I would like to share the grace of God under the title, "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam." Could you please repeat this after me? "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam." "Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam." Everybody on earth has only one life to live. No one can live twice. However, so many people do not have the answers to the three basic questions of life: where we came from, what we should live for, and where we are heading. Many people aimlessly wander around and are bound to die in despair. From a certain point of view, things on earth fail to provide us with any solutions they only deepen our despair. While we live on earth, we should know clearly the purpose of our lives. We should live with right attitudes so that we may lead valuable and happy lives. We can’t find solutions to our problems in the world. It is only in Jesus Christ that we can find the solutions. The Bible declares the purpose of man’s life in Isaiah 43:7. It says, "Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." The Bible clearly proclaims that we have been created for the glory of God. Therefore, we have to please God in our lives. Wherever we are and whatever we do, we should live for His glory as His children, always seeking God’s will. Today’s Scripture tells us the story in which Jesus heals the man who was born blind. I pray that you will understand the purpose of life and live for the glory of God through today’s message. 1. A life born in despair. First, I want to speak of our lives in despair. John 9:1 says, "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth." We must pay attention to the phrase "a man blind from birth." The man didn’t choose to be born blind; it just happened. We can’t decide our own destinies. We find out that we are men or women after birth. The man in today’s Scripture must have been in indescribable despair, for he was born blind. The phrase "a man blind from birth" refers to all men who are born in despair, live in despair, and die in despair. Just like the man who was born blind, all people are born in sin, and they have no choice but to live without hope. Babies’cries at birth may be their cries of despair to the world. Some say that man is born with cries and that he dies with cries. It may be true. When we are away from God, our lives are sinful. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned, all mankind has been filled with sin. Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." Romans 3:23 also says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."The Bible says that all have sinned, without exception. All people are living in the middle of sins. We must admit that man’s life is thrown into darkness and in despair, just as the blind man lived his life in total darkness. Wherever we look, we see nothing but darkness. We cannot but despair. It is even worse during such a severe economic recession. What we hear these days is depressing: the stock market has crashed, the foreign exchange rate is rising rapidly, and about a million youngsters are unemployed. Many people mourn in despair. Romans 7:24 says, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"Where can we find hope? There is no one and no place in the world where we can find hope. When we come to Jesus, the Lord of lords, He will save us from all despair. Don’t be dismayed. To Christians, devastating situations will turn into opportunities, and they will bring God’s wonderful grace and blessing. When people go astray, we need to bring them to the Lord. We must bring about church revival and give forth the light of the gospel. 2. Jesus is the Light. Second, I want to speak of Jesus, the Light. What is most wonderful about this passage is that Jesus paid attention to the blind man. John 9:1 says, "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth." Many people saw him and passed him by. However, Jesus saw him, stopped there, and wanted to heal him. There is a wonderful blessing in the phrase "he saw a man," because it signifies that Jesus took interest in him. Jesus is looking at each and every one of us, even at this very moment. We shouldn’t forget that Jesus sees us with great interest through His eyes of love. Though people may not pay any attention to us, though they trample down or blame us, Jesus comes to us, comforts us, and heals our wounds and hurts. The disciples wondered whose fault it was, and asked Him in John 9:2, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They were asking, "Whose fault was it? Was it his sins or the sins of his parents?" People judge everything based on their own standards. When someone has an accident, they are likely to say, "He must have sinned." Such people judge others without knowing that they themselves are even worse sinners. The disciples looked at the blind man from their own standards. They were judging him. Nevertheless, Jesus didn’t look at him from the worldly viewpoint. He looked at him from God’s viewpoint, with spiritual eyes. He looked at the man as a tool through whom God’s glory would be manifested. John 9:3 says, "But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Hallelujah! The man was born blind, not because of his sins or the sins of his parents, but to display the work of God. Hallelujah! God took mercy on us while we were still sinners, while we wandered around in sin and despair. Just as Jesus took pity on the blind man and stopped beside him, God took pity on us and sent His only Son, Jesus, to this earth. That’s why the key verse of the entire Bible is John 3:16. Let us read John 3:16 together: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."Amen. God wants to save us and to receive glory through us. Jesus came to earth as the Light of life. John 8:12 says, "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’" John 9:5 says, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jesus is the only way through which we can be saved. We will witness the wonderful work of salvation and regeneration when we believe in Jesus, the Light of life and salvation. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Alfred Whitehead was a famous British philosopher and mathematician. He was Bertrand Russell’s teacher. In collaboration with Russell, he authored some landmark publications and contributed significantly to logic and metaphysics. He was born into an educated Christian family. During his youth, however, he left the Lord while indulging in philosophy and mathematics. Instead of trusting Jesus as his master, he pursued knowledge. He dedicated himself to research, writing books, and teaching students as a professor. One day, in his twilight years, there was a severe winter blizzard. He was hurrying back home through the blizzard when he heard a weak sound of hymns being sung. He headed toward the sound and saw an elderly lady almost buried in the snow, singing hymns. Astonished, he helped her out of the pile of snow. She thanked him many times and said, "Sir, you did me such a great favor. You must be a very faithfulChristian. Which church do you go to?" He felt a little awkward and said in reply, "No, Ma’am, I’m not a Christian. I don’t go to church." Stunned, she said, "Sir, you are not young. Why aren’t you a Christian yet? What will you do if you have a sudden accident as I did? I thought I was dying in the pile of snow. I was singing hymns in preparation to meet the Lord." Dr. Whitehead was shocked. He thought, "What makes her overcome the fear of death and sing songs with a smile on her face? Have my studies in philosophy and mathematics ever brought such an assurance and a peaceful mind?"Although he had made a lot of academic contributions as a scholar, professor, and writer, he realized that he had never had true peace in his heart. He knelt down on the spot, repented of his sins, and accepted Jesus. The great philosopher and mathematician was changed by an elderly lady’s question. When we meet Jesus, our destiny is changed. Jesus is the Light of salvation, the Light of life, and the Light of healing. Malachi 4:2 says, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." Jesus heals the disease of sin and death that no one else can heal. He is our onlysolution whenwe painfully suffer from sin, sickness, poverty, and curses. Although we say that we believe in Him, we easily despair, fall, stumble, orgo away from the Lord. It is then that we must come back to the Lord. We need to come back to the Lord and get our faith restored. We need to be healed. We need new strength. We need to stand up again. Ask for His help: "Lord Jesus, it’s very hard. I am too tired. I am falling down. My business is in trouble and I have problems at home. I am swamped with trouble without knowing where to turn. Have mercy on me and save me. Have mercy on me." Then Jesus will come to you, hold you in His arms, heal you, forgive you, and give you new strength and courage. Come to Jesus, who is the Light. I pray that you will come to the Lord and experience the grace of His forgiveness and healing. I want you to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. 3. The Pool of Siloam. Third, I want to speak of the Pool of Siloam. John 9:6-7 says, "Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." In verse 6, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. Mud can be found anywhere. Mud itself is not valuable. No one would pay money for mud. However, this worthless mud was held in the hand of Jesus, and it was used as a precious tool in opening the blind man’s eyes. We are like the worthless mud. However, when we are used by the Lord Jesus, miracles will take place. We may look like nothing to other people. We may look uneducated and penniless, as if we are without anything at all. However, when we are held in Jesus’ hands, when we are used by Him, miracles are bound to take place. And God will perform wonders through us. After that, Jesus told the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. So he went and washed, and came home seeing. The Pool of Siloam was the source of clean and fresh water in Jerusalem. The Pool of Siloam symbolizes the Lord Jesus, our Healer, and His blood. In Jesus, we find healing, forgiveness, salvation, and solutions to all problems. When we go to Him, the blood of Jesus will overflow from the cross to solve all of our problems and bring the grace and blessings of God to us. Hymn Number 190 verse 1 says, "There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains; lose all their guilty stains; lose all their guilty stains; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains."When we wash our sins in the blood, all of its guilty stains will be gone. Our diseases will be healed. We will be filled with the Holy Spirit again. We will dwell in the grace and blessings of God. We will receive the gift of the blessing of heaven. This is the five-fold gospel. Jesus performs the wonderful work of salvation through the blood that was shed on the cross. Jesus voluntarily took the cross to be the Pool of Siloam, the source of healing. A Christian exhibition was held at KOEX. I went there last Friday and saw some relics of large nails from the days of Christ Jesus. The nails were long and sharp. It was those kinds of nails that pierced Jesus’ hands and feet. He shed His blood and died in utmost pain. In order to save us, He took all our sins, curses, and infirmities. He died only to bless us with everlasting life. We must give thanks for His grace and the blood of Jesus on the cross. I want to introduce Dr. Ahn’s story. His nickname is "the laying-hands healer." He graduated from medical school at Seoul National University. He was a pathology professor at Inje University in Busan before he went to New York and worked at SUNY Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital. He now works in Lakewood, California as a specialized internist. His office is an internist’s office during the day, but after the employees leave, his office turns into a prayer house. After 5 PM, he prays for those who visit him there. One evening at 6 PM, a patient came who was in the final stage of cancer of the large intestines. He was a retired marine lieutenant colonel with a strong frame. After cancer was found in his large intestines, he had an operation and lost 30 kg. Three months later, however, doctors found that his cancer had widely spread. It was impossible to have another operation. He happened to hear that Dr. Ahn prayed and healed incurable diseases, so he came to Dr. Ahn. After he examined him, Dr. Ahn said, "There is nothing I can do medically. Go back home and copy Isaiah 53:5 in your notebook. It says, ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.’ Copy this verse down 10,000 times and bring the notebooks to me when you are done." Surprised, the patient said, "Dr. Ahn, that’s too much." The doctor replied, "In the Old Testament, Naaman was angry when Elisha told him to wash himself seven times in the Jordan to be healed of leprosy, but Naaman’s servants suggested that he obey. He dipped himself in the Jordan seven times and got healed. God’s miracle will take place when you obey God’s word." So the man went home. Three months later, he called Dr. Ahn. Since the doctor hadn’t heard from him for a while, he was afraid his patient might have died. His voice was very cheerful. He said, "Doctor, I finished writing Isaiah 53:5 the day before yesterday. I had an endoscopic checkup today and my cancer has gone. I am completely healed."Hallelujah! Dr. Ahn had prayed for him and had told him to copy down the Bible verse 10,000 times. When he wrote the verse, he was confessing, "By his wounds we are healed." "By his wounds we are healed." "By his wounds we are healed."He confessed and wrote, and confessed and wrote while he was praying, praying, and praying. His cancer disappeared. He was healed. He was restored. God performed a miracle. Jesus is the Light of life and healing. The Pool of Siloam symbolizes the Lord Jesus, who came to us as the Light and the Pool of healing. Siloam is the pool of healing, and at the same time, it is the living water of the Holy Spirit. John 7:38-39 says, "‘Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." When we trust in the power of the blood of Jesus, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit. What is most wonderful is that the blind man went and washed, and came home seeing. His eyesight was restored. He found hope. We were born and living in sins like beggars, but we met Jesus and received salvation and eternal life. We have received spiritual and physical blessings. Come to the Lord Jesus. Only He can solve all of your problems. Leave all your heavy loads at the cross of Jesus. When you leave them there, God will graciously bless you. John 9:7 says, "‘Go,’ he told him, ‘Wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." The Bible clearly says, "He came home seeing." He went to Siloam as a blind man, but when he washedthere, he gained his eyesight. Thus, he came home seeing. When we come to the Lord Jesus, meet Him, and experience the power of His blood, we also will come home seeing. Our problems will be solved. Miracles will happen. We will witness the grace and the blessings of the Lord in our lives. Christians do have hope. We have life. We have eternal life. We have healing and forgiveness. Even when we completely despair, as long as we trust in Jesus, He will turn all of our despair into hope. Heea Lee was born handicapped. On October 31, 1996, when she was 10 years old, she wanted to enter the concert hall at the Sejong Center. She wanted to see Richard Clayderman, the world famous pop artist and pianist, at the concert. Herea was less than 1 meter tall. The ushers stopped her, thinking that she was a little kid. Her mother had to explain to them, "She may look like a kindergartener, but she is 10 years old. She badly wants to be at the concert. Please let her in." After a skirmish, they were allowed to enter the concert hall. Heea kept her eyes on the pianist and said, "I will be a pianist like him." She had a hope. She even hoped to play with Clayderman in a duo concert. Her mom said, "You are handicapped. Don’t have too big of a dream." But Heea did not give up.She prayed and played the piano with all her might, sticking earnestly to her hope. Nine years later, she played with Clayderman in a duo concert. Heea is now 24 years old, majoring in Multimedia Music at the KoreaNational College of Rehabilitation and Welfare. She is planting hope in many people’s hearts. She said in an interview, "On July 9, 1985, I was born handicapped--with only two fingers on each hand." While most people have five fingers, she has only two. "I don’t have lower legs beneath the knees, either. I was classified with a first degree deformity in my limbs. When I was born, my parent found out that I have only two fingers on each hand and am without lower legs. It was hard for me to hold a pencil, but I began to play the piano. The piano has brought comfort, courage, and joy to me." She confesses, "Come to think of it, it is all thanks to God’s grace. God has given me my mother as my most precious gift, understanding and protecting. Moreover, God lets me go around the world to praise His grace through my playing. He also lets me meet many friends. I give thanks to His grace." Hallelujah! When Heea met Jesus, the Light of life, and when she received the light of hope from the Lord, she could hold on toa dream and overcome all difficulties. With only four fingers, Heea can do things that we cannot do with 10 fingers. She gives glory to God wherever she goes, and God uses her for His glory. When we meet the Lord Jesus, the Pool of Siloam, and when we wash our eyes in His blood, miracles can come about. I urge you to go to Siloam and wash your eyes. Wash your eyes of despair. Wash your eyes full of problems. He will open your eyes. He will change you. He will perform wonderful things that you have never seen. It will happen to you. Let us leave all of life’s heavy loads under the cross, and wash our eyes of despair with the blood of Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, full of love, grace, and mercy, we give thanks to You for saving and renewing us. Just as the blind man went to Siloam and gained sight, we are saved by washing ourselves in the pool of the precious blood of Jesus, although we were born sinners. We want to give glory to You for the rest of our lives. Please be with us. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.