week: 13
Notes
Transcript
Announcement:
Announcement:
Connection:
Connection:
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Intro:
Intro:
But tonight we’re gonna open up God’s word we’re gonna go through first Bible verse seeing what God has for us tonight.
And then afterwards, we’re gonna break up into discussion groups and go deeper into what we talk about here
You should’ve received a paper with discussion questions please feel free to write down your notes or even your questions about the text there so we can talk about it later tonight…
But with all of that said, I have a question for you guys…
intro:
intro:
By Raise of hands
Growing up what would you hear more from your parents?
What to do
or what not to do
No matter which side of the spectrum you are with that we can agree that you need both
You see Growing up my older sister, she would be told to be kind she would be told to do the dishes or treat your siblings with respect and she would Follow through
She would obey
Now when I was told I would be told be nice to treat my siblings with respect and do the dishes and I would not obey…
I would find loopholes, I would try to make excuses
Growing up, I had a condition and maybe you and I have the same condition
You see I suffered from thick skull syndrome…
also known as pride and rebellion
So my parents tactic with raising me and instructing me, was different than their strategy with my sister…
They would tell me what to do followed by what not to do…
Treat your siblings with respect which means not stealing Barbie dolls, and burning them, which means not pushing shoving yelling or fighting
Which means not teasing, calling names or making fun
I would be told load the dishwasher which means put down your video game right now stand up walk to the kitchen and start doing dishes.
Do not go and find something else to do.
Do not all of a sudden have homework to do and do not avoid this command…
For some of us being told what to do is enough, but for some of us being told what not to do along with what to do is necessary
And that’s what we see in our text today… Paul emphasizes what to do goes at length on what not to do and then finishes off with what to do
But before we jump into it, let’s go ahead and pray…
Amen…
Amen…
If you have your Bibles, please go ahead and open up to Ephesians chapter 4 starting verse 25
We continuing through Ephesians going verse by verse to understand what God has for us tonight
If you don’t have a Bible, please download a Bible or I can get you a physical copy of the Bible for free. It’s the most important thing you’ll look at today.
Ephesians chapter 4, starting verse 25
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Paul opened up and talks about us speaking truth with one another…
As we are members of one another
And what Paul is communicating here and has been communicating for sometime. We are all a part of the body.
And each and every one of us have a responsibility to communicate honestly with each other
In the medical field, if the brain isn’t communicating with the rest of the body that is paralysis if the eyes are not communicating with the rest of the body, that is blindness
If the ears are not communicating with the rest of the body, that is Deafness
For the church to be functioning at 100% capacity is for us to be honest and openly communicating with One another…
And it might be easy on the surface to say yeah we communicate we talk. It’s easy… But the truth is when it comes to hard things it gets difficult to communicate
When it comes to someone hurting your feelings, and you don’t want to be seen as weak, and you bury it, you don’t communicate
Not just communicating, but being honest truthful… Not having falsehood or lies as a part of the body of Christ…
So we have been commanded to speak truth to one another…
And Paul has told us what to do, but then he’s gonna give examples of what not to do anymore…
And we are required to be open and honest with first ourselves second the Lord and finally with each other when it comes to these things…
Looking at verse 26
26 Be angry and do not sin;
We can spend all night on that portion right there… Be angry and do not sin… And to cover that quickly, it means that you’re angered the anger of man does not equal the righteousness of God\
But the anger which is rooted in scripture, rooted in the Holy Spirit is holy is righteous…
When injustice takes place, we should be angry… When we hear of slaughter murder, genocide abortions, and all these other ugly things, they should stir in anger within our souls
When we hear of false teachers leading others astray, it should stir up in anger… That isn’t rooted in pride that isn’t rooted in my own opinions, but rooted in the scriptures
And balanced by the love of God… So when it comes to sin when it comes to righteousness, be angry and do not sin
And it continues…
do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Now the passage is not saying if the sun is setting and you get angry and it sets completely then it’s over
What’s being said here is that you should not sit and stew within your anger
If you have been offended, if you have been hurt or you have hurt someone else, but you are angry do not allow that anger to become bitterness
If a brother or sister in Christ has hurt, you do not avoid them
Do not ghost them… Do not just slowly stop coming to church or slow slowly stop seeing them around or answering their texts
Confront communicate with truth and love… We are commanded to not allow bitterness to set in…
Because when we do, it gives the devil opportunity to drive a wedge within the body of Christ
When we allow bitterness to take route, we’re allowing the devil to have a foot hold, and if the devil has a foothold before long, we’re just a ragdoll he tosses to and fro he tosses his back and forth
And you sit in your chair and you feel as though you’re worn out and that’s because you are don’t give an opportunity to the devil…
Do not allow offense to go unaddressed…
Do not give an opportunity to the enemy to destroy your relationships and destroy your life…
He has come to steal, kill and destroy…
Let’s continue to verse 28
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
And what we’re seeing in this text is What you once were, you are no longer. Now you live the opposite way
If you have been a thief in your life, you must be productive and generous
You’ll find often times within the body of Christ. If you struggled with sin in this one area, you know minister to those in the same area.
We see this all the time in different ministries if you were an alcohol alcoholic or a drug addict often times you help others who are alcoholics and drug addicts
If you have struggled with lost pornography, or any of these things that are associated with that, you now can help others that struggle with those same things
And then we get to see this picture of I once was and now I am in Christ…
And that’s the beauty of the gospel
We are told do not continue in this evil path, but step into the path of the righteous through the power of the Holy Spirit…
If you cheat on your taxes, become honest and generous and no longer steal
We must be productive and generous members of society… Because people look to the Christians to see what they should do
How many times in your own life have you looked to someone else messing up to make yourself feel better about your life???
Have you done that?
Now imagine how many times people have done that with our own lives, looking to us for approval of their deeds
Are we an example or are we a hindrance?
And that question carries over in verse 29
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
What comes out of our mouth matters… Not just what you say on a Sunday or a Wednesday or a Tuesday at church
But what you say at work what you say with your friends jokes you make…
What comes out of our mouths matters…
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
What is the fruit of your tongue?
Maybe I’ve heard the expression you have to eat those words… Do they have a better taste?
Pause
And for many of us in this room, this is a area that we have struggled and maybe continue to struggle…
So what are we supposed to do?
How do we tame the tongue?
James speaks On this in the book of James chapter 3 verse seven
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
What we say matters and it reflects what’s inside of our hearts…
You and I cannot tame the tongue we cannot flip a switch and change our behavior, but we can seek the God who created our mouth
We can draw near to him and he will draw near to us
To tame the tongue requires a power of the Holy Spirit in dwelling in us and us being filled with his word being filled with everything that he is
And what that means is what goes in will come out… If we take in God’s word, you will see it pour forth from our lives
If you’re watching movies shows videos on Instagram that contain blasphemy that Contain curse words, slander sexual jokes
You will see that poor forth in your life… And you’re giving others a reason to continue on the way they are…
This doesn’t mean if you make a mistake, your ostracized in your shout out from the church I’m a living example of that not being true
But it does mean, if you are living in a way that is dishonoring to the Lord in your speech then you must look in the mirror
The check engine light for your soul is flashing in front of you every time you speak
What comes out of your mouth is a good fruit or is it bad fruit?
Does it taste sweet or does it taste Bitter?
You and I cannot do it, but God can by the power of his Holy Spirit…
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Growing up when I would fight with my siblings often times my mom would cry… She would be grieved because we were treating each other the way her siblings treated each other
And Her siblings today do not spend time with each other. Most of the family only shows up for weddings or funerals.
So when we would fight when we would be better when we would be angry when we would slander or lie, it would grieve her soul…
When we walk in disobedience, we grieved the spirit of God… But not only that we don’t just grieve him when we’re in disobedience when we are at each other’s throats
When we are fighting with each other when we should be fellowship with each other, we grieve the spirit of God…
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, And if you’re wondering if you are onto you’d ask yourself this question…
If God was standing next to me, if the Holy Spirit himself was next to me every day of my life, watching what I watch, listening to what I listen to
Seeing how I talk to and treat others…
Would he have a smile on his face or a tear in his eye?
So we close with what to do not just what not to do
Paul says
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
And how do we do this?
By his strength through his power, the same spirit that rose Jesus from the dead is alive within us
So draw her to God, and he will draw me to you repent of how you have been and run towards what God would have for you…
Let’s pray…
