Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. Beginning in verse 46. Mark 10
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
highway side begging. And when he heard that it was
Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he
should hold his peace, but he cried the more a great deal,
Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 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. And he, casting away his garment,
rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said
unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said
unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way." Let's pray
together. Our Father, this evening we approach you
in the only way that we can, in the name and in the character
and in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for another time
to be able to come together and worship Oh, the blessed times
of being able to assemble ourselves in the name of our precious Savior.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your presence. We pray that You would
bless by Your Holy Spirit the preaching and the hearing of
the Word. Cause us to behold You. who are altogether worthy
to be praised and honored. For, Lord, You have redeemed
us by Your blood out of every nation and kindred and tribe
and tongue. Help us. We pray for Christ's
sake. Amen. I have entitled this message
this evening, do you want from God? What do you want from God? A miracle took place on a road that led to and went
through a city that was cursed by God. Jericho according to
Joshua 6.26, was a cursed city. But in that cursed city, this is the second person that
I know of that came out of a city called Jericho. that God showed
mercy to. One of them was a woman named
Rahab. She was a harlot, a woman of
the night, despised by most, but everlastingly loved by God
Almighty. And the second one was a man
that we know of and have heard of. This is how much we know
about him. Blind Bartimaeus. Found in a place that was cursed
because of sin. But you think about how many
God Almighty, by His blessed Spirit, has called out of this
world that was cursed by sin. Jericho is a picture of a place
that in and of itself, nothing could be said about it that was
good. Here is a man, the Scripture
says, that was according to verse 46, as the Lord Jesus went with his
disciples and a great number of people, a throng of people. How many? I don't know. A great
number. And this blind man, Barnabas,
sat by the highwayside begging. Now, let me read something to
you out of Isaiah 42, 5-7. This is the type, man, that the
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save. Thus, Isaiah 42,
5-7, Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens and
stretched them out, he that spread forth the earth, and that which
cometh out of it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it,
and spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord," now listen, here is
God, Jehovah, God, speaking to and of the Lord Jesus Christ. to the words of the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit, God Almighty speaking, I the Lord, capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah, have called thee
in righteousness and will hold thine hand and keep thee and
give thee for a covenant of the people. for a light of the Gentiles
to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." Here
is blind Barnabas, a picture of everyone that God is going
to show mercy to. Here he is, this old blind man,
sitting on the side of the highway. eating dust. And the Scripture says that this
man was begging. Temporal alms, I know that's
what it was. That's all he was doing. That's
something for right now. Can you spare a dime, brother? Can you help an old man out? Got anything? But something very
striking and glorious happened. Now, put yourself, if you can,
in this old man's position. Before God Almighty did anything
for you, what were you doing? In religion? Out of religion? In your own self-righteousness,
you're just sitting on the side, just biding your time. Day in,
day out. Next day, just like that day,
begging, well, I made it one more day. Had enough for the
day. That's all I've got. And the Scripture says in verse
47, when he heard, that it was Jesus of Nazareth. He began to
cry out and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Now, we're not told what this
old blind Bartimaeus had heard before. I don't know what he heard before. I don't know what the thief on
the cross had heard before, but I do know this, that there was
an immediate effect that was wrought in this old
man's heart. I know that he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth. I know that faith cometh by hearing."
I know that it is the gospel of the grace of God in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That, Paul said, is the power
of God unto salvation. And this old man, he began to
cry out. He heard that it was Jesus of
Nazareth. Lord willing, in a few weeks
I want to have some things to say about Jesus of Nazareth.
what that name meant. Why that name had so much significance. But he heard that it was Jesus
of Nazareth. And I know this, that no one
but the Spirit of God could teach that old sinner just like this
old sinner. Nobody could teach him that Jesus
of Nazareth The promised one, the promised Messiah from all
the prophets in the law, the one that the Scripture says that
he went to Nazareth that the Scriptures might be fulfilled,
that he would be called a Nazarene, Jesus of Nazareth, God's Messiah. Blind Barnabas was taught by
the Spirit of God. That is the Son of David. That's the Christ. I know that's
who that is. And he heard being taught by
God's Spirit that he was passing by. And the Scripture says when he
was passing by, he started crying out, have mercy on me. There was a lot there that day
that saw no need of Christ to be merciful to them. All I know
is that the Lord's disciples were with Him and a great number
of people. And of all the ones that were
there, there was one man that I know of. Now, the state of
all these others, I don't know. But I can tell you this, there
was one that I know of that the Spirit of God began to reveal
something to. But there was many, verse 48,
many, many. How many? Many of them. Many
of them charged Him. How many was around Him? I don't
know, but a bunch of them got around Him and started to charge
Him, But I'm telling you what Almighty
God has started in the heart of an object of His mercy. God
Almighty keeps that desire right there. Many will say, I don't
need Him. I'm doing just fine. I'll call
you at a more convenient date. That's what Felix told Paul. But what Almighty God had wrought
in this old man's heart stayed right there. They kept telling
him, say, listen, be quiet and cry. And he cried
the more a great deal. Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. Embarrassing a lot of people.
But this old man was in trouble. He was in trouble. Here we see the unfolding of
God's eternal purpose and power to save his own. Romans 8 30
says whom he did predestinate them. He also called, and whom
He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He
also glorified." I'm telling you, Brother Scott, when the
Spirit of God set His affection in that moment upon that old
man and called that old man, and that old man began to call
back, he wasn't backing off because
God didn't back off. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad
that God Almighty didn't leave you alone? That God Almighty
didn't say to you at this moment, and then back off. Well, He didn't
come. I just didn't know. Have mercy on me! Have mercy! And the Scripture says in verse
49, 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." I know this. I know this. Just as the Scripture says concerning
that woman at the well in Samaria, I must needs go through Samaria. He must needs go through Jericho.
You know why? Because blind Barnabas was there.
That old man was an object of His mercy. That was one for whom
He was getting ready to actually in time lay down His life. Slain before the foundation of
the world in the mind, the will, and the purpose of the Father,
and the Father who first trusted in Christ justified all that He had chosen
in His Son. He must go to Jericho. Why? He was there. I think about this, that Almighty God one day in a little old town
in the middle of nowhere, Central Louisiana would come and stand
still and call this center. Come to a little old town in
the northern part of West Virginia, stand still, feel good comfort. He calls you. The Scripture says concerning
him being called, verse 50, he casting away his garment, rose
and came to Jesus. He did rise. He did come to the Lord Jesus
and he did cast away his garment. But I tell you this, not by his
own power, He was drawn by the Father. No man can come to me except
my Father, which has sent me. Why didn't anybody else come? He didn't draw. That old man came by the grace
of Almighty God. And the Scripture says in verse
51, And Jesus answered and said unto him, One of the most amazing questions that eyes could ever look upon,
What wilt thou? that I should do unto thee?" What are you going to answer? What wilt thou that I should
do unto thee? What do you desire from God? I can tell you what the answer
is. He had been crying out for it. What do you want? What do you
want from God? Let me ask you this. What do
you want from God? Mercy. That old blind man answered,
and he said this, Lord, oh, there's a good way to start. You know,
whenever you find One that God's done something for. Ever notice
how they approach Him? Lord, that's what that blind man said.
That's what that thief on the cross said. Lord, that I might
receive my sight. He was blind physically. But let me tell you what that
old man said. I looked it up. What do you want that I should
do for you? And this is what he said, that
I might receive my sight. It means that I might look up
and that I might have understanding. What do you want? I want to understand. I want to understand. Or that he received physical
sight. I don't doubt that. The Scripture
says he received his sight and followed. I don't doubt that.
But let me tell you the answer of our Master that proved that
this old man wanted more than physical sight. He could have
had physical sight and died in his sins. What do you want? He had been crying out for mercy.
Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. How do I know that
the Lord had done something for this old man? I'll tell you how
I knew. How I know. Back in 1950, I purposefully
skipped a little bit in 1950 to come back to it at this point.
How do I know? Number one, that old man cast
away his garment. This is what this old man said. I don't want to be clothed anymore
with what I've been clothed with. He threw it away. I don't want to be where I've
been anymore. I've been sitting over here in
blindness. I don't want to be there anymore. I desire your righteousness. Now, you tell me, you that believe,
if this is not what you want, would you want to go back? Mama, would you go back? Carl, you want to go back. You want to go back into all
of the filth that you were in, robed with what you found comfort
in. Be of good cheer. Be of good
comfort. He calls for you. I don't want that anymore. These filthy rags will never
answer for me. And I know it. And by the grace
of God, this is what Paul said when he said, these things are
but dung to me. I cast away everything that I
ever found comfort in. I come to you poor, blind, wretched,
and needy. Do you want that I should do
for you? Lord, I don't want to be blind
to you. I want to receive my sight. This
is what I ask right now. Lord, I don't want to be blind
to you. Lord, I want to understand. Paul
says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Look unto me. And be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." Verse 52 says, And Jesus said
unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. In the
margin there it says correctly, thy faith has saved thee. He wasn't saved by his faith. recognized what God had done
by grace for him. For by grace are you saved and
you know it by faith. Your faith evidences that I've
had mercy on you. And the scripture says, and immediately
he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. I want to be where you are. I want to be in your presence. I want to be where you are taught.
I want to meet with your people. I want to be where you are honored.
He followed Jesus in the way. Psalm 27 verse 4 says this, One
thing have I desired of the Lord, And that will I seek after, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. What wilt thou that I should
do unto thee? Yes, sir. If you deserved it, that's not
mercy. Mercy is for those that don't
deserve it, that can't earn a right for it, can never attain a right
for it, that cannot maintain mercy. Mercy is for those who
are needy. Can it be? that God would show
mercy to me.