WEBVTT 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:05.120 Are you hungry for the word? 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.759 Are you hungry too? 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:10.160 Okay, well, sorry. 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:11.199 I don't know. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:23.920 We're in chapter four of Ephesians, and uh Derek set the table for us last week, which is actually also not a great metaphor for the fast, is it? 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:24.640 Sorry. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:44.719 But he did set the table for us last week, and he helped us to see that there's a contrast uh between putting off and the putting on, something old and something new, that there's a feudal or empty way of living, and there's a non-feudal, full of life way of living. 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:51.280 And so uh that was setting the stage for what we're talking about this week because this is very, very practical. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.640 What does it mean to put off the old and put on the new? 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.960 So let's read today from Ephesians 4, starting in verse 25, to the end of the chapter. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:14.319 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are all members one of another. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.120 Be angry and do not sin. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:24.000 Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:35.519 Let the thief no longer steal, but let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:46.799 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:53.359 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 00:01:53.359 --> 00:02:01.599 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:12.000 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.479 Father, we are grateful for your word. 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:20.719 We believe that it is life. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:28.400 We open our hearts and ask you to speak to us individually, directly to each need. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:31.360 We ask you to speak to us as a corporate body as well. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:38.400 Lord, we we um hunger for your word even more than our necessary food, Lord. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.039 We hunger for your truth and for you. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.400 So we ask you to fill us up this morning. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.280 Give us a feast from your word in Jesus' name. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:48.159 Amen. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:03:04.479 So the previous verses that Derek covered last week, basically he was saying, don't, and Paul was saying, God is saying, don't walk like the people who don't know God, who've not been made new by the Spirit. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.080 Walk differently. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:15.199 The way you think and you and the way you act and the way that you speak reveals the condition of your heart. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:16.879 That's what he was saying. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:21.199 There's a distinct way that people who are born from above live. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:26.879 And this morning, the contrast really couldn't be any greater this morning. 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:29.039 It's literally, don't do this, do that. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:30.639 Don't do this, do that. 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:33.599 Don't live that way, but live this way. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:38.879 He's clothed us in righteousness, but we have to put it on practically. 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:53.759 So where you are, which kingdom you are, your clothes look differently when you're in the kingdom of darkness than they do in the kingdom of light. 00:03:53.759 --> 00:04:02.080 So Amy and I just got back a few weeks ago from India, and um, when we were there, there's something, it's kind of like a value that they have. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:11.840 These people that that we were working with in Bangalore, um, I know them for many years, and they um they they kind of loved us. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:20.560 They knew me when I was married to Melissa, they knew me when I lost Melissa, and then they they actually celebrated with us when we were there. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:24.879 We were doing uh actually a marriage seminar as part of what we were doing there. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:36.879 So what they did was they kind of set the stage up like a wedding, and then they gave us these clothes, and the clothes that they gave us were um kind of it's it's their wedding clothes. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:41.279 They're wedding clothes if you live in South India, okay. 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.199 So I actually was gonna wear this today. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:50.959 Um, but a wise person told me, ask your wife whether you should or not. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:52.639 And so I did. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.959 She very kindly said, Maybe you should just show the picture. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:02.720 And yes, it is a skirt. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:09.199 Um and so, and you that's not the first skirt you've seen me in, though, right? 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:14.160 I mean, if you've been here to the Servants Heart Banquet, you've seen me in something else like that. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.560 But it's not my normal way of dressing. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:17.680 Okay, that's my whole point. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:19.279 It's not my normal way of dressing. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.319 When you're there, you dress like that. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:26.560 In that country, in you're in this country, I dress like this, right? 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:27.680 That's it. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.959 You look differently, you're clothed differently. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:42.240 I was thinking this morning as we were worshiping and as Heather was sharing, uh, how Jesus, it says that that in heaven, the saints are clothed, they're bright and clean. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:47.360 The final linen that they're given is the righteousness that they're given, right? 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:52.560 This clothes, these clothes are the clothes that Jesus, Jesus died to buy for us, right? 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:56.480 So, so listen, we're in the middle of a church-wide fast, right? 00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:59.439 We're asking God to work in our hearts. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.439 We have some things we're we're praying for and asking him for. 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.439 What he wants most is he wants us. 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:13.120 And if you look in the in the seat back in front of you, there's a there's a little card, a little index card. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.240 I'd like for you to get that one out if you've if you will. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:21.519 And um, we're gonna have a prayer time after the service, probably be a little before 12. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:31.360 We're just gonna dismiss people to get the kids of uh and um then come back out and we're going to we're gonna pray together as we have been praying together. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:41.680 But I want to ask you to take a journey with me through this passage this morning and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the things to you that He wants to reveal to you. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:43.439 And then write those things down. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:47.040 If there's something that you need to put off, write it down. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:50.480 If there's something you need to put on, write it down this morning. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:56.079 And if the and after our the service and our prayer time, we want to do some business with God. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:58.480 I mean, let's just don't hear a sermon this morning. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:01.759 Let's let's let the word of God do a work inside of us. 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.319 Let the Holy Spirit show us some things. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:05.279 Amen. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.079 That's good? 00:07:06.079 --> 00:07:10.000 So write it, whatever you hear from the Lord, write it down. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:11.920 Okay, so here we go. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:13.439 Don't live like this, live like that. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:17.680 But it's easy to think of these verses as just a list of do's and don'ts, right? 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:19.120 Don't lie, speak the truth. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:22.800 Don't steal, work with your hands, that kind of a thing. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:28.240 And that's you know, it's easy for us to approach God on the basis of our performance. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:32.079 It's kind of our default mode of approaching God. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:35.600 But what chapter are we in this morning? 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:37.920 It's not rhetorical, you can say it. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:38.639 What chapter? 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.079 Chapter four, right? 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:48.000 Which means, yes, there are there are three and a half chapters before these verses that we just read. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:55.759 There are three and a half chapters talking about what God has already done for us in Christ before he even gets to the imperative. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:57.600 So here's what you should do. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:05.279 Paul doesn't start with morality, with our moral, um, our moral or ethical actions. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:05.680 Yeah. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.399 So he's starting, there's another place he's starting. 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:11.360 He's starting with what God has already done. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.519 He's grounding us in the basics. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:23.759 Because the you can I think you should put that, you could take that picture down because I feel like it's distracting me. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.639 I don't know if it's distracting you or not. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.000 It's just the slightest bit disturbing to me. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:31.360 But it's okay. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.039 I don't wear skirts. 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:34.480 All right, I don't. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.320 Just so you know. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.159 Paul's grounding us in the in the basics, right? 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:54.320 And there's there's a famous example of this in the early 1960s, if you'll if you'll allow me a sports metaphor, when the Green Bay Packers uh squandered a lead late in the fourth quarter and lost the the championship. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:09:01.200 This was before Super Bowl back in the day, lost the NFL championship to the of all people, the Philadelphia Eagles. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.879 Come on. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:12.960 The first day of first day of training camp the next July, the coach got them all together, and they're all like, okay, we almost were there, but we lost it. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:14.000 We lost it. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:27.039 And he famously, the legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, famously lifted up a pig skin and he said, Gentlemen, this is a football. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:32.159 And he began to go to the very, very basics. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:38.639 Now, they're maybe they were thinking like, well, we want to, we all know this, but he went back to the very basics. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:39.759 How do you block? 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:40.720 How do you tackle? 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:42.639 Turn to page one of the playbook. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:43.759 Here's what we're doing. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.159 And he was obsessed with basics. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:55.200 And he decided that he was going to have a team that were the very best at the things that everybody else took for granted. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:57.919 The basics is what they were going to do the best. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:06.879 Long story short is uh six months later, they won the NFL championship, beating the New York Giants 37 to zero. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.320 Okay. 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:13.600 So this is like if you if you focus on the gentleman, this is a football. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:17.279 This is go back to what is most basic. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:19.120 This is exactly what Paul did. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:23.440 Church, here's what God has done for us in Christ. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:33.440 We are alive from the dead, we're adopted, we're forgiven, we're transformed, we're seated with Christ in the heavenlies, we're put into a body of believers. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:40.320 We're saved by God's gift of grace through our faith in a finished work, period. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:42.000 Full stop. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:42.799 That's it. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:43.919 This is our anchor. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:47.360 This is where we rest. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:49.440 This is where our soul rests, right here. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:49.919 Paul. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.440 Paul set the table. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:54.960 Gentlemen, here are the basics. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:11:02.399 And we have to remind ourselves of this all the time because our default mode is to go back into I need to perform for God. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:10.960 And then when we're not perfect, and when we don't perform well, we have an accuser, the devil, and he accuses us. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:21.840 And we have, but we're trying to measure up and gain merit so that God will owe us heaven, owe us blessings because we're so good. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:27.039 We got to start at the beginning, and this is what Paul did for three and a half chapters. 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:28.879 Gentlemen, this is a football. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:31.120 What are our basics? 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:37.600 This bread is my body broken for you. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:44.480 This this wine is my blood poured out for you. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.919 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:49.519 Go back to the basics. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.679 Jesus set the table. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:53.200 Literally. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:55.440 He's at the Lord's table. 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:56.559 This is it. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:12:05.840 We don't approach God on the basis of our zealous works or keeping a list of rules, our performance, but on the basis of what he's done for us. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:10.159 I keep saying this over and over because the Bible keeps saying this over and over. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:13.600 And Paul is laying that foundation. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:20.080 I came across this quote from Dane Ortland in his book, Deeper. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:23.759 He said, You can't crowbar your way into change. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:25.919 You can only be melted. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:37.039 Reflection on the wonder of the gospel, that we're justified simply by looking away from self to the finished work of Christ on our behalf softens our hearts. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:40.559 And when our hearts are soft, what did we read this morning? 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:41.919 Tenderhearted. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:45.279 What did Derek read last week? 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:48.960 The people who didn't know God, they were calloused in their hearts. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:52.960 Understanding the gospel softens our hearts. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:54.480 This is where change happens. 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:57.600 From the inside out, it changes. 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:15.039 But then, chapter 4, Paul takes a turn and he makes his way into moral behavior because the way we think and act and speak are the evidence of a transformed heart. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.879 And they are the way we represent Jesus to the world. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:24.399 And it is the way he brings blessing into our lives and through us to other people as well. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:29.759 Do we dare to believe that there is a way to live? 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:34.399 Living righteously that is opens the doorway to blessing into our lives? 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:48.720 Just as opening the door to sin or living in unrighteously opens the door to sin and curse, living righteously opens the door to blessing into our lives. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:50.480 There's a way to live. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.120 So this is not just a list of do's and don'ts. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:57.519 It's actually the way a free person lives. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:02.320 It's what a life of a person set free looks like. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:11.120 With each command, there's freedom to live the life that honors God, that blesses others and blesses us. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:12.960 That's what we're really talking about here. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:18.159 There's a verse in the Proverbs, Proverbs 13, 15. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:23.679 And in the King James Version, it says it this way Good understanding giveth favor. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:27.279 But the way of transgressors is hard. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.960 The way of transgressors is hard. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:34.720 There's a way to live your life that's hard. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.960 For you and for other people around you. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.519 And you can learn that two ways. 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:48.879 You can learn it from the Bible, read it and believe it, and live that way, or you can learn it the hard way. 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:56.799 You can transgress, you can sin, and you can open the door to this hardness in your life. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:07.360 And the fear of the Lord is a healthy, wholesome dread of displeasing God. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:13.120 And it's a loving what's right, and it's a hating of what's evil. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:17.679 And it's the beginning of wisdom, the scripture says. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:30.320 It's in there. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.279 But you gotta live in it, you gotta walk in it. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.600 It starts with an understanding that there's right and wrong. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.360 And we all, I think we can all agree there's there are right things and wrong things, right? 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:45.279 But God doesn't just want good rule followers, He wants lovers. 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.399 What's the greatest commandment? 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.080 Follow all the commandments. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.399 No, that's not it. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:53.519 Keep the rules. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:54.240 No, that's not it. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:55.279 What's the greatest commandment? 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.679 Love God, love people. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:59.519 He wants lovers. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:04.240 These are the ways today, what we're reading today is are the ways that we love each other. 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:09.279 So I think what I'm reading here is that the kingdom of God is different. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.360 In the kingdom of God, morality is not the highest goal. 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:16.720 Relationships are the highest goal. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:19.600 Because we read it. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:26.799 It says, therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth to his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:27.919 Why do we do it? 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:29.840 Because we're members of one another. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:32.960 We do it because there are people around us. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:39.840 So this morality that is in the Bible is more than a list of rules. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.240 It's about being others oriented. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:47.279 One another is the reason for positive moral action. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.039 And this is this makes total sense. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:56.879 If you read this in the book, and I'm trying to take some pains to put this verse, these verses in context. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.159 The whole book is talking about community. 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:03.440 We are raised up together with Christ. 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:08.240 God has made Jew and Gentile one new man in Himself. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:13.680 We are to strive to maintain that unity is the very very best we can. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:20.240 He gives the gifted people in part to bring unity and maturity. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:21.599 That's part of it. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:27.440 And he says that he's building us together into a dwelling place for himself. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.200 So it's about context, context of community. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:41.279 And this now, today, what we're reading is a portrait of how we should live and conduct ourselves the way we act and speak and think with others. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:47.200 And this is what maturity is understanding that what I do affects you. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:48.960 That's what maturity is. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:51.920 We is more important than me. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:18:03.920 That's the only way to have a healthy marriage, only way to have a healthy family, healthy relationships, is understand that we is more important than me. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:12.160 And this is the reason, parents, that we teach our children the moral reasons behind what we are asking them to do. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.960 We're just not trying to make little moral robots that just do what we say. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.240 That's not the point. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.480 We're trying to control their behavior. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:34.480 We're trying to put the values of God in their heart so that they have something in their heart, this orientation toward other people, so that they can govern their own behavior eventually. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:41.759 So we don't have to be on top of them all the time, pointing our fingers, shaking, and making sure that they're doing what we say. 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:43.839 But we're putting the moral reason why. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:47.920 Okay, why do you not run like a banshee through the church? 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:56.720 Because Miss Peg is walking with a cane, because Miss Cindy is walking with a walker. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.079 Because Mr. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.319 Jack is in a wheelchair. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:12.240 And when you're older and you're you're with a cane, and a child is running at you like a banshee, it's terrifying. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:21.680 Because one wrong move, you know, a broken hip can be the end of somebody. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:24.000 It happens, you know? 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.400 So, okay, we don't run to the church. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:27.839 It's not just stop running. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.640 It's we don't run because, hey, look around you. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:34.160 There's a context, there are people around you and they're precious. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:38.000 So think about how your behavior affects them. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:38.799 Right? 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:39.839 Yeah. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:43.519 So Paul is basically telling the church what we all tell our kids. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:49.039 What we all learn in kindergarten, basically, Paul is telling us, right? 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.400 He's okay, don't share your toys. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:55.279 Don't take your brother's toy. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:57.200 Don't lie, speak the truth. 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.880 Because if you don't speak the truth, we don't have anything to base our relationship on. 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.119 Yeah. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.559 Take care of people's property because it's the way we honor them. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:10.160 Watch your words, because words can hurt and words can help. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.319 This is what Paul is saying to the church. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:13.440 Really simple. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.480 But this is it. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:22.640 But this passage is heavy because here God is saying clearly that if you're in Christ, your life looks like this. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:25.920 If you're not in Christ, your life looks like this. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:27.839 You can tell which kingdom you're in. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:29.440 That's what he's saying. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:33.119 You can tell by your actions which kingdom you're in. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:37.839 And Jeremiah put it this way in the old covenant. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.839 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.599 Declares the Lord, I will put my law within them. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:49.759 I will write it on their hearts. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:52.559 I will be their God and they shall be my people. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:57.440 When it's in your heart and your heart changes, the actions change. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:20:58.240 Okay. 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.519 So I remembered a little story that Neil told many years ago. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.640 He was teaching out of chapter 5 of Matthew. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:12.319 Kingdom, the kingdom, the way the kingdom culture is, basically, that's what the Beatitudes is. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:17.759 The Beatitudes are this is what it this is how people act and think in the kingdom. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:32.880 So he said there's um there's this story, which is a true story, about the countries of Vietnam and Laos, and that when they first began to be recognized as countries, there was no border between them, no, no real physical border at all. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:34.880 There's not a river that goes between them. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:36.799 That's a line of delineation. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:39.920 There's no border like wall or anything like that. 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:41.039 No real border. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:52.640 The way you could tell who was Vietnamese and who was from Laos is by the culture, the culture that they adapted from their kingdom. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:58.880 So you could tell which kingdom a person belonged to by the cultural values that they exhibited. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:12.640 For example, If you eat long-grain rice and you live in houses built on stilts and you have a Chinese dragon on your house, that means you're from Vietnam. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:24.960 If you eat short grain rice and you live in houses that are not on stilts but on the ground, and you have the Indian serpent on your house, you're from Laos. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:34.160 You see, if you you adapt and you live out the kingdom culture of your kingdom that you're in. 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:36.960 That's really what Paul is saying here. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.960 You're not in that kingdom anymore. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.039 You're in this kingdom, and so therefore, live like you're in this kingdom. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:46.559 So which kingdom are you in this morning? 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:48.000 That's the question. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.920 Paul is saying, here's what it looks like to live like a new man. 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:55.119 And really he's saying, here's what it looks like to love you. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.920 Here's how I love you. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.640 What does love look like every day? 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:05.599 The only real practical way I can show you love is the way I treat you. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:09.119 Therefore, he has this list. 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:10.480 Does that make sense? 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.960 It's not just a list of do's and don'ts, right? 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:16.240 I can actually give you a gift. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:24.960 So if you think of it this way, what I give you, and the way I the way I'm treating you, is a gift that I'm giving you. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:32.640 So I give you my words, I give you my generosity, I give you truth, I give you respect. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:34.319 This is a gift. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:44.400 The way I live my life in the context of other people is I'm giving these things as gifts to people day by day. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:48.240 So now let's go ahead and look and see what he's talking about here. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:52.160 The very practical gifts that we give people day by day. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:57.759 Number one, put off lying, put on truth. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:05.759 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:08.240 Okay, put away lying. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.759 What is lying? 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:15.839 I think you know it's not telling the truth, but it's actually anything. 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:20.079 The word actually means anything calculated to deceive. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:26.640 Anything that you calculate to deceive someone. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:29.440 So half lies are full lies. 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.039 There's no such thing as a half-lie. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:32.079 That's not true. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:35.119 And because it's calculated to deceive. 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:41.359 And you can even angle the truth until it's twisted and it deceives. 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:50.640 I can tell you a half-truth and hold back some of the truth because I'm trying to manipulate you. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:53.039 And that's a lie. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:57.359 It's not integrity, it's not wholeness, it's not real truth. 00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:00.640 So put away those things, all those things. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.680 This is this is where your little index card comes. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:04.160 Okay. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:09.839 We're going through put offs and put-ons and see see if there's anything here that the Lord might be putting his finger on. 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:10.319 Okay. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:12.799 But speak truth. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.240 Speak things as they really are to one another. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:22.160 Now, this is interesting too, because in all of these instances, God is not just saying don't do this. 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:24.559 He's not just saying don't lie. 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:28.319 He's saying there's another way that's a higher way. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:33.599 Not just don't do this, don't use your words this way, but rather speak the truth. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:40.319 Okay, so I'm actually lifting the bar, raising the bar on your truth meter. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:44.240 I'm raising the bar on the way that you are communicating with people. 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:47.359 Not just don't lie, but here's what you do. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:48.400 Okay. 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:54.240 And can you imagine a world where where everyone told the truth? 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.680 Is that scary? 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:00.960 Or is it liberating? 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:05.680 I mean, if you tell me the truth, at least I know where I am with you, right? 00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:08.079 Truth's not always easy. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:12.480 But what if I gave you the gift of truth? 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:17.680 Um, and that means wrapping up integrity. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:22.240 Integrity just means the whole picture, wholesome, wholeness. 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:23.119 That's what it means. 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.279 Things are what they really seem to be. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:27.200 That's what integrity is. 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:31.200 I'm not trying to deceive you in any way. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:35.519 It also means reminding each other of the gospel that we've just talked about. 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:39.839 Giving each other the truth means giving each other the gospel. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.680 Letting people understand, reminding people, you know what? 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:45.680 Remember, Christ died for that. 00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:47.440 I know you feel lowly. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:50.000 I know you don't feel worthy, but you know what? 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.039 This is just an open door for you to understand the greatness of God's love. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:04.400 What the reason God's love astounds us is because we know we're not lovely. 00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:10.960 And you can apply the gospel and you can help one another. 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:14.319 You can speak these words of truth to one another. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:32.880 Um, it also means delivering something hard to hear that helps someone in humility and genuine concern for them, not in arrogance, not in harshness, but I'm giving you something hard to hear for your good, for your goodness, for the good of you. 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:36.720 I give you a chance to grow as a human, to grow in your faith. 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:39.759 So, way of a transgressor is hard. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:45.839 The way of a lying person is hard for that person and for those people around them. 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:51.119 We can put that off and speak truth to one another. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:56.559 And remember, he he says it right here: speak truth because we're members one of another. 00:27:56.559 --> 00:28:08.319 Think about this in terms of the whole body of Christ, all the people who are around you, your family members, your work, your team at work, your schoolmates, all of this. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:13.759 Okay, number two, put off anger and put on peace. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:16.640 Be angry and do not sin. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:21.440 Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:23.920 Okay, it's really interesting. 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:28.880 Maybe this is different than the way we think about anger, because he says two things here. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:39.279 Anger can easily lead to sin and trouble, but also it's possible to be angry and to not become sinful. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:45.279 So we have to distinguish because the Bible distinguishes between anger and sin. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:52.319 Anger is a natural emotion that is not inherently sinful. 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:54.640 Sometimes it can be righteous. 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:59.039 As Jesus was angry at the wrong that was going on. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:00.640 It was a righteous anger. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:15.759 But he says, um, it's okay to be upset by wrongdoing, but it's not okay to allow that emotion to control us and turn into rage and bitterness and personal vengeance and malice or malicious behavior. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:16.400 That's it. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:23.039 The way of an angry person is hard for them and for the people around them. 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:26.640 So he says, resolve it quickly. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:32.240 Okay, anger is like uh the red light on your dashboard. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:33.839 Okay, anger is a sign. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:36.559 Anger is just something that says, hey, look at something deeper. 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:41.680 There's something going on in your engine you need to check out, or you're gonna blow. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:43.279 That's anger. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:44.000 That's okay. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:47.839 It's not necessarily wrong, it's what you do with it. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.319 Don't allow it, they'll become sinful. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:57.759 So, how do I prevent resentment and bitterness? 00:29:57.759 --> 00:29:59.920 How do I not sin when I'm angry? 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:04.400 Well, a good place to start would be to follow the first command we had this morning. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:07.759 Speak the truth in love to each other. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:10.720 You can actually, you can actually speak truth. 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:13.759 You can go you can go to people and resolve things in truth. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:24.319 Imagine a world where everyone dealt properly with their anger and actually worked hard to resolve it and worked hard toward peace. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:27.519 What if I gave you the gift of peace? 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:37.119 What if I gave you the gift of controlling my emotions by the power of the Holy Spirit when I feel angry? 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:50.319