THE WORD IS HOLY AND TRUTH
WELCOME to our topic for to-day. Our discussion is based on the Word which is truth. When Jesus Christ started preaching at the age of 30, he preached and taught the Word. The gospel. The Word was about himself, that is the Word is Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3) and his Father, the Lord God Almighty. Our quotation reads as follows: “Make them holy by your truth, teach them your Word, which is truth.” A follower of Christ becomes pure and holy through believing and obeying the Lord of God. In the Book of Hebrews 4:12, it is written: “For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” This therefore means that the Word of God is not merely a collection of words from God, as a vehicle for communicating ideas, it is living, life changing and dynamic as it works in us. A daily application of God’s Word has a purifying effect on our minds and hearts. We are motivated to confess because of our sin, and so the Bible says. In other words, we are motivated to confess because of sin. Psalm 38:18 says: “But I confess my sins, I am deeply sorry for what I have done.” Sometimes God has to punish his children to bring them back to Himself. When we repent our sins, God promises to forgive us. (Isaiah 1:18-19). He delivers us from sin’s eternal consequences. We accept forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death. This is the work of the Word that comes from God. It teaches us to ask for forgiveness of sin. By the death of Jesus Christ, we are truly pardoned. Hebrews7:26-27, says: “He is the kind of high priest we need, because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honour in heaven. (27).” Unlike those other high priests he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first, and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sin. This he did, even though he himself never sinned, even though he was born hundred percent human (John1:14). Jesus Christ prayed to his father to make us holy, as his followers. It is therefore impossible to make ourselves holy, unless the Holy Spirit is with us. Holiness is not too easy to come by. If it was so easy, our Zambia could have become a paradise on earth. Sin of any kind could have been wiped out. To be holy is to be spiritually pure and to be free from sin. It is so difficult to attain, but it is demanded of us as believers in Christ Jesus and his Father God Almighty, Jehovah Jireh. To be holy is to think upright, to have a character of Jesus Christ. Many positive factors or elements will be in a person who is holy. One most important element is that a person who is holy will obey Christ/God’s commandments. These are as they appear in Exodus 20:1-17. And also as per preaching of Christ, more important the preaching on the Mount - Matthew chapters 5 to chapter 7. This contains the golden rule in Matthew 7:12, which says: “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.” The whole gospel contains commands of Christ Jesus. All what is written in the following books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, known as Snoptic books or Gospel. When these scriptures are fully studied and followed to the letter, including what is written in Exodus 20:1-17, then holiness is upon us. Not by our own effort, because we are just human, but by the help of our Lord God Almighty. We should avoid deliberate sin. In the book of Leviticus 11:44, the bible says: “For I am the Lord your God. You must consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. So do not defile yourselves with any of these small animals that scurry along the ground.” Going by this scripture and the one that follows; it is evident that God really wanted his people to be holy, right from the beginning. As believers we have only two options - to be holy just as our Lord God Almighty is holy or to compromise with usual ways of unbelief and corrupt ways of living. We have to decide to dedicate ourselves to worshiping and praising the only God of Israel. In the New Testament, believers in Christ are also called upon to be holy. It is written in the book of 1st Peter 1:15 as follows: “But you must be holy in everything you do. Just as God who chose you is holy.” Since God is holy, even his church is holy. He is the Lord God Almighty who sets standards for morality. He is a God of mercy and justice who cares personally for each of his followers. Our holy God expects to imitate Him, by following his moral standards and by being both merciful and just. As a holy people, we are set aside for the purposes of what is good both to the people and to our Lord God Almighty. We should avoid to blend in with the crowd. We must show God’s qualities in our lives, which will make us different from those who do not know God, who have no reason to be like Him. Christ Jesus in his prayer asked His Father by His own truth teach the Word which is truth. This means that in God there is only truth. And His is also truth. Our Lord God Almighty does not lie. He never misses in His promises. The Lord promised the Israelites that he was going to be with them in the wilderness. He did not even send His angels to go with the Israelites, and for sure He just did that. It is written in the book of Exodus 13:21-22, thus: “The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day, with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night (22). The Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people:” This is called THEOPHANY that is the appearance of God to Hs people. Our Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave the Hebrews a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire, so that they would know day and night that God was with them on the journey to the Promised Land. To-day, the Holy one, Lord God Almighty Jehovah Jireh, has given us the Bible, to guide our ways, in our journey to eternal life. And He has given us the Holy Spirit to make us remember what we read from the Bible and help us to do them. To follow what we read, because the Bible contains truth. John14:26, says: “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative, that is the Holy Spirit, he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” We can be confident that the Gospels are an accurate record of what Jesus taught and did. As believers, we are aware that we have received God’s Spirit, so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (1st Corinth 2:12). And He has given us His wonderful Word, which is Truth. In verse 13 of the same chapter the Bible says: “when we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain Spiritual truths. We all want to be wise, but according to the Bible, real wisdom comes about, when we are guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives it all. The Spirit is truth (John 18:13) Truth is always in abundance where people fear God. Where people are arrogant and adamant, they have no God to fear. And with such people, truth is not in them. It is after all said that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalms 25:12). Where there is no truth, for sure there is no wisdom. Believers in Christ must uphold truth in everything that they say and do. For more truth will set a person free. It is written in the book of John1 7:6, the Bible says: “Jesus said unto them, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me: “Christ is himself Truth, and his Word is Truth. The gospel is Truth. He is the way to heaven. If we believe in the Son of Man then we are assured of everlasting life, which only comes to us by faith. The truth is that Jesus Christ is the path to His Father, our Lord God Almighty. As the Truth, he is the reality of all God’s promises. As the life, he joins his divine life to ours, both now and eternally. It is easy to identity truth. It is written in the book of 1st Kings 17:24 thus: “Then the woman told Elijah; “now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” These words were said when Elijah restored life into the woman’s child. It is a great honour to learn to be truthful, act truthfully and speak truthfully in all circumstances. Then we shall be people of integrity. When we hear the Word being preached, we should always remember that it is truth being preached. Nothing is added or subtracted, but it is whole (Rev 22:1819). In Revelation 19:9; it is partly written as follows: “And he added “these are the true words of God.” What comes from God is pure and truth. What comes from Christ Jesus is both pure and truth. We are eternally safe to believe in the words that come from our Lord Christ Jesus, because they give life. For it is written in John 3:36, thus: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the son, will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” It is cardinal that humanity believes in the Word of truth. For it is written in John 3:16 thus: “For God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall never perish but have everlasting life.” Some people have perished in their effort to spread this Word of truth, they have died in air crashes, some on waters, some on the road, but they live eternally. This Word of truth is so important in our lives. Some have taken advantage of the Word to enrich themselves. The Word of truth is to some people a very expensive element or substance, to receive. But it is supposed to reach every one freely, as all riches belong to God. Some preach it for their own glory. And should be preached only to the glory of God. It is to humanity to continue to preach the Word of truth, and to humanity to believe in the Word of truth about our Lord God Almighty and His son Christ Jesus and eternal life will be waiting for us when we leave this world. May the Lord God the Most High continue to bless our Republican President and shower our nation with peace and love. We pray in the name of our Lord, Christ Jesus, Amen.