EPISODE 1

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

For our first week in the Nothing but the Truth series, we discuss Truth as the key to Freedom. So many of the issues we face in our world come from lies or a lack of the truth and it’s only the Truth that can set us free from the problems we face. John 8:32 (NIV) says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So, how does the truth set us free?

The Bible sets an interesting image of truth as the path to freedom. In fact, the Bible doesn’t call the truth a thing but a person.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.”

The truth sets us free because the truth Himself died on the cross to free us from our sin and allow us to step into our new lives under God.

Q1: If you’ve accepted Jesus into your life already, what is one way He has brought you freedom?

It says in John 1:1 (NIV), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

If Jesus is the Word and Jesus is the Truth, then the Word (the Bible) is also the Truth. Now, that can be all a little confusing, but it does bring us hope! What this means is that we can always find truth in the Bible. God is the same yesterday, today and forevermore – and so is His word. This doesn’t mean He’s boring! But He and His word are dependable at all times.

Q2: Do you have/know a Bible verse, or even part of a Christian song, that has helped you find freedom from a situation in your life?

Experience can change how we see the truth, but that the truth does not change based on our experience – put simply, the truth stays the same no matter the circumstance.

Q3: Do you have a time where your perspective of what happened turned out not to represent the whole truth?

We started egroup today recognising that our issues come from lies. In believing lies about ourselves, we sell ourselves short of what we need and what we are worthy of; and just like in the real world, when lies spread and make their way around, the only thing that can stop those lies is countering them with evidence of the truth. We can find evidence in those whose lives have been changed by Jesus, and we can find the truth in knowing Jesus Himself and reading about him in the word. We find freedom when we align ourselves with the truth of God that defeats the lies.

Action: What is one way you can engage with the truth that is God’s word over the next week?

EPISODE 2

TRUTH AND FEELINGS

For our second week in the Nothing but the Truth series, Josh discussed the tension we face every day between truth and feelings. In the song “Nothing But The Truth” by Equippers Revolution, one of the lines says:

“It’s not all butterflies, my feelings tell me lies. Your word renews my mind, I trust you with my life.”

One example of this, where our feelings outweigh facts, is when we “feel” God’s presence. Feeling God’s presence is amazing, important even. Our feelings, in general, are essential to give us warnings about different areas of our life. However, our feelings aren’t “the” truth, because even if we don’t “feel” God, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s there.

Q1: Has there ever been a time where you’ve felt God’s presence while worshipping and another time where you haven’t?

Sometimes we feel God’s presence, and sometimes we don’t. However, the truth is that He is always with us. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20 (NIV), “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This same principle can apply to most feelings we face throughout life. Josh mentioned Galatians 5:17, which explains the constant battle between how our human nature desires us to live (by our feelings) and how God calls us to live (by truth). Now, as we said, our feelings aren’t all bad – after all, God designed feelings! But because of the broken world we live in, they can often sell us lies; lies about our worth, about our future, about our family or many other parts of who we are and where we belong. It is when we give way to these feelings that don’t align with God’s truth that we sell ourselves short and miss out.

Q2: Has there ever been a feeling that has led you to believe a lie about yourself? It could be from your past, present or future, about yourself, your friends, or your family.

So, how do we defeat these lies? First, we allow His word to renew our minds, and second, we’ve got to choose to trust His word over lies.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Put simply, we take every thought that comes into our minds and determine whether it aligns with the truth written in the Bible. If it does, we allow it to stay. If it doesn’t, we renew our minds with the truth and choose to trust God by believing what he says over our feelings.

Practically, this means that when our feelings tell us a lie, we remind ourselves of a Bible verse that tell us the truth instead. Sometimes when our feelings are so loud, it can be pretty daunting to take hold of them and choose truth instead. That’s why it’s important to remember that it is a journey – we won’t do it perfectly every time, and we don’t have to do it alone. We have leaders, eGroups, friends and community to help us realise and remember the truth when it gets difficult.

Q3: Do you have someone in your life who can help you find truth in scripture when you need it?

In summary, the word of God is our weapon to use when lies come up against us. Emotions are important and valid, but we don’t have to let our feelings control us when we know the truth “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Action: If you’ve identified an untrue feeling that has taken hold in your life, talk to a leader or trusted Christian friend to help you find a piece of scripture that counteracts that lie and to remind you ofthe truth over your situation. Make sure you continue to tell yourself that truth throughout the week whenever you need to.

EPISODE 3

THE TRUTH IS JESUS

For our third and final week in this series, Ruby reminded us that the truth is more than a principle or a thing – He is someone and His name is Jesus. We’ve said it before many times over this series, but it is so important we remember that ultimately it is only the Truth, it is only Jesus, that has the power to set us free. As Ruby said we must “first find the truth” and that “to know truth is to know Jesus.” She also talked about how finding the truth can be challenging in today’s society, one that tries to surround us with lies.

Q1: What is a lie that the world constantly tells young people today that makes it harder to find God’s truth?

So how do we find the truth amongst the lies? Ruby said that to know the truth is to know Jesus and to know Him personally. This means that finding the truth is a relationship. Finding truth means prayer and fasting, worship and reading the Word. Just like any relationship, we’ve got to put the effort in to see it grow stronger.

Q2: What’s your relationship with the truth like? Is it growing or is it staying the same?

Ruby also talked about how the lies we face can imprison us. Paul and Silas in the Bible were two men who were literally put in prison for believing in and sharing the truth of God. While we don’t quite face that extreme level of opposition today in the physical, the lies of the world and the flesh constantly come up against us. However, just like Paul and Silas, it doesn’t matter what our circumstances look like – it may take time, and it may take effort, but Jesus has promised to set us free.

Q3: Have you ever had a lie that has held you captive that Jesus has set you free from? Or even one that you are currently believing for freedom from?

As Christian’s, we place our faith in Jesus. In the context of this series, faith means trusting that the truth Jesus gives us is better than a version of the truth that the world, or even our feelings, try to offer us. It means trusting Jesus, like Paul and Silas did, even when our circumstances don’t seem to line up with what He’s promised us. Faith means trusting the truth Himself, and that requires personal relationship.

So, here is the final question for this series:

Q4: What is one thing you will start (or continue to do) every day to help you strengthen your relationship with Jesus and strengthen the voice of truth in your life?

e.g. finding scripture for whatever you’re going through, starting a reading plan, prioritising eGroup, intentionally allowing people to speak the truth into your world etc.