The purpose of this website is to provide free sermon manuscripts and sermon videos to pastors and missionaries throughout the world, especially the Third World, where there are few if any theological seminaries or Bible schools.

These sermon manuscripts and videos now go out to about 1,500,000 computers in over 221 countries every year at www.sermonsfortheworld.com. Hundreds of others watch the videos on YouTube, but they soon leave YouTube and come to our website. YouTube feeds people to our website. The sermon manuscripts are given in 46 languages to about 120,000 computers each month. The sermon manuscripts are not copyrighted, so preachers can use them without our permission. Please click here to learn how you can make a monthly donation to help us in this great work of preaching the Gospel to the whole world.

Whenever you write to Dr. Hymers always tell him what country you live in, or he cannot answer you. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net.

Christ came to Bethsaida. But He did not preach in Bethsaida. His Disciples brought a blind man to Him in Bethsaida. But Christ did not heal the man in that city. Bethsaida was the place where Jesus fed 5,000 men by changing five loaves and two fish into enough food to feed 5,000 men (Mark 6:38-44). Jesus walked on the sea there, and He did many other miracles there. Yet the people of Bethsaida did not repent and trust Jesus. So Christ cursed that city. Christ said it would be severely judged by God at the “Day of Judgment.”

Now Christ and His Disciples came to that cursed city.

“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him”
        (Mark 8:22).

This is a picture of how a young person is converted in the sinful city of Los Angeles.

I. First, the city was cursed, but not the elected blind boy!

The “elect” are the people God chose to save before He created the world, “the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded” (Romans 11:7). The entire city was blinded, given up by God, because they rejected Jesus Christ – yet, even though the whole city was cursed, there was a man in the city who was one of the elect, and the Disciples brought that man to Jesus!

“Elect” means to select or choose. Before Creation God selected from the human race whom He would redeem.

This blind man was one of the elect. So the Disciples were sent to this one man, to bring him to Jesus!

Now the whole city was reprobate, judged for rejecting Jesus. We go out to invite people to church. We know most of them won’t come. We know most of them think they are already saved. We know most of the people in Los Angeles are under the control of the Devil. They hate the thought of coming to church to hear about Jesus! Yet we go out to invite people to church, even though we know that most of them will never be saved, never be saved because God already rejected them. The Bible says, “God gave them up...God gave them over to a reprobate mind... [They are] haters of God, proud, boasters, disobedient to parents... despisers of those that are good... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (Romans 1:26-30; II Timothy 3:3, 4).

Yes, we know our city is full of hypocrites, marijuana smokers, sex addicts, welfare bums, deviants, and people who hate Jesus Christ. I know that better than you do. I have spent sixty years preaching to this godless city!

But I also know that somewhere, in one of these apartments, in one of these bowling alleys, in one of these schools – I know that in one of those places there is a young man or woman whom God has chosen, selected from the teeming thousands of reprobate sinners, chosen to be saved by Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God!!! I believe you are that chosen person!

And that young man or woman will come back to church, will be illuminated by the Spirit, be delivered from the Devil, and washed clean by the Blood Jesus Christ shed on the Cross!!!

Saved by the Blood of the Crucified One!
   Now ransomed from sin and a new work begun,
Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son,
   Saved by the Blood of the Crucified One!
Saved! Saved! My sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone!
Saved! Saved! I am saved by the Blood of the Crucified One!
   (“Saved by the Blood” by S. J. Henderson, 1902).

Amen! Praise God! Hallelujah! I am saved by the Blood of the Crucified One!

This man was one of God’s elect. And the Disciples came and got him out of that sinful, Hell-hole of a city – just like we went and got you! And they brought that blind boy to Jesus! Amen! The city was cursed and doomed, but not the elected blind boy! They brought him to Jesus!

II. Second, the young man was blind.

He was stone-cold blind – he was as blind as a bat! As blind as a turkey-buzzard with its head chopped off!!! That’s about as blind as you can get! Yes, the young man was blind – BLIND!

Now, that means something! It means he’s blind, yes! But it means more than that in the New Testament! It means, as Matthew Henry puts it, “spiritual blindness.” And Luke’s Gospel tell us that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 61:1 to preach the “recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18).

Jesus took the blind man by the hand, “and led him out of the town” (Mark 8:23). This shows that blind sinners need to be separate from other sinners if they want Jesus to heal their blindness. The Bible says,

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers... Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord... And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (II Corinthians 6:14, 17-18).

Many times young people want to be saved, want to know God, but they are blocked by sinful friends – friends they will not give up for Jesus. Thank God, Jesus “led him out of the town” before He restored his sight. He had to get out of that Hellish company. Out! Get out! Get out! He had to get away from wicked friends who would try to keep him blind! Jesus took him by the hand “and led him out of the town.” I don’t believe that man would have been saved if he had kept up a friendship with those wicked people in Bethsaida!

III. Third, his illumination was gradual.

“And when he had spit on his eyes [literally, “spit in his eyes”], and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw [anything]. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly” (Mark 8:23-25). The Book of Proverbs gives a good comment on that,

“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”
        (Proverbs 4:18).

At first you are spiritually blind. You come to church, but you are unclear about most of what you hear. Then you begin to realize that Christ can help you. You begin to hope that He might be able to help you. But you cannot see Him, and you cannot feel Him. Then you realize that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

The Apostle Thomas said, “I will not believe.” Then Jesus came and Thomas called Him, “My Lord and my God.” And Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” For two thousand years Jesus has saved millions of people who “have not seen and yet have believed.”

Listen to John Cagan. He said, “I could not find any form of peace. I felt like dying...[then] it was so clear that all I had to do was trust [Jesus]. There was no physical feeling, I did not need a feeling, I had Christ! I looked to Jesus alone! It is only by faith that I know that Jesus washed all my sins away, and I find myself wondering how do I know in my lack of concrete evidence, but...I find peace knowing after careful thought my faith rests on Jesus. Jesus is my only answer.”

Listen to Philip Chan. “I remember thinking I would never be converted. I even started to doubt whether conversion was real at all...[Then] Dr. Hymers preached on how Satan blinds those who don’t have Christ. He said that one of the ways Satan does that is by working inside the mind of a lost person, and making him think that he must have a feeling of assurance. Then Dr. Hymers said I must trust Jesus and Him alone. No one else, nothing else. Just before [my mind] was swirling in doubts and self-analysis...Now Jesus was there. Now the Saviour was waiting to take me in His arms! How could I hold onto my sin and not look to Jesus, the one who loved my soul? I got on my knees and trusted Jesus Christ Himself. I did not wait to experience a feeling. I did not wait to listen to the lies of Satan. I had to go to Jesus to be cleansed from my sin. I must not wait! The thoughts of finding assurance were gone. I trusted Jesus. Jesus [Himself] became my assurance and hope. Jesus took away my heavy load of sin. He cleansed my record with His own Blood. Now I remember hymns like “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and I remember that I have a friend in Jesus. Praise be to God that He gave His Son, Jesus, to pardon my sin with His Blood!”

Now listen to the words of a girl who rejected Jesus for many years. She said, “I had deep conviction of my sins and felt utterly hopeless. I prayed nearly every day. I read the sermon manuscripts every day. They did not help because I was still waiting for more feelings and more faith. I told Dr. Cagan that I had a fuzzy mind, so I can’t come to Jesus. Dr. Cagan said, ‘Then come to Jesus with your fuzzy mind!’ Shortly before my conversion, Mr. Griffith sang, ‘If you wait until you’re better, you will never come at all.’ [I knew that] my feelings and [emotions] are never reliable, therefore I can never trust them anyway. When I trusted Jesus, He forgave me and cleansed me from all my sins. He cleansed me and washed all my sins away with His precious Blood. Jesus delivered me from Satan and set me free! I would rather be a slave to Jesus who loves me and cares for me, than to continue to be a slave to Satan, who will destroy me, and send me to Hell at the end.” It’s number 16 on your song sheet. Stand and sing it!

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
   Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
   While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
   Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
   O receive my soul at last!
(“Jesus, Lover of My Soul” by Charles Wesley, 1707-1788).

You may be seated.

I know you want to have your sins cleansed by Jesus! I know you want Jesus to save you! Don’t expect to be perfect. Just expect Jesus to save you from your guilt and sin. Perfection will come later. Now listen to the words of Jesus. These words came from the very mouth of Jesus.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“Come to me, all ye that are heavy laden.” You often feel very sinful and lost when you go to bed at night. You go to bed worrying about your sins at night. Why go to bed worrying again this afternoon? Jesus says,

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

You don’t need assurance. You need rest. Rest for your soul. Turn to hymn number 14 on your song sheet. Sing it.

I hear Thy welcome voice,
   That calls me, Lord, to Thee
For cleansing in Thy precious Blood
   That flowed on Calvary.
I am coming, Lord! Coming now to Thee!
   Wash me, cleanse me in Thy Blood
That flowed on Calvary.
   (“I Am Coming, Lord” by Lewis Hartsough, 1828-1919).

If you would like to speak with us about trusting Jesus, please come and sit in the first two rows. Amen.

(END OF SERMON)
You can read Dr. Hymers' sermons each week on the Internet
at www.sermonsfortheworld.com.
Click on “Sermon Manuscripts.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF ""

These sermon manuscripts are not copyrighted. You may use them without Dr. Hymers’
permission. However, all of Dr. Hymers’ video messages, and all other sermons on video
from our church, are copyrighted and can only be used by permission.

Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“I Am Coming, Lord” (by Lewis Hartsough, 1828-1919).