Hello, its been a busy few weeks. But we are back to worship our God. Let's do just that.
Let us sing: O What A Wonderful Day
Scripture Reading Mark 10:46-52
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
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As we journey into prayer let us sing: Good Good Father
Please pend the next few moment in personal prayer.
Then join with me in The Lords Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Let Us Listen
One of the most frustrating things in the world is when we’re trying to tell someone something and they just won’t listen. But what about when someone’s trying to tell us something. I heard someone say once that most conversations aren’t dialogues at all. In fact, there are two concurrent monologues: two people talking at each other instead of alternately listening and then talking.
You know when you’re trying to get something across to someone, and you can see it in their eyes that they’re not actually listening to you? They’re figuring out what to say next. I’m sure that is something we are all guilty of. You see it everywhere. You see it in families—people are talking at each other, but somehow no one is listening. Why is that?
Well, there have been some significant changes in society over the last decades. I remember when I was growing up, children would be seen but not heard. Well, praise God that’s changed. Kids are more included in the life of a family and entertained more than they were in the past as society has become less formal. Society is becoming less structured. As time goes on, it seems it’s becoming more open. People everywhere are more aware of the world through the media.
In one sense, it’s a really good thing, that people are becoming more open and free to speak. But having a relationship is not just about speaking. Having a relationship is about listening too. I love the story where Jesus was walking along, and he had been healing people all Day, and there was a massive crowd following him. Imagine if someone came to your town and healed blind people and people who had never walked before, started walking. Probably people would flock around this person like a rock star, like The Beatles have come to town. They would flock around him.
So, Jesus had this huge crowd following him. And there were a couple of blind men begging because there was no social security, no N.H.S. They were begging on the side of the street, and they were crying out to Jesus. They were trying to get through the noise of the crowd, and people were saying, ‘Be quiet, you guys, this guy is really important, don’t bother him.’ And Jesus heard them, and he turned around. And what he said to them, was incredible. I mean, here is the Son of God, he knew exactly what they wanted, and even if he wasn’t the Son of God, he didn’t have to be Einstein to figure out what they needed. Here is Jesus healing people, here are these two blind men on the street begging, what are they going to want from Jesus? Obviously, they all want some healing. But the very first thing that Jesus said to them is a question. He said, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
Questions are the most empowering form of communication. When someone asks you a question, how do you react? When someone says to you, ‘tell me about yourself, what are your likes and dislikes? Did you enjoy that? What do you think about this? Wow, I never quite saw it that way. How did you come to that conclusion? I need to think that through. What if we came at this from a different angle? How would it look then?’
Questions make us lean forward into something. Questions involve us. Isn’t it wonderful when someone sits down with you at a function or a party, or just for a coffee and a meal and they just ask, how we are you? Its engaging. Its bonding. It can be life enhancing and life changing.
There’s a secret that most people don’t know about questions. It’s a secret that Jesus knows, and it’s the reason that he asked these two blind men, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
And the secret is this: inviting them into a dialogue. The question, what do you want me to do for you, shows them that they are valued. It showed them that Jesus noticed them. It showed them that Jesus wanted to invest in them. To walk alongside them. It’s a building of a relationship, it’s an invitation to express who they are and what they need.
I believe, in society today, the best way to gain respect and to open people up is to ask them questions. We have to learn to close our mouths when someone else is speaking. We have to learn not to talk over people—how many of us talk over one another and we just don’t realize it—it is such an incredible act of disrespect. We have to learn to ask, how are you. And we have to listen. We need to deliberately, ask questions. And when people answer them, sit there, and listen and understand, understand their position, and where they’re coming from.
There are two sides to this whole thing of questions. Firstly, on one side of this coin is respect—it’s investing in a relationship. And on the other side, it just makes sense because you find things out. We need to seek first to understand and then to be understood. One of the things I have learned to do when listening, is when someone has spoken, to show that I understand, I say, is this what you’re saying?’ And when we can explain it as well as they can, then we’ve heard them. And at last, they feel, that someone is listening to them.
Jesus, when he was teaching his disciples to pray, he said, ‘You know, your Father in heaven already knows everything that you need and want but ask him anyway.’ God wants us to speak. God already knows what we need, but he wants to hear us speak. It’s a relationship thing. He loves us.
Learning to listen is one of the most productive things I have ever done, and I’m still learning. Instead of judging a book by its cover, instead of shutting someone down, instead of just not listening to them, what I have gained is the benefit of the wonderful gifts and abilities and insights of other people. One of the most valuable things that we can do is look at Jesus and say, ‘Jesus was and is a listener. Maybe I need to be a little bit more like Him. Maybe I need to learn to listen for a second.
What do you want me to do.
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They neem me they need you then need Christ
The Lord bless Thee and keep thee
The make his face shine upon thee
And be gracious unto thee
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee
And give thee peace
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