CHRIST CREATIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
A SERMON PREACHED ON SUNDAY
APRIL 5, 1998
BY
THE REV. DR. GEORGE ST. ANTHONY FERGUSON, SR.
AUTHOR: Mark
THEME: Jesus Christ, The Servant
DATE: 50 AD
TEXT: Mark 10:52
As a little boy of nine years old, I began to lose sight in my eyes. I’ll never forget it because I was in 5th grade in Mrs. Parris class. I use to sit way back in her class and could see the board. But quickly and consistently, my eyes became weaker and weaker. I was moved to the middle of the class but yet my eyes got worst. I was moved to the front of the class but yet my eyes got worst. I eventually was placed a few feet from the board but yet my eyes got worst. Mrs. Parris told me to tell my parents to take me to the eye doctor. When I was examined, I learned that my eyes were indeed bad and that I had a condition called optical myopia. It is also called nearsightedness. I can see things close up but I cannot see things far off. Things close up are clear but things far off are bleared. Nearsightedness occurs when the image of the object you are looking at forms clearly in your eyes before it reaches the back of your eyeball. In other words, my eyeballs are too long. From that day in the Fall of 1994, I have worn glasses. I went from 20/20 to 20/100. I saw men as trees. Thank God, today my glasses are in my eyes in the form of contact lenses but I still am nearsighted. I can see because of corrective lenses. But one day Jesus had to deal with a man who had no sight. He could not see. And so today on this joyous Palm Sunday, God told me to preach on the subject, I Want To See Jesus.
Our sermon lesson is found in the gospel of Mark. Most scholars think that Mark was written before Matthew but Mark is the second gospel in our canonized scriptures. We find ourselves in the 10th Chapter of Mark. Mark was a young Jew who became a believer under the ministry of Peter the Apostle. Mark was a native of Jerusalem. Acts 12:12 tells us the name of his mother was Mary but we do not know who was his father. Mark was the nephew of Barnabas and he went with Paul and Barnabas on their 1st Missionary Journey. He turned back on that Journey and Paul forbid him from going with him on his 2nd Missionary Journey. This caused a sharp split between Paul and Barnabas but later on, Mark was once again ministering with Paul. When Paul was in jail, he sent for Mark saying he was profitable to him for the ministry. But Mark was Peter’s son in the ministry. Peter in 1 Peter 5:13 called Mark "my son." The gospel of Mark reflects Peter’s views of Jesus. Jesus called Peter into the ministry and said come, follow me. And Peter went. Peter was a fisherman and a man of action; and the gospel of Mark is the gospel of action. The gospel of Mark was written to appeal to the Roman mind. The gospel of Mark was written to appeal to the person of action. The gospel of Mark was written to appeal to those who believe in doing the Word and not just hearing the Word. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus was always on the go. Jesus was always on the move. Jesus was always doing something. The most favorite words in the gospel of Mark are immediately and suddenly. Mark wants the world to know that Jesus Christ is in fact the Servant of God on the move. And as the Jesus was headed to Jerusalem to walk in Jerusalem just like John, he had to go through the ancient city of Jericho. Jericho was where Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down. And on this day, Jesus Christ whose Jewish name is Yoshua Ha Mashia, Joshua the Messiah; this same Jesus was leaving Jericho. Mark said as they were departing from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. People were to the right of Jesus. People were to the left of Jesus. People were in front of Jesus. People were behind Jesus. People were all around Jesus. The popularity of Jesus was so high in his 3rd year of ministry that a great throng, a great number, a great multitude followed him out of Jericho. And just as Jesus was about to leave Jericho to go Jerusalem for the last time, V46 says, "And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging." My 1st point is this: We Are All Beggars In Some Manner. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to die for our sins and he was leaving the city of Jericho. As he went out of Jericho, Mark says that a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus was on the side of the road begging. He was saying blind, please help. He was saying I’m poor, can you help. He was saying brother, can you spear a dime. Just like we treat beggars today, most people acted like he was not even there. Most people just ignored him. Most people just passed him by. Why? Because he was a beggar and beggars were the low man on the totem pole. But wither you like it or not, all of us beggars at some level. We beg for money in our pockets. We beg for clothes on our backs. We beg for a roof over our head. We beg for help in the time of trouble. We beg our friends, our teachers, our parents, and most of all, we beg God. We all are beggars because somebody had to help us when we could not help ourselves. Somebody had to give us an opportunity. If somebody did not help you or me when we were in need, where would we be. If it had not been for the Lord on my side, where would I be. But for the grace of God there go I. Our beggarly state would be just as obvious as Blind Bartimaeus. And on this day, Jesus as passing by. And when Jesus passes by
YOU BETTER DO SOMETHING
YOU BETTER SAY SOMETHING
YOU BETTER CRY OUT
YOU BETTER LET YOUR PARTITION BE KNOWN
YOU BETTER NOT LET JESUS PASS YOU BY
The song says pass me not Oh gentile Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Can I get a witness? I Want To See Jesus.
Blind Bartimaeus must have sensed the presence of the crowd. Blind Bartimaeus must have heard the noise of the crowd. He must have asked, what is going on? He must have asked, who is passing by? Somebody must have said Jesus! V47 says, "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." My 2nd point is this: You Should Ask Jesus To Have Mercy On You. When Blind Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus passing by, he knew that his day had come. He knew that his opportunity had come. He knew that his time had come. He had heard how Jesus had healed the sick. He heard how Jesus had raised the dead. He heard how Jesus had open blinded eyes. And he wanted his eyes open too. So he began to cry out to Jesus. He began to call out to Jesus. He began to yell out for Jesus. Now, here was a man who had been blind from his mother’s womb. Here was a man who had been blind for all his life. He wanted relief. He wanted release. He wanted restoration. And you would think that the crowd would be happy that he had the heart to call out to Jesus. You would think that the crowd would be glad that he had the heart to call out to Jesus. You would think that the crowd would be pleased that he had the heart to call out to Jesus. But oh no, the crowd is never for you. The crowd did not say, let Blind Bartimaeus through so he can speak to Jesus. The crowd told him to shut his mouth. Mark said and many charged him and told him that he should hold his peace. Why is it that the crowd wants you to be quiet when it comes to the things of God? Why is it that the crowd usually wants you to hold your peace when it comes to Jesus? Why is it that the crowd usually wants you to shut your mouth when it comes to your healing? When it comes to my healing, I will not shut up. When it comes to my health, I will not shut up. When it comes to my salvation, I will not shut up. I’ll shout out to God as loud as I want to. I’ll call out to God as long as I have to. I’ll yell out to God as hard as I have to. And Mark said Blind Bartimaeus ignored the crowd and he cried out the more. He cried out a great deal. And this is what he said, Thou son of David, have mercy on me! Now I don’t know about you, but I want Jesus to have mercy on me. I don’t want justice from God. I don’t want the judgment of God. I don’t want the adjudication of God. I want the mercy of God. I want the grace of God. I want the love of God. If I have to choice between God’s justice and God’s mercy, give me mercy everytime. His judgment last for just a little while, but his mercy endures forever. The Bible says, weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. The joy of the Lord is my strength. Notice that Blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus but the crowd told him to shut up. Isn’t that the way religious folks are? You cry out for the Lord and religious folks tell you to shut up. You cry out for God and religious folks tell you to close your mouth. You cry out for Jesus and religious folks tell you to be quite. Remember, this was the crowd that was following Jesus. They were the of the Church but not in the Church. They knew of Jesus but they did not know Jesus. They walked around God but they did not walk with God. If they knew Jesus they would have known that Jesus would answer the distressing cry. They would have known that Jesus would hear our humble cry. They would have known that Jesus would hear our feeble cry and answer by and by. You just feel a little prayer wheel turning and know that the fire is burning. You just have a little talk with Jesus makes it right. Mark said and Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. If you want Jesus to stand still and fellowship with you, just call on His holy name. If you believe the Lord, call him up and tell him what you want.
WHEN YOU CRY OUT TO JESUS, HE WILL HEAR YOUR CRY
WHEN YOU CRY OUT TO JESUS, HE WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYER
WHEN YOU CRY OUT TO JESUS, HE WILL STAND STILL
WHEN YOU CRY OUT TO JESUS, HE WILL MOVE ON YOUR BEHALF
IF JESUS HAS TO MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH JUST TO GET TO YOU, HE WILL DO IT
YOU HAVE TO KEEP ON ASKING
KEEP ON SEEKING
KEEP ON KNOCKING
KEEP ON BELIEVING AND THE DOOR SHALL BE OPEN UNTO YOU
When your cry out to Jesus, just say Lord have mercy on my soul. Jesus is on the main line, tell him what you want. Call him up and tell him what you want. Am I right about you? I Want To See Jesus.
After Jesus stopped and commanded Blind Bartimaeus to come to him, Mark said and the people call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, arise because he calls for you. Now I don’t want you to miss the fickleness of people. When Blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus the people told him to shut up. They didn’t know him. They didn’t care about him. In fact, they spoke harshly to him saying shut your mouth. Can’t you see that the master is too busy for you. But now, all of a sudden, that Jesus stood still to meet Blind Bartimaeus’ need, the crowd began to speak kindly to him. They softly said He is calling you to him. Why don’t you please get up and go to him. When people don’t know you they will always try to keep you down. But when the person who they are following takes interest in you then all of a sudden they will go out of their way to be friendly to you. That is fickle. That is petty. That is phony. That is hypocritical. But that is why you can never let the crowd influence you. They will always treat you worst than you deserve and then if somebody they respect treats you with respect, then they will try to act like they like. Don’t go along with the crowd because the crowd will always lead you to the wrong place. The crowd can lead you to hell. Remember it was this same crowd that would say Hosanna when Jesus entered Jerusalem and then say crucify him when Pilate wanted to free him. I’m gonna say it one more time, don’t follow the crowd. Be your own man or woman and be obedient to God. Jesus was his own man. Jesus was obedient to God and now he has all power in his hands. And Blind Bartimaeus did not have to be called twice by Jesus. He knew what to do. Mark says and he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. Scholars say that Blind Bartimaeus had on a garment that identified him as a beggar. Blind Bartimaeus had on a garment that identified him as a man in need. Blind Bartimaeus had on a garment that identified him as a blind man. As long as he wore the garment, he was authorized by the Jewish leader to beg in the street. As long as he wore the garment, he was authorized by the Jewish leaders to say, "Please help the blind." I remember when I lived in Charleston, SC that there was a blind black man who always was outside the five, dime, and one dollar store called Edwards singing songs. He would be dressed in dirty old smelly clothing. He would put a can in his hand and rattle it. He would say, "Please help the blind." Sometimes somebody would throw a nickel in the can. Sometimes somebody would throw a dime in the can. Sometimes somebody would throw a quarter in the can. This blind man was an outcast of society. This was a hard way to live. He could never make enough to live comfortably. He could only live in poverty. He was always poor. And when Jesus called Blind Bartimaeus, he dropped his dirty old smelly garment down on the ground. When Blind Bartimaeus dropped his garment, he was dropping his beggarly state down. He was dropping his poverty down. He was dropping his outcast status down. He was dropping his blind state down. The song says, I’m gonna lay down my burdens, down by the river. I ain’t gonna study war no more. I ain’t gonna study the ways of Satan no more. I ain’t gonna study poverty no more. I ain’t gonna study the wrong way no more. Blind Bartimaeus dropped his garment because he was ready to leave his old unproductive life behind and enter into a new life in Christ. By dropping his garment, Blind Bartimaeus was walking by faith. No longer was he going to live as a beggar. No longer was he going to live as an outcast. No longer was he going to be blind. He was moving in faith. And when he got to Jesus V51 says, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight." My 3rd point is this: Always Be Specific When You Pray To God. Jesus saw the man move in faith and so Jesus asked him a question. Jesus asked what will you have me to do for you? Blind Bartimaeus did not mince words. Blind Bartimaeus did not pull any punches. Blind Bartimaeus did go over the river and through the woods with a bunch of general things. Blind Bartimaeus specifically said Lord that I might receive my sight. Blind Bartimaeus had heard about the healing power of Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus had heard about the healing heart of Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus had heard about the healing hands of Jesus. So he specifically asked Jesus for his sight. He did not ask for Jesus to help those in the hospital. He did not ask for Jesus to give him good feelings. He did not ask for Jesus to help the missionaries in Africa. He asked Jesus to open his eyes. Do you know that Jesus knows how to open eyes? He opened . Jesus said THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE
HE HATH ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR
HE HATH SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED
TO PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES
AND RECOVERING OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND
TO SET AT LIBERTY THEM THAT ARE BRUISED
TO PREACH THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD
I don’t know about you but I want Jesus to heal my heart. I want Jesus to heal my soul. I want Jesus to heal my body. I want Jesus to heal me all over. Say praise the Lord. I Want To See Jesus.
Mark told us that Jesus went on to do something for Blind Bartimaeus. V52 said, "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." My last point is this: When Jesus Sees Your Faith, He Will Immediately Answer Your Prayer. Jesus was so impressed with Blind Bartimaeus’ faith that he looked at him and said Go your way; your faith has made you whole. Did you know that faith is all you need to be made complete? Did you know that faith is all you need to be made well? Did you know that faith is all you need to be made whole? The Greek word translated whole is equivalent to the Hebrew word Shalom. Shalom means wholeness. Shalom means wellness. Shalom means completeness. Shalom means peace. When God heals you, God give you wholeness and peace. Because of his faith, Blind Bartimaeus had peace with God and Jesus made him whole. All he had to show was faith the size of a grain of mustard seed and the mountain of blindness was removed. Now faith… Without faith… Mark said immediately Blind Bartimaeus received his sight and saw. It happened so fast that before you could say I can see, it was done. It happened so fast that it before you could blink your eyes, it was done. One minute Bartimaeus was blind and then the next minute he could see. He was no longer Blind Bartimaeus. He was seeing Bartimaeus. And the first thing he ever saw was the smiling face of Jesus. Seeing Bartimaeus followed Jesus in the way. Christians were called followers of the way almost 14 years before they were called Christians because Jesus said I am the way… Jesus showed us the way of life, the way of love, the way of joy, the way of peace. And Jesus wants to immediately change you. He wants to immediately change you from sinner to saint. He wants to immediately change you from enemy to friend. He wants to immediately change you from lost to found. He wants to immediately change you from blind to seeing and show you the way. He’ll lead you in the path of righteousness for his name sake. Say amen, somebody. Well, as I head for my seat, I want you to know that Jesus came to heal the sick, raise the dead, and open blind eyes. I want to see Jesus. You should want to see Jesus. We all should want to see Jesus. See him with your spiritual eyes. See him with your mental eyes. See him with your natural eyes. Every member in our church is a sighting of Jesus with our eyes. Jesus wants to open our eyes so we can see with the eyes of faith. The song says open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus. The song says amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. Blind Bartimaeus could not see Jesus because his eyes were physically closed. How many of us have eyes that are spiritually closed to Jesus? How many of us have friend who have eyes that are spiritually closed to Jesus? How many of us know somebody who has eyes that are spiritually closed to Jesus? Then do just like Jesus did. Speak sight to their eyes. Speak seeing to their eyes. Speak healing to their eyes. They will see when the Holy Ghost comes into their heart. They will see when Jesus comes into their heart. They will see when God the Father comes into their heart. They will see what they were missing. David said Oh taste and see that the Lord, He is good. God is good how many time? And I just want to thank the Lord that I have eyes that can see. But more importantly, I thank the Lord that I have eyes that can see spiritually. Jesus opened my eyes. I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore. Sadly, deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry from the waters lifted me now safe am I. Love lifted me… We ought to praise his holy name. Blind Bartimaeus praised his holy name. Blind Bartimaeus said thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Praise is perfect for our powerful Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is worthy of all praise. And now you can see why on Palm Sunday as they put Jesus on the donkey on the Mt. of Olive they praised him. As they put their coats on the dusty road leading to Jerusalem they praised Him. As they put the palm leaves down in the road they praised Him. The crowd was crying save us, savior. The crowd was crying Hosanna. The crowd was crying blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. The adults were praising him. The children were praising him. The animals were praise him. And Jesus said if you don’t praise him, the very rocks will cry out. And I don’t want no rocks crying out for me. I’ll praise him for myself. Can I get a witness? Praise Him in the morning. Praise Him in the noon day. Praise Him when the sun goes down. Praise Him in the good times. Praise Him in the bad times. Praise Him in the in between times. Praise Him when you’re up. Praise Him when you’re down. Praise Him in the midnight hour. Praise God in his sanctuary… Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. Praise God… And I just want to ask you one question: "Do You Want Jesus To Open Your Eyes So You Can See This Church Grow?" The doors of the church are open.
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