Places To Be At And Places To Go To

WARM-UP

Have you ever felt this kind of internal push-pull going on in your life? You want to step out in faith and believe, but find yourself stuck in the mud. Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life, but found yourself unable to get going? Many of us get scared when we even think about moving outside of what we have become adapted to. We cling stubbornly to the known, and choose familiarity over risk. The problem with choosing to stay in our comfort zones is that, God may have wanted us to step out but we choose to stay, simply because our faith is not enough to step out into an unfamiliar place, and dare to believe.

ONE BIG  IDEA

If I want certain things to happen in my life, then, there are certain places that I need to be, places that I need to go, and things that I need to do.

 STUDY (MARK 8:22-26  NIV)  

“22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into[a] the village.”

LEARN:

In this story, Jesus came to a town called Bethsaida. There were some people who brought their blind friend and begged Jesus to heal him.  Jesus then touched the man, but he had to touch him again for him to be healed completely.

In all of the bible, this was the only person that Jesus had to touch twice to be healed.  Why do you think Jesus had to touch him twice?

If you look at Mark 8:23, it says “He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village”.  This was because Bethsaida was not a good place to be healed.  The people in Bethsaida had no regard for Jesus and were disobedient.

Although the people there were given a chance to repent, they still went on with their ways.  And this was the problem of the blind man in the story.  He had been around Bethsaida and their citizens for a long time that he has allowed himself to be influenced by their lack of faith.

So, in order to make an impact in that man’s life, Jesus had to get him out of Bethsaida. 

Also, in Mark 8:26 “Jesus sent him home saying don’t go back into the village.”  After healing the man, Jesus told him not to return to Bethsaida. 

Jesus can do great things in our lives if we believe and if we have faith. 

I believe the blind man in the story has developed a faith big enough to make a difference in his life.  In this case, his vision was restored.  The reason why Jesus does not want him to return to the village is to prevent him from being influenced by the people living there who were lacking in faith and morality. 

It is therefore very important to strengthen our faith to allow Jesus to work mighty things through us. 

If we want to progress in our faith, the church is the place to be. For faith to grow, the place that you need to be is a serious loving church, and the people you want to be around are serious loving Christians. Church is where we help each other progress in our faith and encourage one another as we transform into God’s likeness from glory to glory.

On the other hand, there are places that we need to go to.  After strengthening our faith in Jesus, it was not meant for us to keep it to ourselves.

We need to share God’s goodness to others so that they, too, will be drawn to Jesus.  In the story, Jesus went to Bethsaida despite the disobedience of the people living there.  While it is true that there are places that we are not going to find God, there are people who will not encourage us in our faith, and that we need to stay from them, but if we want to share the love of Jesus to others, these are the people we should be sharing our faith with because these are the people who need Jesus the most. 

We all have our own personal Bethsaida’s, and if we want to increase our faith, then that Bethsaida is not a place to go.  But if we want to share our faith to others, then that Bethsaida is the place to go.

GROW:

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever been changed by a touch from Jesus, but at some point (now, perhaps) needed a “second touch?” Do you know someone now who needs a “second touch?” How can you help this person? Encouragement? Accountability?
2. Has there been a time when God only answered a part of your prayer and not completely and immediately? Why do you think He might not answer a prayer like how we wanted it? How do you respond?
3. What is your take-home message in this sermon? Why did Jesus treat the blind man differently from others he had healed (second time healing)? Is there some connection between the gradual (two-step) healing to the blind man’s faith (belief or unbelief)?

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER IN YOUR GROUP