Embrace the Truth, Reject the Lie

It was the fifth Roman prefect of the Roman province of Judea, his name Pontius Pilate.

He asked the question during the trial that led to Jesus Christ's crucifixion.

We read the account in John chapter 18. John chapter 18, what is truth? John chapter 18. We'll read beginning in verse 33.

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning me?

Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Well, he wasn't a Jew. He was a Roman.

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world.

If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here.

Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then?

Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a Jew. So Christ mentions the truth. He says he's going to bear witness to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.

Pilate said to him, What is truth? He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. He said, I am a king. What is truth? Pilate obviously was skeptical. He didn't really believe what Jesus was telling him. But he was a little concerned because his wife had come to him. She had a dream. She said, basically, be careful. She was warning him about how he handled this situation with Jesus.

He says, What is truth? A lot of people have asked that question throughout the ages. What is truth? When he said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him at all. I find no fault in this man. And we know that Pilate washed his hands before he allowed them to take Christ and crucify him. If it was up to him, he would not have done this.

This was not something that he really wanted to do. But the Jews were clamoring for it, and he was a politician. He liked to keep him happy. So forth. He gave in to this. He allowed himself to be a part of it. You know, it's interesting.

I think this encounter with Jesus may have troubled Pilate a great deal. Although we don't hear about anything after this time. But according to Wikipedia, the historians Eusevius and Agapius of Hierapolis says Pilate committed suicide around 37-38 AD. Some six or seven years after Christ's crucifixion. This may have had nothing to do with Pilate's role in the crucifixion. He did get crosswise with Caligula, I think it was.

So there was an issue with the emperor. And he may have done it because they were going to kill him anyway. I don't really know the full story behind that, but I've wondered about that. So again today, what is truth? Now this is a question that I had to ask myself at an early age. I was only 18 years old, and I probably had asked myself that question to some degree before that.

But I really began to ask this question in earnest at age 18. I was graduating from high school. I was trying to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Where I would go to college. What I would become. What I would do. So it was an important question to me. I was exposed to a teaching at that time around age 18.

A teaching that claimed to be the truth. My mother had gotten the plain truth magazine since 1958. So I was only three years old when she began to teach me about the truth. She would take me to Sunday school, but then she would tell me, We really ought to go to church on the Sabbath. On Saturday, not Sunday. And even though your dad's eating bacon right now, you really ought not eat bacon, because the Bible says you should.

So she was exposed to the truth. She exposed me to the truth and the rest of my brothers and sisters. I had six, have six brothers and sisters. So when I was 18, I really had to start thinking about things. My second-to-the-oldest sister and my oldest brother had gone to Ambassador College. In fact, they were both at Ambassador College when I graduated high school. So this was a question that was on my mind. I decided to go to Bowling Green State University instead of Ambassador College, because I was a little bit skeptical or concerned about a bunch of religious fanatics, frankly.

What I heard was that you, frankly, couldn't even kiss a girl. It was like, come on! I'm 18 years old, and my brother had come home. One time, it was on, I think, a Christmas break. My dad had asked him, he said, Mike, how many girls have you dated? He said, oh, I think maybe 30. And I thought that sounded really good. That's a good number. I don't have a big problem with that.

He said, well, how many have you kissed? He said, well, I haven't kissed any of them. And I don't know, that just didn't sound too good for me. I mean, not that I was a big kisser of girls, because I really wasn't, but I had dated a few. I probably had kissed a few, but, you know, I just had to... I really was struggling at that time, though. What was I going to do with the rest of my life? I know at Bowling Green there were 15,000 students, and half of them were girls. And that seemed like a nice place to go. So I was going away from the truth.

But my sister had come home that summer, and she asked me, Mark, why aren't you coming to Ambassador College? I'm here. Mike's here. Why aren't you coming? And I'm sure I've told you this story. Do you remember what I told him? Do you remember what I said? I know I've told you this story, but I said, well, I guess I'm just not man enough. But that really challenged me, because God was calling me. God was beginning to work with me. Or I would have never said that. I would have justified myself.

But I think it really spurred me on to study into it. Is this true? Because I really didn't know whether it was true or not. This is what my mother had told me. There are many other religions and faiths. I was a Methodist at the time. So I had to really do some soul-searching at the time. Was it the truth, or was it just another lie, like so many other lies in the world? Now, I've asked that question repeatedly over the years.

Since then, what is truth? Is this the truth? I've analyzed and verified in my own mind what is truth countless times in my life. And you probably have as well. Those of you who have been around a long time, you've asked yourself this question, I'm sure, a number of times throughout the years. Is this the truth? Probably back in 1994 or 95, many of us really ask ourselves, is this the truth? And we've asked ourselves that, again, on a number of occasions. I'd like to ask you a question. Are you one who embraces the truth and rejects the lie? Are you a person who embraces the truth and rejects the lie?

In Hosea 4, it talks about the fact that there is very little truth on the earth today. And this was true way back at Hosea's time, and it's also certainly true today, perhaps even more so. But it's always been true because mankind has not gone in the way of the truth.

They followed instead the God of this world. They followed Satan the devil. Satan is the God of this world, and that's who they followed. And so there's been very little truth in the world. In Hosea 4, verse 1, Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel, God's chosen ones. Hear the word of the LORD, for the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land. And frankly, this is actually a prophecy, too.

It's a dual prophecy. It applied back at that time. It applies today. He says there is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. And I noticed in doing this study that truth and mercy often go together in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament.

Truth and mercy are linked together oftentimes. There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. Very little knowledge of God in the land. It's no wonder so many people believe a lie, because frankly, there's so much error. What about this time of year? People in this country are caught up doing what these days? Black Friday, Christmas gifts. They're caught up in a lie. They're caught up in observing lies. Santa Claus is a lie. Christ, born on December 25th, it's a lie. It's not the truth. They're not going after the truth. They're going after lies. They're not embracing the truth. Instead, they are following the lies.

They are not rejecting the lies. I think it's very, very important that you base your life on the answer to this question. You. I've based my life on this. I believe it's important that you base your life on the answer to this question. What is truth? Do you know?

Are you totally committed to the truth? Are you wavering? Are you not sure? If you're not sure, it's about time you became sure. If you are an adult, if you're a child, you've got some time. But if you're an adult, now's the time to prove this. What is truth? What is true?

You should base your life on the answer to this question. Find out what's true and follow it. We should dedicate our lives fully to the answer to this question. So again, what is truth? Who is true? How are we to serve God in truth? How does one come to the truth? It is vital that we all learn to embrace the truth and reject the lie. In fact, that's the title to the sermon, is Embrace the Truth, Reject the Lie.

We all need to learn to be true ourselves. And also, we should grow to love the truth. If you don't love the truth, I hope you're growing to love the truth. So I'm going to answer four questions. What is truth? Who is truth? How do we come to the truth? And how are we to serve God in truth? So let's begin by asking the question, what is truth? Now, this is a very, very large topic, so I'm going to attempt to talk about just the most important aspects of the truth. Today in this sermon, I'm no doubt going to cover the edges of some topics when it comes to the truth, but hopefully this will be very, very helpful for you.

So to begin our discussion, let's define the word truth. So I went to Webster's first to define the word truth. Webster says that the truth is the real facts about something, the real facts, not lies, but facts, the things that are true. So it uses the word true to describe what truth is.

That's only somewhat helpful. The quality or state of being true. That's what truth is. The quality or state of being true, and it's a statement or idea that is true. So it is important that we look at the word true, isn't it? What is true? Well, true is an adjective. First of all, it's also an adverb and a noun. But true as an adjective basically means agreeing with the facts.

It agrees with the facts. It's not false. Real or genuine. Real or genuine. Having all the expected or necessary qualities of a specified type of person or thing, something that is true, or a person that is true. Someone who is steadfast, loyal, honest, just. It means to be conformable to an essential reality. Reality is important here. What is reality? What is the truth? And being in accordance with the actual state of affairs. Being in accordance with what's actually happening.

With the actual state of affairs. So some synonyms for true would be bonafide, certifiable, certified, genuine, honest, real, right, sure enough, and authentic.

Some antonyms or opposites. You children remember what antonyms are, right? Synonyms and antonyms. Antonyms for true would be bogus. That guy's bogus. Counterfeit. Fake. False. Phoney. Sham. Webster says that true as an adverb means in a straight line.

In accordance with fact or reality without deviation. An example would be the arrow flew straight and true. True as a noun would be the quality or trait of being accurate. Being accurate, that's true. So now that we've discussed the definition of truth, let's ask the question, who is truth? Now that seems like kind of an odd question, doesn't it? Who is truth? Who is truth? Well, it seems a little odd, but it isn't really, because there is a being who claims to be truth.

We find that in John chapter 14. John chapter 14. So you have to analyze, is this the truth? What this being says? What this man says? Is he telling the truth or not? John chapter 14. Well, we'll read verse 6. Jesus said to Doubting Thomas, Thomas had his doubts like a lot of people, very skeptical. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth. I am, and of course I am is a reference to the great I am. Christ, who was actually the God of the Old Testament, who said, I am who I am.

He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me. Now, this is a very important verse. Jesus Christ must lead a person to the Father. Christ says that if you're going to know the Father, God the Father, you're going to have to know Him through me. He says, no one comes to the Father except through me. So anyone who claims to have a relationship with God and doesn't believe in Jesus Christ, they don't have a relationship with the true God. There's no name under heaven whereby a person can be saved except the name of Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua the Messiah.

Jesus Christ, we know, is the Word of God. Scripture tells us He is the Word of God. He is the Logos, the spokesman. He was there in the beginning with God. He is God. He is the Son of God. In John 1, and I'm not going to take a lot of time in John 1 because we've gone over John 1 many times.

We need to understand John 1. It's a very pivotal chapter. In verse 14, speaking of the spokesman of the Logos, the Word became flesh. The one who was there in the very beginning, the Creator of all things, was this one who became flesh. The Word became flesh and He dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ, the Word, is full of grace and truth. This is John speaking of the one He came to know quite well, the one He spent a lot of time with, Jesus the Messiah. He said He's full of grace and truth, an eyewitness, someone who really knew Jesus. And then in verse 17, the law was given through Moses.

Of course, really, the law was given through Moses, yes, but who gave the law to Moses? The one who became Christ, the one who was there on Mount Sinai with Him. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ came, He came to lay His life down, to die for mankind. He is full of grace and full of truth. No one has seen God at any time, speaking of the Father, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

And again, the only way to come to the Father is through the Son. Most of those who have dealt closely with God have come to see Him as a God of truth. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob saw God as a God of truth. They believed in God. Abraham is the Father of the faithful because he had faith in God. He believed God. He trusted in God. So much so that he was able to take His Son, His only Son, and sacrifice Him. That's how well he knew God, and that's how much he believed in God. He knew that God was a God of truth, and that God does not lie, that God cannot lie.

And so, in Deuteronomy 32, we hear about Moses, who also knew that God was a God of truth. Moses came to know God, and a burning bush, the one who became Christ, revealed himself to Moses and worked through him, and sent plagues upon Egypt through Moses, through that staff, using Moses as an instrument or a tool. And Moses, in the song of Moses, begins this song with these words.

Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the rock. Remember, the rock that followed Him, followed them in the wilderness, the rock that followed them, that rock was Christ. We read that from Paul in Corinthians. So, He is the rock. His work is perfect. For all His ways are justice, a God of truth, a God of truth and without injustice. God is totally just and righteous and faithful. Righteous and upright is He. Now, in contrast, He says they have corrupted themselves. They are not His children. Because of their blemish, a perverse and crooked generation. Frankly, people have not followed God ever, really. I mean, only a few, a small number, who have been called out to be a part of the first fruits, who have humbled themselves and truly followed God and obeyed Him. So, when we come to know God, we will see Him as a God of truth, a God we can count on.

He is just and right. He is without injustice. King James says, without iniquity. He doesn't sin, He cannot sin. He is just and right. He is righteous and upright. In Jeremiah 4, let's see what the prophet Jeremiah says about God. Jeremiah 4 Now, again, these people came to know God because He had a direct relationship with them. He spoke to them. He worked with them. They were His messengers. They were His vessels to bring His Word, His truth, to the people.

In Jeremiah 4, verse 1. God says, if you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, return to Me. Because they had gone astray from God. They did not keep His commandments. They did not keep His statutes and His laws. They rejected Him. They wanted a human king over them. He says, if you will return, O Israel, says the Lord, return to Me. And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved. And you shall swear the Lord lives. He lives in truth. When you come to know God, you will see that He lives in truth, in judgment or justice, and in righteousness.

The nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory. And thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. He's talking about spiritual circumcision. Take away the foreskins of your heart. No doubt this is how Paul understood about spiritual circumcision, that it is of the heart, because it was in the Old Testament as well. And he says, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts. No longer be hard-hearted. No longer have a stony, rocky heart.

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire. You see, that's what God is going to do in the last days. During the day of the Lord, God's fury is going to come forth like fire. That's exactly what's going to happen, because mankind continues to follow lies. They do not follow God in truth. And so there is a day of reckoning coming upon the earth. It's the day of the Lord. It's a year of God's wrath poured out, because people have rejected Him, have sinned against Him. This is a prophecy that's going to be fulfilled in the last days. Lest My fury come forth like fire and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings, because of your evil doings, because of your sins and your iniquities.

The Lord lives in truth. That is the God that we serve, the one who lives in truth. Again, all who come to know God see Him as a God of truth. For example, even a Gentile king, a pagan, Daniel 4. You know, God had a very direct relationship with a man called Nebuchadnezzar. For a while, he got his attention.

He got Nebuchadnezzar's attention in the book of Daniel, in Daniel 4. This is after Nebuchadnezzar rose up in pride against God, exalted himself, and God lowered him to the very depths of the earth. He made him an animal, evidently took the spirit and man away from him for a time. He became like an animal, and he foraged in the grass, in the branches of the trees, and so forth.

In Daniel 4.34. At the end of the time, that is, after he had been this animal, and God restored him, and at the end of the time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation to generation. I mean, Daniel 4.35. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven. And among the inhabitants of the earth. Now, this was a powerful king, a king over the most powerful nation on earth, the king of Babylon. He does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, no one can restrain his hand or say to him, What have you done?

At the same time, my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor, my splendor returned to me. God was gracious. God gave him back his kingdom. My counselors and nobles resorted to me. I restored to my kingdom an excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all of whose works are truth. He came to see that everything that God does is true. All of his works are true. They are faithful. You can count on them. You can believe that if he tells you he's going to do something, it's going to happen.

And he told Nebuchadnezzar he was going to bring him down, and he brought him down. And those who walk in pride, he is able to put down. God is able to put everyone down. In fact, God will do that eventually. Eventually, everyone will come. The pride of their power will be broken. And they will come to humble themselves before the true God of heaven and earth.

So if you haven't gotten there yet, your day is coming. Let it be done mercifully. Make it a choice of your own. Don't come under the judgment of God unwillingly. But go willingly before God. Seek him with all of your heart, with all of your soul, because he will surely be found if you really want to know him and have a relationship with him and surrender yourself to him.

Because, you know, that's what I did. I surrendered myself to God. Now, I wish I would have surrendered to him more fully than I have. I wish today I was more surrendered than I am. But, at least to a fairly significant degree, I had to surrender to God. And you had to surrender to God. Those of you who are baptized, you had to go under that watery grave. You had to die. You had to die. That's what that symbolizes, that you were willing to die. And you came out of that watery grave, and you began to walk in newness of life.

You were a different person. You changed your thinking. You changed many things that you did, and you are continuing to change. You are continuing to grow. And you want to become just like God. That's your goal, to become just like him, to be a person of truth, someone who is true and faithful and righteous. In Matthew 22, they came to Christ. Now, these were the Pharisees. Now, notice what they said to Christ. Matthew 22. Matthew 22, verse 16. Notice verse 15. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. So the Pharisees got together, and they plotted against Christ, and they wanted to entangle him.

They wanted to test him. They wanted him to fail the test. So they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true. We know that you are true. And you teach the way of God in truth. Nor do you care about anyone, for you do not regard the person of men. Now, that really was true. What they said was true. Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, because they were a bunch of liars.

What they said was true, but they didn't really understand it. They didn't really know that what they were saying really was true. Because in some ways they saw Jesus as a person certainly different. But they didn't want to accept him as their Savior. They didn't want to accept him as the Messiah. And they were plotting against him.

So Jesus perceived their wickedness, and he said, Why do you test me, you hypocrites? They said, You don't care about anyone, or you do not regard the person of men. And Christ proved it right here. He said, You're a bunch of hypocrites. You test me. He said, Show me the tax money. So they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, Whose image and inscription is this?

And they said to him, It's Caesar's. And he said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. No, Christ wasn't hung up on money. He wasn't trying to develop some kind of fortune himself. Wealth wasn't important to him. Physical wealth wasn't important to him. So, render the things that are Caesar's, and to God, render to him the things that are God's. And when they heard these words, they marveled, and they left him, and they went their way.

They could do nothing with him. You know, Christ sets such a wonderful example of how to behave. How to live your life. Don't be a respecter of persons. Speak the truth. Speak it in love, as the Scripture says. Speak the truth. That's what Christ did. Christ loved these people. He died for them. But he wasn't a wimp, was he? So, again, let's go back to what is truth. We talked about who is truth. Jesus Christ says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and you can't come to my Father except you go through me.

So, yes, it is imperative that you accept Christ as your Savior. He is the Messiah. He is the anointed one. So, again, what is truth? John 17, verse 17 tells us what truth is. John 17, verse 17. Christ says to the Father, sanctify them by your truth. Your Word, God's Word, is truth. God's Word is truth. Now, he's talking about the Word of God. He's talking about everything that's written in this book that's been inspired by God. It is the Word of God. It is His Word. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Your Word is truth. You need to study this Bible because you need to know what's in here because you're sanctified by the Word of God. You are set apart and made holy by God's Word to the degree that you obey what's in here.

That's the degree that you're set apart and sanctified. It's by the degree that you follow this book to the degree that you surrender yourself to God. So you have to study it. It's a lifelong process of studying God's Word. It should be a very, very high priority in your life to study this book. Trust me, those of us who have been in the church 40 or 50 years, we still need to study the Bible. We all need to study the Bible. We need to know what it says. We need to understand it. And God will lead us into all truth if we put Him first in our lives. So this should be a very, very important book in your life. It should be obviously the most important book. It should far outweigh any other books that you spend time reading. This book. If you're spending a lot of time reading other books, you might want to reevaluate your time a little bit, and maybe spend a little bit more time reading this book, because this book has the words of life. The other books don't. They might have some truth. They might be helpful in certain ways. But this is the true Word of God. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. Let's go to John 6. Now, most of us are pretty familiar with John 6. It's probably the verse I memorized first in coming into the church. This was probably the number one first verse I ever memorized. I don't know for sure. I knew some like John 3.16 and even John 3.17. I had memorized that in the old Methodist Church. So I knew some verses. But when I came into the truth, this was a scripture that I memorized. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. Now, Christ had already said that no one can come to the Father unless they go through Christ. Right? Jesus Christ is the one who reveals the Father. So in order to understand who the Father is, you need to go through Christ. But the reverse is also true. John 6.44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. So it's the Father who begins to draw you. It's not Jesus. It's the Father. The Father draws you to Christ. You accept Christ, and then Christ reveals the Father to you. That's how it works. And it's a beautiful process. And Christ said, I and my Father are one. They are one. They're unified. They're perfect together in unity. If you've seen one, you've seen the other.

So no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws him. And God is calling people today. He's calling some. He really isn't calling the masses. He really isn't. You know, this is not the only day of salvation. The masses are going to be called later. Now He's calling the firstfruits. He's calling a small number of people because He knows that many are called, but few are chosen. And He's not calling the billions. He's calling many in comparison to the few that are actually going to respond. Many are called, but few are chosen because, frankly, they don't respond. They don't listen. They don't begin to do something. You have to be a doer of the law, not a hearer only. When God is calling you, you have to start doing it. It's not enough to come to church every Sabbath and hear somebody preach and think everything's A-OK. That's not good enough. You've got to put it into action in your life. You have to live by it. You have to be a doer of the law, not just a hearer of the law, but a doer of the law. So how does God draw a person to His Son? How does God do that? John 14 shows us how God does this. John 14. John 14, verse 15. Jesus says, If you love Me, keep My commandments. Now don't be deceived into thinking that the Father's commandments and Jesus' commandments are two different things. They're not. I and my Father are one. Same commandments. In fact, remember, Jesus was the one who brought the Ten Commandments. So some people try to deceive you into thinking there's a difference here. There really isn't. If you love Me, keep My commandments. Observe My commandments. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. Actually, the margin says here, if you love Me, you will keep My commandments. So if you're not keeping the commandments, you haven't yet learned to love God or love Christ. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, a paracletus, a comforter. Now, it uses the masculine gender here, but it really ought to be using the neutral here, because the Holy Spirit is not a person. And I don't have time to go into all the proofs of that, but the Holy Spirit is not a person. And sometimes the translators have made some mistakes like this. You can find them. They're readily...you know, you can discover them if you study the Bible. And I will pray the Father, and He, that is the Father, will give you another helper, a comforter, that it may abide with you forever. I'm going to say it, because I think it helps us realize more fully that the Holy Spirit is not a masculine being, but it is a force, it is a power.

It is the Spirit of Truth, as it says in verse 17. It is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him, that is the Father, neither sees Him nor knows Him, or knows it, actually. But you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. So, speaking of the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, the world cannot receive it because it neither sees it or knows it, but you know it, for it dwells with you and it will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. He says the Father is going to come to you, and the Son is also going to come to you, and they're going to do it through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's God's Spirit that works in you. It's God's Spirit that opens your mind. It's God's Spirit that comforts you and directs you and guides you. God is Spirit, and we must worship God in Spirit and in truth.

In John chapter 15, verse 26, John 15, verse 26, But when the Helper comes, when the Comforter, the Pericletus comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, again Christ is sending the Spirit of God from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, that proceeds from the Father, it will testify of Me.

And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

So the Holy Spirit reveals the Father, and it reveals the Son. It's the power of God. And God is Spirit, and Jesus Christ is Spirit. Christ is at the right hand of God. He's a Spirit being. Now, He did come down for a time in the flesh for, what, about thirty-three and a half years. But He was Spirit at the very beginning, and He is Spirit now. He's at the right hand of God. He became flesh. He suffered as we suffer. He was perfect without sin. He was crucified, and He is the perfect sacrifice.

John 16, verse 7.

Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and you see Me no more. Of judgment, because the ruler of this world, Satan the Devil, is judged. And Christ qualifies to be the King of the earth, the King of the world. Christ is coming back as King of kings, and Lord of lords, He's establishing His government here on the earth.

He's going to bind Satan the Devil, who is now the God of this world. And Jesus Christ is going to be supreme. They're still always supreme. Satan only is allowed to do what God allows for his own purposes. But Christ, when He lived perfectly in the flesh, and then submitted Himself to His Father's will and was crucified, then He was resurrected three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Now, Easter is good Friday to Sunday, right? There's not three days and three nights in there. That's another lie. Christmas is a lie. Easter is a lie. The pagan holidays, they're all lies. God's festivals are truth. His holy days are truth. The Sabbath is truth. Continuing here, verse 13, It directs us, it motivates us, it inspires us. It will bring us into all truth. And it's only when you are baptized and have hands laid upon you by a minister of God that you receive the gift of the Spirit. It's after you've repented of your sins and you've accepted Christ as your Savior, then you become a true child of God.

So, last question, how are we to serve God and walk in truth? How are we to serve God and walk in the truth? You know, we're all called out to be leaders, to become leaders. You may think you don't want to be a leader. You may have no desire to be a leader, but you are called to be a leader. No matter who you are, you are called to be a leader. Every one of you. And you can learn to become a leader today. You can lead in various ways, no matter who you are.

But you will become a king and a priest in God's kingdom. You will be a true leader of God. You will bring the truth to many people who are suffering from the cataclysm that comes upon the earth before Christ returns.

You will have an opportunity to work with people. You will become a leader. So, it's important that you learn to serve God now and walk in truth. In Exodus 18, verse 21, Jethro gives some sound advice to Moses, because Moses was wearing himself out. And frankly, if I didn't have a lot of you to help me, I would be dead, trying to do everything that should be done. I couldn't possibly keep up with everything that has to be done in four churches.

I couldn't do it in just this church. I need help. I need leaders. I need people who will join hands with me and will walk together. I need all of you. I need every single person in this room. Every one of you is an integral part of the leadership of this church. Every single one of you.

Every one of you can pray. And that may be the most powerful thing that any of us can do, is to pray. Is to go before God and humbly beseech Him. To intervene and to act. To help us know Him better. There are so many things that you can do as a leader. The first thing is to pray. And to draw ever closer to God and to study your Bibles. You're a leader if you study the Bible. You're a leader if you pray. You're a leader if you fast. These are all things that you need to be doing as a leader.

Pray, fast, study, meditate. These are all things that we all need to be doing. In Exodus 18, Moses was worn out. He would sit for hours and judge the people and make decisions and do things. In John 18, verse 21, Jethro says, Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God. You have to fear God. Have a right respect of God and a proper fear of God.

Knowing who He is. Able men, such as fear God, men of truth. Now, it also includes women. Women of truth. Men and women of truth. That's what we need here today. Men and women of truth. Hating covetousness. And place them over thousands. You'll become a ruler of thousands, a ruler of hundreds, a ruler of fifties, and a ruler of tens.

We all have a role to play, and you can become a leader. You need to be a man and a woman of God and a man and woman of truth. In Joshua 24, verse 14, Joshua 24, verse 14. This is right before Joshua dies, and he's instructing the people. Joshua 24. Remember, Joshua was one of the faithful spies who believed in God, who trusted in God, who knew God was true. He says in verse 14 of Joshua 24, So therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth.

You know, in the New Testament it talks about serving in sincerity and truth, doesn't it? It talks about unleavened bread, becoming unleavened, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. It's the same today as it was back in Joshua's time. We all need to learn to serve in sincerity and in truth, honestly and genuinely serving God in sincerity and in truth. He says, Put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt and serve the Lord. Serve the Eternal. We're all called to serve the God of truth. In 1 Samuel 12, verse 24, Here it says, Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all of your heart.

Fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. For consider how great things he has done for you. Are you serving God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might? Or maybe do you need to step it up a little bit? And focus your priorities. Focus your priorities. Put first things first. Put God first in your life. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And know, because God never lies, that all these things will be added unto you.

God will keep his promises. You can have faith in that. You can trust him. If you'll put him first, seek him with all of your heart, soul, and might, and serve him in that way, then all these things are going to be added. In 1 Kings 2, verse 1. 1 Kings 2, verse 1. Here it says, if your children... Well, we're going to read a few verses here. 1 Kings 2. Speaking about David. David was a man after God's own heart. David was a very faithful servant of God.

Not a perfect man by any means. Not totally surrendered. Just like I'm not totally surrendered. I still have issues. I'm still striving to grow. You still have issues. You're still striving to grow and overcome. Well, David was the same way. 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12, verse 24. I think this is in context of Saul, isn't it? This one. 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. Let's go to 1 Kings chapter 2. 1 Kings chapter 2, verse 1. Now, the days of David drew near that he should die.

He charged Solomon his son. He brought his son before him. This is the most important thing on his mind. David's about to die. He brings his son in, and he brings him in, and he says, I go the way of all the earth.

Be strong, my son. Therefore, improve yourself a man. I had to ask myself, am I a man? Am I man enough? Am I man enough? And keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may fulfill his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with all of their heart and with all of their soul, he said you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.

Things would have been a lot different if Solomon would have been like his father David. Solomon turned against God. Solomon was polluted by foreign gods, by the wives that he married, the ones that God told him not to marry. And so he was polluted. In 1 Kings 3, verse 6, at the beginning of Solomon's reign, Solomon in verse 6 of chapter 3 says, And Solomon said, You have shown great mercy to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in truth.

David was a man of truth. He walked in truth. He walked in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you. You have continued this great kindness for him, and you have given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day. But you know it was Solomon's son, Reobo, that there was a great split in Israel because of Solomon and because of Reobo, and because of their unfaithfulness. There was a great split because of their unfaithfulness. We need to be like David. We need to seek God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our might.

In Daniel chapter 9, verse 13, Daniel prays to God with all of his heart for the people of Israel, for his people. He says, as it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us. He's in Babylon.

He's in captivity in Babylon. He's a prisoner, and yet has tremendous favor. In fact, it rises up right behind Pharaoh because of who he is. He says, as it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God that we might turn from our iniquities and what? And understand your truth. Do you want to understand God's truth? Then turn from your iniquities. Turn from your sins and follow God fully. Strive to follow Him perfectly. Put the sin out of your life, and God will help you understand the truth.

Pray to God and seek Him with all of your heart. In John 4, it says we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. We are all to learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. In Malachi 2, I don't have time to go through it all, but you can go there later today. Verses 1-6, in Malachi 2, it's speaking to God's shepherds. It's speaking to His ministers, and it's basically saying that His ministers are to be truthful. His ministers are to be faithful.

They are to have the law of truth in their mouths. Brethren, follow only the true ministers of God. Follow only the ones that are faithful and true. And you have to learn to discern what is true. Last time we talked about rebellion. And I'm not gearing you up for something that's happening, by the way.

I'm not aware of anything on the horizon. There's nothing, as far as I know, in the United Church of God presently. We're getting along fine. But I've been around long enough to know that it is my job to prepare you for whatever is going to happen five years down the line, or ten years down the line, or fifteen or twenty years down the line.

God's shepherds are to be truthful. They are to be ministers of God, and they should have the law of truth in their mouths. So, brethren, learn to follow only the true ministers of God.

Learn to follow God. The truth will make you free. John chapter 8, the truth is going to make you free. It's going to give you true liberty and freedom. We're supposed to speak the truth in love. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 15. That's what God wants us to do. To speak in love. We're to have a love of the truth. Again, do you love God's truth?

Are you dedicated fully to God and His ways? You're to love one another fervently with a pure heart. That's what the Bible says. You know, in the New Testament it links love and truth together, time after time. Ephesians 4, verse 15. Second Thessalonians 2, verse 10. First Peter chapter 1, verse 22. First John chapter 3, verse 18.

Second John 1, 1. Second John 1, 3. Third John 1, 1. All of these verses, they put love and truth together. We need to have a love of the truth, and we need to speak the truth in love. And if we will do that, brethren, we will learn to serve God the way He wants to be served. We will become pleasing to God. So, brethren, it is important that you know what truth is. That you know what it is, and that you embrace it. Embrace the truth, and reject all the lies that are around you. Well, by the way, we have a booklet called, Is the Bible True? If you're not sure, go get the booklet before you leave here today. Go get the booklet and read it. Study it. It's about 70 pages long. It goes into what's true.