The Heart of a True Disciple

And as we come to this section, before we get into it, I just want to ask you,

have you ever had one of those conversations with someone?

The conversation where you sense that they needed some urgent words of advice,

a person that you care about is about to go down the wrong path,

or to make a bad decision, and yet even as you speak to them,

it's as though your words just aren't getting through.

They're listening, maybe they're even nodding,

but you can tell by their response, by the things they say to you afterward,

that they just aren't really getting it.

And at the end of it all, they just went on ahead and did what they were planning on doing anyway,

to their own detriment.

Have you ever had a conversation like that with someone?

Maybe you felt some of the frustration of that, perhaps even heartbreak,

trying to get through to them, trying to help them see,

trying to spare them from facing consequences.

This is precisely what's happening right now between Jesus and the crowd in the temple courts

as he speaks to them.

From John 8, verse 36.

John 8:36

So if the Son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

That's what Jesus just said to the crowd.

He just told the whole crowd that if they continue to listen to his word,

they will come to know the truth

and be liberated from bondage.

What do you mean, liberated?

They said to him.

We've never been slaves.

We're Abraham's descendants.

And Jesus told them,

everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

But, he said,

if the Son sets you free,

you will be free indeed.

Verse 37.

Jesus continues on.

He says,

I know that you are Abraham's descendants.

Yet you are looking for a way to kill me

because you have no room for my word.

So Jesus acknowledges the biological reality.

Yes, you are biologically descendants of Abraham.

And yet there's a big problem here.

There's something going on here with you that's terribly wrong.

He says,

you are seeking to kill me.

Now at this point,

it may be that Jesus' words are a little more directed to the religious leaders.

We know for sure that for some time,

they've been trying to put Jesus to death.

But probably at this point,

it's more than just the religious leaders.

Now it's probably some of the crowd as well.

Very likely,

some of these people

had earlier

had some pretty good thoughts about him,

but now maybe have changed their minds towards Jesus.

And Jesus points out two things

that really help us see what's going on here.

First,

and the most obvious,

he says to them,

you are looking for a way to kill me.

Notice the words,

looking for.

They are seeking for a way to get rid of Jesus.

plotting,

scheming

in their thoughts,

in their hearts,

perhaps even whispering

amongst others in the crowd

while Jesus is talking

about how they can take him out.

And the second thing that Jesus says

seems to be

the reason for why they want to kill him.

He says,

you're seeking to kill me,

you're looking for a way to kill me

because you have no room

for my word.

Some translations say

because my word makes no progress

in you.

Either way,

the problem is the same.

It's as though Jesus is saying,

I'm speaking to you,

but my words are not getting through.

Your hearts are not responding

in the way that they should

to my words.

Jesus is speaking to the people,

they are listening,

but they're not really hearing.

They're not receiving

and responding

to what he is saying to them

the way they should.

My word makes no progress in you,

says Jesus.

It's like your hearts are hard

to what I'm saying to you.

And then Jesus says this to them,

I am telling you

what I have seen

in the Father's presence.

And you are doing

what you have heard

from your Father.

That's a hugely loaded statement,

but let's look at the first part.

Jesus says,

I am telling you

what I have seen

in the Father's presence.

Literally,

with the Father,

from God.

God.

And so when your heart

has no room for my word,

it's not just my word

that you are rejecting

and shutting out,

but his.

It's what he himself

has given me to say to you

that you are rejecting.

If we kind of

put all this together

and read it from back to front,

it's as though

Jesus is saying,

God the Father

has shown me things.

And I am now

speaking to you

those things.

I am telling you

those things

with the words of my mouth.

But my words

are not getting through to you.

You are listening,

but you are not receiving.

You are not hearing

and responding

as you should be

to his words.

It's possible

to be thoroughly religious

and yet have a heart

that is hard

and unresponsive

to God.

It's possible

to go through the motions.

Living like a Jew

should live

or in our context

like a Christian

should live

and yet have a hard

and unresponsive heart

toward God.

Now I'm not here

to tell you

if that's you this morning,

but if it is

and you know it

and if God is bringing

conviction to your heart,

then I encourage you

to listen to him

and to take it

very seriously.

The mark of a true

child of Abraham

or child of God

or disciple of Jesus

is not just

outward conformity,

but inward receptivity.

the mark of whether

you are a true

child of God

is not only

whether you live

like a Christian

is supposed to live,

but whether you

listen with your heart

like a Christian

is supposed to listen.

Whether you respond

to the words of Jesus

from your heart.

And so I want to ask you

some questions

this morning.

When you read your Bible,

do you more often

feel cold

and unstirred

by the words

on the pages?

When you read

the words of Jesus

that are written

in your Bibles

and throughout

the Gospels,

what's happening

in your heart?

Are these words

just kind of

passing through

your mind?

Are you just

reading them

to kind of

check the box

on the Bible

reading plan

to be a good

Christian?

Or are these words

often and regularly

getting to your heart?

Stirring up a response

inside of you?

Do you entrust

yourself fully

to these words

of Jesus

and believe them

as much as you

can understand them?

Do you feel convicted

of sin in your life

when you read

the words of Jesus?

Do you feel joy

and hope

rising inside of you

when you hear

about the things

that Jesus

has promised

to those

who believe in him?

Or do these words

seem more or less

irrelevant?

Do you read

or reflect on them

at all?

Or have you got

other,

more important

things to do?

or have you got

to do?

Do you listen

to God?

Do you listen

like that when Jesus

is talking to you?

Are his words

getting through to you

regularly,

regularly?

Often.

The mark of a true

disciple of Jesus,

a true child of Abraham,

a true child of God

is a responsive heart

to his word.

Let's continue on

with what Jesus said.

He said,

I'm telling you

what I have seen

in the Father's presence.

And as we come

to the second statement

here,

there is a bit

of a translation issue.

I'm not going

to go into

all the details.

Some of you

may have a footnote

or have it in italics.

But just be aware

of that.

I'm going to go

with what most

of the English

translations say

in verse 38.

Jesus says,

I am telling you

what I have seen

in the Father's presence

and you are doing

what you have heard

from your Father.

It seems as if

Jesus is saying,

you know,

you and I have

something in common,

but we also have

something very different.

In the same way

that I'm speaking

to you the things

that I have seen

from my Father,

you are doing

the things that you

have heard from

your Father.

But there's a suggestion

that seems to be

coming out of

Jesus' words

that we don't share

the same Father.

The things that I am

doing and speaking

are different

than the things

that you are doing

and speaking

is what Jesus

seems to be

implying here.

Now the people

know that Jesus

has been claiming

that God

is his Father.

He's been claiming

to be sent by God,

to speak for God.

But now,

it seems as though

he's saying

they have a different

Father

other than God.

Jesus knows

what's really going

on in their hearts.

He knows

the ugliness

and the hardness

of their hearts.

He knows that

they are seeking

to kill him.

And this is probably

why the tension

often goes through

the roof

between Jesus

and the people

because he knows

that,

he sees that,

and he often

brings it to the surface

and exposes it.

In this case,

he tells them

where this

ugliness,

this hardness

is coming from.

He says,

it's because

you have a different

Father.

Now the people

at this point,

they seem to pick

this up

from Jesus' words.

I don't think

they liked it too much

what he said.

Abraham is our

Father,

they answered.

Verse 39.

They seem to hear

Jesus challenging

whether they're

true children

of Abraham

and they say

the same thing

that they said earlier.

We are Abraham's

offspring.

He is our Father.

We are his

descendants.

And Jesus

responds.

He looks them

in the eye

and says this,

which probably

surprised them

or shocked them.

He says,

if you were

Abraham's children,

then you would

do what

Abraham did.

As it is,

you are looking

for a way

to kill me,

a man who

has told you

the truth

that I heard

from God.

Abraham did

not do

such things.

You are doing

the works

of your own

Father,

says Jesus.

And you have

to know

that at this point

people's eyes

are probably wide

and there's

probably some

pretty telling

expressions

happening on

people's faces.

They just

told Jesus

for the second

time,

we are

children of

Abraham.

We are

his offspring

and Jesus

says,

if you

were

Abraham's

children,

you got to

know their

thinking.

What do you

mean if we

were?

Are you

telling us

that we

might not

be children

of Abraham,

children of

the promise,

children of

the covenant,

that we

might have

a different

father?

What they're

thinking kind

of comes out

in verse 41.

They say,

we are not

illegitimate

children.

We are

true children

of Abraham.

How dare you

insinuate

anything else?

Nevertheless,

it seems

pretty clear

from Jesus'

words that

he is

calling into

question

whether they

are true

children of

Abraham.

Not whether

they're

biologically

descended from

Abraham,

but whether

they are

true children

of Abraham.

And Jesus

says in

verse 39

that the

mark of a

true child

of Abraham

is that he

or she

does what

Abraham did.

If you

were Abraham's

children,

then you

would do

what Abraham

did.

You would

do the

deeds,

do the

works that

Abraham did.

And as of

right now,

you are not,

he says to

them.

It's evidence

that you are

not true

children of

Abraham.

You're looking

for a way

to kill me,

a man who

has told you

the truth

that I heard

from God.

You're looking

for a way

to take out

the messenger

that God

has sent to

you to speak

to you.

That's not

the way that

Abraham acted.

And I

think it's

implied in

Jesus'

words.

You know,

long ago,

God spoke

to Abraham

in a whole

variety of

ways.

And at

least one

of those

ways was

quite similar

to the

way that

Jesus is

speaking to

them right

now.

And what

did Abraham

do in

every case?

He believed

the words

of God.

He responded

to them.

He obeyed

them.

That's what

Abraham did.

But here

and now,

you in

the crowd,

says Jesus,

are responding

in the

opposite way.

You have

no room

for my

word.

You're

not receiving

it.

Instead,

you're seeking

to kill

me.

This is

evidence that

you are not

true children

of Abraham,

but are

instead

children of

a different

father.

a true

child of

Abraham,

a true

disciple of

Jesus,

a true

child of

God,

has a

receptive

and obedient

heart to

the word

of God,

just like

Abraham did.

Again,

the people

try to

defend

themselves.

This time

they come

at it from

a different

angle.

Verse 41,

they say

the only

father we

have is

God

himself.

Literally,

one father

we have,

God.

And again,

Jesus responds

in a way

that would

have been

utterly

shocking.

He says,

if God

were your

father,

you would

love me.

For I

have come

from God.

I have

not come

on my

own.

God

sent me.

Those

words,

if God

were your

father,

father,

in other

words,

he is

not.

But if

he were,

you would

love me

because I

have come

here from

him.

These

words are

so rich

and so

full.

Do you

hear the

heart of

Jesus in

them?

He longs

for the

people there.

He longs

for you,

for me,

to accept

the truth

of who he

is.

If God

were your

father,

you would

love me.

You would

recognize that

I am the

one sent

from him.

We get

another mark

of a true

child of

God here.

The second

one,

the mark

of a true

child of

God

is that

he or

she loves

God's

son,

Jesus,

the one

God has

sent.

And

notice that

Jesus says

love.

If God

were your

father,

you would

love me.

Not just

like,

not just

agree with

or tolerate.

Many

people like

Jesus.

Lots of

people agree

with Jesus.

and many

more people

tolerate

Jesus.

But the

mark of a

true child

of God

is that

he or

she loves

Jesus.

So I want

to ask you

this morning,

do you

love Jesus?

Do you

cherish

Jesus?

do you

treasure

him?

If not,

by Jesus'

own word,

you're not

a child

of God.

Now,

this doesn't

mean I don't

think that we

should constantly

measure whether

we're in the

family of God

based on

how we

feel.

In a

fallen world,

such as we

live,

feelings are

fickle

things.

They come

and they

go.

They burn

hot and

they cool

off.

And we

know that,

right?

I mean,

we all have

relationships

with people

who we

love,

yes,

truly love,

and yet it

doesn't

automatically

mean that we

feel that

way at

every moment

of the day

towards them.

I think we

need to

remember that

love is

much more

than just

a feeling.

Feelings are

part of it,

yes,

generally,

often,

but there

are times

when love

is better

described as

an action

or a

choice

or a

loyalty

sworn

rather than

just a

burning for

a moment

in the

words of

one

musician.

Do you

love Jesus?

Have you

made your

choice to

give yourself

to him

through the

good times

and the

hard times?

does he

have the

allegiance

of your

heart

regardless

of what

you're

going

through

today?

Are you

committed

to applying

his words

to your

life and

your life

to his

words

day after

day?

Do you

recognize

that he

is the

one who

has come

from God

and speaks

for God?

And do

you value

him deeply

because of

that?

There are

many reasons

to love

him.

Do you

love

Jesus?

Love.

Every

true

child of

God

does

according

to Jesus

and those

who do

not are

children

of a

different

father.

And we'll

look at what

Jesus means

by that

next Sunday.

So let me

just recap.

We've been

kind of looking

at some of

the marks

of a true

child of

God or

a true

disciple

of Jesus.

the first

one that

we saw

a couple

weeks back

was that

they remain

in his

word.

Verse 31.

If you

hold to

my teaching

you are

really

my

disciples.

Today

we saw

two more.

A true

child of

God

has a

responsive

heart

to the

words of

God

which

Jesus

speaks.

And

a true

child of

God

loves

the

son

of

God

Jesus.

A true

child of

God

loves

his

son

Jesus

and

has

a

responsive

heart

to

his

word.

We're

going to

pray here

in just

a moment

but

before we

do

I just

want to

say

if you're

here

this

morning

and

you

just

need

someone

to

talk

to

about

your

relationship

with

Jesus

maybe

you're

not

sure

where

it's

at

or

you

don't

feel

like

it's

where

it

should

be

maybe

you

have

doubts

or

worries

or

concerns

I want

to

encourage

you

just

to

feel

free

to

come

talk

to

me

or

to

anyone

else

in

the

church

that

you

trust

we'll

do

our

best

to

listen

to

you

what's

going

on

in

your

heart

what

you've

been

thinking

to

pray

with

you

to

offer

encouragement

and

help

however

we

can

and

of

course

none

of us

has

all

the

answers

I've

always

liked

the way

that

C.S.

Lewis

said it

this is

a loose

paraphrase

but

he said

in many

ways

the church

of

Jesus

Christ

is like

a

hospital

and

we're

we're

all

patients

that

have

been

checked

in

to

the

care

of

Jesus

some

of

us

have

been

here

a

little

longer

and

might

know

our

way

around

some

of

the

hallways

a little

better

than

others

but

we're

all

in

need

of

the

Lord's

help

and

so

if

I

or

anyone

else

can be

an

encouragement

or

help

to

you

I

just

want

to

encourage

you

don't

hesitate

to

ask

feel

free

to

come

talk

to

me

or

to

someone

else

in

the

church

who

you

trust

let

us

know

how

you're

doing

and

know

that

following

Christ

is not

something

that

we're

meant

to

figure

out

all

by

our

self

it's

part

of

why

the

Lord

has

brought

Lord

Jesus

thank

you

for

speaking

these

words

to

us

and

we

do

pray

and

ask

that

we

would

have

the

responsive

heart

that

you

want

us

to

Lord

each

day

this

week

as

we

pick

up

our

Bible

to

read

we

ask

that

you

would

cause

us

to

hear

help

us

to

hear

we

know

Lord

that

we

are

meant

to

make

changes

all

along

the

way

we

are

meant

to

make

decisions

all

throughout

life

based

on

what

we

hear

from

you

and

so

we

ask

that

you

would

give

us

those

ears

that

we

need

to

hear

day

after

day

this

week

give

us

soft

hearts

increase

our

love

for

you

help

us

to

see

more

of

the

truth

of

who

you

are

and

why

you

are

so

worthy

of

our

total

devotion

and

allegiance

we

ask

this

a

which

can

the

the

important

show

the

one

follow

the

this

show

whatever