Alright, we're going to have a little activity.
This is based on our spiritual discipline focus.
I'm going to begin to read from the Word of God.
Now, everyone's participating. Are you all awake?
Is everyone awake? This is participatory. So
here's what's going to happen. As I begin to
read, if you know the book of the Bible that
I'm reading from, you will raise your hand and
keep it up. I will continue to read until every
hand is raised. Again, that's all the rules.
There are no other rules. Okay? Here we go. Everyone
ready? People are like, I'm not going to recognize
this. That might be a problem, but there's nothing
in the rules that says that you can't get help,
that you can't get your phone, that you can't
ask somebody, whatever. Here we go. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things
came into being by him. And apart from him, nothing
came into being that has come into being. In
him was light. And the light was the light of
men. I've got about half the hands up right now.
And as the light shines in the darkness and the
darkness did not comprehend it. Keep your hands
up. There came a man sent from God whose name
was John. He came for a witness that he might
bear witness to the light. That all might believe
through him. He was not the light, but candidly
might bear witness of the light. Everybody keep
their hands up. Do his hands get tired yet? Keep
your hands up. You know the answer. I still see
many hands that are not up. Don't be cheating
like putting your hand on your lap, your hands
up in the air. Be strong. There was the true
light which coming in the end enlightens every
man. He was in the world and the world was made
through him and the world did not know him. He
came on his own. We're getting close. See some
teenagers that don't have their hands up yet.
Hopefully we have a youth leader. But as many
as received him, because you haven't told him
yet, but as many as received him, to them he
gave the right to become children of God, even
to those who believe in his name, who were born
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of the man, but of God. We're really
close. I'll be looking, checking, checking, checking.
I know Tony's hand was up. Okay, it's got to
be up now. That doesn't count. Is her hand up?
Put your hands up. Your hand up. Your hand up.
Okay, all right. Put your hands down. All right.
Now, this was an object lesson as much as it
was a reading from God's Word. All right? So,
RJ, tell them about the book of the Bible. It
was the book of John. Okay? And we knew it was
the book of John. Ultimately, eventually, we
all knew it was the book of John. Those who knew
it was the book of John first put their hands
up. Did anyone's arms start to get tired? Yeah.
Yeah. Everyone went out early, right? Their arms
started to get tired. And then we saw that there
were people who did not know it was the book
of John. My arms are starting to get tired. What
am I going to do about that? There's these people.
They're not getting it. We're in the second paragraph
already. They're still not getting it. What am
I going to do about that? What am I going to
do about the fact that I know what the word of
God says in the book of John, the first chapter,
and that person does not? What could I ever do
about that? No, tell them. Tell them. That's
the key. The truth is, I'm just going to be very
blunt for a second, if I may. If you know the
word God and someone else does not, and you don't
tell them, then the reality is probably you don't
actually know it. What you know is writing on
a page. You know words. You like the poetic language.
You're memorizing it for the health to your mind,
memorizing the Bible does help clear up our minds,
things like that. But if you really know the
word of God, then you really know that God wants
everybody to know the word of God, not just the
word of God as written, but also the word of
God who is Jesus Christ, which is largely what
that passage of scripture is about. And God wants
us to know the word of the living word, which
is Jesus. And he wants us to know the written
word as well, which has great benefits and also
teaches us how better to know him and to know
God. So when somebody else doesn't know and they
could not raise their hands, there's a sort of
a really easy one or two or three -step process
that you can go through. You start with mentioning
something of the Word of God. So you talk with
somebody at the store, talk with somebody at
the restaurant, or you mention something that
comes from the Word of God. There are key phrases,
right? Like, Arden, if you were going to use
a key phrase from the Bible that anybody might
notice, what might you say? Anybody might notice
or might recognize? Might recognize. In the beginning.
Okay. So you say, well, in the beginning, right?
And if that doesn't trigger something for that
other person, then there's a chance that they
don't realize that in the beginning is huge,
right? John wrote that when he, when John says
in the beginning was the word, he was able to
write that to everybody that knew that in the
beginning. God created, right? And so this is
a recognition that there were people who existed
who knew that phrase, and in hearing that phrase,
they would relate it to this. And so if you would
say something about in the beginning, and there's
no recollection, there's no understanding, there's
no connection in the person you're talking to,
then you can kind of just kind of chuckle a little
bit or whatever, or you can make a little comment,
you know, that makes me think of, or something,
and engage them in a conversation. And say, you
know, every time I hear the phrase in the beginning,
I think of Genesis, where God created everything.
And then in John, where John used that phrase
that harkened back to Genesis, where God created
everything, talking about Jesus. Make you think
of that? They're like, no, I don't. Well, can
I ask you a question? Would you call yourself
a Christian? Or do you have any spiritual beliefs?
And they say, no, I don't have any spiritual
beliefs. Or yes, I do. It's this. Everybody is
God. Or a stick is God. Whatever. Traditions
and rules will get you to heaven. Or I'll be
there because I'm better than I am with bad.
You know, whatever they believe, right? Their
beliefs are. And then, do you know what the Bible
says about that? And you're back to talking about
the word of God again. It's not about you. Whether
or not they get saved doesn't matter how you
look. It doesn't matter how you talk. It doesn't
matter whether you get it all right or not. It's
about whether it's time. Whether God has said
this is the time in which a person can get saved.
So there is evangelism. So the first thing he
did was he just mentioned a key phrase, right?
If you said, when something's rough and they're
in a tough spot, and you said, for God to love
the world. Anybody recognize that? For God to
love the world? That's like the most known Bible
verse possibly in the beginning, right? So those
two things. So if people totally don't recognize
for God to love the world from John 3, 16, right?
Then that's a bridge to the topic of conversation.
So one, you can just mention it to them. And
then for two, you can kind of probe it. a little
bit and see if they make that same connection,
right? And you will find brothers and sisters
in Christ. And I forget, one of the coolest experiences
I had, I was going into Walmart and this person
greeted me in Walmart and I said just something
like I was blessed, praising God for the day
or something like that. And then she's like,
oh, that's awesome. And she started talking about
it. And I stopped and I shared the gospel with
her. She professed to already be saved. And we're
standing there praising Jesus in the foyer at
Walmart. And I'll probably never see her again
this side of heaven, but I told her I would meet
her at the tree, which is where we will all worship
if we're saved. And so we'll be there together
again. And I was in the foyer at Walmart, and
all I did was just, because I said I'm blessed,
rather than just saying, oh, okay, or yeah, I'm
good, how are you? You know, whatever, como estas?
Whatever, like, everybody says, I said something
a little different. I went to a cashier this
week, and I did the same thing, and the lady
was like, You know, I'm so blessed. I'm so grateful
when somebody says something like that rather
than just have a nice day or work like that.
And I said, would you call yourself a Christian?
She said, I would. She said, you've accepted
Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
And she said, I have. Right? And I didn't have,
there was people waiting behind me in line, so
I didn't have the time to get into any more details
to go, because I would almost always go to born
again when somebody says that they have done
that. I'll go, there was a moment in time in
which you had a fresh start in Jesus. And if
they have never had that, then they're not truly
saved. Right? And so I almost always did that,
but I didn't get to do that at that time. And
so my point is, if they don't know the word,
that is a better opening for you to bring the
word. If they know the word, then you can unite
with them, and that's cool. Right? So the second
thing would be then, the second action step would
be, once you know whether they know it or not,
either bring it or talk about it and fellowship
over it and be excited, right? And then the third
step would be, if they don't know it and you're
bringing it, would be to just simply invite them
to know him personally. And here's a passage
of scripture where you can say, well, you may
know what's written, but you know the living
word of God. And they're like, what do you mean
the living word of God? Well, Jesus was that.
So here it is. In the beginning was the word.
The word was with God. And he. And all. And you.
And they say, yeah. Or they say, no. Either way.
And it's not about you. It's not whether you
look good, whether you talk good, whether your
timing is perfect. None of that even matters.
No one comes unto the Father lest he be called.
But we are commanded to share. So we share. If
they're called, they'll get saved. The weirdest
way sometimes people will do it. Right? But sometimes
they're ready and sometimes they're not. You
do your part. So thank you to those of you who
knew. Thank you to those of you who caught on
and shared with your neighbors. Thank you to
those of you who held your hand up tired. But
if you held your hand up tired with somebody
sitting next to you who didn't know the answer,
remember, you were never told not to share. And
God has never told us to be quiet and not to
share. We find plenty of time to share everything
else. You can find time to share the word of
God. All right, so we're going to pray in this
time with tithes and offerings as part of our
worship. And I'm going to ask... Deacon Tommy,
I see you. Alright, pray with us or lead us as
we close time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So it won't be very many other places that you
would go that the pastor would start a sermon
series without telling you that a sermon series
had started and then would give you clues, very
simple, not very detailed clues each week to
the nature of that sermon series. And that's
what's happening. So we're on five out of seven,
part five out of seven for the sermon series
that we have been working our way through. And
you are supposed to be figuring out the text.
That's the goal. That's the game. If you can
figure out the text before we get there, you
text it to me, and that will be quite the achievement.
So this is part five of seven. So we're wrapping
up. So you only got two weeks left. And if you
don't get it by then, I'll have to give it to
you because we'll bring it all together after
that. The title for today is A Lineage with a
Lack of Lies Lovingly and Legally. And it's and,
A -N -D, capital A -N -D, and. So last week we
talked about how we are meant to be a people
with truth in our mouths. In fact, we even talked
about how God despises or finds as an abomination
lying lips. And so in theory, we are a people
that should only speak the truth. I find that
a person can only speak the truth and act the
truth when they have integrity through and through.
Integrity is when your whole self is based on
something that will hold. And you find people
whose whole self is based on family. Or their
whole self is based on income. Or maybe their
whole self is based on being honest. And that's
what, they pick one thing and they say, I'm even
defiantly honest. So I'll go around telling people
things that they don't want to hear when they
don't need to hear it. Right? That kind of thing.
So people base their integrity on a lot of things.
Christians base their integrity on Christ. You
are whole if you have been born again in Christ
and Jesus is at your center and he's in charge
of all things. That's what makes you a Christian.
And we talked about last week about how then
out of that should flow only the truth. But even
with that, scripture tells us that you shall
not bear false witness against your neighbor.
And so the question is, if we are a people who
only speak the truth, why would we need to go
so far out of our way to be very clear about
not bearing false witness? If you have a Bible
that translates Exodus 2016 to say, thou shalt
not lie, you understand that is not actually
accurate. The words in the Hebrew there literally
say false witness. This command has a very specific
nature to it outside of not lying. You shouldn't
be lying, but actually what's interesting is
in the Ten Commandments, you will not find thou
shalt not lie in there. You will find thou shalt
not bear false witness. That's what's there.
It's the only thing that's there. But we did
look very heartily last week in the New Testament
about how Jesus was very clear that we are a
people of the truth and lying has no place in
us. So the question is, if lying has no place
in us, then why does thou shalt not bear false
witness speak so many volumes to Christian people?
We are not to let our lips to be used for lying.
This is an abomination to God. Because we are
made new and by truth, we should speak truth.
But here, separately in this command and in other
places, it's very clear. It's part of a set of
things, this Ten Commandments, which would make
God's people different in that day and age in
which they were living. So in other words, it
was common practice to bear false witness. And
you could get ahead pretty easily that way or
avoid getting behind anyway. And so they were
supposed to look different because they would
not. Why would we lie then if we are a people
of truth? Why might a people who have become
a people of truth still find place to bear false
witness specifically? In other words, why would
we lie in a court of law or to a government official?
Why would we lie to a police officer, to an authority
figure, or a parent, or a teacher? Why would
we find a place to do that when we say we are
a people of truth and truth is all that is in
us? The answer to these questions are many. I've
chosen five. The first one is, it may be that
the cost of telling the truth in legal situations
or situations like that is very high. So in other
words, your parent asks you, did you do this?
And the temptation to lie is great because the
consequences for telling the truth is large.
You go to court and they say, did you harbor
this known fugitive? And the temptation is to
say no. You go to court and they say, plead guilty,
not guilty. And you would want to plead not guilty
because the penalty is high. And it's very easy
for us to see that penalty looming and say, I
don't want to tell the truth in this particular
situation. Also, it can be to protect others
or ourselves from injustice. One lie. can help
to avoid punishment when avoiding punishment
looks like injustice. So in other words, if somebody
says to you, did you go to church on that day?
And you know that persecution would ensue. You
could be arrested. You could be in trouble, right?
39 states put power abusive regulations on going
to church during COVID pandemic. Not Ohio, thankfully,
but 39 states. There were only 11 that did not.
So only in only 11 states could you gather freely
to worship without additional restrictions legally
placed on you during the COVID pandemic. So it's
true in our day. And so then if they caught you
right after church, like you're at lunch and
you're all dressed up and they're like, did you
go to church today? It would be very easy to
lie and say, oh no, we're just, we're going somewhere
after, or we just came from somewhere else. If
you know that there are legal ramifications,
you could be arrested, you could be fined or
whatever. It becomes easy because it's an injustice
to be punished under that circumstance. You shouldn't
be punished for going to church. You shouldn't
be punished for being a Christian. And so it
becomes easy to lie and try to get out of that
spot. Or one lie could help you achieve justice
where justice would otherwise be lacking. In
other words, you can lie and say that you saw
somebody commit a crime. And people do that,
bear false witness towards somebody else, because
you know that person is a criminal, a murderer,
a rapist, whatever. And you want to see them
get justice, even though you did not see them
commit the crime. So you could lie to further
justice. And government, the prosecutor, whatever,
might even kind of subtly hit. If you didn't
really see clearly, but you could go ahead and
say you did, and they'll get what they deserve.
Also, We could lie because the reward for an
untruth in these situations can be especially
enticing, right? To see that you could get ahead,
to see that you could be promoted, to see that
you could not get a ticket, right? If you get
stopped by a police officer and he says, do you
know what speed you were going? And you say,
no, I really don't know. Even though you know
you were in 68 and a 55, but you say, I really
don't know. That's a lie. And how easy is it
in that moment to lie because there's a chance
you might just get a warning because you didn't
actually know or you might get a lesser offense.
Or you might go the other way and help you achieve
justice towards somebody else where justice is
lacking. Because we think, you know, it doesn't
really matter in the grand scheme of things.
I'm saved anyway. I'm going to heaven anyway.
So here's a situation where it's just going to
get real complicated if I tell the truth. And
I don't want it to get real complicated. I don't
want to deal with a month or a year of trouble
or struggle. I don't want to go. So I'll just
tell them I didn't see anything, even though
there was a crime committed that I did see. I'll
say I didn't see anything. No one should be a
rat. No one should be a tattletale. So I'll just
say I didn't see anything, and then I don't have
to go to court. I don't have to testify or whatever.
There are lots of cases in which we think that
it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme
of things because we're going to heaven anyway.
There could be other reasons, but we can see
there's a prevailing theme in all of these reasons.
It is the difference between God's government
and a government that God allows. That's where
the rubber meets the road. That's where we start
thinking, okay, maybe we could lie because this
is a government that God allows. But it's not
a government that God governs. Ultimately, government
cannot be saved. Government cannot be saved.
In that sense, if government were an entity of
being, let's say, government's on the way to
hell and it's like a demon. No amount of witnessing
is going to get you there. No amount of hearing
the word is going to save government. Government
cannot be saved. Courts cannot be saved. So in
that sense, if courts were a person, they would
be on the way to hell and they can never be saved.
There's nothing to be saved about them. Both
of those things might be redeemed in our lifetime
and their redemption might come and go, but ultimately
they cannot be saved. Laws of men cannot be saved.
Traditions, laws, rules, all of it cannot be
saved. None of it can be saved. Realize without
the fall of men, these systems would be completely
unnecessary. You wouldn't need rules about...
what men and women can do when they're not married
or about bearing false witness or about stealing
things that don't belong to you if there had
not been an original sin. So all of these rules
arise out of essentially the curse that God gave
us, which was that there would be a struggle
between men and men, a struggle between men and
women, a struggle between men and God, and government
sits in that seat. Without the fall of man, all
of these systems would be completely unnecessary.
Without sinful enticements and selfish nature,
there would be no need for a temporal system
to protect men from each other. We just wouldn't
need government at all. Moreover, in heaven,
there will be no need for such systems. I submit
that when the Bible says we are not of this world,
it is reminding us, among other things, that
the government is not eternal. The government
is part of the world system. But the fall has
happened. And for these days, God gives us government
to deal justice. But government is operated by
humans and therefore influenced by the sinful
nature of all of those who hold sway over government.
If you elect an official, now they hold sway.
Their sinful nature is still with them, even
if they were a saved Christian. It's still with
them, nagging at them, distracting them, tempting
them. The enemy is still after them and so on.
And one might even argue that the enemy is after
elected officials more than he is after the common
man. Because they can do more hurt to the kingdom
of God or give more blessing, potentially. And
so their evil nature, their sinful nature is
going to influence government because they are
part of government. Basically, I'm saying that
government is for a season. It's a long season
spanning many lifetimes of men until such time
as Jesus comes again and then government will
be upon his shoulders, says scripture. But also,
he will put all things under his feet. In the
meantime, government is a thing somehow larger
than the sum of all of its parts. The church
is like that. We are larger than the sum of all
of our parts. And so in a sense, government mocks
the church. In a sense, government represents
the church. Those who started the United States
of America made government the way they thought
God would want it to be done. A democracy, right?
In fact, when a person votes, and it's really
a democratic republic or whatever, it's not technically
democracy, but they did a lot of voting by democracy.
And they set it up the best they could. Following
God's idea, they thought. The people who signed
the Declaration of Independence were Christian
men, deacons and pastors, except for one. And
so they set it up that way in honor of a doctrine
called the priesthood of the believer. Because
you are listening to Jesus. Because you are daily
hearing from the Holy Spirit. You can vote. Now
that creates a problem in today's society, doesn't
it? Because we've got a lot of people. Who don't
have the priesthood of the believer because they're
not listening to God. Right? They have nothing
to do with God except that they know that they
hate God or they disbelieve God or whatever.
That's about as far as it goes. And then there
are those who don't believe that God exists and
they still hate him. So that's interesting, isn't
it? The point is, it was designed to work well
because Jesus essentially would be at the center
of each person who was the voting body. Accordingly,
men may be pressed to participate in an ungodly
way. They may be licensed to participate in an
ungodly way, even coerced to participate in an
ungodly way. At times, the one evil will seem
to be guiding government, and the mighty wheels
of government will become as grinders chewing
up and spitting out faithful Christians who do
not fit the vision of the machine. That's probably
worth saying again. At times, this is what will
happen. The one evil will seem to be guiding
government and its mighty wheels will become
as grinders chewing up and spitting out faithful
Christians who do not fit the vision of the machine.
Check the book of Revelation. A group of governments
arise and then they submit all of their power
to a single government who really is Satan. At
times that evil will seem to be guiding our government
and at times we will be getting chewed up and
spit out When this happens, and it has happened
in our lifetime, and it may again, we must go
to the grave and suffer our persecutions with
truth alone in our mouths. Now, we already said
we're a truth -only people. So it really doesn't
change much, except the circumstance, the special
time, if you will, under which you have to speak
the truth. And when government becomes a tool
to destroy Christianity, and it has the world
over, is even right now in other places. And
arguably could be in America in some ways. When
that's happening, we must endure our persecutions
with truth alone in our mouths. Because while
government cannot be saved, And courts cannot
be saved. And laws of men cannot be saved. Governors,
soldiers, judges, government employees, police
officers, parents, and especially those witnessing
our choices are all people with souls, and they
may be saved. So while the governor's office
can't be saved, and the efforts of the governor's
office can't be saved, and the executive orders
can't be saved, and the rules of protocol can't
be saved, and the signed bills can't be saved,
and the judges in the courthouse can't be saved.
Wait, what just happened there? We crossed a
line to start to think that the people can't
be saved because they're in that position, and
that's not true. There are judges and soldiers
and men in all of those positions who have been
saved time and again by somebody who refused
to back down and would only speak the truth under
such circumstances as we are describing. Jesus
said it this way at least once. This comes from
Matthew chapter 10. If you're following along
in your Bible, you can flip there. Matthew chapter
10. Matthew chapter 10 beginning in verse 17.
I'll read 16 just so you understand exactly how
important he said this was. He said, Behold,
I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent
as doves. Verse 17. For it is not you who speak,
but it is the spirit of your father who speaks
in you. And brother will deliver up brother to
death. And a father, his child and children will
rise up against parents and cause them to be
put to death. And you'll be hated by all on account
of my name. But it is the one who has endured
to the end who will be saved. But whenever they
persecute you in this city, Fleet to the next.
But truly I say to you, you shall not finish
going through the cities of Israel until the
Son of Man comes. Look at verse 26 for a second.
Therefore, do not fear them. A little bit further
down the page. Therefore, do not fear them. For
there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed
or hidden that will not be known. What I tell
you in the darkness, speak in the light. And
what you hear whispered in your ear, Proclaim
upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill
the body but are unable to kill the soul, but
rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell. We cannot allow the circumstances
of our life to dictate our voice or our words.
If somebody tells you to shut up when God has
something for you to say, you ignore them. I'm
not saying strike out at them. I'm not saying
hurt them. I'm saying if they tell you to shut
up, when God is telling you to speak, you do
what God says. If the government tells you don't
go to church when God says and he does regularly.
Now, this is ironic, right? Right now, it's free
for everybody to go to church. And some will
go and some will not. And there are Christians
who will allege that they don't have to go to
church to be a Christian. I beg to differ. The
entire New Testament was written by the church,
to the church, in the church. You say you're
following the book that the New Testament church
wrote, but you don't go to church. I disagree.
The bottom line is this. They can go freely.
Also, Bibles are $1 .25 at the Dollar Tree, but
who's reading them? Now, let's be careful, because
when you've got something else going on, you
may find that you don't feel you have to go to
church either. When you find you have something
else going on, you may find that you don't have
to read your Bible either. But neither one of
those things are true. The word indwelt in us
is a thing. The Holy Spirit is looking for you
to fill yourself up with the word of God. The
Holy Spirit is looking for you to be in the church,
to be the church, to participate in the church,
in community. Yes, it's a little more difficult
than just living by your own, worshiping at your
own little candle thing in the house or whatever.
It's a little more difficult than that because
God has to show up and make it work. And if you
can do anything without God, it's nothing of
God. And the truth is, you can really do nothing
that God doesn't empower, including breathing
for the breath of life that you're borrowing
from the Lord will be returned ultimately. We
cannot allow circumstances to dictate our voice
or our words. But rather Jesus who is in us.
What did he say? He said, you don't have to worry
about what you're going to say. You're going
to be given exactly what to say in that moment.
By who? By who? By me? Will I be there? Will
I have you on a walkie -talkie? By your Sunday
school teacher? By your parents? By your brother
or your friend? No, by the Holy Spirit who is
indwelling you. He will give you what you must
say in response to these. Challenges that we're
talking about. We're talking about a special
moment in time at which you have to be prepared
to speak the truth. And it would be easy for
circumstances to dictate our words or our truth
in that moment. Or at least for us to think that's
the way it works. But it isn't. Because if your
truth in that moment does not align perfectly
with what God is doing in you, then maybe God
isn't doing anything in you at all. That's very
scary. Why do you think that all of those Christians
faced with government to persecute them unto
death refuse to renounce the name of Christ?
It's just words. I'm saved anyway. I can lie.
Why can't I just lie under these circumstances
so that I won't be burnt at the stake or drawn
and quartered or filleted? Right? Why can't I
just lie and say I'm not a Christian for today?
Right? We're sneaking around. We're still worshiping
God. We're still doing things. We're still telling
people about Jesus. If I die today, oh my gosh,
if I die today, I'll never be able to tell anybody
about Jesus again. And I'm commanded to tell
people about Jesus. I can't risk dying today.
But the Bible says, thou shalt not bear false
witness. And so under that very circumstance,
under that very special condition, that time
at which you might logic or reason, that you
can just say, It's okay, I don't have to speak
up. It's okay, I don't have to say the truth.
I can even tell a lie. We are reminded by his
word that we cannot allow our circumstances to
dictate our voice or our words. Jesus who is
in us, and let me say it simply, Jesus does not
lie. And if you are standing there in that moment
facing the worst moment in your lifetime or possibly
the greatest reward and you lie to get where
you're trying to get to, you lie to get out of
trouble with a parent, a police officer, a judge,
you lie to get somebody else into trouble because
they deserve it, whatever. You lie to avoid a
consequence or you lie to get a benefit. Either
way, you can be sure that that's not what Jesus
was telling you to do. And if it's not what Jesus
was telling you to do, what is a Lord after all?
A Lord is someone who tells you what to do, and
you do it. So you call him Lord, or if you're
saved, you do. That's how you get saved. You
call him Lord, and you continue to call him Lord.
And that's why Jesus can say, not everyone who
says unto me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom
of heaven. Because some will say, Lord, Lord,
but not do what it is that they're called to
do. And so here is a special circumstance under
which it would be easy for us to allow our circumstances
to dictate our words, our voice, and know. Jesus
does that. And you better believe that under
those circumstances, under those special circumstances
in which we might do that, that he is going to
be telling us not to lie. Over in John, the book
of John, chapter 18. If you're following along,
you can go there with me. Chapter 18, book of
John. John 18, 36. John 18, 36. and following
a little bit. John 18, 36 says, Jesus answered,
My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom
were of this world, then my servants would be
fighting that I might not be delivered up to
the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of
this realm. Pilate, therefore, said to him, this
is when Jesus is being questioned by Pilate,
So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say correctly
that I am a king. For this I have been born,
and for this I have come into the world, to bear
witness to the truth. Let me get this straight.
Jesus gave the purpose for which he came into
the world as to bear witness to the truth. Now
your opportunity to denounce Christ, to get ahead,
to avoid difficulty, and in your one moment of
possible triumph, and the greatest triumph you
might ever possibly have to suffer for the name
of Jesus, to be honest and pay the price, You're
going to bear false witness when his purpose
that he gave for coming into the world was to
bear witness to the truth? He goes on. Everyone,
everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.
Everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.
Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he
had said this, he went out again. That's his
kind of like parting greeting from Jesus as well.
What is truth anyway? And when he had said this,
he went out again to the Jews and said to them,
I find no guilt in him. And he went on to try
to release Jesus as the one person he could release
during the festival, and they chose Barabbas
instead, and they crucified Jesus. Jesus said,
I have come to bear witness to the truth. Pilate
said, I find no guilt in him. This brings us
to our conclusion already. We started by asking,
why might a people who have become a people of
the truth still find place for bearing false
witness? That was our question. If we have become
a people of the truth and the truth is in us,
why would we ever find a circumstance under which
we would bear false witness? Why do we need to
be reminded as God's people? By the way, the
command really doesn't help anybody else, right?
So if not God's people, why do you care? If it
says thou shalt not bear false witness and you're
not a follower of the Lord or seeking to be a
follower of the Lord, why do you really care
what it says? So the command is speaking most.
urgently to people who care what God says. That
would be us. And so why would we possibly find
a place for bearing false witness? The passages
that we have looked at lead us to some possible
conclusions, and they should be enough to solve
our dilemma. The first one is this. It could
be that a man is lying to himself, and only once
put under these circumstances does it become
clear that he is not what he thinks he is. So
you say you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that you're walking with Christ, that you love
the Lord. But only under these circumstances,
that special moment in time where you're given
the opportunity to bear witness to the truth
and write off all the possible great outcomes
and avoid all the good justice that you could
deal or avoid all the punishment that might be
dealt to you. That one special moment at which
you could do that. And when that moment comes,
it may be determined in the man's heart that
he is not what he thinks he is. Here's our opportunity
to repent then and turn to the Lord, to be saved
in earnest through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our
time of opportunity to bear false witness will
come. If you live long enough, you will get an
opportunity to lie to parents, lie to police,
lie to a judge, lie to a police officer on the
side of the road, lie to your spouse, that's
an authority figure in your life, lie to any
aspect of government. The rules will come against
you and you'll have the opportunity to lie. And
if you can lie in that moment, if you can bear
false witness in that moment, you need to repent
now. I understand that's backwards. You say,
because it might be a year, 10 years, or 50 that
I would get there. But if right now you're sitting
here and you go, well, I would lie to a police
officer if he got a speeding ticket. I would
lie to a judge and not have to pay hundreds of
thousands of millions of dollars. If that's you,
then you are smack in contrast to what Christ
came to the earth for. And you need to repent
and say, even in that special circumstance, no,
especially in that special circumstance where
I could reap some benefit by dealing with that,
I will speak only the truth. arm yourself now
with the resolve to speak the truth. In fact,
allow the truth to inhabit your life who is the
person, Jesus Christ. Secondly, we may come to
our opportunity to bear false witness, not having
lived a life attuned to the Holy Spirit's presence
in us. In other words, it's possible for you
to go on day in, day out, doing what you think
God would want you to do, following the word,
but not really paying any attention to the teachings
and convictions of the Holy Spirit. If you can
go to your closet and pray, Lord, which shirt
should I wear today? And God does not answer,
then it's probable that either he doesn't have
an opinion or you just aren't able to hear it.
One of those two things is true. Now you say,
well, if God would say, lie to me, I would know
that's not God because God says don't lie. So
I got that. If God would say, go ahead and steal
that. It's for you. It's free. It's right there.
No one will know that you took it. You say, well,
I know that's not God because that's not the
character of God. You may know the character
of God. That's not what I'm talking about. What
I'm talking about is having an interpersonal
relationship, having God on speed dial through
his Holy Spirit where he's with you all the while,
all the while speaking in your heart. And you're
going left when you should go right. And he says,
go right. And you're like, okay, go right. And
for all you know, he just saved your life or
opened up a door to ministry or whatever. So
daily seek him. daily practice spiritual disciplines
and get used to always asking God, what would
you have me to do? Because there may come a time
where, a special time like this, where all reason,
all logic, all your perceptions of justice say
you should lie or you should just be quiet, which
is a liable mission, right? And when you know
what he would have you to do, you will be able
to respond differently in that moment. Ask the
Holy Spirit, what would you have me to be? How
are you changing me? Shouldn't it be easier when
we're grocery shopping or working on a project
to allow him to work through us and speak through
us than it is to say when we are under the threat
of our lives or our welfare? So when being truthful
about Christ, Could cost you everything. It's
going to be easier in that moment to be truthful
than it is when you're in the grocery store or
shopping or working or whatever. No, it's easier
to do it on a regular basis. And then it becomes
a habit. And then faced with that special moment
in time where everything seems to be at stake,
you can still be truthful because the Spirit
is giving you the words to speak. If your life
is running smoothly at this time, use it to get
used to hearing what the Holy Spirit says and
doing and speaking according to how he leads.
If you're not daily desiring the presence of
the Holy Spirit, you're maybe still reaching
for other sources. You're looking for other ways.
You're trying to grow intellectually, trying
to become strong physically. You're trying to
eat right and sleep right. Now I'll take care
of everything. All of those things are good things.
But if you're not seeking out his leadership,
then at best, you may find yourself groping around
for it. when you are called into these situations.
How much you worked out, how well you ate, whether
you slept or not, how much money's in your bank
account or your retirement, how much education
you have, none of that is going to help you.
In fact, it's all going to work against you because
it's all cares of the world, right? It's all
going to work against you because right now,
if I am truthful, I could lose my life. If I
am truthful, I could go to jail for a while.
If I am truthful, this murderer that I know is
a murderer but I can't prove it will get off,
right? If I am truthful, I will get a ticket.
And if I get a ticket, I'll have to pay $180.
I don't have $180. I could lose my car. I could
have to stop driving. I might not be able to
get where I want. All of the ramifications start
to heap up on you. And if you're not used to
hearing the Holy Spirit daily, then when you're
called into one of those situations, what are
you going to do? Suddenly go, oh, it's okay.
I know Jesus 911, right? I have a couple of verses.
I'll just quote those verses real quick. Pray
and repent. And then at that moment, God and
his Holy Spirit will show up and I will say and
do the right thing and I'll never lie. I'll never
bear false witness. Really? I submit to you under
those circumstances, you will have already borne
false witness before you ever think about repenting.
Before you ever remember me saying those times
are coming. When they put the sword to your neck,
which could very realistically happen, instead
of that. Instead of you going, okay, I'm going
to tell the truth. I'm going to be honest here
about Jesus. I'm going to speak up for Jesus.
You'll say anything that they will have you say
just so you can live long enough to see your
kids graduate from school or get married or your
grandkids be born, right? If we're motivated
by the things of this life, then bearing false
witness is easy. And it's so easy, it'll happen
before you ever know it. Or you could work to
get used to listening to God's Holy Spirit today.
Spending time in his word, in prayer, meditation,
in the church, under preaching, under teaching,
in Bible study. Does the list go on? By serving,
by giving, by exercising your Holy Spirit. The
list goes on. All these things that God has given
us to do. By church membership, being part. You
have to submit to other people and they have
to submit to you. You're breaking each other's
limbs off, but you're living closer and closer
daily to Christ. And that's... That's how you
make sure that when you come time to bear false
witness, you would not. Next, we may simply be
forgetting that God's plan is bigger than the
impending outcome of our lives. In the grand
scheme of things, as God is building a place
for all Christians, in the grand scheme of things,
as God is taking everyone who faithfully follows
him to heaven when they die, In the grand scheme
of things where God is forgiving all sins through
his son Jesus, whether you get it, own it, polish
it, eat it, whatever you do, it doesn't mean
squat. Does anybody know what Martin Luther had
for dinner on Wednesday, the 13th week of the
30th year he was alive? No one cares! No one
cares what Martin Luther ate. Did he eat right?
Did he drink right? Did he live right? Only maybe
historians who are studying minutiae, and none
of us are that important probably, right? So
no one's going to care what I ate when I was
32 versus what I ate when I was 37. No one cares.
No one cares what you wore on Wednesday. You
don't even remember what you wore on Wednesday,
but now it's suddenly a big deal. I've got to
be able to dress tomorrow. I've got to be able
to go to work. I've got to be able to pay my
bills. I'm going to be able to do all these things,
and now they're all on the line in this moment.
And suddenly I'm going to become an honest person
because I recognize how important it is. Many
Christians have gone before and been persecuted
even unto death. It is enough that we become
like our masters speaking truth in the presence
of all witnesses. Even if it costs us or even
if it seems like the most logical outcome of
the truth is a lack of justice in this particular
situation. Satan is the great deceiver. And if
we allow him, he will affect our minds such that
bearing false witness seems perfectly reasonable.
For this reason alone, we cannot decide to bear
false witness no matter what we reason. Jesus'
ministry was to speak the truth. And we have
no ministry outside of Jesus. Last, though probably
not actually last, because you could probably
do this for a while if you wanted to. If we endure
to the end, then we'll be saved. That's what
he said. You understand that means if you endure
the persecutions, if you endure the government
punishment, which could come, if you lose a job,
we're speaking truth, the truth of Christ. If
we endure to the end, then we'll be saved. That's
what he said. That is to say, if we are living
a lie, then when faced with persecutions and
the seeming unyielding law of governmental authority,
we will bear false witness and thereby actually
be telling the truth about who we are. Did you
catch that? So you'll go into that special moment
at which you could speak the truth about Jesus
and you'll not speak the truth about Jesus because
the ramifications seem too large. There's too
much there. And you will actually be speaking
the truth about Jesus, which is that he is not
your Lord. You do not love him with all your
life and all yourself. You do not submit all
things that you are unto him. But rather in that
special moment, in that opportunity, he's just
another name, just another idol, just another
God. Like anybody else. And there are no other
gods. And to say that Jesus is just another god
like everybody else is to say that Jesus essentially
does not exist. And you will have unraveled every
last aspect of what it meant to you to be a Christian.
By simply bearing false witness in that circumstance.
That's why they won't do it. That's why Christians
who know the Lord will not denounce Christ even
under threat of murder. With a gun to their head
or an axe at their throat. It's been going on
this way since Jesus was crucified. When they
came home after they were persecuted, after the
beautiful gate incident, they praised God that
they were allowed to suffer like Jesus. It's
been going on. You need this special moment in
time. Listen, I'm 100 % sure I'm saved. God has
worked in me, Holy Spirit, whatever. But you
don't know that about me. And no one else does.
I'm the only one, not even my wife, who knows
me better than anybody. sees my personal struggles,
etc. She doesn't know that about me for sure.
And only you can truly know it about you other
than God. But I'll tell you what, in this moment,
in this special circumstance where you could
bear false witness for any logical reason whatsoever,
even if it's just fear or could be jealousy or
envy or whatever, if you can find a way to bear
false witness in that circumstance, Faced with
the great grinding wheels of governmental authority
that had previously persecuted Christians unto
death and will do so again. And if you can bear
false witness in that circumstance, then you
are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I can't say who will or who won't because
I don't know who's saved and who won't. But I
will tell you that the unsaved will not. They
will bear a false witness. They will not speak
the truth. And the saved will speak the truth.
They will not bear false witness. We will actually
be telling the truth about who we are if we are
willing to bear false witness in that moment.
We might even conclude that each man's trials
and tribulation have this grand purpose to prove
to whom we belong. The worst thing that you're
going through is in your life right now to prove
to whom you belong. You face the difficulties,
you overcome, you endure, even if it means you
die and go to heaven. And you spend eternity
with God to whom you claim you belong. Or you
refuse to face the difficulties. Or you refuse
to speak up. You hold your tongue. You do not
bear witness to the truth. And then you get to
the other side and he reminds you that he warned
you that not everybody who said Lord, Lord would
enter the kingdom of heaven. Whose side are you
on? And who's speaking through you? I have a
few illustrations and then we'll be through.
These are illustrations of people who found themselves
in the circumstances of which I am describing.
In February of 2015, there were 21 Christian
men. 21. Most of them were Coptic Christians
from that sect of the faith out of Egypt. They
were kidnapped by ISIS in Libya. Soon made the
world news. The terrorists gave them a choice.
Renounce Christ. Just say you're not a Christian.
Renounce Christ and live. Or, I'm sorry, and
in renouncing Christ, they would have to convert
to Islam or die. Right? So that was their option.
They could renounce Christ, convert to Islam,
and live or die. Each man refused to deny Jesus.
And they were beheaded on a beach in a video
titled, A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation
of the Cross. which for quite a while, I don't
know if it's still there anymore, you could watch
on YouTube. Is that not nasty? One of them, a
man named Matthew Iurega, was reportedly not
previously a Christian. But when he saw all of
those men refusing to denounce your faith, guess
what he did? They put the sword to his throat,
and he responded, Their God is my God. And he
died as well. Now, I don't know if any of those
ISIS members ever got saved or whatever, but
I know that as those Christians rose up into
heaven, there was great cheering. Their faith
and courage became a global testimony and the
Coptic church canonized them as martyrs. Their
last words were reported to be, Ya Rabbi Yasu,
which is, Oh my Lord Jesus. Go back a long time
back. Before the Bible was fully written as we
have it, it was in the churches, but it hadn't
been canonized into the New Testament yet. The
Old Testament, of course, was already there.
There's a man named Polycarp of Smyrna. Polycarp
was a disciple of the Apostle John. He refused
to renounce Christ when pressured by Roman authorities.
When ordered to swear allegiance to Caesar and
deny Christ, he famously declared, 86 years have
I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How
can I blaspheme my king who saved me? He was
burned at the stake, or at least they tried.
The flames refused to consume his body. So they
killed him with the sword. Be aware that when
you refuse to bear false witness under those
circumstances, you will probably still die. God
does not strike down every evildoer or erase
the muscles in a person's arm just because we
are in difficulty. I know that he has done that
and he may well do that again. But if it's your
time to go to heaven, which by the way, not such
a bad time really. We're all worried about death
and whatever, but not such a bad time really
to go to heaven. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
William Tyndale lived from 1494 to 1536. Tyndale
translated the Bible into English, defying the
Catholic Church's control over Scripture. They
ordered him not to do it, and he did it anyway.
They declared him a heretic against the Church.
He was strangled and burned at the stake. His
last words were, Lord, open the King of England's
eyes. His work influenced later translations,
including the King James Bible, allowing the
common people to read God's word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
might have heard of him, 1906 to 1945. He was
a German pastor and theologian. Bonhoeffer opposed
Adolf Hitler. Most of them didn't, but he did.
And the Nazi regime, denouncing their persecution
of the Jews and their distortion of Christianity.
Did you know that Hitler ruled Germany in part
by a distortion of Christianity? Be careful about
distortions of Christianity. Bonhoeffer was arrested
for his role in a plot to overthrow Hitler. He
was executed by hanging just weeks before the
end of World War II. Less than a month before
they would sign the treaty and Hitler would surrender,
well, Hitler's men would surrender without exception.
Because Hitler was theoretically, had committed
suicide in his bunker by then. And just a few
weeks before the war was over, They killed him.
His writings, including a writing called The
Cost of Discipleship, continue to inspire Christians
to stand for truth and justice. Let's put it
a little more close to home in a context and
an illustration that probably never actually
happened. Brother Jed, in a Southern Baptist
country church, in the middle of the COVID pandemic,
told, you gotta stop preaching. The governor
says, if you go, we're gonna arrest you. And
you know what he did? He preached the word of
God to them. And they said, well, it's clear
that you're not going to listen. And he said,
no. Until the one who wrote this book tells me
to stop preaching this book, I'll be preaching
this book unless somebody takes me out of this
world. I'm not daring anybody to kill me. Don't
do that. That's just foolishness. We've got a
lot of work to do here. But what I am saying
to you is there's going to come. A special moment
in time at which it makes perfect sense in every
conceivable way to deny the truth. You're going
to need to be quiet amongst your friends, amongst
police officers or judges, gang members, whatever.
You're going to need to not push the truth in
order to avoid trouble, in order to avoid certain
results that you don't like. It could be your
family, the family unit. Is a type of government.
And Jesus even said there will be mothers and
fathers that surrender their children. And children
that surrender their parents. Brothers that surrender
their sisters. And sisters that surrender their
brothers. And so on. All of that will happen.
Because it makes perfect sense. By every reasonable
assertion. To just bear a little false witness.
It will take care of everything. But if you do.
you will be standing in direct opposition for
why Jesus said he came to the earth to bear witness
to the truth. If he had made a defense of some
kind when they arrested him, if he had pushed
hard not to be crucified, he might have pulled
it off because the whole thing is a travesty
of justice. It's all illegal. The court was never
to meet after dark. Not all the members were
present. He never actually did anything wrong.
And what they crucified him for was claiming
to be God. Which was true. He shouldn't have
been crucified. But the wheels of government
became gears and they chewed him up. And we should
not seek to be better than our master. If we
should face a circumstance like that, where we
might be chewed up, we must not bear false witness.
I ask the praise team to come forward at this
time. To lead us in our final hymn. You're thinking
in your mind and in your heart and you're analyzing
things. Could I stand true? Would I speak the
truth? Will I stand up for Jesus under those
worst circumstances? Will I be entreated when
it really might be worth my while to lie a little?
Can I be faithful to the truth? Can I speak instead
of the words that Jesus gives me? You can't even
say, I'll just be silent. Because silence can
be a lie. It's a lie of the world. But can you
say in your heart that you follow Jesus and Jesus
will be your words and you trust him and you'll
speak up? Because if that's not true, then I'm
asking you today to repent and say, I'm turning
myself over to the Lord of the universe. We believe
that he saves us from sin. that Jesus is real.
We believe in the truth he reveals. We believe
that he saves us from sin.