(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. Let's sing it up. I know now it teaches great things for your spirit. We play these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Make it seated. Thank you. Our next hymn is hymn number 328. But it was one of my favorites in my 20s. 328, I Want That Mountain. Does anyone know this one? I Want That Mountain. A couple of hands, praise God, I Want That Mountain. What we'll do, Matthew, if you can just play through one stanza for us, you should have it there. 328, I Want That Mountain, just so you can know the tune and then we'll sing it together, 328. ["I Want That Mountain"] I want that mountain where it belongs to me. I want that mountain. ["I Want That Mountain"] All right, thank you, brother. All right, I Want That Mountain. Does anyone know who said these words in the Bible? Or something along the, sorry? Not thinking of Caleb, maybe he said the words, I'm not sure, but that's not the one that's referred to in this, was it him? It was Joshua, Joshua. So, you know, as you've seen there, many times it says in the third line, it says, no longer in the wilderness, I will stay. So this is about Israel, of course, they were in the wilderness and then they were to go into the Promised Land. And when Joshua leads the Israelites into the Promised Land, there are certain cities that he's gotta conquer and they're in the mountainous areas and, you know, he says to the Lord, not in these words exactly, but it says something like, give me the mountain. And he's saying, give me victory over, you know, the high places and these powerful cities that are on these mountains. And so the author of this hymn took that idea and obviously we're not conquering cities as it were, but there are giants in our life that may stop us from serving the Lord the way we ought to. And, you know, we want the heights, we want that spiritual high, we want the victories, we want that mountain. So that's what this hymn is all about. 328, let's see how we go. 328, I Want That Mountain. Survive. I saw the giant of rarelessness upon the mountain high. He laughed so hard at my unbend Knee. No longer in a wilderness I'll say and so I cry. I want that mountain, it belongs to me. I want that mountain, I want that mountain. Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of their scope grow I want that mountain, I want that mountain The mountain that my Lord has given me There was a giant old lady nurse who said I couldn't go And witnessed for the one who set me free Oh, come from out the wilderness, I'll witness now I know I want that mountain, it belongs to me I want that mountain, I want that mountain Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of their scope grow I want that mountain, I want that mountain The mountain that my Lord has given me One hapless giant upon the crest of Giron's lofty height As thou that is the one to make me free lady Oh, come from out the wilderness, I'll witness now I know I want that mountain, it belongs to me I want that mountain, I want that mountain Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of their scope grow I want that mountain, I want that mountain The mountain that my Lord has given me Oh, we're up to number four, let's do an acapella, ready? Let every giant of stress and unbelief and sin Get ready now to vacate for you see I've come from out the wilderness, I know I'm going to win I want that mountain, it belongs to me I want that mountain, I want that mountain Where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of their scope grow I want that mountain, I want that mountain The mountain that my Lord has given me So Moses sends out the spies and they come back, it's a land of milk and honey and they find these great grapes from Eshkol and they carry them to prove that the land is a very fruitful land and of course, it's a great hymn, it's about us having spiritual victory the promised land, the victorious Christian life in this life Alright, let's do one more hymn before we have the Bible reading 312, 312, open my eyes that I may see 312, open my eyes that I may see Open my eyes that I may see Glimpses of truth thou hast to be Facing thy hands, O earth of looking That shall unpass and set me free Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God, thy will to see Open my eyes, iller than me Spirit divine Open my ears that I may hear Voices of joy thou sendest me And all the rain does fall on my ear Everything caused shall disappear Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God, thy will to see Open my ears, iller than me Spirit divine Open my mouth and let me bear That we could walk to let me win Open my heart and let me prepare Love with thy temper and lust to share Silently now I wait for thee Ready my God, thy will to see Open my eyes, iller than me Spirit divine John chapter 9 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came singing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he, others said, He is like him, but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash. And I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind, and it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? There was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him that hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked him, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents answered them, and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But by what means he now seeth, we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him. Then again they called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise, we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did heed to thee? How opened heed thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses, As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why hearing is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began, was it not heard, that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind? If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin. But now ye say, We see, therefore your sin remaineth. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to thank you for this chapter, Lord, in the Bible. I just pray that you fill Pastor Kevin with the Holy Ghost as he comes up to preach your word and expound on it. I just pray that you open up our hearts and our ears to receive and to learn from it. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks, brother. Alright, thanks for that reading. I just want to thank brother Jason and brother Matthew for preaching on Sunday. I'm halfway through Jason's sermon and I've got to get to Matthew's sermon, but I hear positive things about those two sermons, so I appreciate the men willing to step up and preach for us. I'm a little bit tired, if you guys just keep me in prayer. So obviously you guys know last Wednesday I preached for you guys, then I went to Sydney on Thursday, preached for Blessed Up Baptist Church, then on Friday I conducted a wedding ceremony for some members there, and then on Saturday I flew back here to do some things that I needed to get done with the family, then Saturday night flew back to Sydney, obviously the church there on Sunday, plus some baptisms, then came back here, and then Monday and Tuesday, doing the cleaning business, cleaning work, and then Wednesday, pretty much, this is a short period of time just to prepare the sermon today, and then I got a phone call, my previous employers want me to work for them, so I've got some work to do for them tomorrow morning, so if you guys can just pray for me, it's just nonstop now. I mean it's good, I praise God that he's given me work and different sources of income to make sure I'm provided for, I've always known the Lord will come through and make sure that the work comes through, the income comes through, so if you could just keep me in prayer just for the energy, the energy levels to get through the sermon today. Alright, so we're there in John chapter 9 and verse number 25, it says, He answered and said, whether he be a sinner or a knoll, I know not, one thing I know that, whereas I was blind, now I see. We've got a title of the sermon after that, I was blind, now I see, and the whole chapter is about this blind man, right, he's been blind from birth, Jesus Christ heals him, he can see, and then later on you see that he believes in Jesus Christ. But before I get into this chapter, there was one thing that I wanted to speak about last week in John chapter 8, that I kind of brought up at the beginning and then I kind of completely forgot to bring it up again, and we're talking about the woman caught in adultery and how Jesus Christ was put in a hard place, whether he was going to uphold the laws of Moses, which of course required the death penalty, or be subjective under the law of the Romans who did not allow the Jews to put someone to death during that time period. And I had shown you that the law to put adultery to death came from Leviticus, and I read this verse to you from Leviticus as well, and I said I was going to explain it, but I kind of didn't get to it. So Leviticus chapter 20 verse 11, and it says there, And so if a man takes his father's wife, he is also to face the death penalty. And we're talking about, you know, well what happens if our laws and our governments are not put into practice God's laws? Do we take vigilante behaviour? And we saw by the example of Christ that he did not take vigilante behaviour with the woman caught in adultery. In fact he upheld the laws of Moses, he that is without sin cast the first stone, but there was no one there without sin. And so Jesus Christ is teaching us great truths there, not to take vigilante behaviour, but the reason I read Leviticus chapter 20 verse 11 is because in the New Testament we have this exact same sin, or crime if you will, take place within the church. And you guys are very familiar probably with this one, but it says in 1 Corinthians 5.1, Paul writes of the church, Paul says there is someone in your church, this is commonly reported, everybody knows about this, that someone is taking his father's wife. You know that could probably be a step-mother or something like that, right? And you know we see in the book of Leviticus, God's laws is that this man is to be put to death. So does Paul instruct the Corinthian church, alright guys, take him out of the building and stone him to death? No. Okay? That's not what Paul is instructing the church. And so even though we understand the laws of God and how God feels about things and the proper punishment for crimes which is to be carried out by the government, if the governments are not doing so, then we do not take vigilante behaviour. But what is the instruction if someone is in such weakness? In the church, well in verse 11 it says, And this is teaching us church discipline, you know. Putting away from you, amongst, amongst from you that wicked person because in that chapter it says that a little leaven can leaven the whole lump. You'll allow great weakness to take place in a sin, in a church, it's going to cause defilements of other people within the church. And so that's just to bring back, I completely forgot to mention that last week, it was a big chapter anyway, so you know, apologies for that. But you know we are, once again, we are not to take vigilante behaviour and some of these things that we see carried out in the law of Moses we can't do because our governments are not doing so, but there are certain crimes, there are certain weakness if they're taking place in the church that we have to take church discipline over, okay. We're not just to put up with every sin in the church, there are some sins that are so severe that that person needs to be removed from the congregation. Alright, let's get to John chapter 9 now. John chapter 9 verse number 1. And as Jesus passed by, you may recall they tried to stone him because he says that if you won't believe that I am he, you will die on your sins and he says look if you don't believe that I'm God, essentially from heaven, you're going to die on your sins and they try to stone him and somehow miraculously he got through them. So, you know, past these people in Jerusalem, so we continue that story. As Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. So this man is born with a birth defect. And it says, and his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither have this man sinned nor his parents. But the works of God should be made manifest in him. You know, sometimes the thought can be, especially amongst the charismatic, you know, the prosperity gospel types, that if you've got some type of sickness or problem in your life, then that's a result of your lack of faithfulness. Or, you know, your sin has caused that and you need deliverance by the Lord God in such a way. And so the question gets asked, this man's been born blind, who's sinned? I mean, what sin caused this to happen? The parents or him himself? Jesus says, neither the parents nor this man sinned. Now, of course, we need to keep things within context. It's not, Jesus Christ is not saying that they've never sinned. What he's saying is that, you know, no one has, you know, the result, the blindness is not a result of their personal sin. But rather, okay, that the works of God, the works of God should be manifest in him. Okay, so Christ is going to perform a great miracle and it's going to point people to Christ. People are going to be rejoicing at the fact that Christ can do these great miracles and it's going to point people to Jesus Christ. And so it's a wrong perspective to view birth defects or deformities as some type of punishment for sin. Now, I would say that all of it is a result of sin, a sin-cursed world. The reason our bodies break down is because they break down. You know, we're hopeful, we're looking forward to the new bodies to come, you know, at the resurrection. But, you know, if a child, you know, if you have a child one day and, you know, we're going through this right now because my wife's over 40 and, you know, she's pregnant. And as soon as you hit that age of 40, even if they don't detect any issues with a child, what do they say to you? High chance of Down syndrome. And then, well, okay, so who cares? So what? You know? Oh, because you might want to kill it. You might want to abort that child. You might want to murder that child then, you know, because there's a high chance. There's nothing wrong with a child so far that we can tell. It's just that, you know, being over a certain age, well, Down syndrome is a high chance. Well, so what if the baby's born with Down syndrome? I mean, it's not, you know, it's not something you want or hope for necessarily. Hey, but we see something that, you know what, this is the right perspective, I think. You know, if you ever have a child who is not completely healthy, right, has some type of defect, you know, I think that the approach ought to be to say that the works of God should be made manifest in him. You know, the child's been born this way so we can see the handiwork of God, so we can see God come through in a powerful way. And, you know, I'm reminded of a family down at Blessed or Baptist Church. You may recall during COVID, they had a baby and the baby lived for 24 hours and the baby perished. And it's so sad. It's such a sad time. I get sad just thinking about it right now. I don't want to think about it too much. And, you know, there are so many questions I get asked. Why, you know, why did the Lord allow this baby to come and this nine months and to live 24 hours and then just to perish? And, you know, what could have been done to change this? And, you know, who's to blame? Is it just the bodies? Is it the mothers? Is it the doctors? Could they have done more? And, you know, what I found just amazing, and it was just a sad period of time, but what I found amazing was that during the funeral service of that child, before that child was buried, you know, we had a funeral service. And, you know, the parents asked me, look, my family, our family is going to be here. They're not saved. And can you just give them the money? And, you know, and I was able to, you know, just thank God for the baby. And I said, look, we've only been given 24 hours to see this baby before he perished. But, you know, if you want to get to know this child even longer, if you want to see this child in heaven, you know, are you sure that you're going to be there? Are you sure you're going to see this child once again? And I was able to give them the gospel. And I can't remember how many people raised their hand if they had received Christ. And I asked them, hey, you know, if you believe this message, then why don't you call on the Lord right now and be sure of heaven? And we can't remember how many people put their hands up right now. And even the funeral director, who's like a Greek Orthodox, put his hand up, yep, you know, he said, yep, I received Christ. And he'd say, well, you know, he'd say, you know, Lord, why did you allow that child 24, just 24 hours? You know, the heartbroken, the heartbrokenness of the parents. And praise God, they were so happy. You know, the heartbrokenness of the parents. And praise God, they recently had a new baby recently as well. But you can see, hey, this child's life had a purpose. If not for this child, these people may never have come to know Christ as Saviour. And so I think, you know, we need to just accept that there's pain and suffering and there's hurt in this world, there's defects and deformities, things that we can't necessarily appreciate in this time. But, you know, we, especially we as Christians, should just say, you know what, somehow God can come through and do a mighty work, you know, even through a child that might be defected. Let's keep going there, verse number four. Christ says, I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. So he takes this idea of this man being blind and he can't see light, but Christ is the light of this world. He says, look, I've got to get to work, I've got to get busy because the night is coming. You know, we saw last few chapters that Christ has six months left in his ministry before he's crucified. I mean, night is fast approaching, all right, and we kind of see this urgency within Christ Jesus. I've got to get busy, guys. Well, you know, there's six months left to go in this ministry. We've got to get busy because night is coming when no man works. And this reminds me of a passage, if you want to turn there, keep your finger there and come with me to Romans 13. This was a passage that really kicked me in the gut when I was kind of just taking it easy as a Christian. Again, my life changed significantly in my 20s when I started to get really on fire. I've always loved the Lord, I've always loved his word, but, you know, getting yourself into a good church, getting baptised, you know, it changes a lot of things, you know, your zeal and excitement for the Lord. And I just remember just reading this passage one day, I don't think it was a sermon, I think I just read it in the Bible, and it just hit me in the gut and I just thought, oh man, I've been sleeping this whole time. Like, it's daytime, you know, God's given me life but I'm just not serving him the way I ought to be serving him. It comes there in Romans 13, verse 11, and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The salvation is referring to the salvation of our bodies. You know, every day that comes by is a closer day of seeing Christ's return. But, brethren, we've been given today to work for him, to labour for him. You know, we also have limited time. We're not going to be amongst the unsaved forever. Okay, there are souls that are dying perishing, there are souls that died today on the Sunshine Coast that perished without Jesus Christ. You know, time is running out. And I remember just reading this and I go, I think I'm asleep. Like, God's given me life, he's given me the ability, but I think I'm asleep, Lord. I think I'm not serving you. I remember reading this passage and then it says in verse number 12, the night is far spent. The night's over. The day's at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light. And then it speaks about, you know, overcoming the works of the flesh. We won't go into all that. But I remember just thinking about this and go, man, you know, Lord, I'm so sorry I've been sleeping. You've given me life. It's daytime. I don't want to be working. I don't want to be serving you. Lord, you know, my life is not forever. And from that day forward, I just started getting busy for the Lord. You know, I'm not a perfect man, but I just started to take things a lot more serious. You know, sometimes when you're young, you think you've got forever, but really, you start to realise, wow, you know, even Jesus Christ, there was an urgency. I've got to get it done before the night comes. Let's go back to John chapter 9, verse number 6. Don't just say that, brother. Maybe some of you are asleep today. I don't know. Maybe, you know, you've got life and you've got the Word of God and you're saved, praise God, but you're not doing much for the Lord. Then just wake up. Wake up. Okay, wake up and serve the Lord with what you've got. Verse number 6. When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. How do you like that? Someone spits on the ground, mixes some dirt up and puts it on your eyes. Christ does this. It's such an interesting thing, you know. Like, we know that Christ can just speak the Word and this man can see. Like, we know that Christ can do amazing miracles, but the way He goes about this, and I'll give you my thoughts around this, okay. Obviously, when Christ does things like this, I think there is a greater truth, or a deeper spiritual truth that can come out of this. Okay, so Christ makes clay, spits on the ground, right, puts it on man's eyes. Verse number 7. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation, sent. He went His way therefore and washed and came seeing. What a process. Getting someone to spit in your eyes or your eyelids with some dirt and then you have to go to this Siloam, pool of Siloam and wash yourself and then you can see. Quite a process. Once again, because we know Christ can just speak the words and this man can be healed. Now, just one thing before I keep going here. One thing that I don't know if I've ever said this behind the pulpit, maybe I have, I don't know, but I know I've said it in conversations. You know, we have conversations and little Bible studies sometimes with different people and, you know, one thing that I've often said is because, well, I've said things like, you know, it seems like that whenever Christ does a healing, it's because someone's faith is in effect. Like Christ would often say, you know, your faith has made thee whole or something like that, quite often. The vast majority of the time anyway, when you're reading through the Gospels, Christ is healing people who have enacted their faith on Christ, okay. And I sort of took this thought that maybe every time someone gets healed that they've got faith on Christ. But this is one example where that doesn't fit. And again, I don't know if I've ever preached this behind the pulpit. I'm usually careful with what I preach behind the pulpit. But if I've said that, I was mistaken because one thing we see with this man, this man's not saved. Like even after he comes seen, he's still not a believer of Jesus Christ. And if you can just quickly look at verse number 35, because after this, verse number 35, it says, Jesus heard that they had cast him out, speaking of the same man, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Because I don't know who he is. I haven't believed on the Son of God. I don't know who, you know. So you can see he's not a believer yet. He's not saved, okay. But Christ has allowed him to see. And there's been this very convoluted process to be given this vision. I'll share with you in a moment what I believe this is all about. But let's keep going there. Verse number 8. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? So there are people around him that are going, Man, you've been blind your whole life. This is the same guy that's blind. And now he can see and begged? He's a beggar, right? Verse number 9. Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him, but he said, I am he. They're like, Is he? Is he an I? He goes, Yeah, it's me. You know, I was a blind beggar. But now I see. Verse number 10. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went and washed, and I received sight. So it just gives a true testimony of what took place. Alright, let me just try to bring out a spiritual lesson out of this and what I think is taking place. Again, this man can see. He was blind, he can see, but the man is not saved. He's not believed in Christ just yet. Okay, so what do we learn from here? Well, just some thoughts and, you know, we're seeing hymns like, you know, thou art the potter, I am the clay. And, you know, Isaiah 64 eight says, But now, O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and thou art our potter, and we are all the work of thy hand. You know, so I think what we're seeing here is that this clay is symbolic of us, where, you know, as we go through life and we interact with people, and, you know, our heart's desire is to get people saved, even if it's not official soul winning time, you know, if we get the opportunity, you know, the Lord is the potter, we are the clay, we're being molded in the hands of the Lord, and we see that the Lord is able to take just very little, you know, from the ground and some spit and some unreformed clay. Clay, it's not a vessel unto honor or anything great like that, but he's able to take something so minor and apply it to the eyes of the blind man, almost to picture or to help this man acknowledge you are blind. There's a blindness on you at this moment, and that clay upon the eyes is representative of that. And, you know, sometimes we go out there and we proclaim the truth of God's word, but we won't see somebody get saved immediately. Sometimes there are people that are so entrenched in their false religion or their false beliefs, okay, that we can see these people are spiritually blind, and we come along as this clay to show them, look, you're blind, you've been blinded, okay, you can't see the truth, you know, you're not saved, you know, you're not on the right path, you can't see, and yet he's not saved. And then not only the clay, but then the clay's not enough, now he's got to go and wash himself. I mean, that requires a bit of effort, right? You're asking him, now you've got to go and wash yourself before you can see in the pool of Siloam. And, you know, it's one thing for us to point out to people their blindness. It's another thing altogether for that person to acknowledge, yes, I've been deceived, yes, I'm blind. In fact, most people would rather remain in their blindness. It takes sometimes great effort. This is why, you know, we get mocked, oh, you guys are easy believers, yes, to believe in Christ is easy, but I've also said, I also believe in hard believers, not that believing in Christ is hard, but sometimes letting go of your faith or the false beliefs you had can be very hard for people. You know, you've got to acknowledge, you know what, I've been blind this whole time. I'm reminded of giving the gospel to my wife when we were dating. And, you know, I wasn't very refined, maybe I was just a bit of clay on the ground and spit, and I wasn't a very refined Christian, I didn't have a great plan of salvation, but, you know, before I could give Christina the gospel, I had to show her that the Jesus she believed in was not the right Jesus of Roman Catholic Church. That that Jesus was not a Jesus that gave her salvation by grace, but it was a salvation by works. And before she could understand, when I would say, you know, you've got to believe in Christ, she'd go, I do believe in Christ, you believe in the wrong Christ. And I had to show her, you're blind. You're blind. And I couldn't really give her the gospel properly because of her blindness. I had to kind of show her her blindness. And then at some point she had to realise, and as it were, wash herself, okay, not literally, and recognise, you know what, this Jesus, this Roman Catholic Church, this other Jesus, is not giving me salvation. This is not giving me satisfaction. This is not giving me everlasting life. This is not the answer. And now she can see. She can see that her false beliefs are not the way. Okay, not saved just yet. She's not put her faith on the right Jesus of the Bible, but she's recognised I was blind, you know, and it requires some self-effort to pull yourself out of that blindness. And I believe this is what we're seeing in the illustrations of this man seen. But again, he's not yet saved. Okay, so many times people are very receptive, ready to just hear the gospel, you know, you're given the truth and they're like, they're ready to go, and yes, I believe that. Sometimes a bit of work needs to be taking place. Sometimes you need to be, you show them the blindness and they need to recognise that they've been misguided and they've got to pull away from that, you know, and go wash themselves as they were, and now they're ready to believe on Jesus Christ. Let's keep going there, verse number 12. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. So where is Jesus, the one that healed you? He goes, I don't know. They brought to the Pharisees him that a full time was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. I want to stop there, it's Sabbath day, right? Saturday. So what did Jesus do? He just spat on the ground, made some clay, put on the guy's eyes, okay, on the Sabbath day. Now look how they respond, verse number 15. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes and I washed and I do see. Again, he's just telling the story once again. He put clay in my eyes, I washed myself, I now see. Now again, him going to wash himself requires effort, doesn't it? It requires some level of works. He's going out there and cleaning himself as it were. And this is again where we get these passages. Keep your finger there and come with me to John 6. I just want to read some passages to you and people get confused with these passages. Okay, John chapter 6, come with me to John 6, verse number 27. John 6, 27. It says, labor, you know labor is to put effort in, right? Labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life. They say, look, labor for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life. Labor, works, what? Which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father sealed. You see for some people, they do need to labor. This man did need to go to the pool of Siloam and be washed and put the effort in. And I'll just quickly read you some other passages. Hebrews 4-11, it says, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest. So before you can rest, we know that salvation is a rest, a rest from works. Some people have to labor to enter into that rest. They've got to put some effort in before they can rest in Christ Jesus. Let me read it fully. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. You see the laboring is to not follow the example of unbelief. Sometimes people need to break out of that unbelief or the wrong beliefs and that requires labor. That requires effort, right? And we have another passage in Luke 13, 23. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, strive, strive, efforts, strive to enter in at the straight gate. Why? For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able. We know that there's a straight gate, there's a narrow gate and there's a broad way where many are led unto destruction. Well, for those that are on the broad way, guess what? They've got to labor. They've got to pull themselves out of that broad way and find that straight gate. Hey, but once you find the straight gate, you enter in and it's rest. It's easy. Easy believers. But sometimes to get there requires a lot of effort. It's hard. And that's what I believe this represents. This man's not yet a believer, but he's had to realize that he's blind, which obviously is blind, okay? And see, okay, see that he's no longer blind before he can put his faith on Jesus Christ. Now, the example, another example that I'll give to you is some, you know, we have soul winning examples. I love soul winning because it gives great story illustrations, right? But there was one lady that I spoke to, this was down in Sydney way, and she was an ex-Jehovah witness. And, you know, when you get the option to give someone the gospel, you know, you guys know. It takes about 10, 15 minutes to give the gospel and, you know, don't want to over complicate things, but, you know, enough to give them a deep understanding and ask the right questions so they can respond and they've acknowledged what you've preached to be true. But this gospel presentation went for one hour, okay? And I don't normally recommend that you just stand there for an hour with someone. But this ex-Jehovah witness was so blind, okay? And, but I could also perceive that she was very sincere, okay? She wanted to know the truth, so I'm starting to give her the gospel and, you know, we're all sinners and, you know, Jehovah's Witnesses, JW's don't even believe Christ resurrected from the dead. They don't believe Jesus Christ is God, alright? I mean, there are so many issues with JW, Jehovah's Witnesses, right? And, like, you know, I start giving her the gospel and she'll have these questions. But they want questions to have an argument. I could perceive she was just sincere, okay? And you know what? It was a one hour discussion for the first 45 minutes. The only, I realized, look, I just can't give her the gospel. She's not going to get it. She's so blinded by JW doctrine, okay? But she wants to know, she wants to see, but she's so blinded that I've got to spend literally 45 minutes, what I took, you know? She's asking me questions. I'm just going to debunk every doctrine from soul sleep to the deity of Christ to the resurrection and to the new heavens and the new earth and, you know, the 144,000, all the things that JW's get caught up with, right? Question after question after question. And I'm just spending time just making her see how blind that she is and I'm given the answers from the word of God. And I can't even utilize that time to give her the gospel. I've just got to pull her out of that blindness, right? It's like that clay that's been put on her eyes. But now she's got to be the one that acknowledges, man, I've been misguided. I've been misled. I realize, you know, she's got to put the effort in to pull herself out of those false beliefs. And then she finally acknowledged, you know what? I've been deceived by the JW's. Once she could see that she was blind and she could see clearly, wow, how blind was I, she's still not saved. But she's been pulled out of that blindness. Now she can see. She's not yet saved though. Now that she's pulled out of the blindness, now that she sees, she saw that the JW's were just a false religion. She's like, what must I do to be saved? And now it's just a matter of giving her the gospel and she was ready to just believe in Christ. That's what I believe this story represents. Again, did she have to strive in this example? Yeah. She had to really deprogram her mind. You know, break out of it. Required great striving, great labor in her regard. Alright? Go and wash yourself in the pool of Siloam if she has to. You know? But she's still not saved. She's been pulled out. But now that she's been pulled out, she's now receptive. Receptive to hear the word of God. And so this is the situation we see this man. He can see, but he's not yet saved. He knows it's Jesus that healed him, but he really doesn't understand the full context of everything and who Christ is. Verse number 16, John 9 16. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not of God. Why? Because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. These guys are trying to once again say, Jesus Christ is not keeping the Sabbath. He's working too much. He just spat on the ground and put some of that on the guy's eyes. You know, honestly, these Pharisees are just, they're so caught up with man tradition, the traditions of men. They're making the traditions of men, the commandments of God. You really think that's what God meant when he says to keep the Sabbath? Don't spit on the ground and put some of that on someone's eyes? Listen, this man can see. This man's been, at least physically, he's doing better than he never has. Okay, what a miracle. I mean, shouldn't they be rejoicing a man who's never seen his whole life? What a miracle to be able to open his eyes and see. Amazing. Praise God for that. Ah, Jesus Christ is working on the Sabbath again. It shows you how wicked they are. Verse number 17, they say unto the blind man again, what sayest thou of him that he have opened thine eyes? So what do you reckon about, what do you think of Jesus? What do you have to say about him? He said, he's a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. They called the parents, hey parents, you come. We don't believe this guy, you know, this guy's been healed. You know, let's get the parents testimony of this. Verse number 19, and they asked him saying, is this your son who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but by what means he now seeth, we know not. So are they saved? The parents aren't saved either. They're like, we don't know. We know not. Or who have opened his eyes? We know not. He is of age, ask him, he shall speak of himself. Why are you asking us? Ask your son. He's old enough to answer the questions. Now I don't think these are very good parents. I really don't believe these are good parents. Don't forget, this is a blind beggar. He's a beggar. Why is he begging when he's got parents? I don't understand. Why aren't they taking care of him? I don't get it. And why are they throwing him under the bus? Ask him. And you soon see they are throwing him under the bus because they don't want to answer. They're being careful with their answer because if they answer in any regard, you know, thanking Jesus for what took place, they're at risk of being cast out of the synagogue. It keeps going there. Verse number 22, these words spake his parents. Why? Because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, he is of age, ask him. So they're saying look, they're like worried, we're going to get kicked out of the synagogue. You know, we don't want to praise this Jesus or thank him or anything like that or say he's even the Christ or anything like that. So ask our son. You know, we don't want to speak positively of Jesus in case we get cast out of the synagogue. So to me they appear as unsaved. Not that they're not declaring Christ and thanking. It's just that, it's just like they've been just extra careful not to be cast out. Don't forget the synagogue, we often think of synagogues today. Like when we were in the synagogues in the time of Jesus, we often associate it with synagogues today. Synagogues today is a place of worship. Of a false religion, mind you. But synagogues in the time of Jesus, yes they were used as a place of worship on the Sabbath. But the synagogues were mostly used for like a community centre. Like you might have community centres on the Sunshine Coast and churches might hire it for a playtime of worship. Maybe some weddings can take place or some people hire it for receptions or some people hire it for a gym or some type of exercise or activity or martial arts or something like that. It's a community centre. It's a place where I guess you come together with your friends, you meet the community etc. So being cast out of the synagogue has more to do with basically being just cast out of the community as it were. Than just missing out on church, if you want to consider it that way, on the Saturday. So they're worried that they're going to be basically rejects of the community if they cast out of the synagogue. Verse number 24. Then again called they the man that was blind and said unto him, give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner. So instead of praising, instead of thanking Jesus, instead of acknowledging Jesus, they're saying give God the praise. We know that this man, that's Jesus, is a sinner. Well Jesus is God. And this guy is giving God praise, he just doesn't recognise exactly that he's doing that. Verse number 25, he answered and said, whether he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know that whereas I was blind, now I see. All I can testify is I can see. All I can testify is I was blind and this is the best that it's ever been. You know, we're commanded to pray for our politicians. And it's hard to pray for our politicians, especially when they pass ungodly, unbiblical laws in our nation. What I would like to see in our politicians sometimes, you know, obviously we're not going to have independent fundamental Baptists, right? In government and our Prime Ministers are very unlikely going to be an IFB pastor or something like this, right? It's more likely it's going to be a charismatic or if there's any thought of God within that man. But one thing that I would like, and I do pray about this actually when it comes to our governments, is that I'm not expecting everybody to be saved, I'm not expecting our governments to be saved. And that would be wonderful if our politicians got saved, but that people could just recognise that God's way is the best way. Instead of passing laws that are dark and blind and causes harm to our nation, God, can you just see that the people in politics have a fear of God in them? Because, you know, generally speaking, people still acknowledge, even though they're not saved, even though it's hard for them to accept salvation by grace for faith alone, people generally view that there are good teachings and good morals in the Bible. This is why parents that would put their kids in a state school would often want their children to do scripture lessons or something like that. Because they want the good things, the good Bible moral truths, you know, the good ethics that offend the Bible to be in the hearts of their children. And so, you know, one thing I, at least I pray for the Lord is, Lord, if there's someone in politics that does not fear you, you know, can you please just displace them and put someone in there that has a fear of God? You know, that it was, you know, may have been blind, but he sees that God's ways are the best ways. He may not fully understand everything, he may not even be saved, but he acknowledged, look, it's better to see than to be blind. You know, kind of the attitude, you know, about Jesus, whether he be a sinner or not, I don't know, but, you know, I was blind, but now I see. You know, having that attitude, at least, you know, I'm sure our nation would be in a better place if our politicians had that mindset. Verse number 31, I believe. No, I've lost my place, guys, so help me out. Oh, verse 126. Then said they to him again, what did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? Is this like the third time he's going to have to explain himself? Something like that, okay. He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear, wherefore ye would hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples? Like, why are you so interested in him? Like, why do you keep asking me? Do you want to be disciples also? Like the sarcasm kind of attitude, right? Verse number 28, then they reviled him and said thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. You know what this reminds me of? When we have doctrinal arguments, we don't see eye to eye, because that's when we follow Moses. What they're saying is we follow the scriptures. Moses wrote, you know, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. And sometimes, you know, you have two brothers in the Lord, and you probably love each other and all that, you know, and you just don't see eye to eye or something in the Bible and, you know, something that is not of utmost importance. Nothing worth breaking fellowship over, let's put it that way. And it's like, well, you know, I believe it because I believe the Bible. I believe the Bible. In other words, trying to imply that you don't believe the Bible. We believe Moses. To me, when that happens, when you're having a discussion with someone, and you're like, well, I just believe the Bible. To me, it's like, well, you lost now. You have acknowledged that you've lost. The only way for you to try to, you know, so-called win this is by claiming that the other person doesn't believe. No, we both believe. We both believe. You know, we're just trying, we're just both trying to come to an understanding. You know, and I guess, you know, the fact that we won't always come to the same understanding just demonstrates to us that we're still flesh. Flesh still gets in the way sometimes. One of us could be right, one of us could be wrong. We both could be wrong. That's a possibility as well. So let's not have this prideful attitude. Oh, you know, we're of the new IFB or something like this. You know, we just, we believe the Bible, the rest of you guys. You know, I don't like it. I don't know about you. I don't like that kind of attitude. Verse number 29. We know that God spake unto Moses, and for this fellow we know not from whence he is. Now let me just show you their contradiction here, okay? They're saying, we don't even know where this guy's from. This Jesus. We know where Moses, we know God sent Moses. We don't know where this Jesus is from. Well, just as a reminder, if you keep your finger there, but come to John chapter 7. Look what the unbelieving Jews are saying about Jesus here in John chapter 7, verse 27. So they're saying in chapter 9, we don't know where Jesus is from. He just came out of nowhere, this stranger, okay? But then in John chapter 7, verse 27, they're saying about Jesus, Howbeit we know this man whence he is, because we know where Jesus is from. But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. So they're saying, Jesus can't be the Christ, because when Christ comes, we won't know where he comes from. But we know where Jesus is from. But then in chapter 9, they're going, we don't know where Jesus is from. Like they can't even keep their doctrine, they can't keep their own ideas straight. They're just all over the place. It's hard to deny someone that was blind and now he can see. And you know, one of the key things that's going to strengthen you in your doctrines and Bible understanding, is just to try to stay consistent. And I'm not the champion of consistency, I know that. Because I still have the flesh. But one thing I really try is just try to be, like the things that are black and white, the fundamental doctrines of the faith, you know, things that you just see clearly in the scriptures, you know, for those doctrines, I just nail them in, they're unmovable. Now when it comes to other doctrines, my goal is that the other doctrines, secondary, tertiary doctrines that I believe, remain consistent with those things that are fundamental, you know, and clear and obvious that anybody can understand and see. That's my goal, is the consistency. These guys, they claim to follow Moses, they claim to believe in Moses, and the teachings of Moses, but they can't even figure out what they believe about Christ. Do we know where he's from or do we not know where he's from? Let's keep going there, verse number 30, John 9.30. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing? That ye know not from whence he is, and yet he opened mine eyes. He goes, well, this is marvellous, we didn't know where he's from, but hey, he did a miracle, he opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners, this is a true statement, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Because surely, if Jesus Christ can do these miracles, surely he's a worshipper of God, surely he does God's will, but that's why God heard him. That's why God answered this prayer, that did this miracle through the hands of Jesus. Verse number 32, since the word began, was it not heard, that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. He goes, I've never heard of this miracle before. Man, like he's excited what he's experienced. Verse number 33, if this man were not of God, he could do nothing. So he's speaking highly of Christ, again, he doesn't believe in Christ just yet, but he speaks highly, he's thankful for what Christ has done for him. Verse number 34, they answered and said unto him, thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us, and they cast him out. They cast him out of the synagogue, he's been kicked out. But look how they respond, was thou altogether born in sins? They're saying, look, the reason you teach us, he goes, the reason you were blind from birth because of your sins. Isn't that the attitude of these wicked people? What did Christ say? No, his parents never sinned, neither did he. The reason he's born blind is for the glory and the work of God. That they've got such a wicked attitude toward them. Who are you to tell us? I don't want to be that pastor, by the way, guys. I'm like, who are you? I mean, honestly, I think I'm nothing. I just think I'm a sinner saved by grace. I hope I can be some sort of clay, even if Christ could just spit on the ground and use me to help someone see clearly. I hope I can be used in that way. I'm happy for you guys to ask me questions or to challenge me if I've taught something that might not quite be right or whatever. I don't mind having discussions. I'm not going to kick you out of church for minor differences on issues. I don't want to be like these Pharisees. You can see these wicked leaders, the kind of actions they take. This man is just thankful. It's a miracle. Everyone should be rejoicing that this guy can now see. But he's kicked out, kicked out of the community, kicked out of the synagogue. Verse number 35, Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And again, it just shows you that sometimes, you know, people just aren't ready to believe immediately. They need to be shown they're blind. They need to come out. They need to see that they've been misled. They've been blind this whole time. But when they can be pulled out of that blindness, now they're ready. Well, who is he? How do I get saved? Who do I have to believe on? Like he's ready. He's ripe now. Ripe for salvation, isn't he? Verse number 37, and Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. Praise God. What a response. I believe and he worshipped me. I believe you're the Son of God. You know, I know it's got to be you. This is it. He's ready. He's just so ready. And so I want to be careful what I'm teaching here. I'm not saying go and just spend an hour at the door, because there is a lot of time that you can waste. There are people that are just trying to hold you up. They will never get saved. They're just trying to stop you from doing the work of God. But you've got to be able to perceive. Is this person's blind, but they're sincere. You know, they want to be pulled out of the blindness, and maybe sometimes it's okay, of course, to give them a little bit more time to pull them out of that darkness. You know, for them to put the effort in, to go and wash themselves as it were, and then following that, now they're ready, now they're receptive to believe in Christ. That's how easy it is, salvation. Because, yep, I'm He. I'm the One. Because I believe in you. That's salvation. That's it. That's how easy it is. Easy believers are right there. But it was a hard process to get to that point, wasn't it? For this man. But once he gets there, well, I just believe in Christ. Believe in the Son of God. Salvation. Praise God. Verse number 39. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and they which see might be made blind. Some people don't like this. Well, first of all, we like the first part. Christ has come, He's a judge. He's coming, hey, for some that are blind. He's coming to help those that are blind to see. But He goes, for those that see that they might be made blind. Did Jesus Christ come to blind some? Some people don't like this doctrine. Again, there are things that I've read in the Bible, just as a teenager, I'm like, wow, what is that teaching? And, you know, there are some people that are just never going to get saved. There are some people that become reprobates, and they lose their opportunity. Christ died for their sins, you know? But they've just rejected the Lord. They claim to see. They claim, the Pharisees, we're followers of Moses. We should know, if anybody knows what is the right thing, surely it's us. They can, apparently they can see, but we know they're very blind. And sometimes, the more you show the Bible to someone, the more blind they become, the more hardened they become. It's such a strange thing in life. Reverend, where am I up to? Sorry? And some of the Pharisees, which were with him, heard these words and said unto him, are we blind also? Like they realized Christ is talking about them. Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, if ye were blind, you should have no sin. But now ye say, we see, therefore your sin remaineth. So notice, they say they see, but because they think, you know, we've achieved the, we're definitely saved, we're definitely right with God, but they're rejecting Jesus all this way through, you know, they'd be made blind, as it were. So yeah, they are the ones that are blind. But Christ has come to give us vision. He's helped the blind to see. You know, what Christ is teaching here essentially is this, you know, for those that are ghost soul, and you guys have many experiences of this, I'm sure, you knock on someone's door and you ask them, you know, if you were to die today, would you be 100% sure you'd be going to heaven? Now, there are two kinds of responses that usually might come. Which of these two responses, I'll ask Brother Michael to give me the answer, but which of these two responses is, which of the person that gives this response, one of the responses, is more likely to get saved? The one that says, oh yeah, I know I'm saved, I know I'm going to heaven. Oh, why is that? Well, I've done all these great things. Or the one that says, are you sure you're going to heaven? Do you have any doubts? You know what, I think so, I hope so, but I just don't know. Which of those two responses is the one that's more likely to get saved, you reckon, Brother Michael? The second one, I hope so, I don't know. I'm doing the best I can, but I don't know. Because they're acknowledging that they're blind. They're acknowledging that they don't see clearly. Okay, there's a humility about them. Okay, and then, I'm not saying everyone that says this is going to get saved, but they're the ones that are more likely to get saved. Because they're willing to acknowledge, you know what, I don't have all the answers, I can't see clearly, and if they give you the opportunity, you can show them clearly in God's word. But the ones that say, I'm saved, I'm definitely saved, I'm definitely going to heaven, and look, that's actually a good response if the person is actually saved, and they give you the right answer, right? That it's faith alone and Christ alone, then you praise God, that's your brother or sister in the Lord, praise God for that. It happens sometimes, but most often they're not. You ask them, so what gives that confidence? Well, I'm a good person. I go to church. Some people go as far as to say, I don't sin anymore. I've never had someone get saved that has said those words. They think they can see. They're followers of Moses, they're followers of the law, they keep the law perfectly, what they believe. But they're blind. They've been made blind. And so anyway, you know, I truly believe the majority of the people we come across in the Sunshine Coast or Australia as a whole are just like the blind man, right? They're blind. They don't realise exactly what they're missing out on, okay? And they've got the humility enough to get to a point and say, you know what, I probably do need some help in this regard. And sometimes you've got to put that little effort in, right? They're not that low-hanging fruit. You've got to reach a little bit higher, you know, and you've got to try to bring them out of that blindness. And you know what, again, if you perceive that they're sincere, if you perceive they desire to be pulled out of the blindness, then brethren, if you need to go spend an hour with them, go spend the hour with them. You know, it's very tiring. I remember that JW woman at the end of that, I think this was like the first house, knocking on the first house. I'm pretty sure it was the second house. It was very early. You know, and my goal was to go for two hours. And I was with her for one hour, the first hour. By the time she got saved and she was thankful and everything, I was exhausted. I was like, oh, I can't do two hours today. I'm done. I'm so exhausted because it's the effort. But I say, hey, the effort's worth it. And if you can identify someone who's ready and willing and desiring to pull themselves out of that blindness. All right, brethren, the title was I Was Blind, Now I See. And you know what? Even today, do I see? Do I know the Bible completely and every verse and every issue? I don't. You know, and we need this, just even as safe people, you know, we need the guiding of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. That's why we sang that song before the sermon. Open our eyes that we may see. You know, that's why we sang that before the sermon. So you know what? None of us have reached a, let's never get prideful like the Pharisees. And I believe there's great doctrine in this church and great preachers and you guys are a very intelligent church. But don't forget that knowledge puff up. I don't want to be like that. I want to make sure we have the charity, the grace, you know, the humility to go with the teachings and the doctrines that we believe. All right, brethren, let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, I want to thank you for your word. Thank you for John 9 and the story of this blind man. And Lord, for the example of Jesus Christ as a great soul winner. And Lord, we pray that you would utilize us as well. We don't know how many days we have left. Christ was, Christ had urgency. He recognized himself as the light of the world in a place of darkness and then Christ has made us the light of the world as well. And Lord, we're not here forever. Lord, there are souls dying every single day. Lord, right here on the Sunshine Coast. Lord, please utilize us. And Lord, even as busy as we can get, Lord, if you just can open up opportunities for us to speak to someone, pull them out of the blindness, what an honor it would be. Please utilize us, Lord, even if we can just be used just as this clay with your spit, Lord, just to help people to know the truth. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, brethren, 244. Hymn number 244. Amazing grace, 244. I was blind, but now I see. Amazing grace. Amazing grace, ask me yourself, and save the wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear beyond my first belief. Too many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already caused. Tis grace that brought me to you. Grace will lead me home. When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, with no less days to sing God's praise than when we first began.