Sent on November 2, 2016
Greetings to all,
Recently I preached a sermon titled “Tell it Like It Is”. Another title could have been “To Tell The Truth”. Many years ago there was a television show with that title.
Why is it so important to tell the truth? Of course there are many reasons but one very important reason is that if we do not tell the whole truth we are actually manipulating the hearer by releasing to them just enough truth to get them to respond according to our wishes.
The clarity of speech is something that is sadly lacking in present day speech where influencers attempt to persuade the masses to their way of thinking.
Jesus never used manipulative speech to get what He wanted. He always said what He meant and He meant what He said. While there are many words spoken by Jesus that would give us cause for alarm he said more that give us cause for rejoicing.
Jesus said in John 3:16,18, “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… He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already.”
These words that Jesus spoke concerning His mission couldn’t be any clearer. Those who believe make heaven; those who don’t won’t. Jesus wants us to take Him at His word.
At the end of Matthew 6 Jesus tells us not to worry about what money will buy. Verse 31 tells us, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’”
By worrying you make yourself responsible to meet the need yet Jesus made it clear that it is Father God that will meet these needs. In life’s journey we are to grow from the inside. Do not try to grow from the outward (worrying about the outward needs); be like the lilies and grow from within and like the lilies your beauty will be seen on the outside.
If our speech is lined up with the words of Jesus and we speak with the same clarity, we can expect the results that Jesus said we would enjoy.
Jesus said, “I (the king of kings) go to prepare a place for you.” Wow, what a future you have in Jesus…
Love to all… pb
P.S. Have you read this new article on the Faithworks blog yet?: Two Things We All Worry About—But Really Shouldn’t