(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #B664 - Open Your Eyes
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and so today we invite you to
take your bibles and go with us
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and turn with us to John chapter
9. We're going to begin reading
with verse number 1.
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Even after I read this text I
get excited and I want to shout,
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“Hallelujah!” and so though,
I'm in the church by myself.
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I'll shout, “Hallelujah!” by
myself as we read this word of
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scripture, but you do the same
as you're in your homes today.
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John chapter 9:1 the word of God
says, “And as Jesus passed by,
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he saw a man which
was blind from his birth.”
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Verse number 2, “and his
disciples asked him saying,
‘Master, who did sin?
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This man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
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Verse number 3, “Jesus answered,
‘Neither hath this man sinned
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nor his parents, but that
the works of God should be made
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manifest in him. I must work the
works of him that sent me while
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it is day, the night
cometh when no man can work.
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As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.”
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Verse number 6,
“When he thus had spoken,
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he spat on the ground
and made clay of the spittle
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and he anointed the eyes of
the blind man with the clay,
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and he said unto him ‘Go wash in
the pool of Siloam, which is my
interpretation sent.'
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He went his way there for
and washed and came seeing.”
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Now I want you to skip down to
verse 18 after the sermon, read
the entire chapter,
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but for the sake of the time
skip down to verse number 18.
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The word of God says, “But the
Jews did not believe concerning
him that he had been blind
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and received his sight until
they called the parents of him
that had received his sight.
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They asked him
saying, ‘Is this your son,
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who you say was born
blind how then does he now see?'
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His parents answered them and
said, ‘We know that this is our
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son and that he was born
blind. But by what means he now
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seeyeth, we know not or who hath
opened his eyes, we know not.
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He is of age, ask him. He
shall speak for himself.'”
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These words spake his parents
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because they fear the Jews for
the Jews had agreed already that
if any man did confess
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that he was Christ, he should
be put out of the synagogue.
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Therefore, said his parents,
“He is of age. Ask him.”
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“Then again called they the man
that was blind and said unto
him, ‘Give God the praise.
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We know that this man is a
sinner.'” Man in my favorite
text in this scripture.
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“He answered and said, ‘Whether
he be a sinner or not, I know
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not, but one thing I do
know that whereas I was blind,
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but now I see.'” Skip down to
verse 39, and Jesus said, “For
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judgment, I am coming to this
world that they which see not
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might see and they that
which see might be made blind.”
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And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words
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and said unto him,
“Are we blind also?”
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Verse 41 Jesus said unto them,
“If ye were blind, ye should
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have no sin. But now ye say
‘We see.' Therefore your sin
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remaineth.” Today I want to
challenge you on the subject,
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open your eyes. Father, bless
us now as we preach your word.
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God, I asked for the power of
your Holy Spirit to go through
the television airwaves
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and the internet airwaves and
Lord speak to your people
wherever they might be right now
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across this globe, God speak
and we promise we will listen.
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Now hide me behind your
cross, forgive me of my sins
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and Lord again I ask that when
the appeal time comes even
though we worship virtually
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may your people respond.
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Today we pray, forgive us for
our sins in the name of Jesus,
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Amen. Open your eyes. Now you
would have thought that this man
being healed would have
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triggered great celebration. You
would have thought that all of
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his friends and neighbors would
appreciate it. Would have
appreciated what God had done in
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his life, but instead of
cheering and celebrating with
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him, this miracle of healing
calls a great outburst of hatred
against the blind man and
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against Jesus. Now, this
shouldn't be strange to any of
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us because as I have
learned firsthand in my life,
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the greatest moments in your
life can often produce the
greatest moments of envy
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and jealousy in somebody else's
life, but then I've learned
also, the opposite is true.
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When things don't go well for
you some people rejoice in your
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failures, rejoice in your
defeats and rejoice in your
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disappointments. The bottom line
is, everybody is not happy when
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you're blessed. Everybody is not
happy when you're successful.
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In our vernacular
today, we call this “hating.”
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We often wonder expect rather
that people around us would
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appreciate the journey that
we've gone through in order to
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get where we are and that
they would be glad for us.
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But more often than not your
best moments become the source
of somebody else's envy,
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jealousy and frustration, but
I've learned in my life, “Don't
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hate the player, hate the game
and learn to be a cheerleader.”
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As I often say, if God is
blessing somebody else around
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you. God must be in the
neighborhood and it's just a
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matter of time before God starts
blessing you. The people are mad
because God has healed the man.
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Mad, because the man's
life has been changed. Mad,
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because the man's
life has turned around.
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So the disciples asked the man,
“Who healed you? Where is he?
You must have sinned.”
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And they said this because you
see the Jews believe that the
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sufferings of people were divine
punishment for sin. So they
believe that this man,
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this blind man had sinned, but
the text says he was born blind.
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So then how can he have sinned
before he was born? Well, if you
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didn't sin, your parents must
have sinned because you were
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born blind. So it
had to be your parents.
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They must have sinned and they
base this assertion on what the
law said in Exodus 20:5
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when it says that, “The Lord
visits the iniquity of the
father's upon the children unto
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the third and fourth generations
of them that hate him.”
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which means sometimes children
suffer the consequences because
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of their parents' wrongdoing.
That's why I've got to live
right for me and my children.
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I wish I had a
witness in this place.
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But Jesus, he clears all of this
up by saying that the man's
blindness had nothing to
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do with some sin in his life or
some sin in his parents' life.
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Nothing the man did
brought this upon him.
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Nothing the man's parents did
brought this upon him. God was
not punishing them.
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God was not angry with
them. God was not mad with them.
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It's just sometimes, bad
things happen to good people.
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Sin is not always the
direct cause for our suffering.
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Job's life showed us that
suffering is inflicted by Satan
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not God. This Coronavirus
pandemic that we're living in
has been inflicted by Satan.
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Remember, God didn't want Job
to suffer. God doesn't want his
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people to suffer. Jesus proves
this fact with his answer to the
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disciples. Jesus says,
“Neither hath this man sinned.
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Neither hath his parents sinned,
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but that the works of
God hallelujah might be made
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manifest in him.” Jesus noticed,
did not explain the cause of the
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man's affliction. Jesus
just told them what would be the
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results. No one has sinned, but
God is 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. In other words Jesus
is saying, “Stop asking the
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wrong question. Stop
looking for somebody to blame.
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Quit looking at the problem
and look to the solution.”
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Jesus Stoops down, spits on the
ground, rubs the dirt and the
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spit together and he makes mud,
puts the mud on the man's eyes
and then he tells the man,
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“Now, go wash in
the pool of Siloam.”
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Now you ought to know by now
that when Jesus gets ready to
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heal, sometimes his methods are
unorthodox. Sometimes, his
methods are different.
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You see Jesus, because he's God,
could have spoken the word and
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said, “I command you to
see.” but he didn't do that.
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Jesus could have laid his hands
on the man and simply said,
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“I command your eyes to open
up.” but Jesus didn't do that.
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When Jesus got ready to heal the
man, he spat on the ground, made
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mud out of spit and then told
the man to go wash in the pool
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of Siloam. Jesus heals the
man not conventionally, not
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traditionally, but he
heals the man with spit and mud.
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The people began to question,
“Is the man really the same man
who was born blind?”
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So they asked, “How were your
eyes opened?”, “Who opened your
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eyes?” Now, remember, the blind
man didn't know Jesus and at
this moment in time,
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he didn't even know
Jesus was the Messiah.
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Remember, the blind man had
never seen Jesus-he was blind.
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So when Jesus sent him to go
wash in the pool of Siloam, the
man was still blind,
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so he didn't even
know who Jesus was.
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So he responds to the people,
“Look, a man named Jesus spat on
the ground, made mud,
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put mud on my eyes. He then told
me to go wash in the pool of
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Siloam and when I got
finished washing, I could see.”
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but the people weren't
satisfied with the man's answer.
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So the people then took him
to the Pharisees, the Pharisees
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then asked, “How did you receive
your sight?” The man tells him
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the same thing. He says, “I
said, a man named Jesus spat on
the ground, made some mud, put
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mud on my eyes. He then told me
to go wash in the pool of Siloam
and when I got finished, I could
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see.” but the Pharisees, their
problem is, they're mad that
Jesus healed the man.
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Why are they mad? Number one,
they're mad because Jesus healed
the man on the Sabbath.
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And according to Jewish law,
Jesus broke the Sabbath because
he healed on the Sabbath.
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But isn't it amazing how we
will put policy over people?
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How we will put the law over
love and we put religion over
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relationship. But then the
Pharisees are also mad number
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two, because Jesus didn't
go to them first for the man's
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healing. That he didn't ask them
for permission to heal the man,
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that they didn't take a
vote to approve Jesus' method of
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healing. You see people will get
mad when they can't claim rights
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to your healing. They get upset
when they can't claim rights to
your accomplishments or your
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successes. If Jesus had sent the
man to the Pharisees first, the
Pharisees would have then said,
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“We did it.” and it would have
been all right for the man to
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have been healed. But because
the man got healed outside the
system, outside the norm,
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outside of tradition,
the Pharisees had a problem.
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Now, they are going to fight it
because they can't accept that
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God did it. But I believe
somebody knows that God is
Sovereign which means God can do
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what he wants, when he wants,
where is he wants, how he wants,
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and he doesn't have to ask
us for permission to do as he
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wants. So, in verse number 19 of
our text “The Pharisees asked
the parents of the man.
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‘Is this your son, who you
say was born blind, how then now
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does he see?'” Verse 20,
“His parents answered and said,
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‘We know this is our son
and we know he was born blind,
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but by what means he now see is
we know not, how his eyes have
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been open. We know not. He's of
age, ask him. He can speak for
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himself.'” This man's parents
were afraid of being put out of
the church, Lord have mercy.
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And so they cover up the truth
and ship responsibility to their
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son. The Pharisees called the
man one more time, “Who healed
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you? You ought to be giving God
the praise not this man whom you
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claim 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 day.”
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So then the blind man answers
them in verse 25, “Look, my
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brother's, I don't know if he's
a sinner or not. I don't know
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where he was born. I don't know
where he came from. I don't know
where he is right now.
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I don't know his
mother. I don't know his father.
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I don't know if he's a doctor, a
dentist, a lawyer, a teacher, or
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preacher, but all I know is that
I once was blind but now I see.”
But the story doesn't end there.
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Some preachers like to stop
there and hoop there and then
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church is over, but the story
doesn't end at verse 25 the
story ends at verse 41.
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You see if you keep reading
through the end of this chapter,
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you will discover that verses
39 to 41 as we read earlier,
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make it plain that there were
two kinds of blind people in the
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text. The first group that was
the man, the first person was
the man who was born blind
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and Jesus made see. The second,
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were the Pharisees who thought
they were seeing when they were
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actually blind. You see, it's
one thing to be blind and know
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it but it's another thing
to be blind and not know it.
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In the text, the Pharisees
are spiritually blind, not
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physically blind, but
spiritually blind. They can't
see what God is doing.
00:16:07.50\00:16:12.17
God has just performed a
miracle, but they can't see it,
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and when you're spiritually
blind God came to be doing
something right in the front of
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your face and you still
can't see it, but not only that,
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when you're spiritually blind
you can't see what you're doing.
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In the text, the Pharisees were
unaware that with all their
theological progress,
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with all their debates about
Sabbath laws and whether it was
lawful to make a mud pack
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and put it on a man's eyes for
the purpose of making the man
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see, with all their legal
ramblings they still couldn't
see that they were making this
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newly healed man wonder about
the nature of their healing.
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They were so hung up on
doctrines that they couldn't see
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and they were blind to the fact
that doctrines were hurting real
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people. They were blind to the
guilt that they were putting on
this man for his healing that
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Jesus had just made
whole. They couldn't see it.
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They were spiritually blind,
spiritually blind! Blind to what
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God had done and blind to what
they were doing. Spiritual
blindness is worse than physical
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blindness. Now, allow me
some room right now for some
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creativity and some creative
exegesis to this text and let me
expand upon this concept of
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spiritual blindness, which
remember now is failing to see
what God is doing and then
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number two, failing
to see what we're doing.
00:17:38.85\00:17:42.22
Now, many of us have been
believers in Christ all of our
00:17:42.26\00:17:47.23
lives. We were born in the
church, and if not, all of our
lives a good portion of our
00:17:47.23\00:17:53.44
lives. Many of us have been
church members for as long as we
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can remember. We've done the
church thing. We know the
church. We know the church
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traditions. We know the church
rules. We know the church
language. We know the church.
00:18:06.15\00:18:14.09
We're religious, we're
spiritual, but are we also
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blind? I mean, we know the law
just like the Pharisees knew the
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law but are we spiritually
blind like the Pharisees?
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I ask this question today
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because it seems as if we don't
know what's going on in our
00:18:28.90\00:18:33.74
world today, or we see what's
going on, but we're blind to the
spiritual implications,
00:18:33.78\00:18:41.92
inferences and insinuations
of what we're seeing.
00:18:41.95\00:18:44.72
Now, blindness is defined as
the state or condition of being
00:18:44.75\00:18:50.29
unable to see. Blindness is also
defined as the lack of
perception, lack of awareness,
00:18:50.33\00:18:55.23
or lack of judgment and I
believe that right now there's a
00:18:55.26\00:19:00.57
lack of spiritual awareness
going on right now and people
can't spiritually see.
00:19:00.60\00:19:05.17
Their eyes are spiritually
closed to what God is doing and
00:19:05.21\00:19:13.65
what we are doing. What am
I talking about? News channels
00:19:13.68\00:19:16.65
today, the internet and social
media are telling us and showing
us that there is turmoil
00:19:16.69\00:19:25.89
and chaos in every part of the
world right now. What we're
witnessing my friends,
00:19:25.93\00:19:32.30
it's the groundwork being
laid for the end of the world
00:19:32.33\00:19:36.17
and the coming of Jesus taking
place right before our eyes.
00:19:36.20\00:19:40.64
God is showing us that he is
about to come, that he's
wrapping things up,
00:19:40.68\00:19:47.58
but sadly people can't see it.
We can't see what God is doing
00:19:47.62\00:19:53.36
because we're spiritually blind.
00:19:53.39\00:19:56.42
The Pharisees were disciplined.
They were trained. They were
00:19:56.46\00:20:02.96
moral people. They were clean
people. They were holy people.
They didn't touch certain
00:20:03.00\00:20:09.84
things. They
didn't eat certain things.
00:20:09.87\00:20:12.61
They didn't go certain places.
They kept the Sabbath holy. They
00:20:12.64\00:20:21.58
kept the law. And
don't get it twisted.
00:20:21.62\00:20:23.35
There's nothing wrong with
keeping the law as long as it's
00:20:23.39\00:20:29.46
motivated by love. It was Jesus
who said, “If you love me, keep
00:20:29.49\00:20:34.56
my commandments.” but the
Pharisees were spiritually blind
and spiritual blindness I told
00:20:34.60\00:20:40.70
you, is worse than physical
blindness because physical
blindness can be healed
00:20:40.74\00:20:45.61
but spiritual
blindness resists healing.
00:20:45.64\00:20:50.21
Here, we have a blind beggar,
seeing more clearly than the
00:20:50.25\00:20:57.95
religious leaders. So in verses
26 through 41, the Pharisees
kept chastising the man, “Who
00:20:57.99\00:21:05.03
healed you?”, “How did he open
your eyes?”, “How are you able
00:21:05.06\00:21:12.40
to see?” The man told them, “I
keep telling you the same thing
over and over and over again.
00:21:12.43\00:21:22.71
Maybe you want to be
one of his followers?”
00:21:22.74\00:21:26.78
They say, “Oh no, we don't want
to be followers of this man.
00:21:26.82\00:21:30.92
We're followers of Moses. We
know God spoke through Moses,
00:21:30.95\00:21:36.69
but this man we don't even know
where he came from.” but the man
00:21:36.73\00:21:43.30
had had enough. Because after
the devil bothers you enough you
say, “Guess what, I've had
00:21:43.33\00:21:47.44
enough, this far and this far,
no further. I'm drawing a line
00:21:47.47\00:21:53.31
in the sand.” The man says in
verse number 30, “You claim to
know nothing about him,
00:21:53.34\00:21:58.11
but the fact is he opened
my eyes.” In verse number 33 he
00:21:58.15\00:22:02.92
says, “If this man were not of
God he wouldn't have been able
00:22:02.95\00:22:07.66
to do that.” So, I don't know
where he came from. I don't know
if he's a saint or a sinner.
00:22:07.69\00:22:14.96
I don't know what school he went
to. I don't know if he went to
00:22:15.00\00:22:19.60
Oakwood. Andrews, A&M or to UAH
all I know is I once was blind
00:22:19.63\00:22:27.74
but now I see. I don't know if
he knows Donald Trump. I don't
know if he knows Barack Obama.
00:22:27.78\00:22:32.78
I don't know if he knows Joe
Biden. All I know is I once was
blind but now I see.
00:22:32.81\00:22:39.92
I don't know what
the church board said.
00:22:39.95\00:22:42.09
I don't know what the board of
elders said, I don't know what
00:22:42.12\00:22:46.09
the people said. All I know is
I once was blind but now I see.
00:22:46.13\00:22:50.23
I don't know where to
coronavirus came from.
00:22:50.27\00:22:52.77
I don't know where
covid-19 originated from.
00:22:52.80\00:22:55.97
I don't know if it was created
in China. I don't know if it
came from a laboratory.
00:22:56.00\00:23:00.81
I don't know if scientists
produced it or conjured it up.
00:23:00.84\00:23:04.68
All I know is I once was blind,
but now I see. I don't know if
he's a saint or sinner.
00:23:04.71\00:23:14.32
I'm not here to debate how I
got healed, when I got healed,
00:23:14.36\00:23:19.29
where I got healed,
on what day I got healed.
00:23:19.33\00:23:22.90
All I know is, I once
was blind but now I see.
00:23:22.93\00:23:31.91
So Amazing Grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like
00:23:31.94\00:23:40.68
me. I once was lost but now I'm
found, was blind but now I see.
00:23:40.72\00:23:56.73
Open your eyes. See what God is
doing. See what you are doing.
Don't be spiritually blind.
00:23:56.77\00:24:08.68
Jesus is coming, and friends of
mine I don't care what the world
00:24:08.71\00:24:15.78
says about him. I don't care if
people don't want to believe in
00:24:15.82\00:24:19.39
him. I don't care if they don't
want to obey him but Jesus is
00:24:19.42\00:24:26.33
coming. I can't worry if people
don't want to read his word.
00:24:26.36\00:24:29.60
I can't worry if people
don't want to accept his word.
00:24:29.63\00:24:33.03
I can't worry if people
don't want to follow his word.
00:24:33.07\00:24:36.07
God just called me to preach
the word, but he's still coming.
00:24:36.10\00:24:40.74
Choose you this day whom you're
gonna serve, but as for me and
00:24:40.78\00:24:47.18
my house, we will serve the Lord
and I love him. I said, I love
00:24:47.22\00:24:53.29
him. I love me some Jesus and I
won't take that back because
he's been so good to me.
00:24:53.32\00:25:01.73
I refuse to be spiritually
blind. I refuse to have my eyes
00:25:01.76\00:25:08.40
shut. I'm going to see what God
is doing. I'm going to see what
00:25:08.44\00:25:13.84
I'm doing. And if what I'm doing
is not in harmony with what God
00:25:13.88\00:25:17.68
wants done. I've got to make
a change in my life. Jesus is
00:25:17.71\00:25:22.48
coming. So lift up
your heads O ye gates.
00:25:22.52\00:25:25.29
I said, lift up your heads
O ye gates and be ye lifted up
00:25:25.32\00:25:30.73
and the King of Glory shall come
in. The angels asked, who is the
00:25:30.76\00:25:38.07
King of Glory? The Lord strong
and mighty. Who is the King of
00:25:38.10\00:25:42.10
Glory? The Lord mighty in battle
for the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout
00:25:42.14\00:25:48.54
with the voice of the archangel
the trump of God and the dead in
Christ shall rise first,
00:25:48.58\00:25:53.72
then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds
00:25:53.75\00:25:57.12
to meet the Lord in the air, and
so shall we ever be with the
Lord. Open your eyes.
00:25:57.15\00:26:05.33
See what God is doing. See what
you are doing. Amazing Grace,
00:26:05.36\00:26:16.07
how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
00:26:16.10\00:26:24.68
Thank you very much for tuning
in to this week's Breath of Life
00:26:24.71\00:26:29.12
broadcast. We hope and pray that
you've been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:26:29.15\00:26:33.79
If you would like to hear
this sermon in its entirety,
00:26:33.82\00:26:36.06
please feel free to visit
us at www.breathoflife.tv.
00:26:36.09\00:26:42.13
Or, call us at (256) 929-6460.
00:26:42.16\00:26:47.87
[End]
00:26:47.90\00:26:54.74
[MUSIC]
00:26:54.78\00:26:58.21
Thank you very much for tuning
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00:26:58.25\00:27:02.15
Life Television. We are grateful
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00:27:02.18\00:27:06.32
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be  possible, so
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00:27:16.50\00:27:18.27
With that in mind, we want
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00:27:49.06\00:28:02.21
Dr. Byrd: Pain, loss, trama,
00:28:02.24\00:28:11.69
in life we
experience these things.
00:28:11.72\00:28:14.82
My wife and I have a story,
00:28:14.86\00:28:17.86
we have a
testimony of how we lost
00:28:17.89\00:28:22.00
our first born daughter
in a horrific car accident.
00:28:22.03\00:28:28.97
We have this new sharing
book, its en-titled “Gone.”
00:28:29.00\00:28:34.04
And, in it I
want to share with you
00:28:34.08\00:28:37.48
how God has helped me,
00:28:37.51\00:28:40.25
how God has helped my
wife, how God has helped us,
00:28:40.28\00:28:44.95
as we had to endure the fact
that our first born daughter is
00:28:44.99\00:28:57.50
gone. www.breathoflife.tv
00:28:57.53\00:29:12.61