A Schizophrenic Christianity Healed by a Second Touch
by John Piper
June 2007
by Peter Youngren
Seeing, but not seeing, is a common problem. Christians see that Jesus carried their sins, but they still don't see themselves righteous; Jesus bore their sickness, but they have a difficult time to see themselves healed. We see that Jesus has become our righteousness, redemption, wisdom and sanctification, but somehow we still look for all of the above. Out of one side of the mouth we say, "God has given us everything in Christ," and out of the other side we claim to be a very "needy people". On the one hand we agree with Jesus that if we drink the water He gives we'll never thirst again, while on the other we say, "Lord, I'm so thirsty for you". Do you see the contradictions? Is this schizophrenic life normal Christianity?Could it be that our dilemma is mirrored in the story of the blind man touched by Jesus? Suddenly he could see, but his vision was not clear; the Scripture says he saw people as "trees walking" (Mark 8:22-25). It is evident the man had received something miraculous from God, but his sight was impaired. Jesus gave the man a second touch and he saw everything clearly.
I believe the world is yet to experience the greatest revelation of Jesus ever. The Holy Spirit's mandate to reveal Jesus to the world has never changed. What hinders this from happening? Please, don't say "the devil", because that's an answer that glorifies Satan. Yes, I know Satan blinds people's eyes, but only if we are ignorant of the Gospel. In fact, the devil is nothing but a fraud and deceiver; Jesus has stripped him of all legal authority. The only hindrance is believers not seeing Jesus as He is; seeing but not seeing. When we see Jesus as brilliant and as great as He is the crutches of human wisdom, legalism and man-made traditions are discarded at the sight of Jesus, our sufficiency.
Simon Peter had been touched by Jesus, but he still didn't see that the Gospel was to reach beyond his Jewish nation; he saw, but he didn't see. Jesus touched Simon Peter again (Acts chapter 10).
Millions of Christians are begging God for blessings, when in fact these blessings have already been given to us. The problem is not that we have so many needs, but that we don't see what we have. The Ephesian Christians were born again, but Paul still prayed, not for more blessings, anointing and power, but that their spiritual eyes would open to see what Jesus has already provided. How about it? Are you ready for Jesus to touch your eyes again?
Copyright, Celebration Ministries. Used by permission. Passion for the unreached has taken Peter Youngren to more tan 70 nations. He has led evangelistic Festivals with crowds up to 600,000 attending a single service. In addition, hundreds of thousands of pastors and leaders have attended his training seminars. As founder of Celebrate Jesus International, Celebration Bible College, Way of Peace and the Celebration Churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara, Canada, Peter and his wife RoxAnne are committed to equipping believers to fulfill their purpose before the return of Jesus Christ. Peter was born in Sweden, where he was raise by strongly missions-oriented parents. His grandparents were missionaries to China where his mother was born. From early childhood, Peter learned and desired to live by God's will as revealed in the Word. He has lived in North America since his later teen years. Offices – Peter Youngren’s ministry maintains offices the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia, England, Norway and Singapore. Read more about his ministry: Main Ministry website:
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