I would like to give you all
a warm welcome to our worship here this morning. Let us come
before the Lord, let us ask his blessing in prayer. Let us pray. Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we seek to come into thine earthly courts in thy fear and seeking
to worship thee in spirit and in truth. We pray thy blessing
upon this thy day and that we might know the power of thy spirit
attending the Word, helping in speaking and in hearing. And
Lord, do bless us that we might go and enter upon this week in
thy strength and with thy blessing. We ask through thy name, Lord
Jesus. Amen. Hymn 548. Tune, Seacombe 838. Let us read together from the Holy
Word of God, the Gospel according to John, and chapter 5. And we are joining us with one
of our free Bibles, that is page 985. The Gospel according to
John chapter 5 from verse 1. After this there was a feast
of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at
Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the
Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a
great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting
for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain
season into the pool, and troubled the water. Whosoever then first,
after the troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole of
whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there,
which had an infirmity thirty and eight years, When Jesus saw
him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that
case, he saith unto him, Will thou be made whole? The impotent
man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled,
to put me into the pool. But while I am coming, another
steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take
up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made
whole, and took up his bed, and walked. And on the same day was
the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said unto
him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day, it is not lawful
for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, he that made
me whole, the same said unto me, take up thy bed and walk. Then answered they him, what
man is that which said unto thee, take up thy bed and walk? and
he that was healed wist not who it was. For Jesus had conveyed
himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art
made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee. The man departed and told the
Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole. And therefore
did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because
he had done these things on the Sabbath day. But Jesus answered
them, My father worketh hitherto and I were. Therefore the Jews
sought the Moor to kill him, because he not only had broken
the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself
equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do, For what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father
loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth,
and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may
marvel. For as the Father raiseth up
the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom
he will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should
honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth
not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but
is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For
as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute
judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at
this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that
have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done
evil unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own
self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment
is just. because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness
of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth
witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesseth
of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bear
witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from
man, but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was
a burning and a shining light, and ye were willing for a season
to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than
that of John, for the works which the Father hath given me to finish. The same works that I do bear
witness of me that the Father hath sent me. And the Father
himself which hath sent me hath borne witness of me. Ye have
neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding
in you, for whom he hath sent him ye believe not. Search the
Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they
are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me that
ye might have life. I receive not honour from men,
but I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. I am
come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not. If another
shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe
which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that
cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse
you to the Father. There is one that accuses you,
even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye
would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if ye believe
not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? The Lord bless
to us that reading of his holy word, and help us as we come
before him in prayer. Let us pray. Lord God of heaven
and of earth, our loving Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the
throne of grace and we do pray that Thou would grant us that
access through Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, we would bow before Thee,
acknowledging our sinfulness, the many transgressions, our
many departures from Thee, our distance from Thee, the workings
of our heart, the steps of our feet, Lord, the thoughts and
affections so often by sin defiled that carry us away. We do pray
for the help of Thy Spirit to, as often as sin defiles, to be
confessing to coming before Thy throne. We pray for that closer
walk with Thee. Lord, do grant unto us that we
might have those times of real fellowship and communion with
Thee. O Lord, save us from busyness,
even in religious things, that shuts out close communion with
Thee. Make us to be like Mary. Grant us to choose that better
path than Martha, so cumbered about. with much serving. O Lord, we do pray for help in
this, how often we discern if we come to thy word, if we come
to prayer, then often our minds are filled with things that need
to be attended to, need to be done. And Lord, even to make
us feel guilty of spending time with thee. And yet if we are
looking at or listening something that is empty and frivolous and
vain, then we have no such thoughts and so no such accusations. And O Lord, we would be mindful
of this, is the very great difference where we have opposition and
where we don't. And Lord, that Thou hast helped
us to press through that crowd of things that seek to crowd
Thee out and leave no time for Thee, Lord, who grant that we
might delight in Thee and in Thy Word and in Thy people, that
Thou hast grant us that sweet meditation upon Thee, upon Thy
Word, upon Thy kind providences, and what Thou hast done for us
and what Thou hast wrought to bring us into the end of Psalm
107, who so is wise and will observe these things,
even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.
We do pray that we might be given grace to walk after the Spirit,
and not after the flesh. That Thou hast granted us, Lord,
that we might deny ourselves, that we might not indulge our
flesh, that we might abstain from the lust of the flesh, which
war against our souls. that Thou hast helped us through
Thy Word today and renew us and strengthen us. Lord, we have
sung of the heart of man, man by nature that does not see his
need, that does not seek unto Thee or seeks unto Thee last. And Lord, we pray that we might
be delivered from all that keeps us from Thee. who make a difference
in our lives, that we might feel the real need of that daily,
hourly walk with Thee. Make us to be like Enoch, who
walked with Thee and was not, for Thou didst take him. O Lord,
do grant us to walk in the steps of Thy people that have gone
before us. Make us to be a people so separated
by Thy grace from this world that we might have a real evidence
that we are being prepared for that which is to come. We thank
Thee for that which Thou set before us in Thy Word, a change,
a change that shall come, that shall transform us from this
earth to that heavenly kingdom, when we shall be absent from
the body but present with the Lord, when we shall be in that
world to come, when, Lord, we shall be free of this cumbersome
clay. O Lord, do grant us to oft think
of a future habitation and do make it very real for us so that
we are able to tread underfoot the empty and vain things of
this poor dying world. Lord, that we might be helped
to consider but a few days, a few years, and we shall be no more
here. but then entered into an eternal
state, an eternal existence. And Lord, do grant unto us it
might be with thee and not away from thee, it might be in heaven
and not hell, that we might have here below very clear evidence
of thy calling. Lord, we feel we cling to earth
and earth clings to us. Lord, hear intercession for the
people of God here and each that hears thy word and joins with
us. Lord, we do beg of Thee that
Thou hast grant unto us that close walk with Thee and the
blessing of God, Thy blessing in our souls. Lord, we pray for
us as a church and people to be built up and strengthened
and this house of God filled with hungering thirsty souls.
That Thou hast blessed the ministries of this church here, online,
and through the distribution of thy word, that thou hast be
pleased to bless our testimony, our being in this town and do
work in this place. Lord, we know there is nothing
too hard for thee. Thou art able to move men's,
women's, children's hearts, to incline their heart to come and
hear thy word. And we pray for this. We pray
for thy work, that miraculous, work of God, that which only
thou canst do. We know that thou dost use means,
and we pray for openings, and we pray for help to use those
means. But we know that the means on
their own shall never convert a soul, to never bring one to
come and join with the people of God, shall never bring any
to be saved, is thy spirit's work alone. And Lord, we do seek
unto thee, For Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, do sanctify us, make us
meet for the Master's use, and to be used of Thee. We do see,
Lord, that Thou dost remember many that are sick amongst us
and known to us. Do, where it is Thy will, grant
Thy kind, healing hand, and, Lord, those that have terminal
illnesses, do kindly be with them, lengthen their days, Grant
them that quality time with their loved ones and that sweet blessing
and hope beyond the grave and anticipation of so soon to be
with thee. And yet we know that those of
us that may have no sign and no thought that our lives are
near the end, yet we may be the first and not the last. For thou
hast said many that are first shall be last and last first. Do grant that we might be delivered
from a false security and thought that life shall just go on and
on. Do cause that our houses might
be in order spiritually and naturally. And let those help us as we enter
upon another week, that we might order and fashion our ways to
seek Thee. and to do those things that are
conducive to a close walk with Thee and that do not allow in
the adversary and the world into our hearts. We thank Thee for
every mercy and favour both temporal and spiritual, Thou art a good,
gracious and merciful God. We thank Thee for the liberties
that we have and blessings in this land and we pray for those
that don't have these benefits in other lands and those that
are persecuted for righteousness saying, we pray for the poor
and destitute in this land, and those, O Lord, that are finding
things very difficult to manage day by day and week by week,
Lord, to help them be with them. We do seek, Lord, that blessing
on a coming generation, that thou hast raised up a generation
that shall serve thee. O bless our churches, be with
us in this land, those in Australia, in Canada and America, and do
bless Thy people everywhere. Be with our dear friends in Holland,
we do commit them unto Thee, and we pray for each of Thy servants. We commit this week unto Thee,
the young peoples at the end of it, at Heathfield, we seek
Thy blessing upon those meetings, and that Thou be pleased to be
with our dear aged friends as we minister to them and be with
them this afternoon. May thy blessing be upon the
Pilgrim Home and upon Bethesda. Now, Lord, be with thy people
in the eventide of their lives. Now, Lord, do grant unto us that
help of thy spirit as we turn to thy word. Open thy word to
us and make it a blessing to us. We do seek, Lord, this mercy
and this blessing through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. God willing, I'm expected to
preach here this evening at 6.30pm, on Thursday at 7 o'clock, and
next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. On Saturday at Heathfield is
the next Young People's Meeting, which I am due to take. The collections taken during
October, for which we give thanks to God and also give you thanks
and we'll bless you in your giving. For the cause here, 981 pounds
and five pence. For the free Bible fund, which
was the collection at our Thanksgiving services, 440 pounds and 56 pence. Also give thanks to those
who kindly give through the pastor's box. Hymn, 729. Tune, Downham 840. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to the Gospel according to John
chapter 5 and reading for our text verse 6. When Jesus saw him lying and
knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto
him, Will thou be made whole. John 5 verse 6 and I want to
consider this morning seven things that Jesus did to the impotent
man. So we'll be looking really at
this whole account but we have read when the Lord first interacts
with him and first speaks to him and it is with a question. Before we come to those seven
points, I want to consider some other aspects, especially with
regard to angels. It may be your reaction has been
similar to mine or to others. As we read the Word of God, we
may be used to hearing of the miracles that our Lord did, and
those things that He performed, that as in this chapter bear
witness that God was His Father. And may we notice how clearly
the Jews, they realized that when our Lord was speaking, He
was clearly setting forth. He was the Son of God. He was truly the father, father's
son, and one with the father. They persecuted him because he
had not kept the Sabbath day. But then when he says, my father
worketh hitherto, and I work in verse 17, then we read, therefore
the Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken
the Sabbath but said also that he was God his Father making
himself equal with God. Truly he was the eternal Son
of God and equal in every sense, in every way with the Father. But we have this introduction
and speaking of angels, and this troubling of the water, this
pool, and it's quite a different appearance, a different approach
than what we read in other parts of the world. Dr. Hawker, he
wonders whether God had done this, the 400 silent years, where
there's no prophets, where we don't read of any other miracles,
that this angel was sent to this pool, and that this was a reminder
of the power and miracles of God. It is really only conjecture,
but it does, of course, bring the question, when did this start
to happen? How long was it? If he'd been
38 years, that is from before our Lord Jesus Christ was born. If he'd been lying there at that
pool and this miracle had been happening all this time. We need to be reminded of the
presence of angels, the angels host in heaven. We live in a
spiritual world, a world that we cannot see those powers that
are all the way around us. We read in Hebrews of those ministering
spirits sent to minister to them that are the heirs of salvation. We are mindful of the angels'
role in bringing the tidings of the birth or coming birth
of the Lord to Joseph, to Mary, to naming our Lord, and then
to the shepherds when he was born, the appearance of the angel
before that to Zacharias when he was ministering and then telling
him of the coming of John Baptist. And we think of our Lord's temptations,
that Satan, again an angel, a fallen archangel, he speaks of the word
of God, he shall give his angels charge over thee, lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone. Our Lord referred to the angels
in heaven, the joy that they have over one sinner that repenteth. He speaks when he comes to be
crucified and slain, that he could pray the Father, and he'd
presently give him 12 legion of angels. A legion is 6,000. That's 72,000 angels. We have little idea of the spiritual
realm and the power of those things. We are so earthbound.
We only see what we do see. And yet, how many times in the
scripture we're reminded of Peter's deliverance from prison, the
angels send to open the prison doors. The angel that stood by
Paul in the middle of the sea in a hurricane and assured him
that he would have the lives of all those with him and the
ship would be wrecked but they would be saved. And we could
go on many times throughout the scriptures that we are told of
this spiritual realm. The angels given as the reason
why the women should wear a head covering in the house of God,
that she should have power on her head because of the angels,
because they are viewing the assemblies of the people of God.
And where God has set forth the headship of God, of Christ, of
the man and of the woman, and given the sign as the head covering,
a sign to show and symbolize that headship, a covering of
the woman's natural glory of her hair, the angels see a very
different picture than in the Garden of Eden, where Eve took
it upon herself to speak to Satan, instead of referring him to her
husband, who was her head, and through that sin entered into
the world, death by sin. The Church of God is to be different. It is to be in God's order and
with the headship God has appointed. And through that passage in 1
Corinthians 11, we again get a picture of angels viewing the
assemblies of the people of God. And so when we come to a passage
like this, And we read that an angel went down at a certain
season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first,
after the troubling of the water, stepped in was made whole of
whatsoever disease he had. We read of that which was actually
happening. We do not think that this is.
just discerned spiritually, there was a pool, the angel did come
down, he did trouble the water, those that were gathered round,
those that first came in, they were healed. These are statements
of facts here. They are statements of what God
had ordered for this present time. We know, of course, as
we've sung in our middle hymn, that this can very clearly applying
to gospel days, applying to coming to the gospel table, coming to
hear the Word of God, to hear it preached, and we are dependent
upon the work of the Holy Spirit. We're work of the power of God
to bless the Word, to make it come like it did to the Thessalonians,
not in word only, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. And so there is a gospel parallel
where we come to the house of God and we are waiting, we are
dependent upon the power of the Spirit and the blessing of God
upon the Word. But how quickly this one was
healed. He did not have to wait. He did
not have to get himself down into the pool. It was the Lord
that appeared for him. And again, we can bring another
thought in this, because right through the book of Hebrews,
then we have there the comparison of our Lord with the angels. It was that first chapter in
Hebrews that I quoted about the ministering spirits, sent forth
to minister to them who shall be the heirs of salvation. right through Hebrews, there's
a comparison between the angels and our Lord, and how much superior
our Lord is than to the angels. In that first chapter of Hebrews, of the angels, he says, who make
us the angel spirits, his ministers of flame, of fire, and And when
he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, Let
all the angels of God worship him. And as a comparison, but
to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right
hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And so right through
Hebrews is the comparison angels better. sorry, our Lord Jesus
Christ better than the angels. So here we have the pool and
an angel coming in, the ministration of angels. And then we have our
Lord coming and immediately he heals the one without him going
into the pool at all. Perhaps a comparison as well
with the Mount of Transfiguration. We have our Lord there with His
disciples, the three disciples, Peter, James and John, and they
see a vision and they see Moses and Elias. Moses representing
the law, Elias representing the prophets, our Lord, and then
they see Jesus only. The Spirit showing us this, the
law and the prophets unto our Lord. And he comes, he fulfills
the law, he fulfills the prophecies. And so we could expect the same
thing here with angels. Whatever ministration of angels,
our Lord is exalted and lifted up above them. I want to come now to these seven
points, these things that the Lord did to this man and and
we can we can apply this in gospel days but it's good to look an
account like this and to actually take on board what the lord is
doing now in our text the very first thing that jesus did was
to ask him a question will thou be made whole Well, we sang in
our little hymn, and I think it might have been our first
hymn, where those that are not wrought upon by the Spirit, they
don't see a need of salvation at all. They don't feel they're
in need of a heavenly position. And even those that do, they
come to the Lord last. And so this question is a question
we could ask ourselves and really ask all. Will thou be made whole? In one sense, you think, why
did the Lord have to ask this? In our assemblies, in our churches,
in our chapels, if we were to come to those who have not yet
made a profession of faith, those who, by their own lack of profession,
are really saying that we know not the Lord. With the heart
man believeth, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And to ask them, wilt thou be
made whole? Or are you happy to come and
go to the house of God all your days? You are happy to be a nominal
Christian, but never be able to say that I am whole. I am the Lord's, I am born again
of the Spirit, I am called by the grace of God, I am a child
of God, I am not just body but whole in spirit as well. Remember
John in his epistles, he wishes one that he might be in health
even as his soul prospers. So he's joining together a prosperity
of soul and prosperity of body. And some have said that if we
were to wish that on some people, then they would die, because
spiritually, they are dead. They are not prospering in their
soul. So this is a question to us, in our maladies, in our sin,
with our besetting sins, with our spiritual condition. Are
we whole? Are we what we would Be before
God or do we have the malady of sin? Are we wrestling with
besetting sins? Are we troubled with the corruptions
of our heart? Are we troubled by lack of assurance
and lack of comfort and hope beyond the grave? Wilt thou be
made whole? How would we answer that question? May the word be this morning
through. the word here, question to us,
wilt thou be made whole? How willing are we that the Lord
deal with our case and that we don't just continue as we are? You know, the Lord here, he knew,
he knew this man had been in this condition for 38 years. And he knows about us as well. He knows how long we have continued
as we have. He knows how long we've been
in the state that we are in. And whatever it is, whatever
slave despond, whatever position, and maybe think this, this, Man,
he was impotent. What does impotent mean? It means
helpless or powerless. And it's a comfort that the Lord
should know how long we have been in a place where we've been
powerless, where we have been helpless, and where we cannot
get ourselves out of that situation. May that thought be a comfort
and help, this question of our Lord sprung forth from this knowledge. He knew. He knew. How many times, like the previous
chapter, John 4, the Lord knew about the woman of Samaria. He
knew about her five husbands. He knew. So in your trial, your
situation, your afflictions, your family situation, your individual
situation, Jesus knew. And then this question, will
thou be made whole? May we be able to answer that? Well, the second thing that Jesus
did, he drew from this man the reason why he was still unhealed. The man answers this question,
Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the
pool, but while I am coming, another steppeth down before
me. Now maybe as we ask this first
question, there was arising in your mind an answer. You are mentally thinking, well,
this is why I am not a church member. This is why I am in the
condition I am in. This is why I do not have the
comforts, why I'm not whole spiritually. Well, this man, in answering
this question of our Lord, he tells the Lord his situation. May you and I be helped to do
the same. to come before the Lord and tell
the Lord why we are in this state and condition. You might say,
well, the Lord knew. He knew he'd been 38 years there.
He knew why. But he draws out from us the
reason why. May we be helped in that. You
might have particular reasons, afflictions and location and
different things as to why. We are in the condition that
we are mindful. This man was mindful of his condition. He's not making out something
that we've got to think, well, what is our condition? He was
mindful of it. And if you and I come here, we
will be mindful of what our condition is. He was waiting here at the
pool. It was not an imagined thing,
it was a real thing, a real thing of many years' duration. And so may you be held, may I
be held to lay before the Lord all of those things that we may
view as real hindrances, a reason why we are still now where we
were 20, 30, 38. Years ago, still the same, no
change. The Lord drew from him the reasons
he was still unhealed. The third thing that he did,
he healed him without the man knowing who it was that had done
so. We read in verse 13 that, he
that was healed wist not who it was, for Jesus had conveyed
himself away, a multitude being in that place. I think it's a
strange thing, but really the same thing happens a few chapters
later in John 9, where we have the man that was born blind. He didn't know who he had been
given sight by. Eli, when he perceived Samuel,
Samuel the Lord was calling him, but Samuel did not know it was
the Lord, he thought it was Eli, and Eli discerned it was the
Lord. It wasn't Samuel first that discerned
it. How many of the Lord's dear people,
the Lord begins with them, he speaks to them through the ministry,
he changes them, brings them out of their burdens, He gives
them life, He heals them, He makes them whole, but they still
don't have the comfort assurance that it was really the Lord.
They don't know. May through the word here this
be again an encouragement to look upon what was done, be able
to say this is the Lord's doing, is marvellous in our eyes. It doesn't need the Lord to be
known for his work to be in us. Remember with the account of
Joseph, his brothers had a lot of dealings. They had corn from
Joseph. They had many things that were
done that caused them to marvel. And all the time they did not
know that it was their brother. There did come a time He made
Himself known, we come to that here. But may we remember first,
many instances in the Word of God where people have been blessed,
the Lord has done things for them, and they haven't known
it was Him at first. So that is the third thing. The fourth, is that he brought
him into conflict with the Jews by healing on the Sabbath day. The Lord could have healed him
any day, but it was the Sabbath day. And
the point I want to make is that when the Lord blesses his people,
then there will be immediate conflict with the world, and
not only the world that lieth in sin and wickedness, but the
spiritual world, the religious world, the religious rulers. The grace of God makes a change,
a difference in a person. We read in John 17, I have given
them thy word, and the world hath hated them. the grace that
the Lord gives his people, the change that he does with them,
the commands that he gives them. He gave to this man this command
to take up his bed and to walk. And it was on the Sabbath day,
and immediately then, there is a conflict. And later, when he
does know it's the Lord, then that conflict, they persecute
the Lord as well. Don't expect if the Lord blesses
us that the world and religious world will come and praise God
and pat us on the back and say how pleased they are and how
they so rejoice with us as to what He has done. Many times
in the Word of God, when the Lord blessed a people, when He
blessed a person with healing, It wasn't that the Jews came
round and praised God and took the healed one into their communion
and fellowship. It was the opposite. They had
conflict and they had trial. And it was the Lord that did
this for this man. And in a way, what a blessing
it is if the Lord does make a difference and brings us out from the religious
crowd. the worldly religious, religion
without Christ, religion that disregards much of the word of
God, that has no holiness, that has no fear of God, that does
like the Jews, that makes the traditions of men equal to the
commandments of God, or made the commandments of God, as the
Lord said, of none effect by your tradition. we might look upon the conflicts
that we have with those about us as a negative thing. But the
Lord saw fit that there was a difference and there was a conflict, there
was a separating and coming apart. And may the Lord do so with us. And where it is because of the
word of God, And because of what the Lord has done in our souls,
that he will give grace and help to bear that conflict and that
persecution. If they have persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. But the fifth thing that he did
was to reveal himself to him. In verse 14, we read afterward,
Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold thou
made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which
had made him whole. In that, those verses, we realize
the Lord had revealed himself to him, told him who it was. And this is something we also,
from those accounts that we have here, and with Samuel, with the
man that had been born blind, that wherever the Lord has healed,
wherever he does appear, in the end he will reveal himself. He will instigate the time when
he makes himself known. Remember when the Lord rose from
the dead, It was himself that made himself known. He could
draw near those on the way to Emmaus. He could speak with them.
Their hearts could burn within them by the way. And they still
not know who it was until he chose to be known unto them in
the breaking of bread. The same when the Lord appeared
on the shore when the disciples were fishing. They discerned.
They said, it is the Lord. And it is the Lord that reveals
himself. When Paul, Saul of Tarsus, was
on the Damascus road, and God appeared to him, our Lord appeared
to him. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And he didn't know immediately
who it was. Who art thou, Lord? Who art thou? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And so it is the sovereign work
of the Lord to reveal himself to his people. With Samuel, we
are told clearly that he revealed himself to Samuel by the word
of the Lord. And in these gospel days, this
is how it is. The Lord reveals himself to his
people through his word. At the end of this gospel, according
to John, We read of this, or at least in chapter 20, that
these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
and that in believing ye might have life through his name. And so it is through the word,
Peter says, we have a more sure word of prophecy, more sure than
the vision of transfiguration upon the mount. And that more
short word is the scriptures of truth. It is the word of God. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
our Lord said, but my word shall not pass away. So he does reveal
himself, he shows himself to his people, takes away the veil,
opens the eyes, and they discern and they know who it is. You think of Mary at the Two,
she supposed him to be the gardener. They have taken away my Lord.
I know not where thou hast laid him. Angels again had been seen
there, had given them the message. He is not here. Why seek ye the
living among the dead? But then our Lord comes. At first
not known who he is, but then just one word, just Mary's name. And she immediately is known
by her, my Lord. and my God. So may we pray for
this. May we ask the Lord not only
to heal us, to work in our hearts, in our lives, but to reveal himself
to us, to show who it is that is working with us, who it is
that is blessing us, and to be brought truly to know the Lord,
whom to know is life eternal. In the sixth place, our Lord
confirmed the healing that he'd given him. In verse 14, we read in the latter
part there, Behold, thou art made whole. Why did the Lord
have to say that? You know, he'd already taken
up his bed, he'd walked, he was whole. Now the Lord is saying
he's whole. Didn't he know that he was whole?
Well, in one way, there's an indication here in what follows
where our Lord speaks about sin. Remember the impotent man again,
that which was born of four, that was let down by ropes on
his bed to the Lord because of the press. And our Lord's first
words to him, were, thy sins be forgiven thee. And the Jews,
they said that, who is this that forgives sins? It is only God
that can forgive sins. So he saith to them, he says
that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to
forgive sins. And he says, is it not easier
to say, take up thy bed and walk, as to forgive sins? And he says
to the sick of the palsy, take up thy bed and walk. And he took
up his bed and walked. And that was a physical evidence
that they could see a miracle. They couldn't see the forgiveness
of sins. They couldn't see the pardon
that he'd received. But they could understand and
see when this man was immediately healed. And so in that account,
we have the Sin spoken of as dealt with first, and then his
body healed. Here we have his body, and he
walks, he takes up his bed, and now the Lord comes, and he says,
thou art whole. Thou art made whole. And we must
understand then, we have the same thing. We have body, and
we have soul. There's a healing of body, and
there's a healing of soul. We need both. is one thing to
be blessed with healing. Many that are afflicted, many
that have operation, many have blessings of healing and health
and strength through the means given. And it never touches them,
never touches their soul. But there are others that the
Lord uses it. And He reveals Himself and He
heals their souls. He blessed them with faith, blessed
them with repentance and forgiveness of sins. It's a blessed thing
to know that we are healed in both soul and body. And it's a blessed thing to have
the Lord confirm his visions, confirming his word. Many times
the people of God under the gospel time, this time we're in now,
have been blessed more than once. The Lord has spoken through His
Word, they've heard His voice, they have known the change, they've
known that which is different, and then the Lord has come again,
perhaps through another of the Lord's servants, another separate
time, and confirmed the Word. It may be this morning that you're
in that situation, you say, I trust, I hope the Lord has blessed my
soul, I have known the blessing of the Lord, I do feel to need
it confirmed. I need it to be told me again,
to be assured by the Lord himself again, that I am whole, I am
washed, I am clean. And this is an encouragement
to us, again, to bear in mind what the Lord did here. And even
ask, Lord, give me another token for good. Visit my soul again. Assure me that all those things
I look upon in providence that thou hast done, we can't deny
that the Lord has done those things for us in providence,
but that he'd assure us that he has blessed our soul as well
and favoured us in our soul. It's not just for time, it's
for eternity. It's not just for our bodies,
it's for our soul. So may this word again be an
encouragement. that the Lord is pleased to confirm
what he has already done. Well, the last thing that the Lord
did was to press on him the need of repentance. Now, put it in
that way, the actual words here, in verse 14, afterward, Jesus
findeth him in the temple, saith unto him, behold, thou art made
whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." It might
be difficult just reading those words to think, what is the Lord
saying? Is he saying this man had some
particular sin that he'd been doing and therefore this illness
had come upon him and this is why he was impotent? Well, we think of what The Lord
answered with the man that had been born blind. The Jews, they
said, why was this man born blind? Who did sin, him or his parents,
that this was so? And our Lord says that neither
he nor his parents have sinned, but that the power of God might
be shown in him. They thought there was some great
specific sin. Now we know that all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. There's no man that doeth
good and sinneth not. He's not doing bad and sinning,
he's doeth good and sinneth not. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. Now our hope for heaven is not
in our own works. We need the Lord to forgive and
pardon our sins, and the only way that he can do that or be
able to do that, is that he himself bear our sins in his body on
the tree. That he puts away our sins through
the sacrifice of himself. In these gospel days, the proclamation
of the gospel is that the Lord has done this. He has come, he
was made flesh, he dwelt among us, as we read in this account. as we read in this Gospel. And
our Lord then freely, willingly laid down his life, a ransom,
a sacrifice, a substitute, instead of us, instead of the people
of God. The wrath of God falling upon
him. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? And it is through what Christ
has done that sin is put away. It's not put away. by any deeds
of righteousness that we have done, is not put away in such
a way that it will save us and then we have to keep ourselves.
And if we sin after the Lord has healed us and blessed us
with faith, then we lose our salvation. What the Lord has
done at Calvary puts away His people's sin from Abel, from
Adam, right through to the last one, and puts away our original
sin and our actual sins before and after conversion, a child
of God cannot sin themselves out of the covenant. You say,
well, what about those that do fall? What about those who have
made a profession and then they have sinned? Well, like Solomon
Makis, like Judas, they have never been the lords. You and I, need that reassurance
and that confirmation that we are the Lord's by walking with
the Lord, by obeying his will, by walking in his ways. Now what
the Lord is saying to this man is in effect what he said to
the woman that was taken in adultery. Remember the Jews, they tried
to trip up the Lord, they brought a woman to him, taken in adultery,
the very act. And they said, Moses, they commanded
that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? Trying
to put the Lord in conflict between Moses and our Lord. Well, our
Lord said, he that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her. And he just rode on the ground,
just ignored them. And their own consciences accused
them. They went out one by one. and he was left with the woman
alone. And our Lord said to her, hath
no man condemned thee? And she said, no man, Lord. And
then our Lord said to her, neither do I condemn thee, go and sin
no more. In other words, I'm not going
to just forgive you and you just continue on in this adulterous
and in this life The Lord Jesus Christ is exalted to give forgiveness,
remission of sins, but to give repentance and remission of sins. He is the one that gives repentance. Repentance is a change, a turning
about, a going the other way, a ceasing from evil. And in all the blessings that
the Lord gives, in all the forgiveness that he gives to his people,
it's always joined to repentance. If one is professing faith in
Christ, and yet they're not careful, not troubled about fastening
their lives to the word of God, that there's no change in his
life, there's no turning. That is not the worth and blessing
of the Lord. What the Lord is setting forth
before this man is that his life is to be different. There is
to be repentance and he presses upon him the need of that. The same God, the same dear Lord
Jesus Christ that healed his body, that said that he was made
whole, is the same one. that commands repentance and
does it in a way of giving grace and giving ability. He's not
saying this is something now you've got to do in response
as thanksgiving. No, this blessing is also from
the Lord, but the Lord makes it known to him and to us what
his will is. What is the right way? And it's
a good way of really discerning those that are truly blessed
by the Lord. There's many today that will
say they're blessed, they're in churches, and their lives
are still unsanctified. They're still just like the world.
All their practices, their music, their company, everything that
they like is still the same as it was in unregeneracy. Instead
of saying like Ruth, thy people shall be my people, thy God my
God. Instead of walking in a different
path and walking after the Lord, they still go on as they were. But the Lord would make known
by what he said to this man, what he did for this man, that
he would have us walk in that path. of repentance daily if
we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So maybe look at this account
and we see these seven things that the Lord did to this man
and maybe notice it in our lives as well and have from this those
things that we can take to the Lord and maybe be encouraged
and strengthened in what the Lord has done for us, this dear
man would have been able to say, see what the Lord has done for
me, see the difference, see the change, no longer impotent, no
longer helpless, given natural healing, given spiritual healing,
and look at my life now. is after the Lord, it is different. A new creature in Christ. Paul
says, what I am, I am by the grace of God. May we be able
to say the same. This dear man would have been
able to say it, what I am, I am by the grace of God. May the
Lord add his blessing. Amen. Hymn, 976. Tune, Mariners 648. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.