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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Adrian Zahid

Witnessing to the Blind

06.15 It was a blessing to hear all of you sing for song service.

Usually I'm standing at the back and I don't get to hear the full force and you guys sounded like a choir.

Dear Lord I thank you for the Sabbath day and I thank you for everything that you have done in my life and for the lives of people that are here.

Lord, as I open the word, I ask that you grant people the ability to see what you have in store for them today.

I'm sure it has been asked at many a potluck.

If you weren't a Seventh-day Adventist, what religion or denomination would you belong to?

And as I have thought about that question over the years, my answer has somehow always stayed the same.

And I was born in Sri Lanka, and I was born to a Buddhist family.

And my biological parents were unable to keep me, and according to the laws of the land, they had to give me up for adoption.

And there were 3 families that contested for my adoption and they all somehow represented 3 major religions of this world and the judge thankfully and for which I'm eternally grateful chose my current set of parents and they happen to be Seventh-day Adventists.

And honestly to tell you the truth I would rather not exist than not be a Seventh-day Adventist.

It is 1 of the hardest things for a Seventh-day Adventist to do.

When I was a little kid, I had a world view that was very simple.

I believed that there were only 2 groups of people in the world.

There were Adventists and there were Muslims.

And the Adventists didn't smoke and the Muslims smoked.

But as I grew up, I found out that Muslims didn't smoke and there were other people who also were Christians and belong to other faiths as well.

And as I began to interact with them, several things happened.

At first I thought witnessing was where I was the only 1 who was right and everybody else was wrong and I was out to prove that I was right.

And so I would use every proof text in the Bible to prove that the Sabbath was really the Sabbath to someone who really didn't even believe in the Bible in the first place.

Then I thought, you know, witnessing is a statement of beliefs.

And so as soon as I was introduced to someone, I would give them a rundown of all the things I couldn't do.

Like I couldn't swear, I couldn't drink Pepsi-Cola, I couldn't do a lot of things.

And then they'd be like, after I was done with my list, they'd be like, Man, what can you do?

And so, that was what I thought witnessing was.

Then, for a while, I decided to go undercover.

And so when I was asked, you know, what is your name?

I would give my Muslim name, which is Sohail Zahid, which is true, it's my second name, but that wasn't really being truthful.

And I would go so far as just to be nice and just avoid religion totally, just be undercover.

And people wouldn't find out till later, oh man, you are a Christian?

And at that time it didn't, it was almost like a success, not to have people know that I am a Christian.

But unfortunately today, in our church and in our personal lives, our character and our spiritual experiences actually really really bad and christ talks about a term that your bios turning about me to revelation chapter 3 verse 14 and 17 revelation chapter 3 verse 14 through 17 this is jesus he's talking to John and John is writing down this stuff.

And verse 14, And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things, sayeth the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

Because thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." So that is the condition that Christ finds His church to be in, to His faithful followers to be in.

07.21 And unfortunately, it is this condition that hampers our witness today.

And today I would like us to look at 2 blind men in the Bible and what Christ did to them and how their witness was changed, how they were able to change their lives and in doing so, impact other people.

Let us go to the first blind man of our story today.

Jesus was having a discussion with the leaders of Jerusalem and in John chapter 8 and it was a very contentious discussion and they ended up throwing stones at...

Trying to throw stones at Jesus and so Jesus what...

The angels surrounded him and they protected him and they made him so that he wasn't visible to his enemies and he passed by.

And so John chapter 9 starts with that and it says, verse 1, and as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth and his disciples asked him saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

A lot of times Christians, Seventh-day Adventists, we are more interested in the spiritual condition of the person in defining what is wrong with them than trying to bring them to the healer.

Here is here is Jesus who can heal this man who is the God of the universe and he is standing right next to this blind man and these disciples are more concerned about who sinned rather than asking Jesus to heal this blind man and rid him of this disease and Jesus's answer was in verse 3 neither had this man sinned nor his parents but that the works of god should be made manifest so this man was blind for a reason that the works of god should be manifest in him I also think that this man existed for a reason, and that reason was that the works of God should be manifest in him.

That is the reason for our existence, that the works of God should be manifest in us.

Jesus went on to say, "...I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day, that the night come when no man can work.

As long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world.

So here Jesus is telling them that what his mission is to do over here and that he is the light of the world.

And here's a man that is in physical darkness.

He has heard people talk about, discuss whether it was his sin or his parents' sin, and occasionally they would think it was his, and sometimes they would think it was his parents'.

But here Jesus is standing there and He's saying, I am the light of the world, but the disciples still don't ask Him to heal this man.

And so Jesus, when He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay.

And it goes on, the story goes on to say, that the neighbors therefore, and it says in verse 7, he went his way and therefore watched and came seeing.

And the neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind said is this not he that sat and begged and some said this is he another said he's like him but he said I am he and so they asked him, who opened your eyes?

He answered and said, a man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said unto me, go wash, go to the pool of Siloam and wash.

And I went and washed and I received my sight.

Of course he didn't because when he, When Jesus was there, he was blind, and when he left, he was still blind, till he reached the pool.

And so they brought him to the Pharisees, and the Pharisees began their interrogation.

They knew who healed him, they just wanted to prove a point.

You see, Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath day, but He had done it for a point.

He wanted to make a point about this special Sabbath, and not only the Sabbath, but the reason for His healing.

And so, they had this question-answer, and it went back and forth, who healed you?

This man, Jesus, he put some stuff on my eyes I went and washed it and they wouldn't believe the story so they called his parents in verse 19 and they asked them saying Is this your son who you say was born blind?

His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son.

So they positively identified him and they said that he was born blind.

But by what means he now see it, we know not.

Or who hath opened his eyes, we know not.

He is of age, ask him, and he shall speak for himself.

These words fake his parents because they fear the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

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Witnessing to the Blind

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