The TRUTH

God sent an awesome message to 2Springs today. It's hard to top what was said. That being said I am going to put the notes I took in red and put my thoughts on it in black.

The message was the final sermon in the Encounter Series; titled 'The man in search of truth' John 18:28-38. Everyone in life is looking for something. Have you ever felt like there is something missing in your life but you haven't been able to find it? Maybe you are looking for something to believe, some truth and standard to life.  Our culture is so focus on telling us we have the right to be happy and we are entitled to 'stuff.' Whether that 'stuff' is the newest technology, newest in-fashion clothes, or the right to received love without having to return it. Yet this is not biblical. God does not say we deserve these things that we desire.

 We also seem to think these things will fill a void or an emptiness in our life. In fact, they won't, at least not forever. Take for example the last newest technology you bought. How long did that happiness last?  Are you still overjoyed and excited when you use it or see it. I know I am not. Jesus provides us lasting fulfillment, which warms my heart daily and anytime I need a uplifting.  This is the TRUTH. Jesus is this TRUTH.

 First let's look at how the TRUTH fits in our post-modern culture.


1.What is the stature of TRUTH? Where does it stand in our culture?

• It is relative. Truth is what you make it, whatever you want to believe and as long as you truly believe it then others cannot hold you at fault for you acting on it. For example, Hitler cannot be criticized for his actions because he truly believed that what he was doing was right. How twisted is that? Even though this is an extreme example it's how we operate in relation to religion. You can believe that the cat is holy and that is fine. What?!!?! 
• It is being weakened. This because of the 'keep everybody happy' theory that we have in our culture. When was the last time you went to a restaurant, had a complaint and the person just said 'Oh well'....umm never. Some place apologize profusely and/or replace your food.  Our society tells us that we should never be offended (or at least the majority). People are also so use to being catered to. We do not want to be hurt or told what we are doing wrong. People will quit going to church if the preacher or Sunday school teacher tells them (through the TRUTH of course) that what they are doing is wrong, they are very likely going to quit going to that church. How childish! Church is not for entertainment (even though my preacher is pretty entertaining!!). We are suppose to be instructed and taught (and build upon what we are studying at home) so that we can imitate Christ and spread the Good News!! The Truth is what it is, neglecting to hear it  won't change the fact that it is the Truth.
• It's optional. We want to pick and choose what we want to believe. God offers salvation and grace and mercy, but he who never punish me! Ummm yes he would. That's the amazing thing about God's love. He disciples us when we need it, and for our own good!! This stems from the fact that we do not like for someone else to call the shots in "our" lives. The fact of the matter is, it is not our life. God is the one that gives us life therefore He is the ONLY one that has the authority to take is way from us or direct our life. We are blessed because he did give us freewill but for those that say they are in Christ, we should be surrendering to God our live.  This is by far the hardest thing to do. I struggle every minute with this. I have matured a lot in my life, but this is by far the one thing I really struggle with.  I don't like the feeling of not know what is next.  Blessed are we that God sees our true hearts, and knows what we struggle with and what we would like to be.

Now that we see our culture's stance on TRUTH what is it really like?

2. What is the nature of TRUTH?

• It has a leader /a source. Jesus. God. Lord. Heavenly Father. Call Him what you want, He is where the Truth begins. There is no other source. All Scripture is God breathed. From Him and Him alone.(Timothy 3:16) Enough said on that!!
• It has a standard. This standard is unchanging regardless of the changes that go on around us. No matter how much technology advances or the standard of living changes, the standard is still the same. How awesome is it that we don't have to keep up with amendments or alterations to the Truth God gives us. One can believe what they want, say what they want, or be part of the majority, but that does not change the Truth.  Just think of how hard it is to keep up with the law changing in our government. "This bill is going through Congress. Oh, and this one was rejected. Or was it the other way?"
• It is unending. The Truth does not stop. There is no point to where it does not apply anymore. There is great comfort knowing there is no end to Truth. There is not going to come a time where it won't be applicable in my life.

3. What is the sufficiency of TRUTH?

• The Truth is sufficient for us and our lives. Jesus is the final authoritative complete revelation of God to His Truth. Does this matter? Of course it does! Our emotions are flaky. Something may feel right but that doesn't mean it is. If our feelings go against what the Scripture says, it's an automatic red flag. You can pray all you want about something but if the result of that prayer, you feel "God" telling you to do something that is against Scripture, it is not really God. It is your feelings, or maybe even Satan. Our opinions and our ideas are not sufficient either.

Later :)