Walking Worthy of the Gospel

Thank you for that special from our Christmas program.

They do a wonderful job.

How many of y'all like seeing the young people up there with them in the choir?

Isn't that awesome?

Yeah.

Let's make that a regular thing.

That is great.

Ephesians, we are continuing on in our series.

We will break next Sunday for Christmas Eve and do a more Christmas-themed sermon next

Sunday.

But we are continuing on in our series in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

All right.

And this is a big Sunday in our series in Ephesians.

We go from part 1 to part 2.

All right.

So the first chapter, the first three chapters of Ephesians talks about who we are in Christ,

our identity in Christ as believers.

And then we get practical.

We go from the theology to the practicality.

All right.

Understanding our standing in God in that first section and then moving on to how should we

then live.

So much of our study and teaching from this series comes from the Christ-centered exposition

series on Ephesians.

And Tony Merida is the author of that particular volume.

The background of the book of Ephesians written by the Apostle Paul around the date 8 AD 62.

The setting was his Roman imprisonment.

He was under house arrest in Rome.

And so they had to deliver this letter from Paul all the way back to the church in Ephesus.

Would be a few weeks journey probably.

And he was very familiar with this church.

He had been their pastor for three years himself before he had left someone else there in his

place to pastor them.

You can read all about that in Acts chapter 19.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

So that's the background, the breakdown of the book.

Again, first three chapters, who we are in Christ.

And then beginning in chapter 4 through chapter 6, how we live for Christ.

So that's what we're doing today.

We're talking about how we then live for Christ.

The very first part of Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Would you mind standing with me if you're able to?

And let's read the word of God together.

Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

I want to welcome once again all of those joining with us this morning.

Whether you're a member, a regular attender, or visiting with us this morning.

Or if you're joining us online.

We know there's some that weekly have to tune in online and join us that way.

And there's some who maybe would ordinarily be there, but due to health reasons or other

things they're having to watch online right now, I want to make sure they know that we're

grateful for their attendance with us this morning.

Let's look at Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord.

You know, when we see the word therefore, what does that mean to us?

We want to know what it's there for, right?

So you go back and you read Ephesians 1, 2, and 3, and you see what it's there for.

So therefore, because of our standing in Christ, because of our identity in Christ, because

we have learned who Christ sees us as, therefore, Paul writes, I, the prisoner in the Lord,

urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received.

Live worthy of the calling you have received.

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every

effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Verse 4.

For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling,

one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through

all and in all.

Now, grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

For it says, here's a quote from the Old Testament, when he ascended on high, he took the captives

captive, but he gave and gave gifts to people.

But what does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the

earth?

The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens to fill all things.

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and

teachers, equipping the saints for the work of the ministry to build up the body of Christ.

Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into maturity

with a stature measured by Christ's fullness, then we will no longer be little children.

Tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness

and the techniques of deceit.

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 and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth

of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Thanks for standing.

You may be seated.

God, I pray that you would speak to us through your word.

Give us your eyes of understanding.

Reveal your truth to us, Lord.

Help us to learn how we can walk worthy of your gospel, worthy of you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

So, our theme for today is walking worthy of the gospel.

We take this directly from this passage right here in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Live worthy of the calling you have received.

So, number one.

Taking notes this morning, we've got some blanks for you to fill out in the bulletin.

gospel unity.

Gospel unity.

That is our first principle that I hope we can take away that will enable us to walk worthy

of our God, walk worthy of the gospel that we have received and in which we have placed

our faith, and walk worthy of the calling that God has given to us.

Gospel unity.

What do we mean by this?

Go over to Matthew.

You can look on the screen if you'd like.

Matthew chapter 11, verse 28.

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will

find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

What are we talking about?

I thought we were talking about unity.

Well, let's look back at Ephesians 4 and understand why we're tying in this passage with

what we're reading about a call to unity in Ephesians 4.

So he says in, Paul writes in Ephesians 4, 1, I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to

live worthy of the calling you have received.

How do we do that?

With all humility and gentleness.

With patience.

Bearing with one another in love.

Verse 3, watch this, ready?

Making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Then he goes on and talks about how there's one body, there's one Spirit, there's one Lord,

one faith, one baptism, one hope, one God, and one Father of all through and in us all.

So the theme of how to achieve unity is through meekness, through gentleness, through bearing

with one another in love, humility, making every effort to keep this unity.

Well, how do we achieve that?

How do you and I set aside, number one, set aside ourselves, the big number one, and instead

prioritize or prefer one another?

Well, Jesus gives us a picture of that.

He says, be like me.

Live how I lived.

I gave you the ingredients to make this recipe for life here.

He said, come to me, all who are weary and burdened.

I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you.

Learn from me.

I am lowly.

Watch that word.

I am lowly and humble in heart.

And then you'll find rest for your souls.

Jesus is not proud.

Jesus does not lord himself over us, even though he is the Lord.

Jesus does not brag and boast about all his greatness, even though he has more than any

of us could ever hope to achieve by which to brag.

And so we see that Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart.

A man named Dane Ortland wrote this book that you see a picture of here called Gentle and Lowly

several years ago, and it kind of took Christianity by storm.

And I'm really glad it did, because the entire emphasis of this book, and people asked him,

why did you write this book in particular at this moment?

And he said, it's because in this era, this age of American Christianity, where we look around

us and we see a country constantly pitted at each other's throats, like few times in our

nation's history, we are at odds with each other.

There's one side against the other side.

Regardless of what the issue is, more than likely, we're pitted fiercely against each other.

He said, in the midst of this day, in the midst of this moment, we must interject the true

spirit of Jesus Christ.

And if we read in the Bible, we read all kinds of attributes of God.

He is mighty.

He is powerful.

He is all-knowing.

He is all-seeing.

He is everywhere.

He is the creator of all that is.

There are so many amazing, incredible attributes of God of which we stand in awe.

However, when Jesus described himself, he said, I am gentle and lowly in heart.

He could have used so many other descriptors, but that's what he wanted us to focus on.

That's his true nature.

We have a quote from Dan Ortlund in this book.

He says, in the one place in the Bible, Matthew 11, 28 through 30, where the Son of God pulls

back the veil and lets us peer way down into the core of who he is, we are not told that

he is austere and demanding in heart.

We're not told that he is exalted and dignified in heart.

We're not even told that he is joyful and generous in heart, though we know that he is.

Letting Jesus set the tone, his surprising claim is that he is gentle and lowly in heart.

So, before we move on, how like Jesus are you and I?

Are we gentle and lowly?

That's the question I've got to look in the mirror and ask myself.

Am I gentle and lowly?

Or do I much prefer some of the attributes, some of the other attributes of God to model

myself after?

God is God and we must let God be God.

But when he says, come and be like me, learn from me, Matthew 11, we read specifically what

we are supposed to learn from him.

And that is that he is gentle and lowly.

What do we mean by that?

We're gentle in our interactions with each other.

We're gentle in our dealings with each other.

Whether someone agrees with us or someone disagrees with us, I must be gentle in my dealings with

others.

Man, that's a learning curve.

That's a work in progress.

That's not natural to us.

Many of us, you know, your type A personalities, your alphas in the room, we're not talking about

generation alpha, that's the little kids.

But your, you know, alpha personalities and take the lead, I'm the main guy, you need to

listen to what I say.

We don't want to be gentle.

And we sure don't want to be lowly.

We don't want to debase ourselves.

We want to be ranked at the top.

We want to strive for the top.

You know, I didn't get valedictorian in my graduating class in seminary, but I did have

a pretty good GPA, all right?

And I'm pretty happy about it.

And if you knew me in undergraduate school, you'd be amazed at the GPA that I had in graduate

school.

We want to strive to be best.

We want to strive, come out ranked on top.

But Jesus says, be lowly.

It doesn't mean don't do your best.

In fact, the Bible says if you're going to do something, do it with all your might.

Do it with all your heart.

Do it to the glory of God.

But did you catch that last part?

Do it to the glory of God, not the glory of me.

That's where the difference comes in.

He must increase.

Some of you were tracking with me.

Harlan's right there.

That's right.

But I must decrease.

Harlan taught all the BBS kids that back this summer.

He would say, what time is it?

And then they would have to say, kids, you're with me?

What time is it?

There you go.

We got a few of them.

John 3.30.

He must increase.

I must decrease.

Isn't that great?

That is a truth that will help us be lowly in heart.

Just like Jesus.

If we keep that spirit that as we, as he increases, we decrease.

So then it doesn't matter my opinion.

It doesn't matter if I win.

It doesn't matter if I get the credit.

None of those things matter as long as God is glorified.

Then he increases as I decrease.

And then I am gentle and I am lowly like Jesus.

So gospel unity, that's how we achieve it.

That's how we achieve gospel unity.

We are gentle with one another.

We are lowly in heart.

And then according to Ephesians 4, we can remember that we are all with one body.

We're all with one spirit.

We're all serving the same God.

The same God is working through us patiently, step by step, reforming us into his image.

And so then we can be unified.

And as we are unified together, we recognize that we are different.

There is gospel diversity.

Why do we call it gospel diversity?

Why do we call it gospel unity?

Because the gospel is what unifies us.

There is one Lord.

There is one faith.

There is salvation.

So that brings us together with a common bond.

So what is gospel diversity?

It means that God just didn't all save one type of person.

He saved all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds and all kinds of strengths and all kinds of weaknesses.

And so the unity must come first.

The gentleness and the lowliness must come first.

Otherwise, this diversity will cause problems.

Otherwise, we won't like the differences among our body of believers.

Otherwise, we won't like how somebody else thinks something ought to be done differently than we do.

So gospel diversity can actually help unify us.

Galatians chapter 3 teaches this principle.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

There is no Jew.

There is no Greek.

No slave or free.

No male and female since you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Do you see that?

The world teaches us this principle of intersectionality.

Anybody know what intersectionality is?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I didn't either until I had to study it out.

But intersectionality is the highlighting the differences between us.

Whether it's a race gender.

Whether it's, I'm sorry, race or gender or background or financial condition.

Whatever it is, the differences between us.

Now, it kind of builds on the concept that there is a mainstream of each category.

There is a majority of each category.

And so they are kind of at the top.

And then there's all these other underprivileged sectors of each one of those categories.

Whether it's race or gender or background or, you know, the country you're born in or whatever it is.

Whether you have one parent at home or two parents or et cetera, et cetera.

So there's all these different categories that we like to disunify ourselves, right?

Separate ourselves into all these different categories.

And this intersectionality teaches that the more underprivileged categories you're in,

the more they intersect and make you, you know, living a hard life and in need of help.

So just because you're Hispanic and you're female and you came from a single parent home,

then you're at a disadvantage and you should be helped.

Now, there is certainly some truth in some of those things that oftentimes,

because of different backgrounds, et cetera, it can help set you up for disadvantages.

But you know what the interesting thing is?

God can overcome anything.

The cross is the one unifier.

The cross is the one X factor that man can't understand.

The power of Jesus Christ is the one thing that can overcome all the failings of the world,

all the failures of the world, all the disadvantages that we find ourselves with.

You know, if you were born in America, then you're part of that majority, you know, ruling class, so to speak.

And if you're born in another, maybe third world country, then there's another intersection of underprivileged, et cetera.

But God is saying, look, you give all that up in Jesus.

There is no Jew or Greek.

There is no slave or free, male and female.

All these identifiers that separate us, God says, look, none of that matters anymore,

because now we are all one in Christ Jesus.

So, though we are diverse, we are together.

But we don't ignore the diversity.

We highlight the diversity and say, wow, God has done something special

in bringing all these different people from different backgrounds

who would probably never hang out in any other setting, right?

I know we would all just totally get along if there was no church

and we all just lived around the same area, right?

We'd all be over at each other's houses all the time.

Probably not, right?

We probably wouldn't.

But we all gather together weekly.

Why?

Because we love God.

We have the same God.

We have the same faith.

And so even though we share this common bond,

we recognize that God has equipped us with different, diverse abilities.

how God has uniquely equipped me for life and ministry.

We celebrate that.

If everyone had my giftings from God,

that'd be a weird church, wouldn't it?

We just got a bunch of pastors and everybody wants to preach on Sunday

and everybody wants to visit and study the Bible

and do the sermon preparation and help lead the church, etc.

If everyone was gifted in that way,

well, what good would that church be?

But instead,

so many people in this room have different gifts than the rest of us.

And we thank God for that.

He has uniquely equipped you

and then uniquely equipped me for life and ministry.

And then he gives us responsibilities.

Because of our diverse abilities,

he gives us diverse responsibilities.

So we're not all called to do the same thing.

Because he's equipped us to do different things,

he calls us to different things at different points in our lives.

So when you were 25,

God probably had a different calling for you then

than when you're 65.

Maybe there was a translate that, you know,

that could translate from one stage of life to the other.

But more than likely,

your calling from God has changed as you go through life.

Because he has equipped you differently for different stages of your life.

But each work that God calls you to is a worthy work.

Whether it's singing in the choir,

or rocking the babies in the nursery,

or working in the children's church,

or cooking the meals,

or helping out in the kindness ministries,

we try to show the love of Christ around town,

or praying for those who are in desperate need of prayer throughout each week,

or preaching the sermon,

or leading the music,

or playing the piano,

or whatever it is,

whatever it is,

it is a worthy work.

And God has uniquely called you to that.

So that's what they're teaching us,

Paul is teaching us here in Ephesians.

Would you turn with me over to 1 Corinthians chapter 12?

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

We'll spend just a couple of minutes here.

1 Corinthians chapter 12.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Excuse me.

Beginning in verse 4.

1 Corinthians 12 and verse 4.

Now there are different gifts,

but the same Spirit.

There are different ministries,

but the same Lord.

I want to read this passage to you

because the Bible generally says it a whole lot better than I do.

So you can hear it straight from God.

It's the same principle.

Verse 6.

There are different activities,

but the same God produces each gift in each person.

A manifestation of the Spirit

is given to each person for the common good.

To one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit.

To another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit.

To another, faith by the same Spirit.

To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit.

To another, the performing of miracles.

To another, prophecy.

To another, distinguishing between spirits.

To another, different kinds of tongues.

To another, interpretation of tongues.

One and the same Spirit is active in all these,

distributing to each person as he wills.

Don't get caught up in the listing of gifts here.

Get caught up in the understanding

that God equipses each of us differently.

He gives each of us different gifts.

The gifts of the Spirit are too numerous

to list in this passage.

So this isn't an exhaustive listing

of the gifts of the Spirit,

but what it is,

is a point that Paul is making

to the church in Corinth that says,

each one of you is going to be gifted differently

from the Spirit,

but they're all valuable.

They're all unique.

They're all a worthy work.

So verse 12,

for just as the body is one

and has many parts

and all the parts of that body,

though many are still one body,

so also is Christ.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit

into one body,

whether Jews or Greeks,

slaves or free,

we were all given one Spirit to drink.

Indeed, the body is not one part,

but many.

We know that.

If the foot should say,

because I'm not a hand,

I don't belong to the body,

it's not for that reason

any less a part of the body.

If the ear says,

I'm not an eye,

so I don't belong to the body,

it's not for that reason

any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye,

where would the hearing be?

If the whole body were an ear,

where would the sense of smell be?

But as it is,

God has arranged each one of the parts

in the body just as He wanted.

If they were all the same parts,

where would the whole body be?

So, many parts,

one body.

Verse 21.

One, the eye can't say to the hand,

I don't need you.

The hand can't say to the feet,

I don't need you.

On the contrary,

those parts of the body

that are weaker or smaller,

more fragile,

they're indispensable.

Can't do away with those.

The parts of the body

that we consider less honorable,

we clothe these with greater honor.

Our unrespectable parts

are treated with greater respect,

which our respectable parts don't need.

Instead, God put the body together,

giving greater honor

to the less honorable.

Verse 25.

Watch this.

Ready?

Last one.

So that there would be

no division in the body,

but that the members

would have the same concern

for each other.

Don't miss this.

Don't miss this.

That there would be no division

in the body.

God's design is diversity.

Satan's distraction is division.

God designed differences.

He designed a diverse group

so we would be complete

when we're together.

Satan wants to take God's design

and distort it

into this horrible,

destructive concept

of division.

He wants to divide us.

He wants to take this diversity

and get us worked up about it.

He wants to take this diversity

and sow seeds of strife,

seeds of discord,

and divide this body

that God wants to unite.

Don't let that happen.

The holidays should be a great time.

Christmas should be a great time

to come together as a church,

to unite around our faith in Christ,

around the celebration of Jesus

and His nativity,

on the celebration of Jesus

that He came,

was sent down by the Father

to be our Redeemer,

to save us.

to be the sacrifice

for the penalty

for our sin

that we committed.

He could be our salvation.

So all those years ago,

we celebrate that baby.

We celebrate the gospel story

that you and I are sinners

in need of a Savior.

And Jesus willingly

became that Savior.

That should unite us.

That He hung on the cross.

That He bled and died.

And three days later,

He arose from the grave.

And He is alive today.

And He says,

if you call on Me,

if you put your faith in Me,

and say,

God, forgive me of my sins,

cleanse me,

make me your child,

then He will do that.

And He will save you

from the penalty of your sin.

That should be what unites us.

And my friend,

if you have not done that this morning,

if there's not been a time

in your life

when you've prayed

that prayer to Jesus

for the forgiveness of your sin,

to put all your faith in Him,

turn from your sin,

repent of it,

and turn to Jesus,

then please don't leave this house today

without doing that.

Please don't walk out of this building

without making that

one most important decision.

That is what unites us together.

But man,

Satan wants to get in there

and mess it up.

He wants to say,

yeah, but

what about how he dresses?

What about his job?

He makes more money than you.

What about how he

has this boat

and you always wanted a boat

and how come he got one

before you did?

We can get mad

about the silliest things sometimes.

You know,

there might come a day

in the next several months

of building and grounds

and business meetings

and talking about

maybe doing something

with the carpet

and trying to update that.

You know,

there's a great opportunity

to divide the church.

Well, I think it ought to be this color.

I think it ought to be

this kind of carpet.

And God's sitting here

thinking,

what in the world?

Be thankful you have a building,

right?

And come together

remembering

that gentle

and lowly spirit

that can unite us.

Don't let Satan distract

with division.

And then thirdly,

gospel maturity.

Quickly,

our last point here,

gospel maturity.

Look down at verse 13.

Back in Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4:13

verse 13.

Until we all reach unity

in the faith

and in the knowledge

of God's Son.

So remember,

He equipped us differently.

He calls us to unity.

And then He says,

let's grow in gospel maturity.

Understanding that the gospel of Jesus,

the message that saved you

from your sins,

is not the end of its effectiveness.

The gospel is there

to propel us through this life.

The gospel is there

to help us wake up

and meet each new day.

And the more familiar

we get with the gospel

and the more we apply

the gospel directly

to our days,

we grow in maturity

as a believer.

This doesn't mean

length of being

a follower of Jesus.

There are people

who are

decades long followers of Jesus.

who are still immature

in their understanding

and application

of the gospel.

Coming to church

for a long time,

maybe a Sunday school teacher,

maybe a deacon,

doesn't matter

what role they play

or how long

they've been coming to church,

it matters

how much you've

internalized

the gospel of Jesus

and made it

an actual,

real part

of your life.

So,

gospel maturity

is what we're talking about

back in verse 13.

We reach this unity

and faith

and knowledge

of God's Son

growing into maturity

with a stature

measured by Christ's fullness.

Man,

the fullness of God

is what we measure

ourselves against.

Well,

we're never going to

measure up,

are we?

We're never going to

totally measure up

to the fullness of God.

But my goodness,

God wants to take us

a little bit closer to Him,

a little bit more like Him

every day.

And sometimes

we jump five steps ahead

and sometimes

we'll slide back

a little bit.

But every day

is another step

in that journey

with Jesus

in this maturing process.

So don't get distracted.

Don't get off the path.

So you've got to get back

and keep walking

with the Lord

as He calls us

to maturity.

I love this quote

by Warren Wearsby.

If you find something

written by Warren Wearsby,

take a chance

and read it

because it's probably

pretty good.

Truth without love

is brutality

and love without truth

is hypocrisy.

So becoming mature

as a believer

is learning how to balance

this truth and love.

How do we know that?

Well,

Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

we left off

in verse 13.

So pick it up in 14.

Then we will no longer,

when we grow in maturity,

into this stature

measured by Christfulness,

then we will no longer

be little children.

How many little children

Christians do you know?

I know a few.

We're not pointing fingers,

y'all.

You can raise your hand.

It's okay.

How many little children

Christians do you know?

Anybody know some?

I do.

Absolutely.

I know some little children

Christians.

Doesn't mean they're

little children in age.

It means they haven't

developed into maturity

as a follower of Jesus.

So,

it says,

then we won't be

little children any longer,

tossed around by the waves

and every wind of teaching,

human cunning and cleverness

and techniques of deceit.

Man,

just a reminder,

the devil is out there

trying to mess you up.

He will use whatever it takes.

He'll use the internet.

He'll use other people.

He'll use your own flesh.

He'll use your own mind

against you.

The devil will use

whatever it takes

to mess you up.

There is real spiritual warfare

happening.

And that's why

the Holy Spirit of God

is already the victor.

He's already won.

We can already be

firmly planted

on the winning side

with Jesus.

But,

it takes walking with Him.

It takes growing

past that little children's stage

into maturity.

So,

verse 15.

Here's the big concept

and we'll be done.

Speaking the truth

in love.

This is how

we're not little children

anymore as Christians.

How we grow in maturity.

Speaking the truth

in love.

Let us grow

in every way

into Him

who is the head.

Christ.

Okay?

Speaking the truth

in love.

So,

that's why I like that

Warren Wears.

the quote.

Truth without love

is brutal.

Love without truth

is deceit.

False.

You've got to have

a balance

of truth

and love.

Another way

to put it.

Another,

one of my favorite writers,

John Stott.

Ruth,

truth without love

is too hard.

Love without truth

is too soft.

Maybe just a little

simpler, right?

A little easier

to understand.

Truth without love

is too hard.

Love without truth

is too soft.

What do we mean by that?

Gospel maturity.

So,

back in verse 15.

Listen,

I don't go to the Greek

very much,

but I just graduated

with my master's degree.

So,

in celebration of that,

we're going to bust out

a Greek word this morning,

okay?

Alephuontis.

Alephuontis.

It literally means,

we got that from

Ephesians 4,

Ephesians 4:15

verse 15.

Speaking the truth.

Speaking the truth

literally means

truthing.

I didn't know

that was a thing.

I don't think it is.

But in the Greek,

it was,

okay?

So,

when they wrote this

in the original languages,

Alephuontis,

Alephuontis,

Alephuontis is the root verb.

It means,

to truth.

We don't have a word

like that in English,

right?

Let me,

let me truth you

for a minute.

So,

when you add on this

on test,

it's like the progressive,

you know,

participle at the end here.

It says,

truthing.

So,

truthing

in love.

We do need to

truth with one another.

We need to be truthful.

We need to speak the truth.

But we gotta do it

in love.

So,

do you find yourself

more often

truthing harshly

or truthing lovingly?

There's a question

that you and I

gotta ask ourselves.

When you correct someone,

when you point out

their wrong,

point out their wrongdoing,

point out their failures,

do you truth lovingly

or do you truth

harshly?

When you deal

with your kids,

parents,

do we truth lovingly

or harshly

with our kids?

We've got to be

a people

who are

regularly

truthing

in love.

All right?

John 1, 14,

the word became flesh.

Notice that capitalize

on the capitalization

on the word there.

That's how we know

it's talking about Jesus.

The living word

of God.

The word became flesh

and dwelt among us.

We beheld his glory.

The glory is of the only

begotten of the Father.

Of course,

it's Jesus.

Full of grace

and truth.

Jesus lived

that balance.

He was that balance

of truth

and love.

He wasn't too far

over one way.

And you just tell everybody

it's okay.

God loves you.

Your sin's not a big deal.

Well, that's hypocrisy,

isn't it?

That's deceit.

Sin is a big deal.

It separates us from God.

But he wasn't so far

the other way

into truth

that he spoke it

without any love.

He wasn't saying,

you're all a bunch

of evil, wicked sinners

and you're going to hell

and rightfully so.

And that's the end

of the story.

I've heard preachers

preach like that before.

I don't know what Bible

they're preaching from

because that's not

who Jesus was.

Jesus spoke

the truth

in love.

He was full

of both truth

and grace.

2 John

in verse 3

Grace, mercy

and peace

will be with us

from God

the Father

from Jesus Christ

the Son of the Father

in truth

and love.

This

is what

Christianity

looks like.

The more

that you and I

balance

truth and love

the more

we are like Jesus

and the more

effective

our witness

is.

The more

effective

our church

will be.

The more

effective

our ministry

will be.

The more

we balance

truth

and love.

Usually

Christians

get a bad rap

because we're

out of balance

one way

or another.

Many churches

across church

history

have been guilty

of going

too far

toward love

and away

from truth

or going

too far

toward truth

and away

from love.

But when

we strike

that balance

God

can use it.

God

can bless

it

because that's

who he is.

He is gentle

and lowly

in heart.

So here's

our takeaway

for today.

When we walk

worthy before

God

we apply

the gospel

directly.

You and I

can walk

worthy

of God

by applying

the gospel

directly.

What does that

look like?

How do we

apply the gospel

directly to

our lives?

Maybe for you

it means

putting your

faith in Jesus

for salvation.

Maybe you need

to do that

today.

Maybe you've been

putting off

for a long time

and you need

to do that

before you

walk out

these doors

today.

We'll pray

in a moment

and you'll

have an

opportunity.

I'll give

you one

before we

leave today.

Maybe

it means

you need

to ask

these questions.

One,

am I

gentle

and lowly

in heart?

Am I

gentle

and lowly

in heart?

Or am I

self-absorbed?

Am I

harsh?

How am I

in my

heart?

Out of the

abundance of

the heart

the mouth

speaks.

Number two,

do I embrace

differences in

our church?

Do I embrace

the differences

in our church

or do I

resist it?

Do I buck

against it?

Do I only

go and socialize

with those

who are kind

of like me

and ignore

everybody else

in our church

because I

don't really

like them

all that much?

Do I embrace

the differences

that God

has brought

together

in this

gospel

diversity?

That's how

we apply

the gospel

directly

in our

days,

in our

lives.

And then

finally,

do I

find myself

truthing,

cut off the

end of it

there,

that's my

bad,

do I

find myself

truthing

in love?

Truthing

in love.

I guarantee

you,

this week,

some spouse,

you know,

husband and wife

are going to be

going at it

with each

other,

and then the

wife is going

to say,

or the husband

might say,

sweetie,

you're not

truthing in

love right

now.

And you

know what

the Greek

says,

it says,

we need

the truth

in love.

It's true,

y'all,

we really

do.

We've got

the truth

in love.

The community

around us,

Henrietta,

Clay County,

even the folks

up in Wichita,

okay,

we need to

love them

too.

We need

the truth

in love,

speak the

truth,

but do it

like Jesus

did,

with that

gentle

and lowly

heart,

embracing the

differences

that we're

going to

encounter,

asking God

to exhibit

his spirit

in us

so that people

will see

Jesus,

and we can

walk worthy

of his gospel.

Let's pray

together.

Lord Jesus,

we thank you

so much

for your

gospel.

Man,

it changes

us.

It changes

us from

separated from

you to

united with

you for

all of

eternity.

It changes

us from

sinful to

righteous.

it changes

us from

lost to

found,

from darkness

to light.

And God,

it can keep

doing that

every moment

of every

day.

The more

we revisit

it,

the more

we internalize

it,

the more

we celebrate

gospel unity,

gospel diversity,

and we try

to grow in

gospel maturity.

God,

help us to

give up to

you and say,

I'm going to

stop running

from you,

I'm going to

stop fighting

from you,

I'm going to

stop bucking

against your

Holy Spirit,

I'm going to

say,

God,

work through

me,

change me,

let me walk

worthy of

you by the

Holy Spirit's

power,

and it's in

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Church,

before we

begin our

invitation,

let me ask

you this,

if you'd like

to come

forward and

talk about

becoming a

child of

God for

the first

time,

please meet

me right

down here.

If you'd

like to come

forward and

talk about

joining this

church and

putting your

membership here,

please meet

me right down

here.

If you'd like

to come

forward for

prayer about

anything,

something in

the message

this morning

or something

God's been

working with

you about,

please take a

moment and

meet me right

down here.

Let's pray

together.

Would you

stand and

join Brother

Greg as he

leads us?