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True Freedom John 8:31-36
It
was 5:00 when Mrs. Brown walked into the butcher shop. It had been a
long day and Sam was tired and wanted to go home. One more customer so
he put on his best smile and said, “May I help you?”
Mrs. Brown says, “I am having a party tonight and I have ruined my
dinner, do you have a chicken?”
Sam goes to the back and sees that he only has one bird left in the
store so he takes it out front puts it on the scale and says, “Yes Mamm,
it is 3 pounds 16 ounces.”
Mrs. Brown says “Well that’s a little small, do you have one bigger?”
It had been a long day so Sam takes the bird to the back and comes back
with the same bird and puts it on the scale and says, “Here’s one 4
pounds 1 ounce.”
Mrs. Brown thinks for a moment and then says, “Fine I’ll take them
both.”
Have you ever been caught in a lie?
In today’s study Jesus makes a connection between truth and freedom.
Jesus is interested in people understanding the relationship between the
two. He explains, it is not until we have the truth that we truly
experience freedom.
But what is truth?
Well, truth is seeing through all the illusions, the dreams and the
wishful thinking. Truth is getting past the facades and the images. And
it is getting down to the heart of the matter, the essentials, that
which serve as the basis of reality.
We are confronted with illusion every day.
All one has to do is watch a commercial to find out. It is there we are
told that we deserve much more than we are getting. We are not getting
all that we have coming to us.
And we can do anything we want. And these are all lies!
We must be careful. For following the illusion doesn’t free us. It binds
us.
But we can experience true freedom. And today we will discover how.
We find in our study of John 8:31-36 three concepts that will show us
how we can experience true freedom.
The first concept is DISCIPLESHIP (31-32).
A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother gently rubbed cold cream
on her face.
"Why are you rubbing that cream on you face, mommy?" he asked.
"To make myself beautiful," said his mother.
A few minutes later, she began removing the cream with a tissue.
"What’s the matter?" he asked. "Are you giving up?"
Jesus doesn’t want us giving up. Instead, He gives a picture of what a
true disciple is all about.
True believers stick with it.
At the end of last week, we discovered that some had examined the
evidence of Jesus when He said “I am the light of the world,” and
believed. So now, He is, in part, speaking to them. And He is sharing
what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Because, you see, there is no
such thing as minimal followers. It is easy enough to be attracted. But
it is a whole other thing to stick with it.
So, how does one do it? It is done by remaining in His Word. It is done
by continually being in the Word.
We study it.
We understand it.
And we obey it.
As a result, we open ourselves to the truth. And when we do this, the
truth will free you!
How? When the word takes root, we can discern between the truth and the
lie.
You see there is a connection with being a follower and knowing the
truth. When we truly follow Jesus, we gain true understanding. We
understand what is right and what is wrong. We understand what is true
and what is false. And, we discover the truth about own nature. We learn
about the nature of God. And, we find the way of salvation.
The second concept is DECEPTION (33-34).
We need to face the truth about ourselves. When Jesus started talking
about freedom, these Jewish leaders immediately took issue. As far as
they were concerned, since they were children of Abraham, they were
free.
As we look through the annals of time, we have to wonder what they were
thinking when they said that. Were they so utterly deceived that they
forgot that they were in physical bondage? Like it or not, they were
subject to the Roman rulers.
Somehow, in their thinking, it is their belief that they are free,
regardless of governmental issues. They are God’s chosen. And in a
sense, they were right. It is the core issue. And because this is true,
in their thinking, they are in a position of privilege over others.
Their claim, however, of being children of Abraham is misused. Being
Jewish was not meant to be a badge of prestige. It was a privilege that
ought to have humbled them.
Yes, they are Abraham’s physical sons, but they were not his spiritual
ones. For they were not only in physical bondage, they were definitely
in spiritual bondage as well. Their own moral failure when the woman was
caught in adultery had proved their spiritual slavery.
There was a man traveling in southern Indiana and he was headed for the
Kentucky border...when he saw a large sign... "LAST CHANCE FOR $2.25
GAS!!!" He still had more than a quarter of a tank left, but figured
he’d better take advantage of this opportunity to fill-up his tank.
As he was getting his change from the attendant, he asked, "How much is
gas in Kentucky?"
The attendant replied, "$2.15..."
This is a good illustration of the trap of sin. It sounds like such a
good deal at first, but it is only a trap. It really is going to cost us
more in terms of consequences and unhappiness.
The truth about sin is that we are gradually gathered in by an invisible
net that can’t be broken.
Sin is so tricky that, at first, we are unaware of our own bondage. We
think that we are free. But, we are not free. We are slave, with no
rights and no security.
Throughout history, there have been those that have been destined for
greatness, but don’t make it. Do you remember Samson?
Samson was chosen by God to be a deliverer for the nation of Israel.
However, one thing stood in his way…Delilah. He was so enamored with
Delilah that he did not want to leave her, even though he knew she was
dangerous. She had attempted to trick him over and over again about the
secret of his strength, and instead of ending this relationship, he just
got deeper and deeper in. He was under her spell.
It was not until he was put into a Philistine prison that he discovered
that he was slave. He had become numb to the effect of sin, for his sin
robbed him of his sensibilities. And he learned the hard way that his
powers were not unconditionally his.
You know, when we are in bondage, we excel at minimizing our
enslavement. We think just a few more adjustments and everything will be
all right. But it is not true.
What is true is that when evil becomes a habit, it becomes a habit that
we cannot break. We can be a slave to hatred, filled with hostility,
aggressiveness, and rage, ready to strike any moment.
We can be a slave to pride. In our arrogance we can indulge in prejudice
and bigotry because we think we are better than others. In our
self-importance, we enjoy telling somebody off when they are wrong.
We can be a slave to gossip, indulging ourselves in ruining another’s
reputation.
We can be a slave to the misuse of sexuality, thinking that if I look at
pornography one more time, it won’t hurt. The truth is, you will keep
looking.
We can be a slave to a relationship that is outside of God’s
design—adultery, homosexuality, premarital sex—thinking that we can end
at anytime. But you can’t.
We can be a slave to materialism, always buying one more thing to
satisfy our souls. But we find out over and over, we never seem to have
enough.
All gradually take root and bind us up. All gradually draw us in and we
are caught in the net.
And what is worse is that as we continue in these, they do not give us
the same pleasure. In fact, the more we do them, the more miserable we
feel and the more pathetic we become.
There were some Americans stationed on a small island in the South
Pacific during WWII. Monkey meat was a real delicacy on this island, and
the islanders showed the Americans how they captured monkeys.
1. Put an apple in a wide-mouth jar.
2. Tie a rope around the jar.
3. Tie the other end of the rope around a tree.
4. Wait patiently.
Eventually a monkey will come along, look curiously in the jar, see the
apple, reach in and grab it. The monkey’s hand easily compressed to fit
into the jar but his fist, holding the apple, was too large to pull out.
The monkey, however, would predictably refuse to let go of the apple.
The monkey was in effect, tied to the tree by the rope, the jar and the
apple. Very soon…monkey stew!
Now think about this for a moment…
Was the monkey too stubborn or too stupid to let go of the apple?
You know what? It really doesn’t matter. It is the same result: one dead
monkey.
Now for the real question did the monkey have the apple or did the apple
have the monkey?
There are so many things that bind us. As long as we hold on to them,
their power over us continues. It is only by letting go that we become
free.
Now we come to the third concept is DELIVERANCE (35-36).
You see, there is good news. We don’t have to remain a slave. We can be
a permanent fixture in the house of God. We can be liberated! We can be
true sons. We can be family, for nothing can take away the pleasures and
privileges that being a son and daughter brings.
But what can we do to become true children of God? It is in being set
free by the Son. It is in continuing in His Word. It is in the
recognition that we are unable to do anything that pleases God. It is
being released from the bondage of our sin by confessing and finding
forgiveness.
It comes in learning the truth of Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus sets us free we can clearly recognize the truth.
We are free to rise above our sin.
We are free to live a holy life.
We are free to finally choose right.
We are free to choose the best.
We are free to keep growing.
We are free to reach the potential for which God has designed us.
And what is so interesting is that when you are enlightened by God’s
Spirit, you so clearly recognize truth, and you find it amazing that
others do not see as you see.
So let me ask you…
Can you discern the difference between truth and the lie?
We live in a world that is a mishmash when it comes to understanding and
grasping the truth. And there are all kinds of excuses for not following
the truth about Jesus…
“We can’t follow Jesus exclusively because there are good people that
believe other things and follow that.”
Or “We can’t follow Jesus because that is not what my family believes.”
Or “We sincerely believe we are all going to the same place.”
Or “We can’t believe because God would not do something I find so
objectionable like allowing hell to exist.”
Or “If it works for you that is fine, but it doesn’t work for me.”
Or perhaps the most absurd excuse… “That’s true for you, but it is not
true for me.”
That, of course, is a contradiction. For if truth is subjective, then we
are not talking about truth. If truth is relative (as so many say
nowadays), we are not talking about truth. Because it is the very nature
of truth to be true all of the time for all people.
We live in a day and age, though, that man, instead of God, has become
the standard. And as a result, we can no longer get a grip on what truth
is. But we can know the great freedom that comes in knowing the truth.
True freedom comes in knowing the One that embodies truth.
Just knowing facts isn’t enough. What really matters is that you know
the One who is the truth. The good news is that He wants to be known and
you can know Him today.
Experience true freedom…by following Jesus, and no one else; hear His
Word, stay in His Word, trust His Word, and obey it.
Experience true freedom…and do not be deceived; it is in our nature to
be bound by sin, so we must all understand that none of us are innocent,
and thus, we all have the need of the Son who makes us free.
Experience true freedom…be delivered by Jesus who permanently places us
in His family, giving us the strength to realize the potential for which
He has designed us.
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