Isn’t
it interesting that Jesus asked a blind man, “What do you want me to do
for you?” Now, what do you think a blind man wants? Is Jesus asking a
stupid question? No! Jesus wants to hear the confession of faith come
out of the blind man’s mouth. When he said, “Lord, that I might see,” he
was speaking words of faith. He was saying, “It is possible for You to
heal me and to give me my sight.”
The
blind man I’m referring to above is Bartimaeus. What did Jesus say to
him? “Go your way; your FAITH has made you whole.” Now, I want you to
pay special attention to this. In Mark 10, what was the first thing that
Bartimaeus did when the Lord called for him? He threw off his cloak,
which was probably his greatest worldly possession. He may have slept
with it at night, and it most certainly protected him and kept him warm.
When
Jesus called Bartimaeus out of the crowd, the first thing he did was
throw off the beggarly cloak as he knew he was about to exit one realm
and enter into a whole new one! He was going from being a beggar to
being blessed . . . from being blind to having sight. He threw off the
garment of bondage, which equated to the chains of his past.
There’s
a lesson to be learned there. If we’re going to grab hold of everything
that God has for us in 2014, then we’re probably going to have to let
go of something. What do you have to let go of? Resentment? Bitterness?
Anger? Fear? What is the cloak of bondage in your life? What have you
become so familiar with or attached to that you’re afraid to let it go?
It might be a relationship. I’m telling you: God is speaking expansion
and redirection. Redirection means that there is an adjustment in the
course of your life, in your business, in your ministry, in your
personal life, and/or in your marriage. There’s a cloak that needs to be
thrown off. As you throw off that cloak, you will receive the ability
to see things more clearly.
After
Bartimaeus was healed from his blindness, Jesus said, “Go your way,
your faith has made you whole.” What did he do in Mark 10:52? The Word
says that, “He followed Him in the Way.” Jesus told him that he could go
his own way. Listen, God will permit you to go your own way, or you can
follow Him in the Way. Bartimaeus chose to follow Jesus.
The
Bible tells us we are to put off the old man and put on Christ
(Ephesians 4:22-24). There are things in each of our lives that need to
be put in order so that we may put on more of Christ. If we fail to
remove those things, then all we’re doing is putting perfume on a stinky
body, and you all know what that smells like! It smells worse when you
apply perfume over an odor than if you didn’t put any perfume on it at
all. Stop with the perfume!
What
element of the old man needs to be put off in your life? What is it?
I’m talking internally. Is it fear? Is it hurt? Is it unforgiveness,
bitterness, jealousy, or envy? I could go on and on, but Paul does a
much better job of stating the whole list. Put off the old man and put
on Christ.
After
beginning His earthly ministry, we see that Jesus spoke the same two
simple words to individuals several times. Those two words were: Follow
Me.
I
believe this is the Lord’s word for the Church and for you
specifically. It’s a very simple word, but it is one with powerful
implications because so many are refusing to follow Christ even though
they are wearing the name, “Christian.” I know it sounds judgmental, but
can we really call ourselves Christians if we’re not following Christ?
Can we really acknowledge Him as Lord if we’re not willing to do what He
tells us to do? In fact, can we really say we love Him if we’re not
willing to obey? When Jesus met Matthew the tax collector in Matthew
9:9, He spoke those two simple words to him, “Follow Me.” In fact, later
in Matthew 10:38, Jesus Himself said that if you do not follow Him, you
are not worthy of Him.
Here
is a word from the Lord for each of us. The Lord says, “He who follows
me will not walk in darkness.” Is it therefore safe to assume that he
who does not follow Him will walk in darkness? Yes. To walk in darkness
means to be groping around and wandering aimlessly, which brings us back
to: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” They wander
aimlessly; they’re looking for something, but never seem to get it
because they don’t even know what it looks like.
If
we follow Jesus, He will give us the fullness of life. He will bring us
to the place of being and doing that for which we were created. There
is no greater fulfillment than to find that place. It is all the work of
grace; it is not because of our works. So don’t stress and strain in an
attempt to experience His greater grace. Just simply and willfully
obey. Victory comes from surrender, not fighting. The more we surrender
to Him, the greater grace we will see.
Grace and peace,
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