Scripture referenced 8 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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2 Thessalonians 3:16 quoted during the Advent candle lighting for the candle of peace
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
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Keep this verse
Matthew 28:19
quoted to explain why Christians are baptized, the Great Commission
19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
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Colossians 2:12
quoted to explain the symbolism of baptism as burial and resurrection with Christ
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
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2 Corinthians 5:17
quoted to make the point that every believer is a new creation uniquely gifted by Christ
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
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John 7:53
opening verse of the adultery passage, every man went to his own house
53 Everyone went to his own house,
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John 8:1
used to show Jesus went to the Mount of Olives while others went home
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
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John 8:2-11
main passage of the sermon, the woman caught in adultery brought before Jesus
2 Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down, and taught them.
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle,
4 they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?”
6 They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger.
7 But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
8 Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
9 They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle.
10 Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”
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John 8:32
quoted at the close, the truth shall make you free
32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Ron Turpin brought a message from John 7:53 through 8:11, the account of the woman caught in adultery, on the second Sunday of Advent. He argued that the passage is not primarily about adultery or the woman or her accusers, but about Jesus himself and how He responds to sin, shame, and those who would use both as a weapon.
What was said
Ron opened by acknowledging that adultery is a subject tearing families and churches apart, and that anyone who has lived through it knows the depth of the pain. He wanted that weight in the room before the passage was read, so the story would land with its full force rather than as a distant Bible episode.
He walked through the setting carefully. Jesus had spent the night on the Mount of Olives, homeless while everyone else went home, and returned in the morning to teach in the temple. The scribes and Pharisees interrupted that teaching by dragging a woman caught in the act of adultery to the front and demanding that Jesus rule on her fate. Ron noted that this was a trap with no clean exit: saying release her would mark Jesus as someone who disregarded the law of Moses, and saying stone her would put Him crosswise with Roman law, which reserved the right of capital punishment.
Rather than answer immediately, Jesus stooped and wrote, or as Ron put it, doodled, in the sand. Ron suggested this was deliberate. The men pressing for an answer had stones ready and loud voices. Jesus had all the time in the world, and He took it. Ron drew a parallel to God's patience with people who wander: He will wait, He will search us out by His Spirit, but He does not panic.
When Jesus finally stood and spoke, He said that whoever among them was without sin should throw the first stone. Ron pointed out that this was consistent with the law itself, which placed the responsibility of the first stone on the accuser who had witnessed the act. One by one, beginning with the oldest, they left. Ron lingered on why it was the eldest who left first: the longer a person lives, he said, the more clearly they see their own repeated failures and the less appetite they have for condemning someone else's.
With the accusers gone, only Jesus and the woman remained. Ron argued that at this moment she called Him "Lord," and that this was her confession and the point at which she came to faith. He noted that Jesus was the only one present who actually qualified to condemn her, since sinlessness is the only real qualification for judgment, and yet Jesus said He did not condemn her either. The reason, Ron said, is that condemnation was not yet His to carry out: within months He would go to the cross carrying the full weight of sin, hers and everyone else's.
Ron closed by pressing on the command "go and sin no more." He said plainly that no one can actually do that on their own, and that Jesus never claimed otherwise. The point of the Christian life, he said, is that Christ comes to live inside the believer through the Holy Spirit precisely because obedience is otherwise impossible. The passage, Ron said, is finally about grace, and Christians who frustrate that grace by living in ongoing sin, or by picking up stones to throw at others who have fallen, are missing the whole thing.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Gary pointed out that if ten children were baptized today, statistically most of them would walk away from their faith by college. What does it look like, practically, for a congregation to surround a young believer so that does not happen?
- Ron described the scribes and Pharisees as coming to Jesus with rocks already in hand, ready to trap him with his own answer. Can you think of a time when you have approached a situation more like the Pharisees than like Jesus?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 7,336 words
0:00
Were.
0:02
Nether caught about that. And and please feel free to take something and and help with that. There are a couple announcements I wanna highlight in in the bulletin and several that I won't. So please read your bulletin. First off is is we have the first ladies annual Christmas luncheon this coming Saturday, and I get a kick out of this, but you're supposed to pick up your invitation.
0:27
It's like this. I picked one up this morning and was told that I was the wrong gender, and I understand that, but this is just an example. And they're in the foyer. They're right around the corner on the right as you leave, so feel free to pick that up and come to that ladies luncheon next Saturday, December 10. There is Okay.
0:58
There's the buzzard Oops. I can't announce that. I need to give that away. Alright.
1:05
So we are doing, thank goodness, another buzzard breath chili cook off and it is going to be I don't know. Does anybody know what annual chili cook off this is? Have they been doing it for this is the fourth the fourth annual. So it is on December 18 from four to seven and we're gonna try and do it in accordance with Awana. So come, bring your family, have some chili at four, and then we're also finishing that out on with some caroling out in the community.
1:35
We're gonna split up into some groups and do some caroling in the community. So come with your family. We'll have some chili and it's also a contest. So make a chili, something fantastic, award winning. And we will then judge your chili.
1:49
And then if you win, you get a fantastic prize. I don't know what the prizes are, but they're gonna be wonderful. So come for that. And then while your kids are gonna wanna stay with us and we'll go out and we'll bless some people with some caroling. And it's gonna be a good night.
2:04
There's gonna be some hot drinks, wonderful chili. I even heard there's going be some candy there. So that's all I need to show up. So we'll see you there on the eighteenth, four to seven. Tell your friends, the more the merrier.
2:17
So we look forward to seeing you guys there.
2:22
Thank you very much. Iwana that night is from 05:30 to seven. Okay. There's an announcement. Aaron, there's a choir cantata that's coming up.
2:32
Aaron would love to have some more participation in that, even at this late date. Particularly men, but that meets on Wednesday night. So if you're interested or can can add to that, please please please do. We are looking for some more people to boost that up. Okay.
2:51
There's there's a motion in the back.
2:54
Excuse me, Marty. Hey. We had some requests from our neighbor across the street. We're having vehicles encroached in her driveway as she's backing out. So, if this conversation could refrain from parking directly across the street where the small spot is in between the driveway and the curb, she would sure
3:26
Thank you very much. Now, we have an update from the search committee. If Mike could come up.
3:40
Good morning. We had another meeting on Thursday with the search committee. I just wanted to update everybody on on how things are going. I am very encouraged by this this search committee. We are are very much a unified group and and who we're looking for and and the way that things are going.
3:55
I'm very encouraged by the discussions that we're having and also how things are coming in. We have several candidates that we're looking at right now at this time. We're working through the process. We've identified a process. Part of that is is getting resumes after candidates come in.
4:12
Usually how we find candidates too is somebody knows somebody, and so we already have a good base of, someone can talk about character integrity of that person, which is a good thing to do too. And then we send out a very extensive questionnaire to them, and and learn a lot more about them through that. And right now, we're, we're working through that. And, like I said, we have several candidates, two or three of them have gone to the next level. And, you know, we actually had one, that we thought didn't fit very well, so we've, he's been out of the taken out as well.
4:43
But, search committee is going great, and, again, it's a cyclical process, but, you know, we're working through several candidates and the search committee, like I said, very unified and things are going very good. So that's about all I have for today. Oh, also, do you want me to do the advent thing? Alright.
5:04
Okay, one other thing, we have a we're whoops, oh cool. We are working on our our directory for the church and we've passed these around several times. I have two books here with the the information for the church directory from the last time we did it. I'm gonna pass them around again. There has been corrections made to these, and we would like you guys to check if everything is correct.
5:28
In the past we asked you to write in if something was wrong. So now please check. There's two pens in each one of these. I'm gonna put one on this side and one on the other side. If you just pass these around.
5:37
Next Saturday, there is a photo shoot an open house at Judy Wells' house. Okay? And that's in the bulletin. So if you would like a picture taken, Wells are offering an open house at their house next Saturday. Okay.
5:57
Now, if I could, this is the second week of Advent. And because it was so busy in the holidays, we are going to do two candles. And I believe the Hazen's are going to come forward and and introduce the Advent candles. Thank you very much.
6:27
This Sunday, the second Sunday in Advent, we light the candle of peace.
6:31
As we prepare to celebrate the coming of the prince of peace, we're reminded that God's timing is always perfect and his provision is always sufficient.
6:44
Second Thessalonians three sixteen says, now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in in every way.
6:52
May the Lord be with all of you.
7:28
While we
7:28
get, our instruments on our shoulders, that would be great. Thank you.
7:36
Good morning. Good morning.
8:08
Alright. Well, it is wonderful to see all you guys today. The first Sunday in December. Getting ready for the Christmas holiday. It's wonderful to see all you guys.
8:19
So, let's open it with a word of prayer and then we'll get into some worship. Dear God, thanks for today. Thank you for the people of this congregation being here to worship you as one. We pray that our our praises would just hit your ears, and we love you. Thank you so much.
8:39
In Jesus name, amen.
8:52
Famous one and you've done and yet to do. With every breath I'm praising you desire of nations every heart you alone are God is shining through you are the Lord, the famous one, famous one, great glorious, great is your fame beyond. For you are the Lord, the famous one famous one great is your name in all year
12:30
Alright.
12:39
What child is there to lay watch her sleeping.
13:04
Okay, we
13:05
gotta speed this up a little bit. Sorry about that.
13:07
That was my fault. We'll start over. What child is this too late to rest on Mary's lapis sleeve? Whose angels greet with anthem seat while shepherds watch their key this is Christ the key the shepherds joy so bring him in since gold
15:30
Alright. Well done. You guys may be seated.
16:15
How about that? There's two buttons on this thing. It's handy to know that there's two. It comes in real handy. Anyway, last evening, at about 05:00, Larry Skyped Don, and the reason we did that instead of a live, Skype because we had a little challenge last time.
16:33
So we got a recording. It's really short from, China, and here's Don.
16:42
Greetings, everyone, from Beijing, China. In our room, of course, is Marlon, Matt, and Amy. So I've asked each one to give briefly in a one sentence possibility, their impressions of this ministry last week or so Marlon
16:56
yes, the most incredible trip I've ever had in China reconnected with all friends and had some really meaningful relationships and moving ahead in spiritual growth. The people are very, very thirsty here for Christian growth.
17:13
Matt? Just, it's been amazing. People are so open and receptive to the teaching and just to the spirit of God. And my favorite part is the street food, and I'm just having a great time building a relationship with one of the street vendors outside the hotel.
17:29
Amy?
17:30
I think very similar. I just think the openness of the people. The ladies that we've met with are very open, very soft hearted, really sharing their lives with us. It's been amazing.
17:43
Thank you First B for praying. Thank you for bringing before the Lord the needs in China. God has done some awesome things. People have been saved, they've been healed, marriages have been restored. It's been a wonderful, wonderful time.
17:57
We look forward to being back with you on Monday, Lord willing. So pray for us for a safe trip back. And we pray for you for a wonderful Sunday. God bless you. Have a great day.
18:08
Bye.
18:08
Bye. Alright.
18:14
If you guys stand with me one more time.
18:32
God, rushing merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our savior
18:41
was born
18:42
on Christmas day to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh, tidings of comfort and joy.
20:55
Alright, you may be seated.
21:07
Yeah, it's not casual Sunday and I'm not wearing shorts because it's warm. This morning, we have the privilege of baptizing three people. We have Sarah Robinson, and Sarah happens to be my daughter's best friend in second grade. And her Awana leader, I like to call Golden Gary, is gonna baptize her. And then we have JD Phelps and his daughter Keanna Phelps.
21:37
They said to me, they said, listen we haven't been baptized yet and this is a decision that we'd like to make together. And to that I said, that's awesome. That's awesome. That's a sweet testimony of the family's faith. In Acts, we see entire families being baptized together and this is kind of like that but it doesn't matter where you're at with your walk with the Lord.
22:06
All that is required for baptizing is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Christians get baptized because Jesus asked us to. He says in Matthew 2eight 19, go and make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. And since Christ says it, we do it. We do it.
22:28
Baptism doesn't make a person a believer. It demonstrates that we already believe and it's important to understand that baptism doesn't save you. I want to repeat that again. Baptism is not a means of salvation. It's not.
22:46
We are saved by our faith in Jesus Christ alone. That's what saves us. In Colossians two twelve, it says, for when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ. In other words, when we're dunked in the water it represents being washed clean by Christ, And coming out of the water represents this new life that we have in Christ. Does that make sense?
23:14
I want it to be so clear and so simple for us to understand because this is such a sweet testimony of faith, of what Christ has done for us, not what we've done, not what we've earned. We don't earn salvation. This is what Jesus Christ has done and it's a testimony to all of us to show that. Simply said, it's an outward symbol of inward faith And so I want to invite up Golden and he's going to baptize Sarah first and I think he'd like to share just a little bit before they do.
23:51
Can everybody see, do I need to close those blinds? Is it alright? Yes. Close em?
23:58
No, they're good.
23:59
Oh, they're good? Alright. Sarah, is it is it alright if I talk to the congregation a little bit before we get baptized? Alright. Alright.
24:07
How many out there is uniquely gifted of God? Raise your hand. Not everybody raised their hand, did they? Maybe I rephrase that question. Second Corinthians five seventeen says that whoever has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as lord and savior is a new creation.
24:30
The old is gone, the new has come. And the new is the fact that Christ lives in us now and he's uniquely gifted each one that has placed their faith in Christ as lord and savior. So, let me ask that question again. How many is uniquely gifted of Jesus Christ? Raise your hand.
24:50
Wow. It's a lot more,
24:51
ain't it?
24:53
Do you know you have that same thing in you? That Christ now lives in you because of your faith? And he wants to live out his purpose in and through you. Do you know that? And I say that same thing to this body.
25:07
He gives us not for ourselves necessarily. Although, when we live that gift out, we're blessed. But we're given that gift for one another and living it out in community, in believers. And the reason I say that is this fact, that if we had 10 little Sarah's up there, up here right now, by the time they get to high school and especially in college, eight of them would turn from their faith. They'd walk away from their belief.
25:44
And I know that if I'd ask Sarah, do you know when you get to high school you may, the odds are that you will turn from your face? She would say no. There's no way that I would turn from my faith in Christ. But yet that's the reality for many of our children. I've seen many of our children do just that thing.
26:07
And so I would encourage us to live out our faith as a body because we are gifted uniquely in light of a body that Sarah needs us. We need each other. We to come around her and love her and help her grow on her faith. Not just Sarah but all the children in this church. You know, I don't say this to guilt anybody into serving and to sharing their faith and their and the unique gifting that Christ wants to live out through us.
26:50
I don't I'm I'm not sharing this to guilt anybody. But that is the truth and we should we should bring our life in light of that truth and say, God, how would you have me respond to that truth in our life? So, as I'm baptizing Sarah, I want you to reflect on that. How can how can I how can I live out that special gifting in light of Sarah, in light of the in light of the youth in this in this congregation, in light of one another? So, you ready, Sarah?
27:37
I'm gonna try to do this without falling. Sarah, do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe that he died and he rose in three days and now lives with the father in heaven? Have you have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ as lord and savior?
28:32
Yes.
28:36
Will you now how old are you,
28:38
Sarah? Eight.
28:40
Sarah's eight years old and I'm going to ask her a question that each one of us should ask ourselves. Will you live your life out the best you can at eight years old to serve God and to love him all the days that he gives you. Yes. Upon the confession of your faith, I'm going to baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
29:42
Hot tub. Alright.
29:45
Well, I'm going
29:45
to ask Kiana the same. Kiana, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, that he died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again? If so, answer, I do.
29:58
I do.
30:00
Then, Kiana, on you, upon your confession of faith, I baptize you in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Alright, here we go. He's a bigger dude here. So, I'm gonna bend with my knees. JD, I wanna ask you the same.
30:38
Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son, the living God, that he died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose again? If so, answer, I do. I do. JD, upon your confession of faith, I baptize you in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Let's pray together Lord, we we thank you.
31:18
Thank you God for this this testimony of faith. Again, lord for what you have done help us lord to surround Sarah, Kiana, JD, help us lord to truly be the family of faith, to encourage one another, to build each other up, and just be a real church, a living, an active church, and loves you. I pray in Christ's name. Amen.
31:53
Thank you. That gets me excited. Last night I was reading about someone's story about life and they came to the testimony and they said this is what I did and this is what I did and then they come to the part where they said and and then I accepted Christ. And you know they're sitting in its chair next to the fire with a blanket and I go
32:11
yes, I love that.
32:13
And I feel the same way about this, people saying it's real, it's important. I'm willing, I'm willing to do this. I'm willing to come up and and and get baptized a bunch of em. It's a it's a it gets me excited. Okay.
32:26
Can I have the ushers come forward and we'll we'll ask a blessing on the offering and ask the Lord to continue his great blessing? There you go. Father in heaven, we want to thank you for the we want to thank you father that you bless us. We want to thank you for the way that you work in our hearts and lives. We wanna thank you for what we just saw.
32:49
We wanna thank you about the beauty of your Holy Spirit working in hearts and lives and changing people. We wanna thank you for the boldness that people have to to say that in front of others. We also wanna thank you for the way that you provide for our resources, not only our us personally, but also for the church. We ask that the those resources that will be received today will be blessed by you, that that wisdom will be applied to them, and that your kingdom would be further through them. In Christ's name we pray.
33:16
Amen. Okay, God is good. Hey, I like that. It's good. Once again, we have the privilege of Ron Turpin coming up to share a message with us.
35:23
So I'd like to give it over to you.
38:01
Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Our father, we bow our heads because we're asking this morning that you would take your word and flesh it out. We ask that you'd take your word in such a way that we would see at the progression of our time and looking with you in your word that we would see the Lord Jesus. We pray that you would lift him up in our midst and that you would reach down by the power of your Holy Spirit and that you would take and carefully minister to our hearts. And God we're so sure today that you probably aren't going to touch and reach every single person just by the way that man is made.
39:01
But God, this morning we pray that you would reach one or two, that there would be a response in heart that is defined only in terms of the Holy Spirit. And so right now in the quietness of these moments, we turn this time over to you. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm going to share with you today about a very difficult subject but a subject that is taking the church by storm. It's the subject of adultery.
39:45
And as I go to this passage, I want to share with you that this subject is what is tearing America apart. Adultery, that's when a married man or a married woman crosses over and becomes involved with someone else. And the result is the destruction of our homes, the destruction of our churches, men and women's lives totally ruined, and such deep pain and suffering that words cannot communicate. But anybody that's ever been through it knows the pain and knows the deep reach of sin. So, if you would turn with me in your Bibles, we're going to be looking at John's gospel in chapter seven.
40:41
John's gospel in chapter seven. We won't spend much time because defending this passage but you probably will note in some manuscripts at the bottom of the page, it says that there's been a question about the authenticity of this particular section of scripture in John's gospel. In the synoptic gospels, you see a style. In John's gospel, it's totally different but yet, in this particular section, it's almost like part of the synoptic teaching and the synoptic style is placed right in the middle of this section. I believe that this not only is an authentic passage but I believe that it is so defined by the words and by the teaching that it's a beautiful parallel to the way that God compliments.
41:42
This subject in the book of John. So, let's look at chapter seven and verse 53 and every man went to his own house. The Lord Jesus had been teaching and all of a sudden, it had come to the place where it was the end of the day and everybody began to go home. Those that lived in Bethany, they made their way home to their house. Those that lived in Jerusalem began to retire, went home to friends and family but the Lord Jesus, if you'll notice in chapter eight in verse one, it tells us where he went.
42:19
Then, went, Jesus went unto the Mount Of Olives. This is one of Jesus' most favorite places. This is a place where he goes again and again and again. As everybody goes home, he lives out the reality of the verse that says, the foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of God hath nowhere to lay his head. The Lord Jesus was homeless.
42:47
Now, this is quite a paradox because you see, here is the King of glory. Here is the one that spoke the worlds into being. Here is the one that stood on the edge of the Garden Of Eden and made provision for the sin of man. Here is the one that is so almighty that angels stand on tiptoes and watch his next move. And he's homeless.
43:14
And so as everybody goes to their home, Jesus goes to the Mount Of Olives. And there he must have cushioned himself in the relationship that he had with his father. He must have placed himself in that intimate place of communion and there must have been a oneness there on the Mount Of Olives. When night passed and the morning came and Jesus got up and made his way to the temple And it's kind of a neat thing because this is how Jesus sat when he taught. He crossed himself like this, and he just sat there.
43:46
And the Bible says that people began to come to him, and they began to filter around in front of him and he began to sit there and he would just teach. And the Bible says in our passage, you will read it in just a moment. As he's teaching along and he's making eye contact with every individual, all of a sudden, there's a stir in the back. And there are individuals that are starting to move aside. And all of a sudden, there's a group that's coming, and they've got a woman.
44:21
And whatever bit she might have, maybe it's a sheep thrown around her, maybe it's a bit of her garment, but the woman's staggering, and she's being led by the two most religious groups of the day, the scribes who recorded the law and the Pharisees who said they lived out the law and they bring her to Jesus and they bring her into Jesus and you can see it in their face and they throw her down in front of Jesus. And one of the spokesman or a group of them said, this woman, this one, she's been caught. She's been caught in the act of adultery, in the very act. Well, those that have been listening to the Lord Jesus, no doubt, must have lifted their hand Others must have stepped back aside and the woman, oh the poor woman Was she guilty? Amen.
45:31
Say amen if you was she guilty? Thank you very much. I'm glad there's a three year old here. Yeah. She's guilty.
45:41
She was caught in the very act of adultery. Now we all know from Deuteronomy and from Leviticus that the remedy was taught in the book of Moses that they were to take that woman out and they were to stone her to death. In fact, it's my belief as we look at this passage, I believe they came not only with the woman but they all had a rock.
46:07
Let's read our passage.
46:11
Eight two and early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down. And taught them And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had sat her in the midst, they said unto Him, master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such a one should be stoned. But what do you say?
47:09
What do you say? Well, this is a problem because if the Lord Jesus says, let her go, He has been sent from heaven to fulfill the law, and he is the total embodiment of the law. And if he says, let her go, then they will say to the Jewish people, well, look, he doesn't even keep the law of Moses. If he says, stoner. Well, you see according to Roman law, who happens to occupy the land of Israel, it was against the law for the Jews to execute a capital punishment and this was a capital punishment.
48:01
So, if he says, stoner, he'll have the Romans on him. He'll be thrown in prison, and he will be punished for breaking the law. What does he do? This first section is caught in adultery and the section second one we're going to look at is caught in his answer. What does Jesus do?
48:26
Now, I want you to see the picture because it really becomes intense here. Look. Now, Moses in the law commanded us that we should be, she should be stoned but what sayest thou? And they said this tempting him because they might have accused, might have to accuse him but Jesus and we'll stop there for a minute. All of a sudden, they go like this.
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Perhaps with stones in their hand. What do you say? What do you say? And can you see these men? FB Meyer says, it's a fearful thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of another sinner.
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I believe this too. I believe many times it's a fearful thing for a Christian to fall in the hands of another Christian. We are our worst enemies and we are our biggest judgers. Well, what does He do? Here are these scribes and Pharisees, and this is how I think they looked.
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What do you say? What do you say? What do you say? What do you want us to do? Stone her.
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What do you say? What do you say? What does Jesus do? Because this passage is not about adultery. It's not about the woman.
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It's not about the scribes. It's not about the Pharisees. This passage is about Jesus. And I love this. This is so cool.
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Here they are. What do you say? What do you say? Hoping to trap him. Look at the next verse.
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And they said this tempting him that they might have to accuse him. What does Jesus do? Here's what Jesus does. What do you do? Somebody help me.
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What? Wrote in the sand. In the Greek, the word for wrote in the sand has two meanings. He made a list is one meaning. Now, a lot of people think that he wrote the people's name, the scribes, and the Pharisees name down and maybe somebody that they were with and this condemned them.
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I like the second one. The second word for riding in the sand is he doodled. He doodled. He said, well, what do you mean by that? Ever doodle in high school?
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Teachers just teaching away and what are you doing? I wonder if he looks good with a mustache. Ever, some of you have, haven't you? Doodled. I know you've never doodled in church.
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Probably have some church doodlers too. This guy's weird. I'll be glad when this is over and doodled. He doodled. Here's what I think he did.
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I think he he stood up and he reached down and he started doodling the sand. Why? If the woman was caught in adultery, these men are gonna be caught in the answer. And so here's the king of glory. Here's the almighty God.
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Here's the one that speaks, and the foundation says Job are laid in place for the whole of all of history. Here's the one that will come back with 10,000 angels. Here's the one that has so much power. He's called the lion lamb of the book of Revelation. Here's the one that is so awesome.
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He stands up and he takes his time. And God will do that in your life and mine. He'll take his time Sometimes we'll sin. Sometimes we'll get away from God. Sometimes, we'll go our own way and God will doodle.
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He'll wait for us. He'll search us out by his Holy Spirit but he'll wait. So, all of a sudden, the Lord Jesus, look at the verse. But Jesus stooped down and with his finger rolled on the ground as though he heard them not. So, they continued asking him, What do you say?
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What do you say? You're just noodling in the sand. What do you say? What do you say? What do you say?
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What does Jesus do? Watch. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and he said, I believe he picked up a stone and he looked at this woman that was caught in adultery and this is what he said. He that is without sin among you. Let him cast the first stone.
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Now, this was true to the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Leviticus because it says that if you brought an accusation against someone and you were the witness, it was your responsibility to throw the first stone. If you brought the accusation, you had the stone and it was yours to stone her. You had to throw the first stone. So, Jesus basically says, okay, you want my answer? Here's my answer.
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Whoever here is without sin, you stone. You throw the first stone. Who is this? This is almighty God. This is the king.
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This is Jesus and he says, he that is without sin among you, let him cast a first stone. What do you think happened? Beginning at the what? The eldest. Why?
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Because the longer I live, the more I'm grieved. The longer I live, the more I know how big it is to get away from him. The longer I live, I realize that I fall in the same traps again and again and again. Amen? Amen.
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How many times again and again and again? And every time he stands there and he says, throw this stone. You throw the stone. And what did the woman do? They departed one at a time beginning at the eldest.
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Look at the verse. Oh, it's so powerful. And they which heard it being convicted in their own conscience went out one by one. That solve a lot of our problems in the church today. If we would see ourselves before we judge another, The Bible says, what?
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Don't you judge because that judgment that you judge with, you're going to be guilty of judging it with yourself. We need people. We need men and women that will come up with somebody that's fallen on their face, lift them up, pull them to the heart of Jesus, and love them. Amen? Instead of throwing rocks, we're the best rock throwers in the country.
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Instead of throwing rocks, we need to what? Love them. Counsel them. Please don't misunderstand this morning. I'm not saying give a person that's committed adultery an easy ticket out.
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I'm not saying it's not a terrible, definite sin. 40 times in the Bible, the word adultery is used. And over one third of those times, Jesus taught about it. He says, It's so bad that if a man looks on a woman, lusts after he's already committed adultery in his heart. He took it serious.
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So I'm not saying give it a pass. But I am saying this, we need as a church to reach out into the community, reach out to people that are unlovely and pull those people to our hearts. Because in our hearts, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Amen? So, watch what happens.
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Oh, it's just powerful. Beginning at the eldest even to the last. Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst, just the two of them. I think a lot of the crowd that was listening to him teach just kind of said, oh my, I need to get out of here. And just the two of them.
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And Jesus looked at this woman and this is what He said. When He had lifted up Himself, He saw none but the woman. And He said unto her, woman, Isn't that cool? They called her maybe a harlot or or a whore. They called her someone taking in adultery.
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They called her anything and everything but Jesus looked at her and it's the same word he used in John chapter two for his mother and the same word he used again at the cross for his mother. He says, woman, it was so tender. He lifted her to the highest place there is in the Bible. If you want to see what a great place is, look where God puts woman. Woman, an individual that is so endured with power because God fills their life and makes it where they can raise children.
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Amen? Amen. Woman, woman Where are those unaccusers? Hath no man condemned thee? Woman, where are they?
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Has no man condemned you? Now, I'm not pushing this. You study it and I might be wrong. I think right here, she's born again. I think right here that woman, she knew her sin.
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The Bible says that that's the kind of sin that you do against your own soul and I had a great illustration but I think I'll pass on it. Here it is. She said, look, No man what? No man, lord. Who's the only person in the crowd that could condemn the woman?
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Only Jesus. Why? Who's the only one that could pick a stone up and legitimately stone the woman? Jesus, because you see, he's the only one that was without sin. And I put in my Bible here, this is a great, a great note.
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Sinlessness is the only qualification for judgement. You get it? I do. Sinlessness is the only qualification for judgement. No man, lord.
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And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Ain't that cool? Why? Because in less than six months, he's going to go to Calvary. In less than six months, he's going to go up with the biggest cross in the history of the world.
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It's your sin and your sin and your sin and your sin and my sin and he's going to be carrying that load of sin up the mountain. He's going to be suspended between heaven and earth and God the father is going to look at him and said, he is made to be sin who was sinless and he's going to die in my place and he's going to die in your place and he's going to give you the option this morning or some other morning to take advantage of the free gift of his death on the cross for you. Neither do I commend thee, condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Ain't that cool?
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One last verse and I begin to close. Verse 32. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Could she go and sin no more? Come on.
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Pretend it's a pretend it's a Sunday school class. Could she go and pretend and sin no more? No, why? Haven't you tried it? Have you ever tried to go out and sin no more?
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I find myself every time I go out, I come back dragging in and go, I can't. God says, you can't. I never said you could. I never said you could, but I always said I would. This is what I think the woman did.
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Bear with me just for one second. I know the time's gone. Watch. The woman. She followed him because he was the truth.
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She listened for every message. I gotta hear what he's gotta say. He's the truth and the truth's gonna what? You're in this church today and you've been, you have been caught in adultery. Truth will set you free.
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You're in this church today and you're having an affair and you don't think anybody knows about it. Let me tell you, the big guy knows. The most important person of all knows and let me tell you something, he's right there with you in the middle of the bed. But he'll set you free. Let me tell you something.
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When Jesus set you free, zippity doo dah, zippity ay, he set you free like you've never been free before. He makes it where what? Your life's a blessing. She followed Him around, I believe. And at the cross, I believe that she was at the cross.
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She saw Him hanging on the cross and she said, He's bearing my sin. Let me tell you something. That is why we're here today. That's why these guys get up here and sing their heart out and believe me, that ain't easy especially if I can't sing. That's why we baptize.
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Why? For you today. Now, don't misunderstand. I close right now. He's not after everybody here.
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Oh, he's died for everybody. But who's after today? He's after a little boy, five years old, six years old, seven years old. He's after you. He's after a young girl.
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He's after you. He's after a middle aged girl. He's after you. A middle aged man. He's after you.
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He wants you. He wants you to sell out. Sell out. You say, what do you mean? He wants you to come to him and go and sin no more.
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You see, the Christian life is impossible. That's why it takes Christ. If if he could just slap us on the back after we get saved and said, see you in heaven. I'm going to go up with the angels. He didn't do that though.
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He died on the cross. He was buried. He rose from the dead. He sits in heaven. He came back in the Holy Spirit to live inside of us to make it possible that we would not sin and sin and sin.
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This passage teaches on one thing. It teaches about grace. Don't frustrate the grace of God. If you're a Christian, you're here today, and you're involved in adultery, let me tell you something. And I know, let me tell you something, you can't get away with it.
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It'll wreck your soul. It'll steal your thunder. It'll take away your joy. It'll make it where you're reduced as a man to a piece of bread. Don't frustrate the grace of God.
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What shall we send that grace may abound? God forbid. God forbid. Bible says that this is where judgment needs to start. In our hearts, in the church.
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What does Jackson Hole need this morning? Jackson Hole needs a bunch of Christians or one man or one woman or one boy or one girl that sold out. Gone. What happened to them? I don't know, man.
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They went forward in church or they bowed their head in church. Man, I mean, they went off like a house of fire. Trust in Jesus. They're gone. Let's pray.
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With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, maybe you're here today. I don't know. And you're having an affair.
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Maybe you're here today and you're a victim of adultery. I don't know but God knows. Where are your accusers? The woman said, no man and the key is lord. If you're here today, I pray that God would speak to your heart and you would simply say, dear Lord Jesus, I ask you to forgive me for whatever it is, and I turn my life over to you.
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What does Jackson need today? It needs individuals that are alive with the very fire of Jesus Christ. Thank you God for our time together. Thank you for this passage. You know, we haven't even touched the surface but I pray that you would have provoked our hearts, made us think.
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Thank you for what you're gonna do in each of our lives in the day ahead and the days ahead. Lord, if there's some little boy here today that would turn his life over to Christ, speak to him by your spirit. If there's a young couple here that would go to a distant land, touch their hearts today. In Jesus name.
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Alright. Please stand with me.
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Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, holy holy is holy Sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's mercy seat. Worthy is the lamb who was slain holy holy is he. Sing a new song to him who sits on heaven's mercy seat. Holy holy holy is the Lord God almighty was and is and is to come. With all creation, I sing praise to the king of kings.
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You are my everything, and I will adore you.
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Thanks for coming today, guys. You are dismissed.
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It
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happens.
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