Laser Surgery For The Soul

¡§LASER SURGERY FOR THE SOUL¡¨

Dr. Larry L. Thompson (2002)

John 9:1-11, 35-38 page 758 in the pew Bible

INTRODUCTION

In the book of John there is a scene in which a blind man is given his sight and while all of the miracles recorded in John are glorious, I have chosen this one from John’s Gospel to bring our message into focus today. I have entitled this message,¡§Laser Surgery for the Soul!¡¨ The title actually speaks far beyond Jesus simply restoring the sight to a blind man¡Kit actually gives us a perfect picture of why we have committed these past 19 years to this ministry we call, "The Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant." This text perfectly illustrates how Christ meets the darkness of every human heart and with Divine Laser Accuracy and He is able to remove the spiritual darkness and bring glorious light to every life.

Over the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of individuals who are having ¡§Laser Surgery¡¨ to correct their vision. I had heard about the procedure for the past couple of years but I was always told, ¡§You are probably not within the right age group for a successful surgery.¡¨ I have since discovered they do take people older than 39 and 49¡K I have also discovered that I lived with faulty vision for years because of ignorance of what medicine was now able to accomplish and the actual laser surgery was less than 10 minutes with no pain and everything to gain! I only wish I wouldn¡¦t have waited so long to actually take that step of faith and act on truth rather than what others only speculated was truth.

Of all the handicaps that can curse men and women, blindness must be one of the most difficult. Yet there is something infinitely worse than physical blindness: it is the spiritual blindness of the soul. Indeed, so real and disastrous is this condition that God considered it necessary to send His Son to earth for the express purpose of opening the eyes of the blind and lightening the darkness of men. The Lord Jesus came, not only to open the eyes of a few physically blind men and women, but, primarily and supremely, to turn the darkness of humanity¡¦s sinful heart into the dawn of spiritual light. The manner in which the Savior performs this miracle is illustrated in John 9 and this message should provide you new insight into how you can better witness, minister and even invite your friends without Christ to join you at this year¡¦s pageant with prayerful hope they will leave with the glorious LIGHT of Christ providing an eternal sight they never thought possible.

FOCAL TEXT: JOHN 9:1-11

¡§As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" [3] "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." [6] Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. [7] "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. [8] His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?" [9] Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man." [10] "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded. [11] He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.¡¨

I. HIS EXAMINATION (9:1-3)

¡§As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" [3] "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.¡¨

¡§He saw a man blind from birth¡¨ (John 9:1). In a very real sense, here was a man who was sitting in the darkness of a physical night. This had been his condition from birth; he had never seen the light of day. This story has been divinely preserved in order to teach us and remind us of the fact of our spiritual darkness by nature. As Dr. William Temple simply puts it, ¡§The man ¡¥blind from birth¡¦ is every man.¡¨ No matter how youthful, how beautiful, how intellectual, or how charming you may be, the truth is the moment you were born you were born with spiritual blindness.