Turn with me, if you would, to Mark chapter 10, and we will read two verses in this wonderful chapter. And notice the cry of one of God's lost sheep. And the amazing thing is, the Lord stood still. Oh, my. This man, he continued to cry out to Christ, And this is such a picture of one of God's lost sheep crying out for the Savior.

This man who's going to be crying out is a blind man. And his name is Baramaeus. And he sits by the highway begging, begging. And he's waiting for the Messiah. God, we will see, has given this man faith to believe, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to see him as the Messiah, as the only savior of sinners. And that's what he does for every believer, isn't it? He gives us eyes to see. And ears to hear.

Look at verse 46. We're going to read actually more than just the two verses. We'll read starting in verse 46 of Matthew chapter 10. And they came to Jericho all by the plan and purpose of God. Isn't that amazing? Oh, our God is sovereign. And as he went out of Jericho, this is Jesus, with his disciples, and a great multitude, or a great number of people, followed them.

Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timotheus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he had heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out. He cried out to God in the flesh. He cried out to him. And what did he cry? Oh, is this not a sinner's cry, beloved? Jesus! Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Oh, I love this text. Because this is what we cry all the time as believers, isn't it?

And look at this next verse. This is the God-man, and look what it says. He hears the cry of one of his sheep, and look what happens. And Jesus, look at this. Look at this. In verse 48, we see the people there charged him that he should hold his peace. Don't say anything. This is Jesus. You don't need to cry out to him. And what's he do? He cries out the more. Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

And now here's a remarkable verse. Here's a remarkable verse right here, verse 49. And Jesus stood still. He stopped. He, hearing the cry of one of his lost sheep given to him from eternity, beloved, he hears his cry. Beloved, he hears our cries and he stops. God in the flesh stops. Oh, that's the cry of one of mine. Oh, my. And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.

God calls every one of his sheep, every one of his lost sheep, he calls them with an effectual call, beloved. And look at this, and he casted away his garments, rose and came to Jesus. He threw aside his garments, and he ran to Jesus, beloved. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

Beloved, we were blind. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We were blind to the things of God. We were blind to the Christ of God. We were blind to the Messiah. We were blind to his blood and righteousness. Yeah, we were, weren't we? And look at this. And Jesus said to them, to go thy way. Thy faith had made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way.

Look at that instant. Instant cleansing. Instant. That's pictures us being cleansed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know what? Something for us to ponder. I was talking to someone today and I said, you know, I was saved 2,000 years ago. And they went, what? I said, I was saved 2,000 years ago. And when the Lord regenerated me, when I was born again, I found out about that. I was given faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but he saved me 2,000 years ago. based on a plan and purpose of God from eternity. And did I have anything to do with that salvation? I had nothing to do with that salvation, did I? Oh, my.

And the scripture says that you can't tell the difference between an heir and a servant before they're born again, before the heir is born again. And then when the heir is born again, because they are sons, Galatians says, God has sent the spirit of his son into their hearts, whereby they now cry, I have a father. Oh, God's our father, beloved. And he always has been. My, oh my.

But so someone asks you, when you were saved, say, 2,000 years ago at Calvary's Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I've just found out about it. Isn't that wonderful? Oh, it's absolutely wonderful. Think of that. We were born dead in sin. We had no idea we were one of the redeemed. We had no idea our sins were bought and paid for 2,000 years ago. Did you? I had no clue.

And here's a cry. Here's a cry of a poor beggar man. Oh, we're bankrupt sinners, aren't we? We're beggars. Beggars. I'm one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread as I preach the gospel. And this man, he was determined to do anything necessary for Jesus to hear his voice. They said, shut up, shut up, don't bother the master. And the Lord stood still when he heard that. Now son of David, have mercy on me, the cry of a sinner. Oh, the Holy Spirit had given him faith to believe on the Messiah. He was born again. And then he cries, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Oh, my.

And they charged him that he should hold his peace. But he cried the more. You know, a team of wild horses couldn't stop this man from coming to Christ. He's being drawn by the irresistible grace of God the Holy Spirit. He's already born again. How do we know that? Well, the Lord said, your faith made thee whole. He cried out in faith, Jesus, have mercy on me. Is that not what we do, beloved? Oh, is that not what we continue to do in our Christian life? Because we fall so much, we sin so much, and we're constantly, oh, Lord, have mercy on me. And he does. He already did 2,000 years ago. Isn't that remarkable? It's finished. That salvation is not dependent upon anything I do. Before I'm saved and after.

Well, then you're saying people go do whatever they want. Uh-uh. They won't. True believers won't. We're constrained by the love of Christ. It's remarkable. Jesus Christ came to save his people from their sins. And, beloved, he did it. And here's a lost sinner crying out to Christ. Oh. And the Lord Jesus Christ says, Thy faith hath made thee whole. How did he get that faith? He's born again by the Holy Spirit of God, isn't he? Oh, how do we have faith on the Lord Jesus Christ? We're born again by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. We have faith and repentance before God, don't we? Oh, praise his mighty name.

And this man wasn't discouraged. I love this. God in the flesh stands still at the cry of one of his sheep. My, this is remarkable, Mark 10, 49. And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying, be of good cheer, be of good comfort. Rise, he calleth thee. Oh, again, a team of wild horses couldn't stop and look at verse 50. And he, casting off his garments, rose and came to Jesus. Oh, my. If you're being drawn by Christ, my, you run to him. You run to him. God's people are made willing. The unwilling are made willing in the day of God's power. It's not by praying a prayer. I heard this awful thing this week. Some guy, some false preacher, for, must have been 10 minutes, telling people all this and that, and he said, bow your head and repeat this prayer. And then he said, now you're a child of God. There's no regeneration there. That's scary, beloved. You must be born again.

And when the Lord has drawn us to him, we cry out for mercy. Have mercy on me, Lord, please, or I'm going to perish. Oh, it's amazing. Mine. He had heard in the scriptures, this man had heard in the scriptures that there was going to be one who would arise from the seed of David, a prophet, a prophet who worked miracles. He'd heard there's one who's risen, who's who's rose from the seed of David. And right now he's performing miracles. Oh. Oh, and he heard, he preached glad tidings to the poor. And this man, by the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit, and the faith that God the Holy Spirit gave him to believe on Christ, was absolutely convinced that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Not was, is. He still is, isn't he? He's still the savior of sinners.

And this blind man, by faith, by God-given faith, could see the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy about Christ. My, he was convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Oh, yes. He's been born again. He's been given true faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And he cries out to him, look again, Mark 10, 51 and 52. And Jesus answered and said unto him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said, Lord, look what he called them. See, God's people call them this. We don't make them this. We call them this. I went through one time and preached on this. And all these people who were converted, they all call him Lord. He's already Lord. We just acknowledge it, don't we? Oh, yes. I love this. And the blind man said, Lord, then I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, what a picture of us crying out for mercy to God and its immediate cleansing of all our sins through his precious blood and his precious righteousness. Look at this. And Jesus, verse 52, and Jesus said unto him, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately, no physical therapy, no putting eye drops in the eyes for three weeks. He received his sight, and what's he do? He followed Jesus in the way. Oh my, he can see, praise God. It's all because of that man, the man Christ Jesus. The one he cried out for mercy.

And God not only had mercy on him and gave him his sight, but God saved his soul. Oh, how much more precious. Our sight is precious, but how much more precious is our soul?

And in every example of Christ healing the person, this is a picture of how he saves the soul. If you not cry out to Christ for mercy, it's my hope and the hope of the folks in this church that you would consider the claims of Christ and that you would cry out to him.

Oh, you may have done a lot of commendable things in the name of religion, but have you cried out to Christ for mercy? You may not be able to see, but you can cry out for mercy. This man couldn't see, but he could cry out for mercy, couldn't he?

Oh. You may not be able to get up and get into the pool of Bethsaida like that man. Every time he tried to get in that pool, someone else got there before him. But you can claim, like me, helplessness and hopelessness before God and say, God have mercy on me. I'm a sinner. I need to be saved.

You may not be healed of your issue of blood as the woman who had an issue of blood, but you can touch the hem of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can touch the, when you hear the garment or when you hear the gospel, oh Lord, please save me. Have mercy on me. Have mercy on me.

And that'll come by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. If you cry out like that, it's because God, the Holy Spirit done a work in you. My oh my. And that only happens by the grace of God. Even preaching comes to us by the grace and mercy of God. Mine.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved. Look unto me and live, all ye the ends of the earth, the Lord says. Look unto me and live. There is life in the look to Jesus. There's life in the look to Jesus. Bartimaeus had no sight, but he had ears and a voice, didn't he? Oh, yes, he did. And he used what he had. Therefore, when the Savior passed by him, and Bartimaeus cried out to him with all his might, the cry of a sinner. Oh, the cry of a sinner for mercy. And the Lord Jesus Christ stopped and called him to himself. God calls lost sinners to himself. And God's preachers and people rejoice over that fact, that God has mercy on sinners such as we. And when the Spirit of God brings this gospel of salvation through Christ alone, by his blood and righteousness alone, to your heart, nothing will stop you from crying for mercy. And we see that continued.

This man followed Jesus. And when they told him to be quiet, he kept calling out to Jesus, have mercy on me. And the Lord stood still. If you think that he does not hear you, cry a great more deal. Cry out to him even more. That's what this man did. Cry out to him more. Do not give up in despair. Do not be afraid to come to Jesus, because he's the only savior of sinners. Oh, and notice the Lord called him. to himself. He said, tell him to come. And what do we preachers do? Come to Christ. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. He's the only savior of sinners. Oh. And the only reason that we cry out for mercy to God, to the Lord Jesus Christ, is because God's drawn us to Christ. He calls us, beloved. Glory to His name. And I'll tell you, sinner friend, when He calls you, you will come to Him. When He calls you with an effectual call by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, you will come to Him. We're all living proof. We who are the people of God. Because there was a time when we did not come to Him. And by grace and mercy, He drew us to Him. My, and what does he do? He saves us from all our sins. He actually did that 2,000 years ago, and we find out about it. But we have to be born again in time, don't we? Yes, we do. We hear the gospel of salvation through Christ alone by his blood and righteousness, not by anything we do.

See, when Christ died on that cross, right? For all the saints that are alive right now, all of us, we had nothing to do with that. He saved us from all our sins by the shedding of his blood and by living a perfect life before God, weaving a coat of righteousness that we're now clothed in. Oh my! My! And what does Christ say? To sinners He saves, be of good comfort. Be of good comfort. Fear not. Fear not. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Praise the mighty name of Jesus. Amen and amen.