“Battle for Truth”

Col 2:8-10 (Pew Bible page 834)

Part 2 of 2

 

'Twas the month before Christmas when all through our land,- Not a Christian was praying nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away - The reason for Christmas no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing - About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
"It might hurt people's feelings," the teachers would say. - "December 25th is just a 'Holiday' ."

 

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit, - Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod-- Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa - In hopes to sell books by Franken and Fonda.
As Targets are hanging their trees upside down, - At Lowe's the word 'Christmas' was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears, - You won't hear the word 'Christmas'; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-is-ty - Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen, - On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter - To eliminate Jesus in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith. - Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace,
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged & discarded; - The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your  'DreamTree', - Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully; choose what you say: - Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

 

 

“Worldview” – The way we see ourselves and our world. Filtered through a particular set of lenses we process information for interpreting life, evaluating truth, and making decisions.

·         36% of people who claim to be born again said they believe in moral absolutes.

·         More than half of all adults (53%) believe that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven. (2007)

·         Why is our worldview important? Because it shapes how we think and act every moment. If, for example, my worldview includes belief in a sovereign God, then I'll be more inclined to seek and to obey the will of that God than to follow the whims of my own intuition. Our worldview tells us what is real, what is important, what is right, and what is wrong.

·         There is a problem with our society. And though it never quite gets the headlines, it is slowly eroding the foundations of our society. What is the hidden danger, the menace that is causing inestimable amounts of suffering and moral decay in our society – and even within the church?

·         Moral relativism: The prevailing philosophy of our day that teaches there is no absolute truth, and that all philosophies, all religions, all opinions, is EQUALLY VALID, with no way to distinguish one as being morally superior to others. It’s also known by the name “tolerance”. It’s the philosophy that is taught in our schools and in our media that there is nothing that is true everywhere, and that everything is true somewhere.

·         Why is moral relativism or “tolerance” so dangerous? Because it is an intellectually bankrupt, morally bankrupt, and completely anti-Christian philosophy which pulls the foundations of our society out from under us.  Sooner or later, there are dire consequences… we’re seeing today.

·         When it comes to knowing what is true, we can either follow the world’s advice or follow God’s word. And the source we use for truth and instruction in our lives will either lead us to CLARITY or CONFUSION… the Battle for Truth.

 

 

 

Review from last week…

·         Everyone has a “Worldview” ranging from Humanistic to Biblical

·         The Big Lie today is the “Secular Humanistic Worldview”

·         Fostered by the World system, the Devil & man’s sinful nature

·         It’s overcome by rejecting lies while embracing God’s truth

 

Those who hold to a “Christian Biblical Worldview”:

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4% of all Americans & 9% of born again Christians

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8% Baptist churches & less than 1% for Catholic churches

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10% Pentecostal churches &13% non-denominational churches (like us)

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71% Southern Baptist Pastors & 27% Methodist Pastors

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10% Republicans, 2% Independents and 1% Democrats

Barna Research Group conducted Sept-Nov 2003

 

…Not knowing what’s going on…

Two elderly women were out driving in a large car and both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself "I must be losing it, I could have sworn we just went through a red light."

After a few more minutes they came to another intersection and the light was red again and again they went right through. This time the woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection to see what was going on.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was definitely red and they went right through and she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred! Did you know we just ran through three red lights in a row! You could have killed us!" Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh, am I driving?"

…We too can live life in a “fog” not knowing what’s going on.

 

I. Christian Biblical Worldview

Seven Core Truths…

  1. There is one, sovereign, transcendent, all-powerful God who created & sustains all things.

  2. God reveals Himself through His Creation, His Son & His Word

  3. Man is dead in trespasses and sin with no hope, separated from God

  4. God’s Son Jesus died a sacrificial death to redeem fallen man

  5. Personal Salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by works

  6. There is a personal judgment with a future eternity in the balance

  7. There is a literal existence of Satan & demons who are God’s enemies (and ours)

 

Half of born again Christians (46%) agree that Satan is "not a living being but is a symbol of evil." (2007)

 

 

Source of truth…

è God the Father is Truth

Psalms 31:5b “…redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.” 

Hebrews 6:18 “... in which it is impossible for God to lie…”

è Jesus Christ is Truth

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

è Holy Spirit is Truth

John 14:17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

è God’s Word is Truth

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

 

 

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (Holy men of God spoke as they were “moved” by the Holy Spirit – 2Pet 1:21)

·         92% of born again Christians believe "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches." (2007)

 

p834 pew bible / Colossians 2:8-10 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

 

Being taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy… believing a lie

“Lies” - Sin which take human hearts captive by the power of deception

 

Being born again we have been given fullness in Christ… believing truth

“Trut                "Truth” - Conformity to fact or reality, a statement proven to be accepted as true, that which is reliable and can be trusted (complete sufficiency, Christ is the head over all powers… we’re complete in Him)

 

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Jesus said, “I tell you the truth” 74 times in the Gospels (NIV) “I assure you…” (NLT)

“Verily” – Gk “amane” – amen, trustworthy, truly, certainty, firm, a word of strong affirmation

Mt used it 31 times, John used it 25 times where it always occurred twice: verily, verily I say…

You must be born again… believe on me for everlasting life… whoever commits sin is a servant to sin… before Abraham was I Am… I Am the Door of the sheep… servant not greater than his Lord… whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you… TRUTH

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Bible is God’s Love Letter, Blueprint, owner manual… the standard by which all doctrine is measured

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Any “system” (philosophical lies of the world) must be rejected if it fails to conform to God’s Word….

 

Personal Quest for Truth…

1.  We Must Know the Truth of who we are in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. NKJV

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“Understanding your identity in Christ is absolutely essential in maintaining a Biblical Worldview and for your success at living a victorious Christian life!”

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God calls you a ““Hagios”, a saint over 60 times… not just a patched up sinner… most holy, set apart

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“Heir” of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17)… with full rights (privileges) as a son (Gal 4:7)

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Christ IS your life, God declares you righteous, Holy Spirit indwells you… why are you negative/down?

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You get messed up believing lies… I’m no good (or good), I can’t, I quit, someone else better equipped

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So many Christians are unsure of their salvation… huge opening for the Devil’s lies, sin & defeat…

 

 

2.  We Must Discern between Truth and Lies. (BEING IN GOD’S WORD)

1 John 4:1,6 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world… 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us (accepts the true teachings of God’s Word); but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

·         The whole world is under control of the evil one (1Jn 5:19)… lies abound all around us…

·         “When we lose our concept of sin, then nothing is wrong and the right becomes wrong… calling evil good and good evil (Is 5:20).  When this happens we are in danger of losing our moral compass.

·         When we take away the supernatural, all we have left is the unnatural… exchanged truth for lie.

·         We must be in God’s Book for discernment… “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” Ho 4:6

 

John 17:17 Sanctify them (to purify, to cleanse from sins, set apart… becoming more Christlike – thoughts, words, deeds) by the truth; your word is truth.

 

  

3.  We Must Control our Thoughts in Truth.

p 821 pew bible / 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For though we live in the world (humanism, evolution, situation ethics, false philosophy, no right/wrong, dark exchanges, secular media…all bombarding our minds & lives), we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish (Satan’s) strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments (false philosophy) and every pretension (high thing, pride, self, ease, lies…) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive (as in a military conquest… as in tearing down enemy walls/false ideas, emotions, feelings, opinions…) every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

·         We’re engaged in spiritual warfare; Our weapons are not physical but spiritual – The Word of God & Prayer… weapons with divine power!  The battle is in the mind. (we’re weak/helpless humans)

·         We demolish false ideas, human pride, self-sufficiency/righteousness that sets itself against God.

·         Christians often have thinking problems… “where did that thought come from???”

·         When an “evil” thought comes your way, how do you handle them?  You give it an inch, it’ll take a mile… nip it quick, decisively early… taking it captive!  Motivation/reason = make us obedient.

·         The battle for truth always begins in the mind… then moves to our feelings… then to our actions.

·         We seek to capture EVERY thought… being controlled and subject to Christ… focused upon Him

·         Not conformed to this world (Rom 12:2)… Not yielding to the flesh (Rom 8:5)… Filled with the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)… In correct thinking… Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things… we’ll be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph 4:23-24)… living in God’s perfect peace (Phil 4:9)…

 

 

4.  We Must Faithfully Live in Obedience to Truth.

John 8:31-32 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

·         We just saw, “…make your thoughts obedient to Christ…” Here in John - “hold to my teaching”…

·         If we are living in disobedience we are believing and living a lie… no power, no victory, no peace

·         As we live in truth… obedience will be the outcome, the fruit, the result…

 

è Know who you are in Christ – this is very important.

è Be in God’s Word to discern truth from error

è Control your thoughts by taking them captive

è Live in obedience to God’s truth

 

 

 

Be Saved!  Be Battling!  Be Victorious!