That’s Growth— Tension

setup

— Last week, we talked about the beginning of growth is understanding GRACE.

— If we just think GRACE it gives us an incomplete picture of God and how He relates to us. If we are going to grow, we need a full meal.. A full picture of the reality of God and how He relates to us.

— Today, we are going to look at a Psalm of David..

Psalm 111 (ESV)

Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the works of the Lord,

studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures forever.

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful.

He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy;

they are established forever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

Prayer

Story: My wife and I bought a fixer upper in Tacoma Wash. A beautiful old Craftsman from the turn of the century.. Behind the house was a 2 story garage built in the style of a barn.. It was told to us that it was a little older than the main house. The issue was, it was leaning! We hired a contractor, and his plan and what he did was wrapped a rope around the house and tied it off to a come along attached to his truck! And he just winched it straight, then he put 4x8 sheets of plywood on the studs to give it sheer strength!

Transition: What we see in the entirety of scripture is a complete view of God. We can’t just say God is only grace or we will lean. We cannot say God is only truth or we will lean and fall over as well! There is tension in these two realities.

— A good scripture to describe this tension is

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

— Only God/Jesus can be 100/100! 100 GRACE, 100 TRUTH. And live in that tension..

— Even good movies have tension! I am not talking about hallmark movies (remember I said good movies)

— But for some reason, when it comes to how we relate to God and understand Him..

1. WE tend to pull one way or the other.

— To us, we can view Him as all Grace or be fearful of Him to a fault. All truth.. And we fall over!

— If you try and define a person by one trait you aren’t describing a real person.. Not one that you know really well anyway.

— As a matter of fact, the fact that God has more than one trait and that there is nuance and depth, speaks to the reality of God, and the He is His own person..

— He is Separate and “other” and beyond you and I, but remember, we are made in the image of God..

— You can’t be described in one word either!

— We tend to think of God in terms of what makes sense to us..

— We as humans have a tendency to try and make God in our own image.

— Early in church history, around the 2nd century, there was a heretic by the name of Marcion.. He didn’t like the God of the Old Testament.. As a matter of fact, he found little use for much of the New Testament as well..

— It was happening then, it sure happens now. We tend to pick and choose the character traits that sit well with us.

— The problem is, we can fall over if we go to extremes..

2. We need both mount Sinai and Zion.

— Hebrews 12 gives a contrast between these two mountains.

— There is mt Sinai where God revealed Himself to Moses, where God gave him the commandments..

— The Jews were not able to come near the mountain, the image we get from Deut. The vision is stupendous—a mountaintop blazing with “fire to the very heavens”

— Hebrews 12:21-22

Hebrews 12:21–22 ESV

Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,

— And now we see the need for ZION. That represents the New Covenant..

— In the juxtaposition of these two aesthetics the author writes:

Hebrews 12:28–29 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

— God’s grace doesn’t make sense without understanding first God’s holiness. His standards. What He requires from us..

— That without the realities the grace of Mt Zion we suffer from the realities of Mt Sinai. That we don’t come up to the standards that God requires from us!

3. There’s growth in the tension

— So, Psalm talks about grace, about provision and it also talks about truth about the “fear of the Lord”

— We need to hold these things in tension

— We’ve covered grace last week, but what is the fear of the Lord?

— A theologian says: This “fear” is no abject terror, nor is it simply reverential awe, but a deep-seated humility grounded in an abiding awareness of one’s absolute dependence for existence on the undeserved mercy of Yahweh. Only through such humility and dependence is the human heart prepared to perceive and receive the wisdom that God gives. — Wilson

— I have also heard it said that when we flirt with sin as Christians it’s because we are familiar with God but we don’t fear Him!!

— To help provide a picture, we see God as a perfect Father. He provides perfectly for us. Everything we need!

— He also is a King. He has standards!

— When you see the law that God gave to Moses,

— Jesus says all the Law and the Prophets can be distilled down to:

Matthew 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

— These are HIS standards. He wants us to Love Him, and Love OTHERS.

— As a father myself, though imperfect, I love my kids dearly. But I want them to treat us well. I want them to treat others well. The house well etc.

— When I was growing up, I knew intuitively that my dad had certain expectations. I was reminded by my mom that my “dad was coming home”. We knew what that meant!

— But there was also, “my dad’s coming home”. In a good way! We missed him, he missed us!!

— So, in that imperfect example, this is your heavenly father. We have respect, we grow up because we are His kids and we want to please Him! But we also are in an environment where growing up is possible because of love and grace and provision!

— EXAMPLE:

— Have someone represent grace, have someone represent truth:

volunteer 1:

"Jesus was all grace. He welcomed sinners and tax collectors and ate with them. He had compassion on the crowds when they were hungry and far from home. He welcomed the little children to come and sit on his lap-gentler and kinder than any department store Santa. He healed the lepers, the lame, and the blind. He saved the criminal on the cross, who, in his dying breath, confessed that the dying man next to him was truly the Son of God.

Grace people are pleasant to be around. They don’t ruffle any feathers. They cut us a lot of slack. They’re easy going. They accept us for who we are. They don’t make demands. They are always welcoming.

AND without tension:

But without truth, grace isn’t really grace, it’s just being accepting and nice. But affirmation and being grace-filled are not the same thing. Grace people without truth are pleasant to be around, but we wonder if they really like us or if they are just trying to be liked. They are tolerant, but they often do not know the difference between right and wrong. Or they don’t care to line up one way or the other. Grace people can be cowardly. They often refuse to make tough decisions in life. They demand nothing from others and get nothing in return. They accept us for who we are, but they never help us become who we should be.

Volunteer 2:

And Jesus was all truth. He condemned many of the religious leaders of his day for being liars and hypocrites. He talked about hell more than he talked about heaven. He called all his those who would be his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him. He prophesied judgment on Jerusalem for their unrepentant hearts. He obeyed the law, set standards, and demanded everything from his followers, even their very lives.”

Truth people are easy to admire. They have convictions and principles. They believe in right and wrong. They set standards. They speak out against injustice, oppression, and evil. They are articulate and well-spoken.

BUT Without the tension of grace:

But without grace, telling the truth can become an excuse for belligerence. Truth people without grace are loyal to their cause, but we wonder if they are really loyal to us. They want to change us and make us better, but they don’t allow for mistakes. They are quick to cast judgment on others. They make difficult decisions, but they also make life difficult for others and for themselves. They can be slow to forgive. They inspire us with their courage, but turn us off with their intimidation.

DANGER IN EXTREMES!

If you are a grace person you are most concerned about being loved. If you are a truth person you are most concerned about being right even it means being unloved. Both have their dangers. Something is wrong if everyone hates you, and something is probably just as wrong if everyone loves you.

BUT WATCH, as we put tension on the rope, there’s elevation. There’s growth..

Conclusion

— I want to close with a story about how Truth and Love or Grace and healthy fear of God leads to growth..

—++ I want to share a story about Nic and Lex Renick

— Lex spent 14 years of her life as a trans man, she was abused early on, and at a young age struggled with her gender identity..

— Her family and her church were all truth but no love, which isn’t truth after-all. They shamed her, she was told by her own mother to go kill herself!

— She turned to the LGBTQ community, which is all love. But isn’t truly love after-all because there is no truth..

— She was lied to, she felt like she was born with the wrong body so she needed transformation..

— The enemy will bring transformation that will bring mutilation, desperation.. She had surgery etc.

— The enemy was creating for her a counterfeit of the transformation she really needed..

— She ended up giving her life to Jesus, encountered the God of the bible. found a church and believers that embraced both Love and Truth.

— In her prayers, she surrendered her life to God. And she asked God for Him to help her live life according to His WORD! (LOVE AND TRUTH)

— And God answered her prayers, she ending up meeting Nic who also previously lived a gay lifestyle but God had brought around..

— Now they are married, have a baby! And they are both pastors and have a story for people trapped in the same lifestyle!

— My prayer for all of us today is that we have a true revelation of the nature of God. I pray that some of us who grew up with no love receive the healing power of His love. If we have not been growing, if we are flirting with sin, my prayer is that we have a healthy fear of God while also embracing His great love for us!

— I am calling prodigals today. Your sin has brought you to experience the discipline of God. But He is waiting for you to come home.