HIS TRUTH STILL MARCHES ON

Let's talk about the truth. Here is the eternal question …..“What is the truth?”   As we all well know, there are seemingly an incalculable number of theories and ideologies, principles and philosophies, concepts and creeds, viewpoints and value systems, opinions and beliefs as well as personal perspectives and chosen positions of morality that we and our children have to wade through on a daily basis.   Of course, today’s media, political and educational institutions don’t help much because they are part of the problem.   Therefore, it is understandable that the human heart and the human head are completely confused as to what is really the truth.    And though our beloved Savior Jesus Christ Who is the express manifestation of righteousness in this universe and beyond has said,  “…I am the way, the truth, and the life…”  (John 14: 6),   we the people of planet earth, we who are the crowning achievement of God’s own creative genius still question, misunderstand and even reject His proclamation to us that  “…ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8: 32)    This was evident even back in the day when Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, was examining Jesus at His unjust trial prior to His execution by crucifixion, ill-advisedly asked,  “What is truth?”   (John 18: 38)    Of course Pilate asked the wrong question because the truth is not a what, it’s a Who.   And if He Who is the truth shall make you free, then  “ye shall be free indeed.”   (John 8: 36)

We believe in wonderful scriptures like Psalm 100: 5  which says,  “For the LORD is good;   His mercy is everlasting;  and His truth endureth to all generations.”   But how do we actually know what is true and what is not, particularly when it comes to our salvation.    I’m sure no one wants to be wrong concerning this subject and I will carefully concede that everyone is sincere in their own belief of spirituality, whatever that may be.   And though there are an estimated 10,000 religions in the world, I will use a few of the major ones as an example to highlight some differences.   For instance, Judaism believes in God but does not accept Jesus as the prophesied Messiah.   On the other hand, Islam believes in the God of Abraham but credits no divinity to Jesus, only considering Him to be a prophet, a teacher and a good man whereas Catholicism believes in the divinity of Jesus but also ascribes heavenly advocacy to patron saints, praying to them for blessings, intercession and protection.   Buddhism believes in a transcendent state called nirvana in which there is neither suffering, desire nor a sense of self, Hinduism has elements of polytheism or a belief in multiple gods and Baha’i faith combines the tenets of several different religions. 

So who’s right and who’s wrong?   Are all right?   Are all wrong?    Does it even matter?     What if you’re sure that you are right?    Well, according to God’s Word,  “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”   (Proverbs 14: 12)     And so, when it comes to all the ways in which people think they have discovered the door to God’s Kingdom,  again His Word tells us that there is only one way that leads to Him and that way is through His Son, Jesus Christ Who, in addition to saying He is the way the truth and the life, also said,  “… no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”  (John 14:6)    And you can’t even come to Jesus on your own because He also said,  “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him:   and I will raise him up at the last day.”  (John 6: 44)    

Without judging others or disparaging their beliefs, we can be supremely confident that the way, the truth and the life has been plainly shown to us.   And how do we know this?    It is not by our intellect or our 5 senses or our accumulated experiences.    It is because we know Him by His Spirit.   Proverbs 1: 23 says,  “Turn you at My reproof..." My God, yes! Accept His chastisement, accept His conviction and "behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you.”    And it is by this same Spirit that we know without a doubt that God is real.   There is a gospel song that says,   “There are some things I may not know, there are some places I can't go;   But I am sure of this one thing,  that God is real, for I can feel Him in my soul.”       And along with that realness we also know by the same Spirit that we are His children and that we are free.   And Who is that Spirit?    “… the Lord is that Spirit:  and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”   (2 Corinthians 3: 17)

It is by His Spirit that we can most assuredly say, not only out loud, but more importantly deep within our soul,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:   According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,  To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.   In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;  Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;  Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;  even in Him:”  (Ephesians 1: 3-10)

In essence, what this scripture is telling us is that if any person genuinely wants to know God and His realness, our Heavenly Father is always available to anyone who will truly believe, will humble themselves, regret and confess their wrong-doing,  and accept Jesus as the only atoning sacrifice for the sins they have committed.    Yes, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God and He has commanded us all to repent.   God says,  “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions;  so iniquity (or sin) shall not be your ruin.”    (Ezekiel 18: 30)     This repentance we speak of releases the unimaginable power of the gift of grace that has been shown to us by Jesus’ death on the cross which is the undeniable evidence of the great love God has for us.   “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;  that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”   (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

And if we will humbly heed His call for godly repentance, we can redeem the incredible offer and promise He has made to us when He says,   “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”   (Romans 10: 13)     And since God does not lie, cannot lie and will not lie, you can bank on that promise.    As it is written,   “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness;  but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”   (2 Peter 3: 9)     And once you have accepted His forgiveness by your submission to Him, God will give you the ability to discern other spirits because many false prophets are roaming around and would have you to believe that Jesus is not the only way to God.   The deceptive spirit of the antichrist, which is already in the world, is working overtime to misdirect you from trusting in God’s plan.   And this ain’t no game.   God is serious when He says,   “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…”    (1 John 4: 1)

But because we are of God, we are able to overcome them all because  “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”   (1 John 4: 4-5)     All the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has ordained.   Even the Pharisee Gamaliel, the esteemed 1st century Hebrew lawyer knew this when he warned the Jewish religious council about their intentions to kill the apostles because they were preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.   He cautioned them sternly by saying,  “Men of Israel, be careful as to what you are about to do with these men.   Stay away from them and leave them alone, for if the source of their preaching is of man, it will be overthrown;   but if the source is of God,  YOU CANNOT OVERTHROW IT….”   (NASB Acts 5: 35, 38-39)

Oh my!   Glory to God!   How pleasing a portion of spiritual nourishment that is!   You see, when Jesus, Who is the Word of God, gets into you and changes you, this is that undeniable evidence that we are His people and He is our God.   And how does He get into you?    Scripture sums it us like this,    “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of…”   (KJV 2 Corinthians 7: 10)    “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret,  leading to salvation ...  For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you:  what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal…”  (NASB 2 Corinthians 7: 11)        It is then,  “…after that ye heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:  in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.”   (Ephesians 1: 13-14)     Well, Hallelujah and Hosanna I say!

So we continue to trumpet this declaration:   HIS TRUTH STILL MARCHES ON!     And this truth requires that we love not only Him, but each other.   Not with our own love but with the love He instills in us.   This love is not only an essential element of our connection with God, but it cannot be separated from God because God is love.   And if we are of God, then that same love must be in us.   This is what separates us from every other institution and belief system on earth.   A true relationship with God is not an intellectual, theoretical, empirical, hypothetical, anecdotal or even emotional pursuit.   It is a divinely-orchestrated spiritual connection.   Therefore, the love we have is not the love of the world which uses the word too often, misuses the word more often and misunderstands its makeup astonishingly often.     The greater love that we have surpasses philia  (brotherly love),  storge  (family love),  xenia  (communal love)  or eros  (romantic or erotic love).                        

Our love is agape, which includes all the other elements, but it is the highest form of love.    Sometimes expressed as a  “love feast ” which is unconditional, selfless, sacrificial and empathetic.   It is the love described in  1 Corinthians 13  which is patient and kind.   It’s not jealous, arrogant or conceited.    It doesn’t act disgracefully or seek its own benefit.   It’s not easily provoked nor does it even keep an account of wrongs suffered.   It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things and never, ever failing.   Yes, our love is agape.  The love of God.   The love that is God.    

It is that same level of God’s love that Jesus was trying to get Peter to, when He was on the seashore with those fish frying after His resurrection, and told His disciples to  “Come and dine…”   (John 21: 12)     After dinner He asked Peter,  “Do you love Me”  and Peter said yes.   However, Peter was speaking of philia (brotherly)  love where Jesus was talking of agape love.   You see, Jesus was trying to prepare Peter for the work ahead because he needed the pure power of God’s love if he were to be successful in the challenges that were awaiting him.    And just like Peter, we also must not only be well-versed, but totally immersed in God’s love to be ready for the mission He has planned for each of our individual lives.    And as was said earlier, you have to be sober, vigilant and watchful for other deceptive spirits masquerading as holy messengers.    You must be positively convinced that you know the truth.   “…Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.   Beloved, let us love one another:  for love is of God;  and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.   He that loveth not knoweth not God;  for God is love.”   (1 John 4: 6-8)    

Now we all are familiar with what is probably the most famous Bible verse in the world which is  John 3: 16 & 17 -  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.   For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world;  but that the world through Him might be saved.”    And though this passage may seem common because it is often repeated, it is actually incredibly uncommon because it powerfully conveys the matchless, exceptional, irreplaceable and immeasurable love that our Father has shown us and what He is willing to do for us.   “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.   Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation  (atoning sacrifice)  for our sins.”   (1 John 4: 9-10)

His truth still marches on and it will not be thwarted by what man or demon may do.   When encouraging His people to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, God explained to the prophet Zechariah through a series of dreams and visions how this would be done by saying,  “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”   (Zechariah 4: 6)    In essence God was saying that the progress of His salvation plans for mankind would not be accomplished by what they did, not by their own strength nor by authority from any other, but by His almighty, all-powerful, all-exclusive, all-loving  and unstoppable Spirit.    It would be through none other than Himself how His temple would be rebuilt, how His church would be raised and how His people would be preserved.   

This theme was reiterated thousands of years later when Jesus told Peter that He would build His church upon Himself, the Solid Rock and Firm Foundation of our faith saying   “…and upon this Rock I will build My church;  and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”    (Matthew 16: 18)     Not you Peter.   Me!   I’m that Rock and I’m that Foundation!     “The Spirit of the Lord is upon  Me, because He hath anointed  Me to preach the gospel to the poor;   He hath sent  Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”  (Luke 4: 18)      “…to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;  that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”   (Isaiah 61: 3)

Yes, His truth still marches on.   And the rhythmic cadence of His campaign to lead us to rest is echoed through the love that we show to each other every day.   “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.   No man hath seen God at any time.   If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.   Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.   And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.   Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in Him, and he in God.   And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.   God is love;  and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.   Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:  because as He is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love;  but perfect love casteth out fear:  because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.   We love Him, because He first loved us.    If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:  for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?   And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”   (1 John 4: 11-21)

So let us be diligent to follow God’s command when He says,  “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue;  but in deed and in truth.”   (1 John 3: 18)     We can talk all day but there is one sure-fire way that everyone will know we are of God.   “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”   (John 13: 34-35)    How pleased the Father must be when He sees us representing Him as vessels of His love.  So mount up, march on and let the love of God be prominently displayed in your life each and every day to everyone you encounter.   By doing this we are making a monumental statement that we are the people of God and nothing will interfere with His love that He has so graciously gifted us.    Do this and you will be unmistakenly identified as one of His sanctified servants who walk on that Highway of Holiness giving glory to God while shouting,  “GOD IS ON THE MOVE AND HIS TRUTH STILL MARCHES ON!”

And the truth is this ….. HIS LOVE still marches on and there’s no power on earth that can stop it.    "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?   Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.   Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.   For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."   (Romans 8: 35-39)