3rd May 2026 : John ch 8 v 21 - 36

John ch 8 v 21 - 36

The first thing I want to do is to read to you from the Word of God. This is from John's Gospel chapter 8, verse 21 to 36. And then we'll pause for a moment's prayer and ask the Lord's blessing on us. So this is John's Gospel chapter 8, verse 21, starting there. And this is the Word of God.

Then Jesus said to them again, I am going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come. So the Jews said, will he kill himself? Because he says, where I go, you cannot come. And he said to them, you are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Then they said to him, who are you? And Jesus said to them, just what I've been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I heard from him. They did not understand that he spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father taught me, I speak these things. And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone. For I always do those things that please him.

As he spoke these words, many believed in him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, we are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say we will be made free? And Jesus answered them, most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Oh, great passage of the word. Let's pray. Lord, I just pray that you minister this in a way that you ministered it first to them. Even as Jesus was speaking, some believed. And that means you were doing a work before he even began to minister. Lord, I pray that you do that here, Lord, not just with me, but all of us. Lord, I pray that you will minister your grace, your love, your power, in a way which I cannot, go over and above things I say. And Lord, speak in the way that you will, let your will be done, your kingdom come, Lord, to the praise of your glory, Lord. That do us good in some way, shape or form from this work today and from our time together. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen.

I only just noticed that. I was just reading through. It's a funny thing. Quite often you get something new when you're just about to deliver a message and you think, oh, I didn't see that before. That as Jesus was speaking, people were coming to the Lord. And that tells me salvation is from God. It's not something that they did. It's not something that they were called to do. Nobody used manipulation techniques on them. So come forward and here and this, that and the other. There's nothing wrong with coming forward, nothing wrong with prayer, nothing wrong with any of the stuff if it's born of the Spirit. That's the important thing. But the Spirit was already working in them. Praise God.

But we must go back to the beginning and put this passage in its context because it's often taken out of time and out of context. I've heard people who perhaps do try to manipulate a little bit and they want people to respond in a certain way in worship and so they'll say that you'll know the truth, the truth will make you free so that you're free to praise God. Well, you know me, I always tell people, look, no one can tell you how to praise God. You know, nobody can tell you how to worship. That's you and him, isn't it? Just let it come. Just let it come. And they would be taking these verses completely out of shape and context to what they were intended for in the first place if they did that.

Three times in verse 21 to 24, Jesus said something very confrontational. He was very, very direct with his audience, very, very outspoken with the gospel. Three times he said, you're going to die in your sins if you don't come to Christ. Three times. And this is not to people who didn't believe in God. This is to people who did believe in God. But he told them really, in essence, you haven't got the reality. You need the reality, don't die in your sins. Come to Christ and know in your own heart and soul that the Lord himself has taken up that place when his Holy Spirit enters in. Of course, those are my words, giving a more comprehensive description. The Bible tells us that Jesus didn't say very much more on that scope, but he was very, very direct with the gospel.

You can't hide the gospel, beloved. Don't apologise for it. Don't apologise for your faith. Never, never, never. Live it out. Speak it out. Don't cause offence deliberately. But when it's time to share your faith with somebody, tell them the truth. Tell them the truth. Why? Because the truth could set them free. All right. So that's the first thing. And he was very, very direct. And they were puzzled at all this in verse 25. They said, well, who are you then? who are you? A lot of people say that these days, they don't know who God is, they don't know his name. I remember that. I didn't know the Lord, didn't know his name. And the funny thing is, I used to pray as a little boy. Never mind that now.

But a lot of people don't know the Lord in that way, that they know that Jesus has become the flesh. For God in the same essence of God, he is God. But yet you get this curious mystery and you can see it all coming together in this passage. He said there, verse 29, the Father has not left me alone. I am never alone. You know, it reminds me of that Psalm, Psalm 91, remember that where it says, a thousand may fall at your right hand, ten thousand... But God will look after me. what a testimony. My Father has not left me alone. Will he ever leave you alone? No. And that's how the Lord works, you know. You don't see it. They could see Jesus physically, but they didn't see the Holy Spirit convicting people around him. They didn't see the Father orchestrating all the circumstances. He is the triune God. But we see Jesus the Lord.

And that was the answer to their question. They still couldn't fathom this out. But he told them straight, you'll only find this out. You'll only know it for certain when you see me up there, when you see me lifted up, then you'll know. Then the Father will reveal it to you, the power of the cross, the power of the gospel. Him crucified. That's the Jesus as we preach. And as he spoke these words, people were believing in him already. That's wonderful. Now we get to the bit that really spoke to me and I can build on from any time, never mind last week. But what do you do with an army? We've got the vast army. They were dry bones, but now they're an army, aren't you? Where's the army? Yeah, good. Okay. You never were that dry, were you? It wasn't that bad for you. No, You've got refreshed now. But that army needs to be equipped. That army needs to be weaponized. That army needs to be quite disciplined and envisioned so that they've all got this common purpose. which is to proclaim the gospel in some way, shape or form through your life, what you say, the way your church testifies, I don't know. And that army needs to be disciplined in a way. They need to go through drill practice often. It means fellowshipping together one another because there's power in it. And it means to be equipped with all the good gifts of the Lord.

Does the Lord give good gifts? Yes, And don't we desire them? The scripture says, eagerly desire the gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. But I don't know what your desire is today. Is it for him, the gifts of God, to be enriched? You may think, oh, I have to be poor to be holy, you know. No, you don't. You need to be enriched spiritually. That's the army of the Lord, okay? And he wants to enrich us. In what way does he want to enrich us? Jesus told those first believers there, verse 31, those Jews who believed him. And he said, if you abide in my word, that means if you keep my word, that is the outward evidence that something real and spiritual has taken place within. What has taken place within? The truth has come. God has fashioned the truth within. It's something that you know, it's not an academic thing, it's not just knowledge, it's a heart thing, the truth. Okay? And the outward evidence of it, you can see it. I mean, you can probably all testify to this. You can see the anointing on Christians, can't you say, oh, well, there's a brother or sister, you know, let's have a cup of tea or something.

You know, sometimes it's in the things they say and it really cuts you in half and they don't even know. But they're holders, carriers of the truth of the gospel. And you're my disciples indeed, if you keep my word, because the word of God is truth. Truth. And that's what we're focused on here. You shall know the truth, verse 32, and the truth shall make you free. They were an army, these believers, just like those skeletons in Ezekiel that became an army. They were an army, but they needed to be free of things. And to free people, you need the truth to replace it. You'll always find in Scripture that it's truth that sets people free. It's not some technique, it's not some magic worth, it's not some wand, it's the truth. These people had exchanged the truth of God for a lie. How do I know? Because it tells me there. Verse 33, they answered him, we're Abraham's descendants. We've never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say you'll be made free?

Well even as they spoke, there were probably Roman soldiers walking around. You know, it's ridiculous, isn't it? They were in bondage to Rome. Before that, they were in bondage to the Greeks. Before that, they were in bondage to the Persians. Let's think. Just go back in the Old Testament. And before that, the Babylonians, before that, the Assyrians, before that, the Egyptians. Did I miss anyone out? They were in bondage you know, and there they were saying, do you know what, we're Abraham's descendants and everything's automatic after that. Nothing can go wrong for us. And of course, we've never been in bondage. And they just weren't facing the reality.

You know, the human condition is so strange, isn't it? So peculiar, beloved, that it can find itself actually believing something which is completely opposite of the truth. We could so convince ourselves that something is okay when actually if you were to hold it up to the truth, you would think, that is not okay. And then if we do the right thing, we go to the Lord and say, why is it not okay? Lord, show me the truth. Free me from these things, which beforehand I believed were okay.

I know when I got saved, I got freed of all kinds of stuff. Oh dear me, it was terrible. And yeah, never mind too many details, but one of the things, one of the peculiar things, I'd turn up at work and folks who knew me before, they suddenly stop talking and say, you don't swear, do you? I said, no. They said, why not? As if it was normal, you know. I said, well, I don't speak the language of hell anymore. I speak the language of heaven. That's the truth. All right. So when people have got problems like that, like the workmates I had, you need to be set free. How dare you? They were just like these folks. We're not in bondage. Yes, you are. You speak the language of hell every day. You can't do anything else. Yes, we can. We'll bet you 5 pounds we can. Said, okay. Should we put a time limit on it? I think it was about 3 days and they didn't get to brew time in the afternoon. And then I was saying, ahhh, they were going, shut up you. I said, you can't break free in your own strength. God must visit you with the truth. He must visit you with the power of the gospel. It's the indwelling Holy Spirit that reveals the truth. Jesus promised that, didn't he? When the Spirit comes, he will take from that which belongs to me and he will make it known to you, known in you. You will become possessors of the truth, his truth.

Well, they were quite unrealistic, but it's surprising how many folks are. There was a case, he was, I won't say names or anything, good heavens, no, but there was a leading Christian some time ago who I remember he went out to a conference, but he picked up the wrong briefcase. He had two identical briefcases, which wasn't a good idea in his circumstances. One was full of his Bible and notes, and the other was full of pornographic material. So he picked up the wrong briefcase one day and turned up at a conference and opened it. Oh dear, the truth came out. And he needed to be set free.

It's amazing, the human condition, isn't it? They can hold two things side by side, as if it's okay. But God says, no, no, I want to equip you with the truth. That's what an army needs to go forward and overcome with. When Jesus overcame the enemy, Luke 4, what did he do? He used the truth, the word of God, he spoke it, he told him straight, and he cleared off. Wonderful story. Verse 34 tells us, Jesus answered them, most assuredly or truly, whoever commits sin is a slave. And this is recurring, it's habit form sin. I don't mean accidental or unintentional sins. Those are the characteristic of the human condition. Whilst we wear this tent of the body, you won't escape that. You'll slip into it by accident and then you'll just say, Lord in Jesus name, do you love me? Yeah, of course I do, forgive me and all that stuff. But habit formed, things which take people into bondage. And Christians can come into bondage like this, not possessed, but into real difficulties. And it's the truth that sets them free.

And Jesus said, you know, there's two things going on here, verse 35. Anyone is a slave to something, whether it's alcohol, magazines, or swearing, or anything at all. Anybody who's a slave, and just in bondage to those things, habit formed. There's no sense of abiding. There's always this loss of peace that goes with it. Not good, beloved. You don't need that. What you need is the peace of God with you and around you at all times, so that when something does go wrong, when things do go wrong, you know, I don't know why, I just remember this as I stood here, but I remember my dad had a really heavy stroke and they took him into Wythenshaw Hospital. And my brothers phoned me, dad's in hospital, So I jumped in the car, phoned the elders, Sue phoned the elders of the church, they were praying. I went down to the hospital, he was in a room by himself. And I visited him, I went out and my brothers said, he's going to die, what are we going to do, you know. I said, he's not going to die. And I don't know why, it's just one of those things you do. It's just faith speaking out, I didn't even know I was going to say it.

I went back in the room and there was a nurse sat there all the time and I thought, this is difficult because I want to pray over him. There's a nurse sat there. So I said, are you a Christian? She said, yes. I said, do you mind if I pray? She said, by all means. So we were in a room praying about my dad. I can even remember what I said all those years ago. All that God had done for Abraham and stuff like that, you can do for my dad in Jesus' name and all that. And he recovered. He recovered with all his faculties, it wasn't as if his left arm was hanging down afterwards. No, you wouldn't have known. He'd had a stroke. And I was amazed. It's funny that when God answers your prayers, he's saying, what a surprise, you know. We just act by faith in those circumstances. What did I do? It was nothing. And may all I did. was speak out the truth. God gives me these great and precious promises, which are all yes, and we speak the amen in his name.

If you don't believe me, check it out, 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20. And Jesus said there's a case where God's people need to abide, but you only abide in peace and in fellowship with the Spirit, alongside and in the company of the truth, of the truth. And therefore, last verse, therefore if the Son makes you free, you're free indeed. You're his hands, you're his feet, you're his dagger, you're his, you're all the bits and bobs of an army. Invincible, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

Do you know the Bible talks about a belt of truth, doesn't it? Ephesians 6.14, put on a belt of truth. And I used to wonder about that because I'm familiar with a belt that keeps your pants up. Imagine soldiers going out with a rifle and no belt, the pants fall down, the enemy might die of laughter. No good. But the belt, the belt the Bible talks about comes from about here down to the loins. All right. You look at Aaron, the high priest in the Old Testament, this is the belt. It was a belt of truth. And that's what it's about. The prophets. You think of Elijah, yeah, a hairy man with a cloak and a staff. The prophet's authority was a staff. Yours is the name of Jesus. All right. You don't need a staff. But he wore, he was girt about with leather. That means old-fashioned language, isn't it? He was girt with this belt. And when, you know, the Apostle John saw him, the angel of the Lord, Revelation 1, no, Revelation 2, isn't it? The description, verses 1 to 7, I think, he says he was girt about the paps. It's the old Bible. I can't remember what it says in the New International. It means he wore this belt and it girt him there, covered him down. and held him in firmly. And that was the Lord himself dressed in heavenly armour, his face like fire, you know, feet like burnished bronze and all that. And he had the belt. The belt of truth. The belt of truth. And when you've got that on, it'll set you free for anything in every circumstance.

The answer. for setting people free is the truth. Now listen, we can't set people free unless we're free ourselves. We can't give them the reality of that truth unless we're carriers and possessors of that truth. And that's what an army needs. Okay, I'm going to leave it there.

So you know my style, if anybody wants prayer and if the Holy Spirit's spoken to you, I always wait until folks have gone out because somebody might want to pour the heart out. And the front's no place for that in my view. So I mean, there's a case for that ministry. God bless it for those who do it. But I always like to pray with people. And there's a little prayer warriors in the church if you want prayer and you know who they are. Has the Lord spoken to you? Do you want that visitation of the Holy Spirit that brings the solidity and the guarantee of God's truth that indwells you? Only God can give it. All we can do is pray.

Where is your desire? You're an army now. Remember that. You're an army now. Let's just pray briefly. I'm going to pray a blanket prayer. Just as Aaron's rod swallowed up all the rods of the magicians, Lord, we would swallow up everything which is not consistent with the truth of the gospel. And Lord, in Jesus' name, may it come to the same end. Lord, we declare to you our desire today is for a visitation of the power of the truth of the gospel to deliver us from all things known that we're conscious of and all things that we hadn't even thought of until you reveal them. Lord, Holy Spirit, search us and search our hearts. Search us, Lord, our very intentions. Search us, Lord, for our good to equip us, to, Lord, to weaponize your army and to empower us with the love of Jesus. Lord, in Jesus' name. if you've spoken to anyone today. I just pray that they can receive it now and that they will receive it in the days to come, to hold, to have and to live in the truth and to be clothed, girt a belt with your truth, Lord, free people.

The Lord blesses you, the Lord declares you his beloved and his army and his free people. Now walk in it, beloved, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.