What am I trying to say? I am saying that Jesus is big in me. How did He get big in me? Because just like Bartimaeus, the day came when I heard about Jesus. I was 20 years old when I heard about Jesus.
I was not blind in my eyes, but I was blind in my heart. I was blind to the things of God. I was blind to His work. I was blind to His love, until someone told me that Jesus was passing my way.
And someone told the blind man that Jesus was passing by. And Bartimaeus began to shout, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
And people told him to, “Shut up. Be quiet. Leave the Master alone.” Many people feel that God is too busy for them, that He’s too busy handling the affairs of heaven and that He’s not interested in mankind.
You may think that if you call on Him tonight, He’s too busy to hear your call. But that is not true. God is never too busy to hear your cry.
And Bartimaeus got a glimpse of that on the inside. And the more they told him to be quiet, the more he shouted, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
And Jesus stopped, and He turned toward Bartimaeus and said, “Bring him to me.” And if Jesus will hear Bartimaeus, He will hear your cry. For the Bible says that He is no respecter of persons. If He will hear Bartimaeus, He will hear you tonight.
Jesus said, “Bring him to me.” And Bartimaeus did a very unusual thing. The Bible says that he took off his beggar’s garment. He wore an outer garment. And that garment sent a message to everyone, to everyone that passed him. That garment said, “You’re blind. You’ve always been blind, and you will always be blind.”
That garment said, “There’s no hope.” The garment said, “There’s no way, and that you’re destined to be blind for the rest of your life.”
But when he called on Jesus and he got a glimpse of Jesus the healer, he said, “I am going to Him, but I’m taking this outer garment off. This garment has represented my blindness. I’ve worn it every day.
Richard Roberts – You take care of that first and then you can come in.” Jesus said He would meet us right where we are. He will warmly welcome us.