RESOURCES

“And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, 'Do you see anything?' And he looked up and said, 'I see people, but they look like trees, walking.' Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, 'Do not even enter the village.'"  Mark 8:22-26

The most important aspect in the life of a disciple is to see the reality of Jesus in a comprehensive and clear fashion by the power of the Holy Spirit under the authority of the Word of God.

The miracles of the gospels bear witness to the supremacy and the messianic rule of Jesus (Luke 4:18).

To See Christ Clearly:

1. We must understand the uniqueness, supremacy, and power of Jesus. The understanding of the blind man and his friends in Mark 8 was limited but true (and on the proper trajectory). 

“That the gospel is the goodness that the triune God has poured out his grace in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that through his work we might have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Jesus lived in perfect obedience yet suffered everything sinners deserved so that sinners would not have to pursue a righteousness of their own, relying on their own works, but rather through trust in him as the fulfillment of God’s promises could be justified by faith alone (sola fide) in order to become fellow heirs with him. Christ died in the place of sinners, absorbing the wages of sin (Romans 6:23), so that those who entrust themselves to him also die to the power, penalty, and (eventually) practice of sin. Christ was raised the firstborn of a renewed and restored creation, so that those whom the Spirit unites to him in faith are raised up and created a new humanity in him (Ephesians 2:15). RENEWED IN GOD’S IMAGE, THEY ARE THEREBY ENABLED TO LIVE OUT HIS LIFE IN THEM. One with Christ and made alive in him who is the only ground of salvation, sinners are reconciled with God–justified, adopted, sanctified and eventually glorified children of the promise.”  Trevin Wax, The Thrill of Orthodoxy

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready, stands to save you
Full of pity, love and power

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome
God's free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance
Every grace that brings you nigh

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all

Feel Him prostrate in the garden
On the ground your Maker lies
On the bloody tree, behold him
Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo, the incarnate God ascended
Pleads the merit of his blood
Venture on him, venture wholly
Let no other trust intrude

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms

"Come ye sinners poor and needy"  Fernando Ortega 

“The church, the people of God, is second only to the Bible, the word of God, as a source of reliable and transformative wisdom. Especially in our unwise age, attaching oneself to the church – the global, growing, two- thousand-plus years old body of Jesus Christ on earth– can be like finding a lighthouse when you’re lost in a raging sea. A faithful Christ-centered church and its wisdom- infusing patterns of worship is increasingly a refuge for those being pummeled by the maelstrom of our digital era. It certainly is for me. By the time Sunday rolls around each week, I feel desperate for it: desperate to be around real flesh-and-blood community after spending my week mostly interacting with people through screens; desperate to be transported from the fickle and fleeting debated of social media and into a space of worship that glimpses the eternal."  Brett McCracken, The Wisdom Pyramid

3. The two stage healing is symbolic of our need for a growing and comprehensive understanding of Jesus. 

“In matters of grace you need a daily supply. You have no store of strength. Day by day you must seek help from above. It is a very sweet assurance that a daily portion is provided for you. In the Word, through the ministry, by meditation, in prayer, in waiting upon God you shall receive renewed strength. In Jesus all needful things are laid up for you.”  C.H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (2/14)

“Set ten thousand new-made worlds of angels and elect men, and double them in number, ten thousand, thousand, thousand times; let their heart and tongues be ten thousand thousand times more agile and large, than the heart and tongues of the seraphim that stand with six wings before him (Isa. 6:2), when they have said all for the glorifying and praising of the Lord Jesus, they have but spoken little or nothing.”  Samuel Rutherford

STABILITY

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.  Proverbs 4:18-19

The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness, and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.  Isaiah 33:5-6 

QUESTIONS:

1. Do you have friends who are convinced of the supremacy and power of Jesus? Are you such a friend to others?

2. If yes, how is that manifested in your relationships?

3. What do you think of the advice given by Eugene Peterson to the man who was ”dabbling” in the Christian faith? (Pray the Psalms, read the gospel of John, set a half hour for quiet and journaling, and be in church on the Lord’s day every week for six months.)

4. If we are “leaky buckets” what does that mean for our need for daily growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ?