Fake News: The Origin and Overcoming of Lies
LISTEN:
Fake News Week 1 Introduction: The Origin and Overcoming of Lies
August 24th, 2024
Fake News is the attempt to make you believe something that is not true.
What makes fake news enticing/believable?
Fake News comes from loud “positional” voices.
Fake News is fed to you and plays on your emotions.
Fake News sounds real. People no longer know where to locate the truth and don’t put in the effort required to find it.
Simple Election Approach
Do your homework. Don’t believe everything you read/hear about policies.
Vote for the policy over personality. Find the policies that overlap with scripture and align with scripture.
Don’t be afraid or anxious regarding outcomes.
Why do we believe certain lies about ourselves?
Lies come from loud “positional” voices. We hear these lies in our own voice. These lies begin with short shaming phrases.
Lies are fed to you. You don’t have to go looking for lies. Those lies have an immediate impact on your emotions. You have to fight past feelings to get to the truth.
Lies can feel real. People no longer know where to locate the truth. People have lost their Way.
The Truth about Lies
A lie has no inherent power.
A lie is lifeless unless acted upon.
A lie’s impact isn’t in the lie, it’s what we do with the lie.
The Truth about Truth
Truth is God-powered.
Truth brings life when believed and acted upon.
Truth kills lies. It’s not enough to ignore a lie, you must kill a lie. An ignored lie waits patiently for another opportunity. A dead lie turns into a testimony.
The key to life is learning to differentiate truth from lies and then acting on the truth to kill the lies.
My message series goals are to…
Uproot your “core” lie(s). A core lie is one Satan has been using over and over again since creation and over and over against you.
Plant the seed of Truth in its place.
Feed the Truth into a flourishing garden.
The Origin of Lies
John 8:44b “44 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.”
A lie is a weapon of control and destruction.
Truth is an instrument of freedom.
John 8:31,32 31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Belief = Trust
Trust = Following (Movement)
Following = Freedom!
What are we to do?
1 Peter 5:8 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Be alert and sober minded = Double emphasis. Keep your head on a swivel. We live in a war zone.
Prowls to devour = Satan’s destructive nature is never satisfied. He is on the lookout for those who are vulnerable. Don’t answer the door.
1 Peter 5:9-11 (NIV) 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
To resist is to exert opposing force.
To stand firm is to not give up ground.
Stay together.
The God of grace prevails, restores, and strengthens!
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
John 10 “the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you might have life, more and better life than you ever dreamed.”
Summation
The origin of lies is Satan.
The power of lie is in what we do with it.
The intent of a lie is control and destruction.
The power of truth is inherent in the reality of Jesus.
Jesus impacts my life as I follow Him.
The intent of Truth is freedom and life.
Satan’s Two Core Lies.
God is not enough.
We are not enough.
Routinely respond to identity challenges with Truth Statements.
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
When your identity is challenged, and you prevail with the Truth, you and your identity is empowered by the Holy Spirit and becomes a testimony!
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can endure it.”
Lies are perpetuated through agreement. Agreements/Entertainments give lies room to breathe and run around in our heads. Those lies then begin to alter the filter by which we now read every circumstance and every personal encounter.
Is there a lie that has become your filter for all that comes your way?
Resist. Stop agreeing. Pushback.
Stand firm. Give no more ground.
Stay together. Signal for help.
Receive the grace/power of God today!