Citizens of Courage (part 2)

[0:00] John 9, 24. A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.! Give glory to God, they said.! We know this man Jesus is a sinner.

[0:13] ! He answered, I have told you already and you did not listen.

[0:34] Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too? Then they hurled insults at him and said, You are this fellow's disciple.

[0:46] We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from. The man answered, Now that is remarkable.

[1:01] You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.

[1:13] Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. To this they replied, You were steeped in sin at birth.

[1:29] How dare you lecture us? And they threw him out. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. And when he found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?

[1:44] Who is he, sir? The man asked. Tell me so that I may believe in him. Jesus said, You have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.

[1:58] Then the man said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind.

[2:13] Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, What? Are we blind too? Jesus said, If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin.

[2:28] But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. I told you the truth. The man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

[2:45] The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.

[2:57] He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

[3:12] But they will never follow a stranger. In fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice. Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

[3:30] This morning we are going to finish up the rest of the blind man's story in John chapter 9.

[3:41] Last week we saw his courage, his conviction. They pressured him, and he didn't budge. They insulted him, and he didn't flinch. And we asked that question of where did that conviction, where did that steel in his spine come from?

[3:59] And it came from that truth. This I know. I don't know whether he's a sinner or not, but this I know. I was blind, but now I see. And finally, the dam of these Pharisees' self-control broke, and they just couldn't take any more.

[4:17] We just read it. You were steeped in sin at birth. Remember how John 9 begins. The disciples ask that question of, why is this man blind?

[4:30] Did he sin, or did his parents sin, that he was born blind? And it seems that these self-righteous, holier-than-thou Pharisees, say, you, them, it doesn't matter.

[4:43] You're steeped in sin. Whatever happened, you're tainted with sin through and through. How dare you lecture us? The one thing self-righteous people can't stand is someone trying to teach them something.

[5:01] And they threw him out. They threw him out of their presence. They threw him out of the synagogue. And so they excommunicated him. They excommunicated him from, the people, the faith.

[5:16] And you remember, we talked about that. That wasn't merely a religious thing. That wasn't just, oh, he was kicked out of the church.

[5:29] No, this man lost his place in the community. He lost his standing in the community. He was shunned. It's almost like the Amish.

[5:40] It seems like you're either in or you're out. There's no fuzzy gray area. And so you either get the community support or you don't exist.

[5:50] And they threw him out. And that means he's out. He's out of the social fabric. He's out of the social support. He's out of the religious. He's out of the legal support.

[6:01] He's lost his place in the spiritual community. For Jesus sake, he is out. He's done. Now, I don't know if this all happened in a day.

[6:13] Seems like it very well could have. But just think about how this man's day is gone. What a day. It started out bad.

[6:25] Because he's born blind. And he's begging like he had every other day. Had for years and years. And then it got really good. The one man who could help him.

[6:36] The one man walking on the face of the earth. That could do something about his situation. Saw him. This man didn't see Jesus. But Jesus saw him. And Jesus changed his life.

[6:51] Radically. Amazingly. He was blind. Never seen the sun a day in his life. Never seen his parents. Never seen a tree. Never seen the ground. Never seen anything.

[7:02] And all of a sudden, he can see. He's on the heights. And now he's in court. And he's drug into this courtroom.

[7:12] He's harangued. He's harassed. He's insulted. He's pressured by his own pastors, as it were. That's bad.

[7:26] That's hard to take. And finally, he's kicked out of the synagogue. For not telling him what they want to hear. So now it's hard to say how he's feeling exactly.

[7:38] Maybe he's happy. Maybe he's shocked. Maybe he doesn't know what to think. I've got my sight. That's good. But that's all I have.

[7:50] That's all I have. And what now? And so he's out there. He's out there spiritually. He's out there socially.

[8:02] He's isolated. He's alone. He's wandering around. His parents aren't probably too keen on helping him. And he's all alone.

[8:15] So let's pick up the rest of the story. And here's point number one. Jesus finds him. And Jesus went and found him.

[8:28] I love verse 35. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. And when he found him. So Jesus heard what happened to this man.

[8:38] And immediately he starts looking for him. Everyone else is ignoring him. Everyone else is. So he's walking down the street. And people are turning away from him.

[8:49] He's asking them a question. And they're acting like he doesn't even exist. They're shunning him like he has the plague. I don't know exactly what it looked like. But he's alone. And if that's me.

[9:04] If all of a sudden my whole social. My whole community. My family. Everything is now turning their back against me. I'm feeling afraid. And maybe the courage that he felt earlier is slipping away.

[9:18] Maybe it's not. As reality is setting in. What am I going to do now? You have to think of that. What am I going to do now? Where do I go?

[9:30] I'm in this all by myself. But the man didn't know. That someone was looking for him right then at that moment. Someone was looking for him.

[9:41] Someone was saying I'll stand by him. Someone was saying I'll be there for him. He's got no one. But Jesus is saying he's got me.

[9:52] And I'm going to go look for him. And Jesus like the good shepherd that he is. And that's why we had those passages read. Because they go together. Jesus is being this good shepherd.

[10:02] And he's now finding his sheep. Jesus like the good shepherd that he is. Goes and he's with his sheep. And that's really lesson number one. It's a lesson for Jesus troubled sheep.

[10:13] For his persecuted sheep. And it's this. Jesus will stand by his faithful witnesses. Jesus will stand by his faithful witnesses.

[10:26] This man suffers for Jesus' sake. And Jesus notices. And Jesus comes to his side. So men can kick you out of the community. This is what I want to talk to you guys.

[10:39] Talk to us. Men can kick you out of the community. Men. Christian. Men can leave you on the edge at work. Isolated.

[10:51] You don't fit in. Or teenage girls. Teenage boys. In school. In college. You can be pushed to the edge.

[11:03] So you don't fit in. With all the other kids. You don't fit in. At work. You're isolated. And. You've made a stand for Jesus.

[11:15] You've made it clear. That you're with him. And now people. Don't really want much to do with you. And that hurts. Now is that bad?

[11:29] Is that wrong? That it hurts? No. I think it's natural. We are social creatures. Aren't we? The very fact that God saves us. And puts us together.

[11:39] Is not saying. That's not. That's saying. This is the way it's supposed to be. This is the way it was originally. We belong together. We were created for community. We were created for friendship.

[11:50] We were created for group life. And it hurts. Doesn't it? Doesn't it? It hurts when your family doesn't accept you.

[12:02] It hurts you. When you are excluded. And this is what this passage is teaching us.

[12:13] That they can exclude you from the inner circle. Men at work. They can exclude you from the cool kids in high school. And college. They can exclude you from their communion.

[12:24] But they can't exclude you from the communion of Christ. They can't exclude you from him. They can take away their friendship. But they can't take away Jesus' friendship with you.

[12:39] The moment this man begins to feel his loneliness. Is the moment the good shepherd goes and finds his sheep. And the friend of sinners.

[12:49] Shows up on his doorstep. And he's there. Remember when everyone deserted Paul. He's on trial. Before Caesar.

[13:00] It's a very high pressure. High stakes situation. And everyone deserts him. And Paul says. You know. I don't hold that against them. I think in a way he understood.

[13:12] Yeah. They should have. It would have been good. But that was a big deal. That's a hard pill to swallow. But Paul says. You know. When everyone else deserted me.

[13:23] The Lord stood by my side. What does that mean? I think this is what it means. Is that. Paul knew.

[13:36] Paul felt it as real. Experientially. In his bones. In his soul. He did not feel alone. In that courtroom.

[13:49] He. It was. Jesus was there with him. Jesus was supporting him. I'm alone. But I'm not alone. I'm not alone at all. I have the best person.

[14:00] In the whole universe. Right beside me. Helping me. And so. Yeah. It would be nice. If other people were there. But. Oh. Jesus is more than enough. He's more than enough.

[14:10] That. He was enough for Paul. He was more than enough. For this man. And so. When we've been robbed. Of our families. Those are actually. Some of the most frightening. Words. In all of the Bible.

[14:22] When Jesus is warning. Christians. His disciples. You know what? It's going to happen. Your mother-in-law. Is going to turn against you. Your parents. Will turn you in.

[14:33] Your children. Will have you killed. When we're robbed. Of our families. Jesus does come to us.

[14:45] And says. I'm your family. I'm your family. I'll be your brother. Jesus is not ashamed. To call us brothers. When they take away.

[14:56] Their friendship. He gives his people. A greater sense. Of his friendship. It was on the very last night. You remember. They're up in the room. They feel isolated. John says. It's dark.

[15:06] It was dark outside. And what he's. Saying more than just. Telling the time of the day. He's telling the condition. Of how the disciples felt. It's dark outside.

[15:16] And it's dark. In the disciples hearts. They are troubled. The world seems. All against them. All they have. Are these men. That are in this room. With them now. And they're in the middle. Of a city.

[15:26] That has turned their back. On them. And the temperature. Is now rising. And it's higher. And higher. And the. It says. The disciples hearts. Began to become troubled. They're afraid.

[15:37] And it's in that context. That Jesus says. You know what? I don't call you servants anymore. I call you friends. They're thinking.

[15:47] We don't have a friend in the world. And Jesus saying. I'm a friend. You got me. Now this man lost so much. But he was well repaid.

[15:59] He was well repaid. Christ goes. And he finds him. He stands by his side. And what we want. What I want to say to us. When we are in these situations. Is we need to take heart.

[16:10] Because Jesus. Goes to us. In those moments. And he makes himself known. He stands by us. And so what do we say? I just think of the.

[16:22] How Hebrews. As it's wrapping itself up. He says. Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence. The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid.

[16:33] What can man do to me? When he says. I won't leave you. I won't forsake you. Though your mother. Your father. They forsake you. I won't forsake you.

[16:46] So we say with confidence. The Lord is my helper. I won't be afraid. What can man do to me? With Jesus on our side. With Jesus by my side. I have everything I need.

[16:57] We sing a hymn. Occasionally. That begins like this. Jesus. I my cross have taken.

[17:10] You've told us we have to pick up our cross and follow. Jesus. I've taken my cross. Jesus. I my cross have taken all to leave and follow thee.

[17:22] I'm leaving everyone behind me. To follow you. Destitute. Despised. Forsaken. Thou from hence my all shall be.

[17:35] That's old language for saying. From now on. You're my all in all. I have a cross. It means pain. I'm destitute. Despised.

[17:45] Forsaken. But you know what? I have you. I have you. Men may trouble and distress me. Twill but drive me to thy breast.

[17:56] And that's our first lesson. That when men try you. And trouble you. And distress you. That is when Jesus takes you. And holds you to his chest.

[18:07] Holds you to his heart. When we lose. Whatever we lose for him. Or when we lose for him. He stands by our side. The second lesson.

[18:19] Is for everyone. That was the first lesson. It's just for his troubled sheep. For his persecuted people. The second lesson. Is for everyone here. Is for everyone here. And you see what Jesus does next.

[18:33] He finds this man. And he has a question for him. He says. Do you believe in the son of man? It's a strange question. We don't. Like. I don't think we normally.

[18:43] We don't feel it. We don't understand. Why. Why is Jesus saying this? What does this question mean? Do you believe in the son of man? We have to understand. What Jesus is talking about. When Jesus calls himself.

[18:54] The son of man. He's not saying. I'm a man. A lot of people have said that. Or something like that. Son of man. Was a less used. Less politically charged. If you talked about.

[19:05] Someone is the Christ. All of a sudden. There is a whole bunch of political baggage. In the Jewish culture. It's going to. Put things in an uproar. It's a less politically charged name.

[19:15] For the Messiah. It comes from Daniel chapter 7. I'm not going to have you turn there now. But you can look there. In Daniel chapter 7. He sees these images of these beasts. And all the rest.

[19:26] And then at the end. He sees one who is like the son of man. Like a son of man. And he comes with the clouds of heaven. He's wrapped up in the glory.

[19:37] And the splendor of God. And now he's coming down to earth. And he's in the context. He's in the middle of all of these. Violent. Evil. Nations. And governments. And now he comes.

[19:49] And it says. He's given authority. And glory. And power. Over all people. Peoples. Nations. And men of every language. Will worship him. And his kingdom. Will never be destroyed.

[20:00] All these other kingdoms. When he comes. It's going to be destroyed. The son of man. But his kingdom will last forever. That's what Jesus is talking about. That's who he's talking about.

[20:12] To this man. Do you believe in the son of man? Man. And that's what Jesus means. When he calls himself the son of man. He's God's anointed.

[20:23] He's God's appointed king. He's David's son. And yet he is David's Lord. He's coming with the clouds of glory.

[20:34] And he's coming to judge. He's coming to destroy these wicked. Satanic. Violent. Evil. Governments. Amen. And he's bringing in God's kingdom.

[20:45] That's who the son of man is. So do you believe in the son of man? Maybe you understand the question a little bit better then. Jesus is asking this man.

[20:59] Are you? Are you looking forward? To what God is going to do? Are you trusting in God's rescue? And God's salvation? Are you hoping in God's savior king?

[21:11] Because this man had already seen and felt the satanic kingdom at work. He just went through that. That's what you see when you see a courtroom already decided.

[21:27] Full of hatred. Full of insult. Full of fear. This man had already seen and felt Satan's kingdom at work. He just lived through that at the synagogue. It's a synagogue. It's a synagogue of Satan.

[21:40] He'd seen power wielded to destroy those who oppose it. To frighten them. He's seen power wielded in pride.

[21:52] And so Jesus' question is a very appropriate one. I mean, this man is thinking, I just got kicked out of my whole community by these bullies because I didn't say what they wanted me to say.

[22:08] And all I had to say was the truth. The obvious truth. And so this question is to the very heart of the issue. Man, you have seen man's kingdom.

[22:18] You've seen what they do to people. You see what they've done to you. Now, out of the wreckage of that, is your hope, your confidence in God?

[22:33] Are you looking for his salvation? Are you longing for him? And you can tell Jesus is now talking about something that is happening right now because this man says, Who is he, sir, that I may believe him?

[22:47] Now, I think what is happening here is this man is already convinced that Jesus is a prophet, that he comes from God. He's already said that, right? He is from God. If he's not from God, God wouldn't listen to him.

[22:59] And this man has already gave me my sight. He's obviously from God. And so this man is already saying, you know what? I believe Jesus is a prophet. And now he's saying, Mr. Prophet, tell me who he is that I might believe in him.

[23:16] I'm looking, but I need to know who he is that I might believe in him. Show me him. I'm ready to believe, but I need a face. I need a name. Point him out to me.

[23:28] Point the one who's coming to save. Point the one who's coming to ruin all that nasty government that I just went through. Tell me so I can believe in him.

[23:39] And Jesus says, you've seen him. Just think about what that means.

[23:52] This man couldn't see anything a day earlier. But now one of the first people that he sees is the son of man. You've seen him. And in fact, he's the one speaking with you.

[24:07] What a moment. For hundreds of years, prophets had been looking for him.

[24:19] For hundreds of years, the earth had been longing and groaning. We need a savior. We need a king. And here he is.

[24:33] This man is saying, I'm ready for his kingdom. I'm ready for the kingdom of God. And Jesus says, here I am. I'm the king. You're talking to him.

[24:44] And immediately this man says, Lord, I believe. Faith in a moment just reaches out and grabs a hold of Jesus. I believe. I believe that you're more than a prophet.

[24:56] I believe you're the savior king. I believe you're the Messiah. And so with faith, hope, confidence, joy in a moment swells up out of this heart, out of this man's heart. And he grabs a hold of Jesus.

[25:08] He rests on Jesus. And like a bird who's been flying around without any place, he lands on Jesus' branches. He crashes into his arms. And like Mary, after the resurrection, he holds on to Jesus.

[25:21] He falls at his feet, holds on to him, and is kissing his feet. This man is my healer, is my king. The one who gave me my sight is my Lord.

[25:36] And I'm worshiping him. He's my all in all. Synagogue. Community. Pharisees.

[25:51] Who needs it? Who needs them? I have the king. I have the king. Life isn't in the synagogue. Life isn't in the Pharisees' dead religion.

[26:04] Life isn't in their smiles. Life isn't in the approval and the acceptance of all those people. Here's life. Here he is. He's walking around. He's right in front of me.

[26:15] And down he goes in worship. Kissing his feet and adoring him. Now that's the second lesson. Jesus is calling everyone who has seen the light to believe in him.

[26:31] To this kind of singular reliance on him. See, this man is doing something. He's turning away from everything that he had had in his past.

[26:42] He had turned away from his ideas of religion. He had turned away from the Pharisees. He had turned away from their acceptance and their safety. And now he's saying, I'm trusting everything.

[26:53] You're everything. And that's what I'm saying. That Jesus calls anyone who has seen the light. Who has heard the gospel. Who has had an encounter with Jesus. To this kind of faith.

[27:08] So have you heard the gospel? Has the light shone on your eyes? And the answer is yes. If this is not your very first time here. Then the light has shone in your eyes.

[27:23] You've heard of Jesus. You've seen Jesus. You've heard the proclamation. Every week we turn on the spotlight. We turn on the lighthouse. We shine it out from the front to the back.

[27:36] Everyone here hears it. Everyone here sees it. The gospel light is in this place. Just like the sun shone in this man's eyes.

[27:47] It has shone in your eyes. And now Jesus comes to you. And calls you to faith. Calls you to trust him.

[27:59] It might be for the 100th time. The 1,000th time. Because we need to do that. Constant acts of faith. It could be very well for the very first time.

[28:12] Do you believe in the son of man? See your hope. That coming king. Your savior. Your lord. You're better than the whole world.

[28:23] You're all in all. There's the world with its power. And its persuasion. There's the world with its deathly loving embrace. You grab it. It's promising you life.

[28:33] But here's Jesus saying, I've come. I've come from heaven to earth. And I've come on a mission of salvation. And I've come on a mission of destruction.

[28:44] And I'm God's king. I'm the savior. I'm the world kingdom destroyer. I'm here. Do you trust in me? I'm calling you to worship.

[28:56] Calling you to your. I'm calling you to fall down. I'm calling for your allegiance. I want your heart. I want your trust. I want your worship.

[29:07] I am your all in all. Leave the world. And come to me. That's the call. Give up your allegiance.

[29:20] To the world. Your reliance on them. Give up your reliance on yourself. And with joy. Give it all to him.

[29:32] Now if you have heard the gospel. Jesus wants you. Wants all of you. That's the second. That's the second lesson.

[29:43] Just like he comes to this man. And he is pressing for faith. He is coming to everyone here. And saying. I want your faith. I want your trust.

[29:54] I want your heart. I want you down in front of me. I want you to receive me as your savior. And your Lord. So that's the second lesson.

[30:05] Now here's the third lesson. Jesus has put us all. On the knife's edge. Jesus has put us all. On the knife's edge.

[30:15] And you're going to see what I mean by that. In a second. You see what he says next. For judgment. I've come into this world. For judgment.

[30:28] I've come into this world. Now if you're paying attention. If you've been paying attention. Over the last few weeks. A few weeks ago. I preached on John chapter 3. And Jesus said to Nicodemus there.

[30:40] I didn't come into the world. To judge the world. But to save it. Hmm. That seems. Like the exact opposite. Of what he's saying here. So.

[30:51] What's. How do we solve that? What do we do with that? Earlier he said. I didn't come into the world. To judge the world. But now here he is saying.

[31:02] For judgment. I've come. How do you reconcile those two things? Let me explain it like this. So.

[31:16] Last week I was. Sitting there. And. My brother Stan was leading worship. And I knew what I was going to preach about.

[31:28] I guess that's a good thing. Isn't it? I knew what I was preaching about. And I knew how I was going to end. And I knew.

[31:39] That. In that message. There is a call. To cry out. To Jesus. To make me see. I need to see. It was going to end with a gospel call.

[31:54] Here's Jesus. He can give you the light. Here's Jesus. He come to the light. He. He sight for the blind. He's everything. And this. And while I'm sitting there.

[32:04] This feeling of almost. I wish. I didn't. Have to do this. I wish. I didn't have such a definitive.

[32:16] Sharp. Demanding. Insistent. Urgent. Life and death. Gospel. To preach. I wish. I had some. Easier thing.

[32:28] Some less. Demanding thing. Some less. Heaven and hell. Everything. On the line. Thing. I wish. It was something. Different. I must wish.

[32:41] I wasn't preaching it. And the answer. Like why? Not because it's not a good message. Why?

[32:54] I'll tell you why. For some of your sakes. For some of your sakes. Because you see. When the light comes.

[33:04] When the truth comes. When the gospel of Jesus Christ comes. Some people receive it. And are saved. And some hear it. And harden themselves against it. And walk further.

[33:16] Down. Into the darkness. So right here in this place. The gospel. Is dividing people. People from people.

[33:28] You could be sitting right next to each other. And a totally different process. Is taking place. Some hear the gospel. And receive it with joy.

[33:38] And some. Reject it. And push it away. And in pushing it away.

[33:50] They push themselves away from salvation. They push themselves away from God. They push themselves deeper into hell. That's what they do. So Jesus is a catalyst.

[34:00] You know. If you're a chemist. A catalyst. Is something that starts a. A chemical process. Jesus is a catalyst. He's always starting spiritual chemical reactions. And he's an accelerant.

[34:12] He's like gasoline on a fire. It makes it burn hotter. For good or for bad. He speeds up the process. So we used to do this.

[34:23] You know. In high school chemistry. In college chemistry. We would do. Experiments. Where you would have a solution. And you know. There's something in the solution.

[34:33] I don't know what it is. I can't think of it. It's like 20 years ago. A liquid. With something in it. And the question is. Well how do you separate it out? How do you get whatever. The other thing that's in there.

[34:45] How do you get it out? Well you got to put the right. Ingredient in there. You add an ingredient. And so you add the ingredient. And it starts to fizz.

[34:56] It starts to react. And soon things start. Solidifying. And things start falling out. And sinking to the bottom. Jesus is like that.

[35:08] He shows up. And things start. Reacting. Things start flying apart. Things start to separate. He is the most divisive.

[35:20] Divisive. Divisive person ever. You can't stand by. And not have a reaction to him. You just can't. So.

[35:31] He's like Donald Trump. Or he's like Colin Kaepernick. Or he's like Martin Luther. He's like any. Divisive person. That you could think of. You have to have an opinion.

[35:42] You react in some way. No one has a vanilla opinion. You can't have a mild opinion. And so here we are. We're all unseparated.

[35:53] And the gospel of Jesus Christ. Goes out. And some people take Jesus. And are saved. And some people. Some poor souls. Reject him. And condemn themselves.

[36:07] That's the danger. That's the knife's edge. I'm talking about. The gospel.

[36:19] Instead of bringing salvation. Which is why Jesus came. It ends up bringing judgment. No one is more blind.

[36:34] Than someone who shuts their eyes. Even tighter. When the light shines. Instead of forgiveness. It's more condemnation. Instead of light. It's more darkness. And out of salvation.

[36:46] They pluck. Damnation. Because who is really. Cursed. On the last day.

[37:01] Woe to you. Chorazin. Woe to you. Bethsaida. And you. Capernaum. Will you be lifted up. To the skies. No.

[37:12] You will go. Down. Into the depths. If the miracles. That were performed. And you had been performed. In Sodom. It would have remained. To this day. But I tell you. That it will be more.

[37:22] Bearable. For Sodom. On that day. Then it will. Be. For you. That's the kind of judgment.

[37:33] That Jesus is talking about. He didn't come. The first time. In the world. To bring that judgment. But his very. Existence. His very. Message.

[37:46] Divides people. He came to save. Life. But the question is. Is how. Will you. Escape. If you. Neglect.

[37:57] That salvation. He didn't judge anyone. They judge themselves. They claim to see.

[38:08] The sea. And so. They bound. Their own sin. Around their own. Necks. And then. They threw themselves. Into the sea. They claim.

[38:20] To be good. They claim. To not need. Salvation. And so they destroyed themselves. The heaven sent rock of salvation, rock of ages, cleft for me.

[38:39] That salvation, that rock becomes something that they stumble and fall over. And every gospel message you ignore only heightens your danger.

[38:54] That's what Jesus is talking about. That's he's talking to these Pharisees. How long are you going to keep refusing me? There is a risk.

[39:07] So Jesus has come through the gate and he's calling his sheep and his sheep follow him. And they hear his voice and they come. And for the rest, what does that do to them? They're seeing the sheep.

[39:19] They're seeing people follow Jesus. They're seeing them leave. And they're there. And they won't hear his voice. And they won't follow him. Their very refusal is the judgment upon themselves.

[39:32] Their very refusal judges them. They condemn themselves. The most dangerous place in the world right now is right here. The gospel is the most dangerous message that you will ever hear.

[39:47] Not because if you accept it, you'll be rejected and condemned by the world. That is a danger. There is danger involved. But if you hear it and you reject it, God will reject you.

[40:05] And what will you say then? What excuse will you have? You heard it. And you refused it.

[40:17] You didn't want it. Some people say, what about the people that have never heard the gospel? And I say, what about the people that have heard the gospel and didn't believe it?

[40:30] What about the people that have never heard the gospel? And what about you who have heard the gospel and have refused it?

[40:44] Whose penalty, whose judgment will be greater? Them or you? Jesus gives us at least a way to think about them.

[40:57] If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. What he's getting at there, what he's saying is, is your guilt and your innocence, to some degree, depends on how much you know.

[41:10] How much light you have received. If you are truly blind, then you are not held accountable for the light you didn't have. So what about you?

[41:25] This is what I'm talking about, the knife's edge. This is a moment of crisis. This is the moment where you stand or fall. Every heart here is going to make a decision.

[41:40] You're going to go further into Jesus or you're going to go further away. You can ignore the Son of Man one more time. You can heap more unbelieving scorn on him, saying, I don't believe you.

[41:55] I don't trust you. I can do better than you. Or you can do what this man did. You can fall at Jesus' feet in worship.

[42:08] You're going to do one or the other. You can't do nothing. Like it or not, you have to decide. That's what moments of crises are about.

[42:20] You have to do something. Like it or not, you have to do something. And so, for your own sake, I would beg you.

[42:31] Believe in the Son of Man for your own sake. For your own sake. Put your faith in him and fall down and worship him and take him for your all in all.

[42:47] Let's pray. What a frightening thing the gospel can be. Oh, Lord.

[43:03] What a dangerous thing it is if we don't handle it properly. If we don't in faith fall down and worship and throw our arms around Jesus.

[43:15] But if we go on rejecting him, how dangerous, how terrible. Holy Spirit, you are like that wind.

[43:27] You can blow into any heart. You don't ask for permission. You don't give your plan. You do what you want. So, Holy Spirit, I pray that you would come and blow into sinners' hearts here and open their eyes.

[43:44] I beg that you would rescue them from themselves. Rescue them from plucking damnation out of salvation.

[43:56] Or plucking judgment out of good news. We feel ourselves helpless for them.

[44:07] We can't do anything to make them believe. We can't do anything to change their minds or give them sight, to give them faith.

[44:19] So, Lord, do something for your own name's sake. Do something for their sake, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[44:29] Amen. Amen.