The Coming Night

Introduction

John 9:1–7 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Why talk about Heaven?

Some would say

++Life has enough challenges

++Live in the now

++Don’t worry, Be happy

Heaven has always been apart of the story of humanity.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

From Heaven

++God Spoke to Abraham (Genesis 22:11) (Gen 22:17)

Genesis 22:11 ESV

11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:17 ESV

17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

++God Spoke to Abraham (Genesis 22:11-17)

Genesis 22:11–17 ESV

11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” 15 And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,

++God rained down bread (Ex 16:4)

Exodus 16:4 ESV

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

++God Hears our Prayers (2 Chronicles 7:14)

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

++God sent the fire to consume the Sacrifice (2 Kings 10:12)

2 Kings 10:12 ESV

12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds,

The Heavens brought

++Revelation

++Insight

++Hope

Psalm 19:1 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Life Is but a moment

James 4:13–14 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

In this life

++We must know

++We must be

++We must do

We must know

++Our-self

++God

We must

++Be our-self

++God’s

2 Corinthians 4:5 ESV

5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

You cannot separate the message from the messenger

We must declare

++Jesus Christ as Lord

++With our life as your servants

++Because of Jesus

Jesus was intentional

Jesus

++Recognized the time

John 4:35 ESV

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

Jesus

Recognized the time

++Preached a Coming Kingdom

Matthew 3:2 ESV

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus

Recognized the time

Preached a Coming Kingdom

++Declared the importance of the moment.

Luke 4:18–21 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus

Recognized the time

Preached a Coming Kingdom

Declared the importance of the moment.

++Knew his time was limited

The Coming Night

John 9:1–2 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

The Man

++Had a problem

++Had no one to blame

++It was a natural issue

++Was born this way

This was the reason Jesus came

1 John 3:8 ESV

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Not the activity but the nature of sin

John 9:3 ESV

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Jesus did not come

++To mock the problem

++To overlook the problem

++For the problem

Jesus came that the works of God may be known

John 6:29 ESV

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

John 9:4–7 ESV

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Maximize the Moment