Hello and welcome to our live stream. Whether you're watching from home, on the go, or somewhere in between, we're glad you're here. At Harmony Hill, [music] our mission is simple: awakening people from death to life in Christ. And we believe that begins with moments just like this one: coming together to worship, to hear God's word, and to take steps toward Jesus. If this is your first time with [music] us or you're looking for a way to get connected, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit our website, scan the QR code on the screen,
or send us a direct message, and we'll be in touch. Today's services include worship with our choir and orchestra in the blended, our praise band [music] in the contemporary, sound biblical teaching, and a chance to reflect on what God is doing in your life. So, get comfortable, grab a Bible, prepare your heart. We're glad you're with us. Welcome to Worship on the Hill. >> Good morning. How are you all? We're so glad you're here this morning. The sun is shining. We're in the Lord's house and it's a great place to be this morning. We are
glad that you're here. Hey, if it's your first time being here or if you're just trying to find your way around, we want you to know that every fourth Sunday we have an orientation class. If you haven't been a part of that, it is a great time to learn about what's going on on the hill. Our next one will be August the 23rd. You can sign up in the app. You can scan the QR code that's on the big screen behind me. We would love to get you connected to some of the things that are
going on on the hill and help you learn about the hill. So, we hope you will do that. I also wanted to take some time. I know many of you know that we sent out a team. I was on the team. It was six high school uh guys and three adults, myself and Dylan Sandlin and Jeff Griggs. And uh we went to South Asia to share the gospel there in places where the gospel had never gone before. There's a picture up on the screen of of all of us there and our matching outfits. Uh we
bought those there and you may have seen us walking around in those. Uh while we were there, we got to share with over 670 people. And you can see this picture of one of our guys, Jake Pay, sharing with two people. These people went from death to life. We had 92 people who heard the gospel, went from death to life in Christ while we were there that just in one week. uh the team that was there back in March, there's been four churches that have started because of their sharing and the people that came to
to Christ, one over 250 miles away from the city where they went back home and shared the gospel in a mountain village came to Christ, started a church, four new churches there since the time in March. So all of that happens. We're all able to do all of these trips and send the people we've sent because of your generous giving. And so we appreciate you guys sharing that. I just want to share a quick story and say that that sharing that you just saw in that picture has not stopped since we got back. Two of
our guys, our high school boys that are going into college, one went to an orientation, saw a guy sitting by himself, thought, "Hey, I did this in South Asia. I can do this here." Went over to the guy, ended up sharing three circles with the guy, and the guy said, "I never I've heard of Jesus." Didn't know the full story. I've never heard it shared like that. Another guy went I went to lunch with him. He disappeared. We thought he just went off to use the restroom or something and and was going to leave after.
He said, "No, I was around the corner psyching myself up. There was a lady in the corner sitting by herself. She looked sad. I thought I need to go share the love of Jesus with her. I did this in South Asia. I can do this here." He sat down with her. She said, "It's been in a rough time. I'm not going to share the full story of her, but she said, 'I just went back to church last Sunday. Thank you for the encouragement. I'm going to be back in church this Sunday.'" So, this doesn't stop
in South Asia. It continues here. uh it's continuing there when we're gone. The Lord is continuing to bless the ministry in South Asia, but he is uh he is putting his people in places and growing them to share the love of Christ and to be the light of Christ in our community as well. So, thank you for your giving that makes that possible. Thank you for being here on Sunday to worship the God that we are proclaiming outside of here. And thank you for being here to worship with us this morning. So now let's uh
pay attention to a video here that's going to tell us a little bit more of what's going on the hill and then we'll worship together. Thank you for being here. [music] Hey church, listen up for some exciting things happening here on [music] the hill. Wednesday nights begin August 19th with kids ministry, [music] student ministry, and life groups all kicking off their fall schedule. And it's the perfect time to jump in, reconnect, [music] and get plugged into what's happening midweek at Harmony Hill. Whether you've been here [music] for years or just getting started, Wednesday nights are
the place to be this fall. Wondering [music] what church membership is all about and why it matters. Whether you're exploring or ready to take the [music] next step, we invite you to our membership class. Sunday, August 23rd at 10:00 a.m. You'll meet some of our staff and elders, hear the heart behind our mission and values, and learn what it means to be part of our church family. [music] Today is the last day to sign up for this class. We look forward to seeing [music] you there. Family worship Sunday is August 30th. Join us as we
worship [music] together across generations in all three services. We're excited that family worship Sundays now include kids ministry for birth [music] through 4 years old with action ministry also available. All other children are encouraged to worship [music] with their families and student ministry groups will not meet that morning. To stay uptodate with everything happening on the hill, [music] check your bulletin, church app, or visit our website, harmonyhill.urch. Now, let's [music] join together in worship. Were you happy to get a little rain yesterday? How many of you got some? All right. I think I got a
little bit. I was gone until until late last evening and I think I ran through some puddles in my driveway and I was so grateful. You know what? I'm just grateful for a God who who reigns his love and his mercy and his grace down on us each and every day. And he is worthy to be praised. Do you agree? He is. He is worthy of our praise. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Let's stand together as we sing and praise his name. Whether it's sunshine, whether [music] there's rain, whether there's cold weather, cool
weather, it doesn't matter. [music] He is worthy to be praised. Blessed be your name, Lord, and the good and the bad. Here we go. Let's sing together. Here we go. >> Blessed be [music and singing] your name in the land that is planted, [singing] where your streams of abundance [music] flow. Blessed be your name. >> Blessed be your [music and singing] name. When I'm found in the desert place, for I walk through the [music and singing] wildness, blessed be your name. >> All his blessings for every [music] blessing you pour out. Turn back to grace.
[music and singing] When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I [music and singing] will say, blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be your name. [music] Blessed be the name [singing] of the Lord. Blessed be your glorious [music] name. [singing] Blessed [music] be your name. When the sun shining down [music and singing] on me with the world as it should be. [music] Blessed be your name. Blessed be [music] your name. [singing] On the road marked with suffering. paid [music] in the offering. Blessed be your name. Every blessing, every blessing [music and singing] you pour
out, turn back to praise. When [music] the darkness closes in, [singing] Lord, still I will say, blessed be the name [music] [singing] of the Lord. Blessed be your name. [music] Blessed be the name [singing] of the Lord. Blessed be the glorious [music] name. Blessed blessed be the name [music and singing] of the Lord. Blessed be your name. Blessed be the name of the [music] Lord. Blessed be your glorious [singing] days. You give and [music and singing] take away. You give and take away. My heart will choose [music] to say. Lord, blessed [singing] be your name.
You give and take [music] away. Give and take away. My heart will [music] choose the same. For blessed be your name. Blessed be the name [music] [singing] of the Lord. Blessed be your name. [music] Blessed be the name of [singing] the Lord. Blessed be your glorious [music] [singing] name. >> [music] >> Amen. Amen. >> Blessing the Lord brings so much worship on the fountain of every blessing to my heart to sing. Thy gra streams of mercy never ceasing for [music] songs of loudest praise. Teach me [singing] by [music] raise the mountain [singing] of thy [music]
redeeing heart. Here I raise my [music] heaven. [singing] Hi there by thy help my God and I go by thy good pleasure take me to arrive [music and singing] at home. Jesus saw me when a stranger [singing] wandering from [music] the throne of God to rescue me from [music] dangeros his priceless blood. Oh to grace how great a daily [music] I be. Let [music] my grace Lord like a better my [music] heart to wonder Lord I feel it to me [music] I love [singing] my heart and [music] seal it for thy courts Who am I
[singing] that the highest king would welcome me? I [music] was lost, but he [singing] brought me in. Oh, his love for me. Oh, [music and singing] his love for me whom the son [singing] sets free. Oh, [music] [singing] I'm a child of [music] God. Yes, I [singing] am. [music] >> He has on me. His grace [singing] runs deep. While [music] I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for [music] me. Yes, he died for who the sun sets free. Who the [music] sun sets free. Holy [singing] indeed. I'm a child of God. Messiah in my
father's [music] one is a place for [music] me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I [music] am. I am chosen, not forsen. [music] I am who [singing] you say I am. You are for me, not against [music] me. I am who you say I am. I am [music] chosen, not forsen. I am who [music] you say I am. For you are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. [singing] I am [music] who you say I am. The sun [singing] sets free. Oh, is free [music and singing] deep. I'm a child
of God. Yes, I [singing] am. In my father's [music] [singing] house is a place for me. I'm a [music] child of God. Yes, I am in my father's [music] [singing] house. Aren't >> you excited about that? >> I'm a child [music and singing] of God. Yes, I am. [singing] >> I am [music] chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I [music] am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you [music] say I am. [singing] I am chosen, not forsen. I [music and singing] am who you say I am. You are for
me, not against me. [music] I am who you [singing] say I am. One more time. Lord, I am chosen, not forsen. I am [music] who you [singing] say I am. You are for me, [music] not [singing] against me. I am who you say I am. [music] Oh, I am who you say I am. Lord, I am who you say I am. [music] The sun sets [singing] free. Oh, is bringing [music] me. I'm a child of God. Yes, [music] I [singing] am. In my father's house is a place for [music] me. I'm a child [singing] of
God. Yes, I [music] am. Amen. Yeah, absolutely. You can have a seat as we move into a time of prayer. Uh today is a special day in the life of our church as it is promotion Sunday. Um that's only for those in agegraded ministries. You don't have to figure out what promotion means to you if you're not in school. But we do want to pray over this significant part of our schedule as we have opportunity to minister. And so [music] with that, I want to take just a few extra minutes to help us know how
to pray for one another. Um, if you are a a teacher, an administrator on school staff, or you are a parent sending kids to school, or you are going to school, either have already started or will be in the next few weeks. would you just stand up so we can identify who you are that we may pray for you. So if you are connected to school. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. It's a big deal. [applause and music] Absolutely. All right. You guys can have a seat. So as you're praying in a moment, maybe pray specifically for
some of those that were right around you. And then we also have an incredible opportunity during this time of year to minister and invest the gospel in children and in students. And that requires an army of volunteers willing to go into the several buildings off of this worship center over this school year. And so, um, if you are someone who is volunteering with children or youth, whether on Sundays or Wednesdays or in some other capacity, would you just stand that we can acknowledge you and pray for you as well? You guys can have a seat.
And so if you would for the next few moments, would you just pray for this season, the school year, for those going to school, for protection, for protection from ideologies that are uh unholy and also for ministry in the school [music] systems. And then pray for our church as we invest the gospel into boys and girls and young people. And then the team will lead us in just a few moments with another song. But for the next few moments, you pray. >> [music] [music] [singing] >> and dead in my sin. Lost [music] without hope with
no place to begin. [singing] Your love made a way [singing and music] to let mercy come in. >> [music] >> When death [singing and music] began, hash was redeemed. Only [singing] beauty [music] remains. My orphan [music] heart was given a name. My morning grew [music] quiet. My feet rose to dance. [music] When death [singing] was arrested and my life began [music and singing] over me. [music] You have made me now with you my chains. I'm a prisoner no more. [music] My shame was a ransom. faithfully. He cancelled [music] my debt and he called me his
friend. When death [music and singing] was arrested in my life, [music] for your gracees. [singing] [music] Sing it with us. You have made [singing] me new. Now life begins with [music] you. Lord, it's your endless [music and singing] love pouring down on us. [music] You have made us life [music] begins with you. Our savior displayed on a criminal's cross. Darkness rejoiced as though [music] heaven had lost. You imagine that? Oh, [music] but then Jesus arose without freedom in hand. [music] That's when death was arrested and my life [music] began. That's when death [music] was arrested
[singing] and my life began. It's great. For your [music] grace, [singing] washes over [music] me. You have made me through my life begins [music] with you. Oh, it's your endless [music] love pouring down [singing] on us. You have made [music] a spirit. Our [singing] life begins with you. >> Here's the story right now, everybody. more. We're free. Free forever. We're [music] free. Join the song of all the redee free. [music] And death was the best thing [singing] in my life began with free forever. [music] We're free joy from all of free forever [music] and when
death was arrested [singing] in my life. When death was [music] arrested and my life began. When death was arrested and [music and singing] my life began. [singing] Amen. Amen. Praise God. >> [music] [music] >> Let's [music] Just Good morning. >> Good morning. >> Very good. It's good to be with you today and we are in a series this month uh titled the mind of Christ. Uh the idea behind this is that the New Testament tells us that when we have gone from death to life in Christ, we are then given the mind of Christ. Meaning
that we have through him and through the Holy Spirit the power to see ourselves, see others, and see the world as he sees it. Meaning from a place of truth and reality. And so what does it look like for for us to begin to live with the mind of Christ as believers? Well, today we're going to be looking at John chapter 8 where Jesus has a a dialogue really an argument, a confrontation with some Jewish u believers, those who have initially said that they believe some of the messaging that Jesus has said. But as we
get started, I want to remind you that the book of James reminds us that even the demons believe and shudder, but it does not mean that they are transformed. And so, this is sort of on the front edge of Jesus's ministry, and he's talking to them about how they are still in slavery to sin. And it's something they're not willing to admit yet. They are caught between a mindset that still wants to believe lies rather than truth. And because they have believed a lie, the truth has not yet set them free. Uh I'm reminded to
uh a similar situation where I found myself in uh in bondage for a period of time because I went hookline and sinker on a promise. This was when I was in high school and I got a mailer that for a mere 99 cents I could get 12 CDs. [snorts] And I thought, "This is this is incredible." And so I sent my penny in to Colombia Clearing House or Columbia House, whatever it was called. And I got my 12 CDs in the mail. And I was as happy as I could be until the next month when
they sent a notice that now for the next two years I have to buy a CD at more than the retail price for an exorbitantly high amount of shipping and I don't have a job. How am I going to do this? And all of a sudden, I was snared. And I could not tell you how relieved I was when I had fulfilled my commitment to Colombia House. Why? Because I bought the lie and I ended up in slavery. I ended up in bondage with money I did not have and honestly trying to buy CDs I
didn't even want just to get out of this thing. And how often how often do we do the same exact thing just spiritually we we buy a lie we get hooked and now we are in bondage to sin. And so this is what Jesus talks about with the mind of Christ. Here in your outline, the main point today, the mind of Christ will teach us to reject the lies that imprison us so that we may embrace the truth that sets us free, which we just sang about a moment ago. So I'm going to read John
chapter 8. I'm going to read verses 31 to 38, but I will actually be referencing verses 31 all the way to the end of chapter 8 as we go forward today. But this is what John records about this interaction. Verse 31. So Jesus said to the Jews 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?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever." So if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill me 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. So, as we come into this again, the setting is Jesus has been
teaching. He's been doing some miracles and he's beginning to garner a following. Now what would often happen as Jesus would teach and do miracles is crowds would amass that out of either curiosity or a need has been met and then Jesus would not apply the rules of a good church growth model where he would then try to just tickle their ears. Once he had a big crowd, he would level them with hard truth and then those who had quote believed might walk away. In fact, at the height of his ministry, Jesus began to talk about
his own death and how people would have to carry their own cross daily to follow him. And the crowds dispersed and Jesus actually looked at his 12 disciples and said, "Will you too abandon me?" And they said, "Where else will we go? You have life." And so today, for some, maybe for all of us in some respect, this might be a message of hard truth because it is a hard truth. Jesus spoke to these who claimed to believe, but yet he recognized they were still imprisoned with lies. The mind of Christ sets us free from
lies that put us in bondage so that we may truly be free. So with this, there are four common lies that people need to be liberated from. There are more than this, but just from this text, here are four. Number one, from the verses we just read, I would say this. Here is a lie that we believe. I've got it under control. I've got it under control. When it comes to sin, we lie to ourselves and we believe a lie that says to us, "I can stop whenever I want. It's not that bad. I've got
it under control." Now in this passage Jesus says those who abide in his word, those who dwell there, those who find their home there, those who see it as a place of truth and life, those who abide in his word, not just in knowledge but in living it, putting it to practice, they are truly my disciples. Now listen, he's talking to those who are saying, "I believe." If it was a census check that day, they'd go, "I think I follow Jesus." And he says, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples." Because
in his word, the truth will set you free. And the Jewish people responded by saying, "What do you mean set us free? We are children of Abraham. We have never been enslaved to anyone." Which just quick time out. Insane statement. Insane statement. Um, do they forget that as the children of Abraham, they were enslaved for 400 years by Egypt? Do they forget that because of their sin that the Lord ripped away Israel and then Judah into captivity by the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks? Have they forgotten at this moment that they are not a
free state but under Roman rule and yet they have this lie. We've got it under control. We've never been enslaved to anyone. Now even if they are not thinking politically if they are thinking well we're children of Abraham so spiritually we are we are free just by that they're saying we have it under control. And so Jesus hits them with, "Anyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. You don't have it under control." In your outline, here's the lie. The bold-faced lie is, "I'm not a slave to sin." And we can we can deceive
ourselves. I've got it under control. It's not that bad. We look around at others and we think, "Well, I'm doing better than most. I'm not I'm not over here doing this heinous crime. I've not been brought up on charges for this heinous crime. I am a good moral person. I am free from sin. And Jesus says, if you practice sin, you are a slave to sin. And outside of the power of Christ and his death and his resurrection power, we are all slaves to sin. Paul put it, "All have fallen short of the glory of
God." There is not a person here, main fingers pointed at myself that was not a slave to sin, but God, but Christ setting us free. And then he goes on to say, "Those who are slaves in a household don't have the right to stay in that house, but those who are sons do." And who is the son? In this case, it's Christ. And he says,"I have the right to stay in God's house. And who I set free will be free indeed." So the truth here, if the lie is I've got it under control, the truth
is self-control is an illusion. Freedom is found in Christ. And I probably should have put alone. Freedom is found in Christ alone. There is no other moral system that will free you. There is no amount of self-control that will free you. We can fool ourselves and believe the lie. We've got it under control. But we are only free when Christ sets us free. He said, "The truth will set you free." And then later in John, he would say, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through him."
You want to be free from sin and bondage? Stop believing you've got it under control and fully surrender yourself to Christ who can set you free. I think about this idea that we can somehow have it under control. And I've been listening to a podcast uh over the last few weeks about uh the interpreter for Shi Otani. For those of you who don't follow baseball, uh, Show Otani is probably the best baseball player certainly on the planet right now, maybe ever. And that can be for debate, but he is outstanding. He is from Japan. Came
over here, needed a English interpreter. And several years ago, that English interpreter named Epe Machara stole tens of millions of dollars from Show for online sports gambling. And as I've been listening to some of his interviews talk about it, it started small. And he probably thought, I've got this under control. I'm losing a little here, a little there. But then he ended up making in about a two to threeyear period 19,000 sports bets. [snorts] And he was not good at it because, as they say, the house always wins. and he ended up losing, depending on
the reports, between 16 million and $40 million. Now, you should know that when they first came over, when he was the interpreter, when Shi was with the angels, he was making somewhere around 80 to90,000 a year. That's uh not going to cover that. And then even when they move to the Dodgers, I think he got a raise maybe close to $200 to $300,000 a year. That's still not going to help in any lifetime to pay for $40 million. And so this thing begins to grow. And because Shohei had to trust eBay for so much, he
had access to one of Show's bank accounts. And he started using some of Show's money to pay for his gambling debts. See, EP did not just wake up one day and think, I'd love to destroy my life tomorrow. You know what would be great for me? To be in the whole 40 million. that would just really give me like some juice to get my life together at that point. No, it started with little decisions that and he thought to himself, I've got it under control. I've got it under control. I've got it under control. Until
now he is serving time in prison for wire fraud and stealing from his friend. That is just one example on a macro level of like unbelievable proportions. But the reality is that every one of us are on a road to that level of bondage to sin when we believe the lie. I've got it under control. Just one more day. Give me one more opportunity and I'll figure this out. I can get out of the hole. You can't get out of the hole. Freedom in Christ alone. And Jesus speaks this directly to those who say, "We
believe you, but why would we need to be free? We've got it under control. How about this? The second lie we need to be liberated from. Don't you know who I am? This entitlement statement. Don't you know who I am? And so going forward as they've said this about um we belong to Abraham. He says in verse 39, Abraham or they answered Abraham as our father. Jesus said, if you were Abraham's children, you'd be doing the works Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a man who's told you the truth that I heard
from God. This is not what Abraham did. You're doing the works your father did. So now they're saying, Jesus, don't you know who we are? We're children of Abraham. That automatically puts us in right standing with God. Don't you know our family name, our family background? this sense of entitlement. Look at the lie here in the outline. The lie is this. My family background and religious affiliation guarantee my standing with God. If you're here today or you're watching online today and if you were to be at the pearly gates of heaven and they were to
ask you, "Why would I let you in?" And by the way, that's not actually a question. You don't you don't get to try to talk your way out of it. It's it's sealed. But we use that as an example. If you're at the pearly gates and they say, "Why should we let you in?" And you go, "Don't you know who I am?" My dad was a deacon. My mom was a Sunday school teacher. my grandmother, my grandfather, like all my siblings have been a part of church. I've been a long-standing member at Harmony Hill Baptist
Church. I even served with kids myself. Don't you know who I am? And don't be surprised if that is your reason for trying to get into heaven that Jesus turns and says, "Depart from me. I never knew you." Why? Because yes, they are children of Abraham physically, but Jesus is making the point physical ancestry has no bearing on spiritual adoption. Everyone has to decide what to do with Jesus. Abraham, Jesus will mention this. Paul will mention this. Abraham was credited as righteous not because of anything other than he believed the promise that one would come
from his line that would bless all nations. Abraham looked forward to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We look backwards to the Messiah. People often wonder, how did people in the Old Testament get saved? By keeping the law? No, they couldn't do it. We talked about that last week. It was because of faith in the one who would come. It's the same way that we are saved today in the faith who in the one who did come as the Messiah. If your testimony, salvation testimony starts with something to the effect of, well, you know, I've always been
a Christian, there's two things. One, you've not been properly discipled in how to tell your testimony. or you have a don't you know who I am problem because none of us have always [snorts] been a Christian. I grew up in a household of Christians. My mom and dad raised me and pointed me to believing in Jesus. But I cannot point to them and get into heaven on their faith. I had to repent of my own sin and trust Christ for salvation. See, the truth is that love for Jesus is evidence of God being your father,
not your last name. See, entitlement is such a prevalent issue in all walks of life, isn't it? Entitlement is the idea that all the rules don't apply to you for some reason. Now, I don't know. I I'm not pointing anybody out because I I I don't know this, but if it is you, let the let the Holy Spirit do his work. But entitlement drives me crazy is when you're in line in traffic and somebody goes into the emergency lane because the rules don't apply for them and just ride all the way down. Entitlement is when
someone at the store you're waiting in line and they don't want to wait in line because the rules don't apply to them and they just they they even try to politely hey this won't take but a second and they just go up and force the conversation themselves. That is a don't you know who I am mentality. And when we think that we can do that to God and say God the rules don't apply to me not true. What matters what means of saying that God is our father is that we love Jesus. And he said
that my words abide in you. He says you don't believe me because you have not allowed my words to be in you. You won't hear my words. Don't you know who I am? And then Jesus again giving hard truth says, "See, you're claiming that because of your last name that you belong to Abraham, that God is your father, but yet you don't act like Abraham. You're trying to kill his very son who has came to tell you truth." And Jesus never want to back away from a a confrontation that will hopefully lead people to the
kingdom. He says because you act like that, you actually reveal who your father is. Now, we're going to get there in a moment, but here's the truth. Persistent rejection of Jesus reveals a different spiritual father. Some of you have probably figured out if God is not your father and persistent rejection of Jesus means you have a different spiritual father. Uh-oh. So Jesus goes on. And he says in verse 43, "Why do you not understand what I say? It's because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father, the devil. So there's two
options here today. God is your father or the devil is your father. Sometimes it's nice to just have things real clear because here is number three, the lie we need to be liberate liberated from. I have my own truth. I have my own truth. So Jesus declares, "You are children of your father, the devil, who is a murderer." And what Jesus is talking about is in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, God says, "Do not eat from this tree." And the enemy says, "You're not going to die." And he let them straight into
a trap where they died. And every one of us now die. He's the greatest mass murderer in all of history. He kills all of us. And he says, not only is he a murderer, he's a liar. How did he murder all of us? By a lie. And he says he lies because it's out of his character. And yet so many of us cannot bear to hear truth because we want our own truth. And so we believe this lie that you can see here in the outline. I can accept the parts of God's words I like
and ignore the rest. That is from the father of lies, ladies and gentlemen. We cannot pick and choose. And so Jesus says, "You are your father is the devil." And so how do they respond? They respond in verse 48, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" They've been confronted with a truth and they go, "We don't like that truth. We reject that truth because I don't like it. You are the one with the demon. You are the that is something that we cannot abide by. So that must
be wrong." So they actually call Jesus the enemy and that he is lying so that they can embrace their own truth. And we all do it. We're all tempted to do it in a variety of ways. And certainly I could point to some of the hot button topics of the day that might relate to a small percentage of the people in this room. But let's not make a straw man out of these big things like gender identity and the LGBTQ community and all those things and act like we all don't do it to some degree
where we act like God's word is something that we can just pick and choose around because if you are suffering from pride you've come up with your own rationalizations for how that's okay. If you are addicted to pornography, you sort of look over and go, "Hey, it's not as bad as [snorts] such and such." If you are a liar, you figured out how to justify it. If you are an adulterer, I mean, an idoltor of the heart or adulterer. Either way, you know, we have our ways of justifying it and going, you know what? I'm
not really going to put much stock on this part because I'm doing okay on these things. and we just pick and choose like we're at a Chinese buffet. It's like I can I can have Kungpow chicken and randomly French fries if I want. God's word is truth. And he says, "Be careful you're not falling into the trap of the father of lies by thinking you can reject a hard truth because you don't want to hear it, bear it, or have him be the authority over you." And here's the truth. God is the one who determines
truth, and he will judge according to his standard. So Jesus's response, I'm not trying to glorify myself. The father will glorify me and he will be the judge of what is true and what is not true. He's saying, "You call me a demon, I'm calling you the father of the devil. God will determine what is true here." Kind of reminds me of this situation. Uh earlier this week, I went uh to uh to the movies. My my one of my daughters was going with some friends to go see the new Spider-Man, and I really wanted
to also see it, but I didn't want to crash their party. So, I bought one ticket in another theater, and man, everybody has been going to see this movie. I go to movies a lot, and um they have not been this full in a long time. And so, I had to buy one ticket on a row where I was the only available seat. So, I knew I'm going to walk in by myself. and sit with a bunch of total strangers. And I was running a little bit late. And so I get to the movie theater
and I know my ticket E11. Bingo. And I walk in and I walk up to row E and somebody is sitting in seat 11. And I hate that kind of confrontation. And I see that two seats down is an empty seat. And so the movie's already just started. I'm thinking, okay, maybe the couple who was going to be sitting to my right, they got mixed up and they shifted over. So, I'm just going to sit there and just see if that works out. So, I sit down. I can't enjoy the movie because I'm worried the
whole time somebody's going to come and ask for my seat. And sure enough, it did happen. I see somebody walk up and they're doing the very polite like trying to cue me going one, two, three. And I'm just like, "Oh, this is me." And they go, "Sir, I think you're in my seat." seat and I was like, "Yep, you're right." And I popped up and then I go over to the other person. I said, "Hey, I think you're in my seat. This is E1." And I'm sweating because it the movie's going on. This is so
awkward. And this young lady was like, "No, I also have E11." And so now I'm thinking, did I go into the wrong theater? Cuz this movie is played in like every theater there. And I'm like, "Did I walk into the wrong time?" And so I said, "Is this the 7:00 movie?" And she said, "Yes." And so I knew I'm in the right one. And now I'm going, I know truth is on my side. I pulled out my ticket, shine my light on it, E11. And I don't know what possessed me. I said, get out your
ticket. And she says, I I ordered it online. I said, I did, too. And she pulls it out. C 11. So now I know I'm here by myself. She's obviously there with a friend. I know where an empty seat is, but I now want her to at least admit she's in my seat. And I go, "That's C11. This is E1." And she looks at me as if to me it is E1. And for a split moment, I thought, we're gonna have an usher come in and judge between you and I which ticket is actually E1.
And then I realize I don't want to do that. And so then I go down and I just sit in C11. But like it just bothers me, right? Yeah. Like it honestly I wouldn't have even cared if she'd said, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I mine actually is C11. Would you mind swapping?" I mean, anything to acknowledge it was just like, "Sir, I dare you to tell me that this is not E1." But it could have been resolved if I'd gotten a judge, if I'd gotten some poor teenage boy to come as the usher
and judge that situation. And in the same way though, in the same way, we hold up our ticket and go, "God, it's E11 and it says C11 and we know it says C11." And yet we are fighting tooth and nail. And there will come a day where the judge, not some teenage boy, but the creator of all things will come and say, "Depart from me. I never knew you." You are in bondage to slavery of sin because you refuse to acknowledge you're in the wrong seat. See, will we be a people that hear God's word
and allow it to find a place in us or will we push it off? Which leads me to the fourth lie we need to be liberated from. And that lie is this. Jesus is just a good teacher. This is a lie that even started right here in John chapter 8. So they go back and forth over this. And then they said Jesus says that he knew Abraham, looked forward to the day of Jesus's day. [snorts] And they say, "You're not even 50 years old. How do you mean you know Abraham? You've lived with Abraham." And
he says, "Anyone who follows my words will not see death." And they say, "Who are you? The prophets all died. Are you greater than one of the prophets?" What they're trying to do is go, "Your authority that you're claiming should be down here. At most, you're just a good teacher." Now remember, he's talking to people that started this conversation, those who believed in him. And now they're saying, "You're just a good teacher. You're just a miracle worker. Here's the lie. Jesus might deserve admiration but not authority over my life. So many particularly I would say
here in the United States of America. So many especially here in the Bible belt. So many here, especially in Texas, maybe the belt buckle of the Bible belt, that we have grown up in a culture that admires Jesus, but yet so many people say, "I admire him. I sometimes show up at his house to worship, but he has no authority over my life." [snorts] And yet Jesus then responds when they say, "How? You're not even 50 years old. How are you not? What do you mean?" And Jesus says in verse 58, "Truly, truly I say
to you, before Abraham was, I am." Now when he said that, he was saying, "I am more than a teacher. I am more than just a prophet. He is claiming for himself the same name that the father gave to Moses saying, "Who should I tell them in Egypt sent me?" You tell them I am that I am sent you. For people who will try to claim that Jesus never claimed deity, that's a lie. That's picking and choosing because right here he said before Abraham existed I am. And the Jews in that moment did not miss
the implication because chapter 8 closes with them going blasphemy. They went and picked up stones to try to kill him. They did not miss the implication. See Jesus is not just a moral teacher. He is not just one way to enlightenment. He is the only way. He is the truth that will set us truly free. And he is the only one that brings life rather than death. >> And here's the truth. Every person must decide what to do with Jesus. I'll close with this. I I remember many years ago I had taken a group of
maybe 20 25 students on a mission trip. And one of the young men on the trip was a a young man named Albert. And Albert was a young man that uh I loved him. He was so funny. He was I mean people were just drawn to him uh in so many ways. But he he was a young man that that I knew was not living for the Lord. And so we're gone on this mission trip for a week and he is just thriving. I mean, he is connecting with the others in our youth group and
he is, you know, putting himself out there for ministry. And on the way home, we've got like a 18-hour drive home. And I just I just pulled him to the side and I said, "Albert," I said, "Man, I've just seen the potential of what God wants to and can do and is is doing in and through you this week." I said, 'But you and I both know what your life like was before and what will it be to be different when we get home? You've got to make a decision who you will serve. I'm willing
to help you. Some of these other friends that you've made on this trip will help you, but what will you do? And I will never forget. He turned to me and said, "You're right, but I already know I'm going to go back and do what I've always been doing. This has been one of the greatest weeks of my life, but I know when we get back, I'm just going to go back and do the same thing." Broke my heart because he did. See, he believed, but God's word wasn't going to abide in him. He was
thinking he's got it under control. He He kind of thought, I I I'm affiliated with church. My parents go to church. They're leaders in the church. Don't you know who I am? But he was falling into a lie that that mattered when it comes to the Lord. And he began to say, "Jesus has no authority over me. I I want to do what I want to do." And Jesus would say, "You cannot hear my truth because God is not your father." I don't know whether you are an Albert here today or not, but I'll make
the same plea. I'll make the same plea. God loves you. He wants so much more for you. You don't have it under control, but he can set you free. Maybe you've got a last name or a family background that has no affiliation with God. You're in the same spot as someone whose dad is the preacher. You still have to make that decision on your own. and he offers the invitation to be part of his family today. But we can't pick and choose. We must say, "God, all of it. I submit myself to all of it."
So, if you're here today and you're shackled to sin and you want to be set free in salvation, repent of your sin. Trust what Jesus did on the cross for you, paying for your sin penalty. And then when he rose again, it is the power of life to change and to experience abundant life starting even right now into eternity. I'd love to talk with you after this service. You can go to our next steps room and talk to someone or set up an appointment to talk to someone. But if you came here today with a
believing friend or family member and you're more comfortable talking to them about this, by all means, talk to them. Just do it today. Let today be the day of salvation. And then for the rest of us who already belong to Christ, we've been set free. We're under the authority of Christ. Let's live with the mindset of Christ to see who we really are in him. See how we are to look at others through his eyes and see the world around us and stop being enslaved by lies and halftruths and live according to our father whom
the son sets free is free indeed. I'm going to pray for us. Thank you so much for being here. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for this word that is truthful. Help us to believe it as truth. Help us not to to try to shake it off, but Lord, make it have a place in our heart today. May we abide in your word and be truly your disciples that we may call God our Aba Father. It's in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you so much for joining [music]
us for worship. If the Lord prompted you to respond during today's service. We want to help. So, connect [music] with us by visiting the website on the screen using the QR code or send us a direct message and a member [music] of our team will reach out personally. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the day and I hope to see [music] you next week either right here in our online service or in person on the hill.
