Sermon Tone Analysis

Thesis: When we have a need, we need to continue to seek Jesus to meet it.

Sermon Title: Roadside Assistance

(NKJV)

46 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 story reminds me of a time when my car broke-down and I had to call on some roadside assistance to tow my vehicle away.

They gave me an estimated wait time of 45 minutes but it ended up being two hours.

I remember being so tired, worn-out, wondering how long they would be, or are they going to show up at all.

We have all experienced something like this.

Where life throws us a curve ball.

The good news is that we have a spiritual roadside assistant in the Holy Spirit who helps us in our times of need

In our text today, We see Bartimaeus here, who was not only poor but he is also blind and couldn’t see.

He had needs like many of us do

1.

The condition of Bartimaeus: He was poor and blind

We see the condition of Bartimaeus..

Several years ago a news report revealed the story of an adult man who received his sight back through the wonders of modern medicine.

An interviewer asked the man, "What's life like now? Tell us what does it mean to after all these years suddenly be able to see?"

And the man initially said what you would expect—things like colors are amazing and it's a wonderful gift to be able to see the faces of those that he loved.

But the interviewer expected him to say those things.

He wanted the man to say something extraordinary, something totally unexpected about how his life had changed since getting his sight back.

So he asked him, "What's the most unexpected thing?"

Now if you were asked that question how do you think you would respond?

Perhaps you might talk about a sunset, the stars in a clear nights sky, the crystal blue waves in the ocean as you see the waves seeminglesly glide smoothly back and forth.

The formerly blind man didn't mention anything like that.

Instead, he said that the most incredible thing was watching the leaves falling every autumn.

He said, "I know that leaves fall.

I know that people rake them and put them in piles and burn them or throw them away.

But I'd always imagined that the leaves would come down just like a blanket.

I didn't know that when leaves fall that they pitch and glide and turn in the wind as they come down to the ground.

It's beautiful."

“I cant believe my eyes”

2. The position of Bartimaeus: He was seated by the road

Next, we see the position of Bartimaeus.

He was seated by the road.

He was sitting there for a while, begging people for money.

Kind of like today what pan handlers do.

They will sit by the roadside of the busy streets hoping to get some money for their next fix or meal.

Sometimes we position ourselves too.

I remember going to the 4th of July Parade with Kim and ian.

We’d bring our seats with us and leave early so we can get a good spot for when the parade came by we would be in a good position to get some of the candy and other stuff that was being thrown out.

It was such a hot summer day.

I heard that someone was throwing out pop-sickles.

This excited me because I was both hot and thirsty.

So’d look intensely at the people going through.

I’d look behind to see if I missed it and i’d look forward to see if they were coming.

This is a lot like what Bartimaeus was doing on the roadside.

No doubt he heard about Jesus and all the miracles that he had performed.

His soul was quenched and he was thirsty for this living water that would give him new life.

So he put himself in a position where he could encounter Jesus.

The song we sung earlier “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savor” is a hymn written by Fanny Crosby.

Crosby had been blind since she was six weeks old, but wrote over 8,000 songs in her lifetime.

One evening, Fanny Crosby was invited to speak to a group of prisoners at the state prison and heard one of the men say  “Good Lord! Do not pass me by!” Do not turn your back on me.

Do not ignore me, forget me, neglect me.

Fanny told that she was so touched by the pleas of these men that she could not get the thought of them out of her mind; indeed she said, I wrote the lines with the men’s pleading wail still in my ears.

She went home that night and wrote all four verses of the hymn.

One of them were...

“Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.”

3. The Opposition of Bartimaeus: He continued to cry out to Jesus despite opposition.

When we take steps to encounter Jesus, then we should expect opposition.

It was no different for Bartimaeus.

When he heard Jesus was in the area he cried out “Jesus, son of David.

Have mercy on me!

At that point many told him to be quiet, hush-up and shut-up because he was causing a disturbance and a scene.

When was the last time that we prayed like that?

When was the last time that we cried out to the Lord so loudly that we made a scene and a disturbance not just in the earthly realm but, also made a disturbance to the kingdom of darkness by calling on the king of light?

I love Bartimaeus and how he responded to the opposition.

When they told him to be quiet, he just cried out to the Lord louder.

“Jesus, son of David.

Have mercy on me!”

This is how we should be.

People who pray through no matter what opposition we face!

4. The Direction of Bartimaeus: So Jesus stood still commanding him to be called

After Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus the second time it caused Jesus to stand still.

It caused God to stand still!

He got Gods attention with his persistant crying out to Him!

It makes me think of how a parent can recognize toe cries of their children.

If you know kids, you know that they always are crying, screaming or hollering.

Some adults can be like that to but, anyways…You know the different sounds of your children.

You know the sound of when they are just playing, you know the sound of when they are just complaining and whiny, you also know the sound of when they really are in trouble don’t you?

📷

Bartimaeus continued to cry out.

Basically saying JESUS!

IM IN TROUBLE!

Maybe today we need to really cry out to Jesus.

JESUS, MY MARRIAGE IS IN TROUBLE!

JESUS MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN ARE IN TROUBLE!

THEY DONT KNOW YOU!

JESUS, MY SOUL IS IN TROUBLE.

IM JUST WEIGHED DOWN BY THE ISSUES OF LIFE!

But, you wont see that kind of prayer in churches today because more people are concerned with their image(how they look to people) then they are their deliverance(how they look to God).