[0:00] May we begin our worship of God by singing to His name in the Sing Psalms version of Psalm 36. You'll find that on page 44.
[0:15] Singing from verse 5 down to verse 10. Sing Psalms, Psalm 36, from verse 5.
[0:27] Your steadfast love is great, O Lord. It reaches heaven high. Your faithfulness is wonderful, extending to the sky.
[0:38] Your righteousness is very great, like mountains high and steep. Your justice is like ocean depths, both man and beast you keep. How precious is your steadfast love.
[0:52] What confidence it brings. Both high and low find shelter in the shadow of your wings. We'll sing from verse 5 down to the end of verse 10 to God's praise.
[1:08] Your steadfast love is great, O Lord. Let's stand. Let's stand.
[1:20] Your steadfast love is great, O Lord. It reaches heaven high.
[1:32] Your faithfulness is wonderful, extending to the sky.
[1:48] Your righteousness is very great, like mountains high and steep.
[2:04] Your justice is like ocean death, both man and beast to keep.
[2:22] My precious is your steadfast love, what confidence it brings.
[2:39] Both high and low find shelter in the shadow of your wings.
[2:56] They feast within your house and drink from streams of pure delight.
[3:12] For with you is the source of life, in your light is delight.
[3:29] To those who know you as their God, your steadfast love and heart.
[3:47] Maintain your righteousness to those of pure and upright heart.
[4:10] May we join together one another in prayer. Let us approach God with prayer. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for this day that you have given us again.
[4:25] This opportunity to come and worship your name. And sing praises to you. And sing of that steadfast love that endures.
[4:36] And under the shelter of your wings, for both high and low, find a shelter and shadow under it. Lord, whoever we are, whoever we are, whoever we are, whoever we are, and whatever status we hold in society, we are not distanced from the God of salvation.
[4:55] We are not distanced from Jesus the Christ. Jesus who went to the cross to die for sinners.
[5:07] For we are all sinners. When we look within the depths of our hearts, we see the sin lurking and lying there.
[5:18] And often we try to hide it. And we are ashamed to speak of it. But there are times that it is greatly evident.
[5:30] Especially when we come before you. One who is so holy. One who is so upright. And one who does demand all reverence from us.
[5:44] So Lord, as we approach you today, pray that we would do so with a humble spirit. Acknowledging that we are indeed in need of you.
[5:55] And are found wanting before the name of God. We are deserving to be punished.
[6:08] For we have sinned and fallen short. But thanks be to our God, who graciously sent his Son. The Son that came and acquired salvation for us.
[6:24] And the Spirit that has left us an application and working within us. So we ask that your Spirit be with us.
[6:35] As we gather in your name. That it would be a guide to our minds and our thoughts. That it would be an opening to our ears.
[6:45] Removing the scales from our eyes. That hide the wonder and glory of God from us. Let that Spirit enable us to see Christ Jesus.
[6:59] In all the fullness of his love he had for his people. And how he came. As that great Lamb that was to be sacrificed. That great Redeemer.
[7:10] That would give us freedom in our lives. Freedom from slavery. Freedom from bondage. And freedom to enjoy his privileges to us.
[7:25] Lord, may we question where we stand before you this day as we gather. Lord, may we pray that the power of your word would go out amongst this town.
[7:41] Out amongst this nation. Convicting and converting. Applying it to men that they may see their need. And illuminate by the power of pure light.
[7:54] Who they are before God. Lord, we pray for those who are bereft this day. And those who feel the ongoing loss of bereavement.
[8:09] Pray you be their comfort. Pray they know your spirit. Pray they turn to your word. To give them that assurance of your presence with them.
[8:21] Lord, we remember those who preach your word. And we particularly remember Donald as he prepares for his licensing. We pray for him tonight as he leads our worship.
[8:34] Pray that you would reassure him. And give him every encouragement in his work for your cause. As he has committed his life to be a preacher of the good news of Jesus Christ.
[8:47] Lord, we pray for more men and women. To proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we pray for men that will come forth and stand.
[8:59] As preachers and leaders of the gospel in this nation. And in this day. Lord, we do not know how white the fields are for harvest.
[9:10] But we are reminded that we must continue to pray for laborers. Who will reap the benefits of the harvest. And sow the seed even if it be sown in tears.
[9:22] But we pray that every seed sown with tears. Would return. Would have him return with bountiful joy.
[9:34] As we snow in the sands. Lord, we pray next door for the children that gather. And we pray for their meeting that they will have with Muriel. We ask that all the technology would work.
[9:47] And that they would enjoy their time together. We pray for these young people. We pray that they would gain an understanding of who Jesus is.
[10:00] What he has done for them. And what he can do for them in their lives. As they look forward with great anticipation of what their life shall be.
[10:11] And all their desires. And all their wants. And the excitement of youth. We pray that they would set God before them in all these things. For we learn as we grow older.
[10:23] That we can have our visions. We can have our desires. But if they are not in line with the will of God. Then we will come to nothing. And we end up wasting our energy.
[10:36] And fighting and opposing against the will of God. So let us be and learn to be submitting to you. Who is over all things.
[10:49] The one who does order light of day. And the nature and seasons of this world. That we would acknowledge you as such. The great creator of all.
[11:00] Let us stand in awe of you today. We pray that as we come to your word. You would open it to us. We pray that your spirit would guide us through it.
[11:11] And take us. And apply it to everyone that is gathered here. Even in the reading of your word. How precious it is to us. And how vast a treasure it is.
[11:24] To the believers of your works and your name. So Lord we ask. Be with us in our praise. Be with us in our worship of you.
[11:37] As we gather together. Help us to see. Help us to understand. And know the privileges of what it is.
[11:49] To be in the family of God. And secured therefore in that family. By the works of Jesus Christ. Nothing of what we have done ourselves.
[12:00] But all to the praise of that name. Who is our Savior. And we ask these things in his name. Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[12:11] I would like to say a quick word. To the younger ones. Who are here. In Sunday school. That there may be some watching online.
[12:22] I want today to. Say a little bit about families. And we'll do so in the service. And hopefully it'll tie. It'll tie in with our service later on. But.
[12:36] All of us. Have a family. And. We'll all be familiar. With a family tree. Usually it'll start with. One person at the bottom.
[12:47] And it'll grow. They'll have. That person would have a child. Or two children. And then. That. Their daughter or sons. Would have more children. And this. Just keeps going.
[12:58] And going. And going. And going. And it grows into this. What they call a family tree. But this tree. If we took it all the way back. From ourselves. And we followed it all the way back.
[13:11] It would lead us. Back to Adam. And that would be the root of the tree. Adam. But we know that Adam. Sinned. And in a sense.
[13:22] This tree. Has been spoiled. By sin. Ever since. That first sin. Of Adam. This tree. Will die.
[13:34] This tree. Has something. In it. That will. Cause it to die. This sin. Will make it. Die. But in this tree.
[13:44] There is. One. Element. Of hope. Within this tree. There was. One man. Who came. Jesus. Christ.
[13:56] And Jesus. Gives. That. Every person. Within that. Family tree. A hope. To another.
[14:06] Family. Because it says. In first. John. That. See. What kind. Of love. The father. Has given. To us. That we. Should be called.
[14:18] Children. Of God. And so. We are. The father. Has loved us. That we would be called. The children. Of God. And is willing.
[14:30] To adopt us. From this. Tree. That. Is full of sin. And take us. Into this. New family. And call us.
[14:40] His. Child. That we would become. A children. Of God. It's amazing. That we. Could have. Such a privilege.
[14:52] And we had the picture. Of the tree. To begin with. But now. The picture. That comes. Is. It's not one. That grows. From one person. To the next.
[15:02] And grows. And grows. And grows. We're all children. If we believe. In Jesus Christ. It's like. God is in the center. We become. Children. Of God. And there is a line.
[15:13] Directly. To your name. To anyone. Who believes. In Jesus. Jesus's name. Is there. And all the believers. Names. Are directly.
[15:25] Linked. Out. From God. Because we become. Children. Of God. And maybe. We could say. Rather than. It being a tree. It becomes. Like. A ring. And there will be.
[15:35] Just. All these names. Of the believers. Of God. Coming out. From his. Name. And the center. Of who he is.
[15:47] And we know. That rings. I want a ring here. And we know. That a ring. Symbolizes. Is a promise. And that is what. The believer has. A promise.
[15:59] To come. That. God will be faithful. To every believer. God will not leave. His children. God will be with them.
[16:10] Throughout. Your experiences. And for all eternity. The ring. Symbolizes. An eternal. Promise. But they are due.
[16:20] And that's Jesus. The jewel. Is Jesus. In the ring. So. We grow. And we have our families here.
[16:32] But Jesus. Provides for us. Another family. That we can be. Call. God. Our father. And what a privilege. That is. For us.
[16:43] So I pray. That all of us. Understand. What it is. To be. A believer. In Jesus. And the privilege. That it is. To be part.
[16:53] Of that family. And that we would see. Jesus Christ. As a jewel. To that life. That will come. For us. So we'll say the Lord's prayer.
[17:04] Together. Our father. Which art in heaven. Hallowed. Be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. On earth. As it is in heaven.
[17:16] Give us this day. Our daily bread. And forgive us. Our debts. As we forgive us. Debtors. Lead us not. Into temptation. But deliver us.
[17:26] From evil. For thine. Is the kingdom. The power. And the glory. Forever. Amen. If we could turn. To the word of God.
[17:37] And we'll take a reading. From the gospel of. John. Chapter 8. The gospel of John. Chapter 8. And we'll read from.
[17:55] We've got it down as verse 31. But I think we'll read from verse 28. Amen. Gospel of John.
[18:11] Chapter 8. From verse 28. And just before I start reading. We have. You may see it in your Bible. That there is a section there. I am the light of the world. Jesus. Jesus is explaining to the people.
[18:24] Here. Within the courts of the temple. Who he is. And trying to justify that. Explain. And justify that. Who he is.
[18:34] He has come from his father. And his father bears witness to him. And every point. The Pharisees are questioning him on it. You know. Why? Why? Why?
[18:45] All the way through. Do you believe this? And we don't believe you. And then. We can pick up our reading here. At verse 28. Let us hear God's word.
[18:56] So Jesus said to them. When you have lifted up the son of man. Then you will know that I am he. And that I do nothing on my own authority.
[19:08] But speak just as the father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone. For I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
[19:20] As he was saying these things. Many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him. If you abide in my word. You are truly my disciples.
[19:34] And you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free. They answered him. We are offspring of Abraham. And have never been enslaved to anyone.
[19:45] How is it that you can say. You will become free. Jesus answered them. Truly, truly. I say to you. Everyone who commits sin.
[19:56] Is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free. You will be free indeed.
[20:07] I know that you are the offspring of Abraham. Yet you seek to kill me. Because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father.
[20:18] And you do what you have heard from your father. They answered him. Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them. If you were Abraham's children.
[20:31] You would be doing what Abraham did. 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.
[20:44] You are doing what your father did. They said to him. We were not born of sexual immorality. But have one father. Even God.
[20:56] Jesus said to them. If God were your father. You would love me. For I came from God. And I am here. I came not of my own accord.
[21:09] But he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil.
[21:21] And your will is to do your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning. And has nothing to do with the truth. Because there is no truth in him.
[21:32] When he lies. He speaks out of his own character. For he is a liar. And the father of lies. But because I tell the truth.
[21:43] You do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth. Why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God.
[21:55] Hear the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them. Is that you are not of God. Amen. May the reading of God's word be blessed to us.
[22:07] May we continue in our singing praise to God. By singing in Psalm 37 of the Scottish Psalter. You will find that on page 255.
[22:24] Psalm 37 of the Scottish Psalter. On page 255. We will sing from verse 26. Down to the end of verse 34.
[22:38] He is ever merciful and lends. His seed is blessed therefore. Depart from evil and do good. And dwell forevermore.
[22:50] For God loves judgment and his sins. Leaves not in any case. They are kept ever. But cut off shall be the sinner's race. The just inherit shall the land.
[23:02] And ever in it dwell. The just man's mouth doth wisdom speak. His tongue doth judgment tell. We will sing down to the end of verse 34.
[23:16] He is ever merciful and lends. His seed is blessed therefore. We will stand and sing to God's praise. He is ever merciful and lends.
[23:35] His seed is blessed therefore. Depart from evil and do good.
[23:47] And dwell forevermore. And dwell forevermore. For God loves judgment.
[23:59] And his saints leaves not in any case. They are kept ever.
[24:10] They are kept ever. But cut off shall be the sinner's race.
[24:23] The just inherit shall the land. And ever in it dwell.
[24:36] The just prosper doth wisdom speak. His tongue doth judgment tell.
[24:51] His heart the Lord is of his heart. His heart slide not away.
[25:05] The wicked man doth watch the just. And seeketh him to stay.
[25:20] Yet him the Lord will not forsake. Nor leave him in his hands.
[25:36] The righteous will be not condemned. When he in judgment stands.
[25:51] Wait on the Lord and keep his way. And the exalt shall lead.
[26:07] The earth to inherit. When cut off the wicked.
[26:18] The wicked thou shalt see. If we turn back to the passage we read together.
[26:31] Together. And for our text today. We will look at verse 38. Verse 38.
[26:42] I speak of what I have seen with my father. And you do what you have heard from your father.
[26:54] Disputes always arise from differences. And often these things can be minor.
[27:06] Unimportant. Unimportant. Silly. Little things that we get. A bee in our bonnet about. And any conflict as we know. Has two sides to the story.
[27:18] And you know yourself. You can hear one side. And it can seem. Quite justifiably right. Until you hear the other side.
[27:29] Disputes can get difficult. And they can be messy. Especially when it comes to families. And that is usually the last thing we would ever want to happen.
[27:43] But unfortunately it does. And family truths. Whatever that may mean. May be spoken of. And cause great offence or hurt to either side.
[27:57] And in most disagreements. We have someone who is usually right. With their opinion. And someone else with another opinion. Who is also right.
[28:09] And that is funnily the truth of it. And the problem is that each side thinks of themselves as being right. Hence the disagreement. But really.
[28:21] And it is not always the case. And I want to say. Maybe I want to be careful about how I put this across. But often we can be wrong ourselves.
[28:33] Or each person can be wrong somewhere along the line. In our understanding. Even if it is just how we approach the person. Or how we deal with the situation.
[28:45] We can often be wrong in how we present ourselves. Or present what we believe to be right. And even it may point back to something.
[28:57] Far deeper within ourselves. Like greed. Or lust. Or pride. Or something along those lines. When we really look at what is wrong. But I am not here to offer advice on family quarrels.
[29:12] I prefer to avoid that if at all possible. But we can in fact observe in our reading. A disagreement within the family of Israel. Or maybe it would be easier if we understood.
[29:26] A disagreement within the visible church of their day. Jesus is talking with the Jews. There are Pharisees within here.
[29:37] Possibly Sadducees. Different groups. But he is talking to them within the courts of the temple. That is clear in verse 20. We didn't read it. But it says that he spoke in the treasury.
[29:49] As he taught in the temple. And no one arrested him. Because his hour had not yet come. So he is speaking within the grounds of the temple. And he is causing division amongst these people.
[30:00] And some receive what he says. Some reject it. But this is no surprise. Because this was expected to happen. And we can remember the words that are recorded in Luke 12.
[30:13] Where it says. Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No. I tell you. But rather division. For from now on. One house. There will be five divided.
[30:25] Three against two. Two against three. They will be divided. Father against son. Son against father. And so on. Jesus causes division. By what he taught.
[30:36] And by who he said he was. But this disagreement. Is different in a sense. Because you are disagreeing. Or they are disagreeing.
[30:47] With not a sinful man. But son of God. And if truth be told. He is always right. And he always speaks truth.
[30:58] So we essentially have a non-starter. To begin with. On the path that they are proceeding with. But the phallicies just don't accept it. They don't accept Jesus has been right. They oppose everything.
[31:09] How he has been teaching them. Everything has been said in the chapter. And so he gives them almost this. Hard hitting family truth.
[31:20] As it were. But even in that. We see their pride of. The men coming through. To prove themselves. And who they are. And disprove. What Jesus.
[31:31] Is trying to tell them. And the truth of Jesus's word. And we know that that pride. Would ultimately grow. Within their hearts. And the hostility would grow. Within them.
[31:42] And they would refuse. To hear anything. That Jesus would say. And they would seek. Ultimately. To silence him. By crucifying him.
[31:54] The truth that Jesus declares. Is that they are of different parentage. In this passage. Your father is not my father. My father is God. Your father is the devil.
[32:06] I cannot imagine this went down well with them. Rather than it being a disagreement within a family. What Jesus is actually saying. Is that they are of different families.
[32:19] There is the family of the saved. And the family of the slaves. Two points that we can use. To distinguish our time together today. As we bring into focus.
[32:31] The verses from 31. Down to verse 38. We'll follow through in these verses. So. And we'll see. And relate. The family of the saved.
[32:43] And the family of the slaves. As we do so. And we'll begin with the family of the saved. Because this is where. Jesus begins. And speaks with first. And an understanding of our context.
[32:57] You can see. That in verse 30. As he was saying these things. Many believed in him. The people had believed. Some.
[33:08] Had believed what Jesus spoke. What he had been teaching them. With the familiar words. That we know of. As being the light of the world. He continues discussing.
[33:20] With the doubtful Pharisees. Not arguing back and forth. But he is proving who he is. And telling them the truth. That the son of man. Must be lifted up.
[33:32] Before they're really going to grasp this. And that is of itself. A thought for us. The necessity that Christ. Would submit himself to the cross.
[33:44] The son of God. So that we would know him. There are many ways. That he could have revealed himself to us. But we don't gain the clarity of it.
[33:56] Until he was crucified. It's a wonder to us. So we. So we. So we can understand.
[34:08] In that crucifixion. Who he is to us today. But it was also meant for them. So they would understand. In their time. Who he was.
[34:19] And likewise. That man that died at Calvary. So that they would believe. As as much. For you. To believe. In him. That we would become.
[34:32] Like the centurion. That. Saw. How he breathed his last. And the light. Of the world. Was revealed.
[34:43] To him. At that moment. To confess. That surely. This man. Was the son of God. See the cross. Of Christ.
[34:54] Is a place. Of revelation. As it is. Still today. But also. One. That causes. Great. Division. And in our passage.
[35:06] What is it. That Christ. Says. To the family. Of the saved. To the believers. Let us read. Verse 31. So Jesus. Said to the Jews.
[35:17] Who had believed. In him. If you abide. In my word. You are truly. My disciples. And you will know truth. And the truth. Will set you free. And the first thing.
[35:29] This is applicable. To them. Also. As it is. For us. Today. Just as much. As we were saying. What Jesus says here. Is a timeless. Truth.
[35:40] Because it is a. A family. Trait. Of those. Who are saved. That they abide. In the word. Of God. Or they remain. Within his word. And the Christian.
[35:52] Should always be someone. Who dwells. In the word. Of God. In the word. But it doesn't. Necessarily mean. Because you do. Read the word. Of God.
[36:03] Every day. That you are. A Christian. Doesn't qualify. You. Instantly. To be a Christian. Just because. You read. We must believe. What has been spoken.
[36:14] To us. Believe in the Christ. Who speaks. To us. From. Trust ourselves. To that word. So that the believer. Today. Comes to.
[36:25] Abide. In it. To dwell on it. To remain in it. To pray over it. To seek. And to search it out. And to know it.
[36:36] As a living word. To them. That it is alive. To them. And the more. We abide. In it. The more. We come to embrace it. And love it.
[36:47] And treasure it. The word. Abide. Can actually be. Rephrased. To mean. To be in a state. That begins. And continues.
[36:58] To be in a state. That begins. And continues. In that state. It's not a state. That begins. And stops. The believer. Abides.
[37:09] In it. In his word. And it portrays. An ongoing. Trait. Within this family. That continues. With no end. In it. In the mind.
[37:20] And you might be here. As a believer. And I'm saying. Well. I don't feel like. The word of God. Speaks to me. Like it did. I'm reading it. But it seems. To be separate.
[37:31] To me. I don't feel like. It's directing me. I feel so distant. From it. But you can confess. That you know it. To be the word of God.
[37:43] It just seems like. It's become so distant. To you. And maybe. This is exactly. What we need. To hear. That we need.
[37:54] To abide. In this word. We need to come back. To this word. And not just to read it. But to know that. Abiding in it. You can abide. On a verse. For a very long time.
[38:06] Especially if you. Read something. Like Romans 8. I always remember. The story of. Billy Bray. And. He used to work. Down the mines. The guys.
[38:17] That used to work. With them. We didn't believe it. And they asked. Where are you reading? And he would say. Romans 8. And then they came back to him. Weeks later. And asked. Where are you reading?
[38:28] I said. Romans 8. And they went. You're still reading. The same chapter. You were reading. Wicks ago. It's a passage. It's a passage. As you know. It's so full.
[38:39] And he really. Would have been. Meditating on it. And dwelling on it. And finding the riches in it. And taking the time. To read it. But on the other hand. We can be people.
[38:50] That can just read Romans 8. And not take anything from it. We need to ask. Prayerfully. That that word. Is opened. Up. To us. We need. To dwell on it.
[39:02] Abide in it. And like I said. Even a verse. Can do us more good. Than a chapter read. Even if we come back. To the words. That Christ himself spoke. To read them slowly.
[39:14] And what he sees. To prayerfully. Dwell on it. And I believe. That he. Will be one. That will restore you. With a love.
[39:25] For his word. Again. If we read on it. If we read over it. We pray over it. And we meditate over it. I believe. That God.
[39:36] Will restore us. For he himself says. That all that he has said. All these things. Are to keep you. From falling away. For he has said.
[39:47] All these things. To keep you. From falling away. John 16. Verse 1. And maybe that's why. It says if. In our passage.
[39:58] Verse 31. Verse 31. So Jesus said. To the Jews. Who believe in him. If you abide. In my word. That puts a condition. If. And the condition is.
[40:10] If. You. It places a weight. In our laps. If. You. And it evokes. An element. Of uncertainty.
[40:21] At the same time. As placing that responsibility. Because. He knew. It would be hard. He knew. It would be hard.
[40:32] For us. To continue. To be faithful. And. But if we continue. And if we are faithful. And if we abide. In his word. Then we will truly.
[40:45] Be his disciples. There is no going back. It was him. Who said. No one puts his hand. To the plough. And looks back. As fit.
[40:56] For the kingdom of God. We must press on. And go on. With God. And those of us. Who sit. At the Lord's table. Are abiding. With Christ.
[41:09] Come what may. In our lives. We. Are determined. To go on. With God. Whatever. May come. And believe.
[41:20] That he will provide. For us. And meet our needs. Along the way. But it is fundamental. For us. To remember. That our abiding. Is not. If we are strong enough.
[41:32] If we are good enough. If we don't make mistakes. Or even. If we doubt ourselves. Otherwise. There would be none there. There would be none.
[41:44] Qualified. To be a disciple. A disciple. It is only. If. If. You abide. In my word. Because. Jesus knew. That word.
[41:55] Would be. The strengthening. Of his disciples. And overcoming. Their weaknesses. And. Is. In a roundabout way. The actual strength.
[42:06] Of our abiding. It identifies. As. As being set apart. But also. Strengthens us. To be set apart. If we abide. In his word. It identifies us.
[42:18] As this. Different. Family. But it also. Gives us. A strength. To. Maintain. And. Continue.
[42:29] As. A member. That. But. Even. In these verses. We can find. Confidence. And assurance. Because. If.
[42:40] Which is conditional. To us. If. We. Then it says. That there. Will be. A condition. Of certainty. You will know. The truth.
[42:51] And the truth. Will. Set. You free. Being a part. Of this family. Guarantees. You. The truth. And. What is true.
[43:02] Is a great. Blessing. Because. Then you can. Identify. What's false. And the believer. Is a. Continual. Growing. And knowing.
[43:13] Of truth. By abiding. Upon. Him. Who is. All truth. And that. Grows. Within us. So we see. That truth.
[43:24] And knowledge. Develop. For he. Will. Continue. Of. And of. Who he. Is. To each. Of us.
[43:35] When we. Abide. In his word. And secondly. It sets. Us free. We begin. To understand. And increasingly. Grow. In our knowledge.
[43:46] Of God. As creator. As a God. Loving. Enough. To let his own son. Come. As the redeemer. To cover. His sins. To give.
[43:57] The believer. Liberty. There is a freedom. Even. When we remember. Who God is. God is in control. Of everything.
[44:08] That gives the believer. A freedom. That. The weight. Is not. Really. Upon them. Because they have a shepherd. Who directs them.
[44:19] And guides them. And takes that weight. For them. Especially. In times. When we. Have no control. The shepherd. Guides.
[44:30] Us. Through these times. And Matthew. Henry. Writes. That the truth. Makes us. Free. From our spiritual. Enemies.
[44:41] Free. In the service. Of God. And free. To. The privileges. Of sons. Read that again. The truth. The truth.
[44:52] Makes us. Free. From our spiritual enemies. Free. In the service. Of God. And free. To. The privileges. Of sons. There are benefits.
[45:03] And privileges. Of this truth. The truth. Will set. You free. But the world. Will try and trap you.
[45:15] In many ways. One step. Down the wrong path. Can lead us. Into. A mess. And we may say that.
[45:26] Of people. That you know. They took a wrong path. In their life. And they went down. That path. And. We don't like to say. But it's.
[45:37] It's led them in the wrong ways. When it could have been. Someone else. We can easily. We can easily fall into the traps. Of the devil.
[45:49] And. It may not be that we choose. To take a. A wrong step. In our life. Or we are led into a wrong step. But it may even be. Even such thing.
[46:01] As. The world of work. That we. Can be trapped. By that. And trapped. By businesses. Because business makes us. Slaves to.
[46:13] Demands. Slaves to. Pressures. Slaves to meeting deadlines. And we need to be careful of that. Especially if we are in the world of business. But we. There are many.
[46:24] Many ways. Which the world. Can try and trap us. And the devil. Will try us at most. But we are accounted. Sons.
[46:36] Because he is. Our father. Our father. We are welcome. Into this family. Because he is our father. And the most valuable thing. A father. Can give a child. Is time. And we often forget this.
[46:49] Within our home lives. And within our spiritual lives. But the truth is that. This. Family. Who abides. With God.
[47:01] Will have great privileges. It will be their greatest blessing. If we. Abide. As believers. With our father. And in his word. And in his word. We.
[47:12] Will be greatly. Blessed. By it. And see the blessing of it. You may not. Value the time. Your father gives you. As a child. But you will see the blessing of it.
[47:24] I pray. As you grow older. But there are many. Out with this family. Who questioned. What Jesus was saying. Who opposed and dismissed. All his lies.
[47:35] All his lies. And the truth that he said. He didn't tell lies. But the truth. His truth. As lies. And they. Say that. Well.
[47:46] I believe what I believe. You believe what you want. And that's. That's. That's. That's. That's the message of today. I believe what I want. And you believe what you want.
[47:57] And in the end. Everyone asks. Well. Because. It's so. Muddled up. It's so. Opinionated. That's what Pilate ended up asking. Even when truth stared him in the face.
[48:10] We. Cannot distinguish what actual truth is. Because. Everyone has their own opinion of it. And in a way. The knowledge of God is lost. The knowledge is good. And the knowledge is lost.
[48:21] So I pray. For everyone here. That we may come to know. The truth. And the freedom. The knowledge. Of God. And be.
[48:32] One. Who desires. To be a part of the family. To believe in every word that Jesus Christ has spoken. Because he is one that will.
[48:43] Accept you. Whoever you are. And whatever state we are in. He will welcome you. Into his family. So that's the family of the saved.
[48:55] And let us briefly look at the family of the family. The slaves. How do they respond to Jesus? In verse 33. They answered him. We are offspring of Abraham.
[49:07] We have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you can say. You will become free. Remember we are in the courts of the temple. And there are many Jews listening to Jesus. Here.
[49:18] And that they is understood. To be this group. But of those who did not believe. Those who questioned it. They that questioned it. And this is most likely to be the majority of the people.
[49:32] They know they are born of blood. They know their family lineage. And they have placed their trust in this. They have been questioning and arguing with Jesus. On every point since he began teaching.
[49:44] In verse 12. And their pride comes through. In opposition. Of every word. Claiming that. Well we are already a free nation. We are set apart. And born into the promises of Abraham.
[49:56] And it is almost as Jesus. Turns at this point now. And says. Look I have been trying to teach you the truth. The whole time. But you keep opposing it.
[50:08] So let me tell it to you. All the more clearly. Maybe not an approach of anger. But definitely an approach. Of instruction. To these Jews.
[50:20] And he begins. By saying. Truly truly. And this we saw last week. We saw three truly truly's last week. And it is of vital importance. And it is an emphasis for us to listen.
[50:32] To what he is about to say. So what does he say. Truly truly. I say to you. Everyone who commits sin. Is a slave to sin. And the slave does not remain in the house forever.
[50:44] The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free. You will be free indeed. And in a sense. We are all slaves to sin since the fall.
[50:57] In our natural state. As we are born. We are corrupted by sin. And we all lived lives. To a degree. As slaves to sin. And only the believer.
[51:09] Learns by the truth. And the knowledge. The outworking of the spirit. In his life. How to resist that sinful nature within us. But the others.
[51:20] Who abide. Without. God's word. Are open practitioners of sin. Doing and making sin. But they are also.
[51:31] Led. And ruled. By it. And they become slaves. To it. And I don't know. You might be sitting here. And thinking. I am not a believer.
[51:42] In the Lord Jesus Christ. But I am not a slave to sin. Maybe that's what you're thinking. I'll go. I'll go and meet my dog. I have a dog called Milo. And he will.
[51:53] Generally. Just put it about. Doing his own thing. Most of the time. He's sleeping. But if I were to take him outside. And to tie him up with a rope. He wouldn't like it.
[52:04] I know he wouldn't like it. Because he's not free. So he will fight against it. He will. He would probably try and break it. In one way. But.
[52:15] The best thing he would probably do. Is chew it. And I believe he would chew through it. No bother. Until he would get free. He would chew that rope. Otherwise if he couldn't.
[52:26] I believe he would just give up. And lay down. And go to sleep. But so rather than tying him up. For example. I took a dog biscuit in my hand.
[52:39] One of these wee biscuits that he loves. And if I had one in my hand. And he would follow my hand. Anywhere I went. If I was inside.
[52:50] Outside. If I put my hand under a blanket. I could bury my hand in the ground. And he would follow my hand. If I twill it up. He would jump for it. If I put it down.
[53:01] He would lay down. But then if I gave it to him. What would he expect? Another. He would expect another biscuit. If I gave it to him. And I've done two different things with the dog.
[53:13] I've tied him up. And I've held a biscuit in my hand. Now. I hope you see where I'm going with this. Where is Milo in the greater bondage?
[53:26] Where is he enslaved more so? And we can see that. Well the rope seems to hold him. More in bondage. When he is tied. But the truth is.
[53:38] That the rope only binds him. The biscuit. Holds him in bondage entirely. He is enticed by it. He is consumed in getting it.
[53:50] And he will do anything it takes to have it. I could do anything I wanted with him. While holding this. And when he eats it. When I give it to him. He comes back for more.
[54:02] And the whole process could start again. I could keep doing this all day and all week. But it would eventually kill him. The biscuits wouldn't do him any good. Now you see. We are like the dog.
[54:13] The man with the biscuit. Is the devil. And the biscuit is our sins. And our sinful distractions. The thing about the sin. Is that we love it. In our natural state.
[54:25] We chase after all sorts. Money. Carriers. Houses. Cars. Kitchens. Computers. Phones. Shoes. Clothes.
[54:36] Whatever it is. The devil knows exactly what each of us want. And will put it before each of us. Whatever we chase after. We are guilty of being enticed by him.
[54:48] We end up being slaves to sin. Without it actually feeling like it's restraining us. Tell someone they are chasing the wind.
[54:59] Or they are slaves to sin. And they might laugh at you. You'll never convince him he is a slave. And you know what. If you ever wanted a slave.
[55:10] To be the best slave you ever had. You would want him to think he was free. And the devil knows that. And the devil is cunning in how he outworks his distractions.
[55:24] And placing sin before us. He asks you as a slave to sin. But he thinks that you are free. Just like the dog. The dog's not tied.
[55:35] But the dog is completely enticed by what I hold. The devil entices us, I believe, in a similar manner. Believing we are free. But actually, we are fully enticed by what he does.
[55:49] And it is the son who sets us free from it. I have run out of time. It is the son who sets us free from it. The son, capital S.
[56:03] He is the one who has authority to set us free from whatever household we are in. We can become sons of God. But it is only the son who can declare us free.
[56:15] And he comes with hard truths at the end of the passage. Saying, we are of different fathers to the Jews. Those who believe and those who disbelieve. And he makes a division in the Jewish nation.
[56:29] He says that you make no room for the word in your life. You make no room for it. The believer abides in it.
[56:40] But the person who does not believe makes no room for it in their heart. Jesus has been the dividing truth between the believer and the unbeliever. And he will be the dividing truth in eternity for all of us.
[56:57] And we must ask ourselves, in what family are we of? You must question yourself and ask, does the world hold me captive in slavery? Am I being led by the devil?
[57:11] Am I rejecting family privileges that God has placed before me? Even this day as you gather and the word is set before you. But he says to all, Come to me, those who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
[57:32] If the son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. And family truths can be hard. But Jesus' message is for our good, whatever it means for us. He is the one who can set us free.
[57:45] And he is the one that will adopt us into a family that is of love. And he will be a father to us. Amen. May these thoughts be blessed to us today.
[57:57] We will conclude by singing to God's praise in Psalm 100. Psalm 100 in the Scottish Psalter, the traditional version.
[58:09] That is on page 362. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
[58:23] Himself with mirth, his praise forth tell. Come ye before him and rejoice. That is the prayer of all those who are gathered here. That all people on earth that dwell would sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
[58:39] Himself with mirth, his praise forth tell. Come ye before him and rejoice. As he is one that reveals himself to us. And that we know that he is the Lord and God.
[58:52] He is the Lord God indeed. And he is a God who shall from age to age endure. May we sing praise to him who is our father.
[59:05] The one who has firmly stood. The one who will from age to age endure for all time. So let us stand to sing.
[59:17] All people on earth do dwell. All people on earth do dwell.
[59:30] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him with mirth, his praise forth tell.
[59:52] Come ye before him and rejoice. Know that the Lord, his God with King, The Lord lives not in thee.
[60:08] With thy downbeat he did us make. We are his fault, his love thus be.
[60:25] And for his sheep he doth us take. O enter then his gates with praise.
[60:44] Approach with joy his courts unto. Praise God and bless this name always.
[61:02] For it is simply so to do. For by the Lord our God is good.
[61:20] His mercy is forever sure. It's truth that all times firmly stood.
[61:38] And shall from age to age endure. Our Father in heaven we thank you for this time of worship.
[61:53] We pray that we would all consider ourselves before you. And ask what family we are a part of. And who leads us and where our focus is. And where our minds abide.
[62:05] Lord be with us as we part. Be with those who lead the worship later. And pray that we would know your blessing through it. Forgive us our sins we pray. And all this in Jesus' name we ask.
[62:18] Amen.