I Was Blind, Now I See - Par..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Let's open the Mark 2 Gospel according to John. Chapter 9.

We'll be reading together the third of the three interrogations of the Pharisees on this man who had his eyes made open by our Lord. So we'll be starting our reading from verse 24 and then we'll continue reading through to 34. John chapter nine from verse 24. So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. They said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He said to them, I have told you already and you would not listen.

Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? They reviled him saying, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as far as this man, we do not know where he comes from. The man answered, Why, this is an amazing thing.

You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, You were born in our sin, and will you teach us?

And they cast him out. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Our Lord himself said, heaven and earth will pass away, but not a single word of his words will pass away. Let's come to him and commit this time together to the Lord.

Father, we thank you for this opportunity once again that you've given us to now open our Bibles, Lord, and meditate upon this small portion of Scripture. We acknowledge this is your Word. We acknowledge it's breathed out by you. We acknowledge that your Word is life. We acknowledge that your Word is infallible, it is inerrant, it's from your very being, and it's purposed to find its way in our hearts.

So we ask this evening that you would do that work for us, that you would be pleased to feed us, that you would be pleased, Lord, to nurture us, that you would be pleased to mature us, that you would be pleased, Lord, to show us Christ. Help us, Lord, to apprehend your word and faith. Remove any distractions from our minds, any thoughts, Lord, that are antithetical to what we're doing here and now. Help us, Lord, to feel the weight of this moment when we are able to hear your word preached. Lord, we trust that you will bless your people this afternoon.

We ask that you would do this for the exaltation of the great name of Christ. It's in his name we ask. Amen. Amen. Several months ago, when we began our meditations in the ninth chapter, and the gospel according to John.

You may have remembered me saying that now we're out of the eighth chapter and we're into the ninth, but the theme carries through. In particular, there are words that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke and uttered, a declaration of himself, a statement of utmost importance that he uttered back in chapter eight, and I said, you need to keep that in the forefront of your mind. in order to understand what the Apostle John is trying to communicate to the readers by God's grace, I think in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This will give us a framework to understand chapter nine. And those words are found in verse 12 of chapter eight, you might remember, where Jesus says that great I am statement.

I am the light of the world, Whoever follows after me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. I am the light of the world. There's that definite article, the. In other words, Jesus is saying, I am the sole source of light. There is no light apart from me, none, none.

That is to say, apart from Jesus, who is the light of the world, wherever you go, there will be only darkness. There will be only blindness. If one wants to see, if one wants to have light, to reveal, to expose, to tell truth, then that is found in Jesus Christ, and in Jesus Christ alone. His claims, we either believe it, or we don't. But He's clear, and that's what Jesus is saying.

You might remember also when we began our series or began our chapter a few months ago here in chapter 9, you might remember me saying, Jesus declared that he is the light of the world back here in verse 12 in chapter 8. And here in chapter 9, as we work our way through the chapter, we will see the light of the world in action. We will see how it is that Jesus is the light of the world. How it is he shines his light in the darkness and pervades and pushes back that which is darkness, the blindness, he pushes it back and reveals in his light, chapter nine is the light of the world in action. And we see this so clearly in the narrative that is before us, the narrative of a man who was born blind, born in darkness, born with no sight.

Already at this stage of our meditations, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ has opened his eyes. Where there was darkness, now there is light. Now, of course, I must say at this point that we're only up to verse 25 and not even all the way through, only a portion of the way through verse 25. And that means already what we have seen in the passage, in the story thus far, is that this man's eyes were opened physically. He has not as yet had the eyes of His heart, the eyes of His soul, opened.

So therefore, what has happened already is a physical healing, where Christ has given Him sight, where He had no sight, but the spiritual sight is yet to come. It doesn't come until verse 30, 35 or 38 of this chapter. So let me ask you a question. If the physical or the spiritual healing, restoration, or the spiritual blindness overcome and sight is seen through the light of the world, does it take place until verse 38? This whole chapter is only 41 verses.

Is that to say that the Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Spirit, intends for us, for 38 of the 41 verses, only to emphasize a physical healing? Or is there more to it than that? I submit to you that there is far more to it than that. There's more at play in these words, in these narratives, in this narrative. Because beloved brothers and sisters, as amazing as that physical miracle is, and let's not play it down, it is remarkable, the people who witnessed it are baffled.

The man who witnessed it, absolutely baffled. Even later on in the passage, as we read this evening, he says, never since the world began has it even been heard that a man was born blind and now is made to see. Oh yeah, it is a miracle of massive proportions. The hand of God is evidently in it. No doubt, no questions asked.

Beloved, I want to submit to you that what we have before us is a picture. As with all the miracles of Christ, there's a gospel element to them. There is more than the physical going on. And as we see here, with this man's eyes being made open, it is a picture so that we can meditate upon the spiritual reality where Christ opens the eyes of the soul. His eyes were open physically.

But I believe the Apostle John, under inspiration of the Spirit, wants us to see how that picture is a parallel to how our eyes are opened spiritually. How light pervades the spiritual darkness, and the source of light is the same. Remember, single source, Jesus Christ. I am the light of the world. And this is essential that we see this because this doesn't affect a few.

It affects every man, every woman, and every child who has ever stepped on this planet. Every one of us was born in Adam. And being born in Adam, the Bible tells us very clearly that Adam's sin has corrupted us from conception. That is to say that we are born in spiritual blindness. The default position of man is darkness, it's blindness.

It's just like this man in our story. He was born, he came out of his mother's womb not being able to see. And it is the same for every single man, woman and child who is born in Adam. Even if you've got the appendage on your eyes, on your head that can see, you are still born spiritually, spiritually blind. So what we know here is we have spiritual war going on.

Born in darkness, the realm of darkness is seen in these words, in this passage. The power of the God of this age, he's the one who blindens the heart of unbelievers, we're told. And he seeks to keep them that way. He doesn't want converts. He doesn't want the light to expose.

He doesn't want to lose any of his own. He loves the darkness and so do his minions and so do his people. They love the darkness because their works are in you, Lord. But the power of the gospel, the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, is that when the light of Jesus Christ pervades the darkness, pervades the thickness of the thickest of moral darkness, when he does, it exposes what is there. And by his grace, that light reveals truth.

And the truth that Jesus came to proclaim is a truth that sets man free. If I was going to summarize this chapter in a few words, I don't think I could do a better job than the Apostle Paul, who says so eloquently in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, a verse that I've spoken or I've recited for you many times. He goes like this, for God who sent, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Christ is the light of the world. God's glory, God's power, God's salvation, seen through Christ.

Yes, there is no denying that up until now, The narrative has emphasized physical eyes being made open. But at the same time, we are meant to see that as a picture of the far more important spiritual reality. So therefore, I believe the Spirit of God has much to teach us in this passage, and I hope and pray that he does. Last week, if you remember, my intention was to get us to the last, or to finish with a complete verse 25. You may have heard me saying that.

Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful. Instead, we end up having a high view of the third of three interrogations of the Pharisees. You may remember the first. It's the man whose eyes were made open, then his parents were confronted, and they interviewed them And now the passage that is before us from verse 24-34, my apologies, 24-34 He is the man who has had his eyes made open. He is being interrogated once again by the Pharisees.

So we had a look at the high view of that interrogation. We didn't really go down into the weeds like I said we normally would. We had a high view. The reason why we did that last week was I wanted to extract a very important principle. A principle of does suffering come?

Does tribulation, does hardship come frivolously? Is there meaning in it? Does it happen like a happenstance? Is it just, oh well, we live in a fallen world, therefore bad things happen in a fallen world. Is that what takes place?

And I hope from last week we can see that is not the case at all. Instead, the Lord God, who is a God of love, who loves his own, allows suffering to come our way because he has purpose. He has intention. He's designed and fashioned that suffering through the heart for the believer so that they would mature and grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. It's not coincidental.

It's not meaningless. The Sovereign God has all things under control. And whatever comes my way as a child of God, that gives me peace to know. Peace to know that nothing happens outside His will. The Almighty God's hand cannot be stained.

His will cannot be thwarted. God is in complete control. And as a God who is sovereign, who is in complete control, nothing gives my heart rest and peace when I'm going through difficulty. I've learned to know that every single increment, every facet, is under His solemn care. And He promises to love me.

He promises never to leave me. He promises never to forsake me. If I can't rest in that, I won't rest in anything. So the intention to finish verse 25 last week was unaccomplished. All that to say, I intend to finish it this week.

That's probably as far as we can go though. So let's go back to the text to remind us what is before us. From verse 24 context. So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. No, he's saying those words because he's responding to a statement that the Pharisees had already made. They have already said earlier, they said, we know this man is a sinner.

We've concluded this man is not of God. You remember back in verse 16 in the same chapter, the reason why they said he's not from God was because how can he be from God when he's broken Sabbath? He's broken the law of God, hasn't he? with your broken, your own little twisted arrangements that you now call a flaw. So they've assessed the situation, they've gone through the teachings of Christ, they've seen the evidences, they've gone through the claims that he's manifested and spoken of in his own mouth, and they have concluded in their own hearts, he is not from God, he is a sinner.

And now you have this man who was born blind, but now is able to see who looks at these Pharisees in an intimidating setting, I hope you can see that, and he says in his mind, or at least out loud he says them, I don't know what's going on in his mind, but it's probably thinking, I'm not theologically there yet, I haven't made a theological conclusion about whether this Jesus is a sinner in the same way that you guys are speaking. I don't know that yet, I'm not sure, I'm not ready to go toe-to-toe with these religious elites on that matter, I'm not there yet, not at this stage at least. But there he's just, you know, I don't know. Now, very soon he will know. Because even before the end of this narrative, and we don't know how long it has been, a few hours has passed since this man received his sign or a few days.

We don't know. The text doesn't tell us. It looks like it's one after the other. Maybe in the same day, it could be a few days apart. Either way, by the time this third interrogation is over, this man is able to go back and know whether this man is a sinner or not.

And that was one of the things I wanted us to see last week, that through suffering, That suffering, that tribulation, that difficulty, that persecution of the Lord allows to come your way is always purpose, always, always purpose to mature you, Christian, so that your eyes will be opened to the glories of the gospel, the glories of our Saviour, the glories of the triune God. And by the end, this man is no longer going to say, whether I know he's a sinner or whether he's a sinner, I do not know, but rather he's going to fall on his face and worship Jesus as the gospel. The Son of God is worthier towards you. But this man, this man knew as much. But for now, I'm not going to go and engage with you on a theological argument.

I'm not going to engage on that point which I haven't deliberated in my mind. I'm not going to go there. But what I will discuss with you is what I know. And that's a good place to be. Let's not, let's not speak on conjecture, things that could be or can't be.

Although there is benefit in that, you can't be authoritative over it. Let's talk about what I do know. I love that. And it seems to me already that this man, what he knows is more than the religious elites that are in front of him. I said last week, a shift is taking place.

A shift in that something, a reversal is happening. Those who are seen as righteous are no longer going to be seen righteous. Those who are taught are going to be, those who are teachers are going to be taught. Those who are supposedly the ones who can see are going to be seen as the ones who don't see. So this man says, whether he's a sinner, I do not know.

One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. One thing I do know, he's honest, I'm unable to answer all your questions. They may have asked you many questions. I'm assuming the interrogation went more than 15 or 20 seconds, which takes us to read about 10 verses. I'm assuming they grilled him and probably asked him a series of questions.

This is a summary, and it's very likely this man's gone in the end. There's one thing I know, I mean, you've asked me a whole series of questions, very likely. I can't answer them all. I have questions of my own. Probably more questions than he has answers.

Up until now, his eyes have been closed. He doesn't even know who it is that opened his eyes. He knows as far as he's concerned, it's a man called Jesus. Is that very loud? Is that really loud?

He knows up until now that it is a man. He is the man called Jesus, verse 11. But beyond that, he doesn't know a great deal. He says he's a prophet earlier, but now he says, I don't even know if he's a sinner. So it seems like he's growing in his understanding, even now.

There's a lot of uncertainties. There's a lot of things he does not know. But in spite of the fogginess, in spite of the uncertainties, there is something that this man knows beyond a shadow of a doubt. There is something that he knows. No matter how much heat the Pharisees now place upon him, he can second guess many of the things that they're putting into his mind, that he can do that.

But there is one thing, there's one detail, that this man is absolutely 100% convinced of, and no matter how hard the Pharisees try to make him shift or change, Because I think that's what's going on here, the pressure. The only reason why they would interview him for a second time is because they didn't like his first testimony, and maybe they can apply a little bit more pressure to get it changed a little. Just enough. All we need to do is either prove the miracle didn't happen, did not happen, or the second thing we can do is to prove that Jesus doesn't get the credit. Either way, we're okay.

Push me as far as you want. Press me as hard as you can. There is one thing I will not deny. though I was blind. I now see.

I cannot deny that experience. I cannot deny that I had known nothing but blindness from birth. I cannot deny that these eyes had seen no light. I had seen nothing from the day I remember. From when I was a child, I heard noises.

I heard my parents' voices speaking words, trying to describe to the best of their ability of what is going on in this world. But something was missing. I could not see. I had no eyes. My eyes were lifeless.

But there are this, on this day, On this day that seemed to be like any other day, this Jesus took notice of a wretched, blind beggar. I heard the people walk by. It seemed like a crowd, because Jesus does always amass a following. And in my heart, I was hoping that I'd hear some tinkling of coins. to get me through another day, that would be great.

Some generous people walking by, but that didn't happen. Instead, that walking didn't continue, but instead this Jesus came and He took notice of me. And He spoke to me. I don't know much about this Jesus. I don't know.

I don't know more than His name at this point in time. I don't know where He came from. I don't know His genealogy. I didn't know much about him. I don't know much about him.

But with that, a shadow of a doubt, this is what I know. That when I encountered him for the very first time, the encounter was so powerful that I began the day as a blind man, but I ended the day as a man who can now see. And no matter what the consequences are, no matter what you place on me, no matter how difficult you make my life, I can't deny that. That's the truth. I can't deny my experience.

Because I went from being blind, and I know what it is to be blind, to now being able to see. What a powerful testimony. The absolute resolve of this man, of his experience with the Lord. The encounter with Christ was so impactful. but it cannot be denied.

As I said earlier, up until now, he'd heard with his ears, but he'd never seen with his eyes. He'd heard countless people walking by, but he never saw their smiling faces. He heard the tinkering of coins and he probably grabbed the coins because of the charity that people showed there in Jerusalem. He felt them and he might have been able to gather how big they were, maybe even make out some of the faces on there, but he didn't see the colour. He would have known and heard about the structures around the place, the houses, the temple.

His parents would have done their best to describe nature. The birds of the air, he would have heard the chirping, but he didn't know what they looked like. The trees, he heard them rustling, but he'd never make out what those trees were like. He heard the sky was blue, but what's blue? What's blue when you've never seen colour?

What is blue? Never seen a thing. He had a lot of information, but he wasn't matched with a fundamental aspect of being able to see what is being described. Something fundamental, a fundamental reality was missing from this man for decades. For decades.

Why he didn't even know what he looked like. On that day, he was told to go and pull a salam and wash that mud from his eyes. And on that day, when he did, he looked into the ripples and he said, wow, that's what I look like. First time he ever sees himself in the reflection. He pushed as hard as he would like.

One thing I know. It's pretty humble. One thing I know. I was blind. Now, now after this encounter with the living God in flesh, now after this encounter with Jesus Christ, I can see the glory stayed in this man when Jesus noticed him and shown him mercy.

I can see. You know, it's interesting to me because he would have known what even blindness was for those decades to some degree. But after his eyes were open, he's able to look back and gather a far greater understanding of what it is to be blind. You see, now he has something to compare it with. You see, that was life.

That was who he is. Now that his eyes have been given back, or have been given for the first time, he's able to see the state that he was in in a far greater sense. Far more clarity would have come to his mind now. Now he understands what Blindness is, whereas before, this was what I experienced, this is it. But now, he's able to see everything and know, ah, that's what I was missing out on.

That's what I was. That's interesting. Because now he has something to compare with. Now he can appreciate the sight, not simply because he can see colour. Because he knows from where he came.

Jesus took notice. And his life will never be the same. Brethren, the text paints a picture for us. Which is far more deeper and more significant, as I said earlier, than a man's physical eyes being opened. Because the spiritual reality should be in our mind by now, I hope.

One that is experienced, or one who has experienced the light of the world, Jesus Christ, exposing the darkness and bringing light to where there was once only darkness. Life where there was only death in the spiritual sense ought to be an encounter that changes the rest of your life. It ought to be so clear and so impactful that that you cannot deny. You just cannot deny that I was blind, but now I can see. It is so antithetical one with the other.

So antithetical, so different. I didn't know before, but now I can see what I was missing out on. Now I can see more clearly on the state that I was in. A change like that must impact The life of a person, the very being of a person. It must change everything that person is from the core.

Let me tell you, one of the greatest sins in our society today is what they call easy believerism. If you believe in a set of rules, if you believe in a set of precepts, a set of doctrines, even recite some passages and speak them with your mouth, maybe even out of a prayer, that you're okay salvation occurs. It's not necessary that a change has happened. It's not necessary that you had an encounter with the living God. But as long as there was a time in your life when you said that you believed in Jesus, you're okay.

How antithetical is that belief with what is going on here? So we can give some sort of mental assent to some information, some doctrines, and then we are okay. Beloved. Beloved. to be transferred from the kingdom or the realm of darkness into the kingdom of the sun.

There is nothing less. It requires nothing less than the God of the universe to move. For his light to penetrate that darkness. Not articulating simple truths, but rather an encounter. A real, intimate encounter with the God of the universe.

Because if it was simply a matter of knowing some things, it was simply a matter of opening up scripture and just reading some passages and giving mental ascent to the stories, then beloved, the Pharisees would have had the most light of the day. What does Jesus say at the end of the passage? Practically points the finger at them and says, you are blind. Blind guides leading the blind. No, the light of God needs to soak into the soul.

As I said, God must move and the impact of that on the life of a sinner ought to bring them to their knees and declare one thing, I know. You can question me about everything else. This man could have said a lot of things. He could have said, I don't know, four things, three things, 10 things, 15 things. He's blind, but he, as I said, he was a well-educated man, it seems, because the description that he uttered tells me that he was listening and he was understanding.

But he didn't want to do that. Simply he wanted to say one thing I know. It's not because all he had in his brain was once I was blind, but now I can see. But because above everything else, right now, the thing that I know more, I'm more certain, more sure of, than anything else is this. I was once blind.

But now, but now I see. I can have an encounter with Jesus. And that encounter has impacted my life so much that the difference now is that once I was blind, I was in darkness, I was deaf, but now my eyes can see. Beloved, anything less, if we reduce Christianity to anything less than that, then let me tell you that's blasphemous. It's like saying someone tells you a story that he had an encounter with a semi-trailer, fully laden, on the highway at 110 K an hour, head-on collision, and he got off unscathed.

Who's going to believe that? I'm talking of having an encounter with the living God. How can you come away unscathed? How can you come away thinking, I've forgotten what happened. How could that not impact the very essence of your soul?

How could it not change everything from that point on? How can it not? How can your life be the same after having an encounter with the living God? Is that your experience? Is there a point in your life where you remember being blind?

There's a point in your life where you can say, I know one thing. I was once blind, but there is a day that I had an encounter with Jesus Christ, the son of God, and now beyond a shadow of a doubt, I know this one thing for sure. Because now I can see. You might not have all the questions in your mind answered. There might be a lot of things, a lot of questions, a lot of details that you haven't been able to put together.

This is a big book. It is the Word of God. It is infinitely rich, and you will dedicate, and you will dedicate, I hope, the rest of your life studying and meditating and considering and praying through the Word. There are many questions that will be answered over time, but despite what you don't know, Is there in your heart at this point an experience that you can point to? Whereby you know that once I was blind and now I can see.

Was there a point where you were able to look back and see that I now can see what I was missing? I can now see what it is to live in the life. Now I can see what spiritual life looks like. And now I can look back and now understand what spiritual life is. Whereas before I didn't understand.

I understand for our younger ones, those who are brought up in Christian families, I understand that sometimes it's difficult. Sometimes it's difficult to put a point as to when the Lord saved you. The question is right now, right now, you can ask yourself that question. Can I see? Do I know Him?

Do I love Him? Is His beauty being made known to my heart? Am I trusting in Him? Do I find solace and rest in Him alone? Is Christ my all in all?

Are you able to say, I was once blind but now I can see. You know the thing is we, in the darkness, we may have uttered so many things, spoken so many things that we thought were realities in our lives. We may have been exposed to teaching. that we thought we believed. We may have read our Bibles, may have even recited our Bibles.

We may have even found some solace and some rest in some of the verses. We may have even told our friends about Christ. We may have had Christian friends. We may have gone to many Bible studies, sat under the preaching of the word in a faithful church, told about heaven and hell. It may have been countless times that we heard about the judgment of God upon sinners, which is righteous as we heard today.

We may have even thought maybe we are sinners. They've heard the story of the cross over and over again, maybe even memorized it. But isn't it interesting, beloved Christians, those who have been united in Christ by faith, isn't it ultra interesting that it's only when you're in the light that you're able to understand those things? It's only when you've had an encounter with Christ, the light of the world, that you're able to understand the very things that you thought you understood, but only reside in the mind, never really soaked into the soul. Our brother read Luke 24 this evening.

In 45, I think, or 46, you remember on the way, Jesus says to the disciples, we're told that Jesus opened up their eyes for them to understand the scripture. Is it interesting that when we were in the darkness, those of us who were in church settings, that we may have been exposed to much scripture and thought we understood, we knew the narratives, we knew the stories. The reality, the essence, the truth had not found its way in our hearts until we are made to see the light of Christ, the light that exposes truth, that truth is revealed, pressed into our hearts, and then we are able to look back and say, how superficial was I? How superficial was I? Now I know I was in darkness.

When I was there, I thought this was the light. But now that I'm in the light, I can see the genuineness of knowing Christ. And only now am I able to look back and say, wow, I was deceived. I was deceived. I've heard it all before.

How is it that only now as children of Christ, we're able to look back and and then see and realize the danger that we were in. Only now in the darkness are we able to look back and say, I should have been trembling in that state. How come I wasn't trembling in that state? I was under the wrath of God and I didn't even know it. What if I died in that state?

We start asking our questions. We can get into an election. Back then we didn't see this, we didn't understand it, we didn't know that the truth of the gospel wasn't made known because we hadn't yet made an encounter with the one who is the light of the world to expose truth, to show us the state of our soul. We had not yet made that encounter, or he had not yet made that encounter. that encounter with our souls.

We hadn't yet seen the desperate need that we have for a savior. It's only now, it's only now you look back and you have the reverential fear of the Lord. Do you know, when fear is missing, you have lawlessness. When the Apostle Paul, in Romans chapter 3, has indicted the whole world, both Jew and Gentile, into sin, and he gives a collective, in chapter 3 there, he gives a collective of the sins, that no one seeks after God, no one is righteous, their mouths are open, bread is on the table, and so forth. And then the summary at the bottom, I believe, at least the summary, in the last words of that little passage, he says, they do not have the fear of God before their eyes.

No one truly fears God in the darkness. They may think they do. They may fear consequences. They may fear. You're talking about hell and wrath and judgment.

No one really has a true fear of God based on true knowledge unless you're in the light. Isn't that interesting? You fear God when the fear of God is no longer upon you with the wrath that He once was upon you. Now you fear God because you know who God is. As the brother said early on, it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God.

Only now, only now do you see the need for the atonement. Only now do you see the sin that is before you that makes you so abominable in the eyes of the Holy Ghost. Now, with eyes opened, are you enlightened to the beauty of Christ? See Him as Savior, see Him as Redeemer. See Him as the one who took my place, who rescued me from the hell that I deserve.

Never before had I experienced His love. Not the general benevolent love that He has for all His creatures. No, the love that He loved me personally, and that I can now say in the light that Christ died for me. He shed His blood for me personally. I can say I've been adopted into the family of God, that I've been forgiven of my sins.

Never before was I able to say I loved his word. Sure I might have been enamoured by it, sure I would have loved the stories and the narratives, but he never was life to my soul. He never fed me, never nourished me. I never hungered and thirsted for that word that keeps me, keeps me going. I never considered it as food for the soul.

As I eat three meals a day, how can I get by without consuming his word, feeding upon his word? He never before satisfied the deepest longings of my soul. He never before directed my paths. I could never really say I loved it. Although I might have uttered those words, but now in the light, I can look back and know those words were meaningless.

Sin. How did I see or view sin in the darkness? You know, you don't know when you're there. When your eyes are blind, when you are in that darkness, that sin is an infinite offense to a holy God, but you don't see it that way. In the darkness, you're not concerned with offending God, you're more concerned with getting caught.

More concerned with the consequences that may come your way in this life than to offend a good and holy God that has loved you and that you love as you are in the light. The attitude towards sin has all changed. You only see it when you're in the light. When you're in darkness, you find other excuses like, everyone's a sinner. Why this?

Everyone falls in that sin. Everyone does that every once in a while. Come on, too. Air is human. Would you speak right of those words in the light, once your heart has been enlightened to the truth of God's word?

Of course, the beauty of being in that light, the beauty of having the light of Christ exposed and light your blindness and pervade the darkness is this. And now that you've been made aware of your sin, now that you've been made aware of the wrath of God that is upon all unrighteousness, the justice of God that must be poured out upon the sinner, you're also enlightened to see the beauty of Christ and the atonement by His blood that cleanses even the most filthy of sins, and I am. And that light draws you to him to know that there is one who's faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What a contrast. In the physical, this man was able to see what darkness really is only when he made it into the light.

Oh, that's what I was missing out on. That's a tree. That's what blue looks like. Oh, that's what the temple looks like. In the darkness he'd heard, but he'd never seen.

One thing I know, though I was blind, now I see. He knows. Can I ask you a question? Can a believer saved by the blood of Christ not know that he is or she is saved? Think about that question.

Can a believer who's had an encounter with the Son of God, a impactful encounter with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have that encounter and then not know it? Is it possible that a believer be truly saved and yet not have any evidence in his life of that salvation? I think there are three pretty good questions to ask and I think the best way to answer them is with another question. Can a man born blind receive his sight and now not know it? Can a man born blind and decades in darkness now receive his sight and his eyes are opened up to all the colors and the beauty of this world and not know it?

And I will declare to you and submit to you, based on the testimony of Scripture, it is not possible that a Christian have an encounter with a living God and not know it, salvifically speaking. Because the change is exactly from darkness into light, from death to life. So why? Why is it that the change should be so obvious? Why is it that so often Christians struggle and lack assurance of their salvation when it should be obviously clear in our lives?

This man, when he was made to see, when his eyes were opened, he didn't keep it to himself, did he? We're told his name is in his parents, everyone around him. The commotion was so great that the Pharisees were called because this is, this is like, everyone knows about this guy. He's probably jumping up and down in exile. You would be too.

I mean, it's a wonderful thing to have him experience the glory of God with the restoration or with the opening of his eyes. But can a Christian, or why do Christians so often lack that assurance? What should be obviously clear in a Christian's life, why is it all sometimes one of the greatest struggles in Christian's life? That they don't have that assurance, that they can't point to the fact that, put it this way, that they cannot say, as this man said, one thing I know. One thing I know that though I was blind, now I see.

Because if you can't say those words meaningfully and from the depth of your heart, then there could be these questions in your mind at least as to whether you are or whether you are not in Christ. Why is it that it's supposed to be so clear? so undeniable, why is it that that becomes vague, disputable, and even sometimes doubted in the life of a Christian? Listen beloved, so often that's the concerning plague of Christians in their mind. So often, a Christian asks that question, why do I lack assurance?

Why do I lack certainty? How many times, how many times have we been asked, how do I know that I'm even a Christian? How do I know I'm saved? How do I know that the light has pervaded the darkness of my soul and taken me from the Darkness into the light. How do I know?

And with that, I don't know. Peace is gone. With that, I don't know. Joy is gone. And they live as defeated Christians in a restless state of the soul.

Not a nice place to be in. And it saddens me how too often the remedy that Christians find in themselves and they pursue a remedy that is to pursue certainty. They pursue the remedy of pursuing assurance. How do I know? Let's flick through the scripture and have a look at how I can gather assurance.

How I can make sure that I know that I'm in Christ. I just want to know. I want to see what passages say. Oh, here we go. Once saved, always saved.

Praise be to God. I prayed that prayer. Love it at best. Assurance won't come. At best it will appease your conscience.

Temporarily. You'll deceive yourself to temporarily thinking things are okay. But if you pursue assurance or if you pursue certainty, it's not going to come. It's not going to come. There is no substance in merely pursuing assurance of your salvation.

There's nothing you can sink your teeth into there. You'll have truths, but there's no substance. Sometimes we need to go back to basics as Christians. If you are in Christ, you would know. You may be able to remember the day you were saved.

Do you remember the flood of peace and joy and the assurance you had when Christ saved you? Did you doubt that you've been saved? Did you doubt that you're forgiven? Did you doubt that you'd receive salvation from the Almighty God and your sins have been atoned for by the blood of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world? When your eyes were opened and when you had an encounter with the light of the world, when Jesus revealed himself to your heart the day you were saved, just like he revealed himself to this blind man the day his eyes were made open, He was able to see for the very first time, the time he was able to see the structures and the buildings and the trees and the skies and all the physical things.

So too when your spiritual eyes were opened on that day, you began to see things spiritually speaking that you had never, ever seen before. Because not only simultaneously two things were happening at the same time, Not only did that light expose your wickedness, your evil, your sin, rebellion, your enmity with the good God, not only did it expose the need to be forgiven, not only did it expose the danger you were in apart from the blood of Jesus Christ, not only did it expose your absolute need for the atoning blood of Christ, But at the same time, you were made to see the beauty of Christ. At the same time, your eyes were opened to behold the majesty of the Son of God. And I'm not saying literally with these eyes, but the eyes of your heart were made to see and embrace Jesus Christ, the resurrected Savior who bled and died for sinners. You know that your spiritual eyes have been opened precisely because you see Christ.

It's him who illuminates everything. It's his light that exposes, it's his light that shows us our need for him, and it's his light that points us to him and says, When your eyes were made open and you embraced Christ, it's only then that His love had become real to you. His forgiveness became real. His mercy had become real. His grace became real.

His truth became real in your soul. You know that you're in darkness because now your eyes have been opened to see the light. And that light brightens up your world to see the spiritual truth. It's so clear and the contrast from where you were to where you are now in that light cannot be denied. Beloved, love of God, the mercy of God, the grace of God, the joy by the peace of God, the assurance and certainty of God, They're all found in Him.

They're all found in Christ. They're all found in Jesus. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places are found where? In Jesus. Not some, not all, but all of them.

The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 1.3 that every, bar none, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm is found in Jesus Christ. You don't pursue Well, you don't find the love of God by pursuing love. You find the love of God by pursuing Christ, in whom God's love has been made manifest. For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son.

His love was manifest through the giving of his son to die upon the cross for you. You want to know the love of God? Pursue Jesus. You don't know the peace of God by pursuing peace. You know the peace of God by pursuing Christ once again.

He's the one who shed his blood upon the cross to propitiate, to please God's wrath, so that you would have peace with the God that before that was enmity with you. Jesus in John chapter 16 tells his disciples, I've said these things so that in me you may have peace. In whom? In Jesus. You want to know the peace of God?

You pursue Christ. You want joy? You don't find joy by pursuing joy, the benefit. You pursue the source and the substance of joy. It was Christ.

Jesus said in John chapter 15, He said, I've spoken these things to you. So that my joy may be in you, my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. You're not going to find joy anywhere else. The fullness of the joy of God is found in Christ. The fullness of the peace of God upon humanity is found in Jesus Christ.

You want to pursue mercy? You're the one who is the picture of the mercy seat. so that God's wrath would be satisfied. Christ is the propitiation, he is the mercy seed. You want to pursue, you want grace, you want to know the grace of God?

You don't pursue the grace, you don't pursue grace, you pursue Christ, the one who said the law came through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Oh beloved, All the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Every last one found in Christ. Every last one is found in Jesus Christ.

You will find them nowhere else. You pursue them. For the sake of pursuing them. And that is a selfish endeavor. And you'll find nothing.

You might find satisfaction for your mind. But you'll find no substance, no lasting substance. Because the lasting substance only comes to the one who embodies it. The one in whom all those gifts, all those blessings are found in, and they are found in none other than Jesus Christ himself. And the same can be said, beloved, of assurance of your salvation.

The same can be said of certainty to know that you are found in Jesus Christ. Pursuing Jesus is the only remedy Because the light of God, the light of the world, Jesus Christ is the one who shines so brightly to reveal truth and in Him, all the blessings are found. But when you pursue Christ, you're gonna find one of two things. When you're pursuing Christ, you're gonna find one of two things. You're either gonna find assurance, and certainty for your soul.

You're either going to find rest because at His feet, in His light, where all things are laid bare and exposed, you're either going to see the state of your soul as being a state that has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Or you're either going to find that you are indeed The one in whom you hope, the one in whom you have placed your trust is the one who sheds blood for your sins. You're even going to find in that place a spirit of God just defined to your own spirit. As a father, you belong to me. That light is going to expose the contents of your heart, the state of your heart, and you may find that you are in Christ.

Praise be to God. And in that you rest, in that you find peace, in that you find hope because Christ has revealed to you. Yes, you Christ. Or, you may find that you remain in darkness. That that light may expose and find that you may still be in darkness.

But it's there. It is there in that light. is right before you. Though you are in darkness, believe upon Him for the salvation of your soul. Salvation comes in no other.

There is only one Savior, there's only one way to the Father, and that's through Jesus Christ. So it matters not. It matters not. Jesus is always the answer. If you ever have a spiritual problem and you seek guidance through anyone, whether it's one of your elders or another brother or sister, and they don't primarily point you to Jesus, run away.

Run away. Because there is a place to be practical, pragmatist. There is a place to be practical in the outworkings of things, but not before the principle is laid. Not before the heart issue is dealt with. And the heart issue is always, point them to Jesus.

Because He's the one who can either confirm your salvation, He's the one who can give you assurance, He's the one who can give you certainty for you to declare, I know one thing, that though I was once blind, but now I can see. Only Christ can give you that assurance. or he's the one who exposes the darkness and says you're in a lot of trouble you're in a lot of trouble you're still in the world you're still grasping this world come come to me he's the one who declares come to me come eat of me come eat of me he who comes to me will never hunger he who comes he who eats of me he who comes to me never hunger he who believes upon me will never thirst he's the one who declares those statements those invitations So you might find that that's the case. Someone may find themselves not in Christ, but they can come to Christ. And let me tell you something as well.

Sometimes we think of those invitations that Christ has declared. Sometimes we think of those invitations like that one I just mentioned in John chapter six, verse 35. But Jesus stands before the crowd and he says, I am the bread of life. he who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes will not thirst. Sometimes we think that those invitations are issued to only non-believers.

Sometimes we think that those invitations are issued to unregenerate people who for the very first time want to come to Christ. That's true, partially, because it is an invitation to unbelievers, but it's also an invitation to you, brothers and sisters. It's an invitation to me. It is so clear in the original. You might not see it in our English Bibles, but if I was going to literally read to you what that text says, listen to what it says.

I am the bread of life. Let me tell you what it says. What Christ, what we read, what we've become accustomed to. I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.

Literally, I am the bread of life. The coming ones to me shall not hunger. The believing ones in me shall never thirst. Do you see the difference? the coming ones to me, the believing ones in me.

Continuous sense. Because of our English grammar, it wouldn't make proper sense, it's proper sentence if we use that sort of, those sort of words. But that's the truth, that's what's being conveyed here. That the ones who continue to come to Christ, the ones who continue to believe in Christ, the ones who continue to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood, they're the ones who remain in the light. They're the ones who will never hunger, and they're the ones who will never thirst.

Yes, it is proclaimed as an invitation to those who are yet unregenerate, but it's proclaimed to you and to me, brothers and sisters. Because apart from Christ, we die. We're anemic. There is no food apart from Jesus Christ. There is no light apart from Jesus Christ.

He's the one who is the limitless well and supply of the waters of life. He's the bread of life that satisfies the deepest longings of the soul. In him is rest alone. If you lack assurance, beloved brothers and sisters, it may be because you have stopped feeding upon Christ. That you're no longer at his feet.

Because it is possible to be a child of the light and yet walk in darkness. We're told to abide That doesn't mean we can't turn our backs and walk back in the darkness. And when you are in the darkness, you don't see the state of your soul. And that's a terrifying place to be. And then you're left asking, am I a child of the light?

Because at the moment, I can't see. We've been caught up and tangled in the affairs of this world that allure at the passions of the flesh that remain within. It may be that we fear that we've departed, that we've moved away from the source of light where everything is made clear. It may be that we're no longer at the feet of Christ. And when you have departed from the light, You'll be left asking those questions.

Because in the darkness you'll squint to try to make out things, but in the light everything is revealed. It is so, it is so clear. So what's the counsel of the word to those who have veered into the darkness? Come back. Come back.

Come back. Come back to the bread of life. Come back to the waters of life. Come back to the one who says, come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden. That's Christian and non-Christian.

And I will give you rest. Whether you're in Christ or not, I'm gonna point you to Jesus, because Jesus is the answer for everything. Everything. Come to His light. Come to the light of Christ.

Come back. Your soul is in anguish. Come to Christ. Pursue Jesus. If you don't experience the peace of God, come to Jesus.

Pursue Christ. unsure of the salvation. If you're unsure that you've received of his mercy, you've received of his grace by faith. If you're unsure, then pursue Christ. Come back to the feet of the cross of Jesus Christ and stay there.

Stay there. The problem is we come back and then we find our way to walk away. Remain in the light. What alternative is there? I began the sermon by saying, verse 12, I am the light of the world.

He who follows after me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Let me ask you a question. What alternative do you and I have, brothers and sisters? If Jesus is the light of the world, then you can pick a million other things to do or go, and every single one of those is darkness. There's no light.

and that darkness will ultimately lead to your despair. Coming back to the light will give you clarity, will give you understanding, will illuminate the state of your soul where you are at and it will either bring rest to your soul or bring you on your knees to say forgive me. I mean that day that I was talking about earlier, the day where you first knew that you had an encounter with the light of the world, the day where you're able to utter in sincerity and knowing experientially one thing, a resolute knowledge and a conviction in the very pit of your soul that I may not know much. There is so much for me to learn. I'm still a baby in Christ, but I'm certain about this.

I know. I know. I know that I see. Because I know I was in the darkness. But this is the light.

I see Christ. And it's there before the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said earlier, where the contents of our hearts are made known for what they are. And beloved, it's with the Lord that there is no doubt. Because his brilliant light makes everything clear.

It's at his feet that you'll be closer than ever to search. Certainty in the light at the feet of Christ that he is indeed the Son of God. Certainty at the feet of Christ that indeed he is the one who came down upon the earth and shared in your humanity and mine as a representative because there is no other way by which man must be saved. Certainty to know the description is true That the words of this book is the word of God and the claims of our Savior found within are true and can be relied upon. And that means He sinned, He never sinned.

He lived a perfect life under the righteous law of God. Certainly to know that He willingly laid down His life and allowed wicked, evil men to place Him upon the cross. upon the emblem of suffering and pain and the curse bared by God, the Father, upon sin and unrighteousness that is deserving upon sinners like you. It's at that place that you have the certainty that when He bled on that cross, He was thinking of you by name, that your name is written in the book of life, and He has come down to shed His blood for you personally. It's upon his feet in that light that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he rose from the dead and right now he's ascended at the right hand of the Father sitting there interceding for you and I who are found in Christ.

It's at the feet of Christ in his light that his promises are made manifest to your heart and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's coming back to take you home. And when he does, you know, with the judgment and the punishment of God that is deserving upon sinners, the judgment of God that is deserving upon you and me. The brunt of the righteous fury of God of the heavens and the earth will not be borne on you because he bore it all in full upon the cross. It's only at the feet of Christ, in the light of Christ, that these truths are made known to your soul. Beloved, let me tell you this.

It is only there that you can say, I rest in Him.