Participants: L. Richard Walton
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000020
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00:29 Hi, my name is Richard Walton.
00:31 I'm originally from California, 00:33 but I'm currently living in Arlington, Virginia. 00:36 I'm a second year law student 00:37 at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. 00:43 Let's open the word today. 00:44 Mark Chapter 10 verse 46. 00:49 Before we begin to read 00:50 let's pause for just a quick word of prayer. 00:54 Dear Lord, thank you 00:56 for all the blessings you bestow on us. 00:59 Bless us now bless us as we read Your word, 01:02 open our hearts and our minds we pray in Jesus name, amen. 01:07 Mark Chapter 10 and verse 46. 01:14 "Now they came to Jericho. 01:15 And as He went out with a great multitude, 01:20 blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, 01:22 sat by the road begging. 01:24 And when he heard that it was Jesus 01:27 he began to cry out, 01:28 "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 01:36 In the closing moments of His ministry here on earth, 01:39 Jesus was headed 01:40 for a faithful appointment called Calvary. 01:44 He had been hiding in a wilderness town 01:46 called Ephraim, driven there 01:48 because after raising Lazarus from the dead, 01:51 He was so hated by the Pharisees 01:53 that they were plotting His death. 01:57 But Jesus life and death would move 02:00 on God's timetable not man's 02:03 and so He had fled 14 miles 02:05 northeast of Jerusalem across the mountains 02:09 to what is the present day city of that Tayeeba. 02:13 And it is the perfect place for a fugitive. 02:18 It stands on a high hill commanding a wide panorama 02:22 of the plains of Jericho and the Dead Sea. 02:24 And so anybody approaching will be seen from miles. 02:30 And there Jesus and His friends had safely hidden. 02:36 But finally the time had come, time for Calvary 02:42 and so the little group wound their way 02:44 across the mountains, but strangely on this trip 02:50 the Lord seems to have gotten lost. 02:54 Because Jesus and His small group of disciples 02:57 did not go directly toward Jerusalem 03:00 but detoured southeastward towards Jericho 03:03 taking two sides of a triangle 03:06 and making a brutal 2800 foot climb 03:09 and descent in the process, 03:16 Why? Why the detour and the extra work, 03:20 because at Jericho, 03:24 Jesus had an appointment with a blind man. 03:29 Mark Chapter 10 verse 46. 03:32 "Now they came to Jericho. 03:34 And as He went out with the great multitude, 03:36 blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, 03:39 sat by the road begging. 03:40 And when he heard that it was Jesus, 03:42 he began to cry out, 03:44 "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy!" 03:48 Many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, 03:53 "Son of David, have mercy!" 03:56 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. 04:03 Then they called the blind man, 04:06 "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." 04:14 And throwing aside his garment, 04:16 he rose and came to Jesus. 04:19 And Jesus said, 04:20 "What do you want Me to do for you?" 04:24 And the blind man said to Him, 04:25 "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." 04:30 Then Jesus said to him, 04:32 "Go your way, your faith has made you well." 04:42 A beggar with a problem and the dream 04:47 somewhere, somehow he gained his sight 04:49 and he'd see the depth and color and detail 04:54 of the pictures he had made in his mind. 04:59 Ironically we don't even know his name, 05:02 sure we know he was Bartimaeus 05:05 but that tells us nothing 05:06 because in Hebrew Bar means son of, 05:09 so Bartimaeus simply means 05:12 that this guys was Timaeus boy. 05:15 And now two men, a blind guy 05:17 and the Lord of creation found themselves 05:20 on a collision course that would illustrate 05:23 the entire thesis of the Bible. 05:28 Well, what is the real point of the word of God? 05:32 66 books, 1,500 years worth of literature. 05:36 Some of it written almost literally in blood. 05:39 What does it all mean? 05:43 What is the final point of this book? 05:49 Sure, it tells of sin and salvation 05:53 of life and death. 05:55 It even talks about such practices help for living. 05:58 And by the way folks, you know, since 1863, 06:03 we have known some very simple dietary guidelines 06:10 which can add epidemiologically, 06:12 we have shown up to eight more 06:16 happy healthy years to your life. 06:22 But all of that is only a picture frame 06:28 for the real issue. 06:29 Mean even the devil knows all of that. 06:33 So what is the real issue of the Bible? 06:36 I've got a law of professor at Georgetown 06:38 that tells me you know Rich, 06:39 if you can frame the issue 06:41 you can solve anything and it's very true. 06:44 So let's frame the issue today. 06:49 And might I suggest to you the issue 06:52 this book posses is a question. 06:58 Do you really trust the Lord? 07:05 Six simple words and every thing 07:07 in the Bible revolves around them. 07:11 For a moment leave Bartimaeus 07:13 and go back to the morning of human history. 07:15 Take a look at Genesis 12:1, 07:19 Genesis Chapter 12 and verse one. 07:22 "Now the Lord had said to Abram, 07:25 Get out of your country, from your family 07:27 and from your father's house, 07:28 to a land that I will show you." 07:32 Where is Abraham living at this point? 07:34 He is living in Ur of the Chaldees, 07:36 a city of incredible wealth and culture. 07:39 The famous royal cemetery is dating from around 2500 BC 07:43 have yielded jewelry and art treasures 07:46 of unimaginable beauty 07:48 particularly gorgeous head attire, 07:51 several musical instruments 07:52 and other beautifully crafted objects, 07:54 many of them in gold demonstrates that this city 07:57 had achieved a high level of civilization 08:00 500 years before Abraham arrived on the scene. 08:06 Now Abraham is wealthy, 08:08 he's probably a successful merchant 08:10 in cattle bearing in Ur. 08:14 And suddenly out of nowhere comes this the effect command, 08:19 leave this place and head west across 08:21 the desert out into the unknown. 08:24 Now does that make any sense at all from human perspective? 08:29 None, why would you leave a good life, 08:33 a good ministry and ought to go out into the desert. 08:37 I mean, Abraham setup, he's got a good business, 08:39 he's got a book ministry, he goes out every Sabbath, 08:42 passes out literature, he's got a good life. 08:45 And suddenly God says, leave it all behind 08:49 and go out into the unknown just because I said so. 08:54 Have you ever noticed that God's directions 08:56 often don't make any sense? 08:59 For instance He says, if you want to loose your-- 09:01 to keep your life you should loose it. 09:05 Take a look at Second Chronicles 09:08 in the time of King Jehoshaphat 09:11 massive invading armies 09:12 had swept out of the deserts of Syria towards Judah 09:15 like a swarm of red ants. 09:19 The king and the people had retreated 09:21 into the wall fortress of Jerusalem 09:24 where they hoped they could outlast the Syrian army. 09:27 You see warfare in those days 09:29 depended on as it does now 09:31 on having a good strategic position. 09:34 Jehoshaphat had a smaller less well trained, 09:38 less well equipped army than did the King of Syria. 09:42 So he retreats into the wall fortress of Jerusalem 09:45 where as archers have cover behind crenellated walls 09:48 and his army can rain down destruction on any person 09:53 that tries to approach. 09:55 It's the only he maybe able to survive 09:58 and even that will be brutal. 10:00 In those days invading armies seldom try to take a city 10:04 as strong as Jerusalem by direct attack. 10:07 They might try once at most, and then they would encircle 10:10 the city and settle back 10:11 to what was called the siege warfare. 10:14 They would cut off all supplies into the city, 10:16 all food and water and literally starve 10:19 the inhabitance into submission. 10:21 By the end of a ancient siege people would be eating 10:25 their own children and selling small portion 10:28 of pigeon dung for ridiculous amounts of money, 10:31 because people were starving to death 10:33 there was nothing left to eat. 10:36 Even so it was the only hope that King Jehoshaphat 10:40 had and so he took his pitifully small army 10:42 retreats into Jerusalem and holds a prayer meeting 10:46 asking the Lord for guidance. 10:49 And in the middle of that meeting 10:51 a man of God stands up. 10:54 We don't know much about him. 10:55 He only appears in two very short verses of scripture 10:59 and he gives advice that militarily was suicidal. 11:03 Leave this fortified city the only defensible position 11:07 you've got and expose yourself out in the open to an invader 11:12 so powerful they're like the sands of the sea. 11:18 Militarily the advice did not make any sense. 11:23 You never leave a strongly defended 11:25 position to face the superior army in the open. 11:30 It would have been a slaughter 11:31 by any conventional standards, but that was God's advice. 11:38 And what did king Jehoshaphat say, 11:40 Second Chronicles 20:20. 11:43 "So they rose early in the morning and went out 11:46 into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out, 11:51 Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah 11:54 and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord 11:58 your God, and you shall be established, 12:03 believe His prophets, 12:06 and you will prosper." 12:13 Believe His prophets so shall you prosper. 12:16 That statement ought to be framed and hanging 12:18 and hanging on the wall 12:19 of every denominational committee room in the world. 12:23 And our church leaders 12:26 and men of God often face difficult decisions 12:28 where the choices seem equally bad. 12:33 And when they do, the Bible records 12:39 a simple answer Jehoshaphat spills into history 12:41 this simple statement of faith "Believe His prophets, 12:46 so shall you prosper." 12:51 The Bible records that after following a prophet's advice, 12:54 Judah's triumph was so complete, 12:58 it took them three days 12:59 to hold off the spoils of victory. 13:03 That's what happens when you do things God's way. 13:08 And of course the obvious converse 13:11 to that is when you don't do things His way, 13:13 problem start occurring 13:15 and the things go terribly, terribly wrong. 13:20 So God's advice often challenges 13:22 our ideas of what the right thing is to do. 13:25 And around 2000 BC man named Abraham got instructions 13:30 that defy human logic. 13:33 But like King Jehoshaphat he had faith. 13:38 And you can read his response in Genesis 12:5. 13:43 "Then Abram took Sarai his wife 13:45 and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions 13:49 and they departed to go to the land of Canaan." 13:53 In other words, Abraham launched into the unknown, 13:57 out into the emptiness of the desert 13:59 just because God said so. 14:05 So Abraham is great hero of faith. 14:11 Acts on a command of God and we could end the story there. 14:14 But if we did, we'd be getting only half the lesson 14:19 the story of Abraham has to teach us for lurking 14:23 with in his soul was a trait 14:25 that even he didn't know he possessed. 14:29 Take a look at Genesis 12:11. 14:32 "And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, 14:35 that he said to Sarai his wife, 14:37 you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 14:41 When the Egyptians see you, 14:43 they will surely kill me, 14:47 Please say you are my sister," 14:51 In other words Sarai, for me you love me, honey, 14:56 tell them a little white lie. 15:00 But what Abraham really saying. 15:05 The God of Israel, the man who-the deity 15:09 who led us out here can't protect us anymore. 15:16 You see there was a hole in Abraham's faith, 15:18 huge and potentially lethal 15:21 for a special messenger of God. 15:25 You see, when God calls you to do a special work, 15:29 when you're acting in His name, 15:31 when you're carrying the battle flag, 15:33 don't let it drag in the dirt. 15:35 Your faith if you're going to witness to others about God 15:39 has to be a 100 percent solid. 15:44 And when God raises up special people 15:46 with a special mission, it is dangerous, very dangerous 15:51 to have defects like that. 15:53 You'll fail God, you'll fail Him so completely 15:57 that even the heathen will rebuke you. 16:01 It happened to Abraham. 16:03 Pharaoh rebuked him and later on when Abraham 16:06 made the very same mistake 16:10 what the native king named Abimelech 16:12 he got a much deserved rebuke. 16:15 Genesis 20:9 And Abimelech 16:18 called Abraham and said to him, 16:20 "What have you done to us? 16:23 You have brought on me 16:24 and on my kingdom a great sin? 16:31 Here is a heathen monarch lecturing 16:34 God's special messenger on sin. 16:40 As I said when you carry God's flag, 16:44 don't let it drag in the dirt. 16:49 So Abraham had a defect of character lurking 16:54 within this great man of God was a problem unknown even 16:59 to himself until a circumstance 17:03 brought it to notice. 17:04 Have you ever had a situation 17:06 like that or you've done something that just totally 17:09 shocked yourself with shame. 17:12 Well folks, I come from Southern California, 17:16 and I get on the four or five in the morning, 17:19 I'm driving along happy as convenience, 17:21 some jerk cuts me off and I discover 17:23 that there are wells with in me 17:27 that I didn't realized I had. 17:33 And when that happens, you know, it's easy to say 17:36 I can't believe that sin was still lurking 17:40 within my own soul. 17:41 And at that point you can either retreat 17:43 into discouragement or you can get encouraged 17:47 and say praise the Lord the Holy Spirit 17:49 had shown me something I didn't know was wrong 17:52 with my character, something I can get rid of. 17:59 And you can thank the Lord for the opportunity 18:02 to be a better person. 18:05 When that happens, when the Holy Spirit reveal 18:07 something brings that out in the open, 18:10 there is a very simple remedy. 18:12 Let me suggest seven simple words 18:15 which can solve that kind of a problem. 18:17 I'd rather have Jesus than that sin. 18:24 So Abraham's weakness exposed 18:26 in the crucible of lives challenges 18:29 led him at last to a mountain called Moriah 18:33 and a great test that showed 18:34 he had at last learned to trust the Lord. 18:42 You've ever faced the Mount Moriah experience. 18:48 When it seem that even God was asking the impossible, 18:53 the prayer that never seem to get answered, 18:57 the job you didn't get, the healing that didn't happen. 19:03 Even Paul went through it three times he prayed 19:07 for something probably for good eyesight 19:09 to do the Lord's work better and his request was denied. 19:15 When we come to those moments, remember that God 19:19 maybe bringing us back again to face an old failure 19:23 and like Abraham to triumph at last. 19:31 Do you really trust the Lord? 19:36 Think about it and everything in scripture 19:39 posses that question. 19:42 Israel at the Jordon, Israel at the Red Sea. 19:47 Job tormented by apparentness fortune, 19:50 unaware at first that the entire cosmos was looking on. 19:54 But even in his pain preaching the message of the Bible 19:59 and one of the most powerful statements 20:01 of faith ever uttered. 20:03 "Though he slay me, 20:06 yet will I trust Him." 20:12 And little by little these great men and women of faith 20:15 found their way into the gallery of giants 20:17 described in Hebrews 11 20:21 By faith Abel offered to God 20:24 a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. 20:28 By faith Enoch was translated 20:30 that he should not see death. 20:32 By faith Noah, prepared an ark 20:34 by that which he became heir 20:35 of the righteousness which is by faith. 20:40 By faith Abraham when he was called obeyed. 20:45 These all died in the faith, having confessed 20:47 that they were strangers in pilgrims on the earth. 20:51 And what shall I more say? 20:52 For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon 20:56 and then of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthah, 20:59 of David also and Samuel and of the prophets: 21:06 And today may I add others too. 21:11 Huss and Jerome, Wickliffe, Martin Luther. 21:18 A handful of believers on the morning of October 23, 1844 21:24 who went on trusting when the whole world 21:27 said they were wrong. 21:30 Including a remarkable little lady who told us in 1863, 21:36 how you can live eight more years of life 21:39 and who ended her life at a ripe old age 21:42 with the magnificently simple statement of faith 21:45 "I know in whom 21:48 I have believed". 21:54 A cosmic gallery of giants in the eyes of heaven, 22:01 not because they were big, but because they believed 22:04 implicitly in somebody who was faith, 22:11 the one word that expresses the basic issue in the Bible. 22:18 Do you really trust the Lord? 22:23 Now let's go back and close with the story of a blind man 22:29 who saw more clearly than his sighted brothers. 22:33 On the Jericho wrote that day what the real issues were. 22:38 You know, lot of people relied on their eyesight that day 22:43 and hence were blind, but one man 22:49 living in the blackness saw it all. 22:54 Mark Chapter 10 verse 46. 22:59 "Now they came to Jericho. 23:01 And as He went out, blind Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, 23:07 sat by the road begging. 23:11 And when he heard that it was Jesus, 23:13 he began to cry out Son of David, have mercy on me!" 23:19 Many warned him to be quiet; 23:21 but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy" 23:29 You know, most of the people on the road that day 23:32 thought Bartimaeus was wrong to ask Jesus for help. 23:38 But nothing was going to stop his quest to see the Lord. 23:42 "So Jesus verse 49, stood still 23:48 and commanded him to be called. 23:52 Then they called the blind man, rise, be of good cheer. 23:59 He is calling.'" And throwing aside his garment, 24:06 he rose and came to Jesus." 24:11 Now remember Bartimaeus was a beggar, 24:14 even his food was a daily struggle and the only thing 24:18 he own for certain from day to day were his cloths. 24:22 But when Jesus called what did he do? 24:25 The Bible says throwing aside his garment 24:29 he rose and came to Jesus. 24:35 You see, nothing was going to get between him and the Lord, 24:39 not even pride he came as he was. 24:43 Nothing would impede him hurtling toward a voice 24:49 that called to him out of the blackness. 24:54 You suppose there might be a lesson there for us. 24:59 I mean we speak and pray and sing about faith, 25:04 but do we really exercise it. 25:07 Do we really believe Jesus is coming soon? 25:12 Do we get rid of the things that stand 25:15 between us and salvation? 25:20 The possessions we're so proud of. 25:24 The entertainment that blocks him from our view. 25:31 The pride that makes us unfit for heaven. 25:37 If the answer is no, might that explain 25:41 why we sometimes seem to miss the miracles 25:44 that were so common place in Bible times, think about it. 25:51 When Bartimaeus threw away the last obstacle 25:54 and rush towards Jesus, the Lord of cosmos 26:00 was waiting for him with the question. 26:05 Verse 51 and Jesus said what do you want me to do for you. 26:12 And the blind man said to Him, Rabboni, 26:15 that I may receive my sight. 26:17 And in that one word Bartimaeus 26:18 has spilled into history the fact that Jesus was Lord 26:21 of his life possessive form of Rabbi, Rabboni, my leader, 26:26 and I may receive my sight. 26:29 And Jesus said to him, Go you way; 26:33 your faith has made you well. 26:36 And just like that Bartimaeus 26:39 was looking into the face of God. 26:44 Well, today for just a moment imagine something. 26:51 In front of you stands the glimmering 26:53 and condescend form of the cosmic king, 26:56 hair white as snow, eyes of fire, 26:59 body boiling with energy like motel brass, 27:02 under his control was everything 27:04 in the whole starry universe and looking you squarely 27:07 in the eye, he asks what do you want me to do for you? 27:14 and what is that you want today? 27:17 Healing of body or soul, a son or daughter 27:20 for whom you've prayed perhaps for years, 27:24 victory over in evil temporal and out of control appetite, 27:28 grace to do His work better and the will to turned off 27:30 the TV set get on with God's business. 27:33 What is it you want today? 27:37 Or whatever it is the same Lord who walks so far 27:40 out of His way to encountera blind beggar 27:44 is here looking for you. 27:48 And if you long for something 27:50 today be of good cheer, rise, He is calling you. |
Revised 2014-12-17