John 8:2-11
Sunday morning – 12 Aug 2018 11:23:44 am
When I first arrived in Townsville, it was so so hot. I could not even speak proper English. I felt so pathetic.
One day this word entered my heart.
“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.”
Psalms 16:6 NKJV
Then, I realised that the place I lived in was a great place. So I told the brothers in the church that God had changed my heart since I went to Townsville. I told them that I was going to die there. Brothers and sisters were so happy to hear that.
Now I am in Sydney, I love it. Why? Because God sent me here.
If I exclude God from my life, I am hopeless but if I include God in my consideration, then my life will be full of hope.
God wants to work in such manner in our lives.
In John 8, there was a woman who committed adultery (WCA) but she never wanted to do so. Obviously, she was dragged by a certain force. Specifically, it is an evil spirit. Many people in the world are being led by this evil spirit. There are not many that can perceive that this is an evil spirit.
There was a woman who gave birth to a daughter and adored her very much. She thought her daughter was very pretty. She flooded her with affection and kisses.
Then all of a sudden, one day, one thought came to her that what if someone would open the door and come in and kill her child. She had no idea where the thought came from and just accepted this as the thought that came from her.
Many people are like her and just accept the thought as it is, as if it came from her. If you know exactly where this thought came from, then you would just ignore it and not have to deal with it.
From then on she asked her husband to come back home quickly, and she told him that she was very insecure. She spoke to the apartment security not to let anyone into her apartment. She felt so insecure that the husband had no idea. If only there was some sort of a gauge like the car fuel gauge, then the husband would see how much she indicated her insecurity.
In her desperation since her husband did not understand her, she took a taxi from Jeonju to Gwanju. She went to her parent’s house. This was a long distance of two hours. When she arrived, the brother was there and he was very shocked. The brother said, “How could you bring your baby all the way here? You have just given birth recently. Go home immediately!!” She told her brother how insecure she felt and asked if she could just rest a bit in the house. If the brother could only see the gauge of insecurity of his younger sister, then he could have agreed with her and asked her to come in and rest. However, he could not see her heart and without knowing the world of the heart, he just cast his sister away. So she went home to Jeonju.
As she arrived home, she felt so insecure and could not do anything. She had insecure thought but had no wisdom to cast that thought out. Then this thought became bigger and bigger. The thought usually drags another thought. So this was exactly what happened.
She gained another thought that since she was so insecure, it’s better for her to die. But then, what would become of her daughter who was so pretty, she thought. So she imagined her husband marrying another woman who would be step mother to her daughter. She gained this hear that she would not look after her daughter well, so she arrived at the thought to kill her husband.
She was totally immersed in these string of thoughts. She did not have wisdom at all. She thought that since her daughter would suffer so much, she thought that it would be better that she would kill her husband, and her daughter and herself as well. She arrived at this final thought which became a reality for her.
Then in the opportune time, in the afternoon, she already killed her daughter and she killed her husband with the knife when he arrived home. Then she tried stabbing herself about 17 times. However, it was insufficient to kill herself. She was then apprehended by police and imprisoned for 10 years. She was still caught by her thought.
One day, this woman met pastor Park. Then she conversed with pastor Park. The woman then became free from her thoughts. I heard that she is now living happily.
I heard about this story and it really ached my heart.
When the thought enters us, people have no idea about the true identity of our thoughts. As I speak with people, I usually ask them whether the information they provide is from their thoughts or facts. So many firmly believe in their own thoughts.
Important thing is to be able to discern whether we are led by our thoughts or by God.
The WCA was completely aware of the consequences that she would die if caught in the act of adultery. Although many people are like her who are completely aware of the consequences, however, they cannot defeat the force of the thought that is leading them to miseries.
For the WCA, she was pulled and dragged by the people to death. Eventually, the idea was that they would bring her to Jesus to see whether Jesus could save her or not. They wanted to catch Jesus as someone who could not save her. Or as someone who could not keep the law of Moses should He save her. So this was an ideal plan according to the people.
However, Jesus spoke to the people:
“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.””
John 8:7 NKJV
In fact, if you have seen yourself clearly, then you would know that you can only throw a stone at one person – and that is yourself.
In the Christian Leaders’ Fellowship (CLF) this time in Korea, I was the team leader. I preached this scripture to one pastor. He asked me this “What did Jesus write first time and last time?” As I heard this question, I could sense that he did not have clear salvation in him. So I explained what I believed – the first time Jesus wrote on the ground was based on the law of Moses and he asked the people to stone her if they had no sin in them. The second time Jesus wrote on the ground was the new covenant.
““This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.””
Hebrews 10:16-17 NKJV
The amazing thing is that when Jesus stooped down for the first time, He wrote down the law of Moses. Everyone could see what the law was about. Everyone could see that the WCA was supposed to be stoned to death. So everyone asked what Jesus should do. But Jesus stooped down and wrote a second time. Jesus wrote the new covenant this time. So what did Jesus write then? He wrote this – “then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.””
Hebrews 10:16-17 NKJV
Now who could see this Word? Only the WCA. Now here lies the secret.
Many people claim they believe in Jesus and many claim that they are saved. But who can see what Jesus wrote down the second time? Was it the people who were convicted by their conscience? No! It was only the WCA who saw it.
Folks, although people say that they are “saved” there are many people who cannot see that they are sinners.
Yesterday, my wife and I went to Merrylands to preach the gospel and I met a Fijian woman, and her husband. So I preached to them. I preached about John 8 and she was so amazed that the scripture was actually in fact the gospel.
The problem is that people cannot see the second thing that Jesus wrote on the ground. They all saw what Jesus wrote on the ground. But all walked away when Jesus asked them who were without sin to cast a stone first.
When Jesus wrote on the ground the second time, in fact, the WCA saw it and He was in fact writing the new covenant in the heart of the WCA. Then Jesus asked her where her accusers were. And they were all gone so Jesus also did not condemn her. Hebrews 10:17 were written in her heart since then.
If the new covenant is not written down clearly in your heart, then salvation has no meaning for you.
As I preached this verse in the CLF, the pastors who heard were shocked. They had never heard this before.
The first time Jesus wrote with His finger was the Old Testament, but the second time Jesus wrote on the ground – it was written in the heart of the WCA which is the new covenant in her heart.
For those who have the new covenant written in their heart, there is no more condemnation in him.
The life of people who have this Word established in her heart can never stone (i.e. judge) another. This is the world of faith.
“Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”
Numbers 21:4-9 NKJV
It is all about the world of the heart. There is a big difference here. Before the establishment of the bronze serpent, they were scared of the fiery serpents and they would run for their lives. In other words, before people establish the Word of God in their hearts, they would pray like this – “God please solve this problem for me. God I am in great difficulty.” They always ask. The problem is that the Word is never established in their hearts. But once the Word is established, then they would have no more fear or worries in their heart. Like this, the ones who have the bronze serpent established do not fear the fiery serpents anymore.
The problem is not the difficulties. The problem is the lack of the Word of God thereof.
Now imagine this – the WCA is now free and walking in the public. People may gossip about here. But would she have fear in her? No! Because she would have established the Word of Christ in her.
Who can have the effect of the Word of Jesus. Only the WCA would, because she was the one who received it.
Once you realise that you have sin in your heart, then just as the WCA established the word of Jesus in her heart, likewise, you can have it too.
One day I was so surprised. I had the fixated thought that I had to be good, clean and perfect in order to go to heaven.
Although I tried to serve God a lot and live by faith, I could not do it.
When I received salvation, I received the Word from Romans.
“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,”
Romans 4:5 NKJV
When the Word entered my heart, I experienced amazing things. God said that I was righteous when I was in an ungodly state. I thought I had to be in a godly state. But God waited for me until I became ungodly to tell me that I was righteous. Fact is that the more I tried, the worse I became.
God says that the ungodly is justified. I was so amazed. I was so thankful and peace. This means that salvation has nothing to do with my works. God generates thankfulness out of us.
When can you have thankfulness? When you know how lacking, evil you are.
For the WCA, the people and even herself judge her as dirty and filthy. All the people were shocked when Jesus did not condemn her. The WCA’s heart was filled with thankfulness.
Imagine that you have eaten a huge hamburger and you are so filled, then you have no more space to eat other food. You won’t even fancy any other food no matter how delicious it is.
All the people of the world were condemning the dirty woman and wanted her to die. But only Jesus was able to say to her “Neither do I condemn you” and so imagine the thankfulness the WCA had. No matter what, she would be so so so so so so so and so endlessly thankful to Jesus Christ. Her heart was filled with thankfulness that she would have no heart to commit adultery again.
Folks, if you are hungry you can eat food,right? But when full, you do not want to.
People fall in sin because they are not filled with the heart of God.
It is not that we have to try to not sin. But once we are filled with the heart of God, then we will not sin naturally.
For those who have established the bronze serpent, then even if ten fiery serpents bite them, then it is not a problem at all.
Apostle Paul was in the ship and there was a storm for fourteen days. Storms last for a maximum of 14 days in the sea, as it is written in Acts 27. But before the ship was destroyed, this is what God said to Paul.
“For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”
Acts 27:23-25 NKJV
After Paul received this Word, people had to swim to an island called Malta. There, Paul and the people were warming up in the fire. As Paul tried to get some wood for the fire, a viper clung on to his hand and the natives said, “Wow, although this man escaped the sea, but justice would not let him live”. Yet, Paul did not die. Paul shook off the viper into the fire and he was able to live…because of the promise of God.
If you have the Word of God in your heart, then you can also shake off all difficulties.
For the WCA, her heart was established by the Word of God and she was so so so thankful. Since then, she could shake off the temptations off.
Establish the Word of Jesus in your heart, then your life will be happy as no matter what the problems may be, the problems can no longer bother you.
The people saw that Paul did not die. So they all reasoned that Paul must be a God. That was how Paul was established. Paul therefore preached the gospel there in the island.
All problems that are given to us cannot bother us now, since we have received salvation. Rather, through these problems and difficulties, we can now establish God further in our heart.
Let’s say that people now see the WCA walking about. They may say that she should have died. But they would hear about Jesus, the son of God who saved her and freed her from sin. So as people listen, they can see how the WCA can live because of Jesus.
We can live all because of Jesus. In this way, Jesus becomes our life.
From my childhood, I always thought that I had to be a good person. I tried so hard to be so. Why? Because I thought that if I try I can succeed. But I could never be so. Likewise, we can never be so.
We may pretend to be good, but we are never good.
After receiving salvation, I could see a whole new world.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
The heart of the WCA now became completely new and is filled with the heart of Jesus. She is no longer the dirty woman that we used to know. Rather, she is now a new creation of God filled with the heart of God.
When God sees us now, after we receive the Word of God, we have become new creation. The new creation have the Word of Jesus in their lives. They have perfect condition to travel with the Lord. This is what the Lord has done with us and has blessed us to travel with Him.
I hope such grace can be with you in your life’s journey.