Sermon Tone Analysis

Jn. 12:36b-41                       Blinded Eyes and Hardened Hearts-III                             04~/19~/98

                                                                                                                            ABCC

I.     Introduction                                                                                                                      619

Imagine thousands of people who have come year after year from every town & village to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Festivals of Jehovah & this year they hear about this man that works miracles & claims to be the Promised Messiah.

But He’s not the kind of deliverer they expected & He requires much more of them than they expected, He actually requires righteousness & faith in Himself.

He declares Himself to be the true light.

He likewise warned them of the danger of darkness, clearly stated the urgency of coming out of it; then He departs & was hidden from them!

The masses of people rejected Christ = stubbornness (v.

37-38) = insensitive to truth; dullness, hardness of heart.

II.

God’s Gracious Dealing with People in Darkness who will not Believe (v.

38)

A.     God graciously reveals the truth of salvation even to those He knows will not believe

(Cain, generation in Gen. 6, generation of Isaiah’s day, Mt. 21:28-32; Jn. 6:60-65; Ac. 13:44-46)

B.      Jesus revealed who He was by word and works

They are without excuse & will receive a much more severe judgment from God (Rom.

1:20; Heb.

10:26-31)

III.

God’s Judicial Dealing with People in Darkness who will not Believe (v.

39-41)

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is given a vision of God’s glory & commissioned be the Lord’s messenger even though people will reject him.

A.     God always has purpose & reasons for His actions (v.

39a) – “For this cause…”

B.      The inability to believe is a judicial action by God (v.

39a-40) – “…they could not believe…”

The eyes & ears are pathways for the gospel & the truth of God to be received.

Hardening or blinding is a judicial or judgmental act of God, where He does not give someone the ability to understand the truth.

An individual cannot comprehend spiritual truth unless the spirit of God reveals it (1Co.

2:14; Jn. 3:3; 6:44, 65; 8:43).

When an

 

Blinded Eyes and Hardened Hearts-III, pg. 2

individual is continually stubborn & will not use his eyes & ears as pathways to receive the truth, God will often block these pathways.

God hardens those who are relentless in their stubbornness & rebellion to demonstrate His almighty power and the tragic consequences of unbelief & disobedience to the commandments of God - will not, then cannot (Ex.

3:19; 4:21; 9:12; Mt. 23:37-39; Rom.

9:17-18).

C.      God’s judicial actions are a part of His prophetic plan (v.

39b) – “for Isaiah said again”

D.     God’s judicial actions are consistent with the rest of His character (Ps.

7:11;19:9; Rev. 16:4-7)

E.      God is justified in His judicial actions (Ps.

51:4; Rom.

3:1-19; 9:14-24)

O, my brother~/sister I know that none of us would dare attempt to sit judgment of God & His ways, even though we may understand them fully.

But doesn’t it fill your heart with thankfulness & joy when you consider that God did not pass you by, He did not harden your heart even though you were a sinner in rebellion.

He had mercy on you.

MERCY rather that JUDGMENT – hallelujah, thank God for mercy!

He opened your eyes & ears wide so that you could see & understand that you were a sinner in need of a savior.

And then He caused you to see the one & only Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord.

But there are some here that don’t know Jesus as Savior & Lord.

O, my beloved friend can’t you see that our God is gracious, patient, compassionate, merciful, sympathetic and ready to forgive you.

But don’t presume upon Him, that you can go on putting God off for just a little while longer.

Do not presume that your heart will not become harden because He may pass you by.

Please don’t walk away from the gracious offer of salvation today.

Come out of the darkness now!  Come to Christ.

Don’t hesitate, procrastinate; don’t wait another moment, come to Christ right now.