05-15-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:8-9 Part 2

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

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 f____________ a_______________.

1. This seems strange to us, but, at this point in time, Jesus is n__________________ to be found.

2. This is important because if Jesus had not disappeared the chapter would have been completely d______________.

3. What we are going to see is that the once blind man becomes a r_________________, a v___________ for Jesus.

4. Jesus _________ came back to defend the formerly blind man against the accusations of the religious leaders.

5. And, what is so important about this is that this situation is often played out in o_______ o______ lives.

6. Jesus’ purpose for our life is not to makes things __________ for us, but to put us into situations that will enable us to ____________.

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

1. It is important for us to be clear about what is taking place in verses 8 and 9: This is not a question of i________________.

2. What the crowd is really debating is this: Is it p____________ that any man born blind could suddenly have eyes that can see?

3. And, notice, this crowd, which includes the man’s neighbors, is d___________________.

4. A miracle speaks very loudly, so loudly that it will inevitably d_______________ people.

5. When I accept the possibility of miracles I am also making a claim that there must be a power greater than _______, greater than h___________ b______________.

6. My desire to be the only lord of my life, the only director of my life, also makes it necessary for me to ____________ the healing miracles of Jesus.