1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,080 Well, I hope you’ll keep your Bibles open, please, 2 00:00:02,080 –> 00:00:06,220 at Luke’s Gospel in chapter 18, which was read earlier. 3 00:00:06,220 –> 00:00:07,560 We’re continuing our series 4 00:00:07,560 –> 00:00:11,220 entitled ultimate questions, 5 00:00:11,220 –> 00:00:13,820 in which we are learning that the ultimate questions 6 00:00:13,820 –> 00:00:18,340 in life are not the questions you have for God, 7 00:00:18,340 –> 00:00:21,059 but the questions God has for you. 8 00:00:22,719 –> 00:00:24,719 To tell you I’m finding these questions 9 00:00:24,719 –> 00:00:27,360 deeply challenging in my own life. 10 00:00:28,360 –> 00:00:30,420 And I have found that to be the case 11 00:00:30,420 –> 00:00:33,299 over this last week, in particular. 12 00:00:35,040 –> 00:00:37,360 The pastors and elders of this church 13 00:00:37,360 –> 00:00:40,900 know that the Lord has been challenging my own heart 14 00:00:40,900 –> 00:00:43,439 over a number of weeks now, 15 00:00:43,439 –> 00:00:46,000 regarding the ministry of prayer, 16 00:00:47,060 –> 00:00:50,880 and the level of prayer within the life of our church, 17 00:00:50,880 –> 00:00:53,040 at least as best I can perceive it. 18 00:00:54,520 –> 00:00:55,680 And at the end of this message, 19 00:00:55,720 –> 00:00:58,919 I want to give a challenge and to ask for your response. 20 00:01:01,200 –> 00:01:04,199 Now, for many of us, there seems to be a disconnect 21 00:01:04,199 –> 00:01:07,040 between what we believe and what we experience. 22 00:01:08,320 –> 00:01:10,400 This comes out in many ways. 23 00:01:11,739 –> 00:01:15,680 We believe in a Christ who forgives sins, 24 00:01:15,680 –> 00:01:16,959 and yet we hear all the time 25 00:01:16,959 –> 00:01:19,500 about people who are overwhelmed with guilt, 26 00:01:19,500 –> 00:01:21,279 while saying they believe in Jesus. 27 00:01:21,959 –> 00:01:23,400 We say we believe in a Christ 28 00:01:23,400 –> 00:01:26,220 who breaks the power of sin over us, 29 00:01:27,239 –> 00:01:30,820 and yet we hear all the time about men and about women 30 00:01:32,480 –> 00:01:36,599 who feel gripped by compulsive patterns of sinful behavior 31 00:01:36,599 –> 00:01:38,839 and say they have no way of breaking free. 32 00:01:42,599 –> 00:01:45,739 We believe in a Christ who brings light and hope, 33 00:01:45,739 –> 00:01:47,879 and yet some of us feel trapped 34 00:01:47,900 –> 00:01:52,000 and yet some of us feel trapped in a sense of hopelessness 35 00:01:52,000 –> 00:01:54,839 as if we had no future that was worth speaking of. 36 00:01:57,559 –> 00:02:00,160 And somehow, our Christianity too often 37 00:02:00,160 –> 00:02:03,500 does not seem very like the Christianity 38 00:02:03,500 –> 00:02:05,519 that we find in the New Testament, 39 00:02:05,519 –> 00:02:08,880 and therefore, we have to ask the question, why? 40 00:02:12,300 –> 00:02:14,639 I have to tell you that as I have continued 41 00:02:14,639 –> 00:02:16,820 to struggle with this question, 42 00:02:17,820 –> 00:02:20,960 I felt a growing conviction that the Lord 43 00:02:20,960 –> 00:02:23,740 has something important to say to us 44 00:02:24,979 –> 00:02:28,059 through this question of Scripture today, 45 00:02:28,059 –> 00:02:33,059 so I’m coming to the Word of God with a sense of expectancy. 46 00:02:35,100 –> 00:02:36,500 I hope you’ll have your Bible open 47 00:02:36,500 –> 00:02:41,500 at Luke 18 in verse 35, where we have this wonderful story, 48 00:02:41,720 –> 00:02:45,059 I guess familiar to many, if not most of us. 49 00:02:45,100 –> 00:02:47,139 Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, 50 00:02:47,139 –> 00:02:51,000 and Luke tells us that as Jesus approached Jericho, 51 00:02:51,000 –> 00:02:54,000 a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 52 00:02:56,440 –> 00:02:59,139 Over the years, I’ve had the great privilege 53 00:02:59,139 –> 00:03:02,820 of coming to know a good number of people who are blind. 54 00:03:02,820 –> 00:03:05,899 I was thinking of them by name throughout this week, 55 00:03:05,899 –> 00:03:10,139 and being struck again by how deeply 56 00:03:10,139 –> 00:03:13,619 I’ve been moved over the years by the courage, 57 00:03:13,619 –> 00:03:17,779 the resourcefulness, the sheer determination 58 00:03:18,720 –> 00:03:21,539 of many who are blind. 59 00:03:23,220 –> 00:03:25,419 It’s a wonderful thing to see someone who’s blind 60 00:03:25,419 –> 00:03:27,660 living a full and a satisfying life. 61 00:03:30,139 –> 00:03:32,199 But the tragedy of this man’s life 62 00:03:32,199 –> 00:03:35,699 is that the folks who might have supported him 63 00:03:35,699 –> 00:03:37,899 either didn’t, or couldn’t. 64 00:03:39,539 –> 00:03:42,699 Mark tells us that the blind man’s name was Bartimaeus, 65 00:03:42,699 –> 00:03:45,339 that’s in Mark’s account of the story. 66 00:03:46,720 –> 00:03:48,520 Bartimaeus, that means, 67 00:03:48,520 –> 00:03:51,759 the name Bartimaeus means the son of Timaeus. 68 00:03:52,880 –> 00:03:54,520 What happened to Timaeus? 69 00:03:55,679 –> 00:03:57,020 Maybe Timaeus died. 70 00:03:58,539 –> 00:04:01,460 Maybe Bartimaeus fell out with his dad 71 00:04:01,460 –> 00:04:03,300 and got alienated from the family. 72 00:04:03,300 –> 00:04:05,600 Maybe Bartimaeus made such a pain of himself 73 00:04:05,600 –> 00:04:07,199 that the family gave up on him. 74 00:04:08,580 –> 00:04:10,220 I don’t know, there are a thousand reasons 75 00:04:10,240 –> 00:04:11,460 why these things happen. 76 00:04:11,460 –> 00:04:13,479 But the tragedy of this man’s life 77 00:04:13,479 –> 00:04:17,299 is that he ends up alone and out on the streets 78 00:04:17,299 –> 00:04:19,760 at the entrance to the town of Jericho. 79 00:04:20,779 –> 00:04:23,140 And notice that it was at the entrance of the town 80 00:04:23,140 –> 00:04:23,980 that he sat. 81 00:04:23,980 –> 00:04:25,700 He’d given up hope of getting a lot of help 82 00:04:25,700 –> 00:04:26,920 from the people who lived there, 83 00:04:26,920 –> 00:04:29,920 they knew him too well and they were fed up with him. 84 00:04:29,920 –> 00:04:33,100 His best hope was to pitch for the visitors 85 00:04:33,100 –> 00:04:35,619 who happened to be coming in the direction of the town 86 00:04:35,619 –> 00:04:38,320 and hadn’t seen him before and might take pity on him. 87 00:04:39,260 –> 00:04:41,519 Luke tells us verse 36, 88 00:04:41,519 –> 00:04:43,579 that when he heard the crowd going by, 89 00:04:43,579 –> 00:04:45,079 he asked what was happening 90 00:04:45,079 –> 00:04:48,239 and they told him Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. 91 00:04:49,519 –> 00:04:51,239 Of course, Bartimaeus would have been well used 92 00:04:51,239 –> 00:04:53,320 to hearing the sound of one or two people 93 00:04:53,320 –> 00:04:55,019 and then doing his pitch, 94 00:04:55,019 –> 00:04:56,760 as they walked by him 95 00:04:56,760 –> 00:05:00,220 but now he hears the sound of a great crowd. 96 00:05:00,220 –> 00:05:01,420 And it sounds a hopeful thing, 97 00:05:01,420 –> 00:05:02,260 he thinks to himself, 98 00:05:02,260 –> 00:05:03,519 now what in all the world is this? 99 00:05:03,519 –> 00:05:06,279 A lot of people are gonna have change in their pockets. 100 00:05:07,019 –> 00:05:09,380 So he asks and he finds out 101 00:05:09,380 –> 00:05:11,440 that these people are traveling with Jesus. 102 00:05:11,440 –> 00:05:12,679 They’re coming into Jericho 103 00:05:12,679 –> 00:05:15,459 which was about 17 miles from Jerusalem 104 00:05:15,459 –> 00:05:17,079 which of course was on the top of the hill, 105 00:05:17,079 –> 00:05:19,000 Jericho at the plain at the bottom. 106 00:05:19,000 –> 00:05:21,339 And so this was really Jesus’ last stop 107 00:05:21,339 –> 00:05:23,399 before he ascended to Jerusalem 108 00:05:23,420 –> 00:05:27,399 for that week that led to his crucifixion. 109 00:05:28,559 –> 00:05:32,160 And when Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is coming into Jericho 110 00:05:32,160 –> 00:05:34,059 he starts shouting verse 38, 111 00:05:34,079 –> 00:05:37,399 Jesus Son of David have mercy on me. 112 00:05:39,079 –> 00:05:41,500 Notice that he calls Jesus the Son of David. 113 00:05:42,920 –> 00:05:45,000 That’s important because everyone at the time 114 00:05:45,000 –> 00:05:47,540 knew that the Messiah whenever he would come 115 00:05:47,540 –> 00:05:49,579 would be Son of David. 116 00:05:50,519 –> 00:05:52,200 The reason for this was very simply 117 00:05:52,200 –> 00:05:55,019 that 1000 years earlier God had made 118 00:05:55,019 –> 00:05:58,920 an extraordinary promise to David the king of Israel. 119 00:05:58,920 –> 00:06:01,459 You can read about it in 2 Samuel chapter seven 120 00:06:01,640 –> 00:06:03,279 verses 12 to 14. 121 00:06:03,279 –> 00:06:06,420 God said to David when your days are over 122 00:06:06,420 –> 00:06:09,239 and you rest with your fathers, 123 00:06:09,239 –> 00:06:13,079 a lovely phrase that means when you’re long dead and gone, 124 00:06:13,079 –> 00:06:16,959 God said I will raise up your offspring 125 00:06:16,959 –> 00:06:19,640 and will establish his kingdom. 126 00:06:19,640 –> 00:06:21,920 You’re offspring and establish his kingdom. 127 00:06:21,920 –> 00:06:25,579 Then God said to David I will be his father 128 00:06:26,839 –> 00:06:28,519 and he will be my son. 129 00:06:29,380 –> 00:06:33,579 Now these words must have been so strange to David’s ears. 130 00:06:33,579 –> 00:06:38,200 How could any descendant of David ever be a son of God? 131 00:06:38,200 –> 00:06:39,500 There’s no way in the world 132 00:06:39,500 –> 00:06:41,140 that David could have understood that. 133 00:06:41,140 –> 00:06:42,600 How could he have imagined 134 00:06:42,600 –> 00:06:46,679 that a thousand years after he was dead and gone, 135 00:06:46,679 –> 00:06:48,980 that God would step into human history 136 00:06:48,980 –> 00:06:51,980 and take flesh in the womb of a young woman 137 00:06:51,980 –> 00:06:56,160 who was pledged into the line of David’s descendants. 138 00:06:56,179 –> 00:06:59,480 And he would do that at a time 139 00:06:59,480 –> 00:07:02,859 when there had not been a king from the line of David 140 00:07:02,859 –> 00:07:06,980 on the throne in Israel for more than 600 years. 141 00:07:08,119 –> 00:07:10,959 Remember, Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem 142 00:07:10,959 –> 00:07:12,100 in 586 BC, 143 00:07:14,320 –> 00:07:17,720 and that was the end of the Davidic kings in Jerusalem. 144 00:07:17,720 –> 00:07:21,500 When Jerusalem was rebuilt in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, 145 00:07:21,500 –> 00:07:22,339 there was a new community, 146 00:07:22,339 –> 00:07:24,859 but never another king from the line of David. 147 00:07:26,420 –> 00:07:29,200 They were ruled by a bunch of foreigners, 148 00:07:30,299 –> 00:07:33,739 enduring an endless series of wars and conquests 149 00:07:33,739 –> 00:07:35,359 right up to the time of Herod, 150 00:07:35,359 –> 00:07:36,959 who himself was a foreigner, 151 00:07:36,959 –> 00:07:38,700 and Edomite, and then, of course, 152 00:07:38,700 –> 00:07:43,000 the real clout lay with the imperial Romans. 153 00:07:43,000 –> 00:07:44,880 And then God stepped in. 154 00:07:46,100 –> 00:07:49,299 He gave to his people the gift of the promised king 155 00:07:49,299 –> 00:07:52,500 through a virgin in the line of David 156 00:07:52,500 –> 00:07:54,660 as she conceived and gave birth to a son 157 00:07:54,660 –> 00:07:55,920 whose name is Jesus. 158 00:07:57,100 –> 00:08:00,899 The title Son of David is of huge significance. 159 00:08:00,899 –> 00:08:04,920 It indicates that this is a man who believes. 160 00:08:04,920 –> 00:08:07,200 To call Jesus the Son of David 161 00:08:07,200 –> 00:08:10,040 was a recognition that he is the one 162 00:08:10,040 –> 00:08:12,200 in whom all of God’s promises center 163 00:08:12,200 –> 00:08:15,640 and on whom all of our hopes depend. 164 00:08:15,640 –> 00:08:18,040 And this is what Bartimaeus believes. 165 00:08:18,040 –> 00:08:19,640 It is very fascinating to me 166 00:08:19,640 –> 00:08:21,440 that as you read the Gospel stories, 167 00:08:21,440 –> 00:08:25,019 the first people to confess Jesus as the Son of David, 168 00:08:25,019 –> 00:08:28,339 number one was a foreigner, a Canaanite woman 169 00:08:28,339 –> 00:08:30,059 and the second was a blind man. 170 00:08:30,059 –> 00:08:32,000 The first one to see who he really is 171 00:08:32,000 –> 00:08:36,299 outside of the apostles, a man who’s blind. 172 00:08:39,380 –> 00:08:41,900 So back to the story, verse 39. 173 00:08:42,960 –> 00:08:45,719 Luke tells us that those who led the way rebuked him 174 00:08:46,780 –> 00:08:48,419 and told him to be quiet. 175 00:08:49,340 –> 00:08:50,640 That’s not surprising. 176 00:08:51,799 –> 00:08:53,679 Those who led the way. 177 00:08:55,260 –> 00:08:57,340 Now those who lead the way are always the organizers, 178 00:08:57,340 –> 00:08:58,159 aren’t they? 179 00:08:58,979 –> 00:09:01,239 And let’s face it, the organizers aren’t usually 180 00:09:01,239 –> 00:09:03,140 the world’s most compassionate people. 181 00:09:04,140 –> 00:09:07,380 The organizers have their eye on the big picture. 182 00:09:07,380 –> 00:09:09,479 The organizers want to make an impact 183 00:09:09,479 –> 00:09:10,700 on the town of Jericho. 184 00:09:10,700 –> 00:09:13,580 The organizers want to rally support for Jesus. 185 00:09:13,580 –> 00:09:15,659 The job of the organizers is to make sure 186 00:09:15,659 –> 00:09:17,619 as they go ahead that there are no dead sheep, 187 00:09:17,619 –> 00:09:20,140 no sprawling camels lying in the way of Jesus 188 00:09:20,140 –> 00:09:21,679 and certainly not a blind beggar 189 00:09:21,679 –> 00:09:23,539 who wants to tap the crowd for money. 190 00:09:25,580 –> 00:09:28,419 So they tell him in no uncertain manner to shut up 191 00:09:28,419 –> 00:09:30,640 which I think is a reasonable translation 192 00:09:30,640 –> 00:09:32,760 of the words they have rebuked him 193 00:09:32,760 –> 00:09:34,799 and told him to be quiet. 194 00:09:37,020 –> 00:09:38,380 Now I love what happens next 195 00:09:38,380 –> 00:09:41,159 because it gives some of the character of this man. 196 00:09:41,159 –> 00:09:44,460 They tell him to be quiet but he’s not gonna be told off 197 00:09:44,460 –> 00:09:46,599 by a bunch of self-appointed organizers 198 00:09:46,599 –> 00:09:48,960 and so he shouts all the more. 199 00:09:48,960 –> 00:09:50,799 Son of David, have mercy on me. 200 00:09:50,799 –> 00:09:54,280 This must have driven the organizers absolutely crazy 201 00:09:54,359 –> 00:09:56,739 but it shows what Bartimaeus is made of. 202 00:09:56,739 –> 00:09:59,400 He isn’t gonna let himself be pushed around. 203 00:09:59,400 –> 00:10:04,020 He shouts all the more, Jesus, son of David, 204 00:10:05,059 –> 00:10:05,960 have mercy on me. 205 00:10:08,960 –> 00:10:13,960 And then Luke tells us Jesus stopped. 206 00:10:18,179 –> 00:10:20,440 That’s a powerful moment in the gospel story. 207 00:10:22,580 –> 00:10:24,260 Jesus stopped. 208 00:10:25,179 –> 00:10:30,179 And He ordered that the man be brought to Him. 209 00:10:35,020 –> 00:10:39,020 Now picture the drama of this moment, 210 00:10:39,020 –> 00:10:40,320 there are people everywhere. 211 00:10:42,000 –> 00:10:44,119 Jesus is fast on the move. 212 00:10:44,119 –> 00:10:46,820 He’s striding out for Jerusalem. 213 00:10:48,940 –> 00:10:51,099 But now He stops in His tracks, 214 00:10:52,099 –> 00:10:54,640 and the word is very strong. 215 00:10:54,640 –> 00:10:58,780 He ordered that the man be brought to Him. 216 00:10:58,780 –> 00:11:00,739 I wonder from the strength of the word 217 00:11:00,739 –> 00:11:01,700 if that means that there was 218 00:11:01,700 –> 00:11:04,440 some resistance from the organizers. 219 00:11:04,440 –> 00:11:05,340 Hey Jesus, don’t worry, 220 00:11:05,340 –> 00:11:06,900 it’s just another guy asking for money, 221 00:11:06,900 –> 00:11:08,659 you don’t need to worry. 222 00:11:08,659 –> 00:11:09,900 But Jesus won’t be put off, 223 00:11:09,900 –> 00:11:12,460 I said bring Him to me. 224 00:11:12,460 –> 00:11:14,859 Now bring Him to me, now. 225 00:11:15,359 –> 00:11:18,359 Bartimaeus, you see, has been shouting 226 00:11:21,059 –> 00:11:23,059 to Jesus from a distance. 227 00:11:28,419 –> 00:11:30,679 But Jesus doesn’t want to deal 228 00:11:30,679 –> 00:11:33,260 with any of us from a distance. 229 00:11:36,460 –> 00:11:40,619 Jesus isn’t content to shout back to over the crowds to Him. 230 00:11:40,619 –> 00:11:41,440 Why? 231 00:11:45,440 –> 00:11:47,119 There’s an intimacy. 232 00:11:49,460 –> 00:11:51,859 as a man comes near to Jesus. 233 00:11:53,299 –> 00:11:57,460 And Jesus is looking into this man’s unseeing eyes. 234 00:11:59,840 –> 00:12:04,099 And he says, now what do you want me to do for you? 235 00:12:06,299 –> 00:12:09,380 And I want that every one of us today 236 00:12:10,619 –> 00:12:13,039 in every one of our services 237 00:12:14,260 –> 00:12:18,700 will hear the risen Lord Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit 238 00:12:18,700 –> 00:12:22,419 asking you that question with that kind of intimacy. 239 00:12:22,419 –> 00:12:24,739 Not shouting over the crowd, 240 00:12:26,739 –> 00:12:29,919 but as it were looking you in the eye. 241 00:12:31,179 –> 00:12:34,479 What do you want me to do 242 00:12:36,280 –> 00:12:37,119 for you? 243 00:12:39,559 –> 00:12:40,479 What is it? 244 00:12:41,140 –> 00:12:43,320 It’s an intimate question. 245 00:12:48,599 –> 00:12:51,359 I want you to notice three things 246 00:12:51,359 –> 00:12:53,039 about Jesus’ question. 247 00:12:54,440 –> 00:12:56,380 The first is that Jesus’ question 248 00:12:56,380 –> 00:13:00,059 establishes the direction of your dependence. 249 00:13:02,099 –> 00:13:04,919 What do you want me to do for you? 250 00:13:06,599 –> 00:13:08,919 Now when Jesus steps up that close, 251 00:13:09,020 –> 00:13:11,479 Jesus steps up that close, you see, 252 00:13:11,479 –> 00:13:14,880 the question is not, what do you want to do for me? 253 00:13:16,539 –> 00:13:18,700 So the truth is that many of us 254 00:13:18,700 –> 00:13:20,859 would be more comfortable with that question, 255 00:13:20,859 –> 00:13:23,739 we’d be much more comfortable with Jesus saying up that 256 00:13:23,739 –> 00:13:26,239 close what do you want to do for me? 257 00:13:26,239 –> 00:13:28,539 For all of us, Type A personalities, 258 00:13:28,539 –> 00:13:30,659 we are really comfortable with that question, 259 00:13:30,659 –> 00:13:34,640 I could give you a long list of what I want to do for Jesus. 260 00:13:36,500 –> 00:13:38,380 And right here, we have the best part 261 00:13:38,820 –> 00:13:40,440 we have 2,001 people, 262 00:13:40,440 –> 00:13:42,020 most of whom want to do something for Jesus, 263 00:13:42,020 –> 00:13:43,400 we want to preach for him, 264 00:13:43,400 –> 00:13:44,820 we want to sing for him, 265 00:13:44,820 –> 00:13:46,559 we want to teach the kids for him, 266 00:13:46,559 –> 00:13:48,239 we want to reach the lost for him, 267 00:13:48,239 –> 00:13:49,520 some of us are ready to go to 268 00:13:49,520 –> 00:13:51,359 the ends of the earth for him, 269 00:13:53,080 –> 00:13:55,080 but that is not the question he’s asking, 270 00:13:57,919 –> 00:14:01,119 it’s not, what do all you folks want to do for me? 271 00:14:03,440 –> 00:14:07,760 Question is, what do you want me to do for you? 272 00:14:09,320 –> 00:14:14,280 Some of us are so full of confidence in our lives, 273 00:14:14,280 –> 00:14:16,440 that there’s not a lot of space for answering 274 00:14:16,440 –> 00:14:17,340 that question, 275 00:14:22,419 –> 00:14:25,340 some of us have become very used to a religion 276 00:14:25,340 –> 00:14:27,039 that has two dimensions, 277 00:14:28,500 –> 00:14:30,960 believe in Jesus and do something for him, 278 00:14:33,700 –> 00:14:35,080 maybe that’s where you are, 279 00:14:36,080 –> 00:14:39,479 using your gifts, giving your money, 280 00:14:39,479 –> 00:14:40,960 offering your worship, 281 00:14:42,520 –> 00:14:45,979 your faith is one of the commitments of your life, 282 00:14:48,340 –> 00:14:49,739 you could list them, 283 00:14:49,739 –> 00:14:51,119 what am I committed to? 284 00:14:51,119 –> 00:14:56,119 my wife, my kids, my country, my God, 285 00:14:58,200 –> 00:14:59,979 these are the things you believe in, 286 00:15:02,599 –> 00:15:03,799 you’re committed to them, 287 00:15:05,359 –> 00:15:07,140 what am I committed to? 288 00:15:09,739 –> 00:15:12,119 Remember President Kennedy’s famous, 289 00:15:12,119 –> 00:15:13,479 marvelous question, 290 00:15:15,659 –> 00:15:18,260 ask not what you’re country can do for you, 291 00:15:18,260 –> 00:15:20,400 ask what you can do for your country, 292 00:15:20,400 –> 00:15:21,380 remember that, 293 00:15:23,159 –> 00:15:24,580 it’s a great question, 294 00:15:26,559 –> 00:15:29,400 the country can’t resource the people, 295 00:15:30,840 –> 00:15:33,719 the people have to resource the country, 296 00:15:35,640 –> 00:15:38,099 it’s the right question to ask for the country, 297 00:15:39,239 –> 00:15:41,919 ask not what your country can do for you, 298 00:15:41,919 –> 00:15:44,979 ask what you can do for your country, 299 00:15:47,919 –> 00:15:48,880 but here’s the problem, 300 00:15:48,880 –> 00:15:51,840 there are a lot of people in church world 301 00:15:52,799 –> 00:15:55,440 who think about God in precisely the same way 302 00:15:55,440 –> 00:15:56,640 as they think about country, 303 00:15:56,640 –> 00:15:57,719 they confuse the two. 304 00:15:57,919 –> 00:15:59,640 And you know, here’s the problem, 305 00:16:04,640 –> 00:16:08,559 that we get the idea that somehow God is dependent upon us 306 00:16:08,559 –> 00:16:11,159 in the same way as the country is dependent upon us, 307 00:16:12,419 –> 00:16:14,719 we begin to feel that somehow God’s cause 308 00:16:14,719 –> 00:16:16,679 is dependent on what we do. 309 00:16:18,280 –> 00:16:20,080 That what really matters in all of this 310 00:16:20,080 –> 00:16:21,400 is the way we run the church 311 00:16:21,400 –> 00:16:23,159 and the way that we get it all organized 312 00:16:23,159 –> 00:16:24,380 and the way we show initiative 313 00:16:24,380 –> 00:16:25,840 and the way that we steward our resources 314 00:16:25,840 –> 00:16:26,960 and so forth and so on. 315 00:16:28,580 –> 00:16:32,719 But God is not like our country. 316 00:16:35,679 –> 00:16:37,419 Our country depends on us. 317 00:16:37,419 –> 00:16:39,059 President Kennedy’s question 318 00:16:39,059 –> 00:16:40,820 is the right one for the country. 319 00:16:42,919 –> 00:16:44,679 But it’s not the right one for God. 320 00:16:46,820 –> 00:16:49,299 Our God does not depend on us. 321 00:16:50,880 –> 00:16:52,419 We depend on him. 322 00:16:53,940 –> 00:16:55,820 So you see, Jesus question 323 00:16:55,820 –> 00:16:59,460 turns President Kennedy’s question on its head 324 00:16:59,460 –> 00:17:01,140 because there’s this huge difference 325 00:17:01,140 –> 00:17:03,840 between the two, God and country. 326 00:17:05,180 –> 00:17:09,140 He’s not asking, what can you do for God? 327 00:17:09,140 –> 00:17:12,219 He’s asking, what can God do for you? 328 00:17:12,219 –> 00:17:14,420 If I can take President Kennedy’s words 329 00:17:14,420 –> 00:17:18,359 and put this way, my fellow Christians, 330 00:17:18,359 –> 00:17:21,060 ask not what you can do for God, 331 00:17:21,060 –> 00:17:23,300 ask what God can do for you. 332 00:17:26,500 –> 00:17:30,660 Now, it was that question that transformed Bartimaeus’ life 333 00:17:33,140 –> 00:17:35,560 and it can do the same for you 334 00:17:36,739 –> 00:17:39,900 and it can do the same for our church. 335 00:17:42,319 –> 00:17:44,439 Some of us have settled into a faith 336 00:17:44,439 –> 00:17:46,599 that involves belief and commitment, 337 00:17:46,599 –> 00:17:47,839 duty and service 338 00:17:49,660 –> 00:17:53,239 but there is nothing supernatural about it. 339 00:17:56,140 –> 00:17:57,880 You believe in Jesus, 340 00:17:59,380 –> 00:18:01,880 you’re committed to His cause 341 00:18:03,579 –> 00:18:06,599 but you don’t have an answer of any substance 342 00:18:06,599 –> 00:18:08,439 to the question that He’s asking you 343 00:18:08,439 –> 00:18:10,680 which is, what do you want Me 344 00:18:12,119 –> 00:18:13,280 to do for you? 345 00:18:17,719 –> 00:18:19,640 So that’s the first thing, Jesus’ question 346 00:18:19,640 –> 00:18:21,800 establishes the direction of our dependence. 347 00:18:21,800 –> 00:18:25,800 I want to suggest that some of us have never grown 348 00:18:26,619 –> 00:18:30,839 because we’ve got it entirely the wrong way around. 349 00:18:30,839 –> 00:18:32,920 We’ve got this idea that God’s dependent on us 350 00:18:32,920 –> 00:18:34,680 and what we do for Him 351 00:18:35,819 –> 00:18:39,400 when actually entirely the reverse is true. 352 00:18:40,599 –> 00:18:43,939 Second, Jesus’ question will deliver you 353 00:18:44,900 –> 00:18:46,900 from prayerless praying. 354 00:18:47,760 –> 00:18:51,920 Jesus’ question will deliver you from prayerless praying. 355 00:18:52,859 –> 00:18:54,900 Now by prayerless praying I mean 356 00:18:55,180 –> 00:18:59,859 general requests that have little or no specific content. 357 00:19:01,640 –> 00:19:03,540 Now think about it, Bartimaeus is sitting 358 00:19:03,540 –> 00:19:05,859 by the side of the road and he’s shouting out 359 00:19:05,859 –> 00:19:08,859 Jesus son of David have mercy on me. 360 00:19:12,160 –> 00:19:13,920 Now what does he want? 361 00:19:15,060 –> 00:19:17,560 Is he asking Jesus to stop and 362 00:19:19,619 –> 00:19:22,439 speak some words of encouragement? 363 00:19:22,859 –> 00:19:27,020 Is he asking Jesus to throw some money in his bowl? 364 00:19:30,359 –> 00:19:33,180 And Jesus comes near and he says 365 00:19:33,180 –> 00:19:36,000 what do you want me to do for you? 366 00:19:40,219 –> 00:19:43,199 See Jesus wants to move your prayers 367 00:19:45,099 –> 00:19:47,119 not only from shouting at a distance 368 00:19:47,119 –> 00:19:49,719 to a level of intimacy but he wants to 369 00:19:49,739 –> 00:19:52,979 move your prayers from vague generality 370 00:19:54,300 –> 00:19:57,680 to specific requests that arise 371 00:19:57,680 –> 00:20:01,699 from a heart that has genuine confidence in God. 372 00:20:01,699 –> 00:20:03,260 And that surely is the direction in which 373 00:20:03,260 –> 00:20:05,520 he moves Bartimaeus with this great question. 374 00:20:05,520 –> 00:20:08,180 What do you want me to do for you? 375 00:20:08,180 –> 00:20:09,079 What is it? 376 00:20:11,579 –> 00:20:12,780 I don’t know how many prayer meetings 377 00:20:12,780 –> 00:20:14,939 I’ve been in over the years. 378 00:20:14,939 –> 00:20:16,359 Must be hundreds. 379 00:20:17,239 –> 00:20:21,079 And I have to tell you the experience varies. 380 00:20:22,119 –> 00:20:24,060 At their best a really good prayer meeting 381 00:20:24,060 –> 00:20:25,979 can make you feel you are ushered 382 00:20:25,979 –> 00:20:27,920 into the very presence of God 383 00:20:27,920 –> 00:20:30,319 and at their worst you can struggle to keep awake. 384 00:20:30,319 –> 00:20:32,160 That’s just the truth. 385 00:20:34,060 –> 00:20:37,400 Smiling as I remember floods of memories come back 386 00:20:37,400 –> 00:20:41,439 as you let your mind ponder some of these things. 387 00:20:41,439 –> 00:20:44,739 I remember one prayer meeting that was nearly terminal. 388 00:20:44,939 –> 00:20:48,699 I was a teenager at the time, Edinburgh, Scotland. 389 00:20:48,699 –> 00:20:51,060 We were at a prayer meeting in an upstairs room 390 00:20:51,060 –> 00:20:53,300 in the church about 30 people gathered every week 391 00:20:53,300 –> 00:20:55,239 for the church prayer meeting. 392 00:20:55,239 –> 00:20:56,939 I was there, the room was heated 393 00:20:56,939 –> 00:20:59,420 by a single little gas fire. 394 00:20:59,420 –> 00:21:03,420 And one of the elders had a marvelous way of praying, 395 00:21:03,420 –> 00:21:05,180 he just had language, he could go through 396 00:21:05,180 –> 00:21:07,219 the entire Old Testament in one prayer 397 00:21:07,219 –> 00:21:09,219 that would last 10 or 15 minutes. 398 00:21:09,219 –> 00:21:12,140 And the Shekhinah glory and so forth and so on 399 00:21:12,140 –> 00:21:14,099 it was a marvelous, marvelous thing. 400 00:21:14,140 –> 00:21:17,060 But on this one occasion while he was praying, 401 00:21:17,060 –> 00:21:19,619 in the middle of his prayer, I don’t know how it happened, 402 00:21:19,619 –> 00:21:23,180 but the flame and the gas fire blew out. 403 00:21:23,180 –> 00:21:27,300 I realized that as I began to smell gas. 404 00:21:27,300 –> 00:21:30,099 And I kind of, is that gas, is that gas? 405 00:21:30,099 –> 00:21:32,859 And it was gas, but you know it’s Britain 406 00:21:32,859 –> 00:21:36,180 and no one wanted to disturb this man while he was praying. 407 00:21:36,180 –> 00:21:39,859 Eventually when he finished at his amen 408 00:21:39,859 –> 00:21:42,439 there was a great rush, someone turned off the gas. 409 00:21:42,439 –> 00:21:43,900 I was trying to think what the headline 410 00:21:44,020 –> 00:21:46,339 would have been, you know. 411 00:21:46,339 –> 00:21:48,239 30 Baptists die in prayer meeting. 412 00:21:48,239 –> 00:21:52,560 Then there was the man who kept praying, 413 00:21:52,560 –> 00:21:57,560 Lord, clear the cobwebs from our mind. 414 00:21:58,560 –> 00:22:00,180 He would come back next week, 415 00:22:00,180 –> 00:22:04,500 Lord, clear the cobwebs from our mind. 416 00:22:05,500 –> 00:22:06,660 And he would pray many, many things, 417 00:22:06,660 –> 00:22:08,579 but this phrase kept coming up, 418 00:22:08,579 –> 00:22:11,119 Lord, clear the cobwebs from our mind. 419 00:22:11,119 –> 00:22:12,979 Eventually someone stood up in their prayer meeting 420 00:22:13,359 –> 00:22:15,959 and they said, Lord, just kill the spider. 421 00:22:15,959 –> 00:22:17,280 Love it. 422 00:22:19,859 –> 00:22:24,859 Now, Jesus wants to move your praying 423 00:22:25,359 –> 00:22:27,900 from vague generalities 424 00:22:29,400 –> 00:22:32,619 to real requests that have substance. 425 00:22:32,619 –> 00:22:36,839 What do you want me to do for you? 426 00:22:37,760 –> 00:22:40,719 See, too much of our praying is like buckshot. 427 00:22:40,719 –> 00:22:45,140 It kind of gets sprayed all over the place 428 00:22:45,140 –> 00:22:48,640 in the vague hope that we might hit something. 429 00:22:48,640 –> 00:22:51,599 And Jesus doesn’t want you to pray like buckshot. 430 00:22:51,599 –> 00:22:52,859 He wants you to pray like an archer 431 00:22:52,859 –> 00:22:57,719 taking aim and firing at the target. 432 00:22:57,719 –> 00:23:00,000 That’s the point of the question to Bartimaeus. 433 00:23:00,000 –> 00:23:03,839 What do you want me to do for you? 434 00:23:03,839 –> 00:23:07,500 And this man who had started out with a vague generality, 435 00:23:07,500 –> 00:23:09,839 Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me, 436 00:23:09,839 –> 00:23:12,479 He says, see that’s buckshot, that’s buckshot. 437 00:23:13,479 –> 00:23:15,459 It’s a general prayer offered in the hope 438 00:23:15,459 –> 00:23:17,579 that this blind man in such hopelessness 439 00:23:17,579 –> 00:23:21,579 might just hit something. 440 00:23:21,579 –> 00:23:24,300 And Jesus comes near, well it’s way better than that. 441 00:23:27,079 –> 00:23:28,939 What do you want me to do for you? 442 00:23:30,959 –> 00:23:34,099 And he says, Lord, I wanna see. 443 00:23:35,099 –> 00:23:37,020 And that moment changed his life. 444 00:23:42,380 –> 00:23:45,719 Jesus’ question establishes the direction of your dependence. 445 00:23:47,619 –> 00:23:52,020 Jesus’ question will deliver you from prayerless praying. 446 00:23:55,319 –> 00:23:59,579 And certainly, Jesus’ question opens the door of hope, 447 00:23:59,739 –> 00:24:02,660 Jesus’ question opens the door of hope. 448 00:24:04,359 –> 00:24:07,339 Now remember, Bartimaeus believes in Jesus. 449 00:24:09,099 –> 00:24:13,119 Then what happens is that his faith leads him to ask 450 00:24:13,119 –> 00:24:15,380 as Christ gives him the opportunity. 451 00:24:16,760 –> 00:24:19,660 And it’s not a vague general asking now, 452 00:24:19,660 –> 00:24:22,939 but it’s a specific asking that comes from faith. 453 00:24:25,280 –> 00:24:28,239 And as a result, he receives a wonderful gift 454 00:24:29,060 –> 00:24:30,939 that changes his life. 455 00:24:32,780 –> 00:24:34,939 So you see this pattern? 456 00:24:34,939 –> 00:24:38,140 Believing leads to asking 457 00:24:39,219 –> 00:24:42,680 and asking leads to receiving. 458 00:24:43,979 –> 00:24:46,079 Now that’s very important for this reason. 459 00:24:47,060 –> 00:24:50,719 Some of us are discouraged because we’re believing, 460 00:24:50,719 –> 00:24:52,060 but we’re not receiving, 461 00:24:54,859 –> 00:24:56,500 and we wonder what’s missing. 462 00:24:59,099 –> 00:25:01,199 Now think about it, if you’re believing 463 00:25:01,199 –> 00:25:02,900 but you’re not receiving, 464 00:25:02,900 –> 00:25:05,619 could it be that the missing ingredient 465 00:25:05,619 –> 00:25:07,099 in your spiritual walk 466 00:25:07,099 –> 00:25:10,400 is this whole dimension of asking? 467 00:25:13,900 –> 00:25:15,459 Once you’re able to identify 468 00:25:15,459 –> 00:25:17,800 what it is that you want Jesus to do for you, 469 00:25:17,800 –> 00:25:20,680 your walk with Him will move to a whole new level, 470 00:25:22,459 –> 00:25:25,060 but until you’re able to answer Jesus’ question 471 00:25:25,060 –> 00:25:26,060 with some meaning, 472 00:25:26,079 –> 00:25:29,020 your faith will remain at the level 473 00:25:29,020 –> 00:25:30,819 of belief and commitment, 474 00:25:30,819 –> 00:25:32,640 and whatever prayers you may offer 475 00:25:32,640 –> 00:25:34,020 will be like buckshot, 476 00:25:34,020 –> 00:25:36,439 they will be vague and they will be sporadic. 477 00:25:41,800 –> 00:25:42,959 Maybe you’re thinking, 478 00:25:45,119 –> 00:25:46,939 well, you know, I’ve asked for something specific 479 00:25:46,939 –> 00:25:48,060 many times, 480 00:25:50,219 –> 00:25:51,640 but He hasn’t given it to me. 481 00:25:52,579 –> 00:25:57,359 Well, if that’s the case, 482 00:25:57,359 –> 00:25:58,959 ask for something bigger, 483 00:26:01,319 –> 00:26:02,939 ask for something bigger. 484 00:26:04,839 –> 00:26:05,680 Here’s why. 485 00:26:06,760 –> 00:26:10,040 Paul asked the Lord three times 486 00:26:10,040 –> 00:26:14,119 that he would take away the thorn in the flesh. 487 00:26:14,119 –> 00:26:15,359 God didn’t do that. 488 00:26:16,479 –> 00:26:18,000 But he did something bigger. 489 00:26:19,500 –> 00:26:21,359 He proved that his grace is sufficient 490 00:26:22,300 –> 00:26:24,160 and that his power is made perfect in weakness. 491 00:26:25,640 –> 00:26:29,119 Job suffered a loss that could not be restored. 492 00:26:29,119 –> 00:26:31,339 He asked God for an explanation. 493 00:26:32,920 –> 00:26:34,060 God didn’t give that. 494 00:26:35,900 –> 00:26:37,420 But he gave something bigger. 495 00:26:39,040 –> 00:26:41,239 Job caught a glimpse of the awesome glory 496 00:26:41,239 –> 00:26:42,520 of the Lord in such a way 497 00:26:42,520 –> 00:26:44,459 that he said, my ears have heard about you, 498 00:26:44,459 –> 00:26:46,000 but now my eyes have seen you. 499 00:26:46,079 –> 00:26:47,859 Jesus asked that if it would be possible, 500 00:26:47,859 –> 00:26:54,880 the caps should be taken from him, 501 00:26:54,880 –> 00:26:56,160 and God didn’t do that. 502 00:26:56,160 –> 00:26:57,579 But he did something bigger. 503 00:27:00,459 –> 00:27:01,800 He used the suffering of Jesus 504 00:27:01,800 –> 00:27:03,479 to bring the salvation of the world. 505 00:27:08,359 –> 00:27:09,439 Now, here’s the question 506 00:27:09,439 –> 00:27:10,839 that has been laid on my heart. 507 00:27:11,760 –> 00:27:12,380 What? 508 00:27:15,800 –> 00:27:20,459 What transformations might take place in your life 509 00:27:20,459 –> 00:27:22,560 if you began to really pray like this? 510 00:27:25,719 –> 00:27:30,880 What might happen in this church 511 00:27:30,880 –> 00:27:36,660 if the whole level of our prayer moved like Bartimaeus did? 512 00:27:41,680 –> 00:27:48,459 Do you know, prayer and sin cannot long 513 00:27:48,459 –> 00:27:51,560 live in the same heart at the same time. 514 00:27:54,280 –> 00:28:00,760 Either sin will choke prayer or prayer will choke sin. 515 00:28:00,760 –> 00:28:03,619 One of these two things must sooner or later happen. 516 00:28:04,520 –> 00:28:11,719 Maybe the reality is that your prayers have been choked by your sins. 517 00:28:11,719 –> 00:28:17,780 Frankly, you’re too embarrassed to call out to Jesus. 518 00:28:17,780 –> 00:28:24,800 If he was walking by, you would crouch down hoping that he wouldn’t come near to you 519 00:28:24,800 –> 00:28:26,859 because you’re embarrassed about what you’re doing. 520 00:28:26,900 –> 00:28:33,699 And he knows what you’re really like. 521 00:28:33,699 –> 00:28:41,660 So sin chokes prayer, and now you’re spending all your time looking for an alternative solution 522 00:28:41,660 –> 00:28:48,599 to your sin. 523 00:28:48,599 –> 00:28:51,140 You know what? 524 00:28:51,140 –> 00:29:00,760 Well you’re crouching down and hiding because sin chokes prayer, Jesus stops anyway. 525 00:29:00,760 –> 00:29:04,619 And he’s coming right up to you today where you’re trying to avoid him, and he’s saying 526 00:29:04,619 –> 00:29:14,180 to you as it were eyeball to eyeball, what do you want me to do for you? 527 00:29:14,180 –> 00:29:20,140 Maybe the first thing you need to say to him today is to ask him to forgive you. 528 00:29:20,140 –> 00:29:28,079 But don’t just say that in general, tell him what needs to be forgiven, spit it out, say 529 00:29:28,079 –> 00:29:37,140 it, name the sin, get specific. 530 00:29:37,140 –> 00:29:41,079 And then remember who you’re talking to. 531 00:29:41,119 –> 00:29:46,199 This is the Son of God. 532 00:29:46,199 –> 00:29:51,260 He holds Pluto and Neptune and Saturn and Mercury in their positions. 533 00:29:51,260 –> 00:30:00,619 Why do you find it so hard to believe that he can deal with your little problem? 534 00:30:00,619 –> 00:30:04,540 Why do you place your confidence everywhere else except in Jesus? 535 00:30:05,199 –> 00:30:09,979 Maybe you’ve grown spiritually cold. 536 00:30:09,979 –> 00:30:13,160 Prayer has died. 537 00:30:13,160 –> 00:30:19,140 It’s become like a predictable walk, around a well-worn path. 538 00:30:19,140 –> 00:30:25,979 And you’re going to come to him as he eyeballs you today, and you’re going to say, 539 00:30:25,979 –> 00:30:29,260 Lord Jesus, here’s what I want you to do for me. 540 00:30:29,260 –> 00:30:33,640 Give me, in my soul, a new hunger, a new thirst after you. 541 00:30:34,479 –> 00:30:40,020 And take away this coldness, this detached cynical heart, and give me a love fo people 542 00:30:40,020 –> 00:30:43,760 like the love you have in Christ for me. 543 00:30:45,760 –> 00:30:50,680 Now, our time is nearly gone, but I want you to notice what comes from this prayer and 544 00:30:50,680 –> 00:30:53,599 the great miracle in Bartimaeus life. 545 00:30:53,599 –> 00:30:56,959 Notice, in verse 43, two things. 546 00:30:56,959 –> 00:31:03,959 The first is the transformation of one man. 547 00:31:03,959 –> 00:31:11,319 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. 548 00:31:11,319 –> 00:31:14,739 Notice Bartimaeus uses what he has been given to follow Christ. 549 00:31:14,739 –> 00:31:19,040 He’s given his sight and he uses his sight to follow Jesus, wonderful, that’s the pattern. 550 00:31:19,040 –> 00:31:24,260 I receive from him and what I receive from him becomes the energy and the life in which 551 00:31:24,339 –> 00:31:26,920 I follow him. 552 00:31:26,920 –> 00:31:31,479 By the way, if you have been asking for something and not receiving, here’s a good thing to 553 00:31:31,479 –> 00:31:41,040 do, check back and see whether you are really using what he has already given to follow 554 00:31:41,040 –> 00:31:44,119 Christ. 555 00:31:44,119 –> 00:31:48,800 The transformation of one man. 556 00:31:48,819 –> 00:31:52,680 There are many men who need to see that transformation, right? 557 00:31:52,680 –> 00:32:01,800 I’m going to tell you that a real encounter with Jesus Christ by faith and in prayer, 558 00:32:01,800 –> 00:32:10,680 like Bartimaeus experienced, would do more to bring new purpose, new purity, and new 559 00:32:10,680 –> 00:32:16,479 power in your life than anything else you’ve tried. 560 00:32:16,680 –> 00:32:19,280 I really believe that. 561 00:32:24,939 –> 00:32:32,800 But second, and here’s the extraordinary thing, the transformation of a community. 562 00:32:32,800 –> 00:32:38,300 Bartimaeus followed Jesus praising God, but notice what happened next. 563 00:32:38,300 –> 00:32:42,560 When all the people saw it they also praised God. 564 00:32:42,619 –> 00:32:47,920 When all the people saw it, they saw this kind of a change in one man and it changed 565 00:32:47,920 –> 00:32:48,920 the whole community. 566 00:32:48,920 –> 00:32:53,439 That’s how the story ends. 567 00:32:53,439 –> 00:32:59,099 One man’s testimony changes the lives of many around him. 568 00:32:59,099 –> 00:33:06,800 And so when Jesus enters Jericho you have one blind man saying, Jesus, son of David 569 00:33:06,800 –> 00:33:08,880 have mercy on me, son of David. 570 00:33:08,880 –> 00:33:11,859 One blind man makes the confession. 571 00:33:11,859 –> 00:33:16,359 But when Jesus enters a few days later into Jerusalem, just 17 miles away, you remember 572 00:33:16,359 –> 00:33:20,880 what happened there … there’s a whole crowd who are taking up the same confession, 573 00:33:20,880 –> 00:33:24,079 Hosannah to the son of David. 574 00:33:24,079 –> 00:33:30,140 Where did they get it from, Bartimaeus? 575 00:33:30,140 –> 00:33:35,660 One man’s testimony transforms the community. 576 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:46,500 I found myself therefore asking this question, how many intercessors would it take to sharpen 577 00:33:46,500 –> 00:33:52,760 the faith of this whole congregation? 578 00:33:52,760 –> 00:33:58,420 How many direct answers to prayer would it take for you to come to the place beyond your 579 00:33:58,420 –> 00:34:08,500 present level of religious belief and commitment to say, you know, there really is a God. 580 00:34:08,500 –> 00:34:18,919 What would happen in this church if there was a movement of 100 men and 100 women who 581 00:34:18,919 –> 00:34:25,780 took Jesus’ questions seriously and began to pray. 582 00:34:25,780 –> 00:34:39,760 200 intercessors, 200 intercessors who believe that Jesus really can bring life change, which 583 00:34:39,760 –> 00:34:43,300 is the central claim of the Gospel. 584 00:34:43,300 –> 00:34:48,520 Little believed in the church today. 585 00:34:48,520 –> 00:34:53,899 What would happen in the lives of these 200? 586 00:34:53,899 –> 00:34:58,500 What would happen in the life of this church? 587 00:34:58,500 –> 00:35:05,100 I have to tell you, I don’t know where this is leading. 588 00:35:05,100 –> 00:35:12,899 But I sure know that the Lord is steering something in my heart. 589 00:35:12,919 –> 00:35:17,479 And I wonder if there are others who feel this also. 590 00:35:17,479 –> 00:35:27,379 I tried honestly this week to really face the question at many levels. 591 00:35:27,379 –> 00:35:32,560 Jesus eyeballing me. 592 00:35:32,560 –> 00:35:38,959 And I’ve come up with some different answers at different levels of life. 593 00:35:38,959 –> 00:35:41,159 But I’ve tried to put myself in this position. 594 00:35:41,159 –> 00:35:45,639 If Jesus were saying to me about the congregation right now. 595 00:35:45,639 –> 00:35:51,520 And were to say to me as the Senior Pastor of Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church 596 00:35:51,520 –> 00:35:58,800 with regards to this congregation, Colin what do you want me to do for you. 597 00:35:58,800 –> 00:36:03,300 Here’s the answer I’ve given in my prayer this week. 598 00:36:03,699 –> 00:36:20,080 Lord would you raise up an army of 200 Intercessors in this church, would you do that? 599 00:36:20,080 –> 00:36:27,439 Because I’m convinced that that would move our ministry to a whole new level. 600 00:36:27,439 –> 00:36:30,979 I wonder if that’s something you’d like to be part of. 601 00:36:31,540 –> 00:36:36,139 I wonder if there’s something within your heart that senses that there may be another 602 00:36:36,139 –> 00:36:42,719 level of ministry that’s not so much about what we’re doing for God but what He’s doing 603 00:36:42,719 –> 00:36:47,060 for us. 604 00:36:47,060 –> 00:36:50,780 I could ask you to respond in many different ways and I decided I don’t want something 605 00:36:50,780 –> 00:36:52,500 spontaneous, that might be a knee-jerk. 606 00:36:52,500 –> 00:36:58,780 Because praying’s hard work. 607 00:36:59,060 –> 00:37:04,399 But if you think that you might want to be part of the answer to this prayer, if you 608 00:37:04,399 –> 00:37:09,620 sense that God is laying a similar burden on your heart, if you’ve felt even for the 609 00:37:09,620 –> 00:37:15,899 first time this morning a sense of discontent with where you are spiritually and a desire 610 00:37:15,899 –> 00:37:19,840 to draw near to Christ and to know something of that life change that Barth and me has 611 00:37:19,840 –> 00:37:23,979 experienced, would you write to me? 612 00:37:24,419 –> 00:37:26,560 Two lines. 613 00:37:28,939 –> 00:37:29,439 Just tell me. 614 00:37:29,439 –> 00:37:31,399 I’m right there calling. 615 00:37:32,879 –> 00:37:34,179 Drop me an email. 616 00:37:36,379 –> 00:37:43,060 If you feel this burden for prayer, in your own life and for our church, let’s see 617 00:37:43,060 –> 00:37:44,719 what God will do. 618 00:37:44,719 –> 00:37:48,360 I’ll bring all the names to the elders when we meet next time. 619 00:37:49,739 –> 00:37:52,260 And then we’ll see where the Lord leads us from there. 620 00:37:54,260 –> 00:37:59,120 But I believe that today, there is a very special sense in which God 621 00:37:59,120 –> 00:38:05,360 has laid this question as a burden on my heart, for myself, 622 00:38:06,379 –> 00:38:08,040 and for this congregation. 623 00:38:09,699 –> 00:38:15,620 What do you want me to do for you? 624 00:38:20,639 –> 00:38:23,580 I’m going to ask that we stand, and we’ll close the service with prayer. 625 00:38:24,659 –> 00:38:35,360 Just a moment of silence so that each of us has an opportunity personally 626 00:38:37,699 –> 00:38:40,139 to make our response to that question. 627 00:38:43,479 –> 00:38:46,159 Or perhaps even to say, I just don’t know how to answer that question. 628 00:38:46,159 –> 00:38:50,020 I’ve got to go home and work out my answer, and it’s urgent to do so. 629 00:38:50,500 –> 00:38:52,399 What do you want me to do for you? 630 00:39:05,300 –> 00:39:09,520 Lord, each of us can answer your wonderful gracious question in our own 631 00:39:09,520 –> 00:39:18,340 personal way, and all the answers in the world will never overburden you. 632 00:39:18,840 –> 00:39:27,340 In our last moment, we lift this corporate answer in as much as we can agree it together. 633 00:39:28,340 –> 00:39:37,360 For our Church, O’ God, today we ask that you will raise up an army of intercessors, 634 00:39:37,360 –> 00:39:45,679 that you will move us to a new level of ministry that is not so much about what 635 00:39:45,780 –> 00:39:50,780 we’re doing for you but is more and more about what you are doing for us, 636 00:39:53,179 –> 00:39:57,739 so that you will have all the praise and you will have all the glory and the 637 00:39:57,739 –> 00:40:04,199 blessing will flow in us and through us out to those around us. 638 00:40:05,679 –> 00:40:10,540 Hear our prayer in Jesus’ name and all God’s people together said, Amen.