The Truth

INTRO: America just celebrated its 246 birthday. At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence America was not free, it was an ideal an acknowledging not of a military victory but rather a collective determination as written in our Declaration of Independence

“ WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them:

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

l I come by this morning to tell you that America is still not free, because in order to really be free you must have the abundant life that only comes in Jesus Christ,

l you must have the liberty that comes when you have been freed from the penalty of sin by faith in the son of God, Jesus Christ.

l King David said concerning the Pursuit of Happiness,”You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Our Founding Fathers spoke of tyranny and slavery by another nation. King George III, the tyrant.  Jesus talks about an even greater tyranny, that of Satan and even greater slavery SIN. It is release from the tyrant (Satan) and the slavery of sin that counts for eternity.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. John Adams

SCRIP: John 8:31-32                                                                                          

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”What is TRUTH? Pilate Jn 18:38

PRAY

The Struggle

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

We live in a day and age of something called “moral relativism,” where the notion of truth is “relative” to our own life circumstances, our own preferences, and our own biased opinions. People will say, “There is no absolute truth.

We define our own truth. I have my truth that works for me; however, it might not work for you. You can believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want to believe. Just don’t tell me that your belief is the only correct view, or the truth.”

The struggle for freedom is the struggle for truth.

The biblical idea of freedom is different from the worlds view of freedom. The biblical ideal is to be free from sin, the worlds view is to be free to do whatever you want.

l "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.". Aleister Crowley

l “The idea of Antichrist is an unspoken knowledge that every person has, it's just the acceptance of yourself as a powerful being who can make their own decisions.” —Marilyn Mansion, The Beautiful People

l Men pregnancy Yes, it’s possible for men to become pregnant and give birth to children of their own. In fact, it’s probably a lot more common than you might think. Healthline.com

l Boys can be girls, and girls little boys

This is the truth of the world:

I came by to tell you that none of that is truth.

The Devil just wants you to do anything, believe anything other than what the word of God says.

To the world freedom means the right to be and do as you please, It means doing your own thing, being your own boss, looking after your own self interest. But the Bible teaches:

l The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, Ro 1:18

l This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil John 3:19

Almost two thousand years ago, Truth was put on trial and judged by people who were devoted to lies. Truth faced six trials in less than one day, three were religious, and three that were legal. In the end the question was still there. “What is truth?”

Following Jesus

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

In order to receive the truth, it takes more then just believing in Jesus, If you abide in my word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. (AMP)

Jesus said “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” Continue on in what I have told you. Continue on in the life I have given you. Continue to do those things which I have laid upon your heart.

Bible tells us that, spiritually, no one is free. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” There is a debt that every human has, a disease that we all suffer from, which no human strategy can ever conquer or cure.

No, our problem is much deeper. It is bondage of the will, a captivity of the soul, a deadness of heart. The bible call it “SIN” and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans: 6:23)

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. We don’t have time to be afraid! Jesus has given us all the tools we need to be victorious over the enemy. If God be for us, who can be against us!

WE MUST CONTINUE THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH! The bible says “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where unto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. The Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he said fight the good fight of faith.

Five times he was scourged by the Jews. three times by the Romans. he suffered shipwreck four times. and was in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. All for the gospel sake.

We have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. But we must continue to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Freedom from sin- Jesus said “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. (John 8:34) So who is a slave to sin? We all are. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) Paul continues “For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

Freedom from death - Jesus said “I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” John 8:51 We know all of us will face a physical death. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,”

Jesus also said “I tell you the truth; those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24) We are already alive eternally. Death has no grip on us or claims to us.

Freedom from judgment - Jesus said “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (Matt 12:36-37)

The day will come when we stand at a judgment seat. We can read about it in Revelation 20:11-15 “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it.

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” We are being rewarded for lives, our crowns are being formed, the very crowns that we will lay at his feet one day.

Freedom to commune- Hebrews 4:16 “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” With our God we are told to come boldly, upright, with our eyes fixed on his. We can expect mercy, not giving us the punishment we deserve, and grace, giving the blessings we don’t deserve.

What gives us this right? "And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus." (Heb 10:19)

Freedom to worship- Jesus says in John 4:23-24 "But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Freedom to serve - Paul writes in Romans 6:17-18 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living

Christ came to free us from sin through His atoning sacrifice. (Hebrews: 2:14-15) Christ paid the death penalty for us, freeing us from death row through His sacrifice. (Romans: 6:11-22) Therefore, all who entrust their complete life to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins will be saved from their bondage to sin and given eternal life in Him.

Jesus said “, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14: 6) Jesus Christ is the truth about God and the truth about man, since He is both God and man.

How does it happen? Jesus said “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”(John 8:32) God’s laws are the divine truth and perfect in intent, justice and direction. The law of God is eternal truth and does not change with time or peoples or places.

True freedom is never freedom from responsibility, but responsibility not only for choice, but right choices. Freedom is an inner contentment with who we are in Christ and with what we have. It means the willingness and ability to allow God to be in control of your life.

It means single-mindedness which turns the control of one’s life over to Christ. It means the liberty for self-responsibility to both God and man under the grace of God.

Galatians 5:13 says “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Freedom in Christ never means freedom from the presence and struggle with the flesh or indwelling sin. It means the provision of the Spirit as God’s means of victory (5:16-17).

So our salvation and freedom in Christ is never to be considered as freedom from servant hood or from service and loving responsibilities to others.

Conclusion:                                                                                            “What is truth?” before Pilate asked it— "I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37).

God the Father is “the God of truth” (Ps. 31:5; Isa. 65:16, . Jesus Christ is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). In fact, He is “the truth” (14:6). The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (14:17; 15:26; 16:13).

Paul calls Scripture “the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Bible says “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36) Self surrender is the secret of self liberation. We are free in the measure in which we are generous and unselfish. Real Freedom is not merely absence of bondage but it is the presence of God, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”(2 Corinthians 3:17)

John 16:13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Eph. 4:14 “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ”

Eph. 5:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

Colossians 1:5 “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as [it has] also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as [it is] also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;”

2 Timothy 2:24 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”