PART 9 JESUS CARES ABOUT THE BLIND

TEXT- JOHN 9:1-15, 35-41

INTRODUCTION

A  LITTLE  BOY  HAD  A  DOG NAMED PADDY WHICH HE ^'  LOVED VERY MUCH.  ONE  DAY  WHILE  PETER  MAS AT SCHOOL THE DOG WAS HIT BY A CAR AND KILLED.  HIS MOTHER DECIDED TO GO TO SCHOOL AND TELL HIM WHAT HAD HAPPENED.   SHE  MET HIM  AND VERY TACTFULLY BROKE THE NEWS  ABOUT  PADDY'S  DEATH.    TO HER SURPRISE,  PETER  REMAINED  VERY  CALM.    AFTER SCHOOL LATER  IN  THE  DAY  PETER  CAME  IN FROM PLAYING AND  MAS CRYING.   HIS  MOTHER ASKED HIM WHAT MAS WRONG  AND  PETER  SOBBED,  "MY PADDY'S DEAD."   "YES," SAID  HIS MOTHER, "BUT I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT AT SCHOOL AND  YOU DIDN'T  SEEM TO CARE THEN."   "BUT I THOUGHT YOU SAID, "DADDY IS DEAD!"

IT IS A FACT THAT SOME  PEOPLE JUST  DON'T CARE, BUT WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT JESUS CARES.

READER'S DIGEST  ONCE PUBLISHED POSTERS DESIGNED BY TEENAGERS TO TRY  TO  STOP  OTHER  TEENS FROM DRIVING  WHILE  DRINKING.    THE  WINNING POSTER SAID, "BEFORE I'LL RIDE WITH A DRUNK, I'LL DRIVE MYSELF."    BELOW  THE  WORDS  WAS  A PICTURE OF STEVIE WONDER, A BLIND SINGER.

THIS MORNING  OUR TEXT  IS FOUND  IN JOHN 9:1-5, 35-41  AND  THE  TITLE  OF MY MESSAGE IS, "JESUS CARES ABOUT THE BLIND."

THE STORY IS ABOUT HOW JESUS CARES ABOUT THE BLIND.  THIS WAS A STORY ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS BORN BLIND.  HE HAD NO SIGHT.  IN FACT THE BIBLE DESCRIBES HIM AS BEING A BEGGAR.  NOT MANY PEOPLE TODAY CARE ABOUT BEGGARS, DO THEY?  YOU SEE ONE COMING AT YOU, AND YOU GO THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, DON’T YOU?  THAT’S KIND OF THE WAY IT WAS IN BIBLICAL TIMES.  HUMAN NATURE HASN’T CHANGED MUCH, BUT THERE WAS ONE PERSON WHO CARED ABOUT THIS BLIND BEGGAR.  WHILE THERE WERE OTHERS WHO WOULD NOT COME TO HIM AND APPROACH HIM, THIS ONE PERSON CARED ENOUGH TO HEAL HIM AND TO RESTORE HIS SIGHT AND THAT PERSON IS JESUS CHRIST.  AND HE CARES FOR YOU AND I TODAY.  HE CARES A LOT ABOUT US TODAY.

WE TALK ABOUT "BLIND ALLEYS;" WE SAY A PERSON IS AS  "BLIND  AS  A  BAT;"  JESUS TALKED ABOUT THE "BLIND LEADING THE BLIND;" WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN WE PLAYED,  "BLIND MAN'S BLUFF" AND SANG, "THREE BLIND MICE;" PERHAPS SOME HAVE EVEN  GONE OUT ON A "BLIND DATE."

ON  AN  AVERAGE,  EACH  ONE OF US BLINK 25 TIMES EVERY MINUTE.  EACH BLINK TAKES  ABOUT ONE-FIFTH OF A  SECOND.   IF YOU  WERE TO  TAKE A TEN HOUR TRIP BY CAR AT AN AVERAGE  OF 40  MILES AN HOUR, YOU WOULD DRIVE 20 MILES WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED – IT’S KIND OF A SCARY THOUGHT, ISN’T IT?

TODAY  THERE  ARE  MANY  PEOPLE  WHO  MAY NOT BE PHYSICALLY  BLIND,  BUT  STILL  THEY  ARE  GOING THROUGH  LIFE  WITH  THEIR  EYES  CLOSED AND ARE SPIRITUALLY BLIND.  PEOPLE HAVE PHYSICALLY SIGHT, BUT YET THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THEIR NEEDS.  THEY’RE SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THEIR NEED FOR SALVATION.  THEY’RE SPIRITUALLY BLIND FOR THEIR NEED OF FORGIVENESS OF THEIR SIN.  THEY’RE SPIRITUALLY BLIND FOR THEIR NEED TO FOLLOW THE LORD IN SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM AND TO JOIN HIS CHURCH AND TO SERVE GOD AND TO WORSHIP GOD AND TO STUDY HIS WORD AND TO LEARN ABOUT JESUS AND TO GROW AND MATURE.  THEY’RE SPIRITUALLY BLIND.

2 CORINTHIANS  4:3, 4  AND  EVEN IF  OUR GOSPEL IS  VEILED,  IT  IS  VEILED  TO  THOSE  WHO  ARE PERISHING, IN WHOSE CASE  THE GOD  OF THIS WORLD HAS BLINDED  THE MINDS  OF THE UNBELIEVING, THAT THEY MIGHT NOT SEE  THE LIGHT  OF THE  GOSPEL OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD.

SATAN WILL DO ANYTHING IN HIS POWER TO PREVENT YOU FROM SEEING YOUR NEED FOR JESUS CHRIST.  HE WILL DISTRACT YOU THROUGH EVERY MEANS AVAILABLE TO HIM, FROM THE WORLD’S STANDPOINT, FROM UNGODLINESS – YOU NAME IT, HE WILL DO WHATEVER HE HAS TO TO KEEP YOU BLINDED SPIRITUALLY.  TO KEEP YOU FROM SEEING YOUR NEED FOR SALVATION, FOR FORGIVENESS OF SINS, FOR TRUSTING IN CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR.  HE WILL TRY TO DO THAT.  HE IS BLINDING PEOPLE TODAY.  PERHAPS, EVEN RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT, HE IS BLINDING YOU.  SPIRITUALLY BLINDING YOU.

SOMEONE ONCE  SAID, "THERE  ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE."

HERE WAS A MAN WHO COULD NOT SEE, YET HIS DESIRE WAS THAT HE MIGHT SEE.  BUT TODAY, THERE ARE MANY WHO HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEE, YET THEY DON’T WANT TO SEE.  THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT SEE AND IF YOU REFUSE TO SEE YOUR NEED, YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS, WHATEVER THEY MIGHT BE, IF YOU REFUSE TO OPEN YOUR SPIRITUAL EYES TO WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO IN YOUR LIFE, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, YOU ARE EVEN MORE BLIND THAN THIS MAN THAT WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT TODAY.  YOU ARE MORE BLIND THAN HE IS.

AS WE EXAMINE OUR TEXT THERE ARE FOUR LESSONS I’D LIKE US TO LEARN FROM THIS MIRACLE.