Throw Your Cloak | Made New Part 2
Message Summary: There is a lot being shouted at us in life, but we always have the choice of what we believe.
Just like with Bartimaeus, we have lots of voices telling us who we are. If we believe that God is who he says He is, and we understand that everything we have is because of His great love, we can start to believe the things that are true. We need daily recognition of God’s love for us. It is not a question of if God loves us, but if we recognize and respond to it.
We can’t put on our new selves if we are thinking like our old selves.
God gave us the ability to think in the way that we choose. Our life changes when our thinking changes. We must ask this question: Where did this thought come from, and where is it going?
When life gets loud, we cry to God even louder.
Bartimaeus threw his cloak which was his only possession. He went all in. He shouted to God louder as the voices around him grew louder. When nothing in life is going right, do we still believe that God is who he says he is? Do we still believe that we are who God says we are. We are significant enough to come before the Lord.
- What are the voices in life that keep you from living like your new self?
- In what ways can we recognize and thank God for his great love for us?
- What does God say is true about you that is hard for you to believe? Why?
- In what ways do you cry out to God louder than the negative voices and patterns of this world?
Mark 10:46-52 (NIV) – Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.