[0:00] Now, as God would help me, I would like to concentrate on verse 31 of what we've just read.! That's the Gospel of John, chapter 12, verse 31.
[0:16] Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
[0:27] Now, Jesus is here speaking about his death and what it means for both this world now and the next world to come.
[0:48] This world here is only the probation world, as it were. The next world is the real world, the everlasting world.
[1:06] What happens in this world greatly, greatly affects and determines the next world for us.
[1:22] And Christ is so anxious that we all realize that. So let's look at the two things in this verse 31 of chapter 12.
[1:40] Now is the judgment of this world. And then secondly, now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
[1:51] First thing, now is the judgment of this world. What does the Bible mean? What does Jesus mean here when he speaks about judgment in the sense he's using it here?
[2:05] Well, the original word is crisis or crisis, from which we get our English word crisis. He's referring to a factor that divides or separates.
[2:21] It's a word that means a choice or a decision has now to be made. In this present crisis we are in, a decision, a choice has to be made.
[2:38] It means we're to select between two options, both or each with horrendous ramifications.
[2:54] Christ is referring to his sacrifice, his death on the cross. And what he is effectively saying is, now that I am crucified, now that I am crucified, this world has to make a judgment or a decision about my death.
[3:25] Was it unique? Is it important? He is, in effect, saying several things, and one of them is this.
[3:37] Now that I am crucified, sin can be forgiven. You see, sin is something extremely serious.
[3:51] It can't just be overlooked. You can't just say, well, let's forget about that. Sin is something that must be paid for.
[4:04] If not by the one committing it, by someone else approved of by heaven. Now sin can be forgiven.
[4:21] Now he is saying, sin has been paid for. Do you accept that? Do you realize that?
[4:35] That's a tremendous thing. Sin has been paid for. Sin is against God.
[4:45] And God cannot turn a blind eye to it. And God has written, the wages of sin is death.
[5:00] And Jesus is saying, now my death, because I've been crucified, sin can be forgiven.
[5:13] The second thing he's saying, something else included in these words. He's saying, now that I am crucified, humans can be transformed.
[5:29] You see, now, as things are, we are born in sin, shaped by iniquity.
[5:41] We are not born, the human beings are not born neutral. We're born with a bias.
[5:53] We're born with a prejudice against God. It's the way we're made. We don't have to do anything to be like that.
[6:06] We're born. And that is also why man, we read in the Bible, mankind, human beings, are born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.
[6:22] Because we're born in sin. With this prejudice of sidelining God and doing what we want.
[6:33] Maybe you're here today and you say, look, I do my best in life. I really do my best. You say, well, I don't commit murder.
[6:48] I don't commit adultery. I don't lie. How have I done anything wrong? Well, here's the thing.
[6:59] Are you living to please God? That's why you were made. That's why God made the human race. That's why he made the human race an image of God.
[7:12] So that would reflect God's values, God's standards. But instead of pleasing God, instead of glorifying God with our lives, am I right?
[7:26] We do our own thing. We do what we want. Am I right? You do what you want. That's not right. It's not correct, I should say.
[7:38] We're to do what God wants us to do. We're to do what pleases Him. And we'll do that as long as what God wants is what we want.
[7:50] But we're in control. Am I right? We're in control of our lives. We want to do our thing. That's sin. And it's to be paid for.
[8:03] And God says it can only be paid for by death. But here's Jesus. And he says, now sin can be forgiven.
[8:18] And human beings, although born in sin, although shaped in iniquity, they can be born again.
[8:29] They can be changed. They can be made new creations in Christ. Not new creatures. New creations. Not new persons.
[8:41] But the old person can be made new. Can be transformed. You know, there's no verse in the Bible that says, we're predestined to be in heaven.
[8:57] There's no verse in the Bible that says that. What the Bible says, you're predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. And then you can get into heaven.
[9:11] We have to be Christ-like to get into heaven. Now, when you read that verse, always remember, there's a verse in the Bible that says, without holiness, no man can see the Lord.
[9:25] No man can get into heaven without holiness. But don't get confused. Without holiness, one can be converted.
[9:38] Without holiness, one can be changed, transformed. And it begins with being forgiven. And here's Jesus.
[9:49] And saying, now that I've been crucified, sin can be forgiven, and people can be transformed, made new creations.
[10:00] The bias has changed. You can then be for God, for Christ.
[10:15] There's a third thing it actually means as well. When Jesus said, now is the judgment of this world. He said, now that I am crucified, heaven is a reality.
[10:30] Heaven is a reality. not just a romantic dream. You and I can get to heaven, a glorious, glorious, wonderful place.
[10:44] It's a reality. Now that Christ died. We can have our sin forgiven. We can be made new creations, transformed.
[10:57] And heaven is where we're going. Sudden death will be sudden glory. And it's forever.
[11:09] And it's far, far better than you can imagine. far better than you can imagine.
[11:21] But it's a reality. Now, now that I've been crucified. And he's also saying, I suppose, more or less said it already as well.
[11:34] He's saying, now that I am crucified, the Holy Spirit is available to anyone who asks for him.
[11:47] The Holy Spirit of God is the, is, is the one, the only one that can change us, that can bless us, can make us Christ-like.
[11:59] but it's available now. Do I hear somebody saying, ah, but it's only available for certain people.
[12:11] Well, listen to Jesus. Listen to Jesus in Luke 11, verse 13. He says, if you people being evil people, if you evil people know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give his Holy Spirit to his children, it's not what the Bible says.
[12:51] It's not what Jesus says. It's not the gospel. You know what the gospel is? He will give the Holy Spirit, Luke 11, 13, to them that ask, whoever they are, whatever they've done, whatever mess they're in, Christ has told us.
[13:16] Now that I'm crucified, the Holy Spirit of God, the transforming agent, can make us new creatures in Christ on our way to glory for the asking, for the asking.
[13:37] Isn't that a gospel? Isn't that wonderful? For the asking, anyone. Now, this is a judgment of this world.
[13:52] Now, this world has to make a judgment. Tell me, are you interested? does that interest you?
[14:07] It's the best news you've ever heard. And if you say, don't see the point, that just requires you're spiritually dead.
[14:21] Now, Christ can still make you alive, but you must ask him. You must ask him. Is that hard? Is that difficult?
[14:32] Is that beyond us? Just ask him. Now, there's only one test. There's only one choice, one decision that's really important.
[14:45] what do you think of Christ's death? What do you think of it? That's all that matters passing through this world.
[15:01] At the end, what do you think of Christ's death? Do you see the need for him? Do you see the need for sin having to be paid for and to be paid for in blood, not currency?
[15:18] Blood. Death. When we speak of the blood of Christ, we just mean the death of Christ. Do you see the need? Do you see the need for atonement to be made?
[15:31] We're sinning against a God who is love and does not want any of his creatures to perish.
[15:44] do you believe that? Do you see the need for him to die, to pay for sin? Do you see the need for him to rise again?
[15:57] You see, I often think, and I'm amazed no people would make more of it, that Friday afternoon when Christ was crucified, there was three people crucified.
[16:07] why is it just Jesus? Why is it just the one in the middle that can pay for sin? Other two thieves went through the same physical, physical, not mental, not emotional, not spiritual, but they went through the same physical pain.
[16:31] Why is the one important? How can his death pay for sin? Answer, because of who he was. It was God, manifest in the flesh, and he came into the world.
[16:45] Do you know why he came into the world? You see, God can't die. The only thing equivalent to the payment of sin is the death of God, but God can't die.
[17:00] So God had to become man, and the second person of the Trinity, became man so he could die, so he could pay the price of other people's sins.
[17:15] You see, and this is what is so serious about some of the sects. As far as I know, all the sects deny the deity of Christ. They say he was only a human being.
[17:26] He was fantastic, he was the best human being, but he was not a human being. Listen, one human being's death can only pay for one death. But when that human being is also God, the person of God, then it can atone for a number that no man can number for multitude.
[17:54] Make sure you belong to that number. Well, let's move to the second part.
[18:06] Now, will the ruler of this world be cast out? Satan, the devil, he rules.
[18:20] He rules down here. But listen, he does not rain down here. There's a difference.
[18:32] I don't think you'll find in, I just checked up one version of the Bible, but it doesn't say anywhere that anyone rains in the spiritual realm, except Christ.
[18:46] Satan doesn't rain. He rules. He doesn't rain. Raining is something different. rain. Reigning is having all power and no real opposition.
[19:04] Opposition that hits you, opposition that opposes you, but no power. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air.
[19:19] He never rains, but he does rule. possesses this world, but he doesn't own this world. He possesses it.
[19:30] He's in it. He's got a dominion. It's limited. It's limited. His power's limited. Don't dare attribute to Satan the power that only Christ has.
[19:44] Christ has all power in heaven and on earth. Satan has neither. Oh, he's got a lot.
[19:56] He's got a lot. He's got more than you. He's got more than me. But he has an all power. God, Christ, alone, has all power in heaven and on earth.
[20:14] Always. Satan, when he says, now will the ruler of this world be cast out, he's saying, now, Satan is no longer the supreme power over human beings.
[20:35] If you're not a Christian, you're under the power of Satan, the devil. You say, how do you know that?
[20:46] I'll tell you how. You don't believe it. It's a strange thing. Satan's perfectly happy if you don't believe he exists. Isn't that strange?
[20:59] Eh? He's quite happy if you don't believe he exists. And what it shows is what power he has over you. you don't believe it. But his power has been conquered by Christ's death.
[21:18] Satan is now conquered through Christ dying. Now, do you remember there's a verse in the Bible, is it Mark 4 or is it Matthew 4?
[21:38] Let me read it. It's quite astonishing. Yes. Mark 4 verse, sorry, Matthew 4 verse 1. Listen. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
[22:00] Jesus led by the Spirit to be tempted to sin by the devil.
[22:14] What's going on? What on earth is the Holy Spirit doing, leading anyone into sin? But he led Christ into sin to be tempted by the devil.
[22:27] what is going on? Something wonderful, something tremendous. how did the devil get in, first of all, to this world, to possess it, and to rule, not reign, rule?
[22:46] He tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit. That's his work, to tempt, to deceive, to bluff, to hoodwink.
[23:01] He tempted Eve. so that she would give the fruit to Adam. Because a covenant, a covenant was made with Adam.
[23:16] And a covenant was, a covenant is just an agreement, an agreement. God made an agreement with Adam. He said, Adam, you're in charge of the whole human race.
[23:30] But here's the test. you keep this test. And not only will you get to heaven, Adam, but the whole human race will get to heaven if you keep this commandment.
[23:43] But Adam, you fail. You fail to keep this commandment. And you not only take yourself and your wife to a lost eternity, but you take the whole human race with you.
[23:58] Adam, you're representing the whole human race here in the Garden of Eden. So what's going on in Matthew 4?
[24:10] The Spirit leading Christ into the wilderness to be tempted. What's going on? You know the Bible calls Jesus the second, the last Adam.
[24:22] because our first representative before God, Adam, because he failed, because he failed miserably for you and for me, God so loved the world.
[24:43] He gave his only begotten son as the second representative of the human race. the second and the last.
[24:59] You see, the test has to come again. The first man, Adam, our first representative, failed when he was tempted by the devil. So the question arises, ah, God, you've given them another representative, Jesus.
[25:15] Is he any better? Can he resist temptation? He's to be put to the test. He's to be put to the test. Can he resist temptation?
[25:30] And Christ, in the wilderness, was not tempted once, or twice, or three times, but for forty days and for forty nights, all the powers of hell attacked him.
[25:47] There's only three recorded. but for forty days and forty nights to try, the demons in hell did their best to try to get Satan, try to get Christ to sin.
[26:02] But they failed, and Christ, the last Adam, resisted temptation. Are you here today, a Christian?
[26:15] temptation, you've got a great Savior. He resisted temptation to sin on your behalf.
[26:28] On your behalf. Am I right? We're failing. We're trying to resist it, and we don't always succeed, maybe now and again.
[26:40] But our representative before God is Christ, is Jesus. He did all that for us. We're to become like Him. Don't get out of it that way.
[26:53] We're to become like Him, but we fail. Christ never failed. He kept the covenant on our behalf. He resisted temptation in the wilderness.
[27:08] And the only way it could be done was by Christ going to Calvary. And you remember when he started to make his journey, that last journey to Calvary.
[27:23] You know what Satan did? I'll get one of his best men to try and stop him going there. to go to Peter. So he got into Peter.
[27:36] And Peter said, don't talk like that, Jesus. Don't talk about going to the cross. What did Jesus say? Get behind me, Satan.
[27:48] This is why I've come. This is why I'm here. To go to the cross, to atone for your sin, to purchase the Holy Spirit so they could transform black, dirty, filthy sinners.
[28:06] Don't stop me going to the cross. Now, now that I am crucified, a decision has to be made. What do you think of Christ?
[28:23] However bad you are, Christ can pluck you out of Satan's hand.
[28:38] But if you're in Christ, Satan cannot pluck you out of his hand. do you want security?
[28:50] Do you want security? Do you want a cast iron guarantee of going to heaven that your sins are forgiven? Have no other hope of reaching heaven but being in Christ.
[29:10] That's the gospel. And it's the most, it's the securest thing you can have. Christ died for our sins. Christ resisted the devil on our behalf.
[29:27] Christ has no power over Satan. Boy, can he bluff us? Can he deceive me? Can he make a fool of me and you? But not of Christ.
[29:39] And if we're in Christ, we're secure for all eternity. So, what think you of Christ?
[29:53] Well, that's just about it. But I want to mention verses 35 and 36, which we read. said, the light is among you for a little while longer.
[30:11] Walk while you have the light. Walk while you have the light.
[30:22] You have the light today. Today, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.
[30:36] And then there's verse 36. The result of believing in the light. While you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.
[30:59] Have you got that? That you may become a son of light, a child of God. Do you want to become a child of God?
[31:15] Verse 36 is, believe in the light. This world has a saying, hasn't it? Seen is believing.
[31:27] Do you know what the Bible says? The Bible says, believing is becoming. Do you want to become a child of God?
[31:44] Do you want to become a child of God? Believe in the light. Believe in the light. that you may become sons of light.
[32:01] Wonderful. Do you want to be changed? Do you want to be transformed? Do you want to be made a new creature in Christ? Believe in the light of the world.
[32:13] You know, I better finish with this. I'm told there's only one real test for blindness. blindness. Not for short-sightedness or blurred vision, but for blindness.
[32:28] And that is to take them into a room where there's nothing but darkness. darkness. And in the darkness, shine a torch.
[32:41] I say, can you see the light? Can you see the light shining in the darkness? And if you can't see the light in the dark room, you're blind.
[32:51] the spiritual world is exactly the same. Can you see Jesus, the light of the world, shining in this dark, dark world?
[33:09] Can you see Christ now? Now that I'm crucified, a choice is to be made, a decision is to be made.
[33:20] while you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.
[33:33] May God, the Holy Spirit, make his word effectual to every one of us. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, thank you for the gospel, thank you for sending your son into the world.
[33:55] Thank you for your Holy Spirit who is able to change us. Bless us, gracious Father, around your word now. Empower us to sing your word to your praise and glory, and bless us from this time forth always.
[34:15] In Christ we pray. Amen. Amen. Now let's conclude our service of worship by singing from Psalm 116 in the Scottish Psalter, that's page 396, Psalm 116 verses 8 to 14.
[34:38] Psalm 116 on page 396 verse 8. For my distressed soul from death delivered was by thee, thou didst my morning eyes from tears, my feet from falling free.
[34:56] I will go down to verse 13. I love salvation, take the cup, on God's name will I call, I'll pay my vows now to the Lord before his people all.
[35:10] Psalm 116 verses 8 to 14. For my distressed soul from death delivered was by thee, thou didst my morning eyes from tears, my feet from falling free.
[35:47] I in the land of those that live will walk the Lord before.
[36:02] I did believe, therefore I speak, I was afflicted sore.
[36:16] I said when I was in my haste that all men liars be, what shall I render!
[36:40] to the Lord for all his gifts to me! I love salvation, take the cup, on God's name will I call, I'll pay my vows now to the Lord before his people all.
[37:19] Lord, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forevermore.
[37:39] Amen. Amen.