Well, what we've been seeing in Ephesians over the past number of weeks is who the church is
! From God's perspective, not from ours.
What we've seen is the church is central to God's plan for history, to unite all things under Jesus Christ.
It's a plan that he achieves through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
It's a plan that's, in fact, being worked out right now through time and space, through his church,
as both Jews and Gentiles, people from every tribe, language and nations, are united together under the Lord Jesus.
That's really the summary of the first three chapters.
What we're starting to see now is that Christianity isn't about giving ourselves a little boost to live a better life,
a better version of the life that we're currently living.
What we're seeing is that Christianity is nothing less than being a Christian,
is nothing less than a sweeping revolution that changes every aspect of life.
And this is what Paul is addressing in the opening verse in our section today,
which is what he's already been doing since the beginning of chapter 4,
where he says,
What our topic today is, Paul's calling us here, is to be transformed.
That is, to be who we already are.
So, four points, which is going to be our progression today.
First of all, already transformed.
Now, the key to this whole section, and I'm really covering right through to chapter 5, verse 21,
the key to the section is verses 22 and 24, putting off the old self and putting on the new self.
Now, I need to get a little bit technical here for a moment, so just bear with me,
because it's really, really important.
I'm going to talk linguistics and language, and particularly in the original language of the New Testament,
the Greek language, both verse 22 and 24 is in what is called the aorist tense.
The verb there, to put on to put off, is in the aorist tense.
Now, the aorist tense is not something the English language, or virtually any other language, understands.
It doesn't, the aorist tense doesn't exist for English language.
But what it means, what the aorist tense means for Greek language,
is it's a single action that's happened in the past, that's finalised,
but has ongoing implications for my very present.
That's what the aorist tense means.
And what that means is, when you look at verse 22 and verse 24, putting on and putting off,
the Ephesians have already put off and have already put on.
That's what it means.
It's already happened.
And what it means is, in the past, there's been a conscious, decisive decision that they've made.
And it's been a decision to turn away from the old life, to take off the old life, like an old piece of garment,
and to put on a new self.
And what they've turned away from is described in verses 17 to 19.
You must no longer live, as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkening their understanding and separated from the life of God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardening of their hearts,
having lost all sensitivity.
They have given themselves over to sensuality, so as to indulge in every kind of impurity.
And they are full of greed.
Now, what we have here in these verses is Paul's psychology of unbelief, of life without God.
This is how our minds and our hearts work when they are separated from what Paul says here is the life in God,
the life of God.
It's a life that is marked by futility and vanity.
It's a sense, if you like, of doing life, of an awful lot of work, doing an awful lot of things,
and not actually getting anywhere.
Of all of those things, still having a sense of hollowness to it all,
not accomplishing anything.
And this futility leads to verse 19.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality,
so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
This futility in life means that eventually we give ourselves over to things.
Now, they are things like pleasures and activities and indulgences in life.
They are things that, on the surface, might appear to be harmful and good for us,
but all of those things are designed to soothe this sense of futility and vanity in life.
They are things, you know, you might say things like, well, you know, life might be futile,
but maybe it'd be better if I could run a marathon under three hours.
And so that becomes the driving force of my life, or if I'm financially secure in retirement,
or I've got more than 2,000 friends on Facebook, or I get an ATAR over 98,
or my kids are happy, or I've got a career that I'm validated in,
or that I've got the ability to have holidays wherever and whenever I want.
And what it says here, all of those things become the markers for who we are,
and it's designed to soothe this sense that my life is futile and a vanity.
And then eventually it says we give ourselves to them.
That is, we give ourselves over to them.
In other words, that they become the controlling things in our life.
They become the advantages of our life.
And we need it more and more and more.
I've achieved three hours marathon.
Maybe two and a half would be better now.
And it's a sense of I'm now controlled by the futility of life.
And that goes on, and I get busier and busier and busier
to try and hide the loud noise of futility that sits in my soul.
Until something forces me to stop and be confronted with the vanity of my life.
And that's what happened to the Ephesians in verses 20 and 22.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ
and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self,
which has been corrupted by its deceitful desires.
Now, again, there are three, another three verbs in there that are also in the aorist tense.
Decisive action in the past that's finished that is consequences for my present right now.
And what Paul's saying there is they lived in the futility of their life until a radical decision happened
and a radical change happened in their life.
In Christian circles, we call it conversion.
God calls it recreation.
He calls it new birth.
That's what Paul's referring to here.
It revolves the rejection of our former self, a life without God,
and the starting of an entire new life under and in God and under the lordship of Jesus.
And verse 20, the three verbs are,
you learned Christ, you heard Christ, and you were taught the truth that is in Christ.
What happened to them in the past is that they heard about Christ.
And then they heard the voice of Christ.
And in so doing, they discovered the truth that is Jesus.
And they turned from the old life to the new life.
They discovered the truth of who he is and what he has done for them.
And so what Paul's doing here in this first section is he's reminding the Ephesians here of their conversion,
of the moment that they took off their old self and they put on their new self,
when the truth of Jesus broke into their lives.
And he says,
you're already transformed.
But notice that in verses 25 and onwards,
and if you read to the end of chapter 5,
and in fact,
keep going really into chapter 6,
there are various moral actions and behaviours
that Paul is calling the Ephesian church,
in fact,
some to put off and equally others to put on.
He's still calling them to put off and put on.
But crucially,
we need to understand that before you get to verse 25,
verses 17 and 20 to 24 are there.
They come first.
Verses 22 and 24 talk about putting off the old self and putting on the new self,
not about putting off old behaviours and putting on new behaviours.
It's talking about the self,
the person.
Christianity,
this is essential
because way too many people get this wrong
in the church and outside the church.
Christianity is about being someone
before it's doing something.
First and foremost,
it's about becoming a whole new self.
It is a comprehensive revolution
that changes who you are
before it revolutionarily changes what you do and how you live.
That's possibly the biggest
and most common mistake people make about Christianity.
morality
is not Christianity.
Even biblical morality
is not Christianity.
Christianity is not about becoming more moral.
This is how most people look at it.
And to be honest with you,
I've,
over more than three decades,
I've had this conversation
so many times with people
and I'm confident
that in my old life,
I asked exactly the same questions.
It goes something like this.
Look, I'm interested in becoming a Christian,
but I'm just wondering,
if I do become a Christian,
do I need to stop having sex
with my married co-worker?
Like, will I need to do that?
I'm just weighing up here,
you know,
will I have to give money away?
Do I need to do that?
Do I need to come to church at all?
Do I have to forgive my parents
for not giving me the Porsche
on my 18th birthday?
Because I haven't spoken to them for 10 years.
Like, do I need to do that?
Now,
the answer is,
well,
yes,
ultimately,
in fact,
you'll see all of those behaviours
mentioned,
not in the details I just gave,
but you'll see them there
eventually,
but let me just say,
you've asked me the wrong questions
and you've got in Christianity
entirely wrong.
Entirely wrong.
Becoming a Christian
is about becoming a new person
before you live
with a new set of behaviours
and attitudes.
You haven't understood
what Christianity actually is
in asking those questions.
That's the first point.
Already transformed.
Secondly,
verse 25 says,
it starts with,
therefore.
And so what follows
is the implications
of the very fact
that they have already
taken off
and have put on.
Therefore,
because you have made
the decision
to throw off
your old self
once and for all,
you must now
put on
all conduct.
so you must continue
to put off
all conduct
that belongs
to the old self.
Throw it away.
And the point here
as we move on
is this new self
that we have taken on,
all of its behaviours
and attitudes,
you do not
naturally
drift
into it.
doesn't just happen.
We must actively
put it on.
Chapter 4,
verse 1,
which Ash
took us to last week,
calls us,
the Christian,
to live worthy
of the kingdom
that we've been
called into.
Verse 17 says,
stop living
the old life.
Chapter 5,
verse 3
refers to the old life
being in brother
for God's people.
Instead,
he calls us
in chapter 5,
verse 1 and 2,
follow God's example
therefore
as dearly loved children
and walk
in the way
of love
just as Christ
loved us
and gave himself
up for us
as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice
to God.
Ephesians 2,
which I was,
took us there
a number of weeks
ago now,
says that
the very essence
of the old life
of sin
is a life
which is centered
entirely on me.
It's a life
where everything
exists for my glory,
where my heart
is curved
towards myself.
It's a life
fundamentally
that is selfish,
no matter how
we cover it up
and make it look good.
That's the old self
and what we see here,
the new self
and all its behaviors
and attitudes
is the exact opposite.
it's a life
as chapter 5
tells us there,
a life of love.
It's a life
of personal
sacrifice,
of giving
and serving
and forgiving.
In fact,
everything
that's listed here
is about
building
relationships,
loving
others.
Third point,
how do we do that
then?
How to be transformed,
how to continue
to be transformed.
I want to spend
a bit of time
on this one
because,
frankly,
we all want
to change
and
it's one of the
preoccupations,
in fact,
of our
society
and yet
we always
struggle
to change.
It's one of the
things we kick
ourselves for,
how quickly
we have
New Year's Eve
resolutions
and
90-something
percent
fail
before the
end of January.
Struggle
to change.
So,
the first thing
we need to do,
there's three points
here,
and the first thing
is we need
a new motive,
a different motive
to change.
that is what
it's saying
is that
the reason
why we
do things
is critical.
It matters
critically.
Why we do
the things
we do
absolutely
matters.
It matters
so much
because it's
in fact
possible
to do
the entirely
right things
to do,
to even
live with
Christian morality
and to
do it
for the
wrong
reasons.
For
instance,
let's
take
raising
children.
And you
want to
raise your
child to
be truthful.
The main
ways that
we raise
children
ethically
and say,
for instance,
in the issue
of truth,
the main
ways we
do that
is through
fear
or pride.
Fear or
pride,
or maybe
a combination
of both.
Fear says
something like
this,
you better
tell the
truth or
I'll
punish you.
Liars,
or God
will be
angry with
you,
or even
take it
even further,
all liars
go to
hell.
Or you're
going to get
found out,
and if you
get found
out, people
won't trust
you, they
won't like
you.
That's
fear.
pride says
something like,
oh, awful
people lie.
Awful, awful
people lie.
Truthful people
are good
people, but
awful people
are bad,
bad people.
God will
bless you if
you tell the
truth.
And so
what happens
in that
moment is
an external
pressure for
fear or
pride.
Fear, I
don't want to
get caught, I
don't want to
be punished.
Pride, I
don't want to
be like the
awful people,
and if I'm
not like the
awful people,
therefore I'm
a good
person.
Fear and
pride.
External
pressures to
tell the
truth.
And the
reason
the reason
I will
tell the
truth is
because I'm
motivated by
self-interest.
That's the
reason I do
it.
It's about
me.
It's got
nothing to
do with
damaging the
life of the
person that I'm
lying to.
It's got
nothing to
do with
whether it
honors God
or not.
It's about
me.
And it's
no different
than Ephesians
2 and my
life being
curved in
on myself.
And so I
pursue
Christian
morality for
my sake.
And that
works for a
little while.
But then
there's a
time when
telling the
truth doesn't
work for me
because there's
something else
that's even
more valuable
to me in my
identity.
And that
might be,
for instance,
being rich.
rich.
And so
when the
opportunity
presents
itself,
I will
lie,
I will
falsify,
I will
embezzle.
And if I
ever get
caught out in
that moment
for doing
those things,
I go,
I don't know
what happened
to me.
This is not
who I am.
I'm not a
liar.
I was not
brought up
to be a
liar.
And the
answer to
that is,
well,
of course
you are.
Of course
you were
brought up
to lie.
You were
brought up
to make
everything about
you,
and that is
why you've
embezzled.
It's why
you've lied.
It's why
you're
falsified.
You've been
practicing
new self
behaviors out
of an old
self heart.
And it's
been working
for a little
while.
But ultimately
it doesn't.
And there
are churches
all over
this country
right now,
like this
one,
meeting,
and there
are people
sitting beside
each other
in those
churches,
living with
the same
moral frameworks,
but doing
it for
entirely
different
reasons.
Entirely
different
reasons.
There are
those who
are doing
it because
they hope
God approves
of them in
the end,
or because
it makes
them feel
superior to
those who
are not
living the
way they're
living,
fear and
pride.
And there
are those
who are
doing it
simply out
of gratitude.
for God's
grace
in Jesus
Christ,
taking them
from darkness
to light,
from death
to life,
from the
old self
to the
new self,
and so
they're doing
the life
they're doing,
they're living
the life,
they have the
behaviours,
they're just
out of joy,
out of joy.
So that's
the first
thing we
need to
change,
to really
change,
and that's
a different
motive from
the heart,
an internal
motive as
opposed to
external
compliance.
The second
source of
this new,
and the
second thing,
and I think
it's the
source of
this new
motive,
is we need
a new
identity.
We've seen
that we've
been made
an entirely
new person
in Jesus
Christ.
Chapter 5,
verse 1,
is the
Christian's
new identity.
Follow God's
example,
therefore,
as dearly
loved
children.
Verse 3,
his holy
people.
Verse 8,
you are his
children.
Light
in the
Lord,
which means
in
Christ,
you are
light,
not dark.
You've
been
forgiven
and made
new in
him.
That is,
God has
loved us,
he has
chosen us,
he has
called us,
he has
forgiven us,
he's
redeemed us,
he's filled
us,
he's changing
us,
and one
day he
will glorify
us.
The
almighty
God,
who alone
is holy,
who is
all-powerful,
who is
perfect,
he has
set his
unconditional,
undeserved,
sacrificial,
adopting,
redeeming love,
on you,
the Christian.
And it
is
all a
gift.
Not one
moral act
on your
behalf
has caused
him to
turn his
face towards
you.
Not one
positive good
thing that
you've done
has made
him approve
of you.
it is
all about
him and
his
perfection
and
desiring
to impute
it to
us,
to give
it to
us as
a gift.
And he
knows
already
the darkness
of the
heart,
the hardness
of the
heart,
the greed,
the debauchery,
the impurity.
He knows
it all.
And yet
he's still
set his
face towards
us,
designed
to love
and to
take us
from old
to new.
And it's
because of
who the
gift giver
is,
in his
sovereign
grace,
what he
has set
his face
towards us,
his love
in determining
us that we
are his
children,
that will
never
change.
That will
never
change.
As I
said to my
group on
Friday night,
there is
no sin
so small
that it's
not eternally
damnable.
And there
is no sin
so great
that it's
not eternally
forgivable.
you see,
deep and
enduring
change in
life comes
from an
internal
motive,
and the
only
energizing
motive is
an entirely
new
identity.
And as
we grow to
understand who
we are as
his children,
it will
shape our
hearts in
such a
way,
change our
motives in
such a
way that we
will take
on his
new
framework of
life in
determining what
is right and
what is wrong,
what is good and
what is bad for
my life.
And we will
live into
that.
so where do
you get your
ethical framework
from?
Where does it
come from?
TV,
family,
your culture,
friends,
social media,
maybe it's just
a vibe,
a feeling.
Like Donald
Trump said,
the war in Iran
will end when I,
he said,
I'll feel it
in my bones.
Maybe that's
it.
It feels the
right thing to
do.
I mean,
I laugh at
that,
but that is
the current
young generation.
It feels like
the right thing
to do.
Or is it
God and
his word?
You see,
it's not
until the
source of
right and
wrong shifts
to God's
word do we
actually change.
And it shifts
because of our
new identity.
identity.
Our new
identity
is shading
a new
motive.
There's a
parallel passage
to this,
Ephesians
passage,
in the
book of
Colossians.
Paul also
wrote that.
Chapter 3,
verse 16,
Paul writes,
let the word
of God dwell
in you
richly.
Now,
what he's
saying there
in Colossians
3.16,
it's not
just,
oh,
you know,
read the
Bible.
He's not
just simply
saying here,
read the
Bible,
you know,
a chapter
a day will
keep the
devil away
kind of
stuff,
keep God
happy.
It's in
fact having
God's
word imminently
!
present in
your heart,
the driving
center of
your life
through your
mind.
It's pushing
the reality
of God's
word down
into the
very center
and the
driving
being of
my life.
So let's
go back
to Ephesians
now.
Remember
I said
Ephesians
verse 22
and 24
were in
the what
tense?
The
aorist
tense.
A single
past action
that's
completed
with present
consequences.
I've already
taken off
the old
self,
already put
on the
new
self.
In the
middle of
verses 22
and 24
logically is
verse 23
as it
happens.
And
verse 23
is how
we consistently
take off
the old
and put
on the
new.
Verse 23
is how
it happens.
And
verse 23
is not
in the
aorist
tense.
It's
in,
for those
with pens
you might
want to
write this
down,
don't,
because it
probably won't
mean anything
to you
anyway.
Verse 23
is in
what is
called the
present
middle
infinitive
tense
of a
verb.
And let
me tell
you what
that
means.
It
means
putting
on
and
putting
off
is a
continuous
action
that you
do
while it's
being done
to you.
That's
what that
means.
And a
good way
to read
verse
23
is
something
like this.
Constantly
be made
new
in the
spirit
of your
thinking.
be made
new.
So in
other words
you are
being made
new.
That is
something
that's
being done
to you
while you
were doing
it.
Now
what he's
saying there
is he
didn't just
say because
he'd been
made renewed
as you
read the
Bible.
Or as
you think.
He didn't
just say
as you
think.
It's
literally
the spirit
of your
thinking
which is
a very
unusual
term.
for Paul.
It's
more than
rational
thought.
It is
more
the spirit
of your
thinking
is more
like the
idea of
the direction
of your
thinking.
It is
the state
of your
mind.
It is
the inner
life of
your
thinking.
To have
or as
some
commentators
have put it
it is
be renewed
by having
your
imagination
being taken
captive.
By what?
Verse 20
and 21
again.
That however
is not the
way of life
you learned
when you
were heard
about Christ
were taught
in him
in accordance
with the
truth that
is in
Jesus.
The way
to be
constantly
renewed
in the
spirit of
our
thinking
is not
to focus
on
Christian
morality
or Christian
principles
or Christian
ethics
or even
dare I
say
key
doctrines.
It is
to focus
not on a
principle
not on a
dogma
but on a
person.
It's to
focus on a
person.
not even
on a
title
but on a
person.
And the
reason I
say that
interesting
again
verse 21
is the
only time
in all
of Ephesians
where Paul
doesn't use
the term
Jesus
Christ
Jesus
or simply
Christ
he says
Jesus.
It's the
only time
he says
Jesus.
That's
what he
writes.
And normally
in Ephesians
he's
emphasizing the
lordship of
Christ over
all things
and here
he draws
their attention
to the
man
Jesus.
Why?
Because
the key
to being
transformed
from the
inside out
giving us
a new
identity
and a
new
motive
and all
its
behaviors
you know
taking off
the old
self
with all
its
behaviors
and putting
on the
new
self
with all
of its
characteristics
and behaviors
becoming
more loving
more selfless
more forgiving
is to be
captivated by
the man
Jesus.
You see
the Christian
life
and what
Paul's
calling us
to here
Christian
ethics
Christian
behavior
Christian
morality
makes
absolutely
no sense
at all
unless
they are
seen
through the
lens of
the person
Jesus.
No
sense.
That's
why when
the person
says you
know do
I need
to stop
gossiping
and become
a Christian?
You know
well I need
to stop
that life
of slander
and gossip
in order
to be
a Christian
you've
not
understood
Christianity.
You're
focusing on
a behavior
not a
person
and when
you see
the person
you'll
understand
that gossiping
and slanderous
is damnable
to hell
because of
who Jesus
is.
And what
specifically
are we
meant to
see?
We're
meant to
see Jesus
moving in
the opposite
direction that
we've been
moving.
We've
taken off
the old
and put on
the new.
He was
already new
and he put
on our
old.
We need
to see
that
happening.
We can
only take
off the
old
corrupt
self
of
darkness
and
death
and
decay
and
eternal
destruction
and put
on the
new
self
of
life
and
life
and
renewal
and
glory
because
Jesus
went
the
opposite
for
us.
Ephesians
2 says
he was
equal
with God
with all
his
perfect
love
and
splendor
and
majesty
and
glory
but he
laid
it
aside
and
he
entered
took
on
human
flesh
he
entered
all
the
suffering
the
darkness
the
evil
the
sin
the
corruption
of
this
world
he
identified
with us
and he
traded
places
with us
when he
went to
the cross
he
bore
!
Human
history's
entire
old
self
on
himself
and
where it
says in
chapter 5
God's
wrath
gets poured
out
on
such
sin
he
allowed
God's
wrath
to be
poured
out
on
him
instead
he
took
on
our
old
self
so
we
could
have
his
perfect
self
he
took
on
the
corruption
so
that
we
could
have
his
holiness
he
was
hated
so
that
we
could
be
loved
he
was
put
to
death
so
that
we
could
have
life
and
when
we
are
captivated
by
Jesus
doing
the
opposite
for
us
captivate
we
actually
start
to
see
that
what
he
outlines
here
in
the
Christian
life
makes
entire
sense
as
we're
captivated
by
him
the
new
identity
grows
and so
does
the
internal
motive
of
wanting
to
please
him
and
be
like
him
in
everything
so
finally
and
really
quickly
there
is
a
fourth
point
and
I'm
going
to
brush
over
this
real
fast
what
does
it
look
like
what
might
be
the
signs
of
such
transformation
how
can
I
tell
whether
I'm
truly
being
transformed
or
if
I'm
just
taking
on
certain
behaviours
first
of
all
this
is
a
summary
of
verses
5
to
14
the
transforming
Christian
knows
their
sin
and
they
walk
in
obedience
they
know
their
sin
they
don't
minimise
their
sin
as
the
Christian
grows
they
have
a
growing
sense
of
just
how
comprehensive
and
evil
their
sin
is
and
comprehensive
in the
sense
of the
power
that it
has
over
their
hearts
the
guilt
of
their
sin
the
guilt
that
is
required
of
their
sin
and
also
the
forgiveness
of
sin
the
forgiveness
of
sin
that is
what
they're
doing
is
as a
Christian
grows
they
grow
deeper
and
deeper
and
deeper
in
grieving
and being
aware
of
their
sin
and
higher
and
higher
and
higher
of
understanding
if
that's
how
deep
my
sin
is
that's
how
great
God's
forgiveness
is
you
do
both
they
correspond
to
both
and
they
hold
it
in
balance
there
is
no
sin
so
small
that
it's
not
damnable
and
there's
no
sin
so
great
that
it's
not
forgivable
secondly
in
verses
15
to
17
the
growing
Christian
knows
the
time
and
they
walk
in
wisdom
the
transforming
Christian
the
ones
being
changed
knows
that
obedience
is
not
simply
obeying
rules
but
it's
about
living
life
rightly
under
the
lordship
of
Christ
for
his
glory
when
there
appears
to be
no
rule
in
the
Bible
associated
with
this
particular
action
or
activity
which
is
probably
80%
of what
we do
day
by
day
the
Bible
speaks
to
it
directly
or
it
forms
the
categories
by
which
I
approach
it
that
is
to
grow
in
wisdom
they
are
careful
they
are
thoughtful
they
are
maximizing
the
time
right
now
in
view
of
the
end
they
don't
compartmentalize
Jesus
just to
a
Sunday
morning
in
their
life
and a
couple
of
other
activities
he
is
their
life
captivated
by
Christ
the
growing
Christian
doesn't
look for
a rule
to
obey
they
seek
to
make
Jesus
look
great
in
all
of
life
they
seek
to
reflect
him
and be
like
him
in
all
of
life
and
they
redeem
the
time
and
they
pursue
his
kingdom
and not
their
own
glory
thirdly
verses
18
to
21
knowing
the
Lord
the
growing
Christian
knows
the
Lord
and
they
walk
in
joy
why
does
Paul
put
here
in
this
section
why
does
he
say
don't
get
drunk
on
wine
instead
be
filled
with
the
Holy
Spirit
why
connect
those
two
why
not
say
don't
be
greedy
and
don't
have
sex
outside
of
marriage
but
instead
be
filled
with
the
Holy
Spirit
he
could
have
done
that
couldn't
he
why
not
do
that
well
it's
because
of
verses
like
this
in
the
Bible
Psalm
104
verse
15
wine
the
glad
and
human
heart
judges
9
13
should
I
give
up
my
wine
which
cheers
both
God
and
humans
Zechariah
10
7
their
hearts
will
be
glad
as
with
wine
and
so
see
the
theme
here
one
of the
markers
of this
new
self
is
joy
not
duty
but
joy
despite
the
circumstances
of my
life
instead
of
wine
soothing
the
futility
of my
life
the
spirit
now
is
working
through
the
word
of
God
to
fill
my
heart
with
hope
and
purpose
and
joy
in
such
a
way
that
it
overflows
with
songs
of
praise
to
God
there
is
something
not
right
about
the
consistently
miserable
Christian
the
grumblers
read the
book of
numbers
and see
the
grumblers
grumbling
joy
grows
as we
are
captivated
by
Jesus
because
you
see
more
and
more
that
you
can
lose
everything
in
life
and
still
have
absolutely
everything
in
him
and
so
let
me
just
say
very
briefly
by way
of
application
all
of
our
seven
rhythms
at
this
church
our
rhythms
of
grace
exist
to
get
us
into
the
habit
of
being
captivated
by
Jesus
that's
why
they
exist
to
be
captivated
by
Jesus
that
he
might
feel
our
imaginations
and
our
lives
and
that
we
might
change
that
we
might
become
more
confident
of
our
forgiveness
that
we
might
become
more
wise
that
we
become
more
joyful
and so
make
a
decisive
choice
now
to
take
your
next
step
to
become
transformed
because
Christian
you are
transformed
a
ending