Truth

One of the things that I have noticed is that you can tell much about a person when you expose them to the truth. Some people can't handle truth. Some people try to avoid truth. Some people try to change truth. One thing is for sure, truth is truth. You can't avoid it and you can't change it. From politicians to pulpits, the truth is being distorted. Throughout the course of the year, lies have been told, truth has been distorted, and emotions have been damaged. As I read Jude 16 last night in connection with my sermon for this morning, I realized something.

These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. (Jude 16)

Every person who mishandled, abused, misused, avoided, and distorted truth did so for one thing and one thing only......"for the sake of gaining an advantage". I kept on reading the rest of Jude and my eyes were opened to much much more. Look at the damage caused by these who distort the truth to their advantage in Jude 19:

These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.

We are a divided country because of the misuse of truth.  We must look no further than the political realm of our country.  We have become all too familiar with the terms "class warfare", "war against women", "racial warfare.".  As Christians, we must learn that fellowship with individuals such as those is detrimental to your spiritual health. One thing Paul warns us in II Timothy 3:13 that attitude will get worse and worse. People going after what they want, striving for what they desire, we have become a selfish society in a nation founded by selfless people. We live where people have taken the place of God and determine what is best for them devoid of the word of God, devoid of the Spirit, devoid of truth. Be careful. Be on guard. They are where you expect them to be and where you least expect them to be. We must hold to the words found in Jude where he reminds us to cling to the truth of God's word and remember them:

But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Jude 17)

The health of society has been forewarned.  The writer of Jude reminds his readers that these truths of warning were spoken of before the time of this writing. Paul shares with us in II Timothy 3:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,  treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.  (II Timothy 3:1-5)

Even though Paul wrote these words 2000 years ago, we can see that through his words to his young protege, Timothy, a stark picture of our America today.  Not just America, but the world.  A careful examination of each characteristic's meanings will reveal much clearer how they apply to our society today.  What must we do?  What can we do?  The Bible gives you answers to that question.  Paul after sharing the bleak picture of the last days says to young Timothy,

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,  and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (II Timothy 4:1-5).

In other words, stay the course.  Keep preaching the truth.  Keep standing for the truth.  Keep speaking the truth.  Whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation, DON'T QUIT!  Whether they like it or don't, "in season and out of season".  Our motivation is not just for the sake of America's future, but the sake of a person's soul.  Why must we strive for the pursuit of truth? Look closely at the words of Paul that was just mentioned:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires" (II Timothy 4:3)

Isn't that happening today?  People don't want to hear the truth.  They want to hear what is pleasing to them, not what is best for them.  Life in general teaches us that there is a difference between those two. It is during the pleasing of self that truth become distorted, mishandled, and abused.  It becomes distorted to OUR advantage, Jude warns us of that in verse 16.  Much like the old saying that is a person repeats it long enough they might believe it to be true, but there is no truth except that of Jesus Christ and His divine word.

Now let us return back to Jude and receive encouragement.  Stay committed in your relationship to God.  Stand firm.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 20)

And most of all keep the faith in your relationship with God and wait patiently with hope for God's work to be manifested:

Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. (Jude 21)

Some people avoid truth. Some people distort truth. Some people fear the truth. It is when truth is revealed that a character of a person will be revealed. Truth will bring all things to light. Remember what Jesus said about truth?

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32)

FREE!  America, the Land of the Free.  A freedom that we are slowly losing because truth is being distorted, mishandled, and abused.  It is that freedom that must urge us and move us to stand unwavering for truth.  We must not be shaken.  We must not be discouraged.  We must not sit back.  We must never be content. For the call for truth rings louder today from the church house, to the school house, to the White House and we must proclaim it from the rooftops to the mountaintops, from sea to shining sea. When truth is distorted, freedom is diminished. 

WE MUST ENSURE THAT TRUTH WILL PREVAIL IN OUR BELOVED AMERICA!

What does truth say about you?

Heaven is Real....

This has been a lot of excitement generated by the movie “Heaven is Real.”  I do not know enough about the book that it is based on nor do I know about the movie.  However, I have the Scripture telling me that Heaven is real.  That is enough for me.  However, lost among the hoopla is another dynamic truth about eternity: Hell is real also.  Very little is ever said about hell among God’s people and God’s preachers.  Even I am guilty of not preaching on hell when I should.  Sometimes we preachers are guilty of selective preaching for the sake of popularity or fear of punishment.  Then you have the other end of the spectrum: some preachers use hell as a fear tactic to motivate people to salvation.  It is important to realize it is not fear that saves us, but faith.  Christ saves us from sin which in turns keeps us from hell.  It may surprise some people to know that in the four Gospels, Jesus refers to hell more than he did Heaven. 

                In Luke 16:19, Jesus begins the parable of Lazarus who was a poor man and a rich man.  It is a tale of two different eternal experiences.  Lazarus is in heaven while the rich man is in hell (Luke 16:23).  I cannot help but notice what the rich man endured in hell.  There are a few who believe you live your life and then you die.  The Bible teaches something else.  It is hard to ignore the emotional, mental, and physical torment experienced by the rich man while he was in hell. 

He was aware

"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23)

He was afflicted

"And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' (Luke 16:24)

He was in agony

"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. (Luke 16:25)

He was alone

'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' (Luke 16:26)

He was apologetic

"And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers--in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' (Luke 16:27-28)

Yes, Heaven is a very real place, but so is hell.  You are given a chance to accept the gift of eternal life.  A gift given freely and willingly and lovingly to all who will believe (John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23).  It is a gift that is accepted by faith.  Faith is the ultimate conviction and belief that something is real even if you do not see it.  It is that faith and only by faith that the gift is accepted.  Look at the rest of the parable:

But Abraham *said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'" (Luke 16:29-31).

The responsibility of rejection of God’s truth lies within the individual.  There will be no excuses.  You either believe or you do not.  Yes, sometimes God’s people in the way they act and with the things they say make it difficult, but it is not them you are accepting, it is Christ.  God will also hold us Christians accountable for the way we act.  It may be wise to quit pointing fingers and laying blame and simply look at ourselves. God is not going to talk to us about others at the judgment, He is going to talk to us about us.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

I want to close with a few questions we must ask:

Are we living our life in which eternity will be a time of regret?  It is virtually impossible to imagine the rich man not being in regret especially in light of Jesus’ parable.  The rich man was living for self and it came back to haunt him in eternity.

 

Are we actively being a witness?  Jesus left the disciples a mission which has been handed down throughout the generations.  That mission has not changed.  The purpose of the church is to be actively involved in allowing God to use us to transform people by showing and sharing the love of Christ and God’s good news.

The most important one is this:

If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity?  Why do you believe that?  Is it your opinion or God’s?