Honesty

How many truly honest people have you come across in your lifetime?  How honest have you been in your lifetime?  God requires that we as his children be honest and truthful in all that we do.  Though for many of the people in this world, minor dishonesty is acceptable.  But there is no level of dishonesty acceptable to God.  Dishonesty, deception and lies are all of the enemy, and the language of his kingdom.  

God is truth, Jesus is truth, and those that dwell in this truth are honest people.  All those that serve them and worship them, do so in spirit and in truth.  Are there still honest people among us, are there still those who stand on truth?  I say, yea, there are, and you can yet find them in the body of Christ, those who have become one with the Father and the Son.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

I want to deal with a topic tonight. That's just Bible study. I wanna I like to try to do a little bit more teaching. I'm teaching all the time, but I wanna I wanna do a little more teaching uh on nights that that we have Bible study and partic and and choose a particular subject for us to kind of grow in the grace of so tonight's tonight's topic is I want to talk about honesty, being honest. A lot of people say, well, that might not be, might not think or feel that that's something you need to tell church folks about, but yes, yes, it is. To be honest, the honesty, the integrity of a person's life, especially those of us who claim to live for the Lord, that goes a long way, and that means a lot in this walk with the Lord that we uh proclaim uh to be walking in.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 1:04

The word of God teaches us that we are not only just supposed to be honest before God, but we supposed to be honest before God and men. They should people should be seeing us being honest in our deeds and our doings, they should be seeing hearing us talk honestly before one another, wherever we may go. We are to be honest before God because there's nothing, nothing that God don't hear, and ain't nothing God don't see. He hears it all, he sees it all, and with that truth and that knowledge of knowing that we should be shown up particular about the things we do towards others and the things we say. God don't tell jokes, God tells the truth. God is honest, and those of us who proclaim to have his spirit, we should be just as honest as his spirit in us is, which means as he is. So tonight we're gonna be talking about living honestly in the sight of God and men. Now, a lot of people are gonna probably argue with this, whoever they hear, wherever they may be, because they're not gonna think nothing wrong with a little fear of here and there. A fear is still a lie, or long as it didn't hurt nobody, it still was a lie. And I told y'all, Proverbs, I believe it is 12 and 22, tells us that lying is an abomination to God. God consider lie an abomination because it goes against who he is, he is the truth. So a lie, anything that goes against him as like lie, which goes against the truth, he considers that to be an abomination. Let me read this to you, because I don't want to hold you long. I know this is the middle of the week. Proverbs 15 and 3 says this the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. God, I told y'all, God see everything. Whether it's good or bad, He sees it, He knows about it. You want honest on your taxes, He nobody. You want honest when you fill out that application, he know about it. When you try to uh the get over and got try to get the hook up and get out of pain when you won't be paying, call nobody. Give the wrong information just so you can get food stuff. He knows about that. That's dishonest. Just because uh everybody else doing it don't mean we should do it. We're not supposed to get on the same bandwagon, we're not supposed to follow the crowd, we're not supposed to follow the majority, the ways of the world. We are to follow the ways of God, and we are to be honest, because we are always be aware our God see and he hears everything. There isn't anything that God doesn't see or hear, which means there ain't nothing he don't know, whether evil or good, God will see it, hear it, and know it. And that's fine if you if God is seeing in your life the honesty and integrity that he needs to see, or you need to be showing. That's fine if God looks upon your life and what he sees pleases him. But if you see his children, his sons and daughters, not truly being honest in our doings, honest in our deeds, that does not please God. Well, we know we dishonest. But we don't think nobody knows about it because we only focus on longest people don't know about it. But do we ever think about what God knows? You can't hide that from God. God can even hear your thoughts. I told y'all one time before with those angels. And the angel of the Lord came and visited Abraham. They don't got real old at this time. But they was passing through because they was really on their way to Sodom and Noah. But they stopped at Abraham's tent, at his camp, to let him know the Lord ain't forgotten his promise to you about you and Sarah having a child. So they stopped by to increase their faith. And the angel of the Lord was in the tent talking to Abraham, but their saying is being nose and eavesdriven. And when she heard the angel of the Lord tell them that they were still gonna have a child, the Bible, if you ever read that in the 18th chapter of Genesis, it'll say she laughed within herself. He wasn't no out loud, wasn't no real country laugh. She just learned herself. I got old now, ain't no way I'm gonna have no baby. She thinks herself, and my husband, he's old too. Well, let me tell you, did I just say God don't tell jokes? God don't waste his time with foolishness. Hallelujah. If he said it, it's gonna come to pass. If he promised it, he's gonna perform it. And the angel had to say, no, Tonal Abraham said, is anything too hard for God? And the angel server got scared, and she hauled off and lied. So, no, uh uh, I ain't lying. Because she done got scared now. When the Lord's not the Lord knows you done lied. And you don't know what he's gonna do, so she got scared and lie at things that's gonna, but you're too late now, because when she got through lying, they ain't say, oh nay, you did laugh. It wasn't allowed, but he was letting her know I'm way over here in Abraham's tent, but I heard you. I just want to try to tell y'all, there ain't nothing the Lord don't hear, and nothing he don't see. Even when your mouth and lips don't move, God hear what you got down in your heart. And just like we're talking about tonight, if there's dishonesty down in your heart, God hear. And we need to stop being dishonest with ourselves, with people, and with God. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure? My Lord being old too, talking about Abraham. She called him her Lord. On the lower level, not the Lord Jesus, but her Lord, her man, her husband. That's how they talked to their husband back then. They called him Lord. And the Lord said, Now this is Lord, here's capitalized. This talking about the angel of the Lord that was in Abraham's church. And the Lord said to Abraham, Why for this Sarah laugh? Why your wife laughing? She wasn't going to be eavesdropping, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which I'm old? Then Sarah denied, saying, I laugh not. I ain't laughing. You lie, Sarah. And some of us are lying to ourselves and lying to God when we know we doing stuff dishonest. When you know we thinking dishonestly. And he said, Nay. Uh-uh, no, uh-uh. You did laugh. Thou didst laugh. We walk around here living dishonest lives, and it's a mockery to God, who is just, who is faithful, and he requires us to be the same. Paul told the church of Corinth, provide things, providing for honest things. Let me say that right. Providing for honest things. Not only in the sight of the Lord, listen to what he said, but in the sight of men. We got to do right. And part of being right or living righteously is to live honestly. If you say, be saved. But if you're a hypocrite, don't out there and be a hypocrite. Don't play your game, but don't play with God. Don't play with this lifestyle. God requires us to be honest in our righteousness, in our dealings, towards him and toward people. That's why Paul was trying to get over to these folks, church folks in Corinth, because they was hard to deal with. He said, providing for honest things, because they were one of them games. Dishonest. Who you know. Who your family name is. Some of us don't feel like we can uh we can get away with certain things. Talking who we know and what we've done being. But I'm here to tell you, like Paul, providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of men. Second Corinthians 8, 22, 8 and 21. It's in the book. He also had to go to the church in Rome and proclaim. This man of God had to go around and tell us church folks to be honest. God have mercy. Tell the folks in Corinth to be honest. Now he's gonna tell the church in Rome to be honest. He said, recompense to no man, evil for evil. Don't do wrong because somebody is doing wrong now. Come on now. Don't be dishonest because somebody is being dishonest. He said, here again, he said again, provide things honest in the sight of all men. That's what he told the church in Rome. He said the same thing, though. Which he told the church in Corinth. We got to, how do we provide things honest? By living the life that God has called us to live according to his word. We provide that lifestyle. We provide that. The way we carry ourselves, the way we go handle business, the way we deal with people. We're providing that lifestyle. We provided providing that spirit of the Lord that's on us before men, before people. Want them to see the honesty in our life. Not putting on, not say Jacob. It's got to be real honesty. Not just when you're around a certain crowd or surround a certain group. Be honest at all times. Live it. God is requiring that all of his children live honestly in his sight. He requires that. Ain't no other choice but to live honestly. Ain't no other choice. Do right. Only choice, children of God got is to do right. Now, you can give yourself another choice, but I'm saying only choice God will give is to do right, according to the word, to live honestly in the sight of all men. But he also instructs us to live just as much of an honest life in the sight of men. We have never learned how to be honest with ourselves. Some of us can't tell the truth about ourselves. Some of us don't even want to hear the truth about ourselves. We don't want to have to accept it. If you can't be honest with yourself, and tell yourself, you know you ain't no good. Tell yourself, I know I ain't done right. I know I ain't been honest. I lied on that application. Because I wanted to get a little bit more food stuff. I lied on my taxes. Just this year, and to claim somebody's child, it wasn't even mine. We got to be honest, y'all. I didn't quite pay all my tithe, but I paid some of it. Oh, then I just tell y'all, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. He sees and hear everything. We cannot fool God. We surely can't deceive God. And we cannot hide nothing from him. Those things you say, come out that corner. Come out the corner. Can't hide. Come out the corner. He tells the church in Rome, recompense to no man. Don't repay nobody that done did you evil. Repay them back by doing them evil or wrong. That's not right. Don't be dishonest and put out a lie on them. Put out a rumor on them when you know it's dishonest and you know it's a lie. But instead, provide things honest in the sight of all me. I don't care if nobody be honest and when they say stuff about you. You be honest in what you say about them and how you do deal. It's not for them, but for God's sake. Put it to your record before God will be clean and straight. Hallelujah. Like I just said. One reason a lot of us cannot be honest with God, and we can't be honest with people, is because we have not learned, nor do we know how to be honest with our own selves. David knew this. Hallelujah. Because he got to a point in his life, he knew he was dishonest. By putting that man, sending that man on the front line to get him killed so he could have that man wide. He knows when he wrote that letter to send to the captain of the guard that there was being deceptive. He wasn't being honest. Oh, but when the Lord got through with him, and when the Lord gets through with someone, we're gonna be honest from now on. Because when Prophet Nathan broke him down and gave him a word from God, you find David going and praying, crying out to God. And they ain't got time to go on that practice. You have to read the 51st Psalms. Psalm 51. You find it, but there's a part in that prayer where he says, when he cried out to God and said, Behold, hallelujah, thou desires truth in the inward part. In other words, he said, he finds out, Lord, you desire truth inside of us, inside of me, in my inward part. That's why I say, to be honest, truth got to be in you, on the inside, not on the outside, and not in your big mouth, not just on your lip. Truth got to be on the inside of us, in our spiritual man, in order for honesty to come out of us. And David finally figured it out. Behold, Lord, thou desirest truth in our inward parts. Truth got to be out of side. In order for truth to come out of you. Because what's in you, that's what's coming out. If dishonesty on the inside of you, dishonesty is what's gonna come out. But if truth, see, Jesus is the truth. When Jesus, the truth is in you, you're gonna be honest in everything. You ain't gonna lie for your children, you ain't gonna lie for your mama, you ain't gonna lie for your husband. You ain't gonna lie to keep your job, you're gonna tell the truth. But you're gonna be blessed by God. He said, Behold, thou desires truth in the inward parts. Lord, I won't see, I won't help, help me, Lord, help me. Hallelujah. Help me, Lord. I want truth all up in here, all up in me. All up in my chest, and all in my stomach, in my gut. I won't, I want truth all in my inward parts, like David said. I want you to because I know that's what God desires. And if that's what I say, what God desires, that means that's what God wants. And if it's what God wants, that's what I want for myself. Because if it's what he wants, and I get it in me, that's gonna please him. Hallelujah. God wants to be honest, brothers and sisters. And a lot of us are not honest. Going around to all these churches, talking to all these churches about being honest. And I'm not gonna go through that whole script, but if you remember, you recall Philippians that fourth chapter, you know that eighth verse where it says, finally, brothers, what Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are this, whatsoever thing that those first two things got me before I get to the. He said, the first thing is whatsoever things are true. Gotta be true for that. But the very next one he said, whatsoever things are honest. Who can't live this life without being honest? He says those two things before we get to whatever just, whatever pure, whatsoever is lovely, and so on. The first two things that whatsoever is true and whatsoever is honest. When the last time we've been honest, when last time we've been honest with ourselves. What he says is honest. You can't say, well, I'll be honest most of the time. Most of the time, it's not all the time. God wants to be honest all the time. Whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are honest. And then you know at the end of the script, you say, think on these things. If you want to give God some praise, think on these things. Otherwise, he tells you, this live like this. Think like this so you can live like this. We are exhorted to get and keep a good name. We gotta start thinking about our witness. We are exhorted to get and to keep a good name, a name associated with honesty and truth before God and people. If the law was to get a group of people that know you right now, how many of them would say you was honest? One of your characteristics was honesty. We got to start thinking about this stuff. Because we fail to realize why we ain't being blessed, why things ain't going like we want to go in our lives. These little bit tidbit things that we overlook can be affecting us in major ways. Because to be dishonest is to be deceptive. And to be deceptive is a liar. And to be a liar, all lies gonna have their place in the lake that burning with fine brimstone. Lying is an abomination to God. Dishonesty, deception, all let go together. All that go together. Because it's not the truth. And it's not being truthful. I'm gonna hit the head, the nail on the head, I'm gonna hit it hard. Jesus said this, and I love this. I gave you what Paul said. I gave you a little what David did, and I told you a little about Abraham and Saber. But let me give you what Jesus said about honesty, and maybe then we can learn how to be honest. Maybe then we'll know how to provide honest things in the sight of people and before God and tell the truth. And stop trying to get over and stop trying to lie to stop trying to deceive. Somebody asked you something, be honest. Tell the truth. You gotta find an application, tell the truth. You feel like you're tackling, tell the truth. Trying to get fools to have disobedience, tell the truth. We should not be reluctant or skinny to tell the truth when people ask us stuff. I've heard people say that I talk to people all the time. I hear people say, I'm so glad uh I didn't have what they wanted because I hear respect over there. If they do ask me, uh, I would have to tell them I got it. Just be honest.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

Anyway, let me tell you what Jesus said about this whole thing about honesty. I'm gonna just give you a little bit of it. But in your study time, you read Luke the eighth chapter. You you'll find He says this where I got it at I'm gonna go to the Bible on this one. Let me go to Luke eight chapters. Y'all got your Bible? Let me go to Luke chapter eight depth in my Bible. Cause I won't I'm gonna I'm gonna read more than just what I got on my paper. I'm gonna add I wanna 'cause there's another script to go along with that. Luke eight. Luke eight and Luke eight and fifteen.

Pastor Rickey D. Dixon 28:59

Here it is. He said, but that on the good ground are they. Here it is, which in an honest and good heart. Let's pause right there, comma. So you want your you want your living and the fees you pledge to fall on good ground? Your heart got to be good ground. That would be what that would Jesus said. But that on the good ground are they, these are they, these are the honest people. Which in an honest and good heart. I want that to soak all the way in. See, even our action, even in our action, y'all, we got to have honest intent and good intent. Because even Jesus is saying here, Luke wrote it, but this Jesus said, This causes whatever we do to be placed in good ground. These are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word. See, when you get, see, an honest and good heart comes from a person who knows what that word says, who know what that book says, and they they particularly what they do because they know that word pricks their spirit, that word pricks their hearts, because they've heard it. And by hearing it, faith has come by hearing. And hearing came because they was hearing the word of God. Better hear Jesus. He said, but that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart having heard the word, they keep it. And that word keeper in the Greek, that definition of that keeper means they live it. What they done heard. If the word done said be honest, they live that. The Bible said being not a forgetful hearer, but here's where they keep it. That means they live in it and they doing it. And bring forth fruit with patience. Now, let me cut this up. Let me cut this up here. When we start living a life planted in the good ground of the truth of God, and we ourselves, are they from a an honest heart and a good heart, living our lives based on the word of God which we have heard and heard and heard, and allowed the word of God to continue to produce and multiply in our heart and continue to compel us to live honest lives, and we have no problem being obedient to what we done heard because we're keeping it. The Bible is telling you that's when you're gonna start seeing fruit in your life. Why we ain't seeing no fruit in our life because we ain't honest. You ain't gonna get a good produce off of dishonest life not planted in dishonest dirt. Jesus said, good ground from an honest and good heart. We need to check the ground. The stuff we doing ain't fertilizing the life or the witness we proclaim to live. Because what we're doing ain't coming up through no good ground. And it ain't showing producing no fruit. But when we go back and get this thing right and hear what Jesus, he said, this day right here, these the day that's doing it right. These are the days that's being honest. These are the days that's planted in good ground. Are we among them? Are we in the number of them that's day, the day that Jesus talking about? Them that Jesus is talking about? That's got an honest and good heart because they heard the word, they believed the word, they put their faith in the word, and they gladly live it, gladly keep it. Those are the people's lives you're gonna see bringing Jesus, they bring forth fruit with patience because they was willing to wait on the Lord to produce the fruit, the righteous fruit from their lives. And when you wait on the Lord and be honest, no matter what nobody else is doing, you waiting on your life to be produced for the Lord. You're gonna see the blessings that others will not see. See, a lot of people try to get things quick, and they know they can get them quick if they they be dishonest a few times. I can gonna get this here right now. I better have to lie a little bit, but I can gonna get it. But now an honest person willing to wait on the Lord and get it the right way. Because see, they're gonna be consequences. See, there are consequences of dishonesty. Then as soon as somebody finds out you lied. Then as soon as the tax folks find out you forged and lied on your taxes, it's consequences to dishonesty. Well, the Lord know you've been painting off your tithe, painting off your offer. It's consequences. Hallelujah. We got to do right and we got to be honest. No, you ain't been honest in reading your word. No, you ain't been honest in your prayer life and then fasting. It's consequences. All we do is open the door for the devil to come in and stay in. And we wonder why, why things keep happening? Why we can't get no foothold? Why, why, why, why? Well, instead of saying why, why, why, say I because of you. We got to look around nobody else with stuff going on. We look at ourselves first. Pray and tell a lot to show you yourself. And say, Lord, if I've been dishonest in any kind of way, show it to me. It's gonna be ugly, but show it to me anyway. Because I need to see it so I can straighten up. Jesus says this. But that on good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hallelujah. I like that hearing that word. Keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. I'm gonna give you a little bit of something what Peter said, I'm gonna let you go. I want y'all to digest this in. Let me give you something that Peter said. Peter says this in 1 Peter chapter 2. He says, having your conversation honest. Among the Gentiles. I mean people in the world. We gotta be honest. We can't expect the world to be honest if we ourselves ain't being honest. Ain't nothing you can say about them, and nobody else. Having your comfort, this word conversation in the Greek does not mean talking, it means how you live it. This particular word. In the Greek. Having your conversations honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you, the BBL world gonna talk about us, but we still got to be honest. Yeah, they're gonna downgrade us and belittle us, but we still got to be honest. Speak against you as evildoers, call y'all kind of evildoers, but we got to be honest. The devil throw the verbal things at us through people to try to throw us off our game, but you can't fall for that. They called Jesus bears above, he didn't fall for that. Don't fall for that because people call you out your name, call you an evildoer. Out you were saying, don't let that affect you. That's them just tactics. Those are battle tactics, scare tactics, doubt tactics to throw you off your game. Don't fall for that. If you know you live according to the book, stand on that. Whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, they still, when all they're talking, they still God can't deny, they see you living right, they're seeing you living holy, they see you living according to the word. They ain't gonna wanna admit it, but they're gonna still see it. Which they shall behold means they see it. Behold means they look at, they see you living the life. Make sure they keep on living and seeing you live that life. Glorify God in the day of visitation. Our lifestyle, listen to me. On every turn, in every instance, and in every action of our lives ought to be done honestly. That which is good, lovely, decent, amiable, and without blame. Don't give nobody nothing to talk about. If they do talk about it, don't let it be truth. Because we live among people who are not saved, nor living a set-apart life. They ain't gonna live, but they watch and see if you're gonna live it. And they are watching our lies and are a witness to our behaviors and our honesty in life. Now they're gonna lie all day, but they're gonna make they're gonna try and see if you're gonna still lie and be dishonest. They ain't gonna be honest, but they quick to be prognosticators, and they're quick to be critics of others' lifestyles who are devoting their lives to being honest, to living holy, living righteous, and living according to the word. They want to critique your life, but we can't let that stop us just because that's what they're doing. Our focus needs to be maintained on make sure you stay focused on the word, and God, who calls you out of darkness and requires you to live a higher standard of righteousness. Because our right about your righteousness exceeds the righteous scribes and Pharisees, except our righteousness exceed what the world calls righteous. We gotta go with God holds us to a higher standard, y'all. A clean, just, and good lifestyle may not stop their mouths from talking. It may not never stop their mouth from talking. No matter how much righteous and holy life living they see you live. But you ain't trying to stop their mouth. You're trying to please him who done told you and told you to be honest and have an honest heart and a good heart. And told you he requires truth in your inward part. That's who you need to speak to. Stay focused on the Lord. Don't try to think you're gonna stop their mouth. Uh uh, I don't know. I talked to them about it, I'm gonna get to get them told. No, let it alone. Well, you're gonna do it just messing up word, because then now they're gonna see that you they know what buttons of yours they can press to get you riled up. Don't give the devil that kind of victory. Say focus. A clean, just, and good lifestyle may not stop their mouths from talking or bearing false witness against you. But it just may partially be a means that God can use to bring them to God and lead them to glorify him. Hallelujah. You keep living life. Somebody just might be drawn to the Lord because they see that you step to your gun, that you step to your stand in the Lord. And that's what we want for God to be glorified by us living a saved life, an honest life, a righteous life, doing right. No matter what. That he may be glorified. Hallelujah. That he may be pleased. And that we may be driven to continue to seek out this life of honesty, this life of good that he requires. Because his eyes see everything and his ears hear everything. We don't need no dishonesty down in our hearts. We don't need no dishonesty in our minds. And we don't need no dishonesty coming across our lips. We don't even need our actions to portray dishonesty. Everything that's associated with righteousness, we must live in honor to our God. This day, in each and every day of our lives. If we are to be his sons and his daughters, his people, this must be done. And the sooner we become more serious and sincere about being honest before God and honest with ourselves, the quicker and the sooner we'll start producing good fruit. With patience waiting on the Lord.