Meeting Jesus - What Do You Want Jesus To Do?
I always wanted to be a superhero.
As a child, I often dreamed about jumping off the ground, flying in the sky, and landing. In my dreams, I would run along the ground, leap into the air, and fly. Around clouds, through clouds, and in the sunshine. Then, after flying, I would land on the ground with a smile.
After I gave my life to Jesus, I still dreamed I could fly, but the dream changed. I still dreamed I could fly, but I wasn’t flying alone. I dreamed that as I flew, I would swoop down from the sky, scoop up my brothers and sisters, and give them rides of flight in the sky with me.
God used me to share Jesus with my two brothers and three sisters. Because of God’s grace, both of my brothers and all of my three sisters have surrendered their lives to Jesus.
I am willing to bet that many dreamed of doing something heroic in their lives to help other people.
Have you ever -
dreamed of being a superhero as a child?
dreamed of making a difference?
dreamed…of being a supervillain in life?
In our passage of scripture today, Jesus is, yet again, a hero. He changes somebody’s life. He reaches out to somebody his community ignores but cries out for mercy.
Let’s read about our true hero, Jesus, in Luke 18:35-43
Luke 18:35-43 (NLT2)
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” 42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
The blind man knew what it was like to feel alone, unwanted, and rejected. He knew what it was like never to fit in. To live on the margins of society. He never fit in because he was always the outcast. He wasn’t the outcast because he had drifted like the prodigal son. He wasn’t an outcast because he had cheated people like the tax collectors or had made sexually immoral choices like the prostitutes. He knew loneliness and rejection because of something beyond his control. He was rejected, an outcast, and alone because He was blind. He had eyes, but his eyes didn’t work. And people did not know what to do with somebody who was not like them.
He needed a Hero – but there was nobody who could help him. Sightless, he went from begging station to begging station, pleading for money and food and weeping for help that never came. I believe that many of us dream of making a difference in life to others because, in one way or another, we know what it's like to wait for help that never seems to come. We want to make a difference in the lives of others because we have been there before, and help never came. The first thing I want us to understand about this passage is this:
WHEN OUR STRUGGLES INTERSECT WITH FAITH, MERCY IS PRESENT.
Luke 18:36-38 (NLT2)
36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
The blind man only cried out for mercy because his blindness intersected with his faith in Jesus as a HEALER. He had heard about the great miracle worker. He had heard stories from former blind people that Jesus had healed them. Cripple people no longer ran in his circle because Jesus had healed them. He had heard the whispers of faith grow into legend…and now, Jesus was walking by him. So, he cried out for mercy.
He cried out because he believed Jesus was able to heal him. He cried out for mercy because he had faith Jesus could do in his life what Jesus had done in other people's lives. He was transparent. He made his need known. And he found mercy. Today, I want you to know the same Jesus that healed this blind man on the road is passing by you today. You can cry out and find mercy today.
Hebrews 4:16 (NLT2)
16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
But some won’t cry out for mercy. It’s not because they don’t want to. I believe they do not understand how destructive sin is in their lives. Jesus said those who do not call out for mercy are blind. In John 9:39, Jesus said:
John 9:39 (NLT2)
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
Often, when we think about the power of sin, we only see it as disobedience to God, but we do not realize the damage it does to us. So now, I want us to focus on:
THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF SIN:
INHERITANCE
When one family member engages in sinful behavior, it can reach out and contaminate others in the house. Sin doesn't just stop with one person; it has a domino effect. It keeps leading to more sin, and this chain reaction can suffocate. Sin launches a vicious cycle that feels unbreakable.
If you were raised in a dysfunctional, broken home, there's a high likelihood that you might repeat those same patterns when you start your own family. Sin traps people and families in its grip and drains the joy from their lives. It is crucial to recognize its trapping power to break free from sin’s cycle.
Are you sick of sin yet?
DEFLECTION
Do you remember doing something wrong but blaming somebody else? We have all done that at one point or another. We sin, blame, and accusations begin to fly. You try to shift responsibility to ease your guilt over what you have done. But because a destructive power of sin is deflection, you justify your behavior and say something like:
I act this way because…it was how I was raised.
I act this way because…nobody loves me.
I act this way because…somebody hurt me.
Let me be brutally honest with you: "So what?" Will you let something that happened in the past control you for the rest of your life? Blaming others or your circumstances may temporarily relieve guilt, but it won't lead to lasting change.
Taking responsibility for your actions and breaking free from the cycle of sin is the only way to regain control of your life.
Are you sick of sin yet?
NUMBNESS
The repetition of sin leads to a callousness in your conscience. Initially, when you engage in sinful behavior, you might feel a sense of guilt or the thought, "Oh my gosh, this is wrong." But if you do not listen to your conscience and the Holy Spirit warning you to stop this behavior, over time, if you continue, those feelings fade away. The flashes of shame on your cheek disappear.
Your heart toughens up, and you become increasingly indifferent toward sin. The destructive power of sinful flesh takes over, slowly numbing your conscience until you don't care anymore. You stop caring about yourself. You stop caring about others. You grow numb to the desire to repent and right in your life.
Are you sick of sin yet?
And that numbness to sin leads to another destructive power of sin. You thirst for sin becomes:
INSATIABLE
Like one gets used to a drug and wants something more, sin loses its ability to satisfy your flesh. It becomes easier to sin without having a guilty conscience.
Gossip grows.
Anger grows.
You lose your temper at little things.
Secret lust turns to the internet.
Internet lusts soon turn to clubs.
Lives are destroyed for one more hit of sin.
Just one more taste… one more whisper… one more night away from home…
The destructive power of sin is an insatiable desire to sin more.
Are you sick of sin yet?
SELF-CENTRIC
Sin makes everything about "me." Like wearing blinders, sin prevents us from seeing the struggles of others. Sin turns us inward. We focus on the struggles, problems, and pain that sin has brought to our lives. Sin keeps us wrapped up in our own world of self-pity. We stop caring about the feelings and needs of others. Our focus narrows, and we begin to live self-centric.
The problem is that followers of Jesus are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we can’t do that when we are focused on ourselves.
Are you sick of sin yet?
Jesus looked at the Blind Man and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
So, I ask you, if you are sick of the destructive nature of sin,
WHAT DO YOU WANT JESUS TO DO FOR YOU?
You do not have to settle for sin’s destruction in your life. You can be set free and receive mercy. Jesus is present. Turn to Jesus. Cry out for mercy. Submit to God and tell the destructive power of sin, “Stop. Sin. Stop Habit. Stop Numbness. Stop Self-Centeredness. Stop the Cycle. Stop shifting blame. In the name of Jesus, you will go no further.”
Psalm 91:9-16 (NLT2)
9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! 14 The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
By faith, turn to God and let him set you free.