[0:00] Well, good evening, brothers, sisters and friends. The same intimations, of course, as the morning, just a reminder that there are still a few, a handful, I think, of wee invitation leaflets at the back door.
[0:13] Please just grab one your way out. They're just on the back table beside the intimations. They're half the size of the intimation, just a wee invite, saying you're welcome. We're invited, I think it is, to our anniversary back to church Sunday.
[0:27] So please do grab a few, if there's any left, and prayerfully pass them out to those who you are praying for and thinking about to invite to church.
[0:39] Also remember, I didn't say in the morning, we're praying this week especially for Rassi. We've had mixed years over the last decade or so.
[0:50] Settled ministries and then times of vacancy. So we do pray for Rassi. The Lord is working in various ways on the island. Slowly but surely they are seeing just a few, a few new starts of life, a few new conversions.
[1:10] I also praise God for the ongoing work of the WFM, not just ourselves, but across the whole denomination. Also remembering once more the General Assembly, which meets this week, God willing.
[1:23] So pray for all that goes on in the Assembly. We're here to worship God. We can carry on that public worship by singing to His praise. Psalm 138.
[1:35] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 138. All our praise this evening is from the Psalter. Scottish Psalter, Psalm 138.
[1:47] Psalm 138. We can sing verses 1 down to verse 4. Psalm 138. Verses 1 down to verse 4.
[1:57] Thee will I praise with all my heart. I will sing praise to thee. Before the gods and worship will toward thy sanctuary. I'll praise thy name even for thy truth.
[2:10] And kindness of thy love. For thou my word has magnified. O thy great name. Above. Psalm 138. Verses 1 down to verse 4. To God's praise.
[2:20] And that, chorus,alom.
[2:41] before the cross and worshipping to Lord Thy Sanctuary.
[2:57] I praise Thy name in more Thy good and kindness of Thy love, for that Thy Word has magnified all Thy great name above.
[3:31] Thou didst me answer in the day when I to Thee did Thine.
[3:47] And I, my faith, give your respect, this perfect inquiry.
[4:06] All kings upon the earth that I shall give the praise, O Lord, when I hast made come, Thou might shall hear Thy true and faithful word.
[4:41] Let's join together again in a word of prayer. Lord, we come before You, the God who sets up and establishes kingdoms, and the God who brings these kingdoms back to the ground, the God who is in full control of not just the times and the seasons, and the seasons, but You are in full control of the times and the ages of our world.
[5:09] You are in control of our lives. You are in full control of all Your creation. But before You, we stand as seen. Before You, we stand as known.
[5:21] Before You, we come just now and we confess that although we perhaps may try and hide much from You, all things are seen and all things are known to You.
[5:32] Help us, Lord, then, we ask for a short time this evening to make full use of this time of gathered worship. Help us not to be distracted as we often so easily are, but to listen carefully to Your word, to be encouraged by it, to be uplifted by it, to be challenged by it.
[5:54] And help us for a short time this evening to understand that we come before a God who is holy, who is high, who is lifted up. A God who is present here with us this very evening.
[6:06] There is not one part of Your creation You do not see. There is not one single area of Your world where You are not present to minister and to come alongside Your people.
[6:18] We are understanding this evening that You are here because Your people are here, because You have made Your home in us, the Holy Spirit. He has, and He currently indwells us.
[6:29] But He has made His home in His people. And right now we are walking and serving and living our lives in this village and at work and in our own personal daily dealings, as those who have a Holy Spirit living and moving in us, dwelling in us, enlivening us, enlightening us, regenerating us, making us more and more like our Saviour, day by day.
[7:00] Help us, Lord, not to lose sight as to the mystery or the glory or the beauty of what it is is to be inhabited by God. To know that every part of our lives, every season of our lives, for the tears we may shed at night time, the dark long days and the darker longer nights, times in our experience where we feel perhaps so far from home and so far from help, times where we feel spiritually empty, times where we feel physically drained, times where we feel mentally empty.
[7:42] Lord, we ask that you would remind your people that in these times we are with you. That you do not change, you do not move.
[7:56] We confess that our times we come and we find ourselves living a way that is not according to your word. And as your people, we ourselves are aggrieved at that, but we also understand and we feel and we acknowledge that these times the Holy Spirit, He is grieved.
[8:15] And in His grief at our actions, at our lifestyle, at our conduct, we feel His presence diminish. We feel His closeness ebb away.
[8:27] That is done, we know what of love for us, to bring us back to a place where we are in right standing and in right service to you. I pray just now, Lord, for any of our brothers and sisters who are harboring secret sins, any here this evening or as part of a congregation who are harboring the damaging reality of that pet sin.
[8:49] Lord, we ask that we would bring these sins to you, knowing that in you we find a God who has forgiven them in the finished work of Jesus, a holy and perfect God who knows them and who sees them, a God who is not mocked, but at the same time a God who is merciful, a God who is kind, a God who is near to His broken people.
[9:13] As we remember ourselves, we again remember the wider gospel work, not just in North Tulsa, but also across our island. We thank you that there are still many congregations.
[9:25] We are seeking to worship you in spirit and in truth. We remember over recent weeks and over recent months, we pray just now especially for our brothers and sisters.
[9:36] We are praying especially for the leadership that our brothers in the Church of Scotland and the island, who are facing difficult decisions and who are facing much opposition, who are refusing to bow down to the direction of their larger, wider domination, who as it stands are seemingly alone against a tide that is seeking to sweep them away.
[10:00] We ask, Lord, for strength for these few faithful ministers and faithful elders. We ask you to encourage them and be with them. Lord, give them wisdom.
[10:11] So pray for them. We remember our own General Assembly meeting this week. Pray, Lord, for all that is discussed. Pray for the detail of all the material.
[10:23] There is no doubt there will be many sessions and many hours of study and of discussion and debate. Many hours of pondering over the miniature, the minutiae of what it is to keep and to run the Church.
[10:38] Pray just now for any difficult conversations that must be had, that they be done in grace. Any difficult topics that will come up that your namesake and your glory would be the main aim for all that is discussed.
[10:50] That your people would serve you well. Pray just now for our own commissioners who are going from the island. Give them safety and travel, we ask.
[11:01] Pray for those who are attending for the first time this year. That they'd have peace and they'd have encouragement, knowing that as nerve-wracking as these times of service are, they are times of service.
[11:13] And all the service that is rendered for your namesake, it is never time wasted. Despite the cost, despite the effort, despite at times the tears shed, you bless the work of your people that are done for your glory.
[11:29] We ask that I be seen in our congregation. We bring just now before you not just this week's plans, but all the plans going forward. That we plan and we hope and we pray and we desire.
[11:42] The work is yours. Because the souls are yours. The lost souls are yours. Those you bring into your kingdom are yours. And you alone will transform them.
[11:54] You alone will change them. You alone will bring them from darkness to light. We once more become before you and we humble ourselves and we ask that your will be done.
[12:06] We do ask that bold prayer. We would see days of salvation and days of renewal across this village. Days once more where many more homes come to know and come to serve and come to love you.
[12:23] Homes where at this moment there is ignorance. Homes of this moment where there is opposition to the gospel. Homes of this moment where there is hatred for the things of Christ.
[12:35] Homes of Christ. We know Lord it is no. For us it seems impossible. But for you it is no task to transform lives and families and situations.
[12:49] And to bring light where there is now darkness. And to bring peace where there is warfare against you. Lord we leave that task with you. Help us to be a praying people this week especially.
[13:00] We pray for the upcoming work of our back to church Sunday. At the very core of it. We are praying to see people come to worship you in this place.
[13:13] Come to meet you in this place. And come perhaps for the first time to hear the good news. To hear it as it applies to them. Lord encourage us we ask.
[13:25] We plan. We organise. We plant and we water. And that is the task given to us. To be sowers of that gospel seed.
[13:37] To seek every patch of ground. And to seek to plant the gospel seed there. And water that seed. And attempt and encourage. To convince.
[13:49] To plead. To facilitate. To facilitate. But you alone bring the growth. You alone bring that new life. Help us Lord then.
[14:00] Not to be a pessimistic people. Help us to be optimistic in the gospel. That you are able to transform. Not just those we know. But those we have not yet met.
[14:11] That this village can be transformed to a village full of your power. And full of your praise. Until we see these days. Give us the strength to be faithful servants.
[14:23] Working with the small amount we have been given. As the workers we heard this morning from your word. We are the latter workers. There are many workers who have come before us. Who have worked a hard day.
[14:35] A long day. A hot day. And we come at the latter hours of the day. And we confess that perhaps we feel our service. Our work is so small. But it is work for your kingdom.
[14:47] Nonetheless. We pray just now once more for those who are mourning. For those who are heavy in their hearts. This day and the last few days. Lord.
[14:59] You alone know the depths of grief. Where words fail us. Pray once more Lord for the family of the late Reverend Morrison. Pray once more for his children.
[15:11] Pray once more for all that must take place in the next few days. Pray once more for us. That you would use the work of your servant to bless the people in that land and that area for years to come.
[15:24] We give you praise that we mourn as always as a people with hope. That even though we know ourselves one day we will be gone too.
[15:37] One day our memory will be gone. One day our generation will be gone. But the work we do for you, that is work that will last for all eternity. Help us then to serve you faithfully.
[15:48] To serve you diligently. Pray just now Lord and we thank you for the unity of this congregation. We thank you for the peace in this congregation. We confess and we know that often there are many dangers to unity.
[16:00] And many dangers to peace. We pray this evening you would help us to be united. To lay aside any burdens and stresses and strains that cause disunity.
[16:10] To bring these things before the throne of grace. To bring these things before one another as brothers and sisters. As family members in love. We know for your word it tells us that disunity grieves the spirit.
[16:27] As does walking back in the old ways of our lives. We ask this evening you keep us looking forward and striving ahead. Seeking to glorify you in all that we do and think and say.
[16:41] Forgive us Lord this evening. We come before you once more confessing sin. Public and private. Known and unknown. Focusing and relying only on the finished work of our saviour.
[16:53] In his name and for his sake. We ask these many things. Amen. Let's turn to God's word.
[17:05] Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. That's page 918. Ephesians chapter 4.
[17:21] Page 918. Let's again hear the word of God.
[17:33] I therefore a prisoner for the Lord. Urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling. To which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness.
[17:43] With patience. Bearing with one another in love. Eager to maintain the unity of the spirit. In the bond of peace. For it is one body and one spirit.
[17:53] Just as you were called to the one hope. That belongs to your call. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father of all.
[18:05] Who is over all. And through all. And in all. But grace was given to each one of us. According to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says. Therefore it says. When he ascended on high.
[18:17] He led a host of captives. And he gave gifts to men. In saying he ascended. What does it mean? But that he had also descended. Into the lower regions.
[18:29] The earth. He who descended. Is the one who also ascended. Far above all the heavens. That he might fill all things. And he gave the apostles.
[18:40] The prophets. The evangelists. The shepherds. And teachers. To equip the saints. For the work of ministry. For building up the body of Christ. Until we all attained the unity of the faith.
[18:52] And of the knowledge of the Son of God. To mature manhood. To the measure of the stature. Of the fullness of Christ. So we may no longer be children. Tossed to and through.
[19:03] By the waves. And carried about. By every wind of doctrine. By human cunning. By craftiness. And deceitful schemes. Rather. Speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in every way.
[19:15] Into him who is the head. Into Christ. From whom the whole body. Joined and held together. By every joint. With which it is equipped. When each part is working properly.
[19:27] Makes the body grow. So it builds itself up in love. Now this I say. And testify in the Lord. That you must no longer walk. As the Gentiles do.
[19:38] In the futility of their minds. They are darkened in understanding. Alienated from the life of God. Because of the ignorance that is in them. Due to their hardness of heart.
[19:50] They become callous. And have given themselves up to sensuality. Greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you have learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him.
[20:02] And were taught in him. As the truth is in Jesus. To put off your old self. Which belongs to your former manner of life. And is corrupt through deceitful desires.
[20:14] And is to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. And to put on the new self. Created out of the likeness of God. And through righteousness and holiness. Therefore having put away falsehood.
[20:27] Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down in your anger. And give no opportunity to the devil.
[20:39] Let the thief no longer steal. But rather let him labor. Doing honest work with his own hands. So that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.
[20:51] But only such as is good for building up. As fits the occasion. But it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. By whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
[21:03] Let all bitterness and wrath. And anger and clamor. And slander be put away from you. Along with all malice. Be kind to one another. Tender hearted.
[21:15] Forgiving one another. As God and Christ forgave you. Amen. Good praise to God. For his holy and his perfect word. Sing again a chapter.
[21:27] We had Psalm 138. Scottish Psalter. Psalm 138. This time singing verses 5.
[21:37] Down to verse 8. Psalm 138. Verses 5. Down to the end of the psalm. Psalm 138. Psalm 138.
[21:47] In the righteous ways of God. With gladness they shall sing. For great's the glory of the Lord. Who doth forever reign. Will God be high. Yet he respects. Of those that lowly be.
[21:59] Whereas the proud and lofty ones. Far off knoweth he. Psalm 138. Verses 5. To the end. Earlier. Go to God's praise. God's praise. Amen. You are said JO. What is the cause of God.
[22:10] In the righteous ways of God, with God bless they shall sing.
[22:24] For great's the glory of the Lord, who thou ever bring.
[22:39] O God, be I yet in his face, of us that won't be me.
[22:54] When I stand by thy love, dear one, a fall of no end, he.
[23:09] O I yet list of other walls, I life from which I have.
[23:24] Yes, my old drug thou stretched by none, I right and shall be saved.
[23:39] Surely that which concern me, the Lord will perfect me.
[23:54] Lord, still thy mercy last, do not thine own hands work for sake.
[24:10] Amen. Amen. Let's turn back for a short time to the chapter we had there, Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4.
[24:23] Looking at verses 17 down to the end of the chapter, but our theme is looking at the Holy Spirit, and especially looking at the one instruction given here concerning our interaction with the Holy Spirit.
[24:36] Verse 30, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. If you recall, we've been working steadily through Galatians.
[24:50] We'll take a short break, a week or two. Next week we'll have our Back to Church Sunday, and perhaps a week or two after that we'll focus on two or three elements of the Holy Spirit. Now, we're not going to look tonight or over the next few weeks at all at his place in the Trinity.
[25:08] We're covering that with God's help and in due time in our prayer meeting series, looking at the Trinity, which is ongoing just now. Again, a reminder that prayer meeting is for everyone.
[25:21] I know culturally it's still strange for us to go, but the prayer meeting is an open meeting for everyone to go to, to hear more of God's word. We're covering in this prayer meeting, again, a long-running series, potentially on the Trinity.
[25:36] But just this evening, we'll focus down what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit. Just a few things before we begin properly.
[25:49] First, just to note in passing, the very fact that he can be grieved. Of course, that word, it's a word we know, but just to remind ourselves, it's to feel deep sorrow.
[26:01] It's to feel deep sadness. The fact the Holy Spirit can feel, can perceive, can understand deep sorrow and deep sadness, it tells us something incredible, doesn't it?
[26:13] That alone shows to us, or proves to us, that the Holy Spirit, that it is not a force, it is not something sent from God.
[26:24] The Holy Spirit, he is a person. In terms of, he is a third person of our triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit.
[26:35] And although that's kind of obvious, perhaps, it's important to note, again, if you do join with us in our week, midweek meetings on Thursday, we've been saying that we're not just learning about the Trinity to increase our knowledge.
[26:52] We're learning about the Trinity to make sure we can defend our faith, and we understand what it is we believe. And again, especially our friends who are of the Jehovah's Witness organization, and we know that many of us here have had interactions with them in the village in the last few weeks.
[27:12] We know they're very active here. And as friends, as neighbors, we care for them, we love them. In terms of what they believe, we know they are wrong, and we believe they are wrong.
[27:23] And they will say that the Holy Spirit is just a force sent from God. Often the image is used, it's like electric. It's used to achieve what God wants to do.
[27:37] Or it's like a river flowing, it's a force like that. Well, here alone we are reminded that the Holy Spirit is not just a force. He has force, but he is not just some spirit that God uses.
[27:53] He is God, and he is grieved. A stream, for example, a force that's moving, can't be grieved. Imagine a river just now.
[28:06] If you were to place rocks in a river and create a wee dam, and the river is disrupted, the river doesn't care. The water doesn't mind. It just keeps doing its thing.
[28:16] Whereas, to grieve the Holy Spirit, to seek to disrupt his work, to seek to agitate and go against him, it grieves him.
[28:27] Inanimate objects, non-living, non-beings can't be grieved. But because he is God, he is grieved.
[28:42] And we'll see what that means in a second. Now, again, the question is, what does it mean for the Christian to grieve the Holy Spirit?
[28:53] But just to say at the start, if you find yourself in this description this evening, and I'm sure most of us, if we're honest, will at some point find ourselves here, grieving the Holy Spirit, causing the Holy Spirit sorrow.
[29:12] It is not a salvation issue. It's not a salvation issue. Only Christians have the Holy Spirit living and moving in us. That's fact number one.
[29:24] The Holy Spirit is in his people. That's fair. A biblical fact that can be disputed. So that then leads on to the other fact that only Christians can grieve the Holy Spirit.
[29:38] And by grieving the Holy Spirit, we don't lose his place in our life. He doesn't leave us. He doesn't go away.
[29:51] But we'll see later on, he does withdraw his sense, our sense, or say, of his presence. He feels further away. And brothers and sisters, you know this.
[30:02] When God feels far away. There are times God feels far away, and it's a time of trial, but that's not the often cause of, is it? Often when God feels far away, it's because we've engaged in sin, or we've not been drawing close to him.
[30:20] Three ways then, three brief understanding ways we can grieve the Holy Spirit, as found in verses 17 down to verse 32.
[30:30] As always, we must remember, often we'll take verses like, don't grieve the Holy Spirit, and we apply it to mean anything. But that verse, it appears in the context of chapter 4.
[30:42] And chapter 4 appears in the context of the book of Ephesians. That verse doesn't just mean anything. It means something in the context, in the chapter, in the book. So what in this context does Paul mean by, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God?
[30:57] What else is said in verse 4? What examples are given to us in chapter 4 of grieving the Holy Spirit? Well, three areas. First of all, we can grieve the Holy Spirit as believers by walking back.
[31:12] By walking back. Verses, roughly, verses 17 and verses 22 down to verse 30. We grieve the Holy Spirit by walking back.
[31:26] In other words, by walking in the old ways again. By living and acting in a way that we used to live and act before we were saved.
[31:37] A question for us. Do you remember, brothers and sisters, that initial stirring in your spirit, in your heart, in your soul, when you first cared for the things of God?
[31:50] Perhaps you wouldn't say you were saved back then, but one day, one week, one year, you think, oh man, suddenly I want to read my Bible. Or suddenly I want to start going to church more.
[32:02] Or suddenly I'm actually listening to what the minister is saying for the first time in my life. Suddenly, X, Y, or Z. Whatever was your initial stirring in your heart, when you realised there was something strange going on, perhaps it worried you, perhaps it scared you, you thought, I once didn't care about this, now suddenly I'm caring bit by bit more and more and more.
[32:31] Do you remember that initial stirring? Do you remember what it felt like? Do you remember then what took place that sure, and for some an instant work for others, a sure but slow work that took you from not caring to then caring more and more?
[32:52] To have a concern, perhaps, for your soul, a concern for your sin, a guilt for your sin, a worry for your place before a holy God, and eventually you find yourself crying out for salvation, and you find yourself then, as it were, either mentally or physically on your knees before him, crying out to be saved.
[33:14] Do you remember the process of your salvation? As he suddenly or as he gradually brought you to himself, as the Holy Spirit worked in your life, and worked in your mind, and worked in your heart, to soften you up, to take that hard heart you once had, and to give you a real, living, beating heart instead, do you remember that?
[33:44] That's an easy question. The harder question to think on, brothers and sisters, is do you also remember then, times, when of all that glorious work the Lord has done in your heart, you turned, you and I with you, we turned our back on him.
[34:13] Just like that, you and I, as brothers and sisters, we go against all he's done for us, to be enticed back into the old ways, the old walk, the old life, the old sins, the old temptations, whatever it might be for you, but you go backwards, rather than going forwards.
[34:33] He has turned us around, set us that way, and all of a sudden, we're going that way. No longer, verse 17, you must no longer walk, as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
[34:50] Once, these believers in Ephesus, once they walked so well, but now, bit by bit, they seem to be walking away, walking back. And we see that, again, verse 22, verse 23, where Paul encourages them, put off the old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, that's corrupt, through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds.
[35:19] The temptation of Ephesians, and the reality for us, is the exact same. There are times in our walk, we look back, and we see we have strayed, so far away.
[35:30] From where we're supposed to be going. So far away. And the really terrifying reality is, we perhaps think of public sin, open, clear sin, when Christians do things publicly, they should not be doing.
[35:46] Clear cases of church discipline, that's bad enough. But arguably what's worse, is the slow walking away, in our hearts, and our souls, that the wider church, that I, or your elders, will never see or know about.
[36:04] That slow, creeping away, from what you've been called to be, back into what you once were. that slow walking back, that grieves, that grieves, the Holy Spirit.
[36:20] Goes against all the work, he has done, in your heart, and in your life. We are called, to serve God, to walk uprightly, to walk, in the glorious new reality, of who we are, and what's been given to us.
[36:35] A new life, a new heart, a new hope, a brand new future, and so quickly, and so easily, we turn from that hope, and that life, and that light, back towards darkness.
[36:48] Back towards where we once came from. The old pet sins, the old lusts, the old tempers, the old sins, that so easily arise.
[37:01] And we grieve, the spirit of life, who took us from death, to life. As we go again, as we seek to turn around, and look over our shoulder, and look back, to where we came from.
[37:14] That grieves, the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, if you find yourself, returning to the old ways, the old temptations, the old sins, and fully expect, and don't be surprised, as you feel, the Holy Spirit, is grieved within you.
[37:35] His love, is not removed from you, nor your salvation, is removed from you. That is not happening. But His closeness, His presence, is removed from you. Remember years ago, at camp, the illustration was given to us, and it works.
[37:52] It works. Imagine as a Christian, you're a car, and you're going to a destination, and you as a car, will reach the destination, regardless. You'll get there.
[38:03] You'll get there, you'll get there, fine. But every wrong journey, you take, every pothole of sin, you go into, every time you grieve, the Holy Spirit, by trying to reverse backwards, you're damaging your car, and making the journey, that bit harder for you.
[38:20] Think of it that way. Your salvation's secure, but God has given us, promise and hope, and a life with Him. And the longer, the more we go back to the old ways, and desire the old things, the more and more we grieve the Spirit, and the further and further He will feel away from us, and He will be away from us.
[38:43] He will never leave you on your own. He will never leave you on your own. But He will leave you alone. What do you mean?
[38:54] Well, He'll never leave you. He who lives in you will never leave you. But He will leave you alone, as it were. You will feel so far from Him, so distant from Him, because you are grieving Him by what you're engaging in.
[39:10] So we grieve the Spirit by walking back to the old ways. Secondly, see here, we grieve the Spirit also by walking away. I mean by lack of unity.
[39:23] Really, chapter 4, chapter 4 is really a whole chapter about what it is to be united as brothers and sisters. If we were to preach just one sermon to encapsulate, to summarize this chapter, there would be a sermon on church unity.
[39:44] Brothers and sisters, church disunity is grievous to the Holy Spirit. It grieves Him. It grieves Him. verses 15 and verse 16.
[39:56] Our first evidence of that in this section. Verse 15 and verse 16. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head and the Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped.
[40:17] When each part is working properly, it makes the body grow, for it builds itself up in love. And take in with that verse 1 down to verse 15.
[40:27] The image of us as a body growing together. Focusing verses 15 and verse 16. Speaking the truth in love, first of all, verse 15.
[40:40] when we say we want church unity, that is not to cover up things. A lack of truth grieves the Holy Spirit.
[40:56] Rather, speaking the truth in love. Do not cover up the sins of brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters, if you see another brother and sister and they are in genuine, active, ongoing sin, don't cover it up for them.
[41:16] Don't participate in it. Follow the scriptural command. Approach them yourself first and say, I believe you're in sin. If they choose not to listen to you, take a brother or sister with you and say, you're in sin.
[41:32] If they don't listen to you, come to the elders, come to myself and say, we believe there's sin here and we will go and say to the person, you're in sin, please repent and come back home. Church unity does not mean a lack of truth, a lack of accountability.
[41:49] What it does mean is there is love in the process. Speaking the truth in love. A lack of truth grieves the spirit, but so does a lack of love.
[42:02] A lack of love amongst brothers and sisters and all the various levels that is shown that also grieves the Holy Spirit. True unity, true family unity in our church family as our own home families is seen both in love and in truth.
[42:20] There is no love in brushing over sin. There is love in lovingly, carefully showing brothers and sisters where they're going wrong.
[42:32] that applies to sin, not to disagreements, but to actual sin. He who saved us and he who keeps us, he is not pleased if we're not walking in truth and in love of one another.
[42:53] We said before that going back to old sins grieves the Holy Spirit as does hiding blatant or gravious sin that also grieves the Holy Spirit.
[43:12] He requires a people who are actively seeking to serve in impurity. We also see unity in verse 25 out of an angle this time.
[43:22] Verse 25 Therefore having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour for we are members of one another.
[43:33] Here's the same thing as being told to us out of an angle slightly. We're to be a people filled with love, a people filled with truth. There is no place for any falsehoods in our church family.
[43:49] The Holy Spirit is not glorified. Indeed, he is grieved by covering things up and by not exposing whether it's sin and whether it's issue. Equally, in exposing sin and issue, we are to do so in love.
[44:07] We are to do so in love. then we see unity in a whole of an angle in verse 32.
[44:18] Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
[44:30] Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Just as the Holy Spirit does not tolerate the presence of ongoing sin and the big issues, the Holy Spirit also does not tolerate he is grieved by the presence of unkindness amongst brothers and sisters.
[44:58] The presence of unkindness, the presence of unforgiveness amongst brothers and sisters. He is grieved by that. Right now, we sit beside, we worship beside and front and behind brothers and sisters whom the Holy Spirit has given new life to.
[45:22] As you find yourself feeling off with brothers and sisters or not particularly keen on brothers and sisters, as you find yourself feeling a bit tetchy towards brothers and sisters, sisters, remind yourself first and foremost that brother and that sister, the Holy Spirit lives in them and he has enlivened them and given them a new hope, given them a new life and he dwells in them and he loves them and so should we.
[45:51] The call is not to be best friends with everyone, we're family members. Even the only child, myself, even I know that bigger families aren't always best friends to one another but we're still to show love to one another.
[46:09] The Holy Spirit cares about not just the big sins I ensure, he cares about the small things we could say. Kindness, tender heartedness to one another, forgiving one another.
[46:22] He cares about these things. Brothers and sisters, I've been doing supply now for the last 11 years before I was called here and I did supply during my time in the mainland and my time here I think in a good three quarters of the three church congregations and in other denominations too.
[46:46] I'll say it carefully but it's the truth and if you speak to other ministers and other brothers who do supply they'll say the same thing. When you walk into a congregation and walk up to a pulpit of the congregation when you start preaching to a congregation where there is disunity where there is not kindness to one another you can feel it almost instantly.
[47:09] Almost instantly. Preaching in a congregation where there is disunity where there is disharmony where there is unkindness to one another that preaching feels almost impossible.
[47:21] It feels like you're walking through three chal. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is grieved. The Holy Spirit is grieved by a congregation that is not kind to one another not loving to one another.
[47:36] Now we praise God and we mean this we truly praise God that we have heard report after report that everyone who comes to our pulpit so far they enjoy our fellowship and they enjoy the time with us.
[47:48] But let's not be too ignorant let's not be too keen just to rest in our laurels and let's be mindful to keep building one another up supporting one another being tender hearted being kind to one another remembering the Holy Spirit wants it to be so.
[48:05] the Holy Spirit is not mocked he knows us he sees us he understands us with his people not living and striving to serve him his presence is not felt there he's not there in power the question this evening is and again I don't know this I've heard nothing there's nothing behind the scenes that's not targeted but the question that naturally arises from this point is do you have anything against a brother or sister are you harboring anger towards a brother or sister are you harboring misery towards are you harboring discontent towards them well this evening perhaps brothers and sisters bring that in prayer to the Lord let us grieve the spirit no longer and ask for the Lord would help us and be with us and support us and if need be that he would chastise us for our feelings towards brothers and sisters so we grieve the spirit by walking back we grieve the spirit by walking away by disunity and finally and briefly we grieve the spirit by walking in every direction in other words by living as we're living the opposite way to what we've been called to live you'll see throughout this section throughout chapter 4 there are lots of wee bits of advice that Paul just drops in and these small nuggets of gold are there to remind us of who we are we grieve the Holy Spirit by not conducting ourselves in a way worthy of the gospel the example here is what do not be angry do not be angry verse 26 be angry and do not sin don't let the sun go down on your anger a challenging verse in many ways but also a comforting verse brothers and sisters anger in and of itself is not necessarily a sin anger itself is not a sin we see our Lord displaying anger just wrathful righteous anger do not think of the temple think of the money sellers think of the traders our Lord when we see he overturned tables he did a gentle nudge he created a whip he's pushing over tables he's throwing things he's throwing things off the tables he is whipping those around him it's a wrathful anger it's a justified anger there's a place for anger when it comes to the right things but note the command here be angry but do not sin do not sin brothers and sisters if there's righteous anger then fair enough but even in that righteous anger there is still no allowance and still no space for sin if we're angry at a brother and sister for some awful situation once that situation is dealt with we must let go of that anger otherwise we find ourselves in sin easy to preach easy to hear much harder to put into practice
[51:51] I'm sure as we all will agree do not sin in anger also very practical command here of do not steal let the thief no longer steal verse 28 let the thief no longer steal but rather let him labour doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need strange one how do we apply that to ourselves well for me in Ephesians the church is made up of people who are and who were engaged in that kind of lifestyle it's a reminder for us the church and brothers and sisters we included we come from a background we have stories to tell and Paul was reminding those who perhaps had to steal to feed themselves steal for a living but no longer do that no longer engage in that kind of life in Ephesians context in the early church's context the early church would provide for them would help them get food would help them find some form of labour to do the call there is to turn away from your old way of life no matter how ingrained it is turn away from it be angry but do not sin do not sin in anger walk away from the old ways of your life verse 29 then let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths but only such as is good for the building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear this church is really what we discussed this morning isn't it clean talk encouraging talk let's support one another in the things we say about one another a reminder for us brothers and sisters but friends also that in the list of sins when Paul and others list out sin gossip is named alongside homosexuality alongside murder alongside all the other big sins we might think about gossip's there the Lord judges gossip as strongly as he does murder let's be wary we're not engaged in talk that is corrupting in talk that is dangerous in gossip
[54:28] God is not mocked the Holy Spirit is not near to those who engage in gossip brothers and sisters we have seen I'm sure over many years in many contexts the danger of gossip even within our church families our conversations our talk is to build one another up not tear one another down no more slander no more bitterness verse 31 no more malice the Holy Spirit he cares about the details of our lives all these small bits and pieces which make us who we are he cares about it and the final reminder here is the final thought is if we're to live lives not grieving the spirit let's be careful in everything we do giving no place for the evil one no place for sin let's seek to live in a
[55:34] Christ like manner and from that we enjoy his presence and his peace brothers and sisters at the start we reminded ourselves it's not a salvation issue and if this evening as I'm sure you will have if we're being honest if you find yourself somewhere in this whole broad area of having done something that grieves the spirit the reminder is yes he is grieved and yes he might withdraw for a while but he has never gone from the life of a believer he is the seal of your salvation he will never leave you he is the guarantee of your inheritance that is yours guaranteed yours but you want to live a life where he is close to you you want to live a life where his presence is close where his peace is close a life where you are not spending time grieving him all the time the holy spirit he cares about your walk he cares about your journey why because he is
[56:40] God and he wants you to have a life that is made for you a life that serves him that glorifies him that encourages others a life that enables you to live the life you were made and created to live a full life a happy life a content life with him at the very centre of it so let's be wary and careful brothers and sisters let's not walk back to the old sins and thus grieve the spirit let's not walk away and be disunited thus grieving the holy spirit let's be careful in all the daily activities of our lives and anger and malice and arrogance and backbiting let's not grieve the holy spirit remembering that he is God he sees us he knows us but as we'll sing in a few short moments he also cares for us now friends I'm sure very much aware that was all for the christians this evening it was all for those who know and love the lord the warning is for us not to grieve the holy spirit that begs and it brings us to the thought yes christians can grieve the holy spirit yes he can withdraw himself away in his presence for a while but christians have the holy spirit he is ours he is in us he is with us he will never leave us he has made his home in us friends if as of yet you have not come to christ he's not in you he's not with you although grieving the holy spirit the christian chair will tell you it's a horrible thought it's a horrible experience it's a horrible feeling it's a horrible place to be it's a far better place to be than not having him at all and our plea and our cry and our prayer filled hope is we come to know
[58:57] Jesus and come and have his spirit come and live inside you I know it is to have him that assurance and that reassurance that he is yours that you are his that he knows you that he has you and that every day of your life every second of every day as the spirit lives and moves in you that you are guaranteed your place in glory guaranteed a lifetime of peace eternal guaranteed a place with a saviour forever and our hope is one day you'd know that for yourself let's put our heads in that a word of prayer Lord we thank you once more for the gift of your word Lord we find many hard sayings in your word many things which are challenging for us which which speak to us in ways that perhaps are uncomfortable for us help us Lord then this evening to sit and to be uncomfortable and to know that the uncomfortable feeling that comes from the word speaking to our hearts we ask forgiveness for the times and various ways we have grieved the Holy
[60:02] Spirit who has made his home in us we ask for any who are far away from you bring them back to yourself we ask for any instances of disunity Lord you would work in that and bring unity to where there may be disunity for any Christians or any of your people here this evening who are going through and harbouring secret sin Lord remove that from them help us together sisters and brothers sons and daughters to be united in that one spirit who lives and who moves in us help us to grieve him no longer and to enjoy the peace and the hope he brings to us confirming for us not just the seal of our salvation but also the hope of glory ahead ask all these things relying on his powerful work in our life for all we seek to do in service to you in Christ's name Amen let's close by singing
[61:05] Psalm 139 the next psalm we have there Psalm 139 Scottish Psalter Psalm 139 Psalm 139 these verses we know so well but speak so clearly what we've been saying this evening Psalm 139 verses 5 down to verse 12 behind before thou hast to be set and laid on me thine hand such knowledge is to the strange for me to hide to understand from thy spirit wherever shall I go or from thy presence fly ascend thy heaven lo thou art there where in hell I lie Psalm 139 verses 5 to 12 to God's praise me hide before thou hast best and live on me thy hand such knowledge to live for me to life to understand from thy spirit where shall
[62:37] I go far from thy presence I ascend thy hand Lord thy heart have been in hell thy life he died that morning wakes and dwell in the utmost parts of sea in in earth shall thy hand be if thy light and hope shall be if thy do say the dark hell shall be
[64:03] The day and night above me, the night.
[64:16] The darkness hide not from thee, but night of shining day.
[64:33] To thee, the darkness and the light above me, the night.
[64:51] In the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, both you now and forevermore. Amen.
[65:03] Amen.