Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 42:14-21
Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 5:8-14
Sermon Text; John 9

The text that we are going to look at is taken from John, chapter 9. It starts out immediately with the disciples asking Jesus a theological question regarding trials, tribulations, and sufferings that come into our lives. It says,

"As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’"

Now, what was the question that the disciples are asking? It is a question that trickles into our minds, once in awhile. When troubles come into our lives, trials, difficulties, or hardships, we ask ourselves, "What did I do to deserve this? Is God punishing me for something I have done?"

That is what the disciples are asking Jesus. "Was God punishing this man for some sin that he had done, that he was born blind?"

Listen to Jesus' awesome answer. Jesus said,

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."

Here Jesus tells us something that, as Christians, we ought to be fully and deeply aware of. Through the use of trials, troubles, and tribulations in our lives, God can literally display His work to others around us, so that the trials that come into our lives can truly display Jesus.

Trials

can put

Jesus on display,

before the world.

Now, let’s quickly look at the three ways that Jesus was put on display by this man's blindness.

Number one, Jesus' divinity was put on display, because Jesus heals the man of his blindness. It says,

"Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put in on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ He told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing…"

There we see through this man's blindness, Jesus is displayed as God, because Jesus heals the man.

Secondly, we see Jesus displayed because this man is now willing to stand up and testify about Jesus and even be persecuted, because of what Jesus has done for him. Jesus is put on display. It says,

"They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore, the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’

Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.’

But others asked, ‘How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?’ So they were divided.

Finally they turned again to the blind man, ‘what have you to say about Him? It was your eyes He opened.’

The man replied, ‘He is a prophet…’

To this they replied, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us! And they threw him out."

Thirdly, we see Jesus displayed in this man's life because now, because of the man's blindness and because the man was healed by Christ, the man also becomes a believer in Christ. Here is what it says,

"Jesus heard that he had been thrown out, and when He found him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’

‘Who is He, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in Him.’

Jesus said, ‘You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you.’

Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped Him.

Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’"

These are your words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your word is truth.

Amen.

I want to do something a little different in today’s sermon. I am going to start out with a little story. Next, we are going to have a little bit of a ‘sing-along’.

So, get your hymnbooks ready!

Jesus tells us that we will have trials and tribulations in this life. He says,

"In this life,

you will have trouble."

Everyone in this room has trials and tribulations. It can be a temptation in our hearts to ask ourselves, "Why is this tribulation happening? Is it because I have done something wrong and now God is punishing me?" How important it is for us to hear this little verse, where Jesus says, in regards to this blind man, it was not because he had sinned, "but this happened so that the work of God may be displayed in his life."

When you go through trials, it is an awesome time where God can be displayed in your life through those trials. People look at you and they can see the Lord working in your life. They can see where you find your strength, where you find your power.

Jesus can be glorified

through your trials.

Let me give you just a brief, little example. We have a man here, from Holy Cross, who is a strong believer in Jesus, as his Savior. He ended up in the hospital, with surgery, so I went there the very next day. When I got to his room, I noticed there was a nurse working, off in the background of his room. Knowing this man's strong faith, I thought, "What a wonderful opportunity to witness to this nurse, since I don't know if she is a believer or not." I am always looking for opportunities to witness about Jesus, and I knew this man would pull through, if I asked him the right questions. I knew what he would say, so I asked him, "Tell me how you were feeling, before you went into surgery? What emotions were going through your mind?"

He looked at me and said, "Pastor, I was at absolute peace."

I then asked him, "How could you be at such peace, when you were going through some pretty touchy surgery?"

He said, "Pastor, it’s because I know that Jesus loves me. I know that Jesus has paid for my sins. I knew that even if I would die, Jesus would take me to Heaven. I knew He would take care of me. So, I was at peace, no matter what happened."

There, off in the background, was that nurse, and I thought, "Well, the Lord surely is being displayed, through the trial that came through this man's life, now. Either she is a Christian, and she is being confirmed in her faith, or she is being witnessed to."

So, God uses trials in our lives, (the afflictions and troubles), to display Himself to those around us. If there was ever a person who, in my personal opinion, has been used as a profound instrument by God, through severe troubles and trials to display Jesus Christ to the world, as a result of those trials, it is a great, Lutheran hymn writer. He is a great, Lutheran hymn writer by the name of Paul Gerhardt. Paul Gerhardt, (next to Martin Luther and a man by the name of Isaac Watts) has more hymns in our hymnbook than anybody else. Paul Gerhardt lived 400 years ago. As we go through this sermon, you are going to find out Paul Gerhardt went through sever trials. (You think you go through trials, but he went through some severe, severe trails.) And the Lord led him, through the trials, to write hymns.

The Lutheran hymns we have serve as little sermons. They are sermons that bring us to Christ. They bring us into the depth of God's Word. These hymns of Paul Gerhardt, that he wrote in his severe trials, have served to display Christ. They have served to show the church, "When I am going through my trials, my troubles, my afflictions, whatever they may be, where do I find my strength? These hymns point to Jesus." They always bring us, not to a groaning over our trials, not to a complaining over our trails, but they bring us to a confidence in our trials that God is with us. And these hymns, through the Word of God, bring us to a sort of defiance over our trials.

In the end,

as a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ,

I will be the victor.

I always believe that as a pastor, I want to send you home with tools that you can use in your life. And so, in times of trial, one of the places that I would encourage you to go is to the hymns of Paul Gerhardt. During this sermon, I will be referring to some of his hymns and stating the page number where they are found in CHRISTIAN WORSHIP A Lutheran Hymnal. I have also included some of the verses to these hymns, within the text of this sermon. If you have a hymnbook at home, (which I would encourage you to have), in the back you will find a list of authors. You can find some of the hymns that Paul Gerhardt wrote. In that hymnbook, the list of his hymns happens to be on page 938. Or, if you have a computer, you can google "Paul Gerhardt hymns" and you will find all of the hymns that he wrote. Some of them are very long hymns. They are all stories. And, they were written in times of trial and tribulation.

When we go through trials, our heart looks at those troubles, and our heart asks itself, "Is God punishing me because of my sin?"

Certainly, as a Christian, we understand that God has every right to punish us for our sin. We have sinned. And we do deserve God's punishment and His severe, severe judgment against our sin. And so, a Christian needs to be trained to realize, number one, that God, in grace and in mercy, has chosen not to punish me. He has chosen to punish Jesus, in my place. When I see my sin, and when I see that I deserve to be punished, I want to look to Christ. I want to look there and see that God has placed Jesus in my place. Therefore, for Christ’s sake, God will not punish me. I can be assured that in my trials, God is not punishing me, but He has a deeper purpose going on.

In the following hymn, "Upon the Cross Extended," from page 113, in verses 3 & 4, we confess, "I deserve to be punished, but Jesus was punished in my place."

Upon the Cross Extended

‘Tis I who should be smitten,

My doom should here be written:

Bound hand and foot in hell.

The fetters and the scourging,

The floods around you surging,

‘Tis I who have deserved them well.

A crown of thorns you’re wearing,

My shame and scorn you’re bearing

That I might ransomed be.

My bondsman, ever willing,

My place with patience filling,

From sin and guilt has made me free.

Another Paul Gerhardt hymn is on page 428, "Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me?" When Paul Gerhardt was 10 years old, he lived near a little town in Wittenberg, Germany. Things were going well and then the 30 Years’ War broke out. And then, things turned terribly sour in Paul Gerhardt's life. His dad died, when he was 12 years old. His mother died, when he was 14 years old. The little town he was living in was literally devastated by the 30 Years’ War. He went to the seminary, but because of the 30 Years’ War, there was no place for him to be a pastor. And so, he was not able to have his first church until he was 44 years old. He had to wait that long! He fell in love with a woman by the name of Anna Marie Berthold, but he was so poor that he was not able to marry her until he was 48 years old. And so, he went through those trials, (and that is just the beginning). But, through those trials he wrote this hymn, "Why Should Cross and Trail Grieve Me?" He points us away from our sorrows and he points us to look to Christ, and to find our strength in Christ. The following is the entire hymn.

Why Should Cross and Trail Grieve Me

Why should cross and trial grieve me?

Christ is near

With His cheer;

Never will He leave me.

Who can rob me of the heaven

That God’s Son

For me won

When His life was given?

When life’s troubles rise to meet me,

Though their weight

May be great,

They will not defeat me.

God, my loving Savior, sees them;

He who knows

All my woes

Knows how best to end them.

God gives me my days of gladness,

And I will

Trust Him still

When He sends me sadness.

God is good; His love attends me

Day by day,

Come what may,

Guides me and defends me.

Since I know God never fails me,

In His voice

I’ll rejoice

When grim death assails me.

Trusting in my Savior’s merit,

Safe at last,

Troubles past,

I shall heaven inherit.

And so, we see the confidence that Paul Gerhardt found in the Word of God, in Christ our Savior, and the purposes that God has through trials. He taught us to sing that into our hearts.

After Paul Gerhardt was married, joyfully, he and his wife had their first, little child. When that little child was 8 months old, it died. They had four more children. Three of those four more children died. It was a difficult, difficult time for Paul Gerhardt. Many of his congregation members died, as well, because there was plague that was sweeping through the land. And yet, again, Paul Gerhardt, through all of those trials, learned to look to the strength of the Word and the strength of his Savior. He wrote a powerful, powerful Easter hymn. Hymn 156 is titled, "Awake, My Heart, with Gladness." This hymn takes us, in our sorrows over death, to Christ, and it takes us to the resurrection. In verses 1 and 4, we proclaim the victory that we have, even in the face of death!

Awake, My Heart, with Gladness

Awake, my heart, with gladness!

See what today is done;

Now after gloom and sadness,

Comes forth the glorious sun.

My Savior there was laid

Where our bed must be made

When to the realms of light

Our spirit wings its flight.

Now I will cling forever

To Christ, my Savior true;

My Lord will leave me never,

What e’er He passes through.

He rends death’s iron chain;

He breaks through sin and pain.

He shatters hell’s dark thrall;

I follow Him through all.

Finally, Paul Gerhardt became a pastor in the city of Berlin. He became, probably, the most well beloved, Lutheran pastor in the city of Berlin. However, after he was there for a period of time, the ruler of Berlin decided that he was going to compromise all of the church bodies in Berlin together. And so, he demanded that the Lutherans ‘lighten up’ on some of their teachings. In fact, he demanded that the Lutheran pastors promise they would not teach infant baptism, and they would not teach that Jesus' body and blood are present in the Lord's Supper. Many of the Lutheran pastors agreed they would not teach that. However, Paul Gerhardt, as a leader of the Lutheran pastors in Berlin, refused to back down from his teaching on infant baptism and the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Lord's Supper. The ruler of Berlin told Paul Gerhardt, "If you don't retract those teachings, I am going to take away your church. I am going to take away your house. I am going to take away what you have."

Paul Gerhardt refused to take it back.

The ruler even told Paul Gerhardt, "You can secretly just tell me that you are not going to teach those things. You don't have to tell everybody. Just secretly tell me."

But, Paul Gerhardt knew that God would know if he was compromising his faith. And so, he refused to back down on his teaching the true Word of God. As a result, his church was taken away from him.

Shortly thereafter, his beloved wife died, and was buried in the graveyard of the church where Paul Gerhardt was no longer allowed to teach. What a trial and hardship that was for Paul Gerhardt. However, even in the face of persecution, consider this beautiful hymn, "If God Himself Be for Me," which is found on page 419. It is a beautiful profession that God will not let His people suffer defeat, no matter what happens, because we have Christ. The following is the first verse and the last four verses.

If God Himself Be for Me

If God Himself be for me,

I may a host defy;

For when I pray, before me

My foes, confounded, fly.

If Christ, my head and master,

Befriend me from above.

What foe or what disaster

Can drive me from His love?

He canceled my offenses,

Delivered me from death;

He is the Lord who cleanses

My soul from sin through faith.

In Him I can be cheerful,

Courageous on my way,

In Him I am not fearful

Of God’s great Judgment Day.

No sin can now condemn me

Or set my hope aside.

Now hell no more can claim me;

Its fury I deride.

No sentence now reproves me;

No guilt destroys my peace,

For Christ, my Savior, loves me

And shields me with His grace.

No danger, thirst, or hunger,

No pain or poverty,

No earthy tyrant’s anger

Shall ever vanquish me.

Though earth should break asunder,

You are my Savior true;

No fire or sword or thunder

Shall sever me from you.

My heart for joy is springing

And can no more be sad,

‘Tis full of joy and singing,

Sees only sunshine glad.

The sun that cheers my spirit

Is Jesus Christ, my King;

The heav’n I shall inherit

Makes me rejoice and sing.

Toward the end of Paul Gerhardt’s life, he was called to another church in a town called Luben, Germany. However, when he got there, the congregation did not receive him well, and they never did take good care of him. He led a difficult life there. At the end of his life, his one and only son grew very ill. And it was there, at that church that Paul Gerhardt died. And yet, consider this beautiful hymn - that even in the face of trials, we can be glad and sing. "Rejoice My Heart, Be Glad and Sing" is found on page 443.

Rejoice, My Heart, Be Glad and Sing

Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing;

A cheerful trust maintain.

For God, the source of everything,

Your treasure shall remain.

Why spend the day in blank despair,

In restless thought the night?

On your Creator cast your care;

He makes your burdens light.

His wisdom never plans in vain

Nor falters nor mistakes;

All that His counsels did ordain

A happy ending makes.

The last hymn that we are going to look at is on page 587, "Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow." In fact, we are going to close with this.

Why did all of these troubles come to Paul Gerhardt? Is it because God was punishing him for his sin? No! God used these troubles, in the life of Paul Gerhardt, so that Christ was displayed. He is displayed wonderfully in these hymns.

Why does God bring troubles into your life? He brings troubles into your life so that Christ may be displayed to those around you, as they see where you find your trust, your strength, and your confidence.

In 1996, at the ELS Lutheran Youth Convention, there was a young woman by the name of Carrie Thompson. She was about 35 years old. Her husband was a pastor. She was a beautiful, young, lady who was dying of cancer. She got up before all of these teenagers and she had an opportunity to tell them about what it was like to have cancer, what it was like to know that you are going to die, what those feelings are. She talked about all of that. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. It was a very moving talk. And of course, you can imagine that she talked about her faith in Jesus. She talked about how she knew that her sins were all forgiven. She had absolute confidence that Jesus would take her to Heaven to be with her Savior. And so, there in the face of all of her trials and troubles, what was happening? She was displaying Jesus in her life, to all of those young people. It was a wonderful opportunity for faith to be strengthened.

And you know what we did, after she gave that moving, moving talk? We closed with a Paul Gerhardt hymn verse. It is a wonderful prayer that all of us ought to keep in our hearts. We will close with verse 3 of hymn 587, "Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow".

Now Rest Beneath Night’s Shadow

Lord Jesus, since you love me,

Oh, spread your wings above me

And shield me from alarm.

Though Satan would assail me,

Your mercy will not fail me;

I rest in your protecting arm.

Amen.