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