Key Scriptures: Luke 18:35-43
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
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Lesson One: Listening is central to the biblical story.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Romans 10:14-15, How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
James 1:19, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…
Proverbs 17:27-28, The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.
Luke 18:41, When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
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Lesson Two: Incarnational Listening.
• Incarnation—the act of being made flesh
John 1:14, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
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Jesus left his world and entered ours.
Philippians 2:3-8, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Hebrews 4:14-15, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
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Jesus lived between two worlds.
John 11:33-35,41-43, When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept.
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.” After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
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Ways we can model incarnational listening
We give our full attention
We step into their shoes
We listen to understand—not simply to respond
We reflect back what was said to us
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B.L.E.S.S.—5 MISSIONAL PRACTICES TO HELP INTRODUCE PEOPLE TO JESUS
B: Begin with prayer
When Jesus started His earthly mission, Luke 6 tells us that He went out on a mountain and prayed. Prayer is both how you discover your mission and how you live out the mission. Over and over again, we see Jesus retreating to pray. If you’re not sure who God is calling you to bless or where God is calling you to go to be a blessing, you can begin with prayer. And if you know the people you want to bless, begin praying for those people now.
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L: Listen
Asking questions and then listening was central to Jesus’s life and teachings. Consider the blind man in Luke 18. Jesus didn’t assume the blind man wanted to see. First, He asked, “What do you want me to do?” Then He listened…
In the Gospels, Jesus asked many more questions than He answered. Of the 183 different questions He received, Jesus answered only a handful. Any relationship starts with listening to someone’s words and life. True listening may be the kindest and most loving gift you can give someone.
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E: Eat
Over and over again, as in Matthew 9, we find Jesus with tax collectors and sinners…doing what? Eating! There is something about sharing a meal together that moves any relationship past acquaintance toward friendship–faster than just about anything else we can do.
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S: Serve
Jesus told us, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” He modeled for us that once you begin with prayer, listen, and eat with someone, there is a good chance that you’ll discover how you can best serve the person God is asking you to bless.
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S: Story
When people were ready to listen, Jesus would share His story. Like when doubting Thomas came to him asking, “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When you befriend and bless people, they feel relationally safe and want to know your story. This allows you to tell them how the love of God and Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection have changed you.