Sermon Notes 3/23/2014

I AM NEW!!

Ephesians 4:19-24

When you know who you are, then you know what to do.
• And when you know who you are, it changes how you live.
Folks, I love you, I’m very glad to teach the Bible, and I want this series to be, for you, not just information but transformation, not just truths for others to hear from you, but truths for you to first believe for yourself.
So today we talk about that “ In Christ your new” so go to your bible and turn to Eph 4:17-19 and first we are going to talk about the old you! The bad news before the good news!!
The old you!
Ephesians 4:17 (ESV)
17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
Vs 17a That you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do

• Gentiles are the people who don’t know God, don’t obey God, don’t love God.
  They’re not filled with the Holy Spirit; they’re not in relationship with God.
  Gentiles, Gentiles.
  
• Paul is going to use is this metaphor of walking in chapters 4, 5, and 6. In
  chapters 1–3, he talked a lot about whom Jesus is and what Jesus has done, and
  in chapters 4, 5, and 6, he talks a lot about how we walk in light of those truths.
  Your walk before Jesus!
  

• When we go for a walk, it’s amazing how quickly we cover ground. Some of you have been non-Christians for a long time. you were running toward sin and trouble, and you got far away from the Lord.
  
• The people you’re walking with—they reinforce your sin and lifestyle. He says, “When you become a Christian, you can’t walk in that direction anymore.” Things need to change. Now that you’re new, you need to live a new life.
  Are you still walking in the path that you used to walk?
  

• Same habits, same sin, same beliefs, maybe even same relationships, some of which aren’t really helpful. You’re not strong enough to endure them.
  
• You can’t walk in that direction anymore, because that’s a direction away from Jesus, away from holiness, away from obedience. It’s a path that leads to death, not life.
  So, if you’re a Christian, you’re not supposed to walk like the non-Christians. Your life is supposed to look different. And in our day you may be picked on, made fun of, scorned, ashamed. That’s just the way that it is.
  Vs 17b in the futility of their minds
  

• “Futility” describes the empty and purposeless lives of people who do not know God.
  
• The word implies idle vanity, foolishness, and frustration.
  
• In Lystra Paul called the pagans to “turn from these futilities” (Acts 14:15).
  
• Peter reminded his readers they had been “redeemed from the futile lifestyle”
  they had inherited from their fathers (1 Pet 1:18). 1
  

• If you’re a non-Christian and you say “he is offensive” because your mind is futile
  
• We are told we are smart, we are good, we are right that’s futile thinking
  o We are dumb, God is smart
  o WearebadGodisgood
  o We are wrong and God is right!!
  Ephesians 4:18 (ESV)
  18They 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.
  Vs 18a They are darkened in their understanding
  

• When is the last time you saw clearly in the dark? (Never)
  
• When you’re a Non-Christian your walking in the dark
  
• Your mind is dark, your thinking is futile
  
• Your moral compass is all jacked up
  
• Worshiping God is not just a moral activity, it’s a mental activity
  
• We are to worship with our whole mind
  
• Christians and non-Christians should not share the same mind or mindset.
  
• How many of you—your thinking is dark, the way you see God, yourself, life—it’s
  dark, it’s depraved, it’s wrong, it’s corrupted?
  It does not matter what the majority thinks, or weather to government says it ok, If God shows up and says its dark, its corrupt then its wrong! Is your mind submitted to God through the Holy Spirit??
  Vs 18b alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them
  

• Are you alienated from God
  
• Are you trying to be a good person out of guilty from turning your back on God
  o That’s what Good people do, try and prove there good
  o True believers know there not Good, there is nothing Good in them But
  Jesus
  
• When we alienate ourselves from God, we turn our back on him and turn to Sin
  
• Ignorance here is not what you think
  o Not knowing God is ignoring Him
  o Its Sin, because of our love of sin, we ignore God!
  

2

Vs 18c due to their hardness of heart

• Do you have a hard heart?
  
• When the Bible talks about the heart, it speaks of the heart more than nine
  hundred times.
  
• It’s the seat, the sum, the center of who you are.
  
• A heart that’s tender toward God says, “Tell me the truth. I want to change. I
  want to learn. I want to grow.”
  
• A hard heart says, “No!”
  

it’s not what you want; it’s what I want. It’s not what you think; it’s what I think.

o
o
o
o You want me to change? While we’re at it, I think you should change.

It’s not what you see; it’s what I see.

• You ever met anybody hardhearted?
o They interpret all data negatively.
o They always spin it, so that they are innocent and you are guilty.
o They always turn it to where they are a victim, and you owe them.

• And people do this with God.
  o “I’m right. You’re wrong. o You’ve failed. I’ve not.
  o You owe me.
  o I disagree.
  o You need to change.
  o Maybe even that Book you wrote—we need to edit that thing because I
  found some errors in that Book you wrote
  
• Is your heart hard toward God?
  
• Are you angry at him?
  
• Are you frustrated with him?
  

3

Ephesians 4:19 (ESV)
19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Vs 19a“They have become callous.”
Have you ever become callous? Any of you play guitar or play an instrument? Any of you swing a hammer, you’re a tradesman, tradeswoman, you’re into gardening, you’re a cook, a chef, an artist, you work with your hands a lot?

• What happens is, prolonged pressure upon a point over time leads to a callus, and what used to hurt, all of a sudden—it doesn’t hurt anymore because it’s become calloused. “They have become callous.
  
• You Say, “You know, when I started doing this, it really bothered me. It doesn’t bother me that much anymore.
  
• I used to feel really guilty after I did that, and now maybe God’s OK with it because I don’t feel guilty anymore.”
  
• No, it’s not that God’s OK with it; it’s that you’ve developed a callus.
  
• You’ve become dead.
  Is there a dead spot on your soul to where, “That doesn’t hurt anymore. It doesn’t bother me. I’m not convicted by it. I don’t want to change. I don’t think it’s wrong. Maybe it’s not a big deal, or maybe God doesn’t care.” He does; you’re just calloused. You’re not going to change there. You’ll say things like, “That’s the way I am.” It’s not the way you’re supposed to be. Are you callused??
  Vs 19b And have given themselves up.”
  

• Have you just given up,
o I’m going to vindicate myself. I’m going to explain myself, excuse myself. I’m just,
o I’m a teenager; I’ve just given up.
o I’m in my twenties; I’ve given up.
o I’m in college; I’ve given up.
o We’re newly married. Yeah, we yell at each other. o Midlife crisis. Oh, I get to give up.”

• We give up, and we give in.
  o We give in to all kinds of sin and temptation because we’ve just given up.
  
• Is that you? If so, you may not even be a Christian. God knows your heart; I don’t. But if you’re reading this list saying, “Wow, this sounds familiar,” he’s talking about non-Christians.
  Truth be told, Christians can fall into some of these habits and behaviors, but a Christian is the one who still has a tender heart and says, “I know it’s wrong; I want to change. I’m not right with God, and things are bothering me.” For the non-Christian— they’re callous, like, “It doesn’t really bother me.”
  

4

DO YOU NOT LIKE THIS???

“They’ve given themselves up to”—oh, look at that! What? “Sensuality, greedy to practice impurity.”

•
• •

You say”we’re highly evolved, highly developed. You know, these guys are four back on the evolutionary charts. Sloped heads, right?
We’re two thousand years later; we’re so evolved, advanced.
We’ve highly evolved. No, we’ve not, because you know where it ends up? They’re naked, greedy, and doing naughty things. Ah-ha, sound familiar? Naked, greedy, doing naughty things.

I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking, “I don’t see myself like that.” Well, that’s what I’d expect from a “Gentile with a futile mind, darkened understanding, alienated from the life of God, marked by ignorance, hardness of heart, callousness.” Some of you say, “I don’t see myself that way,” but you should because God does. Got you.
We need to live our lives, friends, coram Deo. That means “in the face of God.” Is this your team? Is this the direction of your life? Is this the way you think? Is this the way you act? Even right now, are you thinking, “Why did I come today? I disagree with this guy”? Feel free to disagree with me. I would say, don’t disagree with Paul.
Are you ready for the Good news!!!!! Are you ??? The TRUTH IS IN JESUS!!!!
Old you (Without Jesus), New You (With Jesus)
You can change things you do; only Jesus can change who you are. You can change things you do; only Jesus can change who you are. And once he changes who you are, that changes what you do.
Ephesians 4:20–21 (ESV)
20But that is not the way you learned Christ!—
21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

• First of all you have to be taught
  
• You just don’t get up one day and say WOW (Jesus descended to earth became
  a man, lived, died in our place (that substitutionary atonement)
  
• You don’t just think that up
  
• So thank you for letting me teach you, some ask why are your sermons so long,
  because I want you to learn! I study upwards of 30 hours for Sunday
  
• And where do we find the truth??? Jesus!!
  o For your marriage
  o Finances
  o Kids
  o All things, its all about Jesus, and the truth is in Jesus!!
  

5

Ephesians 4:22–23 (ESV)
22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

• Its time to put off your old self!
  
• We love some scandal don’t we??
  
• What Paul says is we are all corrupt, we just haven’t been caught
  
• Our way of life apart form Jesus is corrupt
  Through our Deceitful Desires!!
  

• Apart from the Holy Spirit, our desires are deceitful.
  
• “I really want to date her.” Deceitful desire. “
  
• I really want to date him.” Deceitful desire. “
  
• I really want to walk out on my marriage.” Deceitful desire. “
  
• I really want to click on that website.” Deceitful desire.
  
• We have lots of deceitful desires, and they’re deceitful because they lie. They promise something that they can’t deliver.
  That’s why community is so important, so we can speak truth in love t one another! We all need counsel from time to time, we all need a nudge back on the right path, because we live in a fallen world that tempts us with desires that are not in line with God!
  And be renewed in the spirit of the mind!!
  

• Change, repentance, transformation—it starts in the mind with how you think.
  
• If you think something is OK and God doesn’t, you need to change your mind.
  
• It takes a change of mind, and that will start to change your activity.
  
• But first, it’s your thought process.
  
• How do you think?
  
• Some of you, you have a very corrupted thought process. It’s very perverted, it’s
  very dark, it’s very suspicious, it’s very judgmental. Whatever the case may be,
  it’s very self-righteous; it’s not holy, or helpful, or healthy.
  
• He says your mind needs to be surrendered to God. Not just your body,
  
• Do you think God’s thoughts after him?
  
• When you and God disagree, do you change your mind?
  
• Do you love the Lord your God with your mind?
  
• Do you take your thoughts captive to obedience to Christ?
  
• Are you transformed by the renewing of your mind? If not, you’re going to have
  a lifestyle that walks away from Jesus.
  

6

Ephesians 4:24 (ESV)
24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Put on the new you!!

• This is not self-help
  
• This is a whole new you
  
• It’s like changing your cloths!!
  Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ!!
  

• Here is what I want you do
  
• When you get up remember your not just dressing your self physically, but also
  spiritually!!
  

o I am not guilty; I’m forgiven.
o I’m not hated; I’m loved.
o I’m not far away; I’m brought near.
o I’m not alienated; I’m reconciled.
o God is not against me; he’s for me.
o God’s not angry with me; he loves me.
o I don’t need to pay God back; Jesus already paid my debt.
o I don’t need to clean myself up; I need to remember who Jesus is, and
what he’s done, and live out of the new identity that he’s given me.
I want you to, every morning, as you clothe yourself physically, remind yourself of how Jesus has clothed you spiritually. And then as you walk out the door, remember, “I’m walking with him as I’m going to work, as I’m going to school. Wherever it is that I am going, this is now my Christian walk. And I’m in my new identity; I’m clothed in the righteousness, and the love, and the friendship of Jesus Christ, and I get to walk in a manner worthy of that relationship.”
Your not Good enough, your not religious enough, your not spiritual enough!!
Some of you are think inking I’m Good enough!

• Your not Good enough
  
• God see us as perfect or imperfect and apart from Christ we are all imperfect Some will say I’m Religious Enough!!
  

• There is no cause or religious zeal that will get you in to heaven
  
• You cant do enough
  
• Paul says it best in Philippians!
  Some will say I’m spiritual enough
  

• Feng Shui Wont help you
  
• Yoga or meditation wont save
  
• Only Jesus will 
  

Sermon Notes 3-16-2014

I am Gifted!!

Ephesians 4:1-16

                                              

Have you ever wondered where Jesus is and what is he doing?? Have you ever just pondered that?

Today we are going to se that and also see that we are gifted, and God gives us all gifts to serve in ministry along side one another to further the kingdom of God!

If we find our identity in Christ, and allow that to direct our actions we can be a powerful force in our community, our job, our family, and the church.  Gifts are a wonderful thing, when we find our identity in Jesus.

Yesterday, some folks from this church used their talents to serve God, by doing what they love to do! God was glorified, we benefited the community, and we found joy and had some fun!

So lets read in Ephesians and see what Paul has to say about Gifts!

Read

Ephesians 4:1–16 (ESV)

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?

10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

1 5 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

So where is Jesus today??

He ascended!

·      Jesus is in heaven

·      With who?? Believers!

o   He took the captives with him

To ascended he had to descend first!

·      He was buried in the ground, literally, physically dead, and then three days later he rose,

·      So he ascended from his grave back to life, conquering death and sin,

·      And then we witnessed his resurrection by demonstrating he was alive for forty days.

·      Crowds large and small, individual people, small groups, numbers upwards of five hundred people—1 Corinthians 15 tells us—he appeared to his mom, he appeared to his brothers, he appeared to his friends and his disciples

·       And then he ascended back into his heavenly kingdom.

So what’s he doing now??

What’s he doing? What’s he focused on? What’s he care about? What’s he paying attention to? What’s a priority for him? Where is he investing himself?

·      He keeps talking over and over and over and over about the church.

·      So his next point is that Jesus is serving the church, and he’ll use this language of, “The church is like a body

·       And just like a body has many parts, and they all work together for health and life and progress, so you and I, and we—we’re like a body; we’re all a part of this great family of God, and everybody has their bit to contribute, which then leads, of course, into his discussion about spiritual gifts, and what part of the body you are, and what gift you have and what contribution that you make.

·      He says this is all possible by the work and power of the Holy Spirit!

So the question is, when Jesus left, did he leave us alone? He didn’t. He said, “It’s actually better for you if I go, so that I can send the Holy Spirit.” And he says this to the early disciples gathered around him after his resurrection, just prior to his ascension: “I’m going to leave, and I’m going to send the Holy Spirit, and he will come with power.”

So what is Jesus doing right now? Well, he’s serving the church, he’s loving the church, he’s paying attention to the church, he’s devoted to the church, he’s concerned for the church, and he’s working in the church through the person, and the presence, and the power of the God the Holy Spirit.

Is the church a priority for you? If your priorities are in line with Jesus’ priorities, then the church will be a great priority for you. You may be in school, but your school will not be here in two thousand years. You may have a job, but in two thousand years, your company will no longer exist. You may love your nation, but in two thousand years, your nation will be a footnote in history. But in two thousand years, there will still be the church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is giving Gifts!

Then he goes on to say Jesus is giving gifts!

·      Heave you heard the term Spiritual Gifts??

·      So for the rest of the service we are going to talk about Gifts and your gifts that’s Jesus has given you through the Holy Spirit!

·       

Do you like to give gifts?

·      Do you like to give gifts? You should.

·      If you’re a Christian and the Holy Spirit’s in you, you should like to give.

·      You realize God’s a giver, and to be a giver is a good thing.

·      See, the more you give, the more joy you have.

·      That’s why no one is more joyful than God. No one’s more joyful than God.

God loves to give.

·      We don’t have to beg God to give.

·      “God so loved the world he gave us his only Son.”

·      God loves to give. Our God loves, loves, loves to give, and the more you get to know the God who gives, the more you become like the God who gives, the more you give—the more you give.

·      The older I get, I think one of the easiest tests for Christian maturity is whether you’re a giver or a taker.

So what’s the first Gift God gives us?

·      Verse 7 says, “he gives us Jesus!!”

·      You need to know Jesus is a gift

·      You may not get everything you want, But you have the greatest gift of all in Jesus

·      What’s the greatest gift anyone could give you “ themselves”

·       

Jesus shows up to give. First of all, our God is not a taker. He’s a joyful giver, and he gives us himself. So in verse 7, when he talks about Christ’s gift, Christ is our gift. We’ve been given Jesus. What a gift!

The second gift that god gives us is the Holy Spirit!

·      In verse 3, he talks about the “unity of the Spirit”

·       in verse 4 “one Spirit.”

·      So God has given us his Spirit, so we’re not orphans, we’re not abandoned, we’re not alone.

·      We don’t have to live by our own power; we can live by the power of God. We’re not left to our own thinking; he can direct our understanding. The Holy Spirit is present in the church.

To some degree, the Holy Spirit is present and at work in the world, but he is particularly and powerfully at work in the people of God, particularly when we assemble together. The Holy Spirit loves it when we get together.

The third Gift God gives us is people!

·      Number three, God gives us people as gifts.

·      You need to know that you are a gift.

·      You’re a gift to others; you’re a gift to our church.

·      And here, he’s talking about: these people have these abilities, and these people have these abilities, and these people make these contributions, and these people make these contributions.

·      Let me just say that people don’t just have gifts; people are gifts

·       And if we only think that people have gifts, then we use them for their gifts.

·      But if we believe that people are gifts, we love and appreciate the person, not just their function.

·      People are gifts. People are gifts. And some of you, let me just say, are great gifts. Others of you are painful gifts, but you’re all gifts.

And fourth he gives Spiritual Gifts

·      So God gives us Jesus, the Holy Spirit, one another, and then he gives to each Christian spiritual gifts.

·      We see this in verse 8, “He gave gifts to men.”

·      Who determines what gift you get? He does. He does.

·      God determines what you do, God determines what they do, God looks at the church, and he says, “Okay, we’re going to need this, we’re going to need this, we’re going to need this, we’re going to need this, so I’m going to give them this ability, and them this capacity, and them this experience, and then they’re all going to come together, and it’s going to be far better.”

·       Paul uses the language in 1 Corinthians, like, you know, we don’t need seventeen feet; we need a body that has all the right parts, orchestrated, organized together, so there’s a lot of diversity, but we’re all unified in this together. “He gave gifts to men.”

Some info on Gifts!

Let me say some things about spiritual gifts, I have listed individual gifts in a blog on Facebook, so you can go check them out. But I need you to understand some things first so you can better understand what they are and what there not!

·      It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a natural talent or a supernatural gift.

o   A natural talent is something you just innately have from birth;

o   a supernatural gift is something you have from your new birth.

o   A natural talent is something you can do before you’re a Christian;

o   a supernatural gift is something that accompanies the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit when you become a Christian.

o   Don’t go looking for a “spiritual Gift”

o   The bible never talks about singing and a gift, or working on cars, or any other natural talent

o   If you have a natural talent and the church can use them then do it!

o   It may be what God has gifted you to do, we don’t know so serve how you can!

·      The way you find your spiritual gift is trial and error.

o   You try something, you’re no good at it, or you don’t like it, or everybody else says stop.

o   That can be an indication that maybe that’s not your thing.

o   You do something else, and you’re like, “Hey, I’m pretty good at that, and people seem to appreciate that, and God seems to bless that, and I kind of like that.” Maybe that’s your thing. So, trial and error.

·      You can have multiple gifts.

o   So, it’s not like they’re exclusive.

o   Some of you have one gift, some of you have multiple gifts, and the gift mix is combined to give you a particular ministry capacity.

o   People have differing amounts of a gift.

·      We need to learn to serve outside of our area of gifting.

o   Lets say, somebody walks in, and they say, “I’m really hurting. Can you pray for me?” “Sorry, that’s not my gift.”

o   You don’t have the gift of mercy? To some degree, we need to be humble enough to say, there are times when we have to serve outside of our area of gifting because there’s a need.

o   It’s not about our gifts; it’s about their need. So you can’t say, “Well, that’s not my gift.” They’d say, “But that is my need.”

o   So maybe you need to serve in an area that’s outside of your gifting, at least for a season until God brings somebody else.

If you come to our church, and you are annoyed by something, it just bothers you; it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. I don’t know why they don’t fix that. Why is that like that?” That might actually be your gift—not to be annoyed, but to help fix the thing that annoys you. If you walk in and you say, “Why don’t they fix that?” That may be that you have the gift that no one else has, and you’re seeing the need that no one else is seeing. And you shouldn’t get frustrated; you should assume it’s a call from Jesus to go to work. You’re welcome. Got you.