Sermon: Stop Lying

don't you pray with me God of grace and mercy I thank you for this opportunity yet again to be before your people I pray that as we come together and break the bread of life to empower me with the words that you've given me to speak we may have clear direction we may be moved and changed by conviction that our testimony will be Jesus Saves he delivers to the utmost we pray for transformation we pray for deliverance we pray for victory we pray for freedom we pray for fruit this morning someone may give their life unto you as we ask in the son in the name of your son Jesus let us say Amen and give God another hand praise I thank God for you this morning good morning how are you we today come to the 9th commandment in Exodus 20 and 16 you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor and for a subject I use stop lying stop lying unlike the last few Commandments where some may initially think well this one doesn't apply to me I can at least put this one on my side as I attempt to play a numbers game with God and say well I didn't break this one so I can use that to negotiate fracturing of the other ones preferably or we are at a point now where we we hear or reflect on a commandment we're not automatically inclined to a works/righteousness disposition in this particular commandment I believe none of us can even begin to think in that vein that this one doesn't apply to me living a life as a habitual liar will not lead to an abundant life the Bible declares that Satan is the father of lies and continuing to lie means that we are aligning ourselves to follow Satan and the Bible says that we cannot serve two masters in addition all relationships that we have are built upon trust and any relationship built on a lie will not stand we live in a day where we're bombarded constantly with fake news and alternative facts and illicit cover-ups about convenient memory loss exaggerated advertisements to the point that we as a society seems to have pretty much given up on truth being a common reality they took a poll one day and they said 50% of people think lying is wrong I looked at that statistic I'm like wow that means 50% of us think that line is perfectly okay it's tragic to realize how easily we accept lying oh I'm sorry bending the truth is that more politically correct for you this morning in a previous sermon I've talked about how we as adults are molding generations to come since the adults of our society have modeled lying so well for them it's become second language to our children once a member of the church said to me Reverend you do you sure do tell the truth when you preach and I replied yeah because if I was preaching a lot a sermon would never end because you see the truth can stand alone but but a lot needs that constant health spending and with the work that the Lord has before me I don't have time to keep tending to the foundational needs of a lie you see with a lie you become the fourth leg in the table without you you won't stand so lying chains us to the lie lying will presses us lying limits our freedom what constitutes a lie a lie is defined as an intentionally misleading another person some of the accepted lies in our society the check is in the mail I'll start my diet tomorrow one size fits all this hurts me more than it hurts you and how about the deception of the salesperson I only need five minutes of your time such a world where little lies are so common that it makes us cynical to the truth often we think that just calling a lie the truth makes it the truth let me remind us I don't I don't care what we convinced ourselves of alive still alive to make a point this point a man asked his friend one day he says how many legs does a dog have the friend replied four he said right he says well if I call the dog's tail a leg how many legs does the dog have now the friend replied five and the man says wrong calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg it's still a leg no amount of telling a lie will change it to the truth but it will change the relationship we have with the person we lied to or lied about now okay enough of that I I could stand up here talk about what constitutes a lie all day and upon finishing you would probably say that was more of a refresher because I kind of knew what a lie was when I walked in the door because I've been doing it for quite a while but I didn't learn anything that I didn't know so what I was moved to this morning to share with you is in hopes that when we come to the fork in the road of truth or lie that it would at least give us pause what I was moved to share with you today that our fluency in the second language of lives can at least begin to develop some rust okay so today I want to talk about what lie is I want to talk about why we lie I get to the origin of this if we were hope to be delivered too often we spend so much time on the lie itself we never look at the real motivation behind it we never look at the source how did we get here so I want to talk about a few things as to why we lie first we lie because of fear we lie because of fear this is from an early age we we learn that if we say we didn't do it it means punishment will be delayed or punishment will be avoided I remember when I said I did it and it met with immediate pain and through the fear of pain and/or punishment in order to survive I will lie out of self-preservation as I've told you before we are born with two natural instincts one is procreation the other one is survival naturally in the and this is natural born instinct of survival when I feel threatened I will do whatever is needed in order to remove the threat that I may survive this is why lying comes so naturally to us we're naturally inclined to lie ok maybe that's the first time you've ever heard that this is why telling the truth becomes difficult for us even as adults so let me explain or shore up what I just see it write this down 2nd Timothy 1 in 7 second Timothy 1 in 7 says well God did not give us the spirit of fear but a spirit of power of love and of a sound mind I want to focus on this word power because this verse is talking about saved folks right power is derived from a greek word pronounced du Tomas where we get our English word dynamite from explosion this word Dunamis also has another meaning it means virtue you virtue this word that means goodness and moral and integrity and honor words we associated with the truth so second Corinthians 5 and 17 second corinthians 5 and 17 reads as follows therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new so we see this is what salvation is this is the derivative of salvation it is the new ability the new nature we have that in the face of circumstance to overcome my fear of negative consequences to overcome my born nature of survival I have the power now to be virtuous and not lie now I'm not saying if you're not saved you can't tell the truth but I know that's where we you ain't saved you lying what I am saying is that if you're not saved you're first and natural inclination will be self-preservation and if that comes with me lying then that's going to be my first go-to because there is nothing changed in me that would make my nature something else so we lie out of fear God offers us salvation so that we can stop lying secondly why do we lie because we have a lack of respect for the person and/or people we are lying to Matthew 5 5:33 Matthew 5 and 33 hear these words again you have heard that it was said to the people long ago do not break your oath but keep the oath you have made unto the Lord but I tell you do not swear at all either by heaven what is God's throne or by earth was its footstool or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king do not swear by your head for you cannot even make even one hair white or black simply let your yes be yes and your no no anything beyond this comes from the evil one see what we try to do is we try to disguise our disrespect of another person by saying I was lying just to protect you from getting hurt when an actuality we're trying to protect ourselves they're getting hurt is a distant second to our own needs okay when we are late to appointments meetings just a habitual late person it is a sign of disrespect to the persons and or people who have an expectation of timeliness so they feel some kind of way that we have started this relationship off with a display of disrespect so the next time you are late don't say I'm sorry for being late say that you're sorry that you have disrespected that person and you have valued them in such a way that their time is worthless to you and that you hope that they can find a way to forgive you Ephesians 4 and 25 yeah this is going to be uncomfortable it's all right it's all right Ephesians 4 and 25 reasons follows therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak true fully to his neighbor but we are all members of one body see this whole thing that comes with love comes with respect so we lie to one another it is just a sign that I do not respect you this disrespect we show to one another especially those who God has put in place to have rule over us it will eventually catch up to us amen I'm reminded of for a story of four college men who decided to go on a road trip stay out partying drinking even though they knew they had a final exam the next morning they decided to show disrespect to the professor or sorry lie to the professor to say on our way back we had a flat tire couldn't make it to the exam because of the flat tire they got back and the professor said no problem all is forgiven a matter of fact you probably know everything that we had on the exam anyway I was just going to give you all a special exam he separated the men into four rooms he had one question he says you all pass and you all fail the same since you all in the same car which tire was it the dish respect you show to others by lying will eventually catch up to you if I respect you I won't lie to you if I have lack of respect for you even the least amount then expect a lot this is huge in relationships now it's really going to get uncomfortable we lost so much that we've become numb to it baby what's wrong with you nothing now let me explain to you that the only reason I ask what's wrong because it's obvious to me that something is awry there's an imbalance comes off I don't just say what's wrong all day something's just not right so let me get this right you disrespect me and you lied to me by saying it's nothing then hours later days later maybe even years later here comes the big reveal that nothing was actually something but hold on now you want me to give full respect and attention to you nothing how can you have that expectation when you lied and disrespected me from the beginning are you mad because I'm not giving full attention to nothing that was actually something but you did you didn't respect me enough to say that nothing was something so if something is wrong just say you know but a baby this is not a good time to talk about it because there may be some corrupt communication coming out of my mouth I haven't calmed down yet to tell you exactly what's going on but something is awry I'm going to reveal it shortly but if it is nothing and I'm just in a mood then it's going to be nothing today tomorrow and forever I knew I was going to get no clap on that I was waiting I even had a pause and I knew it wasn't coming we can't keep lying and think our relationship will be healthy I'm trying to help give you something you didn't come in here with we're coming in our disrespect of others comes lying to cheat someone scam them swindle them cheat them you know this was huge in the temple where improper balance scales were used to cheat the people out of their money church folks treating the poor out the money because of greed Jesus rode into Jerusalem went up in the temple and start flipping tables because of this crack let me explain this to you know that people will be more prone to lie to people of faith because they take our salvation as a sign of weakness they think just because God instructs us to be people who forgive that gives them license to lie and disrespect us with their lies let me send out a warning to those here and those who may be watching online don't get a table turned over on you because you think you can continue to disrespect people of faith hence there was a butcher in a small town it was Friday and he had one chicken left that he needed to sail because it wouldn't keep over the weekend the local pastor comes into a shop as you know I need to buy a chicken because I have a family coming in I got something's coming in and they're hungry they're going to eat a lot so the butcher put the chicken on the scale and it weighed about two and a half pounds and the pastor says you know I need a bigger chicken because we have more family coming in town the butchers seeing this is an opportunity to take advantage of a personal faith he put the chicken to the back came right back change the balance scales weighed the same chicken and now the chicken was three and a half pounds the pastor thought for a moment and he says you know what I'll take them both don't get a table flipped over on you just because I'm saying don't mean I won't flip a table glory because we needed some chicken in that house I think this is an appropriate time at this point to talk about our disrespect of one another with the misuse of the truth hmm Ephesians 4 and 15 tells us to speak the truth in love love should always be the motivating factor in our truth telling for the love of God and for the love of other people listen to me children of God church folks whoever never use the truth as a club to beat someone I know some especially church folk who use this commandment don't lie to bring destruction upon people and tear them down with the truth watch your motivation this particular truth may not be yours to reveal it may not be your calling to reveal this truth it amazes me that some feel that is their calling that is their duty to deliver truths to others someone died and they came wait to tell about circumstance or the death it was in over though they got shot drunk right no you know such and such as pregnant I don't even know who today that's just the truth it's left oh god I know you lost your job here's $10 for you to get you something to eat just missing people you know these these same people as much as they're eager to share this truth with malicious motivation these are the same people who hesitate greatly in sharing the truth about their own deliverance they hesitated about sharing the location and the circumstance God found them at their point of salvation children of God as much as we need deliverance from lying we also need to be God led in our motivation of sharing the truth that is not ours to share focus on the truth that God has empowered us to tell how about the truth of yes I was a wrench I was lost I did this that and two others but God delivered me and he can also deliver you in that situation of bereavement loss of job unwed pregnancy I stand before you as a living truth of God's deliverance now being a hurry to tell that and that will take care of all this messiness that we tend to get ourselves into we also lie because of self-hate we lie because of self-hate have you ever seen or been or maybe you are that person today who hates themselves so much that they have to create a fantasy world where they spend their time in a place of make-believe you know that person that will never lose the one-up game I don't care how grandiose your story is they say wait a minute I got one better than that by the time they finish their story it's spun gold and unicorns flying we take a story or information we add to it well we make what we may think is bigger than life and it makes us look good for broadcasting this information but the problem is it makes the information a lie and it makes us a liar what's the root of that the root of that is self hate you see we we see ourselves as so little so insignificant that the only way to overcome this self hate is to embellish the truth and after a while it's difficult for people to take at face value what is said if no one can believe anything we say as truth then how can we ever sustain a relationship built on trust well that's a personal relationship whether that's on your job whether that's in a church exaggeration is merely an attempt to draw attention or worth to ourselves but as Christians the Bible tells us not to be desirous of vain glory why because we don't deserve it be careful of being praised robbers because you can get intoxicated on the praise of people all of this praise and all this glory is for Jesus crisis you see self hate starts with our heart in proverbs 4 and 23 tells us above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life put away perversity from your mouth keep corrupt talk from your lips we excuse what comes out of our mouths as a slip of the tongue but God says it's actually a heart issue it's heart disease or it is in the heart where we either love or hate ourselves and our actions flow from there Luke 1645 Luke six and forty-five hear these words a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart and an evil man brings evil things that are stored up in his heart for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of this is yet another reason why salvation is so important this is why David in Psalm 51 cried out God created me a clean heart renew a right spirit in me you see God that will give us the new perspective to see ourselves at he sees us to love ourselves and He loves us to love one another as he loves them see this renewed heart does not have to chase after the praise of men this renewed heart that does not have to seek after the glory given by men because this heart is secure and knowing that it is fearfully and wonderfully made by God it belongs to God it is loved by God and it will be protected by God finally this morning we lie because we desire freedom we lie because we desire freedom and in desiring freedom it's not the lie that actually comes from our mouth it's living the lie living a lie looks like this we have on clothes we can't afford living the lie means that we drive cars and we have houses we can't afford living way above our means because we seek freedom it is amazing that God gave this revelation to me on this Independence Day week for our country this living ally has no respect of culture because every culture has in it the ability and inclination to live this kind of life but right now I want to speak from a cultural perspective especially that of the African American amen although slavery has ended in a physical sense the economic oppression of a culture continues and it breeds a mindset that if I cannot be three economically then I will surround myself with the symbols of freedom this is why in our culture we put $5,000 wheels on a five hundred dollar car this this is why we will have on a thousand dollars worth of clothes and no ride to the club this is why we can feel comfortable driving a $70,000 car parking it on the street living in our parents basement this is why this is why African Americans bought twice as many Mercedes Benz as their counterparts last year this is why in the African American community we spent two billion dollars just on air jordan tennis shoes two billion with Abby living the lie is a desire for economic freedom until we stop living the lie we will continue to have self-hate and no self-worth this is why the gospel of Jesus Christ is so important because this message delivers us from economic oppression to freedom when we stop trying to buy self-worth [Applause] because you see the gospel of Jesus Christ says that I have value not because of my skin color but because God loved me enough to send His Son Jesus to die for me I have value not because of what I have on my body but I have value because Christ sacrificed his body for me I have value not because of treasures on this earth but because I am an heir to the treasures that are in heaven I have value not because of where I live right now but because Christ went to prepare a place for meeting and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever I have value because no matter how painful the cross was for Jesus he had my name in mind he says this work must be done so that I will have abundant life here on earth so that I will have some work that I will have love for self that I will not be shackled with the spirit of fear that I will love and respect others Christ gave His life so that I will be free from the shackles that come with a lying spirit Christ gave His life so that I can receive heaven Christ adds value that no amount of wealth on this earth can living a lie and lying does not make us more valuable no matter how great the story may be now you want a quotable moment you want a tweetable moment of status posting moment post this trying to buy self-worth with lies as your currency will leave you broke and broke in trying to buy self-worth with lies as your currency will leave you broke and broken can lying the overcome I stand before you today with a resounding yes but we need a self revival forget about praying for revival of the church in the community we need self revival we need to pray that that God starts a revival in us and in this revival we need to pray to be reminded of how valuable we are we reminded that there has never been you and never will be you again reminded of the sacrifice that has been made for us in a spiritual sense be reminded of the sacrifices that were made for us in a cultural sense that we may be able to appreciate and take advantage of what others our ancestors bled and died for we'll be able to take advantage of what Jesus Christ bled and died for when we're reminded of our value we'll begin to value and respect others and then we can be delivered today from a lying spirit that all right [Applause] let us pray today you

Channel: Third Church

Views: 14,319

Rating: 4.886076 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: ov-LwGfDin8

Length: 41min 23sec (2483 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 27 2017