When was the last time you asked for "Mercy on You" Brother "Preacher", you might say to your self, "what is this mercy that your talking about"? Why do I even need mercy in the first place? Mercy is having the ability to show compassion. It is compassionate treatment, especially of those under one's power. It is the giving of clemency to those who are in need of it. Mercy is the disposition to be kind and forgiving: it's like having a heart full of mercy. Mercy is something for which to be thankful for. When it is given or shown to us, it then is a blessing. Mercy has the ability to alleviate distress. When mercy is shown to another, it enables that person to appreciate the act of kindness shown towards them. How many of us are like Bartimaeus today, asking that the Son of David, please have mercy on us. The better question is how many of us are willing to show mercy in order to receive mercy when we need it. Listen for a moment at Brother Bartimaeus' words, as found in Mark 10:46-52. 46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 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. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. 51 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. 52 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. It's not the Bartimaeus's on the outside, but all of us have a "Bartimaeus" on the inside, and we need to allow Jesus to restore our sight. For it's simply against the whole spirit of the Gospel that those now being cast by some as outsiders should be ordered to give up practicing and expressing the God-given love and fidelity by which they, like most of the rest of us, would wish to pattern their relationships. In other words, "we all stand in need of God's Mercy". Here's one reason according to Romans 1:20-25 why we are in need of God's mercy. Romans 1:20-25 20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His Eternal Power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. 21 Because that \, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became van in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them kup to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the Truth of God into a lie and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen Note: Make a comment concerning the above verses Mark 10:46-52 gives the story of this incredible man. He was blind and a beggar. One day he heard that Jesus was passing by the place he was. He started shouting and asking him to have mercy on him. As Jesus passed by, many asked him to keep quite but his cries became louder. Jesus called him and asked him what he could do for him. He told him that he wanted to receive his sight which Jesus did then ordered him to go his way. Bartimaeus chose to follow him instead. Now we have to understand that this story relates to us in one way or another. There is something that is not right in your life or mine, right now. It may be your finances, health or loved once. Whatever it is that you are believing God to touch in that area of your life, I believe in my Holy Ghost filled mind that you want God to bring restoration in part of your life. But my question to you today is, "when you go before God praying for his grace to overpower your situation, what is your attitude? Do you have an attitude praying cute prayers to impress those around you or do you cry out to God, not giving a care to the world or those around you, or what people will think of you. When you lose yourself before God, this is when you will get "His" attention. This will be when "He" will come and asks you what you need, although he already knows. The other peculiar thing in the story of blind Bartimaeus is that he chose to follow Jesus. His prayer answered did not fulfill him. He wanted the miracle giver more than the miracle itself. Today, when God answers your prayers, are you willing to still serve him or will you go away until the next time you will need something from him? Before asking God to do anything for you, ask yourself, if you will still be committed to him when he meets all of your needs. WHAT DID BLIND BARTIMAEUS SEE Isaiah 35:5,6 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. Let me briefly set the scene for you. It was the Passover season, and many were journeying in the same direction with Jesus, toward Jerusalem. Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, sat by the wayside, hoping to receive charity from the passersby. An unusual commotion was created as Jesus passed, and Bartimaeus inquired the cause. The answer was that Jesus the Nazarene had just passed by. Bartimaeus had heard that Jesus was the reputed Messiah who, according to the Scriptures, would eventually bless the whole world and do away with sin, sorrow and pain. He had already heard that Jesus was performing miracles by curing and healing the sick, casting out demons and opening the eyes of the blind. Oh, he thought, Why didn't someone tell me some time ago that Jesus would be passing by! If I had known that He had healed others, maybe I could be one of the favored ones. Bartimaeus' faith and hope flamed up; and he shouted, "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" But you know how some of us can be when we're in turn with the action. We too probably would have told him to be quiet! Man can't you make a little less noise! Man, don't interrupt the Master. Can't you see He's talking with some other folks right now? But Bartimaeus felt like I did when I was in need of God's attention, "it's now or never. So he lifted up his voice above that of the crowd, and shouted louder than he has ever shouted before saying, "Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" That's when we can get Jesus' attention the most. It's not in how loud you shout, but the sincerity of the shout. Jesus heard the voice of Bartimaeus, and He is waiting to hear your sincere cry, just so He can have mercy on you. He told "blind Bartimaeus" to come to Him. He wanted Bartimeaus that it was his show faith that allowed him to be healed. This was not only a lesson for the crowd of that time, but it is also an important lesson for us today. Helped by others, Bartimaeus finally found himself in the presence of Jesus; and the Jesus said, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" No sooner that Jesus had finished speaking, Bartimeaus answered, "O Lord, that I might receive my sight!" Jesus said unto him, "Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." And immediately he received his sight, and became one of the followers in the concourse, praising the Divine power and acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. How many of us are not to proud to ask Jesus for mercy in our lives? Equally as important, how many of us are willing to bestow mercy on another, as quickly as Jesus was for Bartimaeus? How many of us are willing to position ourselves in Jesus to even receive His mercy and blessings. Remember what I said earlier, "It's not the Bartimaeus's on the outside, but all of us have a "Bartimaeus" on the inside, and we need to allow Jesus to restore our sight". We need to understand that the blind man's words, "Jesus, thou Son of David," had special significance to him and to the Jews of his day, which is lost so far as the multitudes of today are concerned. The Jews knew that Messiah as the great High Priest was in a measure prefigured by Aaron; and as the great Lawgiver, was prefigured, or typified, by Moses; and as the great King was prefigured, or typified, by Solomon, David's wise, rich, influential son, his successor in the kingdom. The uniting of all these lines of prophecy is found pictorially represented in Melchizedek, who was a priest upon his throne; that is to say, he was a priest of God at the same time that he was a prince or ruler--he had a double office. I want to call our attention to this fact that Jesus is not ultimately to be a priest after the Order of Aaron-- merely a sacrificing priest, without any reigning power; but that He is to be a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. The Devine declaration concerning Jesus can be found in the Psalms of David: "I have sworn and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever, after the Order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4 <http://us.mc589.mail.yahoo.com/mc/htdb0019.htm%20/%20Psa110:4>.) We are not for a moment to think that Jesus and His disciples attempted to heal all the sick of Palestine. On the contrary, while many were healed, they were the exceptions amongst the multitudes that were sick--such as manifested special faith. In the present instance, Bartimaeus was only one of many blind beggars by the wayside, we may be sure; for Palestine, Syria and Egypt are the lands of blind beggars. The Lord had already passed Bartimaeus by, not heeding him, not offering to heal him. He had his eyesight restored because of his faith, because he cried out, because he would not listen to those who sought to still his voice and turn aside his faith. As I share this story with you, I want you to fully understand that there is a far worst form of blindness. That blindness is the one that people have when they chose not to obey God's Word and His Law. A similar case, we remember, was at the Pool of Bethesda. Multitudes were lying there, waiting for the movement of the waters, in order to step into the pool for healing. Jesus addressed Himself to only one of these, saying, "Take up thy bed and walk." It is when we come to understand that the miracles of Jesus pictured forth coming blessings during His Messianic Kingdom that we get the proper view of matters, and may rejoice accordingly that a good, glad Day is coming for all the blind, all the lame, all the deaf, as indicated by Isaiah's prophecy. Isaiah 35:5,6 "Eyes have they, but they see not; ears, but they hear not." The whole world is referred to in the Bible as being blind and deaf to the things that are most interesting, most profitable. Only an occasional one here and there, like Bartimaeus of old, grasps the possibility of relief from his blindness and deafness, and takes the proper steps to secure relief. This is why it is needful for me to tell you of this blind condition, saying, "The god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them that believe not."-- 2 Corinthians 4:4 Six thousand years ago, Satan started this work of blinding human understanding to the goodness of God and to those things which would make for their highest welfare. He still continues it. He began by twisting God's Words as he spoke with Eve, and she later got Adam to transgress God's command with her. Remember what he told Eve, "For "Ye shall not surely die"; and he persuaded her that this threat was merely an attempt on God's part to keep her from great blessings of knowledge, and that the true welfare of herself and her husband would be promoted by disobedience. The question may naturally arise, What motive did Satan have in misrepresenting matters to our first parents? Why should he be interested in their disobedience and alienation from God? The answer is that thus only could he make them effectually his own slaves of sin. So long as they recognized God as their wise, loving Parent, One in Whom they could have total confidence in, they would remain loyal to Him, and correspondingly would not be the servants of sin. Satan has continued this work of misrepresenting God's Divine character and Plan for now six thousand years. But I want to tell you God gives us light for darkness, and not darkness for light, in order for us not to be ignorant of Satan's wicked devices." After telling you that the god of this world has blinded the minds of all unbelievers, I need to adds this explanation, "that this is done lest the light of the knowledge of the glory of God should shine into their hearts; lest they should see the real goodness of God. I am trying to explain that this light of God's goodness is reflected, to those who see it, from the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. But, thanks to God, that a glorious change is promised! Satan, the Prince of Darkness, is to give place to the glorious Prince of Light, the same One who healed Bartimaeus in a typical way more than eighteen centuries ago. Jesus will take the Kingdom. Instead of misrepresentation of God's true character and loving plans, the reverse will be given to mankind. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God will fill the whole earth as the waters cover the great deep--until no one shall need to say to his neighbor, Know thou the Lord; for all shall know Him, from the least to the greatest.--Isaiah 11:9 So I say to all of, as well to myself, if you realize that you are in a blind state of being, as was Bartimeaus, you need to be crying out, "O Lord, thave mercy on me, and please allow me to receive my sight!" Then you and I both should be rejoicing also, because we have learned that the time is coming, yea, is near at hand, when Messiah's Kingdom will grant the blessing of the opening of the eyes of understanding to all.
