Today we are looking at: The Blindness of Perfection. I believe that God has a message to His church. I believe that God has a message to the leadership of His church and God has a message to you and I. Let us quickly go to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 42 and we will read from verse 16-20. The Bible says: "I will bring the blind by a way they did not know…" And I want you to be following every line that we will be reading. It says:
Listen To Podcast: THE BLINDNESS OF PERFECTION
I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;
I will lead them in paths they have not known.
I will make darkness light before them,
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
So there is a definite word of assurance from God for a people. I don't know if you belong to that group of people. But I want us to continue to verse 17-18 so that we will see what happens to another group of people. It says:
They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’ “Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see.
Does it not look like a contradictory statement? That verse 18 says: "Hear, you deaf." it is assumed that deaf people don't hear, but the word of the Lord says "hear you deaf, and look you blind, that you may see." You know that if you must see, you must look. And so, God says "look that you may see." You are not seeing, but look that you may see. It says those who are deaf, "hear." Verse 19-20 says:
Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is blind as he who is perfect,
And blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but you do not observe;
Opening the ears, but he does not hear.”
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in our hearts in Jesus' name. We are considering "The Blindness of Perfection." Already that quickly connotes that there is a tendency for one to enter the realm of blindness while in pursuit of perfection. Also, it also connotes that it is possible for a man who is perfect to be blind. So, what we must understand is what the will of God to us is. Verse 16 began with this statement that looks assuring and looks like what the Lord has purposed. It says "I the Lord will bring the blind by way." So, if you happen to be blind, God has a commitment to bring you by a way that you do not know. Now, it says: "He will also lead them into path or a path that they have not known."
Once a people are blind, God is committed to leading them in ways that they do not know. God is committed in leading them through paths that they have not known. God has a commitment to a people who are blind. It seems there seems to be hope in God for everyone who is blind. If you are blind, God is committed to leading you in paths you do not know. So if you are ignorant and you acknowledge your ignorance, God seems to be happy with you and God has a commitment to lead you into realms of knowledge. So we must understand the commitment of God to a people who are blind. While you could stigmatize the blind people, God does not. It seems those who are blind are not the people that God have issues with because God has a plan for them to see.
He says "I will bring the blind by a way that they did not know, I will lead them in paths they have not known." It is not because they don't want to know, and you must understand that. It is not because they do not want to know. It says "In the path that they have not known." If you understand the grammar there, it is not because they don't want to, but they have not yet known it. But I the Lord will lead them in that path that they have not yet known. I will take them beyond the boundary of their knowledge. They are not ignorant because they wanted to. But circumstance have kept them in ignorance. Lack of exposure have kept them in ignorance. People who have responsibility to show them these have refused to show them and so, they have been in ignorance. And so, because they are ignorant, I the Lord will lead them in paths that they have not known.
See again, He says "I will make darkness light." This is the commitment of God. There was a time the Bible says in Luke, when the prophecy was coming concerning John, when the father was receiving the word. Let us see in Luke, when John was to be born and the angel was ministering to the father. Luke 1:76-79.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
Now note the next word:
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
So, if a people happen to seat in darkness, see what God says He will do to them. Don't forget, through what God would do through John, a people in darkness God will give them light. But the Lord began that statement by saying He was going to give them knowledge of salvation. So you can see that there is a correlation between given them light and given them knowledge. Now let us go back to that Isaiah 42 so that we can see what God is committed to. After He says "I will bring the blind by a way they did not know, I will lead them in paths that they have known, I will make darkness light." It means "I will replace their ignorance with knowledge." And see, knowledge is one thing. Ignorance is another thing. Now, ignorance seems to be divided into two parts.
An ignorant person is that man or a woman who has no knowledge at all or a man or a woman who has a knowledge of falsehood, or wrong knowledge. Now if you what you know is not correct, you are not different from one who does not know at all. And so, if you happen to be in darkness, God says He will make light for you, He will turn your darkness into light. So, you must not forget that if somebody is in darkness, and God makes light available, now because the person knows he is in darkness and has seen light, the person has a responsibility to cross over from darkness into light. But you will see situation where the circumstance becomes complex and then it becomes perhaps, annoying to God.
Now let us see the concluding part of that 16. It says:
And crooked places straight.
These things I will do for them,
And not forsake them.
But it says in verse 17: "they shall be turned back." This is a different group of people.
They shall be turned back,
They shall be greatly ashamed,
Who trust in carved images,
Who say to the molded images,
‘You are our gods.’
Now, there seems to be a group of people who don't know anything. And there seems to be a group of people who believe they know something but what they know is still falsehood. When they say to a carved image "you are our god", are they correct? Were they made by the calved image? You remember the story of the children of Israel, as soon as Moses went on top of the mountain and they could not see him, they told Aaron to make for them god, and he told them to gather their rings together and Aaron said "I threw the rings into the fire and then comes the calf." Now when the calf was made, Aaron said to the people: "Children of Israel, see your god who brought you out of Egypt." The question is: “Was that the correct knowledge?”
So, as soon as the people heard that, they felt they have got to know what they did not know, yet they have come to know what is wrong. So there is a situation of a people who don't know anything and who don't claim to know. There is a group of people again who claim to know and what they know is wrong. And so, for a group of people who don't know anything, God has a plan for them. God says I will lead hem in ways that they do not know. I will lead them in paths they have not yet realized. He says "I will make their darkness light", I will turn their story around. People have thought nothing good can come from their Nazareth, I will make something good come out of it. I will change their stories; I will make a statement of their lives.
Nobody in their family background has ever become great, I will make them great. As long as they are not assuming they know, I will make them to really know. Because it is better for a cup to be empty than for a cup to be confused whether its half full or half empty. Because when you say you are half full or half empty, you are not as opened to newness as you could be when you tell yourself you are empty. That is why usually when there are empty vessels, oil normally flows. But when the vessels are filled up, then the oil stays. That is what happens. God is a looking for a people who are yearning for a new knowledge, not a people who think they know, when in reality, they do not know. You remember a place in revelation, we will still come back to this Isaiah 42. But let us quickly see something in the book of Revelation when Jesus was giving a message to John concerning a particular church. I am sure we still remember the story of the Lukewarm church; they were not cold, they were not hot, they were lukewarm. And Jesus said "I wish you were cold or hot, but since you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth." But there is another church who thought they were rich but yet, they were poor, and that is the church I want to find now.
Revelation 3:17. It says: "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." But let me start from verse 14 so that we can know the particular church that Jesus was talking about here, and I think the message was actually to the lukewarm church really. Revelations 3:14-17, the Bible says:
“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—"
I want us to note the word; you are the one that says that you are rich, it does not mean that is the truth. "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." You understand that people don't say what they don't know normally. You are supposed to say what you know. So, what they have said, which was a product of their knowledge, was a product of a wrong knowledge falsehood. You say you are rich and wealthy and have need of nothing. But you do not know that you are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—" Can you see the word "blind" there again? Now the problem was even the fact that they did not know their true state. They did not have a true knowledge of their state which is a necessity for anyone of us. It is not enough for you to know; you must really understand that the things you know are the truth.
Because there is a group of people who don't know at all. I am sure you still remember the story in the Bible of somebody, I think the Bible called the person a Publican. He came and the Bible says he could not even look up to God but was calling himself a wretched sinner and all of that, and the Bible says he went home justified. Another Pharisee came and was boasting about the things he has done or did, how he fasted and give. He was feeling and thinking and assuming that he was correct. He thought he was doing the right thing but he did not know that the things he thought he knew were wrong. So it is important that we realize that there is a possibility for a man in a state of perfection to enter the state of blindness. If you are starting with blindness, there is hope of sight for you. But there is a possibility of a man who thinks he sees to enter into the realm of blindness and then remains there for the rest of his life.
Now, if you do not think you are in need of help, even though I show off help to you, you will never ask for it. Now, there are people whose story and circumstances is so pathetic that when you see them, they don't need to ask you for help, you will help them. There are other group of people who packaged themselves so well that they are broke and in need of help, that even you will be too ashamed to give them help because you think they can never be in need of help. So what happens? They think or they assume that they were okay, but they were never okay. And because they were actually not okay, they will remain in that state for a long time since they were not open to help.
So, if you are ignorant, there is hope for you. If you have not yet known certain things about God, there is hope for you. There is no hope for a man, who assumes that he has known so much and he is actually in a denial state, a state of ignorance in disguise. Now let go back to that place. Isaiah 42:18. It says:
“Hear, you deaf;
And look, you blind, that you may see."
That is why we say there is hope for the blind. If you are currently ignorant, there is hope for you. Now see verse 19. It says:
"Who is blind but My servant,
Or deaf as My messenger whom I send?"
These are people that are supposed to know or people who assume they know. They believe they have a knowledge, and God is saying they are the blind. It says "Who is blind as he who is perfect?" So it means the realm of perfection is a slippery realm that can make a man slip off into perpetual blindness if not careful. You see, how many people will walk up to a General Overseer and say "sir, I want to teach you certain things about God" and the General Overseer will sit down and listen to them? Number one, the people will not have the gut to go to the man of God and say "I want to teach you." Number two, the man of God will not also have the stomach to say "Alright, teach me." So it means a man who has attained to positions of authority in the church so early, who is assumed to know but really does not know, may actually perish in the church, in the state of ignorance, yet, is in position of authority.
Now let me say that again. If a church member does not know, everybody in the church might take up the responsibility to coach or tutor such into knowing. When Priscilla and Aquila found Apollos, they heard him speak, they measured his spiritual growth and they found a need for him to grow. They called him aside and brought him further in the way of the Lord, and Bible says he went on in the strength of that new knowledge and he became a great benefit to the church. Now they were able to call him aside at that time because he has not yet become a power, a principality in the church; somebody you cannot touch. So it means, that state of power, that state of position, that state where people see you as a servant of God is a sensitive and delicate state. It is a state that if not properly handled by you, can launch you into the realm of eternal destruction.
You will think you are a servant of God because you have the title, but you are in a state of ignorance yet with title. And so, the matter now is this: "Do you want to allow yourself to slip off in that state of perfection or you will rather stay awake, watching carefully, noting that there is nothing that you know that you have known from God and there is still so much that He much teach you?" Now there is another Scripture that I want us to read in John chapter 9:39-41. The Bible says:
"And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see (can you see it again?). Of course, we have read it in Isaiah that God has a plan for those who don't see. Jesus said "for judgment I have come into this world those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind.” 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains."
You know there was a time I said that if you are blind, there is hope for you. Jesus even said "If you are blind" assuming at this moment I am meeting you, I am meeting you in the state of blindness, you will have no sin. That is; "I will get you out of the blindness into the realm of seeing and understanding." But because you say to yourself "I see." Why will you say you see? Is it not because you thought you see? So there is a knowledge that was producing the confidence in you that you see. But Jesus said because you told yourself you see, therefore your sins remain with you. A pastor who is committing atrocities but who believes there is nothing wrong in what he is doing will never get out of the sin of atrocity. Yesterday my wife was sharing with me a conversation that she read on Facebook, how some people were talking about grace, like the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that God gives to you because God is coming back to redeem you, and to assure you that God is coming back and irrespective of what you do, the Holy Spirit remains with you. And if the Holy Spirit must leave you, then it means God is not faithful.
That is a school of thought of a people who believe they see and because they see. Now because they say they see, they remain in their state. So if they have been producing fruit of unrighteousness, the fruit remains. You see, you cannot help somebody like that, somebody who thinks everything is right. You cannot tell a man who thinks he is right that he is wrong, he will never accept. It will lead to argument. But a man who says he does not see, then has a chance to see. At a time, the disciples said to Jesus "help our unbelief." How will they not be helped when they have already asked for help? A man who thinks he is okay will never ask for help. There seems to be this assurance, I don't want to use the word "arrogance" that comes to the state of perfection. We can replace the state of perfection to mean somebody who has a position of responsibility or a position of authority in the body of Christ.
Now the Pharisees at this moment were the scholars, they were the ones we could refer to as the religious leaders. And some of them who heard what Jesus said, said: "are we also blind?" We that we have so much degrees in divinity and theology, are we also blind? Are you saying that all our years in the Bible school is a waste? Are you saying that the things we know isn't knowledge? And Jesus said "because you believe you see, your circumstance continues." Now, the matter is this: What is your state right now? Do you want to perpetuate your current state for the rest of your life? Now, apostle Paul was telling a people, referring to the things they used to do in their sins, the things he said they were now ashamed of now. What are the things that you have been doing over the last few months, since this lockdown began, what are the fruits you have been producing? Since people have not been allowed to gather in big churches, since you have now been left alone with the Holy Spirit, what is the kind of fruit that has been produced in your life? Has your life been on hold since then or has it been a growing path? Have you been discovering God, discovering the purpose of God for your life or have you been stagnating or retrogressing?
These are the things that will help you to realize the true state of your maturity and of your knowledge. In Matthew 15:14, Jesus said to a people again. After He said certain things, the Pharisees were angry, and Jesus said: "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." And Jesus again said in Luke 4:18 at a particular point, you know He began the chapter by saying "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the good tidying to the poor and the recovery of sight to the blind." Jesus has a mission to help those who don't know to know. But you must be somebody who don't really know. You cannot think you know and you will know what Jesus wants to teach you. You cannot submit to a teacher or a master when you think you are a master yourself. No wonder the Bible says "you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."
It is not just to know; you must know the truth. And only Jesus can teach you the truth. And you cannot be opened to His teachings if you are in that state of perfection, telling yourself you are okay. Apostle Paul said "I do not count myself to have arrived. I do not count myself to have apprehended. But this is one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind me, and looking forward to the things ahead of me." I do not assume that I have attained. I do not assume I have mastered everything. If I do that, then I will begin to go down in life, go down in my relationship with God, and will be irrelevant in the hands of God. Brethren, the word of the Lord to you is that there is blindness in perfection. God said Himself, "who is blind as one who is perfect?" So, there is a tendency for blindness in perfection. But if you are indeed blind, there is hope for you. You are not assuming you see when you don't see, there is hope in God for you. God is able to lead you into new realms, God is able to show you new things, things that you have never seen before, God is able to reveal them to you.
He said "eyes have not seen it, including your own eyes, hears have not heard it, the things that God has prepared for you." If you must attain unto that level, it must be because you are not assuming you know, you are opened to the truth. That is the word that the Holy Spirit has laid in my heart and I want us to pray these words at this moment. Say Lord:
"I am open to the new knowledge Lord. I am open to the truth. I am not assuming I know; I do not think I have apprehended Lord. Lord I lay hold unto eternal life, I seek for the truth, I seek to know you. Lord we desire to know you; we are not full of ourselves. We are not full of our little knowledge; Lord we want to grow in the depth of the truth. Establish us in the truth Lord, that is our heart desire. We do not want to remain in our errors, and live a life of trial by error. We want to walk in righteousness, and we require the knowledge of the truth to be established in righteousness. Help us in the name of Jesus, help us Father."
Amen!
