How can you not absolutely fall in love with this passage in John chapt. 9? Truly there is "power in the details" of this account. For you who love to meditate on Jesus. Think fresh thoughts about Jesus. This passage is for you! Think about Jesus passing through a mob bent on murdering him. Rather than running for his life, he pauses to heal this blind man right outside the temple. Amazing! J. B. Phillips, the author of one of the modem para-phrases of the Bible, sensed this keenly in his translation work and has written of it. "I had deep respect, indeed a great reverence, for the conventional Jesus Christ whom the Church wor-shipped. But I was not at all prepared for the unconventional man revealed in those terse Gospels. No one could possibly have invented such a person: this was no puppet-hero built out of the imaginations of adoring admirers. 'This man Jesus,' so briefly described, rang true, sometimes alarmingly true. I be-gan to see now why the religious establishment of those days wanted to get rid of Him at all costs. He was sudden death to pride, pomposity, and pretense. "This man could be moved with compassion and could be very gentle, but I could find no trace of the 'Gentle Jesus, meek and mild.' He was quite terrifyingly tough, not in a Bulldog Drummond-James Bond sort of way, but by the sheer strength of a unified and utterly dedicated personality. He once (at least) walked unscathed through a murderous crowd. I have known a few, a very, very few, men who could do that. But then I find that this sheer strength was still His after hours of unspeakable agony in the garden of Gethsemane."

Look at these two verses. John 9:4 "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. John 9:5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Now read the first 2 word in verse 4. "I must..." Coming from the lips of the son of God... think about it. "I must..." Now read the first 10 words in verse 4. "I must work the works of Him who sent Me..." Think about it for a minute. Now apply this to your own life. "I must... must work... the works of Him who sent me." That really preaches itself. "I must." God help us to come under the grip of those two words. Listen and see how it all unfolds. Then be ready to go to God with a "bent knee, a broken heart and wet eye." I preached this message on August 5th 1998. It is December 2013. And right now 15 years later, I feel the grip of those words. Just as our Lord did in His brief time on earth, setting the example for us all. It is my prayer those words will have the same affect on you as you listen. "I must work the works of Him who sent Me... as long as I am in the world..." Danny Bond December 2013

It's going to take us more than one message to plum the depths of what is here. The subject of suffering is to important to "gloss over." For those of you who are going through suffering you never dreamed God would allow in your life, there is great comfort and practical help for you in this message. We'll start here & continue next time. For your benefit we will focus on these issues concerning suffering: 1. WE ARE GOING TO SUFFER 2. WE ARE PRONE TO FALSE ASSUMPTIONS 3. THERE ARE NO CANNED "COOKIE CUT" ANSWER’S TO SUFFERING 4. WE ARE SAFE IN GOD'S ALLOWANCE OF SUFFERING IN OUR LIVES. None of us want to suffer and it is so hard to deal with why God allows it. But the fact is He does. So somewhere along the line we have to embrace this truth. The sooner the better. For then, the sooner we can rest in God's will. The prayer of Ole Hallesby is helpful on the heels of the above thought. "Lord, if it will be to Your glory, heal suddenly. If it will glorify You more, heal gradually; if it will glorify You even more, may your servant remain sick awhile; and if it will glorify Your name still more, take him to Yourself in heaven." May God the Holy Spirit give you ears to hear and heart to embrace, what he has for you in this message.

The Outline for this message-----I. THE GREAT PROMISE--II. THE DEVILS TOOL--III. THE GREAT I AM--IV. THE HIDDEN SAVIOR----The text-----John 8-51 -Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.-----John 8-52 Then the Jews said to Him, -Now we know that You have a demon- Abraham is dead, and the prophets- and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'----John 8-53 -Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead-- And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be-------John 8-54 Jesus answered, -If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.----John 8-55 -Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you- but I do know Him and keep His word.----John 8-56 -Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.-----John 8-57 Then the Jews said to Him, -You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham-------John 8-58 Jesus said to them, -Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.-----John 8-59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him- but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The Outline for this message: I. THE GREAT PROMISE II. THE DEVILS TOOL III. THE GREAT I AM IV. THE HIDDEN SAVIOR The text: John 8:51 "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." John 8:52 Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' John 8:53 "Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?" John 8:54 Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. John 8:55 "Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." John 8:57 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." John 8:59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

After our last message, Jesus is still not through with the hypocritical Jewish leaders and they are by no means through with Him... This is one of those intense, gripping, eye opening passages in which John excels at communicating the recalcitrance and flat out rejection of a religious person toward Jesus Christ Himself. All with a long term exposure to the scriptures and the preaching and teaching of Christ. These are the religious "many" on the broad road to destruction today. Thinking they are on the road to heaven.

Here we are face to face with one of the great -I Am- statements of Jesus Christ. The promise He gives is both radical and completely life changing-----John 8-12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, -I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.-

Here we are face to face with one of the great "I Am" statements of Jesus Christ. The promise He gives is both radical and completely life changing! John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."