First Alliance Church ATL

07-12-20 Kevin Goins, Church's Ministry of Healing John 9:18-23

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:18-23

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)
XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very divisive issue.
XIII Thirteenth, people who are healed enter into some kind of relationship with the Healer.

XIV Fourteenth, both sickness and healing take place within the context of _____________.

A. The first point we need to make is that both sickness and healing are a f______________ a__________________.

1. Before we turn to the parents, we need to see that the Pharisees only reached out to them because of their ____________________.

a. In other words, they did not believe that a _______________ had been done.

b. We should be a_________________ to people disbelieving God’s work in our life.

c. We should not be _________________ when we give Jesus glory for what he has done and some respond with unbelief.

2. Our daily experience continually reminds us h_____ m__________ sickness and disease are family matters.

a. The recent Lifeway poll revealed that ______% of our prayers are focused on family and friends.

b. To Heal a man born blind would require a s_________________ relationship with God. That is why the Pharisees first try to deny the miracle, and to do that they drag in the man’s parents hoping they will say their son was _________ born blind.

c. Both in times of sickness, and in those times when we celebrate healing, family is ______________ stage.

d. What sustains us during times of sickness, and what we celebrate when we experience healing, is r_______________________.

B. Second, families know the ______________ about our experience of sickness and healing.

1. The Pharisees have _______ goals here: the first is to __________ the miracle altogether, to show that it never happened.

2. The Pharisees perspective is also clear from the second question they ask: “You __________ your son was born blind, well then, how is it that he can now see?”

3. The Pharisees thought their l___________ and their s_____________ would force the parents to admit that it was all a s______________.

a. The reason that does not happen is because the parents were _____________ witnesses.

b. The only r_______________ source of information about this man was his parents.

4. The Pharisees, however, did not ask, “How is it he can now see?” only to prove that their son was _____ born blind. They asked that question because, even if there was a miracle, they might still be able to find a way to d__________________ Jesus.

5. If the Pharisees got more than ________ explanation for the healing, they could use that to create doubt about _____ or ________ was really responsible for the miracle.

C. Third, families with sick people know that their answer is a “____________,” not a “___________.”

1. Without a doubt, when circumstances are dire, families know the name of their loved one’s ___________________.

2. At other times, however, depending on the family, you will hear another name which is spoken in that hospital room, and that name is the name “_______________.”

3. Real hope is always based on a person who can _________ something.

D. Finally, families know there is a ____________ they will have to pay, either to deal with their loved one’s sickness, or to celebrate their loved one’s healing.

1. Sickness today represents a great _________________ burden for families.

2. We all know that when someone gets sick there is a monetary cost, but there is also a _________________ cost.

a. The Pharisees passed the buck to their son because they did not want to upset the r_________________ l______________.

b. To be kicked out of the Synagogue meant that no one would __________ you, or use your _______________, or even want to be _________ with you.

3. You and I still face that same _________________ today. We fear telling people who are not believers, “Yes, I have been diagnosed with an illness, but my ____________ is in Jesus.”

06-20-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:17

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:17

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)
XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very divisive issue.

XIII Thirteenth, people who are healed enter into some kind of _______________________ with the Healer.

A. First, behind every case of sickness there is a real ___________________(9:17a).

1. “Finally” is not just an indicator of ___________, it is also an indicator of ex___________________ on John’s part.

a. Sickness cannot exist by itself; sickness cannot exist without __________________.

b. One of the things I have noticed during this pandemic is how easily we turn sick people into ______________________________.

c. The religious authorities treated this man as if he was just a piece of e___________________ that could be used either to c_______________ Jesus or to glorify him.

2. John next says, “Finally, they t_____________ again….”

a. There is a tendency when someone important to us gets sick, to think more about what their sickness means to ________ than what it means to ____________.

b. To see someone seriously sick means that we are forced to think of what life would be like w__________________ them.
3. Then John says, “Finally they turned again to the _________ ________.”

a. The formerly blind man is not a person with a _____________ to them; he is instead only a sickness, a disease, a thing: “the blind man.”

b. We often tend to treat people with serious illnesses as if they __________ that illness.

c. Sometimes sickness is very hard on relationships because you cannot have a relationship with an i_________________, you can only have a relationship with a p_____________.

B. Second, behind every example of healing, there is a real ________________ (9:17b).

1. Even though much of the crowd and religious leadership are hostile to Jesus, they still expect that this man should ______________ something about the one who healed him and he should be able to _________ them what he knows.

2. This is probably the first time anyone ever asked this man for his o______________ on anything … and it is a very c_________________ question.

3. This man, then, is on the __________________.

4. There was someone behind this unprecedented miracle: there was a ____________________. But some very influential people were very much opposed to recognizing Jesus as _______________.

5. We also find ____________________ in the same situation today: No one is in a better position to talk about the Savior than the ones who claim to have been _____________ by him!

C. Finally, behind every healing there is a person who must decide the ___________ of the one who healed him (9:17c).

1. The Pharisees asked this man for his opinion of who Jesus was…. In response he says, “He is a ___________________.”

2. There are ______________ things to point out about the man’s answer:

a. First, his understanding of Jesus is ________________.

b. Second, his understanding of Jesus is c___________________.

c. Third, his understanding of Jesus is still i____________________.

06-16-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:13-16, Conclusion

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:13-16 (Conclusion)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very divisive issue.

A. Four truths stand out in these four verses:

1. First, people are often divided over what kind of authority to consult when a miracle has occurred.

2. Second, in the presence of a miracle people will often create division by looking for some reason to call a miracle of healing into question.

3. Third, in the presence of a miracle, people often create division by focusing on the “how” question rather than the “who” question.

4. Fourth, in the presence of a miracle, people will often divide themselves over how they feel about _______________.

a. How did the Pharisees and the crowd respond to the miraculous healing of the man born blind?

i. First, they tried to d__________ the healing.

ii. Second, they turned their attention to the __________.

iii. Finally, they directed their focus to the ____________.

b. We need to point out several things about their judgment:

i. First, their judgment ignores the c_______________ of the miracle.

ii. Second, their judgement is focused on the character of the o______ w________ performed the miracle.

iii. Third, their judgment is not u____________________.

c. Why is there always division when it comes to Jesus?

i. It happens because Jesus himself p________________ division.

ii. What we see here is that Jesus not only caused division by the __________ he _________, he also caused division by the __________ he _________.

iii. One group of Pharisees thought the most important thing about the miracle was that __________ had accomplished it.

iv. For the other group, however, the most important thing was that Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath day and that, they believed, was a v____________ of the ten commandments.

d. That raises an important question: _______ did Jesus carry out this miracle on the Sabbath.

i. I believe there were _______ reasons why Jesus did not wait:

A. First there was a p______________ reason: It is quite likely that if Jesus had not healed this man on this particular day, he may ____________ have had another opportunity.

B. Second, there was a t______________ reason: Jesus saw two things:

1. He saw how the faith of the Jewish people had become more of a __________ ___________ than a relationship with God.

2. And, he saw that the Pharisees had very little compassion for those who did not live up to their concept of h________________.

ii. It is also very obvious that the Pharisees express no _________ or ____________________ when they first hear of this man and how he was healed.

iii. Jesus saw the Pharisees attempts to protect the Sabbath observance as evidence of the fact that they loved the ___________ far more than they loved ____________.

iv. They thought humans should obey the law for the sake of the law, instead of realizing that God gave the Sabbath law to p________________ people from working themselves to _____________.

e. We should not, however, overlook how r________________ this is to our own day.

i. Do we ever say about people: “Because she does not understand the political issues the way I understand them, she _________________ be from God?”

ii. A person may be ______________ about their interpretation of the Bible on some issue, … because we are not ________.

iii. But even if someone’s understanding of God’s Word is not in total agreement with ours, that does not mean they are o_________________ to God.

iv. Some were judging on the basis of their p______________, and some were judging on the basis of the f___________, and so there was division.

f. Some people cannot believe in miracles because they will not believe in a Savior who would ___________ them enough to do a miracle for them.

g. Here is a question we really need to ask ourselves: Can we accept the healing ministry of Jesus as an act of God’s grace and love which is meant for _________?

06-14-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:13-16, Part 3

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:13-16 (Part 3)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very divisive issue.

A. Four truths stand out in these four verses:

1. First, people are often divided over what kind of authority to consult when a miracle has occurred.

2. Second, in the presence of a miracle people will often create division by looking for some reason to call a miracle of healing into question.

3. Third, in the presence of a miracle, people often create division by focusing on the __________ question rather than the __________ question.

a. John says the Pharisees “also” asked the healed man how he was healed because the neighbors, and the crowd who originally witnessed the miracle, had a______________ asked the very same question.

i. Sometimes sick people are miraculously healed and no one is involved except the ___________ person and _________.

ii. If that had been the case with the healing of the blind man, then there would have been n_______________ the Pharisees could say.

iii. The crucial question became this: Was this man healed in a way that __________ or _________ ___________ violate the Sabbath?

b. There were ____________ ways in which Jesus’ actions could have been seen as a violation of how the Pharisees understood the Sabbath.

i. First, Jesus mixed ____________ with __________ to make mud on the Sabbath day.

ii. Second, Jesus sent the man on a journey which may have been l_____________ than what was allowed on the Sabbath.

iii. Third, Jesus, according to the Pharisee’s rules, did not have a good r¬¬¬¬¬_______________ for violating the Sabbath.

c. This means that the Pharisees could have accused Jesus of ____________ Sabbath violations, if the man who was healed had told them all he c_____________ have told them.

-Notice, how the healed man answers the “How?” questions of the Pharisees:

i. First, he doesn’t say anything about how Jesus made the ____________.

ii. Second, he simply says, “And I washed,” without mentioning his j____________ to the Pool of Siloam.

iii. Third, the formerly blind man does admit that Jesus did heal him on the Sabbath, but he could not deny that and be t_________________.

d. I believe it is still true today that when people are confronted with a miracle … they jump to the ________________ question.

-Why do they do that?

i. First, they want to know how because they want to find a way to explain the miracle that is not m______________________.

ii. Second, people jump to the how question because they are looking for a m________________ which they can use by themselves.

iii. Third, we ask the how question because if we believe the person who claims to be healed, and we decide to seek healing for ourselves, we want to make sure that we do not need to do something that would be u_______________________ or e____________________ for us.

e. When it comes to sickness and healing, not only do people want to focus on the “How,” what is even worse is that they tend to ignore the ____________.

f. In all the healing miracles in the Gospels, it was always the s__________ who. This tells us that it is the who which is the most i_____________ element of healing.

g. We see that the Pharisees were focused on the “how” because they wanted to c___________________ Jesus. The healed man, on the other hand, was focused on the “who” because he wanted to h______________ Jesus.

H. If the who is one who has sufficient power to accomplish anything, then the how question no longer m__________.

06-12-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:13-16, Part 2

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:13-16 (Part 2)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very divisive issue.

A. Four truths stand out in these four verses:

1. First, people are often divided over what kind of authority to consult when a miracle has occurred.

2. Second, in the presence of a miracle people will often create ___________________ by looking for some reason to call a miracle of healing into ____________________.

a. Before we can understand the approach that the _______________ take to this miracle, we need to know something about these religious leaders.

1. Most scholars are convinced that the root of the word Pharisee means to s_______________ or to d___________.

2. From what did they separate themselves?

i. Some believe they were p_________________ separatists.

ii. It is more likely, however, that the Pharisees were r__________________ separatists.

iii. Their key verse was ________________ ____:_____-_______.

3. The Pharisees thought their calling was to be holy, which required them to avoid any creature that was considered unclean, such as a _____________, and any human being who had become unclean, such as a ______________.

4. When it came to the law, the Pharisees thought there was one law which was more important than any other, and that was the law about keeping the __________________.

5. There is in the Bible a commandment about the Sabbath; it is the ___________th commandment.

i. The word “Sabbath” comes from a Hebrew word which means to c________________.

ii. But it was more than a time to cease from _______; it was also a solemn time because when you observed the Sabbath you were doing what ________ did when he created the world.

6. There are __________ things about the Sabbath day that are hard for us Christians:

i. First, we Christians do not give to the Sabbath the ______________ which the Jews gave to it.

-Why was Sabbath keeping so important to the Jews?

1. First, it set them a______ and gave them a d____________ identity.

2. Second, keeping the Sabbath was a c______________ of God.

3. Third, it was practiced w_________.

4. Fourth, keeping the Sabbath was something to be done at a certain ____________, not in a certain _____________.

ii. Our second problem is that Sunday, or the Lord’s Day, has drawn our attention ____________ from the Sabbath.

iii. Third, as Christians we believe Sunday is of overwhelming importance because it is a r________________ of the resurrection of Jesus.

7. In the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, made it a law that certain types of work could not be done on ______________.

8. In 1234 AD Pope Gregory IX made it the official position of the ___________________ church.

9. Then, 250 years later, the Protestant Reformers stepped into the debate and said that the fourth commandment ought to be understood ________________________.

10. That was the popular approach for Christians until the seventeenth century when rationalism and science led interpreters to suggest that the ___________ Bible should be understood spiritually.

11. After this, Bible teachers began to counterbalance this overemphasis on spiritualizing the Bible with what they thought was the only other alternative, and that was l_______________ the entire Bible, including the fourth commandment.

12. There was, however, another reaction. There were some Christians who began to promote what they called non-Sabbitarianism. This was the view that as Christians, we do __________ have to keep the Sabbath law.

13. I should also point out that there is another approach to all this: the position of the S____________-________ Adventists.

b. We know what the Pharisees thought about keeping the Sabbath because they published their teaching in a ________ call The Mishnah.

1. The Sabbath section of the Mishnah gives a list of _______ “main tasks” which were prohibited on the Sabbath.

2. This list was not p_______________, however, and it was added to as rabbis thought of more activities that violated the Sabbath day.

06-10-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:13-16, part 1

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:13-16 (Part 1)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

XII Twelfth, healing is not only a debated topic, it is also a very d_______________ issue.

A. ____________ truths stand out in these four verses:

1. First, people are often divided over what kind of _________________ to consult when a miracle has occurred.

a. In the beginning, the crowd, which included the neighbors of the blind man, did all they could to ____________ the miracle.

b. This is often the response of people today, even among _________________, when people say they have been healed.

c. But when someone claims to have experienced an actual miracle, … at that point we are forced to decide how we are going to ______________ it.

d. Sometimes when miracles of healing are reported, we will turn to a _____________ or clergy person for an explanation.

i. Some churches believe miracles are confined to the ____________ century, that miracles cannot take place in our day.

ii. Others believe that if you emphasize the healing ministry of Jesus you can cause people to feel r______________ if they ask for healing and are not healed.
e. Today it would be much better for Christians who have questions about healing, and who are seeking some authority to speak about it, to come to the one who made healing such a h_________ and v__________ part of his ministry. It would be better if they would come to ____________.

f. There is not a single passage in the entire New Testament which tells believers that they should understand the healing ministry of Jesus as something which was _____________ to the first century.

06-01-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:10-12 pt 3

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:10-12 (Part 3)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).
XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often questions (9:10-12)

A. When the neighbors of the man born blind saw that he could now see, they immediately began to ask questions.

1. First, they ask, “How then were your eyes opened?”

2. Second, they ask, “W_____________ is this man who healed you?”

a. There are ______________ things we need to see about this question:

i. First, this question was ________________.

ii. Second, this question was ____________________.

A. Jesus is n____________ to be found from verse 8 through verse 35 – that is _____________ verses.

B. This is the __________ passage of Scripture in all four Gospels in which Jesus is absent.

C. There is good reason to believe Jesus disappeared i___________________________.

D. I believe Jesus did this, not only for the man born blind, but for _____________ as well.

iii. Third, this question is ___________ being asked _________________.

A. The church has been saying a lot of w__________________ things about Jesus.

B. The people of this world have heard all the wonderful things we have said about Jesus and now they are standing before us, and they are asking, “W__________ is ___________?”

C. And sometimes it is not only people ____________ the church who are asking that question; sometimes it is people ______________ the church.

D. Jesus did not want us to __________ from that question.

E. There are _________ ways that question can be used and both these ways are present in our text:

1. There are people who ask that question because they want Jesus to _________ them.

2. There are people asking where Jesus is, not because they want healing for themselves or for a loved one, but because they want to __________ Jesus from healing anyone else.

F. There are people in this crowd who want to arouse ______________ and ___________ about Jesus.

G. And the same is true for us today:

1. Some may ask, “Where is Jesus?” because their desire is to convince people that Jesus is ________ here.

2. But then, there are others who ask, “Where is Jesus?” because even though they cannot see him now in their circumstances, they ____________ to see him.

H. Those who ask, “Where is Jesus?” because their greatest desire is to see him, will be _____________ by him.

B. Now, in closing, we need to look at the man’s ________________.

1. When the neighbors and crowd ask, verse 12, “Where is this man?” the formerly blind man answers, “I ____________ know.”

2. Because I do not know the answers to crucial life questions, does not at all mean that there are ________ answers. It only means that we do not ____________ know the answers.

05-22-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:10-12, part 1

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:10-12 (Part 1)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).
X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).

XI Eleventh, the response to the healing of sickness is often __________________ (9:10-12)

A. This whole episode in the ministry of Jesus began with a question in John 9:___.

1. In John 9: ____-____ there is a second question.

2. It appears that by the end of verse 9 the neighbors and the crowd realize that they cannot ___________ from the truth.

B. What do they do? They resort to _______________.

1. We put questions to people for a _______________ of reasons:

a. First, we ask people questions because we are genuinely in search of i______________________.

b. Second, we ask questions to d______________ ourselves.

c. Third, we use questions to s____________ people.

d. Fourth, we also use questions to c_____________ doubt.

2. People who do not believe in God often try to use questions, both to shame believers, and to create doubt. They have this idea that if they can ask a question which a Christian cannot answer, that somehow proves that Christianity is ________________.

3. One of the favorite tactics of people who disbelieve the Bible is to ask a Christian to explain what the non-believer thinks is a c_______________ in the Bible.

4. In Mark 2:26 Jesus explains to the Pharisees why it was not wrong for his disciples to ___________ grain to eat on the Sabbath day. Jesus says in Mark 2:25, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the House of God and ate the consecrated bread which is lawful for only priests to eat.”

i. The problem here is that, according to 1 Samuel 21:1-6, when David and his men did that, it was _________ Abiathar who was priest, but Ahimelech.

ii. So, the argument goes, Jesus, or Mark, or someone, made a __________________.

iii. If, then, the Bible has e_____________, it must not be God’s Word as Christians claim it to be.

5. This argument, however, has serious weaknesses:

i. First, Jesus did not actually say that this incident happened ___________ Abiathar was high priest. He said it happened “in the ___________ of Abiathar the high priest.”

-Abiathar was ___________ at that time and very much involved in what was happening, which means it is still __________ to say that when David and his men ate the special consecrated bread, it was in the days of Abiathar.

ii. Second, when Jesus says this happened “in the days of Abiathar the high priest,” what the original Greek text ___________ says is that this happened epi Abiathar.

A. Epi Abiathar could refer to t________, meaning “in the days of Abiathar,” but it could also refer to p__________.

B. Since Abiathar is more _______-__________ in Israel’s history than Ahimelech, if you could not refer people to 1 Samuel 21:1-6, then a good way to do it would be to say, “in the p____________ about Abiathar.”

iii. Third, if Jesus had only used Ahimelech as an example of someone who was not enslaved to the law, but who put the welfare of people above the law, the Pharisees could have r________________ the argument because Ahimelech was only a priest at Nob.

C. The next time someone questions us about what they suppose is a c_______________ in the Bible, what should we do?

1. First, try to remember w______ they are asking the question. It is likely that what they really want to do is to create _____________.

2. Second, even though they are not asking to get r_________ information, remember that we can use their question as an o_________________ to give them genuine information about the passage in question.

3. Third, we can very politely ask them how much they have ____________ the text which they think is proof of a contradiction. If they admit that they have not done much study, then we can politely suggest that they may not have e______________ information to make a valid judgment.

4. Fourth, we can remind them that the biblical writers were not ________________________.

05-19-20 Kevin Goins - Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:8-9, part 3

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:8-9 (Part 3)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).

X Tenth, divine healing will always arouse doubt (9:8-9).

A. The first thing this text teaches us is that miracles that transform people’s lives get noticed and these miracles arouse either faith or doubt.

B. The second thing this text teaches us is that when a miracle arouses doubt, Jesus can seem to be far away.

C. The third thing this text teaches us is that when a miracle occurs, some will believe.

D. The fourth thing this text teaches us is that when a miracle occurs some will ___________ believe.

1. The neighbors said, “This man who can see _____________ be the man who was blind from birth.”

2. Why did they make the statement, “It only looks like him,” without even bothering to ___________ the man ___________ he was?

3. The people who are giving the most critical assessments of the Bible today are most often the people who have the _____________ knowledge of the Bible.

4. If you want to witness creative thinking in the extreme, show someone the evidence for a miracle and watch how their mind works to e___________ it all a________.

5. What is true for c________________ is also true for m_______________, there will always be people who will not believe.

E. Lastly, this text teaches us that despite the fact that some believe and some do not, the one who experiences a miracle of healing has the opportunity to be an i_______________ w_____________ for Jesus.

1. If a miracle had not occurred, no one would have been saying that the man born blind was _______ the man born blind. They only said that because if this man who can now see was the man born blind, then they would have to a_____________ that a miracle had actually occurred.

2. The blind man was, on this occasion, the only one who could speak as an e______________.

3. This man offered proof that a miracle had taken place, and he did not have to be a s_______________ or a p_______________ or a religious expert to do that.

4. We do not have to ____________ scientifically that God does miraculous things in our world today. We do not need to ___________ that there is philosophical justification for believing that God does miracles. We do not have to q____________ Bible verses to support the fact that God does today what people would call miracles. All we have to do is to _______ our story of what Jesus did for us.

5. John says that when this man acted as a witness to the miracle-working power of Jesus, it was as if he was s________________ in the s_________ of Jesus.

6. When the “I am” saves us or heals us or delivers us in some way, we should do as the Psalmist says: We should proclaim his salvation from __________ to __________.

 

04-28-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:7 part 2

“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:7 (Part 2)

I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
VIII Eighth, the how of healing is very important (9:6).
IX Ninth, sickness can be overcome by divine healing, but healing does not happen without some action on our part (9:7).

-This verse makes four key points:

A. First, Jesus told this man to go.

1. Why did Jesus issue this command to the blind man to go?

a. First, he commanded him to go to get the blind man out of his rut.

b. Second, he commanded the blind man to go in order to motivate him to seek w_______________ for himself.

1. This guy in John 9 is doing nothing: he did not s________, he did not c___________ a tree, he did not unroof a r___________, he did not even a_______ Jesus to heal him.

2. There is a popular idea about God today and this idea is that, if there is a God, we need do ______________ at all to bring ourselves into line with his purposes or plans for us.

3. This means that all we need to do is to simply sit back and absorb his __________ and __________________.

4. The Bible does say that there are two blessings which do belong to everyone who is born into this world: _______ and ___________.

5. The Bible does, however, refer to many other blessings which do require some action on our part if we want to r_____________ them. In other words, there are things for which we must ___________.

6. And the most important thing for which people need to ask God is to be ____________, to be delivered from the power of ________ and ___________.

7. It is clearly the teaching of God’s Word that it is not by ____________ something that we are saved. Yet, at the same time, the Bible makes it clear that what we do ________________ greatly.

8. The solution which the Bible provides is that we come to God by ______________, not by works, but after we have come to God there is ____________ for us to do, but this work is not our own. It is a work orchestrated and empowered by __________ for his glory.

9. I believe Jesus is working in this blind man by getting him off his recliner and on to the road which will lead to a r__________________ with Jesus and s___________ for the Kingdom of God.

10. Leaving people where they are is what I believe can happen when we ignore the ministry of _______________.

11. I love the words of Oswald Chambers, who said, “Never try to explain God until you have obeyed him. The only bit of God we can __________________ is the bit we have _______________.