======================================================================== TRUTH: A HILL ON WHICH TO DIE by Shane Idleman ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of truth as a hill on which to die, urging listeners to defend, guard, and pass on the truth to future generations. It calls for a return to God's truth in a world filled with deception and challenges believers to anchor themselves in God's Word, experience His presence, and live out His truth in their lives. The sermon highlights the significance of Jesus as the ultimate truth who died on the hill of Calvary, inviting individuals to repent, believe, and experience the transformative power of God's truth in their lives. Duration: 36:47 Topics: "Defending Truth", "Transformative Power of God's Word" Scripture References: John 14:6, Psalm 34:8, 2 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 4:12, Isaiah 30:15, Acts 2:21, Mark 16:16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of truth as a hill on which to die, urging listeners to defend, guard, and pass on the truth to future generations. It calls for a return to God's truth in a world filled with deception and challenges believers to anchor themselves in God's Word, experience His presence, and live out His truth in their lives. The sermon highlights the significance of Jesus as the ultimate truth who died on the hill of Calvary, inviting individuals to repent, believe, and experience the transformative power of God's truth in their lives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The title is truth a hill on which to die Truth a truth is a hill on which to die and and how many of you were in the military? You might know reading military history that there would be Certain hills that they would say we must take that hill That is a hill on which to die if we do not take that hill We will cease to exist and let me submit to you tonight The truth is a hill on which to die you see what's coming out on Netflix with this perversion and what our governor just signed and there has to be a righteous voice of Indignation that says we must get back to the truth. It is a hill on which to die. It must be defended It must be guarded It must be built up and strengthened and passed on to our children and God says this is a truth This is a hill on which to die It has to be truth that we look to Did you know that there is truth? We don't know what to believe on the media anymore and Facebook and news outlets and but there is a place you can look where You can spend time Broken before God in the morning and look to the word open up the Psalms and be encouraged and built up Look to the minor prophets and the major Prophets and look at God's heart on a nation drifting from him and go into the principles of the Old Testament and into the new Birth of the New Testament be built up and strength and that truth will never change There is a story about truth that I've been going back and forth on all week And I don't want to tell you it because many of you have heard it because I love to share it about once a year But many of you are new so I'm going to break my rule and I'm going to share it again It's a story of a Battleship Way out in the I think it's up by Alaska a battleship and what it's doing. It's running what they call deep water Exercises and what they do is they're preparing for battle and they're they're they're they're launching missiles, and they're doing things They're in deep waters, and they're preparing for battle and they see a light quickly approaching the battleship and So he signals on there. I don't know how they do it I can't tell you exactly but you know they signal. I'm a battle. He doesn't say that just yet. He says Change your course 20 degrees We're going to hit and the the signal came back. No you need to change your course 20 degrees and the captain said Who does this who does this vessel think they are? Signal them back and let them know That I'm the highest ranking officer in the United States military, and they need to change course immediately and The signal came back captain with all due respect to change your course and By now he's getting ready to arm the missiles I don't have to have missiles on a battleship, but you know that the big 50 millimeter Can't he's he's upset now because now this vessel is threatening his whole crew And he says we are a battleship and If you do not change your course I Will have to Shoot you out of the water. I'll have to take you out and the signal came back Again and said captain Captain with all due respect Change your course Immediately I am a lighthouse You might get that driving home, but isn't that what's happening now is it not what's happening now our elected officials these Netflix and different things They say no truth you move But truth stands as a lighthouse stand there as a beacon of light saying I cannot move and if you do not move the collision Course is not going to be pretty true stands as a light at a lighthouse chain Warning the sailors warning those and it cannot be moved it cannot be negotiated with it cannot be bargained It cannot be compromised. God says I have set my absolute truth in which I cannot change I'm the Lord by God. I change not when absolute truth is set into motion. Nothing can change that and we need to get back to that point of Looking at God's remember when we used to fear God's Word. I was packing and I found an old probably Bible Nobody need I couldn't even throw it away It's there's a reverence Respect and getting back in the Word of God says if you just fear me again If you would fear God and walk in that fear, it would change our political course. It would change our national course And a verse I love on this topic is found in first Timothy 315 let me remind you if you're not sure Who Timothy is Paul was writing to young Timothy on how? churches need to conduct themselves and He said I write to you Timothy that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God See, there's problem number one when we remove truth. We forget to how to act We forget how to conduct ourselves we forget how to treat people we forget the seriousness of sin So he says how to conduct yourself in the house of God which is the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth He said it there that the Word of God is the pillar and it's the ground of the truth now If you're in construction, you probably know the difference most people won't know but a pillar Supports the building the ground the foundation supports a pillar So you have to have both he's basically saying it supports everything So we look at the pillar and ground of truth first, and that's why our slogan I believe that God gave us 10 years ago that we're coming out. We're actually celebrating 10 years I forgot to tell you that in the announcement see how fired up I am about this message. We're celebrating 10 years on September 27th and we are going to be in our building We have had enough the church has to be that voice of truth again Yes, that might offend it, but I'm not worried about offending people. I'm worried about offending God Almighty That's what we need to start fearing God and not man. Yes, we're respectful Yes We're submit when we need to but there comes a time when God says I will raise up Voices who will speak my truth again They will not be afraid of men, but they will fear Almighty God and they will go to where I send them They will speak to what I tell them to speak That's why Paul said Timothy the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But they will look for teachers who will tell them what they want to hear The good news about it being dark right now is I can't see anyone's faces So that's I don't know if you're upset or happy or sad or what? And we would love to turn the lights on but we found out it's $3,000 just as flip the switch So we said we'll stick with the security lighting for now. Thank you very much So the slogan is that we that God gave us ten years ago Times change truth does not and I never knew the impact that that would make I had no idea how many people would with thank Westside Christian Fellowship for that and for standing for that and to just have the privilege of standing for God's Word Times change truth does not it's the only truth we can know for certain and I was going to take you to so many scriptures But I just I just wanted to narrow it down because we see in the beginning is the truth Jesus said I will tell you the truth and revelation says I sent my truth and it healed them truth is Consistent throughout all of Scripture. It is the ground. It is the pillar It is the support of everything and if it's not the support and ground a pillar of your life I want to encourage you tonight to make that decision Differently and Begin to look at what does God's Word say about issues? And did you know that that you know what I promised myself I made it eight weeks without getting political But every most of the political hot buttons that are out there did you know the Bible has something to say about it The Bible has something to say about our borders the Bible has something to say about murdering children at nine months The Bible has something to say about putting on women's clothing if you're a man and wanting to twist switch sexes the Bible has something to say about this this ungodly legislation of allowing a 25-year-old man to manipulate a 15-year-old boy and that's okay the Bible is crystal clear and if you do and if you can continue to mock God the Judgment hand of God will fall upon a nation that continues to mock him The Bible has something to say about every issue for racism and what's going on in our country and Then he says here. I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God How do we act in the house of God? Why I want to share three areas with you. This is not new Most of you have been coming to Westside. I've talked about these extensively, but it rings true with this topic How should we conduct ourselves in the house of God when truth is our gauge number one? Young adults, this is going to be so critical for you as well older adults We've got to get our mind back on the Word of God We've got to get our mind back on truth What's happening is we're being polarized and pulling and driven and pulled away from truth And God says get your mind back on the truth. Well, what does that look like Shane? Well spending more time in God's Word more time listening to thought-provoking sermons more time to listening to heartfelt worship more time fellowshipping with Believers that are like-minded so you have to strengthen yourself in the Lord and you have to combat the false Truth that is out there with the real truth of God and you have to don't you have to live in God's Word a lot? more than the media Because there's there's so much out there. We don't know what to believe All these different views and all these different conspiracy theories and and some things are true Some things are not some things are are Fabricated some things are manipulated. So it's just people are left confused They don't know who or what to believe but you have to anchor your mind If you're spending time in Facebook, you better have a lot more time in God's book. That's what's going to change your heart. I Like a Arthur. I don't know if you know who she is a good Bible teacher She said if you don't plan to live the Christian life Totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to him then don't even begin For this is what Christianity is all about. It's a change of citizenship a change of government a change of allegiance if you have no intention of letting Christ rule your life then forget Christianity, it's not for you and That is so true because to truly understand the truth You have to fully submit to it You have to fully submit to God work in your life. It can't be like well, maybe today but then tomorrow minute, you know And that's why we vacillate James is a double-minded man is what? Unstable in all his ways. That's why so many people even Christians are unstable today because they are double-minded They're believing this and and not God's Word or they're forgetting about God's Word embracing this so get your mind anchored in God's Word Yes, that means minimizing entertainment. Yes that mean Minimizing what you're putting into your mind because as a mind as a man thinketh So is he? Jesus said that as a man thinketh so is he be not conformed to this world, but be what? transformed by the renewing of your mind Well, here's another area of conduct conduct our attitude our attitude Thomas Watson I believe he's a famous Puritan. He said our murmuring is the devil's music Our murmuring is the devil's music I've never seen so many people bash our nation bash our state bash our city and it becomes murmuring and Complaining and and one one way to embrace truth is to get our attitudes, right? And our actions right and our mind right and those are areas of conduct in the church so when Paul says The truth is given So, you know how to how you should conduct yourself in the house of God get your mind focused Your actions in order and your attitude straight and you can do wonderful things for God But it's interesting if one of those things are off-kilter What happens? We become off-balanced and then I love this part this he said which is the church of the living God The church, you know, we don't serve a dead God. Amen You should look up all the atheists all the famous famous Agnostics and from I don't even pronounce their names copper. I mess up But you go back and you research history and how many of them sell Christianity will come to an end Christianity will come to the end. There's no God. There's no God and now now I think it's Voltaire They're actually making Bibles in his house. He said within a hundred years I'll bring the Word of God to nothing these people cannot stand and fight against a living God We serve a living Savior who was raised from the dead and he is coming back for his church and you can take comfort in That our God is not dead. He is living and his word is powerful and active Hebrews 4 for the Word of God is living and active it's sharper than any double-edged sword it pierces even to the joint and moral means it goes deep and it discerns the Thoughts and the attempts of the heart it's active and living and I want to share just a few things I was going to make a quick video or two on how to how to let the Bible speak to you and How to study the Bible and I do quick videos like that on YouTube under our under my page They're like five six seven eight minutes, but I want to just share a couple things because I think it will help To let how do you let the living Word of God speak to you? Well number one Instead of you studying the word, which is good. Let the word study you Because pastors we can make a big mistake if I open the Word of God Let me prepare a sermon for you before I say let it study me Let it rip me apart let it break me let it encourage me let it humble me Because hearing from God is all about positioning correct if I want somebody to hear me ten miles away from here That's not gonna work You have to be right here or over here on the side or you have to be you have to position yourself to hear Same thing with God's Word Listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and when it begins to what I've noticed when God begins to convict you about certain areas The Word of God is living. It's powerful It's coming it's coming to alive and it's convicting about attitude or actions or your mind the more you begin to obey that Conviction the more you become filled the Spirit of God and you begin to see his will and sense his will but the more you ignore that conviction What happens you quench and you grieve the Spirit of God? Do you know how many prideful arrogant men? I've talked to and they always defend themselves by saying I know what the Word of God says. I Know what the Word of God says, I've been a Christian 30 years of my life. I know what it says But the power serves in the application the powers and the humility and so what you need to do is find a quiet place a Quiet hour and a quiet heart if you want God's Word to speak to you again, I believe it can speak to us clearly folks, especially in these dire times Let's be honest. Is the civil unrest going to decrease and we're going to go back to normal I got some oceanfront property in Arizona if you believe that I Don't like it. I've got kids. I liked it when things were back to normal or would be back to normal But there's there's a huge evil undercurrent that's working and I believe there's going to continue to be civil unrest. I Believe no matter how the election goes in November. It's going to be difficult. I believe when flu season is here again Guess what's here again? Kovach right mass shut down. No. No at some point we got to say enough is enough and What you have but you have to be prepared for this See so many people are not going to be prepared because they're not built up in God's Word they're watching too many YouTube videos about the earth being flat or the Illuminati or Conspiracy theories about the Twin Towers that George Bush did it or look the one world government Bill Gates is tied in with this and and and the deep state is doing this and they're trying to do this and now some of That I think is going in that direction Not the flatter But but but I see so many people watching these things but no time in God's Word and they're unstable they're fearful They're scared. They're shooting off. They're angry. They're hurting people, but they're Christian, right? They gotta get back into God's Word and let that change their heart and be humble before him say I don't know Lord I don't know what's going on But I know that you know So to hear that voice you have to have a quiet place Find that quiet place and I know some of you moms are saying but I can't find that quiet place I've got some little Guys and gals running around me tell that husband of yours to watch the kids and go seek God for an hour Find somebody to help out husbands do your job in this area You've got to let people find a quiet place because God says be busy and you'll know that I am God No No, come on theologians wake up here Be still and know that I am God what that means is to get your heart quiet find that quiet place and say God I'm scheduling you on the calendar. And if you get antsy during that quiet place, that's okay That's the flesh wanting you to get out of here And I guarantee if I teach on fasting next Saturday that line in Albuquerque is gonna be down to Avenue G Because the flesh is working overtime to try to stop us So you have to find that quiet place be still and know that I am God and Then number two find a quiet hour Find a quiet hour find some time not exactly 60 minutes, but there has to be there has to be a Prioritizing those who wait upon the Lord what shall renew their strength? This is how you're going to hear from God in these dire times and not the media not Fox and CNN and Drudge Report And Huffington Post and all these things You've got to be buried in God's Word have that quiet place that quiet hour. And then here's a biggie a quiet heart a Quiet heart steal your heart deal with sin Clean the connection so you can hear God clearly Boy, that's not a popular topic these days. Is it? Did you know that sin used to be preached often repentance They would preach hell hot and heaven sweet They would preach the the gravity of sin Why because Jesus did we want to avoid talking about the very thing that put him on the cross? and Actually to really appreciate the cross you have to know what put him there To really appreciate the good news. You have to know the bad news We have to know the bad news That without God we are under the wrath and condemnation and judgment of God. That's very bad news. That's why it's called very good news That's why the gospel is called the good news Jesus bore and took on the wrath of God on the cross paid the price they call propitiation Absorb God's wrath so that you can stand before God cleansed and without fault because of what Jesus did I say That's some good news. So I have no problem talking about sin because Jesus said go and preach what? Repentance call people to repentance call them away from the sinful lifestyle Call the sin out and call them to the love of Christ via repentance and Because God's Word is living Did you know that it is? authoritative Did you know that it is the final authority? It's a final authority that's one big difference That happened in the Reformation 1517 Martin Luther and Wittenberg Germany Nelling is 95 thesis the Roman Catholic Church is they would put the papacy and papal Decrees above the Word of God that was one of the big things sola scriptura scripture alone Scripture alone the authoritative Word of God second Peter for prophecy did not come by the will of man But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirits That's why I love what Charles Spurgeon said he said even if an angel came to me and Said Charles Spurgeon you are pardoned He would say I would not listen to you him because I have a greater authority and that greater authority is the Word of God That tells me I'm already pardoned my sins are washed away. What can wash away my sin? Nothing, but the blood of Jesus. It's Authoritative and because it is an authoritative it stands above our Supreme Court It stands above the United States of America and the Supreme Court justices need to look at the authoritative Word of God I've got an 1828 dictionary by Webster. Guess what? They defined words with the Word of God When they wrote the Constitution that they look to the Bible four times more than any other source When they use William Blackstone's commentaries of the laws of England for our Supreme Court They would look at Scripture How does Scripture say to handle rape or sex trafficking? Actually a person would be given the death penalty for sex trafficking a child Because see God knew the penalty John MacArthur broke it down great We only have four four areas of restraint in our culture One is a conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that conviction of the Spirit then you have the government You have the family of the church those areas of authoritative. They all fall under they all submit to the finals Authority of God's Word and we have to get back to that folks. You have to remember God's Word is authoritative It is the final authority or the school districts in our homes in the government in the Supreme Court That is what we look to and then it's authentic praise God. It's authentic What does that mean? genuine real Unquestionable It's authentic. The Word of God is Authentic and I begin to just ponder this this week and I got a little excited because I realized there's no close second What it what is what is well, you know that this book is pretty pretty close to the Word of God No There's no close second if you look at all the millions and millions and millions of copies sold you look at all the changed lives you look at all the consistency archaeologically scientifically Prophetically historically there is nothing that even can hold a candle to the Word of God It is the only authentic work out there. It has stood the test of time It was written over 1,500 years on three different continents by 40 different authors Saying the same thing that God is God and I am NOT and that God will redeem Mankind from the fall and from the curse and he will defeat Satan the king of kings and the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ has conquered hell death sin in the grave that is authoritative and it's authentic We should get excited about the Word of God. I don't know. I do make me be back. Why do you get so excited? Well, we're not talking about just stupid stuff. We're talking about the Word of God That's authoritative that Changes that says when you pray you pull down heaven when you call upon the name of the Lord you will be saved God Here's your prayers. He holds your tears. He anchors your soul. He lifts you up. He builds you up He will never be defeated. What enemy has ever defeated God and one what enemy has ever triumphed in one? No one has ever beat God Yeah, that's a little exciting that's a little I might get a little excited You know the more the more I'm in God's Word the more exciting it becomes There's an old saying sin will keep you from the Word of God or the Word of God will keep you from sin and The more you start to read God's Word and those promises come true They hold that cancer patient till she takes her last breath They hold that mom or that dad that's lost their son or daughter And that's why they in the Hebrew language. They would give many names to God else should I? Jehovah Nisi my provider sick canoe all the all these names because they knew God is healer and Redeemer and set what set they had all these names for God because they experience God And I want to tell you you can't experience God and that's why After being authoritative authentic it is available God's Word is available psalm 34 Psalm 34 it says taste and see that the Lord is good Blesses blessed is him who takes refuge in him isn't that what that verse sometimes? I get so passionate taste and see that God is good That's all it takes and when you see a world dying you see a nation dying Maybe some of you in the audience that are dying or dead to the things of God. God doesn't say well follow this checklist in Six months, I'll see if you've been a good boy or good girl, and I'm gonna make a really hard He just says taste and see come to the living water come to the fountain of life and drink freely Just taste and see the goodness of God That's a promise you can hold God to God to test him in certain areas It's okay to test God in certain areas where he's a test me in this Giving is another great one test me in this why not pour down the windows of heaven Test me in these areas. I am good. I am God. I am your God taste and see how good the Lord is That's why I believe Jesus said come to me all your weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest And I'll close with this point truth This this is amazing. I wish I had time this would take all sermon Truth died on a hill Called Calvary I Can't quite understand all the dynamics, but but of it, but I knew that Jesus left his throne. He became a child virgin birth he died on the cross on Calvary and Truth what I mean by truth died on the hill. He said I am the way I am the truth. I am the life Nobody can come to the Father except through me you want to talk about being inclusive That's pretty narrow Shane yeah, it sure is So is gravity if you ever tried jumping off a 20-story building things are absolute they are narrow. They are focused God will not change Truth died on a hill. I am the way the truth the life No man comes to the Father except through me and a couple statements on that That he said he said I am the truth So we have to acknowledge that he said I tell you the truth so you have to believe He said the truth will set you free and you do experience God. Isn't that wonderful that you can actually experience God? I love what a W Tozer said. I want to experience Earth's experience my voice again I'm not to keep down with you for this crowd next time A.w. Tozer said I wanted to experience God or I don't want to have anything to do with religion. I want to experience God you can experience him and Jesus said whoever the Bible talks about over Jesus. I didn't wrote this down this morning Actually, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be what saved so he's the truth you acknowledge it I tell you the truth you believe it the truth sets you free you Experience God and you call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved. I Want you to think about this every year I've got to do this pretty soon as well I go to my contacts And I believe I begin deleting people that passed away Two or three already this year and it's sad. I see their name I see the text message my last text message and you begin to realize the brevity of life Guys, this is not a joke This is not playing games with God That's why I believe Jesus said often he who has ears to hear let him hear He who has ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying let him hear and what what what he would cry out the Bible say and Jesus cried out Do you think he was quiet? Timid he would cry out. I can picture him. He who has ears to hear let him hear and a crying out is it is a deep shout a Deep shout of emotion. Oh, he who has ears to hear let him hear and even if Jesus would preach to us He's not going to make you do something and come out of your seat like a puppet He he pleads and that's why I believe Paul pleaded and Jesus pleaded George Whitfield and all the famous preachers Would plead he who has ears to hear let him hear turn to God while it is still Day because when night cometh no man can work the way the truth and the life is calling you is pleading with you To turn back to him So, I don't know if you've never made that decision Or I don't know if you've drifted so off far off course, you don't know how to get back on Let me tell you that God still says taste and see that I'm good I don't care if you blew it last night. I don't care if you blew it this morning God's call is always to repent and return to the God who can who can rebuild your life who can take away that addiction Who can restore that a marriage who can restore that relationship who can bring back the joy of the Lord again Do you remember that joy? I think I talked about that last week that the joy of the Lord and David said oh That the bones you've broken that you would begin to repair those again God I want the joy of the Lord again the joy of my salvation creating me a clean heart renewing me a right spirit Oh god, i've drifted from you David was in deep remorse and remorse and anxiety and God began to work in his heart and call him and the same Call goes out to us So there's two different people i'm talking to if you need to make that decision stop playing games with God young adults Teenagers husbands wives there the time is getting near we cannot keep playing these games with God repent and believe in the gospel And then also I know in a group this size there's there's a lot of people here I know many of you have probably drifted from God You've quenched and you grieve the spirit of God. Maybe you've never been baptized Did you know that baptism being baptized is obeying the truth? Jesus didn't say well if you feel like it He said he who believes in me and is baptized Baptism is what it's an outer profession. I'm baptizing myself before friends and relatives and whoever i'm saying I don't care if it's embarrassing I don't care what people think of me because i'm going to serve God almighty and i'm making a public Declaration of my death burial and resurrection in Christ and Christ giving me that new life And it's something that should be very exciting. So we want to do baptisms tonight, whatever group you're in I would love to meet you over there. I'm gonna have the worship team come up right now We're gonna they're gonna conclude with a few songs, but don't if God's put that on your heart. It's not it's not cold out We've got towels And sometimes I believe God wants to know how bad do you want it? Make that commitment and people say i've heard this before but shane you don't know what i've done It doesn't baptism doesn't say get your life right first Actually god cleans you up thank god He cleans you up He makes that difference. So I would love to meet you over there. So as the worship team begins Let's go ahead and stand for worship. If you would like you can kneel at your chair the bench there or or Um Make your way over to the prayer tent. We're also going to have a prayer tent over there There's a prayer team and I believe that god Here's the prayers of people the whole idea of a message is not to say. Okay. Well, that was good Let's go home and eat The whole idea is to spark the heart to go to prayer go to someone and say pray for my prodigal son Pray for my prodigal daughter how many of us how many of us are going to pray for the filth that is on netflix? That they get busted by the department of justice and they get that pull we got to pray let's pray down heaven Sometimes I don't think we care enough Sometimes I don't think we care enough We'll post something on facebook, but that's about it God says when you travail when you get on your face on the grass when you say i'm not going to eat all day And i'm going to seek your heart god. I want to pull down heaven. Those are the kind of prayers that god will hear So I want to challenge you make your way to the prayer tent and pray with those individuals make your way to the baptismal And let's get baptized. Let's get back on track with god ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/2Ee_C_gv5BY.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/shane-idleman/truth-a-hill-on-which-to-die-2Ee_C_/ ========================================================================