Two Masters: Choose Wisely | Dave Sloop

Let me ask you guys a question. How many of you have seen the 1998 hit film, The Truman Show, by show of hands? If you have not seen this movie starring Jim Carrey, I highly encourage you to watch it because whether it was intended or not, I think this is one of the most theologically packed films ever produced.

The story is about a guy named Truman Burbank, played by Jim Carrey. And his life is perfect. He lives in the perfect city, Sea Haven, with perfect weather. He has a perfect little home on the coast with great friends, a good job, and a lovely wife. The only problem is all of it is fake. Every single part of his life is a lie. It's a facade.

This guy Truman is actually the unwitting star of the most watched TV show in all of human history. The entire world tunes in every day. It airs 24/7. And everything in this guy's life, his relationships, everything that he experiences, even the people he walks past at work, on the way to work, they're all paid actors. Every sunset that he experiences is a button being pushed by a production crew. It's all a facade. And it's all being watched over by a guy, the creator of the show, a man named Christophe, who lives in an imaginary sky in a production room where he is watching over every detail. He has been watching every single day of Truman's life from the day that he was born. In fact, Truman, if you watch the movie, he is the first child to be adopted by a corporation.

Here's the catch. Truman doesn't know. He has no idea that all of it is fake. And the entire machinery of his captivity hinges on the fact that he doesn't find out. That's what makes it interesting.

See, Truman is well named. In fact, maybe it's better to say Truman is intentionally named because he is indeed the true man. Born into bondage, blind to his captivity, under the voice and control of a master that he does not realize that he's following and does not realize is controlling him.

In John chapter eight, I want to suggest to you that Jesus is breaking onto the scene and peeling back the curtain of a similar reality. The only difference is it's real life. And you are the one on the set he's trying to get attention from. That you are the unwitting star of a false reality in a false world where you don't realize that everything is fake.

In John chapter eight, Jesus is talking to a particular crowd of people, but he might as well be talking to the whole of the human race because their story is our story. Just like Truman's story is our story.

The passage that Barbara just read to you from John chapter eight—the entire passage today centers on a dispute that Jesus is having with this crowd of people around an identity that they don't realize they have, just like Truman. See, they claim to be descendants of Abraham, which they are. But Jesus is going to say, yeah, you're descendants from Abraham, but he's not really your father. And they don't really understand, as is often the case, what Jesus is talking about. And they go back and forth for a while. They're essentially having this argument that's going nowhere.

And then all of a sudden, in a moment of frustration, they kind of insult Jesus, which I won't get into. And then they say, We have one father, even God. You see what they did there? We're descendants of Abraham, and that's the reason that God is our father. They appeal to their biological lineage as the basis for their spiritual identity.

And Jesus is gonna tell them that is not how that works. In fact, what he says is pretty offensive. He gets in their face. And I'm gonna read to you again what he exactly says in verse 44.

You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. — John 8:44

Welcome to Church of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine? Jesus breaks onto the scene. Now, I wasn't there, obviously, but can you imagine being one of the disciples? I don't know exactly what their reaction was, but it might have looked something like this. You know this meme? Now, I mean, you can take that down.

Here's the question. Was this just like a mic drop moment in an argument that Jesus was trying to win or was he seeking to expose and reveal something that was true about them that they did not know? Which was it?

See Jesus, the reason he says this is because they needed to know it. And so do we.

Two Fathers, Two Voices, Two Futures

Here is the truth that Jesus was revealing to them. First of all, there are two fathers for the whole of human race, only two. There is his father and there is what he says to the crowd, your father, the devil. There are no orphans. Everyone will find himself in one of those two families.

Secondly, there are only two voices for all of humanity to listen to and be governed by. No one is independent, as we talked about last week. We will all be guided by one of those two voices.

And third, there are two futures. They're both very real, but they're very different.

And our future will be directly related to the father that we have and the voice that we listen to. So let's jump in and figure out exactly what Jesus was saying and why he said it.

Two Fathers

First of all, there are two fathers. Jesus says to them, let's look at it again.

You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do his desires. — John 8:44

Now, what are we to make of Jesus saying this to them? See, there might be a temptation for you and I to think he's just being metaphorical. He's not speaking about an actual person or presence called the devil. Like most of us, when we hear about the devil, we just think of a red, cartoonish figure with horns. But an intellectually honest reading of this text could not arrive at the conclusion that Jesus is talking about a concept.

Let me give you a few ways that Jesus talks about this one.

First of all, he is personal. Jesus is going to say, "Your will is to do your Father's desires. When He lies, He speaks out of His own character." He has desires. He has a character.

Secondly, He has a past. Jesus says, "You're doing the works your father did," meaning he did some things. He says he was a murderer from the beginning, meaning back then he did some things and you're doing some things like him because he existed in the past.

Third, he has a present. Notice the way that Jesus talks about his present reality.

He does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar. — John 8:44

He's saying he's not just someone that existed in the past. He is a present personality at work right now. And you're under his control.

Fourth, he has and is powerful. That is to say, he controls and influences certain people.

You do what you've heard from your father. Your will is to do your father's desires. The reason why you do not hear is because of him. — John 8:44

Fifth, and most importantly for our purpose today, he is a parent.

Your father is the devil. — John 8:44

He's not just a father. He's telling this crowd of people, He is your father. What a claim!

Now, let me ask this question. On what basis does Jesus make this claim? I want to give you two.

First of all, their behavior. Jesus, we talked about this last week. Our behavior reveals the one to whom we belong. Last week, we talked about the reality that genuine disciples leave clues. So do disciples of this one. They leave clues. There will be evidence in your life. Listen to what Jesus says about their behavior.

If God were your father, you would love me because I came from him. You would hear and believe the things that I'm saying, but you don't. — John 8:42

His point is your response to me is evidence that you don't believe or love him. Their behavior reveals who they belong to.

Second, the secondary basis for which Jesus makes his claim is their beginning. We read Genesis chapter three. That is the story in the Bible of how sin entered the world. It's traditionally known as the fall. It is Adam and Eve's great sin when they are led astray by the serpent who lies to them about who God is and what he means to do with them, what he'll withhold from them, and they give in. They sin.

And on the heels of their failure, God pronounces judgment. And I want you to hear what he says to the serpent, who is the devil.

I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. — Genesis 3:15

The literal word there is seed. What God is telling Satan is that you're going to have some offspring, some children, and this woman is going to have some children.

Now bear with me for just a moment because this is confusing. Some of you know this, but for those of you who have not heard this, this is called the protoevangelium, which means first gospel, first mention of Christ in the Old Testament. And you might be wondering how? I want to tell you.

When he says the seed of woman, that is a prophetic anomaly because women don't produce seed, men do. But this child from which another family would come was going to come from a woman who would not need the help of a man to have a baby. Why? Because this child would have a different father. God Himself would be this child's father and His name would be Jesus.

Two families. There is God's family and there is the devil's family. And he was saying, you're in the wrong family. And truth is all of us are.

David would put it this way:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. — Psalm 51:5

You and I, just like Truman, born blind. We are in bondage. We live in a world where we think we're making independent choices, but the reality is we are enslaved and we do not know. It is because we have a spiritual father.

Let me ask you a question. How many of you have seen the Maury Povich show? In fact, just keep your hand down. Some things are better left unsaid.

So that show got really famous. You know why? Because Maury Povich tapped into this desire in the human heart to watch drama and conflict unfold in real time. And here's what would happen. He would bring on a woman to the show that would say, that man is the father of my children. And he would say, no, I'm not. And Maury Povich would pay for a paternity test and they would reveal the results live on TV. And you can imagine the drama, the way that people would react and respond. Why was that so interesting? It was interesting because the DNA doesn't lie and the truth has implications.

Let me tell you something. What Jesus is telling these guys is that what DNA is to your biology, your behavior is to your spiritual identity. Their behavior testifies against them. And so does their beginning, their origin. We are all from his family to begin with. This is where we start. We don't start on neutral ground. Paul would put it this way in Ephesians two. I'm just gonna read the highlighted parts. He says, you start out as a son of disobedience. He says, we all started there among whom we all once lived. And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

You start out as a son of disobedience... we all started there among whom we all once lived. And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. — Ephesians 2

This is where everybody starts, children of the devil. Now there are two families, two fathers, and therefore, two voices by which all humanity is governed. I mentioned last week that there's no such thing as independence in the way that we typically think about it. I mean, we do make choices. Our choices are our own, but we're all governed by something or someone. The choices that we make are determining the kind of person that we will become, which by the way, is the most important thing. Dallas Willard would put it this way. The most important thing in life is not what you do, it's who you become. That's what you will take into eternity.

What determines the choices that we make, which determine the kind of person that we are becoming? It is the voice that we listen to. The voice that we listen to will form and shape who we are becoming. What voice, I wonder, are you listening to?

What's interesting is that these folks don't have any choice but to listen to the wrong voice. They can't hear truth. It's like a language that they don't speak. Look at some of the things that Jesus says about them. You do what you heard from your father. You are doing the works your father did. Your will is to do your father's desire. See, none of them would have said, I'm obeying an evil force. In fact, they believe that they are God's children. They say, God's our father. But they, like Truman, were enslaved in bondage. It's not only that they had a father that they did not know about, they were following a voice that they could not hear. And so do we until we are rescued out of that darkness and that reality.

We will move in the direction of the voice that we listen to. Satan is tricky, deceitful, and cunning. Do you know what his strategy is? Jesus says he's a liar. He has been a liar from the beginning. And here's how Satan lies. He will be a deceiver. He'll try to make you think good things are bad and bad things are good. And he will accuse you. What's interesting about that is that as an accuser, Satan is a master at projecting onto you what is actually true about him. He wants you to believe that God doesn't want you to do this or that because he wants to keep something from you. What's actually true? Satan wants to keep something from you. He wants to keep you from knowing and experiencing his mortal enemy. He'll come and accuse you when you do fail and he'll say, I knew it. So did you. You're an impostor. You're a fraud. You're beyond the grasp of God's grace. That's true of Satan. He's always projecting onto you what is actually true about himself.

Now maybe some of you are thinking this is a little bit dramatic, that I'm hearing Satan's voice, but I want you to consider something for a second. In Ephesians two, Paul says that we're following the course of this world. That is a way of thinking and living and loving. He says, you're following something, but then he immediately follows up with this, following the prince of the power of the air. We're not just following something. We're following someone who is promoting something.

You are following the course of this world... following the prince of the power of the air. — Ephesians 2

In Romans chapter 12, he would call it the pattern of this world. He said, don't be pressed into its mold. Meaning, there is a mold that the world is getting pressed into. There's a way that the world thinks. Have you ever wondered where that's coming from? Why is it that everybody in the world kind of seems to think the same way, to have the same values, system of values? I'll tell you why. Because the course of the world, the pattern of this world, it is not the byproduct of a bunch of independent human actors.

It is a system of values, a way of thinking, living, and loving propagated by a spiritual father whose primary objective is to keep you blind, enslaved, and comfortable, desensitized, hypnotized, anesthetized. The course of this world is palliative care for would-be disciples. He's just keeping you comfortable on the way to your ultimate spiritual death. It's palliative care for would-be children who are presently blocked from a better father and a better voice.

There are two fathers who speak two voices. And finally, there are two futures. The voice that you listen to will land you on one of two paths that lead to two very real, but very different futures.

This passage we read from Deuteronomy says, "I set before you today life and death." Moses was saying, what are you gonna choose? Life or death?

Listen to how Jesus describes the two futures that are available to all mankind. Those who are under the rule and reign of Satan, even though they do not know it—here's how he describes that subjectively: darkness, slavery, death.

Let me pause here for a second. When I talk about your future and my future, I'm talking about eternity. But don't misunderstand that to only mean life after we die. I am talking about that, but that's not all that it is. I'm not just talking about the afterlife. I'm talking about after lunch. I'm talking about who you will be next week, next month, next year, in a decade—who we are becoming. Eternity starts now and our future starts now and goes on forever in one of two directions.

The subjective experience of those under Satan's rule and reign will be darkness and slavery. Moving through life not able to see life the way it was intended to be lived, to not understand truth, but also slavery. Like these women that we talked about last week in this cult who were in a prison without walls, in chains they could not see, bound up thinking they were making their own choices, but actually enslaved like Truman in Seahaven. That is our ultimate reality. And that road that we are on, it leads to death—forever death, eternal destruction, life apart from the one who made it and everything good forever.

There's another possibility. Jesus would describe it this way: light, freedom, and life. Light and freedom in this life. What does that mean? Light. I begin to see the world that God made through his eyes. I don't just see what he made through his eyes. I start to love what he loves and hate what he hates. I start to care about what he cares about. I start to see the value in actually applying this word to my life and doing it.

And Jesus says that when we live that way, it's the subjective experience of freedom, which he also is the living example of. Freedom, according to Jesus, is complete submission to the Father. And he says, when you live that way, the byproduct is joy.

When you remain in me, the byproduct is joy. — John 15

We think that self-denial means that we give up good things, that we give up the better things, but self-denial is actually freedom because it's bringing your life, your entire life, the way you think, the way you live, the way you act, your instincts under the one who created life, and he enables you to live that way. And that is freedom and joy. But then finally, that life, that path leads to eternal life, joy forever.

Two Goals

In keeping with this theme of twos, I want to let you know that I have two unapologetic goals for everyone here. First, for those of you who have not yet become God's children, my unashamed, unapologetic goal is that today you would be. That hopefully by God's grace, you would realize that you have been under the spell of a liar who means to destroy you, who does not want you to know that there is a better, different life out there. He wants to keep you trapped. He wants to keep you in prison. And my hope today is that the scales would fall off, that you would see, that you would come home.

Paul describes it this way: that you and I are born into one kingdom, but we need to be transferred into a new one.

He's delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. — Colossians 1

That's what's available: a new kingdom, new values, a new heart, a new ability to love him, obey him, and experience life the way he created it.

And here's the great news. You don't have to do anything. Jesus refers to this as the new birth. And I love that it's called the new birth because your part in the new birth is precisely what every birth is. You did not contribute to your birth, your physical birth. Babies—it is something that passively happens. But I want to tell you how you can notice it, because perhaps for some of you, the signs of the new birth are beginning even now.

If you're beginning to hear what I'm saying and God is stirring in your heart that maybe this might be true or you want this to be true, would you consider that perhaps God by His spirit is bringing you to life? Just like Truman in the show eventually sees cracks in this false reality, maybe there are cracks forming in your world right now. He's opening your eyes. He's bringing you to life. He's giving you a new birth.

Whose Voice Are You Listening To?

But finally, there's some of us here, perhaps the majority of us here who are already God's children. And I wanna close by sharing some thoughts with you. Whose voice are you listening to? See, here's the problem with being God's child. If you're Satan's child, you cannot hear God's voice. It's a language you don't speak. Once you become God's child, you hear both. Which one are you listening to?

Listen. The pattern of this world is in these pews right now. We are listening. We have the choice anyway to listen to God's voice or the devil's voice, to allow the pattern of this world to seep into my Christian walk and to pervert it.

Guys, there are treasures available to you and I, promises in God's word that we could taste if we would believe that they were true. Do you? Do you believe really that in His presence, there's fullness of joy at His right hand pleasures forevermore? I'm telling you, if you believe it, you'll pursue it.

Listen, if I said to you, there's a $100 in your backyard and it's right here, it's six feet down, all you have to do is dig. Would you dig? Maybe. But if you didn't, what would it reveal? You don't believe there's treasure down there. Do you believe God is lying?

There's a great scene in another Jim Carrey movie called Dumb and Dumber. And in this scene, they have taken a wrong turn. Do you know this scene? And one of the guys says, "I thought the Rockies would be rockier than this." And Jim Carrey says, "Yeah, that John Denver's dishonest." John Denver wasn't lying. They went the wrong way.

Are you digging? Some of you say, yes, and I've never tasted this. We shouldn't chase an experience. Guys, some of us are digging with a spoon for five minutes and then complaining that we haven't tasted anything. Treasures are just beneath the surface of your life if you and I would make space.

My fear is that for many of us, we will not taste the freedom that is available to us until we limp into glory. There is a kind of Christianity that Paul talks about where we ourselves are saved, but as those escaping through the flames. God, save us from that being our story. There is more available, and it's real and it's true if we would trade in our spoon for a shovel. What is holding you back? Is there something in your life that you're just not willing to do or let go of, or you're not willing to make space and time to experience it?

I wanna close with one more verse. Jeremiah 29:13 says this:

You will seek me and you will find me. When you seek me with your whole heart. — Jeremiah 29:13

Pause right here. That's a promise with a condition. I wonder how many of us have given up on the experience of God because we are half-hearted seekers, and there are no promises that I can find in the scriptures for those. Would you seek him today with your whole heart? There are treasures waiting.

Let's pray. Father, thank you. You are worth every ounce of energy that we might put forth to find treasure just beneath the surface. Whatever it costs, it's worth every bit and infinitely more to behold and treasure the King of Kings who came for me, breaking onto the set of my life to help me see my slavery. And when we understand that Jesus telling this crowd that they are under a father they don't know about is actually kindness and mercy because in that declaration is an invitation to be rescued, to be free, to be full.

I pray that that would happen today for the first time or the fiftieth time. If you need prayer, there are people in the back that would love to pray with you. Maybe you're coming home for the first time to become His child. Maybe you need to walk in your freedom that's been yours for a long time, but you've not experienced it. Or maybe you just wanna come to these rails upfront and deal with God. He will meet you here, friends. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.