(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Breath of Life
Ministries Presents:
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Sermon #B620 - Open Your Eyes
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PB: All right, John,
chapter 9, verse number 1.
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Let's try it again, do you
have it? All right, that's good.
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The word says, "And Jesus
passed by and he saw a man
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which was blind from his birth
and his disciples asked Him,
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say, 'Master, who did
sin? This man or his parents
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that he was born
blind?' Jesus answered and said,
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'Neither hath this man
sinned nor his parents but that
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the works of God should
be made manifest in him,
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I must work the works of him
that sent me while it is day,
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for when night
cometh no man can work.
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As long as I'm in the
world I am the light of the one,
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' everybody. When he had thus
spoken he spat on the ground,
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made clay of the spittle
and he anointed the eyes of
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the blind man with the
clay and he said to him,
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'Go wash in the pool of Siloam
which is by interpretation Sent.
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' He went his way therefore
and washed and came seeing.
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" Skip down to verse
number 18, "But the Jews did not
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believe concerning
him that he had been blind
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and received the sight,
until they called the parents
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of them that had
received his sight."
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Verse 19, "And they asked
him saying, 'Is this your son
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whom you say was born
blind, how then doth he now see?
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His parents answered them
and said, 'We know that this
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is our son and that he was
born blind but by what means
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he thou now see it we know
not, or who hath opened his
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eyes we know not, but
he is of age, ask him,
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he can speak for himself.'
These words spake his parents
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because they feared the Jews
for the Jews had agreed already
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that if any man did
confess that he was Christ,
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he should be put out of
the synagogue, put out of the
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church. 'Therefore,' said
his parents, 'he is of age, ask
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him.' Then again called they the
man that was blind and said unto
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him, 'Give God the praise. We
know that this man is a sinner,'
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but this's what the man said,
'Whether he be a sinner or not I
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know not, but one thing I do
know that whereas I was blind
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but now I see. I said whereas I
was blind but now I see.' Lord
speak to your people,
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blow our minds at the appeals
peel by the power of your Holy
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Ghost." In Jesus
name we pray, amen.
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To be, open your eyes. Now, you
would have thought that this man
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being healed would have
brought about great celebration.
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You would have thought
that all of his friends,
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all of his family, all the
neighbors, all the church folk
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would appreciate what God
had done for him in his life.
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But instead of celebrating
his healing controversy
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broke out over his healing.
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Vision surprised us because
as I've learned firsthand
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the greatest moments in
your life can often produce
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the greatest moments of envy
and jealousy in somebody else's
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life. Today let's be reminded
everybody's not happy when
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you're blessed, everybody is not
happy when you're successful.
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The young
people call this hating
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but let me give
you some good advice.
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Don't hate the
player hate the game,
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do I have a witness in this
place? I say it all the time,
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be a cheerleader, God's blessing
him, God's in the neighborhood,
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it's just a matter of time
before God starts blessing you.
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Do I have a mad
witness in this place?
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The people are mad
because Jesus healed this man,
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mad because the
man's life has changed,
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mad because the man's
life was turned around,
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mad his life has
been given to Jesus,
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mad he's no
longer what he used to be
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but mad that he's
now what he should be.
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So, the Pharisees asked,
"Who healed you? Where is he?
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You must have sinned
because you were born blind."
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But how could he have sinned
in his mother's womb to be born
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blind? A baby is
innocent in his mother's womb
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and what could a
baby do in the womb
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that would cause
him to be born blind?
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So, if he didn't sin then
his parents must have sinned.
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So, now, the parent- the
Pharisees are trying to connect
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the sins of the father
to the sins of the child.
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Stop making children guilty
of their- of what their parents
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have done bad, are you
hearing what I'm saying?
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Now, this is ensured to be
strange because you often hear
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people talking
about generational curses.
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You hear Buddhists talk about
Karma, the old cliche says,
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"What goes around comes around,"
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but Jesus clears all
this up by saying that
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the man's blindness
has nothing to do with sin
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in his life or
his parents lives.
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Nothing the man did
brought this upon him,
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nothing the pair of the parents
did brought this upon him
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but sometimes bad
things happen to good people.
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So, Jesus says,
"Neither hath this man sinned
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nor his parents but
that the works of God
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should be made
manifest in this man."
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In other words, God's
about to be glorified,
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the man is about to be edified
and the devil is about to be
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horrified. Jesus is
about to heal this man
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so that the works of
God might be made manifest.
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So, I learned four things from
this story quickly and then I
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sit down. Number one, look
for blessings and not for blame.
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When we're faced
with challenge in life
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we can look at the challenge
either positively or negatively,
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the cup can be half empty
or the cup can be half full.
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In the text the Pharisees
see a problem but Jesus sees a
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solution. Pharisees,
"This man is blind," Jesus, "
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But God's about
to be glorified."
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Pharisees, "This
man is blind, I said,"
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Jesus said, "Somebody's
about to get blessed today."
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So, somebody sitting here today
you're looking at this thing
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positively, maybe
negatively, and you're saying, "
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I don't have enough
money to go to Oakwood."
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But you're looking at the
problem and you need to look at
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the solution. I'm not worried
about it, why? My God owns the
cattle on a thousand hills,
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God will make a way out of no
way to the person that's looking
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at a negativity to me it's too
much money, you better claim God
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and claim the blessings
and scholarship is on the way.
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A grant is on the way, a gift
from somebody you didn't think
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was coming it's on the way.
Somebody else, a older folk, "
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I lost my job. I don't
know what I'm going to do."
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You're looking at the
problem not at the solution.
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Maybe God's got
something better for you,
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a better paying job with better
benefits in a better environment
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is in somebody's future today.
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God wouldn't take
you through unemployment
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if God weren't God enough to
bring you through unemployment.
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Too often we were faced with
a problem we were looking for
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somebody to blame, but
guit looking at the problem
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and look for the blessing, I
will lift up my own eyes into
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the hills from whence cometh
my help, my help comes from the
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Lord. In fact, Jesus shows
us that we're- what we're to do
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when we're faced with
the problem, he says, "
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Look at it as an opportunity."
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An opportunity to allow
the works of God to be made
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manifest, an opportunity
for God to show up and show out,
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let's think about it you all.
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We would have never known that
God can make a Red Sea a dry
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Highway. If the children of
Israel had not been chased by
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the Egyptians we would have
never known that God can shut
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lion's mouth, if Daniel
had not gone in the lion's den
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you would have never known
God was a healer if you've never
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been sick. You would never know
that God is a provider if you've
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never been broke, you would
never know he's a way maker if
you hadn't been laid off.
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Stop seeing problems,
start seeing opportunities,
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stop blaming and start blessing.
Stop, he must have sinned.
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Stop, his parents must have
sinned. Stop, he must have done
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this, he must have done
that, and start blessing God
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for what God is
getting ready to do.
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I will bless the
Lord at all times,
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His praise can be
easily be in my mouth,
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that's point one.
Point two, don't box God in.
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Now, notice how
Jesus heals the man,
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Jesus stoops down,
spits on the ground,
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rubs dirt and spit together,
makes mud, puts the mud on the
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man's eyes and  then tells
the man, "Go wash in the pool of
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Siloam." Now, Jesus had the
power where he could have spoken
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the word and said, "I command
you to see," but he didn't do
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that. Jesus could have
laid hands on the man and said,
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"I command you to see," but
Jesus didn't do that either.
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When Jesus got ready to heal
the man, he spat on the ground,
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made mud of spits, told
the man to go wash in the pool,
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and that means sometimes
God's way of bringing you out
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may not be the way
you wanted to come out.
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Sometimes when God's
getting ready to bring you out,
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he doesn't bring you
out classy or comfortable.
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Sometimes you got to
have mud on your face.
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Sometimes you have to go
bankrupt. Sometimes you lose
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your job. Sometimes you lose
your house. Sometimes you lose
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your car. Sometimes, young
people, you failed the class.
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Sometimes you get embarrassed.
Don't expect God to solve your
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problems in the way you would
solve them. Just because you're
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in a box don't put God
in the box. Let God be God.
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Don't limit God because you want
God to fit in the mold you've
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made for him. Give God room to
be God. Give God room to do the
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unexpected. Give God
room to do the impossible.
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There are some people
who are changed in their life
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but they don't want
it to cost them anything,
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but God's blessings cost
you something. What am I talking
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about? I want to lose weight but
I want to eat ice cream late at
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night. I want a degree
but I don't want to study.
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I want to get out of debt but
I don't want to pay anybody off.
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I want a wife but I don't
want to work. I want a husband
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but I don't want to submit.
You'd be surprised that people
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who want things but aren't
willing to go to get through it
to get it what it takes.
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But how bad do you want it?
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Because when you really want
change you better tell somebody,
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"I'm past what you think about
me. I'm past what you say about
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me. I'm past all that because
you don't have a heaven or hell
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for me. You don't
put beans in my pot.
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So, spits, mud, whatever
it takes Jesus save me."
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Jesus heals this
man with spit and mud,
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but talking about the box
and putting Jesus in a box,
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the Pharisees are mad because
Jesus didn't go to them for the
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man's healing, that he didn't
ask them permission to heal the
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man, that they didn't take a
boat to approve Jesus' way of
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healing. You see, people will
get mad when they can't claim
rights to your healing.
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People will get mad when they
can't claim rights to your
responsibilities and successes.
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If Jesus had sent
this man to the Pharisees,
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the Pharisees would
have then said, "We did it"
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and then it would have been all
right for the man to be healed.
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But because the man got
healed outside the system,
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outside the box, y'all
don't hear what I'm saying,
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What does the text
say? Verse number 19,
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the Pharisees asked, "Is this
your son who you say was born
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blind? How big does he
now see?" verse number 20,
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"We know that this is our
son and that he was born blind,"
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verse 21, "but by what means
he now see if we don't know.
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Who had open his
eyes we don't know,
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but he's of age, ask him,
he can speak for himself."
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Now, let's be honest
in 21st century, 2018,
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if someone trying to threaten us
that we would be thrown out of
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the church, this fellowship
as we used to call it or
00:13:04.51\00:13:08.72
excommunicated in other churches
if we didn't go along with some
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religious leaders decisions, we
would say, "So what? Who cares?
00:13:11.62\00:13:16.73
Put me out." But if you live
back in the time of John chapter
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9, you would be scared because
if you were barred from the
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temple, then no one would want
to have anything to do with you.
00:13:21.30\00:13:23.83
They wouldn't hire you to
work. They wouldn't buy or sell
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anything to you. You would be in
a field without a glove or up a
river without a paddle.
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So, because they're
scared and they cannot lie,
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they send the Pharisees to their
son claiming he's old enough to
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speak for himself, so then the
Bible says the Pharisees called
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the man. Verse 24, the Pharisees
asked, "Who healed you?
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You ought to be giving God the
praise not this man you claim
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who healed you. The man
you're speaking of is a sinner.
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He broke religious law and
he healed you on the Sabbath."
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Which leads me to
point number three,
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I'm almost done,
put people over policy.
00:13:54.83\00:14:03.07
People are tired of
religion without relationship.
00:14:03.10\00:14:10.45
People are tired of coming to
church, getting beat up in the
00:14:10.48\00:14:15.52
pulpits, beat up
about what they have on,
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beat up about what they're doing
and what they're not doing.
00:14:17.85\00:14:20.46
People are tired of
being able to come to church
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where they can't share their
burden simply because they're
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afraid of what other
folks might say about.
00:14:25.63\00:14:27.13
People are tired of
seeing the emphasis of
00:14:27.13\00:14:29.46
policy placed over
the needs of people.
00:14:29.50\00:14:31.17
People want to know,
"Do you care about me?"
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You see, people, I've learned,
don't care so much how much you
00:14:35.84\00:14:38.97
know but they want to
know how much you care.
00:14:39.01\00:14:40.81
Remember in the early
part of the text, remember now,
00:14:40.84\00:14:43.21
instead of looking at the blind
man with the desire to help him,
00:14:43.24\00:14:45.48
the Pharisees wanted to
start a theological debate,
00:14:45.51\00:14:48.45
"Did he sin?
Did his parents sin?
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"But people wherein don't need
a sermon when they're facing
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problems. They need help. We
shouldn't care so much as to
about why they're hurting
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to the fact that
they are hurting.
00:15:00.70\00:15:02.73
Are you hearing what I'm saying?
00:15:02.76\00:15:03.93
Let me try this way, somebody
you still not getting it.
00:15:03.97\00:15:05.90
If you were in a car
accident and you were bleeding
00:15:05.93\00:15:08.94
and you were bleeding to death
in the ER of the hospital room,
00:15:08.97\00:15:12.27
how would you feel if
the doctor came in your room
00:15:12.31\00:15:14.58
and wanted to talk to you about
the history of the stethoscope?
00:15:14.61\00:15:20.25
You'll be like, "Who
cares? I'm bleeding to death."
00:15:20.28\00:15:24.69
And while everything the doctor
might be saying to you it's
00:15:24.72\00:15:27.46
true, it would also be
irrelevant to you because it
doesn't stop your pain.
00:15:27.49\00:15:32.29
People don't always need
to know why problems occur,
00:15:32.33\00:15:36.33
why did God let this happen?
Why do bad things happen to good
00:15:36.36\00:15:39.90
people? Why this? Why
that? People just want to know,
00:15:39.93\00:15:42.84
"Can you help me?" And
so the Pharisees are saying
00:15:42.87\00:15:46.44
Jesus broke religious law
and healed on the Sabbath.
00:15:46.47\00:15:48.94
But the Pharisees with all
of their theological prowess,
00:15:48.98\00:15:52.15
with all their
debates about the Sabbath
00:15:52.18\00:15:53.85
and whether it was lawful to
take some mud and put it on a
00:15:53.88\00:15:56.82
man's eyes for the purpose of
making him see, with all these
00:15:56.85\00:16:00.22
legal ramblings, they could not
see that they were making this
00:16:00.26\00:16:03.53
man feel like some ungodly force
had brought about his healing,
00:16:03.56\00:16:07.30
so they were
distributing his sight
00:16:07.30\00:16:09.23
as though he had no reason
to be happy about his miracle.
00:16:09.26\00:16:11.40
They were so
hung up on doctrines
00:16:11.43\00:16:12.93
that they were blind
to what the doctrines
00:16:12.97\00:16:14.60
were doing to real people,
religious but not relationship.
00:16:14.64\00:16:18.77
They knew the law but
they didn't know about love.
00:16:18.81\00:16:21.08
And religion
without relationship
00:16:21.11\00:16:23.18
ends up worrying
about what you have won,
00:16:23.21\00:16:25.18
where you live, and who you know
instead of you getting to know
00:16:25.21\00:16:28.58
Jesus Christ. Religion without
relationship breeds rules and
rituals and self-righteousness.
00:16:28.62\00:16:33.76
The Pharisees spent all
their lives being religious
00:16:33.79\00:16:36.09
and before we're too hard on
them, before we're too critical
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.93
on them, all of us to
some degree are religious.
00:16:38.96\00:16:43.57
Let's be real, there's
nothing that's turning yourself
00:16:43.60\00:16:48.10
dangerous, that's turning
yourself over to a roomful of
00:16:48.14\00:16:53.01
church folk, especially
when you've done wrong.
00:16:53.04\00:16:55.38
Years ago not
today but years ago,
00:16:55.41\00:16:56.95
don't get
pregnant out of wedlock.
00:16:56.98\00:16:59.28
We bring you up to
the front in church
00:16:59.31\00:17:00.98
and then sinner is going to
accuse another sinner of what
00:17:01.02\00:17:03.75
they've done. The only
difference is the people in the
pew didn't get caught.
00:17:03.79\00:17:06.02
I wish I had a
witness in this place.
00:17:06.05\00:17:09.76
[Applause]
00:17:09.79\00:17:13.50
We have rules for
which we have no scriptures.
00:17:13.53\00:17:16.63
And where we have scriptures,
00:17:16.67\00:17:18.33
we don't search them for
appropriateness or contextual
00:17:18.37\00:17:21.94
correctness, so we just hurled
them out after the fashion of
our fathers without questioning
00:17:21.97\00:17:25.31
the possibility that our
fathers might have been wrong,
00:17:25.34\00:17:28.14
so what do we do? We
kill our sons, our future,
00:17:28.18\00:17:30.71
try to be loyal to our fathers,
our past, and our future
00:17:30.75\00:17:33.65
is destroyed by our
commitment to our history
00:17:33.68\00:17:35.85
because we love our history
more than we love our destiny.
00:17:35.88\00:17:41.69
But I've learned that people
can't see if they have dirt in
00:17:41.72\00:17:47.40
their own eyes. Put people
over policy. Jesus came to save
00:17:47.40\00:17:54.20
people, not policy. Policy
protects us, but Jesus came to
00:17:54.24\00:18:03.45
save us. Final point, I'm done,
00:18:03.48\00:18:05.31
praise God for who he is
and not just for what he's done.
00:18:05.35\00:18:12.85
Now, this man had a greater
need than being healed from
00:18:12.89\00:18:16.29
blindness. The man
needed more than physical sight.
00:18:16.32\00:18:17.79
The man needed a savior. Jesus
just didn't want this man to see
00:18:17.83\00:18:21.83
he wanted this man to experience
the truth about who God is.
00:18:21.86\00:18:25.20
What good would have been
for the blind man's have gained
00:18:25.23\00:18:29.07
physical sight but no spiritual
sight? The miracle was not
00:18:29.10\00:18:33.44
complete until the man had a
relationship with Jesus Christ.
00:18:33.48\00:18:36.54
The plan of God is not
just to solve our problems.
00:18:36.58\00:18:40.02
The plan of God is for us
to be in relationship with God.
00:18:40.05\00:18:43.89
The plan of God is
for us to worship God.
00:18:43.92\00:18:45.99
We were created to worship God.
00:18:46.02\00:18:47.79
It doesn't matter if God decides
00:18:47.82\00:18:49.76
to answering every one of our
prayers in the way we want him
00:18:49.79\00:18:53.53
to, but if we fail to
worship God we missed the point.
00:18:53.56\00:18:58.27
So let me be clear, if God
doesn't do another thing for us,
00:18:58.30\00:19:03.24
he's already done enough. I
don't worship God just for what
00:19:03.27\00:19:08.74
he's done but I worship God for
who God is, what is God, who is
00:19:08.78\00:19:16.05
God. God is a healer, God is
a provider, God is a way maker,
00:19:16.08\00:19:23.06
God is my refuge and strength,
God is a very present help in
00:19:23.09\00:19:29.20
time of trouble, God is a bill
payer, God is a heart fixer, God
is a cancer killer,
00:19:29.23\00:19:35.34
God is a problem solver, God is
a tuition payer, God is a way,
00:19:35.37\00:19:41.54
I don't know what
God is. I worship God,
00:19:41.58\00:19:46.41
not just for what he's done but
I worship God for who God is.
00:19:46.45\00:19:53.09
So after the Pharisees
have pestered this man enough,
00:19:53.12\00:19:58.19
after they had
verbally abused him enough,
00:19:58.23\00:20:02.00
after they have
heckled him enough.
00:20:02.03\00:20:05.07
The man says
"Look, I've had enough"
00:20:05.10\00:20:09.24
You all keep running to me
and running me with who he is,
00:20:09.27\00:20:11.81
who he is but I don't
know if he's a sinner or not,
00:20:11.84\00:20:17.25
I don't know where he was born,
I don't know where he came from,
00:20:17.28\00:20:24.79
I don't know where he is right
now, I don't know what he's
00:20:24.82\00:20:30.46
doing, I don't know his family,
I don't know his mother, I don't
00:20:30.49\00:20:33.96
know his father, I don't know
if he's a doctor, a teacher, a
00:20:34.00\00:20:37.63
lawyer, a dentist or a preacher.
00:20:37.67\00:20:39.67
All I know is, I once
was blind but now I see.
00:20:39.70\00:20:50.21
I don't know what school he went
to, I don't know if he went to
00:20:50.25\00:20:55.08
Oakwood, I don't know if you
went to Southern, I don't know
if you went to Andrews,
00:20:55.12\00:20:57.12
ANM or UAH  I don't know
if we went to public school,
00:20:57.15\00:21:00.19
I don't know if he
went to church school,
00:21:00.22\00:21:02.06
I don't know if we went to
Pine Park triple-A, Miami Union,
00:21:02.09\00:21:05.43
I don't know where he
went but all I know is,
00:21:05.46\00:21:08.06
I once was blind but now I see.
00:21:08.10\00:21:15.34
I don't know what
the church board said,
00:21:15.37\00:21:17.84
I don't know what the
conference committee said,
00:21:17.87\00:21:20.24
I don't know what the others
say and I'm not here to argue,
00:21:20.28\00:21:22.54
I'm not here to
debate on how I got healed,
00:21:22.58\00:21:24.58
when I got healed, where I got
healed or what day I got heal
00:21:24.61\00:21:28.42
or who healed me, all I know is,
I once was blind but now I see.
00:21:28.45\00:21:39.49
Open your eyes, when we
come into the house of God,
00:21:39.53\00:21:45.53
when we come into
the very presence of God,
00:21:45.57\00:21:48.84
we ought to lift up holy
hands, we ought to worship Him,
00:21:48.87\00:21:53.74
I don't care what's
going on in your life,
00:21:53.78\00:21:55.94
you ought to lift up holy hands
because it may not be where you
00:21:55.98\00:22:01.92
want to be but praise God
you're not where you used to be,
00:22:01.95\00:22:05.15
your car maybe barely running
but praise God you're not
00:22:05.19\00:22:09.69
walking, you may not
have the house you want
00:22:09.72\00:22:11.66
but praise God you
got a roof over your head,
00:22:11.69\00:22:14.10
you may not have
money in your pocket
00:22:14.13\00:22:16.20
but at least you
got food on your table.
00:22:16.23\00:22:18.43
You've had some
good days, some bad days,
00:22:18.47\00:22:23.41
some hills to climb but when you
look around and you think things
00:22:23.44\00:22:29.51
over, all of your good
days outweigh your bad days,
00:22:29.54\00:22:34.72
I won't, I
won't, I won't, I won't
00:22:34.75\00:22:41.46
complain, God's been good to me.
00:22:41.49\00:22:45.56
I'm going to give
you some shout news,
00:22:45.59\00:22:47.13
and I'm going to sit down. God
is healing his people right now,
00:22:47.13\00:22:51.17
God is changing his people right
now, God is raising up people
00:22:51.20\00:22:57.54
right now, God is
restoring people right now,
00:22:57.57\00:23:00.34
God is saving people right now,
00:23:00.38\00:23:03.08
God is
delivering people right now.
00:23:03.11\00:23:05.68
Open up your eyes right now.
00:23:05.71\00:23:07.75
Somebody's in college that's
not supposed to be in college,
00:23:07.78\00:23:11.82
someone's got a job
you didn't apply for,
00:23:11.85\00:23:14.09
somebody was on crack
is being healed right now,
00:23:14.12\00:23:16.69
somebody has a child on dope
that's being healed right now,
00:23:16.73\00:23:19.09
somebody's on the street
is being healed right now,
00:23:19.13\00:23:21.30
somebody headed to bankruptcy
court is being healed right now,
00:23:21.33\00:23:24.47
some marriage that was headed to
divorce court it's being healed
00:23:24.50\00:23:27.64
right now. Don't wait till
the battle is over you ought to
00:23:27.67\00:23:31.04
shout now. Open up your eyes and
see what God is doing right now,
00:23:31.07\00:23:36.44
somebody is blind in this place,
00:23:36.48\00:23:41.22
you're not physically blind
00:23:41.25\00:23:42.45
but you spiritually blind
but God led you to this place.
00:23:42.48\00:23:47.42
You think for OU-LIVE but
that was just a mechanism.
00:23:47.46\00:23:51.16
That was just the candor for you
to get here to hear his voice.
00:23:51.19\00:23:54.96
Open your eyes, some
things are about to happen,
00:23:55.00\00:23:59.77
something and
somebody is about to move,
00:23:59.80\00:24:04.24
you've cried long enough,
you've been blind long enough,
00:24:04.27\00:24:10.88
you've been talked
about long enough. God,
00:24:10.91\00:24:15.32
any way you bless me I'll
be satisfied, mud and all.
00:24:15.35\00:24:22.72
A breakthrough has got to come,
look for blessings not blame,
00:24:22.76\00:24:30.83
don't box God in,
put people before policy
00:24:30.87\00:24:38.77
and praise God for who he
is not just what he can do.
00:24:38.81\00:24:47.75
There's a blind girl and this
blind girl hated herself because
00:24:47.78\00:25:00.46
she was blind, she hated
everybody but except her loving
boyfriend, he was always there
00:25:00.50\00:25:07.24
for, she told her boyfriend if I
could only see the world I would
00:25:07.27\00:25:15.68
marry you. One day, somebody
donated a pair of eyes to this
00:25:15.71\00:25:21.15
girl but the bandage just came
off the girl was able to see
00:25:21.18\00:25:26.52
everything,
including her boyfriend.
00:25:26.55\00:25:28.96
He asked her, "Now
that you can see the world,
00:25:28.99\00:25:31.56
will you marry me?" But the
girl looked at her boyfriend
00:25:31.59\00:25:37.90
and saw that he was blind and
the sight of his closed eyelids
00:25:37.93\00:25:48.74
shocked her, she
didn't expect that
00:25:48.78\00:25:50.45
and so the thought of
looking at his closed eyes
00:25:50.48\00:25:54.25
for the rest of her life
led her to refuse to marry him.
00:25:54.28\00:26:02.26
Her boyfriend was in tears,
later he wrote a note to her
00:26:02.29\00:26:11.00
saying "Take good
care of your eyes, my dear,
00:26:11.03\00:26:15.47
for before they were
yours, they were mine"
00:26:15.50\00:26:25.38
The Bible says that you
and I we're dead in our sins,
00:26:25.41\00:26:32.72
that all of us had come
short of the glory of God.
00:26:32.75\00:26:37.96
We were all blind to the
truth of God's redeeming Grace,
00:26:37.99\00:26:43.60
one day, Jesus stepped
down out of heaven and he said
00:26:43.63\00:26:51.61
"I'm going to
give my life for yours"
00:26:51.64\00:26:55.64
He gave all that he had so that
you and I could have everlasting
00:26:55.68\00:27:00.25
life. Today I'm
proud that I stand here,
00:27:00.28\00:27:03.99
not simply as the
pastor of this church
00:27:04.02\00:27:05.85
but I stand before
you as a condemned sinner,
00:27:05.89\00:27:11.06
not as a condemned
sinner totally, though, I am a
00:27:11.09\00:27:15.03
forgiving sinner. Not as a saint
of manhood but a saint of God
because if we confess our sins,
00:27:15.06\00:27:24.41
he's faithful and
just to forgive us
00:27:24.44\00:27:26.11
of our sins and cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
00:27:26.14\00:27:28.48
Open your eyes,
he's trying to heal you,
00:27:28.51\00:27:34.82
he's trying to save
you. For some young person,
00:27:34.85\00:27:37.59
he's brought you here to Oakwood
because he's trying to save you,
00:27:37.62\00:27:39.99
he's trying to show you a
better way, open your eyes.
00:27:40.02\00:27:44.36
God loves you, open your eyes,
00:27:44.39\00:27:46.90
God died to save
you, open your eyes,
00:27:46.93\00:27:51.27
God's coming back to get you.
00:27:51.30\00:27:54.30
Open your eyes because I don't
know if he's a sinner or not,
00:27:54.34\00:28:04.15
I don't know where he's
come from, all I know is,
00:28:04.18\00:28:10.45
I once was blind but now I
see. Look for blessings and not
00:28:10.49\00:28:21.70
blame, "Thank you very
much for tuning into this
00:28:21.73\00:28:24.60
week's Breath of Life Broadcast.
00:28:24.63\00:28:26.90
We hope and pray
that you have been blessed
00:28:26.94\00:28:28.67
by Dr. Byrd's
inspirational message.
00:28:28.70\00:28:31.41
If you would like
to hear this sermon in
00:28:31.44\00:28:32.84
its entirety, please
feel free to visit us at
00:28:32.87\00:28:35.61
www.breathoflife.tv or
call us at 256.929.6460.
00:28:35.64\00:28:50.19
[END]
00:28:50.23\00:29:05.27