Sermon Tone Analysis

We have all experienced a period of time when we felt we were in a rut.

Websters defines a rut as a usual fixed practice/a monotonous routine

For us as believers a rut is an activity or pattern that keeps us from becoming what God wants us to be.

A rut may not necessarily be caused by a sin, but many times we find ourselves plagued by a habitual sin without the will, desire, or ability to get out of it.

We get stuck in patterns in our life that are not healthy and we fool ourselves into accepting them as just part of life.

For many people they do not want to get out of the rut they are in.

They are content to be where they are.

But for many they do not know how to get out of the spiritual rut that is holding them captive.

When we are stuck in a rut, it weighs heavy on us.

And when that rut is a sin that we hide from others the weight can become unbearable.

When we are stuck in a rut, it weighs heavy on us.

And when that rut is a sin that we hide from others the weight can become unbearable.

How do we lay aside the weight of the rut we are in?

We are going to look at the story of a blind man who will show us the way.

We are approaching the final week of Jesus’s life.

Jesus is beginning the upward 15-16 mile (6-hour)journey to Jerusalem.

);46

It should be no surprise that Jesus encounters a crowd as he heads towards Jerusalem.

According to the Old Testament, Jewish men must travel to Jerusalem 3 times a year to present themselves at the temple.

The Passover is coming and Jesus is going to Jerusalem where the city will bustle with 80 - 100 thousand people.

So it is no wonder Jesus encounters a crowd on the main road from Jericho up to Jerusalem.

According to the Old Testament, Jewish men must travel to Jerusalem 3 times a year to present themselves at the temple.

The Passover is coming and Jesus is going to Jerusalem where the city will bustle with 80 - 100 thousand people.

Among the crowd, sitting on the side of the road, which I am sure was something he did on a daily basis, was a blind man named Bartimaeus.

In the account in Matthew we find that there were two blind men, but Mark only focuses on the one man and give us his name.

Bartimaeus had been blind since birth.

Imagine a life lived in the dark and surviving on the charity of others for your whole life.

Stuck in a rut?

You better believe it.

I think Bartimaeus’ story lays down for us an effective pattern for getting out of any rut that we may find ourselves.

We must first assume responsibility for our situation.

You cannot wait for someone else to get you out of a rut.

Many times when we are stuck, we wish someone would come along and just pull us out.

Imagine that you have driven your car off the side of the road and you are stuck in the mud.

You can sit and hope that someone comes along and will pull you out, but you’ve got to do something yourself…you have to call a tow truck.

The chance of one just coming by is very low.

You can’t blame your circumstances on those around you.

Playing the blame game will not get you out of the rut you are in.

In fact when we blame others for our circumstances it just prolongs our time in the rut.

People who blame others for their rut can’t see how their blaming is keeping them right where they are, stuck.

Even if others have played a part in getting you stuck in a rut, it is up to you to get yourself out of a rut.

Bartimaeus took action.

Mark 10:

He heard who was walking past him and cried out to Jesus to have mercy on him.

Nobody saw him on the roadside and thought “Hey maybe Jesus can do something for this man.”

He had to do it himself.

It was up to him to get out of the rut he was in.

When you are in a rut you must decide to take action and turn to God for the solution.

God is like the tow truck you call to help get you out.

You can’t wait for the ideal situation

Bartimaeus’ timing was not exactly ideal, but he realized that His greatest opportunity had come.

He had been sitting by this roadside for years begging.

He was in a helpless and hopeless situation.

If Jesus was who He claimed to be, then this was the day of his greatest opportunity.

Not ideal, but the greatest.

Jesus was leaving Jericho and there was a large crowd with him on the road.

How would Jesus hear Bartimaeus over the crowd?

Would Jesus even stop?

Jesus was not going to be coming by this way again.

It was either now or never.

We cannot wait for the ideal time or wait for others to take the initiative.

We must act when we have the opportunity or we may never get out of the rut.

Many times we hope that our situation will resolve itself on its own or that someone will come along and rescue us without us having to make any effort.

But there will not be a perfect time.

Now is the perfect time.

There are some her today who need to see today as the greatest opportunity to come to Jesus and ask him to have mercy on you and help you to overcome the rut you are in, whether it is a habitual sin or an attitude that is keeping you weighed down.

Now is the perfect time.

Time is short.

We do not know how much time we have left or when we will have another chance.

Don’t wait for the perfect time, it may never come.

There are no guarantees in life, except that we are born and we die.

If we wait for the weather to be perfect, which we have no control over, we will never do what is needed.

We can’t let what people are going to say to keep us in a rut

When Bartimaeus realized it was Jesus he cries out for mercy.

The people, in fact it says many people, rebuked him.

“Jesus has important business in Jerusalem.

He doesn’t have time for you.”

But their words do not stop him.

He cries even louder.

People during this time would look at a blind person and wonder what that person’s family did, what sin they committed that would cause the blindness.

Or they would wonder what the person themselves did to deserve such a curse.

Jesus’ own disicples asked Jesus about this in .

Can you imagine the scorn and the ridicule that plagued blind people.

As if the blindness was not enough, people would accuse you of sinning when you had no control over whether you could see or not.

To experience life change, to get out of the rut you are in, you have to decide that you are not going to worry about what people think, say, or believe about you.

If you need to do business with God and you come down to this altar it doesn’t matter what the rest of the congregation thinks or says.

All that matters is that you are obedient to God’s call on your heart and that you take care of business.

In Bartimaeus’ case the crowd was wrong.

Be careful believing what the crowd says and allowing that to keep you from being obedient.

Mark 10:

We must step out boldly and believe God

When we are in a rut and Jesus calls us out we must be bold and believe.

We can have confidence because the power to overcome, to eliminate the weight of sin in our lives, does not come from us, but from our faith in Jesus Christ

Don’t get caught-up in the what-ifs.

Bartimaeus believes Jesus and he acts.

I don’t want us to miss an important fact here.

Today we can identify someone who is blind by the cane they carry or the seeing-eye dog at their side.

During the time of Jesus it was the cloak that identified someone as blind.

It was told people that this person was blind.

The color, the style, the cloth it was made from all identified him as blind.

What does he do with his cloak?