Message: OMG! – God is Truth
I.
Introduction
a. Over the next few weeks we are going to be
talking about different character traits of God. Beyond this, God desires us to be like him,
so we will show how we can live out that characteristic in our own lives.
b. Tonight we are going to look at the character
trait of being truthful.
i.
John
14:6 – “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life….”
ii.
We have
a God who is truth
II.
Body
a. But what does it mean that God is truthful?
i.
What are
some other words (synonyms) that we use that mean truthful?
1. Honest; Accurate; Precise; Correct;
Authentic; Genuine; Factual
ii.
What are
some other words (antonyms) that we use to say some isn’t truthful?
1. Liar;
Deceitful; False; Misleading; Fake;
Misinformer; Fabricator; Imposter; Misrepresenter of the Facts
iii.
In one
side the idea is that truth is the standard, it is solid and always right,
whereas a lie is a twisting of that truth.
Whether it is the complete opposite of the truth, or if it is just a
small tweak of the truth. A lie can be
withholding part of the truth, a lie can be stretching the truth, a lie can be
little and white, or it can be big and bald-faced. But the important thing to remember is that a
lie is always a twisting of the truth, truth is always 100% correct. So anything less than 100% correct is a lie.
iv.
God is
truthful to himself:
1. When we talk about God being truthful to
himself we are saying that he himself is 100% authentic, meaning he is
completely true to his character, never going against that.
2. He doesn’t say one thing and do another, he
is honest to who he is, he doesn’t misrepresent himself to others (which we
will talk about next) but he also doesn’t deceive himself. He knows who he is, and his actions match who
he is.
v.
God is
truthful to others:
1. He always tells the 100% truth to others, he
never fudges on it, he never misleads us, he never outright lies to us, he
never is false, he doesn’t lie!
2. This means that what He says can always be
trusted. We believe that the Bible is
God’s words to us. So that means that we
can trust the Bible to be 100% truth.
What other things in life can we put our whole trust in? Not much.
3. When God speaks to us we can trust his words
to be truth and thus obeying them should be easier because we trust they are
not twisted in some way.
III.
Conclusion
a. Let me ask you a worthless question: How many of you struggle with telling the
truth?
b. God takes lying seriously.
i.
John
8:44 – “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your
father’s desire. He was a murderer from
the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
ii.
Lies are
from the devil and when we speak them it is as if we are his children. Following in his footsteps.
iii.
In fact
it goes further than that. Revelation
lists lying among other sins that will cause people to be in hell. In fact, if you will indulge me in a song…Sing
Revelation 21:8
iv.
Lying
isn’t something that is minor, it is a big deal.
c. Ephesians 4:25 – “Therefore each of you must
put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members
of one body.”
d. God wants us to put away lying and falsehood
and instead be honest people.
e. We need to stop lying to God, be honest with
him when you pray to him
f.
We need
to stop lying to ourself, be honest with what is actually going on, admit it so
you can start making changes, don’t lie and try to deceive yourself into
believing your version of the truth.
g. We need to stop lying to others, be honest
when speaking, 100% with no twisting of that truth
h. Are you willing to take that stand today and
ask God to help you to be a truthful person?
i.
Handout
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