Lies to Truth

In: 1. Toby Keith passed away February 5, 2024. A few months ago, at the People’s Choice Country Awards

Toby Keith sang, “Don’t let the old man in”. He said in an interview he was paired with Clint Eastwood at the Celebrity Pro Am at Pebble Beach. Eastwood was sharing that he’d be starting work on The Mule in two days, which also happened to be his 88th birthday. Struck by Eastwood’s relentless energy at such an age, He asked Eastwood how he keeps going. Eastwood said, “I just get up every morning and go out and I don’t let the old man in,’ Toby Keith wrote the song Don’t let the old man in that plays at the end of the movie

2. A new series today, “From death to life”

3. Ephesians 4:17-24 Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 Take off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

a. We don’t live like Gentiles (people who don’t know God) Like we used to live

1) Closed our minds (turned the lights off)

a) Hardened heart (calloused, no feeling)

2) No shame for what we were doing

3) Practiced evil- habitual

b. This isn’t how we learn to follow Jesus

1) Take off the Old Man

a) Corrupted by its desires- controlled by impulses, lust, the moment

b) Corrupted by deception- things that are false

c) It’s hard to make good decisions when you have bad information

2) Put on the New Man

a) Through renewing our minds

b) Through renewing our attitude

c. We are supposed to be DIFFERENT

1) 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come

a) We are literally transformed- metamorphoo (metamorphosis)

b) Butterfly got pulled over. His ID photo was old. He was a caterpillar

2) From Self-centered - Christ centered

3) From Controlled by Flesh – Spirit

4) From Calloused – Sensitive

d. v24 created to be like God

5. Dead, buried and resurrected (Easter- baptisms, symbolic, 8:15 service)

a. Romans 6:4-5 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead now we also may live new lives

b. Romans 6:11-12 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires

c. The old us died and was buried- Don’t live like we used to

d. Sin has lost its power in our lives (sin has been declawed)

1) We are no longer slaves to sin

2) Don’t let sin control the way we live (be the king)

3) Don’t give in to sinful desires (live like a subordinate)

e. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ, but I’m still alive. But it’s not me that’s living but Christ who is living in me. This life that I still live here on this earth, I live by faith in the Jesus Christ

6. We’ve traded clothes

a. Some people wear uniforms to work- postal workers, law enforcement, sports teams, medical

b. Some places have dress codes- golf course

c. Sometimes we dress for certain activities- hunting, running, working

e. We dress for our new life in a new man

f. 2 Samuel 18:4 Jonathan and David made a covenant

1) Jonathan took off his Robe and put it on David

a) Symbolic of trading places- David would assume the throne, Jonathan would serve

2) Jesus traded us places in our covenant with Him

a) Philippians 2:7 He laid aside His deity (Godhood) and put on humanity (flesh) became a servant

b) He clothed us with Holy Spirit to empower us to take His place on this earth

c) The Son of God became a man so man could become a son of God

7. Since we have been changed, seven things for us to take off and seven things for us to put on

8. Ephesians 4:23-25 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body

Ts: Take off lies and put on truth

I. Take off LIES

A. Lay aside falsehood (The idea of trying to deceive someone)

1. Lying is nearly an acceptable practice in our society

a. We are inadvertently taught to lie as children

1) Telling the truth will get you in trouble

2) It's not nice to hurt people’s feelings

3) If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything

4) Play to win, if you aren’t first you’re last

5) NASCAR- if you ain’t cheatin, you ain’t tryin

2. Society of liars

a. 60% of people are dishonest at least once in a 10 minute conversation

b. Average person tells 3 fibs for every 10 minutes of conversation

c. Men and women lie about the same amount, but men tend to lie to make themselves look better, while women are more likely to lie to make the other person feel better

d. Lying affects us as there is a connection between our brain and stomach

1) Nervous we get butterflies, Anxiety gives us an upset stomach, stress can create ulcers

a) Lie Detectors- blood pressure, increased heart rate, stress hormones

b) Knives Out- one of the characters vomits when she lies

2) Our brain adapts to dishonesty and making it easier over time

a) Notre Dame study- Amygdala stops responding to dishonesty

b) Why little lies tend to grow into bigger lies

c) Luke 16:10 Whoever is dishonest in a very little will be dishonest with much

2. Why do people lie?

* Nearly all lies come from selfishness- to protect us, make us look better

a. Cowardly lie- motivated by fear of punishment

1) Abraham telling leaders Sarah was his sister

b. Cruel lie- motivated by resentment because we are hurt

1) Potiphar’s wife when Joseph refused her advances

c. Conceited lie- motivated by insecurity

1) Ananias & Sapphira, Have to tell a better story, one up

d. Calculated lie- motivated by greed

1) Achan at Jericho

e. Concealed lie- motivated by complacency

2) Joseph’s brothers- Lie of silence, the emperor’s new clothes, don’t speak up and let others believe an assumption

f. Convenient lie- motivated by laziness

1) What we tell others- kids (maybe later, we’ll see), friends- (check calendar, talk to my wife)

g. Considerate lie- so you don’t hurt their feelings

1) You can’t tell that you’re wearing a toupee

2) The turkey doesn’t taste dry to me

3) Does this outfit make me look fat? Eat a snickers

B. Why is lying wrong?

1. Makes us like the devil

a. John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, 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

1) The father of lies is the devil. Don’t be his kids

b. Proverbs 6:16-19 Seven things God hates 2 are liars

c. Exodus 20:16 Ninth commandment is Thou shall not lie (false testimony)

* Take off falsehood

II. Put on TRUTH

* v23-25 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body

A. Put on the new self 24

1. Created to be like God Be like Jesus

a. Honesty makes us like God- God is truth

b. John 1:5 God is light, in him there is no darkness at all

c. John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life

d. John 4:24 We must worship Him in spirit and in truth

2. Renew our thoughts and attitudes 23

a. Because we get desensitized to it, we have to train ourselves to be sensitive to dishonesty

b. Romans 12:2 Not conformed, but transformed- renewing our minds (How?)

1) We think differently- our perspective, goals, purpose

2) Not believing lies- feelings, thoughts, emotions will lie to us

a) Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death

b) 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 We tear down arguments and every high idea that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ

3) Believing the truth of God’s Word

a) John 17:17 Your Word is truth

b) We base our lives on the truth of God’s Word

B. Tell our neighbors the truth

* Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body

1. v24 A body has to be honest with itself to survive

a. Eyes- glasses, Some people’s brains tell them there is a problem to fix when there isn’t and it causes problems

1) Computer spam pop-up that says there’s a problem (there isn’t)

b. The reason for telling the truth is because we are all members of the same body and a body can only function correctly when it is truthful

c. A marriage can survive just about anything except dishonesty

2. Ephesians 4 is all about the body of Christ reaching its potential

a. 4:1 Live worthy of the calling we have received

b. 4:12 We all have a ministry to do

c. 4:16 The body reaches its potential as each part reaches its potential

3. Speak the truth in love (4:15)

a. Liar Liar- Jim Carrey- bday wish, offends everyone

b. Being honest with others in love

1) Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses

2) Real friends can get real honest

3) Naked, nothing to hide- that level of intimacy “knew” each other

4) We need friends in our lives that can tell us the truth and we need to be able to handle the truth

5) Tempted to speak when we should be quiet. Tempted to be quiet when we should speak up

6) Ever had a friend that messed up and you felt guilty for not confronting them before

c. Being honest with ourselves- are we still wearing the old man

* Put on Truth

Cn: 1. If we don’t kill the old man, the old man will kill us

2. Moving from death to life by basing our lives on the truth

3. Queen Elizabeth I of England. Ascending to the throne at the age of twenty-five, she ruled for forty-four years during a time of great political upheaval. Three years into her reign, smallpox left her with facial scars and partial baldness for the rest of her life. As she aged, she lost so many teeth that her speech became impaired. But in the portraits painted of her during her lifetime, she is eternally youthful and beautiful. Why? Because she decreed that it should be so. At the age of 41 she loved a portrait of her so much that she ordered only copies of this picture to be used of her in the future, essentially allowing her to freeze time. (She didn’t want to let the old man in)

4. Too many of us are tempted to keep up a false image of who we are

a. Could we get honest for a minute this morning? Stop pretending, surface lever relationships, secrets

b. Are there still some old things in your life that need to die?

c. Are there some things you need to take off and others you need to put on?

5. Let’s take off falsehood, lies, dishonesty and deal with truth

Al: 1. Salvation- laid aside the old man, need to change

2. Deception, secrets- base my life on truth

3. Bad decisions come from bad information- bad things happened to you and you’re blaming yourself