WEBVTT - All I Know (Jonathan Josephs) 0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.760 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.560 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:19.599 Enjoy the message. You know, I'd heard about mom guilt, 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.640 but no one ever told me about dad inadequacy and 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.680 that feeling sometimes we have his dad's feeling like not 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:29.760 only are we not doing enough sometimes, but I know 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:32.680 some of us feel this condemnation from the enemy sometimes 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.720 telling us that we're not enough. And I just felt 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:38.520 led to just prophesy over the dads today and ultimately 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.920 just remind you that before you were a father, you 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.199 were a son. And there's something so powerful about in 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.839 those places where we feel like we're not enough, reminding 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.839 ourselves that I was a son first. Chris was just 0:00:51.840 --> 0:00:53.920 sharing in the back about the prodigal son, about the 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:56.280 younger son who came home. But I love what the 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:58.720 father spoke over the older son. He said, my son, 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.800 everything that I have, it was already yours. And when 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:04.959 you can wake up every day and remind yourself that 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.160 I'm a son. First, it's an opportunity to recognize that 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:12.160 everything your father has is available to you. So I 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.080 just speak life over you today and the blessings of 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.920 your father and Heaven over you today. In the name 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:23.440 of Jesus, we honor you, your honor and your well. 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:25.600 If we haven't yet met yet, my name is Jonathan. 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:28.360 I have the privilege of serving as the campus pastor 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:32.080 here at our Balentine location and welcome everyone's joe Us 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:37.039 and certainly always an honor to be able to share 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:40.000 God's word. I feel so grateful today. It's also always 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.399 an honor to stand behind the pulpit of my favorite 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:48.240 preacher on the planet. And it's kind of like if 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.920 Michael Jordan invited you to play on his personal court. 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:53.280 You know, you're not on that level, but it's still 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:57.480 pretty it's pretty cool. It's pretty cool. And while I 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.760 consider it's such an honor to stand behind this pulpit 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:02.200 to day, what's an even greater honor for me is that, 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.240 for the last twelve years, the greater honor is that 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:06.880 I've been able to be a part of this church. 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.680 And standing behind a pulpit is cool, but sitting in 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:12.760 that seat week to week is so special. I'm so 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.320 grateful to be a part of this house under the 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.960 leadership of such amazing pastors. Can we thank God for 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:25.359 Pastor Stephen and Pastor Hawley and and the other thing 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:27.120 that's kind of cool about sitting next there is I 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:28.760 get to sit next to my wife of we just 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:33.680 celebrated fifteen years on Friday, fifteen years of marriage. The 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:39.120 Anna knows this right there. Well. I want to share 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:41.880 from a passage of scripture in John chapter nine. It's 0:02:41.919 --> 0:02:45.440 this story about Jesus healing a man who was born blind, 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:50.240 and ultimately the man starts getting interrogated by the Pharisees. 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:52.440 And here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna give you 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:56.200 just one verse right now. We'll let you take your seats. 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:57.880 I know the dads just wanted to sit down for 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:01.200 Father's Day. That's it. Give me a break, So one 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.880 verse and I'll give you my title. But then I'll 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:05.560 ask that you'd be patient with me because I want 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.440 to work through the majority of this chapter John chapter nine, 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:12.320 and work through this story together. Is that good? John 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:16.040 Chapter nine, Verse twenty five. The Pharisees, they're asking this 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.440 man questions about who Jesus is. They're mad because Jesus 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.280 held him on the Sabbath. You know, they don't like that. 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.040 And so they asked this man a question about Jesus, 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:28.880 and look at his response verse twenty five. He replied, 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.120 whether he is a sinner or not? I don't know. 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.640 One thing I do know. I was blind, but now 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:41.600 I see whether he's a sinner or not. I don't know. 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:45.600 I'm I'm not a student of the law like you guys. 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:47.960 I'm just a I was a blind beggar just a 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.600 few days ago. I don't know. But one thing I 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.720 do know. I was blind, But now I see. My 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:57.920 title for today is all I know. All I know. 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:00.160 And as you're taking your seat, turn to your neighbors, say, 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.960 all I know is that I'm so blessed to be 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:13.360 sitting next to you today. God has really been speaking 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.360 to me through this passage. And since it is Father's Day, 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:18.080 let me show you a picture of my family real quick, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:21.000 because I am a proud dad and my family right 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:26.320 here with my kids. And okay, so my oldest, Zion, 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.000 he's ten years old. And then we've got Elias, he 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:32.440 turns eight this week. He was actually born on Father's Day. 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:35.479 And yeah, he came early. I kept telling people, I 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:37.680 think Anna just pushed him out early because she didn't 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:40.320 want to get me a gift. Yeah, and see this 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.680 is the problem. And everybody laughs, they thought I was joking. 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.240 And then guess what day. Our daughter, Olivia was born 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:49.120 on Father's Day? All right, So if you've got an 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.880 extra twenty in your pocket, just bless the Woman of 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:53.920 God so she can get me a proper father this 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:57.560 day gift this year. That's our family. We're so we're 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:00.960 so blessed. And and I grew with three sisters and 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.400 we'd always ask my parents, you know, who's the favorite, 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:05.520 you know, and they would always say, we love you 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.760 all the same. And that's true, but it doesn't exactly 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.960 answer the question, right And as a parent, as a 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.520 parent myself, now it's true, I love them all the same. 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:18.000 But tell your neighbors say, there's definitely a favorite. There's 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.440 definitely a favorite, Zion, is there a favorite? There's a favorite? 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:27.279 But in this passage in John chapter nine, I love 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:30.719 what this man expressed in that one sentence. He's talking 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:34.480 about the tension of He's saying whether he's a sinner 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:36.800 or not he makes the confession, I don't know, but 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:38.880 one thing I do know, I don't know I know, 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.640 And the word no know shows up like eleven times 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:45.440 in this one passage of scripture. You're going to see 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.159 it pop up over and over again, and it starts 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:51.000 speaking to me because I find myself in a season 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:55.640 of life right now where I find myself saying more 0:05:55.680 --> 0:06:01.240 than ever, maybe I don't know, I don't know. Situations 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.080 at work, I'm trying to figure out where it's like, well, 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.400 what do we do about I don't know. Just talking 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:07.320 to a friend the other day about health stuff. He's 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.880 like everything one thing I read says do this, the 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:12.800 other thing says do that. He's like, I don't even 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:14.560 know what to believe anymore. He's like, I just I 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.039 don't know. I don't know. When it comes to even 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.320 when me and Anda do like marriage counseling. Now it 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.200 used to be we'd go to talk about us, to 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.080 work on us. Now we're going to talk about the kids, 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.159 like how do we do this? It's getting harder and 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.720 harder as they get older. We're trying to figure this 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:30.960 thing out. And I know some of you are like, 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.320 you only got a ten year old just just you wait. 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.000 But even at the stage we're at right now, I 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:40.000 find myself saying, I don't know, I don't know. Maybe 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:43.280 find yourself in that place today where you're facing situations 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.200 and if you're honest, you're like I, I just don't know. 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.240 But where it really started to hit me was that, 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:52.600 even when it comes to my faith and my walk 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.479 with God, I find myself saying, yeah, I don't know, 0:06:57.160 --> 0:07:00.200 I don't know. There's two members in the church who 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:02.960 have really been undermining my confidence as a pastor and 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:05.720 as a follower of Christ. And I don't want to 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.240 expose anybody. It's not it's not you, Tad, You're good. 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.120 But I'll just show you a picture real quick of 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:15.960 the two church members I'm talking about. Yeah, these two, 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:19.400 these two, because they're at the stage now. It's so 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.080 amazing watching our kids grow in their faith, isn't it. 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:24.720 It's so awesome to see them just take steps towards Christ. 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:26.400 And then at the same time, the thing that comes 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:28.960 with it is they're asking me so many questions, and 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.080 they're good questions too, and they'll ask me at the 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:34.240 most unexpected times, like I don't get to I don't 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:37.480 get to do any research. You know, my youngest he 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:39.680 asked me. He some of the questions are fun, like 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:42.640 why did God make bad guys? And then you get 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:44.840 to explain to them, well, actually we're all bad guys, 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.920 and apart from Christ, none of us are righteous. And 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.640 you're walking them through that, and then ask me, why 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:54.000 did God make mosquitoes? Now that's a it's a tough one. 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:56.440 I hate him so much. That's like the equivalent of 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.360 asking why does God let bad things happen to good people? 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:01.000 That's how I feel like every time I get a mosquito, 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:05.560 By Lord, why have you forsaken me? The other day, 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:08.520 we're driving home from school and my eight year old 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:10.960 he was getting ready to be baptized. He got baptized 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:15.640 in our church just a couple weeks ago, and we 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:18.280 were talking about the moment where Jesus was baptized. You 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.320 remember that story. Jesus is baptizing and a dove, the 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:23.680 Holy Spirit descends like a dove in the voice of 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:25.880 his father in Heaven speaks over him. This is my son, 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:28.720 whom I love, whom I'm well pleased. And my eight 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:32.040 year old son, he said, Dad, if Jesus is God, 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:38.440 how is God talking to Jesus. He's eight years old 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:43.000 and he's asking me about the Trinity. Have you ever 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:45.440 tried to explain the Trinity to an eight year old? 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.679 Forget it? Have you ever tried to explain the Trinity 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:53.360 to a full grown, functioning adult. These are things that 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.079 we believe, right, we believe in it. That this is 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.720 something that the church, like followers of Christ, have believed him. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:08:59.959 But if you asked me the question, how do I know? 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:02.679 I gotta be honest. I don't know sometimes and I'm 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:04.280 trying to. If I had told you turn to your 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.880 neighbor right now and explain to Trinity, you would be 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.920 pulling up chat GPT so quick and going to some 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:11.760 lame stuff. Well, it's kind of like an egg. It's 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.840 three parts that's all in one, and it's like, let's 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:17.760 be honest for a second. We don't know. We don't know. 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.880 There's so many things that we believe, and if we're honest, 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.440 we feel like, if we're honest, we could say that 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.320 we don't know. And the problem is we feel like 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:28.520 we should. I know, I feel like I should. I'm 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:30.400 a pastor. I'm supposed to know these things. I went 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.800 to school for these things, and whether it's sitting down 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.000 with a couple trying to guide them in the ways 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:37.680 of God as they navigate a situation in life, or 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.360 even just the own my own questions that I'm wrestling with. 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:44.960 I find myself saying I don't know. I don't know, 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:48.680 but I'm realizing that if my confidence is built on 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:54.080 all I know, I will always be insecure. And God's 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:56.720 been teaching me through this passage that being in a 0:09:56.760 --> 0:10:01.000 place of not knowing isn't always bad thing. In fact, 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.800 not knowing might just be a good place to be. 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.120 So let's start at the beginning of this story where 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:11.560 this man who is born blind has a miraculous encounter 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:13.719 with Jesus. And there's some things about knowing that I 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.600 want to show you through this passage today. Good if 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:18.720 we walk through the scriptures for just a moment. Ken 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:22.680 in verse one, it says, as he went along, he 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.880 saw a man blind from birth. Now right there, I 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.520 got grateful. I got grateful knowing that even when I 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:33.320 couldn't see Jesus, he saw me and his disciples. They 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.680 asked him a question. Rabbi means teacher, teacher. They want 0:10:36.679 --> 0:10:41.320 to learn something. Who sinned this man or his parents 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:45.040 that he was born blind? Rabbi, who sinned this man 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.960 or his parents that he was born blind? I love 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.360 the fact that the disciples are willing to ask Jesus questions. 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.880 They're saying, Jesus, we have teach us, teach Us. There's 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:56.720 still at a place in their faith where they're willing 0:10:56.760 --> 0:10:59.000 to ask questions. Some of us grew up in a 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:02.520 tradition of faith where we were taught not to ask questions. 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.720 We thought faith was certainty in our answers. But faith 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:10.400 is not certainty in your answers. Faith is where you 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:15.400 go with your questions. So they asked Jesus. They're looking 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.160 at a man born in an unfortunate situation, and they're 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.040 asking him, how did this happen? What happened? Was it 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:24.040 something he did or his parents did. Now it's a 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:26.560 crazy question to us, because remember the man, he was 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.800 born blind. So when he says, did this man sin 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.000 to be born that way, you're like, well, that doesn't 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:34.280 really compute. But it's kind of a bad question because 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.680 it was rooted in bad beliefs. Some of the bad 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:40.520 questions we have are rooted in bad beliefs and here's 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:44.479 what I mean. They the Disciples had such a transactional 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:48.120 view of God that they believe that if anytime someone 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:52.000 was in a situation of sickness or suffering, that God 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:54.640 was so transactional that it must have been punishment for 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:58.520 something that they did. And so, rather than rather than 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:02.559 basing their theology on what the scripture said about God, 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.319 who is slow to anger, abounding in love, rich in mercy, 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.680 sometimes we begin to create a view of God based 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:12.160 on our circumstances rather than the other way around. So 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:15.079 they actually developed a theology that was common in that 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:17.840 day that someone could commit sin while they were still 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:21.000 in the womb. So when they asked Jesus, why was 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:23.360 this man born blind? It's rooted in the belief that 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:26.000 something must have gone wrong for him to be born 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.760 in this condition. But they're asking him a question, and 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.160 look what Jesus says in response. He says, neither this 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:35.080 man nor his parents sinned, but this happens so that 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:39.400 the works of God might be displayed in him. They're 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:42.640 looking at a situation and they're asking why why is 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.520 this happening? And it's one thing to look at situations 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.200 in our life and wonder Why, God, Why am I 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:49.520 going through this divorce? 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:49.800 God? 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:53.000 Why am I spiraling into this addiction again? God? Why 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:55.400 am I being buried alive by shame again? It's one 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:57.520 thing to look at situations in our life and ask 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:01.720 why is this happening? But Jesus redirects their question with 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.960 their answer, and he doesn't necessarily say what caused it, 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.000 but he answers why as and what is the purpose 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.880 of what they're going through? He said, forget about what 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:12.920 caused this man to be born blind. I want to 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.440 show you what's going to happen as a result of 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:19.199 his condition. This happens so that the works of God 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:22.080 might be displayed in him. In other words, that if 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.440 I can reframe my belief system to recognize God that 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.480 all things are working together for my good. When I 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.240 find myself in a situation saying I don't know how 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.160 I got here, I can change my question to say, God, 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:36.880 even though I don't know what got me into this situation, 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.680 I know that there's something you are doing in me 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.920 and through me, and through what I'm facing, You're going 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:47.600 to get glory. This happens so that the works of 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:52.880 God might be revealed in him. After saying this verse six, Jesus, 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:55.600 he spit on the ground. He made some mud with 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.160 the saliva, and he put it on the man's eyes. Go, 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:02.120 he told them, wash in the pool of Siloam. This 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.360 word means scent. The scent one is sending him to 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:08.640 a pool called send. So the man went and washed 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:13.040 and came home seeing. Talk about blind faith for just 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:17.480 a moment, the ability to move in obedience even when 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:21.160 you don't have all the answers. Remember, this man has 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.080 never seen Jesus. In fact, when Jesus said go wash 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.680 in the pool, he didn't tell Jesus, go and wash 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.680 and you'll be healed. He gave him no information. Can 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:33.960 you imagine sitting there hearing people talking about you in 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.600 the background. Next thing you know, your eyes are getting 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.360 slapped with some mud, and you heard a spitting sound, 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.640 and now there's something goofy on your eyes, and you're 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.000 going wait a second, and then the man says, go 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.720 and wash, And it says that he went and he 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.600 came home seeing. Blind faith is the ability to move 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:57.200 in obedience on nothing but a word from Jesus. Some 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.840 of us are stuck in the circumstances we find ourselves 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:03.000 in today because we need too many answers before we'll 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:06.360 move in obedience. Some of us stay trapped in the 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:08.240 place we are and we're praying God get me out 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:10.440 of this situation. And God saying, I gave you in 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:12.760 an instruction, but you needed to know a B. C. 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:16.640 D If then when And God is looking for people 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:19.720 who have blind faith, faith enough to trust in his 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.480 voice and not all the answers. So this man goes 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:27.240 to the pool, he washes, and he came home seeing 0:15:27.520 --> 0:15:30.080 Can you imagine he's walking back to his village, seeing 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.880 mountains for the first time, seeing the blue sky for 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:36.040 the first time, seeing his parents for the first time. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.560 And it says this His neighbors and those who had 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:40.840 formerly seen him begging ask him, is this the same 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:44.040 man who used to sit and beg Some claimed he was, 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.000 others said no, he only looks like him. They don't know, 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.200 But he himself insisted, I am the man. How then 0:15:50.240 --> 0:15:53.280 were your eyes open? They asked. The man they called 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.200 Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. 0:15:57.240 --> 0:15:59.640 He told me to go to saloam and wash. So 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:05.760 I went and washed, and then I could see. So 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.080 they bring him to the Pharisees Verse thirteen. The man 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:10.760 who had they bring the man who had been blind 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.120 to the Pharisees. Now, the day on which Jesus had 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:15.440 made the mud and opened up the man's eyes was 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:18.960 a sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.800 had received a sight. He's given the same testimony over 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:23.880 and over again. He put mud on my eyes, the 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:27.280 man replied, and I washed, and now I see. And 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.080 the Pharisees start going back and forth. This man Jesus, 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.080 he can't be from God. He doesn't keep the sabbath, 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.280 but others are like. But how is he performing these signs? 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.040 So they're divided. They don't know. And then they turned 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.200 away again to the blind man. What do you have 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:42.600 to say about him? It was your eyes he opened, 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.200 and the man replied, this man is a prophet. They 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.600 still did not believe that he had been blind and 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:51.760 had received his sight, until they sent for the man's parents. 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.160 Is this your son? They've got questions? Is this the 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.120 one you say was born blind? How is it that 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:01.800 he can now see? Look at this. We know he 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:04.680 is our son. The parent's answer, And we know he 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:08.240 was born blind, But how he can see now or 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:11.320 who opened his eyes? We don't know touch your neighbors said, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:15.120 we don't know. Ask him. He's of age, he will 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.800 speak for himself. His parents said this because they were 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:23.280 afraid of the Jewish leaders who had already decided, who 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:28.159 had already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.679 the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. They 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.520 had already made up their mind. You ever been in 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.919 a situation where someone's asking you for advice and you 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:42.040 quickly get the sense they had already decided, you know, 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:43.880 should I break up with her? Should I keep seeing? 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.960 You're like, I've been telling you, this relationship's toxic. And 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.440 sometimes people are asking you questions because they just want 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:55.520 confirmation or proof in what they already believe. Right, there's 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.800 times in our marriage where we're arguing back and forth 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.280 about something. Instead of actually listening to understand my wife's 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:04.720 side of the story, I'm just listening for my next 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.879 argument to prove I was right. It's what the Pharisees 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.879 are doing in this story. They're asking questions, But if 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.440 we're honest, they're not actually curious, they're not actually trying 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:18.000 to understand they've already made up their mind about Jesus 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.080 that he isn't who he says he is, and they're 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.000 looking for reasons to trap him. So even though they're 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:25.480 asking questions, it's not the same type of questions that 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.640 the disciples are asking. The disciples are asking because they're 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:32.199 seeking understanding. The Pharisees are asking because they have a 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.480 questioning spirit. They're just trying to prove what they've already 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:39.480 decided they believe verse twenty four. A second time, they 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.159 summon the man who had been blind give glory to 0:18:42.240 --> 0:18:45.640 God by telling the truth. They said, we know this 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:49.760 man is a sinner. Here's our key verse and he replied, 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:53.159 whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:57.000 one thing. I do know. I was blind, but now 0:18:57.480 --> 0:18:59.920 I see turn to your neighbors, say I don't know much, 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:07.480 but I know what he's done for me. This word 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.280 no that keeps showing up k n O W the 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.680 Bible uses translates different Greek words into this word no. 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.080 In this scripture, when the word no shows up, it's 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:21.600 referring to a to a head knowledge. It's it's the 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:24.000 type of knowing that you can that you can learn 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:28.520 right it's information. That's what the Pharisees possessed, maybe more 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.240 than anyone. Remember, their influence in that society at that 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.679 time didn't become wasn't because of a political affiliation, but 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:38.240 because of their authorities in the scriptures. They would memorize 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:41.720 the scripture, study the scriptures, study the Law of Moses. 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:44.920 Their authority was based on what they on, what they knew. 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.000 But it was a knowledge that came simply through learning. Now, 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:50.240 of course learning is good. I want my pilots to learn, 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.720 I want my doctors to learn. Learning is good. But 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:58.159 but their level of knowledge was solely connected to what 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:02.280 they had learned. When the man says, I don't know 0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:04.600 whether he's a sinner or not. Can you imagine you're 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:08.399 a beggar going toe to toe with the theological experts 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:11.200 of your day and they're trying to get him to debate, 0:20:11.320 --> 0:20:13.480 what do you say about Jesus? What do you think 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:15.879 about the Messiah? And he's like, yo, this isn't my 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.680 area of expertise, this is this is your category. So 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:21.119 he has the humility to say, hey, I don't know. 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:23.080 I don't know. I didn't learn all that. I didn't 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:24.600 go to school like you did. I don't know. I 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:28.200 don't know, but one thing I do know. One thing 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:31.760 I do know, he referred. He begins to reference what 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:37.640 he personally experienced. I was blind, but now I see. 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:40.679 Other times in scripture, there's another word for knowing, like 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:44.040 in Philippians three ten, where Paul says, my one purpose, 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.280 my one aim is that I would know Christ, or 0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:49.680 when Jesus prayed for us as believers, that we would 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.399 know the Father. It's not the type of knowing that 0:20:52.400 --> 0:20:55.240 comes from learning. It's a It's a word that speaks 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:59.120 to relationship. It's the way a father knows a son, 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:01.520