Good morning. Let's open this
morning's service with hymn number two from your hardback hymnal.
Hymn number two, Love Divine. Let's all stand together. Number
two. ? Love divine, all loves excelling
? ? Joy of heaven to earth come down ? ? Fix in us thy humble
dwelling ? ? All thy faithful mercies crown ? ? Jesus, thou
art all compassion ? Pure, unbounded love Thou art, Visit us with
Thy salvation, Enter every trembling heart. Breathe, oh breathe, thy
loving spirit into every troubled breast. Let us all in thee inherit. Let us find that second rest. Take away our bent to sinning. Alpha and Omega be, End of faith
as its beginning, Set our hearts at liberty. Come Almighty to deliver, ? Let
us all thy life receive ? ? Suddenly return and never ? ? Nevermore
thy temples leave ? ? Thee we would be always blessing ? ?
Serve thee as thy hosts above ? Pray and praise thee without
ceasing, glory in thy perfect love. Finish then thy new creation,
pure and pure. Let us be. Let us see thy great
salvation perfectly restored in thee. Changed from glory into
glory. till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and
praise. Please be seated. Good morning. We want to welcome Rochelle Nobles
with us today. You met Rochelle a couple weeks
ago when she was here visiting Michael Bolton, and she has now
moved here, and they're going to be getting married soon. So,
Rochelle, we're happy you're here. And then a good friend
of mine and Bert's from Great Falls, Montana. Mitch, where'd
you go? There you are. Mitch Oppime. I had a chance to visit with
him a few times out in Montana and preach for the group out
there. And we're just so, so happy to have Mitch here with
us today. So welcome. Let's ask the Lord's blessings
on our time together. Our merciful heavenly father.
Once again, you have brought us to this place. You've promised
to meet with us. Lord, how dependent we are on
you fulfilling that promise and how hopeful we are in knowing
that you are faithful to keep all that promises. Lord, we've
come here in hopes of meeting with thee. We've come here in
hopes of you rending the heavens and coming down and speaking
to our hearts and revealing to us your glory and your accomplished
work of redemption. Lord, we are not worthy of how
hopeful we are for your grace and for your mercy. We ask it
in Christ's name. Amen. I told the men in the study this
morning that I have read and studied Daniel chapter 10 and
chapter 11. I think I understand some of
it. I know that it has to do with prophecies concerning the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there's a lot of details
in those two chapters. As of yet, the Lord has not given
me a message for you out of either one of those chapters, so unless
He does, we will be finished with Daniel for now and see where
the Lord leads us next. If you open your Bibles with
me to Mark chapter 10, I want to speak this morning to
beggars, to beggars. If you're a beggar, then this
message for you And I trust that you'll be greatly encouraged
to know that God is pleased to bless beggars. He makes us beggars
and then he fulfills that which we are begging for. Most people are not beggars.
Now, I'm not talking about being a beggar when it comes to worldly
things. That would be shameful. One would have to lose all dignity. It would be humiliating for us
to be reduced to being a beggar. And I've heard men say, well,
I'm not a beggar when it comes to God. And the reason why they're
not is because, like being a physical beggar, they've not been humiliated
in the presence of God. They've not been made completely
dependent upon Him for everything. They believe they have something
to bring. Well, I can make a decision.
I can pray a prayer. I can produce a work. I can do
something that will turn the hand of God in my favor. I'm here to declare from the
authority of God's Word that all men have nothing before God. And unless God makes us to be
beggars, we will go without nothing. Scripture says that you thought
that I was altogether as of yourself. In other words, men fashion their
idols in the image of themselves. And the God that they worship
is nothing more than a figment of their own imagination. And so men thinking that God
is like them conclude that they're not beggars before God. They've
got something to give God. The truth is that he is holy,
holy, holy. He's other than we are in every
way. He is the glorious, self-sustaining
I am. He needs nothing from you and
me. He stands completely independent
and solitary in and of himself. We, on the other hand, are dependent
on Him for everything. Everything. I pray that the Lord
will bring us to the place to where we will see that we have
no claims on God, that we will understand our complete dependence
upon Him, and that He will make us from our hearts to be mercy
beggars. Lord, it's completely up to you.
Completely up to you. Now, the good news is that our
God delights in showing mercy. He really does. What God requires,
God must provide, and so we are dependent upon Him to make us
to be mercy beggars and then provide that which we beg for
Him for. Lord, we need your grace, we
need your mercy, we need righteousness, we need our sin to be put away.
Lord, if you're not merciful to us, we've got nothing that
we can offer you to force your hand to that end. In our text this morning, we
have a beggar. Not only is he a beggar, but
he's blind. and he represents every single
one of us. How merciful the Lord has been
to give us this story in the scriptures. I want us to consider
from verse 46 in Mark chapter 10 where this man was from because
he's from the same place that you're from. He's from the same
place that I'm from. I want us to consider What was
his nature? Now in the Bible, names translate
into nature. And so when the Lord changed
Jacob, who was a supplanter and a deceiver, that is what he was
by nature and that's what his name means. When the Lord changed
his name to Israel, which translated means prince, God did a work
of grace. God did a work of grace making
him to be a prince of God, making him royalty, placing him into
the very kingdom of God. And so it is with the name of
our Lord, isn't it? How oftentimes we hear of the
praise and the glory of His name. His name represents His nature,
His character, You shall call his name Jesus for he shall,
he shall, Jesus Jehovah saves. The same word, same name we have
for Joshua in the Old Testament. Moses wasn't able to bring the
children of Israel into the promised land. Why? Because Moses represented
the law and the law had to be put away. And no one found the
body of Moses after that. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth. The law was satisfied. Joshua, on the other hand, Joshua
and Caleb, the only two that survived the wilderness after
40 years, everyone that came out of Egypt now is dead, every
one of them except for Joshua and Caleb. And who do Joshua
and Caleb represent? What does Caleb's name mean?
We're talking about the names and representing character, and
Jacob's name means a faithful dog. I remember when Hugo and
Zobie named their firstborn son Jacob, I had just preached a
message about Jacob, and their Spanish friend said, that's not
a Spanish name, you can't call him Jacob, that name means dog. That's exactly what it means,
and who does Caleb represent? Caleb, did I say Jacob? I meant
Caleb. Joby and Hugo have a Jacob also, but they're firstborn Caleb.
You can't call him Caleb. That name means dog. Well, Caleb is Caleb, and he
represents the church, doesn't he? When the Lord said to that
Syrophoenician woman, It is not right to give the children's
bread unto the dogs. What did she say? Truth, Lord.
That's what I am. That's what I am. But the dogs,
the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the master's table.
And worship is best seen physically in our world when a dog bows
to its master and licks its hand. I'm going to have a dog, I'm
going to have a dog that worships me. I've told you that before. I've
got no use for a dog that's not going to bow to me and obey me. I don't have a dog. I don't plan
on ever getting a dog. Dogs that won't do that are not
faithful dogs, are they? They're just not faithful dogs.
Caleb is a picture of the church. Joshua is a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's the one that brought the
children of Israel across the Jordan River, and Jordan translated
means death, and brought them into the promised land. And what
did Caleb say? Caleb said, give me that mountain. 80-year-old man, he's ready to
go up against the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And so it is with
God's people. Lord, give me, give me Christ. Give me your salvation. Lord,
I'm dependent upon you. And so names represent character. They represent nature. And what
name do we have here? What name do we have here? Matter
of fact, his name is repeated. How would you like to be named
Bert-Bert? You know, Bartimaeus, the son
of Timaeus. Well, Bartimaeus translated means
the son of Timaeus. And Timaeus translated means
unclean. And so here's his nature. Here's
his nature. He's the son of an unclean one. And as the son of an unclean
one, he's unclean. Where is he from? He's from Jericho.
What is his nature? Bartimaeus. What was his condition? He was blind. Blind. And what did these three things
compel him to do? If we see ourselves from the
same place that Bartimaeus is from, if we see ourselves as
being unclean, if we see ourselves as blind, we like Bartimaeus
will become beggars, beggars. Here it is all in this one verse.
Look at verse 46. And they came to Jericho and
as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number
of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus sat by the
wayside begging. Now, if you go back to Joshua
chapter six, when Joshua brought the children of Israel, across
the Jordan River into the promised land, the first city to be conquered
was Jericho. And the Lord told Joshua, he
said, you take the ark, which was the gospel, and you take
these seven priests to carry in the ark and you march around
the city and have all the people march around the city for seven
days, one time a day, one time a day. And then on the seventh
day, you do it seven times. And at the end of the seventh
time, that number seven is the number of completion. It is the
number of rest too, isn't it? The Lord rested on the seventh
day. Here's the gospel. Here's the gospel. We rest because
the work is finished. The work of redemption is finished.
The work of justification is finished. When the Lord Jesus
Christ said it is finished, it was finished. There's nothing
left to be done. And so seven times on the seventh
day, they were to march around the city of Jericho and they
were to shout. The ram's horn and they were
to shout. What is that? That's the preaching
of the gospel. That's what we're doing right
now. And what happened to the walls of that city, Jericho?
They fell down, didn't they? The children of Israel went in
and they routed the city. Well, they killed everybody in
the city, as God told them to. Everything and everybody. And
Joshua told them, he said, don't take any spoils from the city. Don't take anything from the
city because this city is cursed, and there's my point. You and
I come from the same city that Bartimaeus comes from. We come
from a cursed city. Now, Achan didn't listen to Joshua,
and he took a Babylonian garment, and we know what Babylon represents,
don't we? Babylon represents works religion.
And here Achan took a beautiful Babylonian garment and covered
himself with it and thought, you know, and then he took a
wedge of gold and he hid it and he was found out. And Achan and
all of his family were killed as a result of that because they
took that which was accursed and they took it to themselves.
If you and I try to cover ourselves with a Babylonian garment or
we look to the gold of this world for the hope of our salvation, We'll be cursed as well. The
city was cursed. And after the city was routed,
Joshua said to the children of Israel that he cursed the city
more. He said, the man that rebuilds
this city, he will lay the foundation on the life of his firstborn
and he will hang the gates on the life of his youngest. And
in second Kings chapter 16, A guy by the name of Hiel did exactly
that. He rebuilt Jericho and his firstborn
was killed in the laying of the foundation and his youngest was
killed in the hanging of the gates of that city. Jericho was
a cursed city. It was a cursed city. And the
children of Israel weren't to look to anything in Jericho for
the hope of their salvation. Now turn with me if you will
to Genesis chapter 3. because you and I live in Jericho. We live in Jericho. That's right. Genesis chapter 3 and look at
verse 17. And unto Adam he said, because
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten
of the tree of which I commanded, saying thou shalt not eat of
it, cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow thou shalt
eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of
thy wife. the field. In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground,
for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust
thou shalt return." Now that curse still stands. What I'm
saying to you, brethren and friends, is I'm telling you why life's
hard. I'm telling you why there's so much sadness and sickness
and sorrow in this world and it will be that way all the days
of our life. Like Bartimaeus, we live in a
cursed city. Don't be like Achan. Don't look
for something in this world to satisfy your needs. This world is full of sickness
and death, hatred Conflicts and wars will always be in this world. Let the people of this world
look for some utopia. Let them look for something in
this world to satisfy their need for rest and for hope. The child
of God cannot find anything in this world. Oh, we have moments, don't we?
We think, well, if I just could have a vacation, if I could have
a better house, if I could have a better whatever, you know,
and then I'll be happy and then we get it and it's still the
same, isn't it? You know, tomorrow's going to
be better and tomorrow's not, is it? It's not. It's the same old, same old. It's a cursed city we live in. Now thank God for all that He
provides for us in this world. But I'm just saying don't look
to the things of this world for the hope of your salvation. Don't
look for the things of this world to satisfy the needs of your
soul. There's only one place for that.
Now in Jericho when Joshua came in and God brought the city walls
down there was one woman and her family that were saved, you
remember? Rahab. She took a red scarlet
rope and hanged it out of her window because she had protected the spies when
they went in and God had promised to spare her life and Joshua
said kill everything, everything, man, woman, child and beast,
everything in that city except for Rahab and her family. And then when the Lord went to
Jericho, he saw a little man who was short in stature, unable
to see above the crowd. He saw a man that was despised
because he was a publican. He was an unscrupulous publican,
as they all were. And the Lord saw him, Zacchaeus,
You come down. I must go to thy house this day. For this day salvation has come
to thy home." And that story in Luke chapter
10 of the man who's traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho. There's a picture. Jericho is
north and east of Jerusalem, but everything from Jerusalem
is down. In the Bible, when the scripture speaks of leaving Jerusalem,
you're always going down. And when the scripture speaks
of coming to Jerusalem, you're always going up. It doesn't matter
what direction, north, east, south, and west you're coming
from. Now, what is Jerusalem a picture of? It's the church,
isn't it? That's where God meets with His people. And this man
was going down to Jericho, and he fell among thieves. And that's
the story of the Good Samaritan, who's a picture of Christ. who
met that man in the road. There's only one place to have
the eternal consequences of sin taken away. This world is cursed
because of sin. It's cursed because of sin. We're going to sow thorns and
thistles and eat from the sweat of our brow the rest of our days
in this world. And as a result of sin, we live
in a fallen world. Don't look for this world to
become your resting place. It's never going to be. Hadn't
been since Adam was cursed, since the ground was cursed when Adam
fell, and it won't be. We live in Jericho. But here's the good news. God
has an elect people even in Jericho. He has his Rahabs even in Jericho. Rahab, by the way, in Matthew
Chapter 1, is the great, great grandmother of King David. So this harlot now is in the
lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has elect people in Jericho.
Yes, this world has been cursed. All that look to the things of
this world for the hope that only Christ can give will find when they leave this
world without Christ, this world will have become a wonderful
place. Truth is, to the child of God,
this world is the worst it's ever going to be. To the unbeliever,
it's the best they're ever going to have. And they came to Jericho God has a people in Jericho that
the purpose of election, the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works but of Him that calleth. So let me
ask you a question. Do you see that you live in Jericho?
Do you see that there's no hope? Not for Not for knowing God,
not for having true rest, not for having true happiness in
this world. And are you the son of Timaeus?
I love that picture of the Lord Jesus Christ that we saw in Daniel
where his loins were of pure gold of Uphaz. Now, the loins
represent the procreation, that part of us that produces life. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
brings into life a new life, when he causes a sinner to be
born again, that new nature that we have in Christ is pure gold
as oofas. But the loins of our father Adam,
We were there. We were in his loins. And ever
since Adam fell, man has never been able to produce anything
but another child who is unclean. You came into this world unclean. That's what Timaeus means. Unclean, defiled, polluted. Now the grace of God is only
for the unclean. Leviticus Chapter 13, the Lord
tells how the leper was to be made ceremonial clean. And it's
clear that when a man who has signs of leprosy comes to the
priest, the priest is to strip him naked and inspect him. And if he has a spot of leprosy
here or a spot of leprosy there, the priest is to say to him,
unclean, and cast him out of the camp. Now, that's how most
folks are. You know, I've got a sore over
here on my arm, and I've been working on it. I've been putting
salve on it. I've been bandaging it up, and
I'm just hoping it doesn't spread. And I think it's getting a little
better. I think it's getting a little better. I've got a sore
over here on my back, and that, you know, and God says unclean. And then the man comes before
the priest and from the top of his head to the sole of his feet,
he is nothing but wounds, bruises and putrefying sores. And the priest says to him, clean,
clean. How can that be? Well, this book
is about the gospel. It's about the gospel. The Lord's
telling us that if you think you've got a square inch of clean
flesh on you somewhere, you're unclean. You're unclean. But if you're Bartimaeus, the
son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, Bartimaeus, that
was his name. My father was unclean. My grandfather
was unclean. I can trace my uncleanness all
the way back to Father Adam. and I was born unclean. That
was His nature. That's who the gospel's for.
And only when we realize by the grace of God that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the plumb line. He's the plumb line. He's the
standard. God doesn't grate on a curve. He's not comparing us to other
men. He's not comparing us to ourselves. He's not saying, well,
you know, you're doing all right. No, he's got a perfect standard.
God's holy law is the standard of God. And all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God. And only when we realize,
Lord I live in Jericho and my name is Bartimaeus, only then
will we become beggars. Now Bartimaeus was blind and
you and I come into this world blind. Blind. We don't know, we can't see anything
about God. Every conclusion that we come
to naturally, everything that the world tells us, everything
we learn in religion about God is not just off a little bit,
it's completely opposite of who he is. Completely opposite. Now the religious who's got a
little knowledge of the Bible will say, like the Pharisee,
remember what the Pharisee said? Are you suggesting that we're
blind? Is that what you're saying? That's what they said to the
Lord. And what did the Lord say to them? If you were blind, then you would have no sin. But
because you say you can see, Therefore, your sins remain. What am I saying? Lord, I've
got no capacity to see unless you give me eyes to see. I've
got no ability to hear the truth about who you are, about who
I am, and about how it is that God saved sin. Bartimaeus knew
he was blind. He wasn't pretending to have
sight when he didn't have sight. He knew he was blind. He came
to the Lord as a blind beggar from Jericho, whose name was
the Son of the Unclean One. And the Lord stood still and
had mercy upon him. Lord, I'll forget everything
you've showed me if you don't keep my eyes open. You know how
dull. If you're a child of God, God's
taught you some things. You know how dull of hearing
you are sometimes. You know how foggy things can
get. You know how blind you can become. You are as dependent
upon the Lord keeping your eyes open now as you were the very
first time he taught you the gospel, aren't you? You realize
more your dependence on him now, don't you? Lord, I can't get
over my blindness. And here's the good news. I'll
close with this. Turn with me to Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42. Now, I want you to notice verse 1,
how Isaiah 42 opens. Behold. What's that word say? Behold? What does it mean? God's
saying, Look, put on your blinders. Give me your undivided attention.
This is very important. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit
upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
And this whole chapter is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
this whole book is. The whole book is, isn't it?
But here the Lord's telling us, look to my servant. He's the
one I've chosen. He's the one I'm delighting in.
I'm not delighting in you, I'm delighting in him. I delight
in you when you're in him. Now look what the Lord says about
his servant in verse 19. Who is blind but my servant or
deaf as my messenger? that I sent who is blind as he
that is perfect and blind as the Lord's servant. Now that's what I need. I need
a God who is blind to my sin. I need a God who has separated
my sin from me as far as the east is from the west that he
remembers them no more. God took those who were blind,
gave them sight, and he became blind. He became blind. God says, your
sins have been put away. buried in the depths of the sea. I can't see them. They've been
bore in the body of my son and the fullness of my wrath has
been poured out to satisfy my divine justice. Sin is gone. It's gone. All sin. For who? for blind beggars by the name
of Bartimaeus who live in Jericho. Is that you? Let's take a break.