We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.
We're going to sing in Psalm 93 on the Scottish Psalter.
Psalm 93, the whole of Psalm, page 354.
The tune is Irish.
The Lord doth reign and clothed is he with majesty most bright,
his works to show him clothed to be and girt about with might.
So we'll sing the whole of this Psalm to God's praise.
The Lord doth reign and clothed is he with majesty most bright,
his works to show him clothed to be
and girt about with might.
The world is all so established that it cannot depart.
Thy throne is fixed of hope and love from everlasting heart.
The floods, O Lord, have lifted up, they lifted up their voice.
And made a mighty noise.
But yet the Lord doth is on high,
is more of might by far,
than the noise of many waters is,
our great sea bellows are.
Thy testimonies, everyone,
in faithfulness excel,
and holiness forevermore,
thy heart becouled as well.
Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven,
as we gather in your name this day,
we do thank you for your word.
We thank you that we can read from it,
that we can sing praise to you,
that we can lift our voices up to you.
And we have been reminded in the psalm that we have sung,
that your voice is a mighty voice,
greater than all the noise of the waters,
the waves, the storms around us.
We thank you that though we hear these things,
that you are one who is more powerful
and mightier than all of these things.
And we pray today, Lord,
that we will know your voice.
As we read your word,
we will see it as your word.
As we hear it, Lord,
that you would bless it to us all.
We thank you that you speak to each and every one of us,
the youngest to the oldest,
that there are none of us who are left out of worship.
There is none of us who are left out of this service.
But we gather together as one
to praise you as our Lord and as our God.
And we ask, oh Lord,
for your protection over us today.
We especially think of the winds outside
at this time and pray that as we come and go,
that you will protect us and keep us.
We thank you for all who are there to help us
in these times as well.
We pray for many who will be out and about
in difficult conditions,
even maybe at this time.
Coast Guard Services,
helping people in need,
both on land and at sea,
helping to protect us during these times.
And we pray, Lord,
your protection over them.
We thank you, Lord,
to be able to worship you this day,
to be worshiping you in this place
and with a peace to enjoy it.
And we ask, oh Lord,
that you would bless all that is done,
both here and in the Sunday school
and the tweenies and creche as well, Lord.
Protect our young ones, Lord.
Be with them each one.
Be with us as families and friends
and as a congregation together.
May you hear all our prayers
and watch over us in Jesus' name
as we ask all of these things in his name
for the pardon of our sins.
Amen.
It's good that there's a number of young people present,
and I'm sure many others may be tuning in online as well.
So I want to ask you a question.
Any of the young people here,
do you enjoy riddles?
Trying to work out what a riddle is trying to say.
A riddle is a number of words put together
and they maybe don't make sense at first
and you're just trying to work out
what does it actually mean.
So I want to share a riddle with you
and see if you can work this one out.
See what it's talking about.
And the riddle goes like this.
It says,
you can't own it,
but you can use it.
You can't keep it,
but you can spend it.
Once you have lost it,
you can never get it back.
So that's the riddle.
I wonder if anybody knows what it means.
You can't own it,
but you can use it.
You can't keep it,
but you can spend it.
Once you have lost it,
you can never get it back.
Hands up if you know what the answer is.
Don't want you to shout out the answer,
but there's a few hands going up.
Mostly adults though.
Any of the young folks,
do you know the answer?
It's time.
There's one upstairs there
that's got the hand up,
right up in the air.
It's time.
You can't own time,
but you can use it.
You can't keep it,
but you can spend it.
You can spend time
on lots of different things.
Once you've lost it,
you can never get it back.
So once the time has gone,
you can never get it back.
Time is free,
but time is priceless.
So important that we use
our time wisely.
What do you use most of your time on?
Hands up if it's sleeping.
I'm sure there's quite a few people
who spend a lot of time sleeping.
What about eating?
Maybe not so much.
What about sitting on your phone
or tablet or watching television?
Lots of time, I'm sure,
spent there, is it?
We all spend time
doing lots of different things.
But the Bible reminds us
that just like the riddle there,
trying to understand what it means,
sometimes that's what the Bible
can seem like to ourselves as well.
It just seems like words
that are brought together,
sometimes they don't really make sense.
But the Bible says in Psalm 90, verse 12,
teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Now maybe that sounds like a riddle
at first as well.
Teach us to number our days
so that we may get a heart of wisdom.
What does that mean?
Well, it means to use our time wisely,
to number our days,
to see that our days
are soon going to go past,
past in a blink.
And once that time has passed,
we can't get that time back.
So time is precious.
Time is important.
And we need to number our days,
which means we take account
of all of our days.
We can think of how many days
have gone past.
We can count them.
How many days ahead?
We don't know.
We don't have the answer.
So the Psalm says,
get a heart of wisdom.
Time teaches us that it's going to come
to an end at some point.
So it's important that we make
the best use of our time,
not wasting our time.
There are things that we have to do,
but we should always make time for God.
Make time for his word.
Make time for finding understanding
of what he's saying to us in his word.
Lord, teach us, Lord,
to have a heart of wisdom,
because that's what we need
for every day,
a heart to be wise with the Lord,
to make the best use of our time
before our time is past.
So may God help us
in all the time that we have
to listen to him
and to seek a heart of wisdom.
We're going to say the Lord's prayer
together now.
Our Father, we chart in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
Well, we're going to sing again
to God's praise,
this time in Psalm 32.
Again, the Scottish Psalter version,
Psalm 32,
page 244 of the psalm books.
Psalm 32,
page 244.
We're going to sing from verse 7
down to verse 11.
We're going to sing from verse 7 to 11
on the tune of Spore.
We stand to sing to God's praise.
The Lord,
O heart,
my hiding place,
thou shalt
from trouble
keep me free.
thou wisdoms of deliverance,
thou shalt comfort
shall compass me.
I will instruct thee
and thee teach
the way that thou shalt go.
And when my eye upon thee set,
I will direction show.
Then be not like the hearts or mules
which do not understand,
whose powers as they come near to thee,
a bridal must command.
Come to the man that wicked is,
his sorrows shall abound,
but him that trusteth in the Lord,
mercy shall come as crown.
yea,
righteous in the Lord be glad,
in him do ye rejoice,
O ye that upright are in heart,
for joy lift up your voice.
Let us again come to God in prayer.
Let us pray.
Lord, our gracious God,
as we approach your word,
we thank you that as we open it up,
that we come seeking your help
to understand words
that can sometimes seem like a riddle
to ourselves.
We thank you that you are able
by your spirit to reveal to us
the many promises and precious,
precious promises that there are
in your word.
We thank you that you do not leave us
to stumble around your word
unable to understand,
but that you provide so many things
and methods to help us to understand.
We thank you that we have the liberty
and freedom to be under the preaching
of the gospel.
We thank you that we have your word
in a language that we can understand.
We thank you that in a day of technology,
we have so many means to hear your word
broken down for us,
to hear it read to us,
to hear it explained to us
even what the very smallest of words
might mean in it.
We are a multitude of great hosts of things
to help us to understand your word.
But we know that the time that we have
is precious and that we are to make
the most of it.
And we are so easily distracted from your word.
We spend so much time maybe on other things.
We can waste so much time as it is.
But yet, Lord, we thank you that you are able
to give us a spirit to hunger and thirst for your word,
to hunger and thirst for righteousness,
and to help us to see and understand
all that you are teaching us through your word
and how to apply it to our lives
and to the world in which we live.
For we can look around us and see so many troubles,
even as in the Psalms that we have sung.
There is trouble around the psalmist
in so many different ways,
and yet he is able to say that you are a hiding place for him,
that you are a place of deliverance for him.
And we thank you, Lord, that we know that for ourselves
and so many of us.
And we pray that together we would all come to know
and experience that wonderful deliverance
that you offer through your Son, Christ Jesus.
that when we are blind and ignorant to you,
that you are the one who is able to open our eyes
and to help us to understand
and to go on gaining understanding
and sharing our understanding with others.
And so we pray you'll bless our time together this day.
We pray you'll watch over us in it,
that you will guide us by your Spirit in all that we do
and all that we say.
That even as we offer up our prayers at this time together,
the spoken prayer and the ones uttered from all our hearts,
you know every prayer that we offer up at this time.
It's not just one, but many.
For many different people and situations,
from many different hearts,
we offer up our prayer to you.
Hearts that are broken,
hearts that may be full of joy,
and yet hearts that can know the wonderful peace
that you are able to give.
And we ask, O Lord, that together as we pray,
that you will remind us that when we come in faith,
believing in you,
reminding ourselves that you hear our every prayer
through the name of Jesus Christ as we come,
and that your answer, O Lord,
though it may be different to what we ask for,
we commit ourselves, Lord, to you who knows best,
even the things that we do not understand
or cannot comprehend, O Lord,
help us to know your presence with us in these things as well,
to know your grace in every aspect of our lives.
And so we pray for your cause, Lord, near and far.
We pray for your church,
that you will build us up as a people here and far and wide,
that you will look down upon us in your great mercy,
that you will look down upon our world, O Lord, in mercy,
that as we see so much turmoil around us,
as we see so many things that we have no influence or control over,
as we feel powerless in so many situations,
yet, O Lord, remind us of the power that you have.
Mightier than the voice of the waves is our Lord.
And we thank you for that,
that where there are storms of so many kinds,
be they the natural storms we see around us,
or the physical storms of life,
the storms of war, famine, drought,
earthquakes, volcanoes,
all of these powerful elements that we see around us.
We thank you that you are mightier than all,
and that your voice is able to bring a stop to all of these things,
to change all of these things.
And yet, O Lord, in a world in which we live,
we look to our own wisdom or wisdom of leaders,
leaders who so often have no thought of you.
And so we pray for them, Lord,
that you will come,
a mercy upon them and draw them to yourself,
to see that any power they feel they have
is nothing compared to yours,
and that they would come to put their trust in you,
whether that's leaders of our political,
in political spheres,
whether it's royalty,
whether it's leaders in councils,
or whether it's leaders in the church.
We pray, Lord, for you to give us all wisdom,
to give us help,
to give us direction,
to guide our people,
to seek the good of our people,
to seek your blessing upon us.
And so we pray, Lord,
that you will hear all of these prayers in your name.
We pray for every home and family here
and tuning in online as well.
We thank you, Lord,
that we are able to pray for one another
in very different circumstances.
We pray for those who mourn.
We pray your comfort towards them.
We pray for those who are unwell,
whether it's at home or in hospital
or in the care homes we see around us in the town here
or further afield.
We pray, Lord, your blessing on each one
and families who are concerned for loved ones.
We are able to bring our cares to you
and we thank you for that.
We pray, Lord, for your spirit to work around us, Lord,
for those who are maybe well in health
and yet spiritually dead,
dead in their trespasses and sins,
as your word describes.
We pray, Lord, to bring life,
to bring new life into their hearts
and into their souls.
We pray, Lord, that you will awaken us
to our need of the Lord Jesus,
that when we are stumbling and asleep in this world,
we pray for you to awaken us,
awaken us to our greatest need,
the need of deliverance,
the need of a savior,
and to see of every provision that you have made,
that you have provided for us through your son,
who gave his life for his people,
who rose again for our salvation,
who ascended on high to the right hand of God
and who will come again.
We thank you for the hope of the gospel
and we pray, Lord, that you will revive
and stir up that hope in our hearts,
that we will hold it as the dearest,
most precious thing to us.
Lord, look down upon us,
continue with us this day,
be with the preaching of your word
into the evening as well, Lord,
throughout your church today.
May your name be glorified.
May your people praise you
and may sinners be brought to repentance.
We ask all these things,
looking to you as the one who is able to do
so much more than we ask or imagine.
And hear us in all our prayers,
pardon us for all our sins
as we confess them on you.
And all we ask,
we ask in the name of Jesus
and for his glory.
Amen.
We're going to read God's word together now
in the gospel of Mark.
Mark chapter 8.
We'll take up our reading at verse 11.
And we're reading down to verse 30.
Mark chapter 8.
Mark chapter 8 at verse 11.
You notice at the beginning of the chapter,
there's the account of Jesus feeding the 4,000.
A second time when Jesus had miraculously fed a large crowd of people.
And then following that, we take up our reading at verse 11.
The Pharisees came and began to argue with him,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said,
why does this generation seek a sign?
Truly I say to you,
no sign will be given to this generation.
And he left them, got into his boat again,
and went to the other side.
Now they had forgotten to bring bread.
And they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
And he cautioned them saying,
watch out,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
And they began to discuss with one another
the fact that they had no bread.
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them,
why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?
Do you not yet perceive or understand?
Are your hearts hardened?
Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?
They said to him, twelve.
And he said to them,
do you not yet understand?
And they came to Bethsaida,
and some people brought to him a blind man,
and begged him to touch him.
And he took the blind man by the hand,
and led him out of the village.
And when he had spat on his eyes,
and laid his hands on him,
he asked him,
do you see anything?
And he looked up and said,
I see men, but they look like trees walking.
Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again,
and he opened his eyes.
His sight was restored,
and he saw everything clearly.
And he sent him to his home,
saying, do not even enter the village.
And Jesus went on with his disciples
to the village of Caesarea Philippi.
And on the way,
he asked his disciples,
who do people say that I am?
And they told him,
John the Baptist,
and others say Elijah,
and others one of the prophets.
And he asked them,
but who do you say that I am?
Peter answered him,
you are the Christ.
And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
And so on.
And may God bless that reading from his word.
Before we turn back to look at this passage,
we'll again sing to God's praise in Psalm 146.
In the Sing Psalms version.
Psalm 146.
We'll sing from verse 5 down to verse 10.
Page 191 of the psalm book.
Psalm 146, verse 5,
the tune of Sussex.
Blessed is the one who truly looks for help to Jacob's God.
Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
And we see in verse 8 there,
he says,
to the blind the Lord gives sight.
We'll sing these verses 5 to 10 to God's praise.
Amen.
Blessed is the one who truly looks for help to Jacob's God.
Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
the Lord.
He who made
the earth and
heaven and the seas
with all their
store,
he who keeps
his every
promise,
who is
faithful
evermore.
He delivers
from
oppression
and
releases the
hungry's
plight. He
releases
those
who prison
to the
blind the Lord
his sight.
Those
who up
the
down he
raises,
our
delights
in
righteousness.
He
protects
and cares
for
strangers,
waitrose
and the
fatherless.
he frustrates
the
wicked
purpose,
so the
Lord
who
endless
days
brings
to
heavenly
generation.
Praise
your
God,
those
high
on
praise.
We can
turn back to
our reading
in Mark's
Gospel,
chapter 8.
And we're
focusing on
most of what we
read, really,
but we're seeing
the account of
the man who was
blind, having
his sight
restored.
And the
question then
that comes
after that
as he's
speaking with
his disciples,
as he's
asking them,
you know,
who do people
say that I
am?
And then he
asks a great
question,
but what
about you?
Who do
you say
that I
am?
Who do
you say
that I
am?
We face
questions,
I'm sure,
every day.
We're asked
different
questions.
Some are
simple
questions that
are maybe
easier to
answer that
don't really
challenge us
deeply.
We are asked
questions maybe
very often during
the day,
what time is
it?
What do you
want for your
dinner?
These kinds of
everyday questions
that we hear
all the time.
But there may
be days when
we're caught
out by a
question,
when we're
asked a
question that
we hadn't
really expected
or anticipated,
we'd perhaps
never really
thought about it
before, but
we're challenged
by it and
we wonder
what kind
of answer
should we
give?
Somebody might
come and ask
you, you
know, what
gives you
real joy
in life?
You think,
well, it's
not really a
question.
I've thought
about a lot,
but I could
probably think
of a number
of different
answers to
give.
Or you might
be asked
another question
from someone,
what keeps
you awake
at night?
And you
think to
yourself,
well, that's
not really
any of your
business.
that's kind
of probing
a little
bit too
deep.
What keeps
me awake
at night
is none
of your
concern.
It's
something that's
very private
to myself.
Our life
is full of
different
questions,
some simple
ones, some
maybe more
deeply probing,
and some
probing right
into our
hearts.
And as you
read through
this chapter,
chapter 8
of Mark's
gospel, you
find that
at different
points,
Jesus is
asking
questions,
asking
questions of
different people
in different
circumstances,
but questions
that are
probing them
into their
hearts, asking
them, you
know, where
are you?
What do you
see as your
greatest need
in life?
If you
glance with
me to
verse 12
there, the
Pharisees were
demanding a
sign from
him, what's
the question
that Jesus
asks of
them?
He sighed
deeply in
his spirit
and said,
why does
this generation
seek a
sign?
Why does
this generation
seek a
sign?
It's almost
like he's
saying, you
have just
seen and
heard of
the feeding
of the
4,000 in
a miraculous
way, and
this is on
top of other
things that
the Lord has
already done,
and he's
saying, you're
still asking
to see
more.
Have you
not seen
enough and
heard enough
of me?
Why does
this generation
seek a
sign?
Is that a
question that
you've asked
of God?
Show me a
sign, then
I'll believe.
Give me
something that
I can see
for myself, and
then I'll
believe.
When Jesus
is saying to
ourselves, why
as a
generation are
we asking
for more?
When he's
already revealed
and shown
to us so
much of
who he
is,
remembering
this is
before the
greatest sign
of all that
Jesus would
give, as
he gave
his life on
the cross,
and as
he rose
from the
grave, as
he ascended
to heaven,
do we need
any more?
And after
the response
to the
Pharisees
there,
why do
you, this
generation,
seek for
a sign,
he's then
talking to
his disciples,
and the
question, a
very probing
question, he
asks them
there in
verse 21,
do you
not yet
understand?
Do you
not yet
understand?
And then
as you
continue down
into verse
27 onwards,
he's asking
these two
questions,
who do
people say
that I
am?
In verse
27, and
then a
more probing
and challenging
question for
them in
verse 29,
but who
do you
say that
I am?
Who do
you say
that I
am?
And in
order to
see the
account of
the man
who was
blind, and
to understand
the healing
of the man
who was
blind, we
have to
see both
what comes
before it
and what
comes after
it, because
that helps
us to
see what
Jesus was
doing as
he healed
this man
who was
blind.
They have
become maybe
complacent in
some ways,
the disciples,
they've been
seeing many
miracles, and
they're just
going on as
if this is
the way it's
always going
to be.
We see
there's a
little conflict
with the
Pharisees as
they're asking
for a sign
there's
confusion
then among
the disciples
as he's
talking to
them about
being aware
of the
leaven of
the Pharisees
and the
leaven of
Herod in
verse 15.
There's all
of these
things going
on, and
then you
come into
this account
of the
blind man
being healed,
and it's
showing us
that understanding
takes time.
So as we
think of the
question that
comes, who
do you say
that I am?
It's a
question we'll
all have an
answer to, but
it'll be in
different degrees
of understanding.
None of us
here will ever
fully understand
who he is.
Not this
side of
eternity, but
we should
always be
longing to
understand more
of who he
is.
And that
should give
us a certain
sense of
help in our
situation as
well if we
think, well
I'm not a
believer, I
don't know
enough.
He's
challenging us
to say, well
who is he?
Do you
see him as
the Christ?
Because that
is the
starting point
of any
understanding
of him.
And it's
not that
you'll have
all the
answers to
be able to
profess his
name, but
to understand
just who
he is and
understanding
comes over
a period of
time.
What's your
answer to
the question
then?
Who do
you say
that he
is?
Who do
you say
that Jesus
is today?
We'll all
have an
answer.
Some will
confess Jesus
is Lord.
Others will
confess Jesus
is my
Lord.
Others will
say, well
Jesus was
just a good
man.
Others will
say Jesus
is nothing.
He's just
a made
up story.
How do
you answer
that question
then?
Who do
you say
that I
am?
Well, three
things we
want to
take from
this passage
today.
First of
all, we
see
understanding
takes time.
So when
you're looking
at the
account of
the blind
man being
given his
sight, it
might seem
just like a
little aside
in between
the teaching
that he's
been given
to the
disciples
beforehand
and then
these great
questions that
he's asking
them as they
went on
their way to
the village
of Caesarea
Philippi.
Another
healing is
just maybe
a little
aside.
As you're
going through
Mark's
gospel, you
see there's
a number of
different
miracles that
happen, and
especially
healings.
You see it
again and
again throughout
the gospel of
Mark.
So is this
just another
healing?
Do we just
become complacent
and think
very little
of it?
Or do we
see that here
he is really
teaching his
disciples and
teaching us
how we come
to understand
the Lord
more and
more?
If you look
at verse
17 and
18, they're
Jesus aware
of what they're
speaking about.
He says to
them in
verse 17,
why are you
discussing the
fact that
you have
no bread?
Do you
not yet
perceive or
understand?
Are your
hearts
hardened?
Three questions
he asks them
in a row
there.
Three questions.
Why are you
discussing the
fact that you
have no bread?
Is this really
a big issue
considering just
what you've
just seen,
the feeding
of the
4,000?
Do you
not yet
perceive or
understand?
Do you
not understand
who I
am?
Are your
hearts
still
hardened?
That's a
searching
question.
And that's
the basis
of Jesus'
healing,
this man
at Bethsaida.
This question,
do you
not yet
understand?
We might
feel as if
we can
see things
clearly in
this world,
but more
and more
as we look
to the
scripture,
we see
there are
so many
things that
we don't
understand.
And when
you look at
this miracle,
the man's
sight wasn't
restored
immediately.
He goes
from complete
blindness
to seeing
people as
trees walking
to then
seeing
clearly.
And you
think to
yourself,
why that?
why didn't
Jesus just
heal him
instantly?
He's done
it before.
He could
do it here.
It's not
the fact
that he
couldn't
do it,
but he's
making a
point.
And the
point is
around this
question,
do you
not yet
understand?
He laid
his hands
on him
and asked
him,
do you
see anything
in verse
23?
And he
looked up
and said,
I see
men,
but they
look like
trees
walking.
His vision
is still
blurred.
And it's
only at the
second time
of Jesus
touching his
eyes that
he's able
to see
clearly.
I'm sure
like myself,
many of you
have been
to the
opticians.
I remember
when I first
got glasses
when I was
young,
I couldn't
believe the
difference when
I put on the
glasses.
I mean,
I thought my
eyes were just
like everybody
else's,
but I was
half blind.
And putting
on my
glasses as I
went out
from the
optician was
just eye
opening,
literally,
because I
could see
so many
things I
had never
been able
to see
clearly
before.
And now
every time
you go
back to
the optician,
they always
start by
putting in
different lenses
and they're
asking which
one's clear,
number one
or number
two,
and they're
working their
way through
a process,
helping you
to have a
clear vision.
And in so
doing,
they're showing
that your
eyes are
not good,
the vision
is not good
until it's
aided.
And that's
what Jesus
is reminding
us of here
as well.
Understanding
takes time.
The man
wasn't healed
immediately.
He was
seeing just
bloody,
as it were,
at first,
and then
seeing clearly.
And for
ourselves,
as we are
called to
come to
an understanding
of God,
there are
things that
may seem
like riddles
at first,
things that
we don't
understand,
that aren't
clear to
us.
Which is
why we
need to
spend our
time studying
God's
word,
and in a
relationship
with God,
using our
time wisely,
praying to
God to
help us
to understand,
and to
share together
in that
search for
knowledge and
understanding,
in our
fellowship,
in our
Bible studies,
in all that
we're doing,
helping one
another along
the way.
Because
understanding
takes time,
and different
people are at
different stages
of understanding,
sharing knowledge
with one another
to help one
another along
the way.
So it
takes time.
The second
thing we see
here is that
understanding
takes faith.
Understanding
takes faith.
Theologian
Augustine
once said,
Understanding
is the
reward of
faith.
Therefore,
seek not
to understand
that you
may believe,
but believe
that you
may understand.
Again,
that sounds
maybe like
a little
riddle.
Therefore,
seek not
to understand
that you
may believe,
but believe
that you
may understand.
understand.
It's not a
case of
coming to
a point
where you
understand
everything,
therefore,
you can
believe.
But you
can believe
in God
without fully
understanding.
And the
more that
you believe
in God,
the more
you understand
the different
things.
Our
relationship
with the
Lord
is about
faith
and
trusting
him.
And those
who do
not believe
in God,
they lack
that.
There's no
faith.
And that's
why they
will mock
and belittle
Jesus,
because they
will base
their understanding
on what can
be seen
and what can
be proved.
And yet,
so much
of what the
Bible teaches
us are
things that
are as
yet unseen.
And that
can only
be seen
through
faith.
When you
look at the
man who
was blind,
he couldn't
see,
yet as
Jesus comes
to him,
in verse
23,
he took
the blind
man by
the hand
and led
him out
of the
village.
You don't
read there
that he
took the
man by
the hand
and led
him away,
kicking and
screaming,
because he
didn't know
who he
was with,
didn't know
where he
was going
to be
taken,
didn't
know
what he
was going
to do
with
him.
There is
an element
of faith
in this
blind
man.
Jesus
has taken
him by
the hand
and he's
not
resisting.
He's
allowing
him to
lead him
along
the way.
And again,
there's an
element of
that for
ourselves
too,
where when
Jesus is
calling us,
we are to
put our
hand in
his and
allow him
to lead
us along
the way,
trusting
him that
he will
show us
the way
and help
us to
understand.
And that
is what
faith is
about.
Trusting
the Lord
in all
the ways
ahead for
us.
The
disciples
too have
been blind
themselves.
They've been
blind at
different points
in their
lives.
They haven't
understood
everything and
it has
taken faith
to go on.
You think
of the
disciples when
they were
first called,
when they
were called
to leave
everything
behind,
the fishermen
were told
to leave
your nets
and come
and follow
me,
Jesus said.
What did
they do?
They didn't
say,
well,
I've got so
many questions
to ask
before I
go.
They left
and they
went
immediately.
They were
faithful to
the call
of God
and trusted
him that
he would be
with them
on the
way.
There were
various
challenges
along the
way.
In
John's
Gospel,
chapter 6,
towards the
end of that
chapter,
you read
of a time
when Jesus
had a large
crowd gathered
around him
and were
hearing his
teaching.
It says
that many
found it
difficult to
understand
and they
turned away.
They had
no faith
to go
forward.
Jesus
asked the
disciples a
question there.
Will you
also go
away?
And the
response was
to whom
else can
we go?
For you
have the
words of
eternal
life.
There's
faith there.
And that's
what we see
here as
well when
they're asked
these probing
questions.
Who do
others say
that I am?
They start
to say,
well, some
say that
you're John
the Baptist.
Others say
you're Elijah
and others
the prophets.
there needs
to be
faith to
give the
answer that
they give.
And when
you think
about it,
they're
standing out
from the
crowd.
And both
these
occasions in
the Gospel
of John
and here
in the
Gospel of
Mark,
the disciples
are in a
small number
by themselves.
And the
easy way
out would be
just to
turn away.
We don't
understand these
things.
They make
no sense
to us.
We'll just
go away
like everybody
else.
But faith,
even though
they don't
fully understand
at this
point,
faith keeps
them looking
to Jesus.
Faith is
what leads
them,
Peter,
to reply,
you are
the Christ.
You are
the Christ.
You are
the Messiah.
You are
the one
we have
been hearing
is to
come.
You are
the one
we are
supposed to
be looking
for.
You are
the Christ.
And when
you think
of that
question for
yourself
today,
who do
you say
that he
is?
Do you
have faith
to answer,
you are
the Christ?
Do you
have faith
to answer,
to whom
else can
I go?
Because you
alone have
the words
of eternal
life.
There is
nowhere else
we can
go,
but we
need
faith.
The
missionary
Adoniram
Judson,
he was
in Burma
in the
early 1800s,
what is
now Myanmar,
and he
went there
to preach
the gospel
to those
who were
blind and
ignorant to
God in
that place.
men
and he
did not
go well
at first.
And he
ended up
in prison,
chained up
in prison.
And he
was in
prison with
a number
of other
fellow
prisoners.
And he
was sharing
about the
Lord and
what he
had come
to this
place to
do with
those who
were in
prison with
him.
But he
was mocked
by some.
And one
day,
one other
prisoner asked
him,
looking at
him sitting
there in
a prison
cell with
this large
weight of
chain around
his legs so
that he
couldn't move,
he asked
him,
Dr.
Judson,
what do
you think
now of
the prospects
of preaching
to the
heathen
here?
Well,
what was
the response
of Dr.
Judson?
His
instant reply
was the
prospects
are just
as bright
as the
promises of
God.
He had
faith that
God would
help him
to proclaim
the gospel.
And that's
exactly what
he was doing
even in
that prison
at that
very moment.
He was
preaching to
the heathen
about the
promises of
God.
He had
faith.
Do you
have faith?
Do I
have faith
in all
that God
is calling
us to
do?
In all
that God
wants us
to do
as a
people
for him?
Do we
have faith?
Do we
believe in
that response
of Peter?
You are
the Christ.
You are
the one
who is able
to provide
and help
us in
all our
needs.
Thirdly
and finally
we see
here
understanding
takes
grace.
Whether
we are
looking at
the blind
man here
or the
Pharisees
or the
disciples
we see
God's
grace in
so many
ways to
them all.
What he
could do
that he
doesn't.
What we
probably
wouldn't do
ourselves
that he
does.
he shows
so much
grace
towards
them.
When you
look at
the blind
man
when he's
taken by
the hand
when he's
touched
on his
eyes
both times
when he's
spoken to
by Jesus
it's showing
the love
and grace
of the
Lord to
someone who
would by
others
just
cast
away
put away
as a
burden
on society.
he shows
grace.
How many
times does
he show
grace to
the
disciples?
You maybe
think to
yourself
all those
disciples
who are
so close
to Jesus
what a
privilege
they had
what an
understanding
they had
and yet
so often
you find
Jesus
asking them
do you
not yet
understand?
Do you
not realize
who I
am?
And you
think of
Peter
himself
who was
so often
the
spoke
person
for the
disciples
whether it
was
will you
also
go away
and he
replies
to whom
else
shall we
go?
You
have the
words
of
eternal
life
or
here
as
Peter
answers
in
chapter
8
the
question
who
do
you
say
that
I
am?
He
says
you
are
the
Christ
you
think
to
yourself
oh
to be
as
holy
as
Peter
to have
the
faith
of
Peter
such
deep
answers
that he
has
where
else
can
we
go
because
you
are
the
words
of
eternal
life
or
you
are
the
Christ
the
Messiah
there's
a
depth
to
these
answers
that
we
maybe
don't
have
and
we
think
oh
well
we'll
never
be
like
Peter
with
that
understanding
and
yet
how
much
grace
did
the
Lord
have
to
show
to
Peter
you
think
he
had
all
that
understanding
and
yet
when
it
came
to
the
crucifixion
or
just
before
the
crucifixion
what
did
he
do
when
he
was
asked
three
times
do
you
not
know
this
man
are
you
not
with
this
man
he
denied
him
three
times
three
times
when
he
was
asked
are
you
with
him
or
do
he
had
all
these
deep
answers
and
yet
he
didn't
fully
understand
who
he
was
and
he
denied
him
three
times
but
what
did
Jesus
do
he
restored
him
he
showed
grace
to
him
and
how
many
times
have
you
been
shown
grace
in
your
own
life
how
many
times
has
the
Lord
been
gracious
to
you
when
there
are
times
when
you
feel
so
close
to
the
Lord
so
you
get
all
the
understanding
and
the
next
minute
you're
falling
into
a
sin
again
and
the
Lord
is
gracious
because
we
don't
fully
understand
and
we
fall
and
stumble
along
the
way
and
yet
the
Lord
is
gracious
to
us
and
the
Lord
is
still
asking
us
these
searching
questions
that
we
might
come
and
understand
more
and
more
of
who
he
is
and
what
he
is
able
to
do
for
us
grace
as
the hymn
says
has brought
us
to a
certain
point
and
grace
will
see
us
home
because
grace
is
what
is
able
to
keep
us
we
don't
fully
understand
we
don't
fully
see
and
have
all
the
answers
but
by
faith
and
by
grace
we
go
on
Richard
Baxter
another
theologian
who wrote
many
books
he
tells
a
story
in
one
of
his
books
about
the
building
of
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge
in
San
Francisco
and
he
recounts
how
during
the
construction
of
that
bridge
the
construction
works
had
fallen
way
behind
schedule
and
the
problem
was
that
the
workers
were
so
afraid
because
a
number
of
workers
had
fallen
from a
great
height
and
fallen
to
their
death
and
so
it
was
leaving
people
afraid
the
work
was
slow
and
sometimes
at a
stop
and
people
were
trying
to
work
out
engineers
administrators
they were
all trying
to find
an answer
to this
until
the
solution
that they
came up
with
was to
hang
a net
under
the span
of the
whole
bridge
a net
that if
anyone
would fall
off
the net
would
catch
them
it
cost
a lot
and
they were
thinking
can we
afford
to do
this
but
they
went
ahead
and
they
did
it
and
what
they
found
was
that
the
work
progressed
so much
quicker
and ended
up ahead
of schedule
because
there was
the security
of knowing
that
underneath
was a
net
that would
catch
them
and
that's
a
reminder
to
ourselves
as well
of the
great price
that the
Lord
has
paid
for
us
we
don't
fully
understand
we
maybe
don't
have
all
the
answers
but
when
we're
asked
the
question
who
do
you
say
that
I
am
the
question
that
Jesus
asked
of
the
disciples
the
question
that
Jesus
asks
of
ourselves
today
who
do
you
say
that
I
am
how
do
you
respond
how
do
we
find
peace
with
God
faith
comes
by
hearing
and
hearing
through
the
word
of
God
and
the
more
that
we're
hearing
from
the
word
of
God
we
pray
that
the
more
the
Lord
will
be
opening
our
eyes
just
like
the
blind
man
in
stages
we
may
only
be
seeing
trees
men
like
trees
walking
as he
describes
seeing
blurry
but
oh
to have
our
eyes
opened
even
to
that
stage
is
progress
because
the
Lord
is
working
and
it's
not
to be
afraid
to
go
on
but
to
have
faith
to
go
forward
and
to
rejoice
that
over
time
he
is
able
to
help
us
to
see
and
to
see
clearly
that
we
would
rejoice
in
the
hope
of
the
glory
of
God
John
Calvin
he
said
faith
is
not
a
distant
view
but
a
warm
embrace
of
Christ
and
that's
what
we
want
not
just
a
vision
of
the
Lord
that
is
a
distant
view
when
we
feel
far
away
but
by
faith
receiving
a
warm
embrace
of
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
as
he
takes
us
by
the
hand
as
he
opens
our
eyes
to
follow
him
along
the
way
may
the
Lord
give
us
faith
and
open
our
eyes
to
see
him
clearly
let
us
pray
our
father
in
heaven
we
thank
you
for
your
word
and
we
pray
you
will
bless
it
to
us
that
we
will
have
understanding
Lord
more
and
more
that
we
will
have
our
eyes
opened
more
and
more
to
our
precious
saviour
and
to
fix
our
eyes
on
him
we
pray
Lord
that
you
will
help
us
in
our
understanding
help
us
even
in
our
lack
of
understanding
that
we
can
come
to
you
with
all
of
these
things
hear
our
prayers
Lord
and
continue
with
us
pardoning
sin
in
Jesus
name
Amen
we're
going to
conclude
by
singing
in
Psalm
57
in
the
Sing
Psalms
version
page
75
Psalm
57
page
75
we'll
sing
from
verse
9
down
to
the
end
of
the
psalm
the
tune
is
Dennis
among
the
nations
Lord
to
you
I
will
give
praise
among
the
peoples
of
the
earth
my
songs
of
you
I'll
raise
we'll
sing
these
three
stanzas
to
God's
praise
among
the
nations
Lord
to
you
I
will
give
praise
among
the
peoples
of
the
earth
my
songs
of
you
I'll
raise
great
is
your
steadfast
love
which
reaches
to
the
sky
your
constant
faithfulness
O
Lord
that
stands
to
heaven
high
above
the
highest
heavens
O
God
exalted
he
and
over
all
the
earth
below
display
your
majesty
after
the
benediction
I'll
go to
the
door
to
my
left
and
just
a
reminder
those
downstairs
can
use
the
two
exits
down
below
here
and
upstairs
use
the
exit
to
the
back
of
the
bottom
of
the
stairs
we'll
close
with
the
benediction
now
may
grace
mercy
and
peace
from
God
Father
Son
and
Holy
Spirit
rest
upon
and
abide
with
you
all
now
and
forever
more
Amen
Thank you