Preaching

‘Don’t Look Back’

Mark 8:22-26
Jesus and His disciples arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the town. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”
He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.”
So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked and realised that he had perfect vision, seeing clearly. And Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Do not go back into the town.’

In scripture miracles were called signs; they were sign posts to a spiritual truth and there are many sign posts hidden in the scriptures. Paul said in Ro 7:14 For we know that scripture is spiritual, but I am a physical.

The complexity of scripture and our lack of understanding is actually God saying to us, ‘No you don’t understand and I made it that way on purpose, simply because I don’t want you to rely on the bible and your understanding of scripture, I want you to have total reliance in Jesus and His Holy Spirit.’

We became Christians because we put our trust in Jesus; we need to continue doing just that. As recorded in John’s gospel Jesus Himself said, “Trust in Me, remain in Me, apart from me you can do nothing,” and we must remember that.

We are saved by grace through the gift of faith, however, historically we Christians all to easily then fall into the church belief systems and the traditions of men. Paul says this to new converts in Ac 13:43 “continue in the grace of God” and again in Ac 14:22 “continue in faith.” Unfortunately the very gifts that saved us are relegated and replaced by religion and its teachings.

Jesus healing the blind man what can this story teach us? The story ends with Jesus saying to the healed man, “Don’t go back into town.” Why? The answer speaks very much to us at Liberty church, it serves as a warning.

The story begins with Jesus meeting a blind man in Bethsaida, He takes him by the hand and leads him out of town. Why out of town? It’s only then, once outside the town, does Jesus heal him. Why only then and what had Jesus got against Bethsaida? Jesus had previously spent quite some time in Bethsaida and while there He’d blessed the people and performed many miracles while in the town. Even so, the townspeople still didn’t believe in Him, they failed to see the signs and they failed to recognise that Jesus was the promised Messiah and so they rejected Him.

Mt 11:21 Jesus warned the people of Bethsaida that trouble, distress and sorrow was coming because of their unbelief. So Bethsaida was a place of unbelief and rejection and so in the spiritual sense all of its inhabitants were blind. Jesus chose a man who was physically blind. For him to be healed Jesus had to lead him by the hand out of the place of unbelief in order to heal him, then came the warning, “Don’t go back into town, don’t go back into what I’ve brought you out of.”

Bethsaida means ‘house of fish’ and fish are symbolic of Christians. The house of fish can be seen as representing many Christians together, all with unbelief. The unbelieving church that knows Jesus but is unable to totally and absolutely rely on His Holy Spirit. I believe today’s message is for those who have been led out of the darkness of unbelief, or a place of rejection, or the place of tolerance but not acceptance, the message is don’t go back.

There are plenty of scriptural examples and warnings of not going back, and even not even looking back. One is Lots wife for example who looked back and became rooted to the spot instead of moving on. Or the Israelites craving for what they once had in Egypt instead of looking forward to what God had in store for them. They wanted to go back to what was familiar to them. In Nu 11:5 scripture lists them wanting the foods of Egypt. ‘Cucumbers, melons, and the leeks, onions, and the garlic,’ all foods that were back breaking to collect because they all grew on the ground. The foods they looked back to were gained by hard work.

But the fruit God had for them in the Promised Land was free for the taking. The fruit was grapes from vines they had not planted and fruit from trees they had not grown (Jos 24:13), with no effort you just stuck out your hand picked the fruit and ate your fill.

Bethsaida is a warning; don’t go back to any place of rejection or unbelief where you have to work for your spiritual sustenance. But celebrate that Jesus has brought you out for the purpose of taking you into something better, though it may take time and patience for your eyes to be slowly opened. Works or effort in any form are not necessary to gain merit in the Kingdom of God. The fruit of the vine from Jesus and the fruit of the Holy Spirit are gifts that are truly free.

Although the Israelites didn’t go back into Egypt they often harked back and held on to the past and the mindset they had developed in Egypt. They had a problem, they knew God from what they had seen him do, though they had never actually seen Him and Egypt was a place where gods were always seen.

It’s an age old problem of humanity wanting something tangible, when God is intangible; so the Israelites made God into their image of God, a golden calf. They fashioned God, according to there limited understanding, the golden calf wasn’t God, it was their image of God, it was a symbol of God. They had slipped back into the familiar. Learn from the golden calf; what may be a symbol to you, maybe an idol to God.

Symbols are man-made they are not of God, symbols are to focus the mind on some aspect of your relationship with God, However the emphasis is on the mind whereas God’s focus is on the spirit where man made symbols can get in the way. Our relationship with God is built on having the closeness of your spirit being connected, immersed and infused with God’s Spirit. His Spirit infusing with our spirit. How can anything humanity creates, ever enable us to get closer to God than becoming actually one with Jesus? Joh 17:22

We tend to worship God in a culturally relevant way, the way that makes sense and feels comfortable. If we are not careful we can mould God into something that He is definitely not or fashion our worship in the way people want to worship, not in the way God wants us to worship Him.

Jesus talked about worshipping in Spirit and in truth, How do we do this? We worship in Spirit by simply reaching out and responding to the Jesus the Holy Spirit has revealed to our hearts. We worship in truth by coming to Jesus as we are, and without any pretence or false front. Worship in spirit is about responding to the Spirits leading as the authentic people we are.

No mention of religious traditions or religious practices or religious symbols; never trade the spiritual for the physical. For our spiritual lives we need only trust, believe, have faith in the Spirits guidance for all things, including our worship, our prayers, even our fellowship with one another. The Spirit will lead if we don’t put obstacles in the way. It is written, ‘it is for freedom that Christ Jesus set us free’. For us to be free to be ourselves, we must give Jesus His freedom to be Himself.

The blind man was led out by Jesus, his eyes were opened by Jesus, the first thing he saw was Jesus and he saw Jesus clearly. Jesus had brought the blind man out of the place where he couldn’t see at all, to a place where he was able to see Jesus clearly.

When Jesus brings us to a place where we see Him more clearly lets move on in the clarity He gives us. Don’t look back, don’t go back, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Keep hold of Jesus’ hand and let Him lead you on. Look to where you are going not to where you once where and keep your eyes clearly focussed at all times upon Jesus.