Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I want to begin this morning
by reading a few verses to you from John chapter 9. We're going
to look at a story of a blind man that our Lord healed And
I want to begin with verse 1 in John 9. It says, And as Jesus
passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. This
man was blind from birth, never one day in his life saw any light.
And his disciples asked him, the Lord's disciples asked him,
saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that
he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath
this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him. He's telling his disciples everything
that has happened to this particular man is for the purpose of glorifying
God. It's all for the glory of God.
It's that the works of God should be made manifest. In verse 4
he said, I must work the works of him that sent me while it
is day. The night cometh when no man
can work. As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat
on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed
the eyes of the blind man with the clay. and said unto him,
Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent. He went his way therefore, and
washed, and came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and
they which before had seen him, that he was blind, said, Is not
this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he. Others
said, He is like him. But he said, I am he. I'm he. Now the Lord has just opened
this man's eyes physically. He healed a blind man. And this
man did not need his eyes to be physically opened in order
to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Do you remember when
our Lord said, if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out? He said that
for spiritual reasons. But He was saying, you'd be better
off going in blind than not going in at all. So our Lord did not
physically open His eyes so that He might enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. He opened His eyes so that He might illustrate to all
of His people what happens when God spiritually opens blind eyes. The whole reason for this story
is so we might see how God spiritually opens a sinner's blind eyes. Verse one right here says, God
passed by him. God was the one that was moving.
This blind man was just sitting in his place and God passed by
him. And I'm gonna tell you, that's
how it starts spiritually. If a sinner has any hope of ever
seeing the true God of Scripture, then God must pass by. Verse
one says, God saw him. He didn't see God. God saw him. Verse six says that God made
the clay and God anointed his eyes. He didn't anoint his own
eyes. Verse 7 says, God told him the
only way to see is to be immersed in the sent one. And then God opened his eyes. Spiritually speaking, that is
what happens to every single sinner that is chosen to receive
these new eyes, these opened eyes from God. This man represents
every converted believer. Every person who's just had his
eyes open. He was in the dark, now he sees
light. That's what happens to every
one of God's people. Every one. They're born into this world
dead in sins, total darkness. And one day, God in mercy passes
by. God sees his own elect sinner
sitting in darkness and God moves and God does something. God does
the anointing, God does the calling and he gives light and that sinner
sees. Well, verse 8 says, The neighbors
therefore, and they which before had seen him, that he was blind,
said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is
he. Others said, He's like him. But he said, I'm he. I'm he. When God moves on a heart and
when God performs a work of grace, It is impossible to hide it from
others. You know that? Something's different. Something is definitely different. Out of the heart, the mouth can't
help but speak things that it's seeing in God's Word. Seeing for the first time. It
becomes clear for the first time. And that sinner will start talking
to his neighbors and he'll Talk to the people that he goes to
church with, and the people that he works with, and his family.
He'll tell them, this is what God's Word says. God has opened
my eyes to see the truth in His Word. And everybody will start saying,
what is going on with him? What's going on with her? They've
changed. Something's different. Something's
different. Every soul that has been given
these new eyes to see can say, this is my story. When God works,
men see it. When God moves, men see it. If a dead body was laying in
a casket and all of a sudden life was given to it, you would
know it. Everybody around that body would
definitely know it. You cannot hide life. You can't hide it. Luke chapter
11 verse 33 says, Our Lord said, No man, when he hath lighted
a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel,
but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. He's saying, if I'm going to
light a candle, if I'm going to turn on the light, I'm not
going to hide it. I'm going to put it out where
all men can see the light. And that's what He does every
time. Right here in John 9, verse 9, some said, this is He. Others
said, He is like Him. But He said, I'm He. A sinner is converted when the
Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ enters that person. And the old man
is still there. There is an old man that we're
gonna have to put up with until the day we leave this earth.
That old man is still there. But the new man, which is Christ,
has taken up a permanent residence inside his own. There was a story
of a little girl and she was sitting with her dad in a worship
service. And she heard the pastor say
that Christ in you is the hope of glory. Christ in you. And riding home, she was looking
at how big her dad was and how small she was and she said, Dad,
if Christ was in me, don't you think he would stick out? And he said, yeah, honey, I believe
he would. I believe he would. When the Spirit of Christ enters
a person, it shows. It shows. The old man is still
there. Verse 9 says, some said, this
is he. He acts just like he always did.
We see that old man. But thank God the new man starts
to show too. Verse 9 says, others said he's
like him, but he's kinder. He's more forgiving. He's more
loving. He's more patient. His pride
is becoming a little more in check. He seems a little more
humble. Why is that? It's because for the first time
in his life, he sees for the very first time, he sees how
blind he really was. He understands his blindness
for the first time because he now sees. He sees how ignorant
and how sinful he really was. For the first time, he sees the
great things that Christ has done for him. He sees. He sees
the suffering Christ had to endure to redeem his wretched soul. He didn't see that before. Men
and women don't see that until God turns on the light. He sees
the precious blood of the Lamb. He didn't see that before. He
saw His own works before. He sees how unworthy He is to
receive all of the goodness of God to Him. He never saw that
before. He sees that Christ was crucified
for sinners like me. He sees the love of Christ, and
that makes him love. He sees the forgiveness that's
in Christ, and that makes him want to forgive. He sees that
the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, and that makes
him long-suffering toward others, and it makes him patient toward
others, as God, for Christ's sake, has been to him. Well,
as soon as he sees And as soon as others see this in him, the
very next thing to follow is opposition. Opposition. And it's small and it's subtle
at first. Look at verse 10 with me right
here in John 9. It says, therefore said they unto him, how are thine
eyes opened? He answered and said, a man that
is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes and said unto
me, go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went and washed
and I received sight. Then said they unto him, where
is he? He said, I know not. He doesn't
know much. And when he sees God's holiness
and when he sees his sinfulness, He won't try to pretend that
he knows more than he does. He will immediately and continually
say, I don't know. I don't know. I used to know
it all. Not anymore. The one thing he
does know is this. God did it. God did this. Verse 11, he answered and said,
a man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes and
said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went
and washed and I received sight. You want to get into heavy doctrine
and you want to get into mysterious scriptures? I don't know. But
there is one thing I do know. What you see in me, God did it. God did it. It is such a blind
statement to say, I got saved. People make that statement. I
got saved. I didn't get saved. God saved
me. There's a big difference. God
did it. I don't know much, but I do know
God did this. Well, if a sinner takes that
stance, if a sinner gives all of the glory to God in salvation,
then those small and subtle oppositions are going to start becoming greater
and greater oppositions. Verse 13 says, they brought to
the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath
day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then again,
the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed,
and do see. First it was his neighbors, now
it's the Pharisees. There is only one fact that needs
to be told. All of the glory goes to Jesus
Christ. All of the work that was done
was done by Jesus Christ. And this blind man didn't debate
it with them, he just declared to them the truth. We do not
have to debate this gospel with anybody. This gospel is not to
be debated, it is to be declared. He said, I was blind, Christ
did the work, and now I see. That's it. Verse 16, Therefore
said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he
keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that
is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among
them. They said, This man is not of God. He doesn't keep the
Sabbath day. I love the fact that our Lord healed so many
people on the Sabbath day. Here's why. You and I get our
healing on the Sabbath day. And what I mean by that is the
day that God's Word is declared, whatever day that is. It pleased
the Lord by the foolishness of preaching. And in hearing God's
Word, we blind sinners are receiving sight, aren't we? More and more. We deaf sinners, we're starting
to hear. We lame sinners begin leaping. And God does this for His people
through the hearing of His Word. And in addition to that, the
fact that He did these things on the Sabbath day proves that
all Scripture, especially the Ten Commandments, Every word of Scripture was given
for one reason only, and that is to point men and women to
Jesus Christ. Our Lord was not telling us to
sit in a chair all day long on the Sabbath and do absolutely
nothing. He was telling us that Christ is our Sabbath. Rest on Him. Don't add any work
to His. Rest. Just rest. Verse 16 says,
Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because
he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that
is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among
them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of
him that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He's a prophet. He's a prophet. They asked this
blind man again. And this time they ask him about
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first time it was,
now how did you receive your sight? This time they said, what
sayest thou of him? This is how this persecution
grows. What think ye of Christ? He said, he's a prophet. He's son of God. I thought about the fact that
when a person first comes to see the truth, He doesn't always
know exactly how to put it into words. When God begins opening
his eyes and he first begins to see, he tries to explain to
another man or another woman what God has revealed to him
through the Word. At first, he doesn't quite know
how to put it into words. And he's going to learn in time.
God is going to show him exactly who Jesus Christ is and exactly
what Jesus Christ has done, and He's going to teach him how to
put it into words. Look over at verse 35 right here
in John 9. Jesus heard that they had cast
this blind man out, and when He had found him, He said unto
him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said,
Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Who is he? And
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that
talketh with thee. God is going to reveal the truth
of Jesus Christ to every sinner that he gives eyes to see. But it takes time. These things
take time. Growth and maturity and grace,
it takes time. Well, verse 17, they ask him,
what do you think of this man? And he said, he's a prophet.
Real soon, this blind man is gonna see he is the prophet.
God manifest in the flesh. Verse 18, but the Jews did not
believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his
sight until they called the parents of him that had received his
sight. And they asked them, saying,
Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth
he now see? His parents answered them and
said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But by what means he now seeth,
we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes,
we know not. He is of age, ask him. He shall
speak for himself. These words spake his parents
because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already
that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put
out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, he
is of age, ask him. The Pharisees questioned his
parents about this. They of his own household. They
said, where is your stance on all this? They said, we don't
know. Ask him. They knew all right. They knew, everybody there knew
that the Lord had made this man see. But they did not have God-given
faith. God-given faith to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. A work was not done to them. And they said, we don't know.
Ask Him. Verse 22, these words spake His
parents because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already
agreed that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should
be put out of the synagogue. They thought, We don't want to
be put out of the synagogue over this. There's no reason for a
split over this. Oh yes, there is. Yes, there
is. God's glory is at stake. God's holy glory is at stake. Look at chapter 16 with me, verse
1, it says, These things have I spoken unto you that you should
not be offended. They shall put you out of the
synagogues. Yea, the time cometh that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these
things will they do unto you because they have not known the
Father nor me. But these things have I told
you that when the time shall come, you may remember that I
told you of them. Proverbs 29, 25 says, The fear
of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the
Lord shall be safe. Safe. Trust the Lord. Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, back in John 9, verse 24
says, Then again called they the man that was blind." The
Pharisees did. And they said unto him, give
God the praise. Quit saying Jesus of Nazareth
did this. Give God the praise. We know
that this man is a sinner. The ones telling this blind man
this were the leaders of religion. The leaders of religion. And
that is religion's main objective. This is the objective of all
religion. It's to discredit Jesus Christ. He's not God. They said, give
God the credit. Give God the praise. You quit
saying Jesus of Nazareth has done this. And they do all of
this in the name of God. They will not honor God's Son
and give Christ all the glory for all things. Now listen to
John chapter 5 verse 23. Our Lord said, All men should
honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him."
All men should honor the Son. May that be a warning. All men
should honor the Son and give all glory and all praise to Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. Back in John 9, verse 24 says,
"...then again called they the man that was blind, and said
unto him, give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, whether
he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas
I was blind, now I see. The gospel is so gloriously simple. It's just so gloriously simple. It's too simple for Pharisees,
you know that? He said, you can keep all your
isms and all your schisms and all your religion, one thing
I know. I'm not going to argue with you
about this anymore. One thing I know. David said,
one thing have I desired. Paul said, I determined to know
nothing among you but one thing, Christ and Him crucified. Verse 25, this man said, One
thing I know. He knew it. He knew it. Do you
think there was any doubt in his mind that he was blind and
now he sees? You think there's any doubt?
He said, I know. I know whom I have believed."
John said, I know that my Redeemer liveth. Paul said, we know that
all things work together for good. John said, it doth not
yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall
appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
one thing every child of God knows. We were blind. But God. Is that not what Ephesians
2 says? But God. I was dead, but God. I was deaf, but God. I was lame, but God. The reason I am alive and well,
spiritually speaking, is because of God Almighty. Because God
passed by me. It's because God saw me. It's
because God made clay. And God anointed my eyes. And
God said, go wash. All of the glory goes to Jesus
Christ. One thing I know, I was blind. Thank God. Now I see. Until next Sunday morning, may
the Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, Pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m., and 6 o'clock
p.m. Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.