Latest / Reach Church Podcast / Signs Pt 6 - Lord, Open My Eyes | Azael Nunez

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Signs Pt 6 - Lord, Open My Eyes | Azael Nunez · Reach Church Podcast

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  Speaker 1: Hey everyone, welcome to the Reach Church Podcast. This is
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  Speaker 1: Dave Snyder, pastor here at Reach Church. Each week we
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  Speaker 1: share messages from our Sunday gatherings to help you discover
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  Speaker 1: the love of God, be empowered for purpose, and impact
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  Speaker 1: your world. We pray this message encourages you and helps
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  Speaker 1: you grow in your walk with Jesus. Let's get into
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  Speaker 1: today's message.
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  Speaker 2: Today we're in part six of the series that we've
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  Speaker 2: been talking about, Signs. And signs are important because they
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  Speaker 2: tell you something and they point you to a person.
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  Speaker 2: And that person, his name is Jesus. Amen. One of
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  Speaker 2: the things that I want to share with you as
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  Speaker 2: we start this message is, have there ever been a
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  Speaker 2: time in your life where you think that everything is
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  Speaker 2: going on well? You know, my kids are doing well.
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  Speaker 2: My spiritual life is in check on doing the right
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  Speaker 2: things and checking the right boxes that I need to do.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm moving on. But then one day you wake
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  Speaker 2: up and you realize, wait a minute, there are some
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  Speaker 2: things in my life that I need to maybe surrender
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  Speaker 2: to the Lord. Maybe there's a situation that you're facing
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  Speaker 2: in your life. And the perfect example that I can
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  Speaker 2: put it to you is, right, we all drive a
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  Speaker 2: car and we all drive to work or do different things, right?
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  Speaker 2: And so every morning when you get up, you drive
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  Speaker 2: to your work, to school, wherever you go. And there's
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  Speaker 2: this thing in the car that is called the windshield.
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  Speaker 2: And in the windshield as you're driving, maybe some birds
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  Speaker 2: from the air will drop some little surprises on your windshield, right?
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  Speaker 2: You continue to drive and there's some pollen, there's some
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  Speaker 2: mosquitoes that you hit in the road and all of
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  Speaker 2: these things. And then one morning, you don't clean it up, right,
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  Speaker 2: every day, but you continue driving because you think it's okay.
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  Speaker 2: And so one morning you get up and it's 7
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  Speaker 2: in the morning and you're hitting 220 on the highway
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  Speaker 2: and that sun just shines brightly on that windshield. And
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  Speaker 2: all of a sudden you cannot see because it's full
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  Speaker 2: of Things that have happened to it. And I can
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  Speaker 2: put it in an example as it is in our
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  Speaker 2: own spiritual life. Many times as we're walking with God
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  Speaker 2: and we're trying to walk in this relation with him,
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  Speaker 2: you know, spiritual blindness or rebellion doesn't happen in an
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  Speaker 2: overnight situation. It is an accumulation of moments that we
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  Speaker 2: maybe didn't pay attention to, but we kept moving or
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  Speaker 2: ignored And therefore, when that sun shines into it, or
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  Speaker 2: when the light of Christ shines his light into our lives,
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  Speaker 2: then we realize, wait a minute, there might be some
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  Speaker 2: things in our lives that are not conducive to God.
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  Speaker 2: And so what is the thing that we want to do?
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  Speaker 2: As believers, or maybe you're here for the first time
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  Speaker 2: and you're not in a relationship with God, you want
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  Speaker 2: to go to the Lord first and you want to say, God,
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  Speaker 2: open my eyes. Amen. Open my eyes to the things
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  Speaker 2: that I want to see. And in This example that
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  Speaker 2: we're going to see in John chapter 9 is, again,
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  Speaker 2: the six signs that Jesus has shown throughout the book
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  Speaker 2: of John. And right now we are in the number six,
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  Speaker 2: which means that you had five other signs that you
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  Speaker 2: saw of God doing miracles, right? Turning the water into wine,
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  Speaker 2: healing the sick. uh resurrecting people from the dead and
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  Speaker 2: now we are in the number six but the number
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  Speaker 2: six is interesting right because it is between john chapter
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  Speaker 2: seven and john chapter nine there's a lot of things
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  Speaker 2: that happen in this place remember john chapter seven jesus
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  Speaker 2: is coming into jerusalem and they're celebrating what is called
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  Speaker 2: the feast of booth and another words right for those
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  Speaker 2: of you who can understand what is okay what is
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  Speaker 2: the feast of booth that we're celebrating is that God
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  Speaker 2: was delivering them or had delivered them for 40 years
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  Speaker 2: in the desert until they got to the promised land.
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  Speaker 2: And it's important for us to understand that because when
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  Speaker 2: the priest will get up in the morning, one of
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  Speaker 2: the things that he will say as he was going
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  Speaker 2: in the celebration, he will quote Isaiah chapter 12 verse 3,
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  Speaker 2: which says that from this fountain you will drink and
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  Speaker 2: you will be filled with eternal salvation. Amen. I want
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  Speaker 2: you to know that when you come to Jesus, you
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  Speaker 2: can find salvation. When you come to the Lord, you
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  Speaker 2: can be saved and you can be healed and you
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  Speaker 2: can be restored. And here in John chapter 9, we
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  Speaker 2: start at the beginning in verse, we're going to start backwards, okay?
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  Speaker 2: So maybe you've never done that before, but we're going
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  Speaker 2: to go to the end of the story and then
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  Speaker 2: we're going to go back to the beginning. In John
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  Speaker 2: chapter 9, verse 35, this is what Jesus says to
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  Speaker 2: the blind man. that we're going to see his life
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  Speaker 2: and we're going to discover what did Jesus do for him.
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  Speaker 2: He said, when Jesus heard what had happened, he found
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  Speaker 2: a man and asked him, did you believe in the
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  Speaker 2: Son of God? The man answered, who is he, sir?
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  Speaker 2: So isn't it interesting, right? The blind man is talking
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  Speaker 2: to Jesus and Jesus is telling him, you know, you
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  Speaker 2: can have salvation in your life, but he is blind.
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  Speaker 2: He is lost. He can't see. Everything is dark around him.
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  Speaker 2: That's all he's ever known. And Jesus tells him in
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  Speaker 2: verse 36, the man answered, who is he, sir? I
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  Speaker 2: want to believe in him. Verse 37, you have seen
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  Speaker 2: him already, Jesus said, and he is speaking to you.
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  Speaker 2: And the blind man said, yes, Lord, I believe. And
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  Speaker 2: he worshiped Jesus. You know, today we're looking at this
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  Speaker 2: person who was blind. I don't know if you ever
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  Speaker 2: met a person who was physically blind, but I bet
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  Speaker 2: it can be difficult. And I think John wants to
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  Speaker 2: show us that this sign is about to be super
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  Speaker 2: miraculous because I don't think it can get any worse
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  Speaker 2: than being blind and doing life and trying to depend
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  Speaker 2: on somebody to take you around only because you cannot
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  Speaker 2: see with your physical eyes. So here's a man who
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  Speaker 2: is lost, who needs something in his life, and maybe, right,
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  Speaker 2: in the world today, this man needed a miracle. And
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  Speaker 2: one of the first points that I want to tell
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  Speaker 2: you is when it comes to why does John says
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  Speaker 2: and doesn't call a miracle a miracle, but he calls
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  Speaker 2: them a sign, right? It's important for us to understand that.
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  Speaker 2: In the Greek words, a sign or miracles is called simeon,
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  Speaker 2: which is something supernatural, something that has never been, something
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  Speaker 2: that you need a supernatural sign. But how many of
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  Speaker 2: us today and throughout our lives, we always seen people
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  Speaker 2: that was chasing one miracle? Maybe I don't know about you,
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  Speaker 2: but I can see that as I've been, you know,
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  Speaker 2: in the ministry for the past 16, 20 years, you
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  Speaker 2: always see people that they want something and they want
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  Speaker 2: a breakthrough in their lives, and so they look for
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  Speaker 2: a miracle or a sign in their lives. What I
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  Speaker 2: want to tell you today is that We're not here
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  Speaker 2: to chase one miracle. I believe that we're here because
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  Speaker 2: we want to chase the miracle worker. We want to
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  Speaker 2: chase the one that has all the miracles because here's
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  Speaker 2: what my understanding, right? And here's what we have seen.
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  Speaker 2: That if you are in a situation and you need
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  Speaker 2: a miracle in your life, right? For a lot of us,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes we think that the miracle depends on our performance
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  Speaker 2: and how we do things. I don't know about you,
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  Speaker 2: but have you ever been in a situation where You
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  Speaker 2: need God to come through. You need a breakthrough. You
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  Speaker 2: need a miracle. And so therefore you say, okay, I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to show up to church 365 days of the year.
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  Speaker 2: If there's prayer service, I'm going to go to the
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  Speaker 2: prayer service. And even if the church is closed, I'm
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  Speaker 2: going to show up to the church just because I
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  Speaker 2: want to be in right standing with God. Because I
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  Speaker 2: can't mess up this miracle. I really need this to happen.
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  Speaker 2: And so today I'm telling you this because do not
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  Speaker 2: put your hope on one miracle alone. But put your
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  Speaker 2: hope on the miracle worker. Because in life, you're going
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  Speaker 2: to need a whole bunch of miracles. In life, you're
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  Speaker 2: going to need a whole bunch of breakthroughs. And so
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  Speaker 2: if we've seen people, you know, that come to Christ
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  Speaker 2: and they say, man, I really need God for God
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  Speaker 2: to do a breakthrough in this. You know what's going
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  Speaker 2: to happen? You put all your faith in this one
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  Speaker 2: miracle and what happens, right? When Jesus answers that miracle...
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  Speaker 2: And we say, God, I commit to you. I commit
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  Speaker 2: to serving. I commit to evangelizing. And once God gives
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  Speaker 2: you that miracle, the next day is where Jesus loves me.
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  Speaker 2: I can go back to doing the same things I
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  Speaker 2: used to do before. I don't know if that's been you,
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  Speaker 2: but sometimes we can live life and not understand everything
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  Speaker 2: that God has done in our lives. And so today
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  Speaker 2: I want to bring us into a remembering that God
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  Speaker 2: If you're going to be in a relationship with Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: do not chase Jesus because of that one miracle he
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  Speaker 2: can do for you. But chase him because he is
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  Speaker 2: the miracle worker. Become intimate with the Lord. Become one
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  Speaker 2: with him because he is the fountain of life. The
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  Speaker 2: fountain of salvation. Amen. And so a sign in your
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  Speaker 2: life will always point to Jesus. Everything that I am,
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  Speaker 2: I cannot take any credit for. but everything has been
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  Speaker 2: assigned that points always to the Lord and Savior. Every
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  Speaker 2: miracle that has happened in your life and the ones
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  Speaker 2: that are needing to come is always pointing to a
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  Speaker 2: supernatural God working in you. And if you trust him,
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  Speaker 2: if you believe in him, it will take you, right?
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  Speaker 2: He's going to take you in his arms and work
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  Speaker 2: with you all into the end. You see here, we
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  Speaker 2: need to have two perspectives, right? Because in John chapter 8,
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  Speaker 2: if you remember, Jesus was about to be stoned. Because
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  Speaker 2: he was delivering a woman in adultery. And now he
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  Speaker 2: enters chapter 9. And it's important to have these two perspectives.
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  Speaker 2: And these are the two perspectives that I want you
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  Speaker 2: to understand as we go through the rest of the message.
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  Speaker 2: And it's the blind man's perspective. All he has ever
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  Speaker 2: seen is just blindness, darkness in his life. The picture
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  Speaker 2: that we see in him is impossibility. And again, but
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  Speaker 2: then you have the disciples, right? Imagine the disciples have
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  Speaker 2: already seen five signs. What are those five signs? That
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  Speaker 2: Jesus can raise the dead. That Jesus can heal any infirmity.
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  Speaker 2: That Jesus can do anything impossible and make it possible
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  Speaker 2: for And my understanding when I read this story in
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  Speaker 2: chapter 9, if you start in verse 1, right, here
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  Speaker 2: it is. John chapter 9, verse 3, it says that
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was walking with the disciples. And in verse 3,
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  Speaker 2: the disciples ask him one question. Can you go to
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  Speaker 2: verse 2, actually? It says, Rabbi, the disciple asked him,
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  Speaker 2: why was this man born blind? Was it because of
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  Speaker 2: his own sins or his parents? And I want you
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  Speaker 2: to take a second there because if I'm the disciples
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  Speaker 2: and I've seen five signs and the miraculous things that
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  Speaker 2: Jesus has done, if I see somebody in need, why
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  Speaker 2: would I ask him about his past instead of saying, Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: you're the miracle worker. Why don't you heal this man?
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  Speaker 2: It's interesting, right? But then the disciples focus on On
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  Speaker 2: the pass and they begin judging this man that was lost.
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  Speaker 2: And it's important for us to see because it doesn't
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  Speaker 2: matter if you spend time with Jesus. Because you can
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  Speaker 2: spend all the time with Jesus but yet not notice
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  Speaker 2: that the miracle worker is in the room. You can
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  Speaker 2: do religion and you can check the box that I
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  Speaker 2: came here on Sunday. But when you face the hard situations,
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  Speaker 2: it may be tough sometimes. to cry out to the
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  Speaker 2: one that has an answer instead of going to all
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  Speaker 2: the resources we have in the earth. And so today
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  Speaker 2: I want us to focus and I want us to
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  Speaker 2: evaluate ourselves in that maybe there is some spiritual blindness
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  Speaker 2: in our lives. Because when you look at the man
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  Speaker 2: who was blind, I always read the story in that Man,
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  Speaker 2: there was only one blind man, right? But here, Jesus
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  Speaker 2: begins to focus and look at the response of Jesus
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  Speaker 2: in verse 3. He tells the disciples, it wasn't because
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  Speaker 2: of the sin of his parents, Jesus answered. It happened
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  Speaker 2: so that the power of God could be seen in him.
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  Speaker 2: And he says, this has happened so that God's power
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  Speaker 2: and miraculous things can happen. In verse 4, we must
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  Speaker 2: quickly carry out the task assigned to us by the
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  Speaker 2: one who sent us. That night is coming and that
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  Speaker 2: no one can work. But while I am here, I
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  Speaker 2: am the light of the world. And he goes to
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  Speaker 2: the rest of how he did the miracle. But here's
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  Speaker 2: the thing that I want us all to understand. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: is teaching us here a lesson about miracles, about breakthroughs
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  Speaker 2: in our lives, and about understanding that sometimes... we may
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  Speaker 2: need to say, Lord, open our eyes. How do I
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  Speaker 2: know that? Because one of the things that Jesus recognized
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  Speaker 2: is that the disciples are distracted. Even though they know
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  Speaker 2: the miracle worker, even though they've seen the miracles, their shift,
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  Speaker 2: their focus is all over the place because they can
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  Speaker 2: even see that this blind man doesn't need to be blind,
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  Speaker 2: but he can be healed in the name of Jesus
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  Speaker 2: and walk and God can get the glory, but they
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  Speaker 2: begin to do a theological debate. And isn't it how sometimes, right,
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  Speaker 2: we get ourselves in a situation and we begin to
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  Speaker 2: try to reason into why this happened or why this
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  Speaker 2: situation happened instead of just focusing our eyes on Jesus
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  Speaker 2: and saying, Lord, you are the miracle worker. You're the
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  Speaker 2: one that can make that race. You're the one that
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  Speaker 2: can heal the sick. Anything can happen with you. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: also notices that The response of the religious leaders. And
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  Speaker 2: it's important to understand that. Look at what the Pharisees
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  Speaker 2: says in John chapter 9 verse 17. And he says
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  Speaker 2: the Pharisees again questioned the men. Who have been blind
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  Speaker 2: and demanded. What is your opinion about these men who
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  Speaker 2: heal you? So the Pharisees have this man that has
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  Speaker 2: been healed. And they're questioning him. And they're saying how
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  Speaker 2: do you get healed? Who is this person that heal you?
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  Speaker 2: Why is that? They have read Isaiah. They have read
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  Speaker 2: everything that the Bible said about the coming Messiah, but
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  Speaker 2: yet they couldn't recognize him. He says in verse 18,
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  Speaker 2: the Jewish leaders refused to believe the man had been
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  Speaker 2: blind and could now see. How is it that you
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  Speaker 2: deny a miracle when it's right in front of you?
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  Speaker 2: How is it that you can see the light and
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  Speaker 2: you can see the breakthrough? And so when I read
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  Speaker 2: this thing, You have to kind of understand that, wait
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  Speaker 2: a minute. There's not just one blind man, but there's
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  Speaker 2: three blind people in this story. The first person we're
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  Speaker 2: going to look at is the blind man. And the
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  Speaker 2: blind man represents somebody who is lost. Somebody who has
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  Speaker 2: no experience with God because remember, all he has seen
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  Speaker 2: in his life is darkness. Darkness. everything around him, he
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  Speaker 2: doesn't know what a miracle is. He doesn't know what
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  Speaker 2: a breakthrough is. But yet again, he sees and he
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  Speaker 2: hears that the Savior is coming through town and he
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  Speaker 2: comes and meets with him and yet he doesn't recognize
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  Speaker 2: him because he is blind. And I want to tell
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  Speaker 2: you that in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, it talks about
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  Speaker 2: that sometimes the God of this world can blind us
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  Speaker 2: people into seeing a spiritual truth i don't know if
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  Speaker 2: you ever asked yourself why is it that a loved
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  Speaker 2: one can't see that there's a breakthrough right in front
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  Speaker 2: of them i don't know if you ever seen somebody
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  Speaker 2: that is is right at the brink of a breakthrough
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  Speaker 2: but yet they refuse to change or they refuse to
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  Speaker 2: surrender the thing that god is asking them to surrender
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  Speaker 2: because they think they have such a long way to
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  Speaker 2: go but i want you to understand So now give
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  Speaker 2: up praying for those people that need salvation. I want
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  Speaker 2: you to understand that the reason why maybe the ground
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  Speaker 2: is hard for them to understand who Jesus is and
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  Speaker 2: why Jesus has not come into the attention of them
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  Speaker 2: is the spiritual blindness that happens over people that haven't
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  Speaker 2: confessed Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And sometimes we
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  Speaker 2: may ask, but why is it that they are blind?
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  Speaker 2: Why is it that they cannot see the light? You
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  Speaker 2: have to understand that many years ago when I was
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  Speaker 2: about the age of 16, many people came to me
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  Speaker 2: even though I grew up in church. But I couldn't
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  Speaker 2: see the light in front of me for about four
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  Speaker 2: years because I was stuck in my blindness. I love
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  Speaker 2: the darkness rather than the light. But it wasn't until
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  Speaker 2: Jesus shined his light and the scales of my eyes
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  Speaker 2: were able to fall that I was able to see salvation.
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  Speaker 2: So one of the things that we need to pray
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  Speaker 2: for people who don't have a genuine relationship with God,
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  Speaker 2: pray for them that God will open their eyes. That
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  Speaker 2: the Lord will bring down their spiritual darkness and that
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  Speaker 2: light will come into their eyes. We meet people like
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  Speaker 2: that every single day. Every single week I may be
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  Speaker 2: in a conversation about somebody that I'm inviting to church.
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  Speaker 2: And they may be in hard situations. For example, there
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  Speaker 2: was this one man who was about to commit suicide.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm telling him about who Jesus is and who
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  Speaker 2: God is. And he received the word. But then the
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  Speaker 2: moment that it takes for them to come into church,
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  Speaker 2: there's some spiritual attacks that come against their lives. Something
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  Speaker 2: happens with their family. Something happens in their home. I
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  Speaker 2: see it all the time. Every week. When we're inviting
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  Speaker 2: somebody or we're saying, hey, we can come get you
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  Speaker 2: to bring you to church. And if you didn't know that,
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  Speaker 2: we have transportation in the church because we want everybody
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  Speaker 2: to come into the house of God. Amen? It always
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  Speaker 2: happens that there's something that comes between their breakthrough and
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  Speaker 2: their blindness. It is important for us to see that
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  Speaker 2: just like that blind man, the disciples began judging his
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  Speaker 2: life rather than looking at the miracle work. And isn't
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  Speaker 2: it amazing that Jesus doesn't discriminate? Because if you see
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  Speaker 2: what Jesus did is that he went to the blind man.
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  Speaker 2: The blind man didn't come to him. And so what
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: does that have to say with us? Is that salvation
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: starts with a Savior who notices you. You didn't notice him.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: And when he notices you, he looks at the thing
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: that you need and it's because he wants to bring
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: breakthrough in your life and he wants to deliver you
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: out of the things out of out of all the
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: darkness that you experience and what is some application that
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: we can see here that his condition did not define
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: the breakthrough that he could have but everything was available
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: to him if he would just repent of his sins
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: And surrender his life to God. We can also understand
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: that he used to functioning in darkness. But now he
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: needs to know how to function in the light. Which
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: is the light of Christ. But maybe this is not
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: connected to you. Because it doesn't apply to your life.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: And maybe you haven't had that darkness in your life.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: But how can sometimes spiritual blindness come into our lives?
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: Sometimes we cannot see the identity of Jesus in us
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: because all we do is just scroll through social media
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: to find identity. And the problem now is not that
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: we have a rebellion issue or that we don't know God.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: It's that now we have a glare issue. What we
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: see on the screen is how we feel. What we
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: see somebody else's life is the identity that we want
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: to have. But can I tell you, Jesus has done
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: a wonderful work in you and Jesus notices you. And
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: he loves you the way that you are. And he
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: wants to change you for his glory. So you can
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: be a sign for him. To get all the glory
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: and honor. Amen. Amen. Sometimes. In our spiritual blindness. We
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: can live on a second hand faith. Maybe you're living
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: on your parents faith. On your grandparents faith. But at
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: some point. Your eyes have to be open. In that
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: you're the one that needs to have that intimate relationship
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: with Jesus. At some point. You have to be the
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: one to say, my God and my relationship with God
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: is real. Or maybe this is you that right now
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: you're going through a situation where you're deconstructing your faith.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: You're trying to make sense of what Jesus is and
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: the miracles. But maybe in college or university, they're telling
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: you to put your faith in evolution and all kinds
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: of theories that people can make up. What can I
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: tell you today? Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit,
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: created this world and he created you and he has
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: a special purpose for you so therefore there's no need
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: to deconstruct your faith but put your faith in the
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: miracle worker and he will do that miracle that you
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: need in your life we have also need to see
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: that there's a second blind person in this story which
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: is the disciples why are the disciples distracted you may
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: ask Because again, they didn't ask Jesus to do a miracle.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: But what did they begin to do? They began to
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: argue and have a theological debate. Isn't it interesting sometimes
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: that after God has done so much for us and
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: how many things he has delivered us from, when it
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: comes to the moment where we need to put our
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: faith to work, sometimes we can be distracted just like
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: the disciples. They've seen the miracles. They've seen the signs.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: But why is it that now they're not understanding? But
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: Jesus says, Jesus begins to redirect them and says, it
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: wasn't that the men sinned. It wasn't that the parents sinned.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: But it's that everything evil that there is in this
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: world is an opportunity for God to show up and
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: bring glory to the Father. So therefore, I don't need
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: to ask, why did this happen? Or why was I
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: born this way? Or why did I was born into
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: this situation? But what I can do is bring it
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: to the Lord and let God handle it and allow
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: God to do a miracle in my life so that
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: my life can be a testimony to others of the
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: greatness of God. So the issue is no more about
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: how did that happen or where did this thing come from?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: But it's about recognizing that every single moment You can
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: turn to your Lord and Savior. I don't know if
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: you've ever been in so many situations sometimes that when
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: you are distracted, it is hard sometimes for the first
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: thing to come out of you is faith. Sometimes fear
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: comes out of you. Sometimes doubt comes out of you.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: But if you remain in his word, if you know
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: what Jesus has done for you, then you will understand
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: that when you face hard situations, you can say, I
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: don't know what I'm going to do. But I can
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: trust my savior. I don't know how this thing is
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: going to work out. But I can trust the miracle worker.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: I don't know how situations. Will continue to evolve. But
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: I can say one thing. I see him do it
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: in the past. He's done it in the present. And
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: he's going to do it in the future. In Jesus name.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: So why do I say this? Because maybe sometimes. Your problem.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: Is the only thing that you can see. But what if.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Your problem, just like this blind man, became a canvas
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: for God to show his glory. Jesus was seeing him,
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: and the disciples, all they could see was the problem.
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: But Jesus was looking at him, and what Jesus could
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: see is, this is an opportunity for God to be glorified.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: How many times in your life have you ever saw
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: a problem in your life? I say, maybe an opportunity
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: for God to say your testimony. One of the things,
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: as you all know, in my life when we were experiencing,
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: when that doctor said that we couldn't have any babies.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: And for 10 years, it was that label over our lives.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: One of the things that I would tell my wife
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: often is when it became the hardest, right, it would
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: be one day, with tears in my eyes, one day,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: this problem is going to become a testimony. And so
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: what I want to tell you today is that maybe
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: you're facing problems in your life. And maybe you don't
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: see an answer. You don't see a way out. You
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: don't see how God can come through. But can I
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: tell you, what if the problem can become a canvas
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: for God to show his glory? What if instead of
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: complaining about the situation, What if instead of locking ourselves
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: down in a room and crying because we cannot see
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: a way out, you begin to just declare by faith,
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: one day this problem will become a testimony. I know
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: that many days right now I'm receiving this report. I'm
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: receiving this situation from this person. This person is telling me,
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: I'm seeing this. But one day it's going to become
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: a testimony for God's greatness. I've seen it all over
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: my life. And maybe you can see it all over
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: your life as well. Because for many times, right, for
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: 16 years of my life, I couldn't see the light.
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: And I couldn't see that Jesus had a purpose for me.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: But it wasn't until the blindness came over my eyes
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: and I surrendered to Christ at the age of 19
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: that I was able to receive the fullness of God
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: into my life. And therefore, the problem that my family saw,
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: the problem that I had, that I was running to drugs,
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: I was running to alcohol, I was running to everything
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: that there was in this world, became a testimony for
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: God's glory because I became a canvas instead of focusing
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: on the problem. So maybe for you, this doesn't connect.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: But sometimes, right, with Jesus, your problems can become a
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: canvas for God's glory. And we have to see that
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: proximity to Jesus is not the same as perspective from
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: Jesus and the way we see things. Sometimes, as disciples,
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: we can get offended in the situations of life. Maybe
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: the disciples were trying to be the first one. Okay,
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: who's going to be the one that's going to bring
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: the miracle about? And they're looking at Peter, and they're
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: looking at John, and they're looking at Matthew. But they
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: all began to argue about theological debate. And they couldn't
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: see that the answer was right there. Maybe for us,
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: our problem is not that we're too distracted, but it's
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: that we're running to other things and the problem becomes
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: bigger than God's glory. And so therefore, our calendars are full.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: We have to run to school. We have to run
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: to practices. We have to go to all kinds of things.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: There's no sin about that. But when God becomes second,
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: some spiritual blindness becomes in our lives. Maybe for some
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: of us here, everything is going well. Your comfort can
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: be sometimes something that the enemy used to bring spiritual
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: blindness in your life. Because you're too comfortable, you don't pray.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Because you're too comfortable, you don't weep for somebody that's lost.
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: Because you're too comfortable, all you could do is maybe
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: give But now realize that you also are part of
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: the answer. That God has called you to share the
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: good news. That God has called you to be an
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: agent of change wherever you go. And hey, I may
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: be stepping over some toes, but God stepped over my
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: toes first. So now I need to step over yours. Amen?
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Maybe sometimes you're in the exhaustion autopilot. You're exhausted. And
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: you go through circumstances. And you're serving worship. And you
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: serve in the community service. And you go to prayer service.
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: Or you're just moving from one thing to the next.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Not realizing that the presence of God was all over
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: your life. Not realizing that the miracle worker was next
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: to you. And all he wanted was not all of
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: these words. It was just for you to acknowledge, Lord,
• 30:02
  Speaker 2: open my eyes if I'm not seeing something. And you see,
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: for some of you, this may be, well, why do
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: I have to do that? There's an example in the
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: Bible where David said, Lord, help me see if there's
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: any sin in me that is not pleasing to you.
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: Because sometimes the biggest sin is not the biggest ones
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: that you will notice, that maybe you're in alcohol, you're
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: in drugs. Maybe the biggest sins for us is the
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: ones that are quiet and amounting little by little until
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: you have spiritual blindness in your life and you no
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: longer see. Sometimes, unconfessed sins and unmeant stuff, right? Offense
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: at a church member, resentment in your marriage, private habits.
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: Hebrews chapter 12 verse 15 says, the root of bitterness
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: defiles us. When there's bitterness in you, when you can
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: see the goodness of God, we have to bring that
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: to the Lord because there is goodness of God all
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: around us if we would just say, Lord, open my eyes.
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: So again, there's not just one blind man. There's a
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: second blind man. And now, maybe today, you can choose
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: many things, but I don't know about you, I refuse
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: to choose that I'm a victim, but I'm a victor
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: through Christ Jesus. I can see that the problems that
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: I have had in my life and the future ones
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: that may come, I can give them to God and
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: therefore it's going to be all right. You're not going
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: to be without. And the Bible says that I have
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: never seen my righteous one beg. But I can see
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: that the deliverance over the Lord over your life can happen.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: If you just live your life in an intimate relationship
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: with God. That's what I'm talking about today. It's not
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: doing the religious thing. But it's being in an intimate
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: relationship with Jesus. That he loves you. That he died
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: for you. That he is constant every single time. And
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: he comes with you at the right time. Never late.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: Never early, but at the right time. That's the God
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: that we serve. But maybe, maybe, just maybe, there is
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: a third person that was blind in this story. And
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: it was the religious leaders. These people knew the whole Bible.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: How come when Jesus comes into the scene and heals
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: this man, All they could ask was, instead of praising
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: God for the miracle, the supernatural sign, they just began
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: to complain about why did Jesus do this. And see,
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Jesus chose the Sabbath on purpose. Because it was to
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: tell the religious leaders, hey, you guys, I know you
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: understand all the rules about the Bible. You understand the
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: 613 commandments that you made about these laws. But it's
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: not about the law. It's about the grace of God.
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: that I want to bring over this man. Amen? Sometimes
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: we can be a Christian that's been in church for 30, 40,
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: 50 years. And see here, I have a degree from
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: my wife. I haven't gotten a degree yet. I'm still
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: studying on it, right? Hopefully I'll finish this year. But
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: this is my wife's degree. And she went to school
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: to be a nurse, but God had other plans, and
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: she ended up as a science and mathematics bachelor's. Ask
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: me if I ever seen her do a science project
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: in the house whenever I walk in the house. But
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: here's the point, right? Sometimes as Christians, we think that
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: because we have 10, 30, 50 years in church, we
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: have graduated from Christianity. We no longer do the freshman
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: things that was to pray, to fast. When was the
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: last time that you came into this altar? Not because
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: of any sin, but because God, I am here. I
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: want to offer up my life to you. This altar
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: does not, every time you come to the altar, it
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: doesn't mean that you're a sinner. I want you to
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: understand that. Sometimes when we come into the altar, it's
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: because we feel so close to God that we have
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: to do something extra special. We see it all throughout
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: the Bible. Abraham made an altar. Jacob made an altar.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: And many of the times it wasn't because they were sinning,
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: but it was because they just want to come before
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: the Lord and say, God, I am here at your disposal.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: But sometimes when we think we graduated from Christianity, we
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: no longer do the spiritual things. We think we already
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: have one ticket to heaven. Here's a question. If Jesus
• 35:02
  Speaker 2: was to come right now and somebody who had not
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: lived for God and did whatever they wanted, but the
• 35:12
  Speaker 2: moment that they're about to die, they give their lives
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: to Christ. And then you have the other person who
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: lived 50 years for God, but the day before they
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: passed away, God forbid, they fell out of the love
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: for God, what will happen to those two people? Some
• 35:32
  Speaker 2: religious people will say, well, there's no way possible that
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: the person who lived however they wanted, and the moment
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: that they're about to die, they give their life to
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: Christ and they are safe. But again, we see in
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: the Bible that the thief on the cross, all he said,
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: remember me when you come in your kingdom, and he
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: was saved immediately. But then there's some people who are
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: so religious that That there's no way they will say,
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: they will rather say, the person who lived for 50
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: years for God, if they did not live for God
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: the last couple of days of their lives, they're automatically
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: going to be saved. Because this is already their ticket
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: to heaven. Can I tell you, my friend, that every
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: single day you need to live as if it's your
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: last day. Every single day you need to live in
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: the right position before the Father. Every single day, do
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: not bank on what you have done in the past.
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: And maybe, right, religion can do that to you sometimes.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: But can I tell you, our freshman level things, it
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: means stay in the Word of God. Because when you
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: stay in the Word of God, faith comes out of you.
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: When you continue to pursue God in a genuine relationship,
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: look at what it says in Revelation 2, verse 4-5.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: You have abandoned sin. The first love that you have first, remember, therefore,
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: from where you have fallen, repent for the worst you
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: did at first. This is a church that was sharp,
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: but the heart has gone cold. And so we're not
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: here to be sharp Christians. We're here to be believers
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: and disciples of the Lord Jesus. Whatever he tells me,
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: I'm going to do. Whatever he says, I'm going to do.
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go and do because that is what
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: the gospel is and that is who Jesus is. And
• 37:25
  Speaker 2: so here's the one thing that is interesting. Isn't it
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: interesting that the blind man, as the story progresses, he
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: begins to get clearer. His eyes begin to open because
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: in verse 1, he starts, this man Jesus, he is
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: a prophet. Then from prophet, he says, no, he comes
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: from God. And in verse 33, he says, Lord, I believe.
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: And then he worshiped him. He started as a beggar.
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: He ended as a worshiper because his heart was open
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: to God. But look at the religious leaders. The more
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: the story progresses, they begin to get blinder and blinder
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: and blinder. And here's the last couple of things as
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: I'm getting ready to close is that there are four
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: truths that I want you to understand in order for
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: you to get the miracle from God. And in order
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: to express that to you, I know this is the ending,
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: but I'm going to call a volunteer, and I'm going
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: to call Preston. Will you come up? I want to
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: put you as an example real quick. I'm going to
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: pick on you because you're leaving us, man, and this
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: is the last time I get to pick on you.
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: And so picture that Preston is the blind man. Come
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: up here, man. And I want you to stand here
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: because there's something interesting, and I want you to close
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: your eyes. Look at me. Look at me. Close your eyes.
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: Jesus says to the blind man, I'm going to heal
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: you and he begins to pick up mud and he's
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: going to spit in his eyes, right? I'm not going
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: to do that today, okay? But I want you to
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: understand that Jesus tells the blind man, go to the
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: pool of Sileon where you're going to wash in. But
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: in order to do that, that pool is how many?
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: It is eight Full boat feels away from where the
• 39:18
  Speaker 2: blind man is. That's crazy, right? It's like you're telling
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: a blind man, go to downtown Asheboro. And so I'm
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: going to practice that with you just for one minute.
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: And so with your eyes closed, just hear my instruction
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: right take a step to your right take two steps
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: to your right I guess that's your right all right
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: take two step forward two step forward come on you
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: got to trust me two more steps all right Two
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: more steps. It's okay. Move two steps to your left.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: Two steps forward. All right, man. You made it. You
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: made it. Amen, amen, amen. And so it's interesting, right?
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: Because let's go to this verse and stay right there, Preston.
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: It says that in verse 7, go and wash yourself
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: in the pool. And it says, so the men went
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: and washed and came back seeing. I don't know if
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: you catch this, but the men went blind, eight footballs away. Blind,
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: trusting on one word from God. And sometimes you're asking
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: God for a miracle. You're asking God for a sign.
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: And you want to see before you take the first step.
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: And can I tell you this morning, you're not going
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: to see until you take the first step by faith.
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: And you begin to do the things that God wants
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: you to do. And you begin to pray. And you
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: begin to trust God. Why? Because that is what faith
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: is like. At the beginning, you're going to be blind.
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: Maybe you've never been in a relationship with Jesus and
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: you're like, I don't understand how to pray. I don't
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: understand how to fast. I don't understand this new life.
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: You're going to be blind. But as long as you're
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: hearing the voice of your Savior, you're not going to fall.
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: He's going to direct you. But here's the second thing
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: I want to show you. I want you to go
• 41:25
  Speaker 2: with me over here. It says that he used mud
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: and he spit in his eyes. Again, I'm not going
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: to do that to him, all right? But I want
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: you to understand that In the Old Testament, when you
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: were blind, that meant that you were cursed. And what
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: will happen is that when you were walking through the festival, right? Remember,
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: Jerusalem is full. Can you show that picture of the
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: pool that I put there? He's trying to get to
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: this pool, which is the pool of Sileon. And for
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: those of you who have been there, it's a long
• 41:58
  Speaker 2: way from the temple to there. You can either go
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: through a tunnel who is all dark, Or you can
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: go through a huge set of stairs. But it's like
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: you're going from here to downtown Asheville. And it says
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: that when you were cursed as a blind man, sometimes
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: religious people would spit on you. And so remember, walk
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: with me, man. Imagine the blind man walking all of
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: his life and people would spit on him because he
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: was cursed. Isn't that interesting? That the last thing Jesus
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: wants to do, before he opens his eyes, he kept
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: hearing when people would spit. He heard the sound. And
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: the last thing that Jesus does is he spits on
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: the mud and he puts them over his eyes. Why?
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: Because he wanted him to remember that although 20, 50
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: times people have spit on him because he was cursed,
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: the last time he was going to hear somebody spit
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: on him, it was going to be to receive his healing. Amen.
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: And how does that apply to you today? Because maybe
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: you're right there sitting in those chairs and you might say, well, Jesus,
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: I'm going through this. And maybe people don't see what
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: I'm going on. Listen, he knows every detail, every situation,
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: every moment of your life. And he will never, never,
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: never forsake you. But the moment that he's about to
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: open your eyes, right, this man was born. and he
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: was unfinished. But by Jesus, what he was doing, he
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: was taking what man came from the mud, and he
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: was finishing his creation. Can I tell you this morning,
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: what God started in you, he's going to finish it.
• 43:49
  Speaker 2: What God started in you, he's going to finish it.
• 43:51
  Speaker 2: What God started in you, he is going to finish it.
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: Because he is a God that completes. He is a
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: God that never leaves you, never forsake you, never leaves
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: you undone. But understand that the Lord is in this place.
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: Thank you, man. Appreciate you, man. Can you give him
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: a hand? So the truth here is faith is walking
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: the fullest distance before anything changes. And I tell you
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: this morning, don't quit on God. Don't quit on the
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: miracle you're waiting for. Don't quit on the promise he
• 44:29
  Speaker 2: has for you. Do not quit. Many people quit right
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: at the breakthrough. But can I tell you this morning,
• 44:36
  Speaker 2: hold on to God's promises. Hold on to his truth.
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: Hold on to the one that can save you.
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to today's message from Reach Church.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: If this encouraged you, we'd love for you to share
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: this podcast and leave a review. It helps more people
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: hear the good news. For more information about Reach Church,
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: our ministries, or how to get involved, visit us at reachchurch.world.
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: We love you, we're praying for you, and we'll see
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: you next time right here on the Reach Church Podcast.