Clear Lens

Lesson 1 - 17-19

When I was in elementary my mom took me to the eye doctor to get glasses. I wore them initially, but I didn’t want to look weird and I didn’t like how they felt on my face…so I stopped wearing them. I stopped wearing them for several years actually.

Verse 17 forward to middle school, seventh grade. I’m in science class. Now I don’t know if you do this in your classes, but often in my classes we would be ordered by your last name. Now me being a “w” meant that I was usually in the back of the class. Now this science class was quite large and so I was far back. So when my teacher would write on the board I would find myself having to squint in order to see anything at all. So I would ask if I could move closer to the board to write notes. Now I assumed that these were difficulties that every kid was facing but really it was just me.

So a year later I found myself going to an eye doctor with my mom. But then the next year I decided I wanted to try contacts. I had never put contacts in my eye so I didn’t know how they worked, but I knew that I didn’t like glasses so I was willing to try it!Now at first it was difficult, trying to hold your eye open and trying not to hit an eyelash in order to get the contact in at the right angle But eventually I got it! And as soon as I did I looked out the window right next to me. What I saw was a whole new world of vision, I began to realize the world that I had been missing all of these years because I did not want to put glasses on, because it felt inconvenient.

We don’t often realize it, but the world offers us this cloudy picture of the incredible universe that God has created for us. In fact, when we use the lens the world offers us, there are dangerous consequences. IT affects how we see everything. It affects the way we see ourselves, our family, our friends, our schoolwork, and most important God.

With this distorted view of the world God has made for us we are unable t osee the full picture. We are unable to see all that God has created us to be and created us for. So this weekend we are going to learn how to view this world wit ha clear lens; how to view it the way God intended for us to. We will see this in 3 ways.

Learn that the world has refused to see the life God has in store for them.

Learn that We, as believers, should no longer see through foggy lenses.

And learn to walk in the light we can see with our new lens.

We will see all of this in Ephesians 4:17-32. So tonight we are going to talk about 17-19

Verse 17

Paul says here that we can’t just be in the middle, we need to completely abandon our old way of living, that we need to think new thoughts.

Paul doesn’t just give a small warning, he doesn’t just say “hey guys, made you shouldn’t do that”.

It may read “I say and testify” but what He is saying is that “as one who walks in this way in the Lord I want to testify about this good life that can be lived this way”. He is giving an example from his own experiences, he is not just saying, he is trying to push them towards living in the way he will lay out.

Paul tells them to no longer walk as the Gentiles. Now, the people he is talking to are Gentiles. It would be like saying “no longer walk as the Americans walk”. He is telling them to act differently then the normal way of life around them. He is telling them they are no longer members of the Gentiles, they are members of the body of Christ. They were previously Gentiles, they no longer are.

Paul states this new kingdom they are a part of in Ephesians 2:12. They are no longer alienated from the promises of God’s kingdom, but are citizens of His kingdom.

What does it mean to be a citizen of a kingdom? Or what changes if you change your citizenship from one country to the next?

It means that you are under new laws, you don’t live in a new country and act like you are under the same laws. You don’t saw “well everyone in my country drives on the left side of the road so that is what I am going to do here.”

But as Christians attempt to do this they are going to be living in a world with darkness, they are going to be living with those who don’t know they can be in the light.

(Example of people turning around in an elevator)

Verse 18

Without knowing God, without knowing that truth people walk around trying to understand what their purpose is, they are trying to find their way but they are doing it in the dark.

But it is more than just no purpose, it also says that those who walk as the Gentiles are “alienated from the life of God.

That means that they are far away from, they don’t have a relationship with.

You can think of if you have someone who you are close friend with and you talk all the time and you do everything together. But then you have a disagreement with them to the point that you are no longer friends. That is alianation.

So those who don’t follow what God has told us, those who decide to live their own way. They aren’t able to have a relationship with God because they have chosen to live separately from him.

Now if you have that friend. You may hear things about them from someone else. You may see them around, you may have a small knowledge about what is happening in their life. But you don’t have a relationship.

It is the same with God. We can hear about God, we can learn some things about him, but these fall short of having a relationship with Him.

But this is something that we have chosen, something we have decided if we don’t walk in the Lord.

Verse 19

Paul then tells us what happens if we alienate ourselves from God. We grow callous, we turn ourselves over to those things.

Because once you start walking down a certain path it is very hard to turn back around.

You also grow numb to it. The word callous refers to not having the same pain that you did before. If you play guitar, the more you play the mour your hands become callous, they don’t feel the pain the way your fingers once did.

Or your feet, they can grow callous. You can walk on hot roads, you can step on sharp rocks, yet your feet don’t feel any pain.

We can be this same way with sin, with our actions, with the way that we treat people.

You can think of the first time that you remember hearing a curse word. If you are like me your body probably froze, you felt awkard, you didn’t know what to do. Or even if you have said curse words. The first time that you say a curse word you feel dirty, you know that you have done something wrong. But you can start to not feel that same pain that you first did.

I remember the first time I got in trouble at school, I was so worried about my parents finding out, I was so scared about what they would think

Paul also says they have become greedy, that they desire more and more. That they are never satisfied with what they have. But the type of greedy talked about here is that you desire more even if it comes at the expense of another person.

When we steal something from someone when they aren’t looking and hope that they don’t miss it.

Or yesterday Meagan and I were watching the documentary on the college admissions scandal where people were paying hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars to get their kids into a college. But what they didn’t think about is the person who didn’t get into that school who deserved it, they didn’t think about how this will affect anyone other than themselves.

We can often not think about anyone else other than ourselves either.

So what does it mean that we see what God has in store for us?

It means that we walk the way God has called us to walk because we know that following Him will lead us to a more purposeful life, a life with more joy, a life that isn’t consumed with ourselves and with what we want but desired the best for the world around us. But living this way leads to more satisfaction where we have a relationship with our Father in heaven who loves us more than we can ever know.

Tomorrow we are going to look at how we can view the world differently, as God desires for us to see the world.

Lesson 2 - 20-24

Paul starts this section with an emphatic “but”. He is stating that their experiences is far different then the Gentiles, then the world. He says that the way they have learned in Christ has overcome their former way of life. He is reminding them of what they have previously been taught. By Paul himself, by leaders at their church, by their family, and by God’s Word. They haven’t learn this way of the world, they have learned a new way of living. What they have learned is about Christ and they have been taught what it means to live in Christ. In Jesus we know what it means for us to live as a Christian, He has taught us how to live by faith.

But Paul says that it isn’t as easy as just living this new way, rather they had to put off their old self, their old way of living. Paul says emphatically “take off!”. You have taken off one thing and have put on a new thing.

-Why does He use this analogy? Well because clothes say a lot about us as a person. Whatever clothes you wear says something about what is important or valuable to you. It says somethinb about your personality. Even more than that, it says what you want others to think about you. Because every day you make a conscsious effort to put on the clothes that you wear.

-When you walk around your school you see what clothes people wear and you make an immediate judgement about them.

-If they wear cowboy boots you are going to think they probably do some type of agriculture.

-If they basketball shorts you will think they are probably athletic in some way.

-If they are wearing all black that says something about their personality.

-If someone wears a military uniform they are probably in the ROTC.

-If someone wears a fur jacket you probably think they are a rapper.

In the same way Paul says that you are to take off the clothes of your former self and be a new person.

-It is like an any movie where someone wants to tell people they have changed the first thing that occurs is them changing their wardrobe.

-If you remember the old Spider-man 3 there is this scene with Peter Parker walking down the street wearing all black and he is acting like he is a bad boy.

-You want to tell the world that who you are is a Christian.

-But this isn’t just a superficial change, it isn’t an on the surface change, it is about yoru desires. Because your old desires are corrupting. We can’t just change our actions, we need to change what we desire. Because those desires are deceitful. It isn’t us that is deceitful, it is what we desire. Because they promise joy and they promise wealth and health and success. But all the end in is pain and suffering.

-A study came out a while ago that came to an interesting conclusion. People who made more than $100,000 are less happy than those who make less than $100,000. The more money you make, in fact, the less happy you are.

-But this isn’t just money. Popularity will never make you more happy, having what you want won’t make you more happy.

-But calls them to “renew” their minds, to have the spirit change our desires.

-We are called to have a new nature, and to have new knowledge of God. We are to live set apart, as different people.

-God hasn’t called us to look the same as the world around us, He has called us to look different. To have a different purpose, to find meaning in ways that sound odd to other people. That you don’t find happiness and joy in the things the rest of the world finds happiness and joy.

-What brings you joy? Where do you find satisfaction? Is it in being good at something? In having everything you want? In having good friends? or is it in caring for others? Is it in having a relationship with God? Is it in enjoying the community that you have with other believers?

Lesson 3 - 25-32

Here Paul gets into the details of what it looks like to put off the old self and to walk in Christ. He tells us specifically what this looks like.

-We are to lay aside that which is false, that means that we put away speaking what is not true. He calls us to speak the truth. But not just to speak the truth, but to speak truth to one another. In our relationships with each other, especially as Christians, we are to be honest.

-If we deceive one another we are acting in a way that is not loving to our neighbor.

He talks about our temper and our anger towards others. Often our anger leads to hatred and Jesus mentions the danger of hatred. In fact He says that if you hates his brother or sister they have committed murder in the heart. And if you insult your brother or sister or call them fools or idiots that this leads to hatred. So if we don’t have our emotions under control we are starting to act with sinful motive towards others. Anger by itself isn’t wrong. But it is when anger leads to other sins.

-This idea of not letting the sun go down on our anger is that this anger can fester, that it can grow and if we allow the devil we will give him an opportunity. We can find ourselves make decisive, vindictive action.

He calls them to not steal but to work hard for everything they have. Because if you steal you keep for yourself, but if you earn you may share with others who need. It leads to honest work and honest desire to care for others from what God has blessed you with.

He talks about our words. He says our words should be used to edify, not to put down others.

-You may say, “what is a bad word…can’t that be any word”. Well yes…but what is the intention. We use words that are good for others ears and not used to startle or to gain attention.

-As Christians we are called to speak in a way that loves others and that shows gentleness, not crassness.

-James 3:4-12

Then Paul discusses how these things lead to the grieving of the Holy Spirit, that the way they walk is to God’s glory.

-Paul is saying that if we are Christians, if that is what we call ourselves. Then why would we grieve the Spirit that lives in us? Why would we act in a way that we know is ungodly?

-If we have already been prepared for salvation, if we have been given a great blessing, then why would we spit on that gift?

-It would be like if your parents gave you all the gifts you wanted for Christmas and you were so happy and excited. You play with the gifts all day. Then when your parents ask you to take out the trash or do the dishes you just gripe and complain.

-Are they going to take your gifts away? Probably not.

-But you are insulting the grace they have shown you.

Then Paul discusses a host of sins. He sums up all the other ways we can acts sinfully. He says that rather than live that way we should be kind, we should be sympathetic towards others and their feelings. We should be forgiving, not because others deserve it but because God has been forgiving to us.

Colossians 3:12-17

Name for me one thing in the last message we talked about that we are to “put off” as Christians.

In Colossians Paul using very similar language to what He used in Ephesians. He talks about “taking off” and “putting on”. To completely abandon your old way of life for a new way.

-He talks to us here as those who are chosen by God, who have been set apart by God, and who are loved by Him. His first argument is based on God’s love for us. He is assuring them that they have been given a great gift. Because they have been chosen and they have become members of God’s kingdom they are to wear kingdom clothes. They are to become this new person. (show the clip from the Princess Diaries)