Morgan Teruel: Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Morgan Terrell, and I'm the online campus manager here at Sandals Church. We're so happy to have you join us today as we listen to this message with Melody Workman teaching from our home series. If you've enjoyed our content, consider leaving us a rating to help this podcast reach more people. But for now, let's get into the message.
Melody Workman: Okay. So I wanna tell you about something that happened to me a few weeks ago. I I stopped in a coffee shop to get a morning beverage, and the place was packed. And I go up to the cashier, and I order my drink, and, she says, what's the name for the order? So, I give her my name, I say Melody, but then just for extra kindness I spelled it for her.
Not trying to insult her, but you know, I have a thing with being called Melanie, so I just wanted to be like, by the way, you're Melanie, beautiful name, I just it's not mine. And so spelled my name, walked over to wait for my drink, No one else was in line behind me. So some time goes by, I'm just scrolling through my phone, and all of a sudden I hear, drink for milady? That's not me, so I just keep scrolling on my phone. A few more seconds go by, pink drink from a lady?
I'm looking around, and now the whole coffee shop is waiting to see what English royalty is showing up for their pink drink. And I walk over and no kidding, I get my Starbucks cup and this is what it said on it. Milady. And I even spelled it, you know? Anyway, she was close but not accurate.
Really close but not accurate. And that matters, right, sometimes? When we brought our son home from Ethiopia and he was learning the English language, there were times where he would get it almost right. Like one time, he stubbed his toe, and he was holding his toe. And I walked in and I said, you okay?
He goes, mom, I hurt my leg finger. And like, you try to tell me that your toes don't look like your legs have fingers. Right? He was close, but he wasn't accurate. Another time, he was getting dressed.
I said, dress warm. It's gonna be cold out. And he said, I will wear my long sleeve shorts. And it makes sense. It's close, but it's not accurate.
And in a lot of settings, that matters a lot. You know? In fact, as I'm listening to a lot of conversations right now in the political scene, the cultural scene, I hear a lot of descriptions of what God is like. God is like this. God wouldn't like that.
God hates that. God loves this. And as I listen, I go close, but not accurate. And the beautiful thing is God himself didn't want it to be confusing. God wanted us to know exactly who he is and exactly what he's like.
So you know what he did? He told us. He told us. And he told us early on. When we get into scripture right in the book of Exodus which is right at the beginning of the bible, God introduces himself to Moses.
Moses and God had a very special relationship. God chose Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. God chose Moses to take the 10 Commandments to the Israelites. They are close. They have a close connection.
And when God is ready to show Moses who he is, in Exodus 34, I want you to listen to what he says. He says, Moses, present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. And listen to this, no one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Moses, I'm gonna show myself to you, but don't bring your mom and your g mom and everybody. This is just for you, Moses.
He goes even further. He says, don't even allow the flocks and herds to graze in front of the mountain. Remove the animals. Moses, this is just going to be for you and I. And then you know what God said?
He said, I'm gonna introduce myself to you. Moses, I'm gonna tell you who I am. And it says in verse 5, the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his own name. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, the Lord, the Lord. And listen to what God says.
Hey, Moses. This is what I'm like. I am compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. The amplified version says, the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth. He's compassionate, he's gracious, and he's full of lovingkindness and truth.
Moses, this is who I am, and he only reveals himself to Moses. And throughout the old testament, the presence of God was it traveled with the Israelites, not in person, but in the holy of holies, and only Moses and the high priest had access. Other people were kept at a distance. It was like Moses was the VIP. Right?
Have you ever been a VIP? It hasn't happened a lot for me. Okay? But when I was in the 8th grade, I grew up in Jersey. My dad who'd been a teacher years ago found out that a former student was a relief pitcher for the New York Mets.
And they invited us up to go to the game for the day. And so we drove up to Turnpike, they had a penthouse in North Jersey that for me was like, wow. And then we get in their car to drive to the ballpark and as we cross the bridge into New York and we get closer to the ballpark, I'm seeing people walk for miles and miles because they parked in the cheap section which is where I'm used to parking. But we keep driving And we she pulls out a special lanyard, his wife, and we pull into this parking lot that's right next to the park behind a gate, and we get out and we walk through the tunnel with all the players and their families. I'm acting like I'm somebody, like, hey, what was that?
No one wanted my autograph. It was weird. And then we got seats behind home plate. And then halfway through the game, the guys kids decided that, you know, they were done watching their dad, you know, pitch in the Major Leagues because that's so boring. And they wanted to go to the clubhouse, so I got to go there.
And then after the game, I'm meeting all the players, getting pictures. But then here's what I'll never forget. When we walked back out to the car, there were all these fans on the other side of the fence. And they were sticking their hands through the fence with baseballs and Sharpies, and they were trying to get the attention of the player that they idolized and wanted to see. The problem was they didn't have the access that I had.
They couldn't get to the player like I could. I want you to see what happens when we get to the New Testament. John 1 14. So the word who was God became human Yes. And made his home among us.
Listen to how he's described, full of love and faithfulness. The same description as as Exodus. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory full of grace and truth. The message says, the word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood, and we saw his glory with our own eyes. It's as if the writer is saying in the Old Testament, grace and truth moved among us, but in the New Testament, grace and truth moved in with us.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And through Jesus, God has invited everybody to the right side of the fence.
That's right. Everybody has access. Jesus has moved in with us. There is no more distance. There is no more separation.
There is no more exclusivity. He's come to everybody. He's come to you. He's come to me. He's come to them.
You say who's them? You tell me. The person who doesn't vote like you. Got quiet in here. Person who doesn't think like you, behave like you.
The kid in your house that's driving you crazy. The ex husband you can't stand to see or talk to. Jesus, full of grace and truth, moved in with all of us. This is who Jesus is. This is what Jesus did.
And I have to tell you, when someone moves in with us, we get to know him. Someone moves in with you and lives with you, all of a sudden, you know how they think. You learn their habits. You get familiar with the things that they say and do. The question in this series that I want you to ask and I need to ask is, how has Jesus made his home in my home?
How has Jesus, full of grace and full of truth, made his home in your home? What do the people in our lives know about Jesus? Are they getting a close but not quite accurate view of who he is? Being around us. He was full of grace and full of truth.
Now I wanna start with grace. When you think of grace, I want you to think about mercy and kindness, compassion. When someone in your house blows it, That that happens to other people, right? Not just me? They they mess up, they forget, they lie, they steal, they betray.
What are you like in those situations? Here's the first thing I wanna tell you. Jesus was a generous grace giver. Yes, amen. I do have to tell you.
I'm gonna be so real with you. I am so grateful for grace. Anybody else grateful for grace? But I'm just not good at it. I am grateful for it, but I am not good at it.
Okay? Even listen. Just a couple weeks ago, while I was prepping for this message, full of truth, full of grace, I'm having this beautiful moment with the Lord. My husband and I went on a little road trip and I got up, and I got my bible, and I was studying, and I was prepping, and I was journaling, and I was so grateful for grace. I mean, just really sweet moment with the Lord.
And we get in the car, and we start heading home, and we need to get home, but we need to stop and get some food. So we said, we'll just run through a drive through. We'll get some fast food. But I don't know if you guys have noticed how fast food has become slow food. Because now you have to wait in the line and then park and wait a little longer to get your fast, slow food.
So we picked a fast food restaurant that looked empty. Nobody was in the drive through line, hardly anybody in the parking lot. We thought this will go fast. That's what we needed. We kept our order simple so we wouldn't have to wait extra, and we go to the window and she says, can you park?
And so I have to tell you something about me. How how it starts for me is what I call initial annoyance. My head starts to do this thing and my husband's driving and so he can pick up on my vibe, And then we pull into the parking lot 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute. Now my initial annoyance has moved into progressive irritation. Now I'm starting to wonder, like, do do I need to come in and make it for you?
Like, what what's actually happening? She walks out, gets my food, doesn't apologize that we're waiting, kinda throws it through the window, and I'm like, Jesus loves her. And I open up my bag, she goes back inside, and she forgot something. Now, initial annoyance, progressive irritation, advanced exasperation. That's where I'm at.
So I take off my seat belt, I move my thing over, and my husband's like, he's praying for her because he sees me. And I walk into the restaurant, you guys, and there's no one at the counter. This is this is no embellishment. They're in the back playing a video game because I can see the screen. So I 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minutes.
I'm like, so I'm trying like, how do I say, how do I yell nicely? Hey, hey. And so finally, she turns right. And you guys, she looks annoyed that I came back in the restaurant to get the food that I paid for. So so now I have to let you on this other battle that I have.
It's called Jersey versus Jesus. And in many situations, the question I have to answer is, do I wanna represent who where I'm from or who I follow? And it's it's a toss-up sometimes, guys. Because she throw I said, you forgot this. She threw it in the bag.
And here's what happened, no lie. The Jersey voice in my head said, ask her if she likes it here. So that you can say good because you're gonna be here a while. And the Jesus voice said, Grace. Melody, this morning, remember the tears, the journal, the grace?
Yes, I remember. And you guys, I didn't say it so, you know, I'm growing. But listen, I'm grateful for grace but I'm just not good at it. And can I tell you why? Because grace is unnatural.
It is unnatural. We are wired for ungrace. We are wired for revenge. We are wired for grudges. We are wired for unforgiveness.
We are wired for justification for our actions. But you know what Christians like to do when we're in a state of ungrace? Well, you know Jesus turned over the tables. Yeah, bro. But not at Pizza Hut.
Okay? So calm down with your righteous anger. That's right. He well, it's unnatural for us. So we struggle.
I struggle. You struggle. But here's what I keep coming back to. Jesus has moved in with us, and he was full of grace. So how is my life and my home reflecting a Jesus who was full of grace and has moved in with me?
McKay Vandenberg: Sandals Church, thank you so much for joining us today. Before we jump in today's message, I just wanted to invite you to partner with Sandals Church in the work that we are doing. One way that you could do that is by giving financially at give.sc. Now, let's get back to our message.
Melody Workman: How did Jesus live this out? Oh, man. Do I love Jesus? John 8, you know the story. The woman caught in adultery.
The Bible is so descriptive with this scene so that we don't miss on the details. Jesus is in the temple. It is early in the morning. You can't miss that. It's early in the morning.
He's in the holiest place in the city of Jerusalem. And what do the Pharisees and religious leaders bring to him? A woman, don't miss this, caught in the act of adultery, ripped from the bed. Imagine that she's not wearing a lot. Imagine her shame.
Imagine her embarrassment standing in front of Jesus. And what do they do? They use the law to try to get Jesus. They're trying to bait him. You know, what are we gonna do with her?
You know, it says we can stone her and they're picking up stones ready to do it. And then Jesus does this weird thing where he writes on the ground and scholars have fought for years like, what did he write? I don't know what he wrote but can I tell you what I think Jesus wrote on the ground? Because when he went to write on the ground, it took everybody's eyes off of this woman who was standing there in shame because Jesus is decent. And with whatever he wrote, all of a sudden the stones start dropping and they start walking away.
And Jesus, it says, he stood up again and said to the woman, where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you? I imagine her tear stained face in front of this man she doesn't know who just saved her life and she says, no, Lord. And then Jesus with these three words reminds us of how full of grace he is. He says, neither do I.
That's right. And you know what he could have said? Even though I could have. Mhmm. Because the only person in that setting who hadn't sinned, who could throw a stone was Jesus, but he didn't.
Why? Because he's full of grace. Amen. John 3 17 says this, God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his son merely to point an accusing finger. And isn't this a word for Christians today, telling the world how bad it was?
Even though he could have. That's right. He came to help, to put the world right again, to fix what was broken because Jesus is full of grace. And then in a moment that's still stunning to me, Jesus is on the cross literally dying for our sins, showing us the demons the greatest demonstration of grace the world has ever seen. And he's hanging in between 2 thieves who we know murdered and robbed people.
They were there hanging there deservedly ready to die. Jesus had done nothing wrong. 1 of the criminals begins to mock him. You're the Messiah. Prove it.
Save yourself and save us too. But the other one says, don't you fear God? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man has done nothing wrong. And then this guy just makes this bold, audacious ask. I mean, what's he got to lose?
He's about to die. He's a terrible dude. And he just goes, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Like, what was it what I have to lose at this point? And Jesus had every right to say, no.
You you deserve to be here. You did the sin. You committed the deed. You are a criminal. You deserve to die.
And you know what Jesus says to him? He says, I assure you, today you'll be with me in paradise. You know what this criminal didn't have time to do? Get baptized, get discipled, turn his life around, rededicate, recommit himself, go on a mission trip. He didn't have time to do anything righteous or worthy.
He brought nothing to the equation other than a sinful person in need of grace. And you know what? That's all that's all Jesus needed. And we listen to that, and we read that, and we go amen. But then but then I think all of us, there's a little check-in our spirit that goes, something about that doesn't seem right.
Doesn't feel right. And you know what I say? Let's get uncomfortable with grace so we understand grace. Amen. Excuse me.
Because here's the next point, grace isn't fair. Grace isn't fair. And isn't fair what we say we want? You show up at your kid's soccer game on Saturday and it's 7 versus 1 and your kid's the 1? Excuse me, sir.
This isn't fair. Right? That's what I would do. Jersey versus Jesus. You're in your home and you're you're scooping ice cream for the kids and what are they doing?
She got more. He got like, it has to be fair. Prices are up and it's not fair. We say that fair is what we want, but I don't know if that's true. I got pulled over a few years ago for doing nothing.
Well, sort of doing something, but not really doing something. And what happened was and if you're a teenager and you do this to your parent, you need to stop because my chances are they're paying for your phone. But one of my beloved teen cherubs began to text me, mom. And when I didn't respond in the nanosecond that that text came through, I got another mom. Then I got an all caps mom.
Then I got a m o m. Then I got a mom. And now I'm like, is something wrong or do you just wanna have the last hot pocket? Like, what's going on? And I'm at a light, so I pick up my phone.
I thought to text. I'm like, no. You know, she can wait till I get home, and I put it down. And I go through the light, and I see the red and blue sirens. I'm like, I am thankful for these back to the blue, man.
I am thankful for these cops who are fighting crime today. Let me get out of your way. And then he got he got behind me. License the registration, please? I said, oh, sir, like, what do I have a taillight?
He's like, no. You you were texting at the light. I was so relieved to tell him I wasn't texting. And you know what? He didn't care.
And he said, you had your phone. I said, but I wasn't texting. Like, let's, you know, let's get it right. And he wrote me a ticket, and I really prayed for him to find Jesus at another church in Riverside. And then I I started driving home, and I'm I'm fuming.
Because you know what I'm saying to myself? How ridiculous. Like, this ticket I gotta pay now and that hot pocket was not worth it was, like, 89¢ hot pocket for a $150 ticket, and I'm getting, like, here. And then as I'm turning, I'm getting ready to turn left into my neighborhood, the cars beside me are going straight, and the light turns red. 123.
And the guy whizzes through the red light. And I'm like, where is captain Righteous now? He's not getting a ticket. And you know why? Because it's not fair.
That's right. And I'm driving to my house and I am so mad because it's not fair. And all of a sudden, I feel the Holy Spirit start to speak to me. And he says, you know, you you weren't texting today Melody, but you have texted on your phone before when you were driving. And and you didn't run that red light, but there's times where, you know, you saw it hit yellow and you like sped up, and and so, is fair what you really want?
And the answer is no. I didn't want fair, I wanted favor. And you who know you better than anybody else, the things that you do that nobody else knows, the things that you're tired of doing but you still do, the things that you think are hidden, if those things rose to the surface, you wouldn't want fair, you would want favor. And the good news for all of us today is that's what grace is. Grace is favor.
Listen to Ephesians 2:8 and 9. God saved you by his grace when you believed, and you can't take credit for this. It's a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we've done. God's not into sticker charts and happy faces.
Why? So none of us can boast about it. I have to tell you something, we're not amazing, but His grace is. Amen. Amen.
Praise God. Come on. His grace is. And I'll tell you, Christians who understand grace, they don't brag about their sin. They brag about their savior because they understand what his grace costs.
Because what did he do? It says, Romans 5:8, God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us when we were still sinners. And the question you have to ask yourself and the question I have to ask myself is, how has this Jesus who has who is full of grace and has moved in with me, do people who know me, would they describe me as a person full of grace? How does grace play out in your home? Is is your home a place of ungrace?
How can we grow in this? Listen, when it comes to grace, please don't miss this. There is a universal question that every single person is asking. Your husband, your wife, your kids, your parents, your coworkers, your friends, everyone is asking the same question when it comes to grace. Can I have some?
Yes. Can I have some? Yes. Because I need some. And are we people that are full of grace?
Here's the point, Jesus was full of grace. Full of grace. And every single time someone asked Jesus, can I have some? Jesus' answer is the same, yes. And every single day, he gives us the opportunity to answer that question.
So a question for you to wrestle with, are you stingy with grace? Are there people in your home starving for a little grace? Can they have some? He was full of grace, he was full of truth, and these two things are not at odds. And when I say that Jesus is full of truth, here's what you have to know.
Jesus actually described himself as the truth. So anything that Jesus said and did and anything in his word is the truth and anything that contradicts that is not the truth. When we talk about truth in our homes and in our relationships, let's talk about the the conversation that we just need to have, the things that just need to be said, the reality of the situation that we can't ignore. Point 3 is this, Jesus was a gentle truth teller. He was gentle with the truth.
Pastor Matt led us through the story last week of the woman at the well. And I love as Jesus is sitting with her and he's talking about living water and he he tells her to go get her husband in John 4. And she says, I don't have a husband. And you know what? Jesus could have left it at that.
He could have said, well, it's just Look, this is getting a little uncomfortable, let's move on. But he doesn't. He says, you're right, you don't have a husband. You've had 5 husbands, and you're not even married to the one you're living with now. Jesus didn't say this to shame her, he says, you certainly spoke the truth.
Jesus is not afraid of the truth. Jesus does not sidestep around the truth. And one of the reasons why is because it's when we're aware of the truth that we become aware of the need for grace. She needs living water. She needs redemption.
She needs to be made aware of the the reality of her situation and why she needs grace. And let me tell you how good God is. This Samaritan woman that the world has cast aside told her she has no value, she doesn't matter, she's just a whore. Whatever the world would say about her, she becomes the first person that Jesus reveals himself as God to in his Full of grace and full of truth. And I read that story and I think to myself, you know, I'm probably better at being a gentle truth teller with people that I'm not as close to, you know.
Someone comes to me for counseling and I gotta say some hard things, or if someone at work I supervise and we need to have a hard conversation. But here's where God convicted me, Melody, do the people in your home get the gentle truth teller version of you? The people you live with, your husband, your kids, your friends. And when we get to John 13, it's such a beautiful picture of how Jesus is gentle with the disciples, who he lived with by the way. They were together all the time.
And it's one of those scenarios where Jesus is hours away from being betrayed, being arrested, being beaten, and going to the cross. You could say he has a lot on his mind. I don't know how you dispense truth when you have a lot on your mind, but let me just tell you a little bit about me. I'm not gentle. I have a lot going on, I'm just gonna say what needs to be said.
But here's Jesus with the disciples, Peter. You know Peter is always talking. Jesus is trying to tell the disciples, I gotta go away and you can't come and they don't understand. And so Peter says, but why can't I come now, Lord? I'm ready to die for you.
And Jesus, you know, he just had to speak the truth. He says, die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny 3 times that you even know me. Jesus, dropping the truth bomb. But that's not where he ends.
He keeps going, but don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust in me. He starts to tell them there's more than enough room in my father's home. If this were not so, what I have told you, I'm going to prepare a place and when it's ready, I'm gonna come and get you so that you'll be with me. He's reassuring, he's comforting, he's gentle with the truth and what he could have said is, Peter, you're like a moron with a mouth.
I don't even know why you talk sometimes. I'm going through a lot right now, Peter. Can you like try to just be quiet for a second? But he's he doesn't. He's a gentle truth teller.
How do people experience hearing the truth from you? Have you learned how to be a gentle truth teller? Or maybe you remember a time when someone told you the truth and it hurt you more than it helped you because of how they approached you with it. I've told you lots of Addie stories, my spicy little toddler, and, it's a well that never runs dry. And when she was, like, 2 and just putting sentences together, I had to take her with me everywhere.
I didn't have family that lived in town, so we went everywhere, and that meant the fitting room. Okay? You know where this is going? Every woman here is like, oh, gosh. And so it's summertime, and I need a bathing suit, and so we go into the fitting room, and she's 2, and she, like, you know, hoists herself up on the little stool in the corner of the dressing room.
And I'm having an internal dialogue with myself about, man, I'm not where I wanna be, you know, I've got 2 little kids, I'm not exercising like I should. I'm having that whole conversation in my head and I'm trying on a bathing suit in front of the mirror and I'm, you know, I'm doing this doing this and the fitting room is packed. There's so many people in there and she just pipes up as loud as she can. Your legs are huge. And then she then she decides to make it stick.
She gets down and comes over, she goes, and they soft. Which is what every woman wants to hear about their legs. They're huge and they're soft. It didn't help me, I gotta tell you. But Addie's 2, you know, like, she just said it.
She says it like it is. Why are we still doing that at 4050? Have we ever thought that sometimes people might reject the truth because of how we relay the truth? If we're growing, that means we're changing, it means we're changing in our approach. And we say, why just tell it like it is?
Well, Jesus wasn't like that. He was gentle with how he speaks to us. And as I was writing this message, I had this moment of pause where I wrote, why was Jesus gentle? Why is Jesus gentle with how he speaks to us? And you know what I think?
I think it's because Jesus hears how we speak to ourselves. I think Jesus hears, I know he does, the unhelpful, critical things we say to ourselves and about ourselves so he speaks with gentleness to us. Ephesians 4 14 and 15 says this, then we will be no longer immature like children. Verse 15 says, instead, what will we do? We will speak the truth in love.
Why? Because we're growing in every way more and more like Christ who is the head of his body, the church. You know what that means? That in our homes but also in this family, this church family, this home, we should speak the truth and love to each other. Years ago, Pastor Matt asked to meet with me and have a conversation.
And I went in, and he was gentle and he spoke the truth and love, but he challenged me. And I have to tell you in the beginning, I was a little resistant. But the more he spoke, the more I realized how right he was. And I have to tell you, that conversation was a catalyst for change in my life. It had a profound impact on me and I have thanked him several times for being willing to have that conversation.
And here's what I can tell you, the people that speak the truth and love to you, they want what's best for you. But here here's our problem. We resist the truth. We just don't like it. We can say whatever, but the truth is we just don't like it.
Have you ever tried to eat something that you just don't like? There's these videos of kids and they're like, and they're, you know, they're trying not to, like we had a rule. It was probably a dumb rule, but we were young parents. We didn't know any better. It was just like whatever we have for dinner is what everybody's eating.
You know? And the first time we tried to feed Elijah broccoli, it did not go well. He spit it out, he threw stuff off of his tray, he screamed, he threw a temper tantrum, he received some discipline. And then a couple weeks later, we said, look, we're gonna try this again. And so he remembered.
He had a good memory of what happened the last time he didn't eat his broccoli. And so this time, I put it on a spoon and gave it to him, and he opened and he took it, and I thought, well, that's great. And I just turned back, and my husband and I start having a conversation. He's being so pleasant, we're not even paying attention to him. And then I turn back around and Elijah's just like this.
I said, did you eat your broccoli? Did you swallow it? Can I see? I said, open up Ledge. And sure enough, tucked away in the back was a whole ball of green broccoli.
He didn't spit it out. He didn't scream. He didn't have a temper tantrum. He did what I call a subtle rebellion. But he's kids aren't the only ones that do this.
Teenagers, young adults, growing ups, we show up at church. The word comes to us, it's hard hitting, it's convicting, it's a truth we need to hear. And we don't slam our bible and scream at the pastor and send an email, Lisa, I hope you don't. I'm never going back again. You know what we do?
We smile, we tuck it in the back, and we keep living however we want to live because we have resisted the truth. Listen to what Proverbs 12:1 says. It says, to learn you must love discipline. And it goes on to say, it is stupid to hate correction. When someone loves you enough to speak the truth to you, don't be stupid.
Receive it because it's good for you. You know what else we do with the truth? We avoid the truth. We avoid the truth. We do this by lying to ourselves.
Some of you, this is why you're here today, to hear this thing, and I don't want you to forget it. Listen. The truth you're avoiding often reveals the lie you're believing. Wow. The truth you're avoiding often reveals the lie you're believing.
Someone in your life, someone who loves you has said to you, you drink too much. It's it's too much. I I don't like how you are. You start to lose control of yourself, and you're saying to yourself, I'm fine. I'm just decompressing.
My job is stressful. Everything is under control. Someone has said to you, or maybe it's the holy spirit, it seems like you're getting pretty flirty with that coworker. Like, you're you're it's it's starting to feel a little bit inappropriate actually. We're just friends.
It's not like I'm having an affair. It's not that big of a deal. I'm a grown up, I know what I'm doing. Teenagers and young adults, someone has said to you, your your small group leader, or a parent, or someone who loves you has said to you, you're being way too promiscuous with your body and your emotions in these relationships. You're not protecting yourself and it's not good for you.
And you're saying, we're just hooking up. It's just fun. I'm young. This is the time to do it. It's not that big of a deal.
And you're avoiding the truth by believing a lie, and here's what people aren't thinking about. What lies on the other side of the lie? Where does that lie lead you? Because it leads you somewhere. Because here's what Jesus said.
Jesus said, and you will know the truth, that's him by the way, and the truth will set you free. You will walk in freedom. You you receive the truth, you'll walk in freedom. But you know what he says about the enemy? He's always hated the truth.
There is no truth in him. And when he lies, it's consistent with his character. He's a liar and the father of lies and he is more than willing to walk you to your death, destruction, addiction, depression because he wants you to avoid the truth and believe the lie. And you know what Jesus didn't say? You shall know your truth and it will set you free.
Doesn't that sound so smart? Well well, my truth well, if your truth isn't his truth, it's a lie. Amen. That's right. And Jesus loves us enough to tell us the truth, and there are people in our lives who love us enough to tell us the truth.
And so listen, if you've been a resistor of truth, the path to being a receiver of truth, it's 2 things. Ready? It's humility and trust. Have you learned how to be humble? When someone says to you, this isn't good for you, step away from that.
Let's do something different. Have you learned how to humble yourself and receive that truth? Kids, when your parents confront you about a behavior and you're convinced you're right and they're wrong, listen to what Paul says, lead a life worthy of your calling for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. If someone that you're in relationship with who loves you and wants what's best for you and you know that and they're challenging you.
Listen to what Proverbs 11:2 says, pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Have you learned to seek out and follow godly counsel and wisdom? Who is speaking into your life? Who has an open invitation to challenge you because you know that they love you and they're for you? Proverbs 11 14 says this, without good direction, people lose their way.
But the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances. Where do you wanna end up? The path of truth is going to take you there. And at any stage in your life, whether you're a teenager, a young adult, a grown up, a single, divorced, an empty nester, we should always have someone who's a little bit ahead of us speaking truth into our lives. And parents, I'm gonna challenge us really hard right here.
It is not enough for us just to be our kids' biggest cheerleaders. And we should be their biggest cheerleaders. But you know what else? We need to be their loudest counselors. Hey, not that way.
No. No. No. Over here. Don't do that.
That's gonna destroy you, son. I love you. Come back over here. You know what I keep hearing? I just want my kids to be happy.
Well, I have to tell you something. Boundaries don't always make us happy, but they sure do make us healthy. Amen. Don't be afraid to give your kid guardrails. Don't be afraid to say no.
They'll figure it out. Yeah. They may figure it out, but do you want them to figure it out with fewer regrets? Cheer them on, but then counsel them and correct them because the truth is love. Amen.
And Jesus, he fully embodied grace and truth. He never sacrificed one for the other. I wanted to leave you with a picture that I hope you'll remember as you think about this idea of building a home full of grace and full of truth. And what that means for you, what it means for me, and what it can mean for our families. So I wanna show you a picture of my niece, Eden, at her first birthday party.
Okay? She's so cute but I need to tell her that the days of eating cake topless are numbered. That's At least they should be. Eden, this is her party and I have to tell you the bad news. She hasn't done a lot to earn this party.
She's she's spit up a lot. She's pooped a lot. She's kept my sister up most nights. She screamed and throw Target temper tantrums. Like, she's not been great.
But yet here she is. This party is for her. There's cake and there's presents and she just gets to eat it with her fingers. It's just this beautiful picture of like, you've done nothing to deserve this, but here we all are. And she's enjoying herself.
Right? She's enjoying herself. But now I wanna show you the picture of my sister bringing her her cake. And when I saw this picture for the first time, as cute as Eden is and as beautiful as the setting is, I just was drawn to my sister's face. It's like eyes full of love.
This kid who's pooped, spit up, cry, kept me up, you know, all the things. My sister's eyes are full of outrageous love for her for no other reason than the fact that Eden is hers. That's it. Eden's mine. She's mine and I'm crazy about her.
And I wanna tell you something. When you think about Jesus being full of grace, here's what I want you to know. You have a father in heaven who looks at you with eyes of outrageous love. He invites you to the table of grace knowing that you don't deserve it, you couldn't pay for it, you couldn't earn it, there's no amount of chores or good deeds you could do to earn the grace that he's given you. And you know what he's saying?
You don't have to. It's a gift. I'm just crazy about you. So I just love to sit here at a table of grace with eyes full of outrageous love and wonder and watch you eat and watch you take it all in. I've got more for you tomorrow, so don't worry about, you know, overeating.
It's there's plenty of grace for you. That's what it is to be full of grace. And as beautiful as that photo is, it doesn't represent the entirety of my sister's relationship with Eden. Because subsequent to this party, there's been many times and there's many times coming because Eden is about to be a preteen. It gets so much more fun.
Where my sister has had to challenge her, correct her, discipline her, tell her no. When Eden started to run and she jetted out, my sister had to grab her arm and pull her back to protect her. And if I said to you, which one of those scenarios demonstrates that my sister loves Eden? Do you know what you would say? Both.
Because here's why. Because the full measure of love is displayed in the full manifestation of grace and truth, never sacrificing either one. Just look at the cross. For the wages of sin is death. That's the truth.
But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And there he hung and there he died. The full expression of love for the world to see, full of grace, full of truth, not sacrificing either one. That's what it is to be full of grace and full of truth. It is the full measure of love.
And the question we have to ask ourselves is this, if Jesus has made his home with us, if he has moved in with us, then how are we living out this beautiful, beautiful thing of being full of grace and full of truth and not sacrificing either one? As we close, I want you to ask yourself this question. I wanna make it really personal. Don't think about your husband or your wife or your kid or your parent or your roommate. Just think about this question.
What needs to change in me for my home to become one that is both full of grace and full of truth? What needs to change in me? Are there people in your home and in your life starving for grace because you're stingy with it? Is there a truth conversation that you're avoiding either having or listening to because you are drenched in a lie yourself? Listen, Jesus has moved in with us.
He's made his home with us and he is inviting us to live like him in our relationships, being full of grace and full of truth and never sacrificing either one. Amen. And Jesus, we can't do this apart from you. We can't do this on our own because grace is unnatural and truth is hard. But there's no longer a separation between us.
You don't just move among us, you've moved in with us. And so now, you're calling us to live this out, for us to imagine what our homes would look like if we modeled being full of grace and full of truth and never sacrificing either one. So, god, as we sit now in your presence and we feel the convicting work of the holy spirit, I pray that we would lean in, that we would listen. If there's someone we need to apologize to, confess to, if there's someone that we need to say, hey, there's a hard conversation we need to have and I love you enough to have it, if there's a conversation we need to walk into with humility and trust because it's the truth we need to receive, then God would you make us obedient and courageous and bold so that we can become more like you and our homes can become homes full of grace and full of truth. In Jesus name we pray,
Morgan Teruel: Amen. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you want more content from this series, we have a YouTube playlist linked in the description. And if you want more information about who we are and what we do, you can go to sandalschurch.com. Church.com.