Freedom from Noise -- June 9, 2013

Sunday, June 9, 2013

FREEDOM FROM NOISE

John 8:31-36; Ps. 46:10

            Let's begin this morning by reading John 8:21-36...

Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." 22 So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" 23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." 25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." 27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

            Now I want to us to set in our minds and hearts the words of Jesus in verses 31-32, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  We are going to be thinking about the meaning of those words this morning, so I want them to be close at hand.  Let's take a just a couple of minutes to work on those.  Ladies, would you say the first part -- "If you abide in My word."  Men, please respond with, "You are my disciples indeed."  Let's try it a couple of times...   Now, ladies, after the men respond, please say, "And you shall know the truth."  Men, you know what to do by now -- "And the truth shall make you free."  Let's work on that a couple of times...   Now let's put it together...

                        Ladies:  If you abide in My word,

                        Men:  You are my disciples indeed.

                        Ladies:  And you shall know the truth,

                        Men:  And the truth shall make you free.

Now switch it around.  Men, you start, and you ladies respond.  Do you see how easy it is?  Let's find ways to get the Word in us.

            About now you might be asking, "What brings us to this passage?"  The immediate occasion is the fact that we celebrated Memorial Day two weeks ago.  On two different occasions, I heard our young ones ask, "What is Memorial Day?"  The most honest answer is probably, "It's a holiday, so that we can do whatever we want to do."  But why is it a holiday?  It is set aside primarily to honor those soldiers who gave their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.  Of course, it is not always restricted to those veterans who died, and not even to veterans.  For some, it is a day to remember those who have died.  But in short, it is another day that has been set aside to celebrate American freedom.

            Now let's continue with our passage from John 8.  I must tell you that there are some different opinions about how to understand this passage.  I think I can best get at it is by asking some questions.  Who was it that believed in Jesus?  And who were those who opposed Jesus and became so angry that Jesus accused them of seeking to kill Him?  Are they the same people?  Or is there a transition somewhere in there, with Jesus beginning to speak to a different group of people?  Was the belief spoken of in verses 30 and 31 genuine?  Or was it like what we find in John 2:23, where John speaks of those who saw the miracles and believed on Him, but Jesus didn't commit Himself to them because He knew what was in man?  These questions have been answered in different ways. 

            It is possible that those who believed were quite a number of the common Jews, while those who began to oppose Jesus were the Jewish leaders, such as the Pharisees, who are specifically mentioned back in verse 13.  More likely, many believed, but those same people became agitated when Jesus spoke of setting them free.  They were convicted of the truth of His words, but their pride just couldn't receive the thought that they were not free.  Of course, there were likely some who didn't go along with the strong opposition to Jesus.

            What we must see is what Jesus was saying to these people.  It was great that they believed, but Jesus emphasized that they would truly be His disciples if they continued in His Word.  It wasn't enough to simply agree with some or all of the truths He was stating.  Would they demonstrate their faith by obeying the things Jesus said and would continue to say?  This abiding cannot be separated from obedience.  You will remember the parable Jesus told about the sower.  There Jesus reveals that three groups receive the Word, but no fruit results.  However, the fourth group brings forth a rich harvest.  And what is the chief characteristic of this fourth group who are represented by the good ground?   "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15).  They keep the Word and bear fruit with patience (that is, with patient endurance).  The emphasis is on this continuing.

            Those who abide/continue in His Word are His true disciples, and they shall know the truth.  This is the very nature of Jesus' disciples.  They have come face to face with the ultimate truth, Jesus Himself.  As they continue in His Word, this bedrock truth becomes more and more a part of them.  That truth begins with Jesus, expands with a thorough understanding of the gospel, and branches out into all of life.  This corresponds well with what we learned about God's wisdom two weeks ago, for in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  As we continue in His Word, we come to know and understand the truth more and more.

            As a result of being His genuine disciples and knowing the truth, that truth sets us free.  Praise God!  There is certainly a sense in which we find freedom when we find Christ, but this is not a static freedom.  When we are converted, we enter freedom's door, but as we continue in His Word and learn His truth, we are continually being made free.  In other words, freedom for the disciple of Jesus continues to expand.  Yes, there is growth in freedom, and that growth corresponds to continuing in His Word and knowing His truth.

I.  Were Those Jews Free?

            Now let me ask you a question.  Jesus was speaking to Jewish people.  Were those Jews free?  To what source will you go for your answer?    If you were to read a book about Roman history at this time, would it tell you that the Jews were free?  No.  It would inform you that the Jews were under Roman rule.  The New Testament itself confirms this, making frequent reference to Pilate, Herod, and others who ruled over them.  The Jews had been under foreign rule for centuries.  But if you were to ask the Jewish leaders, "Are you free?" what would they say?  We don't have to speculate; all we have to do is read what is written:  "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone" (8:33).  How could they make such a statement, when they were obviously under Roman rule?  Did you ever wonder about that?

            These Jews were not lying, nor were they intending to deceive.  Their thinking ran something like this:  "We may be under Roman rule, but let it be known to one and all that no son of Abraham is in slavery to anyone."  How proud they were of their Jewish heritage.  They boasted that they possessed a spiritual freedom that reached far beyond political considerations. 

            Now comes the deeper question:  "Were they right?  Were they free in a spiritual sense?"  Again, we don't have to wonder about the answer to that question, because the Lord Jesus gave an immediate response to their claim:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (8:34).  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the "whoever" pointed to the Jewish leaders to whom He was speaking.  Though they were blind to their sin, Jesus said they were slaves to sin.  They were right in claiming that there is a spiritual freedom which can never be stripped away by political oppression, but they wrongly assumed that they were experiencing that freedom.  Jesus went on to say that this true freedom comes through the Son.   "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (8:36).  We have already seen how the Son makes us free.  That freedom comes from knowing the truth about the Son and continuing in His truth, as His words dominate us and result in obedience.  Jesus was the Son, and they were rejecting Him.  While they believed some truths He had spoken, their pride prevented them from submitting to the very Son of God.

            Please hear me.  There is a freedom that goes beyond national liberty, and that freedom is available.  But these Jews, particularly the Pharisees, furnish us example that people can be deceived concerning that freedom.  Those who were considered the most godly in their day missed the freedom that God could provide.  They had more mental knowledge of the scriptures than anyone else, and yet they were slaves to sin.  Not only were they slaves to sin, but they were blinded by their sin.

            Jesus said to those who believed on Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (8:31-32).  It wasn't enough to simply know what Jesus said.  Jesus told them that they must abide in, continue in, remain in, rest in His Word, if they were to be His true disciples.  This abiding is where the Spirit comes in.  Jesus isn't suggesting that we keep His word physically before us.  The Pharisees knew all about that, because they wore their phylacteries faithfully.  These were little boxes strapped to the left arm and to the forehead.  They contained written scriptures.  Abiding in Jesus' words reaches far beyond such a physical practice.  As we take in the Word humbly and prayerfully, submitting to the authority of our Lord, the Spirit ministers those words to us, using them to renew our minds.  This is how the truth continually sets us free.  This truth does not just consist of objective facts which are true, but these are Spirit-empowered truths which change us from the inside out.

            When we talk about the leaders of the Jewish religion, we are talking about hypocrisy and deception.  Jesus demonstrated great gentleness and compassion in dealing with people, but He addressed the Pharisees and scribes as hypocrites.  He exposed their chief motivation -- the desire for the approval and applause of men.  Though they appeared to be spiritual giants, they in reality they were religious runts.  Their apparent righteousness was no more than self-righteousness.

II.  What About Us?

            Now what does all this have to do with us?  Unlike the Jews, we have national freedom.  But like them, we understand that there is a liberty that reaches deeper than outward political freedom.  Much like the Jewish people, Americans as a whole have deceived themselves into believing that they have real freedom.  It's a deception.  If we are free, free from what?  We are free from foreign rule.  If we are free, free to do what?  The simple truth is that the freedom America celebrates is the freedom to do whatever we want, and that is not freedom; that is slavery.  In the midst of our national freedom we are enslaved.  Like the Jews, we are largely blind to that reality.

            You say, "How are we enslaved?"  All we have to do is look around.  We are free to kill over a million unborn babies every year.  We are free to watch more than 1in 10 in our nation use anti-depressants on a continual basis and find little or no problem with it.  America can boast that 80% of its citizens are Christians, with 45% claiming to be born-again Christians, while abortion, immorality, and religious hypocrisy continue to plague this nation.  We could go on and on with simple observations which point to an enslaved society rather than a free people.

            But again, what does that have to do with us?  Surely we aren't typical Americans; we are followers of Christ.  Yes, that is true of some of us.  However, at this point we need to be honest.  We need a gut-level reality check.  Though many of us don't want to be conformed to this world, we are far more conformed than we realize.  "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).  How free are you?  Are you growing in your freedom day by day?

            This is where celebrating American freedom and the Holy Spirit come together.  We have been looking at this idea of hearing the Spirit.  Jesus said to each of the churches of Rev. 2-3, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."  Yes, many of us want to hear what the Spirit is saying, but there are hindrances.  We talked about one of those hindrances -- disobedience.  If we don't obey what we hear from the Spirit, we shouldn't expect to continue to hear Him speak, neither through the Word or in a more direct sense.  Whether that means the Spirit will cease speaking to us, or whether it means our spiritual ear will become dull and unable to hear (interpret it whichever way you like), the result is that we will not hear the Spirit's voice. 

            But now let me suggest another hindrance when it comes to hearing the voice of the Spirit.  Let me give you an illustration.  Have you ever played a game where you needed to communicate something to one other person without the other people being able to hear?  Let's suppose we are playing Password.  We used to do this when we were traveling in the car.  So Rhonda and I are on the same team and we are sitting in the front seat, while Tracy and Mark form the other team and they are sitting in the back seat.  Rhonda has chosen the word and it is "baseball."  She will give the clues to me.  Then when it is his turn, Mark will give the clues to Tracy, who is his teammate.  Before we can begin the round, Rhonda has to tell Mark that the word is "baseball."  The problem is that either Tracy or I might overhear her speaking to Mark.  Of course, we later learned to always have a pencil and paper.  But before we did that, we had to make sure we couldn't hear.  So what did we do?   Tracy and I would make noise, usually meaningless noise.  We would babble, sing, or do anything to drown out the clear word "baseball" which Rhonda was whispering to Mark.  The principle is simple:  It is difficult to get the meaning of what is being said, when there are other voices and noises; they drown it out.

            You already get the point, don't you?  One of the hindrances in hearing the Spirit speak to us is the presence of other voices.  This morning I am not talking about those voices that contradict the truth of what the Spirit is saying.  In other words, the Spirit of God is telling me that I am harboring bitterness within, but when I talk to a friend, he assures me that I am not bitter, or that I have a right to be bitter.  That's not what I'm talking about.  I am speaking of NOISE which can drown out the voice of the Spirit.

            Brothers and sisters, to say that we live in a noisy society is the ultimate understatement.  We live in a media-saturated world.  We are being bombarded with voices from every direction.  There is the radio, magazines, and newspapers.  Young people can be swallowed up by the video game craze.  Here is one report...

Currently there are more than half a billion people worldwide playing computer and video games at least an hour a day--183 million in the U.S. alone.  The younger you are, the more likely you are to be a gamer--99% of boys under 18 and 94% of girls under 18 report playing video games regularly.  The average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21 (or 24 hours less than they spend in a classroom for all of middle and high school, if they have perfect attendance).  It's a remarkable amount of time we're investing in games.  Five million gamers in the U.S., in fact, are spending more than 40 hours a week playing games--the equivalent of a full-time job.

Of course, most of us are a bit older and can proudly say that we don't spend much time playing video games.  But then there is the phone--corded, non-corded, and cellular.  Estimates of how much time Americans spend using their phones vary greatly, but all of them are staggering.  And, of course, there is much overlap, as many video games are played on phones.  Then there is music, which comes from traditional forms such as radio to the modern pads and pods.  And believe it or not, some people spend a lot of time chatting.  I'm talking about face-to-face, non-technical, real talking and listening.  Add it up, and that's a lot of noise.  Then there is that sacred American institution called the television, the typical centerpiece of the American home.  Now competing with TV watching is the surfing of the net.  Add to that noise list entertainment in general -- movies, vacations, evenings out, all the things that we are eager to do because they make us feel good.

III.  So What Is the Point?

            So what is the point of all this?  Though we can compare ourselves with the typical American and feel good that we don't waste our time on such things, is that really an honest evaluation of where we are.  Brothers and sisters, the need is not to compare ourselves with the typical American.  Instead, we need to ask ourselves this question:  "Is there enough quiet in my life to allow me to hear the voice of the Spirit?" 

            Most of us have heard this statement, and more than a few us have spoken these very words.  Concerning the television or the radio or music, we say something like this:  "Oh I'm not really listening to it; I just have it on for the noise."  Think about it.  Why do we want noise?  What does the Word of God say?  "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).  Or consider Phil. 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."  The problem isn't always that we are thinking on evil things.  Rather, the problem is that the noise around us prevents us from setting our minds on these things.  For some of you, you don't set your mind on much of anything except the shallow noise that bombards you.  The temp-tation isn't to think evil thoughts, but to do little thinking at all.  That is contrary to the entire concept of the Bible.  Listen again to Ps. 1:1-3...

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

            How can we meditate on the great truths of God's Word when we are engulfed in noise?  I sometimes meet someone for lunch in Alameda Park.  We eat, but the primary goal is to visit.  It's a nice place to visit, except when the train is coming through.  That noise shuts off all visiting for a minute or two.  Brothers and sisters, for many here this morning it's not just an occasional train.  One barely passes before another follows closely behind.  The Psalmist speaks of meditating day and night.  It is impossible to take that seriously and not consciously shut off the noise that threatens us every day.

            Let me pause.  Some of you may be thinking, "There you go again, Pastor Ron.  You are just trying to put us on a guilt trip.  We already have enough to manage without this."  Please hear me.  I have no desire to put any of us on a guilt trip.  However, I must proclaim the truth.  If the Spirit takes the truth and brings feelings of guilt, it is because we are indeed guilty and the great need is for us to repent and believe the gospel.  Brothers and sisters, if we don't confront this problem, we will not be able to effectively deal with any other.  We say we want to know God, that we want to hear the Spirit speaking to us.  That desire will be tested by how we deal with this issue.

            Don't be deceived.  We might be thinking along these lines:  "I can read my Bible, have a time of prayer, and still do these other things."  Let me ask you a blunt question?  Do you spend as much time in the Bible and in prayer each day as you do watching TV and surfing the internet?  Don't we realize that all the noise dulls our hearing?  Don't think that you can feast on a diet of entertainment and clearly hear the Lord speaking through His Word, while being sensitive to the voice of the Spirit.  A. W. Tozer says that entertainment is the world's substitute for the joy of the Lord.  We will never know His true joy until we spend time with Him, meditating on His Word day and night.  And because of the lack of the Lord's joy, we crave entertainment.  No, I am not saying that all entertainment is bad; I am saying that our craving for it is deadly.

            I remind you of Herod, the man who ruled Galilee during Jesus' ministry.  Let's read Mark 6:20, "For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly."  Herod loved to listen to John the Baptist, who was a very godly man who spoke God's truth, but that isn't the end of the story.  Now let's read verses 21-22, "Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. 22 And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, 'Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.'"  Herod liked listening to the Spirit-inspired teaching of John, but he also had a craving for entertainment, and in this case it wasn't the most wholesome entertainment in the world.  And this is what led to his wife's request for the head of John the Baptist.  So Herod's craving for entertainment ended up leading him to cut off the head of the prophet to whom he loved to listen.

            Some of you may think I am overstating the case.  You think I am taking this too seriously.  I remind you that we will stand before Jesus at the judgment seat.  How seriously do you think He takes it?  Far better that we heed these words of rebuke this morning and let Him lead us to genuine repentance.  We are conformed to the world, but most of us are too blind to see it.

            May the Lord give us grace to be honest.  We take a day to go on a shopping trip to Las Cruces or El Paso.  We spend a day or two involved with a sports tournament.  We make time for hunting trip.  And on and on it goes.  How long has it been since you set aside an entire day to spend with the Lord?  Some of you have never done that.  Have you ever spent a couple of days just with the Lord?  Why not?  Because we don't know Him as our treasure.  This is not a matter of saying, "You know, that's right.  I need to find time in my busy schedule to spend a day with the Lord."  That's not it.  The problem is a gospel issue.  At the core of the gospel is this truth Jesus spoke in Matt. 13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."  The enemy is constantly tempting us to believe that we can have both Jesus and the world for our treasure; it's a lie. 

Conclusion

            Now let me give us a warning.  Our conformity to the world in this area is not something we can just change by making a quick decision.  In other words, if you are a slave to noise, don't think you can just declare your freedom and move on.  This entertainment addiction runs deeper than most of us realize.  Repent and believe the gospel.  If there is even a slight bit of conviction from the Spirit, don't run from it; embrace it.  Walk in the light.  Let us beware of self-justification.  Rather, let us turn toward the light of God's truth, expecting Him to thoroughly reveal the root of our sin.

            You see, the root is of the problem is not that we crave noise and entertainment; it is our lack of love for the One whose truth can make us free.  Our love affair with noise is just the outward symptom.  Look at our Lord Jesus.  There was plenty of noise in His life simply because He was obedient to the Father.  Because of what they saw in Him, people thronged Him -- some because of a genuine desire to hear, and some because they wanted to kill Him.  Rather than drowning out the stress and pressure with more noise, He was always seeking a quiet place to be with His Father.  That's why after such a demanding day as recorded in Mark 1, He rose early the next morning, went out to a solitary place, and there He prayed (1:35).  That's why He sometimes spent all night in prayer.  Even when the people were so excited about His miracles that they wanted to forcefully make Him king, He withdrew to a lonely mountain place (John 6:15).  He was so intent on fellowship with His Father that He neither needed nor wanted the entertainment the world could offer Him.

            Brothers and sisters, when we have real gold, we aren't attractive by fool's gold.  When we have the pearl of great price, the treasures of the world hold nothing for us.  When our great desire is to be conformed to the image of Christ, we will find the freedom not to be conformed to this world.  The answer isn't to willfully determine to shut out the noise; the key is coming to Jesus, the treasure.  Then the noise will be a distraction that we can't tolerate, because it gets in the way of our fellowship with Him.  Ps. 16:11, "In your presence is fullness of joy." 

            I hope you can see that we are really just continuing where we left off last week, when we talked about the difference between knowing about God and knowing God.  Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent (Jn. 17:3).  Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).  That "life more abundantly" is portrayed clearly in Paul's attitude:  "that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death" (Phil. 3:10).  May we increasingly make that our prayer.