JOHN 9:4a-c
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
Introduction:
Healing the man born blind was one of Jesus= greatest miracles. Our text gives at least three insights into Jesus= motivation for ministry.
John 9:4a (Holman) AWe must. . .@
One, Jesus felt compelled. He said we Amust@ do the work. Jesus was driven by irresistible impulse, divine constraint was on Him. He felt He had no choice.
Jesus could not help Himself. He had to work. His heart raced with desire. His thoughts were like a volcano swelling with lava, and wanting release.
When Jesus cleansed the Temple, His actions reminded the Disciples of an Old Testament verse. AThe zeal for Your house has consumed Me@ (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17).
A sense of being driven is essential to doing a wonderful work wonderfully. God=s work must be not only hard work, but also hot work, springing from hearts on fire for Jesus. Our whole essence must be thrown into the work.
When we rightly relate to God, irresistible pressure rises in us. When Jeremiah was discouraged, he tried to quit preaching, but had to admit, AHis message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail@ (Jeremiah 20:9).
Paul preached because Aobligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!@ (I Corinthians 9:16).
A genuine follower of Christ is compelled with His compulsion. Half-heartedness in the Lord=s work is inexcusable.
John 9:4b A. . .do. . .@
Two, Jesus had a sense of doing. His answer to the Disciples= speculative question was, we must Ado@ the work. Jesus had higher respect for doing than He had for speculation and theological nitpicking.
Jesus made doing business His business. He ministered at every turn. We too must be busy doing.
It is not enough to talk about work. We must do, straining every nerve, stretching every muscle, and extending every effort, while at the same time bending every knee in prayer.
Since we are doing God=s work, we must have God=s power to do it right. Excitement can thrust us into the field, but won=t stay the course. Prayer and work have to go together.
We must do God=s work even if success is hard to see. Duty is ours, results are God=s. But take heart. The unlikeliest fields are often the most prolific: Mary Magdalene, the dying thief, Saul of Tarsus, the Publican. Be buoyed by knowing God will bless us in our labors for Him.
ATherefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord=s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain@ (I Corinthians 15:58).
AIn the Lord@ is the key to this verse. The work we are called to is God=s work. There can be no greater motivation to earnestness than this.
God gives us strength. We must use it. Don=t sleep or waste God=s anointing. If we dally away our own strength, it is less of a crime; but to have God=s strength and yet do nothing with it, is horrendous.
John 9:4c A. . .the work of Him . . .@
Three, Jesus had a sense of purpose. He had a goal, a definite aim, to do Athe work of Him@ who sent Me. Jesus knew exactly where He was going and what He was about, to do whatever Father wanted.
Unfortunately, awareness of this definite purpose seems lacking in the lives of many believers. Christians often do not have pleasing God as the specific goal or chief aim in their life.
Something is wrong with a believer who has no plan other than idly floating out of one day into another. A Christian needs to live life with worthwhile, God-pleasing objectives. The Christian life, by its nature, is meant to be ambitious.
Repeatedly ask, AWhere can I best please God by serving others today?@ Christianity has no place for a sanctified sponge. We have no right to absorb goodness without sharing it with others. Our business is unselfish service, and the time to serve is now.
A church=s success lies in every member finding his or her ministry and doing it. We all have something to do for Christ which not even an angel could do.
Every believer has a God-given spiritual gift to be used in helping the body. Each has a work to do, a ministry their church will never do unless they begin it. None of us can do much alone, but if everyone performed their role, a local church could be involved in a multitude of ministries.
The all-consuming passion of our lives must be focused in our laboring together to please Jesus. When I played basketball, our team members were never to be seen holding hands with a girl. Our concentration was to be on basketball. If Coach Garrett thought we had a problem in this area, he made us carry a basketball all day to our classes. We were good at basketball because it was our life.
Similarly, a church succeeds to the degree its members= lives, fortunes, and sacred honors are invested in jointly seeking to please God. To build an efficient, effective saving, ministering station to honor Christ and help others is a goal worthy of our combined efforts.
A sense of purpose motivated Jesus and the early believers. They sought to please the Father. We should seek to do the same.