KNOW JESUS

agricultural excursion for school, staying in a motel in a small country town.

This motel, for some of you, this will be familiar. It's one of those motels many years ago where they

had the cupboard near the front door where the motel owner or whoever it was could open the door

from the outside, slide the breakfast in, and then you open the cupboard from the inside and get your

breakfast. I had one of those little cupboards still in operation. And in the wee hours of one

morning, a number of my fellow students decided it was a great idea to jump on me, to secure me in my

sleeping bag, and to put me in that cupboard, and to lock the door of the cupboard with the cord from

the kettle, all against my will and without my prior knowledge. It was in that moment, locked in that

cupboard, small cupboard, completely dark, that I realized how much I enjoyed my freedom, and how

little I wanted to be buried alive in a coffin. And it's fair to say that in that moment, I went nuts,

and I kicked that little cupboard apart, totally apart, in my bid for freedom. Of course, their lack of

planning meant that it was their breakfast cupboard, and not the one from my room that got destroyed.

They also had further explained to do when a sheep from the agricultural block of the neighboring high

school ended up in their room painted green. And the green paint discovered in the main perpetrator

of me being placed in that cupboard in his bag. There was a lot of explaining to do. Somehow, I managed to

get out of that one scot-free. All of us, no sheep were harmed in the process, I might add.

All of us value our freedom. We value the freedom to choose to do what we want, behave how we want.

And when that's threatened in any way, there is significant pushback. The importance in the Western

world of individual freedom and personal choice is very high. And ironically, it grew out of Protestant

theology, especially theology of salvation by faith alone through grace alone, and the call for every

person to make a conscious decision to put their faith in Jesus. The culture that we now live in

has gone way beyond what it was once the Bible's revolutionary concept of freedom. Freedom of choice

is now freedom of choice without any form of limitations. And that has become sacred.

There is, in our culture, no concept of objective and absolute truth. In fact, that has been rejected.

No concept of absolute or objective truth that must be understood and accepted. It is up to you,

the individual, to make up your own truth. So absolute truth is rejected, and it's up to you to make up your own truth,

which ironically is itself an absolute truth claim. Freedom from any constraints is the new moral absolute,

absolute truth. So that the only sin which is not tolerated is intolerance.

And so you have things like the Supreme Court in the United States declaring in a judgment case on abortion

that at the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence or meaning

of the universe and of the mystery of human life.

At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence,

even if that concept of existence is to end the life of another.

In this worldview, religion is seen as the enemy.

Religion is seen as stifling of autonomy and freedom because it seeks to impose a universal worldview.

In his recent book on preaching, American pastor and theologian Tim Keller writes,

the late modern mind, which is the culture that we exist in, presents itself something like this.

We have come to realize that we don't need God to explain the world we see.

Science does their job for us.

We don't need God or religion to be moral, to love, and to work for a better world,

or to have meaning and fulfillment in life.

What we need is to be free, to live life as we see fit,

and to work together to make the world a better and more just place to live.

If religion gets in the way of all of that,

it constrains our freedom to live as we see fit,

and it divides us so that we cannot work together.

So get God and religion out of the equation,

and you won't have the external constraints placed on you,

and so you're free to live as you see fit,

and in that freedom, somehow, as we all live individualistically for our own freedom,

we're going to make the world a better place.

We as a church exist in a culture that is drifting like a raft

in a vast ocean of individual freedom and choice

with very few solid anchor points to truth and reality.

It wants to exclude God.

And freedom appears to be up there as the highest of orders.

It appears that we've got freedom,

and yet at the same time, purpose and meaning and hope are declining.

And so rather than taking God out of the picture to find purpose and meaning and freedom,

here at St. Paul's, we want to put God at the center.

It's in our mission statement.

It's a purpose statement.

It is a statement that describes the reason why we exist as a church.

It says that we as a church exist to know Jesus, to treasure Jesus,

to represent Jesus for God's glory and the joy of all people.

And that's what we're going to look at in the next five weeks.

And I want to spend the rest of my time here this morning exploring as to why we want to make that statement

shape our corporate and personal lives here in this church.

And I want to focus on the first bit this morning, just the first bit,

that we exist to know Jesus.

If religion, and especially Christianity, is such a stench in our culture,

why would we say amongst that culture that we exist to want to know the heart of Christianity,

want to know Jesus?

Well, to answer that question, we need to go back to the beginning.

And as Deb has read from Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Genesis 1 makes the very significant point that there was no reality before God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty.

Before creation, God was.

He stands outside of all things that are created.

God is from everlasting to everlasting, no beginning, no end.

He spoke the universe into existence.

He speaks.

He's a God who speaks and who creates.

He is the one who never had a beginning,

but has always been, always is, always will be,

and therefore he defines all things.

God himself, in himself, is ultimate reality.

The absoluteness of God's existence is incredible for us to consider and ponder.

The fact that he never had a beginning, never will have an ending,

never becoming, never improving,

simply and absolutely there to be dealt with on his terms,

or not at all.

Reality is created, defined, determined by God,

which means that when God speaks as he does,

what he does is he reveals reality.

That is, when he speaks, he reveals truth.

That's what truth is.

It's reality.

It's the way things actually are.

Listen to what Psalm 119, verse 160 says about God when he speaks.

Psalms 119:160

It says,

All your words are true, all your righteous laws are eternal.

What that Psalm says, verse 160 says,

is that the sum total of the word of God is truth,

but it also says,

All your righteous laws are eternal,

which is not just the sum total is truth,

but all the individual parts are truth as well.

The whole and the parts are all truth.

They are true because when God,

who is ultimate reality, speaks,

he reveals things the way they actually are.

And truth is when ultimate reality,

the way things actually are,

and the revealing of ultimate reality,

align with each other.

A lie is the opposite.

A lie is when this is reality,

and what I say about reality,

don't connect.

So if you had a corpse here today,

someone was dead,

and I said the person's alive.

That's a lie.

There's no beat there.

There's no breath.

The person's dead.

And the astounding claim of the Bible

is that the place where reality

and the communication of reality

come together most profoundly

is in the person of Jesus Christ.

First, it's because Jesus communicates truth.

Jesus says in John chapter 18, verse 37,

John 18:37

For this I came into the world,

to testify to the truth.

Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

And so what Jesus is saying there

is that he speaks truth.

He speaks things the way they actually are.

And if you want to know reality,

you want to know the way things actually are,

you listen to Jesus.

He says something somewhat more profound

a couple of chapters earlier in John.

In John 14, verse 6,

John 14:6

he says,

I am the way,

the truth,

and the life.

No one comes to the Father

except through me.

That is,

he doesn't just speak truth,

but he says,

I am the truth.

Not just communicate the truth,

I am the truth.

And the only reason that he could claim

that he was the truth

or that he is the truth,

that is that I'm absolute

and I'm universal in truth,

is that he is in fact God.

Because that's what God is.

He is truth.

which is exactly what John 1 affirms,

which was just read out to us.

So if you've got John 1 there in front of you,

let's just have a look at what it affirms.

It says,

in the beginning was the Word.

That is,

the Word existed before anything was made.

In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was with God.

And the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning,

through Him,

that is,

the Word.

All things were made.

Without Him,

nothing was made

that has been made.

So the Word existed

before anything was created.

The Word made everything.

This Word is God.

Therefore, this Word is ultimate reality.

This Word is absolute truth.

And then down in verse 14,

we see something startling.

This Word became flesh

and made His dwelling amongst us.

And we have seen His glory.

The glory of the one and only

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

And so you're left with a question.

Who is the Word?

Who is God?

Who existed before creation?

Who created everything?

Who is full of grace and truth?

Who's it talking about?

Verse 15.

John testifies concerning Him.

He cries out saying,

This was He of whom I said,

He who comes after me

has surpassed me

because He was before me.

From the fullness of His grace,

we have all received

one blessing after another.

For the law was given through Moses.

Grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

See, Jesus doesn't just communicate

the truth.

He doesn't just communicate

God's Word.

He is the Word of God.

He is the center of God's

self-revelation

to His created order.

And that is why

we here at church,

at St. Paul's,

say that we exist

to know Jesus.

That's why we exist

to know Jesus.

And so if that's why

we exist to know Jesus,

the question is,

how do we get to know Jesus?

And it turns out

the answer to that question

is exactly what

we've just been doing.

We've already seen briefly

in Psalm 119,

God speaks.

God reveals Himself

to His created order.

And 2 Timothy 3.16

is pretty explicit

on God's revelation

to His created order.

It says that all Scripture,

that's referring there

to the whole Bible,

is God-breathed

and useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting,

and training in righteousness.

You see, the Bible

is not just

the record

of God speaking,

it is the means

of God speaking,

of what is real

and absolute

to His world,

His created world.

Jesus made the claim

that this Bible

testifies to who He is.

It says this

in John 5,

John 5:39

verse 39,

you diligently

study the Scriptures

because you think

that by them

you possess

eternal life.

These are the Scriptures

that testify

about me,

and yet you refuse

to come to me

to have life.

That assumption

there in John 5

lies behind

our core value

of Christ-centered

Bible saturation.

The Bible

is the way

that God,

the ultimate

and all-important

reality,

reveals Jesus

to us

with clarity

and authority

today.

If God

is more important

than anything,

then the Bible

is more important

than anything

but God.

And so we desire

here at St. Paul's

to be saturated

in it,

to be shaped

by it,

to be corrected

by it,

trained by it,

rebuked by it,

instructed by it.

Everything that we face

in this world

is touched

by the Bible.

It is either

directly touched

because it's in the Bible

or it's indirectly touched

because the Bible

shapes

the attitude

and the criteria

in which we deal

with it.

It gives light,

it gives perspective

and meaning,

its truth

needs to permeate

everything,

all things

in this world

will find meaning

in the worldview

that's built

by the Scriptures.

And so the Bible

has a dominant place

in the corporate life

of St. Paul's.

Dominant place

in our corporate worship.

We have community groups

that gather

to study the Bible

and apply it

and we want to encourage

every single person

to pursue

regular habits

of Bible reading

and meditation.

As you look forward

into 2016,

how are you going to grow

in that area?

Notice, however,

the warning

that Jesus gives

in John 5.

It is possible

to search

the Bible

for God

and miss God.

If we pursue

knowledge of Jesus

for its own sake,

it is bound

to go bad

for us.

It will make us proud

and it will make us

conceited.

As the great theologian

J.I. Packer

has written,

to be preoccupied

with getting

biblical knowledge

as an end

in itself,

to approach

Bible study

with no higher motive

than a desire

to know the answers

is the direct route

to a state

of self-satisfied

self-deception.

That's a warning

for

high-value Bible people

Bible.

What is the ultimate

aim

in wanting to know

Jesus through the Bible?

The supreme desire

of the writer

of Psalm 119

was to know

and enjoy

God himself.

And he valued

knowledge about God

simply

as a means

to that end.

He wanted to know

about God

in order to

know God.

He wanted to know

the truth about God

so that his heart

might respond

to it

and his life

be conformed

to it.

And so friends,

it's not good enough

to simply know

your Bible.

Our aim

is to seek

to know Jesus

through the Bible

to be led

to Jesus

and in being led

to Jesus

have life

in Jesus.

Our concern

must be

to enlarge

our acquaintance

with the God

who defines

all things.

And so one

quick tip

on how to turn

that knowledge

about God

into knowledge

of God.

It is both

demanding

and simple

at the same time.

it's just

simply this.

Turn

every truth

that we learn

about God

into a matter

of meditation

before God

which leads

to prayer

and praise

to God.

I'll say it again.

Turn

every truth

that we learn

about God

into a matter

of meditation

before God

leading to

prayer

and praise

to God.

Meditation

is the activity

of calling

to mind

lingering

over

dwelling

on

and applying

to yourself

what you've

learned from

the Bible

about the works

and the ways

and the purposes

and the promises

and the character

of God.

And the effect

will be

humility.

That will be

the impact.

It will

humble us

as we

contemplate

God's

greatness

and his

glory

and our

own

littleness

and our

sinfulness.

It will

encourage

and comfort

us

and reassure

us

as we

contemplate

the

unsearchable

riches

of the

Lord

Jesus'

mercy

to us.

So how

do you

know

if

you're

making

progress

in

knowing

Jesus?

Those who are making progress in knowing Jesus have great energy for Jesus.

Those who are making progress in knowing Jesus have great thoughts of Jesus.

Those who are making progress in knowing Jesus have great boldness for Jesus.

Those who are making progress in Jesus have great contentment and joy in Jesus,

no matter what the circumstances of life.

so maybe you're sitting there now and you're thinking well why would i be bothered finding

out about jesus and becoming acquainted with jesus what's the take home for me what's the

take home for our world jesus said another astounding thing a little later in john's gospel

john chapter 8 he says if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples

John 8 · chapter mention

then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free

know jesus and you know freedom

jesus promises promises us the very thing that we are all striving for

in this secular individualistic culture true freedom freedom indeed he says

and i take it that every single person in this room wants to be free

free in the in the deepest and fullest sense

i once spoke to a man in hospital many many years ago on a hospital visit

uh he was dying of emphysema hooked up to the tanks i shared jesus with him he said no thanks not for me

and i asked him don't mean to be rude but looks like there's only one way out of here for you

uh why why reject jesus he said to me i don't want to lose my freedom

he's hooked up to oxygen tanks i want to suggest to him that freedom was an illusion

i'm assuming that every single person here wants freedom in the deepest and fullest sense

and that is if the opposite of freedom is bondage and slavery no one here wants that

now i also acknowledge that it's possible that you are enslaved to some habits that are very pleasurable

and in that sense you might enjoy your slavery

even so all of us here would rather be happy in freedom rather than enslaved to pleasant addictions

we all want to be truly free and so jesus makes this walloping statement

if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples then you will know the truth

and the truth will set you free

and the people gathered around said to jesus

something that we might say to jesus in that moment

what are you talking about jesus i'm not a slave to anyone

they answered him we are abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone how can you say

that we shall be set free you see they're thinking about one aspect of freedom but jesus something

think about something completely different and he immediately clarifies i tell you the truth

everyone who sins is a slave to sin

that is a walloping statement right there

and it would take ages to unpack all the implications of it

and to put it briefly jesus is saying that everyone sins

and therefore everyone is enslaved to sin

and that means that sin is not just some bad act that i do here and there occasionally

but it is a power that controls my heart and rules my life

and it makes us do bad acts and sets us up against god and sets us up against other people

that's the reason why we cannot work together for a better world

there are many kinds of freedoms that we can make for ourselves in this world

but not this one

this slavery is too deep and all of us are entangled by it

sin enslaves by making anything in this world look more desirable than knowing jesus

just dig a bit deeper and find out what the real treasures are in your heart

that's the real issue for sin

i value this more than jesus

and it also enslaves us by eventually damning us

it enslaves us unless something intervenes

and that's why jesus says in verse 36 of john 8

if the son sets you free you will be free indeed

because jesus truth reality is the only one who can set us free

he frees us from the damnation of slavery by becoming damned for us

on his death on the cross as our substitute

and he frees us from the dominion of sin over our hearts

by changing our hearts in such a way

that we see him as infinitely valuable

and desirable

and he frees us to truly love him and love other people

it may be here

you're still here and you're still saying

steve i am already free

you know it's you christians who all get tied up in moral knots

you know i just do what i like

i do what i feel all i like

and i'm thankful a country where i can do that

you know i can go to coles and i can have

eight different peanut butters

it's my choice

it makes the shopping long

and that's all the freedom i care about

so let me just give you a fuller definition of freedom

you are fully free

and what it means to be totally and fully free

you are fully free

when you have the desire

the ability

the opportunity

to do what you want

and it leaves you no regrets forever

that's total freedom

if you don't have the desire to actually do something

you're not fully free to do it

that is you've been coerced or forced to do something

that you don't want to do

so desire is essential for freedom

and if you have the desire to do something

but you have no ability to do it

then you're not free to do it

i want to travel the world

but i'm hooked up to

a machine that doesn't get on planes

might want to do it

but you can't do it

so if you have the desire

and the ability to do something

but no opportunity to do it

so i'm not hooked up to a machine

i want to travel the world

i'm free to do it

but i've got no money in my pockets

i'm a backpacker

maybe

you're not free to do it

and so if you have the desire to do something

the ability to do something

the opportunity to do something

but it destroys you in the end

then you're no longer free

so let me just expand that with an illustration

if you like

let's take parachuting

you make it to the airport

without having an accident in the car

okay

tick that box

you've got the freedom of opportunity

you've done the classes

and you know how to parachute

tick that box

you have the freedom of opportunity

and the freedom of ability

you're up there in the plane

a couple of kilometers up

you're hovering along

you look out the door

tiny clusters of houses

and sheds and dams

and you can't wait to jump out of the plane

tick that box

you have the freedom of desire

you're not frozen by fear in that moment

and so you jump

and as you free fall

every second of it

you're loving it

loving it

unknown to you

your parachute is defective

and it's not going to open

no matter how hard you try

even though you don't know it yet

you are in fact

enslaved

to

destruction

and it will be a regret

it feels like freedom

but very soon

the whole thing

all the exhilaration

will prove to be

an illusion

I was not

truly

free

in 30 seconds

you

will be

dead

it

baffles me

every time

on the news

some bloke

is interviewed

because his mate

has just been killed

he's just been eaten

by a shark

out surfing

and his mate

says

well at least

he's died

doing what he loved

like that

was on his mind

as the great

white

was gnawing

on him

tick the box

at everything else

except

that one

it cost him

his life

as a predecessor

of mine

said in this pulpit

over 20 years ago

self-preoccupation

is a terminal

illness

it will kill you

in the end

you're not

truly free

to be fully free

we must have

the desire

the ability

the opportunity

to do

what will make us

happy

forever

no regrets

it will never

come back

and bite us

and only Jesus

the son of God

who died

and rose

for us

can make

that possible

if Jesus

sets you

free

you are

free

indeed

to be happy

forever

our sins

must be forgiven

and God's

wrath

removed

and Christ

must become

our supreme

treasure

only Jesus

can do that

for us

in fact

he has

already

done it

for us

he died

on the cross

he absorbed

God's wrath

he rose

from the dead

and today

therefore

is supremely

precious

and he

offers us

life

forever

as a free

gift

that's why

we exist

to know

Jesus

by Brother

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