The Truth, the Whole Truth & Nothing but the Truth! - Part B

The word integrity is a beautiful word means whole or undivided moral uprightness is the idea of integrity. Integrity is being what you say in verbal integrity is underwritten in this entire command living with your life what you say with your lips.

Jesus said from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks literally from the overflow what's inside the heart. The real you the inner for the mouth to speak, so that our mouths give us away.

Eventually the mouths at some point will reveal what the condition of the hardest for nearly 3 decades. The newlywed game was a staple of American television on the show. As you recall, recently married couples were separated as some questions about their spouses and then put back together to see how well they knew each other that at times it didn't go very well enjoy hearing correctly Skip weekend edition Skip Heitzigs. It reminds us that God doesn't need a test to let us know how well he knows he not only knows this but he knows what's best for us is why he has some commandments for us to follow and will focus in on one of them again today as we continue our current series called God's talk to before we join Pastor Skip without study we wanted to you about this months Québec was Skip resource fake news used to be restricted to tabloids at the grocery store checkout used to be so obvious.

Chimpanzee had put on human body, but now there entire websites dedicated to helping us figure out a story, speech or statistic is true or not your Skip Heitzigs.

It was important question. Is there such a thing as absolute truth.

I want to think about that question. We will help you get started in answering that question to brand-new book with my pastor Skip why truth matters.suicide see the Bible makes truth claim and some of those claims are well pretty absolute, but how can you know it's really true. These resources will help you better understand the nature of true you can pursue God's truth in your life and there are way to thank you for your gift of $35 or more today to help expand this Bible teaching out your copies when you get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or call 892 1888. Stay tuned after today's teaching prescription when you're back in studio with this now. Let's join Skip Heitzig in Exodus chapter 20 verse 16 as we get started, parents I know you got wonderful kids and some of you even think your kids are more wonderful than everybody else's kids at the prerogative of especially grandparents, but some parents as well.

But did you ever have to teach your kids to live just because they were so perfect. You needed to just balance them out so they be like everybody else know I bet you had the experience that everybody else has that they were in the course of their upbringing may be engaged or caught in such an enterprise and you have to correct it and tell them why they weren't to lie now we know that man was created in God's image, but we also know that the image was marred was marred at the fall and so the psalmist declares this, even from birth, the wicked go astray from the womb.

They are way word and speak lies in Proverbs 22 foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, so the fall of man is reflected in man's propensity to lie to tell untruth like Satan who was the one who perpetrated the fall from the beginning was all about lies.

Satan is called the father of lies. He lied in the garden, has God said all he won't do that. Jesus said to the Pharisees, you belong to your father the devil, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Which means when we deliberately engage in ally we are shadowing not God's personality, but Satan's personality were becoming an ally. No wonder then, in the New Testament book of acts Peter said to Ananias in the early church. Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. So the commandment touches on the character of God. It touches on the credibility of man and also on the core issue of integrity. That's really what the commandment is all about integrity. The word integrity is a beautiful word. It means whole or undivided moral uprightness is the idea of integrity. Integrity is being what you say and verbal integrity is underwritten in this entire command living with your life what you say with your lips. Jesus said from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks literally from the overflow of what's inside the heart.

The real you. The inner core, the mouth will speak so that our mouths give us away. Eventually the mouths at some point will reveal what the condition of the hardest. There was a teacher who said to one student who was particularly sloppy.

She said that this young boy, why don't you brush her teeth. Yeah I can see what you had for breakfast today and he said what I have. He was a smart Alec. She said you had eggs. He said that was yesterday. Yeah, that's pretty gross. Well let me in culling through the Scripture in a glance give you a few different ways that verbal integrity is breached. First of all, slander, slander would fall under this commandment you shall not bear false witness, slander is ruining another's character on purpose.

It says in Proverbs 1218.

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword very descriptive. It's like an old Japanese proverb that says the tongue is only 3 inches long.

It can kill a man 6 feet tall.

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword ever met a sharp tongued individual ever been around such a person who's got that bite all the time and slanders other people. Verbal Terminator you know what the translation of the word devil is novelist D Avalos in Greek it means false accuser or slander were a person who's a slanderer it's like he walks up to the devil and says were partners. That's his job. He's called a member. Revelation 12 the accuser of the brethren, who accuses them night and day before God. So slander is one way a second way is exaggeration. Americans were famous for this hyperbole is are is her middle name that weighs a ton. I'm starving to death. All I must've driven for a million miles. You know, we stretch everything out. It can be harmless. Sometimes it can be dangerous.

For instance, in a relationship. If the wife says oh my husband is always late.

My wife is never nice. Those are good things to say they can do a lot of damage 19th 1914 92, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue on his first trip westward because he knew that his crew aboard the ship was skittish about spending too much time out at sea, far away, without knowing where they were going Columbus.

It is said To logs of his journey to sets of logs one he computed calculated what were the actual distances, according to his calculation. The second set of logs were to calculate shorter distances on purpose so that his men wouldn't think they're too far away from home. Here's the here's the twist. However, the irony is his falsetto books were more accurate.

Come to find out then what his own calculations were so even his his own lives his own foreshortened exaggerations were more accurate than what he thought were his actual distances, but in exaggeration I think certain testimonies can be like that. I've heard testimonies by people and I've heard them told again and I've heard them told again and it sort of seems that with some people as they tell their testimony because they know if they add more juicy stuff to get a rise out of people.

That is sort of like a fish story enough, the fish grows every time it's told how big it was and so the guy starts out maybe you know II drank a beer in high school and then later on it's like I had an alcoholic problem God delivered me from alcoholism know God and needs to deliver you from lying when you tell your testimony you don't have to add spice to make it more dramatic. Jesus loves to save anybody from anything, but it can be exaggerated. 1/3 way is aura. The third way is gossip, gossip, know the Bible has a unique description of gossip. The Bible calls it tail bearing, tail bearing and talks about those who are talebearer's. That means telling something without proper investigation and are talebearer will peddle gossip and there's lots of people who love to hear it. It is always always amazed me that in the church that Christians generally love gossip. It's fun to hear.

Proverbs 18 the words of the talebearer are like tasty trifles. They go down into the inmost body, I discovered something. However, as I was studying through this. The Hebrew word for tail bearing and talebearer in the Old Testament is on nine it appears 329 times in the Old Testament.

42 of those times it's not translated to speak. It's translated to hear same word in that interesting not translated to tell something, but to hear something.

I think the point being is there would be so many open mouths.

If there weren't so many open ears, tell me more. I want to pray more about that brother sister so can I encourage you to apply a fivefold test to people who would want to give you an evil report about anything or anyone, a fivefold test. These five questions, let this be your grid before entertaining and receiving an evil report number one. What is your reason for telling me this now. They might say.

I'm just concerned but you might dig and find out its jealousy, its anger there lashing out number two where did you get your information. Give me a source I want to reveal my sources then don't entertain the report number three. Have you gone directly to those involved were you just picking up more hearsay. Did you personally go and try to resolve this without person number four. Have you personally checked out all the facts. Have you gone to investigate this and gotten all the facts you know the old axiom figures don't lie but liars sure can figure get all the facts and number five can I quote you on this. I love use that one and I love to see the response on the face. Thank you for telling me this if you don't mind me take her name down because I'm in a quote you leave me out of this, I encourage you apply that five question grid before receiving an evil report. Fourth, flattery.

I think that falls under this commandment.

Flattery false praise. You're saying things you don't really mean, but you're saying them because you know the people like to hear them and you can manipulate them. That's flattery. By the way, the English word flattery comes from a French word that means to caress or stroke with the flat of one's hand stroking the person giving them feel-good stuff just because you know what you can get out of it.

Thomas Brooks used to say while a donkey is being stroked on the belly. You can lay any burden on its back. Flattery. Proverbs 26 a flattering mouth works ruin. Why because it's not real. It appeals only to the ego. It's not sincere that some of you will remember, and I know there's better examples, but I'm stuck in that time work when I say the name Eddie Haskell. Does anybody resonate with that. You remember leave it to beaver and Eddie Haskell was the quintessential flattery hello Mrs. Cleaver, you look so nice today and he was always buttering up Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver because he was a weasel. Flattery is different than encouragement.

Encouragement is good. There's not enough genuine encouragement in the church encouragement is stuff you say that you mean it's from the heart. Flattery is just gushing out compliments to win favor.

I think that falls under bearing false witness, and in fifth and finally excuses to escape consequences. We call these white lies excuses to escape consequences, the evangelist Billy Sunday used to call an excuse, an excuse is the skin of a reason stopped with a lie very descriptive. It's what teachers tell students is for students tell teachers as to why their assignment was late or like the story I told you about the four boys that missed class and they said we had a flat tire so the teacher said you missed the test first question you should put them in the four corners which tire was flat.

Ephesians chapter 4 we read. Therefore, putting away lying, let each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. We speak truth because we are one family and we are related to the God of truth who loves truth and so because were members one of another. We put speaking lies and falsehood for from us basic principle, a closed mouth gathers no feet better to not say it than to say it and regret it. Jesus put it this way, let your yes be yes and your no be no. Annette is a beautiful encapsulated description of verbal integrity that your yes be yes and your no be no. So you shall not bear false witness, touches on the character of man. The character of God problem that man has with truth, and finally the core issue of integrity. So don't live like that gal Arabella Young hundred if you've heard her story. Arabella Young has a tombstone somewhere I read there's her tombstone she's in the ground.

Her name Arabella Young printed on the tombstone. Her birth underneath her death. May 24, and this inscription beneath the stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young, who on 24 May began to hold her tongue. It's a sad sad epitaph.

Yeah, she finally held her tongue when she died made that not ever be for a child of God. Well, it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway the ultimate truth is eternal truth, and the ultimate lie is eternal life in one of the first eternal truths that the Bible underscores is that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That's the first eternal truth. Nobody can make it on their own, were all failures in some degree and some course followed by another truth someday will stand before God to answer for our lives, followed by 1/3 truth. Those who have not repented or come in contact with the one who gives life and cleanses by his blood, will face in eternity without them. The fourth is the best truth of all forgiveness is available for every one who believes those who can fasten those who turn at lavish love of Christ when he said I'm the way the truth and the life. Don't forget that first word the way the way he is the way for all truth breakers for all of us who have fallen short to enter into his kingdom.

Thanks for tuning into the Skip weekend edition teaching you just heard was part to the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth is just one message of our latest teaching series, God's top 10.

Have you ever been asked about how 10 Commandments given thousands of years ago are relevant to us today as you follow along in the series Skip reminds us that there are not only relevant, they are essential so be encouraged and inspired as you listen again and maybe share this series with a friend. You could add all 17 teachings to your audio library bundled is a CD package for only $39 plus shipping. Or if you prefer to get each teaching individually. Just visit connectwithskip.com or call us at 1-800-922-1888. Now let's go in studio for Skip and his wife lingered to talk a bit more about God's top 10 Linea.

Today's message tackled an interesting topic.

Truth, I just can't help it, you can't handle the truth. I don't know you probably do a better job that that truth and what we believe truth to be and how it affects every area of our lives. Let me ask you what is the best way to have the truth in our hearts and heads said the truth is what comes out of us well every Christian listen to my voice remembers the infamous words of Pilate in the gospel where he said to the Lord Jesus Christ on trial when he mentioned the truth as if to be cynical.

What is truth and in other words he was reflecting the Roman mentality that you really can't know what is absolute truth so is nothing in it and that they come from our modern culture.

It's always been around people question, what is the truth.

Although we get that on campuses today right so many students are like. So what is truth right it's a it's a relativistic worldview and as believers we only have to go to would the Lord Jesus prayed to his father in John 17 when he said father sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As believers we don't have to look any further than our Bibles. Our Bibles are the written revelation of God to man, preserved by God himself and everything that pertains to life and godliness.

Peter said, comes to the knowledge of him who called us and that knowledge comes by what he is revealed in his word. So we begin there. And with that that truth firmly embedded that's what we have referred to it daily. We have to get and have a quiet time, go to church and read the Bible because that forms a grid that forms worldview our own worldview.

Our own lens by which we view the world and hear the messages of the world filtered through that grid so that we can go way to make that statement isn't quite right that has Noel not Tim is really warped so there's a lot of untruth out there and unless we have that great in our minds. Some of that missed truth or amino Gets through exactly and then I think there's an attitude that we all have to live with that working to be truthful, that will walk in the light which is a metaphor for being honest and true and up right when you walk in the light as he is in the light and I when we do that bears out not only cleansing effect that happens but there's a stability that comes along with that in our lives so that we we expect in the world when I can to get pure truth. You can read it in print.

You can hear it from people but it's only what God the Holy Spirit is revealed through his word that enables us to discern between truth and error after we have a real enemy named the devil and his principal tool is deception and is going on daily constantly all the time. Thus we need a filter.

Jesus is the way the truth and the light. So we begin with him and he built this outward well thanks a lot Guy said I hope you take some time to connect with Skip today and you can when you like them on Facebook follow him on Twitter or Instagram. You can also get many of his teachings. Topics Devos more on the you version Bible app skip. So what's wrong when you're never satisfied case of affluenza will learn more about that next time hearing connect with Skip weekend edition presentation of connection communication ever-changing and ever-changing