In Ephesians chapter 4, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 25 through 29.
! I want you to follow along in your Bible as I read this passage, and then I would ask that you join me in prayer as we come together and ask the work of the Spirit of God in giving to us hearts that are attentive to us.
Intentive, humble, teachable.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Be angry and do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.
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 mouth, but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Let us pray.
Father God, this morning we need your help.
I need your help to preach the Scriptures accurately, and by your grace and your enabling to allow the Word to be applied practically.
Father God, this morning we need your help to pray.
That those who are here today and know the Lord Jesus Christ would have the Word of God form and shape the things they say and the things they think.
That all of us together would be better illustrations of the power of the cross and the power of salvation.
Father, we also pray for those who are here among us today that do not know Christ, who perhaps know of Him in an intellectual sense.
They know the facts or they've heard His name, but they do not have the sweet personal relationship that comes because of grace,
that first draws them to see the absolute moral bankruptcy of their soul, the darkness of their heart,
and then draws them to cry out and ask for salvation.
We pray, Father, that all that takes place this morning would cause us to grow in our affection for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we ask this because of Him.
Amen.
One of the lessons that I learned over the years in ministry is that conversion is really more than a set of rules.
The wonder and the power of God in transforming a person's life by conversion is something that is spectacular.
In fact, it tells us in the book of Luke that angels do what?
What do the angels do when a person is genuinely converted?
What do they do?
They get happy.
They rejoice.
I can't help but think back to the book of Job where it talks about the fact that as angels watched God in creation
and they saw Him forming the stars and all the miraculous things that He did,
they couldn't contain themselves.
They broke out in just absolute praise and worship as they saw the power of God at play.
And it tells us that when genuine conversion takes place in a person's life that it is in every sense as spectacular and wonderful an issue as creation was,
so you can understand that angels would rejoice.
What we're looking at actually this morning in Ephesians chapter 4 is a practical application to the matter of what conversion really is.
Paul took three chapters to teach us the glory of God in conversion,
explaining to us the miraculous, the undeniable, amazing fact that He would take people who are dead in trespasses and sin,
miserably broken by Satan, and He would transform them.
And in chapter 4, 5, and 6, Paul then begins to lay out very carefully and thoughtfully a clear picture of what is so spectacular and evident about conversion.
The fact of the matter is, is that conversion changes us on the inside.
Isn't that right?
It says, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creator.
You're different.
And so it's practical and it's understandable that having made this argument for the unbelievable glory of God in salvation,
Paul then would take the time to explain what salvation actually produces in a person's life.
And we're looking at the practical application of, so if a person's converted, what really changes about them?
And we're going to be looking at several things here in the passage,
and we will work our way through it to kind of get a better understanding about what really is different about a person who really knows Christ.
Verse 25,
Therefore, having put away falsehood, and that idea of putting away falsehood kind of takes us back just a little bit to what we studied last week
where it talked about the fact that the believer puts off the old man and puts on the new man.
His past, his behavior from prior to his conversion, that's the old, that's the way he used to be.
Now he is something different, and he's in the process of putting on those characteristics that reflect the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so here is Paul, and he says, listen, we move from lying to being truthful.
Now you may wonder why Paul starts out with lying.
It isn't the first of the Ten Commandments.
It isn't the first with promise.
But here is Paul talking about the fact that conversion makes us radically different,
and he starts out dealing with the matter of lying.
And probably most of us are sitting here thinking to ourselves,
well, that's not the one I have the most problem with.
The truth of the matter is that lying is something that is far more pervasive than we may think.
In fact, let me rephrase this.
Lying is far more pervasive in your life than you think,
and lying is more pervasive in my life than I may think.
And so when the Spirit of God says to me,
Tim Kenoyer, you need to work at not lying,
you need to think very carefully, all right?
Well, that's good for them?
No, no, no, it's also good for me.
And we need to think very carefully about what is actually involved in lying
and its application to our lives.
We understand about people lying.
You listen to the news.
Depending on which channel you go to,
what do you immediately think when you hear the news?
You're always thinking that they're giving their spin.
That's a very polite way of talking about manipulating the truth
for their particular side or their preference.
Isn't that right?
Have you ever heard the saying that statistics never lie,
but liars use statistics?
It's amazing how adept we can be at framing an argument
or forming the idea that we want to communicate
and then casting it out there and thinking,
well, Lee, we pulled that off.
I also get a chuckle out of those people
who in their brassy arrogance will make statements like this,
well, at least I never lie.
Have you ever heard anybody like that?
At least I never lie.
That person is a lie walking
because when they say I never lie,
what they're really saying is that I use the truth
to manipulate the situation to serve myself.
And when I dump on you or when I smack you like I do
and I kind of hide behind that argument of,
hey, at least I never lie, I'm all about me.
And my dark, nasty little heart is taking advantage
of using a portion of the truth to use it to my advantage.
Well, I want to stop and ask ourselves the question,
why does Paul start with lying?
I want you to think here just for a moment
and understand this truth.
Our mouth is the primary advertisement of our character.
And Paul puts what comes out of our mouth
as the first thing on the list of things
that are to be different
because we've been converted by the cross.
Paul wants us to understand
that what comes out of the mouth of the believer,
listen to me carefully,
is to be different.
Isn't that right?
So what happened after you got saved?
Well, I started speaking differently.
Right?
If God has the power to save,
should He make a change in your tongue?
And the answer from all of God's people is,
you betcha.
In fact, if there is no evidence of a change
from what is happening on your tongue,
you better go back and ask the Father,
what's going on here?
Now, am I suggesting that all of it changes immediately?
And what is the answer?
No.
But here's the truth.
There should be a difference
in what comes out of your mouth.
A lying Christian,
I want you to understand this,
insults the Father
and raises a question of pedigree.
A lying Christian
insults the Father
and raises a question of pedigree.
Now, why would I say pedigree?
Because here's the deal.
Jesus, when He was speaking about Satan,
He said,
Satan is the...
What?
Does anybody remember?
He is the father of lies,
and it goes on to say this,
and He really speaks according to His character.
Satan just lies because that's who he is.
He's a liar.
And when he opens his mouth,
guess what comes out?
Just the standard old thing.
It's a lie.
As a side note,
don't go huffing and puffing out of here
deciding that what you're going to do
is be unkind and brutal with your truth
and then hide behind the fact
that you're not a person who lies anymore.
I want to remind you of what it says in verse 15.
It says this,
Rather speaking the truth in what?
In love.
We're to speak the truth in love.
Now, we do come to a very interesting statement
in this matter of lying
and the matter of speaking the truth
because we recognize here
that wholesome body life
depends on loving truthfulness.
Mark what it says in verse 25.
Put away lying, falsehood.
Let each of you speak truth with his what?
His neighbor.
Neighbor isn't close enough
and he says this,
For we are members one of another.
There is a far greater connectedness
in the thinking of the apostle
than most of us
when it comes to the matter
of the way we speak to each other.
As I was thinking about this
today,
earlier in the morning,
I was thinking of how
the physical body,
thankfully, in my case,
the brain kind of is all connected
and controls everything else,
but as a result of that interconnection,
my right hand and my left hand
have some moderate sensitivity
to one another
and they behave
according to that sensitivity.
Just imagine that the right hand
gets a little irritated
with something that the left hand does.
And so the right hand
picks up a hammer
and says,
Well, I'm going to be truthful with you
and since you messed up,
I'm going to just give you
a little gentle love tap
right there on the digit
so you get the memo
that this is not acceptable.
You know, it's a,
Ah!
What is going on?
Paul says,
Listen, think about this.
He says,
You are to be truthful
with one another
because you are connected.
One of the sadder things
that I have had to deal with,
one of the,
we're in the process,
we're searching for a family
youth pastor.
And I really didn't realize
how unusual it is
for pastors to stay.
Now,
I've had more men,
I can't believe you've stayed,
I can't believe you've stayed.
One of the things
that has been sad to me
is the number of times
I've seen people leave this church
and go somewhere else
because of some things
that others in the body
have said to them.
I remember sitting in a home
where an individual
brought something up
that had happened
and I asked the question,
When did this happen?
Because I had,
I'd only been here
like about 11 or 12 years
and this person said,
17 years ago.
And they were filled with,
with a,
an embittered spirit
at just bringing it up.
Well,
for one thing,
I thought to myself,
wow,
if,
if it bothered you
for 17 long years,
shame on you
for not dealing
with it biblically.
Now,
Paul says this,
he says,
listen,
when you speak to one another,
speak to one another
with respect
to your relationship
in the family of God.
Some of you know Kenoyers,
others of you don't,
but the Kenoyers
are fairly straightforward people
when it really comes
to within family dynamics,
but I'll tell you what,
we don't pull off
drive-by shootings
with each other.
And the reason we don't
pull off drive-by shootings
is because we know
we're going to be together
until they put one
or the other
in a pine box.
So I want you to mark
the focus of the Spirit
of God here.
Loving truthfulness
is a church life
and health thing.
That's what the Spirit
is saying here
at the moment
in verse 25.
So when was the last time
you thought about
telling the truth
with a quiet,
gentle spirit
because you had really
thought out
how does my being truthful
help the body?
Most of us tend to think
about using the truth
in a narrow perspective
of how it suits us
or our agenda.
What we want.
Let me spell out
several principles
to help you
with truthfulness
in the body.
First of all
would be start
with your own walk.
Matthew chapter 7
Jesus says,
hey, before you go
do brain surgery
on somebody else,
that's not the passage
but you understand
the point.
Matthew chapter 7
what do you deal with?
You deal with something
in your own eye
before you try to go
help somebody else.
In Galatians chapter 6
verse 1 and 2
it says,
when you see someone
who's been overtaken
with a fault,
you who are spiritual
do what?
Restore such a one
with a spirit
of meekness.
Secondly,
really be about the body
not yourself.
How does this issue
that I'm addressing
have bearing
on the well-being
of the bride?
How does it relate
to the family
of God
that He has made me
to be part of?
Third,
don't be a drive-by shooter.
You know what I mean
by a drive-by shooter?
Well, I told him.
You know,
kind of,
it's like trick-or-treat.
You know,
you ring the doorbell
and leave.
And that's not
what Paul has in mind here
when he says,
let every man speak truth
with his neighbor.
He's not talking about
kind of an unkind
little broadside
in which you really
nail the person
to the wall
and all that
vituperative attitude
that's kind of built up
inside,
it kind of blows up
and everybody gets
fragged in the process.
That's not it.
I remind you also
of the fact
that when we speak
the truth,
we are to bring
the grace of Christ
and His Word
into play.
Let me make an appeal.
I want you to turn
in your Bibles.
I'm going to come back
to this passage again,
but this is a passage
that last week
just got a hold of me
in a fashion
that really has gripped me.
Isaiah chapter 50,
verse 4.
Isaiah,
here,
hey,
you want a verse
to memorize?
This one.
Isaiah 50,
verse,
go ahead and look at it.
It's not going to be
on the screen.
Is it, Connie?
It's not going to be
on the screen.
I didn't plan
for it to be on the screen.
So it's not going
to be on the screen.
You have to use
your own Bible.
If you don't have one,
there's one in the pew
in front of you,
or you can ask your name.
Go ahead,
grab the other person's Bible
and pull it over.
And it's like,
I'm Sharon.
I didn't know
we'd need a Bible
when we came.
Yeah, you do.
Okay.
Isaiah 50,
verse 4.
The Lord God
has given me
the tongue
of those who are taught
that I may know
how to sustain
with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning
he awakens me.
He awakens my ear
to hear
as those
who are taught.
Keep your finger
in this passage.
Turn over in your Bible,
if you would,
to John chapter 12.
By the way,
the passage that
we have just looked at
in Isaiah
is a messianic passage.
That means that it has
direct application
to Christ.
But over in John chapter 12,
verse 49,
Jesus says something
that is rather interesting.
He says this,
For I have not spoken
on my own authority,
but the Father
who sent me
has himself
given me a commandment,
what to say
and what to speak.
Are you thinking with me?
Jesus says,
I'm not out here
freestyling
and saying what I think.
I am speaking
according
to what the Father
wants me to say.
How did that happen?
If you look back
at the passage
in Isaiah chapter 50,
Jesus says this.
This passage
was written of him.
God has given me
the tongue
of those
who are taught.
And when did I learn
what was the right thing
to say?
Morning by morning
he awakens.
He awakens
my ear
to hear
as those who are taught.
Listen to me.
Sidebar.
I shared this
in Sunday school,
but the truth
of the matter is
is that
the biggest problem
most of us have
with sin
is with our tongue.
Is that true?
Oh no,
I have a big problem
with murderous thoughts,
not with my tongue.
No,
that's not true.
James says this.
If you can handle
the tongue,
you're on top
of the game,
right?
Isn't that
free translation there?
Some of you
would tweak me afterwards.
My email,
send it to me.
But,
you know,
James says this.
If any man doesn't
offend with his tongue,
he's got it together.
I tell you what,
I have more verses
memorized on the tongue
than on any other part
of the spiritual walk
for Tim Kenoyard.
You know why?
Because I can say
some awful things
without practice.
Years ago,
it became evident to me
that my tongue
was not what it should be
and I began saying,
how do I change this?
I could be funny.
I could be sarcastic.
I could be critical.
I specialized in figuring out
what people's weak spots were
and when I wanted to,
I could bring those up
and I could cut them to shreds.
And I began memorizing
bunches of passages
of Scripture
about the tongue.
And when I read this passage
in Isaiah,
morning by morning,
he awakens me.
He awakens my ear.
Isaiah,
Ephesians rather,
five or four.
Let's look at a second thing
that Paul talks about.
He says here,
he says,
you're to speak truth
because we're neighbors,
but then he says,
be angry and do not sin.
So,
conversion moves us
from harmful anger
to godly response.
And some of you are thinking,
well, now we're coming
to a verse I can deal with.
Yeah,
get angry.
I've done that.
I put holes in drywall.
I put my foot through a door.
Now,
I'm not talking about
Tim Kenoyer,
but some of you
sitting there thinking,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
Go for it, pastor.
Preach that one.
Now,
here's the deal.
Anger is actually
more complex
than we might think.
It's a response
to a perceived offense
or threat.
Anger is really
a human emotion
and it's not
necessarily sinful.
Jesus was angry
on more than one occasion.
For one,
it tells us
that when he cleansed
the temple,
that made him angry
to see what people
were doing
to his father's house.
But another illustration
is over in Mark chapter 3
when he looked at
the hardness
of the hearts
of the Pharisees
in the face
of his healing
and it says
he got angry with them.
Being angry
about some things
is essential
and necessary.
For example,
we should be angry
when God is offended.
We should be angry
when sin
raises its ugly head.
I did not watch
Miley Cyrus last week
and I did not click
on any of the videos
related to what happened.
but I was angered
by the incessant
twittering
and the incessant
conversation
about something
that was so vile
and so disgusting
to the Lord.
Now there's something else
that really should
get us going.
Are you listening?
We're fairly good
at getting angry
about other people's sin.
Do you follow that?
We're horrible
about getting angry
about our own.
And if you turn
in your Bible,
you're in Ephesians
chapter 5,
just keep your finger
there because we're
coming back,
but go back
to a passage
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 7
verse 9 through 11.
By the way,
this is probably
one of those
go-to passages
when you're trying
to really figure out
am I serious
about changing?
Am I really serious
about my sin?
Or am I kind of
coasting through,
kind of playing
spiritual games?
I'm not really into this.
See, we're all
dealing with the problem
of indwelling sin.
We're dealing with
the battle in our own life.
2 Corinthians chapter 7
describes the characteristics
of genuine repentance.
9 through 11.
Paul says this.
He says,
As for me,
I rejoice not because
you were grieved,
but because you were
grieved unto repenting.
For you felt a godly grief
so that you suffered
no loss through us.
For godly grief
produces a repentance
that leads to salvation
without regret,
whereas worldly grief
produces death.
See what earnestness
this godly grief
has produced in you,
but also what eagerness
to clear yourself,
what indignation.
Now,
who are you indignant with?
Yourself.
I cannot believe
that I have dishonored Christ.
I cannot believe
the offense
that my sin is
against the holy God.
I am appalled with that.
Well,
I do want you to understand
that while there are times
for us to be angry,
there are also times
where anger is wrong,
anger is wrong,
and it's sinful.
And such anger
has no place
in the believer's life.
Being all stirred up
about not getting your way,
being all in a turmoil
because of an offense
that you've endured
or a disappointment
or because someone
has done something
that was harmful to you,
you have to stop
and ask yourself,
and say,
what am I getting angry about,
really?
Is this something
that really at the heart
of it tweaks me
because I'm so supremely
concerned about
the glory of Christ
and the importance
of God
that that's why I'm upset?
No, no, no.
Most of the time
we're stomping around
and we've got a pout
on our face
because of us.
I do want you
to mark something else
in the passage
going back to 1 Corinthians.
It says,
don't let the sun
go down on your wrath.
Be angry and sin not.
Don't let the sun
go down on your wrath.
Well, that means
that if somebody
offends me,
I'd better get it settled
and take it out on them
by the end of the day.
That's not what it's saying.
It's saying this,
that neglecting
that which has been
perceived as an offense
will allow it to fester.
Things that fester
cause heartache.
So when something
is really bothering you,
there are a couple things
that I would encourage you
to do in relationship
to that.
For one,
deal with it.
Deal with it.
Deal with it now.
Deal with it in the context
in which it happened.
Now,
a preface to that
would be that
when you find yourself
all stirred up,
none of us struggle
with anger.
We're good Christians
and all that.
But when you see
somebody else stirred up,
you want to talk to them
and say,
take a minute,
take a deep breath,
pray a little bit
and say,
Lord,
is there anything
that I need to work on
in my life
before I go launch
and help somebody else?
Quiet yourself
before the Lord
and say,
hey,
I need help here
before I go do anything.
Sometimes it takes
a time of prayer
and some planning
before you go deal with it.
I have to tell you
that as a parent,
I would almost,
as I got older,
in my younger days,
I didn't practice
this as much,
but as I got older,
when my kids
would do something wrong,
I would send them upstairs.
I'd say,
I want you to go upstairs
and spend some time
thinking and praying.
Guess what I was doing?
I was doing that
because generally,
unfortunately,
I would probably
let it go a little too far
and then I would really
get irritated with the fact,
why didn't they just
listen to what I said
and if they were following
my instruction,
wouldn't I,
and I was right at,
I'm ready to deal with it
and I'd go upstairs
and pray myself
and then go take care of it.
Well,
when it says,
don't let the sun
go down on your wrath,
what do you do
when you can't really
deal with the problem?
How many of you
had people
who were your superiors
that did something wrong
and made you angry
and you knew
that it was going to be
a deal breaker,
a show stopper,
you're going to be
out the door
if you really went
and let them have it,
right?
Tried to solve the problem.
Sometimes there are things
we can't solve
and when we can't solve it,
God says it's His business.
Look in the Bible,
if you will,
just for a moment
over to a passage
in Romans chapter 12,
Romans chapter 12,
verse 19.
This is one that you may want
to underline
and have somebody else memorize.
Beloved,
verse 19,
never avenge yourself.
See,
some of the times
when our anger gets cooked,
our anger will only be satisfied
once we really let them know
that they did wrong.
Oh, I'm sorry.
How can I,
you know,
that we want to solve the problem.
Sometimes you can't do that
and Paul says this,
hey, listen,
never go after revenge.
But leave it to the wrath of God
for it is written,
vengeance is mine,
I will repay,
saith the Lord.
Sometimes what we do
in that day
before the sun goes down,
we say,
God,
this is your problem.
I'm going to let you have it.
It's not my problem.
I'll go ahead
and talk about it a little bit.
I happen to think
that the NCAA
did not deal with
Johnny Manziel
the way they've dealt
with many other individuals
when it comes to
violating NCAA standards.
And I see some people
hyperventilating
on Facebook about it
and I thought to myself,
you know what?
Not worth the trouble
because here's the deal.
I happen to know
that Scripture says
God lifts up
the humble.
He does what
to the arrogant?
He deals with the proud.
So it's like,
God,
He's yours.
Oh, by the way,
there is one little prayer
to follow after with this.
Are you listening?
And be as merciful
to Him
as you've been to me.
Can you do that?
And be as merciful
to Him
as you've been with me.
Right?
We can say that.
Oh, Lord,
I'm handing this off
and I want these people
dealt with
like Sodom and Gomorrah
and I'm giving you 24.
Now,
what you do
is the last part
of the prayer
is part of the keeper.
It's like,
and Lord,
be as merciful
to Him
as you have been
to me.
Well,
this morning
what we've done
is we've talked about
the fact that
the believer's tongue
is different.
Amen?
Are you there yet?
No.
But when we realize
that our tongue
is not what it ought to be,
what do we do?
Here's what the believer does.
Number one,
the believer
is convicted
by the power of God
to say,
I'm not there yet.
Help me grow.
Amen?
I want to change.
It wouldn't be a bad idea
for you who are believers
to say to your husband
or your wife
as you're driving home
in the car,
so,
how's my tongue doing?
Do you follow that?
I,
go ahead.
Yeah.
Nudge him and say,
you can ask me.
Okay.
See,
the believer says,
I want to grow.
If the tongue
is the thing
that makes Jesus
look good,
bring it on.
Help me change.
change.
And if I've got
this problem
with
being all
stirred up,
Lord,
for me to stump
and stomp around
like a happy Christian
all lit
because of things
not going my way,
help me change.
Why?
Do you think
angels get excited
at junkyard war
type of
kludgy machines
being put together
out of trash
that kind of
flounder around
and don't look good?
No.
They,
they get excited
when they see
the dramatic
power of Christ
that can change
broken,
ruined sinners
and make them
something different.
Amen.
There's no reason
for you to be
bad advertisement
when you have
received the gift
of salvation
and you have
received the gift
of the indwelling
Spirit of God
who's there
to help you
be different.
Let's close
in prayer.
As the
baptismal
candidates come,
you pray for
their testimony
and for the
clarity of the
gospel this
morning.
Precious
Father,
make us
a people
who are
jealous
for the
glory
of Christ.
Pray for
Mrs.
Malumba
and for
Isaac
sake,
that their
testimonies
speak of
their faith
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
That those
who are
here that
know the
Lord Jesus
would have
hearts that
just rejoice
and those
who are
here who
need Christ
would be
drawn to
the cross.
We ask
this in
your precious
name.
Amen.