Ephesians 4:15
Out Loud, Openly, and Often
I try not to repeat myself in sermons. In recent days, I have set
aside some messages because I believe I may be preaching my thoughts
and not God’s thoughts. However, I believe America may be just past a
crossroad—not at a crossroad any longer but past. With that in mind,
a question keeps coming to my mind. "What does God want us to do?"
We—Christians—need to know God wants us to do in these and in all
Days. I believe this text has the answer.
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ:
It does not matter if our country has a revival or a revolt, whether
God sends conviction or man bring chaos, this verse tells us what God
want us to do. It is not complicated. It is given to us in one
phrase. It is so simple that it outlines itself. God wants us to
(1) speak (2) the truth (3) in love.
Three thoughts:
I. Notice the Command-Speak
A. God wants His people to speak.
1. That is not the only thing God wants us to do.
2. It is not even the first thing God wants us to do.
3. But it is an essential thing that God wants every
Christian to do in the world in which we live.
4. God wants us to speak.
B. There are different ways listed in the Bible by which we can
speak.
1. God called us to preach.
Mt 10:7 And as ye go, preach….
a. The word preach means proclaim.
(1) That is all it means.
(2) You do not have to pastor a church to preach.
(3) You do not have to shepherd a flock to preach.
(4) You do not have to have a Scripture outlined to
preach.
(5) You do not have stand behind a pulpit or podium to
preach.
(6) All you have to do is to proclaim something.
b. Everyone in this room has probably preached a dozen
messages today.
(1) Wives, your husband gave you card or a flower or
a gift and you said, "I love you." You just
preached.
(2) If lunch was served at your house, someone went
through the house saying, "It’s ready! Come and
get it." That someone just preached.
(3) If you went out to eat and someone cut you off in
traffic, causing you to shout something about
the average IQ of drivers in Alabama. You just
preached.
c. In all of those cases, you made a proclamation.
(1) Don’t confuse yourself into thinking that you
cannot do what I am doing right now so you can’t
preach.
(2) You preach with every statement you declare.
(3) The only thing you need to add to your preaching
is a good topic.
(4) May I recommend Jesus.
(a) Proclaim that Jesus is God.
(b) Proclaim that Jesus came to take away sins.
(c) Proclaim that Jesus saved you.
(d) Proclaim that Jesus will save others.
d. Someone is going to say, "I am uncomfortable
proclaiming the news of Jesus to others."
(1) What you may not understand is:
(a) If you do not, you are being disobedient to
this command in the Bible.
(b) Some will never hear if you do not tell them
about Jesus.
(2) We are commanded to speak and preaching is one of
the means by which we may obey this command.
2. God called us to be His witnesses.
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.
Lu 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
a. This is one of the MAIN functions of the believers; however, I
believe this may be a bit more difficult than the first method of
speaking.
b. A witness speaks about what he has seen or what has
happened to him.
c. As strange has it may sound, of the three means the
Bible mentions in regards to our speaking, the first,
preaching, is probably the easiest.
(1) To witness is a bit more difficult because to be
able to witness, you must:
(a) …have seen or experienced something.
(b) …organize your thoughts and words so that
you can share it.
(2) The word "witness" is actually a legal term. It
is used when speaking of someone who is pledging
to tell the truth concerning an important event.
(3) You can make proclamations with no preparation at
all but to be a witness requires remembering,
realizing, and repeating.
d. Can we meet those conditions?
(1) Has anything happened to you? Please bear
witness.
(a) Were you headed to hell and God saved you?
(b) Were you living for the devil and God
translated you into the kingdom of His dear
Son?
(c) Where you addicted to drugs, alcohol,
pornography, violence, stupidity, and God
delivered you?
(d) Were you sick and healed you?
(e) Were you lonely and God sent a friend?
(f) Were you hungry and God sent food?
(g) Can I get a witness?
(2) To be a witness, we must spend a bit of time
thinking on and remembering what God has done
for us.
(a) It would do God’s people a world of good to
spend time remembering, reliving, and
rehearsing what God has done for them.
(b) First, it would help us personally.
(c) Second, it would prepare us to share it.
3. God called us to teach.
Mt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you….
a. Teaching is the most difficult of the three.
b. Teaching means that you know something worth sharing
with someone else.
c. Some level of getting into God’s Word is required if
we are going to accurately teach people who God is,
what God wants, and what God will do.
(1) If you are saved, you should know something worth
sharing.
(2) If you are saved, you can always learn something
worth sharing.
4. Pick at least one of these and resolve that you are going
to speak about Jesus, out loud, openly, and often.
C. The world is not going to want you to speak.
1. They are testing the waters now to see what they can shut
people up about.
2. Don’t let them hush you from speaking about Jesus.
3. Just don’t.
4. This is God’s command.
5. Speak.
II. Notice the Object-the Truth.
A. Speak what?
1. What is the object we are to speak?
2. The truth.
B. Notice, God does not say for us to speak the gospel.
1. The gospel is true and should be spoken, but the Bible
does not limit our speech to just the gospel.
2. The gospel is truth.
3. The Christian’s first duty is to preach the gospel.
a. The gospel saves, changes, and gives life.
b. Some of the Bible verses that I have given you are
specifically about proclaiming the gospel.
4. But there is more "truth" to be spoken that just the
gospel.
5. So we must study the Word of God and listen to the
Spirit of God to know what truths we are to speak.
6. In these days, in these hours, at these crossroads,
what kind of truths should we be speaking?
C. There is the truth of the gospel.
1. 3.14 billion people have never even heard the name Jesus.
(That’s almost half the population.)
2. 70,000 people die every day without Jesus. (That is 48.6
people every minute.)
https://bethanygu.edu/blog/guidance/7-missions-statistics-that-will-
motivate-you-to-go/
3. In North America, 20% of non-Christians do not even KNOW a
Christian.
4. World-wide, 80% of non-Christians do not even know a
Christian.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/august-web-only/non-
christians-who-dont-know-christians.html
5. In the United States, 44% have no idea where they will go
when they die. (That number includes Christians who
should have said "Heaven," atheists who should have said
"Nowhere," and the unsaved who should have said, "Hell."
American Worldview Inventory, Arizona Christian University & Barna,
2020
D. There is truth about the church that should be spoken.
1. Must be left alone (not allowed) to assemble.
2. Must be left alone to worship.
3. Must be left alone to preach the Bible.
4. Must be left alone to witness.
5. Must be left alone to minister.
E. There is truth about murder that must be spoken.
1. 63 million lives taken through abortion.
2. Abortion is not a political issue.
3. It is a Bible issue.
F. There is truth about homosexuality that must be spoken.
1. My brother shared with me a Federal law that he was made
aware of. He is a business owner and has a male employee
that is confused about what gender he is. He has decided
to call himself by a girl’s name. He has taken no steps
legally or medically to attempt to change his identity,
but it is now a federal crime if my brother and the other
employees of that business do not call him by his new
female name and identify him as a female.
2. The homosexuals have the force of the law behind them now.
3. That doesn’t change anything.
4. Truth did not change.
G. There are truths that must be spoken.
1. Have you seen yet that if a lie is told often enough?
people actually believe it is the truth?
a. Evolution, there is no God
b. Spanking is bad for your children. They are not
responsible.
c. Capitalism is bad. Socialism works.
d. They are born that way. They can’t help it.
2. The more the truth is silenced, the more the lie will
grow.
a. We are in the beginning of what the devil has planned.
b. Granted, it has taken him 2,000 years to love things
along this far, but he has a lot of velocity with
him now.
III. Notice the Condition-in Love
A. If you thought the first two parts of what God wanted was
hard, I think you were wrong. To me, this is the hard part.
B. How do you tell the truth to people who don’t want to hear it
in love?
1. Without too much passion
Pr 15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but
grievous words stir up anger.
Pro 25:15 …and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
2. Without insults, with respect
3. If possible, with humor.
a. Television and humor have changed the minds of
America about sin.
b. Sitcoms portrayed funny people sinning and America
laughed at it until it was normal to them.
c. Somebody said getting an opponent to smile while you
tell them something they don’t want to hear is like
giving them a shot without them feeling the needle.
4. With patience persistence
Pr 25:15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded…
5. Without force
a. Christians have no earthly clout any more.
b. The law is not with us and neither is public opinion.
(1) But force has never been our weapon.
(2) Truth has.
c. We are supposed to tell the people the truth, then let
them make up their own minds.
d. Granted, we have an interest in their decisions as it
determines the world that we will live in too, but
God has always wanted to let the people decide for
themselves.
e. We have no leverage to force a person to believe or
even to listen.
f. Our duty is summed up in the words God gave to Samuel
in the day they wanted a king like all the other
nations.
1Sa 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice:
howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew
them the manner of the king that shall reign over
them.
(1) God said, "Let them do what they want to do BUT
PROTEST SOLEMNLY to them."
(2) Make them aware of the consequences of their
decision.
This verse sums up what God wants us to do. As determined as the
world is to go against God, our duty is to keep telling them the
truth in love. May God help us to do so.
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