Truth and Love - Pastor Patrick Pierre

brothers and sisters in Christ, to be able to delve into the Word of God tonight and to continue our series, our On God series this evening, speaking about truth and love, speaking about truth and love. I want to thank Sibi and Bogdanna and Francesca and Priscilla and the whole team, the Congregation and Engagement team for their faithfulness that fastness and putting this all together and allowing making this possible, making an evening like this possible for us to gather together. Amen. I just want to open it a brief word of prayer. Father, in the name of Jesus, we want to thank you for your faithfulness to us. We want to thank you for God being here in our midst. We want to thank you, Lord, for giving us an opportunity to gather together once again to sit at your feet and to receive that which will not be taken away from us. God, thank you for the ministry of your words, Spirit of God, we ask that you'd have your way tonight, Lord, in the name of Jesus, we honor you. Amen. Praise God. Praise God. Amen. Well, Genesis chapter one, I want to begin by sharing with you briefly, Genesis chapter one tells us in the beginning God, in the beginning God, God created, God existed before everything else. Psalm 90, as a matter of fact, verse two says, "Before the mountains were brought forth and ever you had formed the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Hallelujah. God existed before everything. Then He created everything. Amen. One John three says, "All things were made through Him and without Him, nothing was made that was made."

Amen. Then God set the boundaries for everything and set things in order. He put things in their proper place and course. For example, Genesis chapter one, verse three says this, "Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, amen. Then He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness night. An evening past and morning came marking the first day." Genesis chapter one, verse nine through eleven says, "Then God said, 'Let the waters beneath the sky flow together in one place so dry ground may appear.' And that is what happened. God said, 'Let the dry ground, call the dry ground land and the waters see, sees.' When God saw that it was good, then God said, 'Let the land sprout with vegetation, every sort of seed-bearing plant and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came and that is what happened." Hallelujah. And God saw that it was good. You know, when God's word is put into effect, when God's word is applied, there is order. Folks, there is life, there is light, there is health, there is fruitfulness, there is hope. Are you with me tonight? There are healthy boundaries and everything is put in its proper place. And we see that from the account here in Genesis. Everything God created was good. And when man's sinned, in other words, chose to act independently from God and to do his own thing, everything began to go south from there. Suddenly, there was shame and hiding and jealousy and hatred and murder and shifting of blame and rejection.

And the list just goes on and on. And you see that all in Genesis chapter 3 and chapter 4. In the Genesis account, the original temptation was to be as God. Hear me tonight. That was the original temptation, to be as God. Satan said to man, you can be like God, knowing good and evil. In other words, you'll be able to judge for yourself what is good or evil. You can decide what is right or wrong. So our first parents, Adam and Eve, took the bait. tried to be like God, defining, or just. Every time man does what is right in his own eyes, it does not go well. Sin comes in and begins to run rampant. As a matter of fact, Galatians chapter six, verse eight, says this, "Those who live only to satisfy "their own sinful nature will harvest decay." The King James puts it this way, it says corruption. In other words, moral decay and ruin and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the spirit will harvest everlasting life from the spirit. Amen. Now I'm laying the groundwork here. So play close attention. Don't let me, don't let your mind wander. (laughs) We're going somewhere here. In an attempt to free ourselves from God's prescribed rule of law and regulations, we mankind became slaves to sin.

So Acts 20, verse 28 says, "Be on guard." And that's our series. Take heed, which means to hold to, pay attention to, attend to, it means to be careful. Be on guard, be on guard against. Beware, much closer attention, respond, take care. Be on guard, be watchful, be careful. As believers, we need to understand what the Bible teaches about truth and love. That's what we're talking about tonight. We live in a dark world that has been corrupted by sin, John 12, 46. So let's talk about truth for a moment. Your truth, my truth, their truth, truth everywhere, feeling a little confused, you're not alone. This past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to a chance to talk to Pastor Carter. And by the way, he is recovering, praise the Lord. Thank God. Let's continue to keep him in prayer that God will strengthen him, that everything will heal properly, amen, that God will help him as he manages the pain. He shared with me that he had a conversation with a nurse. He asked the nurse, if you came to church, what would you want above all else? The nurse responded the truth. Notice he said, and the nurse was a gentleman, he said the truth, not your truth,

my truth, truth, or their truth, he said the truth. Pastor Carter also mentioned to me that he had another conversation, which was with a young person. As a matter of fact, it was one of his grandsons. And he said, he asked them, what are young people looking for above all else? And the young person, his grandson responded, it's hard to know what's a lie and what's true. And everything that we're bombarded with. And he went on to say, young people want the truth. You know, I remember some years ago, a famous talk show host started using these terms. And if I were to mention her name, you would know who she is. It was the first time I heard it. And it seems to me from that moment on, it just took off. And it became a thing, then suddenly everyone was using these terms. Your truth, my truth, or their truth. And it all suggests that truth is subjective and can vary based on individual experiences and perspectives. This concept emphasizes personal feelings and opinions rather than objective facts. They imply that truth is fluid and can change and that there are no absolutes. Nothing is truly definitive, settled, set, determined, or fixed. own course. Folks, what is truth?

You know, Pontius Pilate asked that question of Jesus. What is truth? The first time the word truth is found in the Bible that I discovered was in Genesis chapter 24, verse 26 through 27, and this is the account where Abraham has sent out his servant to find a bride for his son, and Abraham, of course, is a type of the father, and the son is a type of Christ, and the bride, of course, is a type of the church, you and not. And the servant is, of course, a type of the Holy Spirit, Hallelujah, who came to get you and I. Amen. He came to find us. Hallelujah. Come on, somebody. He's a living God. But the description says this, Genesis chapter 24, verse 26 and 27, it says, "Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord." So this is Abraham's servant, and he said, "Blessed be the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master." Speaking of God, God's mercy, God's truth towards his master. "As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren, my master's family." This word truth here is the word of meth, and it means in Hebrew, and it means firmness, it means stability, it means steadfastness, it means certainty, right, faithful, or faithfulness lasting reliable, and this word is found, it appears 127 times in the Bible. In the sense, in the idea, in the context of faithfulness, it is used frequently of God and expresses one of his key Old Testament attributes. It is the principle Hebrew word for truth. This stands in complete contrast to the idea accepted in society today that truth is not lasting or firm, but fluid, unstable, and can be varied based on individual experiences, perspectives, opinions, or feelings in direct contrast to it. I like this quote by someone named Frida Cruz that I have for you this evening.

It says this, it says, "Truth in reality refer to things as they really are." No matter what a person may believe, truth cannot be altered. Postmodernism advocates that something is true if it's true for me. Christians deny this definition because they believe in absolute truth, stating that truth is the truth irrespective of people's personal experience. What people call truth must be measured not against what they believe, but against absolute truth. God is absolute, and the foundation for all truth because he is the truth. He is truth, folks, hallelujah, hallelujah. Truth is a moral and personal characteristic of God. God is truth, hallelujah. Psalm 31 verse 5 says, "Into your hands I entrust, I commit my spirit." Remember Jesus quoted this on the cross, "You have redeemed me, Lord God of truth." You know that's one of his names, Jehovah L. M.F.? You know Jehovah Jaira, Jehovah Rafa, you know those names, right? Well you need to learn one this evening. He is the God. He is Jehovah, the God of all truth, the God who is the truth. This means, and this is a quote by Tony Evans, "This means God is the presence and essence of truth." Jesus originates from him and we are incapable of discerning it without him. He helps us to understand and apply truth, hallelujah, I like that. God is truth, folks, Jesus is truth. In John 14 verse 6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." No one comes to the Father except through. of divine truth. Folks, the Holy Spirit is truth. As a matter of fact, in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 17, chapter 15, verse 26, and chapter 16, verse 13, he is referred to as the spirit of truth. And that means that he is the one who declares and reveals divine truth to us. Amen? So God is truth. The Word of God, the Bible is truth. Psalm 119, verse 1, 6, he says this, "The entirety of your Word is truth, and every

one of your righteous judgments endure for how long, folks, forever." John chapter 17, verse 17 says, "The Word is truth." His Word is truth. Amen? He sanctifies us by his Word and that his Word is truth. What God has spoken and communicated is true. Every precept, commandment, promise, prophecy, law is perfect and true. They will not return void, but they will accomplish what he pleases and they will prosper in the way he sends it. So when God speaks his Word, I say when God speaks his Word, things begin to happen, folks. Lives begin to change. Order begins to come. Truth begins to come, folks. Hallelujah. Light begins to come. Bondages begin to break. Are you with me tonight? The knowledge of his truth brings freedom. John chapter 8, verse 32, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Folks, I remember hearing the first time I heard the gospel and about the love of God. I remember, folks, at that moment, suddenly a light bulb came on and in my mind's eye. I saw before me a snapshot and it was of Christ on the cross. And I became aware that he loved me. Supernaturally that he loved me, that he had died from me, that if I were the only one, he would have left the 99 and come after me because he loved me. And I was a Christian suddenly at that moment. I believed and received it, and immediately I was set free from years of feeling unloved, rejection, fear, and demonic oppression. Folks, this thing works. I said, this thing works. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free, for he whom the sun sets free is free indeed. Hallelujah. Folks, if we sincerely want to know the truth, the Holy Spirit will guide us. Jesus told his disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes, he would guide them into all truth. John chapter 16, verse 5-15. Lack of love for the truth opens us up to delusion. Hear me tonight. A lack of love for the truth. An unwillingness to receive a love for the truth will open us up to delusion. Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 10-12 says this, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they may be condemned, who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. We must love God's truth. I said, we must love God's truth. If we ask God, he will teach us his truth. Psalm 25, verse 5 says, lead me into your truth, and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. Hallelujah. For I wait all day long. For you I wait all day long. Amen. Using this kind of lingo or language, my truth, your truth, or their truth can be very confusing. It can even affirm the idea

or notion that absolute truth does not exist. That is not something we as believers want to promote. Are you with me tonight? (laughing) whether we choose to accept it or not. This evening, I also want to close out by talking about love. We talked about truth, and now let's talk about love. The world says love is love. What does that mean, exactly? It actually means something to the world. The phrase love is love means that romantic love between any two individuals, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, is equally valid and deserving of respect. It emphasizes the idea that all forms of love should be accepted and celebrated. In contemporary uses, the phrase often functions as a slogan, suggesting that all expressions of love, regardless of context or participants, are valid and equivalent. That is what the world says and believes. And unfortunately, many in the church have embraced this belief as valid and true. But Romans 12, verse 1 says, "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that we may prove what is God's acceptable will. Are you with me tonight? How are our minds renewed?" Folks, the Word of God renews our minds. According to 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 and 17, it's the Word of God that renews our minds,

that corrects us, that equips us, hallelujah. For Jesus came to make every crooked path straight. Folks, God created sexuality. He created us for relationships. He also created human beings with gender and opposite sexes, male and female. As a matter of fact, Genesis 1, 27 and 28 says this, "So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God, He created them. Male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply." And in verse 31, it says, "And God saw everything that He made and behold, it was very good." Pastor Tim spoke about this recently in a message entitled, "Redefining Very Good." And I want to encourage you, if you haven't heard it, powerful message. You want to make sure you listen to it. In creation, God gives us a beautiful picture of His own nature. Even the intimate concept of marriage and family all comes from Him. God uses this as a pattern to demonstrate the personal relationship that He enters into with us, His people. Folks, sin has consequences. There may be temporary pleasure in it, but make no mistake about it. It breeds corruption and ultimately ends in sorrow and pain. That is why we have to bring it to the light. The light of God's Word.

We've got to measure it and filter it through the lens of His truth. The Scripture says, "He who clings to or hides His sin will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy." We must be willing to agree with God and go with Him if we want things to be well with us. Let me say that again. We must be willing to agree with God and go with Him if we want things to be well with us. For broad is the way that leads to destruction. It doesn't matter if it seems like everyone agrees with some ideology or belief that is contrary to Scripture. That doesn't make it right. Folks, there is no counsel against the Lord. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 4 says this, "Satan, who is the God of this world, That's why the Scripture says be on guard. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13. Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Be on guard. Stand firm in the Christian faith. Be firm in holding and defending the truths of the gospel. Be firm in maintaining what you believe to be true and in holding on to your personal confidence in God. Love is not love. What does the Bible teach about love? Well, the first time the word love appears in Scripture is found in Genesis 22 verse 2. It says this, "Then he said," and this is the Lord speaking to Abraham, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love." Isaac, and go to the land of Mariah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you. The word for love here is the word ahab, and it means to have affection for. To love. It's human love for one another. It also includes familiar love, a love for your family. And it also includes sexual or romantic love. It also includes love, human love or appetite for objects that says food, right? Like me, I love to eat. I have affection for food. And I love all kinds of food. And then God, we're here in Times Square. You can eat just about everything and anything. There's so much available to us. Human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep. How many of you love to sleep? Love to sleep. Wisdom also is the act of being a friend,

loving as a friend. It also means to like. It's the word also meaning to like. The New Testament uses the word agape, agapeo, which means which is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 4 through 7. Actually, it also is obviously found in John 3 16, which says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. And then it's found in 2 Corinthians 13 verse 4 through 7. Defining for us what is love or what does love look like? How is it demonstrated practically? Love is patient. Let's not rush through this. Let's let this thing sink in and marinate for a bit. When somebody is getting on your nerve and not moving too fast enough for you or responding fast enough or things aren't going your way. Love is what? Help me Jesus. Love is kind when somebody is sitting in your seat on Sunday or on Tuesday night. Love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud. Are you proud tonight? Are you overly boastful or are you jealous when someone else is being blessed? And it seems like your blessing is taking its sweet time. It's not rude. Folks, I remember going to, I was walking by my wife and I were walking by a restaurant and I heard somebody yelling. It was a Chinese restaurant. We were walking by and I heard somebody yelling at somebody and I look inside and somebody was yelling at somebody behind the counter and the person that was yelling goes to times great church. Love is not rude. It does not demand its own way. [BLANK_AUDIO] Sometimes before we come home, we've had a rough day, before we unload on our family or others. It's important that we get alone with God and decompress so we're not irritable. I knew it was going to get quiet. It keeps no record of wrong. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith. It's always hopeful and endures to every circumstance. Folks, this kind of love that King James says never fails. Any other kind of love that's not based on this love will not last, but this kind of love never fails. Folks, I'm a witness. My wife and I just celebrated 33 years of marriage. And God has helped us to meditate on this and to pattern our lives after this and ask God to make this a living reality in our lives. The Bible tells us that God is love. Hallelujah. 1 John 4, 7 through verse 12, they may not

have this, but I'll read it to you. It says this, "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." And this word love here means he's affectionate and benevolent, which means he supplies what's best for us and not necessarily what we want. He supplies what he knows is best for us and not necessarily what we want. Amen? God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us and his love will be brought to full expression in us. By this shall men know that you are my disciples by the love you have for one another. Amen? For the Christian, the follower of Jesus, the word of God, is our guide and standard by which we live. It is our instruction manual for life. In the end, God's word, the truth abides forever. And so it is imperative as believers that we align ourselves with the word of God. Everything else will pass away, but his word will never pass away. Hallelujah. The Bible asks, how can two walk together unless they agree? Therefore, if any of us wants to walk with God, we must agree with God and do things his way. Our decisions, our direction, will, definitions of truth and love must align with his. As the people of God, we must reject anything that doesn't line up with the truth found in his word. That is what will keep us from error. He is Lord. He is the boss, and therefore he gets the final word. Would you bow your heads with me? Father, we thank you tonight for being here in our midst. We love you and thank you for loving us first. God, tonight, we ask that you would continue to speak to our hearts, that you will cause what we heard tonight to set us free and to become more and more like thee. God, deliver us, deliver us, Lord, from saying where we are. Healthy things grow. So God, we want to grow. Like it says in Psalm bearing fruit in every season. Let our leaves be green, evergreen God for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]