There are a few verses of Scripture I would Like to read to you found in Psalm 145, verses 14 through 18.
The Lord upholdeth all that fall and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” There’s something about that last verse that caught my eye as I was reading it. “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth.” Calling upon God in truth speaks of sincerity. Yes, sincerity, for that is our theme for this morning. Webster defines sincerity thus: “To be sincere is to be true, honest, genuine, frank, upright, pure.” Yes, sincerity is freedom from hypocrisy, freedom from pretense.
You know this sincerity is so much lacking in the world about us today. It’s lacking among nations. When I think of all the pledges and all the treaties and all the agreements that have been made, made just for one purpose, for convenience.
How quickly these are broken whenever they feel it is to their advantage. Oh it seems that you can’t trust men these days when they meet at these conference tables. When the nations meet together they look at each other as scamps and don’t trust one another.
I’m thinking about these armistice talks that were going on and now the political talks that will go on in Korea concerning conditions there and how already we’re saying we doubt if the opposite side is sincere and probably they say the same thing about us, but whether right or wrong it just seems there is such an insincerity among men today that no one wants to trust one another very far.
You know this insincerity is also evidenced in the family life of our nation, the relations between the husband and the wife, between the children and the parents. You know when a person is married they make certain vows, they make certain promises before God, but you know many times marriage vows are taken just for convenience sake and because they desire a certain thing and oh how easily they are broken. They think nothing of going into the courts and breaking that which they have promised to do. Yes, insincerity is so evident in our family life today.
Sometimes you know we parents-I’ve known of parents doing this- will tell a lie to the children and the children in turn will tell a lie to the parents and they think it’s just all right. Why tell the truth if a lie will do just as well? The wife says to the husband, “I did thus and so,” and she knows it’s not so.
The husband says to the wife, “I was such and such a place tonight,” and he knows it’s not so. Oh, how much lying, dishonesty, insincerity we find everywhere.
So many it seems today are living a lie, and you know it’s not only in the home. It’s in the church also. Dishonest methods are being used to gain certain ends, and insincere motives on the part of some religious leaders today are so manifest just to reach a certain desired goal. Oh may God help us all. Selfish desire I think many times is the real purpose for much that goes on, not really for God’s glory. You know, Jesus one time said unto the scribes and Pharisees, “Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and afterward make him twofold more the child of hell than ye yourselves.”
May God grant that we may never be deserving of such a condemnation as that. Oh, the words that are spoken today too in the name of the Lord.
The statements attributed to God are shameful indeed. May God help us to be sincere. Let us not deceive others. Let us not say, “The Lord said this or the Lord said that” unless we have heard His voice speaking these words. Let us not be guilty of insincerity in representing the will of God to those who come to us for guidance. Some professing Christians by their conversations imply that the voice of God among us is a common thing. God grant us real sincerity in representing God to the world.
Now I have something else I would like to speak to you about- that is God’s sincerity. God’s word is true. Oh, I’m so glad we can depend upon that. In this day when there is such insincerity aren’t you glad that God is sincere and that He’ll stand behind His Word? Aren’t you glad that His promises are faithful? Not one good thing will fail of all that the Lord has promised to us. Aren’t you glad that His judgments are true and honest? In fact as this 17th verse states, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways.” Do you notice that? The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works.
Oh let us endeavor to emulate this sincerity, this godly sincerity. May it become a part of our daily life. Let us realize that Christianity means honesty, truthfulness, and sincerity, and anything short of that is not real Christianity. Oh may God help us in these days when a challenge is being sent forth to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to prove their God, to show their God to men.
May we accept this challenge and by our sincerity present Christ as He really is. Oh I pray that before this day goes by you will drop down on your knees and say, “Oh God, make me to be a sincere Christian. Make me to be an honest believer. Make me to be a real representative of the Christ that I claim to love.
Don’t let anything dishonest, or untruthful. or unreal, don’t let those things possess me, but let me be the man that God called me to be. Let me be the woman that the Lord intended I should be . Make me sincere, oh God, make me sincere.” That should be our greatest desire. That should be our daily prayer. The world is filled with so much that is false. Let the world see the truth within us. May God help us.
CLOSING PRAYER
My Father, I thank thee for the promise of thy continued presence. God grant that we may continue to walk in the light of thy grace until we see thy eternal glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If reading these words touches your heart, you can help further this effort. Please remember Hope for Today
in your prayers and offerings, and use the Secure Donation Button below to bless us today.
Return to Radio Transcripts List