Sermon Online
RIVER OF LIFE International Fellowship
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power. Psalm 145:11
The Blind Man Who could See Part 1 by Pastor Fule
If you were to ask 100 people what they think of Jesus Christ, you would probably get as many varied answers. Each answer would reflect what they know of Jesus and how they perceive Him. It would reflect the extent of revelation they have about Jesus. Some may see Jesus as one of the great teachers the world has ever known. A great moral leader; A prophet like the other prophets etc.
If you were to ask 100 Christians the same question it would surprise you the varied answer you would get. Some would speak of Him as Savior of our soul. Some would speak of Him as Healer and Restorer. Some may speak of Him as the One to Judge the world. Others would speak of Him as the One who forgives and washes away all sin. Some would speak of Him as the One who delights to bless and prosper His people. Etc etc.
The extent of your revelation of Jesus Christ will determine your experience of His anointing in your life.
Jesus said:
John 8:32
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
IN the bible there is story of a blind beggar called Bartimaeus, who seemed destined to get no where. He was stuck by the side of the road begging for arms and his life was filled with darkness.
Blind Bartimaeus was but one of countless beggars who lined the road to Jericho in Jesus’ day
However, his life was dramatically changed because of how he saw Jesus not with his physical eyes, but with his spiritual eyes or his heart. He saw Jesus in a way a lot of physically seeing people did not and his life was dramatically changed as a result.
Mark 10:46-52 (Matthew: 2 blind men; Luke: 1 blind man)
Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you."
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."
52 Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
This morning we will learn some things about Bartimaeus that can help us change our own lives by experiencing Jesus the anointed One.
The Significance of HIS NAME
His Name: Bartimaeus: Literally means: The son of Timaeus.
His name signified his potential! His fathers name Timaeus meant ADMIRABLE, HONORABLE, PERFECT.
When we are introduced to him though, Bartimaeus is anything but ADMIRABLE, HONORABLE, PERFECT.
You may ask, but how does this beggars name have anything to do with me?
Genesis the book of beginnings tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God. However we live way below our potential.
The Psalmist points out..
Psalm 8:4-5
What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels (elohim, God, Amplified), and You have crowned him with glory and honor.
Psalm 139:14 NKJV
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
New Living Translation
Ephesians 2:10 Amplified
For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].
Application: there are many who despite their enormous potential of being made in the image and likeness of God live way beneath their potential. Do you see yourself the way God sees you?
The bible says that Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world, yet we are not living up to this truth.
The bible says everyone born of God overcomes the world and yet, we find it so difficult to overcome in several areas of our lives.
We have been given authority over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the devil yet we walk in fear of the enemy and don’t walk in our authority in Christ.
Revelation1:6 We have been made kings and Priest to God!
However, like Bartimaeus we are anything but what we are meant to be.
The Significance of HIS CONDITION
Notice that the condition of Bartimaeus: he is physically BLIND – he cannot see, he has to be led by others, he is dependent on others – He is a BEGGAR. He is very poor and destitute. – he relies on the generosity of others. He relies on people passing by on the road. Because of his blind condition he cannot work, only beg.
His world is dark. Morning is night to him. Afternoon is night to him, He cant tell the difference, only perhaps by whether the temperature was hot or cold.
Apply: You may feel disadvantage by your situation. You may even seem like you just don’t know where you are going. Despite your best efforts, you are still in the dark with respect to what Gods purpose for your life is. Why are you here? You may feel totally dependant on someone else, the company you work for and the generosity of those around you.
HIS CIRCUMSTANCE
His circumstance was not good!
Notice where he was – SITTING BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.
Every one was moving past him, walking by him, leaving him behind. Even when people were generous to him by throwing him some coins, they would move on and leave him SITTING by the road.
Apply: it may seem like you have sat in a point in your life where there has been no movement, no progress. You may be at a point where you see every one else moving on. Moving past you, apparently leaving you behind in your spot.
Every one keeps passing by and you keep sitting by the road and hoping that you too would go on that road to somewhere like every one else!
Day after day, blind Bartimaeus sits by the road side and begs to make ends meet! Then one day his life takes a DRAMATIC change.
One day as he sat begging he noticed a difference in the number of people that kept passing him by. This was a great crowd. Maybe it was a good day for beggars; they were getting a lot more in their collection boxes! He heard the crowd, and notices that this was different – So he asked and they tell him it is because Jesus of Nazerth is passing by.
Bartimaeus may have been physically blind and at a disadvantage sitting on the side of the road BUT he had one important advantage: he was spiritually alert and ready for the moment. He had a powerful revelation of Jesus that totally changed His situation.
A soon as he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth he activates his faith in the way he knows how.
V47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
He begins to cry out at the top of his voice: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.
Notice that he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth but he shouts out “Jesus, Son of David!” When people rebuke him and ask him to shut up, he shouts even louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me”
Bartimaeus clearly identifies Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ the Anointed One), by calling Him the Son of David!
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:1
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary the bible tells us that he declared to her:
Luke 1:30-33
…."Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
When Jesus drove out the moneychangers from the temple and declared that Gods house is to be a house of prayer for the nations, the blind and the lame came into the temple and Jesus healed them and the children began declaring ”Hosanna to the Son of David”
The Pharisees though were indignant at this.
Paul spoke of Jesus’ link to David in
Acts 13:34 NIV
The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words:
" 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings (or mercies) promised to David.
Amplified
Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David
Jesus Himself confirms this title in
Revelation 22:16
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
The Son of David was one of the titles of Jesus because He was messiah who fulfilled the sure blessing/mercies of David. The Sure Mercies of David: the Davidic Covenant- was unconditional – It depended on God. It was SURE.
The term ‘Son of David’ spoke of the Messiah (the expected king and deliverer of the Jews). ‘Son of David’ was one of the names of the Messiah. Though Bartimaeus was physically blind he had a revelation of the one person who could totally transform his situation. He knew the root cause of his sitting and begging at the road side was his physical blindness and Jesus, the Son Of David, was the one person that could change that. No one else could.
He knew that when Messiah came – the blind would see!
Lets look at one of the prophetic chapters in Isaiah 35 concerning Messiah.
Isaiah 35:3-6
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
Do you really know who Jesus is?
In Matthew 16:13-17
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
Who do YOU say that He is? How do you identify Jesus??? How do you see Jesus?
You may call Him Lord but is He? Jesus said that on that day many will come to Him saying Lord, Lord did we not do this in your name and He will say I NEVER knew you workers of iniquity.
Many Christians do not yet know Jesus the Christ, the Son of David.
We believe that He healed in the past, can heal now but don’t have the revelation of Jesus the healer who took our sickness and bore our diseases and by His stripes we are healed.
We are not fully convinced or persuaded that His will for us is divine health!.
Jesus the same, Yesterday, TODAY and Forever!. We know Him as the Christ of Yesterday but not TODAY! NOW!
We have read about His encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery. How all wanted her stoned for her sin. How Jesus refused to condemn her but rather asked that she go and sin no more.
But do we know Jesus our Savior who took our sins and gave us His righteousness. Do we know that in Him, we have no condemnation?
Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
We have heard how Jesus supernaturally blessed Peter financially with an extraordinary catch of fish after Peter lent Jesus his boat to preach and teach in. We have heard how Peter, the professional fisherman who had caught nothing with his colleagues all night, said to Jesus.
“Nevertheless at Thy Word I will go out!”
He had a supernatural blessing that required help from other fishermen!
Yet we have not yet known Him who was rich and became poor so that that we through His poverty might be made rich. We do not know Him fully as the one who delights in our prosperity; the faithful provider, who encourages us to act on His word and tithe or give generously so that we will receive supernatural increase.
It is no wonder that when Paul prayed for the Ephesian church one of his prayers was that they would know Him.
Ephesians 1:17
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Jesus wants you to know Him anew as the one who was anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit and power. He still goes about through the church, doing GOOD and Healing all who are oppressed of the devil. Are you oppressed today……
Jesus wants you to know Him anew as the one who was anointed by the Father to preach good news to the poor.
You have to get to know Jesus anew as the one who was sent to comfort the brokenhearted (grief stricken and miserable),
You have to get to know Jesus anew as the one who was sent to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [a]
Who proclaimed the season of the LORD's favor and grace and the day of vengeance of our God, Who comforts all who mourn,
And provides for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
You will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
You will discover that you have indeed been crowned with glory and honor and that blessings crown the head of the righteous.
Draw close to God and He will draw close to you!
Kingdom Training For Kingdom Reigning Telephone: 519-827-1565; 3 Watson Rd S, Guelph, ON CANADA
