He Came To Tell Us The Truth
I Am Jesus – part ten
Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go in themselves because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover feast. 29So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, "What is your charge against this man?" 30"We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!" they retorted. 31"Then take him away and judge him by your own laws," Pilate told them. "Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone," the Jewish leaders replied. 32This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.
33Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are you the King of the Jews?" he asked him. 34Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?" 35"Am I a Jew?" Pilate asked. "Your own people and their leading priests brought you here. Why? What have you done?"
36Then Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, my followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world." 37Pilate replied, "You are a king then?" "You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. "I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."
38"What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, "He is not guilty of any crime. – John 18:28-38
TODAY – is the 10th message in our year long message series, “I Am Jesus.” NOW – a year long series about Jesus may seem to some, a little extreme. BUT LISTEN – I am becoming more convinced all of the time that the most important and most practical thing for your life and mine, is for us to know and understand who Jesus Christ REALLY is.
AND - for the last 5 weeks (to help us know Him better) we have been looking at (Jesus, His purpose)… WE’VE – been looking at some of the reasons behind Jesus; leaving BOTH His home and His Father in heaven, emptying himself and putting on human flesh 2,000 years ago.
LAST WEEK – we talked about how Jesus came to open our eyes… HOW – He came to invite us to go to our own Pool of Siloam so that the thing that seems impossible… CAN - happen in our lives. AND – the weeks previous to this we talked about how Jesus Came;
• To Demonstrate God’s Love
• To Seek & Save The Lost
• To Replace Rules w/Relationship
AND – the title for this morning’s message is, “He Came To Tell Us The Truth”
YOU KNOW – when it comes to truth, a lot of people today… ARE – like Pilate… DID – you notice how he responded when Jesus said; “You say that I am a king, and you are right. I was born for that purpose. I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true." Pilate responded; "What is truth?"
NOW – it’s my slightly educated opinion is that Pilate wasn’t really asking Jesus a question. I MEAN – think about it, he didn’t even hang around for an answer. THE – text seems to indicate that right after he said "What is truth?" HE – turned around and walked away.
UNDERSTAND – truth; frustrated, irritated and eluded Pilate… YOU SEE - He was a politician. AND – as far as he was concerned truth was a slippery and pliable thing. Truth was whatever the emperor back in Rome wanted to hear… Truth was whatever he needed to do to keep the Jews quite and peaceful. Truth was whatever people needed to say to him in order to get what they wanted. I MEAN – Pilate knew that the Jews who brought Jesus to him bound & beaten were not interested in truth. SO TRUTH – as far as Pilate was concerned was a luxury that he could not afford.
AGAIN – I think for many people today, truth is just as slippery and as pliable to them as it was to Pilate… THEREFORE – they; bend, stretch, avoid, twist and shape the truth in order to make things work out the best for them in any given situation. AND – not only do a lot of people live that way… BUT – for the most part, such behavior is seen both expected and acceptable.
Just this past Wednesday night Bryan Lackey told me about an interview he heard on the radio where Dan Rather told Bill O’Reiley that someone can lie and still be considered a truthful person… YEAH – I think a lot people today would respond to Jesus just like Pilate, "What is truth?" It is a slippery and pliable thing.
In chapter 9 of his book, ‘Everyone Is Normal Until You Get To Know Them” John Ortberg talks about this struggle with truth that most of us find ourselves in, he writes; “We want to know the truth about ourselves, and we want very much not to know the truth about ourselves. We both seek & resist awareness about the reality of who we are.”
QUESTION – do you think that Ortberg statement is true for most people? Let me read it again…“We want to know the truth about ourselves, and we want very much not to know the truth about ourselves. We both seek & resist awareness about the reality of who we are.”
Is that statement true for you? I MEAN [Tim…] - do you want to know the truth… BUT YET – at the same time you don’t ‘really’ want to know the truth? LISTEN - I am convinced that we all in varying ways struggle with the truth, especially the truth about ourselves.
HEY - let me introduce you to a friend of mine. WELL – to be honest… He’s not really my friend. SURE - I know him… I’ve known him for several years… AND - the truth is sometimes I like him a lot and other times I hate him. Sometimes he makes me feel good about myself and other times he makes me feel pretty bad.
NOW – when we started our relationship about 5 or 6 years ago… I knew what I was getting into… IN FACT – I was the one who sought him out. YOU SEE – I knew that I needed someone like him to help me. AND – the crazy thing is it’s this help that he can give me, that makes me both love and hate him at the same time…
HE - is someone who always tells me the truth about myself. AND - I can’t trick him, I can’t con him… I can’t fake him out (even if I try). He always knows… IN FACT – this past Friday morning we got together again. NOW – to be honest I didn’t really want to… BECAUSE – I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to like what he was going to tell me. BUT – I went… AND - as always he told me the truth about myself.
B.O.C. (body of Christ) I’d to introduce you to my bathroom scale… The guy who always tells me the truth about myself… BOTH - the fat and the skinny (literally). BUT – I do have to admit that I still try to fool him.
YOU SEE – I like to ask him the truth about myself… In the morning… before I eat… after I have gone to the bathroom… while sucking in my gut, and holding my breathe… YEAH – I know it doesn’t really make any difference… I know I haven’t fooled him at… BUT - hey, it makes me feel better… so I keep on doing it. I did it Friday… He – wasn’t fooled.
What is truth?
• Truth is something we love and it’s something we hate.
• Truth is something we want and it’s something we run from
• Truth is something we have a hard time hearing and often times a hard time saying…
What is truth?
Jesus is truth… His word is truth… AND - as Jesus himself said while standing beaten and bound before ‘truth less’ Pilate… “I came to bring truth to the world…
UNDERSTAND – Jesus Christ had no problem at all stepping on the scale… AND – He also has no problem being our scale… HE – was not afraid of truth… Truth is one of the reason why he came… Checkout this words about His coming in Psalm 45:4,5;
Put on your sword, O mighty warrior! You are so glorious, so majestic! In your majesty ride to victory defending truth, humility and justice. Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds! (NLT)
AGAIN – one of the reasons Jesus came, was To Tell us The Truth! IN FACT – over 70 times in the Gospels Jesus used a phrase that – he alone uses… ‘amen legeo humin’ It is a phrase that according to my translators handbook for the Gospel of Matthew; ‘denotes a solemn assertion of divine truth…’
IN OTHER WORDS – whenever Jesus uses this phrase He is basically saying; “Hey guys – you really need to listen up – BECAUSE what I am about to tell you is absolutely true, you can count on, you can take it to the bank, - it is a divine truth.
NOW THIS - phrase is translated in several different ways;
• KJV – ‘verily I say unto you’
• NLT – ‘I assure you’
• NASB – “truly I say to you’
• NIV – ‘I tell you the truth’
AND – an interesting thing…. AT – least to me, is that the 25 times that John uses the phrase in his Gospel, the word ‘amen’ is used twice… truth, truth I tell you…
OKAY – there are only 2 points in your notes this morning;
• What Truths did Jesus tell us.. and
• What does He want us to do with those truths
Prayer…
What Truths Did Jesus Tell Us?
AS – I said, Jesus used the phrase, “I tell you the truth” over 70 times… NOW – obviously we don’t have the time this morning, to look at all of those passages… Or the hundreds of other times that Jesus spoke the truth and did use that phrase…
BUT – let me tell you what I did this week; I printed out all of those 70+ passages… AND – then I tried to categorize some of the truths that Jesus came to tell people. AND – I came up with 7 truths; 7 divine truths… 7 truths that we can count on…
AND UNDERSTAND – these truths are divine laws of the universe… THEY – are even more certain then the physical laws of the universe. IN FACT – God sometimes suspended the physical laws of the universe… So Peter could walk on water… so Moses could part the Red Sea… BUT LISTEN – God will never suspend these laws of truth…
YES – Jesus came to tell us the truth… AND [TIM…] – listen up because one of these truths might be the scale that Jesus brought to this place to hear today.
FIRST;
Jesus Told People The Truth About Salvation…
Many times throughout his ministry, Jesus had people (the disciples, Nicodemus and the multitudes) step on the scale of the truth about salvation…
“And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3
“In reply Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” - John 3:3-5
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” - John 5:24,25
NOW – the bottom line this… SALVATION - is about being in the kingdom of God… AND – in these 3 passages Jesus says at least 4 things about being in the kingdom of God…
FIRST; Jesus told people the truth about their condition before they entered His kingdom. AND NOTICE – that Jesus (the ultimate truth teller) did simply say that before they came to Him, people; were just sick, or having a bad day, or just missing out on good stuff. QUESTION - what does Jesus say? He says that they were dead..
SECOND – Jesus told people that in order for them to enter His kingdom, in order to cross over from death to life they must hear the word.
whoever hears my word and believes… has eternal life
those who hear will live
People must hear the truth before they can enter the kingdom… (and that is why it is so important that you & I tell them.. QUESTION – is there anyone that God has put in your life so that you can tell Him your truth?)
THIRD – Jesus told people that in order to enter His kingdom they must… Grown Down… THAT IS; they must become like children. unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven
OKAY – so what does that mean, become like little children? I MEAN – what qualities do they have that are essential for entering the Kingdom? WELL – I can think of a few… Little Children ARE;
• eager to learn
• excited to grow
• quick to forgive
• hungry to love and be loved
• can find joy in the simplest of things
• find it easy to believe in big and powerful things
• love to dream & imagine
• are teachable
• love to please people and make others happy
I love what Steve Arterburn says in his book; ‘More Jesus, Less Relgion,’
What can a little child do except run into the open arms of God? What can a little boy or girl do but accept God’s grace, love, strength and help with an open heart. Nothing more than that. And there is nothing more God requires.”
unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven Jesus says we need to grow down…
FOURTH – Jesus told people that in order to enter the kingdom… they must be born again; they must be born of water and spirit… OKAY – what does that mean? NOW – I don’t have time to go into great detail here… (So if you have any questions at all please call me)… BUT – let me tell you what it means to be born of water and of spirit. Are you ready?
IT – means to be baptized in water… AND GUYS – I am convinced of 2 things…
ONE - that baptism in water is part of the process through which God brings people into His Kingdom. I MEAN – every time baptism in water is mentioned in the N.T. it is always connected with the salvation process and not as something done after salvation.
AND TWO – that coming into God’s kingdom is just that a process…NOT – an event.
[This Wednesday night in my adult bible study we will look at this in detail… BUT – right now let me summarize this process thing for you…]
UNDERSTAND – as believers we get ourselves in trouble when we point to a single event in our lives for salvation… WHETHER – that even be a prayer of faith or the moment of baptism… RATHER THAN SEEING – baptism, the prayer of faith and many other things as part of a process. Now - stick with now…
In a chapter called, “Being God’s Child: Event or Process?” in the book, “The Jesus Proposal’ Rubel Shelly… A pastor at a church of Christ in Nashville who struggled with this concept himself writes;
When I get to heaven, maybe I’ll ask God when I was really saved. Was I when I was 12 and was immersed in the cold water on a hot July night? Was when I got clear on the Holy Spirit at about age 22. Was it when I finally grasped the grace-nature of the Gospel in my 30’s? I suspect he will tell me there was ‘no moment at which’ I was saved – but that he sought and found me through the entire process.
IN – the last year or so I have become convinced that salvation is not an event but a process. A process where God brings the truth of His Kingdom to each of us and we respond in faith and obedience. AGAIN – to quote Shelly…
Saving faith always welcomes new information, new insight, and new events of surrender. It has no need to be defensive in it’s need to grow, express and obey.
WHEN – I was 19 God brought new truth, new information to me about entering His kingdom. YOU SEE – I was raised in the Lutheran church and was never baptized the way we see in the N.T. I was only sprinkled as a baby. And I surrender to that truth on December 30, 1979 and I continued my process of salvation.
WHEN – I was in Bible College I attended a church called Poinciana Christian Church. AND – while there I saw a powerful example of what it looks like to be open to new information, new truths, news insights and new events of surrender. 2 couples in their 80’s who had been leaders in a church for 50 years. Leanred some new truths about salvation and they surrendered to that truth and all 4 were baptized (immersed into Chroist)…
AND – let me tell you about 2 things that were not done…
1) there was no debate wheteher or not they were save before this event
2) there was no insistence that this baptism had nothing to do with being saved.
I like how, Max Lucado says it this way; ‘Is it possible for an un-baptized person to be saved? Yes definitely. Should every believer be baptized? Yes, definitely.
Salvation is a process of which; hearing the word, growing down and being born of water and the spirit are part of the process.
AGAIN – this Wednesday night…
NEXT;
Jesus Told People The Truth About Doing ‘Good’ Stuff For Show
IN – that great sermon on the mountains by the Sea of Galilee… Jesus took all the good things that people were doing and placed them on the scale of truth…
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full… And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full… When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.” Matthew 6:2,5,16
QUESTION – do people ever do good stuff (in and out of the church) JUST to be seen by men… Just - to impress people.? Do – they ever do stuff so that people will think they are more spiritual than they really are? HEY – let’s get personal and honest here.. HAVE YOU - ever done things for show, to impress people, to make yourself look good? ( I have)
AND GUYS – when our motive (is to be seen by men); is God impressed? Will he reward us? Don’t think so… IN FACT – he said he won’t. BUT LISTEN – IF you; give, serve, pray, fast (whatever)…
• To honor God,
• To put his beauty on display…
• For that audience of one…
GOD - will reward you… AND – let me tell you the eternal rewards of Almighty God… ARE - more satisfying and last longer… THEN - the applause and rewards of men.
3rd;
Jesus Told People The Truth About Being HIS Disciple…
AGAIN – checkout the word… LISTEN - this stuff is God-breathed, it’s living and active baby…
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
[Tim, Laurie …] – the truth about being Jesus disciples is that there is a cost… A pretty big one. Putting Jesus before everything and everyone else… EVEN – yourself… BUT – there is an awesome flip side to this truth about being Jesus’ disciples…
IN – Luke chapter 18… Jesus has just had an encounter with a very rich young dude… This rich dude wanted to follow Jesus… BUT – when Jesus told him that he had to give everything away… He turned and walked away… WELL – right after this Peter came up to Jesus and said;
“We have left all we had to follow you!" "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." Lk 18:27-30
Many times as much when? - NOW!!!!! When? NOW!!!!
And in the age to come what? - Eternal life!!!!
YES – when we step on the scale of Jesus’ truth …. We see that there is a cost to being a disciple… BUT – we also see a huge payoff!!!!
4th
Jesus Told People The Truth About Sin
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” - John 8:31-36
UNDERSTAND - when Jesus told the people that they could know the truth and the truth would set them free… SOME of those listening, didn’t like what Jesus said all that much. IN FACT - they were offended. Why…….?
BECAUSE - they saw the meaning behind those words and they knew that Jesus was looking them straight in the eyes and was saying to them, “you are slaves…You think you are free BUT you’re not free at all. You don’t even know what real freedom is… ” AND - they replied; ”But we are descendants of Abraham, We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do you mean, `set free’?"
YOU KNOW – a lot of people respond the same way today – “what do you mean Jesus can set me free, I’m already free – I live the way I want, I make my own choices, I do my own thing, make my own way, I don’t need anyone to set me free, I am not a slave to anyone, …” AND Jesus says; "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”
QUESTION…
• Is the person doing drugs – slave of free?
• Is the person who drinks too much – slave or free?
• Is the person caught in immorality – slave or free?
• Is the person hanging out at porn sites – slave or free?
• Is the person who is caught up in materialistic pursuits – slave or free?
• Is the person living for praise and popularity – slave or free?
• Is this person who is trapped in anger, bitterness, slander, hatred, malice and unforgivness – slave or a slave?
Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” LISTEN – Jesus told people the truth about sin, sin enslaves us - and the truth sets us free…
5th;
Jesus Told People The Truth About What’s A Really Big Deal To Him
In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus paints a powerful picture of the end of this present age. Of what will happen at his return… AND – everyone in this room is going to be there. AND LISTEN – as we and everyone else who has ever lived stands before the Kings of Kings…
• HE – is going to tell us what’s a really big deal to Him…
• HE – is going to tell us what is so important to him… THAT - if we miss it, we will miss out on heaven…
QUESTION – do you know what is that important to God? Compassion…
Helping and caring for the less fortunate in the world…
AND ONE DAY - Jesus will look at the people who had compassion… Who ‘got it’ and He will say to them…
`Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37"Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
- Matthew 25:34-40 (NLT)
UNDERSTAND - the ones who ‘got it’… and lived compassionately… WILL - go into eternal life…
AND - the ones who didn’t - will go to eternal punishment…
NOW – that last verse I read 25:40; And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ IS - the them verse for a brand new ministry at Central… Called, “25:40 Ministries” (The Least Of These)
It is a ministry that is going to help turn Central Christian into, The Church… The ministry leader of 25:40 is Ozzie Giles. AND – as He lays the foundation for this ministry Oz is reading a book called, The Externally Focused Church… I like to read an exert from the first chapter;
Externally focused churches measure not only what can be counted but also what matters most – the impact they are having outside the 4 walls of the church. They ask, “Whose lives are different because of this church?”… Internally focused churches help individuals, but externally focused churches change the world…
ON – the back page are these words…
If your church vanished,
Would your community weep?
Would anyone notice?
Would anyone care?
6th
Jesus Told People The Truth About Being Great
I don’t know about you… BUT – I struggle with wanting to be great. AND – do you know what I think I always will… BECAUSE – it is God HIMSELF that places this desire for greatness in each and everyone of us…
THE ONLY - problem is most of us have a faulty definition of greatness.
What’s yours?
YES – most of us have a definition of greatness that we will never reach…
BUT HERE’S – the awesome thing is…
ON – Jesus scale of truth, everyone of us can be great! John 13… upper room Jesus (God the Son) has just washed 24 dirty and smelly feet…
“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. – John 13:13-17
WHEN – we step on Jesus scale of truth we see that true greatness is all about being a humble servant to everyone…
And truth #7
Jesus Told People The Truth About What We Can Do
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
– John 14:12
ONE; WE – can do what Jesus did…
AND TWO – even greater things!
2,000 years ago Jesus came to tell us the truth…. He told so many awesome truths… A lot more then these seven.
BUT NOW – it’s time for the NEXT question in your notes;
What Does Jesus Want U To Do With His Truth
NOW – it is almost impossible for me to think about telling the truth… without… thinking of a scene from the movie a few good men… IF – you have seen the movie you know what scene I am talking about. Tom Cruise plays a lawyer who is cross examining a marine colonel played by Jack Nicholson.
Towards the end of the movie Nicholson is on the stand… And Cruise is really going at Him… and he says; “All I want is the truth…” To which Nicholson responds as only he can… “You can’t handle the truth…”
Powerful scene… “son, I can’t tell you the truth because you can’t handle the truth…
NOW JESUS – had an entirely different take on the subject of truth…
IN - John 8 Jesus said;
“…you are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31,32
UNDERSTAND – Jesus did not say that the truth was some thing that you can’t handle… INSTEAD – he said it was some thing that will set you free!!!!
OKAY – as we wrap up this morning I think there are 3 things that Jesus wants us to do with His truth this morning…
Accept It
We need to stand on the scale of Jesus truth and accept what it says… AGAIN – Jesus spoke a lot of truth… IN FACT – truth was all he ever spoke…
BUT – for now let’s just focus on 7 truths… THAT TODAY - March 13, 2005, Jesus invited you to step on to…
1) Have you enetered the kingdom? Are you growing down? Have you been of water and the spirirt?
2) Are you doing stuff for show or for God?
3) Are you paying the cost to eb a follower of Christ?
4) Are you a slave to any sin?
5) Are you helping the least fo these?
6) Are you pursuing true greatness?
7) Are you doing what He did and even more?
ARE – you going to accept for what it is… A divine truth that will never be suspended?
NOT ONLY – does Jesus want us to accept it… HE ALSO – wants us to;
Tell It
AND LISTEN – I want you to know that every time I stand before you on Sunday morning or any other time… I am going to tell you the truth as I know it… AND – I also want you to know that I will always be a seeker of new and greater truth… I will know more truth next month then I do today… AND – I will always as your pastor and teacher strive to surrender my truths for His anytime and any place.
Jesus want us to tell the truth… So I say;
LET’S – be a church where we tell each other the truth… NOT;
• To judge
• To hurt or…
• To put down
BUT – to help and lift up. AND – let’s be a church that builds the kind of relationships that BOTH – earn the right and created an environment where truth can be shared and accepted.
UNDERSTAND - Church is to be about community and community is all about being a place where we help each other get on the scale…
AND – not only do we need to tell truth to each other we need to take His truth to the world.
I think the people in this world could use a little truth that leads to freedom too.
Invite It
Jesus wants us to invite his truth into our life… AND – one of the ways we do that is by inviting truth tellers into our life
John Ortberg writes;
I don’t know if you need an instrument to tell you how many pounds you gained or a tape measure to tell you how many inches you’ve added, but I know this: Everyone of us needs a few people to tell us the truth about our hearts and souls. We all have weak spots and blind spots that we cannot navigate on our own. We need someone to remind us of our deepest aspirations and values and to warn us when we may be getting off track. We need someone to help us question our motives and examine our consciences. We need someone to perform spiritual surgery on us when our hearts get hard and vision gets dim… We need truth-tellers who will help us grow in our acceptance of reality. But we also need them because they serve as anchors; they help hold us accountable to the commitments we make.
[Tim…] – Jesus wants you to invite a truth teller into your life… AND – a lot us have never done that for the same reason that I didn’t want to get on the scale this past Friday… We are afraid of what we might find out…
BUT UNDERSTAND – there is something far worse then what we might find out… AND – that is not knowing the truth and having it set us free…
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 1:14
