this text is ultimately about assurance. It's about you saying to God am I going to be okay? The song that we're going to sing as we get ready to respond to in communion is Blessed Assurance. I'll butcher it, but it's the one that goes Blessed Assurance, jesus is mine. Oh, what a you'll do it better. He'll do it better. Oh, what a foretaste of heaven. Divine. I'm priming it for you. They're going to be ready now. It was written by Fanny Crosby. I've sung this a million times.
Speaker 2:When you realize the words that you're singing were written by a blind woman, it changes it. When you realize that a blind person. It begins a song by saying my blessed assurance. That's what this whole text is about. The first words are I am blind, but I am sure that I am blessed. When she sings perfect submission, she's saying God, whatever you have brought into my life, including blindness, it is your call. Perfect submission, perfect delight, even in my brokenness, which I'm not even asking you to fix, so long as my heart is fixed on Christ, whatever my brokenness, is God, you were right for me to carry it with me.
Speaker 2:When she sings of visions of rapture that she could not see, when she says I and my Savior am happy and blessed, I am watching with blind eyes and waiting. I am looking above. Here's what I encourage you to do as we come to this table. Come needing mercy. You and I are not impressive, but may God give you, through spiritual eyes, the ability to see something that these will deceive you on, that you can be happy and blessed, even if things in life remain not okay, because Christ will do all that is necessary to make sure that you are ultimately okay. I'll leave that up for a moment and then, guys, if y'all would go ahead and come on down we're not in a rush and we're not in a hurry. Whenever you're ready to respond, respond by coming and receiving the elements, but let us put our eyes on these words and unite them with our heart.