WEBVTT

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I've often said it before, and I'll say it again

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today. We are very blessed in our congregation.

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with worship of the Lord. And I appreciate those

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of you who, like me, try to just focus on God

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during that time and just kind of really let

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God do what God wants to do. And I'm grateful.

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And when I hear your voices behind me, that encourages

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me. And I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful

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that we have a God of whom there is no end to

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our ability to declare His goodness. There is

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no end. Amen. So, real quick, before we kind

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of begin, before we kind of begin, we are going

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to talk today about four of seven. You recall

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that I said to you that I was in the process

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of sort of like working a riddle, if you will,

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and today's clue toward that riddle is four of

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seven. Now, if you have it, Once you figure out

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the riddle, the answer to the riddle, you can

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text it to me. Don't blurt it out, though, because

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other people might still be working on it. You

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may figure it out today while we're going through.

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I don't know. But we are over halfway through.

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This is the fourth week, and today's clue is

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four of seven. So bear that in mind, and we'll

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get there in a few weeks. If nobody figures out

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the answer before we get there, I will give it

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to you in a few weeks. So we talk about lies.

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You know, the world has a different kind of a

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view on lies. When I was a kid, there were times

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where I just didn't want to do my homework. You

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know, you get an assignment and it's kind of

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hard. Now, this was not because I wanted to play

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video games. There was no such thing as video

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games at that time. Pong was invented when I

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was like in junior high. It was the first go

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round of video games. And it really was the internet

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was invented while I was in school. Everybody

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was like, oh, that was invented. I didn't know

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there wasn't always a thing. But yes, it was

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invented while I was in school. So I never had

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a computer. I was 16 years old when I bought

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my first ever computer. And we bought Pong and

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played it for a while and then got bored of it

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when I was like 10 or 12 or something. So it

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wasn't for video games. It was more for playing

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yard. It was for building things or destroying

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things sometimes. It was for wrestling. It was

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for football. And I never did any of those things

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for the school. But it was for all of that. and

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fresh air blowing through my hair as I rode my

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bike as fast as I could down the neighborhood

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streets and things like that. I just didn't want

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to do my homework sometimes. And so my mom said

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to me, she loved me very much, and she saw that

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I didn't want to do my homework, and I got up

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in the morning to get ready for school, and I

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had not done my homework, and she said, well,

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just go to school and tell your teacher that

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a kid on the bus took your homework when you

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were on the way home, and then she'll give you

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another copy, and then you can do it later. And

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I said to my mom, I said, now, but isn't that

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a lie? And she said, well, you've got to understand

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this about lies. There is a time to lie and a

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time to not lie. And this is just a little white

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lie. It's just going to give you one extra day

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to do your homework, and then you will do it.

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I will make sure you will do it. And then you'll

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get it turned in, and you'll not lose points,

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and everything will be fine. And she said, this

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is a little white lie. Now, that was not the

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first time that I was taught. to lie in the world,

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but it is one that sticks out in my head. And

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from that point on, I remember making that excuse

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for myself. I would say, I don't know, thousands

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of times, well, this is just a little white lie.

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And before we say that we would not, realize

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that there are things where people will ask you

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your opinion. And the comedian always says, if

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a woman asks you, does this dress make me look

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fat, right? Lie. It doesn't matter if it's true

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or not. I always say, if it does not make her

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look fat, then definitely say that, but go beyond

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that and say it is. stellar, right? But don't

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overdo it because then they'll know that kind

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of thing. And so there's a big joke about lie

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in all of creation. So the question is, what

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does God say about lies? And on the surface you

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might say, well, I already know what God says

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about lies. In fact, you might say that I know

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that the Ten Commandments says thou shalt not

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lie. And you would be wrong. The Ten Commandments

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do not say thou shalt not lie. What? In fact,

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there is only one of the Ten Commandments that

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directly addresses this issue. And it is a commandment

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about what? False testimony, false witness, right?

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Which is a governmental and community command.

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And also an atrocity, don't get me wrong. But

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it is not about the simple lying. In fact, did

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Jacob lie? Did Abraham lie? Did David lie? Name

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somebody in the Bible as a main character that

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you can think of, that you can think of that

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they never lied. Well, there are some. And there

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are some of the best. But most of the big names

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that we know from the Bible lied. Noah never

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lied as far as we know. Enoch never lied as far

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as we know. There were probably others. Did Adam

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lie? Kind of. He at least deceived a little,

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right? Did Eve lie? Did Eve lie to God when God

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came and asked her what happened? No, she did

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not. She said, that serpent tempted me and I

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gave in and I ate. But did she lie to the serpent?

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She did. She told the serpent that God said something

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that he didn't say, right? So we have lots of

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characters in the Bible that lied. So what I

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want to do today, and it's going to go by fairly

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quickly, so your note taker be right on it, right?

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Because each one is not very long, and there's

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not a lot of them. So the lightning point today

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says creativity or a lack thereof applied to

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the truth. So when you apply creativity to the

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truth, that could be to carry the truth, or it

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could be to perfect the truth, or it could be

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to make the truth look a little bit better, or

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whatever. Creativity or a lack thereof applied

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to the truth to create a lack thereof as a pathway,

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a lack thereof, meaning a lack thereof the truth,

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as a pathway to worthlessness. Now, I would hate

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to say to anybody that they are worthless or

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that they have the state of worthlessness, but

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that is not exactly what that says. So let's

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dig into it, shall we? We mustn't make light

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of lies or call them little white lies or anything

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like that, but what does God say about it? So

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first of all, we're going to go to, grab your

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Bibles if you would, and go to Ephesians chapter

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4. Amen. This is God's word. Okay? So whatever

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I get right or wrong from here forward, whatever

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we read from the Scripture, if God uses it to

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adjust your heart, that's exactly the way it's

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supposed to go. Okay? Ephesians 4, beginning

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in verse 17, says this. It says, So this I say,

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and affirm together with the Lord. In other words,

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I'm saying this, and also God is saying this.

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We're together, unified on this. Be sure that

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we know that we're talking about what God says

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here. Okay? No doubt about that. Now, in the

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letters, you will find times where Paul wrote

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and said, not I, but the Lord, or not the Lord,

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but I. So, and I've done that too when I'm talking

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to people. I can't say that God is saying this,

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but this is what my impression is, or this is

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what I think of the overall from Scripture. This

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is basically what I think it says, you know,

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kind of thing. And then I would have to research

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more if I want to be specific. And I'm avoiding

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lying by saying, this is what God says, right?

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So we don't do that unless it's what God says.

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But here, Paul is clearly writing, this is what

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I say, this is what the Lord says. We affirm

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together that you walk no longer as Gentiles

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also walk in the futility of their mind. In other

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words, in their head, they're figuring it out.

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You could go back to saying they're doing what

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they think is right, right? So if every man does

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what's right in his own eyes, we know that that's

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a system that fails. It's failing right now in

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the world. Every man's doing what is right in

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his own eyes, and it's falling apart. It's destroying

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lives. It's literally destroying lives in the

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form of legalized murder. It's destroying relationships.

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It's destroying the ability to have more children.

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It's destroying the population of the world.

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It's just going on and on. People are doing what's

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right in their own eyes. Even inside a system

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that is free and just, like the American democracy

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is supposed to be. They are working in their

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own heads to do what they think is right and

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it is not good. So he says that you would walk,

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that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles

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also walk in the futility of their mind. In other

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words, don't try to determine what's good or

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bad or truth in your own head. That is not the

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standard. And he's saying you're moving away

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from that. Verse 18 says they're being darkened

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in their understanding. So the truths that they're

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standing under are really ignorance. So they

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go, oh, I got this. And they latch onto something

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and they might for years live according to that

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something. Like a little white lie is okay. And

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you latch on to live with that for years only

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to find out when we face God that that was all

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ignorance. It was all wrong. They are excluded

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from the life of God because of the ignorance

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that is in them, because they don't know, because

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they have not latched onto, if I may say this

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without getting ahead, onto the simple truth,

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the simple reality, because they are looking

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for something different, something more creative,

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something better, something more far -reaching,

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something more deep, something more intentional

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or something less complicated, whatever, because

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they can't latch onto the simple truth. They

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are excluded from the life of God. And it says

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this happens because of the hardness of their

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heart. And we know Ezekiel says that the stone

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heart removed and a flesh heart replaced, but

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a person's heart is considered hard when they

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do not know the Lord, when they're not being

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worked on and in by the Lord. And so because

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of that, they are excluded from the life of God.

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And then it says in verse 19, and they having

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become callous. So in other words, they realize,

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hey, the world is hard. It's difficult. And they're

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not asking themselves anymore, what is supposed

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to come out of this? Or when all creation testifies,

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what is the message I'm supposed to be getting?

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They're just kind of static. They're okay. They're

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not changing. They're not. They're not looking

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for something like the life of God, for example.

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They've given themselves over to sensuality for

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the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

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Three kind of big words there, but basically

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it means doing these things, and there's a reason

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they're doing things, and it's because they're

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guided by their senses. They're going after that

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which they want in their senses, and then because

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of that, they get into every kind of impurity.

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That's when you're not clean and useful to God,

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and greediness, that's when you're taking something

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for yourself, whatever it might be, your own

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goals, etc. Verse 20 says, but you did not learn

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Christ in this way. In other words, you didn't

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get it in your head. You didn't ascend to it

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as an idea. You didn't twist it to be right.

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You didn't put it under a microscope and turn

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it around 17 ways and finally latch on to Jesus.

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That is not how you came to Christ. Instead,

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he says, or not instead yet, but you did not

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learn Christ in this way. If indeed you have

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heard him. and have been taught in him just as

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truth is in Jesus. In other words, if you really

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got Jesus, you didn't get Jesus that way. You

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got Jesus another way. And we talked about that

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in the discipleship moment where we said it is

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by faith through grace. And so if it is by faith

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through grace, you cannot ascend to it by any

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patterned plan. That's the problem with when

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we set out to talk about evangelism and we set

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up the ABCs of salvation or the Roman road or

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even churches without fear. When we do those

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things, we have to be careful that we realize

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the gospel is more like a living beast of goodness

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than it is a pattern of certain words that you

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might say. There are literally no words whatsoever

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that you could ever say to another person to

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get them saved. And so if you think, well, I've

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got to wait until I can say the right words before

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I start talking to people about Jesus, you're

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completely missing the boat because it doesn't

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have anything to do with what you say. What we

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need to do is let God say through us whatever

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he wants to say through us. And it may not even

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make any sense. You have to walk up to somebody

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and say, you know, snapping turtles will hurt

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your hand. And you're like, not talking about

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food, not talking about animals, not talking

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about snapping, not talking about pain, nothing.

00:11:39.950 --> 00:11:41.429
They're talking about football or talking about

00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:42.809
politics. And you might have to walk up and just

00:11:42.809 --> 00:11:44.570
break into a conversation about snapping turtles.

00:11:44.629 --> 00:11:46.649
And that might be what it was. You know, I had

00:11:46.649 --> 00:11:47.889
a snapping turtle when I was a kid. It really

00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:50.230
meant a lot to me. And that snapping turtle was

00:11:50.230 --> 00:11:53.970
named Mary after Mary, the mother of Jesus. And

00:11:53.970 --> 00:11:55.309
I remember we used to go to church back then,

00:11:55.309 --> 00:11:57.809
and now you're talking about Jesus. Why? Because

00:11:57.809 --> 00:11:59.769
you brought up snapping drills. It doesn't matter

00:11:59.769 --> 00:12:01.610
what you say. You just say whatever it is that

00:12:01.610 --> 00:12:04.169
God wants you to say, and then that will start

00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:06.330
the ball rolling for them to believe. But really,

00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:08.029
it's about whether or not they believe and receive

00:12:08.029 --> 00:12:10.389
the grace of Jesus. He's going to do it. People

00:12:10.389 --> 00:12:12.429
get saved without hearing it from another human

00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:15.590
being. It happens. It's rare, but it happens,

00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:18.049
right? People get saved. They read it in the

00:12:18.049 --> 00:12:19.409
Bible and start thinking, I think, and then they

00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:21.169
go and ask, and somebody explains the details

00:12:21.169 --> 00:12:23.090
to them, right? I'm reading from the scroll of

00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:24.700
Isaiah. Do you understand what you're reading?

00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:26.279
Well, how can I understand what I'm reading unless

00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:28.259
somebody explained it to me? Climb on up here

00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:31.019
and explain it to me. People are searching for

00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:33.399
something. They're twisting the truth. They'll

00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:35.500
never quite get there unless God does something.

00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:38.740
But the bottom line is, we didn't learn Christ

00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:41.879
by certain words. If there was a trigger phrase

00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.419
or an illustration in the sermon that you got

00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:48.159
saved under or the guy who witnessed to you at

00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:50.279
the store or at the bank or wherever it was that

00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:52.299
you got saved. If there was a trigger phrase

00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.740
or something that was there in that that got

00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:57.039
you thinking about maybe you want to be saved,

00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:00.080
those words did not save you. They're not special.

00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.799
They're just words. Yes, God used them. And yes,

00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:06.019
it brought you to a place of saying, I'll submit,

00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:07.639
I'll accept Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.980
But if you would walk around then going, look,

00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:11.700
if I just say the right thing to this person,

00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:13.820
if I can figure out their trigger phrase, then

00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:15.480
they'll be open to accept Christ. You have missed

00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:18.100
the idea of salvation. You've missed the idea

00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:20.019
of believing in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice

00:13:20.019 --> 00:13:22.340
that was made and receiving the grace of God.

00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:24.960
You did not learn Christ that way. Not indeed

00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:28.360
if you have heard him and have been taught in

00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:32.559
him just as truth is in him, Jesus Christ. Notice

00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:35.320
that that truth in him is a big deal. Jesus said,

00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:36.940
I am the way and the truth and the life. And

00:13:36.940 --> 00:13:38.419
we could go there when we're talking about lying,

00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:40.460
but it's more than that. It doesn't really mean

00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.269
that. He's not talking about... Like, I am truth,

00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:46.490
I don't lie. It's something completely more than

00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:47.850
that. And we're not going to go there and look

00:13:47.850 --> 00:13:51.029
at that today. But notice that truth is in Jesus.

00:13:51.669 --> 00:13:54.830
That's a problem for the liar. That's a problem

00:13:54.830 --> 00:13:56.830
for the person who's willing to creatively adjust

00:13:56.830 --> 00:13:59.289
the truth to fit their circumstances, isn't it?

00:13:59.549 --> 00:14:02.710
Because if truth is in Jesus and you're a liar,

00:14:02.850 --> 00:14:04.850
or you're willing to creatively adjust the truth

00:14:04.850 --> 00:14:07.230
to fit the circumstances, then in that moment

00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:09.250
in time, you can reasonably say you're not in

00:14:09.250 --> 00:14:11.350
Jesus. And that's a problem. Because the one

00:14:11.350 --> 00:14:13.990
who abides in Jesus, Jesus abides in him, and

00:14:13.990 --> 00:14:18.389
eternity is there. Verse 22 says that in remembrance

00:14:18.389 --> 00:14:21.149
to your former manner of life, you lay aside

00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:24.190
the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance

00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:27.429
with the lusts of deceit. So there's two major

00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:29.970
pieces here. Obviously... We're not talking about

00:14:29.970 --> 00:14:31.970
salvation or being born again, but it's a very

00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:34.809
real thing. We do get saved. We do let the old

00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:37.190
us pass behind. My old me passed behind, and

00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:38.950
it was a couple of years, two and a half probably,

00:14:39.129 --> 00:14:41.250
before I was able to give up the habit of white

00:14:41.250 --> 00:14:43.029
lies, if you will, some of which were not very

00:14:43.029 --> 00:14:46.250
white or small at all. And so it took a while,

00:14:46.309 --> 00:14:48.789
and sometimes it takes that. Sometimes it takes

00:14:48.789 --> 00:14:50.610
something like this to look at what does God

00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:52.230
say about lying to make you go, okay, I'm going

00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:55.779
to stop and think about this. Your former manner

00:14:55.779 --> 00:14:58.500
of life goes away. You lay aside the old self.

00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:01.200
Notice he says, which is being corrupted. That

00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.639
means he's messed up in accordance with the lusts

00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:09.159
of deceit. There are desires that go along with

00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:12.799
lies or deceit, and they come hand in hand, right?

00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:15.279
Like wanting to turn your assignment in one day

00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:16.840
late because you just wanted to play outside.

00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.320
A little white lie will suffice to get that done.

00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:22.679
Not wanting to get in trouble with your parents

00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.740
because you were on the phone half an hour or

00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:27.080
two later because you text something online that

00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:28.399
you shouldn't have or because you did something

00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:29.799
with your boyfriend or girlfriend that you shouldn't

00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.659
have. So a little white lie facilitates staying

00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:35.200
out of trouble. And the greed is me. I want to

00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:37.940
stay out of trouble. I see a possible future

00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:41.419
and I want to avoid it. And the lust of deceit

00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:45.700
is how easy it is to either just completely fabricate

00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:48.039
a lie. And you know these people that do that,

00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.600
and the lie is like 74 steps long. So it's so

00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.779
elaborate. And the old saying is, oh, what a

00:15:54.779 --> 00:15:56.879
tangled web we weave when at first we practice

00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:00.240
to deceive. So the elaborate liars get into this

00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.559
big, long, elaborate thing. But how easy it is

00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:04.700
to just tell a little lie, or we think it's a

00:16:04.700 --> 00:16:07.200
little lie, it's not elaborate at all, that gets

00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.039
us past that moment in time in which we would

00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.960
be in trouble. Were you up a half an hour later

00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:13.519
than your bedtime last night? Is that why you're

00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.200
tired this morning? Oh, no, I wouldn't do that.

00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:17.139
I don't do that. Okay, but you were, but you're

00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.159
lying about it. Now, there's no way of confirming

00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:20.740
it, right? And this is the thing that I learned

00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.139
about lies. As long as there is no one alive

00:16:23.139 --> 00:16:25.980
that can know that you're lying, it's not a lie.

00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.080
That's what I believed when I was not saved and

00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.000
for a long time after. Frankly, if no one can

00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.700
know, right? The old saying is, police officer

00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:33.870
didn't see it, I didn't do it. But you did do

00:16:33.870 --> 00:16:35.710
it, whatever it was, whether he saw it or not,

00:16:35.789 --> 00:16:38.450
you did do it. And God always sees, and again,

00:16:38.490 --> 00:16:40.629
not to run on a head, but the bottom line is

00:16:40.629 --> 00:16:43.190
our old self was like that. We wanted what we

00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:44.750
wanted and we were going to do what we needed

00:16:44.750 --> 00:16:47.809
to do to get it. That's what the lust of deceit

00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:50.309
is about, verse 23. And it says, and that you

00:16:50.309 --> 00:16:52.929
be renewed in the spirit of your mind. So remember,

00:16:53.029 --> 00:16:56.149
we had our mind at work, twisting things, being

00:16:56.149 --> 00:16:59.090
creative, embellishing, right? So we were improving

00:16:59.090 --> 00:17:01.759
the truth, not always lying. Sometimes we were

00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:04.099
just improving the truth to make it more attractive,

00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:07.160
right? So we were doing a good deed for the truth,

00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:08.799
not a bad deed. We weren't hurting the truth

00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:10.400
at all in our own minds. We were just making

00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.839
it a little bit better. So our minds were acted

00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:14.920
to do that and pursue those things. And now he

00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:17.000
says you're renewed in the spirit of your mind.

00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.400
And you put on the new self. So now there's a

00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:20.980
new you that does this completely differently,

00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:26.359
which in the likeness of God has been created

00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.200
in, wait for it, righteousness. We do the right

00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:32.230
thing. Holiness, which means we're going to be

00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:34.369
more like God. We are not like the world. So

00:17:34.369 --> 00:17:36.309
if the world embraces lies in some sense, we

00:17:36.309 --> 00:17:38.269
do not. We are holy. We are different from the

00:17:38.269 --> 00:17:43.650
world. And of the truth. Therefore, and this

00:17:43.650 --> 00:17:45.470
is what we came for. We came for the therefore

00:17:45.470 --> 00:17:48.369
today. And it is this. Therefore, because all

00:17:48.369 --> 00:17:49.690
of that that I just read to you and broke down

00:17:49.690 --> 00:17:51.289
to you is true. We could have skipped it and

00:17:51.289 --> 00:17:52.950
just got this verse. But I wanted you to see

00:17:52.950 --> 00:17:55.869
that therefore was all of that, 17 through 24.

00:17:56.900 --> 00:18:01.059
Therefore, laying aside falsehood. Falsehood

00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:03.960
is deceit. It is deceptiveness. It is lies. It

00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.140
is anything that allows somebody else to believe

00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.640
something else about you that is not true or

00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:10.440
about circumstances or about somebody else that's

00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:13.359
not true. It is falsehood. It is lies, deceit,

00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:16.599
trickery, anything like that. Laying aside falsehood,

00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:20.779
speak truth, each one of you with his neighbor,

00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:24.650
for we are members of one another. And so these

00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:29.470
verses very clearly say that it is time. If you

00:18:29.470 --> 00:18:32.369
have been saved, it is time. It is time to put

00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:37.210
away any form of falsehood, any form of deception,

00:18:37.509 --> 00:18:40.049
any form of lies. And we're going to talk about

00:18:40.049 --> 00:18:42.170
a few of the most common forms for people to

00:18:42.170 --> 00:18:44.349
still be kind of wrapped up in here in a second.

00:18:44.549 --> 00:18:47.750
But the bottom line is, the word says, if you

00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:50.170
received Christ this way, if you have known him,

00:18:50.269 --> 00:18:53.069
then there is no place in you. There is no place

00:18:53.069 --> 00:18:56.289
in you. There is no place in you for falsehood,

00:18:56.329 --> 00:18:59.750
for lies, for deception. No room left for that.

00:18:59.890 --> 00:19:03.109
Because in Jesus is only truth. And how much

00:19:03.109 --> 00:19:05.289
of you personally do you want Jesus to fill?

00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:08.950
100%. And so if you leave room in your life for

00:19:08.950 --> 00:19:11.089
lies of any kind, to deception or falsehood of

00:19:11.089 --> 00:19:14.470
any kind, then you chase Jesus out of that room.

00:19:14.630 --> 00:19:17.009
And what do we know about the occupation of Jesus?

00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.700
It begins with the belief and the receipt. I

00:19:20.700 --> 00:19:23.119
believe and receive. And when he comes in, what

00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:25.880
kind of commission do you make? Do you give Jesus?

00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.160
I believe in you. I see you die on the cross

00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.240
for my sins. I'll give you 82 % of who I am.

00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:34.599
90%. Not good enough. He still won't come. I'll

00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.480
give you 94, 96, 99, 99 .9, 99 .9 repeating.

00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.559
When does Jesus come? When it's 100%. And so

00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:44.940
if you can honestly say that you said, I will,

00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.990
Jesus. I will surrender my life to you, let you

00:19:47.990 --> 00:19:52.009
lead, be Lord, pay for my sins, forgive me, and

00:19:52.009 --> 00:19:55.190
turn me into a minister of reconciliation. If

00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:57.849
you said you will do that, short of one, one

00:19:57.849 --> 00:20:00.309
billionth of one percent, Jesus didn't come.

00:20:00.589 --> 00:20:02.470
But could you embellish the truth? Could you

00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:05.289
believe a lie? Could it be twisted just so that

00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:06.609
you could think that if you prayed a certain

00:20:06.609 --> 00:20:08.069
prayer, did a certain thing, that it was done

00:20:08.069 --> 00:20:10.049
a certain way, that you would be tricked into

00:20:10.049 --> 00:20:11.549
believing that you're something that you're not?

00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:13.289
According to the word of God, that's possible.

00:20:13.930 --> 00:20:17.230
To support, the New Testament position where

00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:20.029
he says, therefore laying aside falsehoods, speak

00:20:20.029 --> 00:20:21.910
truth, each one of you with his neighbor, for

00:20:21.910 --> 00:20:24.289
we are members of one another. In Proverbs 12,

00:20:24.349 --> 00:20:26.589
22, it says it like this. So this is a long time

00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:29.190
before the gospel as we know it. Now the gospel

00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:31.670
goes to Genesis 1, right? But the gospel as we

00:20:31.670 --> 00:20:33.569
clearly know it, Jesus died on the cross for

00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:36.549
sins and it's believe and receive or else, right?

00:20:36.609 --> 00:20:39.569
That gospel did not exist then. They were looking

00:20:39.569 --> 00:20:40.950
forward to the way that God would make, and it

00:20:40.950 --> 00:20:43.650
existed clearly. The gospel existed clearly that

00:20:43.650 --> 00:20:45.250
God would make a way, and they needed to look

00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:48.170
forward to it. And the prophets began to get

00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:50.450
pictures of the crucifixion. They began to get

00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:52.009
pictures of the sacrifice. They knew that he

00:20:52.009 --> 00:20:55.130
would be a sacrificial lamb, but not everybody

00:20:55.130 --> 00:20:57.269
knew. It wasn't common for everybody, hence the

00:20:57.269 --> 00:20:58.950
prophets were so busy pushing it to try to get

00:20:58.950 --> 00:21:00.509
everybody to understand that that was coming.

00:21:00.869 --> 00:21:04.230
But this is what Solomon writes as an observation

00:21:04.230 --> 00:21:08.240
to the way all creation works. Amongst the lost

00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:11.480
and the saved, he says this. He says, lying lips

00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.920
are an abomination to the Lord. You know, when

00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:17.059
God made creation, he looked at everything, including

00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:19.299
Adam and Eve's lips, everything, including their

00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:22.859
lips. And he said, it is good. But now some things

00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:25.819
inside creation have become an abomination to

00:21:25.819 --> 00:21:29.319
the Lord. So God looks at the lips of a lying

00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:32.420
person, taking it literally, and says, this is

00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:34.819
an abomination to me. That this person would

00:21:34.819 --> 00:21:37.759
speak this way. that they would be allowed to

00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.279
speak this way. It is an abomination to me. He

00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:45.140
says, but those who deal faithfully are his delight.

00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:51.279
It's a pretty broad swing. So here is a few ways

00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.740
that as a Christian, as you're serving the Lord,

00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.680
it's possible that you might still be wrapped

00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:01.400
up in the lust of deceits and lying. The first

00:22:01.400 --> 00:22:05.069
one is dressing up a good intention. Jesus said,

00:22:05.150 --> 00:22:07.950
but let your statement be yes, yes, or no, no.

00:22:08.190 --> 00:22:10.609
Anything beyond this is evil. If you've ever

00:22:10.609 --> 00:22:13.049
had to add parameters to what you were saying

00:22:13.049 --> 00:22:15.549
in order to get somebody to believe you, you

00:22:15.549 --> 00:22:17.609
know what we're talking about. Just say you'll

00:22:17.609 --> 00:22:20.410
do it or say you won't. Just say you'll be there

00:22:20.410 --> 00:22:23.950
or say you won't. I have a brother, friend of

00:22:23.950 --> 00:22:25.650
mine. I love him dearly. He's not my biological

00:22:25.650 --> 00:22:27.690
brother, Christian brother. And over the years

00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:30.609
that I have known him, we've become good friends,

00:22:30.829 --> 00:22:32.269
brothers in Christ. I'm not going to name him

00:22:32.269 --> 00:22:34.500
because I didn't ask his permission. to use this

00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:36.660
illustration. But I have now realized that my

00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:39.599
brother has a habit. His habit is he is good

00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:41.619
at keeping his commitments. That's a good habit,

00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.059
is it not? He's super good at keeping his commitments.

00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.339
Like he says he's going to be there, he's going

00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:47.500
to be there. You can trust he'll be there. But

00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:49.740
when he knows that there is a chance that he

00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:51.859
will not keep his commitment, he says, I will

00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:54.480
probably be there. I will probably be there.

00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:58.000
So when you say you will probably be there, that

00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:00.039
is something different than yes or no. And it

00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:03.390
doesn't say, let your yes be no. Your yes be

00:23:03.390 --> 00:23:05.309
yes and your no be no and your probably be most

00:23:05.309 --> 00:23:07.970
of the time. Or your yes be yes and your no be

00:23:07.970 --> 00:23:11.349
no and your probably be almost never or almost

00:23:11.349 --> 00:23:13.730
always, right? It doesn't say that. It says let

00:23:13.730 --> 00:23:16.529
your yes be yes and your no be no. And so there

00:23:16.529 --> 00:23:19.609
is this probably that happens between me and

00:23:19.609 --> 00:23:21.599
my brother. And guess what? So my brother has

00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.460
said to me about five times, I will or we will

00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:26.279
or whoever was involved will probably do that

00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:28.440
or probably there. And you know how many times

00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:30.799
that my brother has said probably that he actually

00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.420
showed up and did what he said he would do? None.

00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:36.579
Zero. Five times or so he has said probably and

00:23:36.579 --> 00:23:40.640
five times or so he did not. It is not unheard

00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.539
of for Christians to get wrapped up in this.

00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:44.940
I understand if I make a commitment, I have to

00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:47.299
keep my commitment. That as a believer, as a

00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:48.799
follower of the Lord, if I say I'm going to do

00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.299
this, I have to keep it. So here's what I'm going

00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:52.940
to do. Even though it's probably right. I know

00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:54.799
it's probably right for me to do it because I'm

00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.259
saying probably. I wouldn't be saying probably.

00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:58.480
I would say unlikely. It's unlikely that we'll

00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:00.059
be there. If I thought it was most likely not

00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:01.700
the right thing to do, then I would say it is

00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.619
unlikely that we'll be there. But I know that's

00:24:03.619 --> 00:24:05.500
not the case. I'm not saying unlikely. So it's

00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.180
not that it's a thing that I think I shouldn't

00:24:07.180 --> 00:24:08.940
do. It's a thing that I think I should do. Or

00:24:08.940 --> 00:24:10.839
otherwise, I wouldn't say probably, right? If

00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:12.519
I didn't think it was a thing I should do. So

00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:14.460
if you know it's probably a thing that you should

00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:17.460
do, and you say probably, and then you don't

00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:19.960
do it, you probably lied. You took the truth

00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:22.819
and you twisted it. You added it. You embellished

00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:25.220
it. You perfected it. You perfected the truth

00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:27.140
so that you could not be caught lying. That's

00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:29.259
what you did. Did you lie? No, because you only

00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:32.119
said probably, right? So now I didn't lie. And

00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:34.160
that's what happens. We take the truth and we

00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:35.819
add a little bit. We embellish a little bit.

00:24:35.819 --> 00:24:39.240
We make it just right. Sometimes we say, sometimes

00:24:39.240 --> 00:24:43.000
we say, if the Lord so wills. Oh, now watch out

00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:45.500
because now our not doing what we said we would

00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:49.309
do could very easily be hung on God. that woman

00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:52.970
you gave me, she gave me of the fruit and I ate,

00:24:53.049 --> 00:24:55.470
right? So now we say, if the Lord so wills. But

00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:57.829
then that means in the meantime, between whatever

00:24:57.829 --> 00:24:59.390
you said, if you say the Lord so wills, which

00:24:59.390 --> 00:25:00.990
scripture says we should say that, we should

00:25:00.990 --> 00:25:02.829
admit that it's only going to happen if God wants

00:25:02.829 --> 00:25:04.630
it to. But if you say the Lord so wills, then

00:25:04.630 --> 00:25:06.910
you need a guarantee. You need to be devout and

00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:08.630
faithful and following the Lord. And if it's

00:25:08.630 --> 00:25:10.529
one day or five days or seven days, whatever

00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:12.809
that period of time is, if the Lord so wills,

00:25:12.809 --> 00:25:15.150
you darn well better show up because if not,

00:25:15.170 --> 00:25:17.940
you lie. You lied and said, if the Lord so wills,

00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:19.680
I'll do it. But then the Lord did so will, and

00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:22.200
you didn't do it. Not only that, but you now

00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:23.940
have lied to the person because if the person

00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:26.359
believes you, you now lied that it was God's

00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:28.339
fault. You said you would show up and do that

00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:30.180
or do whatever, keep your commitment, and then

00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:32.920
you didn't. So now it is God who told you to

00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:35.680
not do it, even though God actually told you

00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:37.440
to do it. If you're going to lie about something,

00:25:37.539 --> 00:25:39.559
don't lie about what God does. That's pretty

00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:42.019
much too far, right? That's a bridge too far.

00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:44.200
But we're not trying to do that. We're just trying

00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:46.579
to embellish the truth a little bit. So that

00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:48.960
we can be sure. I just want to be sure. I'll

00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:51.660
probably do it. But I don't know that I'll do

00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.740
it. So I just say probably. Just say yes or no.

00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:56.920
Jesus said, let your yes be yes, your no be no.

00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:01.779
Anything beyond these is of evil. That's what

00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:04.079
he said. It's bad enough to say yes, yes, no,

00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.440
no. But he went so far as to say anything beyond

00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:08.960
this, anything beyond those two things is evil.

00:26:09.180 --> 00:26:12.119
Probably has a very good likelihood of being

00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:15.319
evil. Maybe. Very likely to be an evil. You are

00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:18.339
a creation of God. You are a child of God. Should

00:26:18.339 --> 00:26:20.220
you own tomorrow and take it away from God? No.

00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:22.400
Should you say if the Lord so wills? Yes. But

00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:23.980
then if the Lord so wills, you darn well better

00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:26.420
do it because anything else is evil. Sometimes

00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:29.259
people fall into this because the world accepts

00:26:29.259 --> 00:26:32.680
it. Accepts it. Will you speak what is unjust

00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:35.980
to God and speak what is deceitful to him? That's

00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:38.710
Job speaking. So these men... came and they accosted

00:26:38.710 --> 00:26:41.130
Job. Job is suffering horribly. He's lost almost

00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:43.170
everything he ever had that was good. And the

00:26:43.170 --> 00:26:44.630
men are coming to him and they're basically accusing

00:26:44.630 --> 00:26:46.329
him. And they're talking about how he's done

00:26:46.329 --> 00:26:48.130
these wrong things. And then in chapter 13 of

00:26:48.130 --> 00:26:50.329
the book of Job, Job refutes them. And he says,

00:26:50.390 --> 00:26:54.289
would you? Would you speak what is unjust for

00:26:54.289 --> 00:26:57.269
God and speak what is deceitful for him? Those

00:26:57.269 --> 00:26:59.329
are talking on behalf of God, correcting me for

00:26:59.329 --> 00:27:00.869
something that I did wrong. You're saying I did

00:27:00.869 --> 00:27:02.930
wrong. And I'm telling you, I didn't do it. I

00:27:02.930 --> 00:27:04.829
didn't do what you said I did. And this is what

00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:06.829
we do. We go out into the world and we say to

00:27:06.829 --> 00:27:08.890
the world what the world wants to hear. I'll

00:27:08.890 --> 00:27:10.559
give you an example. And I'm stepping on toes.

00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:13.160
I apologize in advance. I went out witnessing

00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:15.680
a young man, brother in Christ by his profession.

00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:17.240
And he and I were the only two people who showed

00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:19.279
up. We opened the whole church. This was over

00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.460
on Main Street. We were the only two people who

00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:22.460
showed up. Now, it wasn't a weekday afternoon.

00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:23.740
We knew there wasn't going to be a lot of people

00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:24.940
that could come. But there were a few others

00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:26.119
that might have. But nobody did. It was just

00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:27.839
him and I. We went out walking the streets looking

00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:29.460
for people to tell about Jesus. That was our

00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:31.059
whole point. We're walking the streets looking

00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:33.500
for people to tell about Jesus. And we got there

00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:35.759
a number of times to tell people about Jesus.

00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:38.160
I think we had 13 people pray to accept Christ.

00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.039
But one of those witness encounters, we were

00:27:40.039 --> 00:27:41.480
standing in front of a house that looked like

00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:43.539
it was deserted. I mean, it looked like it was

00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:46.380
the previous home of a hoarder, but was deserted.

00:27:46.740 --> 00:27:48.900
That's what it looked like. It had so much stuff,

00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:51.519
but there was nobody living there. But we knocked

00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.000
on the door, and we were knocking on every door,

00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:55.180
and we probably led to it. So he was leading

00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:56.660
during this encounter, and I'm standing behind

00:27:56.660 --> 00:27:58.119
him praying that this person would get saved.

00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:01.740
And the person was saying, I don't believe, I'm

00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:03.819
not interested in getting saved, whatever. And

00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.339
this is what he said. He said, well, we're just

00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:09.099
out here today offering a prayer of salvation.

00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:11.579
Would you like to pray along with me? Now, the

00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:12.920
guy's already said he doesn't believe in Jesus.

00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:14.559
He doesn't believe in God. He doesn't want to

00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:16.579
be saved. But he said, we're just offering a

00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:18.839
prayer of salvation. Would you like to pray along

00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:21.819
with me? And the guy said, sure. And so he led

00:28:21.819 --> 00:28:24.400
and he prayed what was kind of a heartfelt prayer

00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.740
of salvation. And the man prayed the same words

00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:30.039
that he prayed. Allah. One by one after two by

00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:32.299
three or whatever. Right? After. And after it

00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.049
was done. The guy who was with me witnessing

00:28:34.049 --> 00:28:36.569
looked him in the face and he said, now you're

00:28:36.569 --> 00:28:39.130
saved. Do you need a Bible? How can we help you?

00:28:39.210 --> 00:28:42.990
Are you going to church? And the guy said, well,

00:28:43.009 --> 00:28:44.829
thank you very much. And he went away. Now, was

00:28:44.829 --> 00:28:46.769
that guy saved? Where was the faith? Where was

00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:48.549
the desire to come to Jesus Christ or come to

00:28:48.549 --> 00:28:50.650
the Lord? Was there something there? I've seen

00:28:50.650 --> 00:28:52.410
it done at evangelistic block parties back when

00:28:52.410 --> 00:28:54.250
I was a youth leader many years ago where they

00:28:54.250 --> 00:28:55.930
stand up in the microphone and they would say,

00:28:56.029 --> 00:29:01.140
all you have to do is believe. and receive the

00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:03.859
free gift of salvation. It's already paid for

00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:06.319
you. And they would use an analogy like, it's

00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.460
in the mail, but you got to sign for it or something

00:29:08.460 --> 00:29:10.059
like that. You just got to receive. All you got

00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:12.019
to do is receive it. If you just receive it,

00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:14.240
right? You can receive it, put it in your closet

00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:16.019
until you're older and then use it. That would

00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:18.480
be fine. You just need to receive it. Does that

00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:21.059
sound like salvation to you? So what we're doing

00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:25.000
is we take the truth that we believe and then

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:27.180
we wrap it in a package that will be acceptable

00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:30.220
to the world. This looks like I'm always on time.

00:29:30.359 --> 00:29:34.119
I'm a hard worker. I don't cuss on the job. I

00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:36.579
show up. I'm a pretty good person. Everybody

00:29:36.579 --> 00:29:38.140
knows I'm a pretty good person. They don't know

00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:40.079
necessarily that I'm a leader in my church or

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:41.480
a servant of my church or anything like that.

00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.859
I've never talked to them about Jesus. We talk

00:29:43.859 --> 00:29:46.319
about all kinds of stuff. I don't lie to them.

00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:50.140
I don't cuss at them. I don't give them bad advice.

00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:52.599
But I've never shared the gospel with them. Why?

00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:54.619
Because they don't want to hear it. So you're

00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:57.539
packaging the single most important truth that

00:29:57.539 --> 00:30:00.000
ever has existed under the sun since Adam and

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:03.339
Eve fell, really before that even, the single

00:30:03.339 --> 00:30:04.819
most important truth you're packaging it in.

00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:07.960
I'm a nice guy. I care about you. I'm a hard

00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:10.059
worker. I'm someone you can depend on. I'm honest.

00:30:10.140 --> 00:30:11.980
You're packaging it in that because those things

00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:14.140
are respected in the world. But for those who

00:30:14.140 --> 00:30:18.160
are lost and dying, the cross stinks. Jesus smells.

00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:21.619
Jesus is bothersome. The gospel brings conviction.

00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:24.779
And you don't want to stink or smell or bring

00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:28.119
conviction. So you're telling a lie with your

00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:30.980
actions that the single most important thing

00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:33.619
to you does not need to be mentioned. That's

00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:36.900
crazy. And that's what we get into. We fall into

00:30:36.900 --> 00:30:39.299
it because the world accepts a certain thing

00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:41.740
and we want to be accepted by the world. But

00:30:41.740 --> 00:30:43.819
Job would say, will you speak what is unjust

00:30:43.819 --> 00:30:46.400
for God and speak what is deceitful for him?

00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:49.380
And he goes on to say, will it be well when he

00:30:49.380 --> 00:30:53.839
examines you? Watch out, baby. The lies that

00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.160
you have been telling, the deceit that you have

00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:59.140
been living in, whether it be, oh, I took the

00:30:59.140 --> 00:31:01.160
garbage out. I swear I did. Oh, I didn't leave

00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:04.079
that there. I know I didn't. I showed up on time.

00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:07.759
I'll probably be there. I love you. I'm not going

00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:09.019
to tell you about Jesus because I don't want

00:31:09.019 --> 00:31:10.640
you to be offended with me, but I love you. I

00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:13.319
care about you. You're my best friend. And then

00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:15.539
there's no Jesus? Not, you're my best friend.

00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:17.180
I know you're going to hell, but I want you to

00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:19.400
be my best friend anyway. And then I'm going

00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:20.859
to go to heaven when that time comes after that

00:31:20.859 --> 00:31:22.640
we can't really be best friends anymore. But

00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:23.960
in the meantime, we can be best friends for the

00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:26.359
next 60 years and I'll never say anything to

00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:29.279
offend you because I love you. You cannot love

00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:32.140
somebody without sharing the gospel with them.

00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.579
It is not possible because the gospel is the

00:31:34.579 --> 00:31:37.200
epitome of love. It is the perfect representation

00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:40.640
of love. There is no love without the sacrifice

00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:43.519
of Jesus in it. And you can't make that sacrifice

00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:45.960
yourself. But what you can do is stop embellishing

00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:48.480
the truth. And if you do not, will it be well

00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:50.839
with you when he examines you? Or will you deceive

00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:53.619
him as one deceives a man? Will you say to God,

00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.660
well, you know, God, I was going to tell everybody

00:31:56.660 --> 00:31:59.660
about Jesus. I was going to live not deceitfully.

00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.119
I was going to live outside falsehood. I was

00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:04.559
going to put it away and treat all people as

00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.759
brothers and sisters and lead them to you and

00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:08.700
hopefully they get saved. I was going to do that.

00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:11.180
But the kid on the bus, you know, he ate my pride.

00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:14.480
He affected my self -esteem. He damaged my courage.

00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:16.299
Whatever. He didn't really, they didn't want

00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:18.480
to hear. There was nobody to get saved. There

00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:20.240
was nobody around me who would hear the gospel

00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:21.859
for me to save them. Is that what you're going

00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:24.500
to tell God? When God asks, why were you embellishing

00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:26.880
the truth? Why were you packaging it in a way

00:32:26.880 --> 00:32:28.599
that the world would accept it? That's what's

00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.119
happening in open and affirming churches. I may

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:33.980
get hate mail for this one. People say, we love

00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:35.680
them. We have to love them despite their lifestyle.

00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:38.569
If you love them despite their lifestyle. and

00:32:38.569 --> 00:32:40.910
do not present the actual gospel of Jesus Christ,

00:32:41.009 --> 00:32:42.849
but rather wrap it in something that they will

00:32:42.849 --> 00:32:44.569
tolerate, wrap it in something that they will

00:32:44.569 --> 00:32:46.230
not get upset about, wrap it in something that

00:32:46.230 --> 00:32:47.990
they'll be able to keep coming and being there

00:32:47.990 --> 00:32:49.710
and being involved and serving and giving their

00:32:49.710 --> 00:32:52.869
money, right? Then you're a liar. You're just

00:32:52.869 --> 00:32:55.089
lying to them. That's all you're doing. And you're

00:32:55.089 --> 00:32:57.609
doing it literally every day, all day, as you

00:32:57.609 --> 00:32:59.549
live before them, saying that Jesus is somebody

00:32:59.549 --> 00:33:02.349
who's not. Will it be well when he examines you?

00:33:02.450 --> 00:33:05.549
Or will you deceive him, that's God, as one deceives

00:33:05.549 --> 00:33:10.390
a man? 2 Corinthians 11, 1 -4 talks about this

00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:13.130
from another angle, and we're over halfway done.

00:33:13.369 --> 00:33:16.009
It says this, 2 Corinthians 11, 1 -4 says, I

00:33:16.009 --> 00:33:18.250
wish that you would bear with me in a little

00:33:18.250 --> 00:33:19.930
foolishness. In other words, let's say this in

00:33:19.930 --> 00:33:22.130
a fun way. But instead, you are bearing with

00:33:22.130 --> 00:33:25.250
me. But indeed, you are bearing with me. For

00:33:25.250 --> 00:33:28.509
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For

00:33:28.509 --> 00:33:30.509
I betrothed you, that means I set you up to be

00:33:30.509 --> 00:33:33.450
married, to one husband, so that to Christ I

00:33:33.450 --> 00:33:36.150
might present you as a pure virgin. But I am

00:33:36.150 --> 00:33:38.990
afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his

00:33:38.990 --> 00:33:41.529
craftiness, now this is written to the church,

00:33:41.569 --> 00:33:43.250
so let's be very clear. This is written to a

00:33:43.250 --> 00:33:45.609
church, the church in Corinth. But I am afraid

00:33:45.609 --> 00:33:48.269
that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,

00:33:48.490 --> 00:33:51.269
your minds will be led astray from the simplicity

00:33:51.269 --> 00:33:54.490
and purity of devotion to Christ. I love the

00:33:54.490 --> 00:33:56.710
fact that devotion to Christ, which would be

00:33:56.710 --> 00:33:59.269
the most impossible thing to ever do if you were

00:33:59.269 --> 00:34:02.130
not saved and born again, is described as something

00:34:02.130 --> 00:34:05.369
as simple and pure. It's not complicated, folks.

00:34:05.589 --> 00:34:08.730
The gospel is not complicated. You don't even

00:34:08.730 --> 00:34:11.250
need 40 verses. In fact, you probably can't even

00:34:11.250 --> 00:34:14.570
convey it in words as simply as it actually is.

00:34:14.730 --> 00:34:18.090
It's so simple and it's so pure. But he's saying,

00:34:18.130 --> 00:34:20.389
I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by

00:34:20.389 --> 00:34:23.289
his craftiness, your minds will be led astray

00:34:23.289 --> 00:34:25.110
from the simplicity and purity of the devotion

00:34:25.110 --> 00:34:27.869
to Christ. Verse four says, for if one comes

00:34:27.869 --> 00:34:31.570
and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached.

00:34:32.010 --> 00:34:34.409
Or you receive a different spirit, which you

00:34:34.409 --> 00:34:37.849
have not received. Or a different gospel, which

00:34:37.849 --> 00:34:40.510
you have not accepted. You bear this beautifully.

00:34:40.909 --> 00:34:43.989
In other words, you take it in. You accept it.

00:34:44.050 --> 00:34:46.869
It's okay. And you think, well, all those other

00:34:46.869 --> 00:34:48.849
churches can't be wrong. Or all those other things

00:34:48.849 --> 00:34:50.889
that people are saying. Or all those worldly

00:34:50.889 --> 00:34:53.630
teachings that my parents taught me. I have to

00:34:53.630 --> 00:34:55.570
bring it all together somehow. I have to figure

00:34:55.570 --> 00:34:57.809
it all out and mesh it and make it work. But

00:34:57.809 --> 00:35:00.710
there is only one truth and one set of truths.

00:35:00.929 --> 00:35:04.170
And all that set of truths points to Jesus, originates

00:35:04.170 --> 00:35:07.309
from Jesus, is God's. There are nothing outside

00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:09.530
that. All the rest of that that we're thinking,

00:35:09.630 --> 00:35:12.769
well, okay, maybe, right? For example, and again,

00:35:13.010 --> 00:35:14.610
I'm not trying to be political, but I'm trying

00:35:14.610 --> 00:35:16.750
to put it in modern context, right? There are

00:35:16.750 --> 00:35:19.670
people who say, I'm against abortion. I hate

00:35:19.670 --> 00:35:21.789
the idea of killing an innocent unborn child

00:35:21.789 --> 00:35:23.670
before they're born. I just hate it. It's a living

00:35:23.670 --> 00:35:25.650
being and I hate it. And then there's other people

00:35:25.650 --> 00:35:30.230
who go, yeah, me too. But in cases of rape, incest,

00:35:30.250 --> 00:35:32.510
the child is going to be born with a sickness.

00:35:32.750 --> 00:35:36.030
Mom could die in the process. So those are extremes.

00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:38.849
And I could never bring myself to say that an

00:35:38.849 --> 00:35:41.010
abortion would be wrong in that case. Therefore,

00:35:41.210 --> 00:35:43.269
a willful determination of the pregnancy would

00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:46.690
be wrong in that case. Therefore, I have to embellish

00:35:46.690 --> 00:35:50.329
or package my idea of what it is. I can't say

00:35:50.329 --> 00:35:53.190
it's murder of an unborn child if an unborn child

00:35:53.190 --> 00:35:54.989
is killed. I can't do that. Because there are

00:35:54.989 --> 00:35:57.409
these cases in which it's acceptable. The world

00:35:57.409 --> 00:35:59.210
sees these kids. And so what happens is somebody

00:35:59.210 --> 00:36:02.969
brings in that teaching. You can take everything

00:36:02.969 --> 00:36:04.949
and make it okay if you take it to the nth degree.

00:36:05.130 --> 00:36:08.050
And that's what they've done. And so you have

00:36:08.050 --> 00:36:12.289
to go back to the simple, pure devotion to Christ.

00:36:12.510 --> 00:36:14.789
And I'm going to tell you right now that it is

00:36:14.789 --> 00:36:18.409
outside the will of Jesus Christ as the Son of

00:36:18.409 --> 00:36:22.449
God that any innocent child, pre -birth or after,

00:36:22.570 --> 00:36:25.780
would ever be murdered. Would ever be killed

00:36:25.780 --> 00:36:28.500
without exception. That's a little political,

00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:31.139
but I'm not trying to be political. It's an example

00:36:31.139 --> 00:36:35.659
of how people are struggling to draw the line.

00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:38.300
And if you're struggling to draw the line, if

00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:40.639
you embellish the truth, if you support it with

00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:42.840
things that will make it work or fit or keep

00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.300
you out of trouble. that make your logic or what

00:36:45.300 --> 00:36:47.679
your mom or dad told you, even if they were Christians

00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:49.519
and they were doing the best they could in their

00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:51.199
reasoning, whatever, or what you read in a book

00:36:51.199 --> 00:36:54.400
or saw in a Facebook video or a meme online or

00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:57.679
listened to in a podcast or watched in a video,

00:36:57.780 --> 00:37:00.480
if it does not line up with the simple and pure

00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:06.559
truth of Jesus Christ, it is a lie. And all falsehood

00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:09.800
is supposed to be put away from you. It is easier

00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:12.780
to accept a lie that is spoken often or louder.

00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:15.300
than it is to accept the truth that is rarely

00:37:15.300 --> 00:37:18.599
heard or simply hated. Don't you understand that

00:37:18.599 --> 00:37:22.260
our truth is supposed to be spoken often or louder?

00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:24.679
Not my personal truth, but the truth that is

00:37:24.679 --> 00:37:26.780
Jesus Christ, the truth of the gospel, the truth

00:37:26.780 --> 00:37:29.380
of his availability of the kingdom of God. God

00:37:29.380 --> 00:37:31.900
wants to adopt every living human being, whatever

00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:35.000
their age may be, into his eternal family. He's

00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:37.119
open for that. He's searching for his worshipers

00:37:37.119 --> 00:37:39.659
in spirit and truth. And anybody who is... willing,

00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.380
he is able to make them into a worshiper in spirit

00:37:42.380 --> 00:37:45.059
or truth. It's as if there was a new neurosurgeon's

00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:48.239
office opened in the city of Toledo and they

00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:50.360
needed neurosurgeons very badly, a flow of them.

00:37:50.500 --> 00:37:52.099
And they came in here in this room and they looked

00:37:52.099 --> 00:37:53.780
out and said, you're all pretty bright. I can

00:37:53.780 --> 00:37:55.380
see that. Everybody in this room is pretty smart.

00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:58.900
So here's what we'll do. We'll pay you $250 ,000

00:37:58.900 --> 00:38:01.050
a year as a neurosurgeon starting today. You're

00:38:01.050 --> 00:38:02.730
like, I can't do neurosurgery. There's no way

00:38:02.730 --> 00:38:04.550
I can do a surgery on somebody's brain. That's

00:38:04.550 --> 00:38:06.630
absolutely nuts. I can't even, I can't stand

00:38:06.630 --> 00:38:08.449
blood. I can't even use a scalpel. What am I

00:38:08.449 --> 00:38:10.550
going to do? I can't do this. They say, no, no,

00:38:10.590 --> 00:38:12.250
no, you don't understand. We'll begin to pay

00:38:12.250 --> 00:38:15.090
you as a neurosurgeon now. Then we'll pay for

00:38:15.090 --> 00:38:17.369
your schooling and all your room and board. So

00:38:17.369 --> 00:38:19.489
that $250 ,000 is just free money. We'll pay

00:38:19.489 --> 00:38:21.610
for all of that over the next 20 years. And at

00:38:21.610 --> 00:38:24.570
the end of 20 years, you'll be prepared to be

00:38:24.570 --> 00:38:27.400
one of the best neurosurgeons in the world. $250

00:38:27.400 --> 00:38:29.920
,000 a year for 20 years plus room and board,

00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:31.500
everything to take care of, all the training,

00:38:31.619 --> 00:38:33.440
all the equipping, everything that you need.

00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:35.239
We'll make sure that in 20 years you're one of

00:38:35.239 --> 00:38:37.000
the world's best neurosurgeons. All you got to

00:38:37.000 --> 00:38:39.320
do is show up and work 30 hours a week. Just

00:38:39.320 --> 00:38:41.659
show up and work and just try for 30 hours a

00:38:41.659 --> 00:38:43.599
week. Who says no to an arrangement like that?

00:38:44.079 --> 00:38:48.019
God is saying to you that through simple and

00:38:48.019 --> 00:38:51.539
pure devotion to Christ, he will equip you to

00:38:51.539 --> 00:38:53.519
be everything that he wants you to be in your

00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:57.550
lifetime, but it is easier. to accept a lie that

00:38:57.550 --> 00:39:00.849
is spoken often and loudly than it is to accept

00:39:00.849 --> 00:39:03.389
the truth that is rarely heard or simply hated.

00:39:03.590 --> 00:39:06.429
In the book of, I believe it's 2 Chronicles.

00:39:06.630 --> 00:39:09.550
Yeah, the book of 2 Chronicles, the king has

00:39:09.550 --> 00:39:11.349
been consulting all these prophets to find out

00:39:11.349 --> 00:39:13.369
what's going to happen. And it's actually God's

00:39:13.369 --> 00:39:15.789
desire that this goes poorly. It's Ahab. You

00:39:15.789 --> 00:39:17.869
may or may not remember Ahab, but Ahab's a bad

00:39:17.869 --> 00:39:20.170
dude. He's one of the evil kings. In fact, he's

00:39:20.170 --> 00:39:22.170
so evil that at one point in time, he and his

00:39:22.170 --> 00:39:25.449
wife were having a dinner party. And they took

00:39:25.449 --> 00:39:28.010
all the devout priests of God and hung them on

00:39:28.010 --> 00:39:31.269
posts, soaked them in tar, and lit them on fire

00:39:31.269 --> 00:39:33.050
to light the streets of Jerusalem around the

00:39:33.050 --> 00:39:35.550
palace. That's how bad he was. He's a bad guy,

00:39:35.670 --> 00:39:38.829
right? And so God wants to be done with them.

00:39:38.929 --> 00:39:40.409
He's arranging for him to be done with them.

00:39:40.789 --> 00:39:44.389
And God uses the prophet Micaiah, and he says

00:39:44.389 --> 00:39:47.489
this. Micaiah said, therefore, hear the word

00:39:47.489 --> 00:39:50.690
of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne.

00:39:51.119 --> 00:39:53.420
and all the hosts of heaven standing on his right

00:39:53.420 --> 00:39:55.460
and on his left. So there's God on the throne

00:39:55.460 --> 00:39:57.940
and all the hosts of heaven around him. And the

00:39:57.940 --> 00:40:00.880
Lord said, who will entice Ahab king of Israel

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:04.059
to go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one of

00:40:04.059 --> 00:40:05.780
the heavenly hosts, one of those who were around

00:40:05.780 --> 00:40:08.320
him said, and one said this while another said

00:40:08.320 --> 00:40:10.260
that. They had different ideas of how it could

00:40:10.260 --> 00:40:12.699
be done. Then a spirit came forward and stood

00:40:12.699 --> 00:40:14.820
before the Lord and said, I will entice him.

00:40:15.099 --> 00:40:17.909
And the Lord said to him, how? He said, I will

00:40:17.909 --> 00:40:20.570
go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of

00:40:20.570 --> 00:40:23.170
all his prophets. And then he said, you are to

00:40:23.170 --> 00:40:26.630
entice him and prevail also. Go and do so. So

00:40:26.630 --> 00:40:28.989
the spirit volunteered to go and be a lying spirit

00:40:28.989 --> 00:40:31.289
in the mouth of the prophets to lie to Ahab.

00:40:31.389 --> 00:40:33.230
And God said, okay, that's a good plan. Go do

00:40:33.230 --> 00:40:35.630
that. Verse 22, it says, now, therefore, behold,

00:40:35.909 --> 00:40:38.510
the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth

00:40:38.510 --> 00:40:41.010
of these, your prophets, for the Lord has proclaimed

00:40:41.010 --> 00:40:42.829
disaster against you. He was saying to Ahab,

00:40:42.909 --> 00:40:44.829
you're going to die. And you're listening to

00:40:44.829 --> 00:40:47.309
all these prophets that are filling you with

00:40:47.309 --> 00:40:49.550
hogwash. They're telling you what that evil spirit

00:40:49.550 --> 00:40:51.730
is leading them to say. And now I'm here to tell

00:40:51.730 --> 00:40:53.969
you, basically, if you repent and turn back to

00:40:53.969 --> 00:40:55.849
God and do not follow the plans of that evil

00:40:55.849 --> 00:40:58.409
spirit, you will be better off. So the king goes,

00:40:58.590 --> 00:41:00.570
see, didn't I tell you after that? He says, didn't

00:41:00.570 --> 00:41:02.309
I tell you that he'd prophecy badly against me?

00:41:02.369 --> 00:41:04.449
So send him back to the governor of the prophecies

00:41:04.449 --> 00:41:06.250
from and tell them, put him in jail, lock him

00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:08.510
up until he's dead. But what Micaiah said was

00:41:08.510 --> 00:41:10.469
true. And the king goes out then and is killed

00:41:10.469 --> 00:41:12.699
in battle. And so. What you need to understand

00:41:12.699 --> 00:41:15.699
is that your flesh loves a lie. That part of

00:41:15.699 --> 00:41:18.900
you that does not want to truly be in fellowship

00:41:18.900 --> 00:41:21.239
with God, that really wants to be into pornography

00:41:21.239 --> 00:41:24.559
or wants to get more money or get more chocolate

00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:26.840
or whatever things that will make you feel good

00:41:26.840 --> 00:41:28.380
that are outside God, whatever that might be,

00:41:28.460 --> 00:41:31.440
your flesh loves a lie because it's a thing that

00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:33.840
you can fashion while the truth, on the other

00:41:33.840 --> 00:41:36.159
hand, is largely outside of your control. You

00:41:36.159 --> 00:41:38.559
can't change Jesus. You can craft a lie to surround

00:41:38.559 --> 00:41:39.940
him to make him look like something different,

00:41:39.980 --> 00:41:42.050
but you can't change him. You can't change the

00:41:42.050 --> 00:41:44.449
reality that you've got to stop lying. You've

00:41:44.449 --> 00:41:46.650
got to stop lying. You've got to. You've got

00:41:46.650 --> 00:41:49.269
to be giving. You should be giving sacrificially.

00:41:49.449 --> 00:41:51.789
You've got to be serving. You cannot change those

00:41:51.789 --> 00:41:55.190
truths. But we like to be able to control our

00:41:55.190 --> 00:41:57.670
environment. We were made creators, like God,

00:41:57.690 --> 00:41:59.170
made in the image of God. We were made creators.

00:41:59.309 --> 00:42:02.030
And so a lie works for us because we can alter

00:42:02.030 --> 00:42:05.690
that truth to be palatable. We can make it work

00:42:05.690 --> 00:42:07.550
for us. And when someone will come to us and

00:42:07.550 --> 00:42:09.130
say, look, you don't want that. You know how

00:42:09.130 --> 00:42:11.800
many... You know how many preachers or so -called

00:42:11.800 --> 00:42:13.599
pastors are out there right now in the world

00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:15.960
teaching a gospel of Jesus Christ that will not

00:42:15.960 --> 00:42:18.199
save people, that will push people, manipulate

00:42:18.199 --> 00:42:20.460
people, trick people into doing and being what

00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:22.260
it is that the devil wants them to do and be?

00:42:22.380 --> 00:42:24.019
I don't know what the percentage is, but it's

00:42:24.019 --> 00:42:25.619
a lot. And I'm not going to name any names, but

00:42:25.619 --> 00:42:28.219
I've seen them personally. I watched a very large

00:42:28.219 --> 00:42:30.159
megachurch pastor from the Midwest preach on

00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:31.940
TV at one point in time. And he preached out

00:42:31.940 --> 00:42:35.619
of the story, the book of Exodus, where they're

00:42:35.619 --> 00:42:37.079
getting ready to come out of Egypt. And he preached

00:42:37.079 --> 00:42:39.260
out of the passage where the people give their

00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:42.880
earrings, their gold and silver to the Israelites

00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:44.579
as they're getting ready to flee. And then he

00:42:44.579 --> 00:42:47.519
spent 15 minutes telling the congregation that

00:42:47.519 --> 00:42:48.960
if there was anything in the world that they

00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:51.119
didn't have, it was only because they had not

00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:54.369
asked. lost people for it. His whole message

00:42:54.369 --> 00:42:57.269
was this. If you want something in this lifetime,

00:42:57.489 --> 00:43:01.130
go ask lost people for it and God will make them

00:43:01.130 --> 00:43:02.690
give it to you. That was the message. Now would

00:43:02.690 --> 00:43:05.550
that be on TV? Watched by thousands, tens of

00:43:05.550 --> 00:43:07.130
thousands of people at the church of 5 ,000 people.

00:43:07.449 --> 00:43:11.070
There are more preachers in the world preaching

00:43:11.070 --> 00:43:13.550
a gospel that is not about Jesus, is not godly

00:43:13.550 --> 00:43:16.289
in any way, than we will ever know. Now, will

00:43:16.289 --> 00:43:18.269
they get to God and have to answer? Will they

00:43:18.269 --> 00:43:19.889
do well? Will they lie to God? No, they will

00:43:19.889 --> 00:43:21.909
suffer for it. They're going to pay for it when

00:43:21.909 --> 00:43:24.110
the time comes, even if they get saved or are

00:43:24.110 --> 00:43:25.969
saved between now and then and spend eternity

00:43:25.969 --> 00:43:27.909
with God. In the meantime, they will answer for

00:43:27.909 --> 00:43:29.650
their actions, whatever that looks like. They

00:43:29.650 --> 00:43:31.530
will have to say to God, oh yeah, I know, I knew

00:43:31.530 --> 00:43:32.829
I was preaching the wrong thing, but see how

00:43:32.829 --> 00:43:34.530
many people I got to fill the building? See how

00:43:34.530 --> 00:43:36.389
many people I got to listen to me? See how many

00:43:36.389 --> 00:43:38.469
demons we cast out? There were those who were

00:43:38.469 --> 00:43:40.050
casting out demons who were not doing it in the

00:43:40.050 --> 00:43:42.190
name of Jesus or for Jesus. And Jesus said, well,

00:43:42.210 --> 00:43:43.730
if they're not against us, then they're for us.

00:43:43.829 --> 00:43:45.809
They're still casting out demons. But then he

00:43:45.809 --> 00:43:47.889
said, not all of those who say unto me, Lord,

00:43:47.949 --> 00:43:49.590
Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven.

00:43:49.769 --> 00:43:51.429
And he said that to those who said that they

00:43:51.429 --> 00:43:54.489
had cast out demons and healed the sick. If a

00:43:54.489 --> 00:43:56.730
man thinks himself to be something when he is

00:43:56.730 --> 00:43:59.349
nothing, he deceiveth himself, Galatians 6 .3.

00:43:59.610 --> 00:44:03.030
And so the reality is we love a lie because a

00:44:03.030 --> 00:44:05.230
lie can make us into something that we want to

00:44:05.230 --> 00:44:08.429
be that we're actually not. It can make us into

00:44:08.429 --> 00:44:10.289
something that we want to be that we're actually

00:44:10.289 --> 00:44:12.670
not. And when a person thinks he is something

00:44:12.670 --> 00:44:15.849
when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. You've

00:44:15.849 --> 00:44:18.909
got to stop lying to yourself. You've got to

00:44:18.909 --> 00:44:21.349
stop adapting the evil spirit lies that are in

00:44:21.349 --> 00:44:23.909
the world to your own benefit. You've got to

00:44:23.909 --> 00:44:26.469
stop adapting the truth of the kingdom to make

00:44:26.469 --> 00:44:28.969
it more comfortable. You've got to stop adding

00:44:28.969 --> 00:44:31.670
to your yes and no and saying probably or maybe

00:44:31.670 --> 00:44:34.610
or whatever and just say yes when it's the right

00:44:34.610 --> 00:44:36.530
thing to do and no when it's not or if the Lord

00:44:36.530 --> 00:44:38.869
so wills and then if the Lord so wills, make

00:44:38.869 --> 00:44:43.059
it happen. The fact is, if you want a lie, If

00:44:43.059 --> 00:44:45.059
you want a life that fits the lies of the world,

00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:48.460
God will give it to you. Based on the text that

00:44:48.460 --> 00:44:50.500
we just read in 2 Chronicles, the text we just

00:44:50.500 --> 00:44:52.800
read from Galatians, the bottom line is if you

00:44:52.800 --> 00:44:54.900
want a lie, if you want a life that fits the

00:44:54.900 --> 00:44:56.920
lies of this world, God will give it to you.

00:44:56.940 --> 00:44:59.179
You can have it. It's available to you. You can

00:44:59.179 --> 00:45:00.880
do those kinds of things that we've been talking

00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:05.280
about, bless you, and have that lie, and it'll

00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:07.599
probably feel good. So much so that this is true.

00:45:07.679 --> 00:45:11.320
If you see yourself as a loving child to your

00:45:11.320 --> 00:45:13.469
parents, So if you're in this room and your mom

00:45:13.469 --> 00:45:16.150
or dad are still alive, if you see yourself as

00:45:16.150 --> 00:45:18.809
a loving child, teenagers, Alex, if you see yourself

00:45:18.809 --> 00:45:21.449
as a loving child to your parents and you lie

00:45:21.449 --> 00:45:25.289
to them, then you are not a loving child. You're

00:45:25.289 --> 00:45:29.210
just a liar. Now, I understand if you're saved

00:45:29.210 --> 00:45:31.250
and you're still doing that, then you're not

00:45:31.250 --> 00:45:33.429
technically a liar, right? Because you don't

00:45:33.429 --> 00:45:35.289
get identity of your sins once you're saved.

00:45:35.449 --> 00:45:37.670
But also, once your sins are brought to your

00:45:37.670 --> 00:45:39.289
attention, you repent of them and turn to God

00:45:39.289 --> 00:45:40.960
and follow him. And if you're not willing to

00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:44.099
do that, then maybe you're not a Christian. If

00:45:44.099 --> 00:45:47.579
you see yourself as a good employee, I'm a hard

00:45:47.579 --> 00:45:51.199
worker. I'm worth more than I'm paid. If you

00:45:51.199 --> 00:45:53.440
see yourself as a good employee, and yet you

00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:59.739
lie to your boss, your coworkers, clients, then

00:45:59.739 --> 00:46:03.159
you're not a good employee. If you see yourself

00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:06.219
as a devout Christian, but you lie to your brothers

00:46:06.219 --> 00:46:09.280
or sisters in Christ, or to God, or to yourself,

00:46:09.849 --> 00:46:11.590
And you may see yourself as a devout Christian,

00:46:11.730 --> 00:46:14.289
but you're not a devout Christian. Because we

00:46:14.289 --> 00:46:16.650
put away lying. We don't lie about whether we

00:46:16.650 --> 00:46:19.050
did our chores. We don't lie about whether we

00:46:19.050 --> 00:46:21.309
got our work done. We don't lie about what we

00:46:21.309 --> 00:46:23.349
did with our boyfriend or girlfriend. We don't

00:46:23.349 --> 00:46:25.769
lie about our tithes or our offerings or our

00:46:25.769 --> 00:46:28.690
service or our availability. And by not lying,

00:46:28.730 --> 00:46:30.829
I mean we don't say probably when we actually

00:46:30.829 --> 00:46:32.769
know we probably won't. The fact is we probably

00:46:32.769 --> 00:46:34.150
shouldn't say probably at all. We should say

00:46:34.150 --> 00:46:36.210
yes or no or if the Lord so wills. And if the

00:46:36.210 --> 00:46:37.929
Lord so wills, we should darn well make it happen.

00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:40.260
You know, if it's the Lord so wills on Wednesday,

00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:42.400
between now and Wednesday, if you have to die

00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:43.900
to make that happen, then you die to make it

00:46:43.900 --> 00:46:45.679
happen. Don't say the Lord so wills unless you're

00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:47.400
taking it seriously. He died to make it happen.

00:46:47.539 --> 00:46:50.119
He said, your will, not my will be done. And

00:46:50.119 --> 00:46:51.519
when you say, if the Lord so wills, that's what

00:46:51.519 --> 00:46:53.340
you're saying. And so when you make a commitment,

00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:56.039
you make that happen. If you have to die to make

00:46:56.039 --> 00:46:58.059
it happen or don't make a commitment, if you

00:46:58.059 --> 00:47:00.239
say the Lord so wills and he does not, and he

00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:02.539
has you somewhere else doing something else because

00:47:02.539 --> 00:47:04.800
he wills it and you know he willed it, then fine.

00:47:05.079 --> 00:47:07.280
That's one thing. But otherwise, if you say the

00:47:07.280 --> 00:47:09.179
Lord so wills, then you make it happen. See,

00:47:09.219 --> 00:47:11.179
this could go on and on. You could look at every

00:47:11.179 --> 00:47:13.760
kind of thing a person is. A good dad, a good

00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:17.880
husband, a good son, a hard worker, a good soldier,

00:47:18.119 --> 00:47:21.360
a good janitor, a good car salesman, whatever.

00:47:21.440 --> 00:47:23.440
You could look at yourself and assess yourself.

00:47:23.579 --> 00:47:25.440
And if in your reasoning you say, yeah, I'm there,

00:47:25.599 --> 00:47:28.699
but you're lying as part of it, you're not there.

00:47:28.900 --> 00:47:31.019
That brings us to our conclusion. A couple of

00:47:31.019 --> 00:47:34.559
illustrations. In an English village in 1792,

00:47:35.199 --> 00:47:38.400
an illiterate domestic servant named Joanna Southcott.

00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:41.059
Anybody ever heard of her? Interesting. She became

00:47:41.059 --> 00:47:43.119
mentally unbalanced and announced that she had

00:47:43.119 --> 00:47:46.659
become the bride of Christ. And she was to be

00:47:46.659 --> 00:47:49.980
the mother of the second Messiah. Shortly, she

00:47:49.980 --> 00:47:51.920
was established in London where she became very

00:47:51.920 --> 00:47:56.340
popular and cultivated 100 ,000 ignorant and

00:47:56.340 --> 00:47:59.820
credulous followers called Southcottians, which

00:47:59.820 --> 00:48:03.309
is her last name. Southcottians. A small sect

00:48:03.309 --> 00:48:07.949
of South Katians still exists today. She made

00:48:07.949 --> 00:48:10.230
a fortune from the sale of her prophecies, which

00:48:10.230 --> 00:48:13.010
were incoherent and written in rhyme, and from

00:48:13.010 --> 00:48:14.829
the sale of certificates guaranteeing salvation

00:48:14.829 --> 00:48:18.130
to the purchasers. After long evading the question,

00:48:18.349 --> 00:48:20.829
Joanna finally prophesied the date, October 19,

00:48:21.210 --> 00:48:24.650
1814, when she would give birth to the promised

00:48:24.650 --> 00:48:27.530
holy babe. But nothing happened, and she died

00:48:27.530 --> 00:48:30.250
of a brain disease ten weeks later. And yet...

00:48:30.460 --> 00:48:33.239
there are still South Katians to this day. Crazy.

00:48:33.619 --> 00:48:36.500
She left a man behind a mysterious box with the

00:48:36.500 --> 00:48:39.539
request that it be left sealed until its contents

00:48:39.539 --> 00:48:41.619
were needed to solve the problems of a great

00:48:41.619 --> 00:48:45.519
world crisis. When opened in 1928, it was found

00:48:45.519 --> 00:48:48.739
to contain a dice box, a novel, a puzzle, a lottery

00:48:48.739 --> 00:48:52.179
ticket, and a lady's nightcap and a horse pistol.

00:48:52.380 --> 00:48:56.380
And yet, there are still South Katians to this

00:48:56.380 --> 00:49:00.510
day. Because a lie that is spoken often and loudly,

00:49:00.710 --> 00:49:03.550
will be preferred by the world and even by Christians

00:49:03.550 --> 00:49:05.969
if they are not armed with these truths over

00:49:05.969 --> 00:49:09.530
a truth not spoken often enough or even hated.

00:49:13.409 --> 00:49:16.369
Paul Lee Tan writes that when the father of the

00:49:16.369 --> 00:49:19.050
great philosopher Immanuel Kant was an old man,

00:49:19.289 --> 00:49:21.269
he made a perilous journey through the forests

00:49:21.269 --> 00:49:24.690
of Poland to his native country of Cilicia. On

00:49:24.690 --> 00:49:26.730
the way, he encountered a band of robbers who

00:49:26.730 --> 00:49:29.329
demanded all his valuables. Finally, when it

00:49:29.329 --> 00:49:31.690
was all done, they asked him, have you given

00:49:31.690 --> 00:49:34.989
us all? And only letting him go after he answered

00:49:34.989 --> 00:49:38.070
all. When safely out of their sight, his hand

00:49:38.070 --> 00:49:39.829
touched something hard in the hem of his robe.

00:49:39.949 --> 00:49:42.849
It was his gold, which had been sewn there for

00:49:42.849 --> 00:49:45.250
safety and quite forgotten by him in his fear

00:49:45.250 --> 00:49:48.090
and confusion. At once, he hurried back to find

00:49:48.090 --> 00:49:50.929
the robbers. And having found them, he said meekly,

00:49:51.010 --> 00:49:54.110
what was not true. I have said what was not true.

00:49:54.489 --> 00:49:57.690
It was unintentional. I was too terrified to

00:49:57.690 --> 00:50:01.500
think. Here, take the gold in my robes. Then

00:50:01.500 --> 00:50:03.699
to the old man's astonishment, nobody offered

00:50:03.699 --> 00:50:06.519
to take his gold. Presently one went and brought

00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:08.800
back his purse. Another restored his book of

00:50:08.800 --> 00:50:11.340
prayer, while still another led his horse toward

00:50:11.340 --> 00:50:14.340
him and helped him to mount. They then unitedly

00:50:14.340 --> 00:50:16.679
entreated his blessing and watched him slowly

00:50:16.679 --> 00:50:19.179
ride away. Goodness had triumphed over evil.

00:50:19.400 --> 00:50:23.369
Now, would you, under those circumstances? Go

00:50:23.369 --> 00:50:25.750
back and give the coin that you'd found in your

00:50:25.750 --> 00:50:28.349
robe simply because you had lied and said that

00:50:28.349 --> 00:50:30.730
you had given them everything? I submit to you,

00:50:30.809 --> 00:50:35.190
we had better. Your mouth means something. Your

00:50:35.190 --> 00:50:37.329
words mean something. You ask, do you want God

00:50:37.329 --> 00:50:39.949
to look at your lips and go, oh, that's disgusting.

00:50:40.190 --> 00:50:43.449
That's sick. I can't believe I made that. I can't

00:50:43.449 --> 00:50:46.550
believe that's going on. God loves you and you

00:50:46.550 --> 00:50:49.409
want him to look at you and go, what did he or

00:50:49.409 --> 00:50:53.190
she just say? What falsehood did they just? Present?

00:50:54.309 --> 00:50:58.849
I say we go back and give over the coin. I say

00:50:58.849 --> 00:51:02.769
we make what we say matter. There are only two

00:51:02.769 --> 00:51:06.449
ways. One right and the other is wrong. About

00:51:06.449 --> 00:51:09.610
is always wrong. Don't tell me it's about right.

00:51:09.929 --> 00:51:12.590
If it's only about right, then it's wrong. If

00:51:12.590 --> 00:51:14.550
you come to it, by the way, you get that, right?

00:51:14.650 --> 00:51:16.710
If it's about right, it's approximately right.

00:51:16.750 --> 00:51:18.630
If it's almost right, if it's getting close to

00:51:18.630 --> 00:51:20.469
right, it's just not right. Does that make sense?

00:51:20.969 --> 00:51:22.849
We wouldn't have to say almost, about, approximately,

00:51:22.869 --> 00:51:25.269
getting close if it was right. If it's that close,

00:51:25.429 --> 00:51:27.909
if it's as close as it could ever be, but not

00:51:27.909 --> 00:51:30.969
right, it's not right. If you come to a stream

00:51:30.969 --> 00:51:33.630
five feet wide and jump four and a half feet,

00:51:33.710 --> 00:51:36.730
you fall in and get wet. If you jump four and

00:51:36.730 --> 00:51:38.670
seven eighths feet, hit the bank, bounce off,

00:51:38.730 --> 00:51:40.789
fall in and get wet. You will get just as soaked.

00:51:40.829 --> 00:51:43.650
Not right is not right. You might just as well

00:51:43.650 --> 00:51:45.449
have tumbled in from the other side and save

00:51:45.449 --> 00:51:47.349
yourself the exertion of the jump. Why bother?

00:51:47.800 --> 00:51:49.599
If you're going to jump a five -foot stream,

00:51:49.699 --> 00:51:51.679
why would you bother to jump anything less than

00:51:51.679 --> 00:51:53.860
five feet? And that's what we're talking about.

00:51:54.019 --> 00:51:57.860
Put falsehood away from you and stop lying. Tell

00:51:57.860 --> 00:52:01.380
the truth. Be a representative of the truth in

00:52:01.380 --> 00:52:03.840
this world. There's a man, kind of a comical

00:52:03.840 --> 00:52:06.420
story. He saw an ad in the newspaper where a

00:52:06.420 --> 00:52:08.960
talking dog was for sale. He went to go buy the

00:52:08.960 --> 00:52:10.539
talking dog. He showed up and there's a dog laying

00:52:10.539 --> 00:52:12.179
on the porch. He went past the dog, knocked on

00:52:12.179 --> 00:52:13.980
the door. Dog just looking at him with a lazy

00:52:13.980 --> 00:52:16.320
eye. Owner comes outside and says, hey, I saw

00:52:16.320 --> 00:52:17.880
you had a talking dog for sale. Do you have a

00:52:17.880 --> 00:52:19.559
talking dog for sale? He said, yes, I do. It's

00:52:19.559 --> 00:52:21.800
this dog right here. And the guy said, oh, yeah,

00:52:21.820 --> 00:52:23.039
we'll see about this. And he kneeled down in

00:52:23.039 --> 00:52:24.760
front of the dog and he said, are you a talking

00:52:24.760 --> 00:52:26.860
dog? The dog said, yeah, I've been talking my

00:52:26.860 --> 00:52:29.139
whole life. So I have had an incredible life.

00:52:29.460 --> 00:52:32.039
I was a bomb sniffer for the army. I worked in

00:52:32.039 --> 00:52:35.059
the CIA hunting down fugitives. I even protect

00:52:35.059 --> 00:52:36.579
the president as part of the Secret Service.

00:52:36.840 --> 00:52:39.099
And the guy's like, it's a talking dog. Yes.

00:52:39.860 --> 00:52:41.699
This is awesome. And he looked at the owner and

00:52:41.699 --> 00:52:43.119
he said, how much? I'll pay anything. And the

00:52:43.119 --> 00:52:46.139
owner said, 10 bucks. He said, 10 bucks? Why

00:52:46.139 --> 00:52:49.179
so cheap? And he said, because this dog's a stinking

00:52:49.179 --> 00:52:53.199
liar. What are you worth? Are you a stinking

00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:59.239
liar? You're not. You were not created to be

00:52:59.239 --> 00:53:02.420
that. Notice the lightning point. It does not

00:53:02.420 --> 00:53:05.800
say that lies trap you in a state of worthlessness.

00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:09.380
As it is written, it means worth, space, less.

00:53:10.339 --> 00:53:13.739
It is the state of being worth less. Not worthless,

00:53:13.940 --> 00:53:16.960
but worth less. As a Christian, a follower of

00:53:16.960 --> 00:53:19.400
the Lord, if you are still lying, you are worth

00:53:19.400 --> 00:53:22.059
less than you will be when you stop lying. As

00:53:22.059 --> 00:53:23.940
a lost person, if you are still lying, you may

00:53:23.940 --> 00:53:25.760
never be saved until you think you're saved and

00:53:25.760 --> 00:53:27.639
you're making yourself out to be something you're

00:53:27.639 --> 00:53:28.980
not. You may never get there. You need to stop

00:53:28.980 --> 00:53:32.260
lying and accept the truth and become worth what

00:53:32.260 --> 00:53:34.000
God would desire to make you. A person who is

00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:36.059
a liar is not worth nothing. And that's what

00:53:36.059 --> 00:53:37.599
we do. Somebody lies to us a few many times,

00:53:37.639 --> 00:53:39.159
we want to just write them off. I can't trust

00:53:39.159 --> 00:53:40.639
them. I want nothing to do with them. But a person

00:53:40.639 --> 00:53:42.760
who is a liar is not worth nothing. He or she

00:53:42.760 --> 00:53:45.280
has the potential to be a child of God. He need

00:53:45.280 --> 00:53:47.559
only believe the truth and repent, which is to

00:53:47.559 --> 00:53:50.000
say, turn to God through Jesus Christ for salvation,

00:53:50.179 --> 00:53:53.260
and he or she will be born again. With that potential

00:53:53.260 --> 00:53:55.460
so readily at hand, the lie, the willingness

00:53:55.460 --> 00:53:58.320
to lie, the desire to embrace a lie, readiness

00:53:58.320 --> 00:54:00.760
and availability of a variety of lies, and the

00:54:00.760 --> 00:54:03.539
king of all lies, Satan himself, which is the

00:54:03.539 --> 00:54:07.079
lie, That he or she is something when he or she

00:54:07.079 --> 00:54:10.239
actually is nothing. These things are put in

00:54:10.239 --> 00:54:12.400
place. They work together to keep that person

00:54:12.400 --> 00:54:15.239
from realizing their potential. You know somebody

00:54:15.239 --> 00:54:18.199
and you might be somebody who's bought into lies.

00:54:18.340 --> 00:54:21.280
And unless those lies are dismissed, unless those

00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:23.800
lies are put away, unless the new person has

00:54:23.800 --> 00:54:26.719
a renewed mind to live and walk the truth and

00:54:26.719 --> 00:54:30.480
speak the truth as painful as it may be, you

00:54:30.480 --> 00:54:33.309
could be trapped there. While the liar creatively

00:54:33.309 --> 00:54:36.429
carves out a meager existence, sometimes rising

00:54:36.429 --> 00:54:38.550
to what a man would consider greatness. Great

00:54:38.550 --> 00:54:41.070
liars sometimes achieve what human beings would

00:54:41.070 --> 00:54:44.070
consider greatness. But while all it really is

00:54:44.070 --> 00:54:47.090
is a meager existence, he actively throws away

00:54:47.090 --> 00:54:50.170
his greatest potential. He dismisses the opportunity

00:54:50.170 --> 00:54:52.010
to receive the keys to the kingdom and to live

00:54:52.010 --> 00:54:55.199
forever as an eternal child of God. Turn to Christ

00:54:55.199 --> 00:54:57.719
today, whether you are a child of God already,

00:54:57.940 --> 00:54:59.820
saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, and are just

00:54:59.820 --> 00:55:01.800
now concluding that you have been all too willing

00:55:01.800 --> 00:55:04.980
to receive a lie, or to perpetrate a lie, or

00:55:04.980 --> 00:55:07.139
if right now in this moment you are realizing

00:55:07.139 --> 00:55:09.699
that your salvation has been a lie, or your life

00:55:09.699 --> 00:55:12.079
has been a game moving from one lie to another,

00:55:12.300 --> 00:55:14.099
and you've never truly embraced Jesus Christ

00:55:14.099 --> 00:55:18.079
as Lord and Savior, turn to Christ now. Lie not.

00:55:18.559 --> 00:55:25.139
Are you a follower of Jesus? Lie not. If you

00:55:25.139 --> 00:55:27.280
are a devout follower of the Lord, no one will

00:55:27.280 --> 00:55:30.639
ever find you being anything but, and God will

00:55:30.639 --> 00:55:32.599
empower it to be so. Am I saying perfection?

00:55:32.860 --> 00:55:35.739
No. God understands that the sacrifices of the

00:55:35.739 --> 00:55:37.900
Lord are a broken and contrite heart. So you

00:55:37.900 --> 00:55:39.719
may be here and you say, look, I have been struggling

00:55:39.719 --> 00:55:42.559
with lying, even if it is only in dressing up

00:55:42.559 --> 00:55:44.960
the truth, avoiding struggles in the world because

00:55:44.960 --> 00:55:46.460
I make the truth look like something that it's

00:55:46.460 --> 00:55:48.039
not so that they'll be comfortable with it, whatever.

00:55:48.239 --> 00:55:49.619
Even if I've been doing it one of those ways,

00:55:49.699 --> 00:55:52.360
I have been embracing lying. And if you have

00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:54.159
been doing that, you need to repent today, which

00:55:54.159 --> 00:55:56.659
is to turn to God. Not turn away from lying because

00:55:56.659 --> 00:55:58.000
you'll just turn to something else. You turn

00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:00.659
to God and let him put an end to it. And the

00:56:00.659 --> 00:56:02.679
next time you think about it, I want you to think

00:56:02.679 --> 00:56:04.579
when I was in the basement of East Toledo Baptist

00:56:04.579 --> 00:56:06.300
Church, two and a half years into my salvation,

00:56:06.500 --> 00:56:08.280
and I told one of the old deacons who walked

00:56:08.280 --> 00:56:10.340
on a cane and couldn't move the tables that I

00:56:10.340 --> 00:56:12.139
would come and move tables for an upcoming event.

00:56:12.260 --> 00:56:15.099
I didn't really want to do it. But first I said,

00:56:15.219 --> 00:56:17.900
I can't do it. I'm busy that day. It was a Saturday

00:56:17.900 --> 00:56:19.380
afternoon. I had nothing going on. I said, I'm

00:56:19.380 --> 00:56:21.059
busy that day. I can't do it. And he said, okay,

00:56:21.119 --> 00:56:23.079
that's fine. And the Holy Spirit said to me,

00:56:23.139 --> 00:56:26.559
no, no, it's not about tables. It's not about

00:56:26.559 --> 00:56:29.139
relationship. It's not about community. It's

00:56:29.139 --> 00:56:31.980
about who you are. And if you tell a little white

00:56:31.980 --> 00:56:35.559
lie, that's not you acting as somebody who's

00:56:35.559 --> 00:56:39.000
mine. That's you trying to control your circumstances

00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:41.219
to get the outcome that you want. You're taking

00:56:41.219 --> 00:56:43.280
it away from me. What will you do when the time

00:56:43.280 --> 00:56:45.440
comes? If you're continuing to live in deceptiveness,

00:56:45.559 --> 00:56:46.780
what will you do when the time comes? If you

00:56:46.780 --> 00:56:48.159
continue to believe you're one thing and you're

00:56:48.159 --> 00:56:49.719
actually not, you'll stand before Jesus and he

00:56:49.719 --> 00:56:51.099
says, you're not actually what you say you are.

00:56:51.719 --> 00:56:53.139
You haven't even been doing what you say you

00:56:53.139 --> 00:56:56.139
are. Let us repent and turn to the Lord and let

00:56:56.139 --> 00:56:59.179
him build us up to speak truth, even when it

00:56:59.179 --> 00:57:02.559
costs us everything. Because that is who we are.

00:57:02.820 --> 00:57:04.380
I ask the praise team to come forward at this

00:57:04.380 --> 00:57:06.900
time and lead us in our final song. As we sing

00:57:06.900 --> 00:57:09.949
this song. to ask yourself, did you find yourself

00:57:09.949 --> 00:57:11.929
in one of those scenarios that we discussed?

00:57:12.170 --> 00:57:14.329
Did you realize that you were doing that? So

00:57:14.329 --> 00:57:16.789
repent right now before the music begins. Repent

00:57:16.789 --> 00:57:18.889
and say, okay, God, I'm going to let you do it.

00:57:18.909 --> 00:57:21.269
I'm going to let you solve this problem. I turn

00:57:21.269 --> 00:57:23.710
over my willingness to just slightly work the

00:57:23.710 --> 00:57:25.769
tree or to accept the falsehood or whatever.

00:57:25.829 --> 00:57:28.389
I turn that over to you to make music today.

00:57:28.690 --> 00:57:33.289
And when God does that, God doesn't do things

00:57:33.289 --> 00:57:36.800
halfway. I just promise you to take this right

00:57:36.800 --> 00:57:39.699
to the end. It's going to be with you, renewing

00:57:39.699 --> 00:57:41.900
your mind daily. Will you possibly still make

00:57:41.900 --> 00:57:45.539
mistakes? Sure, maybe. But it won't matter. Because

00:57:45.539 --> 00:57:47.619
your mistakes will belong to the one coming along.

00:57:48.440 --> 00:57:50.280
Stand with me and sing this song. If the Lord

00:57:50.280 --> 00:57:51.980
leads you to respond, you do that either through

00:57:51.980 --> 00:57:54.420
getting saved for the first time or renewing

00:57:54.420 --> 00:57:57.780
your commitment to Christ in the area of falsehood.

00:58:03.630 --> 00:58:14.909
Just as I am without one thing, but that thy

00:58:14.909 --> 00:58:17.789
blood was shed.