WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.620 So we have a multifaceted task in front of us. 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:08.380 How many of you know what my job is? 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:12.919 ! What is my job? 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:18.440 It's to faithfully preach the Word of God. 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.500 What is your job? 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:26.060 To pray and to listen intently. 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:29.500 You actually have more work to do than I do. 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:35.619 You know, it's like, I preach, you pray, you listen, you ask the Holy Spirit to help you 00:00:35.619 --> 00:00:37.480 apply the Word of God to your life. 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:50.939 Let me explain something, that the faithful preaching of the Word of God is part of God's 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.780 plan for the well-being of His people. 00:00:53.780 --> 00:01:06.700 And the faithful preaching of the Word of God should bring about progressive sanctification 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:08.859 in the life of believers. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:09.480 Isn't that right? 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:13.420 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18 says this, 00:01:13.420 --> 00:01:17.019 We beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are what? 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:19.320 Are being changed. 00:01:19.460 --> 00:01:21.000 And so, let's get this clear. 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:28.540 You should be different today than you were a year ago if you're a believer. 00:01:28.540 --> 00:01:38.719 And hopefully, by the work of the Word and the Spirit of God, you should be different later 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:41.340 today than you were this morning. 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:47.740 Now, don't you wish that the evidence was more profound and externally evident than it is? 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:48.520 It's a little more... 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:51.759 How many of you have looked at yourself in the mirror and said, 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:52.159 So? 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:53.199 What's going on? 00:01:53.479 --> 00:01:53.640 You know? 00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:59.099 Besides the fact that I have more gray hair and less of it, you know, it's like... 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:02.459 But, the Word of God brings change in the life of the believer. 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:03.000 Isn't that right? 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:10.780 That being said, turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 9. 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:13.900 And allow me to read. 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:21.080 And by the way, I do also want to say thank you to Pastor Saul for preaching in my absence last week. 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:23.300 We had a wonderful week of vacation. 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:25.060 Enjoyed it. 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:33.039 And then, when I got back in the office, was able to read his notes and be blessed by it. 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:40.199 John chapter 9, verse 7. 00:02:40.780 --> 00:02:43.520 And he said to him, 00:02:43.640 --> 00:02:46.120 Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:49.439 So he went and washed and came back seeing. 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:54.460 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.340 Is not this the man who used to sit and beg? 00:02:58.319 --> 00:02:59.699 Some said, It is he. 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:01.139 Others said, No. 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:02.439 But he is like him. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.560 He kept saying, I am the man. 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:08.699 I mean, can you imagine that, having to argue with people about who you really are? 00:03:09.060 --> 00:03:09.900 I'm the guy. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:10.599 I'm him. 00:03:10.780 --> 00:03:11.259 I'm it. 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:15.199 I like the drama in Scripture. 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:17.360 You know, it's kind of, I am the man. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:26.760 So they said to him, How were your eyes opened? 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:35.400 He answered, The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash. 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:37.780 So I went and washed and received my sight. 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:41.400 And they said to him, Where is he? 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:46.099 He said, I do not know. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:49.479 Let's pray. 00:03:49.479 --> 00:04:00.959 Our Father God, for us prayer is not something that is just a mere schedule event, 00:04:00.959 --> 00:04:06.179 but really is an unrelenting expression of our confidence in you. 00:04:06.180 --> 00:04:19.639 And in the blessing we have when we come with humility and dependence and confess our inability and call upon you to do a great thing in lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:34.259 And so we ask at the outset that the thing that might be clear is our Savior and His gracious work in the lives of people who have been broken and ruined by the fall. 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:41.639 And also in the lives of those who have been redeemed for the glory and testimony of Christ. 00:04:42.599 --> 00:04:44.219 We ask this because of Jesus. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:45.959 Amen. 00:04:48.079 --> 00:04:50.659 I want you to think with me about this passage. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:52.599 It's actually a fairly extended one. 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:54.759 It carries all the way through chapter 9. 00:04:54.759 --> 00:05:10.860 And as you have heard me, and I know Pastor Saul say, the characteristic of John is different than the other three Gospels in that there's very little actual history or narrative. 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:12.759 There are not that many stories. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.680 There are only seven miracles that are described. 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:32.319 And the thing that holds the book of John together is the one singular focus John has of making it clear to the listener that Jesus is the Christ so that you might believe. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.300 And in believing you might have everlasting life. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:43.920 And so when we pick up John chapter 9, we know ahead of time that John chapter 9 is going to be drilling down on that one point. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.500 Who is Jesus? 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:47.759 Who is Jesus? 00:05:48.640 --> 00:06:02.860 And as we look at this passage, we are going to see without question that Jesus is one who was and is supremely able to heal the needs of individuals, in this case a blind man. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:11.780 It's interesting to find that the man after his healing really didn't know exactly who Jesus was yet. 00:06:11.779 --> 00:06:23.259 And so we find a very interesting little picture here that while the glory of Christ is a thing that stands out and is clear as an overarching picture of this text, 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:29.819 we also find that this very unassuming, unnamed man has significance in the story. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:41.120 And I want you to understand that you who are here this morning, in particular, who know the Lord Jesus Christ, have a very similar role to play. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:46.579 And I've got to tell you that getting your head around that role and understanding it is supremely important. 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:54.359 So probably to help focus that a little bit, it's a practical question I suppose you should ask yourself. 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:57.539 So why do I exist and why do I draw breath? 00:06:58.719 --> 00:07:01.719 Why are you not here, but why are you here? 00:07:02.659 --> 00:07:06.180 What really does your life amount to? 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:13.900 And so understanding the question is pretty important at this juncture in looking at the passage. 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:15.199 You could put it another way. 00:07:15.280 --> 00:07:20.400 You could say this, do you exist for yourself or do you exist for Him? 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:24.100 I want you to pencil that down so it's stuck in your minds. 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.980 Do you exist for yourself or do you exist for Him? 00:07:29.579 --> 00:07:33.420 I've got to tell you, that is fundamental to every one of our lives. 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:35.800 And I want you to listen and look at me just for a minute. 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:43.879 You can figure out whether or not you are living for yourself or you're living for Him. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:45.060 How can you tell that? 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:50.220 Well, for one, all you have to do is listen to your own conversations. 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:56.620 If you're the center of the story or if you're whining about yourself, how many of you understand what I mean by whining? 00:07:56.759 --> 00:07:59.800 Have you ever been around people that whine a lot about how bad things are? 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:01.540 Do you know who they're whining for? 00:08:02.540 --> 00:08:02.939 Hello? 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:08.000 They're not whining about people suffering in Africa. 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:09.540 They're talking about what? 00:08:10.699 --> 00:08:11.580 I'm suffering. 00:08:11.780 --> 00:08:12.560 I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, you know. 00:08:13.640 --> 00:08:16.939 Are you here for yourself or are you here for Him? 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:19.439 And it's a fair question to ask at the very beginning. 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:24.200 And as we're looking at this passage this morning, I want you to fix in your mind 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:33.159 that this blind man is an illustration of an individual who understood eventually, and the text makes it very clear, 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.080 that his life and his existence was all about the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:38.960 Look at verse 3. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:41.600 John chapter 9, verse 3. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:42.700 The last part, it says, 00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:46.340 that the works of God might be displayed in him. 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:47.660 Why do I draw breath? 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:51.639 So that the works of God might be displayed in me. 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:55.879 And so John 9, as we look at this passage of Scripture, 00:08:56.379 --> 00:09:03.039 we're going to kind of get into the text and understand that this man was used by God 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.819 to emphasize and amplify the person and the work of Christ. 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:17.199 And at the center of the thread of this story is this unrelenting focus on the Lord Jesus Christ 00:09:17.199 --> 00:09:22.599 as the key and most important person in the text. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.039 So let me come back again and have this fixed in your mind. 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:29.439 Do you live for yourself or do you live for Christ? 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:33.420 Do you live for self or do you live for Christ? 00:09:33.640 --> 00:09:37.060 When it's all over, when it's finished, 00:09:37.680 --> 00:09:40.740 when you are in the last three days of your life, 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:46.160 will you want to be able to say to those who are gathered around your bedside, 00:09:46.580 --> 00:09:52.880 hey, I got to tell you, I live my life and my favorite memories in these last moments 00:09:52.880 --> 00:09:55.700 are my fishing experiences. 00:09:56.580 --> 00:09:57.900 I did that last week. 00:09:57.899 --> 00:09:59.819 Or my golf experience. 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:00.899 I would never say that. 00:10:00.980 --> 00:10:01.480 But you know what I mean? 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:04.620 It's like, what are you going to talk about? 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:10.259 Is it going to be the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:12.959 or is it going to be any other thing? 00:10:14.199 --> 00:10:17.639 And as we think about this man who was born blind, 00:10:17.779 --> 00:10:23.039 I want you to understand that while he takes up the predominant portion of the text 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:27.539 in chapter 9, the focus really is on the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:10:28.199 --> 00:10:32.360 So let's look at this passage as it plays out for us, beginning there in verse 13. 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:34.279 And mark what it says there. 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:35.839 They brought him to the Pharisees. 00:10:35.839 --> 00:10:40.299 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been born blind. 00:10:40.299 --> 00:10:47.779 You see, after the healing, we find that Jesus actually had slipped away. 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:54.120 He hadn't stayed around to have everybody kind of give him high fives and congratulations. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.979 And he was not all about kind of, hey, listen, if you want to buy one of my CDs, 00:10:59.219 --> 00:11:00.819 there's a table over there. 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:05.159 And, you know, $14.99, I could also do a little healing for you 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:06.879 if you'd put something in the offering plate for me. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:07.659 You know, that kind of thing. 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:11.939 Jesus kind of fades out of the scene, and the man becomes the focal point of tension. 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:14.700 And people are asking him, so what happened? 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:15.559 Are you the guy? 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:16.120 Yeah, I am. 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.159 I really, I was born blind. 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:22.639 Now, the healing was spectacular in and of itself. 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:24.519 Born blind, healed. 00:11:26.220 --> 00:11:29.340 But the thing that actually made this a little more dramatic was, 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:31.480 guess what day Jesus chose to heal on? 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:39.800 I've kind of chuckled to myself on more than one occasion as I've been reading through the Gospels 00:11:39.800 --> 00:11:44.420 to recognize that Jesus over and over again kept on doing dramatic miracles 00:11:44.420 --> 00:11:47.360 on the least appropriate day in the week. 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:56.220 I mean, the Pharisees, they were really irritated that Jesus healed at all. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:12:02.399 They wished that everyone that Jesus ever healed had immediately fallen back into some kind of cataclysmic disease. 00:12:02.560 --> 00:12:04.779 But, no, He healed them, and they were really healed. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:11.120 But to top it all off, He kept on healing on their favorite day, Sabbath. 00:12:11.940 --> 00:12:17.820 And so here was this kind of conflict, the undeniable fact that Jesus had healed, 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:26.200 that couldn't be refuted, and the undeniable fact that He had healed on the Sabbath. 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:27.080 You get it? 00:12:27.160 --> 00:12:27.720 It's like, uh. 00:12:29.300 --> 00:12:37.920 And so, it's fair to imagine that this reality was confusing to the people. 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:43.000 They had heard that the Sabbath was something that was to be venerated and revered, 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:48.200 and you were to do no work, and in order to help the average generic lowlife 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:52.759 who really didn't get the Pharisaical attitude about how to keep the Sabbath, 00:12:53.259 --> 00:12:59.659 the Pharisees had put together an absolutely extensive list of rules about how to keep the Sabbath. 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:09.460 You remember, if you read in Luke, that after Jesus had died and rose again, 00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:12.759 and the disciples didn't know it, they were taking a Sabbath day's journey. 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:17.019 You were allowed to go so many steps, and after that, it's like, that's it. 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:22.939 One of the other little rules in relationship to the Sabbath was that you could walk around 00:13:22.939 --> 00:13:25.399 within the confines of your home. 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:33.860 And so, one of the things that creative Jews did was they built homes that had walls that kind of were, 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:37.299 I mean, they encompassed more than the normal, you know what I mean? 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:41.080 And the reason is, is that you were free within your home. 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:45.300 How many of you know that we can be inventive with rules to make them work for us, right? 00:13:45.900 --> 00:13:52.200 I mean, we all know that the speed limit really has a, well, 15 or 20 mile, it depends on where you are, right? 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:55.280 Sorry, John. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:57.280 Yeah. 00:13:59.180 --> 00:14:01.220 Particularly with Beth sitting right by you, right? 00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:05.600 Okay, stop while you're ahead. 00:14:09.300 --> 00:14:12.259 See, the Pharisees had it all figured out. 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:14.620 Set of rules. 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:22.240 And in their economy of making it just all right and doing things just the way to kind of earn your own way into heaven, 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:28.200 here was Jesus who just right up stuck his finger in their eye and healed on the Sabbath. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:34.740 And they had to drag the poor healed guy into the presence of the Pharisees to say, 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:37.639 Okay, help us here. 00:14:38.680 --> 00:14:42.139 Real healing and really on the Sabbath. 00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:53.799 The fact of the matter is, is that by healing on the Sabbath, D.A. Carson comments on the fact that Jesus broke four Sabbath rules. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:55.220 Now, are these rules in the Bible? 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:57.480 No, but they are rules in the Targums. 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.279 And that's just kind of the, well, how should we take the Bible? 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.399 Well, he had plowed. 00:15:04.939 --> 00:15:08.779 Don't ask me how that's the case, but D.A. Carson says that he had plowed. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:14.240 He had spit, made the dust, and, you know, kind of, you know, circled the dust together. 00:15:14.699 --> 00:15:19.379 And I actually was debating spitting on the ground and trying to make a little pile of mud, 00:15:19.459 --> 00:15:21.360 and I decided I didn't need to know that. 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:25.220 But then he had kneaded. 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:29.120 Got that mud in his hand and kind of kneaded it around. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.159 And that was rule number two that he had broken. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.620 And, you know, number three, he had anointed. 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:40.259 And, you know, stuck it on his eye. 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:42.779 And number four, this is a really biggie. 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:51.460 He had performed a non-life-sustaining miracle on a day that was prohibited. 00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:55.820 You could do CPR on Saturday. 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:59.600 But you couldn't go to the doctor. 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:03.940 I'm sorry, Mattia, there was no Saturday visits to urgent care. 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:05.120 You're suffering? 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:05.960 Tough it out. 00:16:06.300 --> 00:16:07.180 Wait till Sunday. 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:10.899 And so Jesus had broken four of the rules. 00:16:12.139 --> 00:16:15.899 I mean, he was deep into the problem of messing with the Sabbath. 00:16:16.319 --> 00:16:23.339 And so they brought this man, and the underlying question was this. 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:30.399 Had Jesus done this miracle, and was he doing it through God's power? 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:34.660 That was the question that was really at this verse 13. 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:38.800 They dragged this guy up to the Pharisees, and they want to figure out the deal. 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:39.480 Okay? 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:44.580 So I kind of like the logical way this hearing plays out. 00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:46.379 You can kind of get the court scene. 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:47.440 How many of you have ever been in a court? 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.500 Don't tell me they're out of necessity, but you've observed it, right? 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:55.800 And so here is the court scene, and you have the Pharisees kind of sitting there real serious, 00:16:55.800 --> 00:16:57.080 being the observers. 00:16:58.920 --> 00:17:06.220 And here's this poor guy, and they brought him to the Pharisees on the Sabbath day. 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:10.680 And the Pharisees again, verse 15, asked him how he had received his sight. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.220 And he said to them, He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see. 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:20.860 This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.680 And the conversation goes back and forth, and you can kind of hear this a little bit. 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:33.799 There's the fact of, well, you've got to keep the Sabbath holy and don't do any kind of work on that day. 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:40.659 And that issue of keeping the Sabbath holy is a matter of having a regard and respect for the person of God 00:17:40.659 --> 00:17:42.139 and the law of God. 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:46.079 And yet, here was a guy who'd been healed. 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:50.500 And the healing was undeniable. 00:17:52.359 --> 00:18:00.180 And so the struggle that was going on is that the Pharisees and those who were kind of thinking along those lines 00:18:00.180 --> 00:18:05.620 were inclined to believe that he had not been healed by God. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.400 Now, what's the problem with coming to the conclusion that he had not been healed by God? 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:12.380 What's the problem with that? 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.759 Who else heals besides God? 00:18:14.820 --> 00:18:15.279 Anybody know? 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:18.700 Are there any other options besides God? 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.860 And the answer is, no. 00:18:23.340 --> 00:18:24.320 No, no, no, no, no, no. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.839 Now, remember the guy who was let down through the roof? 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.079 And that also really irritated the Pharisees. 00:18:32.399 --> 00:18:37.000 And instead of doing the healing first, what did Jesus do for that guy? 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.639 He said, hey, Bubba, I'm going to forgive your sins. 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:48.099 And there are the Pharisees, when Jesus forgave that poor, you know, lame guy of his sins, 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:49.019 what did they think? 00:18:49.159 --> 00:18:49.539 Do you remember? 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:49.639 Remember? 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:52.539 Who can forgive sins? 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:54.259 Only God. 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:55.220 Good answer. 00:18:55.899 --> 00:19:01.919 And Jesus said, well, hey, just to show you who I am, why don't you get up and walk out of here? 00:19:03.899 --> 00:19:08.579 And Jesus demonstrated his divine power not only to forgive sins but also to heal. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.240 And so here's the problem we find in this text. 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:18.539 The man born blind had been healed and without question, everybody in that context. 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:22.299 And we would also believe that sinners don't do healing events. 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:33.019 I do want you to remember that as this thing plays out, this man became the principal witness 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.159 to this event and the question. 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:37.000 And we kind of follow along. 00:19:37.399 --> 00:19:40.740 And eventually in verse 17, it says, okay, they come back to the blind man. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.240 They heard this business going back and forth, arguing among themselves, etc. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.620 And so they decide they're going to ask him a question again. 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:51.420 Verse 16, they say, how can a man who is a sinner do such sign? 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:52.460 They don't have it figured out. 00:19:52.500 --> 00:20:00.000 In verse 17, so they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.099 opened your eyes? 00:20:01.099 --> 00:20:01.719 It's a fact. 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:02.839 We get it. 00:20:03.899 --> 00:20:05.000 He did do this. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:09.480 But tell me what you think about him. 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:18.759 For us, the word prophet in our contemporary culture does not tend to carry the weight that 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:22.799 it did in the Old Testament time and in the New Testament time. 00:20:23.139 --> 00:20:27.559 And one of the reasons for that is that all you have to do is turn on the TV and listen to 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.220 one guy after another tell you that they're prophets. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:33.460 I mean, everybody's out there prophesying. 00:20:33.639 --> 00:20:38.859 And all kinds of harebrained ideas get floated out there on TV about, well, I'm a prophet and 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:40.799 I'm going to tell you this and I'm going to tell you that. 00:20:41.179 --> 00:20:43.339 And there's a lot of prophecy going on. 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:49.500 But in that day, when you said you were a prophet and you stepped out on a limb and said, 00:20:49.679 --> 00:20:53.500 here's what God is going to do, how many of you know what the Old Testament said should 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:56.460 happen to a prophet who made a prophecy and it didn't come true? 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:02.899 You picked up big stones and you killed him. 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:08.740 That had a tendency to kind of tamp down false prophecy, right? 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:15.259 And so here they asked this guy, okay, okay, we hear what happened, but tell us what you 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:16.240 think about that guy. 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:17.259 And look at verse 17. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:20.980 He is a prophet. 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:29.240 The man landed squarely on the side of calling Jesus a prophet. 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:36.940 And I want you to understand that a prophet in that setting and understanding was someone 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:43.380 who should be listened to because he was a messenger of the Lord of hosts and what he 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:45.180 had to say was significant. 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:50.120 And so here was the man who was born blind saying, Jesus is someone you ought to be listening 00:21:50.120 --> 00:21:50.440 to. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.060 I want you to understand something else. 00:21:54.140 --> 00:21:59.259 Over and over again, as we work our way through the Gospels and we see the miracles that Jesus 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:07.120 did, we understand that the miracles were undeniable proof of the deity and mission of Christ. 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:13.919 When you see the miracles, you understand these are things that validate or authenticate, make 00:22:13.919 --> 00:22:15.879 it clear that Jesus was the Christ. 00:22:16.199 --> 00:22:19.899 And a miracle was the proof that Jesus was from God. 00:22:20.979 --> 00:22:26.979 Now, I want you to mark then in the verses 18 through 23 what plays out here is an ongoing 00:22:26.979 --> 00:22:32.419 effort of the Pharisees of trying to discredit the testimony of the man who once had been 00:22:32.419 --> 00:22:32.859 blind. 00:22:32.859 --> 00:22:37.939 There in verse 18, the Jews did not believe that he'd been born blind and had received 00:22:37.939 --> 00:22:41.179 a sight until they called the parents of the man who'd received a sight. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:42.279 And you get the picture here? 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:43.339 Okay, okay. 00:22:43.719 --> 00:22:45.839 By the way, if you don't like the evidence, what do you do? 00:22:47.459 --> 00:22:47.859 Hello? 00:22:48.139 --> 00:22:50.299 You go try to find some others that discredit that. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:51.099 And that's what they did. 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:55.159 Okay, this guy says he was blind, but let's hear it from mom and dad. 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:58.879 They bring mom and dad in and it doesn't go well. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:03.500 How many of you have thought you've had the solution to a problem and then wish you hadn't 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:04.580 gone the path you did? 00:23:05.460 --> 00:23:08.080 I can see that playing out in the Pharisees' minds. 00:23:08.580 --> 00:23:11.700 They call the parents in and they hope this thing's going to kind of all fall apart. 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:15.780 And instead of having it fall apart, it just falls right back on them. 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:20.800 The parents, yes, he's our son. 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:23.020 And I like that reading, didn't you, this morning? 00:23:23.120 --> 00:23:26.900 The way I pressed that passage together and you could see it pretty clearly. 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:28.540 Yes, he's our son. 00:23:28.800 --> 00:23:30.280 He was born blind. 00:23:31.620 --> 00:23:33.280 Now they did that artful dodge. 00:23:33.540 --> 00:23:34.480 Why don't you talk to him? 00:23:34.540 --> 00:23:35.440 He's 40 years old. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:36.540 He's an adult. 00:23:36.800 --> 00:23:37.900 He can speak for himself. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:39.900 And it's interesting. 00:23:40.300 --> 00:23:46.240 They understood the attitude of the Pharisees towards Jesus and they knew that at the heart 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:51.100 of why they had been called was to discredit Christ and they didn't want to get into that. 00:23:51.099 --> 00:23:58.079 And so what we come now, playing on from verse 24, is a summary judgment. 00:23:59.179 --> 00:24:02.719 Now, just to start with, how many of you know what a summary judgment is? 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:05.359 Wave at me if you know what a summary judgment is. 00:24:05.459 --> 00:24:05.939 Wave at me. 00:24:06.740 --> 00:24:07.899 Carol, thank you for helping me. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.959 Does anybody else here know what a summary judgment is? 00:24:10.379 --> 00:24:15.879 In simple terms, and Carol, you can amend this, a summary judgment is when the evidence 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.300 is so convincing that it really needs to be no argument. 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:19.300 You got that? 00:24:20.520 --> 00:24:21.880 Ugh, gravity's here. 00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:25.420 Summary judgment. 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:26.460 You got it? 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:31.320 It's so clear you can't undo the logic. 00:24:31.840 --> 00:24:32.080 Right? 00:24:32.580 --> 00:24:33.240 Got to walk up. 00:24:34.600 --> 00:24:36.180 It's one of the problems with jumping down. 00:24:36.260 --> 00:24:37.060 You have to get back up. 00:24:37.059 --> 00:24:42.980 So, you have this play out in verse 24. 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:47.579 For the second time, they called the man who had been born blind and they said to him, 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:50.299 now this is subtle. 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:55.059 Give glory to God. 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:57.179 How many of you wouldn't do that? 00:24:57.940 --> 00:24:58.839 Give glory to God. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:24:59.700 I'm with that one. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:00.599 I can do that. 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:06.299 And then, immediately after the point A, they tag what? 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:07.819 Point B. 00:25:07.879 --> 00:25:08.799 And what is point B? 00:25:09.719 --> 00:25:10.719 Look at it carefully. 00:25:11.679 --> 00:25:13.859 We know that this man is a sinner. 00:25:16.139 --> 00:25:22.439 Years ago, I sold books for a summer. 00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:26.039 And I was trained to be a salesman. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:32.819 And one of the things I know about being a salesman is that in order to bring people to 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:39.480 the point of saying yes to your sale, it helps them, first of all, to think you're a nice 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:39.980 guy. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:46.240 But secondly, it helps to lead them in a path of saying yes to a lot of other things. 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:48.859 Isn't this a wonderful day? 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:49.359 Yes. 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:53.000 Aren't you glad that we have the time to sit down? 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:58.059 You ask a series of questions to which the answer is intuitively obvious, and you kind 00:25:58.059 --> 00:25:59.059 of lay the groundwork. 00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:00.400 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:01.220 Would you sign here? 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:01.519 Yes. 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:08.819 That's the logic that the Pharisees had going. 00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:09.720 Do you understand that? 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:11.900 I want you to see that. 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:14.779 Give glory to God. 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:15.420 Oh, yeah. 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:16.400 I'll undo that. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:17.819 And this guy's a sinner. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:21.000 Now, this guy was sharp. 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:22.799 We don't have his name. 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:27.460 And I'm not even sure when we get to heaven, there'll all be a bunch of us scampering around 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:30.279 wanting to find where the blind man was to, you know, what it was like. 00:26:30.380 --> 00:26:33.059 You know, we're going to be so overwhelmed with the presence of Christ that we're going 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:34.180 to be satisfied with that. 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:36.319 But here we have the story. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.140 The guy is on the spot. 00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:41.279 Yeah, sure, I can give glory to God. 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:44.079 But now you're asking me to call him a sinner. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:47.460 I like what follows. 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:51.179 He answered, whether he's a sinner, I do not know. 00:26:52.179 --> 00:26:53.159 I do not know. 00:26:55.099 --> 00:27:01.500 But one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:11.200 I want you to stop and think with me just for a moment about how powerful that is as an 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:17.440 illustration of what our lives as believers are to be like. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:27.019 Let me go back, because I want this to be hammered home. 00:27:29.220 --> 00:27:33.240 At the very beginning of chapter 9, we have this little discourse. 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:36.500 So, why was this man born blind? 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:37.620 What's the answer? 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.019 At the end of the story, the real issue is this. 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:46.960 This man was to be a display of the glory and power of God. 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:47.519 Amen? 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:57.299 My life, your life, is to be for the glory of God. 00:27:57.299 --> 00:28:06.319 People looking at me, looking at you, should see something that is profoundly different 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:14.519 and cannot be attributed to a better education or a better background or better upbringing. 00:28:14.919 --> 00:28:15.680 You know what I'm saying? 00:28:16.139 --> 00:28:18.240 How did you end up like you are? 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:27.099 Well, there was a man who came by, and he touched my heart, and I'm not the same. 00:28:27.299 --> 00:28:48.899 I am bothered by how much unchristian behavior flies across the screen today that at every point 00:28:48.899 --> 00:28:52.539 diminishes the supremacy and significance of Christ. 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:58.240 professing believers who act just like absolute jerks, 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:04.859 and then think they can stand up and whip a gospel verse on top of that 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:07.839 and kind of remedy the mess they've made. 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:10.259 Listen, guys. 00:29:11.879 --> 00:29:14.279 You exist for the glory of Christ, 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:23.819 and the one who should get credit and people should be curious about is who has done what's happened in your life. 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:26.180 I want you to think about that. 00:29:27.940 --> 00:29:31.440 So we look here at this summary judgment. 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:32.539 Remember the gravity issue? 00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:34.500 And here's the guy who says, 00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:38.319 Hey, I don't know all the fancy issues here, but I was blind, and now I see. 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:44.559 Now, in verse 31 through 33, we find the argument really come to a head. 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:52.759 Remember, they ask him again, and this blind guy, ex-blind guy, really has a little bit of edge with the Pharisees. 00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:57.279 I kind of get the idea that he really didn't like them because, you know, they come back, 00:29:57.339 --> 00:29:59.720 and they want to give him another opportunity to recant. 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:01.799 Okay, we're going to ask you one more time. 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.599 You know what the right answer is, don't you? 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.940 We're going to ask you one more time. 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:06.059 Go ahead and say the right things. 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:08.500 Hey, do you guys want to be his disciple? 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:10.160 Is that why you want me to tell you the story again? 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:12.720 Got him. 00:30:13.980 --> 00:30:15.599 So anyway, let's look at verse 31. 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.980 Now, here's the guy. 00:30:18.439 --> 00:30:23.500 This is a poor lowlife who doesn't have an advanced degree in Old Testament theology. 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:26.839 Verse 30, 00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:28.799 This is an amazing thing. 00:30:29.139 --> 00:30:33.539 You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 00:30:35.439 --> 00:30:39.819 We know, everybody here agrees, he was saying, 00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:42.539 God does not listen to sinners. 00:30:42.539 --> 00:30:47.519 But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 00:30:47.659 --> 00:30:52.399 That was universally agreed in the presence of all those who were listening that morning, 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:54.139 afternoon, whenever it was. 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:57.940 The Pharisees, all the Jews would have said, yes, yes, that's true. 00:30:58.019 --> 00:31:00.519 We agree 100% with that. 00:31:01.180 --> 00:31:02.779 Then look at the next part of his argument. 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:10.420 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:17.279 There wasn't anybody in the crowd who said, hold it, I know of a guy over in Sychar that, yeah, he had his eyes open. 00:31:17.340 --> 00:31:17.740 You remember that guy? 00:31:17.779 --> 00:31:18.039 No. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:21.240 And there was a guy, no, nobody knew of anybody, and they're all sitting there. 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:22.320 That's true, that's true. 00:31:23.120 --> 00:31:24.120 Now, here we get the singer. 00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:30.580 If this man were not from God, what, what? 00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:32.779 He could do nothing. 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:43.639 How many of you know that sometimes you win arguments by the questions you ask, not by just louder voice? 00:31:44.700 --> 00:31:45.680 That's what happens here. 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:48.299 This guy is arguing with the Pharisees. 00:31:48.399 --> 00:31:51.220 I mean, this is the cream of the intellectual crop. 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:53.819 These were the spiritual giants of Israel. 00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:57.439 And he kind of relies on this gentle argument. 00:31:57.579 --> 00:31:58.519 He says, hey, you know what? 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:01.139 God doesn't listen to sinners. 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:03.139 Remember they said, this man's a sinner, right? 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:03.980 Hmm. 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:07.019 My eyes, I can see. 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:08.559 God doesn't listen to a sinner. 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:11.619 Do you know anybody else that's had their eyes open? 00:32:11.679 --> 00:32:11.899 No. 00:32:12.179 --> 00:32:19.839 And then verse 33, if this man were not from God, he could do, boom, nothing. 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:19.980 Nothing. 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:27.659 I want you to apply this in practical terms to your own life. 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:30.919 Why is the account here? 00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:41.279 I appreciate the statement that the preaching of the Word of God is designed to put us on the spot of saying yes or no to God. 00:32:41.399 --> 00:32:42.799 And there should be some application. 00:32:42.980 --> 00:32:48.419 When you walk away from listening to the teaching of the Word of God, there should be a part of it that sticks in your mind. 00:32:48.419 --> 00:32:51.740 And you say, that's what God wants me to do, right? 00:32:51.740 --> 00:33:02.200 And so, for one thing, as you look at this passage, this text shows us that Jesus is God's Son. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:07.140 And He came here to heal us and to save us and deliver us from the curse of sin. 00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:23.800 And if you are here this morning as a person who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to tell you without question, without hesitation, that there is no remedy for your present condition and for your eternal destiny apart from faith in the Lord Jesus. 00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:26.000 You cannot save yourself. 00:33:26.340 --> 00:33:27.759 Only Jesus can save you. 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.680 That's one of the reasons I love talking about Jesus. 00:33:30.680 --> 00:33:33.539 I'm not the hero in my story. 00:33:34.900 --> 00:33:36.720 Messy, ugly, unhappy life. 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:43.080 And the Lord Jesus Christ got a hold of me and did something for me that I could never do for myself. 00:33:43.360 --> 00:33:48.660 And I will spend the remainder of my life until I stop drawing breath saying, that's the one. 00:33:48.660 --> 00:34:02.860 I want you to understand also that as you look at this passage, there is an application to us who were blind at one time. 00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:09.400 You know, when you tell your story, it's appropriate to say, I was blind and now I see. 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:09.980 Isn't that right? 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:15.940 By the way, that is a characteristic of a personal testimony. 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:21.720 I'm teaching a new members class and I do that on a regular basis. 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:29.320 And one of the things that goes with being a member here in Maranatha is that a person has to come down front here and say, I want to be a member. 00:34:29.460 --> 00:34:32.059 And then later, all of us get to hear their testimony. 00:34:32.220 --> 00:34:34.320 And people say, what should my testimony be like? 00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:36.059 Don't make it complex. 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:38.340 Keep it real simple. 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:40.380 I was blind. 00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:41.920 Now I see. 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:50.980 There was a day in my life where I was absolutely buried in the hopelessness of my sin and I had no opportunity. 00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:53.200 Nothing could change me. 00:34:54.820 --> 00:34:59.360 And yet Christ came into my life and saved me, took away my sins and given me new life. 00:35:00.539 --> 00:35:04.519 I like the passage in 2 Corinthians where it says, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is what? 00:35:06.059 --> 00:35:07.039 Say it with me again. 00:35:07.559 --> 00:35:08.920 A new creation. 00:35:09.740 --> 00:35:10.159 Look at me. 00:35:10.159 --> 00:35:13.819 If you're saved, you better be different than you were. 00:35:14.739 --> 00:35:18.079 Now, I wish I were more different than I am. 00:35:18.879 --> 00:35:25.599 But I am thankful that he is at work and I can look in the rearview mirror and say, I'm not who I used to be and I'm not who I will be. 00:35:25.799 --> 00:35:27.719 I am who I am by the grace of God. 00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:30.339 And so hammer this in your life. 00:35:30.599 --> 00:35:34.359 Genuine salvation means significant change. 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:39.619 Genuine salvation means significant change. 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:48.619 I've got to tell you, I think in the next 20 years there is going to be a significant winnowing of professing believers in America. 00:35:48.619 --> 00:35:55.639 I don't mean that like a Gene Dixon type of prophet. 00:35:55.739 --> 00:36:00.699 I'm just telling you, I think our culture is headed for a spiritual meltdown. 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:02.299 Now, news to you. 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.059 Listen to me. 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:08.159 When the lights get turned off, real candles shine pretty bright. 00:36:08.259 --> 00:36:09.199 How many of you understand that? 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:11.699 And let me tell you something. 00:36:11.960 --> 00:36:15.359 The only one who really counts in that darkness is Jesus. 00:36:20.219 --> 00:36:22.119 Washington is never going to save our country. 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:36.679 It's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ who gets a hold of broken, blind, dead fools and redeems them for the glory of Christ and then goes about the business of making them different than they used to be. 00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:38.579 And it's a fair thing to say. 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:43.639 Genuine salvation means significant change. 00:36:44.599 --> 00:36:45.879 So a sidebar is this. 00:36:46.139 --> 00:36:54.599 If you're sitting there and saying, well, yes, I'm saved, but you can't see any evidence of the transforming power of the gospel, let me appeal to you. 00:36:54.819 --> 00:36:56.619 You go back and check your birth certificate. 00:36:56.619 --> 00:37:09.519 Finally, I look at this passage and I'm reminded that every believer has the same mission and call as the man born blind. 00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:11.420 Do you understand that? 00:37:12.859 --> 00:37:18.239 Every believer has the same mission and call as the man born blind. 00:37:19.779 --> 00:37:22.059 I love that verse 3. 00:37:23.019 --> 00:37:25.819 In fact, just think with me back to that passage. 00:37:25.820 --> 00:37:26.880 Here's what it says. 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:36.820 That man was, as the story plays out, it says this, that the works of God might be displayed in him. 00:37:37.720 --> 00:37:38.600 Why are you living? 00:37:40.240 --> 00:37:41.900 Why are you working where you are? 00:37:43.660 --> 00:37:45.380 Why are you retired? 00:37:47.460 --> 00:37:53.760 Oh, well, I can sit back and spend the remainder of my life drifting around the country in my RV 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:56.680 and not paying any attention to anybody else, just me. 00:37:58.900 --> 00:38:00.660 This sidebar, just give me a second. 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:05.480 It just irritates me when I see bumper stickers saying, I'm spending my children's inheritance. 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:07.020 Do you follow that? 00:38:07.420 --> 00:38:09.900 There's a Bible passage in the book of Proverbs that says, 00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:12.360 A righteous man lays up an inheritance for his children. 00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:13.240 Do you understand that point? 00:38:13.239 --> 00:38:16.319 That Bible verse doesn't fit on that bumper sticker. 00:38:18.299 --> 00:38:19.959 But why are you who you are? 00:38:21.859 --> 00:38:24.000 For the same reason the man was born blind, 00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:29.119 so that the works of God can be displayed. 00:38:29.119 --> 00:38:33.619 You ought to walk out of here this morning saying this, 00:38:33.799 --> 00:38:36.799 Man, that's why I'm who I am. 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:39.579 That's what this is all about. 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:44.099 I live and draw my breath for one reason, 00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:48.039 that the works of God can be displayed in me. 00:38:49.219 --> 00:38:52.000 Now, don't be patting yourself on the back and thinking, 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:54.420 Yeah, I'm up to that. 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:57.000 What it ought to do is you're just overwhelmed and say, 00:38:57.240 --> 00:38:58.300 I can't do that. 00:38:59.659 --> 00:39:00.659 No, you can't. 00:39:02.700 --> 00:39:03.639 No, you can't. 00:39:04.820 --> 00:39:09.380 But when we, in humility, call out and say, 00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:10.980 God, I know what you put me here for, 00:39:11.260 --> 00:39:12.920 and I know I'm not up to it, 00:39:13.180 --> 00:39:15.720 we may rely upon the power of the Spirit of God 00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:17.159 and the work of the Word of God 00:39:17.159 --> 00:39:23.099 and the family of God to help us be more than we would by nature. 00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:29.820 I love telling people, I do, 00:39:31.260 --> 00:39:34.420 that I know the one person who can change their life. 00:39:35.400 --> 00:39:36.300 It's Jesus. 00:39:38.280 --> 00:39:41.500 I love telling believers who are caught, 00:39:41.860 --> 00:39:43.059 and believers do get caught. 00:39:44.220 --> 00:39:47.880 I love telling believers who are caught in self-focus 00:39:47.880 --> 00:39:50.700 that they don't have to stay where they are. 00:39:50.699 --> 00:39:54.899 I love telling them that the only person 00:39:54.899 --> 00:39:57.059 who can make any difference in their life 00:39:57.059 --> 00:39:59.059 is the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:40:05.159 --> 00:40:05.759 So, 00:40:06.779 --> 00:40:09.039 the purpose of preaching 00:40:09.039 --> 00:40:11.879 is to put you on the spot 00:40:11.879 --> 00:40:14.299 of saying yes 00:40:14.299 --> 00:40:15.739 or no 00:40:15.739 --> 00:40:17.139 to God. 00:40:17.139 --> 00:40:20.539 let's pray. 00:40:26.219 --> 00:40:27.199 Father God, 00:40:28.199 --> 00:40:30.159 this morning, 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:33.379 we stand in awe 00:40:33.379 --> 00:40:34.679 and humility 00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:37.319 as we recognize 00:40:37.319 --> 00:40:38.699 that you who are the Lord 00:40:38.699 --> 00:40:41.199 and creator of all 00:40:41.199 --> 00:40:41.980 life 00:40:41.980 --> 00:40:45.179 have given to us 00:40:45.179 --> 00:40:46.860 a noble and a holy purpose 00:40:46.860 --> 00:40:48.199 that is far 00:40:48.199 --> 00:40:49.559 surpassing. 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:53.280 You have called us 00:40:53.280 --> 00:40:54.679 to be your witnesses, 00:40:54.940 --> 00:40:55.579 to be your 00:40:55.579 --> 00:40:57.260 living examples 00:40:57.260 --> 00:40:58.119 of your glory 00:40:58.119 --> 00:40:58.920 and your power. 00:40:59.519 --> 00:40:59.980 And Father, 00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:01.659 we ask that your Spirit 00:41:01.659 --> 00:41:02.960 would give to us 00:41:02.960 --> 00:41:03.980 a heart 00:41:03.980 --> 00:41:04.760 and an ambition 00:41:04.760 --> 00:41:06.099 that desires 00:41:06.099 --> 00:41:07.460 nothing more 00:41:07.460 --> 00:41:10.079 than your glory. 00:41:12.679 --> 00:41:13.280 I pray, 00:41:13.539 --> 00:41:13.599 Father, 00:41:13.679 --> 00:41:14.220 this morning 00:41:14.220 --> 00:41:15.240 for those who are here 00:41:15.240 --> 00:41:16.400 that do not know Christ 00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:17.519 that the preaching 00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:18.500 of the Word of God 00:41:18.500 --> 00:41:20.420 coupled with the ministry 00:41:20.420 --> 00:41:21.380 of the Spirit of God 00:41:21.380 --> 00:41:22.019 would bring them 00:41:22.019 --> 00:41:22.740 to the cross 00:41:22.740 --> 00:41:23.619 into recognizing 00:41:23.619 --> 00:41:25.039 that the sin 00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:26.179 and bondage 00:41:26.179 --> 00:41:26.780 of their life 00:41:26.780 --> 00:41:27.460 has no remedy 00:41:27.460 --> 00:41:28.199 but Jesus, 00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:29.960 repentance 00:41:29.960 --> 00:41:31.400 and brokenness. 00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:33.380 I pray for those 00:41:33.380 --> 00:41:34.079 who are here today 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:34.780 that are believers 00:41:34.780 --> 00:41:35.539 whose lives 00:41:35.539 --> 00:41:37.300 are marked 00:41:37.300 --> 00:41:38.500 by great struggle 00:41:38.500 --> 00:41:40.240 with unconfessed sin 00:41:40.240 --> 00:41:40.800 and issues 00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:42.559 that still have them 00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:43.760 enslaved to a point 00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:44.800 that this morning 00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:46.180 they would come to you 00:41:46.180 --> 00:41:46.820 in humility 00:41:46.820 --> 00:41:47.300 and say, 00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:48.820 I desperately need your help 00:41:48.820 --> 00:41:51.440 that we 00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:53.619 would get it 00:41:53.619 --> 00:41:55.860 and that we're like 00:41:55.860 --> 00:41:56.700 the blind man 00:41:56.700 --> 00:41:58.860 with one purpose 00:41:58.860 --> 00:41:59.900 and that is your glory. 00:42:01.400 --> 00:42:03.579 We ask this in Jesus' name. 00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:04.420 Amen.