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I Want To See
Carter Conlon
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0:00 41:10
Carter Conlon

I Want To See

Carter Conlon · 41:10

Carter Conlon teaches that true spiritual sight and breakthrough come through persistent faith and crying out to Jesus, who alone can bring victory over life's strongholds.
This sermon from Luke chapter 18 focuses on the story of the blind man near Jericho who cried out to Jesus for mercy and received his sight. The message emphasizes the importance of calling out to God in our need, being honest about our struggles, and having faith in God's power to bring immediate transformation and freedom. It challenges believers to seek God's miraculous touch, trust in His provision, and be willing to testify of His goodness and power.

Full Transcript

Luke chapter 18, please. If you'll go there in your Bibles, Luke chapter 18. I want to see, I want to see. You're quiet this morning. I heard you say that Pastor Patrick, you're kidding. This is a quiet, quiet church, which is good. Which is good, still waters run deep. When people are quiet, quite often they're thinking, that's why they're quiet. I want to see. Father, thank you, God Almighty, for your presence here today. Lord God, there are things that you want to show us. There are places you want to take us. You want to make us into a people that will bring glory to your name in this possibly the last generation. And so God help us now. Help us to see things in your word that we may have skipped over. Help us to understand things, Lord, that we may have pushed out of our consciousness for various reasons. I thank you for the anointing of your spirit, for without the anointing, we can't see. We can read, but we can't see. I pray God that you would engrave this word on our hearts, for that is your promise. That's what you said you would do. So we open our hearts and we ask that that pen of heaven would come and just simply write this word on our hearts. Not just today, but for the rest of our days. Give us eyes to see, oh God. Give us ears to hear. Give us hearts to obey. Take us, Lord, in our weakness and become our strength in the days ahead of us. Lord, we would see you again. We want to see the working of your hand. We want to live, Lord, to see our society turn back to you, our children calling out to your name again. Lord, there are things in our hearts, Lord, that we're asking for you to do, for we recognize only you can do these things. So God, anoint this frail vessel one more time. Give me the privilege of bringing your word to your people. Give us the privilege and the grace to hear it, and we thank you for it in Jesus' name, amen. Luke chapter 18, I want to see, beginning at verse 35. Then it happened as he was coming near Jericho, that is Jesus, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. And so they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And those who went before warned him that he should be quiet. But he cried out all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he had come near, he asked him, saying, what do you want me to do for you? He said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. Then Jesus said to him, receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Now this is an interesting passage of scripture because you and I know that all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. The Bible says that we may understand the ways of God. And you'll find with Christ, there's never a happenstance. Nothing just simply happens because he happens to be somewhere. His entire life on this earth, especially the three years, of course, of public ministry was an illustration of something in the heart of God that he wants us to see if we have the eyes to see it. He's passing through Jericho. Now, Jericho is the place where years before he in a pre, before he was born as a baby in Bethlehem, he had various appearances in human form. The son of God did in the Old Testament on this earth. And one of them was by Jericho. Now, you know that the people of God were being brought out of bondage. They were held in captivity in Egypt. Under Moses' hand, they were brought out. They spent years in a wilderness. And finally, another generation is coming into this place of promise. And listen to what the Bible says in Joshua chapter five. Let me read it to you. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said, no, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant? Then the commander of the Lord's army, which is Christ, said to Joshua, take your sandal off your foot for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. Now, Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in. In other words, there's a stronghold in this place of promise. Anybody bear witness? Anybody struggling with that now? We live in the place of promise. We live in the place of victory. We live in a place of salvation. We live in a place of incredible promise. Jesus Christ is the promised land for the New Testament believer. That's what all these stories were leading to. That's who he is in your life. And the Lord said, chapter six and verse two, see, I have given Jericho into your hand. It's king and the mighty men of valor. See, in other words, Joshua, now when Joshua looks with his natural eyes, he sees a city that's still all shut up, preparing for battle, walls that are so thick they can't be penetrated by human effort. As a matter of fact, one historian said they're so thick that you could actually drive a chariot on the top of them. There are people living on those walls. There are apartments in those walls where people live. And before the victory, before the victory, Christ says to Joshua, see. Amazing, isn't it? Well, he's looking at a city that's intact. He's looking at a place where all the defenses are still there. He's looking at a stronghold, really, in the promised land. But he's asking Joshua to see with spiritual eyes, to see something that normal men or natural men and women don't see. You have to be walking with God to see these things. He says to him, see, I've given Jericho into your hand. It's king and it's mighty men of valor. Now you and I know the children of Israel walked into that place of promise and with strict confidence in the word of God, they were given instructions that looked to be foolish in the natural. Walk around the city for six days, blowing trumpets and being quiet. Don't say anything. Just blow the trumpets, walk around the city every day and do nothing and say nothing. That's a miracle in itself for the people of God. I'll tell you right now for six days to say nothing. On the seventh day, go around seven times. And when I tell you after the seventh time, which is the perfection of God, the number seven, I want you to shout. And as the people shouted, the walls of the city fell down flat. Historians say they fell inward, which is technically impossible. That can't happen in a circle. You can't cause walls to fall inward in a circle, but they say they did. And the people went up and conquered this stronghold that was in their place of promise. God's intent was clearly revealed that he was going to give his own people victories that could only be won through their faith and his power. It's not by human effort, not by human reasoning. Thank God for those things. Thank God that we have the ability to do certain things. But the victory that God wants to give is a victory of faith. It's a victory that comes by the power of God. It does not come by human intellect. Does not come by our reasonings or the best of our efforts. Sometimes as a people, we forget our own history and we forget about the power of God. I want you now to fast forward from this moment where the pre-incarnate Christ appears to Joshua. The people walk in obedience. It's their first step into the promised land. That place that God says, I'm going to take you to. It's their first step. They obey by faith and the miraculous happens and they conquer an inconquerable city in the natural. Let's put it that way. Now, fast forward years later, the same Christ comes walking into Jericho again. The same Jesus, the same captain of the Lord's army. The same one who holds all power in his hand. The same one whose word has the ability to raise the dead, calm the sea, stop the wind. The same one who was in the beginning with God and the Bible says by all things through him were created and nothing was created that he was not involved in. And he sustains all things by the word of his power. So here he comes near Jericho. It's not that many years later. The physical Christ is now passing by that first place, that first place of victory. That place that the people of Israel knew about. They knew their history. They knew what God had done. They knew who God had been. Now it's such an oxymoron in the sense because all you see now, instead of people standing there shouting for victory, you see one blind man sitting by the road begging. Now what had begun as a shout of victory had degenerated into a pitiful plea of bondage. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And the crowd that maybe thinks that we've moved beyond miracles and mercy. As this man begun to call out, says those who went before him warned him that he should be quiet, but he cried out all the more, son of David, have mercy on me. You see, it's a crowd that maybe thinks in that time that we've moved beyond miracles and mercy. Sound familiar? We've moved beyond just calling out to God. We're more sophisticated than that now. We've moved beyond just simple obedience and maybe the willingness to look foolish in the sight of fallen men and just march around the city and blow our trumpets and believe God that when we shout, the walls are gonna fall. Oh no, that's too simplistic for this complicated, educated, smart church of that generation and perhaps ours too as well. No, we've moved beyond miracles and mercy to sophistication and strategy. You see, crying out for miracles and mercy is old fashioned. We're way beyond that now. That's why we have no prayer meetings in America anymore. That's why you can barely hardly find a place where anybody's crying out to God because you see, we're so smart now. We've got it all figured out. We have all the strategies. We have all the self-help books. We have all the support groups you'll ever need in the body of Christ. The one thing we don't have is faith and power for the miraculous anymore in the kingdom of God. No, no, no, no. Today, we have strategies, plans, and we have such meaningful and compassionate discussions. And Jesus, the crowd would say, can take our new visions where each of us has to where they need to go. So be quiet, they said to the men. We're simply there crying out for a miracle. The man who's got a stronghold in his life, the man who lives in darkness, the man who can't see a way forward, the man who doesn't know how he's ever gonna get out of the situation that he's in, the man who's in a place where he finds that the selflessness of even the professed people of God has gotten so deep that nobody sees him. He doesn't see them, but they don't see him anymore either other than as a nuisance to their entire religious agenda. Be quiet, they would say. We've got the plan now. And the prayerless churches in our generation are a testimony as to how far we've gotten from God in this society. Look at our nation. Look at what's going on in our government. Look at what's going on in our schools. Look at the wicked and moral agenda that's literally sweeping like a tsunami over our nation. And I wanna tell you one, there's one thing responsible for it. It's not our lack of knowledge or tapes or reading or study. It's the prayer meeting and calling out to the mercy of God. That's where we have to be again. It requires a humility. Remember, the scripture says, if my people who are called by my name will what? Humble themselves and pray and seek my face. This man was not in a position of authority. He was not a mover and shaker. He couldn't move with the crowd. They were too fast for him. The only thing in his heart was a cry. God, I wanna see. I wanna see a way forward. I wanna see my daughter go down the aisle and get married. I wanna see my family at the table giving glory to God. I wanna see my prison door open and set me free. I wanna see a way out of this addiction, this bondage, this stronghold that's in my life. And I don't care anymore. Who knows? I don't care who hears because I've heard. I've heard that the one who's passing by can do miracles. I have no doubt that somewhere along the line, somebody had to have told this man about Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God. They probably would have told him, you know, there was a man who stood up one day in the synagogue and he opened the book of the prophet Isaiah and he said these words, the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the recovery of sight to the blind. In other words, those that can't see a way out, they can't see a way in, they can't see a way forward. They simply can't see. I've been sent to give them back their sight and to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all them in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And I can see somebody stopping by the side of the road one day because this man knew who it was passing by. So he had to have some knowledge and say, you're not gonna believe it. But a man stood up in the synagogue and he declared himself to be the one sent of God, the Messiah. He said he could set free the oppressed, said he could heal those that have been wounded in heart and he could give sight to those who are blind. Those who just don't see, they can't see a way forward. There's no way out of their darkness. There's no way out of the imprisonment that the walls of Jericho would have been around this man, not outside of his life. And yet, and he said something profound. He said, today, this day, not tomorrow, not when you get to heaven, today, this scripture is fulfilled. So today, and not only that, this man is healing everybody that comes to him. And it is rumored of him that he could stop the waves and stop the wind and he could feed a crowd of thousands with just a few loaves and fishes. Seems to be nothing this man can't do. And so here's this man by Jericho where it all began, where the people of God first came into the promised land. Here's this poor blind man by the side of the road. And he's a crowd, a commotion going by. And everybody is trying to steer Jesus into their direction of what they think the future should be. There's all kinds of people there. Oh, there are certain in the crowd that say, well, he's the one with the power to overthrow the Roman government. Another one could say, he's the one with the power to feed us, we're gonna get free food for the rest of our days. Another one could say, he's the one with the power to calm every storm somebody else is looking for just to get close maybe to the temple treasury. Who knows why they're all there, but everybody's moving and everybody's thinking that they're corralling Jesus and leaning in enough to kind of move them in their direction. And everything's going fine until this man on the side of the road starts calling out. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Be quiet. Can't you see this is the Messiah? We understand what he must do. We understand his plan. We understand where this whole parade needs to go. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And suddenly the Lord says, you know, it's interesting. His journey is not stopped by any of the religious parade that's going on around him. It's the cry of one man that brings the son of God to a standstill. The cry of one man brings about a miracle. The cry of one man is about to change the tenure of this entire moment. The cry of one heart that says, I've just had enough of living in darkness. And I hear that the one who can change my life is passing by. Praise be to God. I challenge you with all my heart. When you sense the nearness of God, there are times in your life where you sense the nearness of God. You can't really explain it. You're sitting there in your struggle, your trial, whatever it is, and you just, it could be in your living room. It could be on the subway. And suddenly you just feel that he's near. When you feel the nearness of God, don't hesitate to call out to him. Don't sit there in your pride. Don't ask the master of the universe for a new cup so your begging can take on another dimension. Don't ask him just for a new garment when you can't see. There are things that we can ask God for, but this man knew what his struggle was. God Almighty, I wanna see a way out of my pain. I wanna see. Jesus called him and said, what do you want me to do for you? He said, I wanna receive my sight. I wanna see a way out of this pain. This pain that's been so much a part of my life. The pain of rejection. The pain of knowing that my future is limited. I can't learn because I can't see. They wouldn't have had Braille back then. I can't see, I can't learn. There's no hope of getting out of this box that's all around me. I wanna see a way forward. And I've heard that you came to give sight back to those that are blind. I wanna see a way out of my poverty. I wanna see a way in to the provision of God. Isn't that what the promised land is supposed to be? Isn't that what you promised Joshua and the people that were with him? Didn't you say it was a land filled with milk and honey, a land of provision, a land of glory, a land of God's goodness? And I wanna see a way out of my prison. I'm tired, oh God, of being in this prison. I'm tired of being boxed in by the darkness that's around me. I'm tired of a society that looks upon me as a nuisance and not a viable contribution to its future. I've had it. And I don't care who's telling me to be quiet, I'm not gonna be quiet anymore. I'm gonna call out until I get free. There's never been a spiritual awakening in the history of the Christian church without a cry. When a spiritual awakening comes, suddenly pride dies and a cry comes into the heart. And men and women everywhere say, I just wanna get right with God. I don't care who knows, I don't care what it costs, I don't care where I have to go, I wanna be right with God. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. Have mercy. And suddenly, the Lord of the universe, the God of all creation, the God who can orchestrate a billion conversations all at one time stops and says, bring that man to me. Bring that woman to me. Bring that young person to me. Bring that older person to me. And face to face, he says to him, what do you want me to do for you? You see, it was obvious what needed to be done, but sometimes we need to find ourselves in agreement with God or our own condition. The man could have asked for a new coat and I suppose that's what he would have gotten or a new cup and maybe he would have gotten that or maybe he said, I got a sore on my foot. I'd appreciate if you'd pray for my healing. But Jesus wants us to acknowledge our condition, what it is that we need unashamedly. And he said to him, I wanna receive my sight. And then Jesus said to him, receive your sight. Your faith has made you well. And immediately, I want you to look at the word immediately. He received his sight immediately. There's an immediacy when God touches your life. I suffered panic attacks for nine years. And when I called out in my weakness, immediately I was set free from nine years of hell and brought into the power of God. There's an immediacy in God. When you call out with a sincere heart, when you call out with an honest heart, something of the heavens unlocks and something of this earth has to give way. That's exactly what happened when Joshua and the people of God came into the promised land and faced this stronghold called Jericho. The power of God was released and the power of this world lost its hold. The miraculous began to happen. Immediately he received his sight and followed him glorifying God. Praise be to God. I'm doing that today by telling you what Jesus Christ did in my life 40 years ago and what he continues to do in this hour. I promise you that if you will call out to God, he will do something in your life you can't do for yourself. He will do a miracle in your life. You call out and he says, what can I do for you? You say, there's an impress in my mind because I got involved in something I shouldn't be involved in. And it worked its way into my character. Now it's a stronghold and I don't see the way out, but I want to be free. There's others here today. You could say, I was wounded. I was bruised. I was abused. And I don't know how I'm ever gonna be whole, but I know that you have the power to release me. I want to be free. There's others that could say, I'm addicted. I'm afflicted. I live with this horrid addiction, even of a self-loathing that's in my life. And I don't know how to get out, but I know God almighty that you have the power to set me free and to make me a new creation. That's the promise you've made to me. If I was in you and you were in me, that I would become a new creation and the old things in my life would pass away and behold, all things would become new. So God almighty, I want to see. I want to see no less than that. I want to see. I want to see who you created me to be. I want to see the ministry that you've given to me to fulfill. I want to see, oh God. I want to see my purpose on the earth. I want to see your power at work in my life. I want to see the giftings of the Holy Spirit abounding through my life again. I want to see myself in your house, glorifying you for the rest of my days. And the scripture says, all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Remember the Lord said to Joshua, I want you to see, I'm about to give you this victory. And it's amazing. All of the people, when they saw what the blind man saw before the people who could see saw it. He saw the son of God and they saw the power of God again. And he said, I want you to see this. Because they had lost sight of it. It's so easy to lose sight of the power of God and the mercy of God and the purpose of God. And why we are the people of God. And I want to suggest to you that in our generation, we have lost sight of the purpose of God. But sometimes it takes just one blind man to bring us back into the place where God has always longed for us to be. And when they saw it. And so today, the question the Lord's put on my heart for you is who wants to see again? And who wants to be a testimony that will be used of God to bring others back to simple faith? All the way through the scriptures, all the self-willed and all the overly self-intelligent, they don't really accomplish that much for the kingdom of God. It's always the leper, the lame, the prostitute, the blind, the maimed, the imprisoned. The person with the testimony. Can you imagine this man, he's praising God in a way that nobody else is in that crowd. It says he followed him from that day forward, praising him. Probably for the rest of his life. People would say, why do you praise him the way you do? Well, you see, I once was blind, but now I see. You see, your testimony could be I once was bound and now I'm free. I once was wounded beyond repair, but now I'm an agent of God's healing. God's stretching out his hand through me to touch a wounded and hurt generation. And so my altar call this morning is really, really simple. Who wants to see? Who wants to see? And who's willing to be honest with God? We can't be dishonest with God and expect a miracle. Who wants to, he's gonna say, what do you, what is it that you need? And you have to be honest. You have to be honest. If there's a warp in your character, if there's something in your life that shouldn't be there, if there's a place you can't get out of, if there's a stronghold, that you can't break in your own strength, it's just a matter now of saying, Lord Jesus Christ, I want to see. And I don't care who knows. I don't care. I just don't care anymore. I don't care who tells me to be quiet. I'm not gonna be quiet. I'm gonna call out, even though the religious crowd have got their agenda and they don't want me shouting out in their midst, but I don't care anymore. I wanna be free. And if that's the cry of your heart, I'm telling you, you will be free. You will be free. And the scripture says, immediately, immediately he received his sight. Immediately. And so I'm believing God because he gave me this word today for an immediacy, an immediacy of God's touch. Not tomorrow, not next week, not a gradual five-year healing, but I'm talking about an immediacy, an immediacy. We're gonna take authority in the name of Jesus. We're going to believe God that everything he promised that he was gonna do for us, that he will do. We're at a stage, folks, where we've got to become the church again for the sake of Christ and for the sake of this generation. I would rather one person who used to be blind who can now see than 15,000 theologians who have no life and bear no fruit in their life. I would, God almighty, thank God for those who study. Thank God for those who understand, but ultimately it has to bring us towards the miraculous power of God. That's what the real testimony is all about. It's not just an accumulation of knowledge. It's let me tell you what Jesus has done for me. So Father, I thank you, God, with all my heart, with all my heart, Lord, for the touch of heaven in this sanctuary today. I thank you, Lord, for the sobriety, even of the people that have gathered here today. Lord, you are bringing us to something of yourself. Lord, a place that only you can take us. And so, Lord, we're not ashamed to cry out to you in our need. We're not ashamed to admit to you our condition. We ask you, Lord Jesus Christ, as you always have been, that you would be merciful to us and you would touch us, touch our physical bodies, touch our minds, touch us, Lord God, in a way that only you can. And cause us to worship you in a way that we never have. Give us great grace, oh God. And I pray for a great, great shout of freedom to be in this house today. I ask you, Lord, that according to your word, the prison doors would open, wounded hearts would be healed, and blinded eyes would see. According to your word, God, that the poor would have the treasure of heaven open to their understanding, the resources of God to win this incredible victory. Thank you for these things. And you told us today, this saying is fulfilled in your ears. So, Lord, we don't have to wait for 1,000 tomorrows. Today, according to your word, we can be free. And we thank you for it, in Jesus' name. I want you to just lift your hands to God right now. And I want you to begin to just thank him for what he's done for you in the past. Thank him for all the times he's delivered you. Thank him for all the times he's helped you. Thank him for all the times he's provided for you. He's protected you. He's delivered you. He's made a way for you. He's watched your back. He's covered your head in the day of battle. Begin to thank him for all the times he's come through for you. Begin to declare who he is. God, I thank you for how many times you've come through for me in the past. Come on, you begin to talk to him. You lift your voice. Not one voice silent. Here on the main floor, up in the balcony. Those of you online, you begin to talk to your God. Begin to thank him for what he's done in the past. How many times he's come through. God, thank you for how you've provided in this area, in that area. God, for your faithfulness. God, I thank you for how many times you've delivered me. How many times you've provided for me financially. How many times you've healed me. You've raised me up. How many times you've protected me. How many times you've opened doors for me. How many times, God, you've closed doors for me. God, because of your love and your ordering of my steps. God, I want to thank you for all the times. God, you've protected me. God, all the times you delivered me. You are the way maker. You are the deliverer. You are the savior. You are my redeemer. You are my provider. God, you are the one who's resurrecting me. And God, I want to thank you today. I want to thank you today for loving me. I want to thank you for going to the cross for me. I want to thank you, Lord, for not sparing your life, oh God, but delivering up yourself, oh God. Delivering your life, oh God. To redeem us, to save me, oh God. Lord, it is evident that you love us. It is evident that you're with us. It is evident, oh God, that you're watching over us. God, that you're providing for us. Oh God, that you care for us. And so today we lift our voices in faith. We lift our voices in confidence. We lift our voices based on your word that we've heard today. And God, we take authority over the lies of the devil. We take authority, Lord God, over sickness. We take authority over depression. We take authority over hopelessness. We take authority over selfishness. We take authority over anger. We take authority, oh God, over pride. God, we take authority over fear today. We are not gonna be afraid. We choose to trust our God. We choose to bless our God. We choose to cry out to our God. We choose to look to our God. We choose to place our hands in the hand and the nail's gone hand of our savior, our redeemer, the lover of our souls. God, we choose to praise you. We choose to call on your name. God, we're asking and believing you for deliverance, for healing, Lord, for provision, for miracles. God, we're believing you for miracles. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. You are a way maker. You are a miracle worker. You are my provider. You are a heavenly father. You are the savior. You are the lover of our souls. You are that friend that sticks closer than a brother. God, you are the one who broke the back of the devil, oh God, you are the one who delivered us at the cross. God, we thank you that you will not withhold any good thing. You will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. God, we just thank you today. We bless you today because we know who you are. God, we know who you are, oh God. You've been good to us, oh God, and you are not gonna fail us. You will never fail us, God. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Come on, talk to him, talk to your God today. Talk to him today. Thank him in advance for your miracle. Thank him right now for his provision. Thank him for right now for his goodness. Thank him right now for his loving kindness. Thank him right now for his mercy. Open your mouth and begin to thank him. Begin to thank him, oh God. Hallelujah, hallelujah. You know, when you lift your voice to God, and you may not even feel anything at this moment, but this walk is not by feelings, it's by faith, amen? And so when you and I lift our voices to God, no matter what we're feeling on the inside, no matter what's going on in our mind, we're not faking it, we're faithing it. There's a difference, amen? We're faithing it, we're saying, God, as pastors said, I choose to trust you. No matter what things look like in the natural, you work in the realm of the supernatural. And so God, I'm gonna trust you. I'm gonna sing this right song on the right side, before the Red Sea, even parts. I'm gonna praise you, I'm gonna worship you, I'm gonna bless you, and I'm gonna look forward to what you're about to do. Whatever the difficulty is, it's an opportunity for God to glorify his name and to make his name great. And that's what he's doing today, amen? Come on, let's give him praise. Let's give him glory. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Come on, somebody. We're gonna praise him. We're gonna praise you, God. We're gonna worship you. We're gonna bless you. We're gonna faith it. We're gonna trust you, God. We're gonna look forward. We're looking forward to what you're going to do, oh God. You are the way maker. You are the way maker. You are the deliverer. You are our provider. You are our God, the lover of our souls. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for choosing us, for loving us. For redeeming us. For speaking so powerfully to us today. Lord, we've heard your voice so clearly. And there's an expectancy in our hearts. Lord, we honor you and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. And immediately, and immediately, and immediately, he received his sight. Would you stretch your hands out, please? God Almighty, we are your people, Lord. And Jesus Christ, you are our land of promise. You are the promised place. So Lord, we ask you, God, I ask you in Jesus' name, set your people free from every stronghold, God, those things that people have told us we'll always have in our lives. I pray, God, that you erase it right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you, God, to open every prison door, every place of captivity. Simply open it now, immediately, and let the people go free. I ask, Lord, that you give healing to every bruised heart, immediately, not tomorrow, not next week, immediately. I ask, oh God, that you break every addiction, immediately. God, everything set against us that tries to be a stronghold in this place of promise. Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for the immediacy of you touching your people today. In this sanctuary and our overflow campuses online and our congregation, my God, you will have a people that will praise you on this last day. You will have a people who can see spiritual things. You will have a people who have experienced the touch of God. And Father, we thank you for it. We thank you, God, with all of our hearts this morning. Satan, I stand against you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I rebuke you, I rebuke you, I rebuke you in Jesus' name. All of your weaponry, all of your schemes and plans, all of your darts, all of your prisons, I rebuke it all in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. These are the people of God. This is the testimony of God in the earth. I command you to let them go in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have no authority here, you have no power here. These are the people of God. And so Father, thank you for the immediacy, Lord, of our healing and our freedom. Now, when the people went into Jericho on the seventh day, they went around seven times. And when the command came to shout, they shouted and the walls fell down flat. Praise be to God. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. On the count of three, I want you to give a shout of victory and glory like you've never done in your whole life. Are you ready? One, two, three, hit. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Sermon Outline

  1. I
    • Introduction to the passage in Luke 18 about the blind man
    • The significance of Jericho in biblical history
    • God’s promise of victory through faith
  2. II
    • The contrast between past victories and present spiritual blindness
    • The crowd’s rejection of simple faith and miracles
    • The blind man’s persistent cry for mercy
  3. III
    • The power of calling out to Jesus in faith
    • Jesus’ response to the blind man’s faith
    • The miracle of receiving sight and following Christ
  4. IV
    • The call to believers to humble themselves and pray
    • The danger of relying on strategies over faith
    • Encouragement to seek God’s presence and power today

Key Quotes

“The cry of one man brings about a miracle.” — Carter Conlon
“Thank God that we have the ability to do certain things. But the victory that God wants to give is a victory of faith.” — Carter Conlon
“When you feel the nearness of God, don't hesitate to call out to him.” — Carter Conlon

Application Points

  • Persistently cry out to Jesus in faith when facing personal struggles.
  • Humble yourself and prioritize prayer over relying solely on human strategies.
  • Seek to see life’s challenges through spiritual eyes, trusting God’s promises.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main lesson from the blind man’s story?
The story teaches that persistent faith and crying out to Jesus can bring spiritual breakthrough and healing.
Why does Carter Conlon emphasize the importance of prayer?
He stresses that prayer and humility are essential for experiencing God’s power and reversing strongholds in life.
What does Jericho symbolize in this sermon?
Jericho represents a place of strongholds and obstacles that God’s people must overcome by faith.
How does the sermon address modern Christian attitudes?
It challenges the modern church’s reliance on strategy and sophistication over simple faith and prayer.
What practical action does the sermon encourage?
It encourages believers to cry out to God boldly and seek His presence for miracles and guidance.

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