Walk in grace Part 6

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.

When the church is functioning according to God's design, she is beautiful. So what does it look like when a church body is walking together in grace? In Rich's message titled, Walk in Grace Part 2, we will look at five marks of a healthy church. We are listening to the third and final part of this sermon, first preached at Grace Bible Church on October 1st, 2017. The third mark of a healthy church walking in grace is spiritual discernment. Number four, look at verse 15 with me. Rather speaking truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head into Christ. Speaking truth in love, that's the fourth one.

The fourth mark of a healthy church walking in grace, because it produces the growing up of the church. Speaking truth, when we speak truth in love, it assumes that we are at least speaking truth. It's not about speaking my opinions, it's about speaking truth, and that truth is the revealed word of God. And speaking truth in love means we are able to speak to the benefit of another in genuine care. Able to speak to the benefit of another in genuine care.

And what is that benefit? To grow up in every way in Christ, to grow up. Part of following Jesus is helping others follow Jesus. So we need to compassionately and graciously plant seeds of truth. And we need to understand some of this illustration that I gave, you know, to the early service this morning. A lot of people misunderstand church this way, and they misunderstand church leadership.

I was having a conversation with Cory yesterday. He was reading his grandfather's book, The Weeping Church, and talk about how churches can self-destruct sometimes. Well, we need to understand some of this idea of speaking truth in love is a mark of a healthy church walking in grace.

In other words, we don't speak to appease people, we speak truth in love. Something to understand here is that this church is not about, the church is not about customer service. You are not customers. And I am not practicing customer service.

To some of you, that might be a revelation right now. That ain't what this is. What are we? We're a family. My kids don't come to me and expect customer service from dad.

They better not. I mean, I'm happy to make them breakfast in the morning, but, you know, they gotta do their own dishes. This is not about customer service, and we have to speak truth in love. And part of following Jesus is helping others follow Jesus. Sometimes that requires speaking truth that might have a little bit of a sting to it.

We're not looking to appease. We want to help others follow Jesus. And following Jesus looks a particular way. It's what we're studying here this morning.

It looks a particular way. And so we need to speak truth, and again, not my opinions, not your opinions, and whether you're speaking truth in here or outside these walls in the marketplace or at home. We're speaking truth, not our opinions, but we speak truth into the lives of others winsomely. Winsomely.

In other words, not as a project. Don't make this false dichotomy in your life that you have a secular life and a spiritual life. The New Testament does not recognize that, and neither does the Spirit of God. You are in Christ. You are, therefore, a minister.

Say it with me. I am a minister. I am a minister. If you are in Christ, that is true of you. So you're in the marketplace, and you see a particular person.

They ask a question, or you see a particular circumstance. You say, behold, a ministry opportunity. So you go into ministry mode, right? And that's why I am wearing this coat, because I am ministering this morning, right? That's why I'm wearing this.

Not. So you encounter this, and you say, ah, behold, you go into ministry mode. I am now a minister. I am now a minister.

Yay, invariably. And then when you're done ministering, you go back to your secular mode. You know what that is? That's being double-minded. That's living two lives. You know what it is to live two lives? There's a word for that. Hypocrisy.

Ouch. Speak truth in love. Speak life into someone else's life. Speak truth into someone else's life winsomely. What do I mean by winsomely?

Don't make it a project. It's not about making somebody else your project, but God and His love become a normal part of your conversation. That's what I mean. Speak truth in love. That is a mark of a healthy church walking in grace. That's why so many people are so afraid of ministering and afraid of being a witness because they feel like they have to go into ministry mode.

God, rescue us from that. Are you walking in the Spirit? Are you living in the Spirit? Are you walking in the love of God?

Then let God and His love be a normal part of your conversation. And it's a beautiful thing. The fifth mark of a healthy church walking in grace we find in verse 16. From whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly.

Do you get that? When each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. And that's God's purpose. He is growing His church.

The Lord is growing His church. What is my part in that? That I am doing my part properly. Christian, if you are a Christian, you are in the body of Christ. You have a part.

Are you doing it properly? That is the mark of a healthy church walking in grace. And so it comes down to this. Each member contributing to love and growth. Each member contributing to love and growth.

Each part working properly. Why? Because as it says in verse 7, Christ has given grace. To whom? Each one of us.

No exceptions. Every Christian. You have received the grace of Christ so that you can employ the outflow of your faith to invest in others through their God-ward movement. That's a healthy church walking in grace. You know the Gospel, the message of grace is just a profoundly beautiful thing. And so many of you have expressed such a deep appreciation for you. Some of you have come from some very rigid performance-oriented systems. And yet at the same time, we go out and people say, Grace Bible Church is the best kept secret in the triad.

I'm like, it shouldn't be a secret. What do you love about the message of grace? Then invite others who you know need to hear the message of grace.

Because there's a lot of people out there living under the drudgery of religious regulation. Let God free them in the grace of the Gospel of Christ. Invite them in.

Invite them to your care group. The whole body doing that every day, worshiping. And worship is participatory. It's not a spectator thing. That's where churches are getting it wrong today.

You put the professionals up on stage and you sit back and you watch them do their thing. It's not us. It's not the church. Worship is participatory.

It's not about being a spectator. We come together. You engage the truth.

You should be engaging truth now. You should be listening actively. And when we sing, you should be singing. The church is commanded to sing. We sing biblical truth. We affirm truth that magnifies Christ and makes much of God. And as we do that together, we are ministering to each other as we worship God. There is a vertical and a horizontal element to corporate worship.

So don't come in here to sponge and fill up your empty cup. Worship is what we do in these walls and outside these walls, sensing and serving God. Each member contributing to the loving growth of the church, according to Ephesians 4 16. Let me just remind you of two adversaries, two tactics of the adversary.

The enemy of your souls. Because he knows the power of the church. He knows the transforming power of the gospel. And because of that, he's got two things that he wants to aggressively pursue for you.

Number one, ignorance. He loves for you to remain ignorant of the truths of Ephesians 1 to 3. He would love for you to just skip 1 to 3 and go to 4 to 6 and say, okay, walk in unity. Walk in great. Gotta do this. Gotta do this.

Checklist, checklist, checklist. I gotta try harder at doing this. That's what he wants for you. He wants you to remain ignorant. He wants you to be the kind of person who comes and sponges, preacher, just tell me what I gotta do.

It's not what I'm here for. Are you letting him have a foothold in your life by keeping you ignorant? Are you consuming the word of God? When the word of God is read, do you read the word of God? Do you study the word of God on your own? When the word of God is preached, when it is read here, are you just, is it like water off a duck's back? You say, well, I got my ticket to heaven.

I know about as much as I need to know. There's some Christians that act that way. Do you want to engage the word of God? We do it here, folks. Listen, that's why we do care groups. I strongly encourage you to be a part of the care group so that you are practically engaging the word of God in community with God's people. You want to grow.

It's a good way to do it. The second tactic of the adversary is individualism. First one is ignorance. The second is individualism. Well, I just come to church. I'm enjoying my own little experience. And worship, the what we do in here, is not connected to work, family, marketplace, social connections, definitely not social media. And rather than engage and interact, you're happy to spectate and absorb and build your own personal faith. Individualism.

The enemy dances when he has a foothold of individualism in your life. Listen, in Christ, His Spirit has placed you into the body of Christ. You are vitally connected to the body of Christ.

Individualism does not belong. Don't come here to have your own little experience between you and God. You come here to engage God's people and interact with them and fellowship with each other. And then together, you come here and then together engage God's Word so that it transforms your life. I trust the Spirit is talking to you this morning. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word, the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.