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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's word will empower you to live a full impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Then Jesus came to Bethsaida. There have been years of debate over which Bethsaida is being referred to here. The bottom line is we're trying to figure out if there's two or there was just one and there's one on the east shore, one on the other shore. But the only thing we can be certain of is that three of the apostles happened to have been born there. Philip, Andrew and Peter. And this town was part of what is called today the evangelistic triangle. And it was the place where Jesus performed some of his mightiest works. It was on the way to Bethsaida that Jesus walked on water. It was in Bethsaida that Jesus fed 5,000. And it's in this chapter at Bethsaida that Jesus is about to heal a blind man. It's important to learn from my own experience, but I can tell you it's far less expensive to learn from others. And this is why places and stories like this are included in the scriptures. It says then he came to Bethsaida and watch this. And they sometimes we need help or a little help from our friends. Somebody said life is partly what we make it and partly made by the friends we choose. And they his friends brought a blind man to him. When I was young, I used to think I needed a whole lot of friends. As I got older, I realized I'd rather four quarters than a hundred Pennsylvania rather four ride or die church members than a hundred fickle saints. You see, everybody wants to ride with you in the Lambo. Everybody wants to rock with you in the Mercedes. But real friends will walk with you when the Mercedes and the Lambo has been repossessed. I'm learning in life you don't really lose friends, you just really discover who they are. And begged him to touch him. If you look at the text closely you you'll notice it was not the man, but it was the friends that begged. Jesus, my father texts me, texts me early every morning. And over time I've learned to use that as my reminder to take 60 seconds to pray for my family. You say, well, what will 60 seconds do? Ephesians 1:16 says this and you might have missed it before this moment. Paul said, making mention of you in my prayers. Just a mention. You see, God's ear is so inclined to our prayers if we do it, even a heartfelt short mention makes a difference. When my wife is in real need, she doesn't need to come to me with a paragraph. Sometimes it's just a look. Just one mention with God is enough. Sometimes we make prayer more complicated than it needs to be. Now, you might say, well, I prayed and nothing happened. I say to you, if you didn't pray, it might have ended up even worse. And they begged him. The Bible says we have not because we ask not. Jesus said it even more clearly. He said, ask and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be what opened to you. But if you don't ask, don't expect to receive. If you don't seek, don't expect to find. And sometimes we even have to go further than the ask or seek. We gotta actually knock and show up and get a little aggressive about it and do some knocking. So here his friends knocked and they begged him to touch him. Sometimes God does it through a word, and I like that when he does that. But other times is through a fresh touch. Because sometimes you need more than a word. You need a little time for God to touch you in a fresh and new way. Now, the word is vitally, vitally, vitally important. But if it never manifests in our experience, something is missing and something is tragically wrong. So Jesus took the blind man by the hand. You're always in good hands when you're in God's hands. When life gets slippery, take God by the hand. When, like this man, you can't see your way out, take Jesus by the hand. But when he takes your hand, you must follow. So Jesus took the blind man by the hand. Watch what he did. And led him out of the town. Why did Jesus. Why did Jesus lead this man out of the town? Matthew 11:21 gives us a little bit of insight. Jesus is speaking, and what he says is important. He says, woe to you. Jesus was about to pronounce woe on the entire evangelistic triangle. And this triangle consisted, and we'll see this in a second, of Chorazin Bethsaida, where he's now meeting the blind man. And in verse 23, Capernaum is added. And Jesus said this woe. Watch this. To you, Jesus not only pronounced blessings, but he also pronounced woes. Do not trust a preacher or a church that never warns you. They might know a few verses, but they're not preaching. Jesus, All six of you understood. Woe to you, Chorazin. What does woe mean? Woe speaks of the painful consequences that eventually come to those who disobey I often say to you that we are free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose our consequences. Our woe is spelled a little bit differently. But woe in English is the word a good rider uses to tell a horse to slow down or to stop. And Jesus was looking at the towns. He knew what their decisions were or the future that the decisions held. He was telling them to slow down, stop it, think about it. Because you're moving into dangerous territory. Woe to you. Jesus said this out of a heart of love. Betha. But why did Jesus say this? Watch the next clause. For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in the infamous Tyre, in Sidon, places that the prophets of old had denounced, Isaiah spends chapters, Ezekiel spends chapters, Amos spends much of a book talking about the extreme darkness and idolatry of these two cities. 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. If cities where the worst people lived, the worst cultures, prospered, if those cultures and those people could have seen all that Jesus did for them and with them in that town, the people of old would have come running to the altar. But instead, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin were so familiar with the holy that they dismissed it. Just another rabbi, just another preacher, just another miracle worker. You see, the more we see of God in our life, the more he holds us accountable. You see, what's amazing about God is He gives each of us a right to reject him in this life. Meaning reject Him. Today you might wake up. Tomorrow you might wake up for years afterwards. But just remember, when we step into the next life, he reserves the right to reject us. So Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town, away from all the hardened hearts of the people from Betha. You may not realize it, but a new layer of callousness grows over our hearts every single time we choose to disobey God's word, whether it's through conscience, that word is spoken through scripture. A preacher or a friend. This may explain why sometimes smart people do such dumb things. The extent we let our hearts get hardened, our intellect is proportionally darkened. Pharaoh was a smart man, led a whole kingdom. But it took 10 plagues. Then, after the final plague, his son was dead. His heart was so. He still pursued the Israelites. And they only stopped pursuing them after his troops died and drowned in the Red Sea. Think of Samson. I mean, How do you be that dumb and still breathe. It was obvious where the woman was coming from. But he kept messing with her and playing with her. Finally, he got his eyes gouged out. To the extent our hearts get hardened, our intellect is proportionally darkened. Think about Nebuchadnezzar. Matter of fact, don't even think that far. Think about your last argument with your spouse. You know, even this shutdown is speaking to us. You see, we got here because some leaders along the way allowed their hearts to get so hard that their minds have gone beyond the reach of gentle reason. Now, it takes a sledgehammer. There got to be lines of hungry people for them to respond. But you need to understand. And when our hearts get hardened, our intellect is proportionally darkened. And this is how smart people like you and I end up doing such dumb things. But watch this next verse. And when love personified and the guy that has been loved from eternity past and will continue to be loved into eternity. And when he had spit on his eyes. This is where the Bible gets difficult. But like a good surgeon, God only cuts you to heal you. And the deeper the cut, the deeper the problem God's working to resolve. Here's a little bit of advice. You won't heal your wound until you stop touching it. Stop calling everybody else on the phone. Stop talking to everybody about. Bring it to Jesus and He will fix it. And when love spit on his eyes. Sometimes love has to go to an extent. The intention is not unkindness, but what you require. And sometimes he knows we require some firmness and hardness on his part to break through the hardness of our heart. And when he had spit on his eyes. Now this was a literal physical healing. But Jesus not only spoke parables, he lived parables. And what we see here is also representative or symbolizes spiritual truth. Why else would Jesus conduct himself this way? And when he had what, spit on his eyes? The first principle we see is God uses means. And in this case, he chose spittle. I want to ask a question. Moses, if he was sitting here, did God really need a bush? Balaam, Did God really need a donkey? Even today, does God really need a preacher? But God, in His wisdom, chose to use or chooses to use means. He chooses to use people, activities, circumstances, situations as tools to encourage or to change our hearts. And when he had spit on his eyes. Now, I am well studied, like most of you here. I recognize in the ancient world that spit was sometimes used in healing formulas. But when you look at the text, it doesn't really look like that. Some say that Jesus did this to ungum the man's matted blind eyes. You know, in your blind. You know, stuff gets all in your eyes and the rest, you know, like a mother, you know, my mother would sometimes do it. Lick, lick, you know, the finger. Okay, yeah. Maybe straighten out some hair or to get some dirt off your face. Now, that's possible. But I do want to say that's not what the text says. It did not say that he put spit on the man's eyes. The text says he spit on the man's eyes. I don't know why God chooses certain means to do certain things with certain people. I just know that God has a way of doing whatever it takes to get through to us and make the necessary points. I want to ask a question. Am I the only one in this room today that has ever felt like God has somehow spit your face? Have you ever felt like a heavenly dis has taken place? I mean, you did what God said, but you're still struggling to make ends meet. I mean, you went where and to whom God directed you to go. But when you got there, they lied on you, cheated, criticized, ostracized, threatened, stabbed in the back, front, stabbed in the side. But here's what I know. I've lived long enough to discover the darkest part of God is still light. And even the worst part of God is still good. I'm learning to say, like Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust, trust him. He's a good God. It may look a certain way, but he's working it all together for the good. And when I get to the other side of this, it's gonna make sense. And when the master. I mean, if Jesus just preached love, maybe I wouldn't understand this. But Jesus did love. While I was a sinner, he went to the cross, died for me, took my shame, hung there. I mean, God, the worst, he demonstrated his love toward me, But he spit on his eyes. Here's what I know. The truth will set you free. But first it will get you mad. Sometimes God does things in a certain way to test how bad you want it and how far you're willing to trust him. Jesus in the Bible, in the Bible, once called a woman a dog. He called Peter the devil, religious leaders, snakes. And every now and then, God has an honest name for you and for me. So I just want to make a point here. If God's word never offends you, if God's word never makes you uncomfortable, if God's word never makes you research, why might he have Done that, you're either not paying attention or you're not taking God seriously. And when love incarnates, spit in a man's face and put his hands on him. I want to make a point. A fresh touch always follows a season of difficulty. The Bible teaches from Genesis to revolution. No cross. I know it's revelation. I heard someone thinking on this side of the room, like, what's he? You don't know the Bible. Okay? No cross, no crown, no thorns, no throne, no trial, no triumph, no pain, no gain. The greatest proof of faith is doing what God asks. When you disagree, when it hurts, when you're uncomfortable. And it doesn't make any sense yet. But watch what happened? Jesus engages in conversation. He asked him if he saw anything. When God asks questions, it's not because he doesn't know the answer. The issue here was Jesus began a work, but he was not finished. But what happens to us when we don't understand the last chapter? We stop talking to God in the next chapter. The blind man had every reason to be offended with God's ways. Why would you select this way out of all ways to heal me? Other people you heal with a word. Other people, you just laid hands. But when it comes to me, you're going to spit in my face. But Jesus is about to teach a lesson. Even with God. Some things are best received in stages. You'll see this in a minute. And he looked up and he said, I see men like trees walking. This is important. This man got something from God, but he didn't get all of it. Sometimes we won't even step into the next chapter because of the disappointment we have in the last chapter. What I want to say to you is what happened when Jesus first laid hands on this man was powerful. It was legitimate. It was amazing and life changing. But the issue was in that first touch, he had not gotten all of it just yet. It wasn't that the first touch wasn't real. It was just that God had part two. There are people in this room. God touched you. God moved. But it's not finished yet. And you want to walk away and give up. But what we do is we stop talking to God. But Jesus had a conversation with this man in the midst of things still being fuzzy. And listen, you'll go through seasons. When you're in the middle of it, it gets fuzzy. The fog of war makes things really, really mixed up and messy. But the man continued to have conversation with Jesus. And because of the conversation, you got to keep talk. Then Jesus watch this. Put his hands on him again. Say it with me again. Was the second touch because Jesus was not omnipotent? Was the second touch because Jesus was too weak with the first one? No, God's trying to show us something. The issue was Jesus was not finished. If it's not good yet, it means God's not done yet. Then Jesus put his hands on his eyes a second time again. This is a metaphor for how we often receive the light of the Gospel. It's gradually the first time you come into an environment like this, a church like this, and you're like, what's all this worship about? What's all this giving and living about? And at first it doesn't make all this sense, that much sense. But stick around a little bit, eventually the light bulb comes on and you start kicking yourself down. Why did it take me so long to understand what these people understand? Light is progressive. It's here, a little there, a little line up, line. And often our journey. Thank God for the first step. But there's a second step and a third step. You know, the Bible talks about being filled with the spirit, but we read that in English. In the Greek, it means being continually filled, meaning that it's not just something that happened to you 20 years ago. It's something we're to experience daily. You know, day after day, step after step, situation after situation. Then he put his hands on him again. And then watch this. And made him. The language there implies that Jesus had to use the force of his strength, of his personality, or what have you, to do what this man was about to do. And God can seem bossy at times, but it's not because he's insensitive. It's because he knows what's best and what's best for us. He put his hands on his eyes again and made him. It kind of makes it seem like he took his head and lifted it and made him look. You see, that's all God wants any of us to do. It's not enough to be at the right place at the right time without having a heart that looks in the right direction. He had the man look up. And sometimes we're just looking at the miracle, looking at the people's response. But the miracles are designed to make you look again at Jesus. And he was restored and he saw everyone clearly. My mother would say, growing up, hindsight is 20 20. And what that means is sometimes things will not be clear until we finish the process. Sometimes it's not until you're looking back. Sometimes it's not just you got over the hump. I mean days, weeks, sometimes it's years removed that you can look back and see clearly why you went through what you went through, why God took you through that particular path. Then Jesus, pay attention to what Jesus does here. He's God taking on flesh here. He does this for a reason. He knows exactly what he's doing. Then he sent him away to his house saying neither go into the town. And what he was saying to the man, don't go back to that group. And those people that have rejected me, don't seek the Internet for its approval or it's advice. If God says it, that settles it, you go back to those people, they gonna get you second guessing. Everything that transpired today and the thing I did in your life, you're probably gonna lose. You're gonna think that somehow it was an accident or circumstance. It's so easy to talk yourself out of God's doing in God's hand. He said, neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town. You see, Jesus didn't want people just to show up just for miracles. He wanted people that will show up willing to go through the process. There are a lot of people that want Jesus. Fix my marriage, fix my money, fix my relationships, fix some things in my mind. And if it's not quick, we walk away because we're not committed to the process. We just want what we want. Sometimes it happens in stages. Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town. He didn't say don't tell anyone. He said, just don't tell them people. Some people will drag you down, they'll pull you in the mud, got you turned and flipping in it and they'll enjoy every second of it. Some people you just need to leave alone. Some articles you just don't need to read. Some preachers you just shouldn't listen to. Miriam says, say it again. Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in town. What I need to say to you here is God has designed your journey to teach you everything you need to know about your destination. And some of these side journeys are just going to mess you up when you get to the place God wants you to go. Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town. If you would let Jesus take you by the hand, away from the hard hearted crowd. By the way, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it. Don't be afraid of being different, be afraid of being like everybody else. Went back into the town. They would have argued if it was really God, it wouldn't have happened in stages. If he was really a prophet, it would have happened instantly. If he was really a prophet, there had been no spit, there had been all these things. And then he'd look back and start wondering, hey, maybe I got it wrong. Maybe Jesus is not who he said he was. Sometimes the conversations we have have with unqualified people harm us, harm us more than we imagine. Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in that particular town if you trust him, if you will go through the process, if you keep talking to him, even if in the process you find yourself disappointed by a chapter. But if you're willing to step into that next chapter and let him lay hands and do it on you again, you will see more clearly than you ever imagined. You see, the first act was a miracle. He went from blind to glasses,
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but
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because he hung around and stuck with Jesus, he went from blind to like he went through Lazy key. Hear what I'm saying. If you would just stay with the process, you will receive that which God has for you. A great man said this. He said, faith is taking the first step. Though you cannot see the entire staircase. I feel like my message today was to those of us in this room that need to take another step. Those who might be disappointed by the last chapter. Even though you knew God was in it, but it didn't come out the way you expected. In some ways it looked like God was impotent. He just didn't have the power to fully pull it off. But God is saying, if you keep conversing with me, if you keep listening, if you let me touch you again, I will finish what I started. I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I know how to finish a thing. Just stick with me. Stay with me. I will see you through. Give God a hallelujah and a hand clap. Hallelujah.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time. Remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekgrier.com by clicking the link in the description.