Derek Smith
Lead Pastor
Luke 18:35-38, 40-43
35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”….40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God.
There is an old invitation hymn we sang when I was growing up as a kid called Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior. It is such a precious song and the words go like this:
Verse 1 Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
Chorus Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
Listen to it here: Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior
The theme behind the song is obvious, isn’t it? Oh Lord, I don’t want to miss what you’re doing in this moment. Come in and change my life today just as you are changing others. Do not pass me by. The blind beggar outside Jericho sang this tune and his life was forever changes by Jesus. He heard the crowd, someone told him Jesus was coming, and so he did everything in his power to get Christ’s attention.
Child of God, the Spirit of God is at work mightily in lives all around us. Jesus is transforming hearts, healing sickness, reconciling broken relationships, destroying the chains of addiction, and so much more. Yet, we often are too busy or too complacent to notice. It is so easy for Jesus to pass right by us. I challenge you not to let Jesus pass you by. May we not miss what God is doing in and around us simply because we are too busy or too distracted or too self-centered to notice. The moment we cry out to Jesus with an open and humble heart he responds, and the question is what do you want Jesus to do for you? Do we really long for a move of God in our lives that changes us forever? Would to God that we would cry out to Jesus like blind men just wanting to see! Oh Father, give us more of you this year! While on others thou are calling, oh Father, do not pass me by.