Truth Topic Week9

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Truth Topics • Truth in the Bible • "Jesus and Truth" Calvary Chapel Ontario Tonight, we are… We've been talking about truth this whole series this summer. We've been calling this Truth Topics and I wanted to show you what we're going to be looking at here tonight. We're going to be touching on, TONIGHT… • The importance of TRUTH • The TRUTH about Salvation • Jesus’ Statements of TRUTH • The TRUTH and Jesus Christ • TRUTH in Worship • The Power of TRUTH • The Holy Spirit of TRUTH The importance of TRUTH. We're going to talk about the TRUTH regarding our Salvation. We're going to talk about some Statements that Jesus made of TRUTH where He specifically spoke. We're going to talk about the TRUTH as it relates specifically to Jesus, the person of Jesus Christ. We're going to talk about TRUTH in Worship. We're going to talk about the Power of TRUTH to change our lives. And we're going to talk about the work of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring TRUTH into our lives. The very first session that we ever did in our Truth Topic series had to do with the reliability of the Bible. And the reason, again, that we started off talking about the reliability of the Scriptures is because once that matter is settled, and you believe that book that is in front of you is in fact God’s Word, then everything changes. Now you begin to look to that and determine from that book what is real, what is true, and what is not true. And it is based and predicated upon the Scriptures

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 because we are living in a time when truth has become a commodity. It's a rarity. And it's been that way in the culture of God's people over the years. During the time of Isaiah, I want to show you a passage from Isaiah where he actually wrote about truth. And he said, Isaiah 59:14 (NIV) …justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. …justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. That verse, in fact, is the premise upon which we really wanted to do this series this summer, because we believe that what Isaiah was saying through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so many years ago is very much true today. And that is the truth has stumbled in the streets. Just listen to people talk. Listen around the lunch table or the break room at work or just listen to what people are saying, and you realize that opinions abound. And there are so many sorts of opposing views and truth has truly stumbled in the streets in our culture. There's another interesting passage I wanted to show you here from John chapter 18. This is an interesting conversation between Pilate and Jesus. And Pilate speaking to Jesus says, John 18:37-38a (ESV) Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” (and of course that's, that was his big concern, because, really the only way to prosecute Jesus is if He was guilty of treason) Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. (and He went on to day that) Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 And if you keep reading that passage in John 18, you find out that immediately after Pilate asked Jesus that question, he turned and left. He walked back to the religious leaders to go and tell them that he didn't feel that their charges against him were warranted. But how interesting. I mean, think about it for just a moment. Jesus is talking to Pilate about the topic that we're dealing with here tonight, and frankly through this whole series, and the topic is Truth. And Jesus makes some statements there. He says, in fact, I was born for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth and those who are of the truth hear My voice. And Pilate asked him the question, “What is truth?” Now Jesus could have answered him, as we're going to see this Scripture a little bit later. Jesus could have answered him and said, I am truth. You see, that's one of the interesting sort of dynamics about our discussion regarding truth. We tend to get all focused and fixated on the truth, and we talk about the truth, and we want to distill it down. We want to make it understandable and we want to be able to put it on a piece of paper and say, there, that's the truth. And then Jesus throws cold water in our face and reminds us that the truth is not a statement necessarily. It's a person. I am the truth. Jesus said, I am the truth. You can't have the truth without Jesus. He is the source, the wellspring of all truth. And it's interesting, every once in a while Jesus does that. He reminds us that He is the embodiment of those things. You'll remember when Lazarus had died, and Jesus went to the tomb, and He's talking with Martha. And He begins to talk about the fact that her brother will rise again. And, of course, Martha's thinking in terms of events and things to come. And she says, oh yeah, I know, I know that he will be raised in the resurrection. I know that. And Jesus had to look at Martha and say, Martha, I am the resurrection. Understand that you're not talking about a specific theological event or something on the calendar. Or some element of truth that's out there, but we really can't relate to it. I am that thing. And there's a special, there's a special thing that we need to grasp related to the person of Jesus Christ, particularly when we are talking about truth.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Now, I want you to notice here in this scripture that I've, we've still got on the screen from John chapter 18, that Jesus said to Pilate. That His ministry, His purpose was “to bear witness to the truth.” John 18:37-38a (ESV) Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” I happen to believe that's our ministry too. We do that by bearing witness to the person of Jesus Christ and the things that He said. And the truths that He laid out for us. But I want you to also notice that although we have, I believe it is our ministry to carry on that job of bearing witness to the truth, that we're going to be met with the same response that, Pilate's response to Jesus is just typical of the world, is to just… You can be staring truth in the face, and Pilate was, he was... Get this you guys, he was having a conversation with truth, and he said, “What is truth?” And it's no different when we are bearing witness to the truth in the world in which we live. We're sharing the truth. We're speaking about the things that are true. And the world hears it as we declare these things, and they come back and they just question and go, yeah, but what is truth? Yeah, but that's your twist on truth. And what's true for me may not be true for you. And there's other stuff that. But it remains, regardless of the response of the world, it remains our ministry, our purpose, to bear witness to the truth. Guys, do you understand that we are purveyors of truth? That's what we're here to do. The world is full of lies because as you know, the world is under the control of the evil one right now. He's called “the prince of the power of the air.” (Ephesians 2:2) Jesus referred to him as “the prince of this world.” (John 14:30) It's a temporary rulership, but it is his right now, nonetheless. And because he is the liar and the father of lies, the world in which we live, we shouldn't be surprised that it is just inundated with deception and lies. And you and I have been given the truth. We know the truth. In fact, we know He who is the embodiment of truth. And we have given that, have been given that job as the church to bear witness to the truth. To share that with a lost and dying world.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 So how are we going to reply? How are we going to respond? Peter tells us in 1 Peter, chapter 3, that we have a job to be prepared. He says, 1 Peter 3:15b (NIV) Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… Always be prepared (notice) to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (that is bearing witness to the truth that we’ve been given and he says, Always be prepared) But do this (he told us to also do it) with gentleness and respect… But be prepared. That means, be prepared. That what we're doing tonight is critical to help that preparation process and each and every Christian needs to be preparing themselves to be able to answer that question. What would I say if I'm on an airplane, and I'm sitting next to somebody, and they happen to we fall into conversation, and they find out I'm a believer. And that person just asked me, so I'm okay, I just don't get this Christian thing, the Bible and all that stuff, what can you tell me? I mean, why is it that you have staked so much of your future and your hope on the Bible and on this person of Jesus? What is it about Him? What is it about the Bible? What is it about Christianity that, that draws you, that compels you? What would you say? Would you stumble over your words? Peter says, be prepared. Be prepared to give an answer. Be prepared to have an answer. And don't just sit there… And whatever you, don't call me to go and talk to that person. I got to tell you something, nothing discourages me more as a pastor and teacher, when people call me to go witness to somebody that they fell into conversation with. Because it's like, guys, that's your job. Do do you understand that my job is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry? That's not to say that I don't share my faith and I can't share my faith, I can and I do. If I'm on an airplane, I'm not going to wait for you either. The point is, you need to be prepared. I've been sharing and teaching God's Word here for 25 years to help prepare you to be able to share your faith. To tell somebody, this is why I have hope. This is why I have hope in Jesus. What do you believe about the Bible? We spent a whole evening with, How we know the Bible is Reliable. If you need to get freshen up on that, it's on our website. But whatever, be prepared. Be prepared.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Alright, as we're talking about this subject of truth, there's some things that I want to throw out to you first of all. And these are a couple of scriptures from the Old Testament. First from Proverbs chapter 14. I love this. It says, Proverbs 14:12 (ESV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Now that's an important Proverb because it hits relativism right square between the eyes. Because relativistic thinking today says, if it's true for me, it's true. Whatever's true for you is true. It basically says there is no objective truth. They say truth is subjective. It's subjective to a person's experiences, to their circumstances, to their beliefs. And they'll say, it's okay if you don't believe what I believe, for me, it's true. And what you believe is true for you. Well, the Bible clearly says that there is a way that seems absolutely correct to somebody but it still leads to death. And that tells you that somebody can believe something with all their heart, and they can believe that it is absolutely true, and still be lost. That's part of the reason that why we are focusing tonight and frankly this summer in this series on truth because truth is critical in our lives. If we lay hold of something that is a lie and yet we embrace it and believe it and I'm not just talking about religious type beliefs. Talking about any anything related to life, or relationships, or child raising, marriage, home and family. The world is speaking things constantly into our hearts and minds and when we embrace that which is not true, there's grave consequences many times that go along with that. And I love this other passage from the Proverbs, chapter 23 says, Proverbs 23:23 (ESV) Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Buy truth, and do not sell it; (I like that) buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Now, you obviously can't buy truth and neither can you sell it. That's a poetic way of the Bible saying to you and I, whatever it takes, open up your heart and lay claim to the truth, and once you get it, don't let it go. That's what that verse

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 is saying. “Buy truth, and do not sell it.” Hang on to it, get a hold of it, and don't… You might say, well, how in the world could you get rid of it? Hey, listen, it happens. People will open their heart to the truth of God’s Word, and then they can get waylaid, they can get… Something else comes along, some other sort of a philosophy of man comes along, and sweeps them away into deception. We're told in the Scripture not to be carried away by those kinds of things. Let's start now going through some Scriptures in the new Testament. And the first thing we're going to look at here tonight, as far as these categories is, the truth Concerning Salvation. Let's go to that one, Sue, if we can. Concerning salvation, and we're going to look, first of all, at Matthew, chapter 18, where Jesus said, Concerning Salvation… Matthew 18:3 (ESV) “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now, you'll notice that Jesus starts off this statement by saying, “Truly, I say to you.” Of course, in the King James, this would have been, “Verily, I say,” or whatever. The point is, it was a point of emphasis. It was meant to be that exclamation point at the beginning of the sentence that tells you, this is important. This is a truth statement. This is something that is vital to understand. And Jesus says, “unless you turn and become like children.” Now what is the truth of that statement? The truth of that statement is the opposite of what the world is trying to teach you and I about how we should live in this world. The world teaches us to be prideful, teaches us to be independent, teaches us to question everything, and just be… It glorifies rebellion and of course it glorifies human wisdom. Intellect, human intellect. And says, and sometimes you'll even hear Christians say, hey, God gave you a brain and He intended you to use it. I've heard that so many times and it's, that's one of those duh statements. It's like, well, of course He gave you a brain. And of course He intended you to use

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 it. But He didn't intend you to use your prideful intelligence to contradict the revelation of His truth. That's where we get into trouble. And so Jesus said, truly I say to you, unless you become like little children, you won't even enter the kingdom of heaven. Anybody who's raised kids knows what this verse is saying. Because the beauty of children is their innocence, their trust, and their open heartedness. No guile, just a desire to know and learn. And it really is that contradiction, if you will, to the spirit of this world that is constantly vaunting itself in the face of God’s Word. And suggesting that, you Christians are idiots if you believe this stuff and I know better. I know better. One of the things that is true about God's Word is that it sits in judgment over our lives. When we read the Bible, we allow it to judge our lives. We allow it to judge how we're living, how I'm treating my wife, how I'm raising my children, how I'm spending my, free time, or you know whatever. The Word of God is meant to do that. Well when we begin to when we begin to exalt our own intelligence, we begin… Have you ever noticed the people then begin to sit in judgment on God's Word? I was actually raised in a home where I was taught that the Bible includes got some of what is God's Word but it also includes a great deal of stuff that is not God's Word. And I was not taught the idea of the inspiration of the Scripture. And I was taught, as a very young child, that it was up to me to decide what was God's Word and what wasn't. Okay? And that's, I remember being told that. Well, stop and think about that for a moment. That puts my intellect above God’s Word. Here's God’s Word. Here's my intellect. Now I sit in judgment on God’s Word. I decide. I decide what I believe. I decide what I don't believe. You guys probably know that Thomas Jefferson was that kind of a man. One night he stayed up all night long and went through his Bible and literally took a scissors to those areas that he didn't believe. He cut it up. He had a cut and paste Bible when he finished, and it's just the reality of the kind of a man he was. He determined that he knew best. And when it came to things about miracles and other things, he just cut them out. He just said, I don't believe it. So he was sitting in judgment over the Word of God. Jesus said, unless you become like a child, you won't even enter the kingdom of heaven. Look at the next thing Jesus said from John 3:3.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Concerning Salvation… John 3:3 (ESV) Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus answered him, (and we know who He's talking to, He's talking to Nicodemus) “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Once again, we have a statement that begins with Jesus saying this is true. This is true. Now, again, I want to just emphasize that Jesus knows and understands that we live in a kingdom. As Christians, you guys understand, don't you, that we're living in a kingdom within a kingdom. We are living in the kingdom of God which is in the kingdom of the enemy, okay? We are living within His kingdom, but we dwell, also in the kingdom of the enemy, the kingdom of Satan. Jesus knows that and Jesus knows that there's a constant battle in our lives as it relates to determining truth. And He emphasizes to say, this is true, you guys, this is true. What I'm about to say. Here it is. Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Now that's a truth statement. This is from Jesus. And it's something that, this is the truth you and I have. This is the key to salvation itself and you and I have it. The world doesn't have it. Or if they hear it, they mock it. But we have it and we are called, our purpose is to bear witness to it. Do you know what it means to bear witness? It means to talk about personally, what it has done for you. To get up as a witness, as if you were hopping into the witness stand and saying here's what I've experienced. Here's what I've seen, here's what I know. It's up to the other people to determine whether your witness is valid. But you and I are called to bear witness. Let's go to the next one. John chapter 6, verse 47. Concerning Salvation… John 6:47 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Again, that emphasis at the beginning. This is true. This is true. These are statements that that are punctuated with that statement or that word of truth so that you and I might really pay attention. And what does it say? It says that, “whoever believes has eternal life.” Matthew 19 verse 23. Jesus said to His disciples, Concerning Salvation… Matthew 19:23 (ESV) And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” That's probably not a verse you put on your refrigerator, but it's true. It's true. Now, we hear things like this, but have you ever noticed how little of it touches our lives? Jesus tells us that it's a challenge for wealthy people to come to Christ. He's saying that wealth becomes a barrier, becomes a hurdle that they have to get over. Now He didn't say it's impossible. Notice that. Jesus did not say it is impossible for the rich to enter. He didn't say that. He said it's hard, “with difficulty.” Now, how should that truth affect your life? How should it affect your desires? It depends I guess whether or not we think it's true, whether we're convinced that's really true. John 6:53. Concerning Salvation… John 6:53 (ESV) So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, (again, punctuated at the beginning) unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 This is a challenging verse. In fact, we read in John chapter 6 that after Jesus said this, a lot of people left. People that had been following Him heard Him say this and they left. And Jesus turned to His disciples and he said, are you guys going to leave too? And that's when Peter said, where do we go? Only You have the words of life. (John 6:66-68) Peter knew and understood. You are speaking truth and we get it. We hear the words of truth coming from You. So no, just because You say something hard, we're not going to turn away. This was a difficult statement, wasn't it? Jesus went on to explain in that chapter that He wasn't speaking literally, He was speaking figuratively from a spiritual standpoint. In fact, Jesus went on to say the flesh counts for nothing, the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:64-65) So what is the spirit of this verse? We must consume the person of Jesus Christ. We do it every time when we take communion. We understand that what we're doing is symbolic, but we are taking Him in. There is a consuming, there is a receiving, if you will. These are statements of truth. Again, Jesus begins, “Truly, truly,” and is meaning to emphasize to you and I, the fact that this is true. Now, we're going to go on now and look at the next section or category of statements and the next section is Jesus' Statements of Truth. These are things that He is speaking, not specifically about salvation, but just, about various things. First one is about Him. John 8:58. I love this verse. Jesus’ Statements of Truth John 8:58 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” And I've always loved that verse because you remember that when Moses was met by the Lord with the burning bush on Mount Sinai, he asked the Lord after receiving his commission to go to Egypt and set the people free. He said, well, what if they ask you who sent me? What am I supposed to say? And the Lord responded by saying, “I AM.” Tell them, “I AM…sent…you.” “I AM (that) I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) Which is the eternal statement of God's eternal nature. I didn't begin. I have no ending. I simply AM. I exist.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Now, to the Jews, that was the statement of God. That was something that only God can ever, could ever say. They begin to talk to Jesus about Abraham and they begin to speak of him. And He starts talking about Abraham like He knew Abraham and that Abraham knew Him. And it freaked them out a little bit. And they said, you're not even 50 years old and you've like seen Abraham. And they're like, this guy is nutzoid. And Jesus comes back and He says, listen, I'm telling you the truth. Before Abraham was even born, I am. And with that, Jesus invoked the divine name and declared very clearly in their hearing that He is God in human flesh. That's why when you go on and read this particular passage you find that they picked up stones to kill Him because they believed that He had spoken blasphemy. But this is one of the statements that Jesus is punctuating by saying, this is true, this is true. Before Abraham was even born, I am. It's not that I began before him. I am always just as God. John chapter 14 verse 12. Jesus’ Statements of Truth John 14:12 (ESV) “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” This is one of those interesting truth statements that Jesus made that we often don't believe. We hear it, we see it, and we're yeah, that's good, thanks for sharing that. But we really don't believe that we're probably going to be involved in something that may in fact be greater in the sense of the things that Jesus did. But Jesus punctuated this again with that double truth statement at the beginning to say, guys, this is true. This is true. And I don't care what your own heart is telling you. I don't care what the world is telling you. This is true.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 John 8:34. Jesus’ Statements of Truth John 8:34 (ESV) Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Wow, there's another truth statement that Jesus punctuates in order to get our attention and to say, listen, don't be a slave. Don't be a slave. Now you might say, well wait a minute, I'm a Christian. I came to Christ and I was set free from my slavery. Yes, you were set free from your slavery in the sense that sin no longer has dominion over you, but that doesn't mean you can't walk back to the slave quarters and live like a slave. That's why Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, and he said, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, therefore do not go back and live a life of slavery. (Galatians 5:1) Because even as Christians, we can choose to go back and live in sin. Sin doesn't control my life anymore, and it doesn't control yours either if you're a believer. Guess what that means when we sin? It means we wanted to. It means we chose to. I didn't have to. Neither do you. When you yelled at that person and said some things that came out of your mouth that weren't godly, you didn't have to do that. You chose to do it because your anger rose to a certain level, and your lack of self-control, perhaps, connected with that. Some things came out of your mouth, and pretty soon, you're like, wow, what a witness I just showed. Well, hey, it was your choice. You're not under the dominion of the sinful nature anymore. You're not under the dominion of the devil any longer. You are under the dominion of the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, and He will not force Himself upon us. Jesus is telling us, listen, this is a true statement. You give your life to sin, even as a believer, you can walk back into slavery. It's an important warning. Matthew chapter 5, verse 18. Jesus’ Statements of Truth John 5:18 (ESV) “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” That's a true statement, okay? All right, let's go to the next category, and that is the Truth and Jesus. In other words, the truth or statements related to truth that speak specifically about Christ. John 1:14. The Truth and Jesus Christ John 1:14 (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, (look at this) full of grace and truth. Notice the next one. John 1:17. The Truth and Jesus Christ John 1:17 (ESV) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth (there it is again) came through Jesus Christ. And then a verse that I alluded to at the beginning. John 14:6. The Truth and Jesus Christ John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And not only do we have a statement here from Jesus saying that He is “the truth,” we also have a statement that is true when He says, “I am the way.”

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 And you'll notice again that Jesus does not say, I am a way, He says, “I am the way,” and that is the truth. Now, that's not a popular truth in the culture that you and I live here in America. We live in a very pluralistic society that wants to remain pluralistic from the standpoint that we believe there are many ways to God and basically all religions have a piece of the truth. And no one religion, they'll say, can declare that it is absolutely the truth. Well you know what? I agree with that. But there is a Person who can make that declaration. Because religion never answered anybody's questions, anyway. But Jesus Christ, the Person, answers every question, because He is the embodiment of truth, He is the living truth, and as the truth, He is the only way that we can know God, and be embraced by God, and accepted by God. The truth in Jesus Christ. Then we make our way through the Word, we find a passage related to truth in worship. And we find John chapter 4, when Jesus is talking to the woman, the Samaritan woman, by the well, saying to her, Concerning Truth in Worship John 4:23-24 (ESV) “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers (notice that) will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (He says) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Now, there's a couple of references there in those two verses where first of all, Jesus says the time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father this way and they are the ones who He is looking for. True worshipers. True worshipers. You say, well, what exactly does that mean? Well, you see in Israel's history, worship became like it has become even in the history of Christendom, it became very perfunctory. And they were just going through the motions. And

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 they would bring their animals to the temple, and they would sacrifice the animals, and they would bring their food offerings, and their grain offerings, and they were just going through the motions. And God was speaking to them through the prophets, and saying, now, stop doing this because it's meaningless. You're not coming with a heart that really longs to worship, and you've lost the whole point of why you're even coming. You've lost the whole concept of the sacrificial offering, that there is a substitute that is standing in for you. Have you stopped to think lately, He's saying to the Jews, that it's an animal that sheds its blood and not you? Have you ever stopped to consider that reality? Well, they hadn't. Well, some did, of course, during the course of time, but it just became, it became very religious. It became very ceremonial and, it lacked truth. There was no element of the genuine and the true. And, here's this woman, the Samaritan woman who wants Jesus to help settle an argument between the Samaritans and the Jewish people about where they're supposed to worship. And so she says, well you Jews say that we have to worship in Jerusalem at the temple. We Samaritans say on this mountain is where we worshiping. And that's when Jesus responded and said listen, listen, listen, there's a time coming when all of the, in fact it's here now. When all that is a non-issue. Where you worship, the specifics of this ceremony, and that ceremony, and all those things. Everything that the Jews have considered important, everything that the Samaritans have considered important, all those things are going away because God is changing things up. And now He's seeking a people who will worship Him, first of all, in spirit, and that means spiritual sacrifices. Paul talks about this. We offer ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice. We don't offer animals, we offer ourselves. But sacrifice is it? It's a living sacrifice, right? He says in Romans, so therefore he says, in view of God's mercy, offer yourselves as living sacrifices. That's your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1) Okay. That's the part of what it means to worship in spirit and in truth is to know the truth and to understand the truth in your worship. And to apply that truth in your worship. And those are the worshipers that God is looking for. Boy, I tell you, the world, we can get so weird about stuff, we can get… Worship has to have music, worship has to have candles, worship has to have

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 people bowing down, worship has to have people dancing, worship has to have the shofar being blown. A number of years ago I had a guy call me up and say, do you guys blow the shofar? I was like, no, we don't blow the shofar. And I was like... (Guy tells pastor Paul) Okay, well, I'll go to church where they blow the shofar. All right, cool. God's looking for you and I to worship in spirit and truth. It means we offer ourselves in truth, genuineness. Next is concerning the power of truth. Have you thought much about this? Look at John 17: 17. Jesus is praying here. He prays to the Father and says, Concerning the Power of Truth John 17:17 (ESV) “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” “Sanctify them in the truth; (and then He tells them what the truth is, He says,) your word is truth.” What does the word sanctify mean? It means to be set apart. To be set apart. You guys know what it means to set things apart. Some of you in your homes have dishes and silverware that you don't use every day. You might pull it out for a special occasion. This is probably done less and less today. Back in, like, when I was growing up, my mother's day, they had their fine china, and, I don't know, some people might still do it today. But, by and large, we're pretty utilitarian, I think, as a society but, you can get the idea that there's these things that we only use for special occasion. When I was a little kid, we had special clothes we wore only to church. They were set apart for going to church. And I had to, ugh, I hated those, it was like a straight jacket. People aren't, don't really walk under that thing today much. People come to church any way they want and that's fine, there's nothing in the Bible that says dress up when you fellowship with believers. The point is, we understand the concept of what it means to set something apart for special use. Well, that's what the word sanctify means. And you have been set apart for special use. Guess whose? God's you're set apart for His use, not yours, not the world's, certainly not Satan's. God’s. You are sanctified, set apart, that you might be used by Him, exclusively by Him.

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 Guess what has the power to set you apart? His truth. Guess what His truth is? His Word. The truth of God has the power. One of the reasons because of that is because God's Word is living and active. It's not just like reading something in Reader's Digest, or in the newspaper, or on your computer screen. You read it and you go, huh, that's interesting. The Word of God actually has a resident power, and one of its powerful elements is to actually set you apart, to be God's and God's alone. Here's another power of the truth. Jesus said, Concerning the Power of Truth John 8:32 (ESV) “… you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “… you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” God's truth has the power to set us free from the bondage of deception. And by the way, that's what bondage, that's what lies and deception, that's what they do. They bind us. They enslave us. Satan wants to communicate his lies because when he does, he can put you in chains. So what are you going to do? The Word of God. The Word of God can set people free. And it does. It has that power. Finally, Concerning the Holy Spirit, I love this because this first verse that we look at here, notice what the Spirit of God is referred to as. He's called the Spirit of truth and I love that. It says, Concerning the Holy Spirit John 14:17 (ESV) “…the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” “…the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. (but Jesus said you) You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” And of course that's a statement, prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell. We live in the time when as a believer, He is now just in us because we've come to Christ. But prior to coming to Christ, the Holy Spirit was

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 probably with you in the sense that you were questioning things, reading through the Bible, checking stuff out, going, yeah, I wonder if this is true. The Holy Spirit was with you during that time. And then you decided to bow the knee to Jesus and He came and lived within you. Well, who is He? The Spirit of truth. He's called by many names, but I love this name. The Spirit of truth. And what is He doing? Well, He's dwelling in us and that has an impact in our lives. Guys, think of it. The Spirit of Truth lives in you. Inside of you. He took up residence inside of you. We can just say the Holy Spirit. No, let's go further. The Spirit of truth. The Spirit of truth is inside of you. Look what else Jesus said, Concerning the Holy Spirit John 15:26 (ESV) “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, (and then He refers to Him by that other name) the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, (what's He going to do) he will bear witness about me.” I believe that this is one of the Holy Spirit's favorite jobs, is to talk to you and I about Jesus. I think He just loves talking about Jesus. And He does it by bearing witness to you and I. We hear things. We learn things and the Spirit bears witness. Again, that term, bears witness means to be, to testify. He testifies in your heart. And you hear things and you go, yeah! Yeah! Yes! That's true! And you know that you know. Biggest challenge, I think, in our Christian lives It's to share with an unbeliever something that they cannot relate to, and that is the witness or the bearing of testimony by the Spirit. And we're not talking about a burning in your bosom, okay? We're talking about Him bearing witness in a very legitimate, specific, spiritually intellectual sense where He literally speaks to the believer and says yes, this is Jesus. This is who He is. This is how you can know Him and so forth. He speaks to us and we just know and we're just like yes. Yes. That's right. It's so cool as a teacher, I love the job of the Holy Spirit bearing witness in people's hearts because do you guys understand that as a teacher, I can't get any traction with unbelievers? Do you guys realize that? You might think, well gee, pastor Paul, you need to go teach unbelievers. Wouldn't do any good! I've

Calvary Chapel Ontario, Oregon • ccontario.com • ©2024 spoken in front of unbelievers before, well I do it every Sunday, there's always some in our midst. But if I were to, go and talk to the atheist society or some other secular group or whatever that, there's no witness of the Spirit that is bearing witness to their hearts. I can see it. I can almost… Sometimes there's a physical reaction people and it's fun to see as a teacher. And I'm sharing something from God’s Word and they're just like wooooaaahhh, I just see that light come on spiritually. They're just like, yes, and I know what's going on. It's the Spirit bearing witness. I understand it. I understand that He's the one who makes the Word alive in their lives. I understand that. I get it. Finally, John 16:13. Jesus says, Concerning the Holy Spirit John 16:13 (ESV) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, (He says) for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Notice two things there that the Spirit of truth does in our lives. He guides us into all truth. Guys, that is a promise. And secondly, He declares to us things that are to come. And when I'm talking about declaring to us, these statements are made essentially to the body of Christ, and this isn't necessarily a promise from God to each individual that He is going to speak to you personally about everything that's to come in your life. That's not necessarily where we can go with this. We really don't have that right. But in a more general sense, the Spirit is here to speak to the body of Christ and to declare to us the things that are to come while He guides us into all truth. That is, it's a beautiful promise. You can see from the Scriptures that we've looked at here tonight that truth is a powerful thing. And that's why you see that verse in Proverbs, listen, get it, get truth and don't let go of it. Well, we know how to get truth because we know who is truth. We know that it's a person. We know that it's Jesus and when He is in our heart, when He is in our lives, His truth is going to permeate our very existence.