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Seeking God on the Mountain (The Woman Caught In Adultery – Part 1 – John 7:53-8:11)

John 7:53 – “They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.”

The measure of a man can be seen in what he does when no one else is around. It can also be seen in the way he spends his time compared to most people. When everyone else was going home, Jesus was going to the mountain to pray. I’m reminded of a quote from Longfellow which speaks to this:

“The heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight, but they,
while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Not only does Jesus stand out because of Who He was, but He stands out because

Do Not Envy

Proverbs 3:31-32 – “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of His ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.”

One of the key issues in being a follower of Jesus is to place our total dependence upon Him to sustain us, provide for us, and to make our paths straight or blessed. It is choosing to no longer trust in ourselves, but to fully trust in Him for the entirety of our provision, not just for ourselves, but for our entire household. The devious man and the violent man mentioned briefly in this verse, are the epitome of not honoring or trusting God. They trust fully in their own strength or smarts to be successful or to acquire more in life. They are an offense to God for two reasons. First, for trusting in themselves rather than God. Second, for trampling on others so that they can promote themselves and their own agenda.

An important result of truly trusting in Jesus for all of life is that it causes us

(John 5:19-20) – Knowing and Doing the Will of God

John 5:19-20 – 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

“the Son can do nothing of His own accord.”

Jesus was unable to do anything on His own. This is the exact opposite of us. We are unable to do anything other than our own thing. Just as Jesus would only do God’s agenda, we are wholehearted servants to ourselves and slaves to our own agenda. We need a miracle from God to change this reality. Only God can free us from being slaves to ourselves.

Why is doing our own thing so bad? It’s because of who and what we are. Here’s how the Bible describes us:

Romans 3:10b-12 – None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Jeremiah 17:9 – The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ………(Amplified Version) – The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?

Because of who and what we are, we are incapable of doing God’s will. We are incapable of truly seeking God and knowing His will, because all that is in us is corrupt and we are brainwashed by the world’s way of thinking and chained to our own mind, will, and emotions. Only God can change us and here’s how it happens:

He’s Still Your Neighbor Even If You don’t Know Him

Proverbs 3:29 – Do not plan evil against you neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you.

Something about neighbors, if we don’t really know them, we don’t feel as much of a compulsion to care about them. We don’t really know what they do, what’s going on in their lives, or what they think about anything, so they’re not really a thought in our minds with the exception of when we see them going in and out of their house. Have you ever had that neighbor who rarely cut their grass and made the neighborhood look bad because their yard always needed cutting? Or maybe the neighbor who let their dog run free? When we don’t know our neighbors, it’s easy to allow negative thoughts to enter our minds and to secretly wish something bad upon them.

Likewise, the people we work with can often not get the same attention we give friends. Often times there’s a work mode in us that is cordial with people but doesn’t go deep enough to

To Give Or Not To Give

Proverbs 3:28 – Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

We don’t like being inconvenienced. We’ve become so used to living in our own family bubbles, that we don’t care for that being interrupted. That’s at least the way many people have become. Don’t come bother me in my house, might be the inner response if someone comes knocking—especially if it’s asking for something.

Lately I’ve had to start changing my tune. When you start investing yourself in helping people who need help, they take more liberties in asking for more help. My friend whom I mentioned in Do Somebody Good, finds ways to need money or other things at the strangest hours. On several occasions he’s called me after I’ve been asleep to ask for some money. Once he was asking for $20 to buy gas for a lady who’s son was stranded downtown with a flat tire.

Every time he calls asking for money, I have to fight a natural impulse to be bothered by it, especially if that call is while I’m sleeping. Sometimes it is a legitimate need, and sometimes it something he could do without. Each time I’ve got to ask God for discernment to know whether or not I should help.

The point is not whether I should give money to someone who calls me in the middle of the night, nor is the point about how to discern when to give and not to give. The point is this, am I a person that is able and willing to give. There was a time when I was not such a person. Today, I’m a new man. I’ve learned to be a giver more than I ever have before. Not giving for my own gain, which was a part of the old man I was, but for the sake of helping someone. Sometimes we give only according to how it might help us in the long run, and certainly that doesn’t honor God.

What I must ask myself is this, “If someone asks something of me, is my first impulse to give or to not give?” These days, I’m much more likely to give, and I pray that I become more and more likely to give. In addition, I pray God blesses me more and more that my ability to give increases greatly. Part of me is convinced that God’s blessing to us is equally proportional to our willingness to bless others.

Do Somebody Good, Someone Who Needs It

Proverbs 3:27-28 – “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”

The room was not a welcoming environment, dimly lighted and uncomfortable. The rows were packed tight with people of all different sorts, from all different places and looks, but all with one thing in common, they had business to do with the judge. It was the circuit court located in Bessemer, Alabama. On the front row sectioned off by wood railing, was a line of orange clad prisoners in handcuffs. One of those prisoners was my friend Tim. We’ve only known each other for about a year, and it’s been action packed from the start.

We were in this courtroom because a warrant had been improperly issued for Tim concerning something from ten years earlier. As unfair as the warrant was, there was still a process that had to be followed to see it withdrawn. This process would not be easy and it required my help and that of my brother, Tim’s attorney.

I watched for about an hour and a half as one by one each of the prisoners would walk up to see the judge. Each one appeared to have an extensive and tainted history. Before I met Tim, I might have looked upon these people as the “scum of the earth” deserving of the punishment they were receiving. Now I viewed them wondering how they ended up in the position they were in and had there ever been any help for them.

It finally came time for us. The judge called out for Tim and as he walked up to the bench and my brother stood beside him I felt very fulfilled and blessed to be there. I knew Tim had never had anyone standing beside him with a passionate desire to help him succeed, and he’d never had anyone sitting in the courtroom on his behalf to see him through. Today was different, he would have whatever was necessary from my brother and me to see that he was treated fairly and released.

I wonder how many people in this world have never had an advocate or a friend to fight for them. There are many who’ve had the weight of the world against them from their first breath, having to fend for themselves and suffering greatly for all that they lack.

The world is set up differently for some people than others. I’ve always been blessed. I’ve always had people on my side. I’ve always had my needs met and my dreams find a way to come true. But most people aren’t blessed as I have been. Many will never taste the beauty of being treated with good, rather than evil.

I believe this is a lesson from this passage of scripture for us. Find someone who is “due” some good. There are many out there and they aren’t hard to find. When you find them, pour yourself out in order to do good to them. You will never be the same, nor will they.

Forgiveness

Matthew 6:9-15 – 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

FORGIVENESS - “The act of excusing or pardoning others in spite of their slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God’s pardon of the sins of human beings.” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

FORGIVE - to give up resentment of, ‘forgive an insult’ : to grant relief from payment of, ‘forgive a debt’ : to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon, ‘forgive one’s enemies’. (Meriam-Webster.com)

One of the hardest tests we face as followers of Jesus is that of forgiveness. There’s two areas we are met with this test: forgiving ourselves and forgiving others. Neither of these is necessarily easy.

Many people have difficulty forgiving themselves because they have a hard time accepting God’s forgiveness. They think their sin was so bad that God couldn’t possibly forgive them. We won’t be able to forgive others until we can learn to accept God’s forgiveness for ourselves. In addition, we have trouble forgiving others because we have been hurt so bad by them and we don’t think they deserve it.

Forgiveness is One of the Great Battles in Our Spiritual War

Our greatest hindrance to being able to forgive ourselves and others is due to a lack of understanding the truth, God, and the battle we are in.

Attack on the Mind

The enemy attacks our mind. All of us have a past of some kind, some of us much worse than others. For some of us, the enemy has a big opportunity to hold us back because we have a tainted past. Satan knows this, and he works overtime to exploit it.

It’s easy, when there is a shameful past, to allow Satan to haunt us continually with guilt and shame. Satan tries to make us

Don’t Be Afraid

Proverbs 3:25-26 – Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. (entire reading is 3:13-26)

The focus of Proverbs is wisdom, it’s goal is to help us “know wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:2). Over and over again Proverbs emphasizes the blessings that come from pursuing and acting in wisdom. One that stands out in this passage is verse 25-26 that promise protection from the sudden terror that overtakes the wicked. If we’re living in a manner that honors God and acting wisely, we have a protection through every situation. So even if it appears a “sudden terror” has come upon you, you can have peace and trust that God is going to protect you.

Just this week I’ve encountered a situation that was sudden and harsh. And from all appearances it seemed that the evil side was winning out bringing great distress to my friend who is seeking to honor God with his life. In the midst of many working against what would be the right thing to do, God has intervened on several instances that have opened the door to see the situation resolved to his benefit. Going through this situation I have allowed myself to get stressed out, losing my peace, because of the actions of a couple of people. This morning I was convicted because God brought to my attention that I only get stressed out and upset when I’m not trusting Him. My eyes were on the situation and not on God. A mistake often made, I regret to say.

If we are seeking God and living to honor Him, He is going to protect us. We don’t have to be afraid when the “sudden terror” lifts it’s head toward us. God is going to make a way. It may be painful for a season, and we may feel totally out of control of the situation, but God is faithful and strong. He can make a way and He has promised to protect and provide for us.

If you’re stressed out, it’s because you’re not trusting God as you should be. The heart of everything we are about as followers of Jesus is to trust Him. The motive behind everything God allows in our lives is to build that trust and use it for His glory.

God’s Grace Through Discipline

Proverbs 3:11-12 – My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Sin has consequences. We should not be surprised by this, although we often become quite upset with God for allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin. What we don’t realize is that His allowing this is demonstrating grace to us in at least two different ways.

First, God’s allowing us to suffer consequences for our sin is a means to train us to live rightly. If there were no consequences, we’d be far more likely to pursue the same route again. If we didn’t feel pain from touching a hot stove, we would not be as likely to keep our hands off of it. It’s the same with sin.

The second demonstration of grace in God’s allowing us to suffer consequences for our sin is something most of us don’t realize.