How Well Do You See?

Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11. As we go through the Gospel of Luke, you will see that each and every paragraph, as we move toward the end, becomes more and more intense. And today we look at a paragraph that really is a summation of what's already taken place in verses 14 down to where we are now in verse number 33 of Luke chapter 11.

But it deals with how well you see. It's about sight and whether or not you are able to see the truth of the Gospel. And as we go through this, you will begin to understand that these are the words of Christ. You know, when we study the Gospel of Luke, we are studying the ministry and the message of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And as we study him, we realize that everything he says is important. And so every Sunday morning, that becomes the most crucial text of the day, because Jesus is speaking, and he's speaking to all of us today.

And as we go through this short paragraph, you will see and ask how well you truly have seen the Lord. Let me read it to you.

Luke 11, verse number 33. No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar, nor under a peck measure, but on the lampstand, in order that those who enter may see the light. The lamp of your body is your eye. When your eye is clear, your whole body is full of light. But when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you may not be darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.

Now you read that, and you think, what in the world does that mean? And what does this have to do with the preceding passage of scripture, where Christ confronts the religious establishment? Well, that's why you're here, to understand exactly what the Bible is saying. It's a text that deals with light. We understand light. We understand darkness, because half of our day is lived in the light. The other half is lived in the darkness. Now we usually sleep when it's dark out, but it's still dark. So we understand light and darkness.

And all throughout the scripture, Christ will use light and darkness as a metaphor. Light as a metaphor for understanding that which is perceivable. Darkness as a metaphor for not understanding at all. And that is seen not only in Christ's writings, but in Paul's writings as well. In fact, he says over in Ephesians chapter five, these words, he says, verse 11, And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light. Now that's true. We understand that, don't we? All things become visible when they are exposed by the light. Now, if I came to your house and it was dark, I wouldn't see how dirty your house was, would I? But if you turn on the light, I can see how dirty your house is. Same as if you come to my house. If it's dark on the inside, you can't see the smudges on the mirrors and the smudges on the windows and the crumbs on the counter and the little fur balls in the corner.

You can't see those things. Turn the light on though, you begin to see them because light exposes the things in the dark. Jesus is the light of the world, is he not? When Jesus, who is the light of the world, comes, then he exposes the sin specifically in man's heart. In fact, remember way back in Luke chapter 2, Simeon would say these words once he held the Messiah in his arms eight days after his birth. He had seen the salvation of the Lord. He blessed the child and then he looks to the mother, he looks to the father and he says these words.

He said to Mary specifically, behold, this child, this is verse number 34 of Luke chapter 2, is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. Then it says, and a sword will pierce even your own soul, Mary, to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. The Messiah's coming would be opposed. Not only would it be opposed, but the Messiah, because he is the light of the world. As John says in John 1, 9, he lightens the entire world. He exposes the darkness or those which those things which are in the darkness.

He would reveal what's inside of man. This is why they hated Christ so much. It's because he exposed their sinful condition. John 2 says he didn't have anybody to tell him about themselves because he knew what was in the heart of each man. And because he is the light, then he exposes that which is hidden in each man. That's what he does. He was assigned to be opposed. So Christ's coming would light every man that comes into the world. In our text, the Lord is saying to the Jewish leaders that the problem with you is is not light.

It's sight. The light has been given. The problem is you don't see it. And that's the problem with most people. If Christ lights the world because he is the light of the world and God is light, he exposes what's in the darkness. If you don't believe, it's because you refuse to see. And you refuse to see because of the darkness of your soul, the darkness of your heart. Now Christ would use this analogy in that sermon recorded on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthews 5, 6, and 7. Remember that? And there he would tell the disciples that they are the light of the world.

In other words, because the Lord himself, who is a light, indwells his people, they now become light. And they are the light of the world. Speaking of the testimony of the disciples, so there's something similar to that in Matthew 6. Here, it's the testimony of Christ that's the light. And so what you have in verses 33 down through verse number 36 is simply a summation of the previous discussion. The simple truth is this. The light is everywhere, but blind people can't see it. And that's the essence of this text.

The light is everywhere. The light is shining everywhere, but blind people cannot see the light. And so what happens here is that Christ is summing up everything from verse 14 of chapter 11 down to where we are, all that's taken place as to why they do not see that which is absolutely clear and obvious. It's because they are in the dark. The religious leaders refuse to accept Jesus as God. They refuse to accept him as their Messiah. And the simple reason is because he revealed what was in their hearts.

He exposed their self-righteous system. He exposed their religiosity. He exposed the flaws in their morality. They, thinking they were religious, were right with God. And he came and confronted the fact that, no, you are not right with God. In fact, he even said in John 8, you are of your father, the devil. He called them sons of Satan. I'm not sure that's always the best way to evangelize people, but it was Jesus and he said it, so it must be a good way to evangelize people. He confronted them and said, you are sons of your father, the devil.

That's because they were still in darkness in spite of the overwhelming brightness of the light. And so he confronted the religious establishment and upon confronting them, they recognized that he was all-powerful. That is, they recognized the supernatural ability that Jesus Christ himself had. They could not deny the miracles of Christ. And all throughout the Gospels, they never one time denied the power of Christ. They could not. Because it was clearly obvious to everybody that miracles were taking place.

And as we have said to you before, he pretty much banished all disease from the land of Israel during his three-year ministry. He healed everybody. And the miracles he did were way beyond anything that you and I would think of as a miracle, especially when it came to raising people from the dead. All those were undeniable. And although the Pharisees always tried to twist it and turn it around, the ultimate method was to attribute everything that Jesus did to Satan. That was their plan. And that is how they got the hearts of the people of Israel to turn.

In fact, over in Mark chapter three, during his time in his ministry in Galilee, now he's in Judea in Luke 11, but in Mark three, he's in Galilee. And it says in verse number 20, and he came home and the multitudes gathered again to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when his own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of him. For they were saying, he has lost his senses. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, he is possessed by Beelzebul, and he cast out the demons by the ruler of the demons.

That was the line of the religious establishment. They came down from Jerusalem. They went to Galilee. They went to the region where Jesus was, and they couldn't deny the obvious. So they had to attribute what they saw to Satan. And Jesus expelled that. Jesus said this, and he called them to himself and began speaking to them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished. But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

Jesus says, you know what? What you're thinking is illogical. What you're saying is ridiculous. Why? Because I'm the strong man. I'm the one who has come and bound Satan. I am the one who has come to destroy the works of Satan. And so what you're saying does not compute with the rational way of thinking. Why? Because what you have seen is clearly obvious. It truly is the power of God at work. Their problem was is that they believed they were the religious ones. They were in their right minds, and they are the ones who had the light.

In fact, if you read Romans 2, they saw themselves as the ones with the light to guide the blind. But Christ comes and says, no, you're blind, you're poor, you're naked, and you're imprisoned. And they said, no, that's not true. Because we are religious. We have been given the light. We are the ones who speak forth the light. So Christ comes, confronts all that, and says, they're wrong. They've been wrong, and they will continue to be wrong unless something changes in their lives. And so they cried for a sign.

That's our text in Luke 11. Something similar happened. He cast out the demon. And in Luke 11, they said, well, he does it by the power of Beelzebul. And they attributed his works once again to Satan, now in Judea. The same mantra that was sung in Galilee is now sung in Judea. And so he calls them a wicked generation, not because of all the immoral things they do, simply because they seek a sign. They want a sign. They're saying, Lord, it's your fault that we cannot see. It's your fault that we are in the dark.

And from Luke 11, verse number 16, really, truly, it was to taunt him. Because there would be no sign that would be so clearly obvious to them that would turn their thinking from where it is to the truth. And I'll show you why in a moment. And Christ says, you are a wicked generation.

You're not going to get a sign except the sign of Jonah. He will give them one more sign, not because they demand it, but because it was determined in eternity past that the son of man would come and die and rise again. I'm going to give you one more sign, the son of Jonah. What's the sign of Jonah? Matthew chapter 12. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the earth. It was a sign of his death and resurrection.

And that would be the final warning. Why? Because of all the things that Satan can do, he cannot give life. Only Jesus can do that. Only God can give life, right? Satan might be able to take life, but he can't give life. The final warning would be his death and resurrection. Because in all reality, Satan can't even take life unless it has been granted permission from the Lord God of the universe. Because the Bible says in Revelation 1 that it's Christ himself who holds the keys to death and Hades.

Christ is in control. That will be the final warning that he would give to them. And they simply said, you know what? It's your fault. We can't see the truth because of you. You haven't given us enough evidence. But in reality, he gave them ample evidence. In fact, John chapter 3 says these words in verse number 19, and this is the judgment that the light is come into the world. And men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. Why is it people won't come to the light? It's because they love their darkness. They love their sin. And when you love your sin, you automatically hate God. You are a God hater. Every unbeliever is a God hater. They might say they love God, but they don't. Because John 3, 19 says they're haters of the light. They hate God. They might not come out and say it verbally. They might not understand it intellectually, but that truly is the way they are.

They don't want their sin exposed to the light. They don't want to come to a place of repentance. They don't want to turn from their sin. They want to hold on to their sin. They want to coddle their sin. They want to dwell in their sin. So Jesus comes in and confronts that. They love their self-righteousness. They love their morality. They love their religiosity. And all the while they loved their religious state. It just simply diluted everything about the truth. And they were under this illusion that they were going to die and go to heaven.

But in reality, they were not. So Jesus came to confront all that. In fact, He says over in Matthew chapter 15, these words, Matthew chapter 15, verse number 14, to the religious leaders, let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit. See, Israel saw themselves as the ones having the light. And Christ says, no, no, they're really blind men.

And when a blind man leads a blind man, where do they end up? They end up in the hole, in the pit, because you've got a blind man leading a blind man. He would go on to say these words in Matthew chapter 23, a few chapters over, Matthew chapter 23. He says, woe to you blind guides, verse number 16, verse 17, you fools and blind men, verse 19, you blind men, verse 24, you blind guides, verse 26, you blind Pharisees. He called them blind. You cannot see the light. It's obviously before you and you cannot see it.

You are the blind ones. Put it this way. For them to ask for a sign would be like a blind man asking you to turn up the lights in the room. Did you get that? No matter how bright you turn the lights up, the blind man's not going to see, right? For them to ask for a sign is like that blind man in a room saying, would you please turn up the lights so I can see. No matter how bright the lights are, he's never going to see. No matter how many signs Christ gave them, they would not see the truth. Why?

Because they would not believe what he said. That's why. Believing what he does is no problem if you believe what he says, but they would not believe what he said. That's why Christ would say later in Luke, if they have to the man who was in Hades, send someone back from the dead. If someone would be raised from the dead, my family would believe. The response was they have Moses and the prophets. If they don't believe them, then they will not believe the one be raised from the dead. And that's true.

And Christ's record of his miracles, all of his credentials were clearly seen because he is the light of the world, which gets us to our, our text and the outline. And let me give it to you by giving you four points.

First of all, the availability of the light, the availability of the light. Verse 33, no one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a peck measure, but on the lamp stand in order that those who enter may see the light. Listen, let's just take it for a modern day example. You go to the store, you buy a lamp, right? You don't go home and put it in the attic. Do you put in the cellar? Do you know you put it out, you turn it on. So not only can everybody see the lamp, but when the lights turned on, everybody sees what's in the room.

Jesus says, I'm the light. There is nothing hidden here. I'm not trying to hide any evidence from you. I didn't come to the world and then hide the light. I didn't do that. I didn't come to the world and hide from you. So you can't be clearly exposed to what is true. Didn't do that either. I am the light of the world. They had plenty of light. In fact, remember the illustrations he gave last week? He gave it just in the same sermon, but for us it was last week. He said there was the queen of Sheba who came down from the south.

Remember her? She was the queen of the south. She came down from modern day Yemen. She's traveling a long way with very little light. Heard one message from Solomon and she was saved. And then there are the people of Nineveh. They don't have the light you're exposed to. They had one prophet with one sign and one message and the whole city was saved. Because how much light does it take for you to see? Not very much. So people come to me and say, Pastor, you know, I got this friend and I've shared Christ with him.

And you know, if you were to share Christ with them, they'll come to faith. And I recall this. I said to this one person, I said, well, did you share Christ with them? Yeah, I did. Have you lived Christ before them? Yes, I have. Then they have all the light they need. I'm not going to give them any more light than you've already given them. How much light do you think it needs for somebody to get saved? People of Nineveh, one prophet, one sign, one message. The queen of the south traveled a long way.

She had very little light at all. Once you heard the message, she gave her life to the Lord God. And so he's saying, when I came, the light was shining forth everywhere. You have so much light. You, you almost overexposed to the light. And yet you do not see that the light has been made available to you. We know that God is light. First John one, five, and him was no darkness at all.

We know that the Bible says in the first 76, 16, he dwells in an unapproachable light in Daniel two 22.

It says light dwells in him. That is the Lord God. And in Psalm 36, nine, it says in your light, we see light in God's light. We see light when God turns on the lights we see the Bible says in second Corinthians four, verse number six, at the light of the glory of God shines through Jesus.

The Bible says that the word of God is a light unto my path and a lamp to my feet, right? God's word is light because God himself is light. And when the word is read, when the word is preached, guess what? The light shines. Listen carefully. And people who live in sin don't like the light to shine. Do they not on that sin? They don't want that. But when the word of God is preached, when the word of God is read to light, then exposes that which is in the dark and people hate the light because they love their darkness.

They love their sin. And so Jesus came, he made everything clear. Did Jesus make everything clear about his kingdom? Yes. Righteousness? Yes. Holiness? Yes. Judgment? Yes. Faith? Yes. Repentance? Yes. Belief? Yes. Grace? Yes. He came and made those things very clear because in him dwells glory full of truth and full of grace. And he would shed the light on the truth, the light on the grace. And so everybody would understand truth, light, grace, holiness, righteousness, judgment, because he is the light who lightens every man, John 1, 9, who comes into the world.

See that? That's what Jesus did. And they said, you know, we just don't see it. We don't see it. How can you not see it? It's right in front of you. Unless, of course, you're blind, which they were. And Zacharias would say in Luke 1, 78, that the sun rise on high shall rise with healing in his wings and the light will dawn in our hearts. Right? And doesn't it say that in Ephesians 4, 17, these words, let me read it to you.

Ephesians 4, verse number 17, down to verse number 19, Paul says, this I say therefore and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer as Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their heart. And they have become callous having given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity and greediness. He characterizes the unbeliever, the Gentile, the pagan, as one who is hard of heart and calloused in the dark.

That's where they want to remain. Christ came, made the light available for all to see because he is the light of the world. Point number two, you move from the availability of light to the malady of their sight, the difficulty of their sight.

How come they could not see? Well, verse 34, the lamp of your body is your eye and your eye is clear. Your whole body is also full of light, but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Here's the issue. Has nothing to do with the light. It has everything to do with your sight. The light's been given. The light shines. Has nothing to do with the light. It has everything to do with your sight. Seeing depends on the condition of your eye. Your eye delivers everything to your mind in order to make it clear to you.

Your eye is not the light. It is the entrance of the light so your mind can comprehend the light. When Jesus said in John 1, 9, these words, there was the true light which coming to the world enlightens every man, speaks to the availability of the light, but also to the malady of man's sight, his ability to see that light. The light of Christ extends to the whole world. The problem is not revelation. The problem is perception, how you perceive the revelation. The lamp of the soul is the mind and the eye of the soul is the heart.

And their hearts and minds were so dark that they could not see the light. Better yet, their hearts and minds were so dark they did not want to see the light. Not so much that they couldn't see, they did not want to see. But because they didn't want to see, listen carefully, they could not see. We'll look at that in a moment.

These people denied a basic principle of scripture. Men are sinners and they can't do anything unless they repent. They just can't. If your mind, if your eye is clear, it means to be generous. It means to be unblocked. It's a word that means singly devoted. If your mind is singly devoted on the one thing, it will see. But if it's bad, if it's evil, it's darkened. Speaks about your spiritual perception. And spiritual perception stems from the heart and the soul of a man. So he speaks of the malady of their sight.

And then he says this, this is so, so insightful. Listen to what the Lord says in verse number 37, I'm sorry, 35. Then watch out that the light in you may not be darkness. This is the falsity of their sight. Point number three.

Christ says be careful because you see, they were the ones who said, we've seen the light. We are the light to the Gentile nations. That's who we are. We've been given the word of God. We we've been given that and we are to help the Gentiles who are blind to see. Romans two talks about that. Verses 17 and following. We are the ones with the light. And Christ comes back and says, be careful. Here's a warning. Watch out that the light in you is really darkness. Folks, that's the world today, isn't it?

I've never yet met a Mormon who thought they were in the dark. They thought they were in the light. I've yet to meet a Jehovah's Witness who thought he was in the dark. They think they're in the light. I've never met anyone involved in Scientology who thought they were in the dark. They thought they had seen the light, right? Those involved in Judaism. Thought they had the light. But Christ says you're in darkness.

So Christ says, watch out. That the light you think you see is really enhancing the darkness of your condition. That's it. That's a warning that it gives them because they needed to understand the truth. They needed to realize what the Lord God said to them. Satan disguises himself as what? An angel of light. Satan's main objective is to get you to think that what you believe is light and you are no longer in darkness. That you have the keys to the light. He is an angel who disguises himself as an angel of light.

He is so deceptive. He is so good at what he does. That's why so many people are deceived, deluded by this illusion that they're in the light. But in reality, they are steep in the darkness. Christ says, be careful.

Your deception is going to lead you to the deepest darkness. That's why people who are involved in a religion and hold tightly to that religion had been deceived by the angel of light, Satan himself. And that's why the word of God, which is the light of truth, once given exposes those who are in the darkness. In fact, Romans 1, you know the verse very well. Romans chapter 1, it was the Lord God who said these words to the pen of the apostle Paul. For even though they knew God, they did not honor him or glorify him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing to be wise, they became fools. You see, the people involved in religion think themselves wise. They congratulate themselves on seeing the lights. And Paul says in the Greek text, they're morons. That's all they are. They're morons. They're fools. They proclaim their ignorance thinking they're in the light, but in reality, they are truly in the darkness. All the unconverted are in the darkness. The problem is most think they're in the light. That's why in verses 24 to 26 that we have gone over many times, that there are people who get religion.

There are people who want to get things right. And so they do everything in their own heart and mind, humanly possible to do it. And the evil spirit within them leaves, comes back only to find that this person really cleans up their lives, but brings seven more evil spirits with him. And the end of that person who has gained religion, who has gained a clean life, humanly speaking is worse now than it's ever been before because they see themselves as right before God. They see themselves as having to gain some acceptance by God.

And they've done that by cleaning up the outward aspect of their life. But in reality, the inside is filthy. Over in Matthew chapter 13, this describes Israel. Matthew 13, 13. Christ says, therefore I speak to them in parables because while seeing they do not see and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

You see, they thought they heard. They thought they saw. And they thought they had soft hearts. Christ says, no, you're blind.

You don't see. You're deaf. You cannot hear. And your hearts are not soft. They are hard. And then he says this. He says, verse 14, and in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, you will keep on hearing, but will not understand. And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull. And with their ears, they scarcely hear. And they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.

Christ uses the condition of Israel in Isaiah chapter 6 to show that the condition of Israel has yet to change. And while Isaiah prophesied about what was going to happen to Israel in their day, it was the fulfillment of that prophecy even in Christ's day when he says, they will not hear. Now they cannot hear. They will not see. Now they cannot see. That's why he says, be careful. That the light in you really is darkness. Because in the midst of your willful blindness comes the place of judicial blindness, where Christ himself will cut you off and blind you forever.

In the midst of your willful rejection, now it becomes a judicial rejection. You cannot come to Christ any longer. You had the light. You would not see the light. You refused to obey the light. And Christ says, now I confirm you in your darkness.

You will not see. You will not hear. Because while you had the opportunity, you would not. You would not. Terrifying, terrifying place to be. That's why we compel people to come to Christ, right? Why do we urge them and compel them to give life to Christ today? Because while the light is here, you need to respond to it. Because there's coming a time where the light will no longer be seen. You need to respond today. That whole point of judicial blindness, where Christ blinds you because your willful blindness, he causes you to be judicially deaf because of your willful unresponsiveness to his word, is recorded in Mark 4, Luke 8, John 12, Acts 28, Romans 10, and Romans 11.

In fact, even in Revelation 3, 17, it talks about the church of Laodicea. They thought they were clothed. And Christ says, no, you're naked.

They thought they could see. And Christ says, no, you're blind. You cannot see. You cannot hear. You're blind. They thought themselves one way. And Christ says, no, you are another way.

You see, we really like to see ourselves better than what Christ says we are. And that's why the word of God exposes the sinfulness of man's heart. If you want to see the light, there's only one way to see it. That's to repent of your sins. Fall on your knees and ask for forgiveness. Ask for grace. Ask for the Lord to grant you his gift to believe. Ask the Lord to grant you the opportunity to see. These people were prideful, arrogant, because they thought their religion was the right one. And Christ says, no, it's wrong.

It's the guy who's grown up in the wrong religion his whole life. And all of a sudden, he hears a sermon and says, no, you're wrong. Wrong? How can I be wrong? I've done this forever. Christ came to them, to people who've been doing this forever, in their minds, and says, you're wrong. You're in the dark. You cannot see. You know why? Because you would not see. You can no longer hear. You know why? Because when the light was given, you would not hear. So that's the warning that Christ gives. He gives it over and over.

And it is so repetitious in his teaching, because he wanted to make sure that while he was there, they believed in the light. Lead us to the generosity of our sight. Last point. He says, if therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illuminate illumines you with its rays. The language is all-inclusive. It's your whole body. It's full of light. There is no dark part in you. You are wholly illuminated. When you become a Christian, you don't get a little bit of sight.

You get perfect vision. You don't get dirty vision. You don't get clouded vision. When you become a Christian, you don't need spiritual glasses anymore. You got great, perfect vision. Because now you're able to see the glories of Christ. You're able to see the things he wants you to see. And you're able to to study them and come to grips with them. You are called children of the light. We're called sons of the light. We are commanded to walk in the light, simply because, as Peter says, the day star has now shone in our hearts.

See that? And so 1 Peter 2, 9 says that we are to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. See, we are to go and tell people that they're in the dark and they need to see the light. And the excellencies of Christ is the fact that he is the light of the world. He sheds man, sheds light on man's sinfulness. At the same time, he sheds light on man's condition that he might know the way of salvation, because it's clearly revealed to us in his word. When you repent, your darkness disappears.

You become children of the light, sons of the light. It removes your blindness. Remember John 12? If you got your Bible, turn to John 12, just for a moment. Jesus said these words. Verse 37, 35. Jesus said to them, for a little while longer, the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light in order that you may become sons of the light. Here's a warning Christ gives.

He is the light of the world. He says, listen, you need at this point to see the light and come to the light, because if you don't, he says, the darkness may overtake you in such a way that you will remain in that darkness forever. Now's your opportunity. The light has shone all around. Will you believe in the light? Will you come to the light? Come now.

Now listen to the very next verse. These things Jesus spoke and he departed and hid himself from them. One final warning. He said, I want to see the light. I want to see the light. Show me the light. I want to know. I want my darkness dispelled. I want to live in the light. Show me. Nobody said anything. Jesus gave them one final warning and then he hid himself. Now the light is hid. See that? See that's the danger people are in today. You got a family member who has heard about the light, who has seen the light, and they have refused to respond to the light.

They are in danger of occupying permanently the dark place. That's the danger, see? And that's what compels us to share the light. Now listen carefully. Christ went, he hid himself from them, but though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in him. All the signs, one after another. Resurrection, blindness, gone. Deafness, gone. Demon possession, gone. Feeding of thousands upon, gone. He just fed them all. He did so many signs among them. In fact, John says many other signs are recorded that are not written in this book.

I mean, we have a record of some of the signs. We don't have near the record of all the signs that Jesus did. The text says they were not believing in him that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled what he spoke. Lord who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For this cause they could not believe. For Isaiah said again, he has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted and I heal them.

That just seems so harsh. Christ says the prophecy is fulfilled. The light has come. The light has revealed to all the truth. They will not believe. So even though they might want to believe, they can no longer believe. The judicial hardness of the soul. It's like Pharaoh who hardened his heart, who hardened his heart, and God said, I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart. He kept hardening his heart, hardening his heart, and God said, that's it. I'm going to harden his heart. He cannot believe. He cannot see.

See, that's the danger we face with our family, right? Our friends, our neighbors, the people we work with. This is why we go to them and say, look, let me say, if you don't believe today, you might not ever believe again because you won't be able to believe again because God will harden your heart and you'll be in darkness forever.

That's a tragic place to be. Verse 41, these things Isaiah said because he saw his glory and he spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing him lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they love the approval of men rather than the approval of God. Don't think that those Pharisees got saved. They didn't just because they believed in him. The demons believe in the Lord God, right? Just because he's Pharisees believed in him doesn't mean they were saved.

No, the telltale evidence is that they love the approval of man more than the approval of God. See, if you believe in God, you take up your cross, you deny yourself and you follow him, right? You want to give your life away. They weren't willing to give up the synagogue for God, see, because they love their own lives. Before Jesus ever said this in John 12, he said the Pluto of Siloam in John 9, these words. And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth and his disciples asked him saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?

Jesus answered, it was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me. As long as it is day, night is coming when no man can work while I'm in the world. I am the light of the world. That there's coming a time where the light will no longer be seen. We got to work now.

We got to show him now because there's going to come a time where they will not see. And you know the whole story. You're at the pool of Siloam. Those of you who've been to Israel with me, we go to that pool. We sit around that pool. There's no water in it today, but we sit there where it was. How it is Christ would heal this man. They never saw the Lord. Didn't even know the Lord. Christ healed him. He was blind from birth. I could see. And the religious establishment would not believe in spite of the overwhelming evidence.

You know what happened? They kicked him out of the synagogue. His parents though said, you know, ask him. He was blind. Ask him. Because they, as the text says, did not want to be removed from the synagogue. But the guy born blind could now see. He didn't care. He didn't care. So once he's ousted from the synagogue, Christ comes to him. Verse 35. Jesus heard that they had put him out. And finding him, he said, do you believe in a son of man? He answered and said, and who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?

Jesus said to him, you have both seen him, and he is the one who was talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. He worshiped. And Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. What? The Pharisees are sitting there, they're scratching their heads. And so someone said, who were with him, heard these things. We are not blind too, are we? And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But since you say, we see, your sin remains.

See, they thought they saw. And Christ says, I came to preach the gospels of the poor, the blind, the brokenhearted, and the bound.

But if you don't see yourself as bound by Satan, if you don't see yourself as blind, you don't see yourself as poor, then you will not see or hear the truth. And they saw themselves as rich, great vision. They didn't need to be brokenhearted over anything. And Christ says, because you were blind, now you see.

But because you think you see, you're blind. Let me ask you a question. How's your vision this morning? Do you see the glory of Christ? Have you responded to the light of His word? That's the call. Because the one is, if you don't, if you don't, then there's coming a time where you won't be able to. Isn't that devastating? I mean, if I was sitting here today and I heard that, I'd say, I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to come to a place where I won't be able to believe, I won't be able to see, I won't be able to hear spiritually.

I don't want to be there. So what must I do to be saved? How do I come to the light? That'd be the question I would ask. Yet people, for the most part, they're like, oh, well, I got tomorrow. I can believe tomorrow. Really? Ah, next week. Really? Before I die, I'll believe. Really? There's no guarantee of that. None whatsoever. And the worst thing is that God confirms you in your blindness and confirms you in your deafness. So you cannot hear. So you cannot see. So today you need to believe. You need to respond and say, Lord, I believe.

Help thou my unbelief. Lord Jesus, save me from my sin. If that's you, you come up to my right, to your left. Someone will introduce you to the light of the world. Let me pray with you.

Lord Jesus, thank you for today. You are truly a magnificent God. Your grace, your mercy is so abounding. And yet, Father, you give us warnings about our refusal to believe, our refusal to hear. Help us, Lord, not to be there. If there's someone in the room today who is yet to give their life to Christ, Lord, may this be the day of their salvation. May they not wait another moment, another day, another week. May today be that day that truly they will come to you and repent of their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.