The Man Born Blind

Setting the Scene: John 9

John chapter 9 is the passage I found myself reading over and over this week. Let's read the first seven verses together so we're all on the same page:

Now, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,' which is translated Sent. So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

The Context: Jesus Just Escaped Being Stoned

Just before this, in chapter 8, Jesus is walking through a crowd of people who want to stone him. Why? Because he has just declared, "Before Abraham was, I am." Jesus has effectively said, "I am God. I am the Yahweh of the Bible you've read about — I am that very one." They pick up stones to stone him, and Scripture says he passed by.

Then in chapter 9 verse 1, staying with the flow of the text, "Now Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth."

No Time for Time-Out

The first thing I notice: they've just tried to stone Jesus. Yet Jesus gives us a picture of calmness — a man under pressure who didn't show fear. He didn't take time out. He didn't press reset.

When we hit trouble, the first thing we usually do is press pause and say, "I'm having some time out." We always take a step back. But in this season — in the context of the revamp we're walking through — it's not time for time out. It's time to push again.

The kingdom of God is forcefully advancing. Let's go take it. Let's do what God has called us to do. Why? Because, as James says, life is just a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. We're here for such a short space of time — while we have it, let's give everything we can.

Less Can Be More

This isn't a push to do more and more. Sometimes less is more. Some people busy themselves trying to do everything, when actually if they just focused on one thing, they wouldn't do as much, but they'd be far more fruitful.

So it's not always about more time, more giving, more this, more that. What we are saying is: let's focus.

One Mind, One Vision

In Nehemiah, when they built the wall, the people were of one mind. They had a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They were ready to defend themselves, but they worked as they went. They had one mind — and that is so important.

We are united with one goal, one vision. The Bible puts it like this: one Lord, one Spirit, one baptism, one Jesus. Unity in the body of Christ is the one thing the enemy comes to destroy. That's why Psalm 133 says how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity.

The Enemy Attacks Your Future, Not Your Past

When Jesus was attacked, he didn't take time out. He didn't come in shaking or fearful. He was just a picture of calmness. He continued. I know he's God, so of course he continues better than we could — but that same Spirit lives in each of us.

Here's the truth: the enemy attacks not because of your past but due to your future.

Consider the biblical pattern:

• Moses — as a baby, they wanted to throw all the young Hebrew boys into the Nile. Why? Because God was going to use Moses to liberate Israel.
• Jesus — King Herod ordered all boys under two to be murdered. Why? Because the enemy wanted to strike ahead of time.

The enemy is fighting your future, not your past.

Enemies Create Movement

As someone once said: friends create comfort, but enemies create movement.

David wasn't promoted by a group of friends. He was promoted by an enemy — Goliath, that giant, that mountain of a man. Dealing with Goliath was what promoted David. Whenever God wants to take a person, a church, a movement to the next level, he schedules a giant to come into the picture.

As I spoke a few weeks back, the season we've been going through — 18 months, two years — has been a real hard shift. But this is why I believe with all my heart we're going to see such great fruit. That giant, that enemy, that season was there because of what is coming now. I believe this year we are going to see great growth in LBC Birmingham. You can return to this video at the end of the year and check me on it.

Keep Fighting

Every one of us goes through times where we have to choose: will I fight and go through? A lot of times it's only by the grace and mercy of God that we continue on. If it was down to us, we'd stay sitting down. Sometimes we do — we put our heads between our legs. And somehow God holds us. Then come the spurts of "No, let's fight, let's go." We're like yo-yos — but we're still standing.

As I preached two weeks ago: if you're still in the room, you're on fire. You're still fighting. Keep fighting. Don't stop. The enemy wants to stop you because he's attacking your future — the future of this church, of this movement.

Discussion vs. Action

Verse 2: "His disciples asked him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'"

Notice — the first thing they do isn't, "How can we help?" The first thing they do is discuss the puzzle. How did he get like that?

We do that. Take the ceiling leaking — I stood at the back with about four or five blokes, and we just looked up: "How did that happen?" Two weeks later, we looked again: "How did that happen?" People stand around and talk and don't move forward.

Study and Action

Don't hear me wrong. There is nothing wrong with gathering, debating, and searching the Scriptures. The Bereans did it — they were called more noble-minded than those around them. We are to study and show ourselves approved. We are to dive into the Word.

But sometimes what is needed is action as well. There was nothing wrong with the disciples asking, "Who sinned?" — but it shows where their priority was. Not "How can we help this man?" Their first port of call was theological.

My Only Agenda

1 Corinthians 2:4 says:

My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

There is a time to talk and a time for action. Paul said, "I'm not coming with wise and persuasive words." And today, I'm not either.

My agenda is straightforward:

• For the body of Christ — that you stand up, be equipped, filled up, and sent out. That you come more full than when you go home.
• For the non-believer or first-time visitor — no hidden agenda. I want you to know Jesus. Paul said the same to King Agrippa: "My only agenda is that you would be saved."
• For those who have been in church for years but whose lives look nothing like what Scripture describes — my agenda is to challenge you to change that. Why play with eternity?

Salvation Is More Than a One-Time Prayer

Nobody is saved by a one-time prayer. I don't believe that. I believe salvation is about obedience and following. Repentance is a change of action: "I'm putting that behind me. I'm walking this direction."

Yes, I always do an altar call — I want to give people the opportunity to start that moment. But an altar call didn't save anyone. What saves is a heart that turns to Christ and doesn't leave Christ the next day.

You don't get saved by praying an emotional prayer, then walking away and reverting back to: "No, no, I'm saved. April 17th, Sunday morning, 9:30, I prayed a prayer in Birmingham." That doesn't save anyone. Jesus said, "If you love me, you'll follow me. You'll obey me."

I cannot judge anyone's heart, but I have to say it out loud so that you examine your own heart. Ask, "God, are we on the same page?" Every one of us could say, "I could change this or that." We know it's the grace of God. We know it's a gift. And a gift is free — you do nothing to earn it. But you do choose to keep the gift. You could give it away. You could lose it. Analogies sound good, but do they stand up to Scripture?

On "Once Saved, Always Saved"

In time, I want to look at eternal security versus the idea that a person can lose their salvation. I don't think it's a subject we need to divide over. Technically, 99% of us believe the same thing, just expressed differently.

There are two extremes:

1. "If you can't lose your salvation, you could give your life to Jesus on Sunday and then walk away and do whatever you want."
2. "I gave my life to Jesus, but I've lost it because I swore this morning, so I need to repent again."

99% of Christians are somewhere in the middle. If someone appears to lose their salvation, some would say they were never truly saved. But what about the brother you've known for years, serving and loving God, who suddenly denies Christ altogether? We're working out our salvation — past, present, and future.

Honestly, 99% of you don't need to worry about this question. If you love Jesus, just keep loving him.

A Teachable Church

We can sit down, talk, and do Bible study. We may differ on certain things — and I don't think that's a weakness. I think it will be our strength, as long as we all remain teachable. Me included.

If we agreed on everything, you'd just be yes-people. There'd be no strength in the church, because if I fell, everyone who put me on a pedestal would fall with me. If your home group leader becomes the gospel for you, the moment they slip up, everything shakes.

The enemy always comes for shepherds — because if he can hit the shepherd, he'll scatter the sheep. But the sheep must stand. We must know the Word ourselves.

Unlearning Some Things

There are some things in church we need to unlearn. There's a website called "Unlearn the Lies." I don't agree with everything on it, but some things I read and go, "Yeah — I was taught that in church, but where is that in Scripture?" Something can sound so good and feel so real, and yet Scripture doesn't actually confirm it.

To unlearn something is really difficult — your mind resists. But we have to be willing.

The Non-Negotiables

Whichever theological camp you sit in, you don't need to fear if you love Jesus and run after him. That's why we should be able to talk without falling out.

We won't be a church that only touches on things that keep everyone happy just to grow faster. We're going to grow healthfully — and that means touching on every subject. Be ready to talk back. Be ready to speak up in your home groups and Bible studies. You don't have to agree with everything, but we all have to remain teachable — myself and every leader included. Nobody in this room knows everything.

Some people think they do, and at the first disagreement they'll throw their dummy out the pram and leave the church. Facebook gets it: "That's it. You're a false prophet." I want to be a mature church that says, "I may disagree, but iron sharpens iron. Let's keep the conversation going."

But hear me clearly: if I ever preach another Jesus or another way to heaven, run from this church. Don't talk to me about it. Don't discuss it. If I give you another gospel, get out of this place — it's not a church. Some things you cannot move on. But other things — let's discuss and walk forward together.

Who Sinned? Understanding the Question

Verse 3: "Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.'"

My first thought reading this: how could the disciples suggest this man sinned to cause his own blindness at birth? So I looked into the common thinking of that time.

In ancient biblical times — and still today in part — people believed sickness, disease, deformity, and suffering were due to sin, either from the parents or the person themselves. Exodus 20:5 speaks of generational consequences, so there was a strong Jewish thought that if you were blind, it was because you or your parents had sinned.

Other beliefs at the time included:

• Reincarnation — the pre-existence of souls that could sin before birth (held by a sect of Jews).
• Foreknown future sin — punishment for a sin the person would commit later in life.
• Sin in the womb — the belief that a baby could sin before being born.

A Word on Life in the Womb

That last one really speaks into the abortion conversation. The Jews believed life began in the womb. For them, abortion would be nothing less than murder. For the Christian on the same page, life begins at conception.

That may be a topic we disagree on in this room. But that's exactly the kind of topic we need to be open to talk about. We live in a world where everything is acceptable and no one can be offended. But God has a standard, and we should hold it up — with love and compassion, because there will be people in this room who have walked through the awful weight of that decision.

Some rabbis interpreted Jacob and Esau struggling in the womb as them literally trying to kill each other before birth. So this question — "Who sinned?" — actually isn't a dumb question in its context. There was reasoning behind it.

Jesus Redirects

Jesus simply cuts through it: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."

God can use all circumstances to reveal himself to the world. Jesus points away from the why and points toward what God can do. That should often be our posture too — point away from speculation and point onto Jesus.

The message isn't where suffering comes from, but what we're going to do with it. We don't need the homeless man's full backstory before we help. Maybe he's there so we can be the answer. As Spurgeon said, "It's not ours to speculate, but to perform acts of mercy and love according to the heart of the gospel."

Mercy, Wisdom, and Not Being a Doormat

There are times when it's important to get a backstory — don't get me wrong. But that can't be our default.

Honestly, I'm split 50/50 on just giving money. There's a lady at the traffic lights who begs every day. I drove past her on Friday and didn't have any money. She gave me loads of abuse. I told her to get a job — and immediately I thought, "Oh, what have I done?" She frustrated me because of the way she abused me.

I came away asking, "Lord, should I give, or should I speculate?" If you don't give, you get a mouthful — which makes me not want to give. But do I give just to be right?

I also don't think we should be doormats. I don't want to create soldiers of wet wipes. We want strong soldiers who don't let the world push us around — because if the world pushes us on the little things, imagine what happens when the big things come.

And yet — as we point one finger, three point back at us. If you're in this room going, "Yeah, preach it pastor, tell her to get a job," I hope you're doing everything you can too. One person might beg on the corner; another sits at home with their feet up and begs a different way. The measure we use for others is the measure we must use for ourselves.

That doesn't mean everyone on benefits is begging — I'm not saying that. But if you've been on benefits for years because you refuse to work, then yes, it's the same thing in a different form. These are the conversations we need to have.

Holding Up the Mirror of Scripture

We need to hold a mirror up to ourselves, with Scripture as the reflection. It's not easy to say things that might split a congregation. It's not easy to preach and hope, "I hope they took that well today." But that's how we become strong and mature.

Some messages will encourage you all the way through. Others will be hard. We need both. But the most important messages are the ones you're giving yourself — not just what you get on a Sunday. What standard are you living by? Let the Word of God be your standard.

The Times Are Coming

We're probably all on the same page — this world is going to pot. When you read Scripture, it feels like reading today's newspaper. We can debate the end times — pre-trib, post-trib, mid-trib, rapture, no rapture. But one thing is sure: difficult times are coming, and the church needs to stand up.

You will not be strong on one sermon a week. You'll be strong because you put yourself into the Word, you studied the Scriptures, you asked the hard questions, and you said, "The standard I'm living by is the Word of God."

"I Must" — The Urgency of Jesus

Verse 4: "I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work."

Jesus knew there was an urgency.

Verse 5: "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turns this on us: "You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth." That's who we are, church.

Go through John — chapters 6, 8, 10, 12, 17 — and you keep hearing it: "The Father sent me. I must do what he told me." "I must." That's the urgency we need. That's the DNA we need.

Remember Blackpool rock? Snap it in half and it says "Blackpool" all the way through. When you snap us in half, it should read: "I must. I must. I must."

The Method of the Miracle

Verse 6: "When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, and made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay."

I've said before: some people miss their miracle because they're picky about the method. Imagine this method!

But interestingly, saliva was believed to have medicinal properties in the ancient Mediterranean world. There was even something called "fasting spittle" — spit before eating — used for warts, boils, snake bites, and wounds. For the people of Jesus' day, this wasn't as strange as it sounds to us.

Why So Many Different Methods?

I asked God, "Why so many different ways of healing?"

• "Go wash in the pool of Siloam."
• "Open your eyes."
• The man who looked up and saw people like trees — Jesus touched him again.
• The woman who bled for 12 years and touched the hem of his garment.

So many stories, all different. This is my sense — I can't say "God said" — but I believe God never gave one specific method because if he did, we would chase the method instead of him. We'd turn it into religion. It would become superstitious.

Instead, the variety points our eyes onto the power of God, not a formula. And that's where our eyes need to be — on Jesus.

Passion and Compassion

Notice this: the blind man never went to Jesus, but Jesus went to the blind man. And it was on the Sabbath — Jesus knew healing on the Sabbath would provoke even more attempts on his life. But it didn't stop him.

There are two key elements for longevity in service:

1. Passion — passion for the gospel.
2. Compassion — compassion for the people.

You need both. Jesus showed both in this story. And it's our job now to continue the work.

Sent — And Coming Back Seeing

Verse 7: "And he said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,' which is translated Sent. So he went and washed, and came back seeing."

Picture a conduit — a funnel underground carrying water through. Sent. Christ was sent into this world to heal the blind, both spiritually and physically. He tells this man, "Go, wash," and the man comes back seeing.

That's the message of the gospel. We go out, we share the good news of Jesus, and hopefully people come back seeing.

You Either See or You Don't

When Jesus touches someone, they don't become half-blind. They either see or they don't. And in the same way, as Christians, we either see or we don't. We cannot wear both jerseys. You cannot wear the jersey of the world and the jersey of Christ — because you'll get shot from both sides. The church shoots you, the world shoots you.

Pick a side and run with it. And I hope you pick the right side.

You Stand Alone Before Christ

One day this will all be over, and we will stand before Jesus. It won't be about the sins of our fathers — it will be about us.

Ezekiel 18:19–20 shows that we don't stand accountable for our father's sins. Your father's sins can influence and set a direction over your life, but you don't answer for someone else's life. You answer for your own.

When you stand before Christ, it will be you and him. Not you and your neighbour. Not you and your pastor. Not you and your grandma. Just you and Christ.

Faith Plus Action

This story is another picture of the glory of God, the mercy of God, the compassion of Christ.

The blind man probably had a hundred reasons not to walk down to the pool of Siloam. But he didn't listen to them. He took the word and moved with obedience. He put faith and action together, and went for it.

As we move forward, let us be that kind of people — faith and action together.

We are going to have difficult conversations. But it shouldn't feel like a big deal — it should be natural:

• We can talk about anything together.
• Nothing's off limits.
• Don't get offended when a controversial thing is brought up.
• Be ready to grow.
• Be ready to give input — "This is what I think the Bible says."

Notice the key: "This is what I think the Bible says." Not "This is what I believe" or "This is how I feel," but "What is Scripture saying?"

Don't Move the Bible With the World

The Word of God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's not changing. The world has changed, and all too often we've tried to move the Bible with the world. As we do, errors creep in.

Then anyone trying to stay close to Scripture gets labelled "an extreme Christian." No — just a Christian. As the church moves with the world, those trying their utmost to stay near the Word start looking more and more like extremists. And actually, they're not. They're just Christians.

I'm trying my utmost, and I'm sure I'll get some things wrong. But if people call us extremists, don't take it as a negative. Take it as a sign you're looking more like what God said: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Unashamed

Don't be ashamed of holiness. Don't be ashamed of putting Christ first — in your college lecture, at your work, in your family. We are unashamed of the gospel.

Let's be a people unashamed as we move into the rest of this year. Let's take ground from here to the coast, into Europe, into the world. But for us, it's right here, right now. Birmingham.

Birmingham doesn't need a watered-down gospel that's easier to accept. Birmingham needs the real gospel. It just needs to be sent out. And the Word of God never returns void. We send it out, and we trust God with the rest.

Amen.