Speak the Truth

Everywhere I look lately I am bombarded by false truth and false teaching and white washed religion. It’s all over the media, it’s in conversations, it’s on the internet. I have read so many article and reports and actually witnessed controversy in the church over the last year that it saddens me. The church is under attack when it stands on truth, yet I feel that more people in the church need to be boldly speaking the truth. The church has gotten really good at sugar coating the truth and walking on tip toes, when people are walking in sin and dying right outside their doors. 

I even see it in my own life with people telling me not to be so harsh; it makes me stop constantly and question my conviction, and then I get mad at myself for doubting truth. I received a word several months ago to “speak the truth, boldly”, followed by many devotion times when the Spirit would lead me to verses about speaking truth, speaking out against the mainstream and standing up, even when you are the only one standing. I was reminded over and over again to pick up my cross and follow Him.

As I began to search out what “picking up my cross” meant for me personally and to search what God was calling me to, I realized it was His way of asking me if I was “all in”. Was I ready to carry my cross (pain, suffering, rejection) in order to follow Him? Following Christ is not always easy, especially in today’s world. He gives us hints of what it will cost in His Word - Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” This verse tells us it will be lonely and difficult.

A lot of people in the church believe that being a Christian is all about loving one another, which I totally agree that loving each other is first and foremost. After all Jesus Himself, told us several times to “love one another” (John 13:34-35; John 15:12; John 15:17). The problem, however comes, when we ask "what is love and how is it walked out?"

I believe we will never truly understand what love is until we get to heaven, but here on earth I believe letting someone stay in a destructive, unhealthy pattern, or not speaking up against outright sins, is not love.

Repentance was a huge part of the ministry of Jesus. As a Christian we are called to die to ourselves (Philippians 1:21) and be born again (John 3:3, 3:5-7). When we truly come to Christ we are a “new creation, the old has gone and the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). To me, that means a turning away of our own patterns, and stepping into His. It’s not love when we see a brother or sister in Christ, falling into their old patterns instead of following what they know to be true, and we remain silent. We are to encourage each other to walk on the narrow path but when we see someone stepping off that path and we remain silent and do nothing to correct them; that is not love.

We worry so much about offending, that we choose to let people continue in their destructive ways and even die in their sin. The truth can be offensive and most of the time people don’t want to hear it. Jesus always spoke the truth to people, and there were some that received it and others who waked away. Then there were those that were so offended that they conspired to shut the Truth up for good.

 I find that as I continue to speak truth and stand on the Word of God, it becomes a lonely place in this world and it is sad to see. I can only continue to pray that I will continue to conform to His will and not the pattern of this world; that when I am meet with those that do not wish to receive truth then I am quick to “brush the dust off my feet” (Luke 9:5) and move on; that if those that say they love me, see me faltering they speak truth. I continue to pray that I do not get offended by those who refuse to repent and that I let Him cast the judgment, not myself. It is a corrupt and sinful world and we the church are the only light they have, so we need to shine bright, the light of truth, no matter what comes against us.

Refining Out the Impurities

God has been turning up the heat and bringing a lot of impurities to the surface to burn them out. One of the major impurities He has brought up in me is my lack of trust. My lack of trust in people, and my lack of trust in Him. Though I still trust in the promises of God, I have realized that my trust in the process and my trust in my own gift of discerning and hearing His voice has diminished.

Because of everything that has happened in our lives over the past year, I began to doubt that I had heard God correctly. I don't doubt His will, but I confess that I have doubted my ability to discern His will. I also forgot, or should I say I didn't connect the dots of what has happened to the time before all of this that God gave me a choice. I could have taken a different path. He didn't show me what I was to walk through but He did reveal it would not be an easy path. He asked if I was willing to pay the price of following Him? At the time I was like, "Yes, God. I will pay any price." Then the time came for me to pay up. In the moment, I didn't see that what we were going through was a process of paying the price. 

At the time I knew that God had told me to stand up (1 Samuel 1:9 NIV), stand on (Habakkuk 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:15), and speak the truth (Ephesians 4:25). He told me that He was sending me to a "stubborn and obstinate people" (Ezekiel 2:4). I knew at the time the truth I was to speak would not be well received. I was willing to pay the price and long as it was only me to get hurt, then I saw the true "cost" of innocent people getting hurt, friendships lost and offenses toward others began taking root in myself and those around me. 

I've struggled the last few months, questioning, "did I hear God correctly?" "did I speak the truth out of love?" I can answer "yes" to both of those questions, but what I didn't realize is that by asking them, I let doubt in. There is nothing wrong with questioning your decisions, especially when the outcome is not what was expected, but when we know we did the right thing and still say, "but, what if..?", then we invite the enemy to come in and destroy our trust.

That is why I have been so silent lately. "Who am I to say these things?" "I spoke up and look what happened, people got hurt". These are just a couple of the lies the enemy has been whispering in my ear. I listened to a sermon today and it was just another pieces added to the puzzle of my healing. (Bridgeway's Stance on Hyper Grace - Chad Norris) Between that sermon, the cleansing stream study we are going through, and God revealing things to me through His word and close friends; it makes me realize that, yes, people got hurt because of the truth being spoken, I am sorry for that and I feel their pain (so much so I even took on their offenses as well as my own). The truth is offensive and often times when the truth is spoken impurities are forced out into the light. The impurities were already there, within myself and others, the truth just brought them up to be dealt with. It is then, when the impurities are exposed that it is up to the individual to decide what they are going to do with it. I cannot be held accountable for how others choose to react, I can only control how I react. 

I confess, it's been a roller coaster ride. At first I was o.k. (I hadn't seen the impurities yet), I knew I had followed God's will. I didn't understand the outcome but I trusted God that His hands were in it. Then, over time, I didn't hear anything from God, I thought that he had placed me in the desert to journey through what had happened. Only recently, did I come to the realization, with the help of Holy Spirit, that I had placed myself in the desert because of my doubt in hearing and discerning God's will for my life. 

Since that realization, I have confessed my lack of trust in God and in my lack of trust in my gift of discerning His will. I am now in the process of finding those doors in my past where mistrust has entered and closing them for good, with the help of Jesus. 

Had God shown me then, what the cost was going to be for my obedience, I honestly don't think I would have taken the same steps. Knowing what I know now, however, would I do the same thing? I would say, without hesitation, yes! Even though so many people got hurt, I have to trust God and trust that He knows what he is doing? No matter how painful this has been, it has brought things to the surface that needed to be brought into the light and burned out. Purification is, often times, a painful process. Just as we have to prune a plant so that it can be healthier and bear more fruit, God sometimes has to prune us. But there is comfort in knowing that it is for His glory and our benefit. There is comfort in knowing that He never leaves us or forsakes us. I have seen so much proof of that over the past few months. 

I thought God wasn't speaking to me, yet now that my ears are unblocked I can look back and see where He was never silent, I just couldn't hear Him through the doubt and through the offenses

Thank You, Lord for being there and allowing me this journey because without it true healing would not be able to come. Thank you, Lord, for letting me have my time in the pit to wallow but then pulling me out and not leaving me there. Thank You for the loving ways You stir up the impurities of doubt, mistrust, and offense, so they can be purged out. Thank You for the truth of Your Word, though is cuts like a sword, cutting away anything that is not from You, new growth appears leaving us healthier and stronger.

It reminds me of the rose out in front of my house. We used to have a tree in the front yard that shaded it and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to grow. We had to take down the tree because of carpenter ants and the rose took off and thrived in the sunlight. So much so that it began to grow wildly and wouldn't stay contained to the trellis we have placed to give it support. It began to grow into the walk way and was getting in the way of those wanting to enter. This year we pruned it way back, so far back I worry that it was too much, but just a few days ago I looked at it and saw the new buds and new growth. I am confident it is going to flourish and be healthier because we cur it back. I may be wrong because we are only human, but When God prunes we can trust that He knows what He is doing. In His wisdom He never prunes too much and always prunes the proper amount at the right time. Though it is painful, in the end we will be beautiful plants that will bear much fruit.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 Peter 1:6-7

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.