Do you love Me?
Sermon outline #7 of 8 in Jn 1-11 series Pastor Todd Harris
“Do you love Me?”
As He spoke, many put their faith in Him -John 8:30
Many believed, but the proof is in ______________
It has been said,
'Faith alone saves, but faith that saves is not alone.'
Obedience is like the acorns on an oak tree
some new believers spring up but are scorch or choked
Proven faith is…
holding to Jesus’ _____________ in obedience (v. 31)
-then we will know the truth (Jesus Himself is truth)
and the truth will set us free
-then we’ll never see death (v. 51) Jn 5:24
Examine yourselves to see if you’re in the faith 2 Cor. 13:5
Like father, like son
We’re either children of God or children of the devil
We are servants of the one we obey Romans 6:16
Children of God…
Become children of God by faith in Jesus Jn 3:16, Gal 3:26
are truly set free from sin; its stranglehold & penalty
-we confess to God when we sin and find forgiveness
________ Jesus His Son, sent from the Father 1 John 5:1
recognize and denounce evil, as Jesus does
Children of the devil…
are in bondage to sin, a ________ __________
-like the Jews were in Egypt & Babylon & now by Rome
are neither physically nor spiritually free, living a _______
even sons of Abraham are not automatically free
nor are religious leaders necessarily free Gen. 21:10
seek to kill Jesus even when offered His truth & life!
even so His enemies cannot convict Him of sin
want to stone Him because He claims to be “___ ____”.
Message “Do You Love Me?”*
v.30 “as He spoke, many put their faith in Him.”
There were new believers in those days.
Many people heard Jesus speak.
Heard His words. Saw His miracles.
1) Many rejected Him outright. They wanted to stone Him that day.
2) Others believed Him, put their faith in Him.
Followed Him. Obeyed Him.
3) Others begin to believe in Him, but did not follow through.
They did not obey Him, and so they fell away.
It’s the same today.
PRAYER: Father God, what marvelous words Jesus shared with the crowd that day. How divided that crowd was then, and still is today. How patiently and clearly Jesus spoke truth to all. How He honored You, even when He was dishonored. We wonder at how freely You sent Your one and only Son, even knowing that many would reject Him, but you sent Him because of Your love for the world You made.
Help us today to hear His voice here in this room and in our hearts and minds. Help us to respond with faith and obedience, proving our love for Him and for You. Lead us by Your Holy Spirit as we look into the Word. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Many believed, but the proof of belief is in _OBEDIENCE_ to Jesus
Some of you perhaps have not yet believed.
I want you to hear Jesus today and put your faith in Him.
Your next step is: Begin to obey Him.
Some of you are new believers, and others’ve followed for a long time
Ask yourself: ???What proves your faith?
How do people know you love Jesus? ???How does He know?
???What is your obedience quotient these days?
???Is your love for Him growing, or is it growing cold?
Helpful saying: “Faith alone saves, but faith that saves is not alone.”
(On that basis my salvation was in jeopardy age 20-30
At age 30 I had to repent and start over as a baby Christian. Why?
I had a faith, but it wasn’t backed up with obedience)
James: Faith without works is dead.
Show me your faith, and I’ll show you my works.
A disciple of Jesus follows Jesus and obeys His Word
EX: Obedience is like the acorns on an oak tree
The roots, trunk, branches, and leaves all work to produce fruit
w/o obedience, no fruit
1) XREF: parable of the soils 4 soils, path, rocks, weeds, good soil
-some new believers spring up but w/o roots are scorched
or among weeds are choked
obedience is good soil to produce a good crop
2) XREF: Jesus is the vine, we the branches;
if we abide = bear fruit, fruit that will last
if we abide not = wither, burned
apart from Me, you can do nothing
3) XREF: READ Matthew 7 everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Proven faith is…
holding to Jesus’ _TEACHING_ in obedience (v. 31)
Two components “now & not yet”
1) -then we will know the truth (Jesus Himself is truth)
and the truth will set us free
true freedom is not doing whatever you want, when you want
True freedom is only discovered by knowing God through Jesus Christ
and putting His words into practice.
is having a relationship with God,
experiencing the life now that God intended you to have
EX: Adam & Eve originally knew true freedom
Created to know God, know themselves, each other
& a healthy relationship with God’s creation
As long as they held to God’s teaching, they were free
When they fell, they fell because of disobedience to God’s Word.
After the fall they were in bondage to sin and its result, death
2) holding to Jesus’ TEACHING in obedience
-then we’ll never see death (v. 51) (separation from God) John 5:24
the ‘second death,’ in Rev.
Paul suggests: Examine yourselves to see if you’re in the faith 2 Cor. 13:5
In a court of law,
is there enough evidence to convict you of being a follower of Christ?
You’ll know a tree by its fruit
You’ll know the people invited to the great banquet by their clothes
Like father, like son
We’re either 1) children of God, or 2) children of the devil
We are the servants of the one we obey Romans 6:16
ILL: Truth project: we act out of our world view
???Are we characterized by obeying the Lord’s teaching
or the teaching of the world, the god of this age, the flesh?
1) Children of God…
a) Become children of God by faith in Jesus Jn 3:16, Gal 3:26
b) are truly set free from sin; its stranglehold & penalty
-we confess to God when we sin and find forgiveness
c) _LOVE Jesus His Son, sent from the Father 1 John 5:1
d) recognize and denounce evil, as Jesus does
we imitate Christ when we hold to His teaching
2) Children of the devil…
a) are in bondage to sin, a _CRUEL_ _MASTER_
-sounds good, looks good, but it ultimately leads to death
-the worst bondage is when you don’t recognize it
thinks he’s free, but is really a slave
“We have never been slaves to anyone!”
WRONG: were in Egypt & Babylon & now by Rome
In book of Judges, 7 diff nations subjected them
what pride!
-if they deny their bondage to E, B, and R,
of course they deny bondage to sin!
b) are neither physically nor spiritually free, but living a _LIE__
ILL: Hitler wrote, if you tell the people a lie over and over,
pretty soon they believe it and live it
even sons of Abraham are not automatically free
EXAMPLE: Ishmael & Hagar Gen 21:10
Sarah: "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
NOTE: Islam is not free
The solution for peace in the Middle East is not diplomacy
Our new president,
The U.N. or any other political organization
Its Jesus Christ!
The Pharisees may be Abraham’s descendants by genetics
but are not His children are not free
Abraham was a friend of God,
but these men want to kill God’s son
even when He offers truth & life that brings freedom
Abraham’s true children are spiritual descendants
that imitate His faith
even so His enemies cannot convict Him of sin
-they cannot attack His purity, so they attack His Person
want to stone Him because He claims to be _“I AM”_
Jesus is the Son of God
God with us, Immanuel READ: Hebrews 1:1-3
?how can slaves to sin, children of the devil, be set free?
Only by the Son, through the power of His Word
Let’s sing this as an expression of our love for God
Charles Wesley about 1760
We Go Into the World Singing: O for A Thousand Tongues, Hymn #299