It Is Written

Man of Vision

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

Series Code: IIW

00:02 [Music]
00:28 I'm John Bradshaw and this is It Is Written.
00:32 Thanks for joining me. In the Bible in John, Chapter 9,
00:35 there's a remarkable story of healing.
00:38 You know, Jesus actually spent more time healing
00:40 than preaching. There were times Jesus would
00:42 go into a village or villages and every one in the village
00:45 who was sick would be healed by Jesus.
00:48 In this instance, a man who had been
00:51 blind from birth caught Jesus' attention, and
00:54 Jesus' manner of healing him was a little out of
00:58 the ordinary. The Bible says that Jesus spat
01:01 on the ground and made clay of the saliva and then anointed
01:06 the eyes of the man with the clay.
01:08 And then he said to him, "Go and wash in the
01:11 Pool of Siloam." So the man went and washed,
01:13 and he came back seeing. Now, the methods might have
01:17 changed, but the results have not.
01:19 Here in India, Jesus is still giving sight to the blind by
01:24 working through a remarkable man of vision.
01:31 Dr. Jacob Prabhakar is an Indian ophthalmologist who is working
01:34 tirelessly to restore the vision of some of the world's
01:37 poorest people. And this is no small problem.
01:41 As well as the dubious honor of having more than a third of
01:45 the world's poorest people, almost 40% of the world's
01:48 blind population call India home.
01:52 That means more than 15 million Indians are unable to see.
01:57 And most shocking of all, more than 75% of these
02:01 cases could have been avoided or cured.
02:05 So, Dr. Prabhakar, together with a team of highly skilled medical
02:09 professionals, is taking on the problem, one eye at a time.
02:14 [Music] I have never seen a man
02:20 that is gifted with hands like he is.
02:23 God has blessed him tremendously.
02:38 [speaking Hindi] Dr. Jacob is the kind of man
02:44 that inspires others by his caring and compassion.
02:49 He wants to restore sight to the blind so that they can work and
02:55 have a job, take care of their family.
03:00 JB: Remarkable words of praise indeed, for a man whose early
03:05 beginnings were anything but remarkable.
03:08 [Music]
03:55 JB: But despite the extreme poverty Jacob and his family
03:58 faced, they were still able to find simple joys in life.
04:38 [Music]
04:42 JB: So, how then did a boy born and raised in poverty become
04:46 one of India's most respected ophthalmologists?
05:07 JB: In fact, the church pastor saw so much potential in Jacob
05:11 that he secured him a place in a church-run boarding school.
05:16 It was a difficult transition.
05:50 JB: At the completion of high school, Jacob applied for
05:52 medical school. But, unable to meet the tuition
05:55 fees, he was turned down. But that wasn't the end of his
06:00 medical aspirations.
06:21 [melancholy music] JB: If you had not had the
06:26 opportunities you had, you wouldn't be an
06:29 ophthalmologist today. You'd have come to school here.
06:31 You'd have gone to the public high school up the street.
06:34 What would have become of you?
06:45 JB: What do they earn?
06:52 JB: That's, uh, just a little over four American dollars.
06:54 JP: That's right. JB: A day.
06:55 JP: That's right. JB: They can live on that?
07:03 JB: If you hadn't had some of the opportunities you had,
07:07 if you were an average kid who took an average path,
07:10 you'd probably today be working in a field earning
07:12 four dollars a day.
07:24 [gentle acoustic guitar]
07:33 JB: John the Baptist was encouraged to continue to
07:35 trust in Jesus because the deaf could hear, the lame
07:38 could walk, and the blind could see.
07:43 It Is Written is committed to opening the eyes of the blind
07:47 and restoring sight to the visually impaired here
07:49 in India. And I want to tell you how you
07:52 could be part of this work.
07:56 [rhythmic Indian music]
07:59 Help It Is Written open the eyes of the blind.
08:03 Eyes for India is giving sight to the blind, and you can be a
08:06 part of this amazing work. Just call 800-253-3000.
08:12 You can also donate online at ItIsWritten.com.
08:16 Fifteen million blind people live in India--more than any
08:19 other country in the world. And many of the blind in India
08:22 could see again if only they could have cataract surgery.
08:26 It Is Written is making that happen.
08:28 Would you please support this special project and give the
08:31 gift of sight to someone who desperately wants to see?
08:35 Each cataract surgery restores the precious gift of sight, and
08:38 in many cases, people who cannot see anything at all have their
08:42 sight restored. Imagine experiencing that.
08:47 You can share that experience with others anxious
08:49 to see again. Here's all you need to do.
08:52 Call 800-253-3000 to donate and support Eyes for India.
08:59 If you prefer, you can write to It Is Written at P O Box 6,
09:03 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401. You'll also find more
09:08 information about Eyes for India online
09:10 at itiswritten.com. You can be the difference
09:14 between someone spending the rest of their lives in
09:16 darkness or having the ability to see.
09:20 Eyes for India and It Is Written are doing the work of Jesus in
09:23 opening the eyes of the blind. Join us.
09:26 Just call 800-253-3000, or write to P O Box 6,
09:31 Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401. Or visit ItIsWritten.com.
09:39 "Every Word" is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional
09:42 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially
09:45 for busy people like you. Look for "Every Word" on
09:49 selected networks, or watch it online every day on our website:
09:52 itiswritten.com.
09:56 [upbeat music]
10:03 Thanks for joining me. How important to live up to the
10:06 light we've been given by God. In Daniel 9:25, God's people
10:10 were told when the Messiah was going to come.
10:13 "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of
10:16 the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem unto Messiah
10:19 the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks.
10:22 This was a prophecy telling when the Messiah would come into the
10:25 world the first time. And when he did,
10:27 the overwhelming majority were not ready, and they rejected
10:31 Him. Now, we don't know exactly when
10:33 Jesus is going to return a second time, even though we've
10:36 got many signs to watch out for. So it's important to live in
10:40 such a way that we're ready whenever Jesus returns.
10:44 Two thousand years ago, people weren't ready in spite
10:46 of the light they had. Let's not make that mistake.
10:50 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
10:52 Let's live today by every Word.
10:57 [sounds of the city] I'm John Bradshaw and
10:59 this is It Is Written. Thanks for joining me.
11:01 Here in India, there's a man of vision doing the very work
11:05 that Jesus did. One day when Jesus was leaving
11:09 Jericho, a blind man named Bartemaeus called out to him.
11:12 He said, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me."
11:16 Well, Jesus said to the man, "What would you like me
11:20 to do for you?" And he answered by saying,
11:22 "Rabonai, that I may receive my sight."
11:26 Jesus said, "Go on your way, your faith has made you well."
11:31 And immediately the man received his sight.
11:34 Well, here in India, thanks to the dedicated work of
11:38 Dr. Jacob Prabhakar and his team, tens of thousands
11:41 are seeing again. And in a country with no western
11:47 welfare system, where so many people are living in crippling
11:51 poverty, simple cataract surgery may save them from a life
11:55 of extreme hardship.
11:59 [Speaking Hindi]
12:11 [Speaking Hindi]
12:18 JB: But, although Dr. Jacob is operating on some of the
12:21 world's poorest people, the standard of care
12:24 they receive is world class.
12:28 I've stood over Dr. Jacob's shoulder for four hours last
12:31 night, and he went back and forth from patient to patient.
12:33 His hands, his, his expertise, his focus, his vision is just
12:39 unbelievable. An ophthalmologist surgeon in,
12:43 uh, the western world, the United States, for instance,
12:45 would do approximately 30 a day would be, a, a very good number,
12:50 a very good number.
12:53 And while 30 surgeries a day may seem like a lot, Jacob
12:57 and his team have refined the process so thoroughly that 30
13:01 surgeries now accounts for less than an hour's work.
14:01 JB: With such an impressive number of surgeries behind him,
14:04 there is little doubt that Dr. Prabhakar skill would
14:07 be in high demand on this side of the world.
14:11 If Dr. Jacobs was working in the United States of America,
14:14 his lifestyle would be at the top of the world, so to speak.
14:18 His income would be in the multimillion-dollar area.
14:22 He could have all the material things in life that he would
14:25 like to have, plus more.
15:20 [Music]
15:28 JB: What was life like in this village when you were
15:30 growing up?
15:42 JB: Sounds like life was pretty simple.
15:44 These weren't big supermarkets.
15:58 JB: I know you spend much of your professional life now in
16:02 the villages, in the places where the people are the
16:05 poorest of the poor. There's a connection,
16:08 isn't there, between your upbringing and
16:10 what you're doing today professionally to minister
16:13 to others?
16:30 [Music]
16:41 JB: Jacob Prabhakar is unique among medical
16:43 professionals here in India.
16:45 His cataract surgery technique, the support of his dedicated
16:48 team, and a relentless commitment to hard work
16:53 makes it possible for him to treat an enormous amount
16:56 of people--the poorest of India's poor, those who
17:00 would have slipped through the cracks without him.
17:02 While many medical professionals in India are happy to get ahead,
17:06 and many of them are happier to get out, Dr. Prabhakar has
17:11 dedicated his medical practice to deliberately seeking out
17:15 the poorest of India's poor, and providing them with
17:19 medical services that they couldn't possibly get
17:21 anywhere else. So, what drives this
17:27 remarkable man?
17:52 [Music]
17:56 [Speaking Hindi] [Music]
18:00 [Speaking Hindi]
18:20 [Music] [Sounds of city]
18:31 JB: India is a land of great contrasts.
18:33 Incredible beauty and suffocating pollution.
18:37 [Horn honking] Vast natural resources and
18:40 terrible poverty. Well-paid professional cricket
18:42 players and IT workers, and then the masses
18:45 daily eking out an existence.
18:48 And for millions of people in India, medical help is almost
18:51 impossible to find. There are masses of people
18:55 living here, living in the darkness of blindness,
18:58 who could see if only they could get eye surgery.
19:05 [rhythmic indian music]
19:08 Today I'd like to ask you to help It Is Written open
19:10 the eyes of the blind. India has more blind people
19:13 than any country on earth. But simple cataract surgery can
19:17 make the difference between seeing and not seeing for
19:20 many people. Eyes for India is a project
19:23 that's providing cataract surgery for people in desperate
19:26 need of the gift of sight. Please help today.
19:29 Call 800-253-3000. You can also donate online at
19:35 ItIsWritten.com. Please call 800-253-3000, or
19:41 write to P O Box 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401.
19:46 Or visit ItIsWritten.com.
19:51 [Music]
19:55 JB: In rural India, when a person loses their ability
19:57 to see, everything changes. Somebody who works in the rice
20:02 fields, well, they cannot work if they cannot see.
20:04 A person who tends the cattle, somebody who works as a laborer
20:08 every day, they're not working if they're not seeing.
20:11 And there isn't an employer who's prepared to provide
20:14 benefits. There isn't any sort of health
20:17 insurance for these most poor of the poor.
20:20 It just doesn't exist for these people.
20:23 However, the same Jesus who opened the eyes of the blind
20:26 when he walked here on the earth is still opening the eyes
20:29 of the blind here in India. The compassion that drove Jesus
20:33 is the same compassion that fuels Dr. Jacob Prabhakar and
20:37 his team, to help the most needy here and to demonstrate to them
20:42 the love of a loving God.
20:46 [Music]
20:50 [Speaking Hindi]
20:54 JB: Well, this is a special moment because here we are,
20:57 in your home village. As a matter of fact,
21:01 at your home, surrounded by people on
21:05 whom you've operated. How does that make you feel?
21:24 JB: Why do you do this? That is to say, you don't live
21:28 anywhere near here now. Just to get here is an
21:32 enormous exercise.
21:44 JB: You're giving back to the community that really
21:46 gave you so much.
21:59 [Music]
22:03 [Speaking Hindi]
22:15 [Speaking Hindi]
22:21 [Speaking Hindi]
22:33 JB: But it's not just their physical lives that are
22:36 being transformed. As vision is restored,
22:40 their eyes are being opened to the Word of God,
22:44 and many are accepting Jesus into their hearts.
23:15 Dr. Jacob's patients, when they have their
23:17 cataracts removed and they have this new vision,
23:19 it's not just a vision that's physical.
23:21 He follows up with the Bibles, the spiritual emphasis,
23:24 so they have spiritual healing along with physical healing.
23:27 And you can't beat that combination.
23:49 [Speaking Hindi]
23:58 JB: Of course, this remarkable man and
24:00 his team could not continue their very important work were
24:04 it not for the support of 'Eyes for India' and the
24:07 generous hearts of our donors.
24:51 [Music] JB: And although more than
24:56 100,000 people have already received this sight-giving
24:59 surgery, the journey is far from over for Dr. Prabhakar.
25:06 What's your vision of the future as far as your involvement
25:10 in this work?
25:12 [Music]
25:35 JB: I want to tell you how you can be part of Eyes for India.
25:38 Just $75 will restore the sight of someone who's visually
25:43 impaired or someone who is completely blind.
25:47 These cataracts often take the sight totally of people,
25:51 leaving them living in the dark.
25:54 Just $75 is all it takes to give the gift of sight.
25:59 Here's what I'd like you to do. Call us right now, 800-253-3000.
26:04 1-800-253-3000. Or visit us online,
26:09 www.itiswritten.com. Only $75 and you open the eyes
26:17 of the blind and give the gift of sight.
26:21 How many eyes are you willing to open?
26:24 Seventy-five dollars for one individual.
26:26 Seven hundred and fifty dollars, you've changed 10 lives.
26:30 Multiply that out and you can change the lives of
26:34 exponentially more. I'd like to pray with you before
26:37 I go, so let me do that now. Father in heaven, I thank you
26:42 that you are opening the eyes of the blind and opening the hearts
26:45 of so many who are receiving not just physical sight,
26:49 but spiritual sight. They're seeing Jesus and
26:52 receiving from you the precious gift of salvation.
26:57 Continue to bless, please, the work of Dr. Jacob and
27:00 his team here. Open the eyes and the hearts
27:02 of multiplied more people, and bless those who give
27:05 and support this great work with a joy and a satisfaction
27:10 and a peace from knowing that they have touched a
27:13 life for eternity's sake. So, bless and keep us, I pray.
27:18 Lord, let us see Jesus. In Jesus' name, Amen.
27:31 [Music]
27:46 JB: Thanks for joining me today.
27:48 I look forward to seeing you again next time.
27:50 Until then, remember, "It is written, Man shall not
27:54 live by bread alone, but by every word that
27:58 proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
28:04 [orchestral music]

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Revised 2016-12-06