Mark: Unique Insertions

Our Father, in the fragrant name of Thy Son, we join together once more to approach Thee and to come with hearts adoring, hearts that are marked by worship and appreciation for all that Thou art in Thyself. It is not just what we have received from Calvary, but all that Thou art in Thyself that is the occupation of our hearts today. We bless Thee for a God who is infinite in holiness and beyond our ability to comprehend.

We thank Thee for a God who is so great, and we thank Thee for the Word of God that has been given to us to reveal something of all that Thou art to us and to our souls and to enable us to live in some little measure for Thy pleasure here below. And so we thank Thee again for all that grace has brought to us and bow in Thy presence to worship Thee once more for Thyself, for Thy Son, and for Thy great salvation. We are reminded again of believers who are going through trials, many of which we are unaware, and we commend to Thee the household of faith.

We remember those who are in bonds as being yet in the body ourselves and all that could still confront us in life. We pray for them in different countries where they are oppressed and where they are under persecution. Remember the believers in Venezuela once more and the great need there.

We think of our two sisters who have been mentioned with their health needs and would commend them to Thee, not just for the healing touch of God, but for grace as they pass through trials to know Thee better and to glorify Thee as a result. And so we commit ourselves to Thee for this brief time we have once more to open Thy Word and look to Thee as well for the gospel tonight as we give thanks in the Savior's worthy name. Amen.

You'll excuse me some... I think I've picked up an allergy here to something that we must not have in New Jersey, so you'll have to bear with my voice. I ask you to turn to Mark's gospel, chapter 10, the gospel of Mark and chapter number 10. If I could be permitted to ride the coattails of our brother, Walls, who reminded us to behold your God, that is what we're going to do, to behold our God.

In the person of His Son and trace Him in His ministry, in His service. So the theme before us now, and I'll draw attention to it as time permits, we looked earlier today in the gospel of Matthew at an invitation that was unique to the gospel of Matthew. It's only in Matthew the Lord Jesus Christ says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls.

A unique invitation in Matthew's gospel. In the gospel of Mark, we're going to be looking just in one chapter at unique insertions, things that only Mark says, that Matthew, Luke, and John do not say, but only Mark says, that will give us insights into this perfect servant. Beginning in verse number one, he arose from thence and cometh into the coast of Judea by the farther side of Jordan, and the people resort unto him again.

And as he was wont, he taught them again. And then you have the discourse that occurs and come down to verse number 13. They brought unto him young children, or they brought young children to him, that he should touch them.

And it's the sightless rebuke those that brought them. And when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me. Forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.

Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God is a little child, he shall not enter therein. He took them up in his arms and put his hands upon them and blessed them. When he's gone forth in the way, there came one running and kneeling to him and asking him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And then, of course, the Lord gives him the commandments.

And one thing thou lackest, look down at verse number 21. And Jesus, beholding him, loved him. And said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, so whatsoever thou hast.

Give to the poor, thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Come, take up the cross and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, went away grieved, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked round about, said unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. Now just for the sake of time, look at verse number 28. Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all and have followed thee.

And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake in the gospel. But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions, but in the world to come eternal life. Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went before them, and they were amazed, and as they followed, they were afraid. Look down the chapter, you're familiar with the incident now with blind Bartimaeus. Verse number 49, Jesus stood still.

The only time in the Bible or in this account the Lord Jesus Christ stands still. Jesus stood still, commanded him to be called, and they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise. He calleth thee, and he casting away his garment rose, and came to Jesus.

Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way.

Now we trust God will add blessing to the public reading of his word. If in the Gospel of Matthew we're reminded of the sovereign, that should have some bearing upon my will. If he is Lord of all, then my will should be bowed to him.

When I come to the Gospel of Mark, if I look upon him as the perfect servant, that should affect how I work, how I carry out service for God as I look upon him, and I seek to model my service according to how he modeled his service for God. When I come to the Gospel of Luke, if he is there the Savior, it should affect my walk as he walked in this world amongst men, bringing peace and bringing blessing. And if in the Gospel of John he is the Son of God, it should touch my worship as I realize all that he is in himself.

I should be bowed in worship before him. So we are not just merely looking at intellectual pursuits in the Word of God or nice ways of dividing things up. All a very practical effect upon us, a practical bearing on our lives in every sphere, our wills, our work, our walk, our worship, all affected by how we appreciate Christ in the Gospels.

And I would just make an appeal to young believers. Never stray far from the Gospels. I know the Word of God is full.

Sixty-six books written in such a way to appeal to every taste. Poetry, biography, narrative, history, warfare, every kind of writing is present in your book. But as you read through the Word of God, come back to the Gospels constantly.

You cannot look at Christ too much. You cannot ever fathom the full depths of all there is in this person. So looking at Christ in the Gospel.

So this Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, in a very particular way brings before us the Lord Jesus as the perfect servant in his ministry for God. It begins at the very outset, chapter 1, verse number 1, with the mandate that must precede all service. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Sonship before service. Relationship before responsibility. And if any in our gathering today are not saved, this sphere of service is something that you are not allowed to enter into.

Not fit to serve. Sonship before service. The mandate.

It is the Gospel that tells us all about his movements. He is constantly moving. The the key word that is found in the Gospel of Mark is the word immediately forthwith and on 42 times.

That word occurs in our gospel, showing us how he is spurred constantly to service for God. Twelve of 16 chapters begin with the word and as though his life is a seamless life of constant service for his master. He is seen moving for God.

Of course, the key word of Matthew is first first, because the king has a right to give priorities. The key word of Luke is the word. Peace begins with peace on earth.

Goodwill towards men. He appears in the upper room and he proclaims peace and all between peace, at least 14 or 15 times. Equal to all the other times that peace occurs in the other three gospels.

And of course, the key word of John is if it is the son with this message, it is the verily, verily the dependability of that message. But here in here in Mark, it is the servant with his movement and his activity for God as he is seen busy and active in the service of God. It is the gospel that tells us of his motives, his love, his devotion.

Here is the only man who loved his neighbor as himself. Our brother reminded us, do we ever confess to God our failure to love him as we ought to? And do we ever confess to God our failure to love our neighbor as we ought to? Our default position, I would that it were the word of God constantly, our brother John reminded us, but our default position is self. Self-love, self-interest, self-preservation, self-promotion.

The Lord Jesus loved his neighbor as himself. So we see something of his motives in this gospel. It's a gospel full of morning scenes, isn't it? A servant busy in the morning, rising a great while before day, he departs into the wilderness, getting up early in the morning to serve his God.

It is the gospel as well of miracles, not so much parables. You don't have the great sermons of Matthew, do you? Servants don't give great sermons. Servants serve.

So 18 miracles, only four parables. He's seen active in his service for God throughout this wonderful gospel. It is a gospel, 95% of which is contained in either Matthew, Luke, or John.

95% of the gospel of Mark can be found in some of the other gospels. So that if we did not have the gospel of Mark, we would only be losing about 5% of what the Spirit of God would want us to know. But 5% of what the Spirit of God wants us to know is gold.

Never think that 5% is minor. It's gold. And here in chapter 10, there are little insertions that only Mark makes that give us insights into the service of the Lord Jesus.

We read in verse number one those words, as he was want. Other gospels tell us of the Lord Jesus Christ teaching, but here in Mark, Mark adds these words that he taught them as he was want. The other gospels tell us about the Lord Jesus Christ and the children coming, but only Mark tells us that he took them in his arms.

Only Mark adds that little touch relative to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. Other gospels tell us, in fact, two other gospels tell us about this rich young ruler who came running to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only Mark tells us that he loved him.

Jesus looking upon him, loved him. Lovely touch. Jesus beholding him, loved him.

And then only Mark, in fact, he'll do it five times, but here in this portion, he does it and no other gospel does it. When the rich man leaves, sad because of his great riches, it says Jesus looked round about. He wanted to take in who had not left, who was faithful.

He looked round about. When it comes to Peter's question, what are we going to have? Look at what we have forsaken. A rich man had left.

He didn't want to lose his riches. Peter says, we've left everything. What will we have? The Lord Jesus Christ says, no man has left father or mother or, he uses that word or, but when it comes to the compensation, it's not or, it's and.

You leave one thing, you get the whole package, is the idea. Only Mark tells us, the servant's compensation, what he will get. And only Mark tells us in this time, as well as in the time to come.

Only Mark tells us as they went up to Jerusalem, he went before them. He went before the servant as he moves forward, bringing others with him. Only Mark tells us that he went before them.

And in that touching story of blind Bartimaeus, whether in Matthew, it's two or in Luke, it's one. Here in Mark, it's only one. In the touching story of Bartimaeus, only Mark adds, the Lord Jesus Christ told Bartimaeus, after he had given him his sight, go thy way.

And we'll see why that is significant. Why Mark adds all of these unique touches to give us some understanding of the service of the Lord Jesus and how it is incumbent upon us as well to serve in a similar fashion. I want you to think, first of all, as he was want and to think of the consistency of his ministry as he was want, what was his normal custom? In fact, as you go through the gospels, it is delightful to look at the holy habits that marked the Lord Jesus Christ.

He went into the synagogue as his custom was. He went across the brook, Kidron, where he often resorted and so on. Morning by morning, his ear was open to hear as the learned one.

It was his holy habit to spend time in the morning hearing the word of God. It was his holy habit to spend time alone with God in prayer. It was his holy habit to be in the synagogue where the word of God was read.

It was his holy habit to teach the people of God the word of God. Could I just impress on young believers? Christianity is not a matter of spontaneity. You know, everyone wants to be spontaneous just to let everything go.

You will never advance in spiritual things if you live a spontaneous life, reading when you feel like reading, praying when you feel like praying, going to meetings when you feel like going to meetings. The Lord Jesus was marked by holy habits in his life, things he did every day, things he did every morning. If you are going to be useful for God, our brother Dennison has been reminding us of the need to be in the word of God, and that is just not for elders and those who wish to be elders.

Our sisters need to be in the word of God. When John took up his pen and warned about false teachers coming to an assembly, he wrote to a woman in 2 John, and she had to be able to detect what was true and what was false, and not to entertain those who came with false doctrine. So our sisters need to know the word of God.

Our brethren need to know the word of God. So you will need to develop holy habits in your life, and they will not begin when you are 35 or 40. The Lord Jesus was marked by the consistency of his life.

You may say habits are just kind of routine. You just get into a rut. Well, if your rut is to spend time in the word of God and to pray, thank God for the rut.

Because in that rut, as you call it, is where God will begin to work, to reveal himself, and to mold you to be the person he would long for you to be. The holy habits of the Lord Jesus Christ. The consistency that marked him.

But then we read about the Lord Jesus and the little children. He took them in his arms. He really liked children.

The children were special to the Lord Jesus, weren't they? Were they? This chapter that tells about him taking children in his arms, only one time in the word of God he stands still, and it's for a blind beggar. This chapter that tells us that he took children in his arms, tells us he looked on a rich young ruler and loved him. With each one of us, because of our limited capacities, when we say that everyone is special, the reality is no one is special.

You know, there are people who when you're with them, you are the shining light of their life. You are the most important person in their life, and they flatter you, they fawn over you, you're their greatest friend, and next week they don't remember your name. So that with us, when everyone is special, really no one is special.

But with the Lord Jesus, everyone was special. Everyone was special. There are no nameless John Does to him.

As we'll see, he loved a man who never returned his love. He stood still for a blind man who could give him nothing. So children were not somehow special to him, because all are special.

No one is inferior. No one is going to heaven coach class. We're all going to heaven sitting up in business class, okay? We're all special to him.

And so here, the Lord Jesus Christ. But it reminds us as well, as we look at the Lord Jesus in this chapter, the range of needs that face those who are going to serve God. Children, blind beggars, disciples, a rich young ruler.

Every age, every financial status, every socioeconomic level, all are there. So the servant of God is going to have to be able to confront all of these and to meet needs, the variety of need that faces all those who would serve. What is so lovely of the Lord Jesus, he was never too busy.

Never too busy for anyone. If you are a type A personality, interruptions are the bane of your life. You've got your list made, things you want to get done, things you have to accomplish in your day, and that wonderful surge of accomplishment when at the end of the day you've crossed everything off and everything's been done, and you feel like you've really accomplished something, and interruptions become such a difficulty to deal with.

Until you learn that interruptions are the life that God is sending you, one moment at a time. Now there's nothing wrong with being busy, nothing wrong with making lists, but to recognize that if I am too busy for things that God sends into my life, people that God sends into my life, problems that God allows into my life, Christians and their needs that God sends into my life, I'm too busy. One of the great reservations I have about even being here in Garnevilla, nothing personal, is that there are believers at home that I should have a care for, and they cannot schedule their emergencies according to my schedule.

I've got to be available, and each of us has to be available, not just overseers. There are sisters here that know what I mean, that minister to other sisters, unseen by other eyes, and the crisis comes, the tragedy comes, and they're right there on the doorstep, ready to be of help. The phone calls come, a young sister with a difficulty, and calling an older sister, and everything is stopped to take care of that need.

The Lord Jesus was never too busy for anyone. He stood still, as we'll see, just for a beggar. He stopped for children, took them in His arms, blessed them, and so on.

The Lord Jesus and His care for others. The compassion, excuse me, the consistency of His ministry, and the condescension that marked Him in His service. Never too important to care for the children, for the beggars, whoever it was.

Never too busy, never too important, marked by condescension. But then we come to this rich young ruler, Jesus beholding Him, loved Him. The compassion that moved Him in His service.

Ultimately, ultimately, our service should be out of love for Christ. But the Lord Jesus Christ served, and we read how He, looking upon Him, He loved Him. He loved a man who would never return His love.

How do you...how do you relate to your neighbors? How do you relate to people you're trying to to win for the gospel and to be a help to? Well, they're not...they're not responding. I've baked them a cake, I've taken them a meal, I mow their lawn, and they're not responding, so let's move on. Is that ministry to or manipulation of? Are we just doing things to manipulate people to get them to like us so we can get them to a meeting? Or do we really minister out of love, as the Lord Jesus did? He loved a man who, when He weighed...when that man weighed up, following Christ and His riches, He says, I'll take my riches and forget Christ.

And yet the Lord Jesus Christ loved Him. Robert Moffat, born in Scotland, left the shores of Scotland in the 1800s, 1816, to sail for South Africa. When he got to South Africa and began serving among the native peoples in South Africa, they looked upon him with contempt.

They thought he must be some kind of outcast. His people don't want him. He must be really a criminal.

There must be something wrong with him that he left his people and is here. They must have thrown him out. He labored for years there, loving those people, serving them, and all he got was contempt, disdain, threats, robbery.

He loved the people who were not loving him in return. Now there's a good ending to that story. There's not always good endings to stories.

But on one occasion, a number of the chiefs accompanied him to the coast. He had to pick up supplies. And when they saw how he was treated with respect, how he was honored by everyone there, and you'll forgive this, when they saw the luxuries, 1816, when they saw the luxuries that were present in South Africa that he had left, you know what they said to him? Why have you left all this for us? Why have you left all this for us? And Robert Moffat was able to tell them of a love that he enjoyed, that flowed through him to them, because he was showing them something of the love of Christ.

Jesus, beholding him, loved him. He loved a man who did not appreciate him, didn't appreciate the Lord Jesus. You will serve, and you will find that you will not be appreciated.

I often think that if you've never been abused, you've never been used by God. If you've never been abused by people, by abuse I don't mean physical, but I just mean where you've been taken advantage of. You've done things.

You've sacrificed things. Maybe paid for things, money out of your pocket, and people just realized we can milk this for all it's worth, and they took advantage of you. If you've never been taken advantage of, if you've never extended yourself and become vulnerable to unsaved, to neighbors, to others, sometimes even to believers.

If you've never become vulnerable, it's not likely that you've ever been valuable to someone else in their life. That is the human nature we're dealing with. The Lord Jesus Christ here extended himself.

He loved someone who never returned his love. Ever considered the Lord Jesus Christ and Judas? You can disagree with me, but I would gather that Judas must have been able to perform miracles. He must have been able to cast out demons.

He must have been able to heal sickness. If he had not had that power, it would have been very obvious to all the other disciples, here's the one who's not genuine. In some way, the Lord Jesus Christ gave that man power and ability to perform miracles.

The Lord Jesus Christ also gave him the, could I call it the plum job. He made him treasurer. I would have chosen Matthew.

Matthew knew how to handle money. Matthew had done it for years. It may be the Lord Jesus did not wish to tempt Matthew with his former profession of taking liberally from the treasury, but whatever the case, the Lord Jesus showed special consideration for Judas.

And yet, all the while he knew who would betray him. Think of Abraham with this nephew Lot. Lot owed three deliverances, three deliverances to Abraham.

It was Abraham who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees. It was Abraham who rescued him when the five kings had taken him captive. It was Abraham who prayed him out of Sodom before its judgment.

So on three occasions, Abraham's exercise, efforts, and intercession were a blessing to Lot. Number one, Lot never thanked Abraham. You check it out.

Lot never turned around to say, thank you Uncle Abraham for all you've done for me. Number two, he ended his life as a dirty old man in a cave. Forgive my being blunt.

There are people you will extend yourself for, you will serve, you will sacrifice, you will spend. They'll never thank you, and seemingly they will never profit from it. You say, what's the use? Why bother? He makes his reign to fall upon the just and the unjust.

He makes his sun to shine upon the wicked and upon the good. When you serve others who do not appreciate, who do not profit, who do not value, who never thank you, you're acting like God. Because that's exactly how God treats human beings today.

And that is exactly how the Lord Jesus Christ treated people. He loved people who never ever returned his appreciation. Think of David with Saul.

David's kindness, David's long-suffering, David's magnanimity, and yet Saul never appreciated it. And so the Christian is called upon to serve, even when not appreciated, even when it is despised and thought little of. Jesus beholding him loved him, the compassion that moved him.

But then we're reminded that Jesus looked round about. Only Mark tells us this. Now you can check it for yourselves.

Five times in Mark these words occur. Jesus looking round about, taking in the scene, surveying the scene. And so here he is and we see something of his consideration for those who are faithful.

He looked round about. The rich young man went his way and the Lord Jesus looks round about upon those who were there. And he shows his deep appreciation for faithfulness, his appreciation for faithfulness, his commendation for faithfulness.

I grew up in an era, I'm older than most here, not all here, but I'm older than most here. I grew up in an era where spiritual discernment meant you could see what was wrong with other people. That meant you were really on top of your game, right? If you could see all the flaws in somebody and you could really, you know, you were really spiritually discerning.

Go through the four Gospels sometime. Underline the times the Lord Jesus Christ pointed out to his disciples their flaws, their failures. You know what you'll find? It's very rare, very rare.

He not only knew their actions, he knew their motives, he knew their hearts. And I think the most amazing scene of his dealing with his disciples is in that upper room on the night of his betrayal. And they are arguing who will be the greatest.

You know what the Lord Jesus Christ says? Ye are those who have continued with me in my trials. I appointed unto you a kingdom. They're arguing about who's going to be greatest.

And he's commending them for faithfulness. I find one of the traits of the Lord Jesus Christ is he appreciates whatever he can in those who follow him. You may be wallowing in a sense of your failure, your futility.

Could I just lift your eyes to see a Savior who appreciates and values faithfulness, who values all that he can in his people? If we, and we do, if we believe the Lord Jesus Christ is God and has the character of one who is holy, one who is love, then I come to 1 Corinthians 13. And I learn there that love always sees the best in others. Love always says the best about others.

Love always seeks the best for others. Love always speaks the best to others. Love always stirs the best out of others.

And forgive my alliteration, I apologize for that, but it's there. Anyway, so that the Lord Jesus Christ had that relationship with his disciples, appreciating all that he could in their lives and in their faithfulness to him. But then, verse number 30, now and in this time, houses and so on, there is no one who has left.

Did you get that? No one who has left. Whatever you have sacrificed for the sake of the Lord Jesus, there likely are some here who know what it is to lose the closeness of family ties because of Christ. You're saved.

No one else in the family is saved. You're the odd man out, the odd girl out. Some here maybe have sacrificed good positions.

Some, like our brethren, have sacrificed work and all that goes with it for the sake of the gospel and the work of God. But every believer, if they are genuinely a believer, makes sacrifices. And he says there's no one who has made a sacrifice who will not receive abundance in return.

So it is something that is all-inclusive, it is abundant, and God is going to add all of this. Instead of the or of sacrifice, it's the and of compensation. And so we are reminded of the compensation that will be given back.

But then come with me to verse number 32. Only Mark tells us that as they were going up, Jesus went before them. His consecration in his service for God.

He went with full knowledge of all that lay ahead. The poet has penned no unforeseen event, e'er took him by surprise. Toward the cross with fixed intent, he moved with opened eyes.

Men reckless deeds will vaunt and count his courage true, the daring of the ignorant who know not what they do. He knew the reason why the Father sent the Son. He knew that he had come to die a man for men undone.

He went with full knowledge of all that lay ahead. There are some people who were foolish enough to wish they knew the future. I'm thankful we don't know that, I mean, the future of my life here upon earth.

We do know our eternal future, but if you knew the future, do you really think that you would be happy? If you knew the tragedy awaited, if you knew that some unforeseen event would devastate you, how would you live now? It would cloud your entire existence. The Lord Jesus knew all things. He went forward knowing everything.

No hesitating step, no reluctance, no stumbling on the way. He went with full knowledge of all that lay ahead. He went without any fellowship from anyone around.

It's wonderful when we have to take some sacrificial step, when we have to take some step that is going to be very costly for God, and there are believers who rally round, believers who encourage. He knew nothing of that. In fact, just a few verses on where the disciples are wanting to be one on his right hand and one on his left, he says, you don't know what you're asking.

You don't know really the baptism and all that lies ahead. They didn't have any idea. He went with full knowledge.

He went without fellowship of any, and he went, and the only one who had a right to his own will, you get that? The only one that had a right to his own will became obedient all the way to the point of a cross death. He went before them, his consecration in his service for God. But let me come to the last one.

It is only Mark that tells us when he had healed Bartimaeus, he said to Bartimaeus, go thy way. He gave him the option, gave him the choice. We sometimes say that love demands our sacrifice, our all, and it does, but the Lord Jesus never demanded of men.

He said, go your way. The Lord Jesus would not commandeer service. This perfect servant is looking for those who would willingly, intelligently, voluntarily follow, and Bartimaeus did.

The perfect servant did not create guilt. Sometimes I fear that some of our ministry borders on giving people guilt trips. The Lord Jesus Christ never, never gave people guilt trips.

If grace and love do not move us, guilt is of very, very little value. We do not move out of a sense of guilt. We move out of love.

We move out of what grace has accomplished and want to give him our all for that reason. Interesting to go through the Word of God and look at people who said, I will go. You all know, of course, the the prodigal.

When the prodigal came to the end of himself, I will arise and go. You recall that when Rebecca saw the jewels and so on, all the gifts that had come, I will go. You recall that Jacob, when he saw the wagons, I will arise and go.

Recall Ruth, whither thou goest, I will go. Anyone here today? Now this is especially for younger people. When you reach my age, it's a bit too late.

You've missed it. Any young people here willing, as a result of sight received in the way from this one who stood still for you in your life? Anyone here willing to say, yes, I will go? We're reminded of Isaiah, likely a young man when he had that vision in Isaiah chapter 6, when he got a look at the greatness and the holiness of God, when he could see the whole earth filled with the glory of God and could get a glimpse of God's great program for the future. He wanted to be a part of it.

Here am I, send me. Would you rather be a big star in a worthless production or have a minor role in the greatest story ever told? It's your choice. You can become a big star in a worthless production called This World and Its Future.

You can make your mark in it. You could have its accolades. You could have its wealth.

You could have its pleasures. You could have all that it has to offer. Or you could have a minor role in the greatest story ever told.

Bartimaeus said, sign me up. Sign me up. I want to be part of the story that is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bartimaeus followed him in the way. I've never been there. I'd like to get there someday.

To Livingston's, David Livingston's tomb, his marker, I understand that on it there's the word forward. Of course, that comes from an occasion when they were making their way up the Vuma River in Africa, and forgive the fact, but the paddle boat couldn't make it because of all the corpses of slaves, dead slaves thrown overboard. And the captain of the ship came to him and said to him, what will we do? Where do you want to go? We can't make it up.

And Livingston said to him on that occasion, I'm prepared to go anywhere provided it's forward. Do you want your life to move forward for God? Do you want to follow this perfect servant and all that marked him in his service for God? The one that was marked by consistency as he was want. The one who was marked by condescension, whether infants or beggars or rich young men.

The one that was marked by compassion, loved him. The one who was marked by consideration and appreciation for others. The one who was aware of the compensation.

The one who was marked by consecration. Do you want to be like this servant? Behold your God. He became a servant for our blessing, and now we have the opportunity of following and bringing him pleasure and bringing him glory.

Shall we pray? Our Father, we bow together in thy presence. We're thankful again for the pictures we have in the Word of God. We thank thee for the principles and precepts of thy Word that teach us and would guide us in the choices we make in life.

We thank thee for the glory of God that has been revealed in the person of thy Son, and we thank thee for the Word of God that would give us these delightful pictures and instruction from that perfect life as it was lived here below. We thank thee once again for the Word of God and all of its wealth and all of its treasures. We would only love to have a greater appetite and greater appreciation for it.

We commend ourselves to thee. We're about to partake of food again, and we are conscious that every good gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights who is immutable. There is no shadow of turning with thee.

We thank thee for thy constancy and for thy faithfulness to us. We again think of the gospel tonight, committing it to thee. Think again of our sisters who are not well and commend them to thee and ourselves now as we give thanks once more for this food in our Savior's worthy and precious name.

Amen.