Pastor David Jeremiah urges Christians to be stewards of biblical truth in a 'post-truth world'
Pastor David Jeremiah of the multisite Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California, warned that Christians are living in a “post-truth world” where biblical truth is “slowly” vanishing.
In part two of “Stewardship,” a three-part sermon series, Jeremiah, the founder of Turning Point Radio, preached that God has put Christians in charge of the Gospel as stewards of the truth, but Christians will have a harder time in life if they don't take the truth of the Bible seriously.
Jeremiah suggested that truth is "disappearing from our culture" and disappearing from "television," "magazines" and "newspapers."
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“We live in a post-truth world, which means the Word of God is more important than it has ever been,” Jeremiah said. “Post-truth means it used to be truth, but it’s not truth now to us. Post-truth is a word that describes our culture today.”
Truth, he added, has largely become what many people make it to be. Its definition has become what people have manufactured themselves and not based upon any objective foundation.
However, Jeremiah said, Christians should know the difference between knowing what the Bible says and incorporating it in one's life.
“I want the Word of God to be in your heart. ... If you don’t get the Word of God in your heart, there’s coming a day in the near future where you will have a very difficult time surviving as a Christian. We have got to get serious about the truth,” Jeremiah continued.
Jeremiah said that as the head of a school based out of his church with 1,500 students enrolled, and as the chancellor of The Jeremiah School of Biblical Studies at Southern California Seminary, he's found that it's been challenging for him to be a steward of the truth while helping run Christian schools.
“Are you watching what’s going on in the schools of our nation? … We used to study reading, writing and arithmetic,” Jeremiah said. “But it’s way down the list now for all of the sociological stuff that they’re stuffing into these kids’ minds starting in kindergarten. And if we’re not careful, that can slip into our Christian school.”
Jeremiah urged the congregation to pray for the Christian school as they stand in the middle and adhere to biblical truth. "By the grace of God," he declared that he'll “stand like a warrior with a sword” in front of the front door of the school to prevent any deviation away from biblical truth being taught.
“We need to teach [students] how to think, but I have no apologies whatsoever for teaching the Word of God in our classrooms,” Jeremiah maintained. “For instance, did you know that History was His story? History is meaningless if you don’t have God at the core of it.
“You need to pray for us. This year we have had constant pressure not to stay in the center of the road when it comes to truth.”
Preaching on the topic of stewardship, Jeremiah reminded his congregation and those watching online that God has ownership of everything.
“Stewardship means we are managers of that which belongs to God,” Jeremiah said. “We are under His constant authority as we do what He tells us to do with that which belongs to Him. It’s not our own. It’s His. We do not manage it for ourselves. We manage it for Him.”
“The Bible simply is pregnant with the truth of the ownership of God, of everything that we say is ours. Isn’t that interesting? We say it’s ours, but it’s God’s,” he explained.
To give an example from Scripture, Jeremiah pointed the congregation to Deuteronomy 8:18, which says: “‘But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today.’”
Oftentimes, Jeremiah said, Christians do not think everything belongs to God because they believe that when they work and make money, the money becomes something that belongs to only themselves.
“The Bible says you can’t go to work and make money if God doesn’t give you the power to do it,” Jeremiah declared.
He then read from 1 Chronicles 29:12, which says: “‘Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.’”
And Proverbs 10:22, which states: “‘The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.’”
“You know how you get rich, the blessing of the Lord,” Jeremiah continued. “And my favorite is James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
“Let’s take a deep breath, disabuse ourselves of the great things we’ve accomplished and how much we have that we think is ours and realize what we have is what God has allowed us to have. What He has given to us, what He puts in our hands [is] to manage on His behalf and we become stewards of that,” he added.
Stewardship, he stressed, is more than what a Christian gives, but it is how they live.
“The Bible tells us that we are stewards of truth. … This is God’s truth. And I’m a steward of this truth. … Is this my truth? No, it’s God’s truth,” Jeremiah said while holding up his Bible. “But God has given that truth to me, to you, to others, and He wants us to manage it on His behalf. He wants us to make sure it’s protected and proclaimed.”
“Isn’t it interesting that in a day when truth is disregarded, this book still reigns,” he continued, while lifting up his Bible again.
Managing time and money, giving and serving are all things that Jeremiah said Christians should take part in to be stewards of the truth.
“Have you ever delivered? Have you ever been where people needed the Word of God and shared it with them and seen what happens when their lives are changed? … Stewardship is more than you’re giving, it’s your living,” Jeremiah reiterated.
“If we mismanage our money, we try to make more of it. … There’s no mismanaging time. We can borrow moments. … You want to make sure you don’t waste your time. … You can’t manage time. You can’t say to the clock, ‘slow down, go faster.’ … Time goes on without anything we can do about it,” he explained. “Ladies and gentlemen, we only have one life to live. … Only one way to spend your time. God has given us time. He wants us to steward it.”
Managing time according to God’s truth, Jeremiah said, means having a “spirit of willingness” to spend time serving God every day.
“Time is an invisible reality created by the eternal God as a vehicle in which to fulfill His will as you travel through life. … Most of us can probably find ways to spend our time more effectively for the Kingdom,” he suggested.
Jeremiah said he was a senior in high school when God called him into ministry to be a preacher. He said he remembers that his response to God was: “yes.” At the time, he had already been preaching at a small country church in Columbus, Ohio, every Sunday to a congregation of about 30 people.
“I said yes. Did I have any idea that He would take me on the journey that I’ve been on in my life? Of course not. But if I hadn’t said yes, I never would have found out. … There’s an initial yes to God that opens the door to things you would never dream possible,” said Jeremiah, whose in-person Sunday services average 10,000 people each week.
Every time a Christian says “yes” to God, it won’t always result in a “mega-career,” Jeremiah said, but obeying God’s calling will never leave a Christian with regrets.
“I am telling you that you cannot say ‘yes’ to God and ever look back and be disappointed with what He does for you. He will show you what to do. If you’d be willing,” Jeremiah said. “Are you available to God? Are you ready for God to say to you, ‘Here’s something I have equipped you to do? Will you do it?’ And if you say yes, get ready for a journey. He’ll take you places you never dreamed.”
