It’s All Fun & Games Until Somebody Gains Sight
Mark 8:22-26
July 30, 2006
Chester’s First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois
Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city.
They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight.
Leaving the reception desk they came to the elevator entrance.
They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for.
An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside.
The door closed.
About a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman.
Dad couldn’t stop staring.
Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."
B 22 And they came* to Bethsaida. And they brought* a blind man to Jesus and implored* Him to touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?" 24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around." 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village." Mark 8:22-26 (NASB)
1 The entire landscape of the blind man’s life was changed after he’d been alone with Jesus. (ETS)
2 Jesus still wants to lead people to transformed lives. (ESS)
3 I pray you’ll allow Jesus the freedom to move in your life any way He wants. (Objective)
C What are you doing to prepare for a fresh move of God in your life?
1 Let’s look at how two of the three faith-holders in our text dealt with God moving amongst them.
2 pray
I Bethsaida Faith
A Bethsaida was little fishing village that did not boast of any great historical signifigance. (Not mentioned once in the entire Old Testament; no archeological evidence of exactly where it existed.)
1 In NT, significant for a few reasons. (Andrew, Peter, Philip were from this town)
a Near the place were 5K were fed by Jesus.
b Religious leaders asked Jesus to do a sign from heaven (8:11.)
aa Usher in a time of military/political supremacy for Israel.
bb Crush her enemies (Gentiles.) (Jesus just feed 5K of these enemies)
2 These were religious people in Bethsaida, but God rejected them (Matt. 11:21.)
a They had not responded to the message/miracles.
b In fact, after Jesus heals the blind man of Mark 8, He tells him not to even go back into the village of Bethsaida.
aa Bethsaida got all the opportunity they were going to get!
bb Religious? Yes! But these people did not have a relationship.
cc Knew the Torah, Law, Ceremonial washing, history of their religion but they were as a dead spiritually as a corpse.
B It’s a very dangerous thing to reject the message of God, harden our hearts to what God wants to do.
1 We can fall in love with religion that when God wants to move in a new way we put up a huge "Do Not Disturb" sign over our heart/church.
a We substitute devotion in a covenant (personal belief), with a devotion to Christ (personal relationship.)
b Like Bethsaida, we’ve go use to operating w/o God in our Church.
aa Content with things going a certain way, every week, every year . . . DO NOT DISTURB!
bb That’s the amazing about being open to God moving, You Can Still Be Surprised By The Power of the Spirit..
2 What if Jesus showed up for one of our services one Sunday?
a Overalls of a carpenter, shows up late, we give him a bulletin and he says with a grin, "We shall see."
aa Choir finishes with the call to worship, He enters the sanctuary and a few people fall in anguish because they have been battle with a demonic force for months, "Be Gone."
bb People come forward to be healed, weeping over sin, trembling in the presence of His holiness, singing, leaping with joy . . . This is not normal!
b "I can’t believe Pastor would invite such a radical into the pulpit.", "We’ve got to get this thing under control quickly.", or "Preacher, some of our best people left service today awfully upset."
c Churches/Christians will be different when through the power of the Spirit, Jesus shows up in a supernatural way.
aa Bethsaida didn’t want Him and . . . they didn’t get Him.
bb If we don’t want Him, . . . we won’t get Him either.
3 In 1906, The Azuza St. Revival awoke a nation from it’s spiritual slumber. (Life mag. top 100 events of the last century.)
a The revival went on for months, birthed the modern fulness movement, Assemblies/Pentecostalism/Charismatic/Evangelicals in general were all blessed by what God did at Azuza Street.
b In 1905, nearly a year before Azuza, First Baptist Church of Los Angeles was touched by God.
aa Revival went on for 15 weeks, the manifestations and freedom witnessed across the years in awakening were present at the FBC of LA.
bb The leadership of the church went to the pastor and said, "Stop the revival or you’re fired." (Pg. 25, Frank Bartleman’s work, The Azuza Street Revival)
c Because that First Baptist Church put up a "Do Not Disturb" on their door, He went to Azuza
aa God may be wanting to do a new work in you/in this church this morning.
bb If you don’t want Him to, He’ll go somewhere else to do the new work.
cc He left Bethsaida alone, FBC LA, . . . what makes us think He won’t leave us alone if won’t allow Him to move in the way He wants?
TS: Thank God that not all of Bethsaida were indifferent to His movement there.
II The Blind Man’s Friends
A These folks had a belief/trust in Jesus.
1 Perhaps they had seen Jesus perform one His many miracles in the area.
a Maybe they were there when He cast demons out of people, healed leprosy, paralytic man.
b Maybe they had been a part of the 5,000 who received some bread and fish.
aa They perhaps had experienced how great Jesus was first hand.
bb They began praying for their blind friend.
2 The friends of this blind man loved him enough to lead him.
B Our love for Jesus should be so great we’re praying/bringing our family/friends to our Jesus.
1 They’re blind and chances are their not going to find Jesus on their own.
a (IL.) Forrest Gump was asked by Lt. Dan, "Have you have found Jesus, Gump?" He replied, "I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for Him."
b They need to hear the Good News.
c They need to hear what Jesus has done in your life.
2 It’s been said that all evangelism consists of is one beggar telling another beggar where to go get some food.
3 Do you love the ones in your life enough to lead them to the one who can give them eternal life?
Conclusion
1 The entire landscape of the blind man’s life was changed after he’d been alone with Jesus. (ETS) Jesus still wants to lead people to transformed lives. (ESS)
2 We’ve looked at how two of the three faith-holders in our text dealt with God moving amongst them.
a The Faith of Bethsaida
b The Blind Man’s Friends
3 I pray you’ll allow Jesus the freedom to move in your life any way He wants. (Objective)
4 What are you doing to prepare for a fresh move of God in your life?
a The native groups in the Peruvian Amazon have only known Christ for one generation. Just one generation ago they were fearful, aggressive, and animistic; all their contacts with outsiders were marked by violence.
b But now there are transformed. One missionary writes that since embracing faith in Christ, the men are more tender with their wives and children. These native believers have problems like Christians anywhere else, but they, more than most, can appreciate the difference between "before" and "after" Christ.
c An anthropologist recently visited the Bora people and started criticizing the missionaries.
aa "Christianity is for the white man," the anthropologist said. "You people should go back to your old religion and your old ways."
bb An indignant Bora church leader, remembering the old days, eyed the anthropologist. "Yes, and if we did, you’d be the first one in the pot." (Christianity Today Oct 2 ’95 p29)
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