090104AM@TBC

Title:  Three Encounters with the Word                     Tulsa Bible Church  090104AM        Text: Luke 18.35-43; 19.1-10; 2 Timothy 3.14-17            by Phil Martin for God’s glory

 

INTRODUCTION

1. Segway    Prayer for TBC in 2009

1) Develop the spiritual disciplines or exercises of your personal walk with the Lord and team up with exercise partners in a discipleship or accountability relationship.

Prayer, Bible intake, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship of time and money, fasting, silence and solitude, learning and perseverance.

2) Pursue being likeminded, loving, being of one accord, and of one mind as we  study the Word and serve our one Lord together.

3) We want to continue to develop and maintain a spirit of prayer as we wait for a new pastor.

2. Overview of spiritual disciplines

gumnavzw  goom-nad'-zo   exercise ylt, kjv,nkjv, Wuest;  

discipline nasb;  train esv, niv, nlt

1 Timothy 4.7.8

    ⁷ But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. ⁸ For bodily exercise [noun form of  verse 7] profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

2 Peter 2.13b-14

They [false prophets from v. 1] are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.  [niv doesn’t really translate the word]

“Think of Spiritual disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek Him much as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus placed themselves in Jesus’ path and sought Him.” 

—— Donald Whitney Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

4. Sermon Overview

I. Bartimaeus wouldn’t shut up.

II. Zacchaeus wouldn’t give up.

III. Timothy wouldn’t let up.

Topic Statement: These three encounters with the Word illustrate the illustrate spiritual exercises.

4. Stand, read texts, and pray.

Luke 18.35-43   [Matt. 20.29-34; Mark 10.46-52]

³⁵ Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man* sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. ³⁷ So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁰ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, ⁴¹ saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
⁴² Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

* Matthew and Mark record that there were two blind men, while Luke focuses his attention on this one.

I. Bartimaeus wouldn’t shut up.

Setting

Traveling to Jerusalem and passes between the old and new Jericho (15 mi. NW of Jerusalem)

This would have been on the route for pilgrims from Syria, Galilee, Decapolis, Mesopotamia, and Arabia.

Matthew mentions two men, but Mark and Luke only mention Bartimaeus.

B. Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus

³⁷ So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

He began to cry out, and he was warned to be quiet.

He cried out all the more. He was desperate.

“Son of David”—a Messianic title. B. acknowledged him as the Messiah.

C. Jesus’ response

⁴⁰ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, ⁴¹ saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
⁴² Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Jesus heard (He hears us, too.) and stopped.

“Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

“throwing aside his garment” shows his excitement.

“What do you want Me to do for you?”  A great question for us to think about.  Our problem is that we think we have plenty and don’t need anything from the Lord.  Rev. 3.17,20

He followed Jesus.  Are you following Jesus?

Revelation 3

¹⁴ "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,'These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." ' "

APPLICATIONS:

Jesus is “calling you.”  Will you come?

What do you want God to do for you?  Are you ready to seek and be persistent?

II. Zacchaeus wouldn’t give up.

Luke 19.1-10

¹ Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." ⁶ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." ⁸ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." ⁹ And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

A. Setting

¹ Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

Jericho was an important city with lots of taxes to collect.

Zacchaeus must have been a very important person and very wealthy person.  Luke makes it a point to mention that.

B. Zacchaeus seeks out Jesus

⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." ⁶ So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.

He was short and couldn’t see.

He was persistent and did what he could.

He was not too proud or important to do something a little foolish to see Jesus.

APPL: How often does our sense of propriety keep us from seeking Christ?

He received much more than He imagined.

APPLICATIONS:

Our problem is that Jesus would never see us because too often we were satisfied to be in the back of the crowd and to miss Jesus.

Serg

III. Timothy wouldn’t let up.

2 Timothy 3

10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, ¹¹ persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Note the first thing Timothy was to follow—doctrine.

Note the importance of a good example.“knowing from whom you have learned them”

Note how long Timothy had been continuing in what he had learned.

Note the importance of the Scriptures.

1 Timothy 4.13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Note how profitable the Scriptures are.

“Doctrine” is didaskalia (διδασκαλια), “teaching,” that is, “teaching material.”

“Reproof” is elegmos (ἐλεγμος), “conviction.” The verbal form elegchō (ἐλεγχω) means “to rebuke another with such effectual wielding of the victorious arms of the truth, as to bring him, if not always to a confession, yet at least to a conviction of his sin” (Trench).

“Correction” is epanorthōsis (ἐπανορθωσις), “restoration to an upright or right state, correction or improvement” of life or character. Vincent translates, “setting right.” to put things in order

“Instruction” is paideia (παιδεια), “the whole training and education of children which relates to the cultivation of mind and morals, and employs for this purpose, now commands and admonitions, now reproof and punishment; whatever in adults also cultivates the soul, especially by correcting mistakes and curbing passions, hence, instruction which aims at the increase of virtue; in biblical usage, chastisement, chastening” (Thayer). In the LXX, the word means primarily either “correction” or “discipline.”

REVIEW:

I. Bartimaeus wouldn’t shut up.

II. Zacchaeus wouldn’t give up.

III. Timothy wouldn’t let up.

Note the common characteristic of being persistent to be in a place where God could bless them.

“Think of Spiritual disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek Him much as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus placed themselves in Jesus’ path and sought Him.” 

—— Donald Whitney Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

APPLICATION:

Spend more time “in the path of God’s grace.”

Bible reading for 2009.

 

Chapters and verses of the Bible

There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament. This gives a total of 1,189 chapters (on average, 18 per book).

There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament. This gives a total of 31,102 verses, which is an average of a little more than 26 verses per chapter.

To finish in a year, read 23 chapters a week, 3 or 4 chapters a day.

To finish in a year, read 600 verses a week, 85 verses a day

Cut it in half for two years.