Participants: John Dinzey (Host), Jamie Kowlessar
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000006A
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00:20 Hello, and welcome to Foundation of our Faith.
00:24 My name is John Dinzey 00:25 and it's a pleasure to be with you 00:26 to study God's word together. 00:29 Our speaker for this series is a blessing so far, 00:33 I'd heard him in the last sermon. 00:35 And my first time hearing him and I'm looking forward 00:38 for the sermon that we have today. 00:42 It is a message called Access Granted, Access Granted. 00:46 Our speaker is Pastor Jaime Kowlessar 00:50 and he is with us 00:53 with this message from God's word 00:56 and we are blessed also to have 00:59 Sister Sherice Tomlin- Bloomfield 01:02 that will be singing in a moment. 01:03 I would like to tell you a little bit about 01:06 Pastor Jaime Kowlessar, he is a native of New York. 01:10 And the Lord has blessed his ministry 01:13 as a highlight of what God has done. 01:16 Yeah, if my memory serves me correct, 01:18 the Lord brought him through several churches 01:20 including the Ephesus Church in New York 01:23 but the... church prior to the one that he-- 01:28 Bethany in New York. 01:30 He came in, there were 27 people as members, 01:34 but the Lord blessed in such a way 01:36 that about 300 people were there 01:39 after he left the church. 01:40 And the Lord blessed his ministry. 01:42 He is currently in Dallas 01:44 serving in the City Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:48 Dallas, Texas. 01:49 And he will be sharing a message 01:51 from God's word in a moment. 01:53 We would like to invite you 01:54 to pray before we continue, so therefore we ask 01:57 those that are present to please stand, 01:59 if you are able 02:00 and those that are joining us wherever you may be. 02:03 We ask you to pause and join us in prayer. 02:06 We want God's blessings for you 02:08 and we encourage you to pray with us. 02:10 Let us pray together. 02:12 Our loving heavenly Father, 02:14 we approach Your throne of grace in Jesus' name. 02:19 And Father, we ask you to bless each and every person 02:22 that is joining us 02:24 whether here or anywhere in the world. 02:27 We pray that your Holy Angels would draw near to them 02:31 and that your Holy Spirit 02:33 will illuminate their minds as they hear 02:36 Your words spoken through your servant Pastor Kowlessar. 02:40 We pray that You will speak to our hearts, 02:42 teach us, instruct us, give us courage 02:45 and help us Lord that if a warning is needed 02:47 in our lives to help us understand 02:50 that we must walk the narrow way. 02:53 We pray that your Holy Spirit 02:54 will bring that vividly to our attention. 02:57 And we pray for a blessing upon all 02:59 and we ask it 03:01 in the wonderful name of Jesus, amen, amen. 03:05 You may be seated. 03:06 We're going to ask Sister Sherice to come forward 03:10 and bless us with a song "The Lion and the Lamb" 03:13 and shortly after that you will hear 03:15 the preaching of a God's word, with Pastor Jaime Kowlessar. 03:17 God bless you. 03:33 Who is He 03:36 Who's the mightiest of all? 03:41 Who is He 03:44 Creation trembles at His call? 03:48 Who is He 03:52 The lowly sacrifice, who paid a victim's price 03:59 His name is Jesus 04:04 Jesus from the Father's own right hand 04:11 Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man 04:19 Jesus who died and rose again 04:26 Jesus, He's the Lion 04:32 And the Lamb 04:36 Who is He 04:39 With the power none can tame? 04:44 Who is He 04:47 That every foe would fear His name? 04:51 Who is He 04:54 Who was humbly led away 04:59 To suffer that dark day 05:02 His name is Jesus 05:06 Jesus, from the Father's own right hand 05:14 Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man 05:22 Jesus, who died and rose again 05:29 Jesus, He's the Lion 05:34 And the Lamb 05:46 He's the Lion and the Lamb 06:03 He's the Lamb that was slain 06:07 He's the Lion that reigns 06:11 My Savior and King both the same 06:19 Who is He 06:22 With the eyes that burn like fire? 06:27 Who is He, oh the wonder He inspires 06:34 Who is He, who bore the guilt and shame 06:41 For those who've gone astray 06:45 His name is Jesus 06:49 Jesus, from the Father's own right hand 06:57 Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man 07:05 Jesus, who died and rose again 07:12 Jesus, He's the Lion 07:17 And He is Jesus 07:21 from the Father's own right hand 07:26 Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man 07:33 Jesus, who died and rose again 07:41 Jesus, He's the Lion 07:47 And the Lamb 07:54 He's the Lion and the Lamb 08:01 He's the Lion and the Lamb 08:19 Happy Sabbath. 08:20 Happy Sabbath. 08:21 Praise God for the Lion and the Lamb, Jesus Christ. 08:26 That He is a Lamb that is there to comfort all of our needs 08:29 and also He's a lion to fight our battles, amen. 08:33 And so we thank God that we have-- 08:35 we have Him on our sides to fight every enemy 08:38 and every foe that comes up against His children 08:41 that He's a might warrior, He's never lost a battle. 08:44 I thank God for this wonderful Sabbath, 08:46 I want to say goodnight to those 08:48 and greetings to them 08:49 that are watching us on the television. 08:51 And I pray that they will find blessing and comfort 08:54 in our message for this evening. 08:56 With that being said, 08:57 I'd like to invite you to take your Bibles 08:59 and we'll go to the Book of Mark 10, 09:02 Mark 10:46-52. 09:06 It's a popular story, 09:08 I'm sure many of you have read over and over, 09:11 but I believe that we can draw 09:13 some fresh water from this well, 09:15 if you don't mind to indulge with me this evening. 09:19 Book of Mark 10:46-52 09:23 and I'll read and you'll be hearing. 09:26 The word of God says, "And they came to Jericho, 09:31 and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples 09:34 and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, 09:38 the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 09:42 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, 09:46 he began to cry out and say, 09:47 "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 09:51 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent, 09:55 but he cried out all the more, 09:58 "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 10:02 And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." 10:05 And they called the blind man, saying to him, 10:08 "Take heart, rise, he is calling you." 10:11 And throwing off his mantle 10:13 he sprang up and came to Jesus. 10:16 And Jesus said to him, 10:17 "What do you want me to do for you?" 10:20 And the blind man said to him, 10:21 "Master, let me receive my sight." 10:26 And Jesus said to him, 10:27 "Go your way, your faith has made you well." 10:31 And immediately he received his sight 10:34 and followed Him on the way." 10:37 With your prayers this evening, 10:38 I want to talk to you on a topic entitled 10:42 Access Granted. 10:44 Pray with me please. 10:45 God Almighty, we do thank You for this moment. 10:49 And we do thank You for your word. 10:51 We ask now Lord that as I speak Your words, 10:55 I pray that You would show up and show out 10:59 and that we would understand that You have given us 11:02 access to all the wonderful things 11:04 that You have in store for us. 11:06 Hide me behind Your cross, 11:07 may I not be seen but may You be lifted up. 11:10 And this we pray in your name Jesus Christ, amen 11:13 There's nothing worse in this life 11:16 than going through it feeling disconnected. 11:20 I mean there's nothing worse 11:21 than having a feeling of emptiness, unfulfilled, 11:26 without a reason or purpose to live anymore. 11:30 You see that's what I had to find as being 11:33 what's known as disconnected. 11:35 When you feel no connection with yourself 11:37 and no connection with God 11:40 and then it's hard to feel connected 11:42 to anything else in this world 11:44 because when you have lost that connection what God, 11:47 it's like you've lost all power. 11:49 I remember reading a story 11:51 and the story that was written in the book 11:53 called Spiritual Fitness. 11:55 And in that book the story was about some gypsies 11:57 who went to a conference in the United States. 12:01 You see these gypsies were from the Middle East 12:03 and they were glad to fly over to the States 12:05 for this conference. 12:06 And already these gypsies were desert dwellers, 12:09 but at the conference 12:11 they stayed at a beautiful hotel 12:13 and were blown away by the furniture 12:15 that was inside the room. 12:16 They were blown away by the queen size bed 12:19 and blown away by the chair 12:21 and the television that was inside their room. 12:24 But the most fascinating part of the room 12:27 was when they went into the bathroom 12:29 and they saw the faucet. 12:31 And when they saw the faucet their eyes lid up, 12:34 because they saw that 12:35 water was coming out of this faucet. 12:38 And so a light bulb went off one of the gypsy's head 12:41 and they said that if we could take this faucet back home, 12:44 it would make life for us so much better 12:47 and so believe it or not they unscrewed the knobs 12:49 and unscrewed the faucet head 12:51 and took it back to their desert. 12:53 And when they took it back to their desert, 12:55 they called everybody from the neighborhood and said, 12:58 come and see what we have brought home from the States. 13:01 And they put the knobs on a rock 13:04 and a faucet on a rock as well 13:06 and then they said, one, two, three 13:08 and when they turn the knob guess what happened? 13:11 Absolutely no water came out 13:14 and so reason why I'm telling you this story 13:16 is because the water in the knobs or on the faucet, 13:20 it was not connected to its natural resource. 13:23 And so when you are not connected to your resource 13:27 that gives you power, 13:28 it leaves you feeling disconnected. 13:30 And I guess what I'm really trying to say 13:32 to you this evening 13:33 is that when you move through life disconnected, 13:36 you don't have the resources to make it in this world. 13:40 And that's the truth for so many people today 13:43 that's in this world that we live in. 13:45 They move from day to day without the resources 13:48 needed to open doors 13:50 of opportunity for them to have a better life. 13:53 Because people live without the resource of insurance 13:56 which excludes them from proper healthcare. 13:59 People live without the resource 14:01 of adequately funded schools 14:03 which excludes them from a education 14:05 to make it fit for them to survive in this world 14:08 that we live in right now. 14:10 And so I chose this text today, 14:12 because here I see a man 14:14 who was born without a resource. 14:16 Here I see a man who was born blind 14:19 from day to day he has entered this world. 14:21 And he has never beheld the beauty 14:23 of the sun rising or a full moon. 14:25 He has never saw his mother or his father's face, 14:28 no employment, no prospects for marriage, 14:31 no social honor, 14:32 he was if you will at the bottom 14:35 of the social ladder of acceptance. 14:38 His world has foreclosed on him. 14:40 He has no icing dog. 14:42 He has no braille books 14:43 but he spends his nights and days 14:45 begging on the money, 14:47 begging for money on the street corner. 14:50 And the Bible tells us that his name is Bartimaeus, 14:54 son of Timaeus. 14:55 And so one of the distinct features 14:58 about the story is that 14:59 Mark goes out of his way to name this man 15:02 and when you look at different stories in the Bible. 15:05 It'll often just identifies individual by their problems 15:08 but Mark feels like 15:09 it's important that we know his name. 15:11 His name is Timaeus. 15:13 As a matter of fact his full name is Bartimaeus 15:16 but we'll focus on Timaeus right now. 15:18 When I looked up the word 15:19 and etymologically broke it down, 15:21 in the Hebrew the name Timaeus means 15:24 to be foul or unclean in a religious sense, 15:28 unpresentable to God. 15:29 So the name Bartimaeus in Hebrew bar means son 15:34 and so when we break down the name 15:37 and look at what it actually means, 15:39 it would be a better definition to say that 15:41 Bartimaeus' name actually means air of uncleanness. 15:47 His name means that 15:49 he's nothing of anything of nature of anything good. 15:52 Not to mention to make it worse 15:55 is that Mark goes out of his way to say 15:57 that he's blind. 15:58 So he is a man who is blind, who has a air of uncleanness. 16:02 He is the son of his father Timaeus 16:05 who is blind and unclean. 16:07 And so understanding this, 16:09 he is simply known as the poor one. 16:11 The son of a unclean man, the son of a pauper. 16:14 He inherits his daddy's dilemmas 16:16 and this daddy's trauma. 16:18 He inherits his daddy's name 16:20 because his daddy's name is like hand-me-downs to him. 16:23 It is like, it is Velcro 16:24 and all the negativity that has preceded him 16:28 is now stuck to him 16:29 and now it is stuck with him for the rest of his life. 16:33 Mark doesn't help his case either 16:36 because Mark identifies him as a blind beggar 16:39 and so to make matters worse, 16:41 Mark just wants you to know 16:42 that he's the disconnected from life's resources. 16:45 He is born disconnected 16:47 and because according to history, 16:49 Jews believe that blindness and poverty 16:53 was a direct result of God's displeasure. 16:56 And so if you were poor and blind 16:57 that meant God didn't love you. 16:59 If you were poor and blind that meant that God 17:01 didn't want anything to do with you. 17:03 As a matter of fact, 17:04 your situation is a result of the fact 17:07 that God wants nothing to do with you. 17:09 And if you would allow me to hang out here homiletically 17:12 and write this idea to the wheels for love. 17:14 We know and understand that everybody in here 17:17 probably from good grounded homes. 17:19 Good grounded stable situations, 17:21 names that only carry and exude greatness and power. 17:25 You didn't inherit anything bad that your parents have done 17:28 because you came from good places. 17:30 People don't know about what the past 17:33 or what people have done before you 17:35 because when you say your name, doors open up. 17:38 When people see you, they begin to smile 17:41 but yet still there are people that we know 17:44 and people that we have seen that. 17:46 If we mention their name, 17:48 people are reminded of who their parents are. 17:51 You see sometimes you may not understand it 17:53 but it may not affect you 17:55 but maybe something you have done 17:57 but it affects your children. 17:59 And when you get ready to drive them up 18:01 to their universities, 18:02 Southwestern or Oakwood or Loma Linda or Walla Walla 18:06 and the professor sees your son or your daughter's name 18:09 and then say I know that name, I remembered his daddy. 18:13 I remember his momma. 18:14 I remember the things that they used to do 18:16 when we were in college with them. 18:18 And now as a result of what their parents had done, 18:22 the child is now living with those effects. 18:25 You see that stuff is real. 18:26 It happens all the time and here is Bartimaeus 18:29 who is living with his father who is living with the name 18:33 that his father had 18:34 and now it is passed down on to him 18:36 because the text reminds us 18:38 that people will use the history of your heritage 18:39 to judge you in the present. 18:43 The text reminds us that people will not forget 18:46 and they will do everything in their power 18:47 to remind you of your past 18:50 and folk will always take excerpts of your life 18:54 and judge your entire existence upon that. 18:57 And so the Bible tells us 18:59 as we go further in the story that Jesus is leaving Jericho 19:03 and His disciples are with them, 19:04 and a great multitude is following Him. 19:07 And now allow me to remind you 19:08 about this place called Jericho. 19:10 Since you all are Bible scholars, 19:13 you know and understand that Jericho is a same place 19:16 that Jesus spoke about, 19:17 where a Samaritan was lying by the roadside 19:20 and that some individuals 19:22 did not want to help this Samaritan. 19:24 You see Jericho was not a place 19:26 that you wanted to be in late at night. 19:28 Jericho if you will, was a kind of place 19:31 if you were riding on your donkey, 19:33 you had bet to be careful 19:34 'cause you might get donkey jacked by 19:36 some of the criminals over there. 19:37 And so that's what Jericho is. 19:39 And so here Jesus is in the Jericho 19:42 and he is in a bad neighborhood. 19:44 And Jesus is there and he's ministering 19:47 and I love the ministry that Jesus had. 19:49 Because Jesus had a ministry 19:51 that was willing to hangout with some bad folk in Jericho. 19:55 You see, Jesus is hanging out with the people in Jericho 19:59 and Bartimaeus is there. 20:01 And that Jesus does not only go 20:02 or to find a wealthy places of society, 20:05 but Jesus chooses to visit some of the places 20:08 that none of us would even go to. 20:10 And here is Jesus in Jericho 20:12 and blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth 20:16 was passing by and he cries out. 20:19 And Mark plays around with words alignment, 20:21 he mentions Jesus of Nazareth. 20:23 Now because you are full of aware 20:25 that Jesus was a popular name 20:27 that there were other people claiming to be the Messiah. 20:30 As a matter of fact when Jesus walked the earth, 20:32 the name Jesus was a very popular name. 20:35 It was only because of the life of Jesus 20:37 and where we live and where in the society 20:39 that we live now that people tend not to use 20:42 that name commonly to name their children 20:44 but Jesus was a popular name. 20:46 Matter of fact, when Pilate had Jesus in front of him 20:51 and Barabbas in front of him as well. 20:53 The Greek original manuscript says, 20:55 whether of the twain would you wish for me to release? 20:58 Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Barabbas. 21:02 You see Jesus Barabbas was his first name as well. 21:05 And so you understand that when it says Jesus of Nazareth, 21:09 Mark is identifying that this is the real deal, 21:12 the real macoy because there was only one Jesus 21:16 that came from Nazareth and so I love this. 21:19 And so Bartimaeus cries out for Jesus of the Nazareth 21:23 as he was passing by to him. 21:25 Remember Bartimaeus can't see him 21:28 and he can't confirm him 21:29 but he has to go on the word of others 21:31 that he is in the neighborhood. 21:33 You see sometimes you just got to believe 21:34 that God is present. 21:36 Look, I'm telling somebody in this church right now, 21:39 or somebody that's watching on television 21:41 that you don't have to see God to know that God is near. 21:45 You just got to look around and realize 21:46 that the evidence of his existence 21:49 is not predicated on whether or not 21:51 you can physically touch or see God, 21:53 but the evidence is knowing that when I look around 21:56 and I see my surroundings 21:58 and I understand that I'm alive in here today 22:01 that there is a God that is out there somewhere. 22:04 When I look around and I hear people testifying 22:07 about the goodness of God, 22:09 when I hear songs of deliverance 22:10 and the word is preached with power, 22:12 I just got to keep telling myself, 22:14 I may not be where I want to be, 22:16 but I can praise God anyway because I'm alive today. 22:20 I could take advantage of God 22:22 because now I can worship Him in freedom, 22:24 in spirit and in truth. 22:26 It's evident that God woke me up for a reason 22:29 and because God woke me up this morning, 22:31 I'm gonna give Him praise 22:32 because God allowed me to get home safely. 22:35 I'm gonna give Him praise 22:36 even if He doesn't bless me with what I want. 22:39 I'm still gonna give God praise. 22:41 I'm gonna give God praise even if I don't have no shoes 22:44 because I got two feet to stand up on the ground with. 22:47 I'm gonna give God praise 22:49 even if I don't have my legs to stand with, 22:52 but I can still wheel myself in a wheelchair 22:54 that's still enough to give God praise, 22:57 because you have got to understand. 22:58 I'm not what you call a circumstantial praiser. 23:02 No, I'm not a flakey praiser. I'm not a feel good praiser. 23:07 But I'm a praiser in the morning 23:08 and a praiser in the evening. 23:10 I'm a praiser when I'm on a mountain 23:12 and I'm a praiser when I'm in the valley. 23:15 You see you don't know what I've been through 23:17 because there's a story behind my glory. 23:19 And when I give God praise, 23:21 I really don't care who is around me 23:23 or who is judging me because God understand 23:25 what I've been through and how he has brought me out. 23:28 Because I've been through the fire 23:30 and I've been through the flood. 23:32 But I've got a whole lot to praise God. 23:34 As a matter of fact 23:35 I praise God in the midnight 23:37 because it brings me into the sunlight. 23:39 Most of you are so smart and you know this already 23:42 but I'm gonna bless you with it anyway. 23:44 There is a difference 23:45 between a humming bird and a nightingale. 23:47 You see a humming bird only sing songs 23:50 during the day but it sleeps at night. 23:53 But nightingale sings its loudest song 23:55 when it is the dark. 23:57 When its pitch-black outside, 23:59 the nightingale lifts its voice in a upward crescendo 24:02 and that it sings highly when its at night. 24:05 But as I talk to a nightingale, 24:07 the nightingale explained this to me. 24:09 Yes, because you know Shakespeare says 24:11 there are sermons and stones and good in everything. 24:14 You can find a blessing in everything 24:16 so I'm having a conversation with a nightingale. 24:19 And a nightingale told me that I begin to sing louder 24:23 when I'm in dangerous situations. 24:25 When I find myself in urban areas 24:27 and I'm liable to lose my life, 24:29 I sing louder 24:31 because the enemy does not like when I'm singing, 24:33 they think that I'm awake and I'm awake and not sleeping 24:37 and so they move away from me. 24:39 And I said nightingale thank you for that word 24:41 'cause I'm gonna bless the folks 24:43 over a day to dream with that. 24:44 God expects us to sing when it's dark in our lives. 24:48 God expects us to lift our voices 24:50 when we feel like we're down. Why? 24:53 Because it keeps the enemy far away from us 24:55 because that tells them that 24:56 we are in tune and on pitch with our savior God. 25:00 And so I'm going sing my praises to God 25:03 in the morning and in the night. 25:05 And so here is blind Bartimaeus and it cries out, 25:08 son of David, have mercy on me. 25:11 Many rebuked him and told him shut up, close your mouth. 25:15 Jesus don't want nothing to do with you. 25:17 Can you imagine the audacity of these folk? 25:20 These are people who are following Jesus 25:23 but yet still they had the audacity 25:25 to tell Bartimaeus to be quiet 25:27 because Jesus wants nothing to do with you. 25:30 What we need to understand from this part of the text 25:33 is that just because we're on the same team 25:36 doesn't necessarily make us teammates. 25:39 What do I mean by that? 25:40 Just because we serve the same God 25:42 doesn't mean that 25:43 we are interested in the same things. 25:46 Because isn't that amazing that there are sometimes 25:49 in our lives that some of the meanest folks that we will 25:51 ever meet are church folk. 25:54 Some of the most judgmental and most critical folk 25:57 that you will ever meet are people 25:59 right inside of the church. 26:01 And here are they telling just blind Bartimaeus to be quiet, 26:07 God wants nothing to do with you. 26:09 In other words you are too low on the ladder of success. 26:13 Jesus has better people to heal. 26:15 Jesus has better people to deal with. 26:17 Just sit down be blind and stay in your position 26:21 and be glad that you are alive. 26:23 In other words what they are saying 26:25 is that you need to be quiet and leave Jesus alone 26:28 because He wants nothing to do with people 26:31 who are on income assistance by the government. 26:34 As a matter of fact be quiet 26:36 because Jesus has no time for the folk down in Ferguson, 26:39 Missouri that are marching for the rights of their son 26:42 that was shot blatantly. 26:43 Be quiet Jesus because he has nothing to do 26:46 with the alcoholic or a drug addict or a prisoner. 26:49 No, Jesus prefers to serve the have gots 26:52 and look over the have nots. 26:55 But the God I serve does not love-- 26:57 does not show impartiality to anybody, 27:00 He loves everybody. 27:02 And so what we have done as a people 27:04 is that we have not accepted all people as children of God, 27:08 whether good bad, 27:09 educated or educated, uneducated, 27:11 female or male. 27:13 But we have become respecter of purses, 27:15 preferring those who flatter and reward us, 27:18 bloat it with our own conceal, 27:19 blinds of Bartimaeus lying by the roadside 27:22 and corrupted by our own desire for personal gain. 27:26 There is a perplexing 27:27 and pending problem in our world. 27:29 We love to talk about hunger and poverty in Africa. 27:33 But we have not done anything to address the problem. 27:36 We love to talk about the lack of fathers 27:38 not being visible in this world. 27:40 But have not started 27:41 mentorship programs for our youth today. 27:44 We love to talk about Danroy Henry, 27:46 Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, 27:48 Michael Brown and lastly Victor White 27:51 who they claim shot himself 27:53 while he was in the back of a police car. 27:55 But we have not been on the frontline 27:57 fighting for their rights. 27:58 There's young people that are crossing the border 28:01 for a chance at a better life. 28:03 The countless girls 28:04 that are kidnapped and sold into slavery. 28:06 The text also reminds us by blind Bartimaeus 28:10 that it is a responsibility upon the church 28:13 to have ministries that reach to deaf, 28:15 to have ministries that reach to mute. 28:17 They have ministries that reach to blind. 28:20 We have overlooked these individuals. 28:23 And we have told them to be quiet. 28:26 We have told them that we can't do anything for you. 28:29 We can't get interpreters for you. 28:31 We can't get people to learn sign language for you. 28:34 And these are God's children as well. 28:39 And so in Exodus 2:23, you see the Israelites, 28:43 the Bible says the Israelites grown in their slavery 28:45 and cried out and they cry for help was 28:48 because of their slavery went up to God. 28:49 Exodus 3:7 says, 28:50 "Then the Lord told him, "I have certainly seen 28:52 the oppression of my people in Egypt. 28:54 I have heard their cries of distress 28:56 and their harsh slave drivers. 28:58 Yes, I am aware of their suffering." 28:59 There are people crying out today 29:02 and they are looking for us to hear their suffering. 29:05 There is still racism in America. 29:07 There is still things that we need to fight for. 29:10 There are still undercurrents of challenges 29:12 against people that we are indirectly, 29:15 may not directly call them 29:17 but we trick them in a certain way. 29:19 We may not use the end word 29:20 but we treat them as the end word. 29:22 I've learned the other day 29:23 that the I word is a bad word in our society today 29:27 that if you call somebody who is crossing the border, 29:30 a Latino or Hispanic person 29:32 and he legal that is just as bad 29:34 as calling the African-American the end word. 29:38 And every time I turn on the news, 29:40 I hear that word. 29:41 And God is calling us 29:42 to remember these people that are crying out for help, 29:46 to remember these people that are crying out 29:48 and not to tell them to be quiet and sit down. 29:51 Because when we do that 29:52 when we tell people to be quiet, 29:54 we are daring to say that 29:56 we are turning the church into a old boys club. 29:59 Therefore if you are part of the old boys club, 30:01 then you can be a part of our congregation. 30:04 And we have turn the church into some crazy country club 30:07 and Jesus is our country club president. 30:10 And our leaders who was entertained 30:12 by our special days our special rewards 30:14 and our special programs, someone who is entertained 30:17 by our religious shows but absolutely not, 30:21 God is not moved by our programs, 30:23 He is moved by our praise. 30:25 The word tells us 30:26 that after the people tell him to shut up, 30:27 he cries out louder and louder and said son of David 30:32 and he refers to God as the same title. 30:35 Don't ever let what people say 30:37 about you to change what you say about your God. 30:41 And so he cries out to the Son of David. 30:43 He says I'm gonna block out 30:44 all that chatter, that background noise. 30:46 I'm gonna cry out Son of David. 30:48 You see I understand because 30:50 I need the Son of David to cry out 30:52 and to help me get through this situation. 30:55 Not only does he cry out more, 30:57 but he knows that this is Jesus of Nazareth. 30:59 And so let's go back to what 31:01 we were talking about from, he is from Jericho. 31:03 Jericho was a bad neighborhood 31:05 and then he says Jesus of Nazareth. 31:08 What did Nathanael say about Jesus of Nazareth? 31:11 Nathanael said, can anything good come out of Nazareth. 31:15 So that meant that Nazareth 31:17 was not a good neighborhood as well. 31:19 And so by Bartimaeus saying, 31:21 Jesus of Nazareth look at me, you are in Jericho. 31:25 In other words look at this, 31:27 from a brother to another brother 31:29 from a bad neighborhood. 31:30 You got to hook me up because I'm crying out to you. 31:33 And so the beggar refuses to give up 31:36 because he is unsatisfied and the question remains today. 31:40 Are you unsatisfied with your life? 31:43 How unsatisfied are you with your relationship 31:46 with Jesus Christ? 31:47 Are you willing to cry out to Him 31:49 and to call to Him and to say 31:51 God help me get over my lethargic situation 31:54 from hanging out in the same place 31:56 because I want to know you better. 31:58 I want to pet for you like David says, 32:01 "As the deer panteth after the water." 32:03 In other words, 32:04 I want to crave for you Jesus Christ. 32:07 I don't want shallow water. 32:08 I want the deep streams of Your mercy and Your grace 32:12 and I'm your hunger and thirst after it, 32:15 because after all the reason why we have shallow Christians 32:19 is because we just are, 32:20 we are just surfing the waves of God. 32:23 We are not deep sea diving into the word of God 32:27 and so we end up shallow. 32:29 And so when we end up shallow, any wave that comes our way, 32:32 it will blow us away and drift us to the other side. 32:35 But when you're deep-rooted in God, 32:37 when you're deep-rooted in His word, 32:39 you can stand up no matter what situation you are in. 32:43 Most of you are aware of what palm trees are in. 32:46 Palm trees are very tall 32:48 and they're very high and very beautiful. 32:50 And a palm tree has a bendable trunk 32:52 and so that's why palm trees in Florida 32:55 and in most places or in Gulf or wherever it may be. 32:58 When the winds blow, 32:59 a palm tree can simply bend to the side 33:02 and pop right back up. 33:04 It will bend to this side and pop right back up. 33:07 That's because the palm tree 33:09 has a bendable trunk that allows it to bend 33:12 when storms and wind comes it way. 33:15 And so what I'm saying today 33:16 is that we got to be like a palm tree that bends 33:19 and that's able to pop right back up 33:22 when the enemy comes in like a flood. 33:24 As a matter of fact, 33:25 what makes a palm tree even more beautiful 33:27 is that they say that the palm trees roots 33:30 are as deep as it is tall. 33:33 And so the palm tree is able to survive 33:35 in adverse conditions 33:37 because its roots taped into a well stream 33:40 that other trees can't tap into 33:42 that gives it power to stand up. 33:44 And all I'm saying to you this evening 33:47 is that I am like a palm tree 33:48 that's planted by the rivers of water 33:50 because I am connected to a well stream 33:53 that gives me power and strength to stand 33:55 even when storms come in my life 33:57 because I'm deep-rooted in God. 33:59 If I bend to the left I can say, 34:01 "No weapon formed against me shall prosper." 34:04 If I bend to the right I could say 34:06 "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world." 34:09 And I'll always pop right back up 34:11 because I'm deep-rooted inside a word of God. 34:15 And so I'm loving this text because it gets gooder. 34:17 And why I love it 34:18 because the gooder it gets the better will I feel. 34:21 Yes, I made those words up. 34:22 I think I'm entitled to that every now and then. 34:25 And so here Bartimaeus refuses 34:27 allow the crowd to deter him or to give him up, 34:30 because the crowd pronounce a judgment on him. 34:33 And analysis of the verdict is that 34:36 because you are poor you don't deserve to have 34:38 your request even heard or granted. 34:41 Bartimaeus refuses to give up 34:43 and refuses to take their verdict. 34:46 And so what I love about the text 34:47 is that Bartimaeus understands that look here, 34:51 God you can do this for me 34:52 God, yeah, I'm not going to let anybody tell me to stop 34:55 because God I want you to bless me. 34:58 And so I've been reading this commentary 34:59 called Ched Myers. 35:01 And Ched Myers, the title of it 35:03 is a sociopolitical commentary on the Book of Mark. 35:06 And what Ched Myers is saying 35:08 is that you can't read Mark with a top down theology. 35:11 In other words you can't look at the eyes 35:14 or the Book of mark 35:15 from somebody who is outside looking into it. 35:18 When you read the Book of Mark, 35:20 you have to read it from somebody 35:22 who is in the story 35:24 and that you are looking for blessing. 35:26 And so that means you have to look 35:28 at the Book of Mark from a victim's eyes. 35:30 You have to look at the Book of Mark 35:32 from the eyes of Bartimaeus 35:34 and understand why his need was so important. 35:37 And so as Mark is saying, 35:39 and Mark is telling us the story of Bartimaeus, 35:42 Bartimaeus is crying out from the ground 35:45 and Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus 35:47 and Jesus looks and says I will part in you 35:50 because of what you've been through. 35:52 Because I love that, 35:53 because when you read the Bible like that, 35:56 you begin to read the Bible 35:57 from the place that you are supposed to do it from. 36:00 And it's amazing how God 36:02 can speak to you through situations 36:04 that where other people 36:05 are trying to tell you the opposite. 36:07 And so here Jesus hears a blind Bartimaeus 36:11 and he tells the crowd to go and get him. 36:13 As a matter of fact, 36:14 I love it because you notice earlier in the text 36:17 that this is the same crowd that told him to be quiet 36:21 but now this crowd 36:22 Jesus uses them to say bring him to me. 36:25 I love that because God sometimes will use your enemies 36:29 to bring you in the presence of God. 36:31 God will use the same people that talked about you 36:34 to bring you into His presence. 36:36 As a matter of fact I love to call it, 36:37 God can use your haters as your transportation, 36:40 your haters as your elevators 36:42 so that you can be at a better place. 36:44 You know I'm vertically challenged 36:46 and I love the text, one of my favorite text 36:48 is found in the Book of Psalms where God says, 36:51 "I will make your enemies your footstool." 36:53 Now what is a footstool? A footstool is beautiful. 36:56 You see God says, 36:57 "I will make you enemies your footstool." 37:00 Now being that I'm short 37:02 my wife and I have footstools inside of our houses 37:05 and so we use footstools to reach things 37:08 that we ordinarily could not reach without that. 37:11 Because we have things in cupboards 37:13 that we can get to, 37:14 so we put the footstool down and we step on it 37:17 and we're able to get to a higher place 37:19 so that we can reach something and pull it down. 37:22 And so here God is saying, I will make the people 37:24 that talk about to your footstool, 37:26 so that you could be at a higher place above them. 37:29 So you can be closer to me and pull down my blesses 37:32 so that you can have a wonderful life. 37:34 You're gonna get that when you go home 37:36 and you think about when you step on your footstool. 37:38 But I love it, God says I will use your enemies 37:41 as your footstool to elevate you. 37:43 And here the text says in verse 50, 37:46 that "Bartimaeus threw off his cloak, 37:48 got up and ran to Jesus.' 37:50 I love that. 37:52 He threw all of his cloak 37:53 or the mantle that was identifying his problem 37:56 because in the Old Testament or in the New Testament 37:59 that the cloak was identifying you in your poor state. 38:03 Bartimaeus says Jesus is calling me, 38:05 I got to let go off the thing that is identifying my problem. 38:09 Because you can't move forward if you are holding onto things 38:13 that yank you back into your past. 38:15 As a matter of fact you got to understand 38:18 that you have to let go what you're holding to, 38:20 so that you can grab whole of the blessing 38:22 God is trying to give you. 38:24 And so blind Bartimaeus lets go off the one thing 38:28 that he only had in this world to give it up for Jesus. 38:31 And I want to ask the question tonight, 38:34 to anybody who is in here. 38:35 What are you holding on to 38:38 that you do not want to let go off, 38:40 so that you can receive what God wants to give you. 38:43 Maybe it's a relationship, maybe it's a person, 38:46 maybe it is an addiction to something, 38:48 in order to get the blessing God has for you, 38:51 throw off that old cloak 38:53 and receive what God is trying to give you. 38:55 But what's better about the text 38:57 is that the Bible says 38:59 that he sprang up and ran to Jesus. 39:02 Now hold on, wait a minute, pause for a second. 39:05 He ran to Jesus. 39:07 How in the world could he run to Jesus? 39:10 The text does not say 39:11 that the people brought him to Jesus 39:14 but he says he ran to Jesus Christ. 39:17 Why do I love that? 39:18 Because sometimes you got to be able to trust God 39:20 even when you can't trace Him. 39:22 He is blind and he is running to Jesus. 39:25 That means he is following or running to Jesus by faith. 39:29 He is hearing God 39:31 as though he is listening to what he hears, 39:33 so that he could get closer to God. 39:35 Friends, we got to be able to run to Jesus and follow God 39:39 not based on the fact because we are looking for Him, 39:42 but because we hear in His word 39:44 that He is near and that we must follow Him. 39:47 And so here Bartimaeus runs to Jesus 39:50 and he runs to Jesus and Jesus says, 39:52 "What is it that I can do for you?" 39:54 And while Jesus called him, it's because Jesus realizes 39:58 that Bartimaeus sees Him for who He really is. 40:01 And so the question of the text is that we need to ask 40:05 who is really the blind one in this passage? 40:09 Is Bartimaeus blind? 40:10 Or is it those that were trying to shut him up? 40:14 You see that's what Mark is doing, 40:15 Mark is trying to paint a picture here 40:18 to show you that it is not Bartimaeus 40:20 who is really the blind one 40:22 because Bartimaeus sees and understand 40:25 who Jesus is in the first place. 40:28 But it is the followers of Jesus, 40:30 the ones whose eyes are open, 40:32 the ones who try to shut him out, 40:34 they are the blind ones to those that are needing help. 40:38 And so here Bartimaeus runs to Jesus. 40:41 He says Son of David, have mercy on me. 40:44 Son of the Blessed One, Son of the Living One, 40:47 I'm son of the rejected 40:49 but you Jesus are Son of the Beloved. 40:51 I'm son of the downtrodden, 40:52 but you are Son of the Accepted. 40:55 I know you are the truth, you are the Messiah, 40:57 You are the Living One. Have mercy on me. 40:59 I've messed up a few times, I've messed up a lot of times, 41:02 but please have mercy on me. 41:04 And then Jesus says, "What do you want?" 41:07 He says, "All I want is my vision, 41:09 I want to be able to see again." 41:10 Jesus says, 41:11 "It's because of your faith that has made you hope, 41:14 it's because you didn't give up on your faith. 41:17 Therefore I give you access to God's unlimited weaponry 41:21 that's outside of this world.'' 41:23 Because when you exercise your faith and trust God 41:26 even when you can't trace Him, 41:28 God opens the door for you that nobody in this world can. 41:32 Our faith is an admission ticket 41:35 to into the kindness of God and we receive access granted. 41:39 I love that access granted. 41:42 I remember when I was flying in over to Toronto 41:45 and I was late for my flight 41:47 and so as I'm rushing to get out of the car. 41:49 And I'm juggling all my luggage, 41:51 there come a brother and wants to have a conversation with me. 41:55 The brother says I noticed that you are struggling 41:58 and then you got a lot of luggage there. 42:00 And in my head I'm saying, 42:02 if you see me struggling with all these luggage, 42:04 why are you gonna talk to me 42:06 and hold me back from checking in to get my flight. 42:09 And so being the Christian that I am, 42:12 I said, yes I am, I'm struggling. 42:14 I need to get to Toronto 42:16 because I have a preaching engagement over there. 42:19 And so he said, well, good luck. 42:20 I hope you make it to your flight. 42:22 I said in my head, I don't need luck, 42:24 I need grace right now. 42:25 I need God to do something for me, 42:27 and so I finally got to check in 42:30 and put my bag in and run to the gate 42:33 because I was on the other end of the airport 42:35 only to discover that I had missed the flight. 42:39 I had missed the flight it had taken off. 42:41 I was about three minutes late, they had closed the gate. 42:44 And now I'm on standby 42:46 and I'm sitting down in the chair 42:48 and my name is last on the standby list. 42:51 But then as I'm looking at the kiosk, 42:54 I see a hand that goes like this. 42:56 And I'm looking closer 42:58 and I realize that it is the same brother 43:00 that was talking to me outside of the airport, 43:03 now he's behind the desk controlling the things for me. 43:06 And the brother said, come on to the front 43:09 and I came up to the desk and to the front 43:11 and he said, I noticed that you missed your flight. 43:14 I said yeah, I did. You were talking to me outside. 43:16 He said don't worry, I'm gonna take care of you. 43:19 I'm gonna move you 43:20 from the bottom of the standby list 43:22 on to the top of the standby 43:23 and I'm gonna get you on this next flight to Toronto. 43:27 And so after we wait for about three hours 43:29 the plane arrives and I'm getting on the plane. 43:32 And as I'm walking on the plane, 43:34 I didn't even board when I was supposed to. 43:37 I boarded late because I wasn't listening 43:38 to what was going on to the telecom. 43:40 Yes, I'm bad, I know it. 43:42 And so I'm boarding the plane 43:43 and I'm walking to the back of the plane 43:45 and the stewardess says, 43:47 Mr. Kowlessar would you like me to take your jacket 43:50 and I said wait a minute. 43:51 No, don't nobody take my jacket. 43:53 My jacket is my jacket. 43:55 And so when she's looked at me, 43:56 I said why do you want my jacket? 43:58 She said we often do that 44:00 for our passengers that are riding first class 44:04 because your seats says 1A, you are sitting over here 44:08 and then suddenly my countenance 44:09 and my face changed and I said, 44:11 it's about time you took my jacket. 44:13 It's time for me to sit down and so here I am 44:16 as I am sitting down in first class on a plane, 44:20 because while somebody 44:22 that who I had formed a little relationship with 44:25 had saw me in my distress 44:27 and decided to use their power to give me access to something 44:31 that I did not have in the first place. 44:33 Because what we got to understand 44:35 that God's delays are not His denials 44:38 and when you think God is closing the door for you. 44:40 He opens up something better and even greater for you 44:44 that you would never thought or imagined or accepted. 44:47 That's why the Bible says, 44:48 eyes have not seen, ear has not heard 44:51 nor has it entered into the hearts of man, 44:54 the things that God has prepared for him. 44:56 Now onto him that is able to do 44:59 exceedingly abundantly 45:01 above all that we can think or imagine. 45:04 And so I'm in first class 45:05 but listen to the story gets a whole lot better. 45:08 I'm in first class, I missed the first flight. 45:10 I land in Toronto and when I get to Toronto. 45:14 My person that was supposed to pick me up said, 45:17 it's a good thing that you were late 45:18 because if you have got here any earlier, 45:21 the meal that I was preparing for you was not ready 45:24 but now when you get there, 45:26 you're going to be able to eat a good and healthy meal. 45:29 And I said, hallelujah thank you Jesus 45:31 because sometimes I don't understand 45:33 what God is doing, 45:34 but I do know He is doing something. 45:37 And so you got to trust and cry out 45:39 and keep your relationship with God 45:41 because God will bump you up 45:43 and put you in from standby to being standing next to Him 45:47 and bless you in ways unimaginable. 45:50 And it's not because my ticket was special, 45:52 it was not because my ticket was another color. 45:55 It was not because of anything I did, 45:57 but it was simply because of a relationship 46:00 and a conversation I had with the man 46:02 that gave me access granted. 46:05 And here is Bartimaeus, 46:06 Bartimaeus has access granted why? 46:09 Because he had a conversation with Jesus Christ 46:12 and because of that conversation 46:14 with Jesus Christ, 46:15 he was able to ask God 46:16 the wildest dreams of his heart, 46:19 as we begin to wrap this sermon up. 46:21 I'm gonna close out with a story 46:22 of my three year old daughter. 46:24 My three old daughter's name is Katelynn 46:27 and Katelynn loves to dance. 46:29 And Katelynn always puts on the music 46:31 and she begins to dance by herself. 46:33 And sometimes as I am working on my sermon 46:37 or I'm working on something that I'm doing 46:39 or I maybe busy reading at the newspaper or a magazine. 46:43 Katelynn does this, Katelynn puts on the music 46:46 and Katelynn runs over to me and says daddy, 46:50 I want to dance with you and here I am, 46:52 I'm sitting there and I'm saying Katelynn, 46:54 I'm trying to do something right now, I'm busy. 46:57 And she says, daddy, I want to dance with you. 47:00 Why does Katelynn do that? 47:01 Because Katelynn understands that because you are my daddy 47:05 and because I have a relationship with you, 47:07 I could ask you the dreams of my heart 47:09 and anything that maybe outlandish and crazy, 47:12 but because you are my daddy, 47:14 I have know and I believe that 47:16 because this is not a bad request, 47:18 you will grant it onto me. 47:20 And because I know Katelynn is my daughter 47:22 and I'm a daddy that wants to make her happy. 47:24 I close my books 47:25 and me and Katelynn begin to dance 47:28 and we have a good old time. 47:29 And, friends, all I'm saying to you tonight is that 47:32 when you have a relationship with your daddy in heaven, 47:35 God our Father, 47:37 you could ask Him for the desires of your heart. 47:39 He says, "Ask and it shall be given to you, 47:42 seek and you will find, 47:43 knock and the door shall be given opened on to you." 47:47 Any good gift comes down from the father of lights. 47:50 And so if you wanted to say God dance with me tonight 47:53 and God will dance with you. 47:55 God open up a door for me 47:56 because I can't open this up for me myself 47:59 and God will open it for you. 48:01 If you want to say God, 48:02 just come and tabernacle with me 48:05 because he is your daddy 48:06 and because He have a relationship with you, 48:09 He will give you access granted to come into His room 48:13 and to invite Him and to doing anything 48:15 that you would like to do with Him. 48:17 And so here it is a beautiful story 48:19 of a man who started out on a street corner 48:22 who inherited his father's trauma, 48:24 who inherited all the bad in his life, 48:27 who people told him to shut up and leave Jesus alone, 48:31 but yet still Jesus overlook them 48:33 and said Bartimaeus come to me. 48:35 What is the desires of your heart? 48:38 And I believe that somebody 48:40 whether listening or here tonight. 48:42 There is a desire in your heart 48:44 to ask God to do something for you. 48:46 You need healing from something, 48:49 you've been struggling and you've been begging 48:50 and asking the wrong people to give you the right healing. 48:54 But now God is saying, you have access granted. 48:57 I'd die and when I die, 48:59 I split the veil from top to bottom 49:02 and what the blood of bulls and goats could not do, 49:05 I have done it with my precious blood. 49:08 Now you can come boldly before the throne of grace. 49:12 And you don't need a man on earth 49:14 to standing between you and I, you can bow right before me. 49:19 So tonight as you pray with me, 49:22 pray that you would have that Holy Spirit confidence 49:28 to go before God and ask Him for the desires of your heart. 49:33 And we're praying God Almighty, we thank You so much 49:38 that You look and that You see us 49:41 and that even Lord as You are passing by, 49:43 we pray that You would not overlook us. 49:46 We cry out to You Jesus of Nazareth, 49:49 Son of David, the Beloved One. 49:51 We know who You are and what You represent. 49:54 We know that You are an Almighty God 49:56 with all power in Your hands. 49:58 And Lord, yes, we have been blind, 50:00 we have been blind so long, 50:03 for such a long time that we have not even seen 50:07 our spiritual lethargic situations. 50:10 Yes, we are the blind ones, Lord, 50:12 that need our eyes to be open. 50:14 And even as a church, help us to open our eyes 50:17 and to see the suffering of our brothers and sisters 50:21 and not to ignore them or to tell them to be quiet, 50:24 but to invite them into the presence of Jesus Christ, 50:27 to remember that one day all of us Lord, 50:30 we weren't where we are right now. 50:32 And we're not even where we are supposed to be 50:35 that father God Almighty that You can bring us 50:38 and that You can redeem us from the pits of society, 50:42 from the cesspools that we are in, 50:44 clean us up and open our eyes. 50:47 And so God I thank You for access granted. 50:49 I thank You for opening up these doors. 50:52 Bless us and keep us, Lord, we pray 50:54 until we meet again, amen and amen. 51:03 Praise the Lord, pastor. Praise the Lord. 51:05 Praise the Lord. 51:07 Pastor as you were preaching 51:09 and you were talking about blind Bartimaeus, 51:12 I was rejoicing in the fact that the very first sight, 51:19 the very first thing that blind Bartimaeus saw 51:22 was the face of Jesus Christ. 51:25 The face of Jesus Christ, I praise the Lord. 51:27 I want to ask you pastor because we heard you say, 51:31 I never heard that illustration about the palm tree 51:34 and how it is deeply rooted. 51:36 And you said you were deeply rooted in the Lord. 51:39 So I would like to ask you this question because 51:42 some people maybe wondering 51:43 how do I get deeply rooted like Pastor Kowlessar in God? 51:49 Can you give us a moment of that? 51:53 It's the simple formula. 51:55 The simple formula is through prayer and study 51:58 to constant connection and communication with God. 52:02 And just always practicing what you read. 52:06 You see it's almost like, how I would say, 52:08 if you sit down in church or in any setting 52:13 or matter of fact if you go in some-- 52:15 if you go to a music teacher. 52:16 The music teacher is showing you 52:18 how to play the piano and showing you all the keys. 52:22 It's no good to you unless you actually play it 52:25 and so sometimes what happens is that 52:26 we read the word God and we study the word of God 52:29 but we don't put into practice the word of God. 52:31 And so by practicing it and living it out 52:34 and reading and studying it gets you ground deep-rooted 52:37 so that when situations come, you won't even think about it 52:43 but text will come to your mind. 52:44 And you know how to handle situations 52:47 and you'll understand that 52:48 I know that this war is not against flesh and blood 52:51 but principalities and power and rules of darkness. 52:54 And so I'm gonna come out of character, 52:56 I'm going to stay deep-rooted in my savior 52:58 because you can't pull me out 53:00 because that's how deep my roots are. 53:01 Amen, praise the Lord. 53:03 I was born in Dominican Republic, 53:04 so when you gave the illustration 53:06 about the palm trees. 53:07 In Dominican Republic we have many palm trees 53:09 and I've seen them 53:10 sway to the left, sway to the right 53:14 but they remain steadfast because they are deeply-rooted. 53:17 That's right. 53:18 And so the blessing that we have is 53:22 that we can get deeply-rooted in Jesus Christ 53:25 just like you said 53:27 and when trials and tribulations come, 53:30 we turn to Jesus. 53:31 That's right. Those source of our strength. 53:33 That's right, that's right. 53:34 And no matter how far you've been, 53:36 you can pull right back up amen. 53:37 'Cause that's God made that palm tree. 53:39 'Cause you're holding-- you're holding on to Jesus. 53:41 That's right. Amen. 53:43 Amen, praise the Lord. 53:44 Pastor, we have about three minutes or so 53:48 and we would like to get a glimpse 53:51 of what the next topic is, 53:54 A Little Prayer That Made A Big Difference. 53:56 Oh, absolutely, I'm excited about the next sermon. 54:00 We're gonna be looking at the story of the father 54:03 who brought his son to Jesus Christ 54:05 and he says, Lord I believe but help my unbelief 54:09 and so that was a small prayer 54:12 but it made a big difference because here his son was healed 54:15 and so we're gonna break that story down 54:17 and look into it and understand that, 54:19 you know, it's not in the length of our prayers 54:22 or the verbs or syntax 54:25 or the predicates of subjects 54:27 but it's just in that communicating with God 54:29 and God response to that. 54:31 And so here we're gonna talk about our belief 54:33 but the part of unbelief as well. 54:36 Amen, amen. 54:37 Well, pastor I would like to praise the Lord 54:40 for this message that we heard 54:41 many things to look at, many things to consider 54:44 and blind Bartimaeus-- 54:48 it's beautiful to see how Jesus completely changed his life. 54:53 You know, you mentioned that he left that cloak behind 54:58 that identified him with his past 55:01 and Jesus gave him a new beginning. 55:05 Now he could see, now he could appreciate 55:07 the beauties of the Lord 55:08 and appreciate the wonderful things 55:10 the Lord has made. 55:11 And so he had access granted. 55:15 That's right. Access granted. 55:16 And when we come to the Lord, 55:19 we have this access to the father 55:22 through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 55:24 And as you were preaching, it also made me think 55:28 about the wonderful blessing that when the Lord Jesus comes, 55:31 we're going to have access granted 55:34 to all the glories of heaven. 55:36 That's right, that's right, that's right. 55:39 And so God is telling us practice your access 55:44 that you have right now, 55:45 use it, I'm giving everything to you. 55:49 When I come in glory, you will see all those things 55:52 and I think that's the problem sometimes with us that 55:55 we live in a society that's based on empirical evidence 55:59 and the more we can touch it as the more we believe in it 56:02 but air is there. 56:03 We don't see it but we know it's there. 56:06 And so if we can trust and believe that 56:07 we have air to breath 56:08 and we can trust and believe in a God 56:10 who does show himself 56:12 but we have to have the eyes to see it. 56:14 And so God is saying here pray to me, 56:16 trust in me and believe in me 56:18 and if I've done it for Bartimaeus, 56:20 I can surely do it for you as well. 56:22 Amen, amen, well, I praise the Lord 56:25 when we hear Pastor Kowlessar preach. 56:27 We believe that he's preaching from the heart 56:30 and we believe that he believes what he preaches. 56:33 So I praise the Lord for that. 56:34 Well, brothers and sisters, 56:35 we thank you for being with us during this hour. 56:38 This is the program Foundation Of Our Faith. 56:43 This is the program brought to you by 56:44 Dare to Dream to encourage you 56:47 and to build up your faith in God's word, in Jesus Christ. 56:50 And so we want to encourage you to continue to follow Jesus, 56:54 consider this lesson of blind Bartimaeus 56:57 and you will find that 56:59 your strength is in Jesus Christ 57:01 and as you hear that messages like these, 57:04 you will find that you are becoming 57:06 more and more deeply-rooted in Jesus Christ. 57:10 So we thank you for joining us. 57:11 We ask you to pray for Dare to Dream 57:13 and support Dare to Dream also with your finances, 57:16 so we can keep bringing messages like these 57:19 and change lives all over the world. 57:21 Thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time 57:23 on Foundation Of Our Faith. |
Revised 2015-04-30