<TITLE>05. Par 19-23</TITLE>L-19 In our scene tonight, it's at Jericho, way down below Jerusalem. And in this great city which once stood there as a memorial of one of the great places of the nation, we find that there is, as we look, a little ragged beggar truching along the side of the rubbish around the walls, the old heap. And we would say it was a beautiful day. And this little fellow, his name is Bartimaeus. And he's blind. We're taught that he had been blind for many, many years.
And he's finding his way around to try to get to the gates, for it's through the gates that many of the business people, the merchants and so forth, come in and out.

L-20 In them days, there were many beggars, lepers. And when a man went to his work of a morning and he had a few extra coins, maybe a certain beggar that met him first, he gave him the coin. And then that was as much as he could afford for that day. He had to wait till maybe another day. Well, it made... Begging was a bad business. And many times they went hungry and done without.
And let's think that this morning, that blind Bartimaeus, our subject, had been along the city gates, or the city street, and he was a little late getting up. And so, the rest of the beggars had beat him. So he goes to the outside of the gate and there finds him a place to sit down. And just in a few minutes after setting there, kind of a little chilly, and got in the shadow of the wall or some building. We can hear coming down the road, a clicking of the little donkey's feet.

L-21 And as he moves closer, he hears this little donkey coming closer. And he rises and runs out and said, "Have mercy on me. I am blind and I have a family to care for. Have mercy."
And a great big dark slave walks up to him, said, "Out of the way."
And this fellow, he said, "Have mercy." that was riding the donkey. Called to him for mercy.
And he said, "Sir, out of my way. I am the servant of the Lord, and I'm on my way down to Jericho. There's going to be a fanatic prophet come into that city today. And the ministerial association has called me. And I'm one of their district presbyters, so I have to be there on a meeting. I haven't got time to give coins to beggars." If that isn't just about the attitude of some modern Americans.

L-22 What if it was you setting there blind? And then not only that, but some people who called themselves Christians it's so easy to spurn someone like that who is calling for mercy. Don't never do that. Always do the best you can for a poor brother who's had a misfortune like that.
And he... See him now he goes back, and he feels around, and he finds a rock, and sets down, and he begins to think. Let's follow his thoughts for a few minutes. He's thinking now; he moves over in the sunshine where it's warm. Oh, I can just imagine. Don't you like to set down where it's nice and warm to think things over, just set and daydream?
Many times up in the mountains, I get way up above the timberlines when I'm hunting in America. And up there, and it'd be so cold and then just set down somewhere where the wind's not blowing and just think of things.

L-23 I believe God lives in nature. He lives in His animals. Here some few years ago, four or five years ago, I'd been hunting elk way up high in the Rockies, back there on the ranch. And there was nobody within, I guess, thirty-five or forty miles, but just the rancher, the one that runs the ranch, and myself. And he's a good hunter. And so, we traveled high, because the fall was early, and the snows hadn't come to run the--the elk down, yet.
And so he said, "Billy, you take your pack horse and go right. I'll go over yonder; you go the east fork. I'll go the west fork and we'll meet within about three days back over on the connecting divide.
I said, "That'll be fine, Jeff."


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