1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Good morning, everyone. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Good morning. 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Um, we've been talking about this book, A Church Called Tove. 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 We've also been talking about the Bible. Let me be clear, there's another book that we've been talking about. 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Um, but this book has been the guide of our series, A Church Called Tove. 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Um, are we in week five or six? Are we in week 71? I don't know. I haven't, I've been here. I just don't pay attention well. 7 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:41,000 Kidding, just joking. Um, but yes, we've been using this book as our guide throughout this series. 8 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:58,000 It's been, um, yeah, it's been a good starting point for us to reflect on scripture and how we let scripture and the Spirit of God guide our culture and our community here. 9 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:05,000 Because this is the community we are responsible for. We are not responsible for the church entirety, that is Jesus. 10 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:15,000 But, um, we are responsible for being guided by the Spirit here and with each other and locally. 11 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,000 And so this has been a good, a good series for us. 12 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Um, tove, the biggest word on the front of this book, um, is the Hebrew word for good. 13 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,000 It is a word that is short and somewhat easy to remember. 14 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:39,000 Uh, and I've actually heard a few people, um, playfully using it, uh, in conversations like, but is it tove? 15 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Are you, are you saying it's tove? 16 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,000 But that's actually a great sign, um, that it's kind of moving through our minds. 17 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:58,000 And, um, that God's goodness and the want for that goodness to be a part of our spaces and our actions and our interactions, motivations, um, 18 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 so that our communities are permeated with God's goodness. 19 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Uh, it's a sign that it's in our minds and that is, well, it is good. 20 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Um, on the flip side, what's tough about this series and the book, uh, that is, that it's spurred, um, from is that it has to be written at all. 21 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,000 That this book had to be, had to be written. 22 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Um, a church called Tove was written because there have been so many churches, um, and faith communities that have not embodied God's goodness. 23 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,000 They have not been good. 24 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:49,000 That the goodness of God, as it was in the beginning, uh, on earth as it is in heaven, it's been preached, but it has not been practiced. 25 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:57,000 It has not been embodied. God's goodness has not been, um, embodied in these communities. 26 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:07,000 And listen, if you're jumping in on this series for the first time, please know that we are not going through this series because we think we are, in fact, the gleaming model of Tove. 27 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:14,000 We are going through it because we know the cultures that exist around churches, and some of you have been part of them. 28 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Some of us have been part of them, and the damage that has been done by spiritual communities and the leadership at the helm has been problematic, to say the least, but in far too many instances, violently life-altering and damaging. 29 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:43,000 So we here at the house, as individuals, households, and the fellowship of believers associated here with, are working through this series because we hope to embody Tove and foster a culture of Tove. 30 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:48,000 And so we keep it in front of us so that we don't forget it. 31 00:03:48,000 --> 00:04:00,000 And it is something we must do as a community, something that we are all in together, that it is an assignment that we all understand. 32 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,000 We will do best when we do this together. 33 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:13,000 And so we've spoken about a church of Tove, a church of goodness, as one that practices empathy. 34 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:20,000 We've talked about a church of Tove being grace-filled and people first. 35 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:32,000 And today we will talk about how a church that is Tove nurtures a community and a culture of truth and truth-telling. 36 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:44,000 So I'm going to read some scripture and at the house we take a posture of attentiveness that can look like standing, if that is something you are able to do and want to do. 37 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,000 Otherwise, posture your heart at full attention. 38 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:57,000 I welcome you to stand if you can for the reading of Ephesians 4, 21 through 25, chapter 5, 1 and 2. 39 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,000 And then I will read just a short verse from John 3. 40 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:07,000 So Ephesians 4, 21 through 25, it says, 41 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:16,000 That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 42 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:25,000 You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, 43 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:35,000 to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 44 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:43,000 Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 45 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,000 Chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. 46 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 47 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,000 Sorry. And 8 through 11. 48 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 For you were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord. 49 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Live as children of the light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. 50 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:16,000 And find out what pleases the Lord, have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 51 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,000 John 321. 52 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,000 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light. Amen. 53 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Let's pray. 54 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:32,000 God, would you guide us by the truth to come into the light? 55 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:49,000 Will you help us be people whose truth of you and truth and truth telling is always on our lips, that we would be known for being people of light? 56 00:06:49,000 --> 00:07:01,000 And that as we seek to be a community that embodies your goodness, as we seek to be people that embody your goodness, God, we need your help. 57 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,000 Help us do that together. 58 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Help us do that together, realizing that a community that the people of God are meant to be in unity and working together towards your goodness. 59 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,000 We're going to do that better if we're doing it together, not on our own. 60 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:37,000 So as we hear these words today, will you help us listen with a unified heart, a unified mind and feel empowered as a community to go forth from here, walking in your goodness and embodying it? 61 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,000 I pray this in your name. Amen. 62 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:47,000 So how do we become a truth telling culture? 63 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:57,000 How do we become a place that and a community where that is a value of ours that is unfaltering? 64 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:02,000 Truth is one of the New Testament writers' favorite words to describe Jesus. 65 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,000 It shows up an awful lot. 66 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:14,000 The gospel, salvation and the Christian ways of life are all identified by truth and being called true. 67 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 Jesus wasn't merely the Lord of truth. 68 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 He was the embodiment of truth. 69 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,000 He was truth itself. 70 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:27,000 The gospel wasn't considered news of the truth, but the truth itself. 71 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Jesus said of himself, even in John 14 six, I am the way, the truth and the life. 72 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:42,000 And so because of those realities, those that became followers of Jesus walking as those in the way, as it was known that first century. 73 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:55,000 It was understood that they and now we are to walk in truth and anything that opposes the truth or undermines the truth is not of God and not part of truth telling. 74 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:04,000 It's not part of a tove culture to be a follower of Jesus because he is the embodiment of truth, being truth itself. 75 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Those that profess to be Christians also understand that there is no room then in our lives and in our communities and in our churches for anything that is not true. 76 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:22,000 For lying, deceit, cover ups, suppression, gaslighting or spin. 77 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 All of these things are in fact toxic. 78 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:36,000 Telling the truth and even pursuing the truth, defending the truth is who we are as Christians. It's who we need to be and it's who we are meant to be. 79 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:41,000 When we don't tell the truth, we deny our identity and our calling. 80 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Forming a culture centered on truth and being a people that seek to embody it is hard. 81 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:59,000 It is hard. We live in a world where the term alternative facts has popped up in the zeitgeist and it is not said tongue in cheek. 82 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Instead, we've broadly taken on the attitude of somebody is lying. 83 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:10,000 In fact, we've seen it happening on national television or in the news or on social media. 84 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:18,000 We all know it. We all identified it and we're just moving on as though it's fine. 85 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:28,000 And that folks is an easy lesson in forming and fostering the culture we live in today, which to be clear is not a truth telling culture. 86 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:35,000 And so, yes, forming a truth telling culture is hard because we are forming it. 87 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 It is counter culture. 88 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:44,000 And so it takes it takes a lot to do something counter. 89 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,000 Everything around you is against it. 90 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:59,000 Forming a truth telling culture requires us to resist what is false and to fight anything that is less than truthful, both within and outside of ourselves. 91 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:05,000 And truthfully, that just feels overwhelming at best and impossible at worst. 92 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:14,000 It feels overwhelming in an era of myths and disinformation and alternative facts, false narratives and gaslighting. 93 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,000 I used to enjoy social media, didn't we all? 94 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:28,000 When all we were posting was our dinner plates with the food that we were eating and our pumpkin spice lattes on October 1st as though it was a national holiday. 95 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,000 I made my last post on the socials at the end of February 2020. 96 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:42,000 Shortly after that post, a deluge of information was coming out online about a highly transmissible virus moving around the world. 97 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:53,000 I was coming back from the work that I do in Europe every February and felt like if anybody remembers the movie The Neverending Story. 98 00:11:53,000 --> 00:12:03,000 Maybe it didn't hold up well in terms of like you watch it and the animatronics in it are like, I know, but it's one. 99 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,000 Listen, it's wonderful. 100 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,000 I think you should also watch it. 101 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000 But I am just putting a small disclaimer on it. 102 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Anyway, if you remember that movie or you read the book, there was the nothing that was like at Atreyu's heels. 103 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:23,000 And like it was this cloud of darkness that was eating up all of the realm of imagination. 104 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,000 And so Atreyu was trying to stay ahead of it. 105 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:36,000 And this is it's a little dramatic, but this is a little bit how I felt because I was like moving westward from country to country to country to country. 106 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:43,000 And I felt like the nothing, this virus that nobody knew anything about was like on my heels as I kept going west. 107 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:54,000 And the weekend I was flying out of Madrid's airport, like the weekend two days after I flew out, they had a major sports event that people from all over the world came to. 108 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 And it turned into like like a recognizable super spreader event. 109 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,000 And so I was like, the nothing is after me. 110 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,000 That's what it felt like. 111 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:08,000 Anyway, my point is nothing ever any story. 112 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Although you should watch it. 113 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,000 It's a great movie. 114 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:26,000 Anyway, with that being the case and COVID becoming this thing that we made a battleground information wise, it became a chaotic place. 115 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000 And it was really difficult. 116 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:29,000 It was difficult period. 117 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,000 But being online, this is where I started to falter. 118 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:42,000 Everyone became a scientist after reading two articles and an anecdotal post from their off grid uncle in Alaska. 119 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,000 Listen, I love information. 120 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,000 I love information. 121 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,000 I love it. 122 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:48,000 I love facts. 123 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:49,000 I love stories and events and dates. 124 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000 And I want all the information. 125 00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:10,000 And for somebody who grew up experiencing life so based in their feelings that changed every minute, I realized that information and facts were stable and that we could all look at them and agree on them and be like, oh, that's grounding. 126 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,000 What a good feeling. 127 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Except that that changed that felt like it very much changed 2020 was the most chaotic fever dream ever. 128 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:23,000 And online was rough. 129 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,000 And listen, please hear me. 130 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:33,000 I am not casually reducing the events of 2020 down to a fever dream and speaking slowly and solely rather on the flow of information. 131 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:47,000 I was losing my mind after event, after tragedy, after, after, and I was losing my mind because I'd see a post and I'd go and do the thing that you should do on social media. 132 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Let's see what date that original post was published. 133 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,000 Let's see who funded that article. 134 00:14:53,000 --> 00:15:04,000 I was critically thinking people when we're posting information, except people weren't doing that they were just posting and I felt like I needed to like police that and it was like driving me crazy. 135 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:10,000 Anybody else feel that way. 136 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:17,000 Anyway, my it all started to get real chaotic, and it was not good for my state of mind. 137 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:26,000 You can only do so much of that but the difficult thing about the spread or spread of miss or disinformation was the fact that the agent was there to spread it. 138 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:42,000 People who were willing to accept it and not find out the truth behind the things or weigh the truth or discern the truth or be measured as they looked at something. 139 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:49,000 There were just fields and fields of dried tinder for the flames to catch and spread. 140 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:55,000 And it was a lesson in how to not foster truth telling. 141 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:07,000 So when it comes to knowing the truth, which is how it's a it's a it's a part of the tripod of fostering a culture of truth telling. 142 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:23,000 How do we know the truth, I was speaking about information and managing it, but that's not where I want to go in terms of knowing the truth my point there is more about a people that value the truth, and we'll both take responsibility and be responsible 143 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:28,000 in seeking it as a practice in life. 144 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:37,000 So yes, that turns up in things like social media, or the narratives we choose to share, but it's a good gauge to see how we value the truth. 145 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:51,000 Do we foster truth as a practice ourselves so that we are by extension fostering a practice of discernment for what is true beyond us in the areas that we have influence and connection. 146 00:16:51,000 --> 00:17:05,000 So, back to Tove here. A church, a people who want to become and foster a truth telling culture. We need to get as close to the person of truth as possible. 147 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:24,000 And to fill up in it to be a follower of Christ Christ should mean that we look to Christ as the center point of truth, and in Christ, the knowledge and understanding of truth, become something you, we desire and get intimately close to. 148 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:36,000 So from there, it then gives us ability and a framework to understand our world and discern what the truth really is outside of us. 149 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:53,000 Cindy helped me get into a practice quite a while ago of asking what is true. When I find myself spinning out and asking myself or asking the spirit to discern for me what is true, it's a good question or guide to have always at hand. 150 00:17:53,000 --> 00:18:05,000 Comes from Philippians four eight. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. 151 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000 The first one is what is true. What is true. 152 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:24,000 When Jesus was in his last hours with his disciples, he told them about the coming of the Holy Spirit, who he identified as the spirit of truth who goes out from the Father who will guide you into all truth. 153 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:35,000 This is in John 15 and 16. Later on in the New Testament, it is affirmed in First John five six, it is the spirit who testifies because the spirit is truth. 154 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:41,000 Because the truth itself left the advocate, the spirit to guide us in discerning truth. 155 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:50,000 This gives me great comfort, because in a world where information has become increasingly chaotic because of the internet, and it's become weaponized though that's not new. 156 00:18:50,000 --> 00:19:04,000 We've seen it just, we've just seen it more, I can feel overwhelmed. It gives me great peace to be reminded that I have help, not just sorting through the information but going deeper to understanding which things are important 157 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:11,000 and which things are not in that moment, what narrative is worth attending to, and what just ends up being more fuel for the fire. 158 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:23,000 And as I practice knowing truth, capital T, I am also able to quiet down the noise around something and hear the truth in it as truth reaches for truth. 159 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:31,000 Which is probably the key part. What is at the core of this ball of confusion, whatever that is, to you and the moment. 160 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:36,000 Because what may be getting the biggest attention may just be a red herring set to distract you. 161 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:46,000 When I seek to know truth and have a practice of listening to the spirit and discerning, the central truth of something is able to be made more clear. 162 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,000 So once I know and I understand and I discern the truth, what do I do with it? 163 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000 We do the truth. 164 00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,000 What I said earlier about how for me, a person who had built their life on feeling, facts felt safe. 165 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,000 But that is only one part of the thing. Facts live in the mind. 166 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:15,000 I can make logical sense of them, but the reality of Jesus being the truth is that it must go deeply into my heart. 167 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:21,000 If you want to know someone's mind, this is a quote, this isn't me saying it, but it is unattributed. 168 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:27,000 If you want to know someone's mind, listen to their words. If you want to know their heart, watch their actions. 169 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:35,000 Truth needs to live in our minds and our hearts so that truth is what comes out in our lives. 170 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Our words and our actions. Truth is not just something we know, it is what we do. 171 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,000 First John 1, 5 through 6, this is the message we have heard from Jesus and declare to you, God is light. 172 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:59,000 In him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and we do not live out the truth. 173 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Becoming and fostering a truth telling culture is not just in what we say, however that is big and it is important. 174 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:15,000 The narrative we share, the facts we purvey, the spin we provide, or the way we frame something matters. 175 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Truth is also approved and witnessed by what we do. 176 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:27,000 I can say that I really believe in sustainability, that I want to care for the earth, 177 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:34,000 but don't have actions to back it up by making real change in my life or my community, or I don't talk about it with others, seek to find solutions. 178 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:42,000 Do I really believe it? I can say that I really believe economic and political change is something I want to see, 179 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:48,000 but I don't vote in local elections, or know what's going on in my town or my region or my state, 180 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:54,000 and I don't get involved in the neighborhood or my community. Do I really believe it? Do I really want it? 181 00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:02,000 I can say that I really believe in justice for all in a world that is painfully polarized and witnessing incomprehensible tragedy daily, 182 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:10,000 but I don't inform myself and find organizations to get involved with or speak up when I see injustices actively playing out in front of me. 183 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,000 Do I really believe it? And those statements can feel incriminating. I don't mean it to be. 184 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:22,000 I do not think that we can jump into every fight, but we can help speak truth to the narratives that are around us, 185 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:28,000 listen to the spirit, and know that as the spirit leads us in all truth, it will lead us into action. 186 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:41,000 And when it does, we need to be open-hearted and willing to do the next thing, to do the truth of what we believe. 187 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:46,000 My point here is that knowing and discerning the truth is only part of it. 188 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,000 I could throw in a little Martin Luther by way of James and add, Faith without works is dead. 189 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,000 We've probably heard that a lot if you've grown up in church. 190 00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:05,000 The point of the doing of the truth, because truth is also a matter of the heart, along with the doing, it has to come from a heart of love. 191 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:12,000 So 1 Corinthians 13, 6, Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. 192 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:17,000 I know that for some, that is edging a little close to the cliche, tell the truth in love, 193 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:23,000 which has gained some taint as a way of covering up a hurtful or terrible thing coated in sweetness. 194 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:28,000 It's the Southern, bless your heart. 195 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:34,000 For some, this has been manipulated to become a bit of an agent of control and permission to be awful to somebody, 196 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000 except that the thing was delivered with a spoonful of sugar, so it's okay. 197 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,000 I want to re-examine that in this context. 198 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:51,000 I want to be clear that when we talk about truth and love going hand in hand, it's so much more different than that. 199 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,000 It's not what we say, it's what we do, right? 200 00:23:54,000 --> 00:24:02,000 So Paul talking, speaking to the churches about unity and maturity in the body of Christ in Ephesians 4, 14-16 says, 201 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,000 then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves, 202 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:12,000 and blown here and there by every wind of teachings, by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming, 203 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,000 instead speaking the truth in love. 204 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:25,000 We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is at the head, that is Christ. 205 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:31,000 From him, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, 206 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:37,000 grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. 207 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:52,000 So as we do that work, as we do the truth, it has to be from a community that is growing up in love and pursuing that in partnership. 208 00:24:52,000 --> 00:25:02,000 So God's call for us to live in the truth in its light is an exhortation to know the truth, make the truth a way of life, 209 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:09,000 open ourselves to the spirits revealing of truth and move forward in action, 210 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:19,000 and then be vulnerable to the truth so that we can live honestly before God, surrendering to the truth. 211 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,000 Sometimes this last thing is actually the hardest. 212 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,000 All of us believe that we are the good guys. 213 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,000 Generally speaking, people don't believe that the violence they wage, 214 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:36,000 the manipulation they orchestrate, or the narratives they spin are done out of purposeful deceit or evil. 215 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,000 They believe it's the right thing. 216 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,000 They are doing the right thing. They are setting things right. 217 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:49,000 Everyone else has lost their way and I need to set it right. 218 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:56,000 Becoming a follower of Christ, the truth, and getting close to the truth, knowing and discerning it, 219 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:06,000 and then opening yourself to actions that bear witness to the truth you profess may, well, will lead you down some tough paths. 220 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:13,000 You may find out that you are not the good guy. 221 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:18,000 You may find out that there is some darkness in your heart where you thought the light was on. 222 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:27,000 You may find out that your cultural biases, the region you grew up in, the people you spend time with, the things you listen to, 223 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:36,000 the scriptures you thought you knew that had been reframed, are actually different than the truth that Christ is growing in you. 224 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:45,000 You may find yourself confronted with some truth that does not fit nicely in the narrative you have aligned yourself with and you have some choices to make. 225 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000 That can be really hard. 226 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000 Surrendering to the truth has consequences. 227 00:26:52,000 --> 00:27:02,000 For some, telling the truth can mean losing friends, a community, standing in that community, 228 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:11,000 because those around you would prefer the alternative facts, whatever they may be. 229 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,000 The ones that maintain the status quo. 230 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:24,000 When the MeToo movement started gaining shape, the people who came forward were ostracized and experienced despicable opposition. 231 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,000 Lives were threatened. 232 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,000 A lot was taken away. 233 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:34,000 When civil rights leaders throughout history spoke up about the truth of inequity and injustice, 234 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:42,000 they were met with violence to the extent that it cost many their lives over the course of history. 235 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Telling the truth is hard. 236 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Doing the truth is harder. 237 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:55,000 On another side, we can sometimes oppose the truth because it will actually end up dismantling something we benefit from. 238 00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:01,000 A paradigm that's provided safety and comfort, a paradigm that has given you influence and status and power, 239 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:05,000 and so it's just much easier to continue with the lie. 240 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,000 A paradigm that made you out to be the good guy. 241 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,000 Those things are hard to lose. 242 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,000 No one likes losing something. 243 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:21,000 And in both scenarios, though, becoming and fostering truth-telling usually means we lose something because our world, 244 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:27,000 and regrettably, many of our churches, are not set up for truth. 245 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:34,000 They are systems set up to run on agreement. 246 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:39,000 The kingdom of God is not a system. 247 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:45,000 It is meant to be a home. 248 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:50,000 A truth-telling culture calls us to surrender to the truth, 249 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:58,000 to be humble and vulnerable and willing to submit ourselves to the truth even when it is most difficult. 250 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,000 Because this is how the light shines in the darkness. 251 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:09,000 This is how the kingdom becomes the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. 252 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,000 And it sets us free. 253 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:21,000 In the heart of the circle of Tove, there is a saving, healing, restorative power unlike anything we can discover in any other way. 254 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,000 Truth is a person. 255 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:28,000 That person speaks truth to us and his spoken word heals us. 256 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,000 The Bible describes the wonderful work of God in many ways. 257 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:41,000 God saves, he rescues, God ransoms, God heals, God cures, God reconciles. 258 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:45,000 God is about all of those things. 259 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:53,000 But we have to align ourselves with his truth, with truth itself, in order to experience those things. 260 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,000 You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. 261 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:03,000 Living in the light sets us free to love the light and hate the darkness. 262 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,000 For once, you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 263 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000 Live as children of the light. 264 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:19,000 False narratives are not just spin or even brand protection, they are darkness. 265 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:23,000 Truth always leads to growth and freedom on the other side. 266 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:28,000 It is hard. It is hard. 267 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:33,000 But we are talking about the kingdom here and we are talking about light. 268 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:41,000 What we give for it, we gain in the kingdom. 269 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,000 Truth, like anything else, is a practice. 270 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:51,000 It is a practice and we will have really good days and we will not have really good days. 271 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,000 That is the reality of practice. 272 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,000 Kennan is one of my piano students. 273 00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:00,000 So is Ruby. She's not in here. 274 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:06,000 So Kennan understands what practice looks like and that there are some weeks that practice went really well. 275 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:13,000 And some weeks it was harder. Sorry, I'm putting you on the spot right now. 276 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,000 But we talk a lot about the progress over time. 277 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:22,000 What is the progress over time? Are you moving forward or are you moving backwards? 278 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:27,000 We might have a day that didn't go great. We might have a week that didn't go great. 279 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:30,000 That is how practice works. 280 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:36,000 But over a stretch of time, do you find yourself becoming more a person of truth as you practice? 281 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:41,000 Have you stayed with this practice of truth telling? 282 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:53,000 So that over time you can see yourself fostering and becoming a person that celebrates truth telling. 283 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,000 I practice truth telling with myself. That's how it has to happen. 284 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,000 We have to practice truth telling with ourselves. 285 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,000 By being truthful and honest about the state of things within me. 286 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,000 I have to practice truth telling with God. 287 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,000 I have to practice truth telling with others. 288 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:19,000 It has to be a full, whole person experience. 289 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:32,000 I can't practice truth telling in one area and hope that I am in all fostering and becoming a truth telling culture around me. 290 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,000 Small caveat. Those things need to be done in balance. 291 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:41,000 And love needs to be essential to them. 292 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,000 I say this in terms of when I am honest with myself. 293 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:50,000 A lot of times we have difficulty being honest with ourselves because it leads us down this road of I'm so stupid. 294 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:55,000 I'm so terrible. It leads us down a road of condemnation. 295 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000 A self condemnation. 296 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:01,000 But truth telling and love are meant to work together. 297 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:06,000 And as we are honest with ourselves and about the state of things with me. 298 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:10,000 I can also be honest about the fact that God loves me. 299 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:15,000 And as I am honest about the things within me. I am under the love of Christ. 300 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:19,000 And I need to speak that to myself. 301 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,000 As I am honest with God. 302 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:29,000 Some of us come from backgrounds where parent figures or even how we were taught about God meant condemnation. 303 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:33,000 Your sins mean God hates you. 304 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:36,000 And so when we practice truth telling with God. 305 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:41,000 We also need to come to terms with the fact that God loves us. 306 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:45,000 And that he does not. 307 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:51,000 When I bring my truth to him and I say these are the things that I need to be honest about. 308 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,000 God is not sitting there like well you're an idiot. 309 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:58,000 Figure it out. You're on your own. I'm over this. 310 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:03,000 That is not. That is not the posture of God. 311 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:08,000 He welcomes us in love and he speaks to us in love. 312 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:12,000 If you are hearing condemnation and you think it is coming from the voice of God. 313 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,000 I want to tell you that that is not true. 314 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:21,000 When we bring our truth to God when we bring ourselves to God when we bring our truth telling and our honesty to God. 315 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000 He will respond to us in love. 316 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,000 He does not respond to us in hate. 317 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,000 And that is something we need to come to terms with as well. 318 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:36,000 Because that has made us very scared to come and be truth truthful with the Lord. 319 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000 And lastly we need to be truth tellers with each other. 320 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,000 And this is what the core of the book is. 321 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:46,000 But I don't think we can really get to the core of what that is about truth telling among us. 322 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,000 If we are not practicing the truth telling in those other areas. 323 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:54,000 But we need to be a truth telling culture here as well as a community with each other. 324 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,000 Upholding each other to truth. 325 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,000 But also in love. 326 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:05,000 Recognizing that if I am going to be honest. 327 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,000 And we need to foster a culture of truth telling. 328 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:13,000 We also need to foster a culture of love around that. 329 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:19,000 So that truth moves us forward in a good direction. 330 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,000 And not one where we are all sitting here like. 331 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,000 If I open up I am going to get condemned. 332 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:25,000 I am going to get hated. 333 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:26,000 Somebody is going to shut me down. 334 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,000 Somebody is going to silence me. 335 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Somebody is going to. 336 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:33,000 We need to know that if we are going to be truth tellers. 337 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:37,000 That we know that this is a safe place to do it. 338 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:44,000 But it takes a full 360 practice in our lives. 339 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:49,000 And so we need to have a healthy relationship with truth. 340 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,000 And the practice of truth. 341 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,000 To the point that we cannot speak a false narrative. 342 00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:01,000 We have so practiced self-examination and true retelling of narratives. 343 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:06,000 That truth telling is something that becomes a part of our own personal culture. 344 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:11,000 And then the culture around us. 345 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,000 I know that in regards to what we talked about beginning and fostering. 346 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:20,000 Becoming rather and fostering a culture of truth telling. 347 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 It is far, you know, it can have momentary. 348 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,000 Or rather it is far beyond just issues of momentary discomfort. 349 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:31,000 I know that for some being an agent of light in our world is not. 350 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:35,000 It is not just an issue of being like I am just going to be uncomfortable for a minute. 351 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,000 Like it can be life altering. 352 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,000 And I understand that. 353 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,000 I don't want to make light of the fact that like just be truth tellers and you will be fine. 354 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,000 All things will work out well in the end. 355 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,000 As I said it is hard. 356 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:56,000 But if we want to continue to build not just local church that is practicing goodness. 357 00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:07,000 But that we are building a church universal right now that is good. 358 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:13,000 It is incumbent upon us to really pursue that. 359 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,000 So I don't know where that leaves you today. 360 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:21,000 Some of you may have very specific things weighing on your heart that you are like okay. 361 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,000 I have to do something with this now and the thing is this. 362 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,000 It may be something that you have had in front of you for a while. 363 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:34,000 Or it may just be this may be new and there are things coming this week that you need to think about. 364 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,000 I don't know. 365 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,000 But I am going to as we close in prayer I am going to give us just a moment of quiet. 366 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,000 Quiet reflection. 367 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:47,000 For you to have a moment of truth telling with the Lord. 368 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:52,000 And then take some time to listen to the spirit as well. 369 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,000 And I will close us out in just a moment. 370 00:37:55,000 --> 00:38:14,000 Let's have some quiet before God. 371 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,000 Jesus thank you for your love for us. 372 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:31,000 I am grateful that when we take a position of truth telling that is something you rejoice in. 373 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,000 And delight in. 374 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,000 It is a place of light and light is where you dwell. 375 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:46,000 And so we are joining you when we become a culture of truth tellers. 376 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:56,000 And I am grateful that you are joining us when I practice a truth telling culture in myself. 377 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:01,000 Whatever is on our minds and our hearts today in this moment. 378 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:06,000 Whether it is something that we have been kind of thinking through. 379 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:09,000 Or whether it is something you are going to bring to our attention this week God. 380 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:16,000 And God's openness and willingness to respond with action. 381 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:28,000 Whatever these things of truth may be help us first and foremost align ourselves with you as the source of truth. 382 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:33,000 And then help us grow in our knowledge and discernment of truth. 383 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:38,000 From there being able to move into action. 384 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:45,000 And God when you confront us with truth that we don't like or we are uncomfortable with. 385 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:50,000 I pray that you move us to surrendering to the truth. 386 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:55,000 And that in our lives that this cycle would just continually be moving. 387 00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:00,000 That we would continue to be to move deeper into your spirit of truth. 388 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:01,000 Into your truth. 389 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:05,000 That we would continue to move more bold in our actions of truth. 390 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:13,000 And that we would continue to be more open and vulnerable to surrendering to truth in our lives. 391 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,000 With all these things we need your help. 392 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,000 We are not capable of doing them on our own. 393 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:27,000 So we trust you to guide us and to provide what we need as we move forward in these things. 394 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:35,000 I pray this in your name. Amen.