Persistence In Faith Series

Mark 10

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.

We are living in a time where we easily give up before the answer comes. We compromise.

· Let’s look at the situation here in Mark 10,

· Bartimaeus was a blind man. He was a beggar.

· I’ve seen beggars by the interstate. They are hard to look upon.

· Satan try’s to make us think we are unworthy.

The reason for Faith persistence?

· What caused him to loose control and scream for Jesus?

· When he heard it was Jesus, heard means- to understand.

· He didn’t just hear Jesus was coming down the road, he understood who was coming.

What happened to Jesus before Mark 10?

· Jesus fame had spread. Bartimaeus had heard something about Jesus.

· The Holy Ghost had descended on him like a dove.

· Jesus had been to the wilderness.

· He went to the synagogue and cast a demon out of a man.

· Went to Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever and Jesus took her up and healed her and she went and made supper.

· IN Mark 1 he healed a leper.

· He healed a man who was lowered down from a rooftop because he was persistent and insisted on seeing the Master.

· He had already forgiven sins.

· He restored a man’s withered hand, by his own word.

· He had already confounded the religious Pharisee’s of the day.

· He already had stepped out on a stormy sea and commanded the winds to cease.

· Jesus went to Gadeara and cast out a legion of demons from a man that had be running around like a mad man and the demons ran into a bunch of pigs and they committed suicide and ran over a cliff.

· He healed a woman with an issue of blood that had suffered for 12 years, who persisted and touched the him of his garment.

· He went to Jeriuos’s daughter and raised her from the dead.

· He empowered disciples to go and do the same thing.

· He feed the 5,000 men and their families.

· He cast out a demon from a women

· Jesus went to a mountain and was transfigured. His face was shining and a voice said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. His garment was white.

· WHEN Bartimaeus heard about Jesus and understood who he was.

We hear the messages, we sing the songs, we speak the words, but it becomes a routine. But live powerless.

· In order to be persistent in our Faith He must be more then all these things.

· In order to have the Faith to turn the World upside town.

· We must realize we is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, He’s not just a thought.

· He is the Son of God almighty who came and died and is seated at the right hand of the Father praying for you.

Bartimaeus understood it was Jesus coming down the road.

· Do you understand?

· We can all say yes, but do we really understand who he is?

· If you really understand him, how much time did you spend talking to Him this week?

· The same one who did all these things, what have we done for Him?

Do you want to know why our kids don’t read the Bible in school?

Do you know why we have allowed Boo’s in Corbin and it’s headed to London and the sex shops are trying to open all around us?

Could it be because we don’t understand who He is?

When we understand:

· We are faithful to the house of God.