S1: Today on Bold steps with Mark job, we're discovering the
S1: meaning behind the ninth commandment.
S2: The lies the enemy come. And as soon as the
S2: language of the enemy is starting to be spoken somewhere,
S2: then the culture of the enemy starts to be present
S2: in that place. Language comes before culture, but it opens
S2: up the door for the culture that follows.
S1: Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of
S1: New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute
S1: in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. As we move forward in
S1: our series Rock Solid Living. Mark, we're going to be
S1: looking at the ninth commandment, nine out of ten, the
S1: reasons why God includes it, and why Jesus affirms it
S1: in the New Testament.
S2: Wayne. The Ten Commandments were given to the people of
S2: Israel to help shape their culture. It's a reflection of
S2: God's heart, what he values, he was saying, I want
S2: this to shape the culture in which you operate. And
S2: truth is a culture of the kingdom. So lies is
S2: a culture of the kingdom of darkness. And I know
S2: that every believer listening to me today would agree thou
S2: shalt not lie. However, studies tell us, surveys tell us
S2: that 91% of Americans regularly lie about something.
S1: Oh my goodness.
S2: Which means that we have accepted this thought that as
S2: long as it's not a very severe lie, it's okay
S2: to bend the truth and not always have to be honest.
S1: Yeah, we buy the myth of the white lie, don't we?
S2: We do. And so the Ten Commandments and Jesus reiterates
S2: it in the New Testament. Again, any kind of bending
S2: of truth, any kind of lying, any kind of deception
S2: is incompatible with the kingdom of light.
S1: Let's let God's Word guide our thinking now. Thou shalt
S1: not lie. Here's Mark Jobe.
S2: I know that if I were to do a survey
S2: today and ask how many of you whether lying is
S2: wrong or not. I think that 98% of this crowd
S2: would say, absolutely lying is wrong. We should not do it.
S2: It shouldn't be a part of our lives. We should
S2: be truthful. We should not deceive people. And so we'd
S2: all be in agreement in that. However, I read recently
S2: that Leo Burnett, who's a advertising agency, uh, they have
S2: a branch here in Chicago. The headquarters may be here. Uh,
S2: did a nationwide telephone survey a few years ago. Online cataloging.
S2: When we lie, how we lie, and why we lie.
S2: The results were very interesting. 91% of Americans confess that
S2: they regularly lie. That's 91%. That means that there's only
S2: about 9% of Americans that don't regularly lie. And who knows,
S2: maybe some of them were lying. But this is pretty widespread. 79%
S2: had given out false phone numbers or invented new identities
S2: when meeting strangers. One out of every five people interviewed
S2: admitted that they couldn't get through even one day without
S2: going along with some previously manufactured lie. So 20% of
S2: the people in America say, I can't go even one
S2: day without Perpetuating some lie that I'm living. Well, that's
S2: a pretty high percentage of them. Uh, do you know
S2: what we lie most about? Well, in doing a survey
S2: and asking what we lie most about, there's a couple
S2: of things we lie about. We lie most about our income,
S2: our weight, and our age. The funny thing about weight,
S2: of course, is that it's pretty obvious sometimes if you're
S2: lying or not. The other fourth lie that came in
S2: sort of hand in hand in place number four, was
S2: the true color of our hair. So what I've discovered
S2: is that although most of us believe that lying is wrong,
S2: it seems to be that our culture accepts lying as
S2: a way of life, and the great majority of us lie. Now,
S2: some of you would say, well, pastor, I know people lie, but.
S2: But I'm talking about white lies. I don't really know
S2: where the color coding of lies came in, but I'm
S2: not really sure I've ever heard of the Bible talk
S2: about a white lie. You would define a white lie
S2: as a lie that it doesn't hurt anybody. It's not bad.
S2: It's like when someone calls and the boss is saying, no, no,
S2: you say sorry, he's not here right now. Well, that's
S2: kind of a white lie, right? He is here. He
S2: doesn't want to talk. He doesn't want to be rude.
S2: It's just a busy time. And so we say, well, well,
S2: he's not here right now. Someone invites you to something
S2: you don't want to go to, and you say, I'd
S2: really love to go. Oh, I'd be there in a heartbeat,
S2: but I'm sorry. We have another commitment. When really you don't.
S2: You say, well, there's nothing wrong with a lie like
S2: that because I'm just basically I don't want to offend them.
S2: I'm just telling a little bit of a twisting of
S2: the truth that really has no bad repercussions. I mean,
S2: can't we all? And okay, so I go to renew
S2: my driver's license, and I tell them what I weighed
S2: 15 years ago. I mean, really? I mean, that doesn't
S2: really hurt anybody. That's what I'm planning on being in
S2: two months from now once I get on my heavy diet.
S2: But really, it's not much of a lie, is it?
S2: I mean, seriously, when I apply for the job and
S2: they ask if I have a college degree and I
S2: tell them that I have a BA degree from from
S2: Roosevelt University downtown, you know, I'm only four credits short.
S2: So I mean, technically I don't have a degree, but
S2: I mean, seriously, four credits. I mean, who's going to
S2: care about four credits? Technically, I guess it's a lie,
S2: but in reality, is it such a big deal? I
S2: think most of us here would kind of say, yeah, pastor.
S2: Come on. Don't be so hard. I mean, we all
S2: bend the truth a little bit. But here's what I
S2: want you to understand. I want you to understand what
S2: we call bending the truth a little bit is pretty
S2: big deal in the eyes of God. It may not
S2: have serious consequences to what you are currently doing, but
S2: in the spiritual realm, there's some pretty heavy consequences. And
S2: I want to talk to you about that. Why do
S2: we lie? Well, I believe that we lie to impress people,
S2: to create an image, cover up our insecurities. We lie
S2: to escape consequences. We're late to work. Hey, my car
S2: broke down. It's been your fourth time. Your car broke down.
S2: Get a new car. Um. We lie to make a profit.
S2: A sales guys always are out there. I tell you what, uh,
S2: two years ago, I was looking around to try to
S2: buy a used car for my daughter. And, man, I
S2: tell you, you want to hear some stories. People spend stories.
S2: Try to buy a used car. I checked Carfax and
S2: I said, well, last time you went to the mechanic,
S2: this had like 150,000 miles on it, and now it
S2: only has 90,000 miles on it. Something wrong with that picture?
S2: To make a profit. Oh, we lied to get revenge
S2: or to hurt someone else. We lie for convenience sake.
S2: Just because it's easier to lie. Sometimes we lie to
S2: protect ourselves from the consequences of others. And so there's
S2: a whole series of reasons why we lie. But I
S2: want to understate here. I want to make sure that
S2: we have very clear that the fact that we break
S2: the ninth commandment has some serious spiritual implications, although it
S2: may be fully accepted in our Our society and small
S2: lies may be a part of our culture in the
S2: Kingdom of God. Mathematics or dynamics? This is a huge issue.
S2: And let me tell you why. The best way that
S2: I could describe it is this language is the precursor
S2: to culture. When I'm traveling around, for example, I'm at
S2: an airport. I like to kind of play a game.
S2: I see someone and I, I try to figure out
S2: what country they're from. And sometimes you can tell by
S2: the way someone looks or the way they dress, but
S2: then when they open their mouth and you hear them
S2: speaking French, obviously you deduce they're from France or they're
S2: speaking German, you know, they're from Germany, because the language
S2: that they speak indicates the place that they're from. Because
S2: and and once you know the language that they speak,
S2: you know, that the country that they're from and you know,
S2: the culture that they come from. Even with Spanish, for example,
S2: when I hear someone say, Joe and Voss, I know
S2: they're Argentinian because that's what they say there. If you
S2: hear someone speaking Spanish and they say Zanahoria and Zapato
S2: and Zamora, you know that they're Castilian, that they grew
S2: up in Spain because they had this thing going. And so,
S2: you know where they're from. If you're from the US
S2: and someone says, how y'all doing today? We say, you're
S2: not from here, right? We know they're from the South
S2: because there's a lot of y'all want some iced tea
S2: for us. And we know, hey, they're not from here.
S2: My daughter was studying in California. She says, dad, all
S2: these people are. When I start talking, they're all kind
S2: of laughing and they're saying, where are you from? You
S2: have to be from Chicago or somewhere. And I didn't
S2: even know I had an accent. But the Californians all
S2: think I have an accent because they say mom, not mom.
S2: So the language that you speak indicates the culture that
S2: you come from And the environment in which you live.
S2: Language tells you that. Well, Jesus is talking to his
S2: disciples and Jesus is talking to some, to his disciples
S2: and to some people that he was trying to speak
S2: into their lives. And in John chapter eight, I will
S2: begin reading in verse 4343 through 47, Jesus looks at
S2: some people that are not understanding him, not because they
S2: don't speak the same technical language that he spoke, but
S2: because they don't speak the same spiritual language. And he says,
S2: why is my language not clear to you? Because you
S2: are unable to hear what I say. You belong to
S2: your father. Your father has taught you a language. That's
S2: not my language. You understand your father's language, but you
S2: don't understand my language. Well, what father is he talking about?
S2: He says your father. The devil. And you want to
S2: carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from
S2: the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is
S2: no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his
S2: native language. For he is a liar and the father
S2: of lies. Yet, because I tell you the truth, you
S2: do not believe me. What Jesus was telling his disciples
S2: and people that were unwilling to receive his message, is
S2: that he was telling them that the native language, that
S2: the original language of the kingdom of darkness is the
S2: language of lies, beguilement, deception, and the bending of truth.
S2: If you speak the language of lies, then it indicates
S2: that you are being influenced by the culture of darkness,
S2: because that is the language that is spoken in the
S2: culture of darkness. On the other hand, when you speak
S2: the language of truth and integrity, it's the language that's
S2: spoken in the kingdom of light. The language of God
S2: is truth. The language of the enemy is lying and deception.
S1: You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We'll continue
S1: today's message in a moment. But first, Mark, I want
S1: to talk about something that's become a growing concern within
S1: Christian leadership circles. Our world is going through a whirlwind,
S1: pretty dramatic developments and changes, not just here in America,
S1: but around the globe. And we need to remind ourselves,
S1: as Christians, we have a much higher calling than any
S1: political movement, don't we.
S2: Wayne? Turn on the news. And there is drama all
S2: over the place.
S3: From rumors of wars to economic crisis to polarization, to
S3: actual wars that are happening to bombings, and it is
S3: easy to get distracted by all this. Worried by it.
S3: Anxious by it. Sort of sucked into it. But here's
S3: what I want to say. This is a great time
S3: for the good news of Jesus Christ and the hope
S3: of the gospel.
S1: Amen.
S3: There are a lot of people coming to Christ throughout
S3: the world, and you may not hear about it, because
S3: there's other news that is prominent and is taking people's attention.
S3: But there is an undercurrent of a harvest evangelism. And
S3: that's what we're all about right now, is a moment
S3: where people are shaken, where there's concern. But there are
S3: so many people that are turning to the heavens, and
S3: we at Bold Steps have determined we will not miss
S3: that moment. And so we are asking you to partner
S3: with us, help us out, because right now is a
S3: great time to be calling people to Jesus.
S1: We urge you to give online at Bold steps.org. Or
S1: you can call us. The number is 800. D.L. Moody
S1: and that works out to be (800) 356-6639. And when you
S1: do give, we'll be sure to send you a special
S1: gift which will tell you more about later in the
S1: program today. Well, thank you for that, Mark. But let's
S1: go back to your message now here on bold Steps.
S2: Hebrews chapter six verse 18 basically says God cannot lie.
S2: Titus chapter one, verse two says, A faith and knowledge
S2: resting on the hope of eternal life, which is God
S2: who does not lie. God can't even lie if he
S2: tried to. It's not his language. It's like saying to you, hey,
S2: can you give me a phrase in Mandarin from China?
S2: And you're not from China? You don't even know how
S2: you couldn't if you wanted to, because it's not the
S2: language that you speak. God cannot lie. He doesn't speak
S2: the language of lies. Yet the Bible says that the
S2: language of the darkness, the language of the enemy of
S2: our souls, that is his native language. He can't tell
S2: the truth if he wants to. He only tells the
S2: truth to mix it with deception and lies, because his
S2: native tongue is that of deception and lying. He's called
S2: the father of lies. On the other hand, just like
S2: God cannot lie, God cannot bend the truth. God cannot
S2: distort the truth on the same hand. Deceit, just like truth,
S2: prepares the way for the kingdom of God culture. Deceit
S2: prepares the way for the kingdom of darkness. Culture. Hear
S2: me well. Look up at me. This is really important.
S2: Whatever words you speak are making way for a culture
S2: that you're introducing. If there's resentment and bitterness and anger
S2: that you speak in your household, you're beginning to create
S2: a culture of resentment, bitterness, and anger. If you're leading
S2: a football team of junior high kids and you speak
S2: encouragement and confidence and ability to win, then you're creating
S2: a culture of winning and confidence into that team. Whatever
S2: words you speak into your world are precedes the culture
S2: that you're introducing into your world. This is exactly what
S2: happened in the beginning with the Garden of Eden. If
S2: you look at Genesis, Genesis chapter three, you realize that
S2: God created Paradise. He created a world in which people
S2: walked with him and talked with them. He created a
S2: world in which there was no bigotry, in which there
S2: was no rape and there was no murder, and there
S2: was no anger, and there was no distinction of color.
S2: And people walked with him in freedom. And that world
S2: was the world that God created us to live and
S2: walk in. However, it tells us in Genesis chapter three
S2: that the serpent, the way he wiggled his way into Paradise,
S2: was through the language. What language? The language of beguilement
S2: or deception? Notice what it says in Genesis chapter three,
S2: verse one. Now the serpent was more crafty than any
S2: of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He
S2: said to the woman, Did God really say, you must
S2: not eat from the tree in the garden? What the
S2: serpent did is he put in question the truth of God.
S2: God had not said that they couldn't eat from any
S2: tree of the garden. They could only not eat from
S2: one tree in the garden. So he he misled Eve
S2: in his statement. It was only half true. He had said,
S2: don't eat from one tree. Not all the trees. He
S2: lied about the righteousness of God. The serpent said, God said,
S2: you shall truly die. But. But I don't think you will.
S2: He lied about the goodness of God. God doesn't want
S2: you to eat from this tree, because if you do,
S2: you will be like God. Listen, he sowed seeds of
S2: deception before he brought in the culture of darkness. I.
S2: Are you tracking where I'm going with this? Before the
S2: kingdom of light comes in, truth comes before the kingdom.
S2: Before someone comes to Christ. They hear the gospel. They
S2: hear the truth. And then the culture of the kingdom
S2: invades their life before the kingdom of darkness comes. The
S2: lies of the enemy come. And as soon as the
S2: language of the enemy is starting to be spoken somewhere,
S2: then the culture of the enemy starts to be present
S2: in that place. Language comes before culture, but it opens
S2: up the door for the culture that follows. Now, why
S2: is this so important? Because some of you love Jesus.
S2: Follow God, carry your Bibles, come to church, raise your
S2: hands on Sunday and worship of God. And you consider
S2: yourself a follower of Jesus Christ. But you where you go,
S2: you speak the language of darkness through deception that you
S2: don't think is an important thing. You're bending the truth.
S2: Lying about this line about that and what you're really
S2: doing is you're spreading the kingdom of darkness. You're opening
S2: up doors for kingdom of darkness. Although you follow God,
S2: you're violating the ninth commandment, and you are speaking the
S2: language of the devil. And you wonder why he has
S2: a foothold in your life. You're speaking the language of darkness,
S2: and you're giving the enemy a foothold in your household.
S2: Because we're the language of deception is spoken. Then the
S2: culture of darkness comes in and you speak lies into
S2: your marriage, you start deceiving one another, bending truth. And
S2: I can guarantee you that you are giving the enemy
S2: a huge foothold in your household and in your marriage
S2: to begin to bring the culture of the kingdom of
S2: darkness there.
S1: Line isn't just about the words we use. That's the
S1: topic of today's message from pastor, author, and Bible teacher
S1: Mark Jobe. And this is bold steps. To learn more
S1: about Mark and this ministry, be sure to visit us
S1: online at Bold Steps org. Well, Mark, today we're joined
S1: by two special guests, Aaron and Jason Davis, who've written
S1: a book that tackles a challenge every Christian parent faces
S1: how to help our boys navigate the lies our culture
S1: is throwing at them. The book is called Lies Boys
S1: Believe and the Epic Quest for truth.
S3: That's right Wayne. You know, last month we offered the
S3: companion to this resource lies girls believe I.
S1: Remember.
S3: So Aaron, as a mother of four boys. Yeah, you
S3: heard it. Four boys. What motivated you to write this book?
S4: Well, obviously my own sons. You're right. So everybody listening.
S4: It's okay for you to gasp at that. Four sons.
S4: That's what Jason and I have. So it's a rowdy house.
S4: But there are primary concern. But they're also a good
S4: indicator of what's happening in the wider culture. And everybody
S4: seems to be talking about boys in crisis, secular and Christian.
S4: But we want to point our boys to the truth,
S4: and the truth is found in God's word. And so
S4: we let our boys go first. They were super involved
S4: in the project, and I hope this is an outflow
S4: of our parenting, but we also hope they're just four
S4: examples of what can happen when God gets Ahold of boys,
S4: when they're young and they fall in love with His
S4: word when they're young and they start living for truth.
S1: So, Jason, you have built in research, huh?
S5: Yeah, it's made it easy. We didn't have to travel
S5: a lot to do the market research for this one.
S3: And, Jason, what ages would you say this book is
S3: targeted towards?
S5: Uh, young men, uh, probably 6 to 12 would be
S5: the target demographic. That's probably not the right terminology, but, um,
S5: we found that our boys in that age group really
S5: resonated well with the content and the message.
S3: You know, I think this type of book is so needed.
S3: There are so many, so many parents struggling with just
S3: the lies that our culture is just saturating our young
S3: people with. But young boys especially, are at a disadvantage
S3: these days when the image of what it means to
S3: be a man or grow up to be a man
S3: is really been erased and very confusing.
S1: This is critical, isn't it? Yeah. Aaron and Jason, thank
S1: you so much for writing this book and making it
S1: available to our listeners.
S5: It's been a real pleasure.
S4: Yeah, we're just honored to get to serve families in
S4: the church in this way.
S1: And we'll send you a copy of this book when
S1: you give a donation of any amount. Call us at
S1: 800 Moody. That's (800) 356-6639 or give online at boldsystems.org. As always,
S1: you can also send that donation in the mail. Just
S1: address an envelope to Bold steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago,
S1: Illinois 606 ten Once again. 820 North LaSalle, Chicago, Illinois
S1: 606 ten and if you've been blessed by Mark's teaching
S1: and you'd like to join our team of loyal supporters,
S1: we invite you to become a bold partner. As a
S1: bold partner, you help bring these gospel rich messages to
S1: other listeners just like you. A single gift helps push
S1: us forward, but it really is the consistent monthly giving
S1: that keeps this program alive and growing so that we
S1: can be here for you every day, every week, with
S1: a biblical truth and encouragement you rely on with your
S1: monthly giving. You'll also benefit from receiving exclusive resources like
S1: a signed copy of Mark's book, Unstuck Out of Your
S1: Cave and into your call, available only to bold partners.
S1: So join the team today by going online to Bold
S1: steps.org or call us at 800 Moody. And don't forget,
S1: in addition to listening to Mark each weekday right here
S1: on your local radio station, you can listen 24 over
S1: seven on our website. We even have a mobile Bold
S1: Steps app for listening on the go. Or find us
S1: on your favorite podcast platform like Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
S1: To learn more about the variety of ways you can
S1: listen to this program, just go online to Bold Steps. Org.
S1: I'm Wayne Shepherd. Join us tomorrow and we'll see why
S1: the Ninth commandment is so important. It's the conclusion of
S1: today's message called Thou Shalt Not Lie. And it's coming
S1: up Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jones. Bold steps
S1: is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody
S1: Bible Institute.