HOW MUCH FAITH IS FAITH?

Luke 18, beginning at verse 35, says, “Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.” Jericho is significant in this verse. Jesus had just told his disciples that they were going up to Jerusalem. He said he would be delivered to the Gentiles. He told them he’d be mocked, insulted, spit on, scourged, killed—and rise again on the third day. Jesus is talking about this incredible victory He's about to win for all humanity. For anyone willing to trust in God, they will be saved. The blood of Jesus will cleanse us from everything we've done that has alienated or separated us from God. We will become God’s children. Scripture says Jesus took our captivity captive and gave gifts unto men, our promise for the future. This miracle is what the Jericho story is about.

Jericho has an incredible history. It’s where the people of God, who have spent years in captivity and then years in the wilderness, are brought by God's mercy into a place of promise. Jericho exemplifies what becomes ours through our Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a significant place because when Joshua and the children of that generation crossed the river of Jordan, they came to a stronghold in this place of promise.

When we start walking with God, very often, there'll be a stronghold there telling us we can’t go further. You're in the land, so just be thankful you're in the land, but you're not going to go into the fullness of what God has for you. The stronghold is mighty enough to keep you in bondage, even though you've crossed the river and are now in the land of promise. When the people of God were brought in, they circled the city for several days. God told them: “When I tell you to shout, shout.” When they shouted, the walls came tumbling down. These were some thick walls, so thick people even lived inside them. They were impenetrable, but God showed that generation and subsequent generations that when you call out to Him, He will hear you.

Many of us have had or are struggling with impenetrable things in our lives apart from the mercy and power of God. Remember the blind man from our first verse, sitting by the road begging. He knew Jericho’s history; all of the people did. Every day in the land of promise, it’s as if the Devil says, “This far, but no further.” Maybe you should be thankful you're part of the heritage of the children of God, but you're not going to go any farther.

The beggar is an inheritor of what God had given them and what was about to be given to them through Jesus Christ. He's begging for mercy, for just a little hope every day. It’s when we no longer have a grand vision of the future. You're begging God, get me through today. Maybe have somebody notice me in my pain and bondage. The beggar is in a place with a history of victory, yet he’s stuck. People may even walk past him, praising God for such a wonderful place. God’s promise must be extraordinary, but I've never seen it. Pastors like me are always up before people, talking about victory. The congregation might be sitting there thinking, “Must be nice. I’ve never seen it. My heart's not been healed. My eyes don't see a future. I'm still inside a prison. I don't have the strength to walk.”

The blind man hears a multitude passing by, and he asks the people why. They tell him Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. People hear us on our way to church today, and there’s an inquiry in many people's hearts. I've never seen such hunger as I'm seeing in this generation. There's a multitude of people going to church in America every Sunday and passing by all of the wounded, bruised, broken, bleeding, blind people. Churchgoers are scurrying by while those relegated to begging are just sitting there asking, “Where's everybody going?”

The people of Jericho told the blind man that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, which was beyond his normative hope. He probably heard about the man who could do miracles; people always told Jesus stories. Have you heard about Jesus? Jesus freed my daughter, helped my family, and healed my marriage. When the blind man hears that Jesus will be near him, he cries, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

The scripture says in verse 39: “Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’” Imagine those who went before the Lord, those who were supposed to be witnesses of Him, those who were walking with Him telling this man to be quiet. Churches nationwide would do the same today; maybe they would even get security involved. Yet, all they want is to be free. Folks, I'm going to tell you straight out that I prefer the cries over a silent half-dead church. God, send them here.

Back in Canada, when church was over, I formally dismissed the service, and then we would stay and pray and worship. Sometimes, we’d sing and pray for a few hours. After an hour of singing at one service, a lady stood in the middle of the church. She said, “Somebody help me. I'm lost.” Instead of throwing her out of the church, people gathered around, leading her to Christ and bringing her to a place where she could worship.

In Luke 18, the more people told the blind man to be quiet, the more he cried, “Have mercy on me.” I'm not willing to play a religious game, live in the past, or participate in all the religious niceties that accompany this journey with Jesus. I want a future. I want this inheritance that's supposed to be mine. I want my own song. Jesus came to give life and to give it more abundantly.

Verse 40 says: “Jesus stood still.” Probably two thousand people are traveling, and everybody's trying to push to where they want to be. You've got the political crowd trying to move them in one direction. You've got the bread people who just want them to keep baking and making bread for them. You've got all these people with all their agendas, and somehow, in all these agendas, they forgot their history. They forgot that Jericho's walls came down with a cry.

Verses 40–43 say, “So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
Let’s cry out to God to do what He’s done in days of old. God, you hear the cries that we don't hear, and when we become indifferent to struggles around us, you are not indifferent. When we're telling people who could be free to be quiet, you are saving them. God, would you help us to break out of our box that we've built around all that we do in your name? The blind man knew Jesus could help him; Jesus told him that his faith made him well.

How much faith did he have? We preach faith like this: You have to have faith in faith, build up this mountain of faith, and you’ll have it all together. You have to have all your theological ducks in a row, and you have to pray so that it's pleasing to God. How much faith did the blind man have? There's no evidence of an amount in scripture. “Have mercy on me.” That's the amount he had. It was enough! Don't get trapped into thinking you must see a mountain of theology. It's a good thing to study, but in your struggle, you don't need more than a cry—a cry to the one who came to set you free. Your faith coming into a prayer meeting and the cry it will produce in your heart is enough to make you whole.

What was the blind man’s testimony? “Listen, I was blind. I was on the side of the road. People were telling me to be quiet. I heard Jesus was passing by, and I just started to cry out, ‘Jesus, have mercy on me.’” There are plenty of people with this cry in their hearts. Maybe no one else hears, sees, or knows it. There might be nobody else in your house, room, apartment, or city block who even cares—but Jesus hears it. Even though He's got a universe to look after, He'll stop what He's doing right now because He heard your cry. He would say, “Bring them to me.” Jesus will ask, “What would you have me to do for you?” Do you know your answer? I believe in the immediacy of God.

It was a cry that brought Jericho’s walls down many years before, and it was a cry now that brought the blind man’s walls down. Oh God, would you help your people cry out to you? Would you give us the strength to make a difference in our generation? Would you give us those giftings you told us to belong to us because of your victory on the cross?

There’s no limit to what God can do. He gave a blind man sight, brought Lazarus back from the dead, and brought Elijah’s bones back to life. After all of these miracles, the men shared their stories. They followed and glorified God, but it wasn’t just them. When the blind man received his sight, Luke 18:43 says, “And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God."