And as we come to this section, before we get into it, I just want to ask you,
have you ever had one of those conversations with someone?
The conversation where you sense that they needed some urgent words of advice,
a person that you care about is about to go down the wrong path,
or to make a bad decision, and yet even as you speak to them,
it's as though your words just aren't getting through.
They're listening, maybe they're even nodding,
but you can tell by their response, by the things they say to you afterward,
that they just aren't really getting it.
And at the end of it all, they just went on ahead and did what they were planning on doing anyway,
to their own detriment.
Have you ever had a conversation like that with someone?
Maybe you felt some of the frustration of that, perhaps even heartbreak,
trying to get through to them, trying to help them see,
trying to spare them from facing consequences.
This is precisely what's happening right now between Jesus and the crowd in the temple courts
as he speaks to them.
From John 8, verse 36.
So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
That's what Jesus just said to the crowd.
He just told the whole crowd that if they continue to listen to his word,
they will come to know the truth
and be liberated from bondage.
What do you mean, liberated?
They said to him.
We've never been slaves.
We're Abraham's descendants.
And Jesus told them,
everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
But, he said,
if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
Verse 37.
Jesus continues on.
He says,
I know that you are Abraham's descendants.
Yet you are looking for a way to kill me
because you have no room for my word.
So Jesus acknowledges the biological reality.
Yes, you are biologically descendants of Abraham.
And yet there's a big problem here.
There's something going on here with you that's terribly wrong.
He says,
you are seeking to kill me.
Now at this point,
it may be that Jesus' words are a little more directed to the religious leaders.
We know for sure that for some time,
they've been trying to put Jesus to death.
But probably at this point,
it's more than just the religious leaders.
Now it's probably some of the crowd as well.
Very likely,
some of these people
had earlier
had some pretty good thoughts about him,
but now maybe have changed their minds towards Jesus.
And Jesus points out two things
that really help us see what's going on here.
First,
and the most obvious,
he says to them,
you are looking for a way to kill me.
Notice the words,
looking for.
They are seeking for a way to get rid of Jesus.
plotting,
scheming
in their thoughts,
in their hearts,
perhaps even whispering
amongst others in the crowd
while Jesus is talking
about how they can take him out.
And the second thing that Jesus says
seems to be
the reason for why they want to kill him.
He says,
you're seeking to kill me,
you're looking for a way to kill me
because you have no room
for my word.
Some translations say
because my word makes no progress
in you.
Either way,
the problem is the same.
It's as though Jesus is saying,
I'm speaking to you,
but my words are not getting through.
Your hearts are not responding
in the way that they should
to my words.
Jesus is speaking to the people,
they are listening,
but they're not really hearing.
They're not receiving
and responding
to what he is saying to them
the way they should.
My word makes no progress in you,
says Jesus.
It's like your hearts are hard
to what I'm saying to you.
And then Jesus says this to them,
I am telling you
what I have seen
in the Father's presence.
And you are doing
what you have heard
from your Father.
That's a hugely loaded statement,
but let's look at the first part.
Jesus says,
I am telling you
what I have seen
in the Father's presence.
Literally,
with the Father,
from God.
God.
And so when your heart
has no room for my word,
it's not just my word
that you are rejecting
and shutting out,
but his.
It's what he himself
has given me to say to you
that you are rejecting.
If we kind of
put all this together
and read it from back to front,
it's as though
Jesus is saying,
God the Father
has shown me things.
And I am now
speaking to you
those things.
I am telling you
those things
with the words of my mouth.
But my words
are not getting through to you.
You are listening,
but you are not receiving.
You are not hearing
and responding
as you should be
to his words.
It's possible
to be thoroughly religious
and yet have a heart
that is hard
and unresponsive
to God.
It's possible
to go through the motions.
Living like a Jew
should live
or in our context
like a Christian
should live
and yet have a hard
and unresponsive heart
toward God.
Now I'm not here
to tell you
if that's you this morning,
but if it is
and you know it
and if God is bringing
conviction to your heart,
then I encourage you
to listen to him
and to take it
very seriously.
The mark of a true
child of Abraham
or child of God
or disciple of Jesus
is not just
outward conformity,
but inward receptivity.
the mark of whether
you are a true
child of God
is not only
whether you live
like a Christian
is supposed to live,
but whether you
listen with your heart
like a Christian
is supposed to listen.
Whether you respond
to the words of Jesus
from your heart.
And so I want to ask you
some questions
this morning.
When you read your Bible,
do you more often
feel cold
and unstirred
by the words
on the pages?
When you read
the words of Jesus
that are written
in your Bibles
and throughout
the Gospels,
what's happening
in your heart?
Are these words
just kind of
passing through
your mind?
Are you just
reading them
to kind of
check the box
on the Bible
reading plan
to be a good
Christian?
Or are these words
often and regularly
getting to your heart?
Stirring up a response
inside of you?
Do you entrust
yourself fully
to these words
of Jesus
and believe them
as much as you
can understand them?
Do you feel convicted
of sin in your life
when you read
the words of Jesus?
Do you feel joy
and hope
rising inside of you
when you hear
about the things
that Jesus
has promised
to those
who believe in him?
Or do these words
seem more or less
irrelevant?
Do you read
or reflect on them
at all?
Or have you got
other,
more important
things to do?
or have you got
to do?
Do you listen
to God?
Do you listen
like that when Jesus
is talking to you?
Are his words
getting through to you
regularly,
regularly?
Often.
The mark of a true
disciple of Jesus,
a true child of Abraham,
a true child of God
is a responsive heart
to his word.
Let's continue on
with what Jesus said.
He said,
I'm telling you
what I have seen
in the Father's presence.
And as we come
to the second statement
here,
there is a bit
of a translation issue.
I'm not going
to go into
all the details.
Some of you
may have a footnote
or have it in italics.
But just be aware
of that.
I'm going to go
with what most
of the English
translations say
in verse 38.
Jesus says,
I am telling you
what I have seen
in the Father's presence
and you are doing
what you have heard
from your Father.
It seems as if
Jesus is saying,
you know,
you and I have
something in common,
but we also have
something very different.
In the same way
that I'm speaking
to you the things
that I have seen
from my Father,
you are doing
the things that you
have heard from
your Father.
But there's a suggestion
that seems to be
coming out of
Jesus' words
that we don't share
the same Father.
The things that I am
doing and speaking
are different
than the things
that you are doing
and speaking
is what Jesus
seems to be
implying here.
Now the people
know that Jesus
has been claiming
that God
is his Father.
He's been claiming
to be sent by God,
to speak for God.
But now,
it seems as though
he's saying
they have a different
Father
other than God.
Jesus knows
what's really going
on in their hearts.
He knows
the ugliness
and the hardness
of their hearts.
He knows that
they are seeking
to kill him.
And this is probably
why the tension
often goes through
the roof
between Jesus
and the people
because he knows
that,
he sees that,
and he often
brings it to the surface
and exposes it.
In this case,
he tells them
where this
ugliness,
this hardness
is coming from.
He says,
it's because
you have a different
Father.
Now the people
at this point,
they seem to pick
this up
from Jesus' words.
I don't think
they liked it too much
what he said.
Abraham is our
Father,
they answered.
Verse 39.
They seem to hear
Jesus challenging
whether they're
true children
of Abraham
and they say
the same thing
that they said earlier.
We are Abraham's
offspring.
He is our Father.
We are his
descendants.
And Jesus
responds.
He looks them
in the eye
and says this,
which probably
surprised them
or shocked them.
He says,
if you were
Abraham's children,
then you would
do what
Abraham did.
As it is,
you are looking
for a way
to kill me,
a man who
has told you
the truth
that I heard
from God.
Abraham did
not do
such things.
You are doing
the works
of your own
Father,
says Jesus.
And you have
to know
that at this point
people's eyes
are probably wide
and there's
probably some
pretty telling
expressions
happening on
people's faces.
They just
told Jesus
for the second
time,
we are
children of
Abraham.
We are
his offspring
and Jesus
says,
if you
were
Abraham's
children,
you got to
know their
thinking.
What do you
mean if we
were?
Are you
telling us
that we
might not
be children
of Abraham,
children of
the promise,
children of
the covenant,
that we
might have
a different
father?
What they're
thinking kind
of comes out
in verse 41.
They say,
we are not
illegitimate
children.
We are
true children
of Abraham.
How dare you
insinuate
anything else?
Nevertheless,
it seems
pretty clear
from Jesus'
words that
he is
calling into
question
whether they
are true
children of
Abraham.
Not whether
they're
biologically
descended from
Abraham,
but whether
they are
true children
of Abraham.
And Jesus
says in
verse 39
that the
mark of a
true child
of Abraham
is that he
or she
does what
Abraham did.
If you
were Abraham's
children,
then you
would do
what Abraham
did.
You would
do the
deeds,
do the
works that
Abraham did.
And as of
right now,
you are not,
he says to
them.
It's evidence
that you are
not true
children of
Abraham.
You're looking
for a way
to kill me,
a man who
has told you
the truth
that I heard
from God.
You're looking
for a way
to take out
the messenger
that God
has sent to
you to speak
to you.
That's not
the way that
Abraham acted.
And I
think it's
implied in
Jesus'
words.
You know,
long ago,
God spoke
to Abraham
in a whole
variety of
ways.
And at
least one
of those
ways was
quite similar
to the
way that
Jesus is
speaking to
them right
now.
And what
did Abraham
do in
every case?
He believed
the words
of God.
He responded
to them.
He obeyed
them.
That's what
Abraham did.
But here
and now,
you in
the crowd,
says Jesus,
are responding
in the
opposite way.
You have
no room
for my
word.
You're
not receiving
it.
Instead,
you're seeking
to kill
me.
This is
evidence that
you are not
true children
of Abraham,
but are
instead
children of
a different
father.
a true
child of
Abraham,
a true
disciple of
Jesus,
a true
child of
God,
has a
receptive
and obedient
heart to
the word
of God,
just like
Abraham did.
Again,
the people
try to
defend
themselves.
This time
they come
at it from
a different
angle.
Verse 41,
they say
the only
father we
have is
God
himself.
Literally,
one father
we have,
God.
And again,
Jesus responds
in a way
that would
have been
utterly
shocking.
He says,
if God
were your
father,
you would
love me.
For I
have come
from God.
I have
not come
on my
own.
God
sent me.
Those
words,
if God
were your
father,
in other
words,
he is
not.
But if
he were,
you would
love me
because I
have come
here from
him.
These
words are
so rich
and so
full.
Do you
hear the
heart of
Jesus in
them?
He longs
for the
people there.
He longs
for you,
for me,
to accept
the truth
of who he
is.
If God
were your
father,
you would
love me.
You would
recognize that
I am the
one sent
from him.
We get
another mark
of a true
child of
God here.
The second
one,
the mark
of a true
child of
God
is that
he or
she loves
God's
son,
Jesus,
the one
God has
sent.
And
notice that
Jesus says
love.
If God
were your
father,
you would
love me.
Not just
like,
not just
agree with
or tolerate.
Many
people like
Jesus.
Lots of
people agree
with Jesus.
and many
more people
tolerate
Jesus.
But the
mark of a
true child
of God
is that
he or
she loves
Jesus.
So I want
to ask you
this morning,
do you
love Jesus?
Do you
cherish
Jesus?
do you
treasure
him?
If not,
by Jesus'
own word,
you're not
a child
of God.
Now,
this doesn't
mean I don't
think that we
should constantly
measure whether
we're in the
family of God
based on
how we
feel.
In a
fallen world,
such as we
live,
feelings are
fickle
things.
They come
and they
go.
They burn
hot and
they cool
off.
And we
know that,
right?
I mean,
we all have
relationships
with people
who we
love,
yes,
truly love,
and yet it
doesn't
automatically
mean that we
feel that
way at
every moment
of the day
towards them.
I think we
need to
remember that
love is
much more
than just
a feeling.
Feelings are
part of it,
yes,
generally,
often,
but there
are times
when love
is better
described as
an action
or a
choice
or a
loyalty
sworn
rather than
just a
burning for
a moment
in the
words of
one
musician.
Do you
love Jesus?
Have you
made your
choice to
give yourself
to him
through the
good times
and the
hard times?
does he
have the
allegiance
of your
heart
regardless
of what
you're
going
through
today?
Are you
committed
to applying
his words
to your
life and
your life
to his
words
day after
day?
Do you
recognize
that he
is the
one who
has come
from God
and speaks
for God?
And do
you value
him deeply
because of
that?
There are
many reasons
to love
him.
Do you
love
Jesus?
Love.
Every
true
child of
God
does
according
to Jesus
and those
who do
not are
children
of a
different
father.
And we'll
look at what
Jesus means
by that
next Sunday.
So let me
just recap.
We've been
kind of looking
at some of
the marks
of a true
child of
God or
a true
disciple
of Jesus.
the first
one that
we saw
a couple
weeks back
was that
they remain
in his
word.
Verse 31.
If you
hold to
my teaching
you are
really
my
disciples.
Today
we saw
two more.
A true
child of
God
has a
responsive
heart
to the
words of
God
which
Jesus
speaks.
And
a true
child of
God
loves
the
son
of
God
Jesus.
A true
child of
God
loves
his
son
Jesus
and
has
a
responsive
heart
to
his
word.
We're
going to
pray here
in just
a moment
but
before we
do
I just
want to
say
if you're
here
this
morning
and
you
just
need
someone
to
talk
to
about
your
relationship
with
Jesus
maybe
you're
not
sure
where
it's
at
or
you
don't
feel
like
it's
where
it
should
be
maybe
you
have
doubts
or
worries
or
concerns
I want
to
encourage
you
just
to
feel
free
to
come
talk
to
me
or
to
anyone
else
in
the
church
that
you
trust
we'll
do
our
best
to
listen
to
you
what's
going
on
in
your
heart
what
you've
been
thinking
to
pray
with
you
to
offer
encouragement
and
help
however
we
can
and
of
course
none
of us
has
all
the
answers
I've
always
liked
the way
that
C.S.
Lewis
said it
this is
a loose
paraphrase
but
he said
in many
ways
the church
of
Jesus
Christ
is like
a
hospital
and
we're
all
patients
that
have
been
checked
in
to
the
care
of
Jesus
some
of
us
have
been
here
a
little
longer
and
might
know
our
way
around
some
of
the
hallways
a little
better
than
others
but
we're
all
in
need
of
the
Lord's
help
and
so
if
I
or
anyone
else
can be
an
encouragement
or
help
to
you
I
just
want
to
encourage
you
don't
hesitate
to
ask
feel
free
to
come
talk
to
me
or
to
someone
else
in
the
church
who
you
trust
let
us
know
how
you're
doing
and
know
that
following
Christ
is not
something
that
we're
meant
to
figure
out
all
by
our
self
it's
part
of
why
the
Lord
has
brought
Lord
Jesus
thank
you
for
speaking
these
words
to
us
and
we
do
pray
and
ask
that
we
would
have
the
responsive
heart
that
you
want
us
to
Lord
each
day
this
week
as
we
pick
up
our
Bible
to
read
we
ask
that
you
would
cause
us
to
hear
help
us
to
hear
we
know
Lord
that
we
are
meant
to
make
changes
all
along
the
way
we
are
meant
to
make
decisions
all
throughout
life
based
on
what
we
hear
from
you
and
so
we
ask
that
you
would
give
us
those
ears
that
we
need
to
hear
day
after
day
this
week
give
us
soft
hearts
increase
our
love
for
you
help
us
to
see
more
of
the
truth
of
who
you
are
and
why
you
are
so
worthy
of
our
total
devotion
and
allegiance
we
ask
this
a
which
can
the
important
show
the
one
follow
the
this
show
whatever