Sermon Central
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The Armor Of God: Truth
Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Jul 9, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: A young strong man at a construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He kept making fun of one of the older workers. After a while, the older worker had had enough.
Alba 6-9-2023
THE ARMOR OF GOD: TRUTH
A young strong man at a construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He kept making fun of one of the older workers. After a while, the older worker had had enough.
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is," he said. "I will bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won't be able to wheel back."
"You're on, old man," the braggart replied. "Let's see what you got." The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right, get in."
That young man had to acknowledge a truth. The truth is, that he was not as smart as he thought he was. And not as strong either. There were things he could not do.
And there are truths that we should acknowledge. If we avoid the truth, we put ourselves into danger. For example, if we would think it is safe to walk down the middle of Interstate 44 at any time day or night, we don't know the truth!
Knowing the truth is important to our survival. Yet there are those who say that truth is relative, we can't know anything for sure. The argument is that there is no absolute truth. They will say that something might be true for you but not true for them. But there is a problem with those who say that there is no absolute truth. Such a statement itself is false. Because it assumes that their statement is absolutely true, which cannot be if there is no absolute truth.
Here is an example of that. Walter Thomas is a pastor/rabbi at two Messianic congregations in Mesa and Chandler, AZ, and a professor at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA.
He shared the following story: “A graduate student at a public university said to me in class discussion one day, 'But Dr. Thomas, that is your truth. I have my own truth. There is no absolute truth but only the truth that I can experience.' I asked her, 'How certain are you about that?' She answered, 'I’m absolutely sure!' I then said, 'Let me see if I understand what you are saying. Are you saying that you are absolutely sure that truth is relative?' There was silence as the irony of her statement began to sink in.”
He also said that those who say that nothing is superior to anything else are themselves taking a superior position. He calls it, “A perfect picture of self-deception and arrogance.”
(What Is Truth? On sermoncentral.com Contributed by Walter Thomas on Nov 26, 2019)
We know many things are true, in fact absolutely true. And only the foolish would argue against them. For example: it is true that there exists what we call gravity. We don't float around in the air. If we try to do that, we are quickly reminded of the truth of gravity.
And even though some have tried to get around it, two and two still make four. And north is north no matter what you think. Some things are simply true. That means that there are also things that are untrue. We call them lies. You can find them anywhere.
One person told of a terrible experience with an advertisement on television saying: “I woke up and they told me that I can get one type of car for $100, and later they said I can get one house for $1000, but I have to join their group.
“The membership fee according to them is $99, but if I can call at that minute, they will reduce it to $39.99. So I joined immediately. However, on their website there is no car that is $100.00 and no house at all. But they had already taken my credit card and charged it several times before I canceled my membership.” Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Lies! Guess where they come from. In John 8:44 Jesus is speaking about the devil and says, “there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NIV)
Satan started out with lies. In the garden of Eden he deceived Eve to seek life apart from God. The father of lies is the one who told Jesus “Jump from this high tower. It'll be ok.”
Satan is the prince of this world who rules through deceit and subterfuge. Satan will use every possible lie to try to defeat us. He even encourages lies about himself. Lies such as: He doesn’t exist. He’s not all that evil. Serving him is beneficial. Or, He can bring inner fulfillment. Sorry, not so much!
