What A Difference Jesus Makes!

There’s the story told about a man and his wife

spending a vacation at an oceanfront hotel. They

were very committed to work, family, and church

but they desperately needed some time off. One

night a violent storm sent crashing waves against

the shore. All during the night, they could hear

the power of the storm, the wind, the gigantic

waves pounding upon the shore. The man kept

thinking while lying in his bed about his own

storms and the continuous demands his business

made upon his life, and the strain it placed upon

his personal life.

Later that night, the wind died down and the

storm was over. The man got up early that

morning to see what damaged the storm had

made. All along the shore, he could see what

seemed to be thousands of starfish. Soon the sun

would pierce the clouds and its heat would dry

the starfish. Stranded on the beach the starfish

would helplessly die. But then he noticed a

strange sight. A little boy was throwing

something in the water. He was throwing the

starfish, one by one, into the water.

“Why are you throwing the starfish back in the

water?” the man asked the young boy. “There

are so many of them. What real difference can

you possibly make since there are hundreds of

starfish on the bank?”

“Well, you’re right,” said the boy as he picked up

another starfish and threw it back into the water.

As the starfish sunk into the water, he looked at

the man and said, “But it made a difference to

that starfish.” (Denis Waitley, Seeds of Greatness)

There’s a truth to that story, and it teaches us

that we can in many ways make a positive

difference in the lives of other people.

Beyond that story, I want to say, that when

we PRAY AND TRUST IN Jesus Christ, He

MAKES EVEN A BIGGER DIFFERENCE.

Our message this morning is this, WHAT A

DIFFERENCE JESUS MAKES!

TRUSTING JESUS MAKES ALL THE

DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!

When we Work, we work, but when we pray and

trust Jesus, then God IS AT WORK! In the Bible

God invites us to reach out in faith and receive

His blessings. A character in the Bible by the

name of Bartimaeus found out what a difference

Jesus could make in his life. If you will turn to

Mark 10:46, you will see his story. What a

difference Jesus made in his life. Let’s look now

at Mark chapter 10, verses 46 through 52.

What difference did Jesus make in the life of

Bartimaeus? I believe that’s an excellent

question, because many people don’t see the

difference. People say, “I don’t see any

difference in becoming a Christian. I don’t see

that it will make a change in my life. I don’t see

that there is a difference between Christians and

those who are not confessing Christians.”

What real difference is there by coming to

church? What real difference can there be by

giving tithes and offerings? What difference will

it make if I come to church, or if I come once in a

while? What difference will it make if I pray,

let’s say, 15 minutes daily, or if I pray once a

week? As far as I can see, I don’t really see the

difference.

It reminds me of visiting a man on several

occasions. His wife was a member of the church,

but he had no plans of coming. I asked him about

giving his life to Jesus, and coming to the church

services. I won’t forget his response: “Well,

preacher, here’s how it is, some do, and some

don’t and I guess I’m one of those who don’t.”

To him there really was no visible difference

whether you were saved, or not.

The truth is, whether we believe it or not, Jesus

does make a difference! And the first lesson we

can see is this:

1. Jesus makes a difference to people who

know they are in Need! v.46

There were MANY PEOPLE surrounding Jesus, but

one man had a desperate need. A great number

of people were close to Jesus, but out of the

multitude we can see blind Bartimaeus begging.

Bartimaeus was not the only blind person in the

story. There were many others blinded to their

own spiritual condition. It’s like churches today

surrounded by the gospel of Jesus, but have no

real desperate needs. It’s like what we read in

Revelation 3:17 “Because thou sayest, I am

rich, and increased with goods, and have need of

nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,

and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

We have need of Jesus this morning! We have

need of spiritual awakening this morning! We

have need of revival! We have need of a mighty