Wednesday, February 5, 2020
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20
You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. Acts 20:20
A couple of weeks ago, we had a
guest speaker at our Mission Banquet, Jason Talent. People are hungry and thirsty for something to
make their lives different – better.
Continually searching for that in what the world offers leads to a dead
end every time. Jason said that there will only be two things that remain in
this life, the kingdom of God and the souls of people. We need to spend our
lives working for something greater than ourselves. This week we will look at
five things Jason gave us that we can do to make a difference.
Make a Difference – Speak the Truth Boldly
Once we build relationships with people, we will have the opportunity to speak truth into their lives and that means speaking the truth about sin boldly. The truth about sin is that most of it is fun and we turn to sinful behavior a lot of times looking for something to make us feel better, or to help us forget all that is weighing us down. Indulging in sinful behavior may make us feel happier - until we feel the consequences. No matter the reason we are involved in sinful behavior, we definitely don’t want anyone telling us we are doing wrong when we already know we are doing wrong, but that is when we need to hear the truth spoken in love. Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32 Others need to know what we know – that there is freedom in the truth of Jesus. It is our job to let them know that and to help them find their way to Him. Those who already know that sometimes need the reminder from a true friend, but this should be done very prayerfully and carefully.
Once we build relationships with people, we will have the opportunity to speak truth into their lives and that means speaking the truth about sin boldly. The truth about sin is that most of it is fun and we turn to sinful behavior a lot of times looking for something to make us feel better, or to help us forget all that is weighing us down. Indulging in sinful behavior may make us feel happier - until we feel the consequences. No matter the reason we are involved in sinful behavior, we definitely don’t want anyone telling us we are doing wrong when we already know we are doing wrong, but that is when we need to hear the truth spoken in love. Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:32 Others need to know what we know – that there is freedom in the truth of Jesus. It is our job to let them know that and to help them find their way to Him. Those who already know that sometimes need the reminder from a true friend, but this should be done very prayerfully and carefully.
Speaking
the truth too boldly can turn people
away. You can speak the truth boldly but in love. Speaking the truth doesn’t have to be “beating
someone over the head with the Bible.”
We need to tell people the truth, but we need to do it in a way that
shows we really care about them. When we
say the right thing the wrong way, it sounds like the wrong thing. Speaking truth boldly has way more to do
with what we say rather than how we say it.
Boldly really means honestly. Building
relationships with people is key to building their trust and their willingness
to listen to what you say. But we can’t
be afraid to hurt their feelings by not being honest with them about what God’s
word says. Too many people in the world
today, including Christians, want to sugar coat the gospel, but that only leads
people further away from Christ. Speak
the truth because without the truth, they cannot know the difference. Without the truth, they cannot be free.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36