1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,560 Well, would you open your Bibles, please, at Exodus 20, Romans 16, as we come today 2 00:00:05,560 –> 00:00:12,960 to the Ninth Commandment you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 3 00:00:12,960 –> 00:00:17,920 Now it’s good to remember that all of these commandments are a reflection of the character 4 00:00:17,920 –> 00:00:19,280 of God. 5 00:00:19,280 –> 00:00:22,840 And the Bible tells us that he is a God who keeps his promises. 6 00:00:22,840 –> 00:00:28,620 In fact, a God who cannot lie. 7 00:00:28,620 –> 00:00:33,459 And when we come into a relationship with this God, therefore, he calls us to reflect 8 00:00:33,459 –> 00:00:36,919 his character in the way that we live our lives. 9 00:00:36,919 –> 00:00:40,980 And that means that we are called to live life in a way that is characterized by the 10 00:00:40,980 –> 00:00:41,980 truth. 11 00:00:41,980 –> 00:00:47,040 Now strictly speaking, as you look at this ninth commandment, it is about the issue of 12 00:00:47,040 –> 00:00:48,840 perjury. 13 00:00:48,840 –> 00:00:56,020 That is the reality of standing up in a court and making false accusations, accusations 14 00:00:56,820 –> 00:00:58,700 to be true against somebody else. 15 00:00:58,700 –> 00:01:02,459 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 16 00:01:02,459 –> 00:01:07,599 Because remember, this is precisely what happened when the Lord Jesus was arrested and brought 17 00:01:07,599 –> 00:01:09,099 to trial. 18 00:01:09,099 –> 00:01:11,019 False witnesses were brought against him. 19 00:01:11,019 –> 00:01:16,059 They wanted to have him crucified and they were prepared to say whatever it would take 20 00:01:16,059 –> 00:01:18,660 to get what they wanted done. 21 00:01:18,980 –> 00:01:26,459 Now, most of us will never have committed perjury in court, and are not particularly 22 00:01:26,459 –> 00:01:29,019 likely to do so. 23 00:01:29,019 –> 00:01:33,660 But remember that each of these commandments is addressed not just to one sin, but to a 24 00:01:33,660 –> 00:01:35,599 whole category of sins. 25 00:01:35,599 –> 00:01:41,660 We’ve used the picture of each of these commands being like a railway track with stations all 26 00:01:41,739 –> 00:01:43,860 the way down the line. 27 00:01:43,860 –> 00:01:49,580 And the ninth commandment is, of course, simply the line of lying. 28 00:01:49,580 –> 00:01:53,860 Perjury in court is right down the end of that particular track, and you may never have 29 00:01:53,860 –> 00:01:56,900 been to that station. 30 00:01:56,900 –> 00:02:01,800 But all of us, again, have been somewhere on this line. 31 00:02:01,800 –> 00:02:05,839 We travel it far too frequently. 32 00:02:05,879 –> 00:02:12,740 The essence of lying, of course, is saying what will achieve the desired result irrespective 33 00:02:12,740 –> 00:02:14,179 of whether it is the truth. 34 00:02:14,179 –> 00:02:20,960 That’s the heart of lies, it’s saying what will achieve the result that I want, irrespective 35 00:02:20,960 –> 00:02:24,679 of whether what I say is actually the truth. 36 00:02:24,679 –> 00:02:28,479 And, of course, there are a number of different ways in which this can happen. 37 00:02:28,479 –> 00:02:31,440 One of them is flattery. 38 00:02:31,559 –> 00:02:40,139 Someone has said that flattery is saying to a person’s face what you would never say behind 39 00:02:40,139 –> 00:02:41,139 their back. 40 00:02:41,139 –> 00:02:43,179 You need to think about that one. 41 00:02:43,179 –> 00:02:44,580 But actually it’s true. 42 00:02:44,580 –> 00:02:50,440 Flattery is saying to someone’s face what you would never say behind their back. 43 00:02:50,440 –> 00:02:56,059 The desired result is that you want this person to like you, and so you say all kinds of flattering 44 00:02:56,059 –> 00:03:01,820 things to them even though they bear not reality, a resemblance to the truth. 45 00:03:01,820 –> 00:03:07,220 I love this story of the man who was introduced as a speaker after dinner in rather overglowing 46 00:03:07,220 –> 00:03:08,320 terms. 47 00:03:08,320 –> 00:03:13,399 The emcee said that he was the owner of an oil company operating in the North Sea and 48 00:03:13,399 –> 00:03:18,360 that he had turned in a 100 million dollar profit in his first month. 49 00:03:18,360 –> 00:03:23,220 And the man got up to speak and he said rather hesitantly that he had a few corrections to 50 00:03:23,419 –> 00:03:27,919 make to the introduction that had just been given, first he said it isn’t actually the 51 00:03:27,919 –> 00:03:32,899 North Sea, it’s the Caspian Sea and it’s not actually me that owns the company, it’s my 52 00:03:32,899 –> 00:03:39,899 father and the first month wasn’t a 100 million profit, it was a 100 million loss. 53 00:03:40,960 –> 00:03:42,479 Then there’s exaggerating. 54 00:03:42,479 –> 00:03:48,740 Exaggerating because you want to impress and so you overstate what you’ve said or what 55 00:03:48,740 –> 00:03:52,380 you did or the part that you had in a particular triumph. 56 00:03:52,860 –> 00:03:57,979 Or exaggerating because you want sympathy and because you want to gain someone else’s 57 00:03:57,979 –> 00:04:02,779 sympathy, you overstate a wrong that was done to you because you want another person to 58 00:04:02,779 –> 00:04:05,220 feel sorry for you. 59 00:04:05,220 –> 00:04:12,220 Lying is saying whatever achieves a desired result irrespective of the question of truth. 60 00:04:12,220 –> 00:04:17,720 And of course, it goes to the whole issue of gossiping as well, a way of doing such 61 00:04:17,720 –> 00:04:20,420 damage to a neighbor. 62 00:04:20,420 –> 00:04:25,519 Passing on news about another person that may or may not be true. 63 00:04:25,519 –> 00:04:35,660 Someone has likened gossip to ripping open a feather pillow outside on a windy day. 64 00:04:35,660 –> 00:04:41,040 And you see, once the feathers have blown in the wind, there’s no way in all the world 65 00:04:41,040 –> 00:04:47,059 that you’re ever going to be able to capture them back again. 66 00:04:47,100 –> 00:04:48,820 So there are many versions of lying. 67 00:04:48,820 –> 00:04:54,059 We all occupy this track too frequently. 68 00:04:54,059 –> 00:04:58,459 And the reason, of course, that we are so prone to lying in one of these different forms 69 00:04:58,459 –> 00:05:04,459 is that we are more deeply committed to ourselves than we are to the truth. 70 00:05:04,459 –> 00:05:08,059 The reality is that we often hide from the truth. 71 00:05:08,059 –> 00:05:14,339 We fail to see things about ourselves that others see in us simply because the truth 72 00:05:14,339 –> 00:05:20,779 never puts any of us in a pure light, and because the truth, the whole truth, never 73 00:05:20,779 –> 00:05:25,899 puts any of us in a completely pure light, there is always something within us that wants 74 00:05:25,899 –> 00:05:28,779 to retreat from it. 75 00:05:28,779 –> 00:05:32,100 So this morning, I want to map out two roads. 76 00:05:32,100 –> 00:05:36,959 The first we’re going to call the broad road of deception, and the second we are going 77 00:05:36,959 –> 00:05:40,600 to call the narrow path of truth. 78 00:05:40,600 –> 00:05:44,059 First, then the broad road of deception. 79 00:05:44,059 –> 00:05:50,519 The Bible makes it very clear that the entire human race has fallen into the grip of a lie. 80 00:05:50,519 –> 00:05:59,220 In fact, the whole Bible story is the unfolding, and then, the exposing of one massive deception. 81 00:05:59,220 –> 00:06:06,059 The Bible story begins with a lie in the garden, it ends in Revelation chapter 21, with all 82 00:06:06,059 –> 00:06:12,619 liars being destroyed in the lake of fire, and at the center is Jesus Christ who says, 83 00:06:13,540 –> 00:06:20,619 Lies always have a source, and if you turn over to John chapter 8, which was read to us, 84 00:06:20,619 –> 00:06:24,720 you’ll see there that Satan is the father of lies. 85 00:06:24,720 –> 00:06:27,000 Jesus says in John 8, verse 44, 86 00:06:42,679 –> 00:06:44,320 lies. 87 00:06:44,320 –> 00:06:50,359 The problem with all forms of lying, of course, is that they are precisely a reflection of 88 00:06:50,359 –> 00:06:53,619 the character of the enemy. 89 00:06:53,619 –> 00:06:59,779 That is why lying comes number two in the list of things that God hates in the book 90 00:06:59,779 –> 00:07:04,299 of Proverbs, second only to pride, which of course is the Devil’s first sin. 91 00:07:04,299 –> 00:07:10,559 I want us to notice then two ways in which the father of all lies, the source of all 92 00:07:10,760 –> 00:07:16,880 deviation from the truth, leads people down the broad road of deception, and the first 93 00:07:16,880 –> 00:07:21,600 is, of course, that he questions the reality of truth. 94 00:07:21,600 –> 00:07:25,140 This was his very first strategy when he tempted Eve in the garden. 95 00:07:25,140 –> 00:07:27,799 You remember Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. 96 00:07:27,799 –> 00:07:32,720 Did God really say? 97 00:07:32,720 –> 00:07:34,799 Can you really know what God says? 98 00:07:34,799 –> 00:07:39,220 This is his first route to deceiving us. 99 00:07:39,220 –> 00:07:45,220 This really is a question, he would say, can anyone in the 21st century really know the 100 00:07:45,220 –> 00:07:46,220 truth? 101 00:07:46,220 –> 00:07:49,239 Is there any such thing as truth? 102 00:07:49,239 –> 00:07:51,700 This is his native language. 103 00:07:51,700 –> 00:07:58,640 And, of course, it shouldn’t surprise us then that in the fullness of time when God comes 104 00:07:58,640 –> 00:08:06,420 into the world in the person of Jesus Christ, he stands before a man called Pontius Pilate 105 00:08:06,420 –> 00:08:11,040 and Jesus says to him, for this reason I came into the world, for this reason I was born, 106 00:08:11,040 –> 00:08:14,220 to testify to the truth. 107 00:08:14,220 –> 00:08:22,820 And Pilate looks at him and shrugs his shoulders and says, what is truth? 108 00:08:22,820 –> 00:08:27,899 Now you see you have the fundamental clash of two worldviews that are fighting it out 109 00:08:27,899 –> 00:08:31,940 even within our society today, right there. 110 00:08:31,940 –> 00:08:36,179 Jesus is saying there is such a thing as truth. 111 00:08:36,619 –> 00:08:40,979 It flows from God who is truth, and it is found in me. 112 00:08:40,979 –> 00:08:48,500 I am the truth and Pilate lives in the raw world of harsh power. 113 00:08:48,500 –> 00:08:49,780 He’s a politician. 114 00:08:49,780 –> 00:08:55,780 He knows the people in this world say what they like to get what they want. 115 00:08:55,780 –> 00:08:56,979 That is the way of the world. 116 00:08:56,979 –> 00:08:58,340 He has become so used to it. 117 00:08:58,340 –> 00:09:00,159 He cannot imagine anything else. 118 00:09:00,159 –> 00:09:06,099 And he has come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as truth, only power, only 119 00:09:06,159 –> 00:09:11,760 spin, only words that are being used to get what people want. 120 00:09:11,760 –> 00:09:17,059 And so he shrugs his shoulders and he says, what is truth? 121 00:09:17,059 –> 00:09:20,559 Pilate has no place for truth. 122 00:09:20,559 –> 00:09:24,479 And if there is no place for truth in a society, there is no place for Jesus. 123 00:09:24,479 –> 00:09:29,559 And so they led him away to crucify him. 124 00:09:29,559 –> 00:09:32,900 They crucified the truth. 125 00:09:33,580 –> 00:09:41,539 Now, this is a huge issue for us at the beginning of the 21st Century in the Western world. 126 00:09:41,539 –> 00:09:48,380 See, if, as is being increasingly taught in this postmodern society in our universities 127 00:09:48,380 –> 00:09:57,599 and among our philosophers, if a person cannot know the truth then a person cannot be expected 128 00:09:57,599 –> 00:10:02,159 to tell the truth. 129 00:10:02,159 –> 00:10:09,179 If there is no such thing as objective truth – and what is called truth is really only 130 00:10:09,179 –> 00:10:14,900 a matter of personal opinion, after all – if there is no objective standard against which 131 00:10:14,900 –> 00:10:22,419 to measure our personal opinions, that means that ultimately the most powerful opinion 132 00:10:22,419 –> 00:10:24,140 wins. 133 00:10:24,140 –> 00:10:26,119 And that’s the law of the jungle. 134 00:10:26,119 –> 00:10:27,119 Right? 135 00:10:27,859 –> 00:10:29,260 It says what Satan does. 136 00:10:29,260 –> 00:10:34,580 By undermining truth, he takes us from the garden to the jungle. 137 00:10:34,580 –> 00:10:39,679 Once you lose objective truth, which you do as soon as you discard God from society because 138 00:10:39,679 –> 00:10:44,960 all truth flows from Him, is that you end up in a world in which there is only power, 139 00:10:44,960 –> 00:10:54,799 only power, only opinion, and the most powerful opinion wins. 140 00:10:54,960 –> 00:11:01,460 So this is Satan’s first strategy, taking us down the broad road of deception, questioning 141 00:11:01,460 –> 00:11:04,900 the very possibility of truth. 142 00:11:06,159 –> 00:11:11,940 Secondly, he operates by keeping people from grasping the truth. 143 00:11:11,940 –> 00:11:17,739 The fundamental human problem the Bible makes clear is that we are trapped in a delusion. 144 00:11:17,739 –> 00:11:19,780 Notice John 8, 43. 145 00:11:20,359 –> 00:11:24,679 Why is my language not clear to you Jesus says? 146 00:11:24,700 –> 00:11:29,020 Because you’re unable to hear what I say. 147 00:11:29,020 –> 00:11:36,460 You’re unable to hear what I say, Jesus said. 148 00:11:36,460 –> 00:11:40,659 Paul makes the same point when he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 149 00:11:40,659 –> 00:11:44,900 that the God of this world has blinded the eyes of those who do not believe so that they 150 00:11:45,659 –> 00:11:49,859 to a knowledge of the Truth. 151 00:11:49,859 –> 00:11:53,119 So there is a blindfold over human eyes. 152 00:11:53,119 –> 00:11:58,739 That our earmuffs over human ears. 153 00:11:58,739 –> 00:12:03,760 And the only way that any of us human beings is going to come and see and to hear the Truth 154 00:12:03,760 –> 00:12:10,320 of God is if someone can come into this Kingdom of Darkness like a great raider, take off 155 00:12:10,400 –> 00:12:15,760 the blindfolds, take off the earmuffs and lead us out of this darkness of deception 156 00:12:15,760 –> 00:12:17,719 and into His Marvelous Light. 157 00:12:17,719 –> 00:12:21,320 And this is precisely why Jesus Christ has come into the world. 158 00:12:21,320 –> 00:12:27,119 He is the light of the world, and he says here in John 8 that His Truth sets people 159 00:12:27,119 –> 00:12:28,919 free. 160 00:12:28,919 –> 00:12:35,919 You say well if human beings naturally can’t see the Truth, and Jesus says that they can’t 161 00:12:36,919 –> 00:12:43,520 hear the truth. 162 00:12:43,520 –> 00:12:47,739 What is the point in speaking the Truth? 163 00:12:47,739 –> 00:12:51,099 What is the point in teaching the Bible? 164 00:12:51,099 –> 00:12:56,440 What is the point of anything if the natural human condition is that folks can’t hear and 165 00:12:56,440 –> 00:12:57,440 can’t see? 166 00:12:57,440 –> 00:12:59,919 And here’s the answer. 167 00:12:59,940 –> 00:13:08,520 The Spirit of God creates the capacity to hear the Word of God through the Word of 168 00:13:08,520 –> 00:13:09,520 God. 169 00:13:09,520 –> 00:13:11,679 That’s worth writing down and remembering. 170 00:13:11,679 –> 00:13:17,820 It’s a huge, important piece as to why we engage in the work of evangelism. 171 00:13:17,820 –> 00:13:25,479 The Spirit of God creates the capacity to hear the Word of God through the Word of 172 00:13:25,479 –> 00:13:27,440 God. 173 00:13:27,440 –> 00:13:29,440 Faith comes by hearing. 174 00:13:29,440 –> 00:13:34,619 You say, but the big question is how does hearing come? 175 00:13:34,619 –> 00:13:40,880 Hearing comes by the Word of God. 176 00:13:40,880 –> 00:13:48,640 It is the entrance of God’s Word that gives light, the psalmist says. 177 00:13:48,640 –> 00:13:55,500 That is, you see, why so many people come to faith in Jesus through a Bible study. 178 00:13:55,500 –> 00:13:58,159 The entrance of God’s Word gives light. 179 00:13:58,159 –> 00:14:04,080 Faith comes by hearing and the capacity of hearing comes by the Word of God. 180 00:14:04,080 –> 00:14:09,239 The power of the delusion is broken by the setting free of the truth. 181 00:14:09,239 –> 00:14:16,460 Now you see, that is why Satan hates the preaching of the Word of God. 182 00:14:16,460 –> 00:14:22,739 If he can lure the church away from the preaching of the Word of God in a central position, 183 00:14:22,739 –> 00:14:23,739 he will be well-pleased. 184 00:14:24,059 –> 00:14:31,859 So the pressure will always be on pastors to become entertainers or counselors or administrators 185 00:14:31,859 –> 00:14:36,179 or anything other than folks who preach and teach the Word of God. 186 00:14:36,179 –> 00:14:42,140 Paul says the time will come in the last days when people will gather around them, people 187 00:14:42,140 –> 00:14:47,400 who will say whatever they’re itching ears want to hear. 188 00:14:47,400 –> 00:14:52,219 But if the Bible is preached, then Satan has to resort to plan B. 189 00:14:52,280 –> 00:14:57,200 Because the great danger is if the truth is coming to you, it may create within you the 190 00:14:57,200 –> 00:14:59,119 capacity of hearing and seeing. 191 00:14:59,119 –> 00:15:01,260 And you may embrace the truth and be saved. 192 00:15:01,260 –> 00:15:03,140 And that’s what he wants to stop happening. 193 00:15:03,140 –> 00:15:04,400 So what does he do then. 194 00:15:04,400 –> 00:15:07,799 When the seed of the Word of God goes out, Jesus says this is what he does. 195 00:15:07,799 –> 00:15:12,940 He’s like a bird coming and picking all the seed off the pathway and taking it away. 196 00:15:12,940 –> 00:15:17,539 Out of your mind, out of your memory, out of your sight, so that you will not believe 197 00:15:17,539 –> 00:15:18,840 and be saved. 198 00:15:19,659 –> 00:15:23,299 This is the broad road of deception. 199 00:15:23,320 –> 00:15:27,200 This is where the enemy is always active. 200 00:15:27,200 –> 00:15:37,119 And this is how he does his work, questioning the truth and keeping you from grasping the 201 00:15:37,119 –> 00:15:38,960 truth. 202 00:15:38,960 –> 00:15:46,900 Now let’s move quickly then from the broad road of deception to the narrow path of truth. 203 00:15:46,940 –> 00:15:51,280 I hope you have your Bibles still open at John Chapter 8. 204 00:15:51,280 –> 00:15:57,719 I want us to grasp this morning how the truth works in a person’s life. 205 00:15:57,719 –> 00:16:04,919 So please look with me at John Chapter 8 in verse 31 and 32. 206 00:16:04,919 –> 00:16:09,960 To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, 207 00:16:10,619 –> 00:16:15,340 If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. 208 00:16:15,340 –> 00:16:18,080 And then you will know the truth. 209 00:16:18,080 –> 00:16:22,659 And the truth will set you free. 210 00:16:22,659 –> 00:16:29,000 Now notice that Jesus sets out four dimensions of living in the truth. 211 00:16:29,000 –> 00:16:35,059 It’s very interesting to me that most often half of this verse, and only half of it, is quoted. 212 00:16:35,059 –> 00:16:39,559 But if we were to take the Word of God seriously as we want to do here this morning, 213 00:16:39,880 –> 00:16:43,380 there are four dimensions to living in the truth. 214 00:16:43,380 –> 00:16:52,460 They are believing, obeying, seeing and releasing. 215 00:16:52,460 –> 00:16:57,260 Believing, obeying, seeing and releasing. 216 00:16:57,260 –> 00:16:59,280 Do you see them there in this verse? 217 00:16:59,280 –> 00:17:03,979 He speaks to Jews who had believed in Him. 218 00:17:03,979 –> 00:17:08,239 Now these are folks who today we would probably call seekers. 219 00:17:08,280 –> 00:17:14,439 Folks who are drawn to Jesus and are listening to His words, good thing. 220 00:17:14,439 –> 00:17:20,079 And Jesus wants these folks to know what the truth can do in their lives and how it might 221 00:17:20,079 –> 00:17:21,800 happen. 222 00:17:21,800 –> 00:17:28,400 And so He says to these folks, now here’s what it is, if you hold to My teaching. 223 00:17:28,400 –> 00:17:31,479 Literally if you continue in My word. 224 00:17:31,479 –> 00:17:37,599 If you take what you’re hearing and you apply it and you do it, then you are really 225 00:17:37,599 –> 00:17:40,479 My disciples. 226 00:17:40,479 –> 00:17:44,520 Notice He says then, you will know the truth. 227 00:17:44,520 –> 00:17:49,400 Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. 228 00:17:49,400 –> 00:17:52,439 So you see the order in which these things come. 229 00:17:52,439 –> 00:18:01,160 Believing, that leads to obeying, which as I obey leads to seeing and in turn leads to 230 00:18:01,160 –> 00:18:02,160 releasing. 231 00:18:02,160 –> 00:18:06,180 The truth will set you free, which in turn strengthens my faith and goes through the 232 00:18:06,180 –> 00:18:07,439 cycle again. 233 00:18:07,479 –> 00:18:11,239 These things that God has joined together, we can never take apart. 234 00:18:11,239 –> 00:18:18,160 The problem I think for many in evangelical churches is that we have developed a view 235 00:18:18,160 –> 00:18:22,119 of believing that has nothing to do with obeying, nothing to do with seeing and nothing to do 236 00:18:22,119 –> 00:18:23,119 with releasing. 237 00:18:23,119 –> 00:18:26,640 And that is not biblical faith. 238 00:18:26,640 –> 00:18:30,219 What God has joined together, no one should separate. 239 00:18:30,219 –> 00:18:32,959 This is what it means to live in the truth. 240 00:18:32,959 –> 00:18:36,079 Some people come and listen to a few words of Jesus, they are accepting them. 241 00:18:36,140 –> 00:18:39,780 Jesus is saying this is good, but here’s what you have to understand living in the truth 242 00:18:39,780 –> 00:18:43,060 is all about, it’s a fourfold thing, it’s believing. 243 00:18:43,060 –> 00:18:51,160 It’s not only believing, it’s obeying, and from that comes seeing, seeing yourself, seeing 244 00:18:51,160 –> 00:18:56,920 and understanding at a new and a different level, and releasing. 245 00:18:56,920 –> 00:19:04,280 I came across a marvelous illustration of this some years ago in a book called Out of 246 00:19:05,040 –> 00:19:07,680 Saltshaker by Rebecca Manley Peppart. 247 00:19:07,680 –> 00:19:08,680 Anyone remember that book? 248 00:19:08,680 –> 00:19:12,939 Great, great book on evangelism. 249 00:19:12,939 –> 00:19:18,479 Becky Peppart tells the story of how as an evangelist in colleges with InterVarsity Fellowship 250 00:19:18,479 –> 00:19:24,839 she was trying to help a student called Sue, who wanted to come to faith, but she said 251 00:19:24,839 –> 00:19:27,500 she couldn’t because she had so many questions. 252 00:19:27,500 –> 00:19:32,920 So Becky suggested that Sue should read the Bible, that she should tell God that she would 253 00:19:33,000 –> 00:19:39,000 follow Him if only she could be more sure and that she ought to attempt to do what she 254 00:19:39,000 –> 00:19:41,540 clearly saw in the Bible. 255 00:19:41,540 –> 00:19:46,060 Well, Sue started doing this and one morning she was reading from Luke’s gospel and found 256 00:19:46,060 –> 00:19:53,579 the words of Jesus, if someone steals your coat, don’t let him have only that but let 257 00:19:53,579 –> 00:19:56,500 him have your cloak as well. 258 00:19:56,500 –> 00:20:02,400 Well, she thought that was a little strange and packed up a Bible and later that day went 259 00:20:02,439 –> 00:20:08,699 to the library where she was working at her assigned desk on her thesis. 260 00:20:08,699 –> 00:20:12,199 And as she was getting her books out, some guy came up to her saying that he had not 261 00:20:12,199 –> 00:20:18,180 been assigned a desk in the library and that he was taking hers. 262 00:20:18,180 –> 00:20:25,739 She says, I thought to myself, God, I want to know if you’re real but is there any way 263 00:20:25,739 –> 00:20:30,920 of doing it other than this verse. 264 00:20:30,920 –> 00:20:36,520 She says, I took a deep breath, tried not to swear and said, okay, you can have the 265 00:20:36,520 –> 00:20:38,660 desk. 266 00:20:38,660 –> 00:20:43,540 At this point, the librarian came up and marched the two of them out to resolve the problem 267 00:20:43,540 –> 00:20:45,479 because she had heard some initial arguing. 268 00:20:45,479 –> 00:20:50,880 The result was that after deliberations Sue got her desk back and the guy had another 269 00:20:50,880 –> 00:20:52,319 one assigned. 270 00:20:52,319 –> 00:20:54,680 And after it was all over, here’s the fascinating thing. 271 00:20:54,680 –> 00:21:00,479 The guy said to her, why did you say that I could have your desk? 272 00:21:01,380 –> 00:21:10,699 And she said, you’re gonna think I’m really flipped. 273 00:21:10,699 –> 00:21:13,119 But here’s the reason. 274 00:21:13,119 –> 00:21:23,020 I’m trying to discover if Jesus is real and so I’m attempting to do the things that he 275 00:21:23,020 –> 00:21:29,800 said and this morning I read if someone steals from you, give it to him. 276 00:21:29,880 –> 00:21:35,160 To which he said, why on earth would Jesus say such a crazy thing? 277 00:21:35,160 –> 00:21:44,300 And she said, well all I know from having read the Bible is that if you’d let him, he’d 278 00:21:44,300 –> 00:21:47,000 give you a lot more than a lousy desk. 279 00:21:47,319 –> 00:22:00,300 Then she says, as I said these words, I just simply knew that it was all true. 280 00:22:00,300 –> 00:22:12,280 See the pattern, believing leads to obeying, that results in seeing, that leads to releasing. 281 00:22:13,140 –> 00:22:16,180 It leads to releasing. 282 00:22:16,180 –> 00:22:23,160 See that is why the Apostle Paul prays for believers in Ephesians that the eyes of your 283 00:22:23,160 –> 00:22:25,319 heart may be enlightened. 284 00:22:25,319 –> 00:22:28,079 Why would the Apostle pray that for Christians? 285 00:22:28,079 –> 00:22:30,979 Why is he praying for Christians to see? 286 00:22:30,979 –> 00:22:36,199 He’s praying that you will know the hope to which you have been called, that you’ll 287 00:22:36,199 –> 00:22:42,140 know the riches of the inheritance that are yours in Christ, that you will know his incomparably 288 00:22:42,180 –> 00:22:43,219 great power. 289 00:22:43,219 –> 00:22:46,780 The reason he’s praying that kind of thing is that there are a lot of people in church 290 00:22:46,780 –> 00:22:52,339 world who say they believe and have no idea of the eternal riches of Christ, no grasp 291 00:22:52,339 –> 00:22:58,180 of his great power, no sense of glorious and victorious hope. 292 00:22:58,180 –> 00:23:00,459 Why is that? 293 00:23:00,459 –> 00:23:07,040 Because we’ve become stuck on a kind of believing that never gets to obeying. 294 00:23:07,739 –> 00:23:12,280 And what remains, therefore, is just a notional faith. 295 00:23:12,280 –> 00:23:17,680 I believe in God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but if that’s it, what difference 296 00:23:17,680 –> 00:23:20,020 will that make? 297 00:23:20,020 –> 00:23:30,160 See, if you don’t translate what you hear into what you do, it is of no benefit to you. 298 00:23:30,160 –> 00:23:33,359 Living the truth is dynamic. 299 00:23:33,359 –> 00:23:34,880 You find this all over the Gospels. 300 00:23:34,880 –> 00:23:38,500 Look at it, just a few verses before in John chapter eight and verse 12. 301 00:23:38,500 –> 00:23:44,239 Jesus says, I am the light of the world and whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness 302 00:23:44,239 –> 00:23:45,920 but will have the light of life. 303 00:23:45,920 –> 00:23:48,040 Marvelous statement but what is He saying? 304 00:23:48,040 –> 00:23:57,800 He’s saying the only way to have the light is to follow the light. 305 00:23:57,800 –> 00:24:03,300 Jesus is making it clear surely that there are many seekers who hear His word and believe 306 00:24:03,300 –> 00:24:09,839 it and yet never become His disciples and that faith that does not show itself in obedience 307 00:24:09,839 –> 00:24:12,359 is hollow, it does not last. 308 00:24:12,359 –> 00:24:16,699 By the way, just look to the end of the chapter and see where these people who believed and 309 00:24:16,699 –> 00:24:21,160 didn’t obey and therefore never saw and were never released ended up. 310 00:24:21,160 –> 00:24:28,079 Jesus goes on teaching them and at the end verse 59 at this, they picked up stones to 311 00:24:28,079 –> 00:24:29,219 stone him. 312 00:24:29,219 –> 00:24:31,719 Isn’t that interesting? 313 00:24:31,719 –> 00:24:37,020 The believers did that. 314 00:24:37,020 –> 00:24:44,119 You see seekers who are drawn to Jesus but do not come to the place of obeying Jesus 315 00:24:44,119 –> 00:24:50,880 always end up being angry with Jesus. 316 00:24:50,880 –> 00:24:54,239 We must not separate what God has put together. 317 00:24:54,239 –> 00:24:59,239 Believing, obeying, seeing, and releasing. 318 00:24:59,239 –> 00:25:01,459 That’s the way of living the truth. 319 00:25:01,459 –> 00:25:04,719 That’s authentic Christianity. 320 00:25:04,719 –> 00:25:11,079 A disciple of Jesus is someone who does what he says. 321 00:25:11,079 –> 00:25:16,160 That’s the evidence of faith that we begin to walk down that path. 322 00:25:16,160 –> 00:25:19,819 Becky Pippett in the book that I mentioned has a brilliant picture. 323 00:25:19,819 –> 00:25:24,660 She says faith is like a door into a new life. 324 00:25:24,660 –> 00:25:30,760 The problem, she says, is that some folks have turned it into a revolving door that 325 00:25:30,760 –> 00:25:36,140 brings them back out into the same life that they left so that what they call faith never 326 00:25:36,140 –> 00:25:38,219 makes any difference to life. 327 00:25:38,219 –> 00:25:44,660 If your faith is a revolving door, and it leaves you with an unchanged life, it is not 328 00:25:44,660 –> 00:25:47,800 saving faith. 329 00:25:47,920 –> 00:25:54,599 Christ calls us not just to believe the truth, but to live the truth. 330 00:25:54,599 –> 00:25:59,560 What God has joined together, let us never separate. 331 00:25:59,560 –> 00:26:06,239 And secondly, I want to say something pastorally about speaking the truth. 332 00:26:06,239 –> 00:26:13,119 The narrow path of truth we are to walk on, it’s not just believing, it’s obeying, 333 00:26:13,520 –> 00:26:15,979 that leads to seeing and leads to releasing. 334 00:26:15,979 –> 00:26:21,479 And when we’re on that path, we are called to speak the truth. 335 00:26:21,479 –> 00:26:28,239 Our emphasis in this whole series is on keeping the commandments, so instead of giving false 336 00:26:29,479 –> 00:26:35,319 witness against our neighbour, clearly God is calling us to walk this narrow path in 337 00:26:35,319 –> 00:26:38,400 which we give true witness for our neighbour. 338 00:26:39,000 –> 00:26:46,380 That means of course that Christians are committed to speaking the truth. 339 00:26:46,380 –> 00:26:52,319 Now what does it mean to bear a true witness towards your neighbour? 340 00:26:54,000 –> 00:26:57,680 What does it mean for evangelism? 341 00:26:57,680 –> 00:27:03,380 What does it mean to speak the truth in relationships that we have within the body of Christ? 342 00:27:03,380 –> 00:27:10,239 This is a critically important question for the practicalities of our lives. 343 00:27:10,239 –> 00:27:16,520 Now I want simply to give some pastoral counsel on how this is to be done 344 00:27:16,520 –> 00:27:21,219 Because some Christians, it seems to me, have become confused 345 00:27:21,219 –> 00:27:27,040 about what is appropriate when it comes to speaking the truth. 346 00:27:27,079 –> 00:27:31,739 what is appropriate when it comes to speaking the truth. 347 00:27:31,739 –> 00:27:36,640 It is possible to abuse the truth. 348 00:27:36,640 –> 00:27:44,239 Folks who do this, I call truth terrorists, truth terrorists. 349 00:27:44,239 –> 00:27:51,040 You see, a terrorist is someone who seeks to destroy. 350 00:27:51,040 –> 00:27:59,800 A truth terrorist is someone who uses the truth in a way that destroys. 351 00:27:59,800 –> 00:28:04,280 And there are two types of truth terrorists, and you need to watch out for them. 352 00:28:04,280 –> 00:28:10,119 And we need to make sure that we don’t become like them. 353 00:28:10,119 –> 00:28:18,660 One who is simply naive, and the other who often becomes brutal. 354 00:28:18,780 –> 00:28:25,599 One who in holding to truth forgets the doctrine of sin and another who in embracing the truth 355 00:28:25,599 –> 00:28:28,060 forgets the calling to love. 356 00:28:28,060 –> 00:28:31,540 Let me illustrate the two for you. 357 00:28:31,540 –> 00:28:40,479 Early in his career as a musician, my father in law was approached by one of his colleagues 358 00:28:40,479 –> 00:28:41,479 at work. 359 00:28:41,479 –> 00:28:44,500 A musician in the orchestra. 360 00:28:44,500 –> 00:28:52,300 And invited to join a group that his friend described as a truth group. 361 00:28:52,300 –> 00:28:56,699 The idea was that the group would be entirely open with each other that they would commit 362 00:28:56,699 –> 00:29:02,699 to meeting together regularly and the single rule of the group would be that they would 363 00:29:02,699 –> 00:29:08,780 speak the truth the whole truth and nothing but. 364 00:29:08,780 –> 00:29:10,079 The truth. 365 00:29:10,280 –> 00:29:13,119 It was marvelous right. 366 00:29:13,119 –> 00:29:20,880 His colleagues said to him this is going to be a psychological experiment and it is going 367 00:29:20,880 –> 00:29:25,699 to be fascinating to see what happens. 368 00:29:25,699 –> 00:29:29,959 Well my father-in-law told him that he had absolutely no interest whatsoever in such 369 00:29:29,959 –> 00:29:36,219 a group and told his friend that he regarded the idea as extremely dangerous. 370 00:29:36,219 –> 00:29:39,619 Well you want to know what happened? 371 00:29:40,099 –> 00:29:45,699 There were five couples who made up the group. 372 00:29:45,699 –> 00:29:52,939 One of the wives in the group was a doctor who happened to be stunningly beautiful. 373 00:29:52,939 –> 00:29:56,500 So with a commitment to telling the whole truth it wasn’t long before several members 374 00:29:56,500 –> 00:30:02,560 of the group began to share some of their thoughts about her, which led some of their 375 00:30:02,560 –> 00:30:08,780 wives to share some of their thoughts about her too, if you see what I mean. 376 00:30:08,780 –> 00:30:11,479 You can imagine what happened. 377 00:30:11,479 –> 00:30:21,119 Within one year, every one of these five marriages had ended, including the doctors, who ended 378 00:30:21,119 –> 00:30:24,040 up with someone else in the group. 379 00:30:24,040 –> 00:30:29,739 Now, what’s the problem here? 380 00:30:29,739 –> 00:30:39,339 The problem is naivety, not taking account of the reality of sin. 381 00:30:39,339 –> 00:30:45,739 Some of the truth about you, and some of the truth about me, is ugly. 382 00:30:45,739 –> 00:30:50,140 And there is only one place to go with that, and that is to the cross, and to the blood 383 00:30:50,140 –> 00:30:53,660 of Jesus. 384 00:30:53,660 –> 00:30:59,780 I have found great wisdom in the writings of Larry Crabb, and I want to quote just a 385 00:30:59,780 –> 00:31:03,060 couple of sentences today because I found this so helpful. 386 00:31:03,060 –> 00:31:08,219 He is a Christian counselor, many of us will know his name, who does, in my view, an excellent 387 00:31:08,219 –> 00:31:10,180 job of taking the Bible seriously. 388 00:31:10,180 –> 00:31:16,719 He has a book entitled Encouragement, which deals with building authentic relationships, 389 00:31:16,719 –> 00:31:21,699 an issue that is spoken about, perhaps more than any other, in the church today. 390 00:31:21,699 –> 00:31:28,420 One of his chapters is entitled Total Openness, the Wrong Solution. 391 00:31:28,420 –> 00:31:37,739 This is what he says, the emphasis on sharing in many churches often misses the meaning 392 00:31:37,739 –> 00:31:43,040 of koinonia, our shared in life in Christ. 393 00:31:43,040 –> 00:31:49,560 Then he adds, any group of people, whether married couples, friends, church staff, or 394 00:31:49,560 –> 00:31:56,859 bible study groups will run into serious trouble if they emphasize self disclosure 395 00:31:56,859 –> 00:32:00,959 and emotional expression as premium values. 396 00:32:00,959 –> 00:32:06,339 Now he’s not saying that there is no place for these things, there clearly is, but it 397 00:32:06,339 –> 00:32:08,859 needs to be used with great wisdom. 398 00:32:08,859 –> 00:32:12,160 What he’s saying, hear it so we don’t miss the point here. 399 00:32:12,160 –> 00:32:16,979 He’s saying any group will run into serious trouble if they emphasize self disclosure 400 00:32:16,979 –> 00:32:19,859 and emotional expression as premium values. 401 00:32:19,859 –> 00:32:26,119 If that’s what the group becomes centrally about the group will be in trouble. 402 00:32:26,119 –> 00:32:32,160 When self expression becomes more important than Christ-centeredness, it will not be long 403 00:32:32,160 –> 00:32:38,219 before there are significant problems and I think that that is a word that is desperately 404 00:32:38,219 –> 00:32:43,579 needed to be heard very broadly in church world today. 405 00:32:43,579 –> 00:32:49,520 It is important to measure the appropriateness of what we share. 406 00:32:49,520 –> 00:32:56,119 Ephesians 4, 29, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what 407 00:32:56,119 –> 00:33:02,699 is helpful for building up others in accordance to their needs, that it may benefit those 408 00:33:02,699 –> 00:33:06,699 who listen.” 409 00:33:06,699 –> 00:33:13,880 And there is a place, you see, for me to share a burden, a sin, a confession with another 410 00:33:13,880 –> 00:33:20,400 person, but I need to measure the ability of that person to handle what I share before 411 00:33:20,400 –> 00:33:25,160 I do it. 412 00:33:25,160 –> 00:33:30,619 The second type of truth terrorist is the one who uses the truth to blast other people, 413 00:33:30,619 –> 00:33:33,579 either in evangelism or in confrontation. 414 00:33:34,319 –> 00:33:36,739 You ever met this kind of truth terrorist? 415 00:33:36,739 –> 00:33:39,040 So destructive. 416 00:33:39,040 –> 00:33:44,719 Some people love confrontation, and they love confrontation so much that they use the truth 417 00:33:44,719 –> 00:33:46,180 as a reason to have more of it. 418 00:33:46,180 –> 00:33:47,859 You know this kind of person? 419 00:33:47,859 –> 00:33:48,859 Gun’s blazing. 420 00:33:48,859 –> 00:33:51,859 I just told him the truth. 421 00:33:51,859 –> 00:33:53,880 You know? 422 00:33:53,880 –> 00:34:01,699 As they explain with pleasure how they gave another person a piece of their mind. 423 00:34:02,160 –> 00:34:08,159 Now remember that the Ten Commandments are an exposition of what it really means to love. 424 00:34:08,159 –> 00:34:13,659 That is why the New Testament, of course, exhorts us to speak the tuth in love. 425 00:34:13,659 –> 00:34:17,620 We can never separate what God has joined together. 426 00:34:17,620 –> 00:34:24,979 I am to speak the truth in a way that, as best I can judge, will be in the interests 427 00:34:24,979 –> 00:34:28,020 of the person who hears. 428 00:34:28,060 –> 00:34:33,020 Now that means if I’m thinking of the interest of the person who hears, there will be some 429 00:34:33,020 –> 00:34:39,100 times when I have to muster my courage in order to confront. 430 00:34:39,100 –> 00:34:42,979 But there will be other times if I’m thinking of the interest of the one who hears when 431 00:34:42,979 –> 00:34:48,659 I need to restrain my impulse and hold my peace. 432 00:34:49,439 –> 00:34:56,699 The truth terrorist, you see, loves to come in with all guns blazing and uses the truth 433 00:34:56,699 –> 00:35:03,459 as an excuse for unloading in a way that can sometimes be quite brutal. 434 00:35:03,459 –> 00:35:10,780 There’s too much of that at times in church world. 435 00:35:10,780 –> 00:35:16,500 My memory went back, just thinking about this. 436 00:35:16,540 –> 00:35:22,100 Years ago, a young visitor came to the church I pastored in London. 437 00:35:22,100 –> 00:35:26,100 He was a very keen Christian involved in some ministry and for some reason that I don’t 438 00:35:26,100 –> 00:35:30,000 remember he had come through our town, he didn’t know anybody there and he simply arrived 439 00:35:30,000 –> 00:35:32,100 at the church. 440 00:35:32,100 –> 00:35:39,340 He was on his own and so Karan and I invited him home for lunch. 441 00:35:39,419 –> 00:35:47,820 After the lunch table, he tore my sermon to shreds and unloaded a critique on the church 442 00:35:47,820 –> 00:35:51,780 that he had never visited before but had been in for just one hour, a critique of the church 443 00:35:51,780 –> 00:35:57,260 that I would describe as substantial. 444 00:35:57,260 –> 00:36:04,820 He justified to me the use of this one hour, the only hour I have ever spent with him, 445 00:36:04,820 –> 00:36:08,179 though I remember his impression well. 446 00:36:08,199 –> 00:36:13,020 He justified the use of this one hour as a zealous Christian on the basis that we are 447 00:36:13,040 –> 00:36:15,479 called to speak the truth. 448 00:36:15,479 –> 00:36:17,719 Now here’s the interesting thing. 449 00:36:17,719 –> 00:36:24,040 This is many years ago and remembering what he said, I actually have to agree that some 450 00:36:24,040 –> 00:36:29,860 of his most penetrating criticisms of my sermon were actually right. 451 00:36:29,860 –> 00:36:31,459 I agree with them myself. 452 00:36:31,459 –> 00:36:35,199 I didn’t see it then. 453 00:36:35,199 –> 00:36:38,959 You know, he spoke the truth. 454 00:36:38,959 –> 00:36:42,500 But it was not kind. 455 00:36:42,500 –> 00:36:46,800 It was not appropriate. 456 00:36:46,800 –> 00:36:51,199 Love is not rude. 457 00:36:51,199 –> 00:36:58,439 If Jesus Christ had revealed to you everything that was wrong and needed putting right in 458 00:36:58,639 –> 00:37:05,239 life, on the day you were converted you and I would be absolutely devastated. 459 00:37:05,239 –> 00:37:12,560 But the wonderful thing is that the God of truth is not a truth terrorist. 460 00:37:12,560 –> 00:37:16,919 He leads us in his light. 461 00:37:16,919 –> 00:37:23,320 That’s why, by the way, and this is important for us as we become more senior Christians, 462 00:37:24,280 –> 00:37:29,179 as you grow in your own maturity, that a new Christian will learn in one week what God 463 00:37:29,179 –> 00:37:33,439 taught you in 20 years. 464 00:37:33,439 –> 00:37:42,159 Learn to weigh the effects of what you say in the light of the trust that you have earned 465 00:37:42,159 –> 00:37:45,959 and the relationship to which you are committed. 466 00:37:45,959 –> 00:37:48,719 That’s why Paul says in the New Testament 467 00:37:53,320 –> 00:37:59,399 insult so that you may know how to answer everyone. 468 00:37:59,399 –> 00:38:05,139 So we are to get off the broad road of destruction. 469 00:38:05,139 –> 00:38:10,340 We’re to walk the narrow path of truth realizing that that’s not just a matter of believing 470 00:38:10,340 –> 00:38:14,260 but it is a matter of obeying that leads to seeing and releasing. 471 00:38:14,260 –> 00:38:19,679 It puts us in the position where we are called to responsibly speak the truth to one another. 472 00:38:19,679 –> 00:38:21,520 We’re to do it in love. 473 00:38:22,219 –> 00:38:24,899 We’re to learn wisdom. 474 00:38:24,899 –> 00:38:29,360 We’re not to become truth terrorists. 475 00:38:29,360 –> 00:38:34,300 The very last thing, just in these moments, is that we rejoice in the truth. 476 00:38:34,300 –> 00:38:39,020 Love does not delight in evil Paul says in that famous passage in 1 Corinthians 13, 477 00:38:39,020 –> 00:38:45,479 but rejoices in the truth. 478 00:38:45,479 –> 00:38:52,620 If you’re serving in the army in Iraq, how can you rejoice in the truth? 479 00:38:52,620 –> 00:39:00,719 If you’ve just been bereaved, how can you rejoice in the truth? 480 00:39:00,719 –> 00:39:04,040 Some of us may be looking at our lives right now and saying I don’t see how I can rejoice 481 00:39:04,040 –> 00:39:06,179 in truth, my life looks pretty grim. 482 00:39:06,179 –> 00:39:11,379 Listen, there is truth for you to rejoice in. 483 00:39:11,379 –> 00:39:16,899 All history is moving to the day when Jesus Christ will be revealed. 484 00:39:16,899 –> 00:39:24,280 Evil is already cursed and one day it will be completely destroyed. 485 00:39:24,280 –> 00:39:31,159 Jesus Christ, who is the truth, is exalted in heaven and every one of his promises is 486 00:39:31,159 –> 00:39:33,479 faithful and true. 487 00:39:33,479 –> 00:39:37,520 And in this dark world, he shines his light onto you. 488 00:39:37,679 –> 00:39:46,860 And he calls you to take that next step forward as you walk in and follow the light of truth. 489 00:39:46,860 –> 00:39:49,879 Let’s pray together, shall we? 490 00:39:49,879 –> 00:39:59,280 Father in heaven, thank you for the deliverer who comes in and takes off the blindfold, 491 00:39:59,280 –> 00:40:02,439 takes off the earmuffs. 492 00:40:02,439 –> 00:40:06,620 Thank you for the Word of God. 493 00:40:06,620 –> 00:40:17,340 In the hand of the Spirit of God, touching and changing the deep realities of life. 494 00:40:17,340 –> 00:40:24,060 Deliver us from being shallow people who are hearers of the word only, who have a kind 495 00:40:24,060 –> 00:40:32,020 of one dimensional faith that is only a shadow of the life that you’ve called us to. 496 00:40:32,179 –> 00:40:38,379 Grant to us joy as we walk the path of truth and wisdom as we share truth with one another 497 00:40:38,379 –> 00:40:43,860 and as we seek to commend the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who do not yet see and do 498 00:40:43,860 –> 00:40:46,239 not yet hear. 499 00:40:46,239 –> 00:40:53,060 Let our conversation be seasoned with salt and grant that our words may be for the benefit 500 00:40:53,060 –> 00:40:54,340 of all who hear. 501 00:40:54,340 –> 00:40:57,320 For these things we ask together. 502 00:40:57,320 –> 00:41:02,260 In Jesus’ name, God’s people said, Amen.