Connect Church
I Can See Clearly
  • The Lord Almighty Reigns
  • You Are In Control
  • Here In Your Presence
  • Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)
  • Most of us have had the experience of going to the eye doctor. You sit down in that big chair, they put that strange machine in front of your face, and the doctor starts flipping lenses.
    Then they ask the question we’ve all heard:
    “Which is clearer… one or two?”
    They flip the lens. “Okay… which is better… three or four?” And sometimes it’s obvious. “Four! Definitely four!” But other times you hesitate. “Uh… maybe two? No… wait… three? Can you go back?” Because when your vision is blurry, it’s hard to tell what’s actually clear.
    And then something amazing happens. The doctor lands on the right lens… and suddenly everything sharpens. The letters pop. The room comes into focus. And you realize something you didn’t realize before: You had gotten used to seeing the world blurry.
    And here’s the truth. A lot of people are living their lives the same way. Not physically… but spiritually. Their vision for their life is blurry.
    They’re asking questions like:
    Where is my life going?
    What does God want me to do?
    What’s my purpose?
    What should my future look like?
    They can see something… But they can’t see it clearly yet.
    And in Mark 8, Jesus performs one of the most unusual miracles in the Bible. He heals a blind man. But the miracle doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in stages.
    At first the man says:
    “I see people… but they look like trees walking around.”
    He can see… but it’s still blurry. And the reason this story is so powerful is because it sits right in the middle of a chapter about vision. Right before it, the disciples can’t see what Jesus is teaching. Right after it, Peter finally sees clearly enough to say: “You are the Messiah.”
    It’s as if Mark is saying: Sometimes our vision of Jesus… our vision for life… and our vision for the future… comes one step at a time.
    But the good news is this: Jesus is patient with the process until we can say… “Now I can see clearly.”
    So, if you have your Bibles, go with me to the book of Mark chapter 8. I want to read to you 5 verses beginning at verse 22.
    Mark 8:22–26 NIV
    22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 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?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 25 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. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”
    As I mentioned before, this is an interesting story in Mark. It is the only Miracle that Jesus performs where the person is not healed immediately. And it happens in the book where the writer Mark uses the word immediately often.
    This miracle takes places right after the conversation that Jesus had with His disciples about yeast. Look at verse 14.
    Mark 8:14–21 NIV
    14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” 16 They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” 17 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. 20 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” 21 He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
    They didn’t quite understand that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.
    Then the miracle, our text, happens right after the conversation. Jesus is using this moment as a teaching moment for the disciples. They were spiritually blind to who Jesus was.
    Look at verse 24 again.
    Mark 8:24 NIV
    24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
    After Jesus touched the blind man the first time he could partially see. There were images that had appeared. His sight was restored but it wasn’t perfect yet. So, Jesus touched him a second time. Look at verse 25.
    Mark 8:25 NIV
    25 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.
    His eyes were restored to perfection. Then immediately following this miracle Jesus asks them a question. Look at verse 27.
    Mark 8:27–29 NIV
    27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
    Their eyes had been opened to who Jesus is. They now understood that Jesus is the Messiah.
    This miracle was placed strategically here for us the disciples to see and for us to see who Jesus is. And when we see who Jesus is it helps us to understand that the Messiah can help us to see clearly what His plan is for our life.
    What Vision do you have for your life? Where are you headed? What are your plans? What is God’s purpose for your life?
    Our plans don’t always stay the same, but they change over time. God has a plan and a purpose for our life and it is up to us to see the plan that He has lined out for us.

    A Little Help From My Friends

    Verse 22 says…
    Mark 8:22 NIV
    22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
    This man could not find Jesus on his own. He is blind since birth. He needed help to get around.
    There are people in this world that are spiritually blind and need help to get to Jesus.
    When people often find purpose for their life it is because people encouraged them. They have been mentored by someone. And they have people that believed in them.

    No One Develops Vision Alone.

    It took the disciples time and three years walking with Jesus to discover what they were supposed to do.
    Sometimes God uses people to help us see possibilities we could not see ourselves.
    Early in his career, Walt Disney worked for a newspaper called the Kansas City Star. According to the well-known story, he was let go because his editor said he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
    Imagine hearing that about your life. No imagination. No good ideas.
    For a while Disney struggled. His first animation company even went bankrupt. But there were a few people around him—business partners and friends—who believed he had something special. One of the most important was Roy O. Disney, his older brother.
    Roy kept encouraging him and supporting his ideas when they weren’t working yet. When Walt wanted to start a new studio and pursue animated storytelling in ways nobody had tried before, Roy helped finance and organize the company that would become The Walt Disney Company.
    At the beginning, Walt didn’t have the success we see today. But someone believed in his vision before the world did.
    The blind man couldn’t see Jesus.
    But some people believed something could change for him. So they brought him to Jesus.
    Before he had sight… someone else had vision for him.
    And sometimes God places people in our lives who see possibilities we cannot see yet. They see calling before we see it. They see potential before we believe it. They see a future that God is still revealing.
    Sometimes we start our journey by borrowing someone else’s faith and vision until Jesus helps us see clearly ourselves.

    Separation Before Clarity

    Notice in verse 23 that Jesus separates the blind man from the town.
    Mark 8:23 NIV
    23 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?”
    Why did Jesus do this is a question many scholars have asked.
    It is possible that Bethsaida had become spiritually resistant to Jesus.
    Sometimes God may lead us away from familiar environments before giving us clarity.
    Most eye exams start the same way.
    You walk into the office and sit in the waiting room for a few minutes. But when it’s time for the exam, the doctor doesn’t check your eyes out in the middle of the lobby. They lead you somewhere else. They take you into a separate room, sit you down in that big chair, dim the lights, and position that machine in front of your face.
    Why?

    Because clarity requires the right environment.

    Too much light… too many distractions… people walking around… noise in the room… and the test wouldn’t work the same way. So the doctor intentionally moves you into a place designed to help you see clearly.
    The Bible says Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
    Before the miracle… before the clarity… before the man could see… Jesus changed his environment.
    Sometimes we want God to give us clarity about our future while we stay in the same place, with the same influences, the same distractions, and the same patterns.
    But sometimes Jesus gently takes us by the hand and says,
    “Come with me… we need to step away from this for a moment.”
    Because sometimes the reason we can’t see clearly isn’t that God isn’t speaking. It’s that we haven’t stepped into the right place to hear Him and see what He’s doing.
    Sometimes clarity comes when Jesus leads us away from the noise and begins adjusting our vision.
    What is distracting you that is keeping you from seeing what God wants you to see. It is time to remove yourself from those distractions and get alone with God and let Him clarify your vision so that you can continue doing what God wants you to do.

    Early Vision is Often Blurry

    Verse 24.
    Mark 8:24 NIV
    24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
    The blind man said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”
    The vision wasn’t clear yet.
    Many of us, and this may be happening to you right now. You see a calling, a dream, a direction, but it’s not fully clear yet. You can see shapes, but no details.
    Remember what I told about the disciples. Before this miracle, they misunderstood what Jesus was saying about the yeast. Yeast spreads slowly but it influences everything. Jesus was teaching them about spiritual discernment, but they couldn’t see it yet. They didn’t fully understand about Him being the Messiah yet.
    That’s not failure, that is just part of the process.
    We get a glimpse into the future and we don’t understand all of it just yet.
    We need to wait on God to reveal the full picture for us.
    How many of you, if God gave you the full picture, you know you would mess it up. I know I would.
    Why is that? It is because we are a work in progress. Jesus is giving us little by little so that we can mature to become all that He wants us to be.
    You haven’t see the full vision yet because you aren’t ready for it yet.
    How do you get ready? You get in the word. You increase you prayer life and you let Jesus do things in you because you are releasing control to Him.
    This is all part of the process.

    Jesus is Patient with Developing Vision

    Mark 8:25 NIV
    25 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 touches the man again. This time the man saw everything clearly.
    I told you at the beginning, this is the only miracle in scripture where the miracle happens in two stages.
    Why is that?
    It is because it illustrates how spiritual understanding grows.
    Right after this miracle is where Peter announces that Jesus is the Messiah. But if you remember my sermon from a few weeks ago, even Peter doesn’t fully understand the cross yet.
    Vision develops step by step and Jesus is patient with giving it to you.
    Some of you want to get in a big hurry to get where you are going, but Jesus is patient and would rather it all be done right, than for it to be done fast.
    God rarely reveals your entire future at once because if He did we would mess it all up.
    He wants to give to you the next step, the next assignment, the next level of clarity. He has a great big plan waiting on you and if you will walk in obedience, He will eventually reveal it to you.

    Clear Vision Changes Your Direction

    Jesus then told the man, after He healed him, to not go back to the village.
    Once the man could see clearly, his path changed.
    Once you receive the vision that God has given you, you will see clearly. Once you see the vision clearly, then it will lead you in the direction you are supposed to go.

    Vision Always Leads to Direction

    When God clarifies the vision, our life changes. Our priorities shift. What once was important is no longer the most important thing because has given you clarity to go His way.
    The decisions that you make change. Because you aren’t the same person anymore. You have received a clarifying vision. God has set your path straight. The path you are walking is the path that God has aligned you with.
    Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us a promise.
    Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV
    5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
    When you receive the clarity that you need, it produces movement. You are no longer in the waiting stage but God has given you the direction that you now need.
    The disciples struggled to understand Jesus. They misunderstood the lesson about yeast. They struggled to see His mission.
    But after an live illustration that took place right in front of their eyes, that vision started to develop and their eyes because opened and that is why Peter declared, you are the Messiah.
    The blind man’s healing shows us that vision can begin blurry. We don’t see everything that we need to see, but clarity comes to us gradually and then in that a-ha moment, as Jesus patiently leads us until we see clearly. And when we finally see clearly, our direction changes. We no longer want to go where we want to go but we want all that God has for us.
    Some of you are frustrated because your future isn’t crystal clear yet. You want all the answers now. You don’t want to wait, but if Jesus touched your life once, He’s not finished yet. I said, if Jesus touched your life once, He’s not finished yet.
    Vision often comes in stages. If He gave it all to you at once, you would mess it up and He knows that because He is all knowing.
    Throughout this message we’ve talked about vision.nSeeing clearly. Understanding our future. Recognizing what God is doing in our lives.
    But here’s something powerful to remember:
    Before we ever see clearly God already sees us clearly.
    In the Old Testament there is a name for God: El Roi.
    It appears in Genesis 16, when Hagar is alone in the wilderness. She feels forgotten, rejected, and invisible.
    But God meets her there. And she calls Him El Roi — “The God who sees me.”
    Think about that. The God who sees everything is also the God who sees you.
    He sees the questions you have about your future. He sees the things that still feel blurry in your life. He sees the places where you wish you had more clarity. And just like the blind man in Mark 8, Jesus doesn’t abandon us in the middle of the process.
    He takes us by the hand. He leads us step by step. And He keeps working until we see clearly.
    But the real comfort is this:
    Even when your vision for life feels blurry God’s vision for your life is perfectly clear.
    He sees where you are. He sees where you’re going. He sees the purpose He placed inside you.
    The God who opened the blind man’s eyes is still opening eyes today. Because He is

    El Roi — the God who sees you.

    And if you stay close to Him long enough, one day you’ll look back over your life and realize:
    The God who saw me was also the God who helped me see clearly.
    This morning if you need direction for your life, I want to pray for you. God wants to meet you here. He wants to speak to you and help you. Will you come and let me pray for you and with you.

      • Mark 8:22–26NIV2011

      • Mark 8:14–21NIV2011

      • Mark 8:24NIV2011

      • Mark 8:25NIV2011

      • Mark 8:27–29NIV2011

      • Mark 8:22NIV2011

      • Mark 8:23NIV2011

      • Mark 8:24NIV2011

      • Mark 8:25NIV2011

      • Proverbs 3:5–6NIV2011

      • Genesis 16:13NIV2011

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