Devil, You Cant Shut Me Up Pastor Sean Pinder And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho

with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. (Mark 10:46) Tell the devil, Devil, you cant shut me up. Its too late. I got a hold of a live wire. Ive come too far to shut up now. Blind Bartimaeus was a beggar. Jesus was considered a rabbi or teacher. Normally, in those days, when a rabbi would leave town, a multitude would follow him. Whenever a rabbi talked, you should have been able to hear a pin drop. To speak at all was considered out of order. Bartimaeus had a special garment on. This garment was his license from the government that identified him as a beggar. If he broke the rules, he would lose his license to beg. So, while Jesus was speaking, everyone was nice and quiet. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. (Mark 10:47) When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, something happened on the inside of this man. When the Pharisees and the Sadducees had passed by there before, blind Bartimaeus never cried out and asked them to help him because he knew they were powerless. But when he heard (he couldnt see; he could only hear) that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he heard that the man that rose Lazarus from the dead was about to pass his way. There was a woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years who had been made

whole when she touched His garment. Remember Jairus daughter, who was dead? Everyone around him said, Why are you troubling the Master? Your daughter is dead. You cant listen to church folks. They told him, Leave Jesus alone. Why are you troubling Him? Jairus said, Because Im determined to get a miracle from God. So, when blind Bartimaeus heard that it was this Jesus, he knew this was a different preacher. He did not preach like the scribes and Pharisees. He didnt sound like the religious leaders of His day. They preached, but it was dead and dry. No signs, wonders, or miracles accompanied their preaching. But the Bible says, And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17-18). Bartimaeus was blind all his life; he was somewhere around 28 to 40 years old. Can you imagine being blind all that time? Now, the opportunity that he had waited on all his life was about to pass him by. Dont think the devil is just going to sit down when he sees your miracle coming. I believe the Holy Ghost began to tell this man, This is it! When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to mess the order of service totally up. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. (Mark 10:48)

I get mad when I read this. I want to reach in there and strangle some of them, because these religious people were not in this mans shoes. They werent the ones blind, but they told him, Shut up! Youre disturbing the peace! One pastor told me when I first started preaching, Youll tone down after a couple of years. But Im worse now; Im more on fire now than I was then. You dont tone down; you tone up when the Holy Ghost is on your life. Many charged him that he should shut up, but he didnt care what they were saying. You have to be determined. You have to say, This isnt going to pass me by; Im going all the way with Jesus. Im not turning back on God now; Ive been through too much. They told him to shut up, but he was persistent. The more they told him to shut up, the more noise he made. This verse says, he cried the more a great deal He made a big deal out of this thing. I like blind Bartimaeus. Now, watch the difference between Jesus and the church people. They are telling him, Shut up! Youre too noisy! You dont fit our program! That suits me fine. The Bible says, man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. (Mark 10:49) Jesus stood still. I think Bartimaeus got His attention. When you get His attention, something is about to happen. I know that demon of blindness got nervous, because Jesus had fire in His eyes. David said in Psalm 23:5: Thou preparest a table before

me right on the brink of hell. Right on the devils turf. Jesus has some power, because the same people who were telling him to shut up were the very ones Jesus commanded to call him. God said, Ill just use these same people to bless you. Isnt it amazing? All of a sudden, theyre telling blind Bartimaeus, Be of good comfort. Before, they were cursing him and telling him to shut up. But, now that they see God is for this man, these same people that were talking down to him are saying, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. (Mark 10:50) Before Bartimaeus came to Jesus, remember his garment that gave him license to beg? I can picture Bartimaeus saying, I have confidence in what this man can do. People probably were saying, Wait a minute, blind Bartimaeus! Thats your license to beg. What if you dont get your miracle? There are no what-ifs about God. God will never fail you. Bartimaeus cast his dependence on man into the trash can. Some people like it when theyve got you wrapped around their hands. But he cast away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. He made it. He had to get up from that spot where hed been sitting so long. He was moving on. He was changing everything. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. (Mark 10:51) Jesus said, What is it you want me to do for you? You shouldnt have asked me that question! I

go into prayer with a whole list sometimes. I know we worship God and all that stuff, but we also have to get real before God. I get specific before God. I present every bill to Himphone bill, light bill, car note, everything. Bartimaeus did not act super-spiritual. He did not say, O thou heavenly King, you are awesome. He got right to the point: I need some help! When Peter was walking on the water and began to sink, he didnt say O thou God, you have such auspicious grace He said, HELP! Have you ever seen somebody drowning? They dont time for all that mess. They dont care if youre black, white, or whatever; they need some help! Bartimaeus didnt have to think about his answer. He didnt have to pray about it, either. He said, I want to receive my sight! Thats what Jesus likes. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. (Mark 10:52) Jesus said, Your faith Church people called it foolishness. They told Bartimaeus to shut up. But Jesus called it faith. This man was blind for about 28 to 38 years; he was messed up all his life. But he came in contact with Jesus one time, and all that changed. You only have to meet Him one time. You only have to come in contact with the power of the resurrected Lord one time and your life will be changed forever. Immediately, he received his sight Now, this is where a lot of people mess up. Remember the ten lepers? Jesus healed ten lepers and, while they

were on their way to the temple, they all recognized, Hey, our leprosy is gone, and they went away rejoicing. But only one of them came back and fell at the feet of Jesus to give Him thanks. Now, after Bartimaeus received his sight, he could have done a whole bunch of other things. But it says he followed Jesus in the way. Thats why He gives you back your sight. Thats why He gives you a miracle. Thats why He gives you a breakthrough: so you can follow Him. Dont turn your back on Jesus when He gives you a miracle. Use your miracle to bring you closer to Him.