Samuel Rodriguez - Don't Settle For The Old
John 9, "As Jesus was walking, he saw a man who had been blind from birth". You need to underline that part 'cause we're gonna juxtapose two biblical narratives. Verse 6, "He spit on the ground," which is messy. This is Jesus now. "He made mud with the saliva," which is more messy, "And he spread the mud over the blind man's eyes". He spread the mess. Jesus spread the mess. Doesn't that mess up your theology? Verse 7, "He told him, 'go wash yourself'. The man went, washed, and came back seeing"! Mark 8, "They arrived at Bethsaida". Verse 22, "Some people brought a blind man to Jesus". Blind man again, "They begged him to touch him," the man, "And heal him. Jesus took the blind man by the hand, led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man's eyes".
There's that common denominator. May have been allergy season but, "He spit on the man's eyes. He laid his hands on him and asked. 'can you see anything now'? The man looked around and said, 'yes. Well, I see people, but I can't see them clearly. They look like trees'. Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly". I wanna speak to you on the subject matter, "Don't settle for trees. Don't settle for trees". It maybe your mess, but it's God's miracle. So, before your seated, high five three people, tell 'em, "Don't settle for trees". Your mess. God's miracle. "Don't settle for trees. Your mess. God's miracle". You may be seated. If you're taking any notes, good luck with that.
Number one, here we go. Don't settle for the old. Open your eyes to what you have never seen before. So, we're juxtaposing two biblical narratives of a common threat here and we're gonna get to it. "But as Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth," John 9:1. This man in John 9, we're gonna put John 9, right next to Mark 8 and we have 'em here, right? So, John 9, Mark 8. Beautiful. Union workers. Here we go. This man in John 9:1 was not losing his sight. He did not lose his sight. He never had it in the first place. He was born blind. This circumstance facilitates the environment for Christ to reveal a functional ontological extension of the creative nature of providence.
In other words, with the woman that had the issue of blood, he gave her back her health. With the indolent man at Bethesda, Jesus gave him back his walk. With Lazarus, he gave him back his life. But with this man in John 9, Jesus did not give him something he lost. Jesus gave him something he never had in the first place. There is a difference between God restoring something you had and God giving you something you never had in the first place. Planet shakers, our God is not just a God that restores. Our God is a God that gives you what you never had before. "I'm about to do something new. I'm about to do a new thing. I'm about to do a new thing". Australia get ready we are about to see the glory of Jesus like we've never seen before. "I've already begun, do you not see it? I will make a pathway." Isaiah 43:19.
So, I need you to get ready. God's about to do something new in you, with you, for you, and through you, all for the glory of his name. Some of us allocate, focus our time in attempting to get back what we lost when we should be asking God to give us what we never had in the first place. In other words, God is not interested in renovating you past. He is committed to releasing your future. Hence, the question we have to ask ourselves in our families, in our faith, in our generation, in our nations, in our continents, "Are we ready to see what we have never seen before"?
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we can't deny that in the past four years around the world we have seen arguably, in our generation what we have never seen before. We saw the effects of a global pandemic. We saw the ruins of social and racial unrest destroying properties, families, dividing communities, and fragmenting the church. We witness and continue to bear witness to a culture that insist on silencing everyone and everything that refuses to toe the line of a morally relativistic ideological world view that runs counter to the word and the Spirit of God. We saw and continue to see a generation targeted by the spiritual architects of darkness with the message that there is no such thing as truth, holiness, God defined identity, righteous sexuality, and personal responsibility. We did it last year and I'm gonna do it again.
There's a church rising up with the authority, not with kumbaya, not with complacency. With the authority to tell the devil get your hands off our children, get your hands off our children's children. And by the way, for the record, don't drink the kool aid, generation z will not go to hell. Generation z will be saved. We saw the mess. We see the mess. If you go on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and even speak to ChatGPT, you will see the mess. But what if I tell you that in our families, and our faith, and our generations, even in our nations, and our continent, we are about to see by the grace of God, the mess has become miracles. Just like the blind man in John 9. Just like he saw what he never saw before. We need to get ready to see what we have never seen before. In every nation and every generation and all aspects of your life, in the lives of your children, and your children's children. Get ready to see the glory of God like never before.
The mess is about to become a miracle. John 11:40, "Did I not tell you if you believe, you will see the glory of God"? God is up to something since last year. Since last year, God is up to something. I mean, he really is. We left this conference last year, let me contextualize it in my American experience. Some of you are privy to the fact. Right after this conference, we went back home. And in America, an American football player, American football, an American football player dies live on national television. We've never seen that before. An NFL football player, Damar Hamlin, dies on national television. He's dead. I mean, it's Monday night football. Big day, millions watching, and this young man dies. Both teams gather, they start praying, and the young man that was dead came back to life. Don't tell me God is done raising the dead. Don't dare tell me that miracles are done and over. We serve the God that has the power to save, the power to deliver, the power to heal.
Think, listen, the very next day on ESPN, please, do your Google due diligence or YouTube due diligence. The very next day on ESPN, you could watch this, go ahead and YouTube it, here's the reporter, the host. And he's talking about what happened. He goes, "I wanna talk about what happened yesterday. Yesterday, Damar Hamlin died on national television. And he died, and then people started praying on the field and around the country for him, and he came back to life". This is ESPN. And then over here this lady comes out and says, "Well, yeah, now we have some issues here because we know, we have an issue of protocol. We already have a concussion protocol in the NFL. We should look at hits above the sternum or right in the sternum. This should be", and then the guy over here comes back and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that part. That's not the point. Here's the point. He died. People prayed. He came back to life".
Another guy over here says, "There are some playoff implications now, whether or not they should cancel the next game. Whether or not they just ca", and the guy goes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that part but that's not the point. Here's the point. He died. Certifiably dead. People prayed and the guy who was dead came back to life". And then he looks at the camera, Google this please. He looks at the camera and says, "I think we should pray right now". This is ESPN. And all of a sudden, they go, "Let's pray". And in the middle of his prayer, usually they would break to commercials, but they didn't for whatever reason they just stuck on him and all of a sudden, in the middle of his prayer, he says, "Because we serve the God that has the power to heal. We serve the God".
Are you ready to see the glory of God show up like we have never, ever, ever, ever seen before? What a coinkydink? Immediately after that, right after that, in a city in America called Asbury, Kentucky, a bunch of young people in this university can't stop praying, worshipping, lifting up Jesus. And they tried and they failed miserably. And they continued to pray, worship, lift up Jesus. And then God shows up in Kentucky. And people start flying in from all over the world to Kentucky because the Spirit of God is moving in a generation that has been deemed as the most non-Christian generation. Somehow God didn't get the memo and God says, "Really, the same group of people who you are identifying as the generation that will never serve me, that's the generation that will carry my glory. That's the generation that's about to shake the nations".
The reason why the devil hates your guts it's because you are about to unleash the greatest move of God in human history. If you believe it, shout like you know that God's about... Immediately, after that my friend, Greg Laurie, who is a pastor in socal. He comes out of a movie called the Jesus revolution. It was supposed to have made 7 million dollars in box office receipts and over 50 million dollars later, and even recently, he baptized over 4,000 new converts at pirate's cove in OC, California. People giving their lives to Christ. Something is happening. Immediately after that, I mean, things are happening. Immediately after that we gathered in Amsterdam and close to 7,000 leaders came to an agreement that by 2033 the gospel of Jesus will reach every single human being on this planet so help us mighty God.
I'mma say that one more time. Y'all, we need to stop drinking the kool aid that the devil is in charge, that hell will win, we are about to see more people come to Jesus as Lord and Savior than ever before in human history. In the Latino world even, there's an artist that y'all may never heard of. And no, he doesn't play for the Yankees, but his name is daddy Yankee. And this guy who was like, you know, one of the most, just recently in the middle of a concert comes down and says like, "I'm here to announce I had an encounter with Jesus that changed my life. I am born again Christian, and I will follow him". There's even the neurobiology chair of Stanford university, so there is no split here. Every single class, every single intellectual level, every single level, the dimension of cognitive bandwidth. He comes around, Andrew hUberman, he comes around and he says, this past year, says, "This is the head of neurobiology at Stanford".
One of the most brilliant people on the planet. This past year he goes on his podcast to announce that this year he had an encounter, an undeniable encounter with Jesus that changed his life and now he is a follower of Jesus. I need you to get ready to see athletes. I need you to get ready to see entertainers. I need you to get ready to see influencers. I need you to get ready to see politicians. But more importantly, I need you to get ready to see your entire family recognize that Jesus is Lord. Lift up your hands. Repeat after me, "In Jesus' name Australia's mess is about to become God's miracle. New Zealand's mess is about to become God's miracle. Asia's mess is about to become God's miracle. Africa's mess, America's mess, Latin America's mess, my generational mess, my family mess is about to become God's miracle". If you believe what you just said shout like you believe it. Praise like you believe it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24, "He who called you is faithful to do it". 1 Corinthians 2:9, "What no eye has seen, no ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him". It's gonna happen, folks. We are about to see the messes become miracles. And when the mess becomes a miracle, we step into a season of instead of's, instead of. We gon' see it. Is that wishful thinking? No, world, I'm telling you God is up to something. Where... God is... Why do you think the enemy is so angry? Why do you think he's so stirred up? We're about to see the glory of Christ instead of riots, we're gonna see revival. And instead of lockdowns, open heavens. Instead of hatred, love. Instead of relativism, truth. I'm prophesying now. And instead of confrontation, conversations. Instead of political affiliation, prophetic designation. And instead of storming capitals, we're about to storm the gates of hell and take back everything that belongs to us.
Alright, on more time. I'm not gonna do this again. Raise your hand and repeat after me. "I'm about to see what I've never seen before in my family, in my faith, in my relationships, in my church, in my community, in my thinking, in my actions, in my words, in my health, in my surroundings, in my nation, in my generation. I'm about to see the glory of Jesus like never before". Praise like you believe it. Somebody, shout like you believe it. Somebody, worship like you believe it. Prophecy like you believe it. Rejoice like you believe it. Think like you believe it. Act like you believe it. Give like you believe it. Forgive like you believe it. Are there any questions? Don't settle for excuses. Open your eyes at God's spirit. So, let's do it. So, come here, gentlemen. "He spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva," John 9, yeah. "And he spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva".
So, let's just begin with John 9. Take some of that. Last year you were Dagon, now you're Jesus. What a massive conversion experience. Indeed. No, Fabio, you don't have, yes, so let's put some on. Go ahead, let's put John 9 and let's do this. Alright. Mhmm. Let's go. Mhmm. "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone". Uh-huh, spread it. This actually happened. So, "He spit on the ground, made mud with his saliva and spread the mud". Here it is, the God of the process is the same God of the outcome. The God of the wait is the same God of the suddenly. The process in temporary but the promise is permanent, and do not make the temporary permanent. Do not confuse what you're going through with where you're going to. And if you are going through what you've never been through before, stop whining, it only means you're about to occupy what you've never occupied before. First, this is a crazy thing because he did this to this guy and just put, in reality, he spit, right, in John 9, "He spit," and that's his holy spittle. Holy hygiene, Batman, you spit. And he takes the spit, and this is the spit of Jesus.
So, what, you know, what's in your spit? "What's in your wallet"? What's in your spit? Virus. All the pessimist, "Germs, bacteria". And all the optimists would say, "DNA. And that's it. That's the entire message". Literally speaking, not like, "This is a rhema word". No, this is science 101. Jesus took his DNA and he placed it on the eyes of a man who was born blind. He literally transferred his DNA, he took his DNA and it's real simple. In other words, "With your DNA you can't see anything. With my DNA you're about to see my glory. With your DNA you're a victim. With my DNA you'll be more than a conqueror. With your DNA you have trauma. With my DNA you will have a testimony. With your DNA you are limited. With my DNA you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. With your DNA you're gonna make excuses. With my DNA you're about to make history". Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me".
Oh yeah, listen carefully planet shakers. Jesus died, resurrected, ascended, not just for us to receive a spittle, but more importantly for us to receive his spirit. So, we're not filled with the spittle of opinions, social constructs or ideologies, we are filled with the spirit of Christ. Romans 8:11, "The same identical spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of us". Which means what? If with the spittle of Jesus this man saw what he never saw before, what are we about to see with the spirit of Christ inside of us? Holy Spirit people see what other cannot see. I'm gonna repeat that one more time for the hearing impaired. People filled with the Spirit of God see what others cannot see. If you have that spirit, you have power. If you have that spirit, you are free. If you have that spirit, you are anointed. If you have that spirit, you live a holy life. If you have that spirit, you have victory. And if you have that spirit, you can say with unbridled certainty in the presence of every devil, demon, legion, principality and power of darkness, greater is he that is in me, than he that is in the Holy Spirit people.
But you can, you, Jesus, to this guy before you put the mud, you spit in the mud. Hold on a second. To this guy, Mark 8, you didn't. To this guy Jesus went, to this guy Jesus went, so why would Jesus spit on the ground, combine his spittle with dirt for the guy who was born blind but not for the... Because this guy wasn't born blind and that's the story. This guy had a vision at one time and he lost it, hence the word restore in Mark 8. A matter a fact, this guy sounds like Jesus does this whole thing and he goes, "Can you see? Can you see"? Why would Jesus ask like he didn't know? And then this guy says, "Yeah, you know, I could see. I can see but it's not clear. I see people but they look like trees". Which means he already had framework regarding people and tress. This guy never saw anything. So, what did Jesus do for this guy? He spits on the ground first.
What did God make man out of? Genesis 2:7, dirt. In other words, Jesus took his DNA. He went to the original blueprint. He went to the original plan. In other words, in my original plan I'm here to tell you, planet shakers, in God's original plan, your children are not addicts. In God's original plan, your family doesn't have a multigenerational propensity for diabetes and alcoholism. In God's original plan, there is no addiction or multigenerational curse. I'm here to tell you to get ready. Jesus died, resurrected, set his Holy Spirit to activate his original plan for you and your family.
If you're ready to see it, shout like you're ready to see it. If you want God's original plan for your life fully active raise one hand. If you wanna see it fully activated upon you and your family, lift up both hands. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart". Jeremiah 1:5. What's God's plan. Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans I have for you. Plans for good, not to harm you to give you future and a hope". "And you were born again according to the model of the second Adam not the first," 1 Corinthians 15:45. If you believe God has a plan for your life lift them up really high. God has a plan for you. He has a plan for your children. He has a plan for your children's children. He has a plan for your now. He has a plan for your next. He has a plan for your city.