Gospel Fluency - Week 1

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- Bonjour.

- Je ma’pelle Matthew.

- Common ca vas?

- Ca va bien?

- Je ne sais pas.

- Je suis. Tu es. Ill es. Elle es.

- And that’s about it.

- That is the French that I know.

- Now, you may know this, but my daughter and son are both in French immersion.

- And my wife, who minored in French, also has taken courses to be able to teach in French.

- So I am being left in the dust.

- I have no doubt that Ardynn, my lovely two year old, will soon be speaking more French than me as she picks it up from everyone else in my family.

- They read in French.

- They sing in French.

- This past summer, my daughter had a friend over, and they decided to just speak to each other in French for a while, to help them keep practicing it over the summer months.

- Because when I was in school, I took French. What is now called “core French”, but it was nothing close to French immersion.

- Because core French teaches you some core ideas and phrases (and it has its useful place), but French immersion is about true fluency.

- One of our sponsored kids from Africa lives in an area where they speak French, and you may know this but when you get a letter, you get the original letter, and then you get the one that is translated into English so that you can actually read it.

- And my wife and daughter can read the original copy, they don’t need to read the English translation.

- This is fluency.

- And it takes work, it takes training, it takes intentionality, and it takes consistent and regular immersion into it.

- And so today we are beginning a new series for the next 8 weeks, where we are going to talk about fluency.

- Specifically, we are going to talk about Gospel fluency.

- Becoming fluent in the Good News message of Jesus.

- This is all based on the book written by Jeff Vanderstelt, also called Gospel Fluency (and I just didn’t think there was any better title for this, so I didn’t even try to think of my own creative spin on a title for this series).

- And so let’s begin with this:

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- Romans 1:16

o For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

- Now, if we just say the first part of that sentence to a follower of Jesus, chances are we’d get some nods of agreement (maybe even an audible “amen” if the person has had their cup of coffee already).

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- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.”

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- But then, the question we need to ask, is “what is the Gospel?”

- Chances are if we went around this room and asked everyone to define what “Gospel” means, we’d hear a few different answers, but a lot of similarities.

- We might know that it has “something to do with Jesus”.

- We’d probably hear a few people talk about the cross and the empty tomb.

- The death and resurrection of Jesus.

- We’d probably hear the phrase “died for my sins” at least once.

- And maybe some of us would be particularly clever to know that the word “Gospel” actually means “good news”.

- Chances are not too many of us (maybe none of us) are lying awake at night stressed out over this question “what is the Gospel?”

- We have an understanding of what it is, and maybe we can even define it in a few sentences if asked.

- But, what if we switched the question up?

- What if we changed gears and instead asked “How do you apply the Gospel to your everyday life?”

- I wonder how many people would have an answer on the tip of their tongues then.

- I wonder if I would be able to share something, without having to go digging back months or even years to give a practical example.

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- Perhaps most followers of Jesus understand the Gospel’s power to save our souls.

- It’s Christianity 101 to understand that faith in Jesus saves us.

- The Gospel saves our souls.

- But I don’t think that it’s as widely understood that the Gospel also changes our lives.

- And so today, and for the next couple of months, this series is designed to change our lives.

- We’re going to spend our times together considering how the Gospel can actually make a real difference in the real stuff of our real lives.

- Because, just like my French, true fluency isn’t knowing a few key sentences and nothing else.

- Fluency happens when you can speak, listen, read, think, and even dream in another language.

- You don’t need to pause and spend time translating between the two, it just comes naturally.

- And I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have moments of doubt, struggle, and unbelief.

- I fight with my wife, go to bed angry, and feel like a failure.

- I try to have fun with my kids, but find myself looking at my phone more than them, and I feel like a bad dad.

- I preach on reaching your neighbours, but I look down my street and only see missed opportunities, and I feel like a hypocrite.

- But moments like those show the times when I am failing to live fluently in the Gospel.

- Because Jesus gave His life, rose again, and fills me with His Spirit, to make me a new creation.

- But, sometimes I forget what He says about me.

- And, I don’t know about you but I’m just speaking for me, sometimes, I don’t forget what He says about me, I just don’t believe it.

- But the Gospel is Good News.

- The Gospel is the Good News that God loves unbelievers, and wants to save them (me, us) from our unbelief.

- And so this series has two goals.

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- First of all, Gospel fluency is about moving from unbelief to belief.

- To understand what the Gospel has to say about us and what we are really going through in our everyday lives, and to believe that it is true (not just about that person over there who seems to have it so much more together than we do, but it’s actually true for us).

- When Jesus is talking about the coming of His Holy Spirit, He says this:

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- John 16:8-9

o And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

- Jesus says here that one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to show us how the sin in our life is connected to our unbelief in Jesus.

- Refusing to believe in Jesus.

- Refusing to believe that He is enough.

- Refusing to believe that because of what Jesus has done (and is doing, and one day will do), God’s love for us isn’t dependent on our performance for Him.

- Refusing to believe that it is Jesus’ obedience (not ours) that makes us right with God.

- Sin is connected to unbelief.

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- And then, second of all, Gospel fluency is being able to speak the Truth of Jesus into everyday life.

- Because a true understanding of the Gospel is not just a theological one, it is a practical one.

- It’s not just about what boxes we check on a church membership form.

- It’s about how we think, how we speak, and how we act.

- It’s about the advice that we give to other people, when they share with us about their work problems, their family problems, their school problems, or any issues that they are facing.

- The Gospel doesn’t just save our souls, it also changes our lives.

- The Apostle Paul founded the church in Ephesus, and he later wrote them a letter to help them continue to grow closer to Jesus.

- And, in a part of that letter, Paul writes this:

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- Ephesians 4:11-15

o Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

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o This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

o Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.

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o We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

- Paul is writing here about maturing in our faith and relationship with God.

- And this is something that every follower of Jesus should want to be true of themselves.

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- “Growing in every way more and more like Christ.

- Growing up in how we follow Jesus.

- In fact, it’s not just something we should want, it’s something that we should expect.

- But, how do we actually do that?

- How do we grow in every way more and more like Jesus?

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- Well, according to Paul here, the way we do that is by speaking the truth in love.

- Now, when you hear that phrase “speak the truth in love”, maybe it causes you to wince a little bit.

- Because a lot of people consider “speaking the truth in love” to be saying a difficult thing, but with a smile on their face.

- “I just want you to know that your feet really stink. I’m just speaking the truth in love.”

- “I don’t want to offend you, but you really need to do a better job of keeping the house clean. Just speaking the truth in love!”

- “I hope this doesn’t hurt your feelings, but I find you absolutely revolting in every way. I’m just speaking the truth in love!”

- But that’s not what Paul is writing about when he says that we grow more like Jesus when we speak the truth in love.

- Let’s keep reading what Paul writes in this letter, and see how he clarifies what he considers to be the “truth” that we need to be speaking.

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- Ephesians 4:15-5:2

o Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

o With the Lord’s authority I say this:

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o Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

o But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

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o Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

o So stop telling lies.

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o Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

o If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language.

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o Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

o And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

o Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander,

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o as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

o Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

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- Paul is clarifying that to “speak the truth” is to speak Jesus.

- To speak the truths of Jesus, in every situation we face.

- In John 14:6 Jesus says He is the way, the TRUTH, and the life (so Jesus is Truth).

- Then in 1 John 4 John writes that God is LOVE (so Jesus is Love).

- We can’t speak the truth in love if we aren’t speaking Jesus.

- Speaking about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and sending of His Spirit – in loving ways – into the real stuff of real lives.

- If any of us are going to “grow up” in Jesus, then we need to learn how to speak the truths of Jesus into anything and everything that we (and those around us) face.

- God wants every person to grow into maturity. And according to what Paul writes to the Ephesians, maturity looks like Jesus.

- And so this is where Gospel fluency comes in.

- Because we all have our struggles, and we all know people facing different struggles.

- Parenting, work, school, relationships, finances, and more.

- And, for those of us who want to be good people (I’m not even talking about following Jesus now, but even if you aren’t sure about Jesus or don’t believe in Him at all, chances are you would agree with this), that when you have the opportunity to give someone helpful advice, you want to help.

- You want to “speak the truth in love”.

- But, for followers of Jesus, when we give our advice, or when we follow advice, that has nothing to do with Jesus, then we are failing to grow up into Jesus in all of these different areas of our real everyday life.

- Think about it this way.

- Someone you know is complaining about a situation at work.

- “I’ve been passed over for the promotion, again.”

- “I’m underappreciated.”

- “I’m underpaid.”

- “I’m overworked.”

- “I’m struggling.”

- And we hear that, and we want to be helpful, so we offer helpful advice.

- “You know, you need to stand up for yourself.”

- “Your boss doesn’t know how lucky they are to have you.”

- “You should quit.”

- “You should go somewhere you are appreciated.”

- “You should tell them they can either give you a raise or accept your resignation.”

- Or maybe someone you know is venting to you about a relationship they are in that is struggling.

- And you’ve listened, and you’ve heard them, and they ask you “what do you think I should do?”

- And so you tell them.

- “You don’t have to put up with that.”

- “You need to stand up for yourself.”

- “You need to look out for #1.”

- “I am with you, I support you, and I am going to help you get even.”

- Now, some of this may not necessarily be “bad” advice. Depending on the situation, some of it might be great advice.

- But, for followers of Jesus, when we give people advice (even good advice) that has nothing to do with Jesus, then instead of speaking the Truth of Jesus in love and allowing that person to grow up in their relationship with Jesus, we may actually be leading people further away from Him.

- Because oftentimes when our advice has nothing to do with Jesus, then we are making the situation the centre of our lives.

- Whether it’s a person or not, we make the problem the focus, and we allow the problem to have too much influence and control over us.

- Now, to be clear, that doesn’t mean that what’s happening isn’t wrong. It very well might be wrong, and maybe some steps need to be taken to make things right (or at least make things better or safer).

- But, if all we ever focus on is making the problem right, or making things just and good for us, then what happens if things don’t improve?

- What happens if things don’t get better?

- Then the person just stays stuck in their problem, a slave to their issue.

- So maybe someone is struggling with a relationship gone bad, or a bully at school, or something like that.

- Maybe instead of simply rushing to “Let’s get even! Let’s not put up with that!”

- Maybe instead we might say something that sounds more like: “I am here for you and will support you however I can. I will help you walk this path and deal with this difficult person if you want me to. But, what I believe is even more important than that is that you come to meet Jesus and know of His great love for you. Because He alone can heal you from everything that you are going through. What is most important is that Jesus becomes the centre of your life, instead of this difficult person or anything else. God can forgive, provide what you really need, and love you forever through what Jesus has done for you. Don’t give this person the loudest voice in your life, give that to Jesus and listen to what He is saying to you.”

- That might sound cheesy or unrealistic, especially depending on what real life situation you are thinking of as I’m sharing hypothetical ones, but let’s consider a parenting example:

- If you have kids, maybe this has happened to you, or maybe you have tried to do this yourself when you were younger.

- I can remember one of my kids, a few years ago, when they were doing something they knew that they shouldn’t be, they would try to hide.

- To cover up under a blanket.

- To turn and shrink away into a wall or corner.

- And I get a lot wrong as a parent, I really really do.

- But I remember one time seeing my child try to hide from me, out of shame for doing something they knew that they shouldn’t.

- And I realized that I had a choice to make.

- I could say “That’s right, you should be ashamed of yourself! You know better! Now knock it off!”

- But I’ve heard it said from others that we shouldn’t count on consequences to lead our kids into better behaviour.

- As though more shame will finally get them to stop doing shameful things.

- If you are a parent, a grandparent, or in a relationship where this applies, I want you to hear me on this.

- You never need to use guilt, shame, fear, or condemnation to “make things better”.

- That’s not what Jesus wants you to do.

- It doesn’t matter what they’ve done and how much you feel you need to “stand up for good Christian values.”

- Guilt, shame, fear, and condemnation are not good Christian values, no matter what behaviour you are coming against.

- And so I remember one moment in particular, when I said “I want you to look at me” and I got down to eye level, right face to face.

- And I said “I need you to understand something right now, and know that it is true for the rest of your life.”

- “No matter what you’ve done, no matter what you are doing, no matter what, you never have to hide from me.”

- Because I am an imperfect earthly father, but we have a perfect heavenly Father who always forgives, always restores, and always loves us.

- And we will never do anything that will make God stop loving us.

- And you can never do anything that will make me stop loving you.

- And when you are doing something you feel like you need to hide away in secret to do, you might be feeling some guilt or shame or condemnation.

- And God can even use those feelings to help us know what things we shouldn’t be doing.

- But when those feelings seem so big and so strong, just remember that Jesus is stronger and He can take away all of our guilt and shame and fear and condemnation.

- And I will always help you be close to Him so He can help you.

- This is the difference between good advice and Gospel fluency.

- Or maybe, let’s take this a little further.

- If you are a really good, really great, really super follower of Jesus (hands up?), then at some point you have probably heard someone tell you about something they were going through, and you gave them this advice:

- “Just read your Bible and pray about it.”

- Of course that’s good advice, and of course those are two things that we should all be doing more of.

- But, if we don’t know how (and if we don’t help others learn how) to meet with Jesus and get to know Jesus better during our times of reading the Bible and praying, then even doing these “good Christian things” could still actually lead us further away from Jesus.

- As Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders:

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- John 5:39-40

o You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

- It is possible to love the Bible so much, to search and study and learn from the Scriptures all day every day, and still miss Jesus.

- It is possible, to read our Bibles and pray, and still not be Gospel fluent.

- And when we do that, we miss the entire point.

- Bible studies are great. Prayer is crucial. Applying wisdom to finances, relationships, and everything else is important.

- However, if we fail to give each other Jesus, we lead each other away from Him.

- We might grow in Bible knowledge, but not love for Jesus.

- We might become the most religious pray-ers anyone has ever heard, but be talking to the wrong god.

- Our finances and families may be in order, while our hearts are out of order because we’ve done it all for the wrong reasons and with the wrong motive.

- We might be exactly “right” in what we are trying to get through our kids thick skulls. And we might “right” them right out of the house and lose our relationship with them forever.

- And this is where Gospel fluency comes in.

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- Learning to speak the Truth of Jesus into the everyday stuff of life.

- Now, before we wrap up our time together today, there is one more thing that is crucial to understand if this series is really going to make any difference:

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- We can’t do this alone.

- We don’t go through this in a solitary, introspective way.

- We need a Gospel community. We need a people (a family, a Church family) that we are immersed into the Gospel together with one another.

- So that we can be regularly reminding one another about the Truth of Jesus.

- Because we are all unbelievers in different areas on different days.

- Refusing to believe, failing to live fluently in the Good News of Jesus.

- And sometimes we are completely blind to those areas of unbelief, and we don’t even recognize the ways that we’ve strayed from the Gospel of Jesus.

- And we need each other to bring the Gospel into those areas of unbelief – into those everyday areas of life.

- You know, I’ve been friends with people who have gone through the French immersion program and finished it.

- And, you may know someone who has learned another language, you may know someone who is fluent in another language, or maybe you’ve experienced this yourself.

- But, when it comes to fluency, if you don’t use it, you will lose it.

- No matter how hard you practice during one season in your life, no matter how much you memorize, no matter how many languages you know how to say “Excuse me, where is the bathroom?” in.

- If you aren’t regularly and consistently around people who you can keep speaking to, if you aren’t regularly and consistently with others who you can listen to as they speak the language to you, eventually it will all be long gone and forgotten.

- And so, none of us will be able to become Gospel fluent on our own.

- No matter how hard we try, if we aren’t regularly surrounded by people who will speak the Gospel to us and over us and into our situations.

- If the advice that we are listening to and hearing contains no Gospel, then eventually we will forget how to offer the Gospel to others as well.

- And even if we do a really great job at listening to some sermons, and maybe even doing some of the “Now What” next steps over the next 8 weeks.

- If all of this comes to an end when the series is over, then we will lose our fluency and go back to giving “good advice” that doesn’t bring anyone any closer to Jesus.

- And so here’s what we need to all agree to.

- As we go through this series (and then continuing on after this series is over), let us not merely get better at speaking the Truth of Jesus into the everyday stuff of life.

- Let us also be willing to invite others, giving them permission, to speak the Truth of Jesus into our lives as well.

- And so, before we wrap up our service today, let’s practice Gospel fluency together through the act of communion.

- Because remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us, His death that brings us life, is crucial for all followers of Jesus to do regularly.

- To make it central.

- To immerse ourselves in it.

- To be fluent in it.

- So that, no matter what this past week has looked like for us.

- No matter what struggles or doubts or questions or issues or areas of unbelief we have had,

- We find everything we need, in Jesus.

- His death that brings us life.

- And His life that conquers our death.

- And now He is with us, through the power of His Holy Spirit, no matter where we go and what we do.

- We are never alone.

- ***Take communion together

- Almost one year ago I told you that I believe that we can play a part in completing the Great Commission.

- But, in order to do that, we need to be able to teach people what Jesus commanded.

- We need to be able to explain the Gospel in a way that doesn’t just save souls, but it changes lives.

- And fluency takes training, work, and immersion.

- So let’s immerse ourselves in the Gospel until the Good News of Jesus becomes our native, natural, language.

- Until we can speak it, listen to it and understand it, think it, read it, and even dream it.

- Because Jesus is Good News for everyone in every area of life.

- So let’s learn together how to speak His truth in His love.

- Close in prayer

- (*) Now What

- Benediction:

o Romans 16:25-26 (The Message)

o All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter. All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!

Scripture:

- Romans 1:16-17

- John 16:5-10

- Ephesians 4:11-5:2

- John 5:31-47

Prayer:

- Pray that God would bring greater understanding and application of His Good News in your life. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal areas of unbelief, doubt, and struggle, and that the Gospel would grow bigger and greater in your life.

- Pray that God would enable you to speak the Truth of Jesus with the Love of Jesus. Pray that the advice you give to others would always point people to Jesus.

Discussion/Reflection:

- If someone asked you “what is the Gospel?” how would you respond? If someone then followed up by asking “how does the Gospel make a difference in your daily life?” what would you say?

- How would you define what it means to “speak the truth in love”? Are there any areas of your life when you find it hardest to speak the Truth of Jesus in the Love of Jesus? Are there any relationships or situations where you find yourself more prone to give advice that has nothing to do with Jesus?

- What are some ways that churches and Christians settle for less than full Gospel fluency/immersion? What holds people back from fully putting every part of every day into the Good News of Jesus?

- What might it look like for you to practice becoming a little more “Gospel fluent” in your life this week?

Now What Next Step:

- This week, get together with someone else going through this “Gospel Fluency” journey (whether a family member, friend, or someone from the church family you trust).

- Allow each person to share something they are going through (it may be serious or just something that is coming up in the near future). Listen closely and look for ways to speak the Truth of Jesus into that situation.

- Try to pay attention to the ways where we allow “good advice” to replace “Gospel advice” and be more mindful of always pointing someone to Jesus with the words we speak.