From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart, you'll learn the answer to this important question, do you really know the truth? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

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Hey, you can't get to heaven without the truth. Can't worship God without the truth. Can't have fellowship with other believers without the truth. If you don't have the truth, you have nothing. Nothing.

And God has called us to proclaim the truth. And God has called his church to be a place where the truth goes out.

Now you think about how popular is the truth today? Not very.

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There is treasures, truth, there is blessing, there is hope that you always dream love. He can heal every scars of real truth. Real love. Real. From his heart.

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Jesus tells us in the book of John, chapter eight, "If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Well, free from what exactly? We'll find out today on this edition of From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, where we're learning just how critically important truth really is.

The message we're about to hear today is entitled "Do You Know the Truth?" It's from Pastor Jeff's three-lesson series entitled "Nothing but the Truth." You can hear part two today of this lesson, and you can hear part one of the message when you go to promisheart.org and click the listen link.

Now, though, open your Bible to the book of 2 John. And again, Pastor Jeff is here to share God's truth, so you can say you do know the truth.

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**Second John, reading in verse one, the elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. And then verse four, I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth. Five times in four verses, he uses the word Aletheia. Truth. Truth is a very important subject to John. Do you know the truth? Is it real in your heart and in your life? I'm not talking about knowing about the truth. I'm talking about knowing the truth. And the truth is the reality and the certainty and the facts concerning the Lord and his Word.**

**So three reasons why it is so important to know the truth. See the question, do you know the truth? That's a personal question. It's either yes or no. But the question why is it so important to know the truth? Well, that's a question that has reasons. Reasons that are answered in those first three verses. Reason number one, why is it so important to know the truth? Reason number one, it's because the truth is what sets a person free. Jesus says in John, chapter eight. He was saying therefore to those Jews who had believed him, if you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Sets you free from what? Sets you free from the penalty of sin. Sets you free from the power of sin. Sets you free one day from the presence of sin. The truth does that. And if you don't know the truth, you're not going to be set free. Truth is so critically important. Hey, Truth is what sets a person free. What do you need to know to be set free? The truth about what? First of all, you need to know the truth about yourself. And here's the truth. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You're a sinner. And because you're a sinner and I'm a sinner, and we're sinners, we fall short of the glory of God, and we are children of wrath even as the rest. Ephesians 2:3. A child of wrath. Not a child of God. A child of wrath. Now, people don't like that truth that they're a sinner, but that is the truth of the word of God. And until you embrace the fact and understand the fact and agree with God on who you are and the trouble that you're in, you'll never be set free because you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. You have to know the truth about yourself.**

**Secondly, you must know the truth about Jesus, who he is, who you are a sinner, hopeless, helpless, doomed. Who he is. He is not just a good teacher. He's not just a miracle worker. He's not just a moral man. He is the God man. He is the God man. Verse 3 is an interesting verse where he says, grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. In truth and love. John does that on purpose. He puts God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. He puts them together because in the mind of a Jew, when you put things together like that, you're saying that Jesus Christ is God. Now, why is it so important to understand who Jesus is? Because Jesus said in John 8:24, unless you believe that I am, you will all die in your sins unless you believe that I am. He is how it reads in the New American Standard. But he's in italics. Anytime you read a word in italics, that means it's not really there in the Greek. They added it for readability. Unless you believe that I am, you will all die in your sins. I am is the name for God from the burning bush. From Exodus, chapter three, where Moses met God at the burning bush. God, who are you? I am who I am. You tell the children of Israel, I am sent you, man. When Jesus said before Abraham was born, I am. Why did they pick up stones to sow him? Because he's claiming the name of God. Because he's God in the flesh. In him, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. You can only be saved by the Jesus of the Bible. So you believe who you are. I'm in trouble. I need a savior. And you believe and come to know the truth of who he is.**

**And then thirdly, you know the truth about salvation. It's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. And as the Scripture says in Romans 10:13, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. It's not as a result of works. Lest any man should boast. How does a person come to know the truth and to be in the truth? You understand, I'm a sinner and I need a savior. I can't save myself. But Jesus died on the cross for me. And he rose again from the dead for me. And I give my life to him. In my hand no price I bring, but simply to thy cross I cling. Listen. Salvation is not God's grace plus your works equals salvation. Salvation is by grace, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. The truth is what sets a person free.**

**Second reason. Why is the truth so important? It's so important to know the truth. Because the truth is what establishes Christian fellowship. You know, it's the Greek word koinonia. Koinonia means a sharing together, a partnership together. And Christian fellowship is in the Lord. Because we share the same life. Now remember this about the truth. He says, to whom I love in truth. And not only I, but also who know the truth. Hey, there's a connection in the truth. Why? Because the truth is objective. The Word of God. But it's also personal. It's the God of the Word. The Word of God is truth. But the God of the Word is truth. Three times in the Old Testament, we read these words. The God of truth. The God of truth. God the Father is the God of truth. John 14:6, a very famous verse. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth. He is the truth. God the Father is the God of truth. Jesus is the truth. And what did Jesus say about the helper who was going to come? He calls him the Spirit of Truth. He said, the Spirit of truth is coming. He will guide you in all truth. Truth is personal. Truth is God himself. And the truth dwells within every believer because every believer. What do you not know? That your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies. First Corinthians, chapter 6. The Lord comes to live inside of us by His Spirit. When we give our lives to him. When we put our faith and trust in him and him alone for salvation and the truth, the Spirit of truth comes to live in us. He says, Verse 2. For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. You can do like the Prodigal Son. You can get far away from God, but you're never going to denounce that God exists. You're never going to denounce that this is true, this scripture is true, and that the Lord is true. You can't, because he lives inside of you. And you will come back because the Lord will draw you back if you truly belong to Him. But it's the truth that establishes Christian fellowship. And it's the truth that connects us together. And it connects us to his love. It connects us to his grace. It connects us to his mercy. It connects us to his peace. That's all found in the truth. If you go outside of the truth, you're not going to find true love. You're not going to find God's mercy, you're not going to find God's grace. You're not going to find God's peace, because it's in the confines of the truth. So that's why we say it's the truth that connects us as believers. Truth is not incidental. Truth is fundamental.**

**Now remember this about the truth. There are certain things in this book. Thy word is truth. Sanctify them in the truth. John 17:7. Thy word is truth. Certain things that are spine issues in the truth. That means that you can't get. You can't. That's not a negotiable, that's a non negotiable. Who you are a sinner before God, who he is the God man, and how a person gets saved by faith in Jesus and Jesus alone for salvation. Those are non negotiables. Those are spine issues. But then there are also some rib issues, some things concerning spiritual gifts, things concerning eschatology, the specifics about the Lord's return. See, I'm a pre tribulation rapturist. I believe that Jesus is coming back at any moment to take us to heaven to be with him before the tribulation starts. You might be somebody who's a mid tribulation rapturous. You say, well, I believe Jesus is coming back, but he's coming back at the middle of the tribulation. You might be a post tribulation tribulation rapturist that Jesus comes back at the end of the tribulation. Those things don't break fellowship just because one guy believes pre trib, one guy believes mid trib, one guy believes post trib. That's not spine issue stuff. Those are rib issue things. And the mid trib and the post trib, that's okay, they can be wrong. But those are rib issue things, spine issue things that determines whether you're in the fellowship, that determines whether you're in the truth. And the truth connects us in his love and grace and mercy and peace. Look at verse three again. Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father in truth and love. You're not going to have love, grace, mercy, peace, love. Listen, if you don't have the truth, you don't have anything. You don't have anything because the truth connects us to all of that. Did you know that you can't even worship God without the truth? Maybe you didn't understand that. That's from the lips of Jesus. He said to the woman at the well. But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be his worshipers. Now watch this. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. You can't worship any other way. You must worship in spirit and truth. The spine issue has to be right in order for you to be connected to God, in order for you to be connected to the people of God and in order for you to worship God. No one on the planet gets everything right concerning the scripture. You don't, I don't. John MacArthur doesn't. Paul didn't. I mean there are things that we don't fully understand, but not on spine issues. Spine issues are very clear, and we hold to the truth concerning those spine issues. The truth is what establishes Christian fellowship.**

**You know, we talk a lot about unity. I had a guy talk to me not too long ago about unity. Oh, you know, Jesus prayed for unity. Yeah, he did. John, chapter 17, verse 21. He prayed for unity. And before he prayed for unity. John 17, verse 17, he prayed for truth. Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth. You can't have unity until you are grounded together in the truth. So why is it so important to know the truth? Truth is what sets a person free. Truth is what establishes Christian fellowship. And thirdly, truth is what we're called to proclaim. For the sake, verse two of the truth. For the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever. We're called to proclaim the truth. Hey, you can't get to heaven without the truth. Can't worship God without the truth. Can't have fellowship with other believers without. If you don't have the truth, you have nothing. Nothing. And God has called us to proclaim the truth. And God has called his church to be a place where the truth goes out. Now you think about how popular is the truth today? Not very. There is pressure from the world to fudge on the truth, to water down the truth, to equivocate on the truth. God says, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn aside to mess and will turn away from the truth. Hey, we preach the truth. Why is that so important? Because we grow up believers in the truth. That's why. How does a Christian grow? He grows in the truth. We speak the truth in love so that people can grow up into all aspects, into Christ. That's what it says in Ephesians, chapter 4. And God has ordained in his church. First Timothy, chapter 3, verse 15. He said, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of. Of the truth. That's what the church is. The church is the pillar and support of the truth. The church is to be the place where people can come. And what are they going to get in the church? The truth. We're not going to tell you what you want to hear. We're going to tell you. Thus says the Lord. This is what God says. And that's how you grow with the truth. Hey, it's God's truth and the devil's lies. Some have asked me before, they say, do you ever get nervous when you talk about something that you know is going to step on people's toes? I said, it never crosses my mind. I never even think about it. My job before God is to deliver the mail. I don't write the mail. He writes the mail. I deliver the mail. Preachers are called to be heralds of the king. You know, the herald would go before the king and he would say, thus says the king. And he would read what the king had decreed. God forbid that that guy should change what the king said. He'd be a dead herald. He's not gonna do that more than once. Hey, it's scary to think that guys can get up and they can just twist the word of God to say whatever they want it to say. Well, you don't have the authority to do that. God called you to preach the word. I solemnly charge you. Paul said to Timothy before the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the living and the dead. There's judgment there. Preach the word. Cause God is listening and God is watching.**

**I listened to a sermon a few years ago by a guy, pastor of a big church in North Carolina. He was preaching on Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1, verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. And it talks about how God, when people reject God, God gives them over. Gives them over to sexual immorality, gives them over to homosexual immorality, gives them over to a reprobate mind. I mean, it's very clear in scripture. It's a critical passage of Scripture. Romans 1, 18:32. Well, this guy was preaching that and he was struggling so much. And he starts his sermon by saying, oh, this is just so hard. I just really struggling. And you know, tell your neighbor this is going to be a hard sermon for you. And this is hard for me to preach. I'm going watching this and I'm thinking, what in the world's wrong with you? You didn't write Romans 1. I didn't write Romans 1. You just tell people this is what it says. Thus says the Lord. You don't have to apologize for it. Hey, if you don't like it, take it up with God. This is coming from God, the judge of all the earth. The God who is truth. That's what his word is. The truth is what we're called to proclaim. We grow up believers in the truth and we faithfully and lovingly tell unbelievers the truth. I like what RG Lee said years ago. He was the pastor, the great pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church yesteryear. And he said this. I know some people call the preacher who stands squarely upon the teaching of Christ and his apostles narrow, harsh. Cruel. As to being narrow, I have no desire to be any broader than was Jesus. As to being cruel, is it cruel to tell a man the truth? Is a man to be called cruel who declares the whole counsel of God and points out to men the danger? Is it cruel to arouse sleeping people to the fact that the house is on fire? Is it cruel to jerk a blind man away from the rattlesnake and the coil? Is it cruel to declare to people the deadliness of disease and tell them which medicine to take? I had rather be called cruel for being kind than to be called kind for being cruel. The cruelest thing a man could ever do would be to fail to warn people about what the Bible has to say about hell. That would be cruel. I want to be found faithful. Don't you?**

**Hey. You struggle to walk in the truth. I struggle to walk in the truth. It is a struggle. The Christian life is a struggle. We deal with the presence of sin in the Christian life. But the truth is the truth. God is the truth. His Word is the truth. And we lift up the banner of truth and we point people to Jesus because that is what we're called to do. And we grow up in the truth. And we spend time reading this book. And when we do, we discover that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father but through Him. Listen, if you don't know the truth, if you've never put your faith and trust solely and squarely on the Lord Jesus Christ, the God, man, Today is the day for you. The Bible says today. If you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Behold, today is the day of salvation.**

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Jesus Christ gave his very life so that sinners could be reconciled to Him. If you'll just come to Him in repentance and faith, call out His name from the depths of your heart. The Holy Spirit will enter you and you will be changed. He's waiting for you to find out more about what that will mean to you and to all those with whom you come in contact. Go to fromisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" banner. God's still small voice is there to speak to your open heart and help you rest in Him.

Today's message was part two of the lesson "Do You Know the Truth?" from the three-lesson series "Nothing but the Truth." As we've learned in this lesson, truth is critical in our courts and it is critical in Christianity. The Apostle John was extremely focused on the issue of the truth, and he knew that if we lose the truth, we lose everything. In Pastor Jeff Shreve's powerful three-message series we're in this month, we take an insightful dive into the rarely read book of 2 John, where we learn some foundational truth about what truth really, really is.

This timely series is our gift of thanks to you this month for your support of From His Heart of any amount, and you can request it in the format of your choice: CDs, DVDs, a USB flash drive, or immediate MP3 download. It's called "Nothing but the Truth." Also, when you make that gift, we'll send you the booklet "Sticks and Stones: What to Do When the Going Gets Tough." Both are for your gift of any amount, and thank you for investing in Kingdom Work through From His Heart.

We also thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. We pray the program was a blessing to you and that you were encouraged and received a special word from the Lord's heart to yours. We also trust you'll join Pastor Jeff Shreve next time for the next lesson in this "Nothing but the Truth" series. That's when we'll again be reminded that there is no greater truth than to know Jesus and His love for us. That's next time here on From His Heart.

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Real Truth, Real Love. Real From His Heart.

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From His Heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.