In Christ - Put Off, Put On

Your life speaks with a kingdom accent. In Put Off, Put On from the In Christ series, Mark Medley opens Ephesians 4:25–32 and gets specific about how a new life in Jesus shows up in ordinary choices—truth-telling, anger, work, words, and forgiveness. But he refuses to treat Paul’s commands like a cold checklist. Grace comes first. Before a single “do this,” God has made us alive, adopted us, forgiven us, and sealed us by the Holy Spirit. That order matters, because you can’t bully your heart into holiness. Real transformation begins when a heart is softened by mercy and rebuilt from the inside out.

From there, Mark shows how Christian ethics are love-in-action within community. We speak truth “for we are members of one another,” because trust is the foundation of healthy relationships. We deal with anger quickly—be angry and do not sin—so resentment doesn’t take root and the devil gets no foothold. We move from taking to giving, repurposing our effort into honest work so we have something to share with anyone in need. And we treat words as gifts. No corrupting talk, but speech that fits the moment and gives grace to those who hear. Our tongues carry death and life, and careless, bitter, profane, or backbiting talk can even grieve the Holy Spirit who has sealed us for the day of redemption.

Mark underscores that in the kingdom of God, relationships—not mere rule-keeping—are the point. Truth protects trust. Quick reconciliation shuts the door on bitterness. Generosity frees us from a life of taking. Life-giving words build up people and strengthen church unity. He offers the THINK filter for everyday conversations—Is it True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, Kind?—and calls us to speak with a mind toward eternity.

With a vivid picture of “kingdom clothing,” Mark reminds us that habits are like garments we put on daily. What we consistently “wear” reveals our devotion and shapes our destination. The passage ends where it began: with grace. Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Forgiven people become forgiving people; loved people become loving people.

What do you need to put off, and what do you need to put on as a new habit of love this week? If this message helps you rebuild healthy patterns In Christ, share it with someone who’s ready to start fresh.

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Transcript

Opening Hunger For God

Mark Medley 0:03

Are you hungry for the word? Are you hungry too? Okay, well, sorry. I don't know. 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? Sorry. 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. And so uh that was setting the stage for what we're talking about this week because this is very, very practical. What does it mean to put off the old and put on the new? So let's read today from Ephesians 4, starting in verse 25, to the end of the chapter. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are all members one of another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 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. 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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Father, we are grateful for your word. We believe that it is life. We open our hearts and ask you to speak to us individually, directly to each need. We ask you to speak to us as a corporate body as well. Lord, we we um hunger for your word even more than our necessary food, Lord. We hunger for your truth and for you. So we ask you to fill us up this morning. Give us a feast from your word in Jesus' name. Amen. 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. Walk differently. The way you think and you and the way you act and the way that you speak reveals the condition of your heart. That's what he was saying. There's a distinct way that people who are born from above live. And this morning, the contrast really couldn't be any greater this morning. It's literally, don't do this, do that. Don't do this, do that. Don't live that way, but live this way. He's clothed us in righteousness, but we have to put it on practically. 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. 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. 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. 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. We were doing uh actually a marriage seminar as part of what we were doing there. 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. They're wedding clothes if you live in South India, okay. So I actually was gonna wear this today. Um, but a wise person told me, ask your wife whether you should or not. And so I did. She very kindly said, Maybe you should just show the picture. And yes, it is a skirt. Um and so, and you that's not the first skirt you've seen me in, though, right? I mean, if you've been here to the Servants Heart Banquet, you've seen me in something else like that. But it's not my normal way of dressing. Okay, that's my whole point. It's not my normal way of dressing. When you're there, you dress like that. In that country, in you're in this country, I dress like this, right? That's it. You look differently, you're clothed differently. 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. The final linen that they're given is the righteousness that they're given, right? This clothes, these clothes are the clothes that Jesus, Jesus died to buy for us, right? So, so listen, we're in the middle of a church-wide fast, right? We're asking God to work in our hearts. We have some things we're we're praying for and asking him for. What he wants most is he wants us. 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. I'd like for you to get that one out if you've if you will. And um, we're gonna have a prayer time after the service, probably be a little before 12. 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. 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. And then write those things down. If there's something that you need to put off, write it down. If there's something you need to put on, write it down this morning. And if the and after our the service and our prayer time, we want to do some business with God. I mean, let's just don't hear a sermon this morning. Let's let's let the word of God do a work inside of us. Let the Holy Spirit show us some things. Amen. That's good? So write it, whatever you hear from the Lord, write it down. Okay, so here we go. Don't live like this, live like that. But it's easy to think of these verses as just a list of do's and don'ts, right? Don't lie, speak the truth. Don't steal, work with your hands, that kind of a thing. And that's you know, it's easy for us to approach God on the basis of our performance. It's kind of our default mode of approaching God. But what chapter are we in this morning? It's not rhetorical, you can say it. What chapter? Chapter four, right? Which means, yes, there are there are three and a half chapters before these verses that we just read. 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. So here's what you should do. Paul doesn't start with morality, with our moral, um, our moral or ethical actions. Yeah. So he's starting, there's another place he's starting. He's starting with what God has already done. He's grounding us in the basics. Because the you can I think you should put that, you could take that picture down because I feel like it's distracting me. I don't know if it's distracting you or not. It's just the slightest bit disturbing to me. But it's okay. I don't wear skirts. All right, I don't. Just so you know. Paul's grounding us in the in the basics, right? 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. This was before Super Bowl back in the day, lost the NFL championship to the of all people, the Philadelphia Eagles. Come on. 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. We lost it. And he famously, the legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, famously lifted up a pig skin and he said, Gentlemen, this is a football. And he began to go to the very, very basics. Now, they're maybe they were thinking like, well, we want to, we all know this, but he went back to the very basics. How do you block? How do you tackle? Turn to page one of the playbook. Here's what we're doing. And he was obsessed with basics. 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. The basics is what they were going to do the best. Long story short is uh six months later, they won the NFL championship, beating the New York Giants 37 to zero. Okay. So this is like if you if you focus on the gentleman, this is a football. This is go back to what is most basic. This is exactly what Paul did. Church, here's what God has done for us in Christ. 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. We're saved by God's gift of grace through our faith in a finished work, period. Full stop. That's it. This is our anchor. This is where we rest. This is where our soul rests, right here. Paul. Paul set the table. Gentlemen, here are the basics. 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. And then when we're not perfect, and when we don't perform well, we have an accuser, the devil, and he accuses us. 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. We got to start at the beginning, and this is what Paul did for three and a half chapters. Gentlemen, this is a football. What are our basics? This bread is my body broken for you. This this wine is my blood poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Go back to the basics. Jesus set the table. Literally. He's at the Lord's table. This is it. 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. I keep saying this over and over because the Bible keeps saying this over and over. And Paul is laying that foundation. I came across this quote from Dane Ortland in his book, Deeper. He said, You can't crowbar your way into change. You can only be melted. 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. And when our hearts are soft, what did we read this morning? Tenderhearted. What did Derek read last week? The people who didn't know God, they were calloused in their hearts. Understanding the gospel softens our hearts. This is where change happens. From the inside out, it changes. 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. And they are the way we represent Jesus to the world. And it is the way he brings blessing into our lives and through us to other people as well. Do we dare to believe that there is a way to live? Living righteously that is opens the doorway to blessing into our lives? 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. There's a way to live. So this is not just a list of do's and don'ts. It's actually the way a free person lives. It's what a life of a person set free looks like. With each command, there's freedom to live the life that honors God, that blesses others and blesses us. That's what we're really talking about here. There's a verse in the Proverbs, Proverbs 13, 15. And in the King James Version, it says it this way Good understanding giveth favor. But the way of transgressors is hard. The way of transgressors is hard. There's a way to live your life that's hard. For you and for other people around you. And you can learn that two ways. You can learn it from the Bible, read it and believe it, and live that way, or you can learn it the hard way. You can transgress, you can sin, and you can open the door to this hardness in your life. And the fear of the Lord is a healthy, wholesome dread of displeasing God. And it's a loving what's right, and it's a hating of what's evil. And it's the beginning of wisdom, the scripture says. It's in there. But you gotta live in it, you gotta walk in it. It starts with an understanding that there's right and wrong. And we all, I think we can all agree there's there are right things and wrong things, right? But God doesn't just want good rule followers, He wants lovers. What's the greatest commandment? Follow all the commandments. No, that's not it. Keep the rules. No, that's not it. What's the greatest commandment? Love God, love people. He wants lovers. These are the ways today, what we're reading today is are the ways that we love each other. So I think what I'm reading here is that the kingdom of God is different. In the kingdom of God, morality is not the highest goal. Relationships are the highest goal. Because we read it. It says, therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth to his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Why do we do it? Because we're members of one another. We do it because there are people around us. So this morality that is in the Bible is more than a list of rules. It's about being others oriented. One another is the reason for positive moral action. And this is this makes total sense. If you read this in the book, and I'm trying to take some pains to put this verse, these verses in context. The whole book is talking about community. We are raised up together with Christ. God has made Jew and Gentile one new man in Himself. We are to strive to maintain that unity is the very very best we can. He gives the gifted people in part to bring unity and maturity. That's part of it. And he says that he's building us together into a dwelling place for himself. So it's about context, context of community. 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. And this is what maturity is understanding that what I do affects you. That's what maturity is. We is more important than me. 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. And this is the reason, parents, that we teach our children the moral reasons behind what we are asking them to do. We're just not trying to make little moral robots that just do what we say. That's not the point. We're trying to control their behavior. 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. 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. But we're putting the moral reason why. Okay, why do you not run like a banshee through the church? Because Miss Peg is walking with a cane, because Miss Cindy is walking with a walker. Because Mr. Jack is in a wheelchair. 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. Because one wrong move, you know, a broken hip can be the end of somebody. It happens, you know? So, okay, we don't run to the church. It's not just stop running. It's we don't run because, hey, look around you. There's a context, there are people around you and they're precious. So think about how your behavior affects them. Right? Yeah. So Paul is basically telling the church what we all tell our kids. What we all learn in kindergarten, basically, Paul is telling us, right? He's okay, don't share your toys. Don't take your brother's toy. Don't lie, speak the truth. Because if you don't speak the truth, we don't have anything to base our relationship on. Yeah. Take care of people's property because it's the way we honor them. Watch your words, because words can hurt and words can help. This is what Paul is saying to the church. Really simple. But this is it. But this passage is heavy because here God is saying clearly that if you're in Christ, your life looks like this. If you're not in Christ, your life looks like this. You can tell which kingdom you're in. That's what he's saying. You can tell by your actions which kingdom you're in. And Jeremiah put it this way in the old covenant. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. Declares the Lord, I will put my law within them. I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people. When it's in your heart and your heart changes, the actions change.

unknown 20:57

Okay.

Gift One Speak The Truth

Gift Two Settle Anger Fast

Gift Three Work So You Can Give

Gift Four Words That Build Up

Profanity And The State Of Heart

Forgiveness Habits And Final Prayer

Mark Medley 20:58

So I remembered a little story that Neil told many years ago. He was teaching out of chapter 5 of Matthew. Kingdom, the kingdom, the way the kingdom culture is, basically, that's what the Beatitudes is. The Beatitudes are this is what it this is how people act and think in the kingdom. 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. There's not a river that goes between them. That's a line of delineation. There's no border like wall or anything like that. No real border. 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. So you could tell which kingdom a person belonged to by the cultural values that they exhibited. 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. 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. You see, if you you adapt and you live out the kingdom culture of your kingdom that you're in. That's really what Paul is saying here. You're not in that kingdom anymore. You're in this kingdom, and so therefore, live like you're in this kingdom. So which kingdom are you in this morning? That's the question. Paul is saying, here's what it looks like to live like a new man. And really he's saying, here's what it looks like to love you. Here's how I love you. What does love look like every day? The only real practical way I can show you love is the way I treat you. Therefore, he has this list. Does that make sense? It's not just a list of do's and don'ts, right? I can actually give you a gift. 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. So I give you my words, I give you my generosity, I give you truth, I give you respect. This is a gift. 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. So now let's go ahead and look and see what he's talking about here. The very practical gifts that we give people day by day. Number one, put off lying, put on truth. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Okay, put away lying. What is lying? I think you know it's not telling the truth, but it's actually anything. The word actually means anything calculated to deceive. Anything that you calculate to deceive someone. So half lies are full lies. There's no such thing as a half-lie. That's not true. And because it's calculated to deceive. And you can even angle the truth until it's twisted and it deceives. I can tell you a half-truth and hold back some of the truth because I'm trying to manipulate you. And that's a lie. It's not integrity, it's not wholeness, it's not real truth. So put away those things, all those things. This is this is where your little index card comes. Okay. 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. Okay. But speak truth. Speak things as they really are to one another. Now, this is interesting too, because in all of these instances, God is not just saying don't do this. He's not just saying don't lie. He's saying there's another way that's a higher way. Not just don't do this, don't use your words this way, but rather speak the truth. Okay, so I'm actually lifting the bar, raising the bar on your truth meter. I'm raising the bar on the way that you are communicating with people. Not just don't lie, but here's what you do. Okay. And can you imagine a world where where everyone told the truth? Is that scary? Or is it liberating? I mean, if you tell me the truth, at least I know where I am with you, right? Truth's not always easy. But what if I gave you the gift of truth? Um, and that means wrapping up integrity. Integrity just means the whole picture, wholesome, wholeness. That's what it means. Things are what they really seem to be. That's what integrity is. I'm not trying to deceive you in any way. It also means reminding each other of the gospel that we've just talked about. Giving each other the truth means giving each other the gospel. Letting people understand, reminding people, you know what? Remember, Christ died for that. I know you feel lowly. I know you don't feel worthy, but you know what? This is just an open door for you to understand the greatness of God's love. What the reason God's love astounds us is because we know we're not lovely. And you can apply the gospel and you can help one another. You can speak these words of truth to one another. 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. I give you a chance to grow as a human, to grow in your faith. So, way of a transgressor is hard. The way of a lying person is hard for that person and for those people around them. We can put that off and speak truth to one another. And remember, he he says it right here: speak truth because we're members one of another. 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. Okay, number two, put off anger and put on peace. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Okay, it's really interesting. Maybe this is different than the way we think about anger, because he says two things here. Anger can easily lead to sin and trouble, but also it's possible to be angry and to not become sinful. So we have to distinguish because the Bible distinguishes between anger and sin. Anger is a natural emotion that is not inherently sinful. Sometimes it can be righteous. As Jesus was angry at the wrong that was going on. It was a righteous anger. 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. That's it. The way of an angry person is hard for them and for the people around them. So he says, resolve it quickly. Okay, anger is like uh the red light on your dashboard. Okay, anger is a sign. Anger is just something that says, hey, look at something deeper. There's something going on in your engine you need to check out, or you're gonna blow. That's anger. That's okay. It's not necessarily wrong, it's what you do with it. Don't allow it, they'll become sinful. So, how do I prevent resentment and bitterness? How do I not sin when I'm angry? Well, a good place to start would be to follow the first command we had this morning. Speak the truth in love to each other. You can actually, you can actually speak truth. You can go you can go to people and resolve things in truth. Imagine a world where everyone dealt properly with their anger and actually worked hard to resolve it and worked hard toward peace. What if I gave you the gift of peace? What if I gave you the gift of controlling my emotions by the power of the Holy Spirit when I feel angry? And come to you and try to work through those things and resolve those things before the sun goes down quickly, not letting it stew and get nasty. What if I come to you quickly, speak to you in love, and resolve it quickly? What if I gave you the gift of resolution, of reconciliation, of making sure we're all right with each other? What a gift. What a gift. Okay, number three, put off stealing, put on generosity. Let the thief no longer steal, but let him rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with people in need. The way of a thief is hard for that person and for the people around him. It seems to me that Paul is just saying, repurpose your labor. You're gonna have to work hard at something. So because you know, some people work so hard at scheming toward dishonest gain, their whole life is built around scheming to get themselves something. And if they worked that hard in a positive direction for positive gain, they'd probably get a whole lot more in the end. It's a lot. They're just working hard in the wrong direction. I think Paul's saying, repurpose your labor. Make a shift from scheming to take from people to laboring to be productive to be able to give to people. It's a different, it's just a different way to work. It's a different way to spend your energy. Don't steal. And in a way, all these things we're talking about this morning are ways to steal. Because I can, if I love, if I can steal your truth, I can steal your peace, I can steal your money, I can steal your reputation, I can steal your dignity, dignity as a person. And then all these ways are ways that I can love you as well. If I love you, I won't lie to you. I will allow truth to be the standard between us and to bless your life. I will honor your property. I will give you the gift of peace on your life. So imagine a world where everyone respected everyone else's property and worked hard to make money so they could give it to those who are in need. That'd be a pretty good word. What if I gave you the gift of generosity? Of seeing what you need and being able to bless you with it. And this is not dependent upon your income. Do you know? Generous, you can be generous in a lot of different ways. And you don't have to be generous in the term terms of like thousands of dollars in generosity. You can be generous with $20. Or you can be generous with your time. So this is just a gift that you can give. Instead of stealing, working hard at take. What kind of difference would that make? Okay, but talk, but this is the fourth one and the last one. Paul spends the most time on this one. It's really important to note that he spends the most time on what you say out of your mouth. The way we talk. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Again, the emphasis is on people to give grace to those who hear. My words can give dignity and grace and healing, or they can injure you, one or the other. There's a famous scripture in Proverbs 18, verse 21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Those who love it will eat its fruit. The way of a death speaker is hard for them and for the people around them. So speaking life is what we're saying. And the command is to speak life is right there in the midst of the command to do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Why do you think that is? It's like how you talk, don't grieve the Spirit, how you talk. It's like a sandwich. Because one of the easiest ways to grieve the Holy Spirit and stop the Holy Spirit's work in our lives is the way we talk. The way we talk to others. I can grieve the Holy Spirit. Did you know you can grieve the Holy Spirit? He's a person, he's not a force, he's a person. He feels, he speaks. This is He's a person. And you can grieve Him. So can I also joy the Holy Spirit? Yeah. I can give the Holy Spirit joy by the things I say, by speaking truth and using my words to build up. So listen to how the message version translates this passage. We're still writing on our paper, right? Aren't we? If if you if you anything sticks, write it down. Okay. Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps. Each word a gift. Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit moving and breathing in you is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive, forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Woo! Watch your mouth. And there are a lot of different ways he talks about here that are negative ways to speak. Words of bitterness, words of anger, words of slander, which means injuring your reputation with my words. Words of malice, which is ill will or desire to injure you. And here's one way to think about it, which is kind of popular, but I thought it was really good. Basically, it's to think. Think about it before you speak. So uh not everything that comes into your head should go out of your mouth. This is a great revelation. Maybe this is you can just take this one home. Not everything that comes into your head should come out of your mouth. It's okay. You don't have to say it. So think. Is it acronym? Think. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? That's a good way to think about it. This is so this is the way we're supposed to use our words. Now, there's there's one thing at the very end there, he threw a word in there. Profane words. Profane words. So I gotta take a minute to talk about profanity. Profanity. Cursing, cussing, potty mouth, letting one fly. And I have to do this because it's there's a disturbing, I think, to me and to God, trend, especially among young people, to use profanity and let it be a part of their a regular part of their language. Maybe it's because it's part of our uh our culture, part of the podcast you're listening to. I don't know what it is, but you've just decided to do it. You shouldn't do that. Okay? You just shouldn't do that. And I'll just tell you some things that I thought about, some reasons, okay? Number one, perhaps the greatest indicator of the state of your heart is what comes out of your mouth. Jesus said, out of the bonus of the heart, the mouth speaks. If it's coming out your mouth, it's in your heart. If you're speaking profanity, it's in your heart. So if it's an issue, write it down on your paper. We're gonna deal with it, okay? It's in your heart. Number two, this is what unsaved people do. Number three, it dishonors you. It's not a good look at all. And it dishonors people around you. Number four, it displays an arrogance that is not befitting of a Christ follower. And number five, this arrogance that it displays reveals a misunderstanding of liberty in Christ. The grace of God does not excuse your potty mouth, okay? Number six, it makes a very blatant statement that you don't care about living distinctly from the world. Number seven, it doesn't help or inspire or shed light on any situation. Number eight, the words God and Jesus Christ and hell are not light words. They're weighty words. They mean something. They mean something in eternity. We shouldn't make light of them. They're seriously important words. Number nine, right is right even if nobody else is doing it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody else is doing it. That applies to profanity. Number 10, excusing your language choices could mean that you might be more willing to excuse other far worse behaviors down the road. It's just opening a door to patterns in your life. Okay, don't do it. Just don't do it. Why would why why do you do it? And four-letter schatological terms, the Bible calls it crude and vulgar speech. And human beings in every culture all over the world have agreed there's certain things that are inappropriate or offensive. It doesn't honor God, it doesn't even honor you. So are you willing to honor God with your words? Are you willing to honor people with your words? And if not, why not? Look in your heart. Why? What makes you stubborn in that area? What excuses that behavior? And Paul talks more about that in the next chapter. He says, don't let filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking come out of your mouth because that's out of place. Instead, be thankful. You see, again, he's not just saying don't do it, he's saying there's a way you're supposed to talk. There's, I'm gonna raise the bar on righteousness, the righteous way to you live your, your, use your mouth. Okay. So by the way, you're talking. And in that context, do not grieve the Holy Spirit. Look what it says. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit with whom you've been sealed for the day of redemption. He's talking about eternity here. Suddenly, he's saying, think, act, and speak in light of eternity, the day of redemption. Think, act, speak in light of eternity. Jesus said, every idle word that comes out of your mouth will be judged. It's heavy. The way of a scoffer is hard for himself and for others. Imagine a world where everyone gave a gift, every gift, every word a gift. I actually, this is part of my prayer. I pray almost daily. Is Lord help me to love people with my words, to give every word as a gift. I'm trying, I'm really trying to do that. By the power of the Spirit, he's changing the way I talk. I'm thinking about what I'm saying coming out of my mouth and into your heart as a gift to you, to bless you. You can bless people. Imagine that. Okay, so Paul ends everything, and we're gonna end today as he ends the chapter with a reference back to the first three chapters. He says, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. He's going back to the beginning again. Remember you've been forgiven. Remember what your anchor is. Remember the gift that's been given to you. The gift of God, okay, here it is. The gift of God to us allows us to give gifts to other people. Be kind and tenderhearted, forgive, because you've already received this gift from God. Because He's forgiven me, sealed me, marked me, secured me, I'm able to do these things. I will not forget the gift that a kind God has given me, who had every right to judge me. And in his kindness, he forgave me. I've been given a new heart in order to give these gifts to other people. So, what kingdom are you in this morning? That's the question. And honestly, well, you can tell by the way you think, the way you act, the way you speak. But honestly, these kind of things, a lot of us have just let these habit patterns creep into our lives. And when we're talking about putting off and putting on, we're really talking about creating habits in our lives. And our habits form us. So I want to end with a quote here from Anne Voskamp from the book of The Waymaker about habits, and then we're going to pray. She says this habits change where we arrive. Rhythms build roads. Lack of rhythms leave us lost. Small daily turns decide destination. And we only have one life. The word habit originally meant a piece of clothing that we inhabit, we pull on, we live in. As nuns dress in habits to express their devotion to God. So habits are like clothing revealing our own kinds of devotion. A habit of running to Facebook before we open the word and face his face. A habit of being more consumed by the news than the good news. And we're all wearing the real love that we have in our hearts on our sleeves. Our habits build what kind of life we inhabit. Our daily way of life is the way we put on Christ or not. So what things do you need to put off? What things do you need to put on? This is a question I've been asking myself this week. And this is what we're going to do business with as we're going to be praying in just a few minutes. But I want to pray for you right now. And then we're going to have a little bit of a break. And then we're going to come back together. Hopefully, most of you can come back together. We're going to give have a break for people to go pick their children up and come back. But the question is what do we need to put off? What do we need to put on? Father, these things that are in our hearts or on our papers here are things that you're putting your finger on because you want to bring blessing to us, Lord. Not only to us, but also to other people through us. You want to bring blessing, God. This is the way of life. We know the way of a transgressor's hard, Lord. We hear your word and we believe that. We know that you have a way that leads to life. And we believe that. So we want to lay the things down that you're putting your finger on, that you're the things we need to put off. We want to walk in the ways of the blessed. We want to pull on day by day, we want to put on these garments of righteousness, this bright and clean righteousness that you bought for us, Jesus. I pray for every person here, Lord. I pray for those people who are struggling specifically with habits. And I want to pray, God, that by the power of your Holy Spirit, as we're seeking you during this fast, God, you would, there would be a breakthrough. You would just break through so that there's a doorway into freedom, God. I thank you that that's going to be the testimony of so many here, Lord. Lord, I also pray for those of us who are living in a measure of freedom, but we need to see these things as gifts. What we're putting on as gifts to other people. Don't let us just be inward-focused because rules, list of rules can make us inward-focused, Lord. But turn us outward so that we're blessing people in the church, outside the church, so we're showing Christ to people. This is what our prayer is, Lord. We want to ask your kingdom to come in our lives and your will to be done in our lives and those around us, Lord. And I pray your blessing, the blessing of your righteousness on your people this morning. I want to pray the blessing of the provision of what Jesus has died for us to have on your people this morning. Wholeness, the joy of integrity, the joy of living in righteousness. Thank you for that, Father. Thank you for freedom in Christ. Thank you for growing us up into Christ. We love you and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.