II COR. 4:3-7 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god (Satan) of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

     For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in; the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

LET'S PRAY FOR GODLY WISDOM

I.  WHO DO YOU KNOW THAT IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THEIR SPIRITUAL CONDITION?
     A.  Blind to "Worldly" appearances and condition.
           1.   Satan wants us to look at the outward appearances 
                 Matt. 23:27-28  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
                 for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear 
                 beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of 
                 which uncleanness.  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous 
                 unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
           2.   God wants us to look upon the inside of men, at their heart's 
                 condition! (Illustration Matt. 23:25-26  If the outside of a cup and
                 saucer is clean but the inside is dirty, then too we need to wash 
                 the inside of us so the corruption and greed is cleaned out and not
                 dirty.)
     B.  Blind to "Spiritual" appearances and condition.
           1.   People are truly blind to each others sins. Isa. 65:6 God only will
                 judge and repay people for their sins.  He alone knows their 
                 hearts and what kind of condition it is in.  We think we know
                 them, but do we really? Can we truly judge another person 
                 without fully walking in their shoes? The answer is No! God
                 loves them and that is enough.  We are not to judge them but 
                 ourselves only.  That is hard enough as it is!
           2.  People are blind to their own sins.
                a.  How many times have we seen our brother's sin and bypassed
                     our own? (Looking at our own sin is uncomfortable.)
                     1.   People say I'm no murderer, but they kill and hurt with
                           their judging words.
                     2.   People say I never committed adultery, but they had lusted
                           after someone.
                     3.   People say they never steal, but they stole someone's 
                           reputation away when they gossiped about them.
                     4.  People minimize "little" sins and maximize "large" sins, but
                          sin is sin is sin! (How much hurt do little sins cause? A long, 
                          lifetime of pain!)
           3.  People are blind to the fact that God hates sin. John 3:36  To put 
                off the choice of choosing Jesus as their Savior is to face the 
                judgment of God.
               a.  God can forgive all our sins because he loves us that much!
               b.  God can forgive all our sins by trusting in Jesus Christ to take
                    them away.

II.  WHO DO YOU KNOW THAT IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THE MERCY OF GOD?
     A.  Everyday we have blessings. The whole world is a blessing to us. The
           sky, wind, trees, plants.  The very breath that you take etc.
           1.  Everyday that we can start our day praising God is a good day.
           2.  Everyday we go to bed praising God is a good day.  (You see 
                problems may be there but the Lord is with us through them. 
                Everyday we may have bad things happen but how many good 
                things happen too. (Shouldn't our focus be on the blessings more? 
                Shouldn't we be praising the Lord for them?)
     B.  Everyday those of us in the free world can feel blessed about our 
           freedoms.  (These are mercies of God yet how many people take 
           them for granted.)
     C.  Everyday we have blessings of God yet how many people hold God in
           contempt? John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my 
           words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the 
           same shall judge him in the last day.
          1.  People must evaluate themselves before God.  This is difficult and 
               painful especially if front of the Lord.
          2.  People must not allow their pride to hold them back from humbling
               themselves and submitting to acknowledgment of their sins.
          3.  People must pray constantly for wisdom and knowledge of their 
               sins in order to allow healing of those sins in their lives.
               (Extra Verse for further understanding -Rom.2:4-6 Or despisest 
               thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering;
               not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
               but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto 
               thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the
               righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man 
               according to his deeds:)

III.  WHO DO YOU KNOW THAT IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THE CERTAINTY OF JUDGMENT?
     A.  People have no promise of living tomorrow  Proverbs 27:1 We don't 
           know what the day tomorrow will bring.
     B.  People have death coming to them all sooner or later. Heb. 9:27 And 
           as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after that the judgment.
     C.  People have only a brief time to live. James 4:14 Whereas ye know 
           not what shall be on the marrow.  For what is your life? It is even a 
           vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
          1.  People think they have all the time in the world to accept Jesus 
               and live for God.
          2.  People living in the world are afraid to face the truth. Christians 
               living for the Lord don't walk in fear because they know that they 
               have salvation through Jesus
     D.  People will have to sooner or later face the final judgment of God!

IV.  WHO DO YOU KNOW THAT IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THE TRUTH OF SALVATION?
          A.  What blinds people to the truth about Salvation? II Cor. 4:3-5 But
                if our gospl be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god 
                of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe
                not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of christ, who is the image 
                of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not  ourselves, but 
                Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' 
                sake.
                1.   People are blinded by money
                2.  People are blinded by power
                3.  People are blinded by pleasure
                     a.  People who are blinded by their own pursuits and pleasures 
                          are blinded about the truth of Salvation.
                     b.  People who put their desires ahead of the Lord are 
                          "spiritually" blind!
          B.  Satan blinds people to the truth about Salvation.
               1.  Because they can go to Heaven and he can't.
               2.  Because the gospel of the Lord is here to save the poor as well 
                    as the rich.
               3.  Because Satan hates us
         C.  How do we have our eyes opened up to "Spiritual" truth about 
               Salvation?
               1.   Acknowledge and accept that we are sinners
               2.   Believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins
               3.   Confess our sins before the Lord and ask for forgiveness
               4.   Eternity is ours when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and 
                     Savior
               5.   Forever follow Jesus throughout our lives
               6.   God is a good God to give us His son Jesus to die for our sins
               7.   Heaven Is for us when Jesus is King of our Lives!

V. NOW FOR THE LAST TIME I ASK YOU, WHO DO YOU KHOW WHO IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND TO THE TRUTH OF GOD, OR, THEY...... "FINALLY" HAVE THEIR EYES OPEN NOW?

LET'S PRAY!
     You may be physically challenged but you are "not" without real power.  When you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your prayers matter.  They are more powerful than a person with no physical problems who doesn't know Jesus. The Lord wants you to live in victory not defeat.  God gives us positives not negatives, and we all should learn to live our daily lives with the Lord's anointed power of faith.