Heart of Truth

Rich Gartman

God's Person • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

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1 Samuel 22:6-23

INTRODUCTION

A little boy was in a heated argument with his sister about who was going to get the last brownie. His mother overheard the loud discussion in their kitchen and came in to resolve the conflict. Her two children were obviously very distraught about getting that final treat. Sensing the need to teach a deeper truth, the mom asked her children that ever-relevant question:

“What would Jesus do?” The older sibling immediately answered, “That’s easy, Jesus would just break the brownie and make five thousand more!”

BIBLE

1 Samuel 22:6–23 “Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub,…”

Saul Kills the Priests at Nob

6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

1. Lying is Serious

EXPLANATION

Last chapter David lied to Ahimelech. He probably thought it wouldn’t hurt. He needed supplies. Not a big deal. But lying

is a BIG DEAL. Its a big deal to God.

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that

shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out

lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Proverbs 12:22

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight

Proverbs 19:9

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

Psalm 101:7

No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes.

Proverbs 12:19

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Revelation 21:8

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all

liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Colossians 3:9-10

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is

being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

This little story I think gives a unique perspective on lying too.

ILLUSTRATION

A little girl came very early one morning to her mother, saying, “Which is worse, Mama, to tell a lie or to steal?” The Mother

replied that both were so sinful she could not tell which was worse. “Well, Mama,” replied the little one, “I’ve been thinking a

good deal about it, and I think it’s ever so much worse to lie than to steal.” “Why, my child?” asked the mother. “Well, you

see Mama, it’s like this,” said the girl. “If you steal a thing, you can take it back, unless you’ve eaten it, and if you’ve eaten it,

you can pay for it; but a lie is forever.”

APPLICATION

How about you? Are you a liar? Do you consider it a BIG sin or little sin? It’s funny the sins we consider big in the church like

smoking, drinking, fornicating, and divorce. We will come down hard on people for those but lying is something that might

aggravate us but is often times overlooked and not bothered with. And thats not to say that other sins should be

overlooked too. quite the opposite. See Proverbs has a different take on this

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that

shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out

lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Haughty Eyes

Lying Tongue

Hands that shed innocent blood

Heart - Wicked Plans

Feet that make haste to run to evil

False witness - breathes out lies

One who sows discord

God Hates lying. It's a big Deal to him. Types of lies we use.

Error—a lie by mistake. The person believes they are being truthful, but what they are saying is not true.

Omission - leaving out relevant information. Easier and least risky. It doesn’t involve inventing any stories. It is passive

deception and less guilt is involved.

Restructuring—distorting the context. Saying something in sarcasm, changing the characters, or the altering the

scene.

Denial—refusing to acknowledge a truth. The extent of denial can be quite large—they may be lying only to you just

this one time or they may be lying to themselves.

Minimization—reducing the effects of a mistake, a fault, or a judgment call.

Exaggeration—representing as greater, better, more experienced, more successful.

Fabrication—deliberately inventing a false story.

Are you a Her? Do you lie to your children? Spouse or Person you’re dating? Boss? Teacher? Strangers?

Do you treat it as serious as something like murder?

Because lying has consequences

2. Lying has Consequences

EXPLANATION

The consequences of David lies have come back to haunt him

21:2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know

anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the

young men for such and such a place

If David would have told the truth would God had taken care of his needs? Yes indeed, and the priest would have either not

helped him or hidden from Saul.

David knew that his lies would be found out, but maybe he didn’t think they were a big deal

22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have

occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house.

But now he knows the consequences of his lies. And they were HUGE

LLUSTRATION

Harry Truman enjoyed telling about the man who was hit on the head at work. The blow was so severe he was knocked

unconscious for an extended period of time. His family, convinced he was dead, called the funeral home and asked the

local undertaker to pick him up at the hospital, which he did. Early the following morning this dear man suddenly awoke and

sat straight up in the casket. Confused, he blinked several times and looked around, trying to put the whole thing together.

He thought, “If I’m alive, what in the world am I doing in this soft, satin-filled box? And if I’m dead, why do I have to go to the

bathroom?”

This was a lie by error but was still a big deal with possible big consequences.

APPLICATION

Mark Twain quipped that “a man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”

“The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall

do to him as he had meant to do to his brother” (Deut. 19:18-19a).

It was sister! it was brother! it was Coworker!

3. The Truth Shall Set You Free

BIBLE VERSE

John 8:31-38 (ESV)

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

EXPLANATION

We live in a day that needs the truth, but the people of God remain silent. We live in a day that the truth is exchanged for a

lie. Lies rule the day. people have come to believe that opinion is truth, that theory is truth, but they truly ignore the truth

about God.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by

their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it

to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since

the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God,

they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were

darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images

resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among

themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than

the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

ILLUSTRATION

Henry Augustus Rowland, professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University, was once called as an expert witness at a trial. During cross-examination a lawyer demanded, "What are your qualifications as an expert witness in this case?"

The normally modest and retiring professor replied quietly, "I am the greatest living expert on the subject under discussion." Later a friend well acquainted with Rowland's disposition expressed surprise at the professor's uncharacteristic answer. Rowland answered, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I was under oath."

Today in the Word, August 5, 1993.