“An Open Invitation”

**INTRODUCTION

Hello. Welcome to "Key to the Kingdom." My name is Bret McCasland. At one time or another, most of us have experienced a major health problem. It affected us physically. We were sick and perhaps even had to stay in a hospital. There were other times when we had a physical ailment that affected our ability to see, hear or to even eat. Now, all of those are not fun times, are they? We don't like it when such things happen. But oftentimes it affects our life, long term. There are some people, however, who not only have a health problem, but also a major physical ailment. They have both; and perhaps you know somebody in that position. Oh, it's a very difficult thing and, no doubt, a challenging situation; and our heart goes out to such people. In today's study, on “Key to the Kingdom,” we will read a story about a man who was blind and he had no food to eat. We might refer to such a person as a blind beggar. And that is not a derogatory term, it simply and respectfully describes his life. In the story, however, Jesus extends to him an open invitation to come and to receive from Him a new and changed life. Oh, it's an amazing story with a happy ending. And I hope you will want to hear it and then think about what it can mean for your life today. Please open up your Bible as we now study together.

**LESSON

In some of our recent lessons, on “Key to the Kingdom,” we have looked at various stories that are recorded for us in regard to Jesus' public ministry. They are in the Bible to help us know Him better, and they encourage and inspire us to walk in a closer relationship with Him. We also notice how Jesus interacted with various people who came into His life, and He made a difference for them. Well, Jesus is still in the business of doing that. And we see that revealed to us in another familiar story from the Gospel of Mark. Let's read the story beginning in chapter 10 and verse 46. <Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was 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 he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.> According to the latest figures I could find, there are over 1.1 billion people, or some 14% of this world's population, who struggle with vision loss. They have some sort of eyesight problem. They might wear glasses or contacts or reflective lenses, perhaps even reading glasses. Many of them have had corrective surgery or perhaps eye surgery of some sort or another. But our vision is a really big deal and we do whatever we can to protect our eyes. It is a terrible thing to be blind. And the man we read about, here in Mark chapter 10, was blind. He could not see. Likewise, many people in this world beg for food. Lots of people are hungry and their primary job each and every day is simply to find something to eat. And they sit outside of a building or a restaurant, or perhaps even along the side of the road, and they wait for somebody to give them something. Once again, it is a terrible thing to be a beggar. And yet again, we read here in Mark chapter 10, this man was a beggar. He had little to eat. Oh, to be blind and to be a beggar is almost unbelievable. And yet that describes the person we read in this story. Not only is he a beggar, but he can't see. Think for a moment about his daily routine. We don't know, we're not told how long this man has been blind. Perhaps he was even born blind. He could not see the sunrise in the morning or the sunset in the evening. He could not see the beautiful palm trees that surrounded the city of Jericho. Without any help, he could not make his way into the city, or he could not get out of the way if a chariot happened to be traveling in his direction. Bartimaeus was blind, and that only added to his problem of having to beg for food. Perhaps his family had rejected him because he was blind. They did not want anything to do with him and so they basically cast him out of his house. And so, he had to figure out life on his own. He had to depend upon other people to help him with his basic and daily necessities. And no doubt some did. They gave him something to wear, a coat. They provided him with enough food for him to eat on a regular basis. And then think about the loneliness, the security, or the insecurity and the danger with which he lived from one day to the next. He had little help and even less hope of living any kind of a decent life. Oh, some people had given him food. They had given him something to wear. They had helped him get from one place to the next. And all of those things were good. And no doubt Bartimaeus was appreciative of all the help he had received. And yet, there was something these people could not offer to this blind beggar. It was something which could only come from Jesus. But Bartimaeus was about to be in the presence of the One who was the “Bread of Life” and also the “Light of the World.” Bartimaeus was about to be in the presence of Jesus, the Son of David, who could offer people something to eat and who could be the light in their life. Well, Bartimaeus had faith in the One who was called Jesus. Indeed, he believed Jesus could make his life better. But the question comes, how had he come to believe in Jesus? Who told him what? On what occasion were all of those words exchanged? What was the background behind Bartimaeus coming to believe? Well, it probably came from hearing the stories of other people whose lives have been changed by Jesus. Perhaps some of them had been healed because they couldn't see, or fed because they couldn't find enough to eat. But through all of that, Bartimaeus had developed some level of faith in the One who was called Christ. He had heard their stories and he longed to be able to have the very same type of thing happen in his life, so he could tell his own story. Well, this desperate blind, beggar longed for an encounter with the Son of David. He longed to be in the presence of Jesus and to experience what other people had experienced themselves. So as Jesus was leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus learns He is coming his direction, and so he positions himself in a place where Jesus could readily see his poor, helpless situation. When he hears the commotion, he knows this could be the moment. He feels that perhaps something exciting is about to happen around him, and he is excited as Jesus makes His way to the edge of town. Well, what about Jesus? What was He doing there? We do know from the text He was on His way to the city of Jerusalem, which was about 20 miles away. He was going there for the Passover, and this would be His last Passover. This would be the occasion upon which He would give His life as a sacrifice for sin, for all of the world. And so Jesus had a specific purpose. He had to get to Jerusalem. He did not have any time to spare. He was on His way to do something significant. We also see, He had not spent much time in Jericho, from verse 46. In fact, He may have entered the city and then left it on the very same day. Yes, Jesus was on the move and He did not need anyone or anything to slow Him down. And yet, in the midst of all of the commotion going on, all of the excitement, all of the people, the noise of the animals and everything else, Bartimaeus shouts the words, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” The blind man did not ask for his eyesight to be restored. The hungry man did not ask Jesus to give him something to eat. He pleaded with Jesus for His mercy to be poured out upon him. That was his request. When he could sense Jesus was nearby he said, “Son of David, have mercy on me.” No doubt, Bartimaeus knew Jesus had demonstrated and He had given His mercy to other people; and he longed for that for his own desperate situation. He believed Jesus was the promised Messiah. He called Him the Son of David, which was simply another version of the Anointed One of God. Well, when he did that, people rebuked him for his actions. They knew Jesus had other places to go and things to do, and they didn't need this blind beggar slowing Him down. But that did not matter to Bartimaeus, as he continued to call out to Jesus, because in his mind this was his one and only chance for his life to be changed; and he was making the most of it. And so we notice the text tells us Jesus stopped. He had places to go, He had things to do, He had people to see; but when He heard the voice of the blind beggar, He stopped. Some 1200 years earlier it was near this very spot that Joshua called upon God to make the sun stand still. The story is recounted for us in Joshua chapter 10. And Joshua did that so that he and the army could defeat the Amorites. And sure enough, the sun stood still and prolonged the day so Joshua and his army could be victorious. And here, some 1200 years later, Jesus stops in His tracks because of the voice of the blind beggar. Bartimaeus would not be denied. He did not let other people stand in his way. For him, it was either now or never. He knew that in Christ there was a ray of hope, and now he passionately pursued it. And so Jesus calls Bartimaeus to come to Him. And Bartimaeus did not have to be told twice, did he? He immediately threw off his coat. He got up and he went into the presence of the Son of David, Jesus himself. We can just imagine how his life was about to be transformed. Here was a man who only moments before was desperate and hopeless. And he knew, that with every passing moment, Jesus was getting farther and farther away. And he knew that if the Son of David continued on His journey, then he would probably never see Him again. And so when Jesus called him, he immediately got up and he went into the presence of the Lord. After living in darkness, he now had the chance to be healed by the Light of the World. After being so hungry for so long, he now had the opportunity to be fed by the Bread of Life; and so he throws everything aside that would prevent him from being with Jesus. And when I think about that passage, I'm reminded of what the Hebrews author wrote in chapter 12, verse 1. <Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin which easily entangles. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith.> You know, sometimes in our lives today, we get entangled with the things of this world. We get trapped by them. And when Jesus invites us to come to Him, we can't get rid of that stuff. And so the Hebrew author encourages us to get rid of anything that clings so closely to our lives. And we see that here with Bartimaeus, he got rid of anything that would prevent him from immediately being in the presence of Jesus. And even though Jesus knew what Bartimaeus wanted, He asked him. And so the blind man simply said, I want to see. And he does so in complete faith. He knows Jesus, as the Son of David, has the power and the ability to heal him and to answer his request, and that is exactly what happened. Immediately and with no waiting, Bartimaeus could see. He did not have to sign in with a receptionist at the doctor's office. He did not have to read a magazine in the corner, waiting for his name to be called by the doctor. Nothing else was required. Bartimaeus was healed because of his faith in the Great Physician. The blind man was no longer blind. He saw everything everybody else saw. He saw the sun set that evening, and the sun rise the next morning. He did see those beautiful palm trees that surround Jericho. Yes, Bartimaeus had been made well. And then Jesus encouraged him to go on his way. And what happened? He didn't go back into town; instead, he followed Jesus. And that really doesn't surprise us, does it? He joined with all of the other people who were traveling with Jesus, and they began to follow Jesus as He continued to make His way into the city of Jerusalem. Those who had witnessed the miracle, which Bartimaeus received were there. And as they talked and as they walked with Jesus, no doubt they shared their stories. They talked about the impact Jesus had made upon their life. They talked about some of the things He had shared with them in their teaching moments. They talked about how Jesus had miraculously changed their life, opened their eyes, given them something to eat, made them walk, whatever it might have been. And they shared those stories as they continued on with the Lord. Well, perhaps there has been a time in your life when you felt like Bartimaeus. You were desperate to get some help. You were poor and blind spiritually, perhaps physically. You were helpless. Nobody seemed to care about the situation you were in. They didn't care what was going on in your life, and there was no way for you to find any kind of assistance. Or perhaps that's the way you feel, even now. And if so, I want to offer some things that I believe can help us, some things we can remember from this story. The first one is, Jesus sees what we need. Jesus sees the hungry people in third world countries. He knows who is having health problems and eye surgery in your town, tomorrow. Jesus sees and knows all. And even though He is engaged with the daily operation of sustaining the world, He still is able to see you and to see me. And the Lord already knows what we need, and He simply wants us to express our dependence upon Him. Here's a second thing: Jesus makes time to stop and listen. That's what He did with Bartimaeus, He stopped there in His tracks. He listened to Bartimaeus. We can never think Jesus doesn't make time to do the same with us. He listens to our prayers. We know that the Lord cares, even when a bird falls on the ground; and if He cares about that and sees that, then no doubt, He sees you and me and He listens to us expressing the needs and the cares in our life. Here's number three: Jesus is to be our first option, every time. No doubt there are lots of options out there when we are sick or when we are hungry. We can go to a grocery store, we can go visit a doctor, whatever it might be. But the Lord has already provided those opportunities for us. And so we turn to the Lord before turning to anyone or to anything else. Here's a fourth thing: There is to be no hesitation when Jesus invites us to come to Him. As the blind beggar did, we immediately throw off anything that keeps us from being in the presence of the Lord. And He extends us an invitation to come to Him. He invites us to totally rely upon Him for sustaining and providing the needs in our life. And it doesn't matter what those might be, He welcomes our request. But then here's one more thing, number five, and oftentimes I think we overlook this: When Jesus brings hope and healing into our life, we then follow Him. As we have received the Lord's free gift of salvation, we follow Him. We recognize Him to be our Bread of Life and the Light of the World. We recognize He blesses us in so many ways we cannot even imagine. And our natural response, then, is to follow Him. It is to walk in His footsteps. And then as we do, we do the very same thing Bartimaeus and those other followers did, we talk about what God has done in our life. We talk about the changes He has made in our life and the blessings we have experienced. We talk about the difference He is perhaps making in the lives of other people, our friends or our family members. In other words, we share in the excitement of how God has answered our prayers, and we are now living in the presence of the One who loves us so very much. In our daily lives we may attend Bible classes at our local church. We may have various groups of people we meet with on a regular basis. We have other fellow believers we like to spend time with, and various situations in life; and certainly that's good. But what is it that we talk about when we get together in those classes, in those groups or on other occasions? We might talk about our family. We might talk about our vacation plans, or whatever; and certainly there's time and opportunity to do that. But I would hope that when we get together with other like-minded believers, we talk about Jesus. We brag on Jesus and what He has done in our life. We recount the stories of how our life has been changed through our experience of knowing Jesus and growing in our relationship with Him. And so we get in line with all of the other people whose lives have been changed, and we brag upon the Son of David. We brag on the One who has given us the salvation and the blessings we need, every day. Perhaps you see yourself today as Bartimaeus saw himself. You see yourself as one who is spiritually poor or blind or hungry, without any help and with very little hope for your life. And now you have the opportunity to set aside, to throw away, the sin and the problems that that entangle you with this world. And now you long for the Bread of Life and the Light of the World, and what Jesus can do for you. And if so, I would encourage you to receive that open invitation, as He invites you to come to Him and to receive the blessings that He is most willing to give to you. Once that happens, then join with other believers in bragging on the Lord and telling your own story about how Jesus has impacted and changed your life, and how He is now your Lord and your Savior as you walk with Him each and every day. Yes, I would encourage you, today, to receive the open invitation that Jesus offers to you.

**VIDEO CLIP 

From time to time, big stores, like this one, have specials, which they advertise to the public. People are invited to come in and to make that purchase; and oftentimes people do. And then they get back in their car and they go on. Yet, that is not what the owners of the store want to happen. They want you to look at other things which are perhaps on sale and to make other purchases. When I think about that, I think that's the way it was with Jesus and some of the people who came to Him. They wanted an immediate fix. They wanted something that could help them. They wanted to be fed, they wanted to be healed, they wanted demons to be cast out, whatever it was. And yet, in the midst of that, Jesus not only performed that miracle and blessed them, but He would oftentimes offer them an invitation to follow Him, to become one of His disciples. I wonder if we don't do the same thing. We go to Jesus in prayer. We ask Him to help us, to solve our problems, to meet our needs; and He does. And then, we go on down the road. And yet, in the midst of that, He would want us to follow Him in every aspect of our life. He would want us to be His disciple and not to just look for the short term benefit or blessing we might receive from Him, but to think about the offer and the invitation to experience an eternity with Him in heaven. As we go to the Lord with our request and with our prayers, certainly we hope and we pray for an answer at just the right time. Yet, at the same time, let's look beyond those immediate needs and those immediate answers and think about the ultimate prize, the ultimate goal of spending an eternity with the Lord.

**CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining us for today's message. Jesus changed the life of a man who could not see and had to beg for food. I don't know what your life looks like, today. But whatever struggle you might be experiencing, I know Jesus can change it, too. This lesson, entitled “An Open Invitation,” is on our web site, at keytothekingdom.com. Many other lessons are there, as well, and any of them can be downloaded in a variety of formats. There is never a cost or an obligation to do so. To receive a weekly devotional message from “Key,” please follow us on Facebook®. That message is uploaded every Sunday night. Other ways to stay connected to this ministry are through a free phone app or through Roku® Television, and I hope you will access the media platform that best suits your needs. I want to say thank you, again, for being our guest today. It is our privilege to offer these messages from God's Word on a regular basis. And please, join us again next time as we continue to study the Bible on “Key to the Kingdom.”