Today’s mini-sermon is the 1st of a 12-part series on the 9th chapter of John. It will be appearing in the Saturday, Sunday and Thursday additions of the Answers2Prayer newsletters.
“As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth.” (John 9:1)
When Jesus walked the Earth, he took the time to look for ways to bless. If someone needed His help, He always had the time for that person. But how? Was Jesus simply not as busy as we are? Did He have more time than we do, so that He could afford to spend so much time for others? Hardly. How would you like a schedule like His:
4:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. Prayer time with your Heavenly Father (that is if you don’t spend the whole night praying to Abba)
7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Ministering to the needs of humanity, healing the sick, comforting those who suffer and preaching the gospel (no time for coffee breaks!)
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Prayer time with your Abba
Well, you say, He didn’t have the stress we go through. Or did he?
Remember the times he was accused of being possessed by the devil? Or the traps the church leaders were constantly setting for Him? That would be pretty stressful! What about having to pay 100% of His attention to the needs of others? And of course there were the constant temptations He endured? Stressful? I should say so! Then there was the weight of all of our sin that He had to bear . . .
Quite frankly, I prefer my stress to His. At least I have time to watch a Star Trek episode from time to time! But no matter how hard I try, I never succeed in paying attention to all the details of my own life, and I fail miserably in helping all those I encounter everyday. Why is it that I fail where Jesus succeeded?
Well, let’s take another look at Jesus’ schedule. Notice how much of His time He spent in prayer. Isn’t this the key to His success? Isn’t this why He had no problems recognizing where God’s Spirit was working? How much time to you spend with your Heavenly Father every day? To be able to make a difference in this world, we need to be energized the way Jesus was energized: through prayer!
But wait a minute, do I have the time? An amazing principle is that when you spend time for God, He helps you meet all your needs. Look at Moses, at Paul… at Jesus. You never can give enough time to God, but He surely gives all His time to you.
The choice is yours. It’s now or never, spending eternity wondering where you went wrong. What is your choice?
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matt 25:34-36).
In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “I was Blind, but now I See” mini-series, please click here.)