Alright, if you will, open your
Bibles now to the book of John. I want to spend one more day
here in the book of John, chapter 9. This is the Lord's account. I want to receive it that way,
that He preserved on purpose for our learning. This is not
just a Historical fact, although this miracle did take place in
time, it was a real miracle. It really happened. It had witnesses.
He had witnesses. God did by him a miraculous thing
right before their eyes, and they're reminded of it overnight.
The first chapter, when Peter begins to preach to them and
tell them that God confirmed him by miracles and wonders and
signs, which He did by him in their midst, He said, as you
yourselves also know, you were there, you saw. What we have
in account here is this old blind beggar, and a miracle of grace
performed on him and in him, and it's performed by a very
unusual process of means. I pointed that out to you last
week. unusual means that the Lord uses. And He does this on
many occasions. It's not that He needed means,
but He purposed these means. And He purposed them to teach
us that God is pleased to use means. And then He tells us throughout
the New Testament what those means are. But these means were
not only unusual, But these means were repulsive to the world. They were offensive to the world.
He spit in the dust and then rubbed it on this man's eyes.
That's offensive, isn't it? That's offensive. And then he
sent him off to that pool to wash. And then he left him. He
didn't wait for him to return. He left him. Just sent him off
to that pool. The man came forth from the pool
seeing, but he didn't see the Lord because the Lord wasn't
there. He left. And in this account, we're told
that this blind beggar was born with this infirmity, not as a
curse, but for this specific reason
that the works of God should be made manifest in him. He wasn't a blind beggar because
of his sin, and yet he was. He was and he wasn't. The disciples saw him. They saw
him in his pitiful state. They saw him sitting there on
that filthy blanket. And they saw that the Lord took
notice of it. And so they had some comments.
And they saw this man. Here he is. He's a blind man.
He's poor. He has no income. He has no direction. He can't see. He fumbles about
with a cane if they had such a thing at that time. Or somebody
holds him by the hand and leads him, and he sits there on that
old dirty blanket with a little cup and waits on somebody to
give him whatever they're pleased to give him when they go by.
He's a beggar. And immediately the thought comes
into their mind that either this man or his parents done something
really bad, or he wouldn't be there. And so they asked, who
sinned? Who sinned that this man here?
We pity him, but who sinned? What was the cause of this man
being here? And the Lord said, neither one
of them. Neither one of them. Now both of them sinned. Both
this beggar and his parents. They were both sinners. But if you look at this in the
light of what's taking place, in the light of this miracle,
in the light of what he's trying to teach, he tells them, neither
won't. Neither won't. He said, but that
the works of God be manifest in this beggar. And these things
are a detailed picture of how God reconciles sinners to himself,
of their condition in which he finds them, of the means which
altogether seem distasteful and foolish in the sight of men who
think they can see. It wasn't foolish to him. That
eye salve didn't bother him a bit. Washing in that pool was no problem
for him because he was blind. He was blind. This was going
to make him sick. He didn't mind going to the pool.
He didn't mind standing there like a dummy and letting somebody
rub clay on his eyes. He didn't mind it a bit because
he was blind. But to everybody else there, it was distasteful
and foolish until he came back sick. He came back sick. And if you look down at the last
three verses, of this chapter, you'll see how the Lord applies
this demonstration of grace to all who observed it. He says
in John 9, verse 39, For judgment I am come into this world, that
they which see not might see, and that they which see might
be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words and perceived that he was talking
about them. Now what's their question? They
said, are we blind also? Is that what you're teaching?
You're saying we're blind? And Jesus said unto them, if
you were blind, you should have no sin. But now you say, we see,
therefore your sin remaineth. I want to spend one more day
on this chapter and try by the grace of God to show you just
a few more things concerning this blind beggar and the works
of God that were manifest in him. And I want us first of all
to zero in on this man's situation and circumstance in this world.
I looked at this and looked at this and looked at this and this
says what it means and means what it says. This poor blind
beggar sat here in this world in these circumstances and was
at the same time an object of God's eternal and everlasting
grace. Here he sat. He was beneath everybody
around him. Everybody around him was following
the Lord. Everybody around him was standing
up. Everybody around him could see. There was just one old blind
beggar sitting on a blanket in this whole multitude. Just one. And he was an object of God's
grace. And he was not then and never was an object of God's
wrath. Never was. God chose him and
blessed him and his son before the world began. Chose him and
put him in Christ. Determined to save him. Determined
to make him a son. Determined that this man be with
him in glory before the world was. And God didn't change his
mind anywhere along the way. This man was an object of God's
everlasting grace, His everlasting blessing. And the Scriptures
are very clear concerning this infirmity and his station as
a blind beggar. It was not because of something
he did or because of what his parents did, but because God
set him apart to do a work in him. Set apart from all eternity
for this day. For this day. And he was ever with as blind
as any other man. He was as ignorant as the Jews
standing around him. He was a sinful man with sinful
thoughts and sinful desires. Indeed, he was born of sinful
parents and like David of old was conceived in iniquity. That's
what David said about his birth. Conceived in iniquity. And he
said, I came forth from the womb speaking lies. He was a son of
Adam and bore his nature. had all the effects of his curse
on his outward person, owned a rebellious spirit, and had
an evil heart, this old blind beggar. But here's what we need
to see. Here's what I want you to look
at this morning. The blessings of God concerning his elect predate
the fall of Adam. They predate the fall of Adam.
They take precedence over the fall of Adam. They take preeminence
over the fall of Adam, and indeed, the fall of Adam was a part of
that everlasting covenant of grace that He made for us and
on our behalf. His covenant promises all these
things. They all predate the fall. Paul
says something to this effect over in Galatians 3. If you want
to turn over there, I'll point out a few verses to you. But
he talks about these things in relation to the coming of the
law, to the giving of the law. And as those things pertain to
that covenant that he made with Abraham 430 years before the
law. God came to Abraham. We've been
studying that Tower of Babel. Abraham came out of the land
of the Chaldeans. He came right out of that mess.
Right out of that mess. That's where his father lived.
He lived over there in the land of Ur, over there in Mesopotamia,
over there in that Chaldean mess of idolatry. And God came to
him and made a covenant with him. And he told him, he said,
Abraham, look up. And he looked up. He said, I'm
going to make your sea as the stars in the sky, like the sand
on the seashore. And he said, through your seed,
I'm going to bless all the nations of the earth. He made a covenant
with Abraham. And over here in Galatians 3,
verse 8, it said in the Scripture, for seeing, for telling, for
declaring, however you want to read it, that God would justify
the heathen through faith. preached before the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. He made a covenant with him.
And this covenant was concerning his seed, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look over there at verse 16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made, he saith not, and to seeds that are of many,
but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. This covenant
was based on one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. All the covenant
blessed. Verse 13, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us, for
it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And he
was made this curse, verse 14, that the blessings of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith. That's how it was promised. That's how it was going to be.
And that's how it is. Verse 15, he said, Brethren,
I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, that is confirmed of God. If it be
confirmed, no man disannulleth, and no man addeth thereto." Now
watch this, verse 17. And this I say, that the covenant
that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which
was 430 years after, cannot disannull. Why not? Because this promise
and this covenant came before the giving of the law. And it
considered the giving of the law and it made provision for
the law and the curse that would follow it. It was confirmed before
of God in Christ. That law which was 430 years
after cannot disannul that it should make the promise of none
effect. And if you will, just go back
to the everlasting covenant of grace that was confirmed before
of God in Christ. What's going to disannul it?
Everything came after it. Is there anything out there that
is going to disannul it? Anything out there that is going
to take it away? Anything out there that is going
to prevent God from giving these blessings that He before determined
to give? Nothing. Nothing. And so it is
as He confirms that covenant all through the Scriptures. Lots
of things happened after those covenants were given, but none
of them took away the blessing. None of them. And what the Lord
is teaching His disciples in the healing of this blind beggar
is that God had chosen him before the world began. And He made
provision for him. He put him in a substitute. He
appointed for him a representative. And He decreed a day in which
He would accomplish this salvation that He purposed to give to him
and sent His Son to accomplish it. And He purposed a day. in
which his son, being raised from the dead and seated at the right
hand of God, would send his spirit and send his ambassador to preach
to him, and in sovereign power convert this man and call him
to himself, to receive these blessings that he purposed before
all the way back in the beginning, all the way back to the beginning.
open his eyes of faith and give him a heart and a mind to believe
and worship the Lord in whom he was chosen and blessed. This
old blind beggar had all the signs of a cursed man. He had
none of the advantages, none of the potential of those around
him. He was a beggar. He was blind. He was poor and
he was ignorant. And everybody thought he was
cursed, even the disciples of Christ. Everybody except the
Lord of glory in whom he was chosen. And he dismissed their
outward evaluations of this man and told them that this man was
highly favored of God and sat on that blanket for one reason.
This man was a son of God. This man would be a king and
a priest unto God, but now he sits on a beggar's bucket. Why? Why? Because God has a work to
reveal. And He's going to reveal it in
him. He's going to reveal it in him. Even the disciples of Christ
could not conceive in their ignorant traditional religious understanding
the eternal glory of Christ and the work He was about to perform
right before their eyes. They couldn't conceive of it. In the book of Revelation, and
I know this seems like a mystical book to most of you, but if you'll
just read the first few verses of it, it will tell you what
it's about. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. The reason we
can't understand it is because our head has been filled with
prophecies of future events and scorpions with tales and devils
and all this kind of nonsense. And when we read it, it's just
a total mystery to us. But if you read it in the light
of the person and work of Jesus Christ, it will begin to make
sense. And you will get some understanding of it. But this
revelation of Jesus Christ to His servant John talks about
a book called the Book of Life. Called the Book of Life. And
it talks about, in symbolic language, it talks about beasts. and talks about the great whore
of religion. It talks about principalities
and powers that are so deceptive and so powerful that they engulf
the world. The whole world looks at this
woman riding on this scarlet beast and just are swallowed
up by her. They just follow after. It says
kings and governors and peoples and nations and everybody. They
followed after and worshipped and worshipped. All but those
whose names were written in this book of life. Every one but them. Every one
but them. This book of the Lamb who was
slain before the foundation of the world. You can read about
it in Revelation chapter 17, you can read about it in Revelation
chapter 13, and all in between. This Lamb's book of life. He
comes to those, this conquering King, He comes to those and He
does a work in them and opens their eyes and heart to receive
the glory of God in Christ, and they don't follow after the beast,
and they don't follow after the great whore, and they're not
deceived anymore. They worship Him. They worship
Him. The names of all Israel were
written on the shoulder and on the breastplate of the high priest.
Even so, our names are written on the shoulder and upon the
heart of Christ that He might bear us up before God. Well,
what are you saying, preacher? I'm saying this. He's the only
thing that stands between you and hell. That's what I'm saying.
Just Him. Just Him. He's the only thing
that stands between cursing and blessing. You may be sitting here this
morning trying to figure out, am I cursed or am I blessed?
Just one thing that will tell the difference. Him. That's it. That's it. Nothing else. He's the only thing
that stands between us and certain doom. He is according to the
Scripture, our eternal surety. What's that mean? That means
He took the covenant and He makes it sure. Religion talks about a covenant
that's made sure by your keeping, by your doing, by your righteousness,
by your works, by your feelings, by your prayers, by your keeping
on keeping on. This covenant, this everlasting
covenant of grace, was given into the hands of our eternal
surety, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He makes it sure. He makes it sure. He is the testator
of the Father's good will and testament, and He dispenses His
inheritance to all those for whom it was purposed. The child
of God has His standing in Christ. His name is written in the book
of life held in the hands of the Lamb slain before the world
was. And everything about this man
is a blessing. It's not a blessing when you're
sitting on the blanket. It's not a blessing when you're
sitting there in your blindness. It's not a blessing when you've
got that leprosy and your skin and your fingers are falling
off. That's not a blessing, is it? It's a blessing when he kills
you. It's a blessing when He gives
you sight. It's a blessing when you come
to see yourself as a son of God, not a son of Adam. That's where
the blessing is. But it can't be a blessing until
He puts you on the blanket. He has to put you on the beggar's
blanket. He has to take away your vision.
He has to take away those things in which you trust. He has to
show you that you're an object of His eternal love. that you're
an object of His eternal grace and only by that grace. That's
the only thing that stands between you and hell. Not your decisions,
it's not when you make up your mind. How many times have you
made up your mind to do good and went out and done evil? Huh? Tell the truth. How long do you last? Twenty
minutes? God Himself. Everything about
this man is a blessing because God Himself predestinated everything
in time and eternity to work together for His good, especially
His blindness. What they saw as a curse, Christ
said was a blessing. Huh? It's a blessing. They used to tell old Ralph Barnard,
said, Ralph, you catch more flies with honey than you can with
vinegar. He said, I ain't trying to catch flies, I'm trying to
kill sinners. There's a difference. Ralph understood
where the blessing was. Blessing wasn't in your natural
sight. The blessing was in your blindness.
And he knew it. Nothing that comes the way of
God's chosen people comes their way because of sin. Their sin
was laid to the charge of their substitute who put it away by
His sacrifice on the cross. And they had no standing on their
own, had no righteousness of their own, but it's according
to that obedience and that atonement, that blood sacrifice of Christ.
But that's not the end of it. In a day determined of God, He'll
come to His own. And He'll separate them from
the rest of the world. Something you can't do. You can't
cease being you. You can't do it. You can't do
it. I tried. I tried. I sincerely tried. You can't
do it. It takes a new creation to do
it. That's what it takes. A new creation. In that day determined
of God, He'll come to His own and He'll separate them from
the rest of the world. Separate the sheep from the goats,
the wheat from the tares, cursed from the blessed. And this is
exactly the language of Scripture. Listen to what Paul writes this
young pastor, Timothy. Calls him his son in the faith.
Listen to what he says over here, 2 Timothy 1. He said, God has
saved us. hath already. He saved us. And then He called us. He called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. That's why it came in time. And
if you read Ephesians chapter 1 and chapter 2, You're going
to find three resurrections. Three resurrections. He resurrects
you right off the bat out of nothing before the foundation
of the world, before you had any being, before you had any
reason to be here, before you had any person, before you had
any responsibility. Before anything was formed, before
the world was created, before the fall of Adam, He resurrected
you out of nothing and gave you being and purpose and determined
by His predestinating power to make you a son. He resurrected
you out of nothing. And then in the fullness of time,
He sent forth His Son, and He quickened you together with Him
because He put you in Him and chose you in Him before the foundation
of the world. And when He resurrected His Son
from the grave, He quickened you together with Him. You can
read about it right there in Ephesians 2, I think, verse 5
and 6. And raised you up together with
Him and seated you in the heavens. And then in a time when it pleased
Him, He resurrected you from your curse. He resurrected you
from your sins and your blindness. He resurrected you off of that
old beggar's blanket and created faith in you. He gave it to you. Just gave it to you. Can't find any reason why He...
Why would He give it to me? There's not a man on this earth
rebelled against God any more than me. He gave it to me. And I tell you why he let me
experience all them things, so I'd know it was a grace. That's
exactly why. You couldn't come. You come talk. Those doctors of the law and
those scribes and Pharisees and all them self-righteous religionists
came to this man and tried to convince him that this whole
thing was a lie. He said, you go talk to somebody
else. He said, I know what happened to me. and dismissing all your religious
lies, here's what happened. I was blind and now I see. You can't sell that religious
mess to a man whose eyes have been opened. You ain't going to fool him.
He has sight. He can see. He can see. That blind beggar is blind. and his blindness taken away
to declare the glory of God and the salvation of his elect. And
only a blind man whose sight has been restored can appreciate
the difference. He's the only one. He's the only
one. By the power and providence of
God, this blind man took his place on the beggar's blanket,
waited on God, waited to receive whatever the goodness of God
was pleased to give him. Because that's where he put him.
And that's what God has to do with the sinner. He has to put
him on the blanket. He has to strip him of his righteousness. He has to take away all of his
hope. He has to show you that you're a blind beggar sitting,
waiting to receive whatever the goodness of God is pleased to
give you. You got no power to take it.
You got no power to receive it. You have nothing. until the King of Glory comes.
And by whatever means He's pleased to use, you'll be pleased to
receive Him. Yes, you will. You won't fight about it. People
fight because they ain't blind. And these Pharisees and scribes
and doctors of the law all had 20-20 vision and could not see
what the God of Glory did right before their eyes. They couldn't
see it. Never did see it. They thought they could see.
They were convinced they could see. They declared before the
Son of God that they weren't blind. You saying we're blind? As a bat. Old Beggar, he confessed his
blindness. But that old self-righteous religionist never will. Sitting
in a spiritual darkness, we've got no comprehension of God's
majesty. No comprehension of God's glory.
We've got no insight into the Word of God. We read it and it's
a blank book. Work of God. We have no insight
into the glory of God. We shut up to our ignorance,
shut up to our blindness, and shut up because of this curse. And there we sit. And then He
comes in the power of His Spirit and opens our eyes, tells us
what to do, and we do it. Put that shave on his eyes, now
he said, you go to that pool. How could he go to a pool? He's
blind as a bat. Somebody said he put that clay
on his eyes because even when you close your eyes, you still
see that little shadow of light. He's going to make him blind
for sure. Puts that clay on him eyes where
he can't see nothing. Then he tells him, go wash. Go
wash. And he did, and he came back
to see it. He did what God told him to do. He received what God
gave him to receive. All these religious pretenders
ran around with their natural vision, and that long-awaited
Redeemer of God stood in their midst and did a work that only
God Himself could do, and they mocked the Word. They mocked
it. They said, it's foolishness.
It's foolishness. And the real curse, here's what
the Lord brings them down to see, and this is what I've been
trying to teach you this morning in these last three verses here
in John. The real curse of God on sinful man is his belief that
he can see. I understand the truth, I just
haven't made up my mind to do it yet. No, you're blind. You're blind. He believes he
can see the comings and goings of God. He believes he can see
the kingdom and purpose of God. He believes he can see the difference
between lost people and saved people. His disciples didn't,
did they? They said he was cursed. The
Lord said he was blessed. The Pharisees said he was altogether
born in sin. The Lord said he was blessed. We think we can see all these
things. Listen to this, John 9.39 through the end of the chapter.
I'll read it and close. Jesus said, for judgment I am
come into the world that they which see not might see, and
that they which see might be made blind. We have to be made
blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind?
Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you should have had
no sin. But now you say, We see. Therefore your sin remains."