Pull me Out!

Intro:

As we continue in our series of pruning season we need to keep in mind that God is still with us. Although we are experiencing unprecedented times, and church leaders all over America are in difficult positions trying to make decisions that are best for their flocks God is still with us. As we grapple with the new reality of the day with this pandemic and it’s affect on the economy we must still know that God is with us. Even though many of you are suffering from the effects of this pandemic or infected with this pandemic God is still with us. Although hope seems but futile and the outlook is dim God is with us. I want to remind you all listening to me here and virtually that God is still with us. Just like God was with Abraham when he left his family God is still with us. Just like God was with Isaac when his father Abraham took him to sacrifice on that mountain God is with us. Just like God was with Jacob when he wrestled with his own demons and the angel when he changed his name to Israel God is with us. Just like God was with Joseph when his brother attempted murder, threw him into a pit, sold him into slavery, being put in jail, and then becoming the governor of Egypt God is with us. Just like the Hebrew children who were enslaved in a foreign land and cried out to God the bible said God heard them, because as with them God is with us. Not only was God with them but God also Pulled Them Out! I don’t know who I am talking to this morning, but no matter what we are facing right now according to biblical witness I know and believe that God will Pull us OUT! If we were in service I would tell you to remind somebody that God can and will Pull us Out of this!! Somebody shout Pull Me Out

Pruning:

In the text today Jesus has just finished feeding four thousand plus folks with 7 loaves of bread and a small piece of fish. The reason they faced this situation in the first place was because a crowd had assembled. Can I preach it like I feel it? There is something when a crowd is assembled that sometimes is not good for those who are seeking Jesus. Notice as we move that even when there resources ran low Jesus was their source! Don’t miss that church. I know things are low right now, but the bible purely shows us that Jesus can take a little and do a whole lot with it! We just have to hand over our little to him and once it gets into his hands it will become a lot. Somebody say hand it over! That is an issue we have now is that we don’t want to hand it to Jesus, because we don’t believe that it is enough or that it is good enough, but I want to encourage you today that no matter what you have hand it over to Jesus. When you hand it over to Jesus watch Him work with it. Now Jesus and his disciples get into a boat and crossed over to the other side? Jesus left one crowd and landed on the other side and ran into another crowd. The text says that THEY brought a blind man and begged him to touch him. Notice They brought which is plural. This means it was a crowd of this blind man’s associates. Can I pause for just one second and give you all some insight. Sometimes people in your life that know of issues that you have are real quick to throw you on the altar as if they don’t have issues themselves. I am glad they brought him to Jesus, but I also can’t help but notice that anyone else said Lord touch me. I just want to say this today it is completely ok to bring folks to Jesus, but don’t bring folks to the altar and act like you don’t need a touch too. It’s not my mother, not my father, not sister nor my brother, but it’s me oh Lord standing in the need of prayer! Notice what Jesus’s response is he led him out of town or he led him out of the crowd. When God is getting ready to do something in your life, don’t get upset when he starts pruning people from you. Sometimes Jesus will have to lead us away, because where we are we cannot receive what God has for us. Sometimes it’s the company or the crowd that is holding back the miracles of God in your life! That’s why Jesus will lead you away sometimes, because sometimes it is the folks that brought you are the same folks that are holding you back. Many of us want to take credit for what God is doing and that’s why Jesus will lead you away, because what God is about to do in this world, in this country, in this state, in this community and in your house No one will be able to take credit for it because no one had the answers for it. Somebody say Pull Me Out!

Healing Process:

Now notice in the text that after Jesus led him away from the crowd and the town that Jesus did three things. First the text says that Jesus spat on him. Now before all of you get grossed and before I try to apply my westernized theology on all of this we must understand that this was not uncommon in that region. Sometimes people would use saliva in order to anoint people in distressed situations. I do however believe that there is a great point to this. Sometimes Jesus will pull you away because sometimes the crowd cannot handle what it’s going to take for Jesus to heal you! Oh I almost feel a shout coming on virtually! That’s why God will sanctify you in different stages in your life, because you cannot receive crazy revelation from God while you still operate in the comfort of the crowd. When you go into surgery and the surgery team take you back the reason they take you back is so that you will not be exposed to the crowd. That’s why I love Jesus is because Jesus will cover you while He is healing you! He spat on you in private, because everyone is not ready for what God is going to do in order to heal you. Sometimes our healing process will get nasty. See no one knows how you struggled in your isolated place with God. No one knows the thoughts that ran through your mind. No one knows the pain you experienced late in the evening. No one knows the agony of your deliverance, but thank God he pulled you out before he started healing you!

The second thing he did was touch him. Generally laying on of hands was reserved for three events in Hebrew history. Laying on of hands occurs for three purposes: the dedication of sacrifices to God (its most frequent use; installing of Levites to the office of priest and a means of blessing. There is only one instance in the OT where the laying on of hands is linked with healing, and that was the vain hope of Naaman, the Syrian general, for a cure from leprosy at the hands of Elisha. So when Jesus lays his hands on you it’s because God is taking you from your common life and transforming you in to his royal heir! Not only will Jesus heal you by touching you, but his touch is more significant in that he is transferring his authority on you! I don’t know who I am talking to this morning, but the touch of Jesus in this pandemic season is about to transform you into the King or Queen that God has called you to, because the comfort of the crowd made you think that’s who you were and that’s how it’s going to be. Now that comfort has been shut down and you find yourself crying out to Jesus one touch from him is about to shake your whole existence. So that you will stop existing and start striving! Somebody say pull me out!

laying on of hands occurs for three purposes: the dedication of sacrifices to God (its most frequent use; , ; ; .); installing of Levites to the office of priest (); and a means of blessing (.; , ; ). There is only one instance in the OT where the laying on of hands is linked with healing, and that was the vain hope of Naaman, the Syrian general, for a cure from leprosy at the hands of Elisha ().

The Third thing that Jesus does is ask him a question. Jesus asked him can you see anything? Jesus already knew, but sometimes Christ will ask us a question to see if we will be honest. Watch this in the text. The man answered honestly and said I see men walking as trees. Which signifies to me that he was not born blind or he would not even know what trees look like. This also indicates that life, circumstances, situations, and events in our lives can cause us to become blind. So when Jesus asked him the question it was not that Jesus did not know it was because Jesus wanted to see if he actually knew. The problem is we come to Jesus and get touched, but sometimes healing is a process not an event. The church has gone to a name it and claim blab it and grab it mentality, but with some of the things we are facing now we need more than one touch from God not because doesn’t have the power but because some things we are not ready to receive all at once. Some of us come to church Sunday after Sunday and lie lie lie. We act like we got it all together. We put on a good shout, a good dance, a nice Hallelujah, a wonderful sermon HELLO!, but we still need some work. I just wonder if anyone on this virtual sermon will be honest and say God I can’t see it clearly, because I still have some crowd residue on me. We still have our neighborhood limitations on us. We still have our small town mindsets limiting our honesty. We still have our economics blinding us. We still have our politics blinding us. We still have who left us holding us back. We still have who wasn’t there holding us back. Can we just be honest and tell God we still can’t see!

Close: Pull Me Out!

As I close today in this text I want you to notice how Jesus is about to pull you out. Notice in the beginning of the story how Jesus first led him out. He led him away from the crowd and from his comfort. Then Jesus spat on him anointing him with his own DNA and saliva, but notice in the text that the first time the bible says that Jesus laid hands on him. The reason I exegeted is that the word used in this case was typhios. Which in the Greek means to be blind either physically or mentally. So when Jesus laid hands on him, Jesus may have seen something spiritually that no one else saw. Sometimes we suffer with symptoms, but the root may be more than the manifested symptoms. The first touch from Jesus was spiritual or mental. After Jesus healed that, Watch This Now, he asked him can you see anything? Jesus asked because he already know what has blinded you. Sometimes church we blind ourselves, but God knows how to heal us. He started healing him from the inside mentally and spiritually. You can look good on the outside and be rotting on the inside church. That’s why he laid hands on him. Watch this and I am closing, but the second touch after he could see a little Jesus got specific and laid hands on his eyes. When we are honest with God he will touch us where we need to be touched! Once Jesus touched the part of him that was not fully operating The Bible says that Jesus after touching his eyes he told him to do one more thing! He made him Look Up! The Bible says that when the blind man looked up he saw every one clearly! Sometimes you have to look where God is about to take you and that is UP! Somebody say Look Up! That’s why Church we need Jesus to pull us out! Somebody say pull me out of my mindset, Pull me out of my selfishness, Pull me out of the Crowd, Pull me out of my fear, Pull me out of my pain, Pull me out of my mess, Pull me out of this pandemic, Pull us out of our real sickness, Pull us out as a nation because we are blind and cannot see that it is not the President, the Senators, The Congress, The Governor, The Mayor, The council it is Jesus that will PULL US OUT!