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Bible study here at 7:30 and then we have the announcement of an upcoming baptism which is always a thing to Rejoice about not just because we're a Baptist Church but because we love seeing the work of God in the hearts of the people especially in the hearts of our youth who've been raised in the church so we don't have a date yet but Steve luttin and Mike luttin have both requested baptism membership so we look forward to that and we are rejoicing with the liean family over that we will have an announcement as to the date later for our call to worship this morning please turn in your Bible to Isaiah 12 Isaiah 12 and in that day you will say oh Lord I will praise you though you were angry with me your anger is turned away and you comfort me behold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for yah the Lord is my strength and song he also has become my salvation therefore with joy you will draw water water from the wells of Salvation And in that day you will say praise the Lord call upon his name declare his deeds among the peoples make mention that his name is exalted sing to the Lord for he has done excellent things this is known in all the Earth cry out and Shout oh inhabitant of Zion for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst amen I think the symbolism of verse three might Escape us in our culture therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of Salvation we turn on the tap and we get water instantly we don't even think about it but in a dry and Aid land it's a huge blessing when you hit water digging a well and it's a huge curse when that well goes dry in time of drought and it is a joy to be able to draw water from the wells of Salvation and let us do that as we Rejoice this day for our first hymn we'll turn to Psalm 46 c as in Charlie 46 C and please stand with me as we sing we will found [Music] sh anding against theore our Mighty God will is foress with [Music] living is there stands [Music] all the Lord of host is our father high is our eternal [Music] his to still for he is all the Earth the Lord of host is our [Music] father [Music] amen you may be seated let's turn to the Lord in prayer our gracious and merciful Heavenly Father we thank you this day that we come into your house as your people and we have this privilege of gathering before you a privilege we have not earned but a privilege that you have granted us in our own strength and in our own doings we cannot approach a holy God because we we are born as a sinful people and we live our lives as a sinful people but in your mercy and in your grace you have provided a way of Escape you have provided pardon and atonement for our sins you have provided a righteousness that was alien to us but a righteousness that Christ secured for us and we thank you that we can come before your presence this day and we can worship you not in fear and trembling though we do have a reverential respect for our God but we can come before you with joy and rejoicing even as we draw water from these Wells of Salvation we know oh God the wells that we dug in our own strength we all dry not a drop of water in any well of our own doing in any of our own works and in any of our own attempts to reach God or to be right before God but Christ has provided that well that is overflowing with Waters of Salvation and we thank you for his kindness and his goodness toward us Lord may we draw from those Wells today as we hear the word preached As we sing the word and as we pray the word this day Lord we pray these blessings would be upon all your people pray for the other churches within this city where the gospel is preached Lord may your spirit attend the preaching of the word and may you encourage your Saints and BR draw others who are not yours yet to yourself we pray that for churches all across this great land of ours and in particular we pray for our sister churches and church plants we pray that you would bless them bless the congregation that gathers this morning in sui encourage them and do them good I pray that you'd bless Pastor Kirk Patrick as he preaches and I pray that that congregation would also Rejoice this day bless the congregation in the north Okanagan pray you'd bless Pastor Mal malar as he preaches there and encourage that group the group that's Gathering out in Ontario I pray that you'd bless them as well in Dron and Lord we thank you for the work that you doing across the world we thank you for the churches that we have fellowship with and that we keep in contact with in the United States in Africa in the Caribbean and the in Central America we thank you God for all of these places where the gospel is being preached we know that the gospel is being preached even in countries where you are your church is opposed we pray Lord for the Church of Jesus Christ in the land of China we pray that it would continue to thrive even as persecution mounts there we pray oh God that you would cause your people to rejoice in their creator and to continue to preach the gospel however and wherever they are able and we pray Lord that that church would rise up and that you would do a wondrous work in that entire uh Society because of the preaching of the Gospel Lord we pray again that you would go with us this day bless those who are amongst us who are visiting encourage them may they be sent on their way rejoicing this day and we pray oh God that you would do a good work in our land we thank thank you that you have given us a degree of peace and we thank you oh God that we have freedom to meet and we pray that you would continue to grant us these freedoms and grant us the the courage to use boldly the freedoms that you've given on us and we pray oh God for the leaders of our land for those in the magistrate that you would put the fear of God in their hearts and cause them to rule rightly for the good of the church and for the glory of your name and I pray Lord that they they would properly restrain evil as they are meant to and not overstep their bounds to do out things outside of their jurisdiction we thank you oh God for your kindness to us and we pray that you would continue to look with favor upon us this day we ask these things in Jesus name amen let us turn to uh hymn number 51 C Psalm 51c is in Charlie for our second hymn this morning again we'll S stand As we sing together we are going to sing stanas 1 [Music] to6 my now me trans I have against th Gra and [Music] to [Music] Mercy am with now Al myor heart teach th wisdom to my heart PR me [Music] wi to the my and Jud my and inad my heart make my and true be not the let my in me my Sal Jo my willing heart shall me and God to the all my and my shall sing my love touch my the Lord and my shall praise [Music] the may be seated for our scripture reading this morning in the New Testament we'll turn to Matthew chap 12 and we will complete the reading of that chapter beginning at verse 22 Matthew 12 verse 22 to the end of the chapter then one was brought to him who was demon-possessed blind and mute and he healed him so that the Blind and mute man both spoke and saw and all the multitudes were amazed and said could this be the son of David now when the Pharisees heard it they said this fellow does not cast out demons except by B elab the ruler of the Demons but Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them every every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to Desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand if Satan casts out Satan he is divided against himself how then will his kingdom stand and if I cast out demons by babab by whom do your sons cast them out therefore they shall be your judges but if I cast out demons by the spirit of God surely the kingdom of God has come upon you or how can one ENT into a strong man's house and plunder his Goods unless he first binds the strong man and then he will plunder his house he who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad therefore I say to you every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven men anyone who speaks a word against the son of man it will be forgiven him but whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the age to come either make the tree good and its fruit good or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad for a tree is known by its fruit brood of vipers how can you being evil speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks a good man out of the good Treasure of his heart brings forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things but I say to you that for Every Idle Word men may speak they will give account of it in the day of judgment for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying teacher we want a sign from you but he answered and said to them an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish so will the the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth the men of Nineveh will rise up in the Judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here Queen of the South will rise up in the Judgment with this generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the Earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here when an unclean Spirit goes out of a man he goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none then he says I will return to my house from which I came and when he comes he finds it empty swept and put in order then he goes and takes with him seven other Spirits more wicked than himself and they enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first so shall it also be with this wicked generation while he was still talking to the multitudes behold his mother and brothers stood outside seeking to speak with him him then one said to him look your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you but he answered and said to the one who told him who is my mother and who are my brothers and he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said here are my mother and my brothers for whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother amen let us pray thank you Heavenly Father for the great adoption that you have wrought in bringing us into the family of God we thank you that we can be called brothers sisters joint HS with Christ we thank you for this great blessing that you have wrought in our lives and we pray that you would do that again this day as the word is preached even in this place we pray that you would bring out of Darkness into Marvelous Light those who do not yet Embrace and know the Savior we ask these things in Jesus name amen amen for our last himy before the preaching of the word we will turn to number 275 275 in your himels please stand with me as we [Music] sing in my the the myt his he ever Liv for to inter his all redeeming love to for for and rles down the of PR [Music] for for for for for they voice I he for I can noer fear with all I with [Music] Father we turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of John as we work our way through John's gospel we're in chapter 12 which brings us to the conclusion of his public Ministry we'll see that God willing next Sunday we have a bit of a Theology of unbelief in our section this morning our ver uh uh uh section this morning under consideration will be 30 verses 34 to 41 but I do want to pick up reading in John 12 at verse 20 now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast then they came to Philip who was from Betha of Galilee and asked him saying sir we wish to see Jesus philli came and told Andrew and in turn Andrew and Phillip told Jesus but Jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified uh most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone but if it dies it produces much grain he who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me let him follow me and where I am there my servant will be also if anyone serves me him my father will honor now my soul is troubled and what shall I say father save me from this hour but for this purpose I came to this hour father glorify your name then a voice Came From Heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it again therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered others said an angel has spoken to him Jesus answered and said this voice did not come because of me but for your sake now is the Judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out and I if I am lifted up from the earth will draw All Peoples to myself this he said signifying by what death he would die the people answered him we have heard from the law that the Christ remain remain remains forever and how can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man then Jesus said to them a little while longer the light is with you walk while you have the light lest Darkness overtake you He Who Walks in darkness does not know where he is going while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light these things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them but although he had done so many signs before them they did not believe in him that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke Lord who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them these things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him amen well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for this day we thank you for the day of God and the house of God and the people of God and the privilege that is ours to gather together we ask that you would be glorified in this glad hour we pray that you would be worshiped and adored that as we come to the father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit God would be all in all in this place we pray now for the ministry of the spirit that he would guide us and direct us and lead us as we we consider this passage of Holy Scripture and may we Ponder the the the importance of such a text in terms of unbelief we know that Sinners are be are are told to to look onto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith that they may have everlasting life and we pray that even today God you'd Open Hearts you would give The Graces of faith and repentance so that Sinners May in fact close with you and know the joy of being found in the Lord Jesus we pray that for our meeting together here we pray that for churches throughout this city and this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we pray that today would be the a day of salvation for a great multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation do forgive us now for all of our sin and all unrighteousness build us up in our Most Holy Faith and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well it's probably helpful for us just to review the major sections in John's gospel at this particular point so in John 1: 1 to8 we have what called the prologue and essentially what John does is he locates the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in terms of the Triune God in the beginning was the word and the Word was uh with God and the Word was God and then in 114 it says that word who was with God who was God became flesh and dwelt among us and then in John 1 at verse 19 all the way to John 12 at the very end we have What's called the book of the signs in other words it's the life and Ministry of our Lord Jesus when he goes about doing those signs doing those Miracles and calling upon Sinners to believe on him and then from 131 to the end of chapter 20 you have the book of the passion and so we are coming to that place where we're finishing or concluding the Earthly Ministry of our Lord Jesus and entering in as I said to the book of the passion and you see specifically in chapters 13 to 15 uh 13 to6 what we call the upper room discourse and then uh Jesus High Priestly prayer in John 17 then of course the arrest and then the delivering up to the Cross so that's sort of an Outlook as to where we're going but here as John reflects upon the unbelief of the Jews I don't think it's just connected to the immediate context I think he is musing as it were on jesus' ministry as a whole as I said there'll be a concluding portion in chapter 12 that we'll look at God willing next week but when John goes back to the prophet Isaiah to try to provide the rationale as to why Jesus came to his own and his own received him not he's musing on the broader Contour of Jesus ministry and I would like to encourage all of us to understand that it's not just a reflection upon jesus' contemporaries who rejected him who did not believe the gospel but they're certainly our contemporaries today we preach the gospel and not all men believe not everybody comes to the Lord Jesus no not everybody looks to him in faith and understands the joy of being found in him so if you this morning are conscious of that reality then I would encourage you to listen to the words of Life the Lord Jesus very much pointedly says believe on the light come to the light namely himself so that you may become children or sons of the light so again this isn't just a problem confined the first century and the repudiation of our Lord Jesus by the Jewish Bel uh unbelievers is there but it's certainly a situation that we face today so let's look first at the Lord's uh rather the question concerning the Messiah in verses 34-36 and then the explanation of their unbelief in verses 37 to 41 terms of the immediate context remember that in John 12 in veres 20 to 26 Jesus announced the arrival of the hour notice that he says that in verse 23 but Jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified that refers to his death on the cross his life his death his resurrection the means by which we have everlasting life we need the Forgiveness of sins as a result of his shed blood but we need the the life of obedience for that imputation of Christ's righteousness which is received by faith alone so the hour had come upon him and then in verses 27 and following he explains the significance of that hour other words why is this important why is it at this hour that the son will be glorified why in the glorification of the son is the father going to be glorified in this glad hour well I think Jesus explains it very effectively and essentially says that in this hour what we have is the defeat of the devil we have the defeat of the world and we have the defeat of Sinners and I don't mean them complete destruction but their Rebellion against him is fixed as a result of the Gospel notice in verse 30 he says this voice did not come because of me for your but for your sake now is the Judgment of this world again he's highlighting the significance of the hour now is the Judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out so he takes care of the Judgment of the world he takes care of the ruler of this world even the devil and then he goes on to underscore the power of Christ relative to the sinfulness of man he says in verse 32 and if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw All Peoples to myself this he said signifying by what death he would die so the death of the Lord Jesus Christ brings that judgment upon the world the death of our Lord Jesus Christ brings that judgment or that casting out of the devil and then that death of our Lord Jesus Christ answers to man's sin problem it's through his life it's through his death it's through his resurrection that we have justification now notice on the heels of that the question concerning the Messiah in verses 34-36 now that John tells us they did not believe helps us to understand sort of their mindset or the manner with which they asked these questions in verse 34 notice the people answered him we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever and how can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man now if it sounds like I'm speaking in a way that is a bit uh uh uh uh derogatory that's their mindset again John's going to explain that they were not believing John's going to provide the rationale with reference to the prophet Isaiah but notice specifically we have heard from the law here I think law refers to the entirety of the Old Testament it refers to everything that we see in the law and the prophets and the writings we have heard from our Bibles we have heard from the promise concerning Messiah we have heard concerning the promise of the son of man that this Christ will last forever he will live forever and they were not wrong here if you look at the nature of their question they're not wrong they just don't have a full orb understanding of Old Testament prophecy we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever if you turn back to the Book of Psalms specifically in Psalm 72 we see a reference to the eternality the foreverness of the Lord Jesus of the Messiah of God Almighty uh Psalm 72 specifically at verse 17 his name shall endure forever his name shall continue as long as the son and Men shall be blessed in him all nations shall call him blessed and then turn over to Psalm 89 same emphasis in this Covenant Psalm concerning David's greater son even our Lord Jesus Christ so notice in Psalm 89 at verses 36 and 37 his seed shall endure forever and his throne is the son before me it shall be established forever like the moon even like the faithful witness in the sky turn over to Psalm 1 10 that promise concerning again David's greater son and in Psalm 1101 we read a Psalm of David and then you have this powerful statement that's either quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than just about any other passage in the Old Testament other words Psalm 110 was one was the battlecry of the ancient Church while she was suffering under the oppressed of the Roman Empire she didn't whine she didn't Retreat she didn't go lick her wounds but she cried out that blessed reality that God said to my Lord sit at my right hand till I make all of your enemies your foot stol and then notice with reference to the eternality of Christ in verse four the Lord has sworn and will not relent that you are a priest forever according to the order of mlisc and then of course that Prophecy in the prophet Isaiah at chapter 9: 6 and 7 there is a statement concerning the king and a statement concerning his kingdom and in 96 we read for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called wonderful counselor Mighty God Everlasting father Prince of Peace of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and Justice from that time forward even forever the Zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this so going back to our passage when they say to Jesus in verse 34 the people answered him we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever they were right but they were neglectful because when they go on to question him and challenge him they betray their own ignorance with reference to their scriptures so back to verse 34 we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever and how can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man so again they got part of it but they didn't get all of it go back to the Book of Genesis in Genesis 3 we not only have the promise of a messiah that will be victorious but we have the promise of a messiah that will be victorious predicated upon his own suffering and death see the Jews at Jesus time they like the exaltation they like the glory they like the Majesty they like the power other words they like the crown but they didn't like the suggestion that there was a cross well in Genesis 3:15 that first announcement of the gospel and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel well how does he bruise his heel it's through his suffering and Death on the cross for us men and for our Salvation see they miss that part they miss Genesis CH 22 when God tells Abraham take your son your only son the son of Your Love up to mount Mor and sacrifice him what was the take-home message from that particular day well Abraham said it well to Isaac the Lord will provide for himself the Ram or the Lamb of God that will take away the sin of the world you get to the prophet Isaiah some refer to Isaiah the prophet as The Fifth Gospel and I don't think that's without warrant Isaiah 53 one of the passages that John's going to cite in just a few moments Isaiah 53 talks about the death of the Lord Jesus he was a Man of Sorrows he was acquainted with grief it pleased the Lord to bruise him he has put him to grief we've got that Messianic reading in in Daniel chapter n the cutting off of Messiah again they saw the The Prestige and glory and eternality associated with Messiah but they didn't see his death and so when Christ comes along and says I must be lifted up it's because of this lifting up that I'm going to draw all men to myself that's what evokes from them this particular question we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever and how can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man the questioners are not sincere they're not looking for additional information they have the information from Jesus they are just calculatingly showing their disapproval of his particular message the questioners are scandalized at the prospect of a crucified Messiah it is simple very simple Paul comments on this in 1 Corinthians 1 21-23 he says for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God it pleased God through what the foolishness of the message preach to save those who believe and then he says to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness but to us who are being saved Christ is both the wisdom and the power of God what does he mean by scandling a scandal or a scand a scandal block he means that the Jews were scandalized at the prospect that their Messiah must live like us must be delivered up to death and must suffer that shame and that curse they missed that part but the Old Testament clearly portrays that the Old Testament clearly teaches that so it was ignorance on their part it wasn't a Mist teing on the part of the Savior so they pressed Jesus with this particular question now notice the way that Jesus Jus answers in verse 35 the function of his response here is ethical it's ethical he doesn't satisfy their curiosity for more data he doesn't say well look at Genesis 3:1 15 look at Genesis chapter 2 uh 22 and see typologically that the Son of God must suffer and die a Son of God must be delivered up and and die or or 2 Samuel chapter 7 or or Isaiah 53 he doesn't do that he is pressing upon them now the necessity to come to him see he's not just providing more information he is getting ethical in terms of the response that he tries to elicit from them turn back to Luke's gospel in Luke chap 13 where you see a similar convention used by our Lord to press upon his hearers the necessity to examine themselves and to close with him in other words don't just Ponder the the particulars involved D in the theology behind the answer we must certainly do that much of the pulpit ministry here is tasked with that particular charges to explain the Theology of the Cross explain the theology behind the word that that was made flesh that that came down for us men and for our Salvation there's a sense Brethren where we've got to own that theology experientially we've got to lay hold of it by that hand of Faith notice in Luke 13 at verse one there were present at that season some who told them about the Galilean whose blood pilate had mingled with their sacrifices and Jesus answered and said to them do you suppose that these galileans were worse Sinners than all other galileans because they suffered such things I tell you no but unless you repent you will all likewise perish or those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them do you think that they were worse Sinners than all the other men who dwelt in Jerusalem I tell you no but unless you repent you will all likewise perish and then look over at verse 23 well verse 22 and he went through the cities and Villages teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem then one said to him Lord are there few who are saved and he said to them strive to enter through the narrow gate what's he saying somebody asks the good theological question is postmillennialism Right are there a few that will be saved or there going to be many that will be saved what does Jesus say he says you need to think about you you you need to consider your place before this thce holy God you need to ask the question have I believed on him sometimes we hear sermons I think we're probably all guilty of this I maybe I'm projecting here I know when I've heard sermons this is one of my proclivities oh I'm glad so and so is here because because he or she really needs to hear this you know it's a sermon on you know wives being submissive to your own husbands as to the Lord and I'm thankful my beloved is here because she needs this word from on high we tend to do that don't we these guys are just asking the simple question H how can you say that the son of man must die what's Jesus do he presses their consciences he calls upon them to make a decision I'm not an Armenian I'm not a pelagian anybody who chooses for Jesus does so because the effectual grace of God most high but that does not mitigate the reality that from time to time in our Bibles you see Jesus you see Apostles and you see prophets press their hearers you need to respond to this and that's what Jesus does in his response to these particular men so going back to John 12 notice in verse 35 then Jesus said to them a little while longer the light is with you a little while longer the light is with you walk while you have the light lest Darkness overtake you He Who Walks in darkness does not know where he is going while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light these things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them now light and darkness has come up a lot in John's Gospel Light is associated with the kingdom of heaven and darkness is associated with the kingdom of darkness pretty simple so what is Jesus saying in essence to that he's saying to them you don't have a billion years here you don't have an endless age here you know sometimes we act like we're 8 foot tall and bulletproof nothing can ever happen to me I'll make my peace with God when I'm older but when I'm 17 or 18 I've got lots to do I've got a lot of things to to to undertake you don't have that particular luxury to know that there is a tomorrow in fact James condemns such an attitude he says if the Lord uh if the Lord Wills we will go to such and such a city we will traffic and trade and make profits well Jesus is pressing these hearers and notice what he says specific spefically in terms of his his press he says the people presently had the light while you have the light I think that simply refers to jesus' Earthly Ministry while he is there while he is preaching while he is teaching while he is conducting Miracles while he's engaging in those signs and wonders you should pay attention you should listen you should observe these things and you should lay hold of these things by faith and you shouldn't let go of them because Jesus Christ the son of God the word of God comes into this world Sinners to save and so he presses them on that reality and then notice the caution that he gives them he says very clearly walk while you have the light lest Darkness overtake you when our children were little we went through the book of Exodus and in order to uh demonstrate Pharaoh's Hardness of Heart we took a piece of bread and we laid it out on the counter and each night we'd look back at that bread and you know what we never noticed was that that bread got soft that that bread got malleable that that bread got to a place where you'd want to put it into your mouth it just got hard it got crusty it got to the point where you could bang it and it would shatter into so many pieces Pharaoh hardened his heart God hardened his heart and we're going to see some of that movement in our own passage the longer you resist and I'm not trying to scare anybody here I'm not trying to make you feel bad unless that feeling bad leads you to go to the Lord Jesus Christ resisting Christ doesn't end with a softer heart it doesn't end with a more malleable mindset oh yeah I'm open to the Bel to the believe on the Lord Jesus Christ no the more you resist and the more you reject Spurgeon well said the most foolish of Sinner is the grayhead sinner that man who has resisted and rejected as a matter of course of life not saying he's outside the boundaries of God's Gra way that God can't save and humble a gray-headed man but I am suggesting that when you learn and you practice and you Revel in patters of unbelief it's darkness that ultimately overtakes you it's not neutral it's not passive you're not just kind of there you know either A or B if you are not with Christ you're against Christ and as those against Christ it only Rises up more and more gets harder and harder more difficult more Resolute more of this reality that whatever the preacher says whatever my parents say whatever my friend may say whatever my husband or wife may say I'm just going to resist it I'm going to reject it that never ends well and that's what Jesus is pressing them with on this occasion so he says while you have the light lest Darkness overtake you notice He Who Walks in darkness does not know where he is going he's not enlightened this isn't a positive thing the atheists the god haters the rebel the rejector of God's truth the person who says there's no God there's no accountability on high there's no Everlasting hell and no Everlast uh uh heaven and no Everlasting punishment that's all just a bunch of myth and fairy tale that man's in bondage Brethren he's not a free thinker he's not liberated he is in darkness he has an acts to grind with the living and the true God and the Lord Jesus underscores that with his contemporaries his audience he says He Who Walks in darkness does not know where he is going he's trying to arouse them he is waking them up he is as it were shaking them by the shoulders and saying you need to reckon with these things you need to look to me in faith and then he says as much in verse 36 while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light that's the continual emphasis in John's gospel on the way of salvation paent notice that John 1 does not start with in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the Word was God and that word has come to tell you the five things you need to do in order to earn your favor with God that's not it the word became flesh he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth well why does he do that again to live in our place to die in our place and to be raised again on that third day so the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God's grace through faith in Jesus of that so great a Salvation so from John 1 in the prologue all the way to the to to the thesis statement of the book we see this emphasis on belief notice in 111 he came to his own and his own did not receive him but as many as received him how does that work to them he gave the right to become children of God to those who what believe in his name you receive Jesus and his benefits by belief in his name it's not works it's not lawke keeping it's not Merit it's not you just reforming your life and adding a few religious duties you reforming your life and stopping a few particular vices and then God will say well good on you I'm glad you cleaned up your act I'm going to receive you unto myself now no it's faith in Christ that is the means whereby we appropriate Jesus and his benefit and then notice in John 20 there's lots of passages in between you probably know the text but look at the summary statement in John 20 at verses 30 and 31 and truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book but these are written notice that you may believe again I'm not here to pick on you but I am trying to encourage you to pay attention to what John is doing John wants us to reflect upon the unbelief of Jesus contemporaries but he doesn't want us to do it simply out there he wants you to reflect upon your own heart your own condition your own place before him am I with Christ or am I against Christ so these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing you may have life in his name it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone that is the constant refrain so going back to our text in John 12 Jesus Jesus says that in verse 36 while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light these things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them so what we have there is something of a parable something of a sort of a confirmatory statement when it just says he was hidden from them yes he was no longer immediately present with that that's a commentary on what Jesus Ministry is doing if you don't close with him if you don't believe on him if you don't trust him if you don't take his word as he speaks it sees it as the truth and then lays hold of it by faith there's that departure there is that lack of access and that's what's underscored here now that brings us to John the Apostle's reflection on their unbelief in verses 37 to 41 essentially what he's saying is you ought not to be surprised about this in fact we already read it in John 1:10 he came to his own and his own did not receive him other words it was always the case that there was going to be these Renegades these Rebels these rejectors these unbelievers it wasn't going to be the case that the moment Jesus touched down in this world that everybody would flock to him in faith bow to him and confess him as Lord and Savior that's just not the nature of the event now there's every tribe every time every people every every nation there's a great multitude that no man can number assemble before that throne in the Book of Revelation there's a lot of unbelief as well and so what we find here is John the Apostle explaining this unbelief who going ask the question well Jesus was right in their midst and they didn't believe in him he was right there he he did signs and wonders right before their eyes and they rejected that they resisted that what could possibly be a Temptation it could possibly be a temptation to say well well that doesn't seem right I mean if Jesus is who Jesus says he is then certainly everybody should respond to that everybody should believe on him everybody should own him as Lord everybody should put him up on a throne instead of a cross no this unbelief is the reality I think it goes all the way back to that text in Genesis 3:15 again what does God say there he says I will put enmity between you and the seed of the woman right there's a God imposed enmity between the righteous and the unrighteous you see the the the the Bible go in that particular direction there are Godly men who begin to call upon the name of the Lord and then you've got men that are rebellious and wretched and and will never come to the Savior so John now Muses on this unbelief so he first gives a statement of it in verse 37 and then he gives the explanation of it in vers 38 to 40 but notice the statement in verse 37 but although he had done so many signs before them they did not believe in him they did not believe in him now there is this abundance of evidence look at it he had done so many signs before them huh you mean if there's all these Miracles there's all these signs there's all these Wonders that there's people that saw them there were people that that witnessed these things things and yet these people continue to to disbelieve they continue to try to upbraid him what's what's this teaching on the son of man having to die Who Do You Think You Are the law tells us of the eternality of Christ and now you've come and told us that there's going to be this death they despised him but they had seen his many miracles the commentary here is on the entirety of jesus' ministry we've seen it working through John's gospel the water and the wine which by the way manifested his glory the healing of the noble men son the healing of the man at Bethesda the feeding of the 5000 the walking on water the healing of the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus that's a lot of signs that's an abundance of signs that's a lot of a lot of data to sort of lay hold of so look at what John says in verse 37 but although he had done so many signs before them they did not believe in him so it wasn't just that he did them but it was before them I think this language exacerbates their guilt so it's not like well you know they were in bed that day when Jesus did that thing so so so they're off the hook no the text is very specific he had done so many signs before that and then notice as well the rejection of that evidence they did not believe in him keep your finger there and look at Matthew's gospel Matthew chap 11 draw a point out of this that I think is most necessary Matthew 11 specifically at verse 20 and he began to rebuke the cities in which most of his mighty Works had been done because they did not repent woe to you coren woe to you Betha for if the mighty Works which were done in you had been done in TI and siden they would have repented long ago in sacko and Ashes but I say to you it will be more tolerable for Ty and sidon in the day of judgment than for you and you Capernaum who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty Works which were done in you had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you so going back to our text and musing on this particular text as well what do we learn the evidence the signs the Wonders themselves don't save a sinner right just that simple you must be born again remember we're in John's gospel here Nicodemus comes by night he says teacher we know that you're a man sent by God for no one could do these signs unless God was with it what does Jesus say well I'm glad you recognize that it it shows something of my dignity and my identity no he says unless you are born again you shall not see the kingdom of God other words evidences signs and wonders are all wonderful I'm not suggesting otherwise but in order for it to stick in order in order for it to be received in order for it to to to result in in being a a son of the light there must be God's power there must be God's glory there must be God's breaking in there must be God's taking out that old Stony heart putting in a new fleshly heart granting The Graces of faith and repentance signs and wonders and miracles don't make theists don't make Believers it is the grace of God most high now we present the signs the Wonders the Miracles we show that to show them the dignity the glory and the Majesty of our blessed savior trusting that God utilizes that data to affect their hearts in such a way that they by Grace come to him and know the joy of being found in him so these persons saw the signs and yet they resisted yet they rejected John Gil says they believed not on him the Miracles done by Christ Before Their Eyes which they could not deny nor disprove and were so many and so great were aggravations of their unbelief and such indeed is the nature of that sin and so deeply rooted is it that is that the most powerful means and mighty Works will not bring a person to Believe In Christ without the powerful and efficacious grace of God says I've said many a time as we come here on Sunday morning and evening we ought to pray for the ministry of the spirit yes we want people to understand the Theology of the Bible we want them to understand their own sin be convicted of it see the Lord Christ is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 and by God's grace believe on him and and receive those Redemptive benefits through the empty hand of Faith that's the hope and the desire because the signs and the Wonders don't make Christians it's God who makes Christians through the new birth and through that gift of faith by which we receive his benefits now notice he goes on to explain this unbelief he makes the Declaration in verse 37 and then he goes back to the Old Testament to show the rationale so notice in verses 38 to 40 he first appeals to scripture verse 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke one man well said the these people did not believe but it was not because Isaiah predicted this rather Isaiah predicted this because they were not going to believe that's the connection in other words when John tries to provide this rationale for unbelief it's as if he's saying trust God he knew that this was exactly what was going to happen and the prophet Isaiah spoke to this specifically in chapter 53 and then again in chapter 6 notice that first quotation in verse 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke Lord who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed the prophet's asking the same question Lord who who's believed our report the the the arm of the Lord most likely Jesus himself has been displayed Jesus himself has come from the presence of the father not by a local motion but by the Assumption of our Humanity he comes to live amongst us he comes to die he comes to be raised again and yet the prophet Isaiah who's believed our report and that particular section in Isaiah 53 it concerns what two facets of the messiah's work his death and his exaltation see there's what's called servant songs of Isaiah four servant songs of Yahweh in the prophet Isaiah they're in chapters 42 49 50 and then 53 well the end of 52 into 53 we're most familiar with the 50 3rd Chapter we're most familiar with the announcement of the Lord's Champion the Messiah that would be cut off the Messiah that would die the Messiah that it would please the Lord to bruise or Crush but on the heels of that suffering there would be exaltation there would be Majesty there would be glory there would be Triumph and so in the midst of that prophetic statement the prophet Isaiah asks the question Lord who has believed our report anticipating the actual coming of the Lord Jesus when he is Incarnate when he does assume our Humanity when he does live amongst us and we behold his glory and yet not everybody flocks to him not everybody believes in him remember this is the passion week by the end of this week they're going to be shouting away with him away with him crucify him give us barabus give us the terrorist give us the insurrectionist but with Jesus we want him hung on that cross and we want him crucified these persons did not believe but this was always known by our blessed God so the servant of the Lord's song specifically chapter 53 duplicates the situation that you find in John 12 Jesus announces his glory Jesus announces his death Jesus announces the Triumph that will come as a result of that death so Isaiah or rather John invoking Isaiah is essentially telling us this is what God Said back then this is what we should have expected back then again when you turn to John 1 and you say he comes to his own he read he comes to his own and his own does not do not receive him you think what malifa what monstrous wretches what horrible people that that the Messiah would come to his own and they would not receive him it's the sin problem it's the in atom thing it's the kingdom of darkness situation it's the ruler of this age blinding the eyes and the the minds and the hearts of sinners the prophet's question and the evangelist's application indicate that it was not only the works of the Lord but it was the words of the lord lord who has believed our report oh I don't know reports like verse 36 while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light so the Lord Jesus is rejected here not only his outward works of signs and wonders and glorious things but also his words Paul invokes the same passage in Romans 10 when he's talking about Jewish unbelief he uses 10:16 to substantiate the reality and it is this this text Isaiah 531 and then he says in verse 17 there so then faith comes by hearing and what hearing by the word of God in other words they've rejected that word they've resisted that truth they've looked away they have not gone after the Messiah the way that God calls them to and then that brings him to the response of God so we got the question in verse uh verse 38 Lord who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed notice in verse 39 therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again and now he goes to Isaiah 69 and 10 he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them so he's saying this to encourage us that the gospel is not failing Christ Ministry is not for not Christ Ministry here is not one defined by losing Christ's Ministry is perfectly executed according to the plan and purpose of the father who gave it to him the response on the part of man is not a surprise again brethren we hate God by Nature you may think to yourself right now well you know I'm not necessarily a Believer but I don't think I'm the worst person on the face of the Earth that's not my argument argument there's always somebody worse than you always you're not Paul pot so rejoice in that but the bottom line is is that the sin thing affects us totally our minds our hearts our bodies we call it in theology the doctrine of total depravity and so when Christ comes in the blaze of glory doing these signs and wonders and people don't believe in him the conclusion is not well he must be failing he must be losing he must not be getting what he ant anticipated no he's going right according to plan and now what John the Apostle is doing is quoting Isaiah the prophet to the effect that with reference to these persons that have been blessed and benefited with actually getting to witness the functioning Messiah before them in their resistance in their unbelief guess what it leads to further instances of God's judgment further instances of God's hardening their heart that's the emphasis there in Isaiah 6 notice in verse 39 therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand what their hearts and turn so that I should heal them now the context of Isaiah 6 is most instructive here so by the time he's in Isaiah 53 and he says Lord who who has believed our report he's already built up quite the min and he has seen the unbelief by his contemporaries so in Isaiah 6 right around verses 1 to 5 Isaiah gets a a vision of the glory of God he gets this vision of the glory of God the angel standing in In antifonal Praise holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is is filled with his glory and when Isaiah sees that what's his response wow this is neat this is really cool I get to be privy to this kind of act he says woe is me for I am I'm undone I'm a man of unclean lips and I I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips why because my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord so then what happens on the heels of that there's preparation for prophetic Ministry how does it come well Isaiah you need to go to Prophet School you need to learn all your theology you need to understand your confession and you need to get out there and start to bring it no he already had the theology he just needed forgiveness he needed atonement and so the Angel takes that white hot coal and puts it upon the tongue or upon the lips of the Prophet to prepare him for Ministry so he has a vision of the Divine Glory preparation of the minister uh a prophetic Ministry but then the nature of his task I've often thought about this if a man was being sort of brought into gospel Ministry you know we have our vote and then we have our our test and we we examine him and then we can with absolute certainty say you know what your ministry is going to be a failure it's just going to fail do you think that guy would be like great sign me up throw me in coach I'm I can't wait this is what happens when God tells the prophet God the Divine Lord says who shall go for us who shall we send the prophet's hand goes straight up he says here am I Lord send me okay you want to go you're going to be to them a means of condemnation you're going to be an instrument to them of of Woe you're going to be a testimony against them for their rejection of God most high and they're having gone a whoring from him to the gods of the the Nations around them he tells him he's going to have a failure of a Ministry you're going to preach to them they're going to hear you their ears are going to be dull their eyes aren't going to see there's going to be this judicial heartening that obtains and I think that is precisely the commentary here in John CH 12 not over all men everywhere this isn't extensive to you and I the elect of God who by God's grace have believe but to these first century Jews to these Jerusalem Sinners to these men that are going to cry out away with him away with him crucify him there is judgement upon them and that's the statement of the prophet Isaiah when he says he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them go back one more time to Matthew 11 again a very similar situation in jesus' Earthly Ministry we have this upbraiding of the Nations or the cities around him that saw his mighty Miracles and did not repent in verses 20 to 24 but but then notice in verse 25 at that time Jesus answered and said I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things in the context these things are gospel truths you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes now Jesus isn't acknowledging there's a class of people out there that are wise and prudent he's talking about these men that are wise and prudent in their own eyes guys that think they don't need divine grace they don't need help from on high they don't need salvation from the Lord's Christ they can exercise their free will they can add a few good works they can stop going to you know bad places where they shouldn't go but the absolute emphasis upon divine grace come on Jesus says I bless you I praise you father that you have hidden these things what happens to us when we read something like that don't say it but you might think it if you've been here for any time hopefully you don't still think it but you might go well well that that's not fair fair just doesn't seem fair does it I mean we love Fair don't we we don't love fair enough to opt for hell fair is that we all go to hell for our sins and Rebellion against God most high so there's a sense where we don't want fair but there's a sense where we do want fair but it's always on our terms that's not fair that that God hides gospel truth God is the Divine judge of all the Earth and all the he does is right and when God hides gospel truth from these people it's an act of judgment they're not neutral sympathetic characters that are just trying their best in this first century situation no they're god-hating Rebels that have rejected the Messiah sent from Yahweh and that will deliver him up to the Cross under pontious pilot so these are not neutral beings by this time in our Lord's Earthly Ministry the condemnation of Isaiah 69 and10 is perfectly appropriate for these wretches for these resists for these rejectors Paul says as much in Romans chapter 9 where incidentally he's dealing with the issue of ethnic Jews not believing the gospel notice in no Romans 9:14 What then shall we say or what shall we say then is there unrighteousness with God certainly not for he says to Moses I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion so then it is not of him who Wills nor of him who runs but of God who shows Mercy now notice in verse 17 for the scripture says to the Pharaoh for this very purpose I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the Earth therefore he has Mercy on whom he wills and whom he Wills he hardens back to the text let's try to tie this up and let's try to get real practical here if it sounds like God's not fair it's you that's got the problem this happened in the prophet ezekiel's day as well God through Ezekiel condemns the people you say the way of the Lord is not fair he knew that he knew their complaint he knew what they were saying and in opposition to him the the way of the Lord is not fair you know what God says through the prophet well I'll try harder so you know the human bar of Reason can be satisfied with Divine fairness no he says it's their way that's not fair you are a people that have gone away from the living and true God you've bowed to bail you've thrown your children in the arms of molak you have gone after all kinds of strange things and wickedness and vness and you've got the G now I'm amplifying a bit but you get the point to to to call into question God's fairness brethren we are wretches we're not in any position to say well that's not fair but back to our text this is an an example of God's hardening upon these people so if you're here today again and you're not a believer in Jesus listen to Jesus I I I don't know how better to say it then then what he says there in verse 36 while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of Light because if you don't there is a running out time there is an expiration date there is a time when you're going to cross from this plane into another sphere of existence and you're going to hear the accursed words of Christ most high depart from me I never knew you into Everlasting fire prepared for the the devil and his Angels so John is reflecting here upon the unbelief of the contemporaries of our Lord Jesus I'm trying to get us to reflect upon that same unbelief that is rampant in the hearts of men women boys and girls today the corrective for the answer is stop disbelieving believe Look to Him in faith and then notice what John says to confirm all that John has said about the Divinity of our blessed savior how can you say the son of man must die they didn't get the hypostatic union they didn't understand the one person and the two Natures they didn't understand the word became flesh and dwelt among us but John the Apostle did John the Evangelist does John the Theologian does because look at what he tells us in verse 41 so the prophet Isaiah was not only preaching the death of the Savior but he was preaching the exaltation of the Savior the Lord Jesus announces the arrival of the hour in 12:23 with this language the hour has come that the son of man should be glorified John ends this section in verse 41 these things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him now the NIV renders this well you know that I'm not usually the biggest fan but it says here Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus glory and spoke about him that's what John is saying John is saying that in the year that King Uzziah died when the prophet Isaiah was given that vision of the throne room of God most high when he saw the Lord of hosts the one whose whose Glory fills the entirety of the cosmos it was the glory of Jesus that he saw so not only does this unbelief on the part of the Jews not teach failure or a loss or some sort of you know breach in the system but it underscores once again the glory of the Son of God who loved us and who gave himself for us it is a wonderful statement the appeal to Isaiah 53 is concerned with the death and exaltation of Jesus just like John 12 the vision in Isaiah 6 concerns the Lord of hosts just like in John 12 it's not going to surprise you that next week when we look at that concluding statement of Our Lord what do you think he does as he closes out his Earthly Ministry he once again insists on his identity as the Divine son and his authority as the Divine son in other words in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the Word was God and that word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory but not everybody did there were rejectors there were despisers there were resistors there were those who continued in their unbelief that does not diminish his glory that does not diminish his power that does not diminish his his majesty but rather it is what the prophet Isaiah foretold concerning that Ministry of the Incarnate son to save his people from their sins in conclusion we need to ponder the question concerning the Messiah that these men asked in vers 34-36 I would suggest they were carnal they wanted a messiah that would give give them Prestige they wanted a messiah that would break the backs of Roman oppression they wanted a messiah that would put a car in their driveway a summer house for them to attend to and all kinds of geopolitical prestige what the Jews today unbelieving Jews at least I think in theory are still looking for in a rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah they are admitted waiting for the Messiah to come and Usher in a blessed time for ethnic Israel that Miss misses the boat by about a million miles the Church of Christ is the the the apple of his eye it's the Church of Christ that is the Israel of God according to Galatians chapter 6 it's not ethnic Israel in the future it's the Church of Jesus Christ right now so these men were carnal these men were duked these men were looking for something that would only satisfy for the temporal as well the unbelieving Jews were ignorant they saw messiah's eternality and power but they missed his suffering and death that's a vital component announced throughout the law you don't miss that you're not supposed to miss that that's why you read the Old Testament and the unbelieving Jews ultimately were scandalized by the Lord Jesus Christ but this did not take God unawares this was what was prophesied in Isaiah 53 and in Isaiah chapter 6 and then in conclusion I would suggest and encourage once again that you behold the glory of Jesus you know we get to that point in you know Christmas time is next month or the end of December and we talk about jesus' birthday yuck absolute yuck jesus' birthday seems to be Aryan in some degree there was a time when the sun was not the Incarnation isn't a a birthday it is the Assumption of our flesh the Assumption of our Humanity with all the essential properties and all the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin and why does he assume that flesh again so he can live in light of God's law he doesn't reneg he doesn't shrink back he always does what pleases the father well why does he do that certainly to vindicate himself as the champion of God as the one who wins this salvation but it's manward as well we need a righteousness that avails with God one of the beauties of believing in Jesus is not only that you're forgiven of sin which is a beauty but you're also considered righteous in his sight so the Lord Jesus Christ in the Incarnation takes on our Humanity to live for us to die for us and to be raised again for us so that everyone who looks to him in faith will have everlasting life you'll pass from Death to life you pass from Darkness to light you pass into the presence of God most high after you breathe your la again Brethren I'm not suggesting life on Earth is always going to be temporally wonderful you're only ever going to have good things no you might have misery you might have pain you might have suffering the Heretics of the so-called health wealth and Prosperity Gospel are just that they're Heretics they're vile Wicked pernicious men the Bible teaches that all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus Will what they'll suffer persecution especially in an age which is growing increasingly Antichrist growing increasingly anti- God against Yahweh and against his Christ we are witnessing that to the decree that we live in light of this word to the degree that we live the way that Paul bids Us in Ephesians 4 and 5 it is to that degree we will know something of persecution and opposition but once this present evil age passes what do we have an eternity with God Almighty so do not resist do not reject listen to the savior's words and believe in the light so that you may become sons of the light let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the clarity that we find in both prophet and Apostle in the explanation of unbelief we know this is the case in our own generation in our own day so we appeal to you God most high the one who is able to crush The Cedars of Lebanon by that powerful voice we pray that you would come and Crush hardened Hearts through the proclamation of the Gospel today and may you bring a multitude forth and may you grant them The Graces of faith and repentance that they may have everlasting life we pray for our children and for our young people we commend them to you and to the word of your grace and pray that you would capture their minds and hearts in their early age that the darkness would not overtake them that they would not get to that place of of irre uh uh being irrecoverable just be merciful and be gracious and we pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen will you can stand with me and we'll sing 568 to close out our worship this morning 568 doxology in praise to our Triune [Music] God PR him all creatures [Music] PR pra father son [Music] andly the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen father thank you for this glad hour thank you for this time to gather for worship we pray that you would go with us now bless this day and help us to call it a delight and to find joy and comfort in our blessed savior and we pray in jesus' name amen please be seated for a brief time of meditation