Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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Imprisoned for more than 45 years for a murder he didn't commit, Richard Phillips spent more time behind bars than any other wrongfully imprisoned person in America.
But after another man admitted to that murder, the Michigan native was exonerated and released from prison last March.
We hear stories like this, and be certain, there are many more like it...
And we FEEL - the bittersweetness of it...
On the one hand - OH MY - 45 YEARS in a cage for something you didn’t do!!
On the other hand - OH MY - you’re FREE!! FREEDOM!!
Bittersweet - dichotomy
We hear stories like this, and we have strong reactions to them because - I BELIEVE...
...we all have experienced being "imprisoned" or "enslaved" in our own ways...
we've all been sick - some of us REALLY sick - and during that time we felt IMPRISONED
we've all had times when we just wanted to BREAK AWAY from life - and during those times we felt IMPRISONED, ENSLAVED to this system of
need property...need funds to pay for property...pay off property...or lose property" - -
hungry, need food...need money for food....WORK for money - get money for food...buy food, eat food
hungry again...repeat!
We've all experienced - being IMPRISONED...ENSLAVED ... in our own way...
And we’re going to see this same dichotomy in our text today...
So - we can see that the main theme in this passage here is - regarding FREEDOM...
Now - this theme is one that CONFUSED the Jews Jesus was speaking to…SHOCKING right?
If you recall from last week - we ended by seeing that AS Christ was SPEAKING TRUTH about being IN SIN…and by contrast - IN HIM...
v30 said - As He was saying these things, many BELIEVED!
Now this week - we start by Jesus confronting those Jews...
So Jesus makes a statement here that the world likes to borrow...
SLIDE: City College in S.F.
“The truth will set you free”
THIS HERE - is referring to - KNOWLEDGE...
That is NOT what Jesus was referring to...
And so just like it has confused these Universities…it confused the 1st century Jews...
Jesus says - If you abide in my word, you are TRULY my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!
How did they respond?
So we can see from this statement that the Jews were CONFUSED about a specific aspect of what Jesus had said...
What was it?
Freedom - in relation to slavery
They heard Jesus say - You will become FREE - IF...
And they knew He was therefore INFERRING that they were - NOT FREE!
They knew that He was inferring that SOMEHOW they were ENSLAVED to SOMEONE or something!
but they couldn’t figure it out!
And so what they do is - they SUPPLY Jesus with their SECURITY...
What do they say - - “We are offspring of Abraham”...
And so do you see what the WORLD does...
SLIDE: The World in Bondage: Seeks Security in the Physical
The World in Bondage
Exercise
Diet
Meditation
Health
Wealth
The LOST world seeks security in these things...
The LOST world - who doesn’t believe in an after-life…they seek THESE things to SUSTAIN them until the grave...
Listen to the wisdom Paul shares in 1 Timothy...
What is Paul saying here?
He’s saying - Do NOT set your hope on that which is UNCERTAIN...
This world is UNCERTAIN!!
Yet the WORLD sets its HOPE on these things...
THEREFORE - the WORLD (lost world) is in BONDAGE!!
Bondage to SIN
But even the LOST - Religious world
Seeks security in the physical - and THIS is what we see here in our text
“We are offspring of Abraham”
These JEWS - confronted with spiritual LOSTNESS...
REACH for what brings security - in their minds...
They believe that BEING descendents of Abraham would EARN them a place with God...
FAST FORWARD to today -
We point to our securities today...
church attendence
tithing
ministry work
We may even point to our water baptism
Even KNOWLEDGE of Jesus Christ
We’ll POINT to these things - and find REST in them...
This is what the LOST world does - it SEEKS security - in the physical...
AND SO WE need to be mindful - examine ourselves in light of this truth...
And so the Jews here - they continue on - and they further demonstrate that what Jesus is saying is going over their heads!!
“We have never been enslaved to - anyone”
The JEWS mind - AGAIN - is hung up on the physical...
They can’t comprehend that Christ is talking about being ENSLAVED to SOMETHING else!
v34
Jesus says - Everyone who PRACTICES sin is a slave to sin...
The idea here is that this person LIVES in their sin...
They pursue it, justify it...
they - worship it.
And this is different than how Paul describes his life of sanctification AS a BELIEVER...
living life as a Christian in a fallen world...
Is Paul here - PRACTICING SIN?
No - and the key to understand he’s not is how he describes his MOTIVES...
v19 said - “I do not do the good [I WANT], but the evil i [DO NOT WANT] is what I keep on doing!”
Do you HEAR the struggle in Paul’s life?
He’s not PRACTICING SIN - He’s WARRING AGAINST it!!
And so when Jesus describes UNBELIEVERS as being - SLAVES TO SIN…in BONDAGE to sin...
He’s describing something like this...
**Imagine the UNIVERSE (trillions of lightyears wide)
**Now imagine the universe is now - ALL water (water FILLS the universe)
SLIDE: WATER
SLIDE: Water with big person
SLIDE: Water with SMALL person
And you’re on the earth - with water from the ground to the ends of the universe
And you LIVED your entire life in that water...
No matter what you did…you’d be IN WATER
you wake up - in water
you go into your kitchen - make yourself some food - in water
you cut your grass - in water
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