Off With The Old - On With The New

Introduction

Good morning family. When we were in the middle of our move to Farmington, one of the tasks I had was to organize and clean out anything that was either past its useful stage, or simply just not using any more. Back in Albuquerque, we had this nice storage shed where I stored much of my duck hunting gear. It was nice because I was able to get the decoys stored and hung. It was also a place where I could just let things air out over the season.

I’m not sure what the duck hunting is like up here. I’m sure I will figure it out this coming season. Just South of Albuquerque there are some nice area to hunt. You would hunt on ponds. The ponds were nice early in the season. But, toward the end of the season, the marsh seasoned your decoys, waders and your person very well if you let it. When I would come home, the smell of the marsh would come along with me. After a while I couldn’t smell it. I became use to it. But week after week I would return.

Ok here’s the deal with us guys. Do you know when we decide something stinks and is ready for the laundry. We use the smell test. We smell here and there. Most of the time, if it smells real bad, we usually talk ourselves into it, oh it’s not that bad. Plus it’s only for a little while. And, in 20 minutes I won’t notice any way. So after the stuff stinks, you wives try and clean up after us. Bless your hearts. We love you for that! When you try and clean our stuff, have you ever noticed how we have different piles? Well the different piles is our gauge of what I like to call “clearty.” You see clearty is this very delicate mix of clean and dirty. It might be dirty to you all. But to us guys - you know we could still get a few more wears out of it. The bad smell that cloths start to take on really doesn’t bother us that much.

It the same way when we come to Christ. Our old nature, which is what we look at as dirty and desperately needs a washing. When that happens we turn to Jesus to give us a washing. As we’re going through the washing, we are made clean. We are given a new life, a clean life through the blood the Jesus. So when we are given grace by God, and made clean through the washing of Jesus; why do we sometimes return to our old nature, and dirty our clean self. This morning Paul is talking to us about the nature of clearty.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4, and we will be reading from verses 17 through 24.

Ephesians 4:17–24 ESV

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Pastoral Prayer

Our passage this morning is best to look at it in two halves, verses 17 to 19 begin the first half talking about the old self and verses 20 to 24 begin the second half talking about the new self. Paul opens with “So I tell you this.” This is a reference back to what Paul said about our allegiance and calling to Jesus. We are called to salvation, where we are unified in the Body of Christ and gifted by the Holy Spirit. This gets Paul saying, “that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do.” But what does Paul mean by this, and why does he plead this way?

Like the church in our time today, the church in Ephesus was surrounded by paganism and its servant immorality. During Paul’s day, Ephesus was a leading commercial and cultural city of the Roman empire. This map gives you and idea of the location.

There was a great pagan temple in Ephesus. Some would have considered it to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Around the temple, there is thought to have existed a 1/4 mile perimeter that served as an asylum for criminals and all sorts of immoral debauchery. In fact, Ephesus had been described as “the darkness of vileness. The morals were lower than animals and the inhabitants of Ephesus were fit only to be drowned.” So you get the idea of some of the activity going on.

Paul is writing to the church out of love, because he know many of the believers had themselves once been part of that culture of paganism. The believers would have most likely ran into friends at their local Wal-Mart, Albertson’s and Sportsmans Warehouse, and knew the life style they left behind.

We all have that past we do not want to return to. Some of us have friends that are still part of our past lifestyle. And you know if you start hanging out with those friends, it won’t be long until we are faced with the temptation to travel that road. Even if we put on the waders to shield us as we make a temporary trip. We are still in the pond. You see Christians think and act differently when it comes to the matter where spiritual and moral issues are concerned. Christians choose not to navigate the trails of futile thinking.

Have you ever had a flash light go out on you? Isn’t that the most annoying thing? The flashlight goes out … and… what do we do? We shake and tap on it with hopes we might just squeeze just a few more seconds out of it. And when it works - we say YES!!, only to be let down second later when the light goes out. Now we’ve come to terms of being in the dark. We start blinking to get use to the darkness. Than WAAAAHHHHAAAMM! We hit our pinky toe, and that just about kills us. BUT! We muster enough strength to hobble to the nearest light switch. We cut on the switch. Now we’re blinded by the light which could have helped us in the beginning. [Display Main Scripture Text Again].

That’s what is going on in verses 18 and 19. Because of their spiritual blindness, they are experiencing being alienated from God. It’s like when we were in the darkness without light. We grew accustom to the darkness, until the light switch was flipped on. When we remain in the darkness long enough, it conditions us. And, when you condition a part of your body, that part of the body becomes harder. It becomes calloused because of the work. Being the darkness will cause our heart to become hard and calloused to the living Word.

Satan place a big part in that blindness. He knows if we are ever able to find the light of Jesus, he has no hope and is defeated. Think about what happens in a dark room when you flip on the switch. THE ROOM LIGHTS UP! John talks about this in:

John 1:5 ESV

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Satan knows this to be true. As a believer, you know this to be true. The light of God not only illuminates our mind, but we have the light of God in our hearts.

When we hear someone give their testimony, it’s awesome to see how God has lite up that heart, essentially softening the heart. Ezekiel talks about what happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to live in our heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 ESV

26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

In Acts chapter 26 beginning in verse 12 and following, we learn about Paul’s conversion. Jesus appears to Paul. And you could think of it as he was knocked off his horse and is now in the dust. Jesus illuminated Paul’s heart and was chosen:

Acts 26:18 ESV

18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

[Display Main Scripture Text Again].

In verse 20, Paul talks to them in love by saying that “this is not the way you learned Christ.” We don’t learn about Jesus when we are on the trail of darkness. What Paul is saying here is it’s more than just simply learning “about” Christ. The goal is to know him personally.

Everyone in this room, and those who are listening to the sound of my voice, are hearing about Jesus. And, I want you to know “the truth is in Jesus! (as Paul says at the end of verse 21.” I understand this could prompt the question, like Pilate says in first half of John 18:38a “What is truth?”:

John 18:38 ESV

38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

A Christian can claim “the truth of Christ is in me.” The truth that is in Jesus is first of all the truth about salvation. Second, the truth in Jesus leads to the fullness of truth about God, man, creation, history, sin, righteousness, grace, faith, salvation, life, death, purpose, meaning, relationship, heaven, hell, judgement, eternity and everything else in between. This might be a lot. But doesn't it look tasty?! I’m sayin’ OOHHH YEAH - Someone hand me a fork so I can break this down a little. Well guys John just stepped in and summed up this relationship with truth when he wrote:

1 John 5:20 ESV

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

We are renewed in knowledge by our creator. This allows us to put on the new self. Paul affirms this in:

Colossians 3:10 ESV

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

When a person becomes a Christian, God renews our mind, in a completely new spiritual and moral way. This change by God is like any other change in life. Change is a part of life. When we allow God to work this change, our new self become noticed by others. And, it’s because our new self is forged and molded in His likeness.

Conclusion

We are born with a sinful, rebellious nature. This earth suit, this flesh loves that, and sometime craves it. We don’t need to return to the old. We don’t have to return to the tendencies of our old nature. If your already a believer, you know what the living water tastes like. The Holy Spirit, the light of God lives within us. You are a light in a dark place, and the darkness cannot over take you.

Have you been traveling on the trails of your old self? You don’t have to travel that path. The power of Jesus Christ will light your way. Jesus will guide you. If you've been traveling that old path, do you feel like you need to come and pray for forgiveness and mercy? Or are coming in thanksgiving for the renewed grace you received today?

I’ll leave you with one more passage, before we close. One thing I really enjoy about the letters of 1st and 2nd Perter, along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd John is their personal touch.

Let’s listen to the words of Peter as he closes his second letter:

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Thank You For Worshiping

With Us Today

May God Bless You