Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.heritagesermons.org/sermons/24581/believe-ye-that-i-am-able-to-do-this-2-quality-very-good/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] I should help I venture again this evening in reading from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, and reading verse 28.

[0:16] The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, and reading verse 28.

[0:26] And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him.

[0:38] And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this.

[0:49] They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Amen. Those of you that were with us in the morning service will know how our thoughts were taken regarding this great question of having our eyes opened, that we may be brought as we shall be brought, if we know what it is, to have our eyes opened, we shall be brought as needy sinners to Jesus Christ.

[1:37] And we shall join with the blind man, the record of him as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 9, when after he had been cast out and persecuted, the Lord found him and said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

[2:01] believe on the Son of God? believe on the Son of God? There may well be those, and I believe there are those here this evening, who have known and perhaps you feel that this is the very response of your heart.

[2:16] And the way that he responded, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

[2:30] And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe.

[2:43] And he worshipped him. I feel sure that there are those here that have known what it is for Jesus to talk to them through his word, not that he can talk to us as he did to the blind man, I mean when he was upon this earth, but still Jesus talks to sinners through his word in his own sovereign way and manner.

[3:15] And I do so hope that even today there may be those that will have that sweet and sacred witness given to them, that they too may worship him indeed.

[3:34] I must confess that I had felt that the Lord had given me this word for the morning service.

[3:45] And another for the evening. And I have been very burdened to know what the Lord's will is regarding this and the service this evening.

[3:57] And all I can say is that I just venture to read this 28th verse again. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him.

[4:11] And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Now again I must try and speak to you all like this.

[4:26] I am sure that you all have your own particular cares and sorrows and distresses and burdens and all that is going on in each one's life in different ways.

[4:47] If you could all speak this evening, I feel there would be those that would say, Yes, I have a burden.

[5:00] I have a great anxiety. I have trouble. I have distressing circumstances. I have things in my life that I do not know how to handle or what to do with it.

[5:18] So, dear friends, however you have come and the dear children and young people that are here, I am sure that the children are not strangers to difficulties and problems in their early life and in their school life.

[5:36] There may well be children or young people here this evening that have, to put it in simple words, some special problem or need.

[5:47] So, the Lord knows just how it is with every one of you that are here. And I do feel so thankful that the Lord knows.

[5:59] And dear friends, he does know. He knows all about you. He knows all that's in your life. And he knows just how you've come to the service this evening.

[6:13] Well, with the Lord's help, we would take up this subject in the way that we feel that we must venture to do.

[6:27] Let us first notice what is recorded in verse 27. Where the Lord had just left the ruler's house, where the daughter had been restored to life.

[6:53] For the ruler, who had come and worshipped him and had said, My daughter is even now dead, but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

[7:07] And what did we read? We read this. And he said, Unto them give place, for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.

[7:18] And they laughed him to score. But when the people were put forth, he went in and took her by the hand, and the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

[7:33] So you see, Jesus, and I did mention this morning the differing cases that are recorded in this one chapter. And how Jesus dealt with them.

[7:44] And I do hope that there may be those here this evening who will feel that the Lord will appear for you. I hope there will be those that will go home with this sweet hope within their heart.

[8:01] The Lord will appear. And that the Lord will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain. And the painful things in your life, that he will ease the pain, he will appear for you.

[8:15] And so we read then in verse 27, And when Jesus departed then, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.

[8:32] We have tried a little this morning to speak of this in a spiritual way. But this evening, these two men were blind.

[8:45] And they knew that they were blind. And they evidently knew that, or they had the hope, that Jesus could heal their blindness and grant them sight.

[9:02] I wonder if there are those here this evening, that the Lord has given you a sweet hope that he will appear for you.

[9:15] And perhaps you've come hoping that your hope in Jesus might be confirmed. And that you might go home with the witness.

[9:26] And I know I'm repeating this. But this truth we rejoice in, the Lord will appear. Now, may we then consider, first of all, how they approached the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

[9:43] They followed him crying and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.

[9:54] Oh, do we not need to join them again this evening? I think of parents that are here with their families.

[10:07] I think of those of you that go out into life. And all that that means in your daily calling. I think of husbands and fathers, wives and mothers.

[10:21] I think of our friends who live alone. I think of you all, or that is my desire. Right through to our older friends and our very old friends.

[10:34] And if we know something of our need before God, we shall certainly join with these blind men on this Lord's Day evening.

[10:44] Can you take this up in this moment of worship? Thou son of David, have mercy on us. Is that our cry this evening?

[10:56] Is it mercy, good Lord? Mercy, we ask, this is the total sum. Oh, let thy mercy come. Do you feel to need mercy?

[11:08] And yet, if you should go home with this, as it has come into my thoughts, I think that I can just find it.

[11:19] It has gone as it has come, but I believe I can find it. Oh, for a heart prepared to sing to God my Saviour and my King, while with his saints I join to tell my Jesus has done all things well.

[11:42] But it was this verse especially. And since my soul has known his love, what mercies has he made me prove? Mercies which all my praise itself, my Jesus, has done all things well.

[12:01] Now, wherever you may be today, and your cry may well be with these two blind men, have mercy on us. You need mercy again.

[12:13] You've received mercy. Oh, how many mercies we have received throughout the course of our lives. And yet, the Lord will bring us to this over and over again.

[12:24] Have mercy on me. Have mercy on us. But then what do we read in verse 28? And when he was come into the house.

[12:39] Now, I would just consider this in this way. Oh, that we may feel, that you may feel, this very evening, that Jesus, in the way that he still does, by and through the divine work of the Holy Spirit, but that we might feel now that Jesus is in our midst.

[13:02] that Jesus has come into the house. Oh, he does come. There are those of us here this evening that have proved it.

[13:15] He does come. He does come into our hearts. He does come into our homes. And he does come into his house.

[13:27] For we have known it. And we have felt it. And there's something very sacred when the Lord has favoured us to really know and feel this.

[13:42] And I have that sweet hope within my heart that Jesus has come into the house, this house, this evening.

[13:58] How did the Lord deal with these two men? And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him. And Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this.

[14:16] Now again, I just try and venture in this way, but to try and speak to every one of you, to put it in simple words, there are those here that you have a this.

[14:33] There's a question mark after these words here. Believe ye that I am able to do this. And there's a question mark.

[14:44] And I'm sure there are those here who feel to need a question to be answered. You have your question. I think of the Queen of Sheba who came to Solomon with her hard question.

[15:03] Her hard questions. It's a wonderful account. And a greater than Solomon is there. And we can surely put it another way.

[15:14] I wonder how many of you have come this evening with your hard questions or a hard question. And you have come, you have brought it in your heart this evening to Jesus.

[15:31] And you hope that he's going to favour you with an answer. Well, if we should consider this then, may we be helped to do so.

[15:45] Believe ye that I am able to do this. Whatever it is in your life, do you believe that he is able to do this?

[15:58] Have you been favoured with the precious gift of faith in believing? Do you know what it is? I wonder if there are any here tonight who during this past week may have been in some particular difficulty or trial or trouble or distress.

[16:22] And has the Lord, as it were, favoured you in believing that he will surely appear? Have you been favoured in believing?

[16:33] Have you come this evening hoping that your hope in him might be confirmed? And that you might go home with that witness? And friends, I'm aware, I keep telling you this, this truth we rejoice in, the Lord will appear.

[16:49] And the Lord knows to whom this is being spoken. But friends, oh friend, I can tell you that your Lord will appear.

[17:03] He's going to appear. If I am indeed God's servant, and I trust that I am, but I'm aware of what I'm saying, I may never, ever know that what I've said is true, but I say it again, the Lord is going to appear for you.

[17:30] He knows all about your case. He knows all about the burden of your heart. He knows all about those things that you do not know what to do with.

[17:41] You do not know how to handle them. You've been brought to a stand. We often think of the words of King Jehoshaphat, and oh how constantly they are the experience of the living family of God.

[17:57] Neither know we what to do. But our eyes are upon these two blind men. They couldn't see Jesus at this point, but their eyes, the eye of faith, was upon him.

[18:14] So then, if this question should be put, and I hope it will be, believe ye that I am able to do this. You may have that that you've carried for years.

[18:30] The Lord may have spoken his word, words of promise. He may have spoken with great power into your heart, and still you wait for his appearing.

[18:43] Still you wait for the fulfilment of what he has said. But can you give it up? Oh, if the Lord has spoken to any of us through his own precious word, he will not allow us to give it up.

[18:58] I think in this moment of a dear wife who has been waiting for years for the Lord to appear in her life regarding her husband.

[19:13] She cannot give him up. Oh, how she's waiting. It is not someone that is connected with us here at all. But oh, how she's still waiting.

[19:26] And the Lord comes from time to time to encourage her that he will appear. And then her hopes are dashed. And the years have gone on.

[19:39] Well, the Lord knows what any of you are carrying. What burdens lay upon your heart. What your need is in your life providentially.

[19:50] For our providential path in life is so bound up with the purposes of grace that God has to toward his people.

[20:01] And I would say this, his purpose is for you. There are purposes of grace toward you, dear friends, in whatever that God has laid in your life, in your heart.

[20:17] But this is the question. Believe ye that I am able to do this. You're this. And I'm sure there are those here if you were to speak you would say, yes, this is mine.

[20:32] Another would say, this is mine. But you have your burdens, you have your cares, you have your sorrows, you have your troubles, you have your path of tribulation, and going back to last Lord's Day evening too, you have your thorn in the flesh.

[20:51] Oh, you have your thorn in the flesh. But it's this, you see, believe ye that I am able to do this. Well, how wonderful, how sacred.

[21:06] If any of us here can sincerely and truly answer this question this evening, they said unto him, yea, Lord.

[21:21] Can you take this up? Have you been able to take this up? And in your heart have you joined with these two blind men in your need?

[21:33] And you've been able to say with them, yea, Lord. To put it in a few words, have you been able to say this? I believe the Lord will appear.

[21:47] I believe he's going to work. I believe he will make a way for me. I believe he will make a way for us. Well, what a mercy to be able to take this up.

[22:04] Believe ye that I am able to do this. And if you can answer it this evening and say with these two blind men, yea, Lord.

[22:20] Is anything too hard for the Lord? Well, of course, if we look at things often, we would say, yes, it is.

[22:34] And the Lord makes his people aware that they can do nothing with things. You may have tried. You may have striven.

[22:45] You may have gone here or there for help. You may have sought an arm of flesh. You may have really felt that one or another would help you.

[22:57] And yet, here you are, God has seen fit to bring you to this point that no one, humanly speaking, no one can help you. But the Lord can. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

[23:11] Is anything too hard for the Lord? Oh, how do you answer that? Now, in answering, before we come to what the Lord did for them, I want particularly to consider this.

[23:33] Because the Lord said to them, according to your faith, be it unto you. Now, this precious gift of faith.

[23:48] Faith is the gift of God. Deep in the heart it lies, it lives and labours under load though damp, it never dies.

[24:01] But let me make it very clear, there is a vast difference between what we might speak of as natural faith and true spiritual faith.

[24:16] faith. Oh, this sacred subject of God given faith. And the Lord said to these two blind men, according to your faith, be it unto you.

[24:33] Let us consider with the Lord's help then what this really means. First of all, there is this, faith. For without faith, it is impossible to please him.

[24:49] For he that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[25:00] And that is one evidence of possessing faith. And when we are in need, the greater our need and the more the Lord favours us in believing, that is, with the gift of faith, the more diligent we shall be in our asking.

[25:19] These two blind men well knew this. They knew, they were favoured in believing that Jesus could restore their sight.

[25:31] Well, have we been granted such precious faith? Oh, it is a very sweet subject. It's subject of God-given faith, and yet one must also sound a note of warning here.

[25:48] For whatsoever is not of faith is sin. And that comes very close. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

[26:02] And yet, God-given grace, oh, how sacred, how precious it is, when we are favoured with this sweet grace, this gift of faith, and when the Holy Spirit exercises, and I put it like that, because I cannot exercise faith.

[26:25] Can you exercise faith? why you'll say to me this evening, I cannot. The Lord has shown you that you cannot. But in this we need the Holy Spirit.

[26:39] gift. And I believe it's right to say that these two blind men had received this gift. And it was this that brought them to Jesus.

[26:50] And it was this that moved them in their asking. Oh, those of you that have some special trouble or distress in your life, and yet has the Lord favoured you in this?

[27:05] Do you believe? Has the Lord helped you? I think there are those that will respond and say, well, my thoughts are contained in the account of the dear man whose son was tormented by the devil.

[27:22] And Jesus said to him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And how did the dear father answer the Lord?

[27:34] He said this, and he said it with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Can you join with him this evening?

[27:47] Is that how you feel? You see, there will be two opposites in our heart in these matters. If we are blessed with the gift of faith, the Holy Spirit working within our hearts, there will be that within our hearts that will say, Lord, I believe.

[28:08] And you do believe. You have to join with the dear father when he said, help thou mine unbelief. Because you see, it is possible in one moment to believe that the Lord will appear and help us, and the next moment we can fall again to doubting and wonder after all if he will.

[28:31] but again I say to you, he will appear. But there should be even one person here tonight that goes home with this, this truth we rejoice in, the Lord will appear.

[28:50] Now, when it's going to be, the Lord knows. You may have to wait. Sometimes we do have to wait. sometimes the Lord appears, as it were, in a moment.

[29:07] Sometimes he may, and this thought comes to mind, he may appear for you tomorrow. You may be in great need tomorrow. But there will be the time, the time he has set, to heal up thy woes, a season most fit, his love to disclose until he is ready to show his good will, be patient and steady and wait on him still.

[29:36] Oh, we need grace, do we not, linked to the gift and the grace of faith, that we may wait upon the Lord. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

[29:53] Oh, then this gift of faith, according to your faith, this faith that had been given to them. They believed that Jesus could restore their sight.

[30:05] They'd been given this. And he that cometh unto God must believe that he is God and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

[30:15] But another aspect of the subject of faith is this. Now, listen carefully to this. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for.

[30:30] The substance of that that these two blind men hoped for was that the Lord would grant them their sight. That was the substance. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

[30:49] You see, this is what a description it is of true faith. Now, faith is the substance. Do you have the substance of the blessing that you long for in your heart?

[31:05] Do you have the evidence of things not seen as yet? Why sometimes the Lord takes a dear person by the hand and he takes them sometimes forward in their life and by faith they are given a sight of what the Lord will do.

[31:25] They are given a sight of what the Lord is going to bring to pass and there they are. They have the substance. They have the, well, let us try and put it like this then.

[31:40] You will remember how Hannah prayed in the temple. You remember how she prayed in her heart. Her voice was not heard, but oh the agony of Hannah's soul in the temple.

[31:58] And what was the burden of her heart? She had been deprived of children. Her husband had said to her, am not I better to thee than ten sons?

[32:11] But that didn't console, Hannah did it. And I believe you know there was something far deeper in Hannah's heart than that. I have the feeling that in her heart the Lord had burdened her regarding the gift of a son.

[32:31] And you know when the Lord will do things in his church and among his people, when he will send forth his servants into his vineyard, the Lord will burden souls.

[32:47] Oh I believe Hannah had this burden and the Lord knows if any of you have a burden like that this evening. You may be carrying someone in your heart and you may have believed that one day they are going to preach, one day they are going to be raised up in the church of Christ and by faith you have seen them.

[33:11] You may even have seen them standing here in this house of God by the baptismal ball. You may have seen them there by faith you see. You've had the substance and the evidence, you've got the evidence in your heart and still you wait perhaps.

[33:31] But oh I think of this, a word that was spoken by poor Balaam who never knew what it was to have the truth of what he was saying in his heart, he only had it in his head, but this is what he said and it was God's word, it came through him.

[33:50] God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it?

[34:01] Or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good? Either one way or the other, the Lord will reveal his sovereign purpose. So these two blind men, you see, the Lord had given them faith.

[34:18] According to your faith, be it unto you. I may have mentioned this before, but it comes to mind. One Monday morning I received a letter, and in the envelope was twenty-five pounds, and there was just a piece of paper, and someone had started to write this, when you preached from, and then had crossed it all out, so that I couldn't see it.

[34:54] But what they did say, and I shall never know who it was, but this is what they did write on that piece of paper, when the Lord had evidently spoken to their soul, and they could say this, that they laid hold of it by faith, and then they could say, on that note, on that little piece of paper, and now the Lord has brought it to pass.

[35:24] But there was a time when they laid hold by faith on what had been preached, and now the Lord had brought it to pass. Now that is just what the Lord still does.

[35:39] And if any of you tonight are favoured by faith to lay hold, yet again, on what the Lord has given you, on what the Lord has said to you, why when Hannah came into the temple, and poor Eli had misunderstood her, he thought she was drunken, put away thy wine from thee, you see how the Lord brings people, he'll not allow us to rest on an arm of flesh, he'll not allow you to rest on your pastor or a minister, oh but you see when the day did come, she brings her Samuel into the temple, and there she stood, she had the sweet evidence of what the Lord had said, she had that sweet evidence in her arms, and I believe there are those here tonight, the day will come and the Lord knows how soon, or how long you may have to wait, but you'll have the evidence, you'll have the open evidence, and you'll have the sealed evidence, as it was with

[36:49] Jeremiah when he was commanded to buy a field, he had the open evidence, he had the field, he had the sealed evidence, evidence, there might be those here the Lord has given you the open evidence, and you need the sealed evidence, well I must leave it, but I cannot leave it without seeking to conclude what the word of God tells us, bear with me as I read these few verses once more, and when Jesus departed then, two blind men followed him crying and saying, thou son of David have mercy on us, and when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus saith unto them, believe ye that I am able to do this, they said unto him, yea Lord, and dear friends he is able, he is willing, doubt no more, then he touched their eyes, saying, according to your faith, be it unto you, and their eyes were opened, and Jesus straightly chanced them saying, see that no man know it, but they when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country, there might be those here, you may respond and say, well I can't understand this, first of all why was it that Jesus charged them saying that no man should know it, and then how can you explain that they when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country, well I believe the teaching is this,

[38:43] Jesus would ever teach us that we must give the glory to God, in his holy humanity, he would, and he often spoke like this to those that he had blessed, and I'm sure that I'm right here, his motive and purpose in it was that he would direct them away from himself in giving glory to God, now you see they departed, they spread abroad his fame in all that country, you see they couldn't help it, but these things need to be kept in their right place, just briefly this, we must never give glory to man, we must never give glory to man, but oh we do need grace and help to give glory to God, and that is very important, give unto the Lord the glory do unto his name, bring an offering and come before him, worship the

[39:54] Lord in the beauty of holiness, and what is that? I believe it's a poor sinner, filled with love, filled with amazement, and here they are, God has fulfilled his word, and like Hannah, they come into the temple, they come into the temple, and as it might please the Lord in this particular way, they will come like this, come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul, amen.