Real Followers are completely Honest with God, Luke 18:9-14
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
January 20, 2002
Two men worked on a large ocean-going vessel. One day the mate, who normally did not drink, became intoxicated. The captain, who hated him, entered in the daily log: "Mate drunk today." He knew this was his first offense, but he wanted to get him fired. The mate was aware of his evil intent and begged him to change the record. The captain, however, replied, "It’s a fact, and into the log it goes!"
A few days later the mate was keeping the log, and concluded it with: "Captain sober today." Realizing the implications of this statement, the captain asked that it be removed. In reply the mate said, "It’s a fact, and in the log it stays!"
There was a man who was on his death bed and he called the three men that he trusted the most to come and see him. He called his minister, his doctor and his lawyer to him and said, “When I die, I my savings account of $90,000 divided three ways and when you walk by my casket, I want each of you to put your $30,000 into my casket to be buried with me.” They didn’t understand why the man wanted to be buried with the money, but they kept their promise to him. A week later, the man died. At the funeral, each man placed their portion into the casket as they walked by to pay their last respects. As they were eating dinner together afterward, the minister said, “Guys, I have something to confess to you. I kept out some of the money. We’re in the middle of the building project, so I kept out $10,000.” Then the doctor spoke up. He said, “Well, if were going to confess things to each other, I guess I’d better confess too. We’re adding a new maternity ward onto the hospital and I kept out 20,000 of my portion to help defray the cost.” The lawyer had a disgusted look on his face as he shook his head and said, “You guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I hope you know that my $30,000 will always be with him in the ground. I wrote a personal check for the full amount!”
The story is told of four high school boys who couldn’t resist the temptation to skip morning classes. Each had been smitten with a bad case of spring fever. After lunch they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said, "Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper." Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions.
Then she said, "First question--which tire was flat?"
According to polls reported by USA Today American’s lie – and are lied to – much more than we realize. The book The Day America Told The Truth says that 91 percent of Americans lie routinely. 81 percent of those said they lied about their feelings.
Famous American Fibs
- The check is in the mail.
- I’ll start my diet tomorrow.
- We service what we sell.
- Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.
- One size fits all.
- This hurts me more than it hurts you.
- I just need five minutes of your time.
- Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
- this won’t hurt a bit.
Martin Scorcese, Hollywood director once said, "You can tell a great lie, if 80% is the truth."
If we are a society that lies to ourselves and those around us where does that leave our relationship and perspective on God?
We’ve been looking at the lives of real followers for the past few weeks
Today’s text comes from Luke 18:9-14 Here we see distinct differences between real followers and people who are just kidding themselves.
One mark of real followers is that they are completely honest with God
Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
George Barna:
· only 53 percent believe that there are moral truths that are absolute
· 43 percent say there is no such thing as the Holy Spirit
· 33 percent believe that Jesus never had a physical resurrection
· 19 percent believe Jesus sinned while on earth.
Source: "Lost in America" by Tom Clegg and Warren Bird
1. Real Followers understand that, God knows all your secrets.
Signals of lying: increased blinking and pupil dilation. A facial expression incongruous with what’s being said. Increased body movement (especially hand gestures). Shorter sentences. More speaking pauses and errors. More negative words and extreme words.
USA Today.
God knows from the start if you are being honest with him or if you are making the story up.
God knows you better than you know yourself. He created you, He knows what makes you tick. He knows how you are wired. He knows everything about you.
He knows everything and he knows all of those things you don’t even want him to know.
A Confession that Peter made “The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."”
God Knows all things
In another text in Acts the disciples were trying to find a replacement for Judas and they say "Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."
So it’s possible that you though God had a general knowledge of everything but it might be that the things that scares you most is that he knows your heart.
Perhaps you have tried to put on a mask so you won’t have to look at who you really are. Or you might wear the mask so that He can’s see who you really are.
The Bible tells us that Moses wore a veil to cover up the fading glory, we still wear a veil today only God isn’t interested in our masks. He wants to know us.
A friend of mine recently wrote:
The first thing I’ve learned about prayer is that God wants us to be honest with him. I used to feel guilty about going to God with all my problems. I pictured him as a Father who grew tired of my complaints, who wished I would be quiet for just 2 or 3 minutes. But then I read through the book of Psalms in the Old Testament, and I realized that God wants us to be honest with Him. If you ever want to read some honest prayers read through the book of Psalms. Don’t ever feel like you can’t be honest with God. If you’re ticked of at the world, let God know it in prayer. If you’re depressed He wants to hear about it. If you’re happy lift up a prayer of joy. But always be honest with Him. Listen to this verse in I Peter, “Cast all your anxiety on God, because he cares for you.” Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” It has become too easy to wear masks in our society. “Hey Bill how yak doing.” “Just fine, you.” When in reality Bill’s being eaten up inside. God’s not interested in the masks, if you choose you can come before Him and lay it right on the line. You can tell him everything you want to and you don’t have to worry about rejection, in prayer you can experience the love and grace of God right where you’re at today, you don’t have to wear the mask any more.
Real followers don’t put on a front. Rather they are real before God?
2. Real Followers get honest with themselves when they get honest with God.
I recently read a story of A young man, who had worked for years on the railroad, wanted a job as a signalman for the railroad. For his interview, he was told to meet the inspector at the signal box. The inspector asked him, "What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading toward each other on the same track?" The young man said, "That’s easy. I would switch the points for one of the trains." "The inspector then asked, "What if the lever broke?" The young man said, "Then I’d jump down out of the signal box and I’d use the manual lever over there." Next, the inspector said, "What if the lever had been struck by lightning?" The young man said, "Then, I would run to the signal box and phone the next signal box to let them know what was happening." The inspector continued on, "What if the phone was busy?" The young man said, "Well, in that case, I would rush down out of the signal box and use the public emergency phone at the crossing up there." Then, the inspector said, "What would you do if the public emergency phone had been vandalized?" The young man said, "Oh, well, then I would run into town and get my uncle." That answer puzzled the inspector. So, he asked, "Why would you go get your uncle?" The young man answered, "That’s simple. Because he’s never seen a train crash before."
Some of you feel like if you do the right thing your life is going to turn into one big train wreck.
Being honest with God is going to change your life. It’s going to reorder your priorities. It’s going to make you focus on something else.
Have you ever faces that fear? Coming to grips with the reality of who you are? For some of you the most threatening thing you could ever do is being completely honest with God. Because it means that you will have to be see yourself as he sees you. You may be worried that and honest view of your life would look more bent and twisted than a demolished car.
You can be assured that you are valuable to God.
You know the truth in the statement “God loves people more than anything” You’ve seen it demonstrated by the sacrifice of His son.
More than anything He wants you to know he’s rather die than let you go.
We don’t really know who we are until we get completely honest with God.
Here’s a quiz. Think of your favorite bible character.
Find the moment where they became completely honest with God?
I can’t name one of my favorite Bible characters that didn’t get bare bones honest with God. Job was honest with God, David, Paul, the disciples, Noah, Moses, Isaiah. Call out the name of someone that was honest with God.
Usually it happens in a statement such as the tax collector “Lord I am a sinful man” Paul said “I am the worst of the sinful” Isaiah said “I am sinful and I live around sinful people” Zachaeus said “I cheat people”
What does Jesus want you to come clean about.
A great philosopher said Know thyself. Friends you can only know yourself when you know God first.
All of us are afraid of what we will find under our veil. Some will find failure, some will find a loved one neglected, some will find that we are not the people we thought we were. Some will find a poor work ethic, or a decaying soul. But we will all find dark blotches called sin. And even though we may not like the word it’s who we are when we are completely honest with God and ourselves.
That’s the bad news the good news is that Jesus is in the business of making us right. The mask of fear and shame has to come off if we are going to have an accurate reflection of Christ in our faces.
3. Real Followers know that God is completely Honest with them.
Disciples that are serious about their relationship with God know that he can be trusted as the source of truth. They know whey he says is right and straight and true.
They are the people who would lean forward when Jesus would preface a statement with the words “I tell you the truth”
Those 5 short words are recorded in the books of Matthew and mark 78 times.
78 times Jesus said I am going to be completely honest with you.
These words were not spoken in a non-chalant manner which didn’t mean anything but rather they were Jesus’ way of saying “I have asked you to be completely honest with me now let me be completely honest with you”
And even though he may say things that are hard to hear or difficult to swallow. They are still the truth.
A casual god that demands nothing of his people will not be worshipped or revered at all.
We require a Savior who is honest with us and calls us to be honest with him.
Real followers believe that God is honest with them and therefore can be trusted. Do you realize if God ever told one lie, if he ever did one thing against His character. He would not be trustworthy. But God demonstrates his Magnificence and power by holding people accountable for their actions. By telling the truth all the time. .
Someone once asked me: If God created everything, the earth, people and the rules then why can’t he just let everybody go to heaven? I mean he’s God.
Well the answer is because God can be trusted. He set the standards and to change his mind about sin would be a breach of his character. If he were to breach his character he could no longer be trusted.
A young woman brought her fiancee to meet her parents.
After dinner, her father asked the young man into his study for a chat.
"So, what are your plans?" he began.
"I’m a theology scholar," the young man replied.
"Admirable!" the father said, "But what will you do to provide a nice home for my daughter?"
"I will study and God will provide," he explained.
"And how will you afford to raise children?"
"God will provide."
The men left the study and the mother asked her husband, "How did it go?"
"He has no money or employment plans," the father said.
"But on the other hand, he thinks I’m God."
Some would rather provide salvation for themselves but God’s point is that He can be trusted.
Signal Ellen
If you need to get honest with God we want to provide you with that opportunity this morning.
Perhaps you’ve been living in a web of half truths. Wearing your mask and hiding your true identity form Him. Will you be honest with him today?
Variation of Leann Rimes song
What I’m lookin’ for
Is a love that’s forever
A God who can capture my soul in a heartbeat
And stay for all time
What I’m prayin’ for
Is a match made in heaven
A God who I can worship completely
And a friend that will stay for all time
Commitment
Someone who’ll go the distance
I need somebody who’ll stand power
And make me go weak in the knees
If you need to get real with God we invite you to come as we stand and sing.
