Jesus Sets You Free - John 8:31-47 - Who is Jesus? - Pastor Jason Fritz

good morning everybody I like Scott said my name is Jason Moore the pastor's at the church if you're here for the first time I'd love to get to know you personally if you want to take a few seconds I'll be hanging out right down here on the right-hand side of the stage afterwards we of course are looking forward to July 4th on Wednesday America will be 242 years old and so as I was reading this week I came across some interesting statistics that I don't know you you might not find interesting but I'm gonna share them with you so for example on July 4th did you realize that Americans consume more beer on this day than any other day of the year July 4th far in a way st. Patrick's Day does even come close Americans will spend about a billion dollars drinking beer on July 4th and all that beer according to and this really exists I'm not making this up the National hot dog and sausage Council of America which I want to be a part of I want to be on that council right Americans will consume about a hundred and fifty million hotdogs on July 4th and to cover those hotdogs they will buy 37 million dollars worth of dollars worth of ketchup which by the way if you don't already know to put ketchup on a hotdog is a sin it's in the Bible all right actually what's in the Bible is John chapter 8 and that's what we're gonna pick up where we left off last week it's been said that no country celebrates its freedom quite like Americans because I mean let's face it we were like the ultimate underdogs we fought against one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time and we won and on July 4th we declared our freedom we declared our independence and ever since that day Americans are known for their rugged individualism we are known for for our autonomy our independence I've said it before but not long ago a survey was conducted asking Americans actually they were given a list of virtues compassion kindness generosity autonomy list of different virtues and they were asked rank these virtues which one do you think is the most important and Americans you know what they picked you know what they rank highest autonomy autonomy autonomy autonomy is defined as the freedom of external control or influence so it's the idea that we as Americans we value our independence in our time we don't like being told what to do we don't like being told what to believe what to say how to say it we will decide for ourselves and then a little over two years ago an article very interesting article appeared in of all places the Atlantic in the author put forth this idea that the desire for autonomy is really driven by a more powerful underlying desire and that is the desire for power the desire for autonomy is really at its core a desire for power and the author actually stated it like this power as autonomy is a form of power that allows one person to ignore and resist the influence of others and us to shape one's own destiny and this makes sense you know you think back over history the most powerful people that have ever lived the Napoleon's the Caesars right the Darth Vader nobody tells these guys what to do or how to live they do their own thing and this author is right itami proves to be in the end another expression of one's drive to serve no one but himself or herself so what sounds virtuous is actually rather self-serving now of course politically understand this is Americans political independence is very very important and by the way you know for a long time for decades that church in many ways has been on the front lines speaking out against regimes opposing oppressive regimes like for example going back to the days of the Poland and the oppression and romain even in more more recent times what's happening in Syria and in North Korea Christians have been on that on the edge speaking out against those opposing regimes and yet the Christian understands that true freedom is not wrapped up in our politics true freedom comes in an individual and freedom is actually not being able to do anything you want to do freedom it's gonna sound very anti-american is not actually about the pursuit of happiness I'll prove it to you you have desires that go contrary to your happiness and when you pursue what makes you feel happy you all of a sudden find yourself becoming undone and so when Jesus comes on the scene in John chapter 8 he says I want to offer help I kind of have my own July 4th message and Christian freedom is actually a celebration not independence but dependence it's a celebration of being dependent upon Jesus Christ so let's get the scene let's get the backdrop for what we're about to read in John chapter 8 Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem the most holy of all places for good god-fearing first century Jews the time of year is the Feast of Tabernacles one of three major Jewish holidays so the city is packed with people the temple is standing-room-only tens of thousands of people Jesus is there in the midst of Allah and he's teaching and he's preaching now in the crowd or two groups of people you have the religious people the Sadducees and the Pharisees they hate Jesus they want him dead he poses a threat to their authority into their rule and he plus he's calling them out for their hypocrisy and they didn't like that then you have those four in the crowd and they're listening they're thinking you know we hear this profound teaching we see these miracles who does the work of God but one who is sent from God and they believe in who Jesus is so it's a mixed crowd chapter 8 verse 31 so jesus said to the Jews who had believed him if you abide and the word abide means to remain or to obey to live in my word you are truly my disciples myth 8 tosses the word it means followers and then you will know the true it's interesting remaining in Jesus word o being obedient to Jesus word means that you are truly a disciple the end you will know that others come from there's this equation going on obedience to the words of Jesus make you a disciple which leads you to an understanding of the truth and here's the beauty of it the truth will set you free very famous line in the Bible Jesus is actually gonna unpack it it probably means something you don't totally realize so they answered him so these are the people in the crowd and these are the people that are there Anti Jesus they push back we are offspring of Abraham and we have never been inside knowing you talking about freedom we've never been in say but what are you talking about choose will set you free we're free we haven't been aside to anybody the these guys aren't really being honest because the fact of the matter is living in first century Jerusalem as a Jew you live under the hand of the Roman government perhaps one of if not the most powerful civilization in the history of the world the Romans were good they would they would sort of absorb people groups and they would take you in and they would say we'll allow you to live but under our rules we will give you freedoms but only to a point so the Jews had some pretty good freedoms they could celebrate I can hold their festival but don't get out of control you cannot you could neither do you could not carry out capital punishment no no you had to go through the Roman government for that that's why we're gonna see in a few chapters later they have to present Jesus to a Roman official in order to have him executed they couldn't do this on their own so they're they're enslaved as they speak they look packed all over their history that 400 years they were enslaved to the Egyptians but they say we've never been slave to anyone not quite the case how is it that you say you will become free once again Jesus is speaking about a different kind of freedom not political but our freedom from something else and they don't see this coming but this is a kind of freedom that every person needs jesus answered them truly truly I say to you everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin so in 2018 you should probably have a conversation about this little three-letter word sin because the fact is you just don't hear it very often in in our culture what is sin sin simply state it is this is a desire to assert yourself as God it's the desire to say my will is the only will it should be carried out regardless of what God thinks I will do what I want to do in that sense sin is the ultimate expression of what Independence and autonomy everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin slavery to sin is the most devastating kind of slavery there is and you say no way that's impossible how can that be here's why how do you get free from yourself if you're a slave to your own actions how do you find freedom from yourself how can you escape yourself so in other words you need something outside of you to set you free it's exactly where Jesus is headed in this conversation that's why he says verse 35 she the slave does not remain in the house forever servants could could go they could be dismissed they could be transferred to another house they could pick up employment somewhere else but a son remains forever he's a permanent resident that's his house so if the son sets you free now remember Jesus referring to us as himself as a son of God saying about himself so in your Bibles the son is probably where son is probably capitalized if the son sets you free you will be free indeed this is interesting we classify freedom in different ways the I read a really interesting article about a woman she's got to be in her early 90s now she grew up in China as a Christian before in 1949 understand that the Communist Chinese announced liberation the Communist Party is here it is now the day and the time of great liberation for the Chinese people and then what happened it was extremely oppressive but they called it liberation and so this lady was being asked what was it like after the communist party took over for you as a young Christian and she said well it was very very different well how was it different you were still allowed to meet with other Christians right in church I said no no since the day of liberation we were not free to meet together oh well well certainly you could meet together in small groups as Christians right no no you understand since the day of liberation we were not free to meet even as a small group of Krishna's well certainly you were free to read your Bibles no no since the day of liberation we were not free to read our Bibles the freedom that Jesus talks about is a different kind of freedom you can the word freedom doesn't even describe the freedom that Jesus is explaining the lady were going to say our freedom is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ and the liberation had nothing to do with it Jesus says you can be free indeed we think of freedom in terms of the political race Christianity is that the Christianity is not wrapped up in a freedom that's defined by politics it's a different kind of freedom that's why he says you will be free indeed so he says verse 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham I'll grant you that did you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you and you about to say in masochism the reason why he says you won't receive my word because we're not we're not like of the same blood we're not the same household we don't share the share the same father you know the expression like father like son I am just like my father you are nothing like my father you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you I speak of what I have seen with my father now at this point they don't understand he's talking about God but that's who he's referring to and you and you you do what you have heard from your father so he says let's make a distinction you have your father I have my father I see and learn and speak and do on behalf of my father you do the same on behalf of your father that's a very leading statement from Jesus and they bite on it verse 39 they answered him Abraham is our father Abraham is a great patriarch they take great pride in in their in their Jewish nationality and racism and Abraham being their guy jesus said to them if you were Abraham's children you would be doing the works of Abraham the same works that Abraham did so if you were Abraham's children if you were his offering then you would be acting like Abraham in what ways well in the biggest way and biggest examples for the crescendo woman Abraham's life is when he's with his son and he's actually willing to offer his son as a sacrifice to God and then what happens God intervenes and then we see this this concept this radical concept of substitutionary atonement the boy is spared and God provides the sacrifice on his behalf and Jesus says that's a work you're not open to is it because see I am that sacrificial laughs I am that substitutionary he told me this is how good Jesus is these guys hate him they want him dead yet he cares enough about them to say I came for you too I came to make friends out of my enemies and the way I'm gonna do that is by sharing you with you the truth and then I'm gonna back it up I'm gonna go to the cross and I'm gonna die for your sins and if you believe in that you're gonna be set free you will be free indeed see you all think you're free right now you tell my political freedom you have no clue or the kind of freedom that I'm talking to you about I came watch this I came to set you free from yourself what yeah I came to set you free I don't one of the big myths and big lies that we often buy into is that nobody nothing controls us every single person in this room is controlled by someone or something I'll prove it to you what are you living for what are you living for you say well I'm living for my spouse or my kids see some people their masters are easy identified the the alcoholic or the drug user we can look at oh well we know what masters you but this subtle it's more culturally acceptable and so we all want healthy relationships but if any human relationship is the thing that you're living for what happens to you the moment there's this harmony what happens to you the moment there's a disruption in that relationship you will either find yourself doing things you've never thought you would do to maintain that relationship either way you will become completely and totally undone because people are lousy masters people are lousy gods I love my wife dearly would give my life for her she makes for a lousy god I'm far worse I'm a far worse God so Jesus says there is a freedom that can be found and the way you gain it is through me but these guys don't don't want to hear it you're nothing like Abraham if you were like Abraham then you would receive but now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God this is not what Abraham did you were doing the works your father did they said we were not born of sexual morality we have one father even God we know our lineage jesus said to them if God we're your father you would love me for I came from God and I am here I came out of my own accord but he sent me again and again Jesus is constantly making this Association whose connectedness with God the Father why do you not understand what I say here's why is because you cannot bear to hear my word and here it is you are of your father the devil whoa whoa it's really hard for me to describe how intense this scene would have been at this moment at this place at this time during this festival it's crowded I mean it went from God to the Pharisees and Sadducees to everybody else then Jesus says who's your daddy the devil like excuse me you did not just say that about us no one talks that way about us and your will is to do your father's desires he was a murderer from the beginning what did they want to do with Jesus they want to murder him by the way this is really insightful he just Satan was a murderer from the beginning so we go back in the beginning God created heavens and earth and there we read the Garden of Eden Satan comes on the scene deceives Adam and Eve what was the end result of his deception sin came in the world and what was brought with sin death Satan's a murder he's a murderer and here's how he operates in this world of lies the most believable lies are those little funky little half white lies a little half-truths those are the most believable those will get you every time so Satan comes on the scene and he says that God really say that you would die if you ate from that tree no here's what's gonna happen you'll become like God you will know good from evil well you know that was true they were gonna no good from you but the part about becoming like God no not in the way that he led them to believe because he operates in the realm of life so Jesus looks at this Pharisee he says you're just like them you're murderous and you're liars he doesn't stand in the truth because there's no truth in him when the devil lies he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies but because I tell the truth you do not believe me which one of you convicts me of sin see they've been down this road before right they bring in a woman who's caught in adultery and they want to try to trap him in some way does he go against the law well no actually what he ends up doing is he puts them on the spot and says you are not worthy judges so time and time again they try to convict him of some sin so he brings it to them he says you two where's the sin where's the sin that you convict me of if I tell the truth why do you not believe me whoever is of God hears the words of God the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God Wow whoa would it be a fly on the wall so the overarching message of the Bible is this when people come to faith in Jesus Christ when they become Christians they actually give up their independence they give up their independence and they find freedom through obedience say that again when a person comes to come to faith in Christ they actually give up their independence and they find freedom through their obedience so Christians believe this because they believe in God's truth that was brought to us by Jesus recorded in the Bible so since we have God's truth what that means is okay so now we understand why Christians are perceived in different ways for example in in permissive societies Christians will be seen as conservative in oppressive societies Christians will be seen as radicals before example I mentioned Syria and the oppression there in Syria do you realize that you have brothers and sisters in Christ they gather outside of prison walls the church gathers outside of the prison wall and the congregation listens intently for the words of their pastor who's behind those walls serving prison time for preaching the gospel but he doesn't stop and in that society those Christians are called radical they are radicals meanwhile in a permissive society more like American culture preacher can stand up and say hey you know as we read the Bible carefully God created you for a purpose and and that purpose is that you would model the life of Jesus Christ because people around you need it and you need it so actually God cares whether or not you keep your pants zipped boy is that guy conservative that guy's conservative so see this is the great thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ it frees you from any any cultural trapping no culture can come in label you conservative radical none of that matters because of the gospel of Jesus Christ there is truth and Jesus loves these guys enough to say I'm even bringing this truth to you to the very people that hate me I'm gonna make her make friends of my enemies by dying on the cross this is for you too and yet he will still be rejected so if freedom is having no master but yourself Jesus says you're wrong you're mistaken freedom is actually having the right master because if we're to be honest we all serve somebody isn't that the Bob Dylan song you got to serve somebody and maybe the devil or maybe the Lord but you got to serve somebody and I don't know if you've noticed this but when I stop perhaps you do this every once in a while moments of inch reflection and you ask yourself really what am i living for what am i living for am i living for the things that I see other people live for this is the crazy jacked up thing about American culture Western cultures specifically you ever notice how people we make people famous we turn so we we make celebrities out of people who are essentially enslaved to their vices isn't this reality TV like tune in and watch how I spend my millions on myself tune in and watch me manipulate these relationships so I can get married tune in and watch me use my anger to control other people and we we tune in like wow that person seems to be getting what they want what would that be like prison and Jesus says I came to set you free from that I came to set you free from all the things that control you see people think that Christianity is so oppressive and repressive Christianity is the most freeing thing on the planet because it frees you and me from our endless desire the pursuit the lust of the flesh the pursuit of material wealth the pursuit of a career the pursuit of some relationship the pursuit of those things that in the end end up undoing us because they make lousy gods and so a Christian is one who remarkably says you know the day I gave up my autonomy is the day that I actually found my freedom so how do you get this freedom well Jesus says it is found in a person it's not you and it's not me verse 36 he says the Sun will set you free so freedom is having the right master and the right master is Jesus so freedom has to be under the control of Jesus and this gives you fulfillment and joy and Jesus if you're living for anything other than me then eventually you're going to be on done so if you take a moment and you ask yourself that question where what is my real master on this earth and for the vast majority of people we are living for what other people think of us we are living for what other people think of us so other people become essentially the guide to our self-esteem in our value so when all is said and done and you are taking your last breath your true identity as a Christian will either carry you or if you don't have it it will leave you very dissatisfied and unfulfilled to the very end of your life because the Christian understand it's not one of really who I am but who I belong to this is why Jesus says there's a big difference between considering yourself a servant and a son or a daughter so my oldest son has been out of the house now for three years I'll be 22 in September I assure you this when he was growing up in our home he never woke up and had the thought hmm I wonder if if dad's gonna ask me to leave the house today I wonder if today is the day when when I'm I'm I'm I'm told this isn't your place anymore leave he's never once had that thought you know why because he's my son but it's different if you think of yourself as a servant if you're a servant this could be your last day see if you think of yourself as a servant rather than a son in God's house you will act respond and think very differently if you're a servant you're gonna be very very insecure but if you see yourself as a son or a daughter there is tremendous security for as long as my son lived he can always come back home why because he's my son and I'll always treat him that way this is why Jesus also goes on to say verse 35 the slave does not remain in the house forever the son remains forever and the way that you can be made of son or a daughter is by tapping into the right authority that's why Jesus says I'm the son of God I have that authority so as a son you can say this is my house this is where I belong this is my family this is Who I am and you can take comfort in knowing who you belong to now I want you to contrast that with your sins because your sins have a life of their own and don't be misled into thinking that they're not this is a great verse to memorize by the way numbers 32:23 says if you will not do so this is Moses talking to the Reuben nights and get a nice says don't break your promise to God if you will not do so behold you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands but I'll give mine I can bear witness to the truthfulness of this verse scriptures say what's done in darkness will be brought to light and see there are things that we involve ourselves in and we think other people don't know but I trust me it's affecting your character and people see it in you they may not care enough about you to tell you hey this is what we see in you but you can't do it you know what's done in what stays and what's done in Vegas is seen by God that's not a great marketing campaign but that's what that's essentially what he's saying it and it catches up to you and and what and we often hear the argument hey what two individuals doing the privacy of their own home is up to them or what the individual is in private that's so that is so absurd because we live in this thing called a society and what you do and who you are affects your interaction with me and everybody around you come on you want to be set free you got to follow the right master and that master isn't you masters in me Galatians six seven and eight do not be deceived God is not mocked in other words my paraphrased version is some of us just need to stop playing God for the fool don't play God for the fool the wheels of God grinds slowly but they grind exceedingly fine for whatever one says that will he also read for the one who sews to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption but the one who sews to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life don't be deceived into thinking you've gotten away with it when in fact it's known when your sins have a life a life of their own they talk to you I want you to picture the face of the person you talked to the most you got that person's face in your mind unless that face is yours you're probably mistaken we're constantly talking to ourselves we're constantly having this internal dialogue and oftentimes the dialogue goes like this you deserve this you can get away with this nobody's gonna know no but see these are conversations we don't have with anybody else we have let ourselves go ahead and do it and we find ways to justify things that we know are wrong I'm listening to this fascinating podcast from the lady who works for The New Yorker in essentially what she does is she's traveling with Iraqi military and American military and she was with them as they began to take back Mosul from Isis and so she travels with this trash bag and so when Isis is forced to flee buildings in a moment's notice right with the armies pressing and around them they they scatter they run and they leave important documents behind us so she comes in if she picks up all these documents and puts them in a bag and if she gets a it's like a incredible insight to the inner workings of Isis this is she picks up the DVD throws it in the trash bag she takes it back to her place and she's going through all the stuff she puts the DVD and to her horror it's a video of a man who whose hands are tied in front of them and he's blindfolded and there's a tank directly facing him and then that tank proceeds to slowly run him over and then the people singing and they're rejoicing and the narrator says this was a man who disobeyed Isis and he was a tank commander so isn't it right and isn't it fair and isn't it just is this not what Allah would want we run him over with his tank and that's justice and that's right now it's amazing what we tell ourselves what humans are capable of doing to other humans and now and to not just to justify it but to celebrate it because we're telling ourselves this is right this is good that's why Jesus says you need something outside of you to set you free from yourself this is what the Pharisees are like we're free you know we're free no no jesus says you understand the freedom I'm talking is so is bone deep down to your soul that's the kind of freedom I'm talking about and so there are some beautiful consequences to this freedom I'll read you this verse in John chapter 12 just a few verses later a few chapters later John 14 excuse me Jesus says this if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and we will make our home with him which is a beautiful expression to make your home with somebody's another way of saying you're known you're known come to me I will manifest myself to you and you will be known so as Christians we can ask ourselves this question if God isn't real to us then where are we not being obedient right so if you're hearing like wow I wish God would just I wish he was more real in my life the good question is where am I not being obedient and here's how a godly person is described in the Bible often times very different than how we describe it and it's not necessary that we're wrong but the focus is in the right place so for example we may say you know this person this brother he prays constantly he godly or this sister evangelizes everybody she needs she is godly that's not that's actually not how the Bible describes or defines a godly person Psalm 1 1 & 2 says this blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers look at this but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night check this out in other words the mark of a godly person is that he loves to have God tell him what to do loves it he doesn't see it as repressive he loves it why because he knows it leads to life see one of the big myths another big myth that we buy into is this idea that if we just pursue happiness if we just pursue happiness that's the ultimate form of freedom but you do you have your happiness with a you have a co-worker and and that co-worker treats you really really well and all of a sudden you find these these feelings and you're like wow I kind of think I like this co-worker but you're married and so you're thinking well this relationship with this co-worker is gonna make me happy that's the desire I have but boy there's gonna be a lot of hemorrhaging over here on this part I mean just imagine the light the look on my wife's face when she finds out you're the kids that are involved but you know this is gonna make me happy so here's my point like I said earlier you have desires that actually contradict your happiness so if you're living for happiness you're in trouble you're in trouble Jesus says I'll set you free from your own misguided sense of happiness I'll set you free from that it's kinda like God is the author creator sustainer of all I what that means is he has the blueprints he's the architect it's the grand design and so if you start taking out walls and all sin you be like wait a minute these are load-bearing walls what happens to the roof oh it comes crashing in this is why some of our lives are the way they are because we've messed with the blueprints designed by the architect and it's just it's like we take a pairs of scissors that's what disobedience is that's a good way to put it disobedience is like taking a pair of scissors to the blueprints of it I really like this part I'll cut this out I really I'm gonna cut this part and before you know it the roofs I going I'm good at Falls they're like how did this happen oh I see I totally ignored the blueprints how do you know what the blueprints are he gave them to us he gave them to us that's how good god is so here's the thing happy Independence Day but for some of you this might be the day that you truly become independent of yourself by being dependent on God and that will change your life so father this morning we pray that by the power of your spirit as Christians we would come to a deeper fuller understanding that we are sons and daughters we are no longer servants servants of ourselves servants of others but we serve the one who gave his life for us who has our best interest in mind who designed us and created us for meaning and purpose and that there are actually greater freedoms that come when we walk in obedience to this end we pray for our good and for your glory and God's people said amen

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Length: 37min 4sec (2224 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 03 2018