Family Reunion Week 2 • Ephesians 4:7-16

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Good morning.

Glad that you guys are with us.

If you've got your Bibles, open up to Ephesians chapter 4, where we are going to continue with

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

this morning.

To remind a couple of things, one, I want to speak specifically to some of the things

that you just saw in that video about Celebrate Recovery, a ministry that we have here at Willow

Ridge Church.

You know, one of the things that was said, and a lot was said in that video, but one of the

things I want to take some time and emphasize this morning is all too often, even though

you and I are found in Christ, we allow the sins, mistakes, regrets, decisions of our past

to define who we are, and not to define who we are in Christ.

And one of the beauties that I love about our Celebrate Recovery ministry that we have here

at Willow Ridge Church is it is a discipleship ministry looking to engage with men, women,

and families to help them realize who they are in Christ and then mobilize them to be used

for His name and for His kingdom.

And so our Celebrate Recovery ministry that meets here on Thursday night, as you're looking

at life, as you're evaluating with where you are, if there was any part of that video that

resonated in your soul, I want to encourage you to give our CR ministry a try.

You can get more information about it at our welcome table after the service.

And I know sometimes it's easy and you kind of hear people from church are supposed to talk

about ministries that are at the church.

And so you're like, well, you're supposed to say all those things about CR.

But I want to kind of explain to you my connection with CR.

CR is a ministry that I've been familiar with for about 15 years now, both at Willow Ridge

and the previous church that it was at.

I've seen men and women and even students at our other church go through the process and

what God used in their life to redeem them, to disciple them, and to use them for His kingdom.

But not only have I seen the impact that it's had in individuals' lives, I've also walked

through that process myself.

Three years ago, the staff and I went through one of the CR step studies, and it was remarkable

in my life to identify those hurts, habits, and hangups that were keeping me from the relationship

with Christ that He desired for me.

And because one time is never good enough, right, we just started back with our staff this past

week going through another CR step study again, and already after week one, seeing tremendous

things of how God is using that, not only in other people's lives, but in my life.

And so if you are here and you are interested in that, please stop by our welcome table, talk

to us after the service.

We would love to talk with you.

I know we've got some of our CR people in here.

If they could be back there as well, they would love to answer any question that you have.

Also tonight, Bowling 4 to 6 o'clock, I want to see everybody out there.

I hope that you can come, have a wonderful time.

We've got the entire Bowling app.

People keep asking me, all right, how much money do I need to bring?

All right, you don't need to bring anything for Bowling.

We've got those wonderful shoes covered for you.

We've got the lanes covered for you.

You've got to leave the shoes.

You can't take them with you, all right?

We've got both of those things covered for you.

You have to bring the money for the amount of food that you're going to eat, all right?

And so if you want to load up on nachos and you want to load up on hot dogs and corn dogs

and all the wonderful things that are there, I'm pretty sure it's all organic, clean eating,

right?

You can dive into that and enjoy that, but would love to see everyone there.

And then kind of lastly, this is selfish maybe for me, but kind of inform you guys on the

journey that I'm on.

As school started back this past week for so many of our teachers and students, and I'm

seeing pictures of college students going off to school and all of those, I want to kind

of update you guys on where I am in school right now.

I finished this past year, or this past summer with my second master's degree, and after

some long, long prayer time and really wrestling with the Lord, I felt that God was calling

me to start my doctoral program.

And so I'll actually start that this week, starting tomorrow, my first class.

They're doing things different for me.

I haven't been in a traditional class setting in a long time, but I'll get to start that this

week for at least for one week, Monday through Friday from 8.30 in the morning to 5.30 in

the evening.

So pray for me, pray for Emma and Grayson, and pray for Aaron and all of her sanity as

I get through this, all right?

We would greatly, greatly appreciate it.

And then hopefully in three years, I will be done with this one.

And then, as I have promised my wife, my kids, and myself, no more school, right?

No more school.

I want to continue to learn, but no more school.

Well, let's pray as we get started.

Lord, I thank you so much for this opportunity that we could have to be here this morning,

Lord, to open your word.

Lord, I'm so grateful for all of the visitors that we have here with us today.

Lord, we are just reminded of the blessings that you give us, Lord, as we sit here right

now and as we hear the rain that is hitting the roof of our building.

We're reminded that we are dry and comfortable on the inside, Lord, but we are also reminded

of those so many who do not experience that same thing today.

So, Lord, we continue to pray that you'd be with our brothers and sisters in Haiti and

all that is going on and taking place there, Lord, from all of the unrest to the natural

disasters, Lord.

We pray that you would work in a powerful way in that country, Lord.

Pray that you would continue to work through Disciples Village and all who were there and

who were ministering and caring for those people.

Lord, we also, we can't go farther without thinking about our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan.

Lord, we pray for them this morning.

We pray for their strength to continue to meet.

We pray for their boldness to continue to share.

Lord, and we just ask you and we beg of you to put a protection around them, Lord, to keep

them safe.

Lord, we're reminded of the vast lostness that invades that country and invades so many places

all over the world.

Lord, we're reminded that those who live and function and gain power through means and acts

of terror, that diplomacy is not what they need.

That as great as democracy is for us to experience, that that's not what's going to change them.

Lord, and what we pray for and what we ask is for their hearts to be changed through a saving

relationship with Jesus Christ.

And so, Lord, we pray for revival to take place in that country.

We pray for salvation to be found for your name and for your glory.

Lord, it is what you did in the life of Paul and what you did in the life of us, could you do in

the people all over this world, Lord, who don't know you.

Lord, may those who share continue to find the boldness to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ,

regardless of what circumstances they face.

And Lord, we know that our reward is not here, but our reward is you.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So just a moment, we're going to start reading in verse 7.

But before we get there, I want to kind of recap as we're talking about family reunion,

our vision and mission of who we are as a church.

Our vision, this is who we are.

We are one family, one ministry, one calling, built around the concept of one, the unity within

the body of Christ, that we are one in him, that there's the sense of equality, there's

equality in mission, there's equality in purpose, there's the unity within the body, that this

is who we are as Willow Ridge Church.

But not only that, but our mission, what we do, what we're about, what we want you to

experience and be a part, what we want all of us, is engaging, equipping, and sending people

to make known the truth of the gospel.

We're not a social club.

We're not here as a babysitting service.

We're not here to entertain.

What we are here to do is to engage with one another through relationships, to equip one

another through discipleship, and then to mobilize each and every one of us that you and I know

and that we understand that we are sent to make disciples.

So wherever you live, wherever you work, wherever you play, that is the purpose of your life,

that we are sending you and I to make known the truth of the gospel.

And so last week when we began in Ephesians 4, what we're doing over these weeks in this

series is looking at this chapter and understanding the oneness in Christ, the unity that's there,

and that's who he has called us to be.

So last week, kind of a real quick 30-second recap, last week we talked about the fact that

all of us as Christians are called to live a life that is reflective of the saving relationship

that we have in Jesus Christ.

So Paul says, walk in a manner worthy.

So let that be who you are.

Let that be what you do.

Let that be the words that come from your mouth.

Walk in a manner worthy.

We're not earning our salvation, but reflective of that.

And here's where the tension comes at the church at Ephesus,

and the tension comes at every church since then,

is that you and I, we don't get to do this independently.

So God doesn't save us, pull us, isolate us, put us on an island, and say,

all right, buddy, it's you and me for the rest of the time.

That's not how he rolls.

That's not what he does.

That's not what we're called to.

Instead, he says, no, no, no.

Here's what's going to happen.

You're going to do this collectively.

You're going to do this as a body together.

And so what we see in the Old Testament, it's God's people in Israel.

And what we see in the New Testament, it's the church.

And that's where we find ourselves, that you and I, a relationship with Jesus,

is not you and him.

We've got to be careful when we talk about personal relationship with Christ

doesn't mean me and him, and I don't need you, and I'm good.

What it means is that I have a relationship with Jesus that is centered on him,

but that you and I live in biblical community.

I hear a phrase oftentimes, and I love this phrase,

but I want to dive into it a little bit, that says that we are better together.

And that is true.

As the body of Christ, we are, and we're intended to be together,

but only when the body is living for the glory of God and the growth of one another.

And that's what we do.

It's the vertical and horizontal relationships that we have here,

that I and you, we are living for the glory of God.

So everything that I do, everything that I say, everything that I think,

everything that I am, it is for the glory of God.

It's why God saves us.

It's why God calls us.

It's why God sends us for his glory.

But then we work together for the growth of one another.

And that's what we're going to dive into today.

Because we are some messy, messy people.

All of us, me included, probably more so than any of you, right?

So let's look at this, starting in verse 7.

Paul says,

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

Therefore, it says,

When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.

In saying he ascended, what does it mean that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth?

He who descended is one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

Verse 11,

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers,

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body,

until we all attain to the unity of the faith 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 and 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 which it is equipped.

When each part is working properly, makes the body grow, that it builds itself up in love.

So there's four things that I want us to kind of draw from this about who you and I are in the unity of the body,

who we are in Christ, and who we are in the body of Christ.

And number one, this is going to be our encouraging piece of where we're at, all right?

Number one, you are gifted in Christ.

Every single one of you.

If you are saved, you are gifted in Christ.

All right, so let's look back, verse 7 through 10.

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

Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.

In saying he ascended, what does it mean?

But that he also descended into lower regions the earth.

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

All right, so it's what Christ, who he is, and then what he has done.

And what he has done for each and every one of us.

Now, when you look back at verse 7, jump back to that real quick.

I want to give some clarity about what verse 7 is talking about.

Verse 7 says, but grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

And so here, when we hear grace, what you and I think of is the grace of God that saves us.

That grace is given to us while we were sinners.

Grace that we did not deserve.

We deserve punishment, we deserve wrath, but instead what we get is salvation and forgiveness in God through Christ alone.

And when we hear grace and we think of that, most of the time, you and I are absolutely correct.

The problem is that's not what Paul is talking about in that grace.

And so I want to explain what Paul is talking about.

You know, sometimes even in the English language that we have a word that is spelled the same, it looks the same, but means different things.

Right?

Like, I'm a sports guy, and so I'll use this illustration.

When I'm talking about sports and I say, you know, when I was growing up, I played, I was a pitcher.

And you hear that, and even if you don't know baseball, no one thinks that I was a vessel that held water that got poured out.

Right?

You hear the word pitcher and you know what that means.

You are the guy that stood on the mound, that grabbed the baseball and threw it at the catcher and tried to get it by the batter.

But when we look at the word pitcher, for us in the English language, it means different things.

A pitcher that you can pour into your glass to drink from, or a pitcher in baseball.

Well, grace here is kind of the same thing.

What theologians refer to is that there is saving grace and there's equipping grace.

And the equipping grace is what Paul is talking about here.

Because he goes on to say that each one of us, according to the measure of Christ's gift.

So here's what this means, that you and I are gifted.

That we're all gifted.

But then the beauty, and we're going to see this in our diversity here in a little bit, that we are gifted differently.

And we are gifted by measure as Christ deems fit.

So that all of us in the body of Christ, we all have a gift.

The beauty of it is all of those gifts are different.

And then even within that, it's not that you and I had to work and earn and try to figure it out.

It's that God in his sovereignty, God in his power, God in his plan says,

I'm going to give, Frank, I'm going to give you this gift.

And this is who you're going to be in your gift.

And then Alan, I'm going to give you this gift.

And that's who you're going to be in this gift.

And Kareem, I'm going to give you this gift.

And this is who you're going to be.

Because I'm God and I'm sovereign and this is what I do.

And so your giftedness is not even found in you.

It's not found in me.

But it's found in him.

And this is what he does.

And so the application of this, when we begin to think about it, is this.

You and I in the body of Christ are not accidents.

We're purposed.

We're appointed.

We're chosen.

We're given in God's grace through the grace gifts that he gives us to then function and live in the body.

So that all and I have a purpose.

We find our value within the context of the body.

And God's looking to use every single one of us.

And so within this, what we know is that when the body is functioning healthy, that you and I, if you are found in Christ, you've got to be a contributor.

You've got to be a contributor to the body.

This is what God gifted you to be.

This is what he called you in Christ to be.

This is what he's done for you.

This is why he's placed you here.

And this is why it's so important that we all can kind of begin to understand the body that we're connected to.

I read a statistic this week.

Just kind of heard it in passing.

And they were polling my generation.

My generation, all right?

So I believe it was like 30 to 45.

I'm 42.

Kind of getting to the other end of that, right?

And it was, they were polling my generation, and they asked him this question.

They said, how many churches do you belong to?

And over 75%, 75% of them began to say multiple churches that they felt that they were a part of in different bodies.

And then within there, what are you contributing to that body?

And of that 75%, it was almost 0% of them, right?

But so for us, what we find of who we are, we feel called to the body.

God places us there, and then we contribute into that body.

Because we have been gifted in Christ.

But then the next thing I want us to see in this is that we're still a work in progress, right?

You and I, we are a work in progress.

Verse 11, 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.

So verse 11, what Paul does is he comes in and says this.

Now, we just read a bunch of titles.

Some of those titles were known to the church then and not known to the church today.

Some of them overlap and continue to be consistent.

And some of those, we've brought in other titles in the church as well.

But what I want you to get is not hung up on the titles, all right?

But to think through what Paul is establishing are the different layers and responsibilities

of the leadership of the church.

So he says, look, verse 11, here's the leaders, and then verse 12, here's what they're to do.

To equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

And so I, the leadership, who we are, we are called to equip the body for the ministry of the work.

Now, this word equip is fascinating, right?

And I'm so sorry if you're not a word person.

We got a lot of word things that we're going to kind of work through today.

This word equip carries with it three things.

Number one, this word equip means that you need to fix what is broken.

Fix what is broken.

It carries with it to supply what is needed.

And then lastly, to prepare for what needs to be done in the future.

So when Paul comes in and he says that the leadership of the church is called to equip the saints,

there's a process that the leadership that all of us are supposed to be going through in this,

so that you and I understand that we aren't perfect, we haven't arrived, but we're in a process,

that we are all gifted in Christ, but there's still some work that needs to be done.

I read a guy this week who used this illustration, and I loved it.

He used the illustration of equipping the body of Christ for the work of ministry by talking about a bone that had been broken.

And he said he gave this illustration, when a bone is severely broken, number one, the bone must be set.

And when we look at this in the body of Christ, what we see is that sin broke us,

we are found new and restored in Christ, but we're still walking through that brokenness.

We're still walking through that pain.

We're still walking through that journey.

And so what we take is broken, and we set it, and we get it back in place.

But if you've ever had a bone that needs to be set, you know it doesn't get set, and then you walk right out, right?

There's still a process that needs to happen.

That once the bone is set, the bone must be supported with a cast.

That it needs to be supplied what is lacking.

The structure and the support around it, so that the bone that is now supported,

the bone that has been set back in place, can now grow and can now heal.

And if you've ever broken a bone and had a cast,

I remember when I was in fourth grade, fifth grade, somewhere after my fifth grade year, I broke my wrist.

And I thought it was so cool.

I was going to get a cast.

And I went down, and I got a cast.

And this was before, like, you got, like, different color cast, right?

And this was before you got the cast that could somewhat get wet.

This is where you got that, like, white cast that was white for about three minutes.

And then it just started to turn brown and smell like Funyuns, right?

Like, y'all remember that, what I'm talking about, right?

And that's what I got.

And for, like, the first day, I was like, this is the coolest thing ever.

Like, school was, like, the last week of school, and everybody was, like, writing their names.

And some people write some other stuff on them.

You got to scratch it out, right?

And that's what you're doing with your cast.

And then after, like, a couple of days, you're like, when do I get this thing off?

When my arm's starting to itch, I'm ready to move my hand again.

When can I get this thing off?

And so for us, when we think about this, not only does the bone need to be set to be put back in place,

not only does the bone need to be supported with a cast so that it can grow and it can heal,

but the bone must be released so that it can do what it was created and was called to do.

And so that for those of us in leadership, for those of us in leadership of the church,

for all of us, the process that we go through in equipping is to fix what was broken,

supply what is lacking, and then release to do and to serve in the way that God has called us to do.

And this is my job.

And this is our job as the leaders of the church.

Regardless of what our title is,

regardless of what we think we're here to do,

Paul says, no, no, no, let's look at this.

Verse 11, pastors, teachers, leaders, this is what you're to do,

to equip the saints, to minister to the body, to do the ministry, right?

So here's the thing.

As we talk about the fullness of what you should come here and do,

you should contribute, yes,

but there's a peace also of you that you should just consume,

that you need to come and be poured into,

that you need to come and have others invest in,

that you need to come and have people speak difficult things into your life

of where you are and what you're going through,

that you need to have a point in time,

you need to have built-in areas of your life

where you recognize that you're a dried-up sponge

that needs to have someone pouring into,

and so we consume as well.

And the problem so oftentimes where the church gets out of balance

is we've got the people who consume

and the people who contribute,

and they're two different groups.

And what Scripture points us to,

what Paul points to the healthiness in the body is this.

It's when you consume,

it's when you're equipped,

it's when others are pouring into you,

and then as a result of being poured into you,

you pour into others.

And so we're the vessel that keeps getting poured and poured and poured,

so then it pours out.

And when this happens, Paul says,

when this happens,

this is when the building up of the body exists.

And church, I've been, we've seen, we've experienced,

when the body of Christ is the strongest,

when the body of Christ is the most effective,

when the body of Christ is seeing men, women, and children's lives

transformed by the sake of the gospel,

it's not because one person standing in the group of masses

says, I'm going to do it all.

It's when the body, through their giftedness of who God has called them to be,

joins arms, joins hands, and says,

no, we're marching toward this together in unity,

leaning in and pressing on to one another

for the glory of God,

for the betterment of each other,

and the building up is what begins to take place.

And then Paul begins to describe

when this is what the body does,

when you and I realize that we're gifted,

when you and I realize that we're a work in progress

with things that we still need to pursue

and look at and do to have others pour into us.

And this is when we begin to see

the unity start to form and take place.

And so what we're going to see,

the third thing we're going to talk about this morning

is diversity that matures into unity.

Diversity that matures into unity.

Look at verse 13 and 14.

This goes on, Paul says,

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 and deceitful schemes.

So what Paul says is that our measure,

right, like what we're comparing ourselves to,

the standard that we look at, right,

isn't a pastor, not a small group leader,

not a ministry leader,

not some TV celebrity, right, preacher celebrity,

but what we're setting our standard to

of what we want to become,

of what we want to look like is Christ.

So he's where we press to.

But within this, we're aiming in a goal

amongst each other,

which is unity of faith and unity of knowledge.

Now, the beautiful aspect of the church,

one of the things that I absolutely love

about our church and other churches

God's given me the opportunity to be a part of,

what I love the most about going on mission trips

and being a part of

is seeing the diversity of the body of Christ.

I tell people all the time,

if you've never been on a mission trip,

overseas mission trip,

if you've never been on an overseas mission trip,

go on one, if nothing else,

than for the opportunity to worship

with a group of people who don't look like you,

don't act like you,

who come from a different culture than you.

And to take and to go and to experience that

and everything that that's a part of,

to go and let that be who you are

and you begin to experience the diversity.

But also, diversity can create complications within there.

And I'm not talking about one area of diversity.

I'm looking out at this crowd

and I don't know how many different individuals we have,

but the biggest difficulty to the unity of the body

is not found in the difference between cultures

or races or language or socioeconomic.

It's found individually between us, right?

I'd like to say that in everything that my wife and I do,

there's full unity, right?

We're always on the same page.

We never have disagreements.

I never say things that I have to say I'm sorry for, right?

You know that's not true, right?

Because you know me and you know Aaron, right?

You know who we are.

The conflict in our marriage is the individuality

that exists between me and her.

That I want to do what I want to do

and she wants to do what she wants to do

and that's where the conflict comes.

And there's great diversity in that.

There's a beauty that she brings,

but we have to work through that.

And Paul says that as we work through

our own individual experiences,

as we grow and mature in Christ,

what we can find is the unity of faith

and the unity of knowledge.

But the body is filled with individuals

with different paths, different perspectives,

different insights

that has been and shaped their individual experience.

Let me give you an example of this.

If you ask me to think about the fondest days

that I had in school growing up,

kindergarten through college,

the best time that I can think of

was the three years that was middle school.

I loved middle school.

Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade

were absolutely the best three years

of my school experience.

Now, if you ask my mom,

it was the most painful three years

of my school experience, right?

But for me, I absolutely loved every minute of it.

I had a great group of friends.

I had a great group of teachers.

I thrived in my activities

and the things that I was a part of.

I absolutely loved middle school.

So for all the middle school teachers

who are out there,

when you talk to me,

like I'm gonna encourage you

because I absolutely loved

my middle school experience.

But sit down and talk with someone

whose middle school experience

was different.

Because as much as I thrived in mine,

as much as I loved my peer group,

as much as my activities were built

and wired for me

and my teachers were wonderful,

there's another group of people

that walked into the sixth grade

and for the next three years,

it was the worst experience of their life.

Their teachers and them didn't line up.

Their activities,

they couldn't find themselves

and hit their groove.

And because I know

that that middle schoolers,

just like the rest of us, right?

Like they're not different.

They're a picture of who we are.

Can be harsh sometimes.

And so there's bullying.

There's talking down

and all these things

that begin to happen.

But you take two different people

who went to the exact same place,

but walked away

with two different experiences.

And here's where I'm getting to with this.

If we're not careful

when we talk about

the unity of faith

and the unity of knowledge

of what Paul's pointing us to,

if we're not careful,

you and I can allow

our personal experiences,

we can allow the things

that we've experienced

and seen and tasted in life

to influence

how we see,

understand,

believe,

and apply the truth

of God's word.

Right?

But biblical truth

is truth regardless

of my experience

or yours.

And that's what we have to come to.

That's what Paul's pointing to.

All right?

Let me give you

a couple examples

about how your experiences

can influence

the biblical truth

that God has pointed us to

and called us to.

The first one,

forgiveness.

Have you ever forgiven someone

in your life?

Have you ever forgiven someone?

I hope so.

Absolutely, yes.

Right?

We've all forgiven people.

Have you ever forgiven someone,

though,

for them to turn around

and do the exact same thing

to you again?

And then to turn around

and do the exact same thing

to you again?

And you keep forgiving them

and forgiving them

and forgiving them

and then one day

you hit the point

where I'm done.

I'm going to replace

my forgiveness

with bitterness

and we're going to roll with that.

How about that?

And that's where we are.

And so our experience then

of forgiveness

is one that's associated

with hurt

and with pain.

And so then we come into church

and we hear about

God's forgiveness.

We hear how God calls us

to forgive others

and we go,

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,

God,

I don't know that I can do that

because I need to apply

my experience

to your truth.

And so what happens

within there

sinfully within us

because we've been hurt

in forgiveness,

right?

We can't forgive others

the way Jesus has called us to,

which is sacrificially,

which is painfully,

which is over and over again,

right?

So it affects the relationship

of the way God's called us

to forgive others,

but it's also

in a relationship with Him

creates so much conflict.

One of the things

that I sit down

and I talk with the most people about

as they struggle

with their faith

is this,

that people who struggle

with the reality

that God would forgive them

over and over

and over again,

right?

Because they've been hurt.

And I hear statements

so many times,

like as many times

as I've hurt God,

I cannot believe

that God would forgive me

and that God would find value.

So see,

we allow our individual experience

to pull us away

from God's truth.

The second thing

I want to talk about

is grace,

and I do want to talk

about saving grace

on this one.

One of the things

that so many of us,

if not all of us,

were brought into

with a mindset is this,

if you want something,

go and earn it.

If you're down,

don't wait on anybody else.

Pull yourself back up.

Work harder than anyone else.

Don't take what was handed to you.

Go out and get yours.

Be a contributing member

of society.

Make sure that you're pressing too.

Go get what you earn.

Go get what you deserve.

But then God looks at us

and says,

nope, grace.

Grace.

And what we do within that

is we go,

whoa, whoa, whoa.

But wait a minute.

There is these areas

that I've got to earn it though.

Right?

There's these areas

that I've got to achieve this,

that I've got to work through this.

Right?

Because I've been ingrained

with that my entire life.

We take an American work ethic

and we impose it

on a biblical Christianity

in the context of grace.

And it doesn't fit.

Because we don't get

what we deserve.

We don't get what we've earned.

Instead, God gives us his grace.

And then he says this,

you haven't earned the grace,

but you respond to it.

You respond to God's grace.

And so go.

So go.

And so what Paul is saying

to his church,

and this is the church at Ephesus,

and this is so important for us,

is as we go through,

as we live in the midst

of our diversity,

of our different experiences,

of our different past,

that we continue

to build one another up

so that we gain utmost

of all things,

the unity of faith

and the unity of knowledge,

of trusting and leaning in

of God's word.

And that this is what it says,

and so this is what I hold to,

and this is what I cling to.

And so as we move

to our last point,

I want to say this,

all right?

So the Bible is no longer

this is what it means to me.

But the Bible is now

this is what it means.

And I seek to strive

to understand.

I seek to strive to obey.

Right?

We can take the truth

and we can apply it,

but we fight for

the understanding

of the meaning,

the unity of faith,

the unity of knowledge.

And then the last thing,

the point that you and I

oftentimes as Christians

like to take and manipulate

is truth and love.

Read Ephesians 4,

15 through 16.

Paul says,

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,

it makes the body grow

so that it builds

itself up in love.

So if you and I

are going to function

and you and I

are going to live this way,

you and I are going to be

the body of Christ.

And he gives us

the imagery

and the picture

of a body, right?

That the hand

is there for a point

and for a purpose

and then it's used

in a way

to encourage

and to strengthen

and to build the arm

and the leg

and the heart

and the lungs

and the ears

and the eyes

and that every part

of the body

serves a purpose

and it's all held together

and that this grows

and it matures

and it strengthens

as we pour into one another

and then it's done

in these three words

that Paul says

and we're going to talk

about what this means

really quickly.

He says this happens

through speaking truth

and love.

Through speaking truth

and love.

What does that mean?

What does that mean?

When someone says

I'm going to have a conversation

I've got a difficult conversation

I need to speak some truth

and love to someone.

I've said that.

I've had somebody

sit across the table

from me

and say

hey but you know

what I need to do?

I need to graciously

and kindly

speak some truth

to you in love.

What does that mean?

For a long time

I've defined this incorrectly.

I've defined this

in my life incorrectly

and I think most of us

as Christians

define this

and apply this incorrectly

and so here's

the incorrect definition

that we so often times see.

Hard facts with grace.

Hard facts

as we see them

with grace.

An incorrect way.

Now I'm not saying

it's not beneficial

sometimes.

Right?

I'm going to give you

an example of one

in just a second

with myself

as the object

of the humiliation.

Right?

But

this isn't what Paul's

talking about.

It's not hard facts

with grace.

It's not what he's

pointing us to.

Hard facts with grace

means this.

A few years ago

I've got someone

that's very close

in my life

that hammers me home

with truth.

Sees areas of my life

that I either see

and choose to ignore

or that I don't see.

Most of the times

I'll be honest with you

I see him

and I ignore him.

Right?

And sat down with me

and this individual

looked at me

and said

I mean you know

I love you.

Right?

And anytime anyone

says that to you

right?

What's about to happen

is going to hurt.

Right?

No one says

you know I love you.

Right?

Here's the keys

to a new truck.

That doesn't happen.

Right?

Says you know

I love you.

Right?

And I said yeah.

Kind of hold on

for the moment

and said

you're getting

kind of big.

Y'all can laugh at me

right?

I'm good with it.

Right?

You're getting

kind of big.

You know

I see kind of

your eating plan

and all those things

that you need to do

and you see all the things

that need to take place

in your life

and I just

man I love you

I care about you

and I need to speak

into that

and I want to be honest

with you

it was a game changer

for me.

And so many times

though as Christians

we take this

and we say

this is what this means

and then we cap it.

That's it.

It's speaking hard facts

about what I've observed

I've experienced

now I want to say

there's benefits from that

as I started exercising

and eating a little bit differently

right?

If McDonald's

would shut down

I'd probably be 175

right now

okay?

But I'm not

because those golden arches

just call me to it

alright?

Alright?

But I needed it

and it was good for me

but that's not

what this passage

is talking about

but that's what you

you and I

only live at

often times.

I'm going to speak

some hard facts

with grace

I love you

but

so here's what

truth and love

means

biblical truth

from love

I'm going to speak

not my truth

I'm going to speak

not my experience

I'm going to speak

maybe

not even my opinion

but I'm going to speak

God's truth

into your life

and it's going

to hurt you

but I love you

but even more importantly

I love him

so that's where

it's coming from

because I love him

this is where

this lies

and just earlier

Paul said that

Jesus is our example

in all this

of maturity

so let's look at a time

where Jesus did this

in Mark 10

starting in verse 17

it says

and he was setting out

on his journey

a man ran up

and knelt before him

and asked him

good teacher

what must I do

to inherit eternal life

so this is Jesus

and we see

what we know

as the rich young ruler

comes running up to him

and I love his question

it's a good question

it's a great question

teacher

what must I do

to inherit eternal life

he doesn't say

what must I do

to earn

what must I do

to obtain

he says

what must I do

to inherit

I need this

given to me

it's not of me

it's not from me

Jesus

how do I get

this eternal life

how do I inherit it

and Jesus said to him

why do you call me good

no one is good

except God alone

by the way

Jesus is saying

right here

in this moment

I'm God

if you call me good

and you know

that only God alone

is good

then you know

you're talking about

that you're talking to God

and he doesn't argue with him

you know the commandments

do not murder

do not commit adultery

do not steal

do not bear false witness

do not defraud

honor your father and mother

and he

the rich young ruler

said to him

teacher

all these

I have kept

from my youth

now

here's where the friction's

gonna come

I've done it all

I've earned it

this is what I deserve now

and then verse 21

I love these first words

and Jesus

looking at him

loved him

let's pause right there

for a second

Jesus didn't say

or didn't

within his heart

and Jesus

looking at him

thought

what a prideful individual

Jesus didn't look at him

and say

what an idiot

Jesus

looking at him

loved him

he didn't rebuke him

he loved him

and he said to him

you lack one thing

one thing

go and sell

all that you have

and give to the poor

and you will have

treasure in heaven

come

and follow

me

just like it's about

who you are

there's gotta be

some surrender

there's gotta be

a breaking

of the old

and Jesus

looking at him

in love

speaks the truth

to him

the truth

did Jesus speak

Jesus didn't speak

the truth

of the custom

Jesus didn't speak

the truth

of the culture

Jesus spoke

the truth

of God's word

into the individual

that needed

to hear it

and it says

verse 22

disheartened

by the saying

he went away

sorrowful

for he had

great possessions

church

I'm gonna close

on this

truth in love

is not your

or my perspective

truth in love

is not your

or my experience

it's not our opinion

truth in love

is the truth

is the truth

of God's word

spoken from a life

that seeks

God's glory

and your good

and my good

and that's what it looks like

and that's what it is

you know

as we go

and as we interact

and as we live

with one another

I'm not saying

that we don't learn

from each other's experience

we do

but our experience

is not the authority

of our life

God is

your truth

is not the truth

of this world

my truth

is not the truth

of this world

God's truth

is the truth

of this world

if I have to hear

one more person

who claims

to be Christian

that says

the only thing

that matters

is your truth

I'm gonna vomit

because my truth

is limited

to me

but God's truth

overcomes it all

let's pray

God I thank you so much

Lord for who you are

and for what you've done

Lord I thank you

for the grace

that you've given us

Lord I thank you

for the hope

that we have

in you

and in you alone

Lord I pray

that as we

go from here

Lord that as we

seek to glorify you

Lord that as we

seek to surrender

our life

to all that you are

and all that you've

called us to be

Lord would it be done

for your name

and for your renown

Lord I pray for unity

amongst the body

unity that

Lord that brings us

together

and that builds us

Lord may what

the truth that we speak

from not be from

only our experience

but may it be from

our experience

found in you

may it be from

your truth

of who you are

of who you've

called us to be

of what you've

laid out before us

Lord and in that

we pursue for the

hope

of all that

you are

and all that

you have for us

church just a moment

every head bowed

every eye closed

we're going to

respond to him

through worship

may we respond

in the beautiful

knowledge and faith

of Christ

Jesus we thank you

we love you

we praise you

thanks again for

listening to the

Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast

we hope that you

enjoyed listening to

this week's message

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