We're gonna talk about oaths tonight tonight not oath oaths not odors or oaths, but oaths tonight and you can open up your Bible to a Matthew chapter 5 It seems like a little anti-climatic after you know last week of talking about Murder and adultery and losing limbs and plucking eyeballs out and those kinds of things but tonight's on character on character in the world that we live in today they People take vows and take oaths and I'm just gonna use the word oath for the most part I'll use vows I'll talk about vows in just a second But we see different people who contracts sports marriage business purchases that we have contracts These are promises that we make and the list goes on and we can see sometimes that there's loopholes in those you can see Baseball players able to get out of his contract. There's loopholes to those kind of things and what I want to talk about tonight that you know Your word be the truth and that when we say something that we do it I was studying this I remembered if you ever watched Charlie and the chocolate factory I really won't get in the chocolate factory when they go in when the five kids go in and they have to sign the contract And it starts out really big then and then it goes all the way down to the very bottom It's just all these fine words and there's one father. I think it was a lawyer or businessman He says what's it say he goes it really doesn't matter just go ahead and sign it and We have to be careful of those times. So let me share a story with you of how My word was taken one time.
I just graduated Bible college down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and I'd gotten an apartment and needed some furniture and so I went to a furniture store is about three blocks from where I live and I went in there and I picked out what I wanted and I they had a charge that it was interest-free and So I thought well I'll do that instead of putting it on a charge card and you know having interest and so I started filling out the The form for that and they said you need to have a cosignor and thankfully my parents were down visiting at that time And so I said well I'll just have my dad you know be the cosignor and they looked at it And they said well where does he live and they said in Illinois They said he cannot be a cosignor has to be somebody who lives in Louisiana Which I thought was odd and so did my dad got a little upset and started arguing with the person I told him that just back down I said let me take care of this and So the manager came out at that time and he was asking what's going on and I said well I said I'm trying to get some furniture I said I was you know just gonna get Your charge and But they won't let my dad cosign and I said he lives in Illinois and he goes yeah That's our policy and I asked him I said so what what's your terms and he said we either have three three months or six months? I said I know you don't know me. I said I'm a pastor at Family Worship Center I said my apartment is right up there I said you could see it from the store and I said I know that you don't trust everybody who comes in here But I'm asking you to take a chance on me. I said I'll take three months I'll be in here every two weeks when I get paid I'll make a payment and I'll have it done in three months Manager said he told the salesperson he goes just go ahead and put my name on the contract as a cosignor So two months later I come in I make my last payment I have it all paid off and I saw the manager and I asked the manager I said so I have everything paid off I said I've done what I'm supposed to do and I fulfilled my side and I said Can I purchase more furniture if I want and you look at me?
He says anything in the store is yours. There's any question just tell him to put my name on the contract He took my word and so never did go back in there. I didn't need any more furniture But it was just nice to know that somebody trusted me So in Matthew chapter 5 verses 33 through 37 it says and again you have heard that the ancients were told you shall not make false Bows, but you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord But I say to you make no oaths at all either by heaven for it is the throne of God or by the earth Or is the footstool of his feet or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king nor shall you make an oath by your head Or you cannot make one white hair or black But let your state and be yes, yes, or no, no anything beyond these is of evil Let's pray. Heavenly Father.
I pray that you would just help us in the next few minutes to see father. It's all about character That we would be true to you. We'd be true to those that we speak to and if Father that others would know us By our character by what we say by what we don't say and I pray that you would just help us that We can be an example in our community at work wherever we happen to be in church at home in our neighborhood That father that you would help us sometimes even when We struggle to tell the truth that we would tell the truth and I pray that you would just bless us tonight in Jesus name We pray amen Number one again, you have heard that the ancients were told I'm not gonna go into that the last two weeks pastor mark and Ryan have talked about that But this was things that they were told and Jesus was talking to them about that that they have heard these things It wasn't necessarily the way that God wanted it and wanted it for them It's easy so many times for us to take things and turn them just a little bit to satisfy us and the Pharisees is one of the Pharisees we're doing So they were telling them, you know, listen, it's okay to do these oaths, but we see that Jesus has a different plan for them This is something that they heard most of them weren't educated didn't go to school. They learned it and so as Jesus is talking to them He's telling them really what God wants for them and he says you shall not make false vows But you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord now a vow is a promise that is made generally related to God I looked it up and I looked it up in the Greek and it said it does have a connotation of relating to God whenever we make a vow And whenever you make a vow then God is the one who's listening So he is in this conversation because he hears everything that we say This includes also the third commandment where he says do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God I am the Lord and so Jesus is taking a little bit of this from the third commandment that we shall not take the Lord thy God's name in vain So let me give you a definition tonight and hopefully you'll hang on to this one.
It's for character It's one of the attributes or features that make up or distinguish an individual It's one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual now if we said if I use the word Donald Trump What's one of the first things that you would think about his hair? Whoo, right? That's just a characteristic of Donald Trump You know if I say somebody else or you know by say Robert Puhls you'd think baseball you think you know He's a great slugger that's just wanted a characteristic of him So there's lots of things that make us up and there's lots of times that people see us It could be physical it could be something even spiritually One of the people that we missed early is Luther and Doris Miller and one of the characteristics of Luther that I heard over and over again Was he he was just such a godly man. That's one of the characteristics of him And we have to look at the characteristics characteristics that we have in our lives What does your character say about you and what do others say about your character?
But the most important question what does God say about your character? What does God say about your character? Number two Jesus says but I say to you make no oath at all now This one I really had to work at says an oath is a promise with condition and oath is a promise with condition So if I make a promise that I will come over to Don's house and I'll help him move some furniture around or whatever It happens to be then I'm gonna be there and I'm gonna clean that or help him move furniture If I make a promise that I'm gonna buy some furniture and if I don't pay them, they're gonna come and get it They're gonna come and get it if you buy car and you don't make payments. It's funny, you know They have a way Giving you a phone call and just reminding you really nicely.
Hey, you always some money Yes, there are conditions to those websters reads a solemn usually formal calling upon God or God to witness the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says and You heard the part about God in there. Let me read again websters for an oath the definition says a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a God to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says So sometimes we'll bring somebody else into a conversation. We're gonna make a pack together We want somebody else to hear it every once in a while. We do that in our offices There's times when we want to meet with somebody and we want somebody else there just to hear what is said so that we have confirmation in that Sometimes we can see that whenever It's gonna be in the war that sometimes a guy will say listen God if you get me out of this I will serve you the rest of my life He's made an oath to God Maybe you've done the exact same thing you've made a promise to God and hopefully you have fulfilled that So what does he mean here that we shouldn't take an oath?
There were some who were making false oaths and they were taking an oath and that was the kind of the practice of the Pharisees Is that they were saying things and then they were saying you know Well, but I swear on Jerusalem or I swear on heaven or I swear on whatever happens to be as we can see in the scripture They were making those oaths, but the thing was is most times What they were saying wasn't true or they weren't gonna follow through with it And so it's easy if you just go up and say listen Hey, I'll be there at five o'clock and you never show up that becomes your character Now don't get on to me, but if you're always late that's your character Remember those people that you know, we always say we're gonna start at eight o'clock But don't tell Billy, but we're gonna tell him eight or seven forty five because he's always late Because he doesn't keep his word that I'll be there Jesus was speaking to those who were misusing oaths to help their own cause and to improve their way And the Pharisees were notorious for their oaths which they made by swearing by heaven or Jerusalem or their own head and yet There's no accountability. There's no accountability in that It was a way for them to get out of it The point is that if you are telling the truth you don't need to make an oath That's the point that Jesus is telling them that you don't have to make oaths The thing is is we shouldn't because our character because of what we say our words should speak for us and when they do then we should be telling the truth I asked I taught in the starting point this past Sunday and I asked the question I was really surprised at how many there was eight people in there and we I was kind of going through the Romans road And I said well how many of you have ever lied in your life? So let me ask this question How many of you have ever lied in your life raise your hand and the rest of you didn't have just lied So right I think we all do it sometime or another That's just it's because of the sinful nature that we have inside of us that it's sometime or another We just don't want to tell the truth we got caught doing something or whatever it happens to be When I was growing up and I got caught doing something it's always seemed like my mom always knew when I was doing things wrong I don't know how or why but she served the god who watched everything I guess and And and sometimes I would have to sit down with her and she goes we're gonna talk about this and I would ask Can I just get a spanking by dad that was so much quicker so much more painless It really was and have to sit down with my mom and talk about what I had done wrong and you know Yes, I lied about this. So why did you lie and go home?
I have 45 minutes later? It would have been so much easier to get the 30 seconds banking from my dad and you know not sit down for half an hour My mom had a way of bringing that in the truth out The point is is if you're telling the truth that you don't need to make a vow But since others didn't believe them they would swear on heaven Jerusalem their head and people would then take their word for it But they really didn't mean it or really didn't mean anything every here somebody saying I swear that is the truth Now for people say that I swear that is the truth Sometimes you have to watch if they say that it's not the truth or somebody says I you know I swear on my mother's grave or My firstborn child What are they really saying there's a condition that comes with it that if they're not telling the truth then you get their mother's grave Or you get their firstborn I don't want that I want to grave or another child another child That's the way sometimes people are or remember this when your kid listen tonight after service I'm gonna take you all out to Dairy Queen and we're gonna get ice cream You ready what you don't believe me? Come on. I had my fingers crossed Yes, we used to do that when we were kids.
I know some of you're gonna come up and ask me when what time are we leaving and where we going? I had my fingers crossed Yeah, or we pinky swear all these different things to say that we've made a commitment to somebody about what we've said And it should be that our word is our word and that that's the truth Jesus kept dealing with the character of the person And if you look at this in the previous verses that he's talked about in the last couple of weeks You can see that he's talked about murder and he says you know about murder that does not murder But if you call your brother a name then it's the same similar and he talks about adultery He says but if you even look on a woman with less in your heart you've committed adultery So the same thing is true in these scriptures He is saying that these are the words that you're speaking But I'm asking you to go a little bit higher than that This is the standard of the world that we live in but God wants us to come up to this standard And if we live up here then people will see that if we're living in the standard that everybody else is in then Lots of times we don't take somebody's word. It's kind of like when November comes around every four years We hear a lot of promises don't we from politicians? And then we we don't see a whole lot then in December and the next four years that are after that It's hard for us sometimes to believe it's hard for us sometimes to to understand that people It's a struggle to take him after word Now shall not murder that shall not commit adultery and he's telling them they'll shall not take an oath Let your word be your word in that God standard is higher than our standard and one day We will stand before him and we will give an account of those things God hasn't called us just to be average or to fit in he's called us to be an example to be Christ-like That's what Christian means to be Christ-like and when we are Christ-like than others will see that we'll see that He's called us to a higher calling our words and our actions should be those that are of a testimony of a changed life Now when we're kids, I know it's hard and kids will be kids and you know they get around other kids and sometimes that's where they learn things It's interesting I have a 15 year old in the house and we were even at tonight as we were driving home I was talking to him about school and things that were happening and and my son one thing I've learned about my son He is one of the most honest people that I know he will tell on himself When he and he's gotten in trouble in fact just recently he'd gotten in trouble about something and and he came to us We didn't even know anything about it and he came to us and he said this is what I did and so We talked about it, you know with him and everything else and talk about him afterwards, you know about it And my daughter has done the same thing that they know the truth and they want to speak the truth And it's hard because sometimes in the world that we live in it's so much easier just to take it out You know when somebody comes to you and says you know like when you're in school, did you do the homework?
Yes When you really didn't do the homework did you you know get your project finished? Yes, when you haven't even started the project When people are cutting up and everything it's hard for us to do those things sometimes the easy way out But sometime along the way we have to change I dealt with a young man who was a compulsive liar when I was in Baton Rouge And he was my boss's son and one of the things that I found out Was that he started he started to believe himself I was like why does he and he just he would lie a lot and he kind of jokingly would do it But he didn't ever tell that well, I'm saying didn't ever there was lots of times he didn't tell the truth And so I was like why is this happening and the thing was I think it kind of inspired spiraled out of control in that He started to believe the lies that he was telling and that's when it really hit me You know about him that he needed to get that taken care of and really to seek some help for that God has called us to a higher calling our words and our actions should be that of a testimony that others can see inside of us We shouldn't live like the rest of men who have no hope those who are lost who don't have Jesus Christ in their lives We should live as people who aren't above all of that The others can see it inside of us that people can see that there's a difference in us So let me tell a little story this happened just a little bit ago We had somebody who was doing our neighbor who has a construction company and we just had a little project and I really didn't Want to do it and I'm thankful I didn't do it And so he came over while we were eating dinner and he was just finishing up This was the last time he's gonna be there and the last couple days came in for about 15 20 minutes And so I said did you bring the bill? I was paying and he said no and he goes. I'm sorry and so he told us what it was and 130 135 17 And so my wife said can I just write it out?
I'll just write out for 136 so she did give it to him So on the way to church tonight, I asked her I said did he say it was a hundred and thirty seven fifteen and she goes what? She was I wrote it out for 136 was it a hundred and thirty seven fifteen? She's oh no She almost wanted me to drive her into the car round because he didn't have the bill and Turn the car around go back home and knock on his door and ask him we were pulling into the church She was thank you very much Now I'm gonna worry about that she could she grabs my phone. She's looking for his number in my phone I said I don't have his number in my phone.
Why not? I? Haven't put it in there And I didn't do it on purpose, but I just couldn't remember so I learned a lesson don't talk to my whole my wife a whole lot on the way to church Because now she's got a question everything that I do everything that I say We are new creatures created in the grace that God has given unto us that means that we should be people of our word So let's get into the oaths tonight You should not swear falsely or make an oath that you can't keep we've heard people say that I swear to God That is the truth Please take that the right way I don't mean in a blessing this way we've heard people say that When that is when that is said then God is the verifier of the truth what they're doing is they're bringing that third person in I swear to God Okay, you've just bought God into that that promise that oath that vow that you just made so if it's not true you have to answer to God You have to answer to God when somebody says I swear to God They've just brought him in another reason why the Pharisees didn't swear to God or make a vow to God Because then they didn't have to put God to the test they didn't have to answer to God if I say then I swear by heaven or Jerusalem or Springfield I don't have to answer those things I say I swear to God then I have to answer to that one day when I stand before him And that's why they made those statements and that's why Jesus was questioning them and challenging on them that they shouldn't do those kinds of things It was putting their word to the test by God So let's look at the Old Testament a couple examples between Abraham and a bimalak which was a man to man oath And let me just read it's not in your notes Not on the board tonight or not on the screen in Genesis chapter 21 verse 22 through 32 It says at that time a bimalak and Feikol the commander of the army said to Abraham God is with you and all that you do now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with the descendants of Or my descendants or with my posterity But as I have dealt kindly with you so you will deal with me in the land where you sojourn an Abraham said Abraham said I will swear then Abraham reproved a bimalak about the well of water that a bimalak servants had seized a bimalak said I do not know who has done this thing so what happened they were making this oath and then Abraham comes and he said I have a little issue here before we make this oath There's a well that somebody has compromised and he and a bimalak says I don't know who's done it I didn't nobody has told me anything but I will find out so Abraham He says Bill looks as I do not know who has done this thing You did not tell me and I have not heard of it until today So Abraham took sheep and oxen and he gave them to a bimalak and the two men made a covenant and Abraham said seven You lambs of the flock apart and a bimalak said to Abraham what is the meaning of these seven you lambs that you have set apart And he said these seven you lambs you will take from my hand that is that this may be a witness For me that I dug this well. Therefore the place was called bear shiba because they're both swore and oath So that they made a covenant at bear shiba Then a bimalak and feichel the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines So they were making a covenant that they were gonna be at peace and so he says okay This is what we're going to do these seven lambs are going to be the promise that's given unto it And you can see Jacob at one time where he makes an oath and he takes seven stones I think it was seven stones and he makes an altar right there To be a promise to be a marker to show that we have made this oath if you go and buy a house whenever you walk into the bank Or wherever there is a Monument it's about the hundred pages that you're now going to sign every single page and put your initials on and all kinds of things That's the monument that you are going to that your words good their words good everything The one of those pages that I like the most whenever you signs it for signing for a house The one I like the most is when you sign that all of those things that you have just signed that is your real name Okay You know the reason why it's a hundred pages?
It used to be a handshake now because people have made promises and have not followed through on those promises So now we have a page that somebody has signed their name and it hasn't been the real name somewhere along the way So now we have to have one of those contracts that say the signature that you have just signed is your signature And there's a number of those that are in there because when they're just handing them to you Hannah in first Samuel she makes an oath to God the first one was man the man this one is with God and she said Oh Lord of Host if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant herself And remember me and not forget your servant but will give to your servant a son Then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life and no razor shall touch his head That's quite a promise isn't it? She's she's not able to have children She's not even have children and she goes to the altar every year her husband takes her and this time She goes and she spends a little bit more time the preseason he thinks that she's drunk But she she's just crying she's weeping because she's never had children and she makes this about God if you give me a child I will give him back to you. She wanted to be a mother the next year. She's pregnant and she gives the child Over who becomes one of the great prophets?
She fulfilled her part of that promise. She was a woman of her word Now if you go to the New Testament Paul told the Corinthians and if you read this and you have to read it a few times in Corinthians Second Corinthians chapter one. He was planning a trip to go and see them He said I'm gonna go to the Macedonia and on the way there I'm gonna stop and I'm gonna see you and then on the way back from Macedonia I'm gonna see you it ends up that he doesn't go so he's kind of called into question There's people in Corinth that saying well, but he said he was gonna come but he doesn't come And if you go on and you read in chapter two, he tells the reason why he tells the reason why and I'll get into that in a few minutes Jesus himself was placed under an oath in Matthew chapters 26 It says but Jesus remained silent the high priest said to him I charge you under oath By the living God Wasn't that interesting he tells Jesus I charge you under oath by the living God who was the living God right there in front of him Tell us if you are the Messiah the son of God You have said so Jesus replied But I say to all of you from now on you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven Today we take a stand in court. You raise our right hand and we take an oath the president of the United States whenever he sworn in He takes an oath in weddings They they make a vow before each other and also before God that they're gonna fulfill their side But are you a person that would say one thing and do the other?
If you would come to me and you would tell me that my wife has just cursed you out. I'd say no she didn't Know the reason why we've been together for married for 26 years and I've known her for about 28 years I've never heard her cuss. I don't think she's gonna start now She's probably thought about a couple times with me But I've never heard her cuss. I've never heard her get really upset and yell at people So if you would come and tell me that I know my wife's character I know that's not who she is and I would say no Number four let your yes be yes, and you're no be no We need to be people of God and we must always speak the truth Maybe you've heard people say your only is good as your You got it as good as your word, but can I say be kind we should also be people of grace And if somebody says that they're gonna be there at eight o'clock and they show up at eight oh five Don't get all bent out of shape.
Don't get all bent out of shape for me. I'm very prompt And I like that you know if I say let's leave at eight o'clock That means that we have our shoes on we're in the car and we're least in the driveway heading somewhere You say that you know to my family. Let's leave at eight o'clock that means they're getting up off the couch and going and finding their shoes So we can get in the car to drive I give them grace For those times for some we make jokes about it when people end up being late and we know those in our life As I said before who were always late in James chapter 5 verse 12 He tells us the same thing but above all things my brother and swear not neither by heaven neither by earth neither by any other oath We'll let your yay be a and your nay nay Let's you fall into condemnation So Paul's issue was that he was gonna go to Corn and he ends up not going and this is what it says it says because I was sure of this I wanted to come to you first so that you might have second experience of grace I wanted to visit you on my way to NASA Macedonia and come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh ready to say yes?
Yes, and no no at the same time in other words He's saying am I that kind of person that would say one thing and do another It surely is God is faithful our word to you has not been yes and no For the Son of God Jesus Christ whom we proclaim among you Sylvanas and Timothy and I was not yes and no, but in him is always yes For all the promises of God find their yes in him So what was the problem? What was the problem and he tells him in chapter two one through four for I made up my mind not to make another painful Visit to you or if I cause you pain who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pain For I wrote as I did so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice For I felt sure of all of you that my joy would be joy be joy of you all For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears not to cause you pain But to let you know the abundant love that I have for you And so he writes him a letter and this is before texting and cell phones and smartphones and all that kind of stuff and emails And so you have to remember there's some time that is going on and he says basically I didn't come to you because I knew that it would be so painful There was an issue that had taken place and Paul said I didn't want to bring that back up I didn't want you to be in sorrow so I decided not to come and he's I guess they were questioning him about his character And he says it's not that it's yes and no he says no my yes is yes and my no is no But this is the reason why didn't come and sometimes there's reasons why we're not able to fulfill a contract I take care of the benevolence in the church and there's times when people will come in and and if they come in and they They need some help benevolent wise. I ask a lot of questions and to find out and sometimes people just run into as I say a bump In the road they're doing good. They're making their bills.
Everything's going well But they didn't expect to go into the hospital and have to have a surgery and now their cars You know could be repossessed or whatever it happens to be or they're having troubles with their utilities It's not that they have been character. It's just that something happened So let's show a little bit of grace sometimes when somebody says yes, and it ends up being no Sometimes we need grace in our lives Paul had good reason. He didn't want to make a decision flippantly But he did it through much much anguish and much prayer Paul's word was good We should have grace we should we should be people of grace And if you're not a person of your word it marks people because they will maybe forget or maybe forgive but they won't forget We know people if I said just think in your head somebody that has lied to you I'm think probably everybody could come up with somebody in your head is lied you sometime or another didn't tell you the truth We don't trust them a lot of times the next time when they come to us So the last part he says anything beyond these is of evil Anything beyond these it's the last part of our scripture very first scripture the word evil here means from the evil one From the evil one so he's basically saying anything beyond these is from the evil one In other words the devil has tempted you to do this and you fell into the sin he's tempted you to lie He's tempted you to give a false oath a false vow and you fell into that and you now sinned against God It's up to us to resist the temptations and not stretch the truth the truth The devil wants to ruin our testimony in Matthew chapter 6 verse 13 it says and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil The same thing deliver us from the evil one and what he wants to do in our lives in John chapter 17 verse 15 Jesus prayer for us. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one Jesus was praying for us.
He says I don't want them to be taken out of the world that would be easy But whenever you fall into temptation The God helps you whenever you get a thought in your mind that it's so much easier to go this direction That you do what's right that your character is true The only way that we can tell the truth is with God's help is with God's help and we need God to help us Each and every day Sometimes we have to pay the consequences for something maybe we didn't do Paul in Ephesians tells us do not let any Unwholesome talk come out of your mouths But only what is helpful for the building of others up according to their deeds that it may be benefit to those who listen Who listen? So it's always up to us and the thing is we think that I might be able to get away with this and Sometimes we did sometimes we did Johnny. Did you steal that candy? Nope?
Because he's already eaten it. Where's the evidence? It's gone. He got away with it But the thing is is God always knows and he always sees and one day we will stand and we will give an account to what we have said What we have done how we've treated others if we've made an oath and made a promise that we didn't keep I've heard people back when that we had the Times when the Lord was predicted to come That people said all the Lord's come back and they would go in there by expensive cars and boats They said I'm gonna leave the devil with all my bills And then he doesn't come the Lord didn't come it really showed their Christian character because these were people who said that they were Christians We have to be very careful about those things that we say to let your yes be yes and you're no be no That people understand that you're a person of character that they can see that inside of you that they can see that whenever you make A note we make a promise a vow a commitment That you're a person that's gonna fulfill that because Jesus said he goes don't make a vow let your word be up here Not down here If you made that promise that you fulfill that promise that you make that oath you fulfill that oath That you allow the Holy Spirit to also come and lead you and guide you in that Like I said sometimes it's easier just to lie or skip around it or make a false oath But we will have to pay for that christian should always tell the truth Christian should always tell the truth and when they do God will be pleased God will be pleased Because the thing is is I don't answer to anybody else When I get to heaven But I will answer to God And the words that I give the things that I do those are the things that Jesus is trying to teach in this character building Message that he has for us the sermon on the mount to help us to understand And as I said, this is one that was a character builder that shows who you really are Do you say are you who you really say that you are?
And that's what we should ask ourselves is your yes. Yes, and as you're no no So that when it comes down to it That you don't have to make a note now, please if you go out of here and you're going by a car Don't say well pastor Paul told me I don't have to sign this contract No, you're not gonna get a car. I can tell you that because they don't know who pastor Paul is and neither neither do they care who pastor Paul is Sometimes we have to fulfill the things that the world wants us to do But keep your word make your payments if you've made that oath if you've made an oath that you're gonna come and help somebody go and help somebody If you've made an oath God is right there. He's the third person that you bring into that So as a Christian let your yes, but yes and let your nobody know why don't you stand with me tonight?
Let's close in prayer Heavenly father I thank you for your word. Thank you for This great message that Jesus has given unto the disciples and those that are around He's trying to help him Trying to tell them that character is so important And I pray that you would help us to see that From father the promises that we make let us keep those promises when we say yes that it's yes We say no then it's no Help us to be seen help us to be heard as Christians And I pray that you would just minister father if there's any here tonight That are dealing with some things that as I was sharing tonight that they need to go out of here and take care of Maybe they've made a promise or maybe they've made an oath or a vow that they haven't kept I pray let the Holy Spirit just give him a gentle nudge I'm not here to convict But father I pray that they would make things right Father that they wouldn't struggle in their mind anymore about it Because that's what the devil wants to do Father if they've lied Maybe to go back to the person that they've lied to and correct that make it right Takes character And I pray that you would help us to be people of character who love you that others see that inside of us Father I pray tonight That you would just always help us to know that you were watching Even though maybe others aren't and that we should always say yes And yes and no and no Father I pray a blessing now over my friends Pray that you would help us as we leave as we go That father that we can share with others the love of Jesus Christ That you administer to our hearts in Jesus name. Everyone said God bless you