Participants: Hall Steenson
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000398
|
00:31 Hello, I'm Hal Steenson and I invite you to
00:33 join us today on Faith Chapel 00:36 as we take a look at God's word. 00:38 Today we're going to be in the ninth chapter of 00:40 John, looking at the story about a blind man, 00:43 but if you want a title for this message today. 00:45 I've titled it Out Of Darkness. 00:48 before we get into the message, 00:49 let's go to the Lord in prayer, join me please. 00:52 Father, we're here today for no other reason, 00:54 no other the purpose rather then the worship you. 00:56 If we get out of here today and have not 00:58 worshiped you through your word then we 01:00 failed you Lord, help us somehow someway to 01:04 be build the bridge from where we are through 01:06 these cameras to the person that needs to 01:09 hear this word, and needs a touch 01:10 from you, in Jesus name, amen. 01:14 Let me share this little story with you a new 01:17 surgical procedure allowed Mrs. Pearl Kass 01:19 receive her sight, after being blind for 89 01:24 years, she had resigned herself to the fact that 01:27 she was blind. However destiny changed 01:30 all of that, the doctors removed her bandages 01:33 and waited for her response. 01:36 Her eyes slowly begin to filled with tears 01:39 and she began to thunderously praise 01:42 God, she openly and outwardly gave God all 01:46 the glory for this miracle of sight and 01:48 everyone on that wing of the 01:50 hospital heard her do it. It's sad but in John 9:1 01:55 it says: And as Jesus passed by, 01:57 he saw a man which was blind from his birth, 02:00 is where it starts, but that's not where it stops. 02:04 What I wanna share with you today is that 02:06 Jesus healed a blind man and nobody, 02:09 nobody, not one person, not one single person 02:13 praised God, why? They were all too 02:16 self-centered, too concerned with their 02:18 own egos to see the truth of what really 02:21 happened on that day. Our personal prospective 02:26 will cause us to have tunnel vision that will 02:29 always blind us to the truth that is around us. 02:34 God wants us to worship Him. 02:36 Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and 02:38 Judah very simply means praise. 02:40 Jesus is not afraid of praise, whenever we 02:43 praise God we are praising God not man, 02:47 but giving God the glory for it. 02:49 Who all was blind that day will first, 02:52 let's look at the disciples, 02:54 you see to disciples it was a matter of 02:57 theology that blinded them. 02:59 See others were there that were blind also. 03:02 In John 9:2 it says: And His disciples asked him, 03:07 saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his 03:12 parents, that he was born blind? 03:15 You see the Jewish believe that in this time 03:18 that if someone was born handicapped or 03:20 born deformed then what happened was that 03:22 child has sinned in the womb to cause this 03:25 handicap or this blindness whatever 03:27 it maybe or either his parents had sinned. 03:31 And so what they're doing is they're asking 03:32 Jesus a question they're saying. 03:37 Lord, who sinned to cause this man to be 03:38 born blind, was it the man in the womb, 03:39 the child in the womb or was it his parents? 03:40 And let me tell you something I'd figured 03:42 out a long time ago that we can't figure God out, 03:45 we couldn't figure Him out on a slide rule. 03:47 There is no way we can figure God out; 03:48 the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. 03:51 In 1 Corinthians 3:19 declares this, as it says: 03:55 For the wisdom of this world 03:56 is foolishness with God. For it is written, 03:59 He that taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 04:03 Our need to be right, our need to be right 04:08 will blind our hearts to the truth that's around us. 04:12 In Ephesians 4:17 it says in the King James 04:15 Version first, then I wanna read out and 04:17 amplify it, it says: This I say therefore, 04:19 and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk 04:22 not as other Gentiles walk, 04:24 in the vanity of their minds. 04:26 Having the understanding darkened, 04:28 being alienated from the life of God through the 04:30 ignorance that is in them, because of the 04:33 blindness of their heart. Now, that speaks boldly 04:35 in the King James but the amplified which is a 04:38 little translation with amplification adds to it. 04:42 I want you to read this along with me 04:44 here today it says: So this I say and 04:48 solemnly testify in the name of the Lord as in 04:51 His presence, that you must no longer live as 04:55 the heathen, the Gentiles do in their 04:57 perverseness in the folly, vanity, 05:00 and emptiness of their souls and the futility of 05:04 their minds. Their moral understanding 05:06 is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. 05:09 They are alienated, estranged, self-banished 05:13 from the life of God with no share in it; 05:16 this is because of the ignorance, the want of 05:19 knowledge and perception, the willful 05:22 blindness that is deep-seated in them, 05:25 due to their hardness of heart, 05:27 to the insensitiveness of their mortal nature. 05:31 See the truth of the matter is that there was 05:33 more then just one person that was blind 05:36 that day but when we get into the word of 05:38 God, the truth of the word of God then what 05:40 we should do is we should allow the word 05:42 of God to take all of our questions away. 05:46 John 9:3 says: Jesus answered them and said 05:50 neither, now get this they said who sinned, 05:53 who sinned, did the man sin in the womb, 05:55 the child sin in the womb or did the parent 05:56 sinned, Jesus answered this question, 05:58 it's very simple, be complicated. 06:01 Jesus said: "Neither hath this man sinned, 06:03 nor his parents sinned," question asks, question 06:07 answered end of discussion but then 06:10 Jesus goes on and adds. But that the works of 06:12 God should be made manifest in him, 06:17 it says I must work the works of him that sent me. 06:21 A lot of people say well the reason why the man 06:22 is born blind was for Jesus to work the 06:24 works, that's not what this is saying. 06:27 Jesus answered the question and said, 06:29 neither was this man born blind because of 06:32 his sin or because of his parent's sin, 06:35 end of discussion now. That I might be the 06:39 works that I was sent here to do, 06:40 let's get it on, let's be about 06:42 God's business to do it. John 9 chapter and 06:46 4th verse, I must work the works of him that 06:50 sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, 06:52 when no man can work. The 5th verse says 06:55 As long as I am in the world, 06:56 I am the light of the world. 06:58 Then it says: When he had thus 06:59 spoken, he spat on the ground, and made two 07:03 clay eye balls is what history says. 07:07 Now this not what the King James says it says: 07:10 He made clay of the spittle, the history of the 07:14 Jews and a lot of the history said that Jesus 07:16 actually bend down spat in the clay made two 07:18 little eye balls and popped them in. 07:20 I don't have any trouble with it, we will made 07:22 out of the dust of the earth to begin with. 07:24 He made clay of the spittle and anointed the 07:26 eyes of the blind man with the clay, 07:28 and He said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of 07:30 Siloam, which is by interpretation, Sent. 07:33 He went his way therefore and washed 07:36 and came seeing. Isn't it amazing that we, 07:40 some people that can't see do see, and other 07:43 people that do see can't see. 07:46 It's not a matter of theology, this is what 07:49 the disciples were saying, let's ask some 07:52 deep theological question, well here's my 07:54 response to that. An excellent plumber 07:57 is considerably more worthy than an 07:59 incompetent theologian. The society that scorns 08:03 excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a 08:06 humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness 08:09 in theology because it is an exalted activity, 08:12 will have neither good plumbing nor good theology. 08:16 Neither its pipes nor its sermons will hold water. 08:20 What we found, we found through the years 08:22 I mean through the years is that we have 08:24 these great theologians that seek to reach the 08:27 top of the mountain to find out some deep 08:30 theological answer to a question and when they 08:33 get their they found some little old Christian 08:35 lady sitting up there, and has been seating 08:38 there for 80 years and already knows the 08:40 answer and it's a simple answer. 08:43 And that is like we complicate the gospel, 08:46 we try to make it this and make it that and the 08:47 gospel is good news, there is only two things 08:49 that Jesus preach. The one is come here 08:51 and the other one go there. 08:52 Let's don't complicate this, it's not a matter of 08:56 theology, the truth is nobody praised God. 09:00 Got a blind man healed and nobody praised God. 09:03 In verse 8 it says: The neighbors therefore, 09:06 and they who before had seen him that he was 09:09 blind, said, is not this he that sat and begged? 09:12 Verse 9 says: Some said, This is he: 09:14 but others said, well He is like him: but he said, 09:18 I am he, I'm the guy, I'm the one, I'm the one 09:21 that was blind is what he say. 09:23 Therefore said they unto him, 09:25 How were thine eyes opened? 09:27 And He answered and said, A man that is 09:30 called Jesus, JESUS made clay, and anointed 09:36 mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool 09:38 of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, 09:41 and I received my sight. This is a powerful 09:44 principle here, God speaks we obey and 09:46 then we supplies what we want, God's want to 09:49 speak and then him supply and then we'll obey 09:52 that's not the way it works in the kingdom of God. 09:55 God speaks, we obey and then he supplies, 09:59 but the key thing is that God speaks, 10:02 Jesus spoke and said go wash in the pool of Siloam. 10:06 You know what? It's really not a matter 10:08 of theology, all the disciples could see 10:11 what's the study of God in this some deep thing. 10:16 I had a teacher back in school when I was 10:18 studying for the ministry of seminary. 10:20 After the service was over we're standing out 10:22 in the four year and this guy's name was 10:23 J. Bashford Bishop, tremendous man of God. 10:26 He'd been a minister for like 50 years and 10:28 several of the students were standing around, 10:29 and said boy that sermon was so deep, 10:31 it was I didn't understand it, 10:34 I didn't forget this J. Bashford Bishop 10:36 said you know. I live next to the 10:40 Rock Crusher for years, 150 feet deep in the 10:43 water you could see all the way to bottom. 10:46 He said, but I lived on a no dirt road he said we 10:49 used to travel by wagons and mules if 10:51 we'd get the wrong runt and end up in the wrong 10:53 half we couldn't get out of runt. 10:54 He said but the thing about it was the mule 10:55 tracks were only about this deep which we 10:57 couldn't see the bottom of it. 10:58 And he looked at those young men and he said 11:01 fellows that were nothing more than a 11:04 mule track, when it's deep is crystal clear. 11:07 So don't get so much in the theology that you 11:10 cannot remember to praise God, it was not a 11:14 matter of theology what was it then Pastor Hal? 11:19 It was the fact that nobody praised God. 11:22 Psalms 146 verse 8 read this here with me 11:26 it said: The Lord, it's the Lord, it's the Lord 11:29 that openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord 11:31 raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord 11:33 loveth the righteous: It is God that does this, 11:37 thank God that it's God. But when this happens 11:39 what we need to do. We were so 11:41 gospel-hardened here in America that it's 11:43 amazing, we were in India and watching the 11:45 movie Jesus, 6000 Indians there when 11:48 Jesus raised Jairus' daughter in this movie 11:50 that have been translated in Telugu. 11:52 Six thousand Indian men, women and 11:54 children lifted their hands and shouted 11:57 Hallelujah; they were not ashamed to praise God. 12:01 In some of our churches today if somebody says 12:03 amen, they're escorted to the back door and 12:05 that's not good and that's not God. 12:09 Second to the Pharisees it was a legal matter, 12:14 why was it legal? Because Jesus healed 12:16 on the Sabbath and Pharisees were a lot of 12:21 religious people with religious thoughts and 12:23 religious ideas. Picking back up, 12:25 read this with me in John 9:13-16 it says or 12:30 13-15 it says: And they brought to the Pharisees 12:34 him that aforetime was blind. 12:36 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made 12:40 the clay, and opened his eyes. 12:42 Then again the Pharisees also asked 12:44 him how he had received his sight. 12:46 And He said unto them, He put clay upon mine 12:49 eyes, and I washed, and now I do see. 12:54 Let see here's the truth of the matter listen to 12:56 this because I'm add a little bit too. 12:58 Verse 16: Therefore said some of the Pharisees, 13:02 This man is not of God, because, because why? 13:05 Now let me put it in our terms, let's let me put it 13:08 in Alabama Vernacular okay if you will. 13:12 Some people may say he doesn't do it the way 13:14 our church does it and he doesn't do at the way 13:16 I believe it should be done, therefore it's 13:19 definitely wrong. Let me just remind 13:22 you something here okay, God's in-charge 13:25 of your breathing, God can do things anyway 13:28 he wants to as long as it doesn't 13:29 go against his word. Now, I believe that our 13:32 Bible, our 66 books of our Bible, I believe that 13:35 it it is the word of God but also believe it's only 13:37 God that contains all of the word of God. 13:40 And when it doesn't go contribute with the 13:42 word of God, if God wants to heal me 13:44 anyway he wants to anybody he desires to 13:46 as long, it's not contributed with the 13:47 word of God. He wants to open blinded eyes, 13:49 if he wants to raise the dead, anyway he wants 13:51 to as long as it does go against the word of God 13:53 then it's okay with this old boy. 13:55 It says: Therefore said some of the Pharisees, 13:57 This man is not of God, because he keepeth not 13:59 the sabbath day. Others said, How can 14:01 a man that is a sinner do such miracles? 14:04 See there was questions among them. 14:06 And there was a division among them. 14:07 So, it was a legal matter but the truth of the 14:10 matter was nobody praised God, it was not 14:13 a theological matter, it was not a legal matter, 14:17 it was a matter of that nobody praised God for 14:20 someone's eyes that were open since he had 14:23 been born, they were not open, 14:26 they were blind, nobody, nobody praised God. 14:31 I've got a question to ask you, who opened his eyes? 14:37 Did the Pharisees, did the disciples or was it Jesus? 14:41 What do you think happened to all those 14:42 religious demons that were in those people back then? 14:47 They sure aren't sitting in the taverns, 14:50 they aren't in the bars; they aren't in the 14:53 nightclubs, those religious legalistic 14:57 demons that were there then. 15:00 I wonder, just wonder you might be able to answer me. 15:06 I wonder if they aren't sitting in our 15:07 churches all around the world everywhere, 15:11 just ready to contempt anything 15:13 that they disagree with. The 17th verse said: 15:18 They say unto the blind man again, what sayest 15:21 thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? 15:24 And He said He is a prophet. 15:28 You see it's not a legal matter, it's a spiritual 15:31 matter and Jesus was the apostle, he was the 15:35 prophet, he was the evangelist, he was the 15:37 pastor, he was the teacher, he was all five 15:39 of them, and when he was ascended he left 15:41 that here with us. This was not a legal matter, 15:43 it was a spiritual matter and this man saw it. 15:47 Can you imagine here he is blind from birth, 15:50 all of the sudden his eyes are open and the 15:52 disciples want to know the theology of it, 15:54 the Pharisees want to know the legality of it. 15:56 And he says wait a minute, wait a minute, 15:58 wait a minute, I was blind and now I can see somebody. 16:03 Somebody open your eyes it's not a 16:04 legal matter. First Peter 2:9 says: That you are a 16:08 chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy 16:12 nation, a peculiar people that should show 16:16 forth the theology of God, no, the legality of 16:22 man, no, should show forth the praises of him 16:28 who has called you out of darkness 16:33 into his marvelous light. 16:35 This is where I got this title 16:36 out of darkness into his marvelous light, 16:39 wouldn't it be wonderful if we could 16:41 really lay hold of the truth that we've been 16:43 transfigured out of the kingdom of darkness 16:47 into his marvelous light. And not try to question 16:50 everything that God does and try to tear it 16:51 apart and dissect it and put our own opinions in it. 16:55 See it's not a legal matter; we should 16:58 remind ourselves that Jesus told the Pharisees 17:00 that they were of their father the devil, 17:02 so were the Pharisees right in questioning this. 17:04 He said you are of your father the devil, 17:06 a legalistic pharisaical spirit is satanic, 17:09 it's not just demonic, and it's satanic. 17:12 I have not encounter much legalism in the 17:14 higher up leadership, it's usually found at the 17:17 lowest level because mud sinks to the lowest level. 17:20 The true grace filled people of God are 17:22 found writing the ways of present truth, 17:25 but the legalistic ones are bottom dwellers. 17:28 The Lake Union Herald, I never forget 17:30 that because you know a lot of this is new to 17:32 me so when we started to have the GC in 17:34 St. Louis picked up the Lake Union Herald and 17:37 this is what it said, it listed the people 17:39 you may expect to encounter at the last GC 17:41 in St. Louis among those listed were the 17:43 true believers and I thought alright who are 17:46 the true believers. And tells you what to 17:48 except when you encounter them, 17:51 they will be eager to share with you all the 17:53 things that are wrong in the SDA and fill like 17:57 they are the SDA police, sick and wrong. 18:00 You know it doesn't, my daddy used to say it 18:02 like this, he said, son even a blind hog can 18:05 find an acorn every now and then, it doesn't take 18:07 a real spiritual person to find out what's wrong. 18:10 If God gives you discernment of what's 18:12 wrong then he should also give you 18:13 discernment of how to correct what is wrong. 18:17 Years ago, I'll never forget this, years ago, 18:20 in legalism, legalism and every denomination 18:23 feared many church, I had a lady came up to 18:24 me after the service one time she said Pastor Hal 18:27 I just, I can't figured it out. 18:28 She said that it just amazing why don't we 18:30 sing some of the old songs. 18:33 And see our charismatic church we sang off the 18:35 wall, was an overhead projector. 18:37 Of course everybody knows this of the devil, 18:39 of course not it's not. We sang hymns too. 18:42 You see why don't we ever sing some of the 18:44 old songs, I said well sis lets see. 18:46 Let me, let me just rehearse what we just did. 18:48 We just sang Thou Art Worthy out of the 18:50 book of Revelation, that's 2000 years old. 18:54 We sang the 48th song, Great is the Lord, 18:56 and greatly to be praised, in the city of 18:57 our God, in the mountain of His holiness. 18:59 That one's lets say it's about 3500 years old 19:03 and oh yeah we also sang The Song of 19:06 Moses out of the book of Exodus is over 4000 19:09 years old. How old the songs do you wanna sing? 19:14 She said oh I'm talking about the ones in 19:15 hymnal, and I said honey, those aren't old, 19:18 most of those are new songs. 19:20 And she wanted to quit the church because we 19:23 weren't singing all the song, every song of the 19:25 hymnal you know. I love hymns, don't you 19:27 misunderstand what I'm saying I love them 19:28 I think some of the most powerful hymns that's 19:32 ever been written have been written in the last 19:33 100 years, Charles Wesley, John Wes, 19:36 some of the powerful Christmas songs have 19:38 some of the most powerful meanings, 19:40 I love hymns. And I'm telling you that a Psalm, 19:44 48 Psalm is a song, it's meant to be sung and 19:49 when you sing the word of God you can't go 19:50 wrong singing the word of God. 19:51 But what it, what was it with her? 19:53 It was a legalistic attitude, we have one of 19:57 the most I believe, I'll Dr. C.A. Murray, 20:00 he is my hero, C.A dresses sharp, he looks 20:03 sharp, he presents himself well. 20:06 And I really esteem him very highly, 20:08 he is a mighty man of God and not only that 20:11 he's a powerful presenter, he presents 20:14 the word of God and can paint you a picture 20:16 of the power of God. And what God can do 20:18 in the purpose of God. Well back about a year 20:21 and half ago he ministered a sermon in 20:23 our local church here. And he was talking 20:26 about all the things that God could do for you 20:28 and he would do for you, that God was a 20:30 mighty God, and people applauded. 20:34 You see they weren't applauding him, 20:36 they were applauding God and giving him 20:39 praise by doing this, but after the service 20:44 he wasn't standing at the back door shaking 20:45 hands and telling about look how great I am, 20:47 how great a job I did. He was standing down 20:50 front ministering the people and praying with 20:52 people and someone slipped a little note over 20:54 his shoulder, he didn't need to see who it was and 20:56 it wasn't signed, that you won't usually sign them. 20:59 And it said in essence Pastor Murray, 21:02 I'm very concerned that you were encouraging, 21:05 you are encouraging 21:06 Pentecostalism in our denomination. 21:12 He didn't express it but I will know it hurt him 21:16 for them doing this, because he was giving 21:18 all of the honor and all the glory to God. 21:21 But it made me think about a few things you know. 21:25 I've read all through the book of Acts, 21:27 I've read all through the account of Pentecost 21:29 and I can't find one occasion at Pentecost 21:32 where they clap their hands, not one occasion 21:35 where they clap their hands. 21:38 However I can find about 1500 years before 21:40 that where David said, King David said: 21:43 Clap your hands all you people. 21:45 Shout unto God with a voice of triumph. 21:47 So, clapping your hands is not a Pentecostal 21:49 thing, but the response that was brought forth 21:53 was a legalistic thing. See it's not a matter of 21:55 legalism, it's a matter that nobody praise God 21:59 in anyway, shape, form or fashion they didn't 22:01 clap their hands and they didn't raise their 22:02 hands, they didn't say thank you God, nothing 22:04 nobody praised God. And if you're bothered 22:06 to take note, nobody ever got up and said 22:09 Hallelujah, thank you Jesus and praised Jesus, 22:11 they always got up and gave glory to God. 22:13 Because of what God had done through Jesus, 22:17 we got to stop being legalistic, we need to 22:19 look for, our church is to be filled up with men 22:22 and women who have them diamonds and 22:24 earrings and gold all over them. 22:27 The reason why is because they are 22:30 coming to hear what we telling them and what 22:33 we are telling them is the truth that means that 22:35 they're newest people we ought to at least 22:37 thank God because they're in our services, 22:39 instead of going up just as soon as they are 22:41 there, the first service that they are gonna tell 22:42 them, honey we don't believe in wearing jewelry. 22:45 I will never forget Theresa Bennett said, 22:47 she was in a service, she came out of a 22:48 charismatic moment. She was in the service, 22:50 in the first service she was in she said praise God, 22:52 praise God and afterwards the lady 22:54 came up to her and said, I want you to know 22:55 sister, we don't praise God in this church. 22:58 Well, how tragic, see it was not a matter of legalism. 23:03 It was a matter of nobody praise God, 23:05 now the last thing to the blind man's parents, 23:08 it was a personal matter. Not this is gonna get 23:11 úhome with you okay, putting it plainly, 23:15 they were scared. John 9 starting verse 18 23:19 stay with me with this, read with me okay. 23:22 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, 23:24 that he had been blind, and received his sight, 23:26 until they called the parents of him that had 23:28 received his sight. And they asked them, 23:31 saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? 23:35 How then doth he now see? His parents answered 23:39 and said, We know that this is our son, 23:42 and that he was born blind: But by what means he 23:46 now seeth we know not; or who hath opened his 23:48 eyes, we know not: hey he is a big boy, 23:51 he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 23:56 Now, I won't read this with you, because 23:58 I wanna add a little bit more of Alabamanism 24:00 in it all right? These words spake his 24:03 parents, because they feared the Jews: 24:08 for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man 24:10 did confess that he was Christ, he should be 24:12 kicked out of the denomination. 24:16 Now, it said that he should be put 24:17 out of the synagogue. But that's what it 24:20 means, if I don't agree with everything you do 24:23 and everything you say even if it doesn't go 24:25 against, go with the word of God. 24:26 If it goes against the word of God then I'm 24:28 supposed to sit back and shut up. 24:30 Now, I'm gonna stand up and I'm gonna speak 24:31 up and I'm going to praise God with all of 24:34 my heart because it's to me it's not a personal matter. 24:39 I had people that tell me Pastor Hal I don't, 24:41 I don't understand a lot of these things is 24:43 happening but I feel like really true, 24:45 you feel like as God. Well then here's what 24:47 I've got to say to you, if you don't understand 24:50 something, you can usually get some pretty 24:53 good information from someone who's been 24:54 touched by Jesus. Therefore in verse 23 24:58 said his parents, He is of age; ask him. 25:01 Then again called they the man that was blind, 25:03 and he said unto him, Give God the praise we 25:05 know that this man Jesus is a sinner. 25:07 He'd already given God the praise. 25:09 Religious people were always try to pervert 25:12 the truth with things that are not the issue, 25:14 the personal matters were not the issue. 25:17 John 9:25 says: He answered and said, 25:20 Whether he be a sinner or no, see this is not the 25:23 issue, whether you're a sinner or not, 25:24 he's telling them this is the issue guys, 25:26 I know not, one thing I do know, that, whereas 25:28 I was blind, now I see by the grace of God 25:35 I can see. This is the history of blindness, 25:41 however the blind, blind man was not the 25:43 only one there that was blind. 25:47 You see the truth of the matter is they were all 25:49 blind, you see the truth of the matter is 25:54 theology was not the issue, nobody praised God. 25:59 You see the truth of the matter legality was not 26:02 the issue, nobody praised God, personal 26:07 matters were not the issue. 26:10 Even his parents did not praise God that their 26:14 son that had been blind all through his life 26:17 could now see. There was a women 26:21 name Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 26:23 years, I just can't believe it, she gasped 26:25 as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes 26:27 after her recovery from the delicate surgery. 26:30 In an Ontario hospital. She wept for joy when 26:33 for the first time in her life, a dazzling and 26:36 beautiful world of form and color greeted her 26:38 eyes and she was now able to see. 26:41 The amazing thing about her story, 26:42 however, that is at 20 years of her blindness 26:45 had been unnecessary. She didn't know that 26:47 surgical techniques had been developed, 26:49 and that an operation could have restored 26:53 her vision at the age of 30. 26:56 The Dr. said, "She just figured there was 26:58 nothing that could be done about her condition. 27:00 Much of her life could have been different. 27:03 As I read the news of this account, of her 27:05 case, some questions came to mind. 27:07 Why did she continue to assume that her 27:09 situation was hopeless? Had no one told her 27:11 about the wonderful advances in eye surgery? 27:13 Then I thought of the plight of those 27:14 unreached by light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 27:18 How many will go on living in moral 27:20 blindness, unless we bring them to the 27:21 Savior's truth? Millions will never 27:23 know anything but spiritual darkness 27:25 because no one has shared with them 27:27 the Truth; the Light has come into the world 27:30 and allowed them the opportunity to praise God. 27:33 If we do not see by the Holy Spirit then it's too 27:36 easy to blinded by the thoughts of man. 27:40 Do you wanna know what the issue was, 27:42 do you wanna know what this story is all about. 27:45 This story is all about someone being healed 27:48 and nobody there except that man, praise 27:51 to God for it. I hope to God, He can change us. |
Revised 2014-12-17