Why Only God Can Open the Eyes of the Blind - Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel

0:00 So it is the gospel according to St. John chapter 9 and verses 1 to 38 inclusive.

0:09 We have mentioned.

0:10 Before that there are seven signs mentioned in the gospel according to St.

0:17 John.

0:18 These seven signs, each one takes up three chapters and three times seven is 21 and this is the exact number of chapters that in the gospel according to saint john 21 three number three biblically speaking represent perfection holy trinity father son and holy spirit perfect and seven also represent completion and perfection seven days of the week so seven perfection three perfection seven times three perfection times perfection is the gospel according to saint john Reason being, because John, out of the other gospel writers, he introduces Jesus Christ to the entire world as God himself, period. And when it comes to God, God is perfection times perfection. So there are seven signs. These seven signs are the seven

1:24 sacraments of the beloved church of Christ. When the Lord established His church in the New Testament, He put seven sacraments in it. One of it is the baptism sacrament. The other one is the body and the blood sacrament. The other one is the priesthood sacrament. Today's gospel is addressing the sacrament of absolution. Forgiveness of sins. The sacrament of absolution, forgiveness of sins. The sign of Takes up three chapters. So today's gospel is from chapter 9. To understand chapter 9, we need to read chapter 7, 8, and 9 together to understand what the Lord is trying to.

2:12 Teach us here.

2:14 So when we go to chapter 7, it talks about the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles in chapter 7. And the tabernacles in the Old Testament, the Israelite nation, they used to go outside of Jerusalem and pitch tents for the first time in the entire year. The tents were white. They used to live in black tents. But at the Feast of the Tabernacle, they would pitch white tents on the outskirts of Jerusalem and would celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle for seven days on end. Now... they did not understand that that tabernacle or that tent, that white tent, was symbolically representing the Lord Jesus Himself. And what is the equivalent feast of the New Testament church?

3:11 Transfiguration.

3:12 The tabernacle of the Old Testament is the transfiguration of the New Testament. What happened on Transfiguration Day? The Lord Jesus takes with Him three of His disciples Simon Peter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and takes them up to the Mount Tabor.

3:33 And there he transfigures.

3:35 His clothing become whiter than snow and his face shines brighter.

3:41 Than the sun.

3:42 Simon Peter says, it is good for us to be here, Lord, so we can pitch three tents. One for you, one for Moses, and the other for Elijah. God the Father gave. offended, he brings a white cloud, covers everyone, and they hear a voice from heaven, God the Father saying to Jesus Christ, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

4:10 Then the cloud.

4:11 Disappears, the disciples lift their head up, they only see Jesus Christ of Nazareth, no one else. Because God the Father is saying, no one covers my son. You see, when you pitch a tent and you go inside it, the tent covers you. You are no longer seen but the tent itself. And God the Father says, my beloved son, Jesus Christ, is the tent, is the covering to whoever wishes to be covered by the Lamb of God. But my son, no one covers. He covers all. For he is the conqueror. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. He reigns rules over all.

5:01 Visible and invisible. The spiritual and the tangible worlds put together.

5:07 Christ covers all.

5:09 So the Feast of Tabernacles you find in chapter 7. And then in chapter 8, they bring to the Lord Jesus while He was.

5:20 In the temple.

5:22 They bring a woman held in the very act. Caught in the very act. Now the very act means she was pregnant out of wedlock. That's what it means. She was pregnant out of wedlock. And the law, which is the word of God. And the law says to people as such, they are to be stoned to death. So they brought her to the Lord Jesus trying to trap him.

5:51 And to this trap, they said, what do you say, teacher? Shall this woman be stoned to death?

5:58 It's the law of God.

6:02 The Lord Jesus looks at all those people who are holding a stone in their hand about to stone this sinful woman. He looked at the first one from the oldest to the youngest. He said to the oldest man standing there with a stone in his hand, He said, I will not tell you all your sins that you have committed throughout your 80 years on earth. I'm going to be nice to you, but you left me no choice.

6:31 I will reveal your sins from the morning you woke up till this moment you're standing before me.

6:38 I'm going to write down.

6:40 He bows down and with his finger, he writes on the ground what sins that old man committed just for that day only. It is the same finger that brought the Ten Commandments for Moses on Mount Sinai. It is the very finger of God that brought the Ten Commandments, that very finger. It is the same God, Jesus Christ, is the God of the old and the new.

7:08 God is one.

7:10 Hear, O Israel, your Lord, your God is one. We do not worship three gods. We worship one God. But this one very God in his nature and essence cannot be just one. He is one in three and three in one. Because I ask you, my beloved human being, are you one and one only? If you say yes, then I'll ask you, do you exist? You cannot deny your existence. Pinch yourself to see if you truly exist.

7:42 Do you have a brain? You cannot deny that. Do you have a life? You cannot deny that either. Is your existence your brain?

7:51 No. Is your brain your life? No. Is your life your existence? None of them are alike. But are you three people or one? One. But are you just one and one only? No.

8:03 You're one in three and three in one. The existence of God is the Father. And the word Father in Aramaic is Abon. Abon means not like the earthly father. No. Abon means the root to all roots, the foundation to all foundations, the existence to all existences. God the Father, Abon, means the existence.

8:32 God exists. His existence is the Father. God is wise.

8:36 His wisdom or intellect is the Son. And God is the living God and the life giver. And the life of God is the Holy Spirit. God is spirit and holy. And in His spirit, He is the source of life.

8:54 But it's one God.

8:57 So the same finger wrote on that ground and said, you've made this and this and this and this sin today. Out of shame and embarrassment, he throws, he cuts down the stone and walks away in shame.

9:12 And to the other one and to.

9:14 All of them, until all of them threw the stone from their hand and walked off with their heads down to the ground in shame. Then the Lord turns to the woman. He says, To her, do you see your accusers? She turns around. She says, no, Lord, I don't see them. He says, neither do I see your sins. Go in peace and sin no more.

9:41 Wow. In chapter 8, when the.

9:46 Lord did all this and put them all to shame, then the Lord turned around and said to them, He who believes in my word.

9:59 Will never die.

10:01 The Pharisees and the scribes replied to the Lord and said, what do you make yourself?

10:07 Who do you think you are?

10:09 Our father Abraham died and all the mighty prophets of the Old Testament, all of them died because Who do you think you are? If by saying, if you believe in my word, you will never die.

10:23 Who are you?

10:25 He said to them, the Lord, your father Abraham was longing to see my day. And he saw my day and he rejoiced in that day. They said, you haven't even got to 50 years of age. Abraham was 2000 years before you, Jesus. 2,000 years. They said to him, you haven't reached 50. By the looks of it, you're about 30 something. When did you see Abraham or Abraham see you? The Lord then says the most profound foundational reply.

11:05 He says to them, before Abraham was, I am.

11:11 Wow. Wow. If anybody says.

11:15 When did Jesus say, I am God?

11:18 Well, read John 8, 58. Before Abraham was, I am.

11:27 The word I am, it made them go crazy.

11:32 They lost it. They picked up the stone to stone the Lord Jesus. Why?

11:38 Because this I am is the very same I am where God said to Moses, go and tell my people, my name is, I am that I am. Because Moses asked God on Mount Sinai, I'm going to go down to the foot of the mountain and your people are waiting there. They will ask me, what is the name of this God that spoke to you? He says, go and tell them, I am that I am. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the son of Mary, the son of the carpenter, says to them before Abraham was, past tense, I am the ever continuous present tense. And the I am means God.

12:30 The ever continuous present tense. When can a being be ever continuous present tense? When that being is the creator of time. The reason why we have past tense. We have present tense and future tense. Because time controls us. When I speak about myself. I say yesterday I was.

12:57 Today I am.

12:58 Tomorrow I will be. Because time controls me. But when God is the creator of time. So when he talks, there is no time because he created the time. Therefore, he is above the time. Above the time, there is no past. There is no future. There is the ever-continuous present tense. And when you are the ever-continuous present tense, you will never change. Because change only comes when time controls you. But God is the controller and the creator of time. Before Abraham was, I am. They picked up a stone to stone the Lord. And the Holy Bible says, and he walked through them.

13:46 And they did not see him.

13:50 As he leaves the temple, today's gospel starts. He found a man sitting on the wayside, blind, born blind. He was speaking to people who were seeing. They came to stone him and he walked in the midst of all of them and they did not see him. The ones who were open, they went blind. And the blind, his eyes were open. The Lord Jesus sees this man who was born blind.

14:22 He stops.

14:23 The disciples asked the Lord, Lord, whose mistake was it for this man to be born? Was it his mistake or his parents? The Lord Jesus says, neither his parents. nor his, but this man is placed here for the glory of God. Well, obviously the Lord is not saying that he is not a sinner or his parents are not sinners because all of us are sinners. Your question, my disciples, cannot exist. Why? Because you're saying whose fault was it? Was it his or his parents? Listen, it is all of you's fault. All of you are this blind man because sin blinds you And whoever came to the face of this earth was born a sinner.

15:11 Read Psalm 50.

15:14 And with iniquities I was conceived in my mother's womb. With sin I was conceived in my mother's womb. The only one who was conceived sinless was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. All glory to his holy and mighty name.

15:33 Why? Because my beloved.

15:36 Every single human being that came to the face of this earth and will ever come, they are born from both father and mother, earthly parents. And the sin is in the seed of the man. All of us have two parents, two earthly parents, father and mother. The sin lies in the seed of the man. The only human being, perfect man that was born without an earthly father was Jesus, out.

16:08 Of the entire human race.

16:10 In this alone, you need to search for this question, why was he the only one that was born with only an earthly mother, nor an earthly father?

16:21 Seek the answer to this question. Why is he different?

16:25 Why there was no other prophet that was born from one parent? Why was never been any human being that ever came to the face of this earth that was born from only one earthly parent except Jesus? This alone raises a million zillion questions.

16:43 You need to find out why. It's not the time for it tonight. You see, that man that was born blind The Lord is.

16:51 Not speaking about the physical blindness more than.

16:55 The spiritual blindness.

16:59 But he used that physical blindness to reveal what is much deeper and much more grieved to God is the spiritual blindness. There are so many people who are physically blind yet they see more than those who are physically blind.

17:20 Open eyes. Look at the world.

17:24 A lot of people can see with their physical eyes, but they're absolutely blind. Blind to the truth. Blind to evilness. They just go with the flow and believe and accept whatever comes their way. They are swimming in absolute blindness, not realizing their right hand from their left hand. The Lord has come to open our spiritual eye. Our spiritual eye.

18:01 The Lord spits on the ground and makes clay mud and applies it to that man's face, to his eyes. And then he says to him, go and wash in a pond in Aramaic called Shiluha.

18:18 Siloam in English, nowhere near it.

18:22 It is shiluho or shiluha or shiluha.

18:30 It's called shiluha.

18:31 Now, it is a Hebrew Aramaic word. That pond is called shiluha. In Aramaic, shiluha is a word derives from the word shlicha. Shlicha means someone who has been sent forth like a messenger. Someone who has been sent forth. The 12 apostles of the Lord are called means they have been sent by the Lord Jesus. And that pond represents Jesus Christ whom his father sent him forth. The father sent his son forth to do what? To open the eyes of the blind. to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, those who are totally separated from God, detached from God, drifted away by the current of the world.

19:32 The Lord Jesus came to open our spiritual eyes, to come back to God once again.

19:41 Listen to this. The moment this.

19:44 Man's eyes were opened, the very first people who denied him were his parents. The moment you accept Jesus Christ of Nazareth as your Lord and Savior, and the moment you follow the Lord, the very first people who will go against you are your own family. They will be the first one to crucify you. And they'll call you names.

20:11 They'll say you are crazy. You're out of your mind. You've lost your marbles. What's got into your head? You were normal like all of us before. You used to sit and watch television all night long. Movie after movie. You know, TikTok, WigWalk, NickNock. You were normal. Now you went to church and this good old bishop said a few words. He brainwashed you, man. He ruined you. You're not sitting with us. You're not going out. You're not going on a party. You're not going clubbing. You're not dancing.

20:43 You're not drinking. You're not sniffing. What happened to you?

20:49 You're not normal. We're not mixing with you anymore. Walk away.

21:00 We don't want to see you anymore. Don't ever be upset. With nobody going against you. You know why they go against you? Because they are still blind. Remember. All of us were blind before. And we all denied God. And went against Him. But when God opened my eyes. I realized. My grieve.

21:33 Sin.

21:35 My grievous mistake. I realized it because God. It takes God to make you realize your sins. It takes God to make you realize your mistakes. It takes God to make you realize how much you are hurting him. Yet you are not even realizing it. So when God opened my eyes. I spoke to my brother, to my sister, to my family. My family is still in denial of God.

22:10 They'll see me crazy. They'll go against me. The parents were the first one who denied him and said, you ask him, he's a grown up.

22:22 We don't know who opened his eyes. Yes, you knew. You knew it was the Lord Jesus.

22:27 Ah, they were afraid not to be stoned by their own Pharisees and scribes and priests. So many times we become hypocrites to please people and upset God. Some people will say you shouldn't be talking like that because you'll be offending people. But it's okay to offend God. Doesn't matter.

22:56 Do you see Him? No, you don't see Him. You know, it's a lot easier.

22:59 To offend somebody you don't see Than somebody you see with your own eyes. So you know what? I can't be seen as bad before people. But it's okay to be seen bad before God.

23:10 Jesus Christ.

23:12 So Lord Jesus time out. I have to go with the flow like all. Bishop why do you talk like that? You want to talk about the Lord?

23:23 Be. You know. Easy. Don't shout.

23:28 Just say like Jesus was really good. You know, he did a few miracles, not bad. Not bad for a Jewish guy to do certain miracles. Listen, it's either the light or it's darkness. It's either the truth or the light. It's either the life or death. It is either the Lord Jesus or Satan.

23:54 You need to choose.

23:54 He can't swing between the two.

23:58 He can't be one day in the church, the next in the club.

24:01 You can't one day drink the heavenly wine and the next the earthly deceptive wine.

24:08 You can't one day praise, the next swear.

24:14 You can't be one day with Christ, the next with Satan. It's either Jesus Christ or it is absolute blindness straight to hell. When the Lord opens your eyes, people will go against you. And they will cast you out. But blessed are you when you are cast by your own people. Because when you are alone, God will find you. And you hear, read the gospel of today, chapter 9.

24:45 And it says, when.

24:47 Jesus knew they casted that man out, then Jesus found him.

24:54 Incredible. Jesus found him.

24:57 When the Lord Jesus finds you, you will be in no need of finding anyone else.

25:04 Because in the Lord, everything you need and everything you lack, you will find. Therefore, you don't need anyone when you find the Lord Jesus. Love everyone. Pray for everyone. But speak the truth to everyone. Love everyone. Pray for everyone.

25:26 Forgive those who have gone against you, who have hurt you, who have persecuted you.

25:31 Forgive them. Because it's about the Lord, it's not about them. It's about the Lord Jesus.

25:39 My son, my daughter, don't ever, don't ever, don't ever fight, argue about materialistic things. At home, husband and wife, family, Don't ever fight over materialistic things. If you want to fight, then you better fight the good fight that is about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You need to say, I will go to church and you're going to come with me.

26:14 Everyone will be fighting to go and to see the Lord Jesus. Everyone will be fighting to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. Everyone will be fighting to be under His obedience. You need the Lord because there is no other one but Him.

26:30 There is no other thing but Him. He is everything. and everything is in him. He is the I am.

26:39 You know when the Lord God said to Moses, tell them my name is I am.

26:44 You know what I am means in a nutshell? I'll tell you what it means in a nutshell.

26:48 He says to Moses and to all of us, Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the I am and there is no other I am but him. He says to us, when you see the bird, I am that bird because I created that bird with my own word. When you see the tree, I am the tree. When you see the water, I am the water. When you see the land, I am the land. When you see the animal, I am that. When you see the sky, I am that sky.

27:18 When you see the galaxies, I am that sky. And when you see the human, I am. For I am the creator.

27:25 Of all and all are in me. I am in all and all are in me.

27:31 I am the ever-present living God in you, around you, and all over you. Then the question we ask, where are you, God? The Lord says, when you take this breath, I am that breath. And you're asking, where are you, Lord? I am the closest ever. I'm that very breath that you receive every single moment of your life on earth.

28:03 I am the sacrament of absolution, forgiveness of sins. The Lord says to that woman who was held in that very act, a sinner.

28:14 To be stoned.

28:15 He says, neither do I see your persecutors. Go in peace and sin no more. The Lord Jesus forgave the sin. When He forgives the sin, your eyes are opened only then. For as long as we live in sin, we are spiritually blind and will do everything wrong under the sun without even knowing what we're doing. And even if we realize what we're doing is wrong, we will continue doing it because sin makes the will beyond weak. You have no strong will to say to sin, no. You will just give in to sin because sin weakens the will.

28:57 But when the Lord.

28:57 Forgives the sin, He gives you His will, not your will anymore. Through the will of Christ, I begin to learn to be stronger and stronger. And the next time I face the same sin which I've been falling in it for decades, I step.

29:15 On it now.

29:16 Because the Lord forgave me my sins when I was genuine. The issue, we ask for forgiveness, but so many times we are not truthful enough.

29:32 We're not honest enough.

29:34 I say to the Lord, forgive me, but deep down, I'm still longing to that sin. And the moment the opportunity arises, I jump at it. You know, when you are a true repentant soul, it's when not only you don't do sin anymore, when you begin hating sin.

29:57 That's a true repentant soul.

29:59 When you hate sin, not only not do it, because sometimes we don't and sometimes we do, but when you hate sin, you will never do. We need to come genuinely, honestly, bow before the Lord and say, Lord, I'm the greatest sinners of all. Have mercy on me, son of David. Have mercy on me, O Lord, O son of God, O God himself. Forgive me, Lord. By your grace, I want to repent. Make me repent, Lord, so I can repent.

30:38 I'm trying to repent, but I'm struggling. But give me the grace to truly repent before you so that you may forgive me wholeheartedly. Therefore, my eyes will be opened and you will find me then. And when you find me, you'll say, do you believe in the Son of God? Who is he Lord? So I believe in him. He says the one you see now. And the one who is speaking to you.

31:02 Is the son of God. And you will bow then.

31:05 And then only you will truly worship the living God. When you are genuinely repentant soul. Christ has forgiven you then. Your eyes are open.

31:19 And Christ will find you. Because we can never find him. He is God.

31:23 Nobody understands God. in order to find him. God will find you. All you need to do is, when you come to him, be genuine about your weaknesses.

31:35 Forgive. Ask for forgiveness. Say, Lord, forgive me. I have sinned.

31:42 I'm not worthy to be called your son. But I'm coming, seeking your mercy and your grace. And I believe you are the merciful God. Please have mercy on me, Lord. Wash me clean. Make me whiter than snow and brighter than the sun. Make me Christ-like.

32:03 Amen.

32:05 King David in his Psalms, he says, God is the one who opens the eyes of the blind. God is the only one who opens the eyes of the blind. Jesus opened The eyes of the blind. He did not invoke any other name.

32:28 But his name.

32:31 So if Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. Without seeking another name. What does that make him?

32:39 Prophets. And saints will come and say. In Jesus mighty name. May your eyes be opened. They can never say in my name. Your eyes are open. Because they will get a smack.

32:54 Jesus never said, in my Father's name, your eyes are open. Or in the name of God, your eyes are open. He said, God was in my name. Before Abraham was, I am. You know, what did I make Adam out of?

33:10 Clay.

33:11 And what did I make out of the ground? Clay to open those eyes. It's the same God. I created you out of clay. Out of clay, I'll put two brand new.

33:21 Eyes in you.

33:26 But I did it in my name. No one else's because I am God. Trust in this God.

33:35 Love this God.

33:37 Worship this God. Adore Him. Spoil Him. Every morning spoil Him. When you get up, I know I've taken too long. I'm loving it. I'm really sorry, but I'm really not. When you get up in the morning, say, Good morning, dad. You know, be more informal, not too much formal because you can't be formal with your own father. You see, the word father is formal, but the word daddy is informal.

34:09 That's why the Lord Jesus, when he was asked by the disciples to teach them on how to pray. He taught them the prayer in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Because Hebrew is the formal, Aramaic is the informal language. So when you transliterate the prayer in Aramaic to English, it should read the following. Our daddy who art in heaven, not father.

34:32 Because father is formal, but daddy is not formal. And I have to be informal with my dad. For God's sake, he's my dad. I can't be formal. I am only formal with strangers. But with my own father, I can't call him Mr.

34:48 Smith. Good morning, how are you? May I ask for a question?

34:51 You'll get up, you'll pinch him and say, Dad, hey, go and mate, give me $ 10.

34:56 What is it for? None of your business, Dad.

34:58 Just give me the $ 10. However, even though I speak informally, but I have to respect him because he's still Dad.

35:08 He's still God.

35:11 But the Lord calls us to speak to him informally. Because he's daddy now. No longer just God, but daddy. So when he get up in the morning, say good morning, daddy. What a lovely morning it is. It's you, Lord. You are the beauty. You are the one who created this S-U-N with one word. You are the one who gave us the light, gave us the life, and gave us this beautiful world.

35:34 Look at this. Amazing. Look at the galaxies. Amazing. Because you are amazing. It's not them they are amazing.

35:41 It is the one who is the creator of it is the amazing one. You are amazing, dad, what you've done. Daddy, I love you. I love you so much. I adore you. I need a Ferrari desperately. Go the Italians, baby. No, I'm just kidding. Don't get excited with me. But you can ask for a Ferrari afterwards.

36:05 He will like it. And then he will give you a Haval. A Chinese one.

36:12 Instead of goes forward, goes backward when you hit the accelerator. Sometimes I hit on the accelerator too much. I think it's a Ferrari.

36:19 It chokes. Suffocates.

36:25 I miss the good old V8s, the Holden SVs, you know, SVA, whatever it was called. I can't remember. The good old Holdens, mate. Come on, Australia, what have you done to the Holdens? Bring them back. The V8 might. One hit, 20 bucks gone. Now it's a hybrid. 100 hits, only $ 1 gone. But you can't hear it because.

36:53 What kind of car is that? If it doesn't shake the ground beneath it, it's not a car. Like it speaks like a sign language, it's not a car. I'm driving. Thank the Lord. Amen? Let's bow our heads.

37:13 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen. Our good God and full of mercy, our good God and full of mercy, whose grace and mercy is poured upon all. Pour, my Lord, the compassion of the delightfulness of your love upon your servants and again transform them in the hope of renewal to the life of repentance. Renew in them your Holy Spirit by whom they are sealed for the day of salvation.

37:36 Amen.

37:36 Purify them by your compassion from all flesh and spiritual blemishes. And assure the hope of their faith by the aid of your grace. And instill the walks of their behavior in the paths of righteousness. Please them along with the saints in your kingdom. By the assurance of the hope of their faith. And the adoption as your children. And in the joy of your absolving mysteries. Empower them by the aid of your mercies. To observe your commandments and fulfill your will. To confess, worship and praise your holy name.

38:05 The Lord of all. Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

38:10 May the Lord Jesus forgive us and make us worthy to come forth and receive Him in the true body and the true blood, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. I love you, but Jesus loves you the most. God bless.