I have a severe, severe hearing
loss. The last time I went to a hearing
aid specialist, he said there's a hearing loss and then there's a bad hearing loss and then there's
a severe hearing loss. He said, you're down in the severe hearing loss group. But under certain conditions,
I can hear. Certain conditions, I can hear.
Certain frequencies, I can hear. And certain tones, I can hear. But there are other conditions,
frequencies and tones that I cannot hear at all, no matter how loud
you speak, no matter how loud The matter, no matter how soft
or loud or how often it's repeated, I just cannot hear it. And I
know that's confusing to people who speak to me. They think they're
speaking right to me under certain conditions and frequencies and
tones. They're speaking straight to
me. And I have a blank expression on my face because I'm not hearing
one word, not one word. And they think, well, how can
he not hear? He heard the other person. How can he not understand? He heard the other time. But this time he doesn't hear.
So what I'm saying is there's certain conditions and noises
that are going on at the same time. Certain frequencies and
tones. It's impossible for me to hear.
Impossible. And that's the way an unbeliever
is. An unbeliever can hear certain
things. Materially, you talk to him about
automobiles, talk to him about sports, talk to him about bargains
and sales and businesses, he can hear you perfectly fine.
is certain subjects and certain voices, but spiritual tones and
spiritual frequencies and spiritual conditions, he cannot hear. He's deaf. That's why I'm deaf
to certain tones and certain frequencies. Totally deaf. Totally
deaf. And under certain conditions.
Totally deaf. May not know you to even talk
at all. That's the reason I Don't go back to the back when they're
having a get-together back there. I can't hear him. Not one word.
Not one word. A person can stand right in front
of me and talk, and I don't hear one word they say. So there's
certainly an unbeliever. There's an unbeliever. He can
hear certain subjects. He can hear certain voices. He
can hear certain music. He can hear under certain conditions.
But when it comes to the truth of the word and spiritual subjects
and Christ, and the glory of God. He cannot hear, no matter
how loud you talk, or how soft, or how often you repeat it. Well,
I've told you that a thousand times. Tell him a thousand more
times, and he won't hear you. But preachers scream. They run
up and down screaming. Screaming is not going to help
them hear you. Lowering your voice is not going to. They cannot
hear. They're deaf. They're blind. To you that believe he's precious,
to those who do not believe, you just read this. He's a stumbling
stone. Well how can you tell when a
man does hear? My friend Jim Eccles has the identical problem
I have. I know when he's not hearing
me. He'll just look at me blankly and smile. And I know when he is hearing
me. He responds. He responds. He responds to what
I say. In other words, when you speak
to a person in the condition we are, and they're not hearing
you, they'll be nice and they'll smile, but they won't respond. And the same thing is true of
a person to whom you're telling the story of Christ. If he's
really hearing you, he'll respond. He'll respond. He'll respond
with warmth. He'll respond with appreciation. He'll respond with faith. Isn't
that right, Wanda? You can tell when he's hearing
you. When he's not, he doesn't respond. When he does, he responds. And that's a good illustration
of how when we witness to people and talk to them about Christ,
when they're hearing, they'll respond. You'll know when they're
hearing. But here it says, no matter,
our Lord here in verse 37, He did so many miracles. He raised,
this is chapter 12, He raised Lazarus in chapter 11. From the
dead. They still didn't hear Him. Still
didn't believe Him. Back in chapter 6, He fed 5,000
and they said, now what are you going to do to prove you're the
Christ? He spoke as no man ever spoke. He took the Old Testament scriptures
and revealed them. He lived a perfect, sinless,
holy life and yet, verse 37, yet they believe not on him. The natural man in Adam is dead,
blind, deaf, cannot see or hear or understand. Now look at verse 38. That the
saying of Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled which he spake. This is Isaiah 53. You remember
verse 1? He said, Lord, who hath believed
our report? Is there anybody that believes
what we're saying? What we're preaching? What is our report?
Our report is Christ. When he went on in chapter 53,
he started off this way. He said, Lord, who hath believed
our report? What is the report? Well, if
you read the rest of that chapter, he uses the word he, him, and
his 43 times. His report is Christ. He was
wounded. He was bruised. He bore our sins. That's our report. It's Christ.
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? What is the
arm of the Lord? Well, I'll let you answer that.
Turn to Isaiah 40. I'll read this and let you answer
what is the arm of the Lord. Isaiah 40, let's read verse 5
and 6 of Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40 verse 5 and 6. What
is the arm of the Lord? Isaiah 40, well that's not it. Isaiah, well turn if you will
to Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51, verse 5. My righteousness is near, my
salvation is gone forth, mine arms shall judge the people,
the hour shall wait upon me, and on mine arms shall they trust. The arm of the Lord, that's Christ. My arm's not short that I can't
say. The ear is not heavier than I cannot hear. The arm of the
Lord is Christ. But it says here in verse 38
of our text, Isaiah said, who has believed it? To whom is Christ
revealed? Well, He's revealed to some. He's revealed to you and to me. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, turn
over there, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 18. Here's both groups mentioned
here. Preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness, but to us which are saved is
the power of God. Look at the next page, 1 Corinthians
2.14. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, the foolishness to him. Neither
can he know them that spiritually discern, understood, but he that's
spiritual, he discerneth all things, yet he himself is judged
or discerned of no man. The most obvious and glorious
and valuable truth that can be set forth to a natural man will
not be heard, will not be seen, and will not be understood. Look
at verse 39 now. Therefore, verse 39, therefore
they could not believe, because Isaiah said again, now this is
so serious here, I want you to read this carefully and let's
seek the revelation of the Spirit on these two verses. They could
not believe, because Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their
minds. He hath hardened their hearts.
that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with
their heart, nor be converted, and I should heal them. Now this
verse occurs in the New Testament six times. Six times. Isaiah wrote it back there in
Isaiah 6, verse 10. But it's repeated, and I want
to show you a few places. I want you to write it down and
read it later. But let's look at a few of these. Matthew 13.
Six times. This verse is repeated. And any
effort to alter it is inexcusable. Matthew 13, verse 14 and 15. And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah, which said, By hearing you shall hear and
not understand, and seeing you shall see and not perceive. For
this people's heart is waxed gross, their ears are dull of
hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they
should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand
with their heart, and I should convert them. They should be
converted and I should heal them. But thank God for verse 16, blessed
are your eyes they see, your ears they hear. But let's turn
to Mark, Mark chapter 4. Mark 4 verse 12, here it is again. Mark 4 verse 12. Verse 11, he said to
the disciples, Mark 4 verse 11, unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God, to them that are without,
all these things are done in parables, that seeing they may
see and not perceive, hearing they may hear and not understand,
lest at any time they should be converted and their sins should
be forgiven them. Turn to Luke 8, here it is again.
I want you to see it. Six times in the scripture, it
refers in the New Testament to Isaiah's writings. In Luke 8 verse 10, let's read
this. And he said, unto you is given
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God to others in parable
that seeing they may not see. And hearing they might not understand.
I keep reading that, but look back at my text, John 12. Let
me make some comments here. John 12, verse 39 and 40. Therefore
they could not believe. They could not believe. Because
He hath blinded their eyes. God blinded their eyes. God hardened
their hearts. that they should not see nor
understand, be converted. Now Adam, let's go back to Adam. Adam had everything. He had everything. Genesis 1 verse 27, you're going
to have to read this with me to understand what I'm saying.
Adam had everything. He had everything. God gave him
everything. And he gave him a commandment
to obey him. And Adam refused to obey. He
refused. In Genesis 1 verse 27, God created
man in his own image. In the image of God created he
him, male and female created he them. God blessed them. God
blessed them. God said to them, be fruitful,
multiply and replenish the earth, subdue it. And have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, over every
living thing that moveth about. And God said, Behold, I have
given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face
of the earth, and every tree, and the which is the fruit of
a tree yielding seed, that you it shall be for me. I have given
you everything. What did Adam do? He would not hear. He would not hear God. God said,
Don't eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Everything
else is yours. Don't do it. But he did. And
here in Genesis 3, look across a couple of pages, verse 17,
God cast him out. Genesis 3, 17, unto Adam he said,
Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, you have
eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it. Cursed is the ground for your sake. sorrow you shall
eat of it all the days of your life, thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee, thou shalt eat the herb of the
field, in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till you
return to the ground, out of it you were taken, dust you are,
in the dust you shall return." He would not hear God, God put
him in a place where he could not Turn to Romans 9. Let me show
you this. Romans chapter 9, verse 4 and
5. Stay with me. I believe I've
got some light on this. Romans chapter 9, verse 4 and
5. Here's Israel. Here's Israel. Israel had the
advantages. Romans 9, verse 4 asks this question. Who are the Israelites? I'll
tell you who they are. The people to whom pertaineth
the adoption. glory, covenants, giving of the
law, service of God, promises, whose are the fathers, of whom
is concerning the flesh Christ came, whose over all God blessed
forever. Amen. That's Israel. All the prophets were Israelite
Jews. Tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices,
the law, everything. They had all the advantages.
What'd they do? They would not hear God. What
happened to them? Turn to Romans 11. God fixed
it so they couldn't hear. He hardened their hearts and
blinded their minds. In Romans 11, verse 8 through
10, listen. According as it is written, God
hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should
not see, ears they should not hear unto this day." David said,
let their table be made a snare. Their table of their sacrifices
and bread and all these things, a snare at their table and a
trap and a stumbling block and a recompense. Let their eyes
be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back always. That's Yisrael. God hardened
their hearts. My text says, He hath blinded
their minds, and hardened their hearts, that they should not
hear with their eyes, not hear, see with their eyes, or understand
with their hearts. Let's look at Pharaoh, Exodus 9. Listen
to this. Exodus chapter 9. You've read
that many times where God hardened his heart. But I'll tell you
what was first. He hardened his heart. He hardened
his heart. If you get your concordance and
look at it, you'll find several times it says he hardened his
heart, then it says God hardened his heart. What Isaiah said here
is, if there's a time when men will
not hear God, there'll come a time when they cannot hear God. If there is a time when men cannot
hear because they will not, there will come a time when they will not because they cannot.
Now you listen to this, in Exodus 9 verse 34 and 35, Exodus 9 verse
34, and when Pharaoh Moses brought these plagues there,
and the plagues finally went away. When Pharaoh saw that the
rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more,
hardened his heart. He kept on in the path he was
walking, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh was
hardened. He wouldn't let the children of Israel go as the
Lord had spoken by Moses. And the Lord said unto Moses,
All right, go in unto Pharaoh. I have hardened his heart. I
have heard in the heart of his servants that I may show these
my signs before him." Now he's in a fix. He could not because he would
not. Now, he could not even if he would. And I'll show you two
other illustrations of that in Romans 1. Here's another. Here's two more illustrations.
Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1 verse 19, because Romans 1 verse 19, because that
which may be known of God is manifest in them and God showed
it to them. Romans 1 verse 20, now the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clear to see
and being understood by the things that are made. Even his eternal
power in God has so many without excuse. So because that when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful, but were vain in their imagination, their foolish heart
was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the
corruptible man, to beasts, birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping
things, wherefore God gave them Verse 26, God gave them up. Verse 28, they did not like to
retain God in the knowledge that God gave them over to a reprobate
mind. He blinded their eyes, He hardened
their hearts. They did it first, then He added
to it. 2 Thessalonians, I told you I'd
give you another. 2 Thessalonians, listen to this.
This is just applicable, so applicable to this day. In 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 10, listen. 2 Thessalonians 2, 10. And with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because
they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. What happened? For this cause, they received
not the love of the truth. God will send them strong delusions
that they should believe a lie. Really, truly believe a lie.
That they might be damned who believe not the truth but have
pleasure in unrighteousness. And that's true in Proverbs.
Let me show you that one and then I'll move on to the next
one. In Proverbs chapter 1, listen to this. You see, there's a light
that lighteth every man that comes into the world. There's God, there's the call
of creation. God, the heavens declare the
glory of God, but men will not, they will not, they will not
believe what they see. Conscience declares the law of
God, and they will not listen to the conscience. judgments
of God. You can have a death in a family
and everybody starts thinking about religion and two weeks
later they've forgotten. God says in Amos, He said, I've
smitten you with mildew, I've killed you young men with a sword,
I've sent you a drought, lack of rain when just two months
before the harvest, you won't return, you won't repent. So
just get ready to meet God, he said. Prepare to meet God. And here he says in Proverbs
1, listen, verse 24. Verse 24, Proverbs 1, because
I called and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no
man regarded. You said it in all my counsel.
There's not many people in this town who hadn't heard who God
is, who Christ is. You would not of my reproof,
so what's going to happen? I will laugh at your calamity.
I'm going to mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh
as desolation, your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, and distress
and anguish cometh upon you, you're going to call. I will
not answer. You'll seek me. You'll not find
me. That's the reason the scripture
says, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him
while he's near. And that's what's happened here
in John 12 verse 40. Verse 39, they could not believe. They could not believe. Because
he blinded their eyes and heartened their hearts. Judgment. Judgment. Now let's look at verse
41, let me move on. You see that, where I read, the
fellow said, if there is a time when men cannot come to God because
they will not come to God, they will not, they will not come
to God, then there will come a time when it may be that That gives
some consideration to coming to God, but you cannot. Can't hear and can't believe. In verse 41, these things said
Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake of him. You know, we
talk about the book of Isaiah being the gospel of the Old Testament,
the book of Christ. He talks about Christ our Lord.
No matter where you read in Isaiah, you'll find Christ. Why is that? It tells you in this verse. These
things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory, he spake of him. When was that? Well, he said,
in the care that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. High and
lifted up, and his train filled the temple. And the seraphims
cried, holy, holy, holy. And I said, I'm a man of unclean
lips. I dwell among a people of lies.
He saw the Lord. And when he saw the Lord, he spake of him.
Now then, I said a while ago, when a man hears, he responds. He responds. Alright. What did
Isaiah see? He saw the throne. He saw the
temple. He saw the seraphims. He saw
the whole earth. The whole earth, he said, was
filled with his glory. He saw himself. He said, I'm
a man of uncleanliness. He saw the people. And he said,
they're all the same way I am. But when he spake, what did he
speak of? Him. All these other things that
he saw were insignificant compared to the him. So when a man really
hears Christ, somebody asks the question, says, why don't preachers
today exalt Christ? They haven't seen him. Why don't
preachers today magnify Christ? They talk more about the devil
than they do about Christ. They talk more about themselves
than they talk about Christ. They talk more about their programs
and their singing groups than they talk about Christ. I tell
you they haven't seen His glory. When Isaiah saw His glory, he responded. He spoke of Him. He said him 43 times in that
one chapter, him, him, him, he, he, he. And that, when you, when a person
hears, when he sees the glory of Christ, he won't just smile
at you, he'll respond, he'll speak of him. That's right. You go on a vacation, you come
back and you tell that which impressed you the most. You keep
talking about that which impressed you the most. And when you hear
this gospel, here's an interesting verse here. I want to look at
verse 42. This is interesting here. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees,
they didn't confess him. lest they should be put out of
the synagogue, for they love the praises of men more than
the praises of God." Here's a situation to which our Lord responded.
There were some men among the chief rulers who heard our Lord, who were
impressed. In fact, he said many. Didn't
he say many? Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, many. These were not stupid men. These
were intelligent men. These were men in high offices. These are men who had studied
scripture. They'd studied the traditions of the father. They'd
studied the great kings and writers. They'd read all of David and
Isaiah and all these men. And when they heard Christ, they
were impressed. They were impressed. Could I name some of them? Nicodemus.
It says Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. Joseph of Arimathea, he was a
ruler of the Jews. Gamaliel, Gamaliel was the greatest
theologian of that day. Paul went to school under Gamaliel. Paul, Saul of Tarsus went to
school under Gamaliel. And it says here that they believed
on him. I don't know what they believed,
I don't know how strongly they believed, I don't know to what
extent Christ was revealed to them. But John gives two reasons
here why these men didn't confess Christ, why they didn't follow
Christ. Nicodemus was still with the Pharisees long after he came
to Christ by night. He's still meeting with them.
It said over there in, I can't remember where it is, but it
said Nicodemus was one of them, Joseph of Arimathea. was still
with them when Christ died on the cross, because He's the one
that asked for His body. Gamaliel was still with them,
over in the book of Acts in chapter 5, when they were about to kill
the disciples, and Gamaliel stood up in the meeting of these Jewish
people, he was still one of them. He stood up and said, be careful
what you do with these men, and what he said, Caesar, it may
be of God. It may be of God. Now that's
not an answer you'd give. It is of God. He said if it's
of God, you can't do anything against it. If it's not of God,
it'll perish anyway. These were, these are some of
these rulers. But they didn't confess Christ,
didn't follow Christ, didn't openly own Christ because it
was still with these fellows at these times. Why? Two reasons. Number one, they
did not confess Christ unless they should be put out of the
synagogue. They didn't want to be put out
of their religious community. They didn't want to be put out
of the accepted churches and places of worship in that day.
They didn't want to leave their offices. They were important men. They
may have had salaries. They were supported in these
offices. They were teachers. And so they
didn't confess Christ because they didn't want to leave the
old traditional church. And the second reason, they loved
the praise of men more than the praise of God. They loved the
applause and the praise of men. By confessing Christ, what would
happen? They would fall under the wrath
and condemnation and contempt of the religious world. They'd
have to take their place with these other people, the lowly
and the poor, and those who believed on Christ. That's something, isn't it? They
heard. They were impressed. And they
thought he might be the Messiah. Maybe even they believed he was.
But you just couldn't believe their positions and their companions and the
crowd they ran with. They didn't want to come under
that contempt, the offense of the cross. It is offensive, an
offensive message. Alright, verse 44, I want to
deal with this before I close because our Lord cried and said,
He cried and said. Amplified version says He loudly
declared this, what He said here, He loudly declared. He that believeth on Me, believes
not only on me. Can I put that word only in there?
It's the only way it can. Christ said he that believeth
on me believeth not on me. He said he believes not only
on me, he believes on him that sent me. That's what he, he that
believes on me believes not only on me, he believes on him that
sent me. There's the father and the son
are one. It's impossible to know the Father
and not know the Son. It's impossible to believe on
the Son and not believe on the Father and vice versa. Let's
look at a scripture, 1 John 2. And that's a condemning word
to these men who wouldn't confess Christ. In 1 John 2, verse 22, who is
a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He's Antichrist. He denies the Father and the
Son. Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father. He that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also. That's what he's saying there.
He said to his disciples, you believe in God, believe in me.
Believe in me, you believe in God. Verse 45 of our text, listen
to what he says here, he that seeth me seeth him that sent
me. What was the definition Christ
gave of eternal life in John 17? This is life eternal that
they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. That's what he said, he that
believeth on me, he's not just believing only on me, he believes
on him that sent me. And he that seeth me, show us
the Father, he that has seen me has seen the Father. I'm come
a light into the world that whosoever believeth on me should not abide
in darkness. All abide in darkness, even the
elect before their conversion were in darkness. By nature,
children of wrath. But when God is pleased to reveal
Christ, he enlightens us. We no longer walk in darkness. Now here are two things that
are clear, and I've closed. Verse 47, if any man hear my words and
believe not, I judge him not. I'm not come to judge the world
but to save the world. What's he saying? If any man
hear my words, here's the gospel, here's the word, here's the truth,
and doesn't believe it, a lot of folks come under that category,
don't they? A lot of folks. Think about it, our television
program, how many people hear it? All over this country. We're
on so many stations now. They say one letter represents
a thousand listeners. You know what they say? You get
about 40, 50 letters a week. That's 40, 50,000 people. One
write, 999 don't. So many hear my word and do not
believe. And Christ said, if any man hear
my words and doesn't believe, I judge him not. Put one word
in there. I judge him not now. Not now. Not right now. There are people
who do not hear the gospel and they go through life prosperously,
healthy, happy in the flesh, They live to be 75, 80, 85, 90,
unjudged, undisciplined, untouched, untried. They're all around you. David complained about that.
He said, how come these folks are prospering like that? How come these unbelievers live
so comfortably and unjudged and untried and undisciplined God doesn't deal with them in
judgment. He said, I'm not judging them now, I'll judge them later.
I judge my people now. I discipline my people. If you
be without discipline, if you be without chastisement, you're
not a son. And he says that right here.
He says, you hear my word, believe not. He may live a long, so-called
happy, prosperous life. I didn't come into the world
now. This is not the purpose. The judge is to save. The gospel
is to save. The gospel is to redeem. The gospel is to quicken, make
you give life. Now then, verse, next verse.
He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, he hath one that
judgeth him the words I have spoken. The same will judge him
in that day. See, God has appointed a day
in which you judge the world by that man, Christ Jesus. Who
he is, what he did, what he said. These words, Christ said, man
may live prosperously, healthy, happily, unjudged, undisciplined. I didn't come to judge people. I came to save people. But one
day, these words which I have spoken will come back to judge
to condemn and to haunt those that heard them. One day, every
unbeliever will meet these words again. Deuteronomy, verse 49,
read that and then I'll read before. I've not spoken of myself.
The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I
should say and what I should speak. His commandments, His
words, life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. Someday, they'll
be back. Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy 18. Verse 18. Verse 17. The Lord said to me, to Moses,
they have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise
them up a prophet. from among their brethren like
unto me, and will put my words in his mouth like unto thee,
I'll put my words in his mouth, he shall speak unto them all
I should command him. And it'll come to pass that whosoever
will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name,
one day I'll require it of him." Now, that's the judgment. So
that's what Christ is saying there when he says if a man doesn't
hear now, doesn't believe now, I judge him not, not now, but
I will. And the same words that I speak
will judge him in that day.