Participants: Dale Leamon
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000009
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00:29 I'm glad, you could join us today.
00:31 We're looking forward to opening God's word again, 00:34 to discover more about 00:35 the ten greatest promises in the Bible. 00:39 It may surprise you to find out what they are, 00:41 but before we study, let's have a word of prayer. 00:44 Father in heaven, we are so grateful that You love us. 00:48 So grateful that You have planned 00:50 a feast of Your word for us today. 00:52 And we ask that through Jesus, 00:54 our understanding of You 00:56 and of Your plan of salvation will be greatly increased. 01:00 Please use me, Lord, as an instrument 01:02 of the gospel in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:06 I think that I forgot to introduce myself 01:10 and in case, you haven't met me before. 01:12 I'm Dale Leamon and I'm from Battle Creek, Michigan, 01:15 where I have the privilege of pastoring 01:17 the Tabernacle Church there. 01:20 Well, God has struggled to make Himself known to us, 01:27 the truth is the problem. 01:29 Because Satan has started so many bad rumors about God 01:33 that people are very confused about what He's really like. 01:38 It all started, of course, with a lie. 01:43 Satan came down to this planet, 01:46 invaded the Garden of Eden, 01:48 stood by the forbidden tree, 01:51 captured Eve's attention 01:55 and told her something totally untrue. 01:58 Now most of us are aware of the lie when he said, 02:01 "You will not really die." 02:04 But that was only one small part of the lie 02:06 he was telling there. 02:08 The big lie that he told was 02:10 that God is not treating you fairly. 02:15 If you were just eat from this tree 02:17 you'd be like God, knowing good and evil. 02:18 You see there are so much more. 02:19 God doesn't want you to have everything. 02:22 God doesn't want you to eat from all the trees. 02:25 God is holding back some great privileges from you, 02:28 because He wants to be superior to you. 02:30 A total miscast of God's personality 02:35 and of His character. 02:36 God is love and as love He would never do anything, 02:42 but what was in the very best interest of His creatures. 02:44 He didn't make people, in order to keep them down, 02:47 or subject them, or boss them around, 02:49 or otherwise abuse them. 02:52 He made people in order to give them joy. 02:57 Well, we all hate lies, don't we? 03:02 We've all heard a lot of them and they always harm. 03:07 But Jesus said, the Satan was the father of lies 03:09 and that his power and authority are based on a lie. 03:13 In the same way, God's power and authority 03:15 are based on the truth. 03:18 See the truth is something that just stands, 03:20 it's that way, because that's the way it is. 03:23 The truth is so closely attached to laws, 03:25 because truth and good laws are always totally related. 03:30 Good laws always come out of real truths. 03:35 You see, God's government has been called unfair 03:39 and that's why so many people 03:40 don't trust His commandments. 03:42 They think that maybe God's made commandments 03:45 just to keep people from having a good time. 03:48 Especially, it seems like young people 03:49 think that, doesn't it? 03:50 They're afraid that God is just making rules 03:54 to keep them from enjoying all their potential. 03:58 Why would God say, "Don't lie." 04:01 Telling a lie now and then 04:03 can get a person through many a scrap. 04:06 Why would God say, "Don't commit adultery." 04:08 After all there's so much fruit in the garden, 04:11 shouldn't we taste at all? 04:14 No, God knows what makes people happy. 04:18 And as we look at His commandments, 04:22 we might be very misinformed, 04:25 we might misjudge God's character, 04:28 thinking that He just wants us to be held back. 04:33 We need to know the truth, 04:34 we need to have our understanding 04:37 of God's character, completely changed from what it-- 04:40 from what we kind of inherited from our birth. 04:44 And through Satan's thousands of years of deception. 04:47 Let me share with you some truths 04:48 about God that are absolute. 04:51 Number one, God is good. 04:55 But that's quite all encompassing, isn't it? 04:57 Because if He's really good, 04:59 then He could never do anything that wasn't good. 05:02 Bear that in mind, next time you start blaming God 05:06 for the bad weather, or the terrible trial 05:11 that you're going through. 05:13 Number two, God loves us. 05:19 Love, remember it's divine love too, 05:22 it's a kind of love which is totally unselfish, 05:24 which means that God's love makes Him think of me 05:29 before He even thinks of Himself. 05:31 Number three, He is our friend. 05:34 In other words, He seeks a special relationship with us, 05:37 He cares about us as if we were unique 05:41 in all the universe, maybe we are. 05:44 God is our friend in the sense that 05:47 He wants to spend personal quality time with us. 05:51 And in the sense that He's always happy 05:53 to see us and hear from us, 05:55 when we try to make contact with Him. 05:58 Number four, God has arranged everything 06:01 in our lives for our best good. 06:04 It's especially true if we commit our lives to Him. 06:07 In other words, we may think our lives are cursed 06:10 and we're going through so many trials and problems. 06:12 But God has prearranged 06:16 for your maximum opportunity for salvation, 06:20 the events of your life. 06:23 Number five, God keeps back from us 06:29 nothing that would be good for us. 06:33 That's right, you say, well, my health, 06:35 I should have better health. 06:37 God gives us what is best for us in the long run 06:42 and it may not seem so right now. 06:43 I should have more money, 06:45 I'd be much better off with more money. 06:47 No, God gives us what's best for us in the long run. 06:52 Now, of course, we can influence 06:54 the outcome of some of those things, 06:55 but God will certainly intervene to do what's best. 07:00 Number six, He will always work to make us happy, 07:05 that one is really important to me. 07:08 God wants me to be happy. 07:11 You see, what's life worth if you're not happy. 07:17 You could have riches, you could have many friends, 07:19 you could have many things, 07:21 if you're not happy, what's life worth. 07:23 God is interested in our happiness, not only that, 07:26 He's committed to our happiness. 07:27 Not only that, He's always working 07:29 to make sure that we are happy. 07:31 And once we know that then we have to ask ourselves, 07:35 well, why is it we have been 07:38 afraid of the Ten Commandments. 07:39 If these six promises about God are true, 07:42 then surely His Ten Commandments 07:43 are also part of how He makes us happy, 07:46 how He provides for our well being, 07:48 how He showers His love on us, 07:49 how He shows us His friendship? 07:52 His Ten Commandments must be 07:53 part of that whole program. 07:56 Well, they are. 07:57 The Ten Commandments are really ten promises. 08:00 Not to be read so much, don't do this, don't do that. 08:04 That's the way people read it 08:06 who don't know the love and grace of God. 08:09 But to be read instead, 08:11 since I've set you free from sin, 08:14 you no longer will do this or that, 08:17 you will have a new life. 08:21 I like something else about the Ten Commandments too. 08:23 They not only show us what we're going to be like 08:26 as we're completed in Christ, 08:30 but they also show us what God is like. 08:32 In other words, the Ten Commandments 08:34 are a transcript of His character. 08:36 They show us how He lives 08:39 and what we can count on from Him, 08:42 now don't you like that? 08:44 As you read the Ten Commandments 08:45 with God in mind, knowing that 08:47 He is always faithful to His own commandments, 08:49 even though we aren't always. 08:52 We find several beautiful things. 08:54 One, God wants our company, 08:58 He wants a whole day out of every week with us, 09:01 and He has already set aside that time 09:03 and will be with us in a special way on that time. 09:06 That time is time that He takes 09:08 and gives even more attention 09:10 and more of His fellowship to us, 09:14 that's seventh day of every week. 09:16 That's one of the commandments, isn't it? 09:17 So that's God's character, 09:19 He loves to have that day of joy with us. 09:23 Here's another one, He will give us rest. 09:27 Yes, that's right, He offers us rest, 09:29 He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor 09:31 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," 09:32 it's right there in the Fourth Commandment. 09:34 God is a God of rest, 09:35 He doesn't believe in being a workaholic, 09:37 He believes in taking some time 09:39 and enjoying life with his creatures 09:42 and so he's going to give us 09:43 that enjoyment together with himself. 09:46 We also see since he has a commandment stating that 09:50 murder is wrong that he will not kill us. 09:53 Well, you say, wait a minute, 09:54 didn't he say he would take our lives? 09:56 No, folks, God loves us. 10:00 In the very, very end, 10:02 when we've made our decision 10:03 and we're locked into the misery of sin, 10:06 then he may mercifully take back the life he gave, 10:09 but he says, we should not murdering. 10:11 God like quite, doesn't whim sickly take people lives. 10:13 It's Satan who does that. 10:15 And Satan's had a good time 10:17 over the years blaming God for all the atrocities 10:19 he's brought upon the human race. 10:21 But God is not a murderer. 10:25 Also since He tells us not to steal, 10:27 we know that God Himself will not steal from us, 10:29 He will protect our property. 10:31 He's very interested in our 10:33 being able to maintain ownership of the things 10:37 that we've worked hard to have. 10:39 And should he allow us to lose them we know again, 10:42 it would only be, because in someway 10:45 that trial was for our eternal good. 10:49 God also will protect our relationships. 10:51 We already saw that God Himself is not an adulterer. 10:56 He is a faithful one, 10:57 Jesus is the bridegroom of the church 11:00 and He has committed himself eternally to us. 11:04 We are the joy of His life and He will not let us go 11:10 or trade us in for another. 11:13 Well, these Ten Commandments then 11:15 really give us an idea of God's commitment to us, 11:19 the way He will treat us as well as 11:22 what He promises to do in our hearts 11:25 to make us like Himself. 11:28 Now the commandment that we're especially 11:30 focusing on today is the Ninth Commandment 11:35 which has to do with telling the truth. 11:38 We'll look at that specifically in a minute. 11:40 But I want you to see how important truth is. 11:42 Let's look at several scriptures together, 11:45 John the 8th Chapter and verse 32. 11:49 Jesus here speaking, it says. 11:51 "You shall know the truth, 11:53 and the truth shall make you free." 11:56 That's Jesus own commandment, 11:59 "The truth will make you free." 12:01 Oh, how important truth is, 12:03 you can't possibly be free without truth. 12:05 Satan enslaved this whole planet 12:07 by initially telling lies. 12:09 And only the truth will deliver us 12:11 from the slavery of sin and selfishness. 12:14 John 14, and verse 6, let's read that one, 12:20 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, 12:23 the truth, and the life. 12:26 No one comes to Father except through Me." 12:31 So, Jesus Himself is "the truth," I like that. 12:35 He is the truth, 12:36 He is the truth about God's character. 12:38 Jesus is the truth about how our people 12:40 are gonna be like when they're redeemed. 12:42 Jesus is the truth about the way to heaven. 12:48 Jesus Himself is the truth. 12:51 John 16, and verse 13, "However, when He, 12:58 the Spirit of truth has come, 13:00 He will guide you into all truth, 13:03 for He will not speak on His own authority, 13:05 but whatever He hears he will speak, 13:08 and He will tell you things to come." 13:11 This of course shows us that 13:12 Jesus being the truth sends us a Spirit of truth. 13:16 The Holy Spirit, of course, is the Spirit of truth, 13:19 He can't tell anything but the truth 13:21 and He will always tell the truth. 13:22 And every time you pray for the Holy Spirit, 13:24 He will reveal the truth to you. 13:26 And if you insist upon clinging to falsehood and lies, 13:29 then the Holy Spirit will not be the one speaking to you 13:32 and maybe some other spirit. 13:34 So we need to really commit ourselves to the truth 13:37 and be anxious to know the truth. 13:39 And so many of us are trying to make up our own theology, 13:42 but we need to have truth. 13:45 John 17, and verse 17, we read, 13:49 "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." 13:55 And so here we see that, 13:58 the way that we're transformed, sanctified, 14:02 is by exposure to the truth that is so true. 14:06 Because as we see God 14:09 as He really is, as He truly is. 14:13 We cannot help but be changed, 14:15 we fall in love with Him. 14:17 We see that He is absolutely reliable, 14:20 and He's on our side, and He is our friend, 14:22 and all the things we've been saying about Him are true, 14:24 and we just have to love Him. 14:28 Well, not only did Jesus make such statements 14:31 but the Apostle James 14:33 in James Chapter 1, verse 18, speaks of truth. 14:38 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, 14:43 that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures." 14:48 So we are actually born by the truth, 14:52 we're brought forth by the word of truth. 14:54 The Bible becomes our midwife as it were, 14:58 to bring us forth, we are born of the spirit 15:01 because we accept the truth. 15:05 Some people think that truth is whatever you believe. 15:10 If I believe in it, it must be my truth, 15:12 that's impossible, folks, there's only one truth. 15:14 If you have two opposing ideas, 15:16 they can't both be true, 15:17 one is true and the other is a lie. 15:19 And that's what so alarming about Christian Church today. 15:22 Because there are so many different 15:24 apposing things all taught as truth. 15:27 Does the Bible teach apposing things? 15:30 No, it really doesn't. 15:31 We need to let it be it's own interpreter, 15:33 we need to let-- we need to read 15:35 enough scriptures on any topic 15:37 to make sure we have the Bible's own definition. 15:41 Because we maybe believing falsehoods 15:45 and there is no possibility that believing falsehoods 15:48 will guide us safely into God's Kingdom. 15:51 Don't you hate it when someone lies about you? 15:54 I hardly know of anything more annoying 15:56 and of course, that may not be true 15:58 if they're telling a good lie about you. 16:00 But, but in fact, even that's not so healthy, is it? 16:04 But especially when somebody tells a bad lie about you, 16:07 they tell something that isn't true at all. 16:09 You've all experienced it, 16:10 it just makes you really upset. 16:12 I've had quite a few lies told about me. 16:14 I suppose any pastor would, it's amazing, 16:17 the stories that come along. 16:19 Oh, I've heard things like 16:21 I was supposed to have had an earlier marriage 16:23 or I had some children before--unbelievable stuff, 16:26 not a shred of truth to it. 16:29 These things come along 16:30 and it's just like the devil is trying 16:31 to spread little things to discredit you, 16:33 you know what I mean? 16:34 I have had a, well, I won't began to tell you the things, 16:38 'cause I don't want to start any rumors. 16:40 Well, I've had people say things about me 16:41 that I just could hardly live with, 16:44 and I've gotten so upset about it, 16:46 and I have just wanted to go and chew those people out. 16:49 And sometimes you don't even know who started this story, 16:51 you don't know who to go to, and I've thought, 16:53 well, maybe I should pose some public disclaimers, 16:55 but, no, that doesn't work. 16:58 You know, if you're gonna be on God's side 17:00 and Satan's gonna aim his weapons at you, isn't he? 17:03 And one of his most powerful weapons is a lie 17:07 and he'll do it every time. 17:09 Well, God knows what it is to be 17:11 lied about also, oh does he. 17:15 You know, Satan's spread such terrible things 17:17 about God's character, 17:18 even in heaven that he persuaded--I mean, 17:23 I still have a hard time fathoming this, 17:25 but Satan persuaded one third of the angels to follow him. 17:32 He told them that God was a tyrant, 17:35 that God was keeping back from them, 17:38 some of their potential, that he was enslaving them. 17:41 That, that he, that they would have 17:44 much more enjoyment of their existence 17:45 if they would be with him. 17:47 And that here the philosophy was 17:50 really the winning philosophy, 17:51 that God's idea of everybody serving everybody else, 17:54 no one looking after his own, 17:56 was really an old way and he was going to introduce 17:58 a new way that would be so better 18:00 and a third of the angels followed him. 18:02 They're such intelligent creatures, 18:04 it is astonishing that they could be taken in by that lie. 18:06 No wonder we human beings believe lies so readily. 18:10 So God knows what it is to be lied about. 18:13 And He lost an entire planet 18:17 because of lies about His character. 18:24 And so He wants us to know the truth. 18:26 And especially, and I think this is so reasonable. 18:29 God wants us to know the truth about Himself 18:33 and that is why He sent Jesus. 18:38 You know, the lies that people believe, 18:40 Christians believe have cost God so much. 18:45 Many people are communing with spirits of devils, 18:49 because they are spiritualists 18:50 and they think they're communing with the dead. 18:53 All because they believed a lie 18:56 instead of believing the Bible when it says, 18:58 "The dead know nothing." 19:01 Many people are missing the sweet communion 19:04 of the Sabbath day, because they believe the lie 19:08 that the Sabbath has been done away with, 19:10 when the Bible says no such thing. 19:13 And all the apostles and Jesus Himself 19:16 certainly rejoiced in the Sabbath. 19:19 So much is being lost by lies, 19:22 how about the millions of Christians 19:25 who believe that they can be saved by their own works, 19:30 by acts of charity, 19:32 by providing money to the church, 19:34 by doing a certain number of penances. 19:38 Oh, how tragic, how many will fail to enter 19:40 into the Kingdom of heaven, 19:42 just because they believe a false theology, 19:44 just because they have been taken in by a lie. 19:48 No wonder then, this issue is so vital that God put it 19:52 into His Ten Commandments. 19:54 Exodus Chapter 20 and verse 16, 19:59 let's read that, "You shall not bear 20:03 false witness against your neighbor." 20:07 Now this commandment seems to address particularly 20:12 the wrong that we might do. 20:13 You see, the Ten Commandments 20:15 all involved in relationships, 20:16 relationships with God, relationship with parents, 20:18 relationship with wife, relationship with neighbors. 20:20 And so it puts this don't lie principle 20:25 into the relationship context. 20:28 And says, "Don't say bad things about your neighbor, 20:32 don't say things that aren't true 20:33 in particular about your neighbor." 20:37 This will be true in a court setting, 20:39 then it would be true in any time. 20:40 And certainly precludes most negative story telling 20:44 because how often do we know for sure 20:47 that what we're saying is truth in every specific point. 20:50 Can we be absolutely sure 20:52 we're not least putting the wrong twist on it 20:53 by our experience of vocal inflection? 20:56 Dare we say anything about another person 20:58 that is not good news, 21:01 hardly can we be so sure 21:04 that we're not lying about our neighbor. 21:07 And if we're lying about our neighbor, 21:08 we are breaking the Ninth Commandment. 21:11 But we've been looking at 21:12 all the commandments as promises, haven't we? 21:15 And this one also is a promise. 21:17 What a beautiful promise that we will not ever again 21:25 say anything about another person 21:27 that is not completely accurate and true. 21:30 I can hardly even imagine it, 21:31 I can hardly wait for it to be true, 21:33 it's going to really workout best in heaven 21:35 when the only thing that could be 21:37 said about us is good things 21:38 because we are good all the way through. 21:41 But even now we need to get 21:44 in the habit of not telling lies about our neighbor, 21:47 not telling lies to our neighbor, 21:51 not even being willing to embrace any untruth, 21:56 because as we see in the Bible, 21:58 untruth is very, very costly. 22:02 Well, Jesus has fulfilled this for us, 22:04 it just like He's fulfilled all the other commandments, 22:06 he's fulfilled this one. 22:07 Remember we just read that Jesus is the truth 22:10 and the great promise that He's made found in 22:12 Ephesians Chapter 4 shows that 22:15 as the church gets ready for translation 22:18 Jesus is going to make it a more and more 22:21 truth filled organization. 22:23 Ephesians 4, 14 through 16, 22:27 "That we should no longer be children, 22:30 tossed to and fro and carried about 22:32 with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, 22:36 and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 22:39 but speaking the truth in love may grow up 22:44 in all things into him who is the head--Christ. 22:50 From whom the whole body, 22:53 joined and knit together by what every joins applies 22:55 according to the effective 22:56 working by which every part does it share, 22:59 causes growth of the body 23:00 for the edifying of itself in love." 23:05 So what the Lord is planning to do for us 23:07 as we continue to move toward the kingdom 23:11 is to weed out all the lies and all the untruth. 23:14 Jesus said, "He would separate 23:15 the whole human race into two camps, 23:18 sheep and goats." 23:20 And of course, the goats are those 23:22 who have rejected His truth 23:23 but the sheep are those who love the truth. 23:26 Don't you want to be a truth lover? 23:28 You know, the Apostle Paul in Second Thessalonians, 23:31 the Second Chapter, identifies specifically 23:33 those who fall pray to the deception of the beast. 23:37 And he says, "That those individuals are deceived 23:41 because they do not love the truth." 23:47 What an indictment? 23:50 In fact, it turns out that they love lies and that is why 23:53 they are susceptible to Satan's deception. 23:56 They love the lie that we are really our own God. 23:59 They love the lie that you can break the commandments 24:02 and still have eternal life. 24:03 They love the lie that we are all independent 24:09 and can be self centered and selfish 24:13 and that there can be still be happiness 24:14 and joy in that kind of life. 24:17 What a huge lie that is? 24:19 There is no happiness in selfishness. 24:22 And so Jesus is looking for truth lovers 24:25 and He has already committed Himself 24:27 by keeping the Ninth Commandment Himself 24:30 by always telling the truth. 24:32 He has committed Himself to giving us 24:36 a love for truth in our hearts. 24:38 I ask Him for that regularly, do you? 24:41 Because I really, really want to be sure that 24:43 I'm not deceiving myself on anything, 24:45 I don't care how much the truth hurts, 24:46 you've heard that how much the truth hurts, 24:48 I don't care how much it hurts I want the truth. 24:50 Tell me truth, doctor, if I'm sick, 24:52 tell me the truth so we can start working on healing. 24:55 And so it is with Jesus, 24:56 tell me the truth of my moral condition, 24:58 because if I know the truth I can come to You 25:01 and You have that remedy for every moral ailment, 25:05 tell me the truth. 25:07 I want to be a truth lover and I know you do too. 25:12 Well, Jesus won the victory by bringing us the truth. 25:16 Basically Jesus whole ministry was saying, 25:18 you've got it all wrong, 25:19 God is your friend not a tyrant. 25:22 He will do everything, anything for you. 25:24 He lives, God lives to make you happy. 25:29 You don't have to run away from Him to be happy. 25:32 You never can be happy, until you come to Him. 25:36 Remember the Jesus professed so many of His remarks 25:39 with these two words, truly, truly. 25:46 And in John Chapter 18, 25:49 we have this beautiful story 25:54 of some of Jesus final moments before His crucifixion. 25:59 When He was taken in before Pilate 26:03 and He was about to be condemned to death. 26:07 And He had a very interesting interview with Pilate. 26:09 Let's read it in verse 37 and 38. 26:12 "Pilate therefore said to him, 'Are you a king then?' 26:16 And Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. 26:21 For this cause I was born, 26:22 and for this cause I have come into the world." 26:25 Now why did Jesus come into the world here it is. 26:28 "That I should bear witness to the truth. 26:32 Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. 26:36 But Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?'" 26:42 I can almost tear him, 26:44 with the irony dripping from his voice, what is truth? 26:51 Well friends, Jesus is the truth Himself, 26:55 Jesus Himself is the truth. 26:59 And He is the truth about God our Heavenly Father. 27:05 And He is the truth about 27:06 what you and I can be and will be 27:10 as we hang on to Him and let Him lead us 27:13 all the way to victory. 27:15 Jesus is the truth in every doctrine. 27:20 Because we cannot have life without Jesus, 27:23 we have no natural immortality. 27:24 Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, 27:27 He is the great truth. 27:28 Jesus is the High Priest of our heavenly sanctuary. 27:32 Jesus is the center of everything 27:34 that calls itself truth if it really is truth. 27:38 Jesus is the truth. 27:40 And I wonder today 27:42 if you really want to be a truth lover. 27:45 Only truth lovers can hope to be safe 27:48 through the coming storm, others will be deceived. 27:52 If you want to join me in saying, 27:54 yes, I want to be a truth lover, 27:57 let's ask Jesus to give us 27:58 His victory in the Ninth Commandment. |
Revised 2014-12-17