Iconic Jesus | Week 1

So so what yesterday, my, my daughter, my oldest daughter, Micah, who's who's now married and still valuable, she came over and was over because her husband was out of town, so she kinda spent the night. And and as she was sitting there, she pulled out,

on my wife's computer, like, started looking through all the old pictures. You know, kinda like looking at them, and my other daughter looked, and it was kind of like you I'd walk by and all of sudden I'm getting sucked in. We're sitting there looking at it and reminiscing, and and and one particular picture popped up I wanna show you here. There it is. That's

that's my firstborn child, and and this one sparked a memory in me that I remembered. It was, right about this time, just right after this, within a month or two, she's crawling around already, but she started to say her first word really young. I mean, was barely crawling, and and she said this word ball,

which we thought meant ball, and we confirmed it. Because when she would see this ball she really liked, she'd say ba ba. So that's what we knew. And so as I was looking at this picture, it reminded me of this time I remember when she was crawling and could say that one word. I was sitting there watching her because Carrie went somewhere and actually trusted me. So I'm sitting there watching her, and and and as she's crawling around, she looks over, and she can see this ball. But the thing is it's on the other side of this little teeny slide that she has. It's it's a little slide that she had, like, real small things. She wasn't even really able to crawl over. But she could see the ball underneath it, and so she's like, bop. And so she crawls to get it. And as she crawls to get it, she

runs into the slide. Crawls right into it. Bam. Then she sits back and is like looks. And then she tries to crawl and reach it again. Good. She can't she can't get it. So she sits back. I'm sitting there going, okay. I know what I need to do. And it's at this moment,

I this is where you know I can guarantee you that men and women are wired differently. Because what would a mom do? Oh, sweetie, here's the ball. No. No. That's not what a dad does.

Dad decides, hey, my daughter's already a genius. She's crawling early. She's already saying words before you should say words. I'm gonna test I'm gonna do a psychological experiment, sociological experiment,

and and kind of an IQ experiment. I'm gonna see how many how long it takes her to figure out how to get that ball. So I just sat there and watched her. And I wanted to you know, how many licks does it take to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop? That's what I wanted to find. That just made me really old. Sorry. And so I was like so I'm sitting there watching her, and and and she goes she goes she goes she goes. After the eighth try,

I didn't get to do another try because Carrie walked in and she hit it the eighth time she sat down and started crying. And then my wife walked in and goes, what are you doing? And I go, oh, she wants the ball. And then she's like, well then hand it to her. I go, no, you can't. You'll mess up my experiment. And she's like, whatever, and walks out. And so I was like, okay. She's not gonna figure this out. So then I said, alright, I'm gonna try something else.

And and I said, hey, sir. Look, it's Micah. Micah, I confused my kids' names. Micah, it's over here. Just go over there. Go around. I wanted to see if she's smart enough to listen. And she's like, she's not gonna learn. So so I said, oh, I wonder if this will work.

And I got down on her level. My hands, he started crawling. And she would do that. We'd play a game. I start crawling, and she and she'll chase after me. So I'm like, hey, Micah. Come on. Come on. And she's just so she starts crawling.

I crawled around the slide and right over by the ball. She followed me. Then we sat. She sat and then looked, and she's

and that's why that face reminded me in that picture. That's how she looked at me. That's kind of what we're gonna be talking about today. We're gonna we're gonna look at an encounter that Jesus had with people that said they believed in him. But they wanted they they wanted what he had, but they were having a hard time

trusting in who he was. They wanted what he had, but they were rejecting who he was.

And and so they wanted the ball. They wanted freedom. They wanted to experience the life that God wanted. They wanted eternal life. They they they wanted the things of God. They were religious people. It even says they believed in him, but they they they they didn't realize. They the way they were going,

they they they couldn't get to it. They were never gonna get to it. And Jesus was trying to explain to them, here's who I am and here's how you get freedom.

And the reality is what they're gonna have to engage in and what we're all gonna have to engage in. If we really want freedom in our life, we really wanna experience the ball of what life is supposed to be, we gotta understand that Jesus got down on our level. He's god in a bod who came down to show us the way,

and and they were having a hard time with it. And so I wanna dive into this story and kinda pull out what does this mean for us today because some of the interaction is gonna be weird to us because we're not Jews in the first century. But

the struggles they have are the same things we have today. And so here here's the big idea I wanna unpackage for a moment when we're we're in this passage here. And it's simply this. The big idea is this is

knowing the truth will set me free.

It's knowing the truth will set me free. And we're gonna see what that means here in a minute. We're gonna be in in John chapter eight, which is kinda funny because I'm gonna confuse some of you because we we we started this series, and the series is actually from John seven to John 12, and I'm gonna immediately skip John seven. We're gonna go back into John seven next week, but I wanna go on to Johnny because this interaction with with with with Jesus, he's gonna make a statement about being I am, and this whole series is gonna be Jesus makes all these statements where he says, I am the bread of life. I am the the light of the world. I am we're looking at these I am statements that he says, but here's the deal.

If I don't understand what the I am means, I'm gonna completely misinterpret what the bread of life is. If I don't understand what the I am is, I'm not gonna understand what it means to be living water.

I'm gonna misinterpret it. I'm gonna misapply it. So we we we need to understand what does it mean. So that's why I wanna jump into chapter eight because this interaction leads to him actually making a statement that declares who he is that is really important for us to understand what it means to find the ball,

to get to the life that we we really were built for, the life that we really, really desire. So here we are in John chapter eight, and we're gonna start in verse 31.

It says this, Jesus said to the people who believed in him. Now now remember that. Because this starts off, he's talking to people to say they believe in him. And and he says, you truly you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Now here's the deal. I always say, don't hear what I'm not saying. Don't hear what Jesus isn't saying. That almost sounds like what he just said. If you're really my disciples, you're gonna follow my teachings, then you'll be free.

And it kinda sounds like he's saying, he if you follow the rules, you get the reward. That's not what he's saying at all. Matter of fact, it's will be abundantly clear as he talks this crowd through the conversation they're gonna have. Because this crowd thinks as, hey. We're descendants of Abraham. We know the rules.

We're God's chosen people. We're fine. They think it is. We're born in the right family. We have the right list of rules. We have this. So so what it sounds like he's saying is you gotta know all this truth, his teachings. But he says if if you are faithful to his teachings,

what Jesus is trying to say is all of my teachings, the word of God is not about a list of do's and don'ts and rules. There are things God wants us to do. He wants us to step out and act certain ways, But the reality is the whole Bible is pointing to who Jesus is.

And really, to listen and be faithful to his teachings is to actually be in a relationship with Jesus. Because notice it says you it doesn't say you'll know the truths, and the truths will set you free. It says you'll know the truth, and that's what's gonna set you free.

Well, later on in the book of John, Jesus says a declarative statement, another I am saving myself. When he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

So Jesus is saying, when you're in my word, when you know me through the world back then, they knew him. Physically, we have his word. It says that we get to know the the living word in the written word. As we are in God's word and we interact, we should be in the word

not to know a bunch of do's and don'ts, not to know rights and wrongs, not to win an argument, not to just be a better person than my neighbor, not to it's it's it's it's to know Jesus. So what he's saying is, when you come to know me, I'm the one that sets you free. Makes sense? So so that's what he's he's telling them.

And then look how they respond. They respond, but but we're descendants of Abraham, they said. We've never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean? You will be set free. So he's telling them this incredible truth, and their response is, we don't have a problem.

That's really what they're saying. He's like, they they focused in on we'll be set free. Who said we needed to be set free? I don't really have a problem. I'm not a slave. I I I don't have this issue. And and and they're acting all, like, defensive.

Now that's like when you come to church. I go, hey. You know what? To know Jesus, you gotta know that that we have fallen. We've done this thing called sin. We're separated from God. And a lot of you sit here, go, no. No. No. No. I'm coming to church because because I really? I'm not really a a a evil wicked sinner. I'm I'm a mistaker.

There's a difference between being a mistaker and a sinner. A lot of us sitting in church and then remember, who's he talking to? Those who believed in him. Or at least they said they believed in him. And the issue is some of us come here thinking, I'm really not that bad. I just need to clean up my act a little bit.

I mean, I need to I need to be a little bit better. It's kind of like I just need some self improvement. And and what Jesus is saying, no. No. No. No. No. No. Guys aren't mistakers. You're sinners. And when you are a sinner, you're a slave. And he explains it. Look what he what he keeps saying. He goes on and he says,

Jesus replied, I tell you the truth in verse 34, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the son sets you free, you are truly free. So see what he's saying? He's saying, listen. If you sin,

you are a slave to it. We are captured by this sin, this idea that we wanna go around God. We wanna make it work on our own. Remember, like I said, the first thing he said, you'll know the truth, the truth will set you free. If you think that's listen to the rules and you'll make it, That's not what Jesus is saying because what they said was that. Well, we know Abraham.

We have this. We're not really sinners. We have the right way. We do the right things. We're lovable. Look at us. And he's saying, no. You don't get it. When you've sinned, it's because you sinned because we're broken. Our relationship with God has been broken. We are we are in we are in chains. We are slaves

to this nature that says we wanna run our own way. We wanna do our own thing. We don't wanna trust God. We we wanna make it work on our own. And he says a slave is not a permanent member of the family. That's a weird example for us, but let me let me explain it. He's talking to people that say they believe in him.

And he's saying, no. No. No. You're not in the family. You say you're a descendant of Abraham. You think that you're part of the family just because of that. He goes, Ashley, you're a slave. Now in the household then, slaves were a part of the household. They were in the house all the time, but they weren't

a member of the family. You know what he's saying is to these people who believe in him? Some of you, just because you're sitting in here, think you're a Christian. Just because you're in the house doesn't make you part of the family. That's what he's saying. And the reason they're not part of the family is

they don't think they have a problem. They don't think their problem is as bad as it is. They're they're separated because of our sin, and we all are. The Bible says we all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. So then he says in verse 37, yes, I realize that you're descendants of Abraham,

and yet some of you are trying to kill me because there's no room in your hearts for my message.

Now they, some of them, probably literally gonna try to kill him. But I think today, some of us still literally try to kill Jesus in our hearts when we don't have any room for his message. So when he says, hey, here's where I want you to trust me. Here's where I want you to go with me. Believe my words. Follow me. Be faithful to me. Come with me. I'm showing I got down. I'm crawling. Follow me. I'll take you to the ball. And we're like, nope. I don't wanna go there.

That's the same thing. That's the same thing. Now now now think about this. He's saying, you don't think you have a problem, but you do. So as as we look at this, this is the first little interaction. There's three things I wanna look. Because if I'm really gonna know the truth, if I really wanna know Jesus

in a way that gets me to freedom, then there's three things in this this interaction here we're gonna have to admit. And this is the first one. The first thing I'm gonna need to admit, what they wouldn't admit at this moment is that I'm powerless. I have to admit that I'm powerless to make my life work on my own.

Matter of fact, if you've ever been in any recovery program, that's one of the that's the first step in any recovery program. It's like admit that I don't have the strength. I'm powerless before this problem. I'm I'm I'm I am. And that's the first thing to actually really have a relationship with Jesus,

to really know God. Don't know if some of you have not been to church much. I mean, maybe you grew up in church, and maybe you just heard the wrong things or maybe you were taught the wrong things, but you heard that being a Christian is all about, I believe in Jesus. That gets me in. That's the cover charge that but there's a two drink minimum, and I gotta get in and do more. It's like and then you think he's just but it's really what you earn, and that's not true. The reality is you can't make yourself lovable to God.

I can't do it. We are powerless before our sin. We are enslaved to it. We got a problem that separates us from God throughout all eternity because of the brokenness. And the first step I gotta do is I have to admit that I am powerless to make it right on my own. You're gonna miss Jesus even if you come to church

if I can't admit that I am a sinner that is fully separated from God, and I do not have the power to fix it. So so what

do you do there? There's there's two questions I want you to maybe write down or think about that we should ask. And you know what? The reality is this isn't just a one and done thing. We have to ask ourselves these questions every day.

Because, you know, at any time, we could say, Jesus, I'm taking the wheel. Okay? Instead of Jesus saying, like, Jesus out of the way. I'm taking the wheel. I'm gonna do this thing. And and I think the two questions that we should ask is, first of all, is ask yourself this.

Am I a son or a slave? As he talks about this, or daughter, but he just compares a sonship to being a slave. Which one are you right now? If you're honest about why you're in church and why you even show up,

is it because you're just trying to put together your life plan that works out your way? Church is one of the things I throw into the mix.

If that's true, you might be a slave. You may be in this house, but you're not a part of the family. Because if you think you can do it,

you don't realize what you actually need. And that brings up the the second question is, more practical here is in is am I leaving room in my life for God's word? He says, be faithful to me. Know me. Do you put aside time to be in God's word? And here's the deal. Here's the trick.

If you really don't try to find time to be in God's word, I know we get busy. I'm not saying we mess up. We we we struggle. I get that. But if your attitude is, I just don't. I'm not even gonna try.

It's like I I did, but I'm not sure. If if or if you do it out of this fear of, like or it's just a checklist thing. Some of you do it all the time, and it's because it's all the same problem. It's your checklist. Alright. I did my thing. I made myself better. If if if if I understand that what I'm doing when I engage with God's word is I'm developing a relationship with Jesus,

the word there for for to know, to to to know him, to know his teachings, be faithful, to know the truth. That word in the first verse there we read, to know the truth. That's a Greek word for know that means to to to have a intimate and deep acquaintance with. It's a relationship term for know.

It's it's the opposite of to know about. You know, I I can find I can go on I can go on social media and probably find out a lot of facts about most of you. I can get a list, and I can have this list of facts about you. I can know about you, but that doesn't mean I know you.

When you go to the word of God, why? Are you going there just to know things, or are you in the word to know someone? That should be our approach. And if you really do know that I'm powerless

and Jesus is the way, I'm gonna desire to be in God's word because I wanna be with Jesus. So that's a good those that's a good litmus test every What's my view towards spending time with God and his word?

And where am I at on that? Because the first thing I need to admit is am I I am powerless.

So that's what he tells him. And then in verse 38, let's let's get back to the story here. He goes, I'm telling you what he's telling them. What I saw when I was with my father, but you're following the advice of your father. They're like, what?

He's he's punching throats now, guys. I'm just telling you. Jesus is just and you know why he's doing it? Because he loves them. He wants them to know the truth. He wants the truth to set them free,

but he needs to get them past things that if they can't admit things, they're not gonna get there. So he goes, you think you you're not falling. I've heard from the father, god, the father, and what he's saying, and you're listening to your father, which gets them kind of upset. So they they say in verse 39,

our father is Abraham, they declared. No, Jesus replied. So they're saying our father's Abraham. You know, they're saying, father Abraham,

who started the faith. God called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and he he put his faith in g he put his faith in God, and and he started following God. And and it says when he listened to God, it says he just believed God. And because Abraham believed God, God credited that to his to righteousness to him. What was this? It was just, I trust you, God. I believe you. It's that relationship with God that made him right. That's what set him free. And so he's saying, that's our father. So because because we're descendants of him, we're cool. We don't that's who our father is. We're descendants of him. And and Jesus says, no.

If you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example, meaning you would believe God. You would believe me is what he's he's starting to say. He goes, instead, you're trying to kill me because I told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. Nope. You're imitating your real father.

They replied, we aren't illegitimate children. God himself is our true father. So now see the connection? We're related DNA, descendants of Abraham, which makes us the chosen people. And since we are the sons of the chosen one of the chosen people, that automatically makes God our father.

That's a really Old Testament Jewish first century way of saying, but we were born in church. We've always gone to church. That makes me a follower. That makes me right with God. And maybe that's you. Maybe you you were born in church. Literally, maybe your mom gave birth to you in a pew in church. I I don't know that.

You're always here. You've always gone here. That doesn't make you. That does not make God your father just because you're here, is what he's saying. And then they're saying, nope. No. We have it right. We have it right. And and he's saying, no. You don't. No. You don't. It says you're listening to your real father.

And Jesus told him in verse 42, if God were your father, you would love me because I have come to you from God. I'm not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can't you understand what I'm saying? He says, why can't you understand this? He goes, it's because you can't even hear me.

For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He always hated the truth because there's no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So think about that.

What is he saying? He says, the devil is your father. Why would he come to they they go to he's telling people that say they believe in him, that are descendants of Abraham. They're part of the the chosen race, kind of the the people of God. But he's saying, you don't get it.

You're not really God's not really your father because you're listening to the wrong voice. You're you're not listening to me.

You have your own ideas. And here's the thing. When you say the devil, it's not like they're all demon possessed or the devil. What he's saying is you are listening to the liar of all lies, meaning it's probably you're listening to your own voice, your own broken voice, your slave voice, the voice that that's enslaved to our sin that falls to this way of we want what Jesus has, but we reject who Jesus is. We we we want to have something good. We have this desire in our heart, and we listen. We keep listening to the original lie you find in the first couple chapters of Genesis where Satan said, hey, God's holding out on you. If you really wanna be happy, you've got to do this. So if God says do this and you really feel like you should do this, what are we going do? We're going to do this to be happy, and and that's going make me happy. That's what sin is. And he says that's the voice you listen to.

And he says, it's not working. He goes, you've bought into the you think you're alright. You think you're not powerless. But what he's saying is, it's not working for you. You're going the wrong direction. You're not getting closer to God. You're not getting closer to the ball. You're getting further away from the ball.

In other words, the first thing I need to admit is I'm powerless. The second thing I need to admit is the way I'm trying to make it work isn't working. How I'm living life, what I'm currently doing isn't working. I have to admit that what I am doing is not working.

If I try to make my spiritual life work on its own, if I try to go this way on my own, I have to admit it's not working. They're acting like they're fine. And because they don't see themselves as powerless, they think what

they're doing is working. I got this new Apple watch, and it yells at me, I don't even know what it means. Last night, a Domino's pizza thing sent me a text. I realized I ordered too much Domino's pizza that they're, hey, buddy. Why do they know me by a first name basis? But, anyways, where was I?

Because what I'm doing is not working. That's where we're at. See, their hope is just because we're around, we're okay. And he goes, no. Look at the results. It's not working is what he's saying.

How about you?

Your church.

Is your life resemble anything different than what everyone else out there is like?

The truth is most of us in the church, if you look at the stats, our our lives are no different than the average person that doesn't even go to church.

For a lot of you, this faith thing isn't working,

And it's not because of the voice of God. It's not because of Jesus or its lack of ability. It's because I won't admit that I'm powerless, and I won't admit that what I'm doing isn't working. I need Christians should be the first ones to admit we're broken people. We're not better than people. We're broken people.

We should be the first ones to admit that. Yet how often do we act like we're better than everyone else? That usually is a sign that we're listening to the wrong voice.

Are we hearing the voice of God? Because I heard it this way. I talked about my daughter, the whole idea that you gotta follow Jesus to get around to get to the ball. Another way of putting it is this. I I wrote this down a while back, and I don't even remember where I got it from. It says, if the key didn't unlock the prison door the first time,

why do we keep trying the same key over and over again? I mean, what in your life where where you're just you're trying to make something work relationally, financially, with your time, your schedule, just something,

your your your purpose in life, something you're trying to figure out. And and and and if you would relate to Jesus, if you would admit I'm powerless and know the truth, meaning get into the word of God, get to know Jesus, and actually listen to what he has to say.

Don't follow what he has to say on what to do in my life because I need to get I need to follow the rule to get the reward. But listen to him because I do believe, and I I believe him like Abraham, what he said. I trust him that he knows best,

and maybe I'll get to where I need to go. But what he asked us to do sounds too scary.

I can't trust you with that, God. I can't trust you in this. I can't that just sounds hard. That sounds like it's not gonna get me what I want. So we fight. And so then we go, nope. I'm gonna use this key. We're we're trapped. And we're like, I'm gonna try this key. And we try it. It doesn't work. When we look and God says, hey, go this way. And you're like, nope. A lot of times you'll hear it in a sermon. You'll hear the same thing. The Holy Spirit sometimes keeps telling you the same thing. It's not me. I might be saying something completely different, but you keep hearing the Holy Spirit talk to you about something, and you're like, nope. Not gonna try that key. I'm gonna go back to this key. And and have you ever done that? You ever tried the same key? I mean, we do this all the time, not with keys, but maybe I'm the only one who does this. You ever have, like you need to enter in one of your codes,

online for your phone or something and and your your password,

and and you don't want the same password on everything because they say that's bad. So you have different passwords, and then you're like me. You get confused on which one's which. You're like, I know which one is you end in the first time. He's like, nope. Incorrect. And even shows red, like, you're a failure.

You know? And you're like, okay. And you're like, but I okay. What am I gonna do? And what do we normally do? Normally, we're like we enter the exact same one again thinking, well, maybe it was I said it wrong. So you do it again. You're like, it's still wrong. And you're like, that you know what? No. I know that's what it is. And you enter it again,

and then you get locked out. Am I the only one that ever does that? Why do we keep punching the same five digits when we knew it didn't work the first two times? Is it gonna magically change? What is it in your life that you just keep going back to the same key?

Second verse, same as the first, a little bit longer, a little bit worse. That's what he's saying. And so how do you get the new key? How do you get the right key? In verse 45, he says this, so when I tell you tell the truth, you just naturally don't believe me. That's what he's telling him.

Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? See, I'm not the one with the problem. When he said, I know that you're descendants of Abraham, I know in your heart, you realize they thought the problem was who are you, Jesus? When the real problem is they didn't know who they were.

We sometimes have a problem with what God's doing, but the reality is we don't listen to God because we don't understand who we are.

He goes, you don't believe me. Which of you can truthfully already set apart? And since I am telling you the truth, why don't you believe me? Verse 47. Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God, but you don't listen because you don't belong to God. Now,

he's not saying that if one time you disobey God, you're not a Christian, but he's saying if in your heart you consistently

just try to be a better person, come to church here, but you consistently have things in your life that you're just I will not listen to what God's word says to do on this. I just won't do it that way. Here's the scary part. If that's where you're at,

and you don't even have a want to want to, you're just like, nope, not gonna do that. Just not. There is a chance you're not a Christian.

Sorry to tell you.

Now the answer isn't to go, okay, I'm gonna go make myself do all these right things. Don't don't hear what I'm not saying. The step you need to take is go, man, what voice am I listening to? Who is my father?

What's the voice that I just can't get past? Deal with that. Because in the end, that's what saves you. What sets you free? Not okay. I'm gonna force myself to do this right thing. It's I'm gonna see Jesus clearly by admitting I'm powerless, admitting that the voice I'm listening to doesn't work,

and saying, Jesus, I wanna listen to you.

Doesn't I didn't say that we're not gonna have moments where we just are afraid. We're not gonna have moments we doubt. We're not gonna have moments we don't listen to Jesus. I'm talking about in your heart. Some of you are saying, are you have already decided this is the part I like about God. This is the part I don't like, and I'm just gonna do this part. What he's saying is if if if that's really what you're deciding,

I I I hear this voice, but I like that part, but I'm gonna do this part. Which voice are you really listening to? Your own. And if that's what you decide in your heart, you're probably never hearing the voice of Jesus because you don't actually believe in Jesus, sadly. So the answer

is to go back and say what voice am I listening to, and what voice do I wanna listen to. And I need to admit I'm powerless, admit what I'm doing isn't working,

because here's why I need to make this decision. Because this third thing, the less of the story, I'm just gonna tell you upfront what the point is and then show it to you, is if I can't if I really wanna know the Lord, if I really want a relationship with God, if I really want the ball of freedom,

of what real freedom is and Jesus wasn't talking about just physical freedoms. He knows we live in a broken hurt world, but what he's really talking about is the spiritual freedom, an eternal relationship with the God who loves us, that create us, that made us, that really knows what our desires of our heart are really meant to be. And and if we really want that, I'm gonna need to know Jesus, and I will truly know Jesus when I admit I'm powerless, when I admit what I'm doing is not working, and then I need to surrender to Jesus. But here's the deal.

The reason this is so critical, the reason why Jesus gets so brutal in this conversation with these people who think they believe in Jesus is he knows they're lost. And and here's the the truth truth number three. I need to admit that if I don't surrender to Jesus,

I will attack Jesus. I mentioned that last week real quickly. But I gotta realize that if I don't choose to surrender to Jesus, if you try to waffle in that middle, like, I'm kinda half in, half out,

and not really decide that I'm gonna surrender to Jesus with my whole life, I guarantee I've been doing this for a long time. This what what happens at the rest of the story is not the exception. This is the rule. This is how it works. That if I sit in here, I know that if you're gonna sit and go, and you're gonna be that guy that's like, well, I'm gonna go this far. I like this, but nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Guarantee eventually you won't sit in here.

You will either go all in or you'll bail. You're either gonna surrender to Jesus or you're gonna attack Jesus. Guaranteed. Because here's what happens. He tells them that you don't really belong to God if you don't really listen to me, and the people retorted. They retorted. They're so upset they're retorting.

And so so they retorted, you Samaritan devil. Didn't we say along that you were possessed by a demon? Wow.

This is the people that said, these are the people that believed in Jesus. Now they're like, you're a devil. You know what's worse? The worst part of that wasn't even devil. The most offensive part to them was calling him a Samaritan. So they showed they didn't have a heart for people.

That was a pretty harsh statement from their heart. They were really like, Samaritans are horrible, and you're not you're like one of them, and you're a devil. And and and then he says, didn't we say all along you were possessed by a demon?

No, Jesus said. I have no demon in me, for I honor my father and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is gonna glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die. So because if you really obey my what he means is if you really engage and know me, you're gonna have eternal life.

And they said the people said in verse 52, now we know you're possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say anyone who obeys my teaching will never die? Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are? Uh-huh. There you go. There's the heart of it.

If you're having a hard time surrendering to Jesus, it's because you won't accept who he is. And it might because you don't really know who he is. You might want what he has, but you're rejecting who he is.

Did you realize what they just did in here? It's a whole another sermon side note, but what just happened is a classic example of what happens

when someone asks you to do something or challenges the way you believe or says it's this way, not that way. If someone does that and they are someone that you think has no rights over you, this is how you respond.

Every single time. If you think someone doesn't really have a right over you and they tell you to do something, you're gonna like, who are you? And then you're gonna do exactly what he did. There was three things they did in that argument. They they they argued, they slandered, and they got sarcastic.

Argued, slandered, sarcasm. I just described most of your communication styles in your marriages. Argument, slander, sarcasm. And and the why is is is when you are in any kind of relationship and someone challenges you and you don't think they have rights over you, you're gonna be, who are you

to tell me that? And then it's gonna be argument, and then you're gonna go, alright, this isn't working, so now I'm gonna call you names. And when that doesn't work, I'll get sarcastic.

Oh, so you're better than me. You know? And that's what we're gonna do. And that's exactly why if you don't surrender to Jesus, you're gonna eventually do that to Jesus. You might not do it directly to Jesus because you know enough about God. You're like, I don't really wanna mess with God. But you know what you will do? You'll get mad at me, the messenger. So when I tell you, here's what Jesus says. Here's what we need to do. Love him. No. I don't like that. I don't like and you know what you're gonna do? Slander me.

Argue with me. Get sarcastic with me or whoever else it is in your life that's trying to guide you on the path to Jesus. Because it feels safer to to yell at the messenger than it is the one who wrote the message. This is the truth. If you're on the fence, guys, you need to surrender to Jesus,

because that's when you will know the truth, and he can set you free. But you're not gonna do it if you don't admit your power powerless and admit what you're doing isn't working. And really, it comes down to getting past this moment of just wanting what he has, but rejecting who he is. That's the most critical part.

Because look at look at the bottom line. What happens after he they say, who do you think you are? Verse 54. Jesus answered, if I want glory for myself, it doesn't count, but it is my father who will glorify me. You say he is our God.

Verse 55, but you don't even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be a great liar as you, but but I do know him and obey him. You realize there's there's the the idea of the two no. He uses two different no's in that passage right there in that verse. The first no, you don't know him, is the no that means in the Greek to intellectually recognize.

So it means like he actually tells them, you don't even have the right list. If you had your your detective list of who God is, the characteristics, you have the wrong list. You don't even understand who God is

from an intellectual point of view. And then he uses the no, but I know him. That's that deeply acquainted with relational term with him. He goes, you got it all wrong.

And he goes, I know him. And then in verse 56 is where he throws down this final thing that tries to challenge him. Just surrender. Here's why I know you're not listening to God's voice. Here's why I know you don't know God. Here's why I know you're struggling. Here's why I know that you don't realize that what you're doing isn't working. Here's why I know that you don't understand that you're powerless is because you're rejecting who I am. And in verse 56, he says, your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad. Wait. Jesus isn't even 50 years old, and he's saying Abraham was long time ago. He's like, he looked forward to me, and he saw it coming, and he's glad. He's about to close down this argument with the same thing that we do when you have kids. You know, kids who you have an authority, but they reject who you are. They want what you have. They want some money. They want this, but they reject who you are. So they come to you, and you say no, and then they will not admit they're powerless. They will not admit that what they're doing isn't working. And in the end, when you get sick of the argument, what do you finally say? You know what? This isn't gonna happen. You know why? Because I'm your dad. Because I'm your mom. That's why. It's who I am, and that's why this isn't gonna happen. Anybody been there? This is what Jesus does. When he says before Abraham looked forward, look what they do. They they catch on to what he says. Verse 57. The people said, you aren't even 50 years old. How can you say that you have seen Abraham? Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. Here comes the big push. Here's the whole point of this whole thing that you're never gonna get it. You're never gonna get what it means to know God. You're never gonna understand if you don't embrace with what he says next. He says, I tell you the truth. Before Abraham was even born, I am.

Before Abraham was even born, I am. Now that sounds confusing to us. Like, what is he doing? He just stops there. It's like, what is he doing? Was Jesus like, I've had enough of this. You know what? That's it. You don't understand. Before Abraham was even born, I am. It's the big one, Helen. Did

Jesus just stroke out and forget to finish the sentence? No. When he says I am, he was letting him know, here's why I know you don't hear the voice of God. Here's why I know you don't understand God. Here's why I know you don't have the truth that'll set you free. It's because you're fighting with me, and I am God.

When he said I am, he was referencing. Go read this on time to go to go back to Exodus chapter three when when God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. And and when he talked to him, says, need you to go. I'm gonna set my people free.

And and and Moses was right. He admitted, I'm powerless. I tried. What I did didn't work. I tried that before, and now I'm in the wilderness for forty years. And he goes, don't worry. I'm going with you. It's gonna be me. I set you free. You know me. I'm gonna do it. And he goes, okay. But then Moses looks at me. He goes, but I'm a little afraid. If I go to the people, I go to Pharaoh, it's like, they're gonna ask who are you? Because they they believed in so many gods. He goes, what's your name?

And out of that burning bush, the thunderous voice of God says, tell him, I am has sent you. And and I am is that Greek word for the it's I am all of existence. The the name Yahweh for God. It literally the the best way we can translate English is just I am period.

It's just I am period. That's why these I am statements of the book of John, why I wanted to start here is critical. Because if I don't understand and embrace the I am, that what I am, whatever he adds to it, we're gonna we'll misapply that.

And I'm not gonna misapply if I don't know who I am. I am means I am all it is, all that was, all that will ever be. I am existence. I am life itself. I am creation. I am the ancient of days. I always have been and I always will be. I am.

That's who I am, and that's why you guys are wrong. That's why you don't understand it, and you need to embrace that I am God. I'm the Lord God Almighty, and you're missing the point. I know who you are, but you don't know who I am.

And I need you to trust me. I need you to believe in me. And guess what? The reason I know you didn't listen to your father Abraham and to Moses and all these forefathers is because you know who was speaking to Moses? What he literally said is when you go read Exodus three, that was Jesus talking to Moses.

That was Jesus who was talking to Abraham. And that is Jesus who wants to talk to you. But if you won't embrace that he's God, the only way you can embrace I am is to admit that I am not. That's the only way. There's no other way.

You can't just be a good person. You can't just be a little bit better. You can't just well, everyone has to find their own truth. There is no own truth. There is one way, one truth, one life, and that's a relationship with the great I am. And you have to surrender to Jesus,

And then that's what changes our life. That's what leads us into the life of becoming like Jesus. That's what we need to be. Where are you at on that? In this story, who are you? Because you know what happens? Look what it says. At that point, they picked up stones to throw at them,

but Jesus was hidden from them and left the temple. That's an incredible miracle right there, that last little butt, but Jesus was hidden from them. There he was in the middle of a crowd.

He's like professor x on the x men. He's froze time. And he walked out, smashed the guy's snow cone into his face, and then left, and then they went, where'd he go? See what they did? They decided to try to kill him because they knew picking up stones was he claimed to be God.

They knew exactly. He's the one He's saying he's the one that spoke to Moses. He's the one that spoke to Abraham. He's the one He just claimed to be God. That's blasphemy in Maris. It's only blasphemy if he's not who he said he is. This is why you need to surrender to Jesus or you'll attack.

If you don't throw yourself down before Jesus, you will end up throwing rocks at Jesus.

There's no in between. There just isn't. Which one do you wanna do? You know what? I I wanna I wanna wrap up here. But I wanna show you a picture because because speaking of pictures. I got looking at pictures. My sister posted this picture on, like, a throwback Thursday recently.

That's me, that strapping looking boy on the right. Person with horrible posture in the middle is my sister, and then Wonder Woman over there on the the far left is my cousin. This is is in front of my grandma's house,

and and and she posted this. And we you know, when someone posts, all three of us started getting this long conversation about what was going on. Oh, I remember that and all this stuff. And and I remember this was in Ajo, Arizona. Anybody been to Ajo? Anyone live in Ajo?

Alright. If you've been to Ajo, probably because you're going to Rocky Point, Mexico. Right? Because the only reason you go to Ajo is to get gas, look around, and thank God that you don't live in Ajo, Arizona.

And and but I I we're talking about why we're there, and we knew that this was the times that back when I was a kid, my mom work was working in the early seventies there. And and so we we

would go spend a week or two with her in the summer and with my grandma, hanging out with my cousin and all that. So we were down there, and then my in this little line going back and forth talking about this picture, my cousin goes, why is Billy so tan?

I'm like, what am I, a vampire? I I I I I but but I go, oh, you know what? I know why. And I go, Jen, you remember that the coolest place inside of grandma's house when it was hot, the coolest place inside grandma's house was outside. She had a swamp cooler,

and it didn't blow really hard. There was only one spot in the whole house that got cool air blowing on. There's only one place, and that was right under her chair in her family room where she would sit and read the Bible, where she'd sit and pray, where she'd sit and watch TV.

So the reality is the only place that you could be cool, because she sat in that chair alive, would be we had to sit at grandma's feet. We had to we'd go in there and we'd sit right around grandma. I think she put that chair there on purpose, because she would often that's the first place I heard about Jesus from.

That's the that's the first time I heard about who he was. And and I didn't accept it then. I was kinda half I wanna be a good person when I was when I was a kid, though. But still, if you wanted to be cool, you had to sit at grandma's feet. That's really what this message is.

You wanna be cool with God? You wanna find that relief from the heat of our brokenness? Because there's one way, and that's to throw ourselves down at the feet of Jesus. Let the fresh and coolness of his grace, his love, his mercy just blow over us and surround us and fill us. That's what we're talking about.

Will you just accept who Jesus is and stop just trying to run after what he has?

So what I wanna do is have everyone stand, and we're just gonna sing a song. And I hope that if you're ready to surrender, that you will embrace the words of this song as the cry of your heart as a prayer. It's simply singing the great I am.

I wanna hear voices of angels above singing as one. Hallelujah. Holy holy, God Almighty, the great I am, who is worthy, none beside thee. God Almighty,

Come on church. We praise our savior, our God, the great I am Jesus Christ today and we give him glory. Amen? Amen. We're so glad you guys are here to worship with us today.

As you go from here, if you wanna pray with someone, we've got a team up front who would love to pray with you. And if you wanna pick up a journal, they're in the lobby, so check that out. Other than that, God bless you, and we'll see you next week.