Worry Easter Sunday Failure Given All We Need

Healing

Jeremiah 20: 9 says "Then I said, I will not mention Him, nor speak in His name any more. But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with holding in, and I could not stop."

Here is my translation of this verse, Jeremiah says: "God, I got sick and tired of telling your same message over and over and I decided that I would just keep my mouth shut. But your message burned in my heart so much that I felt like if I didn't speak your message it would explode out of my heart."

The point: I have been bringing the message I feel God wants me to share with you. I wanted to talk about something different but I can't. I truly feel like God is leading me to share this message with you. Some of you out there need to get serious about healing from your past failures so I can start talking about something else.

So turn in your Bibles to: Acts 9:9 And he was three days not seeing, and did not eat or drink. Paul (Saul) met his enemy Jesus on the road to Damascus and ended up blind for 3 days.

This was the turning point of Paul's life. He had been an enemy of the Christian believers, He was on his way to put more to death or into prison, and he meets Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Paul becomes blind from the encounter. 3 days blind.

Think about that. We know he was only blind 3 days, but Paul didn't know that on day 1, or day 2

Couldn't do anything for himself, was in a strange place so he couldn't even find the bathroom by himself.

Blind 3 days.

Why did God take away Paul's sight?
On the road to Damascus:
Paul saw the light,
Paul heard Jesus speaking,
Paul knew it was Jesus.

That alone would be enough to make a person re-think what he was doing. Why did God make Paul blind for 3 days?

Joseph spent a couple of years in prison, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep before God called him back to Egypt.

My question is this: Why?
why Paul blind 3 days,
why Joseph years in prison,
why Moses 40 years in the wilderness tending sheep.

Why? I think it was because something needed to change.

Faith is choosing I think Paul had to go blind
to realize something needed to change
I think Joseph had to spend some time in prison
to realize something needed to change
I think Moses had to tend sheep
to realize something needed to change.

I think it took Paul 3 days blind to make those changes,
I think it took Joseph a few years in prison to make those changes,
I think it took Moses 40 years to make those changes

What is it going to take to make you realize something needs to change?

What is it going to take for you to make those changes?

You need to face that failure of yours that seems so big,
take it to Jesus and make those changes.

Don't let it take you 3 days blind,
don't let it take years in prison
don't let it take 40 years in the wilderness
to make those changes.

I don't know who this message is for out there. But if you are carrying the heavy burdens, heavy burdens from your past failures from your past mistakes. If you have some serious failure in your life: sex outside of marriage, abortion, or trying to talk your girlfriend into getting one, repeated stealing or lying or something that feels that serious to you...

Then you need to quit running from it.

It is time to realize
something
needs
to change.

Make a decision to change
take it to Jesus
and get healed.

Know You Have a Problem?

Mark 10:46-48 And they came to Jericho. And as He with His disciples and a large crowd went out of Jericho, blind Bartimeus, the son of Timeus, was sitting by the side of the highway, begging. 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! And many warned him that he should be quiet, but he cried a great deal more, Son of David, have mercy on me!

10:48 says he did NOT cry out more,
he cried out a lot more, much more
Even when people told him to be quiet.

He wasn't embarrassed about asking for help,
The opposite: He didn't care what people thought
He asked for help not just in spite of what people may think
He asked for help in spite of what people were saying.

Bartimaeus knew he had a problem
It was completely clear to him what that problem was

When Jesus asked him what the problem was:
Mark 10:51 And answering Jesus said to him, What do you desire that I should do to you? The blind man said to Him, My Lord, that I may see again.

Bartimaeus knew.
He knew what the problem was,
He knew what the solution was.

He knew what needed to change.

Bartimaeus knew his problem was beyond his ability to change.
He knew who could help him,
And he wasn't afraid to ask.

And he did ask.
He ask Jesus for help.

Bartimaeus had it easy though,
he knew what the problem was,
what needed to change,
he didn't need to know what caused it,
he just needed to ask Jesus to help him.

Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, Go, your faith has healed you. And instantly he saw again, and he followed Jesus in the way.

If you already follow Jesus in the way, you are already a part of His family, how much more will Jesus heal you?

If you ask.

Our greatest desire is...
for people to come to know God personally. The simple truth is that there is a God who created you and loves you very much. (Genesis 1:1) He gave us life and deserves our gratitude and love.

We, however, have chosen to disobey Him and sin against Him; all of us have done wrong and failed to do what is right. (Romans 3:23) We may not be more sinful than our neighbor, or we may be far worse than anyone we know, it does not matter. Either way, we are guilty before God. (1 John 1:8)

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