Ephesians - Week 8

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Amen. [00:00:01] Speaker B: Let's pray. Dear Father, today we need your help. We need your spirit. We need your truth. [00:00:09] Speaker A: We need you to preach to us. Lord, it is not a man that they need to hear. [00:00:14] Speaker B: It is the God their Father who they need to hear from. And so, Lord, use your word to produce good work within us. But not just to produce the good [00:00:24] Speaker A: work within us, but also that the good work may pour out of us as well. I pray that today as we walk out, we walk out with this framework, with that Christ is good, and it [00:00:37] Speaker B: changes my life in a drastic and beautiful way. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Lord, I pray that we would behold [00:00:43] Speaker B: who Christ is, that we would extol Christ and exalt him in a beautiful and wonderful way. So, Lord, meet us in this place. Teach us your ways. [00:00:55] Speaker A: Help us to walk in your truth. Bless us and guide us. We love you. We need you. We depend on you. [00:01:03] Speaker B: You are in all and above all, [00:01:05] Speaker A: as in your precious and perfect son's [00:01:08] Speaker B: name is who we pray. [00:01:09] Speaker A: Amen. Amen and amen. Amen. Give it up for the worship team, if you could. Some wonderful singing. Oh, my goodness. Well, good morning, Christ Church. How we feeling this morning? I am super excited to be back. I miss you, ole Brooklyn. I love it here. Hey, can we say thank you to our brother Logan for the last few weeks for those awesome, awesome sermons? I appreciate my brother stepping up here. I appreciate him giving his knowledge and his wisdom and whatnot. But I'm back. So you got the screaming Javon. Okay, the screaming, sweaty Javon. But as Sierra said, today we are continuing in our sermon series. We have been in, it's our summer series through the book of Ephesians. I pray that you have been reading Ephesians on your own and taking the time to read and to study and to pull out some important truths that you find within the scriptures. And I'm excited for today. And today I want you to know that it's going to be a bit uncomfortable, right? It's gonna be a bit convicting, but it's good for us, right? It's good for us. It helps us to see, you know, how are we participating in the life God has called us into, Right? Cause that's what salvation is. It's God saving you from something but also delivering you into something. Right? And are we walking in the life that God has given to each and [00:02:47] Speaker B: every one of us for those who trust in Christ. [00:02:49] Speaker A: So I'm excited for today. I'm excited to be back. All my jokes and all my corny humor. I'm Excited to continue that with you guys. But before we jump into Ephesians 4, into this passage, you and I would agree. We would agree with this. There are certain things in life that you expect to produce change. There are certain things in life that you would expect to produce change. Like, for instance, if someone said they started going to the gym or they started working out, eventually you expect to see some change. Eventually you expect to see differences. Or if someone said the same thing, when it comes to eating healthy, someone said to you or to me, I started eating healthier, I started eating differently. Eventually you would expect to see something change. Because when something enters your life, especially something that's significant, when something enters your life, eventually, there should be evidence that it's there. Right? There should be evidence that it's there. If you say one thing. [00:04:02] Speaker B: Right? [00:04:02] Speaker A: Right. Well, it should be evidence that you are walking in what you actually say. And this is where we're gonna find ourselves in Ephesians today. Because this basic principle draws a very important question for us as followers of Jesus. And this is the question. If you say you are a Christian, [00:04:26] Speaker B: how does that show up in your life? [00:04:30] Speaker A: Right. Right now, if you're not a Christian today, I want you to know we love you. We are so glad that you're here. We're so glad that you're seeking to learn and to understand. We want you to know this place is a place where you don't have to believe yet to belong. [00:04:42] Speaker B: We're just glad that you're here and [00:04:44] Speaker A: we love that you're here. But for those who profess to be Christians, for those who profess to be followers of Jesus, for those who say that I'm a Christian and they have it in their bio on their social media page, and they wear the cross around their neck or whatever it may be, if you are a Christian, Paul's going to ask us this question. How does that show up in your everyday life? Not do you go to church. Right. Not do you have the right beliefs. Right, Right. But let me preface it like this. [00:05:20] Speaker B: Is Jesus Christ becoming more visible through the way you live? It's a challenging question, isn't it? [00:05:29] Speaker A: Right. [00:05:30] Speaker B: It gets us thinking. [00:05:31] Speaker A: Listen, today's sermon. [00:05:33] Speaker B: Listen to me. Today's sermon isn't to beat you up, but to build you up. [00:05:38] Speaker A: But sometimes it feels like getting beat up. Right? As a matter of fact, when you read the Bible, and if you read the Bible, I remember one time a pastor told me this a long time ago. A pastor said, if you read the Bible and you never Feel like it's like, isn't beating you up at some [00:05:53] Speaker B: point, you're not reading it right. [00:05:56] Speaker A: But that's not for the sake for God to punish you. [00:05:59] Speaker B: It's because God wants to produce a good work within you. [00:06:02] Speaker A: Because you and I know that there is a good work that needs to be done. And sometimes for a good work that needs to be done, we have to [00:06:09] Speaker B: be confronted with things that may make us a little bit uncomfortable. [00:06:15] Speaker A: Right, Right. [00:06:16] Speaker B: But Paul's idea is not to burden you, but to build you to become the person God has called you to become. [00:06:27] Speaker A: And this is what we're gonna be landing at. If you need take down any notes. This is the theme of today's message. And this is our theme. If you say this is our theme. If Christ has made you new, your [00:06:43] Speaker B: life should increasingly reflect the one who made you new. [00:06:50] Speaker A: Keep that up there for them, please. Just don't take that down. Right. Don't take down notes. Right. If Christ has made you new, because that's the idea. We've been talking about that actually, we've been reading through Ephesians, that Jesus didn't come to give you a life of comfort, but he came to give you a new life. He came to make you new. Right. And if Christ has made you new, what Paul's gonna argue is that your [00:07:19] Speaker B: life should increasingly reflect the one who made you new. The one who made you new. [00:07:27] Speaker A: And that's where Paul's gonna take us. [00:07:28] Speaker B: And this is where Paul's gonna lead us. [00:07:30] Speaker A: And this is our kind of our anchor for today. And so Paul starts off, remember Paul a few weeks ago, as. As Logan opened up in chapter four, [00:07:40] Speaker B: he has shifted a little bit whenever [00:07:43] Speaker A: you read the Bible, kind of recognize the shifts. Right, Right. Kind of recognize. Okay. And usually Paul's mindset, the way Paul writes his letters, and he kind of carries this same approach in almost all of them, where he'll kind of talk about a lot of, like, doctrine or truth is what we call. But then he'll get into the section, he's like, okay, in light of what [00:08:08] Speaker B: you know, this is how you apply it to your life. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Because the Bible isn't just about information. It's all about transformation, too. It's just us not knowing a bunch of things. But how does what we know transfer [00:08:21] Speaker B: into what we do? [00:08:23] Speaker A: And so that's where we find ourselves in chapter four. And Logan opened us up and what Paul had been talking about. And Paul has been making this shift, and we see that emphasized even more [00:08:36] Speaker B: as we look at verse 17. Look at verse 17, what the apostle Paul says. [00:08:40] Speaker A: He says something amazing. He says, so I tell you this, and I insist on it in the Lord. Listen to this. [00:08:48] Speaker B: That you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their thinking. Let's take a step back. Let's take a step back because that sounds very harsh now, right? [00:09:01] Speaker A: As a matter of fact, if you keep reading this section from verses 17 and 19, it's almost like Paul is like demonizing people, right? [00:09:08] Speaker B: But the heart of what Paul is [00:09:10] Speaker A: doing is that we have to find it. [00:09:12] Speaker B: When Paul uses this word walk, he [00:09:16] Speaker A: says, you must no longer walk. If you read Ephesians and all of other letters that Paul writes, this word walk is very important. It's not to be skipped over. That's just not another word that's found in your Bible. It's a heavy word. And why is this such an important word? Because Paul is now going to tell you. Listen, I have been speaking to you about how God has saved humanity, right? Because the Gospel saves, right? But the Gospel doesn't just save us, [00:09:50] Speaker B: but the Gospel also changes the way we live. And so this word walk, what it [00:09:57] Speaker A: means, it's how you conduct your life. And walk is all over the Scriptures, right? It's all over Paul's writings, right? Paul says, be careful of the way you walk. Walk in wisdom, walk in love, walk in the light. I mean, he uses it a lot, right? He's saying that, hey, as you as a follower of Jesus Christ, this is [00:10:19] Speaker B: how you are to carry yourself throughout your life. And what is Paul doing here? Paul is actually, he's giving kind of what we call a warning to believers against returning to a way of thinking and living that no longer corresponds to who they are in Christ. [00:10:43] Speaker A: That's what Paul is doing here. So understand Paul's heart, right? And when he says Gentiles, he means the world. Because in light of who Paul is writing to, Paul is writing to a group of Christians who are living in a Roman society where people had different beliefs, people had different approaches to life, people had different worldviews. There were even different religions, right? And here's what Paul is saying. Here's what Paul is saying. [00:11:12] Speaker B: To belong to Christ is to not allow the world around you to determine the life within you. That's what Paul's saying. [00:11:25] Speaker A: So understand Paul's heart. Paul's heart is not to demonize people, [00:11:29] Speaker B: but what Paul wants you. And I know. Here's what Paul's gonna say. Paul is trying to get you And I. And his argument is this, believers who live in the world, how are we to act with those who don't uphold the very values you do? That's hard, isn't it? Because we have this thing called jobs. And not everybody at your job believes in Jesus. [00:11:54] Speaker A: Right? [00:11:55] Speaker B: Get a lot of head nodding right now. [00:11:57] Speaker A: It's this thing called friendships, right? Because you have a lot of great friends and you have a lot of people that you love in your life, Right? And sure, they don't believe what you believe, but you still value them. Paul's argument today, friends, is not that Christians need to sit in their closet and don't hang out with the world. We call that extreme Christianity. And that's not biblical. There's a difference between extreme Christianity and biblical Christianity. Lean towards the biblical Christianity, right? Because Jesus actually makes this argument. Or Jesus emphasized this truth as well as in the gospel of John 17 and it's preaching in his high priestly prayer. Jesus prays for believers like you and I that we are in the world, but we are not of the world. That, hey, as Christians, we're called to engage with people who don't believe what you believe. We're called to love those even who don't uphold the very things that we uphold and we call valuable in our own life. What Paul is trying to do here. [00:13:01] Speaker B: But Paul is saying this in light [00:13:03] Speaker A: of a world who doesn't uphold the [00:13:05] Speaker B: things you believe in. Either way, listen to me, this is important. Your life should look radically different. Nobody likes being different, though, right? [00:13:18] Speaker A: Right. [00:13:19] Speaker B: You don't want to be Waldo in [00:13:20] Speaker A: the crowd, do you? Right, Right. What Paul is going to say. Paul says that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do. [00:13:30] Speaker B: Right? [00:13:30] Speaker A: Futility. And they're thinking, and he keeps going on and on. And when you read this, you're kind of like, man, Paul, you're. It's almost like you're just beating up the world. [00:13:38] Speaker B: No, Paul is just trying to say, listen, in light of what's happening in [00:13:41] Speaker A: the world, [00:13:43] Speaker B: as followers of Jesus, we are called to be what we call set apart, different. Now, I want to make sure that [00:13:54] Speaker A: I explain this correctly because I don't want you to go to your job and just tell everybody I'm different than you. Because then you'll be fired, right? You'll be different and unemployed. Right? I don't want that. [00:14:10] Speaker B: What Paul is trying to say. Paul is trying to say, people, when people see you, Christ should be so visible. [00:14:19] Speaker A: I remember, I've told you this story a hundred times. If You've been listening to me preaching. [00:14:23] Speaker B: God, God bless you. [00:14:24] Speaker A: But if you've heard me preaching, I've used this story a thousand times. And my previous employer, before I became a pastor, my previous employer, I worked [00:14:31] Speaker B: in a warehouse, right? [00:14:32] Speaker A: And if you ever worked in a [00:14:33] Speaker B: warehouse, it's a pretty rough area, right? [00:14:37] Speaker A: And I'm hanging around truckers and, you know, all these other guys that are there and whatnot. And I remember one time one of the guys asked me, he said, hey, man, what are you doing this weekend? You know, everybody starts chiming in, and it gets to me. And I said, well, you know, my wife and I were. [00:14:52] Speaker B: She was my girlfriend at the time. [00:14:54] Speaker A: Well, my girlfriend and I, we're going to go to church. [00:14:58] Speaker B: And the guy stops and he says, oh, I didn't know you were a Christian. Dang, Right? [00:15:10] Speaker A: Dang, that hurt. That stung right the way. Because I had to think about. Had to think about that moment. [00:15:19] Speaker B: Because the way I carry myself, right? There was nothing distinct about me. There was nothing distinct about the way that I lived. There was nothing distinct about who I was. [00:15:32] Speaker A: Now, here's what Paul wants you and I to understand. [00:15:34] Speaker B: He's not arguing for perfect Christianity. He is contending for purposeful Christianity. [00:15:42] Speaker A: Paul is not arguing for perfect Christianity. [00:15:45] Speaker B: He is contending for productive Christianity. Meaning this. There should be something about the way we live, right? That stands out. Or another way to say, there should be something about the way we live that shows who we belong to. Who we belong to, right? [00:16:07] Speaker A: Because being distinct doesn't mean you stop hanging out with friends. Being distinct doesn't mean you demonize everything. You know, Christians, people always ask me, [00:16:16] Speaker B: pastor, somebody, I promise you, somebody asked me this. I promise you, this is hilarious. Somebody said, can I go see the new Spider man and still be a Christian? And I'm like, are you an idiot? [00:16:27] Speaker A: No, of course you are. Keep moving. There we go. We're back at it, right? What do you mean? Can you go see her? Right? Right? Now, listen, Christians, that doesn't mean outright reject everything. There are some things you gotta reject that is just true, right? There are some things you're like, man, you know, this doesn't align with who Christ has called me to be, right? Because the question isn't always, is it sinful? The real question is, what is this doing in my heart? That's the real question. You gotta ask yourself, the real question. Is it, hey, is this just outright sinful? Because we're searching, search and search and search and search and be like, the Bible doesn't talk about it. I'm gonna do it, you know? Right. Is this. [00:17:17] Speaker B: Listen, what is this doing to my heart? That's the question you gotta ask yourself. [00:17:22] Speaker A: Is this making me draw nearer to Christ? Is this helping me to follow Christ? [00:17:29] Speaker B: Or is this pulling me away from Christ? That's the question you gotta ask yourself. Yes, have friends. [00:17:36] Speaker A: Yes, you could still have friends who [00:17:38] Speaker B: don't go to church. [00:17:40] Speaker A: Please do. [00:17:41] Speaker B: Right. [00:17:42] Speaker A: Please do keep loving them. [00:17:44] Speaker B: Right? But if we aren't intentional, what Paul [00:17:48] Speaker A: wants us to understand, if we are [00:17:49] Speaker B: not intentional on being what we call distinct or set apart, not because we're better than people, but because we belong to the one who made us new. [00:18:00] Speaker A: It's not to say, oh, I'm better than you, I'm holier than you. [00:18:04] Speaker B: No, it is none of that. It is so that Christ can be visible in you. So when people see you, they don't [00:18:10] Speaker A: see you because of how good you are. [00:18:11] Speaker B: They see how good God has been to you through you. [00:18:16] Speaker A: They don't see your goodness. [00:18:17] Speaker B: They see the goodness of God in your life. [00:18:20] Speaker A: That's the whole idea. That's the whole idea. So when you go to work tomorrow, you're on mission. You're on mission for what? [00:18:28] Speaker B: To show the goodness of God? [00:18:30] Speaker A: When your boss asks you to do something that you want to not do and speak your mind on, [00:18:37] Speaker B: let Christ be visible more. [00:18:41] Speaker A: Now, here's what Paul is saying, is [00:18:42] Speaker B: if we are not intentional on being set apart, here's what I noticed. Eventually, we will compromise. [00:18:51] Speaker A: This is tough. [00:18:52] Speaker B: I know. I love you, but I'm your pastor. Not every sermon is about victory. All right? I'm your pastor and I love you. Because here's the thing. Living set apart, right? Living set apart guards us from compromising. Guards us from compromising. One thing I've noticed about my. [00:19:13] Speaker A: My youngest, my son. I'm sorry, my oldest, I should say, my son, [00:19:19] Speaker B: he's a people pleaser. [00:19:21] Speaker A: When he's around certain people, he acts a certain way. If he's around his little soccer buddies because he made the soccer team, oh, he think he knows every soccer player in the world. [00:19:30] Speaker B: Like, brother, all you do is watch Mario. [00:19:32] Speaker A: You don't play no soccer. I mean, you don't watch no soccer, right? But he'll talk it up. He'll talk it up and whatnot. And then he'll get around his. His neighborhood friends, and next, you know, they're talking about all the extreme things and whatnot. I've noticed that he acts very different. Right? Right. He acts very different around different people. [00:19:53] Speaker B: Because when I think about that moment, I think about my own life. [00:19:56] Speaker A: That naturally, what's gotten me in trouble [00:19:59] Speaker B: is that I am an outright people pleaser, right? I'm an outright people pleaser, right? Naturally, we all are. Now, listen, what Paul's trying to say. Living set apart doesn't mean to avoid people who don't believe what you believe. It is refusing to allow the values around you to determine the values within you. To determine the values within you, right? And it keeps us from compromising, right? [00:20:34] Speaker A: It keeps us from compromising. [00:20:36] Speaker B: And it's intentional. It's intentional. What? [00:20:39] Speaker A: Also point number two that I want [00:20:41] Speaker B: to say, being set apart, here's what I want you to know, is living with conviction. Now, this is the part where I want to be very, very clear on what does conviction mean? Conviction just means this. Are you ready? It just means this. Does this honor Christ? [00:21:06] Speaker A: That's all it is. It's all conviction, right? For the Christian, for the follower of Jesus, for those who live in the world that doesn't necessarily value the things you value and uphold the things you uphold, the question that must come to mind isn't adding more rules, it's just [00:21:26] Speaker B: telling yourself, does this honor Christ? Do you know how drastically different our lives would be if we asked ourselves that every day? Do you know how drastically different my marriage would be if I asked myself before I respond, does this honor Christ? [00:21:50] Speaker A: No. [00:21:51] Speaker B: Right? You know how different leadership would be in my life if I, you know, how different my life would be and say, does this honor Christ first? [00:22:05] Speaker A: Now here's what I want you guys [00:22:06] Speaker B: to know as encouraging this may be, as challenging this may be. Here's an even deeper challenge. Here's what I want you to know. This idea of being set apart, the Bible uses set apart as one who is living purposefully, living for an intended, a specific purpose. Being set apart means this. Not everyone will understand, [00:22:37] Speaker A: Right? [00:22:38] Speaker B: You will be rejected, Right? [00:22:44] Speaker A: Not everyone will agree. Some people may even go as far as to mock and to ridicule, right? Even some people will go as far and to say things that are unkind. [00:22:59] Speaker B: And that should be expected. That's to be expected. But the aim of being set apart isn't, again, for people to notice how different you are. It's so that Christ can be made visible through the way that you live. That's Paul's argument here. Paul says, you as Christians, there must be something different about the way that you live. And you are called to stand out, not for the sake of standing out, to be obnoxious. But say that the grace and the goodness of God can shine forth through the way that you live. I believe you become more influential when you become more intentional about what God has called you and I to be. I believe we become more impactful. [00:23:55] Speaker A: I believe we do the good work [00:23:57] Speaker B: God wants to do in and through us when we are intentional about saying this one thing. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but yes, I may [00:24:04] Speaker A: lose friends, [00:24:06] Speaker B: but I want to honor Christ first. I want Christ to be at the center. [00:24:11] Speaker A: I want Christ to be the first thought that comes to mind in whatever [00:24:17] Speaker B: and for whatever I do. But guess what? Paul doesn't stop there. [00:24:23] Speaker A: Paul keeps going. Right. You think the conviction's over? [00:24:27] Speaker B: Nope. [00:24:27] Speaker A: It's not over with. Yeah. Let's move on to verse 20, loud. Look what Paul goes into. Paul does something interesting. Paul says, but this is not the way you have come to know Christ. Surely you have heard of him and were taught him, in keeping with what is true, that is in Jesus, to put off verse 22, to put off your former way of life. To put off the former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by his deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. And verse 24. And to put on the new self, the new self created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Okay, now again, if you got to understand Paul, what he's doing, he's kind of bringing back what he spoke about previously, but like now, kind of how to apply that more in our lives, [00:25:25] Speaker B: more in one's life. [00:25:26] Speaker A: Paul talked about being made new in Ephesians 2, right? If you read Ephesians 2, he talks about how Christ came to make you new. New what? [00:25:35] Speaker B: A new person, a new way of thinking. [00:25:38] Speaker A: And those who think new, live new. Those who think new, live new. Paul says, Christ came to make you new. Now live in light of being made new. [00:25:49] Speaker B: And here's the heart of what Paul is trying to say. And this is going to challenge us. But it's good for us. It's good to be challenged. Look what Paul says. Paul says this. [00:26:00] Speaker A: You can't follow Jesus and remain comfortable [00:26:05] Speaker B: with the old way of living. Whew. Are you ready for this? [00:26:12] Speaker A: All right. I don't know about you, but I needed this, right? You can't follow Jesus. This is what he's trying to say. You can't follow Jesus and remain comfortable with the old way of living. Right now, here's what I want. Here's how I really want to help you, because I Know, you're probably thinking [00:26:33] Speaker B: to yourself, oh, my gosh, but I still struggle with sin. Okay, let's talk about that. There's a difference between struggling with sin and affirming it. [00:26:49] Speaker A: Okay, can we just say that? Because there is. Listen, when you become a Christian, that [00:26:54] Speaker B: doesn't mean temptation just goes away, I'm [00:26:58] Speaker A: sorry to say, right? Oh, I follow Jesus. I will never be tempted to look at that again. You gotta be kidding me. You haven't been a Christian long enough. Give it about another hour, you come back to me and tell me how that went, right? I'm a Christian. I will never lash out in anger again. That's hilarious, right? No, there's a difference between struggling with sin. [00:27:26] Speaker B: If you're the person today where it's a battle for you, I want to encourage you and I want to remind you, can I tell you right now, that is maturity. [00:27:37] Speaker A: Maturity isn't perfection. [00:27:39] Speaker B: Maturity is engagement. Because you need to understand this, friends. You need to understand this. [00:27:45] Speaker A: Yes, I've been made new. [00:27:46] Speaker B: But guess what? The old sometimes tempts me. [00:27:51] Speaker A: It tempts me. It's calling my name. It's knocking on the door every day, right? And it's a struggle. And then when I give into it, I have this thing called sorrow. You ever done something you just kind of beat yourself up over and you're like, gosh, that was so stupid. Why did I do that? I didn't honor God. I didn't honor my family. I didn't honor my position. I didn't do any of that. Why did I give in to that? Can I tell you right now? [00:28:15] Speaker B: That's healthy. [00:28:19] Speaker A: That's healthy. [00:28:21] Speaker B: That's good. [00:28:23] Speaker A: That's good. That's Christ at work in you. When Peter failed Jesus, if you read the gospel, Peter fails. Jesus denies him three times, and then Jesus looks at him the third time, said, I told you. And what does Peter do? Peter didn't say, well, let me just go back to fishing. No, what does Peter do? [00:28:41] Speaker B: He became sorrowful. That's a healthy thing. Paul's not arguing again. [00:28:47] Speaker A: Paul is not arguing for this. [00:28:49] Speaker B: This. [00:28:50] Speaker A: This. [00:28:50] Speaker B: This idea of, like, you and I need to be obsessed with. With our sin. But he's saying, hey, listen, if you want to. If you want to continue to walk in what is new, be captivated by the one who made you new. Because here's the truth and here's the reality, friends. You are called to walk new because you have been made new. But Paul says, in order to walk new, got to put away the old. Things. [00:29:20] Speaker A: There are just some things that we have to actively abandon more and more. Some of you don't know, but I'm a personal trainer on the side, and, [00:29:29] Speaker B: you know, I consistently have clients who [00:29:32] Speaker A: reach out to me and talk to me. And when I train clients and when I give clients advice, I tell them, in order to be healthy, you have to abandon the things that make you unhealthy. Right. I know you want six pack. It's going to be hard to have it when you go to Burger King every day. It's going to be difficult. I know. [00:29:54] Speaker B: Talk to me after, you know, $54.99 a month. [00:29:58] Speaker A: No, I'm joking. Keep moving. Keep moving. [00:30:04] Speaker B: Don't use the church to. Never mind. Listen. There are patterns from our old life that simply don't belong in the new one. [00:30:17] Speaker A: Right. [00:30:18] Speaker B: Listen, and here's what I also want to say. This is so important, because this is so key. See, I think, Chris, I think people think that, like, people get so burdened by, like, following Jesus. It's hard. I get it. I understand. But listen to me, friends. We don't put off the old self to be love. We put off the old self because we are already loved. And here's what we call. This is what we call obedience. Obedience is not to earn God's love. Obedience is a response to God's love. Obedience is a response to God's love. I don't earn my way. [00:31:03] Speaker A: It's not. God doesn't love me more because I [00:31:06] Speaker B: didn't yell at my kids this morning when. Which I didn't, by the way. God doesn't say, good and well done, faithful servant. You're gonna have a good sermon today. No, that's not how God works. Cause if that were the case. [00:31:19] Speaker A: Listen, if that were the case, I [00:31:20] Speaker B: actually talked about this at our West Campus. [00:31:25] Speaker A: If we had to earn God's love, [00:31:28] Speaker B: none of us would qualify. None of us would qualify. But. But what is obedience? Obedience is a response to God's love. Right? And this love that God gives us, what does it do? It reorders our passions. It reorders our affections. It reorders what we pursue. Listen, here's the truth, friends. I want to be different because God has been so good to me. That's just what it is. [00:31:57] Speaker A: I want to live different. I'm going to fail. Believe me, God already knew that you were going to fail before you even failed. He told Peter, you will deny me. He told Peter his failure before he ever failed. Isn't that to be the most Encouraging story ever, right? [00:32:15] Speaker B: It's not that I won't fail. It's that when you experience the goodness of God in such a way, what it does, it just makes me want to be new. It makes me want to be new. Now, again, Paul says put off. It's this idea. It's this imagery of putting off. [00:32:35] Speaker A: Like taking off a dirty shirt when you get home. Listen, for instance, if I see you tomorrow and you still have that same shirt on, I'm going to question your life. I'm going to say, you okay? We need to talk. [00:32:48] Speaker B: No, you're going to take off the old and you're going to put on a new shirt. [00:32:54] Speaker A: If you see me outside cutting grass [00:32:56] Speaker B: in this, you'll be like, bro, you all right? No, you're gonna take off and put on something new. And that's sort of this imagery Paul is giving to take off the old and put on the new. What I mean is this. This isn't done passively. It's done with effort. Again, the old ways just don't disappear. They will pop up every single day, right? It will try to influence you, but because of Jesus, it doesn't have power over you. Because of Christ, it doesn't have power over you. Again, Paul's not arguing for sinless perfection. He's talking about an ongoing engagement with the battles that you have. Because he says this, it is that you have come to. To know Christ. Paul isn't saying, be obsessed with all of your wrongdoings. That's what we call sin management. Because notice what sin management does. Sin management, it forces us to look at sin. Matter of fact, this is what we call legalism. It forces us to look at our wrongs, but notice that our eyes are off Jesus. [00:34:10] Speaker A: See, sin management is just like, all right, let me make sure that. Let me make sure I don't do this, Let me make sure I don't do that. Let me make sure I don't do this. Let me make sure I don't do that. [00:34:17] Speaker B: And you kind of have this checklist of what you shouldn't do, right? But what Paul argues is that you and I need to continually, increasingly become captivated with the One who made us new. Because I want you to know, the more beautiful Christ, the more beautiful Christ becomes to us, the less attractive the old life becomes. That make sense. The more beautiful Christ becomes to us, the less attractive the old life becomes. Hey, I don't want to do those things. Not to earn God's love. Because of God's love, the cross is enough. The cross, it is where Jesus has won me over. Not just my heart, but now he gets my life. And I want to be different. I want to be new. It's not an out of duty. It's because of his goodness in my life. The Gospel gives us a new identity. And with this new identity, we are called. I'm sorry. With this new identity, it requires new activity. A new identity requires new activity. Here's what I want to leave you with. If you are a follower of Jesus today, eyes on me. Christ has made you new. Don't look back. Don't go back. Don't go back. You will be tempted. The enemy himself will tempt you every single day. But remind yourself, Christ has made me new. I'm a new man. I'm a new woman. I'm a new person. Therefore, I want my life to reflect the new and no longer the old. And how do we do that? Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus. Stop looking at your sin. Look to Jesus. Because he's the one. He is our. He is the author and the finisher of our faith, who, for the joy was set before him. He endured the cross, despised the shame. Now he sits down victorious, at the right hand of God. Jesus. Victory becomes your victory. The more you look to him, the more he becomes the prize, the more he becomes the focus. The old way is left behind because the new way looks to Christ more and more. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I love you and I thank you. I pray that today, Lord, you would do a good work in us. And this good work, Lord, would be changed. Father, I want to remind myself and I want to remind your people. We do not change ourselves. It is your spirit that changes us. It is you who does the good work. [00:37:37] Speaker A: So our attention is on you. [00:37:39] Speaker B: But we know the good work comes from you, [00:37:44] Speaker A: Father. [00:37:44] Speaker B: Today I pray for those individuals who need to abandon the old ways, the old habits, the old ways of thinking. And I pray, Lord, that they would have a softened heart by your grace and your love. And they would say to you, lord, have your way. I lay down all to you. [00:38:16] Speaker A: Help me to strive towards the new [00:38:19] Speaker B: and not look back towards the old. [00:38:22] Speaker A: I pray that for many of those in this room today, that you would break habits, that you would break chains, that you would break things that are unhealthy in their lives. And they would pursue you because grace pursued them. And because of the grace and the love that is in Christ Jesus, it is calling them forward to the life [00:38:46] Speaker B: that Christ has afforded for us. More importantly, Lord, I pray that this week my life would look totally different, that I can make you more visible. I can make you more visible at my workplace. I can make you more visible at the grocery store. I can make you more visible with my family. Help me to live distinct, because I want to. I want Christ to shine in my life. I want Christ to be more visible in my life. [00:39:21] Speaker A: I want people to know the goodness of Jesus, because I've gotten to know [00:39:25] Speaker B: the goodness of Jesus. [00:39:26] Speaker A: And I pray that the goodness of [00:39:28] Speaker B: Christ would shape my everyday life. And Lord, help me to know that there is a cost to this, but the reward is greater than the cost. The reward of knowing you, of having you, of following you, is worth it all. So help us, I pray. Bless us, I pray. Say your son's perfect and wonderful name. Amen.