Eyes to See

Hey, good morning.

Welcome to Church Online.

We're so glad you're here.

It's gonna be a great day.

It's gonna be a great day.

Big day, big day.

Um, we're so pumped that you are here.

We're back together.

I know.

It's been like a long time.

A month and a half, by the way.

Something like that.

So you guys are good.

We're good, yeah.

We're uh we're back.

We're back.

It's awesome.

We're doing this.

And you're here with us.

Um, we we do have an awesome day planned today.

We believe God is here and he wants to move and speak to you uh as we just worship him and hear from him together.

So we're pumped about that and expect it to raise your expectation level uh because God's got something for you today.

And uh want to say my name is Brandon, first of all.

Yeah, I'm Cody.

Yep, and we're glad you're here.

Uh first things first.

We've been we're starting a new series today.

It's like a wrap spot, is it?

First things first.

I don't know.

I don't know.

Let's just keep on rolling.

Never happen.

You should do a little more of that.

No, I shouldn't.

Uh we're starting a new series today.

Yeah.

It's called The Way to Victory.

Um, and we're really gonna spend the next few weeks leading up to Easter, and we're gonna look at the uh Jesus' last few weeks leading up to the cross and ultimately the resurrection, and so uh we'll finish Easter Sunday that way.

So I'm excited about that.

It's gonna be a really cool uh journey, and so man, get ready.

Get ready for that.

So good.

We also just wrapped a series on four generations.

So on it.

We did.

So those are back in the archives, and we highly encourage you if you missed any of those to go back and watch those and catch up.

Uh, because that's really setting the stage on uh what this next season is gonna be like for us as a church and what we're leaning into, uh investing in the next generation, being a church for all generations, and so uh yeah, it's gonna that's really awesome.

So make sure you check out.

And you can find those on the app.

You can do that which you should download because it's super important.

It's the best thing that we can give you.

Just stay connected with Church of and we give it to you.

It's a gift, it's free.

It's true.

So if you don't like it, you get your money back.

You can delete it and never move no hard feelings, it's fine.

Um, but just download the app because there's lots coming up for coming up summer.

I mean, Easter's literally right around the corner, which is insane already.

But um, but yeah, we're just getting into a busy, busy time for summer, for Easter.

Um, so the app is gonna be the best place for you to stay connected.

Yeah.

For all things.

Yeah, absolutely.

Catchy.

Yeah, absolutely.

So we're gonna jump into some worship, but before we do, we want to take a quick minute just to to let you guys know.

Make you work.

Today is our big give Sunday.

So, like I just mentioned, we've been journeying through this series about four generations, uh, and we're looking at expanding our space at our Warren Grove campus to create more space because it is jam-packed and it's awesome.

So uh we're at three services there right now, and so we're looking at uh really building some new new auditorium space and kids' space to make room for what God is doing.

So we've uh we've launched a whole initiative around that, um around generosity, and so it's all four generations, so make sure you check out that series to really get a good feel for what that's all about.

But today, being Miss Gift Sunday, we just want to take a minute and invite you into that.

And so uh if you've been a part of that journey with us and God has been stirring your heart uh about what we're gonna be a part of for the next two years as we invest, we sow seeds of faith for future generations.

Uh, we would love for uh you to be a part of that with us.

And today is just a big gift, a launch that's kind of like a first fruit sundae.

So our whole church collectively is bringing their first offerings uh to that to kick this thing off.

Um so we invite you to be a part of that as well.

And so if God is stirring in your heart to give this morning, we would love for you to do that.

There's ways to give uh mainly on the app uh or our website, it's probably the best ways to do that if you're online with us this morning.

And I want to read uh some scripture for us as we kind of uh mark this part of the journey.

Um, you know, a similar thing happened in 1 Chronicles uh chapter 29 where uh David has been collecting to build resources to be able to build the temple.

Um and so uh he says at the end of uh or in 1 Chronicles 29, verse 9, uh they've collected all of this, all these resources uh to kick start this journey, uh, and it says this, and then the people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, uh, and King David was filled with joy.

1 Chronicles 29:9

And then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly.

And he says this, O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty.

Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours.

O Lord, this is your kingdom, and we adore you as the one who is over all things.

And so we just want to say that's our heart this morning, uh, that as we come as uh the family of God to be able to sow seeds of faith for future generations, that we do so with free hearts.

And this is not uh contrived, or uh we don't want people to give out of compulsion, but we come giving freely because we believe the Lord is the King over all things, and all things are his, and we just get to steward it for a moment, and so uh what an awesome moment to be in uh as we give.

And so there's ways to do that.

Participate in Big Give Sunday, uh, and let's see what God does together.

And then we're gonna do what they did in First Chronicles.

This led to a worship uh gathering.

And so we're gonna do that right now uh on the back end of us of our big give moment.

And so we're gonna worship together, and then we're gonna jump into the word where we start this new series.

The way it's victory, we're looking towards Easter.

It's gonna be so good.

So get ready for the only way for me.

It's a narrow road that's too bad, but I wanna be on the road.

It's a narrow road, take you out of the world, I'm gonna take that.

You've said your baby is always in the never forget of the stage You stay upstairs, you call me yours, you stay up your church, you love your work You never felt I know that you ever have to be able to get a lot of people.

If I had had a chance to make you want to say welcome to all of you that are here, um for the first time we say welcome to you, maybe it's your second time or third time welcome to you this morning and we're beginning a brand new theory in front of you.

We're we we we we're gonna have to we're ready to move on from the uh you know from from from from the regeneration theory we're gonna be talking about.

put it on my heart to put you know just to be tangible I'm gonna explain a little bit of that why uh what I was reading as he as you put that on my heart he just wanted me to put some cash in an envelope I don't because my wife and I normally give it's electronically however you want to do it but um but I know some of you might have been ready to come forward to bring your gifts up to the front but if you got it in an envelope put it in the box out uh and if you have a regular offering you know you can give um by putting a cash or check out in the in the box in the lobby or you can give online uh through our app there's multiple ways and and and so that's kind of where we are we're what this is what this week is about and this is a a significant week because it helps it will it will determine it will help us um be able to take a step forward um in the process of of determining how quickly we might be able to see dirt move and and things happen and that that's a big big part big step so so today is a brand new series um uh it's titled The Way to Victory the Way to Victory and this will this will be our series that will lead us all the way up uh to Easter Sunday which is approaching rapidly of March 31st is Easter Sunday it's coming quickly and um and and it's exciting it's exciting and so it's the way to victory the way to victory what what do you think of when you think the way to victory so so I don't know about you but I'm I'm a little bit of a competitive person and if you are the youngest of three boys you had to be competitive you had to be competitive if you wanted to eat you had to be competitive and you had to fight you had to fight and scrap for everything you had and because my two older brothers were brutal they were brutal my oldest brother is is my spiritual hero he really is he is he is probably just one of the most consistent godly people that that I I've ever known I mean I say that from the bottom of my heart but when he was younger and I was a child he was absolutely mean as a snake he would hold me down and and he would say Eddie so I had we had a brother between us that went to heaven in 1992 and so he'd say Eddie let's get him and they would they would hold me down and they would mash my nose and and it would make me sneeze repetitive repeatedly repeatedly you know repeatedly I would I would just you know sneeze I'd sneeze eight nine ten eleven times I mean probably if you held me down right now I'd probably do the same thing I don't know why uh don't do it because I'll I'll because I that's how I learned to fight that's it really is it's how I learned I learned to scrap you know and and and to claw with and so everything and when you put boys together everything's a competition now girls too it can be girls I'm not trying to be you know uh you know a a you know I'm not trying to be misogynistic or anything you girls are man y'all are mean and y'all fight too I mean y'all can and so um and if you I'm not gonna say what just came to my mind because uh you'll tell my wife who's not here but um yeah and so but but so anyway compet it's all about competition everything was a competition growing up everything hey go get the mail let's go get the mail I can I can beat you to the mailbox I'm gonna beat you to the mailbox let's let's go do this or whatever it was we would we it you know you know we we'd go out to eat let's see who I bet I can eat what I've got the fastest I can eat you know this hot dog faster than you can eat your hot dog I mean whatever it is and this competitive spirit it it it can be good and it can be bad it can be good in the sense that fuels uh it fuels progress it fuels um it it it fuels uh people moving forward getting things done in society um it it fuels good work ethic sometimes it fuels people that that that want to compete maybe athletically and and you know I'm I'm from the old school you keep score somebody wins somebody loses you know uh it you know everybody doesn't get a trophy I mean it's the that's the I'm sorry if if if if if you don't come from that kind of perspective but but you know that that so so competition and and and wanting but there is a negative side to this competitive spirit there is a negative side to always um competing always wanting to to to win and and here here's here here it is is thinking thinking that there's a scorecard when it comes to our relationship with God listen to me that the way to victory comes through keeping a scorecard of morality in our life and you say well I'm so glad I'm not I'm not caught up in religion I'm so glad I'm not caught up in that right I'm so glad that I'm not caught up in that and we and and we say that quickly but really really are we really over that have we really conquered that have we really come to the point where where we really look at our life and see our life the way Jesus sees it completely?

Have we really gotten over that?

Where it comes down to the fact and the reality that the kingdom of God is not the same as the kingdom of this world that we live that the kingdom of God and as the residents of the kingdom of God we live in an upside down kingdom where the way up is down.

It is not the same type of thinking and the way to victory is not the same path as we think about in the world I always want to remind you of your enemies of our enemies spiritual enemies Satan is our spiritual enemy the enemy the devil he is real Lucifer was an angel in heaven he was the lead worshiper in heaven you read Isaiah you read Ezekiel you read a couple of other places of scripture you read in Revelation where it speaks of how he at one time was a worshiper of the living God but it but he he decided he was going to buy into the way to victory it is through lifting myself up rather than surrendering myself.

And he's cast out of heaven and with one third of the angelic host that decided to follow his way and those are the demonic forces that come against us every day of our life they come against your kids they come against us they come against the church they come against us in every way and they want to to to if they can't keep you from being a child of God they still want you to be affected by the perspective that the way up the way to victory is through through lifting yourself up it's through it's through winning competition your other enemy is the world when I say the world I always have you know we always have to clarify because you know John 316 God so loved the world well he loved the world what is he talking about he's talking about the people that are in need of Jesus he's talking about people they're created in the image of God that he's talking about the people that Jesus gave his life for but but when when he speaks um in revelation do not be conform to the pattern of this world he's talking about ideology he's talking about a system of thinking and belief that goes against the kingdom of God and he is talking about you know all types of belief systems it can be false religions it can be thinking that the the the the answer all of our answers are in politics and and and so that is an enemy so you've got the devil and you've got the world and then you also have the human flesh the human flesh it's our it's our appetites our our things that are that are just basic to our human nature aside from Jesus man we will you know it it can be it can be all of it can be bad some of it can be things that are necessary for our life some of them are gifts that God has given us but when they are misused or misappropriated they lead to sin and they don't glorify God and they ruin our life it can be it can be food it can be sex it can be entertainment it can be money it it and so so our flesh hungers and and and thirst sometimes for things that are contrary to the kingdom of God and so we've got to say the way to victory is not to fulfill our flesh it's not to listen and follow the way of the world and it certainly is not to listen and follow or obey the words of the devil and the enemy and so what what what what do we need we need to have our spiritual eyes opened so would you pray with me before we look at a passage can we pray together God would you open our eyes by the power of the Holy Spirit would you give us eyes to see this world to understand your way to victory in Jesus' name we pray come Holy Spirit in Jesus' name amen amen all right so John chapter nine john chapter nine so jesus has begun his ministry he's he's he's called disciples he's created a stir and so part of what he is has working against him is a system a world system of religion that is competing and this system of religion that goes against the way of Jesus is led by a bunch of religious leaders and so they believe that the way to God is following a scorecard of morality following all the rules doing everything religiously correct and and they don't like they don't like listening to the teaching of this new rabbi he is he is homeless he is he is so outside of the system and goes contrary to what they have built and and so we see we see a lot of this in this story John chapter 9 verse 1 as Jesus was walking along he saw a man who had been blind from birth rabbi his disciples asked him why was this man born blind was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins do you hear do you hear this I mean listen to this the score do you see the scorecard here?

John 9:1

There's the scorecard who who who sinned was it his was it his his parents or was it his sins that led to his blindness if something is wrong it it's there it's because somebody did something wrong.

If there is an illness if there's a sickness there there's got to be a reason we we we've got to look at this world and we've got to look and there's a scorecard you keep and if you do the right things you'll never have any problems but if you do the wrong things you're gonna have sickness or illness or or or or consequences or things that you out of your control.

That's what these these followers have have been what's been ingrained in them through the religious teachings and the system they've been brought up in.

And so we learn later that this man is not only blind but he's also a beggar.

He's outside the gate living in the world of darkness waiting for somebody to show some mercy or compassion on him much like many people in our world today you can it he is overlooked and and we pass by people every day that are that are in conditions or situations it might be physically or spiritually and so they they they rush by the man and they don't give this man a second thought the disciples see him but they're not moved by his conditions.

Instead they they use him as a subject to ask Jesus theological questions who sinned there's got to be somebody's sin there's got to be a reason and here's here here's a few principles I want you to understand that that when we think about the way to victory we need to understand that that the enemy wants to use religion to block our way to victory in Jesus.

And so religion makes us blind to the needs of those around us religion makes us blind to the needs of those around us verse 3 it was not because of his sins or his parents' sins Jesus said this happened so that the power of God could be seen in him.

Now I want you to hear this that when you you go through something or you see people going through something it's I and I'm speaking from experience it is so natural for us to just so quickly go to that scorecard and to think man what have what have I done wrong?

Where have I missed it?

Where did I mess up and he said it's not because of his sins of the parents' sins Jesus answered this happened so the power of God listen could be seen in him we must here's what Jesus is saying we must quickly carry out the task assigned by us by assign us by the one who sent us the night is coming and then no one can work but while I am here in the world I am the light of the world so Jesus claims to be he says I am the light of the world we we see him say this multiple times in chapter 8 verse 12 he says I'm the light of the world if you follow me you won't have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life and so a man that has quite literally dwelt in darkness Jesus comes to us as light illuminating the darkness and then he does something absolutely just so out of what we would consider as normal behavior.

Verse six then he spit on the ground made mud with saliva and spread the mud over the blind man's eye I mean is that not crazy I I mean we're gonna we're gonna have prayer night we're gonna next prayer night we're gonna bring dirt in and we're gonna spit in it and rub it on you and you would you would run me out of town.

I mean you would you would you would not come if you thought that was a possibility I mean it's disgusting it's it's it's it's i if you're you know jer think of just think of think everything you think of germaphobes don't don't even touch me much less spit in the dirt and rub it on me but this is Jesus he told him go wash yourself in the pool of Saloon Saloon means sent so the men went washed and came back seeing now there there's a lot of debate why Jesus spit on the ground and and used mud pies to bring healing to this man's eyes why not just touch him like you've done before Jesus why not just speak over him we we may not know why Pat and I were talking earlier this morning about about the the fact that so you've got the Hebrew the Old Testament is primarily written in Hebrew and then you also have the Aramaic language that that comes comes around during the the time of Jesus and and and between the this Old Testament and and and New Testament primarily most of the New Testament is is in the Greek and so later when they wanted to take the whole Bible and put it into the modern language of Greek they translated the Hebrew into the Greek and it is called the Septuagint.

Now you go back to Genesis where God forms the dirt and breathes life into the dirt to create the first human being the wording in that Hebrew is very similar to what is translated out of the Hebrew into the Greek Septuagint in this passage where God uses dirt.

Now I I I don't I think there's more to it because you know it's it's not necessarily the same exact context I think that part of this is that God wants us to live in the tangible physical part of this world while at the same time We are living in an intangible, untangible, I don't know, whichever, that is not physical, while we're living in a kingdom that is not physical.

Do you see it?

The two are connected.

He says, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And so Jesus is taking something tangible in this world.

He's saying, you know what?

The Holy Spirit can use every bit of the tangible, physical world that God has put us in to bring glory back to God, including healing a human being.

By the way, he still heals.

And so one of the things that we've got to learn in this physical world is spiritual sight is demonstrated by slowing down to see people, to see the needs that people have.

To slow down and be aware of this activity, the spiritual activity that is all around us.

To be aware of darkness and evil spirits and the activity of the world that is beyond us but affects us.

To be aware of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of light and the righteousness that is available to us.

The power of God that allows us to look at somebody and by the Holy Spirit I can be drawn to somebody.

And the most uncomfortable situation to say, you know what, this may not make sense, but God has just drawn me to you to say, I need to pray for you.

Verse 8, his neighbors, his neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, Is this, isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?

Some said he was, and others said, no, he just looks like him.

But the beggar kept saying, Yes, I am the same.

I am him.

I'm the one.

I'm the same one.

They asked, Who healed you?

What happened?

He told them, This man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.

So I went and washed, and now I can see.

Yeah, yeah, right.

Yeah.

Good story.

Good story.

Y'all remember, y'all, if you I go go read the story of a guy, of a king named Naaman, who had leprosy.

And a prophet goes to tell his little servant girl, tell him to go wash seven times in the river.

I'm not doing that.

I'm a king.

I'm a king.

I'm I'm royalty.

I'm not doing that.

Okay.

Well then you continue your life with leprosy.

Just continue moving forward as fingers and limbs just fall off your body.

And I, you know, I you you you you read it, but you kind of think, what's going through his mind?

Man, you know what?

I I can I can maintain my dignity and lose my fingers and die.

Or I can humble myself.

Just maybe.

Just maybe.

Just maybe.

And he washes, he does it.

Tangible.

Tangible physical activity.

Tangible, tangible.

Where the kingdom of heaven meets the kingdom of this world.

He's healed.

And listen, he is not even part of God's nation, God's people.

God works outside of our normal boundaries.

And so that he says, He said, He said, so I went out and watched, and now I see.

And they said, Where is he now?

I don't know.

He replied, then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, the religious leaders.

We're going to take them, because they know everything.

Let's go to the pastors.

They are brilliant.

Because it was on the Sabbath, this is going to, and which that's going to be a problem.

That Jesus had made the mud and healed him.

It's on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees asked the man all about it, so he told them, he put the mud over my eyes, and then I what and then I washed it away, and then I could see.

Seems simple enough.

But some of the Pharisees said, verse 16, this man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.

You can't cross these boundaries on your way to victory.

You got to keep the scorecard.

Perfect, right.

Others said, but how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?

So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

Maybe Jesus was trying to do something.

And what we see here, I think, in this story is that religion, we're talking about the collision of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world, and even in the kingdom of this world, religion, religion blinds us from seeing the heart of God.

Religion blinds us from seeing the heart of God.

Listen, you've got to listen to this.

The reason this is such a big deal is because it will continue to resurface in your life.

Even as a believer, even as someone who has put your faith in Jesus, you will, we we just automatically revert.

It's our default setting.

It's to go back to religion and to morality and to behavior modification.

We just naturally look at people and we judge them.

The gospel is good news.

The king has come.

The king has come.

The king has fought for you.

The king has won the victory for you.

And I've got, listen, I've got to tell somebody that the king has won the victory for me.

That's the gospel.

It's the gospel.

And it's got to be as fresh today as it was when I was 18 and I was introduced to Jesus for the first time.

I get old and I get crusty.

And I go home and I tell my wife, I don't want to be a pastor anymore.

And she says, Why?

I said, because people are mean.

She says, Why are you keeping your eyes on people?

Come here, I'm gonna spit in some mud, rub it in your eyes.

So they called his parents.

They called in his parents.

They asked him, Is this your son?

Was he born blind?

If so, how can he now see?

His parents replied, We know this is our son, and that he was born blind.

And we don't know how he can see or who healed him.

Ask him.

I mean, it's it's it's comical, I'm telling you.

Jesus has a sense of humor.

John has a sense of humor.

Here's what they say.

He is old enough to speak for himself.

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

You see, competition, which is the way to victory.

I'm gonna keep my options open, so I'm not gonna make them mad.

My son can see this man has changed him, but I really don't want to make them mad.

I'm telling you, many of us are serving morality and we're confessing Jesus at the same time.

Say, we're afraid of Jewish leaders who would announce that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.

That's why they said he is old enough, ask him.

So religion uses fear, always uses fear to get you to fall in line.

I've got to fall in line just in case.

So we listen, we we don't, listen, we're we believe in Jesus and we've got salvation, but we're we're keeping just a little, we're gonna keep our toe just enough in the pool of religion just in case we need that a little bit.

So for the second time, they called in the man who had been blind and told him, God should get the glory for this because we know this man, Jesus, is a sinner.

I don't know whether he's a sinner, the man replied, but I know this.

Now listen to this.

I was blind and now I can see.

I think there's a song.

Amazing grace.

How sweet the sound.

A sinner like me.

I was blind.

But now, but now say it.

I know we don't brand it.

We need to sing that more.

But what did he do?

They asked.

How did he heal you?

Look, the man explained.

I told you once.

Didn't you listen?

Why do you want to hear it again?

Do you want to become his disciples too?

Total.

Just a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant response.

Then they cursed him and said, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

We know God spoke to Moses.

We don't even know where this man comes from.

Religion blinds us by needing an explanation for everything.

Verse 30.

Why, that's very strange, the man replied.

He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from.

We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.

Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eye, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.

If this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it.

Listen, listen to me.

Spiritual sight is demonstrated by a transformed life.

Spiritual sight is demonstrated by a transformed life.

Verse 34, you were born a total sinner, they answered.

Are you trying to teach us?

And they threw him out of the synagogue.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he found and asked, Do you believe in the Son of Man?

The man answered, Who is he, sir?

I want to believe in him.

You have seen him, Jesus said.

He is speaking to you.

Yes, Lord, I believe, the man said, and he worshiped Jesus.

The man's greatest gift wasn't that he'd received his sight, but instead the gift was the one that his eyes beheld.

Do I need to say that again?

This man's greatest gift was not that he had received his sight, but instead the greatest gift was the one that his eyes beheld.

It was Jesus.

Then Jesus told him, I entered this world to render judgment, to give sight to the blind, and to show those who think they see that they are blind.

And some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, Are you saying we're blind?

Verse 41, if you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty, Jesus replied, but you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

Those who thought they were devoted to God's work were so consumed with themselves that when God showed up, they didn't even notice.

Recently passed away.

He said this.

He said, religious people find God useful.

Christians find God beautiful.

Let's keep say this another way.

Where people who've encountered Jesus are simply overwhelmed with his beauty and his glory.

And so maybe God wants to open our eyes this morning.

Maybe you're here this morning and you've never been transformed by the gospel.

This story of God creating and in spite of humanity's sin, he doesn't give up, but he's willing to give up his own life.

He doesn't give up on us, he gives his own life up so we can have forgiveness and redemption.

And the gospel is Jesus' life and his death and his resurrection.

The gospel is him giving his Holy Spirit to us.

The gospel is he's still at work today.

The gospel is Jesus is here wanting for some of you to step completely out of the pool of morality and behavior modification and jump wholeheartedly into the pool of grace.

Amen.

It is by grace I am saved, it is by grace that I can live, it is by grace that I have overcome, it is by grace that I am on the pathway to victory.

And so just pray with me.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, I need you to open my eyes.

Open our eyes, open my eyes, God, so I can see you.

I confess, I confess that I've settled for an alternate perspective or view.

I confess that religion is what I have settled for at times, and and I I admit that it has blinded me.

And so, Lord, I want to see you.

I want something tangible.

I want something real.

I want to see your glory.

Change our hearts, change us on this path to victory, on the pathway to the cross.

Give us clarity.

Give us yourself.

Give us the ability to behold your beauty.

And God, not to not to be blinded.

Open our eyes where we can see you.

That's you this morning.

All you've got to do, if you're if you're if you're not a believer, the Bible says you repent and believe.

You just say yes to Jesus.

Yes.

Thank you for the cross.

Thank you for the empty tomb.

Thank you so much for worshiping with us this morning.

We hope that you are just encouraged and challenged.

God's word.

What a timely word for us this morning.

That um a lot of us we think maybe we have spiritual sight, and God is saying, Hey, open up your eyes, man.

I am here.

I want to give you actual spiritual sight to be able to see me.

And so uh we pray that this week you would find some time to seek the Lord and uh pray that prayer that he would open up your eyes uh to be able to see him for all that he is and all that he's calling you into.

And speaking of that, if there's anything that he is calling you into, any steps that you need to take, we'd love to be there for you, give you some resources.

So if you get to start the follow to 9700, wherever you're at on your journey, if you're just now wanting to call Jesus for the first time, or uh if you've been walking with Jesus for a while, but there's a next step for you.

We want to partner with you.

So start to follow uh to 97000 and again, we'd love to just be able to give you some resources for that journey.

Absolutely.

We're so grateful that you guys spent some time with us this morning.

Um, again, you can be anywhere online watching any service, and the fact that you're here with us it means a lot.

And so uh we're so grateful.

So come join us though at one of our gatherings.

We'd love to just meet you in person, shake your hand.

Actually, I ran into someone last week, and she was like, Oh, I saw you online, I was on so she's like, I was gonna follow you on Instagram, but I didn't know if it was too much.

It was kind of funny, but also like first time that that's happened and knowledge.

It's just a cool way.

Like, so just come meet us, come hang out with us.

Um, we don't buy uh so or do anything weird like that, and there's like no snakes, but you know, like we we just have a good time.

So uh come hang out with us at Walnut Groove or social circles, plenty of campus uh opportunities or gathering opportunities for you.

You can find us out on the app.

So again, download that app and stay connected, and that's my kid if you heard that.

We're just gonna keep on going because it's fine.

Uh so, anyways, we're so great for you guys, and uh we love you, and we hope that you have a great week.

And uh, if there's anything to do, anything we can do for you like Brandon said, please let us know, and we would love to partner you partner with you in any way we can.

And I can't talk, obviously, so I'm just gonna be quiet.

Have a good week.

Yeah, don't forget about Easter coming up, invite somebody with you, and don't forget about participating in our big gift Sunday today as we launch off four four generations and we kick this initiative off and sow seeds together a faith for future generations.

So love you guys.

Let us know if you need anything, and uh we'll see you next Sunday.

Sounds good.