[0:00] We're going to read together in John's Gospel, John chapter 9. The Gospel of John, chapter 9. We're going to read the chapter. John chapter 9.
[0:21] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
[0:33] Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day.
[0:46] Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva.
[1:00] Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means scent. So he went and washed and came back, seeing.
[1:11] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg? Some said, is he? Others said, no, but he is like him.
[1:24] He kept saying, I am the man. So they said to him, then how were your eyes opened? He answered, the man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash.
[1:38] So I went and washed and received my sight. They said to him, where is he? He said, I do not know. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
[1:50] Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, he put mud on my eyes and I washed and I see.
[2:06] Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs?
[2:17] And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? He said, he is a prophet.
[2:27] The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, is this your son who you say was born blind?
[2:41] How then does he now see? His parents answered, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes.
[2:56] Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
[3:14] Therefore his parents said, he is of age. Ask him. So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God.
[3:25] We know that this man is a sinner. He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know that though I was blind, now I see.
[3:37] They said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?
[3:49] Do you also want to become his disciples? And they reviled him saying, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses.
[4:02] But as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. The man answered, why? This is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from.
[4:14] And yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
[4:26] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
[4:37] They answered him, you were born in utter sin. And would you teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And having found him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man?
[4:52] He answered, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe.
[5:04] And he worshipped him. Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.
[5:17] Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt.
[5:28] But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. Amen. And may the Lord bless to us this reading of his own holy word. Let us bow in prayer.
[5:41] O Lord, we give thanks for your word and for all that it teaches us. Help us every time that we come to it, that our eyes might be opened to behold wonderful things out of your law.
[5:55] We give thanks that this word is the rule of salvation. It is the rule of our life. And how enriched our life becomes when our life is based upon your word.
[6:09] And the worst thing that any person could do is to close your word and to seek to try and go through life without you. And we give thanks, O Lord, today that we're able to worship you and to praise your holy name.
[6:21] We give thanks, O Lord, that you are our creator. You are the one who brought all into being by the word of your power. And we give thanks that a day came where before this world even came into being, that you said, let there be light.
[6:40] And we give thanks, O Lord, that along the way that you also say, let there be light in our lives, where the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ has shone into our hearts.
[6:55] And we give thanks, O Lord, for the wonderful way that you work in our lives. We give thanks for your providence, which often confuses us. Often we struggle with it.
[7:08] But we know that what we don't know that you know. And that you are painting a perfect picture, which will one day be revealed. That you are the Lord who casts down one nation and raises up another.
[7:23] Father, so it has been and so it will continue to be. Because you are the God who does according to his will with the armies of heaven and with the inhabitants of the earth.
[7:34] And who can stay your hand. And we pray that we might submit before you. That we might bow humbly before you. And that we may seek to walk worthy of the high calling to which you have been called.
[7:47] We pray to bless us all here today. We all have our own individual needs. Some may be filled with worries and anxieties. Some may be quite content and at peace.
[8:00] We know that life is forever changing. And often we meet things that we never expected. But we pray that in all the ups and downs of life, that we may have a constant fixing of our eyes upon you.
[8:17] Because your word tells us that those who fix their eyes upon you will be kept in perfect peace. And so we pray that that might be the way that we go through life.
[8:28] Pray for any that are here today who still don't know you. They know about you. They know so much of what the word says. But they've never come to a personal experience.
[8:40] They've never come to taste and to see that God is good. And we pray that hearts might be opened. That the stubbornness of our own will might be broken.
[8:52] That we might come to bow before you and to ask you to become our Lord and to become our Savior. And we give thanks, O Lord, for the encouragement that you always give us along the way.
[9:07] We give thanks, Lord, for the communion that was enjoyed at this weekend. And for the profession of faith made. It's such an encouragement to a congregation when that happens.
[9:20] So we pray your blessing upon a young convert and a young member. And ask that you will continue to uphold her and keep her. And may she be a shining witness for you throughout this life.
[9:34] Pray, Lord, your blessing upon this communion season that is taking place. And we give thanks for hearing of new members. And we pray that you will encourage and bless your people.
[9:47] Pray your blessing on this congregation at a time of vacancy. And ask, Lord, that you will guide them. Vacancy is always a difficult time. But we pray that you will constantly be their guide.
[9:59] And that you will lead in the right way. And that you will bring and appoint someone to lead them. A minister. And that it will be quite clear to the minister and to this congregation.
[10:14] That this is a marriage that you have appointed. And so we pray your blessing upon these things. Pray for everybody here according to, as we said, according to their own particular needs.
[10:26] Pray for those who mourn. And we remember the Mitchell family at this time. We heard of the passing of shores. And we pray your blessing upon them. Pray your blessing upon all who mourn.
[10:38] And we know that mourning, while death immediately, when it comes, it upsets and changes life radically. But we also know that the days and the months and the years often do not lessen the sore.
[10:53] We may learn to live with it. But the pain is still there. And so we pray for every broken heart today. To bind up with your tender love. We pray, Lord, your blessing upon those who are sick.
[11:06] Those who are becoming too old to come to church anymore. We pray that you will be with them where they are. We pray your blessing upon us as a nation. We wandered so far from you.
[11:17] There is a deadness. And there is a carelessness. And there is an opposition. And there is a rebellion. That is right across our land. Oh, have mercy upon us. And please, Lord, do not leave us to our shelves.
[11:30] That's about the worst judgment that could come on us. Even though there are many. And that's what they want above all things. To remove every influence of God out of the land.
[11:41] That cannot think of a worse situation we could ever be in. So please, oh Lord, have mercy upon us. And despite the efforts of those who are so against you.
[11:53] May their efforts be turned to foolishness. And just like Ahithophus was. And we pray that you will indeed, in your grace and in your mercy, deal favorably with us.
[12:05] Watch over us then, Lord, as we wait upon you. And grant us your grace. And do us good. And cleanse us from our every sin. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Amen. We're going to continue singing in Psalm 27.
[12:19] And this is from Sing Psalm, Psalm 27. The Lord's my Savior and my light, who will make me dismayed? The Lord's the stronghold of my life, why should I be afraid?
[12:33] When evildoers threaten me to take my life away, my adversaries and my foes will stumble in that day. For though an army hems me in, my heart will feel no dread.
[12:46] The war against me should arise, I will lift up my head. One thing I'll plead before the Lord, and this I'll seek always, that I may come within God's house and dwell there all my days.
[13:01] 1 to 4, Psalm 27. The Lord's my Savior and my light. Amen. The Lord's my Savior and my light.
[13:19] They will make me dismayed. The Lord's the stronghold of my life.
[13:35] Why should I be afraid? When do evildoers threaten me to take my life away?
[13:59] My adversaries and my foes will stumble in that day.
[14:17] Although an army has me in, my heart will feel no dread.
[14:35] The war against me should arise. I will lift up my head.
[14:53] One thing I'll plead before the Lord, and this I'll seek always, that I may come within God's house and dwell there all my days.
[15:28] That on the beauty of the Lord, I constantly may gaze.
[15:47] And in his hands may seek to know direction in his ways.
[16:04] Let's turn back to the chapter we read in John's Gospel, John chapter 9. And I want us to read from the beginning, just considering the healing of this blind man.
[16:24] And see at the beginning there, just at the start, as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
[16:41] And then we find Jesus saying in verse 7, and he was telling the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. And he washed and came back seeing. And then if we jump to verse 25, we find there, as they were quizzing this man, he answered, whether he's a sinner, I do not know.
[17:01] One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. There wasn't much for a person who was blind to do back then, except beg.
[17:15] That's what that man was doing. We read that in verse 8. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who is to sit and beg? And I think blindness must be one of the worst afflictions that any person can have, because the world that we live in and our life is so impacted by the visual.
[17:37] It's always, it's a life that's full of the visual. And I often think of all the senses to lose, it must be very difficult. My granny, my mother's mother, she stayed with us the last few years of her life, and she went virtually blind.
[17:55] And she found it very, very difficult, because she was an avid reader. And she found, I remember we used to have to read to her. She always wondered to her, well, will you read me?
[18:05] Read me something. Read me a bit of the Bible. Read me from a good book. And she even wanted to read a wee bit from the cassette, because she couldn't read. And I often used to feel very sorry for her, because blindness is an awful thing.
[18:19] Well, here's this man, and he was born blind. And the most wonderful thing that happened in this man's experience was that Jesus, on this particular day, Jesus was passing by.
[18:32] We often read that in the Bible. Jesus was passing by, and Jesus passed by. Do you know what? And Jesus is passing by today as well, because we're told in the Word of God that where his people are gathered, that he is there in the midst.
[18:50] And it's a wonderful blessing, a wonderful privilege to know that Jesus is here. He's passing by in the Gospel. And when the Gospel is preached, it's like the Gospel, the Word of God, as Jesus' Word is going out, he is passing by in the Gospel.
[19:04] And we really have to lay hold upon these privileges, these opportunities, because one day he won't be passing by anymore for us.
[19:16] So we've got to grasp the opportunity while it's there. And as Jesus passed by with his disciples, the disciples asked this question, who sinned, this man or his parents?
[19:29] It's very interesting how Jesus and the disciples look at this man totally differently. Jesus looks with eyes of pity and compassion.
[19:42] The disciples look at him as an object for discussion. And they're saying, right, Rabbi, see, this man was born blind. Is it his fault or is it his parents' fault?
[19:54] Is he the one who sinned or was it his parents who sinned? Now, way back, people had this idea that every disability and every affliction that came upon somebody was as a result of sin, either their own sin or sin within the family.
[20:14] Now, we know that because of the fall in Eden and because of how we are made in a fallen world, we all experience difficulties and pains and such like.
[20:28] And we know that sometimes there is a particular course of life that will bring its own problems and difficulties. But the Bible makes it very clear that we are not to jump to conclusions and to automatically think because of something that happens in a patient's life that they are deserving of it.
[20:47] That's the way Job's friends were. They automatically came to the conclusion because Job's life was hit by one catastrophe after another. And Job's friends were convinced that although outwardly, publicly, Job was such a good man, they believed that inwardly, that there was another side to him, that he was a raging hypocrite.
[21:09] And they gave him a hard time until God, at the end, vindicated Job and showed his friends that they had got it all wrong. The reason the calamities came upon Job was because Satan had been allowed access to Job.
[21:26] So we've always got to be very careful in jumping to our conclusion because of what something that happens to someone. We're not to automatically say, well, that is because of it.
[21:37] We've got to be very careful in these things. The Bible shows us that. So we find that here is this man. And Jesus says, neither this man nor his parents, but that's something interesting, that the works of God might be displayed in him.
[21:56] And you know, we've always got to remember that, even in the difficult things. God is still there. This man probably felt that God had forgotten all about him. And it's very interesting listening to him.
[22:07] He knew a lot about God when we listened to the dialogue, listened to him arguing with the Pharisees. He wasn't somebody who wasn't, he wasn't a godless man in any shape or form.
[22:20] But there might have been many days that this man thought, oh, what's God, where's God in all this? And sometimes people ask that question. Well, the Lord was going to show himself.
[22:33] And we often find that, even in the dark things, that God does display himself. And so we find that Jesus stops and he deals with this blind man.
[22:46] And you might say to yourself, well, isn't that what Jesus does? Isn't that the type of life that Jesus was about? He went about doing good. And there's nothing surprising.
[22:58] You might say to yourself, as he passed, he saw a man blind from birth and he stopped. But what's interesting is, if you look at the last verse of chapter 8, so they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
[23:16] And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. This follows immediately on the Jews trying to kill Jesus by stoning him.
[23:27] And Jesus escapes. Now, if you put yourself, or I put myself in that situation, I don't think I would be stopping. I'd be legging it out of the place as fast as I could.
[23:38] But this is the nature of Jesus. Despite the threats, despite the fact that they were trying to kill him, he still stops.
[23:49] And he still takes time to display his compassion and his mercy. And that's how Jesus has always been. We find it right throughout his life.
[24:01] And there have been times where we, if there was one time, and we're always familiar with it, is in the upper room, if there was one time that Jesus needed encouragement, and Jesus needed the disciples to be saying, oh, look, we're here for you.
[24:20] It tells us at that particular time, it says, now is my soul troubled. And yet we find in the upper room, it's not the disciples who are comforting Jesus, but Jesus who is comforting the disciples.
[24:32] Even at the worst, on the cross, as they were crucifying him, Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
[24:44] On the cross, he was still caring for his mother. He said to John, behold your mother, and to his mother, behold your son. Even in his agonies, even in his agonies, he was in the business of saving.
[25:00] Today, you will be with me in paradise, he said to the repentant thief. That's the kind of saviour we have. One who has given his all and continues to give his all.
[25:14] And so we find Jesus stopping and what was very obvious here is that Jesus takes the initiative. And Jesus always takes the initiative.
[25:25] Let's remember that. It always begins with him. You know, sometimes people say, I do know, one of the great, the great moment in my life, I found Jesus. Well, that is true. But theologically, Jesus found you first.
[25:41] That's how it always begins. We love him. Why? Because he first loved us. It always begins with Jesus.
[25:53] The work starts with him before it begins with us at all. Now, we're not aware of that at the time. And can I say, maybe somebody is hiding in here and saying, oh, well, if it begins with Jesus, then there's nothing I can do about it.
[26:07] No, there is. The Bible tells you very clearly and plainly, seek him. Knock. Call. That is our responsibility.
[26:19] And you might be saying to yourself, Lord, I'm hiding behind this doctrine of election and I'm going to just go on and I'm going to wait for you one day just to call me. Well, that's not what the scripture tells us to do.
[26:32] We are commanded to call out to the Lord with all our heart and that he will break down the barriers that are there, the obstacles that are there, the rebellion that is there, the hardness that is there, all these things that are holding us back from Christ.
[26:51] We are to go to him and say, Lord, you open my eyes. And you know, when the Lord opens a person's eyes, it changes everything. And Jesus, he states in verse 5, I am the light of the world.
[27:06] And you know, that's one of the great statements because how true it is. Can you imagine what this world would be like without the spiritual and moral and ethical light of the Lord Jesus Christ?
[27:17] you look at some of the countries in this world that are ruled by dictators that have tried to obliterate all form of Christianity, have tried to ban the Bible, have tried to remove or control to the very tiniest degree, places like North Korea.
[27:39] Yes, thankfully, even there, the Lord is people. But it's hard for them because it is Kim that's to be worshipped, not the Lord.
[27:50] And it's a difficult thing for any Christian there. But you look at a nation like that and people live, they live totally subdued.
[28:03] Their lives are governed. Everything is monitored and watched. They live in fear. That's what happens when the light is removed.
[28:15] And the sad thing is there's a lot of people in our own land, that's what they would live above all. That all gospel influence, gospel privileges, gospel light would be removed.
[28:26] There's no worse judgment could come upon us because the more the light, the more God withdraws his influence and spirit from us, the worse things will become.
[28:39] And you and I look at the way things are going and how often we say, things are going from bad to worse. No wonder. Because we're pushing God further and further and further away.
[28:51] That's the result. So it's a prayer that we must constantly make, Lord, do not leave us to our shelves because there's nothing worse that could possibly happen. But Jesus has come into this world as the light of the world and to bring gospel hope and gospel light.
[29:10] You see, we plunged into darkness in Eden. When Adam and Eve were expelled and the angel with the sword, the flaming sword, barred their way in, the fellowship with heaven was gone.
[29:25] Light was exchanged for darkness. Warmth for cold. I don't think any two people have ever experienced on this earth the change in circumstances like Adam and Eve.
[29:41] I often tried to think of what it must have been like to have lived in bliss and harmony and peace and all of a sudden be plunged into this world.
[29:53] But God said, the day you eat you shall die. And death came in in every shape and form. And the entrance to the garden was closed and the entrance to God was closed.
[30:05] but God in his mercy provided a way. And that is what of course we have in the coming of his son the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know when God through his spirit comes into our heart and begins to shed light it all changes doesn't it?
[30:25] You know before God touches our heart at all we can be complacent and we think I'm not too bad. Nobody is going to go around and say you know I'm perfect. Nobody will say that.
[30:35] But we'll say I'm not too bad. We're very good at judging ourselves against other people. And non-Christians are often very good at judging themselves against Christians. And they say I see that person in the church there.
[30:49] I'm actually a better person. I know about him. I know about her. And there's a lot of that goes on in people's lives. I know we've all done it. But you know when the Lord touches our heart it all changes.
[31:02] all of a sudden the goodness that we thought we had all of a sudden the righteousness that we thought we had it dissolves. And we can sometimes feel like Isaiah when he said oh woe is me I am undone.
[31:18] Which means simply I'm unraveling. I think we felt that. We know what that is like to almost unravel in the presence of God to see something of what we're really like.
[31:30] And so this is what the light when the light comes into our life this is what it does. But Jesus doesn't send his light into our heart to torment us but to prepare us for the next stage.
[31:43] Because that's what happens. God shows first of all he shows us our self and then he begins to show us himself.
[31:55] And so we find that Jesus made a mud pack here for this man and anointed his eyes. It's interesting how sometimes Jesus used means other times he didn't.
[32:07] There are two blind men. You can think automatically of there's this blind man and there's Bartimaeus and it couldn't have been more different. For this man, Jesus, we read about what Jesus did, it was completely different.
[32:21] He said, having said these things he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and then anointed the man's eyes with the mud. And then he said, go and wash in the pool of Siloam.
[32:34] And the man went and he washed and he saw. Now when you think of Bartimaeus, the other blind man, it couldn't have been more different and yet the end result was the same.
[32:48] Because Bartimaeus heard Jesus was passing by. This blind man didn't. Jesus, as we said, took the initiative and just stopped beside him and began to deal with him.
[33:01] And he made the mud pack with saliva and put in his eyes. Bartimaeus was at the roadside begging as well. And they told him, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.
[33:12] What did Bartimaeus do? Did he say, oh well I'll wait here and see if Jesus stops beside me? No. He began to shout and to yell, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon me.
[33:26] The crowd were telling him, be quiet. No. The more they told him to be quiet, the more he shouted until Jesus stopped and dealt with Bartimaeus.
[33:38] What do you want me to do? He said, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And he healed him. Not with any mud pack, just healed him. So we see the different way that the Lord works, but the end result is the same.
[33:53] And you know, that is exactly how it is with us as well. Because our experiences are all different. Some people go into church without a care in the world, without, they just go out of duty.
[34:09] And they're not thinking of anything in particular. And they think, oh, here's another day I'll just spend. I go to church, I mark the card, and that'll be it, and I'll go home, and I'll have my plans, I'll be thinking about what I'm going to do throughout the week, but this day is different.
[34:26] The Lord touches your heart, you're changed, and you come out a different person. It's as rapid as that. And yet, there are other people in the church, and you have taken a long time of seeking, and calling, and praying, and wanting, and it's not going anywhere, but gradually, eventually, the day comes, when you come to faith.
[34:53] So, you see, it's so different, but that's how it'll always be. Now, this poor beggar, this poor blind man who had been begging, you'd think the community would be rejoicing with, oh, isn't that wonderful?
[35:09] Put my arm around you, shake your hand, good man, that's wonderful, wonderful what Jesus did for you. No, they're giving him a hard time. In fact, it becomes so bad, I'm sure, the blind man is actually coming to the point where he's saying, seeing isn't that much fun after all.
[35:27] Life was actually easier sitting at the roadside begging. And so, they will not give up on him, because Jesus had done this on the Sabbath day, horror.
[35:41] Jesus proclaiming he's a son of God, horror. In fact, we read there that if anybody confessed that Jesus was a Christ, they were going to be put out of the synagogue. So, they ask the man, for the umpteenth time, what happened?
[35:56] And he tells him very simply in verse 25, one thing I know, I was blind, now I see. See, this man, he probably had no grade, probably had no education at all.
[36:13] He had no great doctrinal knowledge, he had no great theological knowledge. But you know, this man came to have far more than the rest of them all put together. He had one thing, and very soon he was going to make the full discovery, an absolute discovery of who Jesus was, and he was going to accept him and believe in him and worship him.
[36:34] But this man, even at this point, had more going for him than all the religious zealots. all he could say, as we said, as John Newton said, in Amazing Grace, I once was blind, and now I see.
[36:48] And you know, I love that verse, because you know, there's a lot of people, a lot of Christians, and they love that verse, because you might be here today and you say, you know, I don't have an awful lot of Bible knowledge.
[37:04] knowledge. I don't have great theological knowledge. I feel I've got very little to offer. I don't feel the way I feel that I have many gifts.
[37:17] But there's one thing I know. I was blind, and now I see. And that's all, at the end of the day, that's all that matters. That we were blind, we came to discover our blindness, came to discover through the work of God's Spirit in our heart, our need of a Savior, and that we've come to embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior.
[37:42] That's what matters. That's what this man discovered. And, you know, sometimes people who have, as I said, they may say that I don't have the theological knowledge, and I don't have great, sometimes people say, I don't have great experiences.
[38:02] They listen to somebody giving a testimony, and they say, you know, I can't follow that. They hear of these amazing experiences that they have. They hear of people going through the most incredible conviction of sin, where they feel that they're falling into hell, and that there's no relief for them, and they say, I can't follow that.
[38:24] And you know, Satan has a field day sometimes with the Lord's people, people, and he'll say to them, do you have a text when you came to faith?
[38:36] Did you have a text when you went forward? You say, no. Can you tell the day, the hour you were converted? You have to say no.
[38:48] And Satan will say to you, you're not a real Christian. well, remember who Satan is. He's a liar, and he's been a liar from the start.
[39:00] You see, we all have different experiences. Some people do have really powerful periods of conviction of sin. Others, it's more like Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened.
[39:14] Yet Lydia could say, I was blind, but now I see. As long as we see sufficient need, of a Savior, and sufficient sight of our Savior, that at the end of the day is what we need.
[39:30] One thing I do know, I was blind, and now I see. And that's the all important thing. You see, as I say, we may feel that we've got very little, and that we can contribute very little, but we often look down on ourselves far more than probably we should.
[39:52] if you today can follow and state what this man said, I was blind, but now I see, then you're in the best position of anybody in this world.
[40:05] You have what will never be taken from you. Fossers will try and take it. Sometimes people will try and take it. Your own self might try and take it, but you're held by the Lord in a hand that can never be prized open.
[40:20] And if you're today without the Lord Jesus Christ, I would urge you to seek him while he may be found. As we said, he's passing by in the gospel right here, right now.
[40:32] This is a day of opportunity. And if you've never seen him, cry today, Lord, open my eyes, that I might see you. And if you're serious about your soul salvation, be in the word.
[40:46] This is where he will be found. And this is, even as Christians, we must be in the word. You know, conclude with this, we often say, I often say it, I wish I could see more of the Lord.
[41:02] Should you say that? Well, one day we will. But here it's by faith and faith only. We're told the day will come where we shall see him as he is, which is quite extraordinary when we come to glory.
[41:21] But where do we see him best? Where do we? Paul didn't actually say that I might see him. Paul said that I might know him. And where do we get to know the Lord? Where does faith see him?
[41:31] In the word. Be much in the word. The more you're in the word, the more you will come to know the Lord and by faith see him better.
[41:43] Let's pray. Lord our God, we give thanks for your word today. the word of light, the word of life. And we pray that this word will burn down deep into our hearts and that you will do a work within our souls.
[41:56] Oh Lord, we need you. And we pray for your grace to work in our lives, that you will keep us and strengthen us and uphold us and be with us as we gather again into the evening service.
[42:08] Grant traveling mercies to and from our homes and be with us in all that we do and take away our every sin in Jesus name. Amen. We're going to conclude singing in Psalm 18 in the Scottish Psalter.
[42:21] Psalm number 18 and it's at verse 28. Scottish Psalter, Psalm 18 verse 28.
[42:38] The Lord will light my candle so that it shall shine full bright. The Lord my God will also make my darkness to be light. By thee through troops of men I break and them discomfort all.
[42:52] And by my God assisting me I over leap a wall. Down to verse 32. Who but the Lord is God but he is a rock and stay it is God that girdeth me with strength and perfect makes my way.
[43:07] 28 to 32 of Psalm 18 in the Psalter the Lord will light my candle so the Lord will light my candle so that it shall shine shine through bright the Lord my Lord will also make my darkness dearly light by thee through trips of may I pray and let this comfort all And by my
[44:07] God assist me! I over thee my home as for God perfect is his way the Lord his word is died!
[44:37] He is a buffer to all who do in him confide who but the Lord is God but he who is our all can stay tis God that girdeth me with strength and perfect makes my way Thou may and the Father Son and Holy Spirit rest and upon each one of you now forever amen