Welcome to this third week of My Big Fat Mouth. So far we’ve talked about Complaining and Criticizing. Next week you won’t want to miss. Julie Weigand is going to be here talking about Gossipping. Today we are going to talk about lying.
So if you haven’t gotten to know me well enough… let me just make sure that you know that I am a horrible individual. I love some ice cream. And Lisa and I have been really trying to work on our diets. But… I love ice cream. So not too long ago I am hanging out with the kids in the car and it's after dinner. One of them says to me… Dad let’s get ice cream. It’s like my kryptonite. I said… no no… that wouldn’t be good. What if your mother found out. They said, Dad… come on… let’s go get some ice cream - we even have a coupon. I said, well… if we go you mother cannot find out. So we go and commit our sin. Then we come back home and sure enough Lisa says… so where have you guys been, it took you a long time to come back. I said… oh we were just driving around. But then… then she turns to our sweet youngest child and she says… Zach where were you. This boy couldn’t lie if his life depended on it. Oh he tries, but his face tells it all. Then we were caught.
One of first things we learn is to lie. You know how it goes. Your 2 year old comes running into he room and his face is covered in sticky chocolate and you say, “Did you eat the chocolate?” And of course they say... No?
How many of you have ever told a lie? Ok… How many of you have lied in the last 24 hours… well I’m going to say that some of you just lied. We lie 4x a day on average.
According a University of Mass study 60% people cannot have a 10-min conversation without lying.
We lie for a lot of different reasons. We lie to Impress, Avoid conflict, Get away w/something, Shift blame, Be nice. You know how that goes… honey how do I look in this dress? Honey am I the same size as that other person over there? It’s tough and this is something that we all struggle with so we shouldn’t be surprised to see it come up in scripture. Let’s take a look.
22 The Lord detests lying lips, but the delights in those who tell the truth. Prov 12:22 NLT
The Hebrew word that is translated as detests is tow` ebah (to-ay-baw'); something disgusting; an abhorrence, an abomination; something that makes one nauseous. So we are basically making God nauseous every time we lie
21Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. Eph 4:21-25 NLT
A friend of mine used to say “You may never be more like the devil than when you lie.” He used to say that because of this passage out of John 8:44
44...He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, 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. John 8:44
THE DEVIL’S PLAN
1) GET YOU TO LIE.
We begin by exaggerating a story to impress friends. Then we cheat on a test or lie about where you were or makeup something about someone. They might even be partial truths. You know you might leave out some details or paint the story for our benefit. The problem is there is no such thing as a half lie. A lie is still a lie. And when we do this enough we get to Satan’s second part of his plan…
2) GET YOU TO LIE TO YOURSELF.
When we lie to ourselves we start rationalizing. Then you have to double down on lies. We begin to lie so often—You start to believe your own lies. We create this alternate world that we live in that is full of the lies we have been telling.
➢Fool yourself—Convinced you are the victim
➢Not hurting anyone—Quit at any time.
It’s like King David in the book of Samuel. He stole someone else’s wife and then when he found out she was pregnant he had the husband killed. He denied that he had done anything wrong until Nathan the prophet confronted him and showed him his sin. David lived in his world of lies and that is what Satan wants us to do…
3) GET YOU TO LIVE A LIE.
Obviously this isn’t all of you, but it is some of you. You are so caught in lies that you have wrapped yourself up into a world of lies that you live in. You might be one of these people…
Xian guy at office—raging porn addiction
Amazing life on Instagram—Fight depression and discouragement
Mom who has it altogether—Worn out, depressed and isolated.
Perfect marriage—Don’t sleep in same bed
But my biggest fear are those who are deceived into believing that they are Christians. People who have been coming to church their whole lives, but have never truly invited Christ into their hearts. There are people who believe that just because they are a good people and because they come to church every Sunday that that will be enough when they stand before God. Here these words from 1 John…
4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 1 John 2:4
So… Why do you lie? There are lots of different reasons. Sometimes we lie to protect people’s feelings. Sometimes we lie to make ourselves look better.
THE ROOT REASON MOST OF US LIE IS BECAUSE WE DON’T COMPLETELY TRUST GOD.
We think our lies work better than the truth but in reality… the bring fear, they cause us to have less of what matters most in our relationships and our relationships end up being based on lies.
GOD’S PLAN
Satan is the father of lies
Jesus is the truth—Truth will set you free.
Lies bring bondage. Truth brings freedom.
WE CONFESS TO GOD FOR FORGIVENESS AND TO PEOPLE FOR HEALING.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Sometimes people get the wrong idea about confession. Sometimes we think we have to confess our sins to God for God… but that’s not the case at all. We confess our sins because it releases us from the prisons we have placed ourselves in.
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. James 5:16
Freedom! Nothing to hide!
Not talking about a “partial” confession. 99% of the truth is 100% lie.
I sinned—I betrayed God—I own it! I want his grace.
Today... Now