The Lawgiver in the Dust: Grace, Truth, and the Woman Brought Before Jesus

Hey, uh, if we've not met, my name is Keith. I'm the lead pastor here at Journey Church. And, uh, what a world that we're living in. Can you believe it? Have you watched the news, everybody? Like, God is allowing us to live for such a time as this. I I recently went to Israel and I got back the day that Israel went to war with Iran and the bishop that led myself and 46 other pastors, he's stuck in Israel right now. So, I've been watching him closely. And today he says that all of Israel is celebrating even though the entire nation is on complete lockdown. They cannot have any uh public gatherings. They cannot go out right now. But the world is completely shifted. And I'm not going to get political right now. But I do want to pray. I want us to be a praying church. And one of the things Bishop Robert Stern said to all of us pastors is don't ask where you are right now. Because when you go to Israel, you always want to know like where are you?

Where are you? Don't ask where you are. Ask God when you are. when you are meaning this some of us want to say oh these are historic times no these are biblical times Jesus is coming and you are alive right now for a reason you are alive right now for a reason so make much of your life be a generous person with your finances do something with your life pray bold prayers go with me to Israel next year like like do something. You are alive right now for a reason. So don't ask like where you are. Yeah, we're in beautiful Bend, Oregon, but ask when you are. You are alive right now. So I'm going to ask you to do this.

Would you pray with me? Pray for our president. Be praying for the church all over the world. Pray for Israel. It's a commandment of the scriptures. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6, we don't stop praying. So, I'm just asking, let's raise up. The devil would love for you to try to get comfortable, complacent. That's not a Christian life. A Christian life is one burdened with the heart of God. I met the ambassador of the United States to Israel, and I spent time with him in a room, and I asked Ambassador Huckabe, who's the ambassador to United States in Israel. I said, "How can Journey Church and Bend, Oregon be praying for you?" And he was so relentlessly real because Ambassador Huckabe is a believer in

Jesus. And this is what he said. Pray for stamina because the days are long right now. He said, 'I spend more time with Prime Minister Netanyahu than I do with my own wife. And he was so real with me and I wish more people would get real. He said, I hear things about what's happening in the world I wish I didn't hear. And you can criticize any leader you want, but you are not in their shoes. And ain't nobody want to be the president of the United States. That's that's a big deal because we're in the best country in the world with the best military, the best people. And I would just tell you, the whole world's going to try to criticize things, but what we should be doing is praying. We should be a praying people. So I ask you, I don't care where you are either politically, where you are in your journey of faith. The Bible says that we're going to pray for our government leaders. God is sovereign. He's supreme.

He reigns over all. And there are no accidents. Uh so it doesn't matter who's in charge. God knows what's happening around. And by the way, God never stops being God. So the God of the Bible is still our God. He still is just. He still judge judges. And so we just we want to trust that God right now. Lord God Almighty, Elohim, Adoni, the one that was, is, and will forever be God. I come before you, Almighty God with Journey Church. And we just want to say we trust you. Not with some of our heart today. We want to trust you with all of our hearts. We want to lean on you, Lord, with all of our understanding. And we ask that you would direct our steps. Jesus, you told us to be aware of the times. You told us that you would be coming soon when there are wars and rumors of wars. You warned us

that when nation goes against nation, you will be coming soon. That our redemption is near. So may we be a people that are preparing for your second coming. Lord, we repent of our complacency. Lord, forgive us of our pride. God, we are such an independent people. We forget that we're desperate for you. We need you, Lord. And right now, I lift up our brothers and sisters around the world who believe in you, including the church in Iran. And I say, God, you can use anything for your good. That which the enemy intends for evil, God, you turn it around and use it for good. So, I'm requesting for revival in the Middle East. I'm asking that the church would be bold in their prayers right now. That Yeshua Hamashiach, the

world would see you are the Messiah. You are the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. There is no one like you, Jesus. So, let us trust you and see you work in our days. God, I ask Holy Spirit that you would work on this church's heart. That God, our heart would break for that which breaks yours. That where we go, you go. That you are our beloved. And man, Lord, may we see that we are yours. Lord, may you humble us today. Help us to see you clearly in all that we do. And as we get ready to get into your word, I ask in the name of Jesus that your Holy Spirit would speak. You are the living God and your word is alive and active. So I say speak, Lord, today in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Well, do we have time for a sermon? If you brought your Bible, let's get in there real quick. This is the word of God which speaks to us. And I want you to have an expectation. God wants to speak to you today. So if you brought your Bible, you could hold in the air. And everyone on the count of three is going to shout word, including those watching online around the world in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas. We see you. And we just want you to shout word on the count of three. Everybody, here we go. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word. So God's word gets deep into us. I want you to know Journey Church has an audacious aim that hell will be empty and heaven would be full. We want hell to be empty and heaven to be full. We have the hope of heaven. Why would we contain it?

It it might sound a little extreme, but I'll just say this. I'm extremely excited because the world is unashamed of a lot of things. We live in a community that people will go protest what they are against. They'll protest against the president. We'll see people go pay bunch of money to be in the cold and raise their hands at a concert when that band is just going to leave and go to the next city. People pay money to go to a ball game. I'm here to tell you, we got the living Jesus Christ. Why would we not just get a little bit excited? He said he'll never leave you. He'll never forsake you. He'll be with you till the end of the age. And so I am unashamed to say I'm excited about Jesus and I want the world to know. So I'm not going to sit back and sit on my hands

and try to be comfortable. I want you to know about Jesus Christ. Central Oregon shall be saved when we believe and take God at his word. When we don't shrink back. We don't need to debate. We don't need to argue. All we got to do is love like Jesus. Today we're in the book of John. Turn to the book of John. John writes about the life of Jesus. And John is really clear. He did not write this book to tell you what Jesus did. He writes this book so that you would believe who Jesus is. At the very end of the book, he puts it this way. In John 20 30 and 31, John says, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book." But these are written so that you would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. Now

signs are miracles that point to something. Jesus did many more miracles than are written here. But he says, "I included these here so that you would believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ." That's what Christ means, Messiah, the chosen one of God. He is the son of God. And that by believing Jesus you slap your neighbor and say you you may have life in his name. The point of this book of John is that you that you may have life in the name of Jesus. Not some life, not life on Sunday, not a comfortable life. But Jesus said he came that you would have life and have it abundantly. Amen. So by believing in Jesus, something changes. That which is dead is now alive.

Something changes inside of you. And today, I want you to see who Jesus really is. Not what religion says about Jesus, not what your own heart has said about Jesus, not what your family may have said about Jesus, but what does the Bible say about Jesus? Today we turn to John chapter 7. If you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's word? John 7:53. And then we're going to read chapter 8 verse 1-11. John 7:53 through John 8 vers 11. Now, some Bibles have an asterct or in parenthesis that the oldest manuscripts do not include this text. Well, if you study church history, Augustine, Calvin, Wesley, they all preached this text. So, I want you to know this belongs in your Bible because this is going to show us who Jesus is. Uh, work with me here. I'm going to read the text and then we're going to better understand this Jesus.

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let

him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And at and once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. And when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on sin no more." This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.

At this point in the life of Jesus, his fame has grown. And when someone is famous, they can be controversial. Crowds are not always united in who someone is. Some say Jesus is the prophet. Some say that he is actually the Christ, the promised one of God. Still others have come to the conclusion he could never be the Christ because of where he comes from. And John now tells us that Jesus once people went to their home, he went to the Mount of Olives. I've been there. It's it's what we would call a hill. Even though some call it a mountain, it's a hill that points right towards the temple. He went there often. In fact, the Bible says in the book of Zechariah, this is actually where the Messiah will return. He's going to return here. This is why we have a heart

for Jerusalem. We know that Jesus is coming back here. And so here he was on the Mount of Olives and he's his heart is towards the temple. He's physically towards the temple. He stayed the night there. And then we're told in verse two, early in the morning, Jesus went to the temple. Now, we don't know if he went there to teach or if he went there to worship, but crowds came to him. He took the opportunity in verse two. He sat down and he taught them. My friends, Jesus wants to teach you something today. He wants to show you who he is. But while he's teaching, isn't it just like the enemy to come interrupt what God is doing. I want to warn you that the spirit that was alive in Jesus day is still alive today. One day, the Bible tells us that all demons will be locked up for eternity. But until then, they're

still doing the same old thing. You can call these spirits whatever you will. Today, I'm going to call this one a religious spirit. A religious spirit tries to slip in and deceive you with the truth. It looks like the truth, but it's not the truth. A religious spirit comes in and gives birth to death, not life. The religious spirit is full of rules of dos and don'ts. The religious spirit is such a big burden to bear, no one can actually do it. But the religious spirit judges, and at the end of the day, here's what the religious spirit does. It's all about pride. I'm better than you. That's what the religious spirit is. And lest I point the finger at anybody who has a religious spirit, it slips into all of our hearts, even mine. And here Jesus is teaching at the temple and the religious spirit slips in. And in this story, you're going to see the worst of the worst of the religious

spirit. And here's the good news about Jesus. When you see the worst of the worst of the world, you see the best of the best of Jesus. So the worst of the worst of the religious slips in. Jesus is going to show us the best of the best of who he actually is. And here's the religious spirit. John 8:3 says, "The scribes and the Pharisees." This is called the Sanhedrin. This is a group of religious rulers that are what we would call a council of religious leaders to to make sure that people are doing what needs to be done. So the Sanhedrin, these religious elite of Jesus' day, they come to the temple and they brought a woman not to go to church not to worship, but they brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. Now adultery is when you have sex with someone that's not your spouse, but is someone else's spouse. So if she was

caught in that act and she was brought in that act, there's a chance that this woman was brought either naked or certainly she was brought in a place that was was she was exposed. And placing this woman in the midst, they said to Jesus, "Teacher, now do not be deceived here. This is the religious spirit. They might sound good. The religious spirit sounds good, but their hearts are not in the right place. teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So, what do you say? Now, this is not just a test. It's a trap. They're trying to trap Jesus. This is not so much about this woman as it is about Jesus.

for they want to see that if he is a prophet or if he is the Christ, there's no way that he would break the law, the Torah, which is the word of God. And so what they do, like they've done so many times before, they're testing Jesus. And you can try to test Jesus, but here's what I love about Jesus. He will often flip the script. You can question him, but he's the king of questions. He'll often retort it back with a question to you. So they come and they they they trap him because if he does not condemn this woman according to the law, there's no way he's a man of God because he's not adhering to God's law. But if he does condemn this woman, he can break the Roman law. And certainly the crowds will see that he's not a man of compassion.

This woman has been caught. Jesus does not dispute the fact that she was caught in the act of adultery. Now, if we get relentlessly real here at church, all of us have been caught doing something we shouldn't do. It's easy to judge somebody else on what they've been caught. But we've all cheated. We've all lied. We've all been thieves. Somewhere in your life, even if it's not someone catching you physically, even though I believe you've probably been caught before, come on, somebody. Your own conscience will tell you you're not doing the right things at times. So when we look at this particular woman, we can acknowledge the fact that there's two people that will slip into our hearts. Sometimes we're the religious spirit and sometimes we're the sinner.

So it's in this place that we acknowledge this woman was caught in this act and Jesus is being tested. What is he going to do with this woman that was caught? Here's the interesting thing about sin. The Bible even says this in the book of Ecclesiastes. Sin is certainly fun for a season. I don't think anyone actually enters into sin saying this is going to lead to death and the consequence is going to be way worse than I think they're going to be. In fact, typically you lie to yourself and say I deserve this. I've earned this. I'm not getting this from somewhere else. So, I'm going to get it. Whatever that thing is that you end up doing, that's a sin. Here, this woman was just minutes earlier, and we don't know her story. She may have been raped.

I don't know. She may have been a prostitute that slept with many different men. I don't know. She may have slept with her neighbor because he showed her attention that no one else shows. I don't know. We don't know the backstory behind this, but we know she was caught. Some of us love the juicy details of gossip, but John doesn't give us those details. We just know she was caught. We know that in one moment there was some intimacy. There was some nakedness. There was some vulnerability. And now this nakedness is full of shame and is full of guilt and she's about to lose her life. See, that's how sin is. One moment it seems good and then the next moment it seems like you're about to lose everything. And the dilemma here is the Pharisees have brought before Jesus, the crowd, the law of God. Leviticus 20:20 says in

the Torah, the law of Moses, "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." That's the law. Deuteronomy 22:22, which is also the law of Moses. If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. At this point, Jesus is faced with a challenge. Will he lose his reputation of being a compassionate teacher?

Or will he come down hard on this particular woman according to the law? And like a boss, Jesus does not answer their questions. the way they expected. It's a curious thing that many of us think that when we go to God, he's going to do for us what we expect him to do. See, the Bible teaches us you can go ahead and ask questions to God, you just may not get the answer that you were expecting. You you hear that from people. When I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God this question or that question. You can ask him all the questions you want, but it may not be received the way you expect it to be received. They expected Jesus to respond the way the world had responded to the Sanhedrin at that time. But what does Jesus do it? We're told in verse six, they said this to test him that

they might have some charge to bring against him. He knew their hearts. This wasn't about the woman. They wanted to trap him. So Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. Now when it comes to Jesus, you've got to know what John says in chapter one. He is God in the flesh. He is the Almighty, the one that was and is and will forever be. He was there in the beginning and he'll be there in the end. He is the creator. And the creator does not run out of ideas. The creator is not a boring teacher. And so Jesus uses a life lesson and he gets down on the ground. I'm imagining at this point this woman's been placed before Jesus. disrespectfully and he gets down to her level like what God does in John chapter 1

when God Almighty comes to this earth, the creator became the created. He steps down into our story. He once again stoops down to her level. And what does he do? Do not miss this. If you've got your own Bible, I would make sure you highlight this because John wants you to see what Jesus does. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. He bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. It's the only time we see Jesus writes something. Now, there is great speculation to what Jesus writes. Some say that he writes down the sins of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. He lists their sins starting with the oldest because they've sinned the most because of how old they are.

Some say that he writes down their names. Some say that he writes down the name of the person that committed adultery with this woman. Because did you note here that it takes two to tango yet only one is brought forth in the accusation? And the law says that they both should be put to death. And there is a likelihood that the other is in their midst right there. or all of them have potentially committed this act of adultery. Maybe Jesus just goes ahead and writes down the law and he points to the fact and he circles both when it comes to Leviticus and Deuteronomy or could it be that Jesus just simply wants to have fun with them so he starts playing tic-tac-toe with himself.

You see, John does not find it important for us to know what Jesus writes. But he does find it important for you to see this phrase. Look carefully. John 8:6. Jesus bent down and wrote with his what? Finger on the ground. This is the same language Moses uses when he talks about the gift God gave called the law. Look with me here. This is so important. Do not miss this. Exodus 31:18. And he gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Si the two tablets of the testimony. Tablets of stone. This is what we call the ten commandments. God gave the law. These aren't the only commandments. They're 613. But God gave 10 that will really help us understand them. He gave them.

How did he give them to Moses on the tablets written with the finger of God? Deuteronomy 9:10, Moses says this. Here's how I got the law. I didn't come up with this on my own. I didn't make this up. Moses says, Deuteronomy 9:10, the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God. God is now in the flesh. John intentionally uses this language to connect the dots here that the lawgiver is in their midst. Reminiscent of what he did with Moses, he's now back in front of them and they're trying to use the law that he gave against the lawgiver.

Maybe you're not getting this. God is in their midst and they're missing it. May we understand when we have pretentious hearts of pride, we miss Jesus. We We miss the word of God. We miss the heart of God. We miss what God actually gave the law for. Now, why did God give the law? When did he give the law? What does this look like? Well, I'll take you back to when God gave the law to Moses. They were slaves in Egypt from generation to generation to generation. And they saw what it looked like to live pagan. God had a greater plan for the Israelites. So he set them free. And he used a deliverer named Moses. Moses led them from Egypt where they were held captive and oppressed as slaves and took

them on a journey to freedom to the promised land to the place we now call Israel. And on this journey, God met with them. And Moses went on to Mount Si. And God gave them the law. And he gave them the law so that they would not live like they used to live. He's taking the slave out of them and letting them know, you're set free. God gave them the law that they wouldn't live like all of the other nations which have false gods, but there is one true God. and he gave a way for them to live rightly with God and with each other. This was far beyond before the days of a king or a priest or a judge. And so God gave the law that they would know how to live right. And it might sound antiquated or archaic to some of

us, but actually it is a perfect law that if you live according to the standard that God gave you, everyone would live not only in unity with one another, but they would be blessed. The law was never meant to be a burden. It was meant to be the freedom that I'm not a slave. I'm a free person and God is for me. So now we've got Jesus in the temple. Remember what he was doing just a few moments ago in verse two? What was he doing? Teaching. Do you know what he was teaching? The law. There's a high probability he came to the scripture that these Sanhedrin were bringing before Jesus. Maybe he read the scripture about what happens when someone's caught in adultery. And you could imagine the hearts that are stirring here. Oh, what does happen when someone's caught adultery? And here's the mess of a woman brought before Jesus.

Isn't it interesting how the Holy Spirit will tie things together sometimes? If you will just let God, sometimes he will speak directly to your heart where it feels like, well, God, how did you know this? There is a huge mess right there. This woman should not be at the temple. She should be put to death according to the law. What does Jesus do with a mess? Pay attention here. He writes with the finger of God a message. Now, many of you want to know what the message is, but let me just go ahead and say it early. It's Jesus. John says in chapter 1, he is the fullness of grace and truth. Not 50%

truth and 50% grace. And now we got Jesus. No. 100% grace, 100% truth. What do you get when you get the lawgiver and someone has broken the law right in front of you? Out of the mess comes the message. And what's the message? The Messiah. He is the author of all history. You want to know your story? Talk to Jesus. You want to know what's happening around the world right now? I want to just exhort you right now. It's not to fear. It's not to listen to CNN or NBC or ABC or dare it even be Fox. Lest you be mistaken, Charlie Kirk is not the Messiah. Jesus the Christ is.

There is one Lord. And instead of picking up a stone to thrust it towards a mess, he has a message. And some of us want to speculate what the message was when if John wanted us to know what he wrote, he would have put down what he wrote. But instead, he says he used his finger on the ground. Sounds familiar because he's God in the flesh. Eternal God is right in our midst. He is fulfilling what Jeremiah the prophet said in chapter 17:13. Oh Lord, the God of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame. Those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. If you were not with us last week in chapter 7,

Jesus says, "All who are thirsty, come to me." And when you believe, out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. You reject Jesus, you reject the water. Now, John gave a commentary last week. If you weren't here, you can go listen to it online. He said, "The water is the Holy Spirit." that when you get Jesus, you get the spirit of the living God. And Jeremiah warns us there will be some, and I've already told you my belief in this, they are the religious demonic spirits that will miss Jesus. Well, I hope you're still tracking with me here.

Jesus still has a dilemma. He's on the ground writing with his finger. In verse 7 says, "And as they continued to ask him," these were the first Kairens of the day. They just continued. They're not looking at what Jesus is writing. I just can sense a nagging voice in the atmosphere. Do you not hear us, Jesus? The law says this woman uh they continued. I mean there there's the action of what's happening right here. You can imagine Jesus could stand up and lose his cool. He could push them in the chest like a real man. He could say, "Do you not understand who I am?" But as they continued, he stood up and said to them, I imagine with the softest tone,

"Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." You see, for this particular offense, the way a person could be condemned is there had to be at least two witnesses. And when someone would be condemned to death, condemned to death, the witness would be the one to cast the first stone. Now, they're actually asking Jesus to break the very law itself. Jesus was not a witness, but yet they're asking him to do what the law says they ought to do. Now, the last I looked at it, normally this sort of act or sin is done in private. So, how did these guys witness this act of adultery?

We got some peeping toms here. Now, it wasn't just one. There were several of them that come before Jesus. And so now you've got a contradiction of what's happening here. They themselves are guilty because somehow they witnessed this act and they did not bring the adulterer. They only brought the adulteress. So they themselves are guilty of the law. Jesus points out that no one has lived a sinless life. I mean at this point in the story Jesus says if any of you is without sin you can cast. Is there anyone here at the temple this day who's without sin? Shout it out. Yes, there is. There's one. That was a trick question.

The Bible says of Jesus, I'm just going to say this quickly. The Bible says that he was without sin. That God stepped into the flesh and did what no man has done before. He lived a sinless life. He's a man on mission. He did not come here to debate with the religious. He knows what he's here to do to willingly give his life on the cross for all of our sins. And when he says, "You who are without sin, you can go ahead and cast the first stone." They already had their stones ready to throw. But now something's happening in their hearts that they recognize that Jesus knows what he's talking about. I love when Paul writes to the Corinthian church. He explains that we're all pretty messed up. Here's what he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, starting with verse 9. He says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not

inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolattors, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Now, time out here. This is not an exhaustive list. So, if you don't see your sin here, don't worry. It's not an exhaustive list. He's simply saying sinners do not inherit the kingdom of God. Unrighteousness and righteousness do not go together. But Paul's not saying, "Hey guys, we the church are better than those outside of the church." No, look at the very next verse. He says, "And he says, "And such were some of you. You were the adulterers. You were the one that practiced homosexuality. You were the drunks and the addicts. You were the ones that were lying and

cheating at work so you could be more successful. Such were some of you. So, we recognize that we're not better than anyone else because we used to be them. But he says, "You were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." And by the spirit of our God, that's no longer your story. Yes, you were a sinner. But once you believe in Jesus, you receive the rivers of living water. You've been cleansed of your sins. You are sanctified. You're born again. You're a new person. You're a child of God. The Bible says in Jesus, "You're no longer a sinner. You're a saint. You're set apart for his purpose." When he tells them, "If you are without sin, go ahead and throw the stone." Once

more he bent down and wrote on the ground, "Aren't you glad Jesus is the boss here? He will not be bullied by the religious spirit." And that's what the religious spirit does. And if you're not careful, the religious spirit will step into your life. It might even be someone who's long gone out of your life, haunting you in your mind. Guilt, shame, condemnation, they don't come from Jesus. They come somewhere else. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. Use your imaginations why it was the older ones. They were setting the example. And Jesus, here's my favorite part. You can underline this, highlight this, memorize this. Come on, someone celebrate this. Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

This woman was left alone. Her accusers are now gone. The haters are now gone. And the only person that could accuse her because he is without sin, he's left alone with her. So what will God do when you're left alone with him? When you have been exposed of every single one of your sins, what will Jesus do when you're alone with him? We know here verse 9, Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. May I tell you today, if you want to be changed in your life, spend some time alone with Jesus. It's not going to church that will change you. It's not being a better person that will change you. It's spending time alone with Jesus, the one that is qualified to judge your sin. The one that could keep every law and tell you what you've done wrong. But Jesus did not do it because he's a man on mission. He knows where he's headed.

He's headed to the cross for her sin. He did not put her to death because he knew that he would die for her. The fullness of grace is in the midst. And out of this mess comes the Messiah with a message. Could he condemn her? He stood up and he asked her the question, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" He addresses her. The accusers are gone. Could she be condemned? And she said, "No one, Lord." That's the proper position. He's not just a good teacher or a prophet. Jesus is Lord. And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and

from now on sin no more." Here's what happens when you come into the presence of the real Jesus. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse one, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You are forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. And when you come before Jesus, he does not condemn you. He wants to set you free. For the Bible says in Romans 8:2, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Jesus does not bring a bigger burden. He sets you free. Hallelujah. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do. You can't be good enough to get into heaven. But by

sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, God became a man. And for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh. So when Jesus says to her, "Neither do I condemn you." He is not taking her sin lightly. He knows he's going to die for her sin. He's giving her a new identity. You're not defined by what you've done. You're not defined by what was done to you. If you understand this, this is revolutionary. In the presence of Jesus, you cannot stay the same. Jesus sends you on mission. One word, go. Don't go back to your old ways, which Proverbs says is like a dog returning to his vomit.

You're going to be tempted, but don't do it. Sin no more. Notice Jesus demonstration of mercy, not giving her what she deserves, and then grace going above and beyond. You're set free. This is who you are. In me, you are set free. And I close with this text out of Romans chapter 6, which too many times we do not take the word of God seriously. But I pray today that the Holy Spirit would cause in your heart a spirit of repentance. Repentance means you change your thinking. If you've been changed by Jesus, all you want is for others to be changed like you've been changed.

Listen, you you don't need to be like me, but you need to be you wherever you go. And Jesus sets you free from your sin. The Bible says in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? If you know you're forgiven, can you just go do whatever you want to do?" Paul answers his own questions here, saying, "By no means. Are you crazy? How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death?" Look at verse six. And we know that our self when you believe in Jesus, you were crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. So

that verse 11 says, "You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. When we have sinned and we come before Jesus, the last thing he's asking you to do is to be a better person. This is not sin management. The message today is church, stop sinning. Every one of you, stop sinning. Sinners, this is not behavior modification. That's religion. And it sucks. You feel guilty.

You feel ashamed when you've messed up. But when you come before Jesus, do you see any condemnation? Do you see any shame? Do you see any guilt? No. No. Friends, he sets you free. And the Bible says in Lamentations 3:23 that his mercies are new every morning. So if you messed up last night, come before Jesus alone right now. Be set free from that sin and and go live the life he's destined for you. Not for sin so that you would be a slave to something that leads to death, but you would be liberated and set free that you are who he says you are. You're a child of God. Live like it. You've got a great inheritance in front of you. Live like it. You've got a living hope.

You don't need to go back to old habits, behaviors, the old flesh. Do something new. This is the real Jesus. And the only way to get the real Jesus is to be alone with Jesus. Those are the most sacred times. You could be in a whole room full of people and still spend time alone with Jesus. Your car can be the greatest sanctuary. I love to worship in the shower. It's great acoustics. It's like a sanctuary. You're naked. He sees you as you are. You might not like the way you look, but God loves you. And nothing could make him love you more.

Andrea said that earlier. He just loves you because he loves you. He's a God that is love. He doesn't try to love you. He doesn't wake up today saying, "Oh man, this is going to be hard. Not again. we got to do this again. And the religious spirit comes in Revelation 12 and accuses morning and night. Tries to accuse you of who you used to be. But you've overcome the accuser by the blood of the lamb. That's Jesus and what he did on the cross and the word of your testimony. You keep rem reminding yourself who you are. This is who I am. I'm saved. I'm sanctified. This is who I am. This is who I am. This is who I am. This is who I am. And who I am is because of who he is. It's Yeshua. That's the name of Jesus. So today I ask you, have you received the forgiveness of your sins by Jesus? If you stand

alone before him today, he will not condemn you. He will set you free. And if you've not done that today, I'm asking you to get down in the dirt with this woman and see the real Jesus. I'm asking you to see the heart behind the law. It was never be meant to be something that you would try harder to please God. It was meant to see that God loves you and is pleased when you follow him. Today, if you want that, it's yours. I'm just going to ask with eyes closed across the room and even those who are watching online right now, I want to ask you this serious question. Do you want to receive Jesus? Do you want to receive the living water today? You want to receive hope, the gift of eternal life, the forgiveness of your sins? If that's you, just with eyes closed, I want to ask that you open your eyes and just wave your hand at me and show me that you want that decision today. Just wave it so I can see you. I want to see who wants to be set free.

Who wants to say yes to Jesus today? Wave it so I can see you clearly today. Praise God. Come on. Praise God. God sees you and he loves you. Anyone else today? Just wave your hand. This is the best decision you could ever make. Praise be to God. Amen. So proud of you. God sees you and he loves you and he he's with you. He's for you. Praise God. Anyone else? Just wave your hand at me right where you are. See, this this is the day of your salvation. God doesn't ask you go get right with him first. He says right now, right now, receive the gift of grace. Anyone else? Just wave your hand. I want to see who who that is. I want to celebrate with you. It's by far the best decision you could ever make. It's not going to make your life easier, but it's going to make your life worth it. Now you have a source to

keep coming back to. Your identity now from this day forward is in Jesus. Lord, I thank you for those who said yes to you today. The boldness of starting a journey of faith. God, you can do anything. So we thank you that you're going to use these lives for your purpose and your glory. I declare today that that which the enemy has intended for evil, you are going to use it for good. And for those that said yes, I want you to pray with me out loud. For the Bible says you've got to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. You do that, you're saved. It's not a prayer that saves you, it's who you're praying to. So all those who have believed in Jesus, would you just repeat this prayer with me? Lord Jesus, I believe in you.

Forgive me of my sins. I receive your grace today. I receive the Holy Spirit. I receive the Holy Spirit. Let me sin no more because I am set free. I am set free in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.