Stick With The Truth : Pastor Tony Samuels

There are so many ideologies and opinions in our society today. To anyone who is not a believer, it can be easy to wonder what the truth really is. So, what is the truth? Well, John 14:6 says, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no truth outside of Jesus. He doesn’t just have truth; He is Truth. He is the origin of truth, the creator of truth. Outside of Jesus, there is no absolute truth. Jesus warned us of this in Matthew 24:4. He said, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Let’s take a look at that word, deceive. It means: to mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude. Deception comes by what we see and what we hear. All deception is based on a lie, or a half-truth tied to a lie. In the book of Genesis, Eve was deceived by listening to the serpent, who mixed truth with a lie. So deception starts with giving your attention to information that is not truth. 

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.” To hear someone’s voice, we must be in relationship with them. Through relationship, we learn what someone likes and what they don’t like. People who fall into deception are for the most part people who have no relationship with God. Eve fell into the trap of deception when she left her relationship with God and entered into relationship with the serpent. Consequently, the serpent, through speaking lies, was able to lure her away from the Word of God and lead her into disobedience. 

Faith begins where the will of God is known, and the will of God is revealed in the Word of God. The only way to stay totally free of deception is to make the Word of God final authority in our lives. A lot of people have reduced faith down to just providing a way to obtain things from God. Yes, that is a part of it, but our faith in God is shown by our obedience to the Word of God. The Bible tells us obedience is better than sacrifice, so we really can’t say we are a man or woman of faith when we choose to disobey the Word of God. James 1:22 says, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Ultimately, we are deceiving ourselves when we hear the Word but fail to do what it says. The truth is, God is not really God in a lot of people’s lives. So when the Word of God doesn’t line up with their personal opinions, they reject the truth and esteem their opinions above God’s Word. When people do that, they are walking in self-deception; they are walking in and believing in a lie.  

Isaiah 5:20 says, Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Even though this was written thousands of years ago, it speaks to where we are now in our society. People are calling good (according to God) evil and evil (according to God) good. If God says something is wrong, it is wrong, no matter what society says. Society lowering its standard does not alter the Truth of the Word of God. 

This is the season for the true disciples of Jesus Christ to rise up. I believe there is a remnant that God has set apart from the influences of the world; a remnant who are called to stand up in this hour, and proclaim and declare the Truth of the Word of God. We are accountable for what we say, and people will be accountable for the truth that they hear. I leave you with this, lovers of Truth:  

If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:31-32 

Continue in Truth, and you will continue in true freedom.

October 18, 2020