Read John 9:1-34
This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus.” The story of today’s miracles is is pretty long, so I will attempt to summarize it. In John 9 Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples wondered if his condition was a result of sin – either the man’s or his parents’. Jesus explained that it was neither. Jesus would address the man’s darkness, because He was the light of the world. Jesus then, using another unusual method, spat on the ground, made mud from the saliva-dirt mixture, put the mud on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off at the Pool of Siloam. The man could not see, but he could hear. He could also feel, so he knew that something was on his eyes. I am sure that he did not completely know what was going on, but whatever was going on, he sensed it was the opportunity for his breakthrough. Something supernatural was about to happen. So he went to the pool by faith, washed himself, and just like that, the man was able to see!
This miracle caused a great stir in the town and a follow-on investigation by the Jewish religious leadership. Neighbors and town members were amazed to see a blind man, who was blind from birth, walking around with his sight. They questioned him and he admitted that he was formerly blind. They asked him how it happened. The man told the account as he knew it. He said, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then I could see.”
The people brought in the Pharisees to see the man, because the day he was healed was a Sabbath. The Pharisees questioned the him. They wanted to know what happened. The man simply replied, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.” The Pharisees made the determination, amongst themselves, that Jesus could not be from God. Why? Simply because He kept doing things on the Sabbath that they did not approve of. Some of the them, however, wondered if Jesus was from God because of all the miracles. They were divided so they turned to the formerly blind man and asked him his opinion. The man told them that he believed Jesus was a prophet. The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind from birth so they called for his parents and questioned them. Of course they corroborated his story. They said, “Listen, our son was born blind. He can see now. We don’t know how. He is a grown man. You ask him.” So they turned back to the blind man one last time and asked him if Jesus was a sinner. The man replied with one of the greatest lines in the Bible, “I don’t know if he is a sinner or not. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see!“
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. You have a story to tell.
a) The man born blind in this miracle did not know much, but he knew he was born blind and he could see. That was his story and he was not afraid or ashamed to tell it! Guess what? You have a story to tell and God wants you to tell yours!
b) Your story (testimony) does not have to be riddled with scriptures references, nor religious quotes. Just tell your story as you know it.
c) Some might doubt your story, like the Pharisees doubted the man in the text, but others will receive it. Those who reject what God has done in your life are not rejecting you, they are rejecting God. So don’t get offended. God will deal with them in due season. Just tell your story and if some don’t want to receive it, shake the dust off your feet, keep going and keep telling your story. Even if only one person believes what God did for you and comes to God because of it, it was worth telling.
d) God has been too good to you for you to keep Him and His goodness to yourself. Tell the world what God has done for you!
e) Lastly, if you don’t tell your story, it might never be told!
2. The greater the assignment, the greater the attack.
a) The Pharisees went to great lengths to discredit Jesus. They did all they could to disrupt His ministry. In the end, they were successful in orchestrating His execution, but when they thought they were killing Him, they were actually ushering Him into His destiny.
b) If you have a great assignment from God, don’t be surprised by great opposition. I’m not telling you to look for it, but I am telling you to expect it. The devil is not going to sit back and watch as you become the man/woman God called you to be. He will do all he can to derail you from your destiny. But the good news is that he can’t!
c) The enemy’s poison cannot stop your purpose.
d) The more satan attacks you, the greater you get. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Sanhedrin, and all of hell thoughty they were winning when Jesus was going to the cross. But when the first drop of Jesus’ blood hit the ground, it sealed Jesus’ destiny! I like the say, “If the devil knew any better, he would leave you alone!”
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. You have done great things in my life and I am not afraid, nor ashamed, to tell my story. I am going to tell my story and tell it everywhere I go! As I do, as I walk in my divine purpose, as I fulfill my divine destiny, I know there will be opposition. I am not surprised by it and I am not moved. The enemy’s poison cannot stop my purpose. You are ON me, IN me, With me and FOR me! There’s no way I can lose! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
