Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Healing the Blind man
Healing of the Blind Man
Mark 8.22 – 26
The message this morning is about the miracle Jesus performed at the village of Bethsaida – he gave sight to a blind man. I would be devastated if I lost my sight. A number of years ago I was listening to the Chr radio station while driving to Rochester. They were interviewing a man who had suddenly become blind. He was about 40 – married with two kids, a successful business man – leader in his church. On day his eyes felt a little different. The next day they hurt some, and within two weeks he was completely and irreversible blind. A virus had attacked the optical nerves and he was blind. As I listened, my heart sunk. What would my life be like if I could not see? I love to read and my profession depends on seeing the words – reading. I drive my car a lot. If I were blind I could not drive or do much else. The story today is about a blind man. Listen as I read Mark 8.22 -26.
Imagine with me this scene. One day a man’s children came to him. There were three young men and two daughters. They were all married and had children, and they loved their father a lot. “Dad, please come with us? There is a Rabbi in a village not too far from here. He is leading our people back to God. He can also heal people by the power of God, even blind people!” “I would like to go, but I am sure I will be blind the rest of my life. I believe my blindness is the will of God and I have accepted it,” the father replied. “At least come with us and listen to the man. He has some good things to say about our faith, and maybe, he will heal you,” said one of the sons.
Jesus had just come into the village of Bethsaida when the children brought their father to Jesus. Jesus walked outside the village with the man and then put spit on the man’s eyes. He asked the man if he could see. The man replied that he could see partially but not very well. Jesus touched him again and the man could see fully. This might be the only miracle that Jesus did where the person was only partially healed right away. I will talk about this some more in a bit. Can you imagine the joy for this whole family as the father rejoined them seeing again after so many years of being blind? He could see his kids and wife, the beauty of the sunrise and the other parts of God’s magnificent creation.
What a tremendous miracle. Here was a man who could not see at all. Jesus touched him and the optical nerves and all the other things that needed to be healed were made perfect. I believe the man had perfect 20/20 vision. This is a miracle and it was done by the power of God working through Jesus Christ.
This story is about healing physical blindness, but I think the chapter underneath is about spiritual blindness. In the chapter the Pharisees tried to test Jesus by asking for a sign of some kind to prove he was the Messiah. They had a lot of signs to see already, but they wanted an amazing miracle of some kind to absolutely prove who he was. Do a better trick and we will believe in you, they were saying, but they would not have believed in him no matter what. They were religious but really blind to the work of God, or maybe better we could say they were partially spiritually blind. There are some people who can not see any thing spiritual, but there are others who can see things of God but not clearly or completely. They are the partially spiritually blind. As the man Jesus healed, at first he could see men moving like trees, these men could see only a fussy image of God and what he was doing.
Even the disciples could not see what Jesus was doing and understand what Jesus was talking about. In Mark 8.17 – 21 the disciples did not understand him. Read.
In the recent newsletter from Trevor and Cassie Long, Trevor wrote that he has a number of students who are doing Bible studies with him. They like the discussion, but when it comes to certain teachings of the Bible, they dismiss them. They want to see spiritual things, but they only want to see certain things. They are partially spiritually blind.
I was talking to a man a couple of weeks ago at a church. He said he attended a lot. The more we talked the more I recognized that he had a view of God that was not biblical at all. I talked to him about putting Jesus Christ first in his life, but he said no. He did not want to become a religious fanatic or something. A little religious stuff is good, but not too much, according to him. He was partially spiritually blind.
Jesus came to earth to show us as clearly as possible what it was like to know God as completely as humans can. He taught the disciples and then all the people what walking with God and serving God was like. The Jews of his day were religious and even very moral, but God has always wanted more than that. He wanted a personal relationship with his people, just like he had in the garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned. Jesus had that intimate relationship with God when he was on earth, and we can have that relationship too. We all need to be cured of our blindness – spiritual blindness. God wants us to see him clearly and fully.
One of the things I enjoyed most last week in Jamaica was walking with Antony and Keysha. I was pushing a couple of kids on the swings when I first saw Keysha. I looked over and saw her playing in the dirt by a short wall by the swing set. I went over to say hi to her, but she ran away. I went back to pushing the swings and she went back to her place.
In the next hour or so I tried a number of times to talk to her. I reached out my hand and she moved away. I do not know her medical condition or her background, but I thought she was afraid of me. Eventually she came to me and took my hand. For the next two days Antony, Keysha and I walked up and down the street at Westhaven. I talked to them, prayed for them, sang to them, and played with them. Antony had little reaction, but Keysha smiled and sort of laughed a number of times. One of the workers said she had never walked with anyone like that at all.
On Saturday she walked with me for about an hour, but then I stopped to help some other kids. When I looked up, she was gone. I found her playing in the dirt again where she was when I first saw her. She would not come and walk with me again. She played in the dirt. At least she had a couple of days of having fun, I think.
I wonder how many of us are like that. God comes to us at the special time. We are playing in the dirt somewhere. He reaches out and takes us by the hand and we walk with him for a while, enjoying his touch, his love, and his closeness. Then for whatever reason, we decide to go back and play in the dirt. No matter what God does to reach out to us, we do our own thing.
This morning God is reaching out his hand to you and to me – he loves us so much. Please take his hand and walk with him. Be healed of spiritual blindness. See him clearly and come to him.
Mark 8.22 – 26
The message this morning is about the miracle Jesus performed at the village of Bethsaida – he gave sight to a blind man. I would be devastated if I lost my sight. A number of years ago I was listening to the Chr radio station while driving to Rochester. They were interviewing a man who had suddenly become blind. He was about 40 – married with two kids, a successful business man – leader in his church. On day his eyes felt a little different. The next day they hurt some, and within two weeks he was completely and irreversible blind. A virus had attacked the optical nerves and he was blind. As I listened, my heart sunk. What would my life be like if I could not see? I love to read and my profession depends on seeing the words – reading. I drive my car a lot. If I were blind I could not drive or do much else. The story today is about a blind man. Listen as I read Mark 8.22 -26.
Imagine with me this scene. One day a man’s children came to him. There were three young men and two daughters. They were all married and had children, and they loved their father a lot. “Dad, please come with us? There is a Rabbi in a village not too far from here. He is leading our people back to God. He can also heal people by the power of God, even blind people!” “I would like to go, but I am sure I will be blind the rest of my life. I believe my blindness is the will of God and I have accepted it,” the father replied. “At least come with us and listen to the man. He has some good things to say about our faith, and maybe, he will heal you,” said one of the sons.
Jesus had just come into the village of Bethsaida when the children brought their father to Jesus. Jesus walked outside the village with the man and then put spit on the man’s eyes. He asked the man if he could see. The man replied that he could see partially but not very well. Jesus touched him again and the man could see fully. This might be the only miracle that Jesus did where the person was only partially healed right away. I will talk about this some more in a bit. Can you imagine the joy for this whole family as the father rejoined them seeing again after so many years of being blind? He could see his kids and wife, the beauty of the sunrise and the other parts of God’s magnificent creation.
What a tremendous miracle. Here was a man who could not see at all. Jesus touched him and the optical nerves and all the other things that needed to be healed were made perfect. I believe the man had perfect 20/20 vision. This is a miracle and it was done by the power of God working through Jesus Christ.
This story is about healing physical blindness, but I think the chapter underneath is about spiritual blindness. In the chapter the Pharisees tried to test Jesus by asking for a sign of some kind to prove he was the Messiah. They had a lot of signs to see already, but they wanted an amazing miracle of some kind to absolutely prove who he was. Do a better trick and we will believe in you, they were saying, but they would not have believed in him no matter what. They were religious but really blind to the work of God, or maybe better we could say they were partially spiritually blind. There are some people who can not see any thing spiritual, but there are others who can see things of God but not clearly or completely. They are the partially spiritually blind. As the man Jesus healed, at first he could see men moving like trees, these men could see only a fussy image of God and what he was doing.
Even the disciples could not see what Jesus was doing and understand what Jesus was talking about. In Mark 8.17 – 21 the disciples did not understand him. Read.
In the recent newsletter from Trevor and Cassie Long, Trevor wrote that he has a number of students who are doing Bible studies with him. They like the discussion, but when it comes to certain teachings of the Bible, they dismiss them. They want to see spiritual things, but they only want to see certain things. They are partially spiritually blind.
I was talking to a man a couple of weeks ago at a church. He said he attended a lot. The more we talked the more I recognized that he had a view of God that was not biblical at all. I talked to him about putting Jesus Christ first in his life, but he said no. He did not want to become a religious fanatic or something. A little religious stuff is good, but not too much, according to him. He was partially spiritually blind.
Jesus came to earth to show us as clearly as possible what it was like to know God as completely as humans can. He taught the disciples and then all the people what walking with God and serving God was like. The Jews of his day were religious and even very moral, but God has always wanted more than that. He wanted a personal relationship with his people, just like he had in the garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned. Jesus had that intimate relationship with God when he was on earth, and we can have that relationship too. We all need to be cured of our blindness – spiritual blindness. God wants us to see him clearly and fully.
One of the things I enjoyed most last week in Jamaica was walking with Antony and Keysha. I was pushing a couple of kids on the swings when I first saw Keysha. I looked over and saw her playing in the dirt by a short wall by the swing set. I went over to say hi to her, but she ran away. I went back to pushing the swings and she went back to her place.
In the next hour or so I tried a number of times to talk to her. I reached out my hand and she moved away. I do not know her medical condition or her background, but I thought she was afraid of me. Eventually she came to me and took my hand. For the next two days Antony, Keysha and I walked up and down the street at Westhaven. I talked to them, prayed for them, sang to them, and played with them. Antony had little reaction, but Keysha smiled and sort of laughed a number of times. One of the workers said she had never walked with anyone like that at all.
On Saturday she walked with me for about an hour, but then I stopped to help some other kids. When I looked up, she was gone. I found her playing in the dirt again where she was when I first saw her. She would not come and walk with me again. She played in the dirt. At least she had a couple of days of having fun, I think.
I wonder how many of us are like that. God comes to us at the special time. We are playing in the dirt somewhere. He reaches out and takes us by the hand and we walk with him for a while, enjoying his touch, his love, and his closeness. Then for whatever reason, we decide to go back and play in the dirt. No matter what God does to reach out to us, we do our own thing.
This morning God is reaching out his hand to you and to me – he loves us so much. Please take his hand and walk with him. Be healed of spiritual blindness. See him clearly and come to him.
Servant Leaders
Leaders are Servants – The Church is Different
Mark 9.33 – 37 and Luke 9.46 – 48
If we would walk through a secular bookstore or a Chr bookstore, we would find hundreds of books on leadership. 12 Secrets of Leadership. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The Leadership Principles of Genghis Khan. Hitler’s Leadership Style. We could go on and on with titles about leadership in business and in the church. Some think that these principles of leadership are completely interchangeable – if it works in business, then it will work in the church. Jesus taught his disciples how they were to lead and I wish the church had learned what Jesus taught. There have been times in the history of the church that you could not tell the difference between the leaders of the church and leaders of society. In the Middle ages, they dressed the same, they fought wars the same, and they lived and sinned in the same ways.
Is it important for all of us to hear a sermon about leadership? You might say, “I am not a leader in the church. Do waste my time. Talk to just the leaders of the church about leadership.” I think all of us are leaders in our own ways and we need to see what leadership is like. The specific leaders in the church need to lead the way Jesus taught and all the people need to remind the leaders of the way Jesus taught his disciples to lead.
There is a short passage in Mark 9.33-37 that Jesus used to teach the 12 about leadership. Read. Jesus caught these men arguing about who was the greatest among them. Can you imagine all of these saints – St. John, St. Peter, St. Matthew and all the rest arguing at all, but especially about who was the best among them? When you put these verses in context it is even worse. In the section of scripture just before this, Jesus told them that he would be arrested by his enemies, they would kill him and he would rise in three days. The passage says that they did not understand what he meant by this, but they quickly started arguing about who was the greatest or the best among them. They were human and maybe too human in this case.
Being servants is a huge part of being a Chr. As Chrs we are servants of all. A Chr husband is the servant of his wife. He loves her and serves her because of that love. A Chr. wife serves her husband because of her love for him. Chr parents serve their children. You kids don’t realize how much your parents serve you. In turn, you Chr kids need to serve your parents now and later in their lives when they need you. As a Chr church we need to serve this community and all people all over this world. We do that in doing missions and sending money so others can serve the people around them. Servanthood is a huge part of our Chr life.
I think this picture (Jesus washing the feet of his disciples) gives us the greatest example of who Jesus was and is. Just hours before he was crucified, he met with his disciples in the upper room he washed the feet of all of these men. That was the job of household slaves, but God himself in human flesh, became the servant and washed the feet of his disciples. He set an example for all of us as Chrs to be servants to one another.
Greatness and leadership is not a popularity contest. Do remember Mohammed Ali years ago standing in front of the cameras and almost yelling, “I am the greatest!” Over and over again he said this. I do not know any Chr leaders who would be so overt in claiming their greatness, but in almost everything they do and say they think and act like they are the greatest.
Jesus sat down in the posture of a teaching Rabbi, and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” If any of us want to serve God as leaders we must be the last and least and the servant of all. Jesus is the perfect example of servant leadership. He was the undisputed leader of these disciples, but he was a very different kind of leader. He did not lord it over these men. He was their lord and God, but he traveled with them and lived with them as their servant. Some times we might think that these disciples carried Jesus around on some kind of mobile chair, and set him on a throne ever night and served him like slaves. Jesus walked with them and I am sure he did the chores just like the others.
Ultimately Jesus became the servant of all by going to the cross and giving his life for all of us. How much more of a servant can there be?
Next, Jesus took a child who had no power or authority and told his disciples that this child was the greatest in the kingdom of God. The child could not order people around as a boss at least not in that culture. This kid was a servant of the family.
What does this mean to us? The way leaders lead is an important factor in how the church functions. Jesus is today as he always has been the head of this church. We are the body of Christ. Jesus is the Head of this church. The Head of the church directs the various parts of the body to do their work.
Let’s look at the main words for leaders in the church. Bishop or overseer is one of them. An overseer seems to be the boss type of leader, but as an overseer he was the second in command. The owner of a farm hired an overseer to run things. In the church the bishop is under the rule of Jesus, the head of the church. The pastor or shepherd is another term for leaders in the church. A shepherd cares for the sheep – he leads them, finding food and water for them, and protects them. The shepherd certainly serves his sheep and the pastors of the church are the servant of the flock. The term deacon is a transliteration of the Greek word for slave – diakonos. Instead of calling some one Deacon Jones, we should call him Slave Jones. The only one that does not fit this pattern is the term “elder” but I can see how an elder serves the people in the church.
This is the pattern of leadership in the church. Jesus Christ came to the earth to be the ultimate example of being a servant of all. He washed the feet of his disciples and even went to the cross to serve us. As Chr leaders, pastors and elders, we follow the example of Jesus and do everything we can to serve you. We put Jesus first in our lives and we want to lead you to make the Lord first in your life. We serve you in teaching and ministering to you in every way we can. Our goal is for you to follow our example and the example of Jesus to serve others. You meet people every day who need the love of Christ shown to them. Reach out to them as servants of God. The greatest compliment a church can receive is to be called a church that serves people. Then we are truly following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 9.33 – 37 and Luke 9.46 – 48
If we would walk through a secular bookstore or a Chr bookstore, we would find hundreds of books on leadership. 12 Secrets of Leadership. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The Leadership Principles of Genghis Khan. Hitler’s Leadership Style. We could go on and on with titles about leadership in business and in the church. Some think that these principles of leadership are completely interchangeable – if it works in business, then it will work in the church. Jesus taught his disciples how they were to lead and I wish the church had learned what Jesus taught. There have been times in the history of the church that you could not tell the difference between the leaders of the church and leaders of society. In the Middle ages, they dressed the same, they fought wars the same, and they lived and sinned in the same ways.
Is it important for all of us to hear a sermon about leadership? You might say, “I am not a leader in the church. Do waste my time. Talk to just the leaders of the church about leadership.” I think all of us are leaders in our own ways and we need to see what leadership is like. The specific leaders in the church need to lead the way Jesus taught and all the people need to remind the leaders of the way Jesus taught his disciples to lead.
There is a short passage in Mark 9.33-37 that Jesus used to teach the 12 about leadership. Read. Jesus caught these men arguing about who was the greatest among them. Can you imagine all of these saints – St. John, St. Peter, St. Matthew and all the rest arguing at all, but especially about who was the best among them? When you put these verses in context it is even worse. In the section of scripture just before this, Jesus told them that he would be arrested by his enemies, they would kill him and he would rise in three days. The passage says that they did not understand what he meant by this, but they quickly started arguing about who was the greatest or the best among them. They were human and maybe too human in this case.
Being servants is a huge part of being a Chr. As Chrs we are servants of all. A Chr husband is the servant of his wife. He loves her and serves her because of that love. A Chr. wife serves her husband because of her love for him. Chr parents serve their children. You kids don’t realize how much your parents serve you. In turn, you Chr kids need to serve your parents now and later in their lives when they need you. As a Chr church we need to serve this community and all people all over this world. We do that in doing missions and sending money so others can serve the people around them. Servanthood is a huge part of our Chr life.
I think this picture (Jesus washing the feet of his disciples) gives us the greatest example of who Jesus was and is. Just hours before he was crucified, he met with his disciples in the upper room he washed the feet of all of these men. That was the job of household slaves, but God himself in human flesh, became the servant and washed the feet of his disciples. He set an example for all of us as Chrs to be servants to one another.
Greatness and leadership is not a popularity contest. Do remember Mohammed Ali years ago standing in front of the cameras and almost yelling, “I am the greatest!” Over and over again he said this. I do not know any Chr leaders who would be so overt in claiming their greatness, but in almost everything they do and say they think and act like they are the greatest.
Jesus sat down in the posture of a teaching Rabbi, and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” If any of us want to serve God as leaders we must be the last and least and the servant of all. Jesus is the perfect example of servant leadership. He was the undisputed leader of these disciples, but he was a very different kind of leader. He did not lord it over these men. He was their lord and God, but he traveled with them and lived with them as their servant. Some times we might think that these disciples carried Jesus around on some kind of mobile chair, and set him on a throne ever night and served him like slaves. Jesus walked with them and I am sure he did the chores just like the others.
Ultimately Jesus became the servant of all by going to the cross and giving his life for all of us. How much more of a servant can there be?
Next, Jesus took a child who had no power or authority and told his disciples that this child was the greatest in the kingdom of God. The child could not order people around as a boss at least not in that culture. This kid was a servant of the family.
What does this mean to us? The way leaders lead is an important factor in how the church functions. Jesus is today as he always has been the head of this church. We are the body of Christ. Jesus is the Head of this church. The Head of the church directs the various parts of the body to do their work.
Let’s look at the main words for leaders in the church. Bishop or overseer is one of them. An overseer seems to be the boss type of leader, but as an overseer he was the second in command. The owner of a farm hired an overseer to run things. In the church the bishop is under the rule of Jesus, the head of the church. The pastor or shepherd is another term for leaders in the church. A shepherd cares for the sheep – he leads them, finding food and water for them, and protects them. The shepherd certainly serves his sheep and the pastors of the church are the servant of the flock. The term deacon is a transliteration of the Greek word for slave – diakonos. Instead of calling some one Deacon Jones, we should call him Slave Jones. The only one that does not fit this pattern is the term “elder” but I can see how an elder serves the people in the church.
This is the pattern of leadership in the church. Jesus Christ came to the earth to be the ultimate example of being a servant of all. He washed the feet of his disciples and even went to the cross to serve us. As Chr leaders, pastors and elders, we follow the example of Jesus and do everything we can to serve you. We put Jesus first in our lives and we want to lead you to make the Lord first in your life. We serve you in teaching and ministering to you in every way we can. Our goal is for you to follow our example and the example of Jesus to serve others. You meet people every day who need the love of Christ shown to them. Reach out to them as servants of God. The greatest compliment a church can receive is to be called a church that serves people. Then we are truly following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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