WEBVTT 00:00:00.340 --> 00:00:02.319 Thank you, Kate, and good morning, everyone. 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:06.940 Very glad to have you with us, whether you're in the church here or watching online. 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.800 I want to begin by introducing you to Duncan Donaldson, 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.700 otherwise known as Dunkey or as Drunken Duncan. 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:20.679 I never met him, but he was a contemporary of my father who knew him fairly well. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:26.859 Duncan lived in Airdrie and was known locally as a character, in inverted commas. 00:00:26.859 --> 00:00:32.740 But he said that when he went into a pub, that everyone else walked out, 00:00:32.979 --> 00:00:38.560 because they knew that when he got a few drinks in, he would turn violent, and he was very strong. 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:43.379 He reckoned he'd been in prison between 60 and 70 times. 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:47.320 And then one day he was walking past Airdrie Cross, 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:51.159 and someone handed him a Christian leaflet and said, 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.120 would you like to come to a gospel meeting? 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:56.100 And he thought, well, I might as well. 00:00:56.100 --> 00:00:59.780 Well, and he went along, he got free tea and biscuits, he got a warm welcome. 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:01.980 He thought, well, I'll go back again next week. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.219 Arrived the following Sunday and found the hall totally locked. 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:07.019 No one there. 00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:09.480 And he thought, oh, no, they know my reputation. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.040 No one's coming back. 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:12.540 It turned out he was an hour early. 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:14.960 So eventually everyone did arrive, 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:18.120 and he found out that people had been praying for him during the week. 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.359 And as he listened to the gospel message being preached, 00:01:21.800 --> 00:01:26.240 there were tears streaming down his face, and he gave his life to the Lord Jesus. 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:30.520 And after that, he was completely transformed. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.660 He became a well-respected, much-loved school janitor. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:37.800 But what he loved to do above all was to tell his story, 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.740 particularly in the open air, but in halls as well. 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:47.479 Everywhere he went, he wanted to tell people what a difference Jesus had made in his life. 00:01:48.060 --> 00:01:49.159 Here's how I was. 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:51.219 Here's when I met Jesus. 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:55.219 And here's what has changed in me now. 00:01:56.179 --> 00:01:59.699 And I was reminded of Duncan Donaldson as I was reading this week 00:01:59.699 --> 00:02:02.879 the story of the blind man in John 9. 00:02:03.679 --> 00:02:05.899 Because in many ways, it's very similar. 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:11.599 As we go through the chapter, the blind man is just repeating again and again, 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:12.620 here's what I was. 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:13.480 I was blind. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.120 Then I met Jesus. 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:17.000 Now I can see. 00:02:17.540 --> 00:02:22.520 And that must be from God that the healing has taken place. 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:25.980 And what I want us to leave thinking about this morning, 00:02:26.040 --> 00:02:28.439 we'll talk about lots of things as we get into the chapter. 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.879 But what I want all of us to leave thinking about this morning 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:34.819 is what is my story? 00:02:34.819 --> 00:02:40.180 Do I have a story I can tell of what Jesus has done in my life, 00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:43.939 the difference it makes to me of knowing him? 00:02:45.239 --> 00:02:50.840 And if I do, am I prepared to go and to tell people about it? 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.400 Do I want to share it with others, 00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:58.180 what the Lord has done for me and what he can do for them? 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:00.459 So we'll come back to that various points. 00:03:00.579 --> 00:03:03.699 And at the end this morning, what is your story? 00:03:03.699 --> 00:03:07.159 Are you able to share it with others? 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:12.259 But let's begin by just reminding ourselves of a bit of the background here. 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.119 We're looking at John's gospel. 00:03:14.579 --> 00:03:17.439 So every time you're in John, what you have to think is, 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:20.879 what does this passage, what does this chapter tell us 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:26.060 that will help us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God? 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:29.659 That is John's purpose in writing his book, and he's very focused. 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:35.780 Every chapter points us to Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:39.300 I think it's fairly evident how that applies to chapter 9. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.400 We're in a section that extends from chapter 5 to chapter 10, 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:46.939 which is based around various feast festivals in Jerusalem 00:03:46.939 --> 00:03:49.439 and Jesus attending them. 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:55.060 Chapter 9 is a little bit different from the chapters round about. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.479 If you have a red-letter Bible or you have an app that shows you 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:03.099 the words of Jesus highlighted, that might be fairly evident. 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.900 In most of the chapters in this section, 00:04:07.579 --> 00:04:10.280 there is some narrative, 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.039 but there is a lot of Jesus teaching. 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:18.560 He says a lot in almost all the chapters. 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:24.699 In chapter 9, Jesus speaks at the beginning and at the end, 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.279 and he doesn't feature at all in the middle. 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:32.939 What comes in the middle is a kind of crime scene investigation, 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.339 CSI, Jerusalem, if you like, 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:40.819 but it's a bit more Keystone Cops and Sherlock Holmes in the way it happens. 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:44.339 The Pharisees believe a crime has been committed, 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:45.959 actually several crimes. 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:48.759 Jesus has spat on the Sabbath. 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:51.180 He's molded clay on the Sabbath. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:53.319 He's healed someone on the Sabbath. 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.120 And according to their rules, their regulations, 00:04:57.740 --> 00:04:59.959 all of these things were not allowed. 00:05:00.719 --> 00:05:02.000 They were sins. 00:05:02.699 --> 00:05:04.019 Now, we will have our own view on that, 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:05.240 but that's the Pharisees' view, 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:09.659 and that is what they persist in as we go through the chapter. 00:05:09.660 --> 00:05:12.700 And so they are trying to find something 00:05:12.700 --> 00:05:14.660 that they can pin on Jesus 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:18.320 and can arrest him and condemn him. 00:05:18.840 --> 00:05:20.400 And they go around talking to the people, 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:21.520 talking to the blind man, 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:22.840 talking to his parents, 00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:24.920 desperate to get something 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.580 that they can say a crime has been committed 00:05:27.580 --> 00:05:31.280 and there must be consequences for it. 00:05:31.320 --> 00:05:32.980 And they become increasingly desperate 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:34.940 as they go along, 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:37.180 particularly because the blind man, 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:38.699 all he can say is, 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:39.800 I was blind, 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:41.139 I met Jesus, 00:05:41.840 --> 00:05:43.000 now I can see 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.160 that must be a work of God. 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:48.000 They don't have any effective argument 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:49.939 against that. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:53.399 The other backdrop to the chapter 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.120 is we are still in the Feast of Tabernacles. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:57.780 We've been there since chapter 7, 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:00.560 and indeed the first part of chapter 10 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:02.160 is around the same time. 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:04.139 Now, we're possibly just after the end 00:06:04.139 --> 00:06:05.159 of the formal feast, 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.159 but it will still very much be in people's minds. 00:06:08.899 --> 00:06:10.279 So the Feast of the Tabernacles 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:11.759 had three aspects to it. 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:13.899 It looked back to how God had provided 00:06:13.899 --> 00:06:15.439 for these lives in the wilderness. 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:17.439 There's a mention of Moses in this chapter. 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:19.300 It looks at the present 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.879 as a joyful harvest Thanksgiving ceremony, 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.399 and it looks forward to the coming Messiah. 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:28.839 And there are two particular themes to it. 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:30.040 One is light. 00:06:30.540 --> 00:06:31.860 The knights are drawing in, 00:06:32.159 --> 00:06:33.579 and there are four great lamps 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:34.399 lit in the temple 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.300 that lights up the whole city, 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:38.639 representing the light that God gives. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:40.300 And the other is water. 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:41.319 It's the dry season, 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:43.199 and so there's a daily ceremony 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.540 where water is taken from the Pool of Siloam, 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.939 carried up the hill, 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:49.399 and put onto the altar. 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:52.939 And you'll see again both light and water 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:55.500 as we go through this chapter. 00:06:56.679 --> 00:06:58.099 But let's get into John 9, 00:06:58.199 --> 00:07:01.219 and we'll divide it into three sections. 00:07:02.479 --> 00:07:05.099 So the first section is from verse 1 to verse 7. 00:07:05.239 --> 00:07:07.639 I've called it a miraculous intervention. 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:08.739 This is the narrative 00:07:08.739 --> 00:07:12.439 about the healing of the blind man. 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:16.539 We don't know much about this blind man, 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:19.140 but I think we can deduce a little bit 00:07:19.140 --> 00:07:21.160 about his age from the passage. 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:24.080 He's got two parents still alive. 00:07:24.140 --> 00:07:25.040 That's established. 00:07:25.819 --> 00:07:27.860 And the parents say to the Pharisees, 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.439 he is of age. 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:31.460 Ask him what's happened. 00:07:32.500 --> 00:07:35.879 Now, being of age in first century Israel 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:40.140 meant for a boy that he was at least 13 years old. 00:07:40.200 --> 00:07:43.120 That was when a boy was deemed to become a man. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:46.620 I'm not suggesting this man is necessarily 13 years old, 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:48.879 but I think we can take it from the fact 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:51.319 that his parents refer to him being of age, 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:53.259 that he was relatively young. 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:56.100 He may well have been a teenager. 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:57.259 That's speculation, 00:07:57.879 --> 00:07:59.560 but I think we can assume he was probably 00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:01.620 quite a young man. 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.620 And Jesus and his disciples come across him 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:06.120 as they're walking through Jerusalem. 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:09.139 Now, that wouldn't have been an uncommon thing 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:12.300 if in that day you were disabled in any kind of way 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:13.839 and weren't able to earn a living, 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:15.860 there was no social security, 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:19.099 so you were dependent on the goodwill of others. 00:08:19.599 --> 00:08:21.319 Most disabled people, 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:23.319 whether blind or lame or whatever, 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:26.659 they would sit beside the roadside and beg, 00:08:26.979 --> 00:08:28.259 and people would give them alms, 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:31.079 would give them money out of sympathy. 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:33.200 So it wasn't an uncommon sight, 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.919 but for some reason it attracted the attention 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:37.500 of Jesus' disciples. 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:39.419 And they asked a question 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:41.559 which we might find a little strange. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:42.980 They said, 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.299 is this man blind because of his sin 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:48.419 or because of the sin of his parents? 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:50.659 Now, remember, he'd been blind from birth. 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:52.460 So a type was saying, 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.000 perhaps his parents had done something wrong, 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:59.600 and he is suffering the retribution for that. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:01.720 Or even more surprisingly, 00:09:01.899 --> 00:09:02.279 they're saying, 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.100 perhaps he did something wrong 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:05.559 before he was born, 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:08.619 before he even came into this world blind. 00:09:08.939 --> 00:09:10.699 Perhaps he's done some kind of sin 00:09:10.699 --> 00:09:13.479 and is being punished for that now. 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:14.959 Now, we won't go into theology of that. 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:16.259 It was something that might have been 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:18.939 quite a common view in that day, 00:09:18.979 --> 00:09:21.439 although it seems strange to us. 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:23.539 But Jesus makes it clear 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:24.919 the reason he's blind 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:27.039 is not because of his sin 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:28.639 or his parents' sin. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.340 He is going to be healed. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.019 He is going to have his sight given to him, 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.779 and that will mean that his illness 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:39.740 will bring glory to God 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:41.899 as Jesus heals him. 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:45.500 I think maybe we need to take a little pause there. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:48.600 Because when people suffer, 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:50.620 very often we ask, 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:51.480 why? 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:53.379 Whether it's ourself 00:09:53.379 --> 00:09:55.220 or someone close to us, 00:09:55.559 --> 00:09:56.080 we think, 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.080 well, why is that happening? 00:09:59.419 --> 00:10:02.120 Now, usually there are no straightforward answers. 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:05.179 We can say that all suffering 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:07.139 is a result of being 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:09.879 in a sinful, fallen world. 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:13.019 And Christians are not exempt from that 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:15.100 in any kind of way. 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:17.879 I think we need to be very, very careful 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.039 about saying that people are suffering, 00:10:20.199 --> 00:10:21.480 whether ourselves or others, 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:23.580 because of some sin of theirs 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:25.720 or because of something 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.439 someone else has done. 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:28.520 In some cases it will be. 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:30.060 It will be very obvious there's a connection, 00:10:30.060 --> 00:10:32.380 but generally need to be very careful 00:10:32.380 --> 00:10:35.940 about making that deduction. 00:10:37.280 --> 00:10:39.040 What I think we can say 00:10:39.040 --> 00:10:41.060 is that every suffering, 00:10:41.260 --> 00:10:42.280 every illness, 00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:43.800 is an opportunity 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:46.640 to bring glory to God. 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:49.240 Now, sometimes it can be 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.460 through miraculous healings, 00:10:52.140 --> 00:10:53.140 through things happening 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:55.919 that confounds the medical profession 00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:58.860 and can only be from God. 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:00.879 But other times, 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:04.799 it is not as spectacular as that. 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:07.679 When we suffer, 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:09.120 if we're Christians, 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:12.819 then that should draw us closer to God. 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:15.840 That should develop our Christian character, 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:18.700 help us to be more like the Lord Jesus. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:20.700 We suffered in ways 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:23.820 that we never could know 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:25.700 or even imagine. 00:11:26.900 --> 00:11:28.820 And as we develop as Christian, 00:11:28.920 --> 00:11:30.540 as we become more like Jesus, 00:11:31.160 --> 00:11:33.720 that brings glory to God. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.200 Paul says in Romans 5, 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.379 suffering produces perseverance, 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:39.520 perseverance character, 00:11:40.400 --> 00:11:41.620 and character hope. 00:11:42.420 --> 00:11:44.320 And hope does not put us to shame 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:45.860 because God's love 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.020 has been poured out into our hearts 00:11:48.020 --> 00:11:49.820 through the Holy Spirit 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:52.720 he has given to us. 00:11:53.580 --> 00:11:55.540 So as we become more like Jesus, 00:11:55.540 --> 00:11:57.960 as we suffer and grow in character, 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:01.320 that is glorifying to God. 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:04.120 We also can glorify God 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:05.280 through times of suffering, 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:06.740 through the example 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:09.080 that we set to others. 00:12:10.020 --> 00:12:11.920 Through showing our faith 00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:12.720 in the Lord Jesus, 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:13.860 and they can look at us 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:15.019 and they can say 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:17.259 in the face of the most difficult situations, 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:18.779 they still trust, 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:20.860 they still love Jesus. 00:12:22.060 --> 00:12:23.379 In our church at the moment, 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:24.759 we have quite a lot of people 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:25.720 who are unwell. 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:26.480 Some acute, 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:27.519 some chronic, 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:28.659 some mental illness, 00:12:28.800 --> 00:12:30.180 some physical illness, 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:31.300 some who are suffering 00:12:31.300 --> 00:12:32.960 for other reasons. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:35.740 And I can look at quite a lot of them 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:38.159 and I see an example they set 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:39.860 that it would be good for me 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:41.820 and others to follow. 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:43.840 whether it's those who are suffering 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:45.720 or those who care for them. 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.100 There are some quite remarkable people 00:12:48.100 --> 00:12:48.840 in this church 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.240 and we thank God for them 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:52.020 that in times of difficulty 00:12:52.020 --> 00:12:53.320 and suffering 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:55.160 would point us to Jesus 00:12:55.160 --> 00:12:57.240 and would show the difference 00:12:57.240 --> 00:12:59.080 that knowing Christ makes 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:02.100 when we go through difficult times. 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:04.320 So even in our suffering, 00:13:04.759 --> 00:13:06.860 God can be glorified. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:08.259 Now I've covered that very quickly. 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:09.980 If you want to talk about it more later on, 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:12.080 speak to me or to Archie or to Graham 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.740 or to another Christian you know. 00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:17.560 So we've got to the point 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:19.259 where the disciples have been talking to Jesus 00:13:19.259 --> 00:13:22.480 and then Jesus approaches the man. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:24.680 But before he does that, 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:27.620 he has a little bit of explanation for us. 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:29.539 And this links us back to chapter 8. 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:30.700 You remember, I think it was probably 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:31.960 about three weeks ago now 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:33.700 that Graham was talking about Jesus, 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:34.840 the light of the world 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:36.560 and that we need to recognize 00:13:36.560 --> 00:13:37.539 that we're lost 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:39.740 and to follow the light. 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:41.759 Well, Jesus again says, 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:43.360 I am the light of the world 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.560 and he's about to demonstrate that 00:13:45.560 --> 00:13:46.700 in a physical as well 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:48.620 as in a spiritual sense. 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:49.600 But he says, 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:50.960 I'm only here for a while. 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:52.680 The night is coming. 00:13:52.759 --> 00:13:53.819 I think that probably refers 00:13:53.819 --> 00:13:54.959 to his crucifixion. 00:13:55.319 --> 00:13:56.259 While I'm here, 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.279 I have to do God's work. 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:01.479 And so saying that, 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:02.919 he goes up to the man, 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:06.620 he makes something out of the mud 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:07.339 from the clay, 00:14:07.479 --> 00:14:08.719 puts it in the man's eye 00:14:08.719 --> 00:14:09.919 and sends him down 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:12.139 to the pool of Siloam. 00:14:12.699 --> 00:14:15.039 I suspect there's a lot of symbolism in this. 00:14:15.479 --> 00:14:17.000 The clay that the Lord uses 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:18.639 perhaps is symbolic of the fact 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.639 that all of us are made from the earth, 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:23.080 from the dust as Adam was to begin with. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:25.919 John points out the pool of Siloam 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:26.659 means sent 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:28.759 and Jesus sent the man 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.419 and he himself had been sent 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:31.480 into the world. 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:32.879 Lots of symbolism there, 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:35.299 but let's not get too caught up in that. 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:36.819 What we see here 00:14:36.819 --> 00:14:39.159 is the most remarkable miracle. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.799 Imagine you are the blind man. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.399 You go out that morning as normal 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:46.439 to beg, 00:14:46.439 --> 00:14:48.539 to look for sympathy from people 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:50.080 and hope they'll give you some money. 00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:52.720 You meet this man, 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:54.279 perhaps you hear a bit of the conversation 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:54.740 saying, 00:14:54.899 --> 00:14:57.000 was he a sinner before he was born? 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.439 And that might seem a bit strange. 00:14:59.240 --> 00:14:59.960 Jesus comes 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:02.179 and apparently without any explanation 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:04.199 puts the mud in his eyes 00:15:04.199 --> 00:15:05.819 and sends him away. 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:08.620 It wasn't like the case of Bartimaeus 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:10.199 where Bartimaeus called out to Jesus 00:15:10.199 --> 00:15:10.879 to have mercy. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:11.840 There's no sign 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.439 that this man even really knew 00:15:13.439 --> 00:15:14.539 who Jesus was. 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:16.720 And yet Jesus sends him down to the pool 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:17.860 with the mud on his eyes. 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:19.419 He washes his eyes 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:21.720 and he can see. 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:24.080 And what an amazing thing 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:25.820 that must have been for the man. 00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:27.820 Blind all his life, 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:29.360 he meets Jesus 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:31.840 and he's able to see. 00:15:32.539 --> 00:15:33.560 And we can rejoice 00:15:33.560 --> 00:15:34.500 in the miracle 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:36.399 of what God does there 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.539 and in the miraculous ways 00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:40.159 God changes people's lives 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:41.960 today as well. 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:44.060 This man really had 00:15:44.060 --> 00:15:46.639 a story worth telling. 00:15:47.560 --> 00:15:48.540 Let's move on. 00:15:49.280 --> 00:15:50.700 And the main section 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:51.940 of the chapter 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:53.019 I've called 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:55.160 a malicious interrogation. 00:15:55.800 --> 00:15:56.879 On the face of it, 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:57.879 the Pharisees were saying, 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:58.519 well, we're just trying 00:15:58.519 --> 00:15:59.560 to enforce the law. 00:16:00.300 --> 00:16:01.139 In practice, 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:02.120 what they were doing 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:03.660 was trying to trap people 00:16:03.660 --> 00:16:05.620 into condemning Jesus 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:07.040 and ultimately 00:16:07.040 --> 00:16:08.379 to arrest him. 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:09.639 And when they can't do that, 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:11.259 they eventually take it out 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:12.000 on the man 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:13.220 who had been blind. 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:14.860 So there are a number 00:16:14.860 --> 00:16:15.779 of conversations here. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:16.879 We'll just go very quickly 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:18.819 through what they are. 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:19.460 So it begins, 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:20.340 the man born blind, 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.220 he goes home 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:22.819 and the people are wondering, 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:24.100 what's happened? 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:26.659 Is this really the person 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:27.259 we knew 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:28.100 who sat begging 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:29.120 beside the road 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.279 or is it someone else? 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:33.000 And the man says to him, 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:33.819 no, it's me. 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:36.200 Jesus put mud in my eyes. 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:37.879 I washed it off. 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:39.220 Now I can see. 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:41.699 So the people then 00:16:41.699 --> 00:16:42.699 go to the Pharisees. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:44.100 I guess if you've got 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:45.379 a religious problem 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:46.600 as this might have appeared to be, 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:47.759 you go to religious people. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:48.799 And they went to the Pharisees 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:49.980 and told them what had happened. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:51.199 And the Pharisees 00:16:51.199 --> 00:16:52.620 saw an opportunity here 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.299 perhaps to get at Jesus. 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:56.840 So again, 00:16:56.939 --> 00:16:58.539 they go to the blind man 00:16:58.539 --> 00:16:59.840 and they ask him 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:00.620 about the healing 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:02.480 and he explains again 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:03.399 very simply 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:05.180 what had happened. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:07.539 And they say to him, 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:08.720 well, what do you deduce 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:09.279 from that? 00:17:09.600 --> 00:17:10.299 And he said, 00:17:10.360 --> 00:17:12.079 this man must be a prophet. 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:13.160 Now in the Old Testament, 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:14.700 most of the miracles 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:15.440 of healing 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:16.380 were in the times 00:17:16.380 --> 00:17:16.980 of the prophets 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:17.779 like Elijah 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:19.100 and Elisha. 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:19.740 That was why 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:20.600 he might have deduced 00:17:20.600 --> 00:17:21.519 that Jesus 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:23.299 was a prophet. 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:25.779 They still not satisfied. 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:26.079 They think, 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:27.079 well, maybe it's not 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:28.200 really the same person. 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:29.220 So they go to his parents 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:29.880 and ask them. 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:32.079 Parents are really cowardly. 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:33.700 They confirm 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:34.519 as their son, 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:35.980 but they're not willing 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:37.319 to go beyond that 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:38.460 because of what 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:39.299 the Pharisees 00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:40.740 might do to them. 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:42.259 So they fob them off 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:42.559 and say, 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:43.360 well, he's of age. 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:44.500 Go and ask him. 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:46.140 The Pharisees go back 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:46.759 and have a slightly 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:47.960 longer conversation 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:48.819 with the man. 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:50.220 He gets, I think, 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:51.740 a bit irritated with them 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:53.000 and he says, 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:53.620 well, why do you keep 00:17:53.620 --> 00:17:54.819 asking me these questions? 00:17:55.539 --> 00:17:56.880 Do you want to become 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:58.099 Jesus' disciples too? 00:17:58.140 --> 00:17:59.099 And that really annoys 00:17:59.099 --> 00:17:59.980 the Pharisees 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:01.200 and they end up 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:01.920 sending him 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:03.840 out of the temple. 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:05.380 They excommunicate him 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:07.860 in the religious terminology. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:10.259 And then Jesus finds him 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:11.779 and explains 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:13.039 what's happening 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:14.060 and who he is. 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:15.580 So that's the story. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:16.740 What I particularly want us 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:18.060 to notice from it, though, 00:18:18.600 --> 00:18:20.360 is how the blind man's 00:18:20.360 --> 00:18:22.340 understanding increases 00:18:22.340 --> 00:18:24.039 as time goes on. 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:26.180 As he tells this story, 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:28.060 he becomes more confident in it, 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:30.000 but he also becomes 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.940 more aware of how this 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:33.799 must be God at work 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:35.059 in his life. 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:37.339 So to begin with, 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:38.400 he is just stating 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:39.460 the facts. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:40.920 There was this man 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:41.599 called Jesus. 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:42.200 Verse 11, 00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:43.099 they're following along. 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:44.920 There's a man called Jesus. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.819 He told me to go 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:47.700 to the pool of Siloam 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:48.579 and wash off the mud. 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:49.859 I did and I saw. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.500 So we start with the man, 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:51.859 Jesus. 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:53.700 He knows nothing about him. 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:54.799 At this point, 00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:56.019 he hasn't even seen him 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:57.220 because the only time 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:58.180 he encountered Jesus, 00:18:58.819 --> 00:18:59.539 he was blind. 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:01.619 We then have 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:03.099 the first 00:19:03.099 --> 00:19:05.519 interrogation 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:06.579 by the Pharisees 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:07.599 and then in verse 17, 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:08.619 as I mentioned a minute ago, 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:09.700 the man says, 00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:10.539 he's a prophet. 00:19:11.619 --> 00:19:12.500 So he's gone from, 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:13.220 this was a man 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:14.160 I'd never met before. 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:15.180 I know his name was Jesus, 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.119 but nothing more. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:17.539 And he's deduced, 00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:19.039 this must be a prophet 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.539 because of what 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:21.640 he's done. 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:23.839 If we jump forward 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:24.819 to the end 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:26.160 of the second interrogation 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:27.500 in verse 33, 00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:29.380 the man says, 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:30.260 if this man 00:19:30.260 --> 00:19:31.560 were not from God, 00:19:32.040 --> 00:19:33.860 he could do nothing. 00:19:34.540 --> 00:19:35.280 So we've gone from, 00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:36.240 he's a man called Jesus, 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:38.300 he's probably a prophet, 00:19:39.100 --> 00:19:40.080 and he could do nothing 00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:41.920 if he wasn't from God. 00:19:42.020 --> 00:19:43.040 And then Jesus comes 00:19:43.040 --> 00:19:44.140 and talks to the man, 00:19:44.560 --> 00:19:45.660 explains that he is 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:46.600 the son of man, 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:49.100 and then in verse 38, 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:50.360 the man says, 00:19:50.520 --> 00:19:50.860 Lord, 00:19:51.080 --> 00:19:52.120 I believe 00:19:52.120 --> 00:19:53.080 and worships 00:19:54.020 --> 00:19:54.540 Jesus. 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:56.420 So he goes from, 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.159 I met this man 00:19:57.159 --> 00:19:57.819 called Jesus 00:19:57.819 --> 00:19:58.720 to, 00:19:58.980 --> 00:19:59.259 Lord, 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.420 I believe 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:01.319 in you. 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:02.799 As he tells 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:03.420 this story, 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:05.339 as it sinks in 00:20:05.339 --> 00:20:06.460 exactly what 00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:07.279 the Lord Jesus 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:08.420 has done 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:09.359 for him, 00:20:09.899 --> 00:20:11.240 he begins to realize 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:12.200 more and more 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:13.240 how special 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:13.960 this man 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:14.579 Jesus 00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:15.619 is. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:16.899 He's a prophet, 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:18.720 he's from God, 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:20.619 he is the Messiah. 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:21.440 That was what Jesus 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:22.799 implied by calling himself 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:24.639 the son of man. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:25.960 And by the end, 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:27.460 he is a true disciple 00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:29.460 of the Lord Jesus. 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:31.539 Can we come back 00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:32.279 to our stories? 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:34.500 If you have a story 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:35.159 to tell, 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:36.559 to begin with, 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:37.720 it can be quite difficult 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:38.759 to speak to people. 00:20:38.879 --> 00:20:39.960 But like this man, 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:41.639 the more you tell it, 00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:42.639 the more people 00:20:42.639 --> 00:20:43.359 you explain 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:44.440 what Jesus has done 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:45.559 for you to, 00:20:46.059 --> 00:20:47.180 the more confident 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.159 you will become 00:20:48.159 --> 00:20:49.539 in talking about 00:20:49.539 --> 00:20:50.659 the Lord Jesus. 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:53.000 And as you do 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:53.640 and as you 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:54.519 read the Bible, 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:55.720 as you learn more 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:57.279 about and from Jesus, 00:20:57.880 --> 00:20:58.980 then your faith 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:00.580 will also grow. 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:01.920 And you'll begin 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:02.560 to understand 00:21:02.560 --> 00:21:03.900 more and more 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:05.640 about who Jesus is 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:06.960 and exactly 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:07.880 what it is 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:09.060 that he has done 00:21:09.060 --> 00:21:10.120 for you. 00:21:10.860 --> 00:21:11.500 I think that is 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:12.220 one of the great 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:13.540 lessons from this chapter. 00:21:14.320 --> 00:21:15.600 If you know Jesus, 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:17.200 if you have an experience 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:17.759 of Jesus 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:19.220 in your life, 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:21.200 tell people about it, 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:22.420 think about what 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:23.019 he's done, 00:21:23.620 --> 00:21:24.480 and then you'll 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:25.420 grow in your faith 00:21:25.420 --> 00:21:26.819 and in your confidence 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:28.299 in sharing it 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.380 with others. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:31.940 Let's look at the last 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:32.740 bit of the chapter 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:33.480 which I've called 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:34.700 a momentous insight. 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:35.559 Momentous meaning 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:36.460 really important 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:37.579 or significant. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:38.519 I think it is 00:21:38.519 --> 00:21:39.360 that. 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:41.059 So we're looking 00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:41.900 particularly 00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:43.740 at verse 39. 00:21:44.620 --> 00:21:45.299 Jesus said, 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:45.980 For judgment 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:46.659 I have come 00:21:46.659 --> 00:21:47.519 into the world 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:49.079 so that the blind 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:49.759 will see 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.480 and those who see 00:21:51.480 --> 00:21:53.579 will become blind. 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:54.980 We'll have a very 00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:55.740 clear example 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:56.960 of the blind seeing here. 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:58.059 Not just physically, 00:21:58.539 --> 00:21:59.759 but as the man's eyes 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:00.960 spiritually were open 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.460 and he came to know 00:22:02.460 --> 00:22:03.319 and to recognize 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:04.399 who Jesus was 00:22:04.399 --> 00:22:07.019 and to worship him. 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:08.779 The reference 00:22:08.779 --> 00:22:09.960 of the seeing 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:11.339 who become blind 00:22:11.339 --> 00:22:12.980 I think is fairly clear 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:13.819 and they got it 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:15.000 is fairly clearly 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:15.620 a reference 00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:17.740 to the Pharisees. 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:19.220 Jesus says, 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:20.279 You're not going to 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:20.779 see because you 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:22.019 should be able to see 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:23.440 but you've chosen 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:24.700 not to. 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:26.620 They had chosen 00:22:26.620 --> 00:22:27.319 darkness 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:29.599 rather than light. 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:31.279 The people who knew 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:32.220 the Old Testament 00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:33.319 knew what God 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:34.160 had said in the past 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:34.839 knew what God 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:35.380 had done 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:36.740 in the past 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.500 chose instead 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:39.700 to reject 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:40.779 God's Son. 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:42.720 To get so caught up 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:44.360 in petty arguments 00:22:44.360 --> 00:22:45.279 of what you couldn't 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:45.759 or couldn't 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.360 could or couldn't 00:22:46.360 --> 00:22:47.700 do on the Sabbath. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:49.559 That they lost sight 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:50.100 of the fact 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:50.740 that here was 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:51.940 a wonderful thing 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:52.740 God's Son 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:53.360 with us 00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:54.799 working among us 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:55.380 healing 00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:56.860 and drawing people 00:22:56.860 --> 00:22:58.019 to God. 00:22:58.779 --> 00:22:59.420 They were 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:00.380 sighted 00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:02.019 but they chose 00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:03.120 to be 00:23:03.120 --> 00:23:03.900 blind. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:05.680 The saying goes 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:06.279 there is none 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:07.140 so blind 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:08.360 as he who 00:23:08.360 --> 00:23:09.100 will not 00:23:09.100 --> 00:23:09.960 see. 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:11.900 Can I put it 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:12.460 a different way 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:13.160 using words 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:14.040 from Tim Keller? 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:14.620 Now some of you 00:23:14.620 --> 00:23:15.160 may know 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:16.080 that Tim Keller 00:23:16.080 --> 00:23:16.800 passed away 00:23:16.800 --> 00:23:18.280 earlier this weekend. 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:19.640 Tim Keller 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:21.420 was a minister 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:22.940 in the United States. 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:24.180 He for many years 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:25.060 had a big church 00:23:25.060 --> 00:23:25.820 in Manhattan 00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:27.620 in New York 00:23:27.620 --> 00:23:28.360 which he planted. 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:29.800 He found a church 00:23:29.800 --> 00:23:30.680 planting movement. 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:31.940 He was a co-founder 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:33.120 of the Gospel Coalition 00:23:33.120 --> 00:23:34.759 and he was a well-known 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:35.880 Christian writer 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:37.259 and theologian. 00:23:37.340 --> 00:23:38.140 Also I believe 00:23:38.140 --> 00:23:39.720 a very humble man 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:41.620 of great integrity. 00:23:41.620 --> 00:23:42.120 He'll be 00:23:42.120 --> 00:23:43.400 much missed. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.120 I'm going to quote 00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:44.900 three things 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:46.600 from him 00:23:46.600 --> 00:23:47.559 this morning. 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:49.019 And here's the one 00:23:49.019 --> 00:23:49.740 that particularly 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.440 relates 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:51.740 to this passage. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:53.220 Tim Keller 00:23:53.220 --> 00:23:54.100 says there is 00:23:54.100 --> 00:23:55.019 no blindness 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:55.940 so deep 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:57.180 and incurable 00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:58.740 as the one 00:23:58.740 --> 00:24:00.100 we don't 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:00.680 acknowledge. 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:01.920 There is no 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:02.339 blindness 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:03.160 so deep 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:04.160 and incurable 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.500 as the one 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:06.500 we don't 00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:07.059 acknowledge. 00:24:07.860 --> 00:24:08.460 Can't we see 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:09.400 that in this passage? 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:11.640 These Pharisees 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:13.039 who should 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:13.759 have sight 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.500 who should be able 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:15.400 to understand 00:24:15.400 --> 00:24:16.920 who Jesus is 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:18.299 yet they have 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:19.120 blinded themselves 00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:20.380 with their own law 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:21.720 and they can't 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:22.740 acknowledge that. 00:24:23.100 --> 00:24:23.620 They think 00:24:23.620 --> 00:24:24.460 they are superior 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:25.440 they think 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.180 they are the ones 00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:27.059 who see clearly 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:28.420 when in fact 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:29.940 they've been blinded 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:31.740 by themselves. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:34.079 Let's challenge 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:35.120 ourselves on that 00:24:35.120 --> 00:24:36.120 as well. 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:37.519 We look at 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.299 these Pharisees 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:38.759 and might say 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:39.239 well we are 00:24:39.239 --> 00:24:40.339 not like that. 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:41.579 We know 00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:41.979 Jesus 00:24:41.979 --> 00:24:42.919 we follow 00:24:42.919 --> 00:24:43.319 him. 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:44.799 But couldn't 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:45.500 the Pharisees 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:46.519 say we are 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:47.079 Moses 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:48.259 disciples? 00:24:49.259 --> 00:24:50.059 On the face 00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:50.359 of it 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:50.699 they were 00:24:50.699 --> 00:24:51.500 good living 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:52.399 religious 00:24:52.399 --> 00:24:53.500 people. 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:55.299 I wonder 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:56.019 whether many 00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:56.439 of us 00:24:56.439 --> 00:24:57.319 have blind 00:24:57.319 --> 00:24:57.899 spots 00:24:57.899 --> 00:24:59.000 in our 00:24:59.000 --> 00:24:59.879 Christian life. 00:25:00.699 --> 00:25:01.159 Things that 00:25:01.159 --> 00:25:01.659 we wouldn't 00:25:01.659 --> 00:25:02.339 want to 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:02.939 acknowledge 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:04.480 and yet 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.279 which are 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.200 going against 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:07.100 God's 00:25:07.100 --> 00:25:07.740 way. 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:08.820 Perhaps 00:25:08.820 --> 00:25:09.140 there are 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:09.600 works of 00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:10.259 God we can 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:10.799 see round 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:11.559 about us 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:12.340 and we say 00:25:12.340 --> 00:25:12.759 well I'm not 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:13.120 sure they 00:25:13.120 --> 00:25:13.559 should really 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:14.160 do it that 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:14.460 way. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.100 I don't 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:15.680 really approve 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:16.220 of that. 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:17.360 But God's 00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:17.900 at work 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:18.860 and we 00:25:18.860 --> 00:25:19.680 don't 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:20.279 acknowledge 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:20.680 it. 00:25:21.860 --> 00:25:22.180 Tim 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:22.440 Keller 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:23.120 as I said 00:25:23.120 --> 00:25:24.100 worked in 00:25:24.100 --> 00:25:24.740 Manhattan 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:25.180 in New 00:25:25.180 --> 00:25:25.580 York. 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:26.580 He went 00:25:26.580 --> 00:25:26.860 to an 00:25:26.860 --> 00:25:27.259 environment 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:27.759 where people 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:28.180 said you 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:28.519 have no 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:29.019 chance 00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:29.620 as an 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:30.259 evangelical 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:31.120 Christian 00:25:31.120 --> 00:25:31.900 preaching the 00:25:31.900 --> 00:25:32.279 gospel. 00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:32.940 You're 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:33.160 never 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:33.559 going to 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:33.799 reach 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:34.059 these 00:25:34.059 --> 00:25:34.480 people. 00:25:34.859 --> 00:25:35.000 They're 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:35.279 so 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:36.399 materialistic 00:25:36.399 --> 00:25:37.779 and so 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:38.660 caught up 00:25:38.660 --> 00:25:39.660 in themselves. 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:40.099 He ended 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:40.559 up with a 00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:40.980 church of 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:41.460 more than 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:42.559 5,000 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:43.279 people. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:44.460 And he 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:45.119 did that 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:46.079 partly by 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:46.839 respectfully 00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:47.680 challenging 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:48.940 people about 00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:50.000 their lifestyles 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:50.839 and their 00:25:50.839 --> 00:25:51.299 attitudes. 00:25:52.279 --> 00:25:52.660 So here's 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:53.099 something he 00:25:53.099 --> 00:25:53.359 said. 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:53.960 He said we 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:54.480 want to 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.319 feel beautiful. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:25:56.899 We want 00:25:56.899 --> 00:25:57.339 to feel 00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:57.819 loved. 00:25:58.639 --> 00:25:59.180 We want 00:25:59.180 --> 00:25:59.559 to feel 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:00.160 significant. 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:01.720 That's 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:02.120 why we're 00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:02.700 working so 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:03.220 hard. 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:04.900 And that's 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:05.539 the source 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:06.860 of the 00:26:06.860 --> 00:26:07.319 evil. 00:26:08.360 --> 00:26:08.839 Talking to 00:26:08.839 --> 00:26:09.420 respectable 00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:10.339 New Yorkers, 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:10.880 people who 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:11.319 are pillars 00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:12.140 of society 00:26:12.140 --> 00:26:13.279 and saying 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.140 actually you've 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:14.680 got things 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:15.140 wrong. 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:16.700 You think 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:17.360 the way to 00:26:17.360 --> 00:26:18.680 get on in 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.180 life, the 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:19.519 way to 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.640 succeed is 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:21.100 to work 00:26:21.100 --> 00:26:22.420 hard and 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:23.480 to be seen 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:24.920 to be an 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:25.460 achiever. 00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:26.480 You're 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:26.940 missing the 00:26:26.940 --> 00:26:27.339 point. 00:26:28.319 --> 00:26:28.839 The way to 00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:29.480 get on in 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:29.880 life, the way 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:30.440 to really have 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:31.559 satisfaction in 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:32.759 life is to 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:33.539 follow Jesus 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:34.640 and to 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:35.320 know him 00:26:35.320 --> 00:26:36.240 and to 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.279 live for 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:37.600 him. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:38.799 Perhaps that's 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:39.279 a word for 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:39.620 us in 00:26:39.620 --> 00:26:40.600 Edinburgh as 00:26:40.600 --> 00:26:41.400 well as 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:41.799 in New 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:42.220 York. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.360 Do we get 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:43.900 too caught 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:44.860 up in the 00:26:44.860 --> 00:26:45.539 busyness of 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:46.480 life, in 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:47.100 our personal 00:26:47.100 --> 00:26:48.440 ambitions, in 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:49.160 wanting to be 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:49.860 seen to be 00:26:49.860 --> 00:26:50.900 good and 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:51.480 respectable? 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:53.039 And do we 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:53.799 sometimes miss 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:55.100 the point that 00:26:55.100 --> 00:26:55.799 the key thing 00:26:55.799 --> 00:26:56.340 is that we 00:26:56.340 --> 00:26:57.000 know Jesus 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:58.160 and that 00:26:58.160 --> 00:26:58.900 our lives 00:26:58.900 --> 00:26:59.940 are with 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:00.740 him and 00:27:00.740 --> 00:27:01.900 led by 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:02.279 him? 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:05.599 So the 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:06.579 answer that 00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:07.160 Tim Keller 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:07.660 presents, 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:08.539 the third 00:27:08.539 --> 00:27:09.160 quotation I'm 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:09.539 going to give 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:10.000 from a very 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.400 well-known 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:10.960 quotation you 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:11.220 may have 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:11.940 heard before, 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:12.839 Tim Keller 00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:13.380 says, 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:14.819 we are more 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:16.160 sinful and 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:16.740 flawed in 00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:18.240 ourselves than 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:18.759 we ever 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:19.779 dared believe, 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:21.440 yet at the 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:22.279 same time we 00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:22.660 are more 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:23.259 loved and 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:24.039 accepted in 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:24.940 Jesus Christ 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:26.159 than we 00:27:26.159 --> 00:27:27.539 ever dared 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:28.299 hope. 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:29.119 So two 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:29.420 things in 00:27:29.420 --> 00:27:30.000 that quotation, 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:31.619 we are more 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:33.220 sinful and 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:34.339 flawed than 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:34.879 we ever 00:27:34.879 --> 00:27:36.420 dared believe. 00:27:37.240 --> 00:27:38.139 I know a 00:27:38.139 --> 00:27:38.740 lot about the 00:27:38.740 --> 00:27:39.259 sin in my 00:27:39.259 --> 00:27:39.659 life. 00:27:40.399 --> 00:27:41.019 You may know 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:41.500 a bit about 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:41.879 it too, 00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:42.339 perhaps there 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:42.659 are things 00:27:42.659 --> 00:27:43.279 you spot 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:44.119 that I 00:27:44.119 --> 00:27:44.819 don't spot. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:46.299 But how 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:46.940 much more 00:27:46.940 --> 00:27:47.339 is there 00:27:47.339 --> 00:27:48.099 that God 00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:48.799 looks on 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:49.920 and sees 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:51.500 my sinfulness, 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:52.759 my putting 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:53.879 myself first 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:54.660 my going 00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:55.460 against his 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.800 way and 00:27:56.800 --> 00:27:57.880 not following 00:27:57.880 --> 00:27:59.260 Jesus as 00:27:59.260 --> 00:27:59.860 I should. 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:01.200 We're more 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:02.140 sinful and 00:28:02.140 --> 00:28:03.220 flawed than 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:03.800 we ever 00:28:03.800 --> 00:28:05.380 dare believe. 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:06.540 And yes, 00:28:06.600 --> 00:28:07.080 says Tim Keller, 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:07.660 at the same 00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:09.020 time we are 00:28:09.020 --> 00:28:10.420 more loved and 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:11.280 accepted in 00:28:11.280 --> 00:28:12.200 Jesus Christ 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:13.400 than we ever 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:14.700 dared hope. 00:28:15.320 --> 00:28:15.980 Despite all 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:16.440 my sin, 00:28:16.540 --> 00:28:17.200 despite all 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.020 my failure, 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:19.420 Christ loves 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:20.180 me more than 00:28:20.180 --> 00:28:21.000 I could ever 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:22.160 hope could 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:23.420 ever understand. 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:24.800 He loved 00:28:24.800 --> 00:28:25.320 me enough 00:28:25.320 --> 00:28:25.780 to go to 00:28:25.780 --> 00:28:26.260 the cross 00:28:26.260 --> 00:28:27.060 on Calvary 00:28:27.060 --> 00:28:27.820 and to 00:28:27.820 --> 00:28:28.300 die for 00:28:28.300 --> 00:28:28.840 me there 00:28:28.840 --> 00:28:29.540 and to 00:28:29.540 --> 00:28:30.280 take my 00:28:30.280 --> 00:28:31.160 punishment. 00:28:32.540 --> 00:28:33.060 And I'm 00:28:33.060 --> 00:28:34.480 accepted not 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.760 just grudgingly, 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:36.800 not just 00:28:36.800 --> 00:28:37.160 while your 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:37.580 sins are 00:28:37.580 --> 00:28:37.960 forgiven, 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:39.140 and that's 00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:39.400 it. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.680 I'm accepted 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.380 as a child 00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:42.020 of God. 00:28:42.680 --> 00:28:43.160 I can come 00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:43.760 to God as 00:28:43.760 --> 00:28:44.380 my father, 00:28:44.520 --> 00:28:45.000 knowing my 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:45.560 relationship 00:28:45.560 --> 00:28:46.200 with him 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:47.040 has been 00:28:47.040 --> 00:28:48.380 restored through 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:49.220 the Lord 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:49.620 Jesus. 00:28:49.619 --> 00:28:49.839 Jesus. 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:51.699 And that 00:28:51.699 --> 00:28:52.039 is the 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:52.559 story of 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:53.539 everyone who 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:54.239 has trusted 00:28:54.239 --> 00:28:55.379 in Jesus. 00:28:56.779 --> 00:28:57.079 And the 00:28:57.079 --> 00:28:57.519 challenge for 00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:57.939 all of us 00:28:57.939 --> 00:28:58.419 is have 00:28:58.419 --> 00:28:59.399 we come 00:28:59.399 --> 00:28:59.899 to that 00:28:59.899 --> 00:29:00.379 point? 00:29:00.939 --> 00:29:01.539 Have we 00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:02.279 recognised 00:29:02.279 --> 00:29:02.839 the sin 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:03.199 that's in 00:29:03.199 --> 00:29:03.619 our life 00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:03.899 that we 00:29:03.899 --> 00:29:04.239 have gone 00:29:04.239 --> 00:29:04.659 our own 00:29:04.659 --> 00:29:05.719 way rather 00:29:05.719 --> 00:29:06.319 than God's 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:06.579 way? 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.639 And have 00:29:07.639 --> 00:29:08.239 we accepted 00:29:08.239 --> 00:29:08.899 the only 00:29:08.899 --> 00:29:09.439 way back 00:29:09.439 --> 00:29:10.059 to God 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:11.179 is through 00:29:11.179 --> 00:29:12.119 Jesus? 00:29:13.439 --> 00:29:13.859 And if we 00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:14.219 have, if 00:29:14.219 --> 00:29:14.479 we're 00:29:14.479 --> 00:29:15.199 Christians, 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:16.699 let's just 00:29:16.699 --> 00:29:17.199 think, where 00:29:17.199 --> 00:29:17.919 do we stand 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:18.460 today? 00:29:19.080 --> 00:29:19.700 Are we 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:20.100 in some 00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:20.560 ways getting 00:29:20.560 --> 00:29:21.200 blinded? 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:21.500 Are we 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:22.400 letting sinful 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:22.820 things that 00:29:22.820 --> 00:29:23.160 maybe we 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:23.640 don't even 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:24.940 realise take 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:25.420 the place 00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:26.019 of God 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:26.720 in our 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:27.000 lives? 00:29:27.060 --> 00:29:27.380 And perhaps 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:27.800 we need to 00:29:27.800 --> 00:29:28.220 come back 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:28.539 to the 00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:30.220 cross and 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:30.900 to recognise 00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:32.220 again all 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:32.720 that Jesus 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:33.400 has done 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:34.480 for us. 00:29:35.560 --> 00:29:36.279 So the 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:36.940 question is 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:38.120 again, what 00:29:38.120 --> 00:29:38.779 is your 00:29:38.779 --> 00:29:39.740 story? 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:41.740 I suspect 00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:42.300 some people 00:29:42.300 --> 00:29:42.620 may be 00:29:42.620 --> 00:29:43.140 thinking, well 00:29:43.140 --> 00:29:43.580 I haven't 00:29:43.580 --> 00:29:44.220 got much 00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:45.200 of a story. 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:46.440 You might 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:46.740 be a 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:47.300 Christian, you 00:29:47.300 --> 00:29:47.840 might know 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:48.419 Jesus as 00:29:48.419 --> 00:29:48.559 your 00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:48.839 saviour, 00:29:48.959 --> 00:29:49.199 think, well 00:29:49.199 --> 00:29:49.639 actually my 00:29:49.639 --> 00:29:50.139 story is a 00:29:50.139 --> 00:29:50.980 bit dull. 00:29:51.919 --> 00:29:52.799 I trusted 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.159 the Lord 00:29:53.159 --> 00:29:53.720 Jesus when 00:29:53.720 --> 00:29:54.159 I was seven 00:29:54.159 --> 00:29:55.259 years old and 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:55.939 my father led 00:29:55.939 --> 00:29:56.399 me to the 00:29:56.399 --> 00:29:56.599 Lord. 00:29:56.659 --> 00:29:57.099 Not very 00:29:57.099 --> 00:29:58.279 exciting, very 00:29:58.279 --> 00:29:58.959 significant for 00:29:58.959 --> 00:29:59.699 me, but 00:29:59.699 --> 00:30:00.339 not the 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:01.039 most exciting 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:02.339 of stories. 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:03.559 Well if you 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:03.959 feel I've 00:30:03.959 --> 00:30:04.500 not got much 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:04.959 of a story, 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:05.500 let me tell 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:06.139 you about 00:30:06.139 --> 00:30:06.559 one other 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:06.939 person. 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:07.259 We're going 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:07.679 to sing one 00:30:07.679 --> 00:30:08.159 of his hymns 00:30:08.159 --> 00:30:08.539 in a few 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:08.939 minutes. 00:30:09.240 --> 00:30:09.859 It's John 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:10.139 Newton. 00:30:11.059 --> 00:30:11.740 It's quite 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:12.500 well known that 00:30:12.500 --> 00:30:13.059 John Newton 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:13.779 was a slave 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:15.519 trader and 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:16.000 that he 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.000 lived a 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:17.880 very sinful 00:30:17.880 --> 00:30:19.240 life, but 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:19.660 he had a 00:30:19.660 --> 00:30:20.380 pious mother 00:30:20.380 --> 00:30:20.839 who remembered 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:21.420 something of 00:30:21.420 --> 00:30:21.880 what she had 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:22.579 said to him 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:23.680 and in the 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:24.200 midst of a 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:24.900 storm when he 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:25.380 feared for 00:30:25.380 --> 00:30:26.380 his life, he 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:27.180 put himself on 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:27.859 the mercy of 00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:29.579 God and his 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:30.619 life was 00:30:30.619 --> 00:30:31.259 changed. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:32.819 So that was 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:33.779 his conversion. 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:35.940 But if you look 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:36.539 at the story of 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.960 John Newton, it 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:38.720 actually took a 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:40.200 long time before 00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:40.859 you could get to 00:30:40.859 --> 00:30:41.539 the point where 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:42.819 he said, I was 00:30:42.819 --> 00:30:44.339 blind, but now I 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:44.679 see. 00:30:45.419 --> 00:30:46.159 He continued as 00:30:46.159 --> 00:30:46.819 a slave trader 00:30:46.819 --> 00:30:47.439 for several 00:30:47.439 --> 00:30:48.419 years, at 00:30:48.419 --> 00:30:48.859 first not 00:30:48.859 --> 00:30:49.439 seeing any 00:30:49.439 --> 00:30:50.359 problem with 00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:51.079 it, laterally 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:51.839 being much 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:52.639 more convicted 00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:53.919 about it. 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:55.019 He fell 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:55.939 several times 00:30:55.939 --> 00:30:57.519 into moral 00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:57.980 sin. 00:30:58.959 --> 00:30:59.559 And it was 00:30:59.559 --> 00:31:00.339 probably around 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:01.199 ten years 00:31:01.199 --> 00:31:01.980 after his 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.579 conversion, a 00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:03.639 process that 00:31:03.639 --> 00:31:04.199 John Newton 00:31:04.199 --> 00:31:04.899 went through 00:31:04.899 --> 00:31:06.159 in getting to 00:31:06.159 --> 00:31:06.819 know Jesus 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.459 and having his 00:31:07.459 --> 00:31:08.339 eyes opened 00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:09.939 and eventually 00:31:09.939 --> 00:31:11.139 becoming a 00:31:11.139 --> 00:31:11.899 clergyman as 00:31:11.899 --> 00:31:13.159 well as a 00:31:13.159 --> 00:31:13.839 hymn writer and 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:14.599 very influential 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:15.399 in the 00:31:15.399 --> 00:31:16.720 abolition of 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:17.480 slavery. 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.059 And I think 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:19.720 for many of 00:31:19.720 --> 00:31:20.279 us, our 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.000 story might 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:21.579 not be that 00:31:21.579 --> 00:31:21.839 different. 00:31:21.919 --> 00:31:22.240 We probably 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:22.720 don't have the 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:23.639 dramatic start 00:31:23.639 --> 00:31:24.459 that John 00:31:24.459 --> 00:31:25.299 Newton had. 00:31:25.899 --> 00:31:26.399 But having 00:31:26.399 --> 00:31:27.099 trusted the 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:27.679 Lord Jesus, 00:31:28.179 --> 00:31:29.039 that is not 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:30.339 something that 00:31:30.339 --> 00:31:31.220 immediately changes 00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:32.059 everything for 00:31:32.059 --> 00:31:32.539 most of us. 00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:33.119 Sometimes it 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:33.319 did. 00:31:33.439 --> 00:31:33.720 It seems for 00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:34.439 Duncan Donaldson 00:31:34.439 --> 00:31:34.919 it did 00:31:34.919 --> 00:31:35.939 immediately. 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:37.339 But over 00:31:37.339 --> 00:31:38.519 time, God 00:31:38.519 --> 00:31:39.399 speaks to us 00:31:39.399 --> 00:31:41.359 and draws us 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:42.379 to himself. 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:43.459 So if I look 00:31:43.460 --> 00:31:43.980 back at my 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:44.579 own life, 00:31:44.880 --> 00:31:45.259 there was a 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:45.600 period of 00:31:45.600 --> 00:31:46.440 around five 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:47.400 years from 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:47.779 when I was 00:31:47.779 --> 00:31:48.539 17 to when 00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:49.220 I was 22, 00:31:49.579 --> 00:31:50.160 which I would 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:50.819 mark as being 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:52.019 when I matured 00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:52.600 as a Christian 00:31:52.600 --> 00:31:53.579 and became 00:31:53.579 --> 00:31:54.680 committed really 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:55.200 to the Lord 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:55.380 Jesus. 00:31:55.380 --> 00:31:55.940 It started with 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:56.319 a holiday 00:31:56.319 --> 00:31:56.940 club in this 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:57.299 church, the 00:31:57.299 --> 00:31:57.819 first holiday 00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:58.539 club we had. 00:31:58.779 --> 00:31:59.240 I was a 00:31:59.240 --> 00:31:59.799 very junior 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.279 helper. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:01.400 At the end 00:32:01.400 --> 00:32:02.160 of five years, 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:02.559 I was leading 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:03.200 my first trip 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:03.579 through Union 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:04.600 Mission, which 00:32:04.600 --> 00:32:04.799 would have 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.740 been unimaginable 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:06.460 when I was 00:32:06.460 --> 00:32:07.039 17. 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:07.860 In between, 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:08.160 there was 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:08.620 university. 00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:09.299 And a series 00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:10.400 of things where 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:11.220 God worked in 00:32:11.220 --> 00:32:12.220 my life and 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:12.740 I can look 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:13.220 back and 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:14.140 say, I've 00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:14.839 got a story 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:15.779 there of 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:16.339 what God 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:17.120 did for me. 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:17.680 And of course, 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:18.160 there are other 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.420 stories as we 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:20.440 go on. 00:32:21.240 --> 00:32:21.640 And I would 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:22.319 encourage you, 00:32:22.420 --> 00:32:22.819 if you're a 00:32:22.819 --> 00:32:23.460 Christian, not 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:24.360 just to think of 00:32:24.360 --> 00:32:24.900 the moment of 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:25.360 your conversion, 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:25.860 that's really 00:32:25.860 --> 00:32:27.420 important if you 00:32:27.420 --> 00:32:28.480 can identify it, 00:32:28.779 --> 00:32:29.319 but to think, 00:32:29.420 --> 00:32:30.039 what has God 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:30.799 done in my 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.839 life that has 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:32.579 been significant 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:34.319 and how can I 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:35.200 share that 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:36.700 with others? 00:32:36.700 --> 00:32:38.340 We all have 00:32:38.340 --> 00:32:39.740 a story, and 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:40.200 we have a 00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:41.299 story that we 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:42.180 should be able 00:32:42.180 --> 00:32:43.880 to share with 00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:45.380 other people. 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:46.779 And if we 00:32:46.779 --> 00:32:47.440 have a story, 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:48.840 don't be afraid 00:32:48.840 --> 00:32:50.039 to tell it. 00:32:50.100 --> 00:32:50.539 Yes, it's 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:51.220 difficult to 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:51.680 begin with. 00:32:51.740 --> 00:32:52.160 I struggle 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:52.700 with it as 00:32:52.700 --> 00:32:53.000 well. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:54.120 But don't be 00:32:54.120 --> 00:32:54.900 afraid to tell 00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:55.299 your story. 00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:55.980 People want 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:56.240 to hear. 00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:56.640 People are 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.100 interested in 00:32:58.100 --> 00:32:58.600 our story. 00:32:58.720 --> 00:32:59.279 Some of them 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:00.140 might laugh at 00:33:00.140 --> 00:33:00.279 us. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:00.840 Some of them 00:33:00.840 --> 00:33:01.779 might not be 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:02.259 interested. 00:33:02.900 --> 00:33:03.519 But generally, 00:33:03.860 --> 00:33:04.480 if you've got a 00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:05.259 good story, that 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:06.160 is a really 00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:07.200 powerful witness 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:07.779 to others 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:09.540 alongside telling 00:33:09.540 --> 00:33:10.640 them about 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:11.320 Jesus. 00:33:12.360 --> 00:33:12.800 So if you 00:33:12.800 --> 00:33:13.420 have a story, 00:33:13.940 --> 00:33:14.580 tell it. 00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:15.740 But the 00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:16.320 question also 00:33:16.320 --> 00:33:16.960 this morning 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:17.960 is, do you 00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:18.640 have a story? 00:33:19.360 --> 00:33:20.380 Can you say, 00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:21.279 yes, there 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:21.880 was a time 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:22.680 when I trusted 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:23.279 in the Lord 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:24.480 Jesus, when 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:25.400 I handed my 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:26.240 life over to 00:33:26.240 --> 00:33:27.060 him, and 00:33:27.060 --> 00:33:27.560 that has 00:33:27.560 --> 00:33:28.820 really changed 00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:30.380 and transformed 00:33:30.380 --> 00:33:30.720 me? 00:33:31.340 --> 00:33:31.940 If you can't 00:33:31.940 --> 00:33:32.460 say, yes, I 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:32.940 have a story, 00:33:33.040 --> 00:33:33.600 yes, I know 00:33:33.600 --> 00:33:34.140 Jesus, then 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:34.840 please consider 00:33:34.840 --> 00:33:35.540 this morning 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:36.440 what Jesus 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:36.879 has been 00:33:36.879 --> 00:33:37.420 saying to 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:38.519 us, and 00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:38.920 what the 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:39.460 story of 00:33:39.460 --> 00:33:39.879 the blind 00:33:39.879 --> 00:33:41.059 man signifies 00:33:41.059 --> 00:33:41.720 to us. 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:42.460 Here is 00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:42.920 someone who 00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:43.339 can take 00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:43.759 us from 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:44.279 blindness, 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:45.619 from sin, 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:46.319 who can 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:47.339 transform us 00:33:47.339 --> 00:33:47.980 and can 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:48.480 help us 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:48.879 to know 00:33:48.879 --> 00:33:50.019 God and 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:50.399 to have 00:33:50.399 --> 00:33:51.000 confidence 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:52.559 in the 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:53.019 future. 00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:54.099 Let's 00:33:54.099 --> 00:33:54.740 make sure 00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:55.099 that we 00:33:55.099 --> 00:33:55.480 have a 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:56.039 story we 00:33:56.039 --> 00:33:56.720 can tell 00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:58.039 about God's 00:33:58.039 --> 00:33:58.659 goodness to 00:33:58.659 --> 00:33:59.720 us, and 00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:00.119 let's make 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:00.720 sure that we 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:01.879 go and we 00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:02.420 tell it. 00:34:02.859 --> 00:34:03.279 Let's pray 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:03.659 together. 00:34:03.660 --> 00:34:06.120 Father, we 00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:06.480 thank you for 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:06.940 your word to 00:34:06.940 --> 00:34:07.279 us this 00:34:07.279 --> 00:34:07.620 morning. 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:08.740 Thank you for 00:34:08.740 --> 00:34:09.579 the story of 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:09.960 the blind 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:10.380 man, the 00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:11.039 very powerful 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:11.639 story and 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:12.059 the real 00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:12.639 transformation 00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:13.780 in his 00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:14.180 life. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.360 Once he 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:16.039 was blind, 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:17.220 then he 00:34:17.220 --> 00:34:17.840 met Jesus, 00:34:18.720 --> 00:34:19.220 then he 00:34:19.220 --> 00:34:19.760 could see. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:20.680 And we 00:34:20.680 --> 00:34:20.940 thank you 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:21.280 that many 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:21.720 of us 00:34:21.720 --> 00:34:22.860 have stories 00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:23.240 that we 00:34:23.240 --> 00:34:23.680 can tell 00:34:23.680 --> 00:34:24.680 others about 00:34:24.680 --> 00:34:25.460 how Jesus 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:26.519 has worked 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:27.220 in our 00:34:27.220 --> 00:34:27.519 lives. 00:34:27.599 --> 00:34:28.019 Help us 00:34:28.019 --> 00:34:28.619 to be willing 00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:29.119 to do 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:30.039 that and 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:30.460 to share 00:34:30.460 --> 00:34:31.079 with others 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:31.860 how God 00:34:31.860 --> 00:34:32.300 has been 00:34:32.300 --> 00:34:33.200 good to 00:34:33.200 --> 00:34:33.620 us. 00:34:34.180 --> 00:34:34.320 And we 00:34:34.320 --> 00:34:34.519 pray that 00:34:34.519 --> 00:34:34.920 all of 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:35.860 us will 00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:36.360 come to 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:36.740 the point 00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:37.060 where we 00:34:37.060 --> 00:34:37.340 do have 00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:37.780 that story 00:34:37.780 --> 00:34:38.100 where we 00:34:38.100 --> 00:34:38.519 can say 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:39.680 Jesus is 00:34:39.680 --> 00:34:40.019 my 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:40.560 saviour. 00:34:41.060 --> 00:34:41.600 My life 00:34:41.600 --> 00:34:42.019 has been 00:34:42.019 --> 00:34:42.620 changed 00:34:42.620 --> 00:34:43.160 through 00:34:43.160 --> 00:34:43.660 trusting 00:34:43.660 --> 00:34:44.700 in him. 00:34:45.200 --> 00:34:45.539 We thank 00:34:45.539 --> 00:34:45.720 you for 00:34:45.720 --> 00:34:46.160 your presence 00:34:46.160 --> 00:34:46.740 with us. 00:34:47.180 --> 00:34:47.460 Pray for 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:47.980 your blessing 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:48.280 as we 00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:48.640 continue 00:34:48.640 --> 00:34:49.060 together 00:34:49.060 --> 00:34:49.440 now. 00:34:49.660 --> 00:34:50.220 In the 00:34:50.220 --> 00:34:50.500 name of 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:50.820 the Lord 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:51.180 Jesus. 00:34:51.180 --> 00:34:52.660 Amen.