Are we biblically loving when we promote our ideologies, our little clan?  Because you’re going to see, this is going to come into, when we love one another in community, as Christ loved us with an unfeigned love, we’re going to see to it that everybody in this place walks according to sound doctrine, and when they don’t, it will be exposed.  Isn’t that what Ephesians goes on to say?  Part of where we’re going, as we’re going to share this, there are different aspects that for a good period of time now have been taking root in our community, and that are very dangerous to us in these last days. We’ve hidden them beneath comments like, “Well, we’re all just a big family.  We’re all so close, and that’s why our tongues are so loose.”  It’s sin!

One of the guys, I think, spoke on this not too long ago.  I tried to look it up yesterday but couldn’t find it.  About a year or so ago, maybe two years ago, I taught on the subject of Tongues of Fire, and we talked about the proper use of our tongue is speaking unto edifying, praying by the Holy Spirit in unknown tongues; amen?  How dangerous it is to, not only go around, and we’re going to talk about just being critical of one another and demeaning of one another, but I also want to talk about how some of us have taken biblical doctrines and the doctrines of the apostles, things that have been set in order by eldership, and want to put their own twist and understanding and promote their own ideas of how those things ought to be walked out in our midst.  Beloved, it’s a misuse of the tongue to go around stating your opinions and how you think doctrine should or should not be applied, or what it does or does not mean as it pertains to us as a community.  Because that’s how we lose this fight.

Let me tell you one thing very clearly.  Biblical truth, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but (this truth) shall not pass away.”  A “…house divided against itself shall not stand.”  That’s why all the trouble is gone to in the preceding chapter here in Ephesians to talk about unity, to talk about oneness, to talk about God putting five-fold ministry gifts in our midst to bring us to the unity of the faith; amen?  All of this is an order that God has established and our compulsion to have to put in what we think is dangerous.  It will cause us to die in these last areas.  What we need to survive in this hour, more than ever, beloved, is humility.  This ability to stop thinking of our opinions more highly than we ought to think.  To think that somehow, I should always inject my thoughts, my opinion, how I see this thing.  Let’s remind ourselves of another great biblical truth.  “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak.”  Amen?

Now, part of what we’re going to take this particular time on this subject is this: Jesus is coming back very soon.  Are we going to be ready?  His greatest commandment is love one another.  It’s not how much Bible we’ve memorized.  It’s not how many souls we’ve won.  It’s not whether or not we’ve received certain gifts.  “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).  Amen?  I would like to encourage us to begin to meditate on that.  I’d like to challenge every one of us here.  Be the person in the group that will stand up and say, “That’s not edifying!”  “That’s not building unity.  That’s not an expression of love!  That is doing nothing but grieving the Holy Ghost!”