Mark 10; v46-52; CAST IT ASIDE v46- And they came to Jericho, and as Jesus went out of Jericho

with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bertemaeus sat by the highway side, begging. 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. 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. And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man saying unto him, be of good comfort, He calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What will thou that I should do unto thee ? The blind man said unto Him, Lord that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, in the way. What a pitiful and heartbreaking sight this must have been. a blind man sitting by the side of the road begging for his life. Clothed in rags, flies crawling over his face , he was probably hungry. He was dependent upon passers by for his daily sustenance. What a pitiful sight to see a drunken alcoholic lying in the gutter on a wet night and not knowing where he is or how he got there. A business lost through his constant drinking, wife arid family not wanting him home. No money and perhaps his only friends other alcoholics. What a heartbreaking sight to see a drug addict lying on a dirty .,mattress on the floor of a bare and dingy room having all kinds of nightmares. But perhaps the worst disaster of all will be to see some of our friends in torment in hell and the lake of brimstone and fire. Luke 16 v23-24; And in hell he, (the rich man ) lift up his eyes, being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus, (the beggar) in his bosom. And he cried and said, father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for 1 am tormented in this flame. The rich man thought he did not need God in his life time but when he died and woke up in hell he knew where he was and why. This story of Bartemaeus tells us some twenty things about him; v46; His Person; his Plight; his Place; his Poverty.v47; His Perception; his Pre-requisite; his Protest; v48; His Problem; his Panic; v49; His Persistence rewarded; v5O; His Problem. Second one v5l; His Pattern for living; His Prayer; His Preference; v52; His Pardon; His Perfection; His Partition; His Pleasure; His Peace; His Potential; V46.; His Person; In those days he would have been of little use to anyone, Blind and unable to find work, He had no purpose in life There was absolutely no one who could help him get his sight back or give him a new purpose in life. His Plight; He was living darkness , physically and spiritually. He lived in a city that God hated because of its evil ways. He was caught up in a way of life from which there was no escape. He did not know of God's love and compassion Are you living in spiritual darkness ? Have you experienced the Love of God and the compassion of Jesus ? His Place; At the bottom rung of the society of his day. He was considered to be of no value and it was only the generosity of some local people. That he sat at the roadside in the dust and cried our to passers by for alms. If his companions were evil people he could do nothing about it. His Poverty; Often he would have been hungry, lonely and perhaps even without shelter at times. He would know what it was to be poor. He would a most unhappy person. But one thing he had been learning, he had heard of a man called Jesus who went about healing people. He must surely have been

saying, if only Jesus would come this way, I am sure he could give me back my sight. There are many people struggling to hold on to life, to keep their marriage together. Lonely, with few possessions associating with the wrong kind of companions. Looking for some one to come along and put things right. Perhaps they too have heard about Jesus but do not know how to find him. Are you telling anybody about Jesus ? v47; His Perception; Although he was blind he had good hearing, He could hear the noels of people approaching and talking together. He discovered that this Jesus was coming along the road and would pass close by him. This was probably the only time that Jesus would pass so close to this man again. Zacheus the tax gatherer had one chance only and he too accepted that. It may well be that some person you meet and talk to about Jesus may only have that one chance of hearing about the Saviour and knowing how you feel about Jesus. So blind Bartemaeus perceived this possibility and cried out . Jesus thou son of David, have mercy on me. His Pre-requisite; He had faith to believe that this man Jesus could and would heal him and give him back his sight. He was sincere in his need and even in the midst of a crowd he was willing to call out. Have you faith to step up to Jesus and tell Him of your need ? v48; His Protest; He could not believe his ears, these people amongst whom he lived were telling him to be quite. They knew of his disability and sad way of life. How dare they try to stop him from being healed. Do you stop people coming to Jesus because you are not willing to lead them to Jesus ? So he cried out all the louder, Jesus thou son of David, have mercy on me. His Problem. So. because of his problem he had to shout all the more. His companions did not regard Bartemaeus as a person to be presented to such a person as Jesus, But Jesus came to help the poor, the sick, the blind, the lame and the sinners to a new way of life and to make them whole, Spirit soul and body. He did the only thing he could do to help overcome his problem, he yelled all the louder. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Jesus is waiting for you to call out to Him. Jesus had heard his cry and he was brought to Him. Jeremiah 33 v3 says, Call unto Me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, that thou knowest not. v5O. Problem No. 2. At first the people did not want him to get to see Jesus. Now it was his own problem. He wore a long robe and he often stumbled over it as he tried to walk, it was hindering his approach to Jesus. He was in a hurry to get to Jesus. There is an answer to most problems and he had quickly found that by casting aside his long robe he could reach Jesus. For blind Bartemaeus was prepared to cast aside anything that might hinder him from reaching Jesus. What are prepared to cast out so that you might come to Jesus and receive all that he has to give you. When people became converted Jesus Christ gave them a spiritual robe of righteousness, When we sin against God, or are disobedient or worship other gods then we wear our own self made robes of unrighteousness, People cannot then see that we are Christ's disciples and are uncertain whether we are the ones to call upon when they need to meet Jesus. Are you wearing a robe of apathy. Are you saying, I live a good life, I give generously to charities, I go to church at times. I am certain I must be going to heaven. Cast aside that robe of self righteousness and call out to Jesus. for forgiveness of your sins. When someone asks you to go door knocking or to do some other work in the church, do you no I dont want to do that. Then when the enquirer has gone pull that comfort rug closer around you and say, well I nearly got caught with that one. That is the kind of long robe that hinders a person's approach to God. Bartemaeus was quick to get rid of the one thing that slowed him up in what was for him the most tremendous thing in his life. Is Jesus the most important happening in your life or have you yet to consecrate your life to God ? If you have the robe of non consecration then why not cast that aside and tell Jesus that you want to be made whole, Spirit, soul and body; Cast aside all your doubts and unbeliefs and come to Jesus who will forgive all your sins and reconcile you with a Holy God.

Jesus take me as I am, I can come no other way. The worst coverup of all is something that God hates most of all. Revelation 3 vl5-16; I know thy works that thou art neither cold not hot; I would that thou were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. If you are wearing a robe of Christian apathy then it hides your Christian light and testimony. Cast it aside and come to Jesus for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. Unsaved people are meant to see the effects of your wearing a robe of righteousness given you by Jesus They are meant to see your Christian works and life and then they will glorify God. Stand up and be counted for God. So there is a verse that you can underline in your Bible, Whatever it is that is hindering you from getting your full measure from God cast it aside and hasten back to Jesus. v5l; His Prayer; And Jesus said, what would you have Me to do for you. He received a quick answer from Blind Bartemaeus. Lord that I might receive my sight. You couldn't find a more meaningful prayer than . Genuine, purposeful and desperate. He got a When you are willing to cast aside that which hinders for Jesus then you will receive a quick answer to Lord. What would you have me to do ? was asking for his sight back. He wanted to see again, be a whole normal person again, and who else should he go to but Jesus . Acts 4 vl2; Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Have you been going from person to person, doctor to doctor seeking to find an answer to your depression, broken marriage, loneliness, tribulations. ? Why not repent of your old sinful life and hand it over to Jesus. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. His Preference. This blind man had a choice. He could stay as he was, blind, poor, miserable in a lone world of darkness. He .made a choice and he was so pleased that he made the right choice. Yet the amazing thing is that some people are suffering as a consequence of their life of sin and yet will not change their painful ways knowing full well that if they dont their end will be eternity in hell. People can become drug addicts, alcoholics homosexuals and despite the way they punish themselves they go on in their sin. Romans I v32. Who knowing the judgement of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death; not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them. These are truly robes of sin that need casting aside and the calling out to Jesus for forgiveness of sins. John 3 v36 says, He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him. v52. Here is a tremendous verse about Bartemaeus. we see his Pardon, His Perfection; His partition; His Peace; His Pleasure; His Potential; His Pardon ' . Jesus could say, Thy faith has made you whole. That means Spirit soul and body. He was healed because of his faith in Jesus. His sins were forgiven so he was reconciled to God and he was made a new creation. He could surrender all his old fears to Jesus and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Hebrews 8 vl2; For 1 will be merciful to their unrighteousness (sins) and their sins and their iniquities will 1 remember no more. Isnt God good to those who repent of their sins. His Perfection. Bartemaeus was now a new creature in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5 vl7 says, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. And the spiritual robe of righteousness should be proudly worn . Through the shed blood of Jesus we become perfect in the sight of God. His Partition. The verse says and followed Jesus in the way. No longer sitting in darkness by the roadside begging for alms. No longer living in undesirable places, He turned his back on the old way of life and set out after Jesus to a new and exciting life. How exciting is your life in Christ ? What do you need to cast aside before you can come to Jesus in openness of mind. Have you still got one foot in the world. How can God bless you then.

His Pleasure; He had made the right choice. Any sinner who is willing to come to God in repentance and turn his or her back on the old way of life will be reconciled to God and find a new joy in living. John 15 vll; These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that you joy might be full. His Peace; His darkness was gone, he could separate himself from his old life of worry hunger and fear. He could see and know where he was going. Life now had a new meaning for him. He had cast aside that which was impeding his getting close to Jesus and he discovered the mercy and compassion of Christ Himself. His Potential; Limitless. this verse says he followed Jesus and what a testimony he had to give. He had met Jesus, had been healed by Jesus, had a new warmth and peace in his life, he was overjoyed. He was going to follow Jesus and what a testimony he would have to tell other people. He had talked with Jesus who gave him back his sight. Some people would have remembered seeing him begging at the roadside. Here was a miracle that could not be denied or covered up. And as he went with Jesus he would have learned a great deal about Christ's purpose on earth, Is your life a testimony of your having met Jesus and years of following Him. Can people recognise your Spiritual maturity Summary; This man was a sinner and probably knew it, he was blind and was well aware of it. So desperate was he to see again that when Jesus passed by he called out to Jesus as loud as he could. He was privileged to be asked by Jesus just what he wanted Jesus to do. He had a quick reply. Jesus Christ is always waiting for the Christians to ask the heavenly Father for something they need or for the privilege of serving Him in some capacity. What God asks you to do is to cast aside that which prevents you from coming in consecration to God. If He is not Lord of all He is not Lord at all. All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow. Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus I surrender, Make me Saviour wholly thine. Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. All to Jesus I surrender, Lord I give myself to Thee Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. All to Jesus I surrender, now I feel the sacred flame. O the joy of full salvation. glory , glory to His name..