In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of bringing joy to God by walking in truth. He highlights the audience of one, God the Father, as the ultimate focus of preaching. The message centers around the question of what one will do with the truth. The preacher references John chapter eight, where Jesus declares himself as the light of the world and urges listeners to come into the light and receive the truth. The sermon also emphasizes the need to seek and meditate on God's Word in order to experience true freedom.

I'd like you to turn to two places this morning. First of all, John chapter 8, and then towards the back of your New Testament in 3rd John. 3rd John, there's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, three different books. And 3rd John is that little book just before Revelation. Actually, just before Jude, and then Revelation. I didn't think the Lord had actually given me a Father's Day message this morning until after the message had taken root in my heart. And this morning, He had shown me that He had given me a Father's Day message. But it has everything to do with honoring our Heavenly Father. Our good, gracious, Heavenly Father. In 3rd John chapter, well, there's only one chapter. It says in the fourth verse, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. That certainly applies to an earthly father. I don't think there could be anything that would give us greater joy. Men, if you're a Christian man, if you're a godly man, there's nothing that would give you greater joy than to hear and know that your children are walking in truth. That they love the Lord Jesus. That they're walking in truth. It would give no mother no greater joy than to hear and know that. But who is speaking through the Apostle John? The Spirit of the living God. Do we believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God? Is God breathed? So can I submit to you, there is another Father who is speaking these words. And it is our Heavenly Father. Almighty God, our Father is saying this. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth. And if you love God, as we heard in the children's message, if you love your Heavenly Father, the last thing you want to do is grieve Him or disappoint Him. The greatest thing you want to do is to bring great joy to Him. And God the Father reminded me this morning that, though I am preaching to a church, what is so much more important to me than even preaching to you, my brothers and sisters, as much as I love you, is knowing that I am preaching before the audience of one. And that He looks down upon all of us. And can we not all agree that our greatest desire would be that He could say of us, I have no greater joy than to hear and know that my children at Cornerstone are walking in truth. Let that sink into your heart as we move into the message. The title of the message this morning is, What Will You Do With The Truth? What Will You Do With The Truth? And now we go to John chapter 8. And we begin in verse 12. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said to Him, You bear witness of yourself. Your witness is not true. Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true. For I know where I came from and where I'm going, but you do not know where I come from and where I'm going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, my judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one who bears witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me. Then they said to Him, Where is your father? Jesus answered, You know neither me nor my father. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple, and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. Then Jesus said to them again, I am going away, and you will seek Me and will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come. So the Jews said, Will He kill Himself? Because He says, Where I go, you cannot come. And He said to them, You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. Then they said to Him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent me is true. And I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him. They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him. As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say you will be made free? Jesus answered them, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My Word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your Father. They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our Father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your Father. Then they said to Him, We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me. For I proceeded forth and came from God, nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My Word. You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources. For he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God's words. Therefore, you do not hear because you are not of God. Heavenly Father, we ask for the power of your Holy Spirit this morning to illuminate the Word of God. To take your Word, Father, and to penetrate each and every one of our hearts. I am standing this morning in need of your mercy. Father, your great, great mercy. Cleanse me afresh, I pray, in the power of the blood of Jesus. Lord Jesus, let your words be proclaimed with grace and power. Speak through me, I pray. Anoint me, Lord. Anoint us all with ears to hear what your Spirit is saying to us. Let it be said of us after this day, Father, that once your words have and your truth has gone from our head to our hearts and we are changed by you this morning. Let it be said of us, O Lord, in truth, that you have no greater joy than to hear and see and know that we, your children, are walking in truth. God, please make us lovers of truth. Please speak to every one of our hearts. Please let not this just be a message where we heard a sermon and that's it. But please let us hear your words of life and be changed and transformed by your grace and power is my prayer in Jesus name. Amen. Verse 31, Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. God's will for you, my brothers and my sisters, is total freedom, 100 percent freedom in Christ Jesus. It is not the will of God that you and I be in bondage to anything, that we be a slave to anything other than a bondservant of Christ. Total freedom. That is the will of God. And you must believe it. You must believe the truth. This is the truth. You see, if it brings God the Father no greater joy than to hear that his children are walking in truth. And here he very clearly tells us what it is that sets us free. What does the truth do? It makes us free. So in essence, we could say it brings God the Father no greater joy than to see his children walking in freedom, freedom from sin, freedom from the bondage and strongholds of Satan. Freedom, absolute freedom. If we could just bring that down to our little level, does it bring any of us dads or moms joy to see our children in bondage? No, it grieves our heart. Do you want to see your child in just a little bit of bondage? No, 100 percent freedom, 100 percent freedom. You want to see your children healthy. You want to see your children whole. You want to see your children godly. You want to see your children with pure hearts and clean hands and clear consciences. And you don't want to see them under this bondage of oppression, of depression. Does it please you to see your children walking around with their heads hanging in shame? Would it please you to see your child in bondage to drugs or alcohol? Does any parent say, oh, I'm so glad my child is in prison? How much more must it bring our Heavenly Father grief to see those that His Son bled and died for, those that He has adopted as His own, living still as if they were slaves, captive to the devil to do His will? It grieves His heart. On the flip side, what greater joy must it bring our Heavenly Father than to see His children walking in total, absolute freedom? One hundred percent freedom. Yet if the truth be known, how many of us are still in some sort of bondage, if we are honest this morning, some sort of bondage, when it's not the will of God for you to be a slave or in bondage to anything? He goes on to say, if the Son, therefore, verse 36, therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. One hundred percent. I want to ask you this morning, are you free from the opinions of others or are you a slave to the fear of man, always seeking and needing the approval of others? Are you free from sin? Are you free from the past guilt of your sin? And I'm talking to you, Christians, those of you who have put faith in Christ. You've been to Calvary. You've been born again. Are you free from past guilt? You should be. Or is there this looming bondage, this past guilt that haunts you constantly? It should not be. God's will for you is one hundred percent freedom from past sin, one hundred percent freedom from the penalty of your sin. That is hell. But one reason for us to sing this morning as Christians is that we have been delivered from the fires of hell. We have been delivered from the wrath of God. That we deserved going to heaven. Have you been free from the penalty of sin? Now, let me ask you, are you free this morning from the power of sin? Are you free from worry? And anxiety, are you free from fear? Are you free from anger? Are you have you been made free from bitterness? Are you free from the love of money? Have you been set free from lust and sexual sin and that bondage? Have you been made free from gluttony, food, maybe some substance, alcohol, pills, drugs? Have you been made free from depression and gloom? Are you free from legalism? Are you free from religious hypocrisy? Are you free from pride? Have you been set free from Satan and his strongholds? Are you one who has constantly been taken captive by him to do his will? Therefore, the scripture says, if the sun shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. That's full freedom, total freedom, not partially. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free freedom in Christ. He tells us very clear what it is that will make us free, and it is the truth. Knowing the truth will make you free. The question is this morning, what will you do with the truth? Because if we are still in bondage, even a little bit of bondage. It is because of what we have or have not done with the truth. And therein lies again the title of the message, what will you do with the truth? This is where it comes back to what will you do with the truth? What is truth? That's what the Pontius Pilate asked when Jesus was brought before him in Pilate's court, John chapter 18, verse 36. Jesus answered Pilate. He said, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore said to him, are you a king? Then Jesus answered. You say rightly that I am a king for this cause. I was born and for this cause I've come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, what is truth? What is truth? Now, was he asking that question because he wanted to know? Or was he asking that question because he was being cynical? He was asking that question in cynicism. And the reason we know that is because after he asked what is truth, it says, and when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him at all. He basically asked what is truth and walks away and doesn't even wait to hear the answer when truth is standing right in his very presence. What is truth? That is the echo of the whole world today, brothers and sisters, that lies in darkness. What is truth? And today we live in a world where everything is relative. It's there is no absolute right and there is no absolute wrong, and therefore there is no absolute truth. And what's true for you can be true for you. And what's true for me can be true for me. And and let's just if you're OK, I'm OK. Let's all get along. But truth is truth, no matter who believes it, truth is truth. We can all be wrong, but we can't all be right. OK, there's a lot of different religions in the world. Which one is true? They can they can all be wrong. They can't all be right. There is one truth, and I'm here to tell you this morning on the authority of God's word, there is absolute truth and there is absolute right and there is absolute wrong. And truth is truth and no one will change it. No one will destroy it. No one will move it. No one will obliterate it. No one. It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. Truth remains true. What is truth? Very clearly, Jesus is truth. The one who is standing in the presence of Pontius Pilate is himself truth. There is no lie, no darkness, nothing hidden in him. Jesus said in John chapter 14, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father except through me. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. There's no deception with God. There's nothing shady about God. There is no lie at all about God. Jesus Christ is the truth. What is truth? God, the father is truth. Deuteronomy chapter chapter 32 says he is the rock. Verse four. I'm sorry. Deuteronomy 32 for he is the rock. His work is perfect for all his ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice, righteous and upright as he he is a God of truth. Romans chapter three, verse four says, Let God be true, but every man a liar. Titus chapter one, verse two tells me that that this God of truth cannot lie. There are some things that God cannot do, and one of them is lie. God cannot lie because he is true. That's his nature. That's his character. Every time he speaks, it is true. Everything he says he will do, he will do. Everything God says about himself is true about himself. Jesus is the truth. God, the father is truth. The Holy Spirit is called what? The spirit of truth. John chapter 16, verse 13. However, when the spirit of truth has come, Jesus said he will guide you into all truth. What is truth? God's word, the Holy Bible is truth. This book doesn't just contain truth. Like I've heard some say this book is the truth. This book is the truth. John chapter 17, verse 17. In Jesus's prayer, praying for us, praying for his disciples. He said, Father, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. And it's true from cover to cover. And I believe it from Genesis to Revelation, like one preacher said, I even believe the maps in the back. It's all true. Every place that the Bible says a city is here, that city was there and some of them are still there. And that city is this far from this city. That's there. Even that is true. No book ever in the history of mankind throughout the ages has been studied more and scrutinized more than this book, the Holy Bible. Not one. And so-called intelligent men, intellectual men that have tried their very best to disprove it for how many thousands of years cannot disprove it, cannot show any error, contradiction, because it is true from cover to cover. All they've had to do is disprove one thing, and that is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Scripture says very clearly, Jesus rose in a body, bodily form. If they could find the body of Jesus, everything would fall apart. They will not find the body of Jesus because it's true. What he has said is true. Every prophecy that he's made, every prophecy throughout the Old Testament that God made concerning the first advent of his son took place exactly as he said it would. Specific prophecies written 500, 700 years before they ever came to pass. Isaiah 714 said that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary. It happened exactly as God said it would. Micah 5, 2 said he'd be born in Bethlehem. If Jesus had been born in Nazareth or any other city, we could say this book is not true. He was born in Bethlehem, though it was written hundreds of years before it took place. And if we had time, we could go down the list, hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus Christ, concerning the death of Jesus Christ, concerning how Jesus Christ would die, that his hands and his feet would be pierced. They will look upon him whom they have pierced, that on the cross he would cry, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of prophecies concerning Christ and the cross and the crucifixion and the way he would die for the sins of the world happened exactly. And I say, brothers and sisters, all those prophecies concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ will take place exactly as God said it would. The trump will sound, the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the Lord to meet them in the clouds and the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. How do I know that is true? Because Scripture says it, the word of God says it and it's true from cover to cover. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. What is truth? God is truth. What is truth? Jesus is truth. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth. The spirit of truth, the word of God, the Holy Bible is true from cover to cover. That's the truth. Now, again, let's get back to the question, what will you do with the truth? Because Jesus says, if you continue in my word, that is the truth, then are you my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Number one, what will you do with the truth? Will you love it or will you hate it? And you will do one or the other because the truth leaves no one on neutral ground. Not to love the truth is to hate it. Will you love the truth or will you hate it? You can love the truth or you can hate the truth, but you can never change it. The Jews that Jesus is confronting here hated the truth. And we know that because of their response to the one who is telling them the truth. Look, if you will, in verse 37, Jesus said, I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me. Now, why do they seek to kill him? He says, because my word has no place in you. He says it again in verse 40. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. What is the connection between their hatred for Jesus, even hated him so much they want to kill him? And the truth is a connection. You seek to kill me. Why? Because I've told you the truth. And one way you know whether you whether or not you love the truth or hate the truth is how you respond to the one who's preaching it to you or who is speaking it to you. And thanks be to God, there have been there have been through the years that I have preached, there have been those who have loved the truth and repented and come to Christ. And there have also been those who have walked out cursing and hating the very ground that I walk on. Thanks be to God, why? I would rather have that than this neutrality. If there's this passive neutrality, it's evidence I'm not preaching the truth. How do you know you love the truth? Someone who delivers it to you, what is your response to them? Do you love them? Are you thankful for them? Children, are you thankful that your mom, your dad, your grandparents tell you the truth? Are raising you up in the truth, are you grateful or do you despise it? If you despise them, it's because you despise truth. Those who hate the truth, hate the one who is proclaiming it to them. John Wesley, I've heard when he would send out his young preachers, I would ask after they preach for a few days. Did anyone repent? And if they said no, he would ask, did anyone get angry? At you, and if they said no, he would say, get out of there, I'm sending in other preachers, because he knew when the truth was proclaimed, one or the other is going to happen. People are going to repent because the truth is a sword, it penetrates and there will be those who love it and there will be those who hate it, but there's no neutral ground. If you don't love the truth, you will open yourself wide to deception. That's not a maybe. So it's not might. It's not probably so. If you do not love the truth, you will be deceived. Where is that in scripture, Brother Brian? Second Thessalonians chapter two. Turn there with me, if you will, please. Not to love the truth is to surely be deceived. Second Thessalonians chapter two, and we start reading in verse five, do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you all these things and now, you know, what is restraining that he may be revealed in his own time for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth. And destroy with the brightness of his coming. He's talking about this coming Antichrist, this rise of the Antichrist, the lawless one. And he says about this Antichrist in verse nine. That he'll be the coming of the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders. In other words, this. Antichrist will have power to perform supernatural things. Power, signs and lying wonders, counterfeit miracles. But many will believe him, many will be deceived. And in verse 10, we're told why he says, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive what? They did not receive what? The love of the truth. They were deceived because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that all that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. You see there very clearly not to love the truth will be to be deceived. Not to love the truth is to be lost forever. Not to love the truth is to perish, not to receive the love of the truth is to reject love for the truth. There's no neutral ground and it is dangerous not to love the truth because you're surely to be deceived. He says there they did not receive the love of the truth. Therefore, it's the truth is something we receive. The love of the truth is something we receive. So again, the question is, what will you do with the truth? Will you love it or hate it? Will you receive it or reject it? Those who love the truth receive the truth. Even as you're hearing the truth this morning, you're either receiving it or you're just sort of dismissing it, rejecting it. You're doing one or the other. Those who love the truth are on the edge of their seats, so to speak. They want to know what does God say? What does his word say? Because his word is true. To receive it is to hear it, to listen to it and to receive it is to hear it so that not only goes into my head, but that it goes deep down into my heart. There are many who can say, I heard what you said, I heard what you preached, but if it didn't go beyond your head to your heart, you didn't receive the truth. That's the problem with a lot of Christianity. There's a lot of stuff up here, but not enough down here. It's a lot of problem with me sometimes. A lot of it does enough up here, but not here. And the truth has to be something that goes from our head to our heart. Loving the truth doesn't take place in my head. Loving the truth takes place in my heart. No wonder God says in Psalm 51, actually, the spirit of God saying through David, thou, oh, Lord, desirous truth where in my innermost being, in my heart, I love the truth. I want to hear the truth. I want to receive the truth, not reject it. To receive the truth, though, you not only got to hear, you've got to stop hiding. You've got to come into the light. You've got to stop running. The truth calls you out of darkness and into the light, and this is how you receive it. Now, to explain that, look at John chapter three. One of the clearest explanations of what I'm trying to say in the whole Bible, I believe, and again, you'll see this no room for neutral ground. John chapter three, beginning in verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he is not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation. That light has come into the world. Now, think of this, the light of the world is Jesus, the light of the word is truth, that light and truth are synonymous. Light has come into the world. Truth has come into the world. But what happened? Men loved darkness rather than light. Men loved hiding behind their lies rather than coming into the light of the truth. Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deed should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. Someone who loves the truth has nothing to hide. Someone who receives the truth is someone who's willing to get honest. And to come into the light, even though it hurts to first come into the light, just as if you were in a pitch black, dark room sleeping soundly. And like my dad used to do at four o'clock in the morning when we'd go work cattle, turn on the bright light, get up, boys, time to get up. And that bright light hurts your eyes. You don't want to open your eyes. The first thing you want to do is put the covers over your head and get back into darkness. It's uncomfortable to first come into the light. It hurts to come into the light because that means I got to be honest. I got to get out from under this rock I've been hiding under. I got to remove the mask that I've been hiding behind. And what happens if you pick up an old piece of tin? Are you kick over a rock? Are you open a cellar door? Every creepy, filthy, crawling thing of darkness scurries for cover. We were working this week and I had a tractor and I picked up a bunch of junk, tin and every creepy snake crawling thing, unclean things. Are scurrying for cover. Why? They hate the light. And Jesus said, this is what it's like when I came into the world, when truth came into the world, light came into the world. But men love darkness rather than light. Why? Because their deeds were evil. They have something to hide. It hurts to admit I'm a sinner. It hurts to admit I deserve the wrath of God. You know what hurts the most? She said it at the children's message. You know what hurts the most? To know that I deserve the wrath of God for what I've done and I'm shown nothing but overwhelming love and kindness. And it's the kindness and goodness of God that leads me to repentance, the Scripture says. But it hurts and some would rather run away from such love rather than come into the light of truth. Will you receive the truth or will you run and reject it? You have a choice. Those who love the truth, they hear the truth. They receive the truth. They come into the light of the truth. And the life, you see, says whoever believes on the Son has everlasting life. The light is the life, the Scripture says. That life was the light, the light of the world is our very life. Have you ever found this bountiful garden in the back of a dark, gloomy cave? You ever found a luscious orchard in the back of a dark cave? No life there. Creepy crawling things back there. You don't see a bountiful garden. You see bat poop in the back of a cave. You don't smell beautiful roses and flowers and life in the back of a dark cave. You smell rat urine. Why? Because it takes light to have life. It takes three things to have life. Light, warmth, and water especially. And they say, you know, for example, you can go into the Arctic. There's plenty of light, not much life. Why? Because there's not enough warmth. The light is the truth of God. The warmth is the love of God. And the water is the spirit of God. He is all of the above. And there are places where there's plenty of warmth. It's warm enough under a piece of an old tin in the summertime. But there's no life. There's no vegetation growing under there because there's no light. It takes truth and it takes love. And the spirit of God is both. Truth and love. Truth and love. Truth and love married together. The life is the light. What will you do with the light of truth? We come to 1 John chapter 1. What will you do with the light of truth? In 1 John chapter 1, he says in verse 5, This is the message which we have heard from him and declared to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. If you say that you're right with God and yet you're hiding behind a mask of hypocrisy and you're living in the darkness of sin and you hate the truth and you have no desire to be in this holy book, the holy word of God, you are lying to yourself. You do not have fellowship with God if you hate the light. If you're not willing to come to the light, come into the light of truth. Verse 7, But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Now, if the light is synonymous with the truth, let's read it this way. If we walk in the truth as he is in the truth, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. You want to have good fellowship with one another, brothers and sisters? Be truthful with one another. When you start lying, we start lying to one another. And you know, you don't have to even open your mouth to tell a lie. All you have to do is give a false impression. And as long as there is lying coming forth from us, we don't have fellowship. Fellowship comes in light, in truth. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, if we walk in the truth as he is in the truth, then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Those who love the truth hear the voice of truth, calling them out of darkness and into his marvelous light, even though it hurts. Henry touched on that at prayer meeting last night. Touched on it very well. So, you know, the reason the reason because he was there, I was there. Others are still out there. The reason many won't come to the light, the reason they run from the house of God, because there's light here. There's children of the light of the Lord, the light of the truth, the light of the word, the light of the Lord is here. And the reason they run is because it's painful to come into the light because the light exposes and rather than be exposed and receive the truth, we want to drown it out. We want to stay numb because it hurts at first to come to the light. It hurts to get honest, hurts to open my eyes at first when I've been in the dark all along and I've been used to the dark. It hurts to have to admit I'm the problem. It's not my brother, my sisters, not my mom or my dad. I am the problem. It hurts to remove that scab. But if you love the truth, you'll do it. You'll receive the truth. And those who receive the truth, who love the truth, not only receive the truth, they believe the truth. What will you do with the truth? Will you believe it or will you deny it? John chapter eight. Back to our text in verse forty five. Will you believe it or will you deny it? John chapter eight, verse forty five. This is after Jesus says to them, you are of your father, the devil. And the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murder from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there's no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. And watch this. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. You hear the truth. When you hear the truth, you have the responsibility to believe or deny. You'll do one or the other. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, but you do not believe it. You do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Why do you not believe me? The Jews and the Pharisees heard the truth, but they hated it. They heard the truth, but they rejected it. They heard the truth, but they denied it instead of believing it. And you can believe the truth or deny the truth. But again, you will not change it because the truth is the truth, no matter who believes it, even if no one believes it. The truth is the truth. You can deny the existence of a tornado and you can try and convince yourself that you don't believe in tornadoes. But what are you going to do when you stand in the path of a tornado? Confess, I don't believe in tornadoes. I don't believe in tornadoes. That's what a whole world lying in darkness is saying. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in the judgment of God. I don't believe God would send anybody to hell. You're standing in the path of a tornado and it doesn't change the fact that it's a tornado. You're standing in the path of the righteous judgment of God and time is marching on and it doesn't change the fact that God is holy and God is good and God is going to judge not to get some vengeance that's just because he's out to get you, but because he is righteous and he must judge sin and he must judge all sin and he must judge your sin. And if you're going to reject the sin that he's already judged in the person of his son on the cross, then you will endure the wrath of almighty God, whether you believe it or not. One day you will believe because you will see what does God say about you, child of God, in his word? Do you believe that? There are many Christians who believe everything the devil says about them, which is a lie because he can't speak the truth. All he speaks is lies. What does God say about you? Get in the truth and find out and then ask yourself, do you believe it? What will you do with the truth of what God says about you? Believe it or reject it. When God says you are a saint, when God says you are my child, when God says you are free in Christ, when God says you're a new creation in my son, when God says all things are passed away, you no longer who you once were, will you believe it? Will you believe the truth or deny the truth? What about what God says to you, sinner man or sinner woman who is outside of Christ and you're under the wrath of God, believe or deny the truth? What about what does God say about his love for you? Do you believe it? What about what does God say about his plan and purpose for you? Do you believe it? What does God say, what has he promised you in his word? Do you believe that? What does God say about your storm, your trial, your tribulation, your mountain that stands in the way? What does God say about it? Not what everybody else says about it. What does God say about it? And do you believe what God says? Or deny what does God say about your sin and bondage, do you believe it? What does God say about your children? Does he have promises for your children in here? I found some. Do you believe them? You will believe them or you will deny them. What will you do with the truth of what God says? What will you do with the truth, believe and live or deny and die? That's your options. Those who love the truth, receive the truth. Those who receive the truth, believe the truth. Those who believe the truth now obey the truth. If you love the truth and receive and believe the truth, you will obey the truth. First John chapter two, you don't really believe until you've obeyed. First John chapter two, and if you think I'm long winded, you might as well just get used to it because we're not not even close to being done. So just stay with me. First John chapter two. Verse four, he who says, I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. He who says, I have fellowship with God, I know God, God knows me. But you don't obey God. You don't obey the truth. You are a liar, according to Scripture. He who says. I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. You who really believe, obey to believe the truth is to obey the truth. Otherwise you will suppress it and therefore suffer the terrible consequences of despising the truth. And let us see an example of that in Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one, you will either obey the truth or you will suppress it. What will you do with the truth? Romans chapter one, verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who do what? Suppress the truth in unrighteousness. What does it mean to suppress the truth in unrighteousness? It's to push that truth down. It's there you've heard the truth. In fact, the Scripture says God has even made it known. Verse 19, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. He's written it upon their hearts. God has given all of us a conscience. That's why, you know, it's wrong to lie. You know, it's wrong to steal. You know, it's wrong to commit adultery. You know that God has written that upon your heart. But if you suppress it. And pretty soon you don't hear that truth anymore because your heart has gotten so hard. Every child has been born with a conscience. But you and I have the ability and the choice and the responsibility to do something with this truth. Will I obey the truth or will I suppress it? Will I push it down? Will I drown it out? Will I suppress it? That's what they were doing is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world is invisible, attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened, professing to be wise. They became fools. Why? Because they suppressed the truth and they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four footed animals and creeping things. Why did they start worshiping such idols? Because they suppress the truth. They did not love the truth. They hated the truth. They rejected the truth. They denied the truth. Now they suppress the truth. And sin always makes you stupid, always you suppress the truth, you'll end up doing ridiculous things like worshiping four footed creatures and creeping things. That's what that's what happened. But it goes on from there. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. And that's the scariest thing that can happen to an individual for God to give you over. Why did he give them over? Because they hated the truth. They kept suppressing it in verse 18. They suppress it in verse 25. They exchange it. They exchange the truth for a lie. And as Laurie Handley said last night at prayer meeting in verse 18, they suppress the truth in verse 25. They exchange the truth, but they could not destroy the truth. Amen. Laurie Handley, you can just you can suppress it. You can exchange it, but you cannot destroy it. You cannot obliterate it. What will you do with it? Now, this is a personal message to you and I, and we're being confronted with the personal truth. Listen to how personal it is. John 8, 32, you shall know the truth and the truth shall make him free, you free. So if it's a personal promise, then it's a personal question. What will you do with the truth? Will you hate it or will you love it? Will you reject it or will you receive it? Will you deny it or will you believe it? Will you suppress it and exchange it or will you obey it? Even if it costs you, even if it cuts you, even if it bends you, even if it breaks you, even if it hurts at first and the sword will hurt at first. Will you go through that surgery knowing that it brings life? Will you let the Word, the sword of the Spirit cut you and God perform His surgery so that you can have life? Or will you say, I don't want the surgery and live a lie and die in your sin? You and I have a decision what we will do with the truth. Let me give you one final exhortation before we come to a close. Will you seek the truth? Or just ignore it? Those who love and believe the truth seek the truth. They have a passion. Those who love the truth have it. The truth is precious to them. They want to know the truth. So the question is, how do we seek the truth? Again, back to our text in John chapter eight. Verse thirty one. This is all connected. Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And it's all connected. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. So how do I know the truth? How am I ultimately made free? It all backs up to if you continue in my word. If you continue in my word, practically, if you stay in this book and read this Bible and saturate yourself in this Bible and meditate upon this Bible and love this Bible and read this Bible and memorize this Bible. The word of God continue and not just read, but obey it. Then you're my disciples. Then you'll know the truth. You don't need to study the lies of Islam. You don't need to study the lies of evolution. You need to study the truth. And when the lies of Islam and evolution come up, you'll know it'll stick out like a sore thumb on the horizon lie because you're saturated, your mind is renewed and transformed in the word of God. So how do you seek it? You simply open the word of God and you start reading and you pray over what you read and you may not get farther than five, ten verses that morning, but you read it and you reread it and you pray, God, what are you saying to me through it? And then he speaks to you and you go share it with someone and you think about it throughout the day and you chew on it like a cow chews her cud. You meditate upon it. You let it go from your head down into your heart and you love his truth. You love his word. Then you're going to know it and more will be revealed to you and you will be walking in freedom before you know it. Absolute freedom, because the truth shall make you free. How do I know that's true? Because of the one who spoke it. He always tells the truth. Proverbs 23, verse 23, by the truth and sell it, not what he's saying is by the truth, if you have to give up your whole bank account, so to speak, by the truth and don't ever sell it. Cherish this truth that is today fallen in the streets, according to Isaiah 59 rejected. You may have to stand alone. When you stand upon the truth, so be it if you love the truth. You never have to be afraid if you love the truth. You never have to be afraid if you're standing on truth. Psalm 119, 105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. There's the truth and the light again. How can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed according to your word? Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. Great peace have those who love your word, your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Oh, how I love your law, your truth, your word. It is my meditation all the day. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Though your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. I simply want to challenge you, brothers and sisters, what will you do with the truth? Will you join me in a simple challenge that you may already be doing? Will you join me in a simple challenge this week? No Bible, no breakfast. No read, no feed. Will you cherish this? Because Jesus said man should not live by the word of by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Whether you start at night or whether you start in the morning, will you make a commitment every day this week to saturate yourself in the truth of God's word? Will you read it? You see, if it's important to you, you'll make time to do it. If you love the truth, you'll seek the truth. If you love the truth, you'll read this book. You'll seek to know the God who's the author of it, and you'll seek like anything to obey what he says to you. Will you cherish it again? Will you saturate your mind in it? Will you make a commitment this morning, every day this week, till we meet again on next Sunday morning? I want you and I to be able to come Sunday morning and to be able to say, I devoured that word. I was in that word every day this week. Not to check off my religious list, but because I'm disciplining myself and I'm learning to love the words of my God. What's going to happen? You're going to be sanctified through the truth. You're going to be set apart. You become freer and freer. As long as you're reading it to know the author of it, you're reading it to show off your Bible knowledge. Get rid of that. If we're reading it elders just to preach a sermon, get rid of that. Brian, Jared, Alan, whoever speaks at the table. If I'm reading and studying it only for the purpose of whatever else my motive may be, get rid of that. But if I'm reading it because I love the truth and I want to know the truth and I want to know my Savior, I want to know the heart of my God, and I want to walk with Him, then you keep doing it. You keep pressing in. What will you do with the truth? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your words of life. Thank you, Lord, that you are the truth. You know everything about us. I pray for all of us, Lord, that this very day you would strip away every mask of hypocrisy, every rock that we might be hiding under, every dark cave that we may be in the back of, every prison that has already been unlocked, and yet we're still behind bars as if we're prisoners or we're still in chains as if we're slaves. I pray, Lord God, this very morning that your truth would set every heart and mind and soul and spirit free of your children who belong to you, Lord. Set us free indeed. Make us lovers of the truth. Strengthen our faith, Lord, to believe what you say. I pray that every day when we're faced with challenges, trials, questions, decisions, our first question would be what does God say? What is the truth? What does God say about this? And we would hear and receive and believe and obey. Would you let your words, Lord, sink into our hearts? Would you help us to make a commitment this very day to discipline ourselves, to be in your word every day, every day this week, to cherish that time alone with you where our minds are being renewed and our hearts are being enlightened to who you really are. Help us to set aside what man says about you and maybe all the books that we've read. Help us go back to the book of books. Help us go back to the Bible. Help us go back to the Bible and to read and to seek your face and to come to know you in a deeper way than we know you now. This is our prayer, Father, in Jesus name. Amen.