SERMON:
The next person, after hearing this message, who tells a lie, no matter how big or small.....will fall over immediately and die.
Ok maybe not, but hey, It could happen you know. Wait, it did happen.... Wait....it does happen......Wait.....it happens all the time. More on that in a minute.
Seeking God requires a high level of honesty that, at first, may seem quite threatening. We cover our faults and failures....it's an involuntary reflex. When we do this, it looks like the best course of action or the best option. We always want people to see the best in us......thinking positive of us......never questioning our integrity......we want people to respect us for our above board behaviors. However, humility, one of the first prerequisites to being honest, requires the willingness to be honest with God and others about our true spiritual condition.
A survey conducted asked the question "do you lie?" 50% admitted they lie from time to time - the other 50% are liars.
Have you ever heard these famous sayings?
- Abe Lincoln said if a person doesn't lie, he wont have so much to remember
- Honesty is the best policy
- "Let me be honest with you"
- "Honest to goodness"
- "Honest injun" (refrain from this one because it is degrading)
- "He is honest as the day is long" (it's what a man does at night than can be scary)
- "Some people are just brutally honest"
- A little white lie will never hurt anyone
We lie every day.....many times a day. Here are some common every day lies:
- we lie about where we have been
- checks in the mail
- said we did a chore, but didn't
- I need 5 minutes of your time
- Let's have lunch sometime
- went somewhere when you were supposed to be somewhere else
- claim you didn't say something that you really did
- money cheerfully refunded
- open wide, this won't hurt
- what does the IRS have on file about you?
- is the time card at work accurate or do you "fudge it" from time to time? What is "fudging anyway?
- you seen the car accident but ain't telling who was at fault.
- have you ever taken credit for something you didn't do?
- went silent when you could have provided facts that would reveal the truth (sin of omission)
- tell a half truth. It's like saying you "dodged a bullet". Is that physically possible to actually dodge something that is traveling 1250 feet per second?
- I tried to call you but I couldn't get through. You really didn't call....did you?
And the list is endless.
Why do we lie? Back in the 70's, the TV show "Laugh-In" had a character played by Flip Wilson. Her name was Geraldine. Geraldine always lied about stuff. When asked why she lied, she quipped "the devil made me do it".
Does the devil really make us lie or is it from our sinful self that these decisions are made?
Proverbs 28:13 says: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy".
Proverbs 30:7-9 states: "Two things I ask of you Oh Lord, do not refuse me before I die (vs 8) keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread".
Gen 3:13: "Then the Lord said to the woman "what is this you have done?"" "The woman said "the serpent deceived me, and I ate"". Eve claimed the serpent deceived her. That may be so, but Eve made the decision to lie about it.
Acts 5:1-11 has a scary story about what happens to someone when they lie. It's the story of Ananias & Sapphira. They never seen it coming. Did the devil make them do it? Or did they lie because they felt their personal gain was in jeopardy if they told the truth.
Read Acts 5:1-11. The story of Ananias & Sapphira.
verse 5 & 10 are the scary parts. Boom! When the lie slipped out of their mouth, the scripture indicates death was immediate. Does that happen to us when we lie? Yessiree! Everytime. We may not actually fall over dead, drawing our last earthly breath, but we do die. Our relationship with God is dead! At least temporarily. More on this later too.
Why is it difficult to be honest and transparent in everything we do? Answer: We don't want to air our "failure laundry" with anyone. We always want to impress people, not showing any weakness. We want to be seen as blameless. We don't want to take responsibility for our missteps or errors in judgement. We always want to better our position in some way.....no matter how small it may be.
God tells us who will dwell with him in the end. The Psalmist asks a question then quickly answers it in Psalm 15:1-2. (1) "Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? (2) He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart."
Q: What does it mean to speak truth in your heart? A: Our heart if pure, guides our actions and our words and our works. Dishonesty and a liar have no place in God's kingdom.
Adam and Eve lacked the truth in their heart when they lied and hid.
David didn't want to walk in the truth with God and committed adultery, then hid it, covered it up and denied any wrong doing. Bathsheba's husband Uriah died because of a lie and deceit.
David went through a lot because of the lies. He lied, he confessed and was forgiven. It looks like a huge weight had been taken from his shoulders. He describes it precisely in Psalm 32:1-5. (Read these passages)
Friends, this is the message today. David showed us firsthand the process he went through to discover profound joy....and how he experienced God's mercy and forgiveness.
We have skeletons in the closet. Some people have a host of skeletons in the closet. There are so many skeletons, they are playing baseball together....just waiting to be released....one at a time.
Are we in torment....like David because of what is lingering in our lives? Our lies must be confessed. Our deeds and actions need attention. God is waiting to hear from you. People who have been hurt by us need to hear from us......acknowledging that were wrong and less than truthful. We are dead......unless change takes place.
Notice the torment of David. He said in verse 3 & 4 that his bones "wasted away", God's hand was "heavy upon me" and my strength was "dried up". This is exactly how he should have felt. This is what we should feel too! It's called our conscience. It's called a broken spirit....a broken heart....gnawing at us because we know we have done wrong.
David suffered physically, emotionally and spiritually, as a result of his unwillingness to come clean with God. That's us in this story. Our souls are pressed down. Our anguish is deepened. Our body decays and deteriorates. We are trapped. We are hurting too. We need relief.
The good news: We have another choice. We can learn from David's example. Here's what he did.
HE ADMITTED HIS SIN! HE ADMITTED HE WAS A WRONG DOER! HE ADMITTED HE WAS A DECEIVER! HE ADMITTED HIS LIE! David could not be silent anymore. The weight was too great. He let loose of his pride and arrogance then humbled himself. Viola! God poured out his grace and mercy. God was his portion. God was his relief. Plop plop fizz fizz....Oh what a relief it is!
Here is the whole of the message.
1. There is no sin so great that God can't forgive
2. There is no sin so small that you can afford to keep it hidden
3. The weight of lies is too great to endure for any period of time
4. The longer you wait to come clean, your physical, emotional and spiritual health will deteriorate and die
4. God will have his way with you
5. You may die (remember Ananias & Sapphira). God's wrath comes when we least expect it.
God says we are a liar if we do not walk in His light.
1 John 1:5-9 states that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.". Vs 8 says - "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us". And finally, verse 9 says it all. "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". Praise the Lord! Here is the solution.
To confess our sin is to acknowledge our guilt before God - to agree with Him about our condition. We cannot pretend any longer that it will all just "go away" all by itself.
Friends, what does your world look like? Do you live in a world of illusion or do you really know what's going on but see it too hard to confess it. I know it's hard. I've been there myself. But it must be done.
Even the disciples lied. Remember in Mark 9:34, they remained "silent" after Jesus asked them a question. They didn't want to come clean after the Lord God asked them a question. Silence is not golden.
When you approach the communion table each Sunday, isn't God asking you to remember what He did for you? Yes, and in the same way he's asking what do you need to bring to Me before you eat the bread and drink of the cup. Take it to Him. Silence is not Golden!
Is there someone in your life that you need to call or send a letter, to tell them you wronged them? Do it today. Silence is not Golden! Do you need to return something that you stole? Do it today. Silence is not Golden. When will you be released from the burden of it all? Hopefully today.
There's an old saying that says something like this. "An ostrich buries his head in the sand, but his behind is still exposed". Silence is not Golden. God sees. God hears. Other people know! Why would we want to show our behind when our whole body can be buried through forgiveness and mercy. That's called baptism for the lost.
Let me end with these few thoughts.
"The believer in Christ is a "lifelong repenter". He starts with repentance and he ends with repentance.
Breaking our silence ushers in cleansing. Do you desire to be clean?
And finally, two scriptures...... that simply say that any attempt to hide our sin....will end in failure, each and every time. If you don't believe these two passages, then you will never know and experience the fullness of Christ and His redemptive power.
Luke 12:2 says - "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known"
Hebrews 4:13 says - "Nothing in creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account"
C.H. Spurgeon once said: "Nothing can enter heaven which is not real; nothing erroneous, mistaken, conceited, hollow, pretentious, nothing dishonest can be smuggled through those gates. Only truth can dwell with the God of truth."
We can have no secrets from God. He sees all, hears all, knows all. No Real Tree or Mossy Oak Camo can hide secrets from God.
Hey Geraldine......Don't blame the devil. The devil didn't make you do it. He merely concocted an opportunity for you to be interested in. He may have provided the apple, but it was you who took the bite.
Honesty is as refreshing as a mountain stream and is God's intended means to wash and purify our hypocritical lives. The longer we live with the lie, the harder it will be to come clean. Come now! Clean that closet. Break the Silence.
The next person to lie....may die......
