Sermon

Greater works pt. 2

Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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  1. Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

  2. designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

  3. walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

  4. the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

  5. right in. Amen. Hallelujah. Let's have a seat.

  6. John chapter 14 verse 12. John chapter 14. On

    John 14:12 John 14 chapter mention

  7. Sunday, we were introduced to our team for the

  8. year. So by the grace of God, I'll just be building

  9. on what we started on Sunday with the foundation

  10. by which We've laid on Sunday and then to build

  11. a little bit. John 14 from verse 12. Most assuredly,

  12. I say to you, he who believes in me, the works

  13. that I do, he will do also. And greater works

  14. than this he will do because I go to my Father.

  15. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will

  16. do, that my Father may be glorified in the Son.

  17. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.

  18. Hallelujah. And we said the theme for the year

  19. is Greater Works. It's Greater Works, and I want

  20. to believe that our hearts are inspired, you

  21. know, for what God we want us to do this year

  22. and beyond. Our hearts are inspired and directed

  23. and stayed up to do the works, you know, that

  24. God has called us to do. So we started by saying

  25. that it is important to, in a bit, to understand

  26. this text. There are some certain questions that

  27. we just want to ask. These questions will help

  28. us to understand the stakes. And one of the questions

  29. we asked was, who is Jesus speaking to? Who is

  30. the audience by which Jesus is speaking to? And

  31. we also asked a question about what the works

  32. of Jesus are. What works did Jesus do? And then

  33. what are the greater works by which He's calling

  34. the disciples to do and invariably calling us

  35. today who are the disciples of the disciples

  36. to do. Hallelujah. So we observe from the scripture,

  37. we will observe from the scripture that Jesus

  38. was speaking specifically or contextually to

  39. his disciples. He was not speaking to the crowd.

  40. All right. He was very particular about the audience

  41. he was speaking to. Not to the crowd, not to

  42. the 5 ,000, but the people he was speaking to

  43. is very, very important. The kind of people Jesus

  44. was speaking to is very important. The timing

  45. of the speech is very important. So, specifically,

  46. he's addressing the disciples. Of course, the

  47. 12. the 12, even including Judas Iscariot, because

  48. he was there before he, he didn't wait till the

  49. service finished. He didn't wait till that explanation

  50. finished because in the course of the conversation

  51. we saw, you know, he went out to go and do what,

  52. you know, the devil has inspired in his heart

  53. to do, that is to betray Jesus. So Jesus was

  54. particularly addressing his disciples who he

  55. had. Been with for about over three years. So

  56. in these three years, they have listened to him

  57. teach them. In these three years, they have heard

  58. him taught many things in many ways concerning

  59. his mission and what he will do. And these three

  60. and a half years, they've seen him done many

  61. works. They've seen him perform miracles. They've

  62. seen him done many things. So they've heard him

  63. and they've seen. They've heard, they've seen.

  64. And this hearing Jesus and seeing what he did

  65. was even very important. It's a very important

  66. criteria. Even when Judas was to be replaced,

  67. later on we'll see, you know, they had to go

  68. to look for someone that was with them from the

  69. beginning, right from the baptism of John the

  70. Baptist, right from the teaching of John the

  71. Baptist, right from the ministry of John the

  72. Baptist, to when Jesus, you know, was with them

  73. and they were all through the follow to the end

  74. up onto the resurrection. So this was particularly

  75. important for the mission that they will do.

  76. So by implication, doing greater works is for

  77. those who have become disciples. All right? If

  78. you are not a disciple, then I don't think...

  79. you will be able to do greater works. In fact,

  80. you will not do what Jesus did, talk more of

  81. doing greater. So for us to do greater, for us

  82. to do the works that Jesus have done, or to do

  83. greater works, it means that we must be disciples.

  84. Now, discipleship is not just a cliche. We're

  85. not just telling you just be a disciple because

  86. we won't, no. Discipleship is important. It's

  87. very crucial to doing the works of God. To become

  88. a disciple, you must first believe, right? Because

  89. these people believe Jesus. To become a disciple,

  90. you must first believe that Jesus is who he said

  91. he is. Later on, we'll see that when Jesus rose

  92. up and then he taught them, they later believed

  93. Jesus. And it is in the belief that they believe

  94. Jesus that he was able to hand over a ministry

  95. to them. So fundamentally, you must believe in

  96. Jesus. Who he said he is. The Messiah who came

  97. from God for not only to die for our sins. All

  98. right. The Messiah who came from God to die for

  99. our sins. die for the forgiveness of our sins.

  100. So, they have to come to a point of belief that

  101. this is who Jesus is. We'll see it in their sermons

  102. in the book of Acts. This is the one that God

  103. has sent. This is the one to whom God has appointed.

  104. That through him, we'll see it in their records

  105. in the book of Matthew. They recorded and they

  106. were pointing to Jesus as the promise of the

  107. Father. Because the context of the work that

  108. we're going to do will be related to the identity

  109. of the Messiah, will be related to the identity

  110. of who Jesus is. Hallelujah. Because in the identity

  111. of the Messiah or Jesus, the Savior, we'll find

  112. ourselves in him. Hallelujah. So we are not doing

  113. something separate from what Jesus is doing even

  114. now. We are doing what God in Christ has done

  115. and we see Christ is all in us by the Spirit

  116. doing. So there's a relationship. So they have

  117. been with Jesus and have learned very well from

  118. him. Okay? They've seen him. So he's speaking

  119. contextually to the things they've seen him done.

  120. They've seen him done. Give me that text, verse

  121. 12. John chapter 12, chapter 14, verse 12. It

    John 12 chapter mention

  122. says, the works that I do, he will do also. The

  123. works that I do, which means that they might

  124. have seen the works that Jesus have done. That

  125. same work, that person will do also. Hallelujah.

  126. So, these are those who have seen and know his

  127. works. Alright? They've been with him, so they've

  128. seen his works and they know his works. Okay?

  129. They know his purpose. They know his will because

  130. in his works they will know his will. They know

  131. his purpose and thereafter they will do his will.

  132. So for us to do his work and to do greater, we

  133. must be intentional about building a life around

  134. knowing Jesus. We must be intentional this year

  135. and beyond. We must be, listen, Church shouldn't

  136. be church as usual for us. Knowing God should

  137. not be as usual for us. We must, as the brother

  138. was leading us in prayer, we must seek to heighten

  139. our desire. We must make knowing God a top priority.

  140. If knowing God or knowing Jesus Christ must be

  141. a top priority for us, then there will be a need

  142. for arranging our priority, our programs, our

  143. schedules, and give knowing him a top priority

  144. in our lives. If your desire, number one, is

  145. to do greater works, then knowing God, being

  146. a disciple actually, being a student, being a

  147. disciple must be your topmost priority. It must

  148. be greater than any other thing. Even greater

  149. than your academics. Even greater than life itself.

  150. Because it's not going to be for passive people.

  151. So we must give priority to learning and to knowing.

  152. Because there's only one pathway by which we'll

  153. know Jesus. We'll know God. There's only one

  154. way that God has revealed himself to us, through

  155. Jesus Christ. And how can we know about Jesus

  156. Christ by the scriptures? Hallelujah. So the

  157. story of the word, the written word particularly,

  158. preached and taught and practiced must be our

  159. priority. We cannot do greater works outside

  160. the knowledge of God that we have, outside what

  161. is written for us in scripture. There is no new

  162. revelation that we can have beyond what has been

  163. given. So we will understand the character of

  164. God. We will understand the will of God. We will

  165. understand the desire of God. We will understand

  166. what God is doing now in our season. So you must

  167. also be intentional about the time of fellowship

  168. because in the fellowship as this, as a fellowship

  169. together, you know, we learn the word together.

  170. We must be intentional about the time of fellowship

  171. with other Christians, with other believers,

  172. and also a time to fast and pray as an individual.

  173. Listen, if you will do greater works, your spiritual

  174. life, you know, you must change, let me use the

  175. word, you must change gear this year. You cannot

  176. be doing what you've been doing all along the

  177. years and expect another result. And that is...

  178. That is stupidity. You've been doing something

  179. in a particular way and then you are seeing one

  180. result and you are expecting that you continue

  181. that way like the way you've been doing last

  182. year and then to see another result. I mean,

  183. that's no wisdom. So there must be a rearrangement

  184. of our priority to knowing God, to knowing the

  185. Word, to fasting. Listen, basic disciplines.

  186. That is necessary to knowing God. We must go

  187. back to the basics. Relationship with believers.

  188. You know. The word of God. Spending time to pray.

  189. Spending time with God. You and God alone. These

  190. are basic disciplines that we must go back to.

  191. These are basic disciplines. If you've been doing

  192. it last year, praise God for that. This year.

  193. You must seek to have a quality time than ever

  194. before. There's always room for growth because

  195. consistency will bring about perfection in that

  196. particular exercise. So it is important that

  197. we know that God will work with us based on the

  198. knowledge. we have about him. This is how we

  199. build ourselves for greater works. This is how

  200. we build ourselves for greater works. So discipleship

  201. is key. And each and every one of us must be

  202. disciples of Jesus. Disciples simply means you

  203. must be a student. And a student doesn't skip

  204. classes. A student doesn't earn, it is no graduation.

  205. You can't say, okay, for the next three months,

  206. I'm going to be a disciple and after that I've

  207. graduated. No, no, no. Discipleship is a lifelong

  208. thing. For the rest of your life, you must continually

  209. grow. You must continually keep on learning the

  210. things of God. It is in this learning that we

  211. get better, that we get our mind transformed,

  212. that we get ourselves acquainted with the plan

  213. of God, that we get ourselves acquainted with

  214. the will of God, and then we are able to do.

  215. what God is calling us to do. I went on to begin

  216. to ask, okay, what are the works Jesus did? This

  217. was where we started to know what are the works

  218. that Jesus did, right? So we said that the work

  219. Jesus did includes the things Jesus did, practically,

  220. right? And also the things he taught. His teachings

  221. and his actions, and we made reference to what

  222. Luke wrote in the book of Acts, chapter 1, verse

    Acts 1:1–3

  223. 1 to 3. Luke, Acts, rather, chapter 1, as he

  224. was writing to Theophilus, he says, the former

  225. things I made, oh, the former accounts I made,

  226. oh, Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both

  227. to do and to teach. So Jesus did some things

  228. and he taught. All right? Until the day in which

  229. he was taken up after he, through the Holy Spirit,

  230. had given commandments to the apostles whom he

  231. had chosen, to whom he also presented himself.

  232. So what commandment did he give them? Of course,

  233. we know the commandment. Matthew 15, 16. All

  234. right? The commandment he gave them to remain,

  235. they will be in due with power and all that will

  236. happen. By the coming of the Spirit. So, the

  237. works of Jesus has to do with the things he did

  238. and the things that he taught. And we say that

  239. when we go through the Synoptic Gospels, we can

  240. see summarily that Jesus revealed the Father

  241. through the powerful works he did. Okay? The

  242. powerful works that confirms his divine identity.

  243. Jesus performed works. Works has to do with the

  244. miracles he did. Including healing the sick.

  245. He cast out devils. He raised the dead. We see

  246. him in the gospels exercising authority over

  247. nature. Speaking to the storm. Walking on water

  248. and all these things were miraculous things Jesus

  249. did. Turning water into wine, miraculous activity

  250. that Jesus did. He accomplished redemption. You

  251. know, the forgiveness of our sins. These are

  252. what Jesus did. We see him proclaiming and demonstrating

  253. the kingdom. Of course, by the miracles he did,

  254. he demonstrated the kingdom. And then he proclaimed

  255. the goodness. of salvation. And what we also

  256. see him do is laying the foundation of the church.

  257. You know, commissioning the apostles, the foundational

  258. apostles, you know, bringing, ushering them into

  259. the era of the church. These are what Jesus did.

  260. Hallelujah. So in Matthew chapter 11, verse 1

    Matthew 11:1–4

  261. to 4, we also, you know, looked at a sign that

  262. proves Jesus' identity as a Messiah. Matthew

    Matthew 11:1

  263. chapter 11, verse 1, when John was arrested,

  264. Matthew 11, Now it came to pass that when Jesus

  265. finished, Matthew, yes, when Jesus finished commanding

  266. his 12 disciples, that he departed from there

  267. to teach and to preach in their cities. And when

  268. Jonah heard in the prison about the works of

  269. Christ, he heard about the works of Christ. And

  270. these works of Christ, including... the teaching

  271. of Christ, right? Including the miraculous things

  272. he was doing. When John had heard in prison about

  273. the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples

  274. and said to him, are you coming? Are you the

  275. coming one? Or do we look for another? So if

  276. I was Jesus, I would simply say, yes, I'm the

  277. one that has been promised to come. And I'm here,

  278. right? It's as simple as that. But Jesus gave

  279. him a coded communication. It's a code by which

  280. when he decodes as a prophet of God, he will

  281. know what Jesus is referring to. And what was

  282. the coded language Jesus gave him? Jesus answered

  283. and said to them, go and tell John the things

  284. which you hear and the things which you see.

  285. So what are they hearing? They're hearing the

  286. teachings of Jesus, all right? And they're hearing

  287. about the works of Jesus and they are seeing

  288. the works of Jesus. So, what are these? Verse

  289. 5. The blind see. Okay? And the lame work. The

  290. lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead

  291. are raised up. And the poor have miracle money

  292. transferred to their bank accounts. The what?

  293. they heard the gospel preached to them. So these

  294. things were literal things that happened, but

  295. in their literal nature, they communicate something

  296. spiritual concerning the Messiah. Hallelujah.

  297. So Jesus graciously explained about himself.

  298. This about himself. John chapter 5, verse 36.

    John 5:36

  299. John chapter 5, verse 36. That I have a greater

    John 5:36

  300. witness than John's. Or rather, let's read from

  301. verse 35 to give us a better understanding. He

  302. was the burning and shining lamb. He's talking

  303. about John. And you were willing for a time to

  304. rejoice in his light. Concerning John, he's speaking

  305. concerning John. But I have a greater witness

  306. than John's for the works which the Father has

  307. given me to finish. The very works that I do,

  308. what do they do? They bear witness of who? Of

  309. me. So the works Jesus was doing or Jesus do

  310. bear witness of who he is. That the Father has

  311. done what? Has sent him that he is a Messiah.

  312. John chapter 10, verse 22. So the works that

    John 10:22

  313. Jesus did reveal his identity. That's what we

  314. are establishing. The works that Jesus did reveal

  315. who he is. Verse 22. Now it was the feast of

  316. dedication in Jerusalem and it was winter. And

  317. Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

  318. Then the Jews surrounded him and said to him,

  319. How long do you keep us in doubt? If you are

  320. the Christ, tell us plainly. Which means that

  321. they were expecting the Christ, right? Jesus

  322. answered them, I told you and you do not believe.

  323. The works that I do in my Father's name, what

  324. do they do? They bear witness. Of who? Of me.

  325. But you do not believe. Because you are not of

  326. my sheep. As I said to you. My sheep hears. My

  327. voice. And I know them. And they follow me. And

  328. I give them eternal life. And they. Shall never

  329. perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out

  330. of my hand. My father who has given them to me.

  331. Is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch

  332. them out of my father's hand. I and my father

  333. are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to

  334. stone him. Why? Jesus answered them, Many good

  335. works I have shown you from my father. For which

  336. of these or which of those works do you stone

  337. me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good

  338. work we do not stone you. But for what? For blasphemy.

  339. And because you being a man, make yourself God.

  340. That statement of saying that he and the father

  341. are one simply means that he and the father have

  342. the same nature. They understood his communication.

  343. That was why they pick up stones to stone him.

  344. Because that is blasphemous. How can you that

  345. we know your father, we know your mother, we

  346. know your siblings, we know your house, we even

  347. know your business, we know your shop, your carpentry

  348. shop. and then from nowhere you wake up and you

  349. tell us that you and the Father are one? I mean,

  350. let's not be too quick to judge them. But some

  351. of us would have done even worse. So Jesus answered

  352. them, Is it not written in your law, said you

  353. are gods? If he called them gods, to whom the

  354. word of God came, and the scripture cannot be

  355. broken, do you say of him whom the Father sanctified?

  356. and said into the world, you are blaspheming

  357. because I said I am the son of God. If I do not,

  358. if I do the works of my father, if I do not do

  359. rather the works of my father, do not believe

  360. me. All right? Listen, because there are many,

  361. many people that have come up in the name of

  362. God. There are many people. We even see in the

  363. statement of one of the fathers, is it Gamaliel?

  364. He was trying to defend Jesus or the apostles.

  365. He was saying that if these people are fake,

  366. they will fade away. Which means that many that

  367. have come have gone. And many will see, come

  368. and go. There are many fake people, even in our

  369. generation. There are many people that this year,

  370. they will be exposed. Because by their works,

  371. we will know who they are. Hallelujah. By their

  372. deeds, we will know. Alright? So he says, but

  373. if I do, if I do, that is the works of the Father.

  374. Though you do not believe me, believe. If you

  375. don't believe me, as I'm saying that I'm from

  376. the Father, all right, believe the works. Believe

  377. the works because the works I do from the scripture,

  378. the works I do. Believe the works that you may

  379. know and believe that the Father is in me and

  380. I in him. By the works, they should believe.

  381. Therefore, they sought again to seize him. But,

  382. He escaped out of their hand. Hallelujah. So

  383. the works that Jesus did was very, very crucial.

  384. Amen? It was very crucial to revealing his identity.

  385. It was very important in revealing who he is.

  386. And even when Jesus rose from the dead, let's

  387. look at the testimony of his own disciples. Luke

  388. 24 from verse 13. Luke 24 from verse 13. Now

  389. behold, two of them were traveling when Jesus

  390. was killed and then they were scattered. They

  391. were disappointed. Now behold, two of them were

  392. traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus,

  393. which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they

  394. talked together to all these things which had

  395. happened. All right. So it was while they conversed

  396. and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and

  397. went with them. But their eyes were restrained,

  398. so that they did not know it was Jesus. And he

  399. said to them, What kind of conversation is this

  400. that you have with one another as you walk, and

  401. your faces are looking sad and disappointed?

  402. Then the one whose name was Caiaphas answered

  403. and said to him, Are you the only stranger in

  404. Jerusalem? And have you not known the things

  405. which have happened there in these days? And

  406. he said to them, what things? So they said to

  407. him, the things concerning who? Concerning Jesus

  408. of Nazareth, who was a prophet. Okay. Now this

  409. is the explanation of who Jesus is. Who was what?

  410. Was a prophet. Mighty in works. That's the same

  411. word for works. Mighty in works. And word. what

  412. he spoke before God and all the people. Jesus

  413. was mighty in works and mighty in words. Okay?

  414. And how the chief priest and our rulers delivered

  415. him to be condemned to death and crucified him.

  416. That we were hoping. What was their hoping? That

  417. it was he. who was going to redeem Israel. So

  418. they saw the characteristics of him who was to

  419. deliver Israel in Jesus. How? By his works and

  420. by his words. Okay? Indeed, besides all this

  421. today, it's the third day since these things

  422. happened. So the way of hoping was he who was

  423. going to redeem them as the Messiah. Because

  424. Jesus was a prophet to them, mighty indeed, and

  425. worked before God and all the people. So they

  426. could see that Jesus fit into the description

  427. of the Messiah as promised in the scripture.

  428. So how? His works, by words and by his deeds.

  429. Hallelujah. Now, let's look at another example

  430. in Acts 2, verse 22. when Peter was also preaching

    Acts 2:22

  431. the first sermon. This is what he said about

  432. Jesus. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus

  433. of Nazareth, a man, what? Attested by God. How

  434. did God attest of Jesus? To them. A man attested

  435. by God to you, by what? By miracles, right? Wonders

  436. and signs which God did through him in your midst,

  437. as you yourself also know. So he reminded them

  438. of what? Of the signs and the miracles that Jesus

  439. did was God actually attesting of who Jesus was.

  440. That he is the one. So Peter in his sermon speaks

  441. of how God attested that through the miracles

  442. Jesus performed, The signs and wonders, they

  443. speak of who Jesus is. So the miracle of Jesus,

  444. the works of Jesus, the things Jesus spoke about

  445. himself, the teachings, because all that Jesus

  446. taught was about himself. All right? About himself.

  447. He expanded the scriptures to them of all the

  448. things concerning who? Concerning himself. This

  449. was the context of his ministry. This was the

  450. basis of his teaching. the things concerning

  451. himself. So it means that the works that he did

  452. and what he was saying align together with his

  453. purpose on earth. Hallelujah. So the miracles

  454. of Jesus prove not only that he is the Messiah,

  455. but they also foretold what he did in redemption.

  456. All right? Or what we will do in redemption.

  457. Now, let's look at one example of his miracles

  458. quickly. Let's look at one example of the miracles

  459. he did and let's see how he speaks more concerning

  460. him. Now, John chapter 9. Let's go to John chapter

    John 9 chapter mention John 9 chapter mention

  461. 9. In John chapter 9. Now, as Jesus passed, he

    John 9 chapter mention

  462. saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples

  463. asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned? This man

  464. owe his parents that he was born blind. I mean,

  465. this kind of mindset. Jesus answered, neither

  466. this man nor his parents sinned. but that the

  467. works of God should be revealed in him. I must

  468. walk the works of him who sent me while it is

  469. day. The night is coming when no one can work.

  470. As long as I am in the world, I am the light

  471. of the world. You know, people easily associate

  472. bad things that happens to us or to them or to

  473. others with sin. You know, the reason why your

  474. life is not working is maybe because something

  475. is wrong. You are not doing something that God

  476. is not happy with you. Or someone has done something

  477. that God is not happy with. So, it's as though

  478. the bad things that happen is God dealing with

  479. us. God is the one punishing us for either one

  480. sin or the other. And they are associating this

  481. blindness on this man to actually sin. And clearly

  482. we can see Jesus Christ. answering them and saying,

  483. neither the man nor his parents were the ones

  484. that sinned. But then the verse that followed

  485. sometimes gets us confused. Alright? Give me

  486. verse 4. Verse 3. Jesus answered, neither this

  487. man nor his parents sinned. but that the works

  488. of God should be revealed in him. Some translation

  489. will say that he was blind. He was born blind

  490. or he was made blind so that God's work will

  491. be established in him. And the question is, you

  492. mean God decided and God planned in all eternity

  493. that he will create a blind man? So that he will

  494. heal him to show his power to people. I mean,

  495. think about the character of God. It's just like

  496. saying God created sin. Listen to this. It's

  497. just like saying God created sin so that he will

  498. forgive us, so that we will know the love of

  499. God. Alright? It would be unfair For the character

  500. of God to say that he created the man blind to

  501. show his power. This does not in any way align

  502. with the character of God all through the scriptures.

  503. Okay? It will mean that God created sickness.

  504. Alright? It will mean that God created the blindness.

  505. It will mean that God created the evil things

  506. we see. The wickedness. We see. And this will

  507. not be a justification to the character of God.

  508. Because the scripture says that God is a good

  509. God. In him there is no darkness. In him there

  510. is no evil. And blindness is not good works.

  511. Are we together? Is it something good to be blind?

  512. That is why you open the blind. The blind eyes.

  513. God's work is to open the blind man's eyes, not

  514. to make him blind. Are we together? So blindness,

  515. both physical and spiritual, is a work of Satan.

  516. That's what I want to establish from this, even

  517. though it's not our focus. Maybe we can go back

  518. and study again the Greek and the Hebrew and

  519. contextual interpretation of that verses. But

  520. I want you to know that blindness, whether it

  521. is physical, All is spiritual is not from God.

  522. Alright? It is the work of Satan. Jesus came

  523. to undo the works of darkness. That is God's

  524. character in Christ. We see him undoing the works

  525. of darkness. So neither the man nor his parents

  526. sinned, but the works of God, regardless of where

  527. that particular blindness is coming from, whether

  528. it is as a result of sin or whatever it is, God's

  529. responsibility or God's work in that situation

  530. is to bring what? Is to bring solution. Is to

  531. bring healing. That is God's work. Is to see

  532. that the man is met well. And concerning every

  533. situation that must have happened, listen, sometimes

  534. Let me deviate a bit. Sometimes you may look

  535. at your life and your situation and things that

  536. happened to you. And sometimes we quickly begin

  537. to look, where did I get it? What sin did I commit

  538. that I'm facing this? As though God treats us

  539. based on our behavior, right? It's because we

  540. are good to God, so we enjoy his goodness. And

  541. when we are bad, or when we do something wrong,

  542. or when we sin, then we see God's other side.

  543. If there's another side of God, apart from goodness,

  544. they will begin to see the wrath of God, the

  545. punishment that comes with what? With living

  546. contrary to his will and his purpose. So no matter

  547. what happens or what will happen in your life,

  548. or no matter what situation you are facing, God's

  549. work must be revealed in your life. And what

  550. does God reveal in your life? He takes away every

  551. darkness. All right? God's work in every temptation,

  552. in every trial is to bring an escape route. It's

  553. to create an escape route for us. It's to bring

  554. us to a place where we understand him. He brings

  555. order to every darkness. So darkness must be

  556. cast away by light. So Jesus will go on to say

  557. that he is a light, right? Jesus said he was

  558. a light that entered the world. Reference to

  559. 1 John 4, verse 1, when John was giving testimony

    1 John 4:1

  560. about Jesus as the light that entered the world.

  561. Not 1 John, John 1, verse 4. In him was life,

    John 1:4

  562. and the life was the light of men, Jesus himself.

  563. Okay? Verse 5. And the light shines in darkness,

  564. And what happens when light shines on darkness?

  565. Darkness leave, right? Darkness disappear. Genesis

  566. 1 .1. Darkness does not comprehend it. Jump to

  567. verse 8 and verse 9. Verse 8. He was that light.

  568. He was not that light. Talking about John. John

  569. the Baptist was not that light, but was sent

  570. to bear witness to that light. Verse 9. That

  571. was the true light which gives light to every

  572. man coming into the world. That light was coming

  573. into the world. This is the gospel. So let's

  574. continue our reading. Chapter 6, verse 6 of John

    John 9 chapter mention

  575. chapter 9. When he had said these things, he

  576. spat on the ground and made clear with the saliva

  577. And he anointed the eyes of the man. Anointed

  578. means he rubbed it on the eyes of the man. All

  579. right. Let's be very deliberate about what we're

  580. explaining here. He rubbed it. That is, he anointed

  581. the eyes of the blind man with a clay. Okay.

  582. And he said to him, go wash in the pool of Silom,

  583. which is translated scent. So he went and washed

  584. and came back seeing. Hallelujah. There was an

  585. instruction. Jesus did something, right? And

  586. when Jesus did, he gave an instruction. And the

  587. instruction is to go and do what? And wash. You

  588. familiar to something that was done in the Old

  589. Testament? Who can remember? Is it Elijah or

  590. Elisha? Elisha? And Naaman, right? He was asked

  591. to go and dip himself in the pool. How many times?

  592. Seven times. And then he would be made whole

  593. of leprosy. And then he was angry. He mean upon

  594. all the luxury and all the resources we have

  595. in my country land. Instead for you to just come

  596. out and do the things you're supposed to do.

  597. Lay hand on me. Perform some gymnastics and let

  598. healing take place. So I should go and wash myself

  599. in the river. And then he took the servant girl,

  600. right, to speak sense into him. Forbear. And

  601. when he lived in obedience, we see that he was

  602. made whole. So similarly to this, Jesus said,

  603. go and wash yourself. Go and wash. Verse 7. And

  604. he said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam,

  605. which is translated sin. So he went and washed

  606. and came back seeing. He came back what? Therefore,

  607. the neighbors and those who previously have seen

  608. those who seen that he was blind said, isn't

  609. not this he who sat and begged? Some said, this

  610. is he. Others said, it's like him. He said, I

  611. am he. Hallelujah. And listen, this year, right,

  612. that will be the testimony of God concerning

  613. your life, that men will begin to ask, is it

  614. not God the fruit that we know? Do you know why?

  615. Because God has done something in your life.

  616. Amen? And listen, what God will do in your life

  617. is founded upon obedience. All right? Some of

  618. us here, listen to this carefully. The reason

  619. why we've tarried on a mountain for so long is

  620. because we've not applied the instruction that

  621. God has given us. It's simply because everywhere

  622. you turn, the same word this brother Chris will

  623. give you, it's the same word Pastor Victor will

  624. give you, it's the same word Pastor Chidi will

  625. give you, but you've listened and you've refused

  626. to obey. And you're expecting you see a different

  627. result in your life. I'm speaking to somebody.

  628. So you must be intentional to follow the leading

  629. in obedience to what God is saying part -time,

  630. part -season. You know, sometimes we hold on

  631. to one method that God has done something in

  632. your life. Or maybe something that God has said.

  633. It's not everywhere we see Jesus putting spirit

  634. and healing the blind. Alright? is sometimes

  635. some people, by touching the hems of his garment,

  636. they were made whole. Alright? You must seek

  637. to know what God is saying per time, per season,

  638. in order for you to enjoy in your living the

  639. goodness of God. It's in obedience that you will

  640. see the manifestation of greater things in your

  641. life. Because instruction comes. It's encoded

  642. in instructions. You pray and then you have a

  643. leading. Alright? And then you're loved by the

  644. leading of the Spirit. You have God spoken to

  645. you, instructions given to you. And when you

  646. don't obey, you don't expect to see. Hallelujah.

  647. I don't know why we're debating, but... Therefore,

  648. they said to him, How will your eyes open? He

  649. answered and said, A man called Jesus made clear,

  650. anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go to the pool

  651. of Siloam and wash. So what happened? I went.

  652. A man called Jesus made clear, anointed my eyes,

  653. and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and

  654. wash. So I went and washed and I received my

  655. sight. Did he argue? Did he try to deliberate

  656. the technicality or the cleanliness of this miracle

  657. or how gross or how sanctimonious it is? He moved

  658. in obedience. Hallelujah. And then he received

  659. his sight. When you want to know how God wants

  660. to do it, You want to understand how the miracle

  661. will happen. You want to understand the technicalities

  662. of how God wants to move. I don't want to move

  663. God. Oh, God is the one moving. So when God gives

  664. us instruction, sometimes on the pulpit, sometimes

  665. through pastor, sometimes, you know, by conversing

  666. with people that God has blessed you with, instruction

  667. comes. Our sister was telling us, all right,

  668. instructions will come and instructions are coming.

  669. Right now. And if you will not live in obedience,

  670. don't expect to see. First of all, you are the

  671. first partaker of the greater works of God. Are

  672. we together? You are the first one that will

  673. experience the works of God. Of course, you've

  674. experienced it in salvation. Are we together?

  675. And it doesn't end there. You will continue to

  676. see the work of God in your life. Are we together?

  677. You will see it is in healing, in healing. He

  678. will be healed, alright? Do believers get sick?

  679. Yes. Do we receive healing? Yes. You see it in

  680. God intervening miraculously in your life. But

  681. the scripture will say, don't forsake the garden

  682. of the brethren. You refuse to go to serve. When

  683. your healing will be there to meet your need,

  684. you will not go. When you're living in disobedience,

  685. it's difficult for you to experience. It's the

  686. use of God. So I went and washed and I received

  687. my sight. Then they said to you, where is he?

  688. He said, I do not know. See, you don't need a

  689. depth of revelation to enjoy the power of God

  690. in your life. This man doesn't even know who

  691. Jesus is. You don't need a depth of revelation.

  692. You don't need Greek and Hebrew to not only enjoy

  693. the power of God, but even to walk in the power

  694. of God. You don't need depth of revelation to

  695. walk in power. What we need is obedience. The

  696. one you know. The one you know. The one you already

  697. know. Are you practicing it? The one you already

  698. know. This is how we're going to walk in letter

  699. walks. You don't even need to know the technicalities

  700. of how the miracle will happen. Maybe you have

  701. that on the signing letter. Alright? Obedience.

  702. The works of God will be manifested through your

  703. life. They brought him who formerly was blind

  704. to the Pharisee. You see them? They have a problem.

  705. And the problem they had was that Jesus healed

  706. on the Sabbath. Now, who is the Lord of the Sabbath?

  707. I want to give you some... Some pictures. Maybe

  708. we can go and make research. The blind, Sabbath,

  709. the pool. These are familiar things that as a

  710. Bible student, you know. What do we call them?

  711. They are... I'm forgetting the word. They are

  712. symbols, right? But it speaks of something very,

  713. very spiritual. Okay? The blind, the pool, the

  714. Sabbath, Jesus. I will use the word, violating

  715. the Sabbath rule, because he's the Lord of the

  716. Sabbath. Okay? So, they brought him to who? They

  717. brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.

  718. Now it was Sambath when Jesus made the clay and

  719. opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked

  720. him again how he had received his sight. He said

  721. to them, He put clay on my eyes and I wash and

  722. I sing. Simple. He put clay on my eyes and I

  723. washed and I sing. Therefore, some of the Pharisees

  724. said, this man is not from God because he does

  725. not keep the Sabbath. Others said, how can a

  726. man who is a sinner do such signs? And there

  727. was a division among them, so they were debating.

  728. This man is all from God because he did not keep

  729. the Sabbath. Then I said, okay, if he's all from

  730. God, how did he do this sign? So, there's a problem

  731. here. Alright? With them, not with us, obviously.

  732. Verse 17. They said to the blind man, what do

  733. you say about him? Because you open your eyes?

  734. He said, he is a prophet. Now, I want you to

  735. understand how we are progressing just by reading.

  736. What was the reason of the opening of the eyes

  737. of the blind? This is the reason, not just for

  738. show. Listen, there's no miracle Jesus said that

  739. was just for miracle's sake. Every miracle has

  740. a message. And the message points to his identity.

  741. Revealed in what was done. Are we together? Now,

  742. this man realized that he is a prophet, right?

  743. So he can underline prophet. Because they were

  744. probing, ah, something is wrong here. He is a

  745. prophet. But the Jews do not believe concerning

  746. him that he had been blind and received his sight

  747. until they called his parents, the parents of

  748. him who had received his sight. So Saul was blind.

  749. He told you, I see. He don't believe that he

  750. saw. They called his parents. And they asked

  751. them saying, is this your son who say he was

  752. born blind? How then does he now see? His parents

  753. answered to them and said, we know that this

  754. is our son. Of course, they cannot say they don't

  755. know this is their son. But by what means he

  756. now sees, we have no idea. We do not know. Or

  757. who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of

  758. age. That means he is mature enough to answer

  759. for himself. Ask him. He will speak for himself.

  760. His parents said this thing. Why? Because they

  761. feared the Jews. For because they feared the

  762. Jews. For the Jews had agreed already that if

  763. anyone confessed that he was Christ, if anyone

  764. confessed that Jesus was the Christ, he would

  765. be excommunicated from the church. Alright? Therefore

  766. his parents said, He is of age. Ask him. So they

  767. called the man who was blind again and said to

  768. him, Give glory to God. We know that this man

  769. is a sinner. Which man are they saying is a sinner?

  770. Jesus is a sinner. Then the man answered, The

  771. man is smart. The blind man is smart. He answered

  772. and said, Whether he is a sinner or not, I do

  773. not know. But one thing I know, that I was blind

  774. and now I see. Can your testimony be denied?

  775. Were you blind? Yes. Can you see? Yes. So your

  776. opinion about who did it doesn't matter. Hallelujah.

  777. Then I said to him again, what did he do to you?

  778. How did he open your eyes? He answered them,

  779. I told you already. And he did not listen. Why

  780. do you want to hear it again? Do you want to

  781. become his disciples? He was poking them in their

  782. hearts. And they reviled him and said, you are

  783. his disciple. But we are Moses' disciples. We

  784. are coming to talk. I was just laughing because

  785. I know that this way we are going to study. You

  786. see, they were saying that they were disciples

  787. of Moses. If they were truly disciples of Moses,

  788. they would have known who Jesus is. If they were

  789. truly following Moses, they would know who Jesus

  790. is. For Moses did what? He wrote about Jesus.

  791. Moses wrote all the teachings of Moses. The ministry

  792. of Moses was about Jesus, isn't it? Then they

  793. reviled and said to him, you are his disciple,

  794. but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God

  795. spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not

  796. know where he is from. The man answered, look

  797. at his answer in verse 30. To them, why is it?

  798. Why? This is a marvelous thing that you do not

  799. know where he is from. Yet he opened my eyes.

  800. Now we know that God does not hear sinners. By

  801. the antichrist, God does not hear sinners. But

  802. if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his

  803. will, he is him. So this man is now schooling

  804. them. By his experience of the goodness of God,

  805. he was better positioned to be a testifier of

  806. who God is. And if you have experienced the goodness

  807. of God, you become equipped. empowered to speak

  808. more about who Jesus is. Hallelujah. So, verse

  809. 31, right? Now we know that God does not hear

  810. sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God

  811. and does his will, he hears him. Since the world

  812. began, it has been unheard. That is him speaking

  813. up to now. Or that anyone opened the eyes of

  814. one who was born blind. Okay? If this man were

  815. not from God, he could do nothing. So first of

  816. all, this man in his Bible study to these Pharisees,

  817. he told them that Jesus is a prophet. He told

  818. them that he is from God. That's a team, if you

  819. look at it clearly. He has painted to them the

  820. identity of who the Messiah is. Even without

  821. going to theological seminary like them. Okay.

  822. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

  823. They answered and said to him, you were completely

  824. born in sins and you are teaching us and they

  825. excommunicated him. So they are now saying that

  826. this man, you were born in sin and you are now

  827. the one to teach us. How dare you? So they excommunicated

  828. him. So Jesus heard that they had cast him out

  829. of the church. All right. And when he had found

  830. him, he said to him, do you, now listen to this.

  831. Do you believe in the son of God? He answered,

  832. who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Imagine

  833. all the things he said. And see, he doesn't even

  834. know. who Jesus is. He answered and said to him,

  835. Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And

  836. Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and

  837. it is he who is talking to you. Then he said,

  838. Lord, I believe. Lord, I believe. And what did

  839. he do? He worshipped him. And Jesus said, For

  840. judgment I have come to this world, That those

  841. who do not see, does that summarize a miracle?

  842. Huh? Does that summarize a miracle? For judgment,

  843. I have come into this world that those who do

  844. not see may see. Is it physical seeing or spiritual

  845. seeing? It's something spiritual. All right?

  846. And those who see may be made blind. Who are

  847. those who see and are made blind? The Pharisees.

  848. They refuse to believe. All right? Then some

  849. of the Pharisees who were with him had these

  850. words and said to him, Are we blind also? Jesus

  851. said to them, If you were blind, you would have

  852. no sin. But now you say, we see. Therefore, your

  853. sins remain. So technically, Jesus told them

  854. that you guys are blind. Hallelujah. So we see

  855. that the miracle Jesus did, the works he did,

  856. speaks of who he is. Speaks of who he is. And

  857. when we do the works of Christ, work in these

  858. dimensions, we reveal the identity of who God

  859. is. We reveal God as who he is and what he's

  860. doing. Hallelujah. I just want to stop here.

  861. There's more to talk about. I just want to stop

  862. here and thank God for what God is planning to

  863. do in our lives, first of all. What God is planning

  864. to do in our lives. We appreciate you being here

  865. today. We hope you carry this word with you throughout

  866. your week. Don't forget to check the show notes

  867. for additional insights. Stay connected with

  868. us through our website or follow us on social

  869. media. If you are encouraged, share this message

  870. with someone you care about. Until next time,

  871. stay blessed.