Sermon Tone Analysis

Go ahead and open your Bibles up to John 8 again this morning.

This is our last message in John until after the first of the year as we take a few weeks to talk about the events of Christmas.

We are at the end of another year, which is hard to believe, isn’t it?

For many folks, you might echo the person who said, “The days are long, but the years are short.”

Some days, you felt like you would never make it through 2021, and now you look back and the year is just a blur.

Does that get you thinking about 2022?

I know many people have given up making New Years’ Resolutions, and others are just trying to make it to the end of the day, but can I challenge you to look up a little from the daily grind and start thinking about what you want to see happen over the next year.

Some of you may want to see something change about your physical health, your financial situation, your job, or your relationships.

Some of you may also be thinking about your spiritual health, and you are already making a commitment to read the Bible more in 2022.

Can I challenge you on that point for just a minute: Why?

Why do you read your Bible?

Why do you go to Sunday School, or to a Bible study, or even here for our worship service?

Is it so you can check a box, or so you can learn more facts?

This morning, I want to challenge you to do more than just read the Bible or hear me or someone else talk about it.

I want to challenge you to remain in his word.

We are going to unpack that idea as we see Jesus using this phrase with some people who had just started believing some of the things he said.

Although there is a lot of great stuff in this chapter, I want us to look at a few verses this morning.

We are going to read verses 30-36 together.

When Jesus says “continue,” that is the same word that we translate as “remain” or “abide” in other places in John.

That’s why this morning, I am going to challenge you to not only read his word or listen to it preached, but rather, to remain in his word in the year to come.

Before we can talk about what Jesus means by remaining in his word, let’s talk a little about what it isn’t.

Remaining in his word is more than simply knowing what the Bible says - We have mentioned before that the Pharisees, who keep fighting with Jesus and who attempt to kill him at the end of this chapter knew the Bible better than anyone, yet they weren’t obeying God from a heart that was rightly related to him.

In fact, we know that is has to be more than that, because Jesus’s words hadn’t been recorded as Scripture when he said that, so remaining in his Word must have been more than just knowing what was in the Bible.

On the flip side, though, it cannot be less than knowing what the Bible says, because now his teachings and actions are recorded for us and further explained in the Bible we have in front of us, so we cannot remain in his word without knowing what it does say and doesn’t.

Some make this error by taking verses out of context or saying, “Well, that’s not what I think Jesus would have done.”

You see this publicly as politicians and media personalities pick which verses they want to focus on and dismiss what they don’t like, but we have to acknowledge that we all do this personally as well.

We have a tendency to pick and choose what we like and don’t like, or we just operate off of feelings instead of consulting what the Bible actually says.

So, remaining in his word isn’t less than knowing what the Bible says; it is actually much more.

In fact, we are going to try to work backwards from what Jesus says to get a picture of what he means by remaining in his word.

He says that if you remain in his word, you will be marked by at least three characteristics.

If, then, we can look at our lives and see these characteristics growing, then we can have confidence that we are remaining in his word.

Notice that these are not the things that save us; they are what demonstrate that we really are.

He said these words to those who had already expressed belief in him at some level.

If we truly believe, then we will remain in his word, and our lives will be marked by these three characteristics.

First, to remain in his word, we have to...

1) Show that you are his disciple.

Look back at verse 31 again...

If we are remaining in his word, then we are demonstrating that we really are his disciple.

Remember that a disciple is a learner.

He or she is someone who devotes themselves to a particular teacher and learns not only the external concepts of the subject they are covering but also seeks to take on their identity as much as possible.

A true disciple’s goal is to think, talk, and act like the one they are following.

God’s goal is that you and I would be disciples of Jesus—that we would think, talk, and act like Jesus and teach others to do the same.

Speaking of God’s design for the church, the apostle Paul says it this way:

The goal God expresses for his church is for us to keep growing into maturity, so that our growth chart one day measures up to Jesus!

We are never going to achieve perfection in this life, but our goal should be to show that we are his disciples.

That means that as we learn what God says in his word, we need to change the way we live!

James, Jesus’ half brother taught us this in his letter:

How often do you actually apply what you read or hear?

Let’s just take our messages in John so far and see how we are doing.

I have people regularly encouraging me that God is using this series to challenge them to grow as a disciple.

If we are remaining in his word, then that should show.

This is our 11th message in John.

What about you is different than when you walked into church on September 12th when we began this series?

Let’s think back about some of the application points from some of these messages:

Are you a stronger voice who points people to Jesus like John the Baptist did?

Are you following Jesus more and the world less?

Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have been born again by believing in Jesus?

Are you drinking deeply from the living water Jesus gives, finding satisfaction in him?

Are you seeing him give you strength to move past sinful habits and painful experiences—do you want to be made well, like the paralyzed man Jesus healed?

Is your life overflowing with the fruit of the Holy Spirit?

That gets to this very point, doesn’t it?

Are you showing your heart is filled with him?

Are you less willing to condemn without concern, and more aware of your own sinfulness like we saw last week?

If not, then can you and I really say we are remaining in his word?

Are we just looking at his word and then walking away unchanged?

If I am a disciple of Jesus, then I should think, talk, and act like him more and more.

His claim on my life should show—so are you remaining in his word?

Maybe you aren’t showing that you are his disciple because you aren’t living out the second part...

Jesus says that if we remain in his word, we will...

2) Hold on to what is real.

Look at the first words in verse 32… “You will know the truth.”

This is a bold statement in our world today, isn’t it?

As a whole, we have thrown away the concept that there is such a thing as absolute truth.

You may hear someone say things like, “Well, I am just living out my truth.

That’s fine for you to believe, but that isn’t my truth.”

You may even think things like, “Well, I am a Christian, and I follow Jesus, but I wouldn’t want to push that on anyone.

I want to let them just figure out what they think is best, and it isn’t my place to say anything.”

Listen, guys—that doesn’t work.

Take this out of the realm of morality for a second, and let’s just think of a ridiculous example.

How would you respond if I told you this morning that I am actually a multi-billionaire, and that after this service is over, I am going to hop in my private jet that is parked at VT airport and fly to my private island in Fiji where I will live out the rest of my days on the beach or sailing around the South Pacific on my $26 million yacht?

You would say I was either a liar or was having a major struggle with mental health and I need some help, right?

Why?

Because those things simply are not true.

My bank account doesn’t have that many digits, I don’t own a private plane, island, or a yacht!

If I told you that, I would either be delusional or a liar—I couldn’t just assert that this is “my truth,” and go to the airport and take a plane!

We understand that truth must exist in situations like this, so why do we assume that it doesn’t when it comes to matters of faith and morality?

We may have things wrong, but we can’t all just live out “our truth,” because there is no such thing.

So, then, if we remain in Jesus’s word, we will know the truth, right?

This means that you and I will see the world as it actually is.

Now, I am not talking about buying into whatever conspiracy theory is hot on your Facebook feed today.

What I am talking about is coming to understand that this world was created and is sustained by a loving and just God who revealed himself to us.

We have rejected him, breaking our relationship to God, to each other, and even to our own minds.

In fact, our decision to reject God is what broke the world as well, which is the ultimate cause of disease, deadly weather, and everything else that is wrong.

The truth is that the only way for that to be mended was for Jesus, as God in the flesh, to be born without sin, live a life honoring to God the Father, and die in my place and yours.

Now, he sits in heaven, ruling and reigning over all creation, and will one day return to earth to eradicate every trace of sin and reunite us with him forever.

That is what the Bible teaches us is going on.

Remaining in his word means that we hold onto that.

That means things like recognizing that God is the one who is gave me every physical thing I have, so I need to live generously with my money, my time, and everything else I have

The truth that Jesus is in charge of the universe means that I need to change the way I behave, to look more like him and reflect that he is my King.

I need to work, not to validate myself or make me important, but to do my job and study well so that Jesus is reflected in everything I do.