Honouring Our Heavenly Father — Brian Long

Walking in Truth Brings Joy to the Heavenly Father

I'd like you to turn to two places this morning, first of all, John, chapter eight, and then towards the back of your New Testament in third, John. Third, John, there's first, second and third, John, three different books.

And third, 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 was sort of.

Had taken root in my heart, and this morning he had showed 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 third, 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.

They 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 most, 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'm 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.

Jesus Christ, the Light of the World

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 eight.

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. And then Jesus said to them again, I'm going away and you will seek me and will die in your sin.

Where I go, you cannot come. So the Jews said to him, 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'm 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. And 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?

Prayer for Illumination and Transformation

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'm 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.

Freedom Through Abiding in Christ's Word

But please let us hear your words of life and be changed and transformed by your grace and power. It's 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 or you and I be in bondage to anything, that we'd 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 is if it brings God the Father, no greater joy than to hear that his children are walking in truth.

And here he's 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 in under this bondage of oppression, of deep present. 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 father, our heavenly father, than to see his children walking in total, absolute freedom? 100 percent freedom, 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 sun, therefore, verse 36, therefore, if the sun 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 100 percent freedom from past sin, 100 percent freedom from the penalty of your sin.

That is hell. 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? 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?

Truth Standing Before Pontius Pilate

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 truth.

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 is 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.

God's Word Is Truth and Fulfilled Prophecy

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.

We will they will look upon him whom they have pierced, that on the cross he would cry, my God, my God, why is 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 in the air. And so shall we be 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 true? 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.

Loving or Hating the Truth

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.

There's 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 and 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 of 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 there's 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, O Lord, desire is 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.

Coming Into the Light of Truth

Not reject it to receive the truth, though, you not only got to hear, you got to stop hiding, you 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, when 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 has 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, the 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 love 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 sun 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.