WCB -"IMMEDIATELY HE FOLLOWED JESUS" #4 OF 8 EPISODE SERIES

THE MIRACLE WASN'T THE END---IT WAS THE BEGINNING!!!                                                 WHAT YOU DO AFTER GOD MOVES DETERMINES YOUR DIRECTION.                                  HEALING SHOULD LEAD TO DISCIPLESHIP------NOT JUST RELIEF       

Transcript

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There are men who have heard their call. They are faithful ministers. God's watchmen on the wall.

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Welcome to the Watchman's Call. We invite you to study with us the ancient prophecies of the Bible and witness their fulfillment in our modern time. This is number four of our eight episode series of When Heaven Stands Still. Today's title is Immediately He Followed Jesus. You know there comes a moment where everything changes. Heaven's already responded, you've already let go, you've already made your request, and now the miracle's happened. And now after the miracle, what do you do next? Because for Bartimaeus, we see the story doesn't end with him receiving his sight. It ends with him changing his life. And that change brings us to our message today. Our scripture is Mark chapter ten, verse fifty two, and it says Go your way, your faith has made you whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. Let that set in there for just a minute. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. You see the miracle is not the end, folks. The Bible says immediately he received his sight. That's the miracle. But the verse don't stop there. You see, healing was not the final outcome. The real transformation was what he did after that. After the miracle. That's what led to another decision. Luke seventeen and verse nineteen says, Rise and go. Your faith has made you well. You see, my friends, God don't want to just bless you. He wants to lead you. God don't want to just fix your situation. He wants a relationship with you. The miracle is not the destination. It's just the doorway, and we have to see it as that. The sad thing is that a lot of people stop at the miracle. And they don't go any further. You see it in churches a lot, and it's great to see miracles happen in churches, in the hospitals, on the street. But a lot of people think that's the end of it. But it's not. See, Bartimaeus didn't stop. After the miracle, it says he followed. Immediately. See that means without delay. The Bible says immediately he followed, not later. He didn't go home and party. He didn't have to think about it for a little while. Not wait until it was convenient for him. Immediately he followed Jesus. You see, this shows instant obedience. No hesitation, no delay. Faith responds quickly when it recognizes God. Let's look at Psalms one nineteen and sixty. It says, I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. I will hasten and not delay. Delayed obedience, folks, the truth is it's still disobedience. We knew better, but we waited. And I honestly don't know anybody who hadn't done that at some point or another. What we gotta understand is true faith responds instantly. As we grow in Christ, this step becomes easier and faster for us to take, especially, especially when we recognize what God has done for us. You won't hesitate to follow him then. Here's an awesome example of not hesitating. We can read it in Matthew chapter 4 and verse 20. It says, Immediately they left their nets and followed him. They didn't hesitate. You remember the story how Jesus told them, cast your nets on the right, the whole deal, and they had such a great catch. And when they finally made it to the shore, immediately they left their nets and followed him. You see, when God moves in your life, don't wait. Don't delay. And don't overthink it. A lot of people they start trying to figure out all the steps, every single step. Don't overthink it. When God moves, we have to move. We'll begin to understand that following Jesus is the real transformation. You see, the Bible says he followed Jesus in the way. Not just for a moment, but into a whole brand new lifestyle. Wow. Let's just take a look at Bartimaeus' transformation. He went from sitting as a beggar to walking. He went from begging to following. He went from blindness to vision. You see his identity completely changed. You may be asking or wondering, how is that possible? Well, Second Corinthians chapter five and seventeen says it real simply. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Wow. Just think about that. Are you tired of living in a rut? Commit your life to Christ, and then let Him set you on the path that He has planned out for you. Then we will totally understand that the greatest miracle, the absolute greatest miracle is not what God does for you. It's who you become after He does that for you. You see, healing changed Barnamaeus's condition. Healing can change your condition. But following Christ, now that is what changed his life, and following Christ is exactly what will change your life. It will change you from the old person to the new creation. We have to keep that in mind. Very, very important. Jesus even said himself in John chapter 10 and verse 27, he said, My sheep hear my voice. And what? And they follow me. When Jesus, when the Lord, when God does something for you, if it's a a miracle, if it's just a move, if it's an answer, when God does something for you and you know it's Him, you hear that in your soul. You hear that some people hear it in an audible voice, and I believe that's true. Some people hear it through the Spirit, but the the point is you hear his voice. So what are you gonna do with that? After he has moved for you, you're just gonna say, Oh, thank you, Lord, and then just go about your old way? Are you gonna do like Barnamas? Are you gonna follow him? Do you claim to be a Christian? Think about that question. You hear a lot of people say, I'm Christian, I'm Christian, I'm a Christian, and you know, I'm no judge, I am absolutely no judge, but if you claim to be Christ-like, that means you're representing Christ. And if you claim to be a Christian, are you truly following Christ? So what does that even mean to follow Christ? Let's just keep this kind of simple. Following Christ means you're taking a new direction. You have a whole new focus, a whole new identity, not just a moment. My friends, it's a lifestyle, an absolute lifestyle. You see, gratitude produces following, like following Jesus when he does something for you and you are grateful truly in your heart, in your soul, you're truly grateful you will follow him. Notice what Bartimaeus did not do, he did not go back to his old life, that same old rut. You see, people all the time, I don't like to just keep saying in the churches, but that's where we see a lot of things happen uh with God's movement. And folks, they leave there and they go back to that same old rut. I know people that are still asking for the same prayer request that they were asking 15 years ago, 10 years ago. Why? How is that possible? Is it is it because oh they just don't, they just don't get it? No, I'm not blaming them at all. Maybe even though God has moved for them, maybe they just hadn't got the understanding that they have to change something. They got to make a decision. When God moves, you have to move. Seeing Barnabas, he didn't return to the roadside, that same old comfort zone. That's what a lot of people do. God moves in their life, and they're like, oh, thank you, Jesus. This is so great and wonderful, and I'm so happy. But they go right back to their old comfort zone. Remember, we talked about the cloak? There was a comfort zone. They were hid in that comfort zone. Throw that thing off. Don't go back to that same old lifestyle. So, what did Barnamaus do? What did he do that changed all that? Real simple. He followed Jesus. He followed Jesus. His response came from gratitude and revelation. He understood now he had heard about Jesus, he had heard about Jesus, but now he understood who Jesus was, and he valued that encounter. When God does something for us, do we just take it for granted? Or do we actually value that encounter? Do you value the time that you get to spend talking with him? You can call it praying. I call it talking. That's what a relationship with Christ is all about. It's just talking with him every day. I value the time that me and my wife get to talk. Me and my dad, my brothers, my friends, but my time with Christ is so very important. You see, my friend, actually, our eternity depends on that relationship. So Psalms 116 and verse 12 says, What shall I render unto the Lord? This is a very, very important question we need to ask ourselves. What shall I render? What shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? How can I possibly repay the Lord? How can we even start to attempt to repay him? Well, the answer really is not hard. It's really very simple, but only if you're honest with yourself and willing to let Jesus take control of your life. When you truly understand what God has actually done for you, then you'll realize this is very important. You'll realize that following Jesus, following the Lord, it's not a burden. A lot of people say, Well, I gotta go to church today. Well, I gotta go do this. Well, I promised I'd go down here and do that for the church, and it's a burden to them. Following Jesus is not a burden to me. Absolutely not. It's a response. That's what happened with Barnabas. He responded to Jesus and the things that Jesus had done for him. He responded when Jesus said, Go your way, his new way was to follow Christ. When God delivers us, our new way is not going back into the rut, not going back into the street, that same old comfort zone. Our new way is we're following him. That's our response. That is our response. It's not forced, it just comes natural. And if it's not coming natural to you, you need to recheck your relationship with Christ. I'm not telling you you're wrong. But if you're not just naturally wanting to respond with Christ and follow him, maybe you just need to go back and ask God, show me, show me what I'm missing. Now, see, this is what was meant in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, where it says, present your bodies a living sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice, a living sacrifice. Following Jesus is not just about an obligation. Again, it's about a response. And Barnabas, he responded with his life. So far, each step in this story called for another decision. And Barnamaeus did not hesitate. We saw him cry out. We watched Jesus stop, heaven stood still. Then Barnamaeus let go. He made his request to Christ what he wanted. Then he received it. And now, now the most important decision of Barnabas's whole entire life, he made it, and that was to follow Christ. You see, folks, this story never was about blindness, it is about transformation. And the proof of that transformation was in his decision. Remember, he went, he said, Go in the way. Bartimaeus chose a brand new way. John 18 and 12 says, Whoever follows me will never walk in the darkness. Man, what a scripture for this. A physically blinded man was given sight and followed Jesus. For the ones of us that are not physically blind, some of us are spiritually blind. For the Lord to give us spiritual sight is even more of a reason for us to follow him. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. So I just want to close the message out with these thoughts. Bartimaeus didn't just receive his sight, he changed his path. He didn't just experience a moment. Kind of like when we're at church service, and man, it's just powerful. I mean, it's just powerful. God is moving. People are getting healed, people are getting touched, people are being delivered, and then it's over, and we all go home. That's a moment with Christ. It can be life-changing, but that's a moment with Christ. And Bartimaeus didn't choose to just have a moment. He started a brand new journey. And maybe, just maybe that's where you are right now. You're not waiting on a miracle. God's already granted that. But now, right now, you're standing at a decision. Because you know Jesus is still calling. And the question is, will you follow him? Don't keep putting it off. Don't say maybe tomorrow. Jesus has great plans for you right now, immediately. And that's what we have to keep in mind, folks. So if you've enjoyed this message, please share it with everybody you know. Help us spread the good news and the gospel of Jesus all over the place. Give us a like and subscribe to our channel so you can get the newest messages as soon as they come out. My friends, y'all be blessed, and we'll be back with y'all for the next episode, which will be number five. And the title for that one is The Crowd That Tried to Silence Him and then changed its tune. Real exciting. Y'all be blessed. Thank you for joining with us here at The Watchman's Call. My friends, Jesus is coming back very soon. The signs for his return are showing up all over the world, even as we speak right now. Our job is to reach as many people as we can and warn them about his return. And you can help us do that by sharing these messages with everybody you know. That means the saint and the sinner. Everyone must be warned, and we don't have much time left. Y'all be blessed and keep watching. And remember, leave us a comment to let us know your thoughts and concerns.