As many of you probably know,
I just had cataracts on both of my eyes removed. And those
of you that have had that procedure beforehand told me what a difference
it would make in my vision. But I suppose it's one of those
things that you just have to experience to fully appreciate.
November the 18th, I had the cataract on the right eye removed. And then this past Thursday,
December the 2nd, they did the left one. And there was an immediate
improvement in my sight after the procedure on the first eye.
But after the second cataract was removed, it was just amazing
how well I could see. I couldn't wait to tell anyone
and everyone that I saw. Friday, Paul Mahan checked on
me and I told him how vibrant the colors now were. And I told
him my depth perception had drastically improved. And with much enthusiasm,
I explained how much brighter and clearer and illuminated everything
was. It was like going from watching
an old tube type television with an antenna to watching a high
definition television with a digital signal, just night and day difference. And when I went back to the doctor
Thursday afternoon after the procedure, I just kept telling
him over and over how thankful I was and how much I appreciated
his skillful work and my greatly improved vision. And it was after
telling Paul all this that he made the statement to me, well,
you need to preach on that. And I thought, Preach on cataract
procedure?" He said, yeah. He said, it sounds a great deal
to me like when God opened your eyes to see the Gospel and saved
you by His grace. And that rung so true to me.
When God saved me, the greatness of His love, mercy, and grace
became bright and colorful to me. The depth perception of my
sin and my Savior for the first time was so apparent and sure. And I can remember vividly when
God illuminated and enlightened me. I was so thankful and I was
so grateful for His saving grace. And I told Him over and over
again, just like I did that eye doctor. No doubt, it's a wonderful
and a blessed thing to be able to see naturally and physically. But how much greater is it? I
ask you, dear friends, is it when God gives a sinner spiritual
sight? So with that said, I want you
to first turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter
13, and I want to look at, or I want to begin there in verse
nine. 1 Corinthians 13, verse nine. Paul here writing to believers
says this in verse nine. for we know in part and we prophesy
in part. We preach in parts, what the
word prophesy there means. When God first gives spiritual
sight to the child of God, it's like we have spiritual cataracts. Everything is dark and fuzzy
and somewhat unclear, but we do see things that we could never
see before. No believer sees with complete
clarity when God first saves them. And Paul tells us about
our spiritual eyesight, both now and when Christ comes back. Look at verse 10. But when that
which is perfect is come, that's speaking of the Lord Jesus. He's
the only one perfect. He's the only thing perfect.
But when that which is perfect has come, that being Christ,
then that which is in part, that which is dark and fuzzy and unclear
shall be done away. Spiritual cataracts are removed.
Look down at verse 12. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then. when Christ come face to face.
Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am
known." That's what John the Beloved wrote. John said in 1
John 3 2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God? And it doth
not yet appear. We don't yet see it like we one
day will. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be. We've got spiritual cataracts.
and we don't see clearly, it does not yet appear that we will
be what we will be. But we know that by divine revelation,
when He, Christ, shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is. We might not see clearly now,
but then when Christ comes, we will. Now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face. Now we don't see too clearly.
We only see and we only know in part, but then we shall see
and know even as we're seen and know. And the Lord has perfect
vision and then so shall we. We're given perfect sight and
we'll have perfect knowledge and we'll have perfect understanding. The mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven will be clearly seen. No more sin to cloud our vision. No more spiritual cataracts. We shall perfectly know as we
are perfectly known. As we grow in the grace and in
the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, we'll reach spiritual maturity. And as Paul said in verse 11,
we'll put away childish toys and thoughts and behavior, and
we'll be able to clearly see that Christ has perfectly conformed
us to His image. Oh, to be like Him. What a wondrous
thought. And that's what John meant when
he said, when Christ shall appear, we shall be like Him. That's
pretty plain language, isn't it? When He shall appear, we
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is, and our spiritual
cataracts will be removed. Please turn with me, if you would,
to Mark chapter eight. Mark chapter eight. In verse
22, here we have a wonderful story that very well illustrates
what I'm endeavoring to say. Mark 8, verse 22. Mark 8, 22. And he, that being
Christ, cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto
him, and besought him to touch him. Now, the first thing we
see is that some folks here bring a man who is blind to the Lord
Jesus, beseeching, pleading with him to touch him. And if we're
ever gonna receive sight, brothers and sisters, Christ's gonna have
to touch us. This man was blind. That's what
we all are by nature. Every single one of us, blind. We're spiritually blind. In 2
Corinthians 4, verse 3, Paul said, but if our gospel be hid,
it's hid to them that are lost. It's hid to them that are blind,
in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest or unless the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them. You know, the only way that we'll
ever see is if God is pleased to give us sight and to give
us the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. So we see that
there are two things that are absolutely necessary for sight. First is a seeing eye. And the
second is light. Two things in order to see, a
seeing eye and light. And it's the same with spiritual
sight. God has to give us eyes to see, and God has to show us
the light of the gospel. Paul went on to say in 2 Corinthians
4, and the very next verse, verse 5, he said, for we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves your
servants for Jesus' sake. For God, now listen, for God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's where sight is given,
that's where light is given, in the face of Jesus Christ.
Has God enabled you to see Him? If God doesn't give you eyes
to see, you'll forever be blind. If God doesn't command the light
to shine out of darkness for you, then you'll never have spiritual
sight. Now this light that you and I
must have is found in the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Lost men and women are blind
to God's sovereign choosing. I know you know that. You talk
to somebody about God's right as God to choose and call and
save and justify whom he wills, and it just upsets them terribly. They're blind to God's electing
mercy and grace. You'll usually know that because
they'll say it's not fair that God does it. Whatever God does
is good. What's fair is if he sent us
all to hell. but we're blind by nature to
God's wondrous salvation. I heard a man recently say that
he believed that God was sovereign and in control of everything.
He believed that God predestinated everything in this world except,
and as soon as he said except, I'm like, here we go. He said,
God predestined everything in this world except for the sinner's
salvation. He said, God leaves that up to
us. In other words, that's something God needs our help with. If that's
so, then friends, I will forever be lost. I'll forever be blind. I will never see. Today, men
and women put their hope and confidence of salvation in themselves. There's no wonder that they believe
that goats become sheep and then sheep fall away and become goats
again. God's elect and chosen people never were goats. They
were always sheep. They were born sheep. They didn't
know they belonged to the shepherd, but it was, and it's gonna be
revealed to them that they are, and in the fullness of time,
they're gonna see. God's gonna remove those spiritual
cataracts. And that's why our Lord, the
Good Shepherd said, other sheep I have. which are not of this
fold." He didn't say, I got some goats to make cheap and then
bring into the fold. That's not what he said. He said,
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring. He must bring them. And he's
gonna bring them, every single one of them. And he said, they
shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. They're already sheep. Some are
already in the fold and others he's gonna bring into the fold. Some have already heard his voice
and others shall hear his voice, but all shall follow him, every
single one. And there shall be one fold and
one shepherd. And this is the sovereign will
and purpose of God. You know, I have five children.
They're all my children. Nothing can change that. No matter
what they do, good or bad, They're still mine. I have a child who's
had a troubled life. He's been in prison now for three
years. Breaks my heart. But he's still
my child. He's still my son. Nothing he
does, good or bad, will ever change that. God's sheep are
always his sheep. God's elect, once saved, always
saved. No way we could say that. Once
sheep, always sheep. Once the shepherds, always the
shepherds. We talked about that last week
in great detail. We call it eternal security.
Again, verse 23 in our text, and he, Christ, the good shepherd,
that's talking about. Now look at this. He took the
blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. Well, what's
the significance of that? Every child of God is gonna be
isolated with Christ. You can write it down. The Lord
Jesus is gonna take God's children by the hand and get them alone. And he's gonna stand between
them and God. He's that one mediator between
God and man. between God and men. Aren't you
glad there's a man, a perfect man, standing between you and
God? A holy God who can have nothing
to do with sin? A man in his natural state cannot
see God and live. He's too holy. We'd be consumed. But we have a perfect man, a
mediator, an advocate with the Father that stands between us
and this holy God. And He's going to save the chosen
sinners. He's going to isolate them. He's
going to deal with them one-on-one. True conviction is personal.
True repentance is personal. No one can repent for you. No
one can believe for you. God will show you your own need. God will show you. You're going
to have to see that you're blind before God will ever give you
sight. Only God can show you your spiritual blindness, and
He's going to isolate you from the world to show you. Those
of you that have been shown know that to be so. That publican
that stood in the temple, he stood there alone. He stood in
the back. He didn't want anybody to see
him. And as far as he was concerned, no one else was there, just him
and God. Now the Pharisee, he saw everyone
but himself, didn't he? He saw the publican and he thanked
God that he wasn't like the publican was, but he didn't see what he
was. He thanked God that he wasn't
like other men, especially the publican, that thief on the cross. You remember what he said? He
said, Lord, remember me. He and his friend both mocked
and ridiculed the Lord when they first hung on the cross. But
now, just him and the Lord. He said, Lord, remember me. In
that hour, there was none but him and Christ. There was none
in that crowd that could help him. His mind no longer on them. No, sir. Only the one who hung
next to Him could help Him. You see, salvation is a personal
matter. And God's going to isolate the
chosen sinner. And He's going to show him that
Christ is His mediator, and His advocate, and His go-between,
and His sacrifice, and His substitute, and His Savior. Has God shown
you that? Thank God if he has. Christ is
gonna isolate you before he saves you. Salvation is between you
and your God. Salvation is between you and
Christ Jesus. No one else. No one else. He
is the one thing needful. The Lord got this blind man alone. He isolated him. It's called
divine revelation. A divine intervention. Christ
must deal with this man's blindness alone. What about Zacchaeus? He was up in that tree, but he
was alone. Wasn't nobody up there with him. And the Lord told him
to come down. Has the Lord taken you by the
hand? Has the Lord gotten you alone? Has the Lord called you to come
down? The way to God is down at first. You gotta come down before you
ever raise up. You got to die to self before you'll ever live
on the cross. Has the Lord told you today I
must abide at your house? Today, dear sheep, I must bring
you into my fold. If you're His, He most certainly
will. We need to get along with God. Christ will see to it that
we do. He'll take us by the hand and
He'll lead us out. And the Lord took this man by
the hand, what love, mercy, and grace that is. I remember when
He took me by the hand. The Lord took him by the hand,
the Lord led him out of town alone, just him and the Lord.
Turn back to a page, you may not have to, and look at Mark
chapter seven. Look at verse 32. And they bring
unto him, that being the Lord, one that was deaf and had an
impediment in his speech, and they beseech him to put his hand
upon him. And he took him aside, the Lord
took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers into his
ears and he spit and touched his tongue. And looking up to
heaven, he sighed and he saith unto him, Ephethah, that is be
opened. And straightway his ears were
opened and the string of his tongue was loosed and he spake
plain. He took him aside, he got alone
with the afflicted sinner, the Lord did, and he put his fingers
in his ears and he touched him and he spit and he touched the
man's tongue and the man spoke correctly. You know, if Christ
touches us, we're gonna see right, we're gonna hear right, and we're
gonna talk right. Now back in Mark chapter eight,
again, verse 23, And he took the blind man by the hand and
he led him out of the town. And when he had spit on his eyes
and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw, do you see
anything? The Lord asked. Now, what is
the significance of spit here? You think about that with me.
Well, I know this much, spit is offensive. When you see someone
spit, especially on someone else, It's disgusting. There's nothing
more offensive and disrespectful than to spit in someone's face. They spit in the Lord's face.
And all it did was show their disgust and their contempt for
Him. They hated Him without a cause. And the most disrespectful thing
they could do was spit in the face, spit in the face of God. But the Lord spit on this man's
eyes. And what a picture this is of
the gospel. The grace of God came from Christ's
lips. The Lord saved sinners by a gospel
that is offensive. The gospel is offensive to the
natural man. If you would, stick a marker
here in Mark chapter 8 and turn with me now to 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, if you would. I want you to see this. I know
you know these verses, but I want you to see this. 1 Corinthians
chapter 1. Paul wrote this in verse 21.
1 Corinthians 1, verse 21. He writes,
for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Now the word foolishness
there means scandalous. Scandalous means outrageous,
criminal, wicked, sinful, shameful, atrocious, appalling. It means nonsense. It means disgusting. The preaching of the gospel is
scandalous to those in the world, to those who don't have Christ,
to those who are lost. It's nonsense, offensive, disgusting,
appalling to everyone but the believer. To the child of God,
it's the most wonderful thing they've ever heard. God saves
through preaching. Preaching is done by preachers.
True preachers are nothing but instruments of claim. They're
despised by natural men and women. You remember in John chapter
nine, when the Lord gave sight to that blind man that was born
blind. He'd never seen a day in his
life It was there that the Lord spat on the ground and he made
clay and he anointed the eyes of the blind man. And that man,
for the first time in his life, saw. The Lord made spittle. The Lord made clay out of the
dust of the ground. That's what preachers are. The
Lord made and raised up preachers. What a picture this is of the
Lord raising up preachers. That clay of spittle didn't give
that man sight. Neither does the preacher. The
clay the Lord made was just a means God used. Preachers are just
the means that God uses. That's all preachers are, just
a means. They're ministers of righteousness
by whose sinners hear and believe. And they are used in the anointing
of blind eyes. The preacher doesn't do the anointing.
Blind eyes are anointed with that message that comes from
Christ's gracious mouth. Christ the Word does the anointing,
but sadly, it's offensive to many. And the truth is that most
religionists in this world would rather you spit in their face
than to preach the true message of the cross to them. Here in
1 Corinthians 1, verse 22, it says, for the Jews require a
sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ
crucified. Unto the Jews it's a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks it's foolishness. But unto them which
are called, both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the
wisdom of god because the foolishness of god is wiser than men and
the weakness of god is stronger than men for you see your calling
brethren how the not many wise men after the flesh not many
mighty not many noble are called but now watch this but god hath
chosen the foolish what Men consider scandalous and appalling and
offensive. He's chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise. And God had chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
And the base things of the world and the things which are despised,
God had chosen, yea, and the things which are not to bring
to naught things that are. Why? That no flesh should glory
in His presence. Salvation's of the Lord. I don't
know why that upsets folks. I can't save myself of salvation
and of the Lord. I'm not going to be saved. That
doesn't make me mad. That makes me glad. Okay, Mark
chapter 8 again and I'll finish up. Again, verse 23, Mark chapter
8. And he, Christ, took the man
by the hand and he led him out of the town. And when he had
spit on his eyes and put his hands upon him, he asked him
if he saw aught. And he, speaking of the blind
man, looked up and said, I see men as trees walking. At first, this man saw dimly
and darkly. He still had spiritual cataracts.
You know, when God gave us sight, that's what we did. We saw through
a glass darkly and dimly, just like me before my procedure.
We never see clearly at first. This man saw men as trees walking. Trees are one of the largest
living things on earth, and trees can't walk. That's what this
poor soul saw men to be. You know, when our sight is wrong,
when we don't see clearly, we always see man as too big. And that's because we see God
too small. Paul wrote in Romans chapter
12, verse three, for I say through the grace given unto me to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think. Look at verse 25 here in our
text. But after that, he put his hands
again upon his eyes and made him look up and he was restored. And he saw every man clearly. The first time this poor man
looked up, he didn't see clearly. The second time this man looked
up, he was made. to see clearly. You see that?
He was made to look. Every good and perfect gift cometh
from above. Look up! Look up. Aren't you
thankful that God made you to look? He made us to look to Christ
who's seated at the right hand of God on high. Well, He makes
us to lie down in green pastures of the gospel. He makes us rest
in His Word. He makes us. He takes us by the
hand and He leads us beside the still waters of His mercy and
His grace. He leads us there. We don't go
there on our own. He was made to be sin for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God. It's then that we see
man, ourselves, women included, as we ought. We see what we as
men and women are. We see our great need. We see who we need. Christ, the
one thing needful. Friends, by God's grace, I am
so thankful that I can physically and naturally see much better
than I could just a few days ago. And I want to tell everybody
about it. But brothers and sisters, I am
eternally grateful that God has been pleased to give me spiritual
sight to see Christ face to face and to see that He's made me
just like Him. I see that now. It was and it
is God's purpose to conform His people perfectly to the image
of His beloved Son. I once heard a cute story about
a man whose sight left him and he sought the counsel of a trusted
medical friend who prescribed a medicine for him. And the man
took the medicine regularly for four days as prescribed and his
sight returned to him, but he could no longer remember anything.
And his friend suggested a remedy for that too. And after a few
days, his memory came back to him, but he went blind again.
And this continued on for some time and eventually his friend
said, well, it looks like you're gonna have to decide what you
want. Do you want your sight or your memory? And the man thought
for a moment and then he said, I believe I would prefer my sight. I'd rather see where I'm going
than remember where I've been. But hear me when I say, with
Christ, the sinner's remedy, we can clearly see where we're
going But remembering where we've been, that being our past, is
put away, and behold, all things have become new. We have the
best of both, don't we? After having my cataracts removed,
I can now see very clearly for a far distance. But now I need
reading glasses to see up close. But when God removes our spiritual
cataracts, we can see afar off. We can see Christ high and lifted
up on the throne of God forever making intercession for us. But
I'm thankful that we can't see up close. We can no longer see
our sin. We can no longer look to ourself.
We can only see Him who loved us and died for us. And to that,
I say amen. If you're here this morning and
you can't see clearly, may God be pleased to remove your spiritual
cataracts and give you eyes to see. Amen.