John 9

Hey, Richard. Hey, bud.

God be the glory, great things he has done. He so loved the world that he gave us his son who gave up his life. The forgiveness of sin. The gates open wide. He has welcomed us in.

Oh, praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Oh, praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the father through Jesus his son and give him the glory, great things he has done.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord to the earth. Hear his voice. Oh, praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice.

Oh, come to the father through Jesus his son and give him the glory, great things he has done. Praise alone. Praise alone. To God be the glory. Praise alone.

Praise the Lord, to God be the glory, great things he has taught us, great things he has done. And great our rejoicing through Jesus the son. But purer and higher and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

Oh, to God be the glory. Oh, praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Oh, praise the Lord. Let the people rejoice.

Oh, come to the father through Jesus his son. And give him the glory, great things he has done. Oh, praise the Lord. Let the earth hear his voice. Oh, praise the Lord.

Let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the father through Jesus his son. And give him the glory, great things he has done. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

To God, be the glory. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Will to God be the glory. Praise the Lord.

Close will serve you, Lord. Lifting holy hands and worship.

We will not bow down to the gods of man. We will worship the God of Israel. You are holy. Holy. There is no one else like you.

You are holy. Holy. There is no one else like you. As for me and my house, we will serve you, Lord. Lifting holy hands and worship.

Oh, we will not bow down to the gods of man. We will worship the God of Israel. You are holy.

Holy. There is no one else like you. You are holy. Holy. There is no one else like you.

There is no one else like you.

There is no one else.

Choose this day whom you will serve. Come on. Choose to stay whom you will serve. But as for me and my house. We will serve you, Lord.

We will serve you, Lord. Oh, yeah. We will not bow to the gods of man. We will not bow to the God of mental worship, the God of Israel.

We will not bow to the God of man. We will not bow to the God of men. Will worship the God of Israel. We sing it. We will not bow to the God.

No, man. We will not bow to the God of worship, the God of Israel.

Goddos Godo shout out and come. I don't shout out Incamoka I don't like you are holy, holy. There is no one else like you.

Holy, holy. There is no one else like you.

We will not bow down to the gods of male. We will worship the God of Israel have saved my soul. I am yours forever more. I won't be moved of this I'm sure, you my God and you save my soul.

I was lost when you came for me, held in chains by the enemy, but you broke them in victory. Now I'm free, I am free. You're my joy and you are my hope. I am saved by your grace alone I will sing of your love for me. I am free, I am free, you, my God has saved my soul.

I am your forever more. I won't be moved up if I show you my God, you save my soul.

With the king of Kcs for my every sin and from now through eternity, I am free, I am free, you, my God has saved my soul. I am your forever more. I won't be moved up if I'm sure. You my God and you save my soul.

Life. You gave to me the breath of life. You brought me up out from the grave. I'm bursting out with songs of grace. What once was dead is now alive.

You gave to me the breath of life. You brought me up out from the grave. I'm bursting out with songs of rain. I'm resting out with songs of rain.

You my God has saved my soul. I am yours forever more. I won't be moved of this I'm sure, you my God, you save my soul.

It on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is the shepherd kept there watching over silent flocks by night. And behold throughout the heaven with a show elite. Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is home.

The shepherd fear and tremble when Lord love the earth rang out the angel chorus that hailed our savior.

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born. And God said our salvation that blessed Christmas moon.

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is telling. On the mountain, over the hill, everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain. Jesus Christ is born.

Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is born. That Jesus Christ is born.

Father, we thank you for this time that we have together. We thank you, Lord, for this season that you have given us, Lord, for the blessings that the season brings, as we realize the gift of Jesus Christ and salvation that you have brought us. I pray, Lord, through the season that we'll get out of the motions of the commercialized aspect and fixate our eyes upon you and what you have done for us and what this season is really about. Father, I pray as we go to our service now that you'll turn our hearts from the distractions of the world and just turn us toward you. Lord, let us hear from you today.

Let us be filled with your spirit and let us hear your word that we may be doers of it, that you may be glorified. We thank you for these things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Good evening everyone, and welcome back to church. It's been a couple of weeks since we've been to normal with some chaos going on. Some announcements to quickly make is we are starting our advent series once again. We do this starting the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. Every year we begin our advent series, so we got this week taken care of, but we still have a few more weeks.

If there's anyone who would like to participate and do one of the weeks, please let me know so I can get you the info you need to do it. And you can send that video into us. Or if you're localized, we could even come and bring the camera and record you. Also, as a reminder for those who have been with us for Christmas before and everyone new, we add in an extra song, a fourth song from now until Christmas. And each week we'll increase the number of Christmas songs as compared to our traditional songs, until Christmas, when all of our worship will be Christmas music.

With that said, we're going to quickly do our advent before we get into our message. But we'll be in John chapter nine today, and if you blink too fast, you might miss the period of time in which I run from down here to upstairs.

Today is the first Sunday of advent. Advent means coming, and in this season we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. One of the ways we prepare for his coming is by making an advent wreath and lighting its candles to remind us of God's promises that come true in Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem. The Advent wreath has four candles in a circle with one larger white candle in the center. We will light one new candle every Sunday between now and Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we will light the Christ candle, which is in the middle of the wreath.

Today we light the first candle the candle of peace. God created this world to be a good place to live, but now it is filled with sadness and hardship. Despite our sins, God promised the people of Israel that he would someday restore the joy of living in his good creation.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For, behold, I create. Dexter, get down.

For, behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem. Enjoy in my people. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days.

For the child shall die 100 years old. But the sinner, being 100 years old, shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build, and another inhabit they shall not plant, and another eat.

For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people. And my elect shall enjoy the work, long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, neither bring forth children for trouble, for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food that shall not hurt nor destroy.

In all my holy mountain, says the Lord. Isaiah 60 517 through 25.

We light this first candle to remember that God gave us Jesus Christ and opened the door for us to his promised world of joy and peace. When Jesus was born, the angels announced, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward people with whom he is well pleased.

Let us pray. Thank you, God, for the peace you give us. We ask that as we wait for all your promises to come true and for Christ to come again, that you would remind or would remain present with us. Help us today and every day to worship you, to hear your word and to do your will by sharing your peace with each other. We ask this in the name of the one who was born in Bethlehem and who will come again in glory.

Amen.

It.

And I'm back.

My dry sense of humor. All right, well, I hope that everyone had an awesome thanksgiving, that it was enjoyable. I know a lot of people were sick, but I hope that there is at least some moments there of joy and celebration as we give thanks to God for all that he has done and that launches us into our Christmas season. If you have your bibles, we're going to turn in them to John, chapter nine. We're going to begin by reading verses one through twelve.

We read that as he was passing by, he saw a blind man from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his Parents, that he was born blind? Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Jesus answered, this came about so that God's works might be displayed in him. We must do the works of him who sent me.

While it is day, night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. After he said these things, he spit on the ground, made some mud from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. Go. He told him, wash in the pool of Salom, which means scent.

So he left, washed, and came back, seeing his neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, isn't this the one who used to sit begging? Some said, he's the one. Others are saying, no, but he looks like him. He kept saying, I'm the one. So they asked him, then, how are your eyes opened?

He answered, the man called jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes and told me, go to Salom and wash. So when I went and washed, I received my sight. Where is he? They asked, I don't know. He said, all right, so we got a story here.

Another miracle of Jesus Christ. This miracle, I think, is fascinating in two aspects. It's fascinating in the aspect of when it takes place. It takes place immediately after the festivals that they were just having. We've been talking about the festival of booths, the feast of booths that they've been doing.

And the feast of booths played a big role in chapter seven and chapter eight. As jesus led himself to say that he's the living water, and as it led jesus to proclaim himself to be the light of the world, and in light of Jesus claiming to be the light of the world, I find it fascinating that it is now that Jesus opens the eyes of a blind man. He's the light of the world. And following that amazing pronouncement of who he is, this man is given sight. But in the same context, by the end of our last chapter, they were asking Jesus, what will you do to prove to us that you're the messiah, that you're he?

And we've talked about the fact that if all the miracles weren't enough. And he is told at time and time again. He even tells them, I'm not telling. I've told you, and you don't listen. And so after all of this stuff goes down, Jesus is given sight to the blind.

But I also find the story, this miracle, fascinating, where it takes place in terms of the fact that Jesus is about to die.

We're really close to the death. In fact, here, in about three more chapters, from chapters twelve or 1213, all the way through the crucification, all takes place in a matter of about a day. So we're nearing the death of Jesus. And so right before he dies, he gives sight to the blind.

I find that fascinating, just when it takes place. So this guy, we need to establish something about him. He was born blind. So this man has never seen with his own eyes. And the disciples ask a very interesting question in verse two.

Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? This question is fascinating for a particular reason. The idea that this man could sin a sin great enough before he was born to be blind, just. It fascinates me that they could even reason like that. But also the fact that they seem to have this preconceived idea that the sin of parents is able to pass on to the children.

Punishment. Um, this is particularly true or not true, but the. See if I can get my brain to say what I want it to say to you guys. This is particularly fascinating in the aspect of the Pharisees who are so blind to their sin. Now, the disciples are the ones asking the question, but we see that the Pharisees have this attitude about them.

They don't want to be touched by sinners. They judge the sinners, they won't sit with the sinners. And what's interesting, as we see this unfold in Judaism and in the culture, is you have these people over here and the sinners over here. Notice my air quotes, right? Sinners over here.

And it's like the Pharisees and the religious, they set themselves apart as if they're not sinners. And they look down on everyone else who's not in their group as sinners. You see the adulterers as sinners. You see those who follow Jesus as called sinners. You see those who are lepers.

They obviously sinned in order to have leprosy. You see all these conditions, blind men, and they tend to separate themselves and call them sinners. Which is ultimately going to be the point Jesus will get to by the end of this chapter, is that we're all sinners, just some of us are blind to it. So there's this notion, though, that either he or his parents had to sin, that he is born blind. Here's how Jesus answers the question in verse three.

Says, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this came about so that God's works might be displayed in him.

You know, a lot of bad things happen in life. For this guy, it was blindness. But we see bad things happen around us all the time, both in children and adults. We see things take place that we question, why, God, do you allow this to happen to me? Or why, God, do you allow this to happen to my kids or even to those children out there in general?

But the answer of Jesus is simple, that God's glory might be seen through the issue.

In this case, this man in particular was born blind so that God could heal him. In particular, God knew that this man would be born at a set time and that he would be in a set place at a set time when he was walking by. And he was born blind with the intent that God could heal him, that God could manifest his glory through a great work. And this here is the answer to one of the most difficult questions that we ask, or that I could be asked by somebody else. And that is why.

Why does God let sin persist?

I like to think sometimes that I'm smarter than God when I'm having these hypothetical conversations and say, well, if I were God, I just wouldn't have let sin happen in the first place. Right? Doesn't that seem like the smarter, more logical answer right there? If we were God, we just wouldn't let sin happen. And if no sin, there's no illness, no death, no corruption, no pain, no sorrow, or once sin entered the world, strike it down, boom, it's gone.

Eradicate, know, just get rid of Adam and Eve and plant in the garden a new Adam and Eve problem solved, right? And so that's our solution as people. It's just don't let it happen to begin with.

So there is a difficult question that we as a people group ask, and that's why did God even let it happen this way? If God knew Adam and Eve would sin and fall and do all this, why didn't God do something to prevent it or to stop it? And we can talk about free will, and we can talk about how God allowing us to choose is more loving than not allowing us to choose. But that's all side topics. Anyways, the root of the situation is this, that God had allowed it to happen so that his glory could be manifest through his salvation.

There is no greater way for God to show his love to us than that he can come and sacrifice himself, that we might be saved through it.

And that is the ultimate reason why God has allowed it to happen in the way that it has happened, is because he is glorified when he is able to sacrifice of himself for the sake of his creation. So this man was born blind for the purpose of God's glorification through his healing. The fact that God was able to come and heal him, perform a mighty work in him, and give him something magnificent.

Then there's a plan here in verses four and five where Jesus says that the time to work is now. He says we must do the works of him who sent me. While it is day, night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world. Let's break this down into what Jesus meant for him and for them at that time and what it means for us right now, because we're in different times and we can still apply it to ourself.

What Jesus meant at the time is while it's day, he is living and while it's night, that's after he has been crucified. So he is saying, hey, time is short before I'm no longer going to be here, before they crucify me and I resurrect and I go home. Time is short. So while we have the time here, we must continue to work. We must do this work.

What does it mean for us though? Well, it means the same thing. We can just tweak the context a little bit. Time isn't short before Jesus leaves us like he did them to go back into the glory of heaven. But time is short before jesus comes back.

So we are able to apply this in the same way by tweaking the context. Time is short. It is day right now, but that time when Jesus comes to snatch us away, to take us, it is short. He's coming. He's going to take his church, and then it will truly be night for that seven year tribulation.

By the way, we're learning about the tribulation on Wednesdays in the book of revelation. We're going to be learning about that. That's truly going to be dark. It's going to be night, for the spirit of God will no longer be here on the earth. So how do verses four and five apply to us?

Well, we must be doing the work of the one who sent him and the work of the one who called upon us and redeemed us and then sent us while it is day.

So after he said these things, after the trivia, part of this goes on as his brain is picked about who sinned and the purpose of this guy's illness, his blindness. Jesus spits on the ground, forms mud and rubs it on his eyes. There's a meme that goes around on Facebook and Reddit and core and all these other places that most of you have likely seen by now. And it's about the miracles of Jesus if they occurred today. And the meme is if Jesus multiplied the bread today and sent it out to the 5000, you're going to have 2000 people complain that there's gluten in it.

You're going to have 2000 complain that it's not wheat or it's not y or it's not sourdough. You're going to have 1000 complain that it wasn't baked to perfection. When it comes to the fishes, you're going to have those who complain that it's vegetarian, it's meat and they're vegetarians and all these things. And I see kind of the same thing here with the mud. You're going to have those who complain that he spit on the rise, but he spit in the ground and he formed mud and he put it on his eyes and he tells him to go wash in the pool of siloam, which means scent.

And so he left, washed and he came back seeing. I want to point something out here. The guy was not healed at the moment that Jesus put the mud on his eyes. He was not healed at that point. He was healed when he left and washed in the water.

And then he came back seeing. Why is that? If we go back to John chapter four or five one moment, for some reason I suddenly cannot remember where this is. Yeah. If we go back to John chapter five, there is a guy, if you remember, he's laying by a pool and he is waiting for the angels to stir the water in the pool so that he can go in and get healed.

But he can never make it in because he has no one to carry him to it. And Jesus comes and asked him, do you want to be well?

And then Jesus said, get up, pick up your mat and walk. The man was not healed at that moment. Verse nine, immediately after here in chapter five says instantly the man got well, picked up his mat and started to walk. But we need to put a pause between verses eight and verse nine and read that word instantly with a little bit of a grain of salt. It was not instantaneous.

He was not healed at the moment Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk. Neither was the man in chapter nine healed at the moment he put mud on his eyes. In both cases, they were healed in the moment that their faith produced action.

When Jesus told the man in chapter five to get up and walk and to carry his mat, he was healed instantly. In the very moment that he determined to stand up and pick up his mat, when that faith produced in him the confidence to actually obey God, he was healed. Here in chapter nine, the blind man was healed when his faith inside of him produced in him the confidence to obey and go to the waters and wash his eyes. That is the moment in which he was healed. Now, we have to be careful with this, because I have seen a tendency to turn this into a work based formula.

And this formula does not teach work, works for salvation. But this formula does teach us something important, and what it teaches us is that our faith will produce obedience.

Our faith, if you truly believe in Jesus Christ and truly trust in him, it will produce inside of you obedience.

So he goes, he washes. He comes back seeing, and then something happens. His neighbors, this guy, we know he's at least in his 20s, although we don't know for sure how old he is, but we know he's in his 20s. So for at least 20 to 21 years, this guy has been begging. He's not worked.

He's not taking care of himself. He sat on the roadside begging people for money because he's blind. And now his neighbors see this guy who all of a sudden can see.

And there is a little bit of confusion here. Some of them say, this can't be the guy who we've seen begging all this time. Others say it is the guy. Some say he looks like the guy, and they don't know. And so this guy has to say, he says, I am the guy.

I was blind. Could you imagine that? I was blind. But now I see. He says, I was the guy.

And so they asked him, how then were your eyes opened?

We're going to see a parallelism here again later tonight, but I want to point out something here. This man, though the blindness was physical and the opening of the eyes was physical, it is all symbolic of the spiritual sense that each and every one of us have experienced. We were all blind at some point. There was a point in each of our lives before which we committed our life to Jesus Christ. And it was at that point in which we were blind.

We were blind to our sin. Or we may have known that we had sin. There's a lot of churchgoers who are still blind. They know they have sin, but they're blind to their true need, that is, Jesus, to save them. They think their works and other stuff.

So there was a point before committing our lives to Jesus that we were blind.

And when you commit your life to Jesus and move forward, your eyes are open. Your spiritual eyes are open.

So this question that they asked him, they said, how were your eyes opened? This applies to us as well. He says, the man called Jesus made mud. Put it on my eyes and told me, go to Salom and wash. And when I went and washed, I received my sight.

Basically, what this man says is, I don't know. I was blind and I met Jesus. And now I see.

And it's the same principle for us. Before Jesus, we are blind. We're unaware of our need. We're unaware of what the solution is. And then we meet Jesus and we see.

How do we see? Because Jesus washes us with his word. We actually had a conversation this morning in the am church. About being washed and cleansed by the words of Christ. He washes us with his words.

And renews our minds and produces in us faith. And we act out in obedience by professing the name of Jesus Christ. Whosoever will confess him shall be saved. So we act out in obedience due to the washing of his word. And profess his name.

And confess that he is Lord. And we see we are no longer blind.

And they asked, where is he? He said, I don't know. Wouldn't it be awesome if when we gave our testimony, people said, well, where is he? So that we could, unlike the man here, we know where Jesus is. We have the answer to that.

We also know that he is with us. And he's all around us, and he indwells us. So it would be awesome if we could tell our story. Which is really God's story. And it's so compelling.

Look what he did. And people could ask us, well, where is he? And we could show them who and where he is. Let's look at verses 13 through 17. Or we'll do 13 through 23.

So they brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight. He put mud on my eyes. He told them, I washed and I can see.

Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God, because he doesn't keep the Sabbath. But others are saying, how can a sinful man perform such signs? And there was a division among them. Again they asked a blind man, what do you say about him since he opened your eyes? He's a prophet, he said, the Jews did not believe this about him, that he was blind and received sight, until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

Then they asked him, is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see? We know this is our son and that he was born blind. His parents answered, but we don't know how he now sees, and we don't know who opened his eyes. Ask him.

He's of age. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue. This is why his parents said, he's of age. Ask him.

Okay, there's a lot going on here that we need to unpack first. Who knows what the big problem here is? What is the one problem the Pharisees have with this miracle? It occurred according to verse 14 on the Sabbath, as if giving somebody their legs back or bringing someone back from the dead or giving someone sight is more of a work in violation of the law of Moses than circumcising a male child on the 8th day that happens to be on the Sabbath.

They're inconsistent and they can't make up their mind. So that's the problem. So they ask him how he received a sight, and he told them. He says, well, he put mud on me, told me to wash it off. And I can see the problem here in verses 15 and 16 is they don't want to accept that these miracles can be from God.

And I want to be clear about that. They don't want to accept it. They want the Messiah. As long as the messiah is what they preconceived in their minds, they want him to be. But if the Messiah is someone who will threaten their power or threaten their way of life, or get them politically in trouble without politically rescuing them, they don't want him.

And that is what Jesus is doing. Jesus threatens their power. Jesus threatens their power by saying the religious system and what we're doing in the religious system is not what God intended. All of these man made fence laws is not what God intended. And by saying that and taking that from them, they lose their position of authority and power.

He threatens their status by telling them. They're all sinners. That the way they separate themselves, we're over here, and the sinners are over here. You can't be touched by a sinner or sit with the sinner or fellowship with a sinner. And Christ is saying, you're actually all the same.

And he threatens their preconceived notion that they are better than everyone else and brings them down. And so they don't want to accept it. And look what they say about him. He says, well, how could a sinner perform these signs? And the only thing they've been able to accuse him of is proclaiming to be the son of God.

Well, if he really is the Son of God, then he is not a sinner. By proclaiming to be the son of God. And if he really is the Son of God, that can explain how he is doing such signs. So they recognize that the signs, they recognize the miracles. They know it's happening.

They've seen dead people rise to life. They've seen sick people heal demons, cast out blind people now receive sight. Lame people receive their Ability to walk again. They've seen all of these things. So it's not that they're not doing it.

In fact, you can see their confusion here.

They know that what he is saying and doing is true, but they don't want it to be true, and they don't want to allow him to be there. And that's why it says later in verse 22, it says that Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the messiah, he would be banned from the Synagogue. So with no trial, with no formal Evidence, with no Actual consensus even in the leadership. And he know there's no consensus in the leadership because it says so here. It says that there is a split in the leadership.

In verse 16, it says there was a division among them. Some say he can't be from God. He doesn't keep the Sabbath. Others say, yeah, but a sinner can't do this. And this is among the Pharisees.

And it says there was not a division among them. So within the ranks of jewish leadership, there still is no agreed upon consensus that this man isn't or is who he says he is. And yet they had already determined, without any agreement, without any trial, without any evidence or facts, that to confess Jesus means to be put out of the synagogue.

So the problem here is they have just decided they don't want him, whether he is or isn't the messiah. They don't want him.

And so they then accuse the kid. Well, you were never blind. So if you can't accept that he's from God based on the miracles that he's doing, or rather won't accept, the only way to deal with the problem is then to say that the problem never existed in the first place. Because if Jesus is healing the blind and giving them sight back, you have to acknowledge that he's from God, right? No one else has ever been able to do that.

If he's raising people from the dead, you have to acknowledge that he's from God. So what is the solution? The solution is to charge the kid if lying and say what? You are never blind.

If he was never blind, then no healing took place. And if no healing took place, you don't have to acknowledge Christ as God or the messiah. So they tell him you are never blind. As if this 20 something year old kid somehow determined from the time he was young, two or three years old at the minimum, to pretend to be blind, to get to live a hard life. Today it's easier to be disabled if you're disabled today, it's easier to get help, to get resources and access to stuff.

Back then, being disabled was not an easier road out. You couldn't just get handouts back then. Being blind back then typically meant you did not have a home, you did not have friends, because they shunned disabled people. Back then, they thought that to be disabled, you were a sinner, so they didn't hang out with you. You couldn't get jobs.

You were alone and you were resorted to laying on the streets day and night, begging people for food and for money and for help, whoever would take pity on you. No one in those circumstances is going to pretend to be blind.

No one. It doesn't make sense. There is zero reason to pretend to be blind and condemn yourself to living in that manner.

But he must be pretending, because we cannot accept that this guy is the messiah. He must be pretending. So what do they do? They call us parents. They call us parents.

And his parents say, we know that he was blind. We know nothing else. His parents don't want to get involved, and we need to examine why. Here we're only going to examine one verse from verses 20 through 23. His parents refused to answer because the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.

So the parents are more afraid of the jewish leaders and what they would do and appeasing them than they are of appeasing God and doing what God would rather. It's like they know he is the messiah. They know it, but they're less afraid of him than they are of the Jews.

We need to clarify something. When it comes to God. When it comes to God, you are in one of two positions. You are either with God or against God, period. There is no gray area, no watery area.

No, maybe not. You are either for or against him. If you don't know that you are for him, then you are against him, period. If you decided you're against him, you're against him. But if you're on the fence, where I really don't know, then you're against him.

Indecision is decision and decision to allow the world to dictate what you do and do not believe, or what you do and do not say about God, or what you do and do not read or pray. As we read the book of Daniel, we saw that happen with Daniel into the lion's den because he continued to pray to God, despite what the government mandated, that if you prayed or worshiped anyone other than the king, you should be fed to the lions to be afraid of anyone, especially a religious system. And side of that over God, then you are against God. There is no other way. There's no if, ands or buts.

You're for or you are against God.

I'll tell you what. If I were back then, I'd rather be thrown out of the synagogue and following Christ the messiah, the one who's going to save me, than reject him out of fear of getting thrown out of the synagogue. I don't need a synagogue. If I've got Christ, I've got Christ.

Let's finish this chapter. We're going to read 24 through 41. So a second time they summoned the man. Sorry, 24 through 34. A second time, they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, give glory to God.

We know this man is a sinner. He answered, whether or not he's a sinner, I don't know. One thing I do know, I was blind, and now I can see. So they asked him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?

I already told you, he said, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't want to become his disciples too, do you? They ridiculed him. You're that man's disciple.

But we're Moses's disciples. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but this man, we do not know where he's from. This is an amazing thing. The man told him, you don't know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is God fearing and does his will, he listens to them.

Throughout history, no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything. You were born entirely in sin, they replied, and you're trying to teach us. Then they threw him out. Oh, part of me wishes that I was able to, knowing everything I know today, being able to sit there and watch this play out.

So let's just break it down. They summon him, and here's what they say. They just say, give God the glory. We know that he's a sinner. In other words, what they say is, we don't know how you have your sight.

So just glorify God this man's a sinner. And that's their way of just ending it right then and there. Don't praise Christ, he's evil, but praise God. So this guy says this, he says, you know what? I don't know if he is or isn't a sinner, and I really don't care.

All I know is I was blind, and now I see. I was one way, and now I'm another. And that's all I need to know. And he says, but this I do know. I do know that God doesn't listen to sinners.

And this guy, he's going around and he's raising the dead. He's given legs to people, giving sight to people, curing leprosy, casting out demons. He's like, if this guy were a sinner, he couldn't be doing all of this stuff. And so what do they say to him again? They say this.

They say, how did he heal you? Are you noticing something with the Jews, with Jesus? They ask him over and over again, what sign will you give us? What miracle will you give us? Where are you from?

Who's your father? And Jesus is like, I've shown you signs and miracles, and I've told you over and over and over again, and you won't listen to me. And now this guy has told them at least three times, I was blind. He put mud on my eyes. I wash and I see.

That's all that happened. That's all I know. And they keep asking him. And he finally, he gets frustrated. He says, I've already told you, and you don't listen to me.

The only reason that I can come up with that, you keep asking, do you want to be his disciples?

And they said about Moses, we follow Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don't know that God has spoke to this man. What blindness? And here is the root of today's message. There is, to a large degree, that our blindness is willful.

It's willful. For as blind as we are, we all know the truth. When we see it, when we hear it, when we encounter it, we all know the truth. We all know deep within us, wherever you are, whoever you are, we all know, deep within us, that something is wrong.

We know it.

But it is a willful ignorance. It is a willful choice and desire to reject that which is true. Look at verse 34. Right. That said, you were born entirely in sin.

And yet you try to teach us. There is no evidence this man was born in sin. But they separate themselves from everyone else. It is easy. We can put ourself in that high place if we want.

And we can look down on anyone who disagrees with us, and we can call them sinners. But it is a willful blindness. It is willfully choosing to close your eyes and turn away from the truth as we close. Here, look just what Jesus says. He heard that the man was thrown out, and he finds him.

And he says, do you believe in the Son of man?

The guy says, who is he, sir, that I may believe? Jesus answered, you have seen him. And in fact, he is the one speaking to you. And the man said, lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.

Jesus says, I came into the world, into this world for judgment. In order that those who do not see, or those who do not see, will see. And those who see will become blind. And the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, we aren't blind, are we? And he said, if you were blind, you wouldn't have sinned.

But now that you say, we see, your sin remains. In other words, because they choose to be blind, willfully blind. They choose to ignore their sin. They choose to ignore their need. And the truth, their sin remains.

But that blind person who, when that truth confronts them and they open their eyes to it, and they acknowledge that truth, and they allow it to see. Allowing your eyes to be opened, that is the only solution to our sin. What does that mean? Well, it means allowing your eyes to be open. Not only to your sin nature, but to the reality of Jesus Christ.

That he is God the creator. That he did step down into creation. That he did die for us and resurrect the third day. And that. And that alone is what can save us.

Because we are sinful. That realization be going from blindness to being able to see that truth, that there is what will remove your sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the man says, who is he? That I may believe and notice this happened when the man was thrown out. The man is thrown out and Jesus goes and seeks him out and says, do you believe in the Son of man?

So whoever you are today and wherever you are in life, in location, I want you to know something that siding with the world because you are afraid of being cast out from your religious system. If you are religious, or from your political system, or from your education system, or from your occupational system, or your inner circle, your family, whatever it is, there is one thing that remains, and that's Jesus. And it is far better. It is far better to be thrown out of the synagogue or thrown out of your job or your university or your political office for the sake of Jesus Christ and to find him than it is to willfully continue on in your blindness and allowing your sin to remain. And so if you can acknowledge, and you're ready to acknowledge tonight that you're a sinner, you're a sinner, there's something wrong with you.

I want you to know. That's okay. There's something wrong with me too. I'm a sinner. I've got sin.

And if you're able to see that and no longer be blind to that, then that's okay now. Because there is hope. I want to tell you about that hope. That Jesus Christ, he created the world. He is God, our maker, our designer.

And he loved you. He loved you enough to come here and to die for you. And he lived perfectly.

He died the sinner's death. He was buried, but he rose again that third day. And if you're ready to confess that he is Lord Jesus says that whoever would confess me as Lord, whoever would confess me, I'll confess him before the father. He also says, whoever denies me before his fellow man, him also will I deny before the father. If you're ready to do those things, if you are at a point where you realize, hey, I was blind.

I didn't see all this. I didn't know all this. But I see it. I see it and I see my need. I want you to know that today you could have Jesus Christ.

As we go into a closing prayer, I'll help you verbalize that to God. I'll help you verbalize those things and ask him into your heart. But if you believe those things and that belief in you is ready to produce in you a act of obedience, a confessing Jesus Christ. You could be without sin in the sense that you won't be judged for it. You can be without sin in the sense that one day you will resurrect into a sin free world that is perfect and you can have the gift of eternal life.

As we go to our closing prayer, I'll ask you to verbalize that with me. Immediately after closing prayer, we're going to partake of the Lord's communion, his supper, as we remember that he lived and died for us and that he resurrected the third day. And then I hope to see everybody on Wednesday at 630 as we continue in revelation, chapter three.

Let's pray. Father, I admit that I am a sinner, Father, I admit that I cannot save myself, that my deeds are vile and that in them I have sin. I have the dead of sin. But God, I believe that you are the creator. I believe that you stepped into here.

I believed. I do believe, Lord, that you not only died, but you resurrected. And through that resurrection, through your death and your atonement, I could be without sin. I believe that the curse could be removed from me. And I believe, Lord, in your promise of a sin free world, in the resurrection, in the new heavens and the new earth.

Father, I thank you for that. And I confess you, Lord Jesus, as my God, my king, my lord and savior. And I ask you into my heart, and I ask you for this free and precious gift. And Lord, I ask you to give me sight that I may see.

Lord, I ask you to take my sin from me. I ask you to wash and renew me and make me clean and mourn me to your image. Father, I pray that any blindness that I have, or that any of us have, Lord, that we're still blind to. Lord, would you remove our blindness from us? Take it away.

Lord, give us sight to see. And Lord, I pray for all of those out there who are totally blind to you and blind to who you are and who they are and what is happening. And the solution. Lord, I pray this Christmas season that you will pour out the greatest gift you have ever given upon the world as you open the eyes of the masses and let them see who you are. Father, I pray over in Israel that you will open the eyes of your people and let them see you and know who you are, that you would be glorified.

Father, I pray that you would allow us to experience more of you this season. I pray, Lord, that we will glorify you in our actions and we love you. And we thank you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Okay, I will be.