The Lord Jesus Christ was often
surrounded by crowds of people when he travelled around. Whether
it was when he preached or whether it was when he came into towns
and villages, the word would go out that here was this Jesus. And people would gather in order
to see what he was going to do and hear what he was going to
say. And often there would be many,
many people interested in spending time with the Lord Jesus. And yet what we discover so often
is that the Lord's attention was directed to individuals. It wasn't the crowd. It wasn't
the mass. It wasn't that group of people
that would press in upon him. Have you ever noticed the frequency
with which the word press is used when the Lord is going about
his business? The people pressed upon him. And have you ever noticed how
often those with particular and peculiar needs found it difficult
to get to the Lord because of the press? The crowds still follow the Lord
Jesus. They still follow him. Religion is all around us. And religion makes it hard for
those who are touched in their souls by the Spirit of God to
get to the Lord because of the press. The Lord Jesus Christ is still
as interested today in individuals. This morning, I believe that
we have a blessing. Right at the very start of this
period of worship, this period of preaching, this message to
us today, let us remember that it is to you and it is to me,
it is to each of us individually that this word comes. God the
Holy Spirit speaks in the hearts of men and women, speaks in the
hearts of individuals and directs their thoughts and opens their
hearts to the gospel of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
come to a nation He came amongst the Jews, certainly, but he didn't
come to a nation. And the idea that people have
of national well-being because of where they live, or because
of where they were born, or because of the constitution of their
land, or because of the historical heritage and traditions that
they have been brought up in, they are false and they are wrong. You will have nothing from Christ. because you were born in the
land of the three. And the Lord Jesus Christ did
not come to a denomination. He doesn't speak today through
one denomination or another. It's not because you're this
denomination or that denomination that you've got the truth. or
that your ministers are better informed, or that your denomination
has a greater grasp of how the gospel should be presented. It's
nothing to do with our denominational affiliations. And the Lord Jesus
Christ didn't come to families. I'm so glad to see you youngsters
here. Hey, Speaking to you. I'm so glad that you're here
today and you've got to listen. You've got to listen to what
is being said and you've got to watch what is being done and
you've got to understand that this is important. This is important
no matter how young you are or how old you are. The Lord Jesus
Christ has come And He has come to speak, to speak to people
like us. And it's a great blessing when
the Lord Jesus Christ comes to speak to us. And it's something
to be treasured and something to be valued. I tell you, I honestly
believe that the best thing that we do in this world today, the
very best thing that we do is gather together for public worship. It's best for you, and it's best
for your neighbours, and it's best for your family, and it's
best for your children. The very best thing that you
can do. People talk about their good
works. Here is the highest, the highest privilege that we have,
the highest good that we can do our society. is to meet together
to worship Him. Don't let the worship of the
Lord's people fall down in your priorities at any time. It is first and foremost that
blessing for your own heart, for the Lord's people in general,
and for those that you love and care for around about you. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come to families and there is no benefit for us being children
or relatives or friends of one another. We don't get grace because
of our family ties or our bloodlines. But the Lord Jesus Christ did
come to individuals. He comes to individuals now with
their personal needs and he comes to individuals with his personal
salvation. The reality is that I don't care
much about what the crowd thinks. And I don't think you should
either. But it is important what the
Lord Jesus Christ says. and it is important what you
think of him. This is a personal responsibility. This is intimate. This is you. This is what you believe. I spoke
to someone recently and he said he'd gone through churches for
many, many years. He'd been brought up in churches
and he encountered different people with different ideas.
And one day it dawned on him. One day it dawned on him. He
said, you know what? I need to work out who I am. I need to work out what I believe.
I need to understand what I believe. And we don't just accept things
because they're given to us. We have to think for ourselves. And I call you this morning to
think for yourself. What do you think of the Lord
Jesus Christ? What do you think of what he
has revealed in his word concerning himself? This morning I want to present
a few thoughts to you as the Lord will enable. And I've grouped
them under a heading which is Lessons from Jericho. Jericho was a town quite close
to Jerusalem. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as
we've already thought, was on his way to Jerusalem. This was
his trip to Jerusalem for the last time. He wasn't going to
be coming back through Jericho ever again. That is important. Remember that. This was the Lord
going up to Jerusalem and he would be crucified at Jerusalem. He was going up at the time of
the Passover and perhaps when we talk about this crowd that
was with him, it was a general movement of people towards Jerusalem
for the Passover service. But Jericho's an interesting
place. Jericho was a very old city. You'll remember reading about
it and hearing about it from the Old Testament. It was a key
strategic city when the children of Israel were entering into
the Promised Land. And you'll remember the story
of Joshua and how he encompassed the city day after day, time
after time until In a miraculous deliverance of that city, that
walled city and its people into the hands of the children of
Israel, God called the walls to collapse and to fall down. It had a long history. And as
the children of Israel were entering into the promised land, that
city literally fell into their hands. And he set, Joshua set
a curse upon Jericho. And that curse continued all
down through the ages. The children of Israel understood.
The children of Israel knew that this city had been cursed. And there was in time a builder
who rebuilt the town of Jericho. And it's said that he laid the
foundations upon his oldest son. and he built the end of the city
upon the bones of his youngest son. Such was the curse that
was placed upon it. It's said of him in Joshua chapter
6 verse 17, the city shall be accursed, even it and all that
are therein to the Lord. Only Rahab the harlot shall live,
she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid
the messengers that we sent. This was an accursed town. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this town that was cursed. And now we can take that picture
and we can build upon it because the Lord Jesus Christ has come
to this world that is cursed. This world was cursed because
of sin. This world was cursed because
of the fall. God cursed this world. That's a terrible thought. People talk about environmental
issues and the fact that this world is the only world we've
got and they aspire to keep it as pristine, keep it as untouched,
keep it as pleasant and perfect as possible. It started out wrong. When the Lord God made the earth,
he called it very good, but it didn't last that way for very
long. And the Lord cursed it. The wonderful
thing about the plan of salvation is that even at the time of that
curse, God had a plan of redemption. And the Lord Jesus Christ was
already waiting in order to come into this cursed world and become
a curse in that world that those who were cursed might find redemption
and experience a new relationship with God. That which Adam had
lost, better than Adam had lost, that which the fall had imposed
would be removed and taken away. When the Lord Jesus Christ became
sin for us, When our evil, when our sin, when our wickedness
and our guilt would be laid upon His shoulder and He would carry
it in His own soul. And we would discover an atonement. We would discover that a peace
had been forged, an opening had been made, a gap had been discovered
and a door of access provided. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
come into a cursed world. in order to find those individuals
that he loved, those individuals that he died for, those that
had been placed into his hand by a loving God, committed to
him, that he would redeem them from their sins and bring them
in triumph to his Father. that God the Father, Son and
Holy Ghost might commune for eternity with that blood-bought
people, that blessed people, and that God himself would win
for them all that was lost when that curse was first made upon
them. We read in the Gospels several
accounts of this visit of the Lord Jesus to Jericho. Matthew, Mark and Luke all make
reference to this. In Matthew chapter 20 and verse
29 and 30 we read these words. As they departed from Jericho,
a great multitude followed him. And behold, two blind men sitting
by the wayside. When they heard that Jesus passed
by, they cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son
of David. In Mark chapter 10, we read this,
verse 46. And they came to Jericho. And
as he went out of Jericho with his disciples, a great number
of people, blind Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, sat by the highway
side, begging. In Matthew, we read of two blind
men begging. In Mark, we just read of one,
and he's called Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. In Luke 18, we
read this. And it came to pass that as he
was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside
begging." Okay. Matthew and Mark tell us
that he was leaving Jericho when he met these beggars, these blind
men. Matthew says there were two,
Mark says there were one. Luke appears to tell us that
it was as he was coming in to Jericho that he met this blind
man. Luke chapter 19 and verse 1 and
3 tells us about another encounter that the Lord made in Jericho. It says this, and Jesus entered
and passed through Jericho And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was
rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who
he was, and could not for the press, because he was little
of stature. Okay. Let me just ask you a question. If Jesus was coming to town,
would you want to go and see him? And if so, why? Because he's a celebrity? Because
this is something special? Unusual? Unique? Because he's famous? Because
he has a reputation? We're told in all of these passages
that there was a great crowd there. and the gospel writers
identify certain individuals amongst that gathering. Sometimes they're named, sometimes
they're not. We see that there is a Zacchaeus,
we see that there is a Bartimaeus. Yet the overriding sense of these
passages is that the crowd in general were spectators. They were just spectators. They were onlookers. They were
following after the Lord to see what they could see, to hear
what they could hear, to observe and perhaps there would be a
miracle. They'd heard much about this
man and there was noise and there was cacophony, there was A group
of people engaging with one another, bustling, hustling, shoulder
to shoulder. And it was almost chaotic. The Lord Jesus Christ has come
into this cursed world. And still today, there are lots
of people follow him. And it's chaotic. It's chaotic
everywhere you look. There's no sense in what's happening.
There are people who are shouting, there are people who are dancing,
there are people who are singing, there are people who are making
a whole load of noise and activity around their following Jesus. They press in on him, but they
do so on their own terms. They're doing it for what they
can get out of it. And the reality is that they
are largely obstructive to those who really need to spend time
with Christ. They are actually critical of
genuine spiritual need and interest. You go to these religious followers
and you tell them about a need you have to hear the gospel,
a need you have for spiritual peace, a need you have to know
about righteousness and beauty, and they'll tell you to be quiet.
They'll tell you that you don't have to worry about those things.
They'll say that there's other priorities that need to be taken
on board first. We need to think about how we
live. We need to think about what we're
doing. We need to think about how we're
engaging with our community, how we're gathering people into
the church. These are the important things.
The doctrine, the theology, these things, these internal things,
they'll come in time. but let's get you motivated,
let's get you organized, let's get you out there working. The Lord Jesus Christ has come
to this cursed world, but he's come to this cursed world not
to deal with the masses, not to deal with the crowds, but
to deal with individuals. These people said to Bartimaeus
and to Zacchaeus, be quiet. Don't make a fuss. Don't make
a noise. Don't distract him. Don't distract
him. In the middle of this noise and
press, you keep quiet. You're getting in the way. You're
a problem. In Luke 19, verse seven, the
religious followers said, when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to
Zacchaeus. He is gone to be guest with a
man that is a sinner. Oh, terrible, terrible thing. Jesus was criticized by these
people because he had gone to be the guest of a man that was
a sinner. Well, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. And I am so happy that the Lord
Jesus Christ comes and spends time with sinners. In Matthew 20 verse 31, as the
men cried out to Jesus, have mercy upon us. The multitude
rebuked them because they should hold their peace. Be merciful
to me, a sinner. And what did the religious people
say? Be quiet. Be quiet. You're making a fuss. You're
making a noise. It's becoming embarrassing. The
Lord Jesus Christ has come into a sinful world, but you won't
find him amongst the multitude of spectators. He has come for
individuals. He has come for His sheep. He has come for His elect. He
has come for those that God has committed to Him. And He will
come and get them. That's the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. that if we are one of his people,
he will track us down. We might be in dusty old Jericho. We might be in that place where
the curse is heaviest upon the shoulders of the inhabitants. But the Lord Jesus Christ will
come and he will find his people wherever they are. There's another
lesson that we've got from Jericho and it's this. The nature of distinguishing
grace is seen very clearly in this incident of the Lord's visit
to the town. In this crowd, he found his own. He found his people. Now I've
already alluded to the fact that was it one blind man or was it
two? Or was it three? Was it one when he came into
town and two as he left? And what about Zacchaeus? Did
he make four? How many people did the Lord
Jesus Christ touch that day? How many people? It was only a few. And yet, I
think there's a lesson here. Because the number is not your
concern. And it's not my concern. He knew
who they were. Was it one? Was it two? Was it
three? Or was it four? He came and he got them. And
I'm pleased. that we're not able to reconcile
these passages and tick a little box which says we know all the
story. Because we don't. Because the
Lord knows them that are his. We don't know the names of these
people. There were at least two beggars,
Matthew says. We know one of them perhaps was
called Bartimaeus, but we don't know the other's name. because
we don't need to know his name. The Lord knows his name. The
Lord knows them that are his. There was a rich man, Zacchaeus,
and there was such an impoverished man called Bartimaeus that all
he had was a ragged coat to pull over his shoulders. And yet we
must never be concerned with numbers. not numbers. We can be concerned about lots
of things about the church by all means, but let us not be
concerned about numbers. The Lord knows his own. I would
rather worship with one or two spiritual people than go to a
place where there were thousands gathered and no spiritual understanding
or discernment amongst them. That's the reality. And I hope
you grasp that. I hope you understand that. I
hope that you're here today and not shoulder to shoulder with
the big congregations and the big churches because you believe
that there's a message for you here that you can't get there. That's the point. We come to
where we're fed. And if the Lord just calls one
or two people in a particular place and he blessedly, wondrously
unites them in a fellowship of worship towards Him, then let
me be there every time. That's where I want to be. Matthew
7, 14 says, straight is the gate. It's small, it's just a little
gate, just a little gate. Narrow is the way which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it. In a town the size of
Jericho, it was just a few, just a few. And there would be many
beggars in Jericho. There would be many people there
hoping that the passing crowd would do them some good. All
kinds of people, lots of them. So it is in the world today,
all kinds of people, lots of them claim to be Christians,
claim to be Jesus followers, claim to have had a spiritual
experience, claim to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. They've made their decision,
they've thrown in their lot with Jesus. But the Lord has a people. And
the wonderful thing about the way in which these passages are
described to us is that when Jesus came to one of his own,
he stopped. He stopped and he spoke to them. And there was a personal dealing
with that man's soul. And that's what we have to experience. He was passing by, but he didn't
pass by. He stopped. He had encountered
one of his own. He had met with one of his sheep,
and he paused. He saved very few, but he saved
some. He saved some. He saved very
few. Perhaps he'll save me. Perhaps he'll be gracious to
me. Perhaps he'll pause as he's passing
by and speak a word of comfort to me. Is that your desire? Is that your hope? This is how God ordained it. This is how the plan of God unfolds. The fact that there are but a
few is not a failure on the part of God. It's designed that way. It's purposeful. The Lord has
a people and he's gathering them in, one here, one there. Matthew 22, 14 says, many are
called, but few are chosen. There is a message that goes
out, but only a few. are brought into the experience
of God's grace. Our Lord has a people chosen
from eternal ages for whom he has come to this cursed world,
for whom he has died. He has redeemed them and he brings
them one by one through the preaching of the gospel of his grace. Jeremiah
3 verse 14 says, turn, O backsliding children. backsliding children,
you who have lost your way, you who have turned around, you who
have gone into the highways and the byways, you who have been
wandering in this world and yet you know that things aren't right
with your soul. You know that there is a need
which is unsatisfied, that there is a gap and a gulf that has
been established and you can't get across it. but you long for
something different, you long for something better, you long
to have that peace with God because you feel the inadequacy of your
own abilities and your own efforts and you feel the need and the
depths of your soul. And if only Jesus would stop,
if only he would pause as he passed by and give you that sense
of peace. Turn, O backsliding children,
saith the Lord, for I am married unto you. I will take you, one
of a city, two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. That's
what we want. That's the grace that we need.
That's the mercy. If the Lord God will bring one
of a nation, two of a family, wouldn't it be great if he would
show his mercy to us? Everlasting love. Eternal election,
predestination and purpose, sanctification of a people in eternal realms
that God would bring to Zion in time through the intercession
of Christ and His cleansed blood is the message that goes forth
to this cursed world. And God the Holy Spirit takes
that message and he applies it to the souls of one individual
here and two individuals here. And he brings them to the church
and to Zion. Particular redemption, that atonement,
that blood atonement of a limited people, that distinct people,
that is taught in scripture is who the message of the gospel
is for, and it will not return void. It will go forth and it
will gather in positively, purposefully, successfully, those whom the
Lord is pleased to call. And that's why a preacher has
such confidence when he knows and understands the gospel. He
knows that he's bringing that word And it's not up to him to
make the change. It's up to him to be faithful
in the things that he declares and to study and to labour to
be clear and to communicate that message with the best ability
that he can. But he knows at the end of the
day that it's nothing to do with his eloquence, his vocabulary. It is all God gathering His people,
employing a means in order to bring those that He has chosen
in eternity to life, to Zion, in time. Zechariah chapter 10 and verse
8, there's a lovely little verse. It speaks of the Lord whistling. Did you know that God whistled?
Did you know that He whistled? God whistles. A man whistles for his dog. God whistles for his people. He whistles and we come. Listen, I will hiss for them. That's what it means. It means
he'll whistle. I will hiss for them. and gather
them, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase as they
have increased. If you want to look it up, Zechariah
10, verse eight. God hisses for his people in
this world, and his people hear his hiss. They hear his whistle. The Lord Jesus Christ was going
through Jericho, And he was whistling for his people. Not the crowd, not the press,
not the masses that gathered around about him. The ones and
the twos. And Zacchaeus, he didn't realize
that it was the Lord who was whistling. But he thought, I
need to see this man. How am I going to see him? I
can't see over the heads of these people. I'll need to climb a
tree. But the Lord was whistling for him. The Lord was bringing
him to himself. And it's same with these blind
men at the side of the road. The means of gathering the Lord's
elect is through the preaching of the gospel. This is clearly
indicated here in Jericho. Amongst those present that day,
the Holy Spirit called but a few. And the picture is of those who
are blind and those who have hard hearts, and those who are
careless and callous, and yet, by the grace of God, they are
brought to see the Lord Jesus Christ in grace. Their hearts
are softened. Hearts are broken, and then they're
bound up again. Spiritual ignorance is removed. and a glimpse of the Lord Jesus
Christ is provided. That deadness of heart and soul
is changed and converted and new life is bestowed by the Lord
Jesus Christ. These conversions that we see
in Jericho were effected by a power that is greater than nature. That's the purpose of the way
in which these miracles are revealed to us. Nature had blinded these
people. Nature had rendered them incapable
of doing anything to help themselves. But Christ came to Jericho to
meet them. Christ came to where they were.
He came to save Zacchaeus. He came to heal Bartimaeus. He came to change and convert
these poor blind beggars. And it's still the same today.
The Lord Jesus Christ comes to his people. In the gracious words
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His miracle working power speaks
of that particular love that He has, that distinguishing grace,
that grace that is brought to bear on an individual situation,
which is beyond anything that we could ever manufacture for
ourselves. These poor creatures are brought
to the saving experience of the love of God and the healing of
their bodies. Now, it's not two powers that
are at work here. It is one power, which is God's
power, and it's the application of a means. God's power uses
the means of the word that is spoken to bring new life into
the dead soul of the sinners that he has chosen. The Holy
Spirit comes in regeneration, but it doesn't come to convert
without the preaching of the gospel. That's an amazing thing.
God could convert men and women all over the world by himself
without any means. Should he choose to do so? But
he doesn't choose to do so. He waited until Jesus was passing
by. He waited until the Lord's words
were there spoken in the hearing of these people. He waited until
the Lord Jesus Christ was presented. in the circumstances and situations
of these poor men. And then he brought conversion. And that's the importance of
the gospel. God the Holy Spirit. It's not
two powers. It's not a power in the gospel by itself. The
gospel is the means employed by the power of God. to bring
men and women to the experience of conversion. Please the Lord,
says Paul, by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. And you know what? The poverty
of the messenger doesn't matter. The eloquence of the messenger
isn't important. The ability of the man to preach
a clear, readily communicated message is not of the essence. We strive to communicate to the
best of our ability. We do. We study to show ourselves
approved. I trust that is the case with
every true gospel preacher. But it's God who takes that word. Halting. Simple. And he applies it to the heart
of the individual. Paul could say to the Corinthians,
1 Corinthians chapter 2, Brethren, when I came to you, I came not
with excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God. It wasn't with excellent speech
or wisdom. I determined not to know anything
among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with
you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my
speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that
your faith Your individual faith, your personal faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Praise where
praise is due, honour where honour is due. Salvation is of the Lord
and is His gift. This is a means, this is just
the vehicle that brings the grace of God to sinful men and women. I want to mention something also
about the urgency of the men and women that were here. Despite the hurdles that had
been placed in front of these beggars, these needy people,
they cried out to the Lord as he passed by. The preacher doesn't
need to whip up enthusiasm. The Holy Spirit's heart work
is an effectual work. He places such a need in the
soul of the Lord's elect that the preacher doesn't have to
manufacture a response. He doesn't have to work his audience
in such a way that they're going to be motivated and convinced
and brought to that point where they will say something that
in calmer moments they wouldn't say. That's not how grace works. The Holy Spirit places such a
need in the individual that it's he who cries out from the depths
of his need. And conversion doesn't flow from
an emotional stirring, but from a spiritual awakening. And these
men here, they weren't being caught up in the enthusiasm of
the moment. In fact, they had to overcome
the enthusiasm of the moment. They had to overcome the crowd
in order to meet the Lord Jesus Christ. Zacchaeus, he did it
by climbing a tree. Bartimaeus did it by shouting
louder than the man that was next to him. And they shouted
and they yelled. They cast off their clothes.
They rid themselves of every perceived hindrance. They wouldn't
be there. They disregarded the discouragements. And that was the Holy Spirit's
way of bringing them to Christ. Divine providence and human purpose. There is that in every conversion. And no preacher can manufacture
that. It is God alone who brings it
to pass. You see what I'm saying? The
Lord creates the need in the soul of the individual, but the
Lord also brings the individual to the place where the gospel
is to be heard. And he brings the preacher with
the message that is going to be heard. This thing is not an
accident. And it might be a jumbo jet that
has to fly. And so someone might have had
to have invented that jumbo jet. And it might have been the car
that had to bring the people to the place. It might have been
the builder that had to construct the building. It might have been
all of the circumstances that come together to bring a certain
individual to a certain place at a certain moment and the preacher
there beside him in order to convey that message. Just like
Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. How many disparate circumstances
went into bringing those two men together on that road? But
God was behind it all. And that is why we say although
people are involved, Although people have to come together
for these things to be effected, it is God who is bringing it
all to pass. It is God who is behind it all. Listen, where did Bartimaeus
get the words that he cried out to the Lord? When he heard that
it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry and say, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me. See, Bartimaeus knew He
believed that this person who was passing by was the Christ,
the Messiah, the Promised One. I don't know how Bartimaeus knew
that. Maybe somebody had told him as he sat begging on a previous
occasion. But I think the clarity with
which this man made that cry bespeaks rather Holy Spirit revelation. He knew that he needed to have
Christ, the Christ of God, save his soul that day. Here was one
passing by who would make everything right. Here is one who would
make him whole. Here is one who would make good
that which nature had eaten away. The guy says, be quiet Bartimaeus. Simmer down. And Barnabas looks at him without
his eyes and he thinks, I'm not going to be quiet. Why should
I be quiet? Here is one who will give me
everything that I've ever needed. Jesus! Have mercy on me. We cry when we have a need. and
we will not be satisfied if the Holy Spirit places that need
in our soul. The change effected by the Saviour
that day brought about a salvation in these men's lives. Jesus had
come to Jericho for them. Salvation is of the Lord. He stood still. He looked up.
He saw Bartimaeus. He saw Zacchaeus. He saw the
needy sinner and he had mercy upon them. And peace and joy
and blessedness awaits all those who come to Christ when Christ
stops for them. Zacchaeus and Bartimaeus were
changed men, not only outwardly, but inwardly. And that outward
healing is a picture of the change that had taken place in their
hearts and souls. Grace had been applied. The Lord
Jesus Christ said to Nicodemus on another occasion, that which
is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto you,
you must be born again. And I say it to you today, you
must be born again. It has to be a personal interaction,
engagement with Christ. As he passes by, we cry out to
him, have mercy upon me. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all sin. The Lord Jesus Christ has made
to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ passes
by when the gospel is preached and we point needy sinners to
the cross. These men followed the Lord Jesus
Christ And when the Holy Spirit regenerates the soul, when the
Lord Jesus Christ comes and is received in converting power,
when God's love constrains us from our rapid race to hell and
brings us to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, then nothing
is ever the same again. Nothing is ever the same. Saved
sinners follow Jesus. They follow him as they worship
him. They follow him as they serve
and praise and witness for him. They want to be where he is. They want to be amongst his people. They want to live for him. And Zacchaeus, well he was different
from Bartimaeus. He was different and you're different.
You're different one from another. We're all different in the family
of God, but we all have a desire to follow him. I'm sure the subsequent paths
of these men were not the same, but they both followed Jesus. For them, Christ had become Lord. How do we follow Christ? We follow
him in faith, believing and trusting in what he has done for us. We follow him with thanksgiving,
praising and worshipping his name at every opportunity that
is given. We follow him in fellowshipping
together in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and publicly
gathering with his people. We follow him in serving him,
ministering to one another as we have been ministered to. Has the Lord loved us? Then let
us love one another. Has he forgiven us? Then let
us forgive one another. Has he proved himself patient
and long-suffering? Then be patient with your brother
and your sister Freely, the Lord says in Matthew
10 verse 8, freely ye have received, freely give. Amen. Amen.