ROSE COLOURED GLASSES
TEXT - John 9:1-25,39 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Teacher,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. 5 But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Is this the same man—that beggar?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, but he surely looks like him!”
And the beggar kept saying, “I am the same man!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and smoothed it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash off the mud.’ I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man to the Pharisees. 14 Now as it happened, Jesus had healed the man on a Sabbath. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He smoothed the mud over my eyes, and when it was washed away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees once again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “This man who opened your eyes—who do you say he is?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe he had been blind, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him.” 22 They said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory to God by telling the truth, because we know Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
39 Then Jesus told him, “I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
INTRODUCTION
Today I want to talk to you about the power of perception. The story of the miracle power of Jesus is an account about a blind man seeing. His declaration of faith was – I know this: I was blind but now I see.
One the mandates of Jesus ministry and the anointing of the Holy Spirit is to open blind eyes.
I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” V39
Luke 4:18 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me (to bring) …. recovery of sight to the blind,….
Now I believe Jesus can open the physical eyes of blind people, the story we just read proofs that, but I believe what Jesus was announcing here was the opening of the eyes of perception.
One the major descriptions in the Word of God of our salvation is we were blinded by the devil in our minds but we are translated from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom light. However there is a continual work we need to do to keep that light pure and not coloured.
Paul’s prayer for the church was - (that) the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18
The devil may not be able to stop the light but he tries to colour it. Colour of perception. Try to make us wear ‘rose coloured glasses’ to taint the revelation, glory and vision of God and what is possible for the Holy Spirit to do in and through your life.
We need an understanding of principle of perception because can be a
problem that limits our life or a
power that releases our life to new levels.
In this story today, there were 5 groups of people surrounding this ‘once blind’ man’s life and the work of the power of God in His life. Each had their perception that limited their view. Let us note each of them today.
1. THE DISCIPLES - PERCEPTION OF GENERATIONS.
The disciples looked at this man and asked if his condition was because of his sin or his parent’s sin. In other words they saw him through the rose coloured glass of generations.
Generational perceptive looks at how, when, why, to whom, where people were born.
Illust - You will always live on welfare. You’re a third generation welfare person. Dad was on the dole. Grandparents had the invalid pension. Your uncle gets a pension.
Ever heard similar words. There are generational labels, perceptions that people place on others and that can limit them and box them in.
You are just like your father. If that is said from a negative perceptive is can be very dangerous. However even if it is positive and an encouragement don’t let it set the ceiling to your life. Surpass your father, set a new standard of excellence.
Sometimes we ourselves use the generational glasses as an excuse. “I can’t help it, I’m like my mother!” You maybe like your mother, but your are not your mother, there is opportunity to take off the rose coloured glasses and see yourself as God see you through the clarity of His pure light.
Friend you can break the generational perception and begin a new generational link. You can be first to generation to get a job, own a home, raise godly children, go to university etc.
2. NEIGHBOURS - THE PERCEPTION OF THE PAST
The man’s neighbours missed seeing their ‘new’ friend because they could only see through rose coloured glass of the past. Listen …. the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” John 9:8-9
They vision and perception of this man was based on what they had previously seen.
Illust - Before and After Photos.
Sometimes we find if very had to relate to miracle of change in people’s lives. We keep referring to and relating to them according their ‘before’ miracle life.
Now I believe in some instances we need to wait for ‘fruit of change’ to become evident, we can’t be silly. But once that appears we need to change the label on the person.
The neighbours could only see a beggar, some said it looks like him but it can’t be.
Their perception limited a whole new dimension of relationship that could have had with this man.
3. PHARISEES - THE PERCEPTION OF RELIGION
The Pharisees missed seeing the miracle power of God in the man’s life because they could only see through the rose coloured glasses of religion.
What is religion? Religion is man trying to do the impossible – reach God, so then they bring God down to man’s level. True Christian to God reaching down to man and bring him up to God’s level.
Listen to how they refer to Jesus (God) - This man Jesus is not from God …. we know Jesus is a sinner. v16, 24.
The religious perceptive of these Pharisees not only bought Jesus down to the level of a man but even a lower – a sinner.
Religion is also more concern to keep rules than changing lives.
A person’s life had just been transformed, a miracle had happened in a person’s life yet the Pharisees could not think about the fact that this transformation, this miracle happened on the Sabbath.
They said - This man Jesus is not from God, for his is working on the Sabbath. Basically they were saying Jesus was of the devil and the credit for this miracle belongs to the devil.
Over the years I have been blessed to see some awesome moves of God, lives had been saved, changed and people come to love Jesus more passionately than before. And it the midst I have hear the words - “this is of the devil”.
Religious rules will push people down, limit their potential, hold them back and keep them small.
Christ’s commands will lift us up, release our potential, motive us forward, and cause us to grow.
4. JEWISH LEADERS - THE PRECEPTION OF UNBELIEF
The Jews missed it because they looked through the rose coloured glasses of unbelief.
Unbelief will cause people to always look for a natural explanation. Faith enables you to see the impossible; unbelief can only see the plausible.
Unbelief may not credit the miracle to the devil but it has to find a natural answer. It can’t go beyond the natural mind and thinking processes.
Though there is great power in renewing our mind and thinking properly. There will come times in the Christian walk when you have to break the limits off and get out of the boat and that takes faith.
Example - For a while the unbelief of Thomas was causing to miss out on the resurrected Jesus.
Unbelief distorts the potential of God to work.
5. THE PARENTS - THE PERCEPTION OF FEAR.
His parents missed out on a new dimension of relationship with a new son because they of the rose coloured glasses of fear.
His parents distanced themselves from their son rather than be expelled from the synagogue.
In Isaiah 43:19 For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
Fear will keep us attached to old ways rather than press into new things. Even if we maybe don’t even like the old, we are comfortable with it and the unknown new things we are afraid of.
Many times through scripture when God showed up, or angles appeared the first thing they had to say was fear not.
Fear is a major player is holding people back or preferring the status quo.
WEARING OTHER PEOPLE’S GLASSES
Now I want to imagine something with me. Here is this man, born blind (put on a pair of sunglass). Jesus comes along and heals him, removes the darkness from his life. (Remove sunglasses)
Within one day of Jesus touching his life with the power of God, he comes in contact with 5 groups of people all wearing their own coloured glass.
Imagine with me that each time this man came in contact with these people he believed what they said about himself, the about the miracle, about Jesus etc. and began to wear the rose coloured glass of each group. (Make a pair of 3D Glasses for each group and use different coloured see through paper for each.)
So he hears the disciples generational perceptive of his life - agrees and puts of their glasses
Then gives up proofing to the neighbours that he is not blessed and returns to being a begger – puts of their glasses
The words of Pharisees become too strong and so he surrenders to religion and puts of their glasses
Then the Jews convince him that is what not a miracle that there has to be some natural explaination – maybe some healing properties in the mud – and so puts on their glasses.
And finally he doesn’t want to see his parents hurt and expelled and wants to keep them happy so he puts on their glasses.
(After putting on 5 layers of different coloured glasses you cannot see through it. Very powerful visual object lesson)
The end result? Now he is blind again.
This is the story of many of us today. God has saved us and changed our lives. Even since then we have seen his power at work in and through us. Yet we still struggle to live full victorious because we allowed ourselves to pick up the rose coloured glass of other people, and limit what God has done and can do in our through us.
Some of us live under the generational perspective.
Some of us live in the past perspective
Some of us live according to the religion perspective.
Some of us live limited by the unbelief perspective.
Some of us live bound by a fear perspective.
We need to stand up like the man in this story as the pressure was being applied to put on some one’s rose coloured glasses and say – There are a lot of things I don’t thought about yet but I know this: I was blind and now I can see!
The word know in this verse literally means - to perceive.
So in other words he was saying - I may not know a lot of things with my mind but with my heart of understanding I perceive……
There was no way he was going to allow the perception of other to limit his life. No way was going back to blindness.
CONCLUSION
Titus 1:15 Everything is pure (clear/clean) to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt (contaminated) and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled (stained or dyed another colour as in the staining of glass)
Friends we need to remove our rose coloured glasses and put on the pure clear perceptive of Jesus.
Remember Jesus statement to the disciples at the beginning of the account. “This is all about the power or glory of God being seen in this man’s life.”
All the people close to this man missed seeing the power and glory of God because of their perceptive.
Are you missing the glory of God because of your perceptive? Is it pure or coloured?
And if we put on the coloured glass of others we limit and even block the glory of God being released and seen through our lives.
