Truth Decay 

Famous people will tell you truth is found in some beliefs other than what the Bible teaches.

John Travolta will tell you that the truth is found in the Church of Scientology.

Shirley McClain will tell you that the truth is found in New Age and beliefe in reincarnation.

Donny & Marie Osmond will tell you that truth is Mormomism.

Demi Moore will tell you that truth is found in the religion called Kabbalah.

The world we live in is experiencing a Truth Decay.

Matthew 7:15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! 

     Some people say that a picture is worth a thousand words. The Lord knows the importance of showing pictures as well. Many times in His teachings, Jesus would show us a picture of the kingdom of God. We refer to these pictures as parables. A parable is an earthly story that has a heavenly meaning. It brings a parallel between a tangible story and the kingdom of God.

     In Matthew 13:10, we are told that the disciples asked the Lord, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.’”  Those who do not seek the kingdom of God have a hard time understanding the kingdom of God.

The Parable of the Sower

“Then he told them many things in parables, saying, ’A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.’”

Matthew 13:3-9

As we examine the meaning of this parable, we see a picture of the importance of the foundation of the Word of God in our lives. The seed represents the Word of God. Why is the Bible like seed? Because seed has life! It is truth! And the Bible not only speaks life, it is life!!  If you want to have a spiritual crop, you’ve got to plant good seed. Somehow, the Word of God has a way of reaching our hearts like nothing else can.

     Not long ago, a lady told me that she was listening to our Rising Higher radio program when she heard me reading a simple Scripture. Although she had heard that Scripture before, it came alive to her because of a certain situation she was going through and it was exactly what she needed to hear this day. The simple Word of God. It wasn’t my voice she was hearing, it was the voice of God. I was simply the messenger of the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful.

Scenario # 1: The seed has no reception. (v. 19) “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” Have you ever been talking to someone and notice that they are hearing what you are saying, but they are not really listening? Some people hear, but are not listening. Their heart is not into it. If your heart does not team up with your ears, you won’t understand. It’s like “in one ear and out the other.” When you hear the Word of God, listen with your heart.

When it comes to the truth of God’s Word, there are some people that just don’t get it.

Today’s generation has a distorted belief about God. 

If you were to ask ten people to explain their belief of God, you would probably get about 10 different answers.

48% of teenagers today believe that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you associate with because they all believe he same principles and faith.

Today’s generation has a distorted belief about truth.

It is vitally important to teach our children and teenagers a strong Biblical belief system.

The average teenager gets about 68 hours a week of the world.

And about 2 hours a week from the church.

If I were to ask you the question, “Do you believe in absolute truth?”

In 1991, 52% of our teens said, “There is no absolute truth.”

In 1994, 62% of our teens said, “There is no absolute truth.”

In 1999, 78% of our teens said, “There is no absolute truth.”

In 2001, 91% of our teens said, “There is no absolute truth.”

On the evening of September 10, 2001, nineteen young men read a prayer-laden letter regarding their last night on earth. “Be obedient on this night, because you will be facing situations that are the ultimate and that would not be done except with full obedience.

When you engage in battle,” the letter went on to say, “strike as the heroes would strike. As God says, strike above the necks and strike from everywhere . . . and then you will know all the heavens are decorated in the best way to meet you.”

The next morning, on Sept. 11, 2001, those 19 men gave their lives for what they believed.

These terrorists had deep convictions. Deep beliefs. But they were deeply wrong.

The truth was far from them.

We live in a world that is experiencing truth decay.

Scenario # 2: The seed has no root. (v. 20, 21) “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” Strong roots will lead to solid growth. If you do not take the time and effort to build a strong spiritual foundation, trouble will easily knock you down.

     Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas. On January 23, 1996, he was asked to be the guest chaplain for the Kansas State House in Topeka. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, his prayer stirred controversy, and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized the prayer.
Here’s what he prayed:
     "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it a choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will... Amen.”

Scenario # 3: The seed has no room. (v. 22) “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”   shows us the individual who is bogged down by the worries of life – the stress of life – and because of it, he does not have the courage to make the right decisions. He knows what he needs to do, but he doesn’t do it. Worry can do lots of damage to you and I. Here, we see that worrying can choke the Word of God out of our lives, thus leaving us powerless.

One man was always worrying. He worried about his children, his job, his wife, his health. One day a friend of his noticed that he was extremely calm and peaceful. "Why are you so calm?, he asked. "You always worry about everything. What happened?" The former worrier replied, "I just hired a man to do the worrying for me." "Well, how much are you paying him?" His friend inquired. "A thousand dollars a week," the man replied. "A thousand a week? You can’t afford a thousand dollars a week." The worrier responded, "That’s his problem!"

Statistics show the following about worry: 40% of what we worry about will never happen. So, why worry? 30% of what we worry about can’t even be changed. So, why worry? 12% of what we worry about is about criticism, which is mostly untrue. So, why worry? 10% of what we worry about is related to our health, which only worsens when we worry. So, why worry? That leaves about 8% of what we worry about that is a legitimate concern. And even if there is a legitimate concern, worry still doesn’t help.

Research has shown that teenagers who do not possess a biblical belief system are:

36% more likely to lie to a friend

48% more likely to cheat on an exam.

200% more likely to steal

200% more likely to physically hurt someone

300% more likely to use illegal drugs

600% more likely to attempt suicide

When an individual does not have a true concept of truth, they lose concept of reality.

Scenario # 4: The seed produces fruit. (v. 23) “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the Word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” After being given three pictures in which we do not allow the Word of God to make an impact on us, we are now given the right response to the seed of God’s Word. We receive the Word; our heart is prepared as good soil. We hear the Word; we understand it with our heart; and spiritual fruit begins to develop.

     Some Christians expect to become spiritual giants over night. Christians who say they have reached full maturity in Christ over night are really “weeds.”

Spiritual growth does not happen at the snap of our finger.

It takes work on our part. Years of reading the Word, studying the Word, discipleship, prayer, and experiences of life. Even then, we still have much room to grow. God always does His part, He sends the Word to us, but we have to do our part. We have to discipline ourselves to study the Word and seek the Lord. Then, we’ll see some spiritual fruit. The result of discipleship is spiritual fruit.

Verse 23 says, “He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” How many people have you brought to Christ this year? How many have you discipled? If the Word of God is planted deep in your heart, you can have an impact on perhaps a hundred other people. Or sixty. Or thirty.

     Looking back at verse 9 of this parable, Jesus says, “He who has ears let him hear.” I like to interpret that as saying, “Have an open, receptive and teachable heart.” Don’t pass this on and say, “I wish Sister Smith was hearing this – she really needs it.” If you have this attitude, then you’ve missed the whole point. God is speaking to you – are you listening?

1) Discipleship begins with truth.   John 18:38 – Pilate asks “What is truth?”

2) Truth develops our values (convictions).  “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

   Core Values: Biblical standards that dictate our lifestyle based on our faith in the Son of God, our devotion to the Word of God and our dependence on the Spirit of God.

3) Godly values result in spiritual fruit.

I Corinthians 13:6 "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth."

4) Fruit reveals true discipleship.

John 15:8 “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

John Huss (C. 1370-1415) who said, “Seek the truth, Listen to the truth, Teach the truth, Love the truth, Abide by the truth and defend the truth…Unto death.”