[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 7th of February, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church. This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our YouTube streaming channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg. Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
For some time now we’ve been looking at what all is going on in the world and thinking that maybe we’re experiencing some of the things our Bible talks about as happening toward the time when Jesus will return to call His church home. And some of us wonder why more people aren’t taking note of this and trying to get right with God. Why aren’t they asking the questions we ask? Is God angry with us? Are we seeing His wrath now? Is this a foretaste of the judgment the world can expect?
Now granted, not everyone spends much time in their Bibles, not even folks we know to be good Christians. But isn’t it obvious that something out of the ordinary is going on, and maybe it’s time to turn to God?
Yet we see people every day, all over the place, who give no consideration to God whatsoever, or to what might well be His judgment in action, or signs pointing to things to come. They seem to be blind to the truth that we ourselves see, the truth as written in our Bible. They have no heart for God or for His Son Jesus, nor true love for their fellow man. There is no room in them for God’s Holy Spirit to reside. This is such a sad condition for them, but it is one that Jesus told us we would see.
Please listen and follow along to a passage that the Apostle John saved for us in the 12th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 35 through 50, and I’ll be reading this from the Living Bible…
35 Jesus replied, “My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way. 36 Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you will become light bearers.”After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.37 But despite all the miracles He had done, most of the people would not believe He was the Messiah. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who will believe us? Who will accept God’s mighty miracles as proof?” 39 But they couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said: 40 “God has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see nor understand nor turn to Me to heal them.” 41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he made this prediction, for he had seen a vision of the Messiah’s glory.42 However, even many of the Jewish leaders believed Him to be the Messiah but wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would excommunicate them from the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust Me, you are really trusting God. 45 For when you see Me, you are seeing the One who sent Me. 46 I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer wander in the darkness. 47 If anyone hears Me and doesn’t obey Me, I am not his judge — for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject Me and My message will be judged at the Day of Judgment by the truths I have spoken. 49 For these are not My own ideas, but I have told you what the Father said to tell you. 50 And I know His instructions lead to eternal life; so whatever He tells Me to say, I say!”
--John 12:35-50 (TLB)
Let us pray… Father God, thank You for telling us what is in store in the future. You’ve given us signs to look for that will indicate our Lord’s return is near at hand, some of which we are seeing even today. Please help us notice and not miss these signs. Help us be ever prepared by staying right with You and doing as Jesus commands us. And Father, please put up a hedge of protection between us and Satan and those who do his bidding. Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.
Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day. Open our eyes that we might always see Your truth. Open our hearts that we might love others as You and Jesus love us. This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Thomas Huxley was an English biologist and anthropologist most famous for his defense of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Huxley was also a noted agnostic, neither believing nor disbelieving in God. Agnostics say we can’t know for sure because we have no tangible proof. Well, one day Huxley was lovingly confronted by a very sincere Christian. This believer stressed to Huxley that he was not in any way impugning Huxley's sincerity. Nevertheless, might it not be possible that mentally the great scientist was color blind? That is, some people cannot see traces of green where other people cannot help but see it. Could it be that this was Huxley's problem -- that he was simply blind to truth that was quite evident to others? Huxley, being a man of integrity, admitted that this was possible, and added that if it were, he himself, of course, could not know or recognize it.
How would you describe a beautiful sunset to someone born blind, in a meaningful way for them? If you told them the sun’s last rays were painting pink and purple streaks across the sky, could they really know what you mean, could they recognize it?
The Pharisee Saul enjoyed physical vision, but he was spiritually blind. It was not until Jesus took away his eyesight that Paul was able to see the truth. Too many people are walking around today with good eyesight but in spiritual blindness.
Back in 1991, 50 mile-an-hour winds whipped the local topsoil into a freak dust storm near Coalinga, California, causing a massive pileup and three-mile trail of destruction along the interstate there. At least 14 people died and many, many more were injured as visibility was reduced to zero. Yet even though they were unable to see, dozens of people drove blindly ahead into disaster. Could it be that, today, millions of people are walking blindly through this life headed straight into everlasting disaster?
Jesus said that there will be those whose eyes are blinded so they cannot see the truth, whose hearts are hardened so they cannot believe. And indeed, that was true in His day and it is still true in ours.
The Pharisees were blinded, thinking they were doing the work of God. Paul admitted to that, after his conversion. He was blinded spiritually, then Jesus blinded him physically in order to give him spiritual sight. The Pharisees’ hearts were hardened so that they could not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.
And that trend holds true today. So many are blind to the truth, so many have hard, disbelieving hearts. And Jesus says they are in this condition so that they cannot see nor believe. Like Huxley, they don’t even realize that they’re blind. God has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, according to the prophet Isaiah. There are some non-believers who can still be saved, but not these. God has already condemned these to eternal damnation.
Family, we must take care not to become part of that blind and hard-hearted group. And we should try to keep those who might still be saved from being in that group as well. We need to keep our faith strong and active, showing the light of Jesus to the world so that some may stop stumbling around in darkness. We can’t just sit back and say we’re going to be OK so let’s just let God sort out the rest. Jesus told us to get out there and work, spreading the Gospel message of hope and making more disciples. Coming to church and sitting in the pews on Sunday mornings is not enough to fully please our Lord.
In His revelation to His beloved John, Jesus instructed the Apostle to write letters to the seven churches in Asia, intending, of course, that we read them, too. Listen to what Jesus had to say in one of those letters, as saved by John in chapter 3 of his Book of Revelation, verses 14 through 22…
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked — 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
--Revelation 3:14-22 (NKJV)
Jesus knows our works, as individuals and as a church. He knows what we’ve done, and why we’ve done it. So are we hot, or are we cold? If we’re cold for God, then we need to sit in the oven for a little while or get moving and heat up. But we definitely do not want to be lukewarm, lest Jesus spit us out of the kingdom of heaven.
Now I don’t think any of us here would consider ourselves or our church to be rich and wealthy in the physical sense, the financial sense. But maybe we do think ourselves quite rich spiritually. We believe in Jesus, we’re saved, so we’re rich. Jesus is telling us not to let ourselves get complacent, not to get too comfortable in our spiritual wealth. We might just become wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, spiritually. Complacency leads to a lukewarm spirit, and Jesus does not like that.
The world is full of people with blind eyes and hard hearts. For some, this is a permanent condition, stretching into eternity. Others might still be saved. Like Paul, their eyes may be opened and their hearts softened to see and accept the truth so that they too can serve Jesus and be granted entry into heaven. But they need our help.
So if we’re feeling a bit lukewarm, let’s shake things up and get moving. Jesus knows our works so let’s show Him some good ones. In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the Light, the Truth. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, thank You for choosing us to believe in Your Son Jesus. Thank You for letting us see the truth of Your word, for letting us feel Your great love. Thank You, Father, for not blinding our eyes, for not hardening our hearts to the truth. Father, please help us remain steadfast in our faith and hope even in these trying times. Help us serve You and do Your work among the blind and hopeless. Help us be more righteous in Your eyes.
Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…
Lord Jesus, You brought the light of God into this world darkened by sin. You shine on the path we should walk so that we might not stumble and fall. Please, Lord, help us be Your light bearers. Help us share Your light so that others might not be tripped up by Satan. Help us burn with the fire for serving You and doing as You command us. And Jesus, please help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on anything this life has to offer. This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior. Amen.
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