Faith is Not Stationary – It Must Walk a
Tough Path
Matthew 9:26-31
Audio MP3
March 27th
2011 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Isa
35:4-6)
A.
Salvation is most often
compared to a blind person being given sight
B.
The healing of the blind was
one of the clues, or signs that God foretold would signal the arrival of the
Messiah, the Son of David
C.
But that healing was not
automatic – didn’t just happen to people - just as salvation is not automatic
D.
Something is necessary on OUR
part – it is called “faith” (Eph 2:8,9)
E.
The faith that we have, is
called to walk a path
F.
That path is shown in just one
day in the life of two blind men in Matthew 9
II.
Message – The Path
Faith Walks (Matthew 9:26-31)
A.
Faith Walks Through the
Crowds - Faith Walks Alone, even in the Crowds (Mt
9:26)
1.
Jesus had done marvellous
miracles
a.
Resurrected a ruler’s daughter
from death
b.
Healed a woman who had been
plagued with a haemorrhage for 12 years
2.
He was very well known
throughout the whole region of
a.
To the point He had to speak
from a ship in the
b.
To the point that some 20,000
people would twice gather to be fed from a few loaves of bread and fish
3.
But all the crowds mean
nothing if individuals do not step out on their own by their own faith, and make
a decision ON THEIR OWN to believe on Christ
4.
What does that mean? They must
choose as individuals (not as part of the crowd) to:
a.
To Hate what they naturally
were – blind (I am sure they already did).
1)
You cannot trust Jesus and
your own goodness, and abilities
2)
There were plenty of people
who could see with their physical eyes, but were blind spiritually (John
9:39-41)
b.
To Hear about Jesus – people
were talking about Him constantly, but these two have to pay attention and
listen to the facts about this Man from
c.
To Want to be given sight –
healed! Not made to feel better, or not made happy, but changed! Some people
don’t want to change, don’t want to be different (I find that so amazing)
d.
To believe that ONLY HE is
able to heal you – we put too much trust in ourselves, and doctors, and
counsellors
e.
To believe that He WANTS to
fix you (Mt 20:28; Luke 19:10; 1Tim 1:15)
f.
To Ask Him to heal you – from
the inside out!
g.
That is what it means to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
B.
Faith Walks With Courage
(Mt 9:27,28) – these men had some courage – more than most
1.
Faith Has to Have Courage (Mt
9:27) – is not for the faint-hearted
a.
Courage to follow Someone you
cannot see
b.
Courage to stay at it even
when you don’t feel a part of the crowd
1)
These blind men couldn’t keep
up with what everyone else was doing
2)
They kept tripping and bumping
over things along the way
3)
But they had the courage to
keep following that voice, until they reached Him
4)
It takes courage to leave your
comfort zone and to go to church and feel out of place for a while, so that you
can just hear Jesus’ voice, so that you can finally talk to Him yourself!
2.
Faith Must Have a Cry (Mt
9:27)
a.
You can’t just keep faith
“inside” – must put words to the feeling of the heart
b.
These men are not “praying a
silent prayer”
c.
They are crying out in
desperation (Jer 29:13)
d.
They didn’t care if they were
in public and that people would think them crazy! They were rightly desperate
e.
Most of the world has
suppressed the cry that is within them – numbed their feelings
f.
They had a need, and they were
determined to be heard
1)
Many times we are too refined
so that we can’t even pray aloud
2)
Many times people are ashamed
of being seen to be reading their Bibles for answers, or attending a
Bible-believing church
g.
These men go directly to Jesus
Christ – the promised Messiah
1)
Have you ever noticed how
powerless the apostles usually were?
2)
Did you ever see Mary do any
miracle in the NT?
3)
Jesus invites any and all to
come directly to HIM (Mt 11:28) – trust no one else!
4)
Most prayers in the world are
wasted because they are directed at the wrong people! Only Jesus hears and
answers prayers folks!
h.
These men ask only for MERCY -
This is the greatest request!
1)
Yes they wanted to see, but
they knew their real need was MERCY!
2)
MERCY is the sinner begging
that he would NOT get what he deserves –
a)
They knew they deserved hell,
but wanted heaven
b)
They knew they deserved their
blindness, but wanted sight
c)
It is only recently that
people have been ignoring their own sinfulness
d)
It is a shame that people
can’t be honest with either themselves, nor with God!
3)
These two knew the Bible’s
prophecies about the Messiah coming to heal the blind – and they claimed them
now!
4)
Jesus talked an lot about the
subject of Mercy. So many of the people who came face to face with Jesus said
the wonderful words, "Have mercy on me!"
a)
Mt 15:22
And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried
unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is
grievously vexed with a devil.
b)
Mt 17:15
Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for
ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
c)
Mt 20:30
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard
that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of
David.
5)
The reason why so few people
have any need for Jesus is because they don’t think they are that bad of a
person, or in that bad of a situation, and therefore don’t need His mercy! But
they need it most of all!
3.
Faith Must Navigate a
difficult Course (Mt 9:28)
a.
Jesus is said to be “the door”
to forgiveness (John 10:7-9; 14:6) - Getting TO the door can be tough though
b.
Notice the following
observations:
1)
Jesus does not answer their
first cry, nor their second
2)
Jesus heads into Matthew’s
home for the evening meal
3)
These two blind men must
navigate around all the people gathered around the door, and somehow get to
Christ inside the house, all without seeing anything!
4)
There was no one else to talk
to or turn to – it had to be Jesus!
4.
Faith Expects Examination (Mt
9:28)
a.
Now we see why Jesus did not
answer their cry, first off
b.
He was testing the REALITY of
their faith – don’t be upset at such tests in your own life!
c.
He wanted to know:
1)
Were they serious? Or is this
just a stab-in-the-dark?
2)
Do they have faith, or are
only just expecting healing, like spoiled children just expect everything
3)
Most people only want a
miracle in their lives so that they can go back to living it the way they always
have
4)
Any miracle that Christ gives
is to enable you to be different, and is designed so that you should live
different (John 8:10,11)
5.
Faith Finds Its Confidence in
TWO things (Mt 9:28):
a.
In Jesus
1)
In His ability – not in my own
strength, or even in my own faith
2)
In His way of doing things –
His methods, timing
a)
Ps 81:13
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and
b)
Ps 95:10
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a
people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
b.
In Submission – allowed Jesus
to be LORD
1)
Everybody I know wants Jesus
to be Genie of their lives – always able to get them out of troubles, and fixes
2)
Some want Jesus to be Saviour
3)
The real question is, do you
want Him to be LORD?
a)
The BOSS, the GOD of your life
b)
The One who determines your
life, and direction
c)
The One who like a
d)
AND, the One who takes
responsibility for you – under the shadow of His wings – protection!
c.
These two men did not just
SEEK Jesus, they surrendered to Him
d.
They must have been very
confident of Jesus!
C.
Faith Walks To Completion
– faith has some results (Mt 9:29-31) – great results
1.
Jesus worked IN them as much
as it worked ON them
a.
Yes, Jesus gave them sight
b.
But He gave them a whole new
life
1)
Would never go back to begging
2)
Would live using the gift of
sight now – not ignoring it
3)
Jesus had taught them:
a)
How to pray – stay at it
b)
How to depend upon Christ –
looking to no one else
c)
How to wait
d)
How to live – following Jesus
wherever he leads
2.
Worked THROUGH them as well
a.
Whatever God does FOR you, it
actually is also for someone else
b.
These two men probably did
more for getting the Gospel out than that whole crowd put together – strange
isn’t it?
c.
You couldn’t shut them up!
d.
Their consuming desire had
been – TO SEE
e.
Once that need was met, now
their consuming desire was that everyone could come to Jesus and “see” as well
1)
Just like the woman at the
well
2)
And the demon possessed man of
III.
Application/Conclusion
A.
There are two kinds of
blindness
1.
Physical blindness
2.
Spiritual blindness –
blindness of the heart and soul (Jn 9:39-41)
B.
According to the Bible, we
all start off blind (2Cor 4:4)
C.
The only healer of spiritual
blindness is Jesus
1.
Without it, a person is lost
in their sins, and without hope
2.
With it, is a change of life,
and passions
D.
For the most part, the crowds
gather at churches, and in religious meetings, but it is still up to each
individual to gather the courage enough to cry out to Jesus and ask to be SAVED
- changed – transformed from a begging spiritually blind man, to a born again
Christian!
E.
Whatever course you walk, it
will always be the path of faith.
F.
But it won’t work unless your
faith rests fully on Jesus, as your Saviour (fixer) AND your Lord!
1.
Too many people want
fixing, but not change!
2.
And, too many people only want
to get saved, but don’t think it is good enough for anybody else!
G.
Somebody once asked a
preacher, how do you know if a person has really gotten saved or is only putting
on a show? The answer was, when you see them going out and getting someone else
saved – when you see that their salvation was not only good enough for them, it
is good enough for everybody!
IV.
Invitation
A.
Are YOU saved – born-again –
forgiven?
B.
How is your burden for the
lost? If Jesus has saved your soul from a devil’s hell, wouldn’t that be good
enough to talk about?
C.
How is your relationship with
Jesus lately? Is He your LORD, or just the One who saved you from hell a few
years back? Pity!