00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord,
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:31 Surely you have heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:36 You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self,
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 to be made new in the attitude of your minds,
00:00:41 --> 00:00:46 and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:50 Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 for we are all members of one body.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 In your anger, do not sin.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 and do not give the devil a foothold.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 He who has been stealing must steal no longer,
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 but must work doing something useful with his own hands
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 that he may have something to share with those in need.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 Do not let any unwholesome talk come from your mouths,
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 but only let what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 that it may benefit those who listen.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 with whom you are sealed for the day of redemption.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:43 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved and gave himself up for us,
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:53 Be among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 or of any kind of impurity or of greed,
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 because these are improper for God's holy people.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking,
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:16 It would be great if you could have that passage in front of you, ready to go,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 as we continue to look through the book of Ephesians.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 I don't know about you, but after a couple of hits in the short space of time,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 you might be feeling a little bit fuzzy in the brain,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 so I'm going to ask God to sharpen us,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 so that we can hear him speak this morning.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:33 So let's pray.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 Father God, we want to thank and praise you for your word.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 We thank you that you're a God who has revealed himself
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 and who wants us to know him.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:48 We thank you that you are a God who shows us things in our lives that need to change,
00:02:48 --> 00:02:53 that you're a God who gives us the answers.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 Lord, you don't leave us to guess.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:01 And we ask this morning that you would take away tiredness or distraction or anything else
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 and enable us to hear you speak,
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 the result being that we might be more like your son
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 and that our lives might give you more glory.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:09 Amen.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:15 I remember when I was growing up, I used to be a bit of a church event junkie.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 So I used to go to a lot of different church events.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 I used to do two youth groups when I was in high school.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 On Friday night, I'd go to my local Anglican church,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 and on Saturday night, I'd go to my local Pentecostal church
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 because I couldn't get enough of youth group.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:31 And I remember something that struck me as I hung around youth groups and events
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 was these incredible testimonies that evangelists had.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:40 It seemed like a prerequisite to being a guest preacher
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 was a serious drug habit somewhere in life.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 And I remember I used to sit there and think,
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 this is not long after I'd become a Christian.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 I knew that I wanted to spend my life telling people about Jesus,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 and I was thinking, where am I going to squeeze this drug habit in?
00:03:52 --> 00:03:52 I'm busy.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 I've got time.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 And I'd be looking at my life and thinking, my life's so boring.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 It's reasonably good.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 And I had some stuff that I thought was pretty serious.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 But when I heard these testimonies, my life just sounded like I was already a Christian.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 I'd just forgotten to go to church.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:14 But the problem was that I'd completely misunderstood what my life was like in God's eyes.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:19 I'd completely misunderstood what God saw when He looked at my life.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:23 And for the Ephesians, Paul comes to this point in chapter 4,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 and there's been a shift in this second half of the book.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:31 He started to really drive on the practical application of what he's been talking about.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 He's been talking about the significant work that God has been doing.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 In chapter 1, we learn about the gospel of Jesus,
00:04:37 --> 00:04:41 by which we were chosen and predestined and adopted and forgiven.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 And in chapter 2, he reminds them that in Christ they were brought from death to life.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 There's a significant work that has gone on.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 And then he begins chapter 4 by saying,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:57 As a prisoner for the Lord then, I urge you to live a life worthy of that calling.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 This second half is all about what that life in the gospel is supposed to look like.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 But here, in this second part of chapter 4,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:12 it's like Paul needs the Ephesians to look again at what their life is like without Jesus.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17 It's like the Ephesians maybe, like I used to, have looked at their life and thought,
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 we were kind of not amazing before, but we weren't bad either.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:26 A few subtle changes and we'll be pretty sorted for this new life that God has called us to.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:31 But in case they've missed the phrase dead in chapter 2,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 Paul goes hard again here.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 Have a look at verses 17 to 19.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 I mean, this isn't subtle.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:44 This is an absolute denunciation, an absolute slamming of the way of life without Jesus.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:44 He says,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:49 I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54 And for the Jews, Gentiles is the same as what we would think of as pagans.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 For the people who don't know Jesus, he says,
00:05:56 --> 00:06:00 I insist you must no longer live like they do in the futility of their thinking.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:05 See, their way of life is based on a hopeless thinking.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:11 They can't actually use their mind to understand their existence and their earth
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 and what the right path for their life is.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 There is a futility and a hopelessness even in their ability to choose right and wrong.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 It says they're dark in their understanding.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 They're separated from life.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 You've got to hear it again.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 Without Jesus, you were dead.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:29 Dead in your transgressions and sins.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:30 Separated from God.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 Cut off from the source of life.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 And ignorant.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 Hard-hearted.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 Lost all sensitivity.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 It's like sin has become second nature.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 Sin is the normal.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 It's like this happens for us as an ongoing challenge.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 I remember finding myself as a younger man
00:06:48 --> 00:06:54 perfectly okay with the increasing nudity and profanity
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 that I would find on television.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:59 I remember as a 10, 11, a 12-year-old,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 I'd get really embarrassed if there was nudity on television
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 and I'd run out of the room or my parents would cover my eyes
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 or something like that.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 But progressively, I got desensitized
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 to the point where it was normal.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 That's what's on TV.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 So I'd just watch it.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 And Paul is saying that's what life is like before Jesus.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 There's no sense of this is wrong.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 It's natural.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:25 Your life is completely on a path of disobedience to God.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 Your life is consumed by it.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 It's like you're gathering up impurity.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 It says there in verse 19,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:46 Without God as the standard for our lives,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 the only standard here is sensuality.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 It's the things that I feel right now.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:53 It's me.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 I'm the center of the universe.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 Paul says that is the existence of every non-believer.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 Now, at first, we feel this kind of awkwardness.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 Isn't that a bit harsh?
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 I know some nice non-Christians.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 I know some non-Christians that seem to do good things.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 But the point here is that sin,
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 that the life without God is life without God.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 That's what sin is.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:20 Sin is life lived outside of God's rule.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 And it's there.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 Without Jesus, they're cut off from life.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 They're separated from God.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 So people who don't know Jesus,
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 this is the reality of their life.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 They are driven by their sensual desires.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 They're cut off from life.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 And they are just building up impurity.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 And they are on a path of futility.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 But Paul says in verse 17,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:48 This is not okay anymore if you're following Jesus.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 This is what it used to be.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 This was your life.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 This is your evangelist story, if you like.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:58 This is the path that you can't continue on anymore.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 You can't just live the same life with church attendance.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:07 The gospel, Jesus, as has been explained all through chapters 1 to 3,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 brings a new life.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 It brings a transformation.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 It brings something different.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 Look at verse 20.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 You, however, this is the contrast,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 did not come to know Christ that way.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 You were taught with regard to your former way of life
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 to put off your old self,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 which has been corrupted by its deceitful desires.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 Paul says you now know Jesus.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 You now know what is true.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 There's no hopelessness in your thinking anymore.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:45 You can't claim ignorance as an excuse for the sin in your life.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 You have been shown the truth.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 The mystery has been revealed in chapter 3.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 And so for us, we're not ignorantly wallowing in the mud
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 because we don't know any better.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 To continue in our old lifestyle
00:09:58 --> 00:10:02 is to willingly reject the gospel.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:08 It's to willingly deny the headship and lordship of Jesus
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 that was won on the cross.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:14 To continue in your life the same way as it was before Jesus
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 is to reject the blood of Jesus which was shed for you
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 so you might be forgiven.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:27 A life worthy of the gospel must be different.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 A life worthy of what Jesus has done
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 can't even be just a changed life.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 It's got to be a new life.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 Death is where we were before.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 Cut off from God.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 Cut off from life is our starting point.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 And so the life in Christ is so radically transformed
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 that it is new.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:48 It is unrecognizable.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 It is different.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 And so Paul calls the Ephesians in this passage
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 and God is calling us today
00:10:55 --> 00:10:58 to put off the old life.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 To leave the habits.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 To leave the sinful patterns.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 And to put off the old life.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 Because it is being corrupted.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 But there's something really interesting there.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 What is it that's corrupting that old life?
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 Have a look there in verse 22.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 Put off your old life, your old self,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:24 which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:29 It's your deceitful desires that have corrupted your old life.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 Before you say,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:30 I was ignorant.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 I didn't know what I was doing.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 Human sinfulness is so ingrained
00:11:34 --> 00:11:38 that it is us that corrupts our life.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 It is us that cuts ourselves off from God.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 And to continue in that path,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 it is your desires that will try and drag you there.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 Your desires will wage war with this new life
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 that the Spirit is working in you.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 Your own sinful human nature
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 will do everything
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 to keep you rooted in that old life
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 that you once existed in.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 That is unless you fight
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 to put off the old self.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 We significantly underestimate
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 just how sinful we are.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 We think that sin is an issue, sure,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 but it's a small issue.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 In fact, we're so good
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 at distorting the truth of sin
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 that we can convince ourselves
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 that when we're sinning,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 not only are we not doing the wrong thing,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 but we can even make it noble sometimes.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 I was listening to a sermon recently
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 and the preacher told a story about a man
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 that he met at a conference
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 and this man approached him
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 and started speaking proudly
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 of his wife and his girlfriend.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 And the preacher pushed back going,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 hang on a sec,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 what do you mean your wife and your girlfriend?
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 And so the man,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 without missing a beat,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 started explaining,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 well, my wife is quite cold
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 and disconnected
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 and our marriage wasn't really working,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 but now I have this woman
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 who cares for my emotional needs
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 and my physical needs
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 and so it's saved my marriage.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 That's a true story.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 He had so twisted the truth
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 that he convinced himself
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 not only is adultery not wrong,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 it's a good idea.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 It's the way to fix the problems
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 in his marriage.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 He's convinced himself that it's wise
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 and it sounds ridiculous
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 because that's not our sin.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 But think of the ways
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 that we daily convince ourselves
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 that dishonesty is a good idea.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 We can always find a noble outcome
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 for dishonesty
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 so that it's the right thing to do.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 Think of the way you convince yourself
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 that speeding is a good idea
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 so that you get to church on time
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 because church is an important place to be.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:46 So complete and so disgusting
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 is our sinful nature
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 that we can convince ourselves,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 we can justify ourselves
00:13:51 --> 00:13:54 to the point where sin is not a vice
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 but a virtue.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 So complete is the rebellion in our old life
00:14:01 --> 00:14:05 that if we continue to walk in it,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 we reject the grace offered
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 in the gospel.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 Paul is calling the Ephesians here
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 having reminded them
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 in those first three chapters
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 of the incredible grace and love
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 that God has shown them in Jesus.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 He calls them here
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 to an active life change.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 There is no possibility
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 of being passive in this activity.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 In Christ they've been given knowledge,
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 they've been given the freedom
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 from the ignorance and the darkness
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 and the hard-heartedness
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 and the hopelessness
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 and now they can choose
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 to put off that old life
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 that is dead.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 Now we are actually released
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 to choose what God has shown us
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 is right
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 but understand that this putting off
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 will be a daily struggle
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 until Jesus comes back.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:57 It will be a daily struggle.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:00 The life worthy of the gospel of Jesus
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 demands that there is an ongoing
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 every minute of every day
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 putting off of old habits that deny God
00:15:08 --> 00:15:14 and putting on holiness, righteousness
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 and God-likeness.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 That's what it says there in the passage.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 Verse 22 finishes,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 put off your old self
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 which has been corrupted
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 by its deceitful desires
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 to be made new
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 in the attitude of your minds
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 and to put on the new self
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 created to be like God
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 in true righteousness
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 and holiness.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 What Paul is demanding here
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 is that the Ephesians
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 be recreated.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 That's what he's asking them to do.
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 He's saying an old life
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 goes
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 and a new life begins
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and the only way
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 a new life begins
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 is creation
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 and the only one who creates
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 is God.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 He is saying
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 you need to swap death
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 for life,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 darkness for light,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 unwise for wise
00:15:59 --> 00:16:03 and as a young kid
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 I just couldn't understand
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 that my old life was dead.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 I couldn't see it as dead.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 I could see those evangelist lives
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 as dead
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 with the drugs
00:16:11 --> 00:16:11 and the guns
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 and the whatever else.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 All I saw was good people
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 and bad people.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 Bad people who met Jesus
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 needed to change
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 and good people like me
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 who met Jesus
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 needed to start going to church.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 I couldn't grasp that
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 to God my life was disgusting.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 That it was dead
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 and rotting
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 and decaying
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 and even more so
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 I didn't grasp
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 the blinding light
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 of the life
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 that God was calling me to.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 I didn't understand
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 that following Jesus
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 meant a recreation.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 It meant a whole new existence.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 It meant that there is nothing
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 similar about my old life
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 and my new life.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 God is calling us
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 from one extreme
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 of willful rebellion
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 to wholehearted
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 absolute
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 unquestioned
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 devotion.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 Jesus is demanding
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 change.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 Verse 23 again
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 says,
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 Be made new
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 in the attitude
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 of your minds
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 and put on
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 the new self
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 created to be like God
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 in true righteousness
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 and holiness
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 exchanging impurity
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 for righteousness
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 futility
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 for renewal
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 sensuality
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 for holiness
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 the ultimate
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 and complete
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 transformation.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 Now,
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 I don't know about you
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 but I often get
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 uncomfortable
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 when people,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 particularly non-Christians,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 make comments
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 about how Christians
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 are supposed to be
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 the good people.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 It usually comes
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 in the context
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 of a Christian
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 who's stuffed up
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 and they're letting us
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 know that we've
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 stuffed up
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 but my response
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 has always been,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 no,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 we're not supposed
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 to be good,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 we're just forgiven.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 I usually walk away
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 feeling kind of smug
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 and look,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 that's kind of true
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 but in this passage
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 in Ephesians
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 Paul is saying
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 that a life
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 worthy of the gospel
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 does involve change,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 that there is
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 a goodness,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 that there is
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 a morality
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 that should mark
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 the people of God.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 There should be
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 a visible difference
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 between those
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 who are darkened
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 in their understanding
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 and hardened
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 in their hearts
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 and those who have
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 been brought
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 to know Jesus.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 Those who have
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 been forgiven
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 and cleansed
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 and set free.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 And the scary part
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 in this passage
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 for me is that
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 it feels like
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 some of the responsibility
00:18:29 --> 00:18:31 sits with us.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 In verse 22,
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 we were taught
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 to put off
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 the old self.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 You put off
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 the old self.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 In verse 24,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 you put on
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 the new self.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 It's we
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 who are to
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 consciously
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 and actively
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 wrestle with sin
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 in our lives.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 We are to
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 actively
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 and consciously
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 and desperately
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 seek God-likeness,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 seek righteousness,
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 seek holiness.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 There's this
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 incredible list
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 of examples
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 in the verses
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 that follow.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 We're to stop
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 stealing
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 and instead
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 be generous.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 We're to stop
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 lying and instead
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 speak truthfully.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 We're to avoid
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 sinning and anger
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 and instead
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 be forgiving
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 and compassionate
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 and gracious.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 We are to use
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 our words
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 to build others
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 up and not tear
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 down.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 We're to forgive
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 like Jesus did.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 We're to avoid
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 sexual immorality.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 There's a list
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 of what we
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 must do.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 There's a sense
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 of responsibility
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 there and we're
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 called to take
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 responsibility
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 for our lives
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 and for the
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 transformation
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 that is demanded
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 by the gospel.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 So the question
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 is,
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 how seriously
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 do you take
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 sin in your
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 life?
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 How regularly
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 do you pray
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 for things
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 that you know
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 don't honour
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 God in your
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 life?
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 How hard
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 are you trying
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 to grow
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 in areas
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 of godliness?
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 Because the
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 call is clear.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 Live a life
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 worthy of
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 the gospel.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 The call
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 is forceful
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 in verse 17.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 I insist
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 on it
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 in the Lord.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 But I guess
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 the question
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 remains,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 what does it
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 look like
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 practically
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 for you
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 to put off
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 and put on
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 this week?
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 What will it
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 look like
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 for you
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 to live this
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 out?
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 Look again
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 at verse 20
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 and 21.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 You,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 however,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 did not come
00:20:28 --> 00:20:28 to know
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 Christ that
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 way.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 Surely
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 you heard
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 of him
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 and were
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 taught in
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 him in
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 accordance
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 with the
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 truth that
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 is in
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 Jesus.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:35 You did
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 not come
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 to know
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Christ
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 that way.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:38 There's
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 this hint
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 of looking
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 back to
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 what Paul's
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 been talking
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 about for
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 the first
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 three chapters
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 of this
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 book.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 We're
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 looking back
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 to what's
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 gone before
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 to chapter
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 one.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 How did
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 the Ephesians
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 come to
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 know Jesus?
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 How do
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 we come
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 to know
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 Jesus as
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 Christians?
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 By hearing
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 and learning
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 the truth
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 that is in
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 Jesus.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 The truth
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 of chapter
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 one that
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 tells us
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 that we
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 were chosen
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 before the
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 creation of
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 the world,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 that we
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 were predestined
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 and adopted
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 and forgiven
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 and all
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 that when
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 we're included
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 by Christ
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 by faith.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 That's what
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 it looked
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 like.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 That's how
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 we came
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 to know
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 Christ,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 is by
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 faith.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 In chapter
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 two it's
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 explicit,
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 it's by
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 grace.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 Our
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 knowing
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 Christ has
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 nothing to
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 do with
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 you,
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 it's by
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 his grace
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 and through
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 faith and
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 this is from
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 God.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 Paul makes
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 it really
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 clear,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 just to be
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 sure you
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 can't boast
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 about this
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 because God
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 does it
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 in Christ
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 and you
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 participate
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 in it
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 by grace
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 and through
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 faith.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 It's God's
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 work in
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 you by
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 the Holy
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 Spirit that
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 opened your
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 eyes to be
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 able to
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 choose what
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 is right.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 It's God's
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 work that
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 freed you
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 from the
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 ignorance and
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 the futility
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 and the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 hopelessness.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 And in
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 verse 23,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 in amongst
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 us putting
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 off and
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 us putting
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 on,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 we are
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 to be
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 made new.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 That doesn't
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 say go make
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 yourself new,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 it means be
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 made new,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 it's something
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 that God
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 is doing,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 it's his
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 work and
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 the only
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 one who
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 has the
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 power to
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 create is
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 God through
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 Jesus.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 This
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 transformation
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 that is
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 demanded and
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 that is
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 insisted on
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 is only
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 possible in
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 the power
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 of the
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 gospel.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 It's only
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 possible in
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 the power
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 of the
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 Holy Spirit
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 and it's
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 something that
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 God alone
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 can do.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 Now you
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 might be
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 feeling like
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 I'm arguing
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 in two
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 directions here
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 but let me
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 show you.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 God in
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 his infinite
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 wisdom and
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 power has
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 so worked
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 that he
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 can say
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 in the
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 space of
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 a couple
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 of verses
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 put off
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 you do
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 it.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Be made
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 new,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 I'm doing
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 it and
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 put on
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 you do
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 it.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 His
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 spirit works
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 in such
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 a way
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 that it
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 empowers
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 you and
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 it demands
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 of you
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 that you
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 take
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 responsibility.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 God
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 says your
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 life must
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 be transformed,
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 must be
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 different,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 must be
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 recreated and
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 he gives
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 you the
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 power to
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 do it and
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 in his
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 power he
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 gives you
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 the
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 responsibility
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 to say
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 I will
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 wrestle with
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 sin,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 I will
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 put it
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 off,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 I will
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 seek
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 godliness,
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 I will
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 put it
00:23:05 --> 00:23:05 on.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 The
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 Christian
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 life is
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 this journey
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 from being
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 redeemed in
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 Christ to
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 the final
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 redemption when
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 Christ comes
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 back and
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 because of the
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 cross we are
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 irreversibly rescued
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 and forgiven.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 We have been
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 given the new
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 nature that is
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 talked about
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 here.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 We now know
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 Christ,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 we are no
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 longer that
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 verse 17
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 to 19
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 bit,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 but you
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 and I
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 both know
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 that so
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 often we
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 wander back
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 into it.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 We know
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 what is
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 right,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 we know
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 what God
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 wants but
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 still we
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 wander back
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 into old
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 habits.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 Still we
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 continue in
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 patterns of
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 sin that we
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 know to be
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 wrong.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 We often
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 pretend that
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 we don't
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 know what's
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 right,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 let alone
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 have the
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 willpower to
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 actually choose
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 it.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 But Paul
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 says here,
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 I insist
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 in the
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 Lord,
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 don't settle
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 for sin.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 Don't settle
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 for not
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 okay.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 Don't become
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 desensitized but
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 daily put off
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 your old
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 life.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 Daily put
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 on this new
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 man, this
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 new self that
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 has been
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 created.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 Confess
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 sin.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 Pray for
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 strength to
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 resist.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 Practice
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 godliness.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 Encourage
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 instead of
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 tear down.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 Share
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 rather than
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 steal.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 Forgive
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 rather than
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 revenge.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 Are you
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 growing to
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 be more
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 like Jesus?
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 Because that
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 is the new
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 self that
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 God has
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 created in
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 you.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 He is
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 transforming
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 you to
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 be like
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 Jesus.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 What are
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 you doing
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 to actually
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 make that
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 part of
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 your agenda?
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 Do you
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 have someone
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 in your
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 life who
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 will regularly
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 challenge you
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 on areas
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 that you're
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 struggling in?
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 do you
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 have someone
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 holding you
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 accountable in
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 an area that
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 you're seeking
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 to grow in?
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 Are you
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 trying to
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 memorize
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 scripture that
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 might shape
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 your desires
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 and your
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 heart?
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 How
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 regularly do
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 you confess
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 sin in your
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 life?
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 Because it
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 is a daily
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 struggle to
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 put off and
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 to put on.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 How we live
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 can't unsave
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 us but that
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 doesn't mean
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 that it's
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 not important.
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 It still
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 matters.
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 This is what
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 it looks like
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 to be a
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 Christian.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 There is a
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 transformation
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 to be more
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 and more
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 like Jesus.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 That's what
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 the gospel
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 looks like
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 when it
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 takes root
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 in our
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 life and
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 shapes us.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 But the
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 last question
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 I have for
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 this passage
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 is why
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 is it
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 here?
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 I mean
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 I get it
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 that the
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 second half
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 of Ephesians
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 is practical
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 but this
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 book is
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 about the
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 church.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 This book
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 is about the
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 community of
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 God's
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 people.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 We just
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 learnt in
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 the section
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 immediately
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 before about
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 gifts for
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 building one
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 another up.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 So why does
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 he take this
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 apparent left
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 turn and
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 start talking
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 about the
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 life of the
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 individuals?
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 Why does
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 he suddenly
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 slap people
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 around about
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 their sinfulness
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 and their
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 failure to
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 pursue
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 godliness?
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 Something that
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 I like to do
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 and that has
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 been significant
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 in my
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 Christian life
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 is having
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 older godly
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 men as
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 mentors.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 And one
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 particular guy
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 who I won't
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 name because
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 that would
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 make him
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 particularly
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 uncomfortable,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 I spent
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 time with
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 regularly over
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 the course
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 of about
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 18 months
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 and this
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 man for
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 me was
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 the godliest
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 man I've
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 ever met.
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 I have
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 often referred
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 to him
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 slightly in
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 jest as
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 Jesus because
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 he's the
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 closest thing
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 I've seen
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 in my
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 lifetime.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 he loves
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 the scriptures
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 in a way
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 that I can
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 only hope
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 to get
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 to.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 He has
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 boxes and
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 boxes and
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 boxes of
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 memory verse
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 cards and
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 he knows
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 them.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 We would
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 meet together
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 and he'd be
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 carrying around
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 this little
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 wallet in
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 his back
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 pocket with
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 sort of 10
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 15 memory
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 verses that
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 he had
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 learnt,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 some new
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 ones he
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 was learning
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 and some
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 that he
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 was revising
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 from as
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 long as
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 25 years
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 ago and
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 he'd go
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 can you
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 test me
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 on them?
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 He'd hand
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 them over
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 and he'd
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 get every
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 one of
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 them word
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 perfect.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 He'd
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 even progressed
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 with his
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 church through
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 the various
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 translations of
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 the Bible.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 He had
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 some of
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 his verses
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 in King
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 James,
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 some in
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 RSV,
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 some in
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 NIV and
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 he knew
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 which ones
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 were in
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 which because
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 they were
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 so imprinted
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 on his
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 mind and
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 his life
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 that he
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 couldn't
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 forget them.
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 And
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 spending time
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 with this
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 man was a
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 significant
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 encouragement
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 to me.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 We wrestled
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 with some
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 specific issues,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 we occasionally
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 talked about
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 specific things
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 but the most
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 significant
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 encouragement
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 was just
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 watching him
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 follow Jesus.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 Watching him
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 love his
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 wife through
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 sickness.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 Watching him
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 love his
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 kids even
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 as some
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 of them
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 strayed.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 His
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 transformed
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 life
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 spurred me
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 on to be
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 transformed as
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 well.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 His living
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 out of the
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 gospel,
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 his living a
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 life worthy
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 of the
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 gospel pushed
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 me to
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 maturity,
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 pushed me
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 to growth.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 This sits
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 perfectly in
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 this chapter.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 This is
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 exactly the
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 right place
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 because yes
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 the church
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 is a unit
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 but it's a
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 unit made
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 up of
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 people,
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 made up
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 of individuals
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 who are
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 living lives,
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 made up of
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 relationships and
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 a life worthy
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 of the gospel
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 is a life in
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 relationship to
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 God but it's
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 a life in
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 relationship to
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 those who
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 belong to
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 God as
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 well.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 What we
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 need to
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 understand is
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 your life
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 and the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 way you
00:28:37 --> 00:28:40 live impacts
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 me directly
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 and indirectly.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 My life
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 and the
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 way I
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 live impacts
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 you directly
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 and indirectly.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 The
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 transformation
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 or lack
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 of transformation
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 has an
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 impact on
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 you as my
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 brothers and
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 sisters that
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 I'm in
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 relationship
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 with.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 Look back
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 to verse
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 16 just
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 before our
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 passage.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 Talking about
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 the building up
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 of the body
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 it says,
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 from him
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 the whole
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 body joined
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 and held
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 together by
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 every supporting
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 ligament grows
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 and builds
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 itself up in
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 love as
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 each part
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 does its
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 work.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 Part of
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 the work
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 that each
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 part must
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 do is what
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 follows in
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 this passage.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 To be
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 equipped to
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 do the
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 work you
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 must be
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 being
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 transformed.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 You must
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 be growing to
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 be more like
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 Jesus because
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 that is what
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 the gospel
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 does.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 It changes
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 us.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 We need to
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 take seriously
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 the call to
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 put off and
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 wrestle with
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 sin in our
00:29:41 --> 00:29:44 life and we
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 need to take
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 seriously the
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 call to grow
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 in godliness.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 It's not
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 enough to
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 just put off
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 but as we
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 are recreated
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 our desires,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 our goals,
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 our aspirations
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 are shaped to
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 line up with
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 Christ that we
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 might be created
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 to be like
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 God in
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 true righteousness
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 and holiness.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 As you
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 change and
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 grow, that
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 spurs and
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 encourages the
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 people around
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 you to do
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 the same.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 We're not
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 all wrestling
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 with the same
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 sins but
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 seeing you
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 wrestle with
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 sin in your
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 life, seeing
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 you make the
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 decision to
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 say that
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 God's being
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 obedient to
00:30:19 --> 00:30:19 God and
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 his call on
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 your life is
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 more important
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 than your
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 sensual desires
00:30:23 --> 00:30:26 makes me want
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 to do the
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 same.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29 God's grace
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 in your life
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 gives me joy.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 God's work
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 in your life
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 gives me a
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 vision for
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 what he wants
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 to do in
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 my life and
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 the life that
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 you are living
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 even in
00:30:38 --> 00:30:41 secret matters
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 for the rest
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 of us.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 This passage
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 is kind of
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 heavy but
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 it's kind of
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 light at the
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 same time.
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 There are so
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 many examples
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 of stuff that
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 we are all
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 bad at.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 Speech,
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 sexual impurity,
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 anger but
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 it's all
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 driven by
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 the gospel.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 Verse 20
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 to 24
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 it just
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 unpacks the
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 gospel.
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 You did not
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 come to know
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 Christ that
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 way.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 You heard of
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 him and were
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 taught in
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 him in
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 accordance with
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 the truth
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 that is in
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 Jesus.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 You're being
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 made new in
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 the attitude
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 of your mind.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 It's the
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 coming to
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 know Jesus
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 by grace
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 and through
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 faith that
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 frees us to
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 live a
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 transformed life.
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 Frees us
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 from futile
00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 ignorance and
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 empowers us to
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 choose Jesus.
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 So what's it
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 going to look
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 like for you
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 to put on
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 and put off
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 this week?
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 It's going to
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 look exactly
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 the same as
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 it looked the
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 first time you
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 put off and
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 put on.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 That's what you
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 did when you
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 became a
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 Christian.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 You left your
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 old life behind
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 and you took
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 on a new
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 one.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 And what did
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 it look like
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 then?
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 It looked like
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 you saying,
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 God, please
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 do this in
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 me.
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 God, I don't
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 deserve it.
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 I'm not good
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 enough.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 I'm not worthy.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 Please do this
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 in me.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56 It looks
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 like prayer.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 Humble,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 dependent,
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 and desperate
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 prayer.
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 Saying, God,
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 change me.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 Pray for your
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 holiness.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 Pray for my
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 holiness.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 Pray for one
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 another so that
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 together we can
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 live a life
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 worthy of the
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 gospel.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 so that
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 together we
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 can be the
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 church that
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 is pictured
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 in these
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 passages.
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 So that
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 together we
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 might grow
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 up and
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 mature into
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 the head
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 that is
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 Christ Jesus.
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 Humble,
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 dependent,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 desperate
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 prayer.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 That's what it
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 looks like to
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 put off and
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 put on.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 Let's pray.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 Pray.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:46 Pray for
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 God.
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 Father, we
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 want to
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 acknowledge that
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 there is so
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 much in our
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 lives that is
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 not okay.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 That there is so
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 much about the
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 way we are
00:32:53 --> 00:32:55 living that we
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 have become
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 desensitized to.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 We have become
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 comfortable with
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 things that are
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 disgusting to
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 you.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 Father, we
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 remember the
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 forgiveness and
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 the freedom that
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 you have won for
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 us in Jesus.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 Please remind us
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 of the work you
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 have done.
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 Lift our eyes to
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 see the good
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 that you would
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 have us do in
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 our lives.
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 Show us the
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 sins that you
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 would have us
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 deal with and
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 wrestle with.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 Give us the
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 strength to
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 overcome them.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 Lord, keep us
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 from settling with
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 where we are
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 now.
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 Give us eyes to
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 look to Jesus,
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 to understand that
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 you are transforming
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 us from one degree
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 of glory to
00:33:33 --> 00:33:33 another.
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 That you are
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 constantly by the
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 power of your
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 spirit cleansing
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 us and shaping
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 us.
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 That we might
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 love what you
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 love and hate
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 what you hate.
00:33:41 --> 00:33:44 God, use each
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 of our lives
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 individually to
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 be an
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 encouragement and
00:33:47 --> 00:33:49 a joy to one
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 another.
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 God, please
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 transform us
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 that our lives
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 might reflect your
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58 gospel, might
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 point to Jesus.
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 Amen.