Greg Clarke The truth sets free

Heavenly Father, we are indeed grateful that we can meet here tonight in freedom, in peace,

to understand you, to explore you, to worship you, to focus our lives together around you.

We thank you for that privilege and we understand that not everyone in the world, not all Christian people can do that.

So please protect that opportunity in this country.

Protect this church, protect all who would like to gather in the name of Christ.

And Lord, tonight as we open your word and think about how it applies to our lives,

please grant blessing and wisdom to the words I have to say and open our hearts to receive what you have to offer.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Can you all hear me all right? Is there a big echo sound? It means I should move this somewhere.

Can you hear up the back? Okay, I'm getting nods. That's good. It must just be my old age and my hearing.

Thank you for the invitation to be here tonight.

And it's always a privilege to come to a church where you're not regularly part of the congregation and to deliver a message.

But you always do it with a little bit of fear and trepidation.

Think, what have these people been through this week?

I've just heard about all the amazing things that are happening at the church.

Big changes and building projects.

And is it a school, a junior school that's, or preschool, is it?

A Chinese school?

Fantastic.

What a marvellous thing to be adding to your community.

But of course, I come in knowing almost nothing about you.

Nothing about your challenges this week.

Nothing about the pressures on your life.

Nothing about the sadnesses you've experienced or the joys you've had this week.

We come together with a common bond that we want to know Christ.

We bring all those things, all those stresses, all those joys, all those family situations,

to that one goal, to know Christ.

And the passage I've brought to you tonight, I think, is one that is extremely comforting,

extremely liberating for those who want to know Christ.

Because it's saying to us that if you know the teachings of Christ,

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

If you come to this man through this book,

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

It's an enormous claim.

It's one that you'd be right to be sceptical about.

One that we need to justify.

One that we need to explore and see what it has to offer us today.

Do you know anyone who's blind?

How many people here know someone who is blind?

Anyone?

One, two, three people, four people do.

That's quite a large percentage, actually, in any gathering.

It's not the most common of problems,

most common of afflictions in Australia.

But around the world is a very common problem to be blind.

In my Bible Society work, I've come across the names of a couple,

and forgive me, I need to read them because my Chinese expression is so terrible.

It's Ma Hongming and his wife, Zhao Bilian.

Two Chinese people, they live in a rural village.

They're in their 70s, and they've both been blind since birth.

I can't imagine how hard life has been for them.

How much they just haven't experienced.

How much of what I take for granted is completely dark to them in their world.

How difficult the just basic activities of life have been in a rural village in China,

blind since birth.

Well, we received a letter from them.

A letter that went to the Bible Society office, I think, in Singapore.

And they had received a Braille Bible that's produced at the Amity Bible Press in Nanjing.

Braille Bibles are enormous things, because you know Braille,

there's all the little bumps, and you run your fingers along the bumps to read when you're blind.

And these are Braille Bibles that can be understood by an older Chinese couple.

And the letter turned up in the office, and this is what it said.

Thank you for the Bible, which we read every day.

We have no worries about the future.

God is with us all the time.

People have asked us before if we're worried about what is to come,

since we're already so old and we have no children to support us.

We thank them for their concern.

We told them that we simply take whatever comes our way, whenever it comes.

After all, God is in control of our lives.

Why should we be anxious about tomorrow?

What an extraordinary thing to be able to write

as you come towards, I guess, the end of their lives,

having had such difficulties, such struggles,

but to feel such peace, such contentment,

such release from anxiety.

And it's come from the Word of God.

It's come from knowing the teachings of Jesus.

I can hear echoes of all sorts of Bible passages

that they would have read down the years,

from Matthew 6 or Luke 12 or Philippians 4, 6,

cast your cares, your anxieties on God,

who alone knows what tomorrow will bring.

Now, all of these echoes of Scripture

that must be in their ears as they think about it.

And our passage tonight also comes to mind

because here's a couple who know the truth

and the truth has set them free.

They know the truth about life.

They know what really matters.

And knowing that truth has set them free.

Now, of course, it hasn't set them free

from their daily struggles,

from making a cup of tea when you're blind

or from working out where the money's going to come from

or who is going to care for me when I'm old.

They've still got the daily struggles,

more struggles than we can possibly imagine.

But at a deeper level or a higher level,

at a more profound level,

they don't have a worry in the world.

The truth has set them free.

Well, friends, from this passage

that was really well read for us tonight,

thank you very much,

I want to leave you with just four thoughts

around what it means to be set free

in the truth about Christ.

Four thoughts about what it means

to be radically free.

Not free from every anxiety,

not free from worrying about what Christmas presents

you've got to buy for your uncle

or not worried about your job,

released from worrying about your job next year

or your marriage or whatever it is,

but radical freedom.

The kind of freedom you get

when you've profoundly grasped

what really matters in this world,

when you've really got the truth.

The first point is that

when you come to know the truth through Jesus,

you enter into a relationship

with him and his father.

And it's described in the Bible

as a disciple relationship.

When you know the truth,

you enter into a relationship

with Jesus and his father in heaven.

Very few religions actually offer you

a relationship with God.

Most religions are about law keeping,

about appeasing the anger of the deity

or about keeping your place in life.

Maybe adding some wisdom,

understanding the world a bit better.

But very few religions offer you this,

the idea that you would know God

and be known by God.

If you hold my teaching,

says Jesus in verse 31,

you're really my disciples,

my followers,

those who are known to me,

those who are close to me.

In a society like Australia,

Christianity has been preached

for a very long time.

After all, the Bible Society came here in 1817.

Bibles were available to the early convicts,

to the early settlers.

The message of Christianity has been preached

and many people turned up in the churches

and would hear that message.

But so many left it at that.

So many didn't take that extra step

that brings you into relationship with God,

to become a disciple of Jesus,

someone known to Jesus

and known by Jesus.

Deeply understood,

deeply known

in a deep relationship with God.

That is what Christianity offers.

That's the kind of understanding of yourself

that can set you free.

Uniquely among religions,

this is offered even to sinners,

even to those who fall short of God's standards.

that the truth will set you free

to be in relationship with God.

So firstly,

if you know the truth,

it sets you free

to be in a real relationship

with Jesus and his Father.

Secondly,

Jesus' teaching brings truth

into a world of spin

and lies.

Jesus' teaching brings truth

into this world

that is full of spin

and lies.

We've never had a time

where you have more access

to more information

about more things

than today.

The average person

has access on their phone

to more information

than all the professors

of the world had

in the 19th century.

More access to information

and power

than those who landed

on the moon had

in their computer systems.

You have profound access

to knowledge.

The libraries of the world

are open to you.

Whereas in the past,

to read a book,

you had to go to a library,

look for that book,

take it out,

or even worse,

go to a bookshop,

buy that book,

take it out.

You've got your online stores now.

You can download them

in moments.

You've got access

to the literature

of the world

that couldn't have been imagined

just decades ago.

And yet,

how do you sort out

the truth from the lies?

How are you going to work out

which books matter?

How are you going to work out

what teaching matters?

Even the religious sphere alone,

there's plenty of religious chatter,

plenty of options

available to you.

I had the joy

of going to an opening

of an art exhibition yesterday

called the Blake Religious Prize.

And this is a long-standing

religious art prize

in Australia.

It's a wonderful exhibition.

It has on display

all sorts of artworks

dealing with the religious matters

of our world.

And it's extraordinarily diverse.

You've got perspectives

from every religion.

You've got Christians,

you've got Jews,

you've got Hindus,

you've got anti-religious material

talking about religion.

There's all sorts

of religious chatter

going on,

all sorts of experiences

to be had,

all sorts of options

being made available to you.

But Jesus doesn't offer

an option.

He claims to have the truth.

He doesn't offer

one way forward.

He claims to be

the way forward.

He doesn't offer

a religious experience.

he offers

a relationship

with the true

and living God.

And so when he says

in verse 29,

the one who sent me

is with me.

He has not left me alone

for I always do

what pleases him.

He's talking about

a special relationship

with the living God.

He's talking about

the father

who has sent him,

who has not left him alone,

whom he always pleases.

He's talking about

his closeness

to God himself.

He's making a profound

and unique claim

to reveal God to us

because of

how intimately

he knows God.

in a world

of spin and lies,

Jesus doesn't

offer us an option,

but he holds

out to us

the truth.

In a confusing world,

that's very welcome.

Thirdly,

from this passage,

knowing the truth

about Jesus

releases you

from false religion.

You may be

someone who

wants to serve God,

who attends

something like

a prize exhibition,

yearning to find

religious experience

and understanding,

yearning to know

what is true,

deeply searching.

Well,

Jesus,

through his teaching,

promises to release

you from false religion.

And this is what

was so difficult

for the Jewish

teachers of the day.

In the passage

that we've read,

you see some of

the confusion

and difficulty

that the Jews

had with understanding

who Jesus was.

back in verse 21,

Jesus says,

I'm going to go away.

You'll look for me.

You'll die in your sin

because where I go,

you can't come.

And they say,

what is he talking

about here?

Is he about to

commit suicide

and leave us

that way?

What does he mean

we can't follow him?

There's confusion

among the Jewish

leaders about

who he is.

And a deep

contrast,

I think,

between Jesus

himself

and these Pharisees.

Whereas they have

endeavoured

to serve God,

endeavoured

to keep the law,

endeavoured to

every jot and tittle

of the law,

as they say,

every particular

commandment

in precision

will be kept

by us

to please God.

Jesus says,

to them,

you'll die

in your sin.

Extremely offensive

thing to say.

Imagine if that's

what your church

leaders are saying.

This is the way

to go.

And someone comes

along and says,

no,

you'll die in your sin.

You've got it

all wrong.

You've got it

wrong.

You are from below,

he says in verse 23.

I'm from above.

You're of this world,

but I'm not of this

world.

I told you,

you would die

in your sins.

If you do not

believe me,

if you do not

believe that I am

he,

you will indeed

die in your sins.

And with that

comment,

Jesus changes

the game

about religion.

The Pharisees

are thinking,

if I obey the law,

I will please God.

Jesus comes and

says,

if you only do

that,

you will die

in your sins.

If you believe

me

and follow

me,

the truth

will set you

free.

This profound

contrast is set up

between Jesus

and religion.

the Pharisees

struggle with

this.

You can

understand them

struggling with

this.

This is a very

difficult concept

to grasp,

but Jesus

keeps showing

them a true

understanding of

what God's law

is all about.

A true

understanding of

God's law

leads you to

commitment to

God himself,

changed hearts,

not just

changed behaviour

and obedience

to the law.

He presents

a very

profound

teaching here

to the

Pharisees.

In verse

21-22,

as we've

said,

he claims

to be able

to judge.

Sorry,

verse 26,

he claims

to be able

to judge.

I have much

to say in

judgment of

you,

you religious

leaders,

but he who

sent me is

trustworthy and

what I've

heard from

him,

I tell the

world.

Jesus takes

a position

of God

as judge.

What a

thing to

wrestle with

as a

religious

leader.

He claims

to be

super close

to the

father,

so close

that they

can't

understand

it.

He's

claiming

that they

are one.

The one

who sent

me is

with me.

He has

not left

me alone.

What a

difficult

thing for

a monotheistic

religion to

grapple with.

The Jews

have taught

that there

is only one

God,

but here

is this

figure

suggesting

that he

and the

father are

one.

Surely

that's

blasphemy,

surely

that's

sacrilege,

or it's

the truth.

This

truth will

set you

free.

But so

hard to

take.

Jesus

teaching,

when

grappled

with,

releases

you from

false

religion.

It

releases

you from

that idea

that you've

got to try

hard enough

to please

God.

It

releases

you into

the

relationship

you can

have even

as a

sinner with

the living

God through

Jesus Christ.

And

fourthly,

and finally,

Jesus'

teaching here

in fact

sets you

free from

sin and

from judgment.

It sets you

free from

sin and

judgment.

It's

spiritually

powerful.

at the

art

exhibition

I saw

an amazing

range of

religious

teaching

being depicted

in either

video

installations

or

paintings

or

sculptures.

If you're

into art,

I'd recommend

going over

to the

University of

New South

Wales College

of Fine

Arts and

seeing the

Blake

Religious

Prize

exhibition.

It's a

wonderful

insight into

thinking about

religion in

contemporary

Australia.

But the

teaching,

the teaching

on offer,

there's a

profound

difference

between what

Jesus has

to offer

and what

the religions

of the

world have

to offer.

Jesus

claims not

just to set

us free from

false

understandings of

the world,

to make us

wiser,

to wise us

up to

reality.

He claims

to set us

free from

our deepest

problem,

from sin,

from our

corruption at

heart.

What a

claim.

And it's a

radical

exclusive

claim.

It's this

radical

exclusive

claim that

drives

missionary

work around

the world.

If you

think you've

found the

core to

relieving

humans of

their burden

of sin,

well, you

want the

world to

know.

You want

that to be

spread far

and wide.

You want

that message

to ring

out here

in Australia

and abroad.

It's because

Jesus'

teaching is

so much

more than

just wise

words that

missionary

movements like

the Bible

Society begin.

Because we

know that

when people

know this

man, this

Jesus, that

truth will

set them

free in

profoundly

spiritual and

deeply

relational

ways.

Jesus isn't

just a good

option.

He's the

one through

whom truth

and freedom

and purpose

can be

found.

And thank

God, even

in his

time, many

came to

see this

immediately.

Verse 30,

even as he

spoke, many

believed in

him.

I think the

message of

forgiveness in

Jesus is

so liberating.

It's such

good news,

it's hardly

surprising that

people often

get it on the

spot.

That's what I've

been waiting

for.

I've been

searching the

world to

find the

answer, to

find the

truth, to

find the

way, to

find some

teaching that

would make

a difference.

And now

I've heard

it.

Now I've

heard it in

Jesus, the

revelation of

God, the

one who is

at one with

the living

God, the

Father, the

one whose

death can

set me free

from my

sin, the

one who can

remove judgment

from me.

Well, that's

something, why

am I waiting?

That's something

I want.

And I want

it right now.

And many on

that day

believed in

him.

And then in

verse 31,

Jesus said to

them, to the

Jews who had

believed him,

Jesus said to

them, if you

hold my

teaching, you

really are my

disciples.

Come to

Jesus and

accept the

freedom and

forgiveness he

has to offer,

and you are

now in

relationship with

me.

You're a

follower of

me, says

Jesus.

You're a

disciple.

Then you

will know

the truth.

You'll

have all

the spin

and all

the lies

pushed aside.

You will

know what

really matters

in this

life.

You'll

understand God

and yourself

and the

world that

you live

in.

You'll

know, even

if you're

blind and

lost from

the light in

a village in

remote China,

it won't

matter because

you'll know

the truth from

the lies.

It will set

you free.

And you'll

be set free

from the

struggles you've

had to

please God,

the attempts,

the failures,

the worry about

the law, the

worry about am

I good enough?

In Jesus, you're

found to be good

enough.

He sets you

free.

And that sin

and that

judgment, that

spiritual

condemnation that

so many of us

feel and know is

what we deserve,

passes away as we

come into a

relationship with

the living God

through Jesus

Christ.

Friends, this

Christmas, the

message of Jesus

coming into the

world will be

preached all over

the country.

How much we

long for people

to not just

hear it, not

just understand

the story, but

for it to enter

our hearts so

that we can all

experience that

freedom that

comes from

knowing Jesus,

the true and

living God,

in human form.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father,

it's miraculous,

it's miraculous

that we can

know you.

Heavenly Father,

it is stunning

that you would

come into the

world in human

form through

Christ, that we

might be able to

grasp you in a

way that we can

understand.

Father, it is

mind-blowing that

you have preserved

this truth for us

in the scriptures,

that we have

access to it here

in Sydney,

Australia, in the

21st century, in

our language, in a

format we can

understand.

Lord, may we not

take this for

granted.

May we saturate

ourselves in your

word.

word.

And by doing so,

may we more

deeply understand

your truth and

experience that

freedom that it

gives.

In Jesus' name we

pray.

Amen.

I'll see you next time.