Sermon Nuggets Thurs June 12
Theme Spiritual Blindness
Verses - John 9:24-34 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
26 Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27 He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
30 The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. (NIV)
Blinded by Pride.
The accusers of the blind man were not at all concerned about him or about the truth of what happened to him. They were proud of their theology, their education, their status, their power, and their religious training. Their pride kept them from seeing Jesus as the Son of God.
They asked the man a second time about the details of his healing. Perhaps they would find something else to criticize or condemn Jesus. But they couldn't escape the fact that the man was totally, physically blind and now he was healed by the supernatural powers of Jesus.
The man who was blind challenged them to open their own eyes. He asked how Jesus could receive just such power unless it was divine power. The man's eyes were opened, and so was his understanding of who Jesus must be. No one could open eyes blind from birth. Since God heard him then Jesus must be from God.
This infuriated the Jews and they rebuked him. "You were born in utter sin," And they kicked him out of the temple.
What was the power of this man's witness? He was changed and he knew it and wasn't afraid to tell people the truth. He didn't need to understand all doctrine, or comprehend all the answers to his doubts. He was living proof of a living and powerful God. He told his story. All he needed to do was to trust what he did understand. All the opinions in the world would not change this man's mind, because simply put, "I was blind, and now I see". He gave God the glory. It worked for Him.
Jesus is worth following. People can say anything they want. They can debate, argue read Greek, Hebrew, and hieroglyphics. They can have committee meetings and hold councils, and test-tube experiments, but it all came down to one final argument as far as the man was concerned, "I was blind, and now I see." People can believe him or not. They can think what they want to about Jesus, but he experienced God’s power and freedom of from that which kept him in darkness all my life. Nobody can deny that and what difference does it matter that others say and think. Jesus made him whole.
Have you experienced the reality of Jesus in your life? Your witness is what God has done for you. Tell others of your experience, and how God has affected your life and leave it at that. Nobody can deny it, and if they do, it really doesn't make a difference. Truth is not truth because people vote on it. Truth is truth based on what is revealed. That is why I found an article in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune a few years ago both funny and sad. A group of church people from the Disciples of Christ Church couldn't agree whether non-Christians could go to heaven, so they referred it back to committee. How prideful! They don't make up the rules God does. We can think what we like, but one who has experienced the reality of God in their life doesn't need an argument. "Once I was blind, and now I see."
Pastor Dale
