[0:00] Let's turn in our Bibles to the New Testament to the Gospel of John chapter 12.
[0:11] The Gospel of John chapter 12. Chapter 12, now we'll read verses 20 to 36.
[0:31] The Gospel of John chapter 12 at verse 20. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.
[0:45] The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
[1:00] Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
[1:16] Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.
[1:27] But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
[1:45] If any man serve me, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be.
[1:58] If any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled.
[2:12] And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. Father, glorify thy name.
[2:29] Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.
[2:41] The people, therefore, that stood by and heard it, said that it thundered. Another said, An angel speak to him.
[2:51] Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
[3:03] Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
[3:15] And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This, he said, signifying what death he should die.
[3:29] The people answered him, We've heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. And how sayest thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up?
[3:43] Who is this Son of Man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you.
[3:54] Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
[4:11] While ye have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus and departed and did hide himself from them.
[4:30] And may God the Holy Spirit bless the very reading of his own truth. Now let's sing once more to God's praise from the Scottish Psalter.
[4:46] The same psalm, Psalm 107. And this time we sing verses marked 25 to 29. Psalm 107 at verse 25.
[5:02] For he commands and forth in haste the stormy tempest flies, which makes the sea with rolling waves aloft to swell and rise.
[5:15] Down to verse 29. The storm is changed into a calm at his command and will, so that the waves which raged before now quiet are and still.
[5:28] Psalm 107 verses 25 to 29. Psalm 107 verses 25 to 29. Psalm 107. Psalm 107. Psalm 107. Psalm 107. Psalm 107. When he commands and roars in haste the stormy tempest flies, which makes the sea with rolling waves, with initiated sacrifices around the stormyождения in harvest can be fable.
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[7:15] The starm is changing to the world and now, and it is all I can dwell, so that the waves will change before the world.
[7:41] Now I am still. Thank you. Thank you. The Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 31.
[8:25] Jesus is speaking here.
[8:55] What is the context? You've heard it said, I'm sure, a text without a context is a pretext.
[9:07] What is the context of this vitally important text, which you could say is essentially the message about why Christ came into the world.
[9:20] Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
[9:56] In which he decided, this man must die. Frightening. Well, as Christ goes towards that hour.
[10:08] Many are trying to try to deal with Christ, but he escaped from them. Because, as he said himself, my hour. My hour has not yet come.
[10:20] But now, his hour has come. Now the time for his crucifixion is at hand.
[10:33] And he has a few last things to say to people. He is so troubled in his soul.
[10:44] Verse 27. He's so troubled in his soul. He doesn't know what to say. You read it there, verse 27. Now is my soul troubled.
[10:56] And what shall I say? Well, what did he say? What did he say? He said, Father, glorify thy name.
[11:11] As we try to explain in the morning, there's only one thing that's important. The glory of God. Whether it's an occasion for rejoicing or whether it's an occasion for weeping.
[11:27] God has to be glorified in it. And here's the supreme hour when God is to be glorified. And whenever Christ says, Father, glorify thy name.
[11:45] A voice from heaven comes. And it says, I have glorified it. I have glorified it.
[11:58] And I both glorified it. And I will glorify it again. Some of the standbys, people standing by, said it was an angel that spoke.
[12:10] Some said that it thundered. Christ said, that voice was for your sake.
[12:25] That voice spoke for your sake. What was he referring to? What did he mean?
[12:37] Well, what it was, was that voice was to comfort confused disciples to assure them that the crucifixion would glorify God.
[12:52] You see, he had been going on recently with the disciples saying, I'm about to be glorified. And I'm about to be crucified. Well, they couldn't put the two things together.
[13:03] So that voice came from heaven. And reassured the disciples. His death. His horrific crucifixion.
[13:14] Will glorify God. We could also say that that voice came to assure. Well, you see, there was a mixed crowd there.
[13:25] There were the disciples and there was the Pharisees. It also came to assure the confused crowd that Jesus Christ really was the Son of God.
[13:38] And that Christ really was the suffering Messiah. You remember the problem? They just would not accept whatever Christ said, whatever Christ did, whatever miracles he performed, they would not accept.
[13:54] He came and was sent by the Father. They would not accept he was a Messiah. Well, that voice came to say, you are a Messiah.
[14:07] And the Messiah must suffer and be crucified. And so Christ goes on. That's the context.
[14:18] And now Christ says, now. Now that I'm to be crucified. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
[14:33] As God would help us, let us just look at these two different things. The judgment of this world and the prince of this world being cast out. What does it mean?
[14:46] Now is the judgment of this world. The word judgment in Greek is the word crisis, spelt with a K rather than a C.
[14:58] But it's where we get our English word crisis, spelt with a C, comes from. And what it means in Greek is a factor that divides or separates.
[15:14] A choice. There's a choice to be made in an emergency. One is now to select between two options.
[15:28] Both with horrendous ramifications. A vitally important choice has to be made now. Jesus, of course, when he says now, he's referring to his sacrifice on the cross.
[15:47] And in effect, what he's saying, he says, now that I am crucified. He's speaking as if his crucifixion has taken place. What's the situation for the world?
[16:00] Once I die, what's the situation? If I'm God, how can God die?
[16:21] Am I really the saviour of the world? How have I been performing miracles? How can your sin be forgiven? You have to make a judgment about these things now.
[16:36] Now that I am crucified, make a judgment about my death and what Christ is really saying. Now that I'm being crucified, sin can be forgiven.
[16:52] That's vitally important. I often ask, why are people interested in religion? Well, surely it's this.
[17:11] Surely when we're thinking clearly, we have to admit, whether we're religious or not, you have to admit you've done some wrong things.
[17:22] Okay? How can that be forgiven? How can that be forgiven? How can there be an atonement for sin?
[17:35] Well, Christ is saying here, now that I'm crucified, sin can be forgiven. The Bible tells us clearly, the wages of sin is death.
[17:55] No argument. That's the payment of sin. But you want to live. You don't want to die eternally. But now, now, sin can be forgiven.
[18:11] And your sin can be atoned for. God can be at peace with you. You've rebelled against him. You've sinned against him. You've committed evil.
[18:24] All can be forgiven. Now. Now that I'm crucified. He's also saying, in effect, now that I'm crucified, human beings can be transformed.
[18:46] You remember the Old Testament said, can the leopard change his spots? Can the Ethiopian change his skin? The answer is, now that I am crucified, human beings can be transformed.
[19:08] Our Bible states categorically, the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God.
[19:18] The Bible says elsewhere, those that are in the flesh cannot please God. That's salutary.
[19:33] Those that are in the flesh cannot please God. Even though you burn yourself. Even though you burn yourself to death. You cannot please God.
[19:46] If you're in the flesh. But, now that I am crucified, we can be changed.
[19:57] If any man be in Christ Jesus, he can be a new creation. Because Christ died.
[20:08] Because Christ was crucified. There is hope of you changing. There is hope of you becoming a new creation. Because Christ died.
[20:20] Now that I've been crucified. That's it. And there's something else that becomes a reality. Now that I'm crucified, he's effectively saying, heaven is a reality.
[20:33] It's not just a possibility. It's not pie in the sky. It's a reality. Because Christ's going to heaven.
[20:46] And if you repent and believe in Christ Jesus, you're in Christ. And Christ is going to heaven. So, so are you.
[20:58] It's a wonderful doctrine. And as we've pointed out before, the Bible seldom calls believers Christians. Very seldom.
[21:09] Only three occasions does the Bible mention the word Christian. And one of them from an undue and regenerate king. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
[21:27] The Christians, sorry, the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. And it was a derogatory term. Ha, these Christians.
[21:39] And the third occasion where the word Christians is used is, If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. My friend, are you suffering because you did something right?
[21:55] Are you suffering because you were faithful to God? Don't be embarrassed. Don't be ashamed. And listen, don't be surprised. It's in the Bible that will happen.
[22:08] Don't be ashamed that Christianity gets you into trouble. Rejoice. And be exceeding glad in this interesting. It's the only beatitude of Christ that's repeated three times.
[22:23] The last one. Blessed are you when you're successful. No, no. Blessed are you when you're persecuted and reviled for my name's sake.
[22:35] Great is your reward in heaven. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. Now, all that because the Bible hardly ever uses the word Christian.
[22:47] The term it uses is in Christ. If any man be in Christ. You see, the moment you trust your soul to Christ, you're in him.
[23:01] And where Christ goes, you go. And Christ is going to heaven. Oh, but you see, I don't deserve it.
[23:12] We all know that. We all know that. None of us deserve it. Is Christ going to heaven? And you're in Christ. You're going to heaven.
[23:23] Not because of what you've done. Because of what he has done. Now is the judgment. Now is the turning point. Now is the real question. Now that I'm crucified, heaven is a reality.
[23:39] He's also saying, now that I'm crucified. And you remember, he pointed out in a couple of chapters on, well, we'll ever reach them or not. I don't know. But in chapter 16, he says, look, if I don't go away, the Holy Spirit cannot come.
[23:58] You see, we've already said human beings can be transformed now. But how are they transformed? Who transforms them? The Holy Spirit of Christ comes and transforms us.
[24:13] Now that I'm crucified. You see, the Holy Spirit was in heaven. But he was released in a new way. Once Christ died on the cross, the Holy Spirit was released in a new way.
[24:29] He was still working on earth in a certain way, a slighter way in the Old Testament times. But once Christ died, as we know, the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit poured out.
[24:42] And human beings can be transformed. The Holy Spirit is available. There are wonderful texts in Luke. If we, being evil, ask for the Holy Spirit, he will be given to us.
[25:10] I'm not very sure if I can get the verse. No. I've just forgotten exactly what it is. If we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children.
[25:23] Do you give your children birthday presents? Do you give your children Christmas presents? If we, evil people, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will the Holy Spirit be given to their children?
[25:45] No, no. What does the Bible say? To those who ask. That's a fantastic promise. Are you here or hearing me tonight? And you're evil?
[25:56] You're wicked? You're bad? If you ask for the Holy Spirit, meaning it, you'll get it. Now that Christ has died.
[26:07] But you must take it seriously. You must be sincere. Now, there's only one test. Now, there's only one choice that's important.
[26:22] What you think of Christ. That's what we've been noticing in every chapter we've gone through in the Gospel of John. What do you think of Christ? Do you see the need for Christ to die?
[26:41] You see, there are people who profess to be Christians, but they say there was no need for Christ to die. He just died to show a perfect example of human suffering, a perfect example of self-sacrifice.
[26:57] They don't understand. Listen, if Christ did not die on the cross, giving himself, his own life up voluntarily, our sin is not paid for.
[27:12] And you have to pay for your own sins. That's the glorious Gospel. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. Do you see the need for him to die so that our sins could be paid for before God?
[27:28] Now, tell me, can you see the need for Christ to rise? We sometimes forget that Friday afternoon, three people were crucified.
[27:38] Oh, my friends, it's not just the pain of crucifixion that paid for the sins of believers. It's a fact he rose from the dead.
[27:49] The other two haven't yet. They both will, one to glory, one to condemnation. But Christ has risen, proving he wasn't merely, only a human being.
[28:04] He rose to testify and prove once again he was God, manifest in the flesh. He wasn't just a mere human.
[28:15] I'd always think of that centurion, that soldier, supervising the crucifixion. That's probably his duties on a Friday afternoon, supervising the crucifixion.
[28:27] And he heard Christ shouting with a loud voice. He said, hey, wait a minute. I've seen many men crucified. They don't shout.
[28:39] If they speak at all, they murmur and whisper. That man's not normal. Surely he was the son of God. Well, now, now is the judgment.
[28:57] Now is the crunch, the crisis, the decision that's to be made. Now that I've been crucified. Now, secondly, shall the prince of this world be cast out.
[29:11] Some of your versions will say, the word means prince ruler. Sorry, chief ruler.
[29:22] Called the prince, called the chief ruler. It's both the same. Very, very obviously referring to Satan. How did Satan get possession of this world?
[29:37] He doesn't own this world, but he's got possession. You know the difference between possession and ownership? Boys and girls, I forgot to tell you a story this morning.
[29:49] Here's one. It's a true story about a minister, a well-known minister in Ireland, W.P. Nicholson. Very involved in the revival in Ireland. He tells an illustration to show us a difference between possessing something and owning something.
[30:08] He tells the story when he was going abroad to some, I think it was somewhere in the Baltics, or somewhere very cold. And he was going on the aeroplane. Now, there were very few aeroplanes in these days. But he went along and he went to the departing lounge and he put his case on the trolley conveyor belt.
[30:27] And then he had a big, thick coat because he was going to cold country. But he couldn't stand heat in the aeroplane. So he took off his coat and he strapped it around his case before he sent it along the conveyor belt.
[30:39] The big, thick winter coat. So he strapped it up and he put it along. Well, he went on the plane, got on the plane, and he went along to collect it. Well, he got his coat.
[30:50] Sorry, he got his case minus the coat. And he said, well, some man's walking about with my coat.
[31:04] He says, he's possessing it, but it's my coat. I own it. But he's got it. He's possessing it, but he didn't pay for it. It doesn't belong to him as mine.
[31:15] My coat. Someone else possessing it. That's the devil. He struts about this world as if he owns it.
[31:26] But he doesn't own it. He only possesses it. And he possessed it the same way as W.P. Nicholson lost his coat. He stole it.
[31:38] He usurped it. He hijacked it. Now, Satan still struts about this world.
[31:51] But he's no longer got the power he used to have. Never, ever, ever think that Satan conquered Jesus at the cross.
[32:06] Wrong. It's a lie. How we'd love you to think that. Listen, Christ conquered Satan at the cross. He gave himself up.
[32:17] Satan didn't take his life away from Jesus. Jesus said, I laid down my life. Christ laid down his life. Christ bowed his head and dismissed his own spirit.
[32:34] No one took his life from him. He laid it down. He laid it down. Thereby disarming the powers of darkness.
[32:47] And now Satan is no longer prince. He might be the chief man among devils. Sure. But he's no longer the power. But he's no longer the power, the force in this world.
[33:01] Christ has conquered him. Satan no longer reigns supreme. Christ has conquered him.
[33:12] Now that Christ has conquered him. Now that Christ died. If Christ did not come to die, he would have remained in total control of earth and evil.
[33:25] But everything now has to filter through Christ's will before Satan can do anything. Satan is now conquered.
[33:35] Do you remember Jesus said, the prince of this world comes and has nothing in me. That is, he finds plenty in me combustible.
[33:55] And I reckon he finds plenty in you combustible. But he finds nothing in Christ combustible. And you and I, you believers and I, we're in Christ.
[34:12] And for Satan to touch us, he's to go through Christ first. Believer, you're secure in Christ.
[34:23] You're safe in Jesus. Satan can't touch you. I tell you, he can make a fool of you. He makes a fool of me. And he can make a fool of you.
[34:34] But he can't touch you. You're in Christ. Christ is protecting you. And Christ is going to glory. And not one of his sheep will be lost.
[34:48] Christ. Now, Christ resisted temptation on your behalf and on my behalf. Let me explain.
[35:00] Is it Matthew 4? There's a verse in the Bible that foxed me. Have I got it for you? Aye. Yes. Matthew 4, 1.
[35:11] Listen to this. Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
[35:25] Are you hearing that? What's the Holy Spirit doing? Leading Christ into temptation.
[35:37] What's happening? What's going on? What's the spirit doing? Leading the Holy Son of God into temptation.
[35:49] What's the explanation? This is the explanation. Christ is now our second representative. Adam was our first representative.
[36:02] You see, the human race stands before God collectively. Adam could have taken you and me to heaven in a moment.
[36:17] That was the terms of the covenant. The covenant of works, as we call it. That was it. Adam, you keep this. You take yourself and the whole human race to heaven.
[36:29] But Adam, you fail here. You take the whole human race to a lost eternity. You know what happened.
[36:42] Adam blew it on behalf of us. As well as himself, of course. Through what? What does our catechism teach us?
[36:53] Through the temptation of the devil. That's how he fell. That's how he blew heaven on behalf of you and me.
[37:05] By falling to the temptation of Satan. So here's Christ. The second representative of the human race.
[37:16] So the test has to come. Is he? Is he any better than the first Adam? Can he resist temptation on behalf of the human race as well as himself?
[37:31] Can he? Well, of course he did. You know the story. The spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
[37:41] To demonstrate to the world. To demonstrate to the world. You can trust this man. You can depend on him. He will not let you down. He can conquer sin. He has conquered Satan.
[37:54] He can resist temptation. Trust in him. Commit your soul to him. Be in Christ. You're safe.
[38:06] You're secure in him. Christ now. Now that I'm crucified. Now that I rise from the grave.
[38:21] Testify. Proving. He's a worthy representative. He can. He's the head of all believers.
[38:32] Oh friend. Be among them. Be among them. Be among the believers. What a safe. What a blessed people. Believers are.
[38:45] No thanks to us. All praise and glory to Christ. Satan was conquered at Calvary. Satan was destroyed at Calvary.
[38:58] He destroyed him that had the power of death. Even the devil. That is destroyed Satan's intentions. Destroyed Satan's plans.
[39:10] To have you in hell with him. He's been destroyed in that way. Now Christ says. Come to me. Come to me. For security. For safety.
[39:22] You can't depend on yourself. You can't guarantee God you'll not sin again. Come to me. I kept the law for you. I'm the only saviour there is.
[39:33] Trust me. Depend on me. Well. That's a gospel message.
[39:44] Now Satan's to be punished. To be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. To be tormented day and night.
[39:57] We fell through the temptation of Satan. My friend. Be secure through the death of Christ. Trust in him.
[40:10] Come to him. Depend on him. Well. We finish with. Well. Just verse 35. Jesus finished this section.
[40:22] Then Jesus said unto them. Yet a little while. Is the light with you. Walk. While you have the light.
[40:32] My friend. You've got light tonight. Walk. While you have. The light. Lest darkness come upon you.
[40:44] He that walketh in darkness. Knoweth not. Whether he goeth. While. You. Have. Light. Believe. In.
[40:54] The light. That you may become. The children. Of light. That's the gospel. Now.
[41:05] Is the judgment. Of this world. Here's the crisis point. The turning point. Your. Response. To the death.
[41:17] And resurrection. Of Christ. What is it? What's your response? We've been looking. Throughout. Looking at Christ. Throughout all the gospel. Of John.
[41:28] And the whole question. Resides. Resolves. Into this. What. Do you think. Of Christ? Oh you see. I've.
[41:38] I've got problems. I've got problems. I know that. And Jesus knows that. That's why he says. Come to me. I know you've got problems. I know. How bad you are.
[41:50] I know what your sins are. Worse than you think. Come to me. I'll give you light. I know. I know. I know. We need to repent. We need to love Christ.
[42:03] And that's all that matters. Bring your problems. Bring your sins. Bring your sorrows. Bring them to Christ. He will hear.
[42:16] And he will forgive. If you only believe. Now. That he's been crucified. Now. That he has risen from the dead.
[42:28] Now. He's the only saviour. In the whole wide world. May God. The Holy Spirit. Enable us.
[42:38] To put our trust. In him. Alone. Now. Let's bow our heads. Our Father. In heaven. Be pleased.
[42:50] To take the things of Christ. Be pleased. To unite us. To him. In a saving. Vital. Effectual. Faith.
[43:01] Gracious Father. Bless us. Around the gospel. We humbly pray. Because we pray. In Jesus name. And for his sake alone.
[43:14] Amen. We'll conclude our service of worship. Again by singing from the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 116.
[43:25] This time. And we sing verses. Marked 8. To 14. Four stanzas. Psalm 116. At verse 8.
[43:36] For my distressed soul. From death delivered. Was by thee. Thou didst my mourning. Eyes from tears. My feet. From falling free.
[43:48] Down to verse 13. I love salvation. Take the cup. On God's name. Will I call. I'll pay my vows now. To the Lord. Before his people.
[44:00] All. Psalm 116. Verses 8 to 14. Psalm 116.wertfreen. type. Oños sicel and truly hands. Or użykom! Or IF light is resisted, Salted Nachtschkes.
[44:13] From death the폰, if anyone wakes up. Did anyone come up? TheMost right. Believe. The Lord numbers Cl stanie. Purse 7 to 167.
[44:23] And he pulls out. And it's one and only has fled thy form. That means the Lord's gonnas meet with my peace. I love you, my King of Holy King.
[44:39] I in the land of those that live, where the Lord be born, I will be theremore I say I was a feeling Lord.
[45:13] I say when I was in my haste, that your man of mercy O child, dear land of God, for all him gives me.
[45:47] I love salvation in the cup, on God's name will I come.
[46:03] I'll pay my bills now to the Lord before his people all.
[46:21] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore.
[46:38] Amen.