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Why Is Jesus So Fascinating · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is traditionally known as Palm Sunday for obvious reasons.
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  Speaker 1: It's the reminder of that time when our Savior came
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  Speaker 1: in his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. And
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  Speaker 1: what an experience that must have been. We'll do our
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  Speaker 1: best to relive it together as we see it portrayed
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  Speaker 1: in the 11th chapter of Mark. I want to begin
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  Speaker 1: reading a little bit before that entry in Mark 10,
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  Speaker 1: verse 46 and following. Please turn in your Bibles to
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  Speaker 1: that section of Scripture, Mark 10, 46, and we'll read
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: down through the 10th verse in chapter 11. I'll be
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  Speaker 1: reading from the New Living Translation. Once you find your place,
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  Speaker 1: please stand with me for the reading of the scriptures.
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  Speaker 2: Then they reached Jericho.
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  Speaker 1: And as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large
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  Speaker 1: crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus,
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  Speaker 1: was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus
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  Speaker 1: of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, Jesus, son
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  Speaker 1: of David, have mercy upon me. Be quiet, many of
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  Speaker 1: the people yelled at him, but he only shouted louder,
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  Speaker 1: son of David, have mercy on me. When Jesus heard him,
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  Speaker 1: He stopped and said, tell him to come here. So
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  Speaker 1: they called the blind man. Cheer up, they said. Come on,
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  Speaker 1: he's calling you. Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up
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  Speaker 1: and came to Jesus. What do you want me to
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  Speaker 1: do for you?
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  Speaker 2: Jesus asked.
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  Speaker 1: My rabbi. The blind man said, I want to see.
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  Speaker 1: And Jesus said to him, go for your faith has
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  Speaker 1: healed you. Instantly, the man could see and he followed
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  Speaker 1: Jesus down the road.
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  Speaker 2: As Jesus and his disciples approached.
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  Speaker 1: Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany
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  Speaker 1: on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them
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  Speaker 1: on ahead. Go into that village over there, he told them.
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  Speaker 1: As soon as you enter it, you will see a
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  Speaker 1: young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden.
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  Speaker 1: Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks.
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  Speaker 2: What are you doing?
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  Speaker 1: Just say, the Lord needs it. and will return it soon.
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  Speaker 1: The two disciples left and found the colt standing in
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  Speaker 1: the street, tied outside the front door. As they were
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  Speaker 1: untying it, some bystanders demanded, What are you doing untying
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  Speaker 1: that colt? They said what Jesus had told them to say,
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  Speaker 1: and they were permitted to take it. Then they brought
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  Speaker 1: the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it,
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  Speaker 1: and he sat on it. Many in the crowd spread
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  Speaker 1: their garments on the road ahead of him, and others
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  Speaker 1: spread leafy branches, palm branches, that they had cut in
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  Speaker 1: the fields. Jesus was in the center of the procession,
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  Speaker 1: and the people all around him were shouting,' Praise God!
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  Speaker 2: Hosanna, blessings.
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  Speaker 1: On the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David. Praise
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  Speaker 1: God in highest heaven.
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  Speaker 2: Bow with me as we pray, please.
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  Speaker 1: It is only right this morning that we give you
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  Speaker 1: our praise, dear Father. Your plan, fulfilled to perfection, prophesied
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  Speaker 1: centuries earlier, was fulfilled just as you had arranged it.
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  Speaker 1: You always keep your word. Your promises are sure. We
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  Speaker 1: to this day rely on them We thank you for
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  Speaker 1: each one. You've told us, fear not. You've often mentioned
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  Speaker 1: the importance of praise. By him, therefore, let us offer
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  Speaker 1: the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the
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  Speaker 1: fruit of our lips, giving thanks to your name. And
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  Speaker 1: so today we pause here to give you our praise.
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  Speaker 2: Looking back over our lives, we.
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  Speaker 1: Must accept the fact that you have sovereignly led us
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  Speaker 1: all the way. Even those things that at the time
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  Speaker 1: didn't make sense worked out for good to those of
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  Speaker 1: us who love you and are called according to your purpose.
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  Speaker 1: Remind us of that today for those going through difficult times.
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  Speaker 2: May praise be on our lips through this week.
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  Speaker 1: May we often pause and remember all that our Savior
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  Speaker 1: endured for us. Then as we gather together at the
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  Speaker 1: end of the week, may we pause longer and enter
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  Speaker 1: into the agony and suffering that he went through for us.
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  Speaker 1: And then hours later, may we stand and give you
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  Speaker 1: our glorious praise for the victory won at the open
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  Speaker 1: tomb when your son was marvelously and miraculously and bodily
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  Speaker 1: raised from the dead. Give us a renewed hope that
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  Speaker 1: those we have lost today we will see again that
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  Speaker 1: you will reverse the irreversible. You will do what only
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  Speaker 1: you can do and no one else. We pause today
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  Speaker 1: to give you thanks for that. May you be pleased,
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  Speaker 1: our Father, with our lives through this week. May we
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  Speaker 1: bring honor to you as we do what is right.
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  Speaker 1: as we love kindness, and as we walk humbly with you,
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  Speaker 1: our God. Minister deeply today in all our lives as
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  Speaker 1: we return to the scene that took place along the
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  Speaker 1: road from Jericho to the great city of Jerusalem and
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  Speaker 1: then as our Savior entered in. Hear our hearts today
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  Speaker 1: as we pour out our praises for the many things
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  Speaker 1: you have done for us, including this time of worship.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you. We praise your name. These things we express
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  Speaker 1: through Christ, our Savior and our Lord. All God's people said, Amen.
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  Speaker 2: Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Please be seated. Every once in a while, I pause
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  Speaker 1: and realize what a privilege it is to do what
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  Speaker 1: I do. Cynthia and I were talking very recently this
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  Speaker 1: week about how the Lord has led from one year
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  Speaker 1: to the next, one decade to the next. We realized
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  Speaker 1: that his hand has led us from one step to
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  Speaker 1: the next to the next. And so often he surprised
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  Speaker 1: us by doing the unpredictable. Some things that we would
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  Speaker 1: never have imagined took place. And I look back. over
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  Speaker 1: the years and realize that it has been the greatest
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  Speaker 1: privilege imaginable to make a lifetime study of the Son
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  Speaker 1: of God.
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  Speaker 2: I probed and and.
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  Speaker 1: Worked my way through the scriptures year after year and
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  Speaker 1: continued to uncover truth, I just think of that as
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  Speaker 1: such an honor, such a privilege to be able to
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  Speaker 1: do that. I sometimes look for words that best define Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: his ministry. I've put a quick list together and came
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  Speaker 1: up with words like amazing, phenomenal, compassionate, glorious, faithful, forgiving, life-transforming, Loving,
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  Speaker 1: of course, loving. And in light of what he said
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  Speaker 1: and the things he did, the promises he made, the.
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  Speaker 2: Miracles he performed, I.
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  Speaker 1: Honestly don't know that there's a better word, though it
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  Speaker 1: may surprise you to hear me use this word for Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Fascinating. Fascinating.
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  Speaker 1: You may wonder, why would I choose that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, look it up.
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  Speaker 1: I did that, and I found that it means having
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  Speaker 1: the power to charm and allure, captivating, spellbinding, irresistibly attractive.
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  Speaker 1: Those are great words for Jesus. Irresistibly attractive. I found
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  Speaker 1: that to be true over the years. I've never found
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  Speaker 1: the person of Jesus boring or irrelevant, out of touch.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus continues to fascinate me in my study and fascinate
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  Speaker 1: others as he changes their lives. As a matter of fact,
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  Speaker 1: If I had to reduce the reason I chose that
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  Speaker 1: word to just one statement, it would be this. Jesus
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  Speaker 1: does the unpredictable that he might accomplish the incredible.
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  Speaker 2: He's forever doing that. Does that all the way through the.
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  Speaker 1: Gospel story in Matthew and Mark, Luke and John, into
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  Speaker 1: the early part of Acts. doing the unpredictable, the things
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  Speaker 1: you thought he would say he doesn't say, and what
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  Speaker 1: he says, often surprising, or what he does, unexpected. And
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  Speaker 1: when it is all said and done, he does it
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  Speaker 1: to accomplish the incredible. Let me add this. He isn't
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  Speaker 1: a show-off. He never presented himself as the star of
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  Speaker 1: the show, as if it was some kind of showmanship
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  Speaker 1: he was involved in. Never. As a matter of fact,
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  Speaker 1: he did the unexpected thing when others would look For
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  Speaker 1: the crowd, he often would leave the crowd and go
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  Speaker 1: to be alone or to be just with his disciples.
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  Speaker 2: The unpredictable.
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  Speaker 1: Often, in fact, more than not, more often than not,
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  Speaker 1: to accomplish something incredible. Think back over your life. Just
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  Speaker 1: pause and look back. Think of those surprises that at
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  Speaker 1: the time when they happened, you wondered about why is
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  Speaker 1: this occurring?
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  Speaker 2: Why would this take place?
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  Speaker 1: We were reading the other morning at our breakfast time
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  Speaker 1: about Joseph when he told his brothers to come closer.
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  Speaker 1: And he said to them, because they were just shocked,
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  Speaker 1: over the words, I'm your brother. I am Joseph, whom
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  Speaker 1: you sold into slavery. And I'm sure he saw guilt
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  Speaker 1: stretch across their faces, but he said, but don't feel
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  Speaker 1: badly about that.
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  Speaker 2: God was in it.
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  Speaker 1: He brought me here that I might provide life for
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  Speaker 1: you And exactly what had happened. What looked so bleak
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  Speaker 1: and wrong and bad at the time it occurred. Led
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  Speaker 1: to life and hope and goodness.
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  Speaker 2: As it unfolded. He's always doing.
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  Speaker 1: That kind of thing. I mean, even his death on
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  Speaker 1: the cross. Look to the disciples like the absolute end
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  Speaker 1: of it all.
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  Speaker 2: It's over.
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  Speaker 1: And they slipped away in depression and discouragement. But you
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  Speaker 1: know what happened? And they came to realize in only
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  Speaker 1: a few days that.
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  Speaker 2: The resurrection.
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  Speaker 1: And all of it came to pass just as he
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  Speaker 1: had said. They had been so caught up in the
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  Speaker 1: darkness and the loss of it all that they failed
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  Speaker 1: to remember. He told them he was going to come back.
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  Speaker 2: Doing the incredible. Doing the impossible.
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  Speaker 1: Doing the surprising and unpredictable, that he might accomplish something magnificent.
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  Speaker 1: This happens right here in the story we're dealing with.
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  Speaker 1: We come across an example of it in the blind man,
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  Speaker 1: for example.
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  Speaker 2: We begin at Jericho, according to Mark 10, 46. They're
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  Speaker 2: on the road.
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  Speaker 1: From from Galilee all the way to Jerusalem. It's quite
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  Speaker 1: a walk. And they pass through Jericho. There's a blind
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  Speaker 1: beggar by the road. That's not surprising. When you travel
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  Speaker 1: in Israel, to this day, you come across numerous beggars.
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  Speaker 1: Guides will often help tourists understand.
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  Speaker 2: There's sort of a beggar protocol.
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  Speaker 1: That you need to abide by, because you never know
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  Speaker 1: if it's an authentic beggar or a phony beggar. They
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  Speaker 1: all look like they're needy. They're all crouched down and
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  Speaker 1: all have their hands out, but you never know which
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  Speaker 1: one is truly a beggar, which one is truly in need. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this man certainly is, And interestingly, he couldn't see, being blind,
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  Speaker 1: and so he heard that it was Jesus. And his
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  Speaker 1: heart leaped for joy.
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  Speaker 2: He believes in Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: That's why he calls him what he does. Oh, Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: son of David, have mercy on me. And he says
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  Speaker 1: it repeatedly, repeatedly. Listen to those words, son of David.
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  Speaker 1: He had really given thought to this Jesus, not just
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  Speaker 1: a man from Nazareth, not just a master of disciples,
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  Speaker 1: but the promised son of David.
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  Speaker 2: So he calls out.
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  Speaker 1: To him in all of his misery of blindness. Now,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus breaks with protocol. You see, when you pass by beggars,
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  Speaker 1: you're not even to stop and look at them because
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  Speaker 1: then they anticipate you'll be putting money in their hands.
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  Speaker 1: You certainly don't talk to them. for then they know that's.
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  Speaker 2: What you're going to do.
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  Speaker 1: But Jesus pauses. Let me add here that he certainly
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  Speaker 1: has more on his mind than a blind beggar. Think
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  Speaker 1: about what's ahead of him. Within a matter of hours, oh,
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  Speaker 1: he'll be betrayed by one of his 12. The deceiver
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  Speaker 1: will plant a kiss on his cheek. He'll be arrested
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  Speaker 1: in the garden. He'll be pushed through trials, all of
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  Speaker 1: them illegal. He'll stand before Pilate and go.
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  Speaker 2: Through that episode of what we could call an inquisition.
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  Speaker 1: He'll be tortured for no good reason, but they never
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  Speaker 1: really proved that he did anything wrong. He'll be nailed
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  Speaker 1: to a cross and crucified and.
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  Speaker 2: Hung up to die.
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  Speaker 1: On that cross. That's what's on his mind. Normally you
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  Speaker 1: would think you wouldn't have time to even care what
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  Speaker 1: some beggar is saying or doing.
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  Speaker 2: But Jesus does the unpredictable.
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  Speaker 1: He stops. He says to those around him, bring him here.
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  Speaker 1: They brought him to Jesus. And here is Bartimaeus. standing
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  Speaker 1: before the one in whom he believes. And he asks
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  Speaker 1: him the most unpredictable question I could imagine. Now, if
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  Speaker 1: a person is blind and is brought before you and
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  Speaker 1: you're able to do whatever, whatever needs to be done,
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  Speaker 1: Would you ask that individual, what is it you want
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  Speaker 1: me to do for you?
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  Speaker 2: I doubt that we would ask that. It's obvious.
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  Speaker 1: He could have asked him, how much money do you need?
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  Speaker 1: Do you have a wife and family? How long have
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  Speaker 1: you been blind? Those are questions that you wouldn't know
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  Speaker 1: in just passing by, but Everyone knows when they pass
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  Speaker 1: by that he's blind, but he asked, what do you
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  Speaker 1: want me to do for you? Sounds a little odd
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  Speaker 1: to me to ask him a question that is that obvious.
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  Speaker 1: But he wants Bartimaeus to specifically state.
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  Speaker 2: What it is that he wants Jesus to do.
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  Speaker 1: And I love his, I love the warmth of his
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  Speaker 1: answer as it's revealed in the In the New Living Translation,
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  Speaker 1: my rabbi, I want to see. I doubt that I'm
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  Speaker 1: talking to anyone right now who has suffered from blindness.
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  Speaker 1: Or if you have, you would be unusual in our group.
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  Speaker 1: We rarely come across the blind among us. There may
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  Speaker 1: be some in our broader audience who struggle with blindness.
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  Speaker 1: I've had difficulty with my eyesight in these recent years.
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  Speaker 1: I can't see out of my left eye. It is
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  Speaker 1: not focused and probably never will be from here on out.
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  Speaker 1: But I'm far from blind. I have a good right
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  Speaker 1: eye that makes driving kind of exciting. But no, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not trying to be funny here. I do take precautions.
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  Speaker 1: But I can't drive at night. I don't drive long distances.
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  Speaker 1: So I have this partial problem. Really, it's nothing compared
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  Speaker 1: to Bartimaeus.
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  Speaker 2: He is a darkness.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, of all the....
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  Speaker 2: The difficulties one can suffer.
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  Speaker 1: Probably we would agree blindness would be the worst. And
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  Speaker 1: he's standing before the miracle-working, magnificent, amazing, remarkable, phenomenal Christ
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  Speaker 1: of God who says, what do you want me to
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  Speaker 1: do for you? Oh, I want to see Did you
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  Speaker 1: notice the response? There's no surgery, no bandages, no bleeding,
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  Speaker 1: no oils. There's not even touching or waiting.
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  Speaker 2: Instantly.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, the text says immediately he could see.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus simply said, go.
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  Speaker 1: Go. The man had specified exactly what it was he
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  Speaker 1: would trust the Lord for, and this marvelous man named
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  Speaker 1: Jesus says, you have sight. I have an ophthalmologist friend
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  Speaker 1: who is now retired from the practice, but when he
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  Speaker 1: was working, As such, he had an interesting part of
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  Speaker 1: his work that he did. He would frequently work with
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  Speaker 1: people who struggled with partial blindness, sometime very close to
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  Speaker 1: total blindness. And he said as a result of surgery
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  Speaker 1: and the process, we would take them through, we would
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  Speaker 1: make it possible.
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  Speaker 2: For them to see.
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  Speaker 1: And he said that the joy of being An ophthalmologist
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  Speaker 1: says that I'm right there when that happens.
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  Speaker 2: And he said, I.
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  Speaker 1: Finally decided this is the great moment to tell him
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  Speaker 1: about my Savior.
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  Speaker 2: So he said, rather.
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  Speaker 1: Than a flip chart that comes down with letters or
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  Speaker 1: now is the time for all good men to come
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  Speaker 1: to the aid of their country or whatever may be
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  Speaker 1: on there, he put on there, God loves you and
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  Speaker 1: has a wonderful plan for your life. And the whole
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  Speaker 1: four laws and other statements. Sometimes he would flip down
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  Speaker 1: and show them scriptures. That would be the first thing
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  Speaker 1: they would read. I thought that is the most, that's
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  Speaker 1: a terrific evangelist. What a great idea to use that.
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  Speaker 1: But Jesus simply says to him, go, you're healed. You're healed.
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  Speaker 2: You have sight.
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  Speaker 1: And from that moment on, the man is with full sight.
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  Speaker 1: Fully focused.
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  Speaker 2: And what do we read?
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  Speaker 1: We read that he followed Jesus down the road. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't go home and tell anyone else. He followed Jesus
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  Speaker 1: along the road. The road from Jericho to Jerusalem is
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  Speaker 1: a rugged road. He's right there with Jesus. This one
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  Speaker 1: who has healed him. He feels deserves every bit of
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  Speaker 1: my time and praise and attention. So he's right there
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  Speaker 1: with him to be an eyewitness to this magnificent moment when.
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  Speaker 2: Prophecy is going to be fulfilled.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus tells his disciples, some of them, to go get
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  Speaker 1: this colt and.
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  Speaker 2: To bring it.
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  Speaker 1: And they bring this donkey.
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  Speaker 2: Again, the unpredictable.
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  Speaker 1: Who would have expected anyone to come into his triumphal
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  Speaker 1: entry on the bareback of a donkey colt? Why, when
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  Speaker 1: Romans came back from battle and they had won the victory,
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  Speaker 1: they came back in full regalia. Riding in a golden
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  Speaker 1: chariot pulled by four steeds or maybe on their war
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  Speaker 1: horse a red cape over their shoulder maybe still wearing
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  Speaker 1: the helmet from battle getting all of the attention and
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  Speaker 1: all of the praise and expecting it Jesus rides in
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  Speaker 1: on the back of a donkey colt. Maybe you haven't
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  Speaker 1: taken the time to study it, but when you do,
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  Speaker 1: you find that this didn't just happen. You realize it
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  Speaker 1: had been prophesied 10 centuries earlier. In Psalm 118, 25, 26,
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  Speaker 1: you read, Hosanna! It means, oh, save us now. We
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  Speaker 1: read it as Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in
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  Speaker 1: the name of the Lord, 10th century B.C. And then
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  Speaker 1: in 520 B.C., Zechariah the prophet wrote this. Rejoice greatly,
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  Speaker 1: O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold,
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  Speaker 1: your king is coming. He is just and endowed with salvation.
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  Speaker 1: There he is.
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: But what a sight.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, I thought about it, and I realized that
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Jesus being a man riding a donkey colt, His feet
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: must have been dragging along the road as he's riding
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: along in this lowly fashion for entering the city. And
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: the people are praising him and they're waving their palm
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: branches and some of them are throwing their coats on
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: the road before this animal as it's walking along carrying
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: the Savior. Savior comes in and the people are screaming
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: and shouting their praises and it.
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: Must have been ear-splitting as they shout their praises.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: And as you would expect, the Pharisees were nearby and
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: they took issue with all of this. Luke 19 covers
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: it in an interesting way. They They couldn't tolerate the
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: praises being given to one they saw as a false Messiah.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: And so they rebuked him. They said to him, tell
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: your followers to be quiet, not to give you praise.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: This is one of the great in-your-face moments that Jesus
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: had in his life.
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: He said to them, why, if If they didn't.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: Give me praise, if they kept quiet, these rocks would
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: burst into cheers. It's the first reference to a rock
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: concert in all of literature, right there. But seriously, the
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: rocks would cry out. That silenced the Pharisees, which wasn't
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: easy to do. And he meant it. And guess who
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: the most exuberant cheerleader was among all the praises of
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: the people? Bartimaeus, following him all the way from Jericho
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: to this place of praise in Jerusalem. He was about
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: to miss one moment of this in the life of
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: his savior. What an unpredictable way to enter the city,
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: but exactly as was prophesied, riding on the back of
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: a donkey. I've thought a lot about Jesus' fantastic ministry.
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: I've thought especially about how he often did the unpredictable
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: to accomplish the incredible. So I've asked myself this past
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: week on several occasions.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: Why did they do that?
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Why would he choose an unpredictable route to take to
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: accomplish something in someone's life? There may be many reasons,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: but one that I've landed on seems to make sense.
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: We all have blind spots. We have areas of our
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: lives we're not aware of. And sometimes it takes someone
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: else to point them out. As we grow up, it
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: takes our parents. And good parents are good because they
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: care about things in their children's lives that need attention.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: And we often work with our children in their growing
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: up years to make sure they get that corrected. When
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: we get older, you know what happens? Well, not for everyone,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: but for many, we get married. I love doing wedding
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: ceremonies and looking into the faces of these innocent brides
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: and grooms and thinking you have no idea what you
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: are in for. And I don't mean that. I believe
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: in marriage. I believe in the joys of marriage and
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: the challenges of marriage and all that goes with it.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: Not everyone is called to that, I realize, but for
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: those of us who are, we really have the privilege
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: of a built-in individual in our lives who knows us
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: better than any other person on earth. They're qualified to
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: point out those things. We ultimately become better people. Every
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: mentor I've had has earned the right to be a
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: mentor by pointing out a blind spot or more than
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: one in my own life.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: It's hard to hear.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: Him at times because it's a little embarrassing to realize
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: we've been going through life not aware of this particular area.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: Jesus did the unpredictable often to make people aware. We're
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: just We're just as blind as Bartimaeus, though it isn't
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: with sight, it's blind to things in our lives. And
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: the Lord comes along and lifts the blindness and we
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: see as we've never seen before. You know, that's what
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: happens at salvation. Some for the first time, literally, for
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: the first time, realize how sinful they really are. And
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: until you come to that place, do you reach out
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: for a Savior? Then you say, Lord, I'm lost. I'm lost.
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  Speaker 1: Without the hope you give, I'm going to stay blind.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: In fact, the scriptures refer to the blindness of unbelief.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: All this led me to a very interesting true story
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: that I'd not seen before. The principal architect of the
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: Holocaust is was a Nazi named Adolf Eichmann. You've heard
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: the name. He devised such evil and brutal plans that
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: many thought of him as a monster. Apparently, in Eichmann's life,
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: there wasn't a Jew that deserved breath in his lungs
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: or her lungs. Throughout that Second World War, he was
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: responsible for the deaths of so many thousands, millions of them. Tragically,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: when the Second World War ended, he escaped and was
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: in hiding for years. There was a Judgment at Nuremberg,
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: you'll remember, but he was absent from that.
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: Though there was a.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: Man who testified against him who had been sent to
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: Auschwitz back when he was much, much younger. And he
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: was there to tell his story. But what was interesting
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: is that finally Eichmann was captured and brought to justice
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: in 1961. He appeared in the courtroom. And the man
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: who had testified against him, Yehiel Dinur, by name, was
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: able to look at him for the first time in
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: 18 years since he went to Auschwitz. What is interesting
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: is that he walked into the courtroom, stopped short as
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: he saw the Nazi for the first time and he
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: began to sob and he collapsed on the floor of
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: that courtroom and the judge hammered his gavel and called
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: for order in the court and they carried the man out.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: In a heap, what was it that caused him to collapse?
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: Was he overcome by hatred, shock, fear, horrid memories?
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: What was it?
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: It was none of those things. Talk about the unexpected.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: He later explained all at once he realized that the
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: one who had sent so many to their deaths was
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: just a man. In his words, in yours words.
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: I was afraid about myself.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: Listen to this. blind spot being lifted, opened. I was
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: afraid about myself. I saw that I am capable to
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: do this. Deep within, I'm exactly like he. The reporter
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: he spoke with later offered this subsequent summation of Deneur's
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: terrifying discovery. Eichmann is in all of us. Horrifying statement.
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: But depravity is in all humanity. Hear this. Through one man, Adam,
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: sin entered into the world. Think of it as pouring
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: sewage into an otherwise clear and beautiful stream. Sin entered
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: into the world and death by sin. So death passed
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: upon all men and women for all have sinned. The
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: same nature in Eichmann is in your life, my life,
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: everyone's life. Now obviously it doesn't work itself out like
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: it did in his life, but it comes out. And
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: for many it's the hardest thing on earth to admit to. Why?
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: Blind spots. And we come to the realization, as that
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: man did in that courtroom, only the gospel can change
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: this heart of mine. I cannot do it on my own.
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: I cannot attend enough worship services at a church. I
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: cannot learn enough about the Bible. I cannot clean up
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: enough of my life. I cannot go through religious motions
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: or rituals or any of the disciplines of spirituality to
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: earn my way to God's favor. My sin has blocked
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: that pathway. The only way I can make it is through.
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: The cross of Christ.
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: He who knew no sin became sin for us that
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: we might become the righteousness of God through him. Unless
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: we see our hearts as they really are, we'll never
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: know eternal life with God. And that self-discovery often takes
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: the unexpected to accomplish the incredible, to bring us to
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: our knees, to make us aware that we need the Savior.
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: And without him, there is no hope. That, by the way,
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: has also been my privilege over these many years, to
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: announce the hope there is through Christ to one congregation
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: after another, to one body of people after another, to
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: one individual after another. I find those most ready to
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: receive it are those who have had a work of
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: God in their lives that has brought them to their
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: knees And they realize the lostness of their souls. And
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: you may be one of those individuals today. You may
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: have said in a service like this, half your life,
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: but never ever before turned your life over to Christ.
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: I urge you to do that today. Bow with me,
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: will you? Just sit where you are and close your eyes.
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: Search your heart.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: I'll not linger here needlessly, but I do want to
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: pause long enough for you to come to terms with this.
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: As you look back over your years.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: Do you find a time when you came to terms
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: with your own sinfulness and turned your life over to Christ?
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: You remember when that occurred? Maybe you can't name the
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: date or give the full details, but you remember that
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: you did that? If you can't remember that, quite likely
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: you haven't yet come to Christ. I urge you today,
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: put it off no longer He is the way, the truth,
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: and the life. No man comes to the Father but
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: through him. He who has the Son has the life.
• 46:53
  Speaker 1: He who does not have the Son of God does
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: not have the life, but the wrath of God abides
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: on him. The only way your blindness can be removed
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: is through faith in Christ. Christ alone, by faith alone.
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: Let me help you. Follow me in this simple prayer.
• 47:26
  Speaker 1: Dear God, I am lost and I am blind and
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: I long to have my sight I want to know you.
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: And so I trust in Christ as my Lord and Savior.
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: Thank you for the gift of eternal life. Thank you
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: for forgiving my sins. If you have prayed that prayer
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: and want to begin to grow in your walk with
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: the Savior, contact us. Get in touch with us. Let
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: us know of your new, brand new decision that will
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: lead you to a new walk with Christ. We're here
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: to help you go there as you make your journey
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: from earth through death to heaven. Thank you, dear Father,
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: for the privilege of once again declaring the good news
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: of Christ, your Son. Thank you for making these stories
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: in the scriptures so simple anyone can understand them. A
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: blind beggar by the road, a body of people giving praises,
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to turn our lives over to Jesus.
• 49:11
  Speaker 2: We're so grateful, Father.
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: Reach the heart of those today who've never trusted in
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: you and before this day is over may they have
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: made that decision that will begin the most incredible journey
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: they've ever taken through life In the name of Christ,
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: I pray this. And everyone said, Amen. All rights are
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is
• 49:52
  Speaker 1: strictly prohibited.