LIVING THE TRUTH
(week 11/13)
OLUBI JOHNSON
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John 17:17 KJV: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Revelation 22:15 KJV: For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Here the scripture tells us that God’s Word is truth, but lies can be made or created.
What then is a lie?
A reality that is not sustained by the will and power of God; so a lie will only be real temporarily.
Satan makes lies by distorting and corrupting what God has created, hence he is called the ‘Father of lies’:
John 8:44 KJV: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Ezekiel. 28:14-17 KJV: Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (16) By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (17) Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Satan’s rebellion against God, causing him to use the wisdom and wealth God gave him to do his own will contrary to God’s will, made him create lies: realities contrary to the will of God corrupting and distorting God’s will. These lies, though real, are unsustainable as God’s power will ultimately dismantle and destroy them.
1 John 3:8 AMP: [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].
For instance, when movies are being acted, the clothes, cars, houses, planes etc. that are used are real but do not belong to the actors; after the movie has been recorded, the materials are returned to the true owners. They were in the possession of the actors temporarily, but do not belong to them permanently.
In the same way, Satan creates lies by distorting or corrupting what God has created, but because Satan’s wisdom and power is limited both in magnitude and time, what God has said will ultimately destroy Satan’s lies and create and sustain God’s truth for eternity.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIrV: Our troubles are small. They last only for a short time. But they are earning for us a glory that will last forever. It is greater than all our troubles. (18) So we don’t spend all our time looking at what we can see. Instead, we look at what we can’t see. What can be seen lasts only a short time. But what can’t be seen will last forever.
So our troubles (2 Cor. 4:8-11) being caused by Satan (Jn.10:10) are real but temporal: they will only last a short time; but the truth of God’s Word will last forever because it is sustained by God’s infinite and eternal wisdom and power.
Now does this mean we have to suffer Satan’s lies and distortions until we die and go to heaven for eternity before we enjoy the truth of God’s Word?
No, certainly not!
In fact, this is the essence of this message to live and demonstrate God’s truth NOW in this lifetime, so other men can see the superiority and power of God’s truth over Satan’s lies.
1 Timothy 4:8 NIV: For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 KJV: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: (5) That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
How then do we live and demonstrate God’s truth?
By enforcing the kingdom or dominion of God over Satan’s lies.
Matthew 11:12 MKJV: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven is taken by violence, and the violent take it by force.
1 Corinthians 4:20 MKJV: For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
Romans 14:17 MKJV: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
We release the power of God in sufficient measure (2 Cor. 12:9) by the blood (Heb. 13:20-21), the Word (1 Jn. 2:5) and praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:12-18, Rom. 8:26-29) to ENFORCE righteousness over sin; peace over confusion; joy over sorrow; health over sickness; wealth over poverty and wisdom over ignorance NOW in this lifetime.
So we live and demonstrate the truth of God’s Word and destroy Satan’s lies to free men from his deceptions and set them free to believe and live the truth of God’s Word!
