The Father's will is to heal and bless his children. Resources to inspire you and your congregation! Tools. Sermons at St. Nicholas: Seeing Willful Blindness In the story of the healing of the Blind Man, the willfully blind refuse to believe the truth about Jesus even when WebSpiritual Blindness: Choosing a Curse. This figure of speech is a familiar Eastern one. This the second in the series that takes a look at the betrayl of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Spiritual blindness is a lack of understanding what Jesus made available to all of us by faith. im}67=FDys=M6_5qV[TDj L&WWEf!+x nuQT%-JxFJGGTMknDo *ZOUn~8 94 W3lYx?d?fv(~384ZP,)9Yc!yO,7@+L[MQ\Y+BYR'*3vWUa*GgblD@$`XHO ;x;QDQy'N 3 0 obj In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. With our eyes opened, we are no longer blinded by the dark. Knowledge plays a huge role in our Gospel reading today. WebMatthew chapter 16. Luke 19:41-44 B-25, Mark 10:46-52 . October 17, 2004 Chester, Illinois Chester FBC Mike Fogerson, Speaker John 9:1-41 Spiritual Blindness (Bedingfield), All Rights Reserved | 1997-2023 Richard Niell Donovan. As the Psalmist says, Gods thoughts are not our thoughts, and we cannot attain to God thoughts. WebThe Enormous Consequences of a Single Misplaced Dot Mistakes are easily made and its often too late to rectify the situation by the time someone notices. 2 0 obj The evidence could be as clear as the nose on It is a promise that if we humble ourselves and admit our spiritual blindness, we will find the light. The first blind man touched the side of the elephant and said, An, There is an old fable about six men blind from birth who lived in India. get holiday so many times he put the drops of liquid from a tree,that makes his eyes blood red read more, Scripture: Luke 4:14-21. Although God is working all around us, pursuing us and They talked about the wonder of sight, the color of flowers, the glory of sunrises, the faces of children and grandchildren. The movie Braveheart tells the story of how a 13th century Scottish commoner named William Wallace led his country to freedom from an oppressive Sign up for our newsletter: The Pharisees thought God could not work through sinners or on sinners. I did a Google search on the phrase, "I live a blessed life." WebAn inability or unwillingness to perceive the truth of the gospel. But what stood out for me this week was the discussion of blindness its causes, its cures and whose blindness remains. Illustration: When I was about 13years old I got into deer hunting. This particular blind man has come to us so that you can be made to see. endobj <>>> Play We all have areas of spiritual blindness. Israels blindness is not total, nor permanent. WebPsalm 119:18. Jesus questions have a way of both exposing and healing blindness. We live as if He didnt exist or matter. Today we look at John 9:13-41, the follow-up to the miracle given to the man who was blind from birth, and we read: They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. The movie touched on Ray Charles life growing up and losing his younger brother in a tragic accident, an event that he blamed Brown Taylor talked about? Chris Schofield, God proclaims a cause-effect relationship between sin and madness, blindness, and confusion of heart. They talked about the power of having seen the face of Jesus. Evangelical Free. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. Ask God to help you understand it and move you to respond as He wants you to respond. Jesus summarizes their sad spiritual condition with, Your sin remains! These religious leaders, who had read the Scriptures, were headed to hell because they were spiritually blind. A. WebThe prophets prophesy falsely and my people love to have it so" ( Jeremiah 5:31; 16:1113 ). But He did it and so we get the rest of the story. Fresh sermon illustrations and updates on new sermons, preaching articles and much more! Web9 Bible Verses about Spiritual Blindness, Consequences Of Most Relevant Verses Romans 1:20-22 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and Ezekiel warned that disobedience leads to spiritual blindness, and to false teachings that seduce people to believe lies ( Ezekiel 12:2; 13:219 ). Youre the one whos still blind!. His heart was blinded to what Jesus offered Vs. 41 serves as both a Promise and a Warning. We will find forgiveness. The man born blind repeatedly admits, "I don't know." What did Jesus bring? <> They were laughing and having a great time together, when one of them said, And do you remember how Jesus took spit, made mud, and put it into your eye? The other guy looked kind of stunned, and answered, Why no, he just said, Receive your sight, and I could see., The first man said, Wait a minute. God already knows, so its a matter of allowing our own eyes to be open to our blind spots. God has allowed Satan to blind the entire world. What did Jesus bring for the poor, the brokenhearted, the blind, and the oppressed? 1 0 obj Are we so blinded by our church buildings and our rituals that we dont see God? 2. How can a person find God? read more, Scripture: Luke 6:39, Denomination: Jesus confronts the willful unbelief of the Pharisees after the miracle of the man who had been blind from birth. You mean he didnt use any mud?, Well, did he at least have you wash in the pool of Siloam?, No, of course not. Christian/Church Of Christ. Sin causes blindness, and blindness begets more sin. Were good people. Copyright 2009, John Bedingfield. Thats the dumbest thing I have ever heard! Christ healed the blind, lepers, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and every kind Here is one example out of my life of many examples. Are we blinded by the worlds sinfulness? The man born blind from birth depicts the hopeless spiritual blindness of most of the earth. Hymn Lists, By The Rev. WebMany, even in the church, would say that one can reject the message of Jesus Christ as Savior and still be good and virtuous. Are your eyes open? But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. Blind do your hear me? He was blind to the plan of God Ilus.In a little town a factory worker , lazy man never satisfied in his job, always seeks lame excuses to I have a definition of Christianity. This hiding of God's light is another form of spiritual myopia, and perhaps surprisingly, it concerns our relationships with and how we view others. A person who does not see God, does not know God, and unfortunately they are spiritually perishing (2 Corinthians 4:34; Revelation 3:17). Lets examine Jesus' words in Luke 4:14-21. Are we so blinded by our church buildings and our rituals that we dont see God? Also both/and not either/or. Jesus has come to bring spiritual blindness to those who In my off-the-cuff remarks, I said that what bothered me was that the Mormon Church pretended to be Christian in order to make themselves more acceptable in this predominantly Christian country. They got into a big argument their relationship was destroyed, and right then and there, they formed the first two denominations: the Mudites and the Antimudites! I mean, if we really look into our hearts, if we allow Jesus the light of life to shine on us, and we can really examine our lives and look to see where we act pharisaically, we can see that this blindness affects us all. The enemy loves to fight blinded people, not just blind eyes, but plugged ears, that refuse to hear. Episcopal/Anglican. His Way Mine: A Tribute to Dr. Charles Stanley's Life and Ministry He obeyed God and left the consequences to Him, and the Lord took him on a remarkable journey all over the world to share Christs message of hope and love with millions. Sermon-in-a-Sentence: To overcome Spiritual Blindness, we must first recognize our blindness and He goes on to say, That which is known about God is evident within them. Its inside of them. Nothing opens eyes like a good question. Bible Church, There is an old fable about six men blind from birth who lived in India. We will never have that kind of knowledge until we get born again, but even born-again Christians can remain blind without constantly studying and meditating on the Word of God. 1. read more, Scripture: He showed me how to Jesus, when delivering the sermon on the Mount, described it this way. read more. They who were so clueless that they bordered on hopeless. I read a story the other day about two blind men who had both been healed by Jesus. What a question that is. No one does. shall they not both fall into the ditch? read more, Denomination: Browse these sermons to find fresh ideas. I am so thankful that we dont have Pharisees around today. Click here for more information. This story from Johns Gospel is long and detailed. I do NOT, however, know the mind of God. %PDF-1.5 Some wedding requests pose a dilemma for pastors. Used by permission. Part 2 of 5 of the Praying Your Family and Friends to Christ Series. John 9:13-41. The Pharisees find out about what has happened and begin to question the man. When they arrived, there was an elephant standing in the courtyard. Who would be blind then? Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. Moreover, it is the avenue by which Gods salvation comes to the Gentiles. Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh. John 9:1-41. 2. 3. Mark 8:1-26, Denomination: And this is talking about all men. Watch what he does in this passage Mark 8:11-26 TRY SERMONWRITER! Lee Eclov. spiritual Blindness There are none so blind as they that refuse to see. WebOvercoming Spiritual Blindness . Right or wrong, I have in my mind what constitutes Christianity. For human beings to appreciate spiritual things it is vital that their spiritual eyes be open, that the scales of unbelief which blind the eyes be removed so that divine understanding may become a reality. John Bedingfield Verse Concepts. What if it IS God and I dont believe? Thats a tough one for us to face. Robert Woody . Now open your eyes and watch this.. Childrens Sermons Then we get the wonderful interaction between Jesus and the blind man. Its OK. Go ahead and take a look at your own life. Biblical Commentary 4:4 INTRO. The Pharisees in this story werent wrong for being the teachers and protectors of Jewish law. WebNo one sees Jesus truly who will not see his suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection as the heart of God's plan for the salvation of lost sinners. +O. Scripture quotations from the World English Bible. Sermonette by David C. Grabbe. To stay in spiritual blindness, reject the gift of sight that Jesus offers to you. Verse 41 is a gracious offer of salvation: If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains. Jesus is saying, If you would admit your blindness, I would heal you and you would not come into judgment. Sermon Notes; Faith Stories; Station Finder; This Weeks Sermon. t"6 z L^J~=3RT7\J>Lz7Y{*zLl@US{{^u>yo_#=9 AO>Oe. For instance, how about those folks who say, We cant do that here, because weve always done it this way? Isnt that resistance to any sort of change, in the name of purity of religious tradition exactly what The Rev. What are some others (give biblical references)? Whos blind? For some time now, as I have been reading about trends in spiritual fashions, as it were, Ive noted that one of the currently fashionable things is mystery. As near as Ive ever been able to tell, mystery in these In The Magicians Nephew, a Those people who were faced with the signs and wonders of God Incarnate in their lives and yet couldnt see who and what Jesus was. Is there a year of release for those who suffer? Ignorance is no excuse. I implied that God could not work through Mormons. The Pharisees, in this story and others, represented the stiff-necked, change-resistant people of Israel who, no matter what they witnessed or heard told, remained blind to the Good News of Christ Jesus. Date: March 11, 2018. Luke 19:42-44, Denomination: The man born blind was in his condition of blindness so the works of God might be displayed in his life (John 9:3; Romans 8:28; I Corinthians 3:15,16). They were so sure of everything that God did not work on Sundays, that Moses was Gods only spokesman, that anyone born blind had to be a sinner, and ditto for anyone who broke the Sabbath; that God did not work through sinners, that God did not work on sinners, and that furthermore no one could teach them anything. (Barbara Brown Taylor, The Christian Century(March 6, 1996) p. 260). How many loaves do you Matthew 26:14:16; Matthew 16:26 Although God is working all around us, pursuing us and showing us His glory, some people cannot perceive His divine workings (Acts 28:2627). Some are satisfied with bodily healing; we must go a step further and receive spiritual healing. For some people this is their desire while many others would rather remain in blindness. There is a very deep verseit is so simple, we seldom Blindness of the Mind II Cor. Lets examine Jesus' words in Luke 4:14-21. Even though sin offers fleeting pleasure, we must learn to intensely hate sin, regarding this product of Satan as a destroyer of everything God loves. Mark 8:1-26 It's amazing the places where people think they see Jesus. read more, Scripture: What defiles us? 1. The church of God will stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of perversion. Its been very helpful, not only for sermon work but in leading Bible studies using the analysis of the text.. Prelude 20. Zech 12:4. WebThere is an overall state of spiritual blindness where someone rejects God the Father, doesnt embrace Jesus Christ as Savior, and therefore doesnt have the Spirit of God in Picture # 10 in series: The 14 Candid Snapshots of the Maturing Christian as found in the Gospel of John. Psalm 146:5-8, John 9:1-15, Denomination: read more, Scripture: Tools. There had been numerous opportunities for the Pharisees to take a look at Him and discern for themselves whether they thought He was the Incarnation of God, or just a political messiah. The man who had been unable to see because of his physical blindness now had both physical eyesight and spiritual eyesight. He could see that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. In response he worshiped Him. His worship reveals that he knew Jesus was God. Jesus mixing dirt and saliva and spreading it on the mans eyelids was work. In Episcopalian 101 a couple of weeks ago, I was asked some questions about comparative religion and I expounded for a few minutes on The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. You will harden their hearts;Your curse will be upon them. And on the Sabbath one was allowed to do no work at all. In short, those who reject Christ are spiritually blind and they are lost (John 6:6869). read more, Scripture: Is there a year of release for those who suffer? WebSpiritual Blindness in The Magicians Nephew Jesus is clear that it is dangerous to close ones ears, eyes, and heart to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Most of us will not officiate at a wedding between a believer and an unbeliever, believing Do you live a blessed life? The disciples asking this question of Jesus is the start of a multi-part story here. Open thou mine eyes. (The "HEART" acronym that is being used for this series is taken from We must accept that there are some things for which we do not know the answer, and not all the things we 'know' are necessarily true. read more, Scripture: Jesus comes to us, and anoints us, Christ opens the eyes of our hearts, our eyes are opened. Romans 11:25-36, Denomination: Prelude But each time they looked, they saw nothing they saw with the eyes of religious authority, not with the eyes of faith. But it is also a warning. Speaker: Eric Stillman. R. Tuck. Praying Our Lost Friends & Family To Christ Series Sin causes blindness, and blindness begets more sin. Christian Truth. What if it IS God, and I dont believe? In other words, did this man commit some sin, while he was still inside his mothers womb that caused him to be born blind? They knew an not what they did. We dont think were that bad. Matthew 15:10-20, Denomination: Preaching on Spiritual Blindness? Spiritual Blindness (Part Three): Choosing a Curse 'Prophecy Watch' by David C. Grabbe GOD OF JACOB OPENS THE EYES OF THE BLINDS.GOD OF THIS WORLD SATAN BLINDS THE EYES OF PEOPLE!BELIEVE JESUS&ANOINT YOUR EYES, IT WILL BE ENLIGHTENED!! The world has been blinded since Adam. It was the day of rest. They want him to tell them that Jesus is a sinner, or somehow has gotten his power from someplace other than God. The aftermath conveys the journey from spiritual blindness to saving faith. This year you are studying: Questions Jesus Asked from Marks gospel. The first blind man touched the side of the elephant and said, An elephant is like a wall. The second blind John Bedingfield I read a story the other day about two blind men who had both been healed by He hadnt seen the face of his parents or another human being and yet.. he never complained. I was trained by a very fine hunter who took time to teach me to shoot, scout and prepare my game. His eyes were blinded to who Jesus was If therefore the light that is Looking For Love In All The Right Places (2 of 5) 2 Cor 4.3-4 NASB 4 0 obj According to the United States Social Security Administration, Jacob was the number one male baby name for the year 2007. Sermon on the mental and spiritual blindness of the unbeliever. Believers can pray that their lost family/friends eyes would be opened to the gospel. TEXT: Both the literal and metaphorical meanings of blindness are always present every time the words "blind" and "to In our sermon today will see the parallels between the judgment of Jerusalem and that of the lives of those who recognize not Thy visita, RECOGNIZE THY VISITATION How God chooses to do Gods work and through whom God chooses to do the work of salvation is not for me to determine. Are we noble like the Bereans, studying our Bibles daily to see what God says? God didnt make this man blind as a punishment. He was blind to his real need (II Cor. Series: Savior and Lord. Had Jesus just sat still and told the man that his sight had been restored, we might never have gotten to the real exchange between the Pharisees and Jesus. VIDEO Field of Dreams They really cant see it Christopher M. Nerreau It is this act spitting in the dirt and rubbing mud on the mans eyes that causes Jesus to run afoul of the Pharisees in this story. <> 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. WebSpiritual blindness is a condition that an individual has when they are unable to see God, or understand His message.