[0:00] Psalm chapter 6, and in the Pew Bibles that's in page 539. Psalm 6 is a psalm of David when he's in the turmoils of his emotion and cries out to God.
[0:21] Reading from verse 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing.
[0:36] Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, deliver my life.
[0:51] Save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in the death there is no remembrance of you. In Shoal, who will give you praise?
[1:03] I am weary with my moaning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with my weeping. My eyes waste away because of grief.
[1:16] It grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me, all you workers of evil. For the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
[1:27] The Lord has heard my plea. The Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled. And they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
[1:41] This is the word of God. And he gives it to us because he loves us. This is quite a short passage about Jesus when he's walking towards Jerusalem.
[1:57] Quite late on in his ministry before the cross. Luke 18 verses 35 through 43. As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
[2:15] And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. He told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
[2:27] And he cried out, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped. And he commanded him to be brought to him.
[2:49] And when he came near to him, he asked him, what do you want me to do for you? He said, Lord, let me recover my sight.
[3:00] And Jesus said to him, recover your sight. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God.
[3:12] And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Amen. Amen. And this is the word of God. Don't know about you. But it doesn't take a lot for me to start to worry.
[3:27] It can be a pile up of to-do list tasks that haven't begun. A university course, which I promise you I will only get through by the grace of God. And the prayers of my church.
[3:40] And thinking about these things, I begin to struggle. I wonder, what brings you low? I'm sure it can come to mind with worrying haste.
[3:52] Are you struggling this morning? Are you anxious, maybe? Are you stressed? Is it the world that brings you concern? Is it our family? Is it our family? Is it our family?
[4:06] Or even our very own mind? Maybe you currently aren't worried at all. But it's such a common human experience that affects us all at a stage of our life.
[4:18] When I was reading through Luke to find something to preach from, this passage grabbed me. It's so short that it would merely take a couple of minutes if you were talking about it to a friend in small chat.
[4:33] But, within this short passage is condensed some beautiful theological truths which bring comfort to the believer and hope to the unsaved.
[4:47] The passage speaks into our concerns through the example of a real man at real time who was brought low through circumstance and he looked for help.
[5:00] Here, in its very simplicity, is a man and his glorious saviour. A man who was brought low, destitute, and his very life was dependent on the pity of strangers.
[5:15] This morning we'll be homing in on three specific important parts of this passage. First, in verse 38, for anyone that does take notes, we will title, To Be Silent or Not To Be.
[5:29] Then secondly, verse 39, Have mercy on me. And finally, from verse 42, We have faith that makes well.
[5:41] But before we come on to considering this, let's pray once more to our God for aid. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are willing to give us good gifts because you're a God who gives us good gifts.
[5:57] We come to you now and we ask for your help as we open up your word. Give us ears to hear. And let everything that we do here be glorifying to you.
[6:08] In Jesus Christ's name, Amen. To be silent or not to be. First. The section starts with Jesus on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
[6:20] When he passes by Jericho, there's a crowd. There almost always is near Jesus. To learn from him. To hear what he's saying. Or even just to see this Jesus of Nazareth that is gathering such acclaim.
[6:36] Why is there such interest? Well, let's scan quickly through together. Look to see why the beggar and the crowd have such fascination and or hope in Jesus.
[6:48] Look to Jesus as a boy teaching in the temple. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Look for when Jesus begins his ministry.
[7:02] Jesus returned in power of the Spirit to Galilee. And a report about him went through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all.
[7:14] Also in look for after healing a demon possessed man. And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. Look 5. Jesus cleanses a leper.
[7:26] But now even more the report about him went abroad. And great crowds gathered to hear him and be healed of their infirmities. In 26. Jesus heals a paralyzed man.
[7:39] And amazement seized them all. And they were glorified. And they glorified God. And were filled with awe. Saying we have seen extraordinary things today. Luke 7.
[7:50] Jesus raises a boy from the dead. The report about him spread through the whole of Judea and the surrounding country. Luke 8. Jesus heals another demon possessed man.
[8:01] And he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. Then Jesus raises Jairus' daughter in verse 56. And our parents were amazed.
[8:15] In Luke 9. We find Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit. And all were astonished at the majesty of God. Luke 13.
[8:27] Jesus heals a woman with a disabling spirit. All the people rejoiced at the glorious things that were done by him. And to bring it home. And very pertinently because it's so often the human condition.
[8:41] After Jesus healed ten lepers. Then one of them when he saw that he was healed. Turned back praising God with a loud voice. This was the Jesus that showed majesty and power.
[8:55] The spread of his good works. And the teaching is the background where we are here in Luke 18. With this beggar. And with this crowd. The beggar hears the commotion.
[9:07] This man has spent many years on the roadside. There's a difference now. This commotion is something entirely new. Which brings him to inquire about what's happening in verse 36.
[9:21] He finds out it's Jesus of Nazareth nearby. The man that he will have hurt. Of doing such wonders as I have just rattled through. Can you imagine the circumstance of being a complete pipe dream for this blind beggar?
[9:39] A hope that seems insurmountable. But Jesus is here. Almost on his doorstep. He wails out in verse 38. Jesus son of David have mercy on me.
[9:54] What happens next is there's a drive amongst those near him to silence him in verse 39. Why was there such a backlash from the people towards the beggar? The scripture doesn't make clear.
[10:07] It was likely it was those that had told him that it was Jesus. And then they may have been embarrassed. And that they were the cause of the commotion. Was it selfishness and not wanting Jesus' teaching interrupted?
[10:21] Or their journey to Jerusalem being slowed because they are on a pilgrimage here? Or was it the ever present fear of the religious leaders? We don't know.
[10:32] But what we do know is this blind man's response being put down once again as will have happened many times in his life before. It's in verse 39b. But he cried out all the more.
[10:46] Son of David have mercy on me. All the more. Cried. All the more. It reminds me of a TV show that Hannah used to enjoy watching on Netflix.
[11:01] It's a survival show. Where the basic premise is real examples of different people getting into distress in different wildernesses. It speaks of how they are to survive using what's about them.
[11:15] It generally starts off with one of these phrases. Because they've gone somewhere they do not know without a map. Their phone battery is diminishing like me in the supermarket.
[11:26] And they forgot to bring a jacket. Specifically though. What stands out to me is the screaming and the shouting.
[11:38] Along with the waving when they hear a helicopter for example. For me and my completely emotionally detached response. It's always a helicopter won't hear you.
[11:49] Save your energy and just wave instead. But here in this passage. This man is looking for rescue. He cannot see. So he isn't able to wave in the direction of Jesus.
[12:00] So he cries out with every word expending. Just as much energy. Because he knows Jesus could possibly hear him. He shall not be silenced when Jesus is nearby.
[12:13] No matter the strength of the multiple able-bodied adversaries he has to contend with. What lesson can we learn from this man? Two things come to mind immediately.
[12:26] First, he was on the roadside begging. He didn't remain home in self-pity. But went to a place where he could get help. He had a need.
[12:37] And he was in the very, very place that that could be met. How different would this man's life have been if he'd stayed home that day? It's a lesson for us.
[12:49] We are always in need of grace from God. Help. Growth. Or to even just be sympathised with. Coming to church. Being with believers.
[13:01] Is this where you're more likely going to get your spiritual needs met than staying at home? What would the beggar say? Secondly, he cries out to Jesus.
[13:13] He has a need. And he calls out to the Lord for help. We were speaking to the children earlier about this. Having a need. And only Jesus fulfilling that.
[13:27] He doesn't call to the crowd. Have mercy on me. He calls out to Jesus. Jesus is the hope. Jesus is always the answer. We need to bend our knees in prayer to God.
[13:39] The God of power who cares for every one of our needs. This naturally leads us on to our second point in the sermon. Have mercy on me. The beggar has heard the crowd.
[13:54] Cried out. And after an attempt of that crying out being put down. Cries out all the more. In relation to his crying out. What is the first thing Jesus does?
[14:06] Verse 40. Jesus stopped. He didn't command. As he had all the authority to do. He stopped. This is the geography of grace.
[14:20] Jesus. Whilst on his way to Jerusalem. Stops. In the section previous to this. Jesus tells his disciples of his up and coming death.
[14:31] And this will surely be on his mind. But he stops. For this beggar. His momentary priority. Is to be near to this man. Who cries out for aid.
[14:44] Isn't this. A beautiful reassurance. For the struggling Christian. Then. This geography of grace continues. And he commands for him to be brought to him.
[14:56] Not nearby. But to him. And then he waits. He waits until he is before him. Before he speaks. This man's eternal soul is at stake.
[15:09] Jesus will take no risks. In meeting this man's true needs. Jesus. Then. The final geography of grace. Here is later when Jesus restores his sight.
[15:21] What's the first thing that he will see? The face of our Lord. Can you imagine this? Going from being blind. To seeing the loving. And the caring face of Jesus.
[15:33] With all the purity that only he can have. There was once. A story of a well-meaning preacher. Who said to Fanny Crosby.
[15:45] Who was a famous hymn writer. Who was blind from birth. I think it a great pity. That the master. Did not give you sight. When he showered you. With so many other grifts.
[15:56] Upon you. Crosby. Responded. If at birth I had been able to make one petition. It would have been that I was born blind. Because when I get to heaven.
[16:09] The first face that shall ever gladden my sight. Is that of my saviour. She looked forward to seeing her saviour face to face. This beggar.
[16:20] Due to Christ's grace. Did see his immediate and eternal saviour. Then. That very day. Returning to the passage.
[16:31] What is the man's cry? In both verses 38 and 39. Son of David. Have mercy on me. No. The title the beggar appeals to here.
[16:44] Son of David. Is not Jesus' locally understood designation. Of Jesus of Nazareth. That the crowd informed him of. At the beginning of her passage. This is messianic title.
[16:57] The beggar understands. That he is dealing with no mere prophet. But with the promised Messiah. Jesus then interacts with him. Binding out his desires.
[17:09] I enjoy how the ESV. Does translate the verses. 41, 42 and 43. Uses that cover. Language. Let me recover my sight.
[17:21] Verse 41. Recover your sight. 42. And immediately. He recovered his sight. That. This man. Was once able to see.
[17:33] And now. He cannot. You don't know. How this. Loss of sight happened. Whether medically or otherwise. It isn't that. Important. What we do know.
[17:44] We don't know. Sorry. We don't know what he did. As a job. Prior to his disability. How much of the scriptures. Themselves. He would have read. Or would it be. Via. Hearing.
[17:56] The word spoken. Next to synagogues. Because again. He's by the roadside. Near a synagogue. But what we are capable. Of seeing. Is he's able to put together.
[18:07] From the scriptures. And the testimonies. That we read. At the very start. Of the service. That this. Jesus. Of Nazareth. Isn't alone. Jesus. Of Nazareth. But he is.
[18:18] God incarnate. God man. Son of David. This title. Will have been inspired. From 2nd Samuel. 7. 12 through 13. Which is God.
[18:28] Speaking these. Covenantal words. Through Nathan. To King David. When your days. Are fulfilled. And you lie. Down. With your fathers. I will raise up.
[18:40] Your offspring. After you. Who shall come. From your body. And I will establish. His kingdom. He shall build. A house for my name. And I will establish. The throne. Of his kingdom.
[18:51] Forever. Jesus. Is the ultimate. Fulfillment. Of that. Promise. He is whose throne. Is already. Established.
[19:02] Forever. Words spoken. Thousands of years. Previously. Take encouragement. Any promise. That God makes. He will follow through. And that is just.
[19:13] One mere example. That is Jesus. Who the beggar. Ascribes. Both the hope. To recover his sight. But also. That the God.
[19:23] Of all the universe. And the man. Jesus Christ. Will have mercy. On him. It was his plea. Let us. You. Me. Never tire.
[19:34] Of coming to Christ. With that same plea. From our own hearts. Son of David. Have mercy. On me. Me. Jesus. Jesus has mercy.
[19:44] On him. When he stops. He has mercy. On him. When he brings him. To himself. He has mercy. On him. When he speaks. To him. And he has mercy. On him. When he heals him.
[19:56] Son of David. Have mercy. On me. He has mercy. Thirdly. And lastly. Faith. That makes well.
[20:07] Let us examine. Jesus' work. In the life. Of this beggar. Both before. And after. His life changing. Encounter. So we have already.
[20:17] Looked at his. Shere determination. To be heard. In his call for help. We have heard. How he believed. Jesus. As the future hope. Of Israel. And that he believes. Jesus is a God man.
[20:28] Who will be. His throne. Will be established. Forever. But what about. His individual. Personal. Faith. So it's one thing.
[20:38] To trust the NHS. And have faith. In them generally. We do. We're confident. That we can get. A prescription. From a chemist. That if someone. Has a baby.
[20:49] There will be a midwife. Available. And attentive. However. It's a very. Different thing. Being on an. Operating theatre. Ready to breathe in.
[21:01] Anesthesia. Before literally. Putting your life. In the surgeon's hands. Going under his knife. Peter speaks of.
[21:11] Testing of faith. Saying. In all this. You greatly rejoice. Though now. For a little while. You may have. To suffer.
[21:21] Grief of all kinds. Of trials. These have come. So that. The proven. Genuineness. Of your faith. Of greater worth. Than gold. Which perishes.
[21:33] Even though. Refined by fire. May result in praise. Glory. And honour. When Jesus Christ. Is revealed. Yes. The beggar. Isn't going under a knife.
[21:44] But he is putting. His personal. And active faith. Into Jesus. Who is in front of him. And his voice. He has heard. Verse 41. Jesus asks.
[21:56] What do you want me to do. For you. What is his response. Lord. Let me recover. My sight. Again. Know his use of Lord.
[22:08] Repeating his understanding. Of his inferiority. And Christ's total. Supremacy. Also note. That his request. Is simple. And completely. Reliant.
[22:18] On Christ. It is not. I can do all these things. If you were to heal me. Or. This is the very reason. That I am worthy. To be healed. He.
[22:31] Like ourselves. When we pray. Is both doing something. Very active. In coming to Christ. Whilst also. Being equally humble. In proclaiming.
[22:41] God's sovereignty. That very fact. That we are coming. To rely on him. And just him. Every time we pray. We proclaim. His sovereign rule. Our belief.
[22:53] That he. Is in control. Jesus is relational. He knows exactly. What the beggar needs. He knew before starting off. Towards Jerusalem.
[23:04] Even knowing this. He invites the beggar. To participate. In faith. By asking for what he needs. Before going on. To grant it. It's the same in prayer. If we are Christians.
[23:15] We are in an active. Constant relationship. With Christ. And he invites us. To pray. And participate. In faith. By asking him.
[23:26] For our needs. Continually. Knowing that God. Knows our needs. Should never. Be a reason. Not to turn to him. In prayer. But the very reason.
[23:37] To come to him. In prayer. A God who cares. So much. About us. With joy. And assurance. Of putting our faith. And that sovereign God. In control. Of all things.
[23:50] What happens next? Verse 42. Jesus said to him. Recover your sight. Your faith. Has made you well. Jesus isn't saying.
[24:02] His faith itself. Is the power. To heal. But the genuine faith. He has. Means the God. Who has all the power. To heal. Will joyfully.
[24:12] Have mercy on him. Responding to his cry. For mercy. What does the scripture. Tell us. About the quality. Or quantity. Of that beggar's faith.
[24:24] Not a lot. Apart from the fact. He had it. Christ saw it. With his own eyes. And he found it. To be true. And genuine. Jesus doesn't say.
[24:35] Your perfect faith. Has healed you. He says. Your faith. Has healed you. Looking elsewhere. In scripture. What is mentioned. In respect. To the scales. Of faith. In Luke 17.
[24:46] Jesus teaching. Is informative. From verse 5. The apostles said. To the Lord. Increase our faith. And the Lord said. If you had the faith. Like the grain.
[24:57] Of a mustard seed. You could say. To this mulberry tree. Be uprooted. And planted in the sea. And it would obey you. Here. The disciples. Have a worthy hope.
[25:09] However. Jesus wants the focus. To be on the quality. Not on the quantity. Of faith. Small. But true. Genuine faith. In the almighty.
[25:19] Powerful God. Is a powerful. Powerful. Thing. Mark 9. Sees Jesus' interaction. With a desperate father. Of a demon.
[25:30] Possessed son. In the spurs of his distress. 21. And Jesus asked his father. How long has this been happening to him? And he said. From childhood.
[25:41] It has often cast him into fire. And into water. To destroy him. But if you can do anything. Have compassion on us. And help us. And Jesus said to him. If you can. All things are possible.
[25:53] For the one who believes. Immediately. The father of the child. Cried out. And said. I believe. Help. My unbelief. All things. All things are possible.
[26:04] For the one who believes. Small. True faith. In the hand. Of a God. Of a mighty God. Once again.
[26:15] Proves life changing. We have all these different. Multiple. Real life examples. Historical. Examples. Of how Jesus intervenes. Powerfully.
[26:25] In the lives. Of his people. That same Jesus. Still lives. He heard the blind man's cry. And granted. His request. That same Jesus.
[26:36] Is the Jesus. That we pray to. The same Jesus. Who continues. To intervene. For us. At the right hand. Of God. The father. R.C. Sproul.
[26:48] When speaking on faith. Said. The issue of faith. Is not so much. Whether we believe in God. But whether we believe. The God we believe in. I'll say that again.
[27:00] The issue of faith. Is not so much. Whether we believe in God. But whether we believe. The God. We believe in. The question is.
[27:11] What do we learn from this? Our faith. It may be small. Our sins. They may be great. Our prayers. Might seem like a stammer.
[27:22] But having little faith. That turns us to prayer. That little faith. It will be acceptable. To God. And he will. Hear us. Always go to God.
[27:33] Rather than waiting. For our little faith. To grow. On its own. Psalm 51. Says. For you will not delight. And sacrifice. Or I will give it.
[27:44] You will. Not be pleased. With a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God. Are a broken spirit. A broken. And contrite heart. Oh God. You will not.
[27:55] Despise. Let your faith be true. However little. And rely on a great. Big. God. Where does your strength. Come from? Us?
[28:06] Or in the son. Of David? The beggar. The beggar was low. Through circumstances. He had little. But true faith. In Christ. The son of David. And he cried out.
[28:17] With everything. Son of David. Have mercy. On me. His true faith. Put in the right place. Brought restoration. To his life. And his reaction.
[28:28] Is right. Verse 43. And immediately. He recovered his sight. And followed him. Glorifying God. And all the people. When they saw it. Gave praise to God.
[28:40] He leads off. By glorifying God. And rightfully so. As he can see. I was once blind. And now I see. Then the multitude. Like all those. Who had gone before.
[28:52] Were amazed. At what they saw. And in wonder. And awe. They turned. To the praise of God. Let us reflect. On what God. Has done for us. Write it down. Read it.
[29:03] Remember it. Turn to it. And let it. Turn us to the praise. Of God. Our saviour. There could be no. Better use. Of our time.
[29:14] Than like the beggar. Turn to God. And praise. We are often. Broken and brought low. We do get anxious. And we do get stressed. Even when our very own.
[29:25] Minds seem to defeat us. Hear the truth. Hear that Jesus. The son of David. Will have mercy on us. When we cry out to him.
[29:35] In whatever. Situation. We are in. There is no. Sin too great. For the blood. Of Jesus. To cover. Do not be silent.
[29:46] Be like the beggar. And turn to God. In your distress. Though. Our faith. May be small. Our God. Is almighty.
[29:56] Amen. Amen. Be fair. For the blood.