In a 2004 golf tournament, Chelsee Richard, lost her chance to win the 2004 state championship—by being honest. In the qualifier, Chelsee hit her tee shot on the second hole into the rough. Without knowing it, she played another golfer's ball from there on out. On the third hole, she realized what she had done. The rule is that a golfer must declare the wrong ball penalty before putting on the hole where the infraction occurred or be disqualified.
Drawing strength from her Godly faith, Chelsee reported her error, a painful ending to her senior season and her dream of going to state. She later said: "With my faith and with God, being honest was the most important thing to me, and that's what is going to advance on throughout my life, being honest and making the right choices." This truly is a testimonial story of integrity isn’t it? When we truly think about it this morning, how versed are we in telling the God’s honest truth? Speaking for myself, I remember telling lies just to try and get myself out of trouble or even if by telling the truth it would have embarrassed me, so I told a lie. Whatever the reason is, even little white ones, God does not favor a lie no more than he favors an adulterer, murderer or thief. Scripture tells us no sin is above another. In terms of lying, I am drawn to a man in scripture that I believe everyone has heard of and whom committed great sins with a capital S, and that was King David.
From the book of 2 Samuel, we find a tremendously important event where King David did not confess his sinful life to God by straightly living a lie. He tried to hide his lie! In the end, sin cost David a tremendous amount of pain. In the end, four of Davids sons all died as a result of David’s unconfessed sins. But it’s not David’s sin that is truly amazing, its what it took to get David to confess of his sin in the first place. God told His prophet Nathan to tell David a story. Nathan describes to David about a rich man that was so proud of his own possession and so neglectful that he stole a ewe lamb from a poor man which was the poor man’s prize possession, in order to feed a visitor that came to visit him, the rich man. Verse 5, Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this certainly deserves to die! So he must make restitution for the lamb four times over, since he did this thing and had no compassion.” David knew the rich man wasn’t right in his doings and according to what David said, the rich man deserved to die! Then Nathan then said to David, “you yourself are the man!” Wow! David is now beside himself! Jaw probably wide open, eyes just a glaring at Nathan; just in total awe! Then David said in verse 13, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall die.” It took Nathan to show David what he had done wrong! David’s eyes were darkened to God! David chose not obey God, but only living a lie!
Ultimately, God forgave David, and even while scripture tells us that David was a man after Gods own heart, it was because that David genuinely repented and turned from his ways—yet you must remember that David still had to pay the price for his sins, as we all do.
No doubt friends, you do not have to go far to hear or witness a lie. Turn on your television, listen to the radio and even listen to local gossip and believe you me, a lie surfaces; but friends the point I want to make this morning is even though we commonly tell a fib, we are doomed for eternity if we do not confess it to God! Make it right! Sin cannot be ignored no more if we don’t pay our bills, we will have to pay the price!
And get this! Telling the truth makes life simpler and more comfortable. If you don't, you have to struggle to keep your stories straight, trying to remember what-all you said to which person. Lying only creates a maze to where you go in blind folded!
It was reported in a magazine called The Briefing where a 94 year old man lived silently in Oak Ridge, Tennessee whom no one could have imagined that he was indeed a nazi war criminal that he had hoped was out of sight and out of mind! After the 94 year olds arrest, he stated that he knew his ss identity cards sank on a ship in the Atlantic where he confidently thought they would remain. But what he didn’t realize was in 1950, that ship was found and cargo recovered including his ss identity cards that was found amongst many papers. Thanks to modern technology, justice was served. Devorah Fish the directory of Tennessee Holocaust Commission said “Every time that somebody is brought to justice, even from 50 years ago or longer, that is a message to the world because we're not going to stop until everybody is brought to justice. Even if it’s something you did years ago, it will catch up to you.” The neighbors of this man did not see a Nazi war criminal. They just saw an elderly man living in the United States who had come from Germany. But what we cannot see, God sees. On that, we can absolutely depend. In other words, our sins will find us out!
Jesus tells us in Gospel of John “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me.”
Who do you believe today? The father of all lies or our Heavenly father who is all truth. Think about it. If God was not of truth then Christ would never had to die for our sins! God could just overlook it as if it never happened! But in order for the God of truth to be truthful, sin had to be dealt with and not ignored. God’s love is so pure that truth bleeds from it—lies, deceit and sin has not place in the life of a believer, yet we are born in sin and from this we need a savior and that is exactly what Christ done for each of us on the cross. Jesus said himself in Gospel of John “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
In closing, I would like to leave you with some reflections upon yourself and as a church. When you try to fool God, you are only fooling yourself. God already knows the truth! Our ways to live a life of truth can only be accomplished by putting our full faith into Jesus Christ our Lord whom paid the ultimate sin debt in full. Jesus himself was being deceived as scripture tells us with lies of satan, yet what did Jesus do? He quoted scripture to defeat those lies. Gods Holy words friends is what the truth looks like! Gods word is a living and breathing document.
So firstly I would like for you to reflect upon if God can forgive David whom was full of lies and sin, what kind of heart is God looking for? Well first and foremost its not about us, its all about God! Matthew tells us “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What we hold dear, like David did, is where we will be lead. Secondly, God is seeking those who humbly wait and serve Him in truth. Matthew 22 tells us one of the greatest commandments is to “Love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” There is very little room for misinterpretation there!
Thirdly God is seeking a heart that seeks advice from Him. Whether it be other Godly counselors or directly from Himself, it all comes from God. Proverbs tells us “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a person who listens to advice is wise.” “Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.” “One whose ear listens to a life-giving rebuke Will stay among the wise.” “Listen to advice and accept discipline, So that you may be wise the rest of your days.”
Finally I would like to ensure you understand this statement. When we live a lie, God can and will allow us to stay in that lie and ultimately reject us. Paul’s epistle to the Romans tells us this, For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Living a lie.
Here are some of satans biggest lies. “God withholds good things from us”, “Trust in diety of ourselves”, “Gods people will never suffer”, “Money and wealth brings happiness”, “ Forgiveness is impossible.”
Ultimately friends, Gods truth is the salvation of us all by way of His only son, Jesus the Risen Christ. And regardless of your viewpoint of how you look at truth and lies, here is the catch to it all! There is only one truth but there are many lies. One poet writer Lucille Clifton wrote this “You might as well answer the door my child, the truth is furiously knocking.” Truth can never ever be ignored. Amen.