 Amen. Alright, keep your place there in Proverbs chapter 12. That'll be kind of our starting point this evening. So Proverbs chapter 12 is kind of a verse that talks a lot about you see these words like truth, you know, you see these words like lying lips in Proverbs chapter 12. The word deceit actually pops up three times in Proverbs chapter 12. So it's basically if you look, it's a chapter in the Bible that's talking a lot about, you know, not lying, telling the truth, things like that. Okay, especially in verses number 22 and number 19 which we'll get to. So keep your place there, kind of mark that in your Bibles and we're going to come back to Proverbs chapter 12. But this evening we're going to talk about lying. We're going to talk about lying is going to be the subject of our sermon tonight. Turn to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. We're going to talk about this idea of telling the truth and not telling the truth. Look at John chapter 8. So the Bible tells us where lies come from and, you know, why people lie. And that's what we're going to look at this evening. Look at John chapter 8 and verse number 44 where the Bible says, year of your father the devil and the lusts of your father you 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. Turn to Genesis chapter 3. So the Bible says that Satan himself is the father of all lies and that he was a liar from the beginning. You know, his religion, as we found in the American heresy series, his religion itself is a lie. You know, his religion, the religion of Satan will get you nowhere except hell. You know, the religion of works. Turn to Genesis chapter 3 and look at verse number 1. Genesis chapter 3 and verse number 1. The Bible says this, of course, is the famous story of the serpent beguiling Eve. And in Genesis chapter 3 and verse number 1, the Bible says, now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Ye hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it. So she's telling the serpent what God told her. Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die. Now that was a lie right there. The Satan was lying to Eve. So when we lie, that we are actually obeying Satan and not God when we lie. So I hate to tell you, but you are all a bunch of liars tonight. Turn back to Proverbs chapter 12. So we talked this morning about coronavirus and no one here has coronavirus. So everyone kind of sat back and ate a nice little bag of gummy worms. When I'm telling you tonight that you're a bunch of liars. And that we're a bunch of liars. So we're going to look at why that is tonight. Proverbs chapter 12, look at verse number 19. The Bible says, the lip of truth shall be established forever. But a lying tongue is but for a moment. Look at verse number 22. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord. But they that deal truly are His delight. There's that word abomination again. Lying lips, the Bible says, are an abomination to the Lord. That means the Lord hates it. Period. So why would anyone, especially Christians, lie? I mean, everybody knows that it's wrong. Even out soul winning, we talk with people and I've never heard anyone when I've talked to them about lying and you know, are you a liar? Have you ever told a lie? I've never heard anyone out soul winning and all the years that I've been soul winning say that lying is a good thing. Not once. Okay? So why would people admittedly do it? Why would people lie? Especially Christians. So tonight, I want to give you four reasons that Christians lie. I'm going to give you four reasons that Christians lie. So what you're going to do tonight is as I preach to this sermon, you're just going to check yourself. And you're going to say, is this me? And you say, oh, you know, maybe that is me. Then I'm talking about you. That's how you check yourself with the sermon tonight. Okay? So especially Christians, you know, is what we're talking because Christians lie. I hate to break it to you. You know, we're all liars. Turn to 1st Samuel chapter 15 and let's look at the first reason that Christians lie. So we shouldn't do it. I mean, it's an abomination to the Lord. It's of the devil. It's of Satan. You know, he's the father of lies. Why in the world? We shouldn't be doing it. We shouldn't be lying, especially as Christians. The first reasons that Christians lie is this. They blame others for things that they have done. They blame others for things that they have done. Look down at 1st Samuel chapter 15. Here we see King Saul, and he's done something wrong, and let's look at how he handles it. All right? Look at 1st Samuel chapter 15, and we'll start reading in verse number seven. So Saul was to go to war against the amicholites, and he was supposed to destroy everything, all the animals, all the people, everything. He was supposed to leave nothing alive. And the Bible says in verse number seven, and Saul smote the amicholites from Havilia until thou comest to sure that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag, the king of the amicholites, alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs, and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them. But everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. Then came to the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repented me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and hath not performed to my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all night. Here we see Samuel, you know, he's advocating, right? He's upset that Saul has done this. And when Samuel rose to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgall. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Now, is that true? Was that a true statement? What Saul just said? He said, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. Look back at verse number three. This is what Saul was supposed to do. In verse number three, Samuel said, Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. He was supposed to kill everything, and he did not do that. Go back to verse number 14. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleeding of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amicholites, for the people spared the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord, thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord had said to me in this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When that was little in thine own sight, was that doubt made head over the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel. And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amicholites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore, then, didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. Again, he lies, and have gone the way in which the Lord sent me, and brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and utterly destroyed the Amicholites. But the people took up the spoil, sheep, and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice unto the Lord, thy God, in Gilgo. So first of all, Saul did not do what the Lord commanded him to do. That was a lie. And instead of owning up to it, he blamed others. He blamed other people for his shortfall, for his mistakes. Okay? So what is it? I mean, what's the application? What's the takeaway here of this first point? The first point is that you need to own your mistakes in your life. No one can throw you under the bus if you do it first. Look at it that way. At work 18 years ago, 18 years ago, that's how old I am, at work I still remember this like it was yesterday. We were under such pressure at my job that we felt like if we missed a deadline we would all be fired. That's the kind of pressure that we were under. And we were under pressure to get this design done, and it came to a Friday, it was a Friday. I remember because I went out for a walk with my wife that night, and I remember how I felt, but it was a Friday afternoon and everybody had left the office, and I found out that I had made a mistake and we wouldn't be able to ship the design out for two weeks. I made a mistake. It was like a little tiny word in a file that made some simulations run in the wrong way. And I knew that this mistake was going to be a huge deal to people, and I immediately sent out an email and I tried to call people but nobody was available because they had all left. So I had to sit on this thing for the weekend, and I remember I was telling my wife I thought I was going to be fired. That's the kind of pressure that that we were under. I thought for sure we're going to be fired. So Monday morning I went in and we always had a meeting every Monday morning and I just went into the group of people and to the manager, and I was I think I was a third year engineer or something. So I mean I wasn't brand new out of school, but I mean I wasn't an expert, but I should have known better. I made a mistake, and I just threw myself on the tail. I said I made a mistake. I've restarted everything over the weekend. That's what I can do, and there it is. Right there, right in front of everybody. And look, nothing happened. The manager of the project was like, okay, thank you for telling us. Let's just do what needs to be done to get it fixed. And nothing happened, but I didn't try to cover it up. And it was the longest weekend of my life. I mean probably not the longest weekend of my life, but I can still remember the stress of it because it was a terribly stressful situation. So just own it immediately. Don't do what Saul did. Okay, otherwise you're just digging yourself a deeper hole. Let's look at see how it worked out for Saul. Look at 1 Samuel 15 and look at verse number 26. Verse number 26. And the Bible says, and Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And Samuel turned about to go away, and he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, the Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and have given it to thy neighbor of thine that is better than thou. So he lost the whole kingdom over this rebellion. That's what Samuel called it. He called it rebellion against the Lord. Turn to Exodus 32. Let's look at another example of this from the text this morning. Turn to Exodus 32. Exodus 32 and look at verse number 22. So this is Aaron. So Aaron has, you know, Moses has come down from the mountain and he's seen Aaron. And Aaron has led the people into this horrible sin of worshiping, you know, this golden calf and committing fornication and whatever else that they were doing. And in verse number 22, this is Aaron's answer to Moses. And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief. So he blames the people too. He just blames the people. For they said unto me, Make us gods which shall go before us. For this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we want not what has become of him. And then of course he says that he threw all the things into fire and it just out popped this golden calf, right? So I mean, first of all, he blames the people. He blames the people just like Saul did. Go back to Genesis chapter 3. First book of your Bible. Go back to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. So Eve is, is, is deceived by Satan and she eats of the tree and then she convinces her husband to eat of the tree as well. And when God asked the man what happened, what does he do? Look at verse number 12 of Genesis 3. And the man said, The woman who gave to me, to be with me, she gave me the tree and I did eat. So he blames the woman and sort of blames God. I mean, he's like, you know, you gave me this person. I mean, you gave me this woman and look what she made me do. He doesn't take any responsibility. Look down at verse number 17. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife and has eaten of the tree, which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake and sorrow shall thou eat of it until the days, in all the days of thy life. So look, when you make excuses and blame other people, it just angers the Lord. It angers God. It makes him mad. Now let me just say this about, you know, leadership. When you're in a leadership role, you own what the people that you're leading do. I mean, Adam, he had better own what he was supposed to be leading his wife. That's what God said in verse number 17. He was supposed to be leading her in that way. Saul was the leader of the people. Aaron was the leader of the people. You can't blame the people that are underneath you when you're the leader. You own those mistakes. So look, there's a lot of people who are leaders. Like anybody who's married, any man who's married is a leader. I mean, whether he knows it or not, but there's very few people who are good leaders. And a good leader would never do this. Would never do this. A good leader knows that although the people beneath him can mess up, that ultimately the failure is his own. Because he was in charge of that situation. Okay? So that's the first reason that Christians lie, is to blame others for mistakes that they should own themselves. The second reason is this. You know, being different, being a different person around different groups of people. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. Basically being a fake Christian. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. And we'll start reading at verse number 69. Matthew chapter 26. This is the story about Peter denying Jesus. Okay? Jesus has just been arrested. He's standing before the high priest. People are smacking him around. They're starting to get violent with him. They're interrogating him. They're saying, you know, I mean, it's the beginning of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ basically is what's happening. And this is the Peter's denial of Jesus. Look at verse number 69 in Matthew chapter 26. Now Peter sat without in the palace and a damsel came unto him saying, thou also was with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, this fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him, they that stood by and said to Peter, surely thou also art one of them for thy speech bereithy. Then he began, then began he to curse and to swear saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. So you see, Peter was trying to literally convince people that he was not who he was through lying. He was trying to show people that this was not who he was. You say, ah, but that was for a good reason. You know, he was, you know, look, is there ever a good reason to deny Christ? I mean, is there ever a good reason for that? Do you say that this was a very specific sin for a specific time and a specific event? Well, what about the Christian who's one person in church and who's another person when they leave church on Sunday night and start their life during the week? What about the person who's one way around brothers and sisters in Christ in another way around another group of friends that they have? What about that person? You don't think that those people exist? What about the person who you couldn't even tell the difference between them and the other people in the office or at work? What about that Christian? It's the same thing. The way they talk, the way you dress, you know, what about around your family? What if you're this one person at church and then around family so you don't offend people, you're another way? It's the same thing. If this is you, you're a liar. And look, everyone will know it. There is, look, there is no indication at all in the Bible that these people even believe Peter at all. There's no indication. There's no indication that they thought for a second that he didn't know Jesus. Why do you think they kept asking him? Why do you think people kept saying, yeah, no, it is you. No, it is you. No, we know it's you. And then he starts to, what does he start to do? He starts to curse and swear. He starts to curse and swear so he sounds like everybody else to try to convince them. He overcorrects. I mean, they kept asking him over and over until he literally left. Look at verse 75. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus was said unto him, before the cock crowed, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wet bitterly. He just left. They didn't believe him. He just left. Think about what those people must have been thinking. Look, first of all, people who are fake are generally unconvincing in my opinion. Peter was overcorrecting. He was trying to curse and swear. People weren't buying it. They weren't buying it. And by the way, this is you. You will make a joke out of your testimony. Think about what those people must have thought about Peter. Think about what they must have thought like, oh, you know, I mean, they knew that he knew Jesus. They knew it. And he's sitting there and you say, I don't know him. And then he starts cursing and swearing. They're thinking in their mind, they're like, some friend you are. Talk about a fair weather friend. I mean, if you're that kind of person that talks like everybody else at work or acts different around family, your testimony will be a joke. Your testimony will be a joke to these people. You know, at least if you have consistency in your walk, I mean, even if people don't agree with your walk, at least they'll respect your testimony. Look, you know, the idea of a testimony, just that word testimony, that was foreign to me when I became a Baptist. After I got saved and got in a Baptist church, the word testimony was foreign to me. And basically it has two general meanings. First of all, you know, people have a testimony, a lot of old IFB churches. They wanted you to stand up in front of the church when you became a member of the church and tell your testimony to everybody, how you got saved. Right? But your real testimony is, you know, you're obviously, you know, once you get saved, your testimony is your Christian walk, is your consistency. That's your testimony. It's your walk. And you know what? That will be the power that you have, you know, against people that don't believe in what you're doing. Is that testimony? Is that walk? Don't ruin it. Don't ruin it by being fake, by being a liar about your life, because look, that's what these people want to hear. That's what these people want to hear. These people that don't like, that you're involved in a church, they don't like that you're going soul-winning, they don't like these types of things. You know what they want to know? You know what they want to think in their mind? They want to think in their mind. You know what? It's all fake. It's just fake. They're just fake Christians. They're just trying to lift themselves up over everybody. Look, I'm not trying to lift myself up over anybody. I'm trying to do what the Bible says I should do. Period. It's not about being above anybody else, or you know, judgmental about anybody else. I'm just trying to do what the Bible says I should do. And that should be your testimony. But people that, look, the dead Christian, the person that saved going to carpet church or whatever church they're going to, do nothing with their life, that's what they want to hear. They want to think that this is fake to you. They want to think that this is a show. Because guess what? They don't want to do anything with their life. They don't want to do what you're doing. They don't want to have to change their life. That's why they're in rock concert church. They want, they want to believe, they want you to show them that you're fake. That's what they want. Don't be fake. Be real. The third reason, turn to 2 Samuel 15. This one's harder to recognize. This one's harder to recognize than the first two. The third reason is this. The third reason that Christians lie is to cast shade on others. To cast shade on others. 2 Samuel 15, we see the story of Absalom when he came back into the kingdom. And Absalom subtly cast shade on his father, on his father David, who's the king. Look at 2 Samuel 15. Look at verse number one. And the Bible says, and it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him. So he's trying to make himself look super important. He prepared him chariots. Nobody did this for him. Nobody put him in his position. Recognize that. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man had a controversy to come, to came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said, of what city art thou? And he said, thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. So here Absalom, he's sitting in the way of the gate. He's not sitting in the king's gate, but he's sitting in the way of the gate and he's intercepting people that are coming to the king for judgment. In verse number three. And Absalom said unto him, see thy matters are good and right, but there is no man deputies of the king to hear thee. Absalom said, moreover, oh, that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice. So in verse number three, he's saying there's no man deputies of the king to hear thee. He's casting shade on the king, on the leadership. He's saying, you know, I don't know, the king doesn't have anybody here to help you. Oh, but only, but I can help you. Because I'll do justice to every man, unlike the king, is what he's saying. He's casting shade on David's leadership. He's implying that David wasn't leading correctly. Look at verse five. And it was so that when any man came nigh unto him to do obeisance, they put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. And on this manor did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. He intercepted the people and he cast shade on his father's leadership behind his back. So let me ask you a question. Was Absalom qualified to give this leadership advice? I mean, just think about it. Just a few paragraphs before, to get Joab's attention, he burns his field down. I mean, he was not appointed to a leadership role, even though his father was the king. I mean, he was a prince and he had no responsibilities given to him. Let's just tell you something right there. This man was a prince and he was this spoiled brat that just burned somebody's field down to get attention. He had no qualifications and he was not appointed to any role like this. So, you know, the lesson here, the takeaway is, you know, be careful not to assume roles that aren't yours. You know, stay in your lane. You know, with Absalom, the severity of what happened to Absalom was very serious. So especially, you know, refer people to leadership. Don't sit in the gates is the bottom line. What Absalom was doing was behind David's back. It ended in a short coup, but ultimately, it caused his death. It ended in his life was taken because of it. So, you know, in general, you need to make sure, you know, what Absalom should have done if he was sincere or what the guy that was listening to Absalom in verse number three when he said, but there is no man, deputy of the king, to hear thee. That guy should have said, well, let's go talk to the king about it. Let's go talk to David. But Absalom wouldn't have wanted that because he was scheming behind the king's back. So you need to be careful about that. It will always come back around on you. I mean, it kills me when people do this, you know, trashing or just in general, not even against leadership, but people that trash or cast shade on people constantly on whoever is not in the room. Number one, you need to recognize that if you're listening to that, you're part of it. Period. And number two, those types of people that are constantly trashing people behind other people's back that, you know, the guy that's not there is the one he's trashing. When you're not there, he's trashing you. That's how those people are. And, you know, if he hasn't done it yet, he will eventually. So look, don't listen to it. Don't do it. You know, let's go talk to the king about it. It should be your reaction. You'll find those people in churches too. Those people will come in churches. They'll come in and they will want things done a certain way and they'll go behind everybody's back and say, I don't think we should do it this way. And I don't think we should do it. I mean, you'll see it here too. I mean, we don't have it here, but I mean, we're going to see it here. I mean, I'm just warning you again. Okay. This is one thing that's going to happen here too. All right. So don't just don't be part of it. Don't do it. Let's go talk to the king. That's the bottom line. All right. This guy, I mean, I told you guys about a guy I met a couple nights ago. This guy did, I just had it happen to me actually. I'm sitting here and this guy comes up to us and we're at dinner with my whole family and he starts asking about, you know, why we're in Fresno. So we told him, you know, we started a church here and we're leading a church and he's like, oh, are you the pastor? I'm like, no, I'm not the pastor. And, and he says, right away, he picks up on that. He picks up on that I'm not the pastor of the church. And then he says to me, he says, well, what's the difference between the pastor? It's Holy Spirit and your Holy Spirit. I said nothing, but I'm not the pastor. You know, 1st Timothy, 1st Timothy, chapter three, verses one through seven has some very specific qualifications of the pastor. I am not the pastor of this church. Period. And, and he starts trying to cast shade on the pastor of this church and using, you know, what pride that I might, maybe I should be the pastor hot dog guy. You know, wow, you make good hot dogs and I'm the greatest. Thank you. I'm coming back here every day, but no, but you have to recognize those things. It's very clear when people are doing that. And that's one of the things that I picked up on him with him. And I was like, this is not a good guy, right? Because you got to pick up on these things when people start doing this. He's never met pastor, he met us before, but he was trying to play on my pride as what he was trying to do and get me to believe that, oh, you know, I can be a pastor because I'm sure he's a self-appointed pastor. I'm sure that's exactly what he is as he tells me that, you know, his hot dog stand is holy ground. I mean, are you joking? It's a shame because the hot dogs were good, you know? Anyway, just be careful with these things. Okay, people will try to cast shade on leadership especially. And you need to recognize that you need to pick up on it. All right? Because if it goes too far, it'll be very bad for you. Right? Like, it costs Absalom his life. Okay? All right. Reason number four that Christians lie. Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 15. Go back to 1 Samuel chapter 15. I mean, it's an interesting Friday night though. You go out for hot dogs and some guy tries to get you to join a cult. I mean, that doesn't happen every day, you know? So, I mean, it's an interesting story. It's one thing. He's like, I'm going to lay my hands on you and I'm pray a powerful prayer for you. I'm like, don't touch me, bro. We're going to have a problem here. All right. What are we talking about? Okay. Manipulation. Go to 1 Samuel chapter 15. 1 Samuel chapter 15. Another reason Christians lie is to manipulate people. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 15 and verse number 20. And Saul said unto Samuel, Yay, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. He lied, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought ag-egg, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the amicolites. But the people took of the spoil and the sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed. So, we already saw that part. But then look what he does here in the last part of verse number 21. The people do it and to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. He spiritualizes it. And you will see this all the time from Christians. And it's becoming one of my biggest pet peeves in my life. Saul attempted to spiritualize his disobedience, which, by the way, just made God matter. It just angered the Lord even more. But you know what? You'll see people do this all the time. They'll have a wrong decision in front of them, and they will spiritualize it. I can't do what God clearly commands me to do. Enter spiritual reason here. People do it all the time. Christians do it. Look, you'll never hear people say, I don't want to go to work because I'm lazy. You'll never hear that from Christians. I don't want to get in a good church because I love money. You'll never hear people say it that way, will you? I'm not going to sell out for the Lord in my life because I just love this worldly life that I'm living. You'll never hear people say it that way. Never. Instead, you will watch people spiritualize the wrong decisions in their life. They'll spiritualize it. You'll listen to the lame excuses and you will listen to them basically lie is what you will do. And then, you know, unfortunately, you will watch the aftermath of what happens in their life. And look, Pastor mentioned this in his sermon on Sunday morning when he was here. But look, it will usually take people that do this years to realize that they have made the wrong decision if they realize it at all. That's why I wish people could just listen to preaching or wish the younger people could just listen to preaching and just not make those mistakes and not have to wake up in 10 years and be like, whoa, why didn't I just do that? I could have not gone through all this mess that I'm in right now. I could have not fallen into all these pits. Why didn't I just do what I was supposed to do instead of sitting there and just making these, you know, stupid spiritual excuses, which everybody knows are just stupid spiritual excuses anyway. So look, it's unfortunate, but people will do it and you'll see it happen. Turn to Revelation chapter 21. So look, there's a lot of reasons that people justify lying. You know, we use lying actually out soul winning as a sin, example of a sin that everybody does. I mean, we, you know, because that's one, have you ever lied? Oh yeah, everybody's lied. But make sure we're using it in the right context is what I want to get at tonight as we as we close this evening. Look at Revelation 21.8. Everybody knows this verse, but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and hormongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake with burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Look, it's a sin that we all commit, but the reason that it's listed with all the big sins is because it is a big sin. See? So make sure you're not presenting it to people when you're out soul winning like, oh, it's just nothing. We all lie. It's no big deal. No, it's something we all do, but it's a big sin. It's an abomination to the Lord. So, I mean, make sure you put it in the right context. It's a good example in Revelation 21.8 because everybody does it. Not everybody's a murderer. Not everybody's a hormonger. You know, but everybody's a liar, but it doesn't mean it's not a big sin. So don't let us get, you know, used to it because we say it so much. It's a big deal. It's a big deal. And here's the thing. It has big consequences. Big sins, big consequences. Not all sin is equal, folks. For kids, it should be a huge deal because guess what, folks? Lots of little kids in this room. It's easy to tell when your five-year-old's lying. It's easy because they're five. They're not as smart as you. They're not as experienced as you. It's easy, but guess what? They get to be 12, 13, 14 years old. Not so easy anymore because now they have experience. Now you've got a child who's got 10 years experience in lying. You know, I told you it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything. That's like five years at a 40-hour-week job. If you raise a kid that is used to lying in 10 years, they're going to be an expert at lying. Lying needs to be one of those things that when your kids are small, you come down hard on them. And I mean little things. It could be little. Did you take the cookie? No, I didn't. And you know they took the cookie and you know they did it. That needs to be punished hard because they lied about it. It's not that you don't have any more cookies. It's not that you can't make more cookies. It's that they lied. They need to know that lying is serious because it starts out small but it will get serious and it'll get very serious when they get older. So like kids, kids, kids and adults, listen, remember this, turn to Luke chapter 8. Here's the whole thing when you think about lying. Here's the whole thing. Turn to Luke chapter 8 and verse number 17. All the kids and even the adults have to know is this. In Luke chapter 8 and verse number 17, here's your answer when you think about lying. The Bible says in Luke 8.17, for nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest. Neither anything hid that should not be known and come abroad. It's going to be found out. If you're saved, you're not getting away with it. So kids and adults the same, you just picture yourself getting caught because that's what's going to happen. Picture it coming out. When you want to blame somebody else for a mistake, you picture your integrity and your name being destroyed. When you think about blaming somebody else for your mistake, when you act differently around others, you picture your testimony being destroyed. Just picture it because that's what's going to happen. God promises you that. You're not getting away with anything. When you talk trash about people and you cast shade on people behind their back, you picture your friendships being destroyed. You picture your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ being destroyed. In the case of Absalom, Absalom's case is the worst case when he's actually casting shade against leadership, against spiritual leadership, all those types of things. Look, if I would turn against the pastor of this church, it pains me to even say something like that. I would destroy my life. I would destroy my life. You have to think about the consequences of these things. When you try to manipulate others into thinking that you're doing the right thing, just picture your life being destroyed because not only is that poor character, but you're actually, think about it, when you're trying to spiritualize the wrong decision, not only is it poor character to do that, but you're actually making the wrong decision and going down the wrong road. Two things. So you're destroying yourself in two ways. You're destroying your character and your actual decisions in your life. So just look, you're not going to get away with it. Stay above board. Stay above board in your life. Operate that way and let the chips fall where they may. Look at that situation with my job. Nothing came of it. Nothing came of it. It would have been very easy for me to try to make excuses and maybe try to pass blame on somebody else. I got this file from so-and-so. Nobody would have bought it, but I owned the whole thing and all that really came of it is my boss brought it up for like the next three years in, you know, like reviews and things like, remember that time you messed that project up? I'm like, yeah, I remember that. That was it though. I mean, my boss just kind of brought it up to me and it's like, whatever, I'll take it. But stay above board. Let the chips fall where they may. Own everything right away. And look, just let God handle it from there. God will handle it. You do what you're supposed to do and God will handle it. That's the answer to so many things. Right? This church, we're just going to do what we're supposed to do and God will handle everything else. We're just going to do the work that we're supposed to do and God will handle everything else. I'm just going to do what I'm supposed to do and God will work everything else out. When it comes to that temptation of should I lie, should I not tell the truth here, just tell the truth. Just make the decision in your mind because look, it can happen quickly. You can be tempted to lie quickly. People can put you on the spot. You just stay above board with everything all the time and it will always work out. God will handle it for you from there. Okay? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Word of God and all the lessons that we can learn. Lord, from the Bible, I thank you for today. I thank you for the wonderful time out soul winning. I thank you for the souls that were saved, Lord. Lord, help us to have enough faith to know that if we just follow the right path and stay above board and just tell the truth in our lives, Lord, that you'll just take care of the rest. I mean, it's a matter of faith. Lord, give us that faith. Give us that faith that we'll know that we know that if we do what's right, you'll handle it from there. Lord, we love you. We ask you to make sure that everybody gets home safe tonight. We thank you for today. We thank you for this church. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.