A God Who Works

Intro:

I remember as a little boy, I wanted others to know that I was a hard worker!

Whatever it was, I wanted to make sure I did it with everything I had!

If it was picking up sticks, I wanted to pick up double the amount than anyone else!

If I was washing a vehicle, I wanted it to be the shiniest vehicle on the block.

If I was splitting wood, I wanted to have the largest stack!

It didn't matter what it was....I wanted to be the hardest worker!

And the greatest complement I could hear was..... “NOW THAT BOY KNOWS HOW TO WORK”!

And now, I believe a Good Work Ethic is important to have....

BUT THE OLDER I GOT....I HAD TO LEARN A VALUABLE LESSON....

There are some things in life.....THAT YOU MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO CHANGE NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU WORK!

You can put in every hour you have, give every dollar you own, and sweat every drop that comes.....and it doesn't change!

And this was a very difficult lesson for me.....That there are some things OUT OF MY HANDS!

Have you had to learn that lesson too?

Maybe with a particular diagnoses?

Or with a child that has went astray?

Or a loved one that has passed away?

Or a job layoff?

Or a million other things?

There are just things simply out of our hands!

However, it is in those places that I found and started yearning for something that TRUMPED MY HARD WORK!

And that is God’s Work!

I truly believe that one of the most hopeful and reassuring things in life is....THAT GOD WORKS!

And the Works of God is exactly what every one of our hearts need!

Today, we will are going to look at the WORKS OF GOD!

The very thing that our Hearts long for.....may we experience today!

I. The WORKS OF GOD are revealed AS JESUS PASSED BY! (John 9:1-5)

John 9:1–5 NKJV

1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

These are some really powerful and important words from our Lord here....But before I get to them, I want to make sure we don't miss these first 5 words of this chapter.

This whole chapter is built on this simple action of Jesus that I think we must remember!

That this occurence happened AS HE PASSED BY...

For the Disciples, this was just simple conversation amidst simple travel.

They were going from the Temple to wherever Jesus was heading next.....

However, for Jesus....this was so much more!

AS JESUS PASSED BY, He was putting in place a DIVINE ENCOUNTER!

“Now as Jesus passed by, HE SAW A MAN who was blind from birth!

For the disciples, this was just a poor disabled man along the beaten path......

For Jesus this was a MAN DESTINED AND DIVINELY SET APART FOR THE WORKS OF GOD!

You must understand this today......

You might believe you are someone that God has simply passed by on the beaten path.....

HOWEVER, I believe God has set up a DIVINE ENCOUNTER and you are destined for the Works of God!

Jesus does NOT WORK in our lives to SIMPLY BE A PART OF OUR LIVES....He WORKS in our lives to MAKE US PART OF THE WORKS OF GOD!

AS JESUS PASSED BY, He was asked a THEOLOGICAL QUESTION.

In seeing the blind man, THEY ASKED Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.”....assuming that's what made him blind.

But perhaps, they did not understand the theological depth of this question!

And this is really true with most of our questions!

The answers we seek really tell us a lot about what we THINK ABOUT GOD AND HOW HE WORKS!

The question they really asked was.... “WHY DOES ONE EXPERIENCE SUFFERING?”… “IS IT OUR FAULT OR SOMEONE ELSE’S FAULT?”

And Jesus’ ANSWER is quite interesting..... “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”

Jesus is not saying that he and his parents are sinless....we know that we are all sinners!

He is saying that the blindness of this man is not a result of this man or his parents individual sin!

That this was OUT OF THEIR HANDS....HE WAS BORN BLIND!

And the purpose of this man’s blindness for all of these years.....WAS SO THAT THE WORKS OF GOD SHOULD BE REVEALED IN HIM!

I believe the implications of this Question and Answer is really PROFOUND FOR OUR LIVES!

John Piper says, “No matter what mess you’re in or what pain you’re in, the causes of that mess and that pain are not decisive in explaining it. What is decisive in explaining it IS GOD’S PURPOSE. Yes, there are causes. Some of them are your fault, perhaps, and some of them are not. But those causes are not decisive in determining the meaning of your mess or your pain. What is absolutely decisive is God’s Purpose.”

In other words....

Even if your mess is your fault....You do not have to remain in the GUILT of what brought you in the mess.

And even if this mess or pain was not your fault....You do not have to remain in the PITY of what brought you to this place.

Rather than GETTING STUCK ON WHAT CAUSED THE PAIN.....YOU LEAN INTO THE GOD WHO HAS PURPOSE AND DESIRES TO WORK IN THE MIDST OF THE MESS AND PAIN!

BUT GRANTED....this only works when we see GOD AS OUR GREATEST TREASURE AND DESIRE!

When Jesus says, “The purpose of this blindness is THAT THE WORKS OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED IN HIM.”…this only makes sense if the VALUE OF THE MANIFESTATION OF GODS WORK.....OUTWEIGHS YEARS AND YEARS OF BLINDNESS!

This means we must value the manifestation of the works of God....MORE THAN WE VALUE BEING ABLE TO SEE!

IN FACT, it only makes since when we VALUE GOD MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF!

As the psalmest says in Psalm 63:3 “3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.”

May we come to KNOW THAT BEING LOVED BY GOD AND BEING WITH GOD FOREVER is truly better than having sight for years and years....TRULY BETTER THAN BEING ALIVE IN THIS WORLD!

It is only then....that we find true comfort in the worst of messes and the most heat broken places!

It is only then....that we will find joy and patience known as LONG-SUFFERING!

Is God your greatest treasure!?

Have you been angry with him, upset, or confused....

IS IT PERHAPS BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THAT HAS BECOME A GREATER TREASURE THAN GOD HIMSELF!

I have walked through this time and time again....

Treasured a desire for our own kids more than God

Treasured a desire for Jaclyn's Health more than God

He is bringing me to a place where my true DESIRE IS ONLY HIM!!!

AS JESUS PASSED BY, He was the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

I can hardly think of no greater darkness than what would come with Blindness!

To never really see the beauty of God’s creation....and the face of my wife....and the smiles of my children!

It is in the context of this darkness....that JESUS SAYS, AS LONG AS I AM IN THE WORLD.... I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

And as He ascended into Heaven, we know that Jesus calls us (The Church) The light of the World....because of Christ in Us and we are in Christ!

So don't forget this simple truth....no matter HOW DARK YOUR WORLD MAY BE.....It is nothing that the LIGHT OF THIS WORLD cannot illuminate!

Dont withdraw from God or His church....

LEAN INTO YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS....LEAN INTO CHRIST!

Remember, A LOT HAPPENS WHEN JESUS PASSES BY!

II. The WORKS OF GOD are MIRACULOUS, even if the responses are not! (John 9:6-34)

Let’s start with the miracle itself:

John 9:6–7 NKJV

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

So, quite the miracle here....

Jesus spits on the ground and made some mud out of the spit....

Can I just say…its a good thing the man couldn’t see......

I mean think about it....Jesus says…you have been blind so that you would experience the work of God…so hold on....(Spit noise)

If the man could have seen…he’d probably ran!

I mean.....we sing the song.....And he talks with me, And he walks with me....but I have never heard the verse....and he spit on me!

But Jesus makes mud and smears it on his eyes!

He then tells him to go to the pool of Siloam....which is translated SENT!

Literally, The man is SENT to the place called SENT!

He is sent to a place to recognize his Healing!

I believe this is true for us today.....

We are SENT to the place where we are RESTORED…HEALED....MADE WHOLE!

This is the Works of God.....and He sends us to experience them!

The greatest joys of my life has come from looking BACK AND SEEING HOW GOD SENT ME TO A PLACE/SITUATION TO EXPERIENCE HIM!

But with this great miracle comes some pretty NON-MIRACULOUS RESPONSES!

Response of the Neighbors (8-12)

John 9:8–12 NKJV

8 Therefore 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.” 10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.” 12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

Listen y’all.....when God works in your life.....the neighbors will recognize it!

They may not understand it....but they will recognize it!

And I love the testimony here....what happened....

Well, A MAN NAMED JESUS HAPPENED!

I went and washed, and I recieved Sight!

Response of the Pharisees (13-34)

John 9:13–17 NKJV

13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The pharisees get involved again....

Remember they are already fired up.....

He had healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabath…and they sought to kill him

He calls them sons of the devil…and they sought to stone him

And now here is Jesus…healing again on the Sabath!

So they ask the man and he sticks with his testimony....

“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see”!

And the pharisees were divided....

Some upset because of the healing on the sabbath....

Others thinking this has to be of God!

So now, they want further clarification....so they get the mans parents involved...

John 9:18–23 NKJV

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

And the parents skate around the questions....

Basically they confirm that this is their son and that he was born blind.....

But out of fear of the Jews, and not wanting to be put out of the synagogue......they simply say....ASK HIM....HE’s of AGE!

And so the Pharisees come back at this Blind man who had just recieved his sight....

John 9:24–34 NKJV

24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.” 25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” 28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.

And our Blind man that can now see says, “I KNOW ONE THING....I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE!”

This should be the simplicity of our testimony!

I once was lost, but now am found..... was BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE!

And even though they ridiculed him....he KNEW WHO OPENED HIS EYES!

Brother, Sister....no matter what ridicule you face as a Christian....REMEMBER WHO OPENED YOUR EYES!

III. The WORKS OF GOD should lead us to WORSHIP! (John 9:35-41)

John 9:35–41 NKJV

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” 38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

What an ENCOUNTER....

Of the blind man and Jesus who was just passing by!!!!!

Can you imagine this conversation...

“DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD?”

“WHO IS HE, LORD, THAT I MAY BELIEVE IN HIM”

“YOU HAVE BOTH SEEN HIM AND IT IS HE WHO IS TALKING WITH YOU!

“LORD, I BELIEVE”

And it says, AND HE WORSHIPED HIM!

You see the Works of God should lead us to Worship!

Worship is one of those words we use a lot without really thinking about what it is!

I think we recognize the object of our worship....but what about the act itself.

I do not thing Worship is just singing and professing who God is!

Worship is MORE OF A RESPONSE OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE....rather than....WHAT WE DO TOWARD GOD!

Worship is really a spirit of THANKFULNESS for what God has done!

The greatest moments of Worship in my life is when i recognize HOW THANKFUL I AM OF GOD AND WHAT HE HAS DONE!

Worship is recognizing that GOD IS OUR GREATEST TREASURE!

Invitation:

What is your greatest treasure today!?

Is it truly God!?

Or have you treasured something else above God and it is causing tension in your relationship!

Would you come confess that before the Lord today!

Dont remain in your guilt or your pity....recognize that He has purpose for your mess and pain no matter the cause!

Jesus says that he came so that those WHO DO NOT SEE MAY SEE....and that those who SEE MAY BECOME BLIND!

The Spiritual Sight given is the true miracle!

Which will you become today....

Those that are given further into BLINDNESS....

Or those that will be GIVEN MORE CLARITY IN THEIR SIGHT!

ONE THING I KNOW....I WAS BLIND....BUT NOW I SEE

PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORKS OF GOD!!