TRUE V. TRUTH 2

11/21/2023

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come" (John 16:13).

We broached the subject of what is true versus truth and came to an understanding that what is true may not necessarily be the truth, but the truth is always true. In Acts 16:16-17, we find an example from Luke's account, "Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."

What the girl said was true, but it wasn't the truth. We know this because the spirit by which she spoke grieved the Spirit of truth in Paul such that Paul cast out the spirit. Acts 16:18 says, "And this she [the girl] did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour." 

Now, we learned that truth, from the standpoint of the Word, must have all eight qualities to be truth. It must be true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good to report, excellent, and praiseworthy. If it is short of just one quality, it stops being the truth. Philippians 4:8 tells us, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." 

Testing what the girl said with the Bible definition of truth passes seven of the eight qualities but fails one. It fails the quality of being just. We know this because the scriptures tell us that her speech "...brought her masters much profit..." and we know by the scripture that the gifts of the Spirit may not be monetized because it would not be right to do so. When Simon the sorcerer tried to buy the ability to impart the Holy Spirit, the Bible says, "Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!" (Acts 8:20). The fact that the girl's "gift" was operated to generate money violates the modus operandi of the Holy Spirit. 

Secondly, there was an inward witness of the Holy Spirit in Paul's heart that even though the girl was accurate in her description, the source of her information was not from Him, which was why the Apostle acted to counter the contrary spirit. Now, certain individuals have been derailed by dreams and information that failed the truth test. They have found themselves in one or all scenarios in which loss, death, and or destruction occurred because of an untrained heart. 

The Lord is saying to run that dream, information, and decision through the Spirit of truth by meditating on the scriptures and speaking in other tongues. Even if you have entered into a commitment, transaction, or situation by error, there is a way of escape. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

There is liberty for you today. Take it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Faith-Filled Confession

I grasp the ramifications of truth in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Deceptive tactics of the enemy are laid bare before me, and I triumph in every situation. In Jesus' name. Amen

Prayer Points:

Psalm 122:6, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you."

• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

• Pray against plans to use the crises in Israel to launch other attacks in the United States.

• Pray for Washington and all who are in positions of authority in the United States.

ONE-YEAR READING PLAN: Ezekiel 17-19; Hebrews 13