16 Jul Jesus Encounter | Part 2 “A Blind Mans Encounter, an Eye-Opening Process”

Announcements:

ALL LOCATIONS: 

IMPORTANT** You received an email last week regarding video selfies for Really Big Things.  This is for you and your members who are excited and have committed to giving.   We need these videos by July 18!  Please make this a priority to share with your group and let’s get a good mix of different age groups.  Refer to the email for the details of how to take the video and where to send it.  THANK YOU!

 

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LEADERS: WE HAVE CHANGED UP THE DISCOVER CLASS WHICH USED TO BE GROWTH TRACK AND ARE ASKING ALL LEADERS TO RE-TAKE THIS A SOME POINT.  BELOW IS THE CLASS SCHEDULE:

 

FIRST WEEKEND: DISCOVER

SECONE WEEKEND: NO CLASSES

THIRD WEEKEND: CONNECT

FOURTH WEEKEND: BAPTISM

ALL CLASSES ARE AFTER FIRST SERVICE ON SUNDAYS

NEW ENGLAND LEADERS:

ALL CLASSES ARE AFTER FIRST SERVICE ON SUNDAYS

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Jesus Encounter – Part 2

A Blind Man’s Encounter – An Eye-Opening Process

Ice-Breaker:

Q. Imagine you had a chance to meet Jesus face to face and ask Him one question. What would you ask Him, and why is that question important to you?

Mark 8

Our lives are shaped by Jesus encounters.  Wherever we are on our journey of faith, it is because of Jesus.  The Church started because of Jesus and 2000 later we are still worshiping the name of Jesus.  Anything is possible with Him.

Mark 8:22-26 (ESV)

Jesus had always healed immediately.  He sometimes did not even have to touch a person to heal them, He just spoke.  Other times he did not even have to be in the presence of the person to heal them.  But, at this moment, in Mark 8, we wonder what He is doing.  It is the only place in the Bible where Jesus starts healing and then brings it to completion after a second touch. 

Jesus is teaching us through a miracle.  He is trying to teach us to know Him.

Q. In what ways does this miracle challenge our expectations and understanding of how Jesus works in our lives? How does it encourage us to trust Him even when our healing or restoration seems to come in stages or through a process?

This miracle is a PARABLE for DISCIPLESHIP.

We are not there yet.  We are works in progress.  Sometimes we need more than one touch to get a hold of what God wants to get into our lives.

This passage in Mark 8 speaks about blindness.  If we want to grow in Christ, we need ask for ‘eyes to see.’  We need to see better than we are seeing right now. In our trials and troubles, there is a spiritual unseen reality and we need to do battle to see a spiritual victory!

Jeremiah 5:1 (ESV); Isaiah 6:9 (ESV)

It is possible to see and still be blind. We do not see how we should see.

Three Universal Blinding Powers:

1. We are NATURALLY born SPIRITUALLY blind.

John 3:3 (ESV)

We don’t see the Spiritual realm naturally.  A natural man cannot discern Spiritual things.  Those that think they see are foolish.

We get frustrated with non-believers but we must realize they have not been born-again.  When we came to Christ, we suddenly saw things differently.  The Bible was gibberish until we met Jesus.

Q. Discuss the concept of spiritual blindness. How does this challenge our assumptions about those who do not yet believe in Jesus? How can this understanding help us approach non-believers with empathy, grace, and a desire to share the transformative power of encountering Jesus?

2. We are BLINDED by our own DESIRES and SINS.

This was Sampson’s problem.  He did not learn that Philistine women were bad news.  He was blinded by his desires and sins and he ended up shackled and in prison.

Our eager desires will lead us down a path of destruction that we cannot see.  For example, for those who are eager to get married, the eager desire to marry may lead to marrying a non-believer or a false believer.   The Bible is clear, to not be unequally yoked (1 Corinthians 6:14).

John 3:19-20 (ESV)

It is amazing how often we sell our Spiritual health for temporal pleasure.

Q. Explore the concept of selling our spiritual health for temporal pleasure.  How do our desires for instant gratification or worldly pleasures sometimes lead us away from God’s plans and purposes for our lives? Share practical strategies or personal experiences of how you have resisted the allure of temporal pleasures in order to prioritize your spiritual well-being.

3. We are BLINDED by our SPIRITUAL ENEMY.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

Non-believers are blinded because the Devil has blinded them.   We need to have compassion for those around us because Spiritual blindness is a universal issue. 

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Pro-Tip #1: To understand a passage of scripture, you need an understanding of the book the passage is from.

Pro-Tip # 2: If we want to study a passage rightly, we must read what is before and after it.

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In Mark, Jesus is nearing the end of His Ministry.  For two years he had been doing miracles publicly and powerfully and people had seen but yet did still not believe.

Then Jesus makes a decision and does no more public signs or spectacular miracles for the masses.  He isolates Himself with the twelve, teaching them and then heads to the cross.  His death, burial, and resurrection is the last sign He gives.

Mark 8:11–17 (ESV)

Leavened, in this passage, is a symbol of corruption. Leaven is good but if it stays on the shelf too long it will ruin the bread. It will get corrupted.

Jesus was essentially telling the disciples to watch out for two different types of people that walk away from God: ‘Herods’ and ‘Pharisees.’

‘Herod’ types of people are pleasure-oriented, secular-minded people.  They do what they want and do not care what God says.  They are rebellious.

‘Pharisee’ types miss God by being overly religious.  They are a far more subtle type of leaven.  They feel like they are good and do all the right things.  They look good on the outside but their hearts are not right with God.

Q. Explore the different types of spiritual blindness highlighted in Mark 8:15 (Herod types and Pharisee types). Discuss how these types of blindness manifest in today’s society and even within the church. How can we guard against falling into either category and ensure that our hearts remain aligned with God’s truth?

Mark 8:18-20 (ESV)

They had forgotten about the loaves and the fish that Jesus had multiplied previously. 

Even those walking with Jesus had resident blindness in their eyes.  They needed another touch and so do we.  Wherever we are in our walk, we are not done yet.  God has something He still wants us to see.  When we get a hold of Spiritual sight, it changes what is in the physical. 

The best way to discourage the enemy is to praise and worship God in spite of the problem. The Devil does not know what to do with that.

Mark 8:22 (ESV)

Bethesda was the home of Andrew, Peter, and Philip.  Jesus was setting them up for another encounter.

Q. Explore the idea of praising and worshiping God in spite of problems as a way to discourage the enemy. How do praise and worship shift our perspective and empower us in spiritual warfare? Share personal experiences or testimonies of how praising God in difficult circumstances has brought about breakthroughs or transformation. How can we incorporate praise and worship as a regular practice in our lives to combat the schemes of the enemy?

A Jesus Encounter is a PROGRESSIVE Spiritual EYE-OPENING experience.

1. Spiritual SIGHT develops when I stop FOCUSING on physical things.

Psalm 119:18 (ESV)

We need to close our eyes to the physical and open our eyes to the Spiritual.  We need to ask God to open our eyes to the Spiritual realm.  We tend to get so caught up in temporal things we miss the eternal things. Spiritual realities trump physical trivialities. 

2. Spiritual SIGHT develops in SOLITUDE with Jesus.

This is a big problem for us.  We are more alone than ever before and connect more visually together than ever before.  We are far more aware of everyone else than ever before.  Our smartphones will blind us. 

If we want sight to see Jesus, we need to turn off our phones for a while and open the Bible.

Mark 8:23 (ESV)

Jesus takes the blind man and separates him from society.  Just like the blind man, we need to be alone with our Savior.

“Solitude is the furnace of transformation.” – Henri Nouwen

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

Q. Discuss the importance of solitude with Jesus in developing spiritual sight. Share strategies or personal experiences of how you have intentionally created space for solitude and connection with God. How has solitude and time with God’s Word transformed your spiritual vision? What challenges or obstacles do you face in seeking solitude, and how can the group support one another in overcoming them?

3. Spiritual SIGHT develops in STAGES – don’t SETTLE.

Some of us need to stop saying: ‘This is as far as the Lord is taking me.’

Mark 8:24-25 (ESV)

The blind man needed another touch.  He then saw things at a distance with absolute clarity. 

Some of us need long-distance vision.  We need another touch so God can give us a long-range vision for our life.

4. Spiritual SIGHT develops when I SEE my SIN on JESUS.

Mark 8:26 – 33 (ESV)

They just saw a man get healed in stages to see things more clearly. 

Peter was not seeing the things of God, but he was seeing the things of men.  Jesus told Peter he needed to see Him as his Savior.

Our physical reality is temporary, we will lose or it will lose us one day.

There is something more important than healing, it is salvation and Spiritual victory over our past and promised to our future!

My deepest need is to SEE what Jesus DID for ME when He bore my SINS on the TREE.

Q. Reflecting on the concept of spiritual sight developing in stages, share an area of your life where you feel the need for a renewed touch from God to gain a long-range vision. How can we encourage and support one another to continue seeking God’s guidance and not settle for where we currently are in our spiritual journey?

 

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Weekly Challenge:  Set aside regular moments of solitude with Jesus. Disconnect from distractions, including smartphones and technology, and intentionally spend time alone with God. Open your Bible and meditate on His Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you and transform your vision. Journal your experiences and insights during these times of solitude.

 Pray for each other, our church, and our nation.