Conversations to Avoid and Conversations to Practice in Discipleship

Discipleship

Ready for every opportunity - Coaches

Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.

James 3:5b–12 ESV

5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Knowing what you are up against...

Interesting observation by Rod Dreher (https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/) describing America's mindset today:

(1) I am my desires (or a part of everyone’s desires -me)

(2) Justice is the fulfilling of my desires, injustice is the impeding of my desires

(3) You are either the ally or the enemy of my desires

(4) If you are the ally, I will tolerate you; if you are the enemy, I will seek to destroy you.

How do we use our speech in discipleship well? Not just physical but digital speech as well

Talk to avoid and practice to be healthy in community

Remind… without reasons except remember you were hated and hateful but you have received mercy

Nor explanation… the problem wasn’t so much with the wrong practice but the wrong talk of the church

Discipleship wasn’t happening enough… Discipleship was happening poorly

But the talk of the church wasn’t helping both because they weren’t practicing family discipleship and because they were getting distracted talking about the wrong things...

C.S. Lewis quote - see picture

“I feel a strong desire to tell you— and I expect you feel a strong desire to tell me— which of these two errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always send errors into the world in pairs—pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking about which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight through between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them.” Mere Christianity

Ready for every good work pivot

Talk to avoid about government… rebellious talk.

Talk to practice about government… obedient submission (within parameters) of the government you will disagree with

Talk about the culture and community… avoiding speaking evil and quarreling, pursuing gentle (reasonable) talk and courteous (respectful) talk

(within parameters)

Because we have received mercy...

Talk to avoid and practice to be healthy in church

Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, quarrels about the law

The church hasn’t done this perfectly… But God’s mercy still reigns

Talk about God’s mercy, Talk about how to live it out soberly, righteously, and godly

If you can’t put a verse with it, don’t talk about it.

If you’re just irritated, don’t talk about it.

If you can’t do it reasonably and respectfully, don’t talk about it.

If you aren’t pursuing positively what God wants us to be doing, don’t talk about it.

Pursue gentleness and respect in your speech concerning government and the culture and the church

What about others?(2 Timothy 2:24-26; 1 Peter 5:5b-8)

Healthiness helps families and churches produce healthy disciples

What do you want? Excellence and profitability or unprofitableness and worthlessness

Talk and do discipleship

You are a recipient of mercy. Justice is God’s to handle. Everyone is trapped by sin. I will show mercy to everyone.