Your Word is Truth

Well, good morning everyone, great to be in church with you this morning.

Let me pose you with a bunch of questions as we kick off this series.

Is the Bible true?

I'm not asking if there is truth in it,

say the way that there is truth in Moby Dick or Plato's Republic

or the Lord of the Rings.

Aspects of truth can be found virtually everywhere.

What I'm asking is this, is the Bible completely true?

All of it.

Is it so trustworthy then all that it teaches

that it can function as the test of all other claims to truth?

That's a quote from John Piper's book, A Peculiar Glory.

A phenomenal book if you want to investigate further these particular issues,

which Dan and I are currently reading through at the moment.

It's a fantastic book.

Those are great questions that all of us sit somewhere

with the answers to that question.

All of us sit somewhere to those questions,

even if we're not aware that we're sitting somewhere with those questions.

In the same way, all of us sit somewhere in reality to gravity,

even if we've never thought about it.

All of us sit somewhere in response to those questions.

Some of us, no, of course not.

Some of us, well, it sort of contains some truth

and some other things which are a little bit confusing

or a bit things for a bit, for, you know, a day once upon a time.

And some of us say, well, it's entirely true.

It's completely the word of God

because that's what we're being brought up to hear and believe.

And yet, rarely pick it up.

That is, functionally, we might agree that it's true

and yet operationally in our day-to-day existence,

it's clearly not true, has no relevance to our lives.

And I make that point carefully, but also intentionally.

I've been a pastor now for more than 25 years

in churches that will be characterised

as what you would call Bible-believing churches.

And in every single Bible-believing church that I've been in,

including this one for 15 years,

I have always struggled to get people to pick up their Bibles.

When I say, open your Bibles now,

this is what happens.

No one reaches for one.

And it happens again and again and again and again and again.

Or when we're arguing about a particular point,

when I say arguing, I mean in discussing a particular point,

very few people will reference the Scriptures in their life

to make their point.

So we might declare that the Bible is true,

but how really true is it to us in day-to-day

in our actual relationship with God?

Now, the thrust of this particular series on the Bible

is that yes, it is.

The Bible is completely true in its entirety.

I'm going to get there in a moment.

But that has not always been my view.

Last Tuesday, that is less than a week ago,

was the 31st anniversary of me becoming a Christian.

I was 23 years old.

I grew up in a God-fearing family

with a long heritage in Christian things.

Some of my earliest memories were associated

with doing things like the kids are out there doing now

in kids' church.

The Bible, if you like, was an ever-present reality.

There were Bible verses, you know,

you know, on walls, you know,

like in frames and things, you know,

things like that.

The Bible was an ever-present reality.

I was encouraged to read it and to know it.

And I, before I became a Christian,

I had read through it several times.

On the most part, I found it confusing.

On the most part, I couldn't reconcile

what I would perceive as being inconsistencies.

But I feared the consequences of not reading it

and not doing my best to try to obey it.

And so it was one of those duties,

arduous duties to read the Bible

and to skim through it, you know,

like with the mentality,

a chapter a day keeps the devil away kind of thing.

This led to a very frustrating life of uncertainty

and a lack of clarity.

And that frustration for me boiled over

in my early 20s,

where I recall specifically

praying to God,

if you exist at all

and this Bible is true,

as I've been told,

then I need you to show me.

I need you to reveal yourself to me

because frankly, I'm fed up.

If you exist, make it clear.

Otherwise, I'm entirely changing tact in my life

and going somewhere else.

That was in my very early 20s.

Then it eventually happened to me

one Friday night,

Friday evening,

sitting in a shed in Katoomba,

31st of April,

31 years ago, 1993.

I can't describe to you what happened.

I wasn't looking for it.

Didn't think I even needed it in many ways.

But I knew it happened when it happened.

It changed the whole course of my life.

And here I am, 31 years later,

looking back on that event,

not being able to understand it in the time,

but over time,

I've come to realise what's happened,

what happened to me.

What I didn't know at that time

was that prior to 31 years ago,

I had a bunch of details and facts

about God,

about Jesus.

I could even argue some of those facts and details.

What I did not have

was sight.

I couldn't see the glory,

the beauty,

the majesty,

the wonder

of those facts and details.

I knew that Jesus was significant.

I knew that he was a key factor.

In fact,

I would argue at that point

that he was the son of God.

But I never saw the beauty

or the majesty of that

and what it meant for me.

And so increasingly so

over the past three decades,

I've been gifted by God

to see more and more glory

and majesty

in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What happened to me on that

first night

31 years ago

is that up until that point,

I'd been looking at the Bible

as if it was a picture

hanging on a wall

of a great landscape.

Marvelling at this thing occasionally,

walking past it,

having a gasp,

you know,

it's a good picture.

And then God,

by his spirit,

31 years ago,

opened up the landscape

and helped me to see

that it's actually a window

that I'm looking through

to see real,

live glory.

I'm not looking at a masterpiece.

I'm looking through a window.

God wants me to see

majesty and glory.

That's what he wants me to see.

So one of the aims

that I want us to do

through this series

is to awaken us

to a passion

for the sheer existence

of truth.

And particularly so

in a day and age

where everything you read

and see

will tell you

that truth does not exist.

truth is what you make it to be.

Truth is true for you.

All that is doing

is preparing

future generations

of this country

and our society

and our world

for prison cells.

As we,

more and more people,

individually declare

that they can live life

any way they choose to be.

chaos and anarchy

is the only thing

and we're starting to see

in our society already.

And so to awaken us

for the sheer existence

of truth

and to embrace

that truth

for our joy.

So my hope

in this series

is that we would know

and we would see

and that we would experience

that the God

who defines

all things,

the God

who has created

all things,

the God

who rules

all things,

the God

who has

worked to save

all things,

that this God

throughout all of history

has spoken.

And he has spoken loud

and he has spoken clearly

and with more authority

than any other voice

in this world.

and he has spoken

clearly and loudly

and with authority

about every single thing

that we face

in this world.

And what he has spoken

has been recorded

for us

in the scriptures.

So my three points today

is God speaks the truth,

Jesus is the truth,

and the truth

is what sets you free.

So let's take a moment

there.

I want to see

the connection

between God's word

and the authority

over our lives.

So Psalm 119,

grab your Bibles,

don't do it out of guilt

but I do encourage you

to grab your Bibles.

Turn to Psalm 119,

James read this out for us.

Don't feel guilty

if you have not got

your Bible in front of you.

Maybe feel somewhat guilty

that you didn't actually

bring it with you to church.

Salvation

is far from the wicked

for they do not seek

your degrees.

Your compassion is great,

O Lord.

Preserve my life

according to your laws.

Many are the foes

who persecute me

but I have not turned

from your statutes.

I look on the faithless

with loathing

for they do not obey

your word.

See how I love

your precepts.

Preserve my life,

O Lord.

According to your love,

all your words

are true,

all your righteous laws

are eternal.

I'm just saying earlier

to the team

that we get together

to pray,

Psalm 119,

the entire Psalm 119,

the longest chapter

in the entire Bible

is all about

the word of God

and all of it

except for three verses

of 170 something verses,

all but three

make specific reference

to God's word.

Now notice

that these verses

are therefore

are talking about

God communicating

decrees,

laws,

statutes,

word,

precepts.

Then it says

in verse 160

that what God

speaks is true.

What he speaks

is righteous.

What he speaks

is eternal.

The word

at the very beginning

of verse 160,

the word

all there

in its original

language

which is Hebrew

means head.

The word

we got

all there

in its original

language

means head.

It means

the head

of a body

or the head

of a river

or the head

of a tribe

or the head

of a family

or head

of a nation.

Two other places

it's used

in the Old Testament

Exodus 30

and Numbers

Numbers 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and both

Exodus 30

and Numbers 1

translate

that word

their head

as census.

What this verse

is saying

is that if

you took

a census

a survey

of the word

of God

if you

investigate

the facts

then the

conclusion

would be

that the

sum total

of the word

of God

is truth.

The totality

of the Bible

is truth.

Not a truth

the truth.

But notice

the second half

of verse 160

all

same word

all

your righteous

laws

are

eternal.

That is

it's not just

the

total

of it

that is

truth

it's all

the individual

parts

of it

that are

truth.

The census

would reveal

that the whole

and the parts

are all

truth.

That is

when God

speaks

truth.

And what

we have

here

in his

word

what we

have

is

truth.

He speaks

truth.

Truth is

what God

communicates.

He can

only ever

communicate

that which

is true

which is

right

which is

eternal.

And the

reason why

God's word

is ultimate

truth

is that

the overruling

and final

authority

in all

things

his word

is

so

is

such

because

that

God

himself

is

ultimate

reality.

So what

he

communicates

is

ultimate

reality.

That is

God

is

absolute.

There is

nothing

higher

than

God.

There is

no one

no thing

equal

with God.

It's not

his opinion

against

another

opinion.

there was

no reality

before

God.

It was

all

void.

It was

all

formless.

God

we are

told

is from

everlasting

to everlasting.

No

beginning

no end.

He stands

outside of

all things

created.

Never

beginning

never

ending

never

becoming

never

improving

simply

and

absolutely

there to

be dealt

with on

his

terms

or

not

at

all.

The

one

who

never

had

a

beginning

but

always

was

and

is

and

will

be

he's

the

one

who

creates

all

things.

He's

the

one

who

defines

all

things.

When

God

speaks

the

Bible

when

God

speaks

through

the

word

he's

not

interpreting

history

for

us.

He

is

creating

history

when

he

speaks.

therefore

what

matters

above

all

things

in

life

is

this

God.

I

cannot

escape

the

simple

and

obvious

truth

that

God

must

be

the

main

thing

in

life

because

he

defines

all

things.

That

means

that

this

gathering

right

now

has

to

do

with

God

because

life

has

to

do

with

God

and

the

life

has

to

do

with

God

because

all

of

the

universe

has

to

do

with

God

because

every

atom

and

every

emotion

and

every

soul

of

every

angelic

and

demonic

and

human

being

belongs

to

God

the

one

who

absolutely

is.

You

and I

are

defined

by

our

experiences

and

by

our

connection

to

things.

I

have

a

mom

and

a

dad.

I

have

a

wife.

I

have

children.

I

have

a

job.

I

wear

particular

clothes.

I

live

in

a

particular

area.

God

exists

beyond

all

other

definitions.

He

stands

outside

of

everything

that's

created.

as

Romans

11

36

says

from

him

and

through

him

and

to

him

are

all

things

to

him

be

glory

forever.

Reality

is

created,

it is

determined,

it is

defined

by God

and

truth

is the

communication

of

that

reality,

the

display

of

that

reality.

reality.

It

is

the

way

things

actually

are.

For

something

to be

true,

it

must

represent

reality.

If it

doesn't

represent

reality,

what we

call that

nowadays

is a

myth

or we

call it

a lie.

When

God

speaks,

he

reveals

reality

because

he

is

reality.

Left to

our own

devices,

we would

have no

ability

to discover

reality

and truth.

But

God

is the

one who

has

revealed

the way

things

simply

are.

The

one who

is

inapproachable,

exists

outside of

us,

not

defined

by us,

has

come to

us and

revealed

himself

to

us.

And

that's

my

second

point.

The

place

where

reality

and

the

communication

of

reality

or the

representation

of

reality

come

together

in the

most

profound

way

is in

the

person

of

Jesus

Christ.

Firstly,

because

Jesus

himself

speaks

truth.

Jesus

says

this

in

John

John 18:37

18

verse

37,

for

this

I

came

into

the

world

to

testify

to

the

truth.

Everyone

on the

side

of

truth

listens

to

me.

Jesus

is saying

there that

he speaks

truth.

He came

to testify

to truth.

If you

want to

know

truth,

what he

says

there is

you

must

listen

to

me.

You

want to

know

reality,

you

want to

know the

way

things

are,

you

must

listen

to

me.

But

what he

says

a little

bit

later in

John

John 14:6

14

verse

6

is

even

more

profound.

He

says

not

that

he

just

speaks

what

is

true,

but

that

he

is

what

is

true.

He

is

the

truth,

he

is

reality,

he

is

the

way

things

actually

are.

The

most

ultimate

reason

why he

could

say

that

he

was

truth

is

that

he

himself

is

God.

And

that's

what

John

1

affirms

for

those

who

were

here

on

Thursday

night

when

I

preached

on

John

1.

In

the

beginning

was

the

word,

that

is

he

existed

before

anything

was

made.

The

word

here

is

Jesus

Christ.

And

the

word

was

with

God

and

the

word

was

God.

He

was

with

Now,

for

those

who

are

here

on

Thursday

night,

I'm

going

to

say

something

I

said

on

Thursday

night.

John

when

he

writes

this

referring

to

Jesus

saying

something

incredibly

profound.

He

refers

to

Jesus

as

the

word.

In

the

Greek

language

it's

the

word

logos.

And

the

word

logos

in

Greek

philosophy

and

Greek

life

was

massive.

It

was

a

massive

word.

It's

a

word

that

means

that

the

Greeks

believed,

the Greek

philosophers

believed,

the Greek

cultures

believed,

which

Western

civilization

is built

on,

and

Eastern

civilizations

have the

same

concept,

that behind

the order

of the

universe

is a

divine,

a being,

a logic

of the

universe,

a structure,

a design,

of the

universe

that

makes

the

universe

work.

What

John

says

here

is

that

that

logos,

that logic

of the

universe,

that structure,

design,

that purpose,

that reason

for the

universe,

is a

person.

And

it's

Jesus

Christ.

And

down in

verse

14,

we see

something

startling.

That

the

word,

the

logos,

became

flesh and

made his

dwelling amongst

us.

We have

seen his

glory,

the glory

of the

one and

only,

who came

from the

Father,

full of

grace and

truth.

So,

who is

this word?

Who is

God?

Who is

full of

grace and

truth?

Verse 15,

John testifies

concerning him.

He cries out

saying,

this was he

of whom I

said,

he who

comes after

me has

surpassed

me,

because he

was before

me.

From

the fullness

of his

grace,

we have

all received

one blessing

after another,

for the

law was

given

through

Moses,

grace and

truth came

through Jesus

Christ.

Jesus

doesn't

just,

he's not

just a

prophet who

speaks God's

word with

more clarity

than other

religious leaders

and prophets.

He doesn't

just,

he hasn't

just got

more things

right than

other prophets

and religious

leaders.

others.

He is

the truth

in itself.

And only

Jesus made

that claim

of all

other major

world religions,

only Jesus

made the

claim that

I am God

and I am

the truth.

All others

just said,

believe me

and I'll

point you

in the

direction

of it.

Jesus

is the

God of

the burning

bush in

Exodus 3.

who when

asked by

Moses,

you know,

God,

you know,

when I

get off

down to

Egypt to

tell Pharaoh

to let my,

it'd be great

if I've got a

name, a

reference here,

you know,

give me a

reference.

Who do I

tell Pharaoh

has sent

me?

And God

says to

him,

I am.

How's

that helpful?

You know,

I would

never imagine

saying that

to someone.

I just

simply

am.

And so

the place

where ultimate

reality and

the representation

of ultimate

reality come

together most

profoundly is in

the person of

Jesus Christ.

And Jesus

himself endorsed

the message of

Psalm 119,

where all of

your words are

true and all

of your righteous

laws are eternal,

when he says in

Matthew 5,

do not think

that I've

come to

abolish the

law or the

prophets,

that is the

Old Testament.

I've not

come to

abolish them,

but to

fulfill them.

I tell you

the truth,

until heaven

and earth

disappear,

not the

smallest

letter,

not the

least stroke

of a pen

will by any

means disappear

from the

law until

everything is

accomplished.

accomplished.

And in

Luke 24,

Jesus is

walking the

road to

Emmaus,

and he

showed the

disciples in

that moment

how the

entire Old

Testament

pointed to

him.

The Bible,

as the

word of

God,

is where we

have God

revealing the

way things

are.

The 66

books of

the Bible,

with Jesus

at the

center,

is truth.

And

therefore,

the authority

by which all

things are

measured.

The Bible

is where God

speaks what

is real and

absolute,

and so it

is true.

The Bible

is the way

God,

the ultimate

and all

important

reality,

reveals himself

to us with

clarity and

authority today.

The Bible,

with his

spirit,

is how he

mediates his

presence in

his world

today.

And so,

if God is

more important

than anything

as the great

reality of all

things,

then the Bible

is more important

than anything

but God.

What we

need to

embrace,

particularly in

a day and

age where

God's word

is mocked

and ridiculed,

what we need

to embrace and

be confident

in,

is that the

whole word

of God

is truth,

and that the

Lord Jesus

Christ is the

center of that

truth.

That the God

who made

everything,

controls

everything,

has a purpose

for everything,

this God

has spoken

to us.

As James

read out to

us from

2 Timothy,

all scripture

is God

breathed and

is useful for

teaching,

rebuking,

correcting,

and training

in righteousness.

In what he

has revealed,

we are not

left without a

knowledge of

his will.

We are not

left with a

knowledge of

him at,

sorry, we are

left with a

knowledge of

work in the

world.

we are not

left without

wisdom.

We are not

left without a

revelation of

the way of

salvation.

And this,

my friends,

is absolutely

priceless.

Absolutely

priceless.

If we could

awaken in our

hearts and

minds of the

confidence that

this is so,

just imagine

how we would

navigate our

lives.

Just imagine

how we would

navigate the

complexity of

life in this

world.

The implication

for our lives

would be

countless and

viable.

The Bible is

God's provision

for us and

it is sufficient

for all that

we need to

know in life

and salvation.

Every single

thing we face

in life is

touched by the

Bible.

It is either

directly touched

because it is

in the Bible

or indirectly

touched because

the Bible

shapes all the

attitudes and

the criteria in

which we deal

with it.

the Bible

ought to be

the sun in

the solar

system of

all of our

learning in

his world.

It gives

light, it

gives perspective,

it gives

meaning.

It will not

be just one

book among

many books

in our

shelves, it

will be the

central book.

Every idea

that we face

in the world

will be judged

by this book.

This book

must be known

first and

known better

than all

other books

and ideas

and information.

and the

whole aim,

the whole

aim in

knowing our

Bibles

is to know

the God

who has

given it

to us.

Our aim

in seeking

to see

Jesus,

to be led

to Jesus

and being

led to him

have life.

our concern

must be

to enlargen

our

acquaintance

with the

God who

defines all

things,

to walk

with him

day in

and day

out.

So one

quick tip

from the

great

J.I.

Packer

and how

to turn

our knowledge

about God

from his

word into

a knowledge

and intimate

relationship

with God.

how to

shift from

the

masterpiece

if you

like

to seeing

through a

window

of a

world

that's

alive

and

active.

I think

it's both

demanding

and simple

at the

same time

but here's

the point.

Turn

every

truth

that we

learn

about

God

into

a matter

of

meditation

before

God

that is

with God

communication

with God

leading to

obedience

of God

and prayer

and praise

to God.

I'll say

it again

turn every

truth that

we learn

about God

into a

matter of

meditation

before God

leading to

obedience

of God

and prayer

and praise

to God.

Meditation

is the

activity of

calling to

mind and

lingering over

and dwelling

on and

applying to

ourselves

that what we

have engaged

with in

God's word

about the

works,

the ways,

the purposes,

the promises

and the

character of

God.

God

and the

effect will

be to

humble us

as we

contemplate

God's

greatness

and glory

and our

own

smallness

and

sinfulness

to

challenge

us,

to change

us,

to encourage

us and

comfort

us and

to reassure

us as we

contemplate the

unsearchable

riches of

God's mercy

to us.

I said to

my community

group on

Friday night

that I'm

now into

the fourth

year of

a five-year

program to

read through

the Bible

every year,

the Old

Testament once,

New Testament

twice,

Psalms twice

in a year.

And so I'm

up to year

number four.

And there's

two things

that I've

gained from

it.

One so

far is

a sense

of the

scope,

of scripture,

of where

everything's

fitting.

I can

quickly recall

where I've

been over

the last

number of

years.

But the

second profound

thing that it's

done in terms

of changing

me is

that I've

walked away

each year

and gone,

God is

just bigger

and bigger

and bigger

and I am

smaller and

smaller and

smaller.

for my

joy.

I've

said to

the guys

on Friday

night,

I can tell

you one

thing that's

changed in

me.

Having read

through the

scriptures so

much in the

last four

years, I am

so much more

settled than I've

ever been in

life.

So much more

settled,

more content,

consciously so.

Not anxious,

consciously so.

And that's

because the

truth sets

us free.

And that's

why I want to

encourage you to

pick up your

Bibles, because

the truth sets

us free.

Jesus said,

and another

astounding thing

in John's

Gospel,

chapter 8,

if you hold

to my teaching,

you are really

my disciples,

and then you

will know the

truth, and the

truth will set

you free.

Know Jesus,

and you know

true freedom.

The reason why

this is so

important,

because in our

day and age,

the culture that

we're marinating

in, a

culture that

wants to get

rid of any

absolute truth

claims, doesn't

matter who it

is.

I mean, you

probably heard

the statement,

there is no

absolute truth

out there by

which we must

live our lives

by.

The irony is

that itself a

statement is a

statement of

absolute truth in

itself.

That's an

irony, but let's

leave that to

one side.

Why don't I

pick that for

the time being?

But the

reason why our

culture says

there's no

absolute truth

is because of

the assumption

that any

truth claim,

absolute truth

claim, results

in oppression.

It oppresses

others.

And I want to

say the truth

claim that Jesus

is the truth,

the way, the

truth, and the

life is a

truth that sets

you free.

And therefore,

we should pursue

it.

no Jesus

and no

freedom.

There is no

freedom, ironically,