How Sweet The Smell Series

INTRODUCTION:

WELCOME! Thank you for allowing me into your lives this morning and Thank you for choosing to worship with us today at The Bridge in this beautiful new facility! God is SO GOOD!

We are offically in the Easter season and I am starting a series of messages titled 7 Mile miracle.

Jesus preformed a lot of miracles the last few weeks of His earthly ministry and I want us to look at several of them b/c I believe each miracle we look at will be a mile stone in each of our lives.

TITLE / HOW SWEET THE SMELL

STAND / READ/ PRAY [PIANO CONTINUES TO PLAY]

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. When Jesus arrives there, He will be rejected by the Jews, betrayed into the hands of the Gentiles and crucified on a Roman cross. Jesus is headed to His death at Calvary.

As He moves steadily in that direction, He is surrounded by people who cannot understand just Who He is.

?The Jews are blind to Who He is, though He tried to tell them and show them on many occasions.

?The disciples are blind to Who He is, though they have seen Him demonstrate His identity time after time.

?Those around Him would not recognize just Who Jesus was until after He has died on the cross and rose again.

As Jesus makes His way to Jerusalem, He and His disciples pass through the city of Jericho.

The name “Jericho” means “To smell, or A place of fragrance.” It was a city that abounded in many fragrant plants like roses, balsam, and cypress. Honey was found there in abundance as well. Travelers passing through Jericho were surrounded by many fragrant smells. It was a city that lived up to its name.

There would be a fragrance in Jericho on this day that had never been there before. “The Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valleys” was passing through. As He did, He demonstrated the great fragrance of His glory in the city of Jericho.

The roads of the city were jammed with people. All of Israel was on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover, and the road through Jericho was one of the main routes to the Temple.

People crowded along the roads to see Jesus. The people might not have known exactly Who He was, but they knew He was someone special and they turned out to see Him as He passed by

Surely the news had preceded Him! Earlier, when Jesus had entered the city, He encountered one of the richest men in town.

A little man named Zacchaeus, who was also a tax collector for Rome, climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by.

Jesus stopped and called Zacchaeus down from that tree and saved his soul. Now, all the people are trying to get a glimpse of Jesus as He passes by.

But, there was one man in that crowd that received 20/20 spiritual vision that day. His name is Bartimaeus

He is the one I want to talk about today and The miracle he experienced

Bartimaeus was in a

1.) STAMMERING SITUATION (v. 46)

? He Was Blind

Apparently, this condition was one with which he had been born. Blindness was a common condition in Bible times, because of various diseases and sanitary conditions.

? He Was a Beggar

Because of his Physical condition Bartimaeus was prevented from finding and performing a job in order to earn a living. In that day, there were no welfare programs or charitable institutions who would help him. There was no social security or other government programs to which he could turn. Bartimaeus was totally dependent upon the generosity of others in order to survive. His was a pitiful and IN A STAMMERING SITUATION!

His condition reminds me that not everyone in this room can see . Yes your eyes may work but you are blind to the things of God

Like Bart you are spiritually blind. The spirtually blind like Bart is a beggar

II.) SCREECHING SHOUT (v. 47-49)

? Even though Bartimaeus was blind, he was able to see things that others all around him, who had their vision, could not see.

In these verses, Bartimaeus proved that even though he was blind, he still possessed 20/20 spiritual vision.

You see the most dangerous thing in the world is to have no faith. Without faith there is no purpose.

Bart screamed out (the bible says he cried out) this meanes he shouted.

? He Recognized Who Jesus Was

Apparently, Bartimaeus had heard about the miracles preformed by Jesus.

He must have heard about the

Lepers

The lame

The demon possessed

Even the dead that Jesus had touched and made whole again.

As he sat by the road, he heard the people as they talked.