Jesus confronts the liar and the lie

Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us at this time.

Father, your word reveals things which are hard for us, and we confess before you, Father,

that we want to try to solve these things by our own categories and in our own way

and in our own strength and not just listen to your word and believe it and to trust it

and to have it bear fruit in our lives.

So, Father, we ask for a deep work of your Holy Spirit in our lives as we open your word.

And, Father, we want to lift Jesus high this morning here, and we want to lift him high in our daily lives.

We want to lift him high in this city, and we want to lift him high to the ends of the earth.

So, Father, please be gracious and kind.

Pour out your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please be seated.

So, occasionally I do this with a sermon.

I give a bit of a warning.

I guess I should maybe have had a bit of an R symbol up there because it's a bit of a restricted sermon,

not because I'm going to talk about sexual stuff, but I'm going to talk about the devil.

So, if you're a guest here this morning or you've been here for a while and you're a bit of a seeker,

I just want to let you know we're going to talk about the devil because it's sort of in the scripture text.

And I know that when I say in Canada that we're going to talk about the devil,

there's sort of nowadays there's sort of two types of reactions.

For many Canadians to say that I'm going to talk about the devil,

I have just revealed that I am an anti-intellectual kook.

I've just revealed that to you folks.

For many Canadians, that's what it would be.

The eyes would roll.

They'd go, oh, good grief.

And for others, increasing numbers, maybe even the majority of Canadians,

they'd say, well, that's interesting.

I wonder what he has to say.

I wonder if it fits in with how I understand demons and devils to work.

So, wherever you are, that's what we're going to look at today amongst other things.

Of course, it's not the main thing in the text, but it's a big part of the text.

It's a bit of an iceberg or an elephant in the text, and we're going to look at it.

We're not going to avoid it.

So, if you have your Bibles, let's see.

I mean, it doesn't jump right into talking about the devil right away, but it's going to get there.

So, if you have your Bibles, turn in them to John 8, verse 31.

John 8:31

John 8, verse 31.

John 8:31

And here's how...

Remember, when I was introducing this text before I read it, I said,

this is part of a longer conversation of Jesus.

And so, some of the things that are in the text, we sort of talked about last week,

but John 8, verse 31, here's how it goes.

John 8:31

So, Jesus said to the Jews, it's both the leaders and the people who had believed him.

And notice, by the way, it says believed him, not believed in him, but believed him.

They've started to believe some of the things he's said,

but they haven't quite reached the point of having a trust in him.

It's all the way through John's Gospel.

It's a very subtle difference, but it's a very important difference.

Since I've introduced the topic of demons in another place in the Bible,

it says, Jesus says, the demons believe in God and tremble.

They don't have a saving belief, but they have a knowledge.

So, this is the way here it's been referred to.

There's some knowledge that what Jesus is saying is true.

So, I'll read it again, verse 31.

So, Jesus said to the Jewish people who had believed him,

if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

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

And we're just going to camp there just for a few seconds.

Andrew, if you could put that up on the screen.

It's a really important verse.

It's one of those verses that Christians should try to memorize if they possibly can.

In a very interesting way, by memorizing the scripture,

you're abiding and continuing in the word, right?

It's also part of how you just meditate upon the word

and have it try to come into your life.

Some of your versions will say not abide, but continue.

And both are very good words to translate the original idea in the original language.

Abide sort of means to live there.

Continue means also has that same type of idea that you listen,

and then you continue to listen and continue to have it to have some type of role in your life.

Well worth memorizing.

And so, once again, I'm going in and out.

Is that just my imagination?

Imagination?

Nope, it's not my imagination.

Anyway, so it's a very, very powerful, wonderful verse.

We're going to return to it at the end, but just in case I lose you, put you all to sleep.

This is a very, very, very powerful set of four ideas that are all linked in the scripture.

And you need to have all four of them to have any part of it work.

So there's this first thing that Jesus says, you need to abide in my word.

And if you abide in my word, if you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples.

And his word here is opening the door to a far bigger thing.

The historic understanding of Christians is that when we read the New Testament,

we're reading ultimately the apostolic testimony to what Jesus said.

And Jesus is in chapter 7 said how when you listen to the Old Testament, you're listening to the Father speak.

So it's not only Jesus talking about the gospel that you have to believe and be gripped by the gospel,

but you have to be gripped by the gospel, the message that God has sent his son.

And how does he put it in John chapter 3, verse 16?

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son to the end that all who believe in him will not perish,

but have eternal life.

And so it's not only the message of the gospel, but the writings of the New Testament

that we are to abide in and continue.

And if we do that, we truly are his disciples,

truly are ones who have been saved by him and are following him.

And then what's the next linked idea?

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.

And what will happen?

You will know the truth.

You will know the truth.

You won't know lies.

You won't know ambiguity.

You won't know illusion.

You will know the truth.

You will be delivered from lies.

And illusions.

And delusions.

To know the truth.

That's God's desire for human beings.

Is that we know the truth.

Not only the truth about God, but the truth.

That's his heart.

That's his desire.

That's one of the implications of the gospel.

One of the implications of the gospel is that as it grips you,

and as you now, in light of the gospel, continue in the word,

that that basic creational purpose that God has always had for us,

to know the truth, that that will happen.

And part of how we will, one of the consequences of abiding in the word,

and being the disciple of Jesus,

and knowing the truth,

is that the truth will make us free.

Drugs don't make us free.

Getting drunk doesn't make us free.

Lies don't make us free.

I mean, we might sort of think that they sort of get us out of some trouble,

but lies ultimately always damage and hurt us.

Illusion doesn't make, delusion doesn't,

the truth will set you free.

That's his powerful statement of Jesus.

So even if you now fall asleep,

I lose you for the next 30 minutes,

hopefully that will grip you,

and you'll want to memorize the scripture.

But here's the problem.

If we're honest, and all of a sudden now,

because, you know, it's,

we live in Canada,

unless you're a guest here this morning from another country,

if so, we're really glad you came to join us.

But if we breathe the cultural air of Canada,

and in Canada,

well, Andrew, could you put up the next slide?

I'm not sure what it's going to look like,

because I gave Andrew some options.

In Canada,

we've taken part of Jesus' words

and cut out the rest.

This is a very Canadian statement.

Know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

Isn't that like a very, very Canadian statement?

Jesus says,

if you abide in my word,

if you abide in my word,

you are truly my disciples,

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

But in Canada,

we've gotten rid of

abiding,

abiding in the word,

being a disciple of Jesus.

And we've taken all of that part out of the scripture,

and in some ways,

this is a bit of a motto for the average Canadian.

Know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

Which means then,

for the average Canadian,

why do you need to add Jesus to the equation?

Like,

know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

I mean,

that's why we buy the self-help books,

isn't it?

That's,

that's,

why,

that's just basically,

it's like,

it's so,

in some ways,

part of the history of Canadian culture

is that shift.

It's actually,

what if just,

it's the enlightenment here.

Sorry,

a little bit of an intellectual geek moment.

Sorry,

time out.

Intellectual geek moment.

The switch,

from what Jesus said to that,

is the beginning of the enlightenment.

It's the enlightenment project.

That's what it is.

And,

and so,

for the average Canadian,

they say,

one moment,

you just know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

How on earth does knowing Jesus

add anything to that project whatsoever?

In fact,

for the average Canadian,

the average Canadian,

they'd say,

in fact,

actually moving towards,

what Jesus actually said,

about abiding in the Bible,

and,

and actually being a follower of Jesus,

that actually is a movement away from knowing the truth.

It's a movement away from freedom.

That's the cultural area we live in.

Knowing Jesus only messes this project up,

which is deeply ingrained in us.

So,

what do we do?

Well,

it's very,

very interesting.

interesting.

The,

the Bible is actually going to deal with this.

Believe it or not,

how Jesus talks about this afterwards,

it's,

it's one of the many ways that I really believe that the Bible is inspired,

because,

the,

the words are just slightly different,

but Jesus in the conversation anticipates the problem.

But before we get,

to what Jesus says,

I just want to throw out a bit of a challenge to us.

So,

for the average Canadian,

this is true.

Know the truth and we'll set,

and the truth will set you free.

And the question to Canada is,

how's that working for us?

Like,

how's that working?

Like,

just,

just be real for a second.

When you look at Canada right now,

do you think Canadians generally,

because this is what they believe,

do you think there's a lot more freedom in Canada now than there used to be?

Do you think that in Canada,

more and more people are able to think well?

Do you think in Canada there are fewer lies that people believe?

Do you think in Canada that people generally are highly motivated by knowing what's true and real?

Like,

how's that going in Canada right now?

Is it going so well that we can say that maybe you don't need what Jesus said,

but you just need to listen to that?

Let's just be honest for a second.

It's not really going very well,

is it?

I mean,

who reads Twitter for the truth?

Maybe you have been.

Sorry.

But,

it's a bad place to get the truth.

It's good to get yelling.

And innuendo.

And people having their feelings hurt.

In fact,

actually,

you know,

for many Canadians now,

it's actually more from know the truth,

and the truth will set you free,

is to know your feelings,

and your feelings will set you free.

And that's working even worse than knowing the truth.

Now,

some of you might say,

okay,

George,

well,

that's actually a very,

very clever point you just made,

but I'm going to push it right back at you.

George,

how on earth can what Jesus said,

if you abide in my word,

you are truly my disciples,

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free?

Like,

George,

how dare you get up there and say that,

that that's somehow a better thing.

George,

I mean,

you know,

George,

you're going to be going to a conference at Southern Seminary in a couple of weeks,

sort of a continuing ed thing.

George,

Southern Seminary,

great place of learning,

but you know what,

that was segregated.

It was racist up until just a few decades ago.

Like,

what about apartheid?

All those good reformed Christians in South Africa,

practicing apartheid.

What about Christians in slavery?

What about just,

George,

okay,

yeah,

yeah,

so maybe the project's not going very well in Canada,

but George,

given Christianity's terrible history connected to racism,

and apartheid,

like,

how is that any better?

Now,

by the way,

that's a really good question for a non-Christian to ask us.

That's a completely and utterly fair question.

It might not be a question we feel comfortable with,

but it's a great question.

And here,

by the way,

because as you know,

I have notes here,

but a lot of times I don't look at them.

If I forget to come back and answer the question,

please shout at me and say,

George,

you didn't answer the question,

because we are.

So let's look at the Bible.

Actually,

what Jesus says

is very,

very contemporary.

He's going to address these issues.

So if you,

if you turn in your Bibles,

get your Bibles back open.

John chapter eight,

verse 31.

I'll read it again,

and we'll see what happens next.

So Jesus said to the Jewish people who had believed him,

if you abide in my word,

you are truly my disciples,

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

They answered him,

we are offspring of Abraham

and have never been enslaved to anyone.

How is it that you say

you will become free?

All you need to change in that is

we are Canadians.

We are Canadians.

We've never been enslaved by anyone.

How on earth can you say

that

you will become free?

And Jesus answered them,

and here's the first thing.

We're going to camp in this

for just a couple of minutes,

but here's,

see,

Jesus is going to say

that this enlightenment project

that most Canadians believe in

completely and utterly ignores

two important realities.

That if you don't understand

these two important realities,

that's why this doesn't work.

And why what Jesus says

will work.

And the first is right here in verse 34.

Jesus answered them,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

everyone who practices sin

is a slave to sin.

What this

doesn't take into account of

is sin.

Human sin.

You see,

in the enlightenment project,

in what most Canadians think of,

they think that all we need to do

to sort of fix this

is,

the problem is we're finite.

And so what we need to fix,

how we need to fix this

is we just need to have

a bit better philosophy.

We need,

and in particular,

we need better technology.

You know,

like maybe what we need

to know the truth more

is to have something

that you can just carry around

in your hand

that will access virtually

all of the knowledge

on the planet

because that one,

one moment,

that doesn't work at all

right now,

does it?

Like,

in fact,

actually,

that's made it worse,

hasn't it?

I mean,

if you're honest with it,

right?

The internet hasn't made us

smarter,

wiser,

more pursuing of truth.

It's made us want to look

at cat videos and porn

and believe the latest rantings

and ravings of people

who are fools.

Right?

I mean,

that's what's happened.

But,

you know,

in our,

for us in Canada,

we're so committed to this,

to making sure that Jesus

has nothing to do with anything.

We think that,

okay,

if the tools are better,

if the technique is better,

if society is just better,

if we elect the right leader,

if we elect a really good

progressive prime minister,

one moment,

how's that going?

Didn't we just do that?

Like,

it's not going very well.

We did it in Ontario.

I mean,

it's not,

it just,

you see,

what Jesus says is

the problem isn't that

we don't have the best tools,

or the best philosophy yet,

or the best social structure.

He says the problem is us.

The problem is that human beings

are bent and fallen.

And when the Bible talks about sin,

by the way,

if you're a guest here,

it's not a,

it's not a code word for sex.

Sex isn't sinful.

I mean,

there's a way that sex is sinful,

sexual knowing and stimulation

is sinful,

but it's not a code word.

It's,

it's referring to Genesis chapter three.

It's,

it's referring to the great lie that,

but before that,

that God had made all things good

for us to,

to know God

and to be known by God

and to be transparent

and to,

and to live in our home

and to develop the home

and to make the whole,

the whole earth

like a beautiful garden

and,

and have God provide

all of our needs.

But instead of that,

we chose to not believe God

and to,

in fact,

to say that,

that God,

I don't believe any of,

I don't believe what you're saying

is true

and I don't trust you.

And I want to be God.

I want to be just as much

a God as,

as you.

And I want to become the center

and I want to be in control.

And in that fundamental break

to be like God

bent human beings.

And if you read Genesis 3,

the result of it is,

is that human,

all of a sudden,

Adam and Eve

didn't talk each other,

trust each other anymore

and they passed blame

and,

and they hated transparency

and,

and we want to hide.

And the Bible says

that's the human problem.

That's what Jesus says.

That's the problem with,

it's,

it's not,

and,

and God in his common grace

made sure that everything

didn't completely and utterly

fall apart,

but the fall is just present

with us.

Sin is present with us.

And that's why

just merely knowing the truth

and the truth will set you free,

it just doesn't work

because it doesn't deal

with the fact that human beings

are fundamentally bent.

And by the way,

when I say this,

I'm not saying that

those who are Christians

aren't bent and fallen

and non-Christians are.

I'm a fallen human being too.

And by the way,

here when,

when Jesus is saying,

and,

and,

and,

you know,

there's a,

and we're bent in our,

our spirituality

and our religion,

we're bent in our technology,

we're bent in our philosophy,

we're bent in our emotions,

we're bent in our thinking.

So,

now that I've just depressed you all,

well,

Jesus goes on to say something

which gives us hope.

Like,

what is it he says?

Look at verse 35.

He uses a bit of an analogy

about how,

that the analogy sort of works by,

you know,

a slave would say,

I'm a slave in this house.

Whereas a son or a daughter would say,

I live in this house.

Sort of the,

the different,

the very,

very different worldview.

Very different,

they both can inhabit

right beside each other

but their status is different,

how they understand things is different,

their freedom is different,

their power is different,

everything is different.

So,

verse 35,

the slave,

so,

verse 34 again,

truly,

truly,

I say to you,

everyone who practices sin

as a slave to sin,

the slave does not remain

in the house forever.

The son remains forever.

So,

if the son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

If the son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

You know,

if,

if the son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

See,

that's going to start,

point back a little bit

about what it means

to actually believe in Jesus

and to abide in his word

and to follow him

because it is for freedom

that Christ has set us free.

And it's for a freedom

that Christ has set us free

that's true

and in the truth.

that's why he set us free.

Then he says,

in verse 37,

I know that you are

the offspring of Abraham,

yet you seek to kill me.

We talked about that more last week

because my word

finds no place in you.

I speak of what I have seen

with my father

and you do

what you have heard

from your father.

Now,

just sort of pause here.

Those of you who are looking

a little bit ahead,

Jesus is now going to begin

into this second thing.

Remember,

why does know the truth

and the truth will set you free

not work?

The first thing is,

Jesus says,

very wisely

and correctly,

is that we haven't

taken into account

the fact that every human being

has sinned.

And what's the second thing?

The second thing is,

is that the world

hasn't taken into account

that the devil is real

and exists.

Look at what he goes on

to say in verse 39.

They answered him,

Abraham is our father.

In other words,

that's the lineage

that they come from.

And Jesus said to them,

if you were Abraham's children,

you would be doing

the works

that Abraham did.

But now you seek

to kill me,

which is actually

what's happening.

A man who has told you

the truth

that I heard from God.

This is not what Abraham did.

You are doing the works

that you're doing

the works your father did.

They said to him,

we were not born

in sexual immorality.

Probably a little bit

of a dig

that they would have said

that Jesus was born

of sexual immorality.

We have one father,

even God.

Jesus said to them,

if God were your father,

you would love me.

For I came from God

and I am here.

I came not

of my own accord,

but he sent me.

Why do you not

understand what I say?

It is because

you cannot bear my word.

You are of your father,

the devil,

and your will

is to do

your father's desires.

He was a murderer

from the beginning

and does not stand

in the truth

because there is

no truth in him.

When he speaks,

sorry,

when he lies,

he speaks out

of his own character,

for he is a liar

and the father

of lies.

I'm going to read

that verse 44 again.

It's a very,

very powerful verse.

You are of your father,

the devil,

and your will

is to do

your father's desires.

He was a murderer

from the beginning

and does not stand

in the truth

because there is

no truth in him.

When he lies,

he speaks out

of his own character,

for he is a liar

and the father

of lies.

Andrew,

if you could

put the next point

up, please.

The devil desires

you to die

in the unending

grip of lies.

The devil desires

you to die

in the unending

grip of lies.

So,

remember I said

that when I first

introduced this sermon,

I said just a bit

of a warning,

a heads up.

We're going to talk

about the devil

a little bit

this morning.

And for many Canadians,

I've just revealed

myself as an

unintelligent,

unread kook.

And for other Canadians

who sort of

through a variety

of reasons

have come to

basically accept

that there's

a supernatural world

and I'm now

sort of just curious

as to whether

I'm going to talk

about whether

you can have

little boxes

that can capture

demons or something

like that

or what the

right spells are

or the difference

between white

and black magic.

The Bible has

a lot more to say

about the demonic

than this,

but I've disappointed

everyone in Canada

virtually outside

of those who are

disciples of Jesus

with our description

of the devil's work

right now

because this isn't

very sexy,

is it?

It's just

this sense

that the Bible

says is that

the devil,

that every single

human being

has an experience

of the devil

and their experience

of the devil

is when they lie.

And that's not

very sexy.

You see,

part of the thing

that this text

is revealing,

for many Canadians,

we sort of almost

believe that

we live in a

naked public square.

But what I mean

by a naked public

square here

is that

all we see

is what is.

If we don't see it,

it doesn't exist.

And then what we see

is we see stores,

we see buildings,

we see people.

But the Bible

paints a very,

very different

world picture

that there are,

in fact,

angels and demons

and we walk

amidst unseen

beings.

that's what,

in fact,

we walk amongst.

And that the devils,

so to speak,

they whisper in our ears

and to our hearts

and to our minds.

And one of the things

which is sort of shocking

about what Jesus is saying,

he's saying many things

that are shocking,

is that if we do tend

to think that there are

things like devils,

we sort of imagine

ourselves

that there's

God

and there's sort of

devils

and where devils

have lots of influence

and we're sort of

somewhere in between.

And we can sort of

be lured this way

to where there's devils

or we can be lured

this way towards

where there's God,

but it's very powerful

for most of us

unless we've had

a terrible experience

with demonic oppression

and possession.

It's very common

for us to think

that somehow

we are in a bit

of a neutral area

between these two.

But what the Bible

is revealing

is that that entire image

is wrong.

Every human being

lives here.

Every human being

lives here.

And it's in fact

out of here

that Christ

has redeemed us.

It is out of here

that Christ

has saved us.

It is out of here

that Jesus

adopts us

as his child.

It is out of here

that we are,

in the words

of verse 31,

that we are to

abide in his word

and you are truly

my disciples

and you will know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

We are to hear that

while we're here.

Not in some neutral places

if we're gods.

That's the original lie.

I am a creature,

not a god.

In heaven,

I will be a creature,

not a god.

Although,

as C.S. Lewis

so wonderfully put it,

if a creature

who is now

in the new heaven

and the new earth

was to come

to what is now

the earth,

the glory

would be so deep

and so wonderful

that in fact

we could hardly

bear to look

at such a creature

and would be tempted

to worship him or her.

But we are not

in the new heaven

and the new earth yet.

We are here.

We dwell among

a people

of unclean lips.

I, Lord,

as well

have such

unclean lips.

So,

why be a Christian

if we're all

in the same boat?

If the devil

also whispers

to us,

well,

Jesus is going

to talk about this.

He's going to talk

about the great deliverance

that God has done

and he's going

to put everything

in a radically

different context.

Look at what he does

and how he begins

to deal with this

in verse 45.

I've just paused

to make sure

we heard this

important teaching

in verse 44,

but listen to what

happened.

He keeps going.

But because I tell

you the truth,

because I tell

the truth,

you do not believe me.

Isn't that interesting?

Because I tell

the truth,

you do not believe me.

verse 46,

which of you

convicts me of sin?

That's an astounding

statement.

Listen,

if I told you

which of you

convict me of sin,

my wife and kids

would start to snicker

and laugh.

They know I'm a sinner.

Either that

or they'd start

to worry

that I had become

completely and utterly

deranged

and unhinged

to actually stand

in front of you

and say,

who can convict me

of a sin?

And then the staff

would start laughing

and all of you would.

Maybe those of you

who have just met me

think,

oh,

he hasn't sinned

since I've met him,

you know,

but I'm a sinner.

And Jesus gets there

and with a completely

and utterly straight face

says,

which one of you

can convict me of sin?

Well,

what an arrogant thing

to say unless

something else

is going on.

Look at verse 46 again.

Which one of you

convicts me of sin?

If I tell the truth,

why do you not

believe me?

Whoever's of God

hears the words of God.

The reason why

you do not hear them

is that you're not of God.

The Jews answered him,

are we not right

in saying that you

are Samaritan

and have a demon?

Verse 49,

Jesus answered,

I do not have a demon,

but I honor my father

and you dishonor me.

Yet I do not

seek my own glory.

There is one

who seeks it

and he is the judge.

Truly,

truly,

I say to you,

if anyone

keeps my word,

he will never

see death.

Now,

Jesus,

you know,

one of the things

which is very interesting

here in this,

if you read

John chapter 8,

John 8:12

verse 12,

right to the end

of chapter 8,

12 times

Jesus is

rebutted.

12 times.

This isn't him

with a group

of his groupies

who hang on

as every word.

This is Jesus

talking in the midst

of conflict.

12 times

people either

push back at him,

tell him he's wrong,

tell him he's a Samaritan,

tell him he's demon-possessed.

12 times.

And this is part of it.

These are hard-headed

Canadians,

in a sense,

who aren't going

to take guff

from somebody.

And so,

verse 52,

the Jews said to him,

now we know

that you have a demon.

Abraham died

as did the prophets.

Yet you say,

if anyone keeps my word,

he will never taste death.

Are you greater

than our father Abraham

who died

and the prophets died?

Who do you make yourself

out to be?

I'm just sort of

pause there for a second.

What Jesus is claiming?

He is claiming

that he is greater

than death.

And they got it.

He is claiming

that he is greater

than death.

And the claim

that he is greater

than death

means that he is also

greater than sin

which causes death.

It's an unbelievably

powerful claim.

And you also notice

that they actually

changed Jesus' words.

He never says

that he won't taste death.

He says that the people

will never see death.

Although,

as we are going to see

in a moment,

we are going to loop back

around this in a couple of minutes.

It's actually almost

like a prophetic thing.

They have caught up

a sense of Jesus

which they deny.

But in fact,

Jesus will taste death.

He will taste

my death for me

so that death

no longer has a hold

on me.

And he does that

for you too, friend.

So continue reading.

It's going to get

even more remarkable.

Like,

how on earth

could anybody say

that they're greater

than death?

Verse 54,

Jesus answered,

if I glorify myself,

my glory is nothing.

It is my Father

who glorifies me

of whom you say

he is our God.

But you have not

known him.

I know him.

And if I were to say

that I do not know him,

I would be a liar like you.

But I do know him

and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham

rejoiced that he would

see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

So the Jews said to him,

you are not yet

50 years old.

And you,

have you seen Abraham?

Jesus said to them,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

before Abraham was,

I am.

He pronounces

the divine name.

He says he's God.

For the Jewish people,

it's to say,

to use the divine name,

to use the divine,

you know,

it's actually,

this is true.

They,

in all the way

through the,

most like,

I think in the

English Standard Version,

if you see in the

Old Testament,

the word for God,

Lord,

and if it's four

capital letters,

it's the,

it's four Hebrew letters.

And because the Jewish

people thought that

the actual name of God

was so holy,

they thought that it

was wrong to even

say it.

And it's actually now,

they,

no longer,

people no longer know,

because they took out,

there's no vowels,

they no longer know

how to say it.

They don't know

how it was pronounced.

And in common language,

back then,

when they were coming

to the word Lord,

they would use another

word instead,

so they wouldn't say

the divine name.

It is literally a word

that they no longer

know how it was

originally pronounced.

And Jesus not only

says the word,

but he says that

that's who he is,

that he's God.

And they recognize it

because look what happened.

So they picked up stones

to throw at him,

but Jesus hid himself

and went out of the temple.

Now,

where are we with this?

Let's wrap it up.

If you could put up

the next point,

Andrew,

that would be very,

very helpful.

The first thing for us

to remember,

having said all this,

is that Jesus is

infinitely greater

than the devil.

And I mean infinitely

in the literal sense.

The devil is a creature.

Jesus is God.

God is an infinite being,

the only infinite being

that exists.

Everything else is finite.

So this talk

that's so common

in our culture

as if there's yin and yang

and light and darkness

and opposing spiritual forces,

there are opposing forces,

obviously,

but they're not equal.

They're not at all the same.

Jesus is infinitely greater

than the devil.

Infinitely greater

than the devil.

And that gives us great hope.

If you could put up

the next slide,

Andrew,

that would be great.

Because he is God,

by grace,

Jesus tasted death

for everyone

to save everyone

who trusts in him.

That's from the book

of Hebrews.

In other parts

in the New Testament

is that

because he is God,

by grace,

when Jesus tasted death,

when he tasted death,

he can taste death

for everyone.

He dies my death for me.

We talked about it last week.

Is that

when you put your faith

and trust in Jesus,

then your sin

dies before you

because it dies

on him.

But when you don't put

your faith and trust

in Jesus,

you die in your own sin.

That's why he's

such a wonderful savior.

He tasted death

for everyone

because in grace

and mercy,

he wants to save

all who put their faith

and trust in him.

He wants to save you,

brother and sister.

He wants to save you.

And if you could put up

the next point,

that would be very great.

Only Jesus

can silence

the hissing

lies of the serpent

so that you

can truly

listen to God

and freely think.

Remember,

this all goes back

in the Enlightenment

project,

which now we Canadians

are an heir of.

we know the truth

and the truth

will set us free.

And now turn into

you will know

your feelings

and your feelings

will set you free.

But what did Jesus say?

If you abide

in my word,

you are truly

my disciples

and you will know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

Only Jesus

can silence

the hissing

lies

of the serpent

so that you

can truly

listen to God

and freely

think.

You see,

that's one of the things

which is common

to every human being.

Are you rich

or are you poor?

For both,

there are the hissing

lies of the serpent

in your ears.

Are you Chinese?

Are you Rwandan?

Are you from

Mississippi?

Are you from Peru?

Doesn't matter

where you're from.

The hissing lies

of the serpent

is in your ears.

Do you have

a very high IQ

or a low IQ?

Are you really

good looking

or are you not

very good looking?

Are you very athletic

or not very athletic?

Are you a male

or a female?

We're all united

in the hissing

lies of the serpents

in our ears.

And only Jesus

can begin

to silence

the hissing

lies

of the serpent

in our ears.

And you know what?

You can't think

without listening.

That's one of the things

which is so profound

in what Jesus says.

It's like modern

psychologists,

if you read books

like that,

I can't remember

the name of that,

psychologists,

anyway,

but thinking fast

and slow

or something like that

is,

it's increasingly

understood by psychologists.

Just what Jesus

says right here

is that thinking

is connected

to listening.

What is it

Jesus says?

if you abide

in my word,

if you listen,

in other words,

to my word,

and you not only listen

but you bring it

into you

and you continue

listening to my word,

you are truly

my disciples

and you will know

the truth

and the truth

will set you free.

And if you could

put up the final point,

Andrew,

that would be great.

Continue in the gospel

and God's word written.

Abide in it

in your day-to-day life.

And Christians

aren't just lone rangers,

we're also to be part

of a local church.

So I added

that pray and plan

that your church,

that our church,

continues in the gospel

and God's word written,

abiding in it

in all that it does.

So I'd mention

apartheid

and racism.

See,

one of the things

which is so important

about this

is the Bible

doesn't say

that the second

you become a Christian,

that the devil

stops hissing

in your ears.

And we Christians

share in the human problem.

The difference is

that we have

a mighty Savior.

We have a mighty Savior.

And this mighty Savior

is God,

the Son of God,

who is true,

who is only truth,

who only speaks truth

and wants us to live

and abide in truth.

And Jesus came

to save us

from the lie

and save us

from lies.

And as we abide

in his word,

humbly coming to him

and saying,

Jesus,

you are God,

I am not.

You are infinite,

I am not.

You are perfect,

I am fallen,

I am broken.

You do not need

a Savior,

I need a Savior.

As we come to him

humbly

and abiding

in his word,

there is the possibility

that the hissing lies

of the serpents

are silence

and we can start

to actually listen

to God

and know the truth

about human beings

and know the truth

about ourselves.

And this isn't just

sort of an irrelevant thing

because as we begin

to hear the truth

from God,

it becomes easier

and easier

to hear the truth

in other places,

to hear the truth

in the world

and the truth

in science

and the truth

in terms of how

human beings move

and work and act.

It's something

which is far-reaching.

It's not just purely

and merely spiritual truth,

but truth.

Jesus,

the Father,

wants us to know

truth in general

and what happens

in apartheid

is we listen to lies.

What happens in racism,

we listen to lies.

And here's the thing.

You know,

I would say,

I might lose you with this,

but I say that the problem

with the Koran

is it needs to be corrected.

I would say that the problem

with Hinduism

is it needs to be corrected

from outside.

I would say that the problem

with Buddhism

is it needs to be corrected

from outside.

But I would say

when it comes to things

like racism,

anyone who has listened

to the fact

that Jesus dies

for every person

and that every person

is made in the image of God

should never be a racist.

It is completely

and utterly rebuked.

And not only is it rebuked

in the Word,

it is rebuked

by His shed blood.

He died for that.

Crap.

Crap.

And I know that there are

some of you here

who have been complicit

in abortion,

and I don't say this

to make you feel guilty.

Everything in God's Word,

if it confronts us of sin,

it's because God wants

to connect to you

and to me

that we would come

to Him for healing.

But we live in a culture

filled with lies.

There are many churches

that the denomination

that we left

was very, very weak

on things like abortion,

very, very weak

on euthanasia,

and those are lies.

You cannot kill

innocent human life.

And science,

it's not a religious doctrine.

Science teaches us

that human life

begins at conception.

That's a scientific fact.

And the fact that

Christians are pro-life

isn't because

we deny science.

We just believe the science

and know you can't

take innocent human life.

And no church

should be complicit

in the culture of death.

And we don't need

outside advice or wisdom.

We just need to open

the Scriptures.

We need to become

more deeply and fully

disciples of Jesus Christ.

the care for the poor

all the way

through the Bible.

The deconstructing

of the claims

of the powerful

all the way

through the Bible.

We do not need

to read Derrida

or Mark's.

We need to be

disciples of Jesus.

So just in closing,

continue in the gospel

and God's word written.

Abide in it

in your day-to-day life

and pray and plan

that we as a church

and if you're a visitor

here from another church

that your church

will continue in the gospel

and God's word written

abiding in it

in all that it does.

And friends,

if you are here

and you have not yet

given your life to Jesus,

please consider

to do it today.

There's no better time

than right now.

It won't be better

tomorrow or next week.

I just really invite

and encourage you

to just to say

something like this

right now,

maybe even just

as I'm saying it,

just to say amen

to everyone.

Father,

I've believed the lie

and I believe lies.

And I am powerless

to save myself.

Jesus,

thank you

that you came

to save me

if I put my trust

in you.

I give myself

to you.

Be my Savior

and my Lord.

Come and live

within me forever.

I encourage you

to say that prayer today.

Please stand.

Father,

we thank you

that you are

infinitely greater

than the devil.

Father,

the devil can tempt us

but he can't

make anything.

He can break things,

Father,

but he can't

make anything.

Father,

we thank and praise you

that you give us

eternal life

when we put our faith

and trust in you.

That you

have the power,

the right power

for salvation

for all who put

their faith and trust

in you.

That,

Father,

you have the ability

to adopt us

as your sons

and daughters.

You have the ability

to grip us

so that we will

never be let go

and that you will

bring us

to the new heaven

and the new earth.

You have the power

to silence

the hissing

of the serpent

that we might

begin to listen

to you

and listen to each

other and know

the truth

so that we are

free,

Father,

that we begin

to know freedom.

Father,

only you,

only Jesus,

only the gospel.

Father,

we thank you

for Jesus.

We thank you

for your word

written,

for his word.

Father,

we thank you

for the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

Father,

make us confident

in Jesus

in the gospel.

Make us joyful

in Jesus

in the gospel.

Make us disciples

of Jesus

who are gripped

by the gospel,

who are day by day

learning to abide

in your word

as your disciples

gripped by the gospel

so that we might

know the truth

and be free,

free to love,

free to bring you glory

in this city

and to the ends

of the earth.

Father,

we ask this

in the name of Jesus.

Amen.