February 26, 2023 - Speak the truth in love

Starting at verse 15. I don't usually preach from the Holman Christian standard. I like the Bible. I just can't read it anymore. The print is too small. Anyway. It's Friday, starting a 25. But speaking the truth in love let us grow in every way into him. Who is the head Christ from him? The whole body fitted together fit in This Together by every supporting ligament promotes. The growth of the Body for the building itself in Love by the proper working of each individual part. Therefore, I see. And testify in the Lord, you should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk in their futility of thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding excluded from the life of God because of this ignorance that is in them. And because of the hardness of their hearts, they became careless and give themselves over to promiscuity for practice for the practice of every kind of impurity and with the desire for more and more. But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you've heard him and were taught by him. Because the truth is in Jesus, you took off your former way of life. The old man that is corrupted by deceitful, desires, and you are being renewed in the spirit of your mind. You put on the new man, the one created according to God's likeness in righteousness and purity of Truth. Since you put away, lying, speak the truth. Each one to his neighbor because we are members of one another Be angry and do not send. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, don't give the devil an opportunity, the thief must no longer steel instead. He must do honest work with his own Lydia, something to share with anyone in Need. No Rotten talk should come out of your mouth but only what is good for the building up of someone in need in order to give Grace to those who live here? And don't grieve God's. Holy spirit, who you were sealed for by the if you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let's write.

Heavenly father, I do want to thank you. That we have your presents, your very presence here. Yet you have been with us throughout the week and everything that we've done. and Lord, some of times we've noticed you in It just has to be a God thing.

But Lord, we know that if we gather together it, it becomes more pronounced. We we understand you are here.

you might not understand it, but we experience at And so Lord God me this day be a day of breakthrough for us. Maybe this time he has season a baby at the moment. We're where we become a little bit more like you. And receive a little bit more of your grace, and mercy to share with each other Lord, in your name, we pray. Amen.

I remember a conversation. I had with a someone who is a leader in a church. Add.

She was telling me about a conversation she had with somebody in the church and she could see the shock and horror on my face as she described what she said.

And her report was well, the Bible says, we have to speak the truth. And I said actually says to speak the truth in love.

Woke up to her is like, so should I go apologize at 8? I think you should probably go off all the time. It's a difficult thing to know how to speak the truth in love. Because we don't want to hurt each other in any way. We want to encourage each other and build each other up. We just read that. That's what we want to do.

We are told to speak the truth. In love to one another.

And that is a challenge. We have to rise to it in some times when it is probably the most in a

inconvenient time, I will say inconvenient, I will

Let's let's start at the very beginning if we're to speak the truth in love what is truth? What is the truth? We're supposed to speak. That's a question that pilate asked Jesus when he stood before him. And Jesus said that he was born and came into the world to testify to the truth and all who love the truth will recognize what he says is true and and pilot rhetoric. But what is truth?

Jesus already declared in John 14:6 that he was the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the father, except through him. Jesus is the truth. We speak the truth and love to one another to build them up.

To become more and more like Jesus. So it's so maybe.

Maybe we get a hint there. Truth is not the truth that I assumed to be truth. My opinion it's truth is not popular with those. I agree with truth is not the popular thing that people I agree with say.

Jesus said, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. He was talking about himself. He's the truth. Jesus is the truth. What we share in love is Jesus. And we share him in love to build up each other. In order that we all become more, like, Jesus,

John also describe Jesus as the word but that the little guys, Jesus is the living little guys. And the word is the written law Goss. So we can find truth in the Bible. We can let the Bible speak to us and show us the truth. It's actually the revelation of Jesus, we see in the book, that shows us truth. It's how he reveals himself to us when we, when we read this and we sailed well, this, this what we just read was written to the church in Ephesus and we can do about them historically, we can know the trouble that they were in the Paul, send a letter, and he corrects them in this way. And so we can understand that intellectually but then when we read it, and we say, I've got to speak the truth in love,

I got to be the one to show Jesus to the ones around me.

This word is sharper. Open any two-edged sword and its living an active. And so, in order to speak the truth and love, we need to know what the word says we can't. I'm sorry. So I have a lot of times I just proved versus in there and I assume, you know, the context in that interests me. If my purse is in there, it's in the proper context cuz I've taken the time. But, but

It's really easy just to take over this person, is this, and this person is this, and this person says this, and therefore, this is my Theology. And it's like, what does the Bible say? What the other Christians understand how has it been understood through for the last two thousand years?

The truth is Jesus. Jesus is the word.

That's the truth. What is love? Well, how do we speak the truth in love? All the scribes is to the church in Corinth in Chapter 13, right? He says, love is patient and it's kind, it's not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It doesn't demand its own way. It keeps its not irritable and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about Injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out, it never gives up it. Never loses Faith. It's always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

The Greek word used in that portion is agape o. It's a shame word that we just read infusions for when were to speak the truth. We we speak the truth in love. We speak the truth and it in a cocktail. What is agape? Love, it's the love. That's a decision. We decide to do it. It's not necessarily emotional love. It's not the love that even naturally comes when your brothers and sisters with each other. And you look out for each other's interests ahead of your own. It said, love that I decide to love this way. And I can't do that without holy spirit's help. I can't do that without Holy Spirit In Me. I can I can I can make the decision but the live out that decision.

I'll tell you even this morning I was I had this I'm okay I'm thinking about this whole thing. We have an email from a friend. I was trying to answer. My wife comes in to give her opinion about some emails like I'm trying to answer this email. I love is patient. Love is kind of snotty writable. I got to go apologize. Thanks hun. I'm sorry.

We we need we don't have it, we don't ever have it all together and we never have it together. If Holy Spirit isn't present there with us, he is present day with us. If we can't acknowledge his presence there with us.

It's our choice to speak the truth in love.

So then why do we speak the truth in love a fusions 450 and tells us that we speak the truth in love to help us all grow up to become more and more like Jesus so that together we are more like Jesus.

Bridgeport teen tells us why it says, then we will no longer be called immature, like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. But will be in. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies. So clever that they sound like truth. As mature, Believers, we're equipped to do God's good and pleasing will in our lives in and threw us into the lives of others. Ephesians 4:25 says that we speak the truth in love, each to his neighbors because we are members of one another so that it will meet, we speak the truth to pursue growth and maturity that edifies the community of Believers because we are members of each other because

together, one another and in this church, and every Church in Edmonton that we are the church in Hammonton.

So the summer speaking, the truth in love is speaking that which is Doctor Li correct. the proceeds from biblically committed life of a person from a miniature believer, Who is in to a person who is in need of Correction. Done in love for the benefit of the one who needs some adjustments to their attitudes or their actions.

I'll come up with three reasons why we might be afraid to speak the truth in love. These are my own experience, you might have other experiences and we can work together and come up with a fuller list. I don't know if it'll help people but three reasons first is we don't speak the truth in love is because of fear of others.

We're afraid of losing friendships are straining relationships. We we, we might not think that we have the right relationship to to speak the truth in love. Unfortunately, it it just compounds their own Sanden. Compounds are sin of letting them continue in sin.

Galatians 1:10. Paul Warren says, they're for people Pleasers were not Servants of Christ donations. 110 says, obviously. I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of a God, but I've got a pleasing people with Michael. I would not be Christ servant Another reason we don't speak to others. We don't speak in love the truth. Others is when it's a fear of rejection. Right? It's we don't want to be labeled as judgmental or self-righteous or

You know.

The what's I forget, the term that's popular. Now basically, if you're white man over 50, you none of your opinions matter. Because you obviously don't know what's going on in the world. I got people telling me that.

Seriously. Anyway, I don't care if I like I don't like personally, I don't care, but it just like when I was raised, I was raised. Everyone could have truth and so it wasn't always coming from the church. I would talk with other people in other religions. I would talk with, with, with different philosophies and I would interact and, and, and window their truth resonated with the truth. It's like mad. They are so close to God, but just, you know, just as much and now we have a generation of kids that are raised that it we if they don't agree with anything that comes out of your mouth done, you can speak into their life.

Doesn't mean you can't love them. Doesn't mean you can't. Be present. Anyway.

This is what happens first, Peter 2:20 says, of course you get no credit for being patient if you're beating for doing wrong but if you suffer for doing good and endured patiently God is pleased with you for God called you to do good. Even if it means suffering just as Christ suffered for you, he is your example. You must follow in his steps, he never sinned or deceived anyone he did not retaliate when he was insulted or threatened Revenge when he suffered, but he left the case in the hands of God, who always judge is fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right for by his wounds. You are healed. So don't be afraid of rejection. If you're, if that's what's keeping you from speaking, the truth in love.

A further reason we don't speak the truth in love is that we might not know what the truth is just speak. Like we literally don't have the words to say And if you don't have the words to say that's time to get into the book, that's time to get into the presence of God, it's time to ask him. What you would have me? Say here? He'll tell you, he might not tell you. Like you run it out and give it to them though. You don't like it might not be that but but he promises when we are bought before people and have to give an account, holy spirit will give us the words to say So on the one hand, scripture tells us we need to do the work we need to get into this book. We need to understand, we can either grow and become spiritually mature.

And it's not just reading, it's doing with the word sense. And in, living out what the Bible says, But then, yeah.

Sweet.

2nd Timothy 2:15. Paul tells us to be ready for the task. When we're confident the council, we must know what the word of God says to know how to address each that your situation. So it's not that we just rely on Holy Spirit. He's going to give me the words. He'll do that. It's called Grace.

Hey, you're making Greece cheap, if you don't then follow up and do the work right? Find his Revelation in his words.

We can't let fear keep us from speaking. The truth in love. Do you remember last week, sermon? Pastor, John talked about where the fear God and when we fear God, We Don't Fear the rejection of Matt. We don't fear that. We're going to don't know what to say. We don't fear. What's wet wet? We we fear God. And fearing. God is it. Oh, he's going to be so angry. It means if I Fear God I do what his word says, in his word tells me, I need to speak the truth to one another in love. So that's fearing God. It's like I'm going to advise your God. I'm going to see how I can work that out. See how I can speak the truth in love when it needs to be spoken in love with someone needs correction or someone needs adjustment.

And please remember proverbs 27:6. Wounds from a sincere friend are better than the kisses from an enemy.

you are a true friend when

When you ain't Grace show Grace but when you when you show love but you speak truth. You speak the truth.

You know, sometimes it can be just as simple as, you know, what would Jesus think?

And not in a mean way you do just in the kind of seriously. What do you think? Jesus would think about this?

How do you speak the truth in love? That's a great question. I'm so glad you have. We must remember, it's not about us. It's about the spiritual welfare of others and us together. We do so cuz it we see the command and infusions floor and Matthew 18 and James 5. It's not just one spot. It's throughout the New Testament, we belonged to each other. We need to care for each other. We need to care more about each other that. So we see someone who, who is, is, is close to Saint, or is in sin.

Sin is defined by this book, not my opinion. Right, huge deal, huge, huge deal.

Anyway. The word I want you to remember for this is kind kind. How do you speak the truth in love? Be kind. Play know that you can be like, Jesus, I am heart life when you Embark correction and never not encourage, I know that's bad grammar but it's good and deed do not grieve the Holy Spirit. We get this from the fusion theme portion of the fusions. I read this morning already, I know you can be like, Jesus effusion for 20 and 21 but That isn't what you learned about race since you have heard about Jesus and then learned that the truth comes from him.

Bible tells us that Jesus was full of grace and truth. We will see how he interacts with people. And anyone who came to him. Received Grace, they receive Mercy. They didn't receive judgment. The ones who he spoke out against, we're the ones who were secure in their religious beliefs. and,

He continually take them off.

But anyone who came? From the woman at the well, to the ones bringing their children. The baby Jesus. He's has acted ingrates and with Grace, and was led by Passion compassion.

Your goal when speaking to others is to help. See? Well, your goal is just your goal is for their benefit and the benefit of all of us.

I'll get to the rest later but it is just that's the goal and you can be like Jesus in that situation when you show Grace and compassion and you speak truth You don't avoid the problem.

Wish. I really can't tell that story but it was kind of yeah. This happened last week, it was kind of interesting. I had to speak the truth to somebody and and I'm not really in a relationship with this person and I'm not really the one in authority to speak the truth. And the one in Authority was really hedging his bets and being all nice. And I was trying to be nice too, but I'm okay. You got to know this and this and this too, because these are issues, we have to deal with that. Much. Miss fear, the meeting went from oh yeah, I know, it was no problem to know. They're serious problems. We need to deal with these serious problems. and anyway,

question, we can ask ourselves is do. I know I can be like Jesus.

you know, sometimes we are

I don't think anyone here, but I've met a lot of Christians who don't know, that's our goal is to be like Jesus, Bbdc Jesus says, you know, that's awesome. Guy that lived a long time ago. And yeah, he's my savior, he's my Lord, but but I'm not perfect. But yeah, no doubt. But the holy spirit's help, you can become more and more like Jesus. It's kind of his school o. And then other people are like, oh my goodness, you know, the devil is out to get me and he's trying to kill me and it's like yeah so is God he's trying to kill the old man. So the new man can live, they got the same goal that use the same kind of procedure. You're going to go through hard times in life and if the devil wants to crash you, that God wants to raise you up and they will use those things. So guess what? You want to know? What you're supposed to do in life? The devil sees what's good in you and he tries to crush it and God uses that bring out the good in you. He changes all things together for good anyway, that wasn't even part of the sermon but some people needed to hear that. You can be like, Jesus. That's the point. So, you can know you can be like Jesus, I am part life. When you, in park Corrections a Fusions for 26 says, and don't sin by letting anger control. You don't let the sun go down when you're so angry. It is okay for us to get angry.

We can't seem that our anger.

It's okay to have those emotions when somebody sends against us or we see them on the pathway to death with the way they're living their life.

Your words have the power to restore and creative creatively Rebuilder. They have the power to harm relationships, inelastic and damaging, damaging way.

One of the big tips I can give you in, this is is when you have those conversations. You don't have them. Do you start at the place of trying to understand what the other person understands? You, you need to understand what they're thinking and how they're thinking.

before you come in, with judgement to say, You can't do this, or this is wrong.

Understand before wanting to be understood. And then we, we need to remember to the timeliness of anger. It is we can't let the sun go down on her anger. Meaning we can't Harbor it unless we can't nurse. If we can rehearse it, we can rehash it. We can't just use it, the bash it, you know, like it just that we don't let that anger have a foothold in US.

So, you need to work that out. If it's a close relationship. You know, it's okay to say start the conversation, I'm angry. And I'm trying not to you hold that against you right now. Okay let's have this conversation. If it's somebody that you're not that close with but but like at the anger you see their blatant disregard to scripture. You see what they're doing is hurting others and hurting themselves.

You got to deal with the anger that's in you before you come and talk to them.

I'll get to that just enough so I can hear question. We can ask ourselves is a my reacting or intentionally building up.

And reminds us to never not encourage effusion 429 says don't use vowel or abusive language but everything you say be good and helpful so that words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

I know you're not in the right place. If you're ready to put the person in that them, there is, or her place.

If you let that anger fester and I'm going to make this, right? You're not in the right place. You need to deal with the anger that's in. You, you got to deal with the offense, whatever. That generally means forgiveness. It generally means God, I'm not going to hold this against them, I put them in your ear and not my hands. Lord, Give Me Your Peace so that I can come and have this conversation.

Psalm 19:14 says may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing To You O Lord my rock and my redeemer. You're not in the right place when you want to put someone in his or her place your you. If you're going to knock someone off their high horse, you're already on your own Ohio hours. Right. Fuzion 429, We did the second part. Let everything you do be good and helpful, so that your words will be in the encouragement. It's it's so busy. I got to learn this on social media. You guys might not have noticed my posts lately, but I try so hard. not to share the post that a lot of my friends are sharing about probably politics is a big one for me.

Sometimes, it's really good memes that come out today. Just like, oh, wait a second, does this build-up? Does this encourage know? Okay, I'll just say that to my hard drive to look at any time. Anyway.

I don't want.

I know if I share that, I'm going to offend these other connections. I have on social media. So Wayne it doesn't matter. I don't need to be dividing

Finally you can you realize you can judge The Condemned or you can judge to discern. 2 seaboard. But we judged to condemn, we are coming to set this person, right? We are coming to make sure that they know the truth in. This is what we're going to say and we've already made we predetermined the Judgment, we predetermined the solution and if they don't agree.

You just said in Matthew 7125, don't judge others and you will not be judged for. You'll be treated how you were you be treated as you treat others? The standard you use in judging is a standard by which you will be judged. So what and why worry about a speck in your friends? I when you have a log in your own, how do you think you can buy saying your friend? Let me get rid of that Speck in your eye that you can. You can see past the login, your own Hypocrite first, get rid of a log in your own eye and then you'll see well enough to deal with a speck in your friends eye.

A lot of times, those are what bring issues in a church, is it? We are trying to pick out the specs and each other's eye, and we're not dealing with a log. That's in her.

I mean, how many times have you noticed, especially, especially in politics? This happens all the time. Somebody stands up to just lambaste so-and-so because he did this and that and you know it happens all the time with politicians. When somebody is somebody has an affair. OK. Google. You can't trust this guy cuz his wife can't trust them in the wall of the one that has six months later, they're yelling at him because he's done the same thing. I was doing the same thing when he stood up to yell at the other person.

See you in the church all the time. Like we are harder on people who deal with the same sins that we deal with then because that we are with, we have Grace for people who do things, we never think.

Remove the log from your eye before you remove the speck from somebody else's.

Standard. I uses does this hurt me to say or I am I enjoying talking and taking the other person down a peg or two

You know? Cuz it it it it doesn't hurt me to say it. I'm not in the right place. I've got to spend time with God, get his heart on this, get rid of my own. Scene in baggage where we're at that's creeping in. And then go in humility and say listen this is what I see. Can you help me understand it better?

For a long time, we've left this up to Pastors in the church to do.

That's why they get the big box.

I don't see that in the book. I don't see that's the pastor's job. I seen together. We are to speak the truth in love to each other. I see that older women are supposed to train younger women. I see that older men are supposed to train younger men. I see that we are supposed to be connected to each other in war than just

words, but in actions, and in truth

Oh, finally. In kind, we need to remember to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Pigeons for 30, don't ring soil and God's holy spirit. By the way you live, remember he identified you as his own guaranteeing that you will be saved on Redemption at how do you grieve the Holy Spirit? I didn't read this next part in Ephesians but Ephesians 34 31 and 32 it says get rid of all bitterness rage and anger harsh words or slander as well as all types of evil Behavior. Instead be kind to each other tenderhearted forgiving one another. Just as God through Christ has forgiven you live the way he wants you to live. If you grieve the Holy Spirit you don't live the way. Holy spirit is empowering you to live.

It also means. We can grieve the whole ball. Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness and he gives us the words to speak when we don't know what to say.

In.

Galatians 5. It says it was sent you live by the spirit, let's keep in step of the spirit and it goes on to talk about the gifts of the Spirit. So when we're living by the spirit, we're growing, the fruit of the spirit, we living the way he wants us to live and we're saying what he wants us to say he can just give me ask the words to say

question we can ask ourselves, is it? My grieving, Holy Spirit, in the way I'm living, or what I'm saying?

I want you to remember, you can do know that you can be like Jesus, you can impart life. Newton Park correction, you can never not encourage and don't grieve the Holy Spirit.

Do you know what the results are for speaking? The truth in love, How to use has several results in 2nd Peter 2, 2nd, Timothy 2 24 and 26. He says a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be kind to each kind. Everyone be able to teach me patience with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth, just by, perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth, then they'll come to their senses and escaped from the devil's trap for. They've been held captive by him to do whatever you want. So, 3 things, I see their God can change their hearts. When we speak the truth in love, they can come to their senses and they can escape the devil's trap.

The key is that we gently instruct those who oppose the truth.

Holy spirit will give you the words to say. And I've learned it's often the best to ask genuine questions. Understand why?

Speaking. The truth in love.

Will be difficult, is difficult. Amazing costly in the short run, but it's an investment that God wants us to Dake and like, any investment, it pays more in long-range dividends, and it doesn't short-term gains ever.

We speak the truth. In love to pursue spiritual growth and maturity that edifies the community of believers.

Long story.

we're going to have a time of soaking again, and Just too. It's a time of reflection.