God who saves

Norman Unsworth

God who saves • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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CALL TO WORSHIP

The Lord is my light, my light and salvation.

In God I trust.

Let us come together in worship,

opening our lives to God’s renewing grace.

HYMN

Dear Lord and Father of mankind forgive our foolish ways: (673)

GATHERING PRAYER

All seeing God,

you are so far beyond our understanding,

yet, you want to meet with us.

You call us into your presence,

as the crowd called the blind man to come to Jesus.

We come to you now, mighty Lord,

gathered expectantly,

ready to worship and learn from you.

May we have eyes open to see you

and hearts willing to be seen by you

Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Lord, we ask you to forgive us for the times we don’t hear Jesus calling us.

The blind man was direct in his request: forgive us for the times we go all round the houses, and times we just can’t ‘see’ what is right in front of us.

The blind man had good friends: forgive us when we don’t accept help from friends, and when we aren’t good friends to each other.

Forgive us for ignoring people who really need our attention, and for not seeing that we can help through you – and you can help through us.

Forgive us when our faith is small, and we don’t believe that it can heal us.

Son of David, have mercy on us.

Amen.

Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted from him.

Now he asks us what we want.

We have confessed our sins,

and now we want the assurance that God grants us pardon.

(keep a time of silence)

Jesus says, ‘Go; your faith has healed you.

’And we say, ‘Amen’.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven,

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen.

HYMN

Love divine, all loves excelling (267)

READING 1

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Job Is Humbled and Satisfied

Then Job answered the Lord:

‘I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

“Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”

Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

“Hear, and I will speak.

I will question you, and you declare to me.”

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you.

therefore, I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.’

Job’s Fortunes Are Restored Twofold

And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this Job lived for one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children’s children, four generations. And Job died, old and full of days.

READING 2

Mark 10:46-52

The Healing of Blind Bartimaeus

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So, throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

HYMN

O for a thousand tongues to sing (744)

SERMON

Has anyone seen any of the Toy Story films? if you haven't, it’s a modern very realistic cartoon.

The premise of the films is the toys come alive when people are not around. the main characters are Woody the cowboy, and Buzz Lightyear a space ranger.

When our Grandson was a small boy, he is now in his mid-twenties and nearly seven foot tall.

We took him to see one of the Toy Story films. I remember clearly, we bought him the overpriced bag of goodies that we always have to purchase. When the film started he sat with a sweet in the form of a snake that he held onto and never put to his mouth, as he was drawn into the story line.

Near the end of the film Woody the cowboy character is being taken onto a plane, and Buzz Lightyear is chasing along the runway to the rescue.

In the midst of this my little grandson stood up on the chair and shouted out “BUZZ’LL SAVE YOU” much to the amusement of the other adults who laughed.

But what about us should we not cry out “GOD WILL SAVE YOU”

In this mornings reading from Job after all his suffering, the loss of family. The loss of his wealth and finally the loss of his health. He faced the question “WILL GOD SAVE ME” I’m sure we can sympathise with him and his situation.

As we approach the end of this book God appears in the clouds with questions for Job. causing Job to bows before God and he is finally blessed, we are told he received twice as much as before.

What can we take away from this book? the over riding message to me is that Job’s faith overcame his experiences, there is always the danger thought out the book that his experience would overcome his faith.

He went through so much suffering, imagine if you were Job, when you think of the pain of losing your family, your wealth, and the physical suffering he went through, he asked questions but never lost faith.

His faith was stronger than his experiences.

In the end his cry could be “God saved me.”

Some of us may well have suffered, I, had a job with a great salary but suddenly that was taken away when the company closed. It led to a complete change of lifestyle from where we lived, and to what we had to live on.

But nothing we went through thankfully was as hard as Job’s trials,

But many of us have and do face trials many have lost a loved one and no doubt bear the scars many trials. And I ‘m sure Job bore the scars of his experience, But, in the end, we can like Job hold onto a simple fact, if we hold onto our belief in God ultimately we can say we have a “God who saves”

In our New Testament reading from Mark today we hear about Bartimaeus, which means is Greek honourable Son.

The first thing I find it interesting how and where Mark places this reading. It immediately follows James and John coming to Jesus asking to sit at the right and left of him when he comes into his power, in other words give us positions of power along side of you make us your main men, let us rule over everyone else!

The other disciples were obviously not happy about it.

Then Jesus went on to point out that to be first you need to be last, a servant or more correctly a slave to all. A slave does not expect thanks for what they do, it’s part of their life.

This was a lesson they still needed to learn, and this may help them when we come to the story of the healing of a blind man.

We find Bartimaeus, sitting by the side of the road he calls out, “, ‘SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!’ And, what do the people say? Be quiet, but he calls out even louder “, ‘SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME! And Jesus says let him through let him come to me.

Notice the next thing he does. He throws off his coat perhaps the only one he owns, remember he is a blind beggar, but he abandons it to get to Jesus, now if he is not healed how will this blind man find his coat again.

In a way it’s like he is sheading, of his old life, as he comes to the Lord.

I find this also a very interesting point when Jesus says, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

What a thing to ask, if you notice in most situations when someone comes to Jesus to be healed, he says “what do you want me to do for you?” isn’t, it obvious!

The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.”

It is the same for us today, Jesus knows what we need, but we need to ask him. If we don’t ask, we won’t receive.

When our grandchildren visit, they know where the drinks and snacks are, and they know they can have what they want but they will ask “can I please have a can of pop”. The answer can be yes, no, maybe, No maybe because we are about to have tea, Maybe might mean have you eaten all your food first, or Yes help yourself. So perhaps this is the reason why Jesus asks the question, “What can I do for you”

There is, I think, another point to this reading, and why Mark positioned it where he did.

You see the issue isn’t only with James and John’s desire to desire powerful position. all the disciples fall short they still don’t understand, or they simply deny, or refuse, to except what Jesus says lays ahead, when they reach Jerusalem.

You see they themselves were blind, maybe not physically but mentally blind, they found it hard to except, the simple truth. That for Jesus to fulfil his mission it involved a cross.

Today we live in a world were there are thousands of people, that are spiritually blind, they don’t know what they really need.

They are a little like James and John, as they seek positions of power and wealth, instead of seeking the true wealth in Christ.

The hymn writer John Newton who made a great deal of wealth as a slaver, found the truth and freedom in Christ wrote the words.

“I once was blind but now I see” in the hymn amazing grace.

And what about us, what about us here today, do we see the glory of God?

Do we stand in awe spellbound by our Saviour Jesus Christ? Just as my Grandson once was? So drawn into the film that with great abandon cried out “BUZZ WILL SAVE YOU”

Are you and I unashamedly willing to stand up and cry out with complete conviction “GOD WILL SAVE YOU”

Remember Luke 9: 26 says:

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

So, lets never deny the awesome God we have the honour to serve, the one who laid down his life for you and me. The God who made us not servants but part of his family.

Let the though never say “GOD WILL SAVE YOU.” But “GOD HAS SAVED ME”

AMEN

HYMN

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord! (86)

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

We thank you, Lord,

that you are a God of action – and interaction.

You see and want to be seen by us.

We thank you for the amazing sights you have for us,

if we are prepared to call on you.

We thank you that you are a God of healing,

and whichever way you choose to act is always best.

We thank you, Lord.

Amen.

In our world, where people go hungry because the price of food has risen, and their income has not.