“What is truth?” In John 18, Pilate asked this very question of Jesus Christ.

Here we are, thousands of years later, asking the same question — “What is truth?” — and struggling in our generation to answer, just the same as Pilate did. Jesus — the living Truth — was standing right in the room with him, and he still couldn’t perceive what real truth was. Devastating, right?

Fast forward to today and we’ve changed the definition of truth all together to include things like “my truth” and “your truth.” It’s outrageous! Those things aren’t really truth at all. We have a word for those things, and that word is “OPINION.”

So…what is real truth, and how do we get back to it? How do we align our thinking, feeling, declaring and choices with it, and how do we deal with the fallout that comes when we decide to stand on and declare truth no matter what? That’s what today’s episode is all about. So if you’re ready to go there, I want you to grab your journal and a pen, and . . . Let’s Go!

What you will learn in this episode:

• What truth really is (Spoiler Alert: Truth = God’s Word);
• How real truth is being challenged in this season;
• The definition of true unity;
• And all the scripture that supports our discussion today.

Scripture References mentioned in this episode:

This episode is super heavy on scripture references because we’re talking about Truth. I want you to be able to dig into your own Bible and get into what we’re talking about today. All quotes are ESV unless otherwise noted.

John 18:33-38 —
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

John 8:31-32 —
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

1 Peter 4:8 —
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Matthew 25:1-13 —
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

John 15:18-19 —
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Matthew 16:18-19 —
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Genesis 1:28 —
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Matthew 6:9-10 —
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 11:12 —
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

Isaiah 2:2-3 —
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV) —
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Ephesians 4:11-16 —
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Galatians 3:28 —
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:12 —
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

John 14:15 —
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Links to Resources Mentioned in This Episode

In today’s episode I made reference to Episode 26: Why the Victimhood Narrative is Killing You (and How to Get Your Power Back). Hop on over to this powerful message/teaching if you need it!

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Calling All Ladies!

Our 9th Annual REVIVE Women’s Conference is coming up on May 14th & 15th and you are invited to join us. Come be revived in the presence of God, filled afresh by His Spirit, and encouraged and sharpened in community with like-minded women who have a sound for the Kingdom and the boldness to shout it out. Do you need this? Then jump on in, Sister!

Online tickets are just $29 and include three teaching sessions, worship, chances to win sweet prizes and a few other surprises we’ve been cooking up just for you. You’ll also have access to the replays. We cannot wait to host you this year as we celebrate Coming Out of the Wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. Are you ready? Click below to grab your seat!

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Erica co-leads a local church alongside her husband, Doug, in Tampa, Florida called REVIVE Church of Tampa. You can visit the church’s website for more information about who we are, what we believe and how we show up as the Church in the heart of West Tampa and beyond.

REVIVE Church of Tampa

REVIVE Church of Tampa streams services live on Friday nights at 7pm ET and Sunday mornings at 11am ET. You can find those livestreams on our church Facebook page:

Live Services – Fridays at 7pm ET and Sundays at 11am ET

If you’re interested in joining the online campus of REVIVE Church of Tampa, you are welcome to join our community group on Facebook where we offer weekly discussion around the Friday and Sunday messages as well as discipleship Zoom groups and the opportunity to host others in your home as you stream services. You can find us here:

The ROCC: REVIVE Online Campus Community

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About this podcast:

Positioned to Prosper is a weekly podcast that covers the ins and outs of what it means to live a lifestyle of breakthrough and victory in your relationships, health, finances and beyond. Your host, Erica Pyle, is no stranger to jumping without the proverbial parachute while maintaining a firm grip on godly wisdom. A self-described slayer of pragmatism and a “walk by faith” kind of girl, Erica is an unabashed believer in the power of God to radically transform lives. Front-footed in faith as she offers straight-up truth, strategies, and wisdom for living victoriously, and equipped with her love for the word of God, her certification as a holistic health coach, and years of experience in personal finance and taxation, Erica is ready to help you get positioned to prosper.