Couriers of Light
by Rev. Kirby Williams
The man formerly blind models the power of testimony when he confronts his neighbors.
Text: John 9:8-12
Date: 12/03/2017, the Contemporary service.
Series: "John: Encountering Love" Part 72
Occasion: Advent
Description:
After the glorious dayspring at the pool of Siloam, where the man born blind for the first time sees the light, he returns home and is questioned by his neighbors. The man is visibly and radically changed, so the people who knew him as a blind beggar naturally want to know how he came to see, and where the One who healed him could be found. In this simple exchange we will find valuable lessons for all Kingdom dwellers who harbor the Light of Life in their hearts. For the man is not only a possessor of the Light, but a courier-- delivering that Light to others through the power of his testimony. In his example, we will find a model of the work Jesus so emphatically said His disciples MUST be involved with-- bringing hope to those lost in darkness as the couriers of Light.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, Isa. 59:9-10, 9:2, John 8:44, Rev. 21:23.
II. Exposition of the text, John 9:8-12.
A. Context, John 9:4.
B. Delivering the "package" of Light.
1. Confusing the neighbors, vs. 8-9.
a. A profoundly changed man returns home, vs. 8.
i. Irrepressable exuberance.
ii. On being couriers of Light.
¥ Making evangelism too hard.
¥ The "every day" evangelist.
iii. A visible change.
¥ A man out of context.
¥ A new creation, 2Cor. 5:17.
¥ A lesson for the church.
b. Immediate division, vs. 9.
i. Following in the Master's footsteps, John 7:12,43, 15:18.
ii. The blindness of presupposition, John 9:2.
ii. A continual witness.
2. The question of "how", vs. 10.
3. The right response, vs. 11.
a. The right priority.
b. The simple testimony.
c. The man's part in his healing.
i. Absolutely nothing, Eph. 2:4-5.
ii. Absolutely something, John 8:51
d. Formulating your own testimony, 1Pet. 3:15.
4. The unseen Savior, vs. 12.
a. True faith, Heb. 11:1.
b. An incomplete answer.
III. Application
A. The battle plan of the Kingdom, John 1:5, Matt. 5:14-16.
B. The power of personal testimony.
1. A similar testimony.
2. The power of an objective testimony.
3. Unified in Christ.
IV. Conclusion
