Speaker A
Cornerstone Chapel. Today we gather as a church. We worship together. We study God's Word. Cornerstone Chapel.
Gary Hamrick teaches on Luke 18:35-43, exploring the story of Bartimaeus and the power of faith for miracles today.
Key Takeaways
- God remains a miracle-working God today, just as in biblical times.
- Faith and persistence are crucial in seeking God's intervention.
- Every life has honor and dignity, regardless of physical limitations.
- Biblical stories gain deeper meaning when understood in their historical and cultural context.
- Personal humility and dependence on God are powerful themes in the story of Bartimaeus.
What the video covers
- The video is a sermon by Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA, focusing on Luke 18:35-43.
- The passage tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus near Jericho.
- Jericho is described historically and geographically, highlighting its significance as an ancient city.
- Bartimaeus is introduced as a blind beggar whose name means 'son of honor' or 'son of humility.'
- The sermon emphasizes that God is a miracle-working God, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- Gary shares a humorous personal story to clarify the meaning of 'blind man' in the biblical context.
- The story illustrates faith and humility through Bartimaeus' persistent cries for mercy from Jesus.
- The healing is presented as a demonstration of Jesus’ compassion and power, inspiring faith in listeners.
- The sermon encourages viewers to identify their own need for a miracle and approach God with faith.
- The teaching situates the biblical event in its cultural and historical context, enhancing understanding.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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We're in the Gospel of Luke, we're at chapter 18, and I'm going to look at a story at the end of chapter 18.
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That starts at verse 35. Luke 18, starting at verse 35.
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It says, then it happened, as he, that's Jesus,
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was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.
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And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.
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And so they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.
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And he cried out saying, Jesus, Son of David,
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have mercy on me.
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And then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet.
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But he cried out all the more, Son of David,
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have mercy on me.
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And so Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him.
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And when he had come near, he asked him saying, what do you want me to do for you?
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And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
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And then Jesus said to him, receive your sight, your faith has made you well.
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And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God.
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And all the people when they saw it, gave praise to God.
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I've entitled my teaching today, I need a miracle.
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There's some of you who are desperate for a miracle.
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And as we approach this story, I want us to approach it with the idea in mind.
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That the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
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He's still a miracle working God.
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So what is your miracle today that you need?
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So let's pause and pray and then we'll talk about this story.
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Lord, we thank you as we just quiet ourselves before you today and open up your word together.
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We thank you for this story, a reminder that you are a miracle working God.
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Here's a desperate man who desperately needed you.
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And you, Lord, met his need so miraculously.
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And, Lord, you know that there are some desperate needs represented here among us.
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And those who are watching online.
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And those who will later listen to this.
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And we look to you as that same miracle working God.
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And we appeal to you today too for whatever our miraculous need is.
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And so, Lord, as we just approach this story with with faith and and humility.
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We just ask you to use it to speak to our hearts today.
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We love you and we praise you together in Jesus' name.
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And everybody said.
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Amen.
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Well, this story takes place as verse 37 tells us, uh, on the outskirts of the city of Jericho.
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Now, Jericho is mentioned often in the Bible.
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Jericho is located about 15 miles east of the city of Jerusalem in Israel.
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It is, uh, quite a bit lower in terms of sea level than Jerusalem.
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Uh, Jericho was about 800 feet below sea level.
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And, um, it is named in Hebrew, not with a J.
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But spelled with a Y.
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There is no J in the Hebrew alphabet.
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And so it is spelled and pronounced Jericho.
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And Jericho in Hebrew means fragrant.
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And it was so named because there would be balsam and cypress and roses.
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That would grow naturally there in Jericho.
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And it would give it a very fragrant aroma.
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Four times in the Bible, Jericho was called the city of Palms.
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Because it was also there that date palms would would grow.
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And Jericho is surrounded by several freshwater springs.
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And, uh, because water is such a precious commodity in any culture.
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But especially in a very arid culture like the Middle East.
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It made Jericho for a place where many civilizations over the years have settled.
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And as a result, Jericho was actually the oldest city in the world.
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Damascus, Syria is considered the oldest continually occupied city in the world.
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But Jericho is considered the oldest city in the world.
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In 1994, Jericho was handed over by the Israeli government to the Palestinian Authority.
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As part of a peace for land kind of a deal.
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Um, and in 1994, when that transaction happened, that transfer of of the territory.
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From the Israelis to the Palestinians in 1994, my friend, who's also been here.
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A couple months ago to fill the pulpit for me.
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Amir Sarfati, who's an Israeli, uh, Jewish believer in Jesus.
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Amir was actually the deputy governor of Jericho during that peaceful time of transition.
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In 1994.
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And so today, Jericho is in the hands and in part of the territory of the Palestinian territory.
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Uh, of the West Bank and about 20,000 Arabs live there today.
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That's the scene of our story.
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And so this ancient city, uh, Jesus is passing through on his way to Jerusalem.
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It'll be his last visit to Jerusalem just prior to his crucifixion.
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He's making pilgrimage there with his disciples.
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It's it's around the Passover feast.
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So here he comes passing by Jericho.
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And he encounters a blind man who is sitting by the road begging.
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Now, let me interrupt this story to tell kind of a funny little.
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Uh, true story and then we'll come back to to our Bible study.
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But years ago, when, uh, our church was was new.
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The first seven years of our church, we were at Simpson Middle School.
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And then after that, we bought a small little, um, mini mall.
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It was like a little strip mall just down the road on Miller Drive by the Leesburg Airport.
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And, um, many of you used to go there before we moved into this building.
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And and built as a mini mall, uh, it had all glass on the front of the building.
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And, uh, for storefronts originally.
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Um, so when we bought it, we had to obviously get, you know, shades for all across the front of the building.
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Because, you know, the bright sunlight would come in.
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So we made an appointment with a commercial, uh, company.
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Who was going to measure the windows and, you know, give us an estimate on what it would cost to to put shades all over the place.
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So I had forgotten about the actual appointment.
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And, uh, so one day, my admin comes into my office.
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And she says to me, hey, the blind guy is here.
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And and I I said, what blind guy?
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And she says, don't you remember you had an appointment with him?
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I said, I I I don't remember that.
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And and I'm thinking to myself, and why are you, that's kind of cruel to be referring to this guy.
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By his disability.
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And so, so I say to her, I said, well, does he have a name?
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She says, who, the blind guy?
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I said, yeah.
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Does he have a name?
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And she says, I'm I'm sorry, I didn't get his name.
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Um, and and I said, okay, well, listen.
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When you go to get him and lead him back here to my office.
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Could you please ask his name so that I will know?
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And she says, yeah, sure.
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And she says, by the way, remember, when he comes to your office.
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He also has to take a look at your windows.
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I said,
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How can a blind guy take a look at and what?
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Oh.
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And then it connect.
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The blind guy.
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Okay.
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Send him back.
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So, for people who might be a little dense like me sometimes.
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I just want you to know, this story we're reading about is about a guy who cannot see.
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Okay, not a guy who works in window treatments.
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All right.
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So that's settled.
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Luke does not tell us the name of the blind guy.
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He just says he's a blind guy.
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But Mark, when Mark tells us the story in Mark chapter 10.
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He tells us his name.
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His name is Bartimaeus.
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And Bartimaeus's name is original name.
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It's from two words, Bar, son of Timaeus.
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And Timaeus can translate either honor or humility.
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So his name can translate son of honor or son of humility.
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And the truth is that he lived out his name every day.
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He was both the son of honor and the son of humility.
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In this sense.
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That every life has honor and dignity and value to God.
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That his life had honor and value to God.
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He was in that sense, the son of honor.
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But he was also the son of humility.
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Because there's nothing quite as humbling as being blind.
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And having to beg for your life.
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His very survival depended on begging.
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And so he was also the son of humility.
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And so here he is sitting along the roadside of Jericho.
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Begging, begging for people to give him money.
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Or to give him a cup of water.
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Or to give him food.
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Or to give him clothing.
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If that was your condition in the day.
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You were completely dependent upon the generosity of other people.
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You would just have to beg literally for your survival.
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And so here he is begging along the roadway.
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And he's situated in a very prominent place.
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Because there were a few major trade routes through Israel.
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And as a result of these trade routes, there were three major towns.
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Where customs booths were set up to tax the people like a toll.
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As people would come through that particular, uh, um, region.
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That particular, uh, trade route.
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Uh, if you remember, Jesus, one of the disciples he selected was Levi, Matthew.
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He was a tax collector.
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And Jesus took him from the tax collector's booth in Capernaum.
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Capernaum was one of three towns where the customs booth was set up.
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In addition was Caesarea.
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And the third place was Jericho.
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That's where the custom booth was set up.
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In other words, this guy, Bartimaeus, has positioned himself at a place where there's a lot of foot traffic.
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There's a lot of people coming through.
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This is a trade route.
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There's a customs booth here.
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And so he's in a position where he's potentially going to come in contact with a lot of people who might be able to give to him.
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Now, we don't know how long he's been blind.
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The Bible doesn't say that he was born blind.
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Maybe he acquired his blindness through an illness of some kind.
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We don't know.
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How long he's been in this condition.
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What we do know is is that he relied on his auditory senses.
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And what is commonly understood is that when some person has a deficiency in one area of their senses.
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The other ones commonly compensate and are heightened.
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And so this guy has a heightened, no doubt, auditory sense.
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And the Bible says here that as he's sitting here blind along the road begging.
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That he hears, he hears verse 36.
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A lot of commotion, he hears a multitude passing by.
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Now, he doesn't know what all the commotion is.
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But he hears it.
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There's this rumble of pedestrian traffic.
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There's no doubt the commotion of voices that he's hearing.
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Perhaps the dust of the of the road is being kicked up and into his nostrils.
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He's perceiving a lot here.
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Something is happening.
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What is going on?
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And so he asks.
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And no doubt he's asking somebody who has sight.
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Who can tell him what's going on.
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And so verse 37 says, he was told, here's what he's told.
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Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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That's what all the commotion is about.
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People are crowding around Jesus, they're following after him.
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There's, you know, he's he's, you know, seen as somebody who's, you know, become very popular.
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He's about to be crucified.
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But in the moment, he's very popular.
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So he's attracted a large crowd here.
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And so when the people tell this guy, tell Bartimaeus.
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Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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Bartimaeus cries out for him.
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But I want you to notice that when he cries out for Jesus.
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He does not refer to him as Jesus of Nazareth.
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He cries out to him, referring to him as Jesus, Son of David.
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Now, why is this important in your Bibles?
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It is important to note.
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Because listen, Jesus of Nazareth is the name of our Lord.
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And the town where he grew up.
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So it tells us who he was and where he grew up.
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But Jesus, Son of David.
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That title, Son of David, was a Messianic title.
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In our Old Testaments, the Jewish scripture prophesied that the Messiah.
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Would be a descendant of King David.
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And Jesus could lay claim to his being a descendant of David.
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Through both his adoptive dad, Joseph, and his biological mom, Mary.
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Because if you look at the biological genealogical records of Jesus in Luke 3 and in Matthew 1.
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It tells us that Joseph, the adoptive dad of Jesus.
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Okay, because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
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That Joseph, the adoptive dad of Jesus, was a descendant of King David through David's son, Solomon.
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And that Mary, the biological mother of Jesus, was a descendant of King David through David's son, Nathan.
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So that between the two, Jesus is fully the son of David.
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Both legally and biologically.
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And so thus, when Bartimaeus is describing to him a Messianic title.
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What he's saying to us is that he recognizes Jesus as not just from Nazareth.
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But from God.
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This is the Messiah.
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This is God in flesh.
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This is the long anticipated one who has come to redeem the world.
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Very different.
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It's not just Jesus of Nazareth.
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He is Jesus, Son of David, because he is the Messiah.
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So, I'm going to share five things from this story using Bartimaeus as an example.
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For the miracle that you might need, that I might need.
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And the first thing we learn here is that he believed that Jesus is a miracle working God.
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That's why he refers to him by the title Son of David.
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He ascribes unto him the dignity of the title.
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Because it declares the divinity of the Lord.
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And so here he is, Son of David, Son of David.
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Very different.
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This is where our miracle begins too.
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If we need a miracle from the Lord.
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Then we need to understand who he really is.
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Now, the word miracle has been so overused in our culture.
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We have miracle whip, miracle grow.
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Miracle ear.
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We have Smokey Robinson and the miracles.
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I mean, there's a lot of stuff that we've overused the word miracle.
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It's kind of diluted the term.
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So the kind of miracle that I'm talking about, the kind of miracle that's in this story.
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The biblical kind.
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Is when the supernatural hand of God intervenes in the natural world of man.
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A true miracle is divine intervention.
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It's when something happens that cannot be explained by human ingenuity.
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Or natural means, but can only be attributed to the divine intervention of God.
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See, if you believe that Jesus was just Jesus of Nazareth.
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Then you think he's just another historical person along the lines of Buddha and Confucius and Muhammad.
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And if you think that he was just another historical figure along the lines of Buddha and Confucius and Muhammad.
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Then you're unlikely to receive the kind of miracle that those guys produced.
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Which is zero.
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Right?
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None of them did any miracles.
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The followers of Muhammad about 150 to 200 years later.
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Came up with some miracles that they said that he did.
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But in the Quran, it mentions that Muhammad did zero miracles.
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But in the same Quran, it mentions that Jesus did several.
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So, if you just want to look at Jesus as this historical figure.
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And you put him on par with other historical figures.
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Then you're not likely to get the kind of miracle that you desperately need.
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It's only when we see him and know him.
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As, oh, he is still the miracle working God.
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He is the son of David.
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The son of God.
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The Messiah.
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And so Bartimaeus starts to shout this out.
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He's recognizing.
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This is a miracle working God.
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This is Jesus.
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This is Son of David.
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This is a miracle working God.
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And he begins to shout this out.
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Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
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Which is the second important thing we see here.
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He appealed to the mercy of God.
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Now, mercy simply means compassion for those who are suffering.
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And God is full of that.
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He has a lot of compassion for people who are suffering.
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The Bible says in Psalm 86:15, but you, oh Lord, are a God full of compassion.
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And gracious, long suffering and abundant in mercy and truth.
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And in Psalm 118:29, it says, oh, give thanks to the Lord.
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For he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
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How many of you are thankful that there's no shortage of mercy with God?
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Let me just see your hands.
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Absolutely, praise God.
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Because we need his mercy.
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He's a merciful God.
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He is touched by our infirmities.
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He is acquainted with our sorrows.
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He understands our grief.
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He knows our needs.
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And with that in compassion, with that kind of compassion.
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He has mercy for us.
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And when he decides to do a miraculous thing for us.
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Which is his prerogative.
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When God wants to do something miraculous.
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How he wants to do it.
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It is not based on the merit of the person.
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It is based on the mercy of God.
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It's not like any of us, you know, deserve or qualify.
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Or there's something really charming about any of us.
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That warrants a miracle.
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God gives us miracles because of his compassion toward us.
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Because he's a merciful God.
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That's it.
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He's a merciful God.
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And he loves to do compassionate things for people.
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And so Bartimaeus understood that about God's character.
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That he is merciful.
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That he longs to show compassion to those who are suffering.
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And it's on that basis that he appeals to the mercy of God.
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When you need a miracle from God.
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You need to have a right view of God.
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If you are mad at God for your circumstance.
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Or you blame God for your circumstance.
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Or you think that God doesn't care that you're in your circumstance.
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You're not believing that God is a merciful God.
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You are believing that God is a detached God.
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That he's an uncaring God.
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That he's an insensitive God.
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And so then why should you expect to get a miracle from that God?
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We need to see him as a merciful God.
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Despite our circumstances.
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Bartimaeus understood that God is merciful.
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And that's why he cries out for mercy.
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And not just once, but twice.
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Also in verse 39, at the end of verse 39.
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It says, but he cried out all the more, second time.
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Son of David, have mercy on me.
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Now, why did he have to cry out all the more?
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Why the second time?
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Well, because the Bible tells us that the crowd near by him.
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When he cried out the first time, told him to shut up.
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Now, if there's young ears in the crowd, we're not supposed to say shut up.
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But for the purpose of our study.
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That's basically what they did.
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If you look in verse 39, first part of verse 39.
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It says, then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet.
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So the first time when he asked, what's going on?
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What's the hustle and bustle?
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Oh, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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Oh, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
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Quiet, shut up.
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That's why.
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All the louder it says, he cries out again.
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Son of David, have mercy on me.
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Because the people in the crowd.
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Doubted that he could really get the miracle that he desperately needed.
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Either that or they or they doubted that Jesus was able to deliver the miracle.
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That this guy needed.
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Either case.
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There were doubters in the crowd.
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And I love about the fact that this guy didn't adhere to their caution about being quiet.
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He just decided, forget you.
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And he and he cries out even louder.
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Son of David, have mercy on me.
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Which is the third important thing we see here.
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He dismissed the voices of doubt.
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He dismissed the voices of doubt.
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Can I just say to you.
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That for the miracle that you need, that you're seeking God for.
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There will be some doubters in the crowd around you.
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There will be some people in your life.
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Who will not encourage you.
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In fact, who will discourage you.
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Who will tell you, stop praying for that.
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Stop believing God for that.
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That's ridiculous.
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Don't ask God for that.
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Or else they'll doubt that God can really deliver for you.
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What you need.
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And so there are doubters in every crowd.
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There are haters.
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There are people who discourage.
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There are people who will not be enthusiastic for you.
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Do you know that the etymology of the word enthusiasm?
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Is from two Greek words, and Theos.
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Meaning in God.
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There will be some people who are not in God at all about you.
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And what you need from God.
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Those are the doubters.
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And those are the people who are going to try to discourage you.
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And I love that Bartimaeus didn't just shut up and, okay, yeah, you're probably right.
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He's just like, I'm sorry.
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I'm going to cry out even louder.
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Son of David, have mercy on me.
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So, when the doubters come around you to discourage you.
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Dismiss them.
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Cry out even louder to Jesus.
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Because they don't live in your desperate shoes.
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You do.
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So don't let them rob you of what God might do for you because you refuse to ask God for it.
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Because they're discouraging you along the way.
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You say, thank you very much.
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But I'm going to still cry out to my God.
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Because I'm desperate enough to seek him for what I need.
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It reminds me of the story about this farmer.
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That had this mule.
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It was an old mule.
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Really wasn't good for much of anything anymore.
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And this old mule stumbled into the farmer's well.
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Fell down into the well and there he was.
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Braying, braying, braying all day long.
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And the farmer was just like, you know what, this this mule is no good to me.
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He's old and useless.
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And this well is dried up.
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It's no good either.
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And so he decided, I'm going to just bury the old donkey and or the mule.
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And put him out of his misery.
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So he took a shovel and he just started digging dirt.
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And throwing it down into the well.
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Digging a shovel load of dirt.
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Throwing it down into the well.
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And as the story goes, this mule.
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Every time a dirt load hit his back.
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He would just shake it off and stand up.
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Shake it off and stand up.
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Until enough dirt had been thrown into that well and that mule just shook it off.
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And stood on it until he got all the way up to the top and was able to crawl out of that well.
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See, what was intended to bury him actually became a blessing.
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Because it helped him to get where he needed to be.
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And there's going to be some people who want to bury you with discouragement.
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Oh, that's just ridiculous.
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Don't believe God for this.
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And who are you to trust God for that?
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And believe him for this.
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Listen.
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Shake it off and step up.
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Because God is still on the throne.
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Don't listen to them.
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You believe God for what he can do for you.
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Now.
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Amen.
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Let me also say this.
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That sometimes the voices of doubt are not simply from the crowd without.
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But sometimes from our mind within.
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These doubtful thoughts that creep in because the enemy likes to whisper lies to us.
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You you're not going to get that.
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You don't deserve that.
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Who do you think you are even asking for that?
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You've been down this road before.
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A hundred times.
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Why are you asking again?
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Stop asking.
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And doubt will creep into your own mind.
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If not from without, from within.
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And we have to take to heart, second Corinthians 10, verse 5.
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Second Corinthians 10:5.
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We demolish every argument and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
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And we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
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Sometimes we just have to renounce those kind of thoughts.
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Of doubt and fear that come into our own minds.
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So whether it's from without or from within.
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I love the way that Bartimaeus was like, I'm not listening to those who don't believe.
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I'm not listening to the doubtful thoughts.
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I'm going to cry out even louder.
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When you start to feel discouraged.
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Or there are people or your own self-talk is discouraging you.
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And you're doubting about things.
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That's the time when you should cry out even more to Jesus.
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Cry out even more to Jesus.
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And so in our story, though the people didn't think it worthwhile to bring this guy to Jesus.
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Jesus did.
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So when he hears the guy crying out.
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Jesus, it says, stops and he tells people.
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Go get this guy and bring him to me.
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Look in your Bibles again, verse 40 to 42.
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Verse 40, it says, so Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him.
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And when he had come near, he asked him saying, what do you want me to do for you?
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Now notice that.
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It's a very pointed question.
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What do you want me to do for you?
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And he said, Bartimaeus said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
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And then Jesus said to him, receive your sight, your faith has made you well.
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Your faith has made you well.
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Number four.
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He exercised faith in God.
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Now, faith.
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Faith can be a tricky thing.
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Because faith is not just, you know, chanting something over and over and over again.
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In hopes that by chanting it, you can make it come to pass.
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Okay.
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That's faith in faith.
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Faith is to be faith in God that he is able to do exceedingly abundantly.
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Beyond what you could ever ask or imagine.
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That's Ephesians 3:20.
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It's having faith that God is great and magnificent and all powerful.
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And that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
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So my faith is in God's ability.
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And then I rest in his results.
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Because I have to believe Romans 8:28.
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All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.
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So, if I'm obedient to the Lord, then whatever I'm praying for.
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If it happens or if it doesn't, if it happens when I want or later.
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Whatever it might be, I'm going to trust that God because he is able to do exceedingly abundantly.
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Is going to do for my good and for his glory.
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According to his good purposes.
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So I have faith in his ability.
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And I leave the results to him.
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And faith is hoping for something that we cannot see.
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And that's, you know, it's Hebrews 11:1.
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Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
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The evidence of things not seen.
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There there are certain miracles that you might need.
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Or answers to prayer that you have that you're asking God for.
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That you can't see yet.
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You know, if you could see it.
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Then you wouldn't need faith.
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We're asking God for things, we're pleading with God, we're desperate with God.
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For things that we cannot see that are not here yet.
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But that's part of faith.
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That's part of trusting him.
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And and I love the way that Jesus in this story invites Bartimaeus to be specific.
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God wants us to be specific.
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Jesus looks at him.
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You know, Jesus, he he he's obviously, you know, God in flesh.
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So it's not like he didn't know.
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Like, what's your deal?
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You know, he he but he asks Bartimaeus.
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To give Bartimaeus the opportunity to be specific with his request.
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What does he want me to do for you?
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Like, imagine that.
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Jesus just shows up and cart Blanche.
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What do you want me to do for you?
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Be specific with your prayers.
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Ask the Lord, this is what I need.
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And and so.
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When Jesus asked Bartimaeus, what do you want me to do for you?
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He he was specific.
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He said in verse 41, I want to receive my sight.
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And oh, what a glorious day this was for him.
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Because verse 43 says, and immediately he received his sight and followed him.
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Glorifying him.
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Followed him, glorifying him.
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That's point number five.
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He gave God all the glory.
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He was careful to give glory to where glory was due.
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And to give honor where honor was due.
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The Bible says in first Chronicles 16:29.
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Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
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In Psalm 115, verse 1, not to us, oh Lord, not to us.
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But to your name be the glory because of your love and faithfulness.
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You remember the story a few weeks ago of the.
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The 10 lepers and Jesus healed all 10.
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They went away to show themselves to the priest.
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But only one returned.
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The other nine didn't.
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The one returned to give glory and thanks to God.
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Don't be like the nine.
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When God does a miracle in your life, be the one who gives him thanks and glory.
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And make it public.
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Make it known what God has done.
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And can I just say along the lines of praying for a miracle.
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That the greatest miracle that God could possibly give you and do for you.
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Is the miracle of salvation.
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That if you know Christ as your Lord and Savior.
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If you've accepted Jesus, that transforming work that God does in your heart and life.
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To change you from who you were to who you are in him.
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Growing even ever more.
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That's the greatest miracle ever.
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So for some of you who think, I've never really gotten a miracle from Jesus.
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How about your salvation?
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Like start there.
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Because the transforming powerful work of God to save us from sin and death by offering his son Jesus on a cross.
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Is the most incredible miracle ever given.
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So we're all beneficiaries of the miraculous hand of God.
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But it's important to understand that when God does what he does.
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Our salvation or some specific thing in answer to prayer.
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God, I need this miracle for this thing or that thing.
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Make sure you give him the glory.
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And let me tell you what happens when you give him the glory.
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When you're vocal about it, when you let your testimony known.
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It will cause other people to give glory to God.
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Because that's the way this story ends.
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At the end of verse 43, and all the people when they saw it.
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Gave praise to God.
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Your testimony of God's miraculous touch in your life.
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Will help people to see the Lord.
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And they'll give praise to him too.
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Now.
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Let me bring this home and help us to understand this story.
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And in today's application.
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Here you have this story of Jesus passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem.
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You have this guy, very desperate, blind.
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Sitting at the side of the road begging.
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And he asks in all the commotion, what's going on?
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And they say, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
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I want you to think for a moment.
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If Jesus right now were passing by you.
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What would be the one cry of your heart that you would ask him for a miracle for?
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What's the one thing right now?
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That you're desperate for God to miraculously meet.
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Now for some of you, just instantly, something immediately came to your mind.
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I don't want Jesus to pass us by today.
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I want us to cry out to him.
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He's still a miracle working God.
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The Bible says he's the same yesterday, today and forever.
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And the Bible also says in James, we have not because we ask not.
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So we need to ask him.
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And we need to be specific.
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And then we need to trust him.
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But he still wants us to ask.
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Because wouldn't it be wonderful if God miraculously touched whatever the need was in your life.
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The way you so desperately need.
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So ask.
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In 1868, one of the most prolific hymn writers.
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By the name of Fanny Crosby.
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Wrote an old hymn of our faith that was called.
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Pass me not, oh gentle Savior.
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And it was a song, a hymn, written about this very story that we're studying today from Luke 18.
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And here's what Fanny Crosby wrote in that hymn.
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Pass me not, oh gentle Savior.
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Hear my humble cry.
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While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.
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Let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief.
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Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief.
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Trusting only in thy merit.
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Would I seek thy face.
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Heal my wounded, broken spirit.
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Save me by thy grace.
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And the refrain goes.
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Savior, Savior.
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Hear my humble cry.
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While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.
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Fanny Crosby was herself blind.
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When she wrote that song.
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She understood a desperate condition.
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God understands yours too.
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Why don't we ask him today?
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Not to pass us by.
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Why don't we cry out for the miracle that we need?
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Would you do that with me?
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And then we'll have communion together.
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Would you just bow your heads?
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I'm going to pray a prayer and I'm going to lead you in.
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And if you want to just join me in this because there's a miracle that you need in your life.
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Then just whisper this prayer with me.
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Just you can just whisper it where you're seated.
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Come on, let's just join our hearts together and pray to the Lord.
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Just say, Lord Jesus.
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I'm in desperate need.
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You know what the need is.
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You are acquainted with my life.
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You know when I rise, when I sit.
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You know when I come and go.
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You know everything about me.
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And so I appeal to you as a merciful God.
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And I ask you in Jesus' name for a miracle today.
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You know my need.
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And I pray right now for this need.
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Now go ahead and just quietly.
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Just make your specific request known to the Lord.
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Just tell him what the need is.
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Maybe it's physical healing for yourself.
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Maybe for a loved one or a friend.
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Maybe it's the renewal or restoration of a marriage.
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Maybe it's deliverance from an addiction.
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Maybe it's a miracle for a prodigal child.
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Whatever it is, just name it right now.
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Say, Lord, this is this is the miracle that I need.
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And I'm going to trust you against all doubt.
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When others try to discourage me.
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When the enemy tries to put thoughts in my head.
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I will take captive every thought.
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I will make it obedient to Christ.
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And I will cry out to you even louder.
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Have mercy on me.
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Jesus.
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Son of David.
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Son of God.
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The Messiah.
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The miracle worker.
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Help me, Lord.
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Do a miracle in my life.
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I humbly submit this to you.
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And I trust you.
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As my Lord and Savior.
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In Jesus' name, I pray.
Topics:Luke 18:35-43BartimaeusmiraclefaithJesus healingJerichoGary HamrickCornerstone ChapelChristian sermonBible study
