Apply Within

Guest (Male): If you don't believe in Jesus, you're walking in the dark and you have no idea where you're going. There are many people in the ministry that are not born again. Many. Men and women alike.

Guest (Male): When the blind lead the blind, you know where you're going to end up. In a ditch somewhere. Because nobody knows if the person that's leading has no idea where they're going. The people that are following like sheep, they have no idea where they're going either. They're all going to land in the same hole.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. We see the dangers of walking in spiritual darkness as our study of John continues in Chapter 12, verse 37. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: We got all the way through verse 36. Jesus was talking to the people before He departed, and He said this in verse 35. Let me read 35 and 36. Then Jesus said unto them, "Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light," in other words, walk in the light, "lest darkness come upon you. For he that walks in darkness does not know where he or she is going."

You talk to adults, brilliant adults, and they don't know the Lord and they do not know they're lost. No matter how you try to explain it to them, it doesn't make sense to them. I remember, well, I was never brilliant, but as a young man, they kept telling me I was lost. I kept thinking, "I know right where I'm at, I know what I'm doing, and I know where I want to go." They said, "You don't get it. You're lost. Without Jesus, you can't even see." I said, "I'm seeing pretty good. I don't even need glasses." Of course, that was 100 years ago, but still.

People don't realize they're in the dark. If you don't have Jesus Christ, you may think you're semi-great, but you're in trouble. You don't know where you're going. You don't know where the next step is going to take you. You can't see. It's spiritual darkness.

Yet a little while the light's with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walks in darkness knows not where he's going. Verse 36 says, "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of the light." These things Jesus spoke and departed. He didn't go away forever, He just left.

He hid Himself from them, meaning they did not know where He went. It will be near the end of this week here in John Chapter 12 that He will be crucified. He knows that the Pharisees are after Him and want to arrest Him, but it has to be a specific time according to the Father's calendar, according to the Father's clock, not the calendar of the Pharisees. God doesn't do anything on my schedule.

Trust me when I tell you that. Chances are great if you've been walking for a while you realize He's got His own schedule and He loves you, but He's not going to change His schedule for you because there's something He wants to do in you and it's going to get done. He's doing it right now. You say, "You're not answering my prayers," and He smiles, "Oh, just you watch."

Jesus departed. Verse 37 says, "But though He had done so many miracles in front of them, before them, before their very eyes in other words, yet they did not believe on Him." How could you watch Jesus raise someone from the dead and not believe He is the promised Messiah? How is that possible?

To watch Jesus, it was against the Jewish laws and customs to touch a leper. Jesus could heal lepers by just speaking, but He touched one. That man was instantly healed of his leprosy. All gone. Perfectly clean. Miraculous. How could you not believe? Easy. You won't believe. You choose not to believe.

That's what you see when you start to answer people's Bible questions. People will say, "Well, why does the Bible say this?" You'll say, "Well, here's why." They'll go, "Oh, that makes sense. But what about this?" "Well, here's what about that." "Okay, well what about this?" They're not going to say, "Okay, I'm convinced." They don't want to know the answers. We're playing "Stump the Bob."

We're going to find something he can't answer because every one of you, just like me, someone can ask you enough questions that you're going to finally say, "I don't know the answer to that." They'll look at you and say, "See? That's why I'm not a Christian." They were looking for a way to not believe.

I had a man ask me a question quite a while back. He said, "Well, why?" Then he asked me a question out of the Scripture and I said, "You know what? I don't know." He looked at me and I thought he was mad at me. He said, "No pastor has ever said that to me before." I said, "They were lying. There's a lot we don't know." I can't answer your question. Aren't you willing? Do you have to be so cool that you're ashamed to say "I don't know"?

The truth is you don't know, do you? Sometimes I don't know. We could speculate, we could guess, and we could talk about it and argue it through, but sometimes I don't know. So look at this. "Though He had done so many miracles before them, in front of them, right before their eyes, yet they did not believe on Him." They refused to believe.

"That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: 'Lord, who hath believed our report and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?'" Even though Jesus had given the people the Word of God, He told them specifically what the Father in heaven says. He's given them the Word and He has done many mighty and amazing miracles to prove that God had sent Him.

Proof to you. He raised from the dead. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the one that couldn't hear. Some who had never walked stood up and walked without training wheels or without anything. Miracles to prove He was the Messiah, the Son of God Almighty. But many, the Bible says, they did not believe. They didn't want to.

Many rejected Him as the promised Messiah. They rejected Him as the Savior of the world. Some are holding back saying, "Let me watch a little more, let me watch a little more." When they see Him die on the cross, they're going to say, "Yep. No, Messiah, that can't be Him." So they're going to throw Him in the trash there.

We're reminded of something right here in verses 37 and 38. God's Word has a softening effect on some hearts, doesn't it? How do I know? Because He softened your heart and you said, "I believe. Lord, save me, wash me clean. Save me, Lord, give me eternal life. I can't get it on my own. I can't pay the price myself. You paid it for me."

God's Word softens lots of hearts. But God's Word has the opposite effect on some hearts. Notice it hardens some hearts and it softens others. People have come up with explanations for that. "Well, the reason is because God doesn't love everybody. So God only loves a certain amount of people and so they're chosen to go to heaven. But God doesn't love the rest of us and so some are chosen to go to hell."

No matter what God's Word says to them, it will only harden their hearts. Well, the Bible teaches something completely different than that. So I hope you haven't bought into that garbage. That's absolute false doctrine. But we are reminded here God's Word has a softening effect on some and a hardening effect on the other.

The same Word goes out to all of us. Some of us say, "I surrender, Lord, I surrender. I'm the biggest mess there is. Save me." Some say, "That's just so weird. You guys are crazy. That's spooky. Get out of here, get away from me." The same Word goes forth, but the effects are completely different.

The old analogy, and I know you must have heard it before, it's all about the heart. This is not about my brain, thank you God. It's not about our brains. You cannot answer every question people have because some things God hasn't told us yet and our brains cannot figure them out. If He doesn't reveal it to us, we can't know it.

When we get to heaven, we're going to know more instantly when we look at Him. We're going to see Him as He is and we will be like Him. Then we'll understand a whole lot more instantly by just saying, "Oh! Now it makes perfect sense everywhere. Why didn't it make sense before? Because He hadn't revealed it yet."

It's about your heart. If you don't believe in Jesus, you're walking in the dark and you have no idea where you're going. And when the blind lead the blind, there are many people in the ministry that are not born again. Many. Men and women alike. And the blind lead the blind. You know where you're going to end up. In a ditch somewhere. Because nobody knows if the person that's leading has no idea where they're going. The people that are following like sheep, they have no idea where they're going either. They're all going to land in the same hole.

You would think that everybody would know that, but people just argue it. It's my heart, it's your heart, it's the heart. It's about the heart. If you take a lump of wax and put it out in the heat of the day, what do you think the wax will do? It should melt. If it's real pure wax, it's going to melt.

You take and sit right next to that a lump of clay in the same sun. What happens to the clay? It hardens to where it's dry and it cracks and it breaks. It just falls to pieces. The sun is the same. The Word is the same. But it has a different effect on your heart and mine. And that's up to us.

It's not up to the Word. The Word of God is powerful. The sun is bright and hot, but the wax melts and the clay hardens from the same sunlight. Some hearts are softened and they hear the Word of God and God says, "You need me. You're lost without me." And then when I heard it, I go, "I believe it. I don't understand it all, but I need you. I don't even know what I'm saying, but I'm saying I need you."

When you accepted the Lord, chances are great you didn't know anything about Him at all. True? I didn't know that John 3:16 was, I didn't know what that was. I didn't know if it was page 316. I didn't know John was a Gospel. I was just a brilliant young fellow. If you'd have said, "Find the Gospel of John," I would have had to look in the Table of Contents.

Somebody says to me, "When you say to us go back and look at Second Chronicles, I have to go and look it up in the Table of Contents. I'm ashamed of myself." Don't be ashamed. That's why it's there. Use it if you have to. Sooner or later, you may remember, but who cares if you don't remember? There it is for you.

Just go back and turn there however you find it. Listen, it's the same sun, but the materials are different. It's the same Word, but the hearts that are being dealt with are different. When the Word of God goes forth, it melts some hearts and it, well, it hardens others.

It's not God's Word that's the problem. Jesus gives us a parable and He explains it to us so we'll know how to interpret it. A sower went forth to sow some seed, Matthew Chapter 13. To sow some seed. The seed is the Word of God, He told us. And that seed, some of it lands on hard ground and it can't get through. Some lands in the weeds and gets choked out. Remember? But some landed on good ground, took root, and produced fruit.

Isn't that what God's saying? Isn't that what we are seeing right here? "Though He had done so many miracles before them, they believed not." Did everybody not believe? No, there was some that did believe. A small few, but some, right? The Word is going out. Some receive it and say, "I believe. I hear it." Some say, "That's just dopey. Yeah, we learned that in Sunday school, but that's kids' stuff."

Hearts. And I want you to hear this again. It's all through Scripture, but let me say it out loud again. It is not that God has chosen some and rejected others. God did not reject Judas. Judas rejected God. Judas was invited into the gang of twelve. Judas carried the money for the ministry. Judas was allowed all the authority and responsibility.

God knowing full well he was fake, still letting him stay, hoping that his heart. Because it's up to Judas. It's up to you. Nobody can convince you into being a believer. Nobody can do that. It's impossible. It's got to be from your own heart that you say, "That's me. I need that." No one will ever trick you into being a believer.

Because why, if you don't want to be around Jesus, would you spend eternity with Him? Why would you do that? Well, you wouldn't. And He's not going to force you to. So it's not that God has chosen some and rejected others. It is a matter of everybody's heart, yours and mine. And then John quotes from Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah 53:1. "Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

The answer is given later, but here's the answer. The answer is not very many have believed. It was quoted right here, verse 38. I'll read it again. "That the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: 'Lord, who hath believed our report and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?'" That's Isaiah 53:1. That was prophesied 750 years before Jesus was even born.

God told you what people would do. 2,000 years ago, God told you how the world is going to end. 2,000 years ago, God said that the church would be raptured. 2,000 years ago, God said that many would turn and fall away, meaning not be true believers, the closer we get to the end. That people would be lukewarm. Not hot or cold, lukewarm, and make Him kind of throw up.

And look at what we're seeing around not just our country, but around the planet. All kinds of people walking away from their faith. The only ones that walk away from their faith are people that never had it to start with. Check through Scripture and see. All the way from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. No true follower of Jesus Christ ever quit following.

They fell, they did dopey things, they got in trouble, but no true follower. And so people say, "Well, what if I do?" If you're a true follower, you won't. But you can be a prodigal daughter or prodigal son. But when you're a real son or daughter, you'll always come home. When you come to yourself, as the prodigal son came to himself.

All that means is he was ready to eat with the pigs and he came to himself. The Bible says this. He got to thinking, "I'm about ready to eat this garbage with the pigs and at my father's house, the servants eat better than this. I'm going home. I'm going back where I belong." The true son will do that.

We move on to verse 39 now. Let me read them all together so I don't confuse you. Verse 37, "But though He had done so many miracles before them, in front of them, yet they did not believe on Him. So that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: 'Lord, who hath believed our report and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?'" Therefore, because of that, they could not believe because Isaiah said again, and he quotes out of Isaiah again.

And he quotes this: "He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them." These things Isaiah said when he saw God's glory and spoke of Him. Okay, so he tells us where he got the quote.

Remember, it's a heart issue for you and me and these people that Jesus is talking to right there at the temple. It's a heart issue and many of them just said, "Not interested. Don't want." "You saw the miracles!" "I know." "You listened to the things He said!" "I know, but I think He's crazy."

John quotes from Isaiah the prophet again. This time John quotes the time that Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord. So we know instantly now that takes us back to Isaiah Chapter 6. Isaiah Chapter 6, verse 1, remember this: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple." He saw God in His glory. He couldn't see God Himself, but the glory.

And that's in Isaiah Chapter 6. Then he goes on and he basically quotes later on in Chapter 6, verses 8 through 10. Let me read those. "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send and who will go for us?' Then I said," Isaiah said, "Then I said, 'Here am I, send me.'" And God said, "Go and tell this people, 'Hear ye indeed, but you won't understand. See indeed, but you will not perceive.' Make the heart of this people fat, make their ears heavy, shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and convert and be healed."

Is God saying "I don't want them healed, I don't want them to see"? No, He's telling Isaiah, "You go tell them, but let me tell you what the response will be." And I read you verses 8 through 10. If you go on a little further, verse 11 and following, God says, "You'll go, I'll send you. You tell them you've seen the glory. You tell them my Word." But they're going to reject it just because they don't care. They're going to do it because they've decided "I don't want to do it."

God is predicting how they will respond. Why? Because He's God. And He's talking about also not just in Isaiah's day, but He's talking about in Jesus' day right here in John Chapter 12. That's why John is quoting it there. You won't believe Him. You've seen it with your own eyes and you still are hardhearted and refuse to let Jesus Christ rule over you. You've rejected Him as your Messiah and King.

And people are doing that. We talk to people. You see people every week. You'll see someone say, "I'm not a Christian and I don't want to be one." "Are you sure? Have you thought it through?" "Well, I've studied the Bible." You've heard that, right? How many of you have studied the Bible? How many of you got it all already?

Dr. Ironside wrote this: "The Lord God sent His prophets to call His people back to Him. But the testimony was rejected and the time came when the message had no effect upon their consciences at all, like today. So God gave them up to hardness of heart because they themselves chose it, preferred hardness of heart over trusting in God."

That's just what John is saying here. That's what God said back there in Isaiah, what Jesus has been saying also. We see the same idea in Paul's writing to the Thessalonians in Second Thessalonians Chapter 2. Let me read verses 11 and 12 and listen to the language. This is exactly the same kind of language as John's writing here and quoting from Isaiah.

So listen, Second Thessalonians 2, verses 11 and 12. Paul writes, "And for this cause, God shall send them," because they reject it and don't want it, "God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." In other words, choosing to reject the truth. God never chose you to be sent away. He chose you to come home. But it's your heart and nobody can do it for you. And the people here, "But though He had done so many miracles in front of them, yet they believed not."

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM. You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies.

If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho, 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again, 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the live stream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.