LYING TO IMPRESS DOES NOT WORK AS PLANNED

PROCLAMATION

“David said to the young man who brought him the report, ‘Where are you from?’  ‘I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,’ he answered.  David asked him, ‘Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy The Lord’s anointed?’  Then David called one of his men and said, ‘Go, strike him down!’ So he struck him down and he died.  For David had said to him, ‘Your blood be on your own head.  Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed The Lord’s anointed.’”  2 Samuel 1:13-16 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

King Saul committed suicide after he was wounded and realized that he was losing the battle to the Philistines. (1 Samuel 31:3-5)  This young man brought the news to David that Saul was dead. (2 Samuel 1:4)  He was an outsider, an Amalekite, and sought to gain favor with David by lying and saying that he had killed Saul. (2 Samuel 1:6-10)  He gave David Saul’s crown and bracelet to help make his lie seem more believable. (2 Samuel 1:10)  He lied but it did not work out as he had planned.  Instead of being happy with his report, David tore his clothes, mourned and wept. (2 Samuel 1:11-12)  Then he ordered one of his men to kill the young man.

APPLICATION

People lie for all kinds of reasons.  We usually lie to impress others, to make ourselves appear better, more important, or more whatever than we actually are.  Whether it is “a little white lie” or “a big Black lie”, a lie is a lie, and they all are sinful.  It has been said that when we tell one lie, we must then tell a second lie to tie up the loose ends of the first one.  This usually leads to another lie.  “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” (Sir Walter Scott, 1808)  The Bible teaches us not to tell lies.  “Thou shall not bear false witness … “ (Exodus 20:16, Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:9, Luke 18:20, and Romans 13:9)  All lies come from the devil.  The devil is a liar, and he is the father of lies. (John 8:44)  Don’t tell lies.  One day we will have to give an account for everything that we thought, said, and did, (Luke 16:2) and for every idle word that we spoke. (Matthew 12:36)

CHRIST IS NOT OF THIS WORLD AND NEITHER ARE BELIEVERS

Proclamation:

“Once more Jesus said to them, ‘I am going away, and … Where I go, you cannot come.’ … But He continued, ‘You are from below; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.’”  John 8:21-23 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  John begins this chapter with Jesus, The Christ, in the temple in Jerusalem teaching when the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who was caught in the act of adultery.  They recounted the law to Him and then asked Him what His opinion was, so that they could trap Him and have a basis for accusing Him.  If He agreed with the law of Moses, they would accuse Him to the Roman governor for taking it upon Himself to condemn a person to death.  If He disagreed with the law of Moses, they would accuse Him to the Jewish people as being an enemy of Moses.  Jesus did neither and said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7)  Being convicted by their conscience, those who brought the woman left, (John 8:9) and Jesus resumed teaching.  However, the Pharisees within the crowd in the temple challenged Him with respect to His authority. (John 8:13)  In His explanation of who He was, Jesus said that He was not of this world. (John 8:23)  Later, He told them that they were children of the devil and not of God. (John 8:44-47)  They claimed to be the children of Abraham and asked Jesus if He was greater than Abraham. (John 8:52-53)  To this Jesus responded, “Before Abraham was, I Am!” (John 8:58)  Hearing this, they picked up stones in order to stone Jesus but He slipped away passing through the midst of them. (John 8:59)

Application:

Here are four of the many points in this chapter.  First, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.  The reason that the people who accused the woman of adultery could not stone her was because all of them were guilty of sin themselves. (John 8:7-9)  We should not go around accusing others of sinning when we are guilty of sinning, maybe a different sin, ourselves.  Secondly, as believers we have The Holy Spirit of God within us; and since God is not of this world, we are not of this world.  We are just strangers here passing through on our way to our home in heaven.  Thirdly, the devil is a liar and the truth is not in him.  He is the father of lies. (John 8:44)  It is not Christ-like to tell a lie.  Fourthly, the people of God hear the voice of God, (John 8:47) and we know His voice, (John 10:27) even if we do not always obey it. 

LORD SAVE ME FROM LYING LIPS AND DECEITFUL TONGUES

Proclamation:

“I call on The Lord in my distress, and He answers me.  Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.”  Psalm 120:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God and have been credited to King David.  In this psalm he complains about those who have brought false charges against him (Psalm 120:2-4) and about his wicked neighbors. (Psalm 120:5-7)  In his distress he calls upon The Lord God and He heard him and answered him.

Application:

We have all been lied on, lied to, and deceived by family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, associates, acquaintances, and people we trusted.   It does not feel good to be in that position.  However, we have all also told lies to others, on others, about things, and we have thought about lying even when we did not do it.  All men are liars. (Psalm 116:11)  We are quick to point out the sins and shortcomings of others but we ignore or don’t address our own.  “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” (Author unknown)  As we sow, so shall we also reap. (Galatians 6:7)  We want God’s help to protect us from the effects of the lies that we told to us and on us, but we should also pray and ask to be forgiven for lying, and for His help to stop lying to and on others.  Lying is the result of the influence of the devil who is the father of lies. (John 8:44)  There is a price to pay for lying. (Psalm 120:3-4 and Revelation 21:8)

The Truth Will Set You Free From 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 ... I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word ... 'If you were Abraham's children,' said Jesus, 'then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does' ... You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding 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 ... He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:31-47 (NIV)

Even though the people wanted to kill Him for what He was saying, Jesus continued to teach the truth. To the Jews who were descendants of Abraham physically, their behavior revealed them to be the devil's descendants. The devil is the father of lies and there is no truth in him.

Jesus spoke the truth. We must hear the truth, believe the truth, and live the truth, if we want to be free from the penalty of sin. Those of us who belong to God can hear what He says, and we endeavour to do what He says. Our words and deeds reveal who is our real father.