Good day dear friends.
This past Sunday we started a new sermon series called T.V. It stands for "Totally Visionary," and it's geared to help the Church remember what we're called to be. The entire series is based on the Gospel of John, and our plan was to hand out copies of the Gospel so that members could have them during the series and after the series pass it on to others who might not have yet read the Gospel. Being a "TV" series we decided we would "visit" channels and the first one we visited was "NBC." New Believing Christians is NBC for us, and the story of the blind man from chapter 9 served as our text. His healing and his interaction with his "church" allowed him to be among the first to say, "I believe," and become a believer in Christ. Think about all that he suffered:
He was born blind. As a result he could not work and so he had to beg to have a living. He may have become a nuisance to his neighbors and those who had to pass him by day after day.
He was healed by Jesus in an unusual way. Rather than just saying the word and having him healed, Jesus made a mud pack to place on his eyes, using his own spit. The mud then had to be washed in the Pool of Siloam, which means "Sent." His healing does not cause great widespread celebration to happen. The neighbors refuse to believe it happened, some even saying it was not the same man. His parents don't know what to do, and the "church" well, the leaders had their own opinions of what to do.
His healing caused him to lose his church. The man is brought before the synagogue to be declared healed. His healing had happened on a Sabbath, so that from the start puts the man's membership in the synagogue in jeopardy. The man is questioned, if you can call it that; more like he was put on trial. And this wasn't considered work on the Sabbath? His parents are brought to answer questions: Is this your son? Was he really born blind? How did he get healed? Finally, the church throws the man out.
No declaration of healing, no rejoicing in the community of faith, only the pink slip to leave once and for all. In fact, the man is ridiculed for being a disciple even though he was not yet one. The man in frustration does ask, "Do you want to be his disciples?" They reply they're disciples of Moses, through whom God spoke, but didn't know who sent Jesus. The man replies, "This man opened my eyes and you don't know who sent him?" In other words, if God was not with this man, how could he possibly do an impossible thing?
He joins the "new" church, the church of those who believe Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus visits the man after his ex-communication and asks him about his faith. The man replies that he will follow whoever healed him, Jesus said, that would be me, and the man believes and worships Him.
NBC is what the church should be about: Having programs, events, ministries, etc. where folks can come to Jesus Christ and start having a relationship with Him. I discovered at Jurisdictional Conference that First UMC-Harlingen, years ago, invited The Reverend (later Sir) Alan Walker, a noted Australian Methodist evangelist, to come and preach. It was during that revival event that a man who has had an impact on my life, The Reverend Jose Luis Palos of the Rio Grande Conference, came into faith with Jesus Christ.
A sad thing that I've heard over the years in churches that I've served is that many have had Jesus-encounters outside the UM church. That should not be. We are the heirs of a great revival, we are the heirs of a movement that started before this nation even started and we moved westward with the nation, providing Jesus, and education, and hospitals, and schools, and community centers and the like, all for sharing God's love in our land.
What to do? Look for Jesus in all that your church offers. If you don't already have a relationship with Jesus, get one! It is so simple: As you pray, and you can do this in silence, ask God to forgive you of your sins and say to God that you're turning away from those sins. Then invite Jesus into your heart and the relationship will begin.
PRAYER: Loving Father, I confess I am a sinner and I stand in the need of Your grace. Forgive me and give me strength to turn away from my sins. I invite Jesus into my heart as Lord and Savior and I want to walk with Him and have a relationship with Him. Let me give glory to you by the way that I walk with you. I ask this in Jesus Christ's precious Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
