Do Not Trust in Lying Words (Jer 7.4)

Do Not Trust in Lying Words

Jeremiah 7:4 NKJV

Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’

A police officer pulls a guy over for speeding and has the following exchange: Officer: May I see your driver's license? Driver: I don't have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI. Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle? Driver: It's not my car. I stole it. Officer: The car is stolen? Driver: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there. Officer: There's a gun in the glove box? Driver: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk. Officer: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!? Driver: Yes, sir. Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the tense situation: Captain: Sir, can I see your license? Driver: Sure. Here it is. It was valid. Captain: Who's car is this? Driver: It's mine, officer. Here's the owner' card. The driver owned the car. Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a gun in it? Driver: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it. Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box. Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there's a body in it. Driver: No problem. Trunk is opened; no body. Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glovebox, and that there was a dead body in the trunk. Driver: Yeah, I'll bet the liar told you I was speeding, too

Background - Lies

Officer: May I see your driver's license?

Don’t trust lying words. Well, let’s look at some background in our scripture today.

Lies are statements or answers which are untrue. Lying is condemned throughout the Bible.

The First Lie

The first lie ever recorded in Scripture is when Satan lied to Eve about the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that he would surely die if he partook of the forbidden fruit and Satan replied, “You will not surely die.”

The first lie ever recorded in Scripture is when Satan lied to Eve about the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told Adam that he would surely die if he partook of the forbidden fruit and Satan replied, “You will not surely die.”

(NKJV) “17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

Background

(NKJV) “4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” Satan made a statement which was untrue. God said they would die, Satan said they wouldn’t die, let’s look at what the Bible says happened after they listened to Satan’s lie.

(NKJV) “5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.”

Who was telling the truth? Obviously God. So when God tells you the truth in scripture, believe it. Don’t believe Satan’s lies like Adam and Eve, but instead know that the truth will set you free and that the truth is in Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, (NKJV) “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

We have just read that Jesus is the Truth. But what does the Bible say about Satan?

(NKJV) “44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Here the Bible says that Satan is the father of lies. Here the Bible says that there is no truth in Satan. So what we learn is that Satan is a liar!

So who are you going to trust for your eternal destination? Are you going to believe Satan’s lie that all roads lead to heaven? Or are you going to trust in Jesus Christ when he says, “No one comes to the Father except by me?”

One thing we can know for sure, you can’t trust a liar! So choose to place your trust, choose to place your faith in Jesus Christ.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 519 Minister Gets the Dog

519 Minister Gets The Dog

A minister who was walking along a road saw a crowd of boys surrounding a dog.

“What are you doing with the dog?” asked the kindly minister.

“Whoever tells the biggest lie, he wins the dog.”

“Oh, my, my, my,” exclaimed the minister, “when I was a little boy like you here I never told a lie.”

There was a moment’s silence. “Here,” said one of the little fellows, “you win the dog.”

Lies are statements or answers which are untrue.

What lie was being told by the Israelites in our passage this morning?

(NKJV) “4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’”

So here’s the picture. You saw the Israelites coming to the temple in Jerusalem and you would think it would be to worship the Lord right? Well, actually, they were coming to the temple because they believed that judgment would not come to them because the temple of the Lord was located in Jerusalem. So in short, the reason why the people came to the temple of the Lord was not because they were worshipping God, but because they thought it brought good luck. They thought, surely since God’s temple is in Jerusalem, that we are protected from God’s judement and we can live any way that we please.

The Lie:

So they would say, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.” Sounds kind of like a good luck chant. If I chant these words, no judgment is going to befall me since the temple of the Lord is in Jerusalem.

The Truth:

God is not as concerned with the location of the temple as He is with the condition of our heart and actions.

Jeremiah exposed the lie and told them the truth about God.

(NKJV) “3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.”

Jeremiah speaks the truth saying, that IF you wan’t God’s blessings, THEN amend your ways and stop living in sin!

So what sins were the Israelites committing at this time?

The people were doing three things wrong.

b. They were shedding innocent blood

(NKJV) “5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,”

(NKJV) “5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor,”

They were shedding innocent blood

Jeremiah 7:5–6 NKJV

“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,

Jeremiah 7:5 NKJV

“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor,

Jeremiah 7:5–6 NKJV

“For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,

They were oppressing the stranger, the fatherless and the widow

How were the Israelites oppressing other people?

They were stealing, committing adultery, and swearing falsely.

b. They were shedding innocent blood

They were committing murder.

As of all this wasn’t bad enough, the third thing they were doing wrong is also discussed...

Jeremiah 7:6 NKJV

if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,

They were oppressing the stranger, the fatherless and the widow

How were the Israelites oppressing other people?

vs. 9 says, They were stealing, committing adultery, and swearing falsely.

They were living godlessly while hoping God would provide blessings in their lives.

They were shedding innocent blood

b. They were shedding innocent blood

They were committing murder, they were taking innocent lives while hoping that God would protect their lives.

This is the opposite of how God wants us to live.

(NKJV) “14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:”

(NKJV) “11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”

Notice that the first two things the Israelites were doing wrong was sinning against other people.

God doesn’t want us oppressing other people by hurting them, but rather wants us to pursue peace and love others they way we love ourselves.

This is evidenced by the 10 commandments. The last 6 commandments deal with our relationship with mankind. Notice what the Israelites were doing, they were stealing, committing adultery and swearing falsely. Commandment #8 says you shall not steal, commandment #9 says you shall not bear false witness and commandment #7 says you shall not commit adultery. The very things the 10 commandments were prohibitting, were the very things the Israelites thought they could get away with just because they thought the Temple was good luck for them.

In light of today, this is the equivalent of thinking going to church or having a Bible in my house is going to get me into heaven. Don’t believe this lie. Only your faith in Jesus Christ will get you into heaven.

As of all this wasn’t bad enough, the third thing they were doing wrong is also discussed...

The third thing they were doing wrong is they were walking after other gods to their own hurt.

walking after other gods to their own hurt.

They were serving false gods, committing idolatry.

The third thing they were doing wrong is serving false gods and not worshipping the true and living God.

Not only had they sinned against each other, but they are sinning against God.

This is evidenced by the 10 commandments as well. The first 4 commandments deal with our relationship with God. Notice here the Israelites were serving false gods and committing idolatry. Commandment #1 says you shall have no other gods before me. Commandment #2 says you shall not make carved images to God something that idolatry encourages. The very thing the 10 commandments had prohibitted and furthermore, the first 2 things the 10 commandments probitted were the very things the Israelites thought they could get away with just because they thought the temple was good luck to them.

In light of today, this is the equivalent of following another religion all while claiming to still be Christian. Don’t believe the lie. Jesus claims exclusivity to entrance into heaven. So if you are one foot into another religion and one foot into Christianity, then you will not enter into heaven. Jesus claims that you must fully put your faith in Him and only Him if you want to enter heaven.

God calls them out for this abhorrent behavior.

(NKJV) “9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?”

We call this a rhetorical question. This is a question with an answer so obvious that the answer doesn’t need to be articulated. God’s point is this, the Temple is not a good luck charm, it is where God is to be worshipped. Therefore, repent of your sin if you want God’s blessings otherwise judgment is coming.

(NKJV) “11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.”

God punishes sin, so don’t believe the lie that you can live in sin just because the temple resides in Jerusalem. The temple is not a good luck charm.

Today, there are people who still believe in luck and many of those people claim to be religious. How many people have a good luck charm inside their vehicle so that they are protected from accidents or speeding tickets? I even spoke to someone many years ago who believed that wearing a certain piece of religious jewelry brought them protection and blessing in their life. How is this any different that what the Israelites were going through thousands of years ago? The answer is there is no difference. Whether you believe that going to church brings good luck or that wearing a piece of jewelry brings good luck, you are believing the lie that the Israelites believed in at this time.

Do not trust in lying words. Do not trust in the lie that all roads lead to heaven.

(NKJV) “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

(NKJV) “9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

If you truly want to be blessed, if you truly want heaven, then believe the truth of God’s word and continue to place your faith in Jesus Christ!

Good Luck Charm

The reason why the people thought they could literally get away with murder is because they had the temple.

Example of Israelites who thought the bring

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 519 Minister Gets the Dog

519 Minister Gets The Dog

A minister who was walking along a road saw a crowd of boys surrounding a dog.

“What are you doing with the dog?” asked the kindly minister.

“Whoever tells the biggest lie, he wins the dog.”

“Oh, my, my, my,” exclaimed the minister, “when I was a little boy like you here I never told a lie.”

There was a moment’s silence. “Here,” said one of the little fellows, “you win the dog.”

519 Minister Gets The Dog

A minister who was walking along a road saw a crowd of boys surrounding a dog.

“What are you doing with the dog?” asked the kindly minister.

“Whoever tells the biggest lie, he wins the dog.”

“Oh, my, my, my,” exclaimed the minister, “when I was a little boy like you here I never told a lie.”

There was a moment’s silence. “Here,” said one of the little fellows, “you win the dog.”

Driver: I don't have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI.

Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle?

Driver: It's not my car. I stole it.

Officer: The car is stolen?

Driver: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's card in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.

Officer: There's a gun in the glove box?

Driver: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.

Officr: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?

Driver: Yes, sir.

Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain.

The car was quickly surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle the tense situation:

Captain: Sir, can I see your license?

Driver: Sure. Here it is.

It was valid.

Captain: Who's car is this?

Driver: It's mine, officer. Here's the owner' card.

The driver owned the car.

Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a gun in it?

Driver: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it.

Sure enugh, there was nothing in the glove box.

Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there's a body in it. Driver: No problem. Trunk is opened; no body. Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glovebox, and that there was a dead body in the trunk. Driver: Yeah, I'll bet the liar told you I was speeding, too

Driver: No problem.

Trunk is opened; no body.

Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you told him you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glovebox, and that there was a dead body in the trunk.

Driver: Yeah, I'll bet the liar told you I was speeding, too