WHAT DO YOU SEE

Welcome to Celebration. We are so glad that you are here. My name is Maegan and I am honored to serve as one of the Pastors of Celebration and if there is anything that we can do to better serve you and your family, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Series Recap

I hope you have been enjoying the Signs series. If you are new, we have been on an amazing journey through the Gospel of John and over the past few weeks we have been so encouraged at seeing the signs/miracles that Jesus performed. This inspires us because we know if God did it for them, He can and will do it for me!

Today we are going to be looking at John chapter 9. While you turn there, let me give you some context.

Background/Context

Chapter 8 is very power packed. Up to this point, Jesus has been testing boundaries with the Pharisees and religious leaders. He is healing on the sabbath and has exonerated a woman caught in the act of adultery. He is continuously tested and now He is being watched so that they can find a reason to justify having Him arrested.

Jesus is continuing on His journey and He comes across a man in need.

Scripture(s)

John 9:1–11 NLT

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself 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, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

From this point, the man is interrogated by the Pharisees because the miracle took place on the Sabbath. He was ridiculed and challenged. Even his parents distanced themselves from him. However, he held his ground and made a powerful confession

John 9:25 CSB

25 He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

Prayer

Today, I want to talk to us about vision. I have entitled this message, What do you see?

Lord, we thank you for your presence. I ask that you speak to us today. Challenge us. Inspire us. Encourage us. I decrease and ask that you increase. In the name of Jesus, amen!

Illustration

If you have ever experienced staff ice breakers, you know they are fun and downright funny. Well you know here at Celebration Church….we say it’s ONE CHURCH, MANY ROOMS OR MANY LOCATIONS. So, one day we had some fun with our other locations joining us online and in person in Jacksonville.

They need volunteers for a particular game and course the Orlando team chanted for a particular person. That person was ME! I have never experience staff peer pressure in my life and I folded like a broken chair. I headed up to the stage with excitement to compete with the other team of staff. What comes next was just the beginning of sheer madness. The requirement was to be blindfolded and place both hands in the box. All of us had to be led to the box because everything was pitch black with the masks over our eyes.

One staff member was told to eat what they had touched, and it had melted snicker bars in it. I wish it had got that one. The other had a remote control tarantula in it. Someone also had 5 raw eggs. This staff member was so grossed out starting sweating, he was turning red and wanted to throw up. There were two left standing and you could have guessed who it could be. Everyone was cheering who was to go up next. I was one of them. So, whatever was in the box, they had the crowd cheered which one I should get and the cheers were loud y’all. I couldn’t figure out if this was good or bad. I literally could smell it from where I was standing.

Turns out it was an octopus. I was appalled. The entire time, I could not see. I kept hearing all of these voices, smells, my sense of touch. I certainly wasn’t going to taste it but it was absolutely sensory overload.

Transition

When you think about it, when we lack vision, we depend so much on other things to help us navigate where we are. We listen to assorted voices, we go by our feelings.

The problem is, we can’t always trust the voices, our feelings, the aroma or taste of things. Sometimes the loudest voice is the most silent when it comes to speaking the truth. Sometimes, our feelings don’t tell the whole story. There are moments that these other factors just are not reliable.

Definition

This is why vision is sooo important.

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Habakkuk 2:2 CSB

2 The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it.

Matthew 15:14 CSB

14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

Vision speaks to insight, revelation, perspective. Vision means the ability to see. It means to think or plan for the future. To be able to see or experience dreams.

One of the most popular miracles Jesus performs is healing the blind. There are at least 10 references to Him directly healing the blind. Not to mention prophecies that state the Messiah would restore the sight to the blind. Clearly, He is showing us the importance of vision.

God’s plan for all of us is that we can see Him, His will for our life. He wants us to see truth. He wants us to see ourselves, the way He sees us. He wants us to be able to trust Him knowing that He has a plan for us. He wants us to see through the lens of Jer 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Doctor’s Appointment

You ever notice when you go to a doctors office, they check your vision? That may not even be the purpose of the visit but they want to make sure you can see. Perhaps some of us have lost our vision. We can’t see the plan and will of God in our lives. The beautiful thing is, Jesus is the great Physician and He desires to restore our sight.

I used to work in the medical field. Each time patients would come to the office to have their ailments tended to, there was always a sequence of events that took place.

Who are you?

Your name prior to bringing you back to verify you’re the correct patient ton be seen.

What are your symptoms?

(which is short for what do you need to be healed of?)

Where you have been?

Were you around someone or in a crowded place with others? You are then evaluated.

Medicine

The diagnosis is provided, and next step is given possibly for a prescription which is (THE WHY?) Most likely the doctor’s office will send the prescription to the pharmacy. The action on your part is to go the pharmacy, follow the instructions and to actually take the medicine.

Observations

When reading this passage, we can see some overlapping similarities with going to the doctor and going to see the great Physician.

Who are you?

Jesus and His disciples come across a man that was blind from birth. They assume his condition is the result of sin in his family.

What’s seen by the naked eye, can produce false assumptions about people. What’s seen by the naked eye, can produce false assumptions about the situations they or others find themselves in. We see a person that is homeless or struggling and we can jump into narratives that justify our lack of compassion and action. Jesus just finished teaching a lesson about he who is without sin, cast for the first stone. Isn’t it interesting how quickly we can forget that need Jesus just like everyone else. Our righteousness is filthy rags. All have sinned and fallen short. Let’s ensure we look at people through the lens of the cross, not through their struggle.

Jesus tells them they are looking at the wrong thing. It wasn’t the result of sin, but so that the glory of God could be shown.

This man was born blind. That means he inherited a condition that he had no control over. Some of us inherit situations that seem to define us and put a lid on our future. However, I am here to tell you, you are not your condition! Your struggle does not define you. In fact, it doesn’t matter what you are born with, when you are born again!

Scripture says that those in Christ are a new creation. Old things pass away, all things are new. I am here to let you know that Jesus can reset your identity. Reset your purpose. Reset your value. Can you see it?

Obedience is the Remedy

Jesus made mud from His saliva, spread it on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool Siloam. This is such an unconventional method for healing. Jesus healed people in so many ways. Sometimes it was a prayer. Other times it was a touch. He could even just say the word or someone could just touch Him. I often wonder why Jesus used so many different techniques.

Even though I know my way around my city, I always use my map feature. You never know what traffic and issues you may run into from 1 day to the next. When I use the map, I get a fresh perspective everyday.

I believe Jesus used different methods because He wanted to ensure we didn’t become more faithful to a formula then we are to Him. Sometimes we can be so blinded by comfort and systems that we miss if God wants to get us to our destination through a different route. It’s good to have a set time to pray and spend time with God but don’t be so connected to your plans that when God shows up, you don’t make room for Him. Perhaps the reason you haven’t made progress is because you haven’t consulted Jesus on what He wants you to do today.

Closing

This man was sent to wash in a pool in order to be healed. He could have tried to copy and paste the persons instructions but it would not have worked. Being obedient to someone else’s assignment is still disobedience if God told you to do something else.

He went to the pool and came back seeing. He took the prescription and followed the directions. Obedience is an active ingredient in your next miracle.

The man dealt with continuous resistance. Everyone had a perspective.

Disciples: saw a sinner instead of a brother

Pharisees: saw technicalities instead of a miracle

Parents: saw fear instead of their son

Blind man: saw Jesus!

What do you see? When Jesus sees you, He sees a son, daughter, value, character, purpose, healed, strength. It is time to open your eyes and see yourself that way Christ does. It is time to take the blindfold off, stop listening to all of the extra voices and see yourself through a new lens.

The blind man received his sight and saw Jesus. I believe, we have been blinded by so much. It is time to go to the pool and recalibrate our eyes so we can see everything through the lens of Jesus

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