Light on the Hill

Guest (Male): Today on Light on the Hill, we're introduced to a blind man. He had a problem, and he went to the right person to find the solution.

James Kaddis: The first thing that he had to do was he had to find a way to get to Jesus. He could not have been healed pped He knows how it should be handled and the best way it should be conveyed. It's that simple. So, it goes back to one of the questions that God asked to Job, where were you when I spun the world into existence? I think we have to look at it the same way. what he was looking at, and maybe not the first time in his life, maybe for the first time in a long time.

The first thing that he had to do was he had to find a way to get to Jesus. It's the first thing he had to do. He could not have been healed had he not gone to the right person to heal him. You can sit in your room for the rest of your life with a problem, and if you never tell anybody about the problem, it can never get fixed. I deal with this all the time in in marriage counseling or regular counseling in any context. I say you need to tell me everything, and you need to not dress it up, and you need to not play games, and you need to not lie.

You need to tell me everything, no matter how shocked you think I'm going to be, cuz I can promise you you're not going to tell me anything that I don't already know in one way or another or have not seen in one way or another. Just tell me the truth. Why? Because I can't fix what I don't know is broken. There's no way this man could have been healed had he not gone to the Lord to do it. I think there's a powerful lesson for us to be learned as readers of the gospel. If you're a non-believer, the lesson is obvious, and that is if you want to be healed from the bondage of sin and you want to find eternal life, there's only one place to go.

You've got to start with Jesus. You've got to go to him. If you're a believer, the powerful lesson that comes from this, and it may be even more powerful than the message that goes to the to the non-believer. And that's this. When confronted with any problem, no matter how big or small, you better know who to go to to get the problem fixed. I was talking to the mayor of the city just a few hours ago with the police chief and a few other officials cuz we did a ceremony for Law Enforcement Memorial Day. And I think I think it was the mayor.

I think the mayor said well, it's it it's it's always about who you know, you know? And and I thought in my mind, yeah, that's true. It's true. It's all about who you know. And if you don't know Jesus, you've got one problem. But if you know Jesus and don't know to go to him, when the problems arise, you lose. You can't open up the door for the problem to be solved if you seek to go elsewhere to get it solved. You got to go to the Lord. There's no other way around it. I can have a long day where I haven't slept for hours and hours and hours and hours and I can be completely exhausted.

And I can seek to empty every last dime in my pocket to have people do things for me, and it still won't solve the problem of exhaustion. I have to go to the core issue, don't I? I have to go to the place where I need to go. It's the same thing. I'm not going to solve an interpersonal relationship that is affected primarily by my bad behavior by going somewhere where I can't find the solution. I'm going to try to solve it with the person I have a bad relationship with. No. The only person I can go that's going to fix my problem is going to be Christ.

If I can't go to him, I can't even get I cannot even get to first base. You got to go to the Lord to find the solution to the problem. Look what happens next. And by the way, this is a replicable pattern. I just want you to see that, okay? It's a replicable pattern. The second thing you have to do is you have to be willing to go where he tells you to go. You have to be willing to do what he says. The man goes to Jesus for help, and Jesus says, okay, let's go outside the city.

The only time you went outside the city is if you were going to get stoned to death or if you were traveling somewhere or something like that. If you're going to go to the Lord, you have to be willing to do what he asks you to do. That's the reason why I don't do much counseling anymore because I point people to go to the Lord, and they're just not willing to do what God wants them to do. Okay, bye. It's a waste of time. I just can't do that. It doesn't work. So, not only do you have to go to Jesus, you have to go where he tells you to go.

That's a that's a critical one. And the other thing you have to do is you have to put your trust in the solution that he brings to the table. You have to put your trust in the solution that he brings to the table. You know what the average person might do in this situation? The average person might get really upset and say, what a horrible God he is. He just spit in my face. He doesn't like disabled people. You could make whatever argument you want. You could go crazy with that whole situation, couldn't you? But the man trusted the God knew what he was doing.

You know the other thing that you have to do? And this one perhaps may be one of the most significant and most important things, you have to trust in his timing. You have to trust in his timing. Listen, he went to Jesus. He knew how to go to Jesus. He went to Jesus. He listened to what Jesus said. He trusted in Jesus's solution. And when the effect came that was not desired, you know what he was willing to do? He was willing to rest in the timing of God. It didn't work. I'm out of here.

That's the mindset that lots of people have. Oh, it's not working for me. Well, I got news for you. If you're walking with the Lord and you're serving him and you love him, what God is doing in your life is either working on you or it's working for you. It's one of the other. There's no other way to look at it. Okay? There's no other way to look at it. It's a really simple process. You've got to think all that through.

Guest (Male): This is Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis, and we're currently going through the gospel of Mark. Listen to this study and more at lightonthehillradio.com. Pastor James's teachings are also available through the Light on the Hill app and at oneplace.com. You can listen to us wherever you get your podcasts as well. When you have a moment sometime today, send us an email. We'd love it. It's encouraging to hear what the Lord is doing in our listeners' lives, and it's an opportunity to thank the Lord for what he's doing. There's a place to contact us at our website, lightonthehillradio.com.

We've been blessed by the feedback we've received thus far regarding Pastor James's new book, The Last Book. If you haven't ordered a copy yet, we'd encourage you to do so. This guide to Revelation covers the first half of the book, giving you what you need to know about the Rapture and the End Times in a clear and concise manner. Request your copy today at lightonthehillradio.com or through Amazon. If God is leading you to support this radio outreach, there's also a place to make a donation at lightonthehillradio.com. Throughout the week, you can watch our live shows and short videos, many of which relate to Bible prophecy and help you to see current events with a biblical worldview.

Look for these at jameskaddis.com. Pastor James, this was literally an eye-opening study in Mark. Jesus healed this man, but the question I have heard in response to that is why doesn't God heal everyone? Maybe someone listening right now is desperately wanting that in his or her own life or the life of a loved one, but it hasn't happened. Would you respond to that as we close?

James Kaddis: Well, first and foremost, I would just simply say that if you're a believer, God has your best interests at heart. So, trust him and understand the fact that he's in control and wants to give to you the best of what he has, that you would experience him to the fullest. If you choose to not put your faith and trust in the Lord, I would say the question is somewhat superfluous. It's a moot point, and the reason why it's a moot point is because if you choose to not acknowledge that the creator of the universe has sovereign control over everything because you say that he doesn't exist, well, then you don't have the depth of awareness to recognize that you can possibly understand the fact that God will do with people what he chooses to do because he's sovereign.

And in his sovereignty, he knows how it should be handled and the best way it should be conveyed. It's that simple. So, it goes back to one of the questions that God asked Job, where were you when I spun the world into existence? I think we have to look at it the same way.

Guest (Male): Thanks for that encouragement, Pastor James. Now, with this final point of application, here's Pastor James.

James Kaddis: So, Jesus asks him some questions. One question to be very specific, he was able to communicate with him. And that's something that we have to learn how to do. We have to learn how to communicate with the God that's guiding us. If God is guiding you somewhere, he's also speaking to you. And if he's speaking to you, you have an obligation to respond to that. You got to go to him. You've got to listen to where he's asking you to go. You got to go where he goes, right? That's a very very important thing to do.

You've got to trust him. You have to be able to rest in his timing, and you got to communicate. You have to communicate with him. Jesus asked him a question. Well, this is what I see. His communication skills may not have even been even been great. He probably wasn't using any super powerful medical terminology. He's saying, I see men walking like, you know, the men that I see are like trees walking. Okay, fair enough. God can do that. If he can read your mind, he can understand what you're trying to say. What's the next thing that you have to do?

You have to be willing. You have to be willing to dedicate the rest of your life to walking in obedience to the word that he gives you. He told the man, go. Go do this.

Guest (Male): We'll save the rest of this message for next time. Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.

James Kaddis: I have found the peace only comes from you. I have found the joy only comes from you. 'Cause all I need is you.