In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of Saul of Tarsus, who was initially blinded by his religious zeal and desire for success. The preacher compares Saul to modern-day preachers who may be sincere in their aims and motives but are blinded by their own agendas. The preacher emphasizes the need for spiritual eyes and the danger of succumbing to ultimate darkness without the light of God. The sermon also references the story of a blind man in John chapter 9, highlighting Jesus' response that the man's blindness was not a result of sin but an opportunity for God's works to be manifested.

This tape is part of the Bethel Ministries Pulpit Series recorded at Mountingash. This tape and all other Bethel Ministries tapes can be freely copied and distributed. However, for all other electronic transmissions, normal copyright laws apply. For more information, visit us at www.bethelpulpitministries.com or email us at info at www.bethelpulpitministries.com John chapter 9 beginning at 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? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me whilst did his day. The night cometh when no man can work, but as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the man with the clay. And he said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which by interpretation means scent. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat in bed? Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. But he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, I with an eye is opened. And he answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash. I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. And they brought unto the Pharisees him that Aphrodite was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? There was a division amongst them. They say unto the blind man again, Why sayest thou of him that he opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that received his sight. And they asked them saying, Is this his son, whom ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see him? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, that he was born blind. By what means he now seeth, we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. These words speak his parents, because they feared the Jews. And for the Jews it agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him yourselves. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise, we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or not, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciples, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses. As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he hereth. And since the world began, was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind? This man, if this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And then they cast him out. But Jesus heard that they cast him out, and when he found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped them. And Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, that they which see not might see, and they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees were with him, heard these words, and said to him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you see, we see, therefore your sin remaineth. May the Lord bless the word. Amen. Eyes that cannot see, that's the message title. You know that story? It's an all-encompassing story. That is one of the messianic miracles. It's one of the three miracles that Christ performed, proving that he was the Christ. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Sanhedrin, the Jews of those days, were without a shadow of a doubt, this was the Christ. They knew exactly who he was. It's unmistakable. Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. They knew who he was, but these men are blind men. You see, the prevailing condition of our age, just like the age gone by, is that of blindness. That's what is prevailing in the world today. Not a natural blindness, but a spiritual blindness. Look at the awful state of our world today. Look at the confusion. Look at the confusion that is dominating the world today. I'm telling you now, this world is blind. Everyone outside of this Christ is blind. The world is in this state because it staggers. It's swaying to and fro, falling in the dark. Our leaders are blind and they have no agenda for light. Every one of them who comes upon that TV will tell you that tomorrow is going to get better, but none of them has an agenda for light. Like the nocturnals of this world, they simply adapt to ever-increasing degrees of darkness. It's all the world is doing. We're adapting. The world is becoming nocturnal as the darkness increases. You see, if the leaders are blind, then so are the masses. This is the principle of discipleship. It's making disciples. This world makes disciples. You don't have to be in a church to be made a disciple. They're making disciples. They're blind leaders leading the blind masses. Billions of people are giving over to this cruel and confounding condition. Cruel because the Bible says, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them. Who causes that blindness? Well, it is the devil. It is the evil one. He's caused that blindness. You see, the whole world lies in the grip of this darkness. If the world is blind, then who will bear that light today? You see, that one man came into the world, and he was a torchbearer. He came not just to bring light. He said that he was the light of the world. But today, who is going to bear light to their eyes? This world, it demands light. We have to be those very people. You see, this is our call. To take light to eyes that cannot see. The eyes always speak of spiritual knowledge, spiritual life, and spiritual activity. The Lord Jesus Christ, in that sermon on the mount, He said, The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, the whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, the whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that be in thee is darkness, how great is that darkness? How great is the darkness in this world? You see, when a man is filled with Christ, there is going to be a great spiritual awakening. When that light comes in, there has to be an awakening of spiritual things. There will be a great appetite for these things, for spiritual things, only for spiritual things. What is spiritual knowledge? It's the understanding, the knowing of the Lord Jesus Christ, listen, through experience, a knowledge that goes beyond understanding. It's a knowledge that is only understood by the second factor, life. That is the only way that you can know Christ. It's in this life. Every one of these things dovetails into the other. It's spiritual life. It's spiritual sight that we're looking at. There's going to be a great contrast in this message between those who can see and those who have eyes but cannot see. Spiritual life is living out the life of Christ. That's what spiritual life is. It's not just the ability to come to church. It's not the ability to sit under a preacher. Spiritual life is the life of Christ being lived, not by rules or regulations, not by the do's and the don'ts, but by my spirit that says the laws. That is spiritual life. Life is the one great gift of God through which mankind is enabled both to know and to partake of that divine nature. That's why He's given us this life. This is the seed of Christ in me. This seed, this life given to God is given by God that I may become one with Him, that I may know Him through that union of the natures. The result of life is an ongoing conformity, a changing from one glory into another. Oh, I'm happy to have the life of God because I know looking at my life, it's not what it should be, but I'm being changed from one glory into another. God is conforming me, continually conforming me, day by day. He's making me like the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because this is spiritual awakening, this is spiritual activity. I've been given something that the devil cannot take away. I've been given life. It's inherited from the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual activity, it's not works, it's not zeal, though it may produce these in different degrees. Spiritual activity is the yielding of man's spirit unto God. That's spiritual activity. It's not the zeal. It's not the works that we do. It's the yielding of this life. It's the simply giving over of this life unto God. What God might do, what God wants to do. This is communion. This is kinship. This is intimacy. It's the energy that is produced when those two natures will become one. These are the things that cannot be taught by pen or pulpit. These things are only understood in God by experience. This is something that we all come to learn. I'm hoping tonight that we've come to that place where we understand these things. Not because John has taught them. Not because you've read it in a book. But because God has shown you by experience that spiritual activity, that life of God, that intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. He talks about that life all through the Bible. Without the life, all we have is just religion. You see, filled with Christ is to be filled with light. Filled with light is filled with Christ. Don't ever confuse this with speaking in tongues. It's not the same. If a man speaks in tongues yet has no appetite for spiritual things, the light within him, it is darkness. Mark it down. If he's a tongue talker, might call himself Pentecostal. They shout Amen at the same places that you shout them. But if he has no desire, if there's no appetite for the things of God, there is no light. It's just darkness in that light. He's just another man. Just another fool fumbling and falling through this world, lost in a world of darkness. Oh, we mustn't. We must not rest upon what the world calls Pentecost. Christ is bigger than Pentecost. Christ is bigger than anything that we can name. He's bigger than Bethel. He's bigger than our creed. Bigger than my preaching. Bigger than our theology. Christ is all and Christ must be in all. You see the blind man in our text, he represents the whole of humanity. He's every man. Listen to the question that was posed to this blind man. Who sinned? Was it you or was it your parents? You see the question posed by the world is simply to apportion blame. It's to look down upon him. It's to despise this man that cannot see. Or it is also there to discriminate between their state and his. Or it's easy for them to look down upon this poor fellow. He sat there all his life blinded in a world of darkness. But these men, wandering to and fro around him, they're not conscious of the darkness in their own lives. They don't understand that they too are blinded in this man. This is hypocrisy gone mad. Teapot looking down on Kephal through eyes which cannot see. Through the spout which has no eyes. In his reply then, Christ is not saying that the man and his parents were innocent. He's saying, the Lord is teaching that blindness is inherent. It is our inherited nature from Adam. Every man, he says, is born that way. Every man is born in sin. Shaped in iniquity. He's born blind. Not just the physical. Christ is always looking to the spiritual. You see, the Bible teaches that all men are born equal. Because all men are born blind. Every one of them. Every one of us are born blind. There is no natural blame for this blindness. It's a spiritual thing. It's come because of spiritual things. It's the spiritual eyes that must be opened. There are blind men, but they cannot see. Here we see, that in this message, there is hope. The message has to be a message of hope. Hope begins with the diagnosis and the discovery of right remedy. It's not enough that they point out the man is blind. He has to find the doctor. He has to find the cure for his malady. He has to be raised up. Brought forward. And he has to testify that once I was blind, now I see. Easy for the church. Easy for the people to say what the condition is. Easy for us to be doctors and diagnose every condition. Everything. But do we have the cure? Well, the cure is here all along. As long as I am in the world, he says, I am the light of the world. Light is the cure for blinded eyes. The Lord said of himself, I am the light of the world. This message is the message of hope that you, me, must share in this land of spiritual darkness. This is the message of light. It's a message of hope. A message that we must take unto people. We are going into a scape. Into a confused world. But we have something to bring them. We have hope to give them. We have light and that light is the life of God. It's the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are the light of the world, he declares. When he was in the world, he was the light of the world. But now the church, you, he says, are the light of the world. In other words, you are the eyes of this world. They have eyes but they cannot see. We are the eyes of this world. But we must be sure that the light within us, it be not darkness. For much of the church, that light within, it is darkness. This is why the preaching of the word is so important in this day. The word exposes. The word will come in and it will reveal those intentions. It will reveal that nature. It will reveal those weaknesses, those sins. It will expose what is in that heart. It will reveal truly whether it's the light of God, whether it is the darkness of this world. It's important that the word is preached. Though the world is blind, there is a tremendous amount of spiritual activity. We're living in a world that has so much spiritual involvement. Think of the religions today. Think of everything that's going on. The biggest meeting we've had in Mountain Ash, probably for years, is the seance, is the witchcraft, the voodoo, all that nonsense that they held in the pub there across the road. People are spiritual. They're looking for spiritual things. Well, we know they are, but why are they wrong? Because their eyes are blind. They have the eyes, but they cannot see. There is a call and a great anticipation of this world moving on towards a paradigm of spiritual awareness. This is the underlying message of the time. This is what people are waiting for. It's a call for openness in passivity. A call for unification by integration. A call for tolerance in submission. This is what the world wants. What do they want? To numb down the mind. To destroy any spiritual involvement. To kill the light. To suppress anything of the Lord Jesus Christ. To bring everything into one pot. To melt it down. To make it a hodgepodge of everything. And then just declare that this is the awareness that the world was waiting for. We see this in our nation. We see it in the world. In the cultural, the economic, the religious, and sadly, in the ecumenical world today. Bringing everything into submission. This is what's going on. We don't have to tell people this. It speaks for itself. If you don't understand these things, if you don't know these things today, you have to have the eyes open. The danger here though, obvious in the light, these things are obvious to us, but it is obscure. And it takes another form in the dark. You're going to find people, not just people in the world, but Christians, that cannot see. They don't understand these things. Think of the people that are in the ecumenical movements. Think of those trapped and locked into those churches. Denominations where everything goes, as long as the preacher's got a Bible in his hand. It doesn't matter to them that he has two horns and a big tail growing out of his backside. They'll just receive it. A lot of people are blind. This is obvious unto us, but we're in the light. What is obviously unnatural, unspiritual, and unbiblical to you, is simply another interpretation to those who are blind. They always have a plaster for every sore. They'll have an answer for every question that you give. But this book is not up for the other. It's not up for extra interpretations. There is no private interpretation of this Word. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. You see it. What distinction does a man born blind make between a cactus and a rosebud? What distinction? What can he see? What differences are there? There are none to him. Lynn was given a beautiful bouquet of flowers today for Mother's Day. There were so many different flowers in it. Different colors, different textures. But it was nothing. It's wasted on the eyes of the blind. He cannot make distinction. He cannot see or take any value from that pretty thing. He cannot understand those things. The most wretched activity today is that of the blind leading the blind both politically and ecclesiastically or somewhere in the future. There is a hole being dug. There is something being dug where those who are leading the blind, they're going to fall in. It's not the devil. It's not the devil I said digging that hole. It's God Himself. God is digging that pit for them to fall in. The world will continue to press on to the goal of spiritual enlightenment even though the spiritual activity is nothing more than darkness. You cannot stop it. We cannot stop the world. They're not angry for the things of God. Listen now. They're not angry for God. They're angry for spiritual things. They're angry for darkness. They're angry for anything other than God. If they don't believe, it's because they won't believe. If they can't see, it's because they won't see. They have to be told that you have to make the decision. You have to make the choice. The Gospel doesn't come and offer them this or that. It's not plan A or plan B. It's you must repent or you're going to hell. That is the only option for the world. The darkness of this world, it is a dangerous thing. It was hell in experience. For who? The man born blind. He's already in hell. Listen to this poor fellow. See him there sitting on the roadside blind for oh so many years. He's not going to fear hell because to him, he's lived hell all his life. What does the world offer the man? They cannot see. What did they offer him? What did that religious mind give unto him? How did they try to minister? Callous, condemnation. Is not this he that sat and begged? Is it not the same man? All that they wanted to give him. They want to put him back in that condition. Is not this he that sat and begged? Just condemnation. There's no rejoicing because his eyes are open. Because I tell you something, there's light in this man which is going to expose the darkness of his leaders. This is the religious counselling of the day. That was his counsellors of those days. There's nothing different from the counselling then to what goes on today. Soul psychology dressed up in cycle babble, the modern panacea that causes more harm than good, especially in the church. Today we call it Freudianism. In those days they had a more biblical name, Luciferianism. It comes from the devil. It comes from the devil. Man's problems were not wrought in the soul or in his flesh. The greatest problem was spiritual blindness. That which was on the outside only represented the condition of the heart. He was unable to see spiritual things. He was void of revelation. Therefore, he's void of right relationship with God. Now you have to understand this man is in the right religion of the day. He's in the best church. He's in the biggest denominations. He heard the greatest preachers of his day. I can imagine every one of them would have taken him to the stage of their platform, to their church. He'd have been on their TV stations. They'd have prayed for him. They'd have done all of those things. They'd have cursed him. They'd have spat on his eyes. They'd have passed out devils out of him. They'd have put hands on him but none of them could open the eyes. The problem was not what was here. The problem was in the heart. None of them could do what the Lord Jesus Christ was sent to do. He's sent to bring life. He's sent to bring life. What religion? He's against religion. He, listen, he come for one church. Or if he come back today, what would he think of the church? Cut up into a million denominations. Who, which man here would want a bride walk down the aisle in a thousand different boxes? How many men want to see her wearing 30 or 40 different dresses? It's an absolute evil thing for God to see what man has done to his bride. He has to come. He's come for one thing. Life. Not religion. The remedy for the soul is death by a thousand cuts. That is the only counseling in this church. Got a problem in the soul? Got a problem with the flesh? Problem with your sudden nature? It's death by a thousand cuts to you. Let the sword of the Spirit cut deeply into the soul. Let it separate joints from marrow. And life will burst upon the canvas of our understanding. That's the way to die. That is the way. It's the only way. Death by a thousand cuts. As that soul is cut into, as that soul diminishes, as that soul is brought to nothing, the Spirit will be released. The Spirit will take dominion over the soul, over the flesh. The eyes of our heart, the eyes of our understanding will bring forth great light. The need of this man, this blind man, is not an overflowing begging bowl. It's not counseling. It's not recognition. He needs no charity. His greatest need is more than life and death. The man, he needs spiritual eyes. Without eyes, he will succumb to the ultimate darkness. Without light, he will become hell itself. You see the devil, Satan himself is no respected person. He doesn't tiptoe over the blind people. He doesn't tiptoe over cripples. He doesn't say, oh, God have mercy on them. He takes them all, everyone. He doesn't leave anything out of his snare. There is no mercy in the kingdom of Satan. God has sent the remedy, light, and the life of life. There is always tragedy in danger. Listen, you all know the story of Saul of Tarsus. He was a blind man. A man blinded by religion, blinded by zeal, blinded by the need for success. He's a modern day preacher. And Saul would have been on that gospel channel every weekend, thumping his message to the masses. He has a church. He has a following. He has his own disciples. His people, they are growing. He was a man that wandered, tragically through the world, carrying a torch of zealotry with one mission, to rid the world of light. That was the mission of Paul. But Paul, Saul of Tarsus, he did it in all sincerity. Many such people in the world and in the church, they are sincere as to their aims and motives, but unless the activity produces the light of life, devastation is inevitable. It will follow. If there is not a pursuit of Christ, it doesn't matter what the minister does, it doesn't matter how big it grows, it will fall and it will produce absolutely nothing. Listen to Saul testifying when he became the Apostle Paul before the king. I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This is what he thought. This is what his blindness produced in him. He thought that he was right. He thought that he was God-honouring to come against the Lord Jesus Christ, which things I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them, he said. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. You see the sincerity of Saul of Tarsus. He thought he was right to do those things against Christ, against the God. He's doing this with the Bible in his hand. He's doing it from a pulpit. He has the backing of his denomination. Even the Adonis was giving him his blessing. Paul, wherever you hear that preaching, wherever you see them talking about life, wherever they mention the name of Jesus, it doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't bring life, snuff it out. Snuff it out. There were a thousand Jesuses in the day of Paul. But the one Jesus, the one that brought light, the one that brought life, he they must come against. This crazed, this blinded man is a man of true zeal and conviction. To him, evil is good and good is evil. The man is upside down. Why? Because the world is inside out. In his condition, ask Saul about his eyes. Ask him about his vision. No problem. He'll say 20-20 in the eyes. Why did he say that? Because he has his creeds. Why did he say that? Because his doctrines are right. Why did he say it? Because he's been to Bible school. Why does he say that? Because he works relentlessly for his church. He's going to say these things because of his zeal, because of what he's taught. It's in him. He loves his church. His pastor is a very nice man. Those that he will not proselytize, Saul will damn them to hell. His religion will curse their breath. This is the highest attainment of any religious system. This is the most, this is the furthest any man-made religion ever got. The soul of Tarsus, the whole of first century Judaism. Religion couldn't raise higher than that. They couldn't build a tower any closer to God. This is the closest they got to God and yet they were just one foot out of hell. That's all they were. They were a base thing. Nothing, nothing in that religion, nothing in that mind, nothing in that man could raise himself out of that condition. What they achieved was not only to snuff out the light of a nation, they took some grotesque form of justification in what they did. They really believed that they did this for God. Everything they done was done in the name of God. But which God? Which God did they do it? Not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not the God of Yeshua and Amashiach. Not the Father of Lights. But the God of this world. The God of this world to whom all blinded eyes belong. This is false religion. This is something that we must be very aware of. This is not talking about Judaism. This is talking about the darkness that dwells in the light. Christ has already said, be careful that the light within thee be not darkness. Not talking about the doctrine. He's talking about a revelation of one thing. If Jesus spoke of one thing, he spoke about himself. He's not interested in our doctrines. He's talking about himself. There is a blindness in the world and a blindness in the church. If our activity is not producing the light of the gospel, then we must question what eyes are we looking through. Is it the eyes of denominational dogma? Or is it the eyes of revelation? The cure of spiritual blindness is always the one thing. The poor man born blind, he experienced it. That cure all was an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This is true for the man born blind. It's true for the soul of Tarsus and it's true for you and me today. That cure for blindness, any darkness, it's an encounter with Jesus Christ. It's an absolute miracle today that any of us see anything spiritual. It's an absolute miracle that we see as well as we do. Yet we must go on and continue to move in, listen, the grace of God. Willing that He continues to open the eyes of our understanding. He must continue in that. We must will ourselves to be in the hands of God. Listen to what I'm talking about. It is the grace of God. It's not anything that we can achieve of ourselves. Eyes to be opened comes from the grace of God. What you saw yesterday must be superseded by today's revelation. What you see today must be superseded by tomorrow's revelation. It's progressive. It goes on and on and on. The man whose eyes were opened, he saw men who walked around like trees. What happened? He needed another work of grace. Christ opened his eyes. This is a different man. He said, what do you see? I see men walking around like trees. He laid hands on him again. What is he having? Another part of Christ. More of the grace of God. We need that continually. We need a second work of grace in our lives. We need a third work of grace in our lives. We need a fourth and a fifth and an ongoing work of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. We need the grace of God. All of these things come by God. Come by His grace. After that, he put his hands upon his eyes, made him look up, and he was restored. And so every man, clearly, that's the man that saw men as trees. Again, it says, he put his hands upon his eyes. And what did he do? He made him look up. He made him look up and he was restored. He took his head off other men. The first time his eyes opened, he's still looking at men. But Jesus pushed his head back and made him look up. The second work of grace. And he saw every man clearly. Every man was different. He saw that there was this kind of man and he saw that there was a heavenly man. It's not a China man. It's a man from heaven. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual light is conditional upon the willingness to walk in the grace of God. That's your walk. That's my walk. What have you received of God? Is it sight? Or is it just a passing fascination? A temporary indulgence in the things of the church? We have to question that thing today. What have we really received of God? You see, people come and go to church. People come. Well, they've been fascinated by what goes on here. There's an indulgence in the things that go on here. But is there an opening of those eyes by the Lord God Himself? Many people will sit in church, but very few will give themselves unconditionally into the hand of God. Oh, it's so easy to go to church. There's a thousand up and down these valleys. Easy to fit into a church. But to fit into the hands of God is something different. But it's here. It's in the hands of God. It's the providence of God. It is in the providence of God that light is produced. We cannot produce light in the church. We cannot produce it just by sitting under a message. It's in the providence of God Almighty. Paul's testimony to the religious leader of his day. He said, O King, at midnight, at midday sorry, I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun shining all around me. This is Paul's testimony. This is a man that could see, but all of a sudden he becomes a blind man. Blinded to the world, but he's seeing something. He's not seeing anything outward. He's seeing something inward. It is the Lord. Now the Apostle Paul, we believe that after this, he's going to be a blind man throughout his ministry. When you think of Paul, don't think of him as you see in those Catholic magazines, a man six foot six, handsome, wavy black hair, or even blonde hair, and big blue bug eyes. He's not like that. He's a four foot hunchback. He's as blind as a bat. He hasn't got no eyes. He's got a nose as long as my arm. And Paul wouldn't get on the God channel today. He wouldn't pass the screen test for such a thing. He's a blind man. You see, this was God's strength revealed in the weakness of flesh. God's strength. Next week in the church, everybody come. We've got the Apostle Paul coming to preach to all. We can't wait to see him. I've heard so much about him. And then they lead him, this little four foot hobbit that is blind. And he's going to talk about spiritual things. He's going to talk about sight. This nothing. This man without eyes. God's strength is seen in the weakness of the flesh. You see, he says to the Galatians, I bear you record that if it were possible, you'd have plucked out your own eyes and given them unto me. Why would they offer Paul their eyes? Because he didn't have any. Paul, after this encounter, on the road to Damascus, never had eyes for the natural. He saw a light that was brighter than the midday sun. A light that would penetrate his soul and bring life to his spirit. He left his eyes in that that's blinded by the things of God. But, oh, he could see everything in that spiritual realm. What was the meaning of this? What was the light? He tells us in the same chapter, Acts 26, he says, Rise and stand upon thy feet. This is Christ speaking to Paul. Rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared unto thee. That's what the light was. The light was the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Stand upon your feet. I have appeared unto you for this purpose. To make thee a minister and to witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of the things which I will appear unto you. It's a progressive thing for Paul also. Delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee. Listen, what for? To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God that they might receive forgiveness of sin. He's sending a blind man to open the eyes of men. He's sending a man without eyes. A man that cannot see to talk about the light and the love of God in Christ. It is futile, as it is futile for the world to speak of spiritual things, so it is useless for a person to think that he can minister without the ongoing unction of revelation. Our calling is a calling only to the things we have seen and the things of Him which He will reveal in us. That is the only thing we can minister. We have no right to speak of things which we know nothing of. The wisdom of God, it's tested in experience. It's not the words, it's the experience, the weight of life that counts. The whole work of Paul, it's in turn out. He's not made on that road to Damascus. That was the first stabbing of that sword. It's going to take a lifetime to create this man, this man that we know as, as a giant. The whole work was in turn out. You see his theology, his schooling, his education, his zeal, his position, his reputation, all of it left in the dust at the roadside. This is where we must leave our religiosity. This is where we must leave the things of religion. It's not what you've learned from pens or pulpits. It's what great thing God has revealed to you. This is the important. Might have revealed something different to you but it's a great thing if God has shown it. What eyes do you have? What eyes do you see through? What eyes do we have tonight? You see the foolishness of preaching is understood in this realm. Those of you that preach, those of you that witness, testify, they're handing out the tracts. You see the preacher, preaches things that he has seen to who? To blind people. This is why preaching is foolishness. We're trying to show them things that we've seen but they cannot see. This is an awesome thing to take in. Though you minister spiritual things, the people, the masses out there, they're unable to see. You see what God is doing? Keeping us humble. He's keeping us humble. This should keep us safe in our ministry. This should keep you dependent upon God to bring forth the visitation of light upon those who hear. Upon those who hear. You see that is the foolishness of preaching. But today of course, the church has made preaching foolishness in itself. They've made preaching stupidity. Why? Because they preach foolishness. You cannot do the same. The foolish preaching that God is talking about is preaching to a man that has no eyes. Revealing things to him that you have seen. It's preaching Christ. We must never be fools in our preaching. Success? Never in a preacher. Results were never in the message. The right ministry points only to Christ because he's the beginning and the end of all things. If eyes are opened, if we see something of Christ tonight, if we just catch a glimpse of the glory, nothing to do with the preacher, nothing to do with the style of preaching, nothing to do with the message, nothing to do with the congregation. If the eyes of our understanding are opened, it's because the light of the world, He's come tonight. He's come tonight if our eyes are understanding. What benefit is there in opening natural eyes if the spiritual eyes are not opened? You see, we spend far too much time asking God to repeat physical miracles, the miracles that went on in His day, when I believe we should be asking this one question. What does it mean? What does that miracle mean in the Bible? What did it mean for a cripple to walk? What did it mean for that man with a withered arm to see it grow? What does it mean that a leper is cleansed? What does it mean? Not that he would just re-do, rework those old miracles. What does it mean? Give that understanding unto me. Show me internally what you're teaching through those scriptures. Simply asking this question will bring great controversies. When eyes are opened, when spiritual appetites are produced, there has to be a collision. The religious will not tolerate anything that goes beyond the formal and the abstract. Yes, they talk about personal relationships, but never do they go beyond the veil. Why? Because they're too dependent upon natural things. Look at the church today. What is it seeking to produce? What is the church talking about? Growth. That's what the church wants today. That's what it seeks to produce. Growth. It wants a multiplication. Men have been able to manipulate through chemistry and genetics. They've been able to manipulate plants and animals. in order to produce growth. Man did that. Man produced it. Man manipulated the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, to produce growth. So too in the churches. The same things can happen. Bring in some hybrid ministries, manipulate and create an atmosphere for growth, and you'll produce something. That something could be big, it could be noticed, it'll stand out. But nevertheless, man did it. Man manipulated the church to growth. You can produce a body. It can function in this world. But the question is, does it have eyes? And can it see? What is the church today? What is the church that we know? Well, it's called a church. How far can it see? What does it see? What is the vision of that church? A few years ago, I had a church and sat down but really despondent with the direction of the church. Sat down with the leaders, asked them their vision. It's the same old nonsense. Well, we'll grow. We want a hundred people in here. Someone else's vision, well, we'll just get out there and reach the lost. Nothing about Christ. No internal work. Nothing going on with this small remnant of the God gathered together. He's gathered a remnant here. We may never grow. We might shrink, but we can still be the biggest church in the land if our Christ is big. If we have eyes to see only Him, we should be satisfied. The response of the church to the man with new eyes, staggering and yet acceptable to God. Look at their response to Him. Those Pharisees. They answered and said unto Him, Wast Thou altogether born in sins? And Thou teachest us? Then, it says, they cast him out. They threw him out of the church. And there he was all his life, blind as a bat. Soon as he has eyes, leave the church. Get out of here. We don't need a man like you. No good you coming in here teaching us things. What is he going to teach them? Once I was blind, now I see. How is that blind man? Because the Lord Jesus Christ came unto me. There's no room for him in the church anymore. Because the man speaks to the things that they cannot understand. He's become their enemy and there is no place for him in their denomination. It's on the outside of religious boundaries that this man will find the ongoing blessings. It's not the end to move out of the church system. It's not the end to be isolated. There's going to be ongoing blessings for this man. It's here with those like him who have had an encounter with Christ. It's on the outside where his disciples are. A place where there's no organized establishment. A place where there's no ruling council of men. A place where there's no prohibition of inward thought. A place where exclusion means opportunity and advancement. Oh, we can say amen to that. There is opportunity for advancement in the things of God. It is here that this man will again meet with Christ. It is here on the outside where the only eyes that matter are the eyes of Christ. It's Christ that comes as seeker now. The pursuit of Christ in these last days is ended greatly by systems and schools of theology. The only way we can see is to become blind towards this world and blind towards religion. I have no doubt that this man is despised, he's rejected outside of the mainstream church but never once, never once did he go back and ask that system to reinstate him. Why would a man that heard the truth go back to a church that is run by men? Men who have eyes but cannot see. Why would he go back there? The man is not. You see the Lord Jesus, He's going to come to look and He's going to come to bless. The Lord Jesus said that when He comes He was a judgment. He was a judgment upon that church. He was a judgment for that very principle. The principle of sight. The principle of the eye. He comes to judge. Listen, we'll end here. He said, Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world that they which see not might see. And they which see might be blinded. He comes as a judgment upon them. Oh that God would open the eyes of our understanding. If He doesn't open the eyes, if He's not opening our eyes, He's doing something else. He's closing them. He's putting them to sleep. For much of this nation, for much of the world, Christ is putting pennies upon those eyes, shutting them forever. They have no ability, no desire to see Him. No desire to seek Him. No desire to pursue Him. Nothing in their hearts but a light that is darkness. May God find us tonight in a different, in that peculiar condition. The condition of seeking the grace of God. If we see that light in the world is by His grace and His grace only. Let us stand tonight.