Sermon – “The Truth Shall Make You Free”

31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

The kids have been working on a project for about a month and we just finished it last week so before I turn it around the kids have a scripture they’re going to share. To go along with today sermon and I built my sermon around the themes as we’ve been working on this for a month so take it all together ready. Q three and here’s what they’ve been working on for the past month. All that all that the I did was help them I laid them out or traced them out and they did all the cutting in the glue and figuring it out and help lay out the format of it you shall know the truth of course someone said this is Ruth of note the cross is the teen that the truth shall make you free a man. All right thanks kids let’s hop back up or we’re going to hang it may be over there next week but we didn’t have a mail. We don’t use the doors anyway right. OK. We had a lot of fun working on that and. Figure now things. Everything had to be square and just right for some of those are perfectionists and we want as we wanted squiggly zur whatever on the bottom hole No no we can’t have that. But anyway we enjoyed it it’s fun working with the kids and this say in their enthusiasm and hope we had Susie as rubs off on us adults once in a while a man Amen so now you already know the title to my message the truth shall make you free. Who is the truth. Jesus and where do we find the truth. In the Bible Amen you know if you look on the cover of most Bibles you look at the cover that Bible that’s in your pew pew Bibles What does it say on the front. Holy Bible it says Holy Bible and you know some might say well why do they call that book Holy Why do they call it the Holy Bible because you know whenever you read the Bible you’re going to find about what wars you’re going to find about man being sinful and turning from God to going to find you read stories about murder you read stories about adultery you’ll read stories about all kinds of evil and wickedness and you read all found all these things in a book that’s called the Holy Bible so why is it then referred Why is it holy because it tells the truth. And those things that happen in there the stories the events of happened they are just truth they’re the truth about man’s relationship with God their truth about how man turned from God How man turned his back on God so it reveals the truth so it is truthful so therefore that’s why it is holy that’s why it’s called the Holy Bible. And Jesus Christ is the ultimate truth. He is the one who holds the truth he said that he was the truth and is to truth and he said that the truth will make us free. So now will get more scripture lessons morning John eight thirty one through forty seven Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him if you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free they answered him We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone how. How can you say we will be made free Jesus answered them most assuredly I say to you whoever commits sin is a slave of sin I want to pause for a moment any person that has ever committed sin becomes a slave to sin. They don’t know that some don’t know it but you are in bondage to sin you are a slave if you sin and have not been set free by Jesus Christ verse thirty five and a slave does not abide in the house forever but a son abides forever therefore if the Son makes you free you shall be free indeed I know that you are Abraham’s descendants but you seek to kill me big because my word has no place in you I speak what I have seen with my father and you do what you have seen with your father they answered and said to him Abraham is our Father Jesus said to them if you were Abraham’s children you would do the works of Abraham but now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God Abraham did not do this you do the deeds of your father then they said to him we were not born of fornication we have one Father God Jesus said to them If God were your father you would love me for I proceeded poor thing came from God nor have I come of myself but he sent me why do you not understand my speech because you are not able to listen to my words your of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it but because I tell the truth you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin and if I tell the truth why do you not believe me he who is of God hears God’s word therefore you do not hear because you are not of God Amen May God at His blessings to the here and in the reading of His Holy Word let us pray Heavenly Father we do thank you and praise you for your word we know that your word is true that your word is faithful we know that you inspired every word from the front cover to the back governess word and we know that we can trust in it we can but we can. Believe in it we can believe that and put our hope in it our hope and your word because it is true we know that you have never lied you cannot lie because you are the holy God and Father I just pray that your words would touch our hearts today by the God touch our hearts and help us to receive what we need to hear today father and may we receive with joy maybe we use it for your glorification in Jesus’ name amen. There’s a key. To unlock those prison doors that binds every sinner whether you want to refer to him as prison doors or shackles or chains that bind us there is one key and he revealed it in that passage and the key is to abide to abide. Jesus said If you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed the King James Version says if you continue in my word then you are my disciples indeed there are so many words used to describe the Greek meaning of this one simple word to continue such as to stay in a given place or to stay in a given state or to dwell to endure to be present to remain to stand or to tarry I think that we should understand that right to stay with the Lord to stay in His Word. I like to stay that state to be a net given sed given state I’m thinking state of mind he wants us to stay in that mindset of His Word He wants us to be thinking about His Word and thinking about his ways all the time and we can do that no we can’t sit in our chair every day and read our Bibles all day every day long but we can be in an attitude where we can be thinking about his word as we go about our day we can think about his we’re we’re be singing praises and psalms and him and spiritual things as we’re travelling up and down the road or if we’re going for a walk we can have our minds our state upon him thinking about him all the time the more that we continue in His word meaning that if we stay in it stay in His Word I don’t mean just reading about what you know I’ve got a habit that I’ve got to get up every morning and read one chapter. Well don’t just do it out of habit don’t just do it every day for just a casual read he wants us to search it out he wants us to search his word to start to dig deep to dig deep into the meaning of His Word to gain at understanding to gain that knowledge to remain in him then we shall be his disciples indeed a disciple is a learner that’s what this cycle with is it means to be a learner means to learn the Latin word is disciple it’s the word is found in the Bible only in the Gospels and in Acts but it always means the pupil of someone in contrast to the master or the teacher and I will say this even today if you’re a Sabbath school teacher or if you are a preacher or a teacher the word yes you may be a teacher but you are still a disciple because I hope we’re still open in this book up and trying to learn more because the more I learn the more I learned I don’t know. The more I see that the I Have So Much more to learn so we need to be continually learn can always learning in all cases it implies that the person not only accept the views of the teacher but he is also in practice an adherent to the views of the teacher. So not only do we say we believe what Jesus taught we adhered to the things he taught we had here to God’s word to his teaching not only do we just believe in it. In the widest sense it refers to those who accept the teachings of anyone not only in belief but in life we believe it in life the more we remain the more we continue in a word the more we will grow in spiritual knowledge and as we grow in spiritual knowledge we will more fully understand what our freedom from sin really is what it really means to be set free from our sins you know thinking of children and how we. Send our children off to school I mean today it’s even earlier than it was back when we were younger we sent him off the priest pre-K. it four and kindergarten at five and then so on you know they’re going to go to school for thirteen fourteen and they go to college it could be fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen years but in perspective to our lifetime that is but a short time is not I mean if we live to be eighty or even under that’s really a relatively short period of time to be a disciple to be a learner as far as children going to school is concerned but for us to be a disciple of Jesus Christ we are to be a learner all of our lives as long as we have breath as long as we have a mind it works we are to be a learner of Jesus Christ we are to study His word you not say there’s a lot of people today. They do not understand that they are in bondage to sin there are people out there that have no idea that they’re really in bondage to sin. Look at how some of the Jews responded Jesus statement of how the truth would make them free they said We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone how can you say you’ll be made free then Jesus answered them most assuredly I say to you whoever commits sin is a slave a sin and a slave does not abide in the house forever but a son abides forever their claim to be Abraham’s ascendance I have never been in bondage is a bold law. It is a lie they had been in slave to seven mighty nations in the book of Judges you read those accounts they have been in slave many times. They had been enslaved for seventy years in Babylon. In at the very time that they made this statement were they not under the control of Rome. So it’s nothing but a big fat lie when they said we have never been in bondage Yes they have in Judges chapter three verse seven and eight so the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord they forgot the Lord their God and serve the bails and Nash eras therefore the agur of the Lord was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hand of cushion recess then king of mass with a media and the children of Israel serve cushion Russia then for eight years that kind of sounds like bondage to me. Because they didn’t have the freedom to go into leaving to do what they want to do. So many times they’ve been in bondage but we know that the freedom that Jesus is speaking of. Is spiritual freedom from sin he’s not talking about nap. Political things he’s talking about the spiritual freedom that we need from our sins. They were blinded to their own selfish pride and ambitions not only did they reject the Word of Jesus spoke to them which war which was the truth they also rejected him. Who is called The Truth. The rejection of Messiah was prophesied in Psalms one eighteen twenty twenty two it says the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone will find a fulfillment of that in John want to leaven he came to his own in his own did not receive Him Jesus Christ came to his own I think I went through this a few weeks ago the lineage of Jesus he is Abraham see that’s his people the Jewish people as a people and they rejected their very own. Jesus offers freedom from the nature or the condition that in slaves all people. No one my friends is immune to the sinful nature. Romans tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Everyone has fallen short if Asians to one through three says and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience among whom also we all once conducted ourselves we all once conducted ourselves in the last of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath jest as the others so that tells us we are all born of that nature were born with that sinful nature. We all have that tendency to want to sin and that sinful nature can often lead to many different kinds of addiction many different kinds of sinful lifestyles Bill Perkins defines an addict as a person who is unable to resist the repeated urge to enter into a love relationship with an object or an event for the pleasure an illusion of interest of the into Smee intimacy it provides He gives three definitions to this one more hooked on something we can’t say no to. My friends or is a lot of people today that are hooked on things they can’t say no to whether it be hoped or an alcohol. And you try to say no but you have that body says all come on let’s stop by this bar tonight let’s just have a few drinks no I don’t want to all come on well OK I guess I’ll go he just can’t say no we’re could be that addiction to cigarettes. That is a powerful addiction. In a draw as you just can’t say no to that. Aroma of that cigarette. I don’t understand because it chokes me. But it’s hard to say no to that addiction it could be gambling it has it drawn. You have that illusion that you’re going to make a lot of money. You can’t say no. The object of our compulsion gives us great pleasure. The process or substance to which were addicted gives us the illusion of interest me into intimacy I can’t say that we’re disappointed. And this is a crucial element one every man needs to realize addictions are an enemy. Real intimacy and prevent us from developing the close relationships that we need to have and my friends that not only destroys a relationship that we need to have with Jesus Christ it destroys relationships with our families with our friends as I thought about this thinking about all the homes in all the marriages that had been destroyed by addictions be it alcohol or drugs or gambling. How many stories we could probably tell of one spent their money on alcohol instead of providing for their family or gambled their money away before they took care of their family. We know of one personal that dear sweet lady that was my grammar that just passed away that she raised her family because grandpa apples and alcoholic so many stories we could share so many addictions has destroyed many relationships. A close relationship is what it takes to set us free. And the only one that can truly set us free is Jesus Christ you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free John fourteen six Jesus said to him I am the Way the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father except through Me Jesus is the truth not only does he speak the truth he is the truth. The passage that I read from in Chapter eight it is preceded by another story I’m not going to share the whole story but I know that most of you have probably read it. Where the scribes in a fair seas brought to Jesus a woman that was caught in adultery she was caught in the very act of adultery and I will share this those scribes and pharisees they didn’t care about that woman they didn’t. Really care that she was committing adultery they only viewed this as an opportunity to try to put G.’s in a corner to try to pin him down to try to trick him to draw to bring a charge against him so they bring this woman before him and said This woman was caught in a very act and the law says that she should be stunned What do you say that we should do with her. Jesus course if you read the story knows he acts like he didn’t hear it first so they kept born what do you say so he stood up and he says he who is without sin shall cast the first stone age will back down and began to write on the ground and there were some the say that he was right in their sins on the ground. Why don’t know if he was right in his sins on the ground because the scriptures don’t say that so no sense interjecting that but this much I do know when he raised up again they were all gone they all departed from the oldest to the youngest last they all left not one of them cast one stone. He didn’t have to write it on the ground if he did maybe he did but he didn’t need to because they know what they had done wrong. No one was able to throw a stone because they all had sinned so Jesus says to her Where are your accusers. Paraphrasing it they’re all gone they have all left. He says. Neither do I condemn you but else what else did he say Go and sin no more go and sin no more. You know I believe that those accusers whenever that conviction came upon them what they should have done was fell to their knees and say Lord forgive me. That’s exactly what they should have done but instead they turned and they were. Looking for the next opportunity to trick Jesus. But look at his compassion that he had on that woman he did not come to condemn the world my friends he came to set us free from our sins but he also says Go and sin no more. In the last days of the Civil War The Confederate capital Richmond Virginia fell to the Union Army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city even though no one knew he was coming slaves recognize him immediately and thronged around him he had liberated them by the Emancipation proper proclamation and now Abe Lincoln’s army had set them free according to Admiral David Porter an eyewitness Lincoln spoke to the crowd around him he said my poor friends. You are free free as air you can cast off the name of slave and trample upon it Liberty is now your birthright. Well they can also warn them not to abuse their freedom let the world see that you merit your freedom Lincoln said Don’t let your joy carry you into excesses learn the laws and obey them. That was his words of encouragement to the slaves that have been set free is it that message much like what Jesus gave to the church gave to those he liberated those who believe in Him He is our true birthright he is the freedom he is the freedom that we have through him he told the woman go and sin no more learn the laws as Abraham Lincoln said and obey them go and sin no more we can know the truth and we are free from that sinful nature. We have to make the choice we are free to choose whether or not we want to become a bond servant of Christ. I’m talking about freedom and now I’m going to be talking about being a bondservant but we are free from our sins but we have to choose to be a bond servant of Christ and you know a lot of people don’t like. To think about being a servant. Do loss is a Greek word meaning bondservant many do not understand the role of a bondservant in relation to our Master Jesus. Americans especially don’t like it because we are the land of the free the home of the our nation was founded upon freedom so we don’t like to hear that thing about being a servant. But a biblical bond servant is one who chooses to serve his master until death. He will forever wear the mark of his master he accomplishes his master’s will for his life because he loves his master do you love your Master Jesus enough to be united as a bond servant to him. Kurt shackling compiled a list of the traits of a New Testament bond servant of Christ. He says a bond servant of Christ is emptied of self and walks in deep humility before the Lord faithful faithfully obeying him to the point of suffering hardship humiliation and even death if required. Number two a bond servant of Christ has a deep and genuine concern for the welfare of others. Number three bond servant of Christ seeks to encourage comfort and strength than others a bond servant of Christ strives to do the will of his master and pleases Him only and has abandoned seeking after the praise of men a bondservant of Christ does not promote. Promote or exults self but promotes an exalted Christ as Lord of all and use self as a bond slave of others to fulfill the call of Christ a bondservant of Christ is not quarrel some. Kerry chuckles but is kind to all able to teach patient when wronged gently correcting those who are in opposition. That’s a really tough one isn’t patient when wrong. We like justice don’t wait when we are wrong we want justice why bondservant of Christ needs to be patient even when you have been wrong he doesn’t promise us justice does he. Know. But he does promise us freedom he does promise us eternal life a bond servant of Christ sees his or her life of service as a grateful dutiful and loving response to God and not something for which he expects to be thanked by his master but rather rewarded for his or her faithfulness. Is Sabbath school with the kids. We were talking about of course the cross and the truth and Christ being without sin. And second Corinthians five verse twenty one it says for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. The father speaking of Christ made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Jesus Christ was absolutely completely totally without sin not one time. And that he sin but do we understand the magnitude God made him be sin. For us. He took all of our sins not just ours but the sins of those past present and future upon himself and died for our sins that we can be set free from our sins yesterday evening I had the praise and worship go on and there was a song. There is power in the name of Jesus power in the name of Jesus power in the name of Jesus to set the captives free or to break the chains Karen already alluded to that there is so much power in the name of Jesus to set us free I want to close with verse thirty seven from our reading says I know that you are Abraham’s descendants but you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. That is such a crucial thing do you have a place in your heart for Jesus that’s a question that he ask you that’s a question that he ask all of us at some point in our in our lives do you have a place in your heart for me Jesus says not may not Ronnie but Jesus do you have a place in your heart for my truth a place for me we know the passage in Revelation says Behold I stand at the door knock if any man hear me and open at the door I will come in and dine with him. We have to open the door to our heart he won’t force he won’t crash that door down and come barging his way in we must choose whether we want to be free or whether we want to be a slave to sin. But if we choose Jesus he is the truth and he will set us free Amen. Amen.