First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
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First Love Church
Darkness to Light in Spiritual Discovery
Have you ever wondered what it truly means to see the world through God's eyes? In our latest episode, we explore the powerful narrative of Bartimaeus from Mark 10, uncovering the profound impact of simple, heartfelt prayer. Discover how Bartimaeus' cry for mercy parallels our own struggles with spiritual blindness and urges us to re-examine our deepest desires when approaching God. By acknowledging Jesus as the "Son of David," Bartimaeus not only recognizes Jesus's divine identity but also highlights the transformative power of mercy—encompassing healing, restoration, and the unfolding of God's kingdom.
We take a closer look at the symbolic act of Bartimaeus discarding his cloak, representing a leap of faith towards a transformed life and renewed commitment to discipleship. Through personal anecdotes and reflections, we draw parallels between physical and spiritual sight, encouraging a dialogue with God that fosters a transformative relationship. Join us as we express gratitude to our online community, emphasizing communion and love, and invite everyone to part in the shared joy of this journey. With a promise to return to Ocala, we extend an invitation to share in prayer and reflection on the boundless mercy of Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit towards embodying love and service.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church Podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, Florida. This is the Lord's Day and we are grateful to be sharing it with you.
Speaker 2:Well, we're trying to do some things a little different. Today, for the first time, we are with the online people online, and so we're visiting you online people, and our church is happening today.
Speaker 1:We're becoming all things to all men.
Speaker 2:So if it glitches a little the video, just listen to the audio and we're going to get through this together.
Speaker 1:We are so grateful for your presence, beloved, and we have been excited to share this particular portion of the scripture with you. We're in Mark's gospel still Mark chapter 10, and there is this beautiful story that is so encouraging and life-giving and offers us such an incredible perspective. So this morning, if you have your text and you would like to read with me in Mark, chapter 10, or if you would like to listen, I'd be happy to read to you Mark, chapter 10, verse 46. Then they reached Jericho and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me, be quiet. People yelled at him, but he only shouted the louder Son of David, have mercy on me. And when Jesus heard him, but he only shouted the louder son of David, have mercy on me. And when Jesus heard him, he stopped and said tell him to come here. So they called the blind man, cheer up. They said have heart, come on. He's calling you.
Speaker 1:And Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up and came to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked my rabbi. The blind man said I want to see. And Jesus said to him go, for your faith has healed you. And instantly the man could see and he followed Jesus down the road. What a beautiful portion of scripture and what a gift for us to remember, I think, some of the things that really really stood out to me this week in thinking about this and pondering and meditating. I remind you that last week's liturgy and in the scripture in Mark, reminded us that Jesus had, just a little bit ago, had two of his disciples, james and John, also ask for a favor, and they said what we want is to be next to you when you come into your glory. And we hear this same question being asked by someone who is blind and he said I need mercy, and so I ask for all of us what are we asking for and what are we hoping to receive when we ask that question?
Speaker 2:God is not unwilling to provide favors. We just need to be asking the right questions.
Speaker 1:And so the invitation is to really assess your situation, at least for me. The blind man actually never saw Jesus, and so I was thinking I've never seen Jesus either, but I'm in the same condition that the blind man is, but I've heard. And so the blind thinking I've never seen Jesus either, but I'm in the same condition that the blind man is, but I've heard. And so the blind man is on the side of the road and he hears that Jesus of Nazareth is coming, and so what he does is he begins to call out Jesus son of David, and in that naming of Jesus the son of David, he begins to invoke all the prophecies and all of the things that people really believed about Jesus that he would be a liberator, that he would be a healer, that he would come to restore. And so, in calling on that particular name, he says Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
Speaker 1:I think one of the things that's so powerful about this is it kind of gives us reference to where this prayer that we have been praying as the Christian Church for 2,000 years comes. When we say Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me, this very simple, very effective prayer to return, to return to ourselves. Have mercy on me again. We find this that many of us recognize our own blindness, even though we can see with our literal eyes. But what blindnesses do we have in our life if we can't see with spiritual eyes or with eyes of faith, or eyes of hope or eyes of love? And so I think this is such a beautiful invitation for us to look at who Jesus shows us God is and look at the hope that is in this account, in this story.
Speaker 2:I think that we also can see how prayer doesn't have to be uber complicated, that when it's from the heart and we're asking, god is, I believe, so willing to meet our needs and to provide the requests. And I think sometimes we want to have some kind of a mental gymnastic or some kind of an amazing doctrinal presentation so that we can convince God we're into what he's all about. And the truth is that that pure heart we simply request, and so you can brag. Today you learned a new prayer at church. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope that it's not a new prayer, but if it is, you're welcome to it. For those of us who have heard this prayer before, this invitation, this kiri yaleasan, this beautiful prayer of have mercy on me, and I think that what it calls us to is this understanding that mercy includes healing, mercy includes restoration, mercy includes God's good kingdom coming to you, and so this expansive view of mercy. We know that God is merciful. The scriptures teach us that. Our lives have taught us that but mercy is who God is. In fact, the mercy of God is something that has been a theme of people who are following after God since the very beginning. In fact, in the book of Lamentations, it says it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his mercies are new every morning.
Speaker 1:Great is God's faithfulness, and so this morning I'm so encouraged to think about this blind man who is there shouting, and I do want to take a quick second to talk about the people who told him to be quiet, who said it's okay for you to stay in your blindness. These are people that could see. These are people with privileged see, these are people with privileged sight and told the man with no sight pipe down. You just need to quiet down. You're making too big of a deal about this, and so we need to be mindful that that is not the position that we take when someone is crying out for mercy, that we need to be people who are helping people find Jesus, connect with Jesus, and not the people who are saying be quiet because you're going to offend someone.
Speaker 2:And sometimes that's the religiousness of us that we think that we have the order in which God would want us to come to, and so we so idealize that way of behavior that we actually become obstacles for people to come to god.
Speaker 2:I can think of uh.
Speaker 2:One time I was involved in a church and we started to get a lot of young people coming uh to the services for the first time and they were uh back in those days, uh younger, just kids in their 17 18 were coloring their hair crazy and getting tattoos on their necks and all kinds of stuff that our leadership said well, we can't have any part of that.
Speaker 2:Our kids might start looking like that, and so they were so opposed to to the, the fear of of looking maybe non-Christian, that they behaved in such a non-Christian way to not invite those people in. And I see you know essentially the good and what their purpose was and what their thinking is. But I wonder how much of that I might have, or that you might have let seep in something that you think God is so pleased with, but it almost becomes that an obstacle that keeps you or others from receiving that mercy and grace that we all need what I see here also is the, the darkness, the blindness is calling for the light, this beautiful invitation where darkness is wanting the light and we see people saying be quiet, and Jesus hears about it.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus I love this about him doesn't just go to Bartimaeus, he sends the very people who told him to be quiet to go get him, bring him to me, you who have said be quiet, to go get him, bring him to me. You who have said be quiet, now you're responsible to bring him to me. And so they change their tune and good for them, because repentance is good for all of us. But they change their tune. They're like cheer up, take heart. The master is calling you, be of good cheer, be courageous, courageous, come, come. And so he hears this, that the master has called that after he has reached out, after he has prayed and said have mercy on me. And they told him to be quiet, he shouts louder have mercy on me. Jesus says bring him to me. And it says that he threw off his cloak.
Speaker 1:And this is such a beautiful part of the story, its intention, I think, to remind us of quite a few things, but I remind you that this whole story, because we get to be at this part in history where we hear the end of it.
Speaker 1:He is a follower, he becomes a disciple and he gives away or rids himself of a possession. This is what I used to be able to survive with this beggar's cloak, but I'm following Jesus now I don't need this. I was also thinking about how anti or very different this would be for him, because I cannot imagine, as a blind person, that you would throw anything, because how can you know that you'd find it? I wear really thick glasses, I have contacts on, but I cannot see anything. My prescription is over 500. And so I'm very careful when I don't have the corrective lenses and where I put things. I'm not throwing things anywhere because I can't find them. And I can imagine or I can think about someone who is blind saying maybe he thought that in his, maybe in his healing he'd come back and he'd be able to find it. But I don't think that's the case at all, because he just leaves that cloak and follows Jesus.
Speaker 2:And I think that's the beautiful invitation for us. What moves me about that idea is that you know your beggar's cloak is the thing that identifies you as a beggar, and you know it would almost be like if you had a permit in modern times to panhandle. The city has allowed you to stand on that corner and ask for money. They're not going to put you in jail. So this identified him for who he was as a beggar, in which case was the way that he was provided for. So throwing that away to me feels like an act of faith. You know, I'm not going to live that life anymore. I'm coming to be changed, and so why would I hang on to the thing that provided for me?
Speaker 2:But I see that a lot as a pastor. I remember this one woman that came to the church and her husband was a rascal and she was the wife of the man that was a rascal and that was her identification and she got a lot of sympathy. She got a lot of people that really helped her out, because this guy was a real piece of work, you know. And what happened was, as they came to the church, god began to change him and it almost angered her because it was messing with her identity and she identified with being the troubled, broken person. And if you stay in that place you'll never walk in the place of freedom. Some point you will have to throw down, I believe, your beggar's cloak, as it were. Whatever it is that made you identify in your sadness, in your sin, in your brokenness, and realize I'm new, I'm a new creation. And that's scary. I'm not saying that it's easy, but at some point I believe your faith will empower you to lay that down.
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe.
Speaker 1:And I don't know that he had ever thrown his cloak off before. Maybe he had, but the point here is after he hears Jesus calling for him, that's when he says I choose Jesus, I choose that way, I choose that following. And so, as the story was told, he comes to Jesus and is actually brought to Jesus. The very people who told him to be quiet now tell him have good cheer, the master is calling. And so they bring him to Jesus. And then Jesus says to him what would you like me to do? And I just hear such mercy and dignity even in that portion. And then he says to Jesus Rabbi, again, identifying him as teacher. He had heard of Jesus. He knew that Jesus was the healer and the liberator. And he said Rabbi, I want to see again.
Speaker 1:And in that place of acceptance of who he was, as a blind man saying I want to see Beloved. What if all of us, especially in this current climate that we're in, say I want to see Beloved? What if all of us, especially in this current climate that we're in, say I want to see. I want to see what God sees about the world. I want to see what God sees about the person in front of me. I want to see what God sees about unity, about forgiveness, about wholeness. Let me see. Heal my eyes. Over and over again in the scriptures, jesus heals people and restores their sight. And beloved. Even though some of us have the ability to see, we need our sight restored, the sight that we have through our heart, through the spirit, to be able to see the life of God, the work of God, the kingdom of God among us. And so what a beautiful invitation for all of us to say Rabbi, teacher, jesus, let me see.
Speaker 2:And I also like the idea that Jesus asks him what he has need of, as if Jesus doesn't know that a blind man would want to see. And God knows the things that you have need of. God knows the things that you have need of. But it is important that you identify to him in that place of humility and ask, and really for us to come to recognize that's the only place we're going to get it, and so I think that sometimes that can make us quiet in our prayers. Well, god knows what I need. Why would we have prayer? Prayer is such an important place for us to speak and then to listen, and so allowing God to develop that kind of relationship with you is transformative, and we're seeing the evidence of it right here that communication back and forth and then the response given the miraculous healing.
Speaker 1:He says to jesus I want to see again. And then Jesus says go ahead and go, your faith has healed you. And he begins to follow Jesus down the road. And I think that part is my favorite part of the whole story. He doesn't just take his sight and then go on his way to do his life. It is his sight that allows him to follow. And may Jesus restore all of our sight that allows us to follow in such a way that we become disciples, that our lives become people who are so marked by love and by the love of Christ that people begin to see and hear Jesus because of the way we live.
Speaker 1:I mean, ultimately, our intention is, as a church family too, is to be able to say that we have seen Jesus and now we are living life like Jesus did.
Speaker 1:And the intention that Jesus had to bring God and God's good kingdom into the world is our intention that we would love people, that we would feed the poor, that we would eliminate suffering as much as is possible among us us and that we would be attentive to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Dennis and I have been talking much this week about the Holy Spirit and about just an awareness and a presence of the Holy Spirit. And we came across a beautiful descriptor of the Holy Spirit as the perspective adjuster, and I had never heard that particular way of recognizing the Spirit. But wouldn't that be so incredible for our whole world if our perspective, if we would allow the Spirit to change our perspective on things so that we would be people who don't tell someone who is suffering, be quiet, don't be upset about this, that we would then take our privilege and be able to say someone is suffering, jesus, come and heal them. That we would be people who would take gently by the hand those in darkness and bring them to light.
Speaker 2:You know, this week has been pretty amazing. We're on vacation, heather and I and Silas. This week has been pretty amazing. We're on vacation, heather and I and Silas. And when I read this story about a blind man who had to wait for Jesus to walk by, he wasn't going to be able to go find him. How could he see? And there's an off chance that Jesus walks by, or there's some of us who just have this belief that God is going to take care of us, the thing that you have need of. He's going to come by, you know, and let us have the wisdom of that blind man to ask and to recognize our moment.
Speaker 2:When I was on the plane, I sat next to the lady and I didn't say a word to her in six hours. And she said to me one thing that she discerned within me peace. And I said why would you say that? And she said well, I'm a person that tries to live there and so I know it when I see it, and it really blessed me. And she just said a couple more words.
Speaker 2:She said that she was swimming recently in the ocean and she saw a jellyfish and it terrified her and so she tried to swim away from it. And then she said her friend said why are you so afraid? You've lost your peace. She said well, I have jellyfish. It scared me. Then she said she began to see later that day in her hotel room there was pictures of jellyfish. And then she said all day she couldn't escape the jellyfish. And so she asked the Lord what's the deal with the jellyfish? And she began to think about jellyfish, how they kind of float on the water. They don't really swim anywhere, they kind of go with the flow and their food comes to them and life comes to them and they just kind of go along in their little pulse and ride the waves. And so we begin to talk about that as a family.
Speaker 2:Just this week on our vacation, and it's been amazing how we were in a situation where Silas, this man, offered help to Silas and at first he didn't want to. And the guy said well, I'll take you back up the mountain in my car instead of you guys hiking that last little bit. And then Silas whispered to me jellyfish. And so many times this week we've realized that God has brought to us what we need and what if we could stop striving and trust the Holy Spirit is going to take you where you need to go, have you in the spot you need to be, that striving could cease and the joy of just living in the flow. And so maybe you'll think and see the jellyfish this afternoon, this evening, this week in your life, that the way God will just take care of that animal and make sure that its food is there and everything that it needs for survival and for you, everything that you have need of, will be there by the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Brings to mind the prayer that Jesus talked to us about. Consider the lilies of the field they don't toil, they don't spin, and yet Solomon, in all of his glory, is not clothed like this. Consider the birds of the air, because your Father feeds them and knows when even one falls. And so seek first the kingdom of God and all of his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you. Master, rabbi, I want to see again.
Speaker 1:May that be our prayer and may our prayer be Lord, jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, returning us to that place of love, returning us to that place of hope. And so, today, may we be people who repent of telling others to be quiet when they are in need, and may we be the people who, after hearing the correction from Jesus, quickly turn and say be of good courage, be of good heart. The master is calling you, your prayers have been answered, you have been heard, mercy is on the way. Amen. We're so grateful for your presence. May this be true for all of us. May our sight be restored. May the miracles of Jesus be continuing in us, in allowing us to see the whole world, to see each other and to see ourselves the way that love sees us.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, for those folks that watch us online, we're so grateful for the time that you would set aside to support us in that way.
Speaker 2:We encourage you just to find a way, through the apps that you're on, to find us and support us financially, if that's something that you can do. We also want to remind you that you know, at the end of every service we take communion, because it's really for us, the crescendo, the grand finale, the joy of getting together that we can share, and so normally we lead you through that, but us, being here, we're just gonna encourage you, when the cameras are off and the videos shut off, that you would just partake yourself. That's what we'll do. And and then, of course, first, love. We love you so much and we're turning the service over to, uh, pastor lee and david and caroline's gonna share and, if she hasn't already, and we're uh just so grateful for all of you and we'll see you next sunday, uh, some of you will be seeing you right, uh, online, uh, and uh, for those folks in ocala, we'll be back home standing in our pul, sharing the good news of the gospel and loving you the best we can.
Speaker 1:Pray with us this morning. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
