Strength Renewed By Identity
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
The movie Chariots of Fire tells the story of Eric Liddle, an Olympic champion and missionary to China. Eric would run with a reckless abandon; his sister commented that the movie failed to capture the wildness of Eric’s running; when he would run it was as though he would suddenly reach another gear throwing his head back and arms pawing the air. He may not have run with the fluid artistic style of many of today’s runners, but as he ran Eric said, “When I run, I feel his pleasure.”
When children act like their parents we often say, “He’s a chip off the ol’ block,” or my favorite “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Where does the strength come from? Where can you and I find the strength for our lives today? It does not come from our ability; strength is not found in hours of training or preparation. Strength is not a result of keeping a positive attitude or inner confidence. Real strength for daily living comes from deep within our hearts—not from ourselves—but from the power of God within us.
Where does the strength come from? Where can you and I find the strength for our lives today? It does not come from our ability; strength is not found in hours of training or preparation. Strength is not a result of keeping a positive attitude or inner confidence. Real strength for daily living comes from deep within our hearts—not from ourselves—but from the power of God within us.
When we think about our IDENTITY as children of God we need to ask ourselves, how far has the apple fallen from the tree? Does the way I live my life show others that I am a child of God? This morning we are going to look at how INTEGRITY can bring renewal and strength to our daily lives.
• (NIV)
• (NIV)
[16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
[16] I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
• (MsgB)
Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is a good prayer for each of us today—we need strengthened in our inner being! How many of you think this is a prayer God would want to answer? Absolutely! How will God answer our prayer for inner strength? He will do a work within our hearts.
What are the keys to spiritual renewal? How can Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians be answered in our lives so that we are strengthened by His Spirit in our inner being?
[16] I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength— [17] that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, [18] you’ll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! [19] Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
More than just keys or principles to live by, we’re going to begin to look at five one word answers to five basic questions. These are five questions that when answered properly will rejuvenate our spirits through the power of God within us.
Is there anyone who needs this glorious inner strength? Am I the only one who needs the renewal of divine power for daily living? We all need God’s power at work in our inner being! Is there anyone who might want to share a difficulty or problem you are facing in which you need God’s strength to make it from day to day—anyone open and honest enough to tell us how you have to depend upon God to help you?
Like a round of Jeopardy here again are the five answers; IDENTITY, INTEGRITY, CAPACITY, TENACITY and DESTINY. We began last week to see how God will give us strength for daily living by looking at our identity.
How many people do you know who are tired and weary? People who are always on the go, but never seem to accomplish anything.
Churches today are filled with people who struggle to live a victorious Christ-like life; instead of living holy lives many are living exhausted lives. Many Christian and non-Christian alike are exhausted, tired and just plain worn-out!
Identity answers the question “Who am I?” Your identity is not determined by what you do or how other people see you. The answer to the question “who am I?” is found in knowing WHOSE I AM. God establishes your identity! When you remember who you are in Christ, your identity strengthens you in your inner being.
Knowing your identity leads to the second way our strength is renewed—the answer is INTEGRITY. Integrity answers the question “Whose am I?” or another way to put it “Who controls how I live my life?”
As Christians it should not be that way! The Bible says, “the joy of the Lord is your strength!” ( NIV). As believers we should be the most energetic full of life people on the planet. Unfortunately, too many of us are hard pressed to just make a living and don’t have the time or energy to make a difference.
The Bible tells us plainly people have only one of two identities—or we could say one of two fathers: you are either a child of God or a child of the devil. While this may not be “politically correct” in our culture it remains biblically correct!
o We are the salt of the earth, but we’re too tired to get out of the salt-shaker and bring change to our world.
o We are the light of the world but we just want to turn the light off and go to sleep!
• (NIV)
[8] He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. [9] No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. [10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
WHY? Why are we so tired? Why are we victims instead of victorious? Why are we just getting by instead of having joy unspeakable and full of glory? What are we missing in our daily lives that would set us apart from our fiends and neighbors? What are we lacking that keeps people from saying, “I want what you’ve got?”
Your God given identity as a child of God establishes your integrity—whose are you? I am God’s, therefore the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and I will live my life to please God and not myself. You cannot live a holy life—a life of integrity—apart from your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I live my life like Jesus because I am a child of God.
IN A WORD WE ARE MISSING RENWAL! We need to be daily energized by the Holy Spirit! We need God’s overcoming, more-than-sufficient power working in our lives.
When we fail to partake of God’s sustaining grace we faint and grow tired. If we don’t daily receive power and life from the Holy Spirit within us then we just run out of gas! WE LIVE POWERLESS LIVES WHILE OUR CULTURE IS STARVING FOR RELAVANCE AND LIFE. People around us want to know “does your God work?”
Answering the question of identity “who am I” makes it possible to answer the question of integrity. Whose am I? Who controls my life? Whose child am I? I know who I am by whose I am; therefore as a child of God my heavenly father controls my life.
For the Christian our identity and integrity are connected to each other . . . you can’t touch one without touching the other. Because we are children of God we should live like God’s kids—we should live in obedience to His word. When we fail to live like we should our identity is called into question.
It doesn’t have to be that way! The Apostle Paul joins his voice with the prophet Isaiah calling to let God daily renew our strength and give us an overcoming victorious life.
Identity establishes your integrity, but integrity does not establish your identity. In other words, your integrity is an outgrowth or overflow of who you are on the inside. Integrity is first established in who you are and is then evident in how you live your life. You can’t try to have your behavior work its way inside to who you are.
• (NIV)
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
• (KJV)
• (NIV)
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Our behavior flows out of who we are within our hearts. Your identity establishes your integrity. God transforms us from the inside out. God gives us His identity—we are children of God, therefore, with a transformed identity integrity grows out of whose we are.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
• (NLT)
How often do we get this backwards? We see our identity through what we do. We try harder and harder to be the person we think we ought to be, but we keep coming up short. Our integrity falters and we waver back and forth unable to be who we want or ought to be.
That is why we never give up though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
Can we tell the truth on Sunday morning? Who struggles more with their integrity—Christian or non-Christian? We do—the children of God. Why?
What about you, are you being renewed everyday? Is God’s Spirit bringing His life and power to your inner being?
We all know lots of good people they are decent people who seem to go through life with little or no problem. Why do they seem to have no problem with how they live their lives while we who call ourselves Christians struggle to live consistently like Jesus?
Is it possible you’re even doing the right things—you pray and read your Bible, you’re here in church today, but you remain tired and weary; your strength is not renewed?
Those in the world—the non-Christian takes their identity from what they do; their identity comes from the outside in. As long as they do their best then they are a person of integrity and their identity is built upon that.
Unfortunately, their father the devil has deceived them into believing that their identity is found in what they do and not by who they really are within their heart. If the non-Christian began by answering the question of identity first, then maybe they would get concerned. Who am I apart from what I do? Without God there is no answer to the question of identity.
What are the keys to spiritual renewal? How can Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians be answered in our lives so that we are strengthened by His Spirit in our inner being?
More than just keys or principles to live by, we’re going to begin to look at five one word answers to five basic questions. These are five questions that when answered properly will rejuvenate our spirits through the power of God within us.
At the Republican national convention the crowd canted “Flip, flop! Flip, flop” at the mention of Kerry’s name. Perhaps it was their way of questioning his integrity. In the presidential debates Senator John Kerry talked about the most important lesson he learned from his mother. She told him “Integrity, integrity integrity.” Mr. Kerry said he has tried to live a life of integrity. Still many continue to question Kerry’s integrity; they point to his military record, his votes in the senate, and things he has said as being contradictory
Like a round of Jeopardy here are the five answers; IDENTITY, INTEGRITY, CAPACITY, TENACITY and DESTINY. Over the next few weeks we’ll fill in the answers with the right questions that God will use to strengthen our inner being.
Senator Kerry claims to be a religious man. He is a member of the Catholic Church. Yet despite his religious views he says he cannot force his beliefs upon others and so he has voted Pro-choice, or Pro-Abortion 100% of the time despite his Catholic faith saying abortion is wrong. How can anyone have such a discrepancy between what they say and do? Is this a breakdown of integrity?
Let’s get started with the first answer we need to remember . . .
Is Senator Kerry an example of a religious man whose identity is found through what he does instead of through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is his integrity gained only from how he lives instead of flowing out of his identity in Christ as a Child of God? Does Kerry have a silent struggle between his integrity and his identity or is he like so many Americans basing his identity through what he does rather than through a personal relationship with Christ?
IDENTITY—and the question is “WHO AM I?”
I don’t know the answer to the question of whether or not Kerry has a personal struggle between his identity and integrity, but I do know that many Christians do have such a struggle.
We need to start each day knowing who we really are. This is a foundational question “who am I?” DO YOU KNOW YOUR IDENTITY?
So why do we struggle as believers? We’re still trying to live from the outside and find our identity through what we do. We still focus on the external without looking first at our hearts. We try to please God in our own strength instead of letting His Spirit give us the power to live an overcoming life. IN OUR OWN STRENTH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE INTEGRITY. Integrity can only come from within—integrity is established solely upon who we are in Christ.
Our strength is drained when we forget we are children of God. The conflict between what we do and who we are robs us of strength—it steals away our peace. Let’s start with who we are in Christ allowing our identity to establish our integrity—this will renew our strength for daily living.
Other people will often be quick to label us as they see us. If we are not careful we will just accept the identity placed upon us by other people. However, the way people see you is not who you really are.
When we accept an identity placed upon us by other we lose our real identity and forget who we really are.
WHAT I DO SHOULD FLOW SEAMLESSLY OUT OF WHO I AM. We can never become something we are not within our hearts. Our identity as a child of God produces a lifestyle of integrity—God’s kids should live like Jesus!
We have all been identified by someone:
When you look in the mirror does what you see line up with who you are? Does your integrity reflect your identity?
Jeremy Board couldn’t stand what he saw when he looked in the mirror. Jeremy worked his way up through the ranks of the US Navy. He climbed the ladder of success to the position of Admiral. Despite all his recognition for his work it wasn’t good enough for Jeremy. He kept trying to make himself look good, but one day the truth came out. Board had embellished his Navy record by adding some stripes and receiving some honor along the way he had not earned. So when Jeremy Board looked into the mirror he saw an Admiral’s uniformed filled with a liar—so he killed himself.
o Culture says I’m insignificant—one person among 6 billion.
Andrew Entwessel of the US Army wrote, “Integrity is like virginity, once you lose it, it’s gone for good. No officer should ever be in a position where he or she fears the truth.”
o Biologists say I’m a bag of chemicals worth about $2; I’m just the product of evolutionary chance, a monkey’s great uncle.
o The boss tells me I’m replaceable.
Apart from God your integrity can be lost. Apart from God integrity is just a matter of what we do. God brings our integrity out of who we are . . . our identity changes the way we live our life.
A slip in your integrity does not change your identity. You may have blown it in the eyes of the world—your integrity may be questionable, but God works from the inside out. God still transforms the heart and makes us new.
o The bank calls me the bread winner one day and a debtor the next.
o The government says I’m a number: 299-75-3021—just another taxpayer.
• (NIV)
o Insurance companies say I’m a medical liability or an at risk driver.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
o Retailers say I’m a consumer.
God transforms our identity—He makes us His children. With a renewed identity we can establish our integrity through who we are in Christ. God makes all things new!
o The church calls you a prospect, a visitor, or a member.
Peter shows us how our identity establishes our integrity. Notice how identity comes first and then our integrity or what we do flows from who we are.
o If I like you I call you friend, if not I call you enemy.
• (NLT)
o My wife calls me Honey, my kids call me dada, and my parents call me son, and you all call me Pastor.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
God has chosen us; He has given us our identity as children of God. Our identity then establishes our integrity—we can show our world the goodness of God through how we live our lives from day to day.
Is it any wonder we are having an identity crisis? Who am I really?
Our identity is not based in who others say we are—if you look to other people when you ask the question “who am I” you will get the wrong answer. Likewise your identity is not found within yourself!
Strength for daily living is found when we remember our identity establishes our integrity and not the other way around. We don’t have to live by a legalistic set of dos and don’ts; as children of God we will live like Jesus.
o Some days my bones tell me I’m older; other days my heart wants to play.
Strength for daily living is not found in trying to live a perfect life. You will wear yourself out trying to work your identity in from the outside by putting integrity first. Let God demonstrate your identity from the inside out—that’s where integrity and strength for daily living come from.
WHAT DOES INTEGRITY LOOK LIKE? When our identity flows from within we have integrity because we live just like Jesus. How will we know when our identity has established our integrity? When will people say “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” of how we live from day to day because we are just like Jesus?
o Sometimes I feel confident while at others I’m insecure.
o One moment I’m happy the next I’m depressed.
Here are five behaviors that show our identity has established our integrity—that our behavior is rooted in who we are in Christ.
o In the morning I’m tired and at the end of the day I’m exhausted. Somewhere along the way I had some energy—I think.
1. BE LOVING.
• (MsgB)
o My conscience tells my I’m guilty; my faith tells my I’m forgiven, but I’m not sure.
o I’m a failure and success all rolled up in one; which one comes out each day may depend upon the weather.
o Sometimes I’m the sophisticated prince charming, but the mirror reminds me I’m not the fairest in the land.
We can’t look to others and we can’t turn to ourselves to know who we are. We need to daily look toward heaven and let God tell us who we really are. LET GOD ESTABLISH YOUR IDENTITY.
Who does God say you are?
You are a blood bought child of the living God—the Almighty, the Creator and lover of the human soul. You are His and He is yours. You are the center of God’s affection, created in His image. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the ultimate craftsman; God made you to fulfill His divine purpose. You are an heir of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Your citizenship is from heaven and you are seated in heavenly places! You are an eternal being who will never really die. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit filled and empowered to be Christ’s witness. You bear the seal of the Holy Spirit so that nothing can ever take you out of His hand.
The answer to the question “Who am I” is found in knowing WHOSE I AM! Your identity is established in heaven by God—you are a child of God!
We need to daily remember who we are in Christ. We will be empowered and energized to live a victorious overcoming life when we know our real identity.
To help you be renewed in your inner being each day here are 31 statements of who you are in Christ. If you will take the time to focus on one of these each day then the fire of God’s love will be rekindled in your heart to empower you for that day.
1. I am a child of God.
• (NIV)
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
• (NIV)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
2. I am not my own; I’ve been purchase by the blood of Christ.
• (NLT)
[19] . . . You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price.
• (MsgB)
[18] It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. [19] He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb.
3. I am the center of God’s love and affection.
• (NLT)
For he said, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession [the apple of my eye.]”
4. I am alive in Christ.
• (NIV)
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
5. I am made in the image of God.
• (MsgB)
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.”
6. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• (NIV)
[13] For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. [14] I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
7. I am the purposed creation of the ultimate craftsman.
• (NIV)
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
8. I am an heir with Christ Jesus.
• (NIV)
Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
• (NLT)
Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.
9. I am a citizen of heaven.
• (MsgB)
But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven!
10. I am an eternal soul and will live forever.
• (NIV)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
• (MsgB)
Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.
11. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit—the dwelling place of God.
• (NIV)
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
• (NIV)
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
12. I am sealed by the Holy Spirit.
• (NIV)
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
13. I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s witness.
• (NLT)
But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
14. I am the salt of the earth.
• (MsgB)
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.
15. I am the light of the world.
• (MsgB)
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.
16. I am Christ’s ambassador.
• (NIV)
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
17. I am worth more than many sparrows.
• (NLT)
So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
18. I am a sheep of His pasture.
• (NLT)
[14] I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, [15] just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
19. I am a friend of Jesus.
• (NIV)
You are my friends if you do what I command.
20. I am not a slave to sin, but a slave to righteousness.
• (NIV)
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
21. I am free from condemnation.
• (NIV)
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
22. I am a member of the body of Christ.
• (NIV)
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
23. I am chosen by God.
• (NIV)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
24. I am a member of His royal priesthood.
• (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
25. I am holy—set apart by God.
• (NLT)
Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
26. I am equipped for every good work.
• (NLT)
It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
27. I am a new creation.
• (NIV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
28. I am free!
• (NIV)
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
29. I am joined to Christ and His life flows within me.
• (NIV)
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
30. I am an over comer—more than a conqueror.
• (NLT)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
31. I am a the bride of Christ!
• (NIV)
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Call Ushers forward for Communion.
This morning we have discussed our identity in Christ. One reason we partake in Communion is to identify with the sacrifice of Jesus and the covenant we have with Jesus.
Communion began on the annual celebration of Passover when Jesus told his disciples to remember his sacrifice as they ate the bread and drank the wine. Just as Israel was celebrated the sacrifice of the Passover lamb when the angel of death passed over their homes, so believers in Jesus celebrate and remember his sacrifice of our sins when he died on the cross.
Holy communion uses bread as a symbol of the body of Jesus and juice as a symbol of his blood. The act of taking communion does not save us, it is an act of worship and remembrance.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
[12] This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. [13] This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.
• (NIV)
[36] "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" [37] Jesus replied: " ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
• (MsgB)
[43] "You’re familiar with the old written law, ’Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ’Hate your enemy.’ [44] I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer.
2. BE FORGIVING.
• (NIV)
[33] When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. [34] Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
• , (NIV)
[12] Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors . . . [14] For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
• (NLT)
You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
3. BE TRUTHFUL.
• (NIV)
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. . .
• (MsgB)
[9] Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. [10] Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.
4. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY.
• (NIV)
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.
• (MsgB)
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
• (NIV)
[3] But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. [4] Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
5. BE CAUTIOUS OF WHAT YOU SEE AND HEAR.
• (NIV)
[2] I will be careful to lead a blameless life—when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with blameless heart. [3] I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
• (NIV)
[15] Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. [17] The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
• (MsgB)
Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.
Strength for daily living is found when we remember our integrity flows out of our identity and not the other way around.
