The Secret to Difficult Conversations: Truth + Love | John Giftah | Christian Sermon

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, Wow, the world is a crazy place and it just seems to get crazier and crazier. Ease your mind and take a break. This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living, and Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live the life that you were created for. Your host is a top ranking podcaster, best selling author, world record holder, aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist, and founder of John Gifta International.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

0:46 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, Welcome to this edition of the Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta podcast. All through this week we're looking at various aspects on how as Christians should we respond when we see injustices all around us, be in justice happening in your workplace, or in your community, or in your church or whatever, and how should we as Christians respond? Right, So, one of the things I want to talk about is how the Scripture says in Ephesians four fifteen that we are called to speak the truth in love.

1:16 Speaker 2: See. I want you to understand, yes, we have to speak the truth. We have to stand up for what is right. We have to be prevalent in saying, you know what, this is the truth, and I'm standing up for it, and you've got to speak it. You can't just keep it to yourself. The Bible says you have to speak the truth. But the question is how are you speaking the truth? Because we're living in a time and age where, especially when you go on social media, people have forgotten that when they comment, they're commenting to somebody who's a real user.

1:49 Speaker 2: Like, imagine if I'm talking to you face to face right right now, even though I'm talking to you through a camera, but I should all always imagine or remember that I'm talking to you face to face. And when you're commenting, many times we tend to forget that the person you're texting or you're commenting, or you're sending that response to is a real individual, a real individual who is facing their own set of battles, emotional baggages. Maybe they have their own insecurities, they're also facing their own set of questions and turmoils and problems, and they're a unique package just like you.

2:35 Speaker 2: But we forget that, and that is one of the hardest things that we see today because of social media, where people just say, oh, I'm going to speak my mind and they say some of the rudest things. They're not being nice. They're always filled with so much of bitterness and hatred where they just say whatever comes to their mind. For example, I I've seen instances where when people comment, they say things that are very detmental. They body shame the person, they attack the person. This is something very common on social media.

3:12 Speaker 2: But I'm challenging you today, if you are a believer, you gotta rise up. You gotta be better than that. The Bible goes on to say, instead of instead speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Christ. We have to grow in maturity. And that is lacking big time today. That is lacking big time in the body of Christ. Because I'm telling you, if the world is behaving in a certain way, I'm sorry, that's because they do not know the Lord, and we need to pray for them.

3:52 Speaker 2: But you, if you are saying I'm a professing believer, if you are saying I love the Lord, you are saying I gave my life to Christ, and I want the Holy Spirit in me to sanctify me. And you're saying that you're allowing the spirit and you're healing to the Holy Spirit, and you're allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work in you to perfect everything which concerns you. Then you need to allow the fruit of the Spirit to also be prevalent away your life. I want you to think about this. How are you responding.

4:29 Speaker 2: Are you responding with just being blunt with your truth or are you responding with that truth being filtered through love. The same thing that you want to say as truth, you can say it in a way that can cause you to probably attack an individual, or you can speak it with so much love that you're not attacking the individual, but you're attacking the system. See, this is an important and lesson that you need to learn. You are not called to attack another person. You're called to attack or to debate the principle, the policy, or the system or the ideology.

5:11 Speaker 2: You're not called to attack a person. This is a big thing you need to understand. This is why many people are not able to do things properly. They're not being effective because they're just being very vocal in or you know what, Oh this person as this political ideology, and they hate them. If you hate them, how are you going to reach them? How are you going to preach to them? The other day a person reached out to me saying he meant, well, he had prepared a video that he wanted to post. But this video he had a good heart, no doubt about it.

5:52 Speaker 2: But he saw that in a certain denomination there were certain wrong teachings, and so his entire video was to attack that denomination. And then I told them, listen, in this process, you're not reaching that people of that denomination because the minute they realize you're attacking them, they're not going to watch you, or even if they watch, they're going to watch to defend themselves, and you're just going to close the opportunity for them to actually receive the truth from you. And I said the same thing.

6:24 Speaker 2: If you want to just preach the truth, preach it with loo so that you're not going to close the opportunity for them to even listen. And he was so convicted by it he changed the entire video and he made a new video where he said, you know, my focus is on preaching the people. My focus is on reaching the people with the truth with love, not to attack them and not to close the opportunity to even reach them. Today, I want you to think about this. Are there areas in your life where you're reacting just in a very hasty manner, filled with that bluntness.

7:12 Speaker 2: See I know some people have that gift of being very blunt, but I want you to think about this. In the process of being blunt, don't cut off dice with people

7:26 Speaker 2: to whom you are actually called to probably preach the gospel. I still remember there was this incident where a person had brought her non Christian friend, a friend of a different faith to church for the first time, and after the service, they happened to meet another anti in church, and that antie ended up talking to her and asked her what is her name? And the minute she said this was my name, she said, oh, so you're not a Christian And that person said no, I'm not, and the antie, without even thinking about anything, she just said, oh, do you know that means you're going to Hell?

8:07 Speaker 2: And that girl was caught off god like she was like, oh my gosh, I what is this And she said, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you are going to go to hell. Now tell me whether you are going to believe in Jesus Christ or not. And it went in a very bad shape, and that girl was completely sweary and petrified by whatever happened. She said, you know what, I'm never going to come back to church ever again and left. Guys, I wanted to understand something here. You may have a good heart, but in that process of having a good heart, don't forget that you have to speak the truth with love, not to close the opportunity to even reach them, but rather be somebody who's using every window of opportunity to sow the seed of love, to speak the truth in love, so that through that sowing of that seed, one day they may realize, Hey, that love was different.

9:11 Speaker 2: That person spoke with so much depth, that person really cared for me. And probably that might make the person to think what was different? Was it the Church? Was it their God? And maybe through that they may come to know the Lord. I want to pray that you will have this understanding. I pray that you will have this discernment. I pray that you will have this sense to say, you know what, I love to speak the truth, but more than that, I love to speak the truth with love, because by the end of the day, you're not called to win arguments and debates.

9:52 Speaker 2: You're called to win souls. And to win souls, you need to be in a position to win their heart and win they trust to listen to what you've got to say. Lord, I pray that this word will challenge those for watching and listening. In Jesus name, I challenge you to leave a comment and share this with someone, and I will see you back next time.

10:14 Speaker 1: God bless you you've been listening to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We hope you were blessed and inspired to live the life that God has for you. Make sure to subscribe to the John Gifta YouTube channel for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews, and more. Follow John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts, and don't forget to check out the best selling books written by John Gifta, Who Am I which will help you understand your identity and the latest number one best seller Unveil your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and to start walking in it.

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