Well, enjoy this
message from God's word. Well, if you brought a Bible in
a church with you this weekend, open it with me to
Mark 8 as we kick off this collection of talks that
we're calling 20/20 Mark's Gospel, the eighth chapter. I want to bring a
message from God's word to you that I'm calling
Seeking A Second Touch-- Seeking A Second Touch. We find in verse
22, it says they-- and the they is Jesus
and his disciples-- came to Bethsaida--
someone say Bethsaida. Bethsaida. And some people brought a
blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind
man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's
eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, do
you see anything? He looked up and
said, I see people. They look like trees
walking around. Once more Jesus put his
hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened,
his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home saying,
don't go into the village. Would you pray with me? Father would you help me
to clearly communicate what you've so abundantly
blown my heart away with, caused me to see
things differently. I pray you'd help me
to get out of the way and help you communicate,
let you communicate what you want to these beautiful people. And I pray that we
would never be the same. And ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Seeking a second touch. There's a productivity tip
that you could come across you probably have seen. There's these lists they always
put out, Fast Company and Inc. And everyone's looking
for life hacks, a way to optimize, a way
to tweak things. And those little
things you can do like, only looking at email
within a certain pocket of your day. Picking a couple hours
where you are only going to really focus on email
there, not just letting it be throughout the day. That's probably smart. Picking some websites
that distract you the most and adding them to the block
list on your web browser. That if they're your go to,
just take that out of the way where you go to,
oh, that's right. I blocked that. And little old
things you can do. And one of them that
you'll come across that I think is actually
pretty interesting is, is a concept called
never touch something twice-- never touch something twice. And this basically is to
say that to the extent that you allow there to
be unfinished business, you'll always drain
your productivity. So take a piece of
paper like this, if you get handed this
paper and this represents some tasks you've got to do,
a bill you've got to pay, a decision you've got to
make, once you're handed it and you look at
you go, oh, gosh. Surely don't want to do this. I need a-- OK, I'll just put on
in a stack of papers over here. But you know you need to do it. Now you go your way,
what are you doing? You're going to
hand in new papers. But in the back of your mind,
you know he's back there-- he's back there. And so what happens is you've
spent two minutes holding it already, and then the next
time you think of it and see, I need to do that, don't I? Oh, gosh. I got to make a
decision about that. So you pick it up again. And you go, OK. Oh, man, to do
this I'd have to-- I need to go do something. And you go do your other thing. And here's the problem. Eventually, other
things get added to it and you'll sort of forget it,
but your subconscious won't totally let you forget it. And there will be
something-- this is a word I had to
learn looking into this. Niggling at the
back of your mind. Niggling. Niggling is something there
that isn't here, just back here. And so you don't think
of it very often, but you think of it at
the least opportune time. Don't you? Oh, that's right. Just as you fall asleep,
that's right I need-- [SNORE] or driving
your car when you don't have Siri to write
something down for you. I need to do the thing. OK, when I get back to my house,
I'm going to do the thing. That's why people tie strings
around their finger, right? Don't forget the
one thing, right? We read this book to
our kids sometimes about our Bert and Ernie not
forgetting to buy the oatmeal. And they go through this
whole shopping thing and they forget to buy the
oatmeal, of course, right? We tie the strings
around our finger because we forget about things. And so it's niggling at
the back of your mind, jumping at the
forefront until you go to actually sit down and
do it, then you're like, what was that thing
I needed to do? You'll think of this every--
well, is this not true? You will think of it
every inopportune moment when you can't act on it. But when you actually
need to act on it, then you sit there going, you'll
be staring at the thing going, I don't remember. There was something
I was going to do. Was it this? Was it was this over here? I don't know. Now you've wasted two minutes
the first time you picked it up, two minutes the second
time you picked it up. Probably, 11 minutes
to four different times you thought about it when
you weren't within access of doing the thing. And then about 15 more
while you sat there going, what should I be doing? I don't know. Oh, look at that hacky sack. Wonder if I could still do that? What are you doing? Quit playing with
your hacky sack. Your college days
are gone, all right? Put the hacky sack down,
do your work, right? This is what you need. You need me in your
life just going, hey. Hey. Put the hacky sack down. [LAUGHTER] It doesn't matter if
you can still hacky. Do the thing. So the idea is, the
first time you touch it, you're not allowed
to put it down till you either do
something with it, or do something about it. Now, you might not have
everything you need, because there may have
to be some research done, there may have to
be a meeting done. But what you're going
to do, is you're going to do something that
causes it to no longer need to be a thing that
you have to hold. In that you put it
in your calendar when you're going
to decide about it. You put an appointment of the
15 minute block when you're going to make that decision. Or you delegated to
someone else so now it's no longer your problem. Anybody would with me on that? Once it's out of
your hands or you've decided when you're going
to do something about it, or you just-- here's another
thought just deal with it. Oh, it's going to be so hard. No it won't. Write the email. No it won't. Make a decision. No it won't. Do something that
causes it never-- isn't that a good business advice? Never touch something twice. Don't hold that
bill [INAUDIBLE].. Just fold that laundry,
don't touch it twice. This is how I'm going to do it. No, just do it. I need to watch
something on Netflix. No you don't. Dude, just do it. Never touch anything twice. Clearly, Jesus didn't get
that memo in this miracle, because He's touching
this guy twice. So what is going on here? Because Jesus was
obviously the master leader if there ever was one. Here He leaves this
man in a stay with some on unfinished business. Apparently, Jesus
knows something that we don't often
realize, that when it comes to our
personal lives, it often isn't like it is when
it comes to bills we need to pay or emails that
we need to draft pr meetings that we need to schedule. Often times, when it
comes to our soul, the second time's the charm. Oftentimes, when it
comes to our life, there's another stage that
we need to enter into. That's what we see. Now, before we
really unpack that, let's get our bearings
here for a moment and just acknowledge that the
power of what we're seeing. The singular nature of
this miracle is twofold. Number one, it is the
only time in Mark's Gospel this miracle is ever given. Some of them are repeated
in multiple account. You'll be reading
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, you'll get to
see different coverage of the same story, which is
powerful, because it's almost like getting to see the same
story through another set of eyes. And you get different details. But this is the
only time we get it. So that means this
is rarefied air. That's means we've got to
really just understand, we're not going to see this
miracle again in our journey through the Scriptures. We're only going to
get this one time. So that's unique that Mark is
the only one who included it, but it's also
unique because this is the only time Jesus
ever did a miracle that was in movements-- a miracle and movements. He left, intentionally,
some unfinished business. He spits on the guy's
eyes, which is weird. Let's just call that
out for what it is. And He then touches him
and says, do you see? The guys like, I do
see, it's just blurry. I do see. Well, tell me about it. Well, they're-- everything's
like, is that Sam? Is that Bill? Should I cut him down? Should I climb up that? Oh, no, no. No, no, no. Come back on over here. Because he saw men
like trees walking. So the miracle wasn't done
yet, even though Jesus had done his first act of healing. And there was never a single
time in all of the Scripture where it's recorded that
Jesus went to heal someone, and then stepped back,
and it wasn't good. This was like
B-grade work, right? This is factory seconds. This is not Nordstrom
miracle, this is the Nordstrom Rack miracle. Like, the guy could see,
but not all the ways. He could see but there's going
to be a little bit of string sticking out from the hem line. You see what I'm
talking about here? This is a factory
second miracle, and that is noteworthy. Because Jesus generally
does all things well. This is not the song, (SINGS)
you do most things well, right? It's like, no, no. Hold on a second. That's not my God, He doesn't-- Jesus stepped back, how is it? How's that miracle? He goes like, uh? Right? He's like, I don't to know
if I should tell you, but-- it was not a great job
that he had done here. So what is happening here? Maybe more importantly,
what is not happening here? This is not Jesus
needing a Mulligan. This is not Jesus having missed. He was tired. He's like, I'm so sorry. I'm usually much better. I didn't mean-- I don't get
a lot of sleep last night. The people, these disciples, the
Pharisees be tripping always, right? So that's not what's
going on here, right? This is not Jesus missing and
having an off-Jesus moment. That much is clear. Why do you say that? I say that because it's
clear from the fact that Jesus has all
power and does not miss and has never said,
oops in his entire-- you should know that today. Whatever is going on
your life right now, Jesus isn't up
there going, oops. [LAUGHTER] Oh, what was I-- that's
right, I had the string tied around my finger. I completely forgot, right? He's like, I didn't get
the oatmeal in your life. OK? So that's not what's happening. That means we're only
left with this then. This is the obvious and
the uncomfortable truth of this text, Jesus
meant to mess it up. Jesus meant to mess it up. Jesus meant to heal
this guy, and was willing to walk-- seemingly,
willing to walk away, leaving the man with
unfinished business. Why? Because he always,
from the beginning, intended to touch the man twice. Now, he wanted to heal
the man's eyes, which is what his friends were seeking. And let's just take a second
and appreciate the fact that this miracle
never would have happened if it weren't for the
faith from this man's friends. The Bible says, before Jesus
took the man by the hand-- and how special is that? Jesus taking this
man by the hand. Jesus will take you by the
hand if you come to Him. He wants to hold your hand. He took the man, the
Bible says, by the hand and led him outside the village. Why? He had to get the
man to a place where He could touch him with faith. Jesus had already sworn
off miracles in Bethsaida because He had
tried to work there, but He didn't find faith there. And where He does
not find faith, He can not work in power. Not will not, but
cannot, the Bible says. He can not work in a
situation like He wants to where there is no faith. He took the man by the
hand and took him out. He had to get him out of
what was holding him back to where He could
work in his life like He wanted to through
the faithfulness of the man's friends, because they
came seeking a miracle. And from the
beginning of time, He intended to heal this man's
eyes, but to do so in stages. To do so in phases. To do so one round at a time. Why would that be? Context is everything. In the greater context
of this chapter, Jesus has been trying to get
the disciples to understand that they are blind. Jesus has been trying to get
the Pharisees to understand that they are blind. Jesus has been trying to
get the disciples to see that the Pharisees are blind. Why? Because He just did,
for the second time, the feeding of the thousands. First 5,000, then 4,000. And here's the question. What if Jesus wants to do
something in your heart today that's not quite
the same as what He did in a previous season? I preached one time that
the feeding of the 4,000 was perhaps the most dangerous
miracle in the Bible. Because it was possible that
they looked at that miracle and went, well, it
was 5,000 last time-- 5,000 last time. I'm telling you, life
sometimes goes like this, and goes like this. And sometimes life
goes like this, and sometimes life
goes like this. And we got it right here go,
hey, it was 5,000 last time, it's 4,000 today. Thanks be to God. Come on. Thanks be to God. Whatever He's done in our life. He wanted them to see that. He wanted them to appreciate
that He's going to-- He fed 4,000 because
4,000 showed up. And if 5,000 were there,
He'd feed them too. And if it 12,000 showed
up He'd feed them as well. And so we just
gotta be faithful. Whatever He brings
to us, whatever He's doing in our life,
whatever He put in front of us, let's be faithful with that. We don't want to be
those who only are willing to do stuff that's big. It's been said, if
you're too big to serve, you're too small to lead. So if you can't humble
yourself to do 4,000 because that's what's
in front of you, you have in your mind that
you're a 5,000 type person, and next time it
better be 6,000-- you've got to have
the spirit that says, whatever you said in front of
me I'm going to faithfully take care of with all my heart. And then disciples
got into a boat. And in the boat, they only
brought one loaf of bread with them. They didn't realize how long
they were going to be out, and they got hungry. They got hangry. And Jesus said, what are
you guys talking about? They said, we're super
hungry, but we only got one loaf of bread. And Jesus said, you
guys gotta watch out, because there's the yeast
of the Pharisees a foot. Because the Pharisees were
just about to trip and Jesus was just about to get into
another fight with them. And they go, oh,
He's pretty mad at us because we didn't
bring enough bread. He goes, are you kidding me? You know-- guys,
I fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes. You think I can't
feed 12 with one loaf? Like what-- and
they're like, yeah, He's really mad we didn't
bring enough bread. He goes, you guys-- Here's what he said. He goes, you guys can
see, but you can't see. You're blind, but
you're not blind. And that's what this
miracle follows after. So what is he trying to
get them and us by larger, broader extension to see? That it's possible
to be at a place where you're not quite blind,
but you can't quite see. Where you're desperately
in need of a second touch. That that's what you should
be seeking in your life. This man shows and gives a
picture to what many people, I believe, today are
living in, content with. And that is you are
stuck between touches, and you think that
that's all there is. Stuck between touches. God touched you
at one point, did something dramatic in
your life at one point. Unquestionably, this
miracle, even when it wasn't all the way
there, was still marvelous. He didn't see. And now light's streaming
into his pupils. He didn't see at
all, now his corneas are being flooded with light
to shoot into those pupils, to shoot to the
rear wall of his eye that are covered
in rods and cones, to broadcast via the optic nerve
where it would be transmitted and flipped around. Because everything we see
is backwards and everything we see is upside down, but the
brain does that in real time. And now, for the first
time in this man's life, he's seeing colors,
and he's seeing light, and he's looking around. If you've never
saw, to see blurry is still better than nothing. And so many of us have
had God work in our life in a marvelous way. We were dead, now we're alive. We were blind, now we can see. We don't see like we
should see, but we see. And that's a
dangerous place to be. Because you can be so
mesmerized by the colors of what you've seen that you
stop asking to see more. Stuck between touches. Martin Lloyd Jones in his
book, Spiritual Depression, has a whole chapter
on this miracle. And he says, and I
quote, "many people seem to know enough
about Christianity to spoil their
enjoyment of the world, and yet they don't know
enough to feel happy about themselves." Stuck between touches. Not quite blind, but
you can't quite see. Men look like trees, but
you're not blind anymore. And so you could
stop there and be frozen there, partially
developed, not completely finished, and walk
away half done. This is the danger that
the author of Hebrews addressed in his
letter when he wrote-- the author of the Hebrews,
you're like, who wrote it? I don't know. Some people think Paul. What do you think? That matters as much
as what I think. Exactly, we don't know. So come on, let's leave
the preschool finger painting exercises-- how condescending is this? It does sound like Paul. That guy was sassy. So come on, guys. He's like, look at
these believers, they thought they
were so mature, but they're walking
around looking at trees. They're like, oak,
elm, fir, aspen. He's like, come on,
guys, let's leave the finger painting
exercises on Christ and get on with the
grand work of art. So grow up in Christ. Come on, someone say grow up. Grow up. Say it's your neighbor, grow up. Say it to yourself, grow up. Is anybody with me? I want more. I want to see God do more. I don't want to sit there
finger painting when I could work on something special. I don't want to get
stuck between touches. Yeah, I'm grateful for what
God did in my life then. I want to see him do
something brand new. I want to step out
in faith again. I want to see God do
something special in my life. Paul was addressing
this and Corinth a lot. The church in Corinth
was full of babies. They needed to be eating
meat, but they were just stuck on milk-- stuck
between touches. They thought that's
all there was. They thought that what God
had done in opening their eyes was all He was willing to do. And He said this to them-- this
is the message translation. You stare and stare
at the obvious, but you can't see the
forest because everything looks like trees. I see trees. I just see trees. You see, Jesus says. He says, I see trees. I see people like trees. Doesn't see the big picture. Doesn't see the bigger
story, just sees trees. Trees are things you use. A forest is a place you can be. Doesn't see the bigger picture
of being a part of what God's doing, just sees the trees. You stare and stare
at the obvious, but you don't see what
you're looking at. You're blind, but not blind. You can see, but you don't see. You're stuck between touches. You think you've experienced
all there is, but God over here has something that you couldn't
even possible-- eye has not seen, ear has not
heard, nor has it entered into the heart of
a man what God has prepared for those who love him. Where are a lot of
people stuck today? They're stuck at the spit. Saved, have perception,
have been introduced, and are trucking along. Spit. Saved. Have perception. Have been introduced
and are trucking along. Stuck in the spit. I find it interesting
that rabbinical literature from the day talks
of people believing that the medicinal
qualities were found in the saliva
of respected rabbis. It was thought that,
like your mama, nothing couldn't be
fixed with some spit. [LAUGHTER] Don't you hate when
your mom does that? There's nothing worse. But we do the same thing. You burn your finger-- it drives me crazy. My family believes
that a brain freeze can be cured by
pressing your thumb to the roof of your mouth. So I get brain freezes
real easy, I always have. I have a real low
threshold for cold. And if I get-- anything can set me off. It can be not even that cold. I'm like, ah, brain freeze. My family just sees me in agony. And when you're have
your brain freeze, you want to shut the world out. People would be telling you
things to do and you're like, I want you to stop
talking to me. I just need this to go away. I'm trying to go to my quiet
happy place at the moment. Like in Happy Gilmore where
the crocodile is there and Chubbs is there and
grandma is there, right? I just need, for a
second, just to go home. I'm not too good for my home. Just leave me-- and
then you're fine. You're fine like
it never happened. Then you're like,
what's the matter? Why were you
looking at me weird? Because you were
contorted on the ground, crying in the fetal position,
begging for your mother to come lick your wounds. You know what I'm saying? My family believes if you
stick your thumb to the roof of your mouth, but I feel like
I just cannot come to a place where I'm willing to suck
my thumb to heal anything. I'd almost rather have a brain
freeze than suck my thumb. Your pride, Levi,
is your problem. So here's the thing
Jesus was using what people thought was secure. How's that working for you? How's that working for you? I could see. It's like when Jesus later
said to the disciples, who do men say that I am? Just right after this
passage, matter of fact. We looked at that last week. Who do men say that I am? Some say you're Elijah,
some say that you're this, some say that. That's basically like
spit in their eye. That gets you so far. What people are
saying about Jesus, He's not just normal
guy is the idea. Duh. He's a water walker, miracle
worker, crowd feeder, eye opener, dead raiser. Yeah, some people think
he's a really good guy. Not like any guy
you've ever met before. That'll get you
looking like trees. I see enough to know that
He's not normal, He's not-- but you don't see
the forest yet. You don't really see
what's happening here. You can't just stop at who Jesus
is said to be by the people, you've got to see who He
says He is for Himself. You've got to see
who God has declared, for Him to be only then-- only then. You've got to see it for
yourself, only then will you see the bigger picture. God doesn't want you to
stop at just being saved, He wants you to be sent. He doesn't want you to stop
at just having perception, He wants you to
have perspective. He doesn't want you just
to be introduced to Jesus, He wants you to move forward
in your walk with Jesus. He doesn't want you just
to be tracking along. How's your walk for the-- I'm just trucking along,
just one day at a time, just hanging in there. Just barely surviving. Come on, He wants
your grace to be full. He wants you to abound. He wants you to have
joy that's overflowing. Well, you know just
trusting God-- no, come on. Who's believing with
me for your head to be anointed with some
oil in the coming days? Who's believing me
for a 20/20 where God's prepared a
table for you to eat at in the presence
of your enemies. Come on, people who criticized
you today are going to one day watches you get promoted,
watch as you get exonerated, watch as you get exalted. Come on, who's believing
with me that God has a plan that you haven't
seen all there is to see? There is another touch for you. There's another
touch that's coming. God has more in store for you. Don't get stuck at
the first touch. Don't get stuck between the
phases, because what happens is when we get
disillusioned-- listen to me, we eventually can become jaded. We get disillusioned. We saw and the novelty
of just seeing wore off and, eventually, we have to be
honest with ourselves and go, things are blurry. I can't see stuff clearly. I'm bumping into stuff. I can't tell enemy from friend. And, eventually, we'll
go, is this all there is? I been walking with
Jesus for 15 years, is this all that there is? I've been faithfully
trying on my marriage, is this all there is? I didn't think it would be this
hard after this many years. I didn't think it'd be this
challenging after this long. I didn't think
I'd still be here. I didn't think I'd still
be struggling with this. Eventually, if we give
in to the disillusion, it will become jaded. And we'll be
skeptical of anybody who is experiencing more
in their walk with Jesus than we are. Those who can't hear always
hate those who dance. And those who can't
see always are dismissive of the
experience of those who can. And so we can get
to a point where we are hypercritical of
anybody who's experienced more. Or worse, we'll pretend
we can see what we don't. We'll just fake it. You see that face? Yeah, I see that face. Looks like a tree. But we'll just say,
yeah, lovely color. Sunsets wonderful. We'll just fake it. And the danger of faking it
is then you become arrogant and you become prideful. And you become then cynical
and, ironically, you become hyper-judgmental. Oftentimes, it leads
to a fake spirituality where you're conjuring up
a relationship with God that you don't actually have. That will then lead to this
hyper-pharisaical legalistic, I can't believe you
watched that movie. Someone who's seen
the colors that I have would never watch
such a filthy movie. I can't believe-- oh, you? Oh, wow. Mm-hmm. I remember when I used to
not be able to see-- bam. Yes, I remember that. That was terrible. Why do you have a bloody nose? You just walked into a tree. You mean Bill? Right? It's like, wait. That was my friend. Your friend's a tree? Yes. I can't believe you
didn't know that. You must not walk
with God like I do. Right? Like your arm always
trailing behind you. [LAUGHTER] Why is your arm
hanging behind you? I don't know. What do you mean? Like this crazy-- listen,
that's what happens. And that's how you hear
these stories of people who are preaching this
intensely legalistic, got to be like me to
be perfect Gospel. You find out the inside it's
just brokenness-- just lies. There was no truth to any of
what they were experiencing. There wasn't a
sweetness of humility and the genuineness
of just being awestruck by the wonder
of what God shown you. So God doesn't want you
to be disillusioned. What does he want for you? He wants you to be dissatisfied. Dissatisfied. Now, that's going to stretch
some of your comfort level, because you're thinking
of all the verses right now in your head, because
you've got him all memorized 'cause you've been up
since 4:00 in the morning having your quiet time
in the original Hebrew. And you're thinking
through verses like, be content with
such things as you have, for I will never leave you. I know that's in Hebrews 2. I read the Bible one time, also. But I'm also aware of the
fact that our God, oftentimes, gives you less than he
wants you to have hoping that you'll ask him for more. So right now, in
your life, you are meant to strive for more
than you currently possess. A man's reach should always
exceed his grasp when it comes to what God's done. That's why Paul was
reaching towards the finish line-- reaching, striving,
stretching towards. Now, he wasn't content
with what he had done, he wasn't content
with what he had seen, he wanted all that
God had for him. Because a humility will
tell you that if God does have plans for
you, those plans are likely bigger than
what you've currently seen accomplished, seen done. It's probably more than
you've seen of His character, more than you've
seen of His goodness. So you should always be
eager to see everything that He wants for you. To not miss out
on a single thing. Come on, it's not a cheap trick. He wants you to warn Him. He needs you to need Him. You don't today, have everything
God wants you to have, you have everything you've
asked form and not a bit more. Now, if you have a hard
time reconciling this, I'll remind you that we
have a God who always serves us our daily bread. And that means yesterday's
bread is gone and eaten. Today, you got to ask
for something new. You've got to ask for
that second touch. You've got to seek
the second touch. You've got to seek
the next phase. If you're saying, is
this all that there is? God's saying, yep,
in that stage. Good thing I'm a God of the new. I'm about to open up
a brand new season. If you're willing to
be dissatisfied and not grow disillusioned, you can
come to a place where you'll go, is this all that there is? I thought there would be more. And Gods right there
with you going, I was waiting for you to ask. Do you feel dry today? Are you tired today? Do you feel like you're at
the end of your stuff today? Good, that means
you're dissatisfied. You're ready for God to feel
you again, use you again, speak to you again, show
you something new. [APPLAUSE] What does it take to get there? To get to what? To where? Well, to get to where
Jesus put His hand on the man's eyes again. Let's look at it, but let's look
at it in a fresh translation. It says Jesus-- verse 25-- He put His hand
on the man's eyes. And what? The man looked and realized he
had recovered perfect sight. He saw everything, you could
say, in bright 20/20 focus. Come on, thank Jesus today
that the second touch has more than the first touch did. [APPLAUSE] [CHEERING] He was holding back. Jesus was holding
back his power. He could have touched him the
first time without the spit. He could have healed him
when the spit hit his eyes. You can't spell hospital
without spit y'all. [LAUGHTER] Good one, Jennie. He could have healed
him without a word. He could have healed him
without coming near him. He could have healed him
while he was still in his bed. Jesus can do anything. If anything, the fact
that in the Scriptures, He never heals
the same way twice is just so we have to
keep living by faith. So here's this man,
and he gets 20/20. Why does he get 20/20? Because of number one, candor-- candor. He had be honest. He had to be vulnerable. Here's Jesus, who's the
busiest guy who's ever lived. So busy He should never
touch anything twice. And He gives a minute to this
man because his friends ask. Jesus is like, oh, yeah. I'll drop everything. Walks him outside the
village hand-in-hand. Isn't that so sweet? This is my Jesus. This is my Jesus. This is the Jesus that
is in the Scripture, not the Jesus you heard about
as a kid who's mad at you. This is a Jesus who
takes you by the hand because you can't and who
walks you outside the village. He'll meet you right
where you are today, Are you struggling today? Are you still working
off a hangover today? Were you up late looking
at porn last night? He'll take you by the hand. Come on, he loves you right now. Is your marriage
in tatters today? Are you struggling with
same sex attraction today? Have you had an abortion? He'll take you by the
hand, Jesus loves you. He cares about you. He's got grace for you. He's madly in love with you. He takes him by the hand,
walks him outside the city and touches him-- spits on him. Takes all this time. And the guy can see. And Jesus said, how is that? We have no indication he let
on that anything more was in store. It's almost like he's
ready to walk away. Is that good? Like packing up his equipment. You know the doctor
like, how is that? All right, glad. Glad we got that. How is it, by the way? You liking your new eyes? The guy's in a difficult spot. Have you ever go a
gift you didn't like? It's great. [LAUGHTER] It's great. You like that? Hmm? [LAUGHTER] The worst are the people
who can't quit it. And they'll ask you super
specific questions down there? How's that fitting? Great. From when I tried it on
right before I gave it away, but first, I took a picture to
send you to show you I love it. Never loved it more. never
loved anything more, right? And they come to you
house, where is it? Like, will you stop it? Don't ask. It's being washed today. Oh, let's go to the
washing machine. I use it outside cleaner. I have a car. You're like, whoa. [LAUGHTER] Because you don't want
to go, you know what? It was a terrible gift. But this man, there was candor
for him to go, you know what? Honestly, Jesus, you healed me
all right, but not that good. You healed me all right, Jesus. But I reckon you got more. You did a real good
thing, and I'm really grateful to see at
all, but I'm going to be candid enough to say to
you, Jesus, I want more of you. I want more. I want you to touch me again. I only see like trees. I'm going to admit
I'm blurry still. You can't be helped to see until
you admit you can't all the way see. And pride would have kept this
man going, yes, I see colors. I see everything,
it's fantastic. But he was willing to admit
what he couldn't see, faces. That he wanted to
see, loved ones. I wrote it down
like this, God wants you to be dissatisfied
with your current level of spiritual sight, and to be
candid with Him about that. And then not pretend
like everything's rosy when you wish you could
see more than you could see. It's not fine. How's that miracle? It all right? He's like stifling a laugh. Is it pretty good? You like that miracle? You like those new
glasses I got you? [LAUGHTER] The guy was willing
to go, it's not fine. Y'all, I'm praying that during
the weeks of this series, that God will awaken in our
hearts a spirit that says, it's not fine. It's not fine. It's not fine. Come on, there's lots of
things happening in our city and in our world
that are not fine. And that's why God
has awakened us. That's why God has called us. Yeah, we're grateful for the
seats filled with people today who have heard, but we
want more people to hear. To the other cities we must go. To the other places
we must preach. Come on, We want to help people. We want to heal people. We want to see God do more. Come on, it's not fine. He's done a lot,
but it's not fine. We want Him to do more. It takes candor, and then,
y'all, it takes moxie. It takes moxie to say
to the Son of God, that I want you to do more. I want a double portion
of your anointing. I want you to touch
me once, that's great. But I want you to
touch me again. Because we feel
like, I don't want to trouble the most high God. I don't want to trouble him,
He's already done this much. I don't deserve
anything He's done. So how dare I ask
Him to do more? Here's why. He wants you to. He told you to. He dares you to. He waits for you to. He wants you to wrestle
with Him all night and say, I will not let you go
unless you bless me. You told me you own the
cattle on 1,000 hills. You told me that eye
has not seen or ears-- ear has heard. You told me that the stars
in the sky are going to-- so I'm going to meet you at
the level of your promise and not a bit less. I was in Pittsburgh
this week, and I was reminded while being there
of the start of the Lewis and Clark voyage. And they, just
was the last year, was recognized finally for
the official starting line. It's been thought to be
in St. Louis forever, but they actually
started in Pittsburgh. It was in Pittsburgh
that Lewis was informed Clark would join him. It was in Pittsburgh
the keelboat was made. Only it took a long time because
the boat builder was a drinking man. And so they got real
frustrated with that. It was in Pittsburgh,
they actually set out from Pittsburgh they
began the 9,000 mile trip that would lead to Oregon crossing
through three of the states where we have
locations, by the way. Real interesting to me
to look at this voyage and see some parallels
to some things that God has for us
in the coming days. But I was thinking about
how I just before he left, he had all the
provisions, he had packed, and he had bought and
brought all the things he thought they would need. But then Thomas Jefferson
gave him a letter. Because he didn't know if
they were going to run out by the time they
got to the coast and need to resupply from
a trading ship they might encounter or a village they
might come through and have no food, have no clothes
from this nearly four year long voyage across the country. 9,000 miles, boats and on foot
going through the Bitterroot mountains, coming out
just shy of Missoula. All the things, all the
places, and just broaching on Yellowstone down there and
getting to Oregon finally. Just thinking about how-- really, if you look at
their part on the journey where they went through places
where we are ministering, it's the only place where
it's like zigzag, zigzag, zigzag all over the place. Everything's like pretty
easy just floating along. Then it's like, ahh. Yeah, that's how I feel. [LAUGHTER] But Thomas Jefferson
gave him a letter. I want to show it to you. In the letter, it said this. It said, I ask of
consuls, merchants, and citizens of any
nation to furnish you with those suppliers which
your necessities may call for. I, Thomas Jefferson,
President of the United States of America, have written
this letter of general credit for you with my own hand, I
have signed it with my name. This letter-- this
document, Clark guarded the entire journey, kept in
oil skins to keep water out, has been called the most
comprehensive letter of credit ever issued in the history
of the United States. There was no cap. He says, with this
letter, you buy anything and my president
will pay you back. With this letter,
you take anything you need from anybody
you meet along the way, and my dad will pay you back. Jefferson's nickname throughout
the whole voyage was father. Come on, I'm going to buy
it, because my father's going to pay for it. How many of you understand
that spiritually speaking, you got to have some moxie to
order some things that-- does not Ephesians
tell us that we've been blessed with every
spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ? Does not the Bible tells
us that Jesus said, ask and you shall be
given, seek and you shall find, knock and the
door shall be opened to you? Perhaps the reason you have not
is because you've asked not. We got the letter,
we got the credit. Come on, we can say to anything,
put it on my Father's bill. I'm trusting God for you to
move mountains in Jesus' name. I'm believing that
the sick are going to be healed, that the
blind are going to see. I'm believing that
the dead in sins are going to raise
to life in Christ. And I'm believing that I'm
going to see more clearly-- see more specifically. [APPLAUSE] And I'm not just going to
get stuck at the trees, but I'm going to see the forest. It takes moxie, though,
to step out in faith. And it takes courage. Courage to persist
when there are delays. Courage to choose the right
people to do life with. The text says, in another
translation, He warned him, you must not go back
into the same village. Meaning, you could get
sucked back into a life devoid of faith there. Courage to do for others what
your friends have done for you. This man was brought, would
he now step out and bring? Would he spend the rest
of his life given over to bringing people to Jesus? Or just walk around
excited about the fact that he had been
brought to Jesus? Someone brought you to Christ. Someone invited
you to this church. Someone sacrificed to
open up the building that you're sitting in. Someone paid it to
pave the way for you to watch this online broadcast. I believe the first touch
is a moment where you say, I can see. But I believe the
second touch is that all important moment when
you can say, I can see others. In the first touch, it's
about what you can see. In the second touch,
it's who you can see. The first touch is God
doing something for me. The second touche
is, now, God, you're going to do
something through me. Courage to not give
up and sacrifice. We're going to end here. Sacrifice. It takes sacrifice to
get to the second touch. You're like, I don't
know if I see that. I see it in the word hands. It's the most repeated
word in this text is hands. Jesus took him by the
hand, touched his eyes with his hands. And then after it didn't work,
He touched him once again with his hands. The hands of Jesus. Those same hands that
touched this man's eyes would be nailed to a tree, sacrifice
to get to a second touch. Our hands would be
connected to the Father through Jesus, who on
one side would touch us, and on the other side
would touch the Father. It was only when that
second touch was in place that we would be able to see. It was his sacrifice that
allowed us to not be blind, but to see. Sacrifice should be
followed by sacrifice. Those who have been
given much must always pivot and be willing to give. Been given everything, we
must be willing to give, which is why our
20/20 series will culminate in a special
exceptional year-end offering for expansion. A year-end offering for faith. A year-end offering for vision. A year-end offering
where we say, God, I am content with
all you've done for me, but I'm not finished. I'm dissatisfied in that
you've promised to do more. And so I want to step
out courageously. I want to step out with
moxie, with candor, with an invigorated stirred
up faith, with a desire to see you do more. On that weekend of December
8, all across the Fresh Life Church, families, and
single people, and kids, and teenagers, and widows,
and people doing real well, and people not
doing real well are going to take a gesture
of faith-- a step of faith to bring an offering. To say, I want to put something
into the hands that were nailed to the cross for me to say, as
a declaration of my dependence, I want to see God do more. I want to see God open my eyes. I love that we call this
message Seeking a Second Touch. Seeking. Seek, seeking. The man could not see people,
he just saw them like trees. So that means he only
saw blurry outlines, because at a distance,
he saw trees silhouettes. But then Jesus said,
all right, come here. I'm going to give
you what I really wanted you'd have all along. I was just wait for
you to ask for it. What you wouldn't have had
if you'd have stopped there. And He put His hands
on the man's eyes again, and now, for real-- for real, He healed him. And as the fingers pulled
away, for the first time, this man saw a face. The first face he ever
saw was the face of Jesus. See King. Seeking. Like him seeking a miracle,
what he got was see the King. And I'm believing
that as we come seeking God to do
something miraculous, we're going to see the
King like never before. [APPLAUSE] We're going to see the King. Come over, what are you seeking? We're seeking Jesus. We're seeking his plan. We're seeking his promises. We're seeking his presence. We're seeking provision. Come on, on your feet
all across the church. Come on, we're seeking
Jesus in these weeks. We're seeking Jesus
in this offering. We're seeking Jesus to work in
our marriages, in our families, in our children, in
our grandchildren. We're seeking Jesus to move
through the generations, through the years in our
country, in this land, in this work. Come on, we're seeking the King. [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] So would you with me-- I'm going to put on the
screen, the words to a hymn. This was written by the brother
of the famous American poet, Henry Longfellow. His brother, Samuel,
lesser known, penned the words
to a hymn that I would love for all
across the church for us to say out loud two
different times. Come on, the first time,
just feel the rhythm of it. And the second time,
really believe it and speak it out over our
church in this new season like a prayer. The words say-- and we'll
say it out loud together. Holy Spirit, Truth Divine,
dawn upon this soul of mine. Word of God and inward light
wake my spirit, clear my sight. Come on, with hands raised. Holy Spirit, Truth Divine,
dawn upon this soul of mine. Word of God and inward light
wake my spirit, clear my sight. Amen.
