Remember blind Bartimaeus calling out to Jesus as He came through Jericho?
...Blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.Healing is God's mercy. We can't earn it. Any time someone receives healing, it comes by God's mercy.
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.
And Jesus stood still, and 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.
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."
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 10:46-52)
We can cooperate and meet God's conditions, but the bottom line is, it's the grace and mercy of God, because we don't deserve it.
There is nothing we can do to merit it, because our own righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 65:6).
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Billy Joe Daugherty was founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was also the founder of Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute and Victory World Missions Training Center.
