Let's take our Bibles and turn
to John, chapter 5, and I'd like to read verses 12
to 16. John, chapter 5, beginning in
verse 12. They asked then, asked 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. Let's pray together. Our Father, for Christ's sake,
thank You for the day You have given us. Bless, I pray, according
to Your infinite mercy and compassion, Your Word, to the calling out,
Lord, of Your people and the comfort of those that You have
everlastingly loved, for Christ's sake. Amen. The Lord Jesus Christ had sovereignly
healed an impotent man, the scripture said that laid daily near a pool,
the pool of Bethesda. And what he had hoped is that
whenever the angel came and stirred the water that he'd be the first
in. That was what the scriptures
say happened. Whoever was in that pool first
was healed. And as we said, there's no indication
Scripture does not bear out that that was a myth or an old wives'
tale or something. That's what Scripture says happened.
Well, our Lord came and asked that man, would you be made whole? That's the question. Would you
be made whole? So I said, you know that's a
yes and no answer. A yes or no question. Will you
be made whole? I thought about this coming over
this morning and I thought the problem is that men do not see
themselves as sinners. Now let me tell you the sad part
of that statement that I just made. does not, to the natural man,
does not more mean anything than the man of the moon. They don't
care. You're a sinner. I don't care. You're a sinner against God.
I don't care. If men and women, naturally speaking,
knew, and they truly knew it, you are absolutely eaten up with
cancer. You're eaten up with it. And
you're going to die. You're going to die. But I will
tell you this. I'll tell you of an absolute
cure. Positive cure. Absolute. No doubt. No doubt whatsoever. I'll tell you of an absolute,
and here's the thing, with the realization of being cured, you
will never, never, never, ever be sick again. You will absolutely live in perfect
health forever. You'll never be sick again. Man, I'm telling you, they'd
fight you trying to get in this building to hear what I've got
to say. They would fight you. And if
they thought that they could not make it in, they would scratch
whatever they had to do to try to open up the windows and talk
loud. Because we're out here in the
road, and we want to hear what you have to say. But you know
why, men? don't want to hear about being
spiritually dead and eaten up with sin is because they don't
care. Isn't that sad? Men don't care. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
this man and asked him, will you be made whole? And he began
to give all kinds of excuses. Well, I don't have anybody to take
me when the water's stirred. I don't have anybody to pick
me up, bring me in, set me in the water. In fact, people are so disrespectful,
they walk ahead of me. And the Lord Jesus Christ, sovereignly
in distinguishing grace, said to that man, Rise, take up thy
bed, and walk. And the man did. This man obeyed the Lord exactly
as the Lord commanded him. He took his bed, walked away,
and immediately blind religionists began to reprimand him because
their tradition had been offended. When men set forth that God sovereignly
does what He does, when men set forth that God Almighty has the
right to take that one impotent man, the Scripture sets forth,
if you look back at verse Let's see, 3 of this chapter, in these
lay a great multitude of impotent folk, blind, halt, withered,
waiting for the moving of the water. There was a bunch of them.
Are you going to tell me that God Almighty distinguishingly
picks one and leaves another to Himself? Yes, I am. Yes, I
am. That's what Scripture says. Not
fair. That's what you say. And you're
a liar. And God is true. Well, the Scripture says, after
this man had been approached by the Jews, questioned. Verse 12 says, they asked him,
what man is he? that said unto thee, Take up
thy bed and walk." Meaning this, whoever told you to do what you
did, whoever told you, not that this impotent man had been there
for 38 years and now was able to walk. That wasn't the issue. The issue
was he was carrying his bed and they said that that was breaking
the Sabbath. And they said, whoever told you
to do this is just as guilty as you are. They hated the Lord
Jesus Christ before they ever knew who He was. They hated me,
He said, without a cause. They are more than the hairs
of mine head. They asked Him, Who said that?
And verse 13, And he that was healed wist not who it was. For Jesus had conveyed Himself
away a multitude being in that place. Now, the Scripture says
that this man did not know who he was. The Scripture says that.
Therefore, we know that this man did not know who the Lord
Jesus Christ was. He was blind to who He was. But that the Lord Jesus Christ
had come to that spot and had spoken to that man in distinguishing
grace sets forth what we've referred to as the prevenient grace of
God. Grace before grace. That grace by which Almighty
God who orders all things did just exactly what He wanted to
do, the Lord wanted to do to who He wanted to do it. And this
man did not know. When Zacchaeus went up in that
tree, that sycamore tree, you know why he went up in that tree? In his mind, he was short. Short
of stature. And he couldn't see over the
folks. And he had heard that Jesus of Nazareth, he had heard
of Jesus of Nazareth, and he wanted to see Him. And he knew
there was a road that came, and it was a sycamore tree, and it
kind of evidently hung out there. And so in his mind, he's thinking,
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to climb up
in this sycamore tree and I'm going to get in a good spot and
I'm going to be up here where I can see Jesus of Nazareth. So he got him a place, minding
his own business. He's doing fine. The Scripture
says that the Lord came walking down the road and just stopped
right under him and looked up. And here's the amazing thing.
He said, Zacchaeus, come down because I'm going to
your house. Can you imagine? Prevenient grace. How did you get here? How did
you get here? Well, I came. My mom and dad brought me. I
was dating somebody. I've got a friend that showed
up here. Really? He works all things, all things,
all things after the counsel of His own will. No, you didn't
just get here. Almighty God graciously put you
here. the mercy of Almighty God that
would cause you to sit under the sound of the gospel. When
I tell you that this is the only message that Almighty God blesses,
I'm talking about the message that honors God. I'm talking
about the message that sets forth that man has no ability in himself. I'm talking about the gospel
of God's free sovereign grace that is revealed to a man or
a woman when God Almighty gives them life and they see it and
they realize, by grace I have been saved. Not of works. Not
of anything you did. Why? Because I am going to boast
in it. And all boasting is going to
be excluded. Prevenient grace. Who was it that healed you? And
he that was healed wished not who it was. The Lord did something
for that man, and that man did not even know who he was. The Lord had conveyed Himself
away, a multitude being in that place. That man walked in the
only light that he had. This man came to me and said
to me, Rise and take up your bed and walk." And I could walk. He told me
to get up, and do you know what? I wanted to get up. Willing in
the day of His power to do whatever the Lord is, I wanted to be there. I wanted to pick up my bed, and
I walked. No one else had been spoken to
except that one sinner, that one impotent sinner. The Lord
will have mercy. Lord, show me your glory. We asked him this morning, Lord,
show us your glory. His answer is the same as it
was to Moses. I will have mercy. on whom I'll
have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. It's not of Him that willeth,
not of Him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. Lord,
show us Your glory today. Who knows? God might be pleased
to do something. Verse 14 says, And 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." We find the Lord Jesus Christ
who had hidden Himself from the multitudes, revealing Himself
in the temple to this one man. I know that He is going to reveal
Himself to His people. And even right now, I think to
myself, Lord, reveal yourself to me. I know, I know that you're
God. You do that which you're pleased
to do. Lord, would you speak to me?
Lord, would you make these scriptures real to me? He came to that man that admitted,
I don't know who he is. He wished not. He didn't know. and the Lord who would not leave
that man to himself. The Lord had healed him. But
I'll tell you this, that man could have been physically healed.
I know men make a big deal out of physical healing, and I'm
thankful that the great physician heals. If I get sick, I'm going
to ask him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Lord,
there's no other. You may be pleased to use the
means of a doctor. You may be used to means of another.
Lord, whatever You're pleased to use, I'm going to trust You. You're the healer. You're the
physician. Lord, have mercy on me. This
man is in the temple, physically healed, but he still didn't know
who the Lord was. Physical healing does not heal
people spiritually. Almighty God heals people spiritually
and physically. The Lord came to him in that
temple. He who is found of them that sought him not. And an amazing
exhortation is given that physically healed man. And the Lord made
this statement. And grasp hold of this word right
here. Behold. Behold. I looked it up 1,348 times in
Scriptures. That word, behold, is made. Take note of this. Look and see
this. Grasp hold of what is getting
ready to be said. Behold. Behold. That's just like
that word, verily, verily. Truly, truly, behold. Listen to what he's about to
say. Behold, thou art made whole. Now there's a whole lot more
that was said right there than what we would probably grasp. Behold, thou art made whole. That man, absolutely based on
the Word of our Lord, was called out of spiritual darkness because
He gave him a command that this man, by his own ability, could
not do. Now you listen to this command.
Behold, you are made whole. Sin no more. lest a worse thing
come unto thee." Did our Lord mean that if you make one more infraction,
if you disobey in one more point, if you slip one more time, if
you think something disrespectfully, If one infraction is made concerning
disobedience before Almighty God, is that what He meant? The Scripture says in Proverbs
24, 16, a just man, a justified man, one that the law of God
has looked at and says, no infraction. No infraction. No guilt. No disobedience. That's justified. The law of God looks at it and
says, nothing has been done wrong here. Justified. A just man falleth seven times
a day and riseth again. A justified man. Our Lord, set forth something that we know
is absolutely so. Behold, thou art made whole.
Sin no more." Sin no more? But doesn't 1 John 1 says, if
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us? Let me tell you what this verse
does not say. It does not mean that we are
teetering on the brink of disaster and our only hope is hinged on
our ability to avoid that which we know the Scripture clearly
sets forth that we are unable to do. We cannot not sin in this
body. Turn to John 7. I'm going to
prove this again by the Scriptures, which is the only proof. John
7, 19. For the good that I would, I do not. But the evil which
I would not do, that I do. Now, if I do that I would not,
Paul says, if I'm actually doing something that I don't agree
with, It is no more I that do it, the new man, but sin that
dwelleth in me. I find in a law that when I would
do good, evil is present with me, for I delight in the law
of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord, so then with the mind I myself serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the law of sin. Paul thanked the Lord that
he knew that he served God in that new man in Christ. Not in himself, in Christ. I
thank God that He's shown me that all my obedience is His
obedience. Imputed to me, I thank God that
He's shown me that for myself I serve the law of sin. I thank
God that He's shown me what I am by nature. I thank the Lord for
that. So is the Scripture contradicting
itself? You know it's not. There is absolutely
no way, knowing that sin is ever present with us. The great question
on every believer's mind is this. What does our Lord mean? What
did He say to him? Tell me. Please tell me what
He said to him. Behold, thou art made whole.
Sin no more. That's the worst thing to come
upon thee. Well, I know this. Sinning no more. It's something
that is beyond my capability in myself to do. The Lord said no man can come
unto me except it were given unto him of my father. And false
religion and the carnal heart will tell you, oh, you can. You can reconcile yourself to
God. Do you know the moment that a man or a woman says, I believe
that I can reconcile myself to God and I can do what the Scripture
says you can't do. Do you know you just call God
a liar and end your boasting of thinking that you've done
something for the Lord? You've sinned against God. Proud
and arrogant. But our Lord related a precious
command that is only fulfilled and accomplished found in Him
It is a divine command accomplished by Him only. Behold, you're made whole. You're
made whole. You have been regenerated. I
know He has based on just a minute. When we wrap this up, I'll show
you what He says. Behold, you've been made whole. Not partially. Not temporarily. Not for the moment only. Or not
until you make another infraction, you've been made whole. Sin no
more. Sin no more. Now listen to this
verse of Scripture. Here's a command that I'll tell
you this can only be accomplished by one. 1 John 3, 5 and 6, And
ye know that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, was manifested to take
away our sins. And in Him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth
not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not." Great is the wonder of God's
sight of His people in the Lord. Greg is the miracle of justifying
grace. When he was crucified, he was
made what I am, sin. And he bore those sins and put
them away. God Almighty sees His people
in Christ and views them under the atoning blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ and all of their guilt. Far as the East is from the West.
He said, I will remember them no more. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus." Here's a great struggle. I know
that there is in me, there dwells no good thing. But I'm telling
you, found in Him, viewed in Him, there is No sin. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that be in Christ Jesus. Paul says, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Wonder
of all wonders. There is comfort only seeing and knowing and believing
myself to be viewed in Christ. Is there any comfort for me? I know the Scripture sets forth
that if I say I have no sin, I'm making God a liar. But does
God impute it to me? No. Sin no more. How, Lord? Being viewed in Christ,
He does not charge me with it. And if He didn't charge me with
it, then it's not mine to bear the guilt of. Sin no more. How? He charged
it to Christ. But I see the effects of it.
I still see the evidence of it. My little children, these things
write on to you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And
there is our great High Priest. As we see the infractions that
daily take place, He makes intercession. My blood
covered that. That was my infraction. That
wasn't theirs. That's mine. That's mine. That's
mine. I paid that. I took that. I made
that my own. My iniquities have taken hold
of me. I bore that guilt. That was my
guilt. That was my guilt. It wasn't
theirs. It was mine. Every sin that I have committed,
am committing, or shall commit, He made His own. He made His
own. Yeah, but I see that He made
His own. He bore it. That's it. And if
God Almighty doesn't charge sin to me, then I know this, He's
charged it to another. Whosoever abideth in Him, sinneth
not. It's not charged to Him. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. If He didn't
charge it to you, if He doesn't charge it to you, if He charged
it to His Son, that's not yours. I'm going to tell you something.
Now, this will set a man free. This will set a woman free. In
that eternal covenant of grace, He has taken up our cause. before
the throne of God. And Jehovah is dealing with his
people in a substitute, in a representative, in an advocate right now. In
him is no sin. I can't grasp hold of that. One day you will. I can see it
by faith. And I see through a glass darkly.
But thanks God, I see it. I see something of it. I don't
see it like I want to. One day you will. And in that
day, we'll cast our crowns, the Scripture says, before Him and
say, You're worthy. You're worthy. You redeemed us.
You paid our debt. Sin no more, lest a worse thing
come unto thee. Believe me. Believe on me. Trust
me. Lest you be found without a mediator. What could be worse than 38 years? of being impotent at a pool.
I'll tell you what can be worse, eternal judgment. As Old Brother
Scott said, dying is the easy part. That's the easy part. Then the judgment. Let's finish up. Verse 15. The man departed, and he told
the Jews that it was Jesus that made him whole. You know what? God's people. They're not ashamed
of Him. Who made you whole? I'll tell
you who made me whole. The Sovereign Master. The Lord
of Glory. Out of a new heart, this man
spoke of the One who was his life. Who made you whole? It's
Jesus. He wasn't afraid to confess Him. I know that men will mock
the Lord that we love. I know that. But I will tell
you this. based on the Lord Jesus Christ
getting all the honor and glory. Praise this man right here. Told
the ones that he knew in that temple resented him and hated
him. I'll tell you who saved me. I'll tell you who made me
whole. I'll tell you who told me to get up and walk. I'll tell
you who opened my eyes to see who he was. I'll tell you who
it is. And therefore, verse 16, did the Jews persecute Jesus
and sought to slay him. because he had done these things
on the Sabbath day, reviled him as a Sabbath-breaker,
a sinner against God. That's what they said, a destroyer
of the law, a wicked man. They sought to sway him under
the pretense of religion. There's nothing that's more blind. and one that will not see." Brother
Henry said that one time. There's nothing that's more blind
than one that won't see. No one is indifferent toward
the Lord Jesus Christ. Either a sinner saved by the
grace of God and given a new heart to love Him. Either a man
has that or he possesses a heart. The Scripture says the carnal
heart Is enmity against God? I looked it up a few minutes
ago. I thought enmity. I've used that word so many times.
Let me look at it. An enemy that hates. Nobody's indifferent. He said
either you're for me or you're against me. Nobody's going to
say, well, you know what? I'm not. I called. I didn't call. Somebody called me the other
day. And I was talking and I told him, I said, listen, Won't you come sit? We meet on Sunday mornings, you
know. Won't you come? If you need a
ride, we'll get a ride for you. We'll get a ride for you." Well,
they said, you know, I believe in God. But I've just never really
been that interested in all that religious stuff. I said, well, I just want you
to know. I said, ìYouíre welcome to come here.î He said, ìWeíll
get you here if you want to be here.î ìWell, I appreciate it.î
And I thought to myself, ìYouíre not indifferent.î You hate God. You hate God. Somebody might
dispute you, but Iíll tell you this. One that God Almighty has
called out of darkness, one thatís given a heart to know something
frailty of this flesh and the propensity to see the fallings
and frailties. What's going on with me? Boy,
isn't it good news when somebody will tell you from the Scriptures,
this is what God has to say. Has He given you a heart after
Christ? Well, then in Him there's no
sin. God didn't charge you with that. You said, yes, but I did
it. I know. I know you did. But He
took it. He made that His own sin. And
God charged it to Him. And He didn't charge it to you.
Therefore, in Him, there's no sin. Tell me that message one
more time. Lord, will and I will in just
a few minutes. Why don't we just take about a ten-minute break?