Thought about, when we were just
singing that, I was thinking about the Apostle Paul. He said,
I knew a man who was caught up to the third heaven, and I heard
things that are not possible for a man's mouth to utter. It
cannot be told. Let's open back up to John chapter
5. Last Sunday we looked at a certain
man who had been crippled for 38 years, laying by the pool
of Bethesda, looking for a physical healing, and he was ignorant of his spiritual
need. He was a man without hope, he
was a man without help, and then God came to him. And He said, Rise, take up thy
bed, and walk. Verse 9 says, And immediately
the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked. And on the same day was the Sabbath.
Now, Lord willing, next week we're going to look at the Sabbath.
The Lord, our Sabbath. But I saw something in here that
I thought was a real help to me, a real comfort to me. This
man here is my story. This is my story. This is my
song. This is every sinner's story,
crippled by this infirmity of sin, just crippled in every way,
shape, or form. No life, no walk, spiritually
dead, but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, said, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Conversion. Conversion. Now, salvation Our salvation
was finished before the foundation of the world. Right? He's loved us with an everlasting
love. Our Lord is the Lamb slain from
before the foundation of the world. But in time, in this life,
there comes a point of conversion. Death to life. Darkness to light. There comes a point, right? I
once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. An awakening. That's what it
is. It's an awakening. A notification
of my eternal salvation. That's what it is. It is a notification. Wake up. I just told you in there
I was reading some bulletin articles for next Sunday's bulletin and
brother Bruce Crabtree has an article that's going to go into
the bulletin and he was talking about his son is a or was a sleepwalker. And one night they found him
out in the woods and he was dangerous. A wonderful article on being
asleep asleep. How the sinner walks through
this life asleep and at some point the Lord has got to come
to that sinner and say, wake up. Wake up. A quickening. A notification. Conversion. Well, what is life
like after conversion? What's life like after conversion. Let's look at this certain man's
story, and I believe we're going to see our own here. Verse 9
says, And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his
bed, and walked. And on the same day was the Sabbath. Verse 10 says, The Jews therefore
said unto him that was cured. It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for thee to
carry thy bed. The very first thing he experienced
after conversion was persecution. Immediately. Criticism. Immediately. And it never goes
away. It never goes away. Now, if you stop and think about
that, is that not amazing? Here's a man who was lame for
38 years. Lame for 38 years. He couldn't walk for 38 years. And now he's standing, he's walking,
and he's carrying his own bed. And the first thing he's met
with is, you're not allowed to do that on the Sabbath. Isn't
that ridiculous? What? Do you not see the miracle
that has just happened here? Really? Do you not see the glorious and
mighty hand of God here? I was dead and now I'm alive. I was laying there and now I'm
standing up. This man is walking, one who
never could before, ever. The glory of it, the power of
it, the wonder of it. This man who was bound to the
ground, he couldn't get off of it. He's been set free. Set free. And all they could
say was, you're not allowed to do that on Sabbath day. You talk about just suck the
joy out of the whole thing. Really. Suck the life out of the whole
thing. You go around telling people
the truth has set me free. I've been freed from all that
religious bondage. I've been freed from the law
and it's a happy condition. You tell people that and you're
going to be met with some opposition. You really are. And do you know who it's going
to come from? those in religion. The sinners
are going to be happy for you. Those who are under the curse
of the law, that's what Galatians says, those who are under the
law are under the curse. Our Lord knew what their beliefs
were about the Sabbath day. He knew what they were preaching
about the Sabbath day. And He healed that man on the
Sabbath on purpose. He did that on purpose. He came
to set His people free from all that bondage. Turn with me over to Galatians
chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5 verse 1 says,
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. We just said this morning, anytime
you see a therefore, you've got to look up and see what it's
there for, right? So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free. Turn over to Galatians chapter
2. Verse 21 says, I do not frustrate
the grace of God. I don't frustrate the grace of
God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead
in vain. If all this is by the law, you're
not allowed to do that on the Sabbath day. If all this is by the law, then
Christ died in vain. And I'm going to tell you the
punchline to next Sunday's message. Christ is my Sabbath. Christ is my Sabbath. You're not allowed to do that
on the Sabbath. You're supposed to rest on the Sabbath. Christ
is my Sabbath. I rest on Him. If all this is by the law, then
Christ died in vain. If it's by the law, then it's
not His blood that cleanses me from my sin. Look at verse 20.
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. Well back over to our text in
John chapter 5 verse 10 says, 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. That's the greatest example the
Lord could have given us on how to answer opposition. His answer was so simple. Do you know what he said? Thus
saith the Lord. He said to me. That's what he
said. He said, It's not lawful for
thee to carry thy bed on the Sabbath. And he answered them,
He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed
and walk. He didn't argue with them about
how they perverted and missed the whole point of the Sabbath?
He didn't do that, did he? This gospel is not to be argued. It is to be declared. Thus saith the Lord. Well, Scripture
says, leave it at that. He didn't accuse them of being
heartless, doctrinalist, although they were. Man, I was sick. I was sick. Can't you see what's happened
to me? All he did was he hid behind
the Lord Jesus Christ. He told me to do it. And I'm
just obeying his command. That's all he did. He rested
in the Word. He said, and that's all I know,
He that made me whole, the same said unto me, He told me to do
it. Verse 11, He answered them, He
that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed
and walk. 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. He wist not who
it was. That means he didn't know. I
don't know. After conversion, and I'm talking
about myself first, and I don't say that sentence just for a good preface, just
because it sounds easy. I'm telling you the truth. I
say that to myself first. But after conversion, There is
still a lot of ignorance in us believers. Starting right here. Ignorance. Just ignorance. All my life, I've said things,
and I look back and think, man, how stupid was I? And how gracious
was that person with me? That man who'd been sitting,
or that woman who'd been sitting under the gospel forever and
ever, and I spout off grace. Man, I appreciate their grace.
I really do. There's a lot of ignorance in
us. There's a lot of things that
we just don't know. This man that was healed, he
told them, he that made me whole said unto me, take up thy bed
and walk. Was there any doubt in his mind
that he was healed? No. I'm standing up. I'm walking. Here's my bed. I'm healed. But then they said unto him,
what man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk. Who is this man that healed you? What are his attributes? What are his characteristics?
How did he do it? And he that was healed wist not
who it was. I don't really know. I don't
know all the answers. I don't know. I know where to
find them. And hopefully in time, the Lord
will teach me, hopefully we'll all be taught of God. So many
believers have said this, and I know from my own experience
that sometimes it is so hard to tell people what we believe. It's so hard to explain to people
what we believe. But when we hear it, we know
that's what I believe. That's what I believe. He that
was healed wist not who it was. He was healed, but he didn't
fully know everything. And to me, that's comforting
that the Lord would record it this way. Because no matter how
ignorant I am, there's still hope for the Lord to teach me. Now here's what we should take
from this. We shouldn't expect too much
out of each other. We're sinners, right? I'm still
a sinner. I'm still an ignorant sheep. We should cut each other a lot
of slack. A lot of slack. And as the scripture says, don't
make a man an offender for a word. Here's why. It's because we do
not come to a knowledge and then receive conversion. We receive
conversion and then the Lord brings us to a knowledge. That's
why. That's a vital truth. All this man can do is trust
the one who healed him and obey His Word. That's all He can do.
Trust the One who healed Him and follow His Word. Well, verse
13 says, He that was healed wist not who it was, for Jesus had
conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place. Our Lord
conveyed Himself away because there was a crowd there, a multitude
being in that place. And He didn't want to draw attention
to Himself. The only one who was worthy of
attention. Absolutely worthy. In glory,
he will receive all the attention. And he's worthy of it. But here is the meekness of our
Lord. Meek, meek, meek. What should life be like after
conversion for a believer? It should be meek, meek, lowly. Turn over to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1 verse 37 says,
And when they had found Him, that's our Lord, they said unto
Him, All men seek for Thee. They're all looking for You.
And this is how He responded. He said unto them, Let us go
into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for therefore
came I forth. And He preached in their synagogues
throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils, And there came a
leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and
saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And
Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched
him, and said unto him, I will be thou clean. And as soon as
he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and
he was cleansed. And he straightly charged him,
and forthwith sent him away, and said unto him, See thou,
say nothing to any man. Don't tell anybody what I've
done. Nobody. But go thy way, show
thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things
which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. But what did the man
do? He went out and began to publish it much. Tell nobody I was a leper! And now I'm clean. I can't keep
that to myself. He went out and began to publish
it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus
could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in
desert places. And they came to Him from every
quarter. He had to go out into the desert. Meek. Meek. Back to our text,
John chapter 5, verse 13 says, 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 Lord withdrew
Himself from this man, so this man could be tested. And our Lord does the same thing
to us. James said, The trying of our
faith worketh patience. Verse 14 says, Afterward Jesus
findeth him in the temple. Life after conversion, alright?
When God converts a soul, and that soul is persecuted, And
that soul is criticized. And that soul is tried because
of the truth. Do you know the only place that
soul is going to find any relief, any help, any comfort, any peace,
any answers? It's in Christ. And where did
He say He would be? In the house of God. in the hearing of His Word, in
the assembling of His people. That's what life is after conversion. Really. We have jobs. We have families. We have responsibilities. We do. But this is my life, whether
I was a preacher or not. If the Lord took me out of the
pulpit and caused me to sit and listen to another man, God be
merciful to me and may this still be my life. Everything else revolves
around this. Verse 14 says, afterward, after
he was tempted, Jesus findeth him. This man went to the temple,
he went to the place where God said he would meet with his people,
and God met with him there. The Lord withdrew Himself from
that man. That man went to the temple,
and then the Lord went to the temple to meet with that man
there. Grace came to that man when the Lord said to him, Rise,
take up thy bed, and walk. That was grace. We're saved by
grace, right? The truth came to that man when
the Lord said, Thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a worst
thing come unto thee. Grace does not ignore God's holiness. Grace does not ignore God's holiness. We've been talking about that
all morning. The Lord met with him and said,
Thou art made whole, sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto
thee. Go over to 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 verse 33 says,
Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to
righteousness, and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of
God. I speak this to your shame. Now, we know we can't. not sin,
right? We know that. Sin is mixed with
everything we do. But the Word of God says, call
His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. There's a change, isn't there?
There's a change. Is this in order to be saved? Is it in order to be healed?
Is it in order to be converted? Converted? No. That happened
back in verse 8. Rise, take up thy bed and walk.
That's over. It's done. It's finished. What our Lord
is saying is, because you belong to me, because I've saved you,
because I've healed you and converted you, sin no more, lest a worse
thing come unto thee. What He's saying is, you're mine.
And if you disobey me, then I'm going to have to spank you for
it. Now, let me just illustrate that for you, okay? We're almost
finished here. Go to John 8. This is a precious portion of
Scripture right here. We are here to Learn more of our God. We're
here to learn more about this man, Jesus Christ. Who He is
and what He's like and His mind. Who He is. Alright, now this
is wonderful. This is wonderful. Look at John
8, verse 1. It says, Jesus went unto the
Mount of Olives, and early in the morning He came again into
the temple, and all the people came unto Him, and He sat down
and taught them. Verse 3 says, And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in
the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned to death. But what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him,
that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down. Now picture this in your mind.
He stooped down and with his finger he started writing on
the ground as though he heard them not. He was absolutely paying
zero attention to them. They were accusing this woman.
They said, we called her in the very act. And he's sitting there
writing on the ground, paying no attention to them. So when
they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto
them, he that is without sin among you, let him cat first
cast a stone at her. And again, he stooped down and
wrote on the ground and they which heard it. being convicted. What that means is he was sitting
there, all those Pharisees, and we're about to see he started
with the oldest man and he went to the youngest man, and he started
writing all their sins, their secret sins, the things they
thought, the things they did behind closed doors. He's sitting
there writing their actual sins. And they're reading that in the
sand and they are convicted. And they which heard it, verse
9, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one. Beginning at the eldest, even
unto the last, He went through every man there. And Jesus was
left alone and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had
lifted up Himself and saw none but the woman, He said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, my Lord. Nobody is here to condemn me.
And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin
no more. Now you were caught in adultery.
Don't go back and do that again. Don't go back to that. You're
mine now. I paid that debt. No accusations. But go and sin no more. Is that
not wonderful? Sin no more. You know, you're
preaching works now. He was grace, now he's works
over there. Nope. I'm preaching the Word of God.
It's the Word of God. We believe here at Kingsport
Sovereign Grace Church in good works. We really do. Just not unto salvation. not
unto salvation. We believe in good works because
of salvation. Verse 15 says, back in our text,
John 5 verse 15, The man departed and told the
Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole. That completes
this man's whole story. This one who was healed totally
without doing anything or knowing anything, he didn't even know
about it, is now confessing with his lips
the one who saved him. He went back and he told all
those people, it was Jesus Christ who saved me. I know whom I have
believed. Romans 10.10 says, With the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. That's the believer's life after
conversion. It is spent confessing Him. Confessing Him. He saved me. I had no hand in it. And He gets
all the glory. That's how we're going to spend
the rest of our lives. I hope the Lord will bless that.
Let's stand together.