We are going to start a new series today, one that will take a look at the relationship between what we believe
and how we live. It is entitled, “Lies we believe.”
1. Crisis of Trutha.
We live in a society that has discarded the concept or notion that there is such a thing as
“absolute truth.”
i. Over the past 30 years, a subtle shift has been taking place in society that has moved
from the belief that there is such a thing as truth to a point of view that says “there are
no universal truths.”
ii. At first it was subtle, with classes being introduced to our public school system that
dealt with “values clarification.”
1. In these classes, the teachers would intentionally introduce what is called a “moral
dilemma” for which there was no right or wrong answer.
2. For example, if 8 people were adrift on a lifeboat that only held 6 people, who
would you allow to drown. And they would list a variety of characteristics of the
eight people to muddy the waters of the children’s decision making process.
3. As the children got older, these values clarification classes would embrace more
and more difficult choices such as abortion, euthanasia, and even religion. The
goal of the liberal educators was to erode the moral base and authority that the
parents had over their child’s life.
4. In the educational curriculum called Quest, the following statement is made:
a. “A value is not a value unless a child has been given the freedom to
choose from among competing values. If the child happens to chose a
selfish, immoral, or even illegal `value,’ it must not be criticized as long as
it is freely chosen. The value must be freely chosen. Anything taught
from another source, such as home or church, is authoritative imposition,
so it cannot be a true value”
b. The use of values clarification techniques results in alienation between
children and parents. The whole process conveys the message that parents
have no right to even attempt to shape the moral development of their
children.
c. Children were taught to believe that parents were wrong to teach them that
there are moral absolutes to guide their behavior. (Eagle Forum, No. 66, pp. 1, 2 and 4; parenthesis
added for clarity).
d. The result: the child is led to the conclusion that truth is subjective.
e. And if truth is subjective, then there can be no ultimate authority, no
ultimate "right" and "wrong," no ultimate ethical system.
f. If everything is subjective, where does the child turn for truth and
guidance?
g. If all outside sources, such as parents and Christianity have been rejected
as "authoritative impositions" then there is only one choice to which the
child can turn - themselves!
iii. This is the foundation that was given to children through public schools beginning in
the 1980’s and continues today.
iv. It is the same deception that Adam and Eve were given in the garden.
v. It is the same struggle that the early Israelites in the time of the Judges 17:6 “In those
days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
1. There was no standard of truth, of right and wrong, so everyone did as they felt
right in their own eyes.
bob Higgins Page 1 4/29/2006
2. The reason that I am doing this sermon series is because I have seen the difference believing a lie will
make upon my life, and I have experienced first hand, the freedom the truth makes when I build my life
upon the truth.
a. Some of you here probably have experienced something like this as well.
b. I will try to show you how deeply the lies we believe sink their roots into our lives and how they
negatively affect our lives.
c. Our culture is filled with deception. And yet we long to believe the lies we are told.
i. We fall for them if they “push the right button” in us.
ii. From weight loss, to health, looking younger, to making money – the deception has a
hook that is sure to snag you if you will listen seriously to their pitch.
iii. How many times have you gone to a sale that says, “Last chance to save!”
1. What a lie! They will have the same sale next month!
2. And its rarely ever a real sale. I recall Jennifer and I going to Sears on our way to
go to Luby’s cafeteria, and we would always stop and look at the furniture
section. Every week there would be a different sale, 10% off all stock, 15% off,
etc. Funny thing though, there were these placards where they slip in the price for
the item. The price at for this one item was $399.00. But inside the placard were
the old cards $299. The next week, there was no sale going on but the $299 price
was now posted. This went on week after week as we watched the store play a
shell game with their prices. The whole concept of a “sale” was nothing but a
mirage to excite shoppers into buying something at a supposed discount.
iv. Deception in advertising appeals to our natural human longings.
v. That is why they do it.
vi. Subtly, sneakily, they ply our desires against our common sense.
3. Let’s examine what mechanisms were at work in the first deception mentioned in the bible.
a. Genesis 3:1-5 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD
God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any
tree of the garden’?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden
we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said,
`You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ " 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You
surely will not die! 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
b. Genesis 3:6-7 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight
to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and
she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they knew that they were naked;
c. His Method:
i. Crafty, subtle and sly:
ii. Notice in v 1 it says that the serpent was more crafty than any beast….
iii. He didn’t try to assault God with criticism, but instead he worked to deceive them and
seduce them by making an offer that was reasonable, desirable and not blatantly anti-
God.
1. Had he said, “God is a liar, he is no good and he just wants you to be his slaves”
they probably would have walked away from the temptation to turn away from
God.
iv. But Satan baited the hook and concealed it, and he got them to take it.
1. His method for getting Christians who are walking by the flesh doesn’t even
require covering the hook all the way.
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2. When we walk in the flesh, we see the bait and we grab it because we have
already surrendered our will to the flesh.
3. But when we walk by the Spirit, it is more difficult to get our attention.
a. Like we spoke about last week when we talked about “walking by the
Spirit.”
4. When Satan tempts you, he doesn’t’ come right out and say “Hey, turn away from
God.” Rather what he does is to distract you, disarm your guard, and try to your
attention off of God.
d. His Motive:
i. Satan desired to obtain them as his followers.
1. No they didn’t consciously say, “Oh we want to be devil worshippers” but
nonetheless, they became his followers when they believed his lies instead of
God’s truths.
2. You follow who you listen to and believe. They believed Satan and thereby
turned away from God.
ii. Satan wanted to drive a wedge, to separate them from God.
1. He desired to destroy the freedom they had with God an turn them into his own
slaves.
2. He wants to keep you from experiencing the best that God has for you. He knows
that if he can keep you from experiencing God’s love in its fullest that you will be
luke warm, discouraged, and ineffective.
4. What exactly did Satan do to seduce Eve?
a. He planted doubt in her mind about what God has actually said (Gen 3:1) The serpent planted
doubt in the woman’s mind about God’s motivation as they conversed about the trees in the
garden. Satan was able to entice the woman by suggesting that God did not have their best
interests in mind, that maybe God was trying to keep something from them in order to protect his
power. The serpent simply sowed the seeds of distrust by suggesting that God might be
withholding something very desirable from them.
i. Doubt -
1. the Greek word for doubt is diakrino, which means to discriminate, hesitate, or to
be at variance with oneself.
2. James talks about doubt as being double minded, divided in interests.
3. As you read this passage, she begins to doubt what Adam told her that God had
said about the tree and even about God Himself.
4. She begins to be torn between two interests – what God has said and what the
devil is appealing to.
b. He led her to be careless with God’s word and to imply that God had said something that He had
not.
i. What God actually said: Gen 2:16-17 The LORD God commanded the man, saying,
"From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely
die.".”
ii. What Satan said: "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any tree of the
garden’?
1. He works his method of doubt, testing her memory.
iii. Eve misquotes God, having gotten her information from Adam, 2nd hand
1. “God has said, `You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.”
2. The misquotation is taking what God said and adds to it. She has not handled the
Word of God well, and now is a target.
bob Higgins Page 3 4/29/2006
3. If Satan can get you and I to stop holding to God’s word, to diminish its value or
to minimize its importance, to mishandle it, to misunderstand it, to fail to
remember or recall it, he will have disarmed us.
a. It is not a coincidence that the Word of God is called the “Sword of the
Spirit”.
b. Satan wants to disarm you because you will be most vulnerable at that
point.
4. Did you know that Southern Baptists are the most heavily and successfully
recruited denomination by cults (such as Jehovah Witnesses, Mormans and The
Way International)?
a. Why? We know just enough bible to be tricked, and not enough to repel
error.
b. Only 55% of our congregation attends bible study any given Sunday
morning…and that is high for most churches! Add in those who call
themselves Baptists but don’t attend a church and you get a picture of
biblical literacy among us. It isn’t good. We are vulnerable!
c. He caused her to question the goodness, love and motives of God.
i. 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5 "For God knows that in
the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.
1. He is trying to paint God as a cosmic killjoy.
2. As if God doesn’t want you to be happy. As if God’s purpose is to make His
creation into unhappy, unfulfilled slaves.
ii. One of the enemy’s favorite tools is to get you to believe something untrue about God.
1. He will try to get you to believe that if you lose a loved one, that God isn’t
concerned about you.
2. He will try to get you to conclude that you are a failure because of that habitual
sin, and that God will lose patience with you.
3. He will try to get you to give up trying to pray because God doesn’t care.
iii. The truth was God had said, “You are FREE to eat from any tree in the garden but
one.”
1. The truth: God is generous. Only one “Do not” sign existed in the garden.
2. If you believe a lie about God, you will filter everything you read in the bible
through that filter. You will be blind to the verses that describe God’s patience,
loving kindness, mercy and grace.
d. He deceived her about the consequences of choosing to disobey God.
i. God said, “when you eat you shall surely die” 2:17
ii. Satan lied, “you shall not surely die” (he contradicted what God had said).
1. This is his most direct attack.
2. Satan says that to us all the time. He hides the consequences of disobedience.
a. Your spouse will never find out.
b. Your boss will never know.
c. It won’t make any difference.
d. You won’t get pregnant, you won’t get a disease, you won’t suffer…
3. He hides the consequences of the action by holding out a well concealed hook
hidden beneath a blob of pleasure.
e. He seduced her with false promises and benefits if she would eat.
i. He tells her, “You will have a world of knowledge and experience open up to you that
you never had before. (your eyes shall be opened)”
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ii. He tells her “You will be your own god.”
1. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (You will be like God)
iii. You get to decide for yourself right and wrong. (know good and evil)
iv. God had already told them what was right and wrong.
v. Satan said, “That’s His opinion, you are entitled to your own. There are lots of truths,
that is just one point of view. Your truth is your truth.”
1. It is this lure that keeps people from coming back to God.
2. It is this lie that keeps people from receiving forgiveness from Jesus.
3. It is the illusion that you get to be god of your own life, that you are the ultimate
authority, and that you will not have to account for your life someday.
4. When I share Jesus with people, the #1 reason people say that they aren’t ready to
receive Christ is that they don’t want to give up “playing god” in their own lives.
5. How about you today?
6. Who really is god in your life?
7. Are you willing to step off the throne?
f. Deceived Eve into making her decisions upon what she thought, saw and felt.
i. Saw in the physical realm
ii. Felt in the emotional plane
iii. Thought in the intellectual arena.
iv. Even though it contradicted what God had said.
1. It feels right. (not waiting until marriage)
2. It looks sooo good. (French silk pie)
3. It made sense.
4. How many times have you said this?
v. Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst, promises honor and pays with
disgrace, promises pleasure and pays with pain, promises profit and pays with loss,
promises life and pays with death. (Puritan pastor Thomas Brooks)
vi. Why do we go for the lure?
1. Because we don’t see Satan as a serpent but he comes disguised as a NY Times
bestseller, a popular magazine, movie or tv show or a hit song. He might even
pose as a relative or friend giving sincere counsel.
vii. What we hear or read can SOUND RIGHT, FEEL RIGHT AND SEEM RIGHT but if
it contradicts God’s word, it is wrong.
viii. The forbidden fruit always looks so good and tastes sweet at the first taste, but turns
sour in our stomach as sin promises pleasure that only lasts a season
g. But Jesus said, “the devil was a murderer from the beginning, not holidng to the truth for there is
no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.” (Jn 8:44).
5. Lets look at the role lies have in our lives----
a. Our lives are not generally built on truth.
b. Someone treats us a certain way and we make assumptions about ourselves!
i. It starts from our earliest days. If a parent loses patience with us, we assume that there
is something defective about ourselves. We don’t realize that the problem is their
problem not ours.
ii. Abused women fall for this lie, believing that they are defective as their husband hurls
insults and lies at them. “You’re no good” “You always burn the food” etc.
1. The problem is not you. It is with the one who is demanding from you.
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iii. Saw Jane Fonda talking about her mother. She had internalized her mother’s anger
toward her as a teenager as being about her, as if she was somehow so flawed, broken
and useless. But she came to realize that her mother’s anger wasn’t about Jane but
about herself.
iv. I believe that we all have lies we believed from somewhere in our lives that affects the
way that we live and relate to others.
1. Prov 23:7 ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.”
2. We need to unravel the lies.
6. Lets take a quick look at how a lie becomes a part of our lives:
a. James 1:14-16 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and
enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
b. We listen to the lie!
i. When you hear a lie like “you are worthless” don’t let it in the doorway of your mind.
1. Don’t listen. Stop it at the doorway.
2. Resist at the threshold of your mind. .
3. Especially when you know where it is coming from!
4. Turn it off before it accesses your will, emotions and mind.
ii. When I plant a garden, the first thing I do is to cultivate the ground, that is, I break it up
so the seeds I sow will find root.
1. This is what the enemy does when he gets us to LISTEN.
2. He is tilling the soil so that we will receive the lie.
c. We dwell on the lie. – This is where we begin to consider what the enemy has said.
i. You might be struggling with the thought that you are worthless. Someone may have
even said it to you, or perhaps you experienced rejection at work or from a friend. You
FEEL worthless. So now, you are dwelling upon the lie.
ii. You mull it over, engage in conversation, contemplate it.
iii. This is where Eve talked back to the serpent.
1. But in so doing, he is sowing the seeds of doubt, of his lies.
2. The next step is almost automatic.
d. We believe the lie – it takes root and grows.
i. You add up the count…1 plus 1 equals 3. My mom said I was worthless, my boss
reprimanded me, my friends didn’t call me, yup, I am worthless.
ii. A seed only needs to be in the moisture and warmth of the ground for a short time when
it will begin to germinate.
iii. It will grow.
iv. With a lie of the enemy, they grow quite quickly like a weed.
e. We act on the lie –
i. The lie is producing fruit when it becomes action.
1. If you wait until this point to try to resist, you will fail!
ii. Believing things that are untrue produces sinful behavior.
iii. Behavior like depression, beating up on ourselves, taking a drink to numb the pain.
iv. We act on what we believe.
7. Every area of bondage in our lives started with a lie. .
a. Every Addiction started with a lie.
i. Example of bondage: Physical (eating, substance abuse) emotional (anxiety, fear,
depression), sexual (I won’t even mention these), financial (debt, greed, stinginess),
habits – (anger, lying, excessive tv, books or diversions). Do you have a need for
approval, a victim mentality, shyness. The list goes on and on.
bob Higgins Page 6 4/29/2006
ii. Satan has a field day keeping us from experiencing God’s very best by feeding us lies.
8. Lets become overcomers!
a. If you want to get rid of poisonous berries on your property, you don’t go out and pick all the
berries off the bushes. They will only grow back. It isn’t enough o cut it down, because the roots
are still there and they will grow back. You must pull it out by the roots!
b. 4 Steps to overcoming a lie: (to pulling it out!)
i. Identify the Lie
1. What have you listened to believed and acted upon that led to where you are now?
Roots are beneath the surface so they aren’t obvious.
2. Lies are hidden and deceptive. Ask God to reveal what is unseen to you.
ii. Reach the point where you want change.
1. More than anything else, even above prestige, comfort, respect. As long as you
value other things above freedom, you will remain in bondage.
2. If you aren’t sick of being sick and tired, then you won’t want freedom. You will
be content to be sad, depressed and to get all of the benefits and attention
associated with it.
iii. Replace the lie the with truth
1. John 8:32 you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”
2. In the coming weeks, as we address the many areas of our lives where we believe
lies, we will replace the lie with a truth.
iv. Turn it over to Jesus today.
1. He alone can set you free from your past.
2. He can free you from the bondage of the lies you have believed.
Won’t you turn it over to Jesus today?
You don’t have to carry it any longer.
Lay it down. Let Jesus replace the lie with His truth.
God does care. He loves you. Won’t you let Him into your life today?
Let’s pray.
