Illus: I heard a very famous preacher one time say, (I want mention his name but if I did many of you would recognize his name immediately) He said this “I have never been discouraged a day of my life!”
That statement shocked me when he said that because such men in the Bible as:
• John the Baptist got discouraged.
• Elijah became very discouraged.
• King David got discouraged.
I know that preachers are not suppose to lie but this preacher who said he had never been discouraged a day in his life I find that hard to believe.
I cannot imagine why he would make such a statement!!!
Illus: This famous preacher makes me think of a minister who noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog.
• “What are you doing, boys?”
• “Telling lies,” said one of the boys.
• The same boy said “The one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog.”
• “Well, when I was your age,” the shocked minister said, “I never thought of telling a lie…NEVER!!!”
• The boys looked at each other and finally, one of them shrugged his shoulder and said, “I guess he wins the dog.”
Every day we hear people say things and we have to decide do we BELIEVE what we just heard.
Let me illustrate…
Illus: A man was buying two bags of dog food at Petco, and a lady behind him asked whether he had a dog or not.
He thought what did she think I had—an elephant?
Since he wasn’t busy, he thought he would have some fun with her for asking such a silly question.
• He told her no, I didn’t have a dog, but I was starting back in on the Purina dog diet, although I ended up in the hospital the last time I tried it.
• However on the bright side, I lost 30 pounds.
• I told her it was a perfect diet: It is nutritionally balanced, so you just load your pockets with Purina Dog Chow, and eat one or two nuggets whenever you get hungry.
• She asked me why I ended up in the hospital. Was it because dog food is not meant for humans?
• I told her, “No, I stopped in the middle of the parking lot at Petco to scratch my fleas, and a car hit me.
• Petco won’t let me shop there anymore.”
Telling lies also make me think of…
Illus: The school teacher that had a young boy on her class that was constantly late for school and what's worse is that he always had a big lie explaining why.
The teacher tells the principal that she has had it with his exaggerations.
The principal tells her to send the boy to him the next time he shows up late. He will tell the kid a lie so big that he will never tell another one.
The next day, the boy shows up 2 hours late.
The boy says, “I was 2 hours early today so I had time to fish in the pond on my way to school. I caught a 17-pound bass and had to take it home. If I didn't clean it and freeze it, my mom would've been angry. That's why I'm so late”
The teacher promptly takes him to the principal's office and explains the story to the principal.
The principal tells Johnny about his own trip to school that day. He said, “I was walking to school on the trail through the park today when I heard something behind me. I turned around and was shocked to see a giant grizzly bear behind me. He was 24 feet tall and had 6-inch fangs. He was going to attack me! Just then a little dog ran out from the bushes, jumped up and attacked the bear. The little dog killed the bear and then ate the whole bear right there in front of me.”
What do you think of that, young man?"
The boy replied, “Oh yeah, that's my dog Sparky. That's his third bear this week."
Teachers hear some big lies but also I am not sure you know this but a preacher hear a lot of lies on why people do not attend church.
Some of these lies are really astounding.
Remember in Luke 14:18-20 And they all with one consent began to make excuse…
• The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. (Of course Sunday is the only day he can do this!)
• And another said I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. (Of course Sunday is the only day he can do this!)
• And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. (What is this all about?)
It is amazing some of the lies we preachers hear.
For example…
• It is amazing how many folks are too sick to come to church on Sunday but what a remarkable recovery they make on Monday.
• I am convinced more people are sick on Sunday than any day of the week.
• Also I am convinced more lies are told on Sunday than any day of the week.
But I understand there are some people who do not have an excuse why they could not attend church, but they have a legitimate REASON WHY THEY COULD NOT ATTEND.
You see…there is a difference between a REASON and a EXCUSE.
• A REASON is the truth
• An EXCUSE is a lie
Some of the things we hear it is hard to believe!!!
Every day we hear all kinds of things from people and we have to decide if we believe them or not.
Illus: For example, we are bombarded with advertisements telling us all kinds of lies about their products on television:
We can only wish all these advertisements were not lies.
For example if all…
• The medicine advertisement was true.
• The Diets advertisement was true
• The Cosmetics advertisement was true
If all these advertisement was telling the truth we see and hear on television we would not have any more Wrinkles, sickness, Obese problems or ugly people anymore.
But people hear these lies and they just keep buying these products because they choose to believe them.
As Christians we should always tell the truth because God’s Word tells us God hates lies.
When we lie we become like the Father of lies…Satan!!! “Satan is the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Even though God hate lies people continue to lie.
HOW DO PEOPLE LIE EACH DAY?
Some tell…
• White lies
• Political lies
• Flattery lies
• Gossip lies
• Half lies: telling the truth, but not the whole truth.
• Excuse lies: misrepresenting the truth about a failure on our part.
• Hypocrisy: your attempt to deceive another about something you are not.
• Face-saving lies: misrepresentation to avoid embarrassment.
• Evangelistically speaking lies: the exaggeration of religious results.
• Advertisement lies: sometimes used to exaggerate the merits of a product.
• Cheating lies: using material that is not yours with a view of misrepresentation
• Spin lies: interpreting obvious fact to your favor.
• Plausibility of denial lies: people conspire to conceal their involvement by claiming they didn’t know.
WHY LYING IS WRONG?
You hurt the other person who does not know the truth. The more serious a lie, the more danger to the other person
Every day we should Practice honesty.
We have to believe honest is the best policy; even if that means losing something.
Illus: Golfer Chelsee Richard, of Bloomingdale High School in Brandon, Florida, lost her chance to win the 2004 state championship—by being honest.
In the qualifier for the state finals, Chelsee hit her tee shot on the second hole into the rough. Without knowing it, she played another golfer’s ball out of the rough and finished the hole. On the third hole, she realized what she had done.
The rule is that a golfer must declare the wrong ball penalty before putting on the hole where the infraction occurred, or be disqualified.
Chelsee reported her error, resulting in a painful ending to her senior season and her dream of going to state competition.
She later said: “With my faith and with God, being honest was the most important thing to me, and that’s what is going to advance on throughout my life, being honest and making the right choices.”
Way to go Cheslee, you are a real winner!!!
In our daily life we hear all kinds of lies but in this sermon I want preach about the BIGGEST LIAR THAT EVER EXISTED AND WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH HIM EACH DAY.
Of course I am talking about Satan.
Let’s start with what the Bible tells us he is…
I. FATHER OF LIES (SATAN)
Look again at John 8:44 “Satan is the father of lies”
Have you ever wondered how Satan can attack so many people all around the world virtually at the same time?
To understand that…
A. We must understand that Satan does not have the same qualities as God.
B. He is a created being; a fallen angel.
C. Since he is a created being, he is not omnipresent like God.
D. He cannot be everywhere at the same time. He is finite.
So he sends his demons to do some of his dirty work.
People who say that Satan and demons are not active today are being deceived by a big lie.
Since he is not OMNIPRESNT LIKE GOD he operates through the fallen angels that were kicked out of heaven when he was kicked out.
How many angels were kicked out of heaven with Lucifer?
We do not know because the Bible does not tell us.
Some say 10,000 but the Bible does not say that.
There are three scriptures that indicate there might be millions of angels kicked out of heaven.
Look at…
(1) Rev. 5:11 of the great number of the angelic host: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands”.
(2) Also, Paul affirmed in Hebrews 12:22 that there are “innumerable company of angels.”
(3) John in Rev. 12: 3-9 gives us the percentage of the angels that actually fell with Satan, “…an enormous red dragon…His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him”
From this passage, we can conclude that one third of the angels joined Lucifer in rebellion and were cast out of heaven with him.
We could be talking about millions.
Every day Satan sends them out to lie to us hoping we would believe the lie they whisper in our ears.
Did you ever hear someone say about someone, YOU CANNOT BELIEVE A THING HE OR SHE SAY!!!
There are people like that!!!
Illus: An article I recently read revealed this about Raymond Burr a favorite actor that my wife I enjoy watching on television playing the part as Perry Mason.
It sadden me when I read this article that came out about him that said he was a pathological liar and lying to him was like breathing.
This article revealed from his childhood he has told one lie after another.
Let me tell you someone that is worse than that…the Bible tells us that Satan is the FATHER OF LIES. He has been telling lies ever since he was kicked out of heaven
He has had thousands of years of experience and him and his fallen angels whispers in our ears each day all Kinds of lies.
Every day Satan bombards our minds with lies.
When he does this we have to decide if we believe those lies or not.
Let me give you a personal illustration of a lie he whispered in my ear years ago and I believed it.
He made my life MISERABLE FOR MONTHS!!!
Illus: The devil put in my mind that my loving wife was going to die.
I paid no attention to him to start with. I thought it was just a terrible thought I had.
But he began to bombard my mind with that thought that my wife was going to die over and over for months and I was going to be left alone.
• My wife and I have been like two peas in a pod for over sixty years and I did not know how I could live without her.
• I have never wanted any woman in my life except her since I met her.
• The devil knows how much she means to me!
He told this lie to me over and over a period of months so many times I began to believe it.
I would see her doing house work and I would began to weep in silence.
I live with this lie for months.
It got so bad that I went to see my family doctor who is not only my doctor but a personal friend.
I told him my problem that I was going through grief like my wife had died and I was grieving her death while she was still living.
He said some encouraging words but I left him still dealing with this problem of grief.
But one day as I was weeping and praying about this the Lord spoke to my heart in a very real way!!!
I can still remember it was so real when He spoke to my heart He said, HOW MUCH LONGER ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN TO THAT LIE THAT SATAN IS TELLING YOU.
In that moment when the Lord spoke to my heart I came to realize instantly what my problem was!
It was a lie from Satan and I have been listening to him and I rebuked him and have never had a problem since.
You would be surprise the agony that people go through daily because the devil whisper a lie to them and they believe it.
Illus: You ever had a problem and you were thinking the worst and things turn out for the better and perhaps you said to yourself all that worry was for nothing.
So many people go through life listening to the lies that Satan tells them and THEY WILL NEVER GET ANY HELP UNTIL THEY REALIZE SATAN IS THE FATHER OF LIES AND PUTTING THOSE LIES INTO THEIR MINDS and they do not recognize what he is doing.
God does not want us to be IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES…
Look at 2 Corinthians 2:11 say, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
This verse implies that Christians shouldn’t underestimate the schemes of Satan and that they need to be aware of his tactics to resist him.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Notice in that verse before you RESIST THE DEVIL you are suppose to SUBMIT YOUESELF TO GOD.
HE IS THE FATHER OF LIES!!!
He is the father of lies but if we SUBMIT and RESIST he will have to flee.
Illus: I know people go through life and every time they have a pain in their body the devil tells them they are going to die and they start to believe it.
Makes me think of…
Illus: A very affluent fellow that attended my church years ago and everybody that knew him knew unless you had plenty of time you dare not ask him how he felt because as long as you had time to listen to him he would tell you he was dying.
He talked like he had one foot in the grave and the other one on a banana peeling for decades.
But at a ripe old age his wife called me and asked me to come to their home. I could tell something was wrong when she called. When I arrived at their home I saw many cars there.
When I went inside his wife came running to me with tears running down her cheek and she said, “Preacher, he finally did it…he finally died!”
Illus: I know people who go through life thinking no one’s love them and they believe that lie from Satan.
Illus: I know people who go through life and the devil tells them they will never amount to anything and they believe that lie from Satan.
Listen, the devil is a LIAR AND HE IS THE FATHER OF LIES.
He even lied to God.
Illus: Remember when he appeared before God and told God that Job really did not love Him. He was only serving Him for what God had blessed Him with.
But Job proved He was serving God because he loved God.
Listen, if Satan will lie to God you think he want lie to you.
HE HAS NEVER TOLD THE TRUTH…NEVER!!!
Listen, if you knew that a person was a pathological liar would you follow their advice they give you each day.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN KNOW WHERE YOUR THOUGHTS COME FROM SATAN OR FROM GOD.
(1) USING THE SCRIPTURES
As an older pastor I have learned to examine the thoughts that enter my mind to check these thoughts out with the scriptures and as I do I find that many times the thoughts that enter my mind are from the FATHER OF ALL LIES!
You might be saying preacher I AM A NEW CONVERT AND I DO NOT KNOW THE SCRIPTURES THAT WELL!
• That is why you need to read your Bible each day
• That is why you need to attend a Bible preaching and teaching church like this church every time the doors are open
If you do not know the Bible that well find a Christian who do and let them point you to some scriptures.
Another way you can tell if God is speaking to you or Satan is…
(2) COMMON SENSE
The scriptures tell me Jesus went about doing good.
Sometime I can check my thoughts with good common sense and discover he is a liar.
Illus: For example, God has blessed my wife and me financially and sometime the thought enter my mind to help someone who desperately needs financial help.
I am not talking about people who will live off of you if you allow it. I am talking about people who miss-fortunate has come into their life and they desperately need financial help!!!
And every time the Lord speaks to my heart immediately to help someone in need the devil whisper in my ear you can take that money and buy something you want for yourself.
I have these two thoughts and I have to decide which one is from God and which one is from the devil.
And good old common sense says to help someone in need has to be from God because the devil would never put such a thought in my mind TO HELP SOMEONE.
We have looked at THE FATHER OF LIES but now let us look at…
II. FATHER OF TRUTH (GOD)
The devil has never told the truth and God has never told a lie.
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE BELIEVE THAT!!!
Let me tell you one of the big lies he has told every ADULT and every TEENAGER.
Satan has had thousands of years of experience in lying and he has convinced many if they want the best of life THEY MUST SERVE HIM!!!
This is one of the BIGGEST LIES Satan tells everyone…God is a Kill-Joy (God is out to ROB you of all the fun in life)
Remember Satan used this lie on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Look at Genesis 3: 1-4 we read, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden? {2} The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, {3} but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. {4} You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. {5} For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
I am convinced this is the biggest lie that Satan uses, with this lie he has convinced “My way is fun, and God’s way is a life of sadness.”
That is a BIG LIE!!!
God is not a KILL JOY…SATAN IS!!!
I can prove it from God’s Word.
Listen to Jesus in John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
But not only does the scripture tell us this… LIFE IT SELF TEACHES US THAT!
Look at HOLLYWOOD…
These people have all the money they want and can buy anything they want. I MEAN ANYTHING!!!
They have the:
• Best homes
• Best clothes
• Best cars
• Fame
They are like Solomon in the Old Testament who had everything a man can desire to have:
He was given WISDOM with which to judge the children of Israel.
But also he was incredibly rich!
(1) According to II Chronicles 9:13-29 every year King Solomon received over twenty-five tons of gold, in addition to the taxes paid by the traders and merchants.
The kings of Arabia and the governors of the Israelite districts also brought him silver and gold.
(2) He had Fame
(3 He had 700 beautiful wives given to him to gain his favor. And you know if they wanted to gain his favor they had to be beautiful.
(4) He had 300 beautiful concubines given to him to gain his favor. And you know if they wanted to gain his favor they had to be beautiful.
Certainly by the world standards this should have been a happy man!!!
But this is the same man as you read the book of Eccleastes that constantly cries LIFE IS VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT.
By comparison today we HAVE HOLLYOOD WHICH IS ALSO INCREDIBLY RICH!!!
We see all of these actors in Hollywood with all their wealth and (they are doing what they are good at doing) still putting on an act they THEY ARE HAPPY!!!
Illus: Dr. Seth Meyers Psy.D. wrote a good article titled…Celebrities, are you really THAT happy?
He expose these celebrities for what they are…ACTORS!
In this article he explains how celebrities resist the urge to seem to be just like us common people.
They are always ACTING because they want people to look up to them and admire them but they are so unhappy!!!
They are so unhappy…
• They cannot stay in a marriage because they are so unhappy.
• They are alcoholics and drug addicts
• We frequently hear some of them in the top of their acting career committing suicide.
• We are told in HOLLYWOOD we have a Psychiatrist almost on every block for the demand for these actors and actresses.
• And divorce lawyers almost on every block for the demand for divorce lawyers.
The devil whisper in the ears of many who do not have these things like the rich and famous and he tell them that the reason they are miserable is because they do not have the MONEY AND FAME THEY HAVE!
But listen if you did have these things you would be in as bad shape as they are!
Why?
Because nothing this world has to offer us bring the inner peace and joy that mankind desires to have.
Because only the Lord Jesus can bring the PEACE AND JOY THAT MORTAL MAN SEEK TO HAVE.
I remind you again the Bible tells us…
• The devil has come to steal and destroy your chance of receiving the joy and peace God has for you.
• Jesus has come to give us life and more abundantly.
This Hollywood crowd has reached the pinnacle of their career being filthy rich and famous and they find out about life what Solomon found out…LIFE IS EMPTY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT!!!
THE DEVIL IS THE FATHER OF LIES!!!
Conclusion:
Now as I come to the close of this sermon preaching on:
• Father of lies
• Father of truth
You have to decide TODAY who do you believe? SATAN OR JESUS!
• You have to decide as a lost person who can give you PEACE AND JOY the FATHER OF LIES OR THE FATHER OF TRUTH!
• You have to decide as a child of God do you believe in the promises of God’s Word are do you believe in the lies of Satan.
Jesus said, Jesus said in John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Now today you are going to call Satan or Jesus a liar!!!
I sincerely pray you make the right choice?
WHO DO YOU BELIEVE THE FATHER OF LIES OR THE FATHER OF TRUTH?
We have looked at:
I. The father of lies
II. The father of truth
