A LIFE RENEWED FROM THE INSIDE

Speaking about a viewpoint…

I heard a story about an engineer who died and went to heaven.  Guards at the pearly gate told the engineer that there was some mistake and he was to go to that other place.  So the guards sent him to the devil.  After a couple of weeks, God gave the devil a call and asked how things were going down there.  The devil said that they had an engineer and that the engineer went to work repairing things and building new things in hell.  The devil bragged that they had air conditioning now and the engineer would soon install ice makers.  Well God declared that there was some mistake, that the engineer should have been sent to heaven, so God demanded that the devil release the engineer to Him or else He was going to sue.  With that, the devil smiled and asked, “yeah right, where are you going to find a lawyer?”

So… let me ask you, how do your friends stereotype you nowdays?

Today’s message is titled “A Life Renewed From the Inside.”  The text for today’s message is Ephesians 4.  This is part of a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote about 30 to 34 years after the resurrection of Christ.  When Paul wrote to the Romans, his emphasis was faith apart from works.  To the Galatians his emphasis was faith apart from ceremonial observations.  To the Ephesians, his message was focused upon the unity of believers.

Today, I am going to preach from the Message.  I like to use it when I present a message that calls us to action.  This is one of those messages.  You won’t want to miss out on a single word because, ooo, what a message God wants us to hear.

OK? Now, so I obey copyright laws, I'm asking you to read the scripture references out of your own Bibles.  Of course I read these out loud when I preached this sermon in our church.  I'll just trust that you're reading scripture from your Bible. 

Read Ephesians 4:1-6 

Paul is issuing marching orders.  He is affirming that as Christians, we have a job to do and we better get off our duffs and get about doing it.

We are not to go about in arrogance but with humility, we are to go about it together and we are to go about it while we are repairing our relationships with each other!

Since we all have the same God and Father, since we all have the same master, since all have the same faith, the same baptism, we are not to go about our separate ways and pretend to go about working for God all by ourselves.  Since we are unified in God, we also must be unified in our walk with God.

Let’s continue with verse 7.  (Read Ephesians 4:7-13) 

Here, Paul is recognizing that even though we are all one with Christ and we need to all walk together in Christ, we do not have to be clones of each other.  We are not all the same, and Jesus Christ, after He died on the cross, and eventually ascended into heaven, He gave each of us gifts that will help each of us to succeed in our service to Him.

To some He gave the gifts of apostle, of prophet, of evangelist, and of pastor or teacher.  To others, He gave different, but equally important gifts that benefit Christian work for Jesus.  The job of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist and the pastors and teachers is to train all the other Christians how to be skilled in their servant work--how to work within Christ’s body, the church and how to respond to God’s Son and how to be fully mature Christians who is fully developed within and without, fully alive just like Jesus Christ!

Verse 14  (Read Ephesians 4:14-20) 

Now, ladies and gentlemen.  This is where the rubber begins to meet the road.  This is where Paul points the finger at us and tells us straight up that it is time to grow up in Christ and stop being immature, baby Christians.  Sooner or later being a baby Christian will not be tolerated from us anymore.

If we are not growing in Christ, if we are not changing from the inside as we are told to do, if we are not willing to leave our “old selves” behind, then we are susceptible to the Big Lie!  And the Big Lie is that we can continue to be just as we were when Christ first called us to Him and be a church that will grow and prosper!  That is a Big Fat Lie and that is exactly why churches across Europe and across America fail and that is why we will also fail if we don’t wake up and smell the coffee!

Paul says in verse 16 that we are to grow up healthy in God, robust in love, but he continues….  He says we are not to go along with the world, the empty-headed, mindless crowd.  The world has refused to deal with God and they have lost touch with God and they have also lost touch with reality itself!

He says that they can’t even think straight anymore and further, they’ve given themselves over to sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion!  And you know, if you go along with the mindless crowd, you will continue to be just… like… them!

You don’t believe me?  You don’t think that that can happen?

Then for most of you, tell me then, tell me, on any given night, if I were to come over to your house unannounced, if I were to come over, what would I see on your TV?  Would I see any number of sit-coms or shows that are somewhat sexual in parts, some poking fun at sexual situations, many that are explicit, leaving nothing to the imagination?  Would I find any number of videos or DVDs showing sexually explicit or suggestive scenes on your TV even while your teenaged or school aged child is sitting there right with you?

Maybe you’ve gone along with the world for so long that you can’t think straight anymore.  Maybe you don’t feel any pain and you are not even aware that the material blasting its sexual perversion on your TV is even wrong!

Paul says that that’s no life for you!  You learned Christ!  So, what are you doing?!  I’m telling you, if this seems like a wake up call, then you’ll agree that… it is time for a change!  It is time for a life renewed from the inside!

Let’s look at verse 21.  (Read Ephesians 4:21-24)  Here comes Paul’s admonition.

You know brothers and sisters, we know what the truth is.  Pastor Scott teaches it to us every Sunday.  We learn it in Sunday school every Sunday.  We often throw it in each other’s faces.  We do know the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus.

That’s not the problem.  You see, we can’t claim ignorance.  Our problem is that we just… don’t… want… to… let… go!  We want it both ways!  We want to live as we have always lived and be a part of God’s church!  We don’t want to change!

The thing is, we can’t have it both ways.  It can’t happen.  We’ll destroy ourselves and this church will fall apart.

But I thought that this was the “come as you are” church, you say.  Didn’t Jesus even say “come as you are?” 

You see, when Jesus called you unto Himself, He called you just as you were.  But for some of you, it is still just as you were--even 15 years later!  And quite frankly, it is OK with that as long as you are on a learning curve, discovering what it is like to have victory, and how to have victory in Christ!

He accepts you just as you are while He is healing you.  He accepts you just as you are while He is introducing you to new people who will love you and care for you and adopt you into their own families.  He accepts you just as you are while He is showing you to a new way to live.

But sooner or later, after the healing begins to take place, after you begin to experience the joy in life that only a living God can give you, after you are convinced that for the first time that “this Jesus” is the REAL DEAL in your life, He will call on you.

He will call on you to make some changes in your life.  Romans 12:2 in the King James says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Jesus did accept all of us just as we were, but sooner or later He expects us to change.  And ignorance is not the excuse we can use for staying the way we’ve always been.  Paul says that everything connected to the old way of life has to go!  He says that it is rotten through and through and we have to get rid of it!  And take on an entirely new life.  This life is “a life renewed from the inside!”  Only when we are willing to do that, will God begin to reproduce His character in each of us!

Are you hanging on to some of your old ways?  Have you been getting the same thing as a Christian as you used to get before you were a Christian?  Are some of the problems you used to have, some of the problems you are still having?  Don’t you think that its time for a change?  That it is time for “a life renewed from the inside?”

Verse 25  (Read Ephesians 4:25-27)

Think about it, why would a Christian need to lie?  Unless there is some unresolved sin that needs to be taken care of, why would a Christian even be tempted to lie?  Why would you lie to your kids?  Even a “little white lie?” 

A lie is a road to your own destruction, because always, sooner or later, your lie will be revealed and you will not like the consequences.  Sooner or later God will shine a flood light on your dark little secret and you will either be in a place of being hurt or you will hurt someone else.  Or both.  A lie will destroy the Christian family.  So no more lies, no more pretense, tell the truth.

Another thing that destroys churches is the harboring of resentment.  In this translation, Paul says that it’s OK to be angry-- getting angry actually allows you to blow off steam and could keep your head from blowing up.  You need to know that many other translations say to not get angry. 

I like how the Message put it.  It is not OK to use your anger to fuel revenge, you know, take it upon yourself to “punish” the one who caused you to be angry.  If your child does something that makes you angry, is it OK to punish your child?  Not if you are punishing your child because you are angry, no it’s not OK.  You can punish your child for being disobedient but it is not OK for you to punish your child because you are angry.  Never punish out of anger.

That goes for how you treat other Christians as well.  It is not OK to take on another Christian out of anger.  It is OK, once you’ve settled down maybe, to resolve conflicts.  Remember in verse 3, Paul tells us to be quick to “mend fences.”

And for heavens sake, do not go to bed angry.  Don’t stay angry.  Don’t allow resentment to gain a foothold in your mind.  Don’t allow Satan to get that kind of foothold in your life.  It is destructive for you and it is destructive to your church family.  It can cause your own family to pull away from you, it can cause you physical and emotional damage, it can cause you to lose the support of your Christian family.  And this is exactly what Satan wants to see in your life.

Is any of this making any sense to you?  If you are honest, don’t you think this helps you understand where you stand with God-- exactly?

Well, buckle up.  Because we’ve got one more thing we need to clear up in our “life renewed from the inside” journey today.  You ready?

Verse 28  (Read Ephesians 4:28-32)

Have you ever played the sympathy card in order to manipulate someone into giving you what you wanted from them?  Have you ever ripped someone off?  Have you ever done these things since you’ve professed being a Christian?  Then stop it.  Stop it now. 

Stop the foul language.  Not only respect church property as being the Holy Ground of God, but stop using foul language in your own house.  Stop it.  You are absolutely destroying the next generation’s legacy by your example and you distance others who could sometime, be meaningful to you.

If you are not a baby Christian anymore, besides Paul says that it won’t be tolerated, and you are growing in Christ, becoming more like Him every day as God builds His character correctly in you, then where is this foul language coming from?  Except from your own rebellion?

Don’t grieve God.  Stop breaking His heart.  His Holy Spirit is moving, is breathing in and through you, it is the most intimate part of your life working night and day to make you fit for himself!  Don’t take such a gift for granted!  Stop it!

Make a clean break today, right now with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.  That does not belong in your life anymore.  It grieves God, it breaks His heart and it will destroy your ministry.  It will destroy your ministry with other Christians, it will destroy your ministry for other people, it will most certainly destroy your ministry with your own family--especially your children.

We need to be gentle with each other.  We need to be sensitive with each other.  We need to forgive each other as quickly and as thoroughly as Jesus Christ forgave you.

The Bible says that others will know us by our fruit.  I wonder… if you are accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? 

You want to know why American churches are dying?  Is it because we don’t offer anything relevant in a 22nd century society?  Is it because today’s church doesn’t meet needs?

No.  I don’t think that’s it. 

We have great Sunday school classes for all ages that are taught by the most well Biblically read people I’ve ever met.  We are getting stellar teaching here at Parkland First Baptist.  We meet needs.  In fact, we have a food bank that is known county wide as the Parkland Food Bank even though there are other churches in the area that distribute food.  We have a great pastor in Scott Crawford, do we not?  We have Bible studies offered during the week that is even attended by those who do not come to our church.

So what is it? 

It is us.  It is the Christian.  It is me and it is you.  It is what others think we represent.  Others think we say one thing and represent something quite different.  You see, something has to change if we are to survive as a church.  If we are to give our money, our careers, our very families over to Christ, then we need to make a clean break from our old life.  It is time for a life renewed from the inside!

As Rob makes his way up here, we’ll wrap this up. 

I use youth as a barometer of where a church or a family is in terms of a walk with Jesus Christ.  Don’t worry parents, they do not betray family secrets.  Those are safe.  But they do reflect the core values of the families they live with.  Their actions are absolutely honest.  You may not be responsible for their rebellion, but you are accountable largely for the core values they hold for themselves.

You don’t like what comes out of your kid’s mouths?  What’s been coming out of your mouth over the past several years?  You don’t like their “in your face” behavior?  Where do you think they got that from?  Did you know that most people who smoke have parents that have also smoked?  What kind of example do you set for your next generation?

I know a kid who used to hang out with the wrong crowd.  One day a Christian family pretty much adopted this kid so their own kids could be a good influence on the bad kid.  The bad kid hung around the Christian family’s kids and became very good friends with them.  As time went by, the Christian family’s parents began to loosen up on their Christian behavior around this bad kid as they became more familiar with him.  Soon the Christian family’s parents began to use some of the same words that the bad kid use to get in trouble for using.  The Christian family’s parents began to allow the same video and DVD movies that the bad kid used to see with the wrong crowd and got criticized for.

The bad kid soon began to make a judgment about church.  He took a good look at what the Christian family represented to him and decided that church was not very much different than what he already knew.  Eventually the bad kid stopped going to church because he assumed that the church was full of hypocrites, so why not hang out with the wrong crowd?  After all, they at least are honest about who they are!

This, by the way, is very real.  This has happened.  It happens in churches across America.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

By the time our teens in our youth group become adults, only 1 out of 9 of them will continue to go to church.  1 out of 9!  Did you know that 85% of those who go into full time ministry came from those youth groups?  1 out of 9!  Whose going to be there in ministry?

One more.  I know of kids who have grown up in the church only to quit going once they were old enough to make up their own decisions.  It’s funny, kids know their own parents.  They know when their parents are being honest, when they are being sincere.

And if their kid senses that there is a difference between their parent’s church life--what they claim to be all about-- and their home life-- what their parents are really about--except when company comes over, then there will be a crises of belief in that kid.  She may become delusional about what church is really about and misrepresent Christianity in the future, she may rebel against the so-called Christian parents and actually become a real Christian, or she will get tired of the lies, quit the church and will never be seen from again.  Most quit.

I have seen this happen as well. 

Folks, don’t you think that it is time for a change?  Don’t you think that it is time for a life renewed from the inside?  Your life?