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good morning everyone welcome back to free Grace Baptist Church and a warm welcome to any visitors that are amongst us this morning for announcements we'll have our evening service as usual at 5 p.m Wednesday night bible study is also on at 7 30 in the fellowship hall next Sunday will be our luncheon our potluck luncheon so there will be an email going out on Wednesday to give you further details information about that and if for some reason you're not receiving emails you're not on the list maybe you're new to the church or you've changed your email address half a dozen times in the last year to try and get away from the spammers let Pastor Butler know if you want to be on the list so you can be updated if you have any other questions about church membership baptism he's always free and willing available to talk to you about that so we'll move on to our worship this morning by turning to Psalm 119 Psalm 119 we'll start at verse 137 and read to 144. Psalm 119 137 righteous Are You O Lord and upright are your judgments your testimonies which you have commanded are righteous and very faithful my Zeal has consumed me because my enemies have forgotten your words your word is very pure Therefore your servant loves it I am small and despised yet I do not forget your precepts your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness and your law is truth trouble and anguish have overtaken me yet your Commandments are my Delights the righteousness of your testimonies is Everlasting give me understanding and I shall live amen for our first hymn this morning please turn with me to 213 213 and stand with me as we sing please [Music] Glory [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] beautiful Glory to God [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] let's go to the Lord and ask his blessing upon our worship this morning Heavenly Father we thank you again this day for the privilege we have of coming into your presence we know that you dwell amongst your people in a special way when we gather together for your worship on your day we pray that you would be present we pray that you would minister to your servants to your people here in this place minister to us according to each as each has need to comfort and encouragement and chastisement Lord I pray that you would do what is good for our souls are you blessed Pastor Butler as he comes to the pulpit later to preach to us give him unction and anointing to preach the whole counsel of God and to hold nothing back Lord I pray that you would be gracious I thank you for this day and I thank you that the gospel is going forth from pulpits all over this land all over this country and indeed around the world we thank you that the church continues to March forward victoriously and we know that Christ has promised to build his church and that the Gates of Hell will not Prevail against it we know as well that the Gates of Hell will try that the enemy of our souls hates your people and hates the church Lord we pray for those Christians that are under persecution in many places in the world today be gracious to your Saints encourage them this day give them the strength and the perseverance and the comfort from one high that they need to continue on Lord I pray that you would be gracious to the church we look forward to the day when we are all gathered together in Emmanuel's land around your throne those who have have persevered from every tribe and tongue and people a nation those who have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ and we pray o God that you would give us anticipation and joy that we would never lose sight of that day that lies before us Lord we pray this morning for our sister confessional churches the church plants I pray Lord that you would be gracious to your people that are gathering this morning in Surrey bless Pastor Kirkpatrick as he preaches to them encourage that congregation build them up continue to cause them to mature in the faith continue to add to their numbers we pray you do the same for our brothers and sisters up in Armstrong today encourage them bless Pastor maljars as he preaches I pray Lord that you would cause that congregation to be unified and moving forward and growing in love and in unity and in numbers Lord I pray that you would bless them bless our Brethren Odin in Dryden today encourage them encourage Dan Morley and Josh as they give leadership to that group Lord I pray that you would do a good work there and that we would see a church planted and in the future many more churches planted in that huge Province Lord do them good this day I pray we pray for our Brethren down in Honduras encourage them bless Pastor Carlos Pastor Louise pray Lord that you'd be with John and Molina Curry we thank you for them pray you'd continue to bless them and continue to give them opportunity to be of assistance and to be an encouragement to the congregation there Lord I Thank You for Your goodness toward us I thank you for your blessing upon this church I thank you for the many families that you have planted here and for the good that you are bringing forth the fruit that you're bringing forth in the families in the young people the children and the elderly in our church Lord I pray that you would continue to stay sustain those that are struggling with physical difficulties with emotional or spiritual trials I pray Lord that you continue to uphold your people and bless them this day Lord may we turn our focus upon you and worship you in spirit and in truth and I pray that you would be present in our midst this day in Jesus name amen let us stand again and we're going to sing from the hymnal Psalm 22 selection d 22 D the ends of all the Earth shall hear please stand with me as we sing [Music] foreign [Music] always praise [Music] God foreign [Music] foreign Christ us ing some sounds [Music] on these days [Music] maybe seated for our New Testament scripture reading this morning returning to Revelation chapter 9 please turn with me to Revelation chapter 9. then the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star falling from Heaven to the Earth to him was given the key to the bottomless pit and he opened the bottomless pit and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace so the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit then out of the smoke locusts Came Upon the Earth and to them was given power as the Scorpions of the Earth have power they were commanded not to harm the grass of the Earth or any green thing or any tree but only those men who do not have the Seal of God on their foreheads and they were not given authority to kill them but to torment them for five months their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man in those days men will seek death and will not find it they will desire to die and death will flee from them the shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle on their heads were crowns of something like gold and their faces were like the faces of men they had hair like women's hair and their teeth were like lion's teeth and they had breastplates like breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings was like the sound of Chariots with many horses running into battle they had tails like scorpions and there were stings in their tails their power was to hurt men five months and they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon but in Greek he has the name apoleon one woe was passed behold still two more woes are coming after these things then the sixth Angel sounded and I Heard a Voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God saying to the sixth Angel who had the trumpet release the Four Angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates so the Four Angels who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind now the number of the army of the horsemen was 200 million I heard the number of them and thus I saw the horses in the vision those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red Hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions and out of their mouths came fire smoke and brimstone by these three plagues a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths for their power is in their mouth and in their tails for their tails are like serpents having heads and with them they do harm but the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands that they should not worship demons and Idols of gold silver brass Stone and wood which can neither see nor can hear nor hear nor walk and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts amen let's pray Father in Heaven I pray that you would give us a new fear and awe of your judgments we know that you are a holy God we know that men are wicked and we are so grateful that you have not dealt with us as our sins deserve because we know that we are just as guilty as those mentioned here that did not repent of their idolatry and their immorality and yet you have been gracious merciful and kind to us and because of what Christ has done on the cross we do not have to face the terror of the judgments of God Lord I pray that if there be any here this morning that do not know that comfort of the the comfort of sins forgiven in communion with the father I pray Lord that they would leave this place rejoicing this day having met with you and I pray these things in Jesus name amen for our last hymn please turn with me to 4 31. 431 and can it be that I should gain we will stand and sing together [Music] oh God Glory together [Music] please come on remember foreign [Music] Before Christmas this is never oh my God [Music] Christmas songs [Music] foreign [Music] come on tell us yes [Music] foreign [Music] with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of John we're in chapter 9. we've been looking at this man who was born blind we come to the last section in verses 35 to 41 but I do want to read the chapter to remind us of what's going on so basically you have the demonstration of Christ's power in verses 1 to 12. secondly the investigation of Christ miracle in verses 13 to 34 and then this morning the manifestation of Christ's glory in verses 35 to 41. so beginning in chapter 9 at verse 1. now as Jesus passed by he saw a man who was blind from birth and his disciples asked him saying Rabbi who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind Jesus answered neither this man nor his parents sinned but that the works of God should be revealed in him I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day the night is coming when no one can work as long as I am in the world I am the light of the world when he had said these things he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and he Anointed The Eyes of the blind man with the clay and he said to him go wash in the pool of Siloam which is translated sent so he went and washed and came back seeing therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind sad is not this he who sat and begged some said this is he others said he is like him he said I am he therefore they said to him how were your eyes opened he answered and said A Man Called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me go to the pool of Siloam and wash so I went and washed and I received sight and they said to him where is he he said I do not know they brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight he said to them he put Clay on my eyes and I washed and I see therefore some of the Pharisees said this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath others said how can a man who is a sinner do such signs and there it was a division among them then they or they said to the blind man again what do you say about him because he opened your eyes he said he is a prophet but the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him who had received his sight and they asked them saying is this your son who you say was born blind how then does he now see his parents answered them and said we know that this is our son and well that he was born blind but by what means he now sees we do not know or who opened his eyes we do not know he is of age ask him he will speak for himself his parents said these things because they feared the Jews for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that he was Christ he would be put out of the synagogue therefore his parents said he is of age ask him so they again called the man who was blind and said to him give God the glory we know that this man is a sinner he answered and said whether he is a sinner or not I do not know one thing I know that though I was blind now I see then they said to him again what did he do to you how did he open your eyes he answered them I told you already and you did not listen why do you want to hear it again do you also want to become his disciples then they reviled him and said you are his disciple but we are Moses disciples we know that God spoke to Moses as for this fellow we do not know where he is from the man answered and said to them why this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where he is from yet he has opened my eyes now we know that God does not hear sinners but if anyone is a worshiper worshiper of God and does his will he hears him since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind if this man were not from God he could do nothing they answered and said to him you were completely born in sins and are you teaching us and they cast him out Jesus heard that they had cast him out and when he had found him he said to him do you believe in the son of God he answered and said who is he Lord that I that I may believe in him and Jesus said to him you have both seen him and it is he who is talking with you then he said Lord I believe and he worshiped him and Jesus said for judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind than some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him are we blind also Jesus said to them if you were blind you would have no sin but now you say we say we see Therefore your sin remains amen well let us pray Father in heaven we thank you for this wonderful day we thank you for the house of God on the day of God with the people of God that we can come to the father through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit and we pray that you would be glorified and honored and worshiped in our in this glad hour we pray for the ministry of the holy spirit to guide us and direct us and lead us and enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth we pray that you would forgive us and cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness and that we would know that that blessed Joy of our savior who sits enthroned at the right hand of God most high where he ever lives to make intercession for us where he functions as an advocate with the father and the one who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and may it be the case because of your grace and your mercy that all of us would be ready on that day we pray that you would Open Hearts and eyes to see and behold the the the the horror of sin and the beauty of the Savior and may you save Sinners today through the preaching of the Gospel here throughout this city and this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well as I said we've seen the Lord Jesus engage in this miracle or this sign with this particular fellow he had a congenital defect he was born blind and so Christ comes and puts this uh clay made with his saliva upon his eyes tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam he does that and then his sight is restored there's initially confusion among his neighbors and they're wondering is this him or is it somebody that's like him well he identifies himself as being the man well then he's brought to the Pharisees the ungodly religious leaders in Israel at this particular time and then they interrogate the man they subpoena his parents they Badger them they continue to Badger him and then in verse 34 we read that they cast him out so what we have in this particular instance is a miracle of healing but the actual miracle that transcends that comes now in Jesus further dealings with this particular fellow remember in Matthew chapter 9 Jesus is teaching and and preaching and he's in a very crowded place and and some men bring a paralytic and instead of being able to walk in they open up the roof and they drop the man down well they don't drop him they lower him gently and gingerly and then Jesus says son your sins are forgiven you and of course all the persons in attendance the the religious leaders again are sort of thinking to themselves who but who but God Alone could could forgive sin this man is a blasphemer and so Jesus asks the simple question what's easier for me to say to the uh to the man that that your sins are forgiven or to take up your bed and walk well it's easier to say your sins are forgiven because we can't see that we can't demonstrate that but he goes on to say but that you may know that the son of man has power on Earth to forgive sins he says to the paralytic take up your mat and walk we come away from that passage celebrating the fact that a paralyzed man is able to walk and we should but we are ought to be more celebratory that that sinful man was saved by grace through faith in Jesus and had his sins forgiven and that's the focus now that we find at the end of chapter nine so I want to look at the manifestation of Christ's glory and there's two specific things we need to see in verses 35 to 41. First the salvation of the man in verses 34 to 39 and then secondly the condemnation of the Pharisees in verses 40 to 41. now notice back to the Salvation of the Man chapter 9 at verse 34. just backing up a little bit they answered and said to him you were born or completely born in sins and you are you teaching us remember that man's trajectory he initially says I don't know about this particular man I don't know what he is I don't know where he's from ultimately but what I do know is that I was blind but now I see well they get outraged by that so he says you keep asking me do you do you also want to be come as disciples this is tongue-in-cheek Brethren he has gone from just this place of you know I was blind but now I see he goes to the state of then saying do you also want to become his disciples and then he goes on the offense he goes on the offensive he says we know that God doesn't hear sinners but God hears those who are worshipers of him he says as well the nature of this miracle is not anything that Moses ever did the prophets never did it it's never been told that a man born blind is now able to see and then he summarizes his theology lesson to these Jews by saying if this man were not from God he'd not be able to do these things so that's what causes the outrage that's what causes this particular reaction you were completely born in sins it's evident it's manifest it's obvious if you weren't you wouldn't have been born blind and as a result of that being the sinner that you are do you arrogate to yourself the authority to teach us and then they cast him out out and this confirms the fear that his parents had in verse 22 his parents said these things because they feared the Jews for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that he was the Christ they would be put out of the synagogue as well it is a result of their corruption we considered this passage last week we noted that there are bullies in John chapter 8 instead of going after Jesus they go after the woman caught in adultery they don't care about the woman caught in adultery it's obvious they tell us or John Rather tells us they don't care about this blind man either these are simply foils they want Jesus so they bully the blind man like they bullied the the the adulterous woman in John 8 and in their bullying they demonstrate that they're cowards and of course they're full of sanctimony we're not his disciples we're we're Moses disciples and all throughout they lie all throughout they deceive all throughout they tell the the falsehood and they rule by or they lead by intimidation and coercion it's a vile and wretched display of the religious leadership in the first century so notice what happens then on the heels of that Jesus finds the man verses 35 to 37 he questions that notice verse 35 Jesus heard now Brethren let us not forget what the blind man formerly blind man had taught we know that God does not hear sinners but but God does hear those who worship him those who seek after him I don't think it's accidental that the Evangelist John the Apostle tells us Jesus heard that they had cast him out Jesus knew and understood that they had cast him out but then on the heels of having heard what that they cast him out notice it says and when he had found him and that is obscure it's pretty small in terms of the flow of the narrative it makes perfect sense Jesus is in a different location he hears about this man and now he finds him but in the larger context of our Bibles the fact that Jesus finds this man the fact that Jesus goes after this man the fact that Jesus has saving dealings with this man it alerts us to the Blessed reality that the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost when Adam and Eve sinned they run from God it's God who comes after them when the tower our Builders at Babel try to make a name for themselves and rise up into the heavens God scatters them by confounding their lip and then God comes after man in the call of Abram it's out of Abram that all the nations will be blessed it's the Seed of Abraham that will bring that that blessed salvation and so we have a seeking a hearing and a seeking and a finding God in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ now notice the Lord questions him very specifically in verse 35. it says and when he had found him he said to him do you believe in the Son of God there's a couple of lessons we should learn at this particular Point first the Providence of God does not save a man the Providence of God does not save a man the Providence of God has been alluded to in verse verse 3. remember the disciples in verse two who said this manner is parents Jesus says neither of them sinned again he's not denying original sin he's not denying their actual transgressions he's denying that their sin was directly responsible for this man's blindness he says essentially that this man was created in this particular state for this particular day so that the Son of God could cure him and heal him but up to this point the physical sight restored doesn't mean he has everlasting life the Providence of God being in the right place at the right time doesn't necessarily save you but then as well secondly notice that Miracles don't save the miracle itself did not bring to this man salvation now Miracles are blessed Miracles are great mayor Miracles are wonderful and miracles are glorious displays of the the work and the mighty power of Jesus Christ but as Matthew Poole says miracles do not work Faith but confirm it John says that in chapter 20 verses 30 and 31. there's other signs that Jesus did but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing in his name you might have everlasting life so Providence doesn't save you miracles themselves don't save you what saves you grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ this is the emphasis with this particular man just because he now can see just because he's one gone from this place of physical Darkness to physical sight doesn't mean he's Heaven bound he's got to have saving dealings with the Savior he's got to come to the Lord Jesus Christ he's got to believe on him again this is consistent with the entirety of the Gospel record John 1 12-13 but as many as received him to then he gave the right to become children of God to those who what believe in his name who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God our confession of faith in the chapter of saving Faith talks about faith and it talks basically about faith being that willingness and that ability by God's grace to believe all that is written in the word to believe the commands to believe the threatenings to believe the law but it says that the principle acts of saving Faith have respect to our Lord Jesus Christ let me just read that the principle Act of saving Faith have immediate relation to Christ accepting receiving and resting upon him alone for justification sanctification and eternal life by virtue of the Covenant of Grace so Jesus comes to this man he hears these been cast out he he seeks him out and he finds him and he asks the question do you believe in the Son of God no just a bit of it not a confession a bit of autobiography when I first came to chillowak we had this church going and there would be reports about our church I imagine they still circulate but one of those reports was oh they preach easy believism there they preach easy believism there which if you know theology typically means there are minions arminians bad don't don't don't ever preach armenianism and and easy believism Brethren I oppose arminianism with every fiber of my being so that charge is not something that I took lightly I mean I didn't go out on the war path and try to find everybody who ever said anything back but I just thought you know what that's that's a that's an odd charge easy Believers up if exhorting people to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or if asking persons if they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is easy believism or arminianism then our Lord is guilty do you believe in the Son of God see this is the biggest question any of us will ever have to deal with not where are you going to live how are you going to raise your kids where are you going to send them to college or preferably to train school where are you going to go for dinner what are you going to do in terms of your future plans all those are important at the temporal level but there is nothing that will ever face you ever that is more important than this question do you believe in the son of God you see that see that's not easy believism that is simply presenting the truth as it is in Jesus and then pressing that upon persons not easy believism asking the question do you believe in the Son of God that's not a a bad theology in first John we read specifically in chapter 3 at verse 23 this is his Commandment that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment so notice the Lord Jesus Christ presses the man but the Lord Jesus Christ also tips his own hand with his own high christology do you believe in the Son of God the Son of God who is God the son yes we need to have a generic belief in God but we come to the father through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit we must believe in the Son of God the persons who say I'm religious I'm spiritual but I'm not a Christian I don't need Jesus or persons that are foolish the scriptures are clear Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me whatever sort of religion you may think you have or whatever spirituality you think you have if it is not connected to our Lord Jesus Christ if it is not rooted in him by faith then it is false it is furious it is not the real deal Christ Alone is the way of Salvation and Christ presses that upon the man now notice the man's response the man doesn't say that sounds like armenianism that sounds like pelagian and how could you ever ask me a question that has to do with the internality of my soul no look at he first shows his ignorance and then he shows his wisdom look at the ignorance he answered and said who is he Lord that I may believe in him the ignorance is obvious he had a Messianic expectation he was a Jew we've already seen his theology in the previous section when he teaches the religious leaders he understood that there was a messiah that was coming but up to this point he hadn't connected the dots I don't know how I mean if somebody came along to me in the first century and healed me from my congenital defect I might have started to think hey this this might be the Messiah but I don't want to get into this man's shoes at any rate he had this anticipation he had this Messianic expectation but he didn't connect the dots relative to our Lord Jesus Christ so that's his ignorance who is he is his wisdom do you see that the understanding he doesn't just say well it's too bad I don't know it's too bad I don't have the answer it's too bad none of us can ever know he asks the question he pursues the truth he wants to know he wants to understand there is nothing wrong with asking questions about the scripture the scripture is truth it doesn't shy away from it it's not the press secretary saying oh well gee God just don't ask the Bible who is Jesus the Bible is very clear who is the Son of God the Bible is very clear this man is both foolish and wise because he seeks out the information that is absolutely crucial in terms of his everlasting life he answered and said who is he Lord that I maybe leave in him now notice the Declaration in verse 37 by the same Savior Jesus said to him you have both seen him and it is he who is talking with you now Brethren he hadn't seen him up to this point remember he was born blind he knew that somebody spat or whether he knew the spat or not he knew that somebody took the clay put it on his eyes and instructed him to go down to the pool Asylum and wash but at that point he didn't see him because when he God is seeing or his sight back rather he's now on his own he's with his neighbors and then the neighbors bring him or Trot him out before the Pharisee so up to this point he hasn't seen Jesus this is the first time that he's seen him and again it's Jesus who heard of his malady or of his problem and it's Jesus who sought him out it's Jesus who found him and it's now Jesus who's describing to him for uh for him who the person of the Son of God is so he sees him uh physically he now sees him or will now see him spiritually so Jesus said to him you have both seen him and it is he who is talking with you so Jesus says it's me okay I'm the one I'm the Son of God in case you missed all that just so you know the one you're looking at right now and the one that you're talking to it's me now Brethren again when you when you take the Bible as a whole and you start in the book of Genesis and you end in the Book of Revelation do you get a view of a God that just kind of saves a handful of people you know just this 10 or 12 that might sort of you know shimmy in at the end Genesis chapter 1 Genesis 1 to 3 God seeks after Adam and Eve who told you that that that you were naked it's God who initiates it's God who kills the animal it's God who atones it's God who gives them those coverings of skin it's God who goes after Abram it's God who goes after the nation of Israel it's God who doesn't cut them off we're we're going through the book of Exodus on our Wednesday night bible study and in Exodus chapter 24 the Israelites ratify the Covenant with God most eye and twice they swear all that the Lord says we we will do we will obey it but 40 Days Later they're dancing around before a golden calf they have completely abrogated they have completely broken they have completely desecrated the very Covenant that God had made with that so what's the appropriate response God should obliterate them he should decimate them he should remove them from the face of the Earth he should be all done with them but he's not they're sanction there's punishment there's penalty three thousand dude I but God promises to Moses I'm still sending the angel of the Covenant before you to take you into the promised land and then read the subsequent history of Israel I mean we see the the Judgment of God in the northern kingdom and we see the Judgment of God in the southern Kingdom we say wow that seems a bit severe that seems a bit harsh are you kidding me do you know how many hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years God for bear with them how long suffering God was with them and all of this had been prescribed in the book of the Covenant that if you go into the land and you sin you break my Covenant you will be decimated you will go into Exile you will be crushed and yet over and over and over again God sends the prophets to them and then the sending of a son God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and then we read through the pages of the New Testament what do we see oh yeah don't come to Jesus because he only saves like five or ten people don't ever think that God's actually merciful don't ever get it in your head that that God is kind of like that father of the prodigal who runs from the porch and falls on the sun and kisses him and puts a ring on his finger and puts a a fatted calf on the table for him if you read the scripture you do not get the idea that God is against saving Sinners you get just the opposite and then when you move to the Book of Revelation specifically chapter 7 who populates Emmanuel's land well it's that faithful five to ten it's a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and every tongue and every people and every nation how could the apostle Paul said in second Corinthians 5 that God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself not every man without exception men without distinction but wet men women boys and girls from every tribe tongue people in nation the Lord Christ comes after this man he not only heals him physically but even more Superior in a superior fashion he heals this man spiritually he gives him life he conveys it upon him he gives him salvation and notice what the man does verse 38 then he said Lord I believe that's the proper response by the way you're not sure about who the Son of God is it's it's Jesus if you're not sure what the proper response to Jesus is it's Faith it's to say I I believe it's to confess him as Lord and Savior and then notice not only does the confession occur but the worship obtains he not only confesses him as Lord not only confesses him as Son of God but he also recognizes him as God the son and as a result of that he worships he adores he glorifies he honors this is similar to the central confession of Israel's faith in the Old Testament Deuteronomy 6 4 and 5. hear o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one that's the confession what happens on the heels of the confession you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength in other words when we confess that Jesus is Lord we want to worship him we want to praise him we want to live in light of his Commandments we want to do those things that are pleasing to him do we do them perfectly no we invoke his advocacy when we sin but there is that heartbeat in the people of God that they want to follow the master they want to do what he says they want to please him not so that they they can be saved but as a result of them having been saved it's a Most Blessed Arrangement that we find in the Holy scriptures so the man confesses and now the man worships and then notice Jesus speaks concerning his mission there's a bit of a transition here I'm not going to lie to you I'm not going to kid you verses 40 and 41 are enigmatic kids that's a word that means puzzling a little difficult a little hard to get the melon wrapped around so let's just kind of work our way through this but notice what Jesus does in verse 39 he highlights his mission and and he does something similar in John 6. remember in John chapter 6 he he he he increases the food it increases the bread and the the fish so that everybody can eat it's a beautiful thing everybody wanted to eat they were hungry they needed food and of course Jesus has the power over nature so Jesus engages in this sign well on the heels of that particular sign Jesus uses the bread as somewhat of an analogy or an illustration of spiritual truth so in other words he goes on to say that he is the bread of life Moses gave you bread in the wilderness and your fathers ate it and they died but anyone who eats this bread talking about Jesus Christ will will never die see the physical sign serves to be a spiritual illustration and that's what he's doing here he's moving from physical blindness to the arena of spiritual blindness he's moving from the arena of the physical maladies associated with life in this world to the spiritual reality of being estranged from God so that's kind of the first thing we ought to observe now notice what he does in terms of the description of his men of of his mission verse 39. he gives this declaration for judgment I have come into this world for judgment I have come into this world now he's spoken about judgment up to this point on a couple of occasions in John chapter 3 he says in verse 17 he did not come to judge or condemn the world now in that particular context as Verse 18 makes clear it's because the world was already condemned was already judged was already opposite to God most high Jesus speaks of having the power conveyed by the father to him in terms of judgment in John 5 27-29 there he's talking about the day of judgment he's talking about when the graves are open and the people are assembled before that tribunal and the Son of God serves or functions in that capacity of judgment here I think he's talking about the reality that when he saves some because he doesn't save all when he saves some there is judgment pronounced on the others it's very simple if he doesn't save everybody if he saves some among the everybody then it is as it were the everybody is under judgment it's kind of like a delineation I almost use the word discrimination but that's such a trigger word today we can't use it anymore discrimination here doesn't mean ethnic it doesn't mean black and white it means in terms of discriminating it's a real word right if he comes to save his people from their sins what happens to his non-people and their sins they're judged there is that twin aspect of Salvation and judgment so I think that's where he's going with this particular pronouncement John Dill says either to fulfill the purpose and degree of God in revealing truth to some and hiding it from others or in a way of judgment to inflict judicial blindness on some whilst in a way of Mercy see he illuminated others so he makes this declaration in verse 39a for judgment I have come into this world and now he goes on to express it or explain it or amplify that those who do not see may see and that those who see may be made blind again this isn't a universal principle and it's not strictly physical Jesus as far as I know didn't heal every single physically blind person on the earth during his Earthly Ministry he's not talking anymore about physical blindness the physical blindness now serves to illustrate the spiritual point so let's look back at that again that those who do not see may see the man that was born blind the man that wasn't self-righteous the man that wasn't full of himself the man who didn't cast himself out of the synagogue because he was so vile and so horrific so that those who do not see may see the blind man and that those who see may be made blind in other words the self-righteous the Pharisees the Jews the unbelieving ones that served or functioned as the sanedrin in the first century my mission is to save The Sinner and my mission is to damn the self-righteous now if you say Pastor Butler that sounds a bit absurd Jesus does this in his ministry Matthew chapter 9 again he heals that man that had been paralyzed and on the heels of the healing of that man that was paralyzed he saves Matthew he says to Matthew the tax collector come follow me well what does Matthew do well you know that sounds like easy believism and I don't think that's legit so I'm just going to sit here with my money and keep counting and hopefully something happens somewhere along the line that will convince me otherwise no he got up from his money and he followed Jesus so what else does Matthew do after follows Jesus he has a feast why does he have a feast because he had been dead in his trespasses and sins and he's now been made alive I think feasting is an appropriate response in that particular time when you move from Death To Life Joy is perfectly appropriate brethren we can smile when we think about Jesus we can smile when we sing to him amazing love how can it be that that we've received this Grace So then Matthew not only calls for a feast but he brings his friends who are his friends well they're like him Tax Collectors Sinners all the people that everybody in society looks down upon well don't think the Pharisees miss that the Pharisees saw that the Pharisees again the bully cowards that they were didn't come to Jesus and said why are you having a feast with these this rabble they said to his disciples why do you what is your master why does your why does your rabbi why does he eat with with Sinners and tax collectors well Jesus gets wind to that you know what he says he says I did not come to call who the righteous but Sinners to repentance now brethren in that context the righteous are obviously the Pharisees the scribes the self-righteous people that think they don't need Jesus and as well Matthew chapter 11 Jesus says to his father I I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that doubt it's uh uh uh uh about its uh uh uh uh let me just read the passage it jumped out of my head there just in you know the sign of being older than 30. Matthew chapter 11. sorry about that I don't want to say it's a senior moment because I don't think I'm quite there but I'm on my way to senior moment you never think that when you're a younger man obviously I I just never did never thought about that stuff but Matthew 11 25 at that time Jesus answered and said I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and The Prudent who do you think the wise and The Prudent are is there a class of people Matthew 9 13 that are actually righteous that don't need Jesus is there actually a people out there in Matthew 11 25 that are wise and prudent that don't need he's talking about the self-righteous he's talking about the people that don't see their need for Jesus he's talking about the people that think everything is good because you know I've never killed anybody I've never committed adultery I've always tried to go to church I I fast you know a couple times a week I I pay my tithes I I do everything that I'm supposed to do that's who he's talking about he's talking to the people who trust in their own works so notice I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and for it well is up in your heart saying well that doesn't seem fair to hide things no it's not fair it's Justice it's righteousness he's not dealing with a group of people that deserve anything except for justice and judgment and and righteousness and the inflation of God's Wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come so the fact that God hides gospel truth from the the wise and The Prudent that's not unfair that's not unloving that is an expression of his Holiness it is an expression of his Justice it is an expression of his judgment and of his righteousness and then Jesus goes on to say you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes even so father for so it seemed good in your sight I submit that that's what Jesus is doing here in this enigmatic passage in John chapter 9. so in verse 39 for judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see wretches like this blind man who was born that way and that those who see may be made blind wretches like the Pharisees wretches like the Sanhedrin wretches who parade themselves as being the seers as being the righteous as being the ones who know God we saw that in chapter eight well Abraham is our father no he's not if Abraham was your father you wouldn't try to kill me and then they move on to the point where they go we have only one father and and he's God and Jesus says no you're of your father the devil and the Deeds of your father you want to do he was a liar he's a murderer and that is particularly what you are imitating so now notice back in our text just to kind of try and clarify here where we're at notice what happens in terms of the condemnation of the Pharisees in verses 40 to 41. so in verse 40 then some of the Pharisees John doesn't tell us why or how or when or you know Jesus comes back and he finds this man and here's these pesky Pharisees happening be there with them well they're there because they want to find them out they want to catch him they want to upgrade him they don't like him they're probably hanging on every word that he says so that they can say well see there there's your there's the proof that he's a fake or he's a sham so just incidentally then it's on the Pharisees who are with Him heard these words and said to him are we blind also now these weren't the brightest bulbs in the show chandelier but they knew enough to at least begin to think that he might be talking about them when he uses that illustration about blindness and seeing they ask this question look at he's already said in verse 39 those who do not see may see and that those who may uh may see may be made blind than some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him are we blind also are we in the same position or posture as that particular man are we like him are we in the same Arena will we get to know something of the saving grace of God most high now notice how he explains it in verse 41. he assumes their blindness for the sake of argument if you were blind you would have no set now again that sounds pretty challenging for our reading at this particular time so he says if you were blind you would have no sin again the ins issue is spiritual blindness and I think we should read it this way in context if you are blind like this man you would have no sin now again Jesus is not saying there's no original sin there's no actual transgressions in this man I think he's talking about no hope if you were blind like this man then you would not have said in other words there would be hope there would be access there would be freedom for you to the father through the son by the power of the Holy Spirit he is leading them he is teaching them he is instructing that he is countering their arguments so they say are we blind also if you were blind in the way that I've commended blindness then you would have no sin geez uh John Gill says Jesus said unto them if you were blind and sensible of it and knew yourselves to be blind and were desirous of light and knowledge you would have no sin so again it's not physical blindness we're talking about we're talking about a self-righteous attitude that doesn't see its own spiritual blindness we're talking about a self-righteous attitude that is described in Matthew 9 13 as righteousness and in Matthew 11 25 as wisdom and Prudence that's neither of those things he's using this by way of argument he says or your sin would not be so aggravated it would not be imputed to you it would be pardoned and taken away from you for the sins cannot be that their blindness would not have been criminal or they should have no sin in them or any done by them only that had this been barely their case there would have been some hope of them that there said might be forgiven and put away and be no more so the point is not you know if you were spiritually blind then you'd have no responsibility for sin if you're spiritually blind and you understand that and you see your need for the Savior guess what there's great hope for you there is a welcome in heaven for you there is blessing and abundant beatitude for you but then notice what he says on the heels of that to them if you were blind you would have no sin but now you say we see that's their problem they're self-righteous they don't see their need for Jesus they think they're okay they think they're all right they think they're Heaven bound because they're Abraham's pet up Roger progeny or Prodigy because they are are the Covenant people they think they have a right entitlement to heaven but now you say we see Therefore your sin remains Proverbs 20 6 12 Solomon gets at this very clearly do you see a man wise in his own eyes there is more hope for a fool than for him you want good commentary on this section in 9 40 to 41 I feel like it wasn't as clear at least in my head as it came out there may be questions you may be a bit puzzled but look at Solomon In this passage I think he's bang on do you see a man wise in his own eyes there is more hope for a fool than for him this man born in blindness this physical malady Jesus heals him and then on the heels of that uses it as a spiritual illustration this blindness this recognition this understanding that I can't do it on my own that I can't save myself that there is no remedy apart from God most high and his gracious provision in Jesus Christ that's the spirit and the attitude not the self-righteous wise prudent man who in Luke 18 stands and prays thus with himself God I I thank you that I'm not like other men I thank you that I'm not an adulterer I thank you that I'm not an extortioner I thank you that I'm not like this Publican I thank you God that I pray all the time and I fast all the time and I I give of all that I possess I I'm just such a great guy thank you Father that I'm such a great guy you see the obvious problems there and that's what Jesus is addressing here and I think it's well said by John gerstner for those of you who don't know gerstner you know his product protege he you know RC sprawl I mean you go to anywhere reformed or you think any thought reform you've probably heard of RC sprawl I mean he was a Godly gifted brother who now is with Jesus in Emmanuel's land but he had a mentor and that Mentor was John gershner listen to what gerstner famously said he said the main thing between you and God is not so much your sins it's your damnable good works that's what Jesus is talking about see I think there might be a bit of recoil and what do you mean it's not our sin what's the mission the purpose the function and the reality of Jesus he will save his people from their sin and such were some of you Paul says you were washed you were Justified you were Sanctified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ it's not so much your sin that separates you from God it's your damnable self-righteousness it's the mindset that I don't need Jesus I'm really pretty good I I'm not like everybody else I I'm just special and and because of that I don't see my need and I really don't even have a need for the Lord Jesus Christ that's what he's talking about In this passage he goes after them he confronts them he rebukes them he reproves them and all the while setting forth the reality that if they come to him in faith they will have everlasting life well by way of conclusion the self-righteousness of the Pharisees didn't die in the first century you know there's a lot of things that didn't die when perhaps it should have I always think of that contest at Carmel in First Kings chapter 18. it's a god contest choose you this day if Yahweh is God then serve him if Baal is God then then serve him well what happens in the god contest Yahweh wins just in case you haven't read it you know the the the pagans and their friends they put out their sacrifice they put it on the Altar and what happens well there's no bail so there's no consuming fire from Baal to take up their sacrifice pretty simple no Bail no fire no Bail no fire upon their sacrifice what happens with Elijah simple prayer I mean you don't have to pray for hours Brethren just a brief prayer to our blessed God can Avail much Elijah puts the sacrifice on the altar he prays to God and what happens Yahweh sends fire down to consume the offering to lick up the water everything that's around there he shows and demonstrates you would think that that would function in Israel's history to say no more Baal worship no those Idols are pesky things the heart of man is a pesky thing they they keep going they keep after well with reference to self-righteousness it didn't I with the Pharisees it didn't die with the scribes it didn't die with the Sanhedrin just a couple of thoughts with reference to self-righteousness the self-righteous do not see their sin and their need for the Savior pretty obvious you're self-righteous you don't need the Savior you're okay I'm okay everybody's okay we're gonna fare just fine a brother said in his prayer after the reading in Revelation 9 to promote in us to consider the the Judgment of God from time to time you know there is a God who is love but that does not divest him of all the other Perfections that are true of him The God Who is love is a God who will condemn Sinners this is very horrifying in terms of the prospect concerning the future and with reference to the self-righteous they don't see their need for the Savior as well the self-righteous typically condemn others as a result do you know why Jesus told about those two men the Pharisee and the Publican who went to the temple to pray do you know why it was on the heels of an observation also he spoke this Parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others those are just did they go hand in hand self-righteousness does not usually yield in a very compassionate and charitable approach to others I mean I guess that's the general uh exception out there but for the most part the self-righteous or condemnatory of others well I I don't do that I I'm not like that public and I'm not an adulterer I'm not an extortion or I why do they do that because they trust in themselves that they're righteous so everybody else that doesn't meet their level or standard is Rebel they're the hoi polloi they should be discountenced thirdly the self-righteous are usually further from the kingdom I mean you ever thought about that we you know we talk about the different types of Sinners you know you got the the crackheads and the guy shooting up heroin and you got the prostitutes and oh boy they're they're they're they're far from the kingdom is that what Jesus taught no Jesus taught that they come in before the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees and if you doubt that you can look at Matthew 21 this afternoon verses 28 to 32 and I would submit not finally in terms of the sermon you're not going to get out that quick we've got another five minutes probably the self-righteousness need to hear the gospel they need to hear the gospel they need to hear the good news that Jesus Christ came into this world Sinners to say Jesus came to live in perfect obedience to the father why so that we might get that righteousness when we believe in him they also came to die why so that we may be cleanse from our sin by his Precious Blood and he came to be raised again the third day Paul summarizes the whole blessed event in Romans 4 25 he was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised for our justification so the self-righteous need to hear the gospel but they also need to hear the law see we think Pharisee and we think law keeper it's intriguing the Pharisees and the antinomians that means no law people have far more in common than you might think they both hate God they both hate God's law they both despise the written word and what is it that can hopefully shatter the self-righteous heart but the reality of God's holy law that's why in The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus says that the law forbids lusting in your heart the seventh commandment is not simply transgress when you physically go into your neighbor's wife or or husband it is transgressed in the mind it is transgressed in the heart just like the sixth commandment isn't just broken because you shot somebody in the head if you hate your brother in your heart if you have this unwarranted anger without cause if you engage in character assassination you've broken and the sixth commandment now that wasn't new teaching that's the way Moses always intended it but the Pharisees capitalized on the external as long as I don't go into the neighbor's wife as long as I don't put a bullet in the neighbor's head then I'm a I'm a fulfiller of the law so what do you think that the self-righteous needs the self-righteous needs gospel they also need law to hear why they need gospel I think Jay Gresham matron put it well he says a new and more powerful proclamation of that law is perhaps the most pressing need of the hour men would have little difficulty with the gospel if they had only learned the lesson of the law so it is always a low view of the law always brings legalism in religion a high view of law makes a man a Seeker after Grace pray God that the High View May again Prevail he's right and if there's one indictment we can level against churches in our age it's at the level of law not only a misunderstanding of the law but an absence of preaching the law the way that God intended it to be preached and in this Regard in terms of a pedagogue a child tutor to show us our need for Christ to run through the Commandments and make those simple applications for the person that says well I'm so good I'm I'm so holy I'm so right oh really you don't have other gods before God you don't blaspheme you don't break the Sabbath you're not you're not dishonoring to your parents or other authority you don't have murder in your heart you don't have adultery in your heart you don't have fever in your heart you don't have lies or covetousness everybody has that Brethren and if you're managing to you know get through one to nine like the Rich Young Ruler remember the Rich Young Ruler good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life Jesus says you know the Commandments go do it what does he say he says all these I've kept from my youth wow that's Pride that is horrible Pride so what does Jesus say to him Jesus says well we'll go sell everything you have give it to the poor and and then follow me is Jesus teaching a way of Salvation according to works just get rid of everything in your garage and follow Jesus and you'll be saved no he's preaching the law to him what was the man's biggest problem Jesus cites several of The Commandments but not the tenth so when Jesus says go sell everything you have give it to the poor and follow me guess what he's doing he's preaching the tenth commandment to the man what happened to the man he went away sorrowful why because he had lots of stuff he didn't want to get rid of that stuff he didn't want to divest himself of that stuff he certainly didn't want to sell this stuff give the the proceeds to the poor and then follow Jesus Jesus is not prescribing salvation by getting rid of stuff and following him Jesus is preaching the law to him and if we do not do that if we do not show Sinners that their self-righteousness is completely unfounded and that they need Jesus Christ we're going to see little I don't want to say it this way but I've got to say it this way success in terms of gospel preaching he didn't come to call the righteous he came to call the Sinners to repentance so men need to know that they're Sinners that's not a bad thing no picking on you it's not like I'm Mr righteous Jimmy boy that has never sinned salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ I once was lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see just like this man I don't know who who he is I don't know where he came from but I was blind and how I see so the law and the gospel are absolutely crucial and for any of you who are here this morning the the question of Jesus in verse 35 do you believe in the Son of God and if you don't know who it is ask ask your Bible and when the Bible says it's Jesus of Nazareth then believe in him and you will be saved and you will worship Him in spirit and in truth well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for your word we thank you for this section of scripture and for our Lord's power and and Glory over nature our Lord's power and Glory over sin and depravity in the salvation of this particular man we know that he still has the power we know that there is still our Sinners to be saved so we pray for the proclamation of your truth today that you would bless it and that you would bring people from every tribe tongue people and Nation out of their misery and darkness into that blessed light of Jesus Christ Our Lord and we ask in his most wonderful name amen well we'll close our service this morning by singing 568 in our hymn books doxology of praise to our Triune God will stand as we sing together [Music] Jesus [Music] you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace thank you for that peace of God that does surpass all understanding and may you flood our hearts with it Lord and may you help us to glorify and to honor you and bless us in this day cause us to rest in you to find our joy and Delight in you when we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation