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(John 8:37-47)
I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
Last time, we were looking
At what Jesus said to the Jews
At the Feast of Booths
The last great feast
Before the final one
That last Passover,
Where He would be betrayed and crucified.
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To teach us.
If youve trusted Jesus this morning,
As the rock was struck by Moses
So Jesus was struck for you,
For your sins,
That He might free you from Gods judgment
That you might have life forever.
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The very place Jesus was standing as He said this (v. 20)
To remind them of the pillar of fire
The Lord gave to lead them
Safely through the wilderness
To the land of Promise.
B. Preview.
In our passage, its still the same day.
Jesus is speaking now to those Jews
That were willing to listen
To those who believed His Word.
Hes telling them how they could know
They really had believed and had eternal life:
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He says, If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and
you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (vv. 31-32).
He said this because it was clear
At least to Him
That they really didnt believe.
They needed to trust Him.
They needed to follow Him.
If they did,
Then they would know what He was saying was true
Through their own experience:
They would know they were set free from death,
Because of the evidence
That they were free from their slavery to sin.
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When you share the Gospel with someone
And they deny what God says is true about them?
You should do what Jesus does:
Tell them the truth.
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Doesnt want to sin.
God has made you a new creature in Christ.
You are free by His grace
By the work of His Spirit in your soul
You want to obey,
You want to honor Him,
And so you fight to do so.
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How can you know
That you have been adopted into the family of God,
As Abraham was?
You can only know
If you live as Abraham.
Gods grace
As you well know by now
Changes your life.
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Was it through divine revelation?
No. It was really because of one thing He saw in them:
Their unwillingness to listen and obey.
Jesus says in verse 37, I know that you are Abrahams descendants; yet you seek
to kill Me, because My word has no place in you (v. 37).
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His ways and His kingdom.
He wont listen to Gods Word.
They were acting like him,
Because this was their true father.
Jesus says in verse 44, You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the
desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he
speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (v. 44).
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Gods grace changes your life
From the inside out.
You will not be the same person you were before.
You will be growing into the image of Christ,
Because thats what youll want to do.
You will put on those characteristics
That He particularly loves
As weve seen in the evening services
Because you love Him.
B. If it is,
Then you are a child of God.
If it is,
Then lets consider, secondly,
How this happened:
How you came into this world a child of the devil
And ended up a child of Abraham.
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Because thats what you chose to do on your own,
But because God had mercy on you.
Paul says in Ephesians 2:1, You were dead in your trespasses and sins.
That was your condition
When you came into this world,
Because of Adams sin.
And because of this,
You were just like these Jews:
You also didnt love Him,
Refused to listen to Him,
And went your own way,
Paul continues: You formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working
in the sons of disobedience (v. 2).
The same was true of Paul and his companions,
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even
as the rest (v. 3).
And we all would have justly ended up in hell.
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might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus (vv. 4-7).
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God reveals the riches of His love
Grace and mercy to you
In His Son, Jesus Christ.
All of this was purely by His grace,
From beginning to end.
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That whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
But have eternal life (John 3:16).
Paul and Silas said to the Philippian jailer,
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:23).
He doesnt say, First, you need to know that I have chosen you.
If you believe in Him,
He will have;
But you dont have to know
Before you do.
All you need is a desire for Jesus,
All you need is to want to be with Him,
All you need is the desire to be free from sin,
And all you need to do is look to Him,
Reach out to Him,
Trust Him to save you,
And He will.
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If youve never trusted Jesus,
I invite you to do so this morning.
Reach out to Him in faith.
Receive the mercy He offers to you.
No one who has looked to Him in faith
Has ever been disappointed.
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