Going Public - Blind Bartimaeus
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea:
Good evening on the internet!
My name is Charlie Kae and I’m the lead pastor at Grace Empire in Wesley Chapel, Florida and I would like to welcome everyone to week 45 of Grace Empire online.
Our vision is to restore, revitalize, and refresh the community of Tampa Bay through an intimate relationship with Jesus X.
Everyone is welcome at Grace Empire, but if you were to ask us what our focus is, we started Grace Empire to reach the non-affiliated, gnostics, and non-believers. If you or someone you know has been hurt by religion or has been burned out by doing church, Grace Empire fits a unique role for those that are looking to reengage their faith or find an accepting community.
As a church, we try to keep Jesus at the center of everything we do, so we are praying that you encounter and experience our living God tonight.
We love interaction. So feel free to comment, ask questions, and ask for prayer while you’re watching and the admins will address them ASAP.
But before we continue, our online disclaimer.
Grace Empire Online focus on giving you sermons - so without a doubt - this is an incomplete version of church.
As we move forward with this online church thing, I wanted to urge you and remind you that online church should never replace the community you get from your local church.
We love and are so very honored that you tuned in with us today and by no means am I saying this to guilt trip you, hurt you or make you feel inadequate in anyway. We know everyone is on a different journey with God and the fact that some of you are watching is a huge step and I applaud you for that.
At Grace Empire, our goal is to keep Jesus at the center of everything we do and a big part of that is understanding our place within the church. It’s not just that you need people (which you do); but it’s that people need you.
But as I said, the online church is an incomplete version of what God intended the church to be. The local church also gives you a place to
Worship / Praise / Sing
Met with other believers in Fellowship and discipleship
To serve our community through social action
Fulfill the Sacraments of the church - Which for us is baptism and communion.
This is the first week of the month so we will do communion at the end of the service.
And lastly, gives our tithes and offering
At GXE we teach that we give to give, not give to get. We give our tithes and offerings because we are thankful to God for providing for our needs. It is also to acknowledge that we live, work, and are sustained because He allows us to be. And because of the advancements in technology giving is an easy one.
You can give online through our website www.graceempire.com, or via text by texting the words GraceEmpire to the number 77977 and then follow the link texted to you.
You can either do that now, or at the end of the message.
Alright with all that out the way…lets get to Jesus shall we?
Pray
I am very excited to start our 5 week Easter series titled Going Public where we look through the gospels and unpack people that were living in obscurity, forgotten or outcasted by society, hiding from fear, or hidden from view. We will learn their stories, see how they were “hiding” and how encountering Jesus would change their status from hiding to hollering.
As catchy as that sounds, this series isn’t really about hiding or hollering. Those are a means to an end because what I really want to focus on for the next five weeks is hope. Yes, Easter is about hope. Yes Jesus brings hope. And yes, regardless of how many times we talk about hope, hope is still a topic worth talking about. But my current take on hope has changed over the years. Im turning 40 this year and it feels like I’ve reached the halfway point. The average life expectancy of an American is 78.54 years. 40 is about halfway.
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Sometimes your desperation helps you see more clearly.
RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner operated by the White Star Line that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it the deadliest peacetime sinking of a superliner or cruise ship to date. When Thomas Andrews, the chief naval architect, was given news of the extensive damage done by the iceberg, he understood the grave fate that awaited those on the “unsinkable ship.” With over 2000 passengers on board and only enough lifeboats for less than half the people on board, Andrews understood that for most passengers, this would be the last time they would look up at the night sky, and most would not see the light of day.
I wonder how many people continued to party and carry on with the nights festivities before this deathly information reached their ears. People were literally partying while standing on the deck of their demise, their deck of disaster.
I wonder if Bartimaeus’ hopeless condition helped him see how much he needed a savior. He needed more than a teacher, or a rabbi, or even a prophet. Bartimaeus needed a savior. And so Bartimaeus cried out in verse 48, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” This phrase is important. No where else in the book of Mark does this phrase appear, but for a Jewish crowd there is no mistaking the claim Bartimaeus is making. The title Son of David was a term every Jewish person would have learned, a term they were waiting to hear. A phrase that would have not been used on any person lightly or carelessly because to call someone Son of David would harken back to their Scriptures and the prophecies surrounding it. The Son of David would be the Messiah, the promised one, the one that would free the Jews and bring freedom to his people.
As Jesus leaves Jericho and rides into Jerusalem, it is a blind begger, not the religious leaders or the rabbis of the day, it is a blind begger that sees clearly enough to announce Jesus’ Messianic identity. Bartimaues serves as the harbinger of the one true Messiah, the Lion of Judah, the Bread of Life, the Chief Cornerstone, the King of Kinds and the Lord of Lords. Bartimaeus is the only one to boldly confess what many others may have been thinking, may have been hoping…Jesus is the Christ, the savior of the world.