First Alliance Church ATL

Is He Worthy?

Song by Andrew Peterson

Main vocal: Jennifer Bliss-Criswell

Piano and vocal: Megan Bliss

Chorus: The Bliss Family

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.

05-26-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:10-12, part 2

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

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

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

a. In general, when people use questions to express their doubt, they often ask about b_________ things.

b. In our text, however, we see that people can also use questions about g_____________ things to express doubt.

2. Why did they ask the question, “How, then, were your eyes opened?”

a. First, they wanted a r_________________ explanation for what had happened to the man.

b. Second, they were looking for a s_____________________ explanation.

i. When a supernatural power is involved, the question that must be asked is, “Is it the r__________ kind of supernatural power or is it the w___________ kind of supernatural power?

ii. Today people are not concerned about the source of supernatural power because typically our culture d______________ all supernatural power.
iii. It seems that the more people turn away from God and the Bible, the more they are driven to f________________ supernatural powers.

iv. Why do people express doubt about divine healing today? People realize that if there is a God who can and does heal, then that God must have a______________ power. If there is a God with awesome power then I would be the worst kind of f____________ to ignore him.

B. That is the first question his neighbors asked the formerly blind man, and to the neighbor’s question the man gives an a___________.

1. There are _____________ things about this man’s answer that I believe are significant:

a. First, his answer is very f________________.

i. All the formerly blind man gives are the b_________, b___________ facts.

ii. When we want to tell people how Jesus healed us, we do not need to first prove to them that God e__________, and we do not need to give them e_______________ that miracles happen.

b. Second, his answer is non-t___________________.

i. This man, at this point in time, has ________ idea who Jesus is.

ii. There may actually be more meaningful theology in just the bare facts we share than there is in our attempts to e________________ on what happened.

c. Third, his answer is __________-focused.

i. The first thing the man does is to n_________ the one who healed him.

ii. People may feel uncomfortable when we give credit to Jesus, but people need to hear that name being used to identify a ___________, rather than as an o________ or as p_____________.

2. Being ready for God’s healing power to work in our life not only requires faith, it also means being ready to be a w____________ afterward.

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 __________.

 

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.

 

05-09-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:8-9, part 1

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

A. Now, John takes us to the r_____________ of the miracle and we read about it in verse __________.

1. Obviously, something aroused their c______________ and there is no question as to what that was.

2. Miracles get the a_______________ of people.

B. And that brings us to our first point: Miracles that transform people’s lives get n_____________ and these miracles arouse either _________ or ___________.

1. Why is that when we come face to face with what someone claims to be a miracle of healing, we feel this need to explain it in one of two very d_______________ ways:

a. either as a g_______________ work of God

b. or, as something which was not really what it a_______________ to be.

c. Why is it that no matter how much we try to believe that it is a miracle, it is so hard for us not to e_____________ it all away?

2. People can easily refuse to see a miracle because they do not e________________ to see miracles.

a. The “perception of incongruity” will not allow us to see what is c_______________ to our worldview.

b. That happens, even to us Christians, because we have been so thoroughly i______________ by our culture.

c. On this occasion the healing of the man born blind aroused a lot of doubt, and that is a s_______________ to many people.

 

05-05-20 Kevin Goins - The Church's Ministry of Healing, John 9:7 conclusion

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

-This verse makes four key points:

A. First, Jesus told this man to go.

B. Second, Jesus told him to wash.

C. Third, Jesus did not ask this man to e________________ his f___________.

1. That is significant, because there are times when Jesus ___________ ask a person to do just that.

a. First, there is the example of J______________.

b. Second, there is the example of the two blind men in ___________________ chapter ________.

c. Third, we have the instructions found in J____________ chapter ____________ which tell the church how to carry out the ministry of healing.

2. But Jesus did not ask for an e__________________ or confession of faith on this occasion. Jesus did not ask the man ________________ before he healed him.

3. Sometimes we do not have the _____________ to convey what it is we actually believe. That does not really matter, however, because we always have _______________ which we often carry out without thinking, and these actions will make _____________ what it is we truly believe.

4. The blind man did not know __________ he was going to the Pool of Siloam, except that someone told him to do that. He did not have any _________________, but still he went.

D. Fourth, and finally, something e_________________ happened to this man.

1. The man born blind came home seeing because he __________ when Jesus said, “Go,” and he ____________ when Jesus said “Wash!”

2. What Jesus asked the blind man to do was not ____________, but neither was it ____________________.

3. To obey the instructions of Jesus always brings _________________.

4. Remember: divine healing is not faith in ____________; divine healing is faith in ___________.

05-02-20 Kevin Goins, John 9:7, Part 3

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

-This verse makes four key points:

A. First, Jesus told this man to go.

B. Second, Jesus told him to ____________.

-What is the significance of this instruction by Jesus?

1. First, some believe that what Jesus is doing here is simply to repeat an _________ ________________ miracle of healing.

a. N_______________ went to see E______________ in 2 Kings chapter 5.

b. While there is some s______________ between the Old Testament miracle and John chapter 9, the circumstances in our text are too d_____________.

i. First, Jesus is not a _______________ like Elisha, he is M________________.

ii. Second, the man born blind is not a _______________, as Naaman was.

iii. Third, Naaman ___________ to be healed.

iv. When the man born blind is told by Jesus to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam, he does not ___________ at all.

2. Second, some believe that Jesus sends this man to wash in order to symbolize being _____________ from _______.

a. The Bible has a lot to say about the cleansing power of ______________.

b. This would mean that Jesus is not only planning to heal the man’s b______________, but he is also going to heal the man’s s____________.

c. But that does _______ fit here:

i. First, Jesus has already made clear in the f_________ three v_____________ of this chapter that the man’s blindness has nothing to do with sin.

ii. Second, if the washing symbolizes being cleansed of sin, and the need to be washed is because Jesus put _______ in the man’s eyes, that would make Jesus the s_____________ of the man’s sin.

3. Third, the washing could represent what we would call c_______________ or r______________ cleansing.

a. Ritual cleansing is using water to represent something which is true in the _________________ world.

b. Ritual cleansing was very important to Nazirites. A Nazirite was a person who was consecrated, or s_________ a__________, to serve God in a specific _______ for a specific period of _______.

c. I believe this man is told by Jesus to immerse himself in the Pool of s______-ness. He is to leave behind his old life, a life in which he did n___________ but sit and beg all day.

d. This man becomes, not just a happy healed person, but a powerful a_________________ for Jesus.

e. This miracle shows us that we must stress the fact that Jesus does not heal us simply to make us f__________ g___________ again.

f. We need to remind people that when God heals, he heals to take us from a place of l_____________ availability for service to a place of g_________________ availability for service.

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 _______________.