The Light That Gives Sight AND Blinds: A Sermon on John 9

Catherine having her feet kissed by Noah and Christopher the day I preached at Bethel Owasso.

On Sunday, August 26, 2012 I had the opportunity to preach a sermon on the Gospel of John, chapter 9. It is the story of the healing of the blind man, and the ensuing debate that followed.

I believe it was one of the most important messages I have ever given in all the times I have been in the pulpit.

I spoke about the importance of the question that the disciples asked Jesus concerning WHY the man was born blind. I said that it is a question that does not escape parents of children with disabilities--that it can be taken as a cruel question--but that it is one that Jesus needed to answer the way that he did.

Ultimately the sermon is about God using a disability for the sake of the gospel. He can do that whether healing takes place (as in the case of this blind man) or not (as in the case of the Apostle Paul who struggled with a thorn in the flesh). God will use disabilities for His glory, so that our boast will be in Christ alone, not in ourselves. The Pharisees, on the other hand, chose deliberate blindness in their disbelief. This passage calls us to a decision when we encounter Jesus that does not allow us to remain neutral. We must choose to walk toward the light, or risk becoming blind.

Therefore, just as the blind man was an illustration of the need for the light of the gospel, so having people with disabilities among us in our churches is a reminder of our own disability before we come to know Jesus Christ--before God enables us to believe with the effectual call of the Holy Spirit in the gospel. Before that, we are unable to believe. But we come to believe when the Holy Spirit calls us in and through the gospel. Therefore, we need people with disabilities in our congregations to remind us of this deep spiritual truth. But sadly, many churches are conspicuously empty of people with disabilities. This needs to change. The church needs to be ministering to them.

You can hear the sermon on sermonaudio.com. I am posting the link here:
Gregory Yankey: The Light That Gives Sight AND Blinds (John 9)

Please consider listening to it.