The Light in Action - Part 2..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Well, Church, we will once again, we're continuing in the Gospel according to John chapter 9, and this whole chapter is a chapter that speaks to the miracle that Jesus performs upon a man who's been born blind. You remember last week, the disciples asked that question.

And this evening, all I really want to do is concentrate our efforts on those three verses we addressed, part one last week, what the disciples thought. And by God's grace, we'll address what Jesus responds to the disciples' thinking. Last week, I got us to read the whole chapter, and there was a reason behind that. It's so that we can have the whole narrative in our minds and in our hearts. It would be fresh, just in case we haven't read the Gospel according to John in a while.

So that we would know that by the time we get to the end of the story, by the time we get to the end of the chapter, there's something miraculous that takes place. all the way through something miraculous is taking place. And we know that two things happen. Essentially, that this man who has been born blind, this man who had never seen the light of day with his eyes up until this point, he encounters the one who only recently has called himself the light of the world. and he encounters this Jesus, this light of the world in action.

And before we get to the end of the chapter, this man's eyes have been given the miraculous ability to see for the very first time, not a restoration of sight. No, this is creating sight where there was no sight. But there's something else going on in this chapter also, something very, very glorious. And that is also by the time we get to the end of the chapter, we will see that beyond this man giving the ability to see physically with his eyes, that the only true God shines into his heart. He shines a light into that heart of darkness.

And he reveals the glory of God in the face of this one who is before him. in the face of Jesus Christ, he'll be given spiritual sight before the end of the chapter, and that is glorious. That's the climax of this narrative, that this man will be given spiritual sight, and this is why that the Apostle John has included this sixth miracle in the gospel that bears his name for that reason. And as I said, on many occasions, the supernatural, the miracles, the physical miracles that are performed at the hands of our Lord have way more than just the wow factor, way more than what the people are seeing. They point to something more majestic, more spiritual, more eternal in the person in the work of Jesus Christ.

They are bigger than just what the people can see. And this chapter now here, in particular, the first three verses and the response of our Lord will show us that beyond this man receiving his sight both physically and spiritually, beyond that, that there's something on display. There is the power of God on display. That is the glory of God, the handiwork of God, that God's hand is in this. But those may deny Christ there in the first century and think that he's just a very good man or a very good teacher.

They may have their reservations of him. But here, there is no doubt that when God works in and through this, through Jesus, then we see the power of God on display. on display, the very glory of God on display. And beyond this, again, we will see also that this man, this man who was born blind, was born blind precisely for the glory of God. The purpose, the reason he was born, the very reason for his existence is the glory of God.

Beloved, this is big theology. That all things, all things in this universe have their ultimate purpose and goal in the glory of the triune God. Praise be to his name. So Jesus here is speaking to his disciples and he's teaching them. He's teaching them to have a proper perspective upon things.

Because up until this point, they just don't quite see it. But a proper perspective is to have the glory of God in all things. That is the proper perspective, to have. Everything else becomes so small. Everything becomes so small.

If in the heart you recognize that all things work out for the glory of this great God, then everything else around us become small in light of his glory. That's the proper perspective. Jesus has the proper perspective. It is the God perspective to see things from the point of view that God has revealed to us to see them. You see, the perspective that the disciples had were a man-made perspective.

They could only see it from their own point of view. And that's why they're asking Jesus that very question, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he might be born or that he was born blind? You see, it's clear in their question that the only two possibilities for what was going on in the life of this blind man was simply sin. Their view was earthly, that this man must have sinned. This man must have engaged in particular sin because we know that sin gets what it deserves, that God only bestows upon mankind what he or she deserves.

So this man must have sinned. Sin is the reason why this man is born. is born blind. Was it his sin? Was it his parents' sin?

That's the question they had. I mean, they've already settled on the fact that it's sin. That's the only two possibilities, right? There's no other possibility they give the Lord. Which one is it?

We've settled that sin is the reason why he's born blind. Is it his sin or is it his parents' sin? That's the only question that they need to determine because they're thinking, if this man was born blind, if he came out of the womb blind, then when did he get a chance to sin? Therefore, option B may be, is there a possibility of these parents here? But we do know it has to be that he was born blind, and we have to be able to trace that to particulate individual sin, whether his or his parents is yet to be determined.

So God is reactive. as though God looks upon man and sees sin, and then he needs to react to that sin. And this is the problem. When we see things from the point of view of man, we think that things are going on. It's almost like God is out there, like a deistic sort of God.

When things go wrong, when people do bad things, God needs to react upon these people. Jesus is saying to his disciples, God is bigger than that. God is bigger than that. He's not a reactionary God. He's a proactive God.

He's a God that decrees. He's a God who ordains. He's a God who is sovereign over all things. Now, beloved, last week I spent a bit of time explaining what the disciples may or may have had in their mind insofar as their understanding of scripture and in relation to what sin deserves. And if you remember, we're not going to go through that.

I mean, if you want to hear that, you can hear last week's sermon. But basically, I said back then that yes, ultimately, Everything that is broken in the world that we see today is the result of sin. Because when God created all things on the sixth day, he looked upon his creation and everything was what? Very good. No sin, no rebellion, no corruption, no defilement, no sickness, no unwholeness, no death.

It was good. It was very good. Sin came into the world, and then with sin we see the effects of sin, the brokenness of this world. So ultimately, yes, ultimately, yes, this man was born blind, ultimately, because sin is in the world. But Jesus is telling these disciples that that's not always the case.

Now sometimes it is, now sometimes it is, and we went through and we showed that sometimes individual sin warrants God's judgment. We see examples of that in the Bible. Ananias and Sapphira is one I gave you last week. Sometimes particular sins do warrant judgment from God, and God does bestow his judgment upon people in this age. That is true, but beloved.

Whether or not God pours out his judgment upon an individual because they sinned in a particular sin, whether he does that or not is his prerogative. We know at the end that his justice will be 100% fair. We know that when all things are said and done in the consummation of all things, when everything comes to an end, as we know in this age, that everything, everything that man has done will be brought before the just seat of the judge of all the earth. Either you are in Christ and he's paid for that penalty, or you pay for it on your own. But here, Jesus is not saying, he's not getting into the nitty gritty of sin and what sin warrants.

Here, Jesus is teaching his disciples something bigger, something greater, and he's telling them it's not always the direct sin, the individual sin that you can trace back to the particular judgment. So this man born disabled is not necessarily the sin of his parents or his own sin. In fact, it's not, because Jesus says it's neither he who sinned, or his parents, you see, and we have to be careful we don't take that as though they're sinless. But they're not. He's saying that their sin didn't warrant that type of judgment.

So disability, injury, sickness, it's not always traceable to a particular individual sin. Beloved, we have to be careful that we hold that truth. Because otherwise we'll be going around judging people, right? That person over there, he's crippled in a wheelchair. It must be because he'd done some really bad things.

That person over there has been struck with blindness. This person over there died early. This person was born dumb or deaf or blind. And then we start to think, and we can judge upon them. And before you know it, we start to compare our lives with theirs and think, well, yeah, I think I can understand why they're that way and I'm this way.

And the reverse is true. The reverse is true. That is to say that when we see someone healthy and wealthy and prosperous, it doesn't mean that God's favor is upon them. There is no one-to-one correlation. Remember, the justice of God will be made right in the finality of all things, in the consummation.

Right now, you leave that to the hands of the Almighty God. He knows what He's doing. He knows whether He pours out His judgment now in this age, or that He holds off until the age to come. You leave that in His hand. So here, I want us to see a couple of things in Jesus' response.

We address what the disciples were asking last week. I really want to pursue Jesus's response, really, just in verse three this week. And I think we can see a couple of things, a couple of lessons the disciples would have been taught this day, and I hope that we will be taught also. Because even in a sin-saturated world, beloved, a world corrupted and defiled and fully polluted by sin and its effects, God is still in complete control. He's in complete control.

He is sovereign over a world that is falling into sin. I want us to see that point. And his complete control is without exception. Everything he providentially allows is being fashioned by him. for his glory.

That's point number two. The God is completely sovereign, he's in complete control, and point number two I think we can see in Jesus' response is that in everything that God does or allows in this universe, ultimately he receives glory. That's a hard concept to swallow. That even in the bad things, even in the sinfulness of this world, even in the debased things and the wickedness and the evil that we see in this world, that God has allowed, beloved, that even in those things, ultimately, when it's all said and done, God will receive the glory because he is sovereign, even over them. That's what it is to have a God perspective.

I believe Jesus is teaching his disciples that that's the perspective they should have. I believe that's the perspective that we also should have. And the example for us here is found in John chapter 9 with this blind man. Because the disciples only throw two possibilities at our Lord, but he says no. No, it's neither of those things that you think.

Listen to what he has to say, verse two. Rabbi, the disciples say, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God may be displayed in him. A man born blind, We don't know how old this man was. We have no indication in scripture how old he is.

It could be 20, 30, 40. Couldn't be too old because it seems like both his parents are still alive. But needless to say, although we don't know how old this man was, he's lived all his years in darkness. Born from the womb of his mother in pitch darkness. physically speaking, he couldn't see a thing.

And what Jesus is saying is that this man had endured blindness for decades with the purpose in mind. And that purpose was that on this day, He will encounter Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, so that the power of God may be displayed in him, so that the glory of God would be manifest through this man and through his encounter with Jesus Christ. Beloved, I want us to think about those words for a moment. This man was born blind. for that reason.

That's the reason he was born blind. That's what our Lord is saying. He was born blind in order for on this day in Jerusalem that he would have an encounter with Jesus Christ and the work of God would be made known and revealed in him through that encounter. So whether he's been blind for 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, it matters not. This man was born for this day, that Christ would encounter this man, and he would see the glory of God and the hand of the almighty God on him, and that others would see the glory of God manifest in this man.

You see, this is not happenstance. This is not coincidence. This is not what the world would say. This is luck that the man so happened to be there on the side of the path when Jesus was so walking by. None of that.

Jesus is saying none of that is the case. It's not as though he was walking by and his heart just fell compassionate to him because since I am here anyway, I'll heal this man. That's not what happened. Jesus, Jesus knew that he was going to be confronted with this man or he was going to confront this man. Jesus knew that he was looking for this man because there was a divine appointment in the divine calendar of God from eternity past that Jesus would then make an encounter with this man so the glory of God would be revealed through him.

But the words of our Lord will not allow us to say this is a coincidence. did not allow us to say that this was just a regular encounter like thousands that Jesus have had, or that we think thousands of Jesus, but every single one of those were also encounters that were in the heart of God and were planned by God and are in the calendar of God from eternity past. Listen to what he says. Rabbi, they say, who sinned, this man or his parents? He says that he was born blind.

Firstly, Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God may be displayed in him. We can't read those any other way, can we? Are you saying Jesus or this man was born blind and had become the pity of most around him and struggled? Imagine the struggles. Imagine the struggles in a man's life, being born blind and going through the first century and the first century, living his life always in the need of others.

Imagine what that does to your self-esteem, as you might say. Always in need of others to take you from one place to another. Imagine the perils and the dangers that he experienced. Imagine the difficulties that this man had experienced in that time, all that time. And Jesus is saying that this man was born this way and had suffered and endured like this so that this day would come and that he would have an encounter with God.

And in that encounter, God's work, God's glory would be put on show. It's for this very reason this man was born blind. I don't know about you, but my mind absolutely spins when I think about the implication of these words. Imagine all the circumstances, all the details, all the things that must have been put in place over the years of this man's life in order for Jesus to confront him on this day. I don't know about you, but when I plan three or four things in one day, let's say three or four meetings, I'm always a bit worried because I just don't know how long these meetings will go, whether I'll miss the next, whether I've over underestimated the amount of traffic from one place to another.

And I can confidently say that not one of my days Not a single day in my life has gone according to plan. Some have come pretty close, but none have come according to plan. I can't even figure out my schedule for one day and to get everything crisp, I'm not gonna say it that way, crispy clean, is that the word, is that what you use? No, maybe not, I shouldn't have said it. I can't get it all falling in place, even a day.

But here we have God saying through his son, This man was born blind so that the work of God would be made manifest in him on this day. How many days has he lived? How many years, how many countless decisions did his parents make, did he make? How many different avenues had he taken? How many possibilities was there that he may have left Jerusalem and went somewhere else?

Or the perils that have come his way, that he'd fallen in a ditch and hurt himself, or that he'd been bitten by a snake or a scorpion, or whatever, because he couldn't see the danger. How many perils had God had to prevent him from? in order to preserve his life and to keep him there, in order that Christ would be encountering this man and that this man would have that encounter with Jesus Christ. That's just incredible to my mind. He was there and there's no suggestion that he was calling out to Jesus.

There's no suggestion that he was even knowing that Jesus was going to walk by. So it wasn't as though he was there waiting the days, and when Christ came by, he says, hey, Jesus, have mercy on me like blind butter maize. No. There wasn't any indication of this in our text. Simply, he was doing his thing.

As far as he was concerned, this was just another day that then Jesus sees him first. Jesus locks eyes on him. And I said it last week, it doesn't matter how many people were pushing against our Lord. It doesn't matter how many people were in the crowds. Jesus seemed to attract the crowds wherever he went.

There was no way in this world that Jesus was going to walk by that man, no matter how obstructed his vision was, without locking eyes on him and declaring that he will bring him sight both in the physical sense and the spiritual sense, and it was God's sovereignty over all events of this universe and the events of this man's life in order to bring this day about. It blows my mind what would have had to have taken place for this day to have been brought about in the same way that it did, but God, God had done it. Why? Because this date was set in eternity. This date was set in eternity.

Jesus has come to accomplish the Father's will, and this was the will of the Father, that he bring sight to this blind man, and that he bring spiritual sight to a heart that is born dead in their trespasses and sins. This is not love. This is the sovereign hand of God and nothing less. Beloved, I want to ask you, do you believe in the sovereignty of God? You know, we always say these are words that we speak, it's the language that we use, but do we really believe in the sovereignty of God in every detail of our lives?

Do you believe that you are where you are even now, in the seat you're in even now, with the Bibles in your hands even now, wearing the clothes even now, that every circumstance of your life that you've experienced was under the absolute sovereignty of God? That not a thing, not a single thing is out of place. That when God looks back, when we look back one day, that everything, every minute detail is exactly as God has ordained. Now, I'm not pinning our sin against him. That's your sin, not his.

But he knew it will occur, and it happens under his decree. Do you believe? believe in the sovereignty of God, we're setting ourselves up for so much heart pain, so much heartache, if we don't believe in the complete and total sovereignty of God. The Bible gives us this reassurance. It tells us that God is sovereign over everything.

Absolutely everything. Wherever you are in life, whatever you're confronted right now, We have a tendency to complain and to moan and say, why me? Or why is this happening? Or this is not fair. Do we, right now, believe that whether things are going well in our life or not so good, do we believe this is exactly where the Lord would have me?

What is my response? What is my response if I do believe in the complete and total sovereignty of God? Do I look to him through his son and say, Lord, this is hurting, this situation is tough, but I'm gonna believe anyway. I'm gonna trust you anyway, because you can't see even three minutes ahead. You can't see what happens tomorrow or next week or the week after, but here you are.

Who brought you here? He brought you here. And beloved, the sovereignty of God we know of because we read in scripture, scripture tells us about the sovereignty of God. The word of God speaks to the God of the universe being the triune God that we have come to know through Jesus Christ, the son of God through whom there is salvation and in no one else. And the scripture speaks to us about this God being the only God and he's sovereign over all the events of the universe.

the same faith that we have in Scripture to believe in the sovereignty of God, we ought to also have in the promises of God. How could God keep his promises if he's not sovereign? But we've now known because of the Scripture, this man had a divine encounter with God on this day to meet face to face with Jesus. He did not know. Jesus says, this is it.

This was the purpose, God knew. God has given us promises, promises that are yet to come. Have we embraced those by faith? And if we have, based on what? How do we know God's gonna fulfill these promises?

How do we know He's good for His promises if He's not completely sovereign? How do we know? Because nothing can thwart His will. Nothing can stay His hand. He's the sovereign over the universe and nothing comes your way, beloved brother and sister, unless He fashions it to come your way.

Nothing. Nothing. So when we come across promises in God's word, when we come across promises like that, that Jesus declared back, when Jesus declared him back in John chapter five, where he says, for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. That is a massive promise.

And if God is not sovereign, this is an impossibility. Because Jesus is saying that everyone who comes to me, a father has given me, I will save and I will keep and I will preserve. And on that last day, I will raise them up to the glory of the father. How do we know that Jesus is going to keep his word? How do we know that things won't happen when Jesus is caught by surprise?

God is sovereign. Trust in sovereignty. We trust that he is in complete control. And everything that happens around us, although in this age we may look out there in our times and see that things are chaos and out of hand, look, brothers and sisters, our trust in God's word will bring assurance to our hearts, even though that is happening and the evil is incredible, but we are to know, we are to be secure in our faith that God is sovereign even over those events and what he has promised will be brought to pass. Jesus came, he says, to do the will of the Father.

If Jesus has come to do the will of the Father, do we believe he's accomplished? Do we believe Christ has accomplished that will? Well, we should, because he said he has, remember. You can tell me, when did Jesus say he accomplished the will of the Father fully and finally? Upon that cross where he declared what?

It is finished. It is finished. Ultimately, it is finished. We haven't yet seen it with our eyes. We haven't yet experienced it with our being, but it is finished.

The time will come where those who are found in Jesus, who by faith have embraced Him, by faith have been united in the Lord, in the Lord Jesus Christ, the time will come where we will see and enjoy eternity with Him, because He declared it is finished. Despite all the variables to come, the obstacles before us, we must believe that it is finished. Jesus says, it's not his sin, nor his parents, but that the works of God may be displayed in him. The works of God might be displayed in him. that God's hand would be displayed in him, that the handiwork of God may be displayed in him, that those who see and this man himself would recognize no one can do this apart from God, and he receives all the glory.

that the hand of God is so obvious upon the miracle that Jesus is to perform, the very miracle that this man was born for, that everyone around me, everyone who sees, including this man himself, the heart will testify that this is the hand of God and no one else. As we read on or read on in this chapter, we'll see that this blind man does recognize it is the hand of God upon him. Because he's questioning, he's grilled by the Pharisees. Grilled by the Pharisees. Who is this Jesus?

They call him Jesus, that's as far as I know. He's a sinner. He says, I don't know if he's a sinner or not, but who can? There's never known someone from the creation of the world that has been able to bring a man who was born blind and make him see. He goes on to say he must be from God.

Nothing else explains that power. Nothing else can explain the creative power that brings sight to a man born blind and that glory Beloved, that glory of God that Jesus speaks of, that this man was created for, that glory is most clearly seen in all the work of God, but it's most clearly seen in the person and in the work of Jesus Christ. And it was Jesus' purpose to accomplish the will of the Father, so that the Father is glorified. That was Jesus' motivation. That was Jesus's food to accomplish the will of the Father for the glory of the Father.

Jesus's total satisfaction was rooted in his love for the Father and his zeal to do the Father's will so the Father would be glorified. The Bible's clear to that. That's the greatest good, isn't it not? The greatest good is the glory of God, and Jesus knew it. You remember his words back in John, chapter five, verse 19?

Truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing, for whatever the father does, the son does likewise, for the father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing. It is and greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. He's speaking to the Jews. The Father has given me a work and you'll see greater work than this so that you may marvel, marvel, that you may marvel. Marvel at what?

Marvel at the power of God. Marvel at the glory of God. Marvel at the handiwork of God in his son, Jesus Christ. Marvel, marvel at Christ and what he has come to accomplish. marvel at this man who has been born blind is going to receive his sight.

All for the glory of God. Jesus is concerned with the glory of God. Jesus' concern is to do the will of God for the glory of God. And beloved Christ is our example in this. A heart that truly is aligned with the heart of God It's the heart that loves Him.

It's the heart that seeks His glory. It's the heart that sees this as the greatest good. His glory is not manifest or made known in us in the same way that it's made known in the unique Son of God. Let's get that straight. Jesus was given a unique work.

He was given a work to accomplish the will of the Father in a special way in that he died on the cross as a sinless lamb of God to take away the sins of sinners like us. That's not our work, but the motivation ought to be the same. The very motivation of Jesus' heart to do the will of the Father for the glory of the Father ought to be the same motivation in our heart, and that is love for God and a zeal to be spent in service of God for the glory of God. And that's the example for us. That's the example of how we ought to use our gifts, our lives, our resources, as Christ's example for us.

to be spent for the glory of God. The apostle Peter wrote, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. As good stewards of God's varied grace, whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. It is in order that in everything, this is for you, Christian, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory, dominion forever and ever.

Amen. But here in this text, that glory that is put on display is put on display in two ways. It's put on display with the physical healing, as we said earlier, of this man who was born blind and made to see. But it's also put on glory. His glory is put on display.

His handiwork is put on display through the spiritual healing. But this man who is spiritually blind, born spiritually blind like all of us are, where he is made to see. A man who is dead in his trespasses and sins is made alive in Christ supernaturally by the one who declares himself to be the light of the world. This, beloved, is the most brilliant display of the splendor of the glory of God known to man. When a wicked sinner, when someone who's a rebel against God, one who doesn't seek after God but seeks after self and unrighteousness, when the love and the mercy and the grace of God invades the life to bring life where there is only death, to pluck out of darkness and bring into the light, that is the most glorious display of the glory of God.

when a man or a woman is confronted with a God who says, let light shine out of darkness, and the same God shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, where? In the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4, 6. But that is a little bit later in the narrative. Right now I believe it's the physical healing that is more that is more the topic that is before us for the first couple of paragraphs in this chapter.

It's a profound miracle, as I said earlier. And God is exalted in the healing and is glorified through it. But let's face it, not everyone is made well. Not everyone who's sick is made well. Not everyone who's born blind has his eyes restored.

Not everyone who's born mute or disabled or brain damaged is made well by God. Many live and die without experiencing any physical healing. And since God is sovereign, we've already established that point already, then his hand is upon every sickness. No one's born disabled, no one's injured, no one experiences calamity of any sort apart from the sovereign hand of God. I know this is a difficult truth to acknowledge, but it's true.

It all comes under His sovereignty, we don't excuse it, neither does He. So is God glorified even when there's not so happy endings? You see, God takes full responsibility for everything that happens in his creation. Listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 139. He says, for you formed my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb. So you're saying that if someone is born blind, incomplete, unhold, someone born deaf or disabled or even brain damage or something. Are we saying that God hasn't knit that person in his mother's womb or her mother's womb? Some say God is the one who knit me in my mother's womb. And again, if you remember when Moses was called by God and says, you are to lead my people out of Egypt, and Moses was making excuses, saying, I slobber speech, I stutter, whatever it is the excuse that he made.

You remember what God said to Moses? He says, Moses says, Lord, I am slow of speech. Then the Lord said to him, who made man's mouth? Who makes you mute, or him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Beloved, it is an absolute cop-out when Christians say, oh well, that's happening because we live in a fallen world, as though we want to relieve God of His responsibility. You don't pin the sin or the evil or the wickedness to God, but this is his creation. This is his universe. He's fully responsible for everything that goes on, and he doesn't give excuses. This is my creation, and it will all work out ultimately for my glory and the good of my people.

Do we believe it? Because he's sovereign over it. If it happened, he has the power to make it not happen. But the fact that it happened means that he is allowed for it to happen under his absolute sovereignty. Who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind?

Is it not I, the Lord? What a difficult truth to swallow, right? It's hard for us to think this way. It's easy for us to think about all the good things and say, God's in control of those. But when you hear about injuries, some horrific injuries, some results of horrible, wicked things, people who are innocent in the sense that they did nothing wrong to deserve the atrocities that are coming their way.

We hear of some even now in some countries of the world. You know what I'm talking about, brethren. It's difficult for us to say that God is even sovereign over those things. And to be honest, it is a mystery for us to understand it fully. But God intends, God's will, God's decree is that they would happen.

That this man would be born blind. That someone else is born deaf. That a child dies a few hours after being born. That all these difficulties and these suffering that we see in the world, He's sovereign over those. And He wills for them to happen.

And as Christians who know the Word, we know that it doesn't happen without reason. It is intended always for His ultimate glory. It's hard to swallow sometimes, isn't it? But there's something else in this. Not only does God promise that these things happen for his ultimate glory, but he also promises that they're always for your good, Christian.

That he's working all things, ultimately not only for his glory, which is enough. But when he works towards his glory, always he shares with glory with no other. We are the recipients of the greatest good because he always works towards the good of his people. We come to know Romans 8, 28 so well. We utter it, we repeat it, we encourage one another with it, and that's good.

But we've come to know it so well and we've memorized it for the most part and we know that for those who love God all things work out together for the good, for those who are called according to His purpose. But what do those words actually mean? And do we really, really believe them in the bad times as well as the good? The psalmist knew it. In the simplest terms, the psalmist says in Psalm 119, that wonderful psalm about the word of God, in verse 68, he says, simply is this, you are good, speaking about God, and you do good.

Like the simplest words to describe the very being of God, one who is good, and one who does only that which is good. And that's where the rubber meets the road for many of us. Because in difficult situations of life, we need to see whether we believe not only in our minds, but whether we believe in our hearts this truth. Do we believe that God is both sovereign and all he does is for his glory, and that which he does for his glory is for my good also? Do I believe this truth?

has it sunk into my heart? Do I really believe it? Do I trust in his timing? Because Romans 8.28 goes on to say, for those who perform you, you're also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.

So the ultimate good he's saying here, the ultimate good of those who love him and have been called according to his purposes is to be conformed into the image of his son. So there is an aligning of my heart with his will. It's simply I envisage a good in my mind. I could be sitting on an island somewhere and sitting, I don't know, with a cocktail in my hand, with a fishing rod in my hand. That's not, no, that's not your, it's not what you've envisaged as good.

It's what he knows to be good. And not only what he knows to be good, but also what is the very desire of the heart of the Christian. The heart of the Christian ought to be to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Is my heart, is my heart looking to Jesus and saying, I long to be like you? Because that's what God is working in and through us, that's the ultimate good.

So do we believe it? We may see some fruit in our lives now and then, we may, and praise be to God, but do we believe it all the way to the end? Do we believe that God will, that Christ will present us with our spot and blemish, with our wrinkle one day? But do we believe also there may be suffering until that day comes? Beloved, unless we believe in both those twin truths, the absolute sovereignty of God over all things, and that God does all things ultimately for his own good, which always, always work out for the good of those he loves.

Unless we believe in both those things, those truths, we're going to struggle. We're going to be confronted with dark, dark days, and they will lead us to despair. Because then you'll be looking to your own self and asking questions, why did this happen to me? And they're very difficult questions to ask in those times. And you will not come out of that darkness unless your eyes are upon the person and the work of Jesus and the truths that he has given us in his word.

unless you've come to embrace and to acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of a good God, a God who seeks his glory above all because that is the greatest good, and a God who has promised me in his Son only that which is for my ultimate good. You remember in a couple of chapters time in the Gospel according to John, We have a story in chapter 11. We know it as the raising of Lazarus. We all know the story. I think it's familiar to our ears.

The story starts by Jesus' messengers coming to Christ. They've been sent by Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, and the message that comes to our Lord is simply this. Lord, the one you love is ill. Lord, the one you love is ill. It's beautiful because it shows that these girls, they knew that Jesus loved their brother and he loved them.

They knew that Christ is love. They didn't doubt that Christ loved them. And it's beautiful because they didn't doubt that Jesus is able to bring their brother from whatever sickness he has and restore his health. So they had faith. They had faith.

That's why they sent Jesus. They had faith. Even later on in the story, we know that Martha says, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have not died. In other words, I believe no matter how bad he gets, you can restore him, restore his health. So they called for Christ.

Why wasn't Jesus there? Why wasn't Jesus there when Lazarus was sick? Why did Jesus wait for him to die? We're told he's one that Jesus loved. Lazarus is someone that Jesus loved, and we know that he loved Mary and Martha, and you's like that.

Why didn't Jesus drop everything? Why didn't he drop everything and race to Bethany, to the ones he loves? Those girls were praying and saying, Lord, heal our brother. The anguish going through their soul to see their brother and the prospect of him losing their brother. They sent word to Jesus, knowing he's a loving Messiah.

Surely he'll come. Here their brother's getting worse and worse and sicker and sicker. And Jesus doesn't turn up. But we prayed and we prayed in faith, but Jesus didn't turn up. Why Jesus didn't you turn up?

And to make matters worse, when Jesus heard that the message had come to him, do you know what he says? He says this, he says, so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two more days longer in the place that he was. Two more days. Two more days. Why?

First of all, it is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. So here we have a story. Remember I said earlier, believing in the sovereignty of God and all things work out for the glory of God ultimately, because that is his purpose. And when things work out for the glory of God, then they work out for the good of those who love the Lord, right? We have to have those truths in mind.

But what we can see thus far is Jesus is saying, I'm gonna hold back because by holding back, God is gonna be glorified. But these poor girls are going through hell and high water. They're going through difficulty. They're going through anguish. Their hearts are being torn.

They're weeping every day, every moment, because they see their brother probably in worse and worse, and there is no remedy. So we know you're gonna work for the glory of God, but what about our good Jesus? What about us? What about when we pray and say, Lord, help me now. Please help me now.

I need your help, and no response comes back. Lord, I need you right now. I'm at the end of my tether. I can't take this anymore. Lord, please help me, and you don't.

He took you back. He stayed casually another two days while those girls were going through some difficult times. Are these actions of love? Do these actions look like actions that correspond to Jesus' heart, actually not only looking and seeking after the glory of the Father which we make His mate known, but also for the good of those that he loves, his people, and we know that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were among those people. So he waits until Lazarus is dead and he comes to Bethany and he meets with Mary and Martha at this time they're broken.

You see, there is a difference. There is a difference between these girls knowing and believing that Jesus can raise him or that Jesus can actually heal their brother when he's sick. But you need another level of faith to believe that Jesus could actually raise them from the dead. Beloved, only God knows what you need. You don't know what you need.

I don't know what I need. We may think we know. You know that verse that we know so well in Jeremiah, that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can understand it? You may think you understand your heart. I may think I understand my heart, but we have no idea.

He knows it all, and he knows what you needed. He knows what he needs to do for your own good. And for these girls, it was to go into anguish for two more days. and to experience the death of their own brother and don't tell me that Jesus didn't feel that also because there's only two times in scripture that we're told he went maybe a third in Gethsemane and one of them was this day when he goes and meets and sees the anguish of death that Jesus feels with his people but he knows also that the timing of God is perfect. He's sovereign over everything because it requires sometimes that he allows us to go through suffering longer than we think we can handle so that he can accomplish all the good purposes of God into our lives because this is what Martha says when she sees Jesus.

She says, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. I had the faith that you can heal, but hear what she says next. But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. But even now, my brother's dead. He's in the grave.

I used to believe, I did believe you could heal him when he was sick. But I now even believe that you can raise him from the dead, if that be your will. Jesus knows. Jesus knows the pain of Mary and Martha losing their brother was for their own good, ultimately for the glory of God, but also it deepened and strengthened their faith. It is always for the good of God's people.

You see, the disciples had their conclusion wrong here in John chapter nine. Because they only gave Jesus two possibilities. They were both wrong, but their premise was right. You see, their premise, and according to their understanding, and according to their words, they're saying that there is a reason, there must be a reason, there must, must, must be a reason for this man to be born blind. And they were right, but the reasons they gave Jesus were wrong reasons, but the premise was right.

Nothing happens apart from reason. There is a reason, there always is, but they just needed to know that the reason ultimately is the glory of God, and God will be glorified through this blind man, born blind, receiving his sight when he has an encounter with the living God, and then receiving the sight of his soul and his spirit when God saves him by faith in Jesus Christ. And there are two examples I just gave. Two examples. We have the story and the text, which is the man born blind, and we have the story of Lazarus, and although there was prolonged suffering and difficulty, both those examples have a commonality in the end, don't they?

They both have what endings? Happy endings. They both have happy endings. Lazarus was raised from the dead, and the blind man He has his sight restored. But what about when things don't have happy endings?

What about when things turn out badly as far as we know? You see, it's easier for us to recognize that God is getting glory when we have a good news story. And let's face it, I love them. I pray for them. I love it when I pray for a brother or a sister and they come back a day or two or three later and said, praise God, I'm feeling better.

I love it. I love it when we pray for our brethren overseas who are suffering and then we hear back via email or through someone to say, hey, praise the Lord, there's been an avenue, we're okay. I love it when we asked to pray and we do pray. We have many as a church even now that we're praying for. And then we hear that the Lord has put his hand in the situation and we see right before our very eyes that he has brought about the circumstances to a favorable outcome.

I absolutely love that. I love it when I hear this blind man is made to see that Lazarus is raised from the dead. that someone with a lump goes to the doctor and waits anxiously for days and he comes back, it's benign, it's okay. You hear of an accident of a loved one and you're apprehensive, you're anxious, and then you go to the hospital and the doctor comes out and he says, it's okay, the injury's superficial, he's okay. Or when your workplace is downsizing and you're afraid that it might be your job to line, hours later, or maybe a few days later, get an email that says your job is secure.

They're wonderful stories. Those sort of happy endings are easy for us to fall on our knees, raise our hand and say praise be to the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac. Praise be to God. Thank you, Jesus, that you brought about the circumstances that are favorable. But what if What if you've been praying and the prayers aren't heard?

What if that lamp does turn out to be terminal? What if that accident, a doctor comes out with a grim look on his face and says, I'm sorry, your loved one's going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life or worse? or if the email comes through and it says, thank you for your years of service, but. What if they're the circumstances, and I say it respectfully because these are very difficult times. Does God still get the glory in those times?

Are we able to raise our hands to the heavens and say, even through my suffering, you are still good? My heart still seeks your glory even if it means my suffering. Are God's promises still faithful and good in those difficult times, brethren? The scripture is clear and the answer is obviously yes. He remains a good God.

And someone 1968 doesn't change is a good God that always does only good. The promises of God don't change in light of your circumstances. The sovereignty of God doesn't change in light of your circumstances. The bigness of God, the glory of God, and the goodness of God does not change in light of your own circumstances. God's word remains true and his faithfulness remains true no matter what.

No matter what. even through hardship, even through difficulty, even through pain, sickness, no matter what. And I'm so grateful the Lord has given us so many good examples in scripture to bolster our faith, because he's shown us how sometimes this will be the case, that even through suffering, he is glorified and he always works for the good of those who love him, always. Think with me to the early church. Think with me to Stephen, Stephan, you remember the story.

Acts chapter seven, a man filled with the Holy Spirit face that glowed like an angel. The Lord was using this man so mightily. So mightily, one of the first deacons of the church of Jerusalem. The Lord was, his hand was so clearly on this man. I'm sure everyone around Stephen had big, big hopes for this young man.

Surely God's gonna use him powerfully. We've seen him already, God's gonna use this man. And then you get to the end of chapter seven, and the Jews are angry. They're angry at what he said. They're displeased at what Stephen says.

What do they do? Stoned him to death. Stephan wasn't raised back from the dead. They buried him and he stayed there. Stephan is not a Lazarus.

What a waste! Probably so many were saying in those days. Such a young man in his prime of life, filled with the Spirit. Imagine what God would have done through this, even for the glory of God and for the extension of the church, if he just prolonged his days. That's seeing things from the mind of man, isn't it?

It's blasphemous. We've heard it before. His ministry would have been powerful if God only preserved his life. That might have been the viewpoint of some. What about his parents?

What about his mum, his dad, his sisters, brothers if he had them, his extended family, his uncles? Did they feel the pain? Yeah, they felt the pain. Many lost their homes that day. In chapter 7, Stephen gets stoned.

In chapter 8, we see that persecution broke out in Jerusalem. Paul was there, then Saul. We know that the church was persecuted to the point that everyone, everyone, the Bible says, had to flee from Jerusalem except the apostles. They went to Judea, to Samaria, and other places. They went out like refugees.

They left their homes. They left their work. They left their possessions. They left everything. Beloved, somehow we look back and we think that what they went through is less than us.

Right now, think about yourself. Think about now, immediately, going only with the clothing on your back and leaving your home behind, your work, your possessions, everything, and just running towards the hinterlands. That's the thing that these people were going through. Let's not make it any less than it is. Persecution was horrible that followed at the hand of the Jews.

And then we read in the very next chapter how the church of Christ exploded in growth because of the persecution that hit in Jerusalem. The proclamation of the gospel was received, was taken from Jerusalem by the faithful Christians that were expelled against their will. who'd lost everything except their clothing on their back, and they went into the lands that are nearby, and they proclaimed the gospel, and the church of Christ exploded from that point. They didn't get their stuff back. They didn't get their work back.

But the church grew. That one horrible act that maybe in Jerusalem they couldn't see the silver lining. Now we see that the gospel is proclaimed and then Judea, Samaria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, Assyria, Ethiopia, and the rest received the gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. Beloved, their suffering produced fruit. Providing, proving their faith genuine.

But let me ask you, God got the glory, right? Because the church grew. God was glorified. We must believe also this was for their own good. We don't get a lot of detail about the people who went off.

We have a little bit of Philip, but we don't get a great deal of detail of what went on with their lives later. But do we have enough faith to believe the Bible remains true? that even through this suffering, that they, God was working for their own good, and the only way they would recognize that if their heart is aligned to the heart of God, and they seek more than anything else for the zeal, the glory of God, because that is the greatest good. Because if they're seeking anything else, then they're going to be depressed and in the dumps. Despite the outcomes, all they had is their faith.

All they had is to apprehend Jesus and say, Jesus, this hurts. We've never experienced anything like this. This is difficult. This hurts, but we're going to trust you. How about an affliction?

How about personal affliction? You know the wonderful epistle of the The epistle of Galatians, that epistle was written to a particular church. It was written to the church in Galatia. Did you know how the gospel made its way to Galatia? Did we know how the church was formed in Galatia?

Paul, on his first missionary journey, I believe, went to Galatia, but he tells us specifically in Galatians 4, verse 13, that the reason why he went there and the reason why he preached the gospel was because of sickness. It is very likely, beloved, that he was going somewhere else and he was deep to it, to Galatia, to preach the gospel. That was God's will, may not have been his. We know throughout his missionary journeys how he was planning to go one way and the spirit of God said, not here, not here, go across to Macedonia. So this is what happened in Galatia.

We don't know why. It could be that he needed to go highland, like Glacier is fairly high because it's cooler climate up there. He may have had a fever. We don't know what his sickness was, but we know he was sick and we know that he preached the gospel to them because of his sickness. And here you have the church.

Imagine, imagine the testimony of people in Glacier saying, we were in our trespasses and sins. We thought we had it okay, but we're under the direct judgment. And then this man who's ill comes to our region and he preaches the gospel, praise be to God. Through sickness, they have a great testimony. Think about the testimony of the Philippians.

Why is Paul, how did he come to know Christ in a salvific way? Paul and Silas beaten in the square, beaten with rods by the officials, their backs probably pulpy and bleeding, thrown into the prison, yet they rejoice. And through their rejoicing, God miraculously saves the Philippian jail. Imagine his testimony. Through the affliction of Paul, we received the gospel.

Same thing we said about the Isle of Malta, you remember, why was Paul there? shipwreck. He didn't plan to go there but his shipwrecked. He stayed there several months. Horrible weather brought him there and the gospel is preached where he goes.

So all these people, all these people who are the recipients of the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus, can say, yes, it is for our own good. It's glorious that God had ordained that this apostle Paul or Stephen die, and if he didn't die, we wouldn't have received the gospel at the time we received it. Yes, it was for our own good that the Lord allowed persecution on them so that we would receive the gospel. But what about the family of Stephen? Would they say the same?

What about Paul himself? Beloved, this is what it really comes down to. You can't control what comes your way, you don't. But you need to be able to, by God's grace, believe in what Christ has promised his church. Believe in what the gospel or what the Bible teaches us about who God is, about his absolute sovereignty, about his absolute goodness, about how his attitude is towards us in love and in mercy and only in good.

And so these parents and the family of Stephen, if they were in the Lord, they're going to still be hurting at that day because they loved their loved one. They lost their loved one. And that hurts. But all that can say is, God, we know who you are. You are sovereign.

You are good. We believe. Help our unbelief. Strengthen our faith. Paul through his affliction and through his suffering that he's looking back and seeing the trail of the gospel and church has been planted.

This is the divine hand of God working through his affliction and difficulty and sickness. And what's Paul's attitude could be, that's not fair. You're like, you're hurting me for others. No, that wasn't his attitude. His heart was aligned with the heart of Christ.

And that is he sought nothing more than to see Jesus Christ preached and him preached faithfully. Paul says in Romans chapter eight, verse 18, that the present sufferings in this age are not even worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in him. That's his promise. That's what you're holding to. And we know the Apostle Paul learned this lesson because he's a perfect example of affliction, personal affliction, that we come before the Lord on our knees in prayer and say, Lord, please, would you take this away?

And the Lord says, Lord, please, imagine the apostle. The Bible tells us that countless of people were healed through his missionary endeavors. Incredible. He saw people being healed left and right. All the diseases of various kinds were healed through his ministry.

And yet he says, Lord, this thorn in the flesh, would you please remove it? Would you remove this struggle? What was his response? What did Jesus say to him? Listen to his words.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me for the sake of Christ. Then I am content with weakness, content with insult, content with hardship, with persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. God's glory is manifest when we see good news stories, great endings like what we have before us in John chapter 9 where the blind man, man born blind, is made well.

But God's glory is also revealed even when the story doesn't end so well for us physically speaking. Even when we pray and pray and pray and he doesn't answer, it is still for our own good. It is still for His glory, and He's still sovereign, beloved, over all the events of the universe. I told you this on many occasions, and I'll say it again. I had someone, a professor in seminary, used to say, when you pray, God can answer in two ways.

He can answer with a yes, and then you expect Him to say, or with a no. But he says He can answer with a yes or grow, grow. Because when God says no, he's actually growing you spiritually and you need to believe that. You need to embrace that. Because suffering doesn't equal disfavor from God.

Sometimes suffering and affirmatives and affliction equals that God is working in your life for the greater good. And beloved, we can't end this without going to Christ. Let me just end with this. That the greatest example, the absolute greatest example of pure wickedness, of evil, of the worst kind, is also the time of the greatest manifestation of the love of God and the grace of God and the glory of God. Because that is the climax of human history.

And you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the cross of Jesus Christ. But here you have evil men who have captured our Lord and have taken him, mocked, tried him, abused him, treated him with contempt and with shame, handed him over to a mock trial, put him on a cross to die a death that is reserved for the scum of the land, hung there in shame before everyone to see, and no sin did he commit. And yet the Bible tells us clearly that the men and the ones who put him there will pay the cost. Yet at the same time, we're told he was delivered up to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

This was no surprise. Jesus says, they didn't take my life. I laid down my life. No one takes it from me. God's plan, God's foreknowledge, the sovereignty of God was that Jesus Christ would be born as a man, born under the law, perfectly fulfill the requirements of the law that you and I could not could not fulfill and then he would be led to a cross willingly and then die on the cross at the hands of evil men yet he was according to the definite plan and foreknowledge Beloved, if you believed in retribution theology, that's what I said or explained last week, whereby someone who receives only what they deserve, if you're ill, it's because you've sinned, or if you've got good health and riches, it's because God's favor is upon you, then Jesus would be seen as the most wicked of them all, because he is in his prime, hanging upon a cross, a death that is reserved, as I said earlier, for only the lowest of the low in the earth.

That's how he would be seen, and in fact, that's how some did see him. The prophet Isaiah prophesied this way. He says, we think him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. The Jews thought this is vengeance of God. The Jews thought this is a blasphemy, and he's dying a death that he is worthy of dying.

Yet, God had another plan. That's from the eyes of man, the wicked eyes of man. We look upon Christ and say, he deserves what he's getting on the cross, not knowing he's paying the price on behalf of his people, on behalf of what they deserve, he was willing to die on the cross. But the apostle Peter tells us otherwise, he says, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, it is that he might bring us to God. What a glorious truth.

that the greatest act of evil, the greatest act of wickedness that the hands of men was inflicting our Lord towards to that sort of death was also the plan of God that he would pour his wrath upon his son. At the same time, the evil men would pay for their price. Yet this was an act of God's grace and love and mercy upon those who would one day come to trust in him. Those who elect in Christ from eternity past. Through this act.

Sinners like us are brought to God. Is there anything more wonderful than that? Is that, beloved, not the absolute greatest good that came from affliction that you and I could not even imagine? The question is, do we believe? Are we trusting in this Jesus?

Do we believe in his promises? Do we believe that God is indeed sovereign over all things? that He does all things for His glory. Have we aligned our hearts to the heart of God, which is the example for us in Christ, and that is, Lord, teach me, teach me to be zealous for Your glory and Your glory alone. Because when I pursue You and Your will, I know only the very best, only the very best comes my way from You.

Because You only do that which is good for those who love You. and I know I'm loved by you. Teach me, teach me to have faith. Let's pray.