John Chapter 9:34-41

Jesus had heard that they cast him out. He obviously rejected him because he wasn't meeting the moral standards of the religious group of the day. They threw him out and Jesus went looking for him. Jesus didn't go, well, you know, he's probably not going to be ever a productive member of the church.

And, you know, he's just, he went looking for him. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the Bridge in Cartersville, North Carolina, teaching verse by verse through John chapter 9. Today's teaching is Lord, I Believe.

Here's D.A. Brown, one of David McGee's associate pastors, here to help us out in the studio. Hey, Bob, I'm grateful to be here today. I'm excited about this program, excited about this teaching in John chapter 9. Hey, did you know that Jesus is actually looking for the outcast? He's seeking those who don't know him.

There's a lot of people who are hurting right now. There's a lot of people who don't know God, and they need him. Now here's David McGee with part two of his teaching, Lord, I Believe. Turn with me to John chapter 9. And last week we stopped around verse 34, and we're looking at the story of the man that was born blind. And all of the Bible, this is the only time that a man that was born blind was healed.

So that makes it even more important, I think, and more outstanding. But what Jesus did here, he did so many other places. He did a miracle, and then it led into a teaching. He didn't just do a miracle and then take off. He did a miracle, then he explained what this miracle meant.

And so we have this awesome, awesome thing. In verse 34, let's pick it up there. They answered and said to him, you were completely born in sin, and are you teaching us? And they cast him out. They threw him out. Now we had the backdrop last week of, you know, they tried to get him to not say things and not to give God the glory, not to give Jesus the glory. And so when he didn't do that and actually confronted him in the wrongdoing, they said, you know what? You're out.

You're out of here. And they had this concept that this guy was born in sin, but they were not born in sin. Now this is an amazing thing, and you know what? It has some relevance today because, you know, we almost act like this sometimes as church people.

Do you know that? We act like we weren't born in sin. We act like we don't have any problems. And the world looks on and they go, you know what? That's not real.

That's not real. Do you understand when people see that you have problems as a believer or they actually see you mess up, it's an opportunity to share the gospel with them? And so often we're like, you know, somebody will say, well, hey, man, I saw you, you know, yelling at your wife on the phone. No, no, no, I wasn't yelling at my wife. I was just, you know, emphatically speaking to her, you know, instead of going, oh, you know what? You're right.

I'm going to call her and apologize. It's so cool to be a Christian because my sins can be forgiven. See, it's an opportunity to go into the gospel. But so often we act like we weren't born in sin. I was born in sin and I'm here and I'm learning about Jesus and you're here and you're learning about Jesus.

And so often we make the church into this like goody goody club that once you're good enough for long enough, then maybe we'll consider you joining us. That's not Christianity. These guys, and we talked about this last week, everybody in this conversation was born in their sins, but those who were denying and rejecting, they were going to die on their sins. Nobody in this room this morning has to die on their sins if they'll come to Jesus, if they'll acknowledge Him as the Messiah and ask for the forgiveness of their sins, Jesus will give it.

And, you know, remembering that will keep us honest, it'll keep us humble, and we'll understand that perhaps God will use us to reach others. Verse 35, Jesus heard that they had cast Him out, and when He had found Him, He said to Him, do you believe in the Son of God? There's a lot in that one verse. When Jesus had heard that they cast Him out, He obviously, you know, rejected Him because He wasn't meeting the moral standards of the religious group of the day. That's not what that verse says, is it? It says when they throw Him out, Jesus went looking for Him.

I like that. They threw Him out and Jesus went looking for Him. Jesus didn't go, well, you know, He's probably not going to be ever a productive member of the church and, you know, He's just… He went looking for Him. Do you understand our God is a looking God? He's looking for you when you run and try to hide. He's looking for you when you try to bail out on fellowship here. He's looking for you. He's looking for you as you try to run from His offer of salvation and forgiveness.

He's a looking God. We see that throughout Scripture. We see Jesus standing over Jerusalem with those people who are about to crucify Him, and He's weeping over them that they're not coming because He's looking for them.

We see the heart of God in the story of the prodigal son as the Father is looking down the road. He's looking for the son that left home. Let me assure you, friend, if you've wandered this morning, God's looking for you.

And maybe, maybe this morning you'll allow Him to find you. Our life lesson here is Jesus is looking for the outcast for those who don't yet know Him. Jesus is looking for the outcast for those who don't yet know Him. If you've been through the process of going to a church and things not going well, and you becoming disillusioned and going, well, man, what is this about? This has nothing to do with God. Amen.

There's a lot of stuff that goes on in the name of churches that has nothing to do with God. And then what happens is so many of us said, well, I can't do this. I'm going to walk away. I did that. I did that. I was in church for a couple of years. And I said, well, look, I'm struggling with this, and I'm struggling with that. And they said, well, brother, you shouldn't be struggling. And I thought, well, there must be something wrong with me then because I am struggling.

All things have become new. Well, does that mean I don't struggle with sin anymore? Well, I'm supposed to. There's something wrong with you. Maybe you're not one of the called. So I thought, okay, well, maybe I'm not called. And actually, one of them said, maybe you should revisit your salvation experience, insinuating that when I came to God, God kind of said, nah, nah.

So I walked around thinking, well, I'm not called. I can't be a Christian. So that's why I'm struggling with sin.

I might as well bail. But you understand, those things continue to lead me on a search for the truth and digging in the Word of God. And finding out that Paul, Paul, super spiritual Paul, said towards the end of his life, talking about sinners, he said, of whom I am the chief. And I said, I'm not the chief.

I'm not the chief. And Paul in the Book of Romans said, the things that I don't want to do, I end up doing. I thought, my gosh, this is Paul. And it encouraged me. And you know what happens so many times happens in the church is people come to the church and they invest, you know, a couple of hours in going to the church and they walk out and they go, what was that about? That was useless. That was fruitless.

I didn't understand anything. And then what happens is a lot of times we get mad, don't we? We think, well, I guess the whole church is just nothing. Maybe it's all just a farce and we get disillusioned. It reminds me, you know, if you've ever put money into a soda machine and invested into that soda machine and then nothing came out. I don't know about you, but that tends to get me a little angry when that happens.

Yes, your pastor gets angry still. And it upsets me. I remember the last time it happened, and I've showed this before, we were up hiking near Stone Mountain, North Carolina. And we, you know, we had the signs up there. If you ever go up there, the signs are, they're not accurate. Okay.

Because when it says like 1.3 miles, it's really more like 200 miles. So, you know, I've got the kids and we're hiking and I'm really, really thirsty. And so go up to the machine, you know, and I had to change. So I put the change in and it doesn't go into the machine. I can see it stuck in the little throat of the coin thing. So I'm thirsty, thirsty, and some of you know how much water I drink. So, you know, I'm looking around and I think, well, I can find a stick and maybe poke it, you know, poke the coin in.

Because I'm upset. I want the drink, you know. I put my money in. So I get the stick and I'm trying to poke the quarters in, you know. And wouldn't you know it, a family walked around the corner. And I'm sitting here poking sticks in a vending machine. And they looked at me and they said, do you need some money?

I said, no, I've got some money. It's not working. See, that's some, that's some people's experience with the church. It shouldn't be like that. Shouldn't be like that.

But it is. Jesus, if you've been disillusioned with religion, Jesus is looking for you. He's wanting you to experience the reality. And don't be surprised if there's people around you that have really been bummed out by the church. They've went to church, they've invested their time, but they didn't find reality there.

And I think that's part of what makes us so different. Luke 19 10 says this, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. That was the mission of Jesus.

Now, let me ask you a question. Let's not use the word Christian, let's use the word follower of Jesus, those words. If we're following Jesus, guess what we should be doing? Seeking and saving that which was lost.

That's what we're supposed to be doing. There's a lot of lost people out there this morning. A lot of lost people out there going to churches this morning, but they don't know Jesus. Who are you in relationship with that doesn't know Jesus? Are you investing into that relationship? Let me encourage you in that.

Because with some people, you may need to invest in that relationship before they will ever listen to your invitation to come here. And you know what happens as believers, and I've seen it time and time again, I see it in my life now. You know, I mean, I come here, I spend a lot of time in church, I spend a lot of time here. I hang out, you know, with the staff and with team leaders and you know, most of them are saved, praise God. No, they're all saved. They're all saved.

I'm just joking. You know, so that puts me in kind of a closed circle of people that already know the Lord. And so I have to go outside of that circle and think about the neighbors and think about family and think about friends that don't know the Lord and email them or call them or take a thing of cookies or something over there to build that relationship, to seek that which is lost.

This is what we should be doing. As a matter of fact, as I just said that, if somebody didn't come to mind, a name or a faith, I'm going to ask you to pray. I'm going to ask you to begin to pray for that person or those persons that you should be investing in and that you should be inviting and begin to build that relationship. Now, don't be surprised if they don't listen to you right away.

Build the relationship and then they'll give you the opportunity to speak. Love your neighbor. 2 Peter 3 verse 9 tells us why Jesus is waiting to come back. The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise to return as some people think.

No, He's being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish so He has given more time for everyone to repent. Jesus, we've talked about this before, Jesus is waiting on us. Jesus is waiting on me. Jesus is waiting on you. And think, think. Now, what if Jesus would have come back a year ago?

Let me ask you a question. If Jesus would have come back a year ago, and raise your hand, who in here would not have been ready a year ago? Just raise your hand and say, yeah, you know, I probably wouldn't have been ready.

Okay. Praise God He didn't come back a year ago. What about five years ago? Five years ago, would you have been ready? Raise your hand if you wouldn't have been ready five years ago. Praise God. I'm glad Jesus is waiting, but I can't just sit there and not do anything. He's waiting for me to do something. He's waiting for me to invite people to invest into their life. We'll be right back with more from David McGee on Cross the Bridge. Right now, here's a word from associate pastor D.A.

Brown. Hey, Bob, we want to take a minute to pray for our listeners in these cities in Georgia, Warner Robins and Woodstock, and also these cities in Hawaii, Hilo, Honolulu, Kalua, and Kaleo. Lord, we thank you for these cities, and we thank you for the people living in these cities that we get to pray for right now. We pray that you would encourage them in your word, that you would encourage them to get plugged into a Bible teaching, Bible believing church. Lord, if some are sick, we pray that you please heal them. God, we pray that you would give them wisdom how they can be a blessing to their neighbor for you.

And Lord, we pray for the pastors in those areas, that you would give them wisdom and discernment and help them to not grow weary and doing good. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse 36. Jesus asked him in verse 35, do you believe in the Son of God? In verse 36, he answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?

What a great question. Who is he? Who is Jesus? This man wanted to know. There was a hunger in him, and he was being drawn. And Jesus was getting to lead him. In verse 37, Jesus said to him, you have both seen him, and it is he who is talking with you. This guy had been born blind, had been given his sight. And it's sad that one of the first things that happened is he sat in front of a bunch of people who were really angry, who were very religious. But then he gets to see Jesus. He gets to see Jesus.

That's what we should be seeing. Notice what's not in here. It's interesting as you're looking at the Bible to notice what's not in there. You know what's not in here in this exchange with Jesus and the blind man? Jesus doesn't go, well, you know, you need to know the Son of God. Will you believe? Well, I don't know. I was born blind. I've been blind for years, you know, and I need to go back and explore my feelings about being born blind.

He didn't do that. It's really interesting to me, something that happens in Christianity that, to be honest, I don't think is real healthy. We get saved, we begin progressing in our walk with the Lord, and then we think that we got to go back to our past and find some answers. Oh, the reason I'm like this is because of that, and the reason I'm like this was because, Mom, I'm like that because of Dad, and I'm like this because Mother didn't nurse me long enough, and I'm like that because I had problems in the birth canal, and I'm, you know, I just... What do you think you're going to find back here? Seriously, what is back there?

Nothing. Paul said, forgetting the things which are behind me, pressing on, going forward. So I don't know how the church... Well, actually I do. I don't know why the church incorporated Freudism and regression therapy into what we need to be doing as believers. The reason all this happened, let me... I'll explain it real quick. The reason all this happened is we're all a bunch of sinners living in a fallen world.

That just saved you a bunch of time and a bunch of therapy, amen? Do we focus on this, or do we focus where we're going? I want to focus on where we're going. When you run, you know what's really important? To look ahead, because if you run and you're looking behind you, you know what's going to happen at some point? You're going to fall, or you're going to run into something.

We're running the race. Look forward. I'm sure bad things have happened to you, but quit looking back. Look forward, because this guy didn't talk about how he was blind and how he stumbled and how his knees still hurt because he ran and thinks because he was blind and he fell down and people didn't like him because he was blind, and he didn't get in that loop, because once we get in that loop, man, it's hard to get out of that loop, isn't it? Praise God. We don't have to be in that loop. If you've been in that loop, you can step out of it this very morning, realizing that Jesus paid the price for you to get out of that loop. Now, again, I don't want to be insensitive. I know some of you have really been hurt.

You've really have been through things, and some of you are really going through painful things right now, but you don't have to stay there. Verse 38, then he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. Yeah, that's awesome, isn't it? Lord, I believe. Jesus tells him that I'm the guy, I'm the man, I'm the Messiah, and he says, Lord, I believe, and he immediately worshipped him. Lord, I believe. See, we have to come to that point.

The guy had been walked through this. He said, well, I don't know who he is, and he said he's a prophet, and then he said, you know what? I believe. I believe you're the Messiah.

I believe you're the Son of God. That's a decision each person in here has to make. It's not enough just to sit there and think, yeah, I guess I kind of agree with what he's saying up there.

I'm not going to do anything. It's not going to be moved into action or faith in my life, but I agree. But there needs to come a point in your life where you say, you know what?

I agree. I believe, and you worship. You worship. And the first act of worship is the same for all of us. And our recognition that Jesus is the Son of God, we come to him and ask him to forgive us of our sins. Lord, forgive me. I've done wrong.

You haven't done anything to earn that, right? Jesus makes that offer, and the offer still stands. Every one of us needs to say, Lord, I believe, and then we engage in worship. Worship the Lord. Now, worship is not just music. I love music.

Obviously, I'm a musician, and I love music, and I love worshiping God and taking the gifts that he's given me and glorifying his name with them. But understand, worship isn't just the time that we sing before service on Sunday morning. It shouldn't be. It should be.

It should be a way of life. You know what else he doesn't say? And this is interesting.

There's so much this guy's not saying. Jesus, they kicked me out, you know. Here I am. They've left me all alone. They did me wrong. Let's talk about how they did me wrong. He didn't say that.

Why? Because his eyes were on Jesus. See, in order for him to go there and to say that, he would have had to take his eyes off of Jesus. Every one of us, every person sitting here, you've had something done to you that was wrong. I recognize that.

I've had stuff done to me that was wrong. But again, am I going to focus on that? Is that where my vision is going to go? Or am I going to focus on Jesus? Oh, he's so worthy of all my focus.

And this is not even a cheap substitute. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Let's read verse 39. And Jesus said, For judgment I've come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who may see may be made blind.

Now, guys, don't miss this. This guy said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped Jesus. And Jesus did not rebuke him.

What does that have to do with anything? Let me call your attention to three things. Number one, Jesus called himself the Son of God and called no one else by that title. Second thing is, Jesus received the worship of others, knowing only God was to be worshiped. Jesus claimed to be God.

There's no other explanation. In other places in the Book of Acts, you see people trying to worship Peter or Paul or John or whoever, and they say, Get up. Don't do that. We're just men. We see in the Book of Revelation, John trying to worship an angel, and angels say, Get up.

Don't do that. But when people worship Jesus, he accepted their worship. Guys, he was acknowledging that he was God and worthy to be worshiped. Verse 40. Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, Are we blind also?

Oh, they're so close right here, because they're asking that question. Are we blind also? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin.

But now you say, We see. Therefore, your sin remains. Jesus is kind of speaking in a riddle here. What he's saying is if you would acknowledge that you're blind, you could be given sight and you would be forgiven. But while you're thinking you're okay and that you don't struggle with sin and you weren't born in sin, you're still blind.

Do you see how that applies to the church today? So many are thinking, Oh, I'm okay. You remember the book years ago. I'm okay. You're okay. Everybody's okay. We're not okay.

We're born in sin. We got a problem. We got a disease that we don't know the cure for. Well, we know the cure for.

The one cure for our disease is Jesus Christ. Maybe you thought that you're all by yourself and your sin that nobody else struggles with sin. Maybe you even tried to talk to another Christian and said, Hey, you know what? I'm having a problem in this area.

Well, you shouldn't be having a problem in that area. Jesus understands. Jesus died for you to overcome that problem and to have victory. Jesus stands this morning ready to give you that. Will you take it? Or will you turn it, turn away? These guys, they were right on the edge, but they held back.

They held back. They were blinded by their pride and by their self-righteousness. Jeremiah chapter two, verse 35 says, And yet you say, I haven't done anything wrong. Surely he isn't angry with me. And now I will punish you severely because you claimed you have not sinned. First John chapter one, verse eight says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him, talking about Jesus, a liar and his word is not in us. Do you understand that now these men were accountable? Jesus had explained the deal.

Jesus had laid it out and they were choosing to be blind. Maybe you've come in here this morning and you've never heard that it's by faith and by grace. Maybe you thought that it was by your own goodness and you've been really struggling and wondering why it's not working. And maybe you even took that step that I took and thought, well, maybe I just can't be a Christian.

But you've heard this morning what the deal is. You've heard that it is by grace, by your asking, receiving the offer that Jesus makes. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned.

And I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. So congratulations, friend.

You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27117 and share how God is working in your life. Friends, today is December 1st, and it's a special day. It might not show up on your calendar, but today is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is the one-day year that's set aside to remind you to give to those things that are blessing your life. We hope that Cross the Bridge with David McGee is one of those things, as we endeavor to teach God's Word to you every day and help you learn the Bible, as Pastor David teaches verse by verse. If this is a blessing in your life and you'd like to have it continue and to have other people be blessed by this teaching, please go to crossthebridge.com today on Giving Tuesday. Click on the Giving Tuesday button and give either a one-time special gift or indicate that you want to give monthly to help this teaching continue year-round.

Thank you so much. God bless you. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. Thanks again for listening and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.