TRUTH IN THE WORD

Teaching at DLTC

by Don Johnson, 12/27/08        

  I will use a true life experience as an example of what I would like to get across in this teaching.   It was very vivid when I was praying about it. We lived in a small town with just about 3000 people when I was growing up and every body knew most everybody else.  They knew who I was and knew what I was doing.  If I did something, good or bad, the news of it reached home before I got there.  You learn how to be careful of what you do.  I’ll give you a little background.  My parents owned a dairy and operated it along with my Uncle and Aunt.  This was just before the end of World War II.  It was in 1944 that my parents bought the dairy. Rationing started in 1940. Food was still rationed then and you could not go down to the store and get anything that you wanted as we do now.  There are not too many people now that know what rationing was.  You might say it is kind of food stamps. You had stamps and you could only get certain things on certain days at a certain time.  You couldn’t go and get what you wanted.  One of the things was butter. It was something you very seldom saw in the store as well as sugar.  Being on the dairy, we had all the milk and butter that we wanted.  My Mom substituted honey for sugar.  We had plenty of honey from my grandfather on my mother’s side.  My grandfather rented to a farmer who raised bees up on the north end of the box canyon on the Hassayampa River.  So part of the rent payment was honey.  My Mother was a very good cook and I think she put Julia Childs to shame and that was without the wine!  She was always baking. Around our house there was always something being made that was good for your palate and we had a big feast.  That was the way she was raised and that's what we had.    

 Now back to my story.  I remember this one time my friends and I were just being boys at our age. There was a neighbor who did not like us being around her place.  So we headed home after school and we were just being boys.  I didn’t hear anything right away but as I walked in my mother said to me, “Go get your hands washed and come sit down at the table with your Dad and have some fresh bread and butter with him.”  I washed my hands and sat down by my Dad. That aroma of hot fresh bread smelled so good.   My mom got a fresh slice for me and as I was getting it buttered my Dad said, “What’s this I hear about you and the boys over at Mrs. Jones’ house.”  Well I knew at that point that I had had it and that good smell of bread began to fade fast.  I’ll tell the rest of the story later.           

 Is there anybody that has experienced a situation similar to that as you were growing up?  Is it only me that has experienced truth arriving home before I did?  So you know what I'm talking about and when that happens you learn to be a little bit better.  Then you have some idea what truth is.  This was a learning experience for me.  When I had to sit down by my dad I thought “What did Mrs. Jones tell him?” The truth was going to come out between Mrs. Jones and me. I want to share about the truth, what is truth?  Is it before or after?  Is it the Old Covenant or the New Covenant?  Is it truth or consequences? Or is it like the chicken and the egg, which came first? What is truth? Below is what I found in the Bible dictionary as well as in Strong’s.  The Bible dictionary says Truth is to 1) to speak or tell the truth a) to teach the truth b) to profess the truth 2) to make a stand, make certain, gain certainty, know the truth, be certain when you tell the truth that it is correct. Strong’s lists also: 1) to place, set, stand  [Now if you are going to tell the truth you are going to have to make a stand.] To set or station oneself, present oneself; to station oneself, take one's stand, to stand.       

 The Truth is before.  Truth is now and Truth is after. In a Court of Law (in swearing you in), they ask you to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.  The truth is before, now and after.           When I was with the boys what we were doing was a reflection upon my parents and how they had raised me.  In a way, I represented my parents.  Is this correct?  If we are Christians we are representing who? God. Remember back when we were teaching about how we are Kings, Priests, Heirs, Sons of God and Ambassadors?  We should do those roles.  The truth will be coming out.  Remember an ambassador represents the government or country where he is from.   So here I am an ambassador of my parents playing with my friends and Mrs. Jones is not happy with what we were doing by her house.  Now Mrs. Jones has called my parents and related her story to them.  To have any validity my story had better be very close to hers.  I had to present myself and take a stand on what I felt was the truth as I saw it; having no clue to what Mrs. Jones told my Dad.  I had to line myself up with my parents in the way they had brought me up; to tell the truth even if it hurts. I had to make sure To tell the truth as I experienced it. I had To profess the truth, even if I may have been in the wrong. I had be able To make a stand on what was right or wrong. I had to be To make certain the details were correct. To know the truth of what I was saying was correct. I had To be certain that the details were the truth. I had To present myself as a ambassador of my parents. I was To stand with someone and that would be my parents.  Did you get that?  We are heirs, priest of God when we are telling the truth and we are mentioning the word we have to stand upon.  We are to represent them; God and Jesus and what they represent  to us.          

Just to let you know, after relating my version of the story to my Dad it must have corresponded to Mrs. Jones as I did not receive punishment.  I even received another piece of bread!  This took place in Wickenburg, Arizona and the last time I was there Mrs. Jones house was still there.  The picket fence was gone but the house was still there. What did me and the boys do that Mrs. Jones didn’t like?  She had a picket fence and the other boys were holding a stick and walking along with the stick hitting the pickets and causing a dark mark on the fence.  I was not taking part in that but I was with the others who were.        

 We have been teaching on the different aspects of a warrior.  To be an effective warrior one must know and exhort the truth.  Relating my story is an example in how the truth needs to be exalted in the words of a warrior for God, a testimony to Jesus.   The scriptures are our manual. They are also our guide, our orders, the rules by which we live by, the authority to use the word and to live out the truth of the word.  We need to know where we stand or where our authority is if we are to be an effective Warrior, King, Priest, Son, Heir, Ambassador or Citizen.  We have taught the different aspects of this since the beginning of the year.  The Lord kept bringing this back to me.  We're going to have to learn to live; how to live it and act upon it.  Remember back in one of the teachings I told how Prince William had been trained to take the position that he is in now because he represents the royal family no matter where he goes.  We represent the royal family of Jesus Christ no matter where we go or what we do. Remember, our voice is our main tool in allowing the Holy Spirit to move through us in relating the truth.  We need to watch what we say and how and to whom.   As a warrior, we are co-heirs with Christ and his representatives on earth and we have the right to exercise the Word in truth.          

  Now let’s emphasize truth for a moment. When we are speaking the truth, we must be using our tongue.  To be using our tongue then we must be involving our mind and if our mind is involved then it is affecting our emotions.  If this is correct then our soul, mind, body and spirit all becomes involved because of this one member of our body, the tongue.  You know I didn’t think about it but I thought maybe it was a little separate part of us.  But when we look at it, that tongue affects all of us.  We allow it to speak truth. We allow it to speak fables, lies, gossip, half-truths.  We even use it to praise, worship, or give encouragement and even prayer.  We could go on and on.            Let’s look at the Word. In James 3:5-11 it says Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.   See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

 The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and

creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  ⁸But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  ⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with

it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.   My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  ¹¹Does a spring

send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?             I don’t know about you, but I am still in training and will be in training for the rest of my life because I keep finding new things in the Word. Another example just came to me: when I got out of high school I thought no more school.  I am finished I don't have to go back.  Boy, it was tough!  But I’ve gone 12 years after that I guess.  We are constantly in training and if we are eagerly excited and want to be trained we can do mighty things. The tongue, yes it is a small member and we need to learn to control this member of our body so it is controlled by the Holy Spirit. In verse 10 it reminds us that, ¹⁰Out of

the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be so.          

 Truth is in the tongue; in how we pray, minister the word and in our everyday conversation.  The tongue is our weapon that helps us to be a strong and effective warrior.  As a warrior, we can heal; we can wound or we can destroy with the weapon God has given us to bless each other.        

John 19:35 and he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.  Jesus was telling the truth and setting an example that we would believe.  We are setting an example so that others will believe.  As I said earlier whatever I did or wherever I went I represented my parents.  I was a reflection on how they raised me.  When I got into trouble they would hear about it. And someone might say, well, your parents aren’t doing a very good job.  I learned early in life to speak the truth and do what my parents told me to do and it has paid off.  And it goes the same with my own children.  They have reflected; they have brought glory to us and we praise the Lord for that.         

 Then if Jesus’ testimony is the truth, we should believe and teach the word with truth and authority so that others should believe.  Our tongue is the sword and we need to train it to have good come forth (mind, soul, spirit and body [tongue]).  The tongue affects the mind, soul and spirit.  If you want good to come out, then we must feed on good food.  I imagine that Thursday, Christmas Day, every one fed or even over-stuffed on good food.  It tasted good. The word needs to be like food for us. I am not saying only to feed on the word three times a day with snacks in between.  We need to have a diet that is a regular scheduled intake of the word in our daily diet, not just on Saturday night.  This will build the truth within our spirit. In my experience with Mrs. Jones and my Dad I shared my story and my Dad compared it to Mrs. Jones. The truth was presented with certainty by both parties.  As believers in the word of Jesus, we need to learn to share the words of Jesus with truth.          

 Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please,  And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.                 

 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.  The word ‘dominion’ is in there.  Remember in Genesis 1:26 we talked about dominion.  We have dominion.  We have dominion over our tongue and we take that dominion.         

 I ask the question, what has the word meant to you this past year, or I could say how have you applied the word in your life this past year? I want to expound on this past year here at DLTC.  What brought us together was the like-mindedness of the way we look at the word and act upon the word. We believe the word is of God and Jesus is his Son.  We believe in the new covenant and that healing is for today and this is what Jesus taught us to do.   We have not grown in big numbers, but I believe we have grown spiritually. Is this agreeable?  Good.  I’d like to have us pause a moment and each of us reflect on where each has grown spiritually and then ask yourself what goals do I want for this coming year.           

While you are meditating I want to read what Paul said in Romans 7:14 - 25 ¹⁴For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.  ¹⁵For what I am doing, I do not understand. For

what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.  ¹⁶If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.  ¹⁷But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.  ¹⁸For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing

good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.  ¹⁹For the good that I will to do, I do

not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.  ²⁰Now if I do

 what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. ²¹I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.  ²²For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.  ²³But I see another law in my

members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me

into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  ²⁴O

wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  ²⁵I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then,

 with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.               Romans 8:1 - 3 ¹There is therefore now no

 condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  ²For

the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  ³For what the law could not do in

 that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own

Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.  What am I going to do?  Am I weak? Yes in the flesh but strong in the Spirit.  But I can do all things through Jesus.  Have you been thinking?  What are you going to change in 2009?          

 I was talking about the tongue there are some of things I want to do or I need to do and some things that I don't want to do but I do them.  This is part of our life that we are involved in and we have these obstacles.  It's kind of like going into one of fun houses where they have all of these different types of mirrors.  I remember one of those in Disneyland.  You walk in there and you say that’s me, that’s me, and that’s not me.  The world is around us and we need to recognize the tongue.  I think the tongue is important because that brings our soul, mind and emotions together.  It’s part of the body and we need to bring Jesus together and bring the word together because we are ambassadors, we are heirs.  We need to be sold out.  We have to learn to do this.  It just doesn't come, Lord give it to me; no.  We have to spend time in the word; we have to spend time in fellowship; we need to be accountable to one another.  We need to be in fellowship we need to worship and praise the Lord together so that we can be as a body as DLTC.  We need to be strong enough so that when people come in here -- they come in one door and out the other door cleansed.          

 In pre-service prayer the Lord showed me that we need to be like a washing machine.  When people come in we put them in a washer and they are washed and cleaned and they are taken out and spun dry and then they go out.  They'll be clean physically, mentally and spiritually filled with the Holy Spirit.  If they have any physical bodily ailments or anything like that when they come in here they are washed and cleaned.  A washing takes about 20 minutes to do the cycle and it depends on the article how long it takes to dry them.  But we need to be a washing machine and dryer for the Lord Jesus Christ when we come in here.  Praise God!         

 1 Thessalonians second chapter 13^th verse for this reason we also

 thank God without ceasing because when you received the word of God which you heard from us you welcomed it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the word of God which also effectively works in you who believe.  That little word, who believe – what are the scriptures that we stand upon in DLTC? Mark 16:15 Jesus said those who believe.  If we believe then we will lay hands on the sick we’ll set the captives free, speak in tongues.  So here it shows our tongue is that instrument which we praise the Lord with and have other actions upon it.         

  I've been looking over 2008 and wondering what is in 2009?  I hope and am praying that in 2009 we will have more testimonies not of ourselves but of people that we have prayed for.  People will come here and testify that through our tongues and through our message, someone has been touched.  John 4:23 says, But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipper will worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father is seeking such to worship him.  We need to worship Him in word and in spirit.  Also in John 4:24 God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.          

The thing that I wanted to put across tonight is the truth.  We speak the truth and we act the truth.  The truth is in all things and we are going to have to learn it.  We’re going to have to practice it; we are going to have to go through it.  We have to encourage one another.  I feel one of the key things is we have to get the truth out.          

 In John 16:7 Jesus again says, nevertheless I tell you the truth is to your advantage that I go away.  He said I go away because if I do not go away the helper will not come to you but if I depart I will send him to you.  To me that is a revelation.  What do I mean by a revelation?  He showed it to us now he backs off and lets us do it and he will send us in some ways a mysterious helper the Holy Spirit.  But it's going to be with us because Jesus is the Holy Spirit and he's going to be there so we need to trust in him and act upon it and do it and we will see great things.  Hallelujah!         

 Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love may you grow up into all things into him who is the head.  Who is the head?  Christ Jesus.Ephesians 5:9 for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness righteousness and truth.  We get a lot of these surveys that ask how would you rate this on a scale of 1 through 10.  How would you rate truth where would you put truth one or 10?  It would be 10, yes, because truth comes first.  We have to proclaim the word.  We have to act upon it.  And with that one little thing, the tongue, we either praise God or we give someone glory or lie about them. With the same mouth we praise God with our tongue.  We need to learn to control it and if we don't learn how to control it it's going to take us down.  Paul was talking about this when he said these are the things I don’t want to do but I do them.  And the things I want to do but I don’t do them.  He goes back and forth but he comes at the end to Jesus, the word. We need to get our tongues under control. I’m speaking to myself also in this tonight. I need to learn how to control my tongue.  As I said I am still in the learning stage.  I’m in training.  I think we are all that way.         

In Philippians 1:18   What then; only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.   Col 1:6 Which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. I John 1:8  if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.    Now that is a hard one isn’t it? If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.   Do we ever deceive ourselves?  All the time!  We have to be a testimony and we also have to testify to truth.          

 I want to read 2 Timothy 2:22-26 because it was what Paul was telling Timothy. I identify with this. Paul is telling Timothy; Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.  And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.  We need to flee all of these things.  We need to flee sin and take the truth of the word.         

Colossians 1:5 says Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.        

And we also read in John 17:17 Sanctify them by your truth.  Your word is truth.        As I had asked before, what are you looking for in 2009?