The Trustworthy Faith

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Call to Worship

Say: Let us now begin to worship the Father the Son, the Holy Spirit, Our Call to worship Comes to us from

Matthew 11:28–29 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

This week while I was out and about and prepping for this message I noticed a lot of witchcraft advertisements. We went to the doctor for the baby and a women was earring a Salem Mass. witchcraft sweatshirt. Sarah who is friendly to everyone went over to say h, as soon as I saw the pentagram I pulled her away. When I was putting on some music for to listen to while preparing for this Sunday I saw a music playlist for witches “witchy girl pop music.”

I want to say this to everyone and to the ladies in particular. God is a trustworthy God, you don’t need to go elsewhere to find certainty.

Ladies I have to warn you witchcraft is on an upswing. Music, things called self improvement, there is whole social media organizations devoted to teaching girls about witchcraft. You need to be aware that women are targeting you to accept this. You must be bold and resist. You may not be dealing with this but your grandchildren are. You ladies are called to teach the younger women, so be watchful of the younger women in your life that they don’t get taken in.

Men, you must keep your ears peeled, words like vibe, presence, feel, very new agey stuff are an obvious tell.

why you need to know this is because people who don’t trust in Christ will trust in anything. so today I’m going to demonstrate the trustworthyness of our faith, the solid faith idk on which we stand.

The Text

Mark 10:46–52 ESV

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 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 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

The Big Idea

The true story of Jesus is trustworthy

Background

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate passover and is on his way to the cross. So he passes through the town of Jericho which is about 18 miles away. Now this isn’t the Jericho in Joshua, in fact it is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the world according to the Bart is mentioned by name, possibly because he was famous for living in that area, which was a major stop along the path. Possibly because men in the early church could check this was true.

Verifiably Trustworthy - Why so many names and locations?

You can see throughout this text today so many names and locations, the question that this leads me to is why?

The city of Jericho in the NT is not the one in the OT. This town according to archaeologists maybe one of the oldest human settlements in history! It was a known wrote on the way to Jerusalem and it would be a place that would attract beggars.

Gentile audiences of this gospel would be able to locate this city, locate those who are mentioned. Have you ever become so familiar with a store or place that you learn the names of the people there and they know yours? I sware we may know half the names of the men an women at Detwilers on Clark, and my kids for sure know the cookie people and the lady at the cheese counter.

Mark is using this partially to authenticate the miracle. This is one of the first ones in which the person is named!

Application:

Ronald Reagan used to say trust but verify. This Bible is trustworthy and you can verify it. These locations are knowable, you can visit them. This Jesus by extension is trustworthy. You don’t need to keep doing this life yourself, there is a master who can and will help you

The Trustworthy Determination (of Christ)

Mark 10:46 ESV

46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

Mark 10:52 ESV

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Focus on these two verses. We last week shared that Jesus

Mark 10:45 ESV

45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

So he is on his mission to do just that. Passover was coming.

Last week we spoke briefly on the Unconditional election, this week another one of the doctrines of grace is definite atonement. Jesus’ shed blood actually accomplishes the salvation of the church!

Application:

You can trust our fearless Christ. He was determined to go into the fire for you and me, take on death, and nothing could deter him from Going. Men fail but Jesus did not!

Men aim to be likewise, let your word be your bond, you can see that Jesus still healed the Bartimaeus, but after words he kept on his mission. Nothing could distract him from this goal.

To put it another way, don’t be passive in this life. Jesus sure wasn’t he to things on, even hard things. Manhood is the sacrifical assumption of responsibility. This man doesn’t do much, doesn’t set things right, at church he doesn’t sing or really pray or listen intently to the sermon, at home his chair either at the table or infront of tv is well tread. Your active, you serve, you encourage the saints around you. At home your wife and kids know, that you’re willing to die. Don’t be passive.

Be missional, be determined. Many young men don’t know their mission. I saw it all the time, many people in their honesty might say they don’t know what to do with their lives. So if you’re searching I can tell you that what your todo on your mission must accomplish glorifying God and enjoying him forever.

Trustworthy God

Son of David - This title is noteworthy to camp in for a moment.

When studying this I had known it, but never really let my soul enjoy it.

When Bart calls him that what he is doing is proclaiming that he sees who Jesus truly is.

You see at that time in Israels history, the Roman government had grown hard and very oppressive, society was degrading around them, and the people of God called out to him to fulfill his promise of sending the messiah to deliver them from this oppression and hopefully Rome.

A Government that has gone off the rails and society degrading, sounds fimialer right? So the people of God did the right thing, they turned to true worship and called on the messiah to come. So men from the greatest to the least in Israel called on God to keep his word. The Son of David was a term used in worship at the time to ask God to send his Promised Son of David.

This comes from 2 Samuel 7:12–16 (NKJV)

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

HE would do as the word says in Ps. 2:2-9

Psalm 2:2–9 ESV

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

So the Son of David was to do these things.

So When Bart calls him that what that meant to that crowd was

Matthew, Volumes 1 & 2 (The Son of David, the Hope of Israel)

First, he is the long-promised heir of David (1:1, 20). Through him Israel hoped for restoration. He is mighty to defeat the powers of Satan (Matt 12:23) and perhaps the powers of Rome ( Matt 22:42).

Second, the people expected the king to heal the land, when he removed the Romans and other pagans who defiled it. They also expected healing for the people, one by one. They believed, to use J. R. R. Tolkein’s words, “The hands of the king are the hands of a healer.”

This miracle of removing blindness was never done by anyone in the OT. It was only God that did this, It was Jesus who did it. This is key because he demonstrates the promised messiah and fulfills the prophecy of messiah in..

Isaiah 29:18 ESV

18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

Isaiah 35:5 ESV

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

Isaiah 42:7 ESV

7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

The messiah has come to open all the eyes! He is the one the world needs, no other can do what he does

Application:

All worship also must be teaching, our music must be geared toward proclaiming what Christ has done like in the first centuray the Christ to come, all our actions must show that he has come, all our work must proclaim in it’s qaulity the kingship of Christ. Can they tell you believe, do you show it as Bart did?

Trustworthy with your soul Asking God the right question (v51)

Mark 10:51 ESV

51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

Mark 10:35–37 ESV

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

Application:

This is a revealing question of the heart for them and for us. If Jesus was in person in front of you in this space what would you ask him for? What is that one thing that you desire?

How to test this. Is simple what is the first thing you want from God? The first thing that comes to mind is what your desires are. It requires you being honest with yourself.

This is important because your motivations may have been driven aside by something that is not of Christ. Are your desires governed by his word?

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t seek to be excellent, or seek to work hard, have peace, order, and quietness in your life. What I am saying is what is the motivation of your desires?

Remember Luke 12:34

Luke 12:34 ESV

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

What you desire from Christ, truly shows where your heart is at.

The Disciples wanted station and authority, Blind Bartimaeus wanted God’s mercy and healing.

This demonstrates what they placed their trust in. The greatest among us must be the least. The master must become the servant.

So today based on our text I want to remind you that God’s plan for your life is a trustworthy foundation. We sing one of my favorite hymn

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name”

When see what Batrimaeus was asking and ask it your self do you reveal the trust in saviour or in the sweet, but temporary things?

That hymn goes on and says “On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand”

Jesus is trustworthy with your soul, his is a trustworthy foundation and nothing else is. So what really leads your soul? What really consumes you? If your answer is anything other then Christ

Trustworthy Future

You can see in our text they Got up and walked with him.

The Gospel

Mark 10:50 ESV

50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

Idk if you stand with Jesus, but I want to call you to spring to Jesus. Just like Bartimaeus if you have a cloak covering you, something hindering you from coming to Christ, throw it off, stand up and Run to Jesus.

We’ve shown today that the story is trustworthy will you trust it?

The Lord’s Supper

The Lord’s supper declares that we trust in the Covenant keeping God.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NKJV

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible (Behavior at the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34))

Paul records the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19–20), which he received of the Lord Himself. In the institution and administration of the Lord’s Supper,

Christians see three perspectives of time converge.

1) You experience Christ now - By eating and drinking in faith the Christian experiences in the present (this do) -This means that Jesus is present among us, as we take it, he is truly among us, among though not bodily like the caholics say, the elements. This is truly spiritually enriching food, a Holy acts. This act demonstrates your faith and enhances it because Jesus is spiritually present.

2) You reflect on what has been done - the benefits of Christ’s atoning work in the past (in remembrance of me) This is time when we reflect on what God in Christ has done for us, his sacrfice on the cross, how he has worked in your life.

3) You proclaim the blessedness of his return - and anticipates the blessed hope of Christ’s return (till he come). - The future physical return of Jesus.

Let’s take of the elements together.

Benediction

Say: As we close our service of worship dear brother and sister please stand for our benediction and receive by faith this blessing from God

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.