Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us at this time.
Father, your word reveals things which are hard for us, and we confess before you, Father,
that we want to try to solve these things by our own categories and in our own way
and in our own strength and not just listen to your word and believe it and to trust it
and to have it bear fruit in our lives.
So, Father, we ask for a deep work of your Holy Spirit in our lives as we open your word.
And, Father, we want to lift Jesus high this morning here, and we want to lift him high in our daily lives.
We want to lift him high in this city, and we want to lift him high to the ends of the earth.
So, Father, please be gracious and kind.
Pour out your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please be seated.
So, occasionally I do this with a sermon.
I give a bit of a warning.
I guess I should maybe have had a bit of an R symbol up there because it's a bit of a restricted sermon,
not because I'm going to talk about sexual stuff, but I'm going to talk about the devil.
So, if you're a guest here this morning or you've been here for a while and you're a bit of a seeker,
I just want to let you know we're going to talk about the devil because it's sort of in the scripture text.
And I know that when I say in Canada that we're going to talk about the devil,
there's sort of nowadays there's sort of two types of reactions.
For many Canadians to say that I'm going to talk about the devil,
I have just revealed that I am an anti-intellectual kook.
I've just revealed that to you folks.
For many Canadians, that's what it would be.
The eyes would roll.
They'd go, oh, good grief.
And for others, increasing numbers, maybe even the majority of Canadians,
they'd say, well, that's interesting.
I wonder what he has to say.
I wonder if it fits in with how I understand demons and devils to work.
So, wherever you are, that's what we're going to look at today amongst other things.
Of course, it's not the main thing in the text, but it's a big part of the text.
It's a bit of an iceberg or an elephant in the text, and we're going to look at it.
We're not going to avoid it.
So, if you have your Bibles, let's see.
I mean, it doesn't jump right into talking about the devil right away, but it's going to get there.
So, if you have your Bibles, turn in them to John 8, verse 31.
John 8, verse 31.
And here's how...
Remember, when I was introducing this text before I read it, I said,
this is part of a longer conversation of Jesus.
And so, some of the things that are in the text, we sort of talked about last week,
but John 8, verse 31, here's how it goes.
So, Jesus said to the Jews, it's both the leaders and the people who had believed him.
And notice, by the way, it says believed him, not believed in him, but believed him.
They've started to believe some of the things he's said,
but they haven't quite reached the point of having a trust in him.
It's all the way through John's Gospel.
It's a very subtle difference, but it's a very important difference.
Since I've introduced the topic of demons in another place in the Bible,
it says, Jesus says, the demons believe in God and tremble.
They don't have a saving belief, but they have a knowledge.
So, this is the way here it's been referred to.
There's some knowledge that what Jesus is saying is true.
So, I'll read it again, verse 31.
So, Jesus said to the Jewish people who had believed him,
if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
And we're just going to camp there just for a few seconds.
Andrew, if you could put that up on the screen.
It's a really important verse.
It's one of those verses that Christians should try to memorize if they possibly can.
In a very interesting way, by memorizing the scripture,
you're abiding and continuing in the word, right?
It's also part of how you just meditate upon the word
and have it try to come into your life.
Some of your versions will say not abide, but continue.
And both are very good words to translate the original idea in the original language.
Abide sort of means to live there.
Continue means also has that same type of idea that you listen,
and then you continue to listen and continue to have it to have some type of role in your life.
Well worth memorizing.
And so, once again, I'm going in and out.
Is that just my imagination?
Imagination?
Nope, it's not my imagination.
Anyway, so it's a very, very powerful, wonderful verse.
We're going to return to it at the end, but just in case I lose you, put you all to sleep.
This is a very, very, very powerful set of four ideas that are all linked in the scripture.
And you need to have all four of them to have any part of it work.
So there's this first thing that Jesus says, you need to abide in my word.
And if you abide in my word, if you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples.
And his word here is opening the door to a far bigger thing.
The historic understanding of Christians is that when we read the New Testament,
we're reading ultimately the apostolic testimony to what Jesus said.
And Jesus is in chapter 7 said how when you listen to the Old Testament, you're listening to the Father speak.
So it's not only Jesus talking about the gospel that you have to believe and be gripped by the gospel,
but you have to be gripped by the gospel, the message that God has sent his son.
And how does he put it in John chapter 3, verse 16?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son to the end that all who believe in him will not perish,
but have eternal life.
And so it's not only the message of the gospel, but the writings of the New Testament
that we are to abide in and continue.
And if we do that, we truly are his disciples,
truly are ones who have been saved by him and are following him.
And then what's the next linked idea?
If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
And what will happen?
You will know the truth.
You won't know lies.
You won't know ambiguity.
You won't know illusion.
You will know the truth.
You will be delivered from lies.
And illusions.
And delusions.
To know the truth.
That's God's desire for human beings.
Is that we know the truth.
Not only the truth about God, but the truth.
That's his heart.
That's his desire.
That's one of the implications of the gospel.
One of the implications of the gospel is that as it grips you,
and as you now, in light of the gospel, continue in the word,
that that basic creational purpose that God has always had for us,
to know the truth, that that will happen.
And part of how we will, one of the consequences of abiding in the word,
and being the disciple of Jesus,
and knowing the truth,
is that the truth will make us free.
Drugs don't make us free.
Getting drunk doesn't make us free.
Lies don't make us free.
I mean, we might sort of think that they sort of get us out of some trouble,
but lies ultimately always damage and hurt us.
Illusion doesn't make, delusion doesn't,
the truth will set you free.
That's his powerful statement of Jesus.
So even if you now fall asleep,
I lose you for the next 30 minutes,
hopefully that will grip you,
and you'll want to memorize the scripture.
But here's the problem.
If we're honest, and all of a sudden now,
because, you know, it's,
we live in Canada,
unless you're a guest here this morning from another country,
if so, we're really glad you came to join us.
But if we breathe the cultural air of Canada,
and in Canada,
well, Andrew, could you put up the next slide?
I'm not sure what it's going to look like,
because I gave Andrew some options.
In Canada,
we've taken part of Jesus' words
and cut out the rest.
This is a very Canadian statement.
Know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
Isn't that like a very, very Canadian statement?
Jesus says,
if you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
But in Canada,
we've gotten rid of
abiding,
abiding in the word,
being a disciple of Jesus.
And we've taken all of that part out of the scripture,
and in some ways,
this is a bit of a motto for the average Canadian.
Know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
Which means then,
for the average Canadian,
why do you need to add Jesus to the equation?
Like,
know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
I mean,
that's why we buy the self-help books,
isn't it?
That's,
that's,
why,
that's just basically,
it's like,
it's so,
in some ways,
part of the history of Canadian culture
is that shift.
It's actually,
what if just,
it's the enlightenment here.
Sorry,
a little bit of an intellectual geek moment.
Sorry,
time out.
Intellectual geek moment.
The switch,
from what Jesus said to that,
is the beginning of the enlightenment.
It's the enlightenment project.
That's what it is.
And,
and so,
for the average Canadian,
they say,
one moment,
you just know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.
How on earth does knowing Jesus
add anything to that project whatsoever?
In fact,
for the average Canadian,
the average Canadian,
they'd say,
in fact,
actually moving towards,
what Jesus actually said,
about abiding in the Bible,
and,
and actually being a follower of Jesus,
that actually is a movement away from knowing the truth.
It's a movement away from freedom.
That's the cultural area we live in.
Knowing Jesus only messes this project up,
which is deeply ingrained in us.
So,
what do we do?
Well,
it's very,
very interesting.
interesting.
The,
the Bible is actually going to deal with this.
Believe it or not,
how Jesus talks about this afterwards,
it's,
it's one of the many ways that I really believe that the Bible is inspired,
because,
the,
the words are just slightly different,
but Jesus in the conversation anticipates the problem.
But before we get,
to what Jesus says,
I just want to throw out a bit of a challenge to us.
So,
for the average Canadian,
this is true.
Know the truth and we'll set,
and the truth will set you free.
And the question to Canada is,
how's that working for us?
Like,
how's that working?
Like,
just,
just be real for a second.
When you look at Canada right now,
do you think Canadians generally,
because this is what they believe,
do you think there's a lot more freedom in Canada now than there used to be?
Do you think that in Canada,
more and more people are able to think well?
Do you think in Canada there are fewer lies that people believe?
Do you think in Canada that people generally are highly motivated by knowing what's true and real?
Like,
how's that going in Canada right now?
Is it going so well that we can say that maybe you don't need what Jesus said,
but you just need to listen to that?
Let's just be honest for a second.
It's not really going very well,
is it?
I mean,
who reads Twitter for the truth?
Maybe you have been.
Sorry.
But,
it's a bad place to get the truth.
It's good to get yelling.
And innuendo.
And people having their feelings hurt.
In fact,
actually,
you know,
for many Canadians now,
it's actually more from know the truth,
and the truth will set you free,
is to know your feelings,
and your feelings will set you free.
And that's working even worse than knowing the truth.
Now,
some of you might say,
okay,
George,
well,
that's actually a very,
very clever point you just made,
but I'm going to push it right back at you.
George,
how on earth can what Jesus said,
if you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free?
Like,
George,
how dare you get up there and say that,
that that's somehow a better thing.
George,
I mean,
you know,
George,
you're going to be going to a conference at Southern Seminary in a couple of weeks,
sort of a continuing ed thing.
George,
Southern Seminary,
great place of learning,
but you know what,
that was segregated.
It was racist up until just a few decades ago.
Like,
what about apartheid?
All those good reformed Christians in South Africa,
practicing apartheid.
What about Christians in slavery?
What about just,
George,
okay,
yeah,
so maybe the project's not going very well in Canada,
but George,
given Christianity's terrible history connected to racism,
and apartheid,
like,
how is that any better?
Now,
by the way,
that's a really good question for a non-Christian to ask us.
That's a completely and utterly fair question.
It might not be a question we feel comfortable with,
but it's a great question.
And here,
by the way,
because as you know,
I have notes here,
but a lot of times I don't look at them.
If I forget to come back and answer the question,
please shout at me and say,
George,
you didn't answer the question,
because we are.
So let's look at the Bible.
Actually,
what Jesus says
is very,
very contemporary.
He's going to address these issues.
So if you,
if you turn in your Bibles,
get your Bibles back open.
John chapter eight,
verse 31.
I'll read it again,
and we'll see what happens next.
So Jesus said to the Jewish people who had believed him,
if you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples,
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.
How is it that you say
you will become free?
All you need to change in that is
we are Canadians.
We are Canadians.
We've never been enslaved by anyone.
How on earth can you say
that
you will become free?
And Jesus answered them,
and here's the first thing.
We're going to camp in this
for just a couple of minutes,
but here's,
see,
Jesus is going to say
that this enlightenment project
that most Canadians believe in
completely and utterly ignores
two important realities.
That if you don't understand
these two important realities,
that's why this doesn't work.
And why what Jesus says
will work.
And the first is right here in verse 34.
Jesus answered them,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
everyone who practices sin
is a slave to sin.
What this
doesn't take into account of
is sin.
Human sin.
You see,
in the enlightenment project,
in what most Canadians think of,
they think that all we need to do
to sort of fix this
is,
the problem is we're finite.
And so what we need to fix,
how we need to fix this
is we just need to have
a bit better philosophy.
We need,
and in particular,
we need better technology.
You know,
like maybe what we need
to know the truth more
is to have something
that you can just carry around
in your hand
that will access virtually
all of the knowledge
on the planet
because that one,
one moment,
that doesn't work at all
right now,
does it?
Like,
in fact,
actually,
that's made it worse,
hasn't it?
I mean,
if you're honest with it,
right?
The internet hasn't made us
smarter,
wiser,
more pursuing of truth.
It's made us want to look
at cat videos and porn
and believe the latest rantings
and ravings of people
who are fools.
Right?
I mean,
that's what's happened.
But,
you know,
in our,
for us in Canada,
we're so committed to this,
to making sure that Jesus
has nothing to do with anything.
We think that,
okay,
if the tools are better,
if the technique is better,
if society is just better,
if we elect the right leader,
if we elect a really good
progressive prime minister,
one moment,
how's that going?
Didn't we just do that?
Like,
it's not going very well.
We did it in Ontario.
I mean,
it's not,
it just,
you see,
what Jesus says is
the problem isn't that
we don't have the best tools,
or the best philosophy yet,
or the best social structure.
He says the problem is us.
The problem is that human beings
are bent and fallen.
And when the Bible talks about sin,
by the way,
if you're a guest here,
it's not a,
it's not a code word for sex.
Sex isn't sinful.
I mean,
there's a way that sex is sinful,
sexual knowing and stimulation
is sinful,
but it's not a code word.
It's,
it's referring to Genesis chapter three.
It's,
it's referring to the great lie that,
but before that,
that God had made all things good
for us to,
to know God
and to be known by God
and to be transparent
and to,
and to live in our home
and to develop the home
and to make the whole,
the whole earth
like a beautiful garden
and,
and have God provide
all of our needs.
But instead of that,
we chose to not believe God
and to,
in fact,
to say that,
that God,
I don't believe any of,
I don't believe what you're saying
is true
and I don't trust you.
And I want to be God.
I want to be just as much
a God as,
as you.
And I want to become the center
and I want to be in control.
And in that fundamental break
to be like God
bent human beings.
And if you read Genesis 3,
the result of it is,
is that human,
all of a sudden,
Adam and Eve
didn't talk each other,
trust each other anymore
and they passed blame
and,
and they hated transparency
and,
and we want to hide.
And the Bible says
that's the human problem.
That's what Jesus says.
That's the problem with,
it's,
it's not,
and,
and God in his common grace
made sure that everything
didn't completely and utterly
fall apart,
but the fall is just present
with us.
Sin is present with us.
And that's why
just merely knowing the truth
and the truth will set you free,
it just doesn't work
because it doesn't deal
with the fact that human beings
are fundamentally bent.
And by the way,
when I say this,
I'm not saying that
those who are Christians
aren't bent and fallen
and non-Christians are.
I'm a fallen human being too.
And by the way,
here when,
when Jesus is saying,
and,
you know,
there's a,
and we're bent in our,
our spirituality
and our religion,
we're bent in our technology,
we're bent in our philosophy,
we're bent in our emotions,
we're bent in our thinking.
So,
now that I've just depressed you all,
well,
Jesus goes on to say something
which gives us hope.
Like,
what is it he says?
Look at verse 35.
He uses a bit of an analogy
about how,
that the analogy sort of works by,
you know,
a slave would say,
I'm a slave in this house.
Whereas a son or a daughter would say,
I live in this house.
Sort of the,
the different,
the very,
very different worldview.
Very different,
they both can inhabit
right beside each other
but their status is different,
how they understand things is different,
their freedom is different,
their power is different,
everything is different.
So,
verse 35,
the slave,
so,
verse 34 again,
truly,
I say to you,
everyone who practices sin
as 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.
If the son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
You know,
if,
if the son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
See,
that's going to start,
point back a little bit
about what it means
to actually believe in Jesus
and to abide in his word
and to follow him
because it is for freedom
that Christ has set us free.
And it's for a freedom
that Christ has set us free
that's true
and in the truth.
that's why he set us free.
Then he says,
in verse 37,
I know that you are
the offspring of Abraham,
yet you seek to kill me.
We talked about that more last week
because my word
finds no place in you.
I speak of what I have seen
with my father
and you do
what you have heard
from your father.
Now,
just sort of pause here.
Those of you who are looking
a little bit ahead,
Jesus is now going to begin
into this second thing.
Remember,
why does know the truth
and the truth will set you free
not work?
The first thing is,
Jesus says,
very wisely
and correctly,
is that we haven't
taken into account
the fact that every human being
has sinned.
And what's the second thing?
The second thing is,
is that the world
hasn't taken into account
that the devil is real
and exists.
Look at what he goes on
to say in verse 39.
They answered him,
Abraham is our father.
In other words,
that's the lineage
that they come from.
And Jesus said to them,
if you were Abraham's children,
you would be doing
the works
that Abraham did.
But now you seek
to kill me,
which is actually
what's happening.
A man who has told you
the truth
that I heard from God.
This is not what Abraham did.
You are doing the works
that you're doing
the works your father did.
They said to him,
we were not born
in sexual immorality.
Probably a little bit
of a dig
that they would have said
that Jesus was born
of sexual immorality.
We have one father,
even God.
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,
but he sent me.
Why do you not
understand what I say?
It is because
you cannot bear my word.
You are of your father,
the devil,
and your will
is to do
your father's desires.
He was a murderer
from the beginning
and does not stand
in the truth
because there is
no truth in him.
When he speaks,
sorry,
when he lies,
he speaks out
of his own character,
for he is a liar
and the father
of lies.
I'm going to read
that verse 44 again.
It's a very,
very powerful verse.
You are of your father,
the devil,
and your will
is to do
your father's desires.
He was a murderer
from the beginning
and does not stand
in the truth
because there is
no truth in him.
When he lies,
he speaks out
of his own character,
for he is a liar
and the father
of lies.
Andrew,
if you could
put the next point
up, please.
The devil desires
you to die
in the unending
grip of lies.
The devil desires
you to die
in the unending
grip of lies.
So,
remember I said
that when I first
introduced this sermon,
I said just a bit
of a warning,
a heads up.
We're going to talk
about the devil
a little bit
this morning.
And for many Canadians,
I've just revealed
myself as an
unintelligent,
unread kook.
And for other Canadians
who sort of
through a variety
of reasons
have come to
basically accept
that there's
a supernatural world
and I'm now
sort of just curious
as to whether
I'm going to talk
about whether
you can have
little boxes
that can capture
demons or something
like that
or what the
right spells are
or the difference
between white
and black magic.
The Bible has
a lot more to say
about the demonic
than this,
but I've disappointed
everyone in Canada
virtually outside
of those who are
disciples of Jesus
with our description
of the devil's work
right now
because this isn't
very sexy,
is it?
It's just
this sense
that the Bible
says is that
the devil,
that every single
human being
has an experience
of the devil
and their experience
of the devil
is when they lie.
And that's not
very sexy.
You see,
part of the thing
that this text
is revealing,
for many Canadians,
we sort of almost
believe that
we live in a
naked public square.
But what I mean
by a naked public
square here
is that
all we see
is what is.
If we don't see it,
it doesn't exist.
And then what we see
is we see stores,
we see buildings,
we see people.
But the Bible
paints a very,
very different
world picture
that there are,
in fact,
angels and demons
and we walk
amidst unseen
beings.
that's what,
in fact,
we walk amongst.
And that the devils,
so to speak,
they whisper in our ears
and to our hearts
and to our minds.
And one of the things
which is sort of shocking
about what Jesus is saying,
he's saying many things
that are shocking,
is that if we do tend
to think that there are
things like devils,
we sort of imagine
ourselves
that there's
God
and there's sort of
devils
and where devils
have lots of influence
and we're sort of
somewhere in between.
And we can sort of
be lured this way
to where there's devils
or we can be lured
this way towards
where there's God,
but it's very powerful
for most of us
unless we've had
a terrible experience
with demonic oppression
and possession.
It's very common
for us to think
that somehow
we are in a bit
of a neutral area
between these two.
But what the Bible
is revealing
is that that entire image
is wrong.
Every human being
lives here.
Every human being
lives here.
And it's in fact
out of here
that Christ
has redeemed us.
It is out of here
that Christ
has saved us.
It is out of here
that Jesus
adopts us
as his child.
It is out of here
that we are,
in the words
of verse 31,
that we are to
abide in his word
and you are truly
my disciples
and you will know
the truth
and the truth
will set you free.
We are to hear that
while we're here.
Not in some neutral places
if we're gods.
That's the original lie.
I am a creature,
not a god.
In heaven,
I will be a creature,
not a god.
Although,
as C.S. Lewis
so wonderfully put it,
if a creature
who is now
in the new heaven
and the new earth
was to come
to what is now
the earth,
the glory
would be so deep
and so wonderful
that in fact
we could hardly
bear to look
at such a creature
and would be tempted
to worship him or her.
But we are not
in the new heaven
and the new earth yet.
We are here.
We dwell among
a people
of unclean lips.
I, Lord,
as well
have such
unclean lips.
So,
why be a Christian
if we're all
in the same boat?
If the devil
also whispers
to us,
well,
Jesus is going
to talk about this.
He's going to talk
about the great deliverance
that God has done
and he's going
to put everything
in a radically
different context.
Look at what he does
and how he begins
to deal with this
in verse 45.
I've just paused
to make sure
we heard this
important teaching
in verse 44,
but listen to what
happened.
He keeps going.
But because I tell
you the truth,
because I tell
the truth,
you do not believe me.
Isn't that interesting?
Because I tell
the truth,
you do not believe me.
verse 46,
which of you
convicts me of sin?
That's an astounding
statement.
Listen,
if I told you
which of you
convict me of sin,
my wife and kids
would start to snicker
and laugh.
They know I'm a sinner.
Either that
or they'd start
to worry
that I had become
completely and utterly
deranged
and unhinged
to actually stand
in front of you
and say,
who can convict me
of a sin?
And then the staff
would start laughing
and all of you would.
Maybe those of you
who have just met me
think,
oh,
he hasn't sinned
since I've met him,
you know,
but I'm a sinner.
And Jesus gets there
and with a completely
and utterly straight face
says,
which one of you
can convict me of sin?
Well,
what an arrogant thing
to say unless
something else
is going on.
Look at verse 46 again.
Which one of you
convicts me of sin?
If I tell the truth,
why do you not
believe me?
Whoever's of God
hears the words of God.
The reason why
you do not hear them
is that you're not of God.
The Jews answered him,
are we not right
in saying that you
are Samaritan
and have a demon?
Verse 49,
Jesus answered,
I do not have a demon,
but I honor my father
and you dishonor me.
Yet I do not
seek my own glory.
There is one
who seeks it
and he is the judge.
Truly,
truly,
I say to you,
if anyone
keeps my word,
he will never
see death.
Now,
Jesus,
you know,
one of the things
which is very interesting
here in this,
if you read
John chapter 8,
verse 12,
right to the end
of chapter 8,
12 times
Jesus is
rebutted.
12 times.
This isn't him
with a group
of his groupies
who hang on
as every word.
This is Jesus
talking in the midst
of conflict.
12 times
people either
push back at him,
tell him he's wrong,
tell him he's a Samaritan,
tell him he's demon-possessed.
12 times.
And this is part of it.
These are hard-headed
Canadians,
in a sense,
who aren't going
to take guff
from somebody.
And so,
verse 52,
the Jews said to him,
now we know
that you have a demon.
Abraham died
as did the prophets.
Yet you say,
if anyone keeps my word,
he will never taste death.
Are you greater
than our father Abraham
who died
and the prophets died?
Who do you make yourself
out to be?
I'm just sort of
pause there for a second.
What Jesus is claiming?
He is claiming
that he is greater
than death.
And they got it.
He is claiming
that he is greater
than death.
And the claim
that he is greater
than death
means that he is also
greater than sin
which causes death.
It's an unbelievably
powerful claim.
And you also notice
that they actually
changed Jesus' words.
He never says
that he won't taste death.
He says that the people
will never see death.
Although,
as we are going to see
in a moment,
we are going to loop back
around this in a couple of minutes.
It's actually almost
like a prophetic thing.
They have caught up
a sense of Jesus
which they deny.
But in fact,
Jesus will taste death.
He will taste
my death for me
so that death
no longer has a hold
on me.
And he does that
for you too, friend.
So continue reading.
It's going to get
even more remarkable.
Like,
how on earth
could anybody say
that they're greater
than death?
Verse 54,
Jesus answered,
if I glorify myself,
my glory is nothing.
It is my Father
who glorifies me
of whom you say
he is our God.
But you have not
known him.
I know him.
And if I were to say
that I do not know him,
I would be a liar like you.
But I do know him
and I keep his word.
Your father Abraham
rejoiced that he would
see my day.
He saw it and was glad.
So the Jews said to him,
you are not yet
50 years old.
And you,
have you seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them,
truly, truly,
I say to you,
before Abraham was,
I am.
He pronounces
the divine name.
He says he's God.
For the Jewish people,
it's to say,
to use the divine name,
to use the divine,
you know,
it's actually,
this is true.
They,
in all the way
through the,
most like,
I think in the
English Standard Version,
if you see in the
Old Testament,
the word for God,
Lord,
and if it's four
capital letters,
it's the,
it's four Hebrew letters.
And because the Jewish
people thought that
the actual name of God
was so holy,
they thought that it
was wrong to even
say it.
And it's actually now,
they,
no longer,
people no longer know,
because they took out,
there's no vowels,
they no longer know
how to say it.
They don't know
how it was pronounced.
And in common language,
back then,
when they were coming
to the word Lord,
they would use another
word instead,
so they wouldn't say
the divine name.
It is literally a word
that they no longer
know how it was
originally pronounced.
And Jesus not only
says the word,
but he says that
that's who he is,
that he's God.
And they recognize it
because look what happened.
So they picked up stones
to throw at him,
but Jesus hid himself
and went out of the temple.
Now,
where are we with this?
Let's wrap it up.
If you could put up
the next point,
Andrew,
that would be very,
very helpful.
The first thing for us
to remember,
having said all this,
is that Jesus is
infinitely greater
than the devil.
And I mean infinitely
in the literal sense.
The devil is a creature.
Jesus is God.
God is an infinite being,
the only infinite being
that exists.
Everything else is finite.
So this talk
that's so common
in our culture
as if there's yin and yang
and light and darkness
and opposing spiritual forces,
there are opposing forces,
obviously,
but they're not equal.
They're not at all the same.
Jesus is infinitely greater
than the devil.
Infinitely greater
than the devil.
And that gives us great hope.
If you could put up
the next slide,
Andrew,
that would be great.
Because he is God,
by grace,
Jesus tasted death
for everyone
to save everyone
who trusts in him.
That's from the book
of Hebrews.
In other parts
in the New Testament
is that
because he is God,
by grace,
when Jesus tasted death,
when he tasted death,
he can taste death
for everyone.
He dies my death for me.
We talked about it last week.
Is that
when you put your faith
and trust in Jesus,
then your sin
dies before you
because it dies
on him.
But when you don't put
your faith and trust
in Jesus,
you die in your own sin.
That's why he's
such a wonderful savior.
He tasted death
for everyone
because in grace
and mercy,
he wants to save
all who put their faith
and trust in him.
He wants to save you,
brother and sister.
He wants to save you.
And if you could put up
the next point,
that would be very great.
Only Jesus
can silence
the hissing
lies of the serpent
so that you
can truly
listen to God
and freely think.
Remember,
this all goes back
in the Enlightenment
project,
which now we Canadians
are an heir of.
we know the truth
and the truth
will set us free.
And now turn into
you will know
your feelings
and your feelings
will set you free.
But what did Jesus say?
If you abide
in my word,
you are truly
my disciples
and you will know
the truth
and the truth
will set you free.
Only Jesus
can silence
the hissing
lies
of the serpent
so that you
can truly
listen to God
and freely
think.
You see,
that's one of the things
which is common
to every human being.
Are you rich
or are you poor?
For both,
there are the hissing
lies of the serpent
in your ears.
Are you Chinese?
Are you Rwandan?
Are you from
Mississippi?
Are you from Peru?
Doesn't matter
where you're from.
The hissing lies
of the serpent
is in your ears.
Do you have
a very high IQ
or a low IQ?
Are you really
good looking
or are you not
very good looking?
Are you very athletic
or not very athletic?
Are you a male
or a female?
We're all united
in the hissing
lies of the serpents
in our ears.
And only Jesus
can begin
to silence
the hissing
lies
of the serpent
in our ears.
And you know what?
You can't think
without listening.
That's one of the things
which is so profound
in what Jesus says.
It's like modern
psychologists,
if you read books
like that,
I can't remember
the name of that,
psychologists,
anyway,
but thinking fast
and slow
or something like that
is,
it's increasingly
understood by psychologists.
Just what Jesus
says right here
is that thinking
is connected
to listening.
What is it
Jesus says?
if you abide
in my word,
if you listen,
in other words,
to my word,
and you not only listen
but you bring it
into you
and you continue
listening to my word,
you are truly
my disciples
and you will know
the truth
and the truth
will set you free.
And if you could
put up the final point,
Andrew,
that would be great.
Continue in the gospel
and God's word written.
Abide in it
in your day-to-day life.
And Christians
aren't just lone rangers,
we're also to be part
of a local church.
So I added
that pray and plan
that your church,
that our church,
continues in the gospel
and God's word written,
abiding in it
in all that it does.
So I'd mention
apartheid
and racism.
See,
one of the things
which is so important
about this
is the Bible
doesn't say
that the second
you become a Christian,
that the devil
stops hissing
in your ears.
And we Christians
share in the human problem.
The difference is
that we have
a mighty Savior.
We have a mighty Savior.
And this mighty Savior
is God,
the Son of God,
who is true,
who is only truth,
who only speaks truth
and wants us to live
and abide in truth.
And Jesus came
to save us
from the lie
and save us
from lies.
And as we abide
in his word,
humbly coming to him
and saying,
Jesus,
you are God,
I am not.
You are infinite,
I am not.
You are perfect,
I am fallen,
I am broken.
You do not need
a Savior,
I need a Savior.
As we come to him
humbly
and abiding
in his word,
there is the possibility
that the hissing lies
of the serpents
are silence
and we can start
to actually listen
to God
and know the truth
about human beings
and know the truth
about ourselves.
And this isn't just
sort of an irrelevant thing
because as we begin
to hear the truth
from God,
it becomes easier
and easier
to hear the truth
in other places,
to hear the truth
in the world
and the truth
in science
and the truth
in terms of how
human beings move
and work and act.
It's something
which is far-reaching.
It's not just purely
and merely spiritual truth,
but truth.
Jesus,
the Father,
wants us to know
truth in general
and what happens
in apartheid
is we listen to lies.
What happens in racism,
we listen to lies.
And here's the thing.
You know,
I would say,
I might lose you with this,
but I say that the problem
with the Koran
is it needs to be corrected.
I would say that the problem
with Hinduism
is it needs to be corrected
from outside.
I would say that the problem
with Buddhism
is it needs to be corrected
from outside.
But I would say
when it comes to things
like racism,
anyone who has listened
to the fact
that Jesus dies
for every person
and that every person
is made in the image of God
should never be a racist.
It is completely
and utterly rebuked.
And not only is it rebuked
in the Word,
it is rebuked
by His shed blood.
He died for that.
Crap.
And I know that there are
some of you here
who have been complicit
in abortion,
and I don't say this
to make you feel guilty.
Everything in God's Word,
if it confronts us of sin,
it's because God wants
to connect to you
and to me
that we would come
to Him for healing.
But we live in a culture
filled with lies.
There are many churches
that the denomination
that we left
was very, very weak
on things like abortion,
very, very weak
on euthanasia,
and those are lies.
You cannot kill
innocent human life.
And science,
it's not a religious doctrine.
Science teaches us
that human life
begins at conception.
That's a scientific fact.
And the fact that
Christians are pro-life
isn't because
we deny science.
We just believe the science
and know you can't
take innocent human life.
And no church
should be complicit
in the culture of death.
And we don't need
outside advice or wisdom.
We just need to open
the Scriptures.
We need to become
more deeply and fully
disciples of Jesus Christ.
the care for the poor
all the way
through the Bible.
The deconstructing
of the claims
of the powerful
all the way
through the Bible.
We do not need
to read Derrida
or Mark's.
We need to be
disciples of Jesus.
So just in closing,
continue in the gospel
and God's word written.
Abide in it
in your day-to-day life
and pray and plan
that we as a church
and if you're a visitor
here from another church
that your church
will continue in the gospel
and God's word written
abiding in it
in all that it does.
And friends,
if you are here
and you have not yet
given your life to Jesus,
please consider
to do it today.
There's no better time
than right now.
It won't be better
tomorrow or next week.
I just really invite
and encourage you
to just to say
something like this
right now,
maybe even just
as I'm saying it,
just to say amen
to everyone.
Father,
I've believed the lie
and I believe lies.
And I am powerless
to save myself.
Jesus,
thank you
that you came
to save me
if I put my trust
in you.
I give myself
to you.
Be my Savior
and my Lord.
Come and live
within me forever.
I encourage you
to say that prayer today.
Please stand.
Father,
we thank you
that you are
infinitely greater
than the devil.
Father,
the devil can tempt us
but he can't
make anything.
He can break things,
Father,
but he can't
make anything.
Father,
we thank and praise you
that you give us
eternal life
when we put our faith
and trust in you.
That you
have the power,
the right power
for salvation
for all who put
their faith and trust
in you.
That,
Father,
you have the ability
to adopt us
as your sons
and daughters.
You have the ability
to grip us
so that we will
never be let go
and that you will
bring us
to the new heaven
and the new earth.
You have the power
to silence
the hissing
of the serpent
that we might
begin to listen
to you
and listen to each
other and know
the truth
so that we are
free,
Father,
that we begin
to know freedom.
Father,
only you,
only Jesus,
only the gospel.
Father,
we thank you
for Jesus.
We thank you
for your word
written,
for his word.
Father,
we thank you
for the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
Father,
make us confident
in Jesus
in the gospel.
Make us joyful
in Jesus
in the gospel.
Make us disciples
of Jesus
who are gripped
by the gospel,
who are day by day
learning to abide
in your word
as your disciples
gripped by the gospel
so that we might
know the truth
and be free,
free to love,
free to bring you glory
in this city
and to the ends
of the earth.
Father,
we ask this
in the name of Jesus.
Amen.