Speaker 1: 0:01

I got got by my microphone on the way up here. How you guys doing today, woo Woo man. Parents, how did it feel to have your kids back at school last week? Yes, yes, that's something. Yes, this is great, okay. Well, I'm so glad you guys are here with us. Today. We are kicking off a brand new series that I am so excited for that will be leading us to our Fields Like Home Sunday.

Speaker 1: 0:29

Now I have a question, though. I have a question for you have you ever dealt with loneliness? Have you ever felt lonely before? Have you ever felt what word would I say disconnected? Have you ever felt disconnected from people, from friends, felt like you're kind of like a lone ranger a little bit? Now, it's interesting you might be aware of this. It's interesting that, even though we live in a world where you can access people you can overly access people all the time through email, phone calls, text messages, social media, all the different kind of things we live in a world that people would say the number one thing they struggle with is loneliness. It's loneliness. We have access to people at all times, but loneliness is a big issue. So, for the next three weeks leading up to our Feels Like Home Sunday. What I want to talk to you guys about? I want to talk on the subject of relationships, friendships and purpose, because your purpose, my purpose, our purpose, is connected to people. It's connected to the people that we meet and we talk to and hang out with. Now what we want to do? We want to help us as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, how to find your people and love your neighbor. Okay, so you can title part one of this series. Take your Next Step.

Speaker 1: 1:58

I'm going to jump right into my scripture today. Check this out Mark 10, starting in verse 46,. It says this Then they came to Jericho. That's Jesus and his whole crew. And then they came to Jericho as Jesus. Today, check this out Mark 10, starting in verse 46,. It says this this is our main character today. He's sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but what did he do? He shouted all the more loudly Son of David, have mercy on me, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and said call him. Now.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Here is Jesus with a large crowd of people. He's kind of like, almost like the Taylor Swift of his time. You know, he had a lot of people, thousands of people following him. You know, I don't know if Jesus sung like she did, maybe he did. I think Jesus could hit the jiggle note. You know, maybe he did, maybe he did. I think Jesus could hit the jiggle note. You know, maybe Scripture don't tell us, but I like to think he did. But he's walking. He got this large crowd around him, literally thousands of people around Jesus.

Speaker 1: 3:14

Anywhere Jesus went, crowds came and they're coming into Jericho and as he enters in there's a blind man. And this guy, this guy, we get this guy's name. Now let me tell you why this is important. Because Jesus heals a lot of people in Scripture. He heals people, he sets people free from captivity, he sets people free from demonic possession. He does a lot of things, but most of them we never get their name. We don't know who they are. But this guy, we get his name, we get his name. And not only do we get his name, we get his daddy's name. So we know his legacy. So what does that tell us? This tells us that Bartimaeus man, he must come from an important family, he must come from an important legacy.

Speaker 1: 3:58

This guy had something to him that was important, and so what we can see from the story, just off of knowing his name, that Bartimaeus was an important person, which means that his life was going somewhere. He was heading in the right direction. He was heading somewhere with purpose, with drive, with mission, and then something happened and left him on the roadside begging. And have you and maybe it's just me today but have you ever been heading on the right direction, trying your best to make the best choices, trying your best to get where God has wanted you to be, but then life comes and it hits hard and it leaves you sitting down begging. Oh, can we get real today, lvc? And this is where we find Bart and Mae. It's our Bart. This is where we find Bart today.

Speaker 1: 4:44

Why would you ever name a baby Bart? It's a good adult name, but as a baby, come here, little Bart. Okay, sorry, okay, bartimaeus, he's a son, and I want you to feel the story a little bit. I want you to feel that this young man, he's someone's son, just like you are someone's son or you are someone's daughter, you have parents, and that means they were dreams. They were dreams for him. You came into the world and there was hope and there was excitement and there was joy, there was anticipation. And if that wasn't the story for you, maybe that's a part of your wound today. Maybe that's a part of your wound, but for most of us, we have someone around us, some type of celebration, saying hey, I'm glad this person is coming into the world. And I just got to say something, though. If you didn't have that, if you grew up feeling unloved, I want you to know, here at LVC, we love you and we celebrate you and we are glad that you were born. Come on somebody, so you have a place here.

Speaker 1: 5:41

But this young man comes into the world the Bible does not tell us when. We don't know how he became blind, we don't know what caused it, we don't know if he was born blind or if he got a disease that caused him to be blind. Maybe things started off good and then things went bad. But he finds himself on the road begging, and I was trying to figure this out, and maybe you guys know the answer, you smart people. I was trying to figure this out. Is it better when everybody knows the problems you have, or is it better when you suffer in silence, like people look at this guy. People look at Bart this guy, people look at Bart Barty. People look at Bart and they know his problem. He's blind. He's blind and he has issues and he's a beggar.

Speaker 1: 6:37

But many of us, many of us, have issues that our Instagram doesn't let on to that, our perfect pictures don't show that. The way we present ourselves to people when people say, how's your day going? Oh, it's just dandy. Oh, my day is dandy. You're suffering. I'm dandy like candy. We're suffering. We're suffering, we have issues, but we're quiet about it and we suffer in silence.

Speaker 1: 7:08

And can we just pause for a second here, lvc, and can we be honest? I know it's church and I know maybe you thought you had to come to church and be perfect and you thought you had to come to church and have it all together, but the reality is, all of us have some type of blindness in our lives, some type of thing, some type of problem that we wish we didn of thing, some type of problem that we wish we didn't have, some kind of prayer that we have prayed several times, waiting for God to answer, and it seems like he hasn't. All of us come in with this Now. I don't have time, nor do I have the right amount of tissues to tell you my problems. I have 99 problems, but my wife ain't one. Come on somebody. I'm blessed and highly favored.

Speaker 1: 7:52

All of us are carrying some weights and some of us are in therapy for them right now. Good job, keep going. Keep getting a good Christian counselor on your side. Some of us are talking to lawyers about our problems right now. Some of us are navigating things with our kids and our teenagers that we don't even. We never thought we were going to have to learn how to navigate. And we're wearing these things and it's real and maybe people know and maybe no one knows. But what are we going to do with the problems? How are we going to navigate them? What are we going to do with the issues that we are facing? What are we going to do with the difficulties that are on our shoulders? What are we going to do with the things that live rent free in our minds? What are we going to do? I think blind Bartimaeus gives us a great road map on what steps we can take to move forward towards the person that God has called us to be.

Speaker 1: 8:47

First thing is this we see verse 46. He's begging. He's begging on the road. He's on the road and he's begging. That's what we first see. Notice that all of his years of begging and I'm assuming there's been years all of his years of begging did not lead him to freedom. All of his years of begging did not lead him to any freedom. He kept begging and he kept being in bondage, he begged and he stayed in the same spot. He continued to do the same thing at the same place, in the same city, probably telling himself this time will be my last time, but he kept finding himself in the same place that he promised himself that he would never be in again. I don't know about you, but I've been there before. But him begging did not elevate him, did not take him out of a place of bondage. It kept him in bondage.

Speaker 1: 9:33

And this is where you and I sometimes get. And we get to a place that we say well, no one understands me, no one understands what I've been going through, no one understands my issues or my pain. And here's the interesting thing about that no one understands what I've been going through, no one understands my issues or my pain. And here's the interesting thing about that no one understands me thing. Ceos say that and teenagers say that. Older people say it. Younger people say it, parents say it, singles say it. Nobody gets me.

Speaker 1: 10:04

And as long as you live with the victim mindset, it does not bring you to a place of freedom. It will keep you stuck begging on the road. Well, at my job, I mean, if everyone knew what I was doing at my job, man, I can't believe I got to work with these idiots. You never say that out loud, but you say it in your heart. Sometimes Some people say, yes, I do. You're like, oh, my goodness, I'll do it. No one gets me. It's so hard for me. You don't know what it's like to be a man. You don't know what it's like to be a woman. You don't know what it's like to be a man. You don't know what it's like to be a woman. You don't know what it's like to be young. You don't know what it's like to be old. Insert blank, fill in the blank right there. And this mindset does not push him forward. It keeps him stuck. Check this out. But then there's a day that something happens. There's a day, an ordinary day, a normal day for Bartimaeus, a normal day with him at the road, begging, hoping. But this day, this ordinary, one day, normal day, something extraordinary happens. Check this out.

Speaker 1: 11:15

Verse 47 says this when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout Wait, wait. When he heard you're going to see him because he's blind, he began to shout Wait, wait. When he heard he couldn't see him because he's blind, but he heard him. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and he couldn't see him. He probably heard him, but I also think, I also think he felt him. Come, come, come up, come with me, go with me here for a second.

Speaker 1: 11:47

There's something about the presence of God. When the presence of God enters your environment, man, you have to change. When the presence of God comes into your life, you start to look at the things that you wish you weren't doing and say I can't do those things, not out of guilt, not out of shame, not out of someone punishing me, but because there's a God who loves me and there's something in me that says I'm made for more than those things. Come on, come on when the presence of God comes in. And here LVC here.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Lvc, I want you to, I want you to know this Are we, are we the grandest? Are we the best? Do we get all the bells and whistles? I don't know. But more than the bells and whistles, my prayer is that our church will always have the presence of God at hand, because it's the presence of God that changes people. It's the Holy Spirit that moves people forward. Man, I can say all the best words possible, but without the Holy Spirit it's nothing. We can sing all the notes on key, but without the Holy Spirit it's nothing. We can pack this place out on September 15th, but without the Holy Spirit it's just a country club. And I don't know about you, I don't golf.

Speaker 1: 12:56

We need the presence of the Lord, we need the presence of God coming near to us, but in this moment, right here, bartimaeus, he can't see, he can hear, but he can feel the presence of God getting into his environment. In this moment, right here, for some reason, he says I can't stay stuck anymore, I can't stay stuck. This man said I don't want to stay stuck in the same cycle I've been in forever. This man said I want to move from where I am right now to where I've been dreaming of becoming and being, and all I want you to know is this that same thing that Bartimaeus felt, man, it's on the inside of you too. It's on the inside of you too. Maybe there's an area of your life where you have felt stuck for way too long and you're ready to take a next step.

Speaker 1: 13:53

So what did blind Bartimaeus do? He said I'm going to shout. When Jesus is walking by, I'm going to shout, and that was the thing that changed his life forever. Can I just for a second, call on your potential? Can I call on your potential and purpose and destiny that God has put inside of you? Because you might not know this? So, just in case you don't know this, I'm going to let you know this.

Speaker 1: 14:19

You might not know this, but you, me, you us, we didn't decide to be born. I don't know if you knew that, like you, weren't up in the heavenlies one day saying, okay, god, put me on earth now. That's not how that thing worked. That's not how it went down. You didn't decide to be born. You didn't decide to be born at a time such as down. You didn't decide to be born. You didn't decide to be born at a time such as this. You didn't decide to be placed on earth at this time and this day and this age, but God knew when he made you that he wanted you here on earth at this time and this season and this culture and this world right now. And if God knew that, and then God has put gifts and abilities and talents and dreams and visions inside of you.

Speaker 1: 15:10

Words of encouragement, words of affirmation. God has put things inside of you. He didn't do that just so you can sit at the road begging. He didn't put you here for this time. Give you those gifts for you to be ineffective. You didn't decide for yourself to be born, but God decided that he needed you here right now, in this time. God's the one that puts you here and since he puts you here, he has a purpose for you. You're not here just to exist. You're not here just to exist. You're not here just to take up space. Just taking up space, my space. How's Tom doing these days? Anyone remember Tom from MySpace? No one remembered him. That's how good he's doing then. You're here to make a difference with your life. I feel like someone needs to hear that You're not just someone's spouse, you're not just someone's parent. Those are good things, but you are here to make a difference on this earth Because God put you here.

Speaker 1: 16:26

Now I want to offer I don't want to offer any self-help tips today. I'm not into self-help tips, but in the most corny, cheesy possible way, I want to offer you some Jesus help tips today. How does Bart get from being stuck? We know he didn't go to Barnes and Noble and go to the self-help section. Do people still go to Barnes and Noble? I don't even know if they Google it now. Okay, he didn't do that.

Speaker 1: 16:53

No, he said Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. He said Jesus, son of David, messiah, have mercy on me Because when the presence of God entered his environment, there was something inside of him that said I'm not worthy, but this person is. When the presence of God came into his environment, there was something about the presence of God that spoke to him, that said there's someone greater than the position I'm at right now. So I got to just get a little loud about it. I got to shout a little about it. I got to shout about it have mercy on me. His heart was on Jesus, and that's who we offer you at LVC. We offer you Jesus and just Jesus. We want Jesus. Plus nothing equals everything, and that's what we want to give you here at LVC is just Jesus and check this out. He says Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.

Speaker 1: 17:56

Verse 48 says this rebuked him. What, huh? Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Shut up, dude, like what. Like what's happening here, like what's going on, because whenever you begin to take a step forward, you have to expect there will be some opposition. I would actually say, if you're not facing opposition, you're probably not doing the will of God for your life, and so you have to expect that someone or something is trying to keep him where he's used to being.

Speaker 1: 18:37

Something or someone, some mindset, some thought pattern, some, maybe a person wants him to stay where he's used to be and they rebuke them. And how mean are these people? These are some terrible people. I've been around some mean people before, but I've never been around mean people who yelled at blind people. That's a whole new level of meanness out there. That's a different kind of meanness. These people are rude and disrespectful, but in this day, blind people didn't get much respect. Blind people didn't get much respect and maybe you feel like you haven't got much respect. Maybe you feel like you haven't got much. People don't respect your work ethic, don't respect the talents that you bring, don't respect the hard work that you've done, don't respect the times when you went above and beyond to help someone and they never even said thank you for it. You have these little voices in your head saying if you keep trying to move forward, someone else is going to push you down. So you might as well just stay where you are, because at least you're comfortable. At least you're comfortable where you are Now.

Speaker 1: 19:41

Aaron and I We've been married for 10 years now. Come on, it's awesome, it's been a great 10 years We've been married for. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And recently we moved into our house here in Midlothian, like a little over four, almost four years ago, and I remember when we moved to the suburbs. Come on, we moved to the burbs. The burbs are nice. You know the burbs. They got clean parks in the suburbs. You know it's nice. And you even drive into the suburbs. All the houses kind of look the same. Everyone's lawns kept. You know, it looks real nice. It's kind of like this peace that you get. You're like this feels good. I'm glad I live here, because I grew up in the kind of neighborhood where Pizza Hut didn't deliver when the streetlights came on, so it was different.

Speaker 1: 20:29

But we go to our swim meets. Our daughter did swim, you know. We do our swim meets and all the parents are there watching the kids swim who can't really swim, and they're in the swim meets and everyone's like you go for it, johnny, you got it. You know. Go go, susie, let them eat your bubbles. You know we're in the suburbs and I'm thankful for my life. I'm thankful for the suburbs. I'm thankful I think most of us are. But this is part of me that just wonders that we have bought into an American lie that says we're blessed when we have our 2.5 kids and a dog. Got your little cobble poo, got your little cobble poo doll, you love your little doll. You got your little minivan and your Suburban. If you're cool.

Speaker 1: 21:18

And maybe there's this thing inside of us that still says, yeah, that stuff is good, but there's something more, there's something more, there's something more. And they're rebuking him Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. And your boy, bartimaeus, bart, he's a fighter. He says you know what? They're telling me to shut up and I'm going to get a little bit more loud instead. They're telling me to shut up, but I'm going to get a little bit more loud instead. And he's like, nope, you're not going to tell me to stop. And so he gets a little bit louder.

Speaker 1: 21:50

And check out what verse says. Verse says Jesus stopped and called to him. I got to say something. I got to say something about this. The presence of God enters his environment. It moves him. He shouts, he has opposition, he gets a little bit louder and he makes Jesus stop what he's doing to call him. Did you know that when you pray, god stops what he's doing and he addresses your needs, he is interested in your life. And he stops and he calls him. And here's what's interesting. Here's what's interesting the people that were telling him to shut up are the same people that are now saying to him hey, cheer up, good fellow, he calls you. And this says to me we got to be careful about receiving affirmation only from people and we have to make sure our affirmation comes from the Lord above. But then they say but then check this out. It says this he says, throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. Now, why did he throw his cloak aside? Is he Bruno Mars or something? Is he a WWE superstar? He throws his robe Like. What's he doing? Like, why is he doing? What's up with the dramatics here?

Speaker 1: 23:07

Some scholars say that when an individual was a beggar, that they would actually put on a particular garment, and that garment would let others know that this person is certified beggar. He is a certified beggar because the Jewish people thought in their culture that they gave to the poor, that would make God love them more. And so when they gave to the poor not out of compassion for God's people, but out of a way they thought they could manipulate the love of God they said we want to make sure when we give to a poor person, he's really poor. And Paul reminds us that do not be deceived. A man will reap what he sows. So his cloak.

Speaker 1: 23:49

When people looked at him, they knew who he was. That was his identity, that was him wearing. I'm CEO, I'm student, I'm single and I don't want to be single and I'm mad about it being single. But God, you haven't bought me my man yet. Wait, I am this, I am that.

Speaker 1: 24:07

But this is the moment, right here, where this man says I throw aside all the labels and all the false identities I have lived by for way too long and I'm going to step towards Jesus, take a step forward and to who God has called you to be. And he throws off his cloak and his side and he comes to Jesus. And then Jesus asks him the most crazy question. Jesus says to him what do you want? And Bartimaeus is like bruv bruv, you know what I want? And I love that. He gets face to face with Jesus. And Jesus still asks him a question, because Jesus is not just an all-powerful God, but he is personal. He cares about our every thought, and so the story goes he heals them. He heals them, he sets them free, he receives his sight, he receives his sight.

Speaker 1: 25:08

And now, thinking about this story, though, thinking about this story, something hits me, because we're in this new series Find your People. We're in this new series Find your People, Love your Neighbor. That's leading us to our Feels Like Home Sunday, and we're in this, and I mean here you go church. We're a church where. We're not a church that just wants you to attend on Sunday and forget about Jesus every other day. That's not the kind of church we want to be. We want to be the kind of church that, monday through Sunday, you know how to be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do the stuff that Jesus did. That's what we want to do.

Speaker 1: 25:42

And so, essentially, what I'm saying is we're not a consumer church. Let me say that one more time we're not a consumer church, meaning that you know we're not. We're not the targets of church, meaning that's going to come in and say, okay, well, I'm getting my Starbucks coffee today. Get my Starbucks, jesus. No, no, no, we're not a consumer church. And since we're not a consumer church, there's something in us that is saying I think I'm made for more. And you may say to yourself oh, I'm thankful for the teaching, I'm thankful that the church that God has put me in, but there's something inside of me that's supposed to be a contributor to this house, not just a consumer of it. Not just a consumer of it, because many of us have this sneaking suspicion that you were made for something greater than just sitting on the sidelines. And I'm telling you today church, your life has meaning when your life is wrapped up in the things of God.

Speaker 1: 26:36

And I noticed this Blind Bartimaeus ends up face to face with the physical, real Jesus. And then I realized Bartimaeus is face to face. Here you go, go with me here. He's face to face with the body of Jesus's, face-to-face with the body of Jesus. He's face-to-face with the body of Jesus. Well, but what's the body of Jesus? What does the Apostle Paul tell us? The body of Jesus is? It's the church, the church. The church is the body of Christ. And so is it possible that blind-bodied mayors in this story, obviously pointing us to Jesus and the miraculous work of the kingdom of God invading earth. But it's also giving us a little bit of a roadmap that you don't stay isolated by yourself on the side of the road, just begging and doing what you want. But when you interact with the body of Christ, come on. When you begin to interact with the body of Christ, that's actually when you'll find what you're looking for, by connecting with the body of Christ, not just by staying on the road.

Speaker 1: 27:37

Make sure, I make sure our theology is correct. Colossians 1.18 says this Jesus is the head of the body, the church. Jesus is the head. Jesus is the head. Church is the body. Jesus is the head. Church is the body. Jesus is the head, the body is the church. That's why you don't just consume church, you are the church. Because if you consume it, then you're eating your own body and that's really weird. Don't do that, you know. So we can't consume it because we are it and you're like Jesus. I want more of you and Jesus says I got more for you, but it flows through my body. Come on, come on, let me go somewhere with this. Let me close this out with this.

Speaker 1: 28:15

Let me say that, let me say this we all need to have a personal connection with Jesus. We need to pray, we need to surrender, we need to say Jesus, fill me with, with your presence. And he does, he absolutely does. But here's what I've learned Breakthrough doesn't always come when I'm alone in my prayer, closet. Breakthrough does come there at times, and love and loving on Jesus comes there. Sure, I pray, I'm all in, I go I'm old school man, I go on my hands and knees and pray. I really do, you know, and not that it makes me more holy, it just makes me focus a little bit better. But it's not just all about. It's not just about me and Jesus and all on my own. The answer of the prayers that I pray often come through His body, through relationships, through the people that he has placed around me.

Speaker 1: 29:01

So here's the thing yes, jesus is your personal Lord and Savior, no question about that. But when you surrender to Him, you're not just doing a solo walk anymore. You are a part of His family, you're a part of it. And Bartimaeus he was used to begging, but begging didn't set him free. You want to know what set him free? Belonging when he began to belong.

Speaker 1: 29:22

Belonging is a game changer and it's just not sitting on the sidelines. So, lvc, we're all in. We're all in. If this is your church, I want to be real with you. If this is where you, there's no shame, no judgment, whatever. No, but because we love you, we can't let you stay on the sidelines. We can't let you stay on the sidelines. God has more for you and we believe that. So here's the challenge Don't just come to church, don't just watch online with your bathrobe, just a cup of coffee. This isn't a place to sit. It's a place to serve and to belong and to make a difference, and that's our dream for you. We want you to belong. That's why we have things like our local basics class that we do on the first and second Sunday. That's why we do our Feels Like Home Sunday. We're making on-ramps for you to connect and to be a part of the body.

Speaker 1: 30:18

Look at Bartimaeus His breakthrough came when he was connected to the body. And maybe you've been looking for a breakthrough in your life, man. Maybe you're tired. You're done with dealing with the same problem you've been dealing with year after year. Friends, I've got to say to you, maybe your next step is joining a small group this September. Maybe your next step is inviting a friend to church to sit with you. Maybe your next step is joining us at 14 days of prayer and fast and starting next week.

Speaker 1: 30:59

Maybe your breakthrough comes when you say, hey, I'm connected to this body. That sound good. Come on, let's pray. God, jesus, holy Spirit, thank you for your love, thank you for your goodness and your mercy. We come to you now and we say we want more of you, lord. We want more of your favor, more of your goodness. Holy Spirit, come.

Speaker 1: 31:27

I just feel right now like blind Bartimaeus. In the story, things were headed in the right direction for you and some things happened that were beyond your control. Man, I just feel like the Lord's heart is just hurting for that you're in here and you're dealing with grief. You're dealing with things that were literally you could not have done anything about it, but you're suffering the consequences of it, of the uncontrollables. So we say come, holy Spirit, right now, bring healing to that heart. Bring healing to that person or people and they rebuked him. Maybe you feel like you've been rebuked or put down by people loved ones, people you trusted, people that you would assume would be happy for you or celebrate you, and there's some wounds there. Holy Spirit, invade those wounds right now. Come, holy Spirit, come to those places, lord, and I pray for a spirit of gumption like Bartimaeus that will shout all the more loudly Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me and Lord, we pray as a church. When we pray, stop and come to us, answer our prayers, lead us in the way everlasting. We see more of you.

Speaker 1: 33:20

If you're in here today, you're like Jacob. That sounds good, but I don't know personally this Jesus you're talking about. Maybe you never heard of Jesus before, maybe you grew up in church or whatever, but for whatever reason, you kind of walked away. If you want to make a decision right now to trust Jesus with your life or trust him again. I just want to lead you through a prayer. I'm not going to call you out or have you come up front, nothing like that, just right where you are in your chair. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life or trust him again, I want you to pray this prayer with me. You can say it out loud or you can say it in your heart. You can say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new today. I trust in your finished work on the cross today. I follow you in Jesus name. Amen, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.