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"Spiritual Blindness to Physical Blindness" - Doing ACTS (Thursday 11/30/06)

Posted by ru4jc @ Fri 01 Dec, 06, 05:08PM under Doing ACTS
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"Spiritual Blindness to Physical Blindness" - Doing ACTS (Thursday 11/30/06)
Scripture Reading
Mark 8:22-26
22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
1.                   In the remainder of our passage Mark moves from spiritual to physical blindness.
2.                   When some people brought a blind man, why did Jesus lead him outside the village? Seems very unusual.
a.       Read Matthew 11:20-21. The Bible says Jesus denounced (condemned) cities where most miracles were done and for their unbelief and refusal to repent. Which towns were condemned? 20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:20-21). Chorazin and Bethsaida. These cities are mentioned to be towns of lack of faith and cities that refuse to repent. Mark 8:22 records Jesus entering Bethsaida.
b.      Jesus went back to a city which He had denounced and that was why He took the man out of the city. Where people are without faith, Jesus will not perform miracles (eg. Mark 6:5-6). Unbelief brings spiritual blindness. Jesus took the man out of town because the town refused to believe. 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:5-6)
c.       Jesus went back to a place of unbelief. Can you see His heart and compassion to help those with unbelief and hardened hearts, like the disciples? Are you walking in unbelief? Open your heart. Get ready for a visitation. The Scriptures always speak about God intention that all be saved, and that none perish. God loves the people, and will always find ways to reach the lost.
3.                   Jesus spit on his eyes and put His hands on the blind man. Why do you think Jesus used this method? Some hints:
a.       Every healing is different, because every person is different.
b.      Touch = His compassionate approach. Spittle on the eye was perhaps to communicate His intention to the blind man whose sense of touch was heightened.
4.                   Why the 2^nd touch? (v.23) So many answers can be given. One answer is because we go through so much change in our lives that He doesn’t want us to fear from asking Him for one more touch! We need one more touch from Jesus for our diseases, our fears, our lack, our unbelief, our disappointments and others. Why do you think the 2^nd touch? It could be because God wanted to demonstrate that He wants to touch us, to assure us that He is always reachable. It could also be that in the point of need, the sense of touch would bring about such warmness, that words can do so little. God is interested to reach us, to fill us, assure us.
5.                   Jesus did not send the men back to the village. Why? Could it be because of their unbelief, faithlessness and unrepentant heart? (Read again Matt 11:20-21). Jesus didn’t want the man to live in an atmosphere of unbelief, lest he will move from physical blindness to spiritual blindness! 20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:20-21). You change with the environment around you. Things take effect once we associate ourselves with the conditions we are subjected to. Take for instance, if you soak the sponge into water, it will be soaked with water. It contains the substance where the sponge got soaked into. Likewise, continual exposure to faithlessness can bring about faithlessness (even when the initial state may be full of faith!)

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