October 12, 2006

Greetings FBC Family in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There's a fellow in the Bible I must have talked a dozen times to you about,
and he came up again with the Youth Group last night.  I'm sure at some
point I've written about him before too.  We've been talking about sharing
our faith in a number of different settings of late, including with the
Youth Group now too, and so this guy's story comes up a lot.  After our
discussion last evening, I got to thinking about his ordeal some more.

Not a whole lot is known about him personally.  We don't even know his name.
We don't know if he was tall, handsome, eloquent, nervous, well-connected or
particularly religious.  We do know that he was poor, for the story says
that he sat and begged.  Also, his parents were still alive and on the scene
and in his life; maybe that says something about his age, maybe it says
something about his culture, or maybe it's a result of the circumstances of
his life.  Certainly the parents at least were religious; they were

synagogue members, and they cherished that.

The most famous thing we do know about this son: he was blind.  And that was
the only existence he knew, having been born that way.

His meeting with Jesus, recorded in John Chapter 9, is noteworthy because he
was not one of the many who sought Jesus out in his difficulty.  The story
actually says the opposite - that Jesus saw him, and that somehow this
prompted a question about the fellow from His disciples, which led to Jesus'
healing of the man.

This healing, like many of Jesus' miracles, riled up what were by now the
typical objections, from disbelief to jealousy to religious condemnation.
"Is that really him?  No, but it looks like him...  This is the Sabbath, so
what's up with this healing business anyway?  This is sinful, to do such a
thing today...  How can such a rebel pull things off like this?"

What I've often shared with you concerning the man is simple honesty in
declaring what happened to him, even with religious leaders pressing him in
their rage to join them in their condemnation of his Healer.

"A man named Jesus made some clay, put it on me, and told me to go and wash.
So I did.  And now I can see."

"Now hold on!  This Jesus character is a sinner, having done this on this
day!!!  I mean, I know you're blind and all, or you were, that is...
And, uh, we all feel for you, er, we did anyway, uh...  But come on, this is the
Sabbath!  And so Jesus is a sinner!"

"But I was blind.  Now I can see."

"What's wrong with you!  Are you out of your mind?"

"Maybe, but I was blind.  Now I can see."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!  DON'T YOU HEAR WHAT WE'RE SAYING?!  COME TO YOUR SENSES!
DON'T YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE, AND WHAT'S AT STAKE HERE?!"

"Uh, I guess not.  I'm sorry.  This is a beautiful sanctuary, and those are
nice robes, and those are nice cars out in the parking lot, and I don't mean
to mess up this fine situation you all have here.  But I was blind, and now
I can see."

"YOU KNOW WHAT?  YOU'RE HOPELESS!  YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS HIM!  YOU KNOW
NOTHING AT ALL!  WE'VE GOT DOCTORS OF DIVINITY AND HAVE BEEN IN CHURCH ALL
OF OUR LIVES.  WE'VE WRITTEN BOOKS, MET WITH POLITICIANS AND BUSINESS
LEADERS AND CELEBRITIES, WE SPEAK AT THE GREATEST UNIVERSITIES IN THE LAND,
AND PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS LOOK TO US FOR GUIDANCE.  YOU ARE NOTHING."

"OK.  But I was blind, and now I can see."

But beyond the honesty, there's this lesson:  A good dose of reality can
overcome any perceived inadequacy or fear.

Was it hard for this fellow to face the detractors?  Certainly, even if he
made it look easy.  So why was he able to stay so focused and be so bold?
Because what had happened to him was real and it was fresh in his mind. He
COULDN'T respond any other way.

Try to think of it in your own, modern terms.  He had no idea what a person
looked like.  He couldn't tell what mood someone was in by the expression of
the face, for he didn't know what a smile looked like, nor a frown.  He had
never told a woman, "gee, you hair looks nice today."  He never saw fire, or
snow, or the leaves turn color in the autumn.  He never saw a big turkey
with trimmings on the table and said "man, that looks good."  He had no idea
that a bright red Corvette was a thing to be admired.  A 95-mph fastball and
a slow curve were the same.  Socks don't match?  No problem.

This guy was experiencing a world he had not known this way at all.  Try to
imagine the marvel.  And imagine the allegiance to the Healer he must have felt.

Switch senses now, and while you're exploring sight for the first moments,
imagine the intrusion of hearing this: "This Man is not from God."

Huh?

I've lied, stolen, worshiped my own gods, coveted, been lustful, hated
people in my heart, blasphemed, dishonored my parents, and have willingly
walked in just about every imaginable vice of man.  I had my back turned
squarely towards my Creator.

Then He sent His Son to rescue me, to pardon it all and set me free.
And that cost Jesus His life.

I was blind, and now I can see.

This Man is not from God?

Please, let yourself be amazed and caused to marvel at what God has done for
YOU.  Open your mouth and speak of it often.  You know you were blind.
If you can see now, you know why.  And the whole world needs to know why.
And only you can tell them.

Sometimes we fail to speak because we're not hopped up on a good dose of
reality.  Don't let Satan do that to you.  Don't let your own life do that
to you.  Don't let your own pursuits quench and drown out the beautiful
reality of what Christ has done for you.  Be consumed by His gospel, be
consumed by His rescue, be consumed by His glory.  And let it flow out
in beautiful testimony to others.

You were blind, and now you can see.  That's no small thing.

May God bless us as we open our mouths and preach the gospel to every creature.

In Jesus, looking for His glorious appearing,

Pastor Lou