Good morning. What we just sang will be true if the Lord keeps us and we have, we have the hope that he will because he promised to. Oh, thank you, Adam. Um, admin Lauren got in really early this morning and, uh, thankful that he made the effort to be here.

So we're going to be in John chapter 9. If you'd like to open your Bibles there with me, John chapter 9. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask his blessings on our time.

Lord, you've told us that Abraham is the father of the faithful and that his faith believed thee and you counted it as righteousness. Lord, we thank you for the miracle of faith, the gift of faith. Lord, we know that our faith is a work of grace that you have done in our hearts, enabling us to look and to believe and to rest and and trust Christ alone for all of our righteousness before thee and for the justification of the putting away of our sin. We thank you for his accomplished work of redemption on Calvary's cross.

Father, how hopeful we are that you would send your Holy Spirit in power, that you would open our hearts and open your word and open the windows of heaven, or that you would enable us once again to believe all that you have revealed. Lord, we confess that we don't really understand any of it. But what hope we have in knowing that we worship a God who is unsearchable, a God that is beyond our understanding, and that you have given us the grace to believe on thee.

Lord, we ask that you would open the eyes of our understanding and reveal to us more of your glory. As we open your word, we pray it in Christ's name. Amen.

I can remember many, many years ago sitting in a class in seminary and having my professor explain these verses to me that we're about to read and the way he explained them is not what I believe them to be to be saying. Let's read them together John chapter 9 verse 1 and as Jesus passed by he saw a a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be manifest in him.

My professor said that what the Lord was really saying was that the reason why this man was blind was not because God made it to be so, but since he is blind, since he is blind, let's use it for the glory of God. These verses speak to the cause of all the suffering that there is in this world. And we believe that our God is the first cause of all things. We don't believe that the Lord just happened upon a blind man and said, well, since he is blind, which God had nothing to do with, Let's use it for God's glory. Let's show the work of God being manifested in him.

No, this man was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him. That's why he was born blind. It was God's ordained purpose that this poor man lived all these years with one of the, if not the, greatest handicap of all, not being able to see. My professor went on to say that God was not capricious, that he would not just do something like that, just so that he could come along later and heal him. How cruel that would be. How cruel that would be.

Every time the world deals with the cause of suffering in this world, here's the line of reasoning that they use. If there is a God, then he must be all powerful. and he must be all loving. If he's all powerful, then why doesn't he not allow these things to happen? If he's able to stop them, why are there wars and murders and diseases and all the maladies that men experience? Why doesn't God, why doesn't God cause it not to be if he's all powerful and if he's all loving. And they end up sacrificing the omnipotence of almighty God on the altar of free will. It always, they always come to the point to where they say, well, God is all-powerful in a sense, but he gave to man free will, and so his hands are tied. He would, because he is all-loving, he would stop all wars, he would stop all murders, he would heal all diseases, but he's given man the freedom of choice, and it's man's freedom to choose that has brought all these things about.

Just like my professor, they rob God of His glory. They rob Him of His power in order to set man up on the throne of God.

What our Lord is saying to His disciples And by the way, they had a works mentality about suffering, didn't they? Is it because he sinned or is it because his parents sinned? They wanted to draw a line directly between the suffering of this man and somebody's particular sin. We've had those thoughts, haven't we? We've wondered when we've gone through trials and troubles, well, maybe God's doing this because of something I did. And the accuser of the brethren, the devil, takes advantage of that and causes us to think that we had something to do with this.

And we can trace all of the troubles of this world, all of the blindnesses, all of the sicknesses, all the disease, and the death, and the wars, and everything. We can trace it all back to sin, no question about it. Before there was sin in the garden, before the fall, There were no thorns and thistles in the garden. There was no sweating by the brow in the garden to labor. There was no death in the garden. That started after sin came into the picture. And so, yes, there is a general sense in which sin has brought all these things about.

But our Lord is speaking to his people here, the ones whom could never atone for their own sin, the ones who could never suffer the judgment of God in order to put away their own sin, the ones who can only look to the accomplished work of the Lord Jesus Christ for all the satisfaction of divine justice and all the putting away of their sin and all the establishment of their righteousness before God. And he's speaking to his children.

Let the world debate the reason for suffering all they will. Let them conclude that it's man's power over God that has brought about these things. I read someone said, when the Lord asked the disciples, whom do men say that I am? And Peter responded and said, well, some say that thou art John the Baptist or some Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And of course, then the Lord said, well, whom do you say that I am? And that's the real question. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Where did they get the idea that some say that thou art John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah, one of the prophets? The pagan nations around Israel believed in reincarnation. And some of the Jews, from what I understand, had given some credence to that belief. What is reincarnation all about? It's atoning for your own sins. That's what it's about. That's what karma is all about. You live a good life. When you die, you come back in a higher status. If you don't, you die and you come back in a lower status and you have to atone for your sins through these series of rebirths. There's no difference in the doctrine of reincarnation than what these disciples are saying. Is it because of his sin or is it because of the sin of his parents that he was born blind? You see, they're trying to draw a direct line between judgment and punishment and a particular sin. If it was because of his sin that he was born blind, then are they suggesting that perhaps in a previous life he had committed some sins that caused him to come back in this state? What were they thinking? I don't know. I don't know.

All I know is that man by nature has a perverted view of God. a perverted view of himself, and a perverted view of suffering in this world. And the Lord Jesus clears it all up with one simple statement. One simple statement. And here it is. The reason why this man was born blind is that the works of God should be made manifest in him. The reason this man was born blind is that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

He wasn't just talking about the miracle of having sight being the work of God. He's talking about salvation. He's talking about salvation. I'm gonna do a work of grace in this man's life. And I'm not just gonna open his physical eyes, I'm gonna open his spiritual eyes. I'm gonna give him faith. And he's gonna come to this conclusion.

Turn with me to Romans chapter eight, Romans chapter eight. Look at me, we often are reminded of verse 28, are we not? And you know, and you know, that all things work together for good for them that love him and for those that are the called according to his purpose. Now that's God's word to his people, to his people. This is the reason why this man was born blind, that the works of God might be made manifest in him.

The scripture says that the wrath of God will praise him. and the remainder he will restrain. Whatever God cannot use for his glory, he will restrain. Everything else, everything else. He is reigning sovereign over the armies of heaven and over all the inhabitants of the earth. and he hath done whatsoever he wills. And no man can stay his hand and no man can say unto him, what doest thou? He's the potter and we are the clay. This is God's word to his children. This is God's word to his people. This is God's word to those who know that he reigns upon the highest throne and that they would dare never do what the world does and sacrifice, sacrifice the deity of God, the sovereignty of God, the omnipotence of the almighty on the altar of man's free will. Would never do that. It's called faith.

We look in times of trouble, to our God who sent them, who sent them. This man spent his whole life. My seminary professor and the men of this world and the religious of this world and the religious pungence that you see on TV after some catastrophe takes place, well, you know, God gave man free will. And, you know, he really kind of abdicated his throne and gave it up to man. No, no. Amos said this, has evil come to the city and the Lord has not caused it? The Lord has not caused it? No, we don't shake our fist at heaven. We say with Eli, When Samuel came to Eli and told him that God was going to take his two sons and that that judgment was going to come at his house. And Eli said, let him do whatsoever he wills. It is the Lord. It is the Lord. Who am I? Who am I? My God knows what's right.

Romans 8, 28. You know, I've quoted this verse before by leaving out the first few words. I've heard it quoted oftentimes. You know, when you say you know, just with all things work together for good. Let's not leave out those first few words. And we know. And we know that whatever our God does is right. Whatever our God does is for our good. And ultimately, it's for his glory. And the greatest good that God can do for us is to manifest His works in our hearts, to show forth His glory.

In order to understand verse 28 in its context, you notice it starts with and, and. Well, where does this thought begin, verse 18? Verse 18, for I reckon. And when the Bible speaks of reckon, it's not using it like we use it in the South when we say, well, I reckon so. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. That's what we mean when we say, I reckon so. No, this is a dead reckoning. This is so. This is certain. For I am certain that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

Why was this man born blind? That the works of God might be made manifest in him. Lord, why is this happening? Why did that happen? Why is it happening to me that the works of God might be manifest in you? In you. God, through these trials and sufferings, through these temptations, through these hardships, causes us to look to Him, to look to Him.

How presumptuous we can be. David said, Lord, forgive me my presumptuous sins. We're presumptuous. We presume that God's just going to make things easy. We're gonna wake up the next day. We're gonna draw our next breath. We presume upon God. And what a blessing it is. What a blessing it is when the Lord reminds us how dependent we are upon him. David said it like this, before I was afflicted, I had gone astray, but now I've kept that word, kept that word.

The Lord knows how foolish and slow of heart we are to believe. The Lord remembers that we're made of dust and in mercy, mercy and in grace he afflicts his children that the works of God might be manifest in them and for those who walk by faith that's all they need to know that's all they need to know that's enough And the works of God will be manifest in us ultimately when we behold his glory and see his face and are made like him. And the sufferings of this present time cannot be compared. They cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.

Now, let me remind you of something, because I'm prone to forget this. When we say, well, I know that's for my good, and it's for his glory, let us not have a thought that God needs us to glorify him. That when we say this is for God's glory, that somehow it's going to add to him in some way. It's going to glorify him in some way that's going to make him more glorious in his nature, in who he is.

I remind you of what we considered last Sunday when we looked at our Lord's name as I am. He's eternal. He's eternal. He's self-existent. He's self-contained. He's self-sufficient. He needs nothing. He's never learned anything. He's never changed his mind about anything. He's never been added to and he's never been taken away from. He is complete and perfect and whole within himself and nothing that we do can add to him. And so when the Lord says, I'm going to, I'm going to manifest my glory or my works are going to be manifested in him. Or as he said, the disciples in John chapter 11, when he told them about Lazarus death, you remember Lazarus was in Bethany. They sent word to the Lord saying that Lazarus was sick. And the Lord said, This sickness is not unto death, but unto the glory of God. This sickness is unto the glory of God. Yet Lazarus died, and there was much grief involved in all of that. But it was to the glory of God.

When we read in Psalm 115, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name, unto thy name be glory for thy truth and for thy mercy's sake. Let us not think that we're somehow adding something to God. The glory of God is the greatest gift that God gives to his children.

that the works of God might be made known, they might be made manifest in them. When we say, yes, this is for my good and this is for God's glory, when we say not unto us, oh Lord, not unto us, what we're saying is, Lord, this is not to my glory and this is not to my credit, it's to your glory, but your glory, Your glory is my greatest gift.

The glory of God. Look again at verse 18. I hope. Look at the last part of that. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us when we see him as he is and we're made like him. That's why in all the trials and troubles we set our affections on things above. Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

The world denies God his power in trying to explain the sufferings of this world when the sufferings of this world and the sufferings of our lives have the opposite effect to us. It affirms to us the power of God. It affirms to us the glory of God. It affirms to us who he is and what he's doing.

Look at verse 19. We're seeing where the word and fits in to verse 28. Verse 19, for the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. When this corruptible will be made incorruptible, will this mortal be made immortal? When we'll see him as he is and we're made like him and the manifestation of his glory.

It's not that, Well, it's to his glory as if he needed more glory. He's got all the glory he's ever had or ever will have. He was full in his glory before the angels were created, before the universe was made, before Adam was fashioned from the dust of the earth. Yeah, the heavens show forth his handiwork, but the manifestation of God's glory is not to add to his glory, it's to manifest his glory to us. It's out of his mercy, out of his love. He loves his people, infinitely he loves his people. And he wants us to, to see him and to enjoy him.

Yeah, I'm not much on catechisms and confessions, but the old catechisms that were written many, many years ago, catechism is a training tool for children where you ask a question, then you answer the question. The first question in the standard catechisms of the church many years ago, and many churches still use them today, what is the chief end of man? That's the first question. What is the chief end of man? To love God and to enjoy him forever. To enjoy him forever.

Here's what the Lord, no, I have a purpose. My purpose is that I'm working all things together for good for them that love me and those that are called according to my purpose. My purpose is to manifest the works of God in them. My purpose is to show forth my glory to them. My purpose is to give them the greatest gift that any creature could ever enjoy, and that's to see my face, to see my face.

In order for that to be, there's some trials that I'm going to mercifully, purpose for them in this life. I'm going to, in my infinite, eternal love for them, bring them to that place to where they're going to be groaning. Look at verse 20. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

He's talking about the fallen creation. When man fell, everything corrupted. And so everything dies, everything goes from order to disorder. Everything is in a spiral spin of death in creation. And what the Lord's telling us is that creation itself is groaning for the redemption of the sons of God. When all of this will be reestablished, when all this will be set back as it was before the fall and so much better, so much better.

Verse 22, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our bodies.

How presumptuous we would be if there were no troubles, if there were no afflictions, if there was no No sickness, no disease, no death, no divorce, no depression, no wars. Oh, we would just, we would make this home, this world our home, wouldn't we? We would make this world our home. This world's not your home, brother. It's not our home. And God sends us afflictions. And God gave this man blindness for all these years, groping in the world. I mean, he was a blind beggar. That's all he could do. That the works of God might be manifest in him. That's the answer. And that's the only answer faith needs. It's the only answer faith needs.

Oh, we may for a period of time act like Job, wallowing in our self-pity and maybe even having thoughts of God accusing us or accusing him of wrongdoing or saying this is not fair or why me. But that's why the Lord has written his word that we're preaching now to remind us how often we've been, what happened to Job? God spoke. Who is this that darkens my counsel without knowledge? Job, you brace yourself like a man. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Where were you, Job, when I separated the land from the sea? Where were you? And God just, what does God do? manifest his glory to Job. Through these trials, God shows Job who God is. And Job says, boy, my mouth's shut. I spoke without knowledge, I know what I was talking about. Lord, I repent in dust and ashes.

Look at the last phrase in verse 22. To wit, the redemption of our bodies. The redemption of our body. Cyril and I were talking before the service this morning about the ailments of old age and how the Lord mercifully, mercifully as we grow closer and closer to being with him, He pries our fingers loose from this world. And though our body perishes, the outer man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day.

Verse 24, for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, For what a man seeth, why doth he yet have hope for it? Oh, we want by faith. But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it, wait for it. Likewise, the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. Oh, how many times when we, we're like this blind man groping in the dark and, suffering through the merciful hand of God's trials and tribulations, and we don't know how to pray. Here's our hope. The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. Oh, we would have all these trials taken away. Lord, take them away. Is it because of my sin? Is it because of the sin of my parents? No, it is that the works of God might be made manifest in you. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Oh, Lord, I don't even know what to say. Lord, help me. Lord, save me.

For he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that whatever he's doing is good. Easy, no, but always good.

No, our unbelieving friends and family members, we hear them say, it's all good. It's all good. They say it so flippantly. They're whistling through the graveyard. We say, it's good. It's not easy. It's good.

I know the thoughts that I have toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of good, not evil. For what purpose? To bring you to your expected end. That's what it's for. I'm not going to let you make your home in this world."

Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was God. He couldn't go back to the Ur of the Chaldees. He set his affections on things above. Look at 1 Peter 1. Whatever the trial, whatever the trouble, verse 3 of 1 Peter 1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

When Christ was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ, you're talking about The greatest suffering that ever took place in this entire world and the full history of this world happened 2,000 years ago when the Son of God was crucified and slain by the wicked hands of men. And what does the Bible tell us? In Acts chapter 2, verse 23, God purposed it. It was his ordained purpose and for knowledge and by his counsel. He was the one. And here we have the sovereignty of God bringing about, bringing about the greatest blessing through the greatest trial.

The Lord Jesus knows, he knows. Verse four, to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled. Everything in this world is corrupted and everything in this world is defiled. Our bodies are defiled. The world in which we live is corrupted. Everything is, sin has affected it all.

Lord, why? Why was this man born blind? Did he sin in a previous life? Did his parents sin? Is he being punished for something he did? No, I did that. I did that. That the works of God might be made manifest in him. And when the works of God are made manifest in him, the troubles that he's experienced in this world cannot be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in him. Cannot be compared.

to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept, Lord keep me, who are kept by the power of God through faith, unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. It's not been revealed yet. We look upon that which cannot be seen. That which can be seen is temporal. We look at these temporal trials, these temporal troubles, those are the things, that which cannot be seen is eternal.

We set our affections on our heavenly home and we do it most especially most especially when the hand of God's providence is heavy upon us. That's when we're drawn most especially to the throne of grace to find help in our time of need. Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, a season. If need be, Paul called these things necessities as God ordains them, as God sees them necessary. If need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations, trials and troubles, That, the trial of your faith. Faith to be proven must be tried. Proven to who? Proven to you. God knows if you have saving faith, but our faith needs to be proven to us. And it won't be proven without the heat that Peter's describing here this trial of your faith, which is much more precious than your life, than your health, than your children, than your marriage, than your possessions. It's more precious than anything that you have in this world.

though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not yet seen, you love, in whom though now you see him not, yet You rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul.

The world can't understand how an all-powerful God would allow things to happen like they do. And so, they strip him of his power and give it to man. They say, well, He gave man a free will. He'd like to stop some of these things, but he can't.

Our God reigns. Our God reigns. And everything he does for his children is to bring them to their expected end, the end of their faith. the salvation of their souls, that he might manifest his glory to them, to them. David said, when I see his face, then I'll be satisfied. Then I'll be satisfied.