Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000113
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00:01 ♪ (Theme Song) ♪ ♪ Jesus is worthy ♪
00:07 ♪ oh yes, he's worthy ♪ ♪ worthy of all... ♪ 00:14 ♪ all the praise... ♪ ♪ (Music) ♪ 00:19 Pastor Byrd: I must admit, out of all the miracles, 00:24 out of all the Jesus miracle stories in the Bible, 00:27 this one is my favorite. 00:29 It's my favorite for many reasons and I don't have time 00:34 to tell you all the reasons, but know this, 00:36 I love the ending of this text. 00:39 I love when the man says, you know what? 00:41 Whether he was a sinner or not, I don't even know all that. 00:44 Whether he was a preacher, whether he was a prophet, 00:47 whether he's a priest or pastor, I don't know. 00:50 I don't know where he came from. 00:52 I don't know where he is right now. 00:54 I don't know where he's going. 00:56 I don't know his family. 00:57 I don't know if he's a doctor, if he's a nurse, 01:00 if he's a lawyer, if he's a teacher, 01:02 if he's a dentist, I don't know who he is, 01:05 but all I do know is I once was blind, but now I see. 01:10 Do I have a witness in this place? 01:14 There are many illnesses and impairments 01:16 in our world today. 01:18 You name it, we have it. 01:20 Cancer, we have it. 01:22 Leukemia, we have it. 01:24 High blood pressure, we have it. 01:26 Hypertension, we have it. 01:28 HIV, we have it. 01:30 Sickle cell, we have it. 01:32 Glaucoma, we have it. 01:34 Arthritis, we have it. 01:36 The inability to talk, we have it. 01:39 The inability to walk, we have it. 01:41 The inability to smell, we have it. 01:43 There are so many kinds of diseases, disorders, 01:46 and dysfunctions that doctors can't keep track of them all. 01:50 But of all the impairments out there, the one thing 01:54 that I know would be tough for me would be being blind. 01:58 To have sight is critical for me. 02:02 If I couldn't smell I still would be able to see. 02:06 If I couldn't walk, I still would be able to see. 02:09 If I couldn't talk, I still would be able to see. 02:12 If I couldn't touch, I still would be able to see. 02:15 Sight is important to me. 02:18 Jesus and his disciples are walking through Jerusalem 02:24 and they see a man who is blind. 02:26 The Bible says a man who's been blind from his birth. 02:30 Now, this is the only miracle recorded in the Bible 02:34 that expresses that this impairment of blindness 02:37 existed from the man's birth. 02:40 And because he's been blind from his birth, the natural 02:43 tendency is to believe that either he or his parents 02:46 have performed some grievous sin that caused 02:49 this impairment. 02:51 So the disciples ask him, Master, who did sin, 02:55 this man or his parents that he was born blind? 02:58 Because it was a Jewish belief that all suffering was 03:01 punishment for sin. 03:03 In "The Desire of Ages" Ellen White says, 03:05 every affliction in Jewish thought was regarded as penalty 03:09 of some wrongdoing, either of the sufferer himself, 03:12 or of his parents. 03:14 Some call it the "where there is woe, 03:18 there is wickedness" syndrome. 03:21 According to the Talmud, there was no death 03:23 without sin and there was no suffering without iniquity. 03:31 A sick man does not recover from sickness until all of 03:34 his sins have been forgiven him. 03:37 Now, we shouldn't think it strange thatpeople 03:39 would think this way, because we also subscribe 03:42 to the wages of sin is death. 03:43 That sin has its retribution. 03:45 That you reap what you sow. 03:47 And while we must not ignore these biblical injunctions, 03:50 we must be careful that we don't pass judgment on people 03:53 with the improper use of these statements, recognizing 03:56 that there are literally thousands of God's children 03:59 who suffer and a cause can't be traced to it. 04:02 Think about brother Job. 04:03 Job lost all he had. 04:06 Job sought to please God in everything and in every way, 04:10 but Job suffered greatly to prove that his faith was 04:13 in God rather than in material things. 04:16 Which leads to the question, why do bad things happen 04:19 to good people? 04:21 Why do the wicked prosper? 04:23 What did I do to deserve the problems I now face? 04:28 Why do I study all night? 04:30 Why don't I party on Friday night? 04:33 I go to church on Sabbath, believe in God, pray to God 04:37 every day, and I still struggle to make C's. And then the person 04:41 down the hall stays out late, parties all night, 04:45 could care less about God, but still makes A's. 04:50 Why am I a vegetarian? 04:53 I don't eat fried foods. 04:55 I exercise every day. 04:57 I drink eight glasses of water every day. 05:01 But yet I contract cancer and the person down the street 05:04 drinks and smokes and eats any and every thing 05:07 and they've got a clear bill of health. 05:10 Why am I the one born blind? 05:13 Now, if this man was blind as a result of his own sin, 05:17 then he must have sinned before he was born, 05:21 in as much as his blindness existed before his birth. 05:25 But that couldn't be the case, because how can one sin 05:28 before one had life? 05:29 So then maybe it had to be generational. 05:32 Because the Bible does say that the Lord visits the iniquity 05:35 of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 05:38 generation of them that hate him. 05:40 Yes, in case you didn't know, there is a thing called 05:42 generational curses. 05:44 Children often do suffer the consequences 05:47 of their parents' wrongdoing, but understand, they are not 05:50 punished for the parents' guilt. 05:52 Like Ellen White puts it, she said, 05:54 suffering is inflicted by Satan, but is overruled by God 05:58 for purposes of mercy. 06:02 So, why is there sickness and suffering? 06:05 Bottom line, we are a fallen people living in a fallen world. 06:09 Stop blaming yourself for something you 06:13 had no responsibility for. 06:15 Stop blaming people for stuff that they had nothing 06:18 to do with. 06:19 Sometimes, as I've learned in life, bad things happen 06:22 to good people. 06:24 The rain falls on the just and the unjust. 06:29 Now, there are two kinds of blindness in this story. 06:32 One is of the man who was born with a physical defect 06:35 of blindness. 06:36 The other is of religious folk who had a spiritual defect 06:39 and were spiritually blind. 06:41 Spiritual blindness is worse than physical blindness. 06:44 Physical blindness can be healed, but spiritual blindness 06:47 resists healing. 06:49 Jesus said, neither hath this man sinned, 06:53 nor his parents, but as a result of his suffering, the works, 06:57 hallelujah, of God will be made manifest in him. 07:01 In other words, you'll bleed a little while, you'll suffer 07:05 a little while, you'll get hurt a little while, 07:09 but you will get up. 07:10 Sometimes you have to go through something in order 07:13 to get something. 07:14 You can't have a testimony without a test. 07:18 You can't have it. 07:19 This man didn't sin and neither did his parents 07:22 for that the works of God might be made manifest 07:25 in him. 07:26 You know what, you all, let me confess. 07:28 I love Jesus. 07:30 Maybe you don't love him, but I love me some Jesus. 07:32 Notice they say and ask this question, but Jesus 07:36 says that the works of God might be made manifest. 07:40 Jesus did not explain the cause of the man's affliction, 07:43 he just told them what would be the result. 07:48 In other words, Jesus says, look, I'm not here to debate 07:51 with you about how he got sick. 07:54 I'm just here to tell you what I'm getting ready to do. 07:57 I'm just here to tell you that God's about 08:00 to be glorified, the devil is about to be horrified, 08:03 and this man is about to be edified. 08:07 Jesus spits on the ground, he makes mud, 08:12 puts mud in his hands and rubs them together. 08:16 He then puts mud on the man's eyes, anoints the man's eyes, 08:20 and then he says, go wash in the pool of Siloam. 08:23 Now, go with me in your mind's eye. 08:27 Imagine that you're blind and you hear of this man 08:31 whom you don't know, whom you've never seen, 08:34 and you hear that he can heal you, but you go to him 08:37 and he spits on the ground, rubs mud together, 08:40 and then he puts it on your eyes and tells you to go wash 08:46 in a pool somewhere. 08:48 You would think the man was crazy. 08:52 Most times when you're sick and you're trying to get well, 08:57 you expect to do things that make you better, 08:59 not make you feel worse before you get better. 09:02 When you have a headache and you take an aspirin, 09:04 it's supposed to get you better before it gets you worse. 09:07 But somebody knows, sometimes it gets worse before it gets 09:10 better, and I'm learned sometimes in this Christian 09:12 walk, it gets worse before it gets better. 09:16 In fact, better is relative. 09:20 Better is how you view it. 09:22 Your worse may be somebody's best. 09:25 And somebody's best just might be your worst. 09:30 I can't explain today, friends of mine, why Jesus spits 09:35 on the ground and makes mud out of his saliva. 09:39 I can't explain to you why Jesus sends this man to the pool 09:43 of Siloam when he heals so many with just one touch 09:47 and one word. 09:48 I can't explain why Jesus couldn't look at the man 09:51 and tell the man, man, be healed. 09:53 I cannot explain Jesus' method of healing, but sometimes, 09:58 I've learned, that God's way of healing is not your 10:01 chosen way of healing. 10:03 Sometimes God's way of bringing you out is not the way you would 10:07 have chosen to come out, because sometimes you've got 10:09 to get mud on your face. 10:14 Sometimes you're laughed at. 10:16 Sometimes you're criticized. 10:19 But let me tell you something, you better learn just to be 10:21 thankful that he brought you out. 10:23 Quit worrying about how he brought you out, just praise God 10:26 he brought you out. 10:27 Can we be real today? 10:30 It's easier to love God when God does what we want. 10:34 But what about those times when God doesn't do what we want? 10:39 It's easy to praise God when the sun is shining, 10:45 the birds are singing, and the money is flowing. 10:49 But what about the times when the rain is falling, 10:52 the lions are growling, your money is funny, 10:55 your change is strange, and your credit can't get it? 10:57 What about those times when you're sick and you just can't 11:01 get well? 11:02 What about those times when you've got more malt 11:05 than you have money? 11:06 What about those times when you're blind? 11:08 Let me tell you something, you better learn how 11:10 to trust God. 11:11 You better learn how to have faith in God and learn he may 11:16 not come when you want him, but he's always right on time. 11:20 Somebody knows that his ways are not my ways. 11:24 His thoughts are not my thoughts. 11:27 God is God. 11:28 Which means God can deviate from the conventional acceptable 11:31 methods that are easily misunderstood by the majority. 11:35 God is not limited by you or me. 11:38 God is not limited by anything or anyone. 11:40 God touched the leper. 11:42 God spoke to a donkey. 11:43 God forgave a man's sins to forgive healing. 11:46 God put air conditioning in a fiery, burning furnace. 11:49 God had more medicine in the hem of his garment 11:51 than any doctor anywhere. 11:53 God took a dead girl by the hand and raised that dead girl up. 11:56 God stood in front of Lazarus' grave and called Lazarus out. 11:59 God stood over Peter's mother-in-law and healed her 12:02 raging fever. 12:03 God spoke to the winds and to the waves and just said, 12:05 peace, be still. 12:09 This is the same God who laid down his life 12:12 and took it up again. 12:13 God can do what he wants, when he wants, 12:17 where he wants, and how he wants. 12:19 God is God. 12:21 The way God brings you out may not be the way you want 12:25 to come out, but just be thankful 12:27 you came out. 12:28 You've got to have faith. 12:30 You have to learn to trust in God. 12:34 Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus. 12:37 I've learned to trust in God. 12:40 Faith is believing what you can't see. 12:43 Sometimes you have to believe God for something when you have 12:47 no point of reference. 12:49 Think about it, you all. 12:51 If the man had been born with eyesight, if the man 12:55 had been born where he could see and then gone blind, 12:58 then at least he would have had a point of reference 13:00 of what it would have been like to see, but you can't 13:02 miss what you've never had. 13:03 And because the man was born blind, he has to believe God for 13:10 something for which he has no point of reference. 13:15 He had to have faith. 13:16 Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, 13:20 the evidence of things not seen. 13:23 Without faith it is impossible to please God. 13:26 God is the reward of those that diligently seek him. 13:29 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 13:33 So, all of a sudden, all the people 13:37 in the city see this former blind man 13:41 who can now see. 13:43 And so they begin to talk among themselves. 13:45 You know how we do. 13:46 We begin to murmur amongst ourselves. 13:49 Is this the same man we knew? 13:52 No, it's not the same man. 13:54 It can't be the same man. 13:55 He just looks like that man. 13:58 No, I believe it's him. 14:00 I believe it looks like him. 14:01 He has hair like the other man. 14:03 He has a nose like the other man. 14:05 Man, how did you get your eyes open? 14:10 How are you now able to see? 14:12 Man, who did this for you? 14:16 Man replied, the man named Jesus. 14:21 I've never seen him in my life. 14:24 When he healed me, all he did was put mud on my eyes and he 14:28 told me to go down to that pool and wash. 14:31 I did what he told me to do and now I can see. 14:36 I didn't see him when he told me what to do. 14:39 I just went and washed like he told me to do. 14:42 Where is the man now? 14:44 I don't know where the man is now. 14:46 I'm trying to tell you, I just did what the man told me to do. 14:51 So, because the man can't answer them, they take the man 14:57 to the Pharisees. 14:58 They will get an answer from the man. 15:02 Let me pause here. 15:05 Why can't people just be happy for the man? 15:12 Why can't the people just rejoice in his healing? 15:17 No, they've got to know who healed him, 15:22 when he healed him, why he healed him, 15:27 where he healed him, and how he healed him. 15:31 They just can't be happy for him. 15:36 How did they do it? 15:39 When did they do it? 15:40 Where did they do it? 15:42 So they've got to drag him down to the Pharisees 15:45 and that's just like people. 15:46 I've learned firsthand. 15:47 Everybody does not joy in your success. 15:52 There are some people who pray, p-r-a-y, and p-r-e-y 15:55 on your demise. 15:58 Oh, I wish I had time in this place today. 16:01 You all like that, because that's bowling down 16:05 somebody's alley. 16:06 In fact, the best moments in your life often produce 16:09 jealousy and envy in somebody else's life. 16:12 Tell the truth. 16:14 Shame the devil. 16:16 There's nothing that gets on your nerves more than seeing 16:19 somebody do what you've always wanted to do or get what you've 16:23 always wanted to get. 16:24 But you know what? 16:25 Don't hate the player. 16:27 Hate the game and learn to be a cheerleader, because if God 16:32 is blessing somebody else, you need to learn how to cheer 16:35 for them, because God must be in the neighborhood, 16:38 because it's just a matter of time. 16:40 Oh, I wish I had a witness in this place. 16:42 It's just a matter of time before God blesses you. 16:51 And here go the Pharisees. 16:55 You know us --I mean, you know them. 16:58 Can't sing. 17:01 Can't smile. 17:06 Can't speak. 17:08 shake my hand say, happy Sabbath. 17:09 You ain't happy about it, be quiet. 17:13 Can't shake hands. 17:14 Can't do this, can't do that. 17:16 Find fault in everything. 17:17 Here, go the Pharisees. 17:20 The Pharisees hate on the man and began to question the man, 17:22 too. 17:23 They want to know how he received his sight. 17:25 They want to know who healed him and they want to know what 17:28 the man believes about Jesus. 17:30 So they tell the man that Jesus cannot possibly be from God, 17:32 because he broke the religious law and healed the man 17:34 on the Sabbath. Verse 16, This is what they say, this man 17:40 is not of God because he doesn't keep the Sabbath. 17:43 How can a sinner do such miracles? 17:46 But the real deal is the Pharisees are mad, 17:48 because they want the source of the man's healing 17:50 and couldn't claim rights to it. 17:52 Think about it, you all. 17:55 If Jesus had sent the man to the Pharisees instead 17:57 of the pool, they would have been fine. 18:00 No discussion, no debates, no questioning. 18:03 But because Jesus didn't use them, because Jesus 18:08 didn't ask them, because Jesus didn't consult them, 18:13 they had a problem. 18:16 And that's just like some of us. 18:18 When we're not consulted on a decision, 18:20 when we're not in the loop, when we're not a part 18:23 of the so-called in crowd, and I'm still trying to find 18:26 out who's the in crowd. 18:27 I hear people say all the time, you know who they are, 18:31 Pastor Byrd. 18:32 You know the in crowd. 18:33 You know who they are. 18:34 They're your people. 18:35 What do you mean my people? 18:36 Everybody is my people. 18:38 But when we're not a part of it, there's a problem. 18:41 And so what people will do, I've learned, they will try 18:43 to minimize you because they think it will maximize them. 18:49 And that's why I love Jesus, because Jesus has a way 18:52 of using people and a way of using methods 18:55 that other people don't like so you can't get the credit 18:57 for their healing. 19:01 This man is not of God because he doesn't keep 19:04 the Sabbath, so how could a sinner perform such miracles? 19:09 While they appeared wonderfully zealous 19:13 for the observance of the Sabbath, 19:15 yet they were planning murder that very day. 19:20 But if you study the Word of God carefully, you will understand 19:23 that to heal the sick man was not a breach 19:25 of the divine law of the Sabbath. 19:27 In finding fault with our Lord for such a breach, 19:30 the Pharisees, in fact, showed their ignorance 19:32 at the law they were supposed to observe. 19:34 Remember, it was Jesus,when he began his ministry, who healed 19:37 the man with the withered hand, who told the Pharisees early on 19:40 that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. 19:43 The Pharisees totally missed the point 19:45 that the man's healing was the miracle. 19:48 Ellen White says in "Desire of Ages," 19:50 she says they were more than filled with hatred 19:53 for the miracle had been performed on the Sabbath Day. 19:58 Let me be clear with you all. 19:59 I wish Jesus would walk up in here and I wish 20:02 he would come up here on the Sabbath Day and look 20:05 at Sister Allison and say, Sister Allison, rise, 20:09 get up and walk. 20:11 I would jump all over this place. 20:20 Don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good. 20:22 But it doesn't matter to the Pharisees. 20:29 The only thing they can do it criticize Jesus for healing 20:31 on the Sabbath. 20:35 Are you so caught up in legalism that you forget love? 20:40 Are you so caught up in religion that you forget it's all about 20:44 a relationship? 20:45 Are you so caught up in reciting the 23rd Psalm that you really 20:48 don't know the Shepherd? 20:49 That you're in the sanctuary, but you don't have God's spirit? 20:53 That you know the Lord's prayer, but you don't know the Lord? 20:59 The Pharisees can't get an answer from the man, 21:04 so the Bible then says they go to his parents. 21:09 That's just like some folk, they don't believe 21:13 your miracle is real. 21:14 They think it's phony and fake. 21:16 They try to falsify your miracle. 21:18 Like the Pharisees, they'd rather deny 21:20 the evidence of their own senses than admit 21:22 they were in error. 21:26 I'm 41 now, you all, and I've learned in these 41 years, 21:34 you can't explain the goodness of God. 21:38 You cannot explain the miracle-working power 21:42 of God. 21:43 And you know what? 21:44 You don't have to, because that's what 21:48 a miracle is. 21:49 A surprising and welcoming event that is not explainable 21:53 by natural or scientific laws, which means it's can only be 21:57 the Divine. 21:58 I don't know about you, but there are some things 22:02 in life that all I can say is, look at God. 22:04 Anybody know what I'm talking about? 22:08 Where it was just God? 22:10 Anybody believe--let me preach to you all--anybody still 22:13 believe in miracles? 22:14 Anybody still believe that God can work miracles? 22:18 Woke you up this morning. 22:19 Started you on your way. 22:22 Gave you a job you weren't applying for. 22:24 The job found you. 22:26 The tumor in your body, instead of growing, it's now shrinking. 22:30 Sent you a refund check in the mail. 22:36 Somebody placed a $20 bill in your pocket 22:39 just when you needed it and they didn't know 22:41 about your situation. 22:42 How about this, driving down the street, driving down 22:45 University Drive, and your foot for some 22:47 reason pushed the brake instead of the gas pedal. 22:52 Only you later find an oncoming car who didn't brake 22:55 coming across the street. 22:56 Brought your child or your grandchild back 22:58 to the Lord off the street dealing drugs, 23:01 people and alcohol. 23:02 Look at God. 23:03 I cannot explain the goodness of God. 23:08 And that's all right that I can't explain it. 23:11 But when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done 23:15 for me, my soul cries out hallelujah, thank God 23:22 for saving me. 23:23 Does anybody know he's good? 23:25 The Pharisees, they don't believe the man was healed. 23:33 So they now question his parents. 23:37 And the good thing is, think about this story, 23:39 they've gone from questioning and talking to the man 23:44 to talking to the multitude. 23:45 Now they talk to his parents. 23:47 And what the Pharisees don't realize is that 23:50 the more they talk the greater the publicity 23:52 they're giving to the works and miracles of Jesus. 23:54 Because all the while they're talking people 23:57 are now gathering all around. 24:00 They think they're hurting things, but they don't realize 24:03 they're actually helping things. 24:05 And so they ask the man's parents, is this your son? 24:11 Is this the one you said was born blind? 24:14 How is it that now he can see? 24:17 Trembling and fearful, the Bible says, 24:19 because they were afraid they would be put out 24:21 of the church, his parents answered, we know he is our son 24:26 and we know he was born blind. 24:30 Now, this is the point that the Pharisees were hoping 24:33 could be proved untrue because their earlier attempt 24:36 to invalidate the miracle had failed. 24:38 We know he is our son. 24:42 We know he was born blind. 24:46 But how he can see or who opened his eyes, we don't know. 24:53 But ask him. 24:55 He's of age. 24:59 He can speak for himself. 25:05 Before I go on. 25:06 Poor parents. 25:08 Fear of being put out of the church led them to 25:12 cover up the truth. 25:14 They're afraid, so they're going to pass the buck 25:17 and shift all responsibilities from themselves to their son. 25:22 So they're rather lie than be disfellowshipped 25:25 from the church. 25:30 But let me tell you something. 25:32 I'd rather be in a storm with Jesus than in be 25:37 sunshine with man. 25:40 So the Pharisees go back to the man a second time. 25:43 Quit giving this man credit. 25:46 Stop giving this man who healed you or claimed 25:48 to heal you credit. 25:49 This man you're talking about is a sinner. 25:53 Give God the praise. 25:59 Then, my favorite partp of the story, 26:02 I end where I began. 26:07 The man's response reveals the man's remarkable shrewdness. 26:13 He refuses to argue about whether Jesus 26:16 was even a sinner or not. 26:18 He just bases his testimony on indisputable evidence. 26:25 The man says, I don't know where he came from. 26:32 I don't know if he's a saint or a sinner. 26:36 I don't know if he goes to church or not. 26:39 I don't know what school he went to. 26:43 I don't know if he went to Harvard. 26:46 I don't know if he went to MIT. 26:49 I don't kn if he knows Ben Carson 26:51 and went to Johns Hopkins. 26:52 I don't know if he went to Norfolk State. 26:55 I don't know if he went to Loma Linda. 26:57 I don't know if he went to Andrews. 26:59 I don't even know if he went to Oakwood. 27:01 All I know is that I was blind, 27:11 you all don't hear me, all that I know is 27:13 that I was blind, but now I see. 27:15 >: The Breath of Life gift offer this week is "Surprised by 27:18 Love," by pastor and international speaker 27:20 Elizabeth Viera Talbot. 27:21 Find out how people in the Bible were surprised by God's love. 27:24 Adam and Eve were surprised. 27:25 The deceitful serpent and the Pharisees 27:27 were surprised. 27:28 It surprised the disciples and even the heavenly angels. 27:31 And God's surprises of love continue all around us today. 27:35 Join with Elizabeth as you get a fresh view of the greatest story 27:39 ever told. 27:40 From the kidnapping of God's children to the rescue, 27:42 from the ransom to the reunion. 27:44 "Surprised by Love" is yours for a gift of $5 27:46 or more. 27:47 Please call our toll free number 877-BOL-OFFER. 27:50 That's 877-265-6333. 27:51 Please have your credit card ready when you call. 27:56 Or you may write us to request your copy. 27:59 Please send your check to Breath of Life, P.O. Box 340, 28:03 Newbury Park, California 91319. 28:06 Get your copy of "Surprised by Love" today. 28:09 Be encouraged and touched by the unexpected rescue 28:12 God's childre PB: Are you so caught up 28:15 in religion that you forget it's all about a relationship? 28:19 Are you so caught up in reciting the 23rd Psalm 28:21 that you really don't know the Shepherd? 28:24 That you're in the sanctuary, but you don't have God's spirit? 28:27 That you know the Lord's prayer, |
Revised 2015-02-06