October 14, 2018
Intro myself – share my testimony (7-8 mins)
o Share about Nicki, the kids, my profession, church life, worship ministry time, etc.
o Share how my past hasn’t defined me (though it tries to…)
Mom divorced when I was young
Dad was an alcoholic, whom I rarely saw
Step dad that I struggled to get along with until I was older
Uncles and cousins, all of whom were also alcoholics
o Share the importance of parents taking charge of their children’s perspectives are; help them see who God says they are.
o But also to be their eyes and ears, as much as we can, in a world that works against their God given identity.
Share how mom did that for me
• Message – What’s My Perspective – Seeing in a world with my Brand New Eyes.
• My “Brand New” Eyes… Perspective (slide)
o As Justin stated last Sunday, My old man was buried with Christ, and my New Man was reborn through the cross.
o He shared that God has re-created us so that we are whole!
o Remember that YOU are HIS workmanship
John 9:3-5 (slide) 3 Jesus answered, “Neither. It happened to him so that you could watch him experience God’s miracle. 4 While I am with you, it is daytime and we must do the works of God who sent me while the light shines. For there is coming a dark night when no one will be able to work. 5 As long as I am with you my life is the light that pierces the world’s darkness.”
Expound on how each of us can be the example to others, of God’s love, mercy, kindness.. Like the miracle people saw in the blind man’s life
Expound on how our life is now the light in the world’s darkness…
John 9:7 (slide) 7 And he said to the blind man, “Now go and wash the clay from your eyes in the ritual pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed his face and as he came back, he could see for the first time in his life!
oExpound on the first time we “see” life through our New Eyes
Perspective shifts.. Glass half full vs half empty, partly cloudy skies vs partly sunny, etc.
• His Entire perspective was new! (slide)
o Darkness was now light
o Everything from complete black to full vivid color
• Everything changed for him at that moment… like with us, maybe not in the natural, but the immediate change in our identity is the same.
o Like the blind man, I now see things in a completely new way..
Share about perspective again
• Even though our perspective changes, our circumstances may not immediately change… We WILL still have opposition…
• When opposition arises, or things don’t seem to get better right away… What will my New Eyes see??(slide)
o Now beginning to know who I am, how does that affect my perspective of what I’m facing off with?
John 9:15-17 (slide)
15 Then the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you have your sight restored?” He replied, “A man anointed my eyes with clay, then I washed, and now I can see for the first time in my life!” 16Then an argument broke out among the Pharisees over the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath. Some said, “This man who performed this healing is clearly not from God! He doesn’t even observe the Sabbath!” Others said, “If Jesus is just an ordinary sinner, how could he perform a miracle like that?” 17 This prompted them to turn on the man healed of blindness, putting him on the spot in front of them all, demanding an answer. They asked, “Who do you say he is—this man who opened your blind eyes?” “He’s a prophet of God!” the man replied.
Remember, whatever I face off with, I Know Who I Am (slide)
o I am a son/daughter of God
o I am righteous
o I am forgiven
o I am HIS.. and if HE is for me, NONE can be against me
♣ I am who HE says I am
oWhen difficult times arise, we don’t have to have all of the answers. Sometimes, like Jesus said, things happen because the world needs to see God’s miracle take place through you… Not to diminish or justify, or even say that God causes bad things to happen (because he doesn’t), but sometimes people can’t see God until he shows up for us…. God doesn’t see problems, he sees possibilities.
John 9:24-28 (slides)
24 So once again they summoned the man who was healed of blindness and said to him, “Swear to God to tell us the truth! We know the man who healed you is a sinful man! Do you agree?”
25 The healed man replied, “I have no idea what kind of man he is. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see for the first time in my life!”
26 “But what did he do to you?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 The man responded, “I told you once and you didn’t listen to me. Why do you make me repeat it? Are you wanting to be his followers too?”
28 This angered the Jewish leaders. They heaped insults on him, “We can tell you are one of his followers—now we know it! We are true followers of Moses, 29 for we know that God spoke to Moses directly. But as for this one, we don’t know where he’s coming from!”
•In this moment of opposition, the Blind Man was exactly what God needed him to be…. (slide)
oThe Light…
oHis brand new eyes changed his perspective on everything.
John 9:35-37 (slide)
35 When Jesus learned they had thrown him out, he went to find him and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36 The man whose blind eyes were healed answered, “Who is he, Master? Tell me so that I can place all my faith in him.”
37 Jesus replied, “You’re looking right at him. He’s speaking with you. It’s me, the one in front of you
38 Then the man threw himself at his feet and worshiped Jesus and said, “Lord, I believe in you!”
♣The blind man did nothing to deserve his healing…
♣He was a humble man, but was being used in this amazing way to reflect who God was through Jesus…
♣Also notice that the blind man NEVER spoke of the difficulties of being blind, NEVER complained about the interrogation of the Jews, and NEVER doubted.
• My Brand New Eyes (slide)
o Like the blind man, God’s love for us changes EVERYTHING
o HE is FOR You
o You are a NEW creation
CLOSING:
Col. 3:10-11 (slide)
10 For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving you the full revelation of God. 11 In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education, or economic status—they matter nothing. For it is Christ that means everything as he lives in every one of us!