Church Requel
Trying To Make Sense Of It All
Does the world around you just not make sense any more? Are you struggling to find peace in an unpeaceful world? Today's sermon is for you!
Locations & Times
Church Requel
2 Marion Ave, Mansfield, OH 44903, USA
Sunday 11:00 AM
Why "Requel?"
Here at Church Requel we want to celebrate the good news of Jesus in a way that makes sense and relates to every day people. From the songs we sing (contemporary) to the clothes we wear (casual) to the language we use (understandable) we want to be “requel” in our approach. We want to retell the story that has been around for more than 2,000 years in a new, fresh way with a message each week that is straight from the Bible. We invite you to join us as we sing, pray, celebrate and learn from the Word of God.
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Trying To Make Sense Of It All - John 7:25-44
Is anyone else besides me trying to make sense of it all? The world around me has changed so much over my lifetime. Most of what everyone took for granted when I was a youngster is no longer assumed. Today people are asking questions that I never thought would be questions, like: When is it ok to kill an unborn baby? When the heart beats? In the third trimester? Before the cord is cut? What is a woman? What is a man? Is it ok to give hormone blockers to young children? Who has the right to raise children? Parents or the State? How old does someone have to be before limited health care resources could be better applied to someone younger? Who makes that decision? And on and on it goes. Every day there seems to be a new question.
In one sense, the questions we are asking ourselves today are new to us. Certainly for thousands of years we had no questions of what is a man or what is a woman. As a young man I confess that I never doubted my understanding of “What is a woman?” Yet within the last year none other than a Supreme Court justice nominee could not answer that question!
In another sense we find the world around the Christian faith has always been confusing, challenging, and even hostile to those who name Jesus as their Lord. That was even the case when Jesus Himself walked the earth. Let’s read John 7:25-44 and see if we can make sense of it all.
READ John 7:25-44.
#1 - When life is not peaceful Jesus grants us PEACE.
Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” John 14:27
This is such a comforting verse. The world around me may be coming apart but because I know Jesus, I will have His peace. No matter what else I say today, this is absolutely true. Jesus does give us His peace. It’s one of the greatest gifts we possess as children of God. However, it can easily be misunderstood. Like two sides of a coin…
#1b - Even with Jesus’ peace our lives may not be PEACEFUL.
Isn’t this just another way of saying the same thing? How is it possible that we could have Jesus’ peace and yet at the same time we don’t find our lives peaceful? Let’s start by looking at the life of Jesus - our source of peace. Was his life… “peaceful”?
“At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?’” John 7:25
What we find all through chapter 7 is confusion, challenges and hostility. Jesus’ own brothers challenged him to go to the Jewish festival, even though that meant death threats. We’re told that even his brothers didn’t believe in him. We’re told that there was lots of debate about Jesus - some hated him. Some thought him a good man. Some thought him “amazing!” Some thought him “demon possessed.”
If this was the case when Jesus walked the earth, why would we expect it to be any different in our day? Many of us began life when Christianity was the favored belief. It was good to be a Christian. It was even considered “American” to be a Christian. These are not those days. The Christian faith has many enemies within America. Jesus still gives us his peace, but don’t expect peaceful times. Why is this the case?
#2 - We know the ABSOLUTE TRUTH in Jesus and His Teaching
Confusing questions were all about Jesus. Is he the Messiah (Christ)? But we know him, where he comes from, his parents. We thought no one would know where he comes from? What’s the truth?
Jesus: “Yes you know where I come from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.” John 7:28b
Jesus is saying, “Hey I know you have lots of questions. Lots of uncertainties. But you need to know, I AM the truth. I’m not here on my own. Our Father God sent me. You know Him. You believe He is true. Then know that I am true too.” At another time Jesus told us:
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6
This is such good news if you are a Christ-follower. The one thing we all need… and the one thing the world does not offer… is absolute truth. Many who do not claim Jesus as their Lord or Savior would rather believe that your truth can be your truth and my truth can be my truth. That is a rather convenient thing if you want to believe anything to be true - even something untrue.
If you consider this from a spiritual battle standpoint, our spiritual enemy - the devil - is the father of all lies. What does Jesus tell us in John 8?
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Jesus tells us straight up about the devil. The world full of no absolute truth is the devil’s world. It is where a liar and a father of lies functions best. It’s a lot easier to tell lies when there is no absolute truth. Don’t fall for it. Jesus is the truth. There is one right answer. His name is Jesus. There is one absolute way. The way of Jesus. There is one best life - the life with Jesus!
So how do we know Jesus’ truth? How do we stick to it in the midst of the chaos around us? Let’s stay in John 8 for a moment.
#3 - We know the truth by COMMITMENT to Jesus’ teaching.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
So how do we know the absolute truth of Jesus? How can we live our lives in the midst of the chaos around us (unpeaceful times) and still possess the peace of Jesus? In these verses, Jesus lays out 4 steps:
Step #1 - I must believe in Jesus. We talked about this last week. Belief in Jesus is the work of the Christ-follower. Belief is the seed of all faith. Believing in Jesus is not just a mental nod or agreement that Jesus existed as a historical figure. Belief means putting my full trust and confidence for my entire life into His hands. Just like I trust a chair will hold me when I sit in it, I trust entirely in Jesus. But note that Jesus didn’t stop there. (We tend to stop there.) No, there’s more!
Step #2 - I must hold to Jesus’ teaching. What does it mean to “hold to his teaching?” One thing is for sure: I have to know his teaching in order to hold to his teaching. That means that I have to make a lifetime commitment to knowing and studying Jesus’ teaching as best as I am able. But holding to his teaching is more than just study. It’s also “doing”! There’s too much commitment these days to believing in Jesus without the doing what he says. Step #2 must follow step #1. They go hand in hand. There is a reason James wrote: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18
There is a great promise in John 8:31-32. If #1 & #2, then #3 & #4 follow:
Step #3 - I will know the truth. What a relief. Not only is there an absolute truth, but we can know it. And we can live by it. Our confusion can be erased. Our path, our way, our direction can be certain. The world around me may be in absolute chaos because they do not believe in an absolute truth, but I will know the truth. Because I know Jesus!
Step #4 - The truth will set me free! Free from confusion. Free from addiction. Free from guilt. Free from lies. Free from wrong choices. Free from hatred. Free from dependency on anyone other than Jesus!
Steps #1 - #4 should be a revolving and ongoing exercise in the Christian life. More belief in Jesus and more holding to Jesus’ teaching reaps more certainty of the truth and the freedom it brings. The more I am freed by the truth the more I believe in Jesus and want to hold to his teaching!
Is this an exclusive deal just for existing Christians? What if you don’t know Jesus or his truth? What if you aren’t sure of the absolute truth? Is there anything you can do about it? Let’s go back to John 7.
#4 - Jesus makes His truth available to ANYONE.
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38
Why do you suppose Jesus said this in a loud voice? Because it was not a secret! Jesus wanted everyone to hear! Nothing has changed today. Jesus wants you to hear this good news today. How do you start? Step #1. Also in verse 38: “Whoever believes in me…”
How about you? How will you make sense of it all? Will you take that first step? Are you the “anyone” of John 7:37? Even in his day the results were divided. Some believed. Some didn’t. What about you?
Is anyone else besides me trying to make sense of it all? The world around me has changed so much over my lifetime. Most of what everyone took for granted when I was a youngster is no longer assumed. Today people are asking questions that I never thought would be questions, like: When is it ok to kill an unborn baby? When the heart beats? In the third trimester? Before the cord is cut? What is a woman? What is a man? Is it ok to give hormone blockers to young children? Who has the right to raise children? Parents or the State? How old does someone have to be before limited health care resources could be better applied to someone younger? Who makes that decision? And on and on it goes. Every day there seems to be a new question.
In one sense, the questions we are asking ourselves today are new to us. Certainly for thousands of years we had no questions of what is a man or what is a woman. As a young man I confess that I never doubted my understanding of “What is a woman?” Yet within the last year none other than a Supreme Court justice nominee could not answer that question!
In another sense we find the world around the Christian faith has always been confusing, challenging, and even hostile to those who name Jesus as their Lord. That was even the case when Jesus Himself walked the earth. Let’s read John 7:25-44 and see if we can make sense of it all.
READ John 7:25-44.
#1 - When life is not peaceful Jesus grants us PEACE.
Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” John 14:27
This is such a comforting verse. The world around me may be coming apart but because I know Jesus, I will have His peace. No matter what else I say today, this is absolutely true. Jesus does give us His peace. It’s one of the greatest gifts we possess as children of God. However, it can easily be misunderstood. Like two sides of a coin…
#1b - Even with Jesus’ peace our lives may not be PEACEFUL.
Isn’t this just another way of saying the same thing? How is it possible that we could have Jesus’ peace and yet at the same time we don’t find our lives peaceful? Let’s start by looking at the life of Jesus - our source of peace. Was his life… “peaceful”?
“At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, ‘Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?’” John 7:25
What we find all through chapter 7 is confusion, challenges and hostility. Jesus’ own brothers challenged him to go to the Jewish festival, even though that meant death threats. We’re told that even his brothers didn’t believe in him. We’re told that there was lots of debate about Jesus - some hated him. Some thought him a good man. Some thought him “amazing!” Some thought him “demon possessed.”
If this was the case when Jesus walked the earth, why would we expect it to be any different in our day? Many of us began life when Christianity was the favored belief. It was good to be a Christian. It was even considered “American” to be a Christian. These are not those days. The Christian faith has many enemies within America. Jesus still gives us his peace, but don’t expect peaceful times. Why is this the case?
#2 - We know the ABSOLUTE TRUTH in Jesus and His Teaching
Confusing questions were all about Jesus. Is he the Messiah (Christ)? But we know him, where he comes from, his parents. We thought no one would know where he comes from? What’s the truth?
Jesus: “Yes you know where I come from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true.” John 7:28b
Jesus is saying, “Hey I know you have lots of questions. Lots of uncertainties. But you need to know, I AM the truth. I’m not here on my own. Our Father God sent me. You know Him. You believe He is true. Then know that I am true too.” At another time Jesus told us:
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6
This is such good news if you are a Christ-follower. The one thing we all need… and the one thing the world does not offer… is absolute truth. Many who do not claim Jesus as their Lord or Savior would rather believe that your truth can be your truth and my truth can be my truth. That is a rather convenient thing if you want to believe anything to be true - even something untrue.
If you consider this from a spiritual battle standpoint, our spiritual enemy - the devil - is the father of all lies. What does Jesus tell us in John 8?
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44
Jesus tells us straight up about the devil. The world full of no absolute truth is the devil’s world. It is where a liar and a father of lies functions best. It’s a lot easier to tell lies when there is no absolute truth. Don’t fall for it. Jesus is the truth. There is one right answer. His name is Jesus. There is one absolute way. The way of Jesus. There is one best life - the life with Jesus!
So how do we know Jesus’ truth? How do we stick to it in the midst of the chaos around us? Let’s stay in John 8 for a moment.
#3 - We know the truth by COMMITMENT to Jesus’ teaching.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
So how do we know the absolute truth of Jesus? How can we live our lives in the midst of the chaos around us (unpeaceful times) and still possess the peace of Jesus? In these verses, Jesus lays out 4 steps:
Step #1 - I must believe in Jesus. We talked about this last week. Belief in Jesus is the work of the Christ-follower. Belief is the seed of all faith. Believing in Jesus is not just a mental nod or agreement that Jesus existed as a historical figure. Belief means putting my full trust and confidence for my entire life into His hands. Just like I trust a chair will hold me when I sit in it, I trust entirely in Jesus. But note that Jesus didn’t stop there. (We tend to stop there.) No, there’s more!
Step #2 - I must hold to Jesus’ teaching. What does it mean to “hold to his teaching?” One thing is for sure: I have to know his teaching in order to hold to his teaching. That means that I have to make a lifetime commitment to knowing and studying Jesus’ teaching as best as I am able. But holding to his teaching is more than just study. It’s also “doing”! There’s too much commitment these days to believing in Jesus without the doing what he says. Step #2 must follow step #1. They go hand in hand. There is a reason James wrote: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18
There is a great promise in John 8:31-32. If #1 & #2, then #3 & #4 follow:
Step #3 - I will know the truth. What a relief. Not only is there an absolute truth, but we can know it. And we can live by it. Our confusion can be erased. Our path, our way, our direction can be certain. The world around me may be in absolute chaos because they do not believe in an absolute truth, but I will know the truth. Because I know Jesus!
Step #4 - The truth will set me free! Free from confusion. Free from addiction. Free from guilt. Free from lies. Free from wrong choices. Free from hatred. Free from dependency on anyone other than Jesus!
Steps #1 - #4 should be a revolving and ongoing exercise in the Christian life. More belief in Jesus and more holding to Jesus’ teaching reaps more certainty of the truth and the freedom it brings. The more I am freed by the truth the more I believe in Jesus and want to hold to his teaching!
Is this an exclusive deal just for existing Christians? What if you don’t know Jesus or his truth? What if you aren’t sure of the absolute truth? Is there anything you can do about it? Let’s go back to John 7.
#4 - Jesus makes His truth available to ANYONE.
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:37-38
Why do you suppose Jesus said this in a loud voice? Because it was not a secret! Jesus wanted everyone to hear! Nothing has changed today. Jesus wants you to hear this good news today. How do you start? Step #1. Also in verse 38: “Whoever believes in me…”
How about you? How will you make sense of it all? Will you take that first step? Are you the “anyone” of John 7:37? Even in his day the results were divided. Some believed. Some didn’t. What about you?