So we're in John chapter 4, verse 41.
We're going to read all the way through John chapter 5, verse 18.
Well, as you hear the word of God read, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
remember that this is his inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient word.
When I'm done reading our sermon text for today, I'll say the word of God, and you'll respond, thanks be to God.
Hear the word of our Lord, John 4, verse 41.
And many more in Samaria believed because of his word.
They said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe,
for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.
The first time Jesus is called that, it's from the lips of the Samaritans.
Now, verse 43, our sermon text.
After the two days, this is Jesus spending two days with the Samaritans, he departed for Galilee.
For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.
So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast.
For they too had gone to the feast.
Verse 46.
So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made water to wine.
And at Capernaum, there was an official whose son was ill.
When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee,
he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
So Jesus said to him,
Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.
The official said to him,
Sir, come down before my child dies.
Jesus said to him,
Go, your son will live.
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.
So he asked them the hour when he began to get better.
And they said to him,
Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.
The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him,
Your son will live.
And he was, and he himself believed in all his household.
This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
John chapter 5.
After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there in Jerusalem, by the sheep gate, a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.
In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, and paralyzed.
One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him,
Do you want to be healed?
The sick man answered him,
Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up,
and while I am going, another steps down before me.
Jesus said to him,
Get up.
Take up your bed and walk.
Now that day was Sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who has been healed,
It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.
But he answered them,
The man who healed me, that man said to me,
Take up your bed and walk.
They asked him,
Who is the man who said to you,
Take up your bed and walk?
Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had withdrawn,
as there was a crowd in the place.
Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him,
See, you are well.
Sin no more,
that nothing worse may happen to you.
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.
And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus,
because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
But Jesus answered them,
My father is working until now, and I am working.
Verse 18,
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him,
because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
but he was even calling God his own father,
making himself equal with God.
This is the word of God.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and in love.
And give us strength to follow on the path that you set before us.
Through Jesus Christ we ask.
Amen.
There are three differences between sheep and goats.
Sheep feed on green pastures.
Goats feed on trash.
A goat can eat an entire metal spoon and digest it.
No problem.
That's number one.
Number two,
Sheep,
they live together.
They stay as a herd,
as a flock.
But goats,
they're loners.
They survive all alone in the mountains,
in the wilderness.
But the most important difference is number three.
Sheep follow their shepherd's voice.
A shepherd could start walking and call them,
and one by one,
all those that know the shepherd's voice will follow him.
And if you have goats,
you can try to call out and let their nose be as nice as you want to them.
They will ignore you,
and goats will do their own thing.
And that's what Jesus is bringing to attention in John chapter 10, verse 27.
He says,
My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them,
and they follow me.
In this passage that we read today,
what we have is the kingdom of heaven,
God himself,
breaking into earth,
a boy on his deathbed,
and a dad who's not even a Jew,
he's an official,
having faith in the word Jesus gives him,
and the giver of life,
healing that boy off of his deathbed.
And we have a lame man,
stinky,
all alone,
38 years,
in misery,
helpless,
hopeless,
and the word of Jesus to that man brings life,
and it creates faith in him.
When is it that the lame will walk,
and the dead will be rised again?
It's when Christ returns.
When Christ returns,
that's what will happen.
The new heavens and the new earth will be ushered in.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And now the king himself is walking the earth,
and he's showing now,
the kingdom of heaven is breaking in.
And what I want to point out to you,
is how he does this.
Christ advances his kingdom,
by his almighty word.
And those who are sick are healed by faith.
So my message to you is very simple,
but it's the most important message I can give you.
Believe in the word of Jesus Christ,
and be saved.
That's what's in focus.
15 times in the gospel of Mark,
the word of God is elevated.
24 times in the gospel of Matthew,
the word of God.
29 times in the gospel of Luke,
upholding the word.
But now we have the biggest concentration of this data,
right here in the gospel of John,
44 times,
and especially in the passage we just read.
The word of God,
going forth with power.
And what this should point out to us,
is that the foundation for life in Christ,
when Christ is ministering and ruling,
it's his word.
That's the foundation for life in Christ.
And in Acts,
59 times the word of God is upheld.
So not only is the word of God foundational
for you to have life in Christ,
the word of God is foundational for our life as a church.
That's what the book of Acts shows us.
But yet,
for the same reason,
the word of God has been attacked
and undermined with every generation.
And the church has had to wrestle with that.
The goats
that come to dominate congregations and pulpits,
they want to squelch God's word.
They don't want God's people to hear it,
the voice of the shepherd clearly from his word.
That's why thesis number 54,
one of Martin Luther's 95 thesis,
says this,
injury is done to the word of God
when, in the same sermon,
an equal or larger amount of time
is devoted to indulgences
rather than to the word of God.
And if the Roman Catholic Church
was taking the money from people
in order to tickle their ears
and give them a false assurance,
well, we have a very different
but the same kind of indulgence
going on still today, don't we?
It's a transaction
where you're not coming to hear
the word of the shepherd.
Instead, it's a transaction
to appease your conscience.
But the sheep will know
the voice of the shepherd
and they will follow him.
In John 6, 36,
we read that the words,
Jesus says,
the words I have spoken to you
are spirit and life.
And that's the power
we see them having in this text.
Now, I want you to put your eyes
on a verse from our passage today.
John 4, 41.
Look at John 4, 41.
Many more believed
because of his word.
It's Jesus spending time
with the Samaritans,
preaching to them
how he is the savior of the world.
And that's what they believe
and confess.
And now look,
a little bit later,
we're going to see this next time,
John 5, 24.
Look at what Jesus says
in 5, 24.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever hears my word
and believes him who sent me
has eternal life.
So we see this travel of Jesus
from Jerusalem,
where he talked to Nicodemus,
up to Galilee,
where he was baptizing
on the way in the Israeli land,
we'll call it.
Then he slips over into Samaria
and then back into Israel land
and Cana of Galilee.
So the first miracle
takes place there
in that region
for the official son.
Then he travels
all the way back down
to Jerusalem
and that's where he goes
into the temple
and he heals the lame man.
So that pattern is
from Jerusalem
to Israel land,
slip into Samaria,
and then back into Israel land
and then back down
to Jerusalem
as he ministers.
Every time he gets closer
to Jerusalem
where the established church
is going to try to kill him,
it's more concealed.
Not yet.
My time is not yet
to be crucified.
And then he backs away
and goes back
and every time he pushes back in,
it's that power struggle
because they know
the king of heaven and earth
will rule over all
one way or the other.
So now look at John 4, verse 50.
Jesus said to that man,
Go, your son will live.
And look at the response
of this official
who's not even an Israelite.
The man believed
the word that Jesus spoke to him
and went on his way.
So what I want to show you
in these two miracles,
these two signs,
is that number one,
you must hear God's word
in order to believe
and number two,
you must respond to his word
in order to be saved.
So first,
you must come to know
that you need a savior.
That's what the Samaritans realized.
That's why he preached
the gospel to them.
They were not trying
to save themselves
by self-righteousness.
Look at verse 41 again.
The Samaritans heard Christ's word
and believed that they needed him
to be their savior.
Verse 41,
many more believed
because of his word.
Verse 42,
they said,
we have heard for ourselves
and we know that this is indeed
the savior of the world.
They knew they were sinners.
They knew they could not have a hope
of being right with God
unless they would be saved.
You too must know
that you need a savior.
Now John is developing the theme
that he already hinted at
at the very beginning
of this gospel.
Remember John chapter one,
verse one,
in the beginning was the word
and the word was with God
and the word was God.
All things were made through him.
Verse 14,
and the word became flesh
and dwelt among us
and we have seen his glory.
Glory as the only son
from the father,
full of grace and truth.
So every time the word of Christ
is proclaimed,
when Christ gives his word
in these stories,
it's a word of grace
and a word of truth.
And all those that the father
will bring to life,
they will believe,
they will respond,
and they will obey him.
So Christ advances his kingdom
on earth by his clear word.
Number two,
you must want to hear Christ,
not just to see a sign.
Look at verse 48.
The Israelites in Cana of Galilee,
they still needed his word
in order to believe.
So we read in verse 48,
Jesus said to them,
unless you see signs and wonders,
you will not believe.
And he's talking about
these people who had heard
about his miracles
down in Jerusalem.
And Jesus is saying to them
what Paul says later,
that faith,
it comes not by seeing a sign
or a miracle.
You're saved by faith,
not by sight.
And he needs them now
to stop looking for a sign,
look instead to the one,
to Jesus Christ,
who the signs are pointing to,
and believe his word.
Now Jesus knew
what was in the heart of man,
we read,
and as he was in Jerusalem,
the crowds gathered
and he goes back to Cana.
They just knew him
from being the miracle worker.
And he knew what was
in their heart
and he would not give himself
to them
because he knew
they were after
more and more signs.
But now we have a contrast
with these Jews
that just wanted a sign
with this official.
The official, I think,
is to show us,
look, the gospel will go forth
and it will work with power,
not just for the self-righteous.
In fact,
it's for those who quickly know
they are sinners.
Look at verse 47.
When this man,
and this is referring
to the official,
most likely he worked
for King Herod,
non-religious,
non-Jew,
he lived down at Capernaum.
Capernaum was the city
down by the lake.
So picture a lakefront mansion.
This man works for the king,
for the official.
But now this man has a son
and his dear son gets a fever.
I mean,
we think of how much sickness
we've all had
in our families these days
and in ancient times
a fever is going to be deadly.
And this boy gets weaker
and weaker and weaker.
And the family,
all the servants,
the mother,
the dad,
everything stops.
He gives orders.
Everything gets paused with work.
It's all about his son's life now.
This could be their final moments
with their dear boy.
And someone mentions to him,
there is a man
who is doing miracles
down in Jerusalem.
And a father does
what any father would do.
He leaves everything.
He starts hiking up
away from the lake,
back up to where Jesus is
in Cana.
And let's see what he says
in verse 47.
This man heard
that Jesus had come
to Galilee
and he went to him
and asked him
to come down
and heal his son
for he was at the point of death.
Verse 48,
so Jesus said to him,
unless you see signs
and wonders,
you will not believe.
And that's exactly true
of the people of Cana.
They wanted to see more signs
and they wanted a miracle worker.
But let's see if this man
will have a faith
in Jesus at his word
without needing to see anything.
Because Christ advances
his kingdom on earth
by his soul-searching word.
And that word
put this man back
to evaluate,
do I need to see a sign
or will I have faith
and go trusting
this man's orders?
So we see in verse 49,
the official said to him,
sir, come down
before my child dies.
Come down
or going down
toward the lake again.
He says,
come down
and be with us.
Just like the Samaritans
had said,
stay with us
for a couple days.
We want you.
We want your presence with us.
We don't want just a sign
or a miracle.
We want you.
Your presence
is what could heal him.
But this also foreshadows
how Mary and Martha said,
Jesus,
if you had only been here,
then our brother Lazarus
would not have died.
None of them had the faith
that Jesus could also
let that person die
and then raise them
from the dead.
That's what he would do
with Lazarus.
And look in verse 50,
Jesus said to this man,
go,
your son
will
live.
And we read
that the man
believed
the word
that Jesus spoke
to him
and went
on his way.
The man believed
the word
that Jesus spoke
to him
and went
on his way.
The application
for us
is that you must
hear the word
of God
and then you must
believe
the word
of God.
Because Jesus
is still speaking
today
and he's still
speaking to you
through his word.
Verse 51,
as he was going
down,
his servants
met him
and told him
that his son
was recovering.
Now listen
to what comes next.
This man
was thinking
about it.
Okay,
I walk there,
it's about 20 miles
from Capernaum
to Cana.
20 miles,
about a two-day trip
and the whole way
back he's thinking,
I just left.
I did this whole
big trip,
I could have missed
the final moments
with my son.
Will this actually
be saving him
or not?
And as soon
as the servants
tell him the good
news,
he wants to now
try to see
if he can connect
the dots.
He says,
what hour was it?
It was the seventh
hour.
That is when
the Lord spoke
the word to me.
The very moment
he spoke the word.
I didn't have to
come back,
I didn't have to
do anything.
It was the word
of Christ
that healed my son
that very moment.
And so you see,
we're told next,
verse 53,
he himself
believed.
He believed
and all his
household.
Now you see,
that word that
Christ spoke to him,
it did two things
at the same time.
It made his son
on his deathbed
well.
Just like the word
of God brought
creation into being,
the word of Christ
20 miles away
made that boy well.
That's the first
thing it did.
The second thing
the word of Christ
did is it
regenerated
this official
Gentile.
Gave him a new
heart.
He believed
because the word
of God was
powerful.
Now I want to
pause.
We've all lost
loved ones
and
Jesus came
to proclaim
salvation
for your soul
for all eternity.
And I see
in this story
that even if
this man
would have
gotten back
and his son
was not
healed,
the word
of Christ
regenerated
him.
And the sign
confirmed the
faith that God
had already
put in him.
This man
encountered
Jesus.
And Jesus
said,
unless you see
a sign,
you won't
believe.
So this man
was believing
without even
seeing the sign.
And God
did heal him.
God did
bring life
to his son.
But remember,
salvation is by
faith through
the word of God,
not by sight.
And so the
encouragement to
you is that
you must
receive the
word of God
by faith.
And you must
believe without
seeing the
promised spiritual
realities,
the truth of
the Bible.
You must
believe in
Christ by
faith alone.
So Christ's
kingdom advances
on earth
through his
faith-giving
word.
Not only must
you believe the
word of God,
you must also
obey the
word that
the Lord
gives you.
Let's look,
not only did
this official
believe and
obey by going
back and
seeing it,
look at the
next story.
I think that's
what it shows
us.
Chapter 5,
verse 1.
You must
obey and
respond to
the word of
God as you
hear it.
Verse 1 of
chapter 5,
after this,
there was a
feast of the
Jews, and the
Jews went up
to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem.
Now, Jerusalem's
in the mountains,
and so every
time you're going
to Jerusalem,
it's called
going up or
ascending, like
the Psalms of
Ascent.
So Capernaum is
down by the
lake, we go
down, so it's
more geographic
than north and
south.
Verse 2,
there were in
Jerusalem by the
sheep gate a
pool, really two
pools.
In Aramaic,
they're called
Bethesda, which
has five roofed
colonnades.
So the book of
Nehemiah describes
the rebuilding of the
walls and the
gates, and this
would have been on
the northeast entrance
into the temple
area, into Jerusalem,
and it's a gate that
was smaller, and it's
where all the sheep
could have been
brought in, even
from Bethlehem and
from those pastures
surrounding the city,
they would be filing
in, bringing in
through the sheep
gate, and what
would they be brought
into the temple
for?
To be offered as
sacrifices for the
forgiveness of sins,
and these pools,
they're called
Bethesda.
Bethesda means
house, remember
Beth means house
of Bethlehem,
house of bread,
Bethesda means
house of grace,
and we're told
that there was
this scene here,
quite a scene.
Look at verse
three, there lay
a multitude, a
multitude of
invalids, blind,
lame, and
paralyzed.
You've been to
the Denver Public
Library, you've
been to Portland,
you've been to
other parts of the
world, you know
what that looks
like, a multitude
of destitute,
poor, stinky
invalids, the
blind, the lame.
I mean, it's a
picture of hell.
Picture the sounds,
the cries, the
agony, the
misery, helplessness,
and then yet here
there are Levites
and priests going,
taking these lambs,
serving all around
the temple.
And Jesus had been
taken to the temple
throughout his whole
life.
His parents were
taking him there
because he was
fulfilling all of
the law of Moses.
And we're told that
these invalids would
wait for the waters
to stir.
And so how these
pools were filled,
do you remember
last week we talked
about the living
waters that bubbled
up from that spring
under Jerusalem?
That same spring,
it would pass through
minerals that were
red and they would
pick up a red
color and they
would feed into
this pool.
And the springs
were not constant
so there would be
times where there
would be more
water spilling out,
bubbling up,
picking up more
minerals, sweeping
in this red color
and causing the
waters of these
pools to stir.
So there's some
wonderful imagery
here.
Can you picture it
in your mind?
The gate where the
sheep come in to be
offered as sacrifices,
these red waters
moving and bubbling
up, the living
waters filling
these pools in
the house of grace
and yet the multitude
of invalids and
sick.
And what is the
purpose of the
temple?
It's so that the
sick and the
broken can be
made whole,
they can be healed
and been brought
into fellowship and
communion with the
Lord.
Now I want to
point out to you
how you can trust
the word that Jesus
speaks to you
because he sees
the very least of
these.
Now even though
there was a
multitude in verse
three we're told
there were blind,
lame, and
paralyzed.
And then verse
five, one man
was there who
had been an
invalid for 38
years.
And out of all
that multitude,
look at verse
six, when Jesus
saw him.
Jesus sees him
as one individual,
one person, a
paralyzed man amid
the multitude.
multitude.
And Jesus knew
that he had
already been there
a long time.
Now one person,
Jesus Christ, he
could have known
this according to
his divine nature,
omniscient God.
He could have also
known that this man
had been there a
long time according
to his human nature.
Maybe as a boy, as
a teenager, this
scene broke his
heart.
And the compassion
of the Father,
knowing what the
temple was for,
his heart toward
this man.
Maybe he'd even
talked to this man
when he was
growing up.
That was a man
he knew, had been
there in misery
for so long.
And Jesus spoke
to that man.
You can trust
the word of
Jesus when he
speaks to you
because he speaks
to the heart.
Notice what it
is that Jesus
says, verse six.
Jesus said to
him, do you
want to be
healed?
Do you want
to be healed?
Doesn't that seem
like an obvious
question?
Don't you want
to be healed?
But think about
how soul-searching
this is.
This man, for
38 years, this
is life.
This is all he
knows of life as
I lay here.
This man does
not have a name.
His name is the
sick man.
That's his entire
identity.
And he says,
there's no one to
put me in the
waters.
And in fact,
people cut me
off when I
think I have a
chance.
This man is
helpless.
And this man
is hopeless.
And Jesus
asked the
hopeless,
helpless man,
do you want
to be healed?
Jesus asks you
today, is the
life that you
have now, is
that really what
you love?
Or do you want
to be healed?
Because the
kingdom of God
comes to heal
you, not to
leave you as
you are.
Jonathan Edwards
in the 1700s
pointed out how
a human being,
according to
their free agency,
will always do
what they want
most.
So for example,
a man would
not go rob a
bank because he
wants his
freedom more
than the high
risk wealth.
So you do what
you want most.
And that's why
the will needs
to be converted.
Your will needs
to change.
You will always
want what is
for you.
You will always
want that sin.
That's why every
single drug addict
has not an
addiction to a
bunch of
different drugs.
They have a
drug of choice
because that's
what they want.
They believe that
drug will give
them the greatest
happiness.
So they do what
they want.
And then they
become, it's
your chemical
addiction to it.
It's an identity.
This is who I am
now.
And Jesus comes
to reverse that.
Do you want to
be healed?
So Christ, he
advances his
kingdom through
his personal
word.
Only he knows
man's heart.
He knows my
heart.
He knew this
man's heart.
And he knows
your heart.
Do you want to
be healed by
Jesus?
Now, the next
thing I want to
point out is the
order in which
this happens, the
sequence.
Jesus first has to
heal the man.
then the man has
to obey.
It's not the
other way around.
The man doesn't
obey God and he's
healed by obeying.
First, God has to
heal you.
And then you will
obey.
If you are truly
healed, you will
obey.
Look at verse
seven.
The sick man
answered him,
Sir, I have no
one to put me in
the pool.
When the water is
stirred up, I am
going and another
steps in down
before me.
He doesn't say,
yes, I want to be
healed.
He makes more
excuses.
He needs to be
healed to even
know that this is
what he needs, what
he wants.
So Christ's word is
humbling.
And look at verse
eight.
Jesus said to him,
get up, take up
your bed and walk.
So he commands
him on what is the
thing he needs to
do.
But the man still
does not have the
power to do it
until God heals
him.
Look at verse
nine.
At once, look at
the order, the man
was healed, but it
doesn't stop there.
And he took up
his bed and
walked.
So the word of
Christ is
authoritative.
His kingdom is
coming.
And he commands
you, you must
believe.
You must repent.
You must turn to
the Lord Jesus.
And his word is
humbling.
Unless I heal
you, you will
never turn.
You will always
want the sin or
the idol more than
to be with me,
your creator.
So if you are
walking with
Christ, praise the
Lord that he turned
your heart.
And praise the
Lord that he's
making Christ more
and more of your
desire, the healing
of God more and
more the thing you
do want most in
life by his grace.
But you and I
never get to put it
back on God.
Well, I don't have
to believe because
I'm not healed.
No.
His word is
authoritative.
You must obey him
if you are to be
saved.
You don't get to
just hear his word
and ignore his
word because then
you've made your
decision.
You have chosen to
reject your God,
the King of kings.
So how do you
obey the word that
Jesus speaks to you?
Well, I want to
show you in verse
14.
Afterward, Jesus
found the same man
in the temple and
Jesus had to remind
him, see, you are
well.
The man for 38
years lies on the
ground in his filth
with no one to help
him.
Now the man's walking
around and Jesus has
to point out the
obvious thing to him.
Man, look at
yourself.
You're not the same
as you were.
You have been healed.
And why is that so
important?
And why does Jesus,
the good shepherd,
whose voice they will
always know, why does
he care to tell this
man that?
Look at what Jesus
commands him next.
What are those three
words?
Sin no more.
So how do you know if
the word of God is
working powerfully in
you?
It's that you continue
walking with him.
You do not live in
sin.
And Jesus says, make
sure that nothing
worse may happen to
you.
And you might be
thinking, what's worse
than laying in a
multitude of invalids
for 38 years?
How could it
possibly get worse
on this earth?
Jesus is declaring
to live an unrepentant
life is worse than
being broken in the
body.
You will have to face
your creator one day.
And he is most pure,
most loving,
most righteous.
And the blood of
Jesus Christ is the
only thing that can
heal your soul.
And just like the
springs of living
water bubble up,
it's the blood of
Christ that he will
shed from the cross
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
By his blood we are
healed.
Go and sin no more.
Christ's kingdom
advances on earth
by his life-changing
word.
It changed that
man's life the
moment he was
healed.
He picked up his
mat and walked and
obeyed.
That initial step of
conversion.
But it's life-changing
for the rest of your
life.
Go and sin no more.
It's the same power,
the same authoritative
word that converts a
sinner.
It's the same
authoritative word that
sustains that
Christian, that saint
in sanctification,
becoming more and more
like Christ.
Christ.
Now, if you're like
me, one of the
scariest thoughts you
have is that I know
God saved me.
I know it's the power
of Christ that holds
me.
Yet not I, but Christ in
me is all that carries
me.
And one of the scariest
thoughts is that what
if I relapse or
backslide or I fall
into egregious sin?
I know by my flesh I
would still fall back
into sin.
I need Christ to
sustain me every hour.
And that's such a
terrifying thought.
Samuel Rutherford was
a pastor in the 1500s
in Scotland.
Tiny little church in
the countryside.
And he felt that.
He said, it feels like
I'm like a spider.
And the only thing
holding me up from,
you know, from hell is
this one thread of a
web.
But the hand that
holds that thread is
the hand of Jesus
Christ.
He ransomed me.
And we have the
confidence that the
same God who saves
will sustain you by
that same power every
day because Jesus
says, look at verse
17, God is working.
God is working and he
will keep you.
Verse 17 says,
Jesus answered this
man, my father is
working until now and
I am working.
That's your promise
that God who saved
you will sustain you.
I want to give a
couple words of
caution and reflection
here on the Pharisees
are right mixed into
the same story.
And as I said at the
beginning, what's
happening here is the
promise of heaven, the
promise of a new
creation, the dead will
rise, the lame will
walk, and Christ is
breaking in the kingdom
of heaven everywhere he
steps his foot.
life and these tastes
because he just brings
the power of God.
It's happening.
And the caution is that
you could miss it just
like these Pharisees
missed it.
Thomas Watson said,
none will find it more
difficult to repent than
hypocrites.
They have juggled in
religion so much that
their treacherous hearts
know not how to repent
any longer.
And when you hear the
word of God go forth,
you must believe.
How do you know you
believe?
You repent.
You turn to Christ once
again as your only hope
in life and in death.
Watson said, hypocrisy
is this.
It's counterfeiting
sanctity.
The hypocrite pretends
to a form of godliness
like the Pharisees but
denies the power of God.
2 Timothy 3.5,
the hypocrite is a saint
in jest, like an ape
clothed in purple.
Under his mask, a
profession that he hides
his plague sores.
Isn't that an image?
An ape in a purple robe?
That's what hypocrisy is.
He is seemingly good so
that he may be really bad.
The hypocrite seems to
have his eyes nailed to
heaven, but his heart is
full of impure lustings.
He lives in secret sin
against his conscience.
Be careful to not be like
the Pharisee.
See, Jesus came to be
the Lamb of God.
He became the gate
through which his sheep
would enter now to have
fellowship with the Holy
God.
He spilled his blood.
He brings healing by his
word.
What is repentance and why
is there so much freedom
for us to live in
continual repentance?
Well, Charles Spurgeon in
the 1800s quoted a
children's hymn that was
known at the time and it
goes like this.
Repentance is to leave the
sins we loved before and
show that we in earnest
grieve by doing so no more.
Christ's kingdom advances on
earth by his living and
active word.
I want to make a
connection here for you.
The living word of God, it
still goes forth today.
Salvation is still by faith,
not by sight today.
In Ephesians 121, we're
told that Christ rules over
all the earth now and he
rules from above, from
heaven above, over all
authority and power and
dominion, above every name
that is named, not only in
this age, but also in the
age to come.
And the kingdom of heaven is
breaking in still by his
word as is proclaimed through
the church, through his
people.
So the ear, the body,
receives the word of God.
The soul believes and obeys
and trusts in Christ for
forgiveness.
And then from the soul, that
life in Christ of the age to
come works its way out in the
body.
So how do you know if you've
been converted, if you have a
new heart?
It's like the drunk man that
again with Charles Spurgeon, he
was on the streets drunk again
and Charles Spurgeon was walking
by on his way to work.
And this man said, hey, Pastor
Spurgeon, I'm one of your
converts.
Converts.
And then Spurgeon turned around
and said, yeah, you must be one
of my converts because if you
were one of God's converts, you
wouldn't be living like this.
Beware of the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees.
So we pray now that like the
hymn, Lord, haste the day when
our faith will be made sight.
The clouds will one day be
rolled back as the scroll.
The trump shall resound and the
Lord shall descend.
And if you're in Christ, you can
say, it is well with my soul.
You must respond to God's word
if you are his, if you belong to
him.
To reject his word is to be a goat.
And Jesus said in Matthew 25,
Jesus will gather all nations and
he will separate people, one from
another, as a shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats.
One will go away into eternal
punishment and the other, the
righteous in Christ to eternal
life.
Be sure that you believe now and
obey Christ, that you can have
life in him.
His kingdom is coming.
It advances on earth by his word.
So don't ignore the word of God.
Confess that it is, it is
everything that we've seen it to
be in this passage.
His word is mighty.
It works with power.
It is clear.
You can't say, I didn't understand
that I need to have faith in
Christ.
His word will search your soul.
Put yourself under his word.
His word is faith giving.
You come to the Lord weak and ask
him to work mightily in your heart
to increase your faith by his
word.
You'll see over and over in the
word of God, God is merciful toward
those who repent.
So you can come to him just as you
are.
Don't try to clean yourself up first.
And his word is personal.
He knows your heart.
He knows where you need healing
even today.
Yes, his word is humbling and
authoritative.
But let's bow the knee to our Lord
Jesus today because one day every
knee will bow in heaven and on
earth and confess that Jesus is
Lord.
Let's pray.
Amen.
from Isaiah 35.
Lord, we read how the wilderness
and the dry land will one day be
glad.
We still walk in the desert and we
feel the shadows deepen all around
us.
But we thank you, Lord, that
spiritually you've inaugurated the
kingdom of the age to come.
We pray, Lord, that you will blossom
in our hearts and our souls and our
families your abundant life, that we
can rejoice with joy and singing.
We pray that the glory and majesty of
the new creation will be breaking in,
that you will strengthen the feeble
name.
Lord, those with an anxious heart even
today, may we be strong in Christ.
May we not fear your judgment because
we know our sins are covered by your
blood.
We behold you, our God.
You will come with a vengeance to
judge the living and the dead.
But those who are united to you will
leap like a deer.
The lame will be healed and the tongue
of the mute will sing for joy.
You promise that the waters will break
forth in the wilderness and the streams
in the desert and the burning sand
shall become a pool and the thirsty
ground springs of water.
We praise you, Lord, that we can taste
that now in Christ when we taste Christ and
we can believe in you now through your
powerful word.
Amen.