Dream Stealers

the poor from a distance was one thing - But stuck in traffic 3 I was suddenly face to face with an 8-yr-old boy - He was scrawny, malnourished 3 hair filthy and matted - He extended his hand and mumbled something - with a voice like so many others 3 dull, lifeless, monotone 3 as if he didn 9t expect much 3 yet hoped for anything - And I froze 3 just as his face has frozen in my memory bank 2 - More recently 3 India - A similar experience with a young girl 3 who kept tugging at my side - Desperate people whose only desire, dream is that someone with more wealth will share a portion with them But Bartimaeus had hope 3 vs.47 - Knowing that Jesus was passing by 3 Bartimaeus cried out 3 Son of David! - The title would suggest he recognized Jesus as the Promised One 3 the long awaited descendant of David - In this phrase he saw Jesus as Messiah 3 who can bring healing - cPity d me 3 two simple words 3 traditional words of a beggar - His words represent prayer in its purest, simplest 3 most basic form - The stuff of real prayers that capture the attention of God - That stop Him in His tracks - For chief among His possessions and that which He most loves to dispense is mercy But his words were met with scorn 3 vs.48a - He was a nuisance 3 he was an annoyance - He was a loser - QUIET!! Can 9t you stay in the background where you belong?<br><br> Instead of saying 3 quiet everyone, so that Jesus can hear him 3 they wanted him to quiet down so Jesus would not have to hear him 3 listen to his pleas - Jesus 3 after all 3 has more important things to do than be side tracked by a panhandler They were pretty clear about the kind of people Jesus had time for But 3 Bartimaeus would not be deterred 3 vs.48b - Daring, unafraid 3 he only shouted all the more 3 even if it irritated others - Unaffected by their preferences 3 unmoved by their indignities - HE REFUSED TO BASE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS ON THE DISPLEASURE OF OTHERS - His hopes for tomorrow on the response of dream stealers 3 He banked his hopes on the assumption Jesus was different - And He is 3 vs.49 - Jesus heard him 3 just as He hears us - While his pleas put off others 3 they attracted Jesus 3 who called him 3 calls us! Read vss.50-51 - Throwing aside his cloak 3 which until now was used to receive coins - Bumping into others 3 stumbling perhaps - He moved out of his world and into the world of Jesus - Out of gracelessness to grace 3 and Jesus asked one of the greatest questions a dreamer could ever hope -- - What do you want? What is your dream Bartimaeus?<br><br> - But what did this man want? Did Bartimaeus know? - A few shekels?<br><br> - A better begging site? - A training program for the blind? Maybe 3 maybe he did at first 3 but now 3 in the presence of Jesus 3 hearing the compassion in His voice 3 sensing the power in His presence 3 perhaps he began to realize 3 I am settling for far too less Vs.51 3 Rabbi 3 (Have mercy) so that I may see - He wanted his sight 3 so that he might have a place at the table 3 a place on the road - A contribution to society 3 an opportunity to no longer be reduced to begging - An opportunity to see the light 3 rather than settle for the darkness - Though He knows what we want already 3 God wants to know if we know what we want - Do you know what you want?<br><br> - And if you do 3 does it amount to a better begging site? - An answer that brings some relief 3 but doesn 9t get at the real issue? Vs.52 3 Jesus responded - And Bartimaeus was transformed from beggar beside the road to a disciple on the road - From hopeless 3 to hopeful 4 So what is God saying to us through this story?<br><br> 1 - There is this unrelenting truth that keeps being declared in Mark 3 and the rest of Scripture - GOD 9S MERCY IS RIDICULOUSLY INCLUSIVE - It 9s lavish, excessive, outrageous, and scandalous, freeing - It aims itself at prostitutes and tax collectors and failures of all sorts - the poor 3 the stuttering, irregular, broken 3 the prostitutes, lepers, tax collectors - Those who know they need His mercy more than anything else - Those who have received cF 9 9s all of their lives - As Yaconelli puts 3 God doesn 9t care who He loves - While others treat with disdain 3 He treats with dignity - While others tend to isolate 3 Jesus includes - While others intend to steal dreams 3 Jesus says 3 dream even bigger 2 - OUR MERCY MUST BE RIDICULOUSLY INCLUSIVE - But like this crowd 3 we are not always so inclusive - We, too, can sometimes get in the way of people hungry for God - Dismiss their appearance, standards, their styles if they are not in concert with ours This happened a lot - 10:13 3 people were bringing little children to Jesus 3 but the disciples rebuked them - A Canaanite woman wanted what Jesus offered 3 but His disciples replied 3 Send her away 3 she keeps crying out after us - A woman 3 well acquainted with failure 3 came to worship at Jesus 9 feet by pouring expensive perfume 3 but they responded 3 Don 9t waste expensive perfume The worst dream stealers of all 3 were the Pharisees - No healing on the Sabbath 3 no touching lepers 3 no forgiving of people 3 no hanging around sinners - Don 9t you get it 3 religion is about rules and regulations - Behave like the rest of us 5 Jesus was never intimidated - He would tell His disciples to knock it off 3 but they never really got it 3 that Jesus is profoundly committed to the marginalized 3 the rejected 3 the broken 3 the blind 3 those on the edge of society - RESTORING DREAMS TO THE BROKENHEARTED What about us? - In my ministry 3 I have had to deal with my share of people like this crowd - You may remember my story of Charlie - Newly came to Christ 3 greasy hair in a wheelchair 3 clapped after special music 3 the congregation wrote 3 cPastor 3 could you tell him we don 9t clap in worship! d - cWe don 9t lift hands 3 that would say we are charismatic d - cPastor 3 he should not be taking communion 3 he hasn 9t asked Jesus into his heart yet 3 tell him to stop doing that d - cHe 9s not wearing a tie 3 tell him he should not be leading worship d Grace robbers 3 dream stealers 3 spoilers of mercy 3 hindrances to kindness - Thieves of joy - Who are informed 3 more by their expectations 3 than by Jesus - Influenced by a bit of elitism, exclusivity, propriety - Have determined in their own minds who is worthy of Jesus 9 time and who is not - Careful about interruption 3 concerned about appropriateness - People who have learned to be silencers - Who are desirous of domesticating 3 harness people to their expectations - Who keep people from experiencing the fullness of Jesus - Silencing others 3 when they should be including CONCLUSION Maybe you are Bartimaeus in this story 3 longing for healing - Intending to dream new dreams - Come to Jesus But maybe you are all too much like the crowd - All too easily you squash dreams - Keep people in their place Maybe you need to dream again

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