Understanding the Will of God

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, March 4, 2012

Colossians 1:1-14, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.  For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

One of the subjects that we Christians often talk about is the subject of the will of God.  A lot of times those discussions are theological and highly theoretical.  But, then along the road of our lives we come to those forks, those places where we look to the right, to the left, perhaps even straight ahead and even behind us and wonder, ‘which way should I go, God?  Am I going the direction you want me to go?’  At those points in our journey, we realize that what we need, what we want to know and be sure of, is not some lofty theology, and certainly not some ‘black board theory’, but what we’re looking for is the will of God, His way, His plan, His desire for our lives, in plain English, in black and white and in terms that relate to our specific crossroads situation. 

The will of God, though I am called by God to be a shepherd to this flock, to lead you as He leads me, I want you to know right quick that God hasn’t given to me unique and detailed road maps with each one of your names on them.  I’m not here to be your spiritual GPS, giving you turn-by-turn instructions for each minute of your day.  Hope that doesn’t disappoint you or upset you.  But, listen. 

If you’re a Christian, born again, born of God, then, what?  You have received two marvelous gifts that you must never forget, neglect or take for granted.  What are they?  Number one, you have received His Spirit.  You have been given the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, and, as you allow Him to fill you, to direct and control you, guess what?  You’ll have that guidance!  You’ll have that insight. 

But, then you might say, ‘But, how?  How does the Spirit of God go about leading me, guiding me?’  Here’s the ‘roadmap’.  This Book [the Bible], this incredible expression of the Mind, the Plan of the Spirit of God, is how God’s Spirit shows us the way!  Knowing this Book, I mean, really knowing it, not in some sort of ‘close your eyes and pick a spot on the map’ sort of way, but knowing this Book opens up for you and me the otherwise hidden and unknown ways of the Good Shepherd. 

The will of God, when a preacher or Bible teacher tells you that he is going to teach or preach on the topic of the will of God, a lot of times our eyes glaze over - too deep for me - or maybe we even roll our eyes, as if to indicate, ‘Oh, no!  Here we go again!  Another sermon that has absolutely nothing to do with where I am!’  Well, hopefully, God-helping me, this preacher won’t lose you or bore you today.  Instead, my prayer is that God will use me to teach you some principles about God’s will that are good for all time.  Jot them down, store them away up here and in here, and begin living by them this afternoon, and also, that if you are at one of those forks in the road, you find specific and very helpful advice to put to work today, as you decide which way God would have you go. 

The will of God, first of all, let me set before you this question: ‘What’s so important about knowing the will of God?’  Well, perhaps by now the answer is obvious at least, to a certain extent.  But, let me see if we can’t answer that question specifically from what this passage of Scripture has to say to us. 

How many of you know what a ‘value judgment’ is?  What do I mean by the term ‘value judgment’?  A moment ago I set before you the question: ‘What’s so important about knowing the will of God?’  That question implies that the will of God may or may not be all that important, right?  In other words, in answering that question, personally and, yes, Biblically, we make or will make judgments, evaluations decisions related to its value, related to how significant or in-significant is to us, right?  Now, let me ask you this question: how important how significant, how valuable is something that God wants to give to you?

The way some people go about their lives, the way they use time, talents, resources, money, the way they treat people, some people by their actions and even by their words say, ‘John 3:16, “For God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son…” I can take it or leave it!’  Isaiah 40:28-31, “He (God) gives strength to the weary and to Him who lacks might, He gives power…”  The gift of God, His strength applied to my weakness and weariness, I can take it or leave it.  My friends, that’s a ‘value judgment’, ‘I can take it or leave it.’  That’s an expression of how important or unimportant something God gives or wants to give, really is. 

Now, how does all of that relate to the will of God?  Here’s how.  First thing you need to know, first thing you and I need to store away in our minds and hearts about the will of God, is that it is something God gives!  It is something God gives!  Paul’s prayer that begins in Colossians 1:9, His unceasing prayer and fervent desire for the Christians at Colossae was that they be “filled with the knowledge of God’s will…”  Now, here’s something to ponder: who’s going to do the ‘filling’?  Who’s the Source and Supplier for this input of divine insight? 

Beloved, it’s very clear to me from this passage that the first thing that makes the will of God, knowing the will of God, important, precious, valu-able, is that it is HIS will and that He, and He alone gives it!  Do you agree with me when I say it this way: ‘For the Christian, anything yes, I mean, anything that God gives or wants to give us, is important, supremely significant! 

What’s so important about the will of God, about knowing it, about being filled with it, even as Paul prayed that we would?  Put a star out beside this first one, God’s will is important, infinitely important, because it is HIS will, because He gives it and imparts it to His children!  Am I regarding it that way?  Are you? 

Second principle about the will of God that we ought to keep in mind wherever we are on the ‘map’ is this: God’s will, God gives it to His children, as they desire it, as they search for it like rich, rich treasure, God gives it bundled up with and delivered by means of spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

Colossians 1:9, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”

‘Okay, there you go again, Preacher.  Losing me with high-sounding 5 syllable words and phrases.  What do you mean, ‘Spiritual wisdom and understanding’?  Well, imagine it this way: a friend sends you a package in the mail.  It’s a gift of a new toy or tool or gadget, but it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.  What’s the first thing that’s going to cross your mind?  ‘I wonder how this thing works?’  Right?  So, what do you do? 

Well, some of us, the more daring among us, the learn by trial and error folks, say, ‘Well, let’s just plug this in, turn it on and SEE what it does or is supposed to do!!’  But, the rest of us, after we’ve opened our surprise and looked it over, what do we go hunting for?  The directions, right?  The instruction sheet, right?  Now think about it this way: God, the Best Friend and Father anyone could ever have, holds in store a gift for you, it’s His will.  And, unlike the other gadget or gizmo ‘gift’, there isn’t an obvious on/off switch, nor an easily discerned ‘power cord’.  Except for one thing: included in the ‘box’ God sent you is one very important additional item.  What is it?  The Instructions, the Owner’s manual, the Directions on how to plug into and power up the will of God in your life!  (The Bible!)  Take, for example, this letter, this portion of Scripture we refer to as Paul’s letter to the Colossians.  Why do you think Paul plumbs the depths of the reality, the truth as to who Jesus really is in chapters one and two of this letter?  And, why do you think he lays out specific responses to Who Jesus really is in chapters three and four?  The simple answer is this: that awesome Gift, the amazing will of God, through this letter, and 65 other letters and gospels and histories, God says, ‘Here is what you need to know to put My will to work, to plug it in and power it up in your life!’  Going back to our road of life analogy, you remember what the psalmist wrote about this Book, don’t you?  “Your Word, the way, the path seems dark and unknown, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!”  (Psalm 119:105)

What’s so important about the will of God?  About know it?  About understanding it?  As I said at the beginning, a lot of times, when a preacher or Bible teacher announces this subject for his lesson or sermon, often times people go to sleep or their minds begin to wander.  ‘What does the will of God have to do with MY life?’  Nothing, of course.  I know that that may be your initial response, but listen, before we close I want you to see how very much God’s will DOES relate to your life and how very practical it really is.  Three things, three purposes or results that knowing AND doing the will of God have to do with you, with where you are on life’s journey: Verse 10, number one, the importance of God’s will, the significance of KNOWING what He desires for your life, has everything to do with whether or not your life will be one that pleases God. 

Pleasing God is also one of those eye-glaze-over subjects, isn’t it?  It is, until you come to grips with this one fact: one day you’re going to die.  One day, maybe real soon for some of us, we will take our last breath, and then what?  Then we meet our Maker, right?  But, what then?  Christians, by the grace of God, will by-pass the Great White Throne Judgment of the unsaved as depicted in Revelation chapter 20.  But listen, my friends, Christians will not by-pass the Bema Seat Judgment Paul depicts in 2 Corinthians 5:10.  He says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us [who are in Christ] may receive [rewards for or sustain losses because of] the things we’ve done [or failed to do] in the body, whether good or bad.”  Beloved, knowing and doing the will of God, plugging it in and powering it up in our lives, starting today, IS important and here’s why: because one day we will have to give account for what we did with this ‘package’, this ‘gift’ to the One who gave it to us!  God gives us His will, laid out in places like Colossians chapters one through four.  Why?  So that we might please Him!  So that we might stand before Him accepted or acceptable, not rejected or unacceptable!

Number two, how does knowing the will of God relate to your life?  Colossians 1:10 – God gives to His children, to us, this gift, His will, laid out for us in places like this letter of Paul, why?  That our lives might be acceptable, number one, and fruitful, not full of regrets, not marred and marked by emptiness, with nothing to show for at the end of the day, but fruitful! 

And, then number three: what’s so important about knowing and doing God’s will?  Does this ‘gift’, this heaven sent package truly relate to our lives, today?  Yes, it does.  How do I know that?  Once again, verses 19, 11 and 12:  A life that is acceptable, well-pleasing to God, a life that is fruitful, filled with the fruits, the results of righteousness that come by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11).  And one more, knowing and doing the will of God, this awesome gift of God to us, here’s how we know how valuable it is: Colossians 1:10-12, it results, God intends for His gift to result in a powerful life, a life of His unlimited spiritual strength at work in us, producing in us, patient endurance in and through life’s trials and causing us to be truly thankful to Him for all He’s done for us in Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 1:9-12, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

The will of God, may this prayer of the Apostle Paul be our prayer, our aim, our yearning starting today.

Understanding the Will of God [Video]

Video: Jesus' Hands: God's Love Touching Our Lives - Part 2

Jesus' Hands: A Display of God's Love

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, February 26, 2012

Ephesians 3:14-21, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

How is it that God makes His love for us tangible, concrete, practical and touchable?  The Psalmist David, who penned the words (“My Times are in God’s Hands”) found on the front cover of today’s worship bulletin knew the answer to that question.  God uses, Jesus uses, His hands.  If you want to look it up, the reference alluded to on the cover of the worship bulletin is from Psalm 31:15.  Wrestling with the anguish of physical weakness, anyone here able to relate to that?  Distressed by grief and the losses he had sustained in his life – anyone here ever experienced those things?  Attacked, forsaken and forgotten by friends and enemies alike – anyone here know how that feels?  Dealing with all of those difficult dilemmas, what does David the psalmist do?  Where does he end up?

3 Times, at least as I observed it in my reading and study of this passage, Psalm 31, David the psalmist refers to God’s hands, and concludes, “This is how I know that You love me, God.  This is how…”  Verse 8 – “You have not handed me over to the enemy, but You have set my feet in a wide place, a roomy, spacious location.”  This is how I know that You care about me.  You hands.  Verses 14 and 15 – “As for me, You are my God.  As far as I am concerned, I trust in You, O Lord. My times, every day, every house, every minute, every second of my life is in Your hands.”  This is how I know that You know what I’m going through.  Psalm 31:5 - David the psalmist bolding exclaims, “Into Your hands, O God, I commit my spirit.”

How is it that God makes His love for us tangible, practical, concrete, touchable?  Anybody ever see one of these?  Anybody ever noticed hands stretched out like this?  Ultimately, that’s how the apostle Paul defines and describes the love of God, the love of Christ, for us, in the text we read at the outset from Ephesians 3, isn’t it?  Paul depicts the love of God, the love of Christ, in cross-sized, cross-shaped dimensions.  I want to know, I’m praying that you might know and experience the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, all the width, length, depth and height of God’s love for you in Jesus Christ. 

We’ve been examining that subject, haven’t we, through the lens of the gospel of Mark, a portrait of the life of Jesus penned by one of Peter’s dear friends, John Mark.  And what have we learned so far?  We have learned that Jesus, the Servant who rules, with His hands he cleansed a leper, effected a healing, helping, cleansing, with His hands.  We’ve learned that Jesus, the Servant who rules, with His hands, quieted a raging fever ravaging the body of Peter’s mother-in-law.  His hands calmed her.  Restored strength to her.  We’ve learned that Jesus, the Servant who Rules, who has authority over leprosy and fevers, also has power, authority, to illuminate the darkness, to give sight to the blind, to open deaf ears and loosen bound up tongues.  Yes, we have learned, isn’t it amazing?  Isn’t it glories?  That Jesus, the Servant who rules, also has power with His hands and His words, over DEATH!  A little girl, Jairus’ precious daughter, Jesus spoke to her the tender words, the life-giving words, ‘Talitha Cummi,’ ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’ 

In the first 8 chapters of the gospel of Mark, we watch in wonder and amazement at how God, using the hands of Jesus His Son, the Servant who rules, says, ‘This is how you know, that I love you!’  But then, beginning in chapter nine, Peter, an up-close, and very, very personal eye-witness to all that John Mark relates to us in the Book, Peter shows us how that Jesus is not only the Servant who rules, but listen, He also is the Ruler, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, who serves.  Would you take time with me this morning to walk up and down and around Mark chapter nine and ten, and observe with me the love of God at work, through the hands of Jesus, the Ruler who serves. 

First of all, notice with me the context, the background, the ‘shadow’ if you will, that looms large over this entire section.  Mark 9:1-8 – We call that section the record of the transfiguration of Jesus.  Up to this point in the narrative of this gospel, the emphasis has been on the Servant who rules.  Now, in this incredible experience with Jesus, Moses and Elijah, on that mountain, Peter, James and John begin to have their eyes opened to the fact that Jesus is not only a Servant who rules, who has authority over fevers and leprosy and blindness and death.  But that He also is, God, Jesus’ Father says and shows them that He is also the Ruler who serves.  THE One, not one of the ones, but THE One that they must worship, serve and obey! 

But mountain-top lessons, you know this don’t you?  Spiritual mountain-top lessons are often quickly forgotten in the nitty, gritty of life’s ‘valleys’, aren’t they?  The very next day, the very next section of Mark 9, Peter, James and John come down from that mountain with Jesus, and they, along with their fellow disciples, are confronted with the nitty, gritty, bad and ugly problem of demonic oppression and the devastation it causes in people’s lives.  A desperate father had brought his young son to Jesus’ disciples, thinking that they, like their Master, could help them.  They couldn’t.  They hadn’t been able to do a thing to help this man or his son.  In fact, the first part of the text seems to indicate that the disciples had gotten side-tracked with a debate they were having with the scribes.  And Jesus, quickly analyzing the situation, was not happy!  “How long!  How long am I going to have to put up with you guys and your lack of faith?”  But, then look at what happens next.  Jesus, the Ruler who serves, doesn’t do what so many other rules would do, He doesn’t leave the problem to His bumbling underlings.  No!  What does He do?  Jesus speaks the words this desperate father had been hoping he’d hear all along.  “Bring the boy to Me.”  Jesus, the Great One, as testified by God Himself on transfiguration mountain , with His words, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of this boy and enter him no more!”  Jesus, with His words, AND with His hands, lifts up an otherwise helpless young man and restores him, whole and strong, to his father.  What a blessing.  What an amazing miracle, right?  But, listen, is the lesson over, finished, as far as Jesus’ disciples are concerned?  Remember?  They had been helpless, powerless, to assist this man and his son.  What did they need to learn from this encounter?  The right words to say?  The proper magical formula to follow to perform a miracle?  No!  They needed to learn, to know, to live by what Jesus, the Ruler who serves, lived by.  Verse 29, “This kind comes out by nothing but by prayer and fasting.”  In other words, ‘yes, I’m the Ruler, but listen, fellows, I can do nothing, I am powerless to help people like this boy and his father, apart from the strength of My Father in heaven!’  Have you learned that lesson, that basic A-B-C’s kind of lesson, regarding serving and ministering?  Have I? 

Press on with me, would you?  Jesus, the Servant who rules, and now, in this the second and final half of Mark’s gospel, Jesus, the Ruler who serves, He has another mountain in view, doesn’t He?  What mountain is that?  Verses 30-32 – It’s a hill called Calvary, right?  Jesus, the Ruler, in His ultimate act of service, and atoning sacrifice, would soon stretch out His hands on a Cross and by that answer the question once and for all, about how much God loves us. 

But, He wasn’t there yet and certainly His disciples were a long ways from understanding that, weren’t they?  How do we know that?  Well, in verse 32, the text says it plainly, doesn’t it?  It says that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was trying to teach them about His coming death, and not only that, but they were also afraid even to ask Him about it.  But, then notice the very next section of the passage.  It contains a lesson on leadership and ministry that the disciples were very, very slow to learn. 

Verses 33 and following, Jesus is the Ruler, the Great One, right?  In chapters one through eight He showed it repeatedly through His miracles of helping and healing, right?  And, then, beginning with the transfiguration event, and the declaration of God Himself, the second half of this Gospel proclaims the same message, right?  Jesus is the Great One.  But, look who’s arguing the point.  Look who’s missing the point.  12 thick-headed, hard-hearted men Jesus had chosen to follow Him.  Jesus is the Ruler, the Great One, for sure.  But how does He define greatness?  How does He show, demonstrate, what His kind of greatness is all about?  ‘Okay, fellows.  It’s time to gather around for another ‘skull session’, another teachable moment.  Verses 35 and following.  ‘Let me tell you what real greatness is all about.  Real greatness is all about serving.  In the very next chapter, Jesus reinforces the very same lesson with these words, “Even the Son of Man,” that’s an Old Testament Messianic title with every bit as much declaration of Jesus’ greatness as God His Father spoke on transfiguration mount.  Mark 10:45, Jesus says, “Even the Son of Man, as great as He is, and will be, did not come to BE served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” 

How does Jesus define true greatness?  The Great One says, ‘I’m here to serve and to give up My life for you.’  And, how does He demonstrate that greatness?  He uses His hands!  Verse 36 – “Then Jesus took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when Jesus had taken the little fellow in His arms, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘whoever receives one of these little ones in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me, but Him who sent Me.”

My loved ones, do you see it?  Do you?  Jesus, the Servant who rules, Jesus, the Ruler, the Great One who serves, He is building a kingdom with His hands.  And He wants you to be a part of that kingdom of love and light.  But to be a part of that kingdom, what must we do?  We must die.  We must die to the selfish striving for our own greatness.  We must die to us that we might live in Him, through Him, and most of all, for Him.  Jesus said it this way, and with these words we will close:

Mark 8:34-35, “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.

The serving, saving, self-sacrificing hands of Jesus, stretched out on Calvary’s cross, that’s how God makes His love for us tangible!  That’s how!

Jesus' Hands: God's Love Touching Our Lives - Part 2

Preached at Northwest Christian Church

David P. Kautt

Sunday Morning, February 19, 2012

Ephesians 3:14-21, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

How is it that God makes His love for us concrete, tangible, practical, touchable? 

To be strengthened with might by God’s Spirit in the inner man, that Christ might dwell in our hearts by faith, to be rooted and grounded in love – these were the things the apostle Paul asked God to do in the fives of the Christians at Ephesus, why?  So that they might be able to comprehend with every other Christian, the dimensions, the ‘Cross-Sized’ dimensions of God’s love, in Christ, how wide it is, how long it is, how deep it is and how high it is.  But not just to GRASP it, intellectually, conceptually, but what?  Paul prayed that the Church, the people of God, would KNOW that love, that we would EXPERIENCE that love that goes way beyond intelligent comprehension and so be filled with all the fullness of God!  Wow!  Have you ever prayed a prayer so gigantic, so enormous in scope and purpose? 

Lord, would you, please, answer that pray in me, would you please, accomplish that prayer in us! 

The love of God, how is it that God answers, has answered, that prayer?  How does He make His love for the world, and, in particular, for His Precious Bride, the Church, real, practical, tangible, touchable?! 

You remember it from last time, don’t you?  Can you put your hands together in this way? 

The gospel of Mark, that unique portrait of the life of Jesus presented, I believe, through the eyes of the Apostle Peter, and his young friends, John Mark, this portion of Scripture provides us with at least seven powerful illustrations of God’s love, long, wide, high and deep, through the hands of Jesus.  Would you find again that portion of the Word of God, and let’s explore, not only God’s love, His tender compassion for sin-sick humanity, but also, His special redeeming love, sanctifying love, for the Church, His Bride. 

Mark 7:31-37, “Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Have you ever made a list of the things, the common things, the ordinary things, you take for granted?   It’s 6:30, 6:45 in the morning, sun will be up shortly.  We take that for granted, don’t we?  Got to run to the grocery store, got to head off to work.  Jump in my car, put the key in the ignition, it’s gonna start, right away.  We take that for granted.  How about this?  We awaken in the morning, yes, to the blare of the alarm clock, but also the sounds of people we love and who love us, clanking around in the kitchen or bathroom, little feet, and big ones, too, pitter-pattering in the living room or laundry room.  Can you imagine what it would be like to awaken each morning to silence?  We take our hearing for granted, don’t we?  Or, what about this?  I can relate, “Where would this preacher be, if, when he opened his mouth, nothing came out?  We take our ability to speak, for granted, don’t we?  Imagine not being able to SAY the words, ‘I love you!’  Imagine not being able to HEAR them!  That was the plight of my great uncle, Jim McKnight.  And that was the plight of this unnamed man whose friends brought him to Jesus. 

How is it that God makes His love for the world real, tangible, practical?  The hands of Jesus, look what Jesus dos with His hands.  Verse 33, first of all, Jesus takes this man aside, away from the crowd, to minister to him privately and personally.  You know, that’s just a little detail in the account, but, if you think about it, it speaks volumes about the kind of gracious Servant/King Jesus is, and about how to go about ministering to the needy as Jesus did.  Jesus didn’t merely pronounce a ‘blanket blessing’ of help and healing on a sea of faces.  He didn’t run them through a cattle chute like some big ‘herd’ – next!  Next!  Next!  Next!  No!  He took this man, whose world was full of silence, and, I suspect, full of great pain, and with His powerful, healing hands, OPENED, LOOSENED, FREED, what had previously been closed and pad-locked!  Jesus’ hands, the amazing instruments of God’s love, look at what He does with those hands: the Awesome Creator Who made these incredible organs of hearing and speech, Jesus uses those very same hands to heal this man’s body and to open, wide a door he’d likely never, ever walked through before. 

I mentioned the teachers, the preacher, the sales-people in our midst, those of us blessed with the ‘gift of gab’.  Jesus, the Master Teacher, the Prince of Preachers, if anyone ever had the ‘gift of gab’, He did.  But, look.  One more thing we need to notice here.  The thing about Jesus that caused everyone to marvel, in this instance it wasn’t His speaking, His telling a parable or preaching a sermon.  No!  Rather, verse 37, take a look, the text says that what caused the people to be astonished was what Jesus had DONE, not said, but DONE, with His hands!  “He had done ALL things well!  He makes both the deaf to hear – no more silence!  Hallelujah!  And He makes the mute to speak – praise the Lord!” 

When God says, ‘I love you’, He doesn’t write it on the clouds, He doesn’t put up a billboard along the highway!  He doesn’t send you a text with smiley faces and strange abbreviations!  No!  He uses Jesus’ hands!  He uses His Son’s hands!

Mark 8:22-26, “Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”

So far, in our look at the hands of Jesus, God’s incredibly tender and powerful instruments of His love for the world and for the Church, we have learned that Jesus used His hands to CLEANSE the leper; He has CLEANSING hands.  And that He used His hands to QUIET Peter’s mother-in-law, who was sick with a raging fever.  Jesus has CALMING, QUIETING hands.  And that He used His hands to give life to Jairus’ little girl; ‘Talitha, Cumi – Little girl, arise!’  Jesus has LIFE-GIVING hands! 

But, now look, what kind of hands does Jesus have?  Mark 8:22-26 – Jesus has illuminating hands.  I mentioned a moment ago, that you and I have a tendency to take things, many, many ordinary, everyday, but very, very important things, for granted. 

Peggy can relate, can’t you, Peggy?  You had your second cataract surgery performed last week, and praise God, so far it appears as if everything was very successful.  She can see things, CLEARLY, that she hasn’t seen in years!  Imagine, Peggy, what it would be like to awaken each morning, not to a world of silence, that would be bad enough, wouldn’t it?  Can you imagine what it would be like to awaken each morning to a world of darkness?  Groping about, stumbling along, trying to find your way.  By the way, darkness, blindness, that is the situation, spiritually of every lost, unsaved man, woman and child.  God, please open their eyes, that they may see! 

Take a look at this text.  Mark 8:22 and following.  First of all, please notice the DEPTH of the need!  Remember Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 that we read at the outset?  Paul prayed that we might comprehend and experience the DEPTH of God’s love for us in Christ!  Listen.  This passage in Mark 8 illustrates the point well.  The depth of God’s love, demonstrated, ultimately in Jesus’ great SACRIFICE of love at Calvary, that DEEP, DEEP love, can ultimately only be calculated in terms of the exceeding depth of our need for it!  Mark 8:22 – “Then Jesus came to Bethsaida and they brought to Him a blind man…”  Then, notice the next sentence, the next phrase, it says that the people BEGGED Jesus to touch him, to heal him!  This wasn’t a request for a cure for a hang nail, or a case of the sniffles.  No!  This was an urgent plea for the LIGHT of the World, the Maker of this man’s eyes, to Shine into his life, to touch him with His hands, that he might see!  Illuminating the DARKNESS, taking away the blindness, that’s what Jesus does with His hands.  That’s how God shows His love through Jesus’ hands! 

I was contemplating these things, and their message for me, for us, and realizing those things that we take for granted, physically, organs of hearing and speaking and seeing that function fully and flawlessly.  Those of us who aren’t like my great uncle, Jim McKnight was, those of us aren’t afflicted like this blind man was, we forget that, unless and until Jesus extends His loving hands to lift the veil over our eyes, and to open and loosen our bound tongues and blocked ears, we won’t see Him, we won’t hear Him, we won’t be able to speak for Him! 

One final passage, the very next section of Scripture in Mark chapter 8.  Jesus gathers around Him not the multitudes, but His disciples.  We might put it his way, He gathers around Him His church.  And, what does He do?  He wants to know, yes, what the crowds are saying about Him, sure!  But more importantly, much more significantly, Jesus wants to know, wants to hear, to see, to know who WE think He is.  And what is Peter’s answer?  Mark 8:29, “You are the Christ,”  “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  (Matthew 16:16)

Here’s my question for you, Church.  Here’s what we must always keep in mind, people of God.  How did Peter come to know this?  I mean, if you look at his life, this guy, at times, he’s as blind as they come!  At times, he’s as deaf as they come, speaking when he should have been listening!  How did Peter, this often very ‘blind’ and ‘deaf’ man come to this world-changing conclusion: Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God?!

Here’s how: Matthew 16:17 – The parallel passage to this text in Mark 8, Jesus, the One whose hands give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, Jesus says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven!”

I praise God for my eye sight and for ears that are open and a tongue that is loose, maybe at times too loose!  But, listen – what I need even more, more, more, more, are eyes to see the things God helped Peter to see and ears to hear the things God helped Matthew and Mark to hear! 

Why?  So that I might speak!  So that I might go, and tell!  The hands of Jesus, God, would you use Your Precious Son’s hands to help us see and hear and speak!