Obey Christ’s command to live in the light and not in darkness

Beware of the dark side which waits to destroy; instead renew your mind in the power of the Holy Spirit and live in the light where you belong.

Scene 1/ Beware of the dark side – Luke. Eph 4:17-19

There is a scene in the Star Wars Movies where Yoda says to Luke Skywalker - “Beware of the Dark Side”

The dark side is self centred, concerned with power.

It leads to fear and anger, pain and suffering.

Ego, self, desire are the openings to this darkness.

Now while we should never base good theology on a Hollywood story there is a sound warning in these words from Yoda.

Beware of the dark side; it does lead to anger, pain & suffering.

But this warning is not just for the character Luke Skywalker.

It is for James & John; Mary & Jane and you and I.

Ephesians 4:17-19 tells us that a closed mind and a hard heart towards God will fill a life with darkness and distance from God.

Ephesians 4:17–19 (NLT)

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

The culture in which the Ephesians lived had just encountered Christianity.

The city of Ephesus contained one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the temple of the goddess Artemis, virgin goddess of hunting & wildlife.

Enormous profit was made as a result of people visiting the temple.

The apostle Paul had spent three years in Ephesus and during that time the preaching of Christianity had caused a decline in the temple trade.

The sale of trinkets, small statues of the goddess had declined.

Paul & his companions were nearly lynched by a mob of silversmiths who were angry that their profits had declined.

In Ephesus profit was important.

And like any great city so was pleasure.

While there were some examples of noble living in Greek / Roman society the reality was that things were pretty immoral by our standards.

Prostitution was widely practiced; slavery was a normal part of life.

The most modern example I can think of is the culture of a party hotspot, of someone totally caught up in the nightclub lifestyle.

Life becomes one big blur of experiences, often largely removed from reality and with very little in the way of morality.

Whenever I have had conversations with young men and women caught up in this sort of life, there is a common theme.

There is a pursuit of pleasure and a real disconnection with any thought of what is right and wrong, what simply consumes self and others and what builds other up.

People think that they are having fun, but in reality they are becoming more and more empty; so they search for more and more fun.

In the city of Ephesus as in any ancient city pleasure and profit were part of the darkness.

There were few if any limits, except the ones about knowing your place.

It is this sort of thinking that is behind the words “confused”, “closed minds”, “hard hearts” which are used in verses 17 & 18.

The hardness of heart carries the idea of as hard as stone.

So instead of their hearts being full of life like a living tree, they have become as hard as stone like a piece of petrified wood.

That which was living and full of liquid has become full of minerals and been transformed into stone.[1]

People are deluded, or have deluded themselves into thinking that what is going on is good, because it is “fun”.

But pleasure and good are in fact two very different things.

Pleasure is an experience; good is a statement of the moral worth of something.

If something is good it may also be pleasurable, but something that is pleasurable is not always good.

Ephesians 4:17 to 19 makes it quite clear that the people of Ephesus were not able to tell the difference.

They were in darkness; as verse 17 says their thinking is futile.

Useless, without a goal!

Of no use.

Their life was controlled by a darkness that they did not even recognise as the sin it was.

But our lives are to have purpose.

We have a reason for being, a goal, a calling.

Scene 2/ We live lives worthy of our calling when we throw off our sinful nature in obedience to Christ and let the Holy Spirit renew our minds.

READ Ephesians 4:20-24

Ephesians 4:20–24 NLT

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

We can throw of the darkness;

We do not have to live under its power or control any longer.

Instead of living lives that are consumed with pleasure and profit,

Instead of living lives which have no hope beyond death;

Instead of living lives which exclude us from fellowship with God.

We are given the great privilege of being transformed; of becoming more like Christ.

This isn’t just a simple change of mind.

It is far more than that.

It isn’t just a new direction.

It is being made completely new.

In the middle of Brisbane city there are a number of buildings which from the outside look like they were built many years ago.

These are buildings which have historical value and had fallen into disrepair.

They had been havens for drunks and squatters, filled with drug addicts and the filth which they had discarded.

But now these building have been totally transformed.

When you actually go inside you discover a completely new modern high rise building.

The old has been torn down and thrown away and inside is a completely new building.

This isn’t just a renovation, the foundations have been removed and a new building has been constructed from the ground up.

All that remains of the original is the facade, what you see from the street.

And even that has been cleaned up, renewed and restored as part of the process.

This is what Ephesians 4:23 - 24 is talking about.

Verse 23 speaks of your thoughts being renewed by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the new owner who has come in and torn down the old building, right down to the foundations and is building an entirely new building from the inside out.

It isn’t just a paint job, it isn’t just a bit of a cleanup.

It is total transformation into something completely new.

And as verses 20 to 24 tell us, we can put on that new nature, that new existence.

Or we can decide that we want to waste all that Christ has done, all that we have learnt about his work of redemption.

That we want to keep hold of our sinful nature.

The corruption that leads us to think that we are living in the light when actually we have been seduced by the darkness.

And if we do that we would be no better than a security guard who leaves the doors unlocked and throws a couple of casks of wine on the floor as an invitation to the drunks, squatters and drug addicts that nothing has changed, you can come on in and trash the place again.

To turn the beautiful new building into a place of darkness again.

So how do we keep the darkness out of our lives?

How do we live according to our new transformed nature?

Scene 3/ We train ourselves to live by our new nature when; We act truthful and peaceful, dealing with issues rather than dwelling on them and giving darkness a chance to gain control.

Read Ephesians 4:25-27

Ephesians 4:25–27 NLT

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

I believe that one of the greatest problems that the church faces is Christians who do not deal with stuff.

People play by the old rules instead of the transformed nature.

A simple approach is if you stuff up say so!

While we are transformed and are being transformed we still live with the consequences of a sinful broken world and we will still be affected by sin.

So if you get it wrong say so.

It is the job of the church family to help each other out; we all need to realise that it could have been us instead of you.

Galatians 6:1 -3

Galatians 6:1–3 NLT

1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

It is the same with anger.

We may not like what we are told about ourselves and we get angry; that is called pride and arrogance.

Or our anger may be justified, but we just don’t handle it well.

When that anger continues and is not dealt with.

When there is unforgiveness, or a desire for revenge, or self justification we have allowed the darkness to gain a foothold.

Satan is watching, waiting for an opportunity.

Now I am not for one moment suggesting that people do not need to be held to account for their actions.

They do, especially if they have harmed someone through physical, sexual, emotional or spiritual abuse.

And there are times when people can never be trusted again because of the risk they pose to others.

But when our response to not getting our own way is anger, then sin has gained a foothold and the darkness is waiting to pounce.

Scene 4/ We train ourselves to live by our new nature when; We work honestly, generously and speak encouragingly rather than being dishonest and abusive which invites darkness to take control.

Ephesians 4:28-29

Ephesians 4:28–29 NLT

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

I was reminded of the truth of these words in a conversation I had a few years ago.

I was talking with a person of great capacity, one of those brilliant people who can turn their hand to anything and make it incredibly successful.

One of those people who just see the world from a different perspective.

I asked them why they did this highly stressful job which others were capable of doing when they were so wealthy they didn’t need to ever work again.

Wouldn’t they find more enjoyment in fishing or doing charity work?

Their reply took me back a little.

As far as they were concerned, in most charity or church groups, they would end up in a fight within a few hours because they would see what needed fixing and people would want to get rid of them.

Especially as in their experience everyone has their snouts in the trough or their hands in the till in one way or another and that isn’t how they operate.

They have seen the dishonesty that goes on in groups that are meant to be for the benefit of others.

The have seen the bonuses that get paid to some charity CEOs when the membership of the organisation grows because of some media beat up which doesn’t actually do any real good for those who need help.

They have seen the lies, corruption, politics and abuse where there should be honesty and transparency.

So they are just not interested.

Well after I recovered and had time to reflect on their experience I was reminded of the innumerable times I have sat with middle aged men who have seen or personally suffered as a result of the lies and greed of those in power in the church and have been turned off as a result.

And all I could do was plead that we are different and perhaps they should give God another go!

Scene 5/ My friends a life lived in darkness demonstrates that evil reigns.

And as Ephesians 4:30-31 tells us when evil is allowed a foothold in the life of a believer the Holy Spirit is grieved.

Six specific areas are mentioned in verse 31.

There is bitterness; ‘the resentful spirit which refuses reconciliation’.

Rage; the attitude of having to control everything

Anger; the outburst which explodes when it is not satisfied.

Brawling or harsh words; the loud self-assertion of the angry man, who will make every one hear his grievance’ (Findlay)[2]

Slander; abusive speaking against others.

And lastly all malice or evil behavior as a sort of catch all word to make sure that we get the picture.[3]

In the church there is no room for these things.

And it is the presence of these things which demonstrate that there is darkness.

If you are broken and hurting, in grief or fear, have fallen into some sin or another, had a really bad day and are not coping or just get it wrong.

Then there is forgiveness and reconciliation.

And Toni & I will consider it a privilege to walk with you as you work to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

But when your life is a consistent pattern of, bitterness and rage, anger and harsh words, slander and malice, then that is a different story.

We will insist this sort of behaviour cease immediately.

And at times we have had to enforce it.

In contrast

Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” So “be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:30b, 32 NLT)

A life lived according to his standard is the sign of our destiny; the day of redemption.

So live in the light where you belong

[1] Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 134). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [2] Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 143). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. [3] Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, pp. 142–143). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.