Seize the Moment

As we sit, let's pray together.

Our gracious Father, we thank you for your word.

And we pray that this morning you would open our ears and our hearts and our minds.

Father, that you will do amongst us what you promise you will do.

And that is you'll change us from the inside out.

That we might truly be your disciples and may shine in this dark world.

To the glory of your name. Amen.

So the topic I've been given this morning to talk to you about is seize the day.

It's a phrase, a little more about that in a minute,

but it's a phrase that has been used a lot in leadership seminars.

I often think when the speakers of the opinion that the people in front of him are about to slip into a coma,

suddenly shout at them, seize the day.

Or again, in our current world, it sits very well with this kind of idea of well-being.

Where you'll have heard oft-quoted the phrase, live in the moment.

As if we could somehow easily ditch our past, many of you are prisoners of that past, as a matter of fact.

Or we could pretend that the future doesn't exist at all.

And there's a little whiff of what the Greek poet and philosopher,

with the unlikely name of Horace,

who wrote this set of four books called his Odes.

And it's in book one and poem number 11,

that he talks about seizing the day.

You get a little bit of that, don't you, in the Sermon on the Mount,

when Jesus is talking, he says,

take no thought for tomorrow.

Tomorrow will take care of itself.

Well, of course, what Jesus was dealing with there

was something that can be very crippling in our lives.

And that is, he was dealing with anxiety.

He's saying to the crowd there,

look, when you look at the birds of the air,

they don't worry about what they're going to wear.

I'm not going to put your hands up,

but I wonder if there's anybody in the house

who has started an evening out with that question,

I don't know what to wear.

So you go to a wardrobe which is copiously full,

and then you announce,

and I haven't got anything to wear.

Jesus said, you don't need to be anxious about that.

He's trying to deal with anxiety.

And there's nowhere in the Bible

where you would be encouraged not to think about your future.

Remember in Romans,

the letter to the Romans, chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Paul is dealing with a congregation

who are really dispirited.

They're being persecuted.

They're being harassed.

And the Roman authorities were like this.

As long as you lived by their rules,

they were fine.

But the moment you crossed those rules,

the full weight of the power of the Roman Empire

would fall upon you.

And you might even find yourself crucified upside down

on the Appian Way.

This is not a fun time to be a Christian.

And do you know what?

I don't think it's a fun time to be a Christian today.

Talk a little more about that in a moment.

But for now, back to Horace.

Horace wrote his poems.

The poem that he wrote,

poem number 11 in book 1,

goes like this.

He's arguing against

endless speculation about the future.

He says,

It's been a scholarly debate,

as there normally is around the classics.

What did Horace actually mean?

Did he really mean that we seriously

shouldn't give any thought at all for tomorrow?

Well, that's one scholarly view.

And of course, that's the way it's interpreted

in our culture today.

It's interpreted very much as,

go out there and get them.

Or even worse,

it's used as a kind of ticket

to a hedonistic lifestyle.

Hedonism is a philosophy of pleasure.

A lot of writers are writing about

the fact that the Judeo-Christian culture

that formed our own culture

has been pushed to the margins of society.

And in consequence today,

people seem to have no meaning

apart from what we read off from their lives.

And that is,

they want to get as much money as possible

and have a good time.

Incidentally,

just in case you're confused about this,

Christians aren't against a good time.

It's interesting that before I became a Christian,

that's exactly what I thought they were about.

When I became a Christian,

I realized that some aspects of my lifestyle

needed to be curtailed

in order that I could live

as Jesus wanted me to live.

And that's a great act of faith

on my part and on your part,

because living as Jesus wants us to live

is very often against the way

we would naturally live.

Blessed are the meek,

said Jesus when giving us the Beatitudes.

You tell me in the city of London

where the meek are blessed.

They're mostly giving a P45

and told to be,

we'll see you later.

But there's another interpretation of Horace,

and it's this.

When you seize today,

seize it in the light of tomorrow.

That is,

whatever you decide to do today,

think about the ramifications

in the future.

Never forgotten this heart-rending

personal story

on some documentary

on one of the Netflix

or one of those.

And this guy is 27 years old

and he's nearly dead.

And he's sobbing in front of the camera

saying,

if only.

20,

17 years ago,

when somebody said,

I've got something

that will cheer you up,

a street dealer.

And he took it.

And it was the beginning

of what became the end.

Three months after this documentary,

he died.

Think about

the decisions

you make today

in the light

of what outcomes

they might have

for you tomorrow.

That seems a very

reasonable thing

to think.

Yet so many people

don't.

I want to say to you,

I think that

the problem

in the Western church

is so many of us

who warn the people,

well, we don't have pews here,

we're business class,

right?

People who warn the pews

of churches

in the Western church,

in terms of their walk

with God,

in terms of their discipleship,

are cases of

what I would call

arrested development.

And I want to turn

to our Bible story now

and show you

that in this strange story

about blind Bartimaeus

and his meeting with Jesus,

there are four things

we really need to think about

unless we're happy

to remain

as cases of arrested development.

Let me tell you

what those four things are.

One is,

we learn from this story

that we can easily

be distracted.

Distracted from what God wants

in our lives.

two,

this story teaches us,

don't be intimidated.

Don't be intimidated

by the background noise

of our culture.

Thirdly,

it teaches us

don't lack in faith.

Believe it,

when Jesus said,

with God,

all things are possible.

And don't be mutable.

That means,

don't think

that you cannot change.

Some of you are sitting there

saying,

well, hang on,

I'm older than you, mate.

I'm too old to change.

Look,

the Bible teaches us

you're never too old

to change.

Think about Abraham.

He had to give up

his middle class lifestyle

at the age of 90

and go on a scary journey

and nobody at that point

had told him

where he was going.

With God,

all things

are possible.

Anybody in the house

believe that?

Someone say amen.

Amen.

So here we are

and this man

is seated

by the roadside

on the road

to Jericho.

Jericho.

Jericho is nearly

40 kilometers

away from Jerusalem.

Those of you

who have visited

the Holy Land

and very lightly

travel along

what's, you know,

now a modern

motorway to Jericho.

Back then,

it was just a track

and he's sitting there

and he's blind.

And there's no

public services.

There's no

companies

running with an idea

of inclusion

and including

disabled people

in that.

It didn't exist

then.

He had a

wretched life.

Some of you

are sitting there

saying,

me too.

May not be

blindness,

it may be other

stuff,

may be bereavement,

broken relationship,

whatever.

Illness.

And he shouts

out.

Says he hears

that Jesus is

coming.

I don't quite

know what that

means.

But he hears

Jesus is coming

and he shouts

out.

Jesus,

son of David,

have mercy

on me.

And here you

go.

What do we

read in the

text?

Christ.

Many rebuked

him and told

him to put a

sock in it.

I mean,

my words,

not the

Bible's.

Be quiet.

But he

persists.

And Jesus

stops.

You know,

I read those

two words in

the Bible

and here's

this man

who's had

this wretched

life,

no hope,

no public

services,

very little

money apart

from what

he can beg.

Jesus

stopped.

And Jesus

needs to

stop and

let you

know that

he's looking

at you with

compassion.

And that

his heart

is not set

against you.

He is not

happy if you're

the kind of

person,

who feels,

well,

I've been

dealt a,

you know,

duff set of

marbles in

this life.

He stops.

And he

wants to

help.

And this

man shows

his faith

because he's

persistent.

You know,

it would have

been easy

for this

poor,

blind man

to be

distracted

distracted by

the noise

of the

crowd.

Like many

of you

are.

The background

noise of our

culture today

is very loud.

Let me tell

you a statistic

which I think

will shock you

and if it

doesn't,

we'll get the

defibrillator

out.

young people

between the

ages of

nine and

14

spend nine

hours a day

in front of

a screen.

Now,

some of that

will be

learning time

in school,

I get that,

but a lot

of it will be

on smartphones,

a lot of

it will be

on television

watching so

much of the

utterly horrible

stuff that's

served up

these days.

You think

that's not

distracting,

particularly on

a developing

brain.

Frankly,

the outcomes

for tomorrow

of that kind

of behaviour

are potentially

horrendous.

And what

distracts you?

what are

you,

are you,

are you

sitting there

thinking about

God or are

you sitting

there thinking

about,

I wonder who's

been in touch

with me on

social media?

Are you

sitting there

thinking to

yourself,

I forgot to

put the

potatoes in.

I'm not

saying those

are completely

wrong

questions,

but they're

distracting.

And we

are a

distracted

culture.

Paul said

in Romans

Romans 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

he said,

don't be

conformed to

this world,

but be

transformed

by the

renewal

of your

mind.

We

better

start

working

out,

how the

heck are

we going

to do

this?

Because the

background noise

is overwhelming,

just like it

could have

been for

blind

Bartimaeus.

But he

kept going,

avoided the

distraction,

and Jesus

stopped.

Second

thing is,

it tells

us that

Bartimaeus,

a man who

would be

considered of

very little

worth in

his society,

nobody,

no barrister

is going to

represent him

and represent

his human

rights,

because truthfully,

he didn't have

any.

It would

have been

easily for

this worthless

man,

and as we

know today,

sadly,

some people

of disability

get horrible

things said

to them.

It would

have been

easy,

wouldn't it,

to be

intimidated

by the

rebuke.

And friends,

I need to

tell you

that I

think today

a lot

of us

who own

the name

of Jesus

are comfortable

when we're

sitting here

singing,

you know,

worshipping God

together.

We're comfortable

when we're

amongst our

Christian friends.

We're comfortable

when we're

doing God

stuff.

Maybe a bit

too comfortable

when we're

doing definitely

God stuff,

not God

stuff.

but I

think a lot

of us,

when we

go out

through the

doors of

this church,

feel a little

intimidated

about owning

the name of

Jesus in

our culture.

There is

evidence to

suggest that

you would have

good reason

for being

intimidated.

a lot of

you are

maybe working

for companies

who have

policy

statements

that as a

Christian,

you're not

comfortable

with.

There's an

organization that

represents Christians

who feel that

they've been

persecuted,

intimidated in

their faith.

I don't want

to call what

happens to

Christians in

our country

persecution because

it doesn't

compare well,

does it,

with the people

who be losing

their lives

today simply

for owning the

name of

Christ.

Intimidation,

I'll allow.

A lot of

people are

intimidated by

that.

Not just the

thing of,

you know,

I don't want

to be thought

of as a

religious fanatic.

It is the

thing that in

certain organizations,

particularly some

of the bigger

tech companies,

if you're not

prepared to sign

up to things

that you're

uncomfortable

with, you

will lose

your job.

Companies over

here, it is

true to say,

if you don't

sign up to

that stuff,

the likelihood

is you will

not get

promotion within

the organization.

Is it

fair?

Hate crime

in the last

two years

since lockdown

has gone up

by a third.

That is hate

crime towards

people of

faith.

death.

Now, I

think, and

you need to

hear this,

I think this

is a problem

that can be

seriously

overstated,

and sometimes

is, but I

also think it's

a reality that

can be

understated in

the church.

Friends, when

are we going to

wake up and

get the coffee

on?

I was

expecting when

I asked that

question, some

smart aleck would

say, after you

finish at the

back,

look, we've

got to get

beyond this.

We've got to

get beyond

distraction, we've

got to get beyond

intimidation.

What's the third

thing this story

teaches us?

Don't be lacking

in faith.

This guy didn't

recite the creed

before Jesus

healed him.

Jesus had no

idea where he

was, except

that Jesus

picked up this.

This man

thinks I can

heal him.

what does he

say to him?

Your faith,

your faith has

healed you.

A lot of

people in the

church, some

of you suffering

from sickness.

Some of you are

reaching the

senior years of

your life when

what used to

work okay doesn't

work quite as

well.

God.

And friends, I'm

not standing

here to tell

you, trust

Jesus and you

be healed

immediately,

though I do

believe that

Jesus could

heal.

And maybe

there's something

wrong in our

lives or something

wrong in us that

might get in the

way of that.

But what I am

saying to you is

that if the

worst thing

that happened

in your life,

i.e.

the old

enemy got you

and you died,

your faith in

Jesus means,

it means that

death will not

be a brick

wall for you.

that you will

enter into a

new quality of

life, almost

unimaginable to

us.

And faith will

reveal that to

you.

We all sit in

churches, don't

we, hoping that

we might see a

lot more mighty

works of God.

I share that.

I want to see

it.

I can't explain

why that's not

happening.

But I think a

healthy Christian

would want to

see some more

of that,

wouldn't we?

We'd want to

see people healed

of their

sickness.

Don't be

distracted, don't

be intimidated,

don't be

lacking in

faith.

We've been

told a little

earlier in

Mark's gospel

when Jesus

calmed the

storm and the

disciples were

terrified.

Jesus says he

rebuked them for

their lack of

faith.

I often think

if Jesus

metaphorically

stopped by me,

would he

rebuke me for

my lack of

faith?

Yeah, on the

other hand, the

Bible says, just

to reassure you,

you need faith the

size of a mustard

seed to shift

mountains.

God's faith to be

good.

God's faith to be

good.

God's faith to be

good.

God's faith to be

good.

We don't know what

kind of faith

Bartimaeus had, but

we know it got him

healed of his

terrible affliction.

transformation.

And finally, don't

imagine yourself to

not being capable of

transformation.

I think it's going to

be a hard road for

some of you.

It's been for me, and

I still should carry an

L plate on my back.

I wonder if

Bartimaeus, before he

met Jesus, before

Jesus stopped in

front of him, thought

to himself, this is

it, I'm going to see

again.

I don't know.

Maybe if I bump into

Bartimaeus in heaven,

I'll ask him.

I do know this.

I do know that the

moment we decide we

are unchangeable is the

moment we declare

ourselves to be cases

of arrested development.

I'm pretty sure if I

had to stick your hand

up, if you want to be a

case of arrested

development, I don't

think there would be

many hands up in

church.

But there might be

some of you.

who know yourself to

be a case of arrested

development, and are

comfortable with that.

Maybe today, God is

going to whisper in your

ears.

These four things, don't

be distracted, don't be

intimidated, don't be

lacking in faith, and

don't think yourself to be

unchangeable.

These are serious

things that can

undermine our faith.

There are other things

too, but I don't have

time for that.

Do you ever hear

yourself saying, I'm

only human, give me a

break.

I'm happy where I am,

leave me alone.

I'm not even sure whether

God loves me, whether he's

ever going to stop by my

life.

I don't want anybody to

think I'm a bit too

devoted.

I don't want people to

mistake me as a member of

a cult.

Let me tell you the bad

news and the good news to

end.

Whatever God needs to do in

your life, you cannot do in

your own strength.

strength.

Let me say that again.

Whatever God needs to do in

your life, you cannot, cannot

do in your own strength.

You can only do it when you

invite God in the power of his

Holy Spirit from deep inside of

you, if you're a believer.

to start to do his work of

making you more like him.

It's what theologians call

sanctification.

Making us fit for God's

kingdom.

kingdom.

I wonder if any of you are

prepared to do anything about

that today.

I think at the end there are

going to be some prayer teams

either side at the front here

and I would love it, but even

more significantly, God would

love it if you recognize that

you need to go and get somebody

to pray with you for something

that's just not working in your

life.

Come on, those of you who are

intimidated.

Come on, those of you who are

distracted.

Come on, those of you who think

you're too old to change or I can

never change.

My habits run too deep in my

life.

Come to me.

Come to me.

If you're the kind of person who's

lacking in faith and seek a

deeper gift, you notice that

Jesus said to this man, what do

you want me to do for you?

And I'm surprised that his

disciples didn't just go, duh.

It's pretty obvious.

There's a blind man begging Jesus.

Jesus, why did Jesus say that?

There's a psychological phenomenon.

And it's this, that if we've lived a

wretched life and been for so long in

the pit, the pit becomes security for

us and we resist attempts to help us

out of the pit, not least because if

we're being pulled out of the pit and

somehow we fall back in, it feels a lot

worse than we were before we started.

Explains why it is that those of you

who've got addictive illnesses find

it so difficult.

Your security's lying in the pit.

Maybe today.

God's saying, I'll give you a hand.

I've stopped.

Friends, this is a great passage and

God forgive me if I've not done justice

to it.

But this stuff is so important.

And I need to stop because you look

like you need lunch.

Come on.

Come on.

In this world,

we in the Western Church

have got to step it up.

It's too important for us just to

kind of half-heartedly

limp along.

You know that the Church of England,

it won't surprise you,

the Church of England in the last two

years has lost nearly 200,000

members.

That's 20% of who we were.

Nobody is going to be impressed by

distracted, intimidated

Christians.

Come on.

Let's seize the day.

Carpe diem.

And go out there

and do God's work

in God's way.

In the name of our amazing God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

and the people who agreed,

said together,

Amen.