Hello Family and Friends

Here are my sermon notes from Sunday, August 9, 2015

11:00 A.M. Worship Service

Plummerville United Methodist Church

Please feel free to share or make a copy.

Sermon Title:

“Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind” – Part 1 of 4

A four Part Series entitled:

“God May Use Our Suffering”

Opening statements: Often our Lord uses our challenges or suffering to reach others and bring about Salvation. Event: Jesus heals a man born blind. Notice that Jesus didn’t restore the man’s sight, he gave him New Sight. Today's message is more of a lesson than a sermon. Theme is: God may use our suffering to bring about spiritual and physical healing and teach a lesson. Some other Lessons: God can demonstrate his compassion and power through our problems. I’ll be reading from the NIV

Written by: Bill Ferguson

Scripture Reading….................................................... John 9: 1 – 12

Additional or Optional reading......................................................... John 9:30 - 38

Referring Scripture.......................................................... Isaiah 29:18-19

Responsive Reading ………….Psalm 121 ………………………….... UMH …. # 844 

The Words of God for the people of God, thanks be to God!

 

     A couple of weeks ago our scripture lesson came from Luke 13: 18 – 21. In the scripture Jesus used the mustard seed and yeast to illustrate how the kingdom message would grow and spread. Both are small; but one grows into a huge shrub (or tree) and the other eventually permeates an entire loaf of bread (much like Christianity has spread throughout the world). 

     Often Jesus would use a physical object, or setting to give a lesson and depict a certain spiritual aspect of his life and purpose. He does so in todays’ scripture lesson with the man born blind.

Other examples can be found:

1. In John 4:10, while sitting at Jacob's well and talking with the Samaritan woman, Jesus explained that he could give her “living water.”

2. In John 6:35, after feeding over 5,000 people with five small loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus explained that he was “the bread of Life.”

3. And in John 7:37, at the Feast of Tabernacles (called Sukkot in Hebrew) Jesus visited and preached in Jerusalem on this feast day. Sukkot is a feast remembering the time when Israel lived in huts (tents) during their wilderness journey. The Feast of Tabernacles also calls to mind the time when Moses struck the rock in the wilderness and it brought forth water for the parched Israelites. Jesus told all the people, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

4. Again in John 8:12, (at the Feast of Tabernacles, another symbolic act took place commemorating the pillar of fire that guided the Israelites on their wilderness journey. Remember the pillar of fire guided them at night. Jesus told all the people, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (NKJV).

     Listen. All of Jesus' miracles point to who he is. The Apostle John follows Jesus' discourse about being “the Light of the world” with the account of Jesus giving sight to a man born blind. This story illustrates the spiritual truth of Christ being the Light of the World. As the blind beggar comes to “see” that Jesus is the Messiah; so Jesus offers us spiritual sight to enable us to see him as our Lord and Savior. Listen. We too are born spiritually blind and need the gift of spiritual sight that only the Light of the World can provide.  The Light of the World becomes our light when we put our faith and trust in Christ Jesus.

     Look at verse 1. “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.” This man probably was very poor and was begging along the roadside, thus Jesus saw him as he passed by. (In ancient times, as in many modern cultures, some blind people have no choice but to beg.) Because Jesus did the “seeing” and the disciples did the “asking” the implication is that perhaps Jesus pointed out the man to the disciples. Jesus may have  spoken to the blind man – greeted him. The wording of the following question: “Rabbi. Who sinned, this man or his parents, that, he was born blind?” seems to imply that the group was standing directly in front of the man.

     There’s a lesson found here. We have a tendency not to “see” those who are disabled or to treat them in ways that emphasize or trivialize their disadvantage. For instance, blind people are often treated as if they can't hear either, which is exactly what the disciples did. I never realized this until a friend mine, who is blind, pointed this out to me. One day, during a conversation, Sam pointed out to me that he was blind but his hearing is enhanced and that often people talk to him in a loud voice. Sam said, “That aggravates me to no end.” I lowered my voice from then on.

     People appreciate being genuinely cared for but resent being treated as a “case,” a “problem,” or a “curiosity.” When dealing with people who are disabled, we must try to empathize with them.  Matthew 7:12, reminds us that we should always strive to treat others in the way we would want to be treated.

     Let’s turn our attention to verse 2-3: “His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'” In ancient Jewish cultures, many believed that all calamities and suffering resulted from sin. Unfortunately there are some who believe the same in this generation. Friends, life happens. We live in a fallen world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior not always punished. Unfortunate things happen in life. If God removed suffering whenever we asked, we would have a tendency to follow him for comfort and convenience (much like those who followed him around for the fish and bread), not out of love and devotion. Listen. Regardless of the reason for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it. We may not always be healed of our illness or suffering but we will never be alone. Our Lord will never abandon us.

     The disciples were thinking about what caused the blindness. Notice Jesus shifted their attention away from the cause to the purpose. Jesus led them into a new paradigm of thought. He demonstrated God's power by healing the man. There’s a lesson here: Instead of worrying about the cause of our problems, we should instead find out how God could use our problem to demonstrate his power. Jesus explained that the man's blindness had nothing to do with his sin or his parent’s sin. Jesus said; “Neither this man or his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Friend, these words do not mean that God heartlessly inflicted blindness on this man at birth, but simply that he allowed nature to run its course so that the victim would ultimately bring glory to God through the reception of both physical and spiritual healing (see John 9:30-38). You see, we are often in need more of spiritual healing than physical healing.

     We might ask; “How can God be at work in a desperate situation?” Listen. God can use our suffering. And our Lord often works miracles in desperate situations. There may be times when you or I have done everything logically possible to solve a problem. After we have explored the options, exhausted our resources, probed our motives, asked for advice, and done what was suggested, we may have found that nothing seems to have changed. We may have persisted in prayer and asked others to pray for us, and yet perceive no answer. The truth is, the solution, resolution, or answer may not ever come in this life. But it is also true that regardless of our difficulty and whether or not our burden is removed, God is still at work in our lives.

     How can this be Brother Bill? Listen.

1. God may use our experience to help, advise and encourage others who pass through the same trials we have.

2. God may use our suffering to break through the hardness of another person’s heart and bring about a change in them.

3. God may use our unresolved need to motivate others to keep searching for a solution from which others may benefit.

4. God may use our endurance in suffering rather than the suffering itself to be an encouraging example to other believers.

5. God may use our life's faith example as a witness to non- believers or skeptics and bring about their new faith and Salvation.

     I know of this happening first hand. My wife's uncle and my sister-in-law are good examples. My sister-in-law witnessed to people as she lay dying in the hospital (suffering from COPD). A young non-believer came to know the Lord at my sister-in-law’s death bed. My wife’s Uncle had been a race car driver. He had been a rough and tumble guy before he came to know the Lord. While on his death bed, in the hospital, he began to withness to the medical staff who attended to him – doctors and nurses and even those who cleaned the room. His wife called some of his race car buddies and when they came to say their last goodbyes, he witnessed to them of how Jesus changed his life. Listen, the witness of these two Christians changed lives.

     Let’s turn our attention for a moment to verse 4. Jesus said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Look at the word “We.” Evidently, Jesus was speaking of himself and his disciples as coworkers. Isn’t that wonderful to be included in God’s work? He wanted them to learn from him because they would continue to work as his sent ones. Jesus included the disciples in this work (although they actually did nothing for this blind man). Jesus used the word “We” because they would be the ones doing the work of God on earth after his resurrection and ascension. What a privilege it is to be called Christ's coworkers (see 1^st Corinthians 3:9; 2^nd Corinthians 5: 21; 5:1). Beloved we must never doubt our role or significance. As Believers, you have become the sent ones from Christ Jesus. Your role is important and can make a difference.

     I’m not out of sermon but I’m out of time. We'll continue next week with part 2 of 4.

     If you’ve never made a commitment to Christ Jesus or you feel you have drifted away and need to make a recommitment, you are welcome to come forward during our closing hymn.

     Dear Heavenly Creator, we praise Your Name. We confess our sins to you and repent of our wrong doings. Open our eyes that we may see, understand and do your will. Lead us in desipleship. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen