The Village People

Joke: A guy visits a small village and walks into the pub, the place is packed. He looks around and finds a place to sit and orders a beer.

As he’s drinking his beer someone stands up and yells 23 and the place starts roaring in laughter.

The guy obviously confused just shrugs it off and continues to drink his beer.

A few moments later another one stands up and yells “145” and again, a roar of laughter with some of the guys even slapping their
leg as they laughed.

Now really curious the guy turns to the person next to him and asks what’s going on, why is everyone laughing so much when a
number is called out.

“Well, we know all the jokes so we just numbered them. That way we don’t have to tell the entire joke. Go ahead, give it a try”

The guy stands up and yells “1022” and it’s pandemonium. People are laughing, crying, falling off chairs, spilling their drinks, rolling
on the floor.

The guy looks over again to the person next to him and says, “what just happened? What did I say that was so funny?”

The man gasps out between roars of laughter, “We’ve never heard that one before.”
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I want to talk today about The Village People.

Before you leave here today you might find yourself not yelling out numbers, but letters. You know like YMCA.

Ok not really I’m not talking about those Village people, but I am talking about Village people.

How many of you are aware that Jesus healed everyone that ever came to him.

Sometimes, however, he did it in ways that if He were to come to us the way He went to them we probably never would have seen the miracle because how He went about it would have offended us.

On two occasions Jesus healed the blind by using His spit.

Sometimes the way in which God does things might look like a mess but is actually the beginning of a miracle.

Often times it looks messy because it simply goes against how we think it should take place.

Hear this church if your marriage looks like a mess, there’s a miracle behind it. If your family looks like a mess, there’s a miracle behind it. If your life looks like a mess, there’s a miracle behind it.

Let’s dive in. I want to share both of these blind man stories with you the first is found in Mark chapter 8 I will begin with verse 22.

Mark 8:22–26 (NIV) 22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He 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?” 24He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

That’s story one, here’s story two. . .

John 9:1 (NIV) – As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

Skip down to verse 6. . .

John 9:6–7 (NIV) – 6After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. In the first story in the Greek, it makes us aware that his vision was restored. In other words, he once could see, but something happened that he became blind. We don’t know what that was,
but he once could see now he can’t.

In the second story he was born blind.

I want to break these two down for you today and talk about the Village people.

Look at the first part of verse 23 of Mark chapter 8 once more. . .

23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.

Sometimes to get your miracle you need to leave the village people behind. And by that I mean, those negative folks, those nay Sayers, those complacent folks, those that are trying to talk you out of what God has for you.

There comes a time when Jesus will take you out of your place of comfort, your place of complacency. Too often we want to hang out with those that simply affirm our problems, our struggles, and our sins.

But in order for Jesus to do the miracle, he needs to remove you from the village people. Because the people that are in the village are not willing, or don’t believe that God has something better for you.

And as long as you stay in the village with those people God is limited in giving you your miracle or your breakthrough.

How can I say that. . .check this out?

Matthew 13:58 (NIV) – 58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Mark 6:5–6 (NIV) – 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazed at their lack of faith. . .

Same story Matthews account and Marks account but listen again to Marks account in verse 6. . .

6He was amazed at their lack of faith.

I don’t know about you. . .I want Jesus to be amazed with me, just not with my lack of faith.

Back to our text. . .

You need to be around people who will propel you and help you cling to the future God has for you. Not around people that continually bring up and help you live in your past, you need to leave those village people behind.

How do we know that this place was a problem place for him to get all that God had for him?

Because look again at verse 26 of Mark 8. . .

26Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

In other words, there are things back in the village not worth going back to.

And hear this church, God is trying to pull some of you out of your complacency, your faithlessness, your situation. And I know it can be uncomfortable, but if you don’t allow the Holy Spirit to lead you out you will never reach your destiny. You will be stuck with the village people that really don’t care if you succeed or not. Are set free or not. Are blind or not.

If He has taken you out of a relationship, out of a situation, out of a habit. It’s time to stop complaining and start thanking because it
only means that you are about to see what you could not see in the village.

You need to never go back to that village, They might call you, message you, text you, but you can’t go back when God leads you out.

That situation is behind, that habit is behind, that relationship is behind. And you can’t afford to go back.

You can’t afford to go back to defeat, depression, sin, brokenness.

You can’t go back to that.

Truth is church what you left behind will never compare to what lies ahead.

So, Jesus takes him out of the village and spits on his eyes. Why would Jesus spit on the man? Surely there must of been a better way.

I can imagine that if I called you up to pray for you and I spit on you, I’m talking about on purpose (Illustrate). Many of you would walk out offended and never come back, So why would Jesus?

Because Jesus needed to transfer His DNA to the man. Jesus was saying, with your DNA you are blind, but with mine you are about to see what you could not see.

And church you need to hear this. When you received Jesus, and were filled with the Spirit, you received the DNA of God Almighty.

Romans 8:11 (NIV) – 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

The same Spirit that raised Jesus lives inside of you.

So, Jesus spits in his eyes and asks can you see? He says I see men as trees. So, Jesus spits again.

Just so you know Jesus didn’t have an off day. This is the only place in Scripture where Jesus had to do a double take.

Let me explain what I think happened here. The reason there was a double spit was because if you once could see, but then loose your sight your brain stores in memory the last thing it saw.

So, when his vision was restored he viewed the things around him from what he had previously experienced. And so he say saw men walking as trees.

Now hear this church, when Jesus touches you, calls you, delivers you, saves you. You are a new man, a new woman and you need to look through the lens of the new and not the experiences of the old.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) – 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (TPT) – 17Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.

You will never see the new thing by doing the same old thing.

You must be willing to let go of the grip of the old so that you can fully cling onto the new.

The man I used to be I’m no longer him. I’ve left the village people behind. And the way I talk is different, the way I live is different, the way I act is different. Why? Because I’m different.

And I refuse to go back to the village.

Hear this church, Jesus could have said you can see good. Enjoy.

But the man couldn’t see clearly enough so Jesus had to finish what He started.

And I don’t know about you but I’m grateful that Jesus didn’t just touch me and say your on your own, enjoy. He continues to work in me so He can finish what He started.

He stuck by me, he stayed around me until I got it right, and He does the same for you, He will stay by your side until you get it right, until you can see what He wants us to see.

You are here not because you held onto to God perfectly, you are here because God held onto you perfectly.

That is blind man one. And the point is this, Jesus can restore what you once had.

Joel 2:25 tells us that God will restore what the locusts have eaten.

Jesus will restore what the enemy has stolen.

But blind man two. His story gets even better. . .look at the verse once more.

John 9:1 (NIV) – As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

Not only will Jesus restore what you lost, but He will give you what you never had.

God wants to show you things that you have never seen before.

The woman with the issue of blood Jesus gave her back her health.

Lazarus Jesus gave him back his life.

But this man. Jesus was about to give him something he never had before.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV): However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

1 Corinthians 2:9 (TPT): This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine — these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.

And church you need to understand there are somethings God doesn’t want to just restore he wants to replace with new.

So, Jesus takes the mud and spreads it on his eyes and tells him to go wash himself in the pool.

And to everyone looking around seeing this man, he looked like a mess, but his miracle was coming through the process.

So often we just want the mess to be gone, that situation to be over, but I need you to know that if you will just be obedient your miracle will be just on the other side if you’ll just walk through the process.

God I want to be used by you, but you’re not willing to walk through the process. I want to see miracles follow me, but you’re not willing to walk through the process that God has shown you.

You need to spend time in prayer, that’s part of the process, you are going to have times of persecution, that’s part of the process, there will be times things look messy, it’s part of the process.

It’s interesting this man had the same DNA of Jesus just like the first man but was still blind.

He didn’t receive his sight until he walked in obedience to God’s word.

If you want to see God use you, deliver you, change you, transform you, restore you, give to you, prosper you. You need to be willing to be obedient to His Word.

Your breakthrough will only happen when you are willing to walk in obedience to God even when things aren’t completely clear.

Jesus didn’t help him any more he told a blind man to go. He sent him to the pool.

He could have told Jesus you are aware I’m blind, right?

But he didn’t.

And some in the Body of Christ think they will get their miracle by sitting in complacency. Some feel they are entitled to their breakthrough. But what you need to understand is that God gave you his DNA now it’s up to you to walk in obedience.

And when you walk in the obedience after you wash off the mess you will see things you have never seen before.

Let me close today with this John 9 verse 14

John 9:14 (NIV) – 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.

What’s the problem with that? Glad you asked. . .

Its not supposed to happen on the sabbath. It happened when it wasn’t supposed to happen.

And church your breakthrough, your miracle it may not happen like you expect it to happen, it might even be when its not supposed to happen.

It’s not supposed to happen when all hell is crashing in around you. It’s not supposed to happen when life couldn’t get any messier.

But God will make it happen when your friends say no way, when the enemy says not on my watch, when your past says it can never.

God will make a way in the desert.

Its in those times, its in that season when nothing seems in place that God will say now is the time.

So today I want to challenge you to walk in obedience, in faith, trust Him when everyone else around you says no. You need to say yes.