Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness

Introduction

If you want to open your Bibles, turn to Exodus, the 20th chapter. Our lesson text will come from there today, Exodus 20, verse 16. Before we get into it, I want to thank the elders for this opportunity to speak to you. Anyone that’s ever done any preaching will tell you that when an evangelist gets up to talk, which I’m not an evangelist, but a speaker, a lot of times they’re preaching to themselves. So let it be known that this lesson is applicable for me, and hopefully it’ll be applicable for you. But in Exodus the 20th chapter, the 16th verse, it says, Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What is self-evident here is that we should not tell lies on your neighbor. That’s obvious, it’s valid, it’s plain, it’s right there before us.

That is a more what we would call exoteric interpretation or obvious meaning.

1. The Neighbor Is Your Spiritual Self

Let me say, beloved, that when we study the scriptures, there’s always a deeper meaning and a deeper appreciation for what we read. When we read in the New Testament, when Paul talks about drinking the milk versus eating the meat. If we want to get into some deep meat, do some time and spend some time in the scriptures to get that deep meaning, that deep spiritual understanding. And this morning, beloved, we’re going to be looking at the neighbor, not the neighbor that lives across the street, but we’re going to be looking at the neighbor of our physical self. The neighbor of our physical self is our spiritual self. The neighbor of our outer self is our inner self. The neighbor of your material self is your divine self.

The neighbor that we’re going to talk about this morning that we should not bear false witness against is your spiritual self, your real self. Now, I know I’m pretty.

Beloved, our DNA, our genetic code is tied to God Almighty. That is our spiritual self. That is the real self. If you’ve listened to Brother Ken’s lessons over the course of the last few months, he’s been driving and pushing us to think and to consider who we really are. And I believe he’s done a masterful job at bringing that forth. But the spiritual self, the divine self, is the God presence within you. The God presence within me. The spiritual man is a state of being. It’s a state of consciousness. It’s a state of being attuned to God through Christ Jesus. It’s a state of awareness. It’s the presence of the I am within you. If you read Romans the 12th chapter in the second verse, it talks about be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

2. Man Was Created in the Image of God

Beloved, one way to look at the inspired text is that it’s a book of salvation, yes, but it’s also the science of the mind. It tells us how to think.

Because how we think is demonstrated in how we live, how we talk, what we do or don’t do. And so man was created in the image of God. And in this, God equips us to make moral and rational decisions. In Romans 2, verses 14 through 16, it says, for when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day. When, according to my gospel, God judges the secret of men by Christ Jesus. What that text is telling us there, beloved, is this that when God created us, he gave us the ability, the capacity to make moral right decisions.

Everybody.

James 3.9 points out that we ought not to curse human beings because we are in the we are made in the image of God’s likeness. Those who bear God’s image should be treated with respect and not discarded easily. Being made in the image of God is what gives us value, free will, understanding, reason. And these are elements of God that we share in kind with Him. Let me be purposely redundant here and say, beloved, that acknowledging the God presence within you, acknowledging the divinity of which you are created, does not equate you or deify you in any way. I want us to be clear. This is not deifying the human body or the human man or the ego, but is simply recognizing and taking full ownership of what God has told us to do in the beginning.

3. A True Witness of the Divine Self

Recognize whose image we are created in. What is God calling us to do? Over in John the 10th chapter, it reads, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. Beloved, Christ wants us to have life and to have it abundantly. It is the true destiny of the outer self, the material self, the physical self to be a true witness of the divine self. And all that we do, all that we say should be a manifestation of that. But when we read that God wants us to have life and to have life more abundantly, if you’re one of these people that blame God for everything in your life, this ought to give you pause to stop and say, you know what?

Why would God want me to suffer hurt illness, degradation? If that is the case, that would make that a lie. You might say, well, have life and have it more abundantly. Are you talking about I’m supposed to have a lot of zeros in my bank account? Well, here’s something. Go back and study the book of Proverbs. When you study the book of Proverbs, it talks about the mindset and attitudes of those who work and those who don’t. Go back and read the book of Psalms and read the book of Proverbs. It talks about the mindset of making good decisions. What the scriptures will point out to us is that when you make good decisions, typically good follows. Could that be an increase in your bank account?

It could be. Could it be an increase of relationships that are more fulfilling and authentic in your life? It could be. See, abundance for me is not so much money. Abundance for me is health, joy. Happiness. I got my abundance right over there. Those who dwell in the divine conscience of their real self, their spiritual self, will not say, I am sick, because this is a lie. The inspired writer in Joel 3.10 says, let the wheat say that I am strong. In Isaiah the 33rd chapter, verse 24, it says, and the inhabitants shall not say I am sick, the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. Beloved, God is calling us to speak his life-changing words over your life circumstances. I’ll repeat that.

Yes, it’s a fact. COVID 19 is a fact. Cancer is a fact. Depression is a fact. Unemployment is a fact. But it’s not the truth of you. The truth of us is righteousness, joy, peace, love. That is the truth of us. And when we lose sight of that, beloved, you have to say we’re not bearing true witness. And it’s the world is pregnant with opportunities to not bear that true witness. I’m going to ask you to do this on your own time, but to do some self-interrogation. The question is, am I bearing true witness concerning my spiritual self? I would ask you to give yourself permission to look at that. What interferes with that? What interferes with bearing true witness? In Romans 7, verse 19, Paul says, For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil that I would not do, I do.

4. What Interferes With Bearing True Witness

Everybody has a past. Everybody brings some baggage to the party. Beloved, we must set aside our worldly carnal self. We must move past the things that interfere with our spiritual well being. There’s an endless battle between our fleshly self and our spiritual self. And that’s what Paul is bringing out there. But I go back to Romans 12, too. Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Which means we have to make a conscious decision daily to live and be that inner man. And I’ll give you some subtlety. I’ll give you an example of how subtle these things are. When you’re sitting at the dinner table, who and what is your conversation on? Oh, they’ve been on a diet. Can’t tell it. Yeah. And they had the nerve to wear that dress.

Hmm. See, small minds talk about people. Brother Rob and his wife one day, we were talking several months ago, and we engaged in this conversation. I think Melanie told me, she said, I want to be the change that I want to see. I don’t know if you remember that, Melanie. But you said, I’m working to be the change that I want to see. Beloved, we have to make a conscious decision to put things aside. What are some other things that interfere? Bitterness. Self-seeking behavior. James 3 14 and 16 talks about being bitter, being self-seeking. Some of us are angry. Some of us are angry with anybody and everything. Some of us are angry at ourselves. Some of us live a life like an incomplete sentence. What do I mean?

Some of us out here started school, stop. Some of us started a relationship, it messed up, we went our separate ways. Some of you started a job, started a career, life happened, and it ended. And you look at yourself and you say, I don’t complete anything.

You become angry. Some of you, some of us have suffered losses. Go back and read the book of Ruth and her mother-in-law. Woman lost her husband and her sons. She was bitter. But she found joy.

We find it hard to even imagine something good happening. So what are we to do? In 2 Timothy verse 1 and 7. It says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Philippians 4 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Mark 9 23 says, Jesus said to him, if you believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Beloved, we’ve not been given, and we’ve not been told to live a life of purity, of joy, of holiness, of peace, and not been given the abilities and the elements and the and the uh things necessary to do that. What can we do to bear true witness of our inner man? Well, there’s a few things.

5. Our Spiritual Responsibilities to One Another

One, we can become aware of our spiritual responsibilities to one another. We have a responsibility to one another, beloved.

We can we have the technology to text other people, to call other people, to send cards where it’s appropriate and comfortable on both parts, go by and visit people. But we should actively seek how we can be of active service and edification to one another. These are our spiritual responsibilities. And they will encourage others, but they will also strengthen you. Beloved, it’s no secret that we’re living in some challenging times. There’s political unrest, a global health pandemic, issues about who’s a citizen, who’s not, social instability, social injustice, environmental challenges. Beloved, it’s been my experience that racism exists within the educational system, and I have been in the university system going on 23 years here at UCF. The health care system, I was commissioned by the state of Florida under the Jeb Bush administration to do an in-depth study of health disparities here in the state of Florida.

In the criminal police justice system, I’m a former police officer decorated for valor in the Howard County Police Department in Maryland. And even within the confines of the Brotherhood. I want to share something with you real quickly. This is my reality. At 16, my father sat down and talked to me. We lived in Arkansas at the time. He said, son, I’m going to talk to you about what you do if you’re pulled over by the police. I said, okay, Dad, I’m going to give them my driver’s license registration. He said, no, it’s more than that. He went over with me the vocal intonations that I was to use in the event that I was pulled over. And I’ve always played football, so I was bigger then, big and beefier.

He talked to me about the nonverbals, how I was not going to be all swole up, but I was going to make myself look soft and humble. He talked to me about eye contact. And he said, you do this along with the yes, sir and the no, sir, and looking them in the eye, and you will be safe, hopefully. Well, that bore out to be true. My son’s over there. I had the same talk with them. And I told Trey, Trey’s bigger than Caleb, I said, son, if you have to get out of the car, you’re not going to get out being all jacked up, showing how swole up you are. You’re going to be as humble as humble pie. And you’re going to be the yes, sir, and no, sir.

Sir, my father’s Dr. Rufus Barfield, and you can call him, sir, and he will acknowledge blah, blah, blah. You’re gonna get because you’re gonna come home that night. I’m sharing that with you, beloved. Not because I fear that from you, because you, many of you have been in my home. I’ve been in your homes. You put your feet under my table. I put your, I put my feet under your table. Some of you have spent the night in my home. I trust you. My family, you’ve seen the birth of Trey, not Trey, we got here when he was one. Of Caleb and of Chloe. Some of you have entertained my parents in your home. So I feel safe with you. But this is a bubble. Reality is different out here.

And so for me, that’s terrifying. When Caleb is not home by 1230, I don’t worry about him having an accident. I’m wondering if he’s looking down the barrel of somebody’s gun. Who’s wearing a badge? That’s my reality. And I know we have police officers in here. I know that the brothers and the women that serve in here are God fearing, law abiding people. I know that. Beloved, I’ve witnessed church of Christ members who are wanting to speak out on different issues be berated by other members of the church on social media platforms. I’ve witnessed issues around who wears a mask and who doesn’t by members of the church on social media platforms. I’ve witnessed members of the church berate and put down anybody that is other than them on the social media platforms.

And beloved, this ought not to be.

Welcome home. Then there are going to be ones that he said, you did not do it under the least of these. You’re casting the everlasting fire. Beloved, I believe some of the elements that we’ve discussed thus far are some of the least of these. Some of the others. And if we don’t show compassion and love and caring and understanding, we’ve missed the boat. I also want to say this, beloved. When we see injustices happen and do nothing, when we act as though it doesn’t exist, we’re part of the problem. Our Lord and Savior Jesus went to the cross for challenging the structural system and the injustices of his day. Yes, he brought salvation, but in doing so, he challenged the authority. He challenged the power structures.

6. What Can I Do?

Whether you agree or disagree with the things that I’ve said, whether you decide to speak out or not, as it regards to one another, as it pertains to those of us who share what’s called light precious faith, we must be patient, understanding, compassionate, actively edifying one another and loving one another. Go back and read 1 Corinthians the 13th chapter. It brings all that home. As we bring this lesson to a close, what can I do? I put down a couple of things here. One, develop some positive affirmations. You say, what is an affirmation? An affirmation is an act of affirming, a state of being, a statement or proposition that is declared to be true. Some spiritual affirmations I’ve put there. I am with God, and God is always with me.

God’s love is working through me now and always. In 1 Thessalonians, the fifth chapter, we are told to what? Pray without ceasing. Does that mean I go around with my eyes closed all day praying? No. Let’s be for real. But have a prayerful state of mind. When you have a prayerful state of mind, beloved, you see God working through you, and you see God’s presence in everything and everyone around you. Meditate. Over in Philippians the fourth chapter, verses 8 and 9, whatever things are true, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, whatever things are virtuous. If there be any praiseworthy, what does he say? What does he say? Meditate. Dwell on. Think on these things. Finally, assess who God is in you. A few months ago, Elijah and I were working together.

Conclusion

He was helping me do some pressure washing. And we were on top of the roof of a house. I don’t know if you remember Elijah. We were standing up on this roof of this house. So I said, Elijah. He said, Yes, sir. I said, Where’s God? He went. That’s from teaching. That’s from learning. That’s from understanding who God is. He’s here. Beloved, do we see God in us and do we allow God through Christ Jesus to work and flow through us? See, when we do that, that brings forth that inner man. We’ve reached the end. This is an opportunity that we have now to re commit to reaffirm. To ask the prayers of the saints, of those who share this like precious faith. If you are outside the body of Christ, you might say, Well, you know what?

All these things, I’m a good person. I do all these things. But beloved, if you’ve not put forth Christ on in baptism, you’re outside the realm of salvation. Many a good people have been lost. I appreciate your time. We’ve gone a little bit longer, but I trust that what has been said has been received in love and is something that we can use in our daily walk. If you have any issues or any concerns or any needs at this time, come forth as we stand to sing the invitation song.