Rooted in the Truth  - Knox Presbyterian Church – August 20^th, 2023

Don Warren

From the first book in the Bible to the very last, trees have been mentioned and given importance in the scriptures. In Genesis Adam and Eve were confronted with a choice of which trees they could eat from and then one tree they were told was totally off limits.  We read several passages, earlier, from Psalm 1 and from Revelation which talked about trees next to streams of water. Remember also the time when Jesus cursed a fig tree because it was not bearing fruit.

You may wonder what trees, their roots, and streams have to do with “truth”.  I believe the imagery can be helpful in our understanding of truth and truth’s ultimate source.

Some interesting things about trees and roots. Roots provide anchorage for a tree keeping it stable, prevents it from being uprooted when storms come. Roots search for nutrients and water, they serve as a conduit for the nutrients to the whole tree providing nourishment. They also store the nutrients when needed so in challenging times the tree can remain healthy (particularly during the dark days and severe cold of winter).

We can take the analogy a step further.  Take for example the tree planted by the stream of water as in the first Psalm. . .  if the water is healthy, flows freely and supportive of life, you will tend to have a healthy tree. If the water is polluted, and is a stagnant pond, good chance the tree will die.  Tapping into the right source can be the difference between life and death for a tree and the same is for us . . . . accessing the right spiritual source will lead to healthy spiritual life or the possibility of spiritual ill health or death.

The big question, what is truth . . . it is a question that has plagued humankind throughout history.

*That’s the question Pilate asked when he was interrogating Jesus: John records the interaction as follows:

We read about this in John18:33-38

This is a haunting question that is still just as perplexing today and perhaps even more so today.  We live in a time where it is hard to know what to believe. Is the information we are receiving based on truth or is misinformation.  We also wonder if sometimes what is labeled as misinformation may be closer to the truth

The Bible tells us a lot about truth and discerning what is true and what is untrue or false.

I have to admit, what I am sharing today has its origins in our annual Cuzzins camp held this summer during the first 5 days in July.  When our first grandkids were at least 4 years old, each summer we planned a week-long event that included all sorts of activities that were age related. As they got older it was mud races, building a catamaran using two canoes, solving mysteries, a car rally etc. And grandpa always had daily “grandpa” talks which were part devotions and part just grandfatherly advice.  This year the theme was, you guessed it, the same as this message “Rooted in the Truth”. . . however, in this message I am sticking to the “devotions part” and will not have any grandfatherly advice for you!

*You see what 24 years will bring . . . here are our 4 kids and their spouses, 11 of our 12 grandkids. . . (one grandson was unable to make it because of his work in California). . .One granddaughter came with her spouse . . .. and great joy, we had present our first great grandchild, just a few months old.

You may be wondering, what family gathering ends up having everyone receiving the same T-shirt.  This has been a tradition, a scripture verse on the front and the theme of our camp on the back . . .this year we questioned whether we should still have Cuzzinz camp T-shirts and we were told in no uncertain terms that it was a necessary part of the tradition.  In fact the oldest grandson offered to order them for us, even pay for them, and our granddaughter who is at university studying design did the design on the back.

Mis-information and dis-information are words that have become commonplace in the last few years. I don’t recall them being used10-20 years ago.

Although these terms do not appear in the Bible, the implication of them is there . . . and they are found in very familiar stories.  But first let’s define how these words are used.

*How do we go about discerning Truth,, knowing what is true or false .  With so many sources of information – social media and multiple news channels, and here-say, it is difficult to sort out what is true and what is conspiracy (another word that is frequently in current use)

*Mis-information:  A communication that the person believes is true, but in fact is not. A person may sincerely believe what they are passing on as information, however depending on the source they are relying on, it may or may not be true.

*Dys-information:  A communication the person knows is not true but states it as if it is true. (propaganda fits onto this category) It is used to change people’s behaviour. Hitler’s Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda fits into this category.  This is even more dangerous when there is censorship, not allowing differing views to be expressed.

*Mal-information:  A communication that is intended to cause harm. The intent of the information being given is to mislead, and to deceive and  . . . again to influence behaviour but with definitely bad outcomes as the goal.

*An example of mal-information is found in the conversation that Adam and Eve had with the serpent, Satan. With the exception of one particular tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God gave Adam and Eve total freedom to eat from all other trees in the garden. Satan (the serpent) in his cunning ways convinced them that what the Lord had said was not really true . . . and that actually eating fruit of that tree would enhance their life experience.

Let’s review the story as it is written in Genesis chapter 3:1-4

It all started out with a false statement “You will not surely die”

and ended with a false promise “Your eye’s will be opened and be like God, with the knowledge of good and evil”.  This mal-information had the intent to do harm, of messing up God’s creation and destroying the relationship between Adam and Eve and their creator.

Temptation always starts with a premise (it’s not really a big thing after all, especially if I can get away with) it is often then followed by a promise of something to be gained.  It is true Adam and Eve were deceived, but they yielded to the temptation even knowing in their heart that God had given the boundaries quite clearly. But the promise of gaining something that sounded so good won out and the outcome and consequences were devastating for them and for all humankind.

*Next is an example of dys-information . . .King Herod (Herod the Great) said  “Go search for the young child and when you have found him bring back word so I can worship him", however, his real intent was to kill the baby Jesus while he was still an infant. What was said by Herod hid his true intent and if God had not instructed the wise men to go home a different route, history would have been changed.  This story reveals the importance of listening for God’s nudges in giving direction for our lives.

Dys-information also has the intent to deceive knowing that the information being given is false but hoping to influence the behavior of another for a desired and usually a negative outcome.

Jesus also warned that there will come a time that within the church there may be sources of dys-information which we need to be aware of so that we are not deceived.

In Matthew chapter 7 you will find words of Jesus

“⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”

And later on in Matthew, Jesus says about the end times

¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

*Misinformation 1 Mis-information – Sincerely believed to be true
but wrong and misleading.  Our example is the Pharisees who presumably taught what they believed to be true and sincerely believed that Jesus was a heretic and needed to be silenced.

However, as stated in In John 8:44 Jesus had some strong words about the heart of the Pharisees that were conspiring to get rid of him.

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Another form of mis-information which is easy to fall into is - passing on incomplete information (sometimes known as gossip)  Remember the telephone game – last person to speak the message is entirely different from when it started.

Everyone has experienced the harm of gossip before. Whether the people conveying the information didn't mean direct harm, the result of gossip is often broken trust and hurt feelings. Gossip involves information being given  about the behavior or personal life of other people, often without the full truth revealed or known.

*Proverbs 17:9

9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

This is something we can all work to attain to . . . be ones that foster love in all our communications and avoid passing on information that could affect others negatively.

*The Ninth Commandment states: Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Very early on in God’s communication with the children of Israel it was clear that His people were expected to be a people of truth.   Here’s where it all becomes a whole lot more personal for us today

Although the 9^th commandment specifically refers to situations in a court of law . . . that we are not to give false witness in front of the court (disparage or in some way cast a negative and untrue picture of a person’s character,), it has also been has been taken that we have an obligation to refrain from lying, especially when it damages another person’s character.

It is very easy to lie, children have a special gift of being able to lie with a straight face.  I had heard a number of statistics as to how often people lie . . . one survey said people could lie up to 3 times in a 10 minute period, another source said research shows that people on average lie 1.65 times per day (the author reporting the study thought that this was a way too low and felt this reflected that the people in the interviews were probably lying about their frequency of lying.

Why do we lie . . . could as be innocent as not wanting to hurt another person’s feeling (when your spouse says “how do I look today?” better not say “I’ve seen you look better”) or the most common one . ..  how are you today?  Fine thank you . . . even though you may hurt all over and have a head ache etc.

But more impactful is when we lie to make ourselves look better than we are . . . or lying that would make others look less than they are, or lying to cover our tracks when we have done something we wish to hide.  Anytime we lie to deceive we are guilty of one of God’s commandments.

We have been talking about being rooted in the right source.  Jesus made it clear that the biggest source of lies and the lying heart is found in the great deceiver himself, Satan.

We often end up like Paul where he says in Romans 7:21-25

*There is another verse using the imagery of trees situated by a stream which is found  in the book of Jeremiah. It gives such a positive picture in comparison with words Christ used with the Pharisees.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”  (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NLT).

*In the story of the Woman at the well :  Jesus says

“If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

Our one reliable source of truth . . . is Jesus the son of God.  If we want stability in our lives, we need to be rooted in the true source of life. If we want to be spiritually healthy and bear good fruit in our lives, we need to be connected to the true source of living water. If we want to be survivors when the difficult and barren times come, we need to close to the one who has promised never to leave us.

This is the antidote to mal, dys and mis-information and its destructive effects in our lives and in our churches.

It is being rooted in that source of living water, in our relationship with God through Christ.

*And the outcome . . . God’s love, healing and redeeming stream will be poured out through our lives touching others.  Our lives take on new meaning as we see our influence for good evolve and in our participation of advancing of God’s kingdom here on earth.

As the Scripture has said, “He who believes in Me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” We will bear good fruit in our lives and will be not only a witness of God’s grace in our own lives, but will point others to the life giving, living waters to be found in Jesus Christ.

*Jesus said: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

To God be the glory.  Amen